Sometimes Shift Happens

This weekend is the Hershey 10K race! When I signed up for this race I was originally hoping to make it my "goal" race for the year and was hoping to aim for a PR.  I had all winter to practice running 6.2 miles, so I thought that was doable! However, once I found out that I would be running the NYC Half Marathon, my plans changed.  The NYC Half would now end up being my first race of the year, not Hershey and training for a half marathon is different than training for a 10K. I needed to work on endurance, not speed.  I would only have two weeks of training between the NYC Half and Hershey so I decided I could just run Hershey as a fun shake out run!

The Half marathon went better than I expected, and although I took the following week off  I was surprisingly feeling pretty good. I was able to get two runs in last week and one was an awesome 5 miler that made me think that I could really push it and the possibility of still making a PR at Hershey was there!

And then, like I mentioned in my weekly wrap, I got struck down with a cold. I took it easy over the weekend and then thought I was well enough to go to work on Monday.  The weather was gorgeous on Monday afternoon so I still planned on doing my 6.2 miles on the rail trail.  When I got to the trail and started running, I quickly discovered only a tenth of a mile in that I could not do this.  I would have to do a run-walk. Nope, couldn't do that either.  I decided that I would have to walk the entire 6.2 miles. That was my new plan until I got a mile down the trail and decided I could only make this a 5K walk instead of a 10K so that is what I did.

I was able to complete a little over 3 miles but I felt so defeated.  I guess just because I was able to get up and go to work on Monday, did not mean that I was feeling better.  I was almost even worse on Tuesday.  I am so glad that I was able to drive home from work without falling asleep. When I got home, I promptly put my phone on silent and took a much needed nap.  Wednesday should be another run day for me and I debated between trying to give it another try to get my body use to running like this or just taking the rest of the week off and resting and then just seeing what happens on race day.

I'm probably going to have to go with option 2. So here I am again. This Hershey race went from being a goal race, to just being a fun shake out run, to being a race I'll be glad to just finish because I'll probably have to walk most of it. Hey, maybe I should try "race walking".  So I guess just like anything in life, goals and expectations will need to be shifted and that's okay. At least I still have the Hershey spa to look forward to!  -M

The best hydration method I've found is...

Neither my sister nor myself are very good at hydrating on a run or in races for that matter (which we realize is bad, we know), but I'd like to share some of the things I've tried and how they worked out for me.

1. I first started with just a regular hand held water bottle. I actually carried this with me on training runs and during my first half marathon and then a couple more races and runs after that, until the bottle started slipping out of the sleeve.

 I tried holding it together with a zip tie and that only worked for so long. I then got a new handheld that worked like a charm and I used it during all my long runs when I was marathon training. It wasn't enough water for all those miles and to tell you the truth it was kind of making my should sore carrying it.


2. I then started running with the Camelbak Hydration belt. This belt held two 8 oz water bottles. I took it on a few training runs just to see how I would handle running with the extra pound around my waist. I got this belt in a size small and let me tell you it was small. There is only one velcro strap and no room to really adjust.  During the training runs it worked out okay and I figured it would be find for race day.

When I wore it on race day, I ended up stopping twice to use the restroom (which I've never ever stopped to do during a race before). It turns out the belt kept pushing on my bladder falsely making me think I had to go. After the second bathroom stop my sister (who was running with me) said that's enough of this stuff and she took the belt off my hands. We didn't make any more stops after that...lol

3. My final way of staying hydrated on the run is the Flip Belt bottle.  I've had the Flip belt for some time now but never knew that there was a water bottle to fit in it until I read Judy's blog!  I knew that was something I wanted to try and so my sister bought me the bottle for Christmas.  Since I don't drink much water anyway, the 6 oz bottle works just fine for me (you can buy them in 6 oz or 10 oz).

The bottle slips right into the slit on the belt and sits sideways.  I worried about it leaking, but it didn't.  I took it on several training runs because I was planning on using it for the NYC half marathon. During my runs, I didn't even remember it was there because it was so light weight and comfortable. I didn't end up using it during the race only because I had planned on wearing layers (because of the temps) and wasn't sure I could conveniently get to the belt for my water. I ended up stopping at two water stations  which may have cost me some time, but it all turned out okay.

