Back in June, I did a three day Blueprint Cleanse. Then, in October, I did Organic Avenue LOVEdeep for five days.

And now I am on the third day of another three day Blueprint Cleanse. Last time I chose the Level 3 Excavation Cleanse. This time I opted for Level 1, the Renovation Cleanse. This is because while I love green juice and drink it every day, I really don’t like BPC’s green juice. I figured out that it is because they include romaine, which just doesn’t taste good juiced to me. Level 3 contained four green juices a day, while Level 1 only contains two. Two I can handle.

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Level 1 contains these six juices in the following order each day:

(1) Green Juice, (2) Pineapple Apple Mint, (3) Green Juice, (4) Spicy Lemonade, (5) Carrot Beet Apple Lemon Ginger and, the one I look forward to all day long, (6) CASHEW MILK.

Why did I decide to shell out my hard earned and in limited supply cash now to do yet another juice fast?

• My stomach has been BAD lately. Bloating, pain, etc. I had no relief. Once again, I needed a break.
• I overindulged over the holiday weekend, even though I a Jew!  Needed to get back on track.
• I got an email from BPC offering 25% off. An offer I couldn’t refuse given my other reasons.

So here I am on Day 3 and I must say it hasn’t been too bad at all. I’m doing this with my good blogger friend Maggie which has been great for support. We gchat all day about the cleanse. Maggie is doing Level 3 which is good for her since she loves the greens. She actually hates the cashew milk, which is my favorite. I want to do a cashew milk only cleanse. If only I could trade Maggie my greens for her cashew.

The first day was tough in the sense that I just wanted to eat. I was working from home and I was in noshing mode. Of course, there was no actual need to nosh, especially since I had a food filled weekend upstate with my mom, brother, Mallory and her family. The weekend consisted of peanut butter cup cookies, noodle pudding, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, french toast . . . you get the picture. Not the way one is supposed to transition into a cleanse, but what can you do.

I decided to use my rebounder  during the day (figured this would be a great time to reap its benefits) but ended up only doing 10 minutes due to work and laziness.

Once again, I was surprised by how not hungry I was. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want food (I had crazy cravings for foods I don’t even eat anymore), but I was full from my juices. I wasn’t even able to finish the red one (carrot, beet, apple, lemon, ginger) because I was so full. I did finish my beloved cashew milk. YUM. Made the whole day worth it. It is made with vanilla bean, agave and cinnamon.

And even though I went to bed full, I didn’t feel like I usually do after dinner — stuffed, unable to move, blah. None of that. I felt fine, but satisfied.

I woke up Tuesday morning and felt different. It was a sensation upon waking I have not experienced since, well, my last juice fast. How to describe it? I didn’t feel like my stomach was . . . there. Does that make sense? Normally when I wake up, the first thing I feel is my a heavy weight in my stomach. It sticks out in front of me. Now, it doesn’t always LOOK like it is sticking out. But it always, always feels like it. I wake up every day with this weight.

On Tuesday, I woke up with no weight.

I knew this cleanse was worth it.

When I got out of bed, I lifted my shirt and looked in the mirror. I didn’t recognize my own body. All the lumps and random spots of bloat throughout my abdomen were gone. I looked almost like I did before I got sick (I say almost because I did still gain weight). I wanted to wear a bikini! Too bad it’s the middle of winter. I miss being able to wear a bikini.

I sat down to work (from home again) and I just couldn’t get over how great I felt. No pain at all. No discomfort at all. I decided to get in a little workout and went to the building gym for 30 minutes on the elliptical.

When I got back, I started struggling. I just wanted to eat something post-gym. I told Maggie I was having a hard time. It’s hard not eating when you’re used to eating. I missed tastes, flavors, textures. Just like the last time. It is especially hard when you follow foodies and food companies on Twitter and read food blogs for fun.

I got back on track pretty easily, though. At 5:00 I left to go to my mom’s in Queens to visit with her, my brother and Mallory. Things got very difficult when Mallory made homemade vodka sauce for penne a la vodka. I wanted it so badly. I considered taking one piece of penne to try, but I didn’t. And luckily for me, they ate all the food up, and pretty quickly, so there was none for me to steal later. I did, however, take two slices of cucumber — one of Blueprint Cleanse’s allowed “cheat foods.”

