BREATHE – FEEL – MOVE – THRIVE – SHIFT YOUR ENERGY. MAKE TRANSFORMATION YOUR REALITY . . . every time you take a class. This is what separates us from the pack . . . we create Mind Body experiences. It’s not just a class, it’s a lifestyle. Core Fusion is therapy.

He is so right.

Last Thursday I was feeling really down. I’ve been having trouble sleeping and called my doctor in tears after the medications she prescribed weren’t working. I felt so upset and even though I was really tired, I decided to sneak out of the office for a lunchtime Core Fusion class. I know how great I feel after class and thought it could make me feel better.

Turns out I didn’t even need to wait until the end of class for savasana to feel great. I felt better within the first five minutes of class. By the time we got to the thighs section (the most painful section!) I was pushing myself so hard, staying so low in our waterski position, pulsing and working and not letting myself stand up and straighten my legs — and the woman next to me turned to me after we were done with this part and said, “You were so inspiring!“

I couldn’t believe that someone thought I was inspiring, when everyone else there always inspires me. That is part of the magic of taking classes at exhale. I know I sound like a broken record and I know saying I sound like a broken record makes me sound like a broken record because I have said that before (still following?), but I love Core Fusion and here’s why:

• It is fun
• The time flies by and is never boring
• The music is awesome — where do you think I learn many of my running songs??!
• I like being strong/having muscles/being toned/being able to life heavy things
• I wore a bikini last weekend without feeling any negative thoughts about myself for the first time in five years
• When you only have an hour to exercise, it is an extremely effective, all encompassing hour
• You see results quickly (other people notice, too — I heart validation)
• You notice improvements during class quickly — ability to hold planks, do pushups, etc
• Even though it is expensive, one hour costs a lot less than a personal trainer would — and I equate this class to being the same as a personal training session, NOT a group fitness class
• It made me a much faster runner — my running time improved by an entire minute/mile with no speedwork and not much running practice
• I always  feel accomplished, strong, amazing, relaxed and at peace after
• As Fred tweeted, Core Fusion is more than a physical result of higher butt, flatter abs and long lean thighs . . . it shifts your energy and reduces your stress
• It just works

Now that I have been taking Core Fusion, Core Fusion Yoga and Core Fusion Cardio consistently for six months, I can’t even begin to get into what this has done for my body and my mind. I don’t even think twice when it comes to making sure I get my classes in for the week — I automatically include it into my day the way I include lunch, or sleep. And I want to offer my readers the chance to try this class out for free.

The details:

What?!: FREE Core Fusion – Open level class
Date: Thursday, August 12
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Exhale Spa, 980 Madison Avenue at 77th street

Class Description:
Fusing the disciplines of core conditioning, Pilates, the Lotte Berk Method, interval cardio training, and yoga, this highly-acclaimed and publicized mind body experience incorporates 50 years of collective teacher expertise from co-founders Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp. Allowing you to work from the inside out, this transformational class consistently delivers results, including washboard abs, a tighter and higher backside, long, lean muscles, and an athletic, toned body.

Class size is limited, so please leave a comment on this post or email me or tweet me to RSVP.  This class is first come, first served. Once I have the final list, I will send an email out to everyone to confirm. I will put together a wait list in case anyone lets me know that they can’t make it. So let me know, the sooner the better.

The teacher we will be having is one of the best.  I am so excited to share Core Fusion with you. If this goes well maybe we can do it again with Core Fusion Cardio or Core Fusion Yoga. Hope you can make it!

As good as it feels to be done with my racing component, I did find myself wishing during the race that I was volunteering rather than running. That is because this race was tough. So many small things went wrong! I still came out on top though.

The night before the race, well past my self appointed bedtime of 10 pm, I realized that I forgot to make a race playlist — this happened to be before my last race too. What is wrong with me these days! I quickly worked off my last 3 mile playlist and put something together quickly. I woke up before my alarm on race day and took my sweet time getting ready. I fixed up my playlist for a good 10-15 minutes. I don’t have a screenshot of my playlist because, again, I am forgetful lately, but here is a typewritten (is that a word?) list:

Why I Am (Dave Matthews Band) <– went to his concert THAT NIGHT at Citi Field!
@LaurenConrad Get Us On The Hills! (Super Mash Bros)
Shooting Stars (Bag Raiders) <– new favorite running song
Livin The Dream (Super Mash Bros)
Mr. Boom Boom Jones (The Knocks)
Hey Girl (OAR)
United State of Pop 2009(DJ Earworm)
Say Hey [I Love You](Michael Franti)
Cosmic Love (Florence + The Machine)
This Is Definitely Not the 405 (Super Mash Bros)
Lord of Tranz – Sanctificum (DJ Tiesto)

I stretched, got dressed, put on my hat, took off my hat, put on my hat, took off my hat and put on my hat, and then I was out the door!

I was a few blocks from home when I realized that I forgot my Garmin! My brand new Garmin that I was so excited to race with, to use as a guide, to have an understanding of my own pace, to push me and pace me. As I was laying my gear out the night before, I saw the Garmin on the dresser and decided to leave it there since it was in the charger. The charger wasn’t plugged in, yet I wanted to leave it there? Why? So of course it was not with my other stuff and then I just forgot it.

I was pretty upset at myself but decided I would run a great race anyway and try not to let this setback get me down. It turned out the Garmin wouldn’t have helped me anyway. . .

I got to my corral and while lots of people were complaining about how hot it was, I was loving it. I have been at so many races where I am freezing waiting for them to start, I really enjoy not being cold and not having layers to think about. I couldn’t hear any of the pre-race speeches or the national anthem which was very strange, because I’ve heard those  from much further back before. I did hear the starting horn and three minutes later crossed the start line.

And then I knew I was in for a very difficult race.

My legs were like lead. I partly blame myself for taking Core Fusion Yoga the day before the race. While yoga sounds like it would be a nice pre-race stretch, this class (especially with the teacher I had) was heavy on the quad strengthening. It was the opposite of a rest for my legs, so I did not go into this race with fresh legs at all. I only partly blame myself, because sometimes heavy legs just happens. So I am considering this a mix of my fault and not my fault.

Right away I knew that my Garmin would have been pretty pointless. I couldn’t run any faster than I was running, and I felt like I was moving pretty slowly. The race was counterclockwise around part of the Central Park loop, which I find to be the MUCH hillier route. There were so many uphills it was crazy! All I could do was keep moving. It was hard not only on my legs but on my chest, too. I hadn’t run at all since my 3 mile race on June 24, which was obviously not the smartest thing to do. I felt very out of shape in the running department. I quickly abandoned any ideas of running nine minute miles for a third race in a row.

To make matters worse, my right shoe felt too tight on the laces! I wanted so much to stop on the side and loosen it. I did that during my second half marathon, but I didn’t want to stop during a four mile race. I could push through. It only hurt sometimes. Other times I didn’t even notice it.

More! More ailments! I had ribcage pain. I practiced my breathing (breathe in on the right foot, out on the left). Also, I had to pee! I didn’t get to the race early enough to use the portapotties, and even though needing to pee during a race is usually nerves and not real, it still felt like a nuisance for the first mile. I even considered stopping at the portapotties before mile 1 was even over but decided I could push through. I knew deep down that it was not real! And while I thrive in hot weather, I do think the humidity affecting me as well. It just all kind of sucked.

