October 2016 Goals

Pure Barre Goal: Zero, but I went to something called [solidcore]. It is really hard but a lot of fun.

CrossFit Goal: 128/200 WODs. I went to CrossFit Identity for 13 WODs this month. I didn't drop in during my travels to save some money and to make myself go running instead.

Mileage: I ran 38 miles, including the Marine Corps Marathon. MCM 41 is my fastest marathon to date. I swore I would never run another one as I crossed the finish line, but then I found myself googling best Boston Qualifier courses in Georgia a few hours later.

Marine Corps Marathon 41

Guys, I ran my fastest marathon yesterday! And I didn't even train for it. I've been dreading this race for months because I just couldn't get myself to commit to a training plan. I don't like running alone in the daylight during the summer in Georgia. It's boring and it's hot. I just can't bring myself to run at 6 AM when it's still dark out. Thank you Quantavia Rivers for ruining my ability to train for marathons like a normal person you son of a bitch. I hope the Georgia state correctional system misplaces you again and forgets to feed you.

Registered for the Marine Corps Marathon

I'm super excited to share that I won the 40th Marine Corps Marathon lottery selection and will be running 26.2 miles on October 25. I always win lotteries where I have to pay money. I must be doing it wrong.

Can CrossFit Aid Marathon Training?

Since I was awake yesterday at 5 AM, I had time to go through all of the emails I receive and never read. One was from Runner's World and it had an article about adding CrossFit to marathon training.

Read How to Add CrossFit to Marathon Training

Runners are usually strong proponents of running. Crazy right? I'm actually not. Out of all the races I have run, from 5Ks to 50 miles, I have felt best when I focus on high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I am leaner, stronger, and have more stamina from pushing myself through full-body workouts than when I am putting in the miles multiple days a week.

In order to run a marathon, you have to be able to spend that much time on your feet. Your bones needs to be strong enough to pound the pavement for hours and the only way I've found to do that is through weekly long runs. I firmly believe that the best preparation for my 50 mile race was standing at my desk for more than 8 hours a day, but the 50K I ran certainly helped. But that's a weekly long run.

The article recommends that CrossFit lovers follow the schedule below for marathon training: 

Monday: Easy effort run

Tuesday: CrossFit workout 

Wednesday: Easy effort run

Thursday: CrossFit workout 

Friday: Rest or easy effort run

Saturday: Long, slow run 

Sunday: Rest/light recovery work (foam-rolling/flexibility/restorative yoga)

I think that's a ton of filler runs and as sausage lovers know, you want meat not filler. (Speaking of sausages, I had amazing spicy Italian sausage up in New Rochelle on Thursday at the 4th of July BBQ.) If I were to run another marathon, and let's be honest, my retirement from long distance running probably won't last through 2014, I'd follow this training plan:

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: CrossFit

Wednesday: Soccer or Spinning

Thursday: Yoga 

Friday: CrossFit

Saturday: Long, slow run 

Sunday: 3-5 mile walk, Yoga, or Sitting on the couch watching Y&R

If When I run another ultra, I will definitely continue CrossFit.

I am not a running coach, doctor, or licensed anything so please do not follow any training plan without first consulting your physician. Based on my own experiences, I think that building strength and agility does more to keep me fast and injury-free.

Another option for combining CrossFit and marathon running is CrossFit Endurance. I attended a panel at JackRabbit Sports on the UWS featuring some awesome ultra-runners and Lisa Madden was there. Lisa trains using CrossFit Endurance and she's a badass runner so there must be something to it.

The Marathon Was Cancelled - Read This

As you've probably heard, the New York City Marathon was cancelled. I'm a little over the unnecessary Facebook arguing, but I love this article the Professor wrote about the email NYRR sent out to its members: http://www.maslansky.com/2012/11/language-of-cancellations-an-analysis-of-nyrrs-message-to-runners/

Should I Join In?

Today I was supposed to go running with a friend, but he never answered his phone. I ran to Roosevelt Beach and back. At 5.1 miles, I paused my Garmin and walked the short distance home to shake out my legs. They are so sore from Assia' pureMuscle class.

