#runningnyc

Here ends my third rest day in a row, and fortunately, my achilles are starting to feel a lot better than they did on Monday! I am not going to push them too hard too soon and will ice them tonight, but this makes me VERY hopeful that I will not deter my half-marathon training.

Plus the time off has allowed me to focus on the incredibly stressful amounts of papers and projects and tests that line the next and final two weeks of this semester.

Tomorrow calls for more frighteningly aggressive rain, so I am thinking that I will take one more rest day to seal the deal on my healing achilles. I'd like to be in tip top shape for Nike running club on Saturday.

Today was gross and rainy in New York and the worst part is my Achilles are still a-killin-me. Not apologizing for that pun.

On a lighter note, I applied for a serving job by my house in Wisconsin so I am one step closer to living there this summer and that makes me oh so happy!

But seriously, my achilles feel a little better, but the fact that it is still painful to merely walk to and from class is worrying me. What did I do during my Sunday 8-miler? I have been icing them (probably not as much as I should) and I am also feeling this kind of clicking feeling when I stretch them. I am so confused as to what that means and will probably visit Jack Rabbit tomorrow to see what they think.

Also I have a 10-page Psychology paper coming up that I just started tonight and I am not sure how I feel about it. The end of the year is coming and it is making me very stressed. Between finals, and moving into my new apartment, and returning home, and organizing my own race, and my injury, and training for my half marathon, and finishing at my current job, and looking for a new job each day is FULL.

I bet I would feel less stressed if I could just RUN! I'll just have to make sure to have a personal evening this weekend. Just me, the Bluth family, and a bottle of wine. It's important to have little things to look forward to.

Here is a picture of my best friends and me signing the lease to our first apartment. We get the keys tomorrow!

I know, I know. It has been forever since I posted. So get ready, because this is going to be a bit lengthy! I've got some funny stories to share!

Training has been going well. In the past few weeks my mileage has reached a high of 8-miles which I did yesterday.

One thing fun that I got to do on Saturday, April 19 was participate in the New School's 2nd Annual Rabbit Run 5K along the Hudson River. All of the proceeds went to Multiple Sclerosis and it was my first race ever! I was so excited to get my bib and t-shirt! But things got a little messy during the actual race.

It was a small race, only about 25 people ran it, I'd say. It was partly sponsored by Jack Rabbit, which was cool, and there were fun prizes for the top 3 finishers in the male and female categories. The race started perfectly. It was sunny with a slight breeze, great for running. I pushed off strong and was actually in first for the females for the whole first half of the race. Then something tragic happened.

Side Note: While this is a gross detail about my life, it is vital to the understanding of the rest of the story. I have very strange digestive problems which cause me to have to go to the bathroom at spontaneous, and often inconvenient, times.

I had joked with Bo, who is aware of my intestinal disruptances, that it would be funny if I shit myself during the run (totally joking, it wouldn't be funny at all). Around the 1.5 mile marker, while I was in first place, I started to feel a little uncomfortable in my abdomen which quickly developed into what I thought would be a very terrible and embarrassing way to finish my first race. I had a decision to make. I could either finish in first, claim my prize and glory, but with poop running down my leg, or I could forfeit my win and keep my dignity by taking the next turn and running to the bathrooms in the Chelsea Piers. I chose the latter and ended up at the finish line at an embarrassingly late time. They didn't even wait for me to get back to give out the prizes and medals. But I won the best prize of all, the knowledge that I had the ability to beat them all, a great story for my first race ever, and clean underpants.

Kept on running throughout the week. All good.

Then on Saturday, April 26, Bo and I went to the Nike Store by the Flatiron to participate in the weekly Nike Running Club. Boy, did a lot of people turn out! It was great! We did 6 miles along the Hudson and I met a lot of cool runners to share stories with. I really hope to continue going back each week until I return to the midwest on May 20th. 

I hit a little bump in the road yesterday, though. I decided that I wanted to get my long run of the week out of the way on Sunday rather than today when I knew I had classes, a paper to write, and a lease to sign. So I woke up early and ran 8 miles up to Central Park and down 10th avenue and ended in Washington Square Park. It felt fine until about mile 6. I should've recognized the signs and known to stop, but being the competitive person I am, chose to keep going and see if I could push myself. What I ended up with was two extremely sore achilles and difficulty walking, especially up hill. I decided the smartest thing to do is to rest it for a few days. Missing a few short runs won't kill me, right? I just want to make sure that this doesn't do anything to jeopardize my race. That would make me so sad. I am working so hard and I want to make it to see the finish line on June 14th!

47 days until race day!

Today after class I attended a running form clinic at Jack Rabbit Union Square. They recorded us running on the treadmills, gave us the basic tips and guidelines for running efficiently, and then analyzed the videos to tell us all specifically what we could improve. It's fun to be in such a huge running environment. The advice was nice, and I got to practice their suggestions during my 5-miler today.

The run was fun, but rather uneventful. I ran around the West Village, on Houston, to the East River, and back home. It was cold again today, but this time I swallowed my pride and put on my leggings and wind-breaker.

My friends are going out tonight, and as much as I would like to, I am prioritizing my run tomorrow morning. I went out on Monday, so I don't feel as bad. Instead I went to see "Finding Vivian Maier" at the IFC Center on 6th and 3rd Street. I highly recommend it, especially if you are familiar with her work.

I also registered for my school's "Rabbit Run." It's a 5k benefitting Multiple Sclerosis. I am running it with Bo, and it is my first official race! It's on Saturday, which is supposed to be my rest day. I decided to do it anyway since it is only 3.2 miles, which is nothing. A few years ago I would have never dreamed of taking on such mileage, it's amazing.

58 days until race day!

Monday evening was fun, but made for a rough Tuesday morning. I woke up and couldn't find the strength to trek out into the rain to go to my history class at 9am. It was a good choice. I didn't sleep very well and I needed the nap. It was my day off of running and I had to meet my Seminar class at MoMA that afternoon. Since I couldn't run, I decided to get my exercise by walking there instead of taking the train. It was nice! It was drizzly, but the temperature was enjoyable. Then I walked back and stopped in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Mass was just starting and I hadn't been to church since Christmas. It's holy week so I thought, "why not?" It was nice to sit there in reflection for a half an hour. Then I walked back to my apartment and made sure to go to sleep early in anticipation of getting back to my morning routine today.

I got up today, had my coffee, went to Drawing/Imaging, and then eagerly came back home to get ready to run. Today called for an easy 4 miles and they certainly were. I don't know if my Nike Running App was lying or if the GPS was off, but today I averaged my run at about a 8:10 pace, which is better than usual! 

But the weather today was deceiving. It looked pleasant from indoors, but that first step outside this morning was a cold one. Apparently it snowed last night, because there was frost still on the flowers and cars. Eww. Typical me, I refuse to believe in the cold weather after mid-March, so I went out for my four miles in shorts without leggings and a long sleeve t-shirt. Out on the East River, I really really wished I had chosen to put on those leggings. My legs were getting blasted with wind and were pretty red by the time I was done. But nonetheless, it was a beautiful day and I had a great time running.

I know it's imperative to take rest days and to not push yourself too hard whilst training for a big race, but I always find myself wanting to run more than I am supposed to. And I hate taking rest days. I just want to get out there!

59 days until race day!