Happy 2013! IM BACK!

Wow 2012 went by pretty quickly!
Once again I have made the New Years Resolution to update my blog instead of merely blog stalking.

2012 brought lots of excitement:

PR'ing  in the NYC half marathon by a few seconds: 1:45:42  and a great weekend with my friend Allison!!

Mimosas post race with Allison!

This PR was also after being out til 4am in NYC 2 nights before the race with great friends...oopsy! But who can resist this NYC view:

snapped this great pic at the Team in Training booth:

I also experienced my first yoga rave in 2012....AMAZING!!!!!!! Who can argue with yoga, a dark room, techno music, flashing lights, and glow sticks- super fun and cant wait for the second annual one this SUNDAY!

Then it was on to Pittsburgh on my 31st birthday to celebrate with what should have been a full marathon...stupid IT band...so I ended up changing to half marathon at expo...for the price of ANOTHER 25 dollars to run half as far...great decision on my part though because the weather was ridiculously hot and my friends that ran the full all wished they had done the half in that heat!

Pittsburgh was definitely not a PR for me, but with injury and heat I'll take it. 1:52:05




Next was a nurse's week 5k that I talked my co-workers into running- great times!! I hate 5k's but this one was fun through the park with co-workers. A week after the half marathon and my legs were not ready for race legs- but good times! 22:31

Don't they all look so happy that I dragged them out there?? It's amazing how running changes your outlook on life- for me it so positive and makes me bounce off the walls with happiness!

Since I had my first Half IronMan in July- I decided in May that I better get on my bike- Here is a pic of my first outdoor ride of the season...I think we did 30 miles and I was cursing for half of it. My training partner Alex loves hearing me curse! 

Then we decided we better start training on Seneca Lake, where the Half IronMan course was held:

8am on a Saturday morning- yes please I am soooo excited to ride 50 miles. This was the day I believe we did our first 50-56 mile ride.

And I went back for more the next weekend or so:

Don't worry mom I am putting on SUNSCREEN!

Absolutely Gorgeous course- I honestly have to say I can't wait to get back out there and ride this Spring:

 
Next one of my favorite races: the Boilermaker- one of the world's most famous 15k's that the kenyans come to!!!!

 Here we are: Alicia, Jessica and Me- Happy Birthday to Jess this day!! It was so hot out but sooo fun- 15k was well spectated per usual and the kenyans were done when I was on mile 4. I finished in 1:14:23


Then came race day!!! The Musselman Half Ironman. I was so excited and nervous....the swim went absolutely fine...but almost had diarrhea because it was soooooo warm that day that the officials made the call last minute that it was not wet suit legal!!! I had trained in open water mostly in my wet suit! So off I went in my lululemon yoga top ( had to look cute ) and my tri shorts. Now let me tell you even with the lulu top tucked in my shorts there is significantly more drag when you are trying to swim over a mile in open water! But it all worked out.

THEN, the rain came- and when I say rain I mean the worst thunderstorm/rainstorm of the summer- BLACK sky, rain so hard I could not see more than 3 feet ahead of my bike, bike shoes filled with water so I felt like I was swimming! Oh and lightening - Awesome. At that point I just wanted to make it through the race alive. By mile 50 the rain stopped. Biking is my weak link so I just kept cruising at my nice comfy speed, being passed by half the racers.


On to the run-MY event. I knew I would make up time here. 13.1 miles- yup, I can easily do this. My legs were tired and it was super humid post rain- but managed to finish the half in 2:06. ( It also helped that my friends Julie and Evan were at mile 3 and 10 cheering for me!)

My first Half IronMan time: 6:25:22. I will take it. Nice little conservative pace worked well for me!

Time to celebrate!!!! good thing we brought wine and Alex's girlfriend drove us home from the race!

 YUM! I love a good sauv blanc and some (or a bag) of gold fish!!!

