RunMaryRun

Coolest packet pick up ever #brooklynhalf #nyrr

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:35:50 -0400

Coolest packet pick up ever #brooklynhalf #nyrr

harlemgal-inc: oats: Russian photographer Sergey Semenov...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:01:07 -0400

oats:

Russian photographer Sergey Semenov stitched together panorama pictures he took during a helicopter ride in New York City.

Note the Sheep Meadow — the 2013 picnic season is coming!

Harlem up at the top!

Too cool not to share!

Keep Calm and Run On

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:53:19 -0400

A week ago, I woke up in Hopkinton and the only item on my agenda was to run the Boston Marathon. What an absolute treat; no emails to answer, no accounts to bill… just me and my sneakers and 26.2. And, about 500k spectators. What could possibly be better?

The skies were clear, the spectators raucous and the in-race box score told me the Sox were winning. It was the perfect morning.

Racing hard, I ran the course 20+ minutes faster than ever had before. When I checked the watch I realized I was less than 10 seconds off my PR; a very good day. I collected my medal; hugged the wonderful volunteer, and leisurely made my way to the changing tent. Post tent, I shuffled into City Sports, to snag a new hoodie for my efforts. I was wandering around inside, looking for an ATM, at 2:50 pm.

Just past 3:00, I walked outside into a world that had been irrevocably altered. It was like the previous 3 hours and 31 minutes had not even happened. People were crying and holding each other. Some were staring off into space. My first thought was “wow, they must have had a really terrible race”. It wasn’t until I saw an older runner, wrapped in a space blanket, clutching his wife’s arm, with that 1000 yard stare, that I knew something serious had happened.

I flagged down a cab, right in front of my old dorm on Beacon Street, and got out onto Storrow Drive just as my phone started to chirp. Dozens of calls, emails and texts came flooding in. The cabby turned up the radio loud so I could hear the news and he was yelling over it. Through the noise, it began to sink in: the unthinkable had happened.

By the time I got to the fire station in Newton to meet my family, I was sobbing uncontrollably and my aunt nearly ran out into traffic to get to me. I held onto my mom for a long time; she pretty much had to put me in the car. As we drove to Hopkinton to retrieve the rental car from my friend’s house, I frantically checked on everyone that I could think of. All seemed ok, despite some being at mile 26 when the bomb went off. When we pulled up, Tom and Sara, who had only been a block away from the finish, were standing in the driveway. Their young son had just come home from a playdate with his Grandma, and was running up the drive to his dad. The look on Tom’s face as he scooped up Owen and held him was the most heart rending thing I have ever seen. I turned and saw the same look on my mom’s and Sara’s mother’s face as well.

Once home, the gravity of the situation began to be apparent. The video played endlessly on the news. Even worse, a terrifying text came in from a friend working in the med tent. It read simply “mass casualty event. amputations.” I nearly threw up. Sleep eluded me for two days.

People at work kept asking the same question: how close were you? The answer, no matter what I said, was just this: too close.

By Thursday, I had rested enough that a run was possible. In the early morning dark, another runner found us. She looked at my Boston shirt and nodded: she’d been there too; had finished is 4 hours and 3 minutes. We ran and talked, gradually working our way into the stories of our races, rather than what happened after. It felt good, felt normal… in a week where I thought nothing would ever be normal again.

I got home and decided to put that feeling to work:

http://www.crowdrise.com/RunForBoston13

In two months time, I am going to line up again, in Boston, to help those who are still suffering; those whose lives will not be the same again.

When all else fails, keep calm and run on.

"Running through the darkness, helping to bring the light. On June 15, 2 months to the day after the..."

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:17:35 -0400

“Running through the darkness, helping to bring the light. On June 15, 2 months to the day after the attack on Boston, I will run a 50 miler, overnight, in honor of the victims, their families and my fellow athletes.”

- Run For Boston ‘13 | Mary Arnold’s Fundraiser on CrowdRise

The Least Expected Marathon Post

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:23:54 -0400

There is too much feedback coming in through the martix and it is hard for me to sort it out…This morning, when I imagined writing my race report of the Boston Marathon, I pictured it including ” PR” and “amazing race”.

The last thing I would have ever expected to write was:

“I was clear of the finish line when the explosions went off”

The above was a sentence I typed a lot today.

