I Am Back! Veteran's Day 5k Dash, November 11, 2009

I have returned to running some races. Last week, I ran a trail race in Saratoga call "Falling Leaves Five Miler" which was actually 4.25 miles. I did okay. I came over the finish line with my time of 43 minutes thinking ..."WOW" I really did good. I found out that the course was shortened and I actually did worse than I thought. I was not very fond of this race because I thought it was not very well organized. I could just be a sore loser because my time was worse than I thought.

Okay. Let's get back to today. I ran this 5k at Shenendehowa. I am a graduate of Shen class of '81. When I was in school I was over weight and never would have thought of running. I smoked and did all of the wrong things on that campus. It is one of those fill circles that I went back today and I am in great shape and could out run alot of those Shen students. It was a very well organized race and I ran 26:53 which I am so very excited about. It was very flat and fast and I can't wait to run that same race again next year. I feel good! After I finished the race, my chest was killing me but that went away soon after. I don't think I am ready for a half marathon right now, but I do feel like there could be one in the spring.

Marathon Training Is Over :( September 4, 09

I have neglected my blog for awhile because I have been just too busy, but I am hoping to update everyone on how my Marathon training is going. Needless to say…It’s over. My training was going very well. I was up to fifteen miles with Kathy. It was hard but we did it with the support of Ed following us with drinks, snacks and encouragement. Then a couple of weeks ago I went out for a six miler on a Thursday morning and the last mile I felt a pain in my right groin. I made it home and thought “this will be gone by Saturday.” I had a race on Saturday that I was looking forward to (Race the Train 8.4 miler) and another on Sunday (Indian Ladder 9.3) that I was also looking forward to. Saturday came and Ed and I headed up to North Creek for the race. We boarded the train and it took us out to the start. I lined up for the race with Ed and off we went. Two miles up a hill to start, I could feel that groin pull the whole time thinking to myself “just let me have this race.” It didn’t happen. I ended up stopping and asking the vehicle that follows the runners for a ride back to the finish. It hurt!! Ed and I headed home and I realized that there would not be any 9.3 miler the next day. I knew, I needed to rest the groin I had a half marathon in Lake George coming up in two weeks. Two days before the half, Ed suggests that I go out for a mile to make sure that my leg is ready. I was feeling some what better but not 100 %. I decided to listen and went out for the mile. I didn’t even make it a half mile and the pain was shooting through my leg. I knew that I was not running that half on Saturday. I was so upset. I went home and called my doctor’s office and got an appointment. I went to the doctor’s and he sent me for a MRI. The MRI shows that I have a stress fracture in my pelvic bone. The cure…REST for 8-12 weeks. No running! I am so disappointed! We had been planning this Marathon since March. I would finish my first marathon with Mel, Laura, Kathy, Ed and Dan by my side. We would all share that amazing feeling together. It just plain STINKS! Ok, my pity party is over..(Ok, not) but it is time for me to move on and support my friends for the rest of there training and that’s what I plan on doing. Ed and I will support them for their long runs when they need us. I will be at that finish line, rooting them on.

VT City Relay Marathon May 23rd, 2009

Where does time go? This weekend we headed off to VT for The VT City Marathon. We did not do the full marathon; We ran the five person relay with Laura, Melanie, Dan and Ed.

The weekend began with a pasta dinner at Joe’s house on Friday evening. A whole bunch of ARE runner's attended. We sat around, ate pasta and chatted on the porch for awhile and then headed home. Saturday our relay team car pooled and headed to Burlington VT. First off to the expo and then to the hotel where we met up with Joe and his crew and a short two in a half mile run. We came back and went to dinner at Junior's and then chilled for the evening. Sunday morning everyone up early and ready to run. We headed off to the start at Battery Park. We met up with all of the other runners from Albany . About 75 Albany Running Exchange runners came to Vt. A lot of these people were running the full marathon. Others running a two person relay, some a three person relay.

