Run, Karla, Run!

The 2010 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of runDisney.

Disney and nighttime just go together: Cinderella at the ball running to escape to her pumpkin carriage before the stroke of midnight; Lady and the Tramp sharing a plate of spaghetti under a starry night; Peter Pan flying to the second star to the right.

It’s Week 6 of my half-marathon training schedule for the 2011 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon, and I’m jumping out of my skin. The half marathon is still five weeks away, but I’m already as excited as I’ve ever been for a race. I’ve been channeling that energy into my half marathon training with pretty good results, focusing on one of the race’s key features: the 10 p.m. start. Read the rest of this entry →

Runners feast at the 2010 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Photo courtesy of runDisney.

Ask Miles of Runner’s World recently posed an age old question: Is it better to run a lot but eat poorly, or eat healthy and not exercise at all? Dr. Bill Roberts, RW’s “Ask the Sports Doc” blogger, answered: “I would think that heavy exercise will compensate better for a poor diet than a perfect diet will compensate for no exercise.” Phew!

I run because I love to eat. Sure there are other nobler reasons why I run—because I can, because it keeps me fit, blah blah blah—but I’m not going to lie: eating is probably top three. And eating healthy while training for a race is important. But what if the race has “Wine & Dine” in the title? While training for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon on Oct. 1, I’m finding that eating healthy is easier said than done. Read the rest of this entry →

Karla (center), her mother and sister ride Dumbo, circa 1980.

I’m a Disney girl; always have been. I wore my Cinderella and Snow White books ragged as a little girl. The first words I remember being able to recognize when reading were “fairy godmother,” and my rubber seven dwarf dolls were among my favorite toys. I saw the movies in the theater as a child (I came of age before the dawning of the VCR, DVD and on-demand), and I eagerly anticipated our annual family vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida.

So I was delighted when runDisney invited me to be their guest for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon at Disney World. On Saturday, October 1, I’ll be lining up in the dark for the 10 p.m. start of my first Disney race. I couldn’t be more excited. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Anatoly Tiplyashin/PhotoXpress

Good ‘ole 2010 was a heck of a year for me. I sang the national anthem at the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile and sang at the start of the ING New York City Marathon before running both races to a pair of personal bests.

But after the marathon on Nov. 7, I languished in physical therapy, dealing with a newly diagnosed arthritic knee and feeling really uninspired by my workouts on the bike, elliptical and what felt like an endless kick line of leg lifts. Sure, giving into the post-marathon blues seemed natural for a little while, but I honestly hate to wallow. My knee now feels great, thanks to all that physical therapy and an injection that will lubricate the joint for about six months.

So it’s time to get back on the horse. To motivate me after two months of minimal running, I’m looking back at my 2010 goals to help target some new ones for 2011. Read the rest of this entry →

I’m not usually one to plug products or programs unless I’ve tried them myself, but my good friend and coach, Kevin Horty, is running a spring marathon and half-marathon training program with Terrier Tri in New York City. And while I can’t endorse Terrier Tri, I heartily endorse Coach Kevin. He’s the man with the plan who has seen me through over two dozen PR’s, including three consecutive marathon PR’s. As coach of the New York Harriers, he’s helped hundreds of other runners get faster too. And his marathon best of 2:41 ain’t too shabby.

The 14-week program begins on January 10, and includes three weekly group coached sessions in Central Park on Tuesday/Friday at 6 a.m. and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Sessions include speed work, fartlek runs, hill workouts, tempo runs and fast finish long runs. The program also includes a weekly training schedule with five days per week of running and strength and core workouts, as well as online email support from Coach Horty and Coach Spencer Casey, head coach of the New York Athletic Club elite running team. Between them, these guys have 45 years of competitive running and coaching experience. The cost is $350 for Terrier Tri members and $395 for non-members. Check out the website for more information on the Bostonplus program.

And to everyone training for a spring marathon or half-marathon, start your engines!

Running a tune-up race is a great way to prep for a marathon. Photo by Sergis blog.

Seven weeks down, nine to go.

Training for a marathon is long process. Much like my training for the 2010 ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7, most runners spend at least 16 weeks, or the better part of four months, agonizing over every detail—longs runs, speed workouts, tempo runs, strength training, cross training, stretching, nutrition, sleep, avoiding injuries, avoiding illness, you name it, all for a few hours of agonizing glory. As the old U.S. Marine Corps adage goes—which my boyfriend and fellow marathoner-in-crime loves to quote—“Pain is weakness leaving the body.”

While all that weakness is busy leaving our bodies, we’re hoping that what we’re doing actually works. That come race day, we’ll be in our best shape to conquer 26.2 miles. All that pain better mean some gain.

But how do you know if your training is serving you well? There’s nothing like a big tune-up race to check in with your training. Running a race before your big marathon gives you an intermediary goal to work toward, and will let you know if your training is working, what marathon goals you should be targeting and what potential race-day problems might pop up. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Marzanna Syncerz © PhotoXpress.com

BRISTOL, R.I. — Six weeks down, 10 to go.

Today’s column is brought to you by the letter ‘P’ and the letter ‘R.’

I earned a pair of them on Sunday. It was a fantastic week of training for the 2010 ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7; a week that reminded me what it feels like to be a kid on summer vacation, and made me grateful for all the running I’ve enjoyed.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love vacation. Who doesn’t? I love to travel and explore—as I child I used to pretend I was like Bert and Ernie searching the vast African jungle for Dr. Livingstone.

But my vacation this week felt a bit more like summer vacations of yore—running around the neighborhood, buying ice cream, hitting the pool, watching movies at night, and generally killing time in the most pleasing ways imaginable; basically, by doing a whole lot of nothing.

But remember what the end of summer felt like as a kid? A new school year is quickly approaching, and you know you have to make every single day count. You’ve got to run and play and swim hard. Because before you know it, you’ll be sitting in a stiflingly hot classroom staring out the window at a sunny patch of grass, remembering better times. And I was a kid who actually liked school. But I still liked unfettered summertime better.

Running a race in Rhode Island reminded me of those old summertime days. It was in fact a sunny day that swept all the clouds away. The air was sweet, the sky was an unbroken streak of blue, and not even a temperature of 80 degrees could slow me down. Read the rest of this entry →

The Montreal Half-Marathon starts with a 5.5 mile uphill climb. Photo of Montreal by Christine Scholes.

Five weeks down, 11 to go…

With another solid, feel-good week of training for the 2010 ING New York City Marathon under my belt, I’ve decided to look forward to the week ahead. Namely, I’m looking forward to my big pre-marathon litmus test—the OASIS Montreal Half-Marathon on Sept. 5.

It’s going to be an uphill battle—literally. When I looked at the elevation chart, I gulped. How could I possibly prepare for this race when uphill climbs are my Kryptonite, my public enemy number one, my Newman? Read the rest of this entry →

You’ve got questions. I’ll find the answers. “Ask the Running Nerd” is back.

Question:

My husband and I are scheduled to run our first half-marathon in July.  I have been running on my own without any training plan for a few months now and today I went for a 10-mile run.  We’re 10 weeks away from the race and I’m not sure what my training should look like for the next several weeks.  I don’t want to lose the endurance I’ve worked for thus far, but I also don’t want to injure myself before the race. Any ideas?

—Kerry Read the rest of this entry →