It's My Blogiversary.....

Today.....I have been writing all about my running adventures for one full year. My very first post was a recap of a 10K race that I had just done. And I just kept going....

When I started running, back in July 2011, I was training for my first half marathon. I completed that training cycle and ran across the finish line of that Half in November. At that point, I knew it was a done deal. I was in love with running and this was not going to be a one and done kind of thing. In order to keep myself motivated and accountable....and because I wanted to be just like this girl....I decided to start my little blog.

One year later, I am still going strong. Despite the fact that I've actually been out of commission for the past (nearly) 5 months. I actually feel pretty proud about that. I was determined to keep at it....even when I didn't have anything much to say...I didn't want to let my handful of readers down and I knew that if I kept writing, even just a bit here and there, that I would be glad that I did.

Because the day that I will get to run again is getting closer. Unfortunately, it's taking much longer than I thought it would. This is a stubborn injury....one that I'll probably have to deal with for the rest of my running career. But I am determined to have one....I just love it too much.

So thanks for bearing with me readers...I appreciate it! I'll be back in action, hopefully better than ever in the near future....and will be celebrating many more of these Blogiversaries.

A few of my favorite posts from the last year:

Luck of the Season -- This was my first experience grappling with a less than stellar training cycle. It was good to get out the frustration while simultaneously giving myself a break.

Mercer Island Half Recap -- My second half marathon was awesome. And I knocked nearly 10 minutes off my time.

Wear Blue: Run to Remember -- I joined Wear Blue last April....here's why I was inspired to join this amazing group.

Heroes Half Recap -- Half marathon #3....this was the day I met a really really cool runner chic. Who then invited me to be on her....

Ragnar Relay: NW Passages....It's ON! -- team...Little did I know.....

Long Run...In Pictures --  This was one of my favorite posts....a little hometown love and a long run...what's not to love?

Seattle Rock and Roll - Wear Blue Mile -- My first time running a race with the larger WB group. Amazing experience and still my favorite race to this day.

Sea of Blue -- I posted quite a few on this particular race...this picture post was also one of my favorites...along with my first post after the race....It was such a moving experience. Can't wait until next year!

Ragnar: Odds, Ends and Awesome Stuff -- I wrote many posts about Ragnar...but this one collected most of my favorite moments in photo form....

How Do People Do This? -- My first post where I start to realize that denial re: the injury wasn't going to get me anywhere......especially if I planned to run there.

The Results Are In -- Official diagnoses of a labral tear in my left hip and a wicked case of upper hamstring tendonitis. And just like that....it's temporarily game over.

Finisher - Marathon #1 Done -- Except for this. Ha. I got permission to walk some of this race that I'd registered for prior to said injury but ended up walking the entire thing. Fortunately, it didn't set me back on the injury...and I can say that I've now completed a full marathon. And since I walked the damn thing, I'll likely knock a couple hours off my time when I actually get to run one!!

The Show Must Go On -- Speculating on the NYC Marathon that was scheduled right after Hurricane Sandy battered the NJ and NY coastlines. Then it was cancelled.....

Progress....Real Progress -- The patience is starting to pay off....I am getting there. I plan to return better than before....but it's slow going.

Thanks for reading this year!!

November: In Which I Get Closer to Running Again.......

Which, yay! I can feel it, taste it....whatever. Point is, I am making progress!! That I can feel.

November raged in with a ginormous 'Frankenstorm' on the East Coast. Hurricane Sandy came ashore in New Jersey and the outlying areas of NYC just before Halloween. Less than a week before my #1 dream marathon was scheduled to take place.

One of the many crazy Post-Sandy flood pictures

In the aftermath, NYRR and the city of New York decided that the marathon would go on. Which resulted in a backlash so loud and impossible to ignore that Mayor Bloomberg decided to cancel after all -- less than 48 hours before it was supposed to start - after most of the international runners had already arrived. While the final info regarding refunds and automatic entry to next year is still not clear due to haggling with the event's insurance company, this will likely affect the Marathon for years to come. Good did come out of runners descending on NYC anyway -- thousands of those that did arrive helped where they could and some of them held their own informal 'race' in Central Park anyway. 

Runners headed to Staten Island on what would have

 been 'race day'. Source.

That was only the beginning of the month! What an eventful November....right after all this brouhaha, we had the election, AKA Nerd Christmas, an actual real holiday I just made up. I was totally captivated along with the nation watching people decide on the future of our country....God, I love Presidential election years! Except for the commercials......those can go away and never come back.

