|
|
 The other day, I noticed in Time Out Magazine that there was a 12 mile walk from the Staten Island Ferry to the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan. I was so excited about it. I thought it would be an amazing experience to participate in, so I asked my children if they were into it.
“Are you kidding?” my daughter said to me. “I don’t want to do that!”
“That doesn’t sound like fun,” my son said.
I turned to my husband. What do you think? I asked him. He told me he would do it. So, I proceeded to call my sister, Lori.
“I just want to see if you want to take a nice stroll from Staten Island to the GWB.” I asked her.
“WHAT? ARE YOU NUTS?” she said. “I can’t even walk two blocks and you think I can make that trek?”
When I hung up the phone with her I started to think about people living in the burbs. When I lived in the city, I was so active. I rode my bicycle. I walked everywhere. I climbed up and down stairs. And I was fit.
But, when you live on Long Island or any suburb outside of a city, you tend to drive everywhere. You park as close to the store that you want to go into. You also circle around spots even though there are plenty in the back.
So, does living in the burbs make us lazy?
|
|
 |
|
|
How do you drag yourself out of bed to go to the gym and work out?
I don’t know about you, but I hate going to the gym. I know… I know… you wouldn’t think so, but I find it so difficult to get up in the morning, put on my gym clothes and work out. It’s like torture.
But, then when I force myself to get to the gym, I’m greeted by friendly smiles from the staff and trainers and I feel better. I feel like I’m doing the right thing. After a brief warm up on the eliptical machine, I go up a steep stairway to the weight room. There, I’m greeted by my trainer, Paul Grima, who usually has a big smile on his face eager to begin the workout.
My first thought is, okay, here we go again. And then something happens. I get on the first machine and I have a feeling of peace and tranquility that I don’t get anywhere else. (Well, maybe I do when I go running!) I find myself zoning out.
For the next hour, I’m totally focused and enjoying each exercise. I’m also exhausted and sweaty and just want to take a shower! But, when I’m finished, I feel as if I should have pushed myself even harder.
When I leave the gym, take a shower, get dressed and make my way to the office, I turn on the music and feel absolutely amazing.
I smile and think that even though I don’t like going to the gym, I feel amazing after that so it’s worth the struggle!
|
|
|
|
|
I can’t believe how many turkey trots there were this weekend! There were tons of them throughout Long Island and I’m sure across the country. Each one raised money for a deserving charity and each one had hundreds of people attend.
 I decided to go to the Turkey Trot in Garden City this morning. It was a 5 mile race. It was a cold, dark day with a threat of rain. My husband, Brian and I drove to the location and found that many of the streets were closed off. So we parked about a ½ mile away from the start of the race.
When we got ourselves ready, we walked over to St. Paul’s Cathedral where the race was starting and went into the gymnasium for our numbers and t-shirts. It was so crowded. There were hundreds and hundreds of people. Everyone was eager to start. We saw the 1K family fun run ending and we knew it was almost time.
There was no way I was going to go to the bathroom again. The last time I went before the 10K in Long Beach, I almost missed the race. I wanted to run with the pack. I wanted to experience that feeling of competition. So two minutes before the fire truck blew it’s horn, we were standing with hords of people eager to get started.
The fire truck blew the horn and the race started. The first mile, as always, was tough. It felt as if it was going on forever. It seemed like that mile would never come. But it did and then mile 2, 3 and 4 came up very quickly. We weren’t running as fast as we were in the Long Beach Turkey Trot but we were going at a steady pace of 13-minute miles.
It was an interesting course. We ran alongside the Garden City Country Club. We went passed Adelphi University and we passed some magnificent houses. The terrain was hilly in parts. The uphill was tough. But the downhill made up for it.
The difference between this race and the Long Beach race, there were people in the streets cheering us on. That motivated me to keep going. There were so many people in front of and behind us that I really felt as if I was in a “real” race.
There were people everywhere. People running with their children, people running with their dogs, couples running and so many people on the streets cheering us on. It was incredible.
During the last mile, the song, Cathedral by CSN came on my ipod. It’s one of my favorite CSN songs. The tune drove me to the finish line, especially during the upbeat parts of the song when CSN sing, “open up the gates of the church and let me out of here….”
It was such an appropriate song especially since we started and ended at a church. What an amazing day. Can’t wait for the next race…
Article first published as A Runner’s Diary: Another Turkey Trot? on Blogcritics.
|
|
|
|
|
When I woke up this morning, I heard the weatherman on the radio say that it was 40 degrees outside. “Wow, that’s cold,” I thought. Now, how should I dress for the Turkey Trot Race in Long Beach, NY?
 I decided to wear a short sleeve dri-fit, a long sleeve dri-fit, a light dri-fit jacket and a windbreaker. I knew I would be hot but I wanted to stay warm until the last possible moment.
Since Marti, my running partner was feeling ill, I decided to do the race anyway. My husband, Brian, who just took up running, asked if he could join me. Personally, I didn’t think he would be able to keep up but I told him sure. He was injured last year after he broke his knee cap in nine places. He had to have two surgeries to repair it and he was out of commission for a long time. I was impressed with the progress he has made but was still skeptical. Most people in his situation would have just sat back, watched TV and got fat. He was determined to get better.
