With One Week to go…

I’ve been training for 19 weeks for the New York City Triathlon.

It's been a journey from being cold and sad...

To feeling strong and happy! (and warm)

When I signed up for the triathlon in January, I was hopelessly naïve and had absolutely no clue what I was getting myself into. I’ll admit I was even a little over-confident about the whole thing. I had run two marathons already – a triathlon would be easy in comparison.

I was also looking for a new adventure, something to get me out of my comfort zone. I wanted to do something that didn’t just benefit me, but other people who were in real need of help.

I definitely feel like I am about to achieve something bigger than myself this weekend, but I was 100% wrong about thinking the training would be easy. It was really hard.

I don’t say this to elicit sympathy from anyone, but rather to remind myself that training for any race is supposed to be difficult. It requires a little sacrifice, a bit of discipline and a lot of sleep. While I think that having experience in endurance running helped me, it didn’t prepare me much for the swimming and biking portions of the training. I had to work really hard to build up my endurance for both.

I remember the first weekend I had my road bike – I felt like I was flying. My new baby was so shiny and fast. I ended up doing a ton of mileage at a Saturday morning practice, more than I had ever done, and realized about ¾ of the way through that I was dog tired. I slowly made my way back to my apartment after practice, and was convinced that if my couch was a foot further away from my door, I would have collapsed on my floor instead. My right knee ached, and I slept for about 2 hours afterwards. I learned that day to respect the sport, and respect your ability level.

Showing some love and respect for my bike.
I did not collapse after this practice I will have you know.

I remember the stretch of weeks when I loathed going to the pool on my own. I would mumble curse words to myself on early Thursday mornings when I had to slip into my tight swimsuit, share a lane with another crazy New Yorker, and blow dry my hair in an insanely hot gym while sweat poured down my face. This SUCKS.  I couldn’t find anything positive about my solo swim practices. I wasn’t very good, I didn’t feel myself improving, and I couldn’t shake my frustration.

Then at some point, I started to KIND OF enjoy it. I started passing people at the group swim practices that I attended religiously. I patted myself on the back when I finished a set of long sprints and didn’t feel like dying. I successfully finished an open water swim and didn’t die. I learned that not everything is supposed to come easy or be fun. Sometimes you have to really work at it, and believe that it will pay off in the end. 

I'm smiling! Even though I'm about to swim!

I remember when I was cursing my body for not cooperating when I was recovering from injury. This was especially frustrating because while I might not be very good at swimming or biking, I felt like I was kind of good at running. I couldn’t do it as much as I wanted to, which I felt would have lifted up my spirits. I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to complete the race.

Finally, my injury let up, after some aggressive physical therapy and foam rolling. As I slowly built up my endurance, I savored every step. It felt amazing to be able to do the one sport that I feel most confident about.

Last Tuesday, I finally made it to a group run, which I had avoided all season because it is inconvenient for me to get to (plus, I really enjoy running alone! Not ashamed of it one bit). We were told to do mile repeats, but I just ran at a steady pace because I didn’t want to risk hurting anything. I let people pass me, and focused on my steady breathing. I felt strong, even if I wasn’t going as fast as everyone else.

After practice, I was talking to some fellow teammates, and we were sharing how we felt about the upcoming race. I said how I felt most confident about running, since I have done several races in the past. One girl, whom I had never met before said, “Oh you’ll be fine on the run. You looked so strong out there!”  It was such a small comment, but really boosted my confidence. Even if you’re not running as fast as everyone else, if you feel strong, chances are, you’ll look strong to other people too.

SO PLEASED TO BE RUNNING.

When I first signed up for this triathlon, I was most nervous about getting to my fundraising goal. I know asking people to donate their hard-earned dollars to my race is a bit of an imposition, but I hoped I would get close enough so I didn’t have to pay for the difference myself and have to live on ramen for months.

I have said before that I am truly amazed by the generosity I’ve been shown in the past few months. And two weeks ago, I surpassed my fundraising minimum. This was a huge part of my goal for this race – to raise enough money that would make a difference for families fighting LLS. Even if I don’t have a great race, I take great pride in knowing that I did something to help others in need. If you supported me in the past few months, whether it was by donating or just listening as I worried about training, thank you. Give yourself a pat on the back because we just did something really awesome together.

So here we are, a week away from my first Olympic Triathlon. After 19 weeks of insanely early Saturday morning practices, countless uncomfortable swim workouts and many moments of questioning my own sanity, I am just days away from putting myself to the test. It has been a crazy journey, but I feel ready for it. Let's go.

