why my crazy-ass is running a marathon...

i would like to first apologize to all the readers that were possibly waiting for some sort of culmination or conclusion to the marathon experience and the blog…

i had spent about 2 hours writing not too long after the race, and since there is no auto save available, i lost everything some how some way (technology is great ain’t it?).  there was just no way in hell i was going to try and re-write anything at all…so i walked away from it…sorry!

many of you may already know i finished the marathon at a very modest 3:42:05…12 minutes and 5 seconds short of my goal.

i broke rule #1 and went out a little too fast which hurt my last 6 miles forcing me to hit ‘the wall’.

I was having too much fun…it was extremely exciting! and looking for my friends and family all along the course kept me going the whole way.  i had ran 10 miles before i realized how much i had already done and according to my watch, i was almost 2-1/2 minutes ahead of schedule which is pretty significant…i would have preferred to have been behind schedule…C’est la vie….

 i hate to down play any excitement and emotion that i experienced, but it’s been a month and i’ve moved on…

i would like to really take the time to express my love and gratitude to all my friends and family for the support and encouragement…words cannot describe how much it has helped me…

and to all the people that were out there to cheer me on…you guys mean the absolute world to me…you have absolutely no idea how it made me feel to just know that you were there cheering not only me, but 47,000 other strangers that participated…wow…the emotion of seeing friends and family for that split second is one of the most amazing feelings in the world.

i also wanted to thank all the people that continue to show love even today…you all help me re-live it.  i sometimes forget and rarely understand the magnitude of the accomplishment…thanks so much for putting things into view…

below are the stats and GPS mapping from my watch, which is almost completely different from the official stats…the splits from my watch seems to be the more accurate and realistic.  I know i wasn’t as steady and consistent as the official splits appears to have clocked it…

i don’t think mile 25-26 took me 27:17 minutes…???  wtf?

if you look at the last two miles…mile 25 clocked at 3:30:25 (my goal) and the finish time 3:42:05…a 12:05 difference…how the hell did i average 8:29?  

i either got robbed, or i don’t know what…wtf?   technology does it again!

i’m still very happy with the results…it was a lot of agonizing fun!

sooooooooooooo…

about 1 month since the big race, i did my first run in central park last night…

  and i gotta say…I still got it!  but def a bit slow…

I think a 1 month recovery time was the smartest thing i could do.  doing a 6mile run in the central park loop 1 month after the marathon goes completely against what i advise when returning to running, but i know myself…and i know how to listen to my body.  it felt fucking amazing…especially after the non-stop one month marathon of debauchery and indulgence…

my body needed it…and now it needs to start running again…

this will conclude the blog…

I will be doing a health and running blog soon and will be announced here when it’s up!  to all my tumblr followers, please keep following me and stay tuned!

thank you all so much for reading and following me throughout the journey!!!!  really…it’s amazing to know that people actually read this crap that i spit out! 

best

fyi, this blog will stay up until the the new one is finished…all the previous posts can be viewed here.

It’s past my bed time…so i’d like to try to keep this short and sweet…

it’s been quite the day…not nearly as relaxing as i would have hoped, but it’s been a quality day at that…

all the training in the past 3 months, all the stress and self doubt i have dealt with throughout the last 8 weeks, all the pain, all the good times i might have missed with friends and family and all the time and energy that went into the run tomorrow…i am finally content…

i always knew what a big deal this all was, but i never really ‘knew’…and it’s a big deal to me…mainly because of all the love, support and encouragement that i have been getting from everyone that has crossed my path in some way, shape or form…

i can’t thank you all enough…you all have been my inspiration, my drive, my conscience, my awareness…you are part of my team and i sincerely thank you all for following me on my journey…reading, listening, commenting…you have no idea what it has meant to me to go through all this knowing many of you are right there with me…it’s quite humbling…thank you thank you thank you…

i do all this not only for myself, but for all of you…i want you all to experience this with me, and although i’ve chosen to do this solo…i still wanted to be able to share it all…

