marathon Archives - Runderella

Brooklyn Half Training – Two Weeks to go!

April 30, 2015 By Lindy Leave a Comment

I’m getting really excited about running Brooklyn, but first, Broad Street Run.

Everyone knows how much I love running Broad Street. 🙂

Since the Brooklyn Half is coming up two weeks from Sunday, Broad Street will be a training run for me, and will be the last long run before Brooklyn. While it will be tough maintaining a slower pace since the energy from the crowds draw you in and make you forget how fast you’re running, I have to do my best and not focus on what I’m likely to hear afterwards, “But so-and-so finished before you, Lin.” *sigh*

Last week’s run were:

Tuesday: 4 miles

Saturday: 3 miles

Sunday: 8 miles

Sunday was a gorgeous day here in the city of Brotherly Love; a balmy 65 degrees. Ran the 8-mile loop around the Schuylkill River – from Kelly Drive, around the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to Martin Luther King Drive, back to Kelly Drive. I’ve never run this loop before while training, it’s always been while racing, therefore a nice treat where I run to soak it all in and not worry so much about time. As long as my long runs are slower, all is fine with Coach Kristy!

It was a lovely treat to watch college students practicing for the upcoming Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. I suppose the ones yelling to them from a boat not far upfront were the coaches. Row, Row, Row!

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Mile 3 of this 8-mile run was the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which was crowded with tour buses and there was a huge line to take a photograph with the statue of Rocky Balboa.

Rear of Philadelphia Museum of Art and Philadelphia Water Works Restaurant and Lounge – view from MLK Drive

Passed the Art Museum and headed over to run down MLK Drive, which was lonely and isolated. Good thing is that once you cross SweetBriar Road, the road is closed all the way to the Falls Bridge on Sunday, I think until 5 PM, but I may be wrong. Anyway, it felt great to get off the concrete sidewalk and give my legs/feet a break by running on the road.

Boathouse Row Philadelphia

Stayed strong until mile 7.12 when I “hit the wall.” I got jittery and hungry and walked a bit until 0.5 mile left of my run. Stopped to stretch for a minute and continued on until I reached my car. There, my sister and her recently rescued poodle were waiting for me. He’s so sweet! He was abused and is scared all the time and after a few days, learned to walk on a leash! As a rescue mommy myself, I’m delighted to know she chose a rescue dog.

With Harley at the end of my 8-mile run.

Post-run, we headed down to Blackbird Pizzeria for vegan seitan cheezesteaks, the hottest buffalo wings I’ve ever eaten in my life (my mouth is still on fire!), and vegan pizza. I love going there; the people are so nice!

I’m looking forward to meeting up with some of you at the start of this Sunday’s Broad Street Run. I moved back, so I’ll be hanging out in yellow corral. Hydrate, and hydrate well these upcoming days before the race, as it will be a balmy 75 degrees on race day. I personally enjoy water with lemon and cucumbers – it’s so refreshing!

For my friends running Broad Street Run, Pittsburgh Marathon, and Flying Pig, may the wind be at your back!!! Can’t wait to read all of your race recaps!

Lindy x

The Marathon Distance in Perspective

July 16, 2014 By Lindy Leave a Comment

Rock n’ Roll Marathon Series recently published this infographic putting the marathon distance into perspective. Most people don’t know how long a marathon is, but if you’ve ever trained for a marathon or even completed one, you know it’s 26.2 miles or 42.2 kilometers. It’s really interesting to see how many calories on average are burned while running 26.2 miles.

Running Playlist

January 8, 2014 By Lindy

It’s been a while since I’ve shared my music playlist with you and since Spring is around the corner (ok, not really, but my glass is always half full), well, anyway, here are a few of my favorite running tunes.

September – Cry for You
Capital Cities – Safe and Sound
Tinie Tempah featuring Ellie Goulding – Wonderman
Drunkenmunky – E
Eminem featuring Rihanna – The Monster
Lady GaGa – Applause
Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc – Wake Me Up
Chris Brown – Yeah 3X
Eiffel 65 – Blue
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – Can’t Hold Us
Bastille – Pompeii
David Guetta featuring Chris Brown – I Can Only Imagine
Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed
Karmin – Hello
Fall Out Boy – My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light ‘em Up)
Icona Pop – I Love It (Tiesto Remix)
Afrojack featuring Eva Simons – Take Over Control (Club Mix)
David Guetta featuring Kid Cudi – Memories
Jay Z featuring Kanye West and Rihanna – Run This Town
David Guetta featuring Snoop Dogg – Sweat
Britney Spears – Work Bitch
David Guetta – Little Bad Girl
Justin Timberlake – TKO
Ellie Goulding – Burn
Linkin Park featuring Steve Aoki – A Light That Never Comes
30 Seconds to Mars- Up in the Air
Calvin Harris – Let’s Go
Nicki Minaj – Pound the Alarm
Flo Rida – Low
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams – Get Lucky
Daft Punk – Aerodynamic

