Running Bébé Takes Manhattan: Day 5

Today we headed down to Lower Manhattan to wander around and also to go look at wallets at Century 21. We don't have those in Canada (Century 21's, not wallets). The department store was super crowded, so we did a lot more walking around outside than in the store.

Ian sipping coffee with Trinity Church in the distance behind him

It was a perfect day for aimless meandering through the streets - not too hot, not too cold, and not raining.

New York Stock Exchange Me on the steps of Federal Hall , which was the original capitol of the United States

Back at our room we were treated to quite a show, as the USS New York docked right in front of our hotel (picture above taken from our room!). Apparently part of the hull is made from steel salvaged at Ground Zero. Being our last day I thought it was important to get some shots of our room, which was AWESOME. This images don't do the hotel justice, but they're better than nothing.

Fabulous walk-in shower

View from the lounge area into the bedroom beyond

We had a great time in New York, and we highly recommend the Ink48 Hotel. The service is amazing, the rooms are well-appointed, and since the hotel only opened in October - everything is shiny and new!

Running Bébé Takes Manhattan: Day 4

Today we had a lot of fun exploring the modern galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Upper East Side. We LOVE modern art. We also saw the important Vermeer exhibit, including the famous painting of "The Milkmaid":

To be honest I'm not really one for Dutch masters. This stuff is way more fun if you ask me:

"Spectrum V" by Ellsworth Kelly, ca. 1969

As usual I was obsessed with finding funny shots at the museum, like this one I took of Ian - which was not staged. He had no idea until he saw this picture.

The painting, "Mark" by Chuck Close ca. 1978-79

Me admiring Jackson Pollock's "Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)", ca.1950

The Mall

After fun at the Museum, we cut back to the West Side across the park. After some pleading on my part, Ian agreed to take a rowboat out on the Lake, something we never got around to the 2 years we lived in the city...

There's a video of me rowing here and one of Ian rowing here.

A good day all around.

Running Bébé Takes Manhattan: Days 2 & 3

Day 2:  Halloween

Halloween night in New York City we were, literally, the only people NOT dressed up in costumes.  Check out this group on the subway platform at 50th Street:

They were good sports, they even struck a pose

Naive as we were, we thought it would be easy to take the subway down to the East Village, where we were meeting our friends for dinner.  When we exited the train at West 4th, this is what we encountered:

Packed like sardines at the W.4th subway station

We were stuck in that crowd for a good 20 minutes, and then I realized we actually needt to TRANSFER, not exit.  So we had to go BACK through that mess (against the crowd)!

Day 3:  The New York Marathon

I got up pretty early to meet my friend (Fellow Runner, Jeannie) in Queens at Mile 14.  I got a HUGE thrill when I saw the lead women run by, especially my all-time-favourite runner, Paula Radcliffe.  She looked great!  And tough!  Click HERE for the video!

Later on we headed into Manhattan, and managed to see the elite men run down off the 59th Street Bridge onto 1st Avenue.  There was a lot of loud cheering going on there, and the runners were eating it up!

Next stop was Mile 26 on Central Park South.  The marathon was slower than I expected, so we were actually able to see the lead women AGAIN!  Paula had dropped back and she really looked like she was hurting.  Her face was the giveaway.  I cheered "GO PAULA" as loud as I could, hope it helped.

Next, we got to see the lead men, Meb Keflezighi was way out in front haulin' ass!  He looked quite relaxed and confident too!

Here's Meb in the lead with about 1/2 mile to go!

Amserican runner, Ryan Hall didn't look like he was lovin' life the last 1/2 mile

Here are Jeannie & I in our "Paual is NYC Marathon Royalty" crowns

Running Bébé Takes Manhattan: Day 1

We had a very full day today in New York.  I tried to log my miles walked on the Garmin, but I kept forgetting to turn it on and off and then it would sort of go to sleep on me.  I want to say I probably walked about 4 or 5 miles.  My feet are telling me that it was at least that.

Late this afternoon I headed back to hotel to meet Ian for a run.  There was a little map in our room showing a 2, 4, and 6 mile running route along the Hudson River on a path.  We headed out hoping to do the 6 miles, with a few walk breaks.  I've been having leg issues so I wanted to be conservative.

The leg hurt right away when I started to run - mostly around the hip.  After a few minutes it didn't feel too bad.  We ran 1 mile, took a little walk / stretch break, then started running again.  Last 2 miles we ran without a break.

It was breezy and cool.  I was happy to have the arm warmers.  We saw quite a few runners - and most of them were super fast. Not sure what that's all about.

Celebrity sightings:  1

I walked right past Kathleen Turner on W.70th & Broadway.

Rat Sightings: 0

New Experiences

I have to look on the bright side. I've been running consistently for just shy of three years, and before this month I had never been sidelined due to illness or injury.

That's pretty remarkable when you think of it. Ok, truth be told, I had to take some rest days after the Worst Hangover Ever last July. Anyway, I was back to running no time.

Injury wise, I've had the odd ache and pain here and there. I have to ice my knees and ankles regularly to keep myself going. There have been periods in my training when I may have abused Ibuprofin just a little bit. But I can honestly say that none of these problems have resulted in a visit to the doctor or a layoff from running. If anything, they've been minor inconveniences.

Well, things took a turn this summer when I became inexplicably sluggish and wiped out. Turned out I had an iron deficiency. A few weeks of iron therapy and I started to see improvements. I was feeling like maybe it would all work out just fine and I'd be in great shape for a December marathon.

Then, out of the blue, and without warning, a couple of weeks ago I was stricken down with a severe bout of Bronchitis. It was so bad, that when I went to the doctor to have it looked at, he said I was having an asthma attack and send me home with 2 inhalers and a course of antibiotics. I was out of commission for about a week.

What bronchitis does to your lungs

Finally, last Monday, I woke up before my alarm with a spring in my step and took a deep, invigorating breath. I was ready to run! I decided to start conservatively with an easy 3 miler. It was great to be back at it, and I felt fantastic.  My marathon advisor, John, had me run another easy 7 miles the next day, which also went swimmingly! Two days later I was ready for something more intensive.

I headed out for a 7 mile tempo run, with the aim to run an easy 2 miles, speed up a bit for the middle 3, and then run the last 2 miles at a fairly speedy pace. Just a little ways into the last 2 miles I felt a sudden pain in my left leg. I was determined not to fail this time, so I pushed past the pain and finished my run in the desired time.

But by the time I got home I was hobbling and was relieved to be able to lie down on the floor.

I am still struggling to figure out exactly what the heck is wrong with my leg. I can't even really pinpoint where the pain is. When I ran I could feel some achiness in my hip. Afterwards it was more mid-shin. After sitting all day it seems to be at the front of my ankle, where my leg meets the foot.

I'm heading to the walk-in clinic to see my doctor in a couple of minutes, and I'll update this after I see her. I doubt she'll be able to tell me much, but it's a first step...

THE UPDATE: 
Ok, I'm back from the doctor's office with good news.  Doc thinks it's "fascial pain" and NOT a stress fracture.  She thinks the fact that the achiness is migrating around my leg is a sure sign it's a nerve thing and not a bone thing.  This is great news!  The doctor wrote me a prescription for some heavy duty anti-inflammatories which I'm to take 3 times a day with meals.  She thinks the pain should go away when the inflamation dies down.  I am cleared to walk and if it feels ok to try running at any time.  As long as I'm pain free I can keep increasing the intensity.  Best of all, the doctor felt that I should be back to normal in a week!

So I better keep my cross-training up...Sounds like I'll be back to running soon!