So here is how I am responding to Gretchen's call to action:
Since I already have an entry into the Nautica NYC Triathlon, I'm going to run it as a "Choose Your Own" event for Fred's Team. That way, I can open my fundraising page early (next month!) and start fundraising now, and then once the marathon fundraising page starts in April, I can pick up from there.
So even though I'm sure you've bought lots and lots of cookies, when my fundraising page opens, I hope you will donate to my fundraising efforts as well. All the money goes to the same place -- pediatric cancer research at MSKCC.
Liam's passing has also literally motivated me into action. When I first heard the news, I put on my running clothes and headed to Central Park. I ran up to the bridle path, then around the path -- snow, ice and all. Normally I enjoy running on ice and snow because the precarious footing can make even the dullest route engaging. But I wasn't running for enjoyment.
It was a shortish run -- four and a half miles -- but having part of it on ice made it super-strenuous. It helped get a lot of anger out, and because I really needed to pay attention to my footing, I couldn't really think about much else.
Today was the first Team workout in preparation for the NYC Half. As I've said in prior posts, I'm not running the NY Half, but I'm training with the Team as if I was. So at 8:00 am on a 30 degree day, a little over a dozen of us showed up in the Park for a 7-miler. I only did 6, because the longest I've done to date is 5 1/2.
It was not a great run for me. I find that under 35 degrees I have a little trouble breathing, and that wears me out. I wore a bandana over my mouth, but it got wet and uncomfortable. There's also a very fine line between freezing and sweating. I go from "I need to warm up" to "Holy crap, I'm hot." There is no period of "warm." And when I removed my outer layer, all the layers underneath were wet, so then I'm cold again. Grrr. Need we mention I'm one of the slowest people there? I had to walk three times.
Nevertheless, I'm glad I went. I'm glad to be with the Team, and I'm glad to be running at all.
What I need to do is not compare myself to where I was when I was at my fittest and fastest. I want to be happy with where I am now. What worries me is that I feel I am making a pretty good effort now, and if this is where I am at 80 percent effort, what is it going to take to improve? This is going to be one tough training season. I know I have what it takes to get through it mentally, but do I have it physically? That's the question.
Showing posts with label NYC Half Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYC Half Marathon. Show all posts
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Liam Update, Buy Cookies, and Getting Into the Groove
I need your prayers for Liam. The news is not good, and it just gets worse. His latest scans were awful. Chemo is not working. This kid has such an amazing spirit, and he never complains, and it's just so unfair that any child has to endure such insidious disease. It's even more unfair that the only thing standing between Liam and a cure is money to fund the research and develop the treatments that he needs. Children's cancers, especially rare ones such as neuroblastoma, have been underfunded for years. Why are we not protecting our children by working to eradicate these diseases?
I am not actively fundraising right now, but if you want to make a general donation to Fred's Team and the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research, just click here and click on the "Donate" link.
Another way to help is to go to Cookies For Kids' Cancer, the organization founded by Liam's mom, Gretchen. You can order cookies, or learn how to organize a bake sale, and send the proceeds to CKC. All the money goes to neuroblastoma research and treatment at MSKCC.
Liam inspires me to train. It will be NYC 2011 and also the Nautica Tri. Possibly the Flying Pig. We shall see.
As for my training, it's been sporadic, but I'm starting to get back into a routine. I did a 40-minute treadmill run and managed not to be bored out of my skull. Even more amazing, I was watching Gov. Christie's State of the State address while doing so. What does that mean? I used the treadmill run to do sprint intervals, getting up to 7.7 mph (unsure of the mile time) for up to 90 seconds at a time.
I did my first loop of Central Park last weekend. Well, almost. I started to walk a little at the 5 1/2 mile, because I haven't run over five in a while, and I'm not making that "oh, it's just a little more, what could it hurt?" mistake again. But I ran the Great Hill non-stop!
Today, I did 20 on the treadmill, not too comfortably -- had a stitch in my side most of the way. Fortunately, I got a phone call from work, and had to stop. Couldn't get back into it, and switched to the bike for 25. Then worked on legs and a little arms for about 40 more minutes. I need to get more pool time in pronto, but have to branch out from the 4-foot long NYSC pool in the Marriott if I really want to start building endurance.
Fred's Team will soon be training for the NYC Half Marathon. I didn't get in -- most NYers didn't -- and I'm not too brokenhearted. I can run a loop and a half of the Park for free, not $75. But I will admit that running through Times Square was pretty cool (I ran this two years ago). I am going to train with the Team, and as we get closer to the date, if a spot opens up through the Team, maybe I'll take it. We'll see.
Finally, last night I was asked to speak at the Fred's Team Half-Marathon Kick-Off over at Sloan, to talk to people about fundraising and offer tips and ideas. I'm not the Team's top fundraiser, but I am the most persistent, as you all know, dear readers, and short of bikini car washes, I've pretty much tried everything to raise money for Fred's Team and the Aubrey Fund in Liam's honor. So it was great to share what I've done with other Team members. And just you wait, because this year, I'm pulling out all the stops...
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
New Year, New Me
Like the post says...
It's the New Year, y'all. Time for some resolutions.
First, duh, blog more. To do that, I think I need to write less, but more frequently. One of the reasons I haven't written is because I sit here for hours to write a five paragraph post.
Second, do more, so there's stuff to blog about. So I'm probably not going to stick solely to running, not that I ever really did, but I may end up telling you about some other ... well, let's jump in. I joined JDate. And I hate it. I joined in a fit of desperation/loneliness/stupidity, as my dating life has been really spotty. I figured, what harm could it do? Well, not fifteen minutes after posting my profile, it was like I was chum for sharks. 60-year-old Jewish sharks. Why is it that I seem to attract men 20 years my senior? There is nothing wrong with 60-year-old men, but I don't want to date them. I'm not looking for a 17-year-old, but I want someone closer to my age than my dad's.