Laura was our first runner with a 5k. Off she went at the start. It was a rainy morning, so waiting for our relay team to come in one by one, we began to get cold. Laura came in and handed off to Melanie where Mel went out for a 5.5 mile leg, then Dan with a 6.6 mile leg and then to me. By the time I received the yellow bracelet I was freezing and soaked. All I wanted to do at that point is run to get warm or head back to the hotel and get under the covers, but that was not a choice at the time. My leg was a 5.5 mile leg. I was handed that yellow bracelet and off I went. I felt great running. I left Battery Park and headed up North Ave. Like last year I was amazed that I was running these Streets in Burlington because of my family history in Burlington . I passed the cemetery where my grand mother and many other family members are buried then the North beach entrance where we have camped and swam many times. I ran through my cousin’s old neighborhood and back onto North Ave. I ran past the trailer park we lived in while my dad was serving time in the Air Force in Libya and then by my aunt's old house. What memories! Time flew by for me. There was so much support on the course water stops, music, cheering from by standers, bubbles from young kids, it was so nice. About a mile from my hand off to Ed the sun came out…Awwwwwwwwwww…THE SUN!!! I was so happy to know that the day was going to be sunny. I came up to Flynn school where Ed was waiting for me. The pass and Ed was off. I couldn’t believe that I just ran 5.5 miles. It went so quick and I felt so amazing the whole time, what a good feeling. I waited at that leg for Kathy to finish her leg so we could run back to the finish line and watch our team mates come through the finish line. Our team did a great job with a time of 3:56:07. After the run and we headed back to our hotel and enjoyed the pool and alcohol. Did I say alcohol? The Albany Running Exchange runners took up the whole second floor of the hotel and we had one big party…It was a great weekend!

Prospect Mountain - May 9, 2009

I always think to myself after a run or a race, “what’s next?” I will finish a race and think, “I can’t believe I did that!” Well, this run was the top of all “Oh my Gods!” Let me start with the beginning. Last year I can remember Joe Benny talking about running Prospect Mountain. I can remember thinking he was nuts and that only really good runners could possibly do something like that - not people like me.

Now back to this year. I am training for the Green Mountain Relay on June 20th and my dear sweet boyfriend, who I think wants to kill me, suggested that Prospect Mountain would be a good training run. So, I call my friend Melanie and she is as crazy as myself and says, “Let’s do it!” So we all sign up without putting a lot of thought into it. Before the race, Melanie suggested that we do hill work at the Pinebush. The hills in the Pinebush were amazing. We ran them three weeks in a row and I thought, “Awesome, this is really going to help with Prospect Mountain.”

Okay, are you still following me? While I’m telling you about Prospect Mountain keep the word mountain in mind. On Saturday May 9th, a large contingent of ARE members met up at our apartment and we followed each other up to Lake George. We were all excited about running this race. We went to packet pickup where we received beautiful technical tee shirts. We then left to join all the other runners at the start. While standing at the base of the mountain, Ed, the boyfriend who I think is out to kill me, brings to my attention the beautiful scenery in the distance. He then tells me that is the top of the mountain. At that point I come to realize that I am not running some little hill in the Pinebush. I was running an incredibly huge mountain. That is when I started to think to myself, “Am I nuts?” “How am I going to do that?”

Still somewhat excited, we wandered over to the start line. Everybody around us was talking about their strategy on how they will make it to the top. The gun went off and off we went. The beginning is a slow incline with a little bit of flatness. I’m okay with that so far thinking, “okay I can do this.” Then the climb begins and continues and continues and continues and never stops. At one point I put my hand on my chest and felt my heart pounding so hard that I really do believe that if you were looking straight at me you would be able to see my heart coming out of my chest with every heart beat. I do believe that if my heart was to ever give out, this race would have caused it. I continued to run and the incline still goes on and on. When I typically run I think of so many things like work, my kids, bills, things I want to do, the beauty of the run, Ed and so many more things. This race I thought about the finish. I kept asking myself, “When? When will this be done? When will this Mountain stop? WHEN?” Then it happened, the finish line, the beautiful finish line, and people rooting me on at the end. I was done! I was so thankful to be at the top of this mountain. I was so amazed I accomplished such a thing as climbing a mountain, shucks, running a mountain. I ran up an elevation of 1,601 feet.

After everybody I came with finished the race, I took in the beauty of this mountain. You could look down over Lake George. It was very foggy but still beautiful. What a fantastic sight. Okay, here’s a question for you. What do you do when you climb 5.68 miles up a mountain? The answer ...you turn around and run back down and that’s just what we did!

Marathon Training Begins! - May 3, 2009

The Training begins! On Saturday evening Mel, Dan, Laura and Kathy came over for our first MCM team meeting. Ed and I made dinner and were ready to make out our training schedule. Mel brought all of her Marathon training books and her thoughts on what we should do to train and when to start. Dan and Ed got the calendar out and began writing down the mileage for each long run we should have. We have decided to run our own mileage on the weekdays and on the weekend we will get together for our long run. We will pull each other through the pain we will endure on our long runs. We will support each other when it hurts the most.

We decided on a 26 week training starting April 27th finishing Marathon weekend October 25th. We decided to start our training at 10 miles since we felt that we could all handle 10 miles to start. We also decided that we would get up on Sunday (the following morning) and do our first 10 miler from Thatcher Park to Tollgate Ice cream in Delmar, and so we did.

Sunday morning we headed up to Thatcher Park to meet up with our team. Ed decided to drive a support vehicle instead of running due to a sore knee, and boy was I glad to see him every three miles with water. Having someone following us with water is a huge bonus. We ran down Thatcher hill and then up some hills and back down. We came to a couple of killer hills on Rt 85 but we nailed them. We began our training and were all thrilled that we did our first 10 miler together.

St. John's / St. Ann's Spring Run Off - Apr. 25, 2009

Another 10k! I still blow my own mind that I am running 10k’s … Shucks … (running period!) This 10k was a fundraiser for St. John’s/St. Ann's church in Albany . The night before the race the church hosted a pasta dinner. Ed and I met up with Laura, Dan, Mel, Greg and his wife Debbie. We enjoyed the pasta and the wonderful company and then home we went. Saturday morning we were off to Albany for the race. The race was down at the Corning Preserve in Albany . It was an up and back race. Meaning you run half way and turn around and come back. It was a very flat, fast course. It was the most beautiful day of the season so far. A perfect day! I ran pretty good. I felt pretty good. I did pretty good! I did have a personal best of 53:47. After the race we decided to go out and do a cool down of another 3.1 miles ... yes, I did a cool down of 3.1 miles. I laugh sometimes about the things I do now that I would never had imagined ever doing before.

Dodge the Deer - April 19, 2009

What can I say about Dodge The Deer? Incredible? Fun? Amazing? Let me start with the weekend as a whole. First Friday night, Ed and I went over to Josh and Sara’s for a mass production of DTD cookie making. We went over to meet up with about fifteen other women to make cookies for the winners of the race. We made squirrels, deer’s, chipmunks and other cute characters. Did I say we? I meant all the other women and myself. All of the men went into the computer room to prepare for the race …NOT!! They were all just watching videos and talking about other races and making each other laugh. Anyway, we (the women) made about 150-200 cookies.

Saturday, Ed and I took a ride out to Schodack State Park to help Josh with setting up for Dodge the Deer. It was a very nice day. We helped set up the finish line area and the start area. After setting up Ed and I took a run of the course with another Josh.

Sunday Morning, We were up bright and early. We volunteered at the registration area for the race. I am not completely sure but I think close to 500 people ran this race. It is a 5k trail run through Schodack State Park followed with a cook out and great company. The race started at 10:00 am so at about 9:45 we got ourselves ready to run. Ed and I met up with some other people and the race began. I really like this run, I felt great the whole run. I felt strong and loved running on the trails. It was a very good run. I beat my time again from last year and that is always a plus for me. I would definitely race the Dodge The Deer again.

Signing On For A Marathon..........April 15th, 2009

Ok....I did it! I have signed up for a Marathon. Not just any Marathon, but The Marine Corp Marathon on October 25th, 2009 in Washington DC. How did I feel when Ed told me that we were registered? I felt a pit in my stomach and thought "I could throw up"......I am amazed that I am going to do it. I am very lucky though because I have other people who will be with me along the way to train they are...
Of course my SB Ed- This will be his second marathon.........
Melanie- Her first and she is also the person who truly talked me into it.....
Kathy- Her first and I talked her into it....
Laura- Mel and I talked her into it......more or less begged.....
Dan-He is the pro...I think he has ran five or so but loves Mel enough to do another....

