#6 - "of all the races, there is no better stage for heroism than a marathon." (Aaron Douglas Trimble)

no excuses, ang.

inspiration.  i will run tomorrow.  

#7.

"First you feel like dying, then you feel reborn."

-Asics, on running a marathon.

#8 of my favorite marathon/running quotes

"You have to forget your last marathon before you try another.  

Your mind can't know what's coming."

-Frank Shorter

countdown to the nycm! my favorite running/marathon quotes continues...

"If i am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a board and knock me down because that means i didn't run hard enough."

-Steve Jones

10 days!

"The starting line of the NYC Marathon is a kind of giant time bomb behind you about to go off.  It is the most spectacular start in sport." 

- Bill Rodgers.

t-11 days.

"the difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals."

-Hal Higdon

12 days of my favorite marathon/running quotes: 12 days remain.

"I'm never going to run this again." 

-Grete Waitz, after winning her first of nine NYC Marathons.

marathon "celebrities" to look for on november 6th.

so as i was looking through a list of the celebrities running the nyc marathon this year, i found that i didn't recognize a lot of the names.  how can these people be celebrities if even i (who religiously read "Pop Sugar" on my googlereader every day) have absolutely no idea who they are?!

anywho, i did my research and found that the names i recognize are also the only ones whose faces i recognize.  i've decided that the people on this list who are unrecognizable to me are not celebrities.  nevertheless, nbc seems to think they are so here ya go, folks, the people you should look out for on november 6th (besides me, obviously):

*note: i've highlighted those who i've decided are actual celebrities.

1. Gbenga AkinnagbE

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: The Taking of Pelham 123, The Good Wife, The Wire, etc.

2. Nate Appelman

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: Chopped, The Great Food Truck Race, Iron Chef

3. Joe Bastianich

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: Masterchef, Iron Chef America

4. Dr. Andy Baldwin

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: The Bachelor

5. Richard Blais

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: Top Chef, Iron Chef America

6. Jennie Finch (Jennie will be the LAST person to start the NYC Marathon and Timex is going to donate $1 for every person she passes to NYRR youth programs)

HOW YOU KNOW HER: US softball Olympian

7. Mark Messier

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: NHL Legend

8. Mya

HOW YOU KNOW HER: Grammy winning artist

9. Mario Lopez

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: Host of EXTRA, Saved by the Bell, etc.

10. Apolo Ohno

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: US Olympian in short-track speedskating

11. Shonda Schilling

HOW YOU KNOW HER: wife of Curt Schilling and best-selling author

12. Paul Sparks

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: Boardwalk Empire, etc.

13. Ryan Sutter

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: The Bachelor, The Bachelorette

14. Christy Turlington Burns

HOW YOU KNOW HER: Model

15. Michael K. Williams

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: Boardwalk Empire, etc.

16. Edward van der Sar

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: Manchester United goalie

17. Veronica Webb

HOW YOU KNOW HER: Model

18. Ethan Zohn

HOW YOU KNOW HIM: Survivor

and so it begins... two weeks of weather obsession.

this will change approximately 30 times before marathon day but that doesn't stop me from compulsively checking the weather.

as of now, the extended forecast for sunday, november 6th:

start praying, people, because this forecast right here looks like heaven to me.

2011 nyc marathon race plan:

check it out:

overheard in central park:

bike tour guide: this is finish line of new york city marathon.  it's a good day to be new yorker.  new york city is family on marathon day.

cue ang getting choked up.

also cue ang wondering why this sounds better in a heavy accent and broken english.  

i <3 nyc. 

18 days, people.

what a rockstar! 100 year old man crosses the finish line at the toronto marathon this past weekend!

i know you're standing there waiting for me, i won't let you down: 21 miles through staten island.

so that's it folks, my training has peaked and i've officially reached my taper period.  it's time to trust my training and let my body recover from a few high mileage weeks, specifically this past weekend when i ran 21 miles (yes, at one time).

i was glad that a half-marathon was scheduled for exactly 4 weeks out from the marathon so that i could incorporate it into my longest run of the season.  for longer runs, it's so great to have part of them (especially the last miles) be part of a race becauuuuuse:

• there are water/gatorade stations every mile or so. yay for not having to wear a water belt!
• there are people there to cheer you on.  no one cheers for you when you're running alone on a weekend morning around the park.  they don't care that you're just about to complete an absurd number of miles.  you're not special to them.  now, throw in thousands of other people, a couple road closures or race signs, a finish line and a guy with a microphone and woooopah! you've got fans.

