I just checked the weather for Chicago on Sunday. It's going to be hot. It will be about 60 at the start, which is manageable, but there is a high of 79 predicted. Are you kidding me?
I have been waiting and hoping this race would be THE race of the year. I haven't had the best of luck in my races this year. I had an awesome Pike's Peek, which is at the end of April. But then Frederick Marathon was ugly (it was hot and my stomach didn't like it). The the NYC Half Marathon was ugly (too hot), and then Virginia Beach was ugly (too hot). Are you sensing a pattern here? I don't like to run in the heat.
So, I'm now feeling nervous. I was feeling excited and couldn't wait and blah blah blah. But now I'm starting to feel my nerves. It's going to be a mental race now. I just have to tell myself I've gotten through worse. If any of you know my Walt Disney World Marathon story, you'll know what I'm talking about.
It seems that I've gotten my stomach issues under control. And, on paper, I know how to run in the heat. Therefore, in theory, I should be all right. Here's hoping.
Send your good vibes, because I'll need them!
Showing posts with label NYC Half Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYC Half Marathon. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Two Tickets to Paradise
Part of the post-race festivities for the NYC Half Marathon was a free Jamba Juice for all runners. I LOVE Jamba Juice. I first discovered this little gem in Arizona and have not had the pleasure of having a JJ in my residential area for a very long time. There was a JJ on the campus of GW, so the years spent in graduate school were made slightly better when I could get a nice, cool JJ for lunch or something.
Jamba Juice is delicousness. It is fresh fruit juiced and usually slushied so you're having a wonderfully healthy smoothie. You can add things to it to make it even better such as protein powder or fiber powder, and basically make it into a meal, which is often what I did. Yum!
Well, after the race and after my dear friend Kate was taken to the hospital, we didn't know what to do. So, we passed the time waiting to hear from Paul, Kate's husband, by making our way over to the post-race festivities and the Jamba Juice tent. I had been looking forward to a smoothie for the latter-half of the race. In fact, it was the only thing motivating me for a while. Even with the nausea, I wanted that freaking smoothie. We get over to the tent and, like a slap in the face, we're told they're out of smoothies. WTF? Someone should be fired for poor planning. But they gave us some coupons for free Jamba Juice.
We had two wonderful coupons for Jamba Juice and we were going to redeem those things if it killed us. My parents and Keller came into the city in the morning and we were walking around doing some shopping. My mom took Keller for a little walk so he could take a nap and my dad and I went to JJ to collect the goods. I could list all the wonderful yumminess that was contained in each of our smoothies, but I won't. I just will say that it was well worth the wait!
Jamba Juice is delicousness. It is fresh fruit juiced and usually slushied so you're having a wonderfully healthy smoothie. You can add things to it to make it even better such as protein powder or fiber powder, and basically make it into a meal, which is often what I did. Yum!
Well, after the race and after my dear friend Kate was taken to the hospital, we didn't know what to do. So, we passed the time waiting to hear from Paul, Kate's husband, by making our way over to the post-race festivities and the Jamba Juice tent. I had been looking forward to a smoothie for the latter-half of the race. In fact, it was the only thing motivating me for a while. Even with the nausea, I wanted that freaking smoothie. We get over to the tent and, like a slap in the face, we're told they're out of smoothies. WTF? Someone should be fired for poor planning. But they gave us some coupons for free Jamba Juice.
We had two wonderful coupons for Jamba Juice and we were going to redeem those things if it killed us. My parents and Keller came into the city in the morning and we were walking around doing some shopping. My mom took Keller for a little walk so he could take a nap and my dad and I went to JJ to collect the goods. I could list all the wonderful yumminess that was contained in each of our smoothies, but I won't. I just will say that it was well worth the wait!
These Little Town Blues...
I ran the NYC Half Marathon yesterday. Or maybe I should say it ran me. It really wasn't pretty.
We arrived in NYC Friday night. It was a fine trip up, nothing too exciting. Saturday, we met up with my friends Amanda and Kate and their respective husbands. Amanda, Kate and I were all running the race. We met at Niketown, picked up our packets and then went to lunch. We went to the Great American Health Bar on W. 57th. Yum! I got an avocado sandwich and there really isn't much more to say about it. It was so freaking good.
After lunch, we walked around a lot. This was Amanda's first time in NYC, so we wanted to show her some of the city but still not completely exhaust ourselves before the race. After walking around some, we all went back to our respective dwellings to rest, have dinner, and get ready for the race.
The weather Saturday night was so wonderful. It was cool and breezy and little humidity. I was pretty excited for the race. We had dinner at Josie's Kitchen up near the apartment. It was really good. We got some Pinkberry on the way back and then just spent the rest of the night getting ready for the race. I think I was asleep by 9:30!
Sunday morning race preparations went well. I felt good and ready. We headed over to the race start at 5:30. As soon as we left the apartment, it started to thunder and lightening. Oh, great. I was pissed. As we headed over to the race, it started raining. It was muggy and hot. I was not happy. The race started in Central Park, which is nice, but inside a park the trees kind of keep the humidity in and it's stifling.
I met up with Kate and Amanda. This was about 6:30. It had stopped raining by then and I was getting excited. The race started at 7:00 and we were off. I felt good at first but it was so freaking crowded. Between the humidity and the 14,000 people, I started to feel claustrophobic. I have to say that my nemesis in running is humidity. It kills me. I swear, the reaction is like air being let out of a balloon, with a little scream and everything. It's so not pretty.
So, we ran around Central Park, which is about a 7-mile loop of undulating, horrendous hills. Seriously, they really suck because they're all gradual inclines so you're climbing for an extended period of time. In addition, the humidity was making me feel nauseous. I started having dry heaves and thought I was going to lose it all over the place. Thankfully, I didn't. Finally, we left the park at mile 7 and we headed out onto 7th Ave. It was like the angels started singing for me. With the street being open and no trees in sight, the air thinned out, the crowd thinned out and I could breathe. We ran down 7th through Times Square, which was awesome. That was the best part of the race. We made a right onto 42nd Street and headed over to the West Side Highway. We then just ran down to the finish in Battery Park. I was pretty much done by the time we go to the West Side. The hills and nausea from the beginning really took their toll on me.
We finished and my poor friend Kate had to go to the medic tent. She was burning up but not sweating. She was feeling cold and shivering, but she was hot to the touch. She was suffering from heat exhaustion, maybe even heat stroke. They took her to the hospital in an ambulance and it was pretty intense. But she was all right. I haven't gotten the full story yet because they had to get on the road as soon as she got out of the hospital. We're still in the city, so I'll catch up with her tomorrow. But she called when she got out and she's doing all right.
So, that's that. This was not my best race in any sense of the word and I'm pretty disappointed. I hate having a bad race because it's such a blow to my confidence. But I'll chalk it up to experience and consider it a training run and move on. The next race is Virginia Beach Rock n' Roll Half Marathon, so hopefully that will be a little better.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
We arrived in NYC Friday night. It was a fine trip up, nothing too exciting. Saturday, we met up with my friends Amanda and Kate and their respective husbands. Amanda, Kate and I were all running the race. We met at Niketown, picked up our packets and then went to lunch. We went to the Great American Health Bar on W. 57th. Yum! I got an avocado sandwich and there really isn't much more to say about it. It was so freaking good.
After lunch, we walked around a lot. This was Amanda's first time in NYC, so we wanted to show her some of the city but still not completely exhaust ourselves before the race. After walking around some, we all went back to our respective dwellings to rest, have dinner, and get ready for the race.
The weather Saturday night was so wonderful. It was cool and breezy and little humidity. I was pretty excited for the race. We had dinner at Josie's Kitchen up near the apartment. It was really good. We got some Pinkberry on the way back and then just spent the rest of the night getting ready for the race. I think I was asleep by 9:30!
Sunday morning race preparations went well. I felt good and ready. We headed over to the race start at 5:30. As soon as we left the apartment, it started to thunder and lightening. Oh, great. I was pissed. As we headed over to the race, it started raining. It was muggy and hot. I was not happy. The race started in Central Park, which is nice, but inside a park the trees kind of keep the humidity in and it's stifling.
I met up with Kate and Amanda. This was about 6:30. It had stopped raining by then and I was getting excited. The race started at 7:00 and we were off. I felt good at first but it was so freaking crowded. Between the humidity and the 14,000 people, I started to feel claustrophobic. I have to say that my nemesis in running is humidity. It kills me. I swear, the reaction is like air being let out of a balloon, with a little scream and everything. It's so not pretty.
So, we ran around Central Park, which is about a 7-mile loop of undulating, horrendous hills. Seriously, they really suck because they're all gradual inclines so you're climbing for an extended period of time. In addition, the humidity was making me feel nauseous. I started having dry heaves and thought I was going to lose it all over the place. Thankfully, I didn't. Finally, we left the park at mile 7 and we headed out onto 7th Ave. It was like the angels started singing for me. With the street being open and no trees in sight, the air thinned out, the crowd thinned out and I could breathe. We ran down 7th through Times Square, which was awesome. That was the best part of the race. We made a right onto 42nd Street and headed over to the West Side Highway. We then just ran down to the finish in Battery Park. I was pretty much done by the time we go to the West Side. The hills and nausea from the beginning really took their toll on me.
We finished and my poor friend Kate had to go to the medic tent. She was burning up but not sweating. She was feeling cold and shivering, but she was hot to the touch. She was suffering from heat exhaustion, maybe even heat stroke. They took her to the hospital in an ambulance and it was pretty intense. But she was all right. I haven't gotten the full story yet because they had to get on the road as soon as she got out of the hospital. We're still in the city, so I'll catch up with her tomorrow. But she called when she got out and she's doing all right.
So, that's that. This was not my best race in any sense of the word and I'm pretty disappointed. I hate having a bad race because it's such a blow to my confidence. But I'll chalk it up to experience and consider it a training run and move on. The next race is Virginia Beach Rock n' Roll Half Marathon, so hopefully that will be a little better.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Heroes and Friends
I left the house in such a mood this morning. I was grumpy for a number of reasons that I don't feel like getting into right now because they're really not worth it. I remembered this quote from Gilda Radner, one of the smartest, funniest ladies ever. She said this before her death from ovarian cancer. Read it, feel it and live it:
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."
Have a good weekend! You won't hear from me until Monday or Tuesday. We're in NY for the weekend. I am running the long awaited NYC Half Marathon. Go me!
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."
Have a good weekend! You won't hear from me until Monday or Tuesday. We're in NY for the weekend. I am running the long awaited NYC Half Marathon. Go me!
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