Day One Hundred Seven - Oh ShIT

It happened yesterday. I joined the club. Or the band, rather. The non-exclusive ranks of Team In Training members with screwed up IT bands grew by one more. Dammit.

Your IT band is a ligament (I believe) that runs down the outside of your leg from your hip to your ankle. So far Jen has struggled with an IT injury as has Drew. Yesterday, halfway through my planned run mine acted up on me and I understood their pain.

The run started off just fine. Woke up a little later than I expected but got out there around 11:00. I was going to do two 6 mile loops in the park as we had an "off" week after our 18 miler last Saturday in Jersey. I started out slowly as I was looking to conserve some energy and complete my second loop faster than my first. Like Saturday I was having some problems really getting into the run and feeling good. A couple of times I found my zen area and lost myself in the day, but mostly I was right there, running, feeling every step and working the whole way. Around the 3 mile mark I noticed my ankle was bothering me, but I practiced a little mind over matter and wouldn't let myself get obsessed with the notion that I was aware of the pain because I was convinced I had 9 miles to go. After that I was able to knock out the next two miles without incedent and only realized that the day wasn't really going my way until I had to promise myself I'd take a break once I crested the Harlem Hill, about half way through the run. I still had a ways to go before the break, but knowing it was there kept me moving...slowly.

I took my break half way up the hill at a water fountain that I realized had been shut off. I had brought a bottle with me, but woulda liked something colder. I slurped down my goo, took a couple gulps of water and headed back out to finish up the run. I knew immediately that things were not good. My knee was very tight and every step hurt quite a bit. It was more than discomfort - it was pain. I finished the hill and hopped off to the side and stretched a bit. I was scared that I had hurt my IT band and thought I would feel it in the stretch we do that isolates the ligament. Nothing. I contemplated "sucking it up" and running the six miles I had left but decided that if I was hurting now I would be hurting a lot worse if I forced things and that would probably mean a longer recovery. With just 6 weeks until Phoenix, I decided to err on the side of caution (and feel like a big baby in doing so). I walked about a half a mile or so and felt OK, only really feeling the strain on my knee when I was going downhill. I stretched and had trouble balancing on my left leg. I headed home, less than thrilled with the day and nervous about an injury this late in the training.

Ice, ice, ice. My knee was achey throughout the day but I iced it three times and elevated it for the most part, staying off it when I could. Watching the Giants lose miserably yesterday did nothing to better my mood. I slept fitfully last night (although that didn't really have much to do with the leg I don't think) and woke up feeling surprisingly better this morning. It's definitely under the surface though and I know that the next time I run it's going to come back. I just don't know how bad it's gonna be.

Taking today off and then we have a rescheduled Team practice tomorrow night instead of Wednesday. I'll talk to some coaches there and hopefully they can give me some advice and I can get this behind me ASAP. Might be a lot of cross training in my future. We'll see.

The Good News: I came back from Thanksgiving break to find that I have crossed the $3400.00 mark in fundraising! Only $375 to go to my minimum and getting dangerously close to being close to my goal of $4500.00. Huge huge huge thanks to Jeff and Tracey Sutch and Toni Lee, who are all amazingly generous friends who I hope I can repay someday. Also thanks to mom for the new training sneakers. Christmas came early and I can now break in my race shoes. Let's just hope I can do so without a limp.

DAY 107
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 6.2
TOTAL MILEAGE: 252

Day One Hundred Six - Punching The Clock

Headed out for a run on Saturday morning and it never felt more like work. Seriously, I just couldn't get motivated. I was feeling pretty good after my Thanksgiving run at the Manchester Road Race but my calves and ankle tightened up on me late in the day on Friday and I was feeling no relief on Saturday when I woke up. Weird. I felt like I took the downhill too fast and did some damage to myself during the road race, but honestly, I haven't really felt 100% since the 18.2 we did on the trails last week.

Regardless, I got my shit together and headed out to do what I thought would be a 5 or 6 mile run in my mom's neighborhood. It was a little colder than I had expected and I had a difficult time warming up. My legs weren't feeling great and I couldn't find my rhythm to save my life. Common problem I'm told. Anyway, I just wasn't running well to say the least and was having some major difficulty breaking into the zone. It was work every step of the way, which can make a mile seem like 10 miles sometimes. The course started out as an out and back and then I added a loop to the end. I knew as I was heading back in that it was much shorter than I had anticipated. By the time I got back to her place my mother was surprised to see me as I told her I would be gone for an hour or so and got back in about 45 minutes.

Not a great run by any stretch. I went to mapmyrun.com today and got the mileage, which was OK for an off day, but those seem to be piling up lately and with race day fast approaching it's making me a little bit nervous.

DAY 106
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 4.83
TOTAL MILEAGE: 245.8

Day One Hundred Four - Gobble Gobble

I gotta tell you guys - that 18.2 miles way back on Day 99 WRECKED me. Seriously. I was really hurting for most of the weekend and into the early part of Monday. And then I got lazy. Well, not exactly...OK, yeah, lazy. I did nothing on Monday and told myself I would wake up early on Tuesday to run before work, as I was taking a train home on Tuesday night. That...didn't happen. Man, I really do wish I could run in the morning before work, but I have a mental block or something. Just can't do it. Course, a few months back I couldn't run more than 4 miles comfortably, so I guess it's more that I "won't" do it. Yay rah rah.

Anycrap, got back to CT on Tuesday night, which is always a nice break from the city with plans to run on Wednesday. And then that didn't happen either. I did go to The Sports Authority and to Dick's Sporting Goods and got some fancy new running duds and accessories though, so I was running in spirit.

On Thursday though, the run was unavoidable. Every Thanksgiving in Manchester, Connecticut they run the Manchester Road Race. This year was the 70th running (which, I think, makes it the oldest continuously run road race in the US). I grew up drinking hot chocolate and watching my dad run the race while other members of my family volunteered with the race committee, so it's something that I've been around for a long time. In high school my sister ran one year with my father and several friends of mine made it an annual tradition. I didn't run until my sophomore year of college. That was the last year my father ran and my step brother and I joined him. That was a miserable run. I hadn't run one mile to train and just went out and ran like hell for 47 some-odd minutes. It was cold and sleeting and afterwards my legs tightened up and I couldn't take a flight of stairs for days. It was like the aftermath of my first day of training in August, but worse. Probably one of the dumbest things I have ever done.

Last year I decided I wanted to run the race again. Being older and wiser I actually trained this time, although not well. Fortunately a few family members decided they wanted to run as well. My cousin Peter is a big time competitive runner, so he and his parents were in right off the bat. Oh yeah, Peter was in 6th grade at the time and it was just a given that he was going to finish first. Yeah, the kid is fast. Then my cousin Jessica and my Uncle John joined the fun. We all went and ran in the snow last year and had a great time. We finished in a loose group (well, Peter was way ahead of us) right around the 43 minute mark.