 Half IronMan complete


Since the half ironman went so well.......I decided when I was volunteering at Lake Placid IronMan that I was definitely signing up! We worked the last water station on the course at Lake Placid- what an eye opener- I saw athletes struggling at mile 138 like I had never seen in my life. I saw an athlete laying in the middle of the road half unconscious, most likely very hyponatremic. And I saw amazing amount of strength. COUNT ME IN!

Start of Lake Placid....I wanted to vomit for the athletes.

So the next day after being up til 1 am , we got up at 430am to stand in line and sign up!

WE ARE IN- JULY 28 2013!:

Alex and I with our official letters saying we are in (700 dollars poorer)

One of my most favorite runs of the year was in late July when I visited my friend Jesse in San Diego:

11 miles along the San Diego Bay and then ocean. Perfect!!!!!!!!! (Jesse thinks I am crazy)

Then it was time to train for Wineglass marathon- great marathon in upstate NY.

But first I did a nice little 5k with my co-worker who hadn't ever run before:

She did awesome and has signed up for another race!!!!!!


September 30th brought Wineglass Marathon- where I had it in my silly little head that I was going to qualify for Boston and made the rookie mistake of going out WAY WAY too fast and had stabbing IT Band pain at mile 10 - 26.2. Awful race for me.

Here I am at mile 23- good thing you can't see my face- filled with pain and frustration:

But I did finish- crossed the line in 3:58:36...not a PR but still sub 4. My own fault for being stupid.

And was so happy at the finish to celebrate with my friend Alicia who ran her FIRST marathon:

Wineglass Marathon not only gives you a medal blown with glass from Corning, NY, but they also give you a wine glass and local champagne. We each managed to take approximately 1.5 sips post marathon!

But good times and great learning experience for me!

I usually am not a fan of race medals, but this is the one race that each medal is blown with glass in such a unique manner.


Next up: Turkey Trot.
It was so warm in upstate NY for November and I was thrilled to be running in shorts!!! I also convinced the boy I am dating to join in the fun!!! (He is now signed up for his first half marathon!

Gobble Gobble- perfect day!

Near the start line- just strolling along- I promised the boy I would stay with him....and lost him at mile 2 - ooops!!!! To my defense there literally were 5000 other people running around me!

Everyone finished with smiles!!!!!

Throughout the fall I was also coaching for Team in Training (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) and we just came back from the event the girls trained for: Disney Marathon

They did great! I personally would never want to run Disney for my own ( I was coaching) as I found it super annoying to get up at 2:30 am and get plowed over by people who suddenly stop because they want a picture of Mickey Mouse- BUT it is a GREAT event for first time marathoners.

 Fireworks at the start line

 Magic Kingdom- Day 1 Half Marathon

 Start line day 2- Full Marathon- Liana, Me, and Margie


Unfortunately, the heat was so high that Orlando was breaking records- but both my girls finished!

SO PROUD OF THESE LADIES!!!!!!! (Margie, Me, Liana)

I stupidly ran the half marathon on saturday- and then put in 15ish miles on Sunday coaching the full marathon and now my right medial knee hurts. So I was off to the doc this AM, xrays look fine, MRI in a few days just to be sure but doc is pretty sure just inflamed badly from overuse this weekend. He said not in the right spot for meniscus. Once again making smart choices. Ah well- at least I am learning these lessons pre-IronMan. I told him my training starts FEB 10th so I am not playing around- and he ordered the MRI!

I promise to be better about updates!!!
~LNK

Blogging....for real!

I promise I am going to be better about posting!
On quick lunch break so I figured I would try to fix up this blog a bit.

First, Scared to say this: ART has helped me overcome a minor setback....silly hip flexor, piriformis and IT band. While my doctor wouldn't let me run the full marathon, I was able to run the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. ( Pics to come)
I decided that I would just have fun with it...no trying to beat my PR...just relax, have fun, keep myself injury free and....walk if need be. Of course the weather helped me achieve that goal as it was super HOT the day of the half...I walked twice for the first time ever in a half marathon and took in the sights- the volunteers, the awesome signs, the spectators, and the sights of Pittsburgh. Finished in 1:52..definitely not my fastest 1/2 marathon..but I will take it with battling injury and the sun beating down on me.

