tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33017584883392330902024-03-14T03:28:02.543-07:00New York RunningAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-2466763506238597862012-07-25T08:20:00.003-07:002012-07-25T08:20:56.409-07:00New SiteIt's official! After too much annoyance with Blogger, I finally moved my site. <a href="http://nyrunnergirl.com/" target="_blank">Come visit me</a>!!<br />
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http://nyrunnergirl.com/Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-74322984644978437722012-07-20T14:09:00.002-07:002012-07-20T14:09:34.304-07:00Chicago!!!The countdown is on! 4 hours and my plane to Chicago will be taking off :)<br />
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<i>I packed! We also are sharing a bag, this is impressive, seriously impressive. </i></div>
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I haven't been back to Illinois in about 5 years and haven't been into Chicago since I moved to Boston (I was 11). The Chicago trip is for two reasons. One the <a href="http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/chicago/event-details" target="_blank">Rock n Roll Chicago 1/2 marathon</a>. <br />
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<i>GU galore! </i></div>
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We also are going to see my dad and step mom! We are only there a short amount of time, tonight until Monday afternoon, but I'm so excited. There will be lots of walking around the city and eating Saturday, perfect carbo loading for the day before the race. The same will probably occur on Sunday, perfect for post race! </div>
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<i>Chicago. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151936696595473&set=a.10151579221065473.861339.122682530472&type=3&theater" target="_blank">From Rock n Roll's Facebook</a></i></div>
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The race starts at 6:30am, again pretty freaking early. We are staying right near the race start though which will mean a little bit of sleeping in. You know, until at least 5:30 right? It is going to be about 95 degrees out, so it will be quite the sweaty day. </div>
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<i>Luckily I own this shirt, which means I clearly heart sweat now, so sweaty races are good with me</i></div>
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I plan to stick with a pace team for the race, and hopefully will come in under 2hrs 45mins. Other than that, I plan to enjoy the race through a city that a miss! I think I'll recognize at least a few of the stops along the course, since I've been to just about all of them before. </div>
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Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend everyone!! </div>
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<i><br /></i></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-73793783446904128232012-07-19T06:33:00.000-07:002012-07-19T06:33:29.470-07:00Jamestown 1/2 Marathon<br />
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Wake up for Jamestown was at some unacceptable hour close to 4 or 4:30 am. After a quick stop at dunkin donuts for bagels and coffee, and we were on our way.
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<i>So nice to be in New England and see Red Sox cups! </i></div>
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Paul and I drove over to where packet pick up had been to load the buses to the race. The race information was very vocal about no parking around the race, so they had buses to take everyone over. The buses were very organized and we waited in line for maybe 2 minutes before getting on and taking the quick trip to Jamestown. </div>
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We got let out of the bus on the highway, or at least I think it was the highway, but it was completely blocked off and shut down. It was a small group of people, I would guess around 550 showed up. Those 550 were all standing around looking not so happy. It had started to drizzle, which made me incredibly unhappy, but I knew that was not the reason for everyone being upset. Then I looked to my left and saw all the porta potties being delivered. This was at 6:15, and the race was scheduled to start at 6:30. The amount of unhappy runners who had been here for at least a half hour waiting for a bathroom was out of control. The race organizers and volunteers got them off the bus and ready for use (minus toilette paper) asap. I still had to go but hate not starting a race with everyone so skipped it and lined up. Paul and I say bye and good luck while he waited in line for the bathroom. Because of all the bathroom chaos, the race started about 5 minutes late, and about half the people were still waiting in line for the bathroom when the race started.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jmqswFyv10-fjyQLexIz59zHGRto3PEA-XZWSEFgLNfNxEKu-cgnGU7ScAyFIguS7hQGZ77C6hTGCwjXDBEGfkKSnHVhETa9IjzixpJd2Lh3wQZydGBF3N6ZSEtWfKZ8FIzk5jkPLB7C/s1600/jamestwon+course.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jmqswFyv10-fjyQLexIz59zHGRto3PEA-XZWSEFgLNfNxEKu-cgnGU7ScAyFIguS7hQGZ77C6hTGCwjXDBEGfkKSnHVhETa9IjzixpJd2Lh3wQZydGBF3N6ZSEtWfKZ8FIzk5jkPLB7C/s320/jamestwon+course.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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<i>Course map from <a href="http://www.uhctriplecrown.com/jamestown/" target="_blank">UHC Website.</a></i></div>
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The first mile was interesting. I was running easy and holding pace around 11:15, good for me. Usually people tend to settle into their pace, during the first mile, but because of the delayed bathrooms, people were flying by from time to time catching up. During mile 1 a guy that I had run into before the race ran up next to me. We had bonded over being the only two people not talking during the national anthem, and the lack of bag check. I saw him mouth the word time (had my headphones in) and stuck out my Garmin for him to see thinking he wanted to know how much time had passed. I took my headphones out to talk and he said "no, what are you aiming for?". I replied with 2:45 (which I was but knew wouldn't happen), and he said "ok I'll run with you I think". I thought the guy was crazy. "You want to run with me? The girl who walks a lot and can't pace herself for shit?" It was nice though, he was with me for about two miles before a hill showed up and he left me in his dust.<br />
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<i>This is my attempt at smiling at the camera. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I should not be photographed while running. It ends badly every time. </i></div>
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I learned <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/07/realizations.html" target="_blank">many things</a> during this run, but one important thing I learned was that I cannot read a elevation chart to save my life. I read that there was one large hill in the middle of the course, which there was. I did not however, notice all the other less dramatic hills. No worries though, they all were there. I was running pretty continuously with walk breaks here and there for the hills. I continued this through the first 5 miles. I was happy with my time and was ahead of pace. One nice thing about this course was that there were very few turns, so a 1/2 a mile away you could see a mile mark. If I was tired or slacking, I would look and see the mile marker. It made the end of that mile seem that much closer. My legs didn't hurt, but I could tell I was getting a few blisters on my feet already from not running in my shoes enough. Then mile 6 came. During the mile I thought, "if I don't PR, it will be 100% because of this hill". I pretty much lost it after that. The hill was so steep and was pretty long, a combination I didn't really think existed. </div>
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I enjoyed the nice downhill after and tried to get back on track. I knew I had lost serious time and was worried. Miles 7, 8, and 9 went by quick, not that I was quick, they just felt like they were flying by. I hit mile 10 though and had no shot at having a PR. It was probably the only area of the race that wasn't on the water, instead it was back roads by houses. I was pretty over the race at that point. I had gone 10 miles, was still behind the same couple that I had been directly behind the whole time, and no PR was happening. I got myself moving though, passed the couple I had been behind the whole time, and looked forward to the finish.<br />
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<i>Please note the both feet of the ground. It's rare. I'm sort of smiling, another rare part of a race.</i></div>
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The last mile we were running along the water and had a great view. By that point I knew I wasn't going for time goals, and decided I might as well take a picture. </div>
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<i>Pretty freaking gorgeous</i></div>
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The last .1 miles was directly down hill, which is nice for a speedy finish, but you couldn't see the finish line at all until the last second. I saw Paul on the side cheering and I think yelled something about being over it and slow. I also almost threw my water bottle at him to hold but he had three gatorades in his hand, so I thought otherwise. </div>
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It was finally over, and it took me about 3 hours. Not my best by any means, and again also not my worst. While I had no expectations for the race, I know I can do better. I let the hill at mile 6 get the best of me, and it went down hill (ha no pun even intended on that one!) from there. </div>
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We headed back on the bus to our cars and went back to hotel. We showered and packed up to head out of the hotel. We made a few pit stops first though. </div>
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<i>Twix Iced Coffee!</i></div>
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Marylou's coffee, definitely a perfect post race treat. Then we made a special stop and my Uncle and Aunts house to see 8 of the cutest puppies. Ever!<br />
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<i>I mean seriously? Does it get cuter? </i></div>
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<i>My favorite. Adorable</i></div>
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Bella had 8 of the cutest puppies! I think it will be an new pick me up requirement after every race, play with 8 perfect puppies. If you want more details check out <a href="http://katielangedolan.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Bella's Blog</a> and see more pictures too! </div>
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Jamestown and the second leg of the UHC triple crown is done. Now on to Rock n Roll Chicago 1/2, which is 3 days away. Goals for that race still to come! </div>
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Happy Thursday everyone!</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-68361424673248444932012-07-18T07:00:00.005-07:002012-07-18T07:00:47.553-07:00Pre-Jamestown<strike><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></strike><br />
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The Jamestown 1/2 marathon was the second leg of the three leg <a href="http://www.uhctriplecrown.com/index.html" target="_blank">United Health Care Triple Crown. </a></div>
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Basically, I got free entry to the three races for blogging (including a <a href="http://www.uhctriplecrown.com/newport/" target="_blank">race </a>I've been waiting to do again) and get bonus swag. Who doesn't want bonus swag?<a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/05/uhc-providence-12-marathon.html" target="_blank"> Providence 1/2 marathon</a> was the first leg and went surprisingly well, but I did not expect another surprise PR at this race. </div>
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I have Friday's off of work in the summer which is AMAZING and what I have always had since I started working after Quinnipiac. This basically means if I ever have a job requiring me to work Friday's in the summer, I might cry. Paul had a job interview Friday morning, so I took advantage of a relaxing morning and sat outside reading my book. The Hunger Games part 1 if you are curious, I saw the movie and now am addicted. </div>
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<i>Yeah a little spoiled. The amazing view of the LI Sound from the porch. </i></div>
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After Paul picked me up and grabbed some lunch, we were on the road to Rhode Island. I must admit that Rhode Island is one of my favorite places. I always have a great time while I'm there, and get to have the New England vibe that I miss sometimes when I'm in NY. After tons of unnecessary traffic, we finally made it to our hotel and HUGE room. Having more than one room in a hotel room (not including the bathroom) is a luxury that I do not have, ever. We dropped our bags and headed to packet pick up which was small. I talked myself into and out of buying a new pair of shoes that were on sale before heading to dinner at Carabas. One delicious whole wheat pasta with shrimp and lemon garlic alfredo later, I was a happy girl. Just about every race morning Paul and I will have bagels with peanut butter. Sadly, dunkin donuts does not have peanut butter, so we decided to make a quick stop at target to pick some up. 15 minutes, and $104 dollars later, we left target with peanut butter an this amazingness. </div>
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<i>Margarita maker! I mean come on it was 50% off! Largest impulse buy ever! </i></div>
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Ok back to important things, other than all the margarita parties I will be having soon. We got back to the hotel and laid everything out for the next day, (we are both a little Type A when it comes to planning things out) before heading to bed early. I will leave you with that for now, because if I throw the recap in here too this post will go on for days! Also blogger is killing me right now and I want to switch. Well I wanted to switch before, and now I'm impatiently waiting to switch out of blogger. It took me forever to get this post to even slightly look how I wanted (it kept highlighting everything) and I still have weird spaces!<br />