Also, every time I would get on the site to look around, I'd get IMed be someone. I hate IM. I won't use it on FB or any of the other social sites. But you can't turn it off on JDate. And I'd get so many e-mail notifications of people who are "flirting" with me, which I find vomitocious, that I stopped checking my e-mail.
That all being said, I did manage to connect with two people from the site, one of whom wrote me to give me his real e-mail because he was as disgusted with JDate as I was. And I will listen to my friend, who told me to stick with it for a month. Two more weeks to go...
There was a third thing I resolved to do this year, and I guess it goes along with No. 2, and that is to find more balance in my life. When I was doing theater, I did it 24/7, which sounds like fun, and a lot of it was, but it was almost all work. I got out of theater because I wanted to actually have a social life and do other things I was interested in. So I switched careers to become a court reporter, and as a newbie, I was still working 24/7 on it. Any time I wasn't taking a depo, I was working on it. Well, I'm two years into it, and have two (!) people who work for me to take some of the time pressure off, and I'm ready to actually enjoy some leisure time.
One of the ways I'd like to spend that extra time is, as the title of the blog says, to run the marathon again. Not running 2010 was dreadful, although volunteering for Fred's Team on the big day was amazing, and completely fulfilling. This year, on the docket is definitely NYC, and definitely the Nautica Tri in August. Possibly the Flying Pig, too. The ever-amazing Coach Ann -- she of the innocent exterior and the heart of a beastmaster -- suggested we train as if we're going to run the Pig, and decide a little later if we're going to do it or not. She's also going to lead coaching sessions for the NYC Half, which neither I nor any NYC runners got into, but which will motivate me to train. With running, as with weight loss, I need a goal. So Ann is brilliant in giving me goals.
I, like everyone else in this world, hit the gym again. I have been running, but outside. Haven't actually lifted or swam or anything in months. So I am going to try to establish a regular schedule of gym stuff as well as getting my mileage back up. I got a 40 minute swim in on Monday, or to put it another way, I spent 40 minutes in the pool. I still remember how to swim from my lessons last year, but need to get the endurance back.
What stinks the most about this is knowing where I was fitness-wise, and not being there, and wanting to be there again. But the only way I'll be able to get there, or even come close, is to get my arse in gear, and suffer through it all over again. Is it the journey, or the destination? Not sure yet. But I promise to let you know.
It's the New Year, y'all. Time for some resolutions.
First, duh, blog more. To do that, I think I need to write less, but more frequently. One of the reasons I haven't written is because I sit here for hours to write a five paragraph post.
Second, do more, so there's stuff to blog about. So I'm probably not going to stick solely to running, not that I ever really did, but I may end up telling you about some other ... well, let's jump in. I joined JDate. And I hate it. I joined in a fit of desperation/loneliness/stupidity, as my dating life has been really spotty. I figured, what harm could it do? Well, not fifteen minutes after posting my profile, it was like I was chum for sharks. 60-year-old Jewish sharks. Why is it that I seem to attract men 20 years my senior? There is nothing wrong with 60-year-old men, but I don't want to date them. I'm not looking for a 17-year-old, but I want someone closer to my age than my dad's.
Also, every time I would get on the site to look around, I'd get IMed be someone. I hate IM. I won't use it on FB or any of the other social sites. But you can't turn it off on JDate. And I'd get so many e-mail notifications of people who are "flirting" with me, which I find vomitocious, that I stopped checking my e-mail.
That all being said, I did manage to connect with two people from the site, one of whom wrote me to give me his real e-mail because he was as disgusted with JDate as I was. And I will listen to my friend, who told me to stick with it for a month. Two more weeks to go...
There was a third thing I resolved to do this year, and I guess it goes along with No. 2, and that is to find more balance in my life. When I was doing theater, I did it 24/7, which sounds like fun, and a lot of it was, but it was almost all work. I got out of theater because I wanted to actually have a social life and do other things I was interested in. So I switched careers to become a court reporter, and as a newbie, I was still working 24/7 on it. Any time I wasn't taking a depo, I was working on it. Well, I'm two years into it, and have two (!) people who work for me to take some of the time pressure off, and I'm ready to actually enjoy some leisure time.
One of the ways I'd like to spend that extra time is, as the title of the blog says, to run the marathon again. Not running 2010 was dreadful, although volunteering for Fred's Team on the big day was amazing, and completely fulfilling. This year, on the docket is definitely NYC, and definitely the Nautica Tri in August. Possibly the Flying Pig, too. The ever-amazing Coach Ann -- she of the innocent exterior and the heart of a beastmaster -- suggested we train as if we're going to run the Pig, and decide a little later if we're going to do it or not. She's also going to lead coaching sessions for the NYC Half, which neither I nor any NYC runners got into, but which will motivate me to train. With running, as with weight loss, I need a goal. So Ann is brilliant in giving me goals.
I, like everyone else in this world, hit the gym again. I have been running, but outside. Haven't actually lifted or swam or anything in months. So I am going to try to establish a regular schedule of gym stuff as well as getting my mileage back up. I got a 40 minute swim in on Monday, or to put it another way, I spent 40 minutes in the pool. I still remember how to swim from my lessons last year, but need to get the endurance back.
What stinks the most about this is knowing where I was fitness-wise, and not being there, and wanting to be there again. But the only way I'll be able to get there, or even come close, is to get my arse in gear, and suffer through it all over again. Is it the journey, or the destination? Not sure yet. But I promise to let you know.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Catching Up, and HUGE THANKS
I cannot begin this blog entry with anything other than my heartfelt thanks to all these wonderful people, who answered the call of my previous posts and donated so generously to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at MSKCC, supporting my 4th marathon effort and honoring my little pal Liam Witt, who's battling neuroblastoma at MSKCC.
