Hurdle with Caution

Sometimes you fall down but you dust yourself off and pick yourself up. As a hurdler you absolutely cannot be afraid to fall, it's inevitable and it happens at least once in the season. This time around the hurdle got the best of my shin, some nice bruising and a small gash that probably could have used a stitch (maybe a butterfly one at the least).

Right after it all went "down"



A post 3 day color explosion



I am Thankful for...

• my life and the wayward adventures that go with it
• my health and being injury free (for the most part)
• my family (including my lovable yet neurotic cat)
• my friends that surround me near and far
• my teammates- new and old -always there to cheer you on
• my present and past coaches that have/are been patient with  me
• each passing day as it teaches me to be grateful for all that I have been given 

A little bit famous

One day at practice a couple weeks ago my coach happen to ask if anyone wanted to be interviewed for an article about sprinting for the NY Times. I started to hesitate but then all I could think about was trying to get the word out about being a sprinter and how frustrated I get trying to explain it all. One of my biggest grievances with being a runner and telling people I am so is their first response, it's always are you running or training for such and such marathon. No, never, not a snowball's chance in any near future. Then I get the whole break down of but why not, you run don't you. There is SO much more to the world of running than marathons. I am a sprinter and hurdler, for some odd reason many people just can't gasp that. The whole how many miles do you run a week, again I'm not a distance runner so I don't account my mileage as highly as someone who runs much longer distances than myself. Don't get me wrong mileage is accrued and important but high mileage is not so much.
In light of it I decided YES I will volunteer my voice, and I thought it would be pretty cool to be in print in the newspaper. When I got the call from the reporter doing the article I was stoked. But then after I gave her all my info about myself the interview started to go a bit off. It wasn't in a bad way, just strange. I realized at that point I would not be getting the word out about the sprinting arena quite the way I thought. A few of the questions just weren't congruent with the sport as a sport. At one point she asked how many times I attended the sprint classes, well they're not classes it's practice. It's not like a spin or aerobics class, I do this in order to compete. Another bizarre question was have you noticed your body change since you started sprinting, wasn't really sure how to respond to this one. At the end I felt like I was questioning myself not knowing how to answer her questions. I was beyond curious as to what this article was going say.
A few weeks later it came out and just as I suspected not what I was hoping for. It wasn't bad, just not about sprinters as a separate entity in the sport.  Here's the link to the write up: NY Times.

It's all new to me

You know that when you go into anything new, it's not going to be the same. There's going to be an acclimation period. Of course that period can be a bit of a tough one when you're so used to one thing. You'd think it's just running, what could really be so different, you put one foot in front of the other and accelerate for a distance and time, then repeat that a few times. If only it were that easy. It's kind of like going to a new job. You've done this job for years and feel proficient in the knowledge of it all, but that doesn't cut it because things are run differently, there are different people and even the air is different.
This is the point at where I am with joining my new team.
I started my first practices with Central Park this week. I started a week or two later than I had planned but better late than never. As I arrive to the track, I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was it was it wasn't what I thought it would be. It was somewhat of a surreal experience to be at the track with other runners that will become my teammates but feel so disconnected. I was waiting for the stories of the week, or what happened while we were on break. I was waiting for the excessive laughter, giggles and child-like bit of banter. I was waiting for someone to take the reins and gather the bodies to do a warmup and drills together. I was waiting to hear that we had active intervals, or a jump run as the workout. I was waiting for anything familiar, essentially I was waiting for GBTC but I got CPTC.
I know that it'll take some time to get used to and I'm willing to give it that time because in the end I know that I'm doing what's best for me and my running.

To a T

Not sure where/what ad campaign this was pulled from but loving the message. Fits my perspective to a T
'Run easy is an oxymoron. What is it about running that scares people so much? Why do people feel they have to put friendly modifiers next to running so everyone can feel good about it? Well, here's the ugly truth. Everyone shouldn't feel good about running. It's hard. It hurts. Running requires sacrifice and heart and guts. Any attempt to water it down with feel-good adjectives is a slap in the face to those of us who still hold running sacred. In fact, if you're running easy, odds are you're not running at all. You're jogging. So do us a favor, don't run easy. RUN HARD. RUN LIKE AN ANIMAL'

It's that time again

What I do

Here's an awesome article to check out about running clubs. GBTC is one of the top amateur clubs, great to know that I trained with awesomeness.