So far, THIS is my favorite hydration method! -M

We will be linking up with the gals from TOTR!

Weekly Wrap...April 3

Happy April Folks!

I'm sure I'm repeating what everyone else is thinking but How is it April Already???? I'm certainly glad that it is April but I am a little sad that time keeps flying by quicker and quicker. I guess that just means I'm having fun, right?

Having had the NYC Half Marathon in March, the month just seemed to fly by but I'll wrap up what the last week was like for me.


After taking a week off after the NYC Half, I picked up running again on Monday in an effort to get a few runs in before my next race (this weekend).

I saw a female hiker on the trail so assumed it was safe to do most of this run on the wooded section of the trail. I talked to her for a bit and knew I felt safe as she told me to go ahead and run cus she had my back!  It was a glorious run as the sun beat down through the trees. This was actually the first time I purposely turned off my music so I could just enjoy the nature.

On Wednesday I decided to "road test" the outfit I planned to wear to my race this weekend.  The long sleeves may have been a little much for this afternoon run, but I think it will be perfect for race day morning. I did a quick 5 miles and I do believe it was the fastest 5 mile training run I've run in a LONG time, if ever. I have a record of all my runs since my ITBS but I'll have to see if I can find my running journal from before ITBS to see what pace some of those runs were ran since they were faster than runs I'm doing now.  But in any case according to my post last week, I think I'll call that run a PB (Personal Best) for that distance.

I was flying high from my 5 Mile run on Wednesday and then BOOM, I got hit with a cold. I ended up skipping my run this weekend because of the stuffy head, itchy eyes, coughing, sneezing, and sore throat. Yea you get the idea. The worst part though is that when I breath, I feel like knives are stabbing me in the throat and nose. My sister had a cold last week so I'm at least glad she's feeling a little better now.

In other news, I got a "promotion" with the newspaper, sort of....lol  My column will now run in the Sunday edition of the paper (which always gets more readership) than it's normal slot on Fridays. Since the the Sunday paper is larger, it takes longer to put together and therefore I now have tighter deadlines.  So with that being said, I'll wrap this up because I have some writing to do! -M


We are linking up with the lovely Holly and Tricia for their weekly wrap!

Chinese Chicken and Broccoli

I missed last Friday's Food post so I could post about the NYC Half marathon instead.  Now I'm ready to share a great recipe.

I mentioned previously that I made homemade restaurant style Chinese Chicken and Broccoli. I won't call it authentic because I believe I was told somewhere that this isn't exactly what you would get in China. But I'll call it Restaurant Style because around here it is exactly what you would get at a local Chinese restaurant.  See that picture below? This isn't that frozen stuff from a bag! I actually made it from scratch and it was GOOD!

I adjusted another recipe I found online and made it my own.

1. First make the marinade for the chicken.

                                                                 Sauce for marinade

2 tablespoons Vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon of water

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Let chicken marinade for 30 minutes or more.

(I used 1 pack of chicken fillets. There were about 5 in the pack)

2. After the chicken has marinade, steam your veggies.

I used a head of broccoli and carrots (cut in matchstick slices), and steamed them both in the microwave (in a steamer) for 3 minutes each.

3. While Veggies are steaming make the sauce.

Sauce

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon on soy sauce

2 Tablespoons of brown sugar

2 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder 

2 Tablespoons of flour

1 Tablespoon of Rice Vinegar

 (I used rice vinegar but I've read that Cider Vinegar can be substituted)

1 Tablespoon of Vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons of water

4. In a large pan heat 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil on med-high heat. Add chicken (which you should cut into strips) with marinade and half of the sauce mixture. Saute until chicken is golden brown. Stir frequently.

5. Add remaining sauce and steamed veggies. Cook for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens.

I served this with a side of white rice.

Enjoy!  -M

An InLinkz Link-up

Your Time, Your PR, Your Opinion

This is going to be like three posts in one. Why? because I have three things on my mind and they all kind of relate to one another.

