On Saturday I found myself closer to running the 2011 NYC Marathon as I completed my final qualifying race in my 9+1 with the Central Park Conservatory Run for Central Park 4 Mile. For those who don’t know, if you run nine New York Road Runners races and volunteer at one, you are guaranteed entry to the following year’s marathon. I actually ran 8 NYRR races this year, but the Run for Haiti counts twice because it was more expensive. All I have to do now is volunteer!

As good as it feels to be done with my racing component, I did find myself wishing during the race that I was volunteering rather than running. That is because this race was tough. So many small things went wrong! I still came out on top though.

The night before the race, well past my self appointed bedtime of 10 pm, I realized that I forgot to make a race playlist — this happened to be before my last race too. What is wrong with me these days! I quickly worked off my last 3 mile playlist and put something together quickly. I woke up before my alarm on race day and took my sweet time getting ready. I fixed up my playlist for a good 10-15 minutes. I don’t have a screenshot of my playlist because, again, I am forgetful lately, but here is a typewritten (is that a word?) list:

Why I Am (Dave Matthews Band) <– went to his concert THAT NIGHT at Citi Field!
@LaurenConrad Get Us On The Hills! (Super Mash Bros)
Shooting Stars (Bag Raiders) <– new favorite running song
Livin The Dream (Super Mash Bros)
Mr. Boom Boom Jones (The Knocks)
Hey Girl (OAR)
United State of Pop 2009(DJ Earworm)
Say Hey [I Love You](Michael Franti)
Cosmic Love (Florence + The Machine)
This Is Definitely Not the 405 (Super Mash Bros)
Lord of Tranz – Sanctificum (DJ Tiesto)

I stretched, got dressed, put on my hat, took off my hat, put on my hat, took off my hat and put on my hat, and then I was out the door!

I was a few blocks from home when I realized that I forgot my Garmin! My brand new Garmin that I was so excited to race with, to use as a guide, to have an understanding of my own pace, to push me and pace me. As I was laying my gear out the night before, I saw the Garmin on the dresser and decided to leave it there since it was in the charger. The charger wasn’t plugged in, yet I wanted to leave it there? Why? So of course it was not with my other stuff and then I just forgot it.

I was pretty upset at myself but decided I would run a great race anyway and try not to let this setback get me down. It turned out the Garmin wouldn’t have helped me anyway. . .

I got to my corral and while lots of people were complaining about how hot it was, I was loving it. I have been at so many races where I am freezing waiting for them to start, I really enjoy not being cold and not having layers to think about. I couldn’t hear any of the pre-race speeches or the national anthem which was very strange, because I’ve heard those  from much further back before. I did hear the starting horn and three minutes later crossed the start line.

And then I knew I was in for a very difficult race.

My legs were like lead. I partly blame myself for taking Core Fusion Yoga the day before the race. While yoga sounds like it would be a nice pre-race stretch, this class (especially with the teacher I had) was heavy on the quad strengthening. It was the opposite of a rest for my legs, so I did not go into this race with fresh legs at all. I only partly blame myself, because sometimes heavy legs just happens. So I am considering this a mix of my fault and not my fault.

Right away I knew that my Garmin would have been pretty pointless. I couldn’t run any faster than I was running, and I felt like I was moving pretty slowly. The race was counterclockwise around part of the Central Park loop, which I find to be the MUCH hillier route. There were so many uphills it was crazy! All I could do was keep moving. It was hard not only on my legs but on my chest, too. I hadn’t run at all since my 3 mile race on June 24, which was obviously not the smartest thing to do. I felt very out of shape in the running department. I quickly abandoned any ideas of running nine minute miles for a third race in a row.

To make matters worse, my right shoe felt too tight on the laces! I wanted so much to stop on the side and loosen it. I did that during my second half marathon, but I didn’t want to stop during a four mile race. I could push through. It only hurt sometimes. Other times I didn’t even notice it.

