I’m back this week from my vacation. It’s funny, I’ve been working in corporate America since February 2006, but last week was my first paid full week off work in that entire time. Needless to say, it was one of the best weeks I’ve ever had. I visited my brother in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb right outside Seattle. I ran a fantastic 9 mile training run there that I’m excited to tell you about and show you some gorgeous pictures from! I also got to spend a night in the Hamptons to help YogaVibes film Core Fusion Cardio and Core Fusion. I even got to be in the Core Fusion class that we filmed! More on that soon too.

I have so much to share, so let’s start with my very last day of vacation, this past Sunday. I went on a hike with Outdoor Bound.

A few weeks ago, I was at Angela’s rooftop party and met this cool guy Kirk. Turns out Kirk owns Outdoor Bound, “an education-based adventure company that offers unique international excursions, outdoor fitness programs, youth development programs, corporate team-building activities, and a variety of single and multi-day excursions.” Missy had actually gone on two of their hiking trips (one that included a wine tasting!) and loved it. She’d been trying to get me to come, and after meeting Kirk (and, let’s be honest, Kirk offering me a free trip) I said sure!

We chose the Surprise Lake Hike. This is the description of our hike, from the Outdoor Bound website:

A Stunning 6.5-Mile Day Hike!

This beautiful trail is notable for some steep and rocky sections that provide spectacular views. There is a wide variety of fascinating vegetation and terrain along our loop route, which includes a section of the Appalachian Trail. We hike around lovely, secluded Surprise Lake, where we will stop for lunch. In summer, bring or wear your swimsuit for a dip in the lake!

The Hike

We will cover 700 vertical feet of elevation during this adventure, and the majority of the climb is in the first two miles. After joining the Appalachian Trail for a short distance and learning about the world-famous journey that AT hikers undertake, we will follow an undulating mountain ridge for the next 2.5 miles. Our loop trail will take us through rhododendron groves and lush and mossy woodlands and we’ll scramble up craggy ridges to spectacular view.

Even with that description, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Luckily, Missy is a hiking trip expert now and sent a packing list to me, Angela and Kristine. I borrowed an awesome backpack from my roommate and filled it with water bottles, a beach towel, sunscreen, bug spray, wet wipes, flip flops, bandaids, lunch, snacks and my camera. We met with our tour guides, Arielle and Jon, and the rest of the group on 73rd and Broadway where we signed a release and boarded a van. We drove a little over an hour and arrived in a foreign land called New Jersey. In this strange place, we sprayed our bodies with sunblock and bug spray and used the facilities. By facilities, I mean the woods.

And we were off!

I had never been on a challenging hike before. I’ve hiked a couple times, but it was more like slightly hard walking. This trip was a HIKE. It was a level intensity 3, which means the following:

Level 3 > Moderate — for Novices & Above

ACTIVITY: 4 – 6 hours most days
DISTANCES: Hike up to 10 miles, cycle 20 – 40 miles most days
SURFACES: Rolling or mountainous terrain with some steeps
ELEVATION CHANGE: Up to 2,000 feet per day
ALTITUDE : Up to 10,000 feet

Even though I learned about the hikes from Missy, she never told me about the climbing involved — or the sitting, which is how I had to slide myself down some steep rocks and dips. I relied on my hands to help me navigate the trail at times, and other times I was able to jump and climb pretty well! The guides were knowledgeable and helpful and gave some great advice for tackling the more challenging sections.

(Missy climbing — this one was HARD. Someone on the trip took a picture of me tackling this but I forgot to have him send it and I don’t know his name!)

We learned how to follow a trail, which was very cool because I never knew about this at all. The trees and ground is painted with a certain color every few feet to indicate which trail you are on (a yellow trail, a blue trail, etc) and which direction you should go to continue on this trail. If you stop seeing paint, you know you might have navigated off the trail and can turn back. The stack of rocks also indicates you are on the trail.

Before we left Manhattan, our guides checked to make sure we all had at least two liters of water. I brought the luxury to the wilderness with my exhale mind body water. Kristine stayed hydrated with her sleek flask-looking water bottle.

On one of our breaks on the hike Missy and I decided stretching was necessary. My quads were already sore from filming YogaVibes.com Core Fusion the day before, and this hike was rough on the legs!