There is more. When I started running last year I got this sharp pain in my right hip. Once I learned the right stretches to do before I ran, the pain disappeared. Even if I forgot to stretch, the pain never happened again — not through my half marathon training, not through my half marathons, not through my super fast 10K. But on this day, that pain came back. OH NO. I  really hope this isn’t something I will have to seriously deal with or a real injury. Yoga yoga yoga. I have another half to train for! Why is this happening now?

All these things were working against me. I didn’t feel awesome. I just wanted the race to be over. I considered quitting but it was only four miles (I say this not because four miles isn’t an accomplishment or is easy, but only in comparison to the 10Ks I recently ran, and the half marathons before that) and I knew I could push through. Soon enough it would be over.

My music was great, but it wasn’t motivating me. I just kept going because it was all I could do. I tried hard not to get myself crazy about my time, but I couldn’t help but be happy when I passed each mile marker and almost exactly 10 minutes had passed each time. That meant I was still maintaining a good pace despite the less than ideal conditions. I was trying not to focus on time because I just wanted to finish without feeling like death, but I am so competitive with myself and couldn’t help hoping to finish in less than 40 minutes.

When we got to the last mile I was so happy to see it was all downhill. I had some energy left in me since I just couldn’t push hard through the first three miles, so I was able to use the downhills to my advantage. I sped up and started passing people. Down down downhill. I smiled because I finally felt more like myself. Eventually that energy ran out too and I was thinking I still had a ways to go to to the finish line and I was SO ready for this to be over. And then I saw the finish line — much closer than I thought it would be! That last mile felt fast! Also, I was in the middle of the last song of my playlist. I always seem to time these so well.

I crossed the finish line and was just as happy to be done as at my very difficult second half marathon. I saw a few photographers during the race, but they were either fiddling with their cameras or I noticed them too late. We all know how I love hamming it up for the race paparazzi. I did get a couple finish line pictures!

(That guy is much happier than I am)

My official time was 39:06, for an average pace of 9:46. So happy with this time! I thought I was moving so slowly, but I was doing just fine! This  goes to show that my running has improved so much that what used to be a comfortable pace for me now feels slow. I love this! My time made the entire not-so-great race experience pretty . . . great!

(Smiling to be DONE)

Now I plan to get back into a regular running routine. And very soon I will start training for my next half marathon. I am so excited!

Have you ever had a difficult run and it turned out you were much faster than you realized?

Unrelated topic #1:
I plan to review something for you all soon that I am very excited about!  It comes from the same place that sells some pretty cool LED lighting sets, which I hope to buy if I am ever able to move into my own apartment. However, the product I will review is more relevant to my healthy lifestyle. Hint: Rachel loves it and it is small and you put food in it.

Moving on.

Unrelated topic #2:
I was very lucky to have the chance to visit the Boston location of my favorite place in the world: exhale spa. I love visiting familiar things in unfamiliar places — everything is kind of the same, but also different. It is like seeing your 4th grade teacher at the mall.

I got excited just seeing the front door!

I got to take a class there! Core Fusion Cardio fit into my schedule and it was SO weird taking a class I know well in a place I don’t. Liz from @exhaleboston was so great and showed me around and got me all set up. My teacher Andrea was awesome! She was upbeat, motivating and so much fun. I definitely recommend everyone in Boston take her class. And it turns out Andrea recognized me from my Core Fusion Challenge, she just didn’t realize it was me until after and she commented on my blog later to tell me!

I was thinking about where I might one day want to live, and I realized I don’t know if I could move to a place that doesn’t have an exhale spa and Core Fusion classes. That is a little sick, right? Hopefully exhale continues expanding. Some places I would especially like to see them pop up are Seattle and London. Hint, hint, Fred.

Exhale Boston is on two floors there, which is really great for keeping the Core Fusion room separate from the spa and yoga areas. And so I got into the elevator.

Uhh . . . I just wanted to go up.

What does this mean??! Which is up and which is down?? I stared, confused, until someone in the elevator with me who had been there before pressed the right button.

It did give the meaning of each in small letters underneath, but I was in too much shock to register that.

Speaking of Core Fusion, I wanted to hold a little poll.

NYC readers: If you were able to try ONE free class at exhale, would you want to try Core Fusion or Core Fusion Cardio? Both are absolutely amazing and challenging and rewarding. Please comment below, tweet me or email and let me know.

I might have something up my sleeve. Except it is summer and my arms look awesome from Core Fusion, so I am not wearing sleeves.

Unrelated topic #3:

Cooler Cleanse giveaway winner!

Thank you thank you thank you to all of you who commented here and wrote on Cooler Cleanse’s Facebook wall . We took all your votes into consideration, weighing extra heavily those who entered by comment and wall post. It was a very tough decision but in the end we agreed there was one clear winner:

Congratulations Elizabeth KS!

Elizabeth KS said:

Where to start?! I have been really curious about the Cooler Cleanse for some time, after hearing about the company from several friends (and okay, I’ll admit it, reading about it in magazines as a celeb favorite!) I’ve been intrigued, dying for more info… and yes, hoping to try it very soon myself. I’m really excited to see such an in depth, honest and super-validating review! Thank you for all great info and detail – it’s really very helpful to know what I can expect (like, love and not love) before diving in and trying the cleanse. The Cooler Cleanse just sounds like a great option for all folks, both cleanse-veterans and like myself, cleanse-novices (aka it tastes good and is simple to follow – WITHOUT sacrificing the hard core health and nutrition benefits.) Many of the cleanses out there are either intimidating/downright inedible OR on the flip side they are easy to follow & swallow but they don’t provide this same level of cleanse effectiveness and/or nutritional awesomeness. I have personally had a very rough year with my husband losing his job and a host of other issues (sadly as we all know, tough times often lead to bad eating habits and poor health) but I am now looking toward the future and want to kickstart better days with good nutrition and a positive outlook. What better way to re-start my system, body, outlook and life than by Cooler-Cleanse-ing it out for three days!! I would be so sincerely grateful if I were to win this cleanse – I think it might be the (much-deserved) start of a whole new me! PS This late-breaking-news that very soon they will be extending the delivery zone outside of NYC is especially fantastic… we recently relocated to Boston and I can’t tell you excited I am to have a little piece of (healthy, innovative, awesome) New York available here! I was seriously considering making a pal from the old neighborhood drive me the cleanse 3 hours away

We hope you enjoy your cleanse, Elizabeth!

If you didn’t win and you live in NYC, get 10% off your Cooler Cleanse with the discount code ESSENTIALGREEN. This code is valid through July 19 for NYC local delivery only. Read my review of Cooler Cleanse here.

This is probably not the last you will see of Cooler Cleanse on this blog. I hope to give you more chances to try a cleanse because so many of you had such inspiring responses.