My route.

Today the ING New York City Marathon registration opened. I'm not sure if I have guaranteed entry or not. I joined New York Road Runners in April of last year and guaranteed entry says you must join by January. However, I contacted NYRR before volunteering for the Sprint Triathlon and I have an e-mail saying that if I run 9 races and volunteer for 1, I can have guaranteed entry to the 2012 marathon. Even if I do have guaranteed entry, I'm not sure if I should sign up because the race is $255 with an $11 processing fee this year. Last year it was $170. I just signed up for the Yonkers Marathon for 40 bucks.

Do you think I should join in? Are you running the 2012 ING NYC Marathon?

The Brooklyn Marathon

The Brooklyn Marathon was on Sunday morning. I planned poorly for this race, starting with a happy hour on Thursday night that lasted into Saturday afternoon. Dinner plans fell through for Saturday (I tried, I promise), and I ended up at a bar in Alphabet City with the 34 year-old and his spectacular friend who was visiting for the weekend. I restricted myself to only two jager bombs and was home by midnight. But then I couldn't sleep. Then I couldn't sleep because I was hungry. Then I couldn't sleep because I was hungry and scared out of my mind by the one scary episode of Psych (the one where the creepy chick is killing off the sorority girls and Jules is undercover.) It was 5:15 AM before I knew it.


I woke up bleary-eyed and starving. And pissed off. And the light was still out in my apartment. (Don't worry. I  have since climbed up on top of my kitchen table and replaced the burnt out bulb with not one, but two 60 watt energy-saving light bulbs.) I really didn't want to run this race. I wanted an effing bagel.


Fortunately the Professor and his lovely wife had the car in town. T also got up at the crack of dawn to come to Brooklyn with us, which I thought was exceptionally nice of her. We managed to get over the bridge and onto Flatbush Avenue with minimal rerouting, and got a quality parking spot right near the park.

BEFORE the race.

The course was made up of 2 little loops, 6 big loops, and 1 little loop. The little loop was less than three miles and the big loop was about 3.25 miles. I got confused and it was tedious. The Professor and I took off together but I stopped at the first porta-potty, which was no joke, less than 500 feet into the race. When I exited, everyone was in front of me. I have never literally been the last person. It was creepy. I was able to catch up with the Professor before the first mile.

We had a really good pace going. I think we were maintaining 9:40 minute miles. I was really hungry though - the KIND bar I had eaten wasn't holding me over. My feet were killing me (I think I tied my shoes too tight) and I felt queasy. I had to make another pit stop at mile 9, but when I came back out I couldn't see the Professor. He was too far ahead and I didn't have the energy to sprint and find him going up this never-ending Prospect Park hill. What the hell is this hill? Shouldn't we have realized something was wrong when all the other runners were running down the hill?

I ran alone for the next 11 miles. The going was tough. I felt like garbage. I was wearing my watch, but something was up with my heart rate monitor, so I wasn't sure how much effort I was exerting. Parts of the race were boring and others were lonely. This idiot woman kept telling me to drop my water bottle every 3 miles. I can't drop my water bottle. I get thirsty. I take a lot of Ritalin. EFF YOU!

I caught sight of the Professor at mile 20, so I picked up the pace and managed to join him. I found my energy to push through and make it. But this is when I had to make a serious decision. The Professor wanted to walk portions of the final 6.2, and I believe him when he said he needed to. I was feeling pretty damn crappy, but I only walk through fuel stations. Months ago (in early September), I had promised that I would complete the Brooklyn Marathon with him. Our ideas of what that would look like had changed over the past eleven weeks, and I admit that I thought this was going to be my opportunity to shave some time off my last marathon. It's a small race, no elite athletes, minimal crowds - this was my time. Of course I thought it was appropriate to drink and eat crap (even worse than usual) for the days up to this race, but I still had a chance of PRing. But a promise is a promise, and so we walked.

