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NYRR Queens Half Marathon Recap

I can’t really complain about anything right now.

In the last 36 hours I’ve run a half marathon, explored Manhattan’s waterways by sail boat, and taken a helicopter and hot air balloon ride. I just realized, typing all that, that they were all done with Theodora. 🙂

After a relaxing Friday rest day morning, I spent a few hours at work before enjoying Summer Friday and leaving around 3pm.

Don’t worry, even though I was only at the office for 6 hours I ate 2 meals while there and have the pictures to prove it. 🙂

IMG_3494 (640x478) (640x478) IMG_3495 (640x478) (640x478) That sandwich was bigger than I expected. Therefore, I took 3/4 of the chicken off and shared with a co-worker. However, the mix of cucumber, sprouts, hummus, tomatoes, and lettuce were amazing!

A few months ago, Bo and I both saw a Groupon for a 2 hour sailing trip on the Hudson River though Hudson River Community Sailing.  We took out a J24 with an instructor, unlike in Miami when Bo captained the boat.

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We had a blast but definitely felt bad for the one random girl there on her own. The 3 of us were talking the whole entire time in between shifts steering and tacking. The breeze on the water kept the heat and humidity at bay.

IMG_0169 (640x480) IMG_0163 (640x480) IMG_0179 (640x480) IMG_0171 (640x480) The views put the city in a whole new perspective.

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After all the fresh air and adventures, I was ready for dinner and bed! If you live in New York City, Bocca Roman is delicious, amazing Italian food AND they are on Seamless Web!

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This morning, I woke up at 5:30 to run my 12th half marathon! While I hadn’t planned in advance to run the Queens Half Marathon when I found out multiple friends were running it and I came across a bib, I couldn’t resist. I’d never been to Corona Park before and was excited to experience a new area of Queens and spend time with Rebecca, Theodora, Melissa, and Shannon.

IMG_3499 (640x478) (640x478) I knew it was going to be hot so I went with as few layers as possible!

IMG_3500 (640x478) (640x478) I met Rebecca at 23rd and 3rd to hail a cab out to Corona. We didn’t want to deal with the weekend subway schedule, especially since the Queen subway lines were all messed up due to rail construction.

Upon arriving, the sun was rising along with the heat and humidity. But, the views and monuments were pretty amazing!

IMG_3502 (640x478) (640x478) We were each treating this as a long training run since most of our schedules had somewhere between 11-13 miles on tap for today. We were all happy that the course was known for being around 75% flat.

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It was also 75% shade free, but we didn’t know those details in advance.Oops!

IMG_3505 (640x478) (640x478)Our plan was go out slow and steady and enjoy the sights. The race was scheduled to begin at 7am, which is late compared to when we normally begin long summer runs.

Unfortunately, we didn’t cross the start line until 7:20. It was already over 80 degrees and quite humid when we started which I knew would be tough on me as I have a bad history with hot half marathons (Brooklyn 2009, More Half 2009, and Brooklyn 2010).

I started with Theodora and Rebecca, chatting away happily while we kept a consistent pace around 10:05 and taking in the sights.  I was able to hang with the ladies for the first 3 miles and then ran with Melissa for the next mile. By mile 5 I knew I needed to do this race on my own if I was going to finish. I am not as fast as Theodora and Rebecca and trying to hang with them isn’t a good idea at this point in my training. My coach told me to aim for an 11 minute pace today. Oops, clearly I didn’t listen. In turn, my last few miles were pretty ugly, including a run walk mix. The whole issue was made worse by the fact that I had to use the bathroom really badly around mile 10.5. I had to RUN backwards to the porta potties which only added to my time and mileage. By the time I finished going to the bathroom running again was pretty challenging. It was similar to the 18 mile tune up run with Theodora.

Mile 1 10:10

Mile 2 10:07

Mile 3 10:09

Mile 4 10:42

Mile 5 10:25

Mile 6 10:28

Mile 7 10:56

Mile 8 10:54

Mile 9 11:12

Mile 10 11:25

Mile 11 12:43 (Bathroom issues)

Mile 12  12:42 (Bathroom issues)

Mile 13- 13.5 11:11 pace

IMG_3510 (478x640) (478x640)Notice the crazy tan lines I developed during today’s 2.5 hour run. Clearly the sun was out in full force!IMG_3511 (640x480) (640x480)

Was it a PR or my best training run? Heck no but it was a great training run which forced me to face the reality that I need to train at my current pace right now and continue building my speed base versus trying for a trifecta: heat, mileage jump, and speed jump.

IMG_3506 (640x480) (640x480) I’m very happy to have my long run done and have spent the rest of the day recovering with a whole wheat everything bagel, epsom salt bath, manicure & pedicure, and hair cut.

IMG_3509 (640x478) (640x478) How has your weekend been?

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Hershey’s Air Delight Helicopter and Hot Air Balloon Adventure

 

Never in my life have I had an experience quite like last night. Theodora and I had the incredible opportunity to be whisked away by a black car for an evening adventure with Hershey’s who was celebrating the launch of their new aerated chocolate, Air Delight Chocolates.

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Our first destination was the 30th Street Heliport. I have run past the heliport many times but never been inside the gates.

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While they didn’t know it at the time, Hershey’s was giving me the opportunity to check off two items from my bucket list: helicopter and hot air balloon rides.

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I was so excited I could barely take a normal picture; while Theodora was scared sick. We were each other’s date for the evening but my sole purpose was to give her the confidence to enjoy the trip.

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It was everything I hoped it would be and more. While the ride was quite noisy it was very relaxing and the views were unbelievable. We were lower than a plane, so you could make out the sights perfectly but we were high enough to be able to see for miles and miles!

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Once we climbed in and buckled up we were off! I think she almost killed me when I requested the front row seat for us. Oh well, it resulted in amazing views!

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Theodora and I spent the next 20 minutes in awe taking hundreds of pictures and just gasping.

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Clearly Theodora and I both love our Jack Roger sandals and bright toenail polish; perfect for this summer adventure!

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From our view, Newark Airport looked more like a toy airport with little planes than a bustling international airport.

In case you ever wondered where all the cabs hung out, we spotted them!

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Within twenty minutes we reached a huge field in rural New Jersey where the New Jersey Hot Air Balloon festival is taking place.

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There was a golf cart awaiting our arrival, ready to take us to the hot air balloon! The Hershey team was super friendly and very excited to see us and hear that our first ride had been smooth and breath taking.

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Upon arriving, we found out that the hot air balloon would remain tethered to the ground during our adventure but we’d still be able to go up over 100 feet and see what it feels like to ride in a hot air balloon.

It’s hot but incredible!

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The Hershey Company launches new Hershey's Air Delight Chocolate with a sky-high tasting experience at the site of the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, Thursday, July 28, 2011, in Whitehouse Station, NJ. Throughout the weekend, festival attendees can enjoy a hot air balloon ride while experiencing the new aerated chocolate in take-home bars and Hershey's Kisses chocolates. (Diane Bondareff for Hershey)

The Hershey Company launches new Hershey's Air Delight Chocolate with a sky-high tasting experience at the site of the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, Thursday, July 28, 2011, in Whitehouse Station, NJ. Throughout the weekend, festival attendees can enjoy a hot air balloon ride while experiencing the new aerated chocolate in take-home bars and Hershey's Kisses chocolates. (Diane Bondareff for Hershey)

While in the air, we had the opportunity to sample the new chocolate.

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Hershey Air Delights comes in two forms, bar and kiss. My favorite was the kiss form as it allows you to enjoy the flavor in a perfect package. These were lighter in flavor and texture due to the aeration but equally delicious! Hershey Kiss have been my favorite form of candy over the past few years as they are portion controlled and diet friendly. You can have 11 for 200 calories which is a large amount of chocolate, if you ask me. I don’t know that I could eat that many without a stomach ache!