Best sign ever: You have trained longer for this than Kim Kardashian was married!

Haha I was dying when I saw that sign- burst out laughing in the middle of the course. And that, my friends, is what running is about- having fun!

Pics to come!!!

Happy Thursday!
~Laura~

beautiful run

Happy Thursday!!!

It has been a great training week. Every day I meant to meet my new goal of blogging more often but unfortunately that has not happened! Ah well....baby steps.

Baby steps. Anyone ever see the movie "What about Bob?" Great movie. Baby steps.

Back to the training week:
Saturday: 18 mile run
Sunday: 15 min Elliptical, 1hr 15 min hot power vinyasa
Monday: 30 min swimming laps- 10 min transition to hour spin class (24 miles)
Tuesday: MXT (Midtown Extreme Training- extreme bootcamp) before work, 4.3 miles after work
Wednesday: 30 min swim
Thursday: 4 mile run

Backing off on the running mileage this week to stay healthy and injury free. I have found that cross training has helped me knock off some PR's even without high mileage.

While I really enjoy the cross training, also enjoyed a beautiful run part through the city and part through the park.

View from my run tonight

Other fun things this week:

- Read a really great book- completely not related to work or training- "The Bungalow" A novel about a nurse who falls in love during World War II while engaged to someone else.

-Didn't end up working too many crazy hours

- I heard from a patients family from several years ago

-Swam outdoors for the first time this season

Do you find cross training makes you a stronger runner?

Ever done a triathlon?

Double workouts and 18 miles

So, I finally decided it was time to get serious with this Half Ironman training plan (in the midst of training for a marathon).
Wednesday my plan called for a double workout (am and pm) so I started off the morning like I normally do on Wednesdays- 530 am swim. I swam 1200 yards and then did a bit of pool running. After work I ran 5 easy miles and felt great! I could have kept going but the "injury free" Laura said time to stop.

After a nice workout I decided it was time for one of my favorite protein packed meals:

Baked Chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese- super healthy! 

Check out the recipe here

And, because I am trying to be healthy....a side of roasted brussels sprouts. 

Today, I ran 18 miles at Mendon Ponds with the group- Great run.

Reasons why I rocked this run:

1.) I stuffed my face with Mexican food last night at this restaurant. 

Picture about 7 baskets of chips (for 5 people) and sides of guacamole. Best guacamole in Rochester hands down. I pretty much would have been satisfied with guacamole alone but ordered chicken fajitas as well. When I woke up this morning I was still full and tasting Mexican.    

2.) After the NYC half marathon I decided to utilize gels more.

 I have always been a fan of PowerBar gels- usually only the vanilla flavor. However, today I decided to use the chocolate with caffeine- soooo good and I was so full of energy I could have done 20 miles today!

3.) Cross training. 

This week I did power vinyasa, extreme boot camp, swam and ran. Nice little mix to keep the hip flexor, piriformis, and IT band happy.

4.) My minimalist shoes. (8.5 oz)

Adidas Boston 2

(sad that the Boston 3 is out...its slightly narrower)

Now, I am camped out in my compression socks in recovery mode. Ah, perfect Saturday!

What do you do to make long runs go well? Nutrition? 

Best kind of compression socks??

I use Zensah. 

Yoga RAVE!

Sunday marked the first time ever that Rochester has had.......a Yoga Rave!!

Harro East Ballroom- Rochester, NY 3.25.12

What you ask is a yoga rave?

Well my friends it is a combination of power vinyasa, dancing and savasana.

Put on thanks to Lululemon and my gym.

What a great time!!!

The doors opened at 6:30pm and from this point until 7:15 LuLulemon had provided body paint, glow sticks, blinking rings and lights to attach to your clothing.

BODY paint!!!! SO fun!

Julie and I decorated our arms and faces with paint before settling down on our mats and figuring out which limb to display our glow sticks on.

Hearts on my face!!!