i’m a bit lost for words…it’s been an emotional day with all the comments, emails, texts, calls…spending the morning with my family…i’m truly lost for words…

i just wanted to share with you some of the things that i have experienced today, just some…

one of the most special moments of the day was opening my email…

one of my clients, and can now call a friend, sent me pictures of a wall containing the names of everyone participating in the marathon…it was somewhere around columbus circle where i work literally 2 blocks away…

i really wanted to go check it out, but just couldn’t find the time to go…

she took the liberty of taking several pictures, uploading them and sending them to me via email…and it may seem like not such a big deal, but to me, that’s a huge deal…it instantly made me smile and relax…seeing these photos is what instantly made all my nervousness and stress go away…

it’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me and would have never expected to come from one of my clients…thank you jane!!!!

here is my first meal of the day with mom and dad in jerz…Original House of Pancakes

i was just gonna put my name on the front, but i got a little carried away…give a guy some crayola paint, stencils and markers…and this is what happens…

see ya at the finish line!!!!

thanks for reading everyone!!!!!!!

i had planned to do my last run of the training tomorrow (3 miles in prospect park) but, i’ve decided to hang em up until the big day.  

so, with that being said…this will be my last posted run of my training.

here, i did a little jog to the point where the course enters central park for a little warm up.

I walked a bit before coming to 90th street to unsettle some nerves and really take in and visualize myself running through…i took several deep breathes, let out a big sigh and off i went…

i started off fast and had to remind myself that this was just a little jog-through and just wanted to get a good feel for the last portion of the course…

I closed my eyes at different times, imagined a crowd and strangers yelling my name…i imagined the mental pain i would probably be enduring at that point and tried to imagine in detail how each part of my body would feel physically from everything that i had already experienced.  

i tried really hard to imagine the absolute worse case scenario as to what kind of pain i may feel to better prepare myself for whatever may come at me…

‘expect the worst and hope for the best’ is what i always tell people…it will negate disappointment and panic or cause for alarm if things actually do go wrong…and at the flip side of the coin, it can boost you if everything is going better than expected…that’s my philosophy…

i studied the terrain and tried to commit each ascend, descend and curve to memory.  I know central park like the back of my hand, but running the route clock-wise always seems to be foreign and very difficult…

it’s amazing how they set up the finish…it’s really fucking difficult!  the actual finish line is actually perched on top of a hill…duh!?  

oh well…it is what it is, eso si que es, s.o.c.k.s…

the actual finish point is blocked off a bit, but i ran up to it stopped, leaned up on the blockade, stood there and stared at it for a good while…visualizing everything…looking back in the direction i came…i imagined myself approaching as if i were a spectator…

i see myself crossing the finish line…

i looked back in thought about everything that i had done, sacrificed and gone through…and it’s all culminated to this very spot on earth…that elusive finish line.

thanks so much for reading everyone…

I’ll be doing two more posts…one before sunday and one immediately after…

please check back!

this is what I’ll be eating everyday…among many other pasta dishes from an amazing food shop, which will be covered at paulspreadlove.tumblr.com soon!

left:  1.5 lbs of macaroni & cheese with thick cut bacon bits

right:  1.5 lbs of pasta in bolognese sauce…

i had a large 3 hour gap in the middle of work halloween day, so i decided to do the last 10-11 miles of the marathon…it was the only time i would be able to do it and did not want to do it at night after work…it was a blessing to have the free time (which NEVER happens) and decided to take full advantage of it…

i also wanted to use this new jacket i just bought!  yep…i got another one.  love it!

there are little pokadots that reflect in the night but are normal in day!

turns out the 3 hours turned into 2.5 hrs because my last client wast 20min late…not only that, but she asked me kindly and desperately to take a look at her lower back because she was in pretty severe pain.  i’m only supposed to treat her shoulder, but the humanitarian in me always prevails, so i spent another half hour treating her back…