I was in a building several blocks away; didn’t even hear the blast. I was in a cab heading for Storrow Drive when the cabby turned on the radio so I could hear what happened. He yelled and cursed at the speaker, shook his fist at the sky, as police and fire vehicles whipped in and out of traffic around us. I was out of the city just ahead of the police cordon that was secured most of area, frantically calling and messaging loved ones to let them know I was okay. It wasn’t until I got to my mom’s house that I saw the first pictures.

I cannot look at them again.I never thought that I would see this day. Never thought that our sport, which does so much to unite people of all kinds, would be scarred by people who seek to divide us.

To all my family, friends, co-workers and students who reached out today, thank you. I am humbled and honored to be in your lives. To all of my fellow athletes and their families, I am thinking of you and hope that you are safe. To the police, fire and and medical response teams in Boston, thank you a million times. There is no doubt in my mind that your actions saved many lives today.

One week to go until Boston. This is the poster from my first,...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:00:35 -0400

One week to go until Boston. This is the poster from my first, April 21, 2003… no truer words were ever printed. #running #bostonmarathon

Cooking with Gas

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 08:02:00 -0400

The last couple of weeks have been rough: 40 grit sandpaper rough. Between a challenging work situation and having the plague, I think I would have described them as:

(Thanks to Bob Mina for this one)

Coach Ian said not to worry and just focus on getting healthy. With Boston in a month, I have found it a tad hard not to panic. My last few runs have been sluggish; not the type of thing I had in mind heading into peak phase.

This morning, I went out with M for an easy 4 miler. Everything felt a little better than it has, and the legs are certainly rested. In the last mile, we got some traffic light mojo working, and decided to see how far we could take it. With 3 blocks to go, M started to back off but I kept pushing, so he stayed with it. As we hit the stoop, I realized that:

a) This was probably the fastest he’s run that course. He is totally ready for his comeback race in 2 weeks.

b) I made it through the run without hacking once and without the aid of cold meds.

c) I was reasonably sure we both could have kept up the pace for another mile or so.

All of this leads to the idea that now, with just a few weeks before our race days, both of us are finally cooking with gas.

Midwinter Motivation

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:30:00 -0500

Midwinter is never easy. It’s dark when you leave, dark when you get back. Some days, it takes longer to get dressed than it takes do your workout. In contrast, it is easier to turn the alarm off, roll back over and tell yourself you’ll think about it later. I find I have to pull all my gear together at 4:30 and then snap on my road id. Once that sucker is on, there is no way I won’t go out.

As the wind howled this morning, I reached down to pull my jacket sleeves OVER my paws and looked at the road id and made a mental note that I probably need a new one. The band is frayed and starting to come loose. The id itself is still bright and shiny still; it has all the usual info, name, med history, emergency contact, etc. It also has this inscribed on the last line:

“Go the Distance”

Now I have looked at that line, as a conservative estimate, maybe 1,000 times. I looked at it during Ironman, at Boston, at the top of Hope Pass, you name it, that little band has been there.

Just then, I looked up from the band to see another runner cresting the hill. She was wearing a piece of gear I had thought vanished from the earth: the old Hartford Marathon pull over. This was, quite possibly, the goofiest race swag I have ever received. Solid nylon, golfer style, with no vents and a really weird line break in the middle of the word “Hartford”. The thing has to be from 2004. I remembered that race day was super hot too; people were walking around Bushnell park in their new pull overs, baking like potatoes.

I had to smile; the timing was too perfect. Both of us, on the hill this morning, had gone the distance.

Taken on the run at CanLake 50. Photo courtesy of C. Lasher

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:43:26 -0500

Taken on the run at CanLake 50. Photo courtesy of C. Lasher

So thankful for all I have, including a beautiful run this am....

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:22:16 -0500

So thankful for all I have, including a beautiful run this am. #trailrunning #sunrise #thankful

48 hours til the start of my second 100 miler. #run100s #ultras

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 07:13:33 -0400

48 hours til the start of my second 100 miler. #run100s #ultras

Great new blog from a fellow triathlete

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:05:17 -0400

Great new blog from a fellow triathlete

26.2 plus a Penguin

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 06:57:00 -0400

I may have to put the Baltimore Marathon on my fall to-do list every year;-)

The course is great; challenging but fair. It has plenty of hills, but nice long downhills balance it out. The course reward patience too: I managed to run just 25 seconds off from my PR, which bodes well going into the 100 next week (YIPES).