More! More ailments! I had ribcage pain. I practiced my breathing (breathe in on the right foot, out on the left). Also, I had to pee! I didn’t get to the race early enough to use the portapotties, and even though needing to pee during a race is usually nerves and not real, it still felt like a nuisance for the first mile. I even considered stopping at the portapotties before mile 1 was even over but decided I could push through. I knew deep down that it was not real! And while I thrive in hot weather, I do think the humidity affecting me as well. It just all kind of sucked.

There is more. When I started running last year I got this sharp pain in my right hip. Once I learned the right stretches to do before I ran, the pain disappeared. Even if I forgot to stretch, the pain never happened again — not through my half marathon training, not through my half marathons, not through my super fast 10K. But on this day, that pain came back. OH NO. I  really hope this isn’t something I will have to seriously deal with or a real injury. Yoga yoga yoga. I have another half to train for! Why is this happening now?

All these things were working against me. I didn’t feel awesome. I just wanted the race to be over. I considered quitting but it was only four miles (I say this not because four miles isn’t an accomplishment or is easy, but only in comparison to the 10Ks I recently ran, and the half marathons before that) and I knew I could push through. Soon enough it would be over.

My music was great, but it wasn’t motivating me. I just kept going because it was all I could do. I tried hard not to get myself crazy about my time, but I couldn’t help but be happy when I passed each mile marker and almost exactly 10 minutes had passed each time. That meant I was still maintaining a good pace despite the less than ideal conditions. I was trying not to focus on time because I just wanted to finish without feeling like death, but I am so competitive with myself and couldn’t help hoping to finish in less than 40 minutes.

When we got to the last mile I was so happy to see it was all downhill. I had some energy left in me since I just couldn’t push hard through the first three miles, so I was able to use the downhills to my advantage. I sped up and started passing people. Down down downhill. I smiled because I finally felt more like myself. Eventually that energy ran out too and I was thinking I still had a ways to go to to the finish line and I was SO ready for this to be over. And then I saw the finish line — much closer than I thought it would be! That last mile felt fast! Also, I was in the middle of the last song of my playlist. I always seem to time these so well.

I crossed the finish line and was just as happy to be done as at my very difficult second half marathon. I saw a few photographers during the race, but they were either fiddling with their cameras or I noticed them too late. We all know how I love hamming it up for the race paparazzi. I did get a couple finish line pictures!

(That guy is much happier than I am)

My official time was 39:06, for an average pace of 9:46. So happy with this time! I thought I was moving so slowly, but I was doing just fine! This  goes to show that my running has improved so much that what used to be a comfortable pace for me now feels slow. I love this! My time made the entire not-so-great race experience pretty . . . great!

(Smiling to be DONE)

Now I plan to get back into a regular running routine. And very soon I will start training for my next half marathon. I am so excited!

Have you ever had a difficult run and it turned out you were much faster than you realized?

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. That basically sums up my feelings about the NYRR New York Mini 10K.

After my PR at the Healthy Kidney 10K last month, I decided that if I could PR on no training, imagine how my next 10K would be if I trained. So I created a table in Microsoft Word and composed a training plan. I sent it to my friend for accountability.

On the first day that called for a short run, I laced up my sneakers and as soon as my foot hit the ground I felt a pain. It was right under my knee and after some internet research I diagnosed myself with patellar tendinitis, although it was likely just overworked from my race. I decided to take a break from running. All my planning for nothing!

I did run one more time before the race, a slow three miler the week before, and my knee felt fine. I think I just needed some time off and no, I do not actually have tendinitis. On race day I once again forgot to take a picture of myself with my bib in the mirror. I walked over to 61st and Central Park West knowing that although I did not exactly train for the race as planned, at least I was able to run at all. I also hoped to achieve a little goal I had, although I decided that I would not give myself a hard time if I did not reach my goal given I hadn’t trained.

My goal was to finish this 10K in under one hour.

After a long porta potty line I got into my corral with about 10 minutes to the start and listened to all the speeches. There was such amazing energy because the Mini 10K has so much history — it was the first women’s road race ever!  Because of that, there were a lot of Olympians and professionals there, including a pregnant Kara Goucher and Paula Radcliffe.

