That Time I Ran a Marathon: Part One Recap!

After 18 weeks of training and some life changing events, I did it! I completed the 2014 NYC marathon, I still can't believe I can say "I did it". It really didn't hit me I was running a marathon until I was actually running it. And it is still hitting me that I ran a marathon. I'm a marathoner. 26.2 miles. Everything leading up to race day and race day itself was everything I DIDN'T expect. I still can't remember all of the race but I will recap what I did remember. 

On Thursday I ran over to meet my friend (who wasn't running the marathon) at the expo. To say my anxiety and stress was at an all time high the week leading up to the race would be an understatement. Although finally picking up my bib and seeing the expo was exciting, it was pretty stressful. We looked around and took a few photos, but I think it stressed my friend out so she left. I poked around a little more then headed home. 

On Friday I overslept and ended up meeting my friend Starr for lunch at Tavern Over the Green. It was fun catching up and seeing the finish line. We had lunch and then watched a little bit of the opening ceremony. I then got us lottery tickets for Kinky Boots which was tons of fun. 

Saturday morning I had to work, which was a bummer but tried to keep it easy on my feet. At 3:45 I met my dad at Penn Station and we went shopping. The weather was pretty yucky and I still didn't believe I was about to run a marathon the next day. 

We went to Amanda and Timur's house for a carbo loading dinner. Ever since I ran the NYC half marathon (for my first time), it has been decided that when I finally run the NYC full marathon I will stay with them and carbo load. They are my NYC family and I am so grateful for them. It was even more fun having my dad around since he was Amanda's high school drama teacher and have become friends throughout the years. Little O and Miss E were precious. I love nothing more than rolling on the floor with those two and being silly! Before leaving Miss E showed me the beautiful sign she had made for me. I mean how precious. 

After a delicious dinner and some candy (carbs right?) we played some more and talked some more until it was almost 9:30pm and I had to start heading back uptown. I had to check on the kiddos when I got back. I was surprised to see a great big mess of dishes and them being difficult when I got there. I got them in bed and dishes cleaned as fast as I could. I was pissed! They didn't seem to give a crap that my bed time was dependent upon them falling asleep. I understand they are kids and all, but they were being extra difficult or maybe I was just extra stressed. 

Finally I got back to my apartment and my dad (God bless him) had run out to the local Duane reade to get me gloves and a hat for tomorrow's race. While I was getting everything laid out and ready for the next day, my dad was there to calm my nerves. We chatted about everything. It was obvious that just as stressed as I was, he was even more so. At around 11:30 pm he was off and I was finally getting into bed. I was happy to be reminded that because of daylight savings I got an extra hour of sleep. Did I sleep at all that night? Sure I got at most a few hours, but I was waking up almost every hour freaking out about missing my alarm clock. 

Fan of the week!

I have some really great news to share with you all (who even reads this blog anymore) I AM OFFICIALLY KATHIE LEE AND HODA'S FAN OF THE WEEK! 

It all started back in February when I decided to apply to be fan of week. I have watched the show for almost 5 years. In fact, it was a book Hoda suggested that inspired me to write 365 thank you cards in 365 days, leading to the creation of this blog. Here is the letter I wrote to them: 

I am a huge Kathie Lee and Hoda fan. I started watching the 4th hour of the Today Show my first year in college. During this time my parents were going through a nasty divorce and  I was adjusting to being in college. Since then, I have watched the 4th hour of the Today Show everyday for the last four years. Kathie Lee and Hoda are the people that I eat lunch with, workout to and laugh with everyday. During my lunch break I can always be found in the break room catching up with them. They are my “friends in my head”. If I could go out to lunch with anybody, it would be these two ladies. It has always been a dream of mine to join them on their Wednesday lunch and Matinee date to the theater to see Hoda’s favorite show,  Beautiful, which is now my favorite show! Thanks to them I have fallen in love with theatre all over again!

My favorite part of the show is their chat segment, which catches me up on everything happening. I live for Kathie Lee’s Friday funnies and iHoda playlist (or better yet, Kathie Lee’s face expressions throughout the songs). I also love Joy Fit Club, recently having lost 20 lbs I am so inspired by the stories of the men and women who have lost large amounts of weight and have transformed their lives.

