Tag Archives: Running

Jun 10 2012
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runderwear

You may or may not know that I accidentally signed myself up for the NYC marathon this fall.  I put my name in the lottery without even telling Jay, thinking it would be pretty funny if I got in and surprised him later on.  Well I did get in, and we were both surprised.  After recovering from the initial shock, I got pretty excited about a) running such an epic race, and b) running it for a cause.  It took 0.03 seconds to think of a cause–colon cancer–the disease that killed one of my dearest friends in March.  I’ve already raised almost $2k of my $5k goal for the “Get Your Rear In Gear” organization, honoring my friend Aimee and her family that I love so.  More on that here.

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we’re serious about kicking cancer’s butt

It just so happens that Get Your Rear In Gear had a 4-mile race in Prospect Park this weekend.  A few weeks back we hatched a plan with our friends/teammates Josh and Tanya to run said race in our underwear.  In other cities there are races where all participants run in their underwear to raise awareness of colon cancer and to promote the more open communication about… poop.  Colon cancer is finding younger victims all the time.  Since screening doesn’t usually take place until age 50, everyone needs to talk to the doctors about their bowels early and often.

And so we ran in colorful men’s briefs.  It took more courage than I anticipated, but no one even flinched at our get-up.  It is Brooklyn after all.

My goal pace for this race was 8:10-8:15.  Jay, Josh and Tanya all ran with me despite their far superior speed abilities.  Considering Jay’s IT band injury, I was grateful he could run at all.  They let me set the pace and I went out too fast.  Josh told me I was running 7:34 so we dialed it back.  The second mile was the hardest with a big hill in the middle.  Maybe the hill wasn’t too big, but it felt big after training on the flats of the West Side Highway.  At the end of mile three, I was pretty much spent.  Jay said, “One more mile.  The purpose of this workout is to have nothing left when you cross the finish.”  I told him I already had nothing left.  He responded, “Make this last mile 8:05 or faster.”  When I told him that wouldn’t be happening, he said I had to believe I could do it, at which point I said, “I love you, but I need you to shut up.”  He did shut up, but he also 2-stepped me the rest of the way, resulting in a 7:48 last mile.  I finished the race in 32:11 averaging 8:03 pace.  My comrades’ efforts had carried me farther than I thought I could go.  We were all pretty pumped.

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aimee would give the magenta briefs a thumbs-up too

There were several cool things about this race.  1) It’s great to know that my training (and Jay’s coaching) is paying off.  I want to be in shape enough for the marathon to enjoy it.  2) To see so many people passionate about ending colon cancer was truly awesome.  I had to fight back tears as one woman shared her story about losing her sister at age 33.  Several times in the race when Tanya could tell I was losing steam, she’d say, “Remember your friend Aimee.”  Jay and I both wore “Running in memory of Aimee” bibs on our backs.  I miss her.  3) At some point during all of this I turned to Jay and said, “We have arrived.”  To have friends in NYC who are willing to run in underwear and support me in this cause is a BIG deal to us both.

While we were quick to change out of our runderwear after the race, we did decide to hang on to our bright briefs just in case.  You never know when you might need to run in skivvies.  We’ll be ready.

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Aug 09 2010
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square one

this morning, i came to the end of my street and had to make a decision… left? or right? left would mean a 4 mile loop that i like better. right would mean a 3 mile loop. 3 miles. that to me feels like a cop out. i don’t want to say that i’m too good for 3 miles, but if i’m honest, i think that’s probably what’s going on in the back of my head. still, i’ve been unable to train for the past 4 months. my running has been inconsistent, at times painful, at times scary… it really stopped being fun… just as it was getting to be really fun! just as i hit a 5k pr of 23:42, i literally ran into some health issues that would knock out an average of 10 days of training a month. after months of tests, dr’s appointments, acupuncture and patient encouragement from jay, i think it’s safe to hit the road again… just in time to train for half-marathon season.

so i ate my slice of humble pie this morning at turned right, opting for the 3 mile loop at an easy pace. i’m convinced that anyone can be a runner. i’m proof of that. but just because i’ve been a runner doesn’t mean i can pick up where i left off. it’s back to square one. back to building up my mileage a week at a time, slow and steady, till i’m ready to pick up the pace.

last year i didn’t start training for half-marathons till september. this year i’m getting started a month earlier. if i’m patient, i think i’ll reach my goal and a new sub-2hr pr.

cheers to a fresh start.

