First Group Team Training

What a difference six months makes! When I went to my first TNT practice, it was actually about 21 degrees. It was VERY VERY VERY cold, and it was miserable. Or at least I thought it was.

This morning, for my first Fall Season training session, it was a balmy and very muggy 75 degrees. Running the 3.4 miles seemed like an eternity, even though I knew that I had run (run?) 26.2 only two weeks ago.

These were the first steps I have taken since the marathon ended. They weren't bad. I was able to go very fast for my first loop, but then VERY slowly for the second loop.

It was nice being "experienced" in terms of TNT. I like knowing what was going to happen at the first practice, and I also liked knowing that I could DEFINITELY completely 3.4 miles. It was fun being with a ton of people. Nothing rivals the excitement that is over 100 people gearing up to run a marathon! It was WILD!

I have NOTHING but excitement for this marathon!

EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR HELPS! Please donate at http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nikesf09/bemahone

Here We Go Again!

I don't know what to say. I really don't. I can't find the words. I thought I was going to harmlessly go help distribute TNT packets for the new season and get to ask some questions. Somehow, by the end of the night, I had signed up to run another marathon and raise another $4000!

Maybe it is because there are people who are going through chemotherapy who are doing the race. Maybe it is because I watched/am watching my father battle cancer right now. Maybe it is because I am so lucky to be healthy enough to run a marathon.

Here's what I know: There isn't a cure. But there will be. And I want to be part of the solution, with all of you.

I know times are tight. I know you are saying, "Wait a minute, didn't she just DO this? I JUST Gave her money? Jeez!!!"

You're right, so here is what I'm asking. Give me $5 if you can spare it. That's a week's worht of soda's in the SoBro or like half a starbuck's coffee. You don't have to give much, just give what you can. (however, if any of you are independently wealthy, by all means, please give more.)

Encourage your pals to gave $5! If 1000 people gave just $5, I could raise well over my minimum!

I am going to do this again, because it changed my life, and the lives of those around me.

So, without further ado, I bring you marathon season two!

I FINISHED!!! WOOOOOO!!!

Wow.  So it's been a while.  A very long while.  I stopped updating because I was overwhelmed and consumed by running.  

Some things that happened before the marathon:  My friends got married, I ran a whole bunch of races, I had the best time I ever had during a race.  Approximately a week before leaving for Nashville I discovered shooting pains in my breast, and my wisdom teeth were coming in.  And then I lost the prescription for pain killers the dentist gave me and proceeded to have a break down.

But, then I went to Nashville.  And the city welcomed its runners.  And I got to experience a place I never would have gone had I not been running this marathon.  And it was amazing.  And the tension in my jaw alleviated and I had a good time (largely due to my boyfriend T-Bone and his amazing support).  

Team in Training got you in the zone where you knew you could do it.  They over train you, they inspire you, they remind you that you are part of something larger than yourself.  The nights leading up to the event, I was apprehensive.  I was worried that because I wasn't super close to anybody on the team (after Grande had a DUMB test to take) I was going to have a miserable time.  But, slowly I was able to get to where I needed to be, and to approach the race with the confidence I knew I had!  

I was also inspired.  There were 620 Team in Training participants at the Nashville Country Music Marathon and we raised about $1.6 million for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society!  Look at what you did!!

Waking up at 3:30 in the morning is not my idea of a good time, but the energy that surrounds a marathon is hard to beat.  From the moment I started running, surrounded by 30,000 of my closest friends and neighbors, I was supported.  The amount of purple, the Team in Training color, was overwhelming, as well as the spectator support.  

Nashville had other ideas about having a marathon that day.  The temperature rose to a startling 92 degrees (No, seriously, check the weather reports!) and someone even died on the course.  It was TOUGH.

I caught up with two other people from TNT, Kyra and Stacey, and they really got me through the rest of the race.  From mile 3 (or so) onward, I ran every single step with them.  I don't know if I could have finished the race without them.  Despite the fact that all my marathon nightmares were true, like the course disintegrating at mile 13 or no one being around, we were there for each other, which made a world of difference.

Although I'm pretty certain that miles 20-26 were SIGNIFICANTLY LONGER than the rest of them, I made it there.  With the help of Coach Pete, who helped me SPRINT to the finish line from 25.5 to all the amazing people who had finished before me and yelled me in, I made it to the end.  

It took me a LONG TIME.  Six hours, thirty minutes, thirty-two seconds.  But I am proud of that time.   I finished on the same day I started! (For the record, I did not finish last....but it took me a LONG time.)