Without further ado, many thanks to
ELLEN MELAVER
ANGELA CEBELENSKI
PAUL GUIDE
KIMBERLY TATE-BROWN
ALISON HARRIS
GERARD CONNERS
DALLAS CROW
MARK ULRICH
GLORIA GUIDO
and
JONATHAN ARAK
bringing the total raised to far to
$1,592
Can I ask you to help, by making a donation to my Fred's Team marathon effort, which goes directly to the Aubrey Fund, by clicking here? Over 80 percent of the money raised goes directly to patient care and research. In fact, the Aubrey Fund has paid for the research and treatment for Liam's cancer, and will continue to do so.
Unfortunately, if you read the NY Times today, there's an article about how, in this economy, most research grants are going to "safer" projects. Pediatric cancer, especially rarer cancers such as neuroblastoma, are critically underfunded anyway, and this is a major blow. The Aubrey Fund is literally a life-saver for children like Liam, the only place some doctors can turn to for funding the innovative treatments that have raised the survival rates for neuroblatoma from less than 20 percent to 60 percent in just 20 years. Every penny counts. So please, if you can make a donation, no matter how small, know that it is being put to excellent use.
Liam is doing well, he is back in chemo, and unfortunately, back in MSKCC, as he developed a
fever. If you develop a fever while on chemo, you need to go to the hospital, because it could be so much more than just a spot of flu.
So it's been a crazy busy couple of weeks -- between work, and Broadway Bares, and starting rehearsals for SLEUTH, and finishing up my transcripts -- there hasn't been time for blogging, let alone running. And there's SO MUCH BACKLOG!!!!!
Here it is, in a nutshell:
BROOKLYN HALF -- I wasn't really trained for it -- and I really hope that doesn't become my mantra, as my mother says I have to break 4 hours this year -- but I figured what the hay. It was my first official half-marathon 5 years ago, and I ran it in 1:59. Those were the days (!) I've wanted to get back to run it ever since, but the timing's never worked out until now. So even though it was the first Fred's Team official long run, I went to Prospect Park to revisit an old friend.
The course was different this year. In years past, the course began on the Coney Island boardwalk, went up and down the boardwalk, then up Ocean Avenue to Prospect Park, and then a loop of the Park. If you're not familiar with Brooklyn, that's 11 1/2 flat miles, and the last mile and a half uphill. Ugh. This year, the course started in the Park, a loop and a half of the Park, then down and across the Expressway to Ocean Avenue, then down Ocean Ave to a finish on the Boardwalk. Much better, although what is it with NYRR and a loop and a half of a Park? That's why I didn't sign up for the NYC Half again this year. That and the $75 fee. For that kind of $$, surely we can come up with a more imaginative course than a loop and a half of Central Park.
I figure the course would be slightly easier, and felt that with one half marathon under my belt already this season, I would be able to get through it comfortably, even without a lot of training. Did I mention the wicked bladder/kidney infection I had had the week before? That's the reason for the lack of training. My kidney was paining so much I went to have an MRI to see if I had a kidney stone. Nope! Turns out, I pulled a back muscle so specificially on that spot that it mimiced a kidney infection (I know all too well what a kidney infection feels like, so believe me when I tell you I was fooled!)
The biggest surprise about this race was that for the first time that I have ever experienced at a NYRR race, some of the stations ran out of water. I know! It was a humid, humid day, and this was a very large race. But wow, I had to actually wait at one station while the poor volunteer poured water as fast as he could, and had to skip another station when it became clear that I wasn't going to get any liquid any time soon. I needed a gel, and had to take it without water. Bleh. And I LIKE gels!
At the finish of the race, very smart of NYRR -- they had bags of salt pretzels instead of bagels. Between the crush of runners and people on the Boardwalk, the finish was a bit of a madhouse, and I decided to head hime instead of wandering. PS: 2:06:18, my second slowest ever. Booo.
ROCK AND RUN/HIGH SCHOOL REUNION: This is the third year of the Rock and Run, a three mile fun run/walk sponsored by MSKCC as a benefit for their programs for cancer survivors. There are so many people on my Team who are survivors thanks to MSKCC, and also people in my family, and friends, that of course I'm going to run! Even if it was the day after my 25th High School reunion...yes, amazing that I am only 29 and went to high school 25 years ago (old joke.)
Let me tell those of you who have upcoming reunions -- go!! I went to the kind of a high school where there were no real cliques, just the people you hung out with a lot. I knew a lot of people in my class -- there were only 200 of us -- and I'd like to think I was friendly with a lot of them, but didn't really know most of them. Well, what the hell was my problem? Now that the years have passed, I realize just how amazing and cool all of these people are, and why the hell didn't I know that before? At our 20th, I got to connect and reconnect with so many amazing folks, and I feel I'm better friends with them now than I ever was.
Our 25th was at the same place as our 20th -- Metrazur. It's a great place for a reunion, I will say, surprisingly intimate given its location in the main room of Grand Central Station. I drank my fair share of the liquor, and then went to the afterparty for a while. Around 2am, I realized I better get home, as I needed to be at the Rock and Run by 8. Oops. I wish I could have stayed longer.
So, still drunk, I stumbled over to the Hudson Piers to meet my Team and celebrate MSKCC and all the great people they've helped.
At the R&R, I also debuted my new toy -- my podcast! I wanted to audiotape my run and some of the events there, and also interview some people about Fred's Team and running. Unfortunately, I learned very fast that I am a rotten interviewer, evidenced when I tried to interview Dan Abrams of MSNBC. Oh, it will be on the podcast, as soon as I get around to it.
I also interviewed some of my Teammates as we ran. I ran with Jill and Deb. They both kept urging me to go ahead, but why? It's a fun run. I was having fun being with my friends. Also saw my old pal Dr. Mark there -- he's a doctor at MSKCC specializing in lung cancer. He was there with his family.
After the run, we went back to the VIP section (yay, Team perk!) for brunch, and general hanging-out while the festivities commenced. I had a good talk with Coach Jeff about my goals for this year, and he promised to kick my arse all the way to the finish line. Bring it on!
Had to leave early, to head out to my brother's house to see my five-year-old niece's first dance recital (!) Five-year-olds doing ballet is little more than jumping up and down and spinning around, but it was absolutely precious.