Right before the race started I got some disappointing news and was feeling annoyed. When the race started, I was surprised by how . . . slow everyone was moving. I was finally in my new corral but I don’t know, it was just a slow start. I started weaving around people, which I try to avoid in the first mile because I don’t like to overexert myself in the beginning and feel like crap for the rest of the race. I’ve done that twice, at my first race and at the 5th Avenue Mile, and it was not fun times.

But I tried to stay with it and I just couldn’t. I KNEW I was faster than this. And so I weaved. The first mile of this race was awesome because we were running on a closed off Central Park West. I love running on the real streets as a change from running in the park, and I feel so special to be part of a race that warrants the closing of busy New York City streets.

I crossed the start line at 9:04 am, and I used that time as my basis for the rest of the race as I passed each mile marker. I generally like the miles to be 10 minutes apart and I’m content as long as they are. I started off with Jamie Lidell’s Multiply, a song that always puts me in a good mood and makes me want to dance around my room. I like starting races with it because it isn’t fast but it is fun — perfect for not wanting to sprint out of the start line.

However, .y annoyance with my disappointing news + my annoyance with wanting to run faster caused me to run pretty fast, and not feel winded about it. In fact, I felt great and I knew I could keep my pace up for at least a couple more miles like this. When I got past the first mile, I was well under my 10 minute standard.

Of course, the Super Mash Bros @LaurenConrad Get Us On The Hills contributed to this general awesome feeling. Please listen to them, it is for your own running wellness. The energy of this song is so much fun. And since there were so many people that seemed to be, um, in my way, certain lyrics in this mashup were pretty fitting.

The next song was a Butch Walker song that I used to love and haven’t listened to in a really long time. When I was working on this playlist, I was pretty sick of all my usual songs and really wanted something different. As I scrolled through my iTunes, I wondered why I hadn’t thought about running to Butch Walker before??! I think I got burnt out on him a year or so ago and stopped listening, but now I am back and ready to include his music in my running songs pool.

At 90th street, we went into the park and had to climb a steep hill. I was already up to my second Super Mash Bros song and it is my favorite of their songs, Livin The Dream (I’m on a Float). And it just so happened that my absolute FAVORITE part of this song was playing as I tackled the hill. During this section, they mash up Three 6 Mafia’s “I’d Rather”with DJ Sammy’s “Heaven“ and the result is pretty much the greatest song of all time for running, or getting ready to get drunk. Or being drunk. Seriously, just listen to this song. You are welcome.

I was actually a little disappointed that my favorite part of this was playing during a time I had to struggle and push because I would have loved to just run fast and laugh, but still it was a great motivator and what can you do?

At this time I still wasn’t really in a running groove but with the next song that changed and I just felt . . . as great about running as I could have. I run to the Counting Crows a lot, but I don’t think I listened to Insignificant in a race since my very first 5K last September. Given the way I was feeling that morning and taking into account some of the (irrational) thoughts running through my head, this song felt kind of like an anthem to me at this point in the race. There was some definite lyric mouthing going on. I was running at my absolute strongest — and probably fastest — during this song. If only I had a Garmin at this time to get my splits . . . hmmm. More on that later.

*I don’t want to feel so different/But I don’t want to be insignificant/And I don’t how to see the same things different now*

During my last 10K, I raved about the United State of Pop 2009 from DJ Earworm and once again he came through for me. It is just so perfect. Yes, there are a LOT of songs in this mashup, 25 to be exact,  but it just works. Amazingly well. And it just makes me feel so happy! I know I keep telling you to download music today, but yeah, do it. It’s free!

Say Hey (I Love You) has made an appearance in every single race I have ran since I started racing in September 2009 except for possibly my first race which might have been 100% Counting Crows. It is my go to running song and I even had it as the only song in my 5th Avenue Mile playlist on a loop. That said, I might be getting sick of it and briefly considered removing it from this playlist. Of course, I did no such thing. Who am I kidding? I love this song!

