And The Inventing of Forms of Cross-Training Begins . . .

Today was a cross-training day. After weighing my options, I finally decided on a Jillian Michaels "Making the Cut"-inspired workout. It went a little something like this:

50 squats
Hold plank pose 30 seconds
20 plank-ups
50 bicycle crunches
10 close-grip push-ups (also known as triangle push-ups)
50 basic lunges (25 each leg)
25 reverse crunches
15 scorpion push-ups
20 jump squats
25 bench dips
40 step-ups (20 each leg)
25 toe-touch crunches
50 basic lunges (25 each leg)

And then I got tired/sore and gave up.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the vigorous pot-scrubbing I did today. It was probably more intense than all of the exercises above combined! Yay for crappy, over-priced NYC apartments without dishwashers!

Time for bed . . . it's already gotten way too late!! How does this always happen on Sunday night? Sweet dreams, y'all!

1 Down, 14 To Go!

I have to say . . . if today's long run is any indication of how this training program is going to go, I am REALLY going to enjoy it!

Now, before I continue, I have a confession to make. You may or may not have noticed, but I never posted anything about my long run from last weekend. Um . . . well, that would be because it was a COMPLETE disaster. Right from the get-go, I just felt exhausted and completely out of sorts; it was as though I had 20-pound sandbags attached to each of my legs! Although I set out with a goal of covering 10-12 miles, I quickly found myself adjusting that goal to "at least 7". In the end, I BARELY eked out 8 miles . . . and that was with a LOT of walking and stopping to "stretch" (aka rest) in between. And you know how sometimes, in the middle of a really great running period, one run goes so badly that it causes you to question everything? Well . . . that was me last Saturday. BUT. That negative thinking is history! I AM strong and I WILL conquer this program and the marathon to boot! Moving on to a much happier run . . .

I had some AWESOME weather for my 10-mile long run today . . . mostly cloudy with temps in the high-40s/low-50s. Absolute PERFECTION. Although I am usually a die-hard fan of listening to music while running long, I tried something new today that I think REALLY helped me. Wilson has always tried to convince me that running to the sound of podcasts is way better than running to music, and while I have never at all believed him, I decided I might as well give it a try today (just to prove him wrong, obviously). I downloaded a couple of Phedippidations podcasts to keep me company during my run . . . episode numbers 33 (The Marathon Mystique) and 41 (The 110th Boston Marathon). THIS? Was the best idea ever! (Sorry, Wilson. You were right, I was wrong. Just this one time.)

Before I knew it, 5 miles had passed and I was halfway done with my run! I took a sports beans and water break and quickly started back up, all the while listening to Steve Runner's wonderfully distracting podcasts. Although I started to fatigue a little with about 3 miles to go, I still managed to push it up the BIG half-mile-long hill in Prospect Park. This was a huge victory for me, considering I spent all of my LA Marathon training walking up that hill (at the time, I told myself that I was "conserving energy" for the rest of my run . . . LAME!). I pushed it hard up that sucker, and finished the eighth mile in 9:35. Pleased that I'd kicked the hill's butt, I decided I really wanted to push the last two miles and teach my legs what it's like to work hard when tired.

I tried my hardest to push the ninth mile, but some bad Union Ave. sidewalk neighbors were making it REALLY hard to get through. At four separate times I was forced to slow to a walk behind these groups who, for some reason, found it necessary to spread all the way across the sidewalk (death to you all--okay, that's taking things a little far--but seriously, get the f*** out of the way!). As soon as I got the chance, I would make a run for it and speed past them, but it definitely slowed me down quite a bit. Such is life in the city, I suppose! I made it to within a mile of my apartment and told myself it was REALLY time to kick it up a notch. I finished that last mile in 8:51, knowing I could have kept running had I wanted to. It gave me SUCH a huge boost of confidence . . . I am so grateful to have head such an amazing first (official) long run!

I got back to my apartment and thought it would be nice to take a quick walk with Wilson to kind of wind down and loosen my tight legs up a bit. We headed down to the Brooklyn Promenade and walked along the water for about 30 minutes. It was a fantastic walk, and it made me really happy to see all of the people running. It really is a fantastic spot to run/walk . . . check out the view:

(this gorgeous photo is by Mossaiq on Flickr)

At any rate, here are the numbers from today's run.

I completed exactly 10 miles in 135:51 . . . or a 9:35/M pace.

My splits were as follows:

Mile 1 - 9:44
Mile 2 - 9:29
Mile 3 - 9:30
Mile 4 - 9:36
Mile 5 - 10:00
Mile 6 - 9:48
Mile 7 - 9:57
Mile 8 - 9:35
Mile 9 - 9:23
Mile 10 - 8:51

For all those keeping track at home? Them splits right there would be NEGATIVE SPLITS! I'm pretty sure that has NEVER happened to me before on a long run, so I'm very pleased.

Now, it's off to celebrate with a pint or two ;)

Training Update

First things first . . . Although I was originally going to be running the inaugural Rock n' Roll Seattle Marathon all by my lonesome, it looks like I'm now going to have company! Hooray! How did I swing this? Well, I randomly decided to e-mail a handful of my college friends who are also marathoners to lay out my training schedule for the year and see if any of them felt like joining me for any of my proposed races. Well, we must all be suffering from running fever because it just so happened that a couple of them had recently started talking themselves about tackling a summer marathon. They hadn't made any final decisions, but were thinking about running San Fran in July. After much debate, we finally decided on Seattle a few days ago. Actually, the email chain that went back and forth was rather hilarious . . . it went something like this.

Jeff: Ok, let's figure this out. Everybody vote for their top choice. Knowing our crew, we'll sit around emailing how we don't care, anything is fine, until the cows come home. I just want to know what we're doing. I vote SF, because I haven't been there. But I'm happy with either. If Seattle had its summer weather year round, everyone in the country would live in Washington state, and the state's university could have found a better football coach than tyrone.