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out" -Robert Collier

For love of running

Oh the crazy things I do to run and hurdle, the list is endless. Let's roll call of some recent insanity.

• Leave on a full bus at 2:30am from NY, only to get stuck wedged into the corner by a very large woman who every time I moved to prevent any body contact would move into that freed space. No sleep.
• Get into Boston at 6:20am. No one in Boston is awake to bother. Need sleep, curl up on a bench in South Station for an hour and half or so.
• Start getting strange looks by security guards thinking that I'm homeless and loitering so go to MIT track where meet starts at 12:30, it's 9:25. Curl up under a tree at track, for another catnap.
• Decided that it's a brilliant idea to run the 1500 for a hopeful qualify, then directly after finish, run 400 hurdles.
• Miserably miss the qualify in the 1500. Love the inconsistency with races this season. Rally and miss mark for hurdles by 8 tenths of second. One measly stride or in my case a studder step at hurdles 6 & 7.
• Get completely fired up trying to find a way to get to the middle of nowhere NY for a meet the following week because I KNOW I can absolutely hit hurdle time.
• Head back to NY a couple hours later.

Break to the next week, it continues on

• Desperately search for a car or some way to get to Valatie, NY.
• Beg, plead, and grovel. No luck, no rentals (4th of July weekend is completely booked), no buses or trains to po-dunk town. Crap.
• Finally a great friend with Zip Car comes through. BIG problem place is 60 miles over daily limit of car...Beaucoup bucks!! Oh yeah and all the cheap cars taken...more $$
• Lots of dollar signs flying all over the place for one lap, 10 hurdles, and 75 seconds
• July 3rd rolls around and now we've got a rush to beat the clock to get to track. Spend 3 hours in car right before racing + 95* heat & humidity + no shade + nerves + pressure = not so good of a race & lots of money down the drain
• Bummed but still going to CA to relay it up

Story of my life...

Gains and Losses

The road rolls on back to New York. I have no more steeple chances left but I do have a chance for a provisional race. The last Tuesday night at the races it is, 1500m here I go. I sign up and decided to grab an extra finish sticker just in case I miss the 1500 and I have to try for the 3000. I try to keep positive and know in my head that I can hit 5 minutes. I line up and start asking around if anyone planned on racing a sub 5 so I could make sure that I pace with them, only one girl answers and tell me it's all mine and to go ahead. That doesn't really help me. The gun goes off and I go trying not to go out too fast, a couple of girls go way out, I decide not to go with them. Shoulda, coulda, woulda just went and held on, instead I meagerly eased on running by myself and missed my time by 6 seconds. I was pretty heart broken. I bitterly try to get myself together to race the 3K in a short while afterwards. It was hard to digest that I had to go at it again. As the race started and the rain started with it, I should have just let the let down wash away and put my whole effort into it. I let it go for the first mile, trying my hardest to stay on the shoulder of a girl who I knew would clear the time I needed, then the length of the race got to me. It allowed me time to think, and I slowly I lost touch with the girl and myself. Being a thinker is a great attribute to have, but it's one of my biggest hindrances in life. It causes me sleepless nights, unmade decisions, and faulty races. I don't want to not be conscious of what's around me but I do need to learn when to stop. Needless my thoughts, and maybe a few outside sources ie. by the end of the 1st lap it was pouring rain, I failed yet again.
After going over,and over in my head,replaying every move I should have made, harping on the 6 seconds in the 1500, I completely failed to recognize that I had a PB in both races. They aren't huge leaps and with proper training I could easily abolish those times, but nonetheless they were still the fastest times I've ever run in either race. You win some and you lose some and sometimes those losses are actually wins.

