My next goal...

will NOT be this.

this dude is CRAZY:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15420823/

Donations are POURING in!

Latest total... $2,357.72!!

Thanks to The Andrew, Ellen, and Oliver Klein, Mr. and Mrs. Van Inwagen, Miss Carolyn Swerdloff, and Mr. Mike Lewin for their generous donations!

So so close to my goal!! Keep 'em coming!

And on another note, Mile 3 will be dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. V! Brooklyn... whaaaat?

best run EVER

Poland Spring Marathon Week Kickoff 5 Mile Run...
aka Team for Kids Run in Costume.

Omar, as a Team for Kids Elvis, and I as a 70's TFK runner looked pretty sharp before the race. I think the short shorts look should stay in the 70's, although I was kind of digging the sweat bands, not gonna lie.









Haven't done a top ten in a while, so here are the top ten costumes:

10.
Coach Adam as iPod Commercial guy (funnier when he was dancing)









9.
the cutest fairy! (not sure how she ran with that!)







8.
Team for Kids Cheerleaders, they get extra points for the pyramid!









7.
Coach Lance with a pretty sweet ride









6.
Team "Fireass" as Team Fireass (the front of the shirts say "Fire Department) and yes, those are orange, yellow, and red streamers coming out of their booties






4 and 5.
TFK Pimp and the Convict (in that order). No explanation necessary.










3.
All the superheros (from left to right, the flash, wonderwoman, superman, wonderwoman #2, and spiderwoman in front)... Gotta say Matt as Superman was my favorite, but I may be biased as he is my faithful pace group leader.





2.
Coach Danielle as a TFK Green Crayola Crayon. Brilliant!











1.
Just kidding. Coach Deena as Wonderwoman was my favorite superhero AND #1 on the list.

$2,131.52 =

My latest donation total!

Thanks to Miss Emily Serrell, Miss Hollis VanInwagen, Mr. Asselin, Mrs. Redding, and Mrs. Veraldi for their contributions!

$368.48 'til my goal of $2,500!

Let the countdown begin.

10 days to go.

You know what this means... I can start monitoring the weather obsessively:

10 Day Forecast for New York

Now we're big time!

and look for us in our signature neon green on the today show on Friday, November 3rd!

I'm a blogging machine!

Well, really, I just keep forgetting things.

This just in: as of today the combined funds raised by Team for Kids members is... wait for it...

$2,027,545

We've raise over 2 million smackers!

And personally, as of yesterday, I've raised $2,000! Only $500 to my goal!

A big thanks to the latest donors Mr. Will Arbuckle (a running machine), Miss Anne Benveniste, and Miss Meghan Stack!

The most important number on November 5th...

my bib number: F5684

i own it.

Next to last "long" run

10/21/06. 12.2 miles including the Queesboro bridge, 1st ave from 59th to 116th, 5th ave from 116th to 90th, and the end of the marathon course in the park.

Lessons learned: the Queensboro bridge is long, but the incline wasn't as bad as I was expecting (I'm sure I'll feel otherwise when I hit it 15 miles into the race); 1st ave is a long, steady incline, but I didn't even really notice I was running uphill until I looked ahead of me so really it's all mental; 5th avenue is not the end of the race, as much as it feels that way, and the uphill from 103 to 90th is a b*tch with a capital B; the entrance to the park is not the end of the race; the exit from the park onto Central Park South is not the end of the race; Columbus Circle is not the end of the race; Tavern on the Green IS the end of the race and I may go all out accordingly.

PS- I got chills when I crossed what will be the finish line.

For those of you who won't be joining me in the entire race...

Here's a glimpse at what I have in store for me (minus the traffic). This is approximately the pace I'll be running, I'm pretty sure 7 minutes and 9 seconds will be a world record.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnxknAnBVk0

26.2-3.2=

Wow. I can't believe I actually ran 23 miles continuously. I can honestly say that when I started my training all the way back in July, I couldn't have imagined running for three and a half hours. I thought making it to 6 miles was a feat... which, I suppose, still is, as there are many people who can't even do that. But now, my perspective has been totally skewed. A six miler is a mid-week "short" run, a half-marathon is standard Saturday fare, and a 23 mile run doesn't sound all that intimidating. Now I just have to tack on those other 3.2 miles and I'll cross the finish line vertical, which is my goal. If I could finish under 4 hours, that would be nice, but not required.

