We're Having a Party, and Race Report: Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 10K

I'm having a fundraiser for Fred's Team, so all NYers are welcome to come on down!  And if you're not a NYer, come on down anyway!

Fast Feet and Fast Fingers -- a Double Benefit for Fred's Team and NYSCRA
July 20, 2011
5:30pm-8:30pm
Ward III, 111 Reade Street

Here's the invite:
Drink. eat, and do good at the same time!

Meet, mingle and have a delicious bespoke cocktail or three prepared by the amazing Michael Neff and the Ward III bartenders. Happy hour prices will be extended for the duration of the event. We get a percentage of the bar, so come thirsty!
Proceeds will benefit both the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at MSKCC and the New York State Court Reporters Association's legislative fund.
Drinking cocktails has been scientifically shown to improve speed, both on the steno machine and on the track.
All are welcome -- you don't need to be a court reporter or a runner to come and have a good time!
Click here for the link to the Facebook page!

Hopefully going to go over the top with the fundraising for the triathlon at this event, so fingers crossed.

Saturday was the Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run To Breathe 10K in Central Park.  It was also a post-long-run Fred's Team soiree at one of the assistant coach's apartments.   I have a friend with CF who runs with Team Boomer, so of course I wanted to do the race.  But I needed to talk with the Fred's Team crew about the aforementioned party and some of the logistics.  What's a girl to do?

Both, of course.

Before I begin, this was my training week:
Monday (July 4th)  23 mile bike ride, 30 minute excellent swim
Tuesday  attempt at speedwork (no slow twitch muscles left after Monday.)
Wednesday  11 mile bike + 1 mile treadmill (indoors obviously, as I did not bring a treadmill outdoors)
Thursday  5 mile run
Friday  nada

13 miles on the schedule.  Got a late start, thanks to Spot, who somehow konws that I'm getting ready to leave and becomes instantly needy, so of course I must tend to her.  How do cats do that?  Semi-related note -- also, how does Spot take the pill, eat food, drink water, and THEN manage to cough the pill up?  Did she learn this trick at kitty prison?  Don't get it.

I wanted to take the miles a little slow, but I also wanted to get to the corrals for the race with enough time to find my friend.  Also -- and this is not a slam on my friend at all -- my friend is slower than I am, and I knew we'd be walking a bit during the race.  So it was okay if I burned myself out a bit on the first half.

Bought a new pair of VFFs -- even though I'm still miffed at them -- and I wore them for this run.  Now, here's a new discovery.  VFFs aren't really shoes, they're more like socks with a thin rubber sole to keep glass from cutting your feet to ribbons.  That being said, apparently one needs to break them in the same way one breaks in a new pair of actual shoes.  Or to put it another way, one's first run in brand-new VFFs should not be 13 miles long.  I developed a blister in the one spot on the VFF that one could possibly get a blister, and that's on the middle of the inside side of the right foot, where the one seam is.

Another new and semi-unfortunate discovery was my new shorts.  At the JackRabbit NY Running Expo, I discovered the Zensah brand of running and compression gear.  Bought a couple of bras and a pair of shorts and fell in LOVE with this brand.   The shorts are snug, they go down to the knee, and they have what I will call an ass pocket, so it supports your tush without mushing it.  Alls I want is more of those shorts!!  Went back to JackRabbit -- not there.  Paragon -- nope.  CitySports -- no.   Bizarrely, no one carries running underwear anymore, either.  Bras, yes.  No panties.  Why is that?   Paragon only had one kind of running panty, and they used to have rackfulls.  Anyways, I digress from my digression.  So I ordered a pair from the Zensah site.  They arrived Friday, and I was psyched to wear them for the 13 miler.  Turns out Zensah doesn't even carry those shorts anymore.  The ones I bought were plain old compression shorts.  They have since been redesigned or discontinued, and what I got instead was a high compression short, which meant that instead of my thighs being gently squeezed and supported, they felt like two sausages stuffed into a too-small casing. 

Oh, yes, the race.  Do my seven miles and make it to my friend's corral as the singer is finishing up the Star Spangled Banner.  Ordinarily perfect timing, so there's no real cooldown between the run and the race.  Bad timing when trying to find a friend, because at that point all the corrals are moving forward, and it's a crush of people.  Grr.  I look around and can't find him.  Okay.  I figure I'll catch him on the run.  Enough time, since it takes so long to really get moving, I sit down on a post and, for lack of anything better to use, attempt to stuff a Jolly Rancher wrapper into my shoe to cover the blister.  

Start walking forward, and wouldn't you know it, my friend, who is much smarter than I, is waiting closer to the start line, outside the corral, watching for me.  So he jumps in and we take off.

It's a humid day, and warm, and that didn't help anyone, least of all my friend.  Still, we get a fair bit up Cat Hill before the first walk break.  We do a combo run/walk through the race (one full loop of the park) , and my friend keeps apologizing to me for being slow and this not being a good race for me.  Okay.  First of all, blister and sausage legs.  Second of all, went out too fast for first seven miles.  Third and most important of all, he's my friend, and STFU.  It's a much better race slow and with his company than fast and without it. 

We stop at the south end of the reservoir to meet my friend's friend, a fellow runner with CF, who runs with an oxygen tank, and waited with him while he changed tanks.  What's my excuse not to work out?  Don't have one no more.

Anyways, we cross the finish line, and head over to the VIP tent to try and meet Boomer himself, but the imperious lady guarding the tent wouldn't let us pass, even though Boomer was standing right there.  We probably would've got by had my friend been wearing his Team Boomer shirt.  Alas, not so.  Denied.  However, where we were standing, we got to see the friend with the O2 tank cross the finish line, which was pretty cool.  Then we went over to the Boomer Esiason Foundation tent and bought t-shirts (performance fabric AND tagless -- way to go, Boomer!) because we were both very sweaty and heading directly to other events -- he with fellow Team Boomer people, me with fellow Fred's Team people.

