Sub-2! And Other Things That Happened in February

I ran three races in February. I think this was an impressive feat because February is the shortest month of the year. Even more impressive, two of the three races were 10 miles or longer. Even MORE impressive, I ran a sub-2 half marathon, one of my big running goals for 2010.

And then I forgot to write about it all.



First up was the Valentine's Day 5K in Prospect Park on - yes - Valentine's Day, February 14, 2010 sponsored by Brooklyn Road Runners and Slope Sports. I found this race courtesy of my friends at NYCRuns.com. If you run in New York, you should be hooked up with this website. This is also how I found the super-awesome Coney Island Turkey Trot. Join! Now!

This was a nice run - one loop around the park, easy. I ran with Kelly and finished in 29:39. Lady Southpaw played the afterparty at the KofC and rocked the house as always. Followed the race up with brunch at the estimable 7th Avenue Diner & Donuts with the girls.



On February 21, I ran the Cherry Tree 10-Miler in Prospect Park, sponsored by the Prospect Park Track Club and Slope Sports. This is a tough, tough race - you may remember I had some trouble with it last year. This year, I had a great race (finished in about 1:32). I credit better training and overall fitness, gorgeous weather and my TNT BK teammates for the support and the coaches who cheered us all on.

And then, the very next week, I ran a sub-2 half marathon!



I ran the Scenic City Half Marathon in my hometown, Chattanooga, Tennessee, on February 27.

The photo at the top of this post is of me around mile 11 of this race. Don't you like my arm warmers? I bought those with a Slope Sports discount I received for doing the Cherry Tree race. I gotta say, Kara Goucher is right - arm warmers rule. The weather was near-perfect for a long race - low 40s at the start, warming up to the mid-50s. I ran in shorts and an obnoxiously bright green t-shirt. I didn't want to wear a jacket, since I knew I'd want to ditch it a mile in, but I needed something. And that something was arm warmers.

This race was pretty all-around awesome. I was ready for it, I trained, and I had a goal: to beat two hours.

I was also battling a fair number of personal demons going into this race. Forget April - February is my cruelest month. I knew running this race hard and having a goal wouldn't eradicate my problems, but it would help me face them head-on.

There was a significant delay at the start because, apparently, the computer wasn't working to activate the start mat, and our timing chips would not register. The clock also wasn't working, but because I was wearing a watch I didn't much care about that. But I knew I wanted an official time. The race organizers should have told us to leave the start area and come back 20 minutes later, but they didn't. So we all stood around, freezing. (Thank you arm warmers.)

At 8:30 a.m., a half hour after we were supposed to start, we were off! To the strains of Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride." Remember that - it comes back into play later, much like the proverbial gun that, if shown in Act I, must be fired by the end of the play.

The race left Finley Stadium, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga's football stadium, and headed downtown. The first mile or so was a little downhill, which gave me pause as I realized mile 13 would be a little uphill. Sigh.

Running through downtown Chattanooga for the second mile was neat - the river to the left, the aquarium to the right. Straight ahead - giant hill. The third mile was all uphill. I ran this mile on-pace but it was not especially fun.

At mile 4, my family was waiting for me outside the Boathouse restaurant on Amnicola Highway - waving huge green-lettered RUN LELA RUN signs. This was so cool, I can't even tell you. What a boost! Thanks, family! They were so cool that I missed the 4-mile marker. No worries, keep running down Amnicola. The city really should have organized the traffic cutoffs better - runners had to cross traffic heading into town to turn onto the Riverwalk around mile 5.5. I took a Gu here.

The Riverwalk is one of my favorite places in Chattanooga - scenic path that runs, yes, along the Tennessee River. It's very pretty and I just let myself enjoy miles 6-7. Just before the Mile 8 marker, my family was back with their signs. Yay! They told me later that I looked better than everyone around me. I'll give TNT credit for that one.

The next mile was a sick, sick uphill. I've run it before, but not this fast and not this far into a run. Up, up, up, past UTC's practice football field and into the Bluff View Arts District. One more family surprise at the top of the hill!

I'd been keeping pace with a guy for the first 8 miles of the race or so, but I lost him on this uphill. This is partly because I knew what lay on the other side of the uphill - a very serious DOWNHILL. We're talking a nearly vertical downhill here, the result of a course change due to some bridge construction. After I passed my family and headed past the Walnut Street Bridge into the quadbuster, I passed the guy. He was not very happy.

