Federer just lost the US Open… 😥 I still owe you the second part of my US Open recap which I will do later this week. We can reminisce together about Federer’s good times at the Open this year. Like when he won when I was there. And when he hit a winning shot between his legs.

So back to this post. On Sunday morning my alarm went off at 7am and I did not want to get up! I had been in some pain for the last few days. On Thursday evening, I started feeling intense spasming high up in my stomach, right under my ribcage. Every few minutes there would be an excruciatingly painful spasm that would cause me to cry and sometimes scream out. Then it would pass and I would still be in pain, but not nearly as bad as the spasm that came again in a few minutes. It went on like this the entire night. Even though it was not nearly as bad the next day, it didn’t go away either.

When my alarm went off on Sunday, I wanted to go back to sleep. After two spasms of light pain I was concerned, but once I got out of bed the pain subsided and luckily I felt fine. Very lucky, since I had my second 5K that day!

I made a green juice, did my stretches and was about to pin my number on when I realized there were no safety pins in my race packet. I still had my pins from last week’s race, so I used those for my number. But I didn’t have any more pins left to pin on the pink “I am racing in celebration of _____” bib to my back. I was going to write my mommy, a breast cancer survivor, but unfortunately I couldn’t.

When I was all ready, I walked over to 77th Street and Central Park West to meet Megan at the race start. On the way, I passed by so many people on their way to the run/walk as well! It was amazing to see so many people all meeting up in groups for such a great cause. I walked past a parking garage and the line to get in was very long — all race people as well. Megan got there a little later than we planned because every subway car was packed to the brim with people on their way to the race too. What an amazing turnout!

As you can see, the turnout:

There were people as far as the eye could see. And the start line — shortly after I took this picture, the scene was completely packed with people:

When Megan got there, we had just enough time to snap a quick picture until her boyfriend (THANK YOU BRIAN!) took our bags away to meet us at the finish line:

I wore my pink headband for breast cancer, since I have no pink running clothes!

As we waited for the race to begin, announcers from one of the TV stations were making announcements over the loudspeaker and talking about the race in general. I found out that Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson, Judge Judy (!!!), Cyndi Lauper and Stephen Colbert were all there. I didn’t get to see any of them, although I really only cared to see Judge Judy and Colbert. Megan and I tried to line up at the 10 minute mile line but the entire starting section was so packed with people we had to stay a little further back. Not a big deal since this was not a timed run, it was a fun run.

Once the race started, it took us awhile to get to the starting line. I had started my HRM and Nike + iPod but I restarted them both when we actually started for better accuracy. Once we got to the start we began running up Central Park West, just outside the park. I felt awesome and before I knew it, we were at 90th street turning into the park.

Neither Megan nor I had ever run in Central Park before (bad New Yorkers, I know!) and I have to say, it was really beautiful and refreshing! It had rained for two days before this beautiful day, so the park had that rainy grass smell. It was so shady with all th trees and I loved seeing the Reservoir while I ran! I felt better than I ever had during a run.

I looked at my watch when we got to the 1 mile mark and we were at 10 minutes. We were both very happy with this pace. We were listening to our own iPods but every now and then we would remove an earphone to make a comment to each other. I really enjoyed running with Megan because we stayed at the same pace and were able to remain together while being on our own with our music. I made a really great playlist for the run that kept me positive and happy.

It was really inspiring to see what everyone had pinned to their back about the people they were running in memory for, in celebration of — or to see they were survivors themselves. This one woman running the race was a 4 year survivor, and next to her was a woman who’s bib said she was running in celebration of “my shvester.”

I LOVED SEEING THIS. Shvester means “sister” in yiddish, and my brother often calls me that. It made me so happy to see that word, especially since it was describing a survivor who was able to run! I felt even more motivated to do great on this run after that!

Another fun sight was a guy running with his puppy! The dog looked like it might have been a puggle (awww!) but I don’t know for sure. It was just so sweet to see the pup galloping along in the race among all the people. I wish he had a race number!