Since I was so preoccupied, I probably didn't mourn quite as much about missing Ragnar LV Ultra with my girls. It was, however, very cool that one of my amazing teammates, April offered to run her first leg in honor of Wear Blue and a fallen soldier. She ran those miles in honor of Army Spc. Sarina Butcher, who was KIA on November 1, 2011 serving in Afghanistan. 

You will not be forgotten.

This month also brought two holidays that provided an opportunity to reflect and say Thanks. For both Veterans Day and Thanksgiving  I wanted to let our Troops know that they are appreciated and that we honor their service to our country. And for Turkey Day especially, I wanted to recognize Military Families and their sacrifice as well. 

Following my absolute favorite holiday, I got to continue participating in my newest Thanksgiving weekend tradition- the Seattle Marathon. No running for me this year but I spent a couple days volunteering and had an excellent time. It was great to be a part of it, despite not actually running....but speaking of running...

I am that much closer to it. I started PT back up this month and it was nice to find that I am actually healing and moving closer to being 'back'. Still have a month or so before running will start again, but I am working hard. Doing my exercises religiously and now walking 3x a week to start prepping my body to being able to run again. I cannot wait. I can't believe it's been 4 months now. But we are getting there....slowly but surely! 

Overall, November was a pretty eventful month! Onward to the very last month of 2012. Hopefully this will not be the last ever month in review.....but if the Mayans are right and we are all gone after the 21st, it's been real people. Ha.

NYCM. Canceled.....

“It’s clear that the best thing for New York and the best thing for the marathon and the future is, unfortunately, to move on,” said Ms. Wittenberg, the chief executive of New York Road Runners, the organization that operates the marathon. “This isn’t the year or the time to run it. It’s crushing and really difficult. One of the toughest decisions we ever made.” Source.

Since Thursday night, I've been watching to growing public outcry - on social media that then migrated over to the regular media as the news spread. As early as Friday morning, Mayor Bloomberg was holding firm on his decision. As the day progressed, more intense backlash, that included many local politicians and involved municipalities, grew and grew and abruptly at about 5:30 pm, it was called off completely.

Finally, some common sense prevails. I do believe that financial considerations were the chief reason they decided to move forward in the first place. And when it became clear that people were not going to stand for that and the uproar got too loud to ignore, they finally stood up and did the right thing. Nice work people. Sometimes, you have to remind the decision makers of how things really are. In this case, that means increased awareness of the huge pockets of need still out there in the city and outlying areas. Staten Island, where the race begins, was hit so incredibly hard. And there were many members of that community on the news crying out for help, much like the hardest hit victims of Katrina in N.O.

The adults finally stepped up and did the right thing. And I have no doubt that the runners that had already arrived in the city will at the very least spend some money while visiting...hopefully that will help mitigate some of the revenue loss the city was counting on. There are some great ideas and ways to help as well - if you can't use your hotel room, runners can donate it to a displaced NY'er via race2recover.com.

 I've also read of runners meeting up at any church south of 42nd Street to be deployed to help folks still without power/food/water in lower Manhattan. People that are gathering folks' pre-race warm clothes (that are typically discarded at the start) to donate. People are coming together. And fortunately, I think this might help just a tiny bit with what they had hoped to accomplish by not canceling the race in the first place -- bringing folks together to give a helping hand and trying to use the race platform to do good and help with the recovery. But not actually further taxing a city already brought to it's knees by actually holding the race. And I read a later statement made by Ms. Wittenberg that said that resources and supplies that were being brought in for the race are being re-deployed. So that is good.

I am a total politics nerd and very much a news junkie. And I've always been really interested in watching how crisis communications is handled - by both the government and private organizations. The fact that it intersects with my other love - running, makes it all the more compelling. And this has been a study in what not to do in so many ways. Optics are important and so are priorities. The decisions made during this disaster will have some lasting effects. It will be interesting to see how that all plays out.

The Show Must Go On.....Or Something Like That.

Like the rest of the country, I've been watching the devastation in the New York/Jersey area non-stop since Sunday....It's been a horror show to watch all the ruin and misery. And even though I am all the way across the country in Seattle, it's affected my employer, since they are headquartered in Manhattan and our office there and on Long Island are still without power. Aside from property damage and the loss of a habitable home for a few, everyone is ok and safe at this time, thankfully.