…now i have 2 hrs to get changed, hop on the N train to queens from midtown west 7th ave stop (just 3 stops) to queensboro plaza run the last 10+ miles of the marathon course from queens to east side manhattan to the bronx and back through manhattan, get back into the office, stretch, roll, shower and be ready for my 4:30pm client…

got into the subway (uptown/queens side), hopped on the Q, the Q was going downtown, got off the next stop, hopped back onto the Q train uptown, last stop all of a sudden was right back where i started…had to jump off, run upstairs and back down to the other platform for the N…

didn’t get to queensboro plaza till about 2:45…

got to the entrance of the 59th street bridge, did some warm-ups while my GPS looked for a signal….didn’t get one till about 2:55…

fucking stressed much????  what a great way to start a run!

i started ascending the long long incline over the bridge heading west…wasn’t so bad!  I thought about how it might feel already 15 miles in and i wasn’t fazed by any means!  feeling good!   but as i started to descend and felt what i hadn’t felt in a really long time…

my left shin started to tighten up immensely and i couldn’t control my left foot/leg from slapping and slamming into the ground…i felt myself slightly running with a limp and could not right my ship for the life of me…

i endured this for about 7miles…and the hardest part was having to run with this problem and having to zig-zag between a shit load of people on the side walks and zig-zagging back and forth from the side walk to the street which i’m sure added another mile or so to the whole run.

anyway, after about 7 miles i started to ease up and felt my stride really smoothen out…i was feeling light, swift and strong…except…now i needed to micturate really really bad…

i was hoping to find some bush in the park, but it was more or less broad day light and couldn’t find a spot.  i had to stop a few times otherwise i would’ve pissed myself running up inclines…

i never did find any place to go so i trudged on through…

on top of all this…my GPS watch was hardly ever working…

i didn’t finish the very tail end of the course because i really needed to get back to work for my 4:30 client…I didn’t make it into the office till exactly that time, leaving me no time to stretch, roll, nor change, nor shower…my patients didn’t mind…

all in all…i’m mortified that the last 11 miles is what it is…it’s awful and more so when you get into the bronx.  there’s just so much construction and it’s just not pretty to look at…kinda industrial, but nasty industrial…dirty.  at least just coming into the bronx.  the tiny part of the bronx that you do run through is whatever…

there are so many hills!

I’m glad i have been training in nothing but hills!!!

I had to see what the last 11 miles was like…had i not known, i probably would have had a REALLY hard time during the marathon…know i know what to expect and i’m much more confident knowing.   still a bitch though and it sure as hell ain’t gonna be the least bit easy…

feeling good though!

almost ready!  mentally.

it’s been about 12 days since my last post, logging just 4 runs in that span…

and to be completely honest, the words marathon and running are two words that make me wanna vomit, at least up until now which is why i’ve decided to continue to write about it again.

you know, it’s one thing that i’ve dedicated much of my time, energy, thought and emotion into my training, but with about 7 or 8 people that have been under my care within the last year running the marathon and having another handful of injured runners that i treat on a weekly basis, i’m just about sick of it all…running.  which explains why i just didn’t wanna write about it either.

i haven’t been as serious as i would have liked in the last several weeks and i certainly haven’t been putting in the necessary runs that i should have been doing, but…my mind has always been with it…constantly.  it’s actually quite consuming and exhausting.

but here i am…excited to share and write about it again…

i’ve decided to post the last 4 runs i did all on one post for anyone that actually cares to take a look…i can’t imagine why any of you would…such a fucking bore no?

well, the first run here was the first run during my ‘sabbatical’ in east hampton and it was a quick, beautiful morning jog…i was excited to take a run through nature in my new Nike GYAKUSOU training jacket…inspired by the video i posted a little while back…

yes, i took a picture of myself in my new jacket…sue me.

anyway…the roads here are very hilly, but they are short and narrow.  the hills roll up and down like an old school roller coaster track which makes it a lot of fun. 

my second run during my east hampton stay was mapped out just before the actual run.  I wanted to be completely free so i left all my belongings behind toting only a $20 bill.  no phone.  i was VERY excited but i didn’t exactly know the area that well yet and i thought i knew it better than i did and eventually got lost…

this is what my route was supposed to look like…

and this is what it became…

i have no clue how i ended up screwing things up so bad…it’s pretty confusing driving out there and it takes a good amount of driving around to get a good feel for the roads.  i must of got caught up in the scenery and lost track of where i was.