Our plan is to run 3-5 miles on the weekdays and do all of our long runs as a group on weekends....I plan on blogging the whole training and marathon....STAY TUNED!

Delmar Dash April 5, 2009

The Delmar Dash is such a nice five miler. I ran this race last year, so my plan was to go out and beat my time of 44:16. I went out pretty strong but, it was another one of those races that I thought..."not feeling it" and no way did I believe that I could beat my time. Around mile three I started feeling pretty good. I think I needed that three mile warm up. ( Did I just say I needed a warm up?) I started to kick it up a notch and by the time I hit five I felt great. I came around the corner to the finish line and saw this younger women in front of me a decided I needed to beat her and I passed her right at the finish...I did beat my time....44:16...Competitive? Me? Yep!

Mudders and Grunters - March 29, 2009

Another “Oh my God, I did that run?!” I say that because it was crazy! We headed down to FDR State Park in Lincoln NY for our first trail run of the season. We were told that it was nuts and it was. It was a five mile trail run through streams and mud knee deep at times. At one point of this race we actually had to jump into a part of a stream that was up past my rib cage. (That was freaky) It was so much fun but so dangerous. I’m always amazed with myself that I come out of these without a broken bone. Ed and I drove down with Mel, Dan & Laura. When we got there, we met up with our ARE buddies. After the race we headed back to Albany and stopped off for lunch. Boy, I love ARE and trail running...

Shamrock Half Marathon - March 22, 2009

My second half marathon! I never thought I would say I ran one, much less two. I ran The Shamrock Half in Virginia Beach. Ed surprised me with the race and trip as a Christmas gift. I was so excited!

Let me start with our trip. We left Albany hoping for beautiful weather. Winter this year has been long and cold. Well, to our surprise we hit a snow storm on the border of New York and New Jersey. Let me tell you the snow flakes were very large, larger than any snow flake I witnessed the whole winter. The snow was sticking to the trees and visibility was getting rough but we were both very excited about arriving in VB to warmer weather and our half that some snow could not discourage us. As we drove through New Jersey entering Delaware the sun began to shine and things were looking hopeful. We both loved the ride through the different states, Delaware, Maryland and then finally into Virginia. We were finally at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach. We unloaded and then off to the Expo. We both were excited about seeing what our half marathon shirts would look like much less all of the other things there would be at the expo. We got our shirts and bought up some of the merchandise and then started back to the hotel when we both heard a strange noise coming from the car. We stopped and found out that we picked up a rock in one of our tires that was sharp enough to flatten the tire. After a quick change, we headed out to get dinner and then a walk and back to our room.

Saturday morning was the 8k run, so Ed and I headed out to watch that race and root people on. Following the 8k there was a children's run and other activities for the 8k runners. We walked around and headed to Fort Story. Fort Story is a Army base in Virginia Beach that houses two beautiful light houses. One of the light houses can be toured, all you have to do is walk up 191 steps..(good thing to do before a half marathon,) but of course we did it. It was beautiful looking over the ocean ... what a peace of mind you get looking at such beauty. We walked around base and then went to eat (pasta) and then to a local market to get our race day breakfast food(oatmeal, bananas and a bagel) and then back to our room to get ready for our big race day. We both slept very good Saturday night and were up very early Sunday morning. The race started at 7 am. We were able to sneak a peek of the moon and the stars over the ocean from our room while getting ready. The Cavalier is located at the start of the half marathon so we watched people arriving from our room. We could hear the music from the announcer stand and really started getting pumped about our race. It was time to head out to the race. This was the first race that I ran where they actually had corrals. A corral is when they start the runners in different groups according to their race pace. I was in the green coral and Ed in the blue. We said our goodbyes which I hated separating and off we were into our corrals. There were so many people that you could not help but get more excited about the race. They had the National Anthem and helicopters flew over (I think it was the local news people) and the start of the race.

