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.

The Great State of Alaska

I am in Alaska and I couldn’t be happier. It is cold, foggy and the air is so clean that my lungs are having a nervous breakdown with all of this fresh air. Sitka, Alaska is where my family has gone for the last 20 years to fish and hike and it is just a beautiful little Alaskan town. Other than the hordes of “boat people” brought it my the cruise ships it is a really peaceful place and I get to participate in something that I love almost as much as running. FISHING!

I think no matter how hard I try to live a healthy lifestyle when I get away with my parents and finally relax and get sleep I really feel so much better. The last few nights I have been asleep by 10pm! No wonder why my runs have gotten so much faster!

This morning I was a little sore after three plane rides to get here but after going to bed super-early I was so excited to hit the trail at 7am. It was cold and misty outside and I ran out for a quick run before breakfast. I decided to run to Totem Park which is a national park that has a beautiful trail among big lush trees. I knew there was a short way and a long way and I was hoping to only run 30mins so I could shower before catching breakfast with my parents.

Running on a trail feels so good on my body after concrete and asphalt in New York. I also run so much faster…to fast actually because after two miles I realized I was running 10m/m. I tried to slow down a bit but I was almost home our hotel I decided I would keep it a short one and go for 5-6 miles tomorrow adding in another loop of the park.

The only issue was that I was worried a bit because every year I was told to be careful of being in the park alone. I passed a few walkers with their dogs so I wasn’t really worried about any shady folks out in the woods (come on, I live in New York!) but I should have been actually looking for bears.

Totem park, I found out later this afternoon after talking with a National Park Ranger at the Raptor Center (a bird rehabilitation center) is currently full of bears. So full of bears that they only recently re-opened it and the trail up by the Raptor Center is closed completely. I don’t know if bears are attracted to pink spandex, if so I should stay away from the trail but I might just tempt fate and head out again tomorrow.

Marathon training so far has been a bit rough but in the end I’m feeling strong and evidently my dad, seeing me run down the road from our hotel room window, remarked that I’m in the best shape I’ve been in in a while. So in the end looks like running here is going to be great! Just gotta run really fast so I don’t get eaten by the bears!

Oh also, it is my 28th Birthday. Can’t wait to run my first marathon this year and I think that this will be my happiest, healthiest year in my 20s yet!

**Pic above is a 50 pound King Salmon I caught two years ago.