We reached the Appalachian Trail — which extends from Georgia to Maine — and the New York/New Jersey state line! I got to sign a guest ledger and stand in both states at once! And actually, it is on the Appalachian Trail that I did my downward dog. I wonder how many people can say that?

After this we had some of the toughest hiking of the day. As challenging as climbing up can be, I was most scared going down (TWSS). I would choose to sit down and push myself down with my hands instead of jump or try and shuffle down quickly. I’m running a half marathon next month and really can’t afford to get an injury! I was erring on the side of caution partly out of fear of getting injured and partly because I just get scared. Either way, it was a challenge and scary but I felt so accomplished after completing each of the difficult sections of the hike.

I was rewarded with views like this:

 Finally we reached Surprise Lake and got to relax and eat lunch. Some people went swimming, my friends and I opted for some relaxing in the sun.

We saw a giant turtle.

What a cutie! Can we hug him?

Kristine went with some interesting clothing options.

After lunch and relaxing, everyone got very quiet for the remainder of the hike. The chattering from the first few hours was over and it left lots of time for self reflection. I’m always writing my memoir in my head, so I spent the last mile and a half or so we had left working on that. Maybe one day I will write some of this down.

Before I knew it, the 6.5 mile hike was over and we were back at the van, ready to head home. I always get sad coming back to New York City after being somewhere beautiful and relaxing. It was hard coming back from Seattle earlier in the week and it was even hard coming back from my short stay in the Hamptons. This was extra melancholy because it meant that not only was the hike over, but my perfect vacation was coming to an end as well.

It really is incredible that you can get in a car in Manhattan, drive for an hour and find yourself in an entirely different universe. The hiking trail was so close but felt like a million miles away. The good news is that going on trips with Outdoor Bound is easy and inexpensive. This specific trip only costs $59, which covered transportation and being guided along difficult and hard-to-navigate trails, and guaranteed incredible views and a lake to swim in — oh yeah, and real air to breathe. For less than $60 you can get an entire day outside of the city.

My friends and I loved the trip so much we already signed up for another in September! As I disclosed before, I did not pay for this trip, but I did pay for my next one. The cost is cheap for an entire day of hiking, exercising outside, being with friends (or meeting new ones) and enjoying the outdoors. The city can be so stressful, and a one day getaway is sometimes exactly what I need. The entire trip was organized and executed flawlessly. I am impressed.

If you decide to book an Outdoor Bound trip, you will save 10% off your trip with the code Dori’s Discount upon checkout! I really hope you decide to try an Outdoor Bound activity — in addition to hiking, they offer a variety of activities such as biking, mountain climbing, horseback riding, skydiving, kayaking , photography hikes and more.  There is even a yoga hike and a wine tasting hike! Kirk started something really fantastic here and I know you would love it.

Every year, my company sponsored the Wall Street Run, a 3 mile race through the streets of the Financial District in Manhattan. There is a running portion and a walking portion, and the groups are split up with separate starts. I always had free entry to this race through my job and access to the after parties where the margaritas were a-flowing!

Then another company bought my company, and that new company doesn’t care about helping heart disease. Or something. My point is, my company no longer sponsors this race, so this year I had to pay for my entry — which is good, since part of my entry went to the American Heart Association. My grandpa had two heart attacks and double bypass surgery, so this is an important cause to me.

I have to admit, it was very strange not having lots of people in my office all getting ready and going down to the start together in our matching shirts. In fact, the two people left in the office when I was getting ready asked me how I knew about the race! Without our company to sponsor it and promote it on the intranet, no one there even knew the race was happening. How sad. How different things used to be.

I really like that this race starts and ends right outside my office building at 6:45 pm. Convenience is key. I changed at work and went downstairs to meet my friends Missy and Melissa before the race. It was Missy’s first race, so I was excited for her! So excited that I insisted on attaching her D-Tag timing chip on her shoe while she stood helpless.

The night before the race, at 10 pm (bedtime) I realized that I forgot to create a race playlist! I abandoned any hopes of getting to sleep early and worked on a fun, fast 3 mile playlist.

My playlist was so awesome and I love myself for selecting these songs. It was the official race of the mashup.

I am still not ready to give up on Say Hey (I Love You).

Even though it was 93 degrees out with 60% humidity and many people were concerned, I was excited. When people are comfortable, I am cold. When people are cold, I am shivering in pain. When people are hot and sweaty, I am comfortable.

