Run For Your Life

Congrats to AJ (via Rachel) for correctly identifying the photo in my last post. For any runner in NYC that is used to running what is known as the Central Park loop over and over again, you probably thought, "Sheesh, that was easy!" For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, Central Park has several "loop" options to fit into any training run. When running the whole loop, which goes around the whole perimeter of the park, (what we call "The Loop", not to be confused with the "Lower Loop" or "Upper Loop,") you can pack in about 6.1 miles. And at 90th St and Fifth Avenue, there is an entrance called "Engineer's Gate," which is the spot where the NYC Marathon enters Central Park, right between mile 23 and 24. And memorialized in bronze right there is a statue of Fred Lebow.

Who is Fred Lebow, you may ask? In short, he is the founder of the NYC Marathon and president of New York Road Runners from 1972 to 1993. It is because of him that running is what it is in NYC today. NYRR puts on most of the races that we all do in NYC, the biggest of which is the Marathon. Instead of going into a spiel about all of the amazing things Fred did, I urge each of you to watch the documentary on him, Run For Your Life. Even if you are a seasoned NYC runner who is bored to death reading this post of things you already know, if you haven't seen this movie, watch it! Or if you have seen it, watch it again! I plan on watching it at some point the week before the Marathon, so I invite each of you to come over and watch with me. I'm sure I will bake something as well, if that is more incentive.

And as a reminder, there are only 81 days left until the NYC Marathon. And as I still have about $2,200 to raise for Harlem United, please consider donating. Once again, every donation is fully tax deductible and will go directly to helping provide an array of HIV/AIDS support and preventative services to those most in need. Click Here to donate! $5, $10, or $1,000, no amount is too small!

Time After Time

Week one of my thirteen week plan is now complete! Last Monday, I met with my amazing coach and good friend Kelsey who put me on a rather intense training plan, and words cannot even describe how good it feels to get back into the swing of things. As I was on my long run this morning, on this perfect summer NYC day, I passed by this statue above for the hundredth time, and had to stop to take a photo. I feel like we runners are constantly thinking about numbers and time: "What's my pace going to be for this run?" "What's my goal time?" "How many miles am I running today?" "This week?" Or more specifically during a race, "If I ran the first two miles at 6:45 but I want to average 6:30 minutes per mile, how fast do I have to run the next three miles to reach my goal?" By the time I figure out the answer to that SAT question, the race is over.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a total math geek and I love analyzing numbers. (Just ask my "Reach the Beach" relay team last spring. We ran two hundred miles in 29 hours with six people, and when I wasn't running, I spent the time analyzing everyone's performance to figure out the approximate start and finish times of everyone's legs in our group. I'm a TOTAL math geek.) However, on today's 8 mile run, I remembered why I do this. Of course the racing is fun, and I am a bit of a competitive person. But I also do it for the love of being outside, and in some of my favorite parts of the city. I do it for the joy I feel after completing a hard workout. I do it for the "zone" that I inevitably get into on my long runs, a sort of physically meditative state.

So even though you may see me and my fellow NYC runners doing exactly what that statue above is doing more often than not, sometimes it's good to remind ourselves ultimately why we do this. And why we keep doing it. And that feeling I got today, on my first long run back after 10 weeks of recovery, reminded me of just how happy I am to be a runner.

(Special bonus points for the person who can say what  the statue is in the above picture, and where it is in NYC. Answer in the comments below.)

There's a first time for everything...

On November 4, 2012, I will be doing what I never thought I would even consider doing a year ago: running the NYC Marathon. I was always one of those people who was annoyed by the marathon (at least those times I was actually awake early enough for it to make my sedentary life more difficult...)  I've been in New York for almost 18 years now, and the first time I even watched the marathon was last year, as I worked the 24 mile water station with my fellow Front Runners. And that is exactly where I finally got a chance to see what everyone has been talking about.

Being at mile 24 from start to finish gave me a chance to see the first wheelchairs go through, followed shortly by the elite men and women, and then the 47,000 men and women continuing for the next ten or so hours. What I witnessed was one of the most exciting things I have ever seen. And I couldn't wait to sign up for 2012!

Not only do I get the chance to run, but I will be doing it for a great cause! I will be raising funds for Harlem United, and those funds will help provide an array of HIV/AIDS support and preventative services to those most in need. My goal is to raise $3,500. Feel inspired to help me reach my goal, you soon to be faithful blog reader? To make your 100% tax deductible donation, go here:  DONATE!

So here I am, getting ready for two firsts... first marathon, and my first ever blog! (Something else I never thought I would do.) From now until November 4, I will be doing updates on my progress right here. If you would like to be notified via email when I post a new entry, simply enter your email address in the area to the right.

Here we go!