I also love running to boy band songs and singing out loud…don’t judge 😉

*NSYNC – Tearin’ Up My Heart; It’s Gonna Be Me; I want you back

Backstreet Boys – I Want it that Way

The Treblemakers (Pitch Perfect) – Bright Lights Bigger City

Feel free to share your suggestions. I love discovering new music!

xo, Lindy

Goals for the New Year

January 6, 2014 By Lindy

Setting goals for myself for this new year is something that I’ve been thinking a lot these past couple of days. 2013 was an amazing year: the only goal I had was to finish a half-marathon and I went on to completing 4 half marathons, a 10-miler and a full marathon. Not in a million years did I ever come close to thinking I’d get this accomplished, let alone in one year.

This past year taught me so much. I’ve learned that I need to use my foam roller a lot more, that 13.1 miles is my favorite distance race, that I’m in competition with none other than myself, that hydrating properly is not just for the week of a race, but should be accomplished ALL the time.

That being said, my goals for this new year are:

Run 1,000 miles in 2014. This is more than double what I ran in 2013 but it’s not impossible. I did slack a lot last year and skipped a lot of my training runs. I’ve run out of excuses! 🙂
Try my best and always give 110% effort.
Use the foam roller on a frequent basis. Using a foam roller or a massage stick helps to relieve pain, stiffness and reduce muscle knots. I have IT band issues and this helps tremendously! Honestly, using a foam roller hurts like hell, but it really works. Had I done this sooner, I would’ve saved time/expense visiting my chiropractor thrice weekly for sessions!
Stay local!. There are so many races that I want to run, but in all honesty, I have had more fun at local races than ones I’ve traveled for, not to mention the expense of traveling for these. After Disney’s Princess Half Marathon, unless I get into the NYC Marathon, I’m staying local. I’m finishing a degree and with tuition expenses that keep skyrocketing and emptying my bank account, it seems to me it is the wisest thing to do. The Philadelphia Tri-State Area has some amazing races and I’m about to discover more of them 🙂
Encourage/Inspire others to run. This is actually HUGE for me. I love what running does for my body and my mind. Running allows me to escape the stress of everyday life and it makes me feel free. I love the friendships and the bonds I have formed as a result, and love how the running community comes together to inspire one another. I want people to discover how wonderful running is and that there’s no going “too slow”. You CAN do it!!

Have you set any fitness goals for 2014?

xo, Lindy

Philadelphia Marathon Experience

November 25, 2013 By Lindy

A week late, I know. And it’s a long post, so sorry!

Funny to think that exactly a week ago the weather was pleasant and in the low 60’s and today it is in the 30’s. Surely we were blessed with good running weather 🙂

Trained for this marathon for 16+ weeks and this is my celebratory run. 26.2 miles in my city, in my home, in my backyard.

Saturday, my friend Allison and I went to the Philadelphia Marathon Expo down at the convention center, quickly grabbed my bib, walked around and didn’t buy a darn thing, mainly because no one had Honey Stingers…

Had reservations for Maggiano’s on 12th and Filbert and carboed until I couldn’t eat anymore. They have the best bread and I seriously could have eaten like 5 loaves!

That night, I was so anxious that I couldn’t sleep. Set every single alarm on: 3:00, 3:15, 3:30…but I was up by 11:00 PM after having gone to sleep less than three hours prior. It wasn’t merely a standard pre-race anxiety, it was my first marathon and my mind wanted to race too.

Drove to the train station where the airport line runs since the first train runs at 4 AM. Seems everyone else did the same too.

Arrived at the Ben Franklin Parkway around 5:30 AM and good thing I brought my coat because it was really windy and cold at the start. Port-o-potty lines were long, and we waited in line approximately 45 minutes!

Attempted to chow down on a toasted bagel with peanut butter and a banana but I was still feeling anxious. I did the best I could.

Gun went off at 7:00 AM (first race that has ever started right on time!) and I crossed the start line at 7:32. With the Philadelphia Museum of Art behind us, we started to run down the Parkway, east on Arch through Chinatown, down towards Penn’s Landing to South Philly, back a bit north to running west through South Street where I saw some friends, through Chestnut Street and onto University City/West Philly towards the Drexel campus. That was Hill #1. I didn’t train on hills (huge mistake) but I ran it up until we reached 30th Street Station. The views were spectacular! While I ran with my iPhone, I tried not to take pics, after all, I live here anyway.

At times I forgot where I was…I kept worrying about keeping pace, hindering my ability to fully enjoy the experience. Looking at my watch, the numbers written on my arm, keeping close eye on the Clif pacer, and so on…that made me so sad.

