Just a thought...

NYRR Mini 10k Race Recap

If a picture is in fact worth a thousand words, then this one says it all and I probably don't have to write this race recap. But since this race was so much more than just 6.2 miles, I'm going to write one anyway. So here goes...

On June 11th, I joined thousands of incredible women to honor the late Grete Waitz by running the 40th Mini 10K in NYC. I ran this race for the first time last year (read about it here), with my parents cheering me on and although I didn't reach my goal, knew I tried as best as I could and was ok with that. When I signed up for this year's race, it was going to be different. I've been consistently running at a sub 9 minute mile pace now and have been PRing like crazy. I figured this race would be no different, I'd kick some major ass, and have an awesome time doing it. Um, or maybe not.

I was also extremely excited for this race because I would be hosting Vee, a wonderful woman I met through this crazy running world. I ran both a half marathon and the Philadelphia Marathon with Vee last year and we instantly clicked. When I heard that her dream was to run a race in Central Park, and that she'd never even run in Central Park, I jumped at the chance to invite her to crash at my pad so she could take part in this historic race. Vee excitedly agreed and for the next few weeks, we exchanged messages back and forth getting ready for the big weekend.

I picked Vee up at Penn Station on Friday afternoon, we dropped of her stuff at my apartment, and then I took her for a quick tour of Central Park, making sure to show her where we'd be running parts of the race and filling her head with useless NYC facts. She was so excited and happy to be there- it totally made my day just seeing her loving every moment of it. We then met up with Abbe and Melissa at Josie's on the UWS for some pre-race dinner and girl chat. This was the first time any of these ladies had met but everyone got along really well and became fast friends. I love connecting people! We sent a very tired Abbe home to bed, picked up our race stuff from my friend Dani who had graciously offered to pick it up for us, and then Vee & I headed back to my place to get some sleep before the big day.

Sunday morning was like any other race morning. I woke up having no idea how on earth I would do but hoped for the best and started getting ready. Drank some coffee, ate a quick banana, hydrated, shower, bathroom, and headed out with Vee to meet Melissa for the walk to Central Park. As I've mentioned before, for me, one of the best parts of racing is the excitement in the air on the way to the park. I love living so close to the start lines and watching everyone emerge from their apartments, the subway or their cabs with great energy and anticipation. That morning was made even better by the fact that Vee got to experience the excitement too. It was so awesome. Except for the 100% humidity. That was not awesome.

We got to CP and immediately bumped into the crowd that Baker so affectionately loves to call the Runner Army. There was quite a bunch of us, too many to list. But I will note that when I ran this race a year ago, I think I only knew one person running it. This year, I can't even count the number of people I knew there, both running and cheering. I realize that I'm now part of this incredible and diverse running community; it's a great feeling. Anyway, checked in my bag, headed to the start with some of the ladies, and got ready to rock it.

Mile 1, 8:54 pace: The gun went off and I cruised up Central Park West, pleasantly surprised that the street was mostly car-less as opposed to last year when I spent the first mile getting slammed by rear view windows. As a result, the first mile wasn't as congested as I'd expected. I focused on keeping a steady pace and not wasting energy weaving in and out of people. I just wanted to enter the park feeling strong. Also happy that I drank water at the water stop because I usually don't during the first mile, expecting there to be another stop at mile 2. In this race, there wasn't another stop until 2.5 and with the crazy humidity, I would've been in trouble. Happy with my pace but not feeling as awesome as I would like.

Miles 2 & 3, 8:57 pace: Humidity started getting the best of me and my legs felt heavy. As I headed north toward Harlem Hills, I struggled to maintain a sub-9 pace. Was beginning to get the idea that this race was not going to go as I'd hoped and a sub-9 10k might not be possible.

Mile 4, 9:43 pace: Struggled up the last of Harlem Hills as I entered the fourth mile and took my first of many walk breaks. Pain in my right butt cheek (piriformis syndrome?) and bursitis in my right hip made this hill a killer and I couldn't breathe through it. Realized that my goal was out of reach and was disappointed for a moment but kept on keepin on. Considered DNFing but told myself to suck it up and keep running as best as I could.

Mile 5, 8:46 pace: Was able to pick my pace up again even with a walk break here & there. I lost count of how many I had to take. Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun" came on during this mile and my mood immediately lifted. I took the pressure off, reminded myself why I was running the race, and just allowed myself to have some fun.

Mile 6, 9:33 pace: More walk breaks, and now that the pressure was off, lots of thinking about learnings for my next 10k.

                                                                  .29 Miles, 8:50 pace: Was relieved that the Finish Line was in sight. Saw Claire on the phone chatting away and screamed her name, which she returned with a wonderful cheer for me. This last bit is uphill passing Tavern on the Green and it's typically the part of the race where I try to haul ass. This time, I tried for a second before realizing I had nothing left to give so I just tried to maintain my pace so I could cross the finish and finally stop running.