This year everyone was back from last year and we actually added a few new runners. Cousin Jessica how has a better half (a sprinter, actually) and my Auntie Po decided to join in on the fun. I woke up Thursday and it was pouring. The temperature was somewhere around 40 degrees or so. Basically it was miserable. I hopped in the car and headed over to my Uncle Matt's place where we were all meeting. I scarfed down an english muffin and we all piled into Uncle Mart's SUV and headed over to Main Street in Manchester. We parked about half a mile from the Army/Navy hall where we usually meet up (along with half of the other 10,000 or so runners). The rain had let up and we made our way over to the hall and found a good spot to stash our stuff. After 45 minutes or so we made our way out to the starting line. Peter filed in with the 30 - 35 minute group and we pushed our way through the crowd to the back as the national anthem played and the wheelchair participants started the race. At this point it started to absolutely pour and it was a challenge to keep warm while waiting for the start of the race. I expected the crowds to be thinner with the terrible weather, but it was the most crowded I ever remember it (we saw someone with a 10,000 number on their chest which means at least that many runners registered for the race, not to mention bums like me that just show up and run). We couldn't even make it under the ropes into the field of runners until the race began and the pack in front of us thinned out.

When the mass of humanity started moving we all filed forward. We reached the starting line at around 2:45. I started my watch and moved as far to the outside as I could and started running. Or trying to anyway. Running in a pack like that is quite the challenge, especially with spectators on the side of the path and rain soaking the road. I was weaving in and out of traffic, but couldn't really get moving. I hit the one mile mark at 12:00 on the official clock (about 9:15 by my watch) and felt good because I had navigated the thickest crowds and was only off my mile goal by 45 seconds. The entire second mile is one long hill and it was here where the training from the past two and a half months really kicked in. The crowd was still pretty heavy and I found myself zig-zagging back and forth and stuck behind a slow moving group a few times, but mostly I got creative and ran on front lawns or through huge puddles to keep my momentum (at one point I ran past a group of spectators and someone shouted "watch out, he's a splasher").

As I crested the hill I started feeling really good. I was definitely moving at a good clip and knew that the hardest part of the run was behind me. I cruised into the downhill section probably a little too fast, but just kept going as I was feeling really good now. I hit the three mile mark and refused to check the time as I was confident in my pace and didn't want to get in my own head if I was ahead or behind by a significant amount. I was running my race and feeling good. The crowds were amazing throughout, as they always are with this run, and there were several bands and people with signs (and adult beverages) braving the elements to cheer us on. Twice I passed houses with large gatherings of people where radios were blaring the theme from Rocky and I'll tell you something - that shit works.

I hit the four mile mark and let it rip. I was psyched to know how much I had left in the tank and knowing I was going to finish strong had me feeling no pain, no cold, no rain. I could see the finish now and tried to throw it up one more gear, but I was giving it everything I had. The desire to go faster was there, I just didn't have the mechanics. As I approached the shoots I heard footsteps behind me. I was trying to hold off whoever was advancing on me when I got passed...

...by a guy...

...in a banana costume.

So much for my pride.

I crossed the finish line at 38:55, right behind Banana Guy. The upside was that I had finished the race in the time I had set out to run it. 4.74 miles in less than 40 minutes. I met up with Peter at the Army/Navy hall. He had finished in 34 minutes. The rest of our group trickled in over the next few minutes. Everyone finished well and we all shared war stories of the weather and some of the characters out on the course. Naked Guy (actually wearing a thong of some sort) was a favorite of Po's while I prefer the tradition of The Blues Brothers, who run every year. Heading back to the car in through the rain was actually the worst part of the whole affair. With the weather you'd think that one in eight of us would have thought to bring maybe a towel, a change of clothes or even an umbrella.

Soaked and cold we got back to Uncle Matt's with plenty of time to head back home, shower, get ourselves warmed up and head back in time for our Thanksgiving meal. Next year we run again, and we're looking to expand our numbers. Maybe Jen will make the trip to CT to take part in the tradition.

As for you Banana Guy - you may have won this time, but I'll be back.

DAY 104
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 4.74
TOTAL MILEAGE: 240.97

Day Ninety Nine - Here Comes The Pain Again

My blog is self referential and hip.

See, way back in the beginning of this whole endeavor I titled my very second post "Here Comes The Pain" because I was really sore after our first day of running.

Then just last week I titled a post "Here Comes The Rain Again" after the Eurythmics song, because it seems like it's been raining a lot lately while I've been out running.

So now today, I title the post for Saturday's run "Here Comes The Pain Again" because I'm really sore and sorta funny.

So yeah, Saturday was our "Trails" day. The Team members all carpooled (is that one word) out to Jersey to run on these crazy nature trails out near Rutgers. I met up with Jen and Drew around 6:45 Saturday morning and we took a cab up to Charlotte's place where we mooched a ride off of her because she has a car and stuff. On the ride we discussed bad tattoos with Charlotte winning the prize for best "Worst Tattoo Story." The Grinch, smoking a joint. You could try to top that, but you would fail. Fortunately for everyone, this is not a tattoo that she has on her person, but rather one that she saw.

We got to the meeting spot and started stretching as Ramon explained the course. And it go a little sump like dis: 4 miles out (approx.) there would be a water station. Then another one at the 6 mile mark and the third and final station at the 7.5 mile mark. A mile and a half past that we'd find a fence where we would turn around and come back. 9 miles out, 9 back. Quick math tells us what? 18 miles total. The folks running the Honolulu marathon would continue on for another mile after that, but I didn't pay too much attention to their instructions because they didn't really effect me personally.

Then we started running.

We ran for a long...long time.

I made the mistake of starting near the front of the pack and pacing myself with some of the more experienced runners. We were going at a 9:30 or 10 minute mile, so not breaking any land speed records, but a good clip for the distance we were covering. The first few miles felt pretty rugged and my legs were heavy. I wasn't finding the groove and was pretty much terrified of the distance. Was finally able to lose myself in thoughts other than "take another step, good, now again, with the left foot" at about the 3 mile mark and finally felt like I might be able to cover the miles. Hit the first water station as Ramon was pulling into the parking lot next to it and he hollared something in our general direction, but I have no idea what it was. It felt good to know I had covered 4 miles in less than 40 minutes, but the thought of another 14 was less comforting. A few minutes later I got my goo on and plowed ahead.