Of course, the highlight of the weekend, and made all the more precious in light of recent events, was Liam's fifth birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Mom Gretchen and Dad Larry rented out one of the tents at Victorian Gardens (which is the amusement park that Wollman Rink turns into in the summer.) There were about 100 people there, both kids and parents, all brought together by one very special little man. Not to leave Ella out, Liam's little sister, it was a party for her, too. Three big cakes (pirate ship for Liam, princess for Ella, and black-and-white for the adults), wine and beer and finger food, plus lots and lots of ride tickets for the little ones. It was a great, great day. I met some of the family, many of their friends, some other kids from MSKCC, and some of the nurses. Liam looked so great, his hair was all grown in and he had put on some weight. It's really not fair.
Still a little more catch-up to do, which I promise to get to with more alacrity!!
Have a great day,
MG
Without further ado, many thanks to
ELLEN MELAVER
ANGELA CEBELENSKI
PAUL GUIDE
KIMBERLY TATE-BROWN
ALISON HARRIS
GERARD CONNERS
DALLAS CROW
MARK ULRICH
GLORIA GUIDO
and
JONATHAN ARAK
bringing the total raised to far to
$1,592
Can I ask you to help, by making a donation to my Fred's Team marathon effort, which goes directly to the Aubrey Fund, by clicking here? Over 80 percent of the money raised goes directly to patient care and research. In fact, the Aubrey Fund has paid for the research and treatment for Liam's cancer, and will continue to do so.
Unfortunately, if you read the NY Times today, there's an article about how, in this economy, most research grants are going to "safer" projects. Pediatric cancer, especially rarer cancers such as neuroblastoma, are critically underfunded anyway, and this is a major blow. The Aubrey Fund is literally a life-saver for children like Liam, the only place some doctors can turn to for funding the innovative treatments that have raised the survival rates for neuroblatoma from less than 20 percent to 60 percent in just 20 years. Every penny counts. So please, if you can make a donation, no matter how small, know that it is being put to excellent use.
Liam is doing well, he is back in chemo, and unfortunately, back in MSKCC, as he developed a
fever. If you develop a fever while on chemo, you need to go to the hospital, because it could be so much more than just a spot of flu. Here he is, playing with electricity.
I was going to visit him last week, but I still have a cold that I am having trouble shaking, and that's something I don't want to share.So it's been a crazy busy couple of weeks -- between work, and Broadway Bares, and starting rehearsals for SLEUTH, and finishing up my transcripts -- there hasn't been time for blogging, let alone running. And there's SO MUCH BACKLOG!!!!!
Here it is, in a nutshell:
BROOKLYN HALF -- I wasn't really trained for it -- and I really hope that doesn't become my mantra, as my mother says I have to break 4 hours this year -- but I figured what the hay. It was my first official half-marathon 5 years ago, and I ran it in 1:59. Those were the days (!) I've wanted to get back to run it ever since, but the timing's never worked out until now. So even though it was the first Fred's Team official long run, I went to Prospect Park to revisit an old friend.
The course was different this year. In years past, the course began on the Coney Island boardwalk, went up and down the boardwalk, then up Ocean Avenue to Prospect Park, and then a loop of the Park. If you're not familiar with Brooklyn, that's 11 1/2 flat miles, and the last mile and a half uphill. Ugh. This year, the course started in the Park, a loop and a half of the Park, then down and across the Expressway to Ocean Avenue, then down Ocean Ave to a finish on the Boardwalk. Much better, although what is it with NYRR and a loop and a half of a Park? That's why I didn't sign up for the NYC Half again this year. That and the $75 fee. For that kind of $$, surely we can come up with a more imaginative course than a loop and a half of Central Park.
I figure the course would be slightly easier, and felt that with one half marathon under my belt already this season, I would be able to get through it comfortably, even without a lot of training. Did I mention the wicked bladder/kidney infection I had had the week before? That's the reason for the lack of training. My kidney was paining so much I went to have an MRI to see if I had a kidney stone. Nope! Turns out, I pulled a back muscle so specificially on that spot that it mimiced a kidney infection (I know all too well what a kidney infection feels like, so believe me when I tell you I was fooled!)
The biggest surprise about this race was that for the first time that I have ever experienced at a NYRR race, some of the stations ran out of water. I know! It was a humid, humid day, and this was a very large race. But wow, I had to actually wait at one station while the poor volunteer poured water as fast as he could, and had to skip another station when it became clear that I wasn't going to get any liquid any time soon. I needed a gel, and had to take it without water. Bleh. And I LIKE gels!
At the finish of the race, very smart of NYRR -- they had bags of salt pretzels instead of bagels. Between the crush of runners and people on the Boardwalk, the finish was a bit of a madhouse, and I decided to head hime instead of wandering. PS: 2:06:18, my second slowest ever. Booo.
ROCK AND RUN/HIGH SCHOOL REUNION: This is the third year of the Rock and Run, a three mile fun run/walk sponsored by MSKCC as a benefit for their programs for cancer survivors. There are so many people on my Team who are survivors thanks to MSKCC, and also people in my family, and friends, that of course I'm going to run! Even if it was the day after my 25th High School reunion...yes, amazing that I am only 29 and went to high school 25 years ago (old joke.)
Let me tell those of you who have upcoming reunions -- go!! I went to the kind of a high school where there were no real cliques, just the people you hung out with a lot. I knew a lot of people in my class -- there were only 200 of us -- and I'd like to think I was friendly with a lot of them, but didn't really know most of them. Well, what the hell was my problem? Now that the years have passed, I realize just how amazing and cool all of these people are, and why the hell didn't I know that before? At our 20th, I got to connect and reconnect with so many amazing folks, and I feel I'm better friends with them now than I ever was.
Our 25th was at the same place as our 20th -- Metrazur. It's a great place for a reunion, I will say, surprisingly intimate given its location in the main room of Grand Central Station. I drank my fair share of the liquor, and then went to the afterparty for a while. Around 2am, I realized I better get home, as I needed to be at the Rock and Run by 8. Oops. I wish I could have stayed longer.
So, still drunk, I stumbled over to the Hudson Piers to meet my Team and celebrate MSKCC and all the great people they've helped.
At the R&R, I also debuted my new toy -- my podcast! I wanted to audiotape my run and some of the events there, and also interview some people about Fred's Team and running. Unfortunately, I learned very fast that I am a rotten interviewer, evidenced when I tried to interview Dan Abrams of MSNBC. Oh, it will be on the podcast, as soon as I get around to it.
I also interviewed some of my Teammates as we ran. I ran with Jill and Deb. They both kept urging me to go ahead, but why? It's a fun run. I was having fun being with my friends. Also saw my old pal Dr. Mark there -- he's a doctor at MSKCC specializing in lung cancer. He was there with his family.
After the run, we went back to the VIP section (yay, Team perk!) for brunch, and general hanging-out while the festivities commenced. I had a good talk with Coach Jeff about my goals for this year, and he promised to kick my arse all the way to the finish line. Bring it on!
Had to leave early, to head out to my brother's house to see my five-year-old niece's first dance recital (!) Five-year-olds doing ballet is little more than jumping up and down and spinning around, but it was absolutely precious.
Of course, the highlight of the weekend, and made all the more precious in light of recent events, was Liam's fifth birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Mom Gretchen and Dad Larry rented out one of the tents at Victorian Gardens (which is the amusement park that Wollman Rink turns into in the summer.) There were about 100 people there, both kids and parents, all brought together by one very special little man. Not to leave Ella out, Liam's little sister, it was a party for her, too. Three big cakes (pirate ship for Liam, princess for Ella, and black-and-white for the adults), wine and beer and finger food, plus lots and lots of ride tickets for the little ones. It was a great, great day. I met some of the family, many of their friends, some other kids from MSKCC, and some of the nurses. Liam looked so great, his hair was all grown in and he had put on some weight. It's really not fair.
Still a little more catch-up to do, which I promise to get to with more alacrity!!
Have a great day,
MG
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Latest Honor Roll Inductees, Liam Update and the NYC Half Marathon Race Report
My lovelies,
The latest and greatest members of the FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL:
JOEL MAXMAN
ANITA DeSTEFANO
INGER HATLEN
STEVEN & RUTH SEIGEL
SANDRO SEGALINI (who advises, "Intervals, intervals, intervals!!" and he couldn't be more right)
GREG JOHNSON
ROBY NEWMAN
and
MICHAEL GRAZIANO
bringing the total going to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Research to an amazing
$1845
Thank you so much, dear readers and dear contributors. If you've been keeping up with my blog, dear little Liam is about to undergo two more rounds of chemotherapy at MSKCC to eradicate the recurrence of the neuroblastoma they found during his last series of tests. Fortunately, thanks to the thoroughness of the MSKCC staff, they found this recurrence when it was so small it didn't even register on standard tests. Regardless of its size, they will attack it swiftly and aggressively. MSKCC doesn't just treat the cancer, they treat the patient, and their goal is to get Liam to his first day of school in September, because that's what he wants.
A lot of the money for Liam's treatment comes from the Aubrey Fund. Thanks to all of you wonderful people who read my blog and donate -- or who I harass for money and donate -- Liam is receiving cutting-edge treatment that will allow him to lead a full life, and research is funded that will one day hopefully negate the need for the Aubrey Fund's existence. If you've ever donated money to a cause before without really knowing anything about it, let me show you where your money goes:
Parents.com, February 2008: A Day In the Life Of Liam: Pediatric Cancer Patient
If you would like to contribute to my third NYC Marathon effort, which I'm running in Liam's honor, please click on the links to the side and bottom of the page. Okay, and here, too.
Let's talk about running, shall we?
We shall.
This week we had our first Team speed workout at Riverbank. I've said it before, I'll say it again: such a nice place, you hardly notice it's built on top of an active sewage treatment plant. This being summer, the track and field is choked with folks of all ages. The field is full of soccer games (hence, most of our workout is spent dodging flying soccer balls. And no, you don't get to take the workout off if you get beaned. I tried that.) The exterior of the track has exercise classes and parents playing with little kids, and the track itself has health walkers, sprinters, and, if there's room, us. It's a real community, but a real crowded one. My hips were still bugging me from the previous weekend's step workout/12 miler combo, but I was game. It was, for a speed workout, fairly easy -- one-mile warm-up, then six repeats of one fast lap, one slow lap. Two lap cool-down at the end. I didn't bring my stopwatch for actual split times, alas. I did two repeats before stopping for water. Oh, and I recalibrated my Nike+ on the track. More on that anon. It was really humid, but because we're near the water there was at least a breeze. As easy as the workout was, I was tired by the end, but my hips felt a whole lot better.
So much better, in fact, that I was all set to do a 5 or 6 miler Wednesday morning before rehearsal (I discovered on Monday that I won't go to the gym after steno class, now that I'm going to night school.) At 5:15am the LOUDEST crash of thunder woke me, and I thought hmmm, maybe the gym is in order instead. I hate the treadmill, it's so boring. So I did the elliptical, which I have discovered is equally boring. Not enough time, so I didn't get a strength workout in.
Thursday, a delicious step workout! And yes, I was indeed a little harder on myself than Jeff was on us. Although I did forget one of my favorite variations, going up the stairs sideways. No wonder my hips hurt for three days. I am still jumping- and hopping-averse; I'm afraid I'll knock my hips out of alignment, like I did repeatedly the first year of training. Last year: no jumping, no hopping -- no injury. Why mess with success? Hot and humid (no way!) Afterwards, some of us got wee beers at the Boathouse. A nice cool-down.
