tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13168674699727006322024-03-06T03:22:48.365-05:00Joy in UltrarunningAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-62368065280437318582016-02-24T15:24:00.000-05:002016-02-24T15:24:12.161-05:00Where the heck does all the time go? Also, running in the cold rain makes you go faster.<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Random update: </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Good news: Rob got a new role at work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bad news: Rob's paternity leave ended. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, although I am sad that his paternity leave ended, just wanted to note that I am a) super thrilled that he even received paternity leave and b) impressed that he managed to get a new position within his company while taking care of a newborn. Talk about being an excellent multi-tasker! In any case, to make sure Rob hits the ground running by getting enough sleep at night, I decided that Soren, Yossi and I should stay at my parents' house for the next week or so. My mom, even though she works during the day, graciously volunteered to help with the nighttime feeds. She is also doing her best to overfeed me, just like Rob did the past seven weeks, by stocking the pantry and fridge with all sorts of goodies. Speaking of which, I already miss my husband's cooking. His plate work was just so cheery:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzz2XdbgHpVHHft_HNC6tbrCsT3nOHhlUTnb9mJ2moxPSDbPJjoKKzwQWhSn77GpvVghw_7kMnX3YBZU5D_cUPBBeBpadwKW4gaTPeXZRjQcTnw7qJP1ChC81JocqxKozItvSXdYqW-9g/s1600/IMG_1473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzz2XdbgHpVHHft_HNC6tbrCsT3nOHhlUTnb9mJ2moxPSDbPJjoKKzwQWhSn77GpvVghw_7kMnX3YBZU5D_cUPBBeBpadwKW4gaTPeXZRjQcTnw7qJP1ChC81JocqxKozItvSXdYqW-9g/s320/IMG_1473.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Man, I am going to miss my Breakfasts Made By Rob.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Where the heck does all the time go? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We're in a different house, but I have pretty much the same routine. It's not too bad, but finding time to shower, let alone exercise is tough. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the end of each day, I find myself asking, "W</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">here the heck does all the time go?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, I decided to look. Here is yesterday morning's schedule:</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2:05 a.m. </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After going to bed at around midnight the night before, I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep before Soren woke up and I had to bottle feed him my expressed breast milk.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2:30 a.m. </b>Changed Soren's diaper and then got him back to sleep. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3:00 a.m. </b>Napped for 45 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>3:57 a.m. </b>Pumped milk with my breast pump for 45 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>4:45 a.m. </b>Soren woke up and demanded to be fed and have his diaper changed. I also had to gently rock him to just enough drowsiness so that he would fall asleep on his own. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>5:30 a.m. </b>Started a fresh load of laundry. Napped for 1.5 hours. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>7:00 a.m. </b>Pumped for 40 minutes until, you guessed it, Soren woke up and I had to feed him and change his diaper. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>8:30 a.m. </b>Played with Soren while grabbing a bite of breakfast here and there and tossing my laundry into the dryer. </span><br />
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">9:45 a.m. </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Soren finally passes out from all the fun. I celebrate by folding my now dry laundry, doing the dishes and breast pumping for Soren's next feed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>10:48 a.m. </b>And then of course, before I could finish pumping, Soren decided to wake up and I feed him with the milk I had just pumped.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>11:30 a.m. </b>Changed his diaper and played with Soren. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By this point, Rob was at work and asked me to send photos of myself as well as Soren. After some grumbling (I still hadn't showered yet!), this is what I sent:</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMMhR1eCrsLn2lwLPjuPlHwcnfa5BNC7U3J40XEcEKVh-woVBdOCmvR0pHJjGAIplKH1r9nAVuAVLMdqTRNXJddmMR94xhh4DXtuYm-EDXN-NBy638myWCax_HPsoNAaLlnOCM4l0Ew9l/s1600/IMG_1464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMMhR1eCrsLn2lwLPjuPlHwcnfa5BNC7U3J40XEcEKVh-woVBdOCmvR0pHJjGAIplKH1r9nAVuAVLMdqTRNXJddmMR94xhh4DXtuYm-EDXN-NBy638myWCax_HPsoNAaLlnOCM4l0Ew9l/s320/IMG_1464.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Soren and I hanging out on his play mat. Besides his Mamaroo, this has been the second-best thing for entertaining and/or distracting the little dude.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>12:36 p.m. </b>Soren falls asleep and I pump.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>1:30 p.m. </b>Soren wakes up and I have him practice breastfeeding. I still haven't given up on trying. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2:00 p.m. </b>My mother comes by to give me a break - hallelujah! I weigh my options. Should I: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(a) Take a nap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(b) Run for 30 minutes and then shower.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(c) Run for 45 minutes and then hope I have time to take a shower. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(d) Run for an hour and hope that I have time to take a shower at some point later today, but know that I'll probably take at least one nap in my stinky clothes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I chose Option B. Based on how my day was already going, I didn't want to take my chances with Options C and D. Option A was super tempting, but I figured that, all things considered, I got a decent amount of sleep the night before. Also, I was reallllly itching to go outside even though by the afternoon, the already dreary weather turned into colder, wet, drearier weather. Before I could change my mind, I threw on a pair of stretchy leggings, a tshirt, and the first fleece I found and went outside while my mom watched Soren. Thanks mom!</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Running in the cold rain makes me go faster </b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would be lying if I said my run was awesome. First off, as soon as I got outside, I knew I made the wrong outfit choice, because I was freeeeeezing. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are some runners who can run in shorts and tshirts all-year-round; </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am <u>not</u> one of those runners. In fact, I am the opposite of those runners. Last year, I did try to become more hardcore about the weather, but that all flew out the window when I became pregnant and stopped being hardcore about anything. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, I probably should have changed into at least a waterproof jacket, b</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ut since I wasn't going to be outside that long and more importantly, my free time was ticking away, I just went with it</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My original plan was to go relatively slow since my pelvic region felt a little off during my last run, but because I was cold and running faster would keep me warm, I tackled my neighborhood hills with a bit more gusto than anticipated. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What struck me as I ran the uphills, was not how much harder I had to work in this new body of mine, but how much I enjoyed the feeling of physical exhaustion unrelated to being a new mom. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's funny, the first time I ran the hills by my house was over a decade ago and I still remember the day so very clearly. (And when I say "ran," it was really a "little train that could" shuffle.) I recall feeling so inordinately proud of the fact that I didn't walk a single step. If someone had told me that one day I was going to zipadeedodah up and down those hills, I would have laughed. If someone had told me that I was going to be doing repeats less than eight weeks postpartum on those same hills in the freezing rain in preparation for some 100 mile race in Vermont, I would have said that they were crazy and that Future Jackie was crazy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eh, I probably would have been right.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Things I learned from yesterday's run:</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) Need to really look at the weather report before I go outside.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) Must have an outfit prepared. Since it *is* technically winter, make sure the outfit is super warm. I must remember that it's always easier to remove a layer than to go back inside the warm, comfy house to find another article of clothing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(3) Drink more water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(4) Definitely need to incorporate more hill training.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(5) And most definitely need to work on strength training again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Two and a half weeks before my first half marathon. This is going to be interesting. </span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-50916314552904026912016-02-15T08:52:00.000-05:002016-02-17T18:38:06.535-05:00It's on like Donkey Kong: My first post-partum run, breastfeeding woes, and my super tentative race schedule!<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Great news, I got the green light to start training (albeit slowly) from my physician! It has been six weeks since Soren was born and 80+ days since I broke my toe after tripping on some luggage. Before I ran, I promised myself that I would stop as soon as anything felt "off." A little tiredness would be fine, but if I felt any sharp pains or anything beyond the ordinary I-haven't-done-this-in-awhile-so-things-might-be-creaky, then I would walk, plain and simple. I have yet to experience a running-related injury in my (admittedly relatively short) ultrarunning career, and now that I have to take care of a newborn, I want to make sure that I keep it that way.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strike>Quick</strike> Long recap of my breastfeeding experience so far:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i></i></b><br /><b><i></i></b></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(If you have no interest in breastfeeding, just skip this because most of it will be gobbledygook. Or if you experienced breastfeeding issues and don't want flashbacks, you really should skip this section!)</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Time for full disclosure here - things have been really hard the past six weeks. While I have been able to get in a walk here and there and have been super lucky to have family visit so that I am not totally isolated, my life has been pretty dominated by baby Soren and my breastfeeding woes. My experience has been far from unique, but still . . . it sucked. Thankfully, I have a husband, friends and family who have been incredibly supportive - I don't think I would gotten this far otherwise!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am not going to get into the nitty gritty details of my labor/delivery, but thanks to a horrific case of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruritic_urticarial_papules_and_plaques_of_pregnancy">PUPPP</a> during my 39th week and getting only a couple of hours of sleep per night due to the terrible itching, we decided to induce Soren. Nearly 48 hours later, the induction was declared a failure (Soren was stubbornly staying asynclitic and more importantly, I was running a fever and not making sense) and our son was delivered via c-section at 1:55 p.m. on January 1, 2016. (We weren't even close to having the first New Year's baby, hah.) Because I had so much fluid pumped into my system, my milk didn't come in until ten days later and to this day, my supply isn't all that great. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And yes, for you breastfeeding nazis, I am pretty much doing everything I can in the hopes that my supply will increase. I make Soren latch for hours, pump, pump, pump all the time, drink tons of water, eat oatmeal, and take about a million herbal galactagogues (fenugreek pills, fenugreek tea, moringa, shatavari, and motherlove more milk special blend concentrate). While my analytical side is horrified with the complete lack of any scientific method in determining what will make my body produce more milk, the emotional mom side is me is totally fine with the "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" method because it seems to be working. The other day, I finally pumped nearly enough for a full day's worth of milk for Soren - and that didn't include what Soren managed to drink from my breast. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh, I forgot to mention: I was blessed with a child who latches (thanks to a tongue tie revision - before that, my nipples were bloody and raw, awesome!), but just eats . . . so . . . slowly. Like, drinking half an ounce in half an hour slowly. At that rate, it would take him hours to finish a feed, which just isn't feasible. So, my lactation consultants recommended I do what is called the triple feed which goes something like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(1) Weigh Soren. Breastfeed Soren for 30 minutes. If I think the feeding is going well, I'll let him eat for an hour. Weigh Soren again to determine how much he has drank. Sigh inwardly because it's usually a dismal amount.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(2) Feed Soren with my expressed breast milk. If necessary, feed Soren with additional formula. Burp Soren. Get him to settle down so I can use my breast pump. The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/4Moms-Mamaroo-Bouncer-Grey-Classic/dp/B00PK3EO1S/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=joyinult-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=NBCXIQN5CL26GJAP&creativeASIN=B00PK3EO1S">Mamaroo</a> has been super helpful in this regard.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(3) Pump for at least 30 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Note that the above doesn't include diaper changes, skin-to-skin bonding/tummy time, and general mayhem (fussiness, an especially explosive diaper, super spit up that needs to be cleaned out of Soren's hair, etc.), so on average, each cycle takes about 1.5 - 2 hours. And then Soren is hungry an hour or so later. If you've followed me this far (I'm amazed if you have, because this is a running blog and not a pregnancy/breastfeeding blog), you're probably wondering when I managed to get sleep. Well, I pretty much didn't unless Rob helped with the feeding and the diaper changes, which my amazing and awesome husband definitely did. However, Rob had about a million things that he also needed to take care of, so he couldn't help with every feeding. From all the combined naps I took during the day, I got about 4 hours of sleep. A few weeks of the above was turning Rob and me into zombies. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In any event, we met with another lactation consultant and she gently suggested that perhaps I needed more sleep to produce more milk. We tweaked the schedule a bit and while I still pump at least five hours a day, I do it mostly during the waking hours so I can sleep while Rob does Soren's night feed. So, for the past few nights, I've had at least *five* hours of pretty much interrupted sleep, making me feel pretty invincible. This invincibility inspired me to re-start my blog and gave me the energy to run again as well!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oops, sorry for all that. Now back to my run:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My first opportunity to run was this past Saturday. Although I had been up since 4:30 a.m., I felt awesome when 9:00 a.m. rolled around and my husband was able to watch Soren. I practically bounded out the door, I was so excited. I decided that this momentous run would happen . . . on a treadmill in my building's gym. I didn't want to run outside because a) Too many times in my life, I have lost track of time and distance while running and then had issues coming back; b) I wanted to be close in case Soren needed me; and c) It was really, really, really cold outside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Okay, I'll be honest, the last reason was probably the main reason. Also, unlike most people, I actually like running on a treadmill. At least, in the past few years, it's been really easy for me to reach this blissful, zen-like state, especially when I'm banging out a speed workout or doing longer interval workouts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Besides being excited to run in general, I was also stoked to try on my new sneakers! This is my first year of being an Altra Ambassador and the lovely people there had sent me a free pair of Olympus 2.0s. Since I had good experiences with previous iterations of the Olympus, I was curious to see what the differences were. Granted, the Olympus is a trail shoe and I was going to run on a treadmill, but I could at least figure out whether I liked the fit.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBRGxTLcdpNV3XxucQurvG-vc0xgGxglkJKvCXuMHRxd9lZly3VMR7ulinjqJ7WFtfdQRuo_-Ds_xfDahqFkEHbmeCvwKB5etjIJ3F7RNcFNIOupjnEncI57weRJW455XGySEeuvzlWFs/s1600/IMG_0934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBRGxTLcdpNV3XxucQurvG-vc0xgGxglkJKvCXuMHRxd9lZly3VMR7ulinjqJ7WFtfdQRuo_-Ds_xfDahqFkEHbmeCvwKB5etjIJ3F7RNcFNIOupjnEncI57weRJW455XGySEeuvzlWFs/s320/IMG_0934.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My new Olympus 2.0s - aren't they pretty? Baby Soren for scale.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My goal was to run/walk a 5K without feeling any tiredness or pain. I knew that based on my previous post-partum jaunts that I could at least briskly walk a 5K without any issue, so my goal was properly modest. I set an easy pace on the treadmill and took a drink break every half mile or so. Normally, I drink every other mile, but from all my research, it seems that the main killer of breast milk supply is either dehydration or fatigue. So I drank up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">During my run, I played some cheesy music (think 80s and 90s pop) and boom, seven or eight songs later, I was finished with my 5K. I definitely could have gone for longer, but I wanted my first run to be a completely happy one. And it was! My legs felt relatively fresh and core pain was nonexistent. The only issue I seemed to have was being slightly out of breath any time I tried to up my pace, but I think that has to do with my lingering additional pregnancy weight, which hopefully should be a non-issue in the next six months or so. Not that I am weighing myself every day, but it seems that the old wives' tale is true regarding breastfeeding and post-partum weight loss. I haven't been doing anything special to lose weight, but it's coming off slowly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79Oqaf1Iq-NG5M2OPUKHDEQLlLwu_dfYHHysAM3zwjmwJSO2LfkiBgoEdAnfGREcqQhTcaYthTvWN3xV9vcwacga9kvXELm34VeTb2Q5o5LEGcFnjROAOGI7PzIkbMoDXnrKcFR_iGRkr/s320/IMG_1068.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Check it out, yo. This 5K time would certainly not win any age-group awards, but at least I wouldn't come in last place!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now that my first run has been successful and I do not perceive any major biomechanical or structural issues, I feel okay about posting my race schedule for 2016. So here is my tentative schedule for the next few months, let me know if you will be running any of these races. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Time to get training!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">March</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday, March 12, 2016</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.runrocknroll.com/dc/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rock and Roll DC Half Marathon</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">April</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday, April 2, 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.umstead100.org/">Umstead 100</a> - 50 Mile Option</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sunday, April 17, 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.nyrr.org/races-and-events/2016/moreshape-womens-half-marathon">MORE/Shape Women's Half Marathon</a> (Pacing the 2:30 group)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">May</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday, May 21, 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.nyrr.org/races-and-events/2016/airbnb-brooklyn-half">AirBNB Brooklyn Half Marathon</a> (Pacing the 2:30 group)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">June</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday, June 18, 2016</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.tgny100.com/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Great New York 100 KM Running Exposition</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">July </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday, July 16, 2016</span></div>
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<a href="http://vermont100endurancerun.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Vermont 100 Endurance Run</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>November</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sunday, November 6, 2016</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/">New York City Marathon</a> (Pacing)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-28432688011305471432016-02-10T12:04:00.000-05:002016-02-10T12:04:12.001-05:00Starting Fresh . . . Sort Of. And a tentative list of goals.<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alrighty gang, it has been well over two years since my last post, which is terrible, terrible, terrible thing since lots of wonderful, wonderful, wonderful things happened. However, instead of scrapping my old blog and starting anew, I decided to revive this one. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">True, I am not running as much as before, but I still </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">feel</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> like a joyful ultrarunner. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So what if I took a </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">little</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> break from ultrarunning due to my pesky c-section recovery? It's all good! </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After all, my last 100 miler took place literally two weeks before I got pregnant and my next ultramarathon (<a href="http://www.umstead100.org/">Umstead</a>!) is scheduled in a few months. I am totally registered and everything - we even have a hotel booked! </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In case you couldn't tell, I have relatively big plans for 2016 and I want to make sure I do everything I can to keep myself accountable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For the two or three people who are not immediate friends and family reading this page and do not know all this already, here is a quick recap of my life since my last post:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Life highlights:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(1) Rob and I adopted Yossarian, a floofy miniature golden doodle who can outrun us any day of the week and has the awards to prove it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSh5s_6hq9MR-0iRtZyuX3JVGk7YxulU24mSzd69P5EXyfOF_AougWCWHG0FCMiNptKx0GhUlNcIYD_AjUoNikBvAgVbojCafIi-kxJ-dhKfo2w4aKtfnKtsBqmC0iiUb7mDz-3jMlooDr/s200/10151890_933639577190_3227079487487720444_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As I type this caption, Yossi is curled up at my feet. Such a good dog.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSh5s_6hq9MR-0iRtZyuX3JVGk7YxulU24mSzd69P5EXyfOF_AougWCWHG0FCMiNptKx0GhUlNcIYD_AjUoNikBvAgVbojCafIi-kxJ-dhKfo2w4aKtfnKtsBqmC0iiUb7mDz-3jMlooDr/s1600/10151890_933639577190_3227079487487720444_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(2) Rob and I got married.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiWp5nf8IFwq8tG9XXj7Y_1Cheuh8_wCFeU4p8q6ob6bfY3dWQVFSGkjkNu158S21uF6rKesFvTUdxjLH-GURxYjcm4DAYkqKCUAM41YccKgJrrIfn0O6Q8L_xgT1t-V0KD-S1HBSzdej/s200/10630643_978856721670_3668045780909776559_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best day of my life until January 1, 2016. (See No. 4.)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiWp5nf8IFwq8tG9XXj7Y_1Cheuh8_wCFeU4p8q6ob6bfY3dWQVFSGkjkNu158S21uF6rKesFvTUdxjLH-GURxYjcm4DAYkqKCUAM41YccKgJrrIfn0O6Q8L_xgT1t-V0KD-S1HBSzdej/s1600/10630643_978856721670_3668045780909776559_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(3) Rob and I decided that we liked our current city so much that we bought our first home together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMdKp6trzV6BJYBhmghJ04s9VBKQKNU982TfH127r9F7_MoTAZr_Kj8M0C5DVK8-YRvtuleceLozgWaKkDPruI-0PYgksGM4PLo_O9jEocO-lcN6yNuR455YqsikrOnmktZ8BJLunF_mO/s320/11223826_10100232257840770_5412760135097444498_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooray for marital debt! ;)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMdKp6trzV6BJYBhmghJ04s9VBKQKNU982TfH127r9F7_MoTAZr_Kj8M0C5DVK8-YRvtuleceLozgWaKkDPruI-0PYgksGM4PLo_O9jEocO-lcN6yNuR455YqsikrOnmktZ8BJLunF_mO/s1600/11223826_10100232257840770_5412760135097444498_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(4) Rob and I welcomed our first son, Soren on January 1, 2016. Although technically Soren was due on that date, it still boggles my mind that we have a January 1st baby. And no, we weren't even close to being the first baby born in the year :).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcu87Cf5BUzKbQJovWh717coX84Q5otwNzPBrXfYqXsh3-tUSumFIenhjXsicG_JF4W6flvF4sI0UhxXZJ0qOYSEJABvE0harFYdcI_N2dGkf3rPWxrVmHcp2VDOzFZpFzhGPlb3-JSq-/s200/12662431_10100291969642840_2509636020630039163_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many people have said that one day I will pay for this photo. Guess what? I've paid for this photo and then some in all the hours of sleep I've missed since this little dude was born.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcu87Cf5BUzKbQJovWh717coX84Q5otwNzPBrXfYqXsh3-tUSumFIenhjXsicG_JF4W6flvF4sI0UhxXZJ0qOYSEJABvE0harFYdcI_N2dGkf3rPWxrVmHcp2VDOzFZpFzhGPlb3-JSq-/s1600/12662431_10100291969642840_2509636020630039163_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And now for some running highlights:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(1) Did not complete the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning in 2013, alas. But I swear, as Cthulhu</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> as my witness, I *will* complete it one day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(2) Ran six 100 mile races in 2014 and 2015: Rocky Raccoon 100 (2014 and 2015), Umstead 100 (2014 and 2015), TGNY100 (2014), and Vermont 100 (2014).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3rG6w8-EEG9FhTAa2ISkeUDCRMMIiyk288SG4rI-lpVRErPOWqdeWbDz2uSDd4qhUq06u-IhGUwKfjyRFlsDxGRjaRDgK_jI-boj5JwNi0HZy_qRQ-W8vmrD7DN3dkrR1Eh1uMU2v5kw/s320/10513342_968611004170_6208800238483174309_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-race photo at VT100 2014.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3rG6w8-EEG9FhTAa2ISkeUDCRMMIiyk288SG4rI-lpVRErPOWqdeWbDz2uSDd4qhUq06u-IhGUwKfjyRFlsDxGRjaRDgK_jI-boj5JwNi0HZy_qRQ-W8vmrD7DN3dkrR1Eh1uMU2v5kw/s1600/10513342_968611004170_6208800238483174309_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(3) Rob and I ran two races during our honeymoon in New Zealand and Hawaii, the Kepler 60K Challenge and the Honolulu Marathon. The Kepler Challenge was Rob's first ultramarathon trail and he rocked it. And the Honolulu Marathon was his first back-to-back weekend marathon!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8f_w3XZb1TXG00q86D6aaWc3iFNdcDalXG2XyvqkoQKnbsODmI67hg69bbUjtlaAERGfsjTxJptEGCW6op-04FFlDEzor8BMOJr4Z5tlpxwVpQtnYiDKbBGn6CWOJPI9ujT4nGKaDq_CT/s1600/1655954_10100118122379150_6967744569255670797_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8f_w3XZb1TXG00q86D6aaWc3iFNdcDalXG2XyvqkoQKnbsODmI67hg69bbUjtlaAERGfsjTxJptEGCW6op-04FFlDEzor8BMOJr4Z5tlpxwVpQtnYiDKbBGn6CWOJPI9ujT4nGKaDq_CT/s320/1655954_10100118122379150_6967744569255670797_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first ultramarathon was nine relatively flat loops in Central Park. His involved climbing up and down a mountain.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(4) Ran my first sub-23 hour finish at the 2015 Umstead 100.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(5) Paced a bunch of races including the NYC Marathon and the NJ Marathon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(6) Was selected to be an <a href="https://www.altrarunning.com/">Altra</a> Ambassador. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06H4ql6cRP8TcenTwpehAOA0TBgp-Cdxeqo9gPl8okmbiB5tQUPZl9J4y_05mIJrPnrzhSaKLZMGOVHH3c8is25FFmTKVicmr47NDKEKiz5U6_ceXKZbw3rty3h2M0_RFQXhFIfOhikjw/s1600/10291077_945045275080_1873476635148605140_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06H4ql6cRP8TcenTwpehAOA0TBgp-Cdxeqo9gPl8okmbiB5tQUPZl9J4y_05mIJrPnrzhSaKLZMGOVHH3c8is25FFmTKVicmr47NDKEKiz5U6_ceXKZbw3rty3h2M0_RFQXhFIfOhikjw/s320/10291077_945045275080_1873476635148605140_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Altra sneakers are the *best*. And I'm not just saying that because they're giving me free and discounted sneakers for 2016. I probably would have given up running if not for these amazing sneakers.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The absolutely silly thing is, I wrote about many of the above events, but didn't choose to hit the "publish" button because I get so incredibly self-conscious about my writing. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well, I decided to change all that. Not the feeling self-conscious part - I know that I will always feel that way. But I decided to start publishing my posts again. As I mentioned before, I have some major running goals for 2016 and I believe making them public will make them more likely to happen. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>So what are these goals?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As most runners know, we have goals and then we have <u>goals</u>. In every race, I have a Goal A, Goal B, Goal C, and a Super Secret Goal Z. Goal A is usually something pretty basic; Goal B is something a little less attainable; Goal C is juuuuuust out of my reach; Goal Z is a goal that most people would laugh at me for even considering. For example, during my last Umstead 100, Goal A was to finish happy and healthy; Goal B was to finish in under 24 hours; and Goal C was to finish in under 23 hours. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what my Super Secret Goal Z was, otherwise it wouldn't be Super Secret.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So here are my tentative goals for 2016:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Goal A: Recover well from pregnancy. C-section healing is no joke and I cannot stress enough how serious I am about making sure that I do not impede my overall progress by being too impatient with getting back into full-on running mode.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Goal B: Get back into my 2015 pre-pregnancy running shape by June.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Goal C: Finish a Western States qualifier (Hopefully <a href="http://vermont100endurancerun.blogspot.com/">Vermont 100</a>!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Goal D: Finish a Western States qualifier in less than 24 hours.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Goal Z: I'll let you know if it happens.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><b>When does my post-partum training start?</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A lot of the above depends on how well my six-week check up goes with my doctor tomorrow. That said, I am feeling pretty optimistic that she is going to give me the all-clear. </span><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">Therefore, my hope is that my official training will begin tomorrow! And I can't wait! </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Although my core muscles are still incredibly weak (hardly unsurprising since I had major abdominal surgery), my legs, despite running zero miles since Thanksgiving (This was not entirely pregnancy-related; I happened to break my toe while tripping over luggage), feel pretty awesome. I discovered that because my body has gotten so used to carrying additional weight, I have become an excellent speed walker. I am hoping that my newfound leg strength for walking will translate to faster running as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /> </span><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">And that's it for now. Wish me luck for tomorrow! Cannot wait to get back to real training again! </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-66308099257152267372013-06-20T13:45:00.000-04:002013-06-20T13:45:59.653-04:00Why everyone should try at least one night trail run . . . at Mount Beacon!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One major reason why I am really loving about this whole Grand Slam of Ultrarunning training is that I have been having so much fun with my workouts. Here is a lengthy recap of one of my favorite training runs this past year: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So . . . </span><br />
