Why I Love NYRR

I can’t believe it has been two weeks since I ran Chicago. I got my pictures in the mail today and they are fantastic. I am just starting to run again seriously and it is a bit rough after having two weeks of blissful laziness.

I saw this linked to and I really appreciated Mary Whittenberg’s statement... I am a “plodder” and proud of it. I went from not being able to run a mile to running a full marathon and it was a rough but amazing achievement. Her statements made me proud to be a member of New York Road Runners. I love that they embrace novice runners and help “plodders” like me hopefully become hard-core marathoners. Below is her statement concerning the latest running article in the New York Times.

I love that the New York Times covers running as much as it does. I also love that we can count on the Times to “be at the center of the debate.”

Let me share New York Road Runners’ side of the debate as to whether “plodders” have a place in the marathon. Our answer begins with this: Both the term “plodders” and the question posed miss the essence of the beauty and power of the marathon.

We at NYRR stress the strenuous, demanding nature of the marathon. We don’t say that it’s for everyone. We conduct over 50 events a year from the mile to the marathon, and clinics and classes that ensure we “have a place for every pace.” We promote the marathon as the Mt. Everest of running. In other words, the ultimate goal. One that takes careful and rigorous preparation. But we specifically don’t say – “you’ve got to be fast to do it.”

To us, it’s about conquering the distance and conquering self doubt. The marathon is about dreaming to achieve and putting in all the work to make that dream reality. That quest, and the runner’s ultimate success, routinely changes people’s lives in rich and meaningful ways. Our runners, no matter the pace, typically overcome all kinds of hurdles and challenges to reaching the marathon finish line. It is that ability to persevere that translates to other parts of their lives. Making them stronger and better for the pursuit – well beyond improved physical fitness.

We don’t encourage people to walk the marathon or to take 8 hours to complete it. It is a running event after all. But, it is 26.2 miles – a huge challenge – no matter how fast you are. Ask most marathoners – we’ve all been humbled by the distance at some point. It tends to make us appreciate the efforts of others. Most faster runners I know have a great deal of respect for slower runners (it is tough to be out there longer) and vice versa (it’s “incredible” how fast “they” run).

The marathon is not easy. I am a pretty serious runner. Though occasionally tempted, I haven’t run a marathon in 15 years. I know what it takes, and I know what it takes out of you. There is no debate about how hard it is. So it’s okay – you need to walk a little? Then walk a little. Do what it takes to accomplish the goal of finishing, and be smart about it too. In NYC, our roads reopen at a rolling 6½ hour marathon. We score at the finish until 8 hours, because sometimes folks have a really tough day. They don’t plan on 8 hours, but it happens. And, we are pleased to host the largest contingent of disabled athletes of any major marathon, and the extra time helps them too. We are fortunate – with our final miles largely inside Central Park rather than on the streets – that we can offer this possibility.

On Sunday, November 1, we’ll host 40,000 runners from around the world. We’ll celebrate our superhuman champions who cross the finish line first, stand in awe of all of those that break the coveted 3 hour mark, high five those who qualify for Boston and cheer those that crack the formidable 4 hour barrier. Then you can bet we’ll welcome – with open arms and a hard earned medal – each of our finishers who, despite the challenges, cross our rarified finish line.

A marathoner is a marathoner regardless of time. Virtually everyone who tries the marathon has put in training over months, and it is that exercise and that commitment, physical and mental, that gives meaning to the medal, not just the day’s effort, be it fast or slow. It’s all in conquering the challenge. Ask any marathoner you meet in NYC on Monday, November 2.

- Mary R. Wittenberg

You ask me… it is worth it.

PMD

I call it Post Marathon Depression. I need to start running again. I did a bit of a recovery run but I’ve been such a lazy sack this weekend. I have been so focused on “Chicago!” that now that it is done I’m left a bit overwhelmed with all of my projects coming up rather than geared up and focused.

I have two jobs, three if you count auditioning as a job. I am planning a bunch of wine events currently that start in a few weeks. I know that once they start happening and I successfully run an event on my own I’ll be a lot less stressed about the whole situation.

I’m also starting wine school tomorrow!!!! So really a lot of amazing things are happening right now. To be honest, I think the blues are mainly coming from the fact that the weather has just gotten so nasty all of a sudden. I thought the cold weather would stay in Chicago but it is here in New York…BOO! I wish I could say it more eloquently but BOO!

I missed Arizona this weekend a lot. I missed my dad and my mom. I know that I’ll get used to this fall weather and start running again and feel a lot better. I also realized last night, after some heavy drinking and late-night eating, that I am not that party animal anymore and I am ok with it. As “adult” as it sounds I’d rather have a couple drinks with friends, go home and watch a movie with my dog so I can have a productive weekend rather than blizting my brains out and eating a lamb gyro at 2am. (not that that happened…oh wait…it did).