Week 14 NYC Triathlon Training - and Other Thoughts

It’s been a good week of training! Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Saturday: BRick (1M run, 1 ½ hour bike, 30 min run)

Sunday: 1 Hour Bike

Monday: 1 Hour Swim Practice w/ wetsuit (!!!)
Tuesday: 6M Run, 5x400 hill repeats

Wednesday: REST

Thursday: BRIck (1 Hour Bike, 20 Minute Run)

The BRick on Saturday was intense but good. A few weeks ago I was nervous about the state of my fitness, specifically for running. We started out with a slow 1 mile run, followed that with a 1 ½ hour bike, and finished with 30 minutes of hill repeats. Yeah.

The bike was fun, but I didn’t feel the need to go too fast. I try to keep in mind that I also have a 6 mile ride to and from the park, so I tack on 12 more miles than everyone else. I made the mistake a few weeks ago of doing far too many laps of Prospect Park, so I did what I thought was a good amount for me.

As a triathlon newbie, there are a lot of things I need to work on/remember for the race. Like hydrating and fueling while on my bike. I hadn’t purchase the “right” kind of water bottles for my bike yet. You’re supposed to have the kind that you can just leave open, so it’s easy to hydrate throughout the race. I’ve been continuing to use my Rubbermaid “flip open” water bottle, and I finally realized on Saturday why this will just not do for biking. At the end of what I thought was a successful grab-n-sip session on my bike, I was trying to close the lid and put it back on my water bottle holder, when I completely missed it and my bottle went flying. The bottle went one way, the lid went another, and my dignity was back some few hundred feet.

My new bottle.

So I invested in two water bottles this week via amazon that looked super cute online. But they are in fact too big for my bike. So I have to exchange them, I guess. #newbieproblems

I also got a Fuel Box for my bike, because I couldn’t figure out how people properly fuel while biking and I was STARVING mid-way through our ride. While I usually leisurely stop for water and nutrition on bike rides by myself, I was reminded that this is NOT what happens on race day. Hopefully this thing will help me get my gus and other nonsense easily. I will have to practice before the race because I am not the most skilled one-handed rider.

We got off our bikes after an hour and a half, and started the run. The reason why they call these sessions "BRick"s: B is for Bike, R is for Run, and Brick is for the way your legs feel when you get off the bike and start running. They feel like lead. But after a minute or two, I was moving and grooving.

At the end of the session, they had a How-To session on how to fix a flat tire. I wanted to just sit and watch, but at the end of the session I felt like I should at least try part of it. I asked my awesome TNT mentor, Andy, to help me. He said we should just do the whole thing. And I did!

Fixing a flat tire is not easy. I employed the help of Andy and another mentor to get me through it. I did almost every single thing wrong, twice, before I did it right. But it was something that TNT really encouraged all of us to learn, so if I get stranded on the side of the road somewhere with a flat, I will feel slightly more confident about being able to fix it.

Post BRick- Sweaty, dirty, and happy
(And it was laundry day)

We also had our first wetsuit swim on Monday night (WAAAHH). I have been reading about and hearing that everyone freaks out in wetsuits, especially when in open water. Aside from the fact that it can get really tight on your neck, and really hot by your belly and legs, it was actually super fun to swim in. Wetsuits make you more buoyant (I'll be needing that), and I felt faster. We practiced things like sighting, which is important on race day when you're in open water and you don't have lane lines guiding you to the finish.

It was probably the first swim practiced I've really enjoyed in a long time. 

After a successful BRick and swim, I'm feeling confident and reflective. I read this awesome blog today about "10 Uncommon Truths Every Business Owner Should Know." While it sounds a bit businessy, I assure you the gal who writes on this blog is a hysterical GENIUS. She writes a lot about how to start/run your own business, but a lot of it relates to working and life in general. In her blog, she writes about 10 thing she learned from being a manager at an ice cream shop. It made me think back to some of the things I've learned in my past jobs, and more relevantly, to my past two years as a runner. 

So here's my own list of 5 Uncommon/Probably Pretty Common Truths Every Runner/Triathlete Should Know:

1. Training is Called Training for a Reason - You Have to Do it (aka It's Not Called Sleeping in/Sitting on Your Couch and Watching Game of Thrones)
This is sort of advice to anyone who is on the fence about training for something big. There are a lot of mornings when I don't feel like getting up early to get in my training, or want to finish the full length of what I have on my training schedule. At times like this, I say to myself, you just have to do it. You can come up with all of the excuses in the world for why you can't fit a training session in (and from time to time, that happens). But if you signed up for a race, it's your commitment to put in the time. Suck it up, lace up your sneakers, and get on with it. You'll be happy once you did. And don't forget to treat yourself to an iced coffee afterwards.

2. Trying Stuff that Scares You Makes You a Better Athlete
Last year, when I was trying to complete all of my 9+1 races, I had about 3 or 4 weekends in a row when I had to get to Central Park for a race. (I'm starting to realize more and more that I live in one of the most inconvenient neighborhoods to get to races in NYC, and getting to Central Park by 8AM on a Saturday is about as easy to get to as Toledo.) So instead of wasting my energies on a slow subway for an hour, I decided to run there. It was much quicker, and I'm convinced squeezing in a casual run over the Queensboro Bridge every other weekend built up my stamina for my Brooklyn Half PR. It SCARED the crap out of me to run in Brooklyn and Queens before most bodegas were even open, but now I don't think twice about getting to Central Park or trying a brand new route. My legs thanked me for that.