Julie and I getting ready on our mats

The power vinyasa started around 7:15 and went until about 8:45. So incredible to be in a dark room, techno music blaring, doing yoga with glow sticks lighting up the ball room.

The instructors soothing voices came in over the techno music, creating a nice balance as we moved through the class. While I caught myself taking in the scenery a few times, rather than focusing on my practice, I still reaped huge benefits. Not only was this class fun and playful, but also physically challenging!!! (my arms are still sore 2 days later).

Next it was Dance party USA!!! For about 30 minutes it was mostly dancing,and big circles of love as we all gathered around and held hands while balancing on one leg. We even had a few "yoga trains" around the room. Wedding reception meets techno club while at the gym style!

What a great vibe in the entire room!! Everyone was happy, dancing around carefree. And those who aren't fabulous dancers (ME) could have the option to spike a florescent ball in the air through the crowd.  Or...You could practice your awesome yoga moves:

The night ended with an extra long savasana...What a great night!!!

What's your favorite type of yoga?


Ever been to a yoga rave?

NYC Half Marathon Race Recap and more

LOVE LOVE NYC.

The excitement started Friday afternoon when I was able to miraculously leave work early to catch my 50 minute flight to NYC. I always feel bad leaving work for others to complete, but was soooooo excited to get out and to the airport.

Best part: It was SUNNY and in the 60's in Rochester on March 16th!!!

Obviously, the first thing I did when I got home was put my cute sandals on.....and finish packing (yep, nothing like leaving things to the last minute Laura). Poor Alex had to wait in my driveway for a few minutes as I wasn't ready when he picked me up for the airport. ooops.

At the Rochester airport I got several comments on how I was smart to have sandals on~ as everyone else was hot. However, when I landed in NYC.....It was colder than Rochester. Still, nothing to complain about. At least it wasn't snowing in March!

After leaving Jet Blue terminal (LOVE jetblue). I waited in a nice long line to get a cab to Allison's. Normally, I would probably be annoyed to wait that long, but not that night. I was just excited to be in NYC!  Best part about cab?

I could read my celebrity gossip on the screen in the backseat! I'm sure the cabby was thinking "silly tourist" as I kept flipping through all the screens.

After getting to Allison's we promptly got ready to go out to dinner and celebrate her boyfriends birthday (Which was the day of the race). We went to a fabulous Japanese restaurant called Morimoto where I had what else- SUSHI! The food was definitely over priced but very good.
And the atmosphere....Pretty awesome!

                                                              Bar downstairs

                                                            Wall made of glasses!
And of course the tourist in me had to get a picture of.......

                      The bathroom stall!!- Heated toilet seat and awesome mirror behind toilet.

After dinner we stayed out far too late~ but flying into NYC I had already made the plan that I was not running this race to qualify...but rather wanted to have fun and stay injury free. (speed and hills always tend to agitate my injuries)
So fun we had! Somehow it was 4am and time to head back to Allison and Chris's apartment....4am really??? I have a hard time staying up past 10pm normally. But somehow, the energy of the city is very different than back home.

Saturday morning we got up and it was time for the expo. It was sunny and in the 60's! What a gorgeous day!
The expo was packed with lots of runners, families, fabulous samples and great booths. I scored a new Sparkly Soul headband and got to meet the girl behind the headbands. If you do not own one you are missing out! Super fun accessory and does NOT slip no matter how sweaty you get.
It was also nice to see the Leukemia and Lymphoma society there (how I got started running marathons) with their usual inspiring posters:

And Had to get a shot with the RUN poster.

                       Thank you man who took this photo for not telling Allison she was blocking the"L".

And obviously, needed to get the bib shot:

Now, onto the RACE:

0645: Walking off the train and seeing the "elite" runners lined up made me wish I had trained harder, hydrated better, and not lost my focus when I went to Jamaica the week prior. I had to remind myself that I am not an Olympian, and I am never going to be one, so it was time to have fun and keep myself healthy.

Qualifying for the NYC full marathon (1:37 time) was out of the picture....but I did have a secret goal...just PR.