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Happy Wednesday everyone! </div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-67810483674256685752012-07-16T13:01:00.000-07:002012-07-16T13:01:42.975-07:00RealizationsI realized a few things during the Jamestown half marathon this past Saturday. I will have a full recap of Jamestown up soon, but had so many important realizations that I had to share these first. By important I mean important to me, you may not find them important or you may have already realized them and during this whole post will be thinking "No kidding, Amy. Way to be late on this realization". That's cool, enjoy feeling more intelligent than me while reading.<br />
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One of the things I realized is just how much of a "run thinker" I am. I will have my music playing and enjoy it, but I spend the entire run thinking about one thing or another. My best problem solving comes during a run, and most of my "how did I never realize that before" thinking comes during runs as well.<br />
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<i>How can you not do serious thinking about life when this is your view? Courtesy of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/UHCTripleCrown" target="_blank">UHC facebook page</a></i></div>
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<b>If you don't train to PR, you will not PR. </b>This sounds so beyond obvious. It is something I of course always knew, but actually fully realized during the race. I was around mile 6 and realized I probably wouldn't PR unless I some how started running 8min miles for the second half, and that was more than likely not going to happen. I got frustrated and then started to actually think about it. I hadn't trained to PR this race. I put very little effort into training lately, and the effort I did put in, was not PR worthy effort. It was completely half-assed. I did not PR at Jamestown and I did not PR at <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/06/fairfield-12-marathon.html" target="_blank">Fairfield </a>because I didn't deserve to. I didn't put the time, effort, or energy into training for either of them, and that's what I got for it. If I want to PR the early morning runs and after work runs need to happen.<br />
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<b>Doing math while running is incredibly difficult. </b>I always try to calculate if I can PR and etc at my races. Doing math and trying to come up with "if I run this pace for the next however many miles, I can PR" is not easy. Math is not my best subject, but simple math should not be that complicated. At some point in the race I realized to PR I needed to run the last 2.5 miles in 20 minutes. I did some ridiculous calculation quickly and came up with 5 minute miles. Yes 5 minute miles. I thought to myself "that's not happening, it's not like I am...." and I thought and thought. For whatever reason I couldn't come up with a single name of someone who could run in the Olympics, and I couldn't for the life of me think of what pace that actually would be. Had I been able to do simple math I would of realized this was 8 min miles, I know plenty of people who can do 8min miles (the boyfriend included). Instead the final name that came into my head when I decided I couldn't run that pace because I wasn't...Jesus. Jesus, in my mind, is a fantastic runner. Moral of the story, don't ask me to do math or come up with names of famous runners during a race. It will not end well. </div>
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<b>My calf hurting is not a shoe problem. </b>I have tried on far too many new types of shoes lately looking for "the right ones" that won't cause me any issues. I had problems with my right calf when I wore compression socks, so I stopped wearing them. Then I had problems with it again when I was trying new shoes. It happened with a few shoes and I continued to say "it's the shoes causing pain, I need new ones". While one of the shoe types did not work for me at all, the other ones hurting me more than likely had nothing to do with my shoes. It is either that I am not running enough (highly likely) or there is something wrong with my leg (far less likely). Either way, I, and by that I really mean my bank account, cannot continue to buy new shoes. If I am running more and my leg still bothers me, I go see someone. If it stops then I found my solution. The shoes I have now are staying, end of story. </div>
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<b>Races have hills, get over it. </b>My <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/06/fairfield-12-marathon.html" target="_blank">Fairfield </a>1/2 fell apart at the first hill, which was about 1 mile into it. I hadn't trained for hills even though I knew there were plenty along the course. This goes back to not training for a PR. I knew about the hills, and I didn't train for them, so I ended up walking up the hills. You lose SO much time walking up a hill. It's one thing to be slow running up a hill, its another when you are just walking up them all together. Serious time (that I don't have cause I'm already not the fastest person in the world, which if you read above already know I consider this to be Jesus) is lost walking up hills. Jamestown also had hills, and again I thought "I'll walk up the hills, it will be fine". No it wont. Get off your ass (by your I'm referring to my own, you all can continue sitting and reading) and go run hills to get ready for the race. All the races have them, get over it. </div>
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<b>Running (or walking) past someone who has finished the race while you are still going is painful for everyone involved. </b>I have been on both sides of this. I think it is a personal preference on how you want to handle it. For me, if I see someone walking by me with a medal while I am still trying to finish, I do NOT want them to acknowledge me. It's more of an "I'm so embarrassed I'm so slow" thing for me than a "I hate you for being done, don't look at me cause I'm still going" thing. On the other hand, if I have finished a race and someone is still going that I walk by, my first thoughts are to yell something encouraging. Clearly I am the person I hate during the race. The key to fixing this problem is run faster so you are not so embarrassed when someone walks by you. This goes back again to the whole training thing. Are we sensing a pattern? </div>
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<b>Running 9 races between March and November, may not be my best idea. </b>I had not planned, at all, to do this many races in this span of time this year. My hope was for maybe 3 half marathons at the most and a 5k. Not 8 half marathons and a 5k. I am definitely feeling a little bit burnt out, which is causing some major slacking on training on my end. I knew going into these races it wasn't going to be easy, and need to pick the training back up for the 4 half's I have left. </div>
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<b>I listen to the most bizarre playlist when I run. </b>It includes everything from Pink, to My Chemical Romance, to Pitbull, to Eminem, to DMX, to country. It's crazy and random and I love it. </div>
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<b>I need to eat better. </b>I know, I know. I post far too often about the delicious cupcakes, awesome margaritas, or great fattening dinner I've had. Does this make you run faster? Nope not one bit. I'm not saying I need to cut out everything unhealthy, because lets be real, me without chocolate or margarita's is just scary. Plus I just purchased a margarita maker, I can't give it up now. I can however, eat healthier overall on a regular basis. </div>
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<i>Maybe having this as a random "I want dessert right now" isn't great? But so delicious!</i></div>
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<b>I hate when people don't put there finish time on a race recap. </b>I have done this before, just another example of how I really just do things to annoy myself apparently. But in reality, I hate when people do this. From what I can tell it is when someone doesn't like there time. That is why I didn't post it on one of my own recaps. Looking back though I think that's ridiculous. You will have good races and bad races, it is known all over my blog my absolute worst 1/2 marathon time ever was my first one (3 hours 27 minutes. True story). I have never had a time close to that since that race. If I'm good with broadcasting my worst time, whats wrong with telling people a time I'm not thrilled with. This is progress right here people if you didn't realize. </div>
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<b>I need to run with a tape recorder. </b>I had many more realizations than these listed, and can't remember them all. Running with a tape recorder clearly would help. </div>
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If I come up with the rest of my realizations, I'll post them at some point. The full recap for Jamestown will be up tomorrow, with hopefully some pictures if they are posted by then. </div>
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Happy Monday Everyone! </div>
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<br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-41613891026160284652012-07-04T12:24:00.003-07:002012-07-04T12:24:58.780-07:004th of July!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I hope you all are enjoying the 4th of July, aka one of my favorite holidays! </div>
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</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-59074932841475112802012-07-03T12:23:00.001-07:002012-07-03T12:25:52.849-07:00Resolution Check InWith 6 months already done for 2012, I figured I would check in with my resolutions for the year. There are some ones that I clearly am sticking to, and ones that I stopped sticking to on January 2.<br />
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<i>1. Run a race for every holiday</i><br />
-I missed New Years Day and Valentines Day. <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/03/dc-12-marathon-part-2.html" target="_blank">I did St. Patrick's Day</a>. Does Cinco De Mayo count? What about Memorial Day? I will run tomorrow for the 4th but no race, so that's out too. Not my best work.<br />
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<i>Happy St. Patrick's Day!</i></div>
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<i>2. Run 2, possibly 3, half marathons.</i><br />
-Success! I completed one goal how awesome am I? No not that awesome? Ok cool!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDwF3lCQNtMfdmE6J2qmceEGPabhKw8Y73c65xkRkkWbyQ3AwZ3wDIylkkqkO4TvySeQDQxOUV-6-iay-QAddd7zin1B9TMpb5yRoTUA1J6pz5OqnijXzQlGL0rtrQSRHWdpZPnhQ1DVe/s1600/Half+Marathon+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDwF3lCQNtMfdmE6J2qmceEGPabhKw8Y73c65xkRkkWbyQ3AwZ3wDIylkkqkO4TvySeQDQxOUV-6-iay-QAddd7zin1B9TMpb5yRoTUA1J6pz5OqnijXzQlGL0rtrQSRHWdpZPnhQ1DVe/s400/Half+Marathon+collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>3. Stretch Every morning</i><br />
-I'm not sure why this is even on the list. Can I take resolutions away in July?<br />
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<i>4. Run at least 10 miles every week</i><br />
-Usually happens because of the race training, so calling this a success so far<br />
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<i>This run actually sucked, a lot.</i></div>
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<i>5&6. Faster 5k/10k times</i><br />
-Might look at this a little in the fall, but not really planning on doing any 5k/10ks right now so probably wont happen.<br />
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<i>7. Take a Pilates class</i><br />
-I am so determined to do this one. Time.Money.Effort. all standing in my way.<br />
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I also just noticed I only had 7 resolutions. Odd number, should of picked 10. Also probably should of picked some better/different resolutions. Oh well. I have 6 months left and a lot of work to do!<br />
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Happy almost 4th of July!!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-72678427715210714192012-07-02T14:03:00.000-07:002012-07-02T15:21:38.668-07:00Much needed vacationI had an amazing 3 days off of work and took full advantage of it! For starters, I finally was able to catch you all up on the Fairfield Half, but that was one of the few things I did for running during this vacation. Wednesday, my first vacation day, was originally set to be spent figuring out my car insurance/registration. Lucky for me, the DMV is choosing to take an exceptional amount of time making it official that I live in NY, so I had a free day! Paul and I went out a nice little recovery run. I tried out my new shoes (I've lost count at this point of how many new shoes I had that I didn't like and tried different ones), and just hoped he didn't lap me in our runs around the block (he didn't yay!). My legs were tight the first mile, but after that everything felt great and I ran faster than usual which was a nice surprise.<br />
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After lunch Wednesday we got to lounge around outside and while Paul read, I caught up on my reading/celebrity gossip. Women's Health Magazine and People all the way. Some quality relaxation time right there. Paul decided to be grill master that night!<br />
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<i>Ignore the fake smile, he was excited</i></div>
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Chicken/Veggie Kabobs and corn on the cob. It was delicious! We relaxed and watched the Olympic Trials for the rest of the night, which is basically all we've been doing lately. Thursday was a beach day!!!<br />
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<i>So amazing</i></div>
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I decided to skip the trashy magazine for the day. I have a stack of about 100 books that I want to read this summer, so I started to finally pick away at them. I sadly started with a book about a girl who works in the admissions department of a college and her life. I decided about 75 pages in that it was unhealthy for me to read a book about my own life while I was on vacation, so I stopped reading and played in the waves instead. A day at the beach is one of the best ways to get me to relax. Which is definitely what I needed since that night was apartment hunting night. It was good and bad, but in the end no apartment for me. I was able to make a pit stop for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in the middle of the search though, so that made everything better. Also, I swear there is some healthy eating days coming soon. My froyo and cheesecake nights are behind me...for the most part. </div>
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Friday and Saturday were pretty relaxed. It was too hot to do just about anything. I was a little burnt from the beach on Thursday too and wasn't looking to go back out on Friday like an idiot. I also had my GRE's on Saturday that I decided spending 4 hours the day before I was taking them to study would be great, since I hadn't studied at all. There was more trials watching, and enjoying everyone that was kicking ass through them all.<br />
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Sunday was July 1! It marked one year since I moved and became<a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2011/06/background-story-for-you.html" target="_blank"> NewYorkRunner!</a> I had bought tickets for Paul and I to go to the Yankee vs White Sox game for our 2 year anniversary. I wanted to go to a Red Sox/Yankees game, but the dates didn't work out. Cheering for Chicago is almost as awesome as cheering for Boston, <i>almost.</i> It also happened to be Old Timers Day, I thought it was a special day for old people and was worried, I was wrong. We got a good deal and good seats (2nd row in left field).<br />
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<i>Yup, aren't I awesome! I got us great seats to sit from 10am-4pm in direct sunshine during a 90 degree day! I know I rock!</i></div>
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We went and saw our seats and the field first then decided instead of spending 6 hours straight outside for the old timers game and actual game, we'd head inside for lunch and come back out for the game. </div>
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We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and SAP is the company my brother works for. SAP had pictures all over the stadium because they are big sponsors, which was sweet. Hard Rock Cafe was delicious, I had fish and chips and this awesome drink. </div>
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<i>Waborita</i></div>
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True story...I'll drink just about anything that is blue. We went back outside after lunch and caught the rest of the old timers game. It was hot as hell out there and these guys decided it was a good time to get a tan. </div>
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I was interested to see when they would start burning cause they had no sunscreen, but they left before the game started. Overall the game was fun, I got to cheer for Chicago, and cheer against the yankees. Always a good time. Other than it being 100 degrees, and having to get water every inning, and the 6 year old 4 seats over from me throwing up, it was a pretty awesome way to celebrate 2 years (a little late) and one year in NY. </div>
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Successful vacation complete! Now I'm back at work for two days, 4th of July aka my favorite holiday, and then two more days of work. Oh and you know back to the running thing. I enjoyed my few days off from running because of the heat, but am excited to get back out there now for early morning or late night runs when it is cooler. Only 2 weeks till <a href="http://www.uhctriplecrown.com/jamestown/" target="_blank">Jamestown </a>and 3 weeks till <a href="http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/chicago/event-details" target="_blank">Chicago</a>!!</div>
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Happy Monday everyone!! </div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-22379372376012383312012-06-28T06:56:00.001-07:002012-06-28T06:56:29.252-07:00Fairfield 1/2 MarathonThis post has gone back and forth a few times. This race...well it sucked. No way around that.<br />
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I was going to skip talking about Fairfield all together. Then I was going to give every dirty detail. Then I was back to skipping over it all. In the end I realized the fact that I sucked on race day (and HATED the course) doesn't take away from <a href="http://www.fairfieldhalf.org/index.html" target="_blank">Stratton Faxon</a> doing a great job putting on a race. They deserve credit for that, so here it goes.<br />
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Originally, I wasn't doing Fairfield at all. Paul was doing it and I was happy to sit it out. I have no good reason why I joined in with under a month to go, but it happened and I signed up. I had heard good things about the race in general but got a little nervous when I read bloggers past posts about the hills. I heard good race, tough hills.<br />
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I HATE HILLS. </div>
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There is nothing else to be said about that really. I hate them with a passion. Nothing is fun about them, going uphill is painful, going downhill is also painful if not done correctly (I don't do most things correctly fyi). I added in hills to my training plan, but didn't really follow through with that part. I also heard there was an adjustment to the course so I thought maybe not so many hills (oh spoiler, I was wrong).<br />
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Paul and I drove to Fairfield and got our packets on race morning. The race started right along the beach, which I LOVE! The pick up was quick and easy. I give tons of credit to the race directors for taking care of everyone picking up their packet before the race in a quick fashion.<br />
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The race started at 8:30am, which for end of June means it was incredibly warm. The start was also a separate mens and women's start which was strange, but fine. The first mile was ok but my legs were heavy and tired. There had been no hills at this point and I knew it was going to be a tough race for me. Had it not been a race day, this would of been a run that I said screw it, I'll try again later because running now will do more harm than good. But it was a race day, and there was nothing I could do but go the next 12.1 miles.<br />
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Towards the end of the second mile the first hill came. At this point I didn't know how many hills there were, I just new this one was going to suck. I made it through and thought "maybe I'll negative split for the next mile at least". Of course I was wrong. The hills did not stop. They just came one after another after another. It seemed like the end of each mile looked something like this...<br />
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Ok maybe I'm being a tiny bit dramatic, but by the fourth one, it seemed like I was running straight up something like this. I don't have all the details of how I did each mile. Each mile hurt more than the first. It was a mixture of a bad run day for me, a really tough course that I wasn't prepared for, and 85 degrees without shade. In the end I got through all 13.1 miles, and surprise no PR for me. After mile 1 I could of cared less about a PR, I just wanted it done.<br />
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There were lots of good things about this race that absolutely need to be mentioned. The organization of this race was great. Every mile was marked perfectly and there were plenty of water stations along the way. Along the course both the residents of Fairfield and the Fairfield fire department had out hoses to hose you down, which was amazing in the heat.<br />
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{credit: <a href="http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Spectators-get-a-workout-too-3659001.php#photo-3112559">CTPost.com</a> }</div>
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The fans along the course and the volunteers were great and you couldn't ask for more from them. I have to say the best part about this race though, the lululemon crew!<br />
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{credit: <a href="http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Spectators-get-a-workout-too-3659001.php#photo-3112559">CTPost.com</a> }</div>
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I would guess that there were about 7-10 people there from lululemon and they were awesome. Any race I have been at that lululemon has been cheering at has been fun, but this group was hands down the best I've seen yet! Great job guys! </div>
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So there it is. The Fairfield half is finally done. I loved so much about this race, but can't get over how much I hated the course and the heat. Would I do it again? I have no idea. Maybe I'll come back for redemption one day, but for now I'm just looking to the next <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-races.html">one</a>. </div>
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</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-63659572890121848792012-06-20T08:51:00.000-07:002012-06-20T08:51:16.098-07:00It takes one runSo I could apologize for not posting, but in reality, nobody would of wanted to read what I had to say about my running lately. It also apparently took too much effort for me to post "I suck at running right now, please come back later". Every single time I went out for a run it was bad. There was not one positive thing I could take away from the runs, and at some point the "well at least you went out to run" theory was becoming an everyday saying. That sucks a lot when you have a race coming up.<br />
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I had been trying out some new shoes as well which I think was the problem. I had old Kswiss shoes that I got rid of after the Providence 1/2 marathon, and got a new set of Brooks. I didn't love or hate my kswiss shoes, I just felt like a change. I tried out the Brooks ones and my first run was ok. It went downhill after that. Every run that I had trouble with also included intense calf pain. This happened for short runs as well as my long 6 mile, 8 mile, and 10 mile runs. It was the absolute worst. Finally I decided this wasn't me just having a tough time or not running enough, the shoes were not working. I put on a different pair of kswiss shoes that I had worn once or twice and went out for all my runs in those. I had no issues. None at all.<br />
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Last weekend was my last "long run" before the race. I went out for a 5 mile run and it was amazing. We will ignore the fact that I tripped during mile 2 and almost completely face planted on the sidewalk in front of 1000 (or 7, you choose) people. By the time I was done running, I was smiling and jumping up and down. I think I scared Paul who had been dealing with my angry face after all my runs lately. I was running faster than I had been lately and at the end of the run felt like I could of kept going. It had been WEEKS since I felt that way. This run was just what I needed before my Fairfield 1/2. It just took one run to get my mind set back in it.<br />
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Then there was this little bundle of amazingness!<br />
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Benjamin Daniel! </div>
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My best friend Carolyn had a baby last week! Nothing seems bad with a new baby in the world. I was able to drive back to Boston for not even 24 hours to see this cutey and loved every minute of it! </div>
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I'm obsessed, but it's cool</div>
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I swear he smiled at one point, it wasn't all sad faces </div>
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Between my awesome run, baby Ben, and good news at work (will share later when I can!) my mindset about things is turning around completely. I'm back in it and ready to go for race day Sunday! </div>
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Goal post to come asap along with more pictures of baby Ben! He's one week as of yesterday! </div>
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Happy Wednesday everyone! </div>
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<br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-78130154583697088372012-06-04T10:48:00.000-07:002012-06-04T10:48:43.933-07:00Good News/Bad News & 2 years!My blogging has been slow lately mostly because my running has been slow. I've been having a rough time getting up early in the mornings to do the runs, so instead I do them after work. I'm happy with myself for doing the runs in general each day, but disappointed with my pace lately. We'll get back to that though.<br />
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I had two days off which gave me plenty of time to catch up on errands and beach time! That was the good news.<br />
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The bad news was that I neglected to put on as much sunscreen as I should of and got BURNT. It was pretty bad. Considering I was also only there for about 3 hours as well. I saved you all and forgot to take a picture of the nasty burn, so you're welcome for not having to see just how bad it was. I ran after the beach, but the sunburn hadn't set in yet, so I had no problems with it. Friday was my day off from running thankfully because I was in pain! I was really nervous about the long run on Saturday with my burn. Friday night I also received my anniversary present! Paul bought me a new <a href="https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=11039#owners" target="_blank">Garmin Forerunner</a>, probably 1/2 because I complained and 1/2 because he was tired of sharing his.<br />
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I had it all ready to go for my run on Saturday morning. Before I went out, we headed over to pick up Paul's race packet for one of his next triathlons. I ended up not getting out to run until around 11:30. Not the best plan since there was not a single cloud in the sky, and it was already about 85 degrees. I know, great planning on my part. I had Paul spray me down from head to toe in sunscreen so that I wouldn't burn anymore and was on my way. There was more good news/bad news with the garmin.The 100% upside is that I've needed and wanted the watch for a while now. I'm tired of guessing if my mileage is exact to what I need it to be, or having to bring my phone with me to track my mileage that way. The bad news is, I (as well as all of you) now get to know exactly how slow I am. Having that in my face the entire run is tough for me. It proved to be incredibly tough for me on Saturday. </div>