3. Forget Nutrition and Forget your Race
I think the editors of Runner's World say to themselves PREACH! every time they hear someone talk about how important nutrition is during a race. It comes up in every issue of their mag, and I couldn't agree more. I had a few unpleasant run-ins when I was a newbie at running, because I didn't take nutrition seriously enough. I also experienced it last Saturday at my BRick (but in a non-bathroom run sort of way). I didn't eat enough breakfast, and I realized halfway through my bike that I was starving and didn't know how to re-fuel without getting off my bike and taking a 5 minute break. It reminded me that I am a big breakfast kinda gal. I need it or I'm going to get fatigued, and I need easy access to gus during my training to keep going. Plain and simple, it's one of the easiest things to prepare for, and once of the easiest things to mess up.

4. Other Runners/Athletes aren't trying to Intimidate you (but They Probably Think They're Better Than You)
There are a group of runners in my neighborhood who think they are the bees knees of running. I tried a few runs with them awhile ago, and realized they weren't my cup of tea. I see them a lot when I do speedwork at the track, in their fancy gear, and with their six pack abs. I also see a lot of runners at the beginning of races, when we're all piled into corrals like cattle, who have fancy arm sleeves, calf sleeves, and other neon-colored accessories. I used to be intimidated by both groups. But then I realized they are not paying the least bit of attention to me. Runners are in their own heads 90% of the time. I realized it would be a shame to put in all this time into training only to be intimidated by people who wear fancier stuff than I do. The best way to prove to yourself that your training and clothing works for you? Run past them on the course or track (I mean, if you can. I usually can't).

5. Smiling is a Good Way to Get What you Want
I try to use this in most areas of my life. People like people who smile. People don't like people who are grumpy and seem mean. There have been plenty of times when I've been at a race confused about how to drop off my bag or not followed directions correctly. I smile, ask a volunteer for help, and I always get what I want. This is also true when at a running store or in a group of people who know more about the sport than you do. Smile, ask a question, and get the answer you need right away. It also doesn't hurt to smile at fellow runners while out on the dusty trail. It just makes for a better run.

So those are my thoughts about running truths! I just love reflecting and stuff.

Weird Sh*t on a Run

I’m in week 12 of Tri training, with a little over 7 weeks left before race day. Where has the time gone.

Here’s what this past week looked like:

Sunday: 1 hour BRick at the gym

Monday: 40 min Swim

Tuesday: Insane Spin class

Wednesday: 4.2 mile Run

Thursday: 30 min Swim

I think my body is finally getting used to 6 workouts per week. And my tummy is happy because now I’m eating extra rice crispy treats in the process.

Last week, I expressed some feelings of doubt about whether I will be ready for race day. I realize now that by continuing to fit in my workouts, I will be ready. But after reflecting on my doubt, I think I realized something.

I’m not a huge fan of swimming. (!!!)

Expectation

Reality.

I’m an optimist. I see the glass half-full. I go into most experiences believing that I will enjoy them, and come out the other side with more knowledge or passion for something. I believed wholeheartedly when I signed up for the tri that I would grow to love biking and swimming. I like to exercise, I like to learn new things… makes sense.

But I forgot about the human condition that we don’t like things we’re not good at. I forgot that I quit basketball in 8^th grade because I was terrible, and I stopped trying out for the school musicals because I didn’t want to be stuck in the chorus anymore. I am guilty of stopping things that I’m not good at. It’s just not fun. Who’s with me?

I don’t think that I’m a great runner, but at least I have seen myself improve and accomplish things over the past two years. I put in the hours and practiced and trained, and I like to think that I am at least a good runner. I also have seen my endurance improve in biking – I love going to spin classes and riding through Prospect Park with my shiny new bike. It’s fun.

Convincing myself that I have improved in my swimming is harder. I know my endurance has increased, but I kind of dread going to the pool on my own. I go to every group training session I can, because it's slightly less painful doing lap sprints with my fellow TNTers. When I go to the pool on my own, I get it done because I know I have to. And the consequence of not being prepared in swimming (ahem, drowning) is slightly scarier than being undertrained in biking or running. I get in the pool and say to myself “okay, let’s get this over with. And then you can treat yourself to a yummy breakfast or something.”

Am I being a negative Nancy? Perhaps. But I am also being honest with myself. If I’m going to finish the next 7 weeks of training, I have to come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to become an amazing swimmer overnight. It’s going to be hard and not that fun for me, but I’m going to stick with it, and know that by race day I accomplished something awesome.