Between here and the turnaround point not much happened. I ran. I felt OK. My drawers kept hitching up on me and I had the not too pleasant realization that I probably could have used a little more vaseline between my legs - yeah, I'm taking you there with me today kids. Of course, this realization is particularly unsettling knowing you've got about 11 miles to go on the run. And having taken a shower after rubbing my legs raw once before, I knew exactly what I was looking forward to. And yet I kept running. I know Lance Armstrong beat testicular cancer and all that, but seriously, I think I just redefined the heart of a champion.

About a mile or two before the turnaround there was a somewhat severe decline in the trail and then just as quickly an incline. There was water on both sides of the trail (it was a very pretty run) and there were all these dam type things along the way to even the levels out...or something. Anyway, I realized on the down slope that I had a bit of a problem developing in my legs. My thighs were OK as long as I was moving forward on a flat surface, but when I went downhill I realized that they had sort of tightened up on me. I figured I was pushing myself a little too hard, but at the same time figured that the damage had been done and I might as well keep up the pace.

Yeah, I'm real stupid.

So I got out to the 9 mile marker and the crew I was running with continued on as they were doing 20. I goo'd up again and started back. About 5 minutes into the 2nd half of the run I passed a group who asked me how far they were from the marker. I told them 2 or 3 minutes because I can't count. I then passed Drew and we did that thing where we made fists and bumped our knuckles together. While running. Badasses. Big time.

Here's where I get a little crazy. On the way out, about a mile from the turnaround, a girl had passed me on her way back. I have noticed her over the past few weeks and she is a heck of a runner. So I didn't feel so bad knowing she was whipping my ass time wise. It's not about speed, after all, it's about covering the miles. But, I do get competitive. Besides her, I was the first person coming back from the 18 mile marker. I wasn't concerning myself with "winning" or anything like that, I just wanted to maintain my pace, and seeing the other people 5 and 10 and 15 minutes behind me on my way back, I wanted to make sure that I didn't get passed by too many coming back as it would indicate a real slow down on my part.

Make sense? Probably not, but it is what it is.

I guess it was the 12 mile marker or so when I realized I was in some serious trouble. First of all, for all the talk about how running on the trails would be easier on our legs and joints, I was hurting in a big way from the surface. The tops of my feet were KILLING me because I was using all sorts of muscles to balance, correct myself and overcompensate for pebbles and roots I was stepping on. Second, my ankles were feeling it too...although that could have been the distance, I don't know. Finally, my knees, which have been my nemesys since this started were starting to sing as well. This pain, together with the soreness in my thighs, was telling me that finishing this run was going to be a big problem. Especially with 6 miles left.

At the final water station I stopped to hydrate and suck down one final goo. I talked to Christine (another coach) about how I screwed up my pace and she warned me to be careful of that on race day as I will definitely want to do the second half of the run faster than the first. I don't know where I'm gonna get that discipline, but I gotta find it somewhere soon. At this point another runner showed up at the water station. One of the 20 milers. Great. I was getting smoked by a guy running 2 more miles than I was. Talk about demoralizing. Christine wished me a good 4 miles and I was off.

And that's when it all slammed into me at full force. My groin had tightened up while I was chatting and that was sort of the final straw. I did what I could to create the illusion of running, but mostly I was just moving forward. 20 Mile Guy blew past me a minute later and I watched him get smaller and smaller on the trail ahead of me. I stopped and walked across a rock walkway on the path that stretched about a quarter of a mile or so then did my best to finish running. That last 4 miles were a bear and I would have gladly run the first 14 again instead of them. I had heard that you hit a wall at 16 miles, and while I'm sure that was a huge part of it, the soreness in my groin and the pain in my joints were telling me that I had gone about this run all wrong. I was so relieved to see the finish, but I was also scared to stop moving as I figured I would tighten up even more.

I got back to the parking lot and stretched the best I could. The coaches and mentors had brought food for us (a feast of delicious carbs) and I rocked a bagel and about a liter of gatorade. I waited and talked to some other folks about the run and heard some injury horror stories. I actually loosened up a bit after stretching and was feeling OK...sore, but OK. Jen, Drew and Charlotte all finished together and I found out Drew wrecked his IT band pretty good, so I was feeling even better about my condition. That's a tough injury and I could tell he was hurting. But he sucked it up and finished (20 miles actually!) and I'm sure he'll be OK. Jen and Char were great too and in tremendous spirits.

The ride home was smelly, but for the most part everyone was in good spirits despite Drew's injury and I think more than anything we were all sorta proud of ourselves for finishing the run. It's amazing to think that 3 months ago we had a hard time with 5 miles and now Jen is saying things like "at the end of it I knew I could have gone another 2 miles." That's amazing. Yeah, I screwed up my pace and have a lot or work to do before Phoenix, but all in all, I'm happy with Saturday. We all had our own challenges and we came through relatively strong. And that's something.

When they dropped me off in Manhattan I got out of the car and realized how shitty the next two days were going to be as far as getting around was concerned. I wasn't wrong. It's Monday around noon as I write this and my knees are still a little achey and my thighs are still slightly tight. But I can take stairs again and tonight I'll be back on that Central Park Loop. I'll just take things a little slower.

Thanks for reading this ridiculously long entry.

More later.

DAY 99
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 18.2
TOTAL MILEAGE: 236.23

PS - I finished in 2:58:57. What, you think I'm gonna go way too fast and screw up my legs and not give my time? (Sadly, yes, that is breakneck speed for me).

Day Ninety Six - I AM THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE!!!

(Who lives in my apartment. The dead guy in the closet was pretty fast though.)

Last night we did the official test that I BS's on my own last week on the treadmill. 1 mile repeats, timed. Basically we warmed up to a start line, ran a mile wicked fast, did a recovery run of about .7 miles and repeated the process two more times. Good turnout from the Team and a nice warm night to run in.

I started off the first mile obscenely fast (by my un-quick standards). I was running with Drew, who is nursing a bum ankle. He told me that I would probably out-pace him, but I wasn't so sure, he looked pretty fast to me. About a quarter mile in I did break away a bit and started moving at a pretty good pace. I was convinced that I would never be able to keep it up and that I was doing some serious damage to my chances at consistency with the next two timed miles, but at some point I just said screw it and ran as hard as I could to see how I could do if I just went all out. I crossed the finish in a wheezing heap and was shocked to see that I had no only accomplished a sub seven minute mile (again, not so fast this one), but that I had actually bested my time from 6 weeks ago by 1:03. That's right kids. 6:34. My best time ever. By far. Last week on the treadmill the best time I had was 7:11, which was sort of BS because the machine MAKES you run that fast. I thought I would be lucky to be in that neighborhood, but 6:34 completely threw me for a loop. On the recovery run I could see the REALLY FAST people just about 100 yards ahead of me. I was shocked.