There were people with hoses spraying the runners, which is a fantastic idea especially since the day was muggy. I am sure the cold water felt great, but I was wearing my three month old iPod on my arm and wasn’t about to take any risks so I ran out of the way to go around the stream of water. This happened three times throughout the race.

I can’t tell you at which point this happened, but I crossed the halfway mark at 27:53. This was faster than my first 5K (although they only measured time at the finish, not the start) – which had felt VERY fast to me and I could not have run a second longer — and yet I still had 3.1 more miles to go and I was feeling great! And of course I was just happy to be under thirty minutes.

Interruption: Since this post is long and I don’t really have any pictures, I think I need to just put a random picture here. Here I am with Missy later that night at Melissa from Fitness NYC’s gorgeous rooftop party overlooking Manhattan:

Ok, back to the race recap.

As a contrast to my last 10K, this time I only selected ONE Afroman song, and so I chose my favorite, Because I Got High. The race was starting to get really tough for me by this time and I wasn’t loving the song so much. Also, I think I am over the novelty of it and it doesn’t crack me up the way it used to. Still a  fun song.

Counting Crows Hard Candy was next. Great song. The race was getting much tougher and I was definitely slowing down a bit. The hills were getting strenuous as well. I took my first water at around mile 4 and it felt so good. I was starting to feel a little weak and dehydrated and had waited to take water because I didn’t want to break my pace, but by this point I would have only hurt my pace by not stopping.

Okay, this next song needs an explanation and, well, another plea from me to download. My friend Rachel who writes one of the best blogs I have ever read just posted about this song the night before the race, while I happened to be finalizing my playlist and trying to find a new song to use. She mentioned that she liked The Knocks, particularly one spng called Mr. Boom Boom Jones. I clicked on it not knowing what to expect. And I was . . . confused. It did not make any sense! It starts off with Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow but then, a few seconds later, I heard the familiar opening chords of Counting Crows’ Mr. Jonesand it just didn’t. make. sense. It was so weird and I couldn’t figure out how I felt about it. I added it to my race playlist, figuring I would decide later.

During the race, it became clear that I LOVE THIS MASHUP. It is probably the most unusual mix I’ve heard, even with all the oldies mixed in Girl Talk and many of the others. This was just more daring. And you all know by now how much I love the Counting Crows, so it was just . . . so cool. The race felt a little less difficult during this song because I was having so much fun listening to it.

Dog Days Are Over and American Girls are great running songs, don’t remember much from this part of the race. My pace finally caught up to me and I was slowing down, but according to each mile time I was still finishing each mile under 10 minutes. I wanted to be finished. By the time Take Your Shirt Off came on, I was able to smile and enjoy the absurdity — and I was starting to get closer to the finish as I flew down East Drive in the park. Since it was muggy out I even briefly considered actually taking my shirt off, but of course I needed my race number being displayed and more importantly,  I didn’t want to scare anyone. I also want to add that I was still trying to get around people, even this far into the race. I’ve never felt like this before, how strange!

I was very happy to hear Paper Planes this late in the game because even though it is a little slower, it is exactly what I needed to zone out and push through. It was during this song that I realized I would probably finish the race without getting to the last song in my playlist, which has never happened to me before. I’m usually pretty good at timing things and I based the timing on this playlist off the time I finished the last one.

I expected to hear Lord of Tranz – Sanctificum next because I was at the south end of the park and the race was almost over, so you could imagine my surprise when Mochi Beats’ Call on Hustla came on! GREAT SONG. It made me try to run faster! My love of Steve Winwood has been professed before on this blog and the mashup between that and the other fast paced, fun songs was just what I needed to give me my final push.

And THEN I was sure that DJ Tiesto would come on as I saw the finish line ahead, but I forgot that I added one last short song before that one, one that I forgot about until recently and never thought to use for a race — Dream a Dream by Captain Jack! My brother and I used to love playing DDR to this song years ago. I would get especially ridiculous with corresponding arm movements and sing out the lyrics, but wrong. My version of the lyrics goes “Dream a dream a dream a dream a dream.” If you ever saw me tweet that, now you know what I was talking about.

