October 4, 2014 by Darlene

Running in Central Park = Heaven

I wrote a little about this day last week but it was so awesome that I think it serves a full post.

Last Friday, I had the day off and had planned to take the MegaBus to NYC with 2 friends. When they both said that they were busy, and the weather was predicted to be beautiful, I had decided to go it alone.

My plan was to RUN IN CENTRAL PARK!!!

Unfortunately at the last minute, one of my friends, Eileen, was able to go. I warned her that I wanted to run in the park. But I don’t think she seriously thought I would run there for very long.

Actually I wanted to run most of the day. The weather was absolutely perfect…sunny and warm but not too hot and no humidity. But it was obvious that I would need to compromise.

If I were alone, I had planned to check my backpack (with a change of clothes) at Macys and then get them at the end of the day. Eileen, however, volunteered to hold my bag while I ran. (I don’t think she thought/hoped that I would run for very long.)

So we took a subway from E28th/7th Ave to the W86th street entrance of Central Park which was near the Jackie Onassis Reservoir. I knew that there was a running track there that goes around the reservoir.

before my run

I told Eileen to walk around the track once and I would run around twice and then we would spend the rest of the day walking and visiting the sites in the park together.

Eileen, before she agreed to carry my bag

The run was awesome. I loved every minute of it.

I took my time during the first lap, snapped pics and veered off the track several times.

view from the start

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half way

At one point, they were repairing the track so there was a detour to run on the Bridal Path. This was just as nice…got to see the tennis courts and other pretty views.

on the bridal path

The 2nd time around, I ran without stopping because I felt guilty making Eileen wait. (I bumped into her on my second loop. She had only gone halfway and turned around claiming that the load she was carrying held her back.)

When I was done with the 2 laps, I no way wanted to stop running…but I did.

On the bus ride, I read about a walking plan where you visited the sites of the middle of the park – Great Lawn, Delcourt Theatre, Turtle Pond, Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Terrace… so we decided to do this.

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the Great Lawn

They were rehearsing for the big Jay Z, Carrie Underwood concert happening the next day.

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in front of the Delacourt Theatre

I changed my clothes in the restroom near the theatre and then we went to Belvedere castle

in front of the castle

We climbed to the top to see the view.

turtles in Turtle Pond

We walked and walked trying to find a place to eat. The Boathouse had a 1 1/2 hour wait so we contiuued on.

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boaters on the Lake (near the Boat House restaurant)

There are so many cool paths to walk/run on.

in the Ramble

Eventually we found Le Pain Quotidien, a cute French cafe, and had a great lunch.

lentil soup, mushroom/spinach quiche, coffee, lemon, chocolate mini tarts (the gelato was bought later)

After lunch, we continued walking in the park.

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fountain in front of Bethesda Terrace

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under Bethesda Terrace

We decided to not take the subway back but to walk to the end of the park …

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taking a rest

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near Sheep’s Meadow

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by the Pond

and then continue down Fifth Avenue to get to the bus.

So we zigzaged through Central Park from 86th to 59th and then walked to 34th. How many miles is that?

Our one stop was to get a snack in Macys…delicious gelato. Then we walked 7 LONG blocks to catch the Megabus.

A long day but totally worth it.

I definitely plan to come back here (alone or with another runner) to run sometime in the future.

Happy Running! Have you ever run in Central Park? Anyone want to join me next time?

October 3, 2014 by Darlene

Friday Five: Fitness Inspirations

Every Friday, three DC area bloggers Mary at Mar On the Run, Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?! and Courtney from Eat Pray Run, DC to host the Friday Five linkup. Anyone can join with their own Friday Five post (yes, it must be a Friday Five!!) They encourage you to visit other blogs on the linkup, comment, share and engage!

This week, the theme is Five Fitness Inspirations

1. Healthy + Clothes = 🙂

Being active (running and playing tennis and occasionally yoga) makes me feel healthy, helps keep a healthy weight and as a result, I can wear whatever I want.

I am over 60 and I want to be able to wear the same outfits as a 20 year old (except for maybe a bikini).

2. Healthy enough to run

Every time I don’t feel like going out for a run, I remember when I was injured and couldn’t run…

and know that someday I won’t be able to anymore.

3. Effort=Reward

I think I run half marathons because running doesn’t come easy to me. It is hard. I struggle on every long run.

Every half marathon that I finish still leaves me in awe. I can’t believe that I actually have run 13.1 miles.

4. Harriette Thompson

Harriette Thompson ran her first marathon at age 76. Now she’s 91 and still running marathons despite having had cancer, etc.

I’m not sure that I will ever run a marathon but I hope to continue running for a long time …hopefully still when I’m in my 90s.

5. John Anthony

This is John Anthony. He is my 10 year old running buddy. I was paired with him last November though the IRUN4 program.