My first mile I was amazed how fast it came, so many people hollering and rooting us on. It was very cool! The next two miles went fast with a beer stop and some water/gatorade stops. Things felt great as I ran more distance. We turned into the Army base (Fort Story) and more people hooting us on and another water stop. It was probably around mile seven I started feeling alittle sore but ok. I remember hearing waves from the ocean and thinking how totally awesome that was and seeing the two light houses on base. I loved that. Leaving the Army base, again so many people rooting us on, what a good feeling. I forgot to mention along the way there was a band and many DJ's. That's when I saw the beer stop again and thought "should I?" the answer " NO" I would have thrown up. But I wanted to just because Yuengling Beer was the sponsor...But I think I made the right decision...I continued on not seeing many more mile markers. That's the way I like it, not counting how many more miles I have to go. Finally I heard someone yell out " one mile to go" Boy was I thrilled to hear that but also amazed that the end was near and I was still feeling pretty good for running twelve miles. We headed to the board walk and the ocean once again..Loved that! and the into the finish line. So many people were at the finish line, so many people cheering us on, it was so cool! At the finish line they handed out lunch bags with the Yuengling beer emblem on it. In the bag was four beer coupons, a beer cup and some snacks. We also received an 13.1 finisher hat and medal at the finish. After the race we were off to the finishers tent for one big party. They served Irish Stew, all the beer you could drink and they had a rock band to dance to and of course Ed and I took them up on that. We danced and took up the day as much as possible before passing out on the beach enjoying the beautiful sun. What a great day!

March 8th, 2009

I want to bring you up to date on what's going on. I am training for my half marathon in Virginia Beach on March 22. I have been running many short runs on weekdays (4-5 miles) But on weekends I have been doing my 10 mile runs with so many fun, wonderful people. Ed and I have been hosting 5-10 mile runs out of our place on Saturday's and last weekend I met up with Joe Benny's group for a long run and some pancakes out of his Albany home. I think I am ready for my half in Virginia. Yes, I am ready! Think about me and Ed on March 22nd at 7:00 am. Hope for good weather....I will keep you updated on how we did.

The Runnin' of the Green (Island)

March 7, 2009

Winter is finally coming to a end and racing season is beginning. The Runnin Of The Green is one of the first official races of the season. I ran this race last year with Elaine and Monique and loved it. This year I ran it with so many more people I have met over the last year. I still love this one. Last years time was 36:04, so I went out wanting so bad to beat last years time. The week following I was sick with a cold and still on that morning I was very congested but wanting to run. I went out at a good pace. I went out chatting up a storm with Denise and Kathy. I felt great! I came to mile three and thought..."I'm going to die"....It really got tough. I was coming to the finish, ahead of Kathy, Ed was yelling to me "Rox give it your all" and I felt myself fizzle right there. I saw Kathy fly past me as fast as she could and over the finish line she went. She beat me by a second. I was so glad that I was finished...It was a great race, a great run and I did beat my time from last year...34:56 baby....that's right!

HMRRC Winter Series Race # 5

February 8, 2009

10 miles, Yep! 10 miles.... I followed through and ran the 10 miler. I was not sure if I would but once I signed up I was obligated..at least in my head I was. The beginning of the run I felt great. I thought this would be an easy one and it pretty much was until the last two miles. I started to feel a little sore. I started talking to myself like the little train...I think I can, I think I can and guess what..I did!!! What's next? Alot of long runs on the weekends and then my second half in Virginia Beach the end of March...I can't wait!

Winter Series # 4 January 25th, 2009

Another Sunday of HMRRC winter series. Every week increases the mileage of how much you can run and this week you could run 3 miles, 9.3 miles or 25 miles. I surely was not running 25 miles and 3 miles was not enough so I went for the 9.3. Let me start with telling you that it was cold! It was 8 degrees when the race started. My first thought was "oh my god my face is freezing!"But believe it or not that thought left my head shortly after running. I felt good my whole run. You really do warm up when you get running. I actually enjoyed my run the whole time. I am really trying to increase my miles every week so I can be ready for my half marathon in March. I can't wait to get to Virginia Beach and run that. Winter Series 5- 10 miles!! wish me luck.........

