Sigh. This is a hard post to write. I’ve decided to defer the NYC Marathon this year.

I saw the orthopedic specialist this morning and I didn’t even get to see the cute doctor. I mean, if I am going to get bad news, I want the eye candy. Instead, I got the old guy who didn’t seem to have the most positive outlook on running.

The doctor diagnosed me with tendonitis in my knee, which means the iliotibial band and other knee muscles are inflamed and irritated. The cure is rest, plain and simple. Everyday we get tiny microscopic tears in our muscles and while we sleep, the muscles repair themselves. Mine are just taking a little longer to get there.

I can take all the Advil and ice it all I want, but that is only a temporary solution. I don’t need to go to physical therapy, which the doctor didn’t think would be that helpful. Thank goodness, I don’t have the time or money to go to physical therapy every week.

I could run the marathon, but he said he wouldn’t recommend it and the end result would not be pretty if I was not completely healed. Since I can’t run without pain now and am missing those precious last few runs before it is taper time, deferral it is.

I’ve gone thru the five stages of injury acceptance:

1. Denial - I’ve run through the pain. It did not exist.
2. Anger – I’ve blamed myself, my training, lack of cross-training and not enough stepback weeks.
3. Bargaining – I’ve told myself, a couple of rest days will cure me. I’ll take it easy if I can do a 20-miler (newsflash: I can’t).
4. Depression – I’ve been reading Chicago and other marathon recaps and it makes me sad to think I won’t experience the post-marathon high. I cried in the car after the appointment.
5. Acceptance – Realized it not going to do me any good to run a marathon when I’m not where I want to be physically and mentally. I ran my first marathon under trained and I don’t want to go there again. I’d be in the same situation with not getting the final long runs in.

I don’t want to end up in worse shape than I started, so NYC Marathon 2011 here I come! The good news is I’m still going to NYC and I could not be more excited about seeing NYC in the fall. Being in the same city as the marathon may be upsetting, but I will have to tell myself that will be me next year.

In the meantime, I’m excited to focus on other activities than running for a few weeks. If you’ve been injured, how did you handle the setback?

I have a problem. My knee hurts. I’m 30 days out from the marathon. Its not like a oww-I-can’t-walk kinda hurt, its the oww-it-hurts-to-run-fast and oww-going-up-and-down-steps kinda hurt. It started hurting when I ran on a treadmill the day after the Great Race. I’ve iced it every day since then. I ran a half marathon last weekend and while I didn’t die, it wasn’t comfortable and I could feel it the whole time.

The pain is somewhat hard to describe, its mostly on the outside of the knee and walking does not hurt, but steps do. Dr. Google tells me it could be runner’s knee or iliotibial band syndrome. I haven’t run or cross-trained much these past two weeks because I am so afraid of pushing it.

I’m seeing an orthopaedic specialist on Tuesday. I’m so torn if I should defer from the marathon. I guess I’ll wait and see what the doctor says first. I want to run at my best and not have a single regret. I want this to be my last marathon and I want to cross the finish line knowing I gave it everything I have. Right now I feel like a big failure and mentally making a list of all the should have’s…should have crossed-trained more, should have stretched more, should have run more, should have…

I’m going to attempt my 20-miler on Sunday (bad idea?) and hope for the best. Please cross your fingers for me!

Yesterday, I ran in the Great Race 10k and set a new record! Sidenote: is it a PR if you’ve never raced that distance before? I’ve run 5-milers, half-marathons and marathons, but I’ve never rank in a 10k or 5k, until yesterday. Either way, it’s still a new record.

My friend Jen and I headed downtown to park the car and waited in a long line for the bus to the start. Like Abby, I had a lot of the same complaints about the race. The $2 shuttle fee was collected by a random guy with a plastic bag. It was so sketch and we weren’t even 100% sure we didn’t give our money to someone not even affiliated with the race that we actually took a cell phone picture of the guy in case they didn’t let us on the bus. Great Race, please make sure all your volunteers wear some sort of identifying t-shirt or badge next year.