I thrive in the heat.

This was the first year the race was held in June. It is usually in May and I have a feeling that after this year the NYRR might switch it back to May again. According to all the normal temperatured (I can make up words if they make sense) people, it was a very hot, sticky race. And I knew it was hot, I am able to recognize that. When I saw a girl in a cotton t-shirt and cotton full length leggings, my heart hurt a little for what she was about to experience.

Because I like the heat, I decided to push myself a little — but not too much. I am not stupid, and I do know to slow down or stop if I am not feeling well. I hydrated well all day, having a cold pressed green juice with a dash of sea salt right before the race. Having come straight from my office to the start, it was my first non-portapotty race and I have to say, it was nice.

I turned on my new Garmin and then someone sang the National Anthem. I was chatting to my friends and this guy turned around and yelled at me! Oops.

And then we were off! I took off and . . . could not move. There were so many people, no corrals, many non-runners. Lots of the people there were part of teams through their company. But I wanted to try and run! So I weaved. I followed other runners up on sidewalks to get around people and dashed between friends. I did make sure to take in my surroundings because I love running races on actual streets of NYC! I think it is so cool when they close the streets for runners, and I am impressed by NYRR’s ability to close off so much of the financial district during rush hour.

I’ve worked in this area for three years now, so it was also fun running through familiar territory. Now, when I walk along these sidewalks, I can think “I ran on this street!” As I ran down Church street, some kids who were around 14 were holding their hands out for high fives. I took one, of course.

So as I said I wore my new Garmin and here is the map of where I ran for this race:

You can see a lot of my weaving here! The race was straight down streets and around corners. All the little squigglies are my dogding people an trying to maintain a decent pace. Although I have to admit the Garmin was a little off. I assure you I did not run directly over Ground Zero.

There was only one water station, on Water Street (ha), which was not nearly enough on such a hot, humid day. I didn’t even get to see it because so many people were crowded around, although there was a person with a hose again. I didn’t run directly under the water, but a couple drops got on me and it was nice.

Sometimes the crowd would clear a little and I’d have room to run, other times it would be completely packed and I would have to slow down and figure out how to get around everyone. A lot of people would just start walking right in the middle, which I completely understand and think is a great thing to do in these temps — but I wish they would have moved over to the side. Oh, well.

At the last mile, the road really cleared up. I finally had space to run! Except I was tired and didn’t have much left in me, so I was just going through the motions at that point. My big push at the beginning took a lot out of me. When we turned onto the West Side Highway, I did get some new energy back because I knew we were getting near the end, and I love this running path! I’ve walked this path many times during breaks from work.

The sun was beating down on us and the river was gorgeous. There were so many people cheering us on! I was surprised by how quickly I saw the finish line ahead — this race went by so fast! I was on my last song of the playlist, so I timed it well, but I was still shocked. I’m usually wishing for the finish line and wondering if it will ever come, but for this race (yes, it was just three miles, but still a tough race) it hit me out of nowhere. I wanted to speed up and sprint for a strong finish, but the path is pretty narrow here and there was no way to get around the masses of people. So I just kept going and then I was done!

I didn’t immediately stop in my tracks or feel like I need to collapse like I do after many other races. I felt great! I could have run more. I walked over to the water bottles, got one for myself and then secured a table outside at Southwest for me, Missy and Melissa.

Shortly after I finished, they joined me at our table overlooking the water for margaritas and quesadillas!

Our view from dinner:

I need to take advantage of this more often. My new BlackBerry takes very nice photos!

Amazing Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Quesadilla (Grilled marinated vegetables, caramelized onions, roasted poblano peppers, Goat cheese and Mexican cheeses).

Oh! How did I do? According to the New York Road Runners, here are my stats for this 3 mile race:

Time: 27:15

Pace: 9:05
Age: 35

Okay, so I am not 35, I am 27.  But I am so happy with my time! Even though it felt like I was running so slowly because of all the people, I managed to run pretty fast anyway! I wonder how I could do in this distance in better racing conditions? I felt like such a real runner too, trying to get around so many people who weren’t taking the race as seriously as I am. Probably because they are not insane like I am.