Two days off from running, and today was the NYC Half Marathon. It's funny, I think I prepare less for longer Team training runs then I did for this one. I tried to get a good night's sleep, I had a whole bag packed, I tapered...why? I don't taper for our longer runs. Maybe because this was my first longer race of the year, and I wanted to race it. I really don't know.
The alarm goes off at 4:30am. The weather reports thunderstorms coming in the next hour, which oughta hit right as I'm getting to the race, as I decided it was easier to walk the mile and a half to the start that to find a mode of transport. I consider it my warm-up. So I pack my shoes, put on my Crocs and a raincoat, and head out. Sure enough, it starts thundering on the walk over, and just three blocks shy of the baggage check, the rain starts. The police on the Park side of the street shoo us all away from the Park and across the street to hang out under the Guggenheim awning. I wait under there with a huge bunch of people, and change into my sneakers. Eventually the rain subsides, I check my bag and head into the corrals. I don't see anyone I know, but see a familiar orange shirt and befriend a Team member named Scott. Then Teammate Julia appeared, running the Half as part of a 20-miler. She's doing two -- or is it three? -- marathons almost back to back this year, so her training is a little wacky.
The rain, while initially refreshing, didn't cool the Park down much, if at all. In fact, it made it more humid, and the heat wasn't escaping as the gun went off.
The course: a clockwise loop and a half of Central Park, out at 59th Street and 7th Avenue, down 7th to 42nd St. right turn up 42nd to the West Side Highway and down the West Side Highway to the finish in Battery Park. Now, here's my one beef with this race: Couldn't the course be just a little more interesting? I mean, a loop and a half of the Park? Isn't there another street somewhere in NYC we can run on, so we don't run over half of the Half in the Park?
Anyways, the plan was to run easy in the Park, and then push it a little once out. No reason to lose it on the hills. I'm a lover of negative splits, and I knew that the crowds would hold me back. 15,000 people ran. Yikes! The other thing I wanted to do was what I did at the Miami Half -- track my miles without checking my watch time. I didn't think that I was going to PR in the heat, but that's what I thought at that last 10K, and look what happened (hint: I PRed.) My goal was to finish in under two hours, but a PR would be nice.
So I tried to be patient and ran easy, passing only people who were slowing me down as opposed to holding me back. Saw Teammate Ashley in the Park, cheering us on.
Stupid story: So last week, at the NYC Tri, Ash and I were cheering people on and our friend David finally came by. Ash took off running with him, with me after them. They're both much faster than I am. Just as I was about to catch up, one of them dropped a $20 bill. I stopped to catch it, and then I started back after them, yelling, "David! Ash! Wait up! One of you dropped money!"
DAVID, WAIT UP? David's in the middle of a TRIATHLON! What a dope I am!
And if you want to see some of the funniest pictures of me ever taken, Brightroom captured the whole thing on film. Scroll down to the fourth and fifth row of pictures. I look like David's stalker!
PS: It's Ash's money.
My times in Central Park:
My 5K split was 29:02, and the 10K 57:24
or for mile lovers:
9:07; 9:26; 9:27; 8:59; 9:20; 9:04; 8:52 for the seven miles in the Park
After the loop and a half of the Park, out 59th Street. That was fun! I had Meat Loaf on the iPod (is there any better music to race with?) and the crowds were cheering, it was flat, it was out of the rainforest humidity that was Central Park so there was a big gust of what felt like cold air. This is why I signed up. Running down 7th was so different and exciting. Running in the Park - meh. No offense to those of you who rarely get to do such a thing, but that's where we do the majority of our training, and I know every bump and curve. If I'm going to spend three times what I normally spend to run a NYRR race, I expect something a little different. Okay, enough harping, I think you get my point.
The best part of the race was on 7th Ave -- they handed out sponges soaked with ice water. HEAVEN! And let me also give praise where it's due: the water and Gatorade support was excellent. So excellent that even I skipped a couple of stations, that's how well-watered this course was.
A lot of people were out cheering, suprising to me given the time of day, but I really appreciated it. Also, now that we were out of the Park, there was room for bands to set up, and there was a lot of entertainment crammed into those 17 blocks.
Turned onto 42nd St and up to the West Side Highway. There was a Brazilian band there, very energetic. We ran on the southbound side of the road; I had feared we'd be shunted to the sidewalk, which on a normal weekend is hugely crowded. I had started picking up the pace a little once we left the Park, and at this point the runners had thinned out somewhat and I was able to maintain a slightly faster rhythm. The breeze from the Hudson felt great. It was hard, though. Even with the water and Gatorade I was beginning to cramp and feel queasy. I had taken my AirAides before the race, a Succeed cap both before the race and at the 10k, and I even took a salt packet. Had Gatorade Endurance at every other stop, and boy did they serve it full strength (which might have been why I was queasy; it did go away after a bit.)
15K split: 1:25:08
or in miles: 8 - 8:58; 9 - 8:57; 10 - 8:44
Past the Chelsea Piers, and the race is drawing to a close. I'm crampy. I should be feeling better than this. This is a half marathon. Chump change. It's still early enough in the season that I'm not a hundred percent used to any sort of distance. But still, I don't forgive myself. It forces me to keep pushing.
We're further away from the water's edge right now, and the breeze isn't there anymore. I'm getting hotter again. Also, the way the race was organized, the crowds were being kept away from the runners behind a double barrier, so it was hard to see people. Still, I saw Lucy (both at 59th St and again near the finish) Ann and Abby!
Mile 11 - 9:05; 12 - 8:55. 20K split: 1:52:47
I pass Harrie and Rich somewhere around here. Harrie was walking -- cramping badly, he said after. I wanted to stop and run with them, but was afraid if I stopped I wouldn't be able to restart. I kept going. Now I could hear the bands and see the finish line. Laid out what I could.
Mile 13 and .1 - 9:25
For an official time of 1:58:29. Not a PR, but under 2 hours. 9:02 average pace, which is pretty good for a half but I'd like it to be about 5 seconds faster (picky!!) A negative split, which is always good.