Finally, we got to the start and really needed to use the facilities. Unfortunately, the line for the porta-pottys was long-long-long, so we decided to use the wooded area in the cemetery across the street to take care of business. We weren’t the only ones, but seriously there should have been more at the start line for a race with 7,000 people.

And for the race, I didn’t even have a goal time. My last five mile race was a good year or two ago and my best time was around 55 minutes. While waiting for the start, I said I want to finish in 1:10. Well folks, I finished in 1:04! After three years of off and on running, I’m finally starting to understand how to get faster. Because really, when you go from not being a runner to a runner, there are only two speeds: running and not running.

I was feeling a little down and out about my training and starting to have some serious doubts about being ready for the marathon, but this race totally revitalized me.

We planned to run 14-miles post race so we could get in a 20-miler. Uhh, that did not happen. We should have done our 20 on Saturday and then the 10k on Sunday. That was our first mistake. Our second mistake was leaving downtown to head to the trail where we usually run. Traveling took a good 30 minutes and we realized we are so bored with the scenery there. We should have just kept running downtown. We got about six miles in, three of which were walking since I was so tuckered out.

This weekend is the Hershey Half Marathon and I’m hoping to set a new half PR while I am there. The half is my favorite distance, so I’m excited for this mini road trip and chocolate!

Another week of marathon training in the books. This week’s marathon training went like this:

Sunday: At home strength training
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 2 mile warm-up and speed session
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 12 miles

Saturday’s run was not so great. I’ve ran half marathons faster than than I completed my 12 miler. I’m having a hard time coming to terms with that I’m not really getting faster. There are a few reasons why – I didn’t take my training seriously enough early on, for one. A tiny part of me is hoping that it’ll just gradually come back. I’ll peak in time for the race, I hope. But, I know I’ve got to get this mentally sorted out or I am going to have a nervous breakdown at mile 18 on race day.

The 12 miler was brutal. At more than one point during the run, I asked myself, how can this be uphill – I just ran this part uphill? I did an out and back and I never really noticed how hilly my trail was. But seriously, it was uphill both ways. Maybe I was imagining things at that point and just wanted the run to be over.

I ran with my fuel belt for the first time in ages since I needed more hydration and it was somewhat annoying. Not having the typical run shotbloks, I substituted a Lara bar, which I wasn’t used to. All the little things were just not working for me that morning.

When I took my socks off, I noticed I rubbed all the nail polish off my toes, which has never happened to me before and I got blisters at the top of some of my toes around the nails. Not painful, just annoying.

I was looking thru my e-mail and came across an e-mail from my old running group and it reminded me that if you have a bad run, its JUST a bad run. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m not going to internalize or dwell on it and I’m looking forward to the 14 miler next weekend.

What’s your strategy for recovering from a bad workout?

This marathon training thing is really official now, long runs are in the double-digits from here on out! I did 10 miles this weekend all by my lonesome since my running buds were either biking 150 miles or at the beach. I woke up feeling a little under the weather, but figured the run would cure what ailed me. It was probably one of my slowest ten milers ever, but I gave myself some slack since it was hot and I wasn’t feeling in tip-top shape. It was hard to stay motivated and keep running, but made sure to take a lot of walk breaks. I was so glad to have it done and have the rest of the weekend free.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite long-run essentials and love to hear what you take on your long runs!

First up, the Bondi Band and dorky sunglasses. I’ve had this Bondi Band since my first marathon three years ago and its the only thing that actually stays on my head and doesn’t move. The sunglasses, I picked up at an expo and these too stay on my head. While they are not stylish, they keep the sun out of my eyes and are pretty light weight.

Next is my beloved Garmin. If you have bony wrists like I do and dislike the feel of the rubber strap, wear a sweatband on your wrist. It keeps the Garmin secure and doesn’t hurt my wrist. I also carry an Amphipod handheld water bottle that I can refill on the run. The shape of it allows me to carry it comfortably and the pouch is the perfect size for my keys.

Lastly, I have my iFitness belt, which is a new addition to my running gear. I picked this up at the half I ran in the spring and I must say I am in love. I usually throw my gels and my phone in here and it stays secure during the run.

