Memorial Day Racing!

Yesterday, my sister and I ran a 10 mile race in Long Beach. I wouldn't have done it if it weren't so close to home (seeing as I hadn't really run much over the past 3 weeks after my knee hurt post-Half Marathon), but I figured "What the hell." Weather was perfect, and thus both of us did very well - I bested my last 10 miler time by about 30 seconds, and Melissa ran her fastest long run ever, averaging a 9:30 min/mile. The last mile of the race I actually ran in 7:55, which is quite amazing for me considering I felt completely drained...oh, and my knee doesn't hurt either...! Here's some finish line photos, courtesy of Angela (and Ella was there cheering us on!):

Still smiling, probably at the sight of wifey and my clapping munchkin!

The camera battery died before we could get Mel crossing the line, but she is that blue dot.

Today was a nice relaxing day - this morning, Angela took me along to her Stroller Strides class again, which was supposed to be a family day, but I was the only daddy there...yes, I felt a bit awkward at first, but it was nice to be outside with my ladies, and Ella helped me by sitting on my belly while I was trying to do crunches. By "helped," of course, I mean the exact opposite, but she was smiling and giggling, so who can argue with that? When we got home, we all napped for a couple of hours, and hung out for the rest of the day. Now, it is off to snooze-ville, tomorrow we are all back to work! Happy Memorial Day to all!

HOT

So I started doing something new - it is called Bikram Yoga. Yes, it is yoga, but it is not your average run-of-the-mill, contort yourself while chanting "Ohmmmmmmmmmm" type of thing... no, of course, I have to take everything to the extreme these days. Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 poses in succession, performed in a room that is heated to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. That is not a typo... it is f**king HOT in there people. The second you get in, lay your mat down, and try and adjust to the temperature, the sheen of sweat immediately starts on your body. When you start with a simple breathing exercise, the sweat starts rolling down. By the time you have finished your "warm-up" breathing exercise (keep in mind, you are barely even moving at this point), your clothes are nearly saturated with sweat. Then, you have 90 minutes of stretching and posing and doing things which seem completely unnatural to your body. By the time you leave, you are 4lbs lighter, and could use a couple of gallons of Poland Spring to re-hydrate. Pleasant? Not really, but I figure it can only help...if I can continue to live through it. Anyhoo...here's some pics/vids!

Ella feeding waffle to her "baby"

At the childrens museum a couple of weeks ago - Ella the Builder!

Mirrors are cool.

Bricks are cool too.

Ella and daddy up a tree.

Family photo on the boardwalk

Angela and Ella (and their Stroller Strides friends) after a 5k walk a couple of weeks ago.

Ella with Angela's Mommy's Day flowers!

She's a coooooooooooool rider. A cool cool cool cool rider. (Yes, that is a nod to "Grease 2")

My lovely ladies enjoying the sunshine.

"Found you!"

"All through the toooooooooooooooown."


"CHEEEEEEEEEEESE"


"HONK!"


"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

Long Island Half Marathon

Today was the day. The day I had been training for the last 4 months - the Long Island Half Marathon. My goal was to break 2 hours for the race - my previous best time was 2:03:50 at the Hamptons Half Marathon this past September. I have been busting my butt, running 4-5x a week, just for this one race. The weather called for thunderstorms, yet they never materialized...in fact, it didn't even rain. Mike and I met up before the race, and we started together. We stayed together for the first 2-3 miles, and then it happened - my right knee "twinged." I don't know exactly what happened, but I knew it hurt. And I still had over 10 miles to go. Needless to say, I toned my pace down a notch, and Mike took off. At around mile 6, I felt the rubbing sensation on the bottom of my left foot. I knew a blister was forming rapidly, and within minutes, it started to HURT. And I still had over 7 miles left. This was not going according to plan. I plodded on, pretty much in agony, for the rest of the race. Oddly enough, as I looked down at my GPS watch, I never went much slower than 8:30 min/mile, despite not being able to bend my right leg and each step on my left foot resulting in pain. I carried on as such, and finished the race in 1:52:28, which obliterated my old personal best! I was thrilled. Mike finished in an amazing 1:47:35, an average of around 8:08 min/mile. This made me think that if I weren't in acute pain, maybe I could have done even better. It was a great accomplishment, and as I sit here with my knee wrapped with ice packs and my foot covered in bandages, I am also filling out the forms for my next 10 mile race in 3 weeks, and am going to see how I can do on the extremely hilly Fairfield Half Marathon in June - can I match this pace? Better it? Stay tuned...

Mike and I at the finish.

Oh, yeah, and for everyone who doesn't give a poo about running........here's some Ella pics:

Think she likes the slide?

Ahoy!

Eyes?

Yahoooooooooooooooo!

Finally she is old enough to earn her keep around here.

PS - I must give a shout out to my sis and her man Dan for completing a full marathon today in approximately 5 hours - SO impressed with them both!