Run All the Places

This is part two of my New York marathon wrap up. Since I had close to four hours at the starting village, this post is about the time before the canon went off. Pre-Race Jitters in the Best Starting Village of All time  For years I have heard two things from people who had run the New York Marathon: You have to do it and the wait before the start is the ABSOLUTE worst.  So mentally I was prepared for the WORST, which for me is not enough porta potties. Not enough porta potties means lines, and lines mean I could miss my start because I had to do my business. All runners know the pre race poo is of the utmost importance. What I got instead of the ABSOLUTE worst was the BEST starting village I have ever waited in (sorry Boston, you are now second). There was free coffee, SWAG, bananas, bagels, water, Gatorade, gels, hot cocoa, hot tea, and almost NO LINES FOR THE PORTA POTTIES!  The part about the start that is the worst is the fact that we had to be up at 4:30 AM to get

So it has been a week since the New York Marathon. A week of not running. A week of eating all the food. A week of processing. A week of much needed rest. I have now officially ran 10 marathons, all 3 American World Abbott Majors, and 8 states. This one was special for so many reasons. I finally broke the 3:15 barrier by running a 5 minute PR. Personal bests are nothing compared to meeting my fundraising goal for Parkinson's research and seeing the impact the Michael J. Fox Foundation has made on people affected by Parkinson's disease. So just a heads up, this wrap up is going to be in multiple posts. Here is Part One to my New York Adventure, my reminder that running is more than about me: Saturday November 3, 2018 (Expo, Post Expo hangries, Team Fox Dinner) My husband, Michael, and I arrived in the late afternoon on Friday. We shared a hotel with his parents, his brother, and my cousin in a small room located in Time Square. His mother and I both ran the marathon so

One year ago, Shalane Flanagan made history by ending the 40 year drought for women in the New York marathon. I was watching it on my phone while I was at brunch with friends. Yes, it is rude to be on your phone while at a restaurant, but this was history! My favorite part was when one of the commentators pointed out her determination to get to the finish line. Since she made the move to first, she did not look back once. He said "everything you want is in front of you." All the setbacks and the years of hard work, all of it was in front of her at the finish line. She was not going to celebrate or look back until she crossed that line. A year later and I am now 5 days out from running the New York marathon. This will be my 10th marathon and as many who know me are aware I am running this marathon in honor of my Nana with Team Fox. My Nana who was originally from New York, suffered from Parkinson's disease the last years of her life. She fought it until the end with

I am 33 days out from marathon 10. I have been here plenty of times before, but I have never trained as hard. This marathon cycle I decided to follow a plan that I have been considering for years, but I have been too scared or let's be honest lazy to commit to. After Desi crossed the line at Boston in first place this year, ending the 33 year drought for American women, I decided I am all in for the Hanson's marathon plan. To understand the training plan I chose, here is a little background on the Hanson Bros and their marathon method:  Kevin and Keith Hanson are brothers from Michigan who have designed a marathon training program based on the philosophy that no one workout is more important than the another. The Hanson method also does not call for any 20 mile runs because it puts too much emphasis on one workout. They believe a runner shouldn't do 40% of their mileage in one run.The brothers' plan has proven to be successful through their elite program the Han

It has been awhile since I have posted my musings on the interwebs. Since my last post a lot of life things happened. We lost our loyal companion Bailey, bought a house, got married, went on a 2 and half month honeymoon country hopping around Eastern Europe, and adopted a new doggo. Also since I love to do all the things, I have signed up for my 10th marathon. Since this will be my 10th I decided I wanted to do something special. I am running in the New York Marathon in honor of my Nana. A few things to know about my Nana. She was brutally honest. She was a perfectionist. She was a poet. She loved her family and prayed for them constantly. She never went anywhere without being dressed up, even cross country meets. She was my mother's best friend. And she was the classiest lady I will ever know.  I lost my Nana a few years after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.  This past spring was really hard. Her presence was missed during one of the biggest days of my life, ou

The weeks following a marathon are always a struggle for me. All that build up for this one race- early mornings, two-a-days, workouts in every kind of weather, now what? I've got a case of the post-marathon blues but don't worry I found the cure. There are plenty of lists out there regarding what runners think of and go through during a marathon, but what about after? After all of the endorphin's wear off, there are 5 stages runners go through before they get out of their funk. We go through all the 5 stages of grief that are followed by a return to normality.  Six Stages of Post-Marathon Grief: 1. Denial: I am still in shape. I should sign up for a marathon next week. I can probably do at least 10 miles tomorrow. I am fine.  2. Anger: Why does everything hurt? My body is rejecting running. I hate everyone on STRAVA right now. Why can't I just go back to last week when I was in excellent shape and I was so hopeful of the future? 3. Bargaining: Okay