Brent: I second Jeff's choice. I've never been to SF, but Seattle is awesome.

So:
San Fran: 2, Seattle: 0

But I'm good with both.

Allan: I'm going to go against the grain and vote for Seattle for the same reason you guys voted for San Fran. I have never been to Seattle, but have been to San Francisco before. I think I may be a little bit more able to take off days around the end of June versus the end of July, but that is pure speculation at this point.

Jon: I'm with Allan. I've never been to Seattle, and the pictures on the website look pretty nice. It also looks like a less hilly course.

Jeff: Look folks, this democracy thing is only gonna work if the rest of you blindly go along with what Brent and I are saying. That is a joke of course. I would like the extra four weeks of training we'd get with SF, but I think either are doable.I assume the ladies prefer Seattle? If so, then I move to close the voting and start booking stuff for Seattle.

Irish: I am actually kind of torn . . . which is ridiculous considering I'm the one who was planning on doing Seattle from the get go. I know this is not helpful, but I cast one-half of a vote for Seattle and one-half for SF. I guess that leaves Ann to decide!! ;)

Jeff: Classic buck passing Bailey. Ever think of running for Congress? Ann and I may have to do some research as to whether votes are apportionable like that.

Irish: Looks like I've finally found my calling! In my defense, I was simply trying to avoid the inevitable tie-breaker (the details of which we failed to set forth ahead of the vote) . . . that's all ;)
Okay, fine. In anticipation of you and Ann lawyer-ing me, I guess I have to stick with Seattle . . .

Ann: The SF marathon is the weekend before I'll be taking the bar exam (assuming I get my application done!), so I won't make that one. However, I'm worried that an injury I had last fall might flare up and keep me from finishing training and I think I only deserve 1/2 vote.

So yeah...
SF: 2
Seattle: 3.5 (?)

Jeff: Why do the women get so many votes?Just think of all the legal issues you could consider at a marathon: torts (slip and fall runners), sovereign immunity defense by the government, easements in gross to short cut through neighbors yards, contract disputes about late withdrawals seeking refunds, the possibilities are endless.

Jeff: I stand corrected. I see that you were listing the total votes, and not how many you were casting for each city yourself. My bad.

Allan: And here I thought that you were just trying to end women's suffrage.

Jeff: End the sufferage! End it, I say. There's already enough sufferage in this ugly world.

Irish: Maybe Ann and I shouldn't have votes . . . I mean, as women, our uteruses just might fall out while attempting to run whichever marathon is chosen ;)

Jeff: good point. barefoot in kitchens for you two.......

Allan: Maybe you can just tag along to make us sandwiches and rear our children.

Brent: Without Bailey and Ann voting, I think that leaves us at 2 and 2. Since we're going back to 1800 voting, I say we go back to 1800 tiebreakers...DUELS. Jeff and I will be on one side, Allan and Jon on the other side. Pistols only. Last man standing decides where we run.

Jeff: I also believe I had the tie breaker vote of where to run the next race. I might be willing to trade that in for the superior pistol, but no one asked me.

Allan: I'll be your huckleberry.

Jeff: why allan ringo, you look like someone just walked all over your grave.

Ha, I love my friends! I cannot even begin to describe how much I am looking very forward to receiving emails like those above for the next 3 1/2 months!

Anywho, I promised a training update, so a training update you're going to get! Here's how it went down thus far this week . . .

Monday: Rest day (gotta start marathon training out right, eh?!)

Tuesday: Hill day. I found the hill work-out I completed a little over a year ago on some sort of training web page that I am now completely unable to find--luckily I wrote this one down way back when! It is titled as "Grete's Hill Workout", which I'm assuming is referring to Grete Waitz (just call me Sherlock Holmes!) . . . but anyway, it goes a little something like this:

Complete a 1-mile warm-up. Next, pick a pace 40-45 seconds slower than 10K pace and run at a 2% incline for one minute, followed by a 4% incline for one minute, followed by a 6% incline for one minute. Recover with a jog for 2-3 minutes at a 0% incline. Repeat 3-4 times. Finish up with a one-mile cool down.

I did 4 repeats of this work-out at an 8:49/M pace, and I am shocked to say that it wasn't too, too difficult. I was definitely tired by the end of it and felt like I got a great work-out in, but it was SO much easier than the last time I completed it (it's been nearly a year now!). Anyway, I definitely feel that this work-out will be a great addition to my training schedule considering I will face some rolling hills out in Seattle.

Wednesday: Cross-training/easy-run day. I opted for an easy 2.5-mile run at a 9:40/M pace . . . followed by some serious weight-training and core work. Ouch. I am feeling it today, that is for sure!

Which actually reminds me . . . do any of you use medicine balls to work your abs? I just started doing it, and good golly is it great! Last night I did Medicine Ball Leg Raises, Medicine Ball Crunches on an Exercise Ball and Medicine Ball Russian Twists. Yowsers! I highly recommend these exercises if you REALLY want to feel the burn :)

Up for tonight, I have a 6-mile run: 2 miles easy + 2 miles at short tempo pace (around 8:05) + 2 miles easy.

Oh, and that reminds me! I never shared my training plan with y'all! I'm using the "FIRST To The Finish" training plan, but tweaking it a bit. First of all, I'm replacing the 5(!) 20-mile runs (a bit excessive, don't you think?) with just 2. My long run schedule will look like this (I hope):

15 weeks out: 10 miles
14 weeks out: 12 miles
13 weeks out: 13 miles
12 weeks out: 9 miles
11 weeks out: 14 miles
10 weeks out: 15 miles
9 weeks out: 17 miles
8 weeks out: (Long Branch Half-Marathon)
7 weeks out: 18 miles
6 weeks out: 13 miles
5 weeks out: 20 miles
4 weeks out: 12 miles
3 weeks out: 20 miles
2 weeks out: 12 miles
1 week out: 8 miles
MARATHON WEEKEND!!

Besides that, I am replacing one of my key runs (alternating between speed intervals and tempo runs) every other week with hill training of some sort.

