18 mile

Phew, I feel so much better after having completed this last big race before the really BIG race, which is now less than 6 weeks away and I can officially say that I am ready and strong and in the best shape of my life (including the 10 years I was a competitive fencer for).

When I ran my first marathon a year and a half ago in Miami, the training did not go well at all. I missed 2 months of any kind of running because of shin splints and then crammed my entire training into 2 months. 3 weeks before race day, I managed to run 18 miles, in the NY winter in January: it was horrible. The water fountains were all turned off, I was carrying a bottle of water with me the whole time, which is really uncomfortable. I was also by myself. Ugh, it was not fun at all. Since then - besides the marathon which followed shortly - I had not run that long. Leading up to this weekend's race, I was actually pretty nervous, wondering how things are gonna go, remembering the last time I ran 18.

But this time it was different. Perfect weather; 5000 other crazies choosing this instead of sleeping in on a Sunday morning; water and Gatorade stations every mile almost: everything one needs for a good run. And then there were all those calories I consumed on the day before, which - in the name of resting up for the race - I spent sitting around watching TV and movies and eating. Literally. Omelette, stuffed cabbage, grilled cheese sandwich, penne ala vodka, ice-cream plus many snacks. I don't think this is what they mean when they talk about carb loading, hehe. Oh well, it worked! It also didn't hurt that I woke up to the smell of coffee and my bagel toasting at 5:30am, making it much easier to get out of bed (thanks to the best running buddy in the world!).

Up until the last moment before the gun went off, I was so worried about how long it's gonna take to run this race and what I am gonna think about all that time and blah blah blah. Whenever I have a great run, those things don't matter at all. The time flies and the mind's chatter fades away as I get into an even pace and my heart rate and breathing stabilize. I carefully picked every song that went on my iPod that day and luckily, when I needed a push to get up a mountain, Hey Ya by Outkast or Eye of the Tiger came on. Even my iPod knew what I needed! And I knew exactly what I needed. I was so in tune with my body, with every step I took, I knew exactly how fast I was going and when I needed to stop for a drink or a snack. I had few thoughts I remember now, but here are a few: one day running a marathon as a Livestrong team member and raising money for the foundation and maybe meeting Lance; admiring the perfectly shaped legs of the girl with the perfect form in front of me and then passing her on the last big hill; on that same hill, cursing at the cat watching at the top of the mountain and then apologizing to her once I was on top; and a lot of random thoughts about the BIG race in 6 weeks: how it's gonna feel, who I am gonna see cheering, how long it's gonna take me to finish, and so on. I am just so excited!



For those of you Hungarian speakers, I recommend this entry about the same race, by my running buddy.

The coolest thing tough, about this experience, is that I wasn't in pain the next day! My legs did feel a bit heavy but nothing like the usual day-after feeling. Actually, I felt so energized the next day - might have had to do with the fact that after having a couple of glasses of Sangria on Sunday afternoon, I passed out at 9 and didn't even move until 8am on Monday :) - that I left the lab early to run some errands on my way down to Beth Israel and ended up just walking down there - took a total of almost 3 hours, with many stops especially to watch the stuff going all over Midtown as a result of the UN General Assembly meeting this week. I absolutely love these long walks through the city and used to do them all the time, but then it was too hot in the summer and I was too busy or it was too cold in the winter. In any case, I can't remember the last time I had done that and it felt so great! Never occurred to me to get on the subway or bus. Rewarded myself with a burrito at the destination and a couple of ciders at the end of the day. As a result, today I had no energy, but my legs feel like brand new and ready for the next run!