After that my perspective on the world change.  All the misery, the aching feet, the sore knees, the sunburn, the fact that I had been standing for the better part of 12 hours -- it went away.  I was euphoric because I was a marathon finisher.  And that's kind of a big deal.  

I'm sorry it took me so long to post this, that the details aren't a s great as they could be.  I kept hoping the right words would find me, that I would make more sense after I had processed for a while.  What I can say is that it changed my life, and that I'm glad I did it, and that I cannot possibly wait to do it again!!

Thank you for all of your continued support!  It means more to me than you could possibly realize.  I knew each and every one of you were with me each step of the way, and that made it worth every single step.

While I was running, a saw a shirt that changed my perspective --

"Dead Last Finish is greater than Did Not Start"

I started and finished with your help, and I really couldn't have done it without you.  Until later days, happy trails kids!

NYRR 8000 Meter and our Super Cool Fundraiser!

This weekend was fantastic. On Friday, Grande and I had our co-fundraiser at the Gin Mill! I would have loved to have seen all of you there, partaking in the open bar and general festivities. It was wildly successful. We were able to raise about $200 each, which is fantabulous, and puts us both so much closer to our respective fundraising goals! Thanks to everyone who come out and played with us!

Saturday morning, I was almost surprised to see Grande at the start, as she has never quite made it to a race before people have already started running. Add this to the fact that she was not quite herself the night before led me to utter shock when she arrived!

Grande had a FABULOUS race day, bringing her mile average under 10 minutes! Hooray!

I had a decent race day, maintaining my average and enjoying running my very first race in shorts!

For the most part, training is going well, although I kind of fell off the horse when my dad was in the hospital! Although I've mostly maintained my running, I've still got a long way to go before race day. I'd like to bring my time down to a Grande like average, but I'm glad I'm just running at all!

Hooray for my roomie, R, who raised the $500 she needed to for her Team in Training race, the Scotland 10k on April 11th! She raised all of her money in about 3 weeks! Hooray!

I have LESS THAN A MONTH until my fundraising is due! We have come a REALLY long way, but we're still about $1500 away! Thanks to all of you who have helped with my battle against blood cancers! Encourage your friends and loved ones, and well, even hated ones, to contribute to my battle as well! Remember that ANY amount helps at all!

P.S. Check out my friend Liz -- her race day is this SUNDAY!

...and then I fell down!

I think the universe is plotting against me. No. Really.

I was up and ready to go on Saturday morning to Team in Training group practice. I stroll leisurely over to the train, only to find out that N trains aren't stopping at my station, and I have to go deeper into Queens to get onto a Manhattan bound train. And then that Manhattan bound train would only take me to Queensborough Plaza, where I would have to switch to the 7 train. And then take that to Times Square, where I would need to switch for the uptown 1. And then go to Central Park.

Needless to say, despite my best intentions, I wasn't able to go to group practice. Although I hated letting Grande down, I decided to take advantage of the MOST BEAUTIFUL DAY EVER to go running in my neighborhood.

I took a nice run down by Astoria Park. I was about half way through my planned 15 miles when I fell down. I knew I was going to fall. The whole thing happened in slow motion. I think I may have yelled, "NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Alas, I fell down. I skinned my knees. I skinned my elbows. I was covered in dirt. So I went home. Except I was 2.5 miles from home, so I had to run there. Bleeding. Looking like a moron. Yeah, it was cool.

I got some new yesterday, which you can check out here.

Also, CLEAR your calendars kids, because we're having a fundraiser at the Gin Mill on Friday, March 13th, from 4-7. $25.00 will get you a bracelet and an open bar!!! Come out and play and invite your friends!

Coogan's Salsa, Shamrocks, and Blues 5K! (AKA most fun race ever!)

Salsa, Shamrocks, and Blues are the recipe for the most fun race ever. The New York Road Runners sponsors this race every March, and it is supposedly the most fun race of the year. It's a short race (5K aka 3 miles) albeit a difficult one, but you don't notice how difficult it is because of the fun live music and the high excitement. Because the race is so short, there are a lot of people running, and there's kids races, which are adorable. Then, because it's the "Salsa, Shamrocks, and blues' race, there's LIVE MUSIC along the course. Bag Pipers, Steel Drums, Mariachi, Guitar Players -- you name it, it's there! And it's exciting.

It also takes place in Washington Heights. Yes, Heights, as in hills. As in monstrous nasty gnarly hills that make you wish for your own death. But you don't notice the hills. Because you're so excited about the live music and how short the race is! And it's beautiful! You run into Fort Tryon park, and around the Cloisters. It's so beautiful and quiet (aside from all the lie music0 that you barely notice that nasty inclines. (Obviously, I noticed the inclines, as I keep talking about them!)

