M.I.A.

Where have I been? It's almost as if I was on vacation and had not access to a computer, but unfortunately that is not the case and I have just been busy and lazy.

Anyway, last Thursday (7/31), the gang from Forest Park Runners (www.forestparkrunners.org) went to see the movie Ultra Marathon Man.

For those who don't know about the film....
The inspirational film UltraMarathon Man: 50 Marathons • 50 States • 50 Days, features renowned endurance athlete and best selling author Dean Karnazes, in his attempt to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days to rasie awarenes for youth obestisty and to get America active. A beautiful and epic journey across the United States, during which Dean pushes the limits of human endurance, inspiring thousands across the country to join him along the path while uniting people of all ages and abilities to take "the next step."

And for those who don't know about Dean....
Dean has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he's run and has won the world's toughest footrace: the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile run across Death Valley in 130-degree temperatures. He’s run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees, a 200-mile relay solo, racing alongside teams of twelve, and has completed a non stop 350-mile run.

The movie was very inspirational although I got shin splints and knee pain just from watching it. Seriously though, I did want to go for a midnight run right after the movie but I couldn't convince anyone to join me plus I was wearing jeans and a polo shirt.

Saturday morning was the long training run in Central Park. Alex and I had planned to do 3 of the loops, which would have totaled 16 miles. However after the 11th mile when we stopped for the food / gatorade break, I felt a sharp pain in my left knee and decided to call it quits. Look at this dynamic duo...


Fortunately, I have been following the RICE method and am feeling better, so I will be running with the team tomorrow night.

The Aftermath

I woke up this morning and wished that I could somehow trade in both my legs from the knees down. I am glad that I had today off from school as handling the steps at my various subway stops would have been excruciatingly painful. Before 8 a.m., I had already taken two ice baths.

So I did what any normal person would do to alleviate my discomfort.... Bikram Yoga. Yes, I know I have preached the benefits of Bikram Yoga on this site several times in the past, but none compare to what I feel about it after today's class. That wish I had about trading in my legs basically came true after I left class. The pain was reduced from about a 7 (out of 10) to a 3. Everything feels better and stronger. One posture in particular I think helped a lot, the Padangustasana, aka the Toe Stand. The beneifits of this posture are:
Creates balance and focus in body and mind
Strengthens stomach muscles
Strengthens joints (hips, knees, ankles and toes)
Helps relieve arthritis in all leg joints including hips
It looks like this - (note: I don't quite look like that in my attempts).

Now the pose I really needed today is the Dandayamana Dhanurasana aka Standing Bow Pulling Pose, as one of the benefits of this pose is the reduction of abdominal fat. After a week of tapering, only running one time for 4 miles, and also carb loading, I feel like I balooned, and the scale confirmed it as I put on 4 pounds. Having seen a recent pic of a friend, I'm thinking he needs this pose as well.

Is Mother Nature A Runner????

My day began at 3 a.m. as I woke up with a bunch of nervous energy in anticipation of my first half-marathon. We were picking up Bonnie, Tom and Vince (who never made it for the ride) at 5:30 at Forest Park and the whole drive over there it was raining hard and lightning as well. The storm continued for the entire drive into Manhattan and started letting up a little as soon as we got out of the car, but it was still raining somewhat. About 6:30, as we were loading into our corrals, the rain stopped and it stayed completely dry for the entire run as well as the post race festivities. On the way home (thanks for the ride Alex), the downpour resumed and even hailed for a little while, fortunately we were inside a pizza parlor for the hailstorm.

Anyway, as for the race itself.... My goal was to finish in under 2 hours, but in the back of my head I was holding out hope for 1:50:00. Well, my net time was a 1:57:03, and I am very pleased with this result for my first long race (my previous longest race was a 10k). Some stats - I finished 3765th overall out of 10506 finishers. In my gender and age group (the oh so tough M30-39), I placed 1058 out of 2071. Again, overall I am very pleased (as below pic shows), but now I have some new goals to train for.

I am tired.....more to come tomorrow........

These Shoes Are Made For Running....