Close but no Cigar

On my quest to pick up a qualifying time for the steeple, I thought racing back to back distance races might be a brilliant idea to achieve that. Of course as we all know that is simply not the case. I was paying for those two 3K races days later. My calf muscles did not want to do anything, by anything I mean anything, including walking. Not good especially since I was planning on racing New England's on Sunday, a mere 4 days later. My only solution to hopefully get myself up and running was resting , and lots of massage (self and paid). I bit the bullet and didn't run the days leading up to the next meet. This could have been detrimental, but not so much as devastating as not being able to run or attempt again.
I hop on the bus for yet another 4 hour pilgrimage to Boston. Per usual I like to fill my cup til it runneth over. I started off with a meager intermediate hurdle action. I was simply just curious as to what I could run on pure strength and no speed. I seriously did not have any expectations, yes you read that correctly no expectations. I mean I did kind of hope that I'd hit the minimum time for Nationals, but that was just hoping. In the end it proved to be blah, I went over the first hurdle ok then I'm not sure what exactly happened at the 2nd hurdle. Not sure if I forgot I was hurdling or in my attempt to studder step I got too close, but I approach hurdle 2 and miss my take off so I stop at the hurdle for a good couple seconds. I sit and debate walking off the track or popping over the hurdle and continuing. I make a split decision and continue to finish the race. I knew the end result wasn't what I was looking for but I finished the race and looked forward to the next race, steeple.
I was geared up and ready to take on the steeple, I chatted with another teammate in the race during our warmup and settled that I would stick with her for as long as I could and then when I couldn't I would keep her within distance.  After 2 laps I lost contact with her but I kept her in my eye trying not to let her get more than 100m ahead. For one of the1st times racing this race I felt really good going over the barriers, especially the water pit. I really thought that I might have a chance, but yet again I was disappointed by 23 seconds. I was however 1 min faster than the week before so I knew that there was progress, I would just have to find another race to beat it out of myself.
A good plus besides the improvement was my family came down to cheer me on. It was nice to be able to see them since the move. I also decided to make it an extra long weekend and stayed through Tue to practice with the team and hang out with friends. What more could a girl ask for, I certainly was a happy camper!

Rinse and repeat

Finally after the many months of starting and stopping and trying to get myself on a consistent training program I have success. Four weeks down and counting, mileage is up and strength is returning. I'm finally feeling like myself again. Slightly speedless and hurdleless but back.
Perfectly timed is a New Balance Twilight Meet in Boston with a steeplechase. I decide to give it a go. Turns out to not hit my expectations of qualifying for Nationals, I was a minute off. In the beginning I felt a bit foolish against some of the field, but I still mustered up to the line, even as I felt flat for the 7.5 laps, I still hammered on. Not sure if I wasn't ready to race yet or maybe doing the travel thing the day of was a bad idea. Either way I did it. I needed to get my legs rolling and besides I got to see and hang out with my teammates, even if only for a couple of hours.
Next up a couple of days later, there's a low-key meet in NY. I decided that I would attempt to qualify through a provisional race for the steeple. I know that the times and races correlate with each other to a degree, but sometimes it's a little easier to run a flat race vs a hurdled race. I thought maybe my body wasn't quite adjusted to popping over 28 barriers and 7 water pits, and maybe I just needed to ease into it. Not that I ease into much, seeing as 90% of the time I'm a take gusto kind of person rather than a take my time. Why not give it a try. I debated between the 1500 and the 3000 or even both, and in the end opted for the longer race thinking that I should be able to hit the qualifying time without too much trouble, even though I'd never actually raced that particular distance flat before. I also had a slight feeling that I'd either hit the mark for the 15 or I'd be devastatingly close (which would be frustrating). I gave it my all or something as near to my all as I could. No luck, 30 seconds away.
Still hoping there's a chance I set my head to Sunday, Club New Englands. No telling what 3 races in a weeks time will do.