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Mar 09 2010
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a couple of big wins

a while back one of my kiddos decided to run a half marathon to raise money for parkison’s research. her dad was diagnosed with parkison’s when she was 4, making it hard for him to walk or talk. i told her i’d run with her if i could find 13 donors to support her cause, pounding the pavement for parkinson’s. donors did: jocelyn, jay, patty, lois, grace, wendy, christine, chris, pat, anne, another anne, tim, linda, to name a few.

it was a hard race. sara had been battling a cold, and she hit a wall at mile 10, but she kept on pushing, along with two high school friends reid and hannah. together we talked and laughed and coughed our way through the race, maybe shedding a few tears here and there. sara had a lot of fans on the road, cheering her on.

it was enough that she finished a difficult race, it was enough that she had raised awareness of the disease claiming her dad’s mobility, it was enough that she had raised a good bit of money for research. but when the race was over, the checks kept coming, and at a reception held in sara’s honor last thursday, we learned she had raised over $67,000. absolutely amazing.

saturday saw a couple of wins too. jota ran, and WON, a half marathon. and my girls’ relay team placed 3rd. trophies all around!

but sara’s win is the kind that changes lives. YES.

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Nov 12 2009
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13.1 thank you’s

a while back i got this wild idea to run a half marathon (i think it started on the cruise with my girlfriends this summer, when i read an article about endurance training, and thought, huh… i’ve been training for things all year… but endurance… that’s something new…) everyone kept telling me it’s a mental challenge as much as a physical one. my girlfriend jocelita said, “maybe just think of a different person at every mile…” so i filed that little nugget away.

a month before the race, i made a list. i was going to run 13.1 miles, so i chose 13 people that had made the biggest impact on my first year in town. here’s the run-down…

From 2009 Fall

mile 1: aimeesita. 7.48. this was my fastest mile (downhill and pumped up). aimeesita is so many things to me, but she is always my designated hug for the day. without her, i could go a whole week hugless!

mile 2: anniebananie. 8:47. anniebananie shares my office and therefore my craziness. she listens to me whether she wants to or not. sometimes she acts like my mom, but she never gets upset with me. love!

mile 3: chip dinero. 8:42. chip dinero is my mentor. he’s been there for lots of up’s and down’s this year. i look up to him muchisimo.

mile 4: danimal. 9:12 (pace is slowing… uphill). not only did danimal introduce me to sweet pepper bear, but he also taught me to rake leaves and he manages my fantasy football team… which is winning. most generous guy i know!

mile 5: farrellita. 8:40. farrellita intimidated me when i first met her because she is so cool. now she, her hubby and her baby are like family to me. her back porch (with a glass of wine in my hand) is probably my favorite place in town.

mile 6: hi-mey. 9:24. i met hi-mey up at farrellita’s cabin last spring. we hit it off immediately. i love him so much, i introduced him to the best girl i know. and he asked her to marry him. she said yes. and there was much rejoicing.

mile 7: jocelita. 9:13. jocelita is one of the biggest cheer leaders i know. she was biking all over the course on her stylin’ yellow wheels, cheering peeps on left and right. she inspires me!

mile 8: juan. 9:12. juan is my boss. i often say i want to be like all the priests i work for when i grow up, but i especially want to be like juan. he’s got more wisdom and insight than peeps twice his age. and he’s a tree hugger.

