Wife Mother Runner Blog - Wife Mother Runner

One Week Later

November 17, 2017

One week ago Sunday I was in NYC running the NYC marathon. It was my first time running this event and it won’t be my last! I have a lot of memories to share about this race and will do so in a series of posts throughout the week.

Highlights

Today I want to share with you my highlights and thoughts that have occurred since the race.

Enjoy ALL of it. From visiting the pavilion and the finish line area prior to the race, to the energy in the city, the expo, the pasta party, and the meet ups with friends.

The Pavilion

I chose to take a train down to the city on Friday to visit the Pavilion and see the finish line. I wasn’t aware of the pavilion until people in the Facebook group I was a part of started sharing what goes on there. Then I checked the days it was open. Since it was closed for Saturday, I knew I had to make a special trip for it. It was my first time running the NYC Marathon so I wanted to soak in as much of it as I could. When I heard that The Pavilion was the place where your name is on the wall, I wanted to to see it there for myself.

The Finish Line

You really should visit the finish line area before you run the race. The reason why I say this is because on race day, depending on the time of day you expect to finish, it could be dark, it will be crowded, and you have to move through it quickly after you complete the race. I enjoyed being at the finish line and visualizing what my finish line experience will feel like. But nothing compares to the actual event. I enjoyed just being there, taking it all in and actually seeing the New York City Marathon, a “major” marathon’s finish line. That was pretty freaking awesome for me.

Accommodations

When I went down to NYC on Saturday for the Expo I arrived at Grand Central Station, checked into the hotel, and left my bag with the concierge. I was staying at the Grand Hyatt New York. This was a perfect location because it is connected to Grand Central Station so for race morning and to get to the expo I just had to hop onto a subway.

NYC Grand Hyatt

The Expo

The Expo was at the Javitts Convention Center. When I arrived I picked up my bib, tried on a shirt for size, picked up my official shirt and then went to the New Balance store where the official race merchandise was being sold. I did well and didn’t purchase everything I wanted at the expo; but I did buy a nice jacket, a glass and a new running belt which was large enough and comfortable enough to carry all of my fuel, battery chargers, phone, ipod and folded up rain poncho.

After I left the New Balance store I went to the main expo floor and checked out the vendors there. I stopped for an autograph from Joan Benoit Samuelson, had Bart Yasso sign my bib, and visited the Achilles booth. Coincidentally, I bumped into Jeff Amell from the Achilles team as well while walking the corridors of the expo hall. We keep running into each other at our races, it’s great! With the weather being questionable, I felt I needed to find a long sleeve shirt just in case it was going to be colder. I found one at a small vendor booth for $20 and picked it up just in case.

Joan Benoit Samuelson

Bart Yasso

Jeff Amell from Achilles

I had some fun with the photo booths and props at some of the vendors and spent about an hour touring the expo floor before leaving to go meet up with my friend Linda Ambard for dinner.

Having been to several marathons, this was by far, the largest I had been to. However, in comparison to Disney I would say the expo at the NYC marathon is double the size.

Linda and I met up at the Olive Garden for the perfect dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with salad and bread sticks. Then Joe Pardo and his wife were meeting us after their dinner and before their show. So we chatted with them on the sidewalks of New York in Times Square on a whim! He didn’t even know the race was going on this weekend and saw my post on Facebook that I was in the city!

Joe, Melissa, me and Linda

After chatting Linda and I ventured downtown to see the 9/11 Memorial while it was dark out and the lights were on in the fountains. It took us a while to get here and eventually we had to take and Uber because the subway train wasn’t coming. So I had my first Uber experience in NYC and Linda and I enjoyed the time together talking and catching up. It was really wonderful to finally sit down and share a meal with her and talk after all these years since we met at the Disney World Marathon in 2014.

If the NYC is going to be your first marathon in the category of majors or even just your first marathon, take it all in. Enjoy the events that take place throughout the entire week leading up to the race and even on Marathon Monday when people visit the Pavilion and wear their NYC Marathon gear and medals around the city. I loved every minute of this event. Even every single mile of those 26.2 miles. I was prepared, I had my cheer squad waiting for me, and the city was one big party despite the weather! I’ll have a great race recap and video for you coming soon!

Phonetic Eye Wear Twitter Party

November 10, 2017

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Why is Blue Light Bad?

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Even More Last Minute Prep for the NYC Marathon

November 2, 2017

With just three days left until the race, I am in the final stretches of getting everything done and doing my very last minute prep for the race and to prepare everything for my family to come into the city to spectate.

