Sunday, July 21, 2019
Friday, February 17, 2017
Bazel + Go + Google App Engine
In my previous post, I shared some of my Bazel rules for external dependencies with bazel for go. While I got my code to compile, Deployment to the Google App Engine Flex Environment failed due to missing dependencies.
I primarily want to use Bazel because I want to have deterministic dependencies. Vendoring in Go by default pull from head, which isn't the behavior I want - especially when working with a remote team. I initially used govendor to pull deps at a specific commit into a vendor directory in my source tree - that commit was defined in the Bazel file. This turned out to be clunky - I was pulling deps twice.
Since the App Engine Flex Environment allows you to deploy any Docker container in Google Container Registry, I decided instead to use Bazel's docker_build rule to just build my container.
This is mostly straight forward. The only catch is that I wanted to have the base layer of y container be the GAE Go base layer. There isn't currently any way to define a remote base layer in Bazel's rules. The solution here is to build a tarball using the base layer, and then use a new_http_archive rule to pull down the tarball. Here are the steps to do that:
$ gcloud docker pull gcr.io/google-appengine/golang:1.6
$ docker save gcr.io/google-appengine/golang -o aegolang1.6
$ gzip aegolang1.6.tar
I then uploaded the tarball to a Google Cloud Storage bucket. And added the following modifications to my Bazel files.
in WORKSPACE:
new_http_archive(
name = "appengine_go",
url = "https://storage.googleapis.com/path_to_tarball/base_image.tar.gz",
type = "tar.gz",
build_file = "appenginego.BUILD",
)
I primarily want to use Bazel because I want to have deterministic dependencies. Vendoring in Go by default pull from head, which isn't the behavior I want - especially when working with a remote team. I initially used govendor to pull deps at a specific commit into a vendor directory in my source tree - that commit was defined in the Bazel file. This turned out to be clunky - I was pulling deps twice.
Since the App Engine Flex Environment allows you to deploy any Docker container in Google Container Registry, I decided instead to use Bazel's docker_build rule to just build my container.
This is mostly straight forward. The only catch is that I wanted to have the base layer of y container be the GAE Go base layer. There isn't currently any way to define a remote base layer in Bazel's rules. The solution here is to build a tarball using the base layer, and then use a new_http_archive rule to pull down the tarball. Here are the steps to do that:
$ gcloud docker pull gcr.io/google-appengine/golang:1.6
$ docker save gcr.io/google-appengine/golang -o aegolang1.6
$ gzip aegolang1.6.tar
I then uploaded the tarball to a Google Cloud Storage bucket. And added the following modifications to my Bazel files.
in WORKSPACE:
new_http_archive(
name = "appengine_go",
url = "https://storage.googleapis.com/path_to_tarball/base_image.tar.gz",
type = "tar.gz",
build_file = "appenginego.BUILD",
)
Notice I've defined a build_file above. So now we have to fill that in as well - so I created a new file called appenginego.BUILD with the following contents:
load("@bazel_tools//tools/build_defs/docker:docker.bzl", "docker_build")
# Extract .xz files
genrule(
name = "aego_tar",
srcs = ["aegolang1.6.tar.gz"],
outs = ["aego_tar.tar"],
cmd = "cat $< | gunzip >$@",
)
docker_build(
name = "aego",
tars = [":aego_tar"],
visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
)
And then I use that in my application build file:
load("@bazel_tools//tools/build_defs/docker:docker.bzl", "docker_build")
docker_build(
name = "aego",
base = "@appengine_go//:aego",
)
docker_build(
name = "image",
files = [":api"],
entrypoint = ["/api"],
base = ":aego",
ports = ["8080"],
repository = "gcr.io/your_repo"
)
The final steps for deployment here are to upload the new container to GCR and then deploy.
First you'll want to load your image into docker. You can do this by running the following command:
$ bazel run src/path/to/your/build/rule:image
Now issuing a "docker images" call should list your newly built image as gcr.io/your_repo/path_to_your_build.
Next, do the actual push to gcr:
$ gcloud docker push gcr.io/your_repo/path_to_your_build
Finally to deploy your awesome new container you'll run:
$ gcloud app deploy --image-url=gcr.io/your_repo/path_to_your_build:image
And that's it. This allows you to completely use Bazel for building and handling external deps without worrying about manual vendoring work. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Bazel with Go
I've spent a bit of time this afternoon trying to get bazel working with Go.
The bazel documentation isn't entirely clear at this point, so I'm doing a short writeup of my experience here.
I essentially want to bazel-ise the Google Cloud Enpoints with Go Tutorial. I'm working in a private repo, so I won't be sharing links to my repo.
The first issue I came across was how to handle external dependencies. In the sample app.go has a dependency on "github.com/gorilla/mux".
Its not too difficult to handle external dependencies. In your WORKSPACE file at the root of your repo, you'll want to include:
Next up, in your BUILD file that sits next to your code, you'll need to actually add a dependency to mux. Below is the entirety of my BUILD file, as it currently stands.
It compiles! Hooray! That's it for now, I'll add more posts as I progress with this.
The bazel documentation isn't entirely clear at this point, so I'm doing a short writeup of my experience here.
I essentially want to bazel-ise the Google Cloud Enpoints with Go Tutorial. I'm working in a private repo, so I won't be sharing links to my repo.
The first issue I came across was how to handle external dependencies. In the sample app.go has a dependency on "github.com/gorilla/mux".
Its not too difficult to handle external dependencies. In your WORKSPACE file at the root of your repo, you'll want to include:
load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "new_go_repository")
new_go_repository(
name = "com_github_gorilla_mux",
importpath = "github.com/gorilla/mux",
commit = "392c28fe23e1c45ddba891b0320b3b5df220beea",
)
I chose the commit hash of the most recent tagged version. You can specify tag here instead of commit if you prefer.Next up, in your BUILD file that sits next to your code, you'll need to actually add a dependency to mux. Below is the entirety of my BUILD file, as it currently stands.
load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "go_binary", "new_go_repository")
go_binary(
name = "api",
srcs = ["app.go"],
deps = ["@com_github_gorilla_mux//:go_default_library"]
)
Monday, April 13, 2015
2015 Sleepy Hollow Half
I'm a little late on this blog post! Three weeks ago, Alek and I ran the Sleepy Hollow half marathon. I've done this race before and knew to expect a very hilly course. Given that the race date was March 21, we weren't really expecting the spring snow when we woke in the morning.
Winter wonderland in Brooklyn (on our way there)
Despite the winter wonderland outside, by morning the temperature was fairly warm and it turned out to be good race conditions - we really lucked out this winter!
Overall, this was a good race. The snow really made the course quite pretty and the course was slightly different from the last time I ran. This year there was no out and back along the highway. We simply ran for a stretch on the highway, having done the out on local roads. This change was definitely for the better.