We got back to the start and everyone was still getting themselves situated. The coach asked us how the first one was and we chit chatted with her. She told us to go whenever we were ready and to time ourselves again, trying to keep the second lap within 10 seconds of the first. I let the super fast folks go first because I get competitive and didn't want to kill myself trying to keep up with them only to collapse at the half mile marker. After giving them a good 15 second head start I took off. I knew right away that I was off the pace I set on my first lap, but things still felt pretty good. I was even gaining ground on some of the advanced runners. I know I shouldn't pay attention to stuff like that (and I fear it will mess me up on race day - not that I'll be comparing myself to the pros or anything, just trying to keep up with the 9 minute milers if that isn't really my pace) but like I said, I'm competitive. And wracked with self doubt, actually, as I didn't want to pass one of them when the time came because I figured he was just pacing himself for his final kick that would leave me in the dust discouraged. Finally I just overtook him and tried to let it go and run MY mile, but I was very aware that I DIDN'T hear footsteps in the last 2/10 of the mile closing in from behind. Fighting half an urge to vomit for the first time since we started training, I looked down at the watch and saw 6:54. 20 seconds added. Damn. But still sub-7. I was cramping up in my side and my legs were feeling VERY heavy. I set a goal for myself to keep it under 7 for the 3rd mile, but I was prepared for a much slower mile with the way I was sucking wind and the knot in my left side.

Back to the start line and once again, I let the advanced crew take off ahead of me. I figured I would just give this one everything I had left, despite the fact that I was sure that wasn't much. I started and immediately felt very slow. I was ultra aware of how far I had to go and how short a distance I had covered for the first quarter mile. I was just trying to let my body take over and fortunately I kept the cramp somewhat at bay with my breathing. My thighs were really starting to sing on me, but I kept at it continually telling myself it was only a mile. I passed the same advanced runner for the second time which gave me a lift and started my kick too soon after misjudging the finish. I kept it up though and crossed with my arms pumping and breathing like a lunatic. I checked my time and it was 6:52, an actual improvement from mile 2.

I was completely wiped out. I walked a lot of the recovery back to where we had met at Bathesda and did my stretching, getting war stories from the rest of the team and telling my own. All in all it was a good night. I know that 6:34 was a ridiculous time that I would have a hard time replicating, but the fact that I kept the second and third mile in the same neighborhood AND under 7 minutes made me very proud. And thankful to the coaches for getting me here.

Unfortunately no fundraiser thank you's today...hopefully one or two tomorrow.

Thanks for reading...

DAY 96
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 5.1
TOTAL MILEAGE: 218.03

PS - Keep Jen in your thoughts as she fights off a nasty shin splint. She's working very hard and deserves to do so relatively pain free.

Day Ninety Five - On The Surface Your Job Sounds Pretty Cool

I was supposed to cross train yesterday but I didn't. And I don't even really feel that bad about it. I got a call first thing in the morning when I got to work telling me that a shoot had just come up for later in the day and asking if I could help put it together. For those that don't know what I do, I am a production coordinator at HBO in the Creative Services Department. What that basically means is that I work in the department that produces all of the promotional content on HBO and Cinemax for our original series and movies and our special events. We also do a lot of interstitial programming for both networks and things like red carpet premieres and DVD featurettes. My job is to basically hire crews and manage schedules for a wide variety of events. So there's a crash course in what I mean when I say "work."

Most days my job is...pretty OK. It's a lot of time spent on the phone back and forth with crew and vendors as creative ideas change by the second. It's definitely not the most exciting gig in the world, but the fun days make it all worth it. I knew from the first phonecall yesterday that setting up a shoot for last night would be a hassle. Just the general sense of uncertainty about the whole thing led me to believe things would be up in the air all day because no one would want to commit to any one thing, so in the meantime we'd have to be prepared for anything (I turned out to be 100% right, btw). The thing is, I wasn't as annoyed as I normally am with this type of thing because I was actually excited about the shoot. I'm not going to pretend that I'm totally jaded and don't get start struck at all, but the thing is, the way my job is set up, even if we are shooting with celebs, I rarely have any reason to interact with them, so I just sorta stay in the wings doing my thing because the less I have to do with talent, the better I've done my job preparing the shoot. Most times they just walk in, do their thing and walk out and when I "meet" them it's just that. "This is Bill from HBO" and they smile and walk on by to the other 900 people that they are going to be introduced to that day.

I knew yesterday was going to be the same deal, but I wanted to go anyway. The shoot was with Bill Clinton and I was just excited about the prospect of being there. Now, I don't want to get into a whole thing about politics and I'm not going to pretend that Bill Clinton is the end all be all, but as a President I was a fan of his and as he was the first presidential candidate I ever voted for (and the only one I ever voted for that actually won) I was into the idea of meeting the guy.

We got to the shoot and the place was a nightmare. There was an event downstairs in the building that he was speaking at later in the evening. We were scheduled to interview him on the 6th floor but neither elevator in the building (which I'm assuming was the first thing ever built in New York City) After a while they finally fixed the main elevator and we were able to move our gear upstairs...slowly...as not to overload the thing and break it again. We set up our shoot and heard that he was going to be coming late. After an hour or so of sitting around we got the call that he was on his way up. Building security, the NYPD and the secret service had been wandering around on the floor off and on until then. Clinton popped out of the elevator with two SS members. He met his assistant, who had been with us the whole time, and our producer and they went through what we were were shooting (some comments for Comic Relief and another set of comments for The Nobel Peace Prize). They were leading him to the room (which my boss and I had left because it wasn't really necessary that we be in there for the shoot - see how that works - once the thing is set up, I shouldn't need to be on set) and he made it a point to stop and say hello to my boss and I and shake our hands, which was completely uneccessary, but very political. Then he walked into the room and sat down and someone closed the door. Less than 10 minutes later he came out, said thank you to everyone and left.

And that's how I "met" President Clinton last night and that's why I didn't do my cross training.

The End

Day Ninety Four - Here Comes The Rain Again

You have no idea how much I agonize about these daily blog titles. This one came to me pretty quickly as it started raining as soon as I got home last night and put my running shoes on. When I stepped outside it really started coming down. I was soaked two blocks into my five block walk to the park. But it was warm out and as I am terrified of training in the cold I am trying to take as much advantage of these balmy nights as possible. Yes, balmy.

As I started on the familiar loop I came up with another possible blog title. "The Only Living Boy In New York." Either that or "The Only Running Boy In New York" as it seemed that I had the entire park to myself, which was amazing. It didn't last as I ended up seeing some hardcores out there braving the elements, but to spend almost an hour running in the park and see only about 50 people - well, that's a New York City rarity to say the least. It was relaxing and even my soggy drawers weren't bothering me.