I was able to finish all my drinks and even finish the one I couldn’t finish the day before. I really wanted tea — herbal tea is encouraged on BPC — but my mom didn’t have any. Instead, I made hot water with cinnamon and drank two mugs of  that. I assume cinnamon is OK since it is in the cashew milk. And it was really good! I wouldn’t mind drinking that every now and again.

Once again, the cashew milk was the star of the day. It was my redemption. My treat for getting through another day. And it is so filling, so even though I was awake watching Funny People after finishing it and then took a really long time falling asleep, I never felt hungry or tempted to get some food.

I woke up this morning at 7:30. Day 3.  Not hungry. At all. Worked until 9:00 before starting my hot water with lemon (blech) and first green juice. I didn’t finish the first green juice until 11.

I wasn’t very hungry and I have a really hard time getting the greens with romaine down.

Then my brother and Mallory came home with a box of Dunkin Donuts. WHAT.  Mallory also had a white hot chocolate! I never tried that before. I needed to know, I took a tiny sip. Heaven.

Moving on.

I have not taken any doughnuts. In a way, it is good I am doing the cleanse now because I probably would have gorged myself on doughnuts. Last night, I likely would have gone overboard on the garlic bread and pasta. So this is a good thing. I also would have gone to Applebee’s tonight if not for the cleanse. I am grateful to the cleanse in this sense.

So here I am in the middle of  Day 3, sitting next to a box of doughnuts. I’m not starving. I am only on juice #2 and it is 12:00. I can get through today. My stomach is calm. No rumbling, no movement, no pain, no bloat, no discomfort.

Oh yeah and it is flat. Sigh. I will miss this when it’s gone.

This is all bittersweet. I feel amazing now. I wish I could eat no solid food all the time, but obviously that is not possible. As great as I feel now, I know that as soon as I eat food again all the old problems will come right back. I wish I could wear a feeding tube attached to one of those silver stands with wheels like in hospitals, and just walk around with that all day.

And, I miss food. I miss eating. I miss flavors. I miss noshing.

I don’t think I will do another cleanse for awhile since they are costly and in the end, not so worth it for my long term comfort. I spend so much money on my GI problems, it’s just not something I can stick with. I am glad I did BPC again, though, and even gladder that I went to Level 1 this time. So much better than Level 3 for me. And I still have my cashew milk to look forward to at the end of the day.

Maybe I’ll put on a bikini tonight.

Thanks for your great reaction to my Core Fusion Challenge! I am really excited to begin this weekend. I will also be meeting with Exhale’s health counselor for “before” measurements and photos, as well as nutrition guidance.

I know it was a strange time to have a giveaway, with so many people off work or away and not reading blogs. If you missed this giveaway, don’t worry — there might be another in the future . . .

With that said, the winner of the Core Fusion DVD giveaway is . . . MelissaNibbles!

Melissa said: I’m in! I Netflix’d Core Fusion, but I really want to own the dvd! I’ve recently become “skinny fat” and it’s got me down a little bit. I’m ready to work on my core and this seems like a great challenge. Thanks Dori!

Ah yes, I am quite familiar with “skinny fat.” Melissa, please email me and send me your address. I am excited for you to participate in the challenge with me. I really think you’ll love it.

For those of you who did not win the giveaway but want to participate, the Core Fusion Body Sculpt DVD is only $12 on Amazon or $9.99 on Tower Video. It is eligible for free shipping if your order is above $25 on either site. AND it comes with a free class at Exhale Spa. This is a really great deal, especially considering one regular class is $35.

If you’d like to get it on the challenge, please find the details here: Core Fusion Challenge

You can begin at any time, just let me know when. I plan to send out an email to all participants soon. Still not sure? Check out this trailer of the Body Sculpt DVD:

I plan to schedule out my classes each week ahead of time so I am always prepared. I already planned out next week’s! I will discuss that soon. I am SO excited to commit to improving my core, my strength, my body and my mind in 2010!

