Someone asked about the NY half marathon. I'm not doing that one, I'm doing the Lehigh Valley half on the 26th or 27th. I'm looking for a good half in NJ, if anyone knows of one. Personally, I need to be signed up for something so that I'll continue to run....

I don't know of any halfs in New Jersey, but I know New York Road Runners is always doing them in New York and the boros (kind of a hike from where you are in PA). If you do a google search for running clubs in your area, you may find something. Good luck on your half. Mine is this Sunday. It should be a great race. It's the More Marathon/Half marathon. All women over 40! The geriatric marathon my friend calls it.

That sounds like fun, all women. Have you ever heard of the Iron Girl triathlons? They are supposed to be a blast, but the closest one to me in in Baltimore or maybe Delaware.

It is a fun race. All women over 40 to run the full marathon. To run the half you have to run as a team (not together) and one person on the team has to be 40. I've never done a triathalon. Wouldn't even attempt it--can't swim.

Right now I am riding my bike about 60 miles per week, 2-30 mile rides, weds and sat. I used to ride more and need to get back to it. It burns so many calories and is easy on my bad knees. I also like the time it gives me to reflect and contemplate issues in my life. I tried gyms but hated being inside. I am inside too much!

If you love Cathe, you should also consider trying Gay Gasper's workout videos. She is excellent. She actually teaches at a gym here in NJ, but going to a gym does not fit into my schedule but I do love walking and step aerobics/toning. If anyone has Netflix, they have lots of fitness/aerobic DVDs that you can rent. You can also rent exercise DVD's from the library. I really like to rent them first before I buy. You can also get them really cheap through Amazon. Sometimes they are gently used, but I've had no problem with them.

Biking is awesome. I need to get dh to get mine down from the hook in our garage, I'd love to go for a bike occasionally. Spin class at my gym is the extent of my biking as of late.

Has anyone done a marathon? I've got a half coming up, but would LOVE to do the Disney marathon in January, but it scares the crap outta me. 13 miles-no problem. 26 miles? That's really freakin'far!

I done 3 marathons. All NYC. It's great, nothing to be scared of. If you can do 13, you can do 26. The worst thing about marathons is the training. The day of the race is nothing. The crowds really carry you along by encouraging you every step of the way.. If you're serious, go to www.nyrr.org and they are having sign ups for the lottery for entry (unless you're a speed demon you qualify for automatic entry). It's almost 6:30 now and I'm of to my half in Central park (NYC) wish me luck!!

Trish-how was your half?

michelle, it was awesome!!! Thanks for asking. My time wasn't as good as I hoped for 1:49 (last half marathon was 1:46), but the course in Central Park was really hilly. I ran it with some great friends and we all had a really fun day.

You're a speed demon compared to me. Good for you!

Do any races allow IPods any more?

New York road runners says that they don't recommend running with headphones, but they haven't prohibited them yet. I can't imagine doing that distance without my ipod.

I've been doing a Winsor Pilates video that my aunt gave me. I really like it! I always feel ready to take on the day after I do it. And to get cardio in, I bike ride or run. Or swim, when the weather gets nice enough. I am so slow, so I won't tell you how long my mile takes

Who cares how long your mile takes??!! I look at it this way--you're doing it so you're pretty much ahead of the game already.

The half marathon that I have coming up at the end of the month has a kids race the day before the half. I asked my kids (3 and 5) if they was to run it, and they are both so excited! It's so cute. The 3 yr old will run 1/8 of a mile, and my 5 yr old will run 1/4 mile.

I just started "spinning" drop in classes....haven't been on a bike in a long time 25 years or so!!! Used to ride all the time, wow, what a workout! I run with my husband at 5:30 every morning, we are just getting back to running, so we aren't running too long. I used to run forever...I am contemplating going in the Ironman...don't want to break any records, just want to finish it, in the allotted time. I would like to do it in August 2009, for my 50th year....

The kids races are the best. My kids have don them also. They are sooooooo precious. Now my 11 year old doesn't want to run them because they're too far (I think it's because the competition is huge), but my 6 year old just loves it and calls them his marathons. Take lots of pictures.

I think my kids are more excited about the free T-shirt than the race. I would love for them to have a love for exercise, and wish that my parents had encouraged me to do something when I was little. The fact that it poops them out is an added bonus.