Weather

As every other runner is doing, we check the weather forecast SEVERAL times a day. The forecast still shows showers in the forecast. I packed backpacks for the kids with the following items:

Rain poncho
External charger for their devices
Goodie bag with snacks
Cow bell
Water bottle
Hand Warmers
Gloves
Hat
Sunglasses

If I pack this all up ahead of time and keep them aside in the house then I don’t have to worry about my husband having to gather everything up or forgetting anything. Then my mind will be at ease knowing they don’t have to call me asking where their stuff is.

Race Day Items

For myself, I am tossing plastic shopping bags and a fold up rain poncho into my suitcase to bring with me to the village. The plastic shopping bags are to tie around my shoes in case it does rain to help keep my feet dry and warm. I also have hand warmers and a rain poncho which are compact that I can keep in my running belt.

Yesterday I created my playlist of songs for the race. I didn’t think I was going to use headphones but since I don’t have a specific runner friend running with me, but I’ll have 50,000 friends running alongside me, I want the music to pick me up should I need it from time to time. I’m also hoping it will help me run faster! I have Queen, REO Speedwagon, Coldplay, Bon Jovi, Avicii, Pink, Lady Gaga, Moon Taxi, Rush and more!

My last thing I need to make sure of is what I can and cannot bring into the village area. I picked out a throw away blanket to bring, I have my oatmeal and spoon set aside to eat while waiting. I need to pack up my snacks for the actual race fuel. Thank goodness for Halloween and the easy snack size bags of skittles!

Spectator Info

The plan is to get metro cards already paid for on Friday so the family doesn’t have to worry about standing in line at a kiosk and having the debit card reject them, etc. They can exit the MTA train from CT and then find the 6 train up to Central Park. I also loaded everyone’s phone with the NYC marathon app with my bib number. I also downloaded the MTA subway app for them. I investigated what food is around in the area that they will be in case the kids start to wig out and need to go somewhere to sit, use the bathroom or get something to eat.

This is definitely harder to manage than the WDW marathon finish line; but I think we have a solid plan in place so I can see them twice before I finish. That is really going to give me the drive I need to run a solid race to get to them as soon as I can!

My Mantra

I can’t believe this is about to happen! It’s time to get all the negative thoughts out of my head and start sing positive affirmation and visualization to prepare me for the successful race I am going to have.

I need a mantra to get me through this race. I usually tell myself “finish strong”. That’s what my husband always tells me. STRENGTH. I AM STRONG. Something I always tell my kids – NEVER GIVE UP!

Last Minute Prep For The NYC Marathon

October 31, 2017

I most definitely have pre-race jitters! They are very similar to the way I felt before my first Walt Disney World Marathon. I had to clean off my desk and get all my affairs in order so that I could focus on my agenda, timing, locations of where I need and want to be, and figure out my wake up and subway routes. Now I will begin my last-minute prep, pull out my suitcase and start tossing things in there as I remember them.

The TCS New York City Marathon Pavilion

I have been hearing a lot of great things about the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon Pavilion. It’s the location of the big wall of names, winner’s medals, Official NYC marathon merchandise, athlete appearances and interactive photo opportunities. Since this is my first and maybe only NYC marathon, I want to experience this. So I plan to take the train down on Friday and explore the pavilion. I also want to use the opportunity to get metro card that are prepaid for my family so they don’t have to worry about it on race day. This will also give me the opportunity to spend more time at the Expo on Saturday, hopefully meet up with the NYC Marathon Runner group from Facebook, then visit the 9/11 Memorial in the evening while it is lit up.

The Expo

I figured out the subway route to get from Grand Central to the Expo and printed out my Confirmation Form, per the recommendation of the NYRR site. The route to the expo is quite easy and just a 10 minute subway ride. I hope to spend a decent amount of time there and then sight see a little

Race Morning

The subway route from my hotel to the 7:45 ferry will be about 30 minutes. The ferry ride to the Staten Island area is 30 minutes where I will then catch a bus to the runners village. So I have estimated that I should be at the subway by 6:45. Thinking my wake up time will be around 4:30/5:00. It’s much better than a Walt Disney World wake up time; but still and early wake up when I really won’t start running until 11:00 a.m.!