So, the run (which was on Saturday, I'm a little late with this blog post)... we started at 72nd and Riverside, ran north along the Hudson to 104th Street where we turned around and heading all the way down to the southern tip of the island to the Staten Island Ferry, and continued around up the East River to 25th Street, turned around again, and ran back to 72nd, finishing with a nice lap around the track.

The morning was freezing! My excellent landlord has yet to turn on the heat, so with temperatures dipping into the low 40's overnight, my apartment was less that "warm." So I bundled up and headed out, still chilly from the night before. Thankfully the run started somewhat later than usual, so the temperature had risen somewhat by the time I got uptown. We set out around 9:20 and were supposed to run at a leisurely pace (1 min/mile slower than usual), and keep this a "social" run. For my pace group this meant running at a 10:30 min/mile... which didn't really happen and we ran the whole thing at our usual 9:30 pace. It helped that the course was completely flat!

By the end I felt totally comfortable aerobically, my quads were feeling tight and my knees were hurting a bit, but my hamstring was feeling okay, which is a good sign! It flaired up a few times during the run, but nothing too painful or consistently painful.

Now for the taper, which is going to be difficult as I know I'll be tempted to run, walk, do yoga in my normal routine... but I have to focus on the finish at this point!

17 days to go...


Let the countdown begin!

I was getting nervous about the big day and then I saw this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJdP37YVgng

this man and his son have completed
* 206 Triathlons, 6 Ironman distances
* 20 Duathlons
* 64 Marathons, 24 straight Boston Marathons
* 7 18.6 Milers
* 78 Half Marathons
* 1 20K
* 34 10 Milers
* 27 Falmouth 7.1 milers, 1 Falmouth in the Fall
* 8 15K
* 204 10K
* 143 5 Milers
* 4 8K
* 15 4 Milers
* 92 5K
* 6 20 Milers
* 2 11K

For their whole story go to: http://www.teamhoyt.com

unbelievable.

back in action

I am now fully back into my training regiment! While my hamstring still feels a little irritated at times, as Dad always said, how does it feel on a scale of 1 to 10? Well, pops, I'd say it's about a 9.245, not quite an A, but a high A-.


A quick training update: the theme is adverse weather conditions, FYI.

10/1/06: Grete's Gallop/Norwegian Festival 13.1 mile run in Central Park. POURED rain the entire time, from 30 minutes prior to the start until I crossed the finish line. I was FREEZING cold, but finished in about 2:02. Of course right as I got home to my apartment the clouds broke and it turned into a beautiful day... which I slept through most of.

10/6/06: 13.1 Mile Race. Well, as much of a race as one can simulate when one is running alone along the East River and West Side Highway on a Friday morning. But, for not having anyone to push me besides Mr. Bruce Springstein (Born to Run), I finished in 1 hour 52 minutes and 30 seconds. My goal for the half marathon has been to break 2 hours... and HOW! My average mile was around 8:30, high five! Oh, weather conditions: chilly and drizzling. Should have worn more than my shorts and singlet, but once I realized that there was no turning back.

10/8/06 am: Lovely 6 mile run through beautiful Woodstock, VT. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood... and I went left. Apparently I was supposed to go right. Eventually found my way back (after some wonderfully steep hills), and cruised through the fall foliage, past emily's second grade teacher's house (thanks for the easily recognizable landmarks em!), over the covered bridge, through the town green (how provincial), and back to the geiger's where I enjoyed a delicious breakfast of bacon and french toast. that was definitely the best part of the run. Weather: cold.

10/8/06 pm: eagles v. cowboys game served as my crosstraining for the week as my heart rate was at 90% of max for 3 hours straight. i heart lito sheppard.

$$

Grand total with 25 days to go 'til the marathon:

$1,833.72 so for all you non-mathletes that's only...

$666.28 to go!!

Thanks to the my latest fabulous donors: Sara Reynolds, Lydia Geacintov, Heidi Lou and Rick, Mr. and Mrs. Pepper, Krista, Bill, and Tina Ricketts, and Ms. Brook McInnes!