After the samples we had some fun with Stan the Man, our pilot for the evening and also a member of the US Hot Air Balloon Team!

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Within minutes, our adventure was over and we were being transported back to Manhattan! The ride back was a whole new experience due to the night sky and skyline.

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Thank you again Hershey’s for a once in a lifetime adventure! I will always remember it anytime I see a Hershey’s chocolate candy- especially Air Delight!

Question: If you could take a hot air balloon ride anywhere, where would it be?

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Marathons+Moderation: Guest Post #10

Hi guys! I’m Theodora, and I blog over at Losing Weight in the City about how I maintain my 50-pound weight loss without sacrificing any of my fun, single girl in NYC lifestyle. I’ve loved reading Ashley’s Marathons and Moderations series and am happy to contribute to it.

While I usually like to approach everything in moderation, including moderation, training for a marathon makes this difficult.

I mean, seriously. Try going out for a night of drinks the night before you’re going to run 20 miles. Or after you’ve run 20 miles. Neither are particularly fun.

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This picture was obviously not taken before or after 20 miles.

But as a single girl living in NYC, my social life (and alcohol) are things I refuse to give up during marathon training. But in order to not die while running, some moderation and making your training social is definitely needed. Here’s how I do it.

Happy Hour. Happy hour is my best friend during marathon training. If I don’t have a run planned for the next morning (and sometimes even if I do), you can usually find me at happy hour. It is much easier to recover from a drink or two and run six miles than it is to recover from a drink or two and run twenty. Plus, I can still get into bed early after happy hour and get plenty of sleep.

Sunday Funday. Really, finding different times to be social is the secret to my not going crazy during marathon training. If I’ve stayed in on Friday night and Saturday night because of my running schedule, I’m usually raring to go on Sundays. Sunday brunch or a Sunday Funday is a great way to feel like I’m not missing out on fun just because I don’t want to go out on a Friday or Saturday night.

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Train with Friends. I don’t know if I would have been able to get through training for the Chicago Marathon last year without Ashley. We did most of our long runs together, chatting for hours and hours as we covered miles and miles. It helped me to think of marathon training as something fun and social, rather than something taking me away from my social life.

Don’t Miss Important Events. Unless you’re getting paid to run, it’s really not worth skipping important events to work in a long run. You can move around your schedule and find time to get your run in. I promise. Missing something important to get your run in will just make you resent running. I know it’s not always fun, but nursing a drink, or even (gasp!) drinking water beats missing out.

Embrace Step-Back Weeks. When you’re running 18 or 20 miles, a step-back week with a long run of 13 miles scheduled seems like a short run. (Because marathon training is crazy.) So, while I still don’t advocate going out and getting drunk the night before a 13-miler, go ahead and embrace it. Stay out a little later. Enjoy yourself.

One Glass is Probably Okay. This totally depends on the person, but I’ve found that, for me, I can handle a glass of wine the night before a long run without becoming too dehydrated. In fact, the night before my first 15-miler, I was way too nervous and one little glass of wine totally took the edge off.

Overdoing It Once in a While Won’t Hurt. A week before my marathon, I had a very late night. While I probably *shouldn’t* have done that so close to the marathon, I don’t think it hurt me much in the long run.

Plan Something Fun for After the Marathon. Or lots of something funs. Ashley and I got to know Fun Theodora and Fun Ashley very well once we finished our marathons. For me, crossing the finish line was well worth the months of sacrifice, but having lots of Fun Ashley and Fun Theodora nights after our marathons made us appreciate our free nights (as weird as they were at first) more than we ever had before.

So, while it does take quite a bit of sacrifice to train for and run a marathon, I think it’s totally possible to achieve moderation and keep an active social life.

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