An Indian Comes to NYC....and Runs the Brooklyn Half with Me and Our Own Unofficial Full

I met Ash last year when I went to India, and he immediately became my best friend in India. So when I invited him to our wedding, of course I was excited when he bought his tickets (and then immediately began planning where we could go running and where to go eat...Ash is like me, running and eating are his favorite things (though maybe I like eating a little more?)).

After he arrived on Friday, we took him to Anella for dinner. We ate dinner in the garden and even though it was 90F, he thought it was cooler, compared to Chennai, which has been having a heat wave with temperatures near 110 F. Ugh. Living in a place with tons of alcohol restrictions, he requested someplace with beer. He was happy.

We ran the Brooklyn Half. I've been feeling pretty out of shape, but still somehow managed to crank out a 1:37. Not bad considering the effort didn't tax me too much.

The Brooklyn Half is a lot of waiting, but it's actually a lot of fun. My running club had over 400 people in it so it was a lot of waving and chatting and having fun. And then Ash needed to have a Nathan's hot dogs, so there were some lines for that, then lines for the subway, blah blah blah. Still, it was a fun day and felt nice to be back.

The next day, we got up early. Luckily Ash was super jet lagged and I'm used to getting up stupid early, so we were fine. We ran down to Dumbo, me pointing out every little thing on the way. Then we got on the Brooklyn Bridge. We chatted until in the middle I began panicking....w my fear of the Brooklyn Bridge. Ash thought I was joking when I forced him to stop taking photos and grab my hand. We ran across the bridge hand-in-hand until the cement part, and then I sent him back to take photos (and try to regain my dignity).

Ash said it best: "you run over mountains, yet you're afraid of a bridge?!" oh shush.

We ran around the bottom of Manhattan, stopping in one of the worst port-a-potties ever (Hey, I was hydrated!) and then up along the Hudson. On 59th Street, we ran east until we hit the park, and then did a loop of Central Park. We ran into ultra runner Andy Jones Wilkens. Ash was in heaven, and then we ran back home via the 59th Street Bridge. Ash's assessment of the bridge: "It looks beautiful from afar, but not when you're on it."

We were at just about a marathon, and we ate Ash's first NYC bagel with cream cheese. Felt like it was def a NYC ultrarunning weekend.

Shape Women's Half in Central Park

I thought I needed something faster so I signed up for the Shape Half Marathon in Central Park, put on by NYRR. However, I'm an idiot and signed up for the Sybil Luddington 50k. Oh well.

This was def a training run. My legs were tired from the 50k, so I could barely push. I had a goal of sub 2 hours, and I did make it. But my legs were dead, heavy, lead, tired. Ugh.

I happened to see Karen in my corral - she was not at her peak, and we ended up running almost the entire thing together. I picked it up the last mile, and oops, lost her a bit. But it was fun and we met at the finish line after.

This race was a women's only race, looping Central Park. So there are the hills we know so well, which aren't really that awful. But the signs....the idea that you now deserve brunch with a mimosa because you ran a half. It left me with a yucky feeling. Karen was like, "I'm gonna have brunch and a mimosa whether I run or not." It was very pink...and pink is my fave color.

Still, for $75 we got a medal and a sub to Shape mag. Ah well. And an experience of running a half marathon with lots of other women.

The time limit is higher than other races....which means you get a lot more walkers, which is great and I love the energy...but it makes for late race passing quite difficult.

I biked home, ate more food, taught yoga, and ate. I WAS BACK RUNNING - and oh so glad!

Frozen Bonsai Half

Even though the race had frozen in its name, I still figured it might be fun to run. Hey, why not? A half in Central Park, easy peasy close, and I could run it super slow.

The night before I was up late at a friend's play in the Bronx, so I was on little sleep. The train got me there too quick, so I froze while waiting. I began pacing, which was better than standing still. I piled on layers. I ran into Karen, who told me she was still feeling ill effects of her late night, and ran into Stephanie, who ended up PRing.