As you might know I’ve tried Blueprint Cleanse twice and Organic Avenue once. What I haven’t had a chance to discuss yet is that last month I tried the new kid in town in the world of the juice fast — Cooler Cleanse. A collaboration between Salma Hayek and Eric Helms (founder of Juice Generation in NYC), Cooler Cleanse officially launched earlier this year. Their history, from their website:

Since 1999, Eric Helms, founder of Juice Generation, has offered the ultimate juicing experience in New York City. In 2008, he received a very specific challenge from friend and fellow juicing devotee Salma Hayek. She asked him to custom-blend the perfect detoxifying drinks: raw, nutrition-packed juices that would improve her cleanses to make them as effective—and enjoyable—as possible.

Using his top-of-the-line hydraulic press, Eric created a rich array of nutritious concoctions from organic, sustainably grown produce. Salma taste-tested and reviewed them all. The process took months as what started as a friendly challenge evolved into a dynamic collaboration to create their dream line-up of detox drinks.

The result of their efforts is a cleansing program that is easy to accomplish, ultra-fresh and absolutely delicious. To complete the cleansing experience, they worked with some of the best nutritionists and vegan chefs in Manhattan to develop additional raw-food menus, always using the premium-grade ingredients on which Eric built the success of his stores.

So it sounds great, but Blueprint Cleanse also sounded great and well, I really disliked their green juice. I drink green juice every day but BPC’s was just too sickly sweet. I think it is the apple. Organic Avenue was okay but the delivery was annoying and expensive. I was excited to try Cooler Cleanse to see if it was any better, since it is very helpful to me to have a juice fast that I like because of my GI illness.

Even though my stomach has been feeling much better than the last few years, sometimes I still feel really badly. A  juice fast helps get me on track again. In fact, right before I had four months of feeling almost completely better, I did a juice fast. I really believe it is a good tool for resetting and getting back on track to a better stomach and healthier habits.

For those of you not familiar, the hydraulic press used to make these juices retains the most vitamins, minerals and enzymes so you are essentially drinking vitamins and nutrition and health and rainbows and unicorns. Drinking your meals also gives your digestive system a break so your body can use less energy digesting and more energy absorbing nutrients and healing. Check out the reasons you might want to try a juice fast.

While on a juice fast, you will miss the act of eating but you will probably not feel hungry. There are SO many vegetables in these juices and they are just so filling. Sometimes I am not able to finish a whole day. I do recommend getting the advice of a professional before starting any cleanse and following the instructions on easing into the fast — and out of it. And please read the SIX BIG QUESTIONS, which has valuable information on who should — and shouldn’t — cleanse.

So last month I checked out the Cooler Cleanse website and decided that instead of the standard 3-Day Cooler Cleanse, I would instead go with something I thought was a fantastic idea — the Custom Cooler. In the Custom Cooler, you can choose exactly which juices you want from their menu. If it is your first time cleansing, I would absolutely recommend going with their 3-Day Cooler Cleanse because the juices (and the order) are carefully selected for the purpose of, well, cleansing. In my case, I’ve been around the juice fast block a few times and I know what I like and I know what I need for my specific stomach problems. And that is why I ordered three days worth of Custom Cooler.

Before I go on I just want to say that I receieved no discount or free cleanse to try. I paid in full because I wanted to try this out.

And . . . I loved it.

Seriously, their Essential Green juice. SO GOOD. Like real green juice. Not sickly sweet or overwhelming or very veggie-tasting even. I read that Salma Hayek went through many green juice taste trials before they perfected their green juice recipe. (The secret ingredient is pear!) I also tried some other juices from their menu.

I really loved the Pineapple & Ginger juice. I drank it on my first of three days and wished I had ordered it for all three. But then I also loved the fruit juices I ordered for the other two days — the Pineapple Mint and Waterlemon Lime. Uh, yeah, how could I not? The Essential Red was all right, not my favorite. I tried the Almond Milk and the Brazil Nut Milk. Both were good and sweetened with dates only, so they weren’t as sweet as other cleanse’s  nut milks I’ve tried on cleanses that contain agave. There is a debate going on about whether agave is good or bad for you so it was nice to avoid that whole issue and stick with a true natural sweetener. That said, these nut milks really are not as sweet as you might be used to, so prepare yourself. While they were a great treat at the end of a long fast day, the “dessert” feeling was a little lost. But I still thoroughly looked forward to and enjoyed the nut milks.

Would I do Cooler Cleanse again? Definitely. Would I choose them over their competitors? Yep.

I really enjoyed their juices, the convenience of their delivery and the fact that they offer a Custom Cooler ($60/day — but think about buying a few margaritas and dinner!).The typical 3-Day Cooler Cleanse ($58/day) contains six juices a day. This is the sample menu.  They also have a 5-Day Cooler Cleanse for the more ambitious of you and a Raw Cooler ($62/day), which delivers a full day of delicious raw-food meals and drinks. And if you do the Raw Cooler you get SMOOTHIES. They look so good. You can read about the different types of cleanses here.

Want to try Cooler Cleanse for free?

Enter for a chance to win a FREE 3-day Cooler Cleanse.

Here’s how:

• Leave a comment here telling us why you deserve a 3-day Cooler Cleanse (one entry)
• Leave a note on Cooler Cleanse’s Facebook wall telling us why you deserve a 3-day Cooler Cleanse (two additional entries) – don’t forget to Like them!

Be creative! Or be honest. Or be . . . something. There is no random number generator at work here —  I will work with the Cooler Cleanse team to select a winner (your extra entries mean your answer gets has more weight) and I will announce the winner here on Tuesday, July 13. You must be a US Resident to enter, and if you are selected as a winner and live outside the NYC area, you will have to select a cleanse date beginning after July 19 when nationwide shipping begins.

In NYC and want to try a juice fast and save some cash? Get 10% off your Cooler Cleanse with the discount code ESSENTIALGREEN. This code is valid through July 19 for NYC local delivery only. I’ll be using that code for myself.

Okay, so remember — leave a comment here and on Facebook for a total of three entries to win a free 3-day Cooler Cleanse! This prize is worth $189 with delivery or $174 with pickup. Good luck!

[All photos taken from the Cooler Cleanse website]

Then another company bought my company, and that new company doesn’t care about helping heart disease. Or something. My point is, my company no longer sponsors this race, so this year I had to pay for my entry — which is good, since part of my entry went to the American Heart Association. My grandpa had two heart attacks and double bypass surgery, so this is an important cause to me.

I have to admit, it was very strange not having lots of people in my office all getting ready and going down to the start together in our matching shirts. In fact, the two people left in the office when I was getting ready asked me how I knew about the race! Without our company to sponsor it and promote it on the intranet, no one there even knew the race was happening. How sad. How different things used to be.

I really like that this race starts and ends right outside my office building at 6:45 pm. Convenience is key. I changed at work and went downstairs to meet my friends Missy and Melissa before the race. It was Missy’s first race, so I was excited for her! So excited that I insisted on attaching her D-Tag timing chip on her shoe while she stood helpless.

The night before the race, at 10 pm (bedtime) I realized that I forgot to create a race playlist! I abandoned any hopes of getting to sleep early and worked on a fun, fast 3 mile playlist.

My playlist was so awesome and I love myself for selecting these songs. It was the official race of the mashup.

I am still not ready to give up on Say Hey (I Love You).

Even though it was 93 degrees out with 60% humidity and many people were concerned, I was excited. When people are comfortable, I am cold. When people are cold, I am shivering in pain. When people are hot and sweaty, I am comfortable.