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I was set to do 8 miles and was determined to get through all 8. I found a different route, thanks to the garmin, which was amazing. My run started and I felt good, and continued to feel good as it went on. I ran the first two miles without a problem. I can't tell you the last time that happened. I honestly don't even remember. Two miles straight, not one second of walking. Some of you may think I'm either insane for finding this exciting, or suck majorly at running that this was my excitement. It has been a while that I had any interest in pushing myself to just keep running, and I was so happy I was able to start and push myself. It may not have been my best time to try this out however since I had 6 more miles to go. </div>
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Those next 6 were tough for me mentally. I was getting through them with very little walking and was so happy about that, but I was so disappointed with my time. What was the point of running it all if I was going to run as slow as possible. I got it all done and was thrilled when it was over. I had gone into the run focusing on walking very little, and doing mostly running. I did this. I should of been happy that I completed the goal for the run, but it was a major disappointment. </div>
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I know continuing to push myself to run further and further without walking will be better for me in the end. After that I can work on speed more. I have a tough time of being patient with my running, by that I mean I'm not patient...at all. I want to run more and faster, and I want that now. Sadly it takes lots of time and effort, that in the past I wasn't willing to put into my training. Now that I am willing to, I need to give it time. I'm not going to suddenly run 20 miles, at a 8:30 pace. Lots of time and lots of effort.<br />
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I'm ready to get back out today for a short run and keep on track with my plan. Lucky for me, I have a boyfriend who is very understanding and even though it is our two year anniversary and I already have to work late, he's ok with pushing back dinner for me to run after work.<br />
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Happy Monday everyone!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-71028728480148386762012-05-29T10:26:00.001-07:002012-05-29T11:27:36.553-07:00Memorial Day Weekend SuccessI had many <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/05/memorial-day-weekend.html" target="_blank">plans </a>for myself this weekend. I believe I succeeded in doing just about all of them too. We'll get it out of the way from the start, I planned to go running and I did. Go me! I planned to have Starbucks, cupcakes, margaritas, and nuun; all goals accomplished. There was sadly no beach trip, but I did lay outside so I was happy.<br />
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The weekend kicked off in the best way, leaving work at 1pm on Friday. It was almost as good as not having to work at all on Friday. I went home and relaxed for a little while before dinner at my favorite mexican restaurant with Paul and friends. I got to enjoy the first margarita of the weekend there.<br />
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<i>Amazing</i></div>
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This was followed up by watching a depressing Rangers game, and a few more skinnygirl margaritas. </div>
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At some point I went to bed, only to be greeted in the morning by the amazing sunny and warm weather. For various reasons the long run was pushed from Saturday to Sunday, which meant coffee and relaxing Saturday morning. I got to enjoy some time in the sun before it started to completely downpour! </div>
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<i>Unhappy iPhone having to deal with the heat!</i></div>
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Saturday night was a cookout with friends. This meant more skinny girl margaritas, and PLENTY of food. Don't think I'm exaggerating one bit when I say all I did this weekend was eat and drink. The cook off included: chips, hot dog, cheeseburger, sausage, pasta salad, cupcakes and cookies. All of it was delicious and I didn't regret any of it (even if I should of). </div>
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Sunday morning was a little iffy with the weather. It was going to rain which would of ruined my long run plans and immediately put me in a bad mood all morning. I had a coffee and a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast (more proof that all I did was eat this weekend). It ended up being incredibly sunny out so around noon Paul and I finally went out for a run. It was about 100 degrees (or 85 you decide) and humid. The entire run was gross. First of all who knew that coffee, chocolate chip muffins, margaritas, cupcakes, and massive amounts of meat were not what you should eat to prep for a long run? Clearly I did and chose to ignore it. It was a long run to say the least. My stomach wasn't happy, and my entire body would of rather been standing in a pool instead of running through the streets without shade. If it was socially acceptable to just run in underwear, I promise you I would have on Sunday. TOO FREAKING HOT! In reality it was my own fault for waiting till noon, but whatever. I'm happy with myself for getting through the 6 miles, and following it up with eating yet another cupcake. </div>
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I had a deal from living social for 6 cupcakes and finally picked them up this weekend. AMAZING. Key Lime, Red Velvet, Peanut Butter, Salted Chocolate Caramel, M&M, and Oreo. Yes, Paul and I did eat all of those this weekend, again I don't feel bad about it. </div>
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Sunday night was dinner with friends at another great restaurant. There was a challenge with dumplings, and basically I ended up eating 10....and that was before dinner got there. If you are sick of hearing just how much I ate this weekend I understand, because it is now that I'm realizing just how out of control it was. I ran though, so I get some credit right? No? Ok, cool moving on. </div>
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I'll sum up Monday for you a little faster. There was a graduation party, more fun with friends, lots more food, and a misspelled cake. All in all, a great time. </div>
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Other than the fact that I basically ate 24/7 the entire weekend, it was a really great time. I need another weekend to calm down and relax from this weekend now. Lucky for me I have tomorrow and Thursday off of work. :) Happy girl right here. I have runs scheduled for today, tomorrow, and Thursday. My hopes are maybe I can run off everything I ate in the past 3 days, although I think a lot more than 3 days of running would be necessary for that. </div>
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I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend! Happy Tuesday! </div>
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<i><br /></i></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-46879627250497954702012-05-25T08:33:00.000-07:002012-05-25T08:33:12.681-07:00Memorial Day Weekend!Finally the weekend! I had Monday off and this still felt like the longest week ever. Please enjoy this photo cluster of what I will be doing this long weekend!<br />
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<i>There will be some of this. Not racing, just regular running. And it will most likely include me making faces during the run.</i></div>
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<i>Starbucks <3 </i></div>
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<i> There will be lots of cupcakes. It's memorial day weekend people! I'm going to enjoy! </i></div>
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<i>Nuun drinking! </i></div>
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<i> Possibility of a track workout at some point during the weekend </i></div>
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<i> Plenty of margarita drinking! So much so that there will be two pictures of me partaking in it! </i></div>
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<i>Margarita love <3</i></div>
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<i>Some swimming</i></div>
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<i>And of course, some beach going...shh don't tell Paul</i></div>
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<i>This is me, doing back flips thinking about the awesome weekend to come. </i></div>
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<i>ps...this is not really me at all</i></div>
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Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! I hope you enjoy it!<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-13498397860839872832012-05-24T06:20:00.001-07:002012-05-24T06:23:02.069-07:00Remember When...To some of you this post may seem completely out of no where. The point of it may or may not have anything to do with what this blog is about, but the blog in general is about me and therefore I find it relevant to post. Feel free to not read it if you don't agree. I have too many thoughts about this topic that I need to write about it somewhere before I forget just how much I care about it again. Maybe I'm thinking more and more about this topic because in the past week I've seen or talked to 4 of my best friends from college (yes that would be you Beckie, Brittany, Joe, and Ben); but the reality is the conversation I had with Paul the other night after dinner reminded me about it. Ok I'll stop being vague and start explaining. We are going to go way back to the college days to explain this one.<br />
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Freshman year of college I went in some what open minded. My technical major was "Undecided Liberal Arts," but I knew I wanted something in the health field. I always said I wanted any job that included me wearing a white lab coat of any kind. I did some searching in between my doing nothing and partying.<br />
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<i>Perfect example of me sitting doing nothing. A lot of that happened freshman year</i></div>
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<i>And then there was the party side to it.... </i></div>
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There is the possibility that I spent so much time in health services with tonsil issues, that I finally decided on a career path. Nursing! Go me! I was all set and ready to go. I got home from college, had my tonsils out the next day, and three days later started summer school. I had to catch up on biology if I was going to be a nursing major. I spent my ENTIRE summer taking classes, Monday-Friday from 9am-12pm. The day before I left for my sophomore year was my last final for the summer. I will say I didn't put all my effort into the second half. By that point I got my first grades back from BIO 101, and started slacking a little for BIO 102. I got back to school and was ready to start off on my nursing track. I was a nursing major and was ready to go. I started taking my anatomy (loved) and chemistry (hated) classes. Then the summer class grades came in. I got a C+ in Bio 102. There was a clear (apparently) policy in place that QU could not accept any transfer credit below a B- from another university. I was immediately pulled from my anatomy class, because I no longer had the prerequisites to take it, and was stuck in limbo. I met with the head of the health science department and we switched me from nursing to Health Science Studies major. By having this I was going to also have to stay an extra year to finish my nursing degree. I got through the first semester and knew it wasn't for me. I was enjoying my sophomore year to say the least, and my chemistry grades were taking the rough end of it. </div>
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<i>Party time all the time sophomore year</i></div>
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I switched my major to undeclared health science and picked up a minor in psychology. If you are keeping count this is the 4th major I had by my second semester sophomore year. I got back to school and started taking my psychology classes for the spring semester. I LOVED every psychology class I took. I thought long and hard, and had a few margaritas (kidding, sort of), and made an important decision. I would yet again switch my major (major number 5!) to Psychology!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1EKSw0tbPyFgZ6BPdPybULiC9vWW7D8FNLUGndJ-Rr6Q3mMNASBDlikhhTe-ZNJ9YGvwc1QGSlemLQowlD9q0n3UmpOyLL4OjQ4ce8YJ9Chcc1nPzKv1QQ0HeaHlaxtHX4edvgKuLkwm/s1600/soph+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1EKSw0tbPyFgZ6BPdPybULiC9vWW7D8FNLUGndJ-Rr6Q3mMNASBDlikhhTe-ZNJ9YGvwc1QGSlemLQowlD9q0n3UmpOyLL4OjQ4ce8YJ9Chcc1nPzKv1QQ0HeaHlaxtHX4edvgKuLkwm/s320/soph+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Gotta love a good margarita!</i></div>
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There wasn't a psychology class that I didn't love. Junior year came and went. I added sociology as a minor and started to narrow down the field within psychology that I liked. I started off senior year taking all psychology classes that dealt with health psychology. I loved, and did well in, all of these classes. Senior year was also the year of<a href="http://peaceloveandrun.webs.com/apps/blog/show/2491024-1-2-marathon-oct-18-2009" target="_blank"> my first half marathon! </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlg_9mIX4chbmOBhbkftVGgFW9U2QhVLQEwd5B9KFZ6a3eWMy4uXGXbInfJylkXYGQdFabADaOg5KQ8btbiaoqOCph8EORcfXB5_oM4a6QGzzbTcF97DTPJYMK16TS5sQqFXXkWFbcCxR/s1600/sr+year.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUlg_9mIX4chbmOBhbkftVGgFW9U2QhVLQEwd5B9KFZ6a3eWMy4uXGXbInfJylkXYGQdFabADaOg5KQ8btbiaoqOCph8EORcfXB5_oM4a6QGzzbTcF97DTPJYMK16TS5sQqFXXkWFbcCxR/s320/sr+year.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Clearly the night before, because day of was a DISASTER</i></div>