So there you have it!

Biggest Who?

Okay, so we all know that there has been quite a lot of hullabaloo surrounding the Biggest Loser lately. And while I've managed to stay out of it thus far, I finally feel compelled to share my own (not at all expert) feelings and impressions. It took a very thoughtful post by Emlit to get me thinking about the far-reaching influence of the show. She really brought up some interesting and valid points (I highly recommend y'all check her post out here). This morning, I started typing up a comment in response to her post . . . and I kept typing . . . and typing . . . and typing. Eventually I figured my response would probably work better in post format. So here goes . . .

First of all, I'm going to try to explore some of the negative aspects of the show. Why don't we start with the fact that the very premise of this "reality television show" is about as far removed from reality as you're going to get (this is just for the sake of argument; I do, in fact, realize that reality television seldom features much reality--I am a product of the film and television industry, after all. I know ALL of its secrets!). Contestants of the show leave behind their homes, families, jobs, responsibilities and temptations alike in order to focus solely and uninterruptedly on losing weight and getting healthy. They work out in state-of-the-art facilities with teams of nutrition, fitness and medical professionals supervising their every move. Oh, and have I mentioned the $250,000 incentive, awarded to the contestant who remains on the ranch until the finale and loses the most weight? 'Cuz there's that too. Not so much a realistic situation for most of us, now is it? For better or for worse, the contestants' experiences with weight loss are obviously very different from the average person's.

That being said, I have read many accounts of viewers who have been endlessly frustrated by their own "lack of progress" in comparison to the unrealistic weight loss achievements seen on the Biggest Loser. In all fairness, the show is pretty open about the fact that the results are atypical and not to be expected by those doing it on their own at home. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the show probably set out to address that disparity this season by changing things up a bit and sending one member of each pair home for a period of 30 days after the first week on campus.
As expected, these at-home contestants lost only a fraction of the weight that their on-campus counterparts shed during the same period of time. What I found to be interesting was that this little experiment only served to prove the frustration that the average viewer can fall victim to . . . just take a look at the disappointment on the faces of the at-home contestants upon returning to campus and weighing in--it is clear that they too have been affected by unrealistic expectations. Like it or not, the show portrays obese individuals losing weight at far more rapid paces than occur in normal, everyday life. But sometimes I wonder . . . would these same folks who end up giving up on weight loss have even tried had they not been motivated by the show in the first place? It's certainly something to ponder . . .

Next, I have to mention that I completely disagree with the way the show unnecessarily turns weight loss into a competition. Weight loss should never be about competition. Never. It should be about getting (and staying) healthy and improving one's quality of life. I know, I know. "It's entertainment, blah blah blah." "Nobody wants to watch a bunch of people lose just a couple pounds a week." "We want excitement and drama!!" Ugh. The truth of the matter is that, in the past, contestants have indeed given in to extreme behaviors all in the name of competition. While I know it's naive to think that the finalists would put their own health before a big ol' prize purse and the title of the "Biggest Loser", I really do think that it's a travesty that this stuff goes on. I guess that's the risk of staging the show as a competition (you can thank ratings fever for that one).

Thirdly, people often talk about how the Biggest Loser just up and abandons its contestants after the show has concluded. All I can say about this one is "shame on you, NBC!" Once again, I am probably wanting too much out of what is essentially just a money-making entertainment machine, but I just don't see why it would be that difficult to create some sort of a transition program for the contestants to help them re-acclimate to a healthier version of their at-home lives . . . you know, have them check in with a doctor/psychiatrist/trainer for the first couple of months after the show has ended? I know the contestants are of no use to NBC at that point in the game, but couldn't the network do it in the name of charity or something?

All that being said, I still think the benefits of the show outweigh the negatives. After all, awareness is key. Believe it or not, you guys, there are millions of Americans out there who don't know the first thing about nutrition and fitness. If you have ever seen one of the BL season premieres, you know that most of these contestants go into the show absolutely clueless about what they are doing to their bodies . . . and actually, not just what they are doing to their own bodies, but many times the bodies of their children and families as well. I am continually shocked at the lack of common knowledge expressed both by contestants on the show and individuals I interact with on a daily basis. As runners, I think we tend to take a lot of the nutrition and fitness knowledge we have collected for granted. But the fact is, most Americans are grossly under-informed about the importance of good nutrition and daily exercise.

If nothing else, I feel like the show teaches the contestants (at least those contestants who are in it to change their lives, rather than those who simply want to win the $250,000) the things they so desperately need to know. While on campus, they work with a whole team of professionals who instill in them many of the things we consider to be second nature. Along the way, viewers too are exposed to tips, facts and often a bit of motivation to make changes themselves. While I feel like most of the people I know who watch the show are athlete-types who don't really need the info nor the motivation, I'm positive there are people out there who have learned things and/or been motivated as a result of having watched the show.

And, honestly, you really can't underestimate the influence these contestants have on the viewing audience. People can relate to the contestants because they are average people just like us. As such, someone who has never been motivated to get healthy might just find that motivation by watching someone they relate to doing it successfully. In addition, the whole Biggest Loser enterprise (as commercially motivated as it may be) gives the masses a way to connect and to be a part of something bigger. The Biggest Loser Club could be just the support someone needs to shed excess pounds once and for all (especially if that person doesn't happen to possess the support of friends and family).

And finally, I know there have been contestants who have gone home from the ranch and gained back a lot of the weight they lost; but there are just as many contestants who have gone on to use the knowledge they learned on the ranch to do great things: participate in endurance sporting events, give motivational speeches, inspire family members and loved ones to get healthy, start health awareness non-profits and volunteer for exercise programs for kids, etc. I don't think anyone can trivialize the difference the show made in some of these contestants' lives. If nothing else, most of them admit that being on the show redefined for them just what is possible and what they are capable of when they put their minds to it. And besides, if the show helped even one contestant to get to the point of being happy and healthy, wasn't it worth it? I simply don't think that the possibility of failure is a good enough reason to NOT try and make a difference in the lives of overweight and obese Americans, you know what I mean? And as far as I can tell, the Biggest Loser's the best we've got at this point in time. Does that mean we should settle for what we have? Of course not. But I don't see why we can't use what we do have to build upon and continue working toward solving the obesity epidemic in this country.

