Here's the map from last nights first hill training session- 4 repeats of Cat Hill. The hill wasn't actually as bad as I'd spent the day imagining, probably because I'd psyched myself up for the worst and then ran it very slowly. I've realized that I don't need to go anywhere fast (especially not to the top of a steep hill), and it seems better for my shins not to. Despite only running a couple of miles, I was once again starving on my way home, so much so that I didn't make it past McDonald's empty handed! My last minute switch of a shake to a smoothie made me feel a little less guilty about fueling myself with junk, and the smoothie was surprisingly good!




Yesterday, Paul also helped me lug 4 bags full of books down to The Strand (thank you to Emily, Jeannie, Sterling and Paul for your donations!) to try and raise a bit more fundraising money. They only accepted half of the books that we carried down there, so we got quite a workout both ways, and I made $33 towards my goal!

My latest creation...

This is my latest painting 'Two Tulips'- acrylic on canvas, 18x24".  On sale at the Brooklyn Indie Market on September 12th (or before, if anyone would like to buy it for a $100 donation to the cause!).

One More Mile to Double Digits!

Here's the map of today's long run- 9 miles! My new Garmin watch has GPS, so it was fun to monitor my (slow) pace along the way, and count down to the end! Finishing the 9 miles has made me feel more confident for the rapidly approaching Bronx Half Marathon... only 3 weeks to go! It was HOT again, but luckily cloudy too, so we were mostly running in the shade. We're now reaching distances where we need re-fuel during the run. Today I tried Gu Roctane energy gel in pineapple- delicious! And I still have another 848 calories to replace :)

Test # 1

Tonight's practice was a test- a 5K run at race pace, to determine a baseline to mark our progress throughout the season.  The race pace can also be used to estimate overall finish times for longer distances like half and full marathons.  I was hoping to be able to run a bit faster than in Saturday's 4 mile race, seeing as we knocked 0.9 miles off the distance tonight, and surprised myself again with 9 minute miles!  Now we have 6 weeks of hill training (argh!) to complete before test # 2.

The recommitment deadline for the Nike Women's Marathon is fast approaching.  This is where TNT participants have the chance to assess their fundraising and training progress and decide whether to recommit to the program for the rest of the season.   This afternoon we received a 'mission moment' from our race coordinator that I'm sure inspired all of us to keep at it, and I wanted to share with you...

For those hot days when you ask yourself- why  am I doing this?

 “At 7 am this morning (July 20, 2010), our 5 yr old grandson Mikey went to heaven very peacefully with his Mom and Dad at his side. Mikey’s spirit and joy for family and his "friends" was infectious. It is almost impossible not to feel his enthusiasm, quick and hilarious wit and joy for everyday things.”- Mikey’s grandmother

Michael was battling a rare form of leukemia-(Acute Myelogenous Leukemia-AML) for the past year. He was waiting for a bone marrow transplant, but he wasn’t able to fight any longer.  He was diagnosed at age 3, remained in remission after a year of treatments, and lived a relatively normal life up until about 4 months ago.

This is why you are getting up early on weekends and are sweating through this very hot summer to train for your event. Every dollar that you raise is so important. No family should have to watch a child suffer and lose their battle with Leukemia or any other blood cancer.

It's stories like this that keep us on track through early starts, long runs and heat waves- these are nothing compared to what patients and their families go through every day.  Thank you all again for your support and donations- together we really can make a difference!

Run For Central Park Race

This morning I ran the 4 mile Central Park Conservancy Run for Central Park along with 221 TNTers, and over 5000 other runners!  The 4 mile distance was a nice break from the long runs we've been running every other Saturday morning, and while the lie in was appreciated after the previous week's early start, the heat was not!  However, I surprised myself by finishing faster than I'd expected :)
Here's the course...

Effort Levels

Last night's group practice focused on effort levels (EL). After a 10 minute warm up on the lower loop of the park, we sped up to our 'effort level 4'- think running hard, arms pumping and heavy breathing! The speeding continued for a distance of 4 lamp posts and was followed by a recovery period at EL1 (which turned out to be walking for me, in order to be able to breathe properly) for 2 lamp posts before building up to EL4 again. I think this was the hardest workout I've done so far (with the exception of the cross training workout I blogged about earlier), but it felt good to move a bit quicker after weeks of just 'surviving' the heat and humidity. By the time we'd finished our runs and were mid group stretch, after spending all day hoping that the thunderstorms would stop for practice, we were wishing for the rain to start to cool us down!

Early Start!

This morning was the first of many early starts to come. When the alarm went off at 5:17 am, I reached for my Clif bar for an easy breakfast. Substituting my running clothes for pjs definitely got me out the door quicker, with time to make it to the bus stop for 6:10... shame the bus didn't show up until 6:30! The good news is that seeing as that was the first bus of the day, it means I get an extra 20 minutes in bed next week! This week's long run was another out and back along the Hudson. Here's the 7 mile + route:



Earlier this week we also had the first team-wide social. I had a great time dancing (or cross training, as I like to call it) with my team mates. Hopefully I'll find some photos from the social to share!

Latest Long Run

Yesterday, I ran just over 6 miles in the park. The full loop was tough, especially the 'rolling' hills on the West side that seem more like mountains than rolling, and Harlem Hill right at the top. However, being part of the team makes it all that much easier. As the different pacing groups set out on various loops of the park, we were constantly running past the other team members, and spent the morning shouting 'Go Team!' and 'Looking good!' at each other. Cheesy as that may sound, team spirit really helps when you're legs are getting tired and you're overheating! Next week our Saturday long runs will be starting at 7 am to beat the heat... which wouldn't be such a problem if we didn't have to each 1.5 hours ahead of running. My plan of action is to sleep with a Clif bar next to my pillow, set my alarm for 5:30, eat the Clif, and go back to sleep for as long as possible before it's time to leave. I'll also be sleeping in my running clothes to speed things up in the morning!

Here's yesterday's run: