MY QUEST TO 50- FLORIDA

MY QUEST TO 50

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Half Marathon 13.1 Miles

January 12, 2013

33 days till my next Half Marathon (13.1m) in Orlando, Florida.  This next race will be my 12^th Half Marathon and will take place in Disney World which should be a lot of fun and looking forward to seeing my friends and family.

This past month since the marathon was cancelled I took a bit of a break from running, from 3-4 times a week to maybe once a week but maintained my cardio with spinning 2 times a week. After 16 weeks of training for the marathon and well pretty much training straight since early January for all my other races, I just needed a break and so did my knees. I started picking up the mileage again a couple of weeks ago and I will be aiming for 8 miles this weekend.

Until next time Happy Running!!

 



MY QUEST TO 50- NEW YORK

MY QUEST TO 50

7 Down 43 to Go

NEW YORK, NY

Half Marathon 13.1 Miles

March 21, 2010

Since the NYC Marathon was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy I will be counting the NYC Half Marathon as my 7^th state. The NYC half marathon was my very first half marathon back in March 2010; I began running the summer of 2009.

I trained throughout the winter on some cold evenings and mornings on the weekends with my running buddy Enrique; he was also running the NYC half that year. The first half of the race took place in central park with the hills I knew I would have to pace myself. This was my first big race and I was a bit nervous, I even looked behind at one point as I was running and tripped over an orange cone, so happy I didn’t fall. Note to self never take your eyes off the road. After the first 6miles were completed we headed out of the park down 7^th avenue to through Times Sq and then the West side. I knew the rest of the course would be flat so decided to pick up the pace a bit. I remember the race ending in Battery Park and the last ¼ mile I started to get a side stitch so slowed down a bit but felt the pain but knew I couldn’t stop. I also remember a band playing at that moment and they were playing the Journey song “Don’t stop believing” so how could I stop. As I crossed the finish line I remember how happy I was to complete my first half marathon and how great I felt, I finished in 2hours and 31seconds.

My next race will be in Florida the Disney Half Marathon in January 2013 and will be state #8.

Until next time, happy running!!

MY QUEST TO 50-CONNECTICUT

MY QUEST TO 50

6 Down 44 to Go

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

Half Marathon 13.1 Miles

October 13, 2012

On Saturday October 13, 2012 I ran the Hartford, Connecticut ING Half Marathon. This was my 11^th Half Marathon and 6^th State on my Quest to 50.

Day before the Race

I traveled to Hartford by bus with my friend Lara; we arrived the day before the race. We checked in our hotel and had lunch and then we were off to the expo to pick up our race packets.

Race Day

The morning of the race we woke up to get ready for an 8am start; the temps were chilly 32 degrees. We were not prepared to run in this cold especially since a week before it was 80 degrees, big weather transition. We got to start of race everyone is cold and shivering and jumping around to stay warm. The gun goes off and I feel the chill in the air and fingertips were cold already but I tried to keep a steady pace. After a few miles I found my rhythm and kept my body moving. At mile 10 I hit my wall, I think with all the marathon training I am mentally burnt out and just can’t wait till it’s over. I am excited to run the NYC Marathon yet I can’t wait till it’s over.

 

 

Until next time, Happy Running!!



My Quest to 50- Connecticut

MY QUEST TO 50

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

Half Marathon 13.1 Miles

Been a while since I last posted but I am still training for the Marathon and continuing my quest to 50.  Today makes 10 days from my next Half Marathon which will be in Hartford, Connecticut and it will be my 5^th Half Marathon this year and will be my 6^th State. This half marathon will also be my last race and part of my training before the big day on November 4^th, the NYC Marathon.

I am on my 12^th week of my 16 week Marathon training and boy am I tired of running haha but I know putting in all this hard work will be worth it come race day. This coming week I will be completing 20 miles which is what they call the wall in a Marathon 26.2 miles. A lot of people have different views on what the wall is for them, they have reached their plateau and it becomes all mental the next 6.2 miles. I ran my first marathon last year in Philadelphia and I can say I struggled a bit after mile 18 and 20 and what I can say to push you through those last 6 miles it was all Heart for me. How bad did I want to run through that finish line and not walk and do it with Pride? Like they say Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever! I was so happy finishing that race that I wanted to dance when I heard the salsa band playing but could only move my shoulders because my legs were done haha.

