September S-miles

30 Sep 2022 Leave a comment

by Lori in Running, Training Tags: , , , ,

Fall sighting in Brooklyn

It’s been another wild month of running in these parts. Every September seems to usher in a marathon season that takes off with such ferocity that I’m always like woah..wait a minute! But then no one’s listening; all too busy running I expect. While I’ve been tacking on the miles with respect to Chicago, the running world’s been preparing for four of the marathon majors happening this Fall. Last weekend we had the Berlin marathon and a marathon world record from everyone’s favorite marathoner, we have a thing for champions, Eliud Kipchoge with a blistering time of 2:01:09. Phew! This coming weekend on October 2 the London marathon will be happening, and next weekend yours truly will be participating in the Chicago marathon. The season will culminate with the New York City marathon on November 9 where I’ll be volunteering and cheering rather loudly at the mile 14 water stop in the borough of Queens. If you happen to be in the environs, please stop and say hi. How’s that for some Fall marathon action! 🍂🏃🏽‍♀️

But let me not get ahead of myself, first this last 10 mile run I have this weekend after which I’m suppose to be super confident about next weekend. We’ll see about that. For now, I’m basking in the best of Fall weather before it gets crazy. October is the month of everything and anything after all, but prayers lifted that we at least get away with a great run day on October 9. 🌥️

I gotta say that aside from my sciatic nerve issues; turns out I have a small herniated disc, which I’m not dwelling on right now, one thing at a time please, I have really enjoyed following a training plan. I’m not sure if I said it before but it’s the first time in some 10+ years of running that I’ve followed a marathon training to the letter and now almost all the way through to race day. It remains to be seen what/if the final results will prove whether it was worth it, but I feel really good about my competency at least. LoL. That alone, I think, is a big deal going into a marathon because there’s always the nagging questions you battle with as to how and if your body will hold up under race day pressures. I think one of the benefits of a plan is that it majorly decreases any misgivings or hesitancy on that account and is a great confidence builder. For sure you can’t anticipate every eventuality, but knowing what you’re capable of removes the burden of doubt. And yay for that because in leading up to D-Day you don’t need to be stressing that sort of stuff. Ideally, no stress at all but we all know life “be life-ing” sometimes 😉.

That said, I’m all about getting the most out of life, minus the stress, whenever I can. For this reason, and also because I figure this will be my last Chicago marathon, I’ve decided to go out with a bit of a bang and have myself the full marathon experience. To this end, I’m volunteering at the runner’s expo on Friday and running the Abbot 5k on Saturday. My hope is to leave the windy city – a city that I’ve really enjoyed running in over the years – with the best memories. So here’s to good weather, a grand time, and the best pacing ever! 🍻

Marathon Season 2020

31 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

by Lori in Marathons, Running Tags: , , , , ,

It happens every year around this time, New Yorkers fall into marathon mode. This year, notwithstanding Covid-19 and all the challenges it presents, we’re moving ahead full steam to take back what has been stolen, or at the very least what we’ve been cheated out of. And damn it it feels good! With all the virtual racing going on in lieu of typical road races, I’ve been feeling pretty isolated and so I decided to get everyone together for a kick-Covid-ass 26.2 run.

Truth is with everything and everyone on shutdown since March, folks are not ready for a full marathon distance. I don’t know that I am, but I’m all for giving it a try and among the old running crew there might be a few others crazy enough to have a go at it. I’m betting on it anyway. It’s hard to believe that we’re heading for November and what would have been the NYC marathon in just over a week! Except of course there’s no actual race this year..though the virtual race is set spanning a week or so and anyone anywhere in the world can sign up and participate via Strava. You can run the 26.2 distance wherever you are: get folks to support and run with you, have your own cheer squad, post pics, and tag race organizers doing it all your way and at your pace and convenience. Cool huh! I suppose that’s one way of keeping the spirit of the race alive.

We’ve planned our own version right here in NYC on November 14. A few, or dozen, of us plan on doing at least half of the 26.2 miles making use of the latter part of the nyc marathon course starting in Manhattan on the east side and running through Harlem, down Fifth Ave to finish up the final 3 miles in Central Park and end at the official nyc marathon finish line on Tavern on the Green. I, on the other hand, with at least one other – so far, plan on starting out earlier that morning to complete the first half (13.1 miles) before meeting up with the others to run the remaining distance. We’ll start out with the lower loop of Central Park and head out on Central Park West to run over to the West Side Highway where we’ll run a few miles heading downtown and do a loop to run back to meet with the other runners. Sounds easy enough but really I have no idea how I’ll feel that day. I haven’t run a marathon distance since last November and my longest run thus far has been 15 miles. I’m hoping to up that a bit this weekend but even so it’s still limited training in so far as long runs are concerned. Still, I like to think it’s like riding a bike, the body absolutely knows how to do it, it’s just getting it to remember and cooperate.