I'd love to hear what y'all think about the show. Leave a comment with any thoughts!

Whew, that was a long one! Good thing I didn't leave that all as a comment, Emlit! It might just have crashed your new, pretty blog!! :)

Update on the training front tomorrow, I promise!!

FACE-LIFT!

Okay, I'm too tired to form coherent thoughts right now . . . so I'm going to have to do this in list format.

1) If you're reading this post in your google reader, I'm going to have to beg you to check out my actual blog and tell me what you think of my crazy new layout (thanks, pimp-my-profile.com!)! I don't actually know how long I'll keep this particular layout . . . I had so much fun playing around with it, I might just have to do some more tinkering. Either way, I would love to hear what you think!

2) Last night I took serious advantage of the fact that I'm not officially in training (yet!). While I had originally planned on doing some speed intervals, my legs told me they just weren't feeling intervals. Instead, they opted for a six-mile easy run at a 10:00/mile pace. It's funny to think that my current "easy pace" used to be about the fastest I could muster. Anyway, it was a really great run . . . one of those runs that just feels totally effortless. I completed it on the treadmill (it was deathly cold here yesterday--winchill of like 0!) . . . which was actually a huge accomplishment for me, since I usually can't make it past the 3-mile point without dying of boredom. Yay, me!

3) I took today as a rest day since I feel like I'm getting sick again (please, NO!) . . . but I promise I'll be back at it tomorrow with a tempo run of 3-4 miles (we'll see how my legs feel about that one!).

4) Marathon training officially starts on Monday!! To say I'm excited is quite an understatement! Ready or not, Seattle RnR, here I come! :)

Coogan's Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K Race Report

Well, first things first . . . we actually got up when the alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, so that was a nice change! I got up, looked out the window and rubbed my eyes in disbelief as I realized there was a thin layer of snow covering everything in sight. Fabulous. I sleepily stumbled my way to the bathroom, trying to ignore the moderate fatigue I was feeling in my legs. I took a quick shower and blow-dried my hair, then tried to figure out what to do about a strange cramping I was experiencing in my stomach. I have no idea where it came from, but it was very similar to the cramping I've had with food poisoning before--just without the being sick part. Odd . . .

I decided to put off eating for a bit, but did down a cup of coffee, thinking it might help to move things along (if you know what I mean). Luckily it worked, and the stomach cramps seemed to gradually ease up as I got myself ready to go. Oh, silly gut issues--will you never leave me alone?!

I checked my e-mail, got dressed, packed my gear bag, and off we headed (on time this time!) in the direction of the subway. We had quite a hike in store for us in order to get up to Washington Heights--according to hopstop.com, over an hour's worth of travel. As we waited ( . . . and waited) for the 2-train to show up, I took on the unpleasant task of forcing two chocolate chunk chewy granola bars down my throat. Now normally, I love those things . . . but I just wasn't loving the idea of food so early in the A.M. Somehow, I was able to force them down.

Our train finally showed up . . . and after a nice, long subway ride, we arrived at our final destination: the New Balance Track and Field Center at the Armory. Now, up until we got there, I had no idea this place even existed . . . but good word is it nice in there! Wilson and I thought they should hold a raffle, and the lucky winners of said raffle could run the 5K on the indoor track instead of outside in the frigid winter-y-ness! We should really be race directors, y'all . . . but I digress. Packet pick-up was a breeze, so we decided to kill the extra half-hour hanging out in the warmth of the track and field stands. I cannot begin to tell you how nice it was to have a warm place to hang out in before the race. Kudos to you NYRR--this was a lovely surprise!

With about 20 or so minutes to go, Wilson and I decided to head out into the cold and make our way to baggage check. Upon attempting to exit the Armory, however, we were met with a HUGE traffic jam. The building had just two doors--one was being used for people coming in, and one for people going out-- and this factor combined with the large number of lobby-area loiterers made it nearly impossible to get out. Finally, we somehow escaped into the frigid outdoors. I immediately turned on garmin, knowing we had been in a fight the day before and that she might need a little extra time to cool off. We dropped our bags off . . . no signal. We made our way to our starting corral . . . still no signal. 10 minutes to go . . . nothing. 5 minutes to go . . . nada. FINALLY, as they were starting the pre-race announcements, she forgave me and decided to pick up a signal. That garmin--what a crazy broad--she had me nervous there for a second (and by "a second," I mean "a full twenty minutes")!

The pre-race announcements were made, the national anthem was sung . . . and before I knew it, we were off! Almost immediately, I hit a human wall--there was somehow an endless mass of slower runners in front of me. We headed up a short hill, and I tried my best to weave around the crowd of people in front of me. But seriously? Running uphill AND trying to dodge hundreds of slower runners at the same time is kind of exhausting. I finally made the executive decision that I would just wait it out for the rest of the climb and then pick it up and start weaving once the course flattened out a bit.

I successfully crested the hill, and again commenced with the weaving. Unfortunately, it was still quite an issue . . . there were multiple times when I was literally just plain STUCK. Short of pushing and shoving (which I refuse to do), I was not going to get through the thicket of bodies. Finally, the course started downhill and I managed to sneak out of captivity . . . temporarily. I hit the 1-mile marker at a sloooow 8:16.