1. When I started running, I heard people refer to acronyms PR (Personal Record) and PB (Personal Best). As time went on, I notice most people say PR and now I hardly ever hear anyone say PB.  I admit I use the term PR as well, because that just seems that it is most widely used. However, I personally think I am too common of a runner to be using the terms "Personal Record" when I talk about myself and my running. I feel like the term "Personal Record" is something you use when you talk about professionals. Common folk like myself should probably use the term PB (personal Best). But I think that's just the English teacher in me and I know I'm getting way too caught up in the context of the whole thing!  What's your thought?

2. Speaking of PR's (or PB's), I was reading a post in a running group a while back and a girl posted a picture of her Garmin and said that she finally PR-ed in the marathon distance. It was a training run for her. I congratulated her on the run and asked her what race she was training for. She proceeded to tell me that she wasn't training for any race and that she hardly ever races. She just runs to run. This brings up another thought. Do you consider training runs PR's or only races? So if some one runs a 26 minute 5k in a training run, but only a 27 minute 5k at a race, is 27 minutes their PR or is it 26 minutes?  Thoughts?

Which brings me to my last thought.

3. Although I was happy with my time from my last marathon, I missed my actual "time goal" by three lousy minutes. There really is no excuse for this. I zonked on the last 10k and it should have NEVER taken me that long to run that last 6.2 miles except it did. Those three minutes have been haunting me. I'm not ready to train for another marathon yet but a part of me will always wonder if I could have beat that time. SOooo, when I am ready to start training for another marathon, my plan is to do a Virtual Race in the marathon distance BEFORE I sign up for a race. I think I need to prove to myself that I can actually meet my time goal. But then again, if I do reach my time goal during the Virtual race, have I set a new PR in that distance or does it only count if I do an actual race?  What are your thoughts?

I would love to hear your thoughts on these topics. I have not formed an opinion one way or another so whatever you say will not offend me.  Don't be shy.

New York City Half Marathon: Race Day

I can't believe the weekend of the United NYC Half marathon had finally arrived. I was excited because I knew I had a pretty good training cycle and I was NOT injured. I was a little nervous about the weather because it kept fluctuating all week. It's important to note that I had beautiful winter weather and had very few runs in temps less than 40 degrees.  The week of the NYC half, the East coast was hit by winter storm Stella. Well that sure changed things!

When I was getting ready for bed, I could see the snow starting to fall out my hotel window. By the time I was in bed, it had stopped and I wondered what it would be like in the morning. It was forecasting snow and rain around 7 and 8 am.

By the time I woke up, the temps said 34 degrees and "Real Feel" of 20!  What does that even feel like?  I thought about changing up my outfit again to something warmer but in the end I stuck with my gut and wore what I originally had planned.

-My cold gear tights (lightly fleece lined)

-Arm warmers (under my long sleeves)

-Long sleeve half zip tech shirt (not too thick)

-My Windbreaker

-Nike Therma fit sweatshirt as my throw away.(Not pictured)

-My cold gear hood and neck warmer

-Convertible gloves

- SmartWool Socks

Since there was no longer any sign of precipitation in the forecast, I left my visor behind. I did in fact bring a pack of hand warmers which I have never used before.

I was down in the lobby and on the race bus by 6:00 am.  I ended up sitting with a gal from Long Island that had done this race before many of times so we had a good chat and hung out with each other when we got to Central Park.

The bus dropped us off right outside race security in Central Park. Neither of us had bags to check so we were planning on going right through. It is important to note that my new friend (Charlotte), had the clear race gear bag with her but she was NOT planning on checking it. She just had snacks and extra gloves and what not and was just going to toss it right before the start. However, she was NOT allowed through security with that bag. She had to take all her things out and toss the bag before we went through. Yes, you do have to go through metal detectors and you will have to remove your phones and watches.

We had much time before we had to be in the corrals so we found the port o potties and walked around Central Park. 

 Central Park was amazingly beautiful when the sun was coming up. All I kept thinking was how lucky we were to be able to run in this amazing city!  It was soon time for my new friend, Charlotte to go to her corral, but I still had some time left so I did a few passes in the park to warm up.

 I have to tell you that people all around me looked like they were freezing but I was perfectly fine. I got my race day wardrobe just right. However, I did put my hand warmers inside my gloves. I was skeptical at first but then after a few minutes they really started to heat up.