The spectators are incredible; they are so proud of their city it’s awesome. This race attracts families, older folks, college kids still out from the night before. At mile 23, I was really missing my camera; there was a couple dressed in matching tiger costumes, standing on top of their car, while the stereo blasted Survivor. The race organizers do a fantastic job of making every runner feel well taken care of: the packet pick up and finish line are marvels of organization.

And then, well, there’s this:

(Courtesy of the Baltimore Sun)

Yup. It’s a penguin…a cute, fluffy penguin. When our pace group ran by I started yelling the minute I could see it; ” penguin on the right!”. Everyone cheered and the penguin waved it’s little wings at us.

Ironman, Competitor Group and all other Giant Race Organizers take note:

Forget the bands. People want penguins.

Steamed the crab! Baltimore Marathon is in the books! (Taken...

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:33:13 -0400

Steamed the crab! Baltimore Marathon is in the books! (Taken with Instagram)

Baltimore(Marathon) on my mind

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 10:32:40 -0400

Just a week to go til my last tune up race: the Baltimore Marathon.

I ran it last year as part of a double marathon weekend and LOVED it. I had planned on using it as a last long training run before Ghost Train. Take it easy, enjoy the support and maybe pet the penguin during the zoo mile.

Then, I ran Yonkers to weeks ago, to see how everything was shaping up. I ended up with a huge negative split(over 12 minutes faster on the second loop). Encouraged, I threw a little more speedwork into the mix, to complement the hill work.

This morning, I ran a solid 10 in 1:11, which to put it mildly, is a little crazy. My ten mile PR is something like 1:19. Immediately, I had visions of grandeur: I could PR in a tune up race! This would be great!

Then, on my way home, I found out a dear friend had accidentally thrown the gauntlet down. She ran a 3:27 last week.

New plan for Baltimore: Game on.

For those about to race, we salute you. Be great out there.

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:45:06 -0400

For those about to race, we salute you. Be great out there.

Pick em' Up and Put em' Down

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 08:27:00 -0400

This was one of the most useful things I have ever heard. Late in a long race, it’s a useful reminder to a foggy brain. I often yell it when I spectate, and people always dig it. Lately, it’s been on my mind a lot, especially coming back from injury and then training for my second 100 miler.

Even though I was cleared to run in May, it was nearly July before things felt normal. I DNF’d a race in June partly out of terror and partly because I knew I was not ready yet. Training picked up later in July and some time in the Alps did me good.

Then I got back to NYC and it was approximately 100 degrees outside with 90% humidity.

Pick em’ up and put em’ down indeed.

I finally got back to regular speed and strength work in August and began approaching normal mileage for me. I ran hill repeats till I got dizzy and hoped that it would carry me through the crazy Headlands 50k.

Then I ran Headlands, and blew away my 50k PR by over an hour.

Pick em’ up and put em’ down.

Instead of running one 50 miler as a tune up for the 100, I decided to use the 50k and two road marathons, Yonkers and Baltimore, spaced a few weeks apart. I ran Yonkers ( a 2 loop course) with a friend for the first half. Then I went back out on the second loop and took 12 minutes off.

Pick em’ up and put em’ down.

This week, I will finally get back up over 70 miles for the week and everything (knock on wood) feels solid. On my easy run this morning, a guy cut in front of me and then slowed down. Annoyed, I waited patiently in his slip stream until we reached the base of the hill. Then I swung out to pass him on the left. He tried to keep up, but he didn’t have a shot. Finally, I had that fiero back; that competitive burn that’s been in hiding for the last four months.

I was over the hill and gone before he made it to the cat statue.

Baltimore is in 15 days, Ghost Train is in 30.

Pick em’ up and put em’ down.

New favorites! Stinson Evos from Hoka One One. (Taken with...

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:07:43 -0400

New favorites! Stinson Evos from Hoka One One. (Taken with Instagram)

Heavy medal at Yonkers Marathon today #running #ultras (Taken...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 13:07:54 -0400

Heavy medal at Yonkers Marathon today #running #ultras (Taken with Instagram)

My second 100 miler is gulp just 42 days away.

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:06:43 -0400

My second 100 miler is *gulp* just 42 days away.