I started out sub 8s for quite a while. I felt okay, was thinking of all I had to do. Then around mile 8, my feet started hurting. It was out of control painful, and I was involuntarily audibly moaning. Then Wayne biked up and I whined to him while he whined to me. He was supposed to bike with a bunch of people for six hours but everyone bailed and now his back was hurting so he headed home with 20 miles instead of 50 or 60 or more.

I finished, and limped to the train. My feet were killing me.

The medal was nice, the course was fun, the after spread great. Go NYC Runs, with another awesome race.

Buffalo Half Marathon: I'm BACK!

I was pretty nervous at the Buffalo Half.

Initially, I was planning on running the Buffalo Marathon, racing it and hopefully doing really well. With the awful shin pain I felt during the Brooklyn Half, I was nervous about pushing it. After talking with my PT and my coach, I decided to drop down to the half.

Oh, boo.

But on the plus side, I ran it, and I finished in 1:42 with zero pain. ZERO SHIN PAIN!!! So that was great.

The course itself was really nice - a lot of pretty streets, you get to run along the water, nice cheering crowds. I was pretty excited to be in Buffalo, seeing two of my best friends, and it was nice to be running and having V cheer for me along the course. 

The finish was quick and much less of a sh*tshow than other marathons I have done (aka I loved it!) although the "fruit" they promised was less like the honeydew V and I had hoped for and more of the old orange slices and chunks of banana.

I ran a somewhat steady pace, struggling towards the end, mainly because I hadn't done speed in so freaking long.

I'm glad to be back!

Brooklyn Half: No Cheesecake Please

I love the Brooklyn Half. 

So even though my doctor hadn't approved me running, I'm a moron and decided to run it anyway. I was pretty excited and it felt amazing to be running.

I started off with a bunch of my friends in one of the early corrals. I ended up running by James (BRC50k alum) and Kike (another BRC50k alum!) and chatted with them. I was supposed to start at, per Ray's instructions, at 9 min miles, and I felt good,  could drop to 8s. I started at 7s. Ooops.

And then the crash came, around mile 8. I was running with some NBR peeps - Mia and Jose - and all felt horrendous. Then Mia and I stopped to go to the bathroom - my tummy was not right - and when I left the port-a-potty, my stomach felt worse and my shin was really bothering me. Mile 9 now.

I told Mia to go ahead and slowed down a lot. I walked, because I knew I could only damage myself more. My stomach was a wreck. I ran, I walked. Wayne biked next to me.

Mile 12. I went into the first of the port-a-potties. And then I left and then I went into the last of the port-a-potties.

UGH.

Really, Italian ricotta cheesecake the night before a half is NOT a good idea.

Finished around 1:55 or so. Shin hurt a lot and could barely walk after. Didn't eat until late afternoon as my stomach was killing me all day.

But it was fun!!!

Ladies First in this Half!

Hello, the logo was a version of Rosie the Riveter? Hell yes, this hardcore feminist is signing up.

NYC Runs was putting on another half-marathon on my PR course, Shore Road: the women-only Ladies First Half Marathon! This is not the best course to run in cooler temps – it can be windy, cold, and the waves tend to splash up on the course on windy days. A week before Umstead 100, run a half? Why not. I wouldn’t race it hardcore, but have fun.

Unfortunately, my hamstring began hurting. PT on Thursday, a suggestion to go back to my old sneakers, and advice to tape on both sides were taken. I decided to scale my goals back….and run slow.

I ran easy, chatting w strangers. I felt good, and did not wear a  Garmin – who knows my time? My main goal was to not hurt myself more, and to run under 2 hours. I did both.

It was pouring on the flat double out-and-back course. It felt colder than it was, because it was windy and raining. I wore many layers, but didn’t regret.