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I am a huge, huge fan of technical trails. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a huge, huge fan of running at night. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a huge, huge fan of climbing workouts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Enter Mount Beacon, which features a fantastic one mile technical trail that involves a 1000' climb. It is one of my favorite parks because it is only a little over an hour's drive away from Manhattan and you can literally park at the bottom of the mountain and go up and down the trail to your heart's content. I love Mount Beacon so much that this is my second post about this great training ground; check out my first post <a href="http://ultrarunningjoy.blogspot.com/2013/02/mount-beacon-perfect-place-for-mountain.html">here</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Back in April, my friend Deanna emailed me, asking if I wanted to do some night time hill repeats at Mount Beacon. <i> </i>Actually, we initially spoke about doing this a couple weeks back and she mentioned how it was a total game changer for her and really helped during the McNaughton 200 miler. Now, when someone of Deanna's caliber (for those who do not know Deanna Culbreath, she came in second at Burning River 100 last year) tells me something is game changing, I listen and obey. So I happily emailed her back and we settled on heading out to Mount Beacon on a Saturday night. Deanna invited a few other ultrarunners, including my friend Peter Priolo, another Grand Slam of Ultrarunning aspirant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had every intention to get a good night's sleep on Thursday and Friday, in preparation for Saturday night, but life happened in the form of wine tastings and late night dinnering with good friends. And then, due to a last minute emergency, I had to get up before 6 a.m. to babysit and spent the rest of the day at the Cherry Blossom festival in Brooklyn. By 8:30 p.m., I was yawning as Deanna and I headed up to Mount Beacon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In retrospect, I realize it was good that I was already tired; it's not as though I would be doing my night running at Western States at my absolute freshest, you know? In any case, I wasn't the only person exhausted - Deanna had spent the entire day working and Peter essentially spent the entire day running. Basically, I had no right to feel tired - while I was out playing, they were actually doing constructive things with their lives. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7rEPHz43NFFZQbRebJOqcDvfmK49qkBa0xKnMj89ck8b362-F4sKO8MD73fqOfmE0PzvZjxEUrI0fh7_gJL4X1DVVKGgpgXUE9TggIV7jgltZcKeOp6MYbrfPdx4ySdYXCoJLFLwiw5Y/s1600/IMG_5932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7rEPHz43NFFZQbRebJOqcDvfmK49qkBa0xKnMj89ck8b362-F4sKO8MD73fqOfmE0PzvZjxEUrI0fh7_gJL4X1DVVKGgpgXUE9TggIV7jgltZcKeOp6MYbrfPdx4ySdYXCoJLFLwiw5Y/s1600/IMG_5932.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do you bring on a night trail run? Trekking poles, water bottle, headlamp, bottles of ensure, yogurt, and bananas.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our game plan was to make six trips up and down the one mile trail and then during our seventh and final trip, we would climb an additional mile for the final ascent to the watch tower on Mount Beacon and watch the sunrise.</span><br />
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I had several objectives for the evening:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
(1) Practicing the use of my headlamp on a technical trail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) Practicing working through exhaustion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(3) Trying out Ensure as running nutrition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(4) Trying out my new trekking poles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(5) Having a lot of fun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
<b>Loop 1 and 2:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b>
From the get go, I was slow. Really slow. I felt bad for Deanna and Peter because I just could not keep up with them. This really bothered me because I have been practicing my climbing for the past few months now and thought I was doing pretty well. Within the first ten minutes, I realized that unless I wanted to burn myself out, I needed to climb at my own pace. I kept telling Deanna and Peter to go on ahead, but fortunately besides being amazing athletes, they are also very much "leave no man behind" type of folks and refused to listen to me. I was supremely grateful because as it happens, I am afraid of being in the woods in the dark.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JKIUYK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004JKIUYK&linkCode=as2&tag=joyinult-20">Black Diamond Ultradistance trekking poles</a> were turning out to be pretty useful. I bought them via <a href="http://www.theclymb.com/invite-from/JacquelineChoi">The Clymb</a> website for less than $60; they usually range from $99 to $150. If you haven't joined The Clymb yet, I strongly recommend you do so. Their sales on outdoor sports equipment and clothes are fantastic. And if you do join, use my invitation <a href="http://www.theclymb.com/invite-from/JacquelineChoi">link</a>, pretty please!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, back to the poles. They are really light (I barely noticed that I was carrying them), very easy to assemble and take apart (for someone who is all thumbs like myself, that's a big deal), and very sturdy. They were a joy to use - normally, I am quite cautious when I run down rocky and steep terrain, but with the poles, I felt comfortable flying down at my normal downhill speed. I definitely plan on using them at Leadville and Wasatch this fall.</span><br />
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</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PyJTykaYJeryzcT8L7VlDB3gsFlEq5OQcGomIOP2-3nB9lV3HeiIRDPQZITAPeo6Ei2GNxDzB56aKphwHViEdZoYpivvxRnHLGwqIYUSDuSFXX9_4uPcCV96aVff5MDMN1mgv0hcaYnM/s1600/IMG_5934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PyJTykaYJeryzcT8L7VlDB3gsFlEq5OQcGomIOP2-3nB9lV3HeiIRDPQZITAPeo6Ei2GNxDzB56aKphwHViEdZoYpivvxRnHLGwqIYUSDuSFXX9_4uPcCV96aVff5MDMN1mgv0hcaYnM/s1600/IMG_5934.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Attempt at a self portrait</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
<b>Loop 3 and 4:</b></span><br />
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At around midnight, we were joined by Zandy Mangold, his girlfriend Claudine Ko, and their pointer mix, Tasha. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-Op0VgpRT9aZ9XGkvl2uKCrWrtWtMBnGODBZELo_LMOSWM2GRHozrIN2myStwYXtqed92EjPVOwx_6n29ie00IASqmW3ALdNpWt_xVP0ze_9_YyyMsP1rLl7j_-jYtlX0zF19KqirxxI/s1600/IMG_5937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-Op0VgpRT9aZ9XGkvl2uKCrWrtWtMBnGODBZELo_LMOSWM2GRHozrIN2myStwYXtqed92EjPVOwx_6n29ie00IASqmW3ALdNpWt_xVP0ze_9_YyyMsP1rLl7j_-jYtlX0zF19KqirxxI/s1600/IMG_5937.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Claudine, Zandy, and Tasha.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Again, I was really slow, but my slowness was highlighted by the fact that Tasha, who is about the size of a Chihuahua, was absolutely schooling me. With seemingly no effort, Tasha, on her teeny tiny dog legs, just bounded straight up Mount Beacon. At one point I asked Zandy how far Tasha could run, and he said he wasn't sure - there hasn't been a time where Tasha could not keep up. I thought about my Yorkie and how she could barely walk a quarter mile before begging to be picked up and carried in my purse. I spent most of this loop thinking how my next furry friend MUST be a runner dog. With visions of husky mixes and whippets in my head, I carried on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b> Loop 5 and 6</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXTwjUJoSVs4Bze7-Y1zh_27ofJtoepDzA6o791n0O5JMOLQP83xM8VKxiTjKNF2llDq6xWnkQD25g86mmVlz5h1dQ3aT4VFORv8NRA0mw4wV8BsKN43F3IQAfZ6leh8XXsr6aC37Bqgh/s1600/IMG_5942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXTwjUJoSVs4Bze7-Y1zh_27ofJtoepDzA6o791n0O5JMOLQP83xM8VKxiTjKNF2llDq6xWnkQD25g86mmVlz5h1dQ3aT4VFORv8NRA0mw4wV8BsKN43F3IQAfZ6leh8XXsr6aC37Bqgh/s1600/IMG_5942.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Zandy, Peter, and Dave at the Mount Beacon lookout point.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was either Loop 4 or Loop 5, don't remember, but another friend, Dave Staley showed up some time after 1 a.m. I met Dave at Leatherman's Loop last week, through Deanna. He lives in the area and thought it would be fun to do a couple of loops with us. He would have ran the entire night, but he had already made plans for Saturday evening and had to get up early the next morning to go rock climbing in New Paltz. I don't know, but if I went out on Saturday, the last thing in my mind would be to go hiking at 1 a.m., especially if I knew I had to do something that would involve not only physical exertion, but some presence of mind. I am not a rock climber, but I assume that it isn't easy to do when you're running on a few hours of sleep</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. This is when I decided that Deanna's friends were pretty bad ass. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This belief was further cemented when <i>more</i> people showed up, this time a little after 3 a.m. This was seriously turning out to be a running party. Helen Dole and Alex Tilmant decided to drive from the city at around 2 a.m. to see if they could do a couple of loops and then watch the sun rise. Because, you know, why not? I think it is so neat that Deanna has friends who would be totally fine with showing up in the middle of the night to essentially go hiking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Loop 7: Final Loop</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For our last loop, all of us donned or carried our warmest clothes in preparation for our final ascent that would take us to the watchtower at the top of Mount Beacon. I had already experienced some of the wind at the first lookout point and it wasn't pleasant; I figured it would be much worse when we made it to the very top. I debated between wearing my parka or my windbreaker and then decided on the latter, because even though it made me look lumpy, it was warmer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I zipped up my windbreaker, I felt something heavy in my left pocket. Curious, I put my hand in and then pulled out my glasses. MY STUPID GLASSES THAT I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR NEARLY A MONTH. I was elated, despite having ordered a new pair of replacement glasses just the previous weekend. And then tucked next to the glasses was a ten dollar bill. Ooooh, breakfast money! I was feeling absolutely pumped.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then again, I was feeling pretty pumped in general. My biggest fear of the night was getting too sleepy and being forced to skip a loop because I had to take a nap. I was fairly certain that it was going to happen because I didn't sleep the past couple of days and I was forcing myself to lay off the caffeine for the past week. But instead of getting sleepy, I felt even wider awake as the night progressed. Now, this doesn't mean that I was actually climbing faster; I was still climbing at my solid, but relatively glacial pace. But I was happy that my legs were feeling cheerful. So during our last climb, I was mentally patting myself on the back for being so alert. That is, until I asked where east was and someone pointed in the direction of where the sky was reddening. Ohhhh, you mean where the sun is rising? That was definitely a durrrrr moment and made me rethink whether I was truly awake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then we got to the top. We still had some time to kill, so Zandy (did I mention he is a professional photographer?) took some photos of us while we waited for the sun to rise. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVyv0zvep88iEtoyeNVnbg7bfVGMudfmVwm0iaQkNPFdOO2Zxru8j7yVex1NPK6ttxwpKVYZRwSvqgsKzEz8Q52ndztxbBx43Q10B0KPRB4NWHOGp7W045E24xBzw_tlc7GemcHchqPsi/s1600/IMG_5950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVyv0zvep88iEtoyeNVnbg7bfVGMudfmVwm0iaQkNPFdOO2Zxru8j7yVex1NPK6ttxwpKVYZRwSvqgsKzEz8Q52ndztxbBx43Q10B0KPRB4NWHOGp7W045E24xBzw_tlc7GemcHchqPsi/s1600/IMG_5950.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Zandy takes some fun photos.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As predicted, being exposed to the wind and sitting around made for a cold morning. Helen wrapped herself in an orange blanket and I was slightly jealous.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkxtqzTKj52WqLHcs5aEEUHy3j_JVAb4mnsf6heGIgmbDIP74MulDnOEuHnY-vH5lWRfEziNWjFhKmCdd8HuY2jkU9qq_PYAMBDnB7QO3w1M9GnWNK_BI_j2OkFMEXRH70yHMXjvIqmfK-/s1600/IMG_5953.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Helen is coooold!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkxtqzTKj52WqLHcs5aEEUHy3j_JVAb4mnsf6heGIgmbDIP74MulDnOEuHnY-vH5lWRfEziNWjFhKmCdd8HuY2jkU9qq_PYAMBDnB7QO3w1M9GnWNK_BI_j2OkFMEXRH70yHMXjvIqmfK-/s1600/IMG_5953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We may or may have not climbed the tower to get a spectacular 360 view of the sunrise.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8bepB2GhHaTDlOhqwDnxC3_c_r0VJi7uslV8ixJdn6xqcm75zgYyLNKwnVOWxf1C4eis6OHGyVHiJc4WUXjxeB3o93a22422twzE0ZKAVo-sYqLjQbqwhSpXU7y_I_ga_sWn41MeLp5q/s1600/IMG_5967.JPG" height="240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The sun rises behind Deanna!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSiB1bh90rxtqgVFf4boDDEg5otikwKIZunPiq61nyt6j_s17TR2OG2yO-BIR9Ij1emD3_bVHqFyK_sZAOcY0MeOCNk-9TdRmGyzZA0sdP0m88IZZUbbQMCWrpAldOtm9UPGiyKVc2rXUG/s1600/IMG_5974.JPG" height="240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why hello there, sun!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hooray, it's officially morning!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbcNuOJreQO0eHGicgSP4F-SmtKp48P3AwssUWmM4rFZsozbPsULi6Clla3tI17lDGexFz42yIxHGE3lCuKyMCpwP0IrLtau7XMvf9Ktcme4gd3onmoWicFhSieSs8hVQyFBBqVx1Z9dc/s1600/IMG_5969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDPb0DQMoGSXno54FHXMEmM-zB79W3L7oVd8kPUPN5kffoPQgU7DVV_Tuw_ThmFRJg5-2sYfSRIGTrKfZtO36iIqP_R4giMe84VSB25RJ8Yiwv0ZiR5Wm8siH559gBFYwcEim1JI35_Op/s1600/IMG_5976.JPG" height="115" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Admiring the view.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewWHdmGw03NejvBU4XWMhA1JasRTNziSSY8cX3Mj4ZRn68yprbepQXFWnlrGWIZW-VEySX8F3FZjTZ3FNH1zD4p0ycIaj5r82LkLGjd1775K8g8MEH6Vo-YF5yxZPoqqZ6i-HjZvA3Y9H/s1600/IMG_5979.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Claudine tucks herself into her jacket.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then we journeyed back. Besides Deanna, Peter, and I, the others hadn't seen Mt. Beacon in daylight before, so it was funny to hear their reactions on climbing back down. Everyone was thoroughly experienced in technical running, so it wasn't as though they saw anything new, but I don't think they expected to see so many rocks on our return trip.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOXLdzuRZmN5mVODY44xTsuyDH4euZwHOlTyfS34h04_PqZGrTSleRI-g74sJh_M7S1dg3bWW82fp-3svnz1ceHmSQoejm3nk1-NI9HYsHPP_ElEKFamEOCfwuJuYkSyw6BmMGFoJsD8z/s1600/IMG_5982.JPG" height="240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Starting our journey back.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOXLdzuRZmN5mVODY44xTsuyDH4euZwHOlTyfS34h04_PqZGrTSleRI-g74sJh_M7S1dg3bWW82fp-3svnz1ceHmSQoejm3nk1-NI9HYsHPP_ElEKFamEOCfwuJuYkSyw6BmMGFoJsD8z/s1600/IMG_5982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHXHYBuIuO4d1fMFKcHyzgwk5xyHAXcPuTpgWQcp9V4VTPBwPRNbdL_VAP3kVpXS-uYq7-4dJRerHAJZajrIpHui2p43gmqv2u6b36AU-1yndG_pvjr9rrImdLm-p6l5ONMBciYSGnRpN/s1600/IMG_5984.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rocks.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHXHYBuIuO4d1fMFKcHyzgwk5xyHAXcPuTpgWQcp9V4VTPBwPRNbdL_VAP3kVpXS-uYq7-4dJRerHAJZajrIpHui2p43gmqv2u6b36AU-1yndG_pvjr9rrImdLm-p6l5ONMBciYSGnRpN/s1600/IMG_5984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuMkKBQuE4lt7cHbAIXKUThBprBz-PLiqBMKmxCrd7CilIF0QL_nCIn7AmgyVpdduZcWLG7UfRlK7VrCMTutk_3VsJoM7HG0_LKXv9U5x3aVI4sMD5gsuNI1mOzEowBt7qaH_85SYRPJh/s1600/IMG_5985.JPG" height="240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">More rocks.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuMkKBQuE4lt7cHbAIXKUThBprBz-PLiqBMKmxCrd7CilIF0QL_nCIn7AmgyVpdduZcWLG7UfRlK7VrCMTutk_3VsJoM7HG0_LKXv9U5x3aVI4sMD5gsuNI1mOzEowBt7qaH_85SYRPJh/s1600/IMG_5985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, we reached the bottom and unanimously agreed that breakfast was in order. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia178Isg64uU5h0c2owRnW7bliFHKwANJsU_Vsxi6u4vgLtcHZJU0v9I9F3UNeA3Pjbt79HHhamrBGAGd-eSqCUZYP01Dm96acKknKPWngqSpYLCJMR7yUCZMbrJuYK7hA-iDHl39Ac_4b/s1600/IMG_5987.JPG" height="240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nom nom nom, breakfast!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next part was a blur. I drove Deanna and me back into Manhattan. I started to get a little sleepy, but Deanna was a trooper and kept me wide awake until we made back into Manhattan. Then I parked my car and fell asleep for a few minutes. And then I stumbled back to the apartment and fell asleep for a few hours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All in all, it was a great and very productive training session. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Key notes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) I am not as nervous about running on technical trails in the dark. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) I am not as nervous about getting sleepy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(3) I discovered that I really love trekking poles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(4) I also discovered that Ensure is an okay drink, but I'm not 100% sure whether I will use them for Western States.</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-5010461879179585742013-05-24T11:39:00.000-04:002013-05-24T11:39:10.006-04:00April and Most of May, In a Nutshell: I have been training, really. Just not blogging.<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have been bad blogger and I have not updated my blog in many, many weeks. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHQjvvwTmAUkULxGg3azzijlsXMJYDGEyHETfhDitt7mrOw3Fjq9IRhNEjyDjgEJvXLSSvV5-rV_-t6aUUizzQTyPmNimK5g17e1mD-xHobT8L2R3y0CTbiAAcEZR72e5vqHA5r9q_akG/s1600/IMG_6455%5B1%5D.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHQjvvwTmAUkULxGg3azzijlsXMJYDGEyHETfhDitt7mrOw3Fjq9IRhNEjyDjgEJvXLSSvV5-rV_-t6aUUizzQTyPmNimK5g17e1mD-xHobT8L2R3y0CTbiAAcEZR72e5vqHA5r9q_akG/s1600/IMG_6455%5B1%5D.GIF" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This guy is pointing at me because I have been a bad blogger.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fortunately, it has been because I have been so busy at work, with training, and with life in general, and not because there hasn't been anything to write about. Actually, that's not quite true. I have been writing a lot - it's just that I haven't posted any of my writing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As some of my friends can attest (and especially Rob), I can get very, very touchy about people seeing my writing. Poor Rob has to deal with my wrath when he even casually glances at my laptop when I type in my journal. What happens is that I write things, read them, and then decide not to hit the post button, because I am embarrassed about what I have written. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For example, I spent one half hour rhapsodizing about how much I love my new Altra Intuitions and then after reading it, I realized that everything I wrote has already been said. So I didn't hit the post button. Even my personal race reports seem silly, because I generally do not write about the actual race or the running, which would be useful and worth reading, but instead write about the people I meet and the random things I think about when I am running. Which I don't think would be interesting to anyone, but me. So I don't hit the post button. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, pushing those excuses aside, Grand Slam of Ultrarunning training has been going well and life has been pretty darn good. I have the Western States Training runs coming up this weekend, and I am really looking forward to seeing a good chunk of the course! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCY8DMeCe9ipJ0Rmf6ooHoAuP6mkhS4aQo13aJekhYBKVkB2NaHrwGEfqLfMZ87Azc3PW_QBfZbOubdxejYq4fbc0k91uM-zCq8yb2FPOHIgKrKF8WcN9OxSBYoI89ixT2sCnVO27QeWyk/s1600/IMG_6353%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCY8DMeCe9ipJ0Rmf6ooHoAuP6mkhS4aQo13aJekhYBKVkB2NaHrwGEfqLfMZ87Azc3PW_QBfZbOubdxejYq4fbc0k91uM-zCq8yb2FPOHIgKrKF8WcN9OxSBYoI89ixT2sCnVO27QeWyk/s1600/IMG_6353%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been training! Really!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But I am feeling bad that I haven't posted anything recently, so I decided to write a quick summary of things that have been awesome, running-wise. A lot of these items have their own separate blog entries, but I haven't decided whether to actually, you know, post them:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here is my April and most of May, in a nutshell:</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things that were awesome since my last post (starting with the most recent):</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) May 23, 2013: <b>Running in the Van Cortlandt Track Club Cross Country Summer Series </b>when it was all monsoon-y and puddle-y and stuff. There was much drama in this race, including having a pint of Guinness slish sloshing in my stomach and needing to pee quite badly. But it all worked out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) May 18. 2013: <b>Running with Rob, Jayne, and PJ at the Brooklyn Half Marathon. </b> Not only was it their first half (and boy, did they kick so much butt!), but it was my very first time running with my big sister. This is a super big deal because growing up, I would say mean things to Jayne every time she tried to get me to run. As someone who grew up being deathly afraid of disappointing my big sister, this demonstrates how much I hated running as a teenager. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was also very, very, very cool watching Rob just throwing back the miles, like it was no big deal. I guarantee Rob will be running his first ultra by the end of 2014. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(3) May 12, 2013: </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Doing a longish run before eating dim sum with Jurgen, Otto, Lisa, and Tiger Ellen. </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I don't understand why this isn't a thing that I do every week. I like long runs and I like dim sum. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(4) May 11, 2013: <b>Doing my first Run Around Manhattan by my lonesome. </b>I thought I was becoming too dependent on people for my long runs, so I decided to run alone. And I was relieved to find out that I am still perfectly good running with just myself and my thoughts. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(5) May 7, 2013: <b>Buying Altra's new version of the <a href="https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/associates/network/build-links/individual/get-html.html?ie=UTF8&asin=B00AW7O7GY&marketplace=amazon&quicklinks=1&subflow=sp_">Lone Peak</a> at Tents and Trails. </b> Altras, with their super wide toe box and minimalist design, make my feet happy. The fact that they're bright bright orange doesn't hurt either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(6) May 5, 2013: <b>Volunteering with the Invasives Strike Force Crew at one of my favorite local places to run, Flat Brook Nature Center. </b> I am so lucky that I have easy access to some fantastic trails. I need to make sure that they stay fantastic by volunteering more of my time in maintaining them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(7) May 4, 2013: <b>Bear Mountain 50 Miler That Became a 34 Miler. </b>I suppose I should mark this under, "Things That Were Not Awesome," but I had a reallllly great time up until I got pulled off the course for not thinking that North Face takes their cutoffs seriously. My bad. Anyway, I have decided that this day was awesome because (a) I ran with Marco, who is one of my favorite ultrarunners, (b) I got some good mileage in, and (c) I finally discovered a fuel source that really might be It. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Girls and guys, <a href="http://vfuel.com/">VFue</a>l is spectacular. My friend Chip recommended this gel and while I am usually a total skeptic when it comes to anything that is labeled a miracle food, I swear, VFuel is the nectar of the running gods. I normally have all sorts of gross stomach issues, but with VFuel, I was totally fine. No, I was more than fine. When I got up to go run the next day, it was like the 34 miles of gnarly trail the day before never happened. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(8) April 27, 2013: <b>Watching the sunrise after doing night to dawn hill repeats with some of the most fun ultrarunners around. </b>One of my more extreme ultrarunning buddies, Deanna Culbreath, recommended that I do some night climbing repeats at Mount Beacon. She said it was a total game changer for her, and when someone of Deanna's caliber tells me something is a game changer, then it is best to just do it. While I have completed plenty of hill repeat workouts on Mount Beacon during the day and I have definitely done my share of night to dawn runs, I have never combined the two. So I found myself climbing Mount Beacon over and over again with Deanna, Pete Priolo (another Grand Slam aspirant), and a bunch of other ultrarunning friends from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And Deanna was right. It was a total game changer. Hooray for having friends who inspire me to do things :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(9) April 21, 2013: <b>Running the <a href="http://leathermansloop.org/">Leatherman Loop 10K.</a> </b> Because who doesn't love running in the mud and crossing super cold streams?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(10) April 17, 2013: <b>Participating as a panelist at Ultra Night at Jack Rabbit. </b> If someone told me two years ago that I would be an ultrarunning panelist, I would have assumed that she was making a bad joke. Not sure if any of my advice helped, but I think I did a good job of demonstrating that if someone like me can run an ultramarathon, seriously - anyone can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(11) April 12 - 14, 2013: <b>Heat training in Palm Springs, CA. </b>Rob and I went to Coachella, a lovely music festival that takes place in the California desert. <b> </b>By April, that desert was all kinds of hot, which was good, because I love running in the heat. So that I don't lose my "heat running muscle," I try to spend lots of time in the sauna. However, jumping up and down in a sauna is not nearly as good as running in the Real Thing, so I was happy to see that my body was still fine with gallumping along in 90+ degree weather.