While I was in Central Park, I met a new friend, Reggie. Reggie is a Good Citizen dog that was there for the race (he and several other dogs). I guess the dogs were there to comfort and relax runners. He even had his own NYC Half credentials around his neck. Reggie is  an 11 year old Yellow Lab just like Baylee and he looked REALLY good!  Reggie and his owner wished me the best of luck and then soon I was off into my corral.

Like I said, we started in Central Park but there was no huge starting line banner or arch or anything. I think it was just a box that said start. (I got this pic from the NYRR website but I don't even remember those signs being that big).

I had studied this map and knew what to expect as far as the course went. However, even though I knew it would be hilly, I did not know exactly where the hills would be. 

The first mile started off on an uphill. I felt like I was being conservative the first mile or so. I will tell you that it was very crowded and I found myself just keeping pace with the runners in front of me.  I felt I was running at a comfortable pace, but certainly not pushing it. I wanted to get around people but I always feel bad being that person that passes someone when the course is already so crowded so I just held back and tried to squeeze around when the course opened up a bit.  

The crowd support in Central Park is amazing. SO many people are out and SO many dogs are there. I think the official dog of NYC is a Goldendoodle. I saw so many of them(and yes, I was distracted by oohing and awwing over the dogs. At one point I saw a group of yellow Labradors rolling in the snow in Central Park. It was SOOO Cute!).

All of Central park is rolling hills but the largest hill was around mile 4. It's not just one big hill, but one that keeps going and curving, and  going again.  It was tough, but I tackled those hills like a champ and didn't have to walk at all. After that the spectators and course officials will tell you the hills are over. They are not. Well, maybe no more "hills" but all of Central Park is definitely on an incline (or at least where we ran).  

At this point I had taken my Nike Therma Fit Jacket off and tied it around my waist. It was a nice jacket and I wanted to hang on to it as long as I could. I still had my hand warmers in too, although I didn't really need them but I kind of wanted to see how long they would last. 

We exited Central park shortly after the 10K mark and right before then I tossed my hand warmers and my Jacket.  I actually tossed my jacket to some spectators instead of throwing it in a pile of snow along the road. It was a nice jacket and I hope someone else can get some use out of it. 

We were now entering Times Square! This is now where things could spread out a bit more because we had the entire road. I honestly don't even remember a lot about this part as it went so fast. 

(I like to "chunk" my mileage in my mind and mentally this was a great race to do that with. The first half is in Central Park and as soon as you leave the park and enter Times Square you know you're half way there!). The second part of the race is so much easier than the first. It's a mix of flat and a little down hill (until the very end).

We then turned towards the water and down the West side.  During this half of the race, there are bands playing and cheerleaders out. Again, there is just as much crowd support during these miles as there was in the park. We passed the ferry terminal and I thought it would be windy as we ran along the water but it wasn't (although I did read some other 2017 race recaps and those runners did mention that it was pretty windy. Perhaps the wind died down by the time I got there, IDK). We actually weren't as close to the water as I thought we would be. I never felt that I was too cold nor did I feel overdressed. I probably would have pulled my arm sleeves off but my watch was on so tight and I couldn't get them down. 

I hadn't been looking at my watch but I did slow down for a water stop at mile 9 and when I did, I saw the 2:15 pacer pass me.  It surprised the heck out of me that I was in front of the 2:15 pacer that entire time. By mile 10 I could tell I was starting to slow down but I gave my self a pep talk and said you can NOT have this be your slowest mile. Let's pick it up. So I tried. I knew I wasn't that far behind the pacer.

The last mile goes through the battery tunnel, which is about a half mile or so. Inside the tunnel was probably the windiest part of the race but by that time it felt so good.  The tunnel ends with an incline (of course) and then it's a dash around the corner to the finish. 

I always like to sprint on in to the finish line but today I had this couple blocking me. I thought about just staying behind again, but I thought NO. I want to run in, so I saw a small space between them and squeezed right into the finish. 

You can see me "squeezing" through while trying to stop my Garmin!