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Second semester sophomore year my life was taken over by my thesis. My topic was childhood obesity and social withdrawal. Please see <a href="https://twitter.com/amynicole10/status/8528948623" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/amynicole10/status/8834158792" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/amynicole10/status/9397057544" target="_blank">here,</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/amynicole10/status/9453081624" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/amynicole10/status/9735035641" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/amynicole10/status/10757998227" target="_blank">here</a>, or <a href="https://twitter.com/amynicole10/status/11041643260" target="_blank">here </a>to find status's about just how much work I was doing. Ignore all my complaining in the majority of it, because as hard as I worked on it, I loved the topic. Because <strike>all of you are wondering </strike>I don't get to brag about this enough, I received a 92 on the written thesis and a 97 on the presentation. I know, I was awesome. After that senior year life was much more relaxed and fun! </div>
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<i>Margaritaville inside Mohegan Sun . We randomly became friends with this guy</i></div>
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Finally it was graduation time. I really enjoyed every area of Psychology I worked in, but had no job prospects when I was graduating. I mean zero. I went on one job interview, that I apparently was not qualified for. None the less I had to graduate and go out in the world. </div>
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<i>Yay! Graduation day. What are you doing tomorrow Amy? Oh I don't know I have NO JOB! </i></div>
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<i>At least we didn't have to move out of our house for a few weeks. </i></div>
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Anyways. There is a purpose to memory lane. And no it was not just to tell you how awesome I did on my thesis, although I'm sure you did appreciate that part. After graduation I had a few weeks to hang around CT and finish up my internships before moving home. I also met the bf, you know, little stuff.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALns8FOSLIgtOYb2aJWC30Tj8FuT9CoOZvCm4VHJkmNjmAyIPsO7-w28BnmM6CrBEGWS1xHiADi2o43l4iB56nwOZr2KsKkBAua6sj-jSUvAWGHrw6jvNqbUGrdh9U2TfD5S23e00MUzi/s1600/74981_1464390330017_1241250014_31160231_3069479_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALns8FOSLIgtOYb2aJWC30Tj8FuT9CoOZvCm4VHJkmNjmAyIPsO7-w28BnmM6CrBEGWS1xHiADi2o43l4iB56nwOZr2KsKkBAua6sj-jSUvAWGHrw6jvNqbUGrdh9U2TfD5S23e00MUzi/s320/74981_1464390330017_1241250014_31160231_3069479_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Possibly our first picture? </i></div>
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I headed back to Boston and sat on my couch for a day. Then I spent the entire next day applying for jobs. Day 3 of being home I started my waitressing job again. Day 4 of being home I was offered a 6 week summer position to help out in the finance office of the high school near me. My brother went there, as did just about every other male family member, and my mom currently worked there. They needed some help and an excel pro, that was me! So I had two part time jobs making good money while looking for my full time job. At some point I realized I was not only good at what I was doing, but that I enjoyed it! Shocking! I talked to my boss at the beginning of August, and got the job full time. I worked on the budgets, admissions, financial aid, financial reports, I could go on and on. You all know how this story ends. <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2011/07/seriously-slacking-already.html" target="_blank">I quit my job and move to NY, jobless. </a><br />
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When I was on the search for jobs, I looked for colleges and high schools for admissions. I was good at what I was doing and I enjoyed it. I figured why not continue to look for jobs in this area. I got the job at the college and life continued. If you checked my <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html" target="_blank">All About Amy</a>, you'll see I said that I was interested in being a school counselor. This was in line with working in admissions and etc. </div>
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Ok ok, the point of all this? At some point after college I lost the idea of what I had planned to do and worked so hard for. I created a new plan out of no where that I would work in admissions for however long and then go to school counseling. No plans for health psychology. I use to, and still do, LOVE everything that was health psychology related. I gave up my ideas for this field so quickly, and left it in the dust for job security. I should mention that I know this is not the worst reason to give up an idea and plan. The other night though Paul and I were talking about weight loss. He may or may not have been told recently by a few people just how skinny he is (side note, I think he is perfectly healthy, I just like to push buttons). We discussed what he should be eating now, changing between weight loss and maintaing weight, and all things along those lines. I started to realize how much I missed having these, and other conversations, about health, weight loss, and all psychology related to it.<br />
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Am I doing anything about this right now? No, not at all. I have gone as far as thinking about it for two days now, and writing a blog post about it. I haven't gone forward with what I will do with the fact that I miss this area of my life. I would love to get back into health psychology, but at the moment, I also like having a job and paying my bills. I needed to write this though to remind myself from time to time that originally, I had other plans for my future. Maybe I will go forward with it, maybe I won't, I am only 24 after all. I don't want to forget anymore though about what my original plan was.<br />
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Thank you all for indulging in my randomness and walk down memory lane. If anything does change on this front, you will most likely be some of the first people to know.<br />
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Happy Thursday everyone :)<br />
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<br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-83433242408676008942012-05-22T07:57:00.002-07:002012-05-22T07:57:43.416-07:00Long Run HellFor those of you that caught my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/amynicole10/status/204279335367090176" target="_blank">twitter </a>Sunday, you already know this weekends long run sucked. To set the stage, or give an explanation, or just to make myself not question if I should be running another half marathon anytime soon, I'm going to explain the week in the hopes it better explains this long run disaster.<br />
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The week was going well with running so far. I had a great track morning on Tuesday, followed up with a good run Wednesday. Thursday's run had to be pushed to Friday morning. Regardless of my lack of excitement, I was up and out of the house to run by 5 am. I got my mileage done, but it wasn't my best run by any means.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqJ7cDygGYAkDvM9TiBdzSMkKuHvav4d4KrwAIr0tGmNBkn7zJHGkfuHRpyJkQjDmP9Zhj_O9wZFNVCpbLc3N84rAidTAg4JghITRUW7jWOrRjkFgHGDVnYjadlvoCxw_kaNSyiD1mlKk/s1600/nuun.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqJ7cDygGYAkDvM9TiBdzSMkKuHvav4d4KrwAIr0tGmNBkn7zJHGkfuHRpyJkQjDmP9Zhj_O9wZFNVCpbLc3N84rAidTAg4JghITRUW7jWOrRjkFgHGDVnYjadlvoCxw_kaNSyiD1mlKk/s320/nuun.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Thanks nuun for making the run not completely miserable at 5 am. </i></div>
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I ended up getting out of work early Friday, which gave Paul and I enough time to go to the running store down the street. Paul needed new shoes, and even though I had my <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2011/12/k-swiss-bogo.html" target="_blank">new kswiss </a>ones that I never wore, I'm always on the look out. Paul had been talking about getting Brooks shoes, so I had checked out the website and took their <a href="http://www.brooksrunning.com/on/demandware.static/Sites-BrooksRunning-Site/Sites-BrooksRunning-Library/default/brooks_shoe_advisor/Default.htm" target="_blank">test </a>about which type of shoes were best for me (Ghost 4). I asked to try on a pair of ghost 4s at the store, only to be informed they didn't have them in my size. "The women's track coach at Adelphi University wears Ghost 4s in a size 10, she must of bought the last pair today." My options were to find the track coach and steal the shoes before she wore them (a lot of effort), not buy any shoes (clearly that option only lasted in my mind for .2 seconds), or buy a different pair of shoes. The very nice woman, who was now dealing with my "what do you mean I can't have what I want" attitude, suggested two other shoes to me. One was the Glycerin 9, a similar but in her opinion a step up, from the ghost 4s (they were ugly, really ugly). The other were last seasons Glycerin 9's. Last seasons option wasn't ugly for starters, and only $50. Yes we found a winner! They also sold nuun so I snagged a pink lemonade and a lemon tea, just to make the entire purchase that much better. We followed up the shoe shopping with puppy viewing and a graduation dinner! I passed out at 9:45, yes 9:45pm on Friday night...party animal, I know.<br />
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<i>Cutest Puppy Ever! </i> <i>Made my Friday night! </i></div>
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The alarms were all set for an early morning 6 mile long run on Saturday, and all the alarms were shut off when the time came around. Paul and I were both still exhausted, and I knew I had a long day ahead even without the run, so I pushed it off till Sunday morning.<br />
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I woke up Sunday morning, late. Got myself out of bed, had a bagel and peanut butter, and got ready to go. I wore my new Brooks shorts (thanks to myself), my new lulu sports bra(thanks to my mom), my lulu tank (thanks to the bf), and of course my new Brooks shoes (again thanks to myself). I also was able to snag Paul's garmin because he was going for a bike ride and didn't need it. If you are checking, the only item not new that I wore were my sunglasses. My super obnoxious eye infection (neglected to mention this before) was bothering me when I got outside. I still don't know what it is, but the result is my left eye watering uncontrollably when I'm in the sun. Yes, it is that obnoxious. So I: woke up late, wore all brand new things, had an eye infection, and a stomach ache. With all of this taken into account, I was really excited for this run. I was mentally prepared when I stepped out the door, after that I don't even know what happened.<br />
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I got the garmin all set and started running. It was sunny and warm out, but I was comfortable. I ran the mile about 30 second faster than what I was looking for, and told myself to slow down a little. I apparently listened to myself a little too much. At I'm not really sure what point of the 2nd mile I started walking because my knee bothered me. In my mind I said "ok 30 seconds to walk, then time to run again," what happened you ask? The exact opposite. I couldn't motivate myself AT ALL. Nothing was pushing me to run. My legs were tired, I was tired. I wanted the run to be done, I wanted to be home, I wanted to be doing just about anything but what I was doing. In my mind I wanted a great long run, I just had no desire to put in the effort for it apparently. It also was not helpful that every now and then a little man would pop up on my Garmin to tell me just how much slower my pace was than my usual pace. I almost yelled "IM NOT PAUL! 8 MINUTE MILES IS NOT MY USUAL PACE!". I realized I would look like an insane person if I started to yell at my watch however, and kept on moving. I some how got myself through 3.5 miles, about 3 minutes slower than my goal time, and ran into Paul on the bike. He was done his bike ride and was going to switch his shoes and meet me on the other side of the mile loop to run with me. He got me more water, checked on how I was doing, and sent me out to finish my .5 miles until we met up.<br />
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Just before I hit 4 miles I saw him with my water bottle, and sucked down some pink lemonade nuun (delicious). I told Paul it wasn't my day, and I thought I would do 5 miles. I <strike>explained </strike> complained about my time, my stomach, my eye, the little man yelling at me on the Garmin, and everything else. He agreed this was fine and we started off to finish my run. I'm pretty sure I ran for about 2 minutes and started walking. I was DONE. Paul stopped and walked and humored me for about 30 seconds. He then informed me that I wasn't allowed to take another walk break for sometime. I started running and looked at my Garmin about 500 times to see if I hit the mileage I needed to walk. It was ridiculous. At one point Paul yelled "if you look at the watch again, I'm cutting your wrist off!". I whined and complained a lot. I think at one point I told him I couldn't breathe, to which he responded "If you really can't breathe you can stop, otherwise keep going". Well of course I could breathe, I just wanted it all to be done, so I kept running.<br />
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We made it to some sneaky back way to the track and I was allowed to walk. I'm not sure I was even actually tired, I was just over the run. My knees hurt and I was unhappy. We walked through some grass and past a baseball game, and once we hit the track I was informed I was running the rest of my mile. I don't know how long my final mile took, but I'm pretty sure it was at least two minutes faster than any other mile on my run. I thanked Paul multiple times for running with me at the end and apologized for my complaining. Listening to me complain about things is not fun (ask my mom), but having to listen to me complain while we are running, I'm sure is one of the more miserable activities anyone can partake in. He puts up with a lot of crap from me and for that I will be forever thankful.<br />
