Against my better judgment, I went out Wednesday night for a couple drinks (and by a couple I really mean about 8 too many vodka's with splashes of cranberry). At least I successfully managed to over tip the bartenders by 300%, get in a fight with the bouncer because I didn't want him to put a stupid "x" on my hand, sneak my underage brother into the bar, and have a heart to heart with Frank, the taxi driver on the way home. Although I'm not positive what time I actually got home, I know the sun wasn't up yet so at least I had that going for me before I had to run the 5 mile GC Turkey Trot.
Let's just say that those 5 miles weren't my proudest, but that's okay because I finished. My time was like 52 min, so that's like a 10 something mile pace and although I know I could have pushed myself more, I'm not about to get all bent out of shape about it either. I haven't worried about time before, so I don't know why I should worry about it now. My goal’s never been to finish Disney in under x amount of hours, it’s just to finish.
But then again, I think it's the competitor in me that is still worried about the time. Not so much for the marathon, that I will honestly be happy as long as I finish. But this 5 miler…I should have done better. Regardless of what I did Wednesday night.
Saturday's long run was 13 miles again. We've done 13 a couple of times now and I feel comfortable with the distance. Susan and I were actually talking about how we could have kept going at the end. I mean I know I could have kept going another mile or 2 or 3 but 6…ahhhh yeah I don’t know about that. And that’s exactly what I’m going to have to do next Saturday. Ahhhhhh 18 miles! That’s redic. Literally crazy. I’ve been stressing about it all week. Actually, that’s a lie…I’ve been stressing about it since August when I first got on this whole “wouldn’t it be fun to run a marathon” kick.
Yesterday I was scheduled to do 5 miles and because my weekday runs are longer and I can’t really do them during lunch, I am forced to run after work which means…the dreadmill. Gross. I mean I got a great workout in last night and did a random hill workout at a faster speed then normal because I wanted to really push myself yesterday. I think it was really me sub-consciencly punishing myself for a shitty performance at the Turkey Trot. I did the entire 5 miles of hills and only stopped to walk twice. Both times were after long sprints at the utmost incline…thus well deserved.
I have to work out during lunch today which means I wouldn’t be able to do my scheduled 6 miles, but I’m gonna make up for it with another pretty intense workout. Unfortunately coach Dennis was doing the mid-week coached run this morning at 6am and I wouldn’t have time to go to that and make my 7:02 train, but he explained the workout to me at our coached run on Saturday, so I’m gonna try and mimic it the best I can on the treadmill today. It’s actually nice out and me, being totally unprepared, didn’t bring anything to run outside in. Although it is nice out, I don’t think it would be that smart to simply wear shorts and a t-shirt outside and run…especially because I’m still trying to get over this cold that I’ve had for the past 3 weeks. Ahhh I’m getting mad at myself because this morning I even thought to myself “o, you should pack some warmer clothes to run outside in…just in case. But beings that I was running late (obviously…I don’t think there ever is a morning that I’m not running late…) I just threw a pair of shorts and a short sleeve shirt in my bag and ran out. So I guess its another day on the treadmill…but I guess that beats another hung-over morning running through the streets of Garden City. Sweet Life.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Sad News
I just received devastating news. As you all know, I am running this marathon in order to raise money for Leukemia and other blood cancers through Team In Training. Every member of the Team has an honored hero, or somebody that we are running in honor of, somebody who is either fighting, successfully fought, or lost the fight to cancer. Deborah, one of my teammates just sent out an e-mail to the team letting us know that her honored hero, Brendan, lost his fight yesterday. He was 2.
This just goes to reaffirm why myself and thousands of other TNT’rs are doing this. Not because we like to run, not because we like to wake up at ungodly hours of the morning to train…we are doing it for kids like Brendan. We are doing it because we are healthy and we can...and we will continue doing so until we reach our goal. Not the goal of crossing a finish line, our goal to help find a cure. If you haven’t already donated, please consider making a donation by clicking the link to your right.
I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
This just goes to reaffirm why myself and thousands of other TNT’rs are doing this. Not because we like to run, not because we like to wake up at ungodly hours of the morning to train…we are doing it for kids like Brendan. We are doing it because we are healthy and we can...and we will continue doing so until we reach our goal. Not the goal of crossing a finish line, our goal to help find a cure. If you haven’t already donated, please consider making a donation by clicking the link to your right.
I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
(Happy) Sweet 16!
Happy Sweet 16 to me! No, I’m not talking about the crappy MTV reality kind of overblown drama filled show with annoying girls spending Daddy’s money kind of 16th birthday. I’m talking I ran 16 miles this Saturday!!!
No matter how much fun of the show I make, 16th birthdays are a monumental and changing point in most girls’ lives and I was no exception. It’s an age where you are no longer a child, really start to “find yourself” and form your identity as an adult. Does that mean that I’m starting to develop myself as a runner? It’s like I just finished my freshman year of high school. I have become close with my teammates and overcame so many obstacles to get to this point…but yet I am still a youngin. I am anxious but scared of what the future holds for me. I know with the guidance of my teachers, my coaches, I will be able to graduate. I will be a marathoner.