Over the Market Street Bridge onto Frazier Avenue - not bad. I've never run over the Market Street Bridge, but it used to scare me to drive over it as a kid because it sings. It's a drawbridge and driving over the metal grates produces a weird humming noise. Some spectators on Frazier, but my mind was on getting uphill - again - to cross the Veterans Bridge, home of many speeding drives to high school (which I passed in the process - go Bruisers). Never run the Veterans either - but it's neither very scenic nor very fun for running. My legs were sore at this point, and I still had to go back uphill to the top of Bluff View again. Ow. More Gu.

Finally, downhill to the 11-mile marker, which I inadvertently missed while grabbing water. Sweet, sweet swooping downhill back into downtown. Got some water in me and got my legs back.

Little rise, almost missed the 12-mile marker, which had blown over. At this point, I hadn't looked at my watch in a while because I didn't want to know how close I was to my goal. But I figured I was feeling good, I had to be close. So I started singing. To myself. Loudly. "Nobody gonna break my stride, nobody gonna slow me down, oh no..." (This apparently works well as a mantra because I later found that I ran this mile at a 7:42 pace, which is pretty unreal for me.)

Uphill, uphill, ow. Into the homestretch, past the 13-mile marker, stadium in sight. Then the clock came into sight. Hey, it works! And it says...1:58?! I shrieked "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"...and SPRINTED full-on into the finish. High knees, high arms, I was Usain Bolt, people. Hit the mat, look at the watch...

1:59:32 says the watch!!! I did it! Got my medal, had my chip clipped, got a bottle of water, and saw my friend Jody who caught my photo finish. My mom appeared with my fleece and my dad and uncle with their cameras. Time for brunch!

When the official results appeared, I gained a whole second!

1:59:31. Take that, February.

9+1+$11+lots and lots of training = NYC 11/7/2010

I AM IN. On November 7, 2010 I will be running the New York City Marathon. I applied for my guaranteed entry today. I will try to be worthy of you, New York City streets.

NYRR Fred Lebow Classic 5-Mile, January 9, 2010

That's me, way over on the right with my foot going out of frame. I sacrificed a fair amount of warmth to sport some Team in Training Gear and have my number out prominently during this race, and this is the treatment I get from Brightroom. Hmph.

So there's no photographic proof, but there is proof in the form of numbers. And those numbers show I kicked some major ass in this race. Five miles in 43:40. What those numbers don't show you, and only my new watch (Timex Ironman, a Christmas present from my wonderful dad) showed me, was that I ran negative splits the whole way - and finished with a 7:46 final mile. Kick. Ass.

Did I mention it was about 20 degrees, less with the windchill, at the start? It was cold. Very, very cold. I had to talk to a friend for a few miles just to keep my face from going numb. However, my best races tend to happen in weather like this - I fade quickly in heat.

I started this blog last year with the goal of becoming a runner, as opposed to someone who signed up to do a half marathon and felt compelled to follow through. In the last year I ran a marathon, two half marathons and qualified for the 2010 New York City Marathon by running nine New York Road Runners qualifying races and volunteering at a 10th - another goal I set out to chronicle here. Running my marathon was really hard. I didn't love all of those qualifying races. But I did become a runner. I go out for runs now and it's no longer a struggle. It's become something I have to do, a part of me. I was away from the city over the holidays for three weeks, and while I was gone I made an effort to run regularly, in places both familiar and un-. I found a playground that time forgot near my grandmother's house and discovered that hill training pays off when running in my parents' neighborhood (at one point I found myself running perpendicular to a hill).

Team in Training reeled me in again this year. I signed up to run the Long Branch Half Marathon in New Jersey on May 2 with them, as a way of beginning my training for NYC. They asked me to serve as a mentor captain, which was an honor, and I'm enjoying the challenge of keeping my fellow mentors plugged in. I'll probably follow this season with the fall one and train with them for NYC. There's not enough space on this blog to talk in detail about how much the TNT family has given me, but suffice it to say I owe them a lot more than my fitness, and a lot more than I would likely fundraise even if I participated in every season for the rest of my running-able life.

2009 was one of the most difficult years of my life, personally. I dealt with a salary cut and layoffs at work, lost my grandmother, miscarried twice, struggled with a lot of Deep Thoughts and overall spent the year wondering what, exactly, I had done to deserve such a karmic blow. It was a year of loss. Running kept me sane (well, that's a questionable word - perhaps "balanced" is better) through it all. Remembering that I set goals to improve my speed, my times, my race performances and to qualify for that marathon kept me going. I owe many people - coaches, running partners, friends and family - lots of thanks for getting me through, and here's to a better 2010.

