Tag Archives: CHRISTMAS!

9+1 = NYC Marathon 2012! [Jingle Bell Jog Race Recap]

9+1…and done!

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Last year, I did the 9+1 program to qualify for the NYC Marathon. (Which I ran last month. It was amazing. Have I mentioned that? No? Well, it was.)

I should have been done with my ninth race last weekend, but I totally slept through it. Oops. I went to a friend’s housewarming party last night, but stuck to two drinks and was home by 11 so that I could be up and at ’em early for this race.

My lovely friend/neighbor/Junior League co-chair Shannon was also running the race, so she and her husband gave me a ride out to Prospect Park, which totally beat dealing with the mess that the subway is on the weekends or spending more money than I should on a cab.

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Having a nice warm car to sit in also meant that I could wear this and not freeze for too long before starting. (Props to Pearl Izumi for sending me these awesome arm warmers.)

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Also, I would like to thank NYRR for allowing me to run with bells on. Literally. (Because I’m always running with bells on, figuratively.)

So, the race itself. You probably want to know how it went, not what I wore, huh?

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Well, hang on. So…it was really crowded, like most NYRR races. Prospect Park is significantly smaller than Central Park, though, so it felt even more crowded.

Last night, I thought: this is just a fun race. It’s called a jog. I’ll just take it easy, no need to run balls to the wall.

This morning, as I crossed the first timing mat: I WANNA GO FAST!

So, I shot out my first mile at a 7:56 and foolishly thought I could hang on to that pace for another 2.7 miles. A month ago, that probably wouldn’t have been a problem, but I feel out of running shape right now, and I wanted to die after that first mile. During that first mile, I thought, this is great! I will just try to keep my pace below 8-minute miles for the next 2.7 miles.

Mile 2: seriously? I ran 25.2 more miles than this just over a month ago? HOW? It also got a bit windy during this mile. I went from thinking “just below 8-minute miles!” to… “ooh, under 10 would be great.” I ended up, however, doing this mile in 8:31.

Mile 3: ugh, 3.7 is deceivingly long. It’s cold out. Maybe you shouldn’t have skipped so many workouts in the past month. You need to start running more again. I passed a Port-a-Potty and considered stopping to use it, but I knew I would mentally throw the towel in after that, so I fought through it. 8:52.

Mile 3-3.7: YOU ARE STRONGER THAN THIS. You ran a marathon a month ago. (Wo)man up! The race was a 6K (<– so random) because of construction in Prospect Park, and I’ve never run that distance before, so I had a hard time trying to set a goal. My original goal was under 30:00, which would have been at 8:06 pace; doable when I’m in slightly better shape, but not right now. After that, I decided I’d come in below 32:00, come hell or high water. After the 3-mile mark, I picked up the pace and just sprinted it out to the end.

Cruel? There’s one last turn just before the end, and it is deceptively long. The volunteers shouted “just one more turn, and you’re there!” before we turned. While this was technically correct, I assumed that we’d turn and the finish line would be right there, but it was actually at least another minute of running for me. And 31:03 after I started, I was done. Whew!

I stood and waited for Shannon, wheezing a bit from my poor lungs trying to adjust to the cold air. Two blog readers stopped to talk to me, and I tried really hard to smile through my wheezing.

I am done with 9+1, and I now have guaranteed entry for next year’s NYC Marathon! And I didn’t have to do the Ted Corbitt 15K, which I hate. [Recaps of the other 7 races here. Thankfully, one race I had signed up for and then went away that weekend got canceled, so I only had to do 8!]

And seeing everyone all decked out in Santa hats and socks and the drunk Santas roaming the streets and feeling the chill in the air? Yeah, it’s really beginning to look a lot like Christmas to me, and I can’t wait!

A Nice Little Saturday

Good morning!

Since I last blogged, I had a nice little Saturday. (No trips to Home Depot, though.)(If you don’t catch that reference, you should maybe go leave the computer and catch up with all the fine films in Will Ferrell’s ouevre.)

I ran with the new Junior League running group in Central Park for a nice, easy four miles. I felt like my running world and my Junior League worlds were colliding, and it was awesome. The woman who started the group said she’d run four marathons, so clearly I immediately Athlinks-ed her the second I got home. She ran NYC last year in 3:50. Damn fast people.

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I put the ads back up on my blog. (I had to take them down after being laid off.) When I was on Tumblr, it was super-easy to swap the ads in and out, but I had to dig a little deeper yesterday in the sidebar file to find where to stick the code. Yeah, HTML, I just pwned you. I ended my relationship with Foodbuzz for most of the same reasons as Katy, and I’m excited to be working with Glam. Since I write a lot less about food these days, I also felt like Foodbuzz just wasn’t right for me any more.

And then I began a mini TOUR DE CHRISTMAS IN NYC.

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I started at Junior League with a little shopping at our Golden Tree event and then started meandering back downtown on Madison Ave. After walking about 15 blocks (after running 4 miles in the morning and walking at least another 2 home from where we stopped in the park), I got tired and bored and hopped on a downtown bus going down Fifth Ave.

Before I lived here, I thought Fifth Ave around Christmas was magical. I didn’t mind the crowds because it was part of the experience. But when you’re just trying to get home? It’s frustrating.

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I started outside of The Plaza and pretended I was Kevin McAllister.

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I forgot my Talkboy, though, so I decided to just go home. (Did anyone else ask for this after seeing this movie? No, me neither.)

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The giant star that hangs over Fifth Ave.

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SHINY.

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Looking back at these pretty pictures sort of makes me forget I nearly got trampled taking them. The things I do for you guys.

Once I finally made it home, I turned around and headed out for Ashley’s birthday at the Hurricane Club.

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We started off with pupu platter. My favorites were the tuna tartare cones and the croque monsieur spring rolls.

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We split flaming drinks for the table, and I remembered why I usually put my hair behind my ear. Hair that covers half your face isn’t really sexy.

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We also split a bunch of mains for the table, but I sort of wanted this lobster pasta all to myself.

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Same with the scallops.

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After learning that the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Hotel was reservation-only after 10pm, we ended up at Cibar drinking champagne.

And I got home at 3 and most certainly did not make it to the five-mile race I was supposed to run this morning. Which means I’m in for the Jingle Bell Jog next weekend. With bells on. And maybe antlers.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE RACING VEGAS TODAY! Especially Devon on her first marathon!