0715: Announcers talking about all the world famous athletes (Kenyans) and Olympians (Kara, Desi, Meb) that were present. AWESOME! I was so excited to be there.

0730: Race officially starts....for the elite corral. My corral (7) didn't move for many minutes later. The first mile I felt myself getting annoyed- I couldn't move at a decent pace because there were so many people and I was running into people that were barely even running- Really??? How were they in a corral ahead of me????

Mile 2-3: Pace is better....and I realize I was very wrong about something....Central Park is NOT flat. I was sticking to a 7:45- 8:05 pace but was huffing. And I do not like to huff and puff in a race...especially at mile 3.

5K: Decent split time~ 24 minutes.

6-8 miles: Out of the park- turning down the street and seeing hundreds of people spectating: AMAZING.

Running through Times Square: Amazing.

My garmin saying that I was running at a 4:57 pace: also amazing but NOT true!
My poor garmin didn't know what to do with itself with all the electronics in the vicinity of Times Square. It definitely was entertaining to watch it thinking I was running that fast- and then it flipped to 13:50...what??!  As soon as I was out of the area it decided to act normal again.

10k split: 49:39  Ok, I'll take it.

15k split: 1:14: 37 ...just barely under an 8min pace... And then I started to feel my IT band...lateral knee pain my absolute favorite. And I realized I was very dehydrated.

Mile 12: 1:37 time...yep, sadly I looked at my garmin and thought I should be crossing the finish line now...byebye NYC marathon qualification. I was tired and realized I should have taken an extra GU...had one at mile 8.5 and should have taken another...too late now.

And then...there was the Battery Tunnel. Dark. But exciting- runners were shrieking in the dimly lit tunnel as we all knew the finish was near. BAM. No garmin signal. I had no clue how fast I was running, I just knew I had to keep moving forward.

Let there be light! I saw the end of the tunnel. Best part of the exit from the tunnel?
A sign that said 800m to go!
800m, 800m...being the non-track runner that I am I was trying to decide if that was 1 or 2 laps around a track. One sounded better.

When I saw the 400m to go sign the crowd support picked up and all I heard was screaming. My legs were so heavy. I could see the finish and my garmin said 1:44...Somehow I managed to cross with a PR...by 17 seconds:

1:45:40

So NYC half marathon: you were a PR.... by the skin of your teeth.

Lessons Learned:

1. Properly hydrate!! (this includes the days PRIOR to the race)
2. Do not walk all over NYC the day before the race.
3. Get Adequate sleep.
4. Take more GU than you think you need.
5. Look at the course elevation before the race

Positives:
~Great course- challenging hilly central park and great crowd support in Times Square
~Well organized
~ Racing with elite runners
~the obvious: in NYC

Negatives
~Corrals in front had slower runners
~finish line wasn't large enough for the number of runners and spectators- very difficult to find people
~Not enough size small tech shirts at the expo

After the race:
Water and then:

A mimosa to celebrate. Sorry kidneys and liver.

                  Shirt a little on the big side: no prob, put on some leggings and make it look cute!



What's your favorite NYC restaurant?


Tips for hydrating and taking GU appropriately in a 13.1?

Shamrock Shake please

Today, for some some reason, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  2 possible reasons: 1.) I was up way to late...11:30... I normally rise at 5:15am.  2.) I knew one of my patients was going to get bad news today.
I climbed out of bed and felt like I hadn't slept at all...in fact my eyes were so puffy that my coworker asked if I was okay. GRRRR. Dislike.

I did make it to MXT (bootcamp) this morning before work...which made me feel better, but was dragging all day at work. HMM could it be that I am giving up Diet Coke?? Went 4 days without one and then had just one yesterday and one today. ( I still drink coffee though).

Still tired and semi grumpy even though I am now home on my couch. I can feel my hip/pyraformis a bit- Have NOT run since Saturday. Can someone please bring me a shamrock shake? That will make everything better! :)

Do you like Shamrock Shakes??