Ten Miler Playlist

"All Night Diner" - Modest Mouse

"All These Things That I've Done" - The Killers 

"Anaconda" - Nicki Minaj

"Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" - Pink

"Chandelier"- Sia

"Change" - Churchill

"Change" - John Waite

"A Choppy, Yet Sincere Apology" - Riverboat Gamblers

"Club Can't Handle Me (feat. David Guetta)" - Flo Rida

"Come With Me Now" - KONGOS

"Counting Stars" - One Republic

"Dashboard" - Modest Mouse

"Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)" - Katy Perry

"Dog Days Are Over" - Florence + The Machine

"Domino" - Jessie J

"Don't Stop" - Girl Talk

"Dynamite" - Taio Cruz

"Elastic Heart" - Sia

"Fidelity" - Regina Spektor

"Fire Woman" - The Cult

"Fireball (feat. John Ryan)" - Pitbull

"Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams)"- Daft Punk

"The Girl's Attractive" - Diamond Nights

"Girls Like You" - The Naked and Famous

"Good Feeling" - Flo Rida

"Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys

"Head On" - The Jesus and Mary Chain

"Hey Ya!" - Outkast

"Higher (feat. Travie McCoy)" - Taio Cruz

"Hold On Tight" - Electric Light Orchestra

"Home" - Phillip Phillips

"Jai Ho" - A. R. Rahman, et. al.

"Let's Go Crazy" - Prince and the Revolution

"Like This" - Girl Talk

"My Body" - Young the Giant

"Mystery Achievement" - The Pretenders

"Night Changes" - One Direction

"One Night in Bangkok" - Murray Head

"Play Your Part (Part I)" - Girl Talk

"Play Your Part (Part II)" - Girl Talk

"Possum Kingdom" - The Toadies

"Pursuit of Happiness (Extended Steve Aoki Remix)[feat. MGMT & Ratatat]" - Kid Cudi

"Raise Your Glass" - Pink

"Ray of Light" - Madonna

"Rebel Yell" - Billy Idol

"Rock Star (Jason Nevins Remix)" - N.E.R.D.

"See The Lights" - Simple Minds

"Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana

"Song 2" - Blur

"Starlight" - Muse

"Stereo Heart (feat. Adam Levine)" - Gym Class Heroes

"Subculture" - New Order

"Suddenly I See" - KT Tunstall

"Talk Dirty (feat. 2 Chainz)" - Jason Derulo

"Timber (feat. Ke$ha)" - Pitbull

"Uprising" - Muse

"Video Killed the Radio Star" - The Buggles

"Walkie Talkie Man" - Steriogram

"We Can't Stop" - Miley Cyrus

"White Horse (Funkstar De Luxe vs. Laid Back)" - Funkstar De Luxe & Laid Back

"Zungguzung guguzungguzeng" - Yellowman

Sayville Run to the Brewery Review

Pete was stomping and banging around the house at 5am completely oblivious that five other people were still sleeping.  His footfalls are so loud and heavy, I swear he's part pachyderm.  I decided to get up since my alarm was set for 5:30 anyway.  I needed to dress for the predicted 16 degree morning.  I put on my new SmartWool socks, a tank top sports bra, my Uniqlo heattech turtleneck, Mizuno cold weather running tights, my new pink Under Armor sweatshirt, a Children's Place fleece green scarf, and a white fleece hat.  I stowed two pairs of gloves (one fleece and the other, a new, thinner material with tech fingers) in my pocket.   I popped two Imodium and chugged a glass of orange juice.  I skipped breakfast to avoid any bathroom emergencies during the race.

Pete at home

Freighbor, The Petite Pacer, and I were texting each other about the frigid conditions.  I was waiting for someone to suggest going back to bed and forfeiting the race altogether, but by the time it was mentioned, TPP was already en route.  Foiled!  I grabbed my winter jacket and walked two houses down to the Freighbors' car and jumped in.  We got on the road a little after 6:30 and headed to the Blue Point Brewery in Patchogue.  On the way, we were trying to figure out whose bright idea it was to sign up for this torture session.  Actually, for days the forecast had been in the mid to high 30s.  Totally acceptable winter running weather.  Then out of the blue, it dropped down to the teens.  The days leading up to the race were in the 30s and Sunday's forecast was 45.  Someone (I'm thinking Mother Nature) obviously hated us.