On an upbeat note, I am really excited about my new Up band by Jawbone!

Compliments my gold watch, no?

I received it as a gift from my boss for putting on our sales meeting back in April. With high-tech motion sensors (or something), it can track how many steps you take, your workouts, and how well you sleep. Just wear it on your wrist day and night, plug it into your phone so it syncs up with an app, and get immediate feedback on your activity right away. So awesome.

I walked over 5 miles yesterday! One good thing
that comes from my commute.

I also wore it on my crazy a** run the other night. I will now elaborate.

Per my description of how I’m not the biggest fan of swimming, I am like a kid in a candy store when it’s a run day. It all started out great. The weather was warm, it was the first time I was wearing shorts this season, and I was ready for some speedwork at the track. But apparently the entire community of north Brooklyn also thought it was a nice night for the track.

I would very much like to give a seminar on proper track etiquette to my neighbors. I had to dodge slow people walking while talking on cell phones, little kids zigzagging, and one guy pushing a shopping cart. ON THE TRACK. The outside is for slow walkers, the park and the green space is for kids, and the grocery store is where you can take your shopping cart. Mkay? I am trying to complete some 400s here people.

Then on my way home, a girl sitting on her fire escape dumped some kind of liquid (I’m hoping it was water) over the edge, about 2 ft from me. I looked up with a nasty stare, and she said “Oops.” Then, as I was walking the last block back to my apartment for a cool down, I saw a guy, who was stopped and resting on his bike, start PEEING NEXT TO HIS BIKE. WTF. It’s not like I live in some downtrodden neighborhood where public urination is a common thing. It wasn’t even dark out. If you must pee in public, do it when it’s dark, next to an alley or a wall or something. And for the love of Lance Armstrong, don't do it while on your bike.

Needless to say, I got back to my apartment, wondering what was wrong with this world. But it was a great run otherwise, so I can’t really complain.

Never Say Never

Hi friends! It’s been awhile (again). Let’s catch up.

Since the Join the Voices 5M that I ran in early December, my running hasn't exactly been happening. Afterwards, I couldn't run for more than a minute without my IT band hurting, so I laid off. It was frustrating at times, but I came to love strength training instead. I can proudly say that I increased my push-up max from 12 to 25 (maybe 30 if you had a prize for me), and I can do about 6 pull-ups (on that pull-up assistance machine, not by myself. Let’s be real). I can feel myself getting stronger, and I’ve noticed small, but good changes in my body as a result.

I also focused my attention on friends and family, and in attempt not to bore you, I will recap you on the past two months as quickly as I can. A story in photos, if you will.

Failed attempt at cooking flan. It was one of my 2012 resolutions.
Hence, the reason why I didn't make any in 2013.

Meggie was competing in the 3rd Annual Mustache & Beard Competition in Brooklyn.
She competed in the women's division with a marshmallow beard. Need I say more?

Christmas Eve with my sis! I will probably be just as excited about
Christmas when I'm 65 as I was at 5.

New Year's Eve! Champagne and tequila in Brooklyn,
par for the course.

Jillian put together an awesome BYOB Painting class!
Pinot Grigio + Craftiness = Great afternoon

One of my favorite restaurants in Greenpoint hosts a Chili Cook-off every year. Keith
and I were finally around this year to go, and it was awesome. Plus, I won a
$25 gift certificate to the restaurant in a raffle! I was a happy gal.

To put it simply, it’s been a good winter so far. I haven’t had a specific fitness goal in mind, but I've been really enjoying that.

But now that spring is a couple months away, I've recently been deciding between a few different races. This is the short version of what my thought process has been:

Spring Marathon: Um, no.

Spring Half-Marathon: Perhaps. But I have a busy spring, with a wedding and my boyfriend’s scholarly law school graduation in the mix. And I’m not sure I really want to start hardcore running just yet.

Triathlon: Why not?

I have definitely said to friends (and on this blog) before that I would never do a triathlon. I am not a strong swimmer, and it sort of scares me. I like to swim doggy paddle, I like to bike, and I love to run, but I’m not sure all three would go together that well. But here I am, taking it all back.

Meggie signed up to do the NYC Triathlon in July with Team in Training, an organization that supports the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). She asked if I wanted to join her, and my initial thought was YES. Don’t ask me why. But it sounded so much more appealing to me to try something super scary like a triathlon, raising money for a good cause with a group of great people, than to train for a half-marathon by myself and for myself.

I know that running is a selfish sport, at least for me. I think the positive-selfish part of it (getting fit, relieving stress, reaching a goal) outweighs the negative (putting your training needs ahead of others’ schedules, talking about it endlessly to anyone with two ears). But it is a solitary sport, and the only person who really benefits from my crossing that finish line at a random race is me. I wanted to change that.

Me! Me! Look at me!