Hurricane Sandy batters the eastern seaboard. Source

In running news, this week of natural disaster has been book-ended by two very big and prestigious marathons. Things started out last Sunday with the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. This was Wear Blue's official East Coast race debut - which means - Wear Blue Mile!! Fantastic introduction of this awesome group to a whole bunch of new people. The weather was threatening but the building rain and wind held off until it was pretty much over. At which time, everyone got stuck in DC since airports starting shutting down in advance of the coming storm. The WA contingent of Wear Blue staff got stuck but being the resourceful gals they are, they rented a car and drove down to Ft. Bragg in NC. There, they were able to get a flight out of Raleigh and make it home in time to celebrate Halloween with their kids. Just in time...with one of the ladies' husbands deploying in a matter of days, I am so glad they made it home so she could spend that precious last bit of time with him.

On the other end of the week is the expected New York City Marathon on Sunday. Some of you may remember that I really really wanted to get into this marathon for my first one, but I was denied. Just as well, since it's turned into a PR-nightmare of a shit-show. And if I'd actually been registered, I think I would definitely defer to next year.

To recap, just in case you've been living under a ginormous rock or were in a coma, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on Monday night and completely decimated the Jersey shore, including the boardwalk in Atlantic City and much of the barrier islands and outlying peninsulas protecting New York City.

 Atlantic City. Source.

 
Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power, extremely dangerous conditions abound and there is still wide spread flooding. Oh and the 108 year-old subway system flooded in lower Manhattan.

That is several feet of water....Source.

All of this in the run up to a very big election and the New York City Marathon. And after a few days of rampant speculation and angst among the registered runners, over 20,000 of which are coming from outside the US, it appears that official word is that it will continue, with adjustments made. Mary Wittenberg, CEO of NYRR, host of the marathon, said in a statement yesterday that the decision was ultimately up to Mayor Bloomberg but that they would like to proceed as planned. Following that statement, Mayor Bloomberg confirmed in a press conference that they'd continue as planned since the city was resilient and it would lift spirits and help things get back to normal. Oh and money. The marathon brings in approximately 340 million dollars to the city's economy.So there's that.

Ms. Wittenberg was on the Today show this morning defending the choice, much to Matt Lauer's disbelief and attempt at some rather pointed questions. My very unscientific assessment of the comments following this NY Times article seem to be about 90%+ negative...as in are you out of your ever-loving-mind? It's not an easy decision - that is for sure. There are many competing reasons why or why not - some more valid than others, in my opinion. I've been following the arguments and they go something like this:

Let's do it. The people of New York and the city itself could sorely use the community spirit a race like this inspires - a real celebration of the human spirit, etc etc. And these crazy runners will bring millions of dollars of much needed revenue to the city right now. Also, marathoners train hard for these races and people spend a lot of money on this one in particular (including travel) so that is not fair to them to cancel at the last minute. And...they didn't cancel after 9/11....New Orleans still had Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina. (To which I'd point out that neither of which was 5 days later...)

Are you out of your ever-loving mind? The reasons here are significant and can't be understated. First responders and emergency personnel should not be diverted to keep a race course and runners safe at this time as they are desperately needed elsewhere. The course may or may not be safe for runners, it's in very poor taste when they are still finding bodies of storm victims in the wreckage, and a significant portions of Lower Manhattan and Staten Island are still without power and diminishing supplies of fresh water and food. There are super long lines for gas, which they are rapidly running out of. And then there are just plain old fashioned logistics. Otherwise known as how the hell is everyone going to get around? Very limited transportation options at this time, if they can even get to the city. Airports are just now reopening and it'll take weeks to get things back to normal there since there were something like over 18,000 cancelled flights during the storm and it's aftermath.

I am sure I am leaving many things out -- this was just a quick summary of what I've been reading. I haven't really had a strong opinion either way until now. As a runner who hopes to do this race one day and who will also get up early to watch it if it does indeed happen this Sunday, I was more curious than anything else. I wanted to see what NYRR would choose to do and how the politics/optics of the situation would play out. I felt uneasy with the idea of them planning to continue but was pretty sure that pragmatic and common sense leadership would prevail and the right decision would ultimately be made with the good of the people in mind.

After more thought, and paying close attention to the messaging coming out of this very unfortunate crisis, I think they should cancel or postpone the race. 'It just doesn't seem right' isn't really that eloquent, but it fits. This event, while exciting and typically a great rallying event for New Yorkers, is also very taxing on the city in normal circumstances. Under the current one, it's hard to imagine them pulling this off with any measure of success. The backlash has started and it's pretty intense. I have to say that I agree. I think that this is the wrong decision and sadly, I think that money has a lot to do with it. I've read that the race has insurance that would cover refunding entry fees if the race were cancelled. But a lot of money has already been spent on this race that can't be recouped.