My Garmin actually says I ran 3.4 miles, which makes sense with ALL my weaving. I definitely ran more than 3 miles in this 27:15.  Seriously, I went so far out of my way to get around all the people! Although the Garmin also thinks I ran over a construction site, so, you know.  I think I can compare this to my 5K races and officially call this a PR.

So happy with this race! Most other people I spoke to found the weather too hot and humid and had a less than ideal race. And although the race conditions were far from perfect, I still managed to have a great time and be happy with my time.

Have you ever ran well in a race that other people found difficult? Or found a race challenging or annoying when no one else seemed to?

Good news for you: next week’s post will NOT be a race recap. Rejoice!

Wow, seems like all I’ve been writing lately is race recaps, huh? Well, that will change because this week I’m reviewing the brand new Core Fusion Lean & Toned DVD — and giving away a copy as well!

For now, though, RACE RECAP!

I love racing. Running with such a big group, trying to PR, trying to have fun, being in Central Park, crossing the finish line. There is seriously no rush like racing and I am so happy I started running less than a year ago.

As you know, I planned to PR and beat my previous 4 mile time of 40:00 exactly. Part of the reason I was intent on PRing was because I knew I could run faster (my 5K PR had me at 9:16 miles!) and the other part was that the 10:00 min mile NYRR record put me in the 10:00 – 10:59 minute mile corral. My friends who I run with are all in the 9:00 – 9:59 corral and it would make it easier and more fun if I could start with them instead of them having to come back to me with me! And if I could run 10:00, I could run 9:59. Or faster.

I planned ahead with a kickass playlist:

Yeah, that one is a winner. I plan to use it for my next race or two. I started with Dog Days Are Over because it begins slow, but I didn’t realize just how perfect it was. Lyrics:

Run fast for your mother and fast for your father, run for your children, for your sisters and brothers,

The rest of the playlist was just as motivating.

I decided for this race I would, for the first time in my racing (and general) life to NOT be insanely early. I wanted to get to the corral 10-15 minutes before the race started. Standing outside in the cold is not my idea of a fun time.

Walking to the race was coooooold. But my plan did work and I got to my corral 10 minutes before the race was set to begin. Score! My friend Melissa had some train troubles and was running late, but about a minute before the race was beginning I spotted her walking on the side of my corral (where she came back to be with me)! I started yelling out her name and she came to me, so out of breath as she had to hightail it to the corral. I was relieved I found her because she had a goal of a 9:30 pace and I really wanted her to pace me. I knew I could crack 40:00 on my own but I wanted to push myself even harder . . . and I wasn’t sure how hard I would push on my own.

The race started and my amazing playlist started and Melissa and I started running — fast. I knew I was going fast for a first mile. Our initial strategy was negative splits, with the first mile around 9:45. Uhhh yeah that wasn’t happening. We were going faster than 9:45. I neglected to get my Polar RSX300SD set up to start as soon as the race started, so it started a little after the race began — but even so, I could gauge from it that we were going faster than planned. But we both felt great! My music was awesome, I was in my groove, the weather was gorgeous and the first mile passed so quickly I could not believe it. When we got to the first mile marker, I had only gotten to hear 2 of my songs!

Mile 2 was not so euphoric. Our pace was getting to me bigtime. My knee started hurting and, even worse, my chest was hurting. I recognized this pain from the other races where I pushed myself too hard (WTC Run to Remember, 5th Ave Mile) and it really hurt. I also got the right side ribcage pain I used to get before I (1) knew how to pace myself (2) was used to running and (3) knew the breathing trick — breathe in on the right foot and out on the left. Old ribcage pain, I had forgotten all about you. Damn.

I was not feeling well. But I was pushing through. Luckily I was still going pretty fast which meant the next mile marker came up quickly.

Halfway done. I was struggling. I was suffering. But I could do this.

The hills got really ridiculous during this mile. Melissa was able to run ahead of me and tackle the hills, but I kept her in sight. If she got too far ahead, I was fine with that. I went into this race knowing that she had plans to run faster than I did. She has also been running for years, whereas I have not even reached my one year anniversary yet! And she ran the NYC half about 6 minutes faster than I did. It would not have hurt my ego in any way if she sped off ahead. That said, I kept her in sight and was able to get back alongside her once the hills leveled out. I was still having a hard time, although my knee wasn’t hurting so much anymore. Sometimes I would have to press down on my ribcage pain to try and calm it, and my chest was not happy with me, but overall I was pushing through. Melissa seemed totally fine and I was a little envious.