Although it was supposed to be a "spring race" it was nastily cold and snowing throughout the race, and the ever tardy Grande was, yet again, tardy. Still, it was the first race that Grande and I ran together, and we finished at the same time. (Well, ok, she runs a we bit faster than I do, but she has gazelle legs!She's 5'10, I'm barely 5'3 people!)

I think my overall mile time was kind of awesome (like, 10 minutes! Woo Woo!) but we're waiting to see from NYRR!!

Thanks so much for all the donations and support so far! Grande and I have set up a weekly running date in Central Park with one of our coworkers, and we're running NYRR 8000 meter (about 5 mile) next Saturday!

To donate, head here! Remember that any and all donations make a huge step in fighting blood cancers!

P.S. Speaking of shamrocks, my friend Liz is running the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Later this month! Check out her battle against Cystic Fibrosis and hear her personal stories here!

Tag! You're it!

This weekend I ran the Cherry Hill 10 Mile Relay in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.  The most difficult thing about this run was getting to Brooklyn. Being that I'm from Queens, I don't go to Brooklyn.  Ever.  Under any circumstances.  It is something that is in my blood, inherently built into my genetic make up.

And yet, on Sunday morning, after very little sleep, a little too much Sapporro, and just a touch of jet lag, I got on the train to go to Prospect Park.  And then I got lost.  

Alas, the relay was fantastic.  It was fun being part of a team (Go Chicks with Kicks!) and only being accountable for 3.2 miles of a 10 mile race.  Do they do marathons as relays?

On a side note, let me just publicly extend my thanks to all of you who continue to donate to this wonderful cause!  We are getting so much closer! 

Stay tuned for more updates!

Bronx Half Marathon!

On Sunday February 8th, I finished a half marathon. I ran the NYRR Half Marathon Grand Prix in the Bronx. It was a FABULOUS day for running, complete with weather in the mid fifties and mostly sunny skies.

I always wonder why they start those things so early in the morning, but then I realized that if they started them any later, we would all melt into puddles in the sun. It was very warm, even warmer with my NikeFit fleece lined running tights on. I must invest in something between spankies and fleece for the next race.

Running the half is unreal because you relaly test how mental running is. New York Road Runners doesn't really dig iPods or headphones, so I 've kind of learned to run without music. Other people's conversations and the thoughts rolling around in your mind are the soundtrack to your race, and I prefer it that way. (And, let's be honest, my playlists kind of suck!)

I realize that I'm a sucker for motivational phrases when it comes to sports. Before rugby games, Doobie would always give these amazing speeches, channeling James Van Der Beek, 50Cent, and the girls from Bring it On. I'm fairly certain I continued playing rugby so I could continue to wear the somewhat lude yet also motivational t-shirts. I cry when I watch high school sports, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE high school sports movies. (I live for Varsity Blues. Seriously. "I.DON'T.WANT.YOUR.LIFE")

Some of the choice t-shirts I saw were:
- Just Do It. (A classic Nike Favorite)
-Today I Kicked Assphalt (Philadelphia Marathon 2008 shirt)
-I Run This City (promotional NYC marathon shirt)
-26.2 Miles to Hell and Back (featuring the Brooklyn Bridge, another motivational shirt)
-No One Ever Drowned in Sweat
-You Run Like a Girl? Good for You!
-Our Sport is Your Sports' Punishment

Running the half was amazing, and it made me even more excited to run the full. I'm not the fastest. I'm not the best. I'm not even close. But I'm excited to be doing it at all.

Slow and Steady doesn't win the race, but it does finish it.

The Tale of the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Running Day and the Could Have Been a Whole Lot Worse Running Day

Due to a bronchitis scare, stomach issues, and family drama, I hadn't gone running in a very long time. When I went out for my group run on Saturday morning, I was hoping to accomplish 12 miles, or maybe at the very least 10. My running buddy was absent on Saturday, so I ran with my marathon mentor. The first few miles were fine, and it felt good to be quickening up my otherwise very slow pace. But then it happened. We did top of the park.

The top of Central Park is located in an area known in various locals as "the heights." Heights indicate -- you guessed it-- hills. We ran up what is known to Central Park peeps as The Great Hill. It is this incredibly long windy hill that ascends like crazy and winds. I made it up the hill, but it broke me. I could run no longer. I had to keep stopping, and walking, and eventually I just gave up. It was the first time I had real trouble with the idea of completing a marathon, and wondered if I could do it. It was the terrible no good very bad running day.

