The Uptown Turkey Trot was a huge success! I hate not running though... :o)
When I got there to check in, I was told I was going to be at mile 4 instead of mile 3. What was cool was we got to ride in one of the lead vehicles at the gun and be dropped off at our respective miles. Riding on the back of a tailgate ahead of the runners is cool.
However, 37 minutes into the 10K, my dang stopwatch, stopped. Boo!! Oh well, at least the lead runners all got their times called out. And people...its GUN time that I am calling out, not your INDIVIDUAL time ;o), so don't go postal on me...One girl actually wanted to argue with me. Sigh.
The winner was so far ahead of everyone else, it was incredible. If I remember right he passed me at mile 4 at about 20 minutes. Figeroa was his name-o...
I loved being out there because I got to see so many people I havent seen in a while, plus all the Lukes customers were shouting and waving and saying hi!
Congrats to EVERYONE that ran such a good race in not so perfect conditions this morning!! Now its off for Thanksgiving food and probably a movie or something this evening...
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Queens, Mile 14
In Queens, Mile 14; attempting to put another PG in my belt
Random photo, no idea at what point but if you notice in the background there is a Texas Flag...
Not sure where, but my niece wanted a picture of all the cups at a water stop
I have no idea where this was taken, actually I see the street sign says Vernon, so that is in Queens as well
In Starbucks
In the ice bath, omg it was COOOOOOOOOOLD!
Friday: Nacole, my sister and me waiting for the 7 train in Queens to go into Manhattan
These are just the ones she sent me, she didnt send any others. I on the other hand have a ton from just around NYC, and again...I will upload them either today or tomorrow on a public photo sharing site.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Ready...Set...
So I set my phone alarm...my sisters phone alarm...my nieces phone alarm...and I called for a wake up call.
3:45am.
I have to be at the NYC Public Library to catch my bus at 5:30am.
Day before I counted the stops from where we were to the stop at Bryant Park/5th Avenue and monitored the time. I knew exactly what time I had to be at the subway to catch the train to get where I needed to be in plenty of enough time.
And so I was.
The bus ride over to Staten Island only took about 30 minutes and it was on some NICE buses too. I sat with a guy that was staying in our hotel (lots of runners there) and we chatted all the way over. He was in a different wave than I was so I made my way to my wave area (which was situated just next to and almost under the Verranzano Bridge. This would prove to be very cool because we could hear the first 2 cannons go off and see the runners as they made their way over the bridge.
I was glad that I had layered so well cause it was colder AND WINDIER ( a head wind going over the Verranzano was something I was NOT expecting) than expected. I had on my shorts and some sweats, but on top I had my trainer top under my UA short sleeve, then my KW arm warmers, a long sleeve tech and then a sweatshirt. Plus my gloves. This was indeed good.
Waited for about 3 hours. Plenty of food and drink including hot teas and coffees, but I stayed away from all of it because I didnt want to do anything differently of course. Made a friend named Neil. He had only found out 4 weeks earlier that he had indeed gotten in (something about a friend of a friend who is part of NYRR). So his longest run was 10 miles a couple of weeks back and his plan was to run 4 miles, walk 1. I got his number but I didnt remember to text him...you know I was kinda occupied :o) Nor do I know if he made it. I kinda think he didnt cause not only was he not trained, but he didnt even know how to put his chip on his shoe or anything; so of course I helped him and told him what I knew about any questions he had. We were in different corrals, so we parted ways.
When they called for our wave and for us to get in our corrals (6 in all, and I was in the 4th one), I started to really get in my zone. I couldn't be any more prepared as I was already. The rest was up to me and only me.
As we made our way closer, and I heard the final cannon, I started stripping off everything except for my shorts, gloves, my short sleeve UA and my Kenyan Way arm warmers. Damn it! it was freaking COLD!!! But the sun was up and high and I knew it wouldnt be long before I was just right...and then...
..as we rounded the corner, there in front of me was the Verranzano Bridge in all its glory...I made the sign of the cross, said a prayer, re-read the words etched in my mind from some good luck cards I had received before leaving Houston, reset my Garmin and started running...
3:45am.
I have to be at the NYC Public Library to catch my bus at 5:30am.
Day before I counted the stops from where we were to the stop at Bryant Park/5th Avenue and monitored the time. I knew exactly what time I had to be at the subway to catch the train to get where I needed to be in plenty of enough time.
And so I was.
The bus ride over to Staten Island only took about 30 minutes and it was on some NICE buses too. I sat with a guy that was staying in our hotel (lots of runners there) and we chatted all the way over. He was in a different wave than I was so I made my way to my wave area (which was situated just next to and almost under the Verranzano Bridge. This would prove to be very cool because we could hear the first 2 cannons go off and see the runners as they made their way over the bridge.
