Top Ten Reasons Running During a Heat Advisory Rocks**

**Obviously, you should be careful when being physically active in the heat. Listen to your body for signs of distress, hydrate often and take frequent rest breaks. Less is more. For more info, click here, here and here. 

Yes, everyone. We know it’s hot out there. We know it’s tempting to stay indoors in the comfort of cold fluids, air conditioning and reality TV. However, as Coach K pointed out earlier this week, I have less than 110 days left until I become Marathoning Mimi. So, within reason, the running must go on.

My bladder woke me up before my alarm this morning at the delightful hour of 5:45. I looked at the weather forecast on my phone and saw that it was 85 degrees but felt like 93. Lovely. I got up, used the bathroom, got dressed, indulged in another one of my latest obsessions–cold pressed iced coffee–and gradually made my way out of the apartment. Just before I left I saw that my favorite running blogger,  Ali on the Run, was attempting 16 miles in the heat…talk about perspiration inspiration!

My only goal today was to get through the run. Period. No goals for pace. No goals for how few times I would stop for water, bathroom, or to rest. Not even a set goal for mileage; I would allow myself to cut it short if I needed to. Even during the summer, safety never takes a vacation!

With these goals, or lack thereof, in mind, the run turned out to be not nearly as hellacious as I’d feared. And as a bonus, I returned to my apartment in my usual sweaty, salty, hot mess post-summer-running state of awesomeness, but now with a top ten list of why my run rocked this morning:

1) No expectations, no disappointments: See above re: no set goals. Just finishing without melting was good enough for me, and it was nice to not feel like I had to race against the Garmin every time. The fact that I went further than I intended and lived to blog about it makes it just that much better. Bring it on, summer (but feel free to take a break, too. Please, for the love of God, take a friggin’ break.)

2) It could always be worse: Fine. I ran in an ungodly temperature at an ungodly hour. But you honestly think its going to get any better as the sun comes up? Nope. And by then, I probably would have come up with a Top Ten of reasons why I shouldn’t be running today. Nope. Better to get out there before you are awake enough to realize what you’ve just gotten yourself into.

3) Other runners: I actually spotted Ali on the Run during my run today (and her run too, I guess)! She was running in the opposite direction and I saw her around mile 4 (for me) or so. I didn’t stop her, as I didn’t want to scare or startle her. I was also the grossest version of myself at that point, which would have made for an awesome first impression (you all know I’m brilliant at those). And Ali, in the off chance you are reading this, I’m really a lot of fun and not stalkerish, I promise! Sweaty yes, but stalkerish, no. Please don’t block me from your blog…

4) Nothing feels as good as when you finally go back inside: When I got back into my apartment, it felt amazingly cool, even though it was probably about 80 degrees in there. Perspective is everything, right?

5) It’s a good excuse to run naked: not that I did, but if I wanted to, I bet less people would have judged me for it. If it ever does happen, don’t say I didn’t warn you (ahem, underwear run in August)…

6) That which doesn’t kill you only makes you better prepared: The next long run I have coming up will be the Queens Half-Marathon next Saturday. Weather is supposed to still be hot hot hot, but now I feel more confident that I’ll finish it feeling good! At a snail’s pace perhaps, but good. And prepared to eat and drink anything in front of me that is not nailed down. Post-race brunch, anyone?

7) Other Runners (again): At my last water stop, I saw the guy in front of me drench his hat with water from the water fountain. So I thought “what the hell, I’m already soaked” and drowned my visor too. Turns out it really does cool you down! Maybe next time I really will get (temporarily) naked and drown my shirt too.

8 ) Mind games: I came up with a new game that I will call and perhaps trademark as “Follow That Shade”. Although that strategy had me literally going around in circles and running uphill, I was too focused on figuring where the hell I was that I temporarily forgot to be miserable because of the heat. Which, in some round-about way, means the game worked as the whole point of the game was to try and lessen the effects of the heat on my body and how it felt.

9) Sprinklers: I ran through one at the end of my run, shortly after my shady scavenger hunt. Talk about a cool down! I just need a few hundred of those on all my runs and I will be one happy, soaked runner. Bonus points for a slip-and-slide at the end.  I also loved watching the two overweight middle-aged ladies in matching pink shirts on their morning walk in front of me, who squealed and cracked up as they walked though the sprinkler on purpose. Today would have been the perfect day to cop out, but these two women still came out to brave the heat. Get it, girls!