We crossed the finish line in about 1:20, which, had we not stopped to wait, would have been more like a 1:15, which is, let's face it, not that shabby a time, especially since my friend has not been keeping up with regular running and the conditions were difficult for folks without breathing difficulties. And quite frankly, on my own, I probably would have only been about 10 minutes faster and not had nearly as much fun. So who gives a crap about time?  Not me.

What's the Difference Between Eating 63 Hot Dogs and Running a Marathon?

Not much.  Baffling as to why one would want to do either, but running a marathon is only slightly less disgusting.

Good Lord, girl, where have you been?
Training, training, training!
Didn't I tell you, there's a triathlon and a marathon to get ready for!!

I'm sure I've said this before, but blogging is sometimes like going to the dentist -- you know you have to do it, but you put it off and put it off, and then there's jsut too much work to do when you finally go.

I'm sure I've also said this, but I will try to post shorter, more frequent posts.  But not this one.  This one may turn out to be super-long.

First and foremost, the most important reason we're all here -- I would like to announce that as of today, I have raised approximately
$8,500
of my
$10,000
goal for both the marathon and the triathlon.

Due to unpopular demand -- folks not wanting me to put their names out on the interwebs -- I am suspending the listing of the Fred's Team Honor Roll, although believe me, I've got it here with me.

Please help me honor the memory and fight of Prince Liam the Brave by helping to ensure that no child ever again has to suffer from neuroblastoma and other deadly childhood cancers. It couldn't be easier -- all you have to do is click here to go to my triathlon page, or  here to go to my marathon page.  The money that you donate goes to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research. 

And let me tell you, I am earning every penny of your donations this year.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of each discipline, since I don't have the Buckeye Outdoors link on my site anymore -- and I think I should get it back, because the Training Peaks software that Fred's Team now uses, though a good program, does not have the linking capability to the blog that I was hoping for -- a brief overview of the schedule: 
Monday -- swim
Tuesday -- run
Wednesday -- bike
Thursday -- run
Friday -- off
Saturday -- long run + swim
Sunday -- long bike

Can you believe I used to be a pack-a-day smoker?

First off, I am swimming.  And by swimming, I mean not drowning for half an hour at a time.  Which admittedly is hard to do in a pool that's only 17 yards long and 4 feet deep (NYSC pool in the Crowne Plaza, or whatever hotel that is).  I have been working hard with the drills and the endurance, but until yesterday, I wasn't able to go more than 4 laps at a time without feeling like my heart was going to burst.  It doesn't matter how long or how fast you can run, swimming uses a set of muscles -- and apparently a set of lungs -- that you don't normally use anywhere else.  I have discovered that as long as I sidestroke, I can go for at least half an hour, which is what I was expecting the swim portion to be for me.  So I had planned to do that.

However, I have been told by many people who've done this particular tri that the water in the Hudson River is at least 2 knots, and you are swimming with the current.  If you put your arms in front of you, you will go point to point in 28 minutes.  Additionally, I took my first open-water swim class, and after learning which is the correct way to put one's wetsuit on -- zipper in the back, and yes, I AM the only person in the world not to know that! -- and realizing just how bouyant and fast you become while wearing one, I think I might have to do more crawling and less sidestroke.  That, plus the instructor kept saying to beware of the frog-kickers, and that would be me.  I am feeling better about that, and also yesterday in the pool, I managed to do multiple sets of six consecutive laps, which I've never been able to do before.    Okay, so it's only 100 yards at a time, and I'm going to need to do 15 times that to get through the swim portion, but I'm just looking to get through the swim portion.

Some other things I learned during the open-water swim class -- the wetsuit does not keep you dry.  Water definitely gets in there, especially since I have a sleeveless one that I think is maybe a half-size too big for me.  On the other hand, water also gets out, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.  Also, the ocean is very, very salty.  I drank enough of it not to need extra sodium -- including electrolytes for my run -- for the next three days following.  Something tells me the Hudson is not going to be nearly so "tasty."

Biking, one would think, would be much easier to take.  Alas, not so.  After spending nearly $900 on my bike, a Cannondale Synapse Women's Alloy 7 Sora, and learning to understand all those gears and how they shift, I discovered the one place Cannondale really skimps, and that's the seat.  I was under the impression that, seeing as this is a woman's bike, that they would provide a woman-specific seat.  Apparently they do, but it must be for a woman with no genitalia.  I was wearing bike shorts on my rides -- which for the uninitiated is a pair of shorts with basically a Depends sewn in the crotch -- and was still getting such pains in the female parts that after my first 18-miler, I bled for two days (TMI, part of the process).  

So back to Toga for a better bike seat, and an introduction to Chamois Cream, which is a cooling cream for one's, um, chamois.  Apply directly to affected areas -- apparently things feel better if you wear the shorts without underwear. And amazingly, they do!  Although why there is menthol in the cream, I don't know.  Some parts of the body don't need to be mentholated. 

I've been having palpitations about what to wear under the wetsuit for the bike and run legs.  I was super-worried about tri shorts, given that I can barely stand riding in the bike shorts, and tri shorts have only a little bit of padding in the crotch, because you're also supposed to do the run in them.  My friend and Teammate Abby suggested I do what she did, which was wear running shorts, and pull the bike shorts over the top for the bike leg.  That was the plan.

Then yesterday, I discovered that I indeed had a pair of tri shorts that I unwittingly bought in last year's Jackrabbit post-Thanksgiving sales frenzy (where I also picked up the wetsuit for under $100, btw).  So yesterday's experiment -- 18+ miles in tri shorts, no undies, to simulate the bike leg.  And believe it or not, I did 23 miles in those shorts and it didn't feel too terrible!  Of course, when I got off the bike my back seized up and my left arm had gone numb, but I can't attribute that to the shorts.   So it looks like we might have a winner!