My Last Minute List

Things I have to remember to do:

Make room on my phone for all the photos I will be taking
Charge all my devices
Charge my extra power packs
Load my iPod with my podcasts and music
Pack a backup alarm clock (due to Day Light Savings)
Make my list for the village (pack tea bags, oatmeal, cup, spoon, warm blanket, space blanket…)
Make my list for the family to bring so I can do a quick sponge bath and change out of my sports bra after the race before I go back to the hotel to catch the train to go home

I think I’m pretty close to ready. Maybe 80% ready. Once I start actually packing my suitcase with my running gear then I will feel a lot more real. I’m hoping to meet up with NYC Marathon Runner group from Facebook Saturday afternoon.

It’s exciting and I’m nervously excited!!!

NYC Marathon Taper

October 26, 2017

I am in that crazy taper mode for the NYC Marathon and I’m starting to feel a little batty! I dressed for a run the other day, went out the door, started walking as my warm up, did one running interval for 30 seconds and then walked the rest of my time on the road. I just didn’t want to run! What’s up with that???

Marathon Tapering

When I trained for my first Walt Disney World marathon in 2013 I had gone through the same thing. The taper crazies. You cut back on your mileage after several months of putting in a lot of running and start to feel like you are missing something in your life.

I have been wandering around the house looking for food as if I was starving. But I’m craving protein and fish, clams on the half shell and shrimp!

What is Tapering?

Tapering is the period of time where you reduce the amount of exercise before a competition or a race. It is important to give your body the rest so it can perform at its best at race day. The time you taper is usually two to three weeks prior to the event.

My training is pretty good. I could have done better; but I am happy with the mileage I was able to get in. I got up to 20 miles done in my training. I usually go up to at least 23 miles with the Jeff Galloway training plan. But I had fallen a little bit behind in my training this summer; so I re-evaluated my goals and decided that my longest mileage would be 20 miles. I know that most training plans call for that.

I am feeling an issue with my hip and the muscle that runs along the outside of my hip and towards my side. I have been seeing my chiropractor and I am going to have a massage on Monday. So I’m taking care of things so that I am in top shape for this race. This race is important to me.

Logistics

I have a lot of logistics to figure out. My own transportation from CT to NY on Saturday. Getting checked into the hotel and heading to the expo. Then hoping to meet up with people after the expo. Finding dinner, and relaxing in my hotel room. Then there is the whole packing and pre-race preparation I need to do. I have to figure out what I am going to pack for fuel to have at the village prior to the race start.

Course Map

Looking at the course map and having viewed the video of the course, I imagine this course is going to be absolutely amazing. From what I have been told, it will be best for my spectators to see me at mile 18 and then they can go over to 5th Avenue and see me again at mile 23.5.

The Medal

I look forward to seeing this beauty at the end, finding a place for some amazing pizza and a nice cold beer!

NYC Marathon 20 Mile Training Run

October 24, 2017

I wanted to get this run done and gain more confidence for the race. I didn’t dwell too much on it prior to doing it and wanted to enjoy it. It was the perfect day to get the 20 miles in and I can say that I feel much better about the race coming up; except for all of the unknowns of a new race location and the details in trying to get my family a good viewing location so I can see them.

Here are the stats of the run:

Nutrition

Breakfast was oatmeal
1 cups of caffeinated tea

Time of day

I began the run at 9:30 a.m. and finished at 2:30 p.m.

Weather

When I started it was 48 degrees and cloudless. When I finished it was 59 degrees. It was a really pretty day.

Fuel on the run

Around mile 5 I was starting to get doubts in my head so I figured I should take in some sugar. I had two small packs of Skittles and started to eat some of the first pack. Around mile 10 Kevin met me on the road and I had just finished up the last of my pretzel fish I had with me. He had just gone to WalMart so I took some pretzels from the back of the car and he had a granola bar.

I ate the granola bar around mile 12.5. I don’t know if I like those on the run. I prefer the special bars that Another Mother Runner sent out in their swag bags. I have them noted in an earlier training run post so I will have to research that and find some prior to the race. They were easy on the stomach.

Gear

Adidas capris, hot pink sports bra with more support and no clips in the front and a long sleeve top.
I had no chaffing with these pants.

Pace

I walked a little sometimes; but maintained my 30/30 for almost the entire run. At mile 18 my knee and hip started to tighten up. I had to walk more and put on the knee brace to help with that area. My route finished too short so I had to walk the last 19th mile all in the driveway.

20 mile run splits

Post Run

My hip was very sore after the run. I took Tylenol so that the soreness would subside and that I would be able to sleep ok. I had an appointment with my chiropractor for the following day. So that was perfect to help release the tightness. I also knew I was going to have to foam roll the area eventually to loosen up the tightness. I had runner’s knees in both legs for a few hours the morning after. No doubt I am going to feel sore after the race; but I shouldn’t have any major issues.