I’m hoping to be more successful this year because I am running in New York my hometown and feeding off the crowd and finishing off in the place where I train which is Central Park.

I will post on how my 20 miles went, haven’t run that much in a while, although a couple of weeks ago I completed a race called the 18 Mile Tune up, so I was pretty close.

Until next time, Happy Running!

Connecticut

MY QUEST TO 50

5 Down 45 to Go

My next race will be in Hartford, Connecticut on October 13, 2012; this race will be a half marathon (13.1miles) and will be my 6^th State on my Quest to 50. As you see in my United States map I’ve been filling in each state as I run them, there is a whole lot of white in there but I’m not planning on rushing to complete my goal. New York isn’t filled out although I’ve ran plenty of races in NYC but I am counting this year’s marathon as my #7.

Today makes 60days away from the NYC Marathon (26.2 miles) which will be on November 4, 2012.  I’m looking forward to a mini break afterwards, well for a couple of weeks then back to training again. In 3 weeks I have a race called the Tune Up which is a 18 mile run in Central Park to prep you for the Marathon, it will be 3 loops around the park which I’ve never done before but I’m up for the challenge.

Until next time, Happy Running!!!

5 DOWN 45 TO GO- RHODE ISLAND

MY QUEST TO 50

5 Down 45 to Go

PROVIDENCE ROCK AND ROLL HALF MARATHON 13.1

                                                     PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

AUGUST 19, 2012

On Sunday August 19, 2012 I completed my 10^th Half Marathon since 2009 and completed my 5^th state on my Quest to 50.

DAY BEFORE RACE

My race buddy for this trip was my friend Farah, we arrived in Providence, Rhode Island Saturday morning and went straight to the Rhode Island Convention Center to pick up race packets. After the expo we checked in to our hotel which was walking distance from the convention, we stood at the Hilton Providence Hotel, which was perfect location for race and expo and bus station.

Later that evening we went to Providence’s Little Italy on Federal Hill, again walking distance from hotel. We decided to have our carb loading meal at a place called Medaterrano which was very good; I had chicken Piccata and Penne. After dinner we took a walk to Waterplace Basin where they had a Water Fire show at sunset and before that a Brazilian Ceremony which was really nice.

RACE DAY

Wake up time was at 5:00 am, I started to eat my breakfast and hydrate and tried to keep my eyes open, so not a morning person. No matter how many races I have done, early mornings are no fun for me. We arrived to start of around 6:15 or so we checked out bags, waited on long porta potty lines then we went to race start.

BAG CHECK

So I was warned about the hills in Providence when I first signed up for it, which I had to get in my state and suck it up. As I looked at the elevation chart pre race, it didn’t look too bad. As I started my run I was at a good pace perhaps I thought I started too fast but think my pace has just gotten faster since I have incorporated speed runs into my training. As I reached mile 2 there was a bit of an incline, and in my head I said “sheesh I’m not even warmed up yet” but I got that one over with. A couple of miles later, I reach mile 4 that was one that I said Oh Damm you gotta be kidding me. I train in Central Park so I’m used to the hills but this one was very steep but good training for my friend Farah who is doing a race in San Francisco, hill city.

I think this course was one of the toughest courses I have done but overall I surprisingly did very well by shaving 3secs off my personal record, I know it’s only 3 seconds but I actually thought I wasn’t going to break the 2hr mark. As I reached mile 13 there was another hill, not as steep yet when you get to 13 all you’re thinking is booking it to the finish line but then I had to worry about a hill as well.

  

 

Once I crossed the finish line I went was happy for it to be over, I fueled up with chocolate milk and water and a granola bar. I relaxed on the lawn at the finish and iced my legs and stretched. When Farah and I were ready we walked over to the post race concert and had our free beer that is provided post race, I am so not a beer person but I took a few sips lol

I had a great weekend, race was tough but did well and I will just continue training for the NYC Marathon coming in November.