The other thing I have taken the plunge with is to buy and use clip bike shoes. They have a clip on the ball of the shoe that clip into the bike pedals.  The idea is that you are helping to move the bike both by pulling up and pushing down on the pedals, which makes you go faster, and also helps with the hills.  I was initially scared to use them, as I had visions of not being able to take my foot off the pedals and falling over.  Turns out, it is extremely easy to unclip one's foot from the pedal -- as long as one remembers that one's foot is clipped onto the pedal.  My first foray out with the shoes was a jaunt up to the GW Bridge and back, a nice, long and fairly flat ride up the West Side of Manhattan.  The only problem is there is one section where you have to leave the path along the river and head into the city streets for two blocks.  There is a stop sign where you cross from the street back onto the bike path.  I got to the stop sign, stopped, and tried to pick my foot off the pedal.  Why can't I lift -- wait a minute -- and then plop, over I went.  Scraped knee and banged wrist -- that freaked me out, because as a stenographer, I can't afford to mess up my hands -- but otherwise, I'm no longer scared of falling over on the bike.  And now I remember that my feet are clipped to the pedals.  Duh.

Here's an observation I have as a runner-who-bikes:  as a runner, you have to be aware of your surroundings, but as long as you're not running a race, it's okay to sort of  "check out" every once in a while, you know, let your mind wander.  You cannot do that on a bike.  You have to be 100 percent aware 100 percent of the time, and it's so scary sometimes to be in Central Park and have to ride amongst the hundreds of bike-renting tourists and others who do not ascribe to that edict.   Here in NYC, there's a huge business -- legit and otherwise -- in renting bicycles to folks to cruise Central Park and also Riverside Park.  Why is it that people who clearly do not ride bicycles in whatever city or country they live in decide that a great way to see Central Park is to do so on a barely-working rental bike?  They ride in packs of 10 abreast, oftentimes the wrong way (you are only supposed to go counter-clockwise on a bike in Central Park, just as with cars), usually without helmets, and doing things that people who would have enough common sense to fill a thimble wouldn't do, like stop at the bottom of the Great Hill when other cyclists are barrelling down that hill at 30+ miles per hour -- or even better, make a sharp turn across the roadway in that exact same spot.  Or just stop randomly in the middle of the road.  And my favorite of all -- TEXTING while on a bicycle.  Apparently this woman must be a doctor informing her colleagues of an important medical decision that must be made immediately and could not possibly wait long enough for her to even pull off to the side of the road.  Or maybe she's just an idiot.  Either one.

The lower loop of the Park, below 72nd Street, is where the biggest number of tourist clogs and difficulties lie.  As I was setting off on loop #4 of the Park yesterday -- and I was originally planning to do 3 full loops and then one or two lower loops -- I was riding around packs of tourists and others.  I have found that "Coming through, coming through" as I ride works, because "on your right" and "on your left" doesn't work when the people don't speak English.  At least the sound of my voice alerts them that I am passing by.  So I'm trying to pass one woman who keeps drifting to the right as I am passing her there, and I'm saying "Coming through, coming through," and she's not paying attention and about to crash into me, so I go "Coming through, COMING THROUGH!!!" which wakes her up.  She stops drifting and says to me, "Shut up."  !!  So as I pass her, I yell, "Watch where you're going and I'll shut up!"  My righteous fervor led me to do a five-mile loop, since I was not about to ride on the lower loop any more than I had to, now that I had a mortal enemy.  So thanks, biking idiot, for giving me my longest and fastest ride to date.

Running -- ah, running.  Well, at least I sort of know how to do this.  I'm a little concerned about the run portion of the tri, even if it's only a 10K, because it's mostly uphill, and goes the hard (clockwise) way around the Park.  I know I'll make it.  The question is merely, in what shape will that be?  Upright, I hope.

My new not-so-secret weapon on the run are salt packets.  Just little salt packets from the deli.  I sweat like a moose when I run, regardless of the weather, so it's important that I maintain my electrolytes.  Before every run I drink water with a Nuun electrolyte tablet  dissolved in it -- love them! --- and for a long, hot run, I'll also take an S-Cap, which is another form of electrolytes.  But along with gels and Gatorade, I'll also chew on a salt packet -- just like a stick of gum -- once or twice during the course of a run.  As icky as it sounds, it works for me.  For 10K or less, if I feel I need it, I'll have some salt about halfway through.  For 10K or more, I use about the same formula as gels -- every 45 minutes to an hour -- unless I'm using gels that have extra sodium.  Then I'll just take the gel, and hold the salt unless I feel I really need it. 

And yes, I am still running in Vibrams, even though my many attempts to get Vibrams to sponsor even a fraction of my events were for naught.  For naught, I say!  I still love those damn shoes, and will wear them for the run portion of the tri and also the marathon, but you know, not even a "thanks but no thanks" from them.  Does that cheese you off, too?  Write them, at sponsorme@vibramusa.com and let them know.  Which is another reason why I switched to bike shoes -- and why I'm eying those Saucony Kinvaras...

In addition to the tri training, the Team began marathon training a few weeks ago.  Our long runs are up to 11 miles.  It's been over a year since I've gone over 8 miles, and it's both joyful and painful to get back up to the double digits.  I had to take an ice bath after our first nine-miler.  How far we have fallen!  We start our Tuesday-Thursday sessions soon, but work will prevent me from doing most of the Thursday dates because of work.  If there's one thing I hate to do without the Team, it's the Thursday workout, because those are stair workouts and they can be brutal.  I don't think I will slack -- Liam doesn't deserve a slacker-- but without the Team there, I am afraid of not working as hard or as long as I should be.  But we will make do.

