Cow Harbor 10k

My friend Jeannette and I did the Cow Harbor 10k yesterday in Northport, LI. This is one of the most difficult and competitive courses in the area and a race I've done every year since 2006. I decided to treat it as a training run this time because I'm focusing on the marathon and I knew with all the longer runs I've been doing, I probably wouldn't be as fast as I was last year when I finished in 41:45. Also, the knee is still an issue and I'm getting over a cold that just won't give up.

The first mile includes a very steep climb, so I told myself to just start easy and find my pace. Training run, remember? Sounds like a good plan but in a race, it's so easy to get carried away. My first mile was a 6:37. What happened to training run? Eh, you know what? The weather's perfect, I haven't raced since June and I'm feeling pretty good. Maybe I can do this, I thought. But my mind kept going back and forth with every mile. I went from wanting to give it all I have to remembering that I'm dealing with a knee problem, a cold, and that I have the marathon to think about, which is exactly 5 weeks from today. I also found myself being more cautious than usual on the downhills because I didn't trust my knee as much as I normally do, but I also felt stronger on the climbs than I thought I would.

Then I started passing other women and wondering if I could place top three in my age group. Cow Harbor is one of those races everyone knows, even non-runners, and it draws a large field of national talent. As an example, Ryan Hall broke the course record and won in 2006 in 28:55. This year, the female winner was Katie McGregor in 33:12. At this race, I think I'll always be an age grouper! I was 10th in my age group in '06, 5th in '07 and 7th in '08. Despite finishing 54 seconds slower than I did last year, I placed 3rd yesterday!

I was pretty excited to finally receive a Cow Harbor award. I hung out, patiently waiting for them to get through all the top-10 awards and a raffle drawing that went on forever. And then everyone just starts leaving! Turns out they just mail out the age group awards because they "don't have time" to hand them out in person. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait just a little longer. What a bummer!

Stronger

Biking around Central Park this morning, I happen to be keeping pace with a guy I don't know. As I pass him, he says, "you're lighter, more aerodynamic." I've heard this one a million times and with what I've been through this summer, I'm not havin' it. "Is that your excuse?" I ask. "This is my third time on the bike since July 4th, when I broke my wrist." he looks over at me, "Okay, you're stronger..." Heh, heh. That's right, mother f-er.

Please knee, not now...

Yesterday's 10-mile tempo run went as planned, but today I'm feeling a strange pain in my right knee. It hurts when I step forward and if I give a bit of a kick, it hurts more. I hope it's nothing serious and it goes away on its own very soon. Maybe it's from walking around so damn much in flip flops.

Today is a crosstraining day. I'm planning an easy bike ride in Central Park and then some strength training later on -- if my knee cooperates, that is. I'd love to ride over the GW bridge, like old times, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. Besides, I'm afraid once I do it, I'll fall in love with it again and be back to my once-a-week 5-hour rides. I really don't need that before November 1 -- MARATHON DAY. I need to stay focused on my running (and not getting injured).

I felt like everyone I know raced a tri this weekend except me. This is really hard to deal with emotionally and now that I'm feeling pretty good physically, it's even harder. I'm so glad I have the marathon as my goal. It's definitely keeping me in check.

My Life After Lehman

I can't believe a year has gone by since I walked away from my job at Lehman Brothers, having been part of the mass layoff that happened just days before the firm ceased to exist. It's crazy to think of all the ways my life has changed since then. Next week, I start co-leading a beginner cycling program for women here in NYC. And in January, I'll be the lead coach for Team Lipstick's first half ironman training program. I've never felt this proud or passionate about anything I've done before. I love the direction my life has taken. I'm even okay with the missteps and disappointments I've had along the way. My stubborn personality is what makes it necessary for me to learn the hard way sometimes but it's also why I'm able to pick myself up and keep working toward my goals.

I'm also keeping busy as I continue training for the NYC marathon. I'm surprised at how well my body has taken to all this running and even more surprised by how little bike fitness I seem to have lost over the past 9 weeks. I've only gotten out for two relatively short rides since the accident, today being the second, but I feel great out there and my strength and speed seem to have suffered very little. I think it's because of all the running and the fact I barely stopped strength training following my surgery.

I still go to the hand therapist 9-10 hours per week, too. I'm at a point where a lot of the exercises have become too easy but they find ways to make them more challenging. There's this one where I clip big plastic clothespins of varying degrees of tension onto a metal rod. When the hardest became too easy, they started adding rubber bands to the ends. That's starting to get too easy now, too, but I'm sure they have other tricks up their sleeves.

NYC Marathon!

For anyone unaware, I'll be running this year's NYC marathon for the Arthritis Foundation. Training's been difficult since I had to take off a little time due to my bike accident and the fact I'm still recovering from a broken wrist, but I'm finally starting to feel a bit more like myself when I go out to run.

The recent heat wave hasn't made it any easier and I find myself looking forward to the fall more than ever, especially now that I'm not doing any more triathlons this season. I also happen to be one of those freaks who prefers working out in the cold weather over heat no matter what. This is how I ended up with frostbite on three toes, matter of fact, but you live and learn, right?

So, since this will be my first marathon, my goal is to improve my running for the 2010 triathlon season and not get injured along the way. But more importantly, it's to raise $3,000 for the Arthritis Foundation. Arthritis affects over 43 million people in the US, including someone I love very dearly. If you can help me reach my goal, even if it's just with a small donation, please visit my fundraising page: http://afnycmarathon.kintera.org/jenniferplace.

Thank you!

Team Lipstick Pride

After a boat trip to Westbrook, CT this weekend, I arrived back in NYC last night to see that Team Lipstick turned out another fantastic race performance in Harriman, NY. I'm so proud to say I coach this team and excited to think about how for many of these women, this is their first season of racing. I see many of them becoming known in the tri community as someone to watch and I hope they realize they motivate me as much as I try to motivate them. I just spent an hour on the bike trainer so I can keep up when I get back outside!

One Month Post-Op

Since my accident on July 4, I don't think I've stayed in one place longer than five days. I had a vacation to Block Island and Sag Harbor and spent a lot of time with family and friends. Now, one month later, I'm out of the brace and working on gaining full mobility. This will take many months, but I see improvement every day. I need to be vigilant about massaging the area to decrease scar tissue build up (which my honey is doing for me above) and stretching my hand across the full range of motion even though it really hurts to do both these things. I'll be going to physical therapy three times a week to hopefully speed up this part of my recovery.

At my follow up with my surgeon, I mentioned my thumb was still hurting. What? I didn't mention the thumb before surgery? I guess I figured what's a thumb when your freakin' wrist is busted? Well, it turns out so was my thumb. Luckily, not so bad that it didn't heal just fine on its own. Actually, the surgeon said I'm probably lucky I never mentioned it because if he had known, he'd have immobilized me even more!

Instead, he's "letting me out of the gate." I can do pretty much anything I feel comfortable with and the more I use my hand, the better off I'll be. I know I can't safely ride my bike yet (I'm still not comfortable reaching for the brake or putting full weight on that hand), but I swam in the open water for the first time since the crash this weekend. Though I moved a bit slower than I usually would move at this time of year, I couldn't have been happier to be out there again.