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(12) April 6, 2013: <b>Running Umstead 100. </b>This race was cool for many reasons. (a) This was my sorority little sister's Caitlin Weaver's first 100 attempt. (b) This was also my friend Hideki Kinoshita's first Umstead finish. (c) This was my friend Otto's first back to back 100 (he ran NJ100 the weekend before). (d) This was also the first time since JFK50 2011 (or was it 2012?) that I got to run with my friend Robin Mancinelli. (e) Oh, and I ran a nearly 30 minute PR :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Race essentials:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Miles 1-50: Felt easy peasy for the first 11 hours, mostly because I was running with Robin Mancinelli and the famous Ray Krolewicz. It's amazing how easy ultrarunning can be if you have friends to share the trail with. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Miles 50 to 62.5: Felt like I was flying and according to my Garmin, I was running pretty much the same pace as I was running the first 25 miles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Miles 62.5 to 100: Intestinal issues and nausea happened. Thank god for my pacers, Susan Hogarth, Scott Peters, and the Other-Woman-Whose-Name-I-Forgot-But-I-Gave-You-My-Email-Address-But-You-Never-Contacted-Me-And-I-Still-Feel-Terrible-Because-I-Didn't-Thank-You-Enough. They were all so incredibly nice and helpful during my messy finish. Especially Susan, who had to deal with my super slow physical and mental state. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things that were not awesome since my last post (starting with the most recent):</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) Not keeping up with my blog. I promise to work on this!</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-60264627911306946172013-04-02T10:11:00.000-04:002013-04-02T10:11:09.328-04:00Thinking about the Zombie Apocalypse and Volunteering at the NJ Ultra Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Scenes from the Zombie Apocalypse Training Course. From top left, going clockwise: (1) Doing tandem jumps with Cheryl and Yuki; (2) Marveling at how much fit in that teeny tiny tin; (3) Proudly displaying our marksmanship. </span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things that were awesome since my last post:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) Zombie Apocalypse Training</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This has nothing to do with running or Grand Slam training, but really, I highly recommend it. A few months ago, my friend, Cheryl wanted to surprise her boyfriend with a day-long <a href="http://www.zombiesurvivalcourse.com/">Zombie Apocalypse Training</a> course and she asked if Rob and I would be interested in taking the class with them. Since it involved zombies, we readily agreed. So, a couple of weekends ago, on a bright and crisp Saturday morning, Rob and I found ourselves driving down to south Jersey to the secret location of the class.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the basic premise of the course is silly, the skills were anything but. Granted, there was no way they could teach everything in one day, but we get did a good overview of what we should know in case zombies started taking over the Earth. The instructors covered first aid skills, hand to hand combat basics, collecting emergency supplies, handling and the use of a variety of weapons, including the crossbow and the handgun, shotgun, and rifle. Much to my dismay, I learned that in order for me to use my dominant eye, I had to shoot left-handed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh, and we learned the basics of knife throwing. While the instructor admitted that knife throwing isn't really an efficient way to kill zombies (especially if they come en masse), killing one or two zombies with a well-thrown knife could make you look cool in front of your fellow apocalypse survivors. I learned that I am especially bad at throwing knives - despite standing only a few feet away from the target, I could not manage to make the knife stick even once. Ulp. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the end of the day, the instructors set up an obstacle course involving our recently learned skills and had us compete against one another. We beat up zombies with sticks, sutured a pig's foot, threw knives, and fired at various targets. The team with the fastest time would receive a special prize, but alas, our team did not win. We came in a relatively close second, though!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, even though I would be the first one to admit that the Zombie Apocalypse is not coming any time soon, the course made me realize that there are plenty of other emergency-type events that might occur, and so it doesn't hurt to prepare. There is no way that I will become a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Preppers">Doomsday Prepper</a> and I won't invest in firearms or a crossbow, but I will make sure to have extra water and basic supplies for my house. I definitely do not want to be part of the crazy mob scene that is the supermarket before any major snowstorm or hurricane. I could spend that time running, you know?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So. Zombie Apocalypse. Be prepared. Or not. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) Volunteering at the NJ Trail Series' Ultra Festival</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love volunteering at ultraraces. First row, from left to right: (1) Stephen England and Tiffany, all bundled up before heading out for the night shift at the far aid station; (2) Elaine Acosta is still feeling good at mile 60; (3) Emmy Stocker and Mat Gerowitz, 50K Finishers; (4) Otto Lam takes a mini break at mile 70. Second row from left to right: (1) Joe Del Conte hangs out with me at the main aid station; (2) Yoshiko Jo looks incredibly strong at mile 70; (3) Tatsunori Suzuki takes some food to eat during his next lap; (4) Louis Lam shows off her famous pork dumplings.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Right after Zombie Apocalypse Training camp, I drove up to Augusta, New Jersey to go volunteer at the main aid station at the <a href="http://www.njtrailseries.com/">New Jersey Ultra Festival</a>. NJ Ultrafest takes place on the New Jersey State Fairgrounds - it features a ten mile loop and so depending on how the runner is feeling that day, he or she can run anything from a 50K to 100 miles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love the night shift, because you see people at their best and worst, sometimes both. By the time I arrived, the participants who were still on the course had been running for more than twelve hours. After talking briefly to Rick and Jennifer McNulty, the race directors, as well as some other runners who had already completed the 50K and 50milers, I learned that conditions this year were challenging. A combination of muddy trails and cold temperatures were slowing down times considerably and there were quite a few 100 mile entrants who dropped down to a 50 mile or a 100K. I didn't blame them. I can handle mud. I can even handle cold. But the two? For nearly 24 hours? Argh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fortunately, even though there were some people who dropped, there were still plenty of other runners on the course, giving me things to do. Since I was working in the kitchen, my main goal was to feed the runners as they went by. During my shift, I made or warmed up cheese burgers, cheese quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, penne pasta, and pizzas. I doled out cups and cups of chicken noodle soup and vegetable broth. Oh, and I poured lots of coffee. People were tired and needed their caffeine. The work wasn't difficult, so I still had plenty of time to catch up with my running friends and made new ones. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was already exhausted from waking up at 5 a.m. to attend the Zombie camp, so my memories of that night are scattered. Memories of note:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <b>The cold.</b> Oh my gosh, it was cold. I wore jeans, thermal top, tshirt, fleece, and windbreaker. And I was still freezing. I did not fathom how the runners were managing outside.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <b>Speaking of the cold, the New Zealand man who was running in only a tshirt and shorts. </b> According to Yoshiko, he upgraded to wearing gloves when it got colder. I wish I had his fortitude.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <b>Eating steamed pork buns. </b>My friend Louisa arrived in the middle of my shift, bearing a large container of steamed pork buns. She had originally brought them for our friend Becky, but Becky wasn't there. So I ate one. And it was delicious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <b>Otto Lam saying that this race was harder than Beast of Burden Winter 100, which boasts of below freezing temperatures and snow for 24 hours straight.</b> His words? "At least at Beast of Burden, you can run on top of snow. Here, you can't run on top of mud. But now that the weather is getting even colder, at least the mud is freezing solid." Despite his words, I wasn't too worried about Otto. I knew he would finish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <b>Yoshiko Jo making the race look easy. </b>When I first saw her, she was in third place for women overall, but she looked so fresh at mile 70, I knew she would end up placing first. And, of course, she did :).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <b>Elaine Acosta, looking chipper at mile 60. </b> And then Elaine, bleeding at mile 70, but still looking very steady.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <b>Tatsunori Suzuki, looking strong.</b> He told me that he was moving to Japan soon, so that this was probably going to be the last time I saw him in the States. Awww :(.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <b>Rick and Jen's kids. </b>They're so smart and funny and adorable. I love seeing them at races.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I only worked from 7 p.m. to midnight, but I wanted to see my some of my friends one more time, so I ended up staying past 1 a.m. As I walked back to my car, I saw the New Zealand man, still running in his shirt and shorts. I wonder if he finished.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(3) My neuroma feeling a lot better.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Maybe it is my imagination, but my neuroma does not feel nearly as bad as before. I visited a different podiatrist last week; the good news is that my neuroma, untreated, will not do any damage to my feet. The pain might get worse, but as long as I keep running the way I normally do, there should be no structural damage except the already existing nerve inflammation. The bad news: If I want to get rid of it completely, I probably will need surgery. However, at this point, surgery isn't an option - the surgery itself is very simple, but the post-op requires six weeks of no running. Which obviously I do not have time for as Western States is in less than thirteen weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, I will just continue the following:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) Wearing boring shoes during my day to day activities. No more four inch heels unless they are absolutely necessary. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) Massaging my feet before my runs, especially the area between the third and fourth metatarsals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) Stretching my calves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(3) Going to regular physical therapy and acupuncture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(4) Using metatarsal pads to stretch my feet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(5) Taking serrapeptase.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(6) Wearing sneakers with ginormous toe boxes, like my new Altras.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(7) Praying.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(4) My workouts.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Despite my neuroma issues, it's been going well. I have been doing plenty of climbing on the stairmill and super incline treadmill and have been logging lovely miles outside on the weekends. </span><a href="http://www.umstead100.org/" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Umstead 100</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"> is this Saturday, so I have been doing a wee bit of tapering. Last week, I only ran thirty miles and finished two climbing workouts. At this point, my legs are starting to resemble tree trunks, but as long as they are strong tree trunks, I am pretty stoked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><b>Things that were not awesome since my last post:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Can't think of anything. Life has been pretty good.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-10151179450846811252013-03-19T08:53:00.000-04:002013-03-19T08:53:37.198-04:00Things That I Find Awesome: ChiRunning, Running with Friends, and High Incline Treadmills<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3.16.2013 - At the Tri-Mania NYC ChiRunning Workshop! From left to right: Me, Rob, our instructor Vincent Vaccaro (<a href="http://tritekcamps.com/index.php">http://tritekcamps.com/index.php</a>)</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">, Karen Braswell, and Jim Coniglio.</span></span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things that were awesome since my last post:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) <b>Attending the ChiRunning workshop through <a href="http://www.sunmultisportevents.com/TRI-MANIA.htm">Tri-Mania NYC</a> and <a href="http://www.runkino.com/">RunKino</a>.</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">ChiRunning is by no means a magic bullet, but I am a huge fan. If you are interested in learning about my ChiRunning experience, scroll to the bottom of this post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) <b>Running in the Palisades with friends. </b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3.9.2013: Running in the Palisades. The photo is blurry because the lens had my sweat on it. From left to right, Alex, Garth, Lesley, and Scott.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Although our initial plans were <span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">to run part of the Bear Mountain 50 mile course at Harriman State Park, Mother Nature decided to dump 15 inches of snow on the trails. Since most of us wanted to spend our morning running and not fwomping around in the snow, we figured the Palisades would be a better bet. And it was! There was still snow, which made things interesting and pretty, but it wasn't so bad that we couldn't get a decent run in. We started at the Palisades Interstate Park police station and ran the Long Path, the Shore Trail, as well as the trails that connected the two. As I ran, I ate spam and drank Gatorade and it was glorious. At some point, my neuroma began acting up, but since my feet were numb because of the snow, I barely felt it.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3.9.2013: Making our way down to the bottom of the cliffs. You can see Lesley far below - she made the descents seem easy!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3.9.2013: Heading back up to the Long Path.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(3) <b>Discovering that funny looking treadmill that no one uses in my gym is a super incline treadmill.</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Guess who has been doing climbs at >20% inclines the past week? That being said, I am feeling a bit sheepish about the fact that I did not check out the treadmill until now, especially since I had an entire conversation with Garth about them a few weeks ago. Oh well. I still have 102 days left until Western States! Plenty of opportunities to climb!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(4)<b> Running in the snow in Central Park. </b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I despise and fear the cold, but I love running in the snow. A two or three minute walk outside when it is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit turns me into a sad puddle, but I am totally cool with running in below freezing weather. This is completely silly, I know. :(</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3.16.2013. Running alongside the Central Park Reservoir.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">3.16.2013 - Running in Central Park in the snow.</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things that were not awesome:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) The second cortisone shot for the Morton's Neuroma on my right foot is not working as well as I would like. I received my second shot last Wednesday and things seemed great for a couple of days, but when I went out for a longish run in Central Park, I experienced flares of excruciating pain after an hour or so. Each time it happened, I stopped and stretched my foot a bit and was able to run a few more miles before the neuroma flared up again. While I think I can do this for at least fifty miles, I am not sure if this method will work for 100. Guess we'll see what happens at Umstead 100 in a few weeks. As for now, I am going to keep on eating the serrapeptase, going to physical therapy, and wearing boring shoes (supportive flats). I still have one more cortisone shot left, but at this point, I am not expecting much. I think I am going to move on to alcohol shot treatment next.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) I seem to be developing a Morton's Neuroma in my left foot. As long as I am in sneakers or high heels, my foot feels completely normal. But as soon as I go barefoot, I experience the familiar MN symptoms. I still have not decided what I am going to do about this. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My ChiRunning Ramble:</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A couple of years ago, I purchased the book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/ChiRunning-Revolutionary-Approach-Effortless-Injury-Free/dp/1416549447">ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running</a>. I read the first few chapters and found the ideas interesting enough that I attempted to put them into practice, but I never felt that I fully grasped the material. Since I never experienced common running-related injuries, such as knee issues and shin splints, I was fine with this. However, ever since my Morton's Neuroma reared its ugly head a few months back, I have become much more interested in seeking out ways to run as efficiently and painlessly as possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As luck would have it, a high school and running buddy of mine, Hideki Kinoshita, was giving away one free registration to a ChiRunning workshop through his website and facebook page, <a href="http://www.runkino.com/">RunKino</a>. All I had to do was to explain why I wanted to learn ChiRunning and be fortunate enough for Kino to select my entry. After I won, I also registered my boyfriend for the class. Rob is still relatively new at running and even though he is progressing quickly, he is still experiencing all the hurt that I somehow managed to skip when I began my running journey. Since I still do not know how I managed that, (And to be perfectly frank, even if I did, I am terrible at teaching people I love how to do things.) I figured introducing Rob to a real coach would be best. Also, I felt kind of bad taking a free class and wanted to pay for something, somehow.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.46875px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Interestingly enough, I never attended a running workshop until now. In fact, the last time I attended a sport-related class was years ago, when I was on the swim team in college. And I wouldn't even count that because I was so completely mentally checked out - I went to practices and dutifully completed all the assigned workouts, but I was never instructed on improving my swim technique, nutrition, or . . . pretty much anything. The main reason why I was on the swim team was because I found swimming meditative. One time I was feeling so zen in the water, I did not realize that the pool that I was swimming in lost half its water until I tried doing a flip turn and I hit my head. Oops. In my defense, I was doing back stroke - so it's not like I could see the bottom of the pool until it was too late.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">Anyway. Back to ChiRunning. My </span>formal introduction to ChiRunning took place at the Tri-Mania NYC Expo this past Saturday. Our class featured instructor Vincent Vaccaro, <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">a certified ChiRunning and ChiWalking coach. He has a website for his company</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">, </span><a href="http://tritekcamps.com/index.php">Tri Tek</a>, which <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">provides more information on Vincent's extensive athletic background and his schedule of workshops. </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">Apparently, his training is geared towards triathletes, but ChiRunning is completely relevant to ultrarunners as well. ChiRunning is all about </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">maximizing your form to minimize fatigue. And since t</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">riathlons and ultramarathons are both endurance sports that guarantee exhaustion, minimizing fatigue is a good thing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">Vincent was a fantastic instructor. He was clearly knowledgeable about his subject and very comfortable with teaching. He had us engaged right away and I felt every minute of the workshop was time well-spent. </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">Vincent also had an assistant, Dave, whose last name I never learned, but he was great, too, especially towards the end when we did our running exercises. </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">T</span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">he two hours flew, but I picked up a lot more in his workshop than I did by reading the ChiRunning book and articles and watching the Youtube videos. That being said, I plan on rereading the ChiRunning book, because I think I will appreciate it more now that I have seen the techniques in action.</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">Vincent started off his class by introducing the basic tenet of ChiRunning: Posture, posture, posture. Which makes sense - when we are standing straight, our joints are all aligned and our skeleton is supporting our weight. The best thing to do when we run is to make sure we maintain this alignment so that our skeleton continues to do the supporting. Instead, we often make the mistake of slumping over or slightly bending at the waist when we are fatigued, which requires our leg and core muscles to support more body weight than they should. </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.46875px;">If we focus on keeping good posture, we decrease the amount of work our muscles have to do, making us more efficient. </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">To keep our posture in alignment, we</span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;"> need to make sure we land our feet directly underneath or slightly behind the body, in line with our hips and shoulders. To help with this, </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">Vincent had us imagine three dots: one on our shoulder, hip, and foot. He suggested that when Rob and I run together, we should check each other's alignment by making sure those</span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;"> dots are in a relatively straight line. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">Another essential tenet of ChiRunning is the idea of letting gravity work for us, instead of against us. </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">By adding a slight lean when we run, our bodies naturally fall forward and we end up using gravity to push us forward instead of our leg muscles. The trick is to lean from the ankles, and not the waist. </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">We initially practiced this by standing about a sneaker's length away from the wall and while keeping our backs straight (Remember, posture!), we leaned forward until we practically fell into the wall. Once we learned what it felt like to lean with our ankles, we did a few exercises where we experienced what it was like to lean in different amounts. </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">It was interesting - </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">in leaning forward, my feet </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">automatically had to land directly underneath me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">Vincent also had us focus on cadence by having us run with a metronome. Running cadence is the same thing as your foot turnover rate, or how many steps you take per minute. When you take fewer steps per minute, your body is suspended in the air for a greater amount of time, causing a greater force to be applied when your feet hit the ground. Since most running injuries are impact-related, this is kind of a big deal. </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">The most efficient stride/min is at least 180 strides per minute. Although I have already downloaded a bunch of metronome apps on my iPhone since Saturday to practice my running cadence, I decided that it would be way more fun to run to music, so with a quick google search, I found a great <a href="http://www.dailymile.com/forums/general-running/topics/577-songs-in-the-165-180-bpm-range-i-need-more">dailymile thread</a> discussing music that averages 180 beats per minute. Rob, being awesome, is already compiling a playlist for me ;).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">An important lesson that I took to heart was that </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">I just don't move my arms enough when I run. Instead of using my arms to propel my body forward, I keep them relatively stationary. While I knew this on a theoretical level, I did not realize how bad my arm form was until </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">Vincent had us perform a simple exercise where another runner stood behind me and placed her hands where my elbows should hit as I ran in place. As I swung my arms the way I was supposed to, it felt really, really strange. My main issue is that I constantly tense my shoulders, which doesn't allow me to swing my arms as easily as I should as I run. Even as I type this, I feel the tell-tale twinges in the middle of my back, letting me know that my shoulders are unhappy. I think I am going to start posting signs all over my office and house to remind me to relax.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">In case you couldn't already tell, I am already a ChiRunning convert. </span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;">I can go on and on about all the things that Vincent taught in his introductory class, but if you are interested in learning more about ChiRunning, there are way better articles out there that you can find easily via Google. I would also recommend purchasing the ChiRunning book, but</span><span style="line-height: 17.46875px;"> I think the best thing would be to actually attend a workshop in your area. I</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.46875px;">ntroductory ChiRunning classes are really not that expensive, especially if you consider the potential savings of hundreds of dollars and time spent at the doctor's by preventing injury from occurring in the first place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.46875px;">ChiRunning isn't a magic bullet. I know that I have a ways to go before I even scratch the surface on becoming a more efficient runner, but as I plan on running ultras for a while, I look forward to the process. Thanks so much again Vincent at Tri Tek and RunKino for giving me this great opportunity in starting my ChiRunning journey.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 17.46875px;"> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-76796281461489021332013-03-04T11:38:00.001-05:002013-03-04T11:38:12.350-05:00So! Excited! To just go out and ruuuuuun.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ibfl_4HrOIuBnJKxC90zPF_DPqdjIrzMStSuduwa3VFGV_o9OVmKrzg2zyMBmS14cMBoD0MLazNXcy79Bei6d_1WJpCGNoPqfCRcwEhxYBIZl_bg9QQK-EB_ao1tBVUwRFulT5Z4PvMs/s1600/IMG_4199.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Peanut Leap Cascade at Palisades Interstate Park. </span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday, March 2, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Workout Types(s): </i>Trails and strength training (a.k.a. lifting heavy garbage bags)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Miles:</i> 9+<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Where: </i>Palisades Interstate Park<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Notes: </i>Good times.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 14px;">Sunday</span></b><b><span style="line-height: 14px;">, March 3, 2013</span></b><span style="line-height: 14px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Workout Types(s): </i>Road running<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Miles:</i> 8+<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Where:</i> Central Park</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Notes: </i>My Morton's Neuroma hit by mile 6 and it was unpleasant, but I was pleased because it normally starts by mile 4 when I train on roads.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Alrighty, I am back in business and am re-entering Training Beast Mode. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As of this weekend, I am officially done with the winter ills and am so (!) excited(!) to go out and just ruuuuun. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Saturday </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">My run on Saturday morning was glorious. Besides crashing a couple of times (I was a bit overeager in hurtling down a hill), I felt really in tune in my body and managed to find this wonderful rhythm with my legs and feet that made me feel like I could run forever.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you want an intense workout, going up and down these cliffs is a seriously good time.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Trail connecting the Shore Trail to the Long Path.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Sadly, I had to cut my training short as I had plans to volunteer with a local trail organization doing post-Hurricane Sandy clean up. </span><span style="color: #222222;">One of the requirements for Western States 100, Vermont 100, and Wasatch 100 is to volunteer at least eight hours either at an ultramarathon or with a trail volunteer group</span><span style="color: #222222;">. Eight hours is a pretty small time commitment, but I think the race directors' objective is to encourage ultrarunners who have never volunteered before to start because once you do, it is really difficult not to want to volunteer again. When you volunteer at a race, you really appreciate the work involved in making sure the race is a success; when you do volunteer trail work, you realize how much effort is necessary in maintaining the paths we love. </span><span style="color: #222222;">Also, it's fun! I always meet the most interesting people and I always learn something new, running and/or general life-wise.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Getting instructions from Palisades Interstate Park trail supervisor Christina Fehre.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This past weekend, I was fortunate to volunteer with an AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps team who came all the way from Ohio to help out with post-Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. We worked with Palisades Interstate Park trail supervisor Christina Fehre to help clean up the debris washed up along the Shore Trail.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Garbage ready to be shipped out.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And there was quite a lot of it. I personally collected two large garbage bags completely filled with mostly plastic bottles of all types. Other items collected were tires, barrels, styrofoam, insulation, plastic bags . . . it made me sad to see so much trash along the trail, but I was really glad something was being done about it. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lugging along a garbage bag along this rock scramble was entertaining.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We found some makeshift swings. We weren't sure if they were sturdy, but they looked so inviting! </span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jlBZHTco0z972ylfgaljuDLGkvzNBx-eEeK1aa3tRnHT4vwTK-Gm3GMa19SLRsOrtt7bsJNskWbCDJgAkN9_X2BDLYG5tG0lKQs0uNGmQb0OsQdW1jeN5fTBtXcZ6CDVUibFQZPcoklf/s1600/IMG_4194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We were scheduled to work for only four hours on Saturday, but there will be future volunteer trips as the weather gets nicer. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next weekend I am supposed to volunteer with the Bearclaw group at Longpond Ironworks State Park, but since I want to do some major mileage this week, my plans are still tentative.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Sunday</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday's run was uneventful. I ran the Central Park loop and reservoir loop and saw a few folks along the way, including Rick Thiounn and his fiancee, Lauren Healy as well as Stephen England, another Western States-bound runner. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My Morton's neuroma on my right foot started to act up by mile 6, but it wasn't nearly as excruciating as before and so I was able to finish my run. I think my regimen of acupuncture/serrapeptase/physical therapy/change in footwear is working. That being said, I am still visiting a podiatrist later today because it never hurts to get another opinion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alrighty, so this week should be a blast. Lots of climbing, lots of running, and lots of strength training. I can't wait!</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-69802405328047690782013-03-01T11:18:00.000-05:002013-03-01T11:20:21.733-05:00Worst training days ever or how Febapple Frozen Fifty totally did not happen.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3b_MiZiyS8h_W2eWGL9F0ZAPodbcWEUcHh3FAXDSANNPtT_cVhaMZjIYkUWaTaXGHZ-6maVlTtTuy2wFWkc-L1kDwZzo7utQ73nRD0eSvVOTGCw0-51M4crx2mVUEtHRCkRjDQCXzgJzN/s1600/IMG_4101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3b_MiZiyS8h_W2eWGL9F0ZAPodbcWEUcHh3FAXDSANNPtT_cVhaMZjIYkUWaTaXGHZ-6maVlTtTuy2wFWkc-L1kDwZzo7utQ73nRD0eSvVOTGCw0-51M4crx2mVUEtHRCkRjDQCXzgJzN/s1600/IMG_4101.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Febapple Frozen Fifty: (going clockwise, from top left) (a) Chris Reynolds, Caitlin Weaver, and Chris Jaworksi wait for the 50K start; (b) Yoshiko Jo, Elaine Acosta (who would have won first female 50K if she just showed up on time!) and me; (c) Stephen England and me; (d) Scott Martin, after his first loop.</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">February 12 to February 28, 2013</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am not going to sugar coat it - just had my worst training days ever. Even worse than when I badly sprained my ankle a few years back, because at least I forced myself to swim and run in the water for a couple of hours every day. Actually, as awful as that month was, I think I came out a stronger runner because I discovered something that was worse than running on a treadmill - I learned the true meaning of boredom by running laps in a teeny tiny pool with only a lifeguard for company. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So what happened? I got a cold over President's Day weekend. Normally a cold isn't a big deal, but this cold spawned into a worse cold, which spawned into a mega cold. The spawnage of the mega cold was completely my fault because when my cold started, I simply did not take care of myself. My attitude was that since I had already experienced a flu/coldapocalpyse back in December, the chances of it happening again seemed slim. Also, I had the Febapple Frozen 50 with the New Jersey Trail Series folks coming up that weekend, and I just did not want to think about DNS'ing (Did Not Start) my first race ever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, as the week continued, I got sicker and sicker and finally, I pulled the plug a couple of days before the race. I felt absolutely terrible about doing this because my sorority sister Caitlin was flying up from North Carolina to run it with me. Caitlin is doing her first 100 miler at Umstead in April and we thought this would be a great training run. Thankfully, Caitlin was totally a good sport after I told her that I would not be able to run with her. It just did not seem like a smart idea to go out and run thirty miles in the cold rain when I could barely keep it together at work. As much I love to run, I won't think too hard about missing a training session or two. When I miss a day of work because of illness, I agonize over it for days. Therefore my rule is that if I am even considering not going to work, I should not train. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So last Friday night, I picked Caitlin up at the airport. Caitlin was in pretty good form, despite her flight being delayed for hours. I was still a coughing mess, but I felt hopeful with the idea that if I just didn't overexert myself, I would totally be fine by Monday. And by not overexerting myself, I still planned on dropping off Caitlin at the race, doing some heat training at the gym, and then going to a gala benefit later in the evening. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUYIIb78htZ9YlqXC4zNTR6b05kp6fUUdYikGH2ckNdi3kI8gzKFtKRggxupKMX9P0HAgkg_Sx_R_blfTikGPPGsfY8mRSzjairZHtPv6joelIkxBL9kD42jONR9VaTO3zchQqoZviRTd/s1600/IMG_4083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUYIIb78htZ9YlqXC4zNTR6b05kp6fUUdYikGH2ckNdi3kI8gzKFtKRggxupKMX9P0HAgkg_Sx_R_blfTikGPPGsfY8mRSzjairZHtPv6joelIkxBL9kD42jONR9VaTO3zchQqoZviRTd/s1600/IMG_4083.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Caitlin, before her first trail ultramarathon!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was a surreal experience to go to a race and well, not race. Believe me, I was mildly tempted to go out and do a lap "just to see how I felt." It was a good thing that I didn't, because when I finally headed back to my car, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I started my cough/vomit, indicating that my body was done with being outside. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, I was really happy to see some friends that morning: Joe and Chris Reynolds, Jess Kennedy, Chris Jaworksi, Elaine Acosta, Stephen England, Yoshiko Jo, Joe Delconte, Scott Martin, Kristin Pedersen, Alanna Garrison-Kast, and of course Rick and Jennifer McNulty, the race directors. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8XkeuoBkb4lPo3YynljI4ctrKqN58Iun7329ocbbMWmQC-Z9hh_XUgZ0Zuhk6rillMHHUOk3O7ho1FBlKnFpsuMLHkb-eGkSIXsZPJsDxV0H0NdBCjnqDaX2r-MjtZ9lbWqBxdt15VMQ7/s1600/IMG_4087.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Elaine is awesome. She started an hour later than the rest of the 50K'ers, but lapped most of 'em :). </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I tried hitting the gym after dropping off Caitlin, but I was feeling feverish and fatigued, so my workout was extremely short-lived. I managed to pull myself together and pick up Caitlin, who finished the 20 mile course, but probably ran close to a marathon because she got lost and did some bonus mileage. I then drugged myself with Vitamin Robitussin and then headed off to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Gala with Rob. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And paid for it all this week. I pretty much spent this week in a fever/cold/exhausted state. When I wasn't working, I tried to sleep and when I tried to sleep, I couldn't, because I kept on coughing/vomiting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gosh, this post is depressing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, on the bright side, I am totally, totally, totally better now. I am not going to do anything stupid this weekend and I look forward to going back to my regularly scheduled workouts. While I am mildly freaking about the loss of training time and the nearness of Western States (as my friend Jose San Gabriel reminded me yesterday, only seventeen weeks to go!), I am just going to have to force myself to be awesome every single day until then. So what does that mean?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(1) No more being sick. If I even have a hint of anything, I am going to baby that sucker. Also, I am now on a Vitamin C/Zinc daily regimen. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(2) MUST SLEEP MORE. No more reading books and watching Portlandia/Colbert Report until 1 a.m. because it's so awesome. Rob, this is your job. If I get whiny, point to this blog entry.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you have suggestions on not getting sick, please let me know. I really cannot waste any more time with being ill. Whether this is feasible, I do not know, but if you are person who generally does not get sick, I really want to know your secret :).</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-72149753821228683872013-02-11T16:39:00.000-05:002013-02-11T16:39:13.422-05:00Training Report and My Grand Slam of Ultrarunning Training Plan (Still a Work in Progress)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOenlW9u5jE11QRERRSSJmxgANknebJGmIZV5Ic1KRByku7x2vXMoNHrsiqsPhw045PkwxWHWqB2SiQGD3hQW_bgkNn7dloDtBMa-tRYIih13OLDXLlHdYJtxyHMLOSribGztPxcUTGhI/s1600/IMG_3639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOenlW9u5jE11QRERRSSJmxgANknebJGmIZV5Ic1KRByku7x2vXMoNHrsiqsPhw045PkwxWHWqB2SiQGD3hQW_bgkNn7dloDtBMa-tRYIih13OLDXLlHdYJtxyHMLOSribGztPxcUTGhI/s1600/IMG_3639.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday, February 9, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Running mostly through the snow and a lil’ bit in the
streets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">
20<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Where: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Riverside
Park, Inwood Park, Cloisters<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">I did not make it to
the mountains this weekend, but I felt trudging through the snow was a great
substitute.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Sunday</span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">, February 10, 2013</span></b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">5K + Easy Run<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">
13+<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">It was Rob’s first
5K and our first race together. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Training Notes<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Although
my initial plans were to run Harriman State Park this past weekend, because of
Snowstorm Nemo, I wasn’t sure how safe the roads would be at 6 a.m. Normally driving on icy and snowy roads does
not bother me, but I had a really bad scare Friday night leaving work, so I
decided to just stay put. Being able to sleep
the extra hours was lovely. I think this
might be the first weekend of 2013 where I did not have to spend two or three
hours driving to get to my long run training grounds. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGB1Mwq2QYqZ459vwoNN2D3BP5dqr8mxvBKOS3mefAyic4Tk-y6t1gNvdbLaNy-JsYGIDfj_PAqjgLW8xTXtJXFaw5dlTrH1YP5bdhClnR5dhWqG-PQ3pZd2ftmuZKp_ubi6knqsJKdX1u/s1600/IMG_3600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGB1Mwq2QYqZ459vwoNN2D3BP5dqr8mxvBKOS3mefAyic4Tk-y6t1gNvdbLaNy-JsYGIDfj_PAqjgLW8xTXtJXFaw5dlTrH1YP5bdhClnR5dhWqG-PQ3pZd2ftmuZKp_ubi6knqsJKdX1u/s1600/IMG_3600.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Making footprints in the snow.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">In
any case, Saturday’s run was fun and uneventful. Although most of the areas where I ran were
already shoveled and/or snow plowed, I was feeling a bit guilty about not
driving to Harriman, so I ran through the fresh snow whenever possible. Out of the twenty or so miles I ran, I think
only five of those miles were on regular ground. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On
Sunday, Rob and I ran our first race together, a Valentine’s Day 5K, organized
by NYC Runs. It was a fun, low-key race
in Prospect Park with free hot chocolate and bagels. Oh, and stickers shaped like hearts. Actually, this was Rob’s first organized
running event and he was great, despite never running more than a few miles on a road before. He was totally game for running over a mile to the start (We were running late and I don't like being late, even for podunky races =P) and taking a faster-than-usual pace during the race. He is just so mellow. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">He’ll be
an ultrarunner sooner than he knows.
Muhahahahaha.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My
ultrarunning trail buddy, Becky was there as well. Both of us needed additional miles to finish
up our training, so after saying good bye to Rob, we headed back and ran at an
easy pace through Brooklyn, across the Brooklyn Bridge and then to the PATH station. It had been ages since Becky and I last ran
together, so it was good to catch up. Becky
and I parted ways at Christopher Street, and I ran the last five miles back,
feeling relatively strong, despite my recurrent Morton’s neuroma issues. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
really, really wasn’t looking forward to going back because the next item on my agenda was to dig my car out from the snow storm, but lo and behold, as I ran towards the
apartment, Rob was already there, with the job almost finished. Awwww. Rob is pretty much the best. Not only was he totally cool with doing a race with just a few days' notice, but even after running five or so miles, he still had enough energy to shovel snow that had solidified into ice. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Good relaxing, running weekend, I must say. Especially since I didn't have to shovel. I think I would rather run for four hours than shovel for even an hour. Actually, that's not saying much since if I were running in the woods, those four hours would be awesome, but you get what I mean. </span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Grand Slam of Ultrarunning Training Plan (Version 1.0):</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">Here it is, as
requested, my formal training plan for the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">It is still very much a work in progress, so please . . . give me advice. I need it. Especially if you are a veteran runner/pacer/friend of a finisher of ANY of the Grand Slam races.</span><br />
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<u><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">General Notes:<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- I am
adapting this to my racing schedule. For
example, no matter how awesome I feel after Umstead 100, I won’t go crazy with
the tempo runs and speed work the following week ;).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- I drop the intensity for one week out of four, to give myself a mental and physical break. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- Most of my gym workouts
involve a lengthy sauna session afterwards. (Heat training!)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- I am getting
physical therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, and chiro work done every
week. I want to do this as injury-free-ish
as possible. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- I will be attending Western States training camp over Memorial Day weekend.</span></span></div>
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<u><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday and Sunday:
<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Minimum of 30 miles,
preferably 40 miles; one day MUST be on a real trail (a.k.a. must have long
ascent and descents greater than a mile and there must be some technical
elements)</span></span></div>
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<u><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monday: <o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(a) Cross
training/recovery run<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(b) Yoga/pilates<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<u><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tuesday:</span></span></u></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(a) Climbing stairs (minimum 300 floors or so)/15%
incline on treadmill at minimum of 4.0 mph (1.5 to 2 hours)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(b) Calisthenics,
calisthenics, calisthenics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<u><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wednesday: <o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(a) Tempo Run (7 – 8
miles; 1 mile warm up; 2 miles of above average speed; 2 miles of a chill pace;
2 miles of above average speed)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(b) Mini climb: 15%
incline at minimum of 4.0 mph for at least half an hour after tempo run.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(c) Heat training in
sauna.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<u><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thursday: <o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">(a) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Speed
training/sprints up hills </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(b) Calisthenics,
calisthenics, calisthenics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(c) Climbing stairs </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<u><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Friday:<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(a) Cross
training/recovery run<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(b) Yoga/pilates</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-238806106928838872013-02-08T11:02:00.000-05:002013-02-08T13:33:37.057-05:00My New and Improved Race Schedule! It's Even Color Coded!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirntdNbb4yEQBq34TXYboYZbyJgt5bwXKRgGKzvrNnFGLv8ANHKWcLpgtFWtBYiMlOnqKOjOMOVUs7uywaI2Ol52aQGDy0JhuJ6kbvPrUYQmQvfn3aopN4zQFyGlthUifxr-EUjjkKX36M/s1600/Race+Schedule.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirntdNbb4yEQBq34TXYboYZbyJgt5bwXKRgGKzvrNnFGLv8ANHKWcLpgtFWtBYiMlOnqKOjOMOVUs7uywaI2Ol52aQGDy0JhuJ6kbvPrUYQmQvfn3aopN4zQFyGlthUifxr-EUjjkKX36M/s640/Race+Schedule.png" height="292" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Finally got my act together and formalized my race schedule for the year. Red = already completed; Orange = registered; Yellow = not registered yet; Green = no need for formal registration. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tuesday, February 5, 2013</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">tempo run; treadmill climb (set treadmill at 15% incline and
4 mph)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 8 miles of temp; 2 miles of climb<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">My Morton’s neuroma
bothered me a lot towards the end of my run, so I started climbing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wednesday, February 6, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">climbing; calisthenics<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Floors climbed:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> A little over 500 floors<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Easiest climb ever,
especially because I was reading Robert Jordan.
I think I need to start wearing a weighted vest. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thursday, February 7, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">easy run; treadmill climb (set treadmill at 15% incline and
4.0 mph)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 7 miles of easy running; 2 miles of climbing<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Feel like a climbing
machine!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have an official race schedule for 2013. For those who were familiar with my previous schedule, you can see that I have upped it up a notch, thanks to my Grand Slam of Ultrarunning attempt.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">This year has already changed me.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> This is the first time in my life as a runner that I have a race plan! </span><span style="background-color: white;">And not just a race plan for a few months! A race plan for the *entire* year! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">In fact, my ultra career began because I was so used to making last minute decisions about races. I wanted to run the Philadelphia Marathon for my birthday, but by the time I got around to actually signing up, it was sold out, so I </span><span style="background-color: white;">ended up running the Knickerbocker 60K instead. And this is a bit embarrassing, but only two summers ago, a</span><span style="background-color: white;"> few days before my first 100 miler, I had to email the race director of the Summer Beast of Burden to beg him to let me in. I think my message went along the lines of, "ALL MY FRIENDS ARE GOING TO BE THERE AND IF I DON'T GO, I WILL BE SO SAAAAAD." I probably wrote in caps, I was so desperate. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately, with the types of races that I am interested in doing, I can no longer be so higgledy-piggledy . Now I set up reminder emails and calendar notifications to make sure that I am at my computer when on-line registration starts. For instance, Umstead 100 sold in minutes. Minutes. Can you imagine - hundreds of people, sitting anxiously at their computers just because they want to have the opportunity to run a hundred miles in some random North Carolinian state park? I always use Umstead as an example when I try to explain to people how popular ultrarunning has become. Vermont 100 sold out in less than a couple of days; it was only because I declared myself a Grand Slammer that I was given a provisional entry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Some of the races are so popular that they need to involve a lottery system. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Leatherman's Loop 10K, Western States, and Wasatch all have lotteries that people wait anxiously for. As it happened, I just signed up and completely forgot about each and every one. Apparently this seems to be my lucky method of winning these lotteries, but now that I know this, I can't do this anymore because how does one remember to forget? </span><span style="background-color: white;">Western States' lottery even involved a live web broadcast, which is how my friends found out I got in before I did. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Anyway, back to my race schedule! </span><span style="background-color: white;">I am really excited about each and every race, for different reasons:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Valentine's Day 5K: My first official race with Rob!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Febapple 50K: So many cool people are going to be there! Including my friend Robin, who is practically my race twin this year since I will be seeing her at the NJ Ultra Festival, Umstead, Three Days at the Fair, and Vermont 100.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.zombiesurvivalcourse.com/">Zombie Apocalypse Training</a>: Okay, this isn't a race, but helloooo, I get to learn cool post-apocalyptic survival skills, such as hotwiring a car and using a crossbow. Thanks Cheryl for setting this up!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Umstead 100: <span style="background-color: white;">Although I ran Umstead last year, this will be my sorority little sister's first ever 100. I am absolutely stoked that the two of us are now ultrarunners, considering we completely hated running in college. Also, this is my dear friend (and one of my running inspirations) Kino's third attempt at Umstead and I am confident that his third time will be a charm. He has already run other, more difficult 100s, this race just happens to be his bugbear.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Leatherman's Loop: Yes, it's just a 10K, but it's a 10K with lots of mud and water crossings. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bear Mountain 50 Miler: It's a gnarly trail race with a generous time cut off.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brooklyn Half Marathon: My brother and I are going to run this together. I already have ideas for matching tshirts . . . hopefully they will be better than the not-so-running-friendly cotton tshirts I made for our last marathon together. Also, this will be my first official half-marathon!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mayapple 50K: My last real run to stretch my legs for hours before Western States.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Western States 100, Vermont 100, Leadville 100, and Wasatch 100 (a.k.a. The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning): No need to explain why I am excited for these races. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stone Mill 50: For $35, I get to run a 50+ mile race? Awesome!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you have been paying attention, I have no races scheduled for October and December. Apparently everyone is getting married in October. Yay for Mike and Jill and Elizabeth and Matt (Oh, and Rob's friend in Chicago)! And December, I am just going to do absolutely NOTHING, except maybe plan for 2014. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, that's it. My first-ever, race schedule planned out in advance. I can't wait!</span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-1165994216243579382013-02-05T14:28:00.001-05:002013-02-05T14:30:51.345-05:00Mount Beacon: Perfect place for mountain repeats! (Except when it is covered by ice!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGcjbQAfEjb6V7zTKkihH9IHalsIlrziasg3jfHmpCWdnRDXyQvH-CdxOGBT87rLceyIdEl8fVg5lOqo92y3oG2rRfwm-I0DVhmQBpa3bN6kp_wzSjLq9CvCB9Q4MDYU3Cnln5wJF4r_1/s1600/IMG_3517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGcjbQAfEjb6V7zTKkihH9IHalsIlrziasg3jfHmpCWdnRDXyQvH-CdxOGBT87rLceyIdEl8fVg5lOqo92y3oG2rRfwm-I0DVhmQBpa3bN6kp_wzSjLq9CvCB9Q4MDYU3Cnln5wJF4r_1/s320/IMG_3517.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mount Beacon: Perfect place for mountain repeats!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday, February 2, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Trail running, road running<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> 18ish</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Palisades Interstate Park<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> High 20s </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Elita turtleneck, Northface
fleece, random vest, elita thermal leggings, Adidas leggings, 2XU calf sleeves, smartwool socks, Bondi Band</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">: Happy</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">Life is
good.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">: Zico coconut water, two zone bars<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ran from my house to
the Palisades, ran along the Palisades, and then ran back. Totally bumped into my gastroenterologist,
who was out hiking with his wife. Cool.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday, February 3, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Mountain repeats<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> 20ish</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Mt. Beacon<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> High teens, low 20s</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Elita turtleneck, Northface fleece,
random vest, elita thermal leggings, Adidas leggings, 2XU calf sleeves, smartwool socks, Bondi Band, microspikes</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">: Pretty good.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">I could
spend all day doing this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">: Zico coconut water, one zone bar, dduk boki (Korean food).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Why
can’t this mountain be closer to me??!!!
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monday, February 4, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Recovery run<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> 6</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> My neighborhood<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"> Low 20s</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Elita turtleneck, Northface fleece,
Adidas leggings, random ankle socks, Bondi Band</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">: Brrrrrisk.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">Don’t
recall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">: Nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">So
hard to get out of bed this morning.
Good thing I wore my running clothes before I went to sleep. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tuesday, February 5, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nothing yet. Will probably climb, run, and strength train
tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">This weekend was fantastic because I was able to stick to mostly running in the woods. On Saturday, I ran the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Path">Long Path</a> in <a href="http://www.njpalisades.org/">Palisades Interstate Park</a>. The Long Path begins at Fort Lee Historical Park, parallels the Hudson River in North Jersey and makes its way all the way up to Albany. </span><span style="color: #222222;">For those unfamiliar with the Palisades Interstate Park, it's a park that hugs the Hudson River and starts about a half a mile south of the George Washington Bridge and extends all the way past the New Jersey/New York state line. It is easily accessible via public transportation from Manhattan and so it is a common training ground for some of my trail-loving Manhattan friends. The park has two major trails, the Long Path and the Shore Trail and a few little trails that connect the two. The Long Path is on the cliffs and the Shore Trail is, you guessed it, on the Hudson River shoreline. In between the trails is Henry Hudson Drive, a popular road for cyclists and road runners.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From my house, it is about a 5K, mostly uphill run to the Palisades, which made me nice and toasty by the time I hit the Long Path. I ran six miles on the Long Path and then took the Huyler's Landing trail down to the Shore Path. Since I was pressed for time and I was not running the Shore Path as fast as I would have liked, I had to leave the trail, climb a short distance to Henry Hudson Drive and then book it as fast I could back home. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday's run was a lot more interesting. When I first found out that I got into Western States and started asking around for advice on where and how to train, nearly everyone said that I had to practice long ascents and descents, the longer the better. This worried me, because besides Harriman State Park with its Bear and Bald Mountains, I didn't really know of any longish climbs in the area. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Fortunately, a</span><span style="color: #222222;">n ultrarunning friend and Leadville-veteran, Michael Oliva told me about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_Mountain">Mount Beacon</a>, which is located in the Fishkill, NY, only an hour drive north from my house. There are a couple of approaches to the peak, but the fastest and steepest (and best for my Grand Slam training) route is via Mount Beacon Park in Beacon, NY. Using the red blazed "Casino Trail," you start</span><span style="color: #222222;"> at an elevation of 200' and finish at 1400' in less than two miles. Once you get to the top, there is a fire lookout tower that you can climb for an additional 200 feet of altitude. It sounded perfect for mountain repeats. Mike said I should be able to climb back and forth easily at least ten times in order to prepare for Leadville. That Sunday, I decided that I would do five to get an even twenty miles. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Getting to the trail was easy. The Mount Beacon Park parking lot is located right at the trail base, so I just drove, parked, threw my backpack on and started running. And then stopped almost immediately because I saw a very curious tree that was dotted with colorful balls. When I walked closer, I realized that the balls were actually pieces of gum left by hikers throughout the years. Cool, but gross. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_mtHk82SAjUu5agrneAgY0AwuGx9oZFZOjcNj7F68tsTGnjTkY2Y5hohyZxz0DADg_mVedUlXBJVCeB4Ug1HbHmnXp0P6pfD68wIO9SYM1UXVoBr4bOw2-5cEIG-pNlomCUfGQo55geA/s1600/IMG_3492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-_mtHk82SAjUu5agrneAgY0AwuGx9oZFZOjcNj7F68tsTGnjTkY2Y5hohyZxz0DADg_mVedUlXBJVCeB4Ug1HbHmnXp0P6pfD68wIO9SYM1UXVoBr4bOw2-5cEIG-pNlomCUfGQo55geA/s320/IMG_3492.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The gum tree.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After taking a few photos of the tree, I kept going and then stopped again because I encountered some stairs. In my limited research of Mount Beacon, I didn't realize the first part of the ascent involved climbing about two hundred steps to the actual trail. But since the stairs were going in the right direction, I went up and finally saw my first red trail marker.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJPkX9Zn5g8NXKc7I-z7rFi4oOJ9hzZ1LfGxadMws2kW8XJXOXVWdPxe9wnVI1PxpA51qqAyArNUReyQrhqlFUn8vdn7_LtfqX93aqcCovFyJkvLX-0VnMKUISCkhqXMH9UGpgk6rcel3/s1600/IMG_3405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJPkX9Zn5g8NXKc7I-z7rFi4oOJ9hzZ1LfGxadMws2kW8XJXOXVWdPxe9wnVI1PxpA51qqAyArNUReyQrhqlFUn8vdn7_LtfqX93aqcCovFyJkvLX-0VnMKUISCkhqXMH9UGpgk6rcel3/s320/IMG_3405.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello, trail marker.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I bounded up the trail. It was steep, but definitely runnable. However, I resisted the temptation to just run and focused on practicing my speed hiking, a very useful skill to have in trail ultramarathons.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdtrYx7Qn-DCOHzyXO8VJSynnwDqtvRIOVfkRDe5GvDC4BSJGQBZmU1Gf0dqPQ_gLtreW22sQVy9N7GCStG1D6MdCzA9jE0EJ3Qmdx3gY5s8CprUJl-AtJJ233ohB37EPdIu-c5lVgPkz/s320/IMG_3402.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Easy peasy.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdtrYx7Qn-DCOHzyXO8VJSynnwDqtvRIOVfkRDe5GvDC4BSJGQBZmU1Gf0dqPQ_gLtreW22sQVy9N7GCStG1D6MdCzA9jE0EJ3Qmdx3gY5s8CprUJl-AtJJ233ohB37EPdIu-c5lVgPkz/s1600/IMG_3402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR2-sHciRmwIfCYOf0TXmmi7Unt0ns8wWt8t2DixoJgAoNro3InfbZgijIl45fE3jlD8T4OrNLE2fOloLjrg63O_GvkX6RRv868zNU2g-eZ5va10mGyKJ2MqguU5QSE5qMooATlOWty471/s320/IMG_3403.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello, itty bitty rocks.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The ice was getting annoying, so I threw on my microspikes.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiskRH116GIw8R1Uf-HMRnfdbSUSXRGYOuEJ1gOSjBf9BqV8FtLHo7HK3vcI7OY8ZH7QPXJVy3plihEQ5c0Te1BcA6SMKBuAxG4KQVAc5bi0eAC11gKl8obMjfaiiyRzJ02c6gJuYTaHQrF/s1600/IMG_3407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiskRH116GIw8R1Uf-HMRnfdbSUSXRGYOuEJ1gOSjBf9BqV8FtLHo7HK3vcI7OY8ZH7QPXJVy3plihEQ5c0Te1BcA6SMKBuAxG4KQVAc5bi0eAC11gKl8obMjfaiiyRzJ02c6gJuYTaHQrF/s320/IMG_3407.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello, annoying ice.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After less than twenty, twenty five minutes of hiking and taking pictures, I reached the first major lookout point. According to my quick wikipedia search, back in the 1900s, this very spot used to have a popular casino and there was a railway that went up and down the mountain; at that time, it was the world's steepest funicular. Everything is now in ruins, but the view was still pretty nice.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgf45h87_bN0CUyCiyhQ-eqi35HTYDgsHP9Yqf1GahkM7-b_dV9Re4e-G2g8wygtejNlnIgkocKFSbuOVAWU7tssKaH62nGG4tbXqqNSyaY_tcg1WyoDIRTTl1XkdK181A0AflF2oXHpB/s1600/IMG_3414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgf45h87_bN0CUyCiyhQ-eqi35HTYDgsHP9Yqf1GahkM7-b_dV9Re4e-G2g8wygtejNlnIgkocKFSbuOVAWU7tssKaH62nGG4tbXqqNSyaY_tcg1WyoDIRTTl1XkdK181A0AflF2oXHpB/s320/IMG_3414.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The view. Hello, Rob.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsS5Rk9sz3_l8USJbhW5HaMsUZfxZn3lA_QgvQE1t7SjR095709asBLfj0Bvlk44sG3HqLlPAOZPIhAgybvksxwh2BgykM3tzLJmp8u1azLXSPHxReiPKU-AkfOgIl0g9c_CsKFyF_C5P/s1600/IMG_3410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsS5Rk9sz3_l8USJbhW5HaMsUZfxZn3lA_QgvQE1t7SjR095709asBLfj0Bvlk44sG3HqLlPAOZPIhAgybvksxwh2BgykM3tzLJmp8u1azLXSPHxReiPKU-AkfOgIl0g9c_CsKFyF_C5P/s320/IMG_3410.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Abandoned railway funicular stop.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFvGe0F_edgdkplKY8pvLQhBfxPsBZ2XeinSkCNpopnIiGI_Yf9dNl_C_aaCt5Nc4hIg3JizKlGBTCJlXA9levIXNQL4AkCEV1v5_hQ2XykbSeSCsXyuRfx_csFFHJ-d-xXjP9qo1yoLX/s1600/IMG_3408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFvGe0F_edgdkplKY8pvLQhBfxPsBZ2XeinSkCNpopnIiGI_Yf9dNl_C_aaCt5Nc4hIg3JizKlGBTCJlXA9levIXNQL4AkCEV1v5_hQ2XykbSeSCsXyuRfx_csFFHJ-d-xXjP9qo1yoLX/s320/IMG_3408.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Inside the old railway.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After taking a few photos, I kept on following the trail. Although this ascent wasn't nearly as steep, it was definitely icy:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHr5chwS1vZxhpPQrNdhbb4SWSwEuHoTOFFyds4YeQ8D94WYH4bejXj8uaw_w1yTzDKy9C8iPk9grQfCmN6hhCs2tgKcCOIlbiOeC5n-q0qaRa-CK88I9el7XJWCwF6KYm6qc4M9K4-T6/s1600/IMG_3423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHr5chwS1vZxhpPQrNdhbb4SWSwEuHoTOFFyds4YeQ8D94WYH4bejXj8uaw_w1yTzDKy9C8iPk9grQfCmN6hhCs2tgKcCOIlbiOeC5n-q0qaRa-CK88I9el7XJWCwF6KYm6qc4M9K4-T6/s320/IMG_3423.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My microspikes came in handy during this part.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then I was at the top! At the top of Mount Beacon was a fire lookout tower which offered 360 views of the Hudson Highlands. Unfortunately, the entrance was padlocked. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABG202UT0VsngkkASLPT5SP5LJWE3NVNhQzmTlDsQwJsfdRZlvNMFhyphenhyphenCAagQ9e0Ahcg2Cy6HIlnjeNOB8y8Kkp-2O-syYsYjZ7I2gsqkaoTB4trKfEz-0w4k2TrVY_IIboPMhpVqNuZ6y/s320/IMG_3425.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The fire lookout tower!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABG202UT0VsngkkASLPT5SP5LJWE3NVNhQzmTlDsQwJsfdRZlvNMFhyphenhyphenCAagQ9e0Ahcg2Cy6HIlnjeNOB8y8Kkp-2O-syYsYjZ7I2gsqkaoTB4trKfEz-0w4k2TrVY_IIboPMhpVqNuZ6y/s1600/IMG_3425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6iFCG8ItKGnCTYQ9zlO-hDgmtq0EUKRVodUZgjZhlWJxf5kP5DWo0J5pv22bEa3LYYPFGQcNB0iTIgIarShpGccDwK53fOqwP4W-rRE7H3a5FjY4OUPz7FlkWgr4UABMQX5scGHo61J10/s320/IMG_3427.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Should I climb it?</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6iFCG8ItKGnCTYQ9zlO-hDgmtq0EUKRVodUZgjZhlWJxf5kP5DWo0J5pv22bEa3LYYPFGQcNB0iTIgIarShpGccDwK53fOqwP4W-rRE7H3a5FjY4OUPz7FlkWgr4UABMQX5scGHo61J10/s1600/IMG_3427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0Q1LOw94fLn2Eq4TNXv6CPZNgMttp3aXRop1pDqfer1stpGtJXX9VCTwtSwrm_lcMSR6LDBMGuGs_gSQJGsLjPobVl44E74hmFwfaJxFm2w-Bjgr7MugSh6TjdQfhZJ2bXVKoq9sEQtm/s1600/IMG_3431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0Q1LOw94fLn2Eq4TNXv6CPZNgMttp3aXRop1pDqfer1stpGtJXX9VCTwtSwrm_lcMSR6LDBMGuGs_gSQJGsLjPobVl44E74hmFwfaJxFm2w-Bjgr7MugSh6TjdQfhZJ2bXVKoq9sEQtm/s320/IMG_3431.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This may or may not be a view from top of the lookout tower.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOY2bnXvtSxTR_jCfH309wrQL6At1gVr2zSli2olM5uVvhb9KnypAt7V47-09KME3GDH5Xc53q_3neGOuNlHUzxspuYCxdD_bVldAdJjIuT6E-ObEt2qmu-N1BTopZJGqOde_WGM4Oeet/s320/IMG_3432.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This also may or may not be a view from top of the lookout tower. Look at those itty bitty trails!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While I was happy to be at the top, I was a bit sad because I wanted to take some photos of myself and there was no one around. However, from where I stood, I could see a group of hikers on another peak, about a mile away. This will sound crazy, but I just knew that they were Korean. And if they were indeed one of my brethren (I am Korean), at least one of them would be more than happy to take my photo! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl385ffNJfqRgBFhGjZ0xuIfVb0Pz609jdbvZkrIAcP78dBWn0rnAdYxWCJyV1ZuSyl9BfA7fJIxAknRo3GQc7oISQ3LIetETZDwqxhpqzYe3LYCsJiyUhXhmUHvC8GYam4-YeRNYI60jt/s1600/IMG_3445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl385ffNJfqRgBFhGjZ0xuIfVb0Pz609jdbvZkrIAcP78dBWn0rnAdYxWCJyV1ZuSyl9BfA7fJIxAknRo3GQc7oISQ3LIetETZDwqxhpqzYe3LYCsJiyUhXhmUHvC8GYam4-YeRNYI60jt/s320/IMG_3445.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you squint really hard, you can see a group of hikers.</span></td></tr>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I ran, ran, ran over to the next peak. And by golly, I was right. They were Korean! And they were cooking something that smelled delicious. As soon as I said hello, they told me to sit down and eat with them. Turns out they were cooking <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tteokbokki">ddeokboki</a> and it was spicy and delicious. After I ate a few and thanked them a million times, one of the women was nice enough to snap my photo.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1-xMmOVtBNE2GUQFcH0y4VdXY0_l7c7OhcyM5seD1ycnD2mzIX-yCti_QUW0gYKhMa6nMZ5aUkkOht3kEjqV7djUh2aVaBtupyXUmUpY_NYSstkMdGA-srNRwQkHijYJuOg303kwJwF2/s320/IMG_3467.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello, my people. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioe36zGxn8nhwWpnia9sQqwDiVkFTdtHEH-g80LuGhLZi1asZKrN3YUcyBOxFNE-YNMwXTZ8Xv9pTy4Q56jZwkl39-CkrN8Hc1C15Yv3sPXzDkxng4saP8WTspbyP5bLZUH8k-UmTarDtU/s1600/IMG_3470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioe36zGxn8nhwWpnia9sQqwDiVkFTdtHEH-g80LuGhLZi1asZKrN3YUcyBOxFNE-YNMwXTZ8Xv9pTy4Q56jZwkl39-CkrN8Hc1C15Yv3sPXzDkxng4saP8WTspbyP5bLZUH8k-UmTarDtU/s320/IMG_3470.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hiking photo: Achieved.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On my way back, I could see the lookout tower, and more importantly, I could see little figures just hanging around the top. If I ran really fast, I could get there before they left and they could take a photo of me at the peak! So I ran, ran, ran back as fast as I could to the top of Mount Beacon. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLma3C8sAQ94lFJMewAJijNw8xahNPqlb8wbRxS_9NVVKC9o6MoVxUqQ6NIPMv7_9jSAtkc6JUPbMvnKjTJ9ObqqD9RSUj-837hn57YIvTHXwPqhUdDcX3Vz5iw6VKhszG4YaxsyxI-eoP/s320/IMG_3462.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A view of the lookout tower from the other peak.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLma3C8sAQ94lFJMewAJijNw8xahNPqlb8wbRxS_9NVVKC9o6MoVxUqQ6NIPMv7_9jSAtkc6JUPbMvnKjTJ9ObqqD9RSUj-837hn57YIvTHXwPqhUdDcX3Vz5iw6VKhszG4YaxsyxI-eoP/s1600/IMG_3462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately, I just didn't move fast enough and was less than a quarter mile from the lookout tower, when I ran into the folks hiking back down. However, by this point, I realized that there would probably be more hikers, so I contented myself by power hiking up and down Mount Beacon until I encountered another group of people. After all, I was there to train, not to take pictures! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But finally, I ran into a cool couple from the area and they were more than happy to take my photo:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnemr6guhGHgwbXIf40OXxYpmayHIFU27WQUDODx0iRYfvT_yDfgjjrynCbbzpLFVsNEMgCm8YkvPACv7Ndi_ABqJRyJiXdJxHlNdBFAJ_RIy1tErgoF9iTlkA1HF1bAzDgV_yXMMibf1j/s320/IMG_3514.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jumping photo: Achieved.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The rest of the day before the sun went down was pretty much the same. Up and down and down and up. Climbing up was pretty easy - I am starting to think all my stair mill workouts are actually accomplishing something. However, going down was not as productive as I would have liked, mostly because I could never get a good rhythm going for more than a minute. Parts of the trail were just much too icy and at certain points, I needed to sit and slide down because running down was just too dangerous, even in microspikes. But</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;"> sliding down was a lot of fun, even if I didn't reap any training benefits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, at around five o'clock, I decided to call it quits. My iPhone was dying and it was growing dark and I was getting cold. After saying good bye to Mount Beacon, I drove to Beacon's downtown area and looked for the nearest cafe so I could drink something hot. The only thing I could find was a wine bar and it was deserted because apparently the Super Bowl was on. Oops. I totally forgot about the Super Bowl. Oh well. The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning is my Super Bowl ;). </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kQIbZfIrTGFFr3Cwx85FlZKVAN0q2_zQy7l_FVNHWTEOMLTr0HoFhNVIe3kZouOma3GfuQFcMQkYcfQyy4RNyN8usU_oFv66UFoDSjHuNkeVZ-uhj7140W7AdAu9r2lKjhFawf9JiDog/s320/IMG_3508.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time to go home.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kQIbZfIrTGFFr3Cwx85FlZKVAN0q2_zQy7l_FVNHWTEOMLTr0HoFhNVIe3kZouOma3GfuQFcMQkYcfQyy4RNyN8usU_oFv66UFoDSjHuNkeVZ-uhj7140W7AdAu9r2lKjhFawf9JiDog/s1600/IMG_3508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-34134455654645542013-02-01T12:23:00.002-05:002013-02-01T12:25:22.192-05:00Running on ice is (not) good for you.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN7ZbH-qbUz03KY8HFJlvP5mh1mVNZD8GZ03bv8X14vxuon1pdnV-vljX67cJAawlm0uk5cc9W134vWQZD3MV8zOgUkwwGHzhoX0JzCkRI2mlU50Z59ifKF7z8PuDZcxG9TGLwUYaDa4S/s1600/IMG_3332%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">I find out how good my Microspikes really are.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN7ZbH-qbUz03KY8HFJlvP5mh1mVNZD8GZ03bv8X14vxuon1pdnV-vljX67cJAawlm0uk5cc9W134vWQZD3MV8zOgUkwwGHzhoX0JzCkRI2mlU50Z59ifKF7z8PuDZcxG9TGLwUYaDa4S/s1600/IMG_3332%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN7ZbH-qbUz03KY8HFJlvP5mh1mVNZD8GZ03bv8X14vxuon1pdnV-vljX67cJAawlm0uk5cc9W134vWQZD3MV8zOgUkwwGHzhoX0JzCkRI2mlU50Z59ifKF7z8PuDZcxG9TGLwUYaDa4S/s1600/IMG_3332%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihg4akzctPRvPDh4pa9XZyUB71HPdG55AR83bbCnDSZR_QxR2VlJOzWnd6sDnUh-_-sQQeS24NHSZlGXzoWpChHEDYJRnLZfToT1Vak8hl5DIkOCe8PT5oOsrC60NN9wKAj5qxGHg-dei6/s1600/IMG_3279%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihg4akzctPRvPDh4pa9XZyUB71HPdG55AR83bbCnDSZR_QxR2VlJOzWnd6sDnUh-_-sQQeS24NHSZlGXzoWpChHEDYJRnLZfToT1Vak8hl5DIkOCe8PT5oOsrC60NN9wKAj5qxGHg-dei6/s1600/IMG_3279%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Scott and I decide to slide down the ice! Note: the trail is actually a lot steeper than it looks.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday, January 26, 2013</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hiking trails</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 12ish</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Harriman State Park</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> High teens, low 20s</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Elita turtleneck, Northface
fleece, random vest, and random windbreaker, elita thermal leggings, Adidas
leggings, random ankle socks, Bondi Band, microspikes</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">: Happy</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I wish I
could go to a real trail every day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">: Zico coconut water, two zone bars, oatmeal</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 115%;">Mileage was low, but
that was because the terrain was difficult with all the ice. We spent at least four hours on the trails.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday, January 27, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Recovery, Roads<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 13ish</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Central Park<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 30ish</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Elita turtleneck, Northface
fleece, elita thermal leggings, random ankle socks, Bondi Band</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Solid. My neuroma
acted up half way, but it was fine.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">Felt
like I could run forever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Zone Bar<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Didn’t
feel cold – hooray!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monday, January 28, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Workout Types: Physical therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture,
chiropractor work<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tuesday, January 29, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Trails, 6 a.m. and midnight workouts<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 7ish</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Neighborhood, Flat Rock<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 20ish</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Elita turtleneck, Northface
fleece, elita thermal leggings, random ankle socks, Bondi Band</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Solid. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">What I thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Gosh, I’m tired.<i> </i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Zone bar.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">I
should go back to doing my midnight runs in Manhattan. Jogging after midnight in the suburbs is kind
of scary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wednesday, January 30, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Tempo running, climbing, strength training<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 7.5 miles of tempo running, 1 mile of climbing.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> The Gym</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Honolulu Marathon tshirt, elita
thermal leggings, random ankle socks, Bondi Band</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315, Dr. Scholl’s foot bad for my
neuroma issues.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Solid. Wearing the
foot pad gave me a blister. The funny thing, it's been so long since I've had blister issues that I wasn't sure what I was feeling at first.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">I wish I
could run faster.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">: Zone bar.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">My
weird neuroma needs to go away. Stat.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thursday, January 31, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">4:30 a.m. run. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 6ish</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Road/Flat Brook<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 50ish</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> DWG 50K Shirt, elita thermal
leggings, random ankle socks, Bondi Band</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Sleepy. </span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">I think
I am a morning person.<i> </i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">I
think running at 4:30 might be better for me.