When this year started out, I had few running intentions really, just to do a spring triathlon and run the Chicago marathon. Because of Covid, neither panned out but it’s been years that I’ve been running a marathon almost every Fall and at the very least once for the year, even with the way things have gone in 2020, and because things have gone the way they have, I feel it’s even more necessary to show some fighting spirit and not allow the year to end on a note of defeat with many despairing and bemoaning the times. I refuse to sit down and take what life throws at me. I can run at least; thank God for good health and the ability to do so. And so that will be my response to this mess of a year. Speaking intentionally, the intention is to finish within 4 hours. While 3 & 1/2 hours would be great, I have low expectations given the training aspect as well as the biggest unknown factor, our infamous November weather, which can be anywhere on the weather map. Daunting prospects anyone?

Actually, I feel fine about the entire adventure. Yes, that’s what it is. We’re heading out on a dare-to-run-adventure that says more about us than anything else. I have to prove, to no one but myself, that I am fully capable of finishing what I start. And finish I intend to. I have a couple long runs left in me before the day and we’re about to find out just how a New Yorker does running pandemic or no pandemic. Stay tuned to find out how it goes!

Sick With Marathon Fever

23 Oct 2014 Leave a comment

by Lori in Marathons, Running Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

imageHow many know it’s marathon season and that no where in the world do you feel it like here in New York City. The way I see it, it begins with Fall and lasts right through November though there is no official advent into what is in fact the most hyped running time of the year. This is due largely in part to the feature running event of the year being held here every November – the newly named, TCS NYC Marathon, a premier running event here in New York and perhaps the world as it is one of the World Marathon Major Series. In fact, it follows the Chicago marathon, which was two weeks ago and the Berlin marathon a couple weeks before that, all part of the Marathon Majors as well.

As a regular New Yorker, one can’t help but get caught up in the hype. The city lives and breathes running, its signs are everywhere: at the subway stations, in the shopping centers, the streets, on the air, everywhere. As a New York runner, it’s a bigger deal, with most runners rounding of their year of training with the run of a lifetime here in New York. Of course there are other marathons around this time as well, like the Philadelphia marathon, rock and roll Las Vegas, Marine Corp in DC and the Nike women’s marathon in San Francisco to name a few, and there’re even runners doing more than one of those. In fact, it’s not unheard of to run from Chicago to New York to Philly, not literally of course, but to take on those three marathons in succession. Whatever the reason, there is a whole bunch of running crazy going on; so much so, that you run the risk ..no pun intended..of company each time you go out for a run. Runners are everywhere: the parks, the busy city streets, the relatively quiet neighborhoods, the gyms, the outer boroughs – everywhere. The air is palpable and the feeling is infectious, everyone knows and a great deal care about the marathon. On Sunday November 2, it is expected 50,000 runners will take to the streets of New York City, accompanied and cheered on by thousands of spectators: members of the running community, family, friends, visitors and everyone else. If that is not in essence a celebration then I don’t know what is.  How to live here and not be a part of that? You either run, get run over, run out of town..kidding..mostly anyhow, or preserve sanity and health and, in the words of New York Road Runners (NYRR), get your run on.

Last year I had the privilege to run amid that 50,000 and what an experience it was. So good in fact, I’m back for more, though not running this time as I had other goals this year. This year I’m part of the spectator/volunteer crowd and think being on the other side should be quite something itself. It’s so cool that last year I ran in wave 2 of the orange coral and this year I get to be an Orange Coral Marshall; in case you couldn’t tell, I’m all about experiences and can I tell you, life is full of them and that is enough reason for living, loving and running.

In addition, I’m thick in the midst of all things running because I’m gearing up for Philly marathon on November 23. Training has offered me the opportunity to run all over the city sure, but it has also given me an insider’s view on how enthused New Yorkers are to this whole idea, rage, sport, fad -call it what you will- it’s real and like I stated above, likened to being caught with a bug, fever and all. Whether it’s 6am or 9pm makes little difference to runners out here, only the rain can cause a decline in their presence and even so temperatures must be low. As the marathon draws near, a week and a half away to be exact, a lot of runners are tapering down as training is pretty much done for this event, though I imagine the ones that are out there are just maintaining form now while others like myself are looking to the next run. In any event, that’s my rationale for the many I see daily on my runs in and around this fevered-marathon city. You can tell I love it here right..I’m the very biased, not-so-subtle aspiring New Yorker.

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