Before I knew it we were at the last mile marker. One more mile to go and then I could STOP RUNNING. Really, that was the only thing getting me through the pain. Knowing that soon (in less than 10 minutes!) I could stop running. How glorious!

I felt a little better at this thought and got a bit of a second wind. I was happy again, although still in pain, but still running fast, just not as fast as when we started. I looked over at Melissa and for the first time saw her struggling. The last mile is where it all caught up with her and here is where I was able to pace her instead of the other way around. How amazing is it running with a friend like this, where you can push each other, motivate each other, inspire each other and just BE there for each other. Sometimes I get so lazy with blogging and consider giving it up, and then I think of someone like Melissa — how I wouldn’t know her if not for blogging (she commented on a post and I emailed her back and the rest is history) — and there is no way I could give this up. Even if I can just post once a week, that is fine by me.

But I digress.

We were nearing the end. I was waiting for that final turn that comes right before the finish line in almost all NYRR 4 mile races. At one point I thought I saw it, but it was my brain playing tricks on me. But! I saw a race photographer! My dream in life! You all know how much I love race photographers and being in pictures and really, pictures of me in general. I got so excited that I took that look of misery and despair off my face, tried to grab Melissa to pose with me, and then smiled and waved at the photogs.

Melissa (on my right) did not care to smile and wave with me. But you can’t tell what a hard time I was having, can you?! I am a professional photograph taker. A model, if you will.

Mallory said it looks like I was photoshopped in with the three real racers around me who actually look like they are running a hard race. But I promise you I was suffering and in pain. I just love pictures!

Finally, finally, finally we got to that last sharp turn before the finish. Once we got past that, I took off. I wanted to do my best to sprint to the finish. Although sprinting might not have been exactly what I was doing, I did speed up and run through and I. Was. Done!

I could stop running. And stop I did — but, holy wave of nausea! I got scared for a second I would throw up, but I didn’t. Phew.

My official time is 37:43 — a 9:25 pace!!

I blew my goal out of the water!! Honestly, I would have been happy with anything under 40:00, but this was better than I ever thought I would do — especially since i have done ZERO speed work or training at all. I have to give a lot of credit to my friend Melissa for pushing me here. However, my chest pain lasted the rest of the day and I was not feeling great. I know that with better training that won’t happen. My knee hurt a bit too, but some ice took care of that and the pain didn’t last. What did last was the hamstring and glute soreness. Never really experienced that after a run! After my NYC Half Marathon, my quads were burning for a week. But I guess the hamstring and butt soreness comes from running fast rather than running long distance. Anyone care to corroborate?

And now we have plans to work a lot more on speed. Especially because we signed up for a HALF MARATHON in October! We will be running the Diva Women’s Half Marathon on Long Island. It is flat and it is fun (champagne and roses at the finish, tiara and boa stations throughout!) and we both want to improve our current half marathon times. And the best part is we have ALL SUMMER to train — none of that rushed training like for the NYC Half.

And as I’ve mentioned, I am running the NYRR 9 + 1 this year to qualify for the 2011 NYC Marathon. I’m already 5 races down with just 4 to go (plus one volunteer). I already have a few more in the pipeline and I am very excited. As the weather gets warmer, I look forward to running outside a whole lot more — and really, warm weather is the reason I started running in the first place.

My friend Melissa posted her race playlist for tomorrow’s (Sunday, 4/18) 4 mile Run for the Parks and I decided to post mine too! What a fun idea. You can all know exactly what’s powering me through tomorrow morning at 8 am.  I plan to PR and beat my fastest 4 mile race time of 40:00. I have run a faster 5K before, but tomorrow is just about beating my 4 mile time.

I put together a nice little playlist of songs that make me want to RUN FAST:

I always start my races with a slower song so I pace myself in the beginning.

The playlist is 40:18, which I think is the perfect length for my goal. I’m really loving the songs and I am very excited about this race! I will be running it with my friend, also named Melissa, and she is a bit faster than me. We hope to push each other through.

Back this week with a recap!

The night before the NYC Half Marathon, I enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner at Serafina with some bloggers I love – Lindsay , Katherine and Leslie ! This was my first time meeting Leslie and I was so excited. My friend Melissa, a blog reader who I trained with for the half also came to din.