I did the run I wanted to do 3 minutes faster than I wanted to do it, which had me feeling good on the walk back to my apartment. The absolute best part is that in the aftermath my knees didn't flare up the way they have been recently. I think they are starting to get used to the abuse and that my biggest physical problem to date was just a point of my body getting used to the miles.

Minor correction on yesterday's post. This Saturday we are running on some trails in Jersey, not in Central Park. Sounds like a field trip to me, and my mom didn't even have to sign a permission slip.

Have a good Tuesday.

DAY 94
TODAY's MILEAGE: 5
TOTAL MILEAGE: 212.93

Day Ninety Two - Personal Best

As you all know by now, Saturday is our weekly long run. This week we met at Bathesda Terrace in Central Park and I have to admit I was a little suprised at how sparsely attended the practice was. We found out that our head coach Ramon finished the NYC Marathon in 2:49 and change, which, as he would say, is pretty freaking fast. We also found out that one of our other coaches is pregnant, so congratulations Christine. After those announcements was our mission moment, this week given by one of our honored team mates. I'm horrible with names, but this is the guy that was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma (I believe) 3 years ago and is now training for a marathon (after competing in an Iron Man last year). He mentioned that the 5 year survival rate for his particular cancer is 50% at the 5 year mark. That's pretty sobering. And that's much better than it was just a few years ago. Another reminder of why we get out of bed at 7AM on Saturday to go and run. After all of these preceedings Ramon told us what we were scheduled to run that day. There are 3 different marathons being represented at our training sessions - Honolulu, DisneyWorld and Phoenix. Jen and I are, of course, training for Phoenix, which happens to be the last marathon of the three. So while the other folks have to be ready before we do, we'll be putting in miles in the cold weather longer than they have to. Honolulu, as a matter of fact, is coming up in just a couple weeks (Dec. 9th or so), so those guys are sort of coming into the home stretch. They were instructed to run 17 - 20 miles. How d'you like them apples? For people running Phoenix and Disney we were told to take it easy. Just a 12 mile run...provided that we have been keeping up with the training and that we had previously run 16 miles.

Drat.

My long at this point was 14.7. Just 1.3 measly miles from a nice leisurely jaunt around the park. But no worries. It was a beautiful day, with weather perfect for running, and I had come expecting a good long one anyway, so screw it, I'd run the 16.

I decided on 2 long loops (6 miles a pop) and one middle loop from Bathesda at 72nd Street to the 102nd St. Transverse. My course would be the two long loops in succession with the shorter loop last. To change things up a bit (because that 6 mile loop in the park is starting to get a tad boring) I decided to run in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION then what I am used to. I know. I'm a crazy person. Now, while there are no strict "rules" as to which way one should run in Central Park, I was definitely going against the grain, or at least, the bulk of the grain. As instructed I tried really hard to keep myself restrained for the first 3rd of my run. Ramon mentioned this morning that the goal should be to hold back on the first third, find your groove on the second and on the final third finish stronger than you started. I'm paraphrasing of course, but that's what I took from it anyway. I tend to try to keep the same pace throughout the run which has left me totally gassed at the end on a couple of occassions.

Doing what I could to keep things slow, I ran the first loop in the opposite direction, which was actually a little unsettling after so many times around the other way. I finished at a little over an hour, so somewhere between 10 and 11 minutes a mile. I turned around to run the second loop in the "right" direction and challenged myself to finish in under an hour. I learned a couple things during the second loop. The second six miles is definitely easier if you hold back on the first six. I also learned that I crap out around the 9th mile. Not that I have to stop or anything, but I stop feeling like I am in the zone and just start feeling like I am running. I kept my pace and finished in about 55 minutes, but I was feeling every step.

At this point I stopped for my second Goo and met up with some fellow Team In Training members. We got to talking and all headed off in the same direction and dammit, I forgot to set my stopwatch to start again. I wanted to time the last 4 miles - c'est la vie. I actually slowed down and stayed with them for the first mile and a half or so and it was nice to pace myself with them and actually have someone to talk to for a while. We ran the 102nd St. Transverse West to East and then I said goodbye and got back up to my pace to finish the run. I got back to Bathesda about 2 hours and 45 minutes after starting and talked to one of the coaches and another runner for a few minutes then said my goodbyes and started what I thought would be a very painful trip home. And while my knees did get a little sore, and my shins and feet were feeling the mileage too, I have to say that my body never felt quite as bad as I expected it to, which I took as a good sign.

There you have it. My longest run to date. 16 miles. Although Steve, the coach I was talking to after the run, said we'll be aiming for 18 on the "trails" of Central Park next Saturday, so that record won't last long, apparently. As long a run as that sounds, I'm actually happy to be learning a new course and some new mileage next week. So now we're past the 200 mile mark and headed straight for 300. Stick with me and we'll get there.

Thanks to The Lost Bee Gee, Brian Girard for his generosity in the world of fundraising. That much closer to my goal thanks to you.

Hope you all had a good weekend. More later...

DAY 92
TODAY'S MILEAGE - 16
TOTAL MILEAGE - 207.93

Day Ninety - Just Do The Miles

Not much to report today. We had an unseasonably warm day yesterday in NYC (today is supposed to be warm too, but I have been chilly every time I've gone outside, although that may have something to do with the overall shitty mood that I can't seem to shake). I got home from work around 6:15 and headed out for a loop in the park. My legs were really feeling it from the night before so I kept things slow. Very...very...slow. EVERYONE was passing me. I picked up the pace a bit on the second half of the loop, but it was more of an easy run done simply to get some miles run. They say as long as you run the miles you're doing OK. Worry about time and things like that later. At least I think they say that. Maybe I made that up to make me feel better about myself. Regardless, I'm still kind of proud that I can go out and do a low energy six miles after a tough week of practice when 2 months ago six miles at ANY pace would have been laughable.

If all goes according to plan I'll kick out my 200th mile tomorrow during our long run. Wish me luck.

Have a great weekend. I'm off to dinner with my friend Robyn and then to see another friend at The Living Room. You should come along. It'll be fun.

Take care.

DAY 90
TODAY'S MILEAGE - 6
TOTAL MILEAGE - 191.93

Day Eighty Nine - Testing Myself

If you remember last Wednesday, we graduated from the 5 week hill training portion of Team in Training. The week before we started doing hills we ran 3 timed miles as fast as we could. We were told that after the hill training we would most likely improve on these times and that we would be tested again to see what kind of progress we made. Unfortunately I had made dinner plans last night so I was going to miss the group practice. Normally I would have scheduled dinner another night, but Becky and I have been trying to get together with my uncle and his partner for what seems like months to have dinner, so I figured I would just do the test on my own with the handy treadmill version that we get sent via email every week. Well...technically we get an email from Ramon every week, but I have NEVER gotten it (Jen forwards it to me). I have told my mentor several times and he says he's going to make sure I start getting it, but Day 89 and still no weekly emails from Ramon. I think it's sort of a running joke now (I just re-read this - get it? A RUNNING joke? PUN NOW INTENDED). Serves me right for not signing up for the yahoo groups thing initially I suppose.

