Little Life Tidbits

Edited to add: I wrote this post this morning and as of now we have all heard of the tragedy that struck Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. I am deeply saddened by this and my heart and prayers go out to all who have been affected by this. I can not even begin to imagine what all these families are feeling and going through, especially so close to Christmas.
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I can not believe it's been almost a complete month since I last posted! The past few weeks have been such a whirlwind. I think I will sum it all up with a few Life Tidbit bullet points.

1. 11/18/12 - I completed the Philadelphia Marathon. With a 05:00:01 finish, I became a two time marathoner! Everything from the super warm welcome us displaced NYC Marathoner's received at the start, to all the awesome crowd support this marathon offered, it was a perfect day for me. My honey ran around the course to cheer me on at three different mile marks and the most important one was at mile 25.5 when he ran out to me and told me that if I hurried I could have a Sub-5 hour marathon. From that point on, I kicked it into high gear and sprinted towards the finish line. I didn't get that Sub-5, but I am sure proud of my 5 hour finish. Not bad for being 6 years older since my first marathon. I was only 11 minutes slower.

2. Thanksgiving Weekend - My honey and I flew to Atlanta, Georgia to spend the four day weekend with my family. Lots of fun was had by all. Tons of delicious food (Peanut Butter Pie), alcohol (Home-brew) and football.  Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to document our adventure and by the time my honey and I flew back home on that Sunday, I was going home with a soon to be bad head/chest cold courtesy of one of my nephews that left me out of it for just over 2 weeks. I can now say thanks to this illness I was forced to not run for 2 weeks and my body has fully recovered from the Philadelphia Marathon (with the exception of my 2 baby toes, but that's another story I will spare you from for now).

3. 12/01/12 - Decided that I was going to knit 6 Christmas presents! My head must of still been clogged from the cold to think I could knit that many gifts in less than 21 days, but hey I'm crazy like that. I 411'd my sister and told asked her to drop everything and help me pick out yarn colors. To my astonishment within minutes I had an emailed list of her choices. Must have been the amazing night of sleep she got because we never decide yarn colors that fast! By Wednesday (12/5, just over 2 weeks to knit 6 gifts, EEEKS) I had my yarn! 

4. 12/06/12 - Decided that I couldn't stand my piece of crap Android phone anymore (I mean really I had to turn the phone off/on to be able to make/receive a phone call), I stopped by my local Verizon store and turned to the Darkside. I am now a proud owner of the iPhone 5 (was eligible for an upgrade) and I could not be happier!

5. 12/11/12 - My running boot saga ended! Ya'll may remember me asking for some helping picking out boots that would fit my ginormous muscular calves and then subsequently had to return all 3 pairs? Well, the 4th time must have been the charm because I hit the lottery with a pair of Clarks Mascarpone Mix Boots that zipped up around my calves beautifully! I have been asked to provide the information for them because there are more lovely ladies out there than we know who have the same problem. So I got them from Zappos and you can find them here.

6. 12/12/12 - Company Christmas Party at the office! Of course I wore my new boots! Here's proof that a good time was had:

Well it doesn't really show that, but trust me we had fun! 

As a side note, by the time I got above ground on the subway ride home from the office party I checked my email, on my super duper new phone by the way, and received an email congratulating me on being selected in the lottery for the Inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon DC in April! I entered myself, my beautiful niece Tori (will be her first half marathon race) and my honey (also his first official half marathon even though he ran more than a marathon while training with me this summer/fall) as a group into the lottery and didn't really think we'd be one of the 15,000 lucky runners! Don't be fooled by the word Women in the name of the race, they welcomed male entrants too so my honey decided to sign up also since he would be there with us anyway.

7. 12/13/12 - I am really having trouble getting into the holiday spirit this year, even despite my last minute insane Christmas gift knitting idea I had. I am hoping sending out Christmas cards will help me out with this little issue. Of course, finding the time to address them will be another issue, but at least I have them purchased.

So that brings us all up to date with my oh so exciting life these days! I am looking forward to only 1 more week of work and then I am off until after the New Year! I will be having a little staycation this year in which I hope to accomplish many great things like reading, sewing, knitting, running, figuring out some goals for 2013. I am sad I won't be able to go back to Georgia to see my family over the holiday (by the time I received the extra vacation days to take the week off, the airline prices were way to high to try to visit), but it will be wonderful to spend this time with my honey and his family

I am off to knit like a fool! I'll be back next week and we'll see what great things I am accomplishing.