Hoda has also been a great inspiration to me. Two years ago, she shared the book “A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life” by John Kralik which inspired me to write 365 thank you cards in 365 days, leading to the creation of my blog. She has inspired me to start running and promoting breast cancer awareness through running. I listen to her iHoda playlists songs and audiobooks on almost all of my runs. Sometimes I add Kathie Lee's music into my running playlist. To this date I have run eight half marathons and am currently training for the NYC marathon and continue to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

During a trip to NYC this past year, I was out on a run and ran into Hoda. She was so sweet  and was exactly how she is on TV. You never know what celebrities are going to be like in real life. Hoda was truly the person she is on TV, generous, caring and kind. However that day, I didn't just run into Hoda Kotb, I ran into someone who has truly changed my life. I even got another selfie with her when I ran my 8th half marathon in April!

My day isn't complete if I don't watch the 4th hour with Kathie Lee and Hoda. Thank you ladies for always being there with me, through the thick and the thin. Cheers!

I basically forgot about entering into this competition, and then a few weeks ago I got a phone call letting me know I was being considered for a finalist. I sent in a few more photos and crossed my fingers. This past Friday I got another phone call letting me know I was one of the finalists. If you follow me on Twitter you might had noticed I was tweeting about being anxious and nauseous about something happening on Monday. I told very few people about being a finalist… Didn't want to jinx it!

Today at 9:45am I Skyped in with the Today Show. WHAT A COOL EXPERIENCE! Crossing my fingers and toes, I waited there until 10:20am when the announced fan of the week. When they first announced the city I had forgotten I put down South Hadley back in February. I thought I hadn't won. Then I saw my photo, heard my name and saw myself on air AND FREAKED OUT! WHAT THE WHAT! You can watch it all HERE!

I can't believe this all happened. Immediately after I was done my phone was blowing up with people saying they saw me on TV. How cool is that? After running around the house screaming with excitement I had to run back to work. I was hoping to catch it on TV myself, since it airs at 11am here in Boston. However, due to breaking news it didn't end up playing :( When I got back to work, no one seemed too excited. I was sort of bummed. I was really excited about it and wanted to share it with the people I worked with, but some of them (not all) showed zero interest or care in the world. Thats ok… no raining on my parade! I got to watch it in the break room once it was put online. It was so bizarre seeing myself on a show I watch every single day. I was shocked by all the sweet messages I got from friends via Facebook, text messages and Twitter. I am so blessed to have the friends I have and I want to thank them all from the bottom of my heart. 

In addition to being crowned "Fan of the Week" if you answer a question right, which I did, you win a vacation to somewhere all expenses paid. I won a trip to Miami! Some people would say that this is the most exciting part, and it is a great bonus, but to be on a show and interact with two people I have spent every lunch time and workout with since I was a first year in college, was the best part. I am so grateful to Kathie Lee and Hoda; I have laughed and I have cried with them. They have made me smile in some of the darkest times and are people I would consider "friends in my head". People may think they are silly or goofy, but they let me smile and laugh when it doesn't always seem possible. 

Today is a day I will always remember. I look forward to stopping by the studio when I am in NYC for my marathon and getting away with Janelle to Miami for a fun girls vacation! I am so honored and grateful, and feel like I am floating on a cloud!

Here is a video of my reaction to today. It is set to Beautiful from Beautiful: The Carole King Musical  because if it wasn't for Hoda I would have never seen the show and fallen so in love with it and Carole King's music!

Cousin Catie

Maybe it was being around so many bloggers last night. Many of them inspired me to start my own blog. Still leaving luna Chix run I had the urge to write something! So here it is (please bear with me if this makes no sense, my brain is all over the place today) 

I started running with Luna Chix Boston last year but due to work I only made a few. This year I have made it a priority and am hoping I won't have to work Wednesday nights. I really love getting together with a group of people and doing something that I love: running.  Last night one of the leaders told me I reminded them of a little cousin, always bursting with energy and with a smile on my face. They gave me the nickname Cousin Catie. Another woman in the conversation said "I just met you and can already tell your smile is contagious and you make people around you feel happy" (Something along these lines)

What a sincere and thoughtful compliment. It meant so much to me because it's something that means a lot to me. I love making people laugh. Maybe it was growing up as an only child. Whenever my parents had dinner parties and I was the only kid there I would perform for the guest. I loved making them laugh and smile. 