Okay, nearly long enough.  One small observation  before we go -- I did my volunteer race during a rainstorm.  When you do that, NYRR gives you one of those orange and white rain ponchos that you see the folks at the water stations wear during the marathon.  While initially excited about receiving the coat, I was soon disillusioned. A decently constructed raincoat wouldn't have stood a chance in this rain, and this one didn't keep me even remotely dry, but it didn't even keep me warm, which is an unusual thing for a coat constructed of non-breathable plastic.  And here's why -- it's glued together with what must be Elmer's School Glue, because by the time I got home, the hood had ripped off and the sleeves had mostly disconnected from the body.  So not such a great giveaway after all, but I still have it, for some unknown reason.

Okay!  Done for now.  Donate, donate, donate!! And off for a run!

Coogan's 5K Race Report

Okay, peeps, we are only going to talk about running today, and making it brief, because these taxes ain't gonna do themselves.

Woke up this rainy morning to head to Washington Heights for the Coogan's Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K.  Coogan's is a community-oriented pub/restaurant in the area that sponsors this race every year. I love this race, even though for some reason, the weather never seems to cooperate.  It's either cold or raining or both.  Oh, well.

Wore a t-shirt and pants.  Though it wasn't raining when I left the house, it was threatening, so on the feet were my VFF Flows, which seem to be the best choice for rainy weather.  No socks.  I had a rain jacket, but didn't know if I would wear it during the run.  As long as the rain isn't in my eyes, I don't care about the rest of me.

Arrived at 8:30am for a 9:00am start.  It had started to drizzle.  I stood around for a few minutes trying to decide about the rain jacket, and finally decided not to wear it.  I figured I'd regret it for the 20 minutes before the run, but not during it; whereas if I wore it, it would be the other way around.  Nice use of semi-colon there, by the way.

Corrall time.  I usually go two corralls behind mine, as NYRR still thinks I am a 7:53 miler. Those were the days...anyways, I try to start a corrall or two back to hold myself back as well, because I try very hard to stick to the negative split concept, which for the uninitiate, means doing the first half slower than the second.  It defninitely helps with the pace and energy towards the end of the race, leaving you with gas in the tank for a strong finish.  For a race as short as a 5K, my goal is to run each mile a little faster than the previous one.

And...we're off!  Up from 168th & Broadway to Fort Tryon Park, into the park, around the Cloisters (a great addition to the course they made last year) and back.  Not deceptively hilly -- obviously hilly, especially the exit out of the park. 

One of the things that makes this race great is the music.  There is music on nearly every other corner, and it ranges from rock bands to mariachi to drum circle to troubador.  There's a marching band right outside the park that for some reason always makes me emotional.  Something about those drums, I guess.  Runners are crazy and will run in all kinds of weather, but bravo to the musicians who brave the elements to entertain us along the course.  Most of them just went under bus shelters. It's kind of funny to run by a bus stop and see a bunch of mariachis crammed in there, playing "La Cucharacha."

The front runners started hitting us before I had even reached Mile 1, and that's just crazy!  Either they were REALLY fast (they were) or I was too far back, even for me (I was).  You can hear the cheer come through the pack in a big wave as the front runners approached.  Is running the only sport where the losers cheer on the winners?

The only thing I would say is sort of sucky about the course is that it is pretty narrow, and because it's an out-and-back, there are sections of the course that you are just stuck behind whoever you're behind, because you can't get around them.

I spent most of the race running near a father and son.  The son must have been about 10, and was running about 2 steps behind his dad.  Dad kept looking back, checking on his son, and encouraging him.  This kid needed no encouraging.  He had a huge grin on his face from the second the gun went off, and clearly, the two of them were having a great morning.

The other notable sight I will take away from this race is the shirtless man running in what looked like Crocs.  And I mention he was shirtless because he was one of those men who just should not be shirtless without a trip to the waxers.  Sorry, gents with hairy backs -- blech.  The only thing worse is when a hairy-backed gent wears a t-shirt that's kind of worn through, so you can see all the hair through it.  Am I right, ladies?   Um, PS, he beat me.  Pissed me off. 

Not to belabor, but my total time -- 29:20.  Miles, approximately, according to my watch, was 10:15, 9:20, and 8:55, plus whatever was left for the .1 mile. I really tried to push the last half mile, but it was a little too crowded until really just before the end.  I could tell I had a little too much in the tank, because I kicked for at least a quarter mile.  Oh, well.  I won't win the damn thing unless I disqualify everyone else.  It's all about the doing.

As for pain, no tendon pain, and I think I might have had a little PF pain, but my feet were so cold and soggy it was hard to tell.  I can say that I had no pain afterwards.  So I think all the treatment paid off!  So I think it's time to start increasing distance a little and see what happens next...

Addendum to previous post...

Twenty minutes and $25 later, it is indeed plantar fasciitis.

Decided to treat with ibuprofen and ice rather than a cortisone shot for the meanwhile.

Also recommended -- don't run in Vibrams.

Ha ha!

Too bad, Doc Rock. He knows I do, and he ain't happy about it. But as the choice is either run in Vibrams or don't run, I think I know which way I'm going. I just have to be extra careful about wearing my orthotics and stretching and all that good stuff during the times I'm not in the VFFs.

Aren't they supposed to STRENGTHEN your feet, not destroy them?

Oh, well.

Do You Believe In...

This week I was good, I ran Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Monday I stayed on the path and did a five-miler. Wednesday I did the crazy bridle path in the ice for 4 1/2, and Friday I did five going clockwise, stopping at NYRR to pick up my race number. They all actually felt good. I bought a face mask from Harriet Carter (that's right, people. Harriet Carter) that helps me breathe better in the colder air, but makes me look even more ridiculous than I already look when I run (thanks to my beloved, but admittedly goofy-looking, VFFs). So I was looking forward to this morning's outing.