Winter wonderland on course
The only thing I would have changed about the race were the water stops. Our first water stop was at about 4 miles, and the next wasn't until mile 7. After that they were frequent. I definitely didn't drink enough prior to the race and was feeling the lack of water as I ran. I started to get a headache right before the first stop. From there I took three cups of water to offset some of the dehydration.
About 1 mile down!
I was happy with our time, while we didn't do better than the Love Rox Half in February, this was a much harder course! We finished in 2:34:52.
This year's race shirt was a technical shirt (I'm wearing it in the photo above). The medal was much nicer than the 2012 medal as well!
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Love Rox Half Marathon
This past weekend, Alek and I trekked down to Richmond, VA for the Love Rox Half Marathon. When we selected a race in Richmond, we expected that by going a few hundred miles south we could escape the cold and snow that may be plaguing New York at the end of February. Also, the race was followed by a wine expo!
We left for Richmond from my cousin's place in Northern, VA around noon on Saturday. Packet pickup for the race ended at 3pm. Under normal conditions, it would have been a 2 hour drive to Richmond. However, conditions were far from normal. There was a lot of snow coming down in a state where plows don't keep the roads as clear as we're used to.
We left for Richmond from my cousin's place in Northern, VA around noon on Saturday. Packet pickup for the race ended at 3pm. Under normal conditions, it would have been a 2 hour drive to Richmond. However, conditions were far from normal. There was a lot of snow coming down in a state where plows don't keep the roads as clear as we're used to.
We pressed on and made it to the packet pickup at 3:30 PM. The folks from Richmond Multisports were packing up the race day stuff and getting ready to head out. They were kind enough to grab our bibs, but they asked us to get our shirts and wine expo tickets either before or after the race.
The snowstorm spared Richmond, so once we got there driving was fine. As we arrived at the hotel, we saw people slipping and falling. It was incredibly icy in a city that doesn't understand that spreading salt will resolve ice issues.
After settling into the hotel, we made the treacherous 3 block walk to the Penny Lane Pub for dinner. The pub had tasty food - including a "Grown-Up Grilled Cheese". Alek ordered it, I had a bite. Best grilled cheese ever!
On race morning, we were just 2 blocks from the start line, which was also right outside of the convention center where the wine expo was held. We walked up around 8 to get the remainder of our race stuff and then walked back to the hotel to finish getting ready.
Love Rox long sleeve technical shirt
It was considerably warmer on Sunday, which made for mostly great running conditions. The race was supposed to start at 9:30, but I think it was closer to 10 by the time we started running. It was a two lap course, around richmond that included crossing a small canal through a park and then crossing the James River over some traffic bridges. There were a few hills, but nothing horrible. There was still some ice in the park and around bridges, so we all had to be careful when running. However, the worst part of the race were partial road closures on busy streets where cars were idling and runners were breathing exhaust fumes.
The course
The park with some icy patches
Race Start
Frozen Canal
The Richmond Police were out in full force directing traffic. The officers were saw were all happiness and smiles. It was great to have their support along with that of the Richmond Multisport volunteers while we were out there.
Alek and I finished in 2:33:19, shaving 17 minutes off of our Manhattan Half Marathon time. That's a huge improvement for one month! The course was less hilly than Central Park, but I think we made bigger gains in speed from actually training. I'll write a bit more about my personal training experiences later this week.
Finisher medal and bib
After my 21st half marathon, it seemed appropriate that we go taste some wines!
Wine Expo!
Monday, February 23, 2015
Winter Vacation 2015: I'm on a boat MotherF#%$
If you’ve ever been on a cruise, then you’ll already know that they mean tons of eating, frozen drinks, and for most people, weight gain. When we set off on the JOCO cruise, I didn’t want to set myself back by over eating, drinking too much, and not working out. My plan was to drink only red wine, as frozen tropical drinks pack tons of calories. And red wine has definite health benefits (although I'll admit that I may occasionally over state them). I also planned to try to have salads as much as possible, and to remain active.
I was mostly successful, although I did indulge in one frozen mudslide.
My trainer, Julia, gave me a routine of squats, planks, and pushups to do daily. This routine took me less than 15 minutes, and was a good compliment to whatever the main activity of the day was.
When we were at sea, the main activity was typically running on the ship’s track. On the track it took 4.5 laps to run one mile. The longest track run I did was 6 miles or 27 laps around the track. While the ship was moving the wind was blowing at about 45mph. The wind tripped me (blowing my feet around while running), blew my shirt up, and when running directly into it I felt like I was running in place. A group of sunbathing women next to the track cheered me on as I passed them during every lap of the 6 mile run. I was pretty happy for the entertainment.
Independence of the seas, you can see her track toward the top, right edge of the ship.
Despite the wind, I was pretty happy to be running outside, especially since winter in New York has be pretty unpleasant.
The ship’s gym was quite large with a lot of equipment, so on days when I just wanted to take a short run without the wind I would use the treadmill.
Both the gym and the track afforded some beautiful views of the open ocean, which was pretty neat and different from the scenery at home!
The view as we left Haiti. Kayaking that day was easy, so Alek and I also did a 5k on the ship.
Port days were a different story, we did some kayaking in St. Kitts and Labadee, Haiti. In San Juan we walked for much of the day roaming around San Cristobal and playing with all of the cats that love to hang out in Old San Juan. At St. Maarten, we swam with a dolphin. These were all really fun activities. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, I’ll leave you to enjoy these photos rather than providing further descriptions. We haven't yet taken the photos of kayaking off of the GoPro, so I'll share them some other time.
A lighthouse at El Morro.
The lawn at El Morro.
Caaaats!
How did it all work out? I came back one pound heavier than I left. It was a setback, but not nearly as bad as it would have been if I had indulged in all of the frozen drinks that the ship had to offer.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Winter Vacation 2015: Running in Ft Lauderdale
From January 31 through February 8, Alek and I, along with Tammy, Chris, Nate, and Matt went on the JOCO Cruise Crazy, an 8 night Caribbean cruise with some amazing entertainers including Jonathan Coulton, Paul & Storm, Pat Rothfuss, John Scalzi, Matthew Inman, The Both, and many others. If you're curious about this cruise, I don't think I can summarize better than John Scalzi, so please head over to Whatever and take a look at his post.
I have a few things to say about trying to get workouts in on vacation, so I'll share them over the course of a few posts.
I have a few things to say about trying to get workouts in on vacation, so I'll share them over the course of a few posts.
We flew into Ft Lauderdale on January 30 just to avoid any stress with airport to ship transfers. We stayed at The Hilton Ft Lauderdale Marina. Alek and I decided to get up and get a run in before meeting the group for brunch, or for me and Alek, elevensies, since we’d already eaten breakfast prior to the run.
