Merry Christmas and Happy Everything!

Hey kids. It's a slow going running week, however I wanted to post to say check out my partner in crime/running buddy/enjoying our prep periods by playing in the snow friend Grande's super cool new blog at www.ethelhill.blogspot.com

In the meantime, enjoy the holiday, or the time off, or whatever you want to celebrate!

Happy Chrismahanukwanzaa Solstice!

Geology Rocks!

I've said it before, but I will say it again:

The Mount Holyoke College Geology department is the best department in the whole world!

You guys are amazing, thanks so much!

My children at school would know nothing about minerals or landscapes if it weren't for you!


You too can win my ever lasting gratitude if you donate below!!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/cmc09/bmahonegon

15K In the SNOW!!!

Yesterday I ran the longest distance I have ever run, which is a 15K race. The hardest part about running this race yesterday was the inclement weather. Though the "snow" in New York City pales in comparison to the way in which New England was rocked daily for months when I was in college, running in it was a different story. Despite fears (Hopes, maybe?) that the race would be canceled, New York Road Runners kept the 15K alive in Central Park. The back drop was beautiful, as all the trees were ice covered and snowy, and the ground was (mostly) dry. I finished the race in 1:51, which averages a 12 minute mile, which isn't bad.

I'm proud that I made it out in the bad weather. There are no images of me in my race gear, but the picture above illustrates the weather the day before the race. After my BFF Grande ditched me because we both had a teensy bit too much fun at the "office holiday party" on Friday afternoon, I'm surprised that I made it out at all!
Let's just say that there are other ways to get carbs than pasta parties!

Thank you for all of you who have donated so far! Any and all donations make a significant difference in the fight against blood cancers!

Happy Holidays!!

Global Warming is Good For Running

Though I am a hippie, environmentalist freak (sort of), I must say that I appreciated the warm weather yesterday as it allowed me to run in shorts for the first time since I started training for this marathon.  Aside from mirroring Nashville conditions more closely, it was just a whole lot more fun.

Today's rain/hail mixture should prove to be a bit more daunting, but I'm looking forward to working my way up until 9.2  (That's 35% of a marathon!)

Check back in later tonight/tomorrow morning for tonight's update!

NYRR Holiday 4 Miler! My FIRST Race!

Saturday morning was the New York Road Runners Holiday Four Miler. It is obviously a four mile race that took us on a loop through the park from the 102nd Street Transverse down to the Boathouse and back up. I had never run a race before, so it was an interesting experience.

Being that I have the worst sense of direction in the history of human kind, I was terrified that I was going to get lost and not be able to find the start line. Alas, the uptown 6 train was filled with people wearing spandex and yellow chips on their shoes, so I was able to follow all of them to the start line.

I had a purple number, which meant I was part of the slow crowd, but I'm a-ok with that. My goal is to FINISH the marathon on two feet. Any kind of time goal is secondary. In the middle of the second mile, Grande caught up to me and we ran the end of it together. Four miles was easy enough, and I finished in about 44 minutes, which meant I was running 11 minute miles.

This race was fun, and I'm excited (and terrified!) about next week's 15K, which means I'm off right now to go run some while the weather is still nice!

Check out the photo of me and Grande!

Cross-Training = Boy I'm Glad I Played Rugby!

Last night, rather than running very much, we cross trained. This involved a significant number of squats, lunges, butt kickers, side ways squats, side ways lunges, star jumps, and quick feet. It was the first time that I appreciated playing rugby for reasons other than 1) being able to threaten to tackle my students, 2) knowledge of dirty rugby songs, or 3) the infinite number of fun things that happened as being result of the most bad ass team on campus.

The fact that my legs were strong enough to still do those exercises was thrilling. While some people surrounding me *cough*Grande*cough* struggled and threatened tears, I remembered having to do wall sits while singing, and suddenly life was ok.

Tonight, we're aiming for about a five mile run, to get ready for the NYRR Holiday 4 Miler on Saturday!

You know what they say about numb feet....

This week, I've run a total of 20 miles.  After the eight i Ran on Tuesday, I ran four on Wednesday, four on Thursday, and a little over fie on Saturday morning with the team run.  During the team run, my right foot went completely numb, and it ached.  

My current mile time is approximately 10:31, which isn't terrible, but I would like to get it below a 10 minute mile.  I also think that after my first mile i slow dramatically, almost to a crawl.  Alas, though, my goal is to finish the marathon.  Any time goals are just details.

I signed up to run two races this month.  The first, next week, is the holiday four miler in Central Park.  The second, in two weeks, is a 15K (9.2 miles).  I'm a little bit terrified, but I figure that the sooner I hit ten miles, the sooner I can hit 26.2.

Check in soon to see how this week's training is going!

Separation makes the heart grow fonder?

So, I'm a bad marathon runner.   After going to team practice last Tuesday, I didn't run a single step until a week later.  I had to work security at the basketball game at school, so rather go to the team training, I went home and ran myself.  

After realizing that my running clothes REEKED, I proceeded to set out to run over six miles.  When the route was said and done, I had run a little bit over EIGHT miles!  I can't even believe that, and I could barely qualify my slow motion movements as running, but I definitely did not stop running until I reached the front of my apartment.

It felt pretty good to run that much, although now my knees are aching, and I'm sure my running clothes still smell terrible.