Can you find me crossing the finish line in this picture? I'm the girl on the left in pink shorts and and orange top with a "OMG kill me now!" expression on my face. Yep, that's me.

When I crossed the finish line, I made my way through the other runners, grabbed some water and got my medal (a medal for a 10k? yay!) and looked up to see Glenn and Dani standing with their teammates. I walked over and was excited to find out that Dani had a great race & PRd! Yay Dani! And although I had hoped to make it back to the finish line to cheer on Vee as she crossed, I felt so completely drained and dehydrated and just didn't have it in me to move. Sorry Vee!

Even though I didn't run my best and struggled for more than half of the course, I still finished with a respectable time (57:17, 9:14 pace) and the race wasn't all torture; there were some highlights, like all the awesome organized teams that came out to cheer along the course. I thought it was a great touch and definitely added to the spirit of the day. And I loved seeing and hearing Glenn cheer for me at miles 1 & 5; I definitely needed the boost and the friendly face!

Here's a picture of just some of the women I'm honored to considered my friends post race. So awesome, right?!?

So yes, the race didn't go as planned but I the weekend and overall experience still rocked. My next 10k is on July 9th and despite some health challenges this week which have prevented me from running as much as I would've liked, I'm still hoping for a good race. Stay tuned....

365: Week 25

Monday Mantra

365: Week 24

Monday Mantra

365: Week 23

Monday Mantra

Celebrate Israel Race Recap

Saturday I hiked. Sunday I raced... and I kicked ass. I really didn't expect to kick ass, I expected to suck bad and possibly DNF (did not finish). I should probably back up a bit and explain.

When I first heard about this race, I knew I had to participate no matter what. The minute the race was open for registration, I was online signing up.  I LOVE Israel. "LOVE" is probably an understatement and if I could think of a word that could express my feelings for the country, I would use it. When I'm there, I feel something I've never felt anywhere else. It's a beautiful thing.

Me & My Family in Israel. Please ignore the ugly hair clip. Thanks.

But as the race approached, I realized it was more likely that I would be running this one instead of racing it, if even that. For one, I had planned a hike the day before with Jess and was looking forward to tackling some steep rocks. I'd also made plans for the night before and ended up going to a birthday party on the pier at 70th street and then to a party downtown with a friend. I hydrated with water at the pier, but with watermelon and vodka at the party. Not exactly gatorade!

I woke up Sunday morning and to say my legs felt tight would be an understatement. My calves were cramped as I limped out of bed for some water, to make coffee and to eat a banana. I wasn't that hungry, ate only half the banana and forgot to eat the other half as I got ready for the race. As per my typical pre-race routine, I drank my coffee in the shower, talked to my stomach begging it to digest but no such luck in that department. I ended up heading to the start line with sore legs, an empty growling stomach, not much water, and no luck in the bathroom (TMI perhaps but if you run, you understand).

My friend G and I met up with Melissa and headed towards Central Park for what I was sure would be an epic failure. Did I mention this was only a 4 mile race? Such a short one, and I still thought I might have to walk... you could imagine just how crappy I was feeling. When we got there, I bumped into Robin who I like to pretend is my little sister, and who just returned from a trip to Israel. The girl was still glowing from the experience and I was so happy to wish her luck on her race! G went off to meet up with a friend, Melissa and I headed to drop off baggage and I bumped into another friend Jeannie, who was excited to run her first race. So awesome to see her & encourage her! We then headed to the corrals, I said goodbye to Melissa who would start in a faster one, and headed to the grass for a minute of pigeon pose on each leg as someone sang the Hatikva. I then entered my packed corral and waited for the race to begin.

Once we began, I was shocked at how good I felt. My calves weren't cramping and my legs no longer felt very heavy. My stomach was growling but I reminded myself that I could handle 4 miles without lots of fuel. I hit mile one, which included the infamous Cat Hill, at exactly 9 minutes and just tried to keep my pace steady for mile 2. It seems that I succeeded because I hit mile 2 almost exactly 9 minutes later. That's when I realized I might actually have a great race after all and decided to go all out and see what I could do.

Mile 3 was a bit more difficult as it included the rolling hills along the west side of the park. By the end of the mile, my legs began to feel heavy and I was getting tired. I approached the water station and decided to walk through it to give myself 30 seconds of recovery in the hope that I might finish strong. And then I was off trying to kick mile 4's butt. I spotted a friend cheering as I approached 72nd street, turned the corner and then saw G and heard him call my name as I headed towards the finish line. I completed the race with a time of 35:38 or an 8:54 pace, almost a 3 minute PR! As you can tell from the picture, I was spent!