Finding a running route in an unfamiliar city can be tricky. We wanted to run in a pretty area, and avoid being next to traffic as much as possible. As we were heading out, Nate was on his way back in from his morning run (he seemed to have skipped first breakfast). Naturally we asked him for a good running route. After Nate described his route to us and walked away, a helpful hotel employee came by and gave us a Hilton Branded pocket map with a few different running routes.
We went outside to use the map. This thing had clearly not been proofread by anyone before printing. It contradicted itself everywhere. We set off on what was maybe the 4 mile blue route, but could easily have been the 6 mile blue route or the 6 mile red route. After two miles of not arriving at the cross street we were planning to turn left on to, we crossed the street and turned back. On the other side of the street there was a better activity path and it was closer to the beach. The views were pretty. The run itself was fairly easy, with a the only hill being right outside the hotel as we had to cross a bridge to get over some water.
Nice beach front view - check out the kite surfer.
Hotel running maps are awesome things to have, but would be much better without all of the confusion!
Monday, February 16, 2015
Manhattan Half Marathon: A brief, late recap
I promised this post nearly 3 weeks ago, but life happened. Better late than never, right?
On January 25, Alek and I ran the NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon. Like several NYRR Half Marathons, this is a little more than two laps around central park. The weather was great. There had been small amounts of snow on 1/24 and the blizzard that wasn’t came on 1/26. However, on 1/25 it was sunny and warm (well, warm for January anyway). The park was covered in snow with the reservoir and the pond mostly frozen over. It was peaceful and beautiful. There were also many amazingly adorable dogs whose pictures I was too busy running to capture.
My previous time for a half marathon in central park was 2:05. This year our time was 2:50:02 with a 13:01 pace. I am sadly much slower than I used to be, but I’m working to fix that now! The goal for our February half on 2/22 will be to run faster than than 2:50.
This was also my 20th half marathon! Hopefully for 25, I’m back to setting PRs.
One more note on progress: we now have 1/4 NYRR 5 borough series races required for guaranteed entry into the 2016 NYC Half.
On January 25, Alek and I ran the NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon. Like several NYRR Half Marathons, this is a little more than two laps around central park. The weather was great. There had been small amounts of snow on 1/24 and the blizzard that wasn’t came on 1/26. However, on 1/25 it was sunny and warm (well, warm for January anyway). The park was covered in snow with the reservoir and the pond mostly frozen over. It was peaceful and beautiful. There were also many amazingly adorable dogs whose pictures I was too busy running to capture.
A lonely little snowman in the park.
Peaceful frozen reservoir
NYRR gave neither medal nor t-shirt for participants of this race. We got only an ugly McDonald's colored hat. For a winter race, I would have loved a beanie or fleece hat. This was provides no warmth for a cold winter half marathon. The description for the race mentioned that this was a Fred Lebow-style hat, so I guess I understand the choice as the race carries his name. That doesn't mean I love it.
Ugly hat, modeled by me. I have one up for grabs if anyone likes it :)
My previous time for a half marathon in central park was 2:05. This year our time was 2:50:02 with a 13:01 pace. I am sadly much slower than I used to be, but I’m working to fix that now! The goal for our February half on 2/22 will be to run faster than than 2:50.
This was also my 20th half marathon! Hopefully for 25, I’m back to setting PRs.
One more note on progress: we now have 1/4 NYRR 5 borough series races required for guaranteed entry into the 2016 NYC Half.
Monday, January 26, 2015
2015 first (hopefully not only) post
Happy 2015! I'm a little late with that - but at least its still January!
2014 held many setbacks for me. The year started with my toes still injured from the 2013 NYC Marathon - which led to me not really running much early in the year. One of the worst pre-marathon mistakes you could possibly make is not trimming your toenails. I doubt that I'll ever forget again....
By March, my toenails were better and I was back to running shorter distances. But by April, the herniated disc in my lower back made it difficult to walk, running seemed like a distant possibility.
After a cortisone injection and quite a bit of physical therapy, I started running again. Despite having guaranteed entry into the 2014 NYC marathon, we decided to register for a cheaper marathon in case medical issues prevented me from running. So we registered and trained for the 2014 Lehigh Valley Via Half marathon. We quit the race after 23 miles (I'll save the details of that for another post).
Through it all, I managed to gain quite a bit of weight (40 lbs total since April 2013) and become significantly slower than I'd previously been. Since I can't change the past, I'll just do better in the future. Now for the optimistic part of this post!
Even with all of the 2014 setbacks, we were able to get in our NYRR 9+1 to qualify for the 2015 NYC Marathon, for which Alek and I have both registered. I've also started working with a personal trainer to help me work toward becoming stronger overall so that I can mitigate my risk of future back flare ups.
We've signed up for Spartans twice before, and not run them because we weren't ready. This year, we're doing it. We're signed up for the May 9 Citifield Spartan. Team Sadpony, late morning wave (10:45am - 12:00pm) with a preference for 11:30, just in case you'd care to join!
Our planned Half Marathons so far are:
January 25 - Fred Lebow Manhattan Half (yes, we completed it I'll write a post later this week).
February 22 - Love Rox Half Marathon (Richmond VA)
March 21- Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon
April 12 - Queens Half Marathon
May 19 - Brooklyn Half Marathon
We have ideas for a few of the remaining races, but want to make sure that we can register before they sell out.
I'm already feeling much more healthy! Its good to feel like I'm back on track!
2014 held many setbacks for me. The year started with my toes still injured from the 2013 NYC Marathon - which led to me not really running much early in the year. One of the worst pre-marathon mistakes you could possibly make is not trimming your toenails. I doubt that I'll ever forget again....
By March, my toenails were better and I was back to running shorter distances. But by April, the herniated disc in my lower back made it difficult to walk, running seemed like a distant possibility.
After a cortisone injection and quite a bit of physical therapy, I started running again. Despite having guaranteed entry into the 2014 NYC marathon, we decided to register for a cheaper marathon in case medical issues prevented me from running. So we registered and trained for the 2014 Lehigh Valley Via Half marathon. We quit the race after 23 miles (I'll save the details of that for another post).
Through it all, I managed to gain quite a bit of weight (40 lbs total since April 2013) and become significantly slower than I'd previously been. Since I can't change the past, I'll just do better in the future. Now for the optimistic part of this post!
Even with all of the 2014 setbacks, we were able to get in our NYRR 9+1 to qualify for the 2015 NYC Marathon, for which Alek and I have both registered. I've also started working with a personal trainer to help me work toward becoming stronger overall so that I can mitigate my risk of future back flare ups.
We've signed up for Spartans twice before, and not run them because we weren't ready. This year, we're doing it. We're signed up for the May 9 Citifield Spartan. Team Sadpony, late morning wave (10:45am - 12:00pm) with a preference for 11:30, just in case you'd care to join!
Our planned Half Marathons so far are:
January 25 - Fred Lebow Manhattan Half (yes, we completed it I'll write a post later this week).
February 22 - Love Rox Half Marathon (Richmond VA)
March 21- Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon
April 12 - Queens Half Marathon
May 19 - Brooklyn Half Marathon
We have ideas for a few of the remaining races, but want to make sure that we can register before they sell out.
I'm already feeling much more healthy! Its good to feel like I'm back on track!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Finding My New Limits
When planning out my running goals earlier this year, I had planned to train hard for the Brooklyn Half (on May 17) to learn what my limits actually are so that when I start marathon training I could set a reasonable completion time goal.
I still plan to learn what my limits are at the Brooklyn Half. With 31 days to prepare, I have a new plan to jog/walk the race. The required minimum pace is 13:45 per mile. If I can walk half of the race at a 15 minute/mile pace and jog half at a 12 minute/mile pace I'll have an average pace of about 13:30, which is good enough.
My doctor said that running will not make my condition worse - so if you're worried about that, don't. He did say that I probably wouldn't be able to run this half marathon, but that a full marathon in September is not out of the question. He suggested that while I have pain, I walk or bike.
Yesterday I walked 4 miles at a 2.5 mph pace on a treadmill. I'll need to pick that up to a sustained 4 mph walk for my race plans to pan out. Its important to ease in so I can learn what I can do without hurting afterwards. The 4 mile walk was fine, in fact I felt less pain after walking than I did before. I'm planning to try another 4 miles at a 3 mph pace tomorrow. On Saturday I'll attempt a jog/walk for about 6 miles. If at any point the jogging is too painful I'll stop.
My injury is a back injury, however my pain is classic sciatica. This means that my back doesn't actually hurt, rather the pressure on the nerve is making my right glute, calf, and ankle hurt. The pain is at its worst in the morning, getting better as the day goes on. Sadly the race starts at 7am. I'll come up with some plan to minimize the pain by the time I'm crossing the start line.
As a bright point: my treatment does seem to be working. Last week, walking 2 blocks to the garage where we park our car was slow and terrible. This week I can 4 miles with no pain. Here's hoping that I continue to make this type of progress!
I still plan to learn what my limits are at the Brooklyn Half. With 31 days to prepare, I have a new plan to jog/walk the race. The required minimum pace is 13:45 per mile. If I can walk half of the race at a 15 minute/mile pace and jog half at a 12 minute/mile pace I'll have an average pace of about 13:30, which is good enough.
My doctor said that running will not make my condition worse - so if you're worried about that, don't. He did say that I probably wouldn't be able to run this half marathon, but that a full marathon in September is not out of the question. He suggested that while I have pain, I walk or bike.
Yesterday I walked 4 miles at a 2.5 mph pace on a treadmill. I'll need to pick that up to a sustained 4 mph walk for my race plans to pan out. Its important to ease in so I can learn what I can do without hurting afterwards. The 4 mile walk was fine, in fact I felt less pain after walking than I did before. I'm planning to try another 4 miles at a 3 mph pace tomorrow. On Saturday I'll attempt a jog/walk for about 6 miles. If at any point the jogging is too painful I'll stop.
My injury is a back injury, however my pain is classic sciatica. This means that my back doesn't actually hurt, rather the pressure on the nerve is making my right glute, calf, and ankle hurt. The pain is at its worst in the morning, getting better as the day goes on. Sadly the race starts at 7am. I'll come up with some plan to minimize the pain by the time I'm crossing the start line.
As a bright point: my treatment does seem to be working. Last week, walking 2 blocks to the garage where we park our car was slow and terrible. This week I can 4 miles with no pain. Here's hoping that I continue to make this type of progress!
Saturday, April 12, 2014
2014: The year of setbacks
I'm back! At some point in 2013 I abandoned the blog. I was getting bored of constant race recap and training posts. I'm sure you all noticed the posts were mostly the same with little reason to actually read them.
2013 was an amazing year for me. I completed the Goofy Challenge, the NYC marathon, 4 half marathons, and enough nyrr races to qualify for entry to the 2014 NYC marathon (which I decided to forgo). I managed all that in the same year that Alek and I got married!
However, things started to go downhill (without me even realizing it) just before the NYC marathon. I made a huge, huge mistake the night before the marathon. I forgot to trim my toenails. When your toenails are too long and getting pounded by your shoes for 4 hours and 55 minutes, blisters will form under them. OUCH!
So I ended up with blisters under both big toenails. I went to a podiatrist about a week after the race and she drained the blisters. I thought my problems were gone...
...months later, I lost a toenail. No big deal, it had been there long enough that a sliver of new nail had grown beneath it. Then I lost the other big toenail at the end of January. Also no big deal the same situation as the other and it wasn't painful....
... until the toe became infected. This was pretty painful and kept me from running for several weeks until the toe healed. But it did heal and I got back to my routine.
I was running, doing p90x3, skiing, and feeling pretty good about myself. My running pace has been slow. I blame that on two things. 1) lack of consistent exercise since November. 2) weight gain over the course of the year.
On March 9, we took my 9 year old nephew skiing. I decided that this trip would be a great trip to work on my skiing form since we would be sticking to easier trails. I felt pretty good about my new form. I woke up with a back ache the next morning but didn't think much of it as I'd worked pretty hard skiing.
Over the course of March, the back ache came and went. I continued working out but skipped the p90x when my back hurt. On March 30 everything went down hill. After a prolonged car ride I felt like I could barely walk. I saw a doctor several days later. He diagnosed me with a pulled muscle and sent me on my way with a prescription for pain killers and muscle relaxers.
The next morning I woke up and just walking a few steps was excruciating. I lied on my back for most of the day before finally giving in and going to the ER. Once there, I waited for 2 hours only for them to tell me that there was nothing they could do but prescribe more painkillers/muscle relaxers and suggested that I saw an orthopedist/neurosurgeon. I spent the weekend lying on my back.
Monday morning I called the doctor referral lines for both NYU and HSS to try to find someone who could get me in soon. NYU initially said that they couldn't get me in until May. MAY! I couldn't walk - there was no way I could get through the entire month of April. Both NYU and HSS eventually found doctors who would see me on Tuesday. I chose to go with HSS because of their fabulous reputation for orthopedics.
I saw the doctor Tuesday afternoon. He diagnosed me with a herniated disk after a physical test. He then prescribed some nerve medication along with the painkiller/muscle relaxer. He also suggested a steroid injection into my spine after an MRI to see exactly which disk was the problem.
Its now Saturday, after a few days on the new mediation and having the steroid injection yesterday I'm feeling far better than I did last weekend. However walking long distances is still painful and I'm not sure when I'll actually run again. Boo!
