GYMPRESSIONS

With just one week to go till the Disney Princess Half Marathon, I needed to test drive my race day outfit.  Since it's Disney, many women run the race in costume.  As those who have attended my Halloween parties or my Barbie themed 30th (we share the same birthday!) can attest, I never turn down an opportunity to play dress-up.  I'll be running as Snow White.

I've never done a half before, so I didn't want to do anything too funky costume-wise; I decided to wear real running clothes.  Fortunately, Running Skirts has a line of princess skirts that are perfect for the Disney Princess half.  I'm pairing the yellow skirt with a blue mesh t-shirt that I'm customizing with adhesive felt to make it look like the top of Snow White's dress.  I've also got a red sweatband to wear in place of Snow White's bow, but honestly, I think I'm going to wear my running hat.  (It's blue, so it's pretty much goes.)  Maybe I'll stick a bow on it.

Now, it's one thing to dress like Snow White at the Magic Kingdom, and quite another to dress like Snow White in Central Park, particularly in the dead of winter.  I decided to take the slushy conditions as a sign and test my outfit indoors this weekend. 

The Equinox on 74th street has an odd configuration.  It's five stories, but only two are above-ground, the reception floor and a cardio machine/weight lifting floor upstairs.  There's a second cardio/weight area all the way in the basement.  Most days when I work out at 74th street, I fight the crowds to be on the top floor.  I've always thought of the basement as a sort of spillover space, a last resort on a super crowded day.  I certainly didn't expect it to be busy at 8am on a Sunday.  I opted for the basement this weekend because I didn't want to be seen in my princess garb.  As it turns out, a decent number of people prefer the more private, mellow coziness of the basement.  In fact, there's kind of a bottle-dweller anti-scene down there.  In any event, it suited my purposes; I didn't get as many looks as I thought I would. 

I learned two key things during my dress rehearsal.  1) I am buying some of that Body Glide that comes in the little packets because, like all shorts, the shorts under the skirt will ride up and that will get annoying approximately one hour in.  2) It's hot when you run in above-freezing temperatures!  My face was beet red after an hour running at room temperature. 

I've decided that I'm going to use my arm-band for my iPod and my water bottle with the hand-strap.  If the water bottle gets annoying, I'll toss it along the way.  It was cheap.  If the arm-band starts chaffing, I can hold it or switch arms.  Am I asking for trouble?  If anyone has any advice on this, please send it my way! 

-Gym Belle-

If you haven't gone outside yet today, do so now.  It's beautiful out, sunny and already 40 degrees.  I was actually really hot during New York Road Runner's Haiti fundraiser race.

10,000 people showed up in Central Park for the 4 mile run this morning, and others joined in virtually through a partnership with MapMyRun.  The event raised $400,000.  It was pretty impressive, especially considering that NYRR put the whole thing together in 18 days. 

The race started out great for me, but I cramped up (again?) during mile three, and mile four was ridiculously painful.  I slowed down a lot at the end.  Luckily, I had started off strong, so my per minute pace was 8:45, my best yet.  I credit Bon Jovi's I'll Be There For You with getting me across the finish line at a decent clip.

The whole cramp thing has me a tad nervous for the half marathon.  It's one thing to grit through the last mile, and quite another to grit through the last nine.  So, I googled.  I can sum up the world's wisdom on the subject as follows:

• Hydrate in the days before the race, but don't drink too much right before.
• Don't eat right before the race (2ish hrs), and avoid protein, fat and other hard to digest foods in your pre-race meals.
• Make sure you're getting enough potassium.
• Stretch before you run, particularly your sides.
• Breath deeply, in through your nose, out through your mouth.
• If you cramp on right, exhale as your left foot hits the ground.
• Massage the crampy area and bend forward to relieve the pain.
• Slow down.

Anything to add?  Let me know.  I'm crossing my fingers for a cramp-free long run tomorrow!  I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle-

Yesterday I set out to run 11 miles.  I ran with a friend, so I wasn't sure of the milage until I got home to map my run.  As it turns out, I covered 12.5.  Towards the end, I walked a few times, but I'm fairly confident that I actually ran 11 of the miles. 

To be honest, after about 9 miles, when my friend and I split up, I didn't feel so hot.  I had a cramp that would not go away and my arches were starting to ache.  I didn't think I had blisters, but it turned out that I did.  A few minutes after I got home, I lost feeling in the fingers on my right hand.  My left fingers felt tingly.  I went to Google my numbness to see if this was a normal side effect, but couldn't really type.  It was not my finest moment.

After I showered and the numbness (apparently normal) had subsided, I decided it was time to give up on my new sneakers.  If it had been a question of breaking them in, they should have been fine by then.  They just weren't right for my arches for whatever reason.  I packed up my old sneakers and my new sneakers and went to Super Runners.  They laughed at me for bringing the shoes, but I wanted to be sure I was getting the current version of the good pair and not something similar to the bad ones.  I got these.  So far, I've just walked in them, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Unfortunately, after about 25 miles, the sneakers formerly known as "my new sneakers" don't look so new, so I don't think I'll have much luck returning them to City Sports.  I guess it can't hurt to have an extra pair.

-Gym Belle-