My Garmin had calculated the course long, so I didn't know what my "official" time was.  My friend Heather was sending me encouraging texts so I figured she was tracking me. I had to ask her what my official time was. When she said 2:21, I have to say I was pretty excited.  It's not a PR but it is worth being excited about because I am now showing progress. My first half since my injury was Wine n Dine and I got my time to 2:25, and now this half is 2:21. It gives me hope that it is really possible that I can get my half marathon time down to where it once was before all the IT band trouble started.  I think this race gave me confidence again.

On the results page it did say net time of 2:21 and AG time of 2:18. I wonder what AG time is? I am assuming it means Age Group time. Does that mean the average time for people in my age group was 2:18?  

Once I crossed the finish line, I had to walk quite a ways to get the goody bag with food and Gatorade in it. I didn't bring my own water bottle so I was SO thirsty!  Scott said he would meet me at the finish line but I didn't know how close he would actually be able to get and I had to walk so far down the finish line chute that I didn't even know where I was anymore. I called him to tell him that I would just meet him at the hotel since I knew it was only a short walk (a perk of staying at the Millenium Hilton). Turns out, we were in the same area so we got to walk back to the hotel together. 

There was a beverage ticket on my bib and I heard there may have been a massage tent but I really don't know about any post race festivities because by that time I had forgotten about any of that stuff and just wanted to see Scott and tell him about my race.  For me, this was a great race and I couldn't help but smile all the way back to our hotel!

Even though Central Park was hilly, I was prepared and it didn't bother me. In fact, looking back over my Garmin, I believe I did better the first half of the race than I did the second half which is odd for this race because most people end with negative splits.  I will say though (even though I love Disney races), the NYC Half race course is probably my favorite so far!  In the beginning of this endeavour, I proclaimed the NYC Half a once and done race. But I've learned to never say never because this is one race that I would happily run again. I just don't know if the stars would all align again for as great of a  training cycle (weather wise and injury frees) and perfect race day conditions.

I'll end this post by sharing a pic of my favorite race sign from race day. My parents made the sign and even put together that puzzle. It says Meranda, you started in a little town and finished in the Big Apple. Congratulations on the NY 1/2.  Love Mom, Dad, Baylee & Belle.

Thanks for reading! -M

Linking up with TOTR.

Weekly Wrap ....March 26

If you've been following along with us then you know the most exciting things that happened this past week happened on Sunday when Lacey ran the Shamrock Marathon and I ran the NYC Half Marathon.

We had two very different races.  You can go back and read her recap HERE.   I previously talked about how I got into the NYC half, the expo,the hotel, and the logistics of how it all worked. If you are at all interested in the NYC half, be sure to check out that post HERE.   I'll have my recap up tomorrow so I do hope you come back to read it then!

After Sunday, we both pretty much took the week off from running. The front of my quads were a little sore and I think Lacey may have caught a cold.  By Wednesday I had the itch to get out there again but because of a busy schedule, I didn't. I figured I deserved the time off so I just enjoyed it.

Saturday I got up and rode 5 miles on the bike followed by some stretches. I even attempted to do the stability ball sit ups I learned from Megan.

It was beautiful on Saturday and I wanted to take advantage of the day by getting a run in but by the time I was done with house work and company, it was after 3:00 pm and I knew I needed to go run some errands at the mall (and still be back in time to give Baylee her pills).  I was debating on just skipping my errands to take advantage of the warm weather but then my sister reminded me that nice days are not few and far between. They'll be another one right around the corner. I had to laugh because I was actually thinking the same thing!

I'm really pleased with how my training cycle for NYC went. Not only did I have perfect weather for most of my runs, I actually ended up keeping a record of most of them (except the treadmill runs). I actually had fun documenting all my runs and looking back, I can remember little details about each and every one of them like the time I tried to finish my miles before the storm came through, the time I saw 6 deer in the park, the time I ran in the pouring rain, and when I felt triumphant after my first 13.1 run of the year, etc.  I'm not quite sure why I need to remember each run, but I am a journalist by trade so I guess my need to document things comes naturally!

I'd like to start keeping a pictorial log of the rest of the races I train for this year and see how that goes. Although my next race is in 2 weekends so I'm not sure I'll have much to add to it!

Training (or at least keeping up with my runs) for Hershey starts continues, tomorrow! -M

We are linking up with the lovely Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap!