Category Archives: NYC

Bronx Ten-Miler Race Recap

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These are the faces of three very happy runners after the Bronx 10-Miler.

I’ve really missed running, and it’s a good way to work miles into a long run, so I signed up for this bad boy a few weeks ago.

I’ve also not run a 10-miler since the Army Ten-Miler in 2009 when I first started running, so I really wanted to do a race of that distance. I ran that at a pace of 11:58, so I knew that even though I’d be running on tired legs today, I’d still PR!

I had to get in 18 and Rebecca had to get in 20, so we met up to run up to the Bronx together. I ran over to meet Rebecca in the East 20s. I think it was probably about 3/4 of a mile but I couldn’t get satellites right away and was running late, so I decided to just think of it as a warm-up. She mapped out a route up First Ave for us, and we ran from 27th Street all the way up to the Willis Ave Bridge, and then up Willis Ave to 161st and over to the start near Yankee Stadium.

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So many hills in the first 8.

As we got close, I looked at Rebecca and said “OMG, we just ran to Yankee Stadium!” When you run to a place, it usually makes it feel closer than the subway. It took me around an hour to get home from Yankee Stadium on the subway the other night–maybe I should have just run?

Rebecca and I are generally the same pace, so she’s great to run with. She’s also running Marine Corps, which I’m really excited about. It’s also fun to run with her, because she’s really smart about her health and her training (she’s also a physical therapist), so I feel like I always learn something running from her.

We got to the corrals about 5 minutes before the race started, which was perfect.

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Clearly we didn’t lose each other with our bright tops.

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Because this wouldn’t be a race recap without an OMG-the-corrals-were-so-crowded shot.

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The sunrise was lovely.

Rebecca and I didn’t know a thing about the course–we were both more interested in our long runs, so we didn’t do any research and just signed up.

After running all the way up First, we really hoped it wasn’t that hilly. The announcer mentioned something about the course being an out-and-back, which didn’t sound too awesome either. The course ended up not being too bad, though. There was one section where it deviated for a few miles from the straight out and back, which was really nice.

We ran into Ben pretty early on in the race and ended up running with him for the rest of the race, which was awesome. Not that Rebecca and I were sick of each other, but it was nice to add some new blood in there.

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Not my fastest race ever, but still a 10-miler PR! With, you know, 8 miles before it.

I’m a happy girl right now. And off to the U.S. Open, so really and truly, ridiculously happy right now.

Did you run or race this weekend? Favorite race distance?

Week 8 MCM Training Recap: Halfway There!

Hello from the end of Week 8 of marathon training!! We’re halfway there… (whoa, oh…)

As I alluded to the other day, Week 9 is basically where shit gets real. I go from mid-week runs of somewhere between 4-8 miles to up to 9-10 miles. That’s a lot for me for mid-week and I’m nervous about getting it in, but I’m just going to try to take it one day at a time, tell myself to STFU and just go run. (Hopefully.) I also make the switch from hills to tempo/speed work. Even though the speed work will be difficult, it feels like it pays off so much more, so I’m excited for that.

So, how’d week 8 go?

Week 8 was…interesting.

Week 8 was the week I learned I need more sleep. That I can’t actually burn the candle at both ends. I had allergies at the beginning of the week, and I already felt like I was operating at 80%. Not getting enough sleep meant I was just dragging all week. Add in a night at the Giants game and a night out celebrating a friend’s birthday, and I felt like I was operating at more like 75%. This week? Working on getting more sleep, less wine.

I’m also realizing that I just need to run in the morning before I can make the excuse I was at work too late to run.

More sleep, less wine.

Monday: Long live the rest day.

Tuesday: 30-minute training session in the morning including .5 of intervals; purposefully postponed my 5-miler to that night. The strength + run is too much for me in the morning, and I’m evaluating whether or not to continue with training with Jaz through the end of the marathon. (#weak.) I know I need strength, but the only times I can work out with her are Tuesday mornings, and Tuesday is a run day. I may look at doing one of her classes instead on one of my rest days or finding a good yoga class.

Tuesday night: I had 5 miles on the plan, but I got out of work later, wanted to run 8 miles the next morning and just didn’t have it in me. I ran a one-mile time trial (that ended up being 1.3 miles) and had some Garmin issues. I demand a redo from myself sometime soon.

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Wednesday: 8-miler win. Just a good, solid run before work.

Thursday: LONG LIVE THE REST DAY.

Friday: Um, long live the rest day again? I got a massage and planned on running afterwards, but it was an intense sports massage, and my muscles were fully spent afterwards. I got up from the table feeling a little woozy and then felt exhausted for the rest of the night afterwards, so the 4-miler I had planned didn’t happen.

Saturday: Finally got that 5-miler from Tuesday in. It sucked. I got a good night’s sleep, got a massage, ate well Friday…but it just sucked.

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Sunday: Oh heyyy…did I mention I ran over the George Washington Bridge? Because I did, and it was awesome. Awesome running buddy, awesome scenery, awesome pace.

I’d contemplated running the Rockaway Half Saturday or a half in Westwood, NJ yesterday, but am really glad I didn’t. I don’t feel in half-marathon racing shape right now, and I have quite a few races coming up, so I realized it was ultimately better to not race this weekend and save myself for upcoming races.

Monday: So, Monday is really part of last week chronologically, but being 3 miles short, I decided to do some close-the-gap miles this morning. My legs were exhausted from yesterday’s 14, so I decided to go out for 2 so that I was only 1 mile short. I ran with Bailey, and he made sure I didn’t run too fast by stopping to pee every 5 feet..

How was your week of training? Any races this weekend?