I saw the finish line but I also saw hills. Ugh. I trudged up them as fast as I could and once the ground became more level I used what little power I had left to sprint to the finish. Well, it was something like a sprint. In the sprint family, for sure. I didn’t have much left in me but Dream a Dream wasn’t even finished yet, meaning I still had an entire song I didn’t get to hear, which meant I ran faster than the time I had planned for.

And as I glanced up at the time as I crossed the finish, I saw it said 57 something. WHAT?! I started at 9:04 (granted, the race did start over a minute late) but still — I finished in less than an hour CLOCK TIME?! What did that mean for my own time?

57 something clock time, by the way, explains my smile in the above photograph.

After the race I  got a cup of water, a bagel and a flower. Part of the fun of a women’s race!

Hours later, at 1:00 pm, the race results were finally posted. I had expected them by noon so I was pretty anxious, constantly refreshing the NYRR website. On this day more than ever I needed to know my time! I knew I was fast, very fast for me. I knew I shattered my last PR. But how, exactly, did I do?

Official Time – 56:05

Average Pace: 9:02

Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!! Just to give you some perspective, I finished my first 10K in December in 1:03:22 and my second 10K in May in 1:00:37. I beat my last time — from just three weeks before — by four minutes and 35 seconds! And I felt like I ran that race fast. WOW. That just goes to show that I probably don’t push myself hard enough a lot of the time. I felt great, with just some typical post-race knee pain that didn’t last more than a day. And while the race was extremely challenging and I FELT like I was running at my limit the entire time, it was totally doable and in no way my hardest race. I always considered myself a 10 minute miler and used that as my standard, but maybe I need to rethink that so I can continue to push myself. Maybe I need a new standard that encourages me to run faster more often.

While my average pace is awesome, I do know that certain miles were much faster than others, and I found myself really wishing I had a Garmin as my Polar, although accurate, does not record mile splits. I was so curious to see how my first few miles, where I was weaving around people and working a stressful situation out in my head, compared to my last few, which I was able to keep up in pace only from momentum. How much did I slow down? How fast was my fastest mile?

Well, things happened to work out in my favor as I just received a $100 gift card from Dick’s Sporting Goods. $50 was from my assistance in their Starting Lineup campaign in March and the other $50 was from a misunderstanding that arose when I never received the initial gift card and some emails seem to have gotten mixed up and they felt awful and wanted to make up for it — EXCELLENT customer service I must note. I’m sure you all know where this is going.

With $100 off, I sprung for a Garmin Forerunner 405 in green and I have to say that so far I love it. I selected this watch because I have the tiniest wrists you can imagine and the 200 and 300 series that everyone else has would just look and feel ridiculous on me. It is also a newer model and while it does not display all the information at once as the others do, I do not need all data displayed at once. I really only need my time, pace and distance, which is all on one screen. It has been really easy to set up and simple to use and so far I am impressed. I look forward to using it more, especially in a race, although I still wish I had it for the Mini 10K!

[Photo from Dick's Sporting Goods website]

I attribute this super successful race to the following factors:

• Having an “on” running day
• Taking a 3 week running hiatus to recover
• Feeling faster than those around me
• Fun, new music
• Being annoyed/having to brood, think, consider, decide, resolve in my head
• Good weather
• Deciding to just push myself and see what happens

So you all have some homework to do — go download the following songs . . .

@LaurenConrad Get Us On The Hills
Livin The Dream (I’m on a Float)
United State of Pop 2009
Mr. Boom Boom Jones

. . . and then let me know what you think of them, once you work out or get ready to go out to them, of course.

Have you ever completely and unexpectedly shattered a previous PR? Or any goal for that matter? What were the circumstances?

Have I mentioned that I love racing?

I woke up before my alarm on Saturday, May 15 thinking, “IT’S RACE DAY!” I was a little nervous about the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K because, well, I did just about zero training for it. As in, I ran the 4 mile Race for the Parks 0n April 18, about a week later I ran for an hour (probably about 5.5 miles — didn’t wear my Polar) and then I did not run at all until this race. Not once.