Aaaaaanyway, I got the forward from Jen which basically broke down the treadmill work out like so: 8 - 10 minute warm up, one mile at a "good pace," 6 minutes recovery, repeat 3 times.

After work I headed to the gym and hopped on the treadmill. I wasn't thrilled to do my time test on the treadmill, as it kind of forces you to keep a pace - which is good in a sense, but sort of makes your results a little more artificial. It was also pouring rain outside, so all things considered I guess I had no major complaints. Plus, I was looking forward to a nice dinner. On my test a month and a half ago I ran three miles in the following times - 7:37, 7:41, 7:47. I think those were the times anyway. You can go look it up if you're really that much of a stickler. After the warm up on the treadmill I set the pace for a 7:14 mile. Then I forgot to switch the display to distance, so I screwed myself up and ended up running the first mile in 7:22 (by my closest approximation anyway). It felt really fast. My recovery went well though and by the third minute I was feeling like I could tackle another mile without much of a problem. I really wanted to make my third mile my best, so the second time I set the treadmill for a 7:41 second mile. This time I screwed up my stopwatch (why I felt the need to time myself on my watch and not just the treadmill clock is a whole other issue of anal retentiveness that I can't even attempt to get into here) and ended up finishing in 7:44. Not my best time, but still pretty decent for a kid born without the gift of quickness. My recovery went well again and soon enough I was staring down the barrell of the third mile. I got ambitious and set the pace for 7:08. I wanted to go sub 7:00, but ended up not having the guts. I finished the mile at 7:11 - my best time ever. It was...not easy. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling the effort this morning. But it also feels good in a way. Again, I know the treadmill isn't the best way to test your speed - more like an endurance test actually, but I'm still happy that I pushed myself to get the workout done at all considering the rain and my dinner plans.

Oh, and it turns out I missed a heck of a practice last night. You should go read Jen's blog (http://girlyoubetterrun.blogspot.com) and find out all about how she got the spirit tee this week. Yeah, I won't even explain further. Congratulations Jen - sorry I missed out on your big moment. Oh, you can also vote in a poll to see if Jen should get a tattoo on her butt for charity. Seriously. And you thought the voting fun was over on Tuesday night. Go check it out. Also, because of the low turn out (and I know Ramon is going to yell at us on Saturday for wussing out - I DID THE WORK MAN!) and the rain they decided to postpone the test until next week.

You can't win kids. You just can't win.

Time for thank you's. I cracked $3000.00 this week after my second fundraising letter went out. Unreal. Thanks to everyone, especially Charlene and Kathleen from work, my cousin Beth and her husband Michael, Mary and Pete (see you tomorrow night Mary and I want whatever I order to be STRONG), and last but not least, JT - who is more than a man among men, he is a cameraman among men. You guys are the best. Thanks again.

More later...

DAY 89
TODAY'S MILEAGE - 5
TOTAL MILEAGE - 186.93

PS - If you are looking for a good way to kick off your weekend my friend Dennis is playing a solo set at The Living Room (www.livingroomny.com) at 7:00PM and then taking the stage again with his fantastic band The Winter Pills at 10:00PM. I'll be there - hopefully for both shows. Hope to see you there.

Day Eighty Eight - 15 Years Later

Boring update as far as training goes. 1 hour on the cross trainer last night after work. Got a nice sweat going, felt great. The end.

When I got home last night I flipped on SportsCenter and they were running a story about the 15 year anniversary of Magic Johnson's announcement that he was HIV positive. I watched the segment in disbelief. I was 15 years old when he made that announcement and now I'm 30. It was half a lifetime ago, but in some ways it feels like last week. I remember, I was on the Tolland High football team at the time and we had just come in from a practice. The coach told us that Magic Johnson had AIDS. We were completely shocked. I could see highlights of his press conference on a TV in the coach's office. Unreal.

I grew up a Celtics fan, thus it was a rule that I hate the Lakers, and especially Magic Johnson - how could I not after the baby hook? In all my life I have found few things to rival the pure hatred of a sports rival. And here was the most infamous Laker - the one that beat Bird in the NCAA's and the one with more MVP's than Larry Legend - announcing, basically, that he was dying. That's what we thought then anyway. In a weird way I shoulda been happy, right? But I wasn't. I was devastated. Because even Larry's rival was a hero in some twisted way and to see him taken down from his perch because of his humanity was shattering. It transcended a rivalry. His mortality made Bird and the Celtics that much more human in my eyes.

I don't think I've ever "hated" an athlete the same way again. Not like I used to. And that probably would have happened anyway as I got older and gave less of myself to sports fandom, but it happened then because of Magic. I rooted for Magic the next year at the All Star Game and I rooted for him in the Olympics and I rooted for him when he made his comeback. It no longer mattered that he broke my heart as a Laker because I realized how lucky we were to get to see him play at all.

I'm not saying anything you haven't heard before. And I don't want to pretend that Magic is a victim or that he is any more heroic then anyone else who gets up every day to stare AIDS in the face and go on with their life. In fact, Magic has had every advantage in fighting this disease. I'm just happy that at the end of the day Magic has shown the world that AIDS doesn't have to be a death sentence. Just because that has more to do with his bank account than anything else right now doesn't change the fact that we can survive with AIDS. The treatment is there - now it's just a point of making it available to everyone who needs it. Magic put a vibrant, healthy and most important, straight face on the AIDS epidemic, and he has accepted his position as an advocate for education and change like a champion, and I am thankful for that. Without him it wouldn't be too hard to assume that AIDS would have remained a "fringe" or "gay" issue, which it never truly was in the first place.

I'm raising funds for this marathon in the name of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to fund research and help find a cure for cancer, but we can't forget that the threat of AIDS still looms, specifically in Sub-Saharan Africa and that money and education are the biggest obstacles in getting the crisis under control. If you are looking for an additional charity to donate some money too this year (and gifts in someone's name make a great holiday offering) I would recommend The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (http://www.pedaids.org/). An organizational and efficiency rating for the charity can be found here: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4310

I guess that's about it for today. Thanks for sticking with me through a relatively major digression. More tomorrow...

Day Eighty Seven - "Are You Quick, Bill?"