I kept it simple and healthy at dinner by ordering the Whole Wheat Penne dish and I requested it be served without garlic. Garlic taste can stay in the mouth for an entire day no matter how many times I brush my teeth, and I needed perfect mouth conditions for the race.

I had a hard time falling asleep that night, as expected. But I woke up before my 5:30 am alarm time and my first thought was “It’s half marathon day!” A few seconds later, I had another thought: “It’s my birthday!”

I got up and took a shower. I’ve never showered before a race, but I read in Runner’s World that a warm shower will loosen up the muscles. Anything that could help me run stronger and prevent pain sounds good to me.

I got dressed in my brand new Lululemon outfit, my new Bondi Band headband that I bought at the expo, my knee sleeves, compression sleeves and birthday crown.

Happy birthday to me!

Since it was going to be cold before the race started, Melissa and I bought matching I <3 NY sweatshirts. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see Melissa before the race to take a picture together. I had a little fun on mine with some fabric markers I bought when I was going to make a race shirt that said “wish me a happy birthday”, that I decided not to wear.

Melissa and me at the expo:

I packed up my Spibelt and put that on, and I drank my Organic Avenue green juice, stretched and pinned on my race number. Then I was out the door and in a taxi headed for Central Park.

I found my section for bag check and there was no line, it all went quickly and easily. I walked into the park and waited on a very long line for a portapotty and then headed over to my corral. I started at the start line and walked past corral after corral. After corral. After corral. How far back was I?? I kept walking and walking. Eventually I spotted a corral that had a lot of room, and even though it was a couple of corrals before my designated one, I went in. I knew I could run between a 10 and 11 minute mile and decided there was no reason to be all the way in the very back.

While I was waiting, I got a BBM from Leslie and told her where I was. I loved being able to have my phone with me thanks to my Spibelt! She made her way alllll the way back to me from her much closer-to-the-start corral and we talked and took a picture.

I loved passing the time before the race with Leslie. When she had to go back to her own corral, I turned around and there was Catherine – my Core Fusion health counselor and teacher! She was in the same corral with me! It was so nice seeing her.

As I waited for the race to start, I looked to my left and noticed a row of portapottys right next to me with NO line. I decided to take advantage of this sign from above and use one. So glad I did! I still had plenty of time before the race started.

I was getting a little upset because no one seemed to care that it was my birthday. I was wearing the crown and lots of people saw me on the portapotty lines, in the corrals, and no one said a word. Finally, someone wished me a happy birthday. And then someone else told me it was her birthday too. I felt a little better about my ridiculous crown once it was acknowledged.

And then the race started and so began the 15 minute walk to the start. You heard me right. I started the race exactly 15 minutes after it officially started according to the digital clock at the start line. Crazy! There was one small problem. During the walk to the start. . . my body decided another portapotty trip needed to happen. Why do I have to pee SO MUCH when I am nervous? This has happened before. I drink the exact same thing before training runs and races, yet I only have this issue during races and other events that make me nervous or anxious. Is this my body’s fight or flight defense? Because if it is, it’s stupid.

I was so excited to start the race, I wasn’t about to try and find a portapotty. I was no longer near the ones by my corral. I decided to just start running and hope it was all in my head. I turned my music on and I was off!

Loved the spectators in the park cheering as I started. Woo hoo! I did cry a little bit as I crossed the start. Who cries at the start??! When did I become so emotional? I quickly tossed my sexy sweatshirt to someone on the side and got into my music. The weather was gorgeous, the conditions were all ideal except for that nagging pressure on my bladder. Ugh! I avoided water stations. Every time I passed portapotties, there were long lines. Dashing in and out is one thing, but I was not about to start waiting on lines! I worked too hard for this race. So I kept running. At each mile clock, I saw that my time had moved by exactly 10 minutes. 10 minute miles, yay! That made me happy, although I tried not to focus on the time and remind myself I would still come in under my goal if I started running slower.

When I crossed over the 5K time tracker thing my face broke into a big smile – I knew that pretty soon, all the people who signed up for email alerts would get an email with my first time! As it turned out, they started sending my results after 10K, but I didn’t know that at the time.

