Ugh! Marathon! ugh! Grunt!

rrr...ggrrrr...hurumph! Drool....uuuuuhhhhh....ooowwww!!!! Wowwww!!!

And that's pretty much how it went.

_____________________________________

OK, now I'm ready to dish. Had a hot shower, hot soup, hot sex...oh, no, that was the dream I had while I was nodding off in my soup. Darn.

So, I'm gonna tell it to you straight. No adornments. Just the facts. Cause I'm ready to pass the #@$*& out!

I got up at 5:45(really 6:45). Made coffee, my first thought on any given day; made oatmeal;ate a hard boiled egg with the oatmeal..maybe I should fast forward to the good stuff.

So, I get to Staten Island at 8. I was with Miss Ani Go & Diana for the ride down and we huddled in the low 40's degree weather to keep warm.  It was chilly! 

The race this year was uber-organized! There had to be "like" 1000 "Johnny on the Spots" (aka "porta-potties"! And they were fancy schmancy ones! Actual toilet paper and hand sanitizer!

Sorry, back to the story. I started my run with a couple of menfolk, Bill and Bob. They were very kindly and we ran a couple miles together, but when it comes to racing, everyone's your best friend before and after the race, but during, it's every Gabby for herself.

The run felt fresh until mile 23. The crowds were out in droves! Special thanks goes out to the lady with the peeled banana around mile 23. May G-d bless you and keep you. May G-d shine his radiance upon you and bring you 10 sons. 

I saw lots of friends on the course, including from Team Joe, Riccke, Lysa, Kristine & Kryssie. Plus I saw my friend/manager from work, Carrie, and my brother! I admit I may have lost about 30 seconds stopping for hugsies, but it gave me the boost to finish with a smile on my face. 

Around mile 18, my left quad got seizy( new word), but I just thought to myself, "It's only another 8 to go. That's nothing! Think of all the delicious mochi you can eat afterwards!" And it worked! I finished very well! Click above to see my times. I finished in 4:04:05..BUT, my age graded time is 4:00:39. Now, if anyone knows what that's all about, please comment and let me know. Is a time not a time not a time? Is there sci-fi going on? Because I am 35, am I so old that 4 minutes gets shaved off my time? I can't walk around telling people my time was 4:00:39! Then again...

Anyway, I walked off the muscle cramping after the race, after I thanked heavens I was done and told myself I will never run a Marathon again(again). I walked for 1:40, because that's how crowded the streets were! However, the walking helped ease my sore muscles, and by the time I got home, I was barely sore at all! Yay!

I met some friends for drinks at 5, and am now home at 8:30. Not a bad day, all in all! Race, friends, food, drinks!

Plus, we raised about $1500 for Breast Cancer Research! 

Thanks everyone for your support, monetarily, emotionally, and any other -ally you can think of.

I'm going to sleep! 

food disappointments...and yes, i do eat that!

staying in, nice and cozy on a damp and windy day...

2 food disappointments in the last couple of weeks:

1) after THE BIG 20-MILE RUN Gabs & i, a few of our friends, and my hubby, went out for dim sum. YAY!!! we went to one of the biggest restaurants (on elizabeth st.) in chinatown expecting to drown in a bountiful feast of dim sum as a reward for running. what wasnt expected was the frantic chasing down of dim sum carts in a dining room the size of a football field and the knocking down of little old chinese grandmas to get food. UGH. somehow our stomachs got filled and there was actually chicken feet to be found. FANTASTIC! what an ordeal. next time we go to my usual place off mott st.