I got a little scared because i just had no idea where i was anymore…i was getting frustrated with myself because i didn’t want to loose the day trying to find my way back to the house.  It was a near perfect day and i had it all planned out…

i was gonna get home after a nice decent scenic run, cook myself breakfast, clean up, shower and explore the town with my camera…

at about mile 4-5 i was starting to panic.  not so much because i wouldn’t find my way back to the house, but because i didn’t want to waste time!  at this point i started to feel a bit heavy…

i was feeling really good, swift, strong and loose…but then between miles 4 and 5…i realized that i didn’t go to the bathroom before i started the run…yep…big mistake!

so here i am, lost, frustrated, worried, now exhausted physically, heavy and now i have to drop a few friends off at the pool…

dare i go there?

i was DYING…i HAD to go.  luckily, there weren’t any houses along this stretch of road.  I found a giant dead tree on its side and figured it would be a good spot to hide and drop my shorts without being seen by cars passing by…

there are warning signs all over the place stating that it is hunting season of various ‘game’.  shit! 

i did a full 360 look around and without hesitation, i dropped my shorts, popped a squat with the tree to my back holding me up and instantly lost about 6lbs…

at this point, all i could do was laugh…

i comb my immediate surrounding with my eyes and see nothing but dead dry crackling leaves…fortunately, there were 2 decent sized leaves within an arms reach that weren’t quite dead and dry…and i was able to complete the mission unaffected and unfazed!

the great thing, i realized, about going #2 in a deep squat is that…it doesn’t touch anything and makes things virtually clean!  I now see why people in india, and i think vietnam among many other countries, have holes in the ground rather than toilets…

i’m feeling an extra 5 springs in my step and feel super light and fast!  I am also feeling more clear headed and confident that i’ll be able to complete a decent run and find my way home without running too many extra miles…

i obviously found my way home and decided i will not go on anymore runs during my trip…

i also realized i did 7miles in this run rather 6.1…technology is great!

for my last long run, i decided to keep it easy route-wise and do two loops around central park…the run felt really good, but i did not run nearly as fast as i thought i was…

while i’m keeping things open and honest, i’m not feeling too confident and i’m not sure if i’m ready.  i did almost everything i wanted to do as far as the training schedule goes, but i do feel like i could have done more to prepare in the second half of the training…

i’m still pretty fast in the shorter distances but not much improved from what i’ve already been able to do as far as speed and i’m injury free, i feel healthy, i feel strong and i feel overall great…but my mental state is a bit wishy-washy…

this last run i did on friday morning was to be a speed confidence booster, and it was…but i was going for a PR and i felt like i killed it the whole run…but, apparently it was just a bit slower than my PR…i don’t think i held back at all, but i could have floored it a bit more at the end…oh well…

i don’t know what sneakers to wear yet either…i feel confident in both (nike’s or miszuno’s) but i just don’t know which ones might be best…

i also haven’t run any of the last 10 miles of the course, which is what everyone does to train and prepare…so i’m a bit scared in that respect…

i going through a lot of self doubt again…i put so much pressure on myself and i just have to keep reminding myself to have fun…that’s all…

my week away was meant to focus more on running and my body, but it seems as if my mind and body wanted nothing to do with running durning that time, so i gave in and did many of the other fun things i really enjoy like driving, exploring, taking pictures, relaxing and cooking…

i think my mental state is much better now because of those things alone…i was able to take a step back away from running…and i’m happy to jump start my drive in the next coming days till the big day…

the hardest thing is keeping myself away from all the fun happenings this weekend (halloween)…i miss my social life, i miss my friends…i miss getting inebriated…

thanks so much for reading…

In between this run and last weeks 23 mile run, I just didn’t do anything…

It’s not because I was hurting, no injuries to complain about, my legs felt fresh and strong, my desire is still strong, mentally…and from a confidence standpoint, I feel really good about things…not super or over confident…but I feel ready.