In the meantime, tell me what are some of your most favorite Christmas holiday memories and/or traditions? One of my favorite traditions that I started several years ago is to watch my most favorite Christmas movie every Christmas Eve, "It's A Wonderful Life."

Anyone else out there making Christmas presents? I have been known to make my gifts in the past, whether its something knit, sewn or scrapbooked, but I don't usually start three weeks before Christmas. Madness I tell ya!

Marathon Goals

The Philadelphia Marathon is in 2 days and since it looks like the show will go on this Sunday, I thought I would talk a little about what my marathon goals would be for this race.

This marathon will be my second marathon ever. I ran my first marathon back in 2006 and fulfilled my dream of running the New York City Marathon. It was something I dreamed of doing ever since I moved to NYC in 1997 and wasn't even a runner at that time. My mindset for running that marathon was that I just wanted to come in at 5 hours. Those who completed the marathon in 5 hours or less had their name and results listed in the New York Times the next day. To me, having my name in the paper meant so much to me. I completed that marathon in 4 hours 49 minutes and 27 seconds. Can you imagine how proud I was to come in 10 minutes faster that I had planned?

When I started my training this time around for my second NYC Marathon (which of course now I am running the Philadelphia Marathon), my heart was set on a PR or at least finishing in the same amount of time it took me six years earlier. While my training this year has been solid, and even improved from 2006, I realized about a month ago that PRing or even finishing in the same time was probably not going to happen for this marathon. I have been having little pains here and there along the way that contributed to this decision. Once I accepted it, I felt so much better because I took the pressure off myself. I realized that while my heart is the same now as it was then, my body is not the same. I had settled on having fun with this marathon and to finish in 5 hours and 15 minutes. I felt that was doable.

Now that the marathon I am running is the Philadelphia Marathon have my goals changed? Partly. This marathon course is a predominately flat course. There are a couple of spots with some hills, but I know I am well prepared for them since I completed all of my long runs on trails where there are major, steep hills. I have gotten stronger and faster during the past few weeks so knowing that I am running on an easier course gives me some hope of finishing faster than I had planned for NYC. I also think that having run the back half of this course during the ING Philly Half Marathon back in 2009, I know what to expect and will give me a little edge to finishing the marathon in a time I would like.

What are my goals? I have set 3 goals. Any of which I will be happy with because this 41 year old is thrilled to be actually running another marathon.

Goal A - Finish in 4 hours, 45 minutes or better (My original goal for NYC when I started training)

Goal B - Finish in 4 hours, 49 minutes and 27 seconds

Goal C - Finish in 5 hours or no later than 5 hours, 15 minutes

I think with the flatter race course now, there is a possibility of setting a PR. While I am not going to kill myself or hurt myself to get there, I am setting my sights on it. I believe if I enter Sunday with a solid plan in regards to my pacing, I could achieve this goal. If I don't, I won't be upset because I am just excited to be able to still run a marathon this year.

I will also be channeling some positive motivation from this speedy lady who just ran the Harrisburg Marathon this past Sunday and not only came in first place, but also PR'd with a Sub 3 hour marathon!!!!

Four Days

Well it's four days until the Philadelphia Marathon! I am getting really excited about it now. Walking home from the subway tonight, I was thinking of just how close I am to running my second marathon. It was something that I wasn't sure if I was ever going to do again. 

It still boggles my mind that I have been able to complete, now, 18 weeks of training with relatively minor issues this year. During the past five years, my training always got derailed with an injury and I ended up having to defer my NYC Marathon entry. While I was ready to run NYC for the second time this year, mother nature had other plans, and I almost thought all my hard work and training was for nothing. Thankfully Philadelphia has adopted us NYC'ers and I get to fulfill my dream of running another marathon. Eeeks!

