I find it pretty amazing that the Central Park loop is only six miles long.
Judging by this picture, doesn’t 20 or 100 make more sense? (Via.)
Om.
I can run fast, forever, et cetera, but when it comes to any other kind of physical activity (except golf, tennis, beer pong, shuffleboard, skiing, spinning, driving a jet-ski, doing donuts in a golf cart, and shoe-shopping), I pretty much suck. Thus, ever since signing up for the Can Lake 50, I have struggled to find a cross-training method that will challenge my body but not my bank account. (Sayonara, Physique 57.) The spinning classes at my gym pale in comparison to Flywheel; I can’t even walk into the studio without feeling depressed. Weight training is boring. 30-60-90? I’d rather do a 180 in the opposite direction. And while I love to swim, chlorine turns my hair green.
This brings me to yesterday’s yoga class. I signed up for Vinyasa at Equinox, thinking it would be like the only other yoga session I have ever taken, which was packed with patchouli and feel-good Mother Earth worship and not much physical stress. I needed that after a six-mile run. But this class was nothing like that. Fifteen minutes in, I wanted to die and cry (not in that order). I was sweating; I ached. I could not perform a proper downward-facing dog. I could not hop from child’s pose to plank in one swift kick, unlike everyone else in the studio. Following a half bow (a.k.a. backbend) , my back hurt so badly that I couldn’t breathe without shuddering and gasping. (That was probably a major red flag.)
But afterward! So light and long and lean! So relaxed! I grabbed a latte at the new Coffee Bean on 14th Street and practically skipped home. I felt like a cross between Gwyneth Paltrow and Sloan on Entourage (which I am watching religiously lately, having never seen it before, and oh my God, Jeremy Piven, please marry me.) And today, all the muscle aches are good, like I did something right (except maybe that backbend). I’m going back tonight. I will master the downward dog.
"Distance running was revered because it was indispensable; it was the way we survived and thrived and spread across the planet. You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldn’t live to love anything else. And like everyhing else we ove—everything we sentimentally call our ‘passions’ and ‘desires’ it’s really an encoded ancestral necessity. We were born to run; we were born because we run."
Chris MacDougall, Born to Run
"One of the many puzzling aspects of yesterday’s attacks was the question of what, exactly, the perpetrators thought they’d accomplish by targeting what basically amounts to a celebration of human tenacity. If anything, the tragedy in Boston will further solidify the bond between runner and spectator. And when the Chicago marathon happens this October, I’ll show up to run harder, and they’ll show up to cheer louder. If anyone thought this attack would discourage the runners or the watchers, they’ve clearly never been to a marathon."
Erin Gloria Ryan, “The People Who Watch Marathons,” Jezebel, April 16, 2013.
So proud of my roommate Billie, who finished her first Boston Marathon yesterday, and so grateful that she is coming back to New York tonight safe and sound.
Whiskey and Goats Milk: What I considered safe.
What has happened today in Boston isn’t just an attack to innocent people, it’s an attack to people who strive. It’s an attack to people who want to live and want to feel like they are living. This is more than an attack because it was an event; it is an attack to every person who believes that running is safe and good. Not only have people been physically injured, these terrorists have stripped us of ever feeling safe again. As someone who runs, as an amateur runner in a big city, these people have ripped the mask off of my therapy. They have exposed something that I always believed was going to be left untouched… It’s amazing how the little things, the little safety nets people build for themselves can be ripped down so easily.
— Mari De Monte of W&GM
FrED, lately.
Mom came to town this past weekend. We ate dinner at De Santos, Bakehouse (where she met and approved of a certain man friend), and Blue Ginger; ran the Central Park loop, toured the Brooklyn Flea (she bought me a silver Revere bowl), shared a bloody Mary at No. 7, slammed pickle backs at the Rusty Knot, wandered through the Cloisters, unearthed some great party blouses at Michael Kors, and watched the Game of Thrones pilot on my sofa. By the time she left this morning, we were both sore from head to toe and thoroughly exhausted. I miss her already.
Jane turned 26 last Thursday. Happy birthday, little bunny!
Work owns my life. It is a pain in the ass to march in there every day and give 200 percent but so rewarding to see my blood/sweat/tears come to life. I co-edited the April issue of RL Magazine, and you can view it here. My story about Newport even made the cover!
Ditto my first exclusive shoot for the Style Guide.
Ultramarathon training kicks off this week, and for the first time in a long time, running is scary. It’s scary to think that in six months these little eight-mile slogs will turn into 50. It’s scary to give my life to something so entirely, to be on the precipice of something that is going to test me in ways I don’t yet understand, and it’s scary to think that that test will last six months. I must be out of my mind.
Billie (who just kicked serious ass at the Boston Marathon) is taking me to this thing on Wednesday night, and all my mid-1990s adolescent sneaker-and-cereal dreams are going to come true.
Edit: Billie is safe and sound. Thanks to all who checked in. These acts of terror on our soil are horrifying, and I am heartbroken for all who were present in Boston today.
This handbag. This dip. This fantastic vintage dealer/collector.
My ultramarathon training schedule seems rather easy, no? Relatively speaking. I figured there would be bigger numbers on weekends. Oh, but only now noticing that 31-miler on September 8 so forget everything I just said.