Ran past the oldest zoo in America, the Philadelphia Zoo and back towards (MLK Drive) West River Drive and towards Eakins Oval, where the half marathoners would steer right to the finish line and marathon runners would run left for another 13.1 miles. At the half mark I saw my sister, she hugged me and handed me some pretzels and I was on my way. I was already 30 minutes past half marathon goal but I wasn’t worried. I ran my first half conservatively, saving all my energy for the latter half.

The next miles would have you running on Kelly Drive, with the Schuylkill River on your left and the torture of watching the runners in their last trek on the right. It’s an out-and-back course and that’s what I dislike about it, honestly. You’re on mile 17 and they’re on 24 running right beside you, just going opposite directions. That was quite a mental battle for me.

Mile 18 was rather strange…right before the 30K mark, you veer off to your left to run through the Falls Bridge (which is gorgeous, btw!) then make a u-turn and run right back. Saw my co-worker who’s a badass runner, she’s an elite runner, who was out cheering with her infant son. She gave me some words of wisdom and it was very nice to see someone during the latter half of the course. Got my second wind and off towards Manayunk.

Dear Manayunk, I spent most of my twenties partying on Main Street and I never realized how hilly those roads are. We didn’t run through the actual hills of Manayunk, oh dear God, no. But anyway, Main Street is far from flat. Run down Main until the bridge (where it ends and there’s a road that puts you on I-76) and that’s mile 20. Make another U-turn and back towards Center City.

Mile 21 and we’re in front of the movie theater right by Ridge Avenue and I’m starting to cramp up, badly. I’d already lost sight of the pacers…they were a mile ahead! Grabbed some water at 21.5, ran/walked a bit more and by mile 22, I was walking. Stopped on the side of the road and stretched but the ball of my right foot felt like it was on fire and my left ankle was hurting. I was getting so many text messages from my running friends encouraging me to keep going.

I thought to myself, “What would make me feel worse tomorrow? Stop at Mile 22 and call it a DNF, or walk the remaining 4 miles and earn what I deserve?”

I chose the latter.

I limped my way to the finish line. Saw my sister at the 25.5 mile and she got on the course and walked with me until mile 26. The Philadelphia Police Officers were cheering on, encouraging me to sprint the last 0.2 to the finish line. Funny thing is that you literally can not see the finish line until you’re at 26.1 and I forgot about the pain and ran until the end, high-fiving Mayor Michael Nutter, crossing so far off my goal time. And I started to cry when I got my space blanket and my medal. I was relieved, delighted but I was angry. I didn’t feel accomplished. So many people had left and I felt like the last person there.

I had support from everyone, except my Mom, and it took her a week exactly to explain her behavior. She never, not once, asked me how I felt, if I needed anything, nothing. She wanted no part in this. She even went out of town to Virginia for the weekend so she’d have an excuse not to go. Anyway, last night she said to me that I should reconsider running marathons. Angry with me that I have all these races scheduled for next year. Her response, “I’m afraid something is going to happen to you.” While I can understand as a parent, I simply told her to just support me. You may not understand why I run, just be there as a parent, when I need you.

Here’s a few pics:

Looking half dead after the marathon:

Front of the medal:

Back of the medal:

I ended up going to the sports doctor and getting my left foot examined. Thankfully, it isn’t a stress fracture but possibly peroneal tendonitis. Only cardio allowed is swimming for at least 2-3 weeks. Can’t wait to get back into running. I’ve got a half in 8 weeks!

Lindy

Marathon Training Weeks 12-13

October 31, 2013 By Lindy

These past two weeks have been insanely busy juggling work and life, and while I have missed some of the weekly training runs, I had to accommodate my schedule to fit in the long runs.

I truly dislike knowing the fact that while I tried my best to follow a training program as perfectly and as strictly as I could, it just hasn’t been possible. I leave for work at 6 AM and return home after 8:30 PM and most of my runs have been on the treadmill (with the exception of long runs, which were outside, thank goodness!) I hope that it is enough to carry me through and help me to finish strong.

My last long run was last Saturday, a 20-miler that went well until I “hit the wall” at mile 14. My sister surprisingly showed up at the park carrying bananas, pretzels, water and Gatorade, and I caught my second wind, finishing in just under 4 hours.

Here we are, 18 days before the marathon. I’ve got a 14-16 mile training run this week, then tapering begins. I’m so nervous and keep having dreams about everything that could possibly go wrong – it’s simply a fear of the unknown, although deep down I know I’m trusting my training. I’m debating running without my Garmin, too.

Any marathoners have any advice/tips for a new marathon runner?

Lindy

Spirit of the Marathon

June 10, 2013 By Lindy

Tonight, I walked 4.4 miles on the treadmill while watching the movie “Spirit of the Marathon”.

