AWOL

Hi folks. Remember me?

I think this is the longest I have neglected the ol' blog since I started it almost 2.5 years ago: 18 days. I have just been extraordinarily unmotivated to write and there hasn't been much going on anyway. NYC was four weeks ago and it was only in the past week that I made any effort to run a substantial amount of miles (30).

Side note: considering I ran 5 miles the week of November 15-21, running 30 the week of the 22-28 violated the "10% Rule" by 590%. Oops.

I put on my game face Thursday morning for the third annual Thanksgiving Day Aurora Turkey Trot in Aurora, Ohio. Last year I raced to a sub-30:00 time, and this year I did not expect to come close to that. Not with the way my shoes had been languishing in my closet and the alarm had been going off at 7:00 am. Speed work? Tempo runs? What?

I pulled off a 7:29 mile 1 which shocked the heck out of me. Thereafter, acquiescing to the fact that it was unlikely I would able to sustain that pace, I concentrated on being more mindful of my breathing, footstrike, arm movement, and carriage than I usually am. In the end, I suprised myself by finishing the four miles in 30:28 (7:37/mile) and taking third in my age group again. Excellent. My fleet feet weren't completely buried under several weeks of laziness!

Yesterday I went out for a leisurely cruise around the old hometown in Ohio, taking my favorite out-and-back seven-mile route and listening to my iPod. I had every intention of running at least double that distance this morning but a late-night beer-drinking/Euchre-playing session at my brother's house squashed that ambition. I'm hoping to get in a final run tomorrow before I head back to Michigan.

My sole goal after I get home is to finally write my darn race report for the NYC Marathon. I can't believe I let such an important event slide for so long. It's really quite shameful.

Lastly, this morning I had a dream about running Boston. The race is five months away. In my opinion, it's much too soon to be dreaming about it. This dream was of the "unprepared/running late" variety. If I'm already having anxious dreams about Boston this far in advance, for what might I be in store four months from now when the race is mere weeks away?

Scary.

I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday!

Let's Try This Again

marathonsounds.mp3

That should work.

I thought I was being so tech-savvy trying to embed the audio right into my blog...FAIL.

Edited: OK, WTF?! HELP. My tech-savviness has officially reached its limit (not that there was much to begin with).

How about THIS one?

http://www.filefreak.com/files/82036_kr2sr/marathonsounds.mp3

Oh, and just in case anyone is thinking "it's just a sound bite, what's the big deal?" it's because it REALLY IS THRILLING (well, for me, anyway). I just want everyone to have a chance to experience a tiny bit of what running the New York City Marathon is like. Imagine all that noise and much more for 26.2 solid miles. It really was an endless party. It was wonderful.

Sounds of the Marathon

While I take my sweet time composing a race report for the New York City Marathon, I flexed my (severely limited) computer-nerd muscle and uploaded a little sound bite of the marathon for y'all. I made this on-the-course recording (using my iPhone) around mile 16 (you can actually hear Garmy beep), coming off the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan and beginning the northward trek on 1st Avenue. When I listened to this for the first time after the race, it made my skin tingle and heart beat a little faster as I remembered what it was like at that moment: Thrilling.



On another note: My Google Reader suggested I add myself as a feed. (Never mind that clearly Google Reader has its head up its ass on that one.) I was curious to see what I look like in Google Reader so I clicked on me. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that 129 people subscribe to my blog. I continue to be amazed that my silly little blog, which started almost 2.5 years ago as a place to set down my thoughts on running and weight loss, has metamorphosed into something people actually want to read. I guess my childhood dream of becoming a writer has come true in some small way. Thank you, everyone, all 129 of you!

New York City Marathon: The Really Short Version

Official time: 4:16:55

Pre-race goal: Have fun!

Goal met? YES, YES, YES, YESSSSS!!!!

It was the most fun I've ever had in any race EVER. I absolutely LOVED EVERY SINGLE MINUTE.

Longer post with pictures coming eventually!

Calm Before the Storm

Good morning, folks!

I am having a bit of breakfast and coffee in my friend's apartment, enjoying these last few minutes of peace, solitude, and inactivity before the insanity of the next few hours overwhelms me. I'm dressed and ready to go both physically and mentally. I'm finally just a tiny bit nervous.

It's Sunday morning, and I'm going to run a marathon today!

See you at the finish line!

Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]