cheerleaders wanted!!

one more thing.......while running the PDR yesterday, I got pretty sad about the fact that I didn't have any friends/family to look for along the sidelines. Everyone I knew there was running the race!

So- Calling all friends/family! All I want for my birthday/christmas is lots of people to come and make silly posters/signs for me at the Philly Marathon, on November 22nd! I'm DEFINITELY going to need it then!

and, of course, I still want Dave to be at mile 23ish with a beer for me. the way I see it, my friends can all tailgate the race in manayunk and cheer for me when i get there? haha. and, the more ridiculous the signs are, the better. but warning, i'll probably cry. I almost did yesterday a few times (not sure why, but I was feeling all sorts of waves of emotions during the race).

thats it, come out and cheer me on, thanks, i love you all :)

-b

Philly Distance Run!!

This weekend was a flurry of excitement. Saturday, 18 of us went white water rafting in the poconos.......it was a BLAST! and exhausting. and i knew I had the Philly Distance Run (half marathon) on sunday, so I was a little nervous!

So I had to be at the RWA shelter at 6am on Sunday, we had 5 guys from Back on my Feet running the PDR. We all walked together through Love Park, and up to the start near the Art Museum. I finally started realizing, "oh shit, am I ready to run a half marathon today? maybe I shouldve taken this more seriously this week?"

We get to the start, and Fred (one of the homeless guys) and I were planning to run together. It was an absolutely beautiful morning, minus the fact the race has you running directly into the sun for the first 2 miles, haha. So Fred had me running at like, a 9 minute mile pace........I was barely keeping up, and knew there was absolutely no way I was running 13 miles at that pace. Finally around the 2nd mile I had to slow down, and he just took off (thanks alot Fred, haha....just kidding). But after the next mile, I realized I was running just under 10 minute miles on my own. What? I almost always run 11+ minute miles, especially when I'm not keeping up with anyone else!

So I decided I was doing this for as many miles as I could keep it up. At mile 8 or 9, I decided, thats it, I'm running this pace the whoooole race if I can! I was so excited about completely shattering my time from last year's half marathon! I remembered being somewhere around 2:30 and figured maybe I could pull a 2:15 if I kicked my butt into gear.

I felt great, even at mile 11! So great, in fact, that I took advantage of a "Beer Stop" along the side of Kelly Drive. It was the most delicious beer I had ever tasted (probably a natty light or something gross, haha). I was so pumped about how well it was going that I just wanted to celebrate (a little early). I didn't start feeling sluggish and tired until after mile 12, but thankfully the sidelines were packed with people cheering me along.

I finished in 2:10!!! And when i got home, I looked up my time from last year- 2:40! I shaved 30 MINUTES off my time! It was really amazing to see how far I've come in just a year, and really motivated me to get through this marathon.

Plus, once I made my way through the crowds upon crowds of people, and back to the BOMF tent.....I almost cried at how proud I was of our guys. They not only finished their first race, but a half-marathon nonetheless! I dont think any of them really grasp what a major accomplishment that is yet, but I hope they realize that lots of runners never even get that far, let alone people who have only been running for 2-3 months. Absolutely amazing!

So here's some pictures of all of us, pre and post-race.

Up this week- (2) 5 milers, an 8 miler, and a 14 miler this weekend (mixed in with at LEAST a 30 mile bike ride somewhere). Less than 2 weeks until the MS 150, City to Shore bike ride. Starting to get nervous about that, since I've focused sooo much on running the past few months. YIKES!

Training schedule and some beer info

Today was day 3 of my training schedule. Did a nice 4 miles this morning in Inwood Hill Park.* It's refreshing to get up extra early and do some running through the park. Great way to start the day.

*More of the park in my backyard will be coming in a later post. Just an awesome place to run. Also, I stole this little embedded footnote from Joe Posnanski, which is aptly named a Posterisk. Check his blog, it's some of the best sports writing ever.

Since I'm at the very beginning of things I figured it would be a good idea to post my training schedule to get an idea of what kind of running we're talking about here. It's worth noting that before I began this training I'd never ran more than 7 miles in one shot, and that was fairly recently. So from here on out every Sunday will be a new personal best in distance. Kind of exciting, no? That weekly mile total on the right hand side is a little intimidating. Let's hope the knees hold up!
















Alright, enough with that. Let's talk about beer. I love it. You love it (or at least you should). It's great. It's one of the things I have to cut back on, which is a good thing but I needed to figure out if I should ditch it all together. Well a google search of "carbs in beer useful for marathon training" gave me the answer I needed. Basically a beer here and there isn't bad for you, just don't drink too much before race day (don't wanna poo yourself). This website sums it up the best:

"And why not hoist a well-earned brew? Beer, like red wine, does provide some health benefits. The malt and hops used to make dark beers contain flavonoids, the same heart-healthy compounds in vegetables and wine that counter cell damage, thus reducing your risk of heart disease and cancer. Beer also contains B vitamins and chromium, which aid in converting carbohydrates to energy."

Well then, keep drinking beer.

Speaking of beer. Tonight my good friend Catinca is hosting a Flying Dog event at Blind Tiger in NYC. She just got the job as Flying Dog sales rep for all 5 boroughs of NYC (!) and I believe this is her first promo. It's gonna rock I'm sure. I will be there to sample a brand new brew they're unveiling. And of course I can't pass up my favorite of theirs, the Gonzo Imperial Porter (pictured left). Lofty brew. As their motto says, via the great H.S. Thompson, "Good people drink good beer." Word.