There were definitely a few things that made me hesitant about signing up, though. For one, I have virtually no swimming or biking gear. Or a good race bike for that matter. I have two bikes at home that I could use to train with, but one is heavy and has few gears, and the other is my mountain bike from years ago that I may have grown out of with my 5’7” build. I also had to think about bringing said bike up my 4^th floor walk-up. I’ve done it before, and it’s no fun. And beyond that, do I need to buy a new bike? I know those things ain’t cheap.

My other big concern was the fundraising. To be a part of Team in Training, you have to raise a minimum to pay for parts of your training and coaching, as well as to give back to LLS. This is New York people, and spreading your paycheck between rent, taxis, and cocktails is about as far as most people can afford to do.

So while those two things are genuine concerns, I didn’t want to turn down what could possibly be a life-changing experience because of them. I wanted to do something that scared me, and would force me to go out of my comfort zone both physically and personally.

Here’s to a scary, fun-filled six months.

Tips: How to Treat Yourself during Marathon Training

Today’s Workout: 5 miles, outside

Health Check: My muscles feel pretty good – but I need to make sure I continue to ice my knee over the next several days

I’ll get to my topic of the day in a moment. But first things first.

Yesterday I went to my amazing physical therapist, Dr. Ngo. After running 5 miles on the treadmill Tuesday morning, my knee was still a bit sore, and I was nervous. I had no clue whether to skip runs, how often to ice, all that jazz. Dr. Ngo always knows what to say.

We found out rather quickly that my left quad is crazy tight. She said because my hip flexors are tight, my quads are tight, and as a result, my quad muscle is pulling on my knee. So she did her thing while I winced in pain, and told me I could still do most of my runs this week. I still had a 5 miler, a 3 miler, and a 9 miler left. She said to skip the 3 miler, but make sure to take several walk breaks during the other two runs. I left feeling relieved.

I did 5 miles this morning, and it was pretty effortless. I warmed up a bit with two slow miles, and then sped up for the last three. After each mile, I walked for a minute, and I ran mostly around McCarren Park and the track for softer surfaces.

I am happy to skip my 3 miler tomorrow since I’ll be home (SUMMER FRIDAYS I LOVE YOU), so I fully plan on sleeping in and doing some light stretching. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my knee will be back to normal in a few days.

Now on to the topic of the day. Treat yo’ self.

I know what you’re thinking – treat myself? I’m running constantly, I’m always tired, and I’m doing all of this for one big day weeks or even months from now.

Training for a marathon is not for the faint of heart. And while I love it (you would be crazy to train for one if you didn’t love this ish), there are times when I don’t feel like devoting any more time to running. A warm bed or a beer with a friend sounds much more appealing than 2 hours on the road.

That being said, there are ways to getting around the mental and physical exhaustion of training. Here are some practical and personal tips that help me stay continually excited about lacing up my sneakers.

Tip #1: Sleep

Runners are separated into early birds and night owls. Last year, when I trained for the Cape Cod Marathon, I probably did 90% of my runs at night. I simply could not get into the habit of waking up before work to run. This year, I’m determined to add more morning runs to my schedule. I enjoy getting up early and “getting it out of the way,” and have found myself getting up before work 2-3 mornings a week for both running and cross-training.

The result? I sleep like a baby.

 When I do a morning run, I hit the pillow that night and fall asleep in an instant. I haven’t historically struggled with sleeping, but if I’m really stressed, I have a harder time sleeping all the way through the night. When I do morning runs, all of that worry and stress goes away the moment I tuck in.

Since sleep is so important during training, figure out what works for you, and follow it.

This tip also includes guilt-free napping. When I have to get up early on a Saturday morning for my long run, I tell myself that I can treat myself to a nap later, and I don’t feel guilty whatsoever for laying on my couch and watching a terrible movie as I fall asleep. You earned it, so take full advantage.

Tip #2 – Track your progress

When I first started running, I would write down on a calendar all the runs I completed. I was so proud of myself as I saw the numbers creep up each month to new heights. This still gives me an odd sense of accomplishment, so I write down my runs in a few places.

Running Calendar

Since January, I’ve kept an excel sheet of all the runs I’ve completed. So far this month, I’ve run 73.4 miles. So far this year, I’ve run 505.6 miles. How awesome is that?!? If that doesn’t get you excited, this might not be your sport.

Training Plan

I created my own training plan by combining Hal Higdon’s Intermediate Training Plan and a plan I found in Runner’s World. It has the perks of a tough training program (hello, speedwork! We are friends), but isn’t so crazy that I won’t be able to do it (not ready to commit to three, 20 mile runs. Ain’t happening). I had perhaps a little too much fun creating this plan, confirmed by the fact that it is color-coded.

NBD.

Running Journal

I like to write. Did you know that? Now you know.

Last year, I followed a beginner’s training plan from a book, which had a section to write down comments about each run. It could include anything from the course I ran, to how hard it felt, or something interesting that happened along the way.

