3 months until NY Marathon 2014 and Izzy's first boxing match

Just 3 months until the NY Marathon!  I ran 8 miles yesterday, as prescribed by my online virtual trainer.  It's been humid and hot, and running has become so much harder.  Last Sunday, I ran 16 miles for NYRR long marathon training run, longest run to date.  I found out that it is actually much harder to run at a slower pace, and the last 2 miles were excruciating.  But I did it and I'm a better person for it.  I'm starting to plan my post-marathon party.

So I quit 30 Day Abs.  I will do it again.  Some day.  I mean, I invested $20 in that ab mat, so...

Izzy had his boxing match, it was so exciting!  I had no idea that I would enjoy it that much.  He lost, but he gave a good fight.  And not many people actually get up there and do that, so there's that.  Everyone got a trophy, and our friends from the local dive bar made him a champion belt made out of six pack holders, beer coasters, and tin foil.  So much love and support!  I think about 30 friends came out to to see him, plus he raised over $1000 for charity.

And Izzy has already signed up for his next athletic challenge.  We signed up with a bunch of friends to do a Zombie Run (5k obstacle) on October 25th.  We all decided to be runners (or humans) and not zombies.  My initial thought was that a 5k would be a piece of cake, but then reality sunk in about the obstacle part...  The marathon is the following weekend.  I should probably train for this event, but this is definitely outside of my comfort zone.  Taking suggestions and advice from anyone who has trained for this type of event, particularly if you lack upper body strenghth like I do!

Which reminds me, yesterday was the NY triathalon.  Some day I will do this...  So little time!

I PR'ed BIG TIME!!!

Spring is finally here in NYC and Greenpoint, Brooklyn is my favorite place to be.  Many weekends have been dedicated to wearing out our energetic chiweenie Landon.  We like to walk him to McCarren Park in Williamsburg, which is a 2 mile walk each way.  Then we let him run like crazy in the small dog park.  I started putting on my running shoes to walk him, but now I am taking Landon on my runs up to 3 miles.  And Izzy started riding his bike with Landon running beside him.  Two really energetic people are having a hard time keeping up with the exercise needs of one little doggy.  I am wondering what we will do next winter.

I am super proud of Izzy, he has committed to 10 weeks of intense boxing training and to be part of a amateur boxing event at Gleason's for charity.  He is training 5 times a week for 2 hours a day.  You can check out his profile on the website here: https://www.crowdrise.com/romelnava/fundraiser/gleasonsgiveakidadream. The event will take place at Gleason's on July 19th, and he will be selling tickets for $25. 

On May 4th, I rode in the Five Boro Bike Tour with Izzy and Chester (and 32,000 others).  The tour was 40 miles, and the longest ride for Chester and Izzy to date.  Those guys kicked ass, so proud and happy for them.  Izzy loves to wear my shirts from running events, I teased him that he actually earned this one. 

On May 10th, I ran in the Healthy Kidney 10K with my friend Maureen.  I raised $1185 for Team Kidney in honor of my brother— thank you to everyone who donated.  I had a running goal to finish in 1 hour, so I was thrilled to finish in 1 hour 38 seconds. I PR'ed!  (PR="personal record", not "Puerto Rico" LOL)  It was my fastest 10k time and also my fastest pace for any NYRR running event.  Maureen must have finished about 5 minutes before me, she's fast!  It was her first New York Road Runners event and she surprised herself. 

Last Saturday, May 17th, I PR'ed again.  My third half marathon was my fastest yet.  I didn't expect to do so well because I have not been training hard since the NYC Half in March.  I shaved about 17 minutes off of my last half marathon time and finished in 2 hours, 12 minutes, and 58 seconds!  Wowzers!  That's an average pace of 10:08.  Izzy brought Landon on the Vespa to come pick me up, I was so happy to have my two Mexican boys there to celebrate my victory.  But, as fun as it may sound to end a half marathon with over 25,000 runners in Coney Island, I have to say that I sort of agree with something I heard after I crossed the finish line.  I overheard a guy say "Why did we run all the way to this shithole?"  No cellphone reception and long lines for bathroom or beer make me quite the grumpy pants, especially after running 13.1 miles.  I was happy to get the hell out of there, but the traffic made that more excruciating than the 133 minute run to get there in the first place.  At least they had bagels at the finish line this year and not just stupid bags of pretzels (like last year!). The fact that there is now an Applebee's on Surf Ave. has kind of killed the whole vibe for me I guess.

Next on the horizon, I've got the Queens 10k in June, and I've committed to a training program for the NY Marathon in November using Gipis iphone app.  I'm going to run 4 times a week and my goal is to finish in about 4 hours and 20 minutes, which equals an average pace of 9:53 per mile.  (Or about 15 seconds per mile faster than the Brooklyn Half).  I've been waking up at 5:15 in the morning with Izzy, he goes to boxing training and I go to the gym or run with Landon.  We're going to be so buff!

As the Year Comes to an End...

At the time of my last blog I was on a bit of a yoga high.  For those of you not following all along, I had a shoulder injury that I was going to physical therapy for, that was painful and sucked all of the joy out of yoga.  My injury was a huge setback in upper body strength because I put off physical therapy and muscles started to compensate for others.  After recovering, I was just getting back into yoga after a long hiatus. I am happy to report that soon after my blog I did a substantial and proper crow pose and held it for a respectable amount of time.  Three times, actually.  It is a long-time goal of mine to be able to do real push-ups and real chatarungas one day, one which I have never been able to achieve because upper body strength has always been a challenge for me. 

Right around the same time Izzy started to get interested in boxing again, and we decided to shop for a new gym.  I always love to check out the very best and most expensive, just to see what is out there and we were able to get a trial day at Reebok Sports Club/NY, which is $217 a month per person for a no commitment membership.  We loved it, but the location and price weren't practical, plus I really don't need 6 floors of gym and supposed celebrity clientele.

I researched gyms in our neighborhood and we fell in love with Quick Fitness in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (right by McCarren Park/Williamsburg).  There is a boxing room for Izzy, and they have the same virtual reality Expresso exercise bikes that I got to try at Reebok.  They also have a Jacobs Ladder, a rope pull, a rock climbing wall, steam rooms, and EcoMill self-powered treadmills.  All of this for $85 a month with no commitment.  Izzy is actually excited now to go to the gym, worth every single penny!

I also reported a knee injury in my last blog.  Long story short, after two doctor visits and an MRI, I have a classic case of Patella Femoral Syndrome.  Could be age-related or a sports injury, and women are more prone to this injury because we have hips which more easily cause bio mechanical issues.  In a nutshell, my knee cap is a little out of whack and I need to strengthen the surrounding leg muscles to keep it in place.  Turns out riding a bicycle is great for strengthening quads, which is perfect because I've been doing lots of that lately!  I've also started to sit against the wall for 2 minutes at a time and the Hip Abductor Cybex machine.   A new prescription is helping to reduce inflammation better than the high dose prescription Aleve that I was previously on.

More great news!  The doctor gave me the go ahead to run, so I ran on the treadmill today for the first time in forever.  Half marathon training has officially begun!  I ran a little over 3 miles at a comfortable pace, and it felt good.  I am confident that I will be in good shape for the NYC Half in March.  And I plan to incorporate more cross training this time.

So just 2 more days til the end of the year.  Will try to get another blog in before that.  Izzy and I have not drank for 6 weeks (we have a $500 bet!) and I have been juicing with my new Breville juicer since I got back from Pennsylvania for Christmas.  And me and Izzy received many fitness-related presents this year, I am sure I will blog about our favorites.