As of today, I have completed my second easy 3 miler run. I almost didn't think today's run was going to happen. I woke up this morning not feeling well. Ever since Hurricane Sandy came through I have been having a non-stop runny nose and am constantly cold (even at work where the air conditioning runs non-stop above my desk) and last night I was so cold I went to bed bundled up like I was sleeping outside in Alaska. Besides the constant nose issue, this morning I felt run down and had a little sore throat. The last thing I need right now is to be sick. I have boosted up my vitamins and drinking lots of hot tea in hopes of getting through the next few days without feeling worse. I did decide to run at lunch today because I didn't want the pressure of taking today off and then knowing I HAD to run tomorrow. But let me tell you right now, I will be running on Sunday!!!

So now I am in this stage of preparing for race day:

I have started gathering the items I will need for both during and after the race. I haven't completely decided on my racing attire yet (i.e., whether I will be wearing my running skirt, shorts or capris), but I am pretty certain I will be donning my NYC Marathon technical shirt we got. Philadelphia mentioned they wouldn't have our race shirts in time for Sunday and encouraged us to where our NYC shirts. I thought it was a brilliant idea. I will be sporting my pride for NYC.

The lottery entrants haven't received race bib numbers yet. They said we would of had that information emailed to us this past Monday. Of course it hasn't happened yet. I'm just happy that the race fee charge has finally showed up on my credit card. As soon as I have my bib number I will let ya'll know so you can track me on race day. I'll give you the details of that too.

Now I am off to eat and rest! Happy Wednesday!

Taper Week Take Two

I have officially entered my "Second Time Around Taper Week." One would think I was a pro at it by now, but I am truly just riding it out by the seat of my running shorts. I am not quite sure what the "proper" training is for tapering for one marathon and then having to kick training back up for a week before tapering for a second marathon. I am hoping what I have done this past week is enough to get me to the finish line at the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday.

Here is what the past week of training looked like for me:

Monday

Ran 5 miles at the Astoria Park Track. I originally was just looking to do 4, but once I got out there it felt good to stretch my legs and clear my head from all the craziness of the NYC Marathon being cancelled at the last minute. This run just felt so easy and that is what I needed.

Tuesday

No run planned for the day. After I got into office, I was told by a co-worker that the Philadelphia Marathon was adding 3,000 more bibs to the closed out race for NYC Marathoners. I immediately got excited and completed my application for the lottery and crossed my fingers that I got selected. I was once again pumped and quickly tried to figure out what my running would look like for the rest of the week just in case I got into the race.

Wednesday

Ran 3.5 speedy miles on the treadmill during my lunch hour. I started the first mile at a 5.5 and after each mile I increased my speed by .2. The last half mile was at a 6.1 speed.

Thursday

Excited because today is lottery picking day at 5pm! Ran another speedy 3.5 miles on the treadmill at lunch. I decided to start my pace out with an even number of 5.6. Increased my speed by .2 after every mile. The last half mile was at a 6.2 speed. Felt freaking awesome.

Friday

I tried not to be too excited about the possible marathon on the 18th. I didn't want to get my hopes up just in case I didn't get into it. So when I got the email letting me know I was selected, I felt like a kid at Christmas! I chose to run a slow recovery 3 miles on the treadmill at lunch. I stayed at a 5.4 pace for the whole ride.

Saturday

Rest Day Please!

Sunday 

I knew I had to do some sort of a long run to see where I was at with my distance. I had been tapering for 3 weeks before the NYC Marathon and then when it was cancelled I didn't even attempt any sort of a long run that Sunday. I had family in town and didn't really know of the organized runs until after the fact. I don't have tv, nor any other racing friends, so I was kinda out of the loop. Needless to say, trying to come up with an ideal distance for my long run wasn't easy. I didn't want to do too short of a distance and leave myself unprepared for race day, nor did I want to do too long of a distance that would leave my legs exhausted for the race. In the end, I decided that I would run anywhere from 15-18 miles.

So off to the Rockefeller State Park Preserve Trails I went early Sunday morning and 15 miles ended up being the magic number completed. For having missed one long run in the past 16 weeks, I was amazed at how good I felt during this run. I knew I wanted to take my pace a little slower since I wasn't quite sure how everything was going to go, but after the first 3 miles, my pace just fell into place and I felt great. At least until I hit mile 10.5 where I hit the Sleepy Hollow Trail, as indicated in the picture below:

I like to call this part of the run the "Slow Painful Death Trail." This part of the run isn't long, it's just very steep in a few spots and after running on legs that hadn't stopped to rest at all, they began to say "Oh He$$ No!". It took all I had to get to the top of the hill and I somehow managed to run another 1.75 miles after reaching the top to get to 13 miles before I stopped at the car to rest, refill my hydration belt with new bottles and visit the bathroom. 