Prospect Park Track Club 5-Mile Turkey Trot, November 26, 2009

This was my second Turkey Trot in five days. This one lacked the pomp and circumstance, er, beer, of the first one, but did include a medal with a turkey on it. Oh, and it was actually held on Thanksgiving. Swag-wise, I received a very nice running hat and a pair of fleece gloves along with my bib number and chip. Kudos, Prospect Park Track Club!

The course was a five-mile loop of Prospect Park, starting at the corner of the park drive and Wellhouse Drive, cutting across Center Drive, back up the North Hill and around to finish near the northeast corner of the park. Water stops were great, the support of students from Bishop Ford High School enthusiastic and the company - a motley crew of fellow current and past TNT BKers - most excellent. I caught up with friends before, during and after the run and enjoyed myself immensely.

This was a great and rare race in that there was little sense of competitiveness or urgency in the air. People came out to burn off calories before eating a big communal meal. That was it. It was a big turkey (or tofurkey, if you swing that way)-themed party in the park, and I was happy to be a part of it.

Coney Island 5K Turkey Trot, Sunday, November 22, 2009

This race was my first of two Turkey Trots this Thanksgiving week. Frankly, while I'm sure the other will be fun, it will be hard to top the Coney Island 5K Turkey Trot for good times.

First of all, the race started at 11:30 a.m., which in and of itself is awesome. It allowed me to sleep until 9, have a cup of coffee and chill out with NY1 News before taking my 15-minute Q train ride down to Coney Island.

The swag was amazing - a really nice hooded sweatshirt with a running turkey on the front. Plus we got a party! Free beer and hero sandwiches, accompanied by a DJ, at Peggy O'Neill's outside Keyspan Stadium, after crossing the finish line.

I also got a t-shirt, courtesy of Muscle Milk, that I will be debuting on Thursday morning. It has a trompe l'oeil pilgrim collar and belt on the front and says "SexyPilgrim.com" on the back.

PSA: Before reading further, please go watch the video at SexyPilgrim.com

Now that you've stopped laughing, you have some idea of the general mood of this run.

At 11:30, all the runners - including two dressed as Pilgrims, complete with a guy in a bonnet - gathered on the Coney boardwalk next to the parachute jump and some guy with a thick Brooklyn accent announced into a microphone "OK, here's the race. You start here (pointing to the parachute jump) and run down to there (gesturing down the boardwalk towards Brighton Beach) and then back to here." And then he blew a whistle and we were off.

There was a guy stationed at the 1- and 2-mile markers holding a stopwatch and yelling off splits to people as we passed. I ran a 9:30 pace the first mile and something close to 9 for the second. I was feeling good, if slightly overdressed, and sprinted into the finish with the goal of coming in under 27 minutes, which I accomplished running full blast. My last mile was run at 8:41 pace - better than my current NYRR bib pace. Sweet! Then it was time for beer.

The scene in Peggy O'Neill's was pretty hilarious - picture a lot of people in their 50s and 60s wearing spandex and dancing to disco. Although I have to say, many of them were far more, er, flexible than I - there were some moves I'm sure Patrick Swayze approved as he watched down from the Great Beyond. The beer was free and cold, the heros were tasty, and there was much applause as the race winners accepted their grand prizes of free Butterball turkeys.

I capped off the day with a Nathan's hot dog and a return trip on the Q train, summarily followed by a nap. Thanks, Coney Island Sports Foundation, Polar Bear Club and Peggy O'Neill's for an awesome day at the beach.

Bed Stuy 10K, October 11, 2009

Gorgeous fall day. Brooklyn neighborhood that I haven't explored. Both good elements for a fun race. I really enjoyed this one - I kept it slow so I could enjoy the great scenery. I loved all the little kids who cheered on the racers! And the group with water at mile 3 - actually handing it to us rather than forcing us to mob a table! Nice touches.

And I enjoyed supporting Brooklyn. It was nice to do a local race that gives back to the community. I love New York Road Runners and all, but I see the most amazing spirit when I do smaller, more local races and it's very satisfying both as a New York City resident and a runner.

This was a good course - almost completely flat - with good signage. I was taking it easy today but I can see how it would be a great race to really run all-out.

All in all, a very chill way to spend my Sunday morning.

NYC 2010 Qualifying Race #9: The Fifth Avenue Mile - September 26, 2009

So this was it. #9. The last chapter in my nearly yearlong effort to qualify for the 2010 New York City Marathon. And I did it. WOW did I do it.