This was the last big run I had to do…I’m more or less done.  I’m just gonna work on taking it easy, keep my body tuned up and healthy, work on speed a bit and voila!  

For this last big run, I just wanted to get in the miles.  I didn’t wanna run fast at all and just.wanted.to finish.  I was scheduled to only do 19 and 20 last week, but last week I felt the need to do 23 and this time around I felt the need to go for 20.  

I wasn’t quite able to finish 20…for some reason, this run felt much harder than last weeks run…I started to really struggle when I made it back to prospect park at around mile 16 and never really recovered.  

Coming off of the Manhattan Bridge was more or less all incline all the way till about the last decline in the park at about 16.5 miles…so that means I ran about 3 miles uphill…

And if anyone knows how shitty those inclines are from 3rd ave towards the park (I ran up 9th st) then you know what a bitch that was.  

So to me it makes sense why I ran out of gas by the time I came out of the park…PLUS physically passing by my apt with 2.5 miles to go…I was dying psychologically…

With one full mile to go…I started hauling ass (or tried to at least), looked at my watch and only did .44 of the mile…done.

I have to be completely honest and realistic and say that I don’t think I have what it takes to be able to run the marathon at my goal time of 3:30:—.  I just don’t see it…between this run and last weeks run…

I think my total elapsed time with stops was about 3 hours…so 19.44 miles in 3 hrs…that leaves me 30min left to get the last 6.57 miles in…impossible.

I’m not upset about coming to the realization, but at least I know I can get about 3:45:— and that makes me happy…

I’m taking a week off in solitude to rest, relax, train, bike and take care of my body.  I’m going to cook (a lot), eat well, read, write, organize and meditate.  I’m in East Hampton away in the sticks and back roads and really looking forward to doing nice easy runs through these narrow, quiet, winding, rolling wooded streets…

I will have my camera at hand for most of the runs and will be posting runs with pics!

Here’s to serenity!

My first cooked meal of the week…

F

rigatoni w/ steamed spinach, pomodoro sauce (citarella), fresh mozzarella and chopped cooked fresh prosciutto di parma.

steamed string beans sauteed in olive oil and garlic w/ fresh parmigiano shavings.

Honestly…I didn’t run the last 1.3 miles…I walked it.

After running about 22.4 miles…I wasn’t really eager to run up literally 2 walls to cap off the difficult run.  I was feeling good, but I was also really tired.  Walking up those last two hills(walls) alone was hard as all hell…

Also, 22.4 miles of constant rolling hills was no joke.  no joke at all…I had no qualms walking to my parents home the rest of the way.

I also intentionally left my phone behind which would force me to finish and not bitch out with a call home to have someone pick me up…

But I gotta tell you…

After swearing to never run this route ever again since the first time I ran it…I felt it to be a sort of ‘right of passage’ for the marathon.  I really felt that if I could conquer my fears of running these hills over a long distance again (and then some) and run it smarter/better, it would give me all the confidence in the world and I now feel very strong about meeting my marathon goal time…which I am now just happy to be able to finish.  The goal time will hold and I will try to achieve it, but I’m not going to kick myself for failing.

I felt very strong and didn’t have to stop until the 17th mile due to a traffic light…It came at a great time because I had just ran through the hardest portion of course with some of the steepest hills…

The remaining 6miles wasn’t very easy either because the sun was blazing at this point and running in the heat zapped my energy.  I was loosing a lot of fluids and the salt coating my skin made me tighten up…I don’t like to carry water with me…I like to train my body to get by as much as possible without the dependency.  It’s been working for me and it helps me stay focused on the task at hand.  If my body couldn’t take it, I would just stop…I’m not stupid.

Again, my father decided to join me on the journey with my brothers bike…he did great and was able to do 20miles…very proud of him!