I was glad that I had layered so well cause it was colder AND WINDIER ( a head wind going over the Verranzano was something I was NOT expecting) than expected. I had on my shorts and some sweats, but on top I had my trainer top under my UA short sleeve, then my KW arm warmers, a long sleeve tech and then a sweatshirt. Plus my gloves. This was indeed good.
Waited for about 3 hours. Plenty of food and drink including hot teas and coffees, but I stayed away from all of it because I didnt want to do anything differently of course. Made a friend named Neil. He had only found out 4 weeks earlier that he had indeed gotten in (something about a friend of a friend who is part of NYRR). So his longest run was 10 miles a couple of weeks back and his plan was to run 4 miles, walk 1. I got his number but I didnt remember to text him...you know I was kinda occupied :o) Nor do I know if he made it. I kinda think he didnt cause not only was he not trained, but he didnt even know how to put his chip on his shoe or anything; so of course I helped him and told him what I knew about any questions he had. We were in different corrals, so we parted ways.
When they called for our wave and for us to get in our corrals (6 in all, and I was in the 4th one), I started to really get in my zone. I couldn't be any more prepared as I was already. The rest was up to me and only me.
As we made our way closer, and I heard the final cannon, I started stripping off everything except for my shorts, gloves, my short sleeve UA and my Kenyan Way arm warmers. Damn it! it was freaking COLD!!! But the sun was up and high and I knew it wouldnt be long before I was just right...and then...
..as we rounded the corner, there in front of me was the Verranzano Bridge in all its glory...I made the sign of the cross, said a prayer, re-read the words etched in my mind from some good luck cards I had received before leaving Houston, reset my Garmin and started running...
Preface to a Race
Before I get into any of the race stuff itself, I wanted to just say some things.
First off, as you know by a previous post, I had my A, B, C and D goals. What I didnt tell you was what they were.
Well you know what D was: Finish
Goal A: 4:30. This is what I have been training at, and I knew I wasn't going to get it due to the difficulty of the course and my limited hill training due to a nagging knee over the past couple of months.
Goal B: 4:40 - 4:45
Goal C: 4:50 - 4:59:59
I knew EXACTLY what average pace it would take to achieve each. And I knew EXACTLY what I couldn't go over so that I would miss my sub 5.
Now I know that several people have posted and emailed to the effect of: enjoy the race. enjoy the experience. Dont worry about time, etc. And while that was appreciated, it was not really an option. Not to say that I didnt want to do ALL of those things but ultimately I trained. I trained hard and I was NOT going to New York to just do mediocre. If something went wrong, then so be it. But there was no way in hell that I was going to just go into it without some heavy expectations of myself and that I wasnt going to do whatever I had to, to achieve it and I knew that NO MATTER WHAT, barring an injury mid-race, that I would push and push through anything that I had to to get what I wanted.
And what I felt like I rightly deserved.
Thankfully I didnt have to do any of that, and on Sunday all the planets, stars and everything else were aligned just right (and some welcomed mid-race text messages by many tracking me), with a pre-planned strategy for mile 16, and I was able to stay strong and focused...
I know not everyone has the same aspirations I do when it comes to my running and thats quite alright. Everyone is different. I have fallen in love with this sport and it means a lot to me and I like what I have accomplished.
And if you think this is the end of any goals, then you had better think again... :o)
First off, as you know by a previous post, I had my A, B, C and D goals. What I didnt tell you was what they were.
Well you know what D was: Finish
Goal A: 4:30. This is what I have been training at, and I knew I wasn't going to get it due to the difficulty of the course and my limited hill training due to a nagging knee over the past couple of months.
Goal B: 4:40 - 4:45
Goal C: 4:50 - 4:59:59
I knew EXACTLY what average pace it would take to achieve each. And I knew EXACTLY what I couldn't go over so that I would miss my sub 5.
Now I know that several people have posted and emailed to the effect of: enjoy the race. enjoy the experience. Dont worry about time, etc. And while that was appreciated, it was not really an option. Not to say that I didnt want to do ALL of those things but ultimately I trained. I trained hard and I was NOT going to New York to just do mediocre. If something went wrong, then so be it. But there was no way in hell that I was going to just go into it without some heavy expectations of myself and that I wasnt going to do whatever I had to, to achieve it and I knew that NO MATTER WHAT, barring an injury mid-race, that I would push and push through anything that I had to to get what I wanted.
And what I felt like I rightly deserved.
Thankfully I didnt have to do any of that, and on Sunday all the planets, stars and everything else were aligned just right (and some welcomed mid-race text messages by many tracking me), with a pre-planned strategy for mile 16, and I was able to stay strong and focused...