I didn’t receive any compensation for this post – these are products I use and love and wanted to share. I’d love to hear your long run or exercise essentials!

This is all mish-mash bullet style because I’m a bit frazzled about putting full sentences together.

• I somehow broke two brand new contacts this a.m. and they were my last ones. Opps. Made an appointment with the eye doctor and he commented on my large pupils. I hardly ever need eye drops and I learned the drops for pupils called belladonna drops, which is Italian for beautiful lady. So, my large pupils are beautiful since I don’t need drops to enhance my eyes. : ) Also, my prescription went down so I guess all this healthy eating over the past year has helped!
• I’ve been feeling under the weather and seemed to have caught that weird summer cold. Think I’ve kicked it for good though, but I hate that I lost two good workout days because of it.
• I’ve changed my marathon training plan again. Wasn’t feeling the one from Runner’s World so I decided to go with Hal Higdon. Sixteen weeks, oh boy.
• I leave for NYC on Thursday and cannot locate my suitcase. I don’t think I moved it from my mom’s house, so I’m hoping I can find it tomorrow. Otherwise, I am checking a garbage bag.
• Somehow passed my economics class. I was so worried that I was going to fail one of my first grad school classes because the final was so entirely different than what I was expecting. Did awesome in my other class and mailed off my books for Amazon credit. Which will then be spent on my $140 accounting book.
• I am in love with overnight oats. I have no idea how I managed to live the majority of my life without eating oatmeal. Speaking of, its time to go prep tomorrow’s breakfast.

One semester of school down, eight more to go. Its been amazing to have my evenings free for the past week. I am going to be so sad when I have to give this up in a month!

I kinda got derailed from the marathon train during the crunch time for school. Luckily, I’ve kept up my long runs so its not going to be too hard to get back on track. I’ve been running with three girls that I graduated with from high school – they are running the Marine Corps Marathon the week before mine, which I’m planning to go to DC and support them at and one of them will be coming to NYC to support me. Its so nice to get up early on the weekends knowing a group is waiting for you to run (with bagels too!).

I’m running in two races before the big one – my first 10k at the Great Race on September 26 and the Hershey Half Marathon on October 3.

My training game plan for this week is:

• Monday – rest day
• Tuesday – 3 mile run
• Wednesday – speed workout
• Thursday – 4 mile run
• Friday – rest day
• Saturday – 8 mile long run
• Sunday – rest day

Its not perfect, but I’m still tweaking my plan and I have some commitments that are making me move things around. I have been slacking on the mid-week runs, so I’m keeping the milage light for now. One of the rest days will most likely be a cross training day. My goal is to just finish and enjoy the marathon right now. Once I get further in my training I’ll be able to decide on a time goal depending on how things are going.

Polly’s Yoga For Runners has been a lifesaver for me and if you haven’t done it you really should. I am awful at stretching before and after a run, so I’m trying really hard to make more of an effort to do so. If anyone has any good resources or tips for stretching, I’d love to see them!

What a day! It started with a 4:45 a.m. wake up call to be ready for my 5:30 a.m. ride to the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon with my friend Jen.We hung out in the parking garage with Julie for a bit until we headed over to the porta pottys and by the time we got thru the line, it was time to line up!

They were calling for rain and thunderstorms, but it was nice and overcast when we started the race. I was hopeful the rain would hold off since I refused to acknowledge the possibility of rain all week. It started to rain at mile 1.9 and did not stop for the entire race. I lost Jen before mile two and I think Julie and I separated before mile four or five. I felt bad leaving my friends but I knew we all had to run our own races.

And the rain was not that bad for the first half of the race. Around mile eight or so, I just got really annoyed with the rain. I was soaked to the bone and I could feel the water swishing around in my shoe. I was miserable. But, I was still able to hit 10 miles in about two hours. The last three miles were hard and I took a ton of walk breaks. Races like this show you what you’re made of. I’m tough and I don’t quit.