I'm signed up for the Brooklyn Half on May 17. My current plan is to walk or do a walk run for the race - since I'm certainly not trained up to running a full half and I don't want to cause any more damage.
After the brooklyn Half, I'm hoping to start marathon training for the Via Marathon in September. But I'm going to take this one day at a time - the last thing I want is a regression to last weekend.
I'll keep posting updates. sigh...
2013 was an amazing year for me. I completed the Goofy Challenge, the NYC marathon, 4 half marathons, and enough nyrr races to qualify for entry to the 2014 NYC marathon (which I decided to forgo). I managed all that in the same year that Alek and I got married!
However, things started to go downhill (without me even realizing it) just before the NYC marathon. I made a huge, huge mistake the night before the marathon. I forgot to trim my toenails. When your toenails are too long and getting pounded by your shoes for 4 hours and 55 minutes, blisters will form under them. OUCH!
So I ended up with blisters under both big toenails. I went to a podiatrist about a week after the race and she drained the blisters. I thought my problems were gone...
...months later, I lost a toenail. No big deal, it had been there long enough that a sliver of new nail had grown beneath it. Then I lost the other big toenail at the end of January. Also no big deal the same situation as the other and it wasn't painful....
... until the toe became infected. This was pretty painful and kept me from running for several weeks until the toe healed. But it did heal and I got back to my routine.
I was running, doing p90x3, skiing, and feeling pretty good about myself. My running pace has been slow. I blame that on two things. 1) lack of consistent exercise since November. 2) weight gain over the course of the year.
On March 9, we took my 9 year old nephew skiing. I decided that this trip would be a great trip to work on my skiing form since we would be sticking to easier trails. I felt pretty good about my new form. I woke up with a back ache the next morning but didn't think much of it as I'd worked pretty hard skiing.
Over the course of March, the back ache came and went. I continued working out but skipped the p90x when my back hurt. On March 30 everything went down hill. After a prolonged car ride I felt like I could barely walk. I saw a doctor several days later. He diagnosed me with a pulled muscle and sent me on my way with a prescription for pain killers and muscle relaxers.
The next morning I woke up and just walking a few steps was excruciating. I lied on my back for most of the day before finally giving in and going to the ER. Once there, I waited for 2 hours only for them to tell me that there was nothing they could do but prescribe more painkillers/muscle relaxers and suggested that I saw an orthopedist/neurosurgeon. I spent the weekend lying on my back.
Monday morning I called the doctor referral lines for both NYU and HSS to try to find someone who could get me in soon. NYU initially said that they couldn't get me in until May. MAY! I couldn't walk - there was no way I could get through the entire month of April. Both NYU and HSS eventually found doctors who would see me on Tuesday. I chose to go with HSS because of their fabulous reputation for orthopedics.
I saw the doctor Tuesday afternoon. He diagnosed me with a herniated disk after a physical test. He then prescribed some nerve medication along with the painkiller/muscle relaxer. He also suggested a steroid injection into my spine after an MRI to see exactly which disk was the problem.
Its now Saturday, after a few days on the new mediation and having the steroid injection yesterday I'm feeling far better than I did last weekend. However walking long distances is still painful and I'm not sure when I'll actually run again. Boo!
I'm signed up for the Brooklyn Half on May 17. My current plan is to walk or do a walk run for the race - since I'm certainly not trained up to running a full half and I don't want to cause any more damage.
After the brooklyn Half, I'm hoping to start marathon training for the Via Marathon in September. But I'm going to take this one day at a time - the last thing I want is a regression to last weekend.
I'll keep posting updates. sigh...
Monday, May 27, 2013
Take a Hike! Staten Island's Greenbelt Park
Alek and I enjoyed our hikes in Hawaii quite a lot (posts about those will come one day). After we got home, we decided to try some day hikes near home. With Staten Island's Greenbelt Preserve only about a half hour away from home, we decided to start there.
Prior to going to the park, we'd read about it in AMC's Best Day Hikes Near New York City. The book rated the hike as difficult and recommended a longer path than we ended up taking. The park itself rated most of the trails as easy-moderate with one labelled as moderate-difficult. Alek and I weren't sure what to expect but we were hoping for a moderate-difficult hike.
We planned to start at the nature center and then take the blue trail to the yellow trail out to High Rock Park. There we planned to have lunch, after which we would take the blue trail to the white trail back to the nature center.
Our hike went mostly as planned. We had a little trouble finding trails at the start, as we weren't following the trail markers properly. The trail markers were rectangles painted on trees. Once we realized how to read them we were fine. There were a few times when we back tracked to make sure we didn't miss a turn-off.
Prior to going to the park, we'd read about it in AMC's Best Day Hikes Near New York City. The book rated the hike as difficult and recommended a longer path than we ended up taking. The park itself rated most of the trails as easy-moderate with one labelled as moderate-difficult. Alek and I weren't sure what to expect but we were hoping for a moderate-difficult hike.
We planned to start at the nature center and then take the blue trail to the yellow trail out to High Rock Park. There we planned to have lunch, after which we would take the blue trail to the white trail back to the nature center.
Our hike went mostly as planned. We had a little trouble finding trails at the start, as we weren't following the trail markers properly. The trail markers were rectangles painted on trees. Once we realized how to read them we were fine. There were a few times when we back tracked to make sure we didn't miss a turn-off.
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| Trail makers the red trail goes left here and all others go right |
We purposefully deviated from our plans a tiny bit to follow the red trail out to Buck's Hollow to see the ruins of the Heyerdahl House. The trail map was simply marked with ruins and since ruins are always cool to see we had to stop off.
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| Ruins on the trail map? We're in! |
Ruins on the trail map? We're in!
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| Part of the ruins |
After seeing what remained of the old stone home, we were off toward the yellow trail and Moses Mountain. Before getting to Moses Mountain, the trail goes out on to the street. Here things got a bit confusing so we looked at a dam while we gathered our bearings!
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| Dam along the road. |
We crossed the street and come to a fork in the path. Immediately ahead of us was a somewhat steep rock scramble while to our left was a flatter path. We knew the yellow path was marked moderate/difficult so we took the rock scramble up to the top of Moses Mountain. It was good climb. Not super difficult but I commented on the way up that I hoped we wouldn't need to come down this way.
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| This photo doesn't show the steepness, but if you can see the rock in the top center we climbed up and over that. |
The top of Moses Mountain was really nice. There were many birds and beautiful views of the surrounding area from 260 feet above sea level.
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| birds and some views |
We did end up having to come down a steep path with some loose rocks. The descent was awesome but tricky. After we got down we realized that we'd gone off the yellow trail on to something that was maybe more difficult. It was definitely worth it though!