I’m so excited for the next few weeks. Starting school, a couple of wine events (that i’m leading ahhhhh!), trip to Chicago for the Northwestern 5 Year Reunion, NU Football, and cheering on my friends at the New York Marathon.

Oh wait. Feeling better already. Debbie downer needs to go put on her puffy coat to go see her running buddy David and tell him all about her race 1 week ago!

Chicago Marathon Finisher!

Well, ladies and gentlemen I did it. Photo above is from Mile 3. I was VERY excited to be running. Actually, even though I did have some rough parts…I pretty much had this goofy smile on my face the whole time.

It wasn’t easy. I woke up at 5am to get out the nerves and get some food in my tummy. I looked at the weather and realized that not only was it cold, it was below freezing. Thankfully I put all of my layers on which were a bit aggressive and left my boyfriends place at 6:20. It was crazy to see so many runners, walking around in strange amounts of layers, trying to stay warm and get themselves pumped up for the big race.

Here is my “stay warm before the race outfit.” Note the disposable jacket, old sweatpants, gator and fleece hat over my running baseball cap.

I found the porta potties which thankfully didn’t have the crazy lines I experienced at the PF Chang’s Half-Marathon and got into my corral at 7am. I was a bit early but I made some friends and realized I was in the wrong pace group but I thought I could easily slow down as the race started. Bad idea.

The race began and I flew for the first mile. Seeing the crowds was amazing and I was so cold that I couldn’t feel my body. By the time I hit mile 3 I was running way faster than I should have been. About at 11m/m and I should have calmed myself down but alas, I did not. I got to see my mom and boyfriend though soon after and got jazzed up to run the north “loop” partially because I heard that the crowds were great and Boystown was super festive. It was awesome, I was staying on a solid pace but knew the first few miles were going to get me at one point.

I saw my mom and boyfriend again after a great 12 miles and then went west. Mentally I was doing great and I kept thinking that this whole marathon thing as going to be a breeze. I kept thinking that I should walk…just for a little bit. Problem was after seeing my mom, boyfriend and two of my best girlfriends from college I started to freak out a bit.

We were running west, and I had no idea where we were going. I told myself I’d take a break at 18, sadly though after 30 seconds of walking through a water stop I couldn’t get my legs moving very fast. Then started a bit of a crazy time of me being wildly confused but still motivated.

Then 22 hit me like a ton of bricks, my lungs hurt my feet hurt and I had never run this far before. I looked at my watch at realized 11m/m had gone to 14m/m and I was pushing it. I started to doubt myself and broke down into tears, partially out of pain and partially because I realized I was so close to making my goal. So I walked a bit, ran a bit and kept motivating myself to run just to the water stations where I could collect myself and keep going.

Finally we turned onto Michigan after what seemed like an eternity of being lost to what our direction was. Once I saw the Michigan Ave sign all of my pain and self-doubt went away. I got my big smile back on my face and just took off. So many people had cheered for my “Run Tiffy Run” shirt along the way and once when I started to slow down one lone lady who was out there cheering got in my face and said “Tiffy, run, it is right there.”

The “hill” everyone warned me of at 26 was nothing. I ran up it turned left and saw my boyfriend and friends cheering…obviously relieved that I had made it. When I crossed the finish line it was surreal. I was done! I got my 312 beer, some gatorade and took, what will most likely be, the worst finisher photo ever because I had warm clothes shoved down my top and pants.

All together it was amazing. The cold weather was a bit much, but better than 80s and the crowds were…well…just thrilling. Thank you to everyone that screamed my name. The lady at 22 who gave me a banana, the little kids that gave me high 5’s and to my friends, mom and boyfriend. I also got flowers from my high school girlfriends two days before the race which were so beautiful.

All in all I did it. It was a year in the making but it was so worth it. I’m going to take a week off but then start up again. I have NYC 2010 to work towards!

Pictures below are from the party my boyfriend threw for University of Chicago Booth runners and me, Chicago Marathon t-shirt personalized today at the Nike Store, and some awesome photos he captured of the day (including the amazing elites at the start of the race!).

A Long Time Coming

A year ago I was sitting on the train in Chicago and having a nervous breakdown, which had been going on for about a week. My boyfriend had moved and I was a bit shaken with where I was going in my life. I had a job that I really didn’t like and stress that was just eating at me. I needed a challenge. I needed a new goal.

I had a memory hit me when I was on the train. I’m 21 years old and it is 2002. I am volunteering at the Chicago Marathon. I was volunteering at the end of the race and moved by seeing all of the runners cross the finish line. At that time, I was woefully evil to my body as most college students are. I decided I was going to run a marathon…someday.