The full loop of Central Park is 6 miles, which means that shortly before mile 6 I was by the part where the race started. By then I had been running for an hour while having to pee and I was not comfortable. So at that spot I saw the long row of portapotties for use before the race and since there were so many, there was no line. This was my opportunity! While running, I yanked down my Spibelt and lifted up my shirt. I was not wasting ANY time in there!

I used the bathroom and ran out and was back in the race. I was upset that I lost some time, but I tried to accept that these things happen and you can’t always control them. And above all – I felt SO MUCH BETTER. What a relief!

And then I saw Catherine again! I started screaming her name and ran over to her. How funny to run into her mid-race. I separated from her shortly after saying hi to make my way over to the water station. Now I was ready to drink!

I took Gatorade by accident, but I liked it. I ended up switching between water and Gatorade at most stations after that.

I crossed the 10K mark in 1:05, which is only 2 minutes slower than my 10K race PR of 1:03, so it doesn’t look like my bathroom stop hurt too much!

I was still feeling really great at this time, too. Even with the bladder discomfort, the first 6 miles went very easily for me. I never thought a day would come where I’d utter those words! But yes, 6 miles – NOT BAD!

After we passed 7 miles I got excited because it was my last mile in the park. Everyone told me how great it is when you can finally leave the park and run down 7th Avenue. Mile 7 felt so long! I just wanted to get to the next leg of the race and every time I thought I was close I would recognize something around me that showed me just how far from the 7th Avenue exit I actually was. I ate a shot block.  I also started feeling some minor chafing. I had never experienced this before, but my left arm rubbing against the side of my back was creating some uncomfortable friction. I passed some people handing out sticks of vaseline a few miles back but didn’t see any more. Now I know for next time!

Finally I got to Mile 8 and smiled as I left the park.I paused the music on my iPod since I heard I’d want to hear all the people cheering for the runners. And then . . . nothing. There were very few spectators along the sides of 7th Ave and it was very quiet. After a minute I put my music back on because it was boring.

I looked at the spectators I did see, but none of them shouted Happy Birthday as I’d hoped. Oh well!

There were a couple of bands on 7th Ave, so I would pause my music to hear them, which was nice. There was a cheerleading team, but they were facing AWAY from the runners and cheering for people watching them on the sidewalk. Wtf?

I know everyone says running through Times Square is the most amazing part of the race, but I don’t know. I found it kind of blah. I think this was a combination of there being so few spectators and the fact that the runners were able to spread out on 7th Ave and I felt like there were no runners around me except for the slow stragglers at the back. Of course I was not a straggler in the back, but it did feel that way.

Can you spot me?

We turned onto 42nd street and that was pretty dead too. And by this point I was really starting to struggle. My knees were both hurting, my old familiar sharp pain on the outside of the knees. My quads were hurting too and felt very heavy. I ate another shot block. I thought maybe if my energy improved the pain in my knees wouldn’t be so bad. Blah. Running, running. Going through the motions. Mile 9, hello.

I crossed the 15K tracker and again thought of the people getting emails about me who actually cared, which did help push me through. It was like having virtual fans.

Onto the West Side Highway. There was a band playing so I paused my iPod to hear them and then when I pressed play, I lost my playlist! I somehow moved from Half Marathon playlist to Florence + the Machine album. How did that happen? I pressed a couple buttons without looking and somehow was able to get back to my race playlist. I did lose my place though and had to start over.

I didn’t let this little snag get me down. I loved my songs in the beginning and it was actually pretty awesome to hear them again! I put my least favorites towards the end of the playlist anyway.

Here was my full playlist:

I didn’t get to hear any songs from the Heaven on. Once I restarted, I simply skipped over songs I didn’t think would pump me up enough at this point in the race. But I LOVED the songs I got to hear twice (cough, I’d Rather, couch) and the song I ended the race to (Bounce That — Girl Talk).

Mile 10. Just 5K left. My first race was a 5K. But during my first race I didn’t have this pain in my knees and heaviness in my legs. I was running but I was going so slowly. There was a woman in a white top and she was walking. And I could NOT pass her. For a long time, she was walking, I was running, I could not pass her.

That took a little out of my confidence.

At this point, I just wanted to be finished. I knew I would finish, but I decided to let go of any plans on meeting my time goal (more on that later). I was barely moving, I was in pain, I was feeling pretty crappy and I knew I would not finish strong, but I would finish. This was the longest mile of my life. Both my knees hurt. My quads hurt. No one was wishing my happy birthday. FInally, Mile 11. Just 2 miles left. What’s 2 miles? It’s an easy 20 minute run. I could do this. I was still struggling though. It took me over half a mile to realize I was PDRing, 11 being the longest I’d ran while training. Woo. Hoo. Yeah.