I don't want anyone getting the idea that we had suddenly given up, or that we were the slow people hobbling in the back who didn't belong in a marathon. People walk portions of marathons all the time. Jeff Galloway even has a trademarked RUN-WALK-RUN™ method. I'm just not comfortable walking in races. We managed though, and I think we ran most of the final 6.2 miles. We reached the final fuel station (which looked drastically different with only two people managing it the 9th time around) at just shy of 26 miles. We needed to pick up the pace because we were so close. I said something that I will not repeat but that I knew would fire the Professor up.


Our finish was impressive. One we had dressed alike and that looked cool. We ran as fast as we could across the finish line and I kept on cheering and then raising my arms to get the spectators (i.e. finished runners) to cheer too.

I think we look a lot better AFTER.

I had called the 34 year-old at mile 11 (I know, I know - it's weird that I make phone calls during a race. I was also e-mailing about writing a recommendation for someone) and he was supposed to meet me at the finish line with a bagel. He got lost in the park (I mean, it could have happened to anyone...) and I tried to go look for him - and ended up running an additional 2 miles. Technically my inaugural Brooklyn Marathon was an ultra.

The unofficial results:

Place	Name	City	Bib No	Age	Gender	Age Group	Chip Time	Gun Time
196	The Professor	NEW YORK	96	31	M	55 30-39	4:29:00.0	4:29:24.4
197	In Shape Out of Mind	NEW YORK	83	25	F	21 20-29	4::29:00.4	4:29:24.2

How did he beat me if I have a faster gun time?

Does Anyone Ever Truly Run Alone?

So T and I are back to running in the morning. We met at the park at our usual spot but tried to try a new route. Unfortunately the Conservatory Garden was locked up at that hour, but we did run up to the Harlem Meer. I had no idea this body of water even existed until T sent me a map of it on Monday. It was beautiful, but I swear on my Body Glide, if a muskrat made himself visible, I would've killed it or died from a heart attack. There is so much to see in Central Park up in Harlem. Who knew?

I understand that this picture is hard to see because it's dark.
It was hard to see this boathouse/bathroom when I saw it because it was dark.

The Brooklyn Marathon is fast approaching, so it's about time I finish answering ING NYC Marathon questions.


Samantha asked:
3. did any running buddies from your blog run the marathon also? did they run with you?


T also ran the marathon and we traveled over to Staten Island together. I grabbed a taxi (which is normally so easy by my apartment, but was an effing hassle and a half on race day. I had to get one to make an illegal u-turn and scoop me up!) and met T by her place. Then we took the taxi down to Whitehall Station to catch the Staten Island Ferry.


I highly recommend having a friend to hang out with in the runners' villages at Fort Wadsworth. It would have been really lonely if I hadn't had her to chat with. T and I chose to run the marathon separately and were in separate colors. I hung out in the orange village with her until it was time for me to head over to the green village. I would've been happier if we were in the same color.


The Professor is running The Brooklyn Marathon with me on Sunday, so get excited for that tale.


6. how long did it take you? (is that question poor runner etiquette?) are you happy with your time? do you feel like you were well prepared?


I completed the marathon in 4:21:47 and I think it is perfectly acceptable to ask that question. If you are unsure of how a person has run, you can ask, "How did you do?" instead of "What was your time?" I absolutely hate when people ask if I finished. What the hell kind of question is that? If I didn't finish, I would be either be dead or hiding in shame.


I am happy with my time because I didn't really know how I would do. My initial goal was to finish in under five hours so I could get my name in the paper on Monday morning. Once I realized that I was going to reach that goal, I decided that I wanted to come in at under 4:30. I reached both of my goals, but I wasn't tired enough. I think I could have started out faster, or at least picked up the pace at the halfway point.


I want to set a new PR on Sunday.


My best friend littlefishie asked:
What was the best part of the marathon?


The best part of the marathon was running through Brooklyn. There were a lot of funny signs and the spectators were handing out food. I felt really positive about the whole experience.