My attempts at running failed…but I kept that light shining. I kept the hope that one day I could push myself to be one of those girls who would run NYRR races on the weekends and get medals. Somehow 2008 was the year I would put that into motion.

I went home to Arizona soon after I saw the boyfriend and on that visit I told my mother “we are running a half marathon” even though I had managed to only really run for 15 minutes on the treadmill. She was excited for it and we both trained and ran the PF Chang’s Half-Marathon in Phoenix last January. It was rough, I was very emotional and not sure that I could keep running…but I did. I ran 10 New York Road Runner Races on my weekends in New York, giving up drinking and late nights for healthy food and morning lattes and brunch with my friends Clive and David. I qualified for my second marathon even though I had barely started training for my first.

I quit my job. I lost some weight. I got a new job that I’m in love with and finally singed up for a wine school that I had looked at for 3 years in hopes of getting my sommelier’s license. I saw friends get married and have babies and I got back in touch with what I am capable of as a slow but steady runner. I found that I am the only one in charge of my strength, my body and my life choices.

A long time ago when I was in a production of “Annie” my mother gave me a button that said, “Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal.” Enjoy this moment for this moment is your life.

I may have a rough time tomorrow. I may be slow and doubt myself at certain points but I have made that choice in my life to not run away from those things that scare me. Sometimes you gotta just do it and believe that the journey will be worth it.

Good luck to everyone running tomorrow. I’m lucky to be running in such amazing company. Thanks to my friends and family for being so supportive and my amazing boyfriend. Thanks to my cyber twitter friends that have given me amazing advice and most importantly thanks to Clive and David that taught me how to run and like it!

Chicago Marathon Expo

I love running Expos!

Ok, so really I love any place that has booths and swag. Today was fun because the boyfriend and I got there super early so it wasn’t too crowded. He did a photo essay of me running around being overly excited. The photo above I think is the best…I was very perky picking up my race bib and such…it just feels so surreal this is actually happening.

I met some amazing people, and saw and old friend from Northwestern! I have to give a shout out to Geneva Hampton, Executive Director of the Little Rock Marathon. She was there all dressed up (photo below) and after graciously taking a photo with me she answered a lot of my questions. Her advice was some of the best I’ve gotten so far and it calmed me down a lot to hear “just have fun, enjoy each place, focus on the amazing experience…you only have one first marathon.” Also she stressed the idea of getting your pace down and not worrying about making up time.

I got a lot of fun stuff at the expo including a free water bottle from Luna, a cute shirt from Lulumon Athletica, a sport shell jacket that I am going to wear to keep away the wind in the morning, some new socks (not for the race, just in general I’m always losing socks) and lots of magazines and fun coupons. Below is some of my amazing swag.

I did talk to the ladies at the Princess Half-Marathon booth and got a tiara which I then put on Princess Fiona the Maltipoo. I don’t think she was too pleased.

The marathon shirt is so cute and I’m super excited to wear it in New York at my next NYRR race. Wow, I’m finally going to be a member of the marathon club! Now just to hydrate and feed myself enough so, come Sunday morning I feel like a rock star. The good news is that it looks like the weather forecast (after looking more dire every hour) is now looking better.

Weather now is: 51/40 degrees and partly cloudy…getting better!

Chicago :)

Well I’m off. Feeling strong and very nervous. I keep trying to imagine what the day is going to be like. I am told this is going to “change my life.”

I think I need a success right now. I’m in a bit of a funk. I am at a crossroads with what to do with my life and as much as I want to be an actress the life of auditioning over and over again starts to wear at your heart. It is odd though, fall always stirs something in me that really wants this to work…that wants to still strive to make this less of a “work every now and then” to a career.

Odd, this whole process has been a bit emotional.

I’m excited for the expo, the party after, and mainly to be able to update my facebook status to let the world know that this crazy journey was all worth it.

My trainer stretched me out this morning and I’m eating well and feeling strong. Can’t wait to see my boyfriend and my mom!

Norway Run

I am so happy that I ran this race today. When I saw there was going to be a Norwegian Festival with a 1.7 miler, 13.1 miler, kids races as well as Norwegian food and music I couldn’t pass it up! My grandfather was from Norway and when I was a little girl I learned a lot about my heritage. I went to Norwegian camp in Michigan and even had my own 30 min show at the Oslo stage of the Norsk Hostfest in Minot, North Dakota singing both in Norwegian and English.

The last ten years I haven’t really thought much about my heritage but it is something that I am very proud of. I wanted to first run the Grete’s Great Gallop but was told by my running buddy (and mentor) David “you can NOT can NOT run a half-marathon the weekend before your marathon.”