Today was the Gridiron Four-Miler in Central Park. The first actual race I would be running since July. The Midnight Run wasn't a race, and the Fred Lebow 5-Miler was called due to weather. So much for getting my nine races in without actually running any of them.

I was also weirdly scared. I really want to get back to the joy of running, and one of the ways I've been doing that is by not wearing a watch. The times I've been on the treadmill, the clock is unavoidable, but I'm really not wanting to see how fast -- or in my case, how slow I'm going. I just want to put the miles in and enjoy them. And I get crazy competitive when I race, in my own mind, at least. So today was going to be both a test of my ability to run my own race, and also to see what my time is for the first time since June or July, really.

37 degrees, a brilliant temperature. Ducked into the third-to-last corral -- I have no delusions. NYRR does, though -- they calculate your corral based on your fastest mile in a race over four miles, but they don't update that every year. It's your fastest mile ever with NYRR. For me, that's a 7:58 from 2007. Ha ha! Like I'll be reaching THAT again any time soon. I have enough good sense to not go near my own corral. Even when I could run that pace, I want to start slow and build up, so I start in a slower corral to hold myself back for the first few miles.

And we're off. So far back we didn't hear the starting horn. Took over eight minutes to get to the starting line. Chug-a-lug with the pack up Cat Hill and up the East Drive. Thinking I'd like to be at a 10:00 pace, that I'd happy with a finish between 40 and 41. Much happier to be slightly under, of course. But I didn't want to push. Just wanted to run.

As I passed the mile 1 marker I tried not to look at my watch, but did and saw the split -- 9:58. Really? Normally my first mile is closer to 10:30 because of the crowding.

Up East Drive heading to the transverse. Ran into Teammate Maureen. She's also been out of the game for a while with injuries. She's taking it easy, too. We separated on the transverse. Got water. A woman next to me told me she thought the race started at 102nd, not 72nd, had to run back to the start line and just barely made it across before they took it up. Mile 2 -- 9:41. Didn't feel like it, but then again, I'm not sure what running at a certain time feels like anymore.

Fun thing -- NYRR split the transverse into Packers side and Steelers side. Run on the side you're rooting for. They used the D-Tags to track the results (results not posted as of my writing this.)

Down the west side. Mile 3 is mostly uphill, but I saw the Natural Living guy doing his usual speedwalk against the traffic, shouting encouragement. Ah, yes. NOW we're feeling good! I was hoping to see him. It doesn't feel like a race when he's not there. Mile 3, again, somewhere around 9:46.

Mile 4 is mainly downhill. Very crowded, thanks to people and a narrower roadway thanks to show pile-up on the sides. I see the finish line and I try to push the last few hundred feet. Crowd notwithstanding, just before I cross the line I hit my watch...

Miracles do happen, I suppose.

Of course, my time is not official. But it doesn't matter. The point is, I didn't get caught up in the racing. I came out to have a good run, and hopefully post a decent time. And I did both.

This makes me feel a lot better about the training to come. I want so badly to do well during the marathon, and in Liam's honor, I'm not going to slack off. Even if I'm running 15-minute miles, they'll be the best 15-minute miles I can squeeze out. But it's nice to see at this stage that I am capable of more, and I intend to deliver.

In Which Marci Goes ChiRunning, and Other Important Things

Hello, dear reader.

There hasn't been that much going on with me until this past week. Hence, the lack of posts. Now that I've taken my first ChiRunning workshop, and attended the Fred's Team kickoff party, I've got some info to share.

But first, a break from our regularly scheduled programming for some supremely important messages.

First, let's show some love to the newest members of the FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL, otherwise known as TEAM LIAM:

JEROME and SHEILA ROBINSON

DENNIS SEKALOFF

ESTHER and MAL NEWMAN

SANDRO SEGALINI

ROBERTA NEWMAN

MICHAEL COLTON

ILISA SULNER

HOWARD SHIAU

TOBY COBRIN

RON TAUBER (my endodontist!)

LARRY HELFER

ADAM WHITE

and

MY PARENTS

bringing the total going to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research in honor of Prince Liam the Brave to (wait, I have to do some math; not all of these are up on the website yet) ...

$1550

Words fail.

That's amazing, but there is still a long way to go, and the need is so, so great. Let me share with you part of Gretchen's latest blog post on Prince Liam (click to read the entire post) because she says it so well.

The words of Dr. Cheung, one of the brilliant oncologists who works so hard on Liam's behalf, haunt me day and night. "It's not science that's holding us back, it's funding." Great. There's a price tag on my son's head. Isn't that just dandy? Can I even begin to tell you how that feels? My son is priceless. Evey child is priceless.

In another part of the post, she asks "What do we need to do to inspire people to get involved?" She's already done so much, starting not one, but two organizations focused on providing support and raising funds to battle pediatric cancer, Band of Parents and Cookies for Kids Cancer. Gee, I wonder where Liam gets his spirit from?

So what can I do? I can, as in years past, run the NYC marathon with Fred's Team, and unashamedly ask you all to donate to the Aubrey Fund in my name. But that's too easy now. As if running the NYC Marathon was easy. It's not. But I've proved to you, faithful friends, that I can do it.

How can I show you how serious I am about this, and how far I'm willing to go to ensure a bright future for Liam and all of the kids at MSKCC?

Like this.

I promise to run BOTH the Chicago Marathon AND the NYC Marathon. Three weeks apart. IF I can raise the money in time.

This is what I can do. Can I ask you to help me with this? I'm not too proud to say it -- I need to raise $5,000 by September to run both races. I want to help provide Liam, and all children, with the treatment that will allow them to live healthy, full lives. Just click here to access my Fred's Team webpage and make a secure donation.