I thrive in the heat.

This was the first year the race was held in June. It is usually in May and I have a feeling that after this year the NYRR might switch it back to May again. According to all the normal temperatured (I can make up words if they make sense) people, it was a very hot, sticky race. And I knew it was hot, I am able to recognize that. When I saw a girl in a cotton t-shirt and cotton full length leggings, my heart hurt a little for what she was about to experience.

Because I like the heat, I decided to push myself a little — but not too much. I am not stupid, and I do know to slow down or stop if I am not feeling well. I hydrated well all day, having a cold pressed green juice with a dash of sea salt right before the race. Having come straight from my office to the start, it was my first non-portapotty race and I have to say, it was nice.

I turned on my new Garmin and then someone sang the National Anthem. I was chatting to my friends and this guy turned around and yelled at me! Oops.

And then we were off! I took off and . . . could not move. There were so many people, no corrals, many non-runners. Lots of the people there were part of teams through their company. But I wanted to try and run! So I weaved. I followed other runners up on sidewalks to get around people and dashed between friends. I did make sure to take in my surroundings because I love running races on actual streets of NYC! I think it is so cool when they close the streets for runners, and I am impressed by NYRR’s ability to close off so much of the financial district during rush hour.

I’ve worked in this area for three years now, so it was also fun running through familiar territory. Now, when I walk along these sidewalks, I can think “I ran on this street!” As I ran down Church street, some kids who were around 14 were holding their hands out for high fives. I took one, of course.

So as I said I wore my new Garmin and here is the map of where I ran for this race:

You can see a lot of my weaving here! The race was straight down streets and around corners. All the little squigglies are my dogding people an trying to maintain a decent pace. Although I have to admit the Garmin was a little off. I assure you I did not run directly over Ground Zero.

There was only one water station, on Water Street (ha), which was not nearly enough on such a hot, humid day. I didn’t even get to see it because so many people were crowded around, although there was a person with a hose again. I didn’t run directly under the water, but a couple drops got on me and it was nice.

Sometimes the crowd would clear a little and I’d have room to run, other times it would be completely packed and I would have to slow down and figure out how to get around everyone. A lot of people would just start walking right in the middle, which I completely understand and think is a great thing to do in these temps — but I wish they would have moved over to the side. Oh, well.

At the last mile, the road really cleared up. I finally had space to run! Except I was tired and didn’t have much left in me, so I was just going through the motions at that point. My big push at the beginning took a lot out of me. When we turned onto the West Side Highway, I did get some new energy back because I knew we were getting near the end, and I love this running path! I’ve walked this path many times during breaks from work.

The sun was beating down on us and the river was gorgeous. There were so many people cheering us on! I was surprised by how quickly I saw the finish line ahead — this race went by so fast! I was on my last song of the playlist, so I timed it well, but I was still shocked. I’m usually wishing for the finish line and wondering if it will ever come, but for this race (yes, it was just three miles, but still a tough race) it hit me out of nowhere. I wanted to speed up and sprint for a strong finish, but the path is pretty narrow here and there was no way to get around the masses of people. So I just kept going and then I was done!

I didn’t immediately stop in my tracks or feel like I need to collapse like I do after many other races. I felt great! I could have run more. I walked over to the water bottles, got one for myself and then secured a table outside at Southwest for me, Missy and Melissa.

Shortly after I finished, they joined me at our table overlooking the water for margaritas and quesadillas!

Our view from dinner:

I need to take advantage of this more often. My new BlackBerry takes very nice photos!

Amazing Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Quesadilla (Grilled marinated vegetables, caramelized onions, roasted poblano peppers, Goat cheese and Mexican cheeses).

Oh! How did I do? According to the New York Road Runners, here are my stats for this 3 mile race:

Time: 27:15

Pace: 9:05
Age: 35

Okay, so I am not 35, I am 27.  But I am so happy with my time! Even though it felt like I was running so slowly because of all the people, I managed to run pretty fast anyway! I wonder how I could do in this distance in better racing conditions? I felt like such a real runner too, trying to get around so many people who weren’t taking the race as seriously as I am. Probably because they are not insane like I am.

My Garmin actually says I ran 3.4 miles, which makes sense with ALL my weaving. I definitely ran more than 3 miles in this 27:15.  Seriously, I went so far out of my way to get around all the people! Although the Garmin also thinks I ran over a construction site, so, you know.  I think I can compare this to my 5K races and officially call this a PR.

So happy with this race! Most other people I spoke to found the weather too hot and humid and had a less than ideal race. And although the race conditions were far from perfect, I still managed to have a great time and be happy with my time.

Have you ever ran well in a race that other people found difficult? Or found a race challenging or annoying when no one else seemed to?

Good news for you: next week’s post will NOT be a race recap. Rejoice!

After my PR at the Healthy Kidney 10K last month, I decided that if I could PR on no training, imagine how my next 10K would be if I trained. So I created a table in Microsoft Word and composed a training plan. I sent it to my friend for accountability.

On the first day that called for a short run, I laced up my sneakers and as soon as my foot hit the ground I felt a pain. It was right under my knee and after some internet research I diagnosed myself with patellar tendinitis, although it was likely just overworked from my race. I decided to take a break from running. All my planning for nothing!

I did run one more time before the race, a slow three miler the week before, and my knee felt fine. I think I just needed some time off and no, I do not actually have tendinitis. On race day I once again forgot to take a picture of myself with my bib in the mirror. I walked over to 61st and Central Park West knowing that although I did not exactly train for the race as planned, at least I was able to run at all. I also hoped to achieve a little goal I had, although I decided that I would not give myself a hard time if I did not reach my goal given I hadn’t trained.

My goal was to finish this 10K in under one hour.

After a long porta potty line I got into my corral with about 10 minutes to the start and listened to all the speeches. There was such amazing energy because the Mini 10K has so much history — it was the first women’s road race ever!  Because of that, there were a lot of Olympians and professionals there, including a pregnant Kara Goucher and Paula Radcliffe.

Right before the race started I got some disappointing news and was feeling annoyed. When the race started, I was surprised by how . . . slow everyone was moving. I was finally in my new corral but I don’t know, it was just a slow start. I started weaving around people, which I try to avoid in the first mile because I don’t like to overexert myself in the beginning and feel like crap for the rest of the race. I’ve done that twice, at my first race and at the 5th Avenue Mile, and it was not fun times.

But I tried to stay with it and I just couldn’t. I KNEW I was faster than this. And so I weaved. The first mile of this race was awesome because we were running on a closed off Central Park West. I love running on the real streets as a change from running in the park, and I feel so special to be part of a race that warrants the closing of busy New York City streets.

I crossed the start line at 9:04 am, and I used that time as my basis for the rest of the race as I passed each mile marker. I generally like the miles to be 10 minutes apart and I’m content as long as they are. I started off with Jamie Lidell’s Multiply, a song that always puts me in a good mood and makes me want to dance around my room. I like starting races with it because it isn’t fast but it is fun — perfect for not wanting to sprint out of the start line.