I know not everyone has the same aspirations I do when it comes to my running and thats quite alright. Everyone is different. I have fallen in love with this sport and it means a lot to me and I like what I have accomplished.
And if you think this is the end of any goals, then you had better think again... :o)
Did Ya Miss Me?
OK, so I am finally home!
I have a ton of stuff to get to but figured I would post the "small stuff"...all the stuff other than the marathon...that will come later...
Thursday:
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
I have a ton of stuff to get to but figured I would post the "small stuff"...all the stuff other than the marathon...that will come later...
Thursday:
- Arrive in NYC around 3:30pm
- Drop off bags at hotel
- Look at subway map to get to Expo
- Get to Manhattan
- Walk A LONG way to Expo
- Get stuff
- Walk around expo
- Ate
- Back to hotel
- Wait for niece and girlfriend to arrive at 11am
- Head to Manhattan
- Walk around some
- Go in bar
- Have Blue Moon
- Go to tour bus
- 5 hour tour (we went anywhere and everywhere you can possibly imagine; able to get off at key spots i.e. Ground Zero, Wall Street, Strawberry Fields, Staten Island Ferry to drift by Statue of Liberty, etc)
- Get off bus, take subway to Little Italy
- Eat so much pasta I think I might hurl
- Hotel
- Wake up
- Go eat breakfast
- Make my roommates leave me alone in hotel room for 5 hours so I can rest and map out race day strategy for subway lines and transfers for them to get to various miles along the race to see me
- Rent a driver to DRIVE us to Manhattan
- Find a place to eat (light dinner for me)
- GO SEE WICKED!!! omg! It. Was. Amazing.
- Intermission
- Fall down stairs
- Yes I fell down the stairs
- All is ok
- Hotel and in bed by 11pm
Sunday
- We'll come back to this in other posts
Monday
- Get up
- Slowly
- Take subway to Manhattan
- Go to Marathon Store
- Drop some coin
- Made part of Mass at St. Patricks Cathedral
- WALKED AROUND MANHATTAN SHOPPING (5th Ave, Diamond District, Bloomingdales, etc)
- FOR FIVE FREAKING HOURS
- And no we didn't cab it or subway it till time to head back to Queens
- Go eat at FABULOUS Thai/Indian (fusion) restaurant
- Fall into bed
Tuesday
- Home
- Sweet
- Home
Monday, November 3, 2008
I *heart* New York (mini-post)
For those that didn't track me (and I know a lot of you did and THANK YOU, cause I was getting your messages), heres the quick and dirty.
37 minute PR off of Houston Marathon 2007
Official time: 4:55:55
It was indeed the hardest run of my life and there was only one time where I thought I might have issues (around mile 17-18) but somehow I pulled it out and got back on focus.
I made a decision early on that I either could hurt me or help me and it turned out to be the right decision. That was at mile 16 where I was to go over the Queensboro Bridge. That bitch was scary, steep, and long. The decision was whether or not to slowly run it, or to walk it. If I ran it, I might not have what I needed to do what needed to be done afterwards. If I walked it, then I would have the energy to make up the time I lost by walking.
I walked it. It was of course my slowest mile, which the Garmin came in at 14:15 for mile 16, but I came back with a strong 17th mile, lost some time a few miles but then made that time up and was able to push in a final kick at mile 26 with a 10:40 (according to the Garmin).
This morning I am much much better than after Houston, and able to actually walk, albeit slowly.
I have a lot more to tell but for now, this will have to do.
OK, time to head back to the room for a bit before we head out for shopping on 5th Avenue.
Peace Out.
37 minute PR off of Houston Marathon 2007
Official time: 4:55:55
It was indeed the hardest run of my life and there was only one time where I thought I might have issues (around mile 17-18) but somehow I pulled it out and got back on focus.
I made a decision early on that I either could hurt me or help me and it turned out to be the right decision. That was at mile 16 where I was to go over the Queensboro Bridge. That bitch was scary, steep, and long. The decision was whether or not to slowly run it, or to walk it. If I ran it, I might not have what I needed to do what needed to be done afterwards. If I walked it, then I would have the energy to make up the time I lost by walking.
I walked it. It was of course my slowest mile, which the Garmin came in at 14:15 for mile 16, but I came back with a strong 17th mile, lost some time a few miles but then made that time up and was able to push in a final kick at mile 26 with a 10:40 (according to the Garmin).
This morning I am much much better than after Houston, and able to actually walk, albeit slowly.
I have a lot more to tell but for now, this will have to do.
OK, time to head back to the room for a bit before we head out for shopping on 5th Avenue.
Peace Out.
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