At about the 20th mile…I was feeling really dry and stopped at a bodega and re-fueled with a Vita-Coco…

The last 2.4 miles was pretty tough and had to break it up in two…it was really hot and I was feeling stiff, but I didn’t go through any mental breakdowns, I wasn’t feeling physically incapable, I had conquered my fears of running this route again and I knew if I could do this route with an extra 7-8 miles added to it…I would be fine for the marathon. (hopefully)

It was a gorgeous morning and running through the reservation again was just fantastic…the road was blocked off to traffic, the sounds of running water in the brook, my steady controlled breathing, my light and smooth footing along with my dad reiterating how gorgeous it really was…was all the music I needed.

I got home and treated my self to about 4 glasses of chocolate milk…stretched out, showered, rested, ate, watched my 49ers kick ass and played with my newborn niece…was a perfect day…

thanks for reading.

Less than 1 month to go…!

This was a really fun and beautiful run and the weather was fantastic. Heading north along the west side catching a gorgeous night view of the GW bridge was so fun that I missed my turn at around 96th street and kept on running north.

I kept on running with the hopes of being able to cross the West Side Highway, but when I realized that I was getting closer and closer to the bridge, I knew I had gone too far north. I did an about face and turned where I was supposed to…I ended up doing almost 2 extra miles when I was only planning on doing 8.

The worst part about the run was hitting the east side of the park where I was forced to run on the sidewalk most of the way and if anyone has ever ran on that sidewalk…you know how busted up it is…it’s like running through a dried-out brook…

The side walk that makes up the perimeter of Central Park is made up of individual bricks (cobblestone?) and it’s mostly coming apart leaving it very uneven, jagged and dangerous when running in the dark…

I used to run on those sidewalks a lot when I first started running.  

Running on uneven surfaces helps strengthen the feet and ankles…it also helps you learn to control the amount of impact you make when striking the ground because you have to be careful that you don’t hit a ditch, forcing you to feel for the ground with your forefoot (which is where your foot should meet the ground)…It also helps enhance balance and proprioception as well.

When you eventually hit flat, smooth pavement…you just fly…you feel so light and swift and easy.

Despite the benefits of it…I wouldn’t recommend it…I have strong, loose, flexible ankles and feet…my balance is strong and my proprioception is strong.  I think the average person would roll their ankle, trip or maybe even hurt their knees…it’s something you have to kind of practice before you can actually do it…it’s just generally not safe.

But running on those sidewalks for the first time in a long time…I started to feels some pains in my knees and the insides of my shins…which I kinda expected.  I just made sure I tuned myself up and maintained my body properly afterwards…stretching, rolling, self-massage and icing…

I felt good, finished very strong and ready to attempt 23 miles in Jersey tomorrow…

I am going to face the route that almost made me wanna put the kibosh EVERYTHING.  Time to re-face my fear…I don’t fear hills, but these hills in the burbs are scary…I’m all in…

Teen Wolf happens to be on right now…I’m all souped up!

I felt strong, no pains, no aches, legs felt lite like feathers, feet felt swift, body felt rested, my mind was a little cluttered but my confidence was solid.

I’ve been getting good sleep and eating really well, and it’s obviously paying off…

I’m also very happy to bring chocolate milk back into my life…I had no idea that it’s one of the best drinks to have after a run or workout…http://www.chocolatemilk.com/

fantastic!

I’m feeling great!…and relieved because I was really falling and approaching bottom as far as my training, desire, determination and confidence…but I’m back on track and feel how I was feeling the first half of the training…strong, swift and FAST!

‘I’m a loner Dottie, a rebel’

I’ve never really had any interest in running ‘with’ people, none whatsoever…

…maybe because I’m not much of a conversationalist, maybe because I’m typically shy despite popular belief, maybe because I just really enjoy being alone and more so when I run so I can focus and take time to myself.

I spend a large portion of the day talking to so many different people and always listening…It’s pretty draining at the end of the day.  