. . . so says fellow bloggers Melissa and Lindsey!

Thanks ladies for the award. To accept the award, I need to share 7 random facts about myself and then give the award to 7 other bloggers.

My facts:

1. I am a spelling bee champion. In 8th grade, I won my school spelling bee. Then I went to the District championship and I won that too. Then I went to the New York City championship and there were so many people I didn’t even bother trying to win. I snagged myself a very cool bright shiny blue jacket with gold trim that says “Daily News Spelling Bee Champion,” and a plaque. I use this as a fact in every “fact list”, but it is my only claim to fame.
2. I am the laziest person ever. I have no problem staying in pajamas, unshowered, for days at a time. I only consider a weekend good if I had at least one day of “doing nothing” — literally, sitting at home all day. I neglected the blog because I was too into relaxing after my busy schedule. My dream in life would be to do nothing all day, every day. The boy says I am the only person he has ever met lazier than he is.
3. I can’t remember what it was like to eat food and feel normal after. When I eat a meal now, my stomach bloats and my clothes don’t fit. That’s just how it is. I sometimes try to think really hard about the days a few years ago where I put on jeans, ate three meals, and still felt fine. I can’t comprehend that ever being possible for me. It was, but it is so far out of what I can understand. I also can’t imagine ever feeling that way again. I miss salad so much it hurts.
4. I have never taken a full week off work. Even though I work full time, I am considered a “consultant” and get no benefits or vacation days. I am in desperate need of a whole week on a Caribbean island. I’ve been working full time for 4 years with no vacation.
5. I used to have a 10 Facts “About Me” list that I loved. I searched everywhere for it so I can borrow some for this list here — my computer, my gmail archives, my external hard drive, two flash drives and the boy’s computer. I can’t find it anywhere.
6. I would never have considered taking up running if it wasn’t for reading blogs. Never. Running was not something I ever though twice about, not something I ever cared to do. When I worked on a teen tour in 2005, the people I worked with discussed going on morning runs together and I just said “count me out.” Thanks to reading blogs where many of the bloggers are runners, I decided to try it out myself — and ended up falling in love. No other exercise can ever compare for me.
7. I want a puppy. Really, really badly.

I’m supposed to nominate 7 other bloggers for this award but I think by now everyone has been nominated. If you haven’t, consider yourself nominated by me and knock yourself out.

I almost added something about food and changes to the way I’ve been eating to the list, but I realized it is very blogworthy and needs an entire post on its own. I’ll try to get to that this week!

GIVEAWAY & CHALLENGE

The Core Fusion DVD giveaway ends TOMORROW. Click here to enter! And I really hope you all decide to jump on this challenge with me.

I am so excited to start my Core Fusion challenge. It will be so tough but I really do believe it will be rewarding. If I get into the NYC Half Marathon (I want to get in so badly, you have no idea) the month will get even tougher since I will have to train! If I don’t get into the NYC Half I will probably look into another half to do in March. If I have the surgery, I don’t know if I will be able to run long distances after and I really want to achieve this half marathon goal before I go through with it.

BLOG UPDATES

And I’ve been working on the pages on my blog! Check out my Running Songs page which lists all my favorite running/workout songs by categories I made up, and look through my other pages as well. I still have more to do but I feel great that I finally have made some progress. December was a tough month for me and I just had no energy or motivation to blog. January will be better!

HI!

I’m back. For good. I even wrote my 10K Race Recap. It includes the best playlist ever, I suggest you check it out.

Last week, I alluded to a challenge. While initially the challenge was created for myself, I realized it would be much more fun and more motivating if you would all take part in it with me!

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know how much I love Core Fusion classes at Exhale Spa. I love how Core Fusion is a full body strength workout, because I can’t seem to ever do any strength training on my own. I love how Core Fusion teaches you to stretch after working each muscle  group, because stretching creates long, lean muscles. I love the music; I love the teachers; I love the studio space, particularly at the Central Park South location. While I don’t love how much my muscles burn during the class, I do love how I feel as soon as it is finished —  like I did something really great for myself.