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John Anthony has several rare genetic diseases – a skin biopsy showed he has SCAD which is an inborn error of metabolism. a metabolic disorder. His current geneticist thinks he also has glycogen storage disease type O and two of his specialists thinks he has Mitochrondrial disease (Mito).

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He is in and out of the hospital and sick so often. He cannot go to school, often is too weak to walk and cannot do the things we all take for granted.

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When I get them, I send him my race shirts. He is wearing one is all the pictures on this page. Inspite of it all, he is smiling 🙂

Happy Running! What are your favorite fitness inspirations ?

October 2, 2014 by Darlene

September recap

September Goals:

RUN at least 3-4 times each week. YES!

after work

before work

on the weekend

Do planks. NOPE!
Walk at least once a day at work. YES for the most part!

AM walk

PM walk

Use those 5 lb weights on my desk. NOPE!
Lose those extra lbs. YES, NO, YES, NO, YES! (the yoyo lbs)
Run 5k races under 10 minutes per mile! YES! All 3 of them.

Malta 5k – 28:47

Run for the Roc 5K – 27:11 – PR!!!

Teal Ribbon 5k – 28:16

Start training for October 10 mile race. YES and NO! 2 long runs not 4

Pick a destination Winter or Spring race. YES! Winter.

January 17, 2015

Run at least 70 miles this month. YES! 74.

September 2014

Dedicate all my runs to John Anthony my running buddy. YES!

What else?

I finished knitting a kid’s hat.

this photo does not have the pompom

I spent another weekend on the Schroon River.

and more time on Lake George.

at the beginning of the month

I started playing tennis indoors – once a week.

I RAN IN NYC!!

I have access to exercise equipment.

october-month-halloween

October Goals:

Run 3-4 times each week.
Walk once a day while at work.
Participate in Turkey Trot Training Group Runs at least once a week.
Complete my 5k races with under 10 min/mile pace.
Complete a 10K race
Complete a 10 mile race.
Do long runs on the weekend.
Run at least 75 miles
Go to the gym twice a week.
Finish knitting hat #2
Spend time with my mentee & her sons.

Happy Running! How was your September? Anything special planned for October?

October 1, 2014 by Darlene

Run for the Roc 5k race recap

I’ve never run this race before. I signed up because it was a new race for me and it was on Sunday (I had to work & had a party on Saturday). It also took place in Saratoga where I wanted to run in the park there afterward. And I love the race track.

this past August

When I was a teacher and off for the summer, I used to go to the races often. Now I just go once for breakfast.

roc5k

As you can see from the map above, the race is run around the race track. It should be pretty flat.

Unfortunately, it was very warm especially for this time of year and the race started at 11 am.

It was sunny and in the 70s. Very warm for this time of year!!

I knew that this would be a crowded race and the kids race and team photo ops would be first so I planned to arrive early. I got there about an hour early, found parking in a big lot and picked up my race packet.

I had forgotten that you could personalize your bib. JA is my running buddy. You also got a long sleeve lime green tech shirt. It was nice that they had (many) real bathrooms, massages and a bag check. So I checked my shirt, walked around and watched the kids race.

finish line for the kids race

It was getting warmer so I tried to drink more water and stay in the shade.

(While I was waiting, my hubby called saying he and my friends were waiting for me on an island in Lake George. I guess he forgot that the race started so late and of course said “Can’t you just skip it?” You know what my response was and he agreed to come get me at the marina in a few hours.)

pre-race photo

Then we had to line up. There were signs for paces and I stood with the 8-9 min milers. I think there were about 800 runners.

you can see me on the right

The course was very winding. So I tried to run the tangents but if you did, you were in the sun.

As usual, I went out fast. It was warm and I found it hard to breathe but I willed myself to not stop until at least the halfway point. I even skipped the water.

Eventually, I did stop and walk for a while. I hated to do it but when I do, I get a second wind.

I tried not to look at my Garmin but when I did glance at it around mile 2, I got PR thoughts in my brain.

But again during the last mile, I felt the need to walk AGAIN! I knew I couldn’t finish strong unless I did.

I figured my PR hopes were over and tried to just finish without puking.

As I approached the finish line, I saw 26:XX. I was shocked but couldn’t muster up enough energy to break 27 minutes.

I am coming …

a little closer

Needless to say, I was happy.

I wasn’t very hungry unfortunately because the post-race refreshments were great – the usual bars, yogurt, bananas, apples but also CHOCOLATE MILK, string cheese, homemade PUMPKIN muffins and hot dogs, etc.

I had 2 chocolate milks and took a muffin to go.

I checked the results and saw that I won 2nd in my age group…engraved rocks (run for ROC, get it?)

there were a lot of fast runners in this race.