I was never much of an athlete growing up. I played plenty of sports, I just stunk at all of them. The one I was halfway decent at was baseball, which I gave up on at about 12 years old to the dismay of my old man, who was a heck of a baseball player himself. I decided to concentrate on basketball, which was my favorite as a kid and ironically, the sport I was the absolute worst at. I mean, just terrible. Couldn't shoot. Couldn't dribble. Couldn't pass. I mean, yeah, I was the drizzling shits at the plate in baseball but at least I had some defensive skills. In basketball I could really do well was try hard and maybe take a charge now and then. It may sound like I'm just being self depricating here, but trust me, video tape exists of just how rotton I was at sports as a kid. And we're not even touching football yet. Yeah, my brilliant idea as a freshman in high school was to play football...which I had never played before...a sport that I didn't even fully comprehend. Fortunately my school was small and soccer was the sport of choice in the fall, so the football team took every warm body it could get it's hands on. I played for two years and stunk it up every single day. We were the worst team in the smallest league in the state. Sometimes I like to think that, for a time, I was quite possibly the worst high school football player in the nation.

This is going somewhere, trust me.

After the football season of my sophomore year I finally decided that I was done with organized sports and moved full time into the world of theatre and music as a way to fill the after school hours. Most of my friends, however, were still athletes. Ted Sherry was probably the best athlete in the school (and the valedictorian of our class for good measure - he's now a doctor and I wish he was an asshole or something so I could hate him). Ted and I had lunch together during senior year and we used to crack eachother up pretty regularly. I remember one day the head of the athletic department at my high school (who served as a lunch monitor during our break) was at our table talking to Ted about...I dunno...sports I guess. Probably soccer. The topic was quickness. How important quickness is in sport. Ted was quick, an advantage for him on the field. The conversation came to it's natural end and I sat there eating, having nothing whatsoever to contribute. There was a moment of silence when Mr. Link could have said "see you later guys" and Ted and I would have gone about our day. What Mr. Link said instead, for some unknown reason was this. "Are you quick, Bill?" I appreciate that the guy was trying to involve me in the conversation. I really do. But it was pretty much the most awkward question he could have posted which only served to underscore the fact that I was nothing close to resembling an athlete in high school. I just smiled up from my sandwich and told him that no, I was not quick. Mr. Link walked away and Ted and I laughed for pretty much the rest of the period.

This is all a roundabout way for me to tell you that in the Dempsey family, speed is not necessarily one of our gifts. And the reason I am thinking about this today is because, being the competitive idiot that I am, I watched the stupid Today Show Runs A Marathon wrap up yesterday and found out that the chick that ran for The Today Show finished the NYC Marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes on Sunday. I mean, that's a really fast marathon. We're talking 8 minutes and 1 second per mile. For the whole race. That's incredibly fast, by my standards. I mean, I've been saying this whole time that I'd like to finish Phoenix in 4 hours (9 minutes 16 seconds per mile), but in the back of my head I have been telling myself that just finishing will be enough and as long as it's 4:30 or under I'll be happy. But dammit, that Today Show lady had to go and post a REALLY impressive time and now I'm feeling all competitive again.

Please don't take this as a sexist thing. Trust me, I accepted LONG ago that there are a million and one women out there who are stronger, faster and generally superior to me in every physical manner possible. It's a novice marathoner thing. If she can do it that fast, why can't I?

Oh yeah, because I'm not quick.

It also doesn't help that I ran into a friend this past weekend at the wedding that just completed his first marathon in 3:58. Now the pressure is really on.

Which brings us to last night's run. As per usual, Mondays are a day off, but since I did nothing but sit in a car and eat McDonald's on Sunday, I decided to make up with a run last night. But since I was stewing in my competitive juices all day yesterday, by the time I got home (after discovering on the subway that I left my keys at work, turning around, getting my keys and going home again) I was ready to push myself. I decided to run the 6 mile loop in Central Park as fast as I could, just to see how I would do. Not that I expected to be able to duplicate the effort over 26.2 miles, but just to see what I was working with.

I started out up the hill we graduated on last week. I felt really good. Very strong. I was cruising, passing the few runners that were out enjoying one of the last warmish nights of the year. I made it to the Resevoir and still felt fantastic. I was really pushing myself, but still feeling fresh. I passed the 72nd Street Transverse and headed up the West Side hill towards Tavern On The Green, and that's when it hit me. My lungs were burning for the first time in a long time. It was the opposite of what usually happens to me. My body felt great, but I was winded. I started to cramp up and knew right then that I couldn't keep this pace up much longer. I got down to Columbus Circle and stopped my stopwatch.

20:31. That's how long I had been running. I went and checked this morning and the distance I covered was 2.68 miles. In 20 minutes. I don't know if that sounds good or what, but I can tell you that it's the fastest I have ever covered that kind of distance in my entire life. Course, I burned out completely, but still, I kept it up for that long. I would have out run Jason in a scary movie at the very least. Yes, these are the things I think about when running. If you haven't figured out yet that I am an idiot, well, you're hopeless.

I took a 3 or 4 minute break. Walked up to The Time Warner Center and back, stretched a bit, then started my stopwatch again and started on the second half of the run. I hated that I had to stop, but within the first minute I knew how much it helped. The thing is, I got my breath back very quickly and fell into step without any effort at all. More than anything, that is where my training paid off last night. I was still pushing myself for the last 3.32 miles, but definitely keeping things more controlled than on the first half, ensuring that I wouldn't have to stop again. I finished up back in Harlem on a dead sprint - or as close as I could come to one - at 47:31. Exactly 27 minutes on the last 3.32 miles - a little over 8 minutes a mile.

So, factoring out the 4 minute break I finished the 6 mile loop in 47:31, or just under 8 minutes a mile. And I gotta say, as disappointed as I am that I had to stop and take a break, I'm still pretty impressed with myself. Not that I am dumb enough to think I could have kept up that pace for much longer, but it gives me hope for 9:16. It's still going to be tough and I've got a long way to go, but I've got some time and that nasty competitive streak on my side.

Next step is getting the same loop in under 50:00 without stopping. As always, I'll keep you posted.

More donations came in last night as I was running. Much love to Aunt Patty, Uncle Martin and the boys. Congrats on Baltimore, Patty! Can't wait to see you guys at Thanksgiving and hit up The Manchester Road Race again. And thanks to fellow runner Elliot, who has always been abundantly helpful and supportive of everything I have ever talked to him about since the day we met.

DAY 86
TODAY'S MILEAGE - 6
TOTAL MILEAGE - 181.93

PS - If you see a raccoon trying to cross the road while you are running clap your hands real loud. They'll clear out of the way. They'll stare you down the whole time like they're doing you some HUGE favor, but they'll move just the same. And that's a running tip.

Day Eighty Five - Senic Seneca Lake

Back on the road for another Saturday long run this week. We were in Geneva again, my girlfriend's hometown, for the last stop on the "Everyone Gets Married Tour 2006." Six weddings in 7 months, four since August 18. Insanity. The last time we were in Geneva it was Labor Day and I was struggling to get 6 and a half miles done. This time I was scheduled to run 16 - 18...but I knew that was a long shot with the wedding coming up later in the night.