The Charity partners that benefit from fundraising, the vendors that have rented space at the expo, security considerations, supplies purchased, not to mention the hefty sponsorship fees that would need refunding....that money is already committed or spent. Much easier to delay communication so that people are forced to decide on their own if they will cancel and defer to next year than to do the hard thing and call it off. No refunds if the participant cancels. That may be a cynical reading of this, but I just don't buy the spin they are throwing out there on using this already scheduled event to help the recovery and  a platform to raise 'awareness'. It seems, as the backlash grows, that I am not the only one to reach that conclusion. There is a lot of talk of the runners wanting to help out while they are here, and perhaps some will and it will be great. No way to know, I guess.

In any case, the show, as it were, may indeed carry on. But at what cost? I'll be watching to see what happens. I am curious if the backlash will cause second thoughts and it will be cancelled after all....or if it will happen with negative consequences. I might be surprised and find that it goes off relatively well and that getting back to normal and demonstrating that quintessential New Yorker spirit was just what the city needed. We shall see. Only thing certain is that I'll be watching how it all plays out.

April 2012: In which I join Wear Blue: Run to Remember

This was a big month and a lot of cool stuff happened. I didn't quite hit the miles on tap, about 11 shy of the plan, but I am totally ok with that.

I got all excited about NYC and then was denied. I waited with fingers crossed and breath held but the odds were just not in my favor. I don't think I'll ever be fast enough to qualify on my time alone....so perhaps I'll just have to join a charity to get in.

I was inspired to join Wear Blue: Run to Remember and ran my first race in Blue. It was an honor to run for Air Force Master Sgt. Tara Brown and represent this amazing organization that is dedicated to bridging the gap between the men and women serving our country and the communities from which they come.

 Source

I started Man Up Month, in which I run two half marathons. Half way there after the weekend. HM numero uno is in the bag....next up is the Kirkland Half on 5/13. I was also lucky enough to have My Running Story profiled on the Healing Feet Blog.

The month ended with a bang. A new PR at the Heroes Half, negative splits, and I met a new running friend! Who then invited me to join her Ragnar Relay NW Passages team! Boo ya! So excited to do this relay. It's going to be such an adventure!

Alright May, let's do this.

My Running Story

This week has been full of win....You know that saying that bad things happen in 3's? Well I'm hoping that applies to good things as well. I've had 2 really cool things happen this week and I'm not even letting the fact that I was DENIED entry to the NYC Marathon get me down...

So you know what that means.....the 3rd thing still hasn't happened yet!

First cool thing--I stalked a super cool runner I look up to (just a little bit....) and she was so gracious and sweet and not even a little bit creeped out by me! (Well maybe she was....but I'll never know because she's too nice) She even posted about it on her blog, which sent a frenzy of activity my way. So thanks SkinnyRunner! You are the shiz-nit of running Bloggesses!

Second cool thing--my Running Story was profiled over at Healing Feet Blog. Dr. Geldwert, of The Center for Podiatric Care and Sports Medicine in NYC, provides Podiatric Consulting and is a Medical Advisory member of multiple big name race organizations, including the US Olympic Marathon Trials. So when his blogmasters contacted me about doing a profile, it was a total no-brainer. Click on over and check me out!

Third cool thing---TBD. But it's coming. I just know it.

Denied....

And those exclamation points are twisting the knife a little bit....

Training Cycle #3

Already started...and already at the end of week 3. This cycle started post Mercer Island Half and is taking me all the way through the Rock and Roll in June. It's really more of a maintenance cycle to power me through my series. But it's doable...and every month will be over 100 miles. Woot woot!

After that....we'll see. I'm not sure what the summer holds other than I know I'll be switching my focus to training for a full in the fall and build my training/race schedule around that. I still haven't decided which marathon I'll do. Holding out hope that I'll get lucky and get in to NYC through the lottery-will know at the end of the month! If not, the Portland Marathon is currently holding spot #2. But an ad I saw for the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco in October made me think we've got a challenger for that number 2 spot.

Loving the fact that it's getting light earlier and staying lighter later. I have decided to not beat myself up over not getting up early in the mornings and actually plan for it. One week I'll get up early and the next I'll run after work. This week was an after...next week I'll get up early and knock them out before work.

Only a few weeks until the Heroes half! Can't wait.

21 Days until NYC Lottery Closes

 

Pick me! Pick me!

My entry # is  851181...

 

ING NYC Marathon -- pretty please with a cherry on top?

Registration opens on Monday 1/02/2012 at Noon EST. I am so entering this lottery....