Step 1

Not many things happen overnight, training/running definitely does not. I have learned that all to much in my return to running after my 7 year hiatus. Though it's been almost 4 years now, I'm still overcoming a setbacks here and there. It's inevitable. I do get frustrated but I am however slightly more patient than I was in the beginning.
In my once again return this year hoping to try to salvage this outdoor season, I have had to make some adjustments in everything. Let's preface this with I despise running for long periods of time, though I LOVE to run I am not one of those runners who can run for miles on end. Hence why I'm a mid sprinter (my coined term for a cross of a long sprinter and a short mid-distance runner). But for the lack thereof track facilities, I've had to alter my training to the "streets". Without good track workouts I have had to convert myself to be a mid-distance runner on the longer end, concentrating my energy to the steeplechase. It is not my first  choice but I want to run and the sacrifice is worth it.
I've started building my mileage and modifying my track workouts off the track, with an occasional presence at an actual track trying to dodge children, inattentive adults, and soccer balls. I entered myself in a local low key meet to gauge my starting point with a 1500 meter race (one of my least favorite distances). I pulled a decent time all things considered but I still have a lot to work on in the next couple of weeks. The goal is to qualify for Club Nationals in July. Hopefully I can pull it together before then.

Forgetting and forgiving

I am slightly embarrassed to even write or think about this, but sometimes you just got to face the music and deal. That is what this is all about. I've most definitely raced some races that I'd really rather forget even happened. This past Sunday was no exception to that. I would love to just erase any evidence that I even entered my name into this particular meet.
Somewhere in my mind I again I thought that I was ready to race. That couldn't have been farther from the truth, I was not even an iota ready. For me there's something about lacing up my spikes and taking it to the rubber that gets me ridiculously excited. It's a good thing when I'm on point and properly training but a bad thing when I'm out of my game. This time around I wasn't prepared. I knew that I wasn't top performance material but I really thought that I could at least hit respectable times in the races I planned on running. Back to the post of 'You get what you give'. 
I will not divulge any times or even what meet it was, but I will take account for the poor performance, log it in my mental mind, and remember I don't want to see those times again. I will not be hard on myself like I would in the past, forgive, and take control of the one thing that links itself to performance and that I can control, my training. Time to step up to plate.

Breaking Promises

I know that I promised I would keep up this blog a bit better this year, I clearly have not lived up to that task. Truthfully though I haven't really been keeping up with my running like I have the past couple of years. It's been a rough couple of months trying to get myself together in this new city. After 3 months of the move I finally found a job, not what I really wanted but something. I had an immense amount of time on my hands but I wasn't able to muster the energy to get out and get moving. The motivation to do anything just wasn't there, it's hard to get excited about one thing when you so worried about everything else. I know that shouldn't be an excuse but that's exactly what happened, I got completely wrapped up in trying to find a job and worrying about how I was going to pay my bills as the savings pool was running dry, I stopped enjoying the thing that makes me happy. Even after I secured the job I was still to busy working as much as possible I didn't have the energy to start my training up again. Then finally I decided enough was enough and I needed to jump into my "pool" again for the umpteenth time these past seasons.
I started off my training with an easy couple of mile runs, feeling better I started my search for a track since my membership to the Armory had ended. Never thought that it would be a such a task. In Boston there is an abundance of outdoor tracks, from high schools, to colleges, to public, so I figured that since NY is so much bigger that my possibilities would be just as endless if not better. Ha boy was I wrong! I realize now that just because it's bigger it just means that there's a lot more buildings not real estate. Though I think that the city prides itself in it's parks, those parks with track facilities are far and few between and for me most of them are a good 45 min commute to get to. In determination not to let that be my set back and took it to the road to modify a pseudo track workout. Not sure how it will stand up when I can't make it to the track but I guess we'll see as time goes on.