Next stop will be Hartford, CT in October as I continue my Quest to Run 50 states. Stay Tuned!!

 

MY QUEST TO 50

4 Down 46 To Go

18 DAYS TO PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

NYC Marathon training has officially begun and I am 18days away from my next Half Marathon in Providence, Rhode Island. This past weekend I had my first Long Training Run in Central Park with the NY Road Runners Club, we had an option of 4 different distances (6miles, 11miles, 16miles and 20miles). Since I just started training 2weeks ago I went for the 11mile distance, it was tough with the hills in Central Park and the humidity didn’t help too much along with a 7am start, sooo not a morning person. My knee started to bother a bit toward the second lap in the park but I conquered the hills and finished strong. My friend and I even took a picture while tackling mile 9-10 looking strong.

After any exercise don’t forget to stretch and when I get home I use a foam roller where you can also find at your gym to massage your muscles. 

Until Next Time, Happy Running!!

MY QUEST TO 50

MY QUEST TO 50

4 Down 46 to Go

My next state to run will be in Providence, Rhode Island which is about a month away and is a Half Marathon (13.1m), looking forward to visiting and checking out the sites while I’m there.

Marathon Training has officially begun this week, the first of my long run will be 8-9miles this week and I have a Boomer Cystic Fibrosis 10k (6.1m) race this coming Saturday in Central Park. I was sidelined for about a week on running because I started to get a weird feeling in my knee, not so much pain but felt some type of movement going on. I went to the doctor and I have runners knee which can be taken care of with the proper stretches and exercises. I am gradually building back up to running, my last long run was 2weeks ago which was 7 miles. Hopefully I will be at 10-12 miles by the time I have my long training race through New York Road Runners on July 28 which will be in Central Park as well.

Also with these hot days ahead please be sure to stay hydrated and be careful running outside.

Until next time, Happy Running everyone!!

MY QUEST TO 50

MY QUEST TO 50

4 Down 46 To Go

So it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog maybe because I haven’t had many races to talk about or training runs. My next Half Marathon and state is exactly 2 months away from today. I will be running in Providence, Rhode Island which I am looking forward to visiting.

My last race was 2 weeks ago on my birthday a Woman’s 10k (6.2miles) which I had a great time running and PR’d (personal record) that race despite being diagnosed with bronchitis 2 weeks prior. I definitely took it easy during the race but it was awesome running on my birthday and getting birthday wishes along the race. Here are some pictures I took from on my birthday; some of us wore skirts to make the race even more girly.



My training will start in a couple of weeks once I feel 100% better and legs will be ready to hit the pavement. Besides the next half marathon coming up, I will be starting Marathon training in Mid-July, I will be running for the first time this year the NYC Marathon which I’m very excited about.

Until next time, Happy Running!!!

MY QUEST TO 50!!

MY QUEST TO 50

4 DOWN 46 TO GO



As you can see from my picture 50 states seems so far away, there are people that do it in one year don’t know how they have the time and the finances to do it, that’s practically 1 race a week. As for me it may take several years, my next state will be Rhode Island in August which will be a Half Marathon 13.1 miles and I will be counting the NYC Marathon as another state.

My next race will be in a couple of weeks a 10k (6.1m) all woman’s race.  It will also will my birthday so will do some celebrating afterwards. As I am sitting here writing this I am feeling anxious to run another race, I feel like Rhode Island is so far away.  After my 10k race in June I will start building up mileage again and do some hill training which I hear there are a lot of hills in Providence, Rhode Island where my race takes place.

In July I have another 10k race then will start my training for the NYC Marathon which I’m really excited for, it will be 12-16 weeks of Marathon training which will include one long training run, speed workouts and 2 more runs during the week.

Happy Running Everyone, will post about my June race when it comes up!

MY QUEST TO 50 NEW JERSEY-4 DOWN 46 TO GO

4 DOWN 46 TO GO



LONG BRANCH HALF MARATHON 13.1 aka Lara’s Birthday

                                                      LONG BRANCH, NEW JERSEY

MAY 6, 2012



Picking up bibs at race track



On Sunday May 6, 2012 I completed my 9^th Half Marathon (13.1 miles) and 3^rd of this year, my 4^th State on my Quest to 50. 