It was sometimes tedious, but I was really happy I did it. On days when I had a really tough run, I would look back at previous entries, and read when past Kate was really excited: “Completed my first 14 miler! Longest distance I have ever run! Go me.” And then my bad run wouldn’t seem so bad.

I’m keeping up the tradition this year, since it was a great mental technique for me.

A gift from Kelly! <3 my elephants.

Tip #3 – Add fun rituals to the boring parts of your routine

For most runners, the most boring part of running is stretching afterwards. The last thing I feel like doing after a long run is devoting time to cooling down and stretching. Bring on the hot shower and post-run egg sandwich already! But I find I get injured if I don’t, so I make myself do it.

After an evening run I will turn on my guilty pleasure “What Not to Wear” that I have on my DVR, and do my stretching in front of the TV. In the morning, I’ll turn on the Today Show, and secretly curse Savannah for taking over Ann Curry’s spot, but giggle at Al Roker for his ridiculous catch phrases.

It actually makes me want to stretch longer, and my muscles thank me for it. It seems simple, and most of you probably already do this, but it works for me.

Love you two - but please stop with the intro skits.
They are weird and not funny.

Tip #4 – Be easy

Aside from following your mileage plan, training for a marathon is not the time to be strict with yourself. It is really important to listen to your body.

Do you want that extra piece of chocolate cake? Go for it, you’ve earned it. Do you feel like skipping after-work drinks so you can get a good night’s rest? If your body wants it, do it. Would you rather stay in on a Sunday afternoon to watch Jurassic Park instead of enjoying your weekend outside? Microwave some popcorn and give your attention to T-Rex.

As much as I want to go out and be social (cue why every Sunday on my training plan has the word “rest” next to it), I realize that my body and mind will probably need more rest than usual over the next few months.

On that note, even if you’re not training for a marathon, Treat Yo’ Self. Go do something that makes you happy, and don’t feel guilty at all for doing it.  

Barefoot Running, and the Eye-Opening Watch Debacle

As I mentioned last week, I have made it my goal to lose the plantar fasciitis that has been bugging me for over a year. I got a new pair of minimalist shoes (which are all the rage in the running community) to help me alter my running form. I am a shameful heel striker, and I am on a mission to change that.

I tried out my new (PURPLE) sneakers, and they felt great. I also tried landing on my midfoot on a treadmill, and that felt OK too. But overall, it still felt pretty awkward. I didn’t know where to bend, what to bend, or where to land. As it turns out, changing your running form after years of wearing cushioned sneakers does not happen overnight.

So I decided to do some research. I Googled “Barefoot Running,” and came across a book written by a guy appropriately named “Barefoot Ken Bob.” The book, Barefoot Running Step by Step, chronicles how Ken, who is widely considered as the Guru of barefoot running, came to run 76 marathons (you guessed it) – barefoot. I didn’t actually buy the book, but Amazon's preview gives you quite a bit of pages to read without dipping into your electronic wallet.

Ken’s “Most Important Lesson” in the book to help you run barefoot – bend your knees. It seems so simple. But then I thought about it, and remembered this photo from the Brooklyn Half-Marathon:

My legs are almost completely straight. What happens when your legs are straight? You heel strike. What happens when your legs are bent? You land on the balls of your feet.

When I got home from work, I tried on a pair of Nike Frees that Keith lent me to try out, and went for a bent-knees run. And it worked!

Ken talks about how bending your knees fixes a lot of problems all at once – it makes you land on the balls of your feet (which absorbs the shock, and in turn decreases the chance of injury), and you are automatically set up to run in a forward motion. It was incredible to me how bending my knees naturally made me go faster, and it felt effortless. I was intending to go out for an easy jog since I did a five-mile run yesterday morning, but I ended up clocking in at an 8:33 pace (which is on the quicker side for me).

Barefoot Ken - notice the bent knees.

So what’s next? Well as most running rules go, do everything in moderation. My body isn’t used to this new form, so I’m going to try and ease into it. I want to try out running barefoot on the track by my apartment, and slowly incorporate this new technique into my daily runs. Also, marathon training starts next week (!!!), and I want to be as injury-free as possible. I have noticed, however, that my IT band that is normally a little sore, feels much better this week. A byproduct of the midfoot strike? Perhaps.

**(For more info on barefoot running, check out Ken’s book or his website, barefootrunning.com. I do not claim to be an expert on this stuff, or on anything really, so the above is just what I saw as the key takeaways).

After my first bent-knee run, I plugged my Garmin watch into my computer to upload both my morning and evening runs. While I do love my watch, it has a really hard time reading a charge or connecting to my computer. It takes me about five minutes to figure out how to connect it to anything, and it gives me serious rage that normally only comes from a crowded subway ride. During last night’s fit, my Garmin went completely blank. More rage. Keith and I tried fiddling with it, but nothing happened.