After that, did I want to go back out and run 2 to 3 more miles? My heart did, but my legs were saying a big fat "No Way Man." I chose not to listen to my legs, and managed to tweak out 2 more miles to get to 15. When all was said and done, I was very proud of myself. Even though I didn't hit 18 miles, I knew that with this run I was prepared to finish the Philadelphia Marathon because the trail run is a ton harder than the nice, mostly flat course I will encounter on Sunday.

Now I am at a taper race week again. I am choosing to follow the original race week training plan I did 2 weeks ago. I will run an easy 11 miles during the week just to keep my legs fresh for marathon Sunday. I will add a little more carbs and salt to my meals. Nothing crazy. I don't really believe in carb overload. I will spend this week getting my race stuff together to prepare for heading to Philly on Saturday. I am excited that I am finally getting to run my race! I am so thankful that Philly made room for us NYC Marathoners!

Exciting News

Guess who got into the Philadelphia Marathon on November 18? Me!!!!

I can not believe I got selected in the lottery! I feel like a kid a Christmas right now. I am so EXCITED! Thank you Philly for letting us into your sold out marathon!!!

Moving Forward - Next Steps & A Helping Hand

As we all know, the NYC Marathon was cancelled at 5:30pm on Friday. I have already voiced my thoughts about that decision on my Facebook page and those closest to me know how crushed I was at the 11th Hour cancellation. I do not want to rehash any of it here on the blog. Instead I want to focus on moving forward and what will happen next with my running/training now that the marathon date has come and gone.

So what are my plans?

Plan A:

Well this past weekend, after some talking with my honey who convinced me I didn't need an official marathon to run 26.2 miles, I decided and proclaimed on Facebook that I was going to do this:

As you all know from reading all about my training for the past 16 weeks, the Rockefeller State Park Preserve is where I completed all my long training runs. This run will all be on trails in which will make it tougher for me. The farthest I have run there is 22 miles and that took me 4 hours and 43 minutes. So while I was looking to finish the NYC Marathon in 5 hours (road is much easier), completing this distance will most like take me close to 5.5 to 6 hours to complete. It just depends on how my body holds up.

Plan B (or Could Turn Into Plan A):

This morning the Philadelphia Marathon announced they were opening up 3,000 bibs to NYC Marathoner's. Half of the entry fee will go to the Red Cross Hurricane Victims. I was excited to hear that they decided to do this. I know the race was closed, but I mentioned the other day to some friends that nothing but good could come from them opening up some spots and the next day they did! 

The bibs will be filled by a lottery pick to be drawn at 5:00pm Thursday, and after talking with my honey, I decided to put my name into the hat. The race is scheduled for November 18, so if by some luck I get picked, this will become Plan A for me.

I am really hoping that Plan B will become my Plan A. I know I don't need an official marathon to run the distance. I just love the racing atmosphere and the feeling of family when I toe a start line so much. Either way, I am hoping to be completing a 26.2 mile run before Thanksgiving.

Hurricane Sandy Relief: There is still so much need for help for the Hurricane Sandy victims here. I myself have made a donation to the Red Cross, even set up my own fundraising page, but I also felt the need to help one particular Hurricane Victim in Staten Island. I am a frequent reader of Healthy Happier Bear's blog and Ashley brought my attention to a young lady named Jen (who incidentally was suppose to run the NYC Marathon). Jen,her husband and 2 children lost everything when Sandy hit Staten Island. Ashley and her husband created a Target registry to help this family get back on their feet. They have nothing. While I can't help every single person out there, I knew I could help make a difference for this family. You can read the story about Jen here (and even see a news clip where they appear) on Ashley's blog. What Ashley has created even got the attention of ABC news and an article was released on GMA.com. Over 116 items have been purchased through the "Wedding Registry", but there are still so many more items needed. If you want to take a look, please do and maybe you might be able to help just a little too.