You get what you give

Even though I've been pretty sporadic lately with my training I thought that I was ready to pick up myself and take the very opportune opportunity to go to Boston, visit with teammates and race GBTC Invitational. The key word I use is 'thought', sadly I needed to remember that my training is timing and time, they translate pretty congruently with races. Somewhere in my mind I had high hopes going in to debut myself in the 55 high hurdles, race the 800 and finishing off with a lovely relay leg. The hurdles were more or less an experiment. I had been hitting the hurdle height while in practice so I decided why not try it. It wasn't exactly what I hoped for or even close. One of those things that I did it, I can say I did it, and hope anyone that witnessed it forgets that I did it. At least if I decide to dabble again I should hit a PB. Then comes the 800. I have such a love, hate relationship with this distance. This instance turns out to be a hate, but it can't be faulted because my training time pretty much are in line with what I ran. On to the next. Lastly I we have one of my favorite races in indoors, the 4x200. 200 meters is bliss zipping and zooming just once around feels like a million bucks. It's a never fail that I can always pull a decent 200 time no matter where I am with my training; when it's good, it's great, when it's ok, it's good and when it's bad, it's ok.
In the end I can't be mad at my performances because if you don't put in much effort the end product isn't going to be that great, something that applies to all aspects of life. Live and learn.

The truth hurts

I'm on and off as to whether I want to open my blog to my personal training log. I have my tried and true favorite method the pen to journal and I have dabbled in a couple of online sites (most cater to a distance runner so I'm not entirely impressed with any one in particular), to keep track of what I do. But as I spin around the track and float aimlessly up and down the East River with a few splotches in Central Park, then come home to pull out my little green notebook, only to see empty entries for dates, I know something isn't right. This of course not because I forgot to record something down, no it's because I didn't do anything. Shocking I know! In the absence of training partners and unfamiliar territory, I've found myself *gasp* making excuses to not run. It's too late, I'm tired, the track is getting ready to close or is closed, et cetera, et cetera, none of which are even remotely valid. I don't have a job there's no excuse when you have a good chunk of the day to get something, anything in, I mean I used to go for runs after work which at times would be around midnight. For someone who basically eats, sleeps, and lives for running, why would I be making efforts to not do what I do. In Boston I had people to "check up" on me in a sense. On the track my coach was there and as were my training partners, I didn't do something or were slacking they knew. I had someone scheduling hurdle workouts, making sure I was practicing correct form. If my mileage was being kept up you could tell in workouts. Outside of the track I had my hurdle buddy who'd perfectly rope me into getting random time workouts done. Even at work both at the gym and the bar I always had someone asking how my training was going. I'm pretty sure that most people didn't care but in my need of the spotlight mind someone was always watching. In NY I don't really have anyone to answer to and no one even asks. I have my coach sending me the twice weekly workouts, and I in turn send him my training times but in the end it's not the same. I knew that this was going to be a tough transition, but it's a little tougher than I thought. So the decision is I can hide behind the deception in the privacy of the little green book where only I know what's really going on or I can force myself into the open and let everyone see the truth, no matter how ridiculous it may be.

I think that I just might make that leap and put myself on display (scary!).

Here's to a new year and new adventures

Exactly as the ball dropped at 12am Jan 1, 2010

Celebrating with some great friends!

Where love lies the heart will follow

First let me wish everyone a Merry Happy Holiday season (whichever holiday you chose to celebrate). I was fortunate to be able to spend Christmas with my family, though I teetered back and forth as to if I wanted to plan the entity since it required a bit more than just driving up there. I ending up leaving super early Christmas morning since I have absolutely NO patience to sit in traffic (I realize most everyone's like that but I get super anxious & seriously can't deal...I literally plan trips around traffic times for that reason). I sat on traffic.com the entire day the 24th trying to find the "perfect" time to leave and never actually came to terms with anything I liked, then by the time I did I didn't want to drive. Alas I settled on setting my alarm for 4:30am and driving the 4+ hours to NH in the morning. Of course I set the alarm for that time but I didn't actually get the car rolling until about 10 til 6 (no surprise there). With my method of madness I was able to catch a gorgeous sunrise and pretty much no cars on the road to boot. Brilliant. The rest of the morning was spent at my Aunt's house for our traditional Christmas breakfast and a Yankee Swap. Then I got in the car and drove more to my parents' house for a bit of R&R and dinner. After all of that about an hour before I was set to drive again, it started to snow. What a perfect ending to an great day. No material gifts where exchanged but no worries that's just the way I wanted...there's a whole back story that maybe another time I will explain. Instead I received some of the best gifts: a to die for sunrise, time with my family, a track meet, friends and snow.

Saturday is another early wake up call, 8am this time around not 4:30. I decided that it would be best to park and leave my car in my grandparents yard in NH, rather than bother with it here in NY. I don't really need it though it would make getting out of the city a bit easier, but since I'm downsizing I figure that's probably one of the 1st things that should go. Since I was leaving it my grandparents were so very kind enough to drive me to Boston so I could partake in the 2nd series of Mini Meets at BU, and so I could just catch the bus from there home.

The mini meets are great low key tune-up meets where there is no pressure, it's still the beginning of the season. I use them as an extra workout. Seeing as I just got on the ball with training again, my endurance and a little bit of speed if off from what it normally would be at this time of the year, I decided to roll with an 800. It was eh, I may have been able to pull a little better out but it wasn't a surprise. I definitely didn't try quite as hard as I could have, but it definitely wasn't easy, no need to injure myself by pushing my body to it's brink. Honestly it just made me happy to see some of my friends, yet slightly sad too because I knew I was staying.

I'll always leave a little piece of my heart in Boston on the track so I can always go pick it up to leave it there for the next time.

On Track

In getting myself in a routine, running/workouts are one of those things that needed a serious makeover from recently. Since taking my break from the outdoor season, then coming back only to break my toe, setting training back another 6-8 weeks, then working like crazy then deciding I'd "check out" NYC, to moving to the city, I had lost my way. I was running sporadically, there was no structure whatsoever and I certainly didn't feel like myself. It's slightly sad to say that my craziness is my calm, but it is. I never want to feel like stepping on the track defines me however it does make up a big part of who I am. It's my one true love (another really sad truth, I tell myself I know I've met the perfect man when he makes me feel the way running does).

After spending a week pulling the apartment together, I knew it was time that I made my way to the only indoor track in Manhattan, the Armory. Dragging my feet, not because I didn't want to run (well actually I kind of didn't, my body was not looking forward to the self inflicted pain), but because I knew that it would make a nice dent in my savings. I do have a specific account that I set money aside for all things track related even so I still didn't want to part with that big of a chunk of it knowing that I don't know when I'll be able to contribute to it again. Also the fact that the fee only includes track time and nothing else, with extremely limited times and lots of rules. I got over it quickly and schlepped up to 169th St in Washington Heights with my waiver all filled out, bank card in hand, and gym bag stuffed with my running gear.

In case you were wondering I will train by myself and continue to run affiliated with GBTC for the time being until I am certain that this move is more than a year. Not that I don't think that the teams here aren't better but rather than switching back and forth it's just easier. Also leaving my teammates was one of the few things that really made me not want to leave Boston. I have been in contact with one of Central Park Track Club's coaches and she has invited me to train with them if I get too lonely, which was really nice. Seeing as I will eventually need a runner outlet, it's good to know that it's there.

I started off my first workout to get used to the track with just some repeat 200's at a comfortable pace then threw in a modified hurdle workout. After which I was let known that I was a bit overzealous on my first day by slamming my trail leg the hurdle leaving me with a lovely black and blue prize. Count for the season is Deanna's knee:0 Hurdle:1 I did however get quite a few passes unscathed at the high hurdle level so it wasn't a complete bust.

I now have 3 real workouts down and I'm feeling good. Still adapting myself to the track since all my workouts will be done in mainly lane 2, which I hope doesn't wreck too much havoc on my body. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and what it brings. Not quite sure what races I will race in but as they come I will weigh them out how they'll fit for me. Really I'm just happy to get back in the game and stay in it.