The last few miles, I slowed down, having to go to the bathroom and feeling crappy. I pushed, saw 1:58, and happily accepted my most-feminist medal ever. I ate some of the fab NYC Runs post-race fare, hopped on a bus to a train to another train to home for a very hot bath and pumpkin pancakes.

Frozen Bonsai Half-Marathon Left Me Frozen

Loops in Central Park? But why not when it's the Frozen Bonsai Half-Marathon, put on by the super duper awesome NYC Runs. And what else did I have to do, a day after running a 50k?

Photo by Ken Allen himself.

 My legs felt tired as I ran over the Pulaski to the 7 train, and as I ran to Central Park from the 6 train. Hmmmm.

When I got to the park, one of my NBR teammates said, "Oh, a half marathon? This is a walk in the park for you." I responded, "Literally, it will be." Literally because I could barely run, my legs were so tired. After the 50k the day before, my legs would be lucky if they could slog out 13.1 miles in a walk!

I started the race, joking around with whoever was around me. Mat Gerowitz was right by, and we began catching up, chatting, talking, laughing. After a few miles, he told me to go ahead.

I ran, and because it was so cold, never once looked at my Garmin. I decided I was running 10 minute miles, and hoped by some miracle I might break 2 hours. Not sure if that would happen.

I ended up meeting a nice guy, Leroy, and chatting with him the last few miles. Then a familiar bike came along - Wayne! "Hey, did the race start late?" Um, no, thanks for reminding me how slow I was. (Turns out, he thought the race started at 8:30 a.m., not 9:00 a.m.! Ha!)

I finished, miraculously, in 1:47. I say miraculously because that's a decent half time, especially since I have raced almost every weekend since September, and I ran a 50k the day before. Wooooo!

Freezing, I headed over to NYC Runs food area to eat some blueberries and bagels with cream cheese and strawberries and hot chocolate, and then went to meet my mom. What a cold day, some hills, but you know what? Awesome medal made it all worth it!

Channukah Chalf: The Coldest, Windiest, Most Miserable Race I Have Ever Run, and It Only a Half-Marathon

Because I'm stupid, I signed up for the Channukah Half. "Oh look, there's an Oy Vey 10k and a Gelt 5k. This is the festival of lights race series! And put on by the beloved NYC Runs." I'm not Jewish, but I have a bacon-cheeseburger Jew as a brother-in-law (and don't tell him there's no such thing as a bacon-cheeseburger Jew), so I figured I'd do my part.

"Don't eat gelt. It sucks," he told me.

Okay, Brian. I'll just run the half instead.

As the days approached, I noticed how horrifying the weather reports were. Well, weather.com isn't always right,  right? 

Unfortunately, it was worse than you could have even imagined.

Cold. In the 20s, but feels colder. Windy. Wind gusts up to 50 mph. As the race was run along the water, spray from the water would come up and cover the entire race course, which would mean you'd be soaked. And then a gust of wind would come. It sucked. It was a double out and back, which meant it sucked worse in one direction (coming back). There were times I was running as fast as I could, and a glance at my Garmin would show me 10:30 pace. And then my Garmin showed some 6:50s. Ouch.

Tears down my face. I couldn't feel my hands. My feet. OMG I can't even move. This sucks so bad.

Then I finished. A volunteer frozenly handed me a heat sheet and Wayne put my down coat on over that. "C'mon, let's get you out of here."

I grabbed a salt bagel w frozen cream cheese and hot chocolate (Gotta love NYC Runs!) and stumbled to the car. The heat felt so good. I cried when I had to get out. Why? Why be someplace cold and miserable? This race sucked, I'm glad I did it, and I hope I'll never do a race that cold again.

Cover of New York Runner...

So I see my running club just put me on their website a while back, for when I was on the cover of New York Runner. Wheeeee!

Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon

Evy is the star w her garbage bag pre-marathon attire

My work told me they were flying me up to Toronto for a conference we put on, so I could do social media. Neat. When I mentioned it to our Events Manager in Toronto, she told me there was a half-marathon and marathon the day before. Hmmm....

A marathon was a bit too much the week before a 24 hour race (I would be running 24 Hours the Hard Way the week after), but a half? I could do that. I did that the week before Hinson Lake 24. So yes, I'll fly up a day early and run a half.

I like a low-key race. Big crowds are also fun, but they usually are not combined. But here, yay, they were.

I headed over to the start with friends running the marathon, including Mary, Evy, Kino, and Thunder. We left our hotel after 8am for the 845 start.

We squeezed into our corrals shortly before the start. And I took off.

I felt pretty decent, and stuck to low 7s, even pushing it into the high 6s at times. Ooops. Oh well.

Around mile 8 or 9, my feet started hurting me. I've been having a weird problem - it is likely related to the frostbite I had a few years back (and am actually going to my super awesome podiatrist tomorrow about it) and my stomach hurt. Bleh. Push it. Bleh.

Close to the finish, one of my former Toronto colleagues, also a runner, screamed for me. Pretty awesome. Then, a few blocks later, my boss and three of my colleagues, up in Toronto for the same conference, were screaming their heads off for me. Really nice finish.

1:46. Not bad. Not my best, but my 3rd best. And not bad for the chaotic preparations (aka none) and the insanity beforehand (Saturday involved four trains, a plane, a cab, a rainstorm, and a power outage). I finished and was quickly covered with yogurt (um, I ate it but somehow got it all over me). I showered quickly and headed over to the work hotel, and on the way, got to see Kino, Evy, and Mary and scream for all of them. Fun times!

Race Report: Narrows Half Marathon, September 15, 2013

I was not sure if I wanted to do this race, mainly because my girl V was in town and I wanted to spend time with her. But somehow, I ended up getting up ridiculously early and heading down to Bay Ridge to run this awesome race just under the Verazanno Narrows, along the water. I have run this before, when pacing in the Great NY Running Exposition, so I really loved this race.

NYC Runs put on the Narrows Half Marathon, and I have to say, I do love NYC Runs (and it's not just because I am so over NYRR). They put on a low-key race, but with nice treats at the end (bagels, cream cheese, fruit, etc) and nice little trophies (which I ended up winning one of, yay!). There's just a much better vibe at all of the races. It's a shame that so many NY runners are a slave to the 9 +1 (To get automatic entry into the NYC marathon, you have to run 9 NYRR races, volunteer at 1 race, and be a member. Way to fill NYRR's coffers.) because there are so many races that are MUCH better and more interesting and fun and unique than yet another trot around Central Park.

The course is flat and fast. You run out about 2.5 miles, come back to the start. Then you head out about 4 miles, and then come and finish.

I ran most of the race with a woman named Emily (Her teammates would not stop shouting her name so I learned it quickly.) and we tried to push each other through the race, which was nice. I had no clue what we'd ultimately run and when she said she was trying to break 1:35, I thought, "Hmmmm..."

1:35:something was my PR.

I came in at 1:34:46.

With a neat-o trophy.

Wayne drove a very happy Cherie home.

Brooklyn Half!

For some stupid idea, I signed up for the Brooklyn Half. The original idea was that I would do a bunch of speed work, train hard, and try to PR. Wayne even offered to pace me, but he ended up with a messed up ankle and rode alongside the course, biking, offering cookies to runners. However, a hamstring strain almost two months earlier meant I cut my mileage down and my speed work. I spent a lot of time at physical therapy.

I started out feeling good, running 7minute-something miles, all under eights. maybe i could hit my goal....hmmmmm....and then around mile 9, this horrible pain began on the pad of my right foot. it was excruciating. tears to the eyes. moaning while running. i kept it up, and was relieved to finish.

1:45. Far from what I wanted, but still, pretty decent for someone who hasn't done the proper speedwork in months, good for someone who ran a 50k the week before, and a 50miler the week before that.