The mile 12 marker was nowhere in sight and I was getting frustrated. I finally saw mile 12 in the distance and felt relieved. Finally, I made it to mile 12. Shortly after, I looked to my left and THERE WAS SARA!!!! My friend Sara, who just started a really great blog about restaurants in Manhattan, was cheering for me! I screamed. Seriously, I just screamed, not caring what the other runners around me thought. I was so happy to see my friend!!! I waved at Sara and she took a couple photos of me. You can’t see me in the first picture she took because I’m behind a huge guy (I don’t remember him being there at all), but Sara did manage to get this awesome picture of me that I am obsessed with and stare at all day long at my desk at work:

Yayyyy! You can’t tell I was struggling at all, right? Neither could Sara. She thought I looked strong and happy. Well, it is crazy how mental running is, because as soon as I saw Sara, my struggles ended and I WAS happy. I felt amazing! The pain in my knees didn’t seem so bad and I was able to speed up. I had a new burst of energy and I ran faster and stronger. I cried a teeny bit and smiled while I ran. 800 meters to go. I got this! 400 meters to go. Well I just did 400 since that last sign, so I could do that again! I ran and ran. I saw the finish line and I guess my body was too beat to sprint, but I kept running strong and crossed the finish line with my arms in the air and tears in my eyes. Okay, I lied. Full on sobs. What is wrong with me!!!

I was so overwhelmed with emotion and so happy and I just finished the NYC Half Marathon, my first half marathon!

I cried some more and then waited on line to have my picture taken, since I was wearing a crown and all! And now that I see the picture, I understand why no one wished me a happy birthday — no one saw the crown! It got pushed back!

I had a secret time goal of 2:20. After my bathroom stop I knew it would be harder but still possible. After my difficult miles 9-12 and not being able to pass a walker, I decided to let go of my time goal and just enjoy myself.

So what was my time?

2:18:53!!!!

I still beat my goal!!! I signed up for my own tracking emails so I knew my time as soon as I checked my phone after the race. I am so so so so SO happy with my time!!!! That averages to 10:37 miles, which is really awesome.

I picked up my baggage (easy smooth process!) and saw Leslie right away! Leslie PRd and qualified for a special corral in the Chicago Marathon from this race!

Then I went to find my best friend and I ran into my good friend Jackie (from the following: Jewish day camp, high school, grad school and old job) and then I ran into Katie! I saw so many people I knew randomly!

I know this post has been about me, but I actually ran the race for charity. And if it wasn’t for all of you, I wouldn’t have even had the opportunity to run the NYC Half Marathon. I cannot thank you enough. Your generosity, support and willingness to help me run a charity auction to fundraise for Think Pink Rocks was beyond what I ever could have expected. I raised $1,671 for Think Pink Rocks, and the money goes to breast cancer research and prevention. My mom is a breast cancer survivor, so this charity was important to me and I am so honored to have run for this amazing cause.

Cool shirt, right?

My best friend and I went to brunch at Landmarc where I ordered my favorite food, french toast. This french toast was special and came inside a hard french toast bread shell. Then I went home and enjoyed my post long-run 2 hour deepest nap ever. Also, I worked. People don’t talk much about post half marathon pain by the way. My quads were burning for days. I could barely walk. Subway stairs were brutal. Trying to sit down was unbearable. You never really think about the muscles you use while trying to sit but wow do we use muscle! My knees were also bothering me. After two yoga classes and some ice, I am doing much better! It took a few days though. Also, my toe situation is pretty gross and very black. Will discuss in a future post.

Just like that, I ran 13.1 miles. Last year I was running maybe 20 minutes and now I am running over 2 hours and feeling great. I LOVE RUNNING! It is so amazing because anyone can improve.

My next half marathon is the 13.1 Marathon NY in my hometown of Flushing, Queens on Saturday, April 3. As I said, I try not to make time goals . . . but if all goes well with the bladder, I think I can beat my time. I am so excited!

March 21, 2010 was the most rewarding birthday I could have ever imagined! Welcome to my 27th year!