Good advice David. So the Norway run it was, 1.7 miles. It sounded, after all of this running, like a cakewalk but I decided to do 4 beforehand and then push hard on the race. It turned out really well and I broke the 10 mile/m pace for the first time EVER in a recorded race. I ran it at 9:23! It was a super short one but it is part of a bigger goal for me to pick up my pace and do The Race to Deliver 4m under 10 mile/m once I’m recovered from Chicago.

After the race I stuck around for a while and enjoyed the beautiful day in the park. I’ve never gone to the festivals after the races but this time I couldn’t pass it up. Since I’m “carbo loading” this week I was more than happy to enjoy the waffles as well as the bagels with Norwegian smoked salmon and imported cream cheese. It was a whole breakfast! I went to the Lillehammer Lodge booth for the Sons of Norway after and I took some quizzes on Norwegian history and culture. This does sound super dorky but I had a really good time.

Right before I left I got to listen to some traditional Norwegian music and then I took a long beautiful walk through Central Park. The Grete’s Great Gallop was going on and I cheered on some runners before coming home.

I’m a bit sore from this past week. I need to make sure I’m running on fresh legs so I’m taking it very easy the rest of the weekend and taking a yoga class at Crunch tomorrow. So great to be back running NYRR Races! This fall should be a great one for running once I take a few weeks off after the marathon.

Distance: 1.7 Miles, 2.7 Kilometers
Date/Time: Oct. 3, 2009, 8:15 a.m.
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 67 degrees, 93% humidity, overcast.

Jackrabbit Love

I really love myself some Jackrabbit. Tonight, after having a bit of a nervous breakdown about this upcoming marathon I went to the Marathon Q&A at the Upper East Side location.

I had to get myself some Sport Beans and I had also heard that there was a $5 jackrabbit running shirt you could buy that if you ran it in Central Park you would get free GU. I hate GU but it is an adorable shirt and $5 for a shirt sounded like a great idea.

Somehow I ended up also buying some arm warmers (to work with for my races post-marathon since at this point don’t want to mess with what I’m doing). I think I am more geared up for Chicago thinking that this is not an end but just the beginning.

There were some amazing experts there who were very helpful. Some of the best advice that I got was…

1) You last week before your marathon is ALL ABOUT REST! This is the hardest thing for me to do…just do easy runs and not push myself or try to run farther that I am supposed to.

2) Missing some of my runs on my schedule wasn’t such a bad thing- When my body hurt (from my weird fall in Argentina) it was good that I rested. I can’t be woeful about any missed runs on paper.

3) Ginger Chews- I have never heard of this but I do use ginger when I’m on boats and planes for general seasickness. These also have sugar in them so evidently can be used as a sport bean alternative. Now, I don’t want to start using these before my marathon but like I said…this is part of a bigger journey.

So I’m REALLY excited. I’ve been eating lots of complex carbs (quinoa…like every day) and also sleeping and getting my life in order. When I leave for Chicago I want to only think of the finish line.

Marathon in 12…

After an amazing 12 miles today that flew by I am going from being super nervous to being very jazzed up for the Chicago Marathon. I was supposed to run those 12 miles on Sunday but after this wedding that sort of wrecked me I needed some rest. I took Monday and did some cross training and then hit 12 today.

So yes, I am a little off but I didn’t want to miss a long run and to be perfectly honest I’ve done my long runs off schedule but gotten them down. I’ve had highs and lows, a couple injuries and some of the craziest weekends ever.

So I have done everything I was supposed to but on my own weird schedule. In the end though 12 miles was a breeze which is really shocking thinking that 12 miles into my first half-marathon I wanted to lay down and die.

So 26.2 awaits me. How will it be? I don’t know. I do know that my boyfriend, my mom and some amazing Chicagoland friends will be cheering me on.

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Last Name: Westlie
Bib #: 175000

Crazy Time

Wedding #3 DONE! Next stop, Chicago Marathon

I have been so out of it lately. I am excited to taper but I am getting so nervous about the marathon in general.

Has my training been perfect. No.

Am I excited. Yes.

This weekend was just nuts. I went a couple months ago from having a lot of time to not only run but also write then I went on a crazy bender of weddings, travel and work.

So now I’m sitting in my apartment with my puppy realizing that I need to be in major life detox for the next two weeks before the marathon. I feel like sometimes I push myself way to hard. I was so good lately with my training and even though I have been running I have had so many roadblocks lately.

So tonight I am making myself quinoa, tofu and lots of veggies. I am going out for a nice run tomorrow in some beautiful fall weather and also make sure that I’m staying home and being a hermit till the big day.