However, .y annoyance with my disappointing news + my annoyance with wanting to run faster caused me to run pretty fast, and not feel winded about it. In fact, I felt great and I knew I could keep my pace up for at least a couple more miles like this. When I got past the first mile, I was well under my 10 minute standard.

Of course, the Super Mash Bros @LaurenConrad Get Us On The Hills contributed to this general awesome feeling. Please listen to them, it is for your own running wellness. The energy of this song is so much fun. And since there were so many people that seemed to be, um, in my way, certain lyrics in this mashup were pretty fitting.

The next song was a Butch Walker song that I used to love and haven’t listened to in a really long time. When I was working on this playlist, I was pretty sick of all my usual songs and really wanted something different. As I scrolled through my iTunes, I wondered why I hadn’t thought about running to Butch Walker before??! I think I got burnt out on him a year or so ago and stopped listening, but now I am back and ready to include his music in my running songs pool.

At 90th street, we went into the park and had to climb a steep hill. I was already up to my second Super Mash Bros song and it is my favorite of their songs, Livin The Dream (I’m on a Float). And it just so happened that my absolute FAVORITE part of this song was playing as I tackled the hill. During this section, they mash up Three 6 Mafia’s “I’d Rather”with DJ Sammy’s “Heaven“ and the result is pretty much the greatest song of all time for running, or getting ready to get drunk. Or being drunk. Seriously, just listen to this song. You are welcome.

I was actually a little disappointed that my favorite part of this was playing during a time I had to struggle and push because I would have loved to just run fast and laugh, but still it was a great motivator and what can you do?

At this time I still wasn’t really in a running groove but with the next song that changed and I just felt . . . as great about running as I could have. I run to the Counting Crows a lot, but I don’t think I listened to Insignificant in a race since my very first 5K last September. Given the way I was feeling that morning and taking into account some of the (irrational) thoughts running through my head, this song felt kind of like an anthem to me at this point in the race. There was some definite lyric mouthing going on. I was running at my absolute strongest — and probably fastest — during this song. If only I had a Garmin at this time to get my splits . . . hmmm. More on that later.

*I don’t want to feel so different/But I don’t want to be insignificant/And I don’t how to see the same things different now*

During my last 10K, I raved about the United State of Pop 2009 from DJ Earworm and once again he came through for me. It is just so perfect. Yes, there are a LOT of songs in this mashup, 25 to be exact,  but it just works. Amazingly well. And it just makes me feel so happy! I know I keep telling you to download music today, but yeah, do it. It’s free!

Say Hey (I Love You) has made an appearance in every single race I have ran since I started racing in September 2009 except for possibly my first race which might have been 100% Counting Crows. It is my go to running song and I even had it as the only song in my 5th Avenue Mile playlist on a loop. That said, I might be getting sick of it and briefly considered removing it from this playlist. Of course, I did no such thing. Who am I kidding? I love this song!

There were people with hoses spraying the runners, which is a fantastic idea especially since the day was muggy. I am sure the cold water felt great, but I was wearing my three month old iPod on my arm and wasn’t about to take any risks so I ran out of the way to go around the stream of water. This happened three times throughout the race.

I can’t tell you at which point this happened, but I crossed the halfway mark at 27:53. This was faster than my first 5K (although they only measured time at the finish, not the start) – which had felt VERY fast to me and I could not have run a second longer — and yet I still had 3.1 more miles to go and I was feeling great! And of course I was just happy to be under thirty minutes.

Interruption: Since this post is long and I don’t really have any pictures, I think I need to just put a random picture here. Here I am with Missy later that night at Melissa from Fitness NYC’s gorgeous rooftop party overlooking Manhattan:

Ok, back to the race recap.

As a contrast to my last 10K, this time I only selected ONE Afroman song, and so I chose my favorite, Because I Got High. The race was starting to get really tough for me by this time and I wasn’t loving the song so much. Also, I think I am over the novelty of it and it doesn’t crack me up the way it used to. Still a  fun song.

Counting Crows Hard Candy was next. Great song. The race was getting much tougher and I was definitely slowing down a bit. The hills were getting strenuous as well. I took my first water at around mile 4 and it felt so good. I was starting to feel a little weak and dehydrated and had waited to take water because I didn’t want to break my pace, but by this point I would have only hurt my pace by not stopping.

Okay, this next song needs an explanation and, well, another plea from me to download. My friend Rachel who writes one of the best blogs I have ever read just posted about this song the night before the race, while I happened to be finalizing my playlist and trying to find a new song to use. She mentioned that she liked The Knocks, particularly one spng called Mr. Boom Boom Jones. I clicked on it not knowing what to expect. And I was . . . confused. It did not make any sense! It starts off with Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow but then, a few seconds later, I heard the familiar opening chords of Counting Crows’ Mr. Jonesand it just didn’t. make. sense. It was so weird and I couldn’t figure out how I felt about it. I added it to my race playlist, figuring I would decide later.

During the race, it became clear that I LOVE THIS MASHUP. It is probably the most unusual mix I’ve heard, even with all the oldies mixed in Girl Talk and many of the others. This was just more daring. And you all know by now how much I love the Counting Crows, so it was just . . . so cool. The race felt a little less difficult during this song because I was having so much fun listening to it.

Dog Days Are Over and American Girls are great running songs, don’t remember much from this part of the race. My pace finally caught up to me and I was slowing down, but according to each mile time I was still finishing each mile under 10 minutes. I wanted to be finished. By the time Take Your Shirt Off came on, I was able to smile and enjoy the absurdity — and I was starting to get closer to the finish as I flew down East Drive in the park. Since it was muggy out I even briefly considered actually taking my shirt off, but of course I needed my race number being displayed and more importantly,  I didn’t want to scare anyone. I also want to add that I was still trying to get around people, even this far into the race. I’ve never felt like this before, how strange!

I was very happy to hear Paper Planes this late in the game because even though it is a little slower, it is exactly what I needed to zone out and push through. It was during this song that I realized I would probably finish the race without getting to the last song in my playlist, which has never happened to me before. I’m usually pretty good at timing things and I based the timing on this playlist off the time I finished the last one.

I expected to hear Lord of Tranz – Sanctificum next because I was at the south end of the park and the race was almost over, so you could imagine my surprise when Mochi Beats’ Call on Hustla came on! GREAT SONG. It made me try to run faster! My love of Steve Winwood has been professed before on this blog and the mashup between that and the other fast paced, fun songs was just what I needed to give me my final push.

And THEN I was sure that DJ Tiesto would come on as I saw the finish line ahead, but I forgot that I added one last short song before that one, one that I forgot about until recently and never thought to use for a race — Dream a Dream by Captain Jack! My brother and I used to love playing DDR to this song years ago. I would get especially ridiculous with corresponding arm movements and sing out the lyrics, but wrong. My version of the lyrics goes “Dream a dream a dream a dream a dream.” If you ever saw me tweet that, now you know what I was talking about.

I saw the finish line but I also saw hills. Ugh. I trudged up them as fast as I could and once the ground became more level I used what little power I had left to sprint to the finish. Well, it was something like a sprint. In the sprint family, for sure. I didn’t have much left in me but Dream a Dream wasn’t even finished yet, meaning I still had an entire song I didn’t get to hear, which meant I ran faster than the time I had planned for.