Still not convinced that your donation makes a difference? Allow me to be shameless here, and share this picture with you.

Liam's sixth birthday would not have happened without the love and support of people like you.

Click here. You know you want to.

In order to prepare for this insanity, I signed up for a ChiRunning class last weekend. ChiRunning was developed by Danny Dreyer. Far be it for me to pretend to be an expert on the subject, so I promise to explain everything badly, but it's based on the idea that running can be effortless and injury-free, if you allow gravity to do most of the work. I remember years ago hearing running described as a "controlled fall," and that's at the essence of the ChiRunning form.

Another essential is proper posture -- crown of head stretching straight up, pelvis tipped up, shoulders and hips aligned with ankle. Now, this is the exact posture that my PT goddess Miri Ingwer has been trying to get me to commit to for years. When I'm standing correctly a la Miri, it feels like my shoulders and arms are floating away from my body. So while I can't say this comes naturally, it's a welcome reminder of what I learned from Miri and need to consciously put more into practice.

The other main essential of ChiRunning is the midfoot strike, and by that I mean landing on the ball of your foot, as opposed to landing on your heel and rolling down the foot. This is something that I now do almost automatically thanks to my Vibrams (we love you, Vibrams!!) and just wearing these shoes has improved my running tremendously. With ChiRunning, the twist is that you don't swing your leg out in front of you when you run.. You keep your legs relaxed and, leaning from the ankles, allow yourself to "fall foward" and catch yourself by placing your feet down. Basically, your body is tilted forward slightly and your legs are moving behind you, instead of in front of you. This propels you forward. Did I mention I would explain it badly? Go to the ChiRunning site for videos and a much better explanation.

Last weekend, I took a one-day workshop with Danny and his instructors, and he went over the basic principles of the technique, and then we did a series of short runs to put them into practice. So of course, the next day I was ready to try it out.

Oh, yes. Forgot to mention one of the larger components of the technique -- cadence. It's not turnover rate -- the amount of the times your feet hit the ground -- that affect speed with ChiRunning, it's the amount of lean. The more you lean, the longer your stride, and the faster you'll run, with no extra exertion. Your cadence, or strides per minute, remain the same. Only the lean changes. Pretty amazing! There are ideal cadences for running, which for someone of my height is between 85-90 strides per minutes. So the first day, I set my metronome at 90, and off I went.

Hit the bottom of Cat Hill, and the legs felt great. I figure let's do a mini-hill workout and see how this technique works. So up the hill I go.

Get to the top of the hill, and I have to stop and catch my breath. Holy frijoles. Legs felt fine, but I couldn't breathe at all. This is not normal for me after one trip up Cat Hill, even when i'm at my worst. Head back down and get some water.

Second try up the hill. Trying to breathe through my nose, and not lean into the hill too much. Still, by the time I hit the top of the hill, same thing -- gasping for air. Again, legs were fine.

Third attempt, really concentrated on posture and lean. Slightly better, but still need to stop and catch my breath before heading back down.

Different from the past, I was able to run home after the hills, although I only did three repeats, so I probably could've done it regardless. However, after finishing the run, buying a pretzel and getting home, so about five minutes after the run, I got a HUGE case of the dry heaves! Why did that happen? Not why did I get the heaves, but why did I get them five minutes later? That was weird.

I did not wear a watch for that first workout, and I mention this because I went out running again today, and did wear a watch. I needed to see how much faster I was, because that was the only explanation for my breathing difficulties, as least as far as I could see. Dialed it down to 85 and tried again.

The distance from my house to the bottom of Cat Hill is about a mile. I am, at this point, around a 10-minute miler. Excuse me -- was. Running at an 85 cadence got me to Cat Hill in 8:50.

No wonder I was gasping for air.

Had to stop again at the top of Cat Hill, which I ran up in around 2:10. That's normally a moderate effort for me. All I was doing was trying to keep my breathing regular. Again, no effort from the legs, just the lungs.

Set off again, to the Fred statue at the Runner's Gate. Normally, using this route, it takes me about 18 minutes to get there. Today -- 16:50. Gasp, gasp. So after I caught my breath, I dialed it down to 80 and set back out. It felt better on the lungs -- I was able to complete the rest of the run without further incident -- but my legs felt it was a little slow. They kept trying to push the pace. It was strange. It was like they wanted to go on their own. I had to work really hard to slow down, if you can believe it. I would concentrate on one thing -- cadence, arms, ankles, lean, etc. -- and everything else would kind of fall apart. Frustrating!! I know that soon it will become more automatically. But right now, ChiRunning is mentally exhausting. And the beep-beep of the metronome will shortly drive me mad. But I completed a 5.38 mile run in 50:50, or about a 9:30 pace. Thirty seconds per mile faster than I was, oh, a week ago, and but for the breathing, it felt amazing.

There is definitely something to this method, and I will be working it for all it's worth! The legs feel great -- no pain, no fatigue -- and once the breathing catches up, I think (hope!!) this will be a really good training season! It has to be -- it's going to be a bruiser.

More anon.

The Honor Roll Begins Anew, plus the Scotland Run 10K, The Run as One 4-Miler, and did I mention I love Vibrams?

With the start of the 2010 training season comes the start of the

2010 FRED'S TEAM HONOR ROLL

But first, apologies to all those amazing people from last year, who I never sent a thank-you card to. I'm going to be a lot better this year, thanks to MSKCC's new and much-improved website. If there's a way to get at you 2009 folks, I will soon!! I promise!!

And now, without further ado, the first person on the 2010 Honor Roll is...

DR. KAREN THORNTON

That should remind you all to go get a check-up before starting any exercise regimen.

Dr. Thornton is closely followed by
CARL and REVA TAIT
JIM SEMMELMAN
FRED WEINER
and
THE GeBAUER FAMILY

bringing the total going so far to the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Research in honor of Liam Witt so far to a cracking
$400
That's a great start, but we've got miles to go -- literally!

