Race Weekend Part 1

Sorry for the delay! I still don't have my home puter and have to sneak my blogs in between working :) So here it goes, Race Weekend in San Diego. Woo Hoo!

• Friday, 5 hr 30 min flight from LGA to SAN with TNT folks from NYC, Long Island and Connecticut Chapters. Learned that nationwide, TNT raised over $12 million for the event.
• Landed, went to the hotel with Lorraine and Heather, dropped of our bags and headed to the convention center to pick up our race packet.
• Bib #, d-tag, San Diego Rock & Roll t-shirt and goody-bag. Check.
• Convention center madness. Free samples of shot blocks, shot rocks, cliff bars, power bars, gu, and anything else protein, sugar, power related you can think of.
• Got suckered into buying a power balance band (http://www.powerbalance.com/). I figured if it was good enough for Lamar Odom and Shaq, it was good enough for me. More on that later.
• Met up with Angela from SD. Turns out she is childhood friends with one of our NYC TNT coaches. Small world.
• Lunch, last minute errands and sleep.
• Rise and shine Saturday morning for a quick 20 minute group run and stretch.
• Pool time and lunch with the girls.
• 5pm pasta party with other TNT chapters. OMG. So inspirational and what a tear-jerker hearing stories of why others joined TNT.
• Final team meeting to go over race day details with the coaches and more mission moments tear-jerker stories.
• I learned that some of the kids that run in the 10:30 miler group actually have hearts on the inside. Even if they appear to be complete a-holes on the outside :)
• Race day singlet decorating (Run Jen Run, Paws and Wings) and then off to bed.
• Wait a minute. It's only 9pm and I have to go to sleeeeezzzzzp. Obviously not an issue for me.
• Sunday: 3:15am alarm goes off. Time to eat a bagel, down some coconut water and poop.
• I can't believe the race if finally here!

Part 2 coming tomorrow. Can't wait to share the race details! xoxo

Interlude #4...the Day has Come!

50 posts and 47 runs later, I am in San Diego and am as prepared as I am ever going to be for my first half marathon. I want to thank all who have donated to the great LLS cause and supported me through my training.

Today we have a short 15 minute group run followed by a group stretch and last minute race day details. I will be relaxing by the hotel pool, reading and then eating lots of pasta tonight.

The race begins at 6:15 a.m. PT...I have a SoCal/San Diego contingent of friends here to cheer me on...so when they see#32582 coming their way, they can yell out "RUN JEN RUN".

I'll give you all the race details when I get back to NYC.

Run on Real Runner Girl, Run on! Your Day Has Come!
xoxo

Final Wednesday Night Group Run...

What am I going to do now on Wednesday nights? For the past 4 months it has been run, grab friends, eat and drink. sniff.

• Changed into my running clothes at work. Realized I forgot my running shoes. Eff.
• Luckily I keep an old spare pair under my desk. Ouch. Spare pair are size 6.5. Actual pairs are 7's and 8's. Oh well, still better than nothing.
• Got to practice. Heather, Lorraine and Noah were not there. Boo...but my awesome mentor Yasi was. YAY!
• It was a quick 30 minute run so I ran with Yasi in the park.
• Had coaches Q&A afterwards for last minute questions regarding race weekend.
• My only questions- will I have enough time to eat AND poop in the morning, and will I be hungry if I am at the starting line too long. These are very important things btw :)
• Went home after practice to pack.

San Diego here I come. I've followed my regimen, put in the work (see previous 40 something blogs). I am as prepared as I can be. I am going to Rock this Race :) xoxo Jen

Tuesday Morning on the UES

Run Jen Run was closed on Sunday in observance of Memorial Day. Actually, it was just super hot and I couldn't muster up the energy to run :) But I ran Tuesday!

• My friend Gaynell stayed with me Monday night. She passed on my healthy dinner concoction for chinese food. I get it. She's in SoCal now and there is a shortage of chinese food.
• She felt icky and asked if I wanted to run in the morning. Sure thing I said. 7 a.m. start.
• Woke-up, threw some clothes on and we were out the door.
• Walked over the foot bridge at 63rd and York onto the...East Side park? FDR park? Not really sure what it's called down there.
• Anyway, headed north. It was hot even at that hour and the sun was glaring. We saw two super huge boats pass through on the East River...Gaynell pondered out loud what we would do if we saw a body pop up :)
• It was a quick run because it's my taper week.
• Downed a glass of coconut water, hopped in the shower, told Gaynell I would see her in a few days in SD and off to work I went.

It was a nice way to start my day...running with a friend. Gaynell, 1. Jen, 1.

Last Long Run...

Same time, same place for the last 15 Saturdays. Central Park, Bethesda Terrace, 8:30 a.m..

• Runner girl ready. Gu, gatorade, calf guards, fuel belt, visor, shot block, body glide, garmin, inhaler...check.
• Running friends: Heather, Lorraine, check.
• Already a better start than last Saturday's solo run!
• 6 miles (one loop around the park)...I can handle that.
• And so we ran. I got a nice kick around mile 4.5. I signaled that I was going to run ahead, and off I went. Ahhhh. I haven't had a good running high in weeks.

Another great run...took a few minutes to stretch and then a great brunch with friends (cheese omelet and banana pancakes) yummmy. Now I get to taper my runs and eat more carbs. I can handle that. Run on Jen, Run on!

Interlude # 3

Today Rich and Ro had to put Rudy the cat to sleep :( It was a tough decision but in the best interest of their beloved cat. Here are some Rudy highlights:

• A deep love for tissue paper. He would carry it around in his mouth like a dog.
• Knocking things off of the kitchen table or counter...cups of water, pill bottles, etc.
• Sticking his paws under the faucet (while running) in the bathroom.
• Drinking water from the bathroom dixie cups.
• Eating any and all of Ro's plants, flowers and sometimes the dirt too.
• Chasing/Stalking/Pouncing on Meow (who significantly out-weighted Rudy) around the house and eating clumps of his hair.

Man, my race day singlet is getting heavy. Wings on my back for Ma and now paws for Rudy! I'll miss you little guy. xoxo