The next morning I was signed up to run the NYRR Gridiron Four Miler. It was a BEAUTIFUL day for running -- it was the first race I had ever run when the temperature was above 15 degrees. What a difference! Though it was a little bit more difficult than a four miler should have been, and my pace slowed down a little bit, it renewed my faith in my ability.

This Sunday I am going to be running the Bronx Half Marathon! I'm a little terrified, because family stuff and work stuff has kept me from running, but I'm hoping to knock it out.

MHC Geology Rocks! (part 2)!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

MHC Geology rocks! Despite the fact that I graduated almost three years ago (ew...I can't handle that!), a large percentage of my donations have come from members of that department, whether in the form of faculty or alumnae! I spent many a late night Clapp laboratory, and some of my favorite times were in the dirt or the lab with these people!

Additionally, my pal LK, who is another MHC geology alum from the class of 2004, is biking for Multiple Sclerosis! She's doing a HUGE bike ride that deals with an overnight stay! Crazy!

Check out her page at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?px=5892828&fr_id=10222&pg=personal

Thanks MHC geo!

Donations and Sore Throats

Firstly, I'd like to thank all of you for the recent outpouring of donations! I appreciate it more than you know! Don't you all feel special for helping? You do? Tell your friends! Give more! Put my picture up in your office and encourage people to give you spare change! (Ha Ha! Just kidding....mostly.)

And for those of you who are new to this blog, WELCOME and donate here! ANY amount is helpful!

I haven't updated in a long time because I haven't run in a long time! I ran last about a week ago, and then I have come down with various illnesses (this week's potential illness: Bronchitis!) that have prevented me from running! It has allowed me to focus more on figuring out ways to raise money, but I do legitimately miss it! I like pounding the pavement, and the feeling of conquering the day!

Grande and I will be running the Grid Iron Four Miler Race on Sunday, and I'm hoping to break 10 miles on Saturday morning's long run! The Half Marathon is less than two weeks away!

For now, hope that my illness of the week goes away!!

Also, if you like to peruse people's blogs like I do, check out my friend Liz who is running a marathon for Cystic Fibrosis -- www.raceagainstcf.blogspot.com

Fred Lebow 5 Miler and THE BEST WORKOUT EVER!

Saturday morning Grande and I ran the Fred Lebow 5 Miler. Let me rephrase: I started running the race, and somehow in the crowd of 5,000 people, Grande found me. Maybe it's because I wear the same thing at EVERY SINGLE RACE.

The race was good, and even though it was bitterly cold, the snow held off, and it was lovely all around. Five miles was easy enough, and it was good to finish another ace. My average time for the race was 10:22, which means that I dropped my time per mile by almost 30 seconds. That's kind of impressive!

Onto the BEST WORKOUT EVER, after the race on Saturday I went snowboarding with some of the students from school, as well as two other teachers. Although snowboarding points out only how massively uncoordinated I am, I was able to work muscles that I completely forgot that I had, and have fun doing it. Snowboarding was EXCELLENT! I cannot wait to do it again, even though I bit it a number of times in front of sixteen year olds.

A Pink Number Makes Me Happy

Grande and I spent another Friday afternoon heading to midtown east to retrieve our race numbers, chips, and t-shirts for the big race tomorrow. After telling the gentleman my name, I got a welcome surprise: my race number is a different color! Aside from the fact that it is the perfect shade of pink, it means that I am no longer as slow as I once was! My last two race numbers were a beautiful shade of Team in Training purple, but they indicated that I ran over an 11 minute mile! Although my time (according to NYRR) is only 10:50, it pushes me to a new bracket!

Hooorah!!

Running in the Rain = Feeling Like a Total Badass

It's been a long time since I posted, mostly because it has been a long time since I had run. With the holidays, it became easy to ignore the fact that I should have been running, espescially since my BFF Grande wasn't around to keep me motivated!

Last night we had our first Team in Training "Test." This was essentially our first time "haul ass" mile, where we had to put in a lot of effort. I'm not so good at this. I'm really good at pacing myself, at making sure that I don't spring and then have to walk and recover. I'm not so good at giving it my all. On the upside, I can apparently run a mile in 9:14 seconds, which is way better than I thought it was. Although we were supposed to be putting forward a lot of effort, I was putting forward "alot-but-maybe-I-could-give-a-little-more."

Regardless, last night's practice was held in the rain, which quickly turned to ice on my vest. There are few things so rewarding as feeling like a total badass when you walk away from a practice in the rain. It is second only to running away from a game in the rain and covered in nothing but mud.

This weekend we are running the Fred Lebow 5 Mile Race in Central Park, which is exciting. Keep checking in to see how it is going!