ny times article

New York Times has a great article on marathon runners (thank NM!). Here are some snippets (emphasis mine):

Ms. Winfrey was one of 277,000 marathon finishers nationwide in 1994; last year 410,000 runners crossed the line, according to Running USA, a nonprofit organization in Ventura, Calif., that keeps track of participatory running.

During his training for the Boston Marathon, which he won in 1968, Mr. Burfoot ran twice a day, seven days a week. Emil Zatopek, the great Czech runner who won the 1952 Olympic marathon (along with two other gold medals in the same Games), prepared by running mountain trails near his home in Moravia while carrying his wife, Dana, on his back.

Whether covering as little as 15 miles a week or as many as 100, the primary goal of all marathon programs is the same: to build your endurance to the point where you can cover 26.2 miles. Hence, the common denominator of every program is the weekly or every-other-week “long run” — a slow-paced run that starts at whatever distance you can now complete and, over months, grows longer.

["]You can’t fake marathon training, especially the long runs.”

I want to beat Oprah's timing. I am making all of the trainings. And I am not running with my husband on my back!

Long Weekend

of not running. Fine, I ran on Saturday and I did six miles. In the heat, humidity, and lack of sleep, I made it.

However, that did not transpire (or inspire) into running on Sunday or Monday. Bad, Chai, bad! Although I am disappointed with myself, I know I can't rewind time. Plus, I have to show my body compassion.

That means, I run today (group run), tomorrow, and Thursday. And I cross train on Friday, followed by a Saturday group run.

Tonight, after my run, I am making a list of people I am contacting for the fundraising aspect. I also need to finish up a few other logistical aspects. If I know you, or even if I don't "know" you, you will be getting an email from me. You have been warned. :)

My weekly thank you to: Sibil M., Emily C., and Vasi M.

cross training

I am so sore from yesterday's cross training. Cross training meant running 8 minutes, then doing squats, lounges, and quad exercises. After three sets of this (3 runs, 3 squats/lounges/quads), the coaches made us do "core" exercises. Core exercises are strengthening your core (i.e., your tummy). My stomach has NEVER hurt that much before. They were the hardest, yet best exercises ever.

Strength training is a key component to training for a marathon. It reduces injuries, builds your muscles, and keeps you fit. Learning these different types of exercises will help me on my days off from running. As I previously mentioned, our training schedule builds in at least two days of cross training, which should include strength training. This is easily found in yoga, pilates, kick boxing, etc. But, even if you can't make the yoga class, now the coaches have taught you exercises you can do in your living room.

In other news, I couldn't get up at 6A to run, unlike Monday. I will either do it tonight or tomorrow. Compassion towards myself and the life changes I am instituting, right?

Finding a Friend in Random Places

I won't lie. This is not my first time training for a marathon. It is the first time I am training in a group setting. This is also the first time I am fundraising for a cause. And the first time I am excited about running in SF. Up the hills, down the hills, and by the bay. E40, a Bay Area rapper, couldn't have said that previous line better. :)

When I started training for the San Diego Rock n' Roll marathon, I inspired a friend to start training for her first marathon--the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC. Now, she inspires me. Mel and I became friends in the most randomest ways: via apartment hunting.

~00~

Back in sweltering summer of 2003, I decided that I needed to move out of Maryland and into DC to get the real city life experience. Apartment hunting in any city is tough. But add humidity, a tight market, and limited budget and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. One day, I saw a Craigslist posting for an apartment in Dupont Circle. It sounded amazing (red flag) and relatively cheap for a relatively expensive area (another red flag).

After some (dis)orientation after getting out of the Metro, I found the apartment building. I opened the doors and a cool wind chilled my body which reinvigorated me. I jumped into the elevator, pressed "7" and a few other people trickled in. No one pressed any other floor. "Great," I thought, "possibly my new neighbors."

We all exited on the seventh floor and everyone made a right turn. And then I noticed. Several people were hanging out near the end of the hall. I pushed my way through thinking that the apartment open house was another apartment. Of course, it was not. I took one look at the apartment where people were up against the walls, filling out their lease applications.

Disappointed, I left. A smaller group formed near the elevator and we all laughed at how expensive that disgustingly small apartment was going for. We got to the ground level and went in different directions.

~oo~

A few days later, on a Sunday, I made a list of apartment openings. I started in Adams Morgan, National Zoo area, and then Cleveland Park. Each apartment had such hopes on paper that in reality never had full potential. I often likened this to online dating.

On my last apartment viewing of the day, the Craiglist posting said to be there by 3:00PM. I showed up and saw that a few other people hanging out in the front of a building that looked like a retirement home. Rather a dilapidated senior citizen building. I asked one of the guys who were hanging around if they were waiting for the apartment open house. They were. One of the people looked familiar. She looked at me, and I looked at her, and we asked at the same time, "Were you at another apartment open house?" And that started our friendship. The building owner met us all and showed us the open apartments. All of them were terrible and in the stair well which we took to each floor, there was a HUGE roach. HUGE.

