Training Update - Marine Corps Marathon

There is only 2 1/2 months left until the big day, October 28th, The Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. I have been training since early June and I don't know why I thought that this time around it would be easier...it is not! I pretty much know what I am in for but as in life, there are always some surprises. Here are the cliff notes to my past 2 months of training:

• The first Training run in Milburn: I ran 5 miles at a 10 minute pace knocking at least 3 minutes per mile off of my NJ Marathon pace. Looking good right? Hmmmm...
• Trail run in Lafayette NJ: This run was on a trail that was quite rocky and full of debris. The schedule called for 8 miles that day. At mile 2 I tripped and I found myself face down in the dirt. I stood up muddy, bleeding from my forehead and hands. I had to decide "do I go on or do I turn back?" I thought, "hey I'm training with the Marines! I am going on!" At the water stop my teammates helped me wipe away the mud and the blood and I went on to run my 8 miles that day. The silver lining: there were massive piles of horse manure all throughout the trail. It could have been MUCH worse!
• Knee Injury...oh no! After getting home from Lafayette I removed my training clothes to assess the damage and found that my right knee was severely bruised. Coincidentally (or not) soon after this accident my right knee started giving me problems. So much so that I wound up back at my acupuncturist and chiropractor and putting a halt on my training runs for a few weeks. Oh no, here I go again! ughhhh!
• I found my Chi! By late July I was feeling better and resumed my training. I found a book called Chi Running which talks about learning how to run from your "Chi" which is easier on your knee(s) as well as other body parts. Hey, I like the sound of that!

The NYC 1/2 Marathon: Fast forward to August 5th, 2007. I entered to run in the NYC Half Marathon with my life long friend, Debbie Shapiro. It was also her birthday so we were celebrating our friendship and her birthday by running in this event together.



Debbie Shapiro and me the day before the NYC Half Marathon

We went into NY the day before to stay overnight, celebrate Debbie's birthday, and be there in the starter's corral in Central Park at 6:15am sharp. The morning of the race I was pretty nervous about not having run more than 9 miles since April and having taken so much time off from my training. There was a 3 hour time limit for the runners. My goal was simple this time: Finish in under 3 hours without getting injured and before the meat wagon picks me up!

I had the Sperber cheering section on hand in Central Park all decked out in Running on Love T-shirts. Central Park in my humble opinion was one gigantic hill. I couldn't wait to get out of there! As I headed out of the park towards Times Square we had the NYPD Blue on their bull horns yelling at us in thick NY accents: "Hey you runners, its 8:30am and you're running down Times Square! It don't get better than that!" I couldn't agree more.

At mile 11 the muscle cramps were setting in and I felt like I did at the end of the full marathon. Maybe worse! I began stopping and stretching periodically. I stopped at the last water stop and some guy tried to hand me a water cup and his fingers were sticking deep inside the cup. I reached past him politely to grab a different cup and he started yelling at me "Hey Lori!!!" I turned in disbelief and it was Jack, my Team in Training Mentor! We are still having a good laugh over this one.

So, did I meet my goal? Absolutely! There will be no meat wagons for Lori Sperber!


Here I am looking very chipper and ahead of my 
                unnamed opponent!!



From left to right: Jillian Sperber, David Sperber, my
  sister-in-law Margie Strauss and nephew Steven

Check out the gorgeous weather in these photos. This race day was delightful, cool, clear and perfect running weather. The day before this race and the day after this race it was sweltering into the 90's and severely humid.  On this day, the weather was just what the running doctor ordered! I do believe I was being protected by a couple of weather angels!



From left to right: Our son David, my husband Jeff, a very
         tired and sore Lori, and our daughter Jillian
(FYI: Our daughter Melissa was traveling and touring Chicago that day)

The race ended in Battery Park. My chip time was 7 minutes better than it was in the Brooklyn Half Marathon in April. I guess you could say this is now my PR or Personal Record. I believe running is a great sport because your only true competition is yourself. Oh what a beautiful feeling...to finish a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) and celebrate with the people that you love! Just amazing!