I tried to run the full Central Park loop the weekend before the race. But things like weather got in the way.  And instead I went to the sweatiest Core Fusion Open class of my life.

So I went into this race on almost no training, but the day was perfect so I was pretty excited. The sun was shining and it was warm but not hot. I forgot to take a picture of myself all geared up before the race, but considering I look the same before every race I’m sure you can make an educated guess on what I looked like. I did wear a tank and shorts, so I was a little chilly walking all the way to the other side of the city, but not too bad at all. Nothing like the coldness I experienced before pretty much all of my other races!

I got to the park and stood in the sun on some grass with lots of other runners. I used the porta potties — twice — because as you know I am a nervous peeer. Nevermind how many times I went at home too. Then I headed over to my corral. I was early but not insanely early, so I was pretty happy. And I wasn’t freezing, so I was very happy.

I was a little disappointed to see I was still in the last corral, despite my sub-10 minute Race for the Parks. Turns out there was 9 min miles and above ALL together in the last corral. Oh, well! There were three old ladies next to me and I was so impressed by how happy they seemed. They must run all the time! I wonder if they are the same old ladies I saw at the freezing cold Joe Kleinerman 10K back in December? I just hope that when I am their age I can run races and be so upbeat too!

The race began at 9, but we all just stood there. And stood there. And stood there. How many people were running this race?! There were so many people there, I had never seen anything like this for a shorter race before. I didn’t make it to the start line until 10 minutes after the race started!

So the race began and I felt great! Like, really great. I got into my own groove pretty quickly. My playlist was the most fun playlist I had ever created, and I am pretty much obsessed and still listening to it.

Thanks to Rachel for introducing me to Afroman, Mochi Beats and DJ Earworm, which comprised some of the best of this list:

So mile 1 started with Afroman, She Won’t Let Me F**k, which just put me in a really great mood because let’s face it — he is ridiculous. Hilarious and just ridiculous and you can just tell how much fun he is having with his outrageous songs. The second song was one of my favorite Mochi Beats songs, Call on Hustla. I especially love it because he mixes in Steve Winwood. I LOVE Steve Winwood. My dad died when I was 5 but he left me with some pretty awesome taste in music — most notably my love of Steve Winwood and George Harrison (and The Beatles in general) as well as a whole lot more.

Call on Hustla is fast, which made it pretty fun for a second song to really get me going once the crowds started to disperse a little.

OAR’s Hey Girl is a race favorite of mine, it always gets me going, although I did feel like I put it on the playlist way too early in the race. I generally like it as a motivator a little later on. I passed the mile 1 marker at about 10 minutes and felt good that I was right on track. I had a secret goal of sub-10 minute miles, and an even more secret goal of finishing in one hour. I also decided to attempt negative splits, since I wanted to see how I do towards the end of a race when I conserve my energy in the beginning.

Sometime during the second mile, I started to get some intense pain in the space between the sides of my ribcage. I know exactly what this is and it upset me. I haven’t touched upon this much on here yet, but my stomach problems have been coming back lately. I’m not exactly sure why. When I get pain in that spot — which is how I knew I was getting sick again, because that has always been my problem spot — it means air is trapped right there. That is what happened and I got really nervous that the entire race would be like this. I felt very uncomfortable and a lot of pressure in that spot.

To make matters worse, there were crazy hills during this mile. I contemplated quitting the race, but figured I would see if the pain persisted. I worked on my breathing and eventually the pain subsided. Phew!

During this time, Hypnotize Gold played. Great song, but I was struggling by then. Because I Got High, my favorite Afroman song and possibly one of my favorite songs of all time, cheered me up a little but I wasn’t able to appreciate the lyrics as I usually do. And it is no secret that Say Hey (I Love You) is my favorite race song of all. I think I started getting better with my breathing during this one, and I also had the feeling I included this song too early on in the list. I knew I could have enjoyed it much better later on.

I passed the mile 2 marker and my time was a but slower than I would have liked. Obviously, since I was in pain and climbing hills.