I became slightly dramatic, and was trying to plot out the time it would take for the manufacturer to fix it. JUST as I am about to embark on an 18-week long running voyage, my amazing GPS, pace-keeping watch decides to pucker out. My life is so hard.

At the end of my rant, Keith said very wisely, “You know, people were running before there was technology.” Bam. The birds began to sing, and the stars aligned. I began to think about his comment more, and I realized that I did my entire marathon training last year with my cheap, pink Timex watch. No GPS, no pace updates. Often times, I left it at home. During the actual marathon, I think I only looked at it three times.

In a dramatic statement that I will probably regret later, I have decided to run one day a week without a watch. I will need it for speed work, and I will probably want it on my long runs to see how many more times I need to run over the Williamsburg Bridge to make 18 miles, but I’m going to pick one easy run and forego my beloved technology.

I don’t want to become a slave to my paces or lose sight of why I started running – for fun. I truly loved training last year, and while it was a bit tiring at times, I never lost sight of why I signed up in the first place. I wanted to complete a marathon, and I wanted to enjoy it.

Starting next week, I will begin ramping up my mileage quite a bit, and to avoid becoming burned out, I’m going to check into the mindset that worked for me so well last year. I’m going to train for a marathon, and it’s going to be awesome.

(In case you were worried, I figured out how to turn my watch back on. Google solves everything)

To the Front of the Room

I was feeling a bit daring yesterday.

I’m a firm believer that if you never try anything new, you might not know what you’re missing out on. I base this idea primarily in fear – it’s important to do things that scare you a little every now and then. This could be as big as immersing yourself in a brand new social situation, or as simple as trying a different sandwich for lunch. Despite whether the experience is ultimately positive or not, at least you did it. You broke out of your cozy, pillow-filled comfort zone, and it probably makes you a more well-rounded person as a result.

My little fear-inducing exercise for the day was to go to my favorite spin class – and sit in the front next to the teacher – where everyone could see me.

I normally participate in group classes in the back of the room – what if I get tired? What if I don’t understand the teacher’s instructions and find myself frozen while everyone else is moving? What if someone else notices how much I abnormally sweat? These questions are eliminated by cushioning yourself in some dark corner. Staying in the back of the room will also likely place you next to other back-of-the-roomers, and your chance of looking less-exhausted compared to others is high.

But not yesterday.

I decided to take my water bottle and set of towels to the front of the room – to a bike that is positioned perpendicular to the rest of the room, so people can see exactly how fast you’re pedaling, how tired you probably feel, and whether you know the words to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”

I have taken the class two or three times before, so I wasn’t exactly going in blind. But I know the instructor usually has a tough class, and I decided to give it my all.

I would say that overall – the experience was totally positive. The room was really stuffy, and I went through more of my water bottle than I normally do, but I found myself pushing through the tough parts full of determination. I wanted to spin faster and work harder than my back-of-the-roomer alter ego, and I did. I felt great – and I think I may even pick that bike from now on.

After a night’s rest, I crawled back into my comfort zone this morning for a wonderful 5-mile run. As my mileage continues to creep up during before-work hours, I am becoming hopeful that I may actually be turning into a morning exerciser (and dare I say, a morning person??!?! Maybe? Okay, fine, baby steps).

It was a gorgeous morning - not too hot and not too cold. I have been trying to remind myself not to go too fast since I’m in build-up mode for Marathon Training, and I should be clocking in paces slower than race pace. The speedwork I did during Half-Marathon Training naturally made my pace faster during long runs, but Marathon Training is a whole other animal. To quote the advice countless running experts have given – it’s better to save your fast running for race day.

With the Olympics right around the corner (I didn’t segue into the Olympics because I was talking about my own running… that would not resemble any kind of smooth transition. I’m just really into them), I realized I want to watch as many events as possible. So I decided to treat myself and get a DVR, so I don’t have to worry about missing events like gymnastics, swimming, and archery.

There were a few things I was nervous about before purchasing a DVR – normal stuff like worrying about footing the bill alone and getting addicted to shows like Sister Wives. But I was most nervous about the logistics of actually getting my DVR set up through the company with the world’s worst customer service– Time Warner Cable.

Virtually every encounter I have had with them has been abysmal (something as simple as setting up a day to get cable can turn into a 3-week saga). They must be reading some of their customers’ suggestions though, because they had a do-it-yourself option to do a box swap. Done and done. I was happy not to spend one of my precious vacation days waiting patiently at my door only to have them show up five hours late.

So I strolled in to the closest Time Warner location a bit before lunch hour, crossing my fingers that the experience wouldn’t be as scarring as a trip to the New Jersey DMV. In about 15 minutes, I had my precious DVR box and a new, positive impression of my cable company all wrapped up in a shiny, purple TWC bag.