After some more hiking over foot bridges and through woods, we came to the parking area for Rock Hill Park. This was a good area to stop for lunch and bathroom breaks once we found the picnic tables and bathrooms. Here we had our lunch of goat cheese, walnut, and fig jam sandwiches followed by a girl scout cookie dessert. Then we were off again. By now we had hiked 3 miles in nearly 2 hours. We originally thought we might go longer but changed our minds after the scramble. From here we decided to find the blue path to head back.
They way back was easier and mostly uneventful. Most of this hike was through marshland. We did pass by a cool pond with a lot of lily pads and a small pier going out over it.
There were also a bunch of fun foot bridges, including one that was a bit bouncy when you crossed it.
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| I'm bouncing in the middle. What, that didn't become an animated gif?? |
We made it back to the visitor's center after having gone 5.5 miles in about 3 hours. It was a great hike. It's remarkable to have an area like this within the city limits. Other hikers were far and few between and the hike offered up a lot of solitude!
I'm excited for more hikes like this throughout the summer and fall. We'd love some recommendations if you've gone hiking near the city!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Race Recap: Brooklyn Half
I mentioned in Friday's post that this year's Brooklyn Half would be very different from the race I ran in 2011. In some ways that was true. I assumed the course would not change but when I checked where the race start would be I was in for a pleasant surprise. This year's race began outside the Brooklyn Museum and looped around the park before taking a loop in the park. I had been expecting two loops around the park. We didn't repeat any of the course!
When we got off the subway around 6:20 the station was packed with runners. After we got above ground it was still crowded but no longer felt like a sardine. The port-a-johns were in the corral with quick moving lines. The entire pre-race setup was fantastic.
The new course offered a change from what I'd expected. This was also the weekend of the 2nd annual Great Googa Mooga in Prospect Park. While it was too early to see any partakers, the signs for bike valet were amusing.
The great pre-race organization continued during the race as there were many water stops and the course was consistently wide enough for the runners. It started wide, narrowed a bit in the park, then widened again as we went to Ocean Parkway. There was never a problem with people clusters or passing. I have to admit to being disappointed that there was no entertainment along Ocean Parkway. We ran for nearly 6 miles down a long, straight, fairly flat street. It got a little monotonous.
A dog passed me on the course around the 10th mile, and I saw him again at the finish line. I'm not sure who he belonged to, but he seemed to have finished the race.
Even the weather played nice! The temperature was in the 60's (perfect for running) and the rain held off until later in the day.
I came in at 2:09:01. Not my best time, but certainly not bad for not having run for 3 weeks leading up to the race. We also got finisher medals to add to our collection!
When we got off the subway around 6:20 the station was packed with runners. After we got above ground it was still crowded but no longer felt like a sardine. The port-a-johns were in the corral with quick moving lines. The entire pre-race setup was fantastic.
Crowded subway station
In the corral
The new course offered a change from what I'd expected. This was also the weekend of the 2nd annual Great Googa Mooga in Prospect Park. While it was too early to see any partakers, the signs for bike valet were amusing.
The great pre-race organization continued during the race as there were many water stops and the course was consistently wide enough for the runners. It started wide, narrowed a bit in the park, then widened again as we went to Ocean Parkway. There was never a problem with people clusters or passing. I have to admit to being disappointed that there was no entertainment along Ocean Parkway. We ran for nearly 6 miles down a long, straight, fairly flat street. It got a little monotonous.
A dog passed me on the course around the 10th mile, and I saw him again at the finish line. I'm not sure who he belonged to, but he seemed to have finished the race.
This pup is a runner too!
Even the weather played nice! The temperature was in the 60's (perfect for running) and the rain held off until later in the day.
I came in at 2:09:01. Not my best time, but certainly not bad for not having run for 3 weeks leading up to the race. We also got finisher medals to add to our collection!
Finish line photo
Friday, May 17, 2013
2013 Brooklyn Half Partaaaaay!
I'm back! The last few months of wedding planning overwhelmed me quite a bit. I had trouble making time for many things, including blogging. I now have a ton of material from races and other activities over the past few months to keep me going for quite some time.
I'll come back to that later though. I wasn't going to start the blog back up until next week. Then I went to the Brooklyn Half Pre-Party to pick up my packet for tomorrow's race. This is not the same race it was in 2011!
The Brooklyn Half was my first half marathon so it will always hold a special place in my heart. When I ran in 2011 there wasn't much fanfare around the race. NYRR pushed it as a celebrate Brooklyn event with a Coney Island party after the race. Other than that, it wasn't so different from any other NYRR race. Packet pick-up was at the NYRR HQ, there was one wave for the race start, and no finisher medal.
For 2013, NYRR has pulled out all of the stops! Packet pick-up is taking place at the Tobacco Warehouse in Dumbo. We stopped by on Wednesday night. The setup was very cool. For those of you not familiar the Tobacco Warehouse is an unroofed 1 story brick structure with large open "windows" near the waterfront in Brooklyn. It is open to the public as a part of Brooklyn Bridge Park and is usually empty except when hosting events. NYRR gave it a transparent roof, had a DJ, and plenty of decorations to make the space feel completely different and well themed for Brooklyn Running. Even if you're not running the race you can stop by to check it out. The party continues today from 10 am until 9 pm.
At the information counter, Alek and I donated money toward Hurricane Sandy relief and received a Brooklyn Half poster as well as a few temporary running tattoos with quips including "Run your meatballs off" and "Outrun the Subway". I plan to sport one of the tattoos for the race tomorrow; photo coming on Monday!
Outside the Tobacco Warehouse the tattoo phrases were projected onto the wall above food trucks. We had plans after the party so we didn't eat food truck food while there.
There will be two start waves for the race. I'm in the first wave, which needs to be in the corral by 6:30 AM. The second wave, where my new husband will start, needs to be in the corral by 7:05. I'm not much faster than Alek, so I'll have about a half hour to cheer at the finish.
Based on the pre-race experience, the race itself will have to be more fun than it was 2 years ago. Maybe simply because of additional excitement from the build up but I also expect more effort to have been put into on-course entertainment.
I'll come back to that later though. I wasn't going to start the blog back up until next week. Then I went to the Brooklyn Half Pre-Party to pick up my packet for tomorrow's race. This is not the same race it was in 2011!
The Brooklyn Half was my first half marathon so it will always hold a special place in my heart. When I ran in 2011 there wasn't much fanfare around the race. NYRR pushed it as a celebrate Brooklyn event with a Coney Island party after the race. Other than that, it wasn't so different from any other NYRR race. Packet pick-up was at the NYRR HQ, there was one wave for the race start, and no finisher medal.
For 2013, NYRR has pulled out all of the stops! Packet pick-up is taking place at the Tobacco Warehouse in Dumbo. We stopped by on Wednesday night. The setup was very cool. For those of you not familiar the Tobacco Warehouse is an unroofed 1 story brick structure with large open "windows" near the waterfront in Brooklyn. It is open to the public as a part of Brooklyn Bridge Park and is usually empty except when hosting events. NYRR gave it a transparent roof, had a DJ, and plenty of decorations to make the space feel completely different and well themed for Brooklyn Running. Even if you're not running the race you can stop by to check it out. The party continues today from 10 am until 9 pm.