I will repeat and reiterate my promise slash threat to run both the NYC AND Chicago Marathons if I can raise $6500 by September. Did I mention I hate running marathons? I sure do! But I do love the idea of a world without cancer, especially pediatric cancer, and if that's what it takes to get people to donate, then that's what I'll do.


So if you want to help me honor the amazing Prince Liam, or just enjoy the idea of me running two marathons in three weeks, when I can barely do one a year, just click here to make a secure donation on my Fred's Team website.


(that's my VFF-clad foot next to Fred's feet at his statue in Central Park, by the way!)

Also in the works -- and this time I kid you not -- an actual podcast. Details to follow.

So I did a couple of races since last we spoke. The first one was the Scotland Run, a 10K that's a clockwise loop of Central Park. I sort of prefer the clockwise loop to the normal counterclockwise run -- it's more uphills, but the hills aren't as steep. And you get to go down Cat Hill instead of up.

Now, I come to the Scotland Run having run a grand total of three whopping miles in the previous two weeks. Conventional wisdom would dictate that I sit this one out. But I am neither conventional, nor wise.

Wore my VFF KSOs (KSO = keep stuff out) with rainbow-colored injinji socks, which made me look like even more of a buffoon than just wearing the Sprints. I don't care -- I LOVE MY VIBRAMS!! But there's a seam in the Sprints and the KSOs that keep giving me blisters. Covering the seam doesn't work -- the tape doesn't stick -- and covering the spot on the foot doesn't work -- the Band-Aid doesn't stick. Other than that, did I mention I love my Vibrams?? They have put the spring back into my step. So I must wear toe socks to go with the toe shoes.

I get to the Park on race morning. I figure I won't go fast -- like I would anyway, that's a laugh, but I won't push, and I'll walk when I need to. Just get through it. I run into many Teammates, including a few who are in my boat, so I don't feel too bad about my slacker ways. They're planning to do the same as me, and we all head to the corralls together. I have my iPod with me, and I put on a "This American Life" podcast. I have been training myself to run iPod-free, but my strategy for today was to listen to something soothing, so that I would stay relaxed and not start pushing my pace, like I do when I listen to one of my patented race-day mixes ("Bat Out of Hell," anyone?)

The race begins, and though my Teammies and I have the same game plan, it becomes clear right away that either a) I am not paying attention to the game plan, or b) they are going to take it even easier than I thought. Most likely, a) and b). Hindsight being as 20/20 as it is, I should have probably stuck with them longer -- like maybe more than five feet past the starting line -- but as soon as I started running, I knew it was going to be a run pretty much all the way.

That being said, I did manage to do at least some self-preserving by going even slower than my normal turtle pace, and by really walking the water stations, and by that, I mean getting my cup, moving to the side, and walking for at least a minute. I think there were four stations, and I walked them all. But I ran the rest of the race. That danged competitive streak, I can't let it go! I see someone in a shirt I don't like, or for whatever reason, and I simply must pass them.

Side note -- one year, my bestie Laura and I did the Midnight Run together. Part of the fun of the event is the pre-show costume contest, and a lot more people wear costumes anyway, just for kicks. Laura is not a runner, by the way, and the run isn't even timed. So we're doing as much walking as running, and everything is great until a group of people dressed as the components of a McDonald's Happy Meal pass us. I will NOT be beaten by french fries!! I made Laura run that last mile, but we couldn't catch them. Oh, that broke my heart.

Anyways, I finished the Scotland Run in 1:07, a PW (personal worst,) ending up with some pretty sore calves, but at least not too much the worse for wear.

Which inspired me to get a little bit more of a groove on for the next race, which was the four-mile Run as One. That's the run sponsored by the Thomas Labrecque Foundation for Lung Cancer research. I like this race, and figured four miles would be more my speed.

Ran into Teammate Emily in the corrall. She's back in action after a nasty fall (tripped over the toes of a pair of improperly-sized Vibrams and broke her wrist. Love me them Vibrams, but they need to fit you right! Get them fit by someone who knows how to size you properly -- they are indeed very different from a normal shoe.) She read this here little ol' blog and said, "So if you may run Chicago, doesn't that mean you need to train like you're going to run Chicago?"

Oops.

Changed the iPod setting from NPR to Meat Loaf, and for all intents and purposes, we're off!

Not much to report on this race that's noteworthy, but to say I didn't really push that hard until the final couple hundred feet on the transverse, and finished in 37:28.

That gave me a LOT of hope for this training season. Where I am right now is about where I was two years ago, where I had a HUGE improvement in my running during the training season. So knock on wood and God willing, if I can buckle down and put the work in, I'll see similar improvement this year, too. Hey, it couldn't get any worse...

My New BFF, or Why Vibrams Rule

Meet my new shoes!

These goofy-looking things are my Vibram FiveFingers Flows. And they've saved my running life.

Allow me to explain.

One of the reasons I haven't been posting is because I haven't really been running. And one of the reasons I haven't really been running is because after this year's marathon training season, I've been really disillusioned with running. It's not like I'm competitive -- the only way I'll ever win a race is if I somehow manage to trick everyone into running off the course, a la the parade scene in "Animal House," and if you haven't seen the movie lately, watch it. There's not a scene in it where you don't say, "Oh, yes, this is the scene where --" but I digress. I want to feel that when I put energy and effort into something, that there's some payback. Definitely I want to see some improvement in terms of time, distance, endurance, etc. but running for me has neve been so much about that as it's been about releasing stress, having some "me" time, etc. etc. And, of course, for the fitting into the clothes and the ability to eat a brownie without (too much) guilt.