And as I glanced up at the time as I crossed the finish, I saw it said 57 something. WHAT?! I started at 9:04 (granted, the race did start over a minute late) but still — I finished in less than an hour CLOCK TIME?! What did that mean for my own time?

57 something clock time, by the way, explains my smile in the above photograph.

After the race I  got a cup of water, a bagel and a flower. Part of the fun of a women’s race!

Hours later, at 1:00 pm, the race results were finally posted. I had expected them by noon so I was pretty anxious, constantly refreshing the NYRR website. On this day more than ever I needed to know my time! I knew I was fast, very fast for me. I knew I shattered my last PR. But how, exactly, did I do?

Official Time – 56:05

Average Pace: 9:02

Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!! Just to give you some perspective, I finished my first 10K in December in 1:03:22 and my second 10K in May in 1:00:37. I beat my last time — from just three weeks before — by four minutes and 35 seconds! And I felt like I ran that race fast. WOW. That just goes to show that I probably don’t push myself hard enough a lot of the time. I felt great, with just some typical post-race knee pain that didn’t last more than a day. And while the race was extremely challenging and I FELT like I was running at my limit the entire time, it was totally doable and in no way my hardest race. I always considered myself a 10 minute miler and used that as my standard, but maybe I need to rethink that so I can continue to push myself. Maybe I need a new standard that encourages me to run faster more often.

While my average pace is awesome, I do know that certain miles were much faster than others, and I found myself really wishing I had a Garmin as my Polar, although accurate, does not record mile splits. I was so curious to see how my first few miles, where I was weaving around people and working a stressful situation out in my head, compared to my last few, which I was able to keep up in pace only from momentum. How much did I slow down? How fast was my fastest mile?

Well, things happened to work out in my favor as I just received a $100 gift card from Dick’s Sporting Goods. $50 was from my assistance in their Starting Lineup campaign in March and the other $50 was from a misunderstanding that arose when I never received the initial gift card and some emails seem to have gotten mixed up and they felt awful and wanted to make up for it — EXCELLENT customer service I must note. I’m sure you all know where this is going.

With $100 off, I sprung for a Garmin Forerunner 405 in green and I have to say that so far I love it. I selected this watch because I have the tiniest wrists you can imagine and the 200 and 300 series that everyone else has would just look and feel ridiculous on me. It is also a newer model and while it does not display all the information at once as the others do, I do not need all data displayed at once. I really only need my time, pace and distance, which is all on one screen. It has been really easy to set up and simple to use and so far I am impressed. I look forward to using it more, especially in a race, although I still wish I had it for the Mini 10K!

[Photo from Dick's Sporting Goods website]

I attribute this super successful race to the following factors:

• Having an “on” running day
• Taking a 3 week running hiatus to recover
• Feeling faster than those around me
• Fun, new music
• Being annoyed/having to brood, think, consider, decide, resolve in my head
• Good weather
• Deciding to just push myself and see what happens

So you all have some homework to do — go download the following songs . . .

@LaurenConrad Get Us On The Hills
Livin The Dream (I’m on a Float)
United State of Pop 2009
Mr. Boom Boom Jones

. . . and then let me know what you think of them, once you work out or get ready to go out to them, of course.

Have you ever completely and unexpectedly shattered a previous PR? Or any goal for that matter? What were the circumstances?

First, let me just say this: I love Bethenny Frankel. I just love her. I think she is hilarious, intelligent, clever, beautiful and extremely hardworking. I kind of want to be her. I even watched her topless in the worst movie ever from 1994.

That said, I found it humorous that she would put out an exercise DVD. As good of a chef she might be, as experienced in eating to be Naturally Thin (although not so much at editing), as witty a reality TV star with her one-liners — who is she to do a workout DVD?

Turns out, Bethenny got a certified personal trainer, Pilates master, and yoga instructor — Kristin McGee – to lead the DVD. You might remember Kristin from her appearance on 30 Rock! Bethenny was more of a participant in Kristin’s class. I really liked this because I’m used to see yoga instructors do all the poses perfectly, and of course I can’t do them expertly myself. Who can? It was nice to have the yoga teacher Kristin and Bethenny, the “regular person” right next to her. Sure, Bethenny was imperfect. and that is what made this better to watch than other DVDs. Sometimes we need a reminder that we aren’t awful at yoga. I know I do.

Perfect example — check out the differences between Bethenny’s and Kristin’s raised legs in Warrior III:

(Source)

That makes me feel better.

And why would someone who isn’t a fitness instructor put out a fitness DVD? Because Bethenny gets asked all the timeabout her fitness regime. People want to know what workouts Bethenny actually does herself, and so many people asked that Bethenny, a very smart business lady, saw an opportunity to answer everyone at once with a DVD.

Here is the official description:

“People keep asking me how I get in shape, and this is what I do.” –Bethenny Frankel

Unleash your best body as you work out with Bethenny Frankel, celebrated natural food chef, TV star, and New York Times bestselling author of Naturally Thin and The Skinnygirl Dish.

Bethenny keeps her slim figure with simple, realistic exercise routines like this one. Celebrity instructor Kristin McGee joins Bethenny for a 40-minute yoga program that stretches and strengthens the entire body. You’ll get toned abs, thighs, glutes, and arms while increasing flexibility and balance. Follow it up with a focused, 10-minute strength-training segment to sculpt lean muscles and increase your metabolism. Then finish off with the 5-minute Booty Blast to learn fun moves you can do anywhere for a tight, firm behind.

Bethenny champions a down-to-earth approach to exercise that fits your lifestyle. No matter your size, shape, or fitness level, this program will work for you. You are a true “skinnygirl” when you feel your healthiest, so trust yourself, enjoy yourself, and make Bethenny’s workout your own.

Equipment needed: light hand weights and a mat

Body by Bethenny was divided into three sections.

• 40 minutes flow yoga
• 10 minutes strength training (arm weights)
• 5 minutes booty blast (glutes)

Yoga

I was impressed! My exact words, that I tweeted to Bethenny (and got a reply back!) were “This DVD is exactly like my favorite yoga classes.” And that really is the best way to describe it. Since January, I’ve managed to surprise myself and become a regular at yoga. I used to hate it and now I love it (but that is a story for another post). The classes I like best are the ones that keep a constant flow, are repetitive and easy to follow along, make my muscles work with challenging poses and make me feel like I got both a cardio, strength and flexibility workout afterwards. This is definitely a toning yoga workout. I especially enjoyed the side planks.

As someone who isn’t quick to catch on to dance combinations and sequences of exercise, I was excited about the repitition and how easy it was to follow along. As someone who is still new to yoga, I appreciated how this DVD is accessible to first-timers and those who are more experienced. When Kristin did more difficult poses, Bethenny would show modifications. I never graded a workout DVD before but I feel the need to grade each part of this one.

Yoga grade: A

Arms

This was a good, basic arm workout. It includes six different movements with weights, and you do two sets of each. So there are two sets of bicep curls, for example.