Before setting out for this race, I was in a terrible mood. I went to meet Kelly on race morning and all I could think about was how cranky I was. I was also so tired that I walked past the Borough Hall subway station I needed to enter in order to get there. Once I actually made it in, I found out the 4 or 5 trains I wanted weren't running, and I needed to take the 2 to Fulton Street and transfer.

Fulton Street, if you haven't had the pleasure of its company, is a labyrinth. Every time I'm in there, I expect to see the Minotaur. To get to the 4/5 trains from the 2 requires a lengthy walk, but that walk is not in a straight line. It involves stairs and walking along other trains' platforms and just when you think that you will surely emerge in New Jersey, finally, you just have to turn one more corner and climb one more flight of stairs and then wait for 20 minutes, but eventually the 4/5 will come. This really helped my mood, by the way.

Kelly and I ran into Coach Jaz (on her birthday, coming to cheer us all on even though she had a leg injury - THAT is dedication!) on the 4/5 platform, which was nice as she gave us a pep talk while we waited (and waited). As I talked, I realized that this race I'd been joking about all summer was making me far more nervous than I'd realized. Hence at least part of my morning crankiness. Here's the deal: I'm a terrible sprinter. It also takes me about three miles to warm up during a run - for this reason, I hate running 5Ks because they are all warm-up to me. So the idea of running one mile as fast as I possibly could was getting me down.

The pace on my NYRR bibs says 8:52 min/mile. I ran that pace during a 5-mile race in January in Central Park, in the middle of my marathon training when I was in peak shape for that distance. I've never come close since - I ran 9:16 min/mile in a 10K over the summer, but I had no real concept of ever matching my 8:52.

Jaz reminded me that I'd been taking her strength training class for four months (save some time out for health issues) and that I had a lot more in me than I was giving myself credit for. She said she thought Kelly and I would both break 8 minutes in the mile. We laughed.

Once we arrived at 80th Street and 5th Avenue, we checked our bags at the starting line and got into the corral. Because this race was conducted in heats by gender and age, there was only one corral of women 30-39 running with us rather than the usual long line of gates and runners seeded by pace. We chatted with some friends. I took a look around and regretted by decision to wear a long-sleeve shirt since everyone else seemed to be in tank tops or sports bras. But it was cold! (Well, 60ish. But I'm from Tennessee.)

Then the gun went off. A real gun. A really loud gun. All of us looked around like, was that a gun? and then realized that we needed to run. And so we ran. I tripped over the starting line (awesome) because I wanted to make sure my D-tag registered on the start mat. Because everyone in the corral had different paces, I wasn't surrounded by people running the same speed. Some people shot out ahead while others settled into comfortable jogs. I decided I didn't want to be in the latter group, though I easily could have been. All I needed was to finish the Fifth Avenue Mile to be in the marathon, I said - I don't need to RACE it.

But I did. I passed about 10 people and thought, damn, I am running really fast. Then I passed a marker indicating I'd gone a quarter mile. My lungs started to hurt. Then I hit 72nd Street and the half-mile marker. My body was in serious pain. But I could still breathe. I decided not to push more. Hit the three-quarter-mile mark, felt like my lungs were going to burst, and found a little more energy. When I hit the finish mat, I doubled over in pain and exhaustion. Then I looked up at the clock, which still had not hit 8 minutes. I broke 8 minutes! Then suddenly people were everywhere. The finish was a mob scene of people wanting free bagels (um, you only ran a mile) and water bottles (WAY cool souvenir, by the way, NYRR - I will gladly take more of these!!!) and their bags, which the organizers helpfully threw all over the ground in the same line of people clamoring for bagels and water bottles.

I found Kelly and we knew we had both broken 8 miles. We headed for a subway, went back to Brooklyn, and were on the Brooklyn Heights promenade eating not-free-but-much-better bagels an hour after we started our race. Not bad!

NYRR didn't post results for the Mile until later Saturday afternoon, by which time I was at my father-in-law's house on Long Island. I looked up the results on my iPhone and blinked once, twice, three times: 7:02.

THAT'S RIGHT EVERYONE. 7:02. SEVEN OH TWO. SEVEN MINUTES AND TWO SECONDS.

I only started running in May 2008. At that point I couldn't conceive of finishing the half marathon I'd signed up to do. Now I've done three half marathons and one full marathon, and I've qualified for my second full marathon. And somewhere along the way I got strong enough both to overcome my own self-doubt and to run a 7:02 mile. Thanks, running.