It would have been lovely to get a finish line picture of me actually crossing but just as I approached, one of the runners got on his knee and proposed to his running partner, who I assumed was his girlfriend. She said yes, they started making out right before the finish line and the cameras were all focused on the big romantic event. Way to ruin it for the rest of us buddy! Just kidding ;) Mazel Tov to the happy couple but why he didn't wait until after they crossed the finish line so they would have a better finish time, I'll never understand.

So, that's my race recap for the race that was almost just a crappy run. Who knows... maybe I had religion on my side that day... or maybe I just rock. Whatever the case, it felt great and I had a giant smile on my face for the rest of the day. Next up is the NYRR Mini 10k in Central Park this weekend. Stay tuned....

The Summer of Hiking

I'm a huge fan of spending time outdoors. But while some people dream of the beach in the summer, I dream of mountains and lakes. Maybe it's because I spent my summers growing up fishing upstate with my family, or in later years, at sleepaway camp in the Berkshires. I have distinct memories of driving upstate with my parents and brothers, spending hours with my feet dipped in a lake, excitedly holding fishing poles until I felt a nibble. I used to love early morning campfires with my friends, overnights in tents where we'd sit around and tell stories, and sneak off to flirt with boys in the woods. And I've always loved hiking.

Jess & I getting ready to get our hike on

When I made my list of things I wanted to do this summer, hiking was on top. I spent a lot of time kayaking last summer, which was incredible and invigorating. But I missed my hiking and promised myself I'd start the season as soon as possible. So when I found out that one of my newest friends, Jessica, was an avid hiker I was pretty excited! After a bit of back and forth on available dates, Jess and I planned a hike in Cold Spring New York this past weekend and spent a beautiful day navigating up rocks, across logs, and admiring breathtaking views. Having lived in NYC since the summer of 1999, I can't believe I'd never been to Cold Spring before. It's a quaint little town, just an hour train ride from the city. The train leaves you off in town with cute shops, great restaurants, and a short walk from beautiful hiking trails. Jess and I boarded an early train at Grand Central, had a chance to catch up and plan our day, grabbed a cup of coffee, applied sunscreen, and headed out to for a few hours of what ended up being pretty strenuous hiking.

Love Cold Spring!

The first hour or so of hiking was pretty steep and involved navigating over lots of rocks. Although I hike for the experience and not for the exercise, I must note that it was an incredible workout. Jess is also a runner getting ready to train for the New York City Marathon and as we climbed we both found ourselves out of breathe and sweating bullets. At around 12:30, I realized I should probably put the coffee down and start some major hydrating (Coffee on a hike? Yes, I make stupid decisions from time to time) so we found some large rocks to sit on and stopped for lunch. Jess brought along a sandwich; I brought along Chickpea Salad, green apples, a giant bag of trail mix, and baby carrots. I brought enough food to feed a small family and yes, I ate almost all of it before the day was over. What can I say? Hiking makes me hungry!

Jess's very cool fanny pack! Note the water bottle & coffee cup ;)

The view from our lunch spot

Trader Joe's Chickpea Salad made the perfect hiking lunch

After lunch, we continued the steep hike upwards, found ourselves crossing little streams by walking across strategically placed logs, and searched for the trail markings to lead us along. One of my favorite moments during the hike was when we were walking through the woods and the trail just seemed to end. At that point, we were following blue trail markers and we looked around but saw no markers. The path that we had been following seemed to be cut off my several fallen trees and if you've ever walked through a forest, you know that there are areas where it's all just a bunch of trees and you have no idea which direction to go. Two-year-ago-Erica would've panicked and assumed we were lost which would've gotten us no where. But both Jess and I remained calm, pulled out our little map, and tried to retrace our steps to determine in which direction we should be heading. Within a few minutes, we figured it out, looked up to find the blue markers and were once again on our way. There might've been some cheering and high-fiving involved too ;) I couldn't help but be proud because I kept it together knowing that panicking wouldn't have helped and for the next few minutes, I reflected on the changes I've made over the last few years to get me to that mind set. It felt pretty freaking awesome!

Crossing Logs

Making new friends

Finding our way... red or blue?

... more logs

and a whole lot of rocks!

The rest of our hike involved lots more of the same: rocks, beautiful views, wildlife, cool streams, and a long road we named the "Stand by Me" portion of the hike since it reminded us of the movie. It really was an incredible few hours spent with a new friend who I feel like I've known forever. We ended our day with fresh juices in town, I picked up some yummy chocolate for a friend, and we headed back to the city totally exhausted but happy.

I'm already planning my next hike for this summer, hoping to hit some more trails and have some new adventures. Do you hike? Any favorite spots I should know about? Please share!