This training season accomplished none of those things. For those of you not thoroughly conversant with my previous posts, this was a really hard and disappointing season for me. I pushed as hard as I could, but with little to no reward. In fact, I got slower and slower, and lost more and more endurance as the season progressed. Training seemed almost counter-productive -- the more I did, the less I could do (subtraction soup, anybody?) I couldn't figure out why. Nothing wrong medically, except for starting "the change," which was admittedly a factor, but still. I was upset with myself, crying after nearly every race. The only reason I continued pushing was Prince Liam, the little fighter who keeps me motivated, and Fred's Team, who gives meaning to the miles. But the fun of running was gone. Now, there's a point in every marathon training season where running ceases to be fun, but this was different. Running was making me sad, and adding stress.

Fortunately, a few trips to a hypnotist helped me overcome my negativity so that I could complete the NYC Marathon with a real smile on my face. Which I did. In my worst clock time, but still, the smile was genuine. And I raised nearly $6000 for the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research, which is really the reason I keep putting myself out there for the distance.

A few weeks off, and the Race to Deliver, which of course I was going to run, since it benefits another cause close to my heart, Gods Love We Deliver, and the Midnight Run for New Years, which I did at more of a walk with some Teammates. Now the weather was ideal for running, and after all, I have a triathlon in July. So I would do a couple of miles, and have to stop every few minutes to breathe. My legs felt like lead. I was running maybe once a week, if that, and not missing it at all.

I had heard about Vibrams from a number of people, including Steve Runner at the Phedippidations website/podcast, and just before the marathon, I tried on a pair. The idea behind Vibrams is to mimic running barefoot. Doing so allegedly strengthens your feet and ankles and improves your form. Many popular books extoll the virtues of barefoot running. So I was curious to see what this was all about. Trying to stuff my toes in separate toe pockets was exhausting, but I finally prevailed and hopped on the treadmill. It was wild -- I immediately started running on my midfoot, which many running experts say is the proper way to run. Maybe because there's no cushioning, I was afraid to put my heel down, but nonetheless. It felt strange. Not bad, but strange. Just prior to the marathon, I wasn't about to do anything different.

As 2010 began and things were getting no better on the running front, I decided to give the Vibrams another try. I purchased a pair of Sprints, which have a strap, but no upper (sort of a Mary Jane shoe) and hit the treadmill. I went almost two miles effortlessly before realizing that a ragged seam on the inside was giving me a blister. My legs, however, felt great. Usually the first few minutes of any run is tiring, as your legs and lungs adjust to the speed. But with the Vibrams, I didn't have the leg ache. Maybe it was the treadmill.

My next attempt with the Sprints were outdoors. Again, the same feeling -- as I started off my run, the familiar leg ache wasn't happening. I wasn't planning on going too long, because I hadn't run more than two miles in about a month, but I felt so good, I ran up to Road Runners and back -- a little over three miles. The only thing that was a little negative was that the bottom of my feet and my toes were a little tingly and sore. The biggest problem with the Sprints, though, is that they aren't a cold weather shoe. My toes were freezing!!

Experiment. Is it the shoes, or is it me? My next run, I put on my trusty Sauconys and headed out. At the usual point, the familiar leg ache, and I had to stop twice in a three-mile run to get my breathing back to normal. Well, I was looking for an excuse to switch shoes. Need I a better one?

Wow. This is something. But if I was going to keep using the Vibrams, I needed warmer ones. A little research pointed to the Flows, which are a cold weather shoe. Fortunately, I was able to locate a pair in my size, and also picked up a pair of KSOs for good measure (a warmer weather shoe, but with a mesh upper for protection.) Had an experimental run in the Flows, and they felt great. Good enough for me to immediately sign up for way too many Road Runners races (hint, don't sign up for races at 1:00 a.m.,) including today's race, the Run For Haiti. All proceeds from this race went to Haiti relief, and it was a double-qualifier to boot.

That combo brought 9400 (!) people out to Central Park this morning. My first race of the season, and my first race in Vibrams. I was more afraid of getting my feet stomped on than anything else. So I really had to be careful. Also, as a result of standing in the corral for ten minutes, waiting for the race to start, the bottoms of my feet started to chill. Ah, well. Can't have everything. Hung with Teammates David and Meg, who I did the Midnight Run with. Both would be running together and also hanging back -- David with an injury, Meg with bad ankles. I told them I'd probably pull ahead, as I wanted to see how I did in the shoes. I have not been running with my iPod or my watch, deliberately not wanting to know what my pace is. So not only is this my first race, it's my first time timing myself in months.

Super crowded at the start, we didn't even move until about nine minutes in. The whole race felt comfortable, even though the soles of my feet did get a little sore -- and my calves, let us not forget, these shoes give your calves a real workout. Be warned. I pulled away from David and Meg after Cat Hill and kept going. No iPod, just the whap-whap of the shoes. They do make quite a noise, since you're not hitting the ground with padding, which is odd for me, a normally quiet runner. They definitely help your form. Besides landing on my midfoot, I can also feel my feet naturally pulling up after the strike, instead of shuffling. I think this is somewhat akin to Chi running.

I chose not to push myself too hard during the race. Between the crowding and my not having run a great deal recently, I didn't want to risk injury. So I had a lot in the tank as we rounded the 72nd Street transverse, a few hundred feet from the finish line. And for the first time ever -- and I mean ever, even at the height of my running prowess --I was disappointed to see the finish line. I wanted to keep going!

My time -- 39:48. Not amazing, to be sure, but for the first time in months, under a 10-minute mile, and more importantly, for the first time in months -- running felt great!! It was everything I wanted it to be. Heck, I even had a great water stop.

I am so glad I tried Vibrams. They may not be for everyone, but they're sure for me. I don't know if they'll make me run faster, or run better, but they've somehow brought the joy back to my running.

Now, about that swimming...