Before we reached mile 2, the race became extremely slow because there were just so many people on the course. No complaints here — I am THRILLED that so many people are contributing towards a cure for breast cancer. And since it wasn’t timed, I really did not mind! It kept me from overexerting myself.

The last mile became a little rougher. I stopped feeling as great, although I am happy to say that during this run I got NO ribcage cramp, NO lower tummy cramp, NO knee pain and, for the first time since I started running, NO hip pain during or after my run! It was my most pain free run ever! Although my right knee hurt after, but who cares. So, back to mile 3.

By that time, I wanted the run to be over and was hoping for the finish. I didn’t know this until Megan’s race recap, but she was struggling too. What I also didn’t realize at the time is that Megan and I are at the same level running-wise. For some reason I thought I was slowing her down the entire run, but I found out from her recap that we were naturally at the same pace!

When we got to Mile 3, we were on a nice downhill. I started to feel great again as it became easier to run.

When I saw the finish line ahead, I burst into  sprint. I didn’t mean to, it is just what my body seems to do when it registers a finish line is near! As I said, this wasn’t a timed race, but my body did not care! Sees: Finish line. Does: Sprint.

I took off and ran through the finish. I had thought I left Megan behind, but I looked to my left and there she was! I guess she sped up, too! My heart rate was 201 again at this time. But I was so happy, I completed another 5K!

I’m excited to see if I made it into a race photo. For my last 5k, there were photos of people who finished right before and AND right after me crossing the finish line . . . but somehow they completely missed me! Too bad, I definitely would have bought that. 😉

My final stats

According to Nike + iPod:

Distance: 4.96K – pretty accurate!
Time: 30:43
Pace: 9:57 min/mi

According to HRM:

Calories: 314
Max HR: 201
Avg HR: 181

I am VERY happy with these results! Megan and I weren’t pushing ourselves very hard until we got to the end, we were just running and enjoying the scenery and the park and we made great time! And I found out after that this was faster than her last 5K! Congrats, Megan! I love running with her and look forward to more great runs in the park!

As soon as the race was over and we met up with Megan’s boyfriend to get our stuff, I had to take off. I was a little disappointed not to be able to walk around to all the booths (including a Tasti Delite booth, hmmmm…) but I had a 10:30 Core Fusion class to get to!

Normally, I wouldn’t schedule a CF class right after a race, but my friend Emily really wanted to take a class and this was the best time to bring her. I hightailed it to 77th and Madison (the race ended on 72nd in the park near 5th) and made it in time. Class was TOUGH — the instructor was Brynn, who I had taken Transfigure with at my old gym, The Sports Club/LA. The class was tough and painful but the hour went by so quickly! Today, my quads and hamstrings are SORE. I plan to start taking Core Fusion more regularly now.

After class, we stood around and chatted and by the time we got out it was almost 1:00 — and I had not eaten a single thing the entire day (aside from the green juice). And I ran for 30 minutes and did strength training for 1 hour. I am sure you can imagine how hungry I was! We planned to go out to brunch but we walked past a street fair on 3rd ave on the Upper East Side and decided to look around since it was such a gorgeous day. I got a crepe from a stand — banana, strawberry and nutella. It was HUGE! And it was a rare treat. I fully deserved it!

I gobbled it all up and felt so much better. Just what I needed. Most street fairs in NYC are the same, with the same booths repeating every few blocks. This one was different, and it was awesome. Let’s just say I walked away from here with a package of tortilla chips and cheese sauce from Qdoba for free and a pair of Sam Edelman sandals for cheap and Devachan products at a discounted price.

Excellent street fair!

I wanted to spend more time but I was beat! I went home and crashed. I slept until about 8 pm, woke up and ate dinner, and went right back to sleep. What a day!

I will be back later this week with the rest of my US Open pictures (mostly of Federer. Sigh.) and more information into what the doctor said about my abdominal pain, as well as some recent decisions I made medically. And I have an announcement to make that has to do with running!

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