13. What will I wear for NYC? I'm pretty convinced that by November, I can count in fall weather. I'm going to wear something Chicago-esque. Possibly my Chicago flag t-shirt over moisture-wicking shirt. Or whatever.
12. Maybe with my new job location, I can park near (ok practically ON) the course in Chicago. By the time I get done, the streets will be back open in that area, anyway.
11. I used to love the start line hullabaloo. Now the thought of it stresses me out. I used to love that first mile or so, but now it worries me. Don't get caught up and start off too fast, only to fizzle out later. The less time I wait around at the start time, the better.
10. Speaking of starting lines, NYC is nuts. You could easily be waiting up to several hours once you get there. There are "official" transportation options to the start line in Staten Island, including buses out of midtown, buses out of jersey and specially reserved trips on the ferry. I selected the ferry, and the second to last time available. The idea of sitting around for hours at the start isn't appealing. And with the ferry, if need be I can escape for fresh air if my nerves are shot. On a bus, I'd be trapped and forced to listen to other folks' mindless, nervous chatter, or people trying to talk and be friendly. I might just not be in the mood.
9. When did I become such a running loner?
8. With that long wait to start in NYC, I feel like there is a high probability that nerves will upset my stomach. Can you imagine the port-a-potty scene? (Shudder)
7. For the first time EVER, I will be staying in a hotel in NYC. That's bc BB, my #1 cheerleader/coach/support/everything is coming with. I worry about what he'll be doing in all that downtime. I know he'd say don't worry about him. Anyway, it's in Brooklyn and not too incredibly far from getting to the ferry, so that's good.
6. I haven't been to my second home since 2011, a hugely long stretch. Before I had kids I would go every 2 or 3 months (after leaving from grad school in late 1997). Then post-kid #1, maybe twice a year. Then once a year. And now this super long stretch. It will be hard to be there and not do all the things I wanna do and see everyone I'd love to see. But I'm there for one main purpose.
5. I was thinking about 9/11 today. Around that time is when I was going back all the time. I went the first weekend in October and as the plane passed over ground zero it was STILL visibly smoking, some 3 weeks later. The smell in the air in Manhattan was still sickening. And there were still posters of thousands of missing people plastered all over lower manhattan. Every friend I visited that trip told me their experiences of that day, all with that same "eyes glazed over", post-traumatic stress disorder look. In grad school one of my urban planning projects included a meeting with someone at the transit authority. His office was on one of the upper floors at one of the WTC buildings. I remember we were annoyed at the security we were forced to deal with that was a result of the 1993 WTC bombings--because we had to check in, show our IDs and pick up visitor passes! Oh the horror! (We were so naive back then. Oh, this post 9/11 world of ours.) Anyway, the dude we meet with had a corner office that was ceiling to floor windows with a view of the harbor (statue of liberty) and Brooklyn. I had trouble concentrating during the meeting bc the view was so distractingly beautiful. As the towers burned that day I thought of that office. And him. Was that still his office? Was he there that morning? It was on a floor above where the planes hit, I think. I never asked any of my grad school friends if they knew.
4. Back to running marathons. BB is my best running partner. It's funny to call him my running partner since he's not technically running with me. But he'll be there, he has been there through my toughest runs in spirit (and via text), he listens to and talks me through my training woes and doubts--he gets why I run and supports me. And he has been there for my best runs too. I am so glad he will be there for both marathons. He gets my "marathon crazy" that a lot of runners have...and not everyone gets that kinda crazy. He still has the little marathon route planner thing I mAde for him in 2012 on his counter along with birthday and other assorted cards. (That makes me feel so good to see that--every single time.) I need to put another "route planner" together. He met me at miles 2, 8ish, somewhere around the halfway mark in greektown, again around 16, on State st near 35th (at about 23) and then right at the turn at Roosevelt at 26. All on a bum knee that he'd hurt and didn't tell me until after the race. Isn't BB awesome? I hope I can put together a nice route/plan for him for NYC. Chicago's route is one i know like the back of my hand.
3. Mentally I think I'm prepared for the fact that I'm running two marathons. Whereas a marathon is usually an end goal, I see Chicago as a stepping stone to get to NYC. We'll see what happens physically, but my plan is to start up with a short run on the following Wednesday or Thursday, a 10/18 long run of 12; 3 short midweek runs; a 10/25 long run of 8, some even shorter midweek runs, and then the marathon on 11/2. Looks decent on paper.
2. My goal for both is to finish. I will worry about time stuff next year.
1. I'm looking forward to the off season though. I intend to keep up my running base. I read an article that the runner's approach was to always stay running, and implied that with that strong base, she was at minimum, always ready to run a half marathon if she wanted to. That way, when marathon training arrives, she's already ready to start training strong. I LIKE that idea. I'm thinking that in addition to midweek runs, it would include a weekend run schedule that looks something like this:
Weekend 1: 6-7 miles
Weekend 2: 7-8 miles
Weekend 3: 9-10 miles
Weekend 4: 10-12 miles
Or maybe I swap weekends 2 and 3.
--------------------
This Thursday 13 wasn't very entertaining. Sometimes I'm witty and engaging, and sometimes I'm not. And so the world turns.
3 comments:
I hope you're not too much of a running longer now because I still hold on to the dream that you, me and Meg will run together again. One of these days...
I meant loner, not longer ;)
We had a great running chemistry, I can always run with you two! And probably at any distance. I still hate that I went on ahead at the 2007 marathon when there was a bathroom stop. :(
Post a Comment