All this information brings me to the Core Fusion Challenge.

After discussing my goals with Core Fusion co-founder Fred DeVito, he came up with a challenge that will help me reach my goals.

What does my Core Fusion Challenge entail?

• 4 – 5 Core Fusion classes a week
• Documenting the challenge on Dori’s Shiny Blog about 3 times a week

This can include any Exhale class offerings. I will likely do a combination of the following (read about them in detail here):

• Core Fusion (this will be the bulk of what I do)
• Core Fusion Sport (focuses on combining cardio + strength)
• Core Energy Flow (a combination of yoga and core work)
• Yoga (I am new to this but enjoyed the beginner class I took at Exhale recently)

Core Fusion classes are HARD. During class, my muscles burn. Sometimes I want to cry. Sometimes I have to take a break from the moves. This is why I am glad there are other classes to try in addition to Core Fusion. That said, Core Fusion will be the majority of the classes I take. Every teacher teaches a little differently and no two classes are the same, so it will never get boring. I’m going to keep my NYSC membership during this time as well and try to get in some cardio sessions as well.

Here’s what I hope to improve:

• Knee Bursitis & Patella Femoral Pain Syndrome
• Shoulder AC Joint Osteolysis
• Recent weight gain
• Terrible flexibility
• Weak core
• No arm definition
• Soft abs

In addition, I will be working with Exhale Spa’s health counselor, Catherine. I had to fill out a comprehensive health history form for her that even asked for examples of what I ate as a child! Mmmmm, Velveeta. I’m going to meet with Catherine after the holidays to do a “before” session — measurements, weighing, photos — eek! We will also discuss food, although due to my unique GI illness, I don’t expect her to be able to advise much that (1) I don’t already know and (2) I can actually physically do. But, maybe I’ll be surprised and she will have tons of suggestions for me! At the very least, she will hold me accountable. While I do eat cleanly most of the time, it will be good to keep on track with her help.

So now I get to devote a whole lot of time to working on my specific strength & muscle issues while improving my overall health! You’re probably thinking this is great for me, and maybe you’re even a little jealous (I would be!). Here is where you come in.

I want you to participate in the Core Fusion Challenge with me.

It doesn’t matter where you live or if you have access to an Exhale Spa (locations here), because Core Fusion has  really wonderful DVDs. My favorite — and the one most like a Core Fusion class — is Core Fusion Body Sculpt. This DVD consists of five 10-minute workouts, divided into the following groups: upper body, glutes, thighs, abs and stretch.

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The other DVDs are Pilates Plus, Thighs & Glutes and Pure Abs & Arms. I don’t know where they found the models for these DVDs, but maybe all our butts can one day look like the one on the cover.

Core Fusion Body Sculpt DVD is only $12 on Amazon or $9.99 on Tower Video. It is eligible for free shipping if your order is above $25 on either site.  AND it comes with a free class at Exhale Spa. This is a really great deal, especially considering one regular class is $35.

I’d love for you to all get the DVD and participate with me. I have this DVD and I love it. It’s actually pretty funny because I would do this DVD in my apartment having absolutely no idea that the people I was following and cursing on the screen (Fred and his wife Elisabeth) were  just two floors above me in their own apartment. What a small world!

While Body Sculpt certainly is challenging (OMG THE ABS SECTION), Fred and Elisabeth give modifications for each exercise so you can work your way up. It works out so many parts of your body to exhaustion in such a short amount of time.

What does the DVD challenge entail?

Required: Four to five days a week - full length Core Fusion DVD (Body Sculpt will cover the most. If you use one of the more targeted DVDs, please allow rest days in between) – for one month

Recommended: Yoga (Polly’s videos are great & free, ExerciseTV has free yoga and YogaDownload has free options as well)

Recommended: 30 minutes cardio, three days a week

All I am requiring is your commitment to the Core Fusion DVD. I included my recommendations because I think you will greatly benefit from adding those, but even if you only do the minimum Core Fusion requirement, I am sure you will see amazing results. If you’d like to take before/after photos and measurements, go ahead! I’ll be doing that myself and documenting my improvements here.

