Last week I completed week 2 of London marathon training, logging 4 runs for the week, strength training, hot yoga, and travel to Arizona for the Rock N Roll 5k and Half Marathon.
The week started out pretty good. I did a 45 minute recovery run on the treadmill. Treadmill running is not my fav, but it is freezing in NYC, and running outside right now is just not an option.
Next was an interval run where I ran 5 mins on, and 1:30 off. I tried to increase my pace slightly for every 5 minute interval to test my endurance a bit.
I also did some strength training this day. Just a simple leg routine circuit that I tend to do often. I really need to switch it up. (workout is in the video at the bottom of this post)
Next up was hot yoga on Friday, which was really fantastic. I’m loving that I’ve added this back into my training regimen. I really feel fresh and re-energized afterward, and its a good prelude for my long runs on the weekend.
RnR Arizona Race Recap:
This was State #18 for me in my journey to run a half marathon in all 50 states. I have to say, I really enjoyed AZ. The weather is looney as heck though. You have to wear a winter coast in the am because it’s in the 40s, and then switch to tees and sandals because it’s 75 by noon! ….. The races were just OK for me. RnR always puts on great events so that wasn’t an issue. There was just basically zero crowd support out there. Most of the bands playing were ehhhh except these cool drummers on the mountain. The Gatorade mix was terrible. I don’t know what happened but it had a funky taste to it. ….. Post race amenities were great, chocolate milk…had a couple, Pringles, granola bars, post race massages, and I snagged enough SIS to last me through the next few weeks of training. ….. Would I recommend this race, yes. The Phoenix/Tempe/Scottsdale area is cool, and the people were so nice. We even stumbled on upon an Afrobeats rooftop party which was the first cluster of brown folks that I saw for the entire weekend.
Check out my Vlog of this weeks Training, and of my time in Arizona for the weekend.
Saturday was a jam packed day! I pulled double duty with a 10k in the morning, and 5k in the evening. The day started with the NYRR Mini 10k in Central Park. This is one of my favorite races of the year because it is all women. They also use to have the best race shirt when Oakley was the sponsor, but now it is a regular cheapy NB shirt that I’ll probably end up donating to charity.
My Adidas Runners NYC Crew
This race starts out right on Columbus Circle, and treks up 5th Avenue for a mile and a half. This portion of the race is relatively flat, and pretty shaded so its nice. Then we cut into Central Park, and the hill work begins. I ran the first couple of hills, but there is a monster hill that goes on forever that I couldn’t be bothered with, so I gingerly walked up that one. All in all this race still remains one of my favs, especially with the red bagels, and flowers at the finish. I’ll definitely be back for another round next year.
My Long Island crew
Next up was Adidas Run for the Oceans, at Domino Park in Brooklyn. I’ve been running with Adidas for about 8 months now, and they always put on awesome events, and this one was no different. This race was to bring awareness to the plastic polluting our oceans. Adidas is donating $1 per 1km ran to Parley Ocean School for runs logged through the app runtastic through June 16th. CLICK HERE to sign up.
He’s 13 and taller than me!
With @piscesprincess76
With @thedrepabon & @adrian2point0
With @jenn.runs.nyc @adrian2point0 and @libra_tia
With Eva & Amanda
Crew Love
This one was special because I got to run it with my son, and this was his very first 5k. He had a ball![wpvideo cmufdRFZ ]
I am raising funds for Team Sense to run the London Marathon in 2020!
Me in front of the hope sign a la the love sign in Philly.
Saturday I completed race 7 of 9 to qualify for the 2015 NYC Marathon. I would say this is one of the most memorable races I have done for a number of reasons. #1 It’s not often that you get to run down the middle of 42nd street #2 it was pouring down rain, #3 Having to walk a mile and a half to the start line, and then a mile after the race would make any race memorable, and #4 Getting to run through the finish of the NYC Marathon was awesome!