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We went to the beach after to enjoy the rest of the sunny day, mostly because it will rain all this week. We talked about my running and my running future. While part of the run difficulty could easily be because of my new shoes, there is a much larger part to it. The saying of "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" applies to me. When the going gets tough, I do in fact get going, just the other way. I'm not capable of pushing myself <b>AT ALL.</b> I could use my psych degree to figure out why, but I've decided to instead just use the degree to figure out the answer to how to fix my lack of motivation. It is clear that I can run the miles straight, not take walk breaks, and have a faster pace. The entire problem is mental and I need to work around that. If I had an answer as to the problem, I would of posted it first. Unfortunately I'm still working on it. For now I am going to continue doing what I can. I LOVE the track workouts on Tuesday morning, and I am able to get myself through the short runs. The answer during this set of training might be to make Paul run all my long runs with me. Kidding, sort of. I'm working through the answers the best I can, and trying to just enjoy running while I work it out.<br />
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I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Happy Tuesday!<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-19225042284422545712012-05-17T08:51:00.001-07:002012-05-17T08:51:49.590-07:00Sticking to a planNow that it has been almost two weeks since the<a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/05/uhc-providence-12-marathon.html" target="_blank"> UHC Providence 1/2</a>, I think it is finally time for me to move on and talk about something else....such as my plans for the next race!<div>
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I havn't really been one in the past to come up with a training plan and stick with it. Please see just about any race on <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/p/race-recaps.html" target="_blank">this </a>page. I know sticking to the plans that I create will only help me down the line with my goals, I just really suck when it comes to the follow through. So this time I created a plan to help me stick to my plan. Confused? That's ok. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTeOb5gVTgCrshYvhs4WePjm1d27h58nWYaV7VQR8TXklmrFyCr-bR-FMI8-0yGrR8kO-PhkDCF76xtD_Bs5HCBg09Y_XtQP7iF21Fv3c3ND-z1ZM-PHCfaWjMDvgfU7DTYPWXx9ZNLzg/s1600/Paul+post+race.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTeOb5gVTgCrshYvhs4WePjm1d27h58nWYaV7VQR8TXklmrFyCr-bR-FMI8-0yGrR8kO-PhkDCF76xtD_Bs5HCBg09Y_XtQP7iF21Fv3c3ND-z1ZM-PHCfaWjMDvgfU7DTYPWXx9ZNLzg/s320/Paul+post+race.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Tada! This is the plan to stick to my plan. </i></b></div>
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Recognize him? Ok good. After being a <b>really </b>awesome girlfriend and introducing Paul to the world of running way back when, he took over and started to kick my ass. I know, how <strike>shitty </strike>awesome is that? Regardless, he knows how to stick to a plan very well. No matter what is going on, if he has something scheduled for training, he does it. Other than the obvious reasons, such as I'm with him all the time, it was clear he would be the right person to get me out and moving every day that I needed. And guess what, I'm a genius and the plan worked! Well, it has only been a week of training, but so far so good! </div>
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I need someone to get me up in the morning to run, out after work to run, take the candy away from me, or tell me to stop complaining about being tired. Paul has no problem doing all of the above. So now that I've seriously increased my boyfriends ego, lets move on to my actual running. </div>
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Here is my training plan: </div>
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<i>Click on it, it gets bigger! </i></div>
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Surprise race day is June 24! Yes this does mean I added yet another half marathon to my schedule. Paul was running the <a href="http://www.fairfieldhalf.org/index.html" target="_blank">Fairfield Half Marathon</a>, and I found it completely ridiculous that he was doing this without me....or I really didn't want him to have another medal than me. I'll talk more about the race another time, on to training for now. I am staying on track and completing all my runs so far. I even went back to Boston for the weekend and still did my run on Saturday, which I assure you has never happened before. </div>
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<i>Look I went running! Yay me! </i></div>
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Tuesday morning was an early wake up for the track! I swear I am getting better about getting out of bed faster. This time I only begged for 3 more minutes of sleep instead of my usual 5-10 minutes. Baby steps people, baby steps. We headed down to the track and I did my warm up laps, followed by 5 x 400's. Keep in mind I don't have a whole heck of a lot of time to run, shower, eat, and get to work on time without waking up at 4am, so I take what I can with my distances. I'm also deciding if it is more beneficial for me to start adding to the distance or the amount I am doing to help improve. Thoughts on that are welcomed and appreciated! </div>
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I'm working on pushing myself through at tough parts, because I know this is huge when it comes to my races. Once I start to see my goal slipping away, I throw in the towel and settle for what I can get. <b>No more of that. </b>So here's how it went: </div>
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1-2:10</div>
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2- 1:56</div>
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3- 2:06</div>
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4- 2:08</div>
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5- 2:06</div>
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<i>No I do not have a Garmin, it is on just about every wish list I have though....</i></div>
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In reality, this isn't bad for me, but it's not even close to what I would like to be doing. I'll take any improvements though, because I know I'm not going to be running sub 2 hour 1/2's over night. </div>
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So there it is: new race, new plans, new plans for the plan, and I'm adding in stretching/pilates this time around! Blame it on the sunny and warm weather for my running excitement at the moment. </div>
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Happy Thursday everyone! </div>
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<br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-61880395272167206022012-05-14T19:27:00.000-07:002012-05-14T19:27:00.284-07:00UHC Providence 1/2 MarathonI'm sorry, were you looking for my usual timely post of a recap? My apologies. Two Sunday's ago was half marathon number 4 for me! I had very (and I mean very) low expectations for this race. For starters, I hadn't planned on doing it originally. I can't really use that as an excuse though because even after I planned to do it, I still didn't really train for it. Proof of this would be the longest run I did for training was <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/04/7-miles-and-track-workout.html" target="_blank">7 miles</a>...not 10 like I usually do. There are all sorts of <strike>excuses </strike>reasons as to why I didn't train, but I'll save you all from those explanations. So here it goes, from where I left off on <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/05/weekend-recap.html" target="_blank">Monday</a>...<br />
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I woke up on race morning feeling extremely relaxed. Paul and I had stayed at the Courtyard Marriott for the night. I will give them a huge (not even giving me money for this I just really like them) shout out. We just about always stay at Courtyard Marriott. They are nice and usually not the most expensive thing in the world. They also are great with customer service (ex...Someone on the phone told me parking would be free. Long story short it wasn't. I complained a tiny bit, they added the parking to our bill, but dropped the price of our room so we paid same amount! Win!) They got bonus points for this race because the hotel entrance was the starting point for the race. This means no sitting in traffic, no waiting for a train, no searching for parking and running two miles to the start line, and the biggest plus of all not waking up at the crack of dawn!<br />
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I woke up at 7 am, had an english muffin with peanut butter and got ready to go. The whole outfit selection thing was out of control. I left the shirt I wanted to wear at home so wasn't sure of what to do. The weather said it would be 60, but it was freezing at 7am. I debated the whole long sleeve/short sleeve and sunglasses/no sunglasses thing for far too long. I ended up with short sleeves (good choice) and no sunglasses (bad choice). At 7:50, Paul and I headed outside to join the group at the start line. It took maybe 2 seconds to get in the pack of people. I can't even stress how huge this was. Another win for the Marriott, even though they really didn't do anything for this one. Paul and I shuffled to the half way point of the pack, he planned on heading further up but it was way too much effort to push through those people.<br />
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<i>Start Line</i></div>
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The gun went off and we all started to go. Paul and I crossed the start line together and then he took off to catch up with his pace group. I hung out in the middle/back of the pack. I watched people pass me and tried hard not to chase after them. I was overly cautious about going out too fast knowing that it could hurt me a lot in the end. I found a girl who looked like she knew how to pace herself and stayed near her. Once mile 1 was done people started taking off left and right to ditch extra clothes to the side of the road. Score one point for me being smart and wearing short sleeves. I lose points however because the sun was out in full force and I wanted sunglasses.<br />
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I decided to break the race up into 5 parts. Part 1: miles 1-3, part 2: miles 4-6, part 3: miles 7-9, part 4: miles 10-12, and part 5: the last 1.1 miles. I figured if I could set (and stick close to) goal times for each of these sets, the race wouldn't seem so big and unmanageable. The first part I felt good, I passed about 10 cameras and tried hard to take a good race picture (epic fail).<br />
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I tried to listen and enjoy my music and the sites around me. There were a few hills and I decided I'd allow myself to walk any hills. This mostly was because I knew if I tried to push my ass up them running, I would be in more pain and walk the entire next part. The down side to this plan was that there were so many hills. I thought it was crazy during it and then realized I had done no hill training so maybe that was why.
I was sticking to my time during the first part and into the second. Some point after mile 4 some guy yelled "you're almost there!". Seriously? I gave him a dirty look and kept running. On the other side of the park I could see the super speedy first couple of runners for the half that were about to finish mile 7. I tried not to let this discourage me and instead was excited for the girl dressed in pink from head to toe who was keeping up with all the front runner guys.<br />
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My 5 part plan was working until around mile 7. I had just come off a huge downhill, only to be followed up with a very large up hill. My knee had been hurting for at least 3 miles and my feet had just really started hurting. I knew it was because I wore my old shoes, but just reminded myself it would of been worse if I had tried to break in the new ones during the race. At the end of the uphill I started running (mostly cause I had been waking for almost 2 minutes up the hill it was that big). I saw the cutest family sitting on their front steps cheering everyone on. I gave my "I know I'm not I first, but at least I'm not last" smile and they cheered even more. At the top of the hill was a police officer directing and also cheering. I'm not sure I've ever seen an officer cheering at the races, so I give this guy credit. He also informed all of us that was the last bad hill, all down hill from here. He kind of lied, but I don't think intentionally so I still like him.<br />
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We turned a few corners and were on the other side of the park from before.
I was sort of looking at my watch during this time, but not anything serious. I was focused on getting through my parts and not the full race. I saw two brothers running together around mile 9. One was clearly hurting, and the other one was basically almost carrying him. It was probably the sweetest thing ever, and had I paid more attention I would of taken out my camera and got a picture.<br />
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Out of just about no where there was a huge downhill during mile 10. And by that I really mean just a gigantic drop. Running downhill kills your knees, and when they already hurt its worse. I wanted to take advantage and run down it fast, but I also didn't want to fall over and roll down it and kill myself. At the bottom of the hill you could see the 10 mile marker and I ran hard to hit it. We were along the water and I stopped to finally look at my watch and see just how far off I was from a PR and making sure I wasn't going to have a PW. I realized if I pushed it (and I mean pushed it) I could hit my 2:45. I got a little emotional thinking it was even possible, but was totally determined. I turned my music up loud and started running. I ran hard and felt good, and then surprise another hill. I cursed about the police officer who had lied and said no more hills, and tried to run up it. I was definitely slowing down a bit. I also saw some guy bring a girl a cookie at this point. I seriously considered using stealing the cookie out of her hand as motivation for me to run as fast as I could away, plus I really wanted that cookie.<br />
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Around mile 11 we met up with the marathon route. They started the marathon about a half hour before the half. I looked at my watch and realized these were all the marathon runners who were trying to BQ. I moved over to not get run down or in their way and just hoped some of their speed would rub off on me. We were along the water again and running through a park. The team in training group had put up signs along the way of people they were running for (mom who died from cancer, baby with cancer, dad fighting cancer and etc). I of course got a little choked up then too.