After, NBR went to the beach for a picnic. Lots of alcohol, snacks, cold water, slight sunburns. Wayne and I ended up leaving tipsy - and napping for a while in the afternoon. A fun day overall.

i guess you can't go short & fast AND long & strong...

There's so many things I LOVE about ultrarunning (great community, eating brownies while running, beautiful trails, hallucinations while running at night, geeking out on gear), but one thing I do not like about ultrarunning:


It's made me a slower runner.


My PR is 1:35 for the half-marathon, 3:28 for the marathon, but I haven't hit either of those times since 2009. (Okay, so we're only a few weeks into 2009, but I ran 3:46 disappointingly in the NYC Marathon this autumn.) I've noticed routes I used to complete in a certain amount of minutes are taking me longer...my legs are tired...I am slower.


I ran 8.5 hours last weekend, felt great the whole time, strong. The longer runs are getting easier. A three hour run is normal. A three hour marathon...well, there's the challenge.


I signed up for Boston, but I don't even know if I'll do it. Health problems indicate a minor surgery will probably be necessary, so if that's the case, I'm hoping to schedule it after the Umstead 100Miler and that way, I can take my 1-2 weeks rest easily and hopefully be ready for Miwok 100k and my crazy May of running! But running NYC last autumn, my shins, my calves, my legs felt so torn up by the pavement.


I want to run fast. I want to keep PR'ing in marathons, half-marathons. I want to run 1:30 half-marathon. I want to break 3:20 for the marathon. I just don't know if ultrarunning and shorter speedier races are possible for me.


My legs have been feeling sore a lot lately. This was part of the result of my crummy half-marathon this marathon -- they ached so badly I couldn't help but slow down -- I couldn't push myself. I am not used to running so fast, as well. Lately, my sore calves have prevented me from doing speed workouts.


I know what I need to do -- more speed. But I don't know if my fast twitch muscles are even around anymore.


I ran into my friend Lynn while running and she cheered me up. We chatted for a while, and she told me, "Cherie, you've done the marathons, the halves. Now do the hundreds, the fifties. You're long now. Focus on that and do it while you can." Lynn is a marathoner, and I am trying to take that advice.


I called my mother, almost crying. I hate being disappointed with my times. "Cher, you're not a shorter, fast runner anymore. You're a long-distance runner. An endurance runner. You can't do both and your body has changed. You're an ultrarunner now."


Thinking about it, I definitely prefer ultrarunning to marathoning. I just wish I could have both.

sunday's half-marathon

so i ran the coldest race i have ever run before on sunday: a half-marathon in central park. i know, sounds fun? at the start, it was 20 F (feels like 7F!) and i was literally crying. it was that cold. my hands and my toes hurt so much. my feet started to thaw out after the first four or five miles, but it was such a miserable race. while running, i realized i was running way slow, and told myself it was okay. honestly, i haven't been training that hardcore lately, just starting to get back into things. and because i was crying in the beginning of the race, i told myself, "this is just a training run, not a race. a run." as long as i finished sub-two hours, i'd be happy.

if you're wondering, how bad was it, here's how bad:

• there was black ice all over the course, mostly by the water stops
• when you got to a fluid station, instead of grabbing a cup of water, you'd grab a cup of solid ice. this happened to be on several occasions.
• my fingers hurt with the cold the entire race.
• when i peed around mile 8 (i had to go!), steam rose up in the porta-potty after i peed!

so i finished in sub-two hours, to trev cheering me on, "hurry up, let's get pancakes." after, mark and mark and trevor and i got hot cocoa and then mexican food "that you don't need a wheelbarrow to take you home afterwards" and i spent the rest of the day warm--hot shower, warm apartment with candles burning, lots of tea, moving-watching under the blanket. i hate the cold. training for a spring marathon is hell, i'm slowly learning.