This weekend was an overwhelming, non-stop whirlwind of action. Our stay in NYC was brief – we got there on Saturday at noon and left Sunday night at 9 (Lori & I) but it was exhilarating. (Katie & Brian stayed one day longer.)

If I were to try to write a blog post detailing the experience though, I would be here forever! So I opted to do it in a timeline this way… (My personal thoughts are in paranthesis.)

Trains. Taxis. Hotel. Expo. Pasta Dinner. Cupcakes. (Wow! Magnolia Bakery Rocks.) Early Sleep. Shuttles. Ferry Rides. Fort Wadsworth. (Aww, I Used To Live Here!)Runners Village. Heated Tent. (Coffee And Fooood!!!!) 10:40am. Orange Wave. Overzealous Pacer Group. (Why Is The Pace Girl Sprinting? Come Back Here!) Long Bridges. Photographers. Mile 4. Music. Cheering. Screaming. Water. Gatorade. (Where Is My GU?) Live Bands. Costumed Spectators. QUEENSBORO BRIDGE (AHHHH!) Another mile. (Who’s Idea Was This, Anyway?) Hills. Great Signs. Music. Another Boro. Another Bridge. (Really?! Was That Necessary?) Church Service. Rap Music.  ”Jared” Faces Everywhere. Disgusting Bathrooms. Another Bridge. (Who Designed This Course, Anyway?) More Cheering. (Needing Water ASAP.) Another Mile. AT&T Not Working. (Excuse Me But Why Does This Course Never Seem To Go Down Hill?) “The Wall.” Stretching.  Five Miles To Go. AT&T Still Not Working. Parties Everywhere. (Is That “Where’s Waldo” Running With An Armadillo?) Central Park. Lots Of People! Screaming. (Are We Done Yet?) Fans Everywhere. (I Can’t Run One More Mile. Oh Hell, One Point Five To Go.) More Photographers. Cow Bells. (Did We Just Pass The Chilean Miner? Crazy!) Lori & Brian. (Squee! There They Are!) So Close. The Finish Line! (Thank You Baby Jesus!) Big Hugs! Finishers Medals. Commemorative Picture. Fluid And Food Bag. (All I Want To Know Is…Did We Beat Jared Or Al Roker?) Long Walk Out Of The Chute. Freezing Cold. AT&T Never Works. (I Can’t Believe We Did It! I Think I Need A Steak!) Proudly Displayed Medal. Train Ride Home. 1:00am. (Somebody Remind Me To Never Do This Again.) Sleep.

Since half of the reason I was able to get across the finish line in the first place had everything to do with inspiration, I thought I would share some of the best signs I saw out on the course yesterday:

• “Toenails are overrated anyway.”
• “You can and you will.”
• “If Palin can run, so can you!”
• “Finishing is your only option.”
• “If marathons were easy we would all be doing it!”
• “You are stronger than you think.”
• “Chuck Norris never ran a marathon.”
• And my personal favorite… “You are not a wimp!” (Thanks Lori!)

I would just like to take a second to personally thank every single New Yorker (You know who you are. Heh.) who yelled a affirming statement directed at me. From the “You go Jen!” to the “Stay strong” to the “You’ve got this girl!” and the “Dig deep Jen, you are almost home!”… you made me cry, you made me laugh and you ALL got me over the finish line. You will probably never see this blog post or remember me, little runner number 53-416 from Maryland, but I was deeply moved and completely inspired. My gratitude goes out to you.

I can’t believe I just ran the New York City Marathon! Woo hoo!

Tags: ing new york city marathon 2010, mom blogger running marathon, new york city marathon 2010

I have two weeks left until I run the New York Marathon.

Yesterday Katie and I ran our final 20 mile training run. Energy wise, I was fine. Which is thrilling. I could have actually  kept running. But  an old injury reared it’s ugly head around mile 17.  My freakin’ left IT band flared up and boy did it hurt. I was pretty ticked.

I didn’t stop, though. Instead I repeated Katie’s mantra, “I am not a wimp” a thousand times in my brain until we finished.

You can guess what this in jury is doing to my psyche, can’t you?

My last IT injury (same dang place) took me off of the running circuit for months.

That is unacceptable. NOT. AN. OPTION. That is why I have named this post “It is all mental from here on out.”

Because it is.  Obviously I have trained. I have woken up at four in the morning for months. I have sacrificed my time, my money and my sanity to achieve this goal.  It is so very, very close that I can taste it.

I am not going to let it beat me. I’m going to nurse my leg. I’m going to continue to lift weights and work in some yoga and stretching. I am going to ditch the speedwork.

But most importantly, I am going to keep a positive attitude. I am going to tackle this problem in two ways. First, by focusing on the following quotes:

• “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
• “Mental tenacity — and the ability to manage and even thrive on and push through pain — is a key segregator between the mortals and immortals in running.”

And second… by bringing a bottle of Advil.

Tags: new york city marathon 2010, training for the New York City Marathon

Suddenly, running is all I am thinking about. On any given day I am both ecstatic with excitement and filled with fear and doubt. Constantly on a roller coaster of emotion.