There was another hill and I saw some marathoners walking it, this seemed like a good enough reason for me to walk it as well. I was starting to get really exhausted and the no training was really hurting me. I saw the 12 mile mark and looked at my watch. I realized to make it in at 2:45, I had to run an 8 min mile. I thought to myself if I could do this, and thought I sure as hell would try. For those keeping count at home, this is time number 3 I almost cried during this race. Back in the day I would of seen that I need to run an 8 min mile and would of been so discouraged and upset. I was very proud of myself for how far I had come.<br />
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Probably about .2 miles after the 12 mile mark, I saw the marathon 25 mile mark. I thought maybe they had a different finish line then we did. I was pushing it a lot in that last mile, but it hurt so much. I suddenly saw the 26 mile mark for the marathon and hadn't seen the 13 mile mark yet for the half. I was too tired to try and figure this out, I just knew I could only have .2 miles left to go. This is around the time my right foot went numb, like completely numb. Terrifying moment. I just thought keep running. I kept going, I knew I wasn't making my 2:45, I had walked too much in the last mile cause of pain. I knew I was going to PR and I really wanted the race to be done.<br />
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I turned the corner and saw the finish shoot and people on either side. I ignored the fact that these people were here to see the marathoners who were killing it, and took in all of the cheering and excitement. My foot went numb again but I didn't care. I was scanning the crowd for Paul and my mom. I finally caught them right after the finish line smiling and cheering. My entire face lit up. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see them in my life. I crossed the finish and almost fell over. I grabbed my medal and moved out of the way for everyone else finishing.
I finished in 2 hours and 52 mins. A 4 minute PR for me.<br />
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<i>Finish Line. Ignore the clock, that was for the marathoners</i></div>
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I found out Paul killed it, no surprise there, and went out for lunch with him and my mom. I was so happy with the race being done and that I PR'd. I wanted the 2:45 so bad, but knew that wasn't the race for it.<br />
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<i>With my mom after the race!</i></div>
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During the drive back I came up with goals for future races that are even more than finishing in 2:45. I know if I work hard I can do it. I need to properly train and push myself every step and I'll get them. I'm happy I did the race and still consider it a success!<br />
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Half-marathon number 4 is done, and now time to get ready for number 5!<br />
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Happy Monday Everyone!<br />
<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-77193463178783783542012-05-08T07:29:00.000-07:002012-05-08T07:29:47.995-07:00Please excuse this brief interruptionThe full recap that would have been today has been interrupted and postponed until, well I don't know when. To me a full recap includes pictures and etc. Mostly because this time I think some of my pictures are going to be good. Aka they will not look like the following:<br />
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Sadly there are no pictures posted from the race, so no recap. For now I am getting my training plan all set and ready for my next race. I have a month and half to two months to improve my speed, a lot. I have time goals for all my upcoming races which I will post as the time gets closer!<br />
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Recap will be up as soon as the pictures are posted!<br />
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Happy Tuesday everyone!<br />
<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-63616661043038050852012-05-07T09:24:00.000-07:002012-05-07T09:24:21.903-07:00Weekend Recap<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is going to be long..so everyone get some coffee and relax. Saturday morning Paul and I were up at 5 am to get ready to drive to Harriman State Park for his triathlon. I did as <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/05/uhc-providence-goals.html" target="_blank">promised </a>and got up without too much complaining. We got on the road and headed out for the race. Paul was pretty excited, and I think a little nervous. It was his first tri of the season and was hoping to place for his age group.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This wasn't staged or anything</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">During the drive I noticed the insane fog a few times, and really thought nothing of it. Once we started driving into the park, we could see nothing. I mean nothing. There was water on either side of us and I had no idea. We parked and Paul got in and all set up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then we waited, and waited, and waited. The fog was so bad that they kept pushing back the start. The hope was if they pushed it back enough the fog would burn off, and they could do the swim. We walked around a little and headed to the beach to check it out. </span><br />
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<i> All ready to swim!</i></div>
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<i>There is a lake...I swear</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGQ3UHlKAGZVxuYxWNPSD65K-GxUyj-vouygsDlv09R6fJbsPnBCyPdRYB_efzHjs8hd8FxuXUtTOiz1aj9BHu5DgMOaHyU1sH3XZh45hzllxODIfBb8M9PjB_pE0WAAkWO43p5JemWtU/s1600/pre+race+fog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGQ3UHlKAGZVxuYxWNPSD65K-GxUyj-vouygsDlv09R6fJbsPnBCyPdRYB_efzHjs8hd8FxuXUtTOiz1aj9BHu5DgMOaHyU1sH3XZh45hzllxODIfBb8M9PjB_pE0WAAkWO43p5JemWtU/s320/pre+race+fog.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>But seriously, where is the beach? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The race was supposed to start at 8am, and finally at 8:45 they called off the swim. Lots of disappointment all around, but I knew Paul was mostly upset because the swim is what he's best at. Everyone got out of swim gear and ready to run. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The event turned into a 1.2 mile run, 11 mile bike, 3 mile run. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After some really great pre run stretching, that I'm not allowed to post pictures of</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mandatory pre race picture...ignore the tired eyes on my part</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After some quick organizing by the race directors, everyone got lined up and ready to go. I have to say, the race </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">directors</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> did a great job. They made timely updates, and when they realized they couldn't do the swim, handled it very well with the line up for the run. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirisy-x1qAKBijLs9XzMhlkjkCjMegO8-zNGqB5PYiI3FTH2gSKRaIIhBwSHVL2pHEGbwcdzinU6xOu3ezHLi51dpx9PIj09IRgLZGVRhqV1TdmT8gN1b1h60xg5vXWqEkiBlhskZGkqx_/s1600/start+line+up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirisy-x1qAKBijLs9XzMhlkjkCjMegO8-zNGqB5PYiI3FTH2gSKRaIIhBwSHVL2pHEGbwcdzinU6xOu3ezHLi51dpx9PIj09IRgLZGVRhqV1TdmT8gN1b1h60xg5vXWqEkiBlhskZGkqx_/s320/start+line+up.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Start line</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Finally at 9 it got started. Everyone went off in the same waves as they would of for the swim. They all went down one side, did the first loop of the run, and came back for the bike. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Running into the fog</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The only time I was nervous about people running into each other was when the fastest from the first wave got back before the last wave went off. Luckily, no disasters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <i>Paul on his way back (not man in red) </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then they were off on the bike. I like triathlons for the main reason of there is always something to look at. By the time the last person leaves for the bike, it usually is only a few minutes before someone else gets back. In the mean time though, I take part in my favorite triathlon activity...puppy stalking. </span></div>
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Lassie! </div>
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<i>Cute Puppy </i></div>
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<i>Puppy that looks like a fox and I wanted to steal </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sadly, there were not many cute puppies at this race. After about 10 minutes or so the first bikers came back in to get ready to run and I was entertained again. I saw one man take out a rice director trying to get off his bike....don't worry everyone was ok so we can laugh about this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Paul coming back from the bike</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I headed over to the finish line after to wait and see Paul finish. There was some great entertainment at the end line as usual. People sprinting to the finish, guys hoping to finish before the girls that are just two or three steps ahead of them, and then this guy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>He did the whole race in this hat. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I guessed what time I thought Paul would come in, and was wrong. He killed it and came in way before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We hung around at the end and took some pictures while waiting to see if Paul finished top in his age group. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are clearly more details to this race that you can check out at his <a href="http://lirookieracer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>. This is just my spectator angle of it all. After this was done, Paul and I headed out to Rhode Island for the race. We checked into the hotel and over to packet pick up before it closed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>View from hotel was great </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We ran into the Rock n Roll Providence crew at the expo, and they gave us a sneak peek at the medals for the race this year (umm they're awesome). Then we headed over for our pre race dinner at Dave n Busters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> Buffalo Chicken Slider amazingness (yes extra pickles on the side!) </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We watched the Kentucky Derby, I picked the winner thank you very much! I sadly did not bet though and made nothing off of my selection. I mean come on, "I'll have another" it was clear no other horse had as good of a name. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We headed back to the hotel after and got everything ready for the next day. The hotel also had just about every cheerleader from age 5 to 15 there for a competition that weekend. I may or may not have yelled at a group of 7 year olds in the hallway at 10:15. In fairness, their parents were out to dinner so nobody else was around to yell at them. I also <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/05/uhc-providence-goals.html" target="_blank">warned </a>everyone I wanted a PR and didn't train so I was going to be a little on edge. Paul made me feel bad for about 10 minutes, and then there was more screaming, so I got over my guilt. At some point they all got yelled at by security and the parents came back, and I fell asleep. Before I knew it, it was race morning! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Full recap tomorrow! Spoiler...I PR'd....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Happy Monday everyone! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-84536049843302758342012-05-04T09:07:00.000-07:002012-05-04T09:57:34.940-07:00UHC Providence GoalsFinally, the weekend! I'm not sure of the last time I was this excited for a weekend. It could be from working so many days in a row, oh I've already mentioned that a billion times, sorry(kind of).<br />
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Tomorrow morning will be an early wake up and drive to Harriman State Park for <a href="http://lirookieracer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Paul's Triathlon.</a> TriRock was my <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2011/10/trirockmy-first-tri.html" target="_blank">first triathlon</a> last year, and a ton of fun, but I'm happy I get to watch this year. I will be happy cheerleader girlfriend from tonight until Saturday after the race! This will include not being a total grouch when I need to wake up at 4:30 am, making sure everything is packed, and taking about a billion pictures. Once the race is done though, I'm turning into "looking for a PR on a race I didn't train for" girlfriend. Paul has been warned to watch out for the mood swing.<br />
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I still can't get past how quickly this race crept up on me. It's more than likely because its only been a little over a month since I <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/03/updates-galore.html" target="_blank">decided </a>to run it. The race isn't exactly a goal race of any sort for me, but I am glad I'm doing it. I needed to kick off my training for some other goal races I have, and the best way to keep me on track is to get ready for a race.<br />
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I'm oddly excited for this race, even though my training has been a little non-existent. I have some goals, but nothing exciting.<br />
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Goal A: PR of any sort. I will take a .2 second PR. A PR is PR for this race.<br />
Goal B: No PW. I'm pretty sure I can accomplish this goal unless something dramatic (like my leg breaks) and I have to walk the entire race. Even then I think I'd be good .<br />
Goal C: Finish.<br />
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So there you go that is the plan for now. I'm currently spending the day deciding if I should wear new shoes or keep the old ones. I'm pretty sure my knee problems lately have been from my shoes being worn down and it is time for new ones. I'm battling with the decision of sucking it up and hoping it doesn't hurt wearing the old ones, and going against the rule of never wear something new on race day (especially shoes!), and lace up the new ones.<br />
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You all will be first to know my decision for race day. Well actually, the twitter world will be so <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/amynicole10" target="_blank">check there</a> or tweet me advice about which shoes to run in!<br />
