One Bad Ass Runner

Today, I ran the 12th Annual Riverwalk 5 Mile Race in Downtown Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  According to Daniels, this was my third speed session of the week (either a speedwork or race, according to his instructions), so I chose a race to see how my progress was going with this training session. I signed up for the race 3 weeks ago, which means I had not had any issues with the asthma and thought I would be able to do this event without a problem.  How naive I am sometimes. Excuses: Asthma Attack at Mile 3 Changing floor at home had me smelling fumes all week Asthma not under control for the past 3 weeks Increase in asthma meds 2 Martinis the night before 3 hours of sleep Obama Insert your favorite here As you might have read on the threads I participate, my asthma has gone haywire for the past 3 weeks. It's not a coincidence that it has gone haywire exactly when I am starting training for short races.  For the last 5 months or so I have been training mainl...

Today, I sent an application to participate as a blogger for the ING Miami Marathon & Half Marathon.  Here is the article I submitted: I am a runner.  I am a marathoner.  But I have asthma too.  And although being both a runner and an asthmatic is not mutually exclusive, it makes training much harder. A little bit of history.  Although I've always suspected I had asthma, I was not diagnosed until last September, while training for the New York City Marathon.  When I was attempting a 22 miler in Key Biscayne and after having an asthma attack atop the bridge, I decided to get this issue resolved once and for all.  The medication and treatment the doctor gave me did not seem to help and I had a big asthma attack at Mile 16 of the New York City Marathon and finished my fourth marathon as my second worst time.  I switched specialists and started treatment with a different medication.  Things seemed to improved. I live in Miami and I have...

I have not trained in months.  Not since my marathon training for NYCM and West Palm Beach.  From December through February, I tried to maintained a semblance of a plan in order to do multiple marathons.  And I succeeded at that (with the exception of the last marathon, where I DNF'd after being diagnosed with a UT infection that left me with no energy).  So, I was looking forward to training again, and most importantly, to do some speedwork! The races I've targeted are going to be tough.  They are in May and they are both usually at 86F with 100% humidity or even worse.  They are shadeless and they are not flat (at least the 10K isn't).  I am not looking for a PR, but one will be welcomed.  I am looking to have a similar semblance of pre-asthma times. So with the races decided, I embarked on Week 1 of training, based upon Daniels' Formula.  This is a combined training for both the 10K and the 5K race.  Week 1 was a success. This week...

Today, I ran the 13.1 Miami Beach, a race I've been doing since its inception.  It's the toughest course around here, as it has 4 overpasses, it's usually hot and humid, and it's at the end of the season, after you've run one (or 4 ) marathons in 3 months and you are tired at the time you toe the starting line. As usual, this race was to be for fun.  And fun I had. Excuses for not PR'ing: Don't care Treating it like my LR of the week Asthma has been pretty bad all week Speedwork session yesterday Hot and humid weather (80F with 97% and 74 dewpoint at the start, 86F with 71% and 71 dewpoint at the end) Potty break Toe issues Water stations The changes of the moon Who knows Since it was hot as soon as I stepped out of the car, I was very glad I chose to run in what I did. The race is pretty well organized and it has a pretty good post race party.  Also, since I've done the "Big Three" (13.1 Ft. Lauderdale, ING M...

I recently ordered the hard to get Asics Noosa 7, the women's (second from top) and the men's version (top).  Although they are in essence the same shoe, they feel totally different. I have the Noosas 6, both men and women version and I like them.  I don't love them, but they are a good training shoe.  However, I believe Asics has improved this shoe with their new version and they feel much lighter than the Noosas 6.  A plus for me. The women version is 9.1 oz in my size, while the men's version is at around 10.  They do feel different to me, although I have to remember, I am a woman so the men's one feels a little off for a reason. One of the best characteristic of the shoe, in my opinion (apart from the great support) is the glow in the dark feature.  I have not used either of these shoes for the last week and they are still glowing in my bedroom like crazy.  The cats think they are fun and often sleep atop it. I used them during my last r...

I've been meaning to write a review about the Elixirs but work has been busy.  So, here it goes. I ordered the Elixirs with the hopes of using them as a racer shoe for longer races like half marathons and marathons.  They did not disappoint.  The first time I ran in them, it was like running naked.  You felt you were wearing a shoe but at the same time, you felt like you were running barefoot.  They are light on your feet (approximately 7.5 oz), but supportive at the same time (support is mid to moderate).  They are cute as hell too. Prior to the ING Marathon, I did a total of 7 miles in the shoes and every workout was a pleasure.  So, I decided to risk it and do the marathon in them.  The marathon went really well although I had stomach issues at the end.  Having said that, I never had an issue with the shoe; in fact, throughout the whole marathon, I didn't even feel them.  I did had some foot soreness near the end, but I attribut...

I was not going to write an RR at all but I wanted to share Aaron's life and remembrance just a little. Today, I wanted to finish my 8th marathon in honor of Aaron Cohen.  He is one of the two cyclists that were hit this week by an AH driver (Miami has plenty of those).  He did not survive.  His death hit our running club very hard, because we all knew him, some more than me.  He was a great triathlete and an awesome person. So, I wanted to honor his passing by finishing today's marathon.  However, life never turns out the way we want it to, so I ended up DNF'ing the marathon and finishing 17 miles and get the half marathon medal.  My story goes like this: 2 Weeks Prior After the ING Marathon, recovery was going well. However, after almost 2 years of no bouts of piriformis, I got one two weekends ago.  It started quietly and nothing to worry about but as the week went by, it went from sore to ouch sore.  Some days I was limping...