I arrived in New Jersey on Saturday May 5 we drove to Long Branch, once we checked in at the Sheraton Hotel we drove to the Monmouth Race Track where the running expo took place to pick up our race packet and also where the beginning of the race started. After the expo we did some window shopping at the local mall and then picked up our friend from the train station and then went to carb load at the olive garden. After dinner we went back to hotel and prepped for the race setting up clothes, bag, bib etc.

RACE DAY

I woke up at 5:00 am race morning started eating my breakfast and hydrating. As we headed to the race track we caught a lot of traffic then of course some of us had to stop and use the bathroom. I would rather wait on line to use the bathroom before the race then have to stop during the race, I know TMI but that’s all part of the running experience lines for the porta potty’s lol.

As I started my watch crossing the start line and wishing everyone good luck we were off.

Pre Race

At first I thought I started off too fast looking at my watch and wanted to find my rhythm but couldn’t slow down to my normal race pace for a half marathon so I kept going at the fast pace I was comfortable with. I had hesitation at first running faster than normal and thought I would burn out but just felt so good and in my mind if I felt good might as well just go for it.

 

The course was flat and the weather was perfect mid 50’s low humidity and no sun which was perfect, couldn’t have asked for a better course and better weather. Throughout the race my friend Lara and I were pretty much at the same pace and occasionally were saying we needed to slow down but we both felt good, she was ahead and I was ahead but we were close enough that we would see each other. At about mile 10 I started feeling my legs were getting heavy and the bottom of my left foot started burning as if I was getting a blister but couldn’t stop I had 3 more miles to go so I kept my pace and continued on.

At about mile 12 I started to feel nausea but had to push through I was almost at the end couldn’t think about that. I looked over to Lara when we saw the finish line and said we can cross it together and so we did. We finished our 13.1 miles in 1hour 56minutes and 45seconds which was a personal record for both of us. I was so thrilled to finish under 2hrs, I had mentioned to Lara that would be her birthday gift to finish under 2hrs since she knew how close I was so many times.

Once we crossed the finish line we took a pic I grabbed my medal and our friends Enrique, Alex and Karyn aka baby beast were both for us which they did awesome as well. I was still feeling a bit quesy after the race and had to sit down but once I had my banana, apple some water and changed my clothes I was a bit better.  Afterwards we decided to go eat and Enrique and I went with Karyn and her boyfriend to their car, as we walk towards the car , we came into a dead end and had to climb a fence to get to the other side, I wish I had my camera at this point, I put my leg into one of the holes in the fence and caught a cramp on my calf muscle as I put my leg over to the other side I was stuck and needed help getting down haha, guess not the best move for just running a race.



Post Race



Shirt and Medal



Congrats to All!!



We arrived at a cute little place called Zoe’s Vintage Kitchen and got 2 tables, the food was excellent and the prices were great. It was a perfect ending to a great race and Lara’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTDHAY LARA!!

Awesome Breakfast!!!

Next stop will be Rhode Island in August as I continue my Quest to Run 50 states. Stay Tuned!!



MY QUEST TO 50- NEW JERSEY

My Quest to 50

May 6, 2012

Long Branch Half Marathon 13.1 Miles

Long Branch, New Jersey

Less than a month away I will be running my 3^rd Half Marathon of the year and will be 4^th towards my quest to running in 50 states. With just a few weeks away from the race I was side-lined from being sick and not being able to breathe through my nose due to congestion. I’m hoping to get back into my routine tomorrow and hop on the hamster wheel, would like to log in at least 20miles this week then will bring up the mileage the next coming weeks leading up to the race.

I’m hoping for some great weather come May because this weather has been good and bad the last few weeks and the race ends on the boardwalk by the beach so would like to enjoy it when I’m there. I’m also looking forward to celebrating my friend Lara’s birthday which will be on race day.

Happy Running Everyone!!