I started out around 9:30 or so - an hour later than I had anticipated, but no major worries there. It was chilly out, but I knew I'd be sweating before too long so I didn't let the cold bother me. I started off with a mile downhill, which is the way every run should start, I've decided. At the bottom was Seneca Lake. If you remember my last post about running in Geneva (it's OK if you don't, I barely do) I was dropped off down at the lake and told that the path along it was 2.5 miles each way. So this time I added a mile by running there instead of getting a ride. I also had the benefit of not running in a downpour this time, although I will say that the wind coming off of the water made me very thankful that it wasn't quite as cold as it could have been because I can see that being a VERY uncomfortable run were it 10 degrees cooler.

I headed down the path towards the North end of the lake and felt great. I thought I might be pushing it a little bit with my pace and that I'd run out of gas, but then I thought, "better to realize that on a training day than on race day" and decided to keep it up. The last time I ran this course I lost the trail about half a mile before it ended and was really unhappy with myself so this time I kept my eyes peeled (when I wasn't dodging goose shit that is). The same as last time, the thing just ends at this beach. I ran on around a shelter and through what appeared to be a parking lot and found a completely different road, which ended about a quarter mile or so later. I guess that's the trail, but no way is it my fault for losing it last time. I don't want to be a jerk, because it is a beautiful run, but my God the trail is poorly marked. There are some scattered distance markers along the way, but some hooligans have removed the actual numbers from them, so on the rare occassion that you do see one, it's pretty much useless.

The run back to the start of the trail was tougher as I was running into the wind. Might not sound so bad, but it was pretty strong wind. You're just gonna have to take my word for it. About 3/4 of the way back I actually ran into Dan, my girlfriend's roommate's boyfriend, who was in town for the same wedding and off for a run himself. We ran back to his hotel together, I stopped for some water and to say hello to some other friends who were all meeting for breakfast and headed back up the hill towards my girlfriend's house. I passed her street and continued on another loop for an additional couple of miles. Got back in time to help finish raking the front lawn (although the rest of the fam did the lion's share while I was running - which is just good planning) and shower before heading off to the wedding, which was a blast. Congratulations Bo and Melissa - we had a blast and the band was tops. Kids - if you're getting married - go with the live band. It's really really awesome.

I am VERY behind in sending out thanks to people for donating (I'm up to damn near $2600.00 after my second fundraising letter today!!!), so here's the latest list of generous people who rock my socks:

Robbie (I might have mentioned her before, but screw it, she gets a second shout because we've never even met!), Mr. and Mrs. B., Casey, Chen, Erin from work, Katrina from work, Jason @ mobscene, D-Dorian-Dot-Dorothy, Ali from work, Bridget from Training Wheels: The Show, Damien and Wanda (special thanks to Rocco too!), Chris from UMass, SB and Bob, Enid, Necola from work, the aforementioned Dan (spit on it) and Yuki, who kindly offered me her sports bra to help with my nipple chaffing.

The world is full of great people. Lucky me.

DAY 85
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 8.75
TOTAL MILEAGE: 175.93

Day Eighty Two - Graduation Day

Graduation from Hill Training that is.

It's weird - I feel kind of like I cheated the program here. We did 5 weeks of Wednesday night hill training in Central Park for the marathon. It just so happens that I missed two of those nights because of my schedule. So I was there the first night of training, then last week for the downhill session (obviously the easiest of the bunch) and then again this week for graduation night, although one of the coaches said it was more like "final exams" and she was right. We were tackling the Harlem Hill, which is the longest and scariest in the park. The one I was cursing myself on last weekend. Although to be completely honest, it's really not all THAT scary once you've done it a couple times. I probably would have been cursing myself anywhere at that point last week.

Anyway, we did a warm up run over to the hill (which is actually where I start all my personal runs in the park since the foot of the hill is the closest entrance to the park from my apartment, 5 blocks north) and then we were instructed to use all that we learned over the past 5 weeks (effort levels, arm swinging, stride length - you know, the stuff I missed out on in the middle of these five weeks - excellent) to run up the hill. The hill splits in the middle with a turn and to the halfway point we were to run HARD and after the halfway point we were supposed to down shift, but still be putting some decent effort in. We recovered on the downhill back to the start and then repeated the process, only on the second time up the hill we went at a decent pace for the first half, then pushed hard to the top. Get it?

Oh Christ, now I'm talking like Ramon in my head...some of you won't get that, but Jen will.

The run felt really really good, to be honest. My effort levels felt right where they needed to be and I was taking the hill at a pretty good clip. I started to cramp up a bit, which tends to happen with me when I shift gears a lot during a run, but I was handling it OK and my recovery downhills were getting me through. I did the round trip up the hill and back six times. On th sixth time down I started to get a little worried - I had a few left in me, but I was thinking we'd probably do 3 or 4 more as Ramon had told us it would be a long night. As I passed him on the downhill he said "you guys are done, go back." I was shocked. Honestly, I thought he was screwing around with us. Not that I wasn't thankful, but I just expected to have my ass kicked a lot more.

I got back to the start of the hill and asked some of the other runners if he was serious about us going back and they said he was. It was a mile and a quarter back to where we meet and stretch in the park and since I was feeling like I had held back a little on the hill thinking we'd be out there longer I decided to push it back on the "cool down" run. I was moving at what felt like I would like to run the day of the marathon and I felt great doing it, especially after 6 miles of hills, but again, 1.25 miles is a shit lot different than 26.2, you know?

All in all, a great night. Got to work the next day and calculated the distance and was really impressed with the run and how I was feeling the next day - not bad at all. I also got the chance to try out my new running duds (this hobby is fricking expensive, man) which made me feel like half geek, half actual runner...although I think I need longer shorts as no one should be subjected to seeing my knees on a regular basis.

This weekend we're off to yet another wedding - last one of the year - FINALLY. The couple we stayed with in Baltimore will be there though and I've already got a group that wants to go out running Saturday morning, so while I'll miss the long Team run (good luck guys) I'll be clocking in as close to 10 miles as I can...gotta save some energy for dancing, babies. You know that.

Have a great weekend. Enjoy some fall weather and some football. Thanks for reading...more later...

DAY 81
TODAY'S MILEAGE - 8.5
TOTAL MILEAGE - 167.18

PS - Remember how I said I feel like I cheated the program a bit missing 2 weeks of hill training? Yeah, well, I feel bad about that and all, but not really bad enough to go back and make the work up on my own. Say a prayer that that doesn't come back to bite me in the ass in Phoenix...