This documentary follows the lives of elite runners, Olympic runners, repeat marathoners as well as first-time marathoners as they run the Chicago Marathon.

It’s truly an inspiring documentary and I’m looking forward to watching the second film, out this week only, and it focuses on the Rome Marathon.

Training for Races and training others

June 10, 2013 By Lindy

Two weeks ago, my sister Janice asked me to help train her for a 5K, specifically the Electric Run, which is taking place on Saturday, July 20th here in my city, Philadelphia.

Aside from playing softball in high school, my sister Janice has been a complete couch-a-holic, living quite the sedentary lifestyle. Using a modified Jeff Galloway 5K program, last week I began training her and her best friend Stephanie for the Electric Run. We started each day with a 3-minute slow-to-brisk walk followed by a 1 minute jog/1 minute walk for a total of 25 minutes. It’s a 2.5 mile loop, followed by a 1 mile walk to my house, the starting point.

A 5k run/walk that is as much show as it is run. Electric Run™ is a 5k run, a show, participation art, and celebration of life. Incredibly talented artists and lighting technicians with experience creating beautiful art and light at Coachella, Dreamworks Animations, Disney, and some of Vegas’ hottest shows have come together to create a world that will fill you with wonder.

Doesn’t this look fun?!? My sister and I are already planning our costumes 🙂

It’s Monday morning and my sister has lost a total of 5 lbs!!! I have never seen such glow in her eyes. Her motivation and determination amazes me. We have had thunderstorms here in PA these past few days, including today, so we will take our training indoors on the treadmill.

This month’s issue of Runner’s World Magazine has not only wonderful and helpful articles, but coverage on the tragic events that occurred this past April in Boston. It’s an absolute must-read! In it, there’s a 20-week marathon training program and it has a starting date for those planning to run the Philadelphia Marathon this November (that’s me, eek!!). Training date is July 1st!

I’m currently training for the Disneyland Half Marathon, which will take place in September. I really wish I’d signed up for the Dumbo Double Dare (a 10-K on Saturday, followed by a half marathon on Sunday for a total of 19.3 miles) but when I was registering, I was plagued by doubts in my mind of whether or not I could do it. I listened to my head instead of my heart and missed out on that wonderful opportunity to run the Dumbo on Saturday. Anyway, I’ve been feeling better since visiting the chiropractor and using that foam roller. Is foam rolling supposed to hurt this bad? I feel the pain in my bones when lying on it and rolling my IT Band.

This past weekend, my hospital switched over to a very unfriendly computer charting system that has every nurse stressed to the max. Everyone brought in munchkins, (there must’ve been at least 500 of them!) along with cake, sandwiches, chocolate, candy, etc. It was bad!! After coming home last night, I decided to run on the treadmill. I finished 4.3 miles on a comfortable pace. Started out at 12 mm, 11, and finished with a 10-minute mile pace. If only I did that at races! I tend to start out fast and feel tired half way.

Today, I’m going to do some Turbo Fire and rest since I’m working the rest of the week. Hope you have a wonderful week!!!

Lindy

20th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Marathon

April 1, 2013 By Lindy

Registration opened today for the 20th Anniversary Philadelphia Marathon, taking place on November 16th and 17th. Three races (Kids Fun Run and 8K on Saturday, 11/16; 13.1 miles and a 26.2 mile run on Sunday) are scheduled. I debated registering for the full since the course is run/walk friendly, but current hip issues scared me off. I really would have loved finishing my first full marathon at home, really!

I went and registered for the half marathon.

The scenic route takes you across downtown Philadelphia, through the Delaware River side, hip South Street, through Rittenhouse Square, around University City and back to the starting line, the Art Museum/Benjamin Franklin Parkway. What an awesome way to experience the city!!

Here’s a link to the course map for the half marathon. If you’ve never been to Philadelphia, well, you’d love to run this and experience the history, the beauty and all this city has to offer.

Currently, race registration is $75 for the half and $95 for the full until April 30th. Prices are subject to change. I’m excited. Join me and 30,000 runners for an awesome weekend!

Road ID

February 4, 2013 By Lindy

Recently, I heard about the Road ID bracelets through my princess posse running group. I never gave it much thought to be honest, but as a nurse, I realized, “What would happen if I were to collapse during a run?”, and so I ordered a Road ID sport bracelet, and it arrived this morning.

I ordered the wrist ID- sport in medium/large one in purple. I like the fact that the band is adjustable (Velcro). You can also get bands in 6 different colors, so your ID is interchangeable, which I really like. I’m actually debating on getting a pink band to wear for my half marathon! I also ordered one to put on my shoes, which I find much easier to wear since it doesn’t clash with my Fitbit/Garmin. Best $20 ever spent, seriously.