By the time Cosmic Love came on, I was feeling so much better. This song mas so motivating! I felt so happy as I was able to speed up and push through. The first chorus was on a downhill and the second was on an uphill, so I got to run with it and enjoy it, and also use the song to push me up a difficult hill. Amazing.

Mochi Beats Listen to your Safety Dance — so good! And short, which is perfect for my attention span. I reminisced during this song about 10th grade, when the Jay Z song included in this mashup, Can I Get A, was popular. Good times.

Einstein on the Beach! My favorite Counting Crows song to run to! It makes me want to run fast and sing loud. On this day, I only did the former, much to the appreciation of my fellow runners. Also during this song? DOWN HILLS. We were at the very north end of the loop which is just all down hill. I remember that during my NYC Half Marathon,  Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling was playing during this part, and it made me really excited for my birthday later that night! Einstein on the Beach playing while running downhill was nothing short of fantastic. I sped down those hills! I was feeling great!

Next song? AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I just learned about DJ Earworm, and I added United State of Pop 2009 to my playlist the night before the race.  A late addition. And an awesome one! This song made me smile. I was feeling so great by this time. My upper GI pain totally subsided and my legs felt awesome and I was able to push and run faster. This song is a mashup of the biggest pop hits of 2009 and it was just so fun. Also fun? The fact that every second another song is introduced. So great because you will never get bored of any one song. So. Much. Fun.

Somewhere along here I passed the mile 3 marker and the 5K tracker. Turns out I crossed 5K in 30:31, which I attribute to that difficult second mile.

Paper Planes. Good song. Definitely helped with some hills. I like that it is a little slower. Especially since Crazy Rap was next! More Afroman!  More ridiculousness, more humor. Another song that just makes me laugh. Absolutely Tik Tok, another Mochi Beats song. Love it.

And it was just fitting that I’d Rather by Three 6 Mafia was right after that. Again I felt inclined to burst into song, but that would have just been offensive.  I was past the mile 5 marker and felt even more inclined to speed up. I was doing pretty great.

So as not to bore you with my vanity, I will only post one of the three awesome race pictures I received:

Doesn’t it look like I was photoshopped in? Look at how there’s looks like an outline between me and the trees. Luckily I have a real shadow!

That picture was taken sometime during mile 5. I had started to have a bit of a hard time, the uphills were getting pretty rough, but you know I can always put on a good show for the race paps.  Another Mochi Beats favorite of mine, Time Boom, was on next. I love how short these songs are! And this song especially just gets me really pumped up!

When my final song, Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby, came on, I got a little nervous that my playlist wouldn’t be long enough to get me through the end of the race. I tried timing it to the time of my last 10K (1:03:23) but I didn’t take into account the setting on my new iPod to have no space between songs. I also didn’t realize this song is longer than seven minutes, so I had nothing to be worried about anyway. I pushed through the last mile as best I could, although the uphills were brutal here! I was looking forward to the end of the race and finally I saw a sign — 800 meters to the end!

I passed by the corrals at the same time and knew I was very close. When the finish line came into view I tried picking up my speed. I crossed the finish line at exactly the same time my final song ended — I couldn’t have timed it more perfectly!

I felt really great and VERY winded! I stopped running and stood in line for a water and a french toast bagel, which sounds better than it is.  I prefer the chocolate chip bagels they give out at the end of some races. Then I met up with Melissa for coffee and we were obsessively checking the NYRR website on our BlackBerrys for our official times, but they weren’t posted.

After we said our goodbyes I was walking past Central Park and checked the site again — and the results were posted. I pulled up my time. And I smiled.

1:00:37

A new PR! That averages out to a 9:46/mile pace! My secret goals had been met. I think the beautiful day and my best playlist ever really made a difference. That, and I have quite a bit more running experience now than I did six months ago at my last 10K. Those two halfs sure helped.

I shaved almost three minutes off my previous 10K time! On no training, too. And the best part? No knee pain!

I wonder what will happen if I train for my next 10K? We will see, as I have another coming up!

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.