~00~

That night, we went to Starbucks and laughed about our "luck" with finding a great apartment. We bonded over our dislike for DC because it wasn't the West Coast (she is from Washington). We talked about everything under the sun. And as soon as we walked in different directions, I knew I had another friend in DC.

A few weeks later, she found an apartment and then got me an apartment in the same complex. Although our schedules never matched up, we tried to make an effort to see each other once a month, or at the very least, once every two months. We shared a desire to run and explore. And we balanced each other out.

Over the years, we have inspired each other in different ways. She has inspired me to treat myself more. She questioned why I didn't spend money on me, but on other things. She gives self-lessly, from clothes to CDs to furniture to her time. She has a deep appreciation for me time and us time, which I really look up to and try to emulate. And, the best part of Mel, is that she finds humour in her life. She laughs to the point of when tears trickle down her face (can you see why I love her so?) and she makes me laugh too much.

She trained for her first marathon in 2005. Ever since then, Mel has not stopped running. She runs and/or cross trains most days of the week. As a runner, nothing more encourages me to run then to see friends run or share their running stories.

In August 2006, after half a decade in DC, Mel ventured back to the good old West to plant roots in Portland, Oregon. The cool thing about Mel is that her friends know me as an urban legend. The party jeans urban legend. Those and other memories keep me running every single mile this week.

i'm up, i'm up, i'm up.

i'm up. to do a run. and i'm tired because i went to sleep so late. i'm off to go run. i just wanted to complaim about the morning wake up.

How Does This Work?

Thank you all for the wonderful comments on my last post. I am super excited and honored to be running with and in front of you all. I know that all of you will keep me on my toes, literally and figuratively.

I've received a few questions on how all of this works, from training to fundraising, to eventually October 21. Here is the run down:

When you sign up for Team in Training (TnT), you are automatically entered into a spot that they have reserved for each chapter in whatever marathon you choose to run. For example, several people are training for the Chicago Marathon or the NYC Marathon. Due to its national recognition and social cause, marathon organizers keep slots open for TnT (except the NYC and Boston Marathons, since they are uber popular).

Once you sign up TnT, you receive a training calendar. The calendar is your guru, your paper guide. It demarcates how much you run, where you run, and when you take a day off. In my training program, I run with the team twice a week (for me, it is Tuesday and Saturday). When you are not training with the team, that doesn't mean you slack off. DARN. It means you run on your own, cross train, or take a day off (Fridays are my days off). During the group runs, we get advice from coaches (all coaches have done like 15000 marathons!), exercise routines, physical therapy advice, etc.

In return for the marathon training, the feeling good part, and a slot in a selection of awesome marathons, I must fundraise for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I've never really enjoyed money. But, over the past years, I've gotten pretty well-versed on personal finance. I realized my fear doesn't mean that money will stop leaving MY wallet or coming into it (nice!). By the time of the race, I have to raise $3900.

Yes, that is correct. Three thousand nine hundred dollars.

This was one of my biggest obstacles to joining TnT. Raising that money brings a lot of fear. You know how when you are in another country, you immediately convert the money into dollars and think, "Hey, that outfit is only $1.43? It's a steal!," when it is like thousands in that country's currency. I do that with dollars and law school debt. When I saw $3900, I immediately converted it to three months of my law school debt. !!!

But, after talking to folks who have run with TnT, they all told me that I could do it. I believe them. I do. I believe in people giving, caring, and supporting someone they care about just because (and more importantly, because they care about the cause). If you would like to start donating, check out my fundraising page. After this weekend, I will share my financial goals with you for this race.

To recap:

I run. I fundraise. I bring attention to a blood cancers that are prevasive. Oh, and I cross the finish line in beautiful San Francisco on October 21, 2007.

Introduction

Thanks for visiting my site. I am training with the New York City chapter of Team-In-Training for the Nike Women's Marathon on October 21, 2007 in San Francisco, CA. If your eyes or brain paused at the word "marathon," so did mine. I know this is a crazy event, but it'll be a great experience, right?

Google comes up with different definitions of marathon, but I like this one by Princeton:

any long and arduous undertaking

a footrace of 26 miles 385 yards

a battle in 490 BC in which the Athenians and their allies defeated the
Persians

The bold emphasis is mine. From now until I cross the finish line, I will be undertaking a physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental training. I will be running by foot all the 26 miles 385 yards. Okay, fine, maybe I will crawl the last few yards. And it will be a battle of wills, much like the Athenians had to defeat Persia.

I am running for three very special people in my life. I will introduce each one of them in a separate post, as they each deserve several paragraphs about their respective lives. Not only will I introduce you to three special people, each week I will dedicate my workout to key people, causes, and events in my life. In my short time span, I have realized that people, causes, and things motivate me to be better, to do better, to keep challenging my mind, body, and soul.

Over the next few months, I look forward to sharing my triumphs, my falls, and stories as I train to accomplish a physical feat I have never done before.