As I made my way down the never-ending downhill, all I could think was, "holy crap, this is an out-and-back course. we are SO going to have to run up this monster--and soon!" Sure enough, at about the 1.3-mile mark, we began a small loop which would ultimately lead us back up that ugly beast of a hill. I tried my best to power up the hill as I continued to weave around my neighbors, but again, it was just too much effort trying to do both at once. After I nearly slipped and fell on a wet sewer grate, I again gave up on the weaving and just began coasting at the pace of the runners in front of me. After what seemed like eons, we finally passed the mile-2 marker at 16:32. I wasn't looking at my garmin or thinking all that much about the clock, but in my heart, I kind of just knew that a PR was out of the question. Still, at the very least, I really wanted to finish strong and have a powerful kick at the end.

I picked the pace up a bit over the last mile, but I was REALLY starting to tire. Plus, I was STILL having to weave around a lot of runners. I know it's ridiculous, but once again, I was having some serious urges to walk . . . especially considering I knew my PR was shot. Luckily, I also knew that quitting was absolutely positively NOT an option. I hadn't gotten up at 5 a.m. and hiked all the way up to Washington Heights just to QUIT! I WOULD finish the race, and strong!

With maybe a half mile to go, we crested that crazy hill and started to descend downhill towards the finish-line. I could see it! We were almost there! I started passing people left and right . . . I pushed it with everything I had left and kicked it until I reached the finish line. I stopped my garmin and looked down at my unofficial time . . . 25:29. My heart sank. I had known there was virtually no way I had PR'd, but for some reason, seeing the actual proof really stung me.

Head down and pout planted firmly on my face, I made my way forward. I heard someone calling my name, and looked up to see Wilson standing in front of me. I probably wouldn't have seen him if he hadn't called out at me . . . that's how absorbed I was in my own little world of defeat. I told him I hadn't PR'd and then asked how he'd done . . . "I think it was somewhere around 21:06," he reported. WHAT?! That was a PR for him by THREE FREAKING MINUTES! Well, at least one of us had had a good day! This kind of brightened my mood (although, I must admit, I was a little jealous!). Then, all of a sudden, I remembered the prospect of free beer, and I couldn't help but crack a smile (we all know this is the way to Irish's heart!).

We grabbed our bags, threw on our sweats and headed over to Coogan's for some delicious brunch (scrambled eggs and shepherd's pie--yummy!), and the beers I'd been so looking forward to. Once there, we met up with the Running Laminator, and had a grand old time eating, drinking and storytelling (and also, trying to avoid being crushed by lots of thirsty runners!). All in all, it was a pretty great day despite my lack of a PR.

Thinking about the race now, I feel a little better about it than I did initially. There was a lot working against me--the crowds, the hills, the fact that my legs were tired from my long run the day before. I'm still a little disappointed, but I'm thinking I'll just bottle that disappointment up and use it as motivation. I'm still wondering what was up with the corrals on Sunday, though. Either people are being dishonest when registering for these races or the corrals just aren't being enforced very well. I guess it's probably a combination of the two. I seriously have to get out of NYC for some races this season. I would kill to see how I could really do without the crowds! Anyone have any suggestions for smaller, local races close-ish to NYC? I would LOVE to hear about them, if so!

Anyway, here were my splits for the race:

Mile-1: 8:16
Mile-2: 8:16
Mile-3: 8:03
Last .1: 7:03/pace

How Irish Ate Her Way Through Texas: An Austin Marathon/Vacation Report (Finally!)

Let me just start by saying that, FOR REAL Y'ALL, Austin is just one of my favorite places ever. EVER! I love it so much that this is guaranteed to be the longest Race/Vacation Report of all time. So grab a bev and some snacks (and maybe a pillow and blanket) if you're in for the long haul, because I promise you that this is going to take FOREVER to read! ;)

FEBRUARY 12 -VACATION EVE

Okay, so let's go WAY back to Thursday, February 12 . . . the night before we left for Austin. I ended up working until 10:30-ish, which meant I got home well after 11:00 p.m., and still had to eat dinner and pack. Oh, and did I mention that our flight was at 7-something a.m. out of Newark the next morning? Because it totally was. For some reason, I left Wilson was in charge of making our travel plans (I guess because I had been busy-busy), and he thought this was reasonable. I? Did not. But I digress. With our flight so darn early in the a.m., it meant we would have to get up at around 5 a.m. to make it to the airport in time.

I tried my best to pack, not really knowing what the Austin weather would have in store for us. Further complicating things was the fact that I hadn't 100% made up my mind whether or not I would be running the half-marathon, which I had signed up for prior to contracting my bronchitis from hell. Finally, around 1 a.m., I felt like I was good to go and we headed to bed for a whole FOUR HOURS of sleep. Ugh.

FEBRUARY 13 - FRIDAY THE 13TH!

We woke up the next morning and turned on the television while we were getting ready. Now, keep in mind that I am sorta/kinda a superstitious person by nature . . . so I, of course, was quite unhappy that Wilson's stellar travel plans had us flying down to Austin on Friday the Thirteenth (dun dun dun . . . !). As if I wasn't worked up enough about that, plastered all over the early-morning news was a story about a Continental flight that crashed the night before in Buffalo, NY! We? Were also flying Continental. WE WERE DOOMED (too dramatic? Yeah okay, maybe just a little bit)!

We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Since this pretty much NEVER happens, I started to think that our day might bring us reverse good luck instead of bad Friday the 13th luck. Well, our good luck continued when we realized there was a Dunkin Donuts across from our gate. SCORE! We sat and sipped our coffee and snacked on muffins, and then eventually headed to our gate, only to realize that our flight had begun boarding early. As someone who is very used to delayed flights, this was certainly a welcome sight! As an added bonus, when I opened my issue of Domino on the plane, the city they profiled for the month was Austin! Thus, I got to read all about the awesome places to shop and eat in the city. Talk about perfect timing!