With 2 Half Marathons and 1 Marathon coming up in the next 3 months, not to mention all the training miles, I think it is time to pick up another pair of running shoes. As Alex has been raving to me about his new New Balance shoes, I decided to take a trip to my local running store and try on a few pair. The one that I found most comfortable overall and most appealing to me in the style department were the New Balance 1011 in a size 9. http://www.newbalance.com/running/footwear/MR1011/

First of all, as I often struggle with lacing (too tight? too loose? I don't know) and have tried the bungee laces to no avail, I found the lacing/webbing system to be very comfortable and supportive at the same time. The weight of the shoes is a little heavier than I am used to but I did not find that to be a problem at all. Also, for a very stabile shoe, the forefoot has nice flexibility which offers a smooth transition to the toe-off phase.

!@#$%^&*()_+!@#$%^&*()_+

The title of this post is all characters to censor what I really feel right now. I am just going to ask one question and then drop the subject as it angers me too much. After 8 strong innings, in which your starting pitcher, the one you paid 137 million dollars for, has only thrown 105 pitches and your closer is not available, why why why do you remove him from the game to bring in Duaner Sanchez, who has no experience closing a game with a lead in a big situation????? I don't know which one of these two is the bigger goat from last night.

Anyway, I apologize for the absence of recent posts, but there were two contributing factors. One, laziness. I guess I felt that since I have been tapering before the NYC Half Marathon this Sunday, I was supposed to taper my blog posting. Makes sense, right? The other factor is that when I did get ready to post 2 nights ago, my blog was temporarily removed for some spam check thing. Don't ask.

Have been doing the Bikram Yoga regularly since last Friday. Haven't ran since then, but I think I'll be just fine as the Yoga is more than just stretching. I am getting a cardio workout, I'm losing a little weight, my injuries are healing, etc.... I highly recommend Bikram Yoga for anyone who runs. As a matter of fact, one of the instructors, Anne, is a runner and she was telling me she hardly trains anymore, just does the yoga regularly, and she always gets some hardware in her age group when she races. If you live in the Queens/Nassau area, I have been going to Bikram Yoga of Rockville Centre. It is a great studio and they are opening one soon in Rego Park. Here is the website.....
http://www.bikramyogarvc.com/

Hot Hot Hot

To avoid the heat, I went out for my long run this morning at 5:45. Guess what.....it was still pretty damn hot. I was pleased with my performance as I did 11 Miles in 1:38:15, a 8:56 pace. This was my last hard run before the NYC Half marathon next week on 7/27. I will cross train, go to Bikram Yoga, and do a few short easy runs over the next 8 days.



I came home from the run and showered, ate, and relaxed for a short while before heading out to my first Bikram Yoga class. For those unfamiliar with Bikram Yoga...
Bikram Yoga's twenty-six posture exercises systematically move fresh, oxygenated blood to one hundred percent of your body, to each organ and fiber, restoring all systems to healthy working order, just as Nature intended. Proper weight, muscle tone, vibrant good health, and a sense of well-being will automatically follow.
Oh, I forgot to mention, the room is set to a little over 100 degrees. The heat definitely does help one get deeper into the poses. I was able to do things like....




I am looking forward to the benefits that regular practice of Bikram Yoga will have on my running, as well as my overall health and well being.

Well, it's off to dinner and the Billy Joel concert. Depending on the guest stars tonight, I may lose the friendship of my training partner.....Oh hell, I can replace Alex....Paul McCartney with Billy Joel is a once in a lifetime experience.

These are a few of my favorite things.....

I love that in Yankee Stadium there are 7 Boston Red Sox playing on the All Star team. And since it is a home game for the American League, those 7 players will be using the Yankee locker room. The cherry on top would be if a Red Sox player wins the All Star MVP award, just as a Red Sox prospect won the All Star Futures Game MVP on Sunday.

Took yesterday off from running and it was a much needed day of rest. Schedule today called for 5 miles total of interval work , so I went over to the local track and warmed up a mile at a 9:00 minute pace, then ran a mile at 7:30, 1/2 mile at 8:30, 1 mile @ 7:30, finishing with 1 1/2 @ 8:15.