T-shirt pickup area
New Balance was there selling Goods. These treadmills belonged to JackRabbit Sports, who also had representatives and goods for sale.
What more could you want?
At the information counter, Alek and I donated money toward Hurricane Sandy relief and received a Brooklyn Half poster as well as a few temporary running tattoos with quips including "Run your meatballs off" and "Outrun the Subway". I plan to sport one of the tattoos for the race tomorrow; photo coming on Monday!
Poster for a donation
race shirt with reflective NB on sleeve
Outside the Tobacco Warehouse the tattoo phrases were projected onto the wall above food trucks. We had plans after the party so we didn't eat food truck food while there.
There will be two start waves for the race. I'm in the first wave, which needs to be in the corral by 6:30 AM. The second wave, where my new husband will start, needs to be in the corral by 7:05. I'm not much faster than Alek, so I'll have about a half hour to cheer at the finish.
Based on the pre-race experience, the race itself will have to be more fun than it was 2 years ago. Maybe simply because of additional excitement from the build up but I also expect more effort to have been put into on-course entertainment.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Race Recap: Disney Family Fun 5k
Sorry for the lack of posts over the past week - we just got back from an exhausting Disney trip and I didn't find time to post while there. Now that I'm home, I have lots to share about the Run Disney events that I participated in over the 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend! I'll start with the Family 5K since that was our first event of the weekend.
On Friday January 11, the Walt Disney World Fun Run 5K started at 6:30 AM. This meant getting up at 4:00 to catch a bus over to Epcot from the Coronado Springs Resort. My parents entered the race with us. Unfortunately, my mom has a torn tendon in her foot so we just walked the 5k. This did give us time to stop of for many character photos on the race course through Epcot Center. I'll post some of the character photos later, once they're uploaded!
It was nice to take the race at a slow pace this year. Last year we tried to run, but got caught up by large crowds of people. It was a bit frustrating at the time. This year it took us an hour and a half to finish, but it was more fun to take character photos.
The 2013 shirt and medal were better than those from 2012. They featured Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto! Overall it was a fun event, despite our sleep depravation!
On Friday January 11, the Walt Disney World Fun Run 5K started at 6:30 AM. This meant getting up at 4:00 to catch a bus over to Epcot from the Coronado Springs Resort. My parents entered the race with us. Unfortunately, my mom has a torn tendon in her foot so we just walked the 5k. This did give us time to stop of for many character photos on the race course through Epcot Center. I'll post some of the character photos later, once they're uploaded!
It was nice to take the race at a slow pace this year. Last year we tried to run, but got caught up by large crowds of people. It was a bit frustrating at the time. This year it took us an hour and a half to finish, but it was more fun to take character photos.
The 2013 shirt and medal were better than those from 2012. They featured Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto! Overall it was a fun event, despite our sleep depravation!
Race bib, medal, and shirt
Monday, January 7, 2013
How to Buy Ski Boots
Skiing isn't strictly related to running, but I do use it as a form of winter cross training. So I'm going talk about my boot buying experiences because I think its important for anyone considering a boot purchase to read!
In the fall of 2010, I decided that I was finished renting every time I went on a ski trip! I went to a ski shop near where my parents live. With the help of a sales person, I tried on a few pairs of boots. He told me that the boots should be very tight but didn't give any other description of how my boots should fit. I walked out excited for the season to start with my very own boot, ski, and pole set. I settled on the Dalbello Aspire 67 boot.
Alek and I didn't ski a lot in the 2010-2011 season. Every time we did ski, the boots hurt my shins and the top of my foot. I thought that they must still be breaking in, so I stuck with them for another season. During the 2011-2012 season, we went on one ski trip. The boot fit was worse than I remembered, this time I felt like my calf was also being pinched.
At the start of the current season, we planned several trips. During the first trip, I noticed that my boots were cutting off circulation to my toes. The calf and shin issues were still plaguing me. While I hadn't skiied much in the previous two seasons, the boots should definitely have been broken in by now.
This past weekend we had our second ski trip of the season. Knowing that every trip would be miserable in the boots, I did some investigation to find the best place for boot fitting near Killington. Several forums highly recommended Northern Ski Works. Before skiing on Saturday, we stopped in.
Once inside, I was directed to the boot fitting area. After waiting for my turn, I met Hal, a bootfitter, and explained how my old boots were wrong. He had me take off my shoes and then he flexed my foot at the ankle to determine my range of motion. He mentioned that my ankles don't want to bend beyond 90 degrees and with my good musculature (read huge calf muscles from running), my calf muscles actually push against the ski boot. Since my ankles don't want to bend very far, this lifts my heel out of the boot causing all sorts of issues because my leg is being pushed too far forward.
Hal fit me with the Nordica Cruise 85w ski boot. It has a more straight stance than most boots, accommodating my ankle stiffness. The boots are also highly adjustable. Hal was able to adjust the top of the cuff near my calf so that it would fold out more giving my calf some space. He adjusted the "canting" or the left to right tilt of the boot so that the tongue wouldn't bother my shin bone. As I mentioned pressure points, he pushed the padding of the liner down. Hal said that some of the pressure points would have naturally gone away as I broke the boots in, but he helped me get comfortable nonetheless. He also put a lift in the boot liner so that my heel would touch the bottom of the boot even when my ankle didn't want to flex. Finally, I was having some rubbing at my left ankle. Hal took a look at my ankles and said that mine isn't located where ankles typically are located, but he heated the boot and molded the plastic to make space for my ankle.
My boot purchasing experience at Northern Ski Works was amazing. After the visit, I had the best day of skiing for quite some time. I had much more control and my feet and legs were comfortable even at the end of the day. I strongly recommend going somewhere with a full time boot fitter if you're thinking of purchasing your own set!
In the fall of 2010, I decided that I was finished renting every time I went on a ski trip! I went to a ski shop near where my parents live. With the help of a sales person, I tried on a few pairs of boots. He told me that the boots should be very tight but didn't give any other description of how my boots should fit. I walked out excited for the season to start with my very own boot, ski, and pole set. I settled on the Dalbello Aspire 67 boot.
Alek and I didn't ski a lot in the 2010-2011 season. Every time we did ski, the boots hurt my shins and the top of my foot. I thought that they must still be breaking in, so I stuck with them for another season. During the 2011-2012 season, we went on one ski trip. The boot fit was worse than I remembered, this time I felt like my calf was also being pinched.
At the start of the current season, we planned several trips. During the first trip, I noticed that my boots were cutting off circulation to my toes. The calf and shin issues were still plaguing me. While I hadn't skiied much in the previous two seasons, the boots should definitely have been broken in by now.