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Happy <b>FRIDAY </b>Everyone!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-81356952704222150212012-05-03T07:25:00.002-07:002012-05-03T07:25:14.997-07:00May UpdatesCan we all agree to ignore the fact that I skipped over my monthly update for April? Yeah? Ok great, moving on! It is May finally, and I'm hoping the weather out lately is not going to be a reflection of what's to come in the next month. Rainy, cloudy, grossness (yes that is a word). So on to updates on<a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012.html"> 2012 resolutions</a>... spoiler alert...I'm not really sticking to them.<br />
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1. Run A race for every holiday:<br />
-Well I didn't do Valentine's day, but the <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/2012/03/dc-12-marathon-part-2.html">DC half marathon</a> was on St. Patrick's Day. Does that count?<br />
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2. Run 2, possibly 3, half marathons:<br />
-I am on my way to finishing this on Sunday! I clearly will do more than 3 by the end of the year thanks to my <a href="http://newyorkrunning.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-races.html">"clearly I'm trying to kill myself with half marathons"</a> race schedule<br />
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3. Stretch Every morning:<br />
-Did anyone actually believe I was going to stick to this one? (Sorry if you had more faith in me, I knew this one wasn't sticking too long)<br />
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4. Run at least 10 miles every week:<br />
-Ehh, I should get better about keeping track of these things.<br />
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5&6. Run a 5k at 9 min mile pace and a run a 10k in under an hour:<br />
-<a href="http://thecolorrun.com/newengland/">5k </a>and <a href="http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/new-york">10k </a>scheduled. Also working on my speed (sort of).<br />
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7. Take a pilates class<br />
-Luckily I still have about 8 months to actually do this.<br />
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I'm not totally sure about how this half marathon crept up on me, but it is this weekend! Goal post tomorrow!<br />
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Happy Thursday (aka day 11 in a row of work for me(ok I'll stop complaining now))!!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-9202962807020415682012-05-02T09:29:00.001-07:002012-05-02T09:29:56.051-07:00Running KarmaI have more recently become a large believer in karma. I swear anytime I am scheduled to go for a run and don't, karma comes and bites me in the ass. As if I already didn't feel bad about the fact that I bailed on a run, now I have karma shoving it back in my face. Here is how running karma attacked me today.<br />
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This morning was supposed to be a track workout morning. Paul and I had talked about getting up at 5 am and etc. I stressed the fact that I needed to be done running in time to shower and get ready for work, and look like a normal person (aka not the messy look with wet hair that I usually show up with after a morning run). For whatever reason this turned into we had to wake up at 4:45. The extra 15 minutes earlier was clearly too much for me, and the wake up this morning was less than pretty. After attempting to just push me out of bed, and me continuing to yell 2 MORE MINUTES, Paul said fine we'll skip it. I couldn't be happier to hear those words until he followed it up with, "I just thought you said you really wanted to focus on improving your running". Ouch! Harsh when the words are thrown in my face at 4:45am! I sat and thought about it for a minute and told Paul I changed my mind and we could go, but he was already asleep.<br />
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I fell back asleep and woke up at normal time and got ready for work. In the middle of straightening my hair is when karma came back. I accidentally dropped my hair straightener, thought nothing of this, and kept going. I then realized at one point that my hair didn't feel warm like it usually does while straightening. I slowly discovered that yes my poor hair straightener had broken.<br />
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My 2 year old, $120, hair straightener that I had bought for myself as a graduation present. Yes, this clearly is an overly dramatic reaction to a straightener breaking, but you have to understand a few things. First of all, it cost $120. Apparently 2 years ago I was rolling in money and could afford that, not so much anymore. I also straighten my hair just about every day. After some swearing and hair straightener throwing, I left for work with half straight and half wavy hair. I thought in the car about how if I had gotten up to go running, I probably would never have broken the straightener. Not that it isn't possible for me to have dropped it had I been getting ready earlier, but I was distracted by the tv which normally wouldn't of been on had I gotten ready after running. </div>
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There you go, my over dramatic story about my dead hair straightener. Thank you all for dealing with my craziness, and yes next time I will in fact go running before I get more bad running karma thrown back in my face! </div>
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Happy Wednesday! </div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-9653859993909693042012-04-30T12:13:00.000-07:002012-04-30T12:22:55.824-07:00Anxiety!!!Anxiety has more than set in about this half marathon that is less than 6 days away. Here are some quick updates for you!For starters, one of my best friends got engaged on Friday!!!! I am beyond excited for her and her hubby to be! I needed to get this said first because I continue to find myself at random telling people in the middle of conversations because I will think of it and get so excited. <br />
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Lucky for you all though, I have been spending my time doing things other than obsessing over my friends engagement. I did a couple of short runs last week to keep my legs streched out. Both were kind of eh. I know that isn't the best description, but it is very fitting. My right knee hurt for both runs, not enough for me to be in tears or anything like that, but enough for me to curse every now and then and have it slow me down. This has added just that extra bit of pre-race anxiety. I already know I am less than prepared for this race (aka I'm going to be slow as hell), but now I have to worry that I'm going to be even slower. Fingers are staying crossed that all will be better by race day.<br />
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I have been working all weekend (I know you are all jealous of my life) and am now on day 8 of work in a row. What I figured out this means is I will work 12 days straight, travel to Rhode Island Saturday, and run a half marathon Sunday. I know, the jealousy is just boiling over right now! Added to this is the triathlon Paul has on Saturday morning, which means I don't actually get to sleep past 7 am until...May 12. Yes I am complaining about this mostly because I love sleep and don't get enough of it. <br />
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So there you go, anxiety, extra work, lack of sleep, and annoying knee. All a great combo for a 1/2 marathon that you haven't really trained for! My personal pity party for myself is done now, thank you all for taking part. I'm off now to run in the hopes it will boost my confidence enough so that I don't think I'm absolutely crazy for doing this race!<br />
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Happy Monday everyone!!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-63365238224221383552012-04-24T08:36:00.001-07:002012-04-24T10:11:36.328-07:005 am is too early for anythingThis morning I got myself out of bed at 5 am on the nose and happily got dressed and ran down the street to the track for a track workout. Ok....that's crap. My morning really went something like this.<br />
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<b>5am</b>: Alarm goes off. Still half asleep, I throw the phone to <a href="http://lirookieracer.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Paul </a>to make the alarm stop.<br />
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<b>5:01 am</b>: I begin to be poked to get up. Repeatedly poked. I finally realize why at 5 am the alarm is going off. Tell myself over and over that I really do like track workouts and to just get up. I instead beg Paul to let me sleep for just 1 more minute. An argument then begins about what 1 more minute will do for me.<br />
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<b>5:03 am: </b>After my extra two minutes of sleep, Paul starts poking and arguing again to get me out of bed. In my mind I keep thinking "just get up, once you are up it will be ok". The bed is so warm though and I know it's cold out. I lay there quietly and hope that Paul forgets about my craziness of the track workout and falls back asleep.<br />
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<b>5:05 am: </b>Paul finally got smart and decided the best way to get me up is to literally push me right out of bed. More yelling from me about this ridiculousness and then I was up and moving, sort of.<br />
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<b>5:15 am: </b>I am at the track. I successfully got dressed (some what properly for the weather), had water, my watch, and music. You can't ask for too much more from me at 5:15 am.<br />
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I did a warm up run a little to get myself awake enough and then started my track workout. I've been having a lot of issues the past week or two with my hip, I know, I'm an old lady. Today was no different, except my right knee decided to join in with my hip. We aren't going to talk anymore about this in the hopes it just goes away.<br />
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After all was said and done though I was happy with my track workout. I did an extra run, but I also was even faster than last week. On average I was at least 15 seconds faster each time. I'm thinking it mostly was because last week was my first time (ever) that I did a track workout. Overall successful track work out! I have a run tonight (shhh don't tell Paul we're running), run on Thursday and a long run Saturday!<br />
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See you again next week track workout!<br />
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Happy Tuesday everyone!!<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3301758488339233090.post-20031418868560346692012-04-21T18:01:00.000-07:002012-04-21T18:17:23.042-07:007 miles and a track workoutAfter my mini freak out last week about running, I got back in the groove very quickly. After having a horrible run on Monday morning, I went back out again Monday after work. While I wasn't thrilled I couldn't do the mileage at the same time, I'm glad at the end of the day I got done what I needed. I decided I need to be a little bit better with my schedule for running, which will result in me being a little more selfish. Half of my problem was not scheduling my time correctly, and the other half was not sticking to the things I scheduled and letting other problems get in the way. <br />
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I continued with my training Thursday morning at 5 am! 5 am people! I don't wake up at 5 am for anything, especially if coffee isn't involved. It was all my idea too which is even more ridiculous. I had wanted to start working on my speed by adding in track workouts. I knew Paul did them, as well as most other runners I know, all who say they help a lot. I knew I wouldn't have time to run after work, so morning was the only way to go. Paul, as usual, was happy with waking up early for a run, and was also the only reason I actually got out of bed at 5 am. We walked down the street to the track and got started. I, surprisingly, enjoyed it a lot. I will absolutely be adding a weekly track work out for the next two months. In June I'll most likely add in two track workouts a week.<br />
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Today was my long run day. Since my race is two weekends away I would of liked to be running a long run of 10 miles today, but with my lack of distance lately I knew that wasn't the right way to go. I was hoping to do a solid 6 and come out feeling better about my running. I know race day if I go into it with good runs recently, no matter the distance, I at least will be mentally prepared. <br />
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I got ready for my run and decided to borrow a pair of Paul's CEP compression socks. We basically have the same calf size (I know let's not talk about how horrifying that is) so I figured they would be fine. I recently got a free pair, which I hopefully will have before my race, but I wanted to try them out ahead of time. Paul and I left for our run with the plan to meet up at the track in an hour. We rarely run together, and after the disaster when we did last weekend, I think he was thrilled to hear I was good with running separately. Right when I started I felt ok and thought I could add in some mileage. I knew Paul wanted to run 10 miles, and in the time he ran 10 I could run 7 (again I know let's not talk about this ridiculousness either). After about 5 minutes of running my calves were burning! Completely on fire and I decided I hated compression socks. Every step I took hurt. I slowly went through the first 3 miles in pain. I walked when I needed to, but tried to run as much as I could. I decided in mile 4 to ignore the pain as much as I could and run the 4th mile hard. I have no idea why I did this, but I got through the 4th mile strong. The 5th was much more painful because of my intense mile 4, but the compression socks felt better. I decided I might not hate them as much as I thought, and think the initial pain was from first time use, lack of stretching, and the fact that they are men's and not really fitted for my legs. <br />
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I headed over to the track to look for Paul at the start of my 6th mile, hoping he would be there early and with more water. Sadly he wasn't, and I ran my last two miles water free. Was my time fantastic? No not at all, but I was on pace with what I want for this race and I fought hard for all 7 miles.<br />
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Coming out of my running slump I knew getting back into it wouldn't be easy. I have two weeks until the Providence 1/2 marathon and my main goal is to keep in a good mindset. I'm going to be doing 2 short runs this week, a track workout, and a 6 mile run Saturday. Staying on track these last few weeks I think will be huge in helping me get through the 1/2.<br />
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Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037472605447217539noreply@blogger.com0