The Chrysler Building
This race started on 47th and 1st avenue, and ended in Central Park, on the west side somewhere near 67th street; so different stop and start locations. I parked my car somewhere kind of midway on West 54th Street so that I wouldn’t have to walk 3 miles back to the start to get to my vehicle. The walk to the start was an interesting one. The first noticeable thing we passed was this HOPE statue. It looks an awfully like the LOVE statue in Philly so I figured let me take a pic in front of this. Next landmark was the Chrysler Building. Yes living in New York I’ve seen it a thousand times, but now I have a photo memory of it to last a lifetime.
Corral line up before the start
So as we are walking I’m just thinking are we there yet? The rain coupled with the cold made this a not so fun trek to the start line. Eventually we started to see other runners heading in the same direction so I figured we must have been close. When we finally got to the start I couldn’t believe the number of runners that were there. According to NYRR there were 7,424 total finishers, but it just seemed like so many more people; possibly because we were cramped into such a small space. I’m guessing this race is pretty popular every year because it is the day before the marathon.
United Nations
United States Mission
Walking to the start we passed by the United Nations. I tried to get a good selfie, but walking and trying to selfie make not for a great pic! Even walking to the start took forever. I have to say the logistics of this race were not great for the runners. I guess there was a lot of pre-walking because it was only a 5K? I’d love to know the thought process behind this.
42nd Street
Once the race got started we made a quick turn onto 42nd Street and it really hit me the shear number of people in this race. I mean there were bodies for miles! Seeing this made me think that doing the NYC Marathon must look something like this, but even more amplified. A lot of people who were doing the marathon the next day were in this race which was surprising since they should have been resting! There were lots of international runners and is was great to see them in such high spirits. It made the dreary day more bearable. There was though a lot of bobbing and weaving. I think a lot of people were in this one as a fun race and were taking their time with it. So I found my self running around a lot of people which I am sure added some time onto my finish.
Pre finish-line
Post finish-line
My goal for this race was to better my pace with NYRR which was at 11:01 per mile….well mission accomplished! I’m not at 10:48 a mile…hey every second counts. Not a PR, but better than before. The finish on this one was epic! It was directly through the finish for the marathon, so I was able to get a small feeling of what it would be like for me next year. People were so excited and stopping to take pics before and after the finish….as was I! I would consider doing this one again next year, only if I haven’t completed my 9 races by then….cold weather running is not for me! 2 races to go!
Well its been a busy winter, spring, summer of 2014. I found out I was pregnant sometime after my last race in 2013 which was the Trenton 10K. Prior to finding out I had already planned to complete the Mini Mighty Man Pool Triathalon so I figured I may as well continue with those plans. I trained from January 2014-April 2014 and low and behold I was able to complete it 6 months pregnant!! I have to say it was kind of koo koo me to do it, but it was extremely fulfilling, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.
Heading for the finish
Crossing the finish line
Oh I did complete 1 more additional race before labor, the Long Island 10K, although it was more of a walk than run…it was fun though! (Notice how chunky I am)
Ok on to Percy Sutton. I did this race last year, and I have to say it is one of the most fun to do for me. It is in the midst of Harlem Month. If you grew up in the boro’s of NYC especially the Bronx or Uptown Manhattan then Harlem Week was a yearly staple for you. Well Harlem week has now turned into Harlem month celebrating the entire month of August.
Percy Sutton 2013…I was so skinny 🙁
Percy Sutton 2014
I am going to continue posting then and now pictures since I am on my quest to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 140. Believe it or not I gained a total of 60lbs! I’m down 40 at this point, and have 20 to go.
So the run was pretty much a loop of Harlem. We had to run up this monster hill at the very beginning of the race. It is a bit daunting, but once it’s done the rest of the race was pretty much flat and down hill. The course looped around city college, and the end was a fast dash to the finish. This was my first race in a long time so I mostly jogged and walked it and finished in 41:09.
This is race 1 of 9 in my quest to qualify for the 2015 NYC Marathon. Fortunately I did complete 9 races last year to quality for this years marathon, but Unfortunately I was unable to roll those over for next year, and there was no way I would have had enough time to train sufficiently for this year, so I am beginning this journey again from scratch 🙁
Next race coming very soon!
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