Maybe also because I dislike being in ‘groups’…maybe I just don’t have time to spend to make myself part of one or be taken into one…

whatever the case may be…running with this group was a lot of fun and I think I wanna do it more often…

Taking part in this Nike sponsored Bowery to Bowery Freak Show 24K run hosted by the NYC BridgeRunners, I had no idea what to expect when I got to the first meeting spot at Bowery Stadium in SoHo…

I found out about this event through my homie…he sent me an email about it and asked if I was doing it…when I saw the flier I said ‘hell yeah’!

I showed up, signed a waiver, took my free Nike Dri-Fit Freak Show printed t-shirt, grabbed a banana and vita-coco from the table, sat down and waited.

I didn’t really put myself out there and make small talk with too many people, no one really…I mean, walking into this Nike store where most of the people there knew one another…it was pretty intimidating…very cliquey.

I stayed somewhat reserved and pretty much kept to myself taking things in, observing…judging…

…I actually couldn’t make any clear observations or judgements, but I knew most of everyone there were a different breed of people I’m used to being around…not like a bunch of your typical ‘runners’, not a bunch of health freaks, not a bunch of ego maniacs (i think)…but just different…everyone was different…and I liked that.

I didn’t have any clue what the exact route was.  I didn’t know much of anything and I don’t think anyone else really knew…but as we finally all gathered out front of the store for a group shot…the organizers said a few words and we were off running down the sidewalk and into the streets south towards the Manhattan Bridge with Coney Island as our destination…

I think there were maybe 40 or 50 heads…? Not sure exactly…but there were all kinds of people running…slow people, fast people, older people, younger people, runners, non-runners…?, fit and not so fit people…it was all across the board…a few cute girls too!  <wink>.  everyone seemed cool and down to earth.

One of the organizers, Cedric (cool dude), tried to keep everyone together and tried to keep us all at about a 10-11 minute pace because it was more of a camaraderie group march than a race…

I thought running slow would be a great way to relax and really learn how to control my body better and just enjoy running with people and getting to know a few and talk bull shit while we ran…joke around a bit…

The route was awesome, really cool…they planned out a really nice route through red hook, sunset park, the water front in bay ridge where there was amazing panoramic views, great view of the verazzano bridge, then through bensonhurst and finally coney.  A great great way to see brooklyn…

We had two planned stops where people can jump in for an 11 mile run and a 6 mile run, but had to make a few more to allow the slower peeps to catch up…the idea was to all run together, but with all the stops…we all got stiff, cold, and the cool rainy weather didn’t help…it made things really tough…but the great thing was that they had a crew mobilizing in a black van to the different pit stops and set up re-fueling stations with coconut water, bananans and bottled water…also three dudes on bikes armed with DSLR’s taking stills and videos.

One of the really fun parts of the run was completely taking over whole streets and making cars yield for us.  It was dangerous at times, but fun nonetheless!  Bystanders and people in cars yelling and hooting and hollaring for us was amazing!

As soon as we hit the water front after a pit stop at Owl’s Head park…they said it was okay to let loose and fly for a bit then take a rest stop underneath the verazzano bridge…

A few of the faster peeps started to take off and I just trailed a little bit behind them…as I started to warm up and loosen up…my jets just started kicking in and I smoothly breezed by them all one by one…I wasn’t racing, but it was fun to blast by people from behind!  8)  I was the first one to reach the bridge and it felt good!!!  I wasn’t booking, but I just put it into gear and hit cruise control…

One dude said that he almost hurt himself because of me…that was a great compliment!

Now…these people weren’t a bunch of leopards or ‘runners’….just people that liked to run…no one was really serious, but I think when it comes to running, there’s always a few heads trying to show their stuff…there’s nothing wrong with a little competition…wasn’t the time nor the place for it, but it was there in all of us to some degree…so there was always spurts of ego getting in there…all in good fun!

At our last pit stop with 3miles to go, the organizers emphasized really sticking together for the remainder of the run…our pace guy was a severely overweight chulo from the LES on a low rider bike armed with a sound system…his name was ‘Freaky Fridge’ and was dropping BASS!  like electric boogaloo bass, 80’s b-boy breaks and classics…the musical theme was ‘Freak’…duh…people loved it, but some people wanted som new-school hip-hop like Kanye and all that crappola…It was perfect and I loved it!