Growing up compliments from my dad always seemed to be about how I looked or if I didn't look thinner there was silence. The compliment last night meant so much to me because it's something that means so much to me:  making people laugh and feel happy when they are around me. 

Ragnar Cape Cod 2014: Never Fear Winning

A few months ago my friend Ella, who I met through running and is also a senior at my college, approached me about participating in Ragnar: Cape Cod Relay. I had heard a little bit about these kinds of races before, but really had never thought about actually doing one. The Ragnar race is a relay race which covers about 200 miles and divided up between you and 11 other friends. Ella was creating a team with some other students and thought I would be the perfect addition. Of course I said yes, but lets face it, when she approached me in September it seemed like far far away in the future. Well, like every year May came faster than expected. After three half marathons in 3 months this past winter-spring, I was finally getting some rest in when I should have been training for this race. Here is my recap of 30 hours of no sleep, laughter, drama, running and stinky fun.

On Thursday night we headed to Ella's house since it would be closer to the starting line then if we were to drive from school. We got to Ella's house and carbo-loaded. I also got to meet the other people on our team. I knew a few of them but there were a lot of new faces. They were all Ella's friends from riding. We went over the basic information about the race and then went to bed. I was planning on taking on a total of 19.7 miles spread over 3 runs (or legs). My legs were the following: 6.3 miles, 4 miles and 9.4 miles. I was a little nervous for the 9.4 mile leg since I hadn't run more then 7 miles since the Mores Women's Half. Still I decided to take it slow and easy. We headed to bed, I was in the first van which meant waking up at 4am to get to the starting line at 6:30am. At 4:15am we woke up to Witty the dog with a shoe hanging out of his mouth. I hadn't gotten the best sleep on the floor and in someone else's house, but the adrenaline kicked in. When we woke up we learned that one of the people in our van was really sick and had been throwing up all night. We decided not to panic and just go to the start and see how she felt then. Not good. Half way to the start line we informed Ella what had happened. Who was going to take her legs? Was the whole race over? It was then that I decided stand up and take one for the team. I offered to take her first leg, which came immediately after mine. That leg was 6.2 miles, bringing my total first leg to 12.5 miles and 26 miles all together… Eeek! And I thought the 9.4 miles was daunting. I knew that it was right. I was the only one in our van who had run a half marathon before, or run more then 8 miles. I figured that if I took her first leg it would give us a little more time to figure out what to do with her other 2 legs.

Witty the dog!

We got to the starting line and cheered our first runner on as she started the relay. I decided to pick up some leg compression sleeves since I lost my other ones and knew that with the extra miles my legs would thank me. Our first runner did a great job, and then our second runner went off. At this point I was getting a little nervous, 12.5 miles, yikes. What did I sign myself up for. I knew I would be doing Jeff Galloway's run/walk program, but still 26 miles in less than 30 hours, thats a lot of miles.

 I got myself ready and off I went. The first few miles took some time getting used to. Also every time another runner saw me running/walking they would ask if I was alright. I know they were being nice and checking in on me, but I found myself being grumpy and annoyed. I run/walk. I run for 2 minutes and walk for 30 seconds. Its the way I do it. It has gotten me pretty far in running and left me with no injuries. I have run without walk breaks many times in the past and go slower and get more injuries. This way works for me, but when people call me not a true runner, I am hurt. I guess these people asking "are you alright" just brought up those feelings of not being a true runner, which really hurt. Anyways, I am getting off track. After the first 3 miles, I got the hang of things. This wasn't going to be bad at all. In fact I had negative splits.

At the exchange (where I would have stopped if I hadn't taken on an extra leg) I waited to see my team just to check in. While waiting there, a volunteer asked me who I was waiting for. I explained I was actually going to run the next leg as well but just wanted to check in with them. In her microphone she told everyone that I was doing a double leg and they all cheered for me. It was pretty cool! I finally checked in with my team and got some water. Then off I went. In this next leg every time someone asked me if I was ok, I explained that this is how I run and this was my second leg and how far I was actually running. Their response was much different. The second leg wasn't too bad until we hit a massive down hill and then constant constant constant up hills. WTF! I would have taken on a hillier leg.. my luck. I allowed myself to walk more then I usually do, since I knew I would have 4 more miles later that night and 9.4 miles early the next morning. But those hills were NASTY! At one downhill I was tweeting and running (not smart) about how brutal this leg was. A van came past me honking their horn, I was startled and rolled my ankle. I then tweeted about the rolled ankle :)