The New York Marathon is 18 days away.  It is a lifelong dream. Probably my last full marathon for awhile. Perhaps forever. I. Can’t. Wait.  (Actually, I can because I still have that final 20 to run yet on Saturday.)

With this marathon not only comes a ton of emotion but also some serious technological advances enabling ANYONE to watch the festivities in real time.  For example:

There is a freakin’ iPad app for this! Coming on Halloween, October 31, you can dowload the ING New York City Marathon iPhone/iPad app from the iTunes store . Praise the Lord! I am so jazzed about this I am doing a mental squeal right now. (Squeeee!)

The app has:

• Live race-day video feeds of the professional race
• The five-hour NBC 4 New York show
• Real-time photos
• Elite runner leaderboard
• Individual runner split tracking
• “Cross-Path” feature displays your location with respect to the runner
• Spectator map
• Athlete profiles
• News and alerts
• Twitter feeds

Yeah, I know. Almost makes me wish I were watching myself run with the iPad. Which would be awkward. And sweaty.

Wanna stalk my time? Seriously?  Well, if you are that hard-core you can track me/your runner via SMS text message through Athlete Alert.  That is right, they called me an “athlete.”  (Sobbing inside!) The Athlete Alert registration system opens (during race week), anyone can sign up to receive texts tracking the splits of up to three runners. Splits will be recorded at the 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, 25km, 30km, 35km, 40km, and the finish.  $2.99 in the U.S. / $5.99 International.

Twitter Hashtag: This is how you know that social  media has overtaken society.  The marathon has a hashtag. Follow all of the fun before, during and after at #ingnycm.  I love when my geeky running self meets my geeky social media self. #harmony

And just because I am feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, I just want to point out an awesome post by Jim Axelrod: On Post-Marathon Monday, Please, Just Say Congratulations Or a video showing the marathon course in three and a quarter minutes. Really. Check it out.

And last but certainly not least big kudos go out to my blogging pal Renee J. Ross who ran her first half marathon last weekend. She was so excited and so proud that she has brought back all of the thrill and wonder of the marathon back to me. I am so proud of her and so appreciative of her enthusiasm.  RENEE, you rocked it!  Check out her recap here.

Tags: new york city marathon 2010, NYC iPad app, Renee J. Ross

Best run to date = pain.  Who knew?

This week was my longest run to date in FOR-EVA.  Katie & I tackled 14 miles, six miles of which was hills. The weather was good, we had endless energy and the conversation was flowing. It was glorious.  (And for the record -  we didn’t walk ANY of the hills.  MIRACULOUS.)

Today though, today I am so sore.  The best way to describe the pain is to liken it to the first time you do a lower body leg workout.  The day after pain you experience.  The I-can’t-walk-why-am-I-doing-this-again (?) pain.

I feel like an old woman today. Ouch.

When I feel like this my mind starts to ask questions.  Questions like “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE, JENNIFER?
My mind sometimes sounds like my dad.

You wanna know why?  For the kids.  For my kids. For your kids.

Let me explain: One day my friend Tracey encouraged me to take a five mile run with her through the park.  I told her that there was no way in hell I could run five miles WITH HER. (She had previously run a marathon.) But her persistence and encouragement that day paid off.  I ran that five miles and I realized that I was limiting myself.  That I could accomplish great things in life by taking it ONE STEP AT A TIME and by believing in myself.

That day represented SO MUCH MORE than ‘going out for a run.” It represented A PHILOSOPHY. The realization that I really could accomplish the unthinkable. And it shapes my life to this day.

My only wish?  That I had learned it sooner.  I am embarking on this charity run in order to pass that spirit along to MY CHILDREN and TO OTHER CHILDREN. I want them to find their power NOW.

So all of this training and running is for ONE REASON: To raise money for the “Run for Something Better” charity. This charity focuses on changing children’s lives through fitness. R.F.S.B. encourages healthy lifestyles, empowerment and the prevention of childhood obesity. They fund running and fitness education programs in schools to show kids how exercise can help achieve good health,  positive self-esteem and self-worth.

And people, I need to raise $2,500. HOLY CRAP.  I need to raise it in the next two months.

Yes, I am scared.  I’m not sure that I can do it.  I’m nervous.  Very nervous.  What I know is that I can’t do it alone.

Will you help me? Won’t you please consider making a donation to support and empower children? (Totally tax deductible, of course.)

• You can donate at my Active.com page.
• OR via PayPal to jlgerlock@comcast.net
• OR via check (happy to give you the address and information if you need it)
• OR your business could sponsor me. (Further details can be worked out on how this can be mutually beneficial. I’ll blog. I’ll tweet. I’ll wear your logo on a coolio t-shirt. And so will Katie because she is a fantastic pal! Email jlgerlock@comcast.net)

AND/OR

• Support me and my cause and help propel it forward through social media. Facebook, Twitter, on your blog.

Together we can help transform children’s lives and attitudes!  If you’ll support my commitment to Run For Something Better, I’ll do all the training.  TRANSLATION: Pain free for you!

Thank you so very much!

Tags: Health, marathon training, new york city marathon 2010, orange laces, Philanthropy, run for something better charity, training for the NYC Marathon