I slept through most of the flight . . . and when we landed, I turned on my blackberry to find an email from Karen, a friend of my sister's. Now first of all, folks, Karen is a crazy fast marathoner. She's seriously just awesome. Second of all, she's a Notre Dame grad (woohoo!). Thirdly? I can't even believe how sweet and hospitable she was towards Wilson and I. She took the time to a) give me all kinds of awesome Austin recommendations and suggestions, b) give an awesome course description and some helpful race-day tips for Wilson, c) lay out a kick-ass plan for spectating on marathon day, and d) give me her phone number and tell me to call here if we needed anything at all. Honestly, people are just plain nice down there! None of this cranky-pants New Yorker stuff . . . everyone we met--from servers in restaurants to hotel people to the car rental dude to race volunteers and spectators--were just genuinely friendly, good people!

We picked up our rental car and headed to the hotel to check in. The front desk girl gave us a map and circled all of the fun, hip areas to hang out . . . and she seriously was just the nicest, cutest thing ever. She talked to us about the races and seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say about them! Ha, I'm sorry if I seemed shocked by this, but I HAVE been in NYC for five years now, and that stuff just doesn't happen (outside of the running community, who is--for the most part--really nice).

We vegged for an hour or so in the super-comfy hotel room until we both realized we were STARVING. We headed out to grab a bite and do some exploring. Our good luck only continued when one of the first places we passed downtown was a Jimmy Johns. Oh lordy. Let me just confess my love for Jimmy Johns . . . I know it's terrible for you, but it is SO darn good. Beach Club, how I love thee! Yum. We scarfed our food and then headed off to explore Austin.

We headed in the general direction of the Expo, but still had some time to kill before it opened. We decided a walk along Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail was in order. It was SO nice and peaceful. I would kill to run down there! The path goes on for miles and miles (I just looked it up . . . apparently it is 10.1 miles long). We were pretty pooped from our early wake-up call, so after a while we stopped and sat on a park bench, chatting and just enjoying the waterside views. Ah, bliss!

When it was time, we headed over to the expo, grabbed our packets and tees, and proceeded to laugh ourselves silly when we saw my bib. I had forgotten that I put down "Irish Cream" when it asked for a name on my bib during registration! After a good chuckle, we took some time to check out some of the expo booths. Being around all of the runners and the excitement of the expo came REALLY close to convincing me that I should run come Sunday (okay, fine, I admit it . . . I really just wanted to see people's reactions to my "name"). We eventually left the expo and walked back to the hotel, noting all of the fun and interesting looking watering holes on the way (seriously, Austin is just jam-packed with awesome bars, you guys!).

We returned back to the hotel and decided it was time to grab some more grub. We hit up Kerbey Lane, which came highly recommended by both my sister and her friend, Karen. I was shocked to learn that Kerbey Lane is actually a really veggie-/vegan-friendly place. For some reason, when I pictured Austin, I pictured all Tex-Mex/Barbecue. But there are really a lot of great healthy-ish options in Austin (I mean, Whole Foods originated there . . . that has to say something!). We started with the Kerbey Queso (Guacamole covered with queso and topped with pico de gallo, served with salsa and tortilla chips), which my sister had insisted we HAD to try. Um, thanks Mallory . . . I now have longing dreams about this stuff every night! I swear, it is like cheesy, liquid crack, you guys! SO GOOD. I followed that up with some avocado and black bean tacos . . . simple but absolutely delicious! With full bellies and HUGE smiles, Wilson and I headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

FEBRUARY 14 - BEST VALENTINE'S DAY EVER!

Okay, let me just preface this by saying that you will probably laugh your asses off at what I consider to be the best Valentine's Day ever. But it really was just an all-around great day. We slept in, then got up and lazed around with some television and coffee. We couldn't ignore our growling tummies for long, though, and thus began the search for something to eat. We first tried to hit up Juan in a Million (featured on an episode of Man vs. Food--one of my favorite shows! I seriously need to host a show like it!). But um . . . we kind of forgot about the fact that it was noon-ish on a Saturday (does anyone else totally lose track of what day it is when on vacation?). There was a HUGE crowd outside waiting to be seated. We opted instead to hit up Whole Foods; after all, we thought it might be cool to check out THE original Whole Foods. Um, WRONG. It was a ZOO! Now, first of all, this place was MONSTROUS . . . it even had its own parking garage in addition to the front-of-the-store ground level parking. As huge as it was, it took us nearly half an hour to find a parking spot! THAT is how packed it was! Luckily, our made-to-order sandwiches were totally delish and SO worth the trouble to find parking. Oh, and we were able to score Wilson's race day breakfast there too, which was definitely good news.

After scarfing our food down, we decided to drive the marathon course and get a good look at some of those hills. They were . . . well, kind of scary. Ha, I think that drive was the final nail in the coffin of my half-marathon plans (okay, the hills and the fact that I knew I'd be helping Wilson out a lot by focusing my attention on being his support person on race day . . . see, I am a good person sometimes!). The funny thing was that there were several other cars obviously driving the course at the same time we were. It was comforting to know that we aren't the only freaks who insist on driving the course before a marathon!! :)

We finished up with the course drive, and headed back to the hotel to change (it was COLD out!). Then came the coolest thing EVER. We headed out to see Spirit of the Marathon at the Alamo Drafthouse. Now, the Alamo Drafthouse is pretty much my favorite place ever. It's a movie theater where they have servers come around and serve you drinks. I was worried they would get in the way of the movie, but it actually worked really well somehow, and I hardly noticed the servers at all. I was pleased to see that we weren't the only runners imbibing alcoholic beverages during the screening (although, truth be told, I did raise my eyebrow at Wilson when he told me he was ordering a beer)! And I have to say, it was really cool to see the movie again after having actually run a marathon (the last time I saw it was a few weeks prior to my first marathon). Anyway, I am in love with the Alamo Drafthouse and am SERIOUSLY wishing there was a place like that near me!