Is this where the money goes when
I'm charged for "misc fee" ?

It was still beautiful out, so I didn’t powerwalk to the subway as I usually do. But when I got to the station, I realized by the staggered exiting of other New Yorkers, I had missed two successive subway cars. Dang.

I wasn’t in a big rush though, so I turned around to find a place to sit with all my equipment, only to notice an actor from one of my favorite TV Shows:

Harry Crane from Mad Men!
Also, the gay BFF from the Devil Wears Prada.
Real name: Rich Sommer

I can notch up my celeb count one more, and I think I am officially skilled at spotting celebs (shortlist over the past year includes Katie Holmes and Suri, Lance Bass, Tyra Banks, Sally Field, Michael Cera, and Colin Hanks. Not that I’m bragging. I think Michael Cera was genuinely repulsed by me).

So a few closing and inspirational notes – do something that scares you a little today, keep your eyes peeled for celebrities, and appreciate your DVR.

Defining Moments

Today I’m going to talk about defining moments (I believe this is a title of a Sex and the City episode. I rely on SATC for late night TV and life lessons).

Over the weekend, my family and I reminisced about a humorous but painful memory of mine. There was a strange phenomenon that I experienced in high school – all of the teachers who loved my sister, Kelly, loathed me. I’m not talking about one or two teachers… we counted about five. I was a pretty enthusiastic student, so I got along with just about every other teacher - but these select five and I must have had some serious rows in another life.

One teacher, Mrs. Greenlees, was my cooking instructor freshman year. I was paired with a group of kids that either didn’t show up to class, or could care less whether our sugar cookies came out edible or not. I found myself stressed and doing most of the work, and decided to take a different elective the following year (stressed about my cooking elective? Even 14-year-old Kate was an over-achiever…). But towards the end of the school year when we were selecting classes, Mrs. Greenlees cuttingly told me that she thought it would be better if I didn’t take “Advanced Cooking.” I replied with a generous amount of sass, “Don’t worry, I’m NOT.” (Yes, I’ve always been told I’m mature for my age – it must have been my grown-up demeanor and not my attitude that intimidated her).

That's me on the left at Disney World senior year.
So much sass.

This happened nine years ago – and I still remember it clearly. Growing up, I was used to being told I was great at most things (thanks mom and dad for your words of encouragement - I still believe you can do anything you put your mind to…), and this was one of the first times I can remember being told that I was just not good at something. I had a bit of an aversion to cooking for years after this – and anyone who took psych 101 could tell me why. But once I got an off-campus apartment at school, and had someone else to cook for, I started to find out that Mrs. Greenlees was wrong about me.

I began to build up positive experiences with cooking, such as getting loads of compliments from Keith, and learning how to bake things from scratch with my parents. Now, I love trying new recipes, and I’m beginning to gain some confidence in my kitchen. I didn’t let my disagreeable interaction with my stupid (sorry Kelly, I know you liked her) teacher ruin cooking for me, and now it’s one of my favorite little hobbies.

Okay, yes I admit this seems a bit overdramatic and perhaps something I should have put in my private journal and not share with the online world. Everyone has interactions like this that stay with them – but my question to you is; do you let these moments change who you are?

One time while I was waiting to meet someone at Penn Station, one of those not-for-profit employees who want you to give them money to support wind energy development or some other important cause, said something to me that I thought was really interesting. While living in Boston, I naively gave a similar person my email and phone number since I didn’t have my credit card on me. She called and called trying to get me to donate an unrealistic amount of money for a college student, and it left a really bad taste in my mouth. So when I told this poor guy that I had a bad experience once with a similar organization, he said “If you always let one bad experience influence you, you may be shutting yourself to out good experiences.” Well said. I still don’t want to donate $50 a month to your cause.

I had a defining moment last year with running (you knew this was coming). I’ve said before how miserable the Brooklyn Half-Marathon was for me – I was undertrained, had no iPod to distract me, and was severely dehydrated by the end. I had already signed up for the Cape Cod Marathon at that point, and I distinctly remember saying to myself around mile 11, “Kate, there is no way you can run a marathon, this is too awful.” I stopped running for about a month or two after the race, and on the rare occasion I did, I didn’t do anything over four miles.

I'm only smiling on the outside.

I was almost positive that I didn’t want to run a marathon – my list of excuses was much longer than my list of reasons why I should do it. But then I did a seven mile run with my favorite running cousins and Keith – and I was hooked again. We went at a conversational pace, the weather was beautiful, and it felt so great to get my legs out on the road without wanting to stop. After this run, I decided I wanted to run the marathon, and run it I did.

Smiling ear to ear!

And in five weeks, I’m going to run the Brooklyn Half again. Not just because there are hot dogs and beers awaiting me at the finish line, but I want to prove it to myself that I have matured as a runner, and add  it to my list of positive experiences.