If you have a blog and decide to participate, let me know and I will link to your posts about it! If you don’t have a blog, feel free to send me content to post here. If enough people decide to participate, I will create a Core Fusion page in the top navigation of my blog and will include information about Core Fusion classes, links to everyone’s blogs/posts and any valuable resources that might help.

Giveaway!

Want to participate in the challenge? Want to get started with a FREE Core Fusion Body Sculpt DVD?

Here’s how to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post about why you want to strengthen your core.
2. Tweet this contest: RT @dysterious Take the Core Fusion Challenge: Enter to win a Core Fusion Body Sculpt DVD http://bit.ly/8rHHLt
3. Encourage people to take part — post a note about this contest in your own blog

You will get one entry for each. I will select the winner randomly on Tuesday, December 29.

The challenge will begin around January 2. I will confirm with you all next week. Please let me know if you plan to participate in this challenge — I’d love to hear from you.

I am excited and nervous to begin! This will be so hard — but so worth it.

Edited to add – You can start this challenge at any time, just keep me updated! I will put together a group email and send updates throughout the challenge. We will motivate each other and share our experiences.

On December 6, 2009 the weather felt like 21 degrees at 7:00 am. I had arrived, despite my best attempts not to, an hour early for the Joe Kleinerman 10K race in Central Park.

What did I get myself into???

I had layered up in a long tank top, long sleeve running shirt and running jacket. I wore pants, Zensah leg compression sleeves and knee sleeves. A hat on my head, running gloves, running socks and my sneakers. I wore my winter coat and scarf with plans to check them near the start.

I waited in the park in my winter coat for a painful half hour. The cold was unbearable — my running gloves did little. The thought of taking off my jacket and scarf to get lined up to run was beyong comprehension. But 30 minutes before the race was due to begin, I had no choice but to check my bag and coat.

I tried moving around and jumping and bouncing to keep warm. That didn’t help much. I watched other people in shorts — WHAT? Or in capri pants. There were lots of people wearing less layers than me, and I felt like I was going to die. How did they do it?  What did I get myself into? What was I thinking signing up for a winter race — I started running as a way to work out outside in the SUMMER.

I contemplated leaving. Just getting my coat and walking out of the park and into a cab. But I had already waited outside for so long, I might as well stay for the race. And I made an amazing playlist that I was REALLY looking forward to hearing! 15 minutes before the start they announced that all runners should make their way to the corrals.

I ran there.

It was way too cold not to! What’s an extra .25 mile anyway? I ran at a slow jog and when I got to the corral they announced they were closing them on one minute. GOOD TIMING. I didn’t realize how far the start was from the bag check or I would have made my way over there sooner. Lots of people were in the same boat as me. I got to my corral in time, but all the people who made it there after me had to start at the end — including some very fast runners who belonged near the front. Normally I’d say “you snooze you lose” but in this case, they really should have gotten us to the start sooner.

The good thing about getting to the corral so late in the game was that I didn’t have to wait too long for the race to start! While I was waiting, I looked around and saw two women who appeared to be in their late 60s. They said that they were racing to have some fun! I couldn’t believe it — these two older ladies, standing outside in freezing weather about ro tun 6.2 miles?! Not complaining, there to have fun? Wow. That is something I aspire to be one day.

I was still absolutely freezing, by the way. I saw people without gloves and couldn’t understand how they weren’t going crazy! Soon enough the race began and I have never been so happy to start running. I needed to heat up.

So let’s get right down to business. My perfect playlist. Best playlist ever. I selected the songs and the order carefully.

While I was running, I remembered exactly how I felt at each song and mentally recorded it to blog to you all about. But since I have been insanely busy and tired and haven’t blogged, those  thoughts are unfortunately gone now. So I’ll do my best.

My 10K race playlist:

I’m getting all smiley just looking at this again!