After the movie, we headed to our dinner reservation at Taverna, a cozy and warm Italian place in the Second Street District. It was . . . SO good. I know the place has had mixed reviews, but seriously? My meal was just incredible. I had one of their specials that night: a butternut squash risotto with sea scallops. The scallops were perfectly cooked, and the risotto? To die for. Even the salad we ordered as a starter was really, really good. It was just a fantastic meal. After dinner, we walked hand in hand through the magically lit Second Street District and back to our hotel. This photo doesn't do it justice, but trust me, it was really pretty:

I got overly excited when someone stopped and asked us if we knew where this wine bar we'd once passed was . . . "Why yes, we do! Take a right on 2nd street, it's towards the end of the block." I really kind of liked pretending that I was an Austinite :) We made the 10-minute walk or so back to the hotel, with a soundtrack of live music blaring out of just about every joint we passed. It made me wonder how Austinites decide what band to go see on any given night, considering there are so darn many options! You could literally just wander around downtown and listen for something you liked . . . you would be guaranteed to find SOMETHING you liked, no matter how picky you are! We got back to the hotel, got our stuff ready for the big day awaiting us, and hit the sheets around 11:00 p.m.

FEBRUARY 15 - RACE DAY!!

After a restless night of sleep (I think I was more nervous than Wilson was!), I anxiously got up around 4:45 a.m. I (again) fought off the temptation to pin my bib on and run the half-marathon. Instead, I planned on walking to the start with Wilson, then meeting him at two different spots . . . mile 6 and mile 21. When I had asked my sister's friend for tips on spectating, she had given them to me with the assumption that I would use our rental car to get around. But no . . . that's just not my style. I planned to cover it all on foot!

We got ourselves ready and headed out the door at 6 a.m. (for a 7 a.m. race start). We arrived at the start area, and I couldn't help but get REALLY ridiculously excited! I just LOVE the energy at the start of a marathon . . . nothing compares to it. Standing in the middle of Congress Avenue, it would have been the perfect opportunity for a night-time photo of the Capitol Building. It was all lit up and was simply breathtaking! Sadly, I had forgotten to grab the camera before we left the hotel (what kind of spectator am I? Yes, a bad one). Ah well . . . maybe next year ;)

Wilson got on line for the porta-potties and I headed to the mile-6 point to "get a good spot" (ha). For some reason, I was really worried about getting the spot I'd pointed out to Wilson the day before. In my defense, though, mile-6 was super close to the start (just a few blocks away), and I figured tons of people would have the same plan I had in mind. I quickly made my way over there. And? I was the only idiot in sight. And also? I was FREEZING my arse off!! It was in the low-thirties at that point, and I had to get really creative in finding ways to stay warm (at least there was nobody out there to see me!) And what made matters worse was the fact that the race started about 15 minutes late, throwing in a little extra wait time. The one really cool thing, though, was that I could hear a really great blues-y gospel band playing from about a block away. It was certainly nice to have some music to jump around to! At long last, I heard the gun go off and saw the runners take off in the distance. Now, I just had to wait for Wilson to show up!

As I waited ( . . . and waited . . . and waited), a big crowd did indeed begin to form in my area, including a couple of mariachi bands and lots of kids and dogs. It was quite a lively spot! As much as I was enjoying it, I was still pretty chilled and could NOT wait until it was time for me to run! Finally, a minute or two after the 4:00 pace group had passed, I saw Wilson running towards me. I gave him a quick peck and told him to "Get going! I'll see you at 21!" Finally, the moment I had been waiting for! Time for me to run . . .

Now, it was starting to warm up a little by this time, and I had a bit of a run ahead of me (about 5 miles) to get to mile 21 (not to mention, I was planning on running Wilson in from that point to somewhere near-ish to the finish). Thus, I decided to make a stop at the hotel and change from tights into shorts. I filled up my water bottle, changed, used the bathroom . . . and I was off on the hike up Guadalupe. At first it was kind of fun because I got to run past the University of Texas. But soon? I was BORED STIFF. I don't know why, but I was just hating on that route. I think it had something to do with the fact that the cross-streets were climbing in number (my destination was Guadalupe and 47th street), but they were WAY farther apart than NYC city blocks! Not to mention, there were random named streets in between some of them, as well as half-number streets in some instances (i.e. 28th 1/2 st.). UGH. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I arrived at my spot (the UT Intramural Fields), just in time to see some of the leaders go by.

I picked a good, sunny spot and started cheering. Have I mentioned how exhausting cheering is? Because I was seriously pretty wiped by the time Wilson came by a couple hours later! He motioned for me to join him, and I gladly took off to run him in for the final 5-ish miles. I tried to talk to him and gauge how he was feeling, but he wasn't so much in the mood to chat. It seemed that he was doing pretty well, all things considered. As we ran, I tried my best to keep him motivated, especially with the hills we were facing. "You can do it, Wilson. It's just like the hill in Prospect Park . . . you've got it." I'm assuming he wasn't THAT annoyed with my little bits of encouragement, as he didn't bother to respond (whereas I would have been spouting obscenities had the situation been reversed).

At one point, with less than three miles to go, Wilson stopped to stretch, and I kind of didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure if he just wanted an excuse to stop or if he really needed to stretch. I let him stretch for a minute, but then told him that we should get going again . . . luckily, he didn't really put up much of a fight. We took off, and chugged on until we reached the monster of all hills at about mile 25.5. Who puts a huge, evil hill at that point in a marathon??! Wilson was REALLY slowing down, but I convinced him to just keep moving forward up the hill. After what seemed like forever, we finally crested that sucker. We trucked on for another half-mile or so until I had to duck out to avoid the barricades around mile 26. Wilson had been mumbling something that I couldn't at all understand (which I later found out was him just repeating where we would meet up), and I was a little worried, not knowing what he had said . . . but I'm telling you, once he saw those barricades, he REALLY picked it up . . . so much so that I could hardly keep up with him! As I veered off the course, I screamed at him, "Don't stop until you cross that line!"

And with that, I took a detour over to our meet-up spot. Before too incredibly long, there came Wilson wearing his medal and carrying his finisher's shirt. He had finished his first marathon in a very respectable 4:12:50. He immediately plopped himself down on a chair out front of the cafe where we met. I begged him not to sit down, knowing that I wouldn't likely be able to get him up anytime soon if he did. After a few minutes of resting in the chair, he agreed to get up and walk the half-mile or so back to the hotel.

