When August 1 hit, everyone was all, “OMG, it’s already August, I can’t believe it, summer is over, I’m crying sad tears, boo end of summer, wah wah wah.”
I do not feel that way.
I’m a little surprised that August seemed to arrive so quickly, but I’m fine with it. This summer has been fantastic, but it’s certainly not over.
Also, maybe I’m just a little eager for fall to get here.
Because this fall, I will run my first marathon.
I went to a spinning class yesterday and, as usual, the marathon was the only thing on my mind. I swear the rest of my life is on auto-pilot because this race is the only thing I want to think/talk/dream about.
During the final song of the class, the instructor shouted to “Picture the finish line.”
So I did.
I pictured myself feeling awesome at Mile 25.2, going into that final mile. I also pictured my parents being near the finish, and I pictured my dad jumping in with me (Are you reading this dad? Bring your sneakers. I’m going to need you.) and then my eyes got all welled up and I was like, “Holy crap, calm yourself, Ali, you are in a spin class and the marathon is more than a month away and you’re getting way too dramatic. Psycho.”
(Regarding photo above: my friend Christine made this for me after my first half marathon. They didn’t get a photo of me from the finish and I was so sad, especially since my dad had jumped in with me right near the end of the race. So she made this little gem. I’m especially happy the “Saved By The Bell” cast was able to make it to the race to cheer us on.)
But I think you get my point. I’m marathon obsessed.
Every day I spend hours thinking about how I’ll feel when I wake up on September 24. I think about what the course will be like and I think about the sights I’ll see along the way. I think about where throughout those 26.2 miles I’ll see my friends and family, and I think about all the food I’m going to stuff into my mouth after I cross the finish line.
I also think a lot about my pre-race and race-day nutrition.
I’d like to request a pre-race meal that’s exactly the same as what I had last night.
I was a spoiled lucky lady last night and was treated to another home-cooked meal of awesome.
That’s what was on the menu: awesome, with a side of delicious.
Again, I cannot tell you how any of this food was prepared. I have no recipes to share with you or tips on how to make fresh pasta (because yeah, that’s what I had for dinner — homemade pasta, which I didn’t even know people did…I thought it all came from a magic box somewhere from a man named Bertolli).
But I can tell you that on an old episode of “Entourage,” E decides to rent a house from Sloan’s friend, and that results in many old feelings arising. It’s complicated.
My nice friend cooked dinner, which included some toasted bread with mozzarella melted on top, tomato and mozzarella plus the main course which was pasta, sauce and meatballs — all made from scratch.
Seriously, who does that? It smelled amazing for hours and tasted fantastic.
I went to bed with a happy belly.
And then I woke up at 5 am and my belly was still happy.
Pre-run dinner success!
Coach Cane had me scaling back on mileage this weekend. He asked for 12 miles — so I did 13, because I ended on a weird fraction number and I can’t stand not-whole numbers.
I ran on Summer Streets, which was so fun!
Summer Streets = Park Avenue (which eventually becomes Lafayette) is closed from 72nd Street all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge. No cars. Just happy runners, walkers, cyclists and apparently the entire U.S. chapter of Team In Training. There were lots of them out.
I saw lots of familiar faces and the miles flew by.
I appreciated the frequent, temporary water fountains and even wrapped up the run in Central Park, where I caught some of the local track teams finishing their race.
I was excited to finish 13 miles in 1:55.
My average pace was 8:40 according to my watch. The poor Garmin was so spastic today. One second it told me I was running at a 10:10 pace, and I’d get frustrated because it felt hard, then it would jump to 7:30. So yeah. Who knows. I felt good though.
Now I’m resting up in my cozy bathrobe because I have big plans tonight.
A magical friend found out that I’ve been dying to take a trapeze class.
Soooo we’re doing that tonight, at Trapeze School New York.
I’m super excited about the class. It doesn’t start until 8 pm, so we’ll be outside, on the Hudson, trapeze-ing as the sun sets.
My mom is thrilled.
She thinks I’m going to die.
I hope I don’t.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
0 Responses
I’m so excited for your first marathon…….you’ll remember it better than any other one you ever do, for sure. Remember obsession equals mental preparation – just as important as physical training!
Being marathon obsessed doesn’t go away after you cross the finish line….you’ve been warned!!
Summer Streets definitely was a fun way to mix up a long run….congrats!
Awesome job on the run! I think every one becomes obsessed at some point… It’s normal!
Also awesome on the trapezing… that was cool
Cheers
I am so excited you’ll be trapezing tonight. It’s a blast!
And frankly, that’s the best rig location – flying right over the Hudson!
way to rock that long run – and i am the same way about getting a nice round number on a run!
can handsome friend be cloned? he seems pretty perfect! 🙂
xo christine
When I was training for my first marathon I would definitely tear up thinking about racing with all of my family there!
summer streets was so fun!!!
hope they have those pools out next week.
Cant wait to hear about trapeze class!!!!
I think if I was also signed up for a marathon, i’d be marathon obsessed too!! Good luck on it! You’re going to be AH-MAZING! 😀 and Trapeze at sunset sounds amazing and so freaking scary at the same time! Hope it goes great 😀
Girlfriend, you are going to ROCK The Hamptons! You’ve worked SO hard you’ve got no other choice!
Have fun at trapeeze class! I’m terrified of heights!
We need your magical friend to give us the recipe so we can all run like you 🙂 Running in the streets looks fun!! God job 🙂
Hah, I find myself daydreaming about the finish line all the time!! Envisioning friends and family proudly watching me cross the finish line. And yes, I get teary too. hehe Sign of a running geek or what?? That dinner last night looks AMAZING btw, I need to befriend this friend of yours hah 😉
Isn’t it nice having a boy who’s a great friend who can cook?? So much easier 🙂 Looks delicious!
1. I MISSED YOU THIS MORNING (but congrats on a great run!)
2. I love knowing people that are also marathon obsessed like me.
3. Does B..special friend have any brothers? Because he is amazing.
4. I AM SO JEALOUS ABOUT THE TRAPEZE!! I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THAT. YOU HAVE TO TELL ME HOW IT IS!
My sister talked about trapeze school for years and took her first class last month. My mom freaked out too, but the only “problem” is that now my sister wants to join the circus. 🙂
Ever since I saw Carrie from SATC take a trapeze class I have been dying to do one!! Have so much fun and take lots of pics!! I plan on living vicariously through you 😉
This magical friend sounds like a keeper!
I walked down summer streets, too, after my race — from 102nd (through the park to 72nd) to 14th street. I’m exhausted. Can that count as my long run?
Uhhh — if you guys ever have any left over handmade pasta, you know who to call…
Your marathon will be here before you know it! Def recommend knowing where your fans will be (thats right I call them fans)…it keeps you going when you go through a rough patch and gets you excited for something like “oh at mile 20 I’ll see so and so!” Then the high of seeing them makes the next 1/2 mile or so fly by.
Whoa!!! That sounds SUPER fun.
Nice job on the run, P.s. You will def rock out at the marathon 🙂 Marathons are way fun (I hate the training, but the actual race is awesome!)
Trapeze class! Fun! Can’t wait to read about it!
Can you please figure out a way to clone this handsome friend of yours? He sounds ridiculously wonderful and I’d like one for myself. Thanks.
You stole my comment!
I was the exact same way for all three of my marathons! As they get closer, they literally consume your entire life. And anyone who is willing to talk marathon with u and actually understands is a BFF. So excited for you!
Park ave is terrible for garmins but I don’t know why. I really enjoyed the park more than summer streets today because it was empty! So many runners were out on summer streets 🙂 about that trapeze class…you’re braver than me!
Dude. He makes homemade pasta and pays for expensive trapeze classes?!?! Keep him around, or pass him over if you get bored. 😉
Randomly just happened to read an article about why GPS watches have been getting screwed up lately. Apparently there are a lot of solar flares occurring, which is interfering with the satellites used for GPS watches and other technology, making them a little funky lately. We had a similar thing happen on our run today, as well.
I had the same Garmin problem! I think my total paces were relatively normal, but my current paces were all over the place. And when I loaded everything onto my computer, it said my best pace was a 3:39. Ha, I don’t think so. Nice to know it wasn’t just me!
i’m so glad you posted this, i’ve been having the exact same problem. but i thought it was something related to the fact that the GPS sometimes can’t “find” you if you’re running around a lot of super tall buildings or tons of metal– so your pace is much slower because the garmin can’t tell that you are moving forward (because it can’t locate you). i hope that made any sense.
BUT i really hope it actually is solar flares, and i hope they go the fuck away soon.
Amazing dinner!! Sounds like a great run today, I will be out at Summer Streets next weekend.
Can magical friend teach me how to make home made pasta? That is aaamazing! Great job on the run that is an awesome pace! And cannot wait to hear about trapeze school. How very carrie bradshaw of you! Take sunset pics!!