Halloween in NYC this Year...

Most of the country is probably aware of Hurricane Sandy and her devastating impacts on much of the eastern cost of North America.  NYC was hit particularly badly, but fortunately I live in one of the few neighborhoods that kept power throughout.  As more and more stories surface in the aftermath of the storm, though, it seems that not having power is the least of some peoples worries and my heart goes out to them.

The weather has kept me in NYC for the week instead of Boston-suburb-bound, as is my usual weekly trek these days.  While home, I'm trying to take advantage of not having to eat three meals a day in a restaurant, and having the opportunity to work around my own schedule, which means the chance to build in some workouts and cook some nutritious meals.

Have you ever seen such a sadly stocked produce section?   Sandy's impact on Whole Foods.

After AliontheRun sweetly answered my first ever tweet [excluding the 2 I sent out for a discount on my Amex at some point in time] to inform me that the parks were still off limits*** due to the storm, and my friend who lives by the WSH told me "There were cops at every riverside entrance" I decided to take my butt and my Halloween playlist to the gym.

After hopping around the living room like an idiot to Tracy Anderson's Dance cardio workout yesterday I wasn't sure how much my calves would hold up for any sort of prolonged workout, so I decided to give mile repeats a short test drive.  They're one of those standard workouts that so many running gurus recommend but I've always been too chicken or weak to try.

I began my workout with a 10:00 min / mile "warm-up."  I use quotation marks because there was a point in time when 10:00 min / mile would have totally been an easy warm up for me, but that time is not now.  Granted, I've been getting a bit more comfortable in the mid to high 9s lately, but not so much so that I'd say 10 is "nothing."  Next I did a mile at 9:05, which I guess would be an ideal 1/2 marathon pace for me someday.  I followed the mile with a half mile recovery at 10:00 and then one more full mile at 9:05.  In total that hashed out to 3 miles at 28:08.

It's no secret that eventually running a sub 2 hour marathon is light years away from being a possibility for me [if ever] given that doing just 2, disjointed miles at that pace was so tough for me, but I guess you've got to start somewhere.  Similarly, I'm pretty sure that true mile repeats involve more than just 2 repeats, and likely less than a half mile of recovery, but again, I'm starting by doing what I can and hoping that even the "wrong" way will help.  Here's hoping!

On a pluckier note, James and I are hosting a "We're Not Running the Marathon Tomorrow!" party this Saturday night.  More on that later, but for now, here's some shots of the pumpkin I carved in preparation for the party.  Maybe I should quit my day job....

Too bad the pumpkin doesn't seem to want to make it until the party...

Hey Nike!  Wanna send me a coupon or something for the free advertising my awesome pumpkin's giving you?

***Note: I now know that the NYC Parks Department is where to find such information.