10) Facing fear: I conquered my fear of running in extreme heat, all before 8 AM.Wu-Hoo! I have been considering taking up Bikram Yoga after the marathon, but wasn’t sure I could stand the heat, much less exercising in it. This run convinced me that 1) I’m not as big as a wimp as I thought I was (famous last words, right?) and 2) Anything is possible. Maybe not the first time you want it, and maybe not the second or third or fourth time either. But if you want something badly enough, you can make it happen. So that being said: Bring on the Groupons!

Bonus: I burned 8 bajillion calories before 8 AM. Bingefest 2k11, you may now begin! Love, the World’s Best Nutritionist.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

Odds and Weekends

My legs were still sore when I woke up Friday Morning , but I eventually got through the yoga DVD the second time around. Since I had the Central Park Conservancy Four Mile  race the next morning, I regretfully stayed home that night instead of hitting up Bagel Pizza and Beer Pong. I am told there will be a comeback tour though. Post-marathon celebration, anyone?

Saturday morning came bright and early, so once again I woke, I clementined, self-shotted, and off I went.

Yep, still gotta work on the self-shots

I inadvertently cut one of my runs short last week, so I ran the 2.5ish miles from my apartment to the start line. Met up with Coach K (sorry again that I was running late!  Get it? Running late?), got into our corral, and off we went! The race flew by and even though I didn’t PR, I was still proud of my time and how great I felt doing it (i.e. no urge to hurl, unlike the first time I ran sub-ten minute miles in a race). I probably could have PR’ed if it hadn’t been so crowded during Mile 1, but hey, maybe next time. Also, there were two little boys that ran ahead of us the whole time; they were about 7 or 8 years old. They had perfect form and kept up, and ahead of us, for all four miles. It was pretty inspirational. Coach K said her favorite part was finding out that the kids didn’t even speak English when she heard them speaking to the adult they were with; throughout the entire race other people had been coming up to the kids and cheering them on. Lost in translation, indeed!

This is the first race I’ve done since the Brooklyn Half-Marathon two months ago. Compared to last summer, when I was racing almost every weekend in July and August, this was a big adjustment and I had almost forgotten what it felt like to race. It’s nice to have the thrill back. And not to worry, there will be plenty more races in the next few months, at least three more half-marathons to be exact. I’m using them as part of my long training runs, not to mention to acquire more race t-shirts. Even if they’re ugly, they will make great cleaning rags. Yes, I am definitely turning into my mother. If I ever give up running one day to become a Zumba master and/or get a perm…

Race breakdown:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	00:38:36	4.04	09:32
1	00:10:22	1.00	10:22
2	00:09:33	1.00	09:33
3	00:09:18	1.00	09:18
4	00:09:03	1.00	09:03
5	00:00:18	0.04	07:09

Coach K and I stayed after the race to watch the kid’s races, which was pretty much the cutest thing ever. All the kiddos lined up in their “corrals” based on age and gender, and then each group was released one at a time and they raced to the finish line. Some of these kids were fast–I didn’t even get to take pictures! I may only sign up for races w/ kid’s races from now on. We then refueled with bagels and then hit up Fairway before parting our ways. I came home, stepped over the remaining three boxes left to unpack by the couch to nap on said couch, and went to Yogaworks where I started my month-long membership with a 90 minute Vinyasa class. I sweated, I stretched, I passed out by 10:30 that night. It was great! Except for the whole lack-of-social life thing that is, but sometimes, you just can’t have it all.

Today I checked out another Yogaworks class, which I wasn’t such a fan of because the teacher wouldn’t stop talking. Unfortunately, none of it had anything to do with what we were supposed to be doing. Good thing I have all month to check out other instructors! This afternoon MPP and I caught up with each other, the Women’s World Cup and NYC summer scene by meeting up at FoodParc/Beer Parc.

Lobster salad on a roll topped with bacon. Either it looked better than it tasted or I was just too focused on my beer.

Imagine this screen with women's soccer on it rather thank fake graffiti. Apparently they also show movies here on Saturday nights.

We also came up with a NYC Summer Bucket List that you should totally add on to/join us for. Note: there is nothing related to running on this list. Freedom!!