I took a photo of the award but didn’t stay because they said they would mail it to me.

Obviously, since my hubby was patiently waiting for me, I couldn’t go to the park and finish my long run 😦 That will have to wait until next weekend.

My race goals were almost the same as all my other 5Ks:

run each mile under 10 min. YES! even mile 1 under 9 min!!!!
run the whole thing. NO! but I had a PR!!!!!!!!!!
win a AG award. YES! 2nd.
have fun & stay healthy. YES!

Race Splits:

mile 1 – 8:46
mile 2 – 9:05 (walk #1)
mile 3 – 9:05 (walk #2)
.1 – .7:19

27:09 according to my Garmin and officially 27:11 – a PR by 19 seconds!!!! My last 5K PR was set 4 years ago.

Even though I had positive splits (as usual), I had a faster time than 2 weeks ago when I ran without stopping!?

My day ended as wonderfully as it began. My hubby picked me up at the marina and we spent the afternoon with friends.

They had a “Low country boil.”

fish, shrimp, clams, corn, chicken, suadage, etc.

We listened to music, danced and played a trivia game.

visitor to the island

After they left, we hung around for a while and I went to a run/walk on the trail…I think I covered about 2 miles.

trees are still green here

Then it was time to head back home 😦

Hopefully this won’t be our last time on the Lake for the season (2 more weekends left.)

Happy Running! How was your weekend? Any running or racing to report?

September 30, 2014 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Favorite Distance

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Favorite Distance

I am torn between two..

Love AG awards!

I love 5Ks. There are so many to choose from each weekend. I can choose by location, swag, elevation, friends going, AG award possibility, time, scenery, etc.

5k in Florida

5k with a friend

I also don’t need to really train. At this point in my running, I can go out and run 3 miles and not get hurt.

a flat 5k

a scenic 5k

A 5k doesn’t take a long time and it is easy to fit into your schedule and not take a lot time away from family and friends.

a nearby 5k

If I am training for a long race, I can use the 5K as a warm up tempo run and add more miles afterward.

just a fun 5k

Half Marathon

I love Half Marathons too.

even in the rain

Running a half marathon is hard and it gives you tremendous satisfaction when you finish.

my first!

You get a medal. Who doesn’t love bling?

It motivates you to get out the door and run several times each week. It makes you increase your miles.

It gives you an excuse to plan a vacation around a race.

in Sarasota, FL

You don’t have to be fast. You just have to finish. It is less stressful than running a 5K.

while recovering from an injury

Happy Running! What is your favorite distance?

September 29, 2014 by Darlene

Monday Running Update

20140625-122436-44676505 Last Week:

Monday – walk at work, 3 mile group run
Tuesday – walk at work, ~~rest,~~ 4 mile run, mall walk with BFF
Wednesday – walk at work, 4 mile run
Thursday – walk at work, rest, hair appt
Friday- ~~walk at work~~, DAY OFF, 4 mile run, mah jongg
Saturday – proctor LSATs, party, rest
Sunday – 5K race + 6 more miles, boating

This Week:

Monday – walk at work, 3 mile group run
Tuesday – walk at work, rest, tennis
Wednesday – 3 mile run, walk at work, yoga
Thursday – 3 mile run, walk at work, rest, gym orientation
Friday- walk at work, 4 mile run, mah jongg
Saturday – 5k race + 6 more miles
Sunday – NYC to see Kinky Boots with the tennis ladies

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any races ?

September 27, 2014 by Darlene

Two crossed off the Bucket List

Back in March, I created a Racing Bucket List of 13 items. I had done 7 out of 13 at the time. Since then…

#13 – Run a popular race – I ran the Love Run half marathon which had almost 10,000 runners.

and I just signed up for this Half Marathon in Florida!!!

Jan 17, 2015

#8 – Running along the ocean…

Yes, I finally decided on a race to keep myself motivated to run through the cold weather.

I chose this race because you run along the ocean and because I have 5 friends who spend the winter in this area.

weat palm

#10 – Running in Central Park, NYC...

Ok, it was not a race but I do plan to do that someday…I would love to do the NYC Half (but it is a lottery) or the NYC Mini 10K.

Yesterday, I had the day off. My NYC travel friends & I had planned to take the MegaBus to NYC. However, one friend was busy and the other was away on vacation.

Since the weather was predicted to be beautiful, I had decided to go it alone.

Of course, my plan was to RUN IN CENTRAL PARK!!!

Then at the last minute, one of my friends, Eileen, was able to go. I hate to say this but I was disappointed.

I told her that I wanted to run in the park and she said that it was ok with her.

Then I said that I wanted to run for an hour and then meet her. She said “I didn’t know you were going to run for a whole hour!”