2) i told all my friends about the wonderful hot chocolate that the four seasons serve to the runners at the terry fox 5k race as an incentive to get them to do the race with me. and this wasnt a lie, the spread they have is one of the best ive had in any race aside from the cow harbour 10k (there's beer for the finishers!!!). so what happens? no hot chocolate for the folks who waited to have it after they finished the race. who be the man? not me. who be the doofus? that'll be me. had to go shuffling to starbucks for hot chocolate later. sad.

part 2 of the dim sum episode...we went to the chinatown ice cream factory, and that was good. around the corner from there is a place that i like for some (acquired taste) asian desserts. like grass jelly. which i love. and yes, i bought that. and ate it! with a generous drizzle of sugar syrup. refreshing!

marathon training and burnout...and food

it seems that in the last couple of weeks before the marathon, my friends and i are starting to show wear and tear from the weeks (and weeks and weeks...) of training. its time to taper, and we should be feeling good, but i got the worst cold right after my last 20miler with Gabs...and another 2 friends of mine are having ankle/shin/tendon issues. Di went to my sports dr and he diagnosed her with bursitis (! she asked...isnt that something old people get?! but no, its not). it seems to me that we actually need these weeks to recover from all the hard training, rather than resting up for a good race. maybe im just thinking that right now because im crabby that its 2:30am and im still up.

here is my contribution to the food section: http://www.basupperclubandcafe.com/

went there for lunch today! and here is somebody's review of it: http://midtownlunch.com/blog/2008/10/23/day-1-lunch-at-the-bon-appetit-pop-up-cafe-cora-batali-john-best-psilakis-new-york-city-ny/#more-2388

some of the comments are from folks who sound jaded and sour. accusations of others being "self righteous sheep" i think comes from someone who is insecure about their own taste. i just love food and trying new things. does that make me a sheep? or self righteous? why do i even care? enough of that!!!

time for bed. there will be more running this weekend and more food exploits all weekend long. and coffee. i love coffee! :)

(and Gabby. i love her too.)

Last 20-mile run before the marathon: Check!

So, Sunday morn, Ani and I set out on our very last very long run. We had a plan and we stuck to it. 6-5-4-5 -that's miles of loops. Many many hills were cursed, many goos slurped.  We had a date for dim sum and that alone (the fantasy of all-you-can-eat dumplings and chicken feet) put an extra skip into our steps. 3 hours later to the minute, we finished. We mostly ran sub-9 minute miles, only slowed down by hills, for an average of 9:01 minutes a mile. 

Less than 3 weeks till the special day for insane people with schpulkies (ask someones Jewish grandmother for a translation), I am feeling pretty darn good. Wasn't even sore the next day. 

Why do we do it; the long grueling runs, the blisters, the disgusting sports drinks and sci-fi meals in squeeze pouch containers? Adrenaline? Feeling like a warrior? Me, it's always been and will always be about the food. Anything I want, whenever I want. Period. Okay...maybe also the camaraderie of someone to run with while talking about food. 

As far as my fund-raising efforts, we've raised close to $900 so far! Pretty amazing stuff! What a great Joe community there is out there! Thanks to all who have supported so far, financially or emotionally...but mostly financially...

Next Saturday some Team Joesters are doing the Terry Fox run in Central Park. I hear it's a lot of fun, hosted by The 4 Seasons Hotel...so there's great food, and especially Hot Cocoa! It's not too late to sign up! And it's FREE!

Otherwise, we'll be seeing all of you, I am sure, at Waverly at 10 a.m.

My blog got a new outfit!

Isn't she just so dear!?

Grete's Great Gallop

Great race yesterday! Weather was perfect. A gorgeous fall day...until we got rained on a little.. 

3 Joe Teamsters ran the Great Gallop, moi, Kryssie Beneke, and Brigid Duffy, one, Tod Amato,  ran the 1.7 miler.

I actually have no complaints this time, although I usually don't enjoy 1/2 marathons. I ran as fast as I could (really due to time constraints), and felt pretty good about my pace at 8:45 mm. I think it may have been my second fastest half, my fastest being the Staten Island at 8:37mm, which I ran that fast because I just wanted it to be over.

It being only a month before the Marathon, I was just a tad anxious in that it was a little bit of a struggle and was only half of the actual battle. Well, next week will be my second 20-miler, the most important of the long runs. Then, it's all carbo-loading and rest.  Any Marathon advice from out there in the abyss of webland?

I'm Running The Marathon! Donate and Support me!

I am officially running the Marathon on November 2nd, representing Team Joe! I am raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation to eradicate breast cancer! Great organization. Click on the link and give what you can afford! I think it's even tax deductible!