Brave The Blizzard 2009

My first time in snow shoes and it was a 3.90 mile race. I heard snow shoeing was fun but running in them..........MAJOR WORK! ARE hosted their 5th annual Brave the Blizzard snow shoe race. Being the crazy, stupid, adventurous person that I am, I signed up. The first two minutes into the race, I thought, what am I doing? I will never be able to finish this race! My heart was pounding and my legs were already sore. I slowed down a little and went up the first hill and walked a few minutes. Caught my breath and started finding it easier to run on the packed trails. A 1/4 of the mile into the race I found a partner to pace with which made it so much easier. It was so pretty in the woods. The snow was falling and the pine trees looked beautiful covered in snow. Very spiritual! Finally feeling good. Breathing back to normal, amazed that I wasn't dead, the finish was in sight. Coming down the last hill I could hear people rooting me on ... especially Ed who was working the finish line for ARE. I came though just under an hour. What an experience. Every race has food. This one had all you can eat pancakes - all flavors. And after that workout, I tried them all! NO GUILT!!!

Winter Series # 3, January 11, 2009

I can't believe the HMRRC Winter Series # 3 is already over. Today you could run a 5k, 10k or 25k. I chose to run the 10k (6.2 miles) First let me tell you that we woke up to about seven inches of snow. Your first thought is, what is the course going to look like? Second thought is, are they going to cancel? Then you remember...they are as crazy as we are that we were still planning on going. Now, let me tell you that Ed was the co-director of this race. This was his first time being a co-director and he did an awesome job. Having one of the directors living with you, your able to find out the scoop early on. Race On!! I left for SUNY a little early to help out. I got there and the crowd started coming in. We went out to the start line and off we went. (Did I tell you that it was about 18 degrees?) I felt good right from the beginning. The course looked great. We ran through the State Office Campus and back into SUNY. The run was a good one with only one little concern..My stupid bunion was a little sore but otherwise another great run! Next winter series - a15k (OUCH!!)

Winter Wimp January 10th, 2009

The Winter Wimp in Hagaman has to be one of my favorite races. It is a 2.2 or a 4.4 mile race. If you do the 2.2 you are considered to have wimped out. Of course I did the 4.4. I like this race because it is a small home town race with some of the nicest people. You run through a small village with a little creek running through it. It's one of those place where everyone knows everyone. I would love to live in that kind of community. I think?? Anyway, I felt incredible after the first mile. ( I think I need a mile to warm up sometimes) I got very competitive during the race when I caught the look of two other women running. I thought to myself...They look like they could be in the same age category as me, I need to step it up and kick butt. They would pass me on the downhills and I would get them on the up hills. Finally the finish line in sight and I gave it my all. I left them in the dust. Plus, I passed a young kid and that made me feel good..(LOL) I felt wonderful at the end!!! After the race the FMRRC put on a wonderful refreshment area. They had pizza, soup, subs and the regulars. Ed, whom I like to refer to as my coach/trainer went over the race results and told me he thought I took a trophy. They gave out the awards and sure enough..I took a beautiful trophy (second place) for my age category. YEAH ME!!

Albany Winterfest Last Run 5K December 27th, 2008

21/114 Roxanne 45 F Schenectady NY 28:05 9:03

I ran Albany's Winter Fest again this year.. Albany really puts on a wonderful event with their shows and fireworks and then the 5k run. I did a quick warm up with a couple of ARE friends and then we watched a wonderful firework display and off we went. I started out alittle slow, but then caught my breath and had a good run. The lights and displays in Washington Park are just beautiful. You really want to take them in while running. I was hoping to be running with Ed but he was temporarily out while his foot was healing. When I came to the finish line I truly wanted to throw up. I have not felt like that in a while. Someone told me that if you don't feel that way at the end you didn't give it your all. I wonder if that's true? After the race they gave out some great refreshments then off we went to Legends Bar to grab something to eat. When we finished eating we took off to Lark Tavern for some drinks with our ARE buddies. We had a great night!

Winter Series #2 - New Year's Day 2009

The winter series #2 was a choice between a 3.5 mile run or a half marathon. I'm not crazy, I did the 3.5! The temperature was extremely cold - around 8 degrees. We went to SUNY and met up with Dan and Mel and the gang. Ran slow in the beginning and picked it up middle to end. Felt great the whole run and was surprised to see the finish when I did. Beat my time from last year. Good run.

Oh, Ed did run this race. He's recovering from a foot injury and he surprised us all when he went out and did the 3.5 too.