mile 9: julia. 9:37. julia was one of my first real girlfriends here. she taught me to ride with clipless pedals, and was there for my first fall. she later told me she was hoping to be the mile that includes the toughest hill on the course, and she was… well… half way…

mile 10: latissimus. 9:55. my slowest mile on the course. in part because it included the other half of the toughest hill, but also because i had to stop and hug hi-mey and wave to anniebananie, who were waiting on the course, cheering for me. YES! latissimus introduced me to 1/3 of the peeps i know here, drove me around the first 3 car-less months i lived here, and then taught me to drive stick when i finally did buy a car. other than dating, he’s pretty much awesome

mile 11: lindensita. 9:37. lindensita’s stretch of the race was actually perfect, as it’s the same stretch we “speed walked” the day i told her i wanted to be a priest. she was the first friend i told… the guinea pig. and she didn’t freak out! linden gets the mountain girl in me.

mile 12: maria carolina. 9:52. mi amor, mc! this chica started the monday night girls’ group that has become my sacred space each week. we have some crazy similarities, meaning she makes me feel understood in a way few people can.

mile 13: sloandawg. i don’t know that i actually stopped my watch when i crossed the finish. sloandawg, i think, has put up with my very worst, and she’s been there for some of my best moments too. she ran my first 10k and my first triathlon with me. she lets me repeat stories over and over, and she put up with the bulk of my culture shock when i moved here. i love her. she’s also engaged to hi-mey.

From 2009 Fall

in the end, i finished the race in 2:00:11. my goal was to get as close to 2 hours as possible, so 11 seconds over is pretty stinkin’ close! i was very pleased. and dad was standing at the finish line waiting for me with a great big hug. as were jocelita and jota.

jota is someone else i need to thank. he has made running fun, as has the whole running club.

sarita also gets a shout-out for biking all over the course to cheer me (and others) on!

lorita too, who could not be there, as she was cheering on her hubby in his first ironman race, but who coached me through every one of my long runs leading up to the race… she’s one of my new favorite people. and her watch, which usually beeps at us when we run uphills, was beeping in my head, reminding me to slow up a little on those uphill stretches.

all in all, it was an epic day, i finally earned a real medal (YAY!!!), and we closed out the festivities with a dinner party for the 13 and their dates. thanks to chef dad.

thank you, thank you, thank you for all who encouraged me along the way, and especially for all who have made this town HOME to me.

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Oct 30 2009
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one week away from 13.1

last week i ran 10 miles with the best running partner in the world, who i’ll call lorena. sadly, for me (but lucky for her hubby!) she’ll be gone next weekend when i’m running my first half marathon. but her hubby will be running his first ironman, so that’s a much bigger deal, and, you know, they’re married. sooo….

anyway, 10 miles last week was good. it was strangely hot and muggy, on a rainy october morning, so i did something i never thought i could around mile 7.5…. i took off my shirt. now, i’m not going to go running around in my sports bra all the time, it’s still not how i roll, but i will say that loosing the shirt really gave me a second wind!

because lorena knew i had big plans for dancing my face off saturday night at julia’s wedding, and she knew i was going to do so in high heals (which is almost as strange for me as running shirtless), she suggested i give my legs a little ice bath. we bought some ice (i still owe you $5 lorena!) and i went up to my bathroom. here goes nothing. filled up the tub with lukewarm water, poured in 10lbs of ice, squealed a little, but stuck it out for 10 min. i think the water should have been a little colder, but i think it helped.

then it was party time. and though i brought flip-flops to change into once i got my dance on, they stayed in my purse, while i kicked it in the high heals. who is this woman in my body?? so weird. still i had a blast.

till i woke up sunday morning, not with a hangover, but with the sorest left quad ever. i could barely walk down the stairs. i figured it would feel better monday, but no.

so what did i do?

i got a massage.

my first ever male-massage from some dude named byron with really big hands. it was a little weird at first. i had to bite the inside of my cheek for the first minute or two to keep from smiling or laughing, but big-hands-byron worked his magic, and i was much more mobile when i left. whew.