When we got to the start of the race, we sat in the car. It was freezing outside. “Let me go to the bathroom before the race starts,” I said to him. I got on the back of a long line into the ladies’ room. We started to see people taking their places. Mmmm, should I go or hold it in until after the end of the race, I thought. I decided to go. When I came out, Brian told me that the race already started. “Oh no,” I said and we both took off.
We ran faster than normal trying to catch up to the Pack, but we were unable to. We ended up running practically alone.
I’ve been averaging a 14-minute mile but today I did my first mile in 11 minutes. Although I set a fast pace, Brian kept up with me. I was pleasantly surprised.
The air was cold and at first it hurt my lungs to breath. I also realized that I was breathing heavier than normal. I remembered what Marti told me about breathing. “Just breathe in and out in the count of two… One, Two breathe in, one two breathe out…”
After the second mile, my breathing adjusted and I started to feel very light on my feet. I didn’t feel the pain in my legs or my feet. I felt as if I could run forever.
From Riverside Boulevard, we ran to the Lido Beach border. Then we went west on Broadway to Magnolia at which point we headed north to the bay. We ran all the way to the bay. Right before we got to the end of the block, we saw our friend Rob Robertson who is an auxiliary police officer.
“Why aren’t you running?” he asked.
“We decided to have a GU break,” I said. I squeezed the vanilla bean Gu out of the wrapper and sucked it in! It gave me a little more energy.
We ran on West Bay Drive and saw the boats going by. We kept on running. I noticed that I felt amazing. I didn’t even feel my body. All I focused on were the songs on my MP3. I realized that when I sing along with the song, I get more focused.
Brian tried to talk to me but I was totally focused on what I was doing. We headed south toward the Ocean. The police were on every block stopping traffic. They did a great job making sure the runners stayed safe and encouraged us to keep going.
We kept on running. When we got to Broadway we continued heading west to New York Avenue. I noticed that there was a church on the corner and they were having a holiday bazaar today. We kept running.
When we got to the end, we went on the Boardwalk to finish the race. From New York Avenue to Riverside Boulevard we ran. We kept a steady pace. There was no one around us. I could see the finish line. I started to sprint. It felt incredible. Brian sprinted too. We crossed the finish line in one hour and 17 minutes. I was so proud of him for coming such a long way and he said he was proud of me for being a “road warrior.”
I laughed. It’s amazing what your body can do. I’m the person who “cut” gym and almost failed in that subject and here I am today in my 40’s running a 10K. Pretty cool, huh?
Article first published as A Runner’s Diary: My First 10K Turkey Trot on Blogcritics.
|
|
|
|
|
I love Nike products. Through the years, I have made lots of Nike purchases—running clothes, golf clothes, golf shoes, running shoes, and more. I buy Nike because of its quality, even if sometimes it’s more expensive than other brands. So when Nike approached me to try out some of their running products for this column, I was thrilled!
The other day, Kristie Galvani (my Senior VP at HJMT) and I went to New Jersey for a new business meeting. When we came back to Long Island, we walked into my office and found two big boxes on my desk.
“Oh, I wonder what that is?” I said to her.
She stuck around while I opened the boxes. I found two pairs of Nike running sneakers (Lunareclipse and Lunarglide +2), two purple sports bras, a pair of running slacks and a gray shirt for running.
“It’s Christmas in November,” I cheerfully said.
I proceeded to try everything on. The sports bras were very different than any other sports bras I have seen. They actually work like a regular bra by opening up in the back but they are pretty like a traditional sports bra! The other unique aspect of these bras is that they have adjustable shoulder straps. I never saw that before.
I’ve had a lot of problems with sports bras in the past. Sometimes I even found myself wearing two when working out or running. Marti DiPaola, my running partner, suggested a different brand that opened half way in the back. I thought that was revolutionary. But, when I saw the new Nike sports bra I changed my mind.
The other thing I found interesting was the running top. I loved the fact that it had breathable panels in key spots. I sweat so much when running, any help on the breathe ability side is great.
There is a small tab on the back of the shirt. At first I thought it was a reflector, and then I realized it’s both a reflector and a place to put your headphones so that they don’t get all messed up while you run. (I don’t know about you, but I’m always adjusting my earphones.)
The Nike running slacks are beautiful—well, beautiful to a runner! They are slim-fitting with faux leather on the legs that are also breathable. Behind the knee is a netting to keep you cool when you sweat. And, I love the zipper on the legs and the way the bottom of the slacks fit tightly around your ankle.
 I immediately tried out the Lunarglide 2 to see if they fit and how they felt. I ran around my block just to get a sense of the feel of them and soon noticed that they cupped the back of my heal and had gentle cushioning around it. The balls of my feet had less cushioning. I also noticed that they didn’t have much of an arch. But they were extremely comfortable.
Next, I also tried the Lunareclipse to see the difference. They were unbelievably comfortable. I was delighted to run and walk in these beauties! I wanted to see what was said about these two sneakers on the Internet and found that they both received excellent reviews from other bloggers.
With Thanksgiving coming right up and Christmas around the corner, I actually got a jump-start on the holidays by getting my holiday present early from Nike. Thanks, Nike!
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/sports/article/a-runners-diary-christmas-in-november/#ixzz16Fxc3AgF
|
|
|
Older Posts »
|
|