We finished off the trek as soon as we hit the boardwalk, we greeted each other with high-fives and back patting…

the last task before we all hit THE Coney Island ‘Freak Show’ was to have a free-for-all sprint on the boardwalk about 200 meters to Nathan’s…

Some dude’s were booooooookin!  one dude just whizzzed by me…I think I might have came in 4th or 5th…but nobody’s keeping score…that was a lot of fun!  I was laughing the whole way…

We finally found our way into a bar where there were stacks of Nathan’s french fires, hot dogs, mini corn dogs and refreshments…we all got a drink ticket or two for alcohol and feasted!!!

The bar/theater was reserved entirely for us and after we ingested all the Nathans goodness…we took our beers in to the theater where we got a private viewing of the famous Freak Show…and it was AWESOME!!!!  very entertaining!!  

After the freak show, I pulled an Irish exit and headed for the F train back home…I felt a little outta place…I was tired and buzzzzzed…

it was a fantasic day…every bit of it.

upon further investigation of this crew…I found out why I liked this crew…I knew something was different about these people…

see why here<—————

Thank you Nike and NYC Bridge Runners!  I had an amazing time!

More info on NYC Bridge Runners:

http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/sportswear/en_US/bridgerunners#/ontherun/1

Last 3 photos taken by Tony Cheong

Last nights run (this run) was the first time I felt really strong and comfortable in a long time…

The tendonitis in my left foot has healed about 95%, I’ve gone back to eating healthier (sans Kit Kats, potato chips, pizza, pepperoni wheels, candy, etc) and drinking a lot of water again and more importantly I’ve been getting sleep…a lot of it.

I also have a hip/lower back problem I sustained 5 years ago playing basketball which comes back sometimes when I sit too long or when the weather is bad…and it came back…it never affects my run but still lingers in my mind.  I felt it a little bit during the run, but was more or less a non issue.  It can be pretty painful but I know how to manage it.  It never lasts more than 2-3 days.

Since Labor Day weekend, which is the half-way point of my training, I’ve been trying really hard to be more serious about the training, but life just gets in the way…

Also, I’ve been at it for 11-12 weeks and I have to admit that I’ve been very tired…exhausted mentally and physically.  My body just hasn’t felt great and my confidence is chipping away day by day.

I watched myself go into a sort of rebellious state where I just didn’t want to do this anymore…I got sick of eating so healthy and being so healthy.  I haven’t been out socially since Labor Day which really gets to me because I miss my friends…

As much as I work and as much energy as I put into the people I treat…there is just no time or energy for anything else but running…and I’m sick of it…tired of it really…

This whole week I’ve just been taking it easy on myself…not really running and not thinking about it too much…just resting my body, because with all the garbage and lack of nutrients I’ve been getting lately…on top of the poor sleep…I’ve been feeling petty run down…

I was supposed to go out tonight and kick back with some friends for a change, but decided to go for a moderate run in the park…where it rained and had to deal with the crowds of Black Eyed Peas fans and the awful music.

For the first time in a long time, I had a lot of fun…my legs felt strong, lite and swift, my wind and breathing was strong and rhythmic…I felt great and I felt fast.

Again, I had some GPS issues, but I only looked at my watch once during the first mile to see how fast I was starting off.  I just had fun with the run and unfortunately I was much much slower than I felt, but it’s just a time…they are just numbers…I felt amazing and finished strong and that’s all that matters to me now…

Today I will be running with the NYC Bridge Runners for a slow 10/11min mile long 24K (15miles) run from Nike Bowery Stadium (Bowery & E. Houston) to Coney Island for the FREAK SHOW!!!   I think it’s gonna be fun!  Thanks to my man Erik The Red for sending me info on this otherwise I would have never known…

It’ll be nice to run with a ton of strangers marching over to Coney…I think the turn out is supposed to be nuts…