went to yoga tuesday, got my butt kicked, but still felt ok on the quad.

finally ran 5 miles thursday, and my quad was a-ok.

practiced yoga again today, and i think i’m set for another 10 miles tomorrow! then it’s one short run next week, lots of rest, and BOOM, i’ll be a half-marathoner on saturday! assuming i finish. that’s my only real goal. would love to get as close to 2 hrs as possible, but finishing and having fun is much more important.

i’m pretty excited. i can’t believe i have come to like, maybe even love, running. never say never.

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Oct 20 2009
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it’s official

i just registered for my first half marathon.

i’d been putting it off, just in case… thinking i’d wimp out at some point. but the (sad) truth is (sad only because i’m proving myself wrong…) that i actually enjoy running now. 7 miles 2 weeks ago was hard. 8 miles a week ago was easy. 9 miles this week was fun. and even my little 5 mile runs on tuesdays and thursdays are getting faster and easier.

my peers have a lot to do with it. a few weeks ago i ran a 10k and came in 97th place. all my friends were TOP finishers. but because i had PR’d by 8 minutes (setting a new personal record that was waaaaay faster than my 10k in april) my friends cheered me on like i had won the whole thing. i felt like a champ.

and i’m meeting new people too. some girls i’d never met before are now running with me on tuesdays, which a) forces me to get out of bed, b) pushes my pace, and c) expands my social circles. my saturday running buddy is my favorite, though. she makes the time fly by!

so i’m super psyched for november 7. thinking i may even sign up for another in december. ridiculous.

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Sep 08 2009
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9 miles in 9 weeks

i really don’t LOVE running. i put up with it, and i enjoy it at times (because i like anything outdoors) but it’s not my favorite. still, i run.

and i was thinking i’d drop tri-training for the next 5 months and focus on yoga and weight training instead. i miss yoga! and it’d be especially helpful in this little process we call discernment (which i’ll have to expound on later).

the thing is, though, the weather is so friggin’ awesome right now. how can i be indoors?!?!

so i’m going to keep running. though i lack some motivation. what to do? create a goal. and that goal is: run a half marathon november 7.

yes, i know i only ever run 3 miles. and i did run 6 miles once in april, and it wasn’t difficult to do, but i haven’t run that far since. shoot, i’ve had no need to!

until now. now i have 9 weeks to add 9 miles to my run so i can run 12 miles.

oh, wait… i just googled half marathon distance and found it’s actually 13.1 miles. so actually i have 9 weeks to add 10 miles… but 9 in 9 sounds better… so we’ll just pretend.

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Jul 28 2009
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tri number two

i completed my second triathlon last weekend, with the added bonus of my mom’s presence. yay, #1 fan!! she took some pictures.

here’s the run down.

i finished the 750 meter open water swim in 20:02. faster than my last tri time, but i still came in 14 out of 14 in my age category. i love swimming, but i’m really not that good at it. and i’m a lot worse when i’m traveling every other week. definitely some room for improvement. the best part of coming out of the water was seeing my mom and jocelyn cheering on the shore and realizing my best friend finished right beside me.

i picked up the pace on the bike. it was a short course, only 10 miles, so it’s hard to tell how it compared to the last race (which had a longer, flatter course). i finished in 34:51, 7th out of 14. i felt good about it, even though i fell off my bike on the dismount. i can never remember if i’m supposed to dismount before or after the line! so i just tipped over. oops. too bad my mom didn’t get a picture!

the run was a bear. super hilly. even my “elite” triathlete friends said it was a hard 3 miles. i finished it in 30:21. boo. but not terrible. good enough.

my transition times were faster this time around.

making my total time 1:28:43. i threw my arms up in triumph, hootin’ and hollerin’ as i crossed the finish. it was a really great day. thanks for being there, mom!