Create your own plan with Santa Clarita Runners, made possible by Trail Run Events.
FrED supports buildOn's Boston Marathon team!
Running is good; running for others is better. Y’all know this. Next month my friend Stephanie —CFO of the non-profit organization buildOn, blogger by the name of Remarkable Lulu, and all-around cutie pie—will tackle her second Boston Marathon and is raising $5,500 in the process. All proceeds will help build a school in Nicaragua, as per buildOn’s mission. BuildOn aims to “break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education” in the US and all over the world. To date the charity has built over 500 schools and donated more than 1 million hours of service worldwide. Donate here, and get involved here.
Anonymous asked: Any advice to get a girl motivated and moving? I have never really been an exercise fan, had stints going to the gym regularly but it never seemed to stick. Wanting to get going again but don't currently have the cash for gym memberships so want to get into running. Any tips on how to start? Apart from the obvious just do it? Ha.
Sign up for a race! (The 10-k and half-marathon are both good distances for a newbie.) Then read Born to Run and spend a small fortune on fitness gear. I love the stuff at Old Navy, and Nike’s Pro collection is surprisingly affordable. One hot tank or jacket from Lululemon will also put some spring in your step—as will a foxy new shoe. Then load your iPod with slick jams for the workout session. Search the word “music” here for inspiration. Pick up a yoga mat, a pair of five-pound hand weights and a pair of ankle weights, and take them to the nearest park for some cross-training. Email me in a month with an update.
From the South Florida Sun Sentinal...
In fact, the only reason Luis Carlos Rivero Gonzalez got to start Sunday morning’s race at the front of the field of 25,000, among the “Elite Runners,” is because his coach admittedly made up his personal-best time submitted to race organizers.
— Steve Gortin for the South Florida Sun Sentinal
I don’t care how fast Gonzalez ran, how talented he is, how gifted, how smart, how anything. Lying to gain an advantage over other runners by fabricating a personal-best time is cheating. CHEATING. Plain and simple. I will never run the Miami Marathon again.
Standing in the corral on Sunday morning under the neon glow of the Miami Convention Center’s lights, huddled with 12,000 other runners, an LMFAO jam blasting from unseen speakers, I finally remembered all the thrill of the marathon. It was a punishing race through a beautiful city, and while I broke no records, I also broke no bones, and my best friends were there at the end to scoop me up and carry me to the beach. This was the best race ever. (But I say that about every marathon.) Now, who’s ready for New Jersey in May?!
This will be me on Sunday at approx. 9:30 AM EST.
Just kidding; I’ll look more like this.
Image of Kara Goucher via Getty.
Mi maratón Miami megamix
- T-minus 4 days till the gun goes off, and I have a slew of clubby new jams to get from start to finish, all in 80 degree heat and South Beach sunshine. ¡Bienvenidos!
- Jan Hammer: "Miami Vice Theme Song"
- Rihanna v. Avicii: "We Found Darkness"
- Carly Rae Jepsen v. Third Eye Blind: "Semi-Charmed Call"
- Katy Perry v. Steve Winwood: "Wider Love"
- Deadmau5: "The Veldt (original cut)"
- Far East Movement v. Supermode: "Why a G6"
- Flight Facilities: "Crave You (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix)"
- Ke$ha: "Die Young"
- Linkin Park v. Jay-Z/Eminem/etc.: "Numb Encore"
- Adele v. Alan Parsons Project: "Rolling in the Sirius"
- MGMT v. Wiz Khalifa: "Kids Say Yeah"
- Hall & Oates v. Nero: "Reaching Out"
- Youngblood Hawke: "We Come Running (Tiesto Remix)"
- Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina: "Desert Rain"
- Gotye & Kimbra: "Somebody That I Used to Know (Miami Nights 1984 Remix)
- Timbaland & Katy Perry: "If We Ever Meet Again"
- Justin Bieber & Ludacris: "All Around the World"
- Calvin Harris: "Feel So Close (Nero Remix)"
- Prodigy v. Enya: "Smack Up the Orinoco Flow"
- Ne-Yo, Pitbull, Nayer & Afrojack: "Give Me Everything"
- Ne-Yo: "Doomsday"
- Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha: "Till the World Ends (Femme Fatale Mix)"
- Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull v. Darude: "Sand on the Floor"
- Jay-Z & Punjabi MC: "Beware of the Boys"
- Bucketheads: "The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)"
- DJ Spiller & Sophie Ellis Bextor: "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)"
Fast fashion.
- Over the years I have tried a lot of running trends (skirts! barefoot shoes!), but in the last year or so, have really whittled it down to a few basics which I buy in bulk each season. And no matter how short a getaway, I always pack gear for overnight trips. (You just never know when you'll need alone time.) These are the must-have pieces for any lady-runner's wardrobe:
- Nike Pro Plus compression short in every color
- Old Navy Active compression tanks and bubble tanks
- Adidas Adizero Feather shoes
- Nike Elite Anti-Blister Low-Cut Tab socks
- Polar USA polarized performance sunglasses
- Nike Thermal Tech gloves
- Cyndi Bands elastic hair ties in black and blonde
- Nike Pro Essentials compression bra in every color
- Ziploc plastic sandwich baggie to store my phone and credit card