• med tents and medics. pretty self-explanatory.  if i fall or pass out when i run by myself, i have to count on the friendly new yorkers in the park to get help.  during a race? there are people literally stationed all around whose sole purpose of being there is to lookout for and help people who are hurt.. so i figure my odds of survival are better during a race.  

so yea, i was pretty happy that the staten island half-marathon fell on the perfect day for my longest training run... even though that meant more time spent in staten island. arghh.

saturday night, mama b-rocks and i went out to dinner so that i could carb-load on enormous amounts of pasta deliciousness.  we then headed over to a new spa to get upper body massages.  it was awesome.  can't think of a better way to relax the night before a long run (note: lower body massages are BAD BAD BAD the night before a long run.  wait until AFTER you've completed a long run to divulge in the gloriousness of the lower body massage).  

at the early hour of 9pm, i called my other half and got in bed, ready to sleep until my alarm went off at 5:31am.  5:31 because i refuse to set my alarm to any time that ends in a 0 or a 5. why? because i'm weird, apparently.  i don't know why it annoys me so much but it does.  i've tried to set my alarm to a normal time but it only drives me crazy until i change it so that it ends in another number. if i need to wake up at 6, i'll either set my alarm to 5:59 or 6:01... i would usually opt for 6:01 because obviously that extra 2 minutes makes a huge difference.  yes, i realize that this is abnormal.  

by 6am, i was dressed and ready to head out.  i had my giant purple bag packed with all sorts of race essentials:

• GU chomps
• ipod shuffle (for all runs, i keep one headphone in and the other tucked away.  i like to hear the crowd and i also enjoy not being hit by oncoming traffic.)
• Garmin (to monitor my pace and keep track of my pre-race mileage)
• blue gatorade for after the run
• a banana for the car ride home
• a change of shirt for after the run (no one wants to drive home in a sweaty, smelly shirt)
• flip-flops (quite possibly one of the best feelings after a long run is the removal of the sneakers)

it was also the first time i was wearing my brand new sneakers so i was a little nervous and excited to see how they felt (they felt awesome, btw).  my other half bought me the sneakers and my parents bought me the two "charms" that i attached to the shoelaces. they're pretty.  and they're pink.  and obviously this makes me happy.

anywho, around 6am, just as i was about to do a last minute check of the apartment to make sure i wasn't leaving anything "essential" behind, my phone rang.  assuming the other half was just calling to wish me good luck, i was surprised (and touched and excited and happy and all other corny in love emotions) to find that he was sitting on my front porch, ready to head out to staten island to support me.

it was dark (as usual) and i had no idea where i was going so i was nervous driving and very glad that i wasn't alone in the car.  we got to staten island and found a parking spot pretty close to the start line so i was happy about that.  around 7:10ish, i jumped out of the car, removed my sweat pants, and started my run.  i needed to get a solid 8 miles in before the race started to complete 21 miles for the day.  i planned everything out meticulously (of course, as i'm OCD like that) to make sure that i got to the start line approximately 10 minutes after the race started.  i didn't want to spend any time waiting in a corral and wanted to be able to just continue running at my pace and into the race without slowing down.  

open your eyes, ang. geeze.

the stars aligned and everything worked out perfectly.  i ran the course so that i passed water/gatorade stations and by the time i crossed the start line (about 7.5 minutes after the race began), my garmin was at 7.94 miles (i kept my first 8 miles around an easy 10:45 pace).  it felt great- i was going to cross the finish line with 21 miles behind me.  

i felt really good those first few miles of the race. i ran (ha!) into jennifer from work at the mile 2 water/gatorade station.  she was not only running her first half-marathon, but her first race ever!  i made sure to give her a huge congratulatory hug today because she is awesome.  

unfortunately, once i reached the turn around (halfway through the half-marathon... roughly mile 14.5 for me), there were crazy uphills the whole way back.  i kept thinking it wasn't fair.  so many of these people were still in single digits and i had already run a half marathon and then some.  but i needed to suck it up.  i had someone waiting for me, someone counting on me.  my pace was pretty consistent (around a 10-10:15 min/mile) and i wanted to keep it there.  no time to feel sorry for yourself, ang, (wo)man up.  