I’m used to very tough arm workouts from Core Fusion. I am used to very tough arm workouts via DVD from Core Fusion Body Sculpt and Pure Abs + Arms. In Core Fusion I use three pound weights and those were too light for Body by Bethenny. There are simply fewer exercises and fewer reps at a slower pace. I picked up five pounds and that is working pretty well for me here. I like this arm section as an alternative to Core Fusion for when I want a change or really, want a quick arm workout with a little lessburning. That said, the arms workout in Body by Bethenny is very good, especially if you are new to weights and want to learn some basics. If you use a heavy enough weight for your level, you will certainly build some muscle tone with this one.

And you get the added bonus of Bethenny’s quips.

Arms grade: B+

Booty Blast

This was a quick five minute section that was thrown on to the end. It doesn’t add much to the DVD, but it doesn’t hurt either. It was similar to Core Fusion gluteal work, small leg lifts, but on a much smaller scale. It was nice for Bethenny to include, perhaps some people will benefit, but overall there was not much to this section.

Booty Blast: B -

Overall, I was very impressed with Body by Bethenny! I like how Bethenny was upfront about the fact that the yoga section is what she always does, as well as the fact that she doesn’t do some of the arm workouts as much as she’d like. Also interesting is Bethenny’s comment that she doesn’t do targeted ab workouts (pre-pregnancy she had NICE abs), but instead she engages her core while doing her arm workouts. Good to know! Bethenny also explains that she usually does yoga and that is more than enough to tone her body — she just included the arms and butt sections as added bonuses. Bethenny is pretty self deprecating throughout the workout, which I love, and in my opinion, she is very real. I just like watching her. And did you know she was pregnant while filming this DVD?

This is my only “workout yoga” DVD and right now it is all I need. I’m very happy with the type, and level, of yoga, and I just like Bethenny. I’d recommend this DVD for anyone looking for a good yoga DVD with a bonus arms section.

Watch the trailer here.

Overall grade: A-

So I always ask.

“My iPod’s not charged.”

Oh.

A plea:

“My new iPod plays music out loud! Look! We can both listen!” as I pressed play to Guster’s Amsterdam filling up the room.

A cheap attempt. Obviously the tiny tinny iPod sound wouldn’t hold up on the street with cars and other city sounds. We both knew I was grasping at straws. I had to admit defeat. No iPods would be used during this six-ish mile run.

Why was I nervous? Sure, I could run without music. I’d done it before. On our 11 mile training run, Melissa, Ashley and I ran the first nine miles with no music before deciding to pop in our earbuds and zone out for the final two.

But we had our iPods that day. We had the option of listening at any time. There’s a certain level of comfort in knowing I have my music, even if I don’t actually use it. At least I know it is there. The only other time I didn’t even bring my iPod was when I ran with my brother in the Floridas, but I was running a little less than four miles so it was what I consider a “short” run — anything under one hour. But this weekend, we planned to run for about an hour, making this a “long” run in my book. And the idea a long run without the option of my music made me a little nervous.

(On a “short run” race with friends — no music. See – I can still be happy!)

So we set out. For the first mile or so, I thought I might go insane. I kept thinking about how long this first mile was taking and how I would have to do about five more just like it and how would I get through it and would I have to give up? I remembered my reward at the end of the run: breakfast. And of course, how great I usually feel after a run — but would I still feel so great? I tried to focus on my breathing; in on the left foot, out on the right. And once that first mile I was done, I stopped missing my iPod. In fact, I stopped caring about it at all. The run was awesome!

I was not in pain. I was seeing new sights. I was weaving around people participating in an AIDS walk. I was talking to my friend. I was also not talking to my friend. My knee was not hurting. I was thinking a lot. I even had that Guster song Amsterdam stuck in my head, so I kind of had my own little soundtrack of one. Aaaaand now it is stuck in my head again. Great.

With all the novelty of the run — running with someone new, running in a different place, strategizing how to best dodge the AIDS walkers (and then dodging them as fast as possible!) — all helped make this one of the most non-boring runs I’ve ever even had.

Really, running with another person is always better than running alone for me just because someone else being there, going through the same thing at the same time, is entertaining in its own way. When I run with friends, the run flies by.I still like to run by myself a lot of the time and zone out to music and be on my own timetable, but in general I’ve found that my runs are much more interesting with a friend. Even if we don’t say much.

I’ve read a number of times that it is important to run without music sometimes. You can really just think without distraction, work things out, let your mind drift, listen to your own breathing, listen to your feet hit the ground, establish a rhythm and a stride that you might not have otherwise. And lots of races — especially marathons — frown upon or even straight out ban the use of headphones. In fact, my friend over at iRunnerBlog recently wrote a post about just that!

Of course, my thoughts are much more fun when I have my music since a lot of my running music is pretty ridiculous/humorous. And that is when I get the best ideas for blog posts. And when I think lots of funny thoughts that make me think I am a hilarious person, even if I might forget most of them as soon as I get home.   I also look forward to my playlists — they really motivate me!

(But I really do love my music!)

That said, I think both sides have their strengths, though I do not agree with any decisions to ban headphones from a race. For a long race, I need all the motivation I can get. When I’m running with friends, on the other hand, that is all the motivation I need!

Do you like to run with a friend or by yourself? Do you ever ditch the iPod at home?

Highlights of my Memorial Day weekend:

Saturday

• Core Fusion Cardio
• Found this real, used Prada bag in black at street fair for $10! Yes, it is real.
• Baked by Melissa tiny cupcakes (s’more is my favorite!)
• Long walk from SoHo to Upper East Side
• Outside dinner and margaritas at Dos Caminos

Sunday

• Outside brunch and sangria at Bistro 61
• Relaxing in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow where my friends did this:

• Working/conference call in my backyard from 8 – 11 (not a highlight, but worth mentioning since it involved a backyard)
• Bubblegum vodka
• Outside dinner and drinks at Mediterraneo

Monday

• Outside brunch at Beach Cafe, including both pancakes AND french toast. IN ONE MEAL
• Relaxing, napping and reading in Central Park for hours
• Shake Shack milkshake
• Long walks from the East Side to the West Side and back
• Inside dinner and lychee martinis at Luscious Thai

I love New York City in the summer. It empties out and everything is just so fun and easy.

Aside from having to work and getting 10 mosquito bites and a sunburn only on my left shoulder, it was a perfect weekend.

I woke up before my alarm on Saturday, May 15 thinking, “IT’S RACE DAY!” I was a little nervous about the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K because, well, I did just about zero training for it. As in, I ran the 4 mile Race for the Parks 0n April 18, about a week later I ran for an hour (probably about 5.5 miles — didn’t wear my Polar) and then I did not run at all until this race. Not once.

I tried to run the full Central Park loop the weekend before the race. But things like weather got in the way.  And instead I went to the sweatiest Core Fusion Open class of my life.

So I went into this race on almost no training, but the day was perfect so I was pretty excited. The sun was shining and it was warm but not hot. I forgot to take a picture of myself all geared up before the race, but considering I look the same before every race I’m sure you can make an educated guess on what I looked like. I did wear a tank and shorts, so I was a little chilly walking all the way to the other side of the city, but not too bad at all. Nothing like the coldness I experienced before pretty much all of my other races!

I got to the park and stood in the sun on some grass with lots of other runners. I used the porta potties — twice — because as you know I am a nervous peeer. Nevermind how many times I went at home too. Then I headed over to my corral. I was early but not insanely early, so I was pretty happy. And I wasn’t freezing, so I was very happy.