This past weekend we had our second ski trip of the season. Knowing that every trip would be miserable in the boots, I did some investigation to find the best place for boot fitting near Killington. Several forums highly recommended Northern Ski Works. Before skiing on Saturday, we stopped in.
Once inside, I was directed to the boot fitting area. After waiting for my turn, I met Hal, a bootfitter, and explained how my old boots were wrong. He had me take off my shoes and then he flexed my foot at the ankle to determine my range of motion. He mentioned that my ankles don't want to bend beyond 90 degrees and with my good musculature (read huge calf muscles from running), my calf muscles actually push against the ski boot. Since my ankles don't want to bend very far, this lifts my heel out of the boot causing all sorts of issues because my leg is being pushed too far forward.
Hal fit me with the Nordica Cruise 85w ski boot. It has a more straight stance than most boots, accommodating my ankle stiffness. The boots are also highly adjustable. Hal was able to adjust the top of the cuff near my calf so that it would fold out more giving my calf some space. He adjusted the "canting" or the left to right tilt of the boot so that the tongue wouldn't bother my shin bone. As I mentioned pressure points, he pushed the padding of the liner down. Hal said that some of the pressure points would have naturally gone away as I broke the boots in, but he helped me get comfortable nonetheless. He also put a lift in the boot liner so that my heel would touch the bottom of the boot even when my ankle didn't want to flex. Finally, I was having some rubbing at my left ankle. Hal took a look at my ankles and said that mine isn't located where ankles typically are located, but he heated the boot and molded the plastic to make space for my ankle.
My boot purchasing experience at Northern Ski Works was amazing. After the visit, I had the best day of skiing for quite some time. I had much more control and my feet and legs were comfortable even at the end of the day. I strongly recommend going somewhere with a full time boot fitter if you're thinking of purchasing your own set!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Taper?
With just one week remaining until I run the Goofy Challenge, I'm officially in taper mode. I happen to be including quite a bit of skiing in my taper but I think its ok. Skiing definitely gets me squatting and exercises different muscles than running.
I'll see how all of this skiing affects the races next week! Until then, I'll spend this weekend skiing and get back to some short runs on Monday.
I'll see how all of this skiing affects the races next week! Until then, I'll spend this weekend skiing and get back to some short runs on Monday.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
2013: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger!
Happy New Year!
2012 was a successful running year for me. However, the sheer number of races (one half marathon each month and 9 NYRR races) caused a hectic schedule. For 2013, I want to focus on being harder, better, faster, and stronger!
Harder: Run more difficult races. This will start next weekend with the Goofy's Marathon and a Half Challenge. I'll be running a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday.
Better: This aspect describes my training plans for the year. I plan to include much more speed work and strength training so that I can become faster without the injuries that plagued me at the end of last year.
Faster: My main speed goal is to run a half marathon in under 2 hours. I'm planning to do this for the NYC Half in March! I'd also like to break my full marathon PR of 4:36, by shaving 7 minutes off my time, I can finish in under 4:30. I'll have two chances this year to break my marathon record. One will come next week and the other will be with the NYC Marathon in November.
Stronger: After the Goofy Challenge I'm planning to include P90X into my training regimen. This will help prepare me for the Spartan Sprint Alek and I are planning to run in July!
What fitness goals do you have for 2013?
2012 was a successful running year for me. However, the sheer number of races (one half marathon each month and 9 NYRR races) caused a hectic schedule. For 2013, I want to focus on being harder, better, faster, and stronger!
Harder: Run more difficult races. This will start next weekend with the Goofy's Marathon and a Half Challenge. I'll be running a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday.
Better: This aspect describes my training plans for the year. I plan to include much more speed work and strength training so that I can become faster without the injuries that plagued me at the end of last year.
Faster: My main speed goal is to run a half marathon in under 2 hours. I'm planning to do this for the NYC Half in March! I'd also like to break my full marathon PR of 4:36, by shaving 7 minutes off my time, I can finish in under 4:30. I'll have two chances this year to break my marathon record. One will come next week and the other will be with the NYC Marathon in November.
Stronger: After the Goofy Challenge I'm planning to include P90X into my training regimen. This will help prepare me for the Spartan Sprint Alek and I are planning to run in July!
What fitness goals do you have for 2013?
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Running for a Cause: NYC Half
I've wanted to run the NYC Half ever since I learned about it but so far have been unable to win the lottery When the results for 2013 came in and I learned that Alek would be in the race while I was denied, I was excited for him but not sure what I wanted to do. I was hoping that the Sleepy Hollow Half or the Allstate New York Half would be held on the same weekend so I could also run a race. Sadly both of those will take place on March 23 and I've already got plans!
I noticed that fundraising spots were still open for the New York City half, so I decided that was the way I would enter the race! I've decided to join the American Cancer Society's DetermiNation team to help with cancer research and prevention.
After 2012, its pretty clear that a half marathon is no challenge for me. I want my supporters to feel like they're helping to push me through something challenging, so I'm going to train to run the NYC half in less than 2 hours. I've never before been able to do this, but with some dedicated training it will be possible.
If you'd like to help end cancer and support me in my sub 2 hour NYC Half, you can donate at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/sadpony. Remember, every dollar helps!
I noticed that fundraising spots were still open for the New York City half, so I decided that was the way I would enter the race! I've decided to join the American Cancer Society's DetermiNation team to help with cancer research and prevention.
After 2012, its pretty clear that a half marathon is no challenge for me. I want my supporters to feel like they're helping to push me through something challenging, so I'm going to train to run the NYC half in less than 2 hours. I've never before been able to do this, but with some dedicated training it will be possible.
If you'd like to help end cancer and support me in my sub 2 hour NYC Half, you can donate at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/sadpony. Remember, every dollar helps!
Monday, December 24, 2012
2012 Year End Summary
I did it! My 2012 resolutions were to run 1 race of at least half marathon length each month and also to qualify for the 2013 New York Marathon through the NYRR 9+1 program.
I ran 11 half marathons and 1 full marathon. I also managed to get faster through the year. Check out all of those medals! (There are only 11 because Grete's Great Gallop didn't have a finisher medal. So disappointing.).
I ran 9 NYRR races, and was able to transfer my registration for the cancelled Dash to the Finish Line to a different race for next year. I'll be running NYC in 2013!
I ran 11 half marathons and 1 full marathon. I also managed to get faster through the year. Check out all of those medals! (There are only 11 because Grete's Great Gallop didn't have a finisher medal. So disappointing.).
I ran 9 NYRR races, and was able to transfer my registration for the cancelled Dash to the Finish Line to a different race for next year. I'll be running NYC in 2013!
Stay tuned for my 2013 plans! Merry Christmas!
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