It’s weird because before this run I don’t think I really admitted it to myself. I also don’t think I really comprehended how long 26.2 miles was. I still don’t think I comprehend how long 26.2 miles is…maybe that’s because I have no sense of direction…maybe its because I’m scared to map it out…
I don’t know if I will ever consider myself a runner. It’s just not an adjective I would use to describe myself- words I would use? Well, I like to have fun, travel, and go out. I think it’s the word “like” that gets in the way. Do you have to like something in order to be it? Yeah, I talk about not being a runner, but at the same point I guess I am very much a runner. I mean, I’m logging between 20 and 30 miles a week, giving up my Friday nights to rest, Saturday nights because I’m exhausted from my long run, and all day on Sunday because my legs literally feel like jelly. Because it takes up so much of my time, I guess it’s only fair to call myself a runner…right?
I’m planning on signing up for a 5 mile “Turkey Trot” on Thanksgiving and another 5 mile race in the beginning of December. When I told Kate I was gonna do them, I immediately followed by writing “WHO THE F AM I?” (we talk via email like its IM). This is a sentence that pops up quite frequently in our emails. What on earth would possess me to voluntarily sign up for a race the day, oh excuse me…the morning, after what is arguably one of the biggest party nights of the year?!!! It’s not like I plan on winning the race…I just think it might be...I don’t know…fun? But can it possibly be more fun then the anniversary of never ending free buckets of Jimmy cosmo’s? (Side note…Jimmy is a bartender who used to work at the fill and he makes the world’s best cosmopolitan. No contest.) So what if I might get a t-shirt for the race, but who knows, after a night of “Jimmy cosmos” I’ll most likely be needing much more then just a free t-shirt. Then I’m planning on doing the Wantagh Snowball Run in the beginning of December which is going to require me to wake up even earlier then normal, map out a 7 mile run to do by myself, then end up at the start of the race and do the last 5 of my scheduled 13 mile run as the race. The reason I’m doing that? Simple…free beer at the end of the race!
So there you go. Thanksgiving eve I am planning on forfeiting a great night just to run 5 miles and get a crappy t-shirt. Then two weeks later I am redoing my schedule so I can get free beer at the end of the race. So that leaves me once again wondering WHO THE F AM I? At least I’m not on some self centered MTV reality show. Sweet life.
No matter how much fun of the show I make, 16th birthdays are a monumental and changing point in most girls’ lives and I was no exception. It’s an age where you are no longer a child, really start to “find yourself” and form your identity as an adult. Does that mean that I’m starting to develop myself as a runner? It’s like I just finished my freshman year of high school. I have become close with my teammates and overcame so many obstacles to get to this point…but yet I am still a youngin. I am anxious but scared of what the future holds for me. I know with the guidance of my teachers, my coaches, I will be able to graduate. I will be a marathoner.
It’s weird because before this run I don’t think I really admitted it to myself. I also don’t think I really comprehended how long 26.2 miles was. I still don’t think I comprehend how long 26.2 miles is…maybe that’s because I have no sense of direction…maybe its because I’m scared to map it out…
I don’t know if I will ever consider myself a runner. It’s just not an adjective I would use to describe myself- words I would use? Well, I like to have fun, travel, and go out. I think it’s the word “like” that gets in the way. Do you have to like something in order to be it? Yeah, I talk about not being a runner, but at the same point I guess I am very much a runner. I mean, I’m logging between 20 and 30 miles a week, giving up my Friday nights to rest, Saturday nights because I’m exhausted from my long run, and all day on Sunday because my legs literally feel like jelly. Because it takes up so much of my time, I guess it’s only fair to call myself a runner…right?
I’m planning on signing up for a 5 mile “Turkey Trot” on Thanksgiving and another 5 mile race in the beginning of December. When I told Kate I was gonna do them, I immediately followed by writing “WHO THE F AM I?” (we talk via email like its IM). This is a sentence that pops up quite frequently in our emails. What on earth would possess me to voluntarily sign up for a race the day, oh excuse me…the morning, after what is arguably one of the biggest party nights of the year?!!! It’s not like I plan on winning the race…I just think it might be...I don’t know…fun? But can it possibly be more fun then the anniversary of never ending free buckets of Jimmy cosmo’s? (Side note…Jimmy is a bartender who used to work at the fill and he makes the world’s best cosmopolitan. No contest.) So what if I might get a t-shirt for the race, but who knows, after a night of “Jimmy cosmos” I’ll most likely be needing much more then just a free t-shirt. Then I’m planning on doing the Wantagh Snowball Run in the beginning of December which is going to require me to wake up even earlier then normal, map out a 7 mile run to do by myself, then end up at the start of the race and do the last 5 of my scheduled 13 mile run as the race. The reason I’m doing that? Simple…free beer at the end of the race!
So there you go. Thanksgiving eve I am planning on forfeiting a great night just to run 5 miles and get a crappy t-shirt. Then two weeks later I am redoing my schedule so I can get free beer at the end of the race. So that leaves me once again wondering WHO THE F AM I? At least I’m not on some self centered MTV reality show. Sweet life.
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