6.3 miles- 1:15:00 (11:54 min/mile)

6.2 miles- 1:16:43 (12:22 min/mile)

Finally I made it to the exchange and off the next runner went. Man I was beat. I iced my legs and ankles and hydrated. The weather was very deceptive. It was very breezy, but the humidity was nasty. Standing around waiting it seemed cold, but once you started running it was HOT! Luckily after the next runner finished our van had time for a break while our other van went off and ran their legs. We went to the big exchange and looked around, but there wasn't too much to see. We decided to go find lunch. We found one of the sketchiest restaurants ever, we just couldn't help but laugh the whole time. Bonding? We then went to the next exchange and slept/rested. I think I got in a good 20 minute nap. It was fun to see all the other vans all decorated up. The team spirit and excitement is pretty incredible at these race. It was also getting dark at this point which meant walking around in reflective vests and head lamps.. talk about looking hard core. GOOD NEWS was that the runner I had cover for was feeling much better and was going to cover the rest of her legs. At this next exchange we greeted our other vans runner and off one of our runners went. We made sure to grab a group photo before we went to the next exchange and they went off to their dinner reservations… pfff.

It started to get dark, and by the time I was off to run my 4 miles it was pitch black. These 4 miles felt like they took forever. I felt like I was running extremely fast, but looking down at my Garmin I was going really slow. Nevertheless I had my music on (a very weird mixture) and enjoyed this leg since it was my shortest. I finally finished and headed to the van. We had two more runners, it was getting late at this point. When our runners finished up we headed to the camp site. Others decided to sleep in tents, I slept in the car. I was so exhausted that I fell right to sleep at midnight. At 3:30am I heard "shit they are ahead of schedule, time to get up". Oh no! We all hustled to get up. Despite being the third one to run, my other runners had shorter legs this AM, meaning my 9.4 miles was coming up fast. Off our runner went, then exchange, then off I went at 5:45am.

4 miles: 50 min (12:30 min/mile)

Since it was still "night" hours (6:30pm-6am) I had to run in my reflective gear. I told my van to try to meet up with me along the course since I had no idea how my body would be doing. The first 2 miles were rough, my legs were in shock. However, everything started to loosen up and it wasn't too bad. I got into a good pace. I saw my teammates and told them I was actually doing great. I saw them 2 miles later and gave them my reflective vest and headlamp. I was still doing great. Then I got a text message from them saying they wouldn't meet up with me anymore because I was about to head onto the bike trail. I thought I would be ok since I had been doing fine. However at mile 7 mile, my body shut down. My legs were cramping, something I had never experienced before.. Ouch! I just took it slowly. Despite the last 2.4 miles being brutal they weren't as bad as the day before (during 12.5 miles). On this run there was no one mile left sign, so I texted my van when I thought I was a half mile away. Whoops, I was only .25 miles away. When I got to the exchange they weren't there. I was upset. I was looking forward to having them cheer me on during my final leg. Finally saw them and off the next runner went. When I noticed that my total for the 2 days was only 25.9 I ran around the parking lot to get it to 26 miles. Best feeling ever was BEING DONE! I couldn't believe it.

9.5 miles- 1:55:00 (12:07 min/mile)

Once our van finished we headed to my house on the Cape to take showers, then went out to brunch and came back and took naps. Man I was exhausted. Finally around 2pm we headed to PTOWN for the finish. We waited for Ella (who was running the final leg) and ran her in. We got our medals and decided to look around the finish and grab some food. The views were pretty awesome, but I was ready to go back home and sleep. We took a photo and then drove back home.

Running Ella into the finish!

Overall the energy and spirit was awesome. Despite being sleep deprived and extremely soar it was AN AMAZING experience, one I would really consider doing again.

Ella even gave me the slap wrist ban that had traveled 192 miles, for completing the most miles .

More Magazine / Fitness Magazine Women's Half-Marathon

Read about my adventures from the rest of the trip here!