I really wanted to set a new half-marathon PR and get around 2:20 or better, but it just was not in the cards today. I finished in about 2:40. I’m kinda disappointed, but I knew I did the best I could today given the weather and my so-so training.

I just about fell over once I got to the finish. The chute for water/medals/food was pretty bottlenecked and the combo of not running almost caused my legs to give out. Luckily, they had a ton of food at the end, so I grabbed the food and went to sit down, so I could eat and let folks know where I was. Jen was going to come meet me, but she wasn’t able to because there was a bomb threat and they stopped the race! Luckily, they were able to take care of it and divert some of the runners. Such a scary thought since I ran right by it most likely!

I’m not feeling too bad right now, my hips scream every time I stand up and I think I’m going to have blisters given the wet socks. I took a cold bath when I got home and tried to keep moving today, so I don’t think I’ll feel too bad tomorrow. But, I do know I’ll still feel awesome for competing a race in less than ideal circumstances.

Thank you to everyone that offered words or tweets of encouragement and congrats, it is much appreciated and I love being part of such a supportive community. And major props to all the volunteers on the course who handled their duties with a smile, thank you!

P.S., Like the new name and design? I’m still working out some of the kinks, but I think its a great improvement over the pink so far!

Well, yesterday and the day before were quite exciting! On Tuesday night I noticed I had a pending charge from NYRR, the folks that put on the New York City Marathon. The results of the lottery weren’t being announced until Wednesday, but word on the street was if you had something on your charge card, you were in. Well, I didn’t want to believe it until it was offical and I saw it with my own eyes on the marathon Web site. At 12:30 on the dot yesterday I logged in to check my status and saw that my status said, accepted aka IN! Pencil in Nov. 7, 2010 in the calendar.

After a minor freakout, I’m excited! I had a gut feeling this was going to happen even though there is a one in six chance of getting selected via lotto. Mentally, I was planning to run it next year since I get automatic entry from entering the lotto in 2008, 2009 and 2010. There’s no reason why I can’t run it this year, so that’s the plan.

I like the planning involved with training for marathons and I know training will go so much better this time around because of several personal circumstances. Plus, my old marathon group kicked off fall marathon training in May, which may seem long for some, but a five month training plan works for me and I know I need it to get back in top running form. I felt so lost last summer/fall because I opted out of a fall race due to moving and the like and I am so glad to be getting back into it.

Once I get through the half next month, I’ll figure out my training and the like. Two of my friends are running the Marine Corps Marathon the weekend before, so I’m glad I won’t have to do all my long runs alone.

April is shaping up to be a BIG month in so many ways.

And some housekeeping, I brought a new domain and I’m going to give this blog a new look. I may try to do it this weekend, so keep an eye out!

After my ankle issues last week, I decided it was time to finally get new shoes. I realized I ran my last marathon in them and was WAY overdue.

I decided to not go with my usual Nike brand (I have brought the same pair of shoe four times in a row!) and decided to switch it up with Saucony, the ProGrid Guide 3 to be exact.

The shoe is good for an over pronator like me and I decided to get inserts for my low arches. I ran four miles on Saturday and they made a huge difference and I am kicking myself for waiting so long to get new ones. Since my training has been such a mess lately, I have until the end of April to work my way up to ten miles and will be okay for the race. I know I can do it. I feel so much better about the half now.

And on my run, I got pooped on by a bird, then came back to the house to find I was locked out and then had to wait 30 mins because I couldn’t get in and then had ten minutes to get ready to meet my Realtor. Way to start the day!

Found a place I kinda liked, but I’m still wavering. Going to think about it some more, but you can’t wait too long these days. So, if its meant to be, it’ll all work out.

Today I did some volunteer work and then celebrated my grandmother’s birthday. I made the cake below from scratch. Tomorrow is her birthday, but a lady never shares her age. Happy Birthday Grandma!

P.S. Anyone catch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on tv tonight? I think its a show that has some promise, but I’m not sure if he’s going to be able to accomplish his goals. Of course kids are going to choose pizza over chicken and rice. And you don’t mess with the lunch ladies.