The second best part of the race -- after we finished they handed out towels soaked with ice water. Oh MAN did that feel good! Were it legal, I would've married that towel. There was a food bag with pretzels, apples and water. For a half, that's a generous food bag and yet, I was disappointed. Don't know why. What was I expecting, gold nuggets? Ran into Rich, Harrie, and Lynn at baggage pick-up, also new Teammates Savi and Courtney. A bunch of us went into the post-race festival, where Fred's Team had a tent. Rich and Harrie's parents were at the entrance to Battery Park, and I now declare them the Official Parents of Fred's Team. They are at every race, nearly every Team run, and they are so lovely and encouraging to all of us (sorry, Mom and Dad, I love you, but you ain't Official.) The tent was a perfect place to hang for a while; and we met a lot of new teammates, some of whom ran just the Half for the Team.
All in all, a good day of running.
More anon!
PS: The "recalibrated" Nike+? Told me I ran 14.77 miles. Calibrated my ass!
PPS: For ladies only: I prayed to the menstrual gods to keep from bestowing gifts until after the race. My prayers were answered -- gifts came literally 20 minutes after crossing the finish line. Sometimes they do listen!
The latest and greatest members of the FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL:
JOEL MAXMAN
ANITA DeSTEFANO
INGER HATLEN
STEVEN & RUTH SEIGEL
SANDRO SEGALINI (who advises, "Intervals, intervals, intervals!!" and he couldn't be more right)
GREG JOHNSON
ROBY NEWMAN
and
MICHAEL GRAZIANO
bringing the total going to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Research to an amazing
$1845
Thank you so much, dear readers and dear contributors. If you've been keeping up with my blog, dear little Liam is about to undergo two more rounds of chemotherapy at MSKCC to eradicate the recurrence of the neuroblastoma they found during his last series of tests. Fortunately, thanks to the thoroughness of the MSKCC staff, they found this recurrence when it was so small it didn't even register on standard tests. Regardless of its size, they will attack it swiftly and aggressively. MSKCC doesn't just treat the cancer, they treat the patient, and their goal is to get Liam to his first day of school in September, because that's what he wants.
A lot of the money for Liam's treatment comes from the Aubrey Fund. Thanks to all of you wonderful people who read my blog and donate -- or who I harass for money and donate -- Liam is receiving cutting-edge treatment that will allow him to lead a full life, and research is funded that will one day hopefully negate the need for the Aubrey Fund's existence. If you've ever donated money to a cause before without really knowing anything about it, let me show you where your money goes:
Parents.com, February 2008: A Day In the Life Of Liam: Pediatric Cancer Patient
If you would like to contribute to my third NYC Marathon effort, which I'm running in Liam's honor, please click on the links to the side and bottom of the page. Okay, and here, too.
Let's talk about running, shall we?
We shall.
This week we had our first Team speed workout at Riverbank. I've said it before, I'll say it again: such a nice place, you hardly notice it's built on top of an active sewage treatment plant. This being summer, the track and field is choked with folks of all ages. The field is full of soccer games (hence, most of our workout is spent dodging flying soccer balls. And no, you don't get to take the workout off if you get beaned. I tried that.) The exterior of the track has exercise classes and parents playing with little kids, and the track itself has health walkers, sprinters, and, if there's room, us. It's a real community, but a real crowded one. My hips were still bugging me from the previous weekend's step workout/12 miler combo, but I was game. It was, for a speed workout, fairly easy -- one-mile warm-up, then six repeats of one fast lap, one slow lap. Two lap cool-down at the end. I didn't bring my stopwatch for actual split times, alas. I did two repeats before stopping for water. Oh, and I recalibrated my Nike+ on the track. More on that anon. It was really humid, but because we're near the water there was at least a breeze. As easy as the workout was, I was tired by the end, but my hips felt a whole lot better.
So much better, in fact, that I was all set to do a 5 or 6 miler Wednesday morning before rehearsal (I discovered on Monday that I won't go to the gym after steno class, now that I'm going to night school.) At 5:15am the LOUDEST crash of thunder woke me, and I thought hmmm, maybe the gym is in order instead. I hate the treadmill, it's so boring. So I did the elliptical, which I have discovered is equally boring. Not enough time, so I didn't get a strength workout in.
Thursday, a delicious step workout! And yes, I was indeed a little harder on myself than Jeff was on us. Although I did forget one of my favorite variations, going up the stairs sideways. No wonder my hips hurt for three days. I am still jumping- and hopping-averse; I'm afraid I'll knock my hips out of alignment, like I did repeatedly the first year of training. Last year: no jumping, no hopping -- no injury. Why mess with success? Hot and humid (no way!) Afterwards, some of us got wee beers at the Boathouse. A nice cool-down.
Two days off from running, and today was the NYC Half Marathon. It's funny, I think I prepare less for longer Team training runs then I did for this one. I tried to get a good night's sleep, I had a whole bag packed, I tapered...why? I don't taper for our longer runs. Maybe because this was my first longer race of the year, and I wanted to race it. I really don't know.
The alarm goes off at 4:30am. The weather reports thunderstorms coming in the next hour, which oughta hit right as I'm getting to the race, as I decided it was easier to walk the mile and a half to the start that to find a mode of transport. I consider it my warm-up. So I pack my shoes, put on my Crocs and a raincoat, and head out. Sure enough, it starts thundering on the walk over, and just three blocks shy of the baggage check, the rain starts. The police on the Park side of the street shoo us all away from the Park and across the street to hang out under the Guggenheim awning. I wait under there with a huge bunch of people, and change into my sneakers. Eventually the rain subsides, I check my bag and head into the corrals. I don't see anyone I know, but see a familiar orange shirt and befriend a Team member named Scott. Then Teammate Julia appeared, running the Half as part of a 20-miler. She's doing two -- or is it three? -- marathons almost back to back this year, so her training is a little wacky.
The rain, while initially refreshing, didn't cool the Park down much, if at all. In fact, it made it more humid, and the heat wasn't escaping as the gun went off.