Once we got there, we showered, ordered huge room-service cheeseburgers and fries, and then took a much needed nap. Amazingly, I woke up just in time to get us up and head over to the Austin Convention Center to see a roller derby bout between the Cherry Bombs and the Putas Del Fuego. We had tentatively penciled the 7:00 p.m. bout into our schedule, not knowing how Wilson would feel after the marathon. Luckily, he was feeling well enough to attend. And am I ever glad we did! I was a huge fan of the A&E show "Rollergirls," so it was really cool to get to see the TXRD live! We shared nachos and beer, and stayed for the entire bout, despite the fact that the Cherry Bombs were pummeling the Putas. Let me tell you, those girls are BADASS! And if you are ever in Austin, this is something you MUST check out! I know they have roller derbies elsewhere in the country (including NYC), but this is the REAL DEAL. It is not to be missed.

After the bout, we started to get REALLY hungry again, so we stopped by Sonic. Ah, Sonic! Let me just say that it is a good thing that I don't live within driving distance of a Sonic! We ordered way too much food, brought our chow back to the hotel and scarfed it down before promptly heading to bed after what was one of the LONGEST days ever!

FEBRUARY 16 - THE DAY OF GLUTTONY

This was our last full day in Austin, so we decided we would make the most of it food-wise. Our first stop was Juan In a Million (the place we had tried to hit up on Saturday morning), home of the Don Juan breakfast taco (of Man vs. Food fame), shown below (yummy!).

Luckily, it was only moderately crowded this time around, and we were able to get a table right away. Let me tell you, the food there was SO good. Wilson went for the monster Don Juan taco, as well as a chorizo and black bean taco. I opted for the chorizo y huevos breakfast plate. Yum! We left there seriously stuffed and decided we needed a serious walk to burn off our brunch! Off we headed to check out the University of Texas. Here are some of the photos we took while on campus:

Wilson with his Austin Marathon medal

Me and a longhorn statue (I wanted to meet Bevo, but had to settle for this one)

Pretty.

Why yes, that is a huge stuffed bear on the front porch! Ah, college.

After exploring the UT campus, we headed to SoCo to do some shopping. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this area. It is chalk full of all kinds of antique-y, quirky shops . . . my favorite of which is Uncommon Objects. We spent a good hour in this store, and we weren't even looking to buy anything! It's just full of so many treasures . . . it's like they collected all of the "junk" from a million different sets of grandparents' houses. There's everything from kitchenware to apparel to decorative items to jewelry to toys . . . I mean EVERTHING. When we finally left Uncommon Objects, we headed to Allens Boots, where I tried to convince Wilson to buy a pair. No dice. But it was really, really fun to get to see all of the beautiful cowboy boots!

After we hit up a few other stores, we decided it was time for snacks. Our plan was to hit up Amy's Ice Creams and to grab some cupcakes from Hey, Cupcake to eat the next day. Sadly, Hey, Cupcake is apparently closed on Mondays, unbeknownst to us :( But here's a picture of it (isn't it adorable?):

On to Amy's we went. I cannot explain why, but that stuff is SERIOUSLY addictive! It's just so creamy and delicious! I had the coffee ice cream (my weakness), and it was TO DIE FOR! Here's a photo of Wilson in front of the location on South Congress:

Next time I am SO trying the "shiner" flavor!

With that, we headed back to the hotel to relax a little before dinner. We watched some television and I answered some emails until it was time to head to the meal we'd been waiting the entire trip for: The Salt Lick (DROOL!). This was the barbecue place EVERYONE told us we had to try out while in Austin. It's actually in Driftwood, TX, about 20-something-ish miles outside of Austin. The drive out there was . . . well, dark and kind of scary for this city girl! But when we finally got there, the smell alone was WELL worth the drive! HEAVENLY!

So here's the deal . . . the best thing ever about The Salt Lick is their family-style all-you-can-eat barbecue deal. You pay $18.95 per person, and they literally will just keep bringing you plates of meat (brisket, pork ribs, sausage) until you tell them to stop. It also comes with sides--white bread, pickles, cole slaw, beans, potato salad and, of course, extra barbecue sauce. To. Die. For. See for yourself:

Wilson had to stop me from diving in there head first!

How can you not drool over this (assuming you aren't a vegetarian, that is)!

Good Stuff. Now, I am almost too embarassed to admit this . . . but due to the earlier events of our self-declared "Day of Gluttony," Wilson and I were only able to finish one measly plate of meat. I know. Simply shameful! I think our server was seriously confused when we told him that one plate was enough! Poor guy. At any rate, I have EVERY intention of heading back there some day, and doing the family-style deal justice! In fact, Wilson and I were talking . . . and we think we may have to get started on planning a marathon that starts in Austin and ends up at The Salt Lick. Then, we REALLY think we could get our money's worth (who's with us?)! Needless to say, we have to INSIST that you check this place out if you are ever in Austin (quick tip: this place is BYOB--so don't forget to bring your favorite brews with you!)

After dinner, we drove around and took some night-time photos of Austin, including these:

Texas State Capitol

If I was a dog, I would totally want to pee on this hydrant. (And no, I was not drunk . . . or well, I guess I might have been "drunk on barbecue." Mostly, I'm just really, unbelievably immature).

With that, our last night in Austin was officially over. It was back to the hotel to pack and get ready to head home to NYC the next morning (boo!).

So there you have it, folks! My loooooong race/vacay report has finally concluded. In case you couldn't tell, my heart is still aching a bit for Austin . . . I am in the process of trying to convince Wilson that we need to move down there. I think The Salt Lick alone may have him convinced, though, so we shall see! I'm definitely thinking at the very least that I will tackle the marathon next year. It's on Valentine's Day! And what better way to spend Valentine's Day than running a marathon and stuffing your face with plates and plates barbecue? I think none :)