MY QUEST TO 50- NEW JERSEY

MY QUEST TO 50

May 6, 2012

Long Branch Half Marathon 13.1 Miles

Long Branch, New Jersey

Next stop on my quest to 50 states is New Jersey which is 6 weeks away, let the training continue. I have a 15k (9M) race in Central Park next weekend on April 1 so that will be incorporated into my training plan. My training will be going all the way through November until I complete the NYC Marathon. So technically once my first race of the year begins, training doesn’t stop till November.

Me and Lara

Besides New Jersey being my 4^th of 50 states that I will be running I will also be celebrating my friend Lara’s birthday who will also be running it. So for this race I will be dedicating my run to Lara and my gift to her is to finish in sub 2:00 hours (hopefully), I’ve been close so many times only by a few seconds.

Stay tuned for my RUN DAISY RUN Posts!

Until then Happy Running!!

MY QUEST TO 50- WASHINGTON DC

MY QUEST TO 50

March 17, 2012

Rock and Roll Half Marathon 13.1 Miles

Washington, DC

I completed my second half marathon for 2012, and completed another half marathon my 8^th since I started running in 2009.

DAY BEFORE THE RACE

Friday the day before the race was quite an adventure I was scheduled to take a bus from Port Authority at 11:30am and arrived in DC around 4:00pm didn’t go quite as planned. The bus got as far as 2 blocks before it broke down and we waited almost 2 hrs to transfer to another bus which made my arrival time at DC 6:30pm. When I arrived to DC had to reschedule dinner for 9pm because we wouldn’t have made it to our 7:15 reservations and headed straight to the race expo where we picked up our race packets, they were already packing up and ready to shut down.

At Race Expo

HOTEL

Subway Mayhem on Race Day

Waiting for the Metro



We leave the expo and take the Metro which is DC’s transit system which was a bit confusing you have to buy a fare card and put it through the machine but as you exit the station you have to use your card again to exit. We arrive at the lovely Mayflower Renaissance hotel which my friend had booked because it was the closet to the start of the race but not that close because we had to take the metro to get to the race.

We then head to dinner to Dupont Italian Kitchen to carb load the food was really good and did the job we headed back to the hotel to prep for the race the next morning.

RACE DAY

The race was scheduled to start at 8:00 we leave the hotel around 6:30 or so to take the Metro to RFK Stadium where the race starts. The train was so congested with runners that they shut the train system down and kicked everyone off the train, many of us were just stranded and had no way of getting to the race, the taxi’s weren’t taking anyone because the streets were closed and walking was just too far. The only thing to do was just wait until we were able to fit in the train and wait for it to continue to our destination. I don’t think the city was prepared for this and the estimated 21,000 runners.

 Congrats Alex and Jose!!! 



We get to the stadium and rush to check our bags, I think we crossed the start line 40mins after the race officially started and with the late starters which some were walkers which was very difficult to run through because so many people were walking in front of you so for the first 2-3miles I was zig zagging through people until I finally found my stride and was comfortable with my pace and enough space around me. I found this race a bit difficult because of the humidity was about 90% but made sure I stayed hydrated but felt my hands swelling up. The first half was pretty good until we reached the first elevation after mile 5 and was pretty constant the hills up till the 12^th mile. Overall I did pretty well considering the hills were bothering me a bit but was happy to have complete another half marathon.

POST RACE & DAY AFTER

Fueled up after the race relaxed a bit and headed back to the hotel to change and had some empanadas, you should have seen the size of these things I forgot to take a picture but they were very good. We headed to the National Mall which is what they call the area with all the monuments. Some things we were able to see was the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King Memorial and we passed by the Potomac River to see the Cherry Blossoms in bloom after that we were a bit tired and my feet kept yelling at me to just sit down and relax haha.

The day I was set to head back to NYC I had a few hours to do some more sightseeing. I went to Georgetown which was a beautiful little town and went to visit the stairs that was filmed in the movie The Exorcist, quite steep said to be 5 stories high and I climbed them. After Georgetown we headed to the Art Museum to view a Video Game Exhibit.

Overall DC was a great weekend getaway despite the delayed buses and trains definitely want to go back and visit places I didn’t get a chance to see.