Speaking of, for this week I’m scheduled to run only half as many miles as I have the past two weeks, which will be a nice break physically and mentally. Great timing, it looks to be a busy week; I’m seeing Rock of Ages on Monday night, possible dinner w/ other nutritionists on Tuesday night, date night w/ my ex- roommate Shannon on Wednesday night, and then one of my best friends from college is in town from Dubai for the weekend. Maybe my social life isn’t such a lost cause after all…

 

The Aftermath

Conquering 12.5 miles felt great mentally and emotionally, but girlfriend began to feel the burn almost immediately afterwards. It’s remarkable how quickly legs can feel like lead, isn’t it? I did stretch and foam roll shortly after the run, but it might be time to start looking into this whole ice-bath thing. Brrr!

I attempted to do a yoga dvd later that day, but pure exhaustion kept me from doing more than five minutes of it. Sorry Bryan Kest…you may have some good moves, but sometimes it takes more than I’ve got to get past that ’90s Michael-Bolton-mane and attire of yours. Not such a fan of your constant talking either…

I did manage to stay awake long enough to venture downtown and join Hirsh for “Love Etc.”, an enormous bag of caramel corn (yep, still working on it three days later), and an endless bag of baked potato fries Seriously, that bag was like Mary Poppin’s purse– it just kept going and going! Hirsh is my first close friend in NYC to be pregnant, and we always kid that pregnancy is like marathon training. We’re always hungry, tired, getting up at odd hours to pee and eat, and try not be on our feet too much. Who knew? Anyway if you haven’t seen Love Etc. yet, I’m not really sure what you are waiting for (unless it’s to finish reading this post). Go. Now! And get some of that popcorn too, or swing by my apt. as I’ve got plenty….

 

Always Charge Your Batteries

Thursday morning I woke up to this:

65 and Sunny in mid-July? Yes, please!

A morning like this after a week of heat-advisory-worthy weather must be a sign  that the Weather Gods/The Marathon Gods/Al Roker wanted me to go out and kick some major booty on my scheduled 13 mile run this morning. Who am I to let these fine and well-intentioned folks down? So I got up, sipped a caffeinated beverage, ate two tangerines, got dressed, took some crappy self-shots w/ my camera phone and off I went! In theory, at least.

Ready to Run! And perhaps take a basic photography skills class or two.

In reality, genius me couldn’t remember the last time I charged my watch, so of course it started beeping its “low battery beep” right as I was about to leave. I charged it for about 5 mins, bringing its battery life to 25%, and hoped for the best. Hello, literal race against time. Looks like you’re joining me this morning, huh?

The neighborhood was sunny and beautiful at that hour, and Central Park was too. The weather was amazing and felt more like the beginning of autumn in mid-to-late September, rather than in the middle of July.

Buenos Dias, El Barrio!

So off I went, and indeed I was kicking major butt as I went over the hills and next to the woods (who knew Central Park could be so “rustic”?). I felt great and just enjoyed being able to soak up the beautiful weather and temperatures. Not to mention how much faster I was going without the oppressive summer heat and humidity to weigh me down. That’s the part about training in harsh conditions–they make everything feel easier in comparison!

I stopped around Mile 4 at the Boathouse bathrooms to try out a new kind of training fuel: Orange Flavored GU Chomps. They had a weird powdery after-taste to them, but I liked them because they made it much easier to spread out the GU love throughout the run. They are individual gummy chews, so you can take as many or as few as you want and save the rest for later, as opposed to gels, which are a bit messy to split up. Decisions, decisions. Anyhow, I stopped. I Chomped. I watered. And then I proceeded to dominate Cat Hill. Yeah!

I looked at my watch at Mile 6 and realized I’d done six miles in less than an hour. Six HILLY miles. Man. Was there nothing I couldn’t do this morning? Ok, maybe “charging my watch battery by the sweat and electrolytes coming out of my arms”…but the trusty Garmin managed to capture 7.14 miles before it went kaput.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	01:09:57	7.14	09:48
1	00:09:24	1.00	09:24
2	00:09:53	1.00	09:53
3	00:09:34	1.00	09:34
4	00:10:05	1.00	10:05
5	00:09:50	1.00	09:50
6	00:09:42	1.00	09:42
7	00:10:01	1.00	10:01
8	00:01:26	0.14	10:24

It took me a few minutes to realize that my battery actually died, and then a few more after that to figure out how I was going to time the rest of my run. In the meantime, while I was stopped anyway, I took a picture of the park just for you, my devoted readers (you’re welcome):

Pic stop! Get it? Like pit stop, but not...

I decided to use the stopwatch on my phone, and off I went again. The rest of the run wasn’t as much fun as the first half, probably due to getting tired, rising temperatures, and not knowing how far or fast I was going, and being paranoid/distracted about whether or not I had really started the stopwatch again or if it would turn off on. As anyone who has ever fallen victim to my phone butt-or-purse-dialing could tell you, my phone likes to have a mind of its own sometimes (sorry again about that). I stopped, re-chomped when I passed by the Boathouse again, and prepared myself to crawl up dominate Cat Hill one more time. Even w/ the Chomps, water and bathroom break, i could feel myself hitting the hall soon and just wanted to be done, even though I probably had two or three more miles to go.  I ended up running about 12.5 miles instead of my planned 13, which I was a bit bummed about but definitely realize it’s not the end of the world. There will be so many more opportunities to run 13 miles (and many more) in the park this summer. Hopefully many of those times I will finish my run feeling as strong and as fast as I do in the beginning, with visions, thoughts and feelings of death far, far away. Pacing myself evenly is definitely one of my biggest challenges that I will continue to work on this summer (and probably beyond. Anyone who has ever seen me dance or drive could tell you that my rhythm and timing is totally a bit lacking).

I tried to take a picture of myself post-run so yall could see how nasty and sweaty I got, but see above re: need for photography skills class:

Use your imagination...let's just say it's a good thing I live alone these days.

Next week is a stepback week for me, which means the longest run I’ll do is five miles. Don’t worry, I’ll still find plenty to blog about; if you’re really lucky they may even be non-running related again. Hey, a reader can dream, right?

 

 

Remember When….

…I kept promising to write about that fun-filled non-running-related-action packed weekend? Yeah, y’all can stop holding your breath now because it’s not going to happen (shocking, I know). Luckily, The New York Times recently wrote not one, but two articles about Smorgasburg, where I spent that sunny Saturday morning after a free ferry ride. Iced coffee, ice cream, fried chicken, and a farmers market that takes EBT? Hello happy place! If you are in NYC, whether this summer or beyond, you should definitely check it out (and take me with you. I promise to behave…).

 

You Know You’re A Grown-Up When…

• You get rid of your ratty old laundry bags from college in place of a hamper
• You seriously contemplate spending $100 on said hamper (no worries guys, I didn’t do it…yet)
• You bribe yourself with promises of a shopping spree at Bed Bath and Beyond once you unpack your last suitcase of clothing
• You buy and lug home not one, but two different kind of hampers/laundry sorting devices because you can’t decide which one would look better/be more functional
• You stop yourself at two Michaeledas so you’ll have room for dinner
• You can’t wait to go home so you can put up your new curtains
• You spend so much time organizing your new home goods that you forget to eat lunch
• You are excited to be at home and in bed before midnight on Friday and Saturday nights

As you can tell, unpacking is moving slowly, but surely. Adulthood, on the other hand, is an always-evolving, never-ending process….

 

Twelve Miles, All Smiles

Another time I ran 12+ miles, during Grete's Great Gallop Half-Marathon in Central Park last October. This smile was just because I knew someone was taking my picture, and maybe also because I am wearing my favorite running shirt.

After a brief hiatus from runnin’ thanks to the big move and my best friend’s wedding, the Wu is back on track (get it?). My job allows me to keep a flexible schedule and work from home, so I decided to take advantage of it by making Thursday mornings my time for long run. That way I’ll be able to sleep in on the weekends without having to worry about it getting too hot to run. It’ll also allow me buy out visit the Greenmarket on Saturdays before everything is sold out or wilted, not to mention keep some semblance of a social life on Friday and Saturday nights (hello friends, I’ve missed you so!).

This morning began when my alarm rang at 5:30, interrupting a dream where I was telling off the waiter at TGIFridays for 1) my finding a hair in my nachos 2) taking so long for bringing me a second order and 3) wanting me to fill out a survey about it. Subconscious, what is going on with you? Got up, Body-Glided, got dressed in clothes I laid out the night before (proper planning is key to successful morning runs), ate a GU and a tangerine and away I went! The sun wasn’t fully up yet, so while this girl definitely got her sweat on, it was still bearable. I was meeting Tara at the bottom of Central Park, about three miles into the run, and luckily the timing worked out perfectly. We ran, stopped for water a lot, but took no bathroom breaks. This was a huge deal for me, since park bathrooms don’t open til 7, and also because I’d been stopping very frequently on short runs and knew it was something I had to work on. This morning proved that so much of it was psychological, so again, take that, subconscious!

I usually run with music but not with people, so this was a much-welcomed change. The next four miles flew by as we caught up, people watched and generally enjoyed the scenery. I didn’t mind not having music, even when Tara and I weren’t talking (perhaps the fact that I had Single Ladies stuck on my head for the next two hours or so had something to do with it). In fact, although this was the longest run I had done since the Brooklyn Half in May, both the time and miles flew away quickly. Running with others is definitely something I am going to do more of in the future. Who’s coming with me? Anyone? Anyone?

The weather rose about five degrees during the course of our run, which may not sound like a lot but we were both ready to be done way before we met our mileage. Our last three miles together were definitely not as fun or fast as the first four, especially my second time conquering Harlem Hill (hill? What hill!).  I am so proud of how we pushed through and finished way after after our bodies were yelling at us to quit. Determination, it’s nice having you in charge! Please join us anytime.

I have conquered so many fears through running and have learned to face and manage things that I have no control over. Running in the pouring rain, running in high humidity and heat, running with no bathrooms around; these were all conditions that held me back from running because I was so scared to be miserable or worse, not finish the run I had set out to do and disappoint/hate myself.  But as my “running journey” has taught me over the past two years, with enough practice and preparation, you really can survive and enjoy anything. And if not enjoy, at least take comfort in the fact that any run, no matter how bad, is better than not running at all. This summer, I am amazed to actually find myself enjoying running for the sake of running, which is something I never thought I would hear myself say (or see myself type).

By the end of my run, my clothes were dripping wet, my feet hurt, and my entire body was covered in dried salt (which incidentally, makes for a great exfoliant in the shower. Thanks, Mother Nature!). Can’t wait to do it again next week! After that fabulous description, now I know you’ll really want to join me….

 

Good morning Wu-rld!!

It’s not even 8 am yet and I have already:

—been up for over three hours
—made the most of my insomnia by doing a yoga DVD
—showered, dressed, breakfasted, commuted and napped
—tried out the WordPress app on my phone for the first time (in progress)
—caught up on emails, Groupon and Facebook
—lugging 15 lbs of apples, hummus, tortillas and cheese on two trains and a bus
—started on a scenic tour of Queens, thanks to the Q05 bus down Merrick Blvd

I’m hoping not to add “getting lost in Queens” to that list.  Happy Wednesday, everyone!

 

McSchafer Madness

Just got back into town after a fun-filled, action-packed wedding weekend celebrating the marriage of Megan and Grant! Check out some pictures of said action below (courtesy of my camera and Krista’s photography skills):

 

The "Five of Us" at the luncheon on Friday

"Bridesmaids Without the Dresses" before the Wedding

Krista is a pro at the art of self-portraits by digital camera.

Here comes the bride!

They Did!!

 

Want to know what happened next? Check out the rest of the pictures here.

Megan is one of my oldest and dearest friends in the world; we met in 8th grade when her family moved to Charlotte from Barrington IL, but didn’t really become good friends until 9th grade or so. We quickly made up for that lost year by my practically living at their house for the rest of high school. Although we separated for our college years and a few after that, Megan and I got to continue our in-person life-partnership when she moved to and lived in NYC for two years. It was such a blessing to be watch how this friendship that began as awkward teenagers has grown deeper and stronger as we became confident, well-adjusted, successful real-life adults (in title, at least). We still giggle, gossip and talk as much and probably as fast as we did when we were 15 (I would say maybe more, but I’m not sure that is humanly possible) and I know that will never change.

Although I haven’t had nearly the same amount of history with Grant, I have known since the day I met him that he would be the one for Megan. He truly makes her so happy and the best version of herself (and trust me, you don’t want to see the worst version!). Grant is one of the most patient, kindest and supportive people I have ever met (and I’m not just saying that because he’s one of this blog’s whopping TWO subscribers. Hi Grant! And what are the rest of you fools waiting for?). What I admire most about Grant is his genuine interest in people; he is a pro at getting people to open up about themselves and putting people at ease in any situation. I also love that he once walked a mile in high heels to bring attention to domestic violence; it takes a real man to stand up for women like that. And of course, how can his unabashed love and use of exclamation points not make you excited about life as well?!!

Along with the rest of the Grantastic P. Schafer fan club, we are all so, so thrilled that these two have found each other.  Can’t wait to see all the wu-nders that your new life together will bring! Lots of love and luck to the newlyweds!