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May 13 2009
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one more triathlete geek

From 2009 Spring

well it’s official. i’m what you might call a “triathlete.” or at least i’ve completed my first triathlon, and it was fun! it all started about a year ago when i first moved to the area. one of my first friends was getting ready to run his first ironman triathlon, which is a little ridiculous, but it turns out there’s a whole slew of people that do that kind of thing here and like it.

i swore off the stuff. i love these peeps, but they’re a little ocd about training, and i knew i’d never be in their league.

but then one of my girlfriends did her first tri last fall, and kept talking about how FUN it was… so i caved and started training in january.

now, i use the term “training” a lot more loosely than my tri geek buddies. i do swim, bike and run every week… sometimes 2 or 3 things in one day. but i don’t get up at 6am every saturday to go on 80 mile rides! ain’t my thing.

sunday was the big day. my girlfriend and i got up at the crack of dawn, careful not to wake all our house mates (we were lucky enough to crash with our friends and their families at the beach… we had thought we might just have to pitch a tent near the race!) we arrived, picked up our race packets and chips, got “body marked” with our race numbers, and made our way to the transition area to set up all our gear. we were reeeeeeally excited. after lots of walking back and forth and making last minute adjustments, we took off our shoes and headed to the lake.

we were the 5th wave of swimmers (second wave of women), so we just stood in the warm (79.2F) water while watching others swim ahead. before our wave started racing, i saw two bodies emerge from the water and run down the dock… my buddies… some of the ocd crew. i was excited for them.

then it was our turn! in a made rush of water and slapping and kicking and splashing, we collectively made our way out into the lake along the race course. the first 100 meters are the worst. everyone is just swimming on top of each other, and it’s awful. but it’s not so bad after we all spread out. this was my first “open water” swim, so i wasn’t used to having to look up for markers and trying to swim straight. sooo much easier in the pool. 750 meters and 23 minutes later, i too was out of the water and running down the dock. people were cheering… i couldn’t help but laugh!

in the transition area i threw on my socks, cycling shoes, helmet and sun glasses, grabbed my bike, ran out, clipped in and started pedaling. and pedaling. and pedaling. it was a kinda boring ride, and honestly, i didn’t ride it fast enough. i kept thinking i should save steam for the run, knowing that would be the hardest part (have you ever tried running after riding? it’s not easy!) so i dismounted at 48 minutes after riding 14 miles. 2 down, one to go.

i threw my bike back on the rack, took off my cycling shoes and helmet, put on my running shoes and hat… and as i was clipping on my racing belt (that holds your race number) i heard one of my friends yell, “get out of here, lau! stop taking so long! GO!” i looked up, startled, and took off running.

the running, in terms of terrain, was more boring than the ride… but it was fun in that i ran into (or past) 3 of my friends, and we cheered each other on. as i rounded the last corner before the finish line, really hitting my stride, i saw two friends yelling, “kick it in! you got it!!!” so i kicked it in. 29 minute 5k. not fast, but not bad after everything else… bringing my total time to 1hr 45min. whew!

i grabbed a water and made my way back to the finish line to cheer in my girlfriend. we hugged, we laughed, we felt like rock stars.

and that was it! i’m now a triathlete! i’ve been thinking of how to change up my training and racing ever since, but i’m still swearing off the ocd scene. i haven’t even worked out since sunday! and that takes effort. but the game is back on tomorrow… and the next race is in july. sweet.

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Feb 26 2009
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chicken dance and treadmills

last year i wrote about how surreal it was to listen to music from home against the backdrop of bustling benin, west africa.

now the opposite is true… when an african song starts playing on my shuffle as i fight with the treadmill (i can’t wait for sunnier mornings and outside runs!)

it’s happened before. i can’t help but smile at the music, thinking of outdoor market scenes and sandy toes. but today it took everything in me not to jump off the treadmill and start gyrating… struttin’ my african dance moves. oh, how the heads would turn! how can you NOT dance to that music?!

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