I start many of my runs with Young Folks. It has a great, catchy tune and it is not too slow or too fast. It’s perfect for beginning a race and is just a great song. And yes, I learn about music from the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack. And Scrubs and Garden State.

I couldn’t enjoy the song as much as I normally would because right before the race started, despite my two Porta Potty visits, I felt like I needed to pee. I don’t know if this was real or nerves — I vote nerves — but in really messed with my head. The next song was Girl Talk’s Minute by Minute, which definitely got me more into the racing mood!An awesome mix and it even incorporates Hate it Or Love It, a rap favorite of mine.

Next was my favorite running song of all time, Say Hey (I Love You)by Michael Franti. That song always puts me in a great mood, regardless of whether I need to find a Porta Potty. I smiled when this song came on. It makes me happy.

The first mile passed pretty quickly. I was too cold to lift my sleeve and pull down my glove and check my Polar, but I was feeling pretty good, albeit a bit slowed down because of the having to pee issue.

Another Girl Talk song, Set it Off. It mixes Come On Eileen. Perfection. I smiled, opened my jacket and flashed my number at a race photographer. My good knee (which had been bothering me lately) started to hurt, but luckily it didn’t last long.

During the second mile, I saw a Porta Potty. I also saw a line for the Porta Potty. Leaving the race to quickly run in is one thing, but waiting on a line is a whole other thing. Not worth it. I kept running. Clearly, I avoided the water station.

Mile 2 felt much slower than mile 1. But when Meddle by Little Boots came on, I smiled, removed my jacket and tied it around my waist. I heated up! Normally when I hear Meddle — an awesome running song introduced to me by Rachel – I think about one thing in particular. On this day, I did not. I was too wrapped up in the race and considering bathroom options. But I was enjoying myself and loving the song!

At some point I got to the 3rd mile. At some point PPK Resurrectioncame on and I was seriously in heaven. So, a little backstory here. When my roommate Lim and I were in our freshman year of college, a guy on our floor gave her a techno CD. She played it on repeat. Nonstop. Although there were probably 11 tracks on this CD, for some reason we kept hearing the same song. All the time, this one song. It was very catchy and different from other techno songs I have heard. We fell in love.

But we didn’t know what it was called. We didn’t even know what CD this was. On my computer, the song displayed as Track 9 by Unknown Artist. So that is what we called it.  The name Track 9 by Uknown Artist actually became its name, and I didn’t question it again. One night, maybe a year later, we were out at a frat party (yes) and the SONG CAME ON. We couldn’t believe it!!! We found someone in the fraternity and asked what song it was and he was actually able to tell us the name. The song was Resurrection by PPK.

Since then, I have heard the song at strange places and strange times, even a slowed down version using the tune in a restaurant waiting for a table. I didn’t think to run to it until recently and I am so happy I did. There are no words and it really helped me to just zone out.

I love Dave Matthews. Shake Me Like A Monkey is such a great song to run to. Please, please try it! It is fast and has a fantastic tune and has different types of sounds throughout. Although I ran up the Great Hill in the beginning of the race, overall this course didn’t seem to be so bad in the uphills, not like my last 4 mile race. And there were quite a few downhills. Not bad!

I got to the 4th mile, skipped out on the water station, saw a Porta Potty and a line, and kept running. I passed my last race distance and couldn’t believe how much better I was feeling than at the end of my 4 mile race. I knew I could easily do 2 more miles.

I always love running to Hey Girl from OAR. Easy to sing along to, great tune, great song. When the Beatles Help came on, it was nice timing as I was starting to struggle a little. I had felt great (aside from having to use the bathroom) until this point, where it got a little tough. What a fun running song, though! I felt perky despite the toughness.

Here’s The Thing is my favorite Girl Talk song, as I have said in other recaps. I just love so much about it, but it was hard to fully enjoy it because I was struggling.

Hard Candy, Counting Crows. It was around this song that a KILLER HILL in between miles 4 and 5 hit me. Not only was the hill steep, it was neverending. I slowed down to tackle this and I observed those around me as well. Some people didn’t seem to be affected and kept running at a decent speed. Others were walking. I was running very, very slowly. The hill twisted and curved, raising higher and higher, and there was no end in sight. The race went from fun and easy to fun and a bit of a struggle to the toughest thing ever. I pushed on. I wished I had a more inspiring song than Hard Candy.