Two large tents were set up outside the brewery to stage the pre-race activities and the after party.  There were large heaters inside that people flocked to like moths to the flame.  We all had our hands up to reach the lamps as though we were worshipping the  Fire God of Outdoor Tents.  We found TPP and then headed to the starting line.

photo courtesy of beerlovescompany.com

Inside the tent

(photo courtesy of Mark Stearns, 

GLIRC Facebook Page)

The Start

(photo courtesy Mark Stearns, GLIRC Facebook Page)

I decided not to line up toward the front to prevent myself from going out too fast, a mistake I had been making in my recent races.  TPP and I hung out in the middle waiting for what seemed like eons for the race to start.  I thought I might freeze to death in the middle of the street.  There was no anthem, no announcements, and no gun.  Finally, the crowd began to shuffle ahead.  I crossed the starting mat and pressed play on my iPhone.

The day before I made my first playlist for a race.  I used to just hit shuffle on my library when I would run with music.  However, right when I was rocking out to Girl Talk or The Beastie Boys, I  would be rudely interrupted with some song from the Frozen soundtrack or a Minecraft tune (Thanks, kids).  Trying to fast forward these anti-running songs in my armband was always a chore because I didn't have tech gloves and/or it was just an awkward pain in the arse.  I was psyched to not have to worry about this during the race.

The Brewery Run is a ten mile race put on by the Sayville Running Company, the Blue Point Brewery, and the Greater Long Island Running Club (GLIRC).  The loop course would take us along the neighborhood streets of Patchogue, Blue Point, and Bayport.   During the first mile, I thought about frostbite.  My fingers were so cold they hurt and it seemed like there was no warming them up.  I wondered if they were black underneath my gloves and if they would have to be amputated.  The Mile One clock read 7:49.  I hit Mile Two at 15:23.  I finally started to thaw out during the third mile.  In fact, I was so warm, I took off my outer fleece gloves.  The scarf I had around my neck also felt like it was slowly choking me to death. I loosened it before I needed to alert people to call 911.   I arrived at the Mile Three marker at 23:xx, close to my last 5k time.  Miles Four through Eight ticked by very quickly.  I ran them between a 7:30 and 7:50 pace.  I slowed down the last two miles.  They seemed to go on forever.  The wind hit us on this last stretch and there was an ever-so-slight incline (really, like a speed bump, but at this point you would have thought I was scaling Mount Everest).  I finally saw the clock and crossed the finish line at 1:19:45.  I figured since I started mid-pack in a crowd of 1200+, I could shave off the minute it took me to reach the starting mat.  It turned out it was 10 seconds.

I look very serious in this picture because

I am wondering if my fingers will be cut off

by an EMT along the course 

or a volunteer in the beer tent.

TPP

(photo courtesy of

 the JSL Sports Photos

Facebook Page)

I chugged five cups of ice cold water which was surprisingly refreshing, considering the weather.   I saw TPP cross the finish in 1:25:33, a huge PR for her considering her goal was to come in under ninety minutes.  We walked back to the tent to warm up and get some food.  GLIRC had their usual variety of baked goods, an Oreo cake in particular was taunting me.  A great live band performed classic tunes, like Paul Simon on stage.  I grabbed a tasty Blue Point beer  and picked up a call from my daughter.   I somehow lost TPP as the crowd kept getting bigger and bigger.  We finally found each other, as well as the Freighbors.  I gave into the evil Oreo cake taunts.  Even though the tent was reaching its maximum capacity for people, I was shivering cold.  My turtleneck was soaked at this point.  Thankfully, Freighbors wanted to go home.

photos courtesy of beerlovescompany.com

The results were posted outside the tent.  My net time was 1:19:35, I was 5th out of 98 women in my age group, 73 out of 594 women overall (top 12%), and 314 out of 1292 overall (top 24%).  This was a ten miler PR for me, but I was hoping to run it under 1:18.   Considering the conditions and the low training mileage, I wasn't too disappointed.  GLIRC always puts on a good show.  The route was flat with enough turns  and pretty scenery to keep it interesting.  I definitely recommend this race, especially if you're a polar bear or Arctic fox.

Speedy Treadmill & SUNY Old Westbury

Thursday (1/8/15) - 5.52 miles in 43:46, a 7:56 pace.  I procrastinated my run until 7pm.  I went to the gym and did 10 quarter mile intervals increasing the speed for each interval from an 8.3 to a 9.4.  The intervals actually got easier the more I ran.  The last interval at the 9.4 pace felt great.  This was the fastest I ever ran on a treadmill.  I wanted to see if I had it in me.  Apparently, I did.