Sunday… RACE DAY. I woke up at 6am and it was the first time ever the idea of not going to the race crossed my mind. As quickly as it came into my mind it disappeared. I got up, got dressed, grabbed a power bar and headed to Central Park. Walking out the door I knew it would be a warm day. I got to Central Park and waited for Ev. We met up and went into the park to check bags. I didn't know what to expect from this race. I knew Disney was for fun and slow (since the humidity is BLAHHH), NYC Half was a PR opportunity (but I didn't tell anyone going in since I didn't want to quinx it) but this race I had no idea how to run it. My head wasn't in it. In a way I was running it to be there with Ev as she ran her first half and as a bonus get another half under my belt. Anyways, we checked bags and searched for Hoda Kotb who was hosting the race.

Before we knew it we were lining up to start. Ev and and I decided to go at our own paces. I didn't want to slow her down. As we approached the starting line Hoda was cheering us on. I managed to scream my head off and get a selfie with her. Did I mention that I ADORE Hoda?!? What a great way to start the race. After crossing the starting line I tweeted the photo and started texting it to people, aka not focusing on what the hell I was doing and my head wasn't in the game. Finally I put my phone away and focused on what I was doing, you know running a half marathon.

The first few miles were ok, I was getting warm and knew it was going to be a hot race. Still Central Park was gorgeous with flowers blooming. The mile markers were confusing, some were on the ground and my Garmina started later, so the whole race I really had no idea what mile I was at. The first loop around Central Park I was focusing on/observing where hills were and how to tackle them the second time around. We even saw Deena pass us who ended up winning the race (she was on her second loop).

In the second half of the race I found myself texting and tweeting some more. It actually helped. Miles 6-9 went by quickly. Miles 9-13 on the other hand…. I was losing my energy quickly. I don't think I started out too fast, maybe it was doing those hills a second time around. There are pros and cons to doing two loops around Central Park. The pro, you know what to expect that second time around. The con, the hills on exhausted legs are PAINFUL!

Finally the end was near. I started seeing people with medals and capes. The spectators cheering us on the whole way were awesome. I was a little more than half way through mile 12, I got a text from Ev that she had finished. I hurried my bum up to meet her. Crossing the finish line was GREAT. I managed to jump, god only knows where that energy came from. Crossing the finish line is a bizarre feeling. You are so relieved to be done. Especially after the final miles where you are just EXHAUSTED and are ready to be done! At the same time as you cross the finish line I always find myself in shock of what I have just done and become energized.

While I was sipping on water at the finish line, someone tapped me on my back. A woman told me how I got her through the race. I asked her how so. She told me she tried to keep up with me the whole race (I'm pretty slow). She explained that the sign on my back kept her going and that me and Lisa inspired her. I told her the story behind me wearing the sign and who Lisa was. It was a moment that got me. This race wasn't easy, it wasn't a walk in the park…. But knowing that someone read my sign and thought of Lisa that day and was inspired by her made it worth it.

I found Evelyn and gave her a big hug. I am so proud of her. It feels like just yesterday she was telling me that she was ready to sign up for a half, after running her longest distance (to that date) 6 miles. We sat and talked about how it went. She made a comment that I always think about during races but always forget right after: how emotional races are. They really are. Watching people running together, alone, running for a cause, seeing people find family along the course and then watching people finish is extremely emotional.

Evelyn and I took a quick photo and walked through the park along the course cheering people on. We were planning on going to lunch, however I had to go to midtown and she needed to get back uptown. We went our separate ways. I continued to walk the rest of the course cheering people on. This was one of the highlights of my day. I gave people high fives and hugs, telling them how incredible they were. If I didn't have somewhere to go I would have run or walked some of them in. It's really emotional.

Exiting the park I walked to Times Square got tickets for a show to see with Miss E that afternoon. Then I went back to the house, showered and ate lunch. Miss E and I went to see Cinderella that afternoon. It was so much fun taking her to the theater, especially seeing such a magical show with her. I love this kid so much and spending time with her always makes me smile. After the show we were going to meet up with someone I know in the cast, but the stage door was flooded with Carly Rae fans.. EEK!

We headed downtown and went out to dinner. Once we got back I crashed. Literally fell asleep on the ground while watching Mad Men. I was exhausted

Official Results: 2:37.42 min (12:03min/mile average pace)