As I approached the top of the hill, I got the song I was waiting for throughout the race: I Dig Rock and Roll Music by Peter Paul and Mary. I loved this song for years. The beat is intoxicating! I just want to dance around when I hear it. I was so happy to hear this song that even though it isn’t particularly fast, it got me past the hill and I felt amazing once I was off the hill. I was really able to enjoy this song.

I saw a photographer. I smiled and waved. Girl Talk came on, Shut the Club Down. GOOD SONG. I needed a song to really push me and keep me in a great mood this was perfect. More Counting Crows, Einstein on the Beach. I always like running to this. It’s uplifting and easy to sing (mouth) along to.

I don’t know, eventually I passed the 5th mile. I stopped having to pee. Play Your Part (Pt. 2) by Girl Talk came on, and I was happy because this is the song that got me through my hilly 4 miler. The George Harrison and Journey sections are really cool. I smiled because I was race PRing and it felt GREAT.

The Coral’s Dreaming of You was next and I was thrilled. I love this song. Very fast. Very catchy. It made me happy. It helped me. Another techno song, who am I? Lord of Tranz – Sanctificum by DJ Tiesto.  I put this song at this time because I knew I would need help speeding up towards the end.

WOW. This song has never been more perfect. Just like with Resurrection, it allowed me to focus only on my feet hitting the ground. It made me want to speed up. Only I couldn’t. My left knee (my bad knee) started hurting and the pain became so intense I could no longer bend my knee! I was limp/running! If this happened earlier in the race, I would have had to quit, but I was so close to the end so I kept going! The song helped me zone out and forget as best I could the pain shooting down the outside of my left knee.

Luckily, my favorite running song was on again! When I put Say Hey (I Love You) in the beginning of the run, I always feel like I need it at the end. When I put it at the end, I feel like I couldn’t have enjoyed it as much as if it were at the beginning. So I put it in both places. Despite my knee pain, the song made me happy! I smiled at another race photographer. My knee was killing me. I tried to straighten my leg. OUCH. I just needed to finish. I was so close.

I saw mile 6 approaching. Counting Crows’ Rain King — my final song. I  timed this well. This song is motivating. I passed mile 6. I sped up. I forgot my knee pain. I couldn’t sprint but I could certainly run faster and that is what I did. With a huge smile on my face and eyes only for the two photographers crouched alongside the ground next to me, I ran quickly through the finish line. The announcer called out my number — that has never happened to me before! As soon as I crossed, my eyes welled up and my smile did not fade as I cried tears of happiness. I couldn’t believe it. I ran a 10K!!!!!

Aaaahhhhhhh!!! I ran my first 10K!

My official time is 1:03:22, with an average pace of 10:13. Not bad considering I had to pee for 4 miles, I dealt with a brutal hill for half a mile and my left knee stopped working for three quarters of another!
I can’t believe I was running for an hour – an hour is so long! But it didn’t feel that long at all.

Despite my best efforts at smiling at every photographer I see, smiling directly into two at the finish line, I did not make it into a single race photo! Why does this always happen? Oh, well!

While I was running I wasn’t cold but after it ended, it hit me fast. The cold hurt, and it was miserable, but I was so happy. I felt better than I ever have after a race. My amazing playlist really helped of course, but I did the hardest part myself. I can run 10K and still feel good after.

I didn’t go home and register for my next race as I tend to do. It is too cold. Never again. Running in the cold isn’t what’s bad — waiting in the cold is what makes races unbearable. But I had already entered myself into the lottery for the 2010 NYC Half Marathon! I normally wouldn’t register for such a long race that requires winter training, but the race takes place on my birthday! When will that ever happen again – my first half marathon running through my city on my birthday?! I needed to take advantage. Hopefully I get in. I find out January 6. Can’t wait!

Do you like running in cold weather? How do you handle waiting around before a cold weather race?