I was a little disappointed to see I was still in the last corral, despite my sub-10 minute Race for the Parks. Turns out there was 9 min miles and above ALL together in the last corral. Oh, well! There were three old ladies next to me and I was so impressed by how happy they seemed. They must run all the time! I wonder if they are the same old ladies I saw at the freezing cold Joe Kleinerman 10K back in December? I just hope that when I am their age I can run races and be so upbeat too!

The race began at 9, but we all just stood there. And stood there. And stood there. How many people were running this race?! There were so many people there, I had never seen anything like this for a shorter race before. I didn’t make it to the start line until 10 minutes after the race started!

So the race began and I felt great! Like, really great. I got into my own groove pretty quickly. My playlist was the most fun playlist I had ever created, and I am pretty much obsessed and still listening to it.

Thanks to Rachel for introducing me to Afroman, Mochi Beats and DJ Earworm, which comprised some of the best of this list:

So mile 1 started with Afroman, She Won’t Let Me F**k, which just put me in a really great mood because let’s face it — he is ridiculous. Hilarious and just ridiculous and you can just tell how much fun he is having with his outrageous songs. The second song was one of my favorite Mochi Beats songs, Call on Hustla. I especially love it because he mixes in Steve Winwood. I LOVE Steve Winwood. My dad died when I was 5 but he left me with some pretty awesome taste in music — most notably my love of Steve Winwood and George Harrison (and The Beatles in general) as well as a whole lot more.

Call on Hustla is fast, which made it pretty fun for a second song to really get me going once the crowds started to disperse a little.

OAR’s Hey Girl is a race favorite of mine, it always gets me going, although I did feel like I put it on the playlist way too early in the race. I generally like it as a motivator a little later on. I passed the mile 1 marker at about 10 minutes and felt good that I was right on track. I had a secret goal of sub-10 minute miles, and an even more secret goal of finishing in one hour. I also decided to attempt negative splits, since I wanted to see how I do towards the end of a race when I conserve my energy in the beginning.

Sometime during the second mile, I started to get some intense pain in the space between the sides of my ribcage. I know exactly what this is and it upset me. I haven’t touched upon this much on here yet, but my stomach problems have been coming back lately. I’m not exactly sure why. When I get pain in that spot — which is how I knew I was getting sick again, because that has always been my problem spot — it means air is trapped right there. That is what happened and I got really nervous that the entire race would be like this. I felt very uncomfortable and a lot of pressure in that spot.

To make matters worse, there were crazy hills during this mile. I contemplated quitting the race, but figured I would see if the pain persisted. I worked on my breathing and eventually the pain subsided. Phew!

During this time, Hypnotize Gold played. Great song, but I was struggling by then. Because I Got High, my favorite Afroman song and possibly one of my favorite songs of all time, cheered me up a little but I wasn’t able to appreciate the lyrics as I usually do. And it is no secret that Say Hey (I Love You) is my favorite race song of all. I think I started getting better with my breathing during this one, and I also had the feeling I included this song too early on in the list. I knew I could have enjoyed it much better later on.

I passed the mile 2 marker and my time was a but slower than I would have liked. Obviously, since I was in pain and climbing hills.

By the time Cosmic Love came on, I was feeling so much better. This song mas so motivating! I felt so happy as I was able to speed up and push through. The first chorus was on a downhill and the second was on an uphill, so I got to run with it and enjoy it, and also use the song to push me up a difficult hill. Amazing.

Mochi Beats Listen to your Safety Dance — so good! And short, which is perfect for my attention span. I reminisced during this song about 10th grade, when the Jay Z song included in this mashup, Can I Get A, was popular. Good times.

Einstein on the Beach! My favorite Counting Crows song to run to! It makes me want to run fast and sing loud. On this day, I only did the former, much to the appreciation of my fellow runners. Also during this song? DOWN HILLS. We were at the very north end of the loop which is just all down hill. I remember that during my NYC Half Marathon,  Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling was playing during this part, and it made me really excited for my birthday later that night! Einstein on the Beach playing while running downhill was nothing short of fantastic. I sped down those hills! I was feeling great!

Next song? AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I just learned about DJ Earworm, and I added United State of Pop 2009 to my playlist the night before the race.  A late addition. And an awesome one! This song made me smile. I was feeling so great by this time. My upper GI pain totally subsided and my legs felt awesome and I was able to push and run faster. This song is a mashup of the biggest pop hits of 2009 and it was just so fun. Also fun? The fact that every second another song is introduced. So great because you will never get bored of any one song. So. Much. Fun.

Somewhere along here I passed the mile 3 marker and the 5K tracker. Turns out I crossed 5K in 30:31, which I attribute to that difficult second mile.

Paper Planes. Good song. Definitely helped with some hills. I like that it is a little slower. Especially since Crazy Rap was next! More Afroman!  More ridiculousness, more humor. Another song that just makes me laugh. Absolutely Tik Tok, another Mochi Beats song. Love it.

And it was just fitting that I’d Rather by Three 6 Mafia was right after that. Again I felt inclined to burst into song, but that would have just been offensive.  I was past the mile 5 marker and felt even more inclined to speed up. I was doing pretty great.

So as not to bore you with my vanity, I will only post one of the three awesome race pictures I received:

Doesn’t it look like I was photoshopped in? Look at how there’s looks like an outline between me and the trees. Luckily I have a real shadow!

That picture was taken sometime during mile 5. I had started to have a bit of a hard time, the uphills were getting pretty rough, but you know I can always put on a good show for the race paps.  Another Mochi Beats favorite of mine, Time Boom, was on next. I love how short these songs are! And this song especially just gets me really pumped up!

When my final song, Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby, came on, I got a little nervous that my playlist wouldn’t be long enough to get me through the end of the race. I tried timing it to the time of my last 10K (1:03:23) but I didn’t take into account the setting on my new iPod to have no space between songs. I also didn’t realize this song is longer than seven minutes, so I had nothing to be worried about anyway. I pushed through the last mile as best I could, although the uphills were brutal here! I was looking forward to the end of the race and finally I saw a sign — 800 meters to the end!

I passed by the corrals at the same time and knew I was very close. When the finish line came into view I tried picking up my speed. I crossed the finish line at exactly the same time my final song ended — I couldn’t have timed it more perfectly!

I felt really great and VERY winded! I stopped running and stood in line for a water and a french toast bagel, which sounds better than it is.  I prefer the chocolate chip bagels they give out at the end of some races. Then I met up with Melissa for coffee and we were obsessively checking the NYRR website on our BlackBerrys for our official times, but they weren’t posted.

After we said our goodbyes I was walking past Central Park and checked the site again — and the results were posted. I pulled up my time. And I smiled.

1:00:37

A new PR! That averages out to a 9:46/mile pace! My secret goals had been met. I think the beautiful day and my best playlist ever really made a difference. That, and I have quite a bit more running experience now than I did six months ago at my last 10K. Those two halfs sure helped.

I shaved almost three minutes off my previous 10K time! On no training, too. And the best part? No knee pain!

I wonder what will happen if I train for my next 10K? We will see, as I have another coming up!