OMG-I thought my iPod was broken this morning and nearly had a heart attack! It's a must have for me.

michellenj, how was your race today?

Gosh Trish, it's this weekend. I'm kind of nervous about it. For my long runs I usually do like a 10-10:30 minute mile, I know that is pretty slow, but I'm afraid that I will do even worse. As an added bonus, my Aunt Flo came for a visit so I'm feeling lovely , and my ds has decided to start waking up for the day at 3 AM every night this week! The race is Sunday, so tomorrow night dh can deal with his son and I'm sleeping in the guest room. We'll see how it goes, and THANK YOU for asking.

Michelle

Sorry, I thought your race came and went. First of all, 10:00 miles on long runs isn't slow at all. You're going to be really surprised at your standing when you get the race results. Trust me, you will be pleased with that pace. Don't let all the nonsense around you frazzle you. Just eat a big bowl of spaghetti, get to bed early and you will be fine. It's nothing you haven't prepared for, and you'll do better than your training runs because the vibe of the people will carry you. Just have fun!!!

Buca di Beppo, here I come!

I'll let you know how it goes. Usually I run w/ my Ipod, but I'm thinking of leaving it home.

Trish-I did much better than I thought I would do. My time was around 2:10. They had pace groups and I started with the 2:40 people, they were too slow, moved to the 2:20, then kept picking people to race and I'm shocked that I finished as quickly as I did. Thank goodness I took my Ipod, I would have been miserable without it, even though they had 10 bands along the way, they were awful! They had us finish in a stadium, and the announcer picked me out and called my name and heckled me. After the race was over I got very nauseated and thought I was going to pass out. I know it's from not eating properly and drinking enough water. All I had was a chocolate poptart, coffee, and diet coke, then some Gatorade along the way. DH made me some soup and I was fine. BTW-he missed me finishing b/c I went faster than anticipated! Bummer.

The kids' race was really darling, just like you said.

Thank you for the encouragement that you have given me.

I never laughed so hard in my life!!!! A chocolate poptart and coffee and diet coke??!! to run 13 miles on??!! That made my day. Well, you know why you felt sick, but if that's what you always run with then stick with it Your time was great. Really. You should be proud. Glad to hear the kids had fun. Aren't the little ones so adorable?

I guess I should have eaten more??? I did use 1% milk in my coffee, LOL. Tell me what I SHOULD have eaten. I felt guilty about the poptart.

The race for the little ones could have been more organized. There were like 500 kids there, and getting them after they were done was a mess. My husband took 3 y/o son and ran it with him. He ran about halfway, then started crying.

DD just turned 5 and she did great. In her race two little boys were trying really hard to beat each other. Competitive at 6!

I don't know where you are in NJ, but if you are ever looking for a half, this one has a pretty path. It goes along a canal and over a covered bridge, past some stone farmhouses and a log cabin, to finish in the stadium. It's about 30 min from the NJ/PA border.

you just have to go with what you eat on your trainig runs. I usually knock back a cup of dry cheerios in the car driving my kids to school. But I would say tht a poptart is not what you want to eat going into a race. On race days, I usually eat a bagel and a cup of coffee. That race sounds really pretty. Kind of far for me. I'm as far east and as far north in NJ as you can get. Glad to hear you DD gave the boys a run for their money. Go Girl!!

Usually I run at night or in the afternoon, so I've had a couple of meals, and I'm not hungry in the morning. Maybe (if there is a next time) I'll get one of those belt thingys and throw a couple of Luna bars in there. I saw a lady with one on, and she had 6 bottles of water around her waist. Seems like a lot of extra weight to be carrying, esp since they had water stands every 2 miles.

Michellenj
My friends have done the disney marathon for the past couple years. I go along as support person. They fly in and I stock the condo with food and stuff for the weekend, since I live about 2 hours away and have a car handy. I see them off at the beginning of the run and meet them at the end, carrying their cameras and stuff. They love it the whole full service Disney thing . Being able to go through the parks themselves makes it more interesting. The only bad part is having to be at Epcot and waiting in the corrals in the cold and dark at like 5am. By the end the temps are back up in the low 70's.