Sandy Runs

I got my first taste of NYRR, and I liked it. For those who don't know, that stands for New York Road Runners , the organization that runs the New York City Marathon in the fall, as well as many other events across the five boroughs of the city. Scot and I were accepted as participants in the NYC Half Marathon through lottery drawing back in December. The race was held on 3/20/16 and the course was entirely in Manhattan. The logistics of this race and the quality of support are an indication that the marathon will be a world class event when we get there in November (I'm earning my entry through a charity; here's a link to my fundraising page for the Migraine Research Foundation). This was a quick trip to NY, but packed with activity and a lot of fun. Scot and I drove up on Saturday morning, arriving around noon and checking into our hotel in the Financial District. We were able to park at a reasonably priced garage just around the corner from the hotel. We then took...

Many of the big international marathons have fun runs the day before the marathon. There was one in Berlin, and Scot and I regretted not running it. When registration for the Tokyo Marathon's Friendship Run opened up, we jumped on that. The Friendship Run took place at the Panasonic Center near Tokyo Big Sight, where the race expo was being held, so we could run the 5K and then pick up our marathon packets all in one trip.  Scot, Magenta and me before the run The Friendship Run was geared toward the international runners, though there were also some runners from Japan. The Friendship Run was not restricted to marathoners, so friends and family could participate. Our race bibs listed our country, so it was easy to tell who came from where. Many participants dressed in costumes or gear representing their country. I wore regular running clothes. In our packet there was no t-shirt. Instead, we received a "tenugui", which was a woven cotton cloth that could be fo...

Yesterday I ran a 5K and 10K put on by Pacers. The St. Pat's Run is a race they acquired a few years ago. Pacers also had it's own St. Patrick's Day race: Four Courts Four Miler (which takes place next weekend). I ran that one a couple years ago ( my blog from 2014 ). I've also run yesterday's race before, but it used to be the St. Patrick's Day 8K ( my blog from 2014 ). This year the course was different than when I previously ran it, and there was an option to run either the 5K, the 10K, or both. Rachael and I chose both, so we'd get a nice 9.3 miles of training in, and earn some nice swag doing it. The weather was a little chilly, so I wore layers and long sleeves. I'm glad I did. I would have been over dressed for a marathon, but not for these shorter races. There was a damp chill in the air and the long sleeves and gloves were welcome. I ran into Megan and Pam at the start. Megan was also running the double. Me, pre-5K and 10K Hello, Meg...

3/4/16 Update: I shared my blog in two running club Facebook groups hoping that other back-of-the-pack runners could learn from my experience. In one forum I was shown a lot of support by many members. But a few chose to attack me for not doing my homework, for whining, and even for being a marathoner who takes walk breaks. Others were helpful at pointing out that, indeed, there was a Runner Handbook that detailed the intermediate cut-off times. It's good to know it exists, but it's buried on the website in an odd location. I did not see it prior to the race, for which I take full responsibility. But I stand by my assertion that the race could have been better at communicating all of this information in all locations where they mention the time limit. Like I indicated previously, this is a lesson I have learned and will apply in the future. I'm not whining about it, and I never did whine. However, I was angry, and I am sad, and I'm not going to apologize for expressing...

It's been over a week since I blogged about the habits that I need to reinstate to improve my overall wellness, and specifically my fitness and running performance. I did fairly well for the first week of using checklists. I worked out for at least 30 minutes per day for 12 days in a row. On the 13th day I gave myself permission not to do a workout because I did a lot of physical chores that included lifting and carrying heavy objects. That may have been a mistake. Once the streak was broken, it was easier to slack off over the next few days (the weekend) when I had a lot of other things to do to get things organized at home and prepare to leave for Tokyo. But I'm going to keep up the checklists even if I don't check every box every day. Here's what I learned about myself: On Sunday I will be in a crowd similar to this...but way in the back and out of the picture It is easier than I thought it would be to get 30 minutes of exercise daily once I accept any form ...

I used to be a faster runner. I used to be a fitter runner. By no means was I a competitive athlete, but I was a better version of myself than I am now. I've let my fitness go and I'm paying for it. I don't feel as good or as strong as I used to feel. This needs to change. I have an issue with motivation and discipline, and that will continue to hold me back if I don't address it. Maybe it will be helpful to identify the behaviors that worked for me in the past. My ideal self in the past was from 2012. After that, I increased the quantity of races I was running, and decreased the quality. I started traveling so much that it was more difficult to stick with a consistent training plan. I didn't adapt my training and fitness to the new things going on in my life. Let's see what I can do about that. I've never been as fast as I was for my marathon PR at 2012 Grandma's Marathon After my half marathon PR at the 2012 Rock 'n' Roll ...