21 miles - gotta stop that garmin.

once i hit mile 10 (my mile 18), i got super excited.  when's the last time i ran more than 18 miles? oh that's right, last years' nyc marathon.  it felt super empowering to know that with each step, i was running further than i have since november 7th of last year.  

once we turned back onto bay street, the crowds started growing thicker.  there was tons of crowd support (which is awesome at a half-marathon and damn near necessary when you've got approximately 20 miles behind you) and i definitely wanted to kick up my speed even if just a little bit. right before i hit mile 20, i saw the other half on the side cheering and got my boost to pick up my pace.  mile 21 was my fastest mile.  thanks, babe.

turning down the hill to get to the finish line felt fantastic.  even though i felt pretty good ("pretty good" at 21 miles is way different than the "pretty good" i felt at mile 8), i was still ready for it to all be over.  the crowds were thick and loud down by the finish and i figured i wouldn't see the other half.  luckily, he made sure to shout "go ang" as i passed him and i was able to turn around.  good looks.

i passed the finish, threw my arms up, and stopped my garmin (obviously).  21 miles in 3:38:57. that's a 10:25 pace (nyrr has my half-marathon pace at a 10:16 min/mile).  ya know what a 10:25 overall pace would give me in the marathon? a 4:33.  that's right people, 4:33.  booyahhhh.

4 weeks and counting. i'm ready.

incredible book by Liz Robbins. ask me and i might let you borrow it.

this just made me cry. good luck on sunday, chicago marathoners.

a PR story: 2011 diva half-marathon.

i signed up for the diva half marathon way back when instead of signing up for grete's great gallup half-marathon in central park the same weekend.  why? many reasons:

• i've run grete's two years in a row.
• grete's is twice around central park.
• i ran three times around central park in the evil direction the weekend before.
• the diva half is near my parents. cue good food and a personal cheering section.
• the diva half is pretty much flat in comparison to central park.
• they give you a boa and a tiara at mile 12.  a tiara? sign me up.  i'm still waiting for some long lost grandma to show up and tell me i'm a princess in some country i've never heard of.  let's go grandma, i'm waiting.

sunday morning, it was pitch black when i woke up (obviously. why would i choose an activity that allows me to wake up with the sun?).  anywho, i quickly got ready and out the door with the 'rents with more than enough time to stand around in eisenhower park with 5,000 or so other women. i stood at the beginning of the "10-11 min/mile" corral.  even as the race started, i had no idea if i was going to race this run or use it as a training run (for those who don't know, you train slower than you race).  by mile 2, i knew i was racing.  and i knew i was going to PR.  

me to mama b-rocks, mile 2: "2:11. i'm calling it now."

a 2:11 would've given me about a 30 second PR.  i'd run the first mile at a 10:02 and the second mile at a 9:58.  my best half-marathon (2:11:27) was run at a 10:02 min/mile pace.  with my first two miles where they were, i knew i could easily knock 30 overall seconds off my time.  this put a big pep in my step and i found myself focusing on that PR.  it's all i could think about.  i thought about how good it'd feel to cross the finish line.  i thought about how exciting it was going to be to tell my boyfriend, friends, family, and coaches.  that goal kept my legs moving and my mind in the right place.

i knew i'd easily hit 2:11.. but around mile 7 or so, with a bunch of 9:45s and 9:50s behind me, i knew i could easily do 2:10 or, dare i think it, 2:09. 

right before mile 12, i started to see a bunch of ladies circling around with their hot pink boas and tiaras.  i got all excited because, well, that was one of the reasons i signed up for this race.  also, mile 12 means i'm almost done - which is awesome.

mile 12 was rough.  i picked up my pace just a little, wanting to really finish strong.  weaving through the eisenhower golf course is not exciting and there is literally no one around but runners until you are practically at the finish line.  luckily, i knew my parents would be there and that i'd be able to hear my mother from roughly 400m away.  

once i saw the finish, i picked it up even more, gave my screaming mother two thumbs up, and crossed the finish feeling like a rockstar.  or a princess?

official time- 2:08:30 (9:48 min/mile).  yea i know, it's completely badass.  

i walked over to where they had half-naked sexy firemen putting medals over the finishers.  when i first saw this, my thoughts went as followed: why doesn't that guy have a shirt on? ooo he has a lot of abs.  firepants! medals! sure, you can put that over my head. you have even more abs up close. best-race-ever.

also, there was champagne after the firemen.  who wants to stand at the end of the nyc marathon with some champagne?  anyone?  it'd be much appreciated. 

there you have it folks: my half-marathon PR and my confidence booster for november 6. bring it nyc marathon, i'm coming for YOU.

half-marathon PR!

2:08:30 (9:48 min/mile)

full post coming shortly... stay tuned for the sheer awesomeness of yesterday and the total domination of 13.1 miles by yours truly.