The worst part of the marathon was running on the 59th Street Bridge. There was this weird noise that sounded like machines, and I kept feeling like I was in a film that was a cross between Tom Cruise's version of War of the Worlds and The Dark Crystal. I also got boxed in by a bunch of foreign runners in weird team uniforms. I get annoyed when I properly pace myself and the people who don't create massive packs/solid chains of tired, slow runners. Get the eff out of my way!


Another best part of the marathon was running along Central Park West. I had the energy left to spring it in and I could tell my parents were really proud of me.

Motivation When Running a Marathon

Welcome to Day 2 of answering your marathon questions. I really love this format, so please keep the questions coming.

Jenny of Lovely at Your Side (an awesome blog she runs with her sister Olivia) asked:

How do you keep yourself motivated on such a long run? Do you create awesome play lists? 

This is a major question, so I will begin with the easier part - I don't create awesome play lists because I don't listen to music when I run. I find it distracting, and I refuse to do it during races. I tried once and it ended badly. I will listen to music if I am running on a treadmill (almost never), or if I am having serious trouble motivating myself to get outside and run at all. I do listen to music for the mile between my apartment and the park on the mornings I meet T, but that's more to keep myself from getting scared of bumps in the night. I put on a loud, high energy song (frequently Duck Sauce's Barbra Streisand) and just haul ass over there.

You also don't need music for the marathon because of all of the live entertainment. Bands and performers of all genres were out on the sidewalks playing their music, and when there wasn't live music, someone kindly blasted music from speakers. There was a band playing near Kent Street in Brooklyn that was good enough that I wanted to turn around and go back to listen. I love Caribbean music (I know, you learn something new about me everyday on this thing) and there were a variety of bands that reminded me of my travels. Not every performer was any good (I'm talking to you disgruntled pianist with a voice of an ice pick on a chalkboard), but I appreciated the effort nonetheless.

Staying motivated on such a long run can be hard, but the ING NYC Marathon is an incredibly motivating experience. First of all, you're running THE NEW YORK MARATHON, and there are a bajillion people cheering you on. You never run the same portion twice and it feels like a journey through New York City. As a NYC resident who lives on the Upper Eastside, and has taught in both Brooklyn and the Bronx, I felt a connection to the route. My grandmother lives in Queens and my dad works there so I knew where I was when running miles 13-15. The best food is in Astoria and I got psyched to run in a neighborhood I frequent often with my dad. I have no connection to Staten Island except for that one time I brought my students there for a lame-ass rendition of Stuart Little, but we only ran the Verrazano Bridge anyway.

Before the start of the race, standing on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

We listened to Frank Sinatra's New York, New York while waiting for the race to begin and throughout the first mile. It was a special moment.

My all-star reader Samantha asked some questions that I found relevant to this post.

Samantha asked:

2. did you ever feel like you were going to stop? at which mile mark were you feeling the closest to stopping?


I ran the race very slowly by my standards because I simply wanted to enjoy the experience. I am crazy competitive and once I get a time goal in my head, I don't focus on anything else. When I felt like stopping, I got in line for a porta-potty, which is a convenient way to stop for a reason other than tiredness. So, I went to the bathroom six times...

I felt closest to stopping around mile 19 on the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Bronx.

Who doesn't love a good bagpiper?

5. did you really read and respond to my fb post comment while running through the bronx? do you always type on your iphone while running? does that slow you down?


I really did read and respond to your Facebook post comment while running over the Willis Avenue Bridge. I was tired, grumpy, and in desperate need of a cigarette. The crowd had really dwindled (but the crowd in the Bronx is awesome!), and I needed some support. I pulled out my phone to take a picture of the bagpipers when I saw that I had a lot of messages. I was so happy to read that my friends were thinking of me, but I only responded to yours. Feel special. I don't usually type on my iPhone while racing, but I have been known to tweet and respond to text messages on training runs. I do pull out the iPhone to capture good blog photos on longer races, but during a 5K I am too busy kicking ass to record anything.

I loved these t-shirts and had to snap a photo.

4. did you see any of the people who came to cheer for you and did you feel annoyed or motivated when you heard them cheering?


I saw my parents at 65th and 1st, and on Central Park West. I was annoyed with my parents for not understanding the vibrate functions on their phones and not answering when I was trying to call them. They had moved locations from where I had expected them to be and I got confused when I couldn't find them. My mom had my Ritalin. I needed to see her. 


The 34 year-old was MIA when I tried to call him from the 60s to let him know I would be passing our hood shortly. Although I was hoping to get a drag of his cigarette, I wasn't too upset. I also missed my co-workers who were watching in Queens and my friends watching in the 70s and 80s. It's really hard to spot people in such a dense crowd.


I saw a sorority sister of mine who was an alumna when we joined IVY when I was running down Fifth Avenue towards the park. She called out my name and I felt excited to see her. There were times when I was jealous of the people who had friends and supporters all over the race (you spend four hours with these people, you know), but overall I was happy with my experience. I'm kind of a solitary creature when I run anyway. If I run next year, I would consider putting my name on my shirt because random strangers cheer for you, but this year I was afraid I'd get annoyed and hit someone.

My Marathon Outfit

As promised, I will answer the questions you post in the comments section here. Samantha, one of my favorite readers, asked many questions (which I love!) and I am answering the ones related to my outfit here.


Samantha asked:
1. what did you wear? did you get hot and have to remove layers/ obviously you wouldnt want to carry those so did you just throw them on the street and now they're lost forever? this is a personal running concern of mine.

I wore a lot of things on Sunday. I had the running outfit I planned to wear for the duration of the race, and the extra items of clothing I needed in order to keep warm. NYC Marathon runners arrive at Staten Island at 7:30 AM or earlier and they need to keep warm in the villages at Fort Wadsworth for up to 5 hours depending on arrival and wave times. It's freaking cold and we had beautiful weather. I can only imagine what runners go through when experiencing more frigid Fall temperatures.

Samantha's personal running concern is ditching layers and losing them forever. This is also a concern of mine, but you have to get over it and wearing junk that you don't want. I asked my mother to raid my father and sister's closets and give me things that I could leave behind. I wish that she was able to provide me with a swoufit (sweatsuit outfit) as stylish as these fine Italians are wearing.

They were wearing matching pants. The logo was on the bottom.

I arrived with a pair of sweats ("borrowed" from an old boyfriend many years ago), a Hanes long-sleeved shirt the laundromat shrunk, an over-sized cotton pullover (thanks Dad), and one of my sister's sweatshirts over my running gear. I put the sweatshirt into baggage check because it really wasn't that cold without it and I wanted to make sure I had something at the end of the race just in case I couldn't find my parents. I couldn't so that worked out.

I've been looking for this snowflake headband for years!

I ditched the sweatpants and the pull-over once I went over to my corral. The long-sleeved shirt lasted about five minutes longer.

I wore a white Champion C9 for Target tank (which was a little too small), turquoise Champion C9 for Target shorts, light blue Zensah sleeves, light blue Balega socks, and blue Ghost 4 Brooks sneakers. I completed the look with white Knockaround sunglasses (the only kind I will run in), my snowflake headband/ear-warmer, and blue gloves. Once I got started, I remembered how much I like my snowflake headband and blue gloves (which have been intentionally hidden missing for years), so I decided to hold onto them until I met my parents at 65th Street and 1st Avenue. Yes, I wore that headband for 16 miles. I put the gloves in the waistband of my pouch at mile 3.

A half mile to the finish line.

I'm always hot when I run and I anticipated needing to run almost naked. Many people wore longsleeved shirts and/or pants. I wore compression sleeves. This is the first time I ran with sleeves, but T has worn them before and she likes them. They kept my arms warm, but I never felt hot or sweaty in them.

On a related note, Audrey asked:

How many blisters did you get??

I actually got none, which is awesome. I bought a new pair of sneakers the week before the marathon. I trained in Brooks Adrenaline 11s, but wanted something a little bit more neutral for the future. I wore my new Ghost 4s once before the race and felt awesome wearing them on Sunday. I don't think Brooks shoes ever need to be "broken in" and are great straight from the box. I also wore Balega socks, which are incredible. A guy I went to college with told me about them last year, but I only recently bought some after T started wearing them. They come in awesomely bright colors and they are super comfy.

