Running [Still] on the Brain

You may have noticed I’m sort of obsessed with running lately.

Considering I’m currently running 30-40 miles per week (a lot for me) and training for a marathon, it’s got to be expected, right?

I read running blogs.

I read running books.

I’m doing the 9+1 program again–it’s how I got in for this year–just in case I want to run this crazy race again next year or defer until 2013. Last year, I fulfilled my volunteer requirement the day after I moved. In December. In the cold rain. When I was sick. All the way up in the Bronx. (I’m lazy for things that aren’t: working, blogging, running, Junior League.)

This year, I’ve been stalking the NYRR Volunteer site for a good daytime shift that opened up last-minute. I didn’t want to sign up for one too far in advance, because I keep hoping I’ll be employed again by then. Last week, I saw that a shift had opened up for packet pick-up for the 18-miler and the Fifth Avenue Mile for yesterday. Indoors? Three hours? Done. (Some of the other volunteer opportunities are before or at races, which is just kind of a pain to fit in right now when I’m running a lot of my own races and doing lots of long training runs.)

I dominated the I-L bib handout for three hours. I saw Jen, who was there picking up a bib for the 18-miler! I developed a whole new respect for the volunteers that hand out bibs before races. It’s actually pretty hard to hear in there if there are a lot of people all asking people for bibs. And there were quite a few difficult names.

This is not representative of a lot of people. I was actually handing out bibs, not taking pictures, when there were a lot of people. Also? That UPS dude had a badass 26.2 tattoo on his calf.

Everyone I was volunteering with had already run the New York Marathon, and so I asked them quite a few questions about their favorite and least-favorite parts of the course. They said that the Verrazano Bridge was the highest hill of the course. That’s fine. It’s in mile 1. What I also thought was interesting was that nobody I talked to (sample size: 2 people) ever ran more than 13-15 miles while training. That sounded sort of crazy to me! I’ll be peaking at 20 miles, and most training plans I’ve seen do the same–or even 21-22. (Why do I not run more than 20 before the marathon? My running coach answered that.)

They gave one of those balloons to every little kid that came in with a parent. My ovaries ached a little every. single. time. this happened.

Since I was already on the Upper East Side, I got lunch with Christine

We went to Johnny Foxes, a bar in her ‘hood.

Christine is incredibly awesome, except for this one little thing: she’s about to move from NYC to Boston. We’ve been following each other’s blogs for a while and finally met at Ali’s fundraising event a few weeks ago. Boston blogger/runner friends: invite her to things. She’s a ton of fun.

She’s running the Chicago Marathon in a few weeks, and I’m so excited for her–obviously excited because I ran that marathon, too, but also excited because we’re running almost the same pace right now. I can’t wait to see how she does…partially so I can get a good idea of what time is realistic for me for NYC!

I got a turkey burger. I love me some french fries, but these were pretty lame ones. When ordering, I asked the waitress if they had sweet potato fries, and she said she was working on convincing the chef to get them on the menu. She also indulged us in taking a picture of us, so she gets double points.

This morning, I got out of bed early to meet up with Laurel to give her her bib for the Fifth Avenue Mile–I snagged it while volunteering yesterday. I looked super-awkward running with a little plastic bag in hand, but I got in 4 miles before 9am when I didn’t even have to be anywhere, so I’m happy. Now I’m settling in for some more interview follow-ups and conference calls.

My girl Ali is running her first marathon TOMORROW–the Hamptons Marathon! I’m almost as excited for her as I was for my own first marathon, so go over to her blog and wish her some luck. I’m so proud of her and her awesome training and how hard she worked to raise money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. I cannot wait to read her recap!

Also, good luck to Meghann, Kelly and Ben on their first Half Ironman tomorrow!

Questions: what’s always on the brain for you lately? What are you excited for about this weekend? Team sweet potato fries or team regular fries? Boston or New York?