Less stress in the mornings in terms of getting ready for work and such. In this case, I only got up because I had to
drive my parents to the airport at 6 a.m. and by the time I got home, I had
fifteen minutes to shower, dress, and book it to work. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Friday, January 31, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Normal morning run.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 6</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Road/Flat Brook<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 30s</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> DWG 50K Shirt, Northface
fleece, elita thermal leggings, random ankle socks, Bondi Band</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Worried.</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">Where
should I run this weekend?<i> </i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Notes: </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Friday
morning runs are the way to go. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's been a busy week, so I did not much time to post this. But as busy as I was, I still had time to train, so train I did. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My only cool training day was running the trails at Harriman State Park last weekend with Scott Martin and Garth, two ultrarunners from New York. For those who know me, I have a natural talent of getting lost and following imaginary trails. But thanks to Scott and Garth, they kept me on track, so I had a good, but slightly cold time along various sections of the park. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our run was generally uneventful, but I did have one moment of hilarity. We had to do some ice/water crossings and most of the time, I was cautious and avoided the ice like I was playing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Lava_(game)">the lava game</a>. Unfortunately, towards the end of the run, we came across this ice section that had dog foot prints. I saw the dog a bit earlier and he looked sizeable, so I figured the ice was safe for me to walk on. However, I neglected to consider that he was on all fours and was able to distribute his weight on a greater surface, and I was tromp, tromp, tromping on my Microspike-clad sneakers. So my feet fell through, but fortunately the water wasn't deep and the ice water felt great. Bonus: My Roc-Lites did a great job at shedding water, so my feet were dry by the time we got back to our cars. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">That's all I have time to write for now. </span><span style="color: #222222;">I still haven't decided where to run this weekend, so if you have a cool idea, let me know and I will be happy to join. I just found out yesterday that I have time to do some long runs this weekend. As of now, I will probably do Harriman super duper early tomorrow and the Long Path in the Palisades on Sunday. Or maybe the reverse, I don't know. We'll see what happens when I get up in the morning. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jzoxoiaaYc0XOC8ncGyChrhcF4huCI4WQk-GEbxyqU3NPjwqMUXh6TrPz2jcG628uKBn0EYEk0i7-sHNkiNK2EPlo-_NJZ6dPjgoeJ_YPMOfItXwgQDY69mhLqacJnQVeDOdaf-GRtTF/s1600/IMG_3318%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jzoxoiaaYc0XOC8ncGyChrhcF4huCI4WQk-GEbxyqU3NPjwqMUXh6TrPz2jcG628uKBn0EYEk0i7-sHNkiNK2EPlo-_NJZ6dPjgoeJ_YPMOfItXwgQDY69mhLqacJnQVeDOdaf-GRtTF/s1600/IMG_3318%5B1%5D.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Where my foot fell through the ice. Tee hee hee.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NfsxfYJ5X_x2DkFbCkmwGge7raI9Xz4pjeoE9c0nxDZFTOCTcub8nksFxd9SeqTYx4JkkmO9PCTRDRLZyHEeDDMOKnwiXtlMdWalgyuloWv3CGNpYs8I7I2A5HsWgoiOAfKU4OD1W8rC/s1600/IMG_3334%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NfsxfYJ5X_x2DkFbCkmwGge7raI9Xz4pjeoE9c0nxDZFTOCTcub8nksFxd9SeqTYx4JkkmO9PCTRDRLZyHEeDDMOKnwiXtlMdWalgyuloWv3CGNpYs8I7I2A5HsWgoiOAfKU4OD1W8rC/s1600/IMG_3334%5B1%5D.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Scott and Garth! Garth said he has been using those same gloves for two decades now. Now I don't feel so bad for wearing the same thermals for fifteen years.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3M7SU0M__wKgGdKa3S39Kyy9Oa4nWYCtOcR78s31qAtjT63PMDYJc4mCFZOFhnL6jUljExz9UuaAwEqazPPv6zsYkLFQYxwoNMUo7xI_Bu5btkUHKA-e5xH8UhESoAmzhvRV29nqpJ8Ut/s1600/IMG_3335%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">My silly iPhone decided that it was too cold to behave and kept on turning off even though it had more than enough battery, so I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked. Next time, I am bringing a real camera. </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3M7SU0M__wKgGdKa3S39Kyy9Oa4nWYCtOcR78s31qAtjT63PMDYJc4mCFZOFhnL6jUljExz9UuaAwEqazPPv6zsYkLFQYxwoNMUo7xI_Bu5btkUHKA-e5xH8UhESoAmzhvRV29nqpJ8Ut/s1600/IMG_3335%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-85068959417271778352013-01-25T11:09:00.000-05:002013-01-25T11:16:52.541-05:00My new rule: I may read the latest Wheel of Time book only while climbing the stairmill faster than 8 floors a minute.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Pt1qYN63dSVKDdw4z8pYMMC2ncZPkTaCaIk-BCiur3_CH2OeSBcUAXdu1pukF6LQ_kJZ0IGUadtTWA5zdJZYNJ82P0m9rDA3nmLToauwzd97IOtE_vrCAKszzQhl4w69Ljr5Zsttw19G/s1600/IMG_3235%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Pt1qYN63dSVKDdw4z8pYMMC2ncZPkTaCaIk-BCiur3_CH2OeSBcUAXdu1pukF6LQ_kJZ0IGUadtTWA5zdJZYNJ82P0m9rDA3nmLToauwzd97IOtE_vrCAKszzQhl4w69Ljr5Zsttw19G/s1600/IMG_3235%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">My new rule: I can only read the latest Wheel of Time book while climbing the stairmill faster than 8 floors a minute.</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wednesday, January 23, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Tempo run; core workout; heat training<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 7.5</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> The Gym</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Room temperature </span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> North Coast 24 Hour shirt from
2011, Adidas leggings, ice breaker socks, Bondi Band</span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315</span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: white;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background: white;">: Kind of faint towards the end. I think I need to drink more water when I am
in the sauna.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">I should
do my taxes.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">: None.</span></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thursday,
January 24, 2013</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">Workout
Type(s</span></i><span style="color: #222222;">): Climbing on the stairmill; heat training</span></span></div>
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<i style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Miles ran</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: 1.09; 575 floors</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Where:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> The
Gym<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> Room temperature<i> </i></span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">
Inov-8 Rock-lites 315</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Miles ran</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">: 1.09; 575 floors<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">What I wore:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> Cotton tshirt, Adidas leggings, ice breaker socks<o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">: Okay.</span></span><br /><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">What I thought about running:</span></i><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"> How much I want the Last Battle (</span><a href="http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Tarmon_Gai'don" style="color: #222222;">http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Tarmon_Gai'don</a><span style="color: #222222;">) to finally happen. I've been waiting nearly twenty years for this.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">: Zone energy bar. They was a sale at Costco and I bought fifty of them.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Friday, January 25, 2013</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">None, yet.</span></span></div>
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<b style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Training Notes:</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This will not be so
much of a running post, but a reading post.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;">On my very first day
at geek camp when I was in middle school, I picked up a free edition of Robert
Jordan’s, </span><u style="color: #222222;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_World">The Eye of the World</a></u><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;">, The </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time" style="color: #222222;">Wheel of Time</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"> series’ first volume. The
free edition had perhaps only the first ten chapters or so (I think the
characters reach Shadar Logoth) and was entertaining, but I felt that Robert
Jordan was too </span><span style="color: #222222;">long winded</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"> and so I decided not to buy the full book right away. At around this point of my life, I was more into </span><u style="color: #222222;">Battlefield
Earth</u><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;">, </span><u style="color: #222222;">Ender’s Game</u><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"> and the </span><u style="color: #222222;">Foundation</u><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"> series-type books; I
was ambivalent about fantasy as I wanted
to read about science, not magic. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Then a couple of
years later, while at the bookstore, I saw the complete version of <u>The Eye
of the World</u>, all 782 pages of it. I was well over my fantasy grudge; my biggest gripe with books was that they ended. And here was a large-ish book that promised
not to end right away! So I took it home
and devoured it. I may have gone to
school and slept and ate, but by the time I was twelve, I had perfected the
art of reading in class without being caught, reading while eating and showering,
and reading instead of sleeping. All I
remember was just being incredibly caught up in this fantastic, fantastic story
about Rand al’Thor and his Two River friends. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The writing was
still as long winded as ever, but for whatever reason, I didn’t care so much
this time.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I needed to know what was
going to happen.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I bought or borrowed
all the available books in the series until I caught up with the author and
then waited for the next one to come out.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The books were published every two or three years, and on each day of
their release, I rushed out to the bookstore and all productivity ceased for
the next day or so.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then Robert Jordan
died and I thought that was the end.
Thankfully, Brandon Sanderson, author of the <u>Mistborn</u> series, was
chosen by Jordan’s estate to complete <u>The Wheel of Time</u>. (Incidentally, Brandon Sanderson was also
college roommates with Ken Jennings, of Jeopardy fame.) Although I was initially hesitant about
continuing the series with a different author, I decided to give Sanderson a
try and found that . . . this new guy was better. Sanderson
produced better content in one book than Jordan did in his last three. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, this is a
running blog and not a fantasy novel blog, so how does all this tie in to my
Grand Slam training? Well, the very last
book in the series, <u>A Memory of Light</u>, was published two weeks ago. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I did not order
it right away. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not that I didn’t
want to. I really, really, really,
really did. When the book was released, I
initially told my boyfriend that I was going to be MIA for the next
couple of days, just so that I could spend every evening after work, reading
and savoring the last volume without any interruptions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But then reality set
in. I have a life. I have a job that I enjoy. And good golly, I have to train. So I didn’t order the book until last week
and when it arrived, I kept it in its box.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until last night. I made the decision that I am only allowed to
read <u>A Memory of Light</u> when I am on the stairmill, climbing at least 8
stories a minute. I think this is a solid rule because:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(a) Multitasking is
good. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(b) This will
encourage me to climb a lot more.
Although today is supposed to be a cross training day, I really want to
climb stairs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(c) I will read
slower. Reading on a stairmill is a lot
tougher than say, reading magazines on an elliptical. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So after last night’s
climb, I am on page 120. 800ish pages to
go. I do hope I manage to stick to this
rule.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thoughts? Comments?
</span>Anyone else a science fiction or fantasy novel fan? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5SD_rhcdxZI9Mx3uf8aiVd-2hlSNe_snEL73TPjQsbXsABa91EyIQiAuRETRbBDcEsX2cftb9kQ2aeRwA8CnoGAm9rxf8OwrxZpZG5zIpemV80lFnF7xxKoKvQAIv_DUHi0utuBTdkdP/s1600/11438_539083361010_4251457_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5SD_rhcdxZI9Mx3uf8aiVd-2hlSNe_snEL73TPjQsbXsABa91EyIQiAuRETRbBDcEsX2cftb9kQ2aeRwA8CnoGAm9rxf8OwrxZpZG5zIpemV80lFnF7xxKoKvQAIv_DUHi0utuBTdkdP/s1600/11438_539083361010_4251457_n.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My poor niece is as addicted to books as I am. <br />She recently announced that she was going to be an ultrarunner, too. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-55523287095868135582013-01-22T15:44:00.000-05:002013-01-22T15:48:36.152-05:00My long run involved a Tyrannosaurus Rex. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4PK2PildYYeJZdg-ewRZNjK_Zcxi5ZTRaUOeAiMrWwgK2UWYfVCt76OXbir47lITypYhXQAbLXAv53DBqynw62r95ZIPNVH_wQP4Y3nvWJlvNtS9WlGo8_N3bjJYwDy8C9PYPerz7eaa/s1600/IMG_3105%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4PK2PildYYeJZdg-ewRZNjK_Zcxi5ZTRaUOeAiMrWwgK2UWYfVCt76OXbir47lITypYhXQAbLXAv53DBqynw62r95ZIPNVH_wQP4Y3nvWJlvNtS9WlGo8_N3bjJYwDy8C9PYPerz7eaa/s320/IMG_3105%255B1%255D.JPG" width="223" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">@ Laurel Hill: Splendiferous morning for a jump! Thanks Wams for<br />taking such a great photo!</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday, January 19, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Long run and core workout.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 20ish</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Laurel Hill, all along the Hudson waterfront, Jersey
side.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Temperature:
Mid-40s.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Northface black jacket, Elita
turtleneck, North Coast 24 Hour shirt from 2011, Adidas leggings, random
shorts, ice breaker socks, Bondi Band</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">: A bit stiff towards the end.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>What I
thought about while running: </i>How much I love my new sneakers.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">: Bagel with cream cheese, half a bag of Gu chompers, half a
bottle of Gatorade</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"></span></span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4_MwYlC42O33sAvE3u8rxi9V3zEG5-l3gMNLs4-1RtXwrpVRcL0GMeMifssLQHA2nauWwoyx83Ne17_Z2To6dwfmfol28VDrgIXaiQAsqJEFUeu8K9dre1cHtkEeyz5nH-SJArlhiR0f/s1600/IMG_3026%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4_MwYlC42O33sAvE3u8rxi9V3zEG5-l3gMNLs4-1RtXwrpVRcL0GMeMifssLQHA2nauWwoyx83Ne17_Z2To6dwfmfol28VDrgIXaiQAsqJEFUeu8K9dre1cHtkEeyz5nH-SJArlhiR0f/s200/IMG_3026%255B1%255D.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">My new Inov-8 Rock-lites!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday,
January 20, 2013</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">Workout
Type(s</span></i><span style="color: #222222;">): Recovery run and Aerial Yoga</span><br /><span style="color: #222222;">
<i><span style="background: white;">Miles ran</span></i><span style="background: white;">: 10+<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Temperature:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> High 40s/low 50s</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where</span></i><span style="background: white;">: Brooklyn Bridge and downtown Manhattan; <a href="http://sacredsoundsyoga.com/index.html">SacredSounds Yoga</a></span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Northface black jacket, Elita
turtleneck, Adidas leggings, ice breaker socks, Bondi Band.</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background: white;">: Chill</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about running:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> How much I
love Kelly Clarkson. She kept me company throughout most of my run.</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I ate</span></i><span style="background: white;">: Banana, Seoul Food pork slider, Gatorade</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFU3_PZ8S9M-uWOkdwBGfZ0OKTm9ge-oQA1gCMZJeLPv9S062Md4IZn1b6Eb0VPZ9b4z21NvkuQKW47CTRovY6yTEiznhEJClPortcb9OIRTITKXhsAI5jiCEwNx4rOs82PQlNqBcr6WV/s1600/IMG_3194%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFU3_PZ8S9M-uWOkdwBGfZ0OKTm9ge-oQA1gCMZJeLPv9S062Md4IZn1b6Eb0VPZ9b4z21NvkuQKW47CTRovY6yTEiznhEJClPortcb9OIRTITKXhsAI5jiCEwNx4rOs82PQlNqBcr6WV/s320/IMG_3194%5B1%5D.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hello, Brooklyn Bridge!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monday,
January 21, 2013</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">Workout
Type:</span></i><span style="color: #222222;"> Ice skating at Wollman Rink<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">Temperature:
</span></i><span style="color: #222222;">30s<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">Where:</span></i><span style="color: #222222;"> Wollman Rink<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">Notes:</span></i><span style="color: #222222;"> Monday was my rest/cross training day. I think I was feeling a bit out of sorts by
not having a run scheduled; fortunately, Rob suggested we do some ice skating
at Wollman Rink in Central Park and that perked me right up. Both of us hadn’t been ice skating in years,
but after a few rotations around the not-so-crowded ice rink, we fell into an
easy rhythm. After skating for more than
an hour, we decided to call it quits because it was getting cold and our ice
skate rentals weren’t fitting very well.
Note to self: Buy ice skates that fit.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtUxA6cSgw-yw7dMkpCos1FavZtLpfzMgDtD9heDUpds8R7heTqtt7aiRMMVxTBU2OOgnJXwj7m2F_3CukJfLiZ6Xm71SUBiat9ysnmlTezqhhohSNKkEGYBZA1HA-yGcbwf-i5NAJ1Kc/s1600/IMG_3211%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtUxA6cSgw-yw7dMkpCos1FavZtLpfzMgDtD9heDUpds8R7heTqtt7aiRMMVxTBU2OOgnJXwj7m2F_3CukJfLiZ6Xm71SUBiat9ysnmlTezqhhohSNKkEGYBZA1HA-yGcbwf-i5NAJ1Kc/s320/IMG_3211%5B1%5D.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">My ill-fitting ice skate. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tuesday,
January 22, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Workout Types(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Long climb for 1.5 hours at 15% grade @ 3.7 – 4.0 mph and
core workout; physical and massage therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractor work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Miles ran:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> 5.6</span><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Where:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> The Gym, in Englewood, NJ; </span></span></span><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: normal; white-space: nowrap;">Paramus</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;">Medical & Sports</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; white-space: nowrap;"> </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: normal; white-space: nowrap;">Rehabilitation Center</em><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
wore:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> North Coast 24 Hour shirt from
2011, random shorts, ice breaker socks, Bondi Band</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">Sneakers:</span></i><span style="background: white;"> Inov-8 Rock-lites 315</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">How I felt</span></i><span style="background: white;">: Not great, but I enjoyed the workout immensely.</span><br />
<i><span style="background: white;">What I
thought about while running: </span></i><span style="background: white;">Work – I
reread some court cases. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Food consumed</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">: Nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;">Notes:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #222222;"> I
decided to follow my running friend’s Thomas Wong’s suggestion of doing a 15
percent climb at 3.5 miles per hour. Woosh,
it was hard, but I think I need to include more of these to get ready for the
serious inclines at Western States and the rest of its ilk.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Long
Run Notes:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This weekend’s long run was
half-organized, half-meandering. My
friend Ray organized a group run to Laurel Hill, a large rock outcropping in
the Meadowlands in Secaucus, New Jersey.
It is a well-known landmark; if you drive on the New Jersey Turnpike, it
is the large graffiti-covered rock right next to the eastern spur by the
Lincoln Tunnel exit. You might know the area as Snake Hill and/or Fraternity Rock. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;">Ray and I talked about doing this run
for a while, but it </span><span style="color: #222222;">wasn't</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"> until a few weeks ago that we finally settled on a
date. There was a pretty good turn out –
about fifteen of us met at the Journal Square PATH station, ready for a little bit of urban adventure.
I was psyched to see some of my other friends, including Leong, Wams, and Jerry. After giving us a brief spiel about our
route, Ray led the way on his bike and off we went.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQs6W8VtfLA_zYXbHDZxwvM2Sg-1eBIgDm0fHM8YLhHhzpzT77ncUY1pDjS1xqFlXqSak-JiofRgX8CnZUioThWCEFm5P5Pp7zBnNl9TalmBhMx_PbyYDBPUWzg_0XF2S4tWywj3lfpbmd/s1600/IMG_3206%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQs6W8VtfLA_zYXbHDZxwvM2Sg-1eBIgDm0fHM8YLhHhzpzT77ncUY1pDjS1xqFlXqSak-JiofRgX8CnZUioThWCEFm5P5Pp7zBnNl9TalmBhMx_PbyYDBPUWzg_0XF2S4tWywj3lfpbmd/s200/IMG_3206%255B1%255D.JPG" width="150" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Ray gives us instructions.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRPXwYZnCdu8KMtdqrMUbST4NqszWCIkyGAcMEd9Ky26ljeKH9CedhyphenhyphenL4jAHoQ9tmHdFgnBINsmguna6qhooMUEqAHZNJ05QbVqduYb-7kHDzPZNv5TYRzmdHr13iCPYKhfcTl1-aqd3u/s1600/IMG_3032%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRPXwYZnCdu8KMtdqrMUbST4NqszWCIkyGAcMEd9Ky26ljeKH9CedhyphenhyphenL4jAHoQ9tmHdFgnBINsmguna6qhooMUEqAHZNJ05QbVqduYb-7kHDzPZNv5TYRzmdHr13iCPYKhfcTl1-aqd3u/s320/IMG_3032%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">And we're off!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I ran mostly with Wams and
Jerry. I hadn’t seen Wams since we ran
the Honolulu Marathon last month, and so it was good to catch up. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh314d0PwzqDC44woMFvM8E-LA68elv-Nu_UjIXi-5avtr6ynZz8DuQhQRcpVRauzJ_nRjGElffn2Gtm6r_un5RlLy_DDLEPWRQzHtmWr8uErk2dnqrm4dL78m2mqi3zWDJ84vHVP-BhkgS/s1600/IMG_3033%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh314d0PwzqDC44woMFvM8E-LA68elv-Nu_UjIXi-5avtr6ynZz8DuQhQRcpVRauzJ_nRjGElffn2Gtm6r_un5RlLy_DDLEPWRQzHtmWr8uErk2dnqrm4dL78m2mqi3zWDJ84vHVP-BhkgS/s320/IMG_3033%5B1%5D.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Wams, running along little-used train tracks.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">About three and a half miles of running on
roads and on dirt and gravelly paths, we reached the bottom of Laurel
Hill. Since there were a few people
still behind us, Ray told us to go ahead and just follow the trail.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiDkawr7v2EBvUUkV9Zrk42vT9xf4h9D3_BCKehXHEuZfXVmvCTRPsLlwykn9RBiCSv1n1FIbYGGqHVN5ZTayssQ6-j7rue2ASwp8i2FJ_D5R8ppmZLSHH9kTrI9nfp6MY2yviIDMgtWv/s1600/IMG_3196%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiDkawr7v2EBvUUkV9Zrk42vT9xf4h9D3_BCKehXHEuZfXVmvCTRPsLlwykn9RBiCSv1n1FIbYGGqHVN5ZTayssQ6-j7rue2ASwp8i2FJ_D5R8ppmZLSHH9kTrI9nfp6MY2yviIDMgtWv/s320/IMG_3196%5B1%5D.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Wams and Leong, at the bottom of the Laurel Hill.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And follow the trail we did . . . until
we got to this open area and then we didn’t follow the trail, or rather,
started following the trail-that-wasn’t-a-trail. In our defense, it really looked like a
trail. Sure, there were some steep-y
bits, but it was all fairly navigable. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmEmuGJPEQ56S9ZngEBioyyo4SCHGCVvp4UWlKFa8PbcvSk4VfuspQZ4YSfjqbN1MwdcjWxdFrILRcdcwhdTebEYBc5TBsn7pFK9Pxkq3d4da5sxZwh0fekEPoFc7sjTfVrcFaAl_KBjP/s1600/IMG_3198%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmEmuGJPEQ56S9ZngEBioyyo4SCHGCVvp4UWlKFa8PbcvSk4VfuspQZ4YSfjqbN1MwdcjWxdFrILRcdcwhdTebEYBc5TBsn7pFK9Pxkq3d4da5sxZwh0fekEPoFc7sjTfVrcFaAl_KBjP/s320/IMG_3198%5B1%5D.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Jerry navigating the steep-y bits as Wams looks on.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time for some multiple choice:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The best part of the trail-that-was-not-a-trail
was:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a) It had rocks.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">b) It was steep.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">c) It had pretty views.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">d) There were dinosaurs.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Correct answer? D. Yes,
there were dinosaurs, or at least, life-size models of them. My favorite was the Tyrannosaurus Rex,
stalking its prey. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLzdb_VCzSnrU2CEjx47-frx9jF6Dv5hmfOEDh5f5iv7LoE-8C_C2l0_e7gP6vgG8tRJF7sVut0sYnU-tUaYTSVIkrQXC7tXNnfDYQBkQLPGdBNZXeTJJkg2uBUv0pvwQNy9R9UlQEaRA/s1600/IMG_3179%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLzdb_VCzSnrU2CEjx47-frx9jF6Dv5hmfOEDh5f5iv7LoE-8C_C2l0_e7gP6vgG8tRJF7sVut0sYnU-tUaYTSVIkrQXC7tXNnfDYQBkQLPGdBNZXeTJJkg2uBUv0pvwQNy9R9UlQEaRA/s320/IMG_3179%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">I certainly do not see this every day.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The TRex is one my
power animals, as I identify with its weak arm musculature. Ever see that shirt with the TRex doing push
ups? That is me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX32JwRUWnu1Sp_LDdVqs2oFHmQAbd5eomBlAFbHSwf9eRV3GyHtgchspwdS6RFwCpyzjN2FJM9UYVN2XZXg_Uklva9si1djerzZ3QCtIfAczqEn-e1ixsE-KnwZ1ZoLyo9ixvlx8bte_/s1600/t+rex+hates+pushups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX32JwRUWnu1Sp_LDdVqs2oFHmQAbd5eomBlAFbHSwf9eRV3GyHtgchspwdS6RFwCpyzjN2FJM9UYVN2XZXg_Uklva9si1djerzZ3QCtIfAczqEn-e1ixsE-KnwZ1ZoLyo9ixvlx8bte_/s320/t+rex+hates+pushups.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">This is me every Tuesday and Thursday, when I do my strength training.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We tried to see how close we could
get to the dinosaurs, but soon realized that everything was blocked off and that
the only open path was leading us off a cliff, which made us realize that we
were going in the wrong direction as dying was definitely not in Ray’s general
description of the trail. Then again,
Ray also didn’t mention dinosaurs, so that should have been our first clue.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After realizing we made a mistake, we
backtracked completely to the bottom of Laurel Hill, thinking we would find
people, but no one was in sight.
Fortunately, we saw Ray’s discarded bike, which let us know that he was
still somewhere on the hill. We ran back
up the trail, got to the open space where we made the wrong turn and started
looking for something trail-like. Turned
out the correct trail was partially blocked by some bramble-y things, but once
we pushed the branches aside, the trail was readily apparent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After we ran for a few minutes along
the real trail, we saw the rest of the group traveling across the ridge towards the top. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDl0uFgEURuRIndcdCdy00NxYHOBP4OBlnFWunjiAah1trRw6WjFhHd23sBXcd_oQAPCySO8j8xlC1uVM3x_9Yi9QzdGM4UCXElwG6DtCg5TLq7CaJT7yT2FojQABQ83uI70hyphenhyphenK7Hx8kr/s1600/IMG_3199%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDl0uFgEURuRIndcdCdy00NxYHOBP4OBlnFWunjiAah1trRw6WjFhHd23sBXcd_oQAPCySO8j8xlC1uVM3x_9Yi9QzdGM4UCXElwG6DtCg5TLq7CaJT7yT2FojQABQ83uI70hyphenhyphenK7Hx8kr/s320/IMG_3199%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hooray, we found the others!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We caught up pretty quickly, and soon we were
taking in the view, an interesting mix of urban and natural landscape. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3FG8XXiC70HigZuX54LHTn_7MujplrOp5_uQ5e-6cqXWkb2WVQRc_00PnvWlPvjZ_YK9tpM-BCvr6dXrVzpjLOh2CBUpvF4TBWXdDGR_-NM-vzi2-W-Q-rqgOCW3DSQH13qve9hODiG2/s1600/IMG_3200%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3FG8XXiC70HigZuX54LHTn_7MujplrOp5_uQ5e-6cqXWkb2WVQRc_00PnvWlPvjZ_YK9tpM-BCvr6dXrVzpjLOh2CBUpvF4TBWXdDGR_-NM-vzi2-W-Q-rqgOCW3DSQH13qve9hODiG2/s320/IMG_3200%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">View from the top of Laurel Hill.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After taking a bunch of photos, I reluctantly
headed back down with the rest of the group. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDz-_g6HxXV9AM508bBtTwkV9j2q26r8C4r_xGz8xxBKjEnvtKtfIykfdBjVgf2pU4nN34AyG696T0sHYei8jeAvpyUOQqA1U3Z6LEDGkTILmlJ61UiYP7yMOy8Jl7KPtYJTxVBEkIfeRE/s1600/IMG_3168%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDz-_g6HxXV9AM508bBtTwkV9j2q26r8C4r_xGz8xxBKjEnvtKtfIykfdBjVgf2pU4nN34AyG696T0sHYei8jeAvpyUOQqA1U3Z6LEDGkTILmlJ61UiYP7yMOy8Jl7KPtYJTxVBEkIfeRE/s320/IMG_3168%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Took this sequence of photos of Wams totally by accident, but I like how they came out!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqoPJupeL02PCyqMh_YAcjAxVrLAOUQMxDGWDftzQFVRMpNgKMA41IKALlbqPwQjwVaYif9pyyEoJfDF0L4t-WFcnfmWYfWjVfEaoFPYCxJj0h6KVjJejJkHlqk-B8nnRzqJaQkhDZRX1/s320/IMG_3195%5B1%5D.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm flying! Thanks Ray for the picture!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CbmrrcXzN6NJtHJkQBw3pCCjEg7f5FEGT0mato45RPRaDe-f8bPENeiGvYGqExUT2qTy0q5mwzrx3MuONO5weByGWTLSTSFRZGrq8a5PkOTiB7Ajt8ewqXKFGRsocVzYtkWFMzBG_boq/s320/IMG_3204%5B1%5D.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't worry, I'm not planning on jumping. Thanks again Ray for the fun pictures!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; text-align: center;">Ray led us back via a different route to Journal Square. On the way back, I made some new friends: Helen, Mike, and Jitendra, to name a few. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp56ad0W7Z7fDd3ljR6oRVOG77DXoapm2dphck0tQbqYn-H6mYe05roXBBxNSIFIDo4QNxOwiLWMTNZlqiq8VOOuU51jqGeY_PehlonreehppH0dppBeEHufE1yzQydnRanyKziuuQPjS1/s1600/IMG_3083%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp56ad0W7Z7fDd3ljR6oRVOG77DXoapm2dphck0tQbqYn-H6mYe05roXBBxNSIFIDo4QNxOwiLWMTNZlqiq8VOOuU51jqGeY_PehlonreehppH0dppBeEHufE1yzQydnRanyKziuuQPjS1/s320/IMG_3083%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time to head back home . . . </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; text-align: center;">After we made it back, Ray wanted to get some beers and while
that was tempting, my legs were twitching to run some more. Leong and Wams were planning to run to
Hoboken to grab some lunch, so I tagged along with them. When we got to the edge of town, we went our
separate ways. </span><span style="color: #222222;">By this point, I had covered about 9.5
miles, so I continued to the waterfront and just kept running north along the Hudson River. After running through Hoboken, Weehawken, Guttenberg, and then hitting the Edgewater border, I
turned back.</span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWXCLHmwdGx5r1xQnfsEoxkXvTjZfArC6N5s31SW39XIrwfxZll6ztSfPDcYBVU6Q5T2skfKYlhQ9v84_7NqoVklr1GrqqVmYndwLm3ado4Hs6LC2qki5L2WwXNz8ij9nvvZbpG04uQQP/s1600/IMG_3202%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWXCLHmwdGx5r1xQnfsEoxkXvTjZfArC6N5s31SW39XIrwfxZll6ztSfPDcYBVU6Q5T2skfKYlhQ9v84_7NqoVklr1GrqqVmYndwLm3ado4Hs6LC2qki5L2WwXNz8ij9nvvZbpG04uQQP/s320/IMG_3202%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cute apartments along the Hudson River.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAMdiE1JuFD-DGrUbjKmND0GSIPzDHcQuegxTUam0YWqkZX0enhdt2O_u_QDeWgR_kO4HY_PeInXryKY2ZZF9Uw4kVALHpZDLA7GhONcieAtXsM9_pOjZSF4_EotV9kZh6iDM7eNxDFhTT/s1600/IMG_3203%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAMdiE1JuFD-DGrUbjKmND0GSIPzDHcQuegxTUam0YWqkZX0enhdt2O_u_QDeWgR_kO4HY_PeInXryKY2ZZF9Uw4kVALHpZDLA7GhONcieAtXsM9_pOjZSF4_EotV9kZh6iDM7eNxDFhTT/s320/IMG_3203%5B1%5D.JPG" width="198" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Random stairwell leading from the waterfront to the top of the cliffs. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">As luck would have it, when I returned to Hoboken and went to the restaurant where everyone was eating, I ran
into Wams and Ray, who were just leaving.
Wams and I walked back to the PATH station together – she had to head
back into the Manhattan and I had to go back to Journal Square, to pick up my
car.</span><span id="goog_1216853268"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VjOM0dKOVudg5rT77oVzbXLlS0uJEHZMXP0SnoBEej1ZraiCVuaUr-f_Rum57TeJKo-eSUI95qtYZgRkP0wAp7SaJ_W9nRZv9TDBf9LzrbvYfh4mzA-uIqLxUBGaOmUOo-riJRQkGBAa/s1600/IMG_3104%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VjOM0dKOVudg5rT77oVzbXLlS0uJEHZMXP0SnoBEej1ZraiCVuaUr-f_Rum57TeJKo-eSUI95qtYZgRkP0wAp7SaJ_W9nRZv9TDBf9LzrbvYfh4mzA-uIqLxUBGaOmUOo-riJRQkGBAa/s320/IMG_3104%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Twenty miles done! Time to go home. Thanks Ray for organizing the group run!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I drove straight to The Gym, did some
core work and stretching and then hit the sauna for a well-deserved break and to get in some heat training. Goooood day of running.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday
Funday: Recovery Run Notes<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I got a late start Sunday morning,
but since I only planned on running ten miles or so, I didn’t feel too bad
about it. I took the train to City Hall
and as soon as I walked out of the subway station, I saw Seoul Food, a Korean food
truck. I was starving, so I ordered a
pork slider. Baaaaaad idea. The food truck was parked in a total wind
tunnel and IT WAS COLD. Since I already
ordered and paid for my slider, I started to jump up and down and say, “Oooga
Booga!” to keep myself warm. Either the
food truck operator felt bad that I was cold or he didn’t want me to scare the
customers away, but he asked if I wanted to step inside the truck while I
waited for my food to cook. My mother taught
me not to step into random stranger’s trucks, but holy moly, the wind was bad,
so I walked right in and basked in the heat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The wait was totally worth it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiix7BrG29p3UG6_JiifyuluoLF44yewt3RwZbP6evdtMn7Yar8V5LzUyC1LbY7jFL_gLPNnFFxkEbQk334GbSMLMMuthIStvxD_oudChIoptvXM58B0Ppq_StNYpt56QFWCek6K69R7hvw/s1600/IMG_3193%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiix7BrG29p3UG6_JiifyuluoLF44yewt3RwZbP6evdtMn7Yar8V5LzUyC1LbY7jFL_gLPNnFFxkEbQk334GbSMLMMuthIStvxD_oudChIoptvXM58B0Ppq_StNYpt56QFWCek6K69R7hvw/s320/IMG_3193%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think I ate this in less than ten seconds.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The pork slider did such a great job
of fueling me, that I was rewarded by being able to bounce back and forth on
the Brooklyn Bridge. Whee! I even had some spare time to take photos of the locks along the Brooklyn Bridge. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH21qdHgpJkp8sWwFgsJhviK_HkrQCZZv6e6Fr9-rbJSxX-vkHx_evkVcGJzqTixK2o-WPVVJ48jS4gqAErX0zhYt3YWsd5zoykxfeifJLlQo4OWpUh-vzDavh8FlEbR1h9wo1JrnAZgC4/s1600/IMG_3167%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH21qdHgpJkp8sWwFgsJhviK_HkrQCZZv6e6Fr9-rbJSxX-vkHx_evkVcGJzqTixK2o-WPVVJ48jS4gqAErX0zhYt3YWsd5zoykxfeifJLlQo4OWpUh-vzDavh8FlEbR1h9wo1JrnAZgC4/s200/IMG_3167%5B1%5D.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEbrbbUzdNDtE5EPf6EeNMjO0mJ63lX99ibyPMC1H79cGChEoGZHv032nBBi9ImVMchIJi6Ac6sL7eputlwgB0EB8XHncj0ZBuoRRcu_8CwR3AAlJWrwwybUU1xSJDFMk2yKmGXqu314X/s1600/IMG_3208%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Story behind the locks on the Brooklyn Bridge: <a href="http://gothamist.com/2010/04/27/will_love_locks_take_over_the_brook.php">http://gothamist.com/2010/04/27/will_love_locks_take_over_the_brook.php</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">However, dodging tourists became less
and less fun, so I gave up after eight trips (eight or so miles) and ran
straight to the 14</span><sup style="color: #222222;">th </sup><span style="color: #222222;">street station and then took the subway home.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few hours later, Rob and I headed
over to <a href="http://sacredsoundsyoga.com/">Sacred Sounds Yoga</a>. I met Sacred Sounds’ founder, Stephanie Tang at
the JFK 50 miler, back in November. The
first time I noticed Stephanie was during the last eight miles of the race. I was feeling really buoyant and after
passing a bunch of runners doing the “death march” to the finish, there was
Stephanie, who looked incredibly strong and happy. We cheered each other on as we did the leap frog thing for several
miles, until the very end, when she sped off like the wind. We talked after the race, and it turned out we have a bunch of mutual
running friends and that she runs her own yoga studio. How cool! I actually had heard great things about her studio from my friends Kino and Lisa, so I made a mental note to check it out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fast forward two months later, Sacred
Sounds was certifying aerial yoga instructors and needed volunteers to participate
in the certification classes. So I signed up, cajoled
Rob into doing it as well and we spent a very fun hour or so trying out
familiar yoga poses, all while being aided with a large fabric hammock. Our instructor was very experienced in
teaching yoga, so I just shut off my mind and breathed and relaxed into the
poses. Good times. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUIBz65OKM2XEaFY-C-Fl6chyVOGyu6-qfDXnMBbpqHNNQih6VHDF-wBTTx6VfdeOp0eAJluQ7kuOsAnds0fgFUNUaRQScyKw_gf4IHHLwj7kRcJZ4t1n0A8xxskFMVB5c3KJui9CqEUD/s1600/IMG_3210%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUIBz65OKM2XEaFY-C-Fl6chyVOGyu6-qfDXnMBbpqHNNQih6VHDF-wBTTx6VfdeOp0eAJluQ7kuOsAnds0fgFUNUaRQScyKw_gf4IHHLwj7kRcJZ4t1n0A8xxskFMVB5c3KJui9CqEUD/s320/IMG_3210%5B1%5D.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was very tempted to swing on my hammock.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The best part of the class was doing
the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavasana">Savasana pose</a> while completely wrapped in the hammock; I nearly fell asleep. If you have never tried aerial yoga, I would recommend
it just so you can experience Savasana in an aerial yoga hammock. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEbrbbUzdNDtE5EPf6EeNMjO0mJ63lX99ibyPMC1H79cGChEoGZHv032nBBi9ImVMchIJi6Ac6sL7eputlwgB0EB8XHncj0ZBuoRRcu_8CwR3AAlJWrwwybUU1xSJDFMk2yKmGXqu314X/s1600/IMG_3208%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEbrbbUzdNDtE5EPf6EeNMjO0mJ63lX99ibyPMC1H79cGChEoGZHv032nBBi9ImVMchIJi6Ac6sL7eputlwgB0EB8XHncj0ZBuoRRcu_8CwR3AAlJWrwwybUU1xSJDFMk2yKmGXqu314X/s320/IMG_3208%5B1%5D.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ahhhh. Bliss.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All in all, a great way to end the week. </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-50491370969103061952013-01-18T12:29:00.000-05:002013-01-18T12:31:39.865-05:00Needles: It does a body good? I sure hope so.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWO2shyHiKhybveoAxmuJmFs2yd54bJkdb-gSc9A65qmDSHFTzcditW1TYaPEy_5JVDyVCujRRs0OF4zi6wvrHbcp7hO3Qy3fFKAPMhPcCR8MGLzf66FQOsX-hoLSwqCCU7Nte0Ga0z0zH/s1600/IMG_3010%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWO2shyHiKhybveoAxmuJmFs2yd54bJkdb-gSc9A65qmDSHFTzcditW1TYaPEy_5JVDyVCujRRs0OF4zi6wvrHbcp7hO3Qy3fFKAPMhPcCR8MGLzf66FQOsX-hoLSwqCCU7Nte0Ga0z0zH/s1600/IMG_3010%5B1%5D.JPG" height="320" width="311" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Acupuncture needles! They're super tiny.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thursday, January 17, 2013</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i>Workout Type(s): </i>Recovery running, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">strength training (core workout); and lots of sweating in the sauna.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Miles ran:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;"> 7</span></span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Where:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Gym, in Englewood, New Jersey.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Temperature:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Room temperature.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;">What I wore:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Honolulu Marathon Finisher tech shirt, Addidas tights, ice breaker socks, Bondi Band headband</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Sneakers:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Brooks Ghost 5.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;">How I Felt:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">My legs were still shot from yesterday's squats/lunge-lovefest, but I after I warmed up for a few minutes, it was NBD.</span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">What I thought about while running: </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Coming up with Choose Your Own Adventure stories that involve running.</span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i>Food consumed:</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="textexposedshow" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">A banana. And Spam lite.</span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="color: #333333;">Notes:</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: #333333;"> I need to read more Wasatch 100 race reports.</span></span><br />
<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></b>
<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Friday, January 18, 2013</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">No workout yet.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I have a plan for my Grand Slam attempt, I really do. Most of it involves hitting the trails every weekend, making sure I get my climbs and descents in. Speaking of which, this weekend I'll be hanging out with my buddy Ray Schwartz, who I met at the <a href="http://athletic-equation.com/DWG_50K.html">Delaware Water Gap Fatt Ass 50K </a>back in 2010. He did this really nifty run about a year (year and a half?) ago in Jersey City that starts from the Journal Square PATH station and ends at the top of Laurel Hill (also known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Hill">Snake Hill</a>) in the Meadowlands. It's a nice run, about 8 miles or so, and after I saw his pictures, I really, really wanted to do it. We made plans to run it last summer, but apparently the mosquitoes were really fierce and then Ray got injured, so we decided to give it a rain check. Anyway, Ray</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> organized a group of us to go check it out tomorrow morning. If you would like to come, comment below or check out the F</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/398452323571514/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">acebook invite</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">. I'll probably do it a couple of times and then head home.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Okay, back to the original subject, my Grand Slam training plan. So, I have my long runs scheduled, but what do I do during the week? Well, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday involve tempo runs, steep hill repeats, stair climbs, and strength training, all totally fun stuff but nothing unusual. And Friday is all about the cross training.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">So what shall I do on Monday? I have decided that on Monday, I will do yoga/meditation in the morning and then spend my evenings at the </span><a href="http://www.paramusmedicalandsports.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Paramus Medical and Sports Rehabilitation Center</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> where I will get my body thoroughly poked and prodded by their awesome physical and massage therapists, chiropractors, and acupuncturists. Even though I have never experienced running injuries, I think it is because I have never really pushed myself to the next level. I have always been extremely conservative with my training and my races. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">However, now that my training load has increased significantly, my body is more susceptible to injury. Each week is absolutely precious to me and I do not want to be sidelined by something that I could have prevented, so to be on the absolutely safe side, I am getting myself checked out every week. And that includes meeting with an acupuncturist. I know some of you are probably rolling your eyes, but you know what? I will do anything to make sure that this Grand Slam finish becomes a reality and if there is any possibility that acupuncture actually works for injury prevention, then I am adding it to my Grand Slam training plan. The article that sold me on trying acupuncture is </span><a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/acupuncture-reversing-stressful-effects-running?page=single" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Thoughts? Comments? Anyone else here a fan of acupuncture? </span><br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-53949770278211284232013-01-17T15:16:00.000-05:002013-01-17T15:53:10.951-05:00Stairmills: Will they give me legs like a unicorn?<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpL78QqCWg01kTd7F9UL7iJozbw7EAqwtpY5KQ6qZmAxoKS6r8wiE3E4m7lWTNxFCCOeCuTQofSGyQs3x6BsYnOCxrnDqnukLzT08gnmTjTi4kfMR42VI6sXiwRuiMTxylsibVhRjw7-C/s1600/IMG_3014%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpL78QqCWg01kTd7F9UL7iJozbw7EAqwtpY5KQ6qZmAxoKS6r8wiE3E4m7lWTNxFCCOeCuTQofSGyQs3x6BsYnOCxrnDqnukLzT08gnmTjTi4kfMR42VI6sXiwRuiMTxylsibVhRjw7-C/s320/IMG_3014%5B1%5D.JPG" width="222" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Oh Stairmaster 7000 PT Stepmill, I love you dearly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Note: The unicorns are imaginary.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tuesday, January 15, 2013</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Workout Type(s): </span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Stair climb and strength training
(core workout).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Miles ran:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">I have no
idea, but I climbed stairs for two hours.
Next time I will keep track of how many floors I climbed.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Where:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">The Gym,
in Englewood, New Jersey. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes, I am a member of a gym that is called The Gym. However, The Gym is so awesome that I even felt compelled to write a yelp review: (</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-gym-englewood">http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-gym-englewood</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Temperature:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Room
temperature. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">What I
wore:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Delaware Water Gap Fatt (yes, that’s two T’s) Ass 50K long sleeved
tech shirt, Addidas tights, random white socks, Bondi Band headband</span></span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Sneakers:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brooks
Ghost 5.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">How I
Felt:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Good and bad. Good
when I was just climbing stairs one at a time.
Bad when I was skipping stairs.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">What I
thought about while running:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Being
inspired by Ted talks and not allowing myself to support myself with the side
bars. Also spent some time composing bad haiku.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">
<span class="textexposedshow"><i>Food consumed:</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="textexposedshow">A banana
and peanut butter smoothie.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="textexposedshow"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Notes:</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">If I could climb stairs all day, I would.</span></span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wednesday, January 16, 2013</span></b><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Workout Type(s): </i>Tempo run and strength training (squats and lunges and things that made me really sore today).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also met with my chiropractor and acupuncturist.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Miles ran:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">7.5</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Where:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Gym, in Englewood, New Jersey. </span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Temperature:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Room temperature. Duh.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">What I wore:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Google long sleeved tech shirt (Thanks Rob!), random black shorts, random white socks, Bondi Band headband.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Sneakers:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brooks Ghost 5. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They are now super clean, but there is a hole by the toe box.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wonder if this should bother me more than it does.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">How I Felt:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Generally, I felt pretty good, but then the bottom of my right foot started to hurt again towards the end of the workout.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">What I thought about while running:</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Tried to do a more meditative run; I put Aha's "Take on Me" on repeat and concentrated on my breathing and being present.</span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Food consumed:</i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="textexposedshow" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A banana.</span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Notes:</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although I’m not a huge fan of the dreadmill, I prefer using it for my tempo workouts because it forces me to work that much harder. As I am trying to make each and every workout count, this is a good thing.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thursday, January 17, 2013</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No workout yet. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPhCeAUvCJIKDTarTTqDtrIuiYzZc_-PPJo0IzxSHMhfVeCXwQBUKkhnYtSqJFmD_NuNsnuzZ4zfjMWz5XZ4Ob9ADAG6ybmD1wgSmMdePEmR36yNso-SmHffC0227KRqmvcjEq8JmFTjj/s1600/Vert.jpg4ae728ee15de2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPhCeAUvCJIKDTarTTqDtrIuiYzZc_-PPJo0IzxSHMhfVeCXwQBUKkhnYtSqJFmD_NuNsnuzZ4zfjMWz5XZ4Ob9ADAG6ybmD1wgSmMdePEmR36yNso-SmHffC0227KRqmvcjEq8JmFTjj/s320/Vert.jpg4ae728ee15de2.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Stairmill without unicorns.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love the stairmill at my gym. In fact, I have composed several haiku on how much I love the stairmill:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Forgive me, I composed these while I was on the stairmill.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">climbing forever</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I cannot touch the hand rails</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">that would be cheating</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">stairmaster stepmill:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">a killer workout while I</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">read Robert Jordan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">biggest machine in</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the gym, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">will it give me legs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">like a </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">unicorn?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't worry, they get progressively worse ;).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In case you have never seen a stairmill, it is a stairmaster machine on steroids that actually has stairs and not lever-type things. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While folks can get an excellent
workout using a regular stairmaster, it doesn't do much for me because I never seem to take large enough steps to simulate the actual climbing I do when I am on the trails.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Reasons why I love using the stairmill:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(1) The stairmill gives me a darn good workout as long as I don't touch the handrails. Once I use the handrails, I am not really climbing with my entire weight and then, what's the point?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(2) I move smoothly enough on the stairmill that I can actually read books. As some of you know, the last book of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wheel of Time</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> series has come out and because I have been busy with work, training, and life in general, I decided to be super disciplined and didn't order it right away. Unfortunately, two days ago, I succumbed to temptation and placed an order with Amazon and according to the shipping tracker, it has been delivered to my house. However, I promised myself that I wouldn't read it unless I was on the stairmill. Looks like I will be on the stairmill a lot the next week or so.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(3) I never have to wait to use the stairmill. We have four stairmills at my gym, and it's incredibly rare to have more than two people on them at any time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In an ideal world, I would run the trails every day and I wouldn't need to use a stairmill, but I get out of work when it is already dark and too late for a smallish person to be running by herself on the trails. In a somewhat ideal world, I would have access to a very tall building and I would climb real stairs, but I live in the Jersey suburbs. The tallest building I have in my climbing arsenal is my house and I only have three floors to work with. Therefore, my best option is the stairmill. And I think it's a great alternative.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was thinking of training for Grindstone 100 (unfortunately my dancing-in-high heels-induced stress fracture happened and so I opted for an easier race), an ultrarunner friend Mark Leuner gave me some tips on how to prepare for the gnarlier 100s. Since Grindstone (and all of the really epic 100s) involve climbs that can take hours-long, he suggested that I supplement my normal training with stair climbing, skipping every other stair and going slowly so I am less likely to burn out. I think he suggested an hour, and that's what I started with, but now I climb for two to three hours and it's made me a lot more confident about dealing with races that involve a lot of vertical. By the way, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mark has a fantastic blog with great race write ups that you should totally check out. (</span><a href="http://tuff-it-out.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">http://tuff-it-out.blogspot.com/</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">). </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My current workout plan has me doing these stair climbs every other week, so hopefully as the months go by, I will be able to take on the stairs more quickly. That being said, I am not going to go overboard with the speed and injure myself. I have come to terms with knowing that I will never be a fast ultraunner, and that my real strength is being able to endure. So I am going to massage that endurance muscle as much as possible by doing lots of long climbs on stairs and on the trails.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thoughts? Comments? Any suggestions on climbing workouts or how to capture a unicorn? </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-61442827856928177532013-01-14T23:55:00.001-05:002013-01-14T23:58:09.001-05:00Long Island Fat Ass 50 Race Report and Riverside Park Training Report<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I still haven’t figured out how I am going to format my
posts. Right now, I am using the stream
of consciousness approach and while that’s easy for me, I know I can get a bit long winded. So for the folks who prefer just to read the basics, here is my
workout summary:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3s9myM_T9WefoRMov-x5Qt0va2TGgZWA519_MGJt6Iuv1dEdYQx-p_6UsDsPoYIQqsEOReFuWfCWY9D0rqUUCMc4sh8vyVjRo3tQcFc-C9QyAombrbiVdkQUBTWy6FnPyYeRIhj1Rk9hq/s1600/IMG_2941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3s9myM_T9WefoRMov-x5Qt0va2TGgZWA519_MGJt6Iuv1dEdYQx-p_6UsDsPoYIQqsEOReFuWfCWY9D0rqUUCMc4sh8vyVjRo3tQcFc-C9QyAombrbiVdkQUBTWy6FnPyYeRIhj1Rk9hq/s320/IMG_2941.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">The Greenbelt Trail!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Miles ran:</i>
20+<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Where:</i> Long
Island Fat Ass 50 @ Greenbelt Trail in Woodbury, Long Island.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Temperature:</i>
Mid to High 40s.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>What I wore:</i>
Northface fleece, Elita thermal tights and turtleneck, Addidas running skirt, Icebreaker
socks, Futuro ankle stabilizer, Bondi Band headband<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Sneakers:
</i>Hoka One One Mafates. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>How I Felt:
</i>Not awesome – my knee still hurt from my major fall last week and I had this
very tight sensation on the medial portion of my left foot. I think that might have to do with my ankle
stabilizer fitting too snugly after I retied my shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><i>What I
thought about while running:</i> Making sure I had a quick
turnover rate.</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><i>Lost the trail:</i> Four times. I don't even know
why the last one happ<span class="textexposedshow">ened - must have had a major
brain fart.</span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow"><i>Gliders seen: </i>6+</span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow"><i>Fell kersplat:</i> Zero. People, this is a big deal. I always have at least one epic fall. Maybe I managed to avoid eating dirt because
I ran so slowly.</span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow"><i>Chainsaw-wielding man seen:</i> One. He was clearing away some fallen trees along the trail. Is using a chain saw
difficult? It looks like fun. </span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow"><i>Bathroom break:</i> One. Thank you, Stop and Shop. </span><br />
<span class="textexposedshow"><i>Food consumed:</i> 3/4 of a bagel, 1 banana bread
slice, half a pb & j sandwich, and 4 gummy bears.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Drink consumed: </i>1.5 bottles of Gatorade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><i>Notes:</i> I love fat ass races.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSKOZJ8i0-Y3OCdt3rN3Wc-dyAcbdZy_SnFiPesXhyR3iirXXyWS8T3owpJVztB_fW6DH-on_K6Jy6FjhokxdyVH1GtTvf01sNg1yv8d6G_MtWDC3dsWgJKmaUaMd2GEHL8Pc9d29Shu8/s320/IMG_2922.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Underneath the George Washington Bridge</span>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSKOZJ8i0-Y3OCdt3rN3Wc-dyAcbdZy_SnFiPesXhyR3iirXXyWS8T3owpJVztB_fW6DH-on_K6Jy6FjhokxdyVH1GtTvf01sNg1yv8d6G_MtWDC3dsWgJKmaUaMd2GEHL8Pc9d29Shu8/s1600/IMG_2922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Miles ran</i>: 9-10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Where: </i>Riverside Park to Fort Washington
Park, NYC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><i>Temperature:</i>
Mid to High 40s.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>What I wore</i>: <span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Steamtown Marathon long sleeved technical tee, Northface
fleece, Addidas running tights, Icebreaker socks, Bondi Band headband<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Sneakers:</i>
Hoka One One Mafates<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i style="color: #333333;">How I felt:</i><span style="color: #333333;">
Cold and wet, but generally pretty good.
I </span><span style="color: #333333;">didn't</span><span style="color: #333333;"> wear my ankle stabilizer and my foot felt much better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>What I
thought about while running:</i> How much I love running in the fog.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Food and
drink consumed: </i>None.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monday:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No running, but I yoga’ed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And now for more details and less summary:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Saturday,
January 12, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Race Report: Long Island
Fat Ass 50 <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few weeks ago, a running friend, Otto Lam
sent me a Facebook invite about a random race that was being held along
the Greenbelt Trail in Long Island. A
fat ass, to be exact. For those who are
not familiar with fat ass races, they are essentially free races where you are
responsible for carrying your own food and drink while running as many miles as
you want. I've run all kinds. Some are a little more than a well-organized
group run – and then others are huge running parties with race
numbers, aid stations, and even official times.
When you sign up, most of the waivers say, “It’s a fat ass. You’re on your own.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Why are they called fat ass races? I think it has something to do with the fact that the first fat ass races were organized right after the holidays, after people gained weight from all the holiday eating. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love fat ass races. First, fat ass races are a great way of
making my regular weekend long runs a bit more fun. Normally, I am a loner
during my long runs, but having company can be nice. Second, they’re free. As someone who generally signs up for marathons to
use as training runs, the idea of spending nothing instead of $75 - $125 is
very attractive to me. Third, and my
main reason why I think fat ass races rock, the people who show up at these
events are the best. This is probably a total over-generalization, but fat ass participants tend to be the friendliest of the
running bunch. It is rare to run a fat
ass race without making a new friend or getting to know a running
acquaintance at an entirely new level.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So anyway.
Otto sent me a link. I read the
words “fat ass" and saw that it was relatively local. And so I registered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fast forward to last Friday. My boyfriend, Rob and I consume large
quantities of pasta at Andrea 25, with his high school buddy and his wife, an awesome
couple who live in Long Island. Rob came
up with the smart idea of having us stay at his parents’ house in Long Island the
night before my run, so I wouldn't have to wake up super early for the 6:30
a.m. start. We eat, we talk, and make
merry. I don’t get to bed until
midnight.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I sleep.
I have weird dreams about running with my glasses and getting a
headache and become perplexed as to why I am
running with my glasses. Then I realize I am dreaming. My random running dream becomes a lucid
running dream and then I wake up at 5:30 a.m., completely confused as to where
I am and what I am supposed to be doing. A few cold splashes of water on my face and a few minutes later, I have my running clothes on and I drive over to
Trail View State Park. On my way there,
I buy a bagel and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some coffee. I hope that I won’t need anything more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I get to the start. Turns out this fat ass race is the top shelf kind in
that we get actual bib numbers and not just one, but TWO aid stations, one at the start and
one at the halfway point. Also, the course is
marked, another rarity in fat ass race culture.
Race directors Nichole and Vinny Cappadora really outdid themselves for this free race. After I sign in, I see Mat Gerowitz and
Cherie Yanek, two awesome ultrarunners from New York. Speaking of fat ass races, Mat organizes the September 11th 50K <a href="http://www.blogger.com/(http://september11th50k.blogspot.com/)">(http://september11th50k.blogspot.com/)</a> and
Cherie is the race director of the Burning
Man Ultramarathon. (<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/burningmanultramarathon/">https://sites.google.com/site/burningmanultramarathon/</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While Vinny gives us race
instructions, I do some last minute clothing adjustments and I scarf
down a cream cheese bagel. The course is
a five-mile out and back; we run five miles or so, make a small circle
around a field, and then run back.
Because it’s an anything-goes type of race, participants have the option
of running one to five loops, ten to fifty miles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And we’re off. The sun hasn't risen yet, so everyone has
their headlamps on. Cherie winds up leading for the first minutes or so and I yell, “Why are you leading?” Cherie and I have a bad track record of
getting lost. As in, we <u>always</u> manage to
get lost when we do these trail runs.
And then true to form, we make a left turn, only to find out we’re
supposed to go right. We do this twice. Oops. After
we make our wrong turns and run a bit more, I find myself with Cherie, Mat, Julia Khvasechko, and a nice local runner whose name I forgot. I think I’ll call him Steve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtbu8UYHi2C-6C_Cyu2I0tVZ-C8x6qrodIP8vMbrBIQAWRFnGx8NNOlKIWG88PbhBxM-d3k3mr4NZFtNwdtC-UmPexCfOBoHaWD1lXd-oXMXH2dpf_jj9nGYLStvOHsFyg6Qzj2JpGC1i/s1600/IMG_2954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtbu8UYHi2C-6C_Cyu2I0tVZ-C8x6qrodIP8vMbrBIQAWRFnGx8NNOlKIWG88PbhBxM-d3k3mr4NZFtNwdtC-UmPexCfOBoHaWD1lXd-oXMXH2dpf_jj9nGYLStvOHsFyg6Qzj2JpGC1i/s320/IMG_2954.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Cherie and Julia</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our run takes place along the Greenbelt Trail, which spans all the way from Great South Bay to Long Island Sound, providing
about 32 miles to muck around in. The
terrain was varied, but we mostly encounter deciduous forest, and on occasion,
marsh-like bits. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAe5l2cPeV6pSPuiBS3Nu9OGRX4Ri5vauQiEHprV1rfZ0ufXYyDfqStrwYtgroC9cpPOlS-w7UHqcimrbVnNh1NAgBTZ205SefBcvQoDgVxT9AFhFiZjwl7NH685iB_p3xTNp7DkNj5VC/s1600/IMG_2950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAe5l2cPeV6pSPuiBS3Nu9OGRX4Ri5vauQiEHprV1rfZ0ufXYyDfqStrwYtgroC9cpPOlS-w7UHqcimrbVnNh1NAgBTZ205SefBcvQoDgVxT9AFhFiZjwl7NH685iB_p3xTNp7DkNj5VC/s320/IMG_2950.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Forests!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW530buUNiQcNRqgFzd4_ZympVcS07e56IIrrPqzy3RZNsCpH597eRKw_pedlZq5hW7rD_ixC3kKSmgs0eitsqE3Cjirw_Scx2z1WurfhJ6V_Q9kI_u3mcl1BUdYGiooYmcK2f4r491H7p/s1600/IMG_2945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW530buUNiQcNRqgFzd4_ZympVcS07e56IIrrPqzy3RZNsCpH597eRKw_pedlZq5hW7rD_ixC3kKSmgs0eitsqE3Cjirw_Scx2z1WurfhJ6V_Q9kI_u3mcl1BUdYGiooYmcK2f4r491H7p/s320/IMG_2945.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Marshy bits!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDrZZ3O5s5zeZp1LJrd5oNi_cpODUeuYLJRxGeYOP_IsNc4kh_EsKSEhjQBJO73Kigih7TAbeBZOaH606Oq59i-KXXB03d3glbg3mc1008FL6To4qgNUuB7eXOQ8z1199BpwXUTXA5J5B/s1600/IMG_2893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDrZZ3O5s5zeZp1LJrd5oNi_cpODUeuYLJRxGeYOP_IsNc4kh_EsKSEhjQBJO73Kigih7TAbeBZOaH606Oq59i-KXXB03d3glbg3mc1008FL6To4qgNUuB7eXOQ8z1199BpwXUTXA5J5B/s320/IMG_2893.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">There was even a bamboo thicket.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a group, we only make two more mistakes, mostly due to over thinking The last wrong turn is totally my fault and we end up doing an additional circle at the end of the field. Sorry guys! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lots of fun people were also on the
course with us. People of note (a.k.a. the ones
I remember in my running brain addled state): We first see </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jess Kennedy, runner and chef
extraordinaire. Turns out she baked cookies and banana bread
for the aid stations. I didn’t have any
of the cookies, but the banana bread was delicious. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bart Muzzin and Joey Cohen also pass us.
Bart looked like he was gliding along and wound up running forty miles that day. Joey and I went to law school together – I think
the last time I saw him was on a random trail out in the Palisades in New
Jersey. Oh, and we also see Amy Palmiero-Winters. I don't know her personally, but her story is absolutely inspirational. A below-knee amputee, she has run (and won) all sorts of amazing ultramarathons. She even completed the notoriously difficult </span><a href="http://www.badwater.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Badwater</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, a race I hope to do in the near future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As we run, I note that my feet are
absolutely sliding around in my new Hoka One One Mafates and I wonder if I
should have purchased an even smaller size.
I generally run in a size 6, but after reading reviews that said
Mafates tend to run large, I ordered them in a 5.5. Even with the smaller size, my toes constantly bang against the front of the sneaker. Gaaaahhhh. I tie my shoe laces even tighter and that alleviates the toe banging, but then the medial part of my left foot decides that it is unhappy. I
just can’t seem to win with these sneakers. I've been trying them on and off for the past few weeks and I want to like them, I do, but they keep hurting me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">During our return trip of the first loop, we
meet Cortney Harding, who decides to join
our merry group. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOXpsdXeIy_4BHlLL_YdxK9KBv2iCnU8nwBNNk8ZJVsKBa02p-2MHIk1CyRY3dhaY48sjC1vFLIDHGvyh_-Gszxkt-kNyQYOTwCZlQCBOXTeIupVciWJSnL9t2nkBAEDoZ9CpBSKaBH6i/s1600/IMG_2943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOXpsdXeIy_4BHlLL_YdxK9KBv2iCnU8nwBNNk8ZJVsKBa02p-2MHIk1CyRY3dhaY48sjC1vFLIDHGvyh_-Gszxkt-kNyQYOTwCZlQCBOXTeIupVciWJSnL9t2nkBAEDoZ9CpBSKaBH6i/s320/IMG_2943.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Hanging out at the aid station. Thanks Nichole's dad for volunteering!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We get back to home
base. At this point, my insides remind
me that I hadn't made a bathroom trip yet that morning. And I had eaten a lot of pasta the night
before. Cherie and Julia
were in the same predicament, so when we finish our loop, we run straight to
the bathrooms at the Stop & Shop located right next to the start of the
race. Minutes later, I feel like a million
bucks and then the bunch of us start our second loop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dppPSw0jnRk04JHiXoi4nKgQY423FtYyQa-7aZr1bMU_NQLd_LcXdvc-g3T5neAUSgogZfBnAOQjgNi9t5l7-5Lg-UsrJN0PAGS6BJ-v50sCUWw92jGDY4JtHnTIaAGZmDhAPsLO3Ku1/s1600/IMG_2891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dppPSw0jnRk04JHiXoi4nKgQY423FtYyQa-7aZr1bMU_NQLd_LcXdvc-g3T5neAUSgogZfBnAOQjgNi9t5l7-5Lg-UsrJN0PAGS6BJ-v50sCUWw92jGDY4JtHnTIaAGZmDhAPsLO3Ku1/s320/IMG_2891.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Right before we head out for our second loop!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Halfway through our second loop, I start losing
my pace. By mile 17 or 18, the group has
gone on ahead, and I am by my lonesome.
So of course, when I reach a split in the trail, I get very confused. I first make a left, only to turn back when I
didn’t see any trail markers. Then, I go
right, only to turn back again because I encounter a pile of freshly cut logs
that I had never seen before. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOawJ1UCUWGnh5YTLMP1E3p3P-oFZGET6KjAWMlyy5mWlvYyXhBi0nofCE3_k1EUdmm0lTczLo-7k-a52jVaxaK4ph9b7gKCK1rvnXWbbv2gmO_7p7Vet13_R_kZE6bfGDPLq-xF87Q7BB/s1600/IMG_2946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOawJ1UCUWGnh5YTLMP1E3p3P-oFZGET6KjAWMlyy5mWlvYyXhBi0nofCE3_k1EUdmm0lTczLo-7k-a52jVaxaK4ph9b7gKCK1rvnXWbbv2gmO_7p7Vet13_R_kZE6bfGDPLq-xF87Q7BB/s320/IMG_2946.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Hmmm, this doesn't look familiar. What is this madness?!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so I
stand at the intersection for a couple of minutes, wondering what to do, hoping
for another runner to come by. Finally,
one does and I find out that yes, I was supposed to make a left.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkOmQpWFohpvmhrgQRhUv3MTNXiGnkLxL1oZx3nmWRq25v4jdt0eJyBfYuT8Q0qZgf6vYjrCOjpYsWcSlTBHa1CJl5Kr0xEELhKP-6NdJJeSG9y7Ch3wRpzbsA7bDG2ehWS9jO3Ii2koR/s1600/IMG_2947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkOmQpWFohpvmhrgQRhUv3MTNXiGnkLxL1oZx3nmWRq25v4jdt0eJyBfYuT8Q0qZgf6vYjrCOjpYsWcSlTBHa1CJl5Kr0xEELhKP-6NdJJeSG9y7Ch3wRpzbsA7bDG2ehWS9jO3Ii2koR/s320/IMG_2947.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Do I go left? Or right? Arghhhhh!!!!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Going left, this time more confidently, I pass by a few people flying radio
controlled gliders and pause to take their picture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJuLdi-yVLU595sEbfelI145WiYPkj9vLpW0koDjJsuEDXJF8hMU1_0-8M86aR7ARMqmGnIgF0022Fh2wxFw3PQG0Q2X4i3_okS1nQUa_QSw4m595MJSSJgdBlinKUd1tLm8mdRVot8ag/s1600/IMG_2949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJuLdi-yVLU595sEbfelI145WiYPkj9vLpW0koDjJsuEDXJF8hMU1_0-8M86aR7ARMqmGnIgF0022Fh2wxFw3PQG0Q2X4i3_okS1nQUa_QSw4m595MJSSJgdBlinKUd1tLm8mdRVot8ag/s320/IMG_2949.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">If I weren't in such a rush to get back, I would have worked harder at getting a cooler picture.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At mile 19, I know my feet have had
it. I am not sure if it’s the Hokas or
my inability to tie my sneakers tightly enough.
I contemplate switching out my sneakers and then running a mini six mile
loop after I complete my second round, just to get a marathon distance in, but when I check the time on my watch, I realize that I would finish way too late. Although I intended on running thirty miles that morning, I already spent five hours on my feet and I didn't want to ruin tomorrow's run. So I decide to call it quits after my second lap.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the home stretch, I
see Mat and crew running out for their third loop and I let them know that I
was heading home.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdT7VL27lx65oQH4NXR1RUgNtxoixOaKwJVV2-aoJ3X9vVkgC6eNU5ZPY-aEW-R1Smwit9xJW_0o-f0U7FSOBfijlb5eknzYpLD76KFVOpOrJixMkGu6ZonjJicmln2fq7x01h68gLEFi/s1600/IMG_2952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdT7VL27lx65oQH4NXR1RUgNtxoixOaKwJVV2-aoJ3X9vVkgC6eNU5ZPY-aEW-R1Smwit9xJW_0o-f0U7FSOBfijlb5eknzYpLD76KFVOpOrJixMkGu6ZonjJicmln2fq7x01h68gLEFi/s320/IMG_2952.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Looks like this car got lost, too. </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqsu-riHGOKnAPE6iuUly9gqICow4An1EintX_tgRtCRBM9BF5cKC1K3kB9eB5QidAZpSqX45Pse2tuA5Kd2425SnPn15GWJkiVUE8VE9TcFV_RpkXkvO-JXXBhvgRzQOXZzb9ShmgVJz/s1600/IMG_2953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSqsu-riHGOKnAPE6iuUly9gqICow4An1EintX_tgRtCRBM9BF5cKC1K3kB9eB5QidAZpSqX45Pse2tuA5Kd2425SnPn15GWJkiVUE8VE9TcFV_RpkXkvO-JXXBhvgRzQOXZzb9ShmgVJz/s320/IMG_2953.JPG" width="198" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Mat on his way out to do a third loop.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I get to the finish, tell Nichole that I am done for the day and thank her for
introducing me to the Greenbelt Trail. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw6DX0lBNyfK_ZF1_M1yoi2k7sQ5VNbDsASjxZRLJV3OKiySYfWHSkycQl2aN1G7UHOzJGCAA6Jn7djl25IJedSZrsoL3GuQIdx6BIjqGLrj1FR_gs38QU0t0aMFDpnxxC8LiIAW2Vast/s1600/IMG_2890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw6DX0lBNyfK_ZF1_M1yoi2k7sQ5VNbDsASjxZRLJV3OKiySYfWHSkycQl2aN1G7UHOzJGCAA6Jn7djl25IJedSZrsoL3GuQIdx6BIjqGLrj1FR_gs38QU0t0aMFDpnxxC8LiIAW2Vast/s320/IMG_2890.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Race Director Nichole Cappadora with a race volunteer.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then I call my boyfriend and find out that he’s out running, too! We decide to meet at a local bagel place and a
fifteen minute drive later, I am happily eating a post-run yogurt and I feel
all is well. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday,
January 13, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Training Report: Riverside Park and Fort Washington Park</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday morning was foggy and a downright
balmy 45 degrees, so Rob and I decided to jog north along the Hudson River in
Riverside Park. I started off a bit
wobbly, but then as the miles ticked by, I felt more like myself and less like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeble">Weeble</a>.
After a few miles, Rob had to turn back because he wanted to meet with some
friends later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEjXbj9A_0XjxoReuWuXhioCh7cldVWKlxHiG8uMloeqvrzmfzDL12Ral5hL4I5as1vhmZCh54qq5vb5d5Ai4qLfHTOBKh1T49TueRPGsAG1oE_FYHPvdoLFnbUT9uy4GJ7n5rm9Owtyz/s1600/IMG_2923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEjXbj9A_0XjxoReuWuXhioCh7cldVWKlxHiG8uMloeqvrzmfzDL12Ral5hL4I5as1vhmZCh54qq5vb5d5Ai4qLfHTOBKh1T49TueRPGsAG1oE_FYHPvdoLFnbUT9uy4GJ7n5rm9Owtyz/s320/IMG_2923.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Rob runs towards the Riverside Church. Bye, Rob!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I kept going and was rewarded by being able
to take lots of lovely photos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeY6Vj1d17OHT_EJGRhU34w3ar60DfzapdaoWFedlot7Cu4Ni8rkPABH-NTLSwyQC1zS90136XW5hPZxu9qSy52q1SMkURYl0L0jxTs_TROhvpk6incsFppwvBAqAAzRTrCW1QjNCwo4k/s320/IMG_2957.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fog made everything look magical.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QeB6evBHidU9ou43QC90Chke5Rj31pNbIb8CJvWSMQ7pK7Mhw5q5E-yS-M7jitZy3mQtzRutNxsRlRmdZVTWh2Xc-f1YNkLn4u5xaikbAs0c4nCQrgMvYI0uzBmrVSxt6EeSERXt0kmj/s320/IMG_2960.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Little Red Lighthouse.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once I </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">reached the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Lighthouse" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Little Red Lighthouse</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> by the George Washington Bridge, I deliberated whether to cross the bridge into Jersey to eat a quick brunch in Fort Lee or just to turn back and run the five miles back to Rob’s apartment and gorge myself on the lentil soup waiting in the fridge. Lentil soup won, and the more I thought about how awesome it was going to taste, the faster I ran home. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Monday,
January 14, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instead of going for a run, I decided to try some yoga at my gym. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I found it tedious, but I have the firm belief that one day something will just “click” and I will like it all the time instead of some of the time. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So this
morning I breathed and stretched and tried not to think about how I
wanted to go take a shower and get ready for work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>So there you have it.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In sum, not a bad weekend. I tried out a new trail and ran some miles. And I am looking forward to the rest of the week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thoughts? Comments? Any suggestions on what I should do about my Hokas? </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1316867469972700632.post-57530240255397094152013-01-11T16:13:00.001-05:002013-01-11T17:05:37.947-05:00So here is my blog, it exists!<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Beginnings
are so difficult, but here goes:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am starting
an ultrarunning journal. Actually, that's not quite right. I already have a running journal, but it consists mostly of quantitative data. A typical entry would read, "I ran 10 miles today. One toe nail fell off." Pretty dry reading, if you ask me. I have decided that now that I am going public, I will be a bit more descriptive, not just because it makes for more entertaining reading, but so that I can get better feedback on whether my training is working or not. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Normally I don't give a hoot about my training as my normal training modus operandi has been just to go out and run a lot and see what happens. But this needs to change. The real reason I am going public with my blog is because for the first time in my ultramarathon career (all three years of it, I am still a total newbie), I have tackled on a project that I think may be a wee bit much and will require not just a lot of training, but quality training. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am going for the<a href="http://www.run100s.com/gs.htm"> Grand Slam of Ultrarunning</a>, kids. That's right, I am making the valiant attempt of running <a href="http://www.wser.org/">Western States</a>, <a href="http://vermont100.com/">Vermont</a>, <a href="http://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/">Leadville</a>, and <a href="http://www.wasatch100.com/">Wasatch</a>, all in one summer. It is either going to be epic and awesome, or just . . . I don't even want to think about it. Admittedly, while my head is still a bit dizzy thinking about all those races, I have never felt more serene and focused. This is what ultrarunning is all about - stretching your absolute limits. And then stretching them some more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I probably should
have posted my first official entry on January 1, but life got in the way. (I slept
through a good chunk of New Year's Day. Don't ask.) And as it is, I haven’t really done anything
that exciting, running-wise so far this year.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But I
have to begin somewhere. So here is my
blog - it officially exists!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Actually
wait, wait. I did do a cool running-related activity last weekend . . . I ran a neat trail race at Watchung Reservation
with the awesome folks at <a href="http://www.njtrailseries.com/">NJ Trails</a>, but gosh, that was so last Saturday and
it just doesn't seem to fair to write about it now.
I am going to make a rule (that I will probably break) that I will not
write about anything that happened more than a week ago. That will either (a) force me to write more
or (b) inspire me to do lots of cool things so I always have something to write
about. Either way, I win. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This blog
is still very much a nascent idea, so I have no idea what direction it will take. But there will be stats. And pictures. Oh, and lots and lots of running. Speaking of stats . . . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today’s
Stats:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Miles
ran:</i> 5Kish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Where: </i>Around my neighborhood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>What I
wore:</i> North Face fleece, long thermal undershirt (it's my favorite thermal that I have been wearing since high school, it's so ridiculously soft), Nike running tights, Icebreaker socks, turtle fur scarf, gloves </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Sneakers: </i>Super muddy Brooks Ghost 5. I should probably clean them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>How I
felt:</i> Cold. Oh, and my knees are still
purple and feeling weird from the tumble I took on Saturday because my Microspikes got caught in some brush. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>What I
thought about while running:</i> How I need to run more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Notes:</i>
Kept my run short because I have some solid long runs to do this weekend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So here is my first ever public blog post. Thoughts? Comments? Anyone planning on running these races? I sure could use some company!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm off to have an adventure, folks! Wish me luck!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044330929647913895noreply@blogger.com12