 I did it! I bundled up, layered up, cloaked up. And when I was out there, people were looking at me like I was crazy. I couldn't run fast because my breath felt like I was trying to inhale shaved ice. But I ran. And although it took me about an hour to do all my preparations and stretch in my living room and make sure I was warmed up and hydrated, and make sure that I hadn't left anything (because today would not be a good day to realize I had left my keys behind and couldn't get back in my apt), eventually I was outside and 23 minutes later I was back inside, with 2.2 miles of running accomplished, an additional layer of sweat on my skin and a big smile on my face because when I run in sub-zero temperatures, I can't help feeling.... like a runner!
 I have to get up and run today. Otherwise, today would be 3 days without any significant workouts. Or not. You'll decide based on what you read below. Friday, I squeezed in a mile run. Because although I was so busy, I didn't want to not make my weekly mileage goal and I was just a mile off. So I ran 1.2 miles just to keep the Runkeeper app hAPPy!
No workouts on Saturday morning because I observe the Sabbath (I'm Seventh-day Adventist) and Saturday mornings are for church and religious activities. When I got home after sunset, it was so cold, and what started as a drizzle became some serious snow-flurries-storm. It was pretty to watch through the window but I couldn't envision myself running in it. Although I did keep myself pretty busy SURFing the 'net and reading blogs I had planned to go to Brooklyn to visit my friend's church on Sunday morning but my plan was to get up really early and squeeze in a short run before I had to go. I woke up to a cold apartment, temperatures of 24 degrees F (minus 5 degrees C) and I just turned the alarm off and snuggled up in bed. I know I can't keep doing this because it is still just November and if I am going to keep running during winter, cold weather comes with the territory (cold weather IS the territory) but that didn't really permeate my consciousness then. But I figured I burned lots of calories in the mad dashes to and from places of shelter. Like my sprint across 125th Street and Lenox Avenue at 8:30 a..m. to catch the light before it changed. If there had been an Olympic judge standing around with his stopwatch, I just might have been named an official challenger for Usain Bolt's record. Sunday afternoon, I returned for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at my church and then home to watch my NY Giants lose a home game against the Cowboys.
That broke my heart but it was repaired later with Manning-Brady-14, where Peyton's Broncos scored 24 unanswered first-half points followed by Tom Brady's Patriots scoring 24 unanswered second-half points. I figured the quick flip-flopping of my heart, alternately loving Brady, then Peyton, then Brady again, I figured that was enough of a metabolism booster and workout for anyone. And since the game went to overtime, that was like one of those endurance-building Sunday long runs. haha.
Cut to today. Monday morning. It's just as cold as it was yesterday. But I am going to do it.
I have to do it.
Must. Run. Today.... Will. Run. Today.
Going to layer up. Talk to you later.
Layer. Later.
 Every training manual, every magazine and every runner will tell you that sometimes you have a take a day off.
Since I am just getting back into the thick of things, I planned to run short distances every day this week but last night I woke up with a monster headache and after tossing and turning and finally going back to sleep, I woke up this morning with the same monster headache and his mother too. Pounding headache, muscle aches, cramps, nausea, eye strain, all of it. I don't like to take medication, at least not until I've tried and exhausted my personal 4-point remedy: hydration, massage, exercise and rest. So I flushed my system with water, lots and lots of water, I stretched, I massaged all the pressure points on my feet, my neck, I rubbed my own back, massaged my scalp, had some fruit, but nothing was working. Finally, I decided maybe all I need is some good old fashioned rest.
So today, I decided to bypass the running shoes and the sweats and find my cheetah-print Snuggie, power up the Netflix and just... REST!
2.4 miles of running errands today. No focus on time, just glad to put in some mileage in a trick learned from A.J. Jacobs in his book, Drop Dead Healthy... sneak in workouts as we travel from place to place, literally RUNning errands.
I have pains in my feet and my head, although the headache I think stems from unbelief that I have already run 8.4 miles in the past 3 days.
Maybe I can add to that total tomorrow... make that later today.
 Today, I finally broke my 10 minute/mile pace. Yes, I could run a quarter mile in 2 minutes so technically, that is less than 10 m/mi but for any distance longer than a mile, I always stop to catch a breath and walk or just slow down to whatever slower than a jog is called and so my pace is usually over 10 minutes.
Cut to today. It's chilly. 43 degrees. And windy. But when I run, I get hot so I usually wear as little as I can to run. So the temperature is not really a deterrent yet. But the longer it took me to get outside, the more I was considering not running today. But the Runner's World Big Book of Marathon Training is on my nightstand and I can't help but be motivated.
And then I talked to Paul who, although he is not training yet, is good at motivating me. I was telling him of some pictures I saw on Facebook of a 5K run/walk in Jamaica and the thing that stood out was that none of the people in the crowds seemed to be fat. And then I realized I couldn't really talk about running without wanting to go running.
So the decision was made. I would run today. I would just do a short run because I ran yesterday and I don't want to push too hard.
So at 9:34 AM, I cued up my Nike Fitness Watch and my Runkeeper app and just started running. I ran 1.8 miles. I had to stop a couple times for traffic lights and, yes, I stopped to catch a breath because it's cold and my breathing patterns need some attention, but I ran.
And when I was done, I was energized, filled with positive thoughts and ready for my day.
And then, I realized that a goal I had set for myself had been accomplished without me even planning it.
That's what happens sometimes.
Sometimes, when you're not paying attention, good things happen, goals are met and dreams come true. And you just have to celebrate the moment and then make new goals so you're always striving for something.
So my next goal is to keep that pace for 3 miles.
3 miles in under 30 minutes.
But today, today, I celebrate!
Because I can!
And because sometimes, you just do things!
3 years ago, I stood on 135th Street in Harlem and watched the INGNYC marathoners run down Fifth Avenue, on their way to Central Park Finish Line. I watched the exertion but pride that was on each and every face and in the middle of the cold day, I decided, "I want that!"
The day after the marathon is dubbed Marathon Day. That's the day you can officially enter the sweepstakes to get a shot at winning one of the coveted spot in the very oversubscribed marathon for the next year. Although I am not a betting woman, I entered the lottery for a chance to enter. And I lost. By the time I received the email that told me I didn't get in, I started my "training" runs. I read the books, browsed the websites, talked to the people who knew anything about marathons. But when I got the email confirming what so many told me, that because there are so many people who apply, the chances of getting in on a lottery are so slim, they might as well be nonexistent, I got a little discouraged and eventually my enthusiasm tapered off.
Cut to 2012 and a conversation with my cousin's husband, Garry. He told me had signed up with the NYRR and he was trying to run 9 races in a year to get a guaranteed entry in the marathon next year. Although it was already the middle of spring and I was a little behind, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and try to do it too. Because I observe the Sabbath and do not participate in races on Saturdays, there were a limited number of marathon-qualifying races that were on Sundays. I ran 8 of those races, with terrible times but I was on my way. And then I realized that because life has a way of getting in the way of the plans you make, suddenly the year was almost up and I hadn't finished my 9+1 (run 9 races and volunteer during 1 race) to qualify for the spot. So I abandoned my mission.
Cut to November 3, 2013. Marathon day in NYC. So much had happened in the past 12 months to affect the marathon. The 2012 race was cancelled with just a few hours notice on account of Superstorm Sandy and the tragedy at the Boston marathon ensured that people wanted to come out and support the 2013 NYC Marathon in a big way. I woke up early and watched the TV pre-race coverage, watched the elite runners take off in Staten Island, watched them make their way through Brooklyn and Queens, over the Queensboro bridge and into the Bronx before I made my way to 135th St and 5th Avenue to welcome the marathoners to Harlem. And although they had already run 20 miles at that point, they looked strong. it was a cold day, temperatures in the mid 30s. I wore my North Face down coat, gloves and hat, and stood on the corner watching men and women run in tank tops or singlets and shorts. True their heightened metabolism kept them warm but I like to think that the light that seemed to beam from their faces was evidence of some internal energy source. They were running. 26.2 miles and loving it. True, some were having a bit of a rough patch. I stood next to an emergency tent and saw runners stop for treatment for a tight muscle or cramp, or vaseline to help with the chafing but when they were treated, they just went right back to running.
Scott Jurek in Eat & Run says "sometimes you just do things" There are demands on our time for a myriad of things that we like or things that will make others happy. Sometimes, we want to do them, sometimes we realize we should do them even if we don't want to. Whatever the reason, "sometimes, you just do things."
On Marathon Monday 2013, I entered the lottery for the INGNYC Marathon 2014. I don't know if I will win a spot. If I don't, I will try the second lottery. If that doesn't happen, I will keep running and see if I can get one of the time qualifying spots or sign up with a charity and raise money on their behalf so I can earn one of their spots, or....
There are lots of ways to get a chance to run the marathon. I only need one of them to work out.
Paul is one of my best friends and main motivator and the person who, when I bring up my crazy schemes like training for the Cross Fit games or riding a century in the Gran Fondo, he always manages to keep a straight face and says "yeah, you can do it!" He plans to run INGNYCMarathon2014 too. He is light and fast and athletic but I don't know if he knows what he is getting himself into. He hasn't run any previous races in his adult life and he has some disastrous stories of races in his childhood but he has been called "Flash" on a soccer field so that counts for something. At some point, perhaps in January or February, he says he will start training for it. Maybe then, we can run together.
But I can't wait that long. I've been running regularly again since late spring. I got a little sidelined with a tendonitis injury but just as suddenly as it came on, I was healed and I am back on the road, running.
Today I ran 2.73 miles with an average pace of 10.46 min/mi. Tomorrow, I will be better. I just have to keep doing it.
Marathon training isn't going to be easy but it will be worth it.
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