I didn't get any blisters, but I did get chaffed from the Razz-flavored Cliff Shot gel in my pouch.

I wear an iFitness Race belt when I run.

It was my fault because I didn't stash my gels in my couch during training runs. I actually don't like to eat gels during training runs.

That is my side, not my bottom.

It could be a lot worse. Thank God for Body Glide. I never run more than a mile without it because my body parts like to rub up against each other more than the drunk homeless men like to "accidentally" rub up against young women on the subway.

Want to read about In Shape Out of Mind running the Marathon?

I ran the ING NYC Marathon on Sunday. The 26.2 miles of running wasn't too hard, but I am completely overwhelmed by the daunting task of writing the post about it. Let's try to avoid what happened to the Greenbelt 50K post (What post? Exactly.) and please help me collect my thoughts.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would ask questions that I could answer. That way, I'm not boring you with crap only I find interesting, and you can contribute directly to a blog you love oh so much.

Please post your questions below. Ask 1, ask 70, I will answer them all.

Officially Freaking Out

I am officially freaking out. On Thursday I started to really understand that I will be running THE ING NYC Marathon in only a few days. Then I started feeling sick to my stomach. I get a lot of anxiety about picking up the damn race packet, so I went to the Expo after work Thursday afternoon. It was a nightmare. So many people. So many people not speaking English. It was noisy and overwhelming, but getting that actual race bag was a quick and pleasant experience.

Welcome... to Purgatory.

I've been panicking over what to wear for the race, but I finally decided on a pair of Champion C9 for Target shorts, a Champion top, and sleeves. I needed to buy sleeves so I picked up a pair of Zensah sleeves at the Expo. I'm actually wearing them right now.

The Zensah display at the Expo.

Friday night the 34 year-old and I met for drinks at Dylan Murphy's (where we met) and then he cooked me a pasta dinner. It was delicious. 

The 34 year-old.

Fairway chicken is awesome and reasonably priced.

We had spinach penne with sauteed chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, squash, asparagus, and mushrooms in olive oil. I ate the leftovers (all 9 servings of it) today as well. After dinner I got rip roaring drunk off of a Cavit big gulp and showed off my putting skills. The 34 year-old has a Ping putter and I find the sound to be magical.

In the cup!

I like to spend the day before important races drinking beer and eating buffalo wings. We returned to Dylan Murphy's but I was only allowed to have one beer. Note to self, do not allow your bartender friends to become emotionally invested in your running success. The 34 year-old got to spend some quality time with his Saturday girlfriends and I got to eat sixteen wings, so it was a win-win for everyone.

We're an attractive looking couple. I know.

T and I met up to head over to the Marathon Pasta Dinner over by Tavern on the Green. It was extremely tasty. I love mac and cheese and the salad dressing was awesome. There was even beer!

Dinner ticket.

My Coors Light can told me it wasn't cold so I didn't bother to drink more than a sip.

The great volunteers serving up the complex carbohydrate meal.

After we ate, T and I went to see the finish line and listen to this awful band play its last song. It was pretty cool seeing where it will all end tomorrow. I am going to be keeping this mental image with me as a I beg for mercy around mile 18.

European runners smoking. I like how they think.

These nice guys took our picture in front of the finish line. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to wear my Frye boots again and my foot was hurting. Why am I so insistent about wearing things that hurt before races?

I like T's scarf. If anyone wants to buy me a present...

Obviously the M31 bus neglected to pick me up (again) so I walked from 66th Street up to my apartment. These guys across the street were having a pull-up contest. One day I will be able to do that.

I need to get to bed, but I am going to watch Bones before I do. The 34 year-old and I watched it last night but I blacked out so it's as if it were still new. Funny side story: I woke up at 5 AM on the couch this morning and I go into the bedroom and ask the 34 year-old why I am sleeping on the couch. He told me I refused to get off the couch last night. I breathed an audible sound of relief because I thought I was in some kind of trouble. Oops.