Actually I wanted to run for more than an hour. The weather was absolutely perfect…sunny and warm but not too hot and no humidity. But it was obvious that I would need to compromise.

So we took a subway to the 86th street entrance of Central Park which was near the Jackie Onassis Reservoir. There is a running track that goes around the reservoir.

I told Eileen to walk around the track once and I would run around twice and then we would spend the rest of the day walking and visiting the sites in the park together.

The run was awesome. I loved every minute of it.

I took my time the first lap and veered off the track several times.

The 2nd time around, I ran without stopping because I felt guilty making Eileen wait.

I definitely plan to come back here (alone or with another runner) to run sometime in the future.

(More about this wonderful day in the park in a later post.)

Happy Running! What places are on your running bucket list? Have you ever run in Central Park?

September 26, 2014 by Darlene

Friday Five: Five favorite fall activities

This week, the theme is My Five Favorite Fall Activities

I love fall especially living in the Northeast.

So here they are my five:

1. Running

I love running when the temps are cool and the leaves have turned colors. These are some of my favorite places to run…

the rail trail

in Washington Park

along the Schroon River

on the bike trails

along Lake George

2. Eating & drinking anything pumpkin

Yup, I love pumpkin everything…

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No, I didn’t buy them but I was tempted

3. Racing

Racing in the cooler temps is the best! Even better is a race in a scenic locale…here are just a few that I have signed up for…

Apple Run 5K

Great Pumpkin Challenge 10k

Stockade-athon 15K

4. Going to farm activities

There are several around here but Ellms Family farm is my favorite. I always take my mentee and her sons. We go on rides, do corn mazes, pick pumpkins, pet the animals, eat cider donuts…so much fun!

5. Hiking

I don’t hike a lot but I do enjoy it and plan to do more this year. These are some places that I go…

Thatcher Park

Five Rivers

Prospect Mountain

Peebles State Park

I haven’t done this hike in Lake George in a few years…hope to do it again.

view from Buck Mountain

Happy Running! What are your favorite fall activities?

September 24, 2014 by Darlene

My First Group Run

I haven’t participated in a training group since 2008 when I started training for my first 5k with the No Boundaries program.

I’ve talked to Hollys at several races and she recommended this group.

maybe that’s what we were talking about here?

Then at my last race when I bumped into Gina, an old colleague, she encouraged me to join too.

Here is the schedule:

Monday, September 22 – Monday November 24

Mondays: 5:30 p.m. at Prospect Park, Troy (Note: From November 10th on, Monday night workouts will be at RPI in Troy. Meeting time is 5:30p.
Saturdays: 8:30 a.m. at Knickerbocker Park, Troy

Prospect Park is about a half hour from my work. I was worried about getting caught in rush hour traffic. But I got there plenty early.

It was quite chilly and breezy. I was freezing waiting for the training to start. (I even switched to capris from a skirt and added a jacket.)

I talked with Hollys and her friends while we waited.

Everyone started together. There were 3 groups: 5k beginners, 5k intermediate and 10K.

After some dynamic stretches, we took off in our separate groups. Gina got there just in time and I wound up running with her and her friends the whole time.

We chatted so it made the running go by quickly.

We ran 2 loops of the park which happens to be very hilly. I didn’t wear a watch so I have no idea about my pace or distance but I would guess that it was close to 3 miles. I even warmed up and took off my jacket and tied it around my waist.

I ran most of run. I just walked a little up one of the hills but then I passed them on the downhill.

I thoroughly enjoyed the run.

Unfortunately, I have races almost all the Saturdays so I can only do the Monday runs.

Looking forward to my next group run!

Happy Running! Have you trained for a race as part of a group?

September 23, 2014 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Going Off-Road: Obstacle Runs, Color Runs, Tris, Cross Country

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Going Off-Road: Obstacle Runs, Color Runs, Tris, Cross Country

Well, this won’t be a long post.

Obstacle Runs: NOPE

I am too old and too clumsy.

Color Runs: NOPE

It would be fun with kids or grandkids. But I am too competitive to spend money to get color thrown on me and run for fun.

Tris: NOPE

I don’t swim well. I don’t enjoy biking so the only Tri I would do would be a relay where I would only have to run.

Cross Country: Maybe

Maybe because I occasionally run on trails and have done ONE trail race.

I like them because I enjoy the scenery but again I am old & clumsy and run slow.

Five Rivers trail

Delmar rail trail

Peebles State Park and I fell running here

I did run ONE trail race and didn’t fall.

Relays: NOPE

Ragnar – Three days in a van, getting no sleep and having to run in the middle of the night…not for me. It sounds like fun. It’s something that I would have enjoyed in my 20’s but now I need my sleep.

Seneca 7 – This one is tempting: