When my alarm went off at 5a.m. on Saturday morning, I
instinctively rolled over and hit snooze like any other weekday. The next time my eyes popped open it was 6:15
and my alarm was blaring a Katy Perry song in my ear, shouting at me to wake up. I jumped out of bed as if my sheets were on
fire and ran around my bedroom, throwing on anything that resembled running
attire. It was the first Saturday I
would be attending a Team in Training run in Central Park
and I needed to be at the Path by 6:45 to meet my friends. I managed to brush my teeth, pack my bag,
pick up a bagel at the store and make it up to the station by 6:50, which I
considered a success. Waiting for me was
David (my co-worker who I managed to coerce into running the marathon with me)
and Vanessa (our co-worker visiting from the UK and a fellow runner) and once I
got there we made our way into the city.
On the Path we met a mentor from our program that has completed 11
marathons so far; I’ll be honest when I saw her wearing a running skirt I
assumed she was a beginner! She was so
helpful and offered lots of advice and before I knew it we were in the park and
approaching the meeting area.
I am a bad New Jerseyan and rarely venture into the
city. I cannot even tell you the last
time (if ever!) I was in Central Park. I was shocked to see all the people buzzing
around at 8:30 in the morning – folks walking dogs with coffee in hand, runners
already covered in a layer of sweat making their way through the park and
vendors setting up their coolers of water in anticipation for the hot day. Christine, the NYC run coach, kicked things
off with some warm weather tips and then we divided into pacing groups. The coach leading my group, Felicia, warned
us that since it was such a warm day we needed to slow our pace down a bit and
hydrate often. Our group ranged from
people running 4 – 6 miles and according to my training schedule (Hal Higdon) I
was set to complete 5.
The run was hilly and hot.
Who knew there were so many hills in Central Park?!?! The coaches encourage you to talk to the
people in your group as you run but by mile 3 I was too distracted with the
sweat pouring down my face to do much chatting.
A few times I was really tempted to bust out in a Phoebe Buffay stride, letting
my arms and legs just flail around, but Felicia did a great job of keeping me
focused.
We passed many other TnT groups and received a lot of
encouragement from other runners which was actually really motivating when the
top of the hill just wouldn’t come fast enough.
I was chastised a bit for not running with a water bottle as it seems
everyone out that day was clutching one or wearing a hydration belt (I hit up
the Running Company on my way home and will be running with one next
time!). I’ve been warned that the
marathon course is hilly so I really enjoyed the course we took through the
park, even though it was quite a departure from my flat and fast route along
the Hudson. I could feel the difference all the lunges
and squats are making on my legs since I definitely could power up those hills
a lot faster than when I ran my hilly half marathon in DC in March.
Overall, my first training experience with Team in Training
was a great one and I’m a bit sad that I will be out of town the next 3
Saturdays and unable to attend. Just a
quick fundraising note, I am now only $305 away from the halfway mark (which I
need to reach by July 26th!).
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated! And of course, thank you to my awesome
family/friends who continue to text me encouraging words, listen to my running
ramblings and read this blog – you are the best. J
!