Saturday (1/10/15) - 10.62 miles.  I had a busy morning dropping the kids off at various activities.  I met The Petite Pacer and JC at the SUNY Old Westbury campus a little past noon.  We parked at the Clark Athletic Center because we didn't want to piss off God by parking in the church lot across the street.  Even though we had the later start, it was still only 21 degrees.  JC and TPP wanted to do two loops totaling eight miles.  It was tough for me at the beginning scaling the hills and trying to converse with my friends.  I was very conscious of my loud huffing and puffing.  The breathing got easier after the first loop.  It snowed a little the day before, but the roads were plowed.  The grounds were quite pretty with the coating of snow, especially the golf course.  TPP was having an off day (like we all do from time to time), maybe due to the later start.  She's used to getting out very early.  The chilly wind didn't help.  The second loop thankfully, went by quickly and we were back at our cars saying goodbye.  I was feeling pretty good so I decided to add a couple of more miles with a run to SUNY Empire State College.  These last two miles were brutal due to the frigid temperature which seemed to all of a sudden catch up to me.  My fingers and toes were so cold they burned, despite the gloves and shoes.  I definitely need to get another pair of SmartWool socks since the one pair I had disappeared.  I was psyched to finally get back to the car and ecstatic to take a long, hot shower once I got home.

1-r:  Front Wheel, Back Wheel, & Third Wheel

One of the beautiful mansions in the background 

on the way to Empire State College.

How To Be A Hardcore Poser

I have been running for over twenty years, but in no way do I consider myself a "hardcore" runner.  However, that doesn't mean I can't appear hardcore.

First, let me define what a hardcore runner is, or what I consider it to be.  My hardcore runner is the one who glides down the street at a three minute per mile pace without breaking a sweat or gagging.  Her hands usually sway low down by her waist.  She will glance periodically at her very expensive Garmin unfazed that she just ran the last five miles in fifteen minutes.  She doesn't have to worry about the cars on the road because she is faster than them.  Cyclists and small animals veer out of her way for fear of being trampled over.  At races, her First Overall (because she beats the men, of course) trophy is pre-engraved with her name.  She never takes a drink from the water stations because she has trained herself to store water a la camels.  After all, she lives among them during the summer months in the desert where she trains.  Her preferred running conditions vary from hurricane to blizzard to heat wave, but always in the dark.  Reflectors are unnecessary because of the sparks her sneakers create when barely hitting the pavement.

How does this hardcore runner dress?  It's always the same, regardless of weather.  She wears shorts, of course.  Pant legs are for pussies.  She wears a tank top because shirt sleeves are for pussies.  On days when the temperature is below -15 degrees, she'll maybe break out the compression sleeves.  Maybe.  She wears a wool ski hat year round (Yes, that includes July and August).  She wears sunglasses because she runs at night and she's a child of the eighties.  She never runs with earphones because music is for pussies.  She wears her hair down because pony tails are for - ponies.  And last but not least, her sneakers always look brand spanking new because she has a pair for every day of the month.

Follow these tips and people will surely mistake you for the hard core runner.  They will look at you in complete awe while you are running around your neighborhood.  Make sure you sprint when a car approaches because you want the driver  to think you have been running that fast for hours.  Warning:  Do not show up at a race in your hardcore disguise unless you know for sure the true hardcore runner won't be participating.  Nothing is more embarrassing than her crossing the finish line while you're still at the start trying to pick out if anyone noticed your awesomeness.  It's awkward...so I've been told.

Yo!  Represent'n the 5-1-6, bitches!

Tuesday (1/6/15) - Ran 1.5 to the gym in the snow.  Did 3 mile tempo run on the treadmill next to a girl who was running at a 9.5 speed.  Had I known Miss Hardcore Show Off Treadmill Runner was going to be there, I would have nixed the gym altogether.  Instead, I just ran like the runner I actually am, Bad Ass ;)   1.6 miles back home.

Weekly Recap 12/29/14-1/3/15

Monday (12/29) - 4 miles with Sanibel around the reservoir with an extra half mile on the streets.

Thursday (1/1) - 5 miles, 43:40, 8:44 pace.  Hangover Run at Eisenhower Park with Sanibel, The Petite Pacer, and The Emerging Runner.  Five loops of their one mile course.  There was a nice crowd, unfortunately I forgot to take pictures.  It was chilly, but nothing a nice cup of Starbucks couldn't cure afterwards.

Friday (1/2) - 3.65 miles, 30:11, 8:16 pace.  Sanibel joined me again in the park.  We added some strides.

Saturday (1/3) - 11.71 miles, 1:34:44, 8:05 pace at Bethpage State Park.  I parked in the main lot.  I ran 3 miles north and back, then just short of 3 miles south and back.  Fluffy snowflakes began to come down during the last twenty minutes.  It was quite beautiful.  I kept up a good pace for the first ten miles, but faded quickly at the end.

Total Weekly Mileage - 24.4