The course: a clockwise loop and a half of Central Park, out at 59th Street and 7th Avenue, down 7th to 42nd St. right turn up 42nd to the West Side Highway and down the West Side Highway to the finish in Battery Park. Now, here's my one beef with this race: Couldn't the course be just a little more interesting? I mean, a loop and a half of the Park? Isn't there another street somewhere in NYC we can run on, so we don't run over half of the Half in the Park?
Anyways, the plan was to run easy in the Park, and then push it a little once out. No reason to lose it on the hills. I'm a lover of negative splits, and I knew that the crowds would hold me back. 15,000 people ran. Yikes! The other thing I wanted to do was what I did at the Miami Half -- track my miles without checking my watch time. I didn't think that I was going to PR in the heat, but that's what I thought at that last 10K, and look what happened (hint: I PRed.) My goal was to finish in under two hours, but a PR would be nice.
So I tried to be patient and ran easy, passing only people who were slowing me down as opposed to holding me back. Saw Teammate Ashley in the Park, cheering us on.
Stupid story: So last week, at the NYC Tri, Ash and I were cheering people on and our friend David finally came by. Ash took off running with him, with me after them. They're both much faster than I am. Just as I was about to catch up, one of them dropped a $20 bill. I stopped to catch it, and then I started back after them, yelling, "David! Ash! Wait up! One of you dropped money!"
DAVID, WAIT UP? David's in the middle of a TRIATHLON! What a dope I am!
And if you want to see some of the funniest pictures of me ever taken, Brightroom captured the whole thing on film. Scroll down to the fourth and fifth row of pictures. I look like David's stalker!
PS: It's Ash's money.
My times in Central Park:
My 5K split was 29:02, and the 10K 57:24
or for mile lovers:
9:07; 9:26; 9:27; 8:59; 9:20; 9:04; 8:52 for the seven miles in the Park
After the loop and a half of the Park, out 59th Street. That was fun! I had Meat Loaf on the iPod (is there any better music to race with?) and the crowds were cheering, it was flat, it was out of the rainforest humidity that was Central Park so there was a big gust of what felt like cold air. This is why I signed up. Running down 7th was so different and exciting. Running in the Park - meh. No offense to those of you who rarely get to do such a thing, but that's where we do the majority of our training, and I know every bump and curve. If I'm going to spend three times what I normally spend to run a NYRR race, I expect something a little different. Okay, enough harping, I think you get my point.
The best part of the race was on 7th Ave -- they handed out sponges soaked with ice water. HEAVEN! And let me also give praise where it's due: the water and Gatorade support was excellent. So excellent that even I skipped a couple of stations, that's how well-watered this course was.
A lot of people were out cheering, suprising to me given the time of day, but I really appreciated it. Also, now that we were out of the Park, there was room for bands to set up, and there was a lot of entertainment crammed into those 17 blocks.
Turned onto 42nd St and up to the West Side Highway. There was a Brazilian band there, very energetic. We ran on the southbound side of the road; I had feared we'd be shunted to the sidewalk, which on a normal weekend is hugely crowded. I had started picking up the pace a little once we left the Park, and at this point the runners had thinned out somewhat and I was able to maintain a slightly faster rhythm. The breeze from the Hudson felt great. It was hard, though. Even with the water and Gatorade I was beginning to cramp and feel queasy. I had taken my AirAides before the race, a Succeed cap both before the race and at the 10k, and I even took a salt packet. Had Gatorade Endurance at every other stop, and boy did they serve it full strength (which might have been why I was queasy; it did go away after a bit.)
15K split: 1:25:08
or in miles: 8 - 8:58; 9 - 8:57; 10 - 8:44
Past the Chelsea Piers, and the race is drawing to a close. I'm crampy. I should be feeling better than this. This is a half marathon. Chump change. It's still early enough in the season that I'm not a hundred percent used to any sort of distance. But still, I don't forgive myself. It forces me to keep pushing.
We're further away from the water's edge right now, and the breeze isn't there anymore. I'm getting hotter again. Also, the way the race was organized, the crowds were being kept away from the runners behind a double barrier, so it was hard to see people. Still, I saw Lucy (both at 59th St and again near the finish) Ann and Abby!
Mile 11 - 9:05; 12 - 8:55. 20K split: 1:52:47
I pass Harrie and Rich somewhere around here. Harrie was walking -- cramping badly, he said after. I wanted to stop and run with them, but was afraid if I stopped I wouldn't be able to restart. I kept going. Now I could hear the bands and see the finish line. Laid out what I could.
Mile 13 and .1 - 9:25
For an official time of 1:58:29. Not a PR, but under 2 hours. 9:02 average pace, which is pretty good for a half but I'd like it to be about 5 seconds faster (picky!!) A negative split, which is always good.
The second best part of the race -- after we finished they handed out towels soaked with ice water. Oh MAN did that feel good! Were it legal, I would've married that towel. There was a food bag with pretzels, apples and water. For a half, that's a generous food bag and yet, I was disappointed. Don't know why. What was I expecting, gold nuggets? Ran into Rich, Harrie, and Lynn at baggage pick-up, also new Teammates Savi and Courtney. A bunch of us went into the post-race festival, where Fred's Team had a tent. Rich and Harrie's parents were at the entrance to Battery Park, and I now declare them the Official Parents of Fred's Team. They are at every race, nearly every Team run, and they are so lovely and encouraging to all of us (sorry, Mom and Dad, I love you, but you ain't Official.) The tent was a perfect place to hang for a while; and we met a lot of new teammates, some of whom ran just the Half for the Team.
All in all, a good day of running.
More anon!
PS: The "recalibrated" Nike+? Told me I ran 14.77 miles. Calibrated my ass!
PPS: For ladies only: I prayed to the menstrual gods to keep from bestowing gifts until after the race. My prayers were answered -- gifts came literally 20 minutes after crossing the finish line. Sometimes they do listen!
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