Big Race Day Tomorrow with the "Run to Feed the Hungry"

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Emily T and the NYC Marathon

Em, what was the absolute best part of the race?

The best part about NYC marathon is the support from the city & touring NY in that unique way! It seemed to me that just everyone was out cheering, whether they knew people or not! I got to see every borough & the people out representing their neighborhoods. It was so cool!

I hear it is quite the spectacle at times. What is the craziest thing you saw during the race?

The craziest thing I saw while running was at the beginning. I was standing in my wave corral & over the fence I saw a replica of the Eiffel tower moving through the crowd. I can't be sure if this person ran while wearing it but I would be extra impressed if they did. Of course, there were also tons of people in costumes (it was the day after Halloween). I saw Capt. America & some other super hero. Quite a few people in animal costumes. Julie got a picture of a 'Hulk Hogan' & a guy running as a waiter. Pretty funny stuff!

Did you hear how many people participated and how crowded did it all seem?

The crowds? Oh, there were soooo many people. I didn't feel like it thinned out at all. There were always people around me, but I think because of the new starting system they instigated, it helped spread people out a little bit. I would say that the ferry ride from Manhattan to Staten Island was probably the most 'crowded' feeling, as everyone wanted to be sure they were on the boat!! The total entries were 44,177 with 43,983 finishing. The marathon itself gets over 100,00 applicants each year!

What did you eat the night before and what did you have to celebrate after?

I had lemon dill salmon, coucous & broccoli for dinner. I carb loaded the night before. Sometimes too much pasta before a race (for me) makes me feel bloated. I typically go with what works. I like a bit of protein, some carbs and always veggies=) After the race, I celebrated by not throwing up (YAY me!) & had an Odwalla chocolate protein shake & then some pizza from Big Nick's in the Upper West side of Manhattan. Then, when I got back to my cousin's, I had an ice bath & some red wine!!

Would you do it all over again?

I would absolutely do it again! I think it would be even more fun if I was doing it with people I knew!! Hint hint, nudge, nudge;)

Congratulations Emily from all of us at Team Lucca on an excellent race.

You are a rock star of a runner an inspirational coach and we all just

love you to pieces!

Thank Goodness

Hard to believe that our little rogue Team Lucca is now in it’s eight year of running and cycling adventures. My hero this week is Allison Mann of Southern California. A fierce, passionate, very good, very dedicated professional mountain bike cyclist. Allison and her husband Justin are good friends of my son, Luke. All three ride together, race together, look out for each other and are each other’s biggest fans. I love this picture of Allison wearing her Team Lucca jersey, lined up with all the big boys at the start of one of three, “12 hours of Temecula” races this last weekend.


Allison finished first in the women’s solo division.


While out running today I thought how mighty lucky I am. Though, I am certainly not unscathed by life, I am still happy, still hopeful, so grateful, still running.

A year has gone by since I broke my elbow and tore my triceps. No huge deal really in the greater scope of things. I may never be able to fully extend my left arm, feel small twinges of pain and sometimes have to just laugh with the way my arm hanging oddly at an exaggerated angle reminds me of a Neanderthal.

Yet all so insignificant in relation to the physical pain some people suffer.

Life can be so fragile and who knows what lays around the next corner for any of us. So as I run I think of the million things I have to be thankful for.

I remind myself to never underestimate the profoundness of the simple, the little things, the obvious.

I look around and I realize every blade of grass is a vision, every breath I take a kind of victory, every footfall a momentous occasion.

Happy almost Thanksgiving. See you at the Run to Feed the Hungry.

Some books I recommend.
Ten Points: A Memoir by Bill Strickland, If you love cycling and critereum racing this is really a great book.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, Sweetness unlimited for those who know dogs have souls.

And Biking and Hiking The American River Parkway, New 3^rd Edition by The American River Natural History Association
A wonderful breakdown of each mile on the trail, from the historical, “mile 9.5 you are near the Nisenan village site of Kadema………or dance-house, site of important rituals” to the natural wonders contained therein, “mile 7.4 stands of wild rose compete for sun with wild grape vines” to the practical, beware “ mile 21.4 a stand of poison oak in on the northeast corner of the path leading to some picnic tables”

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New York City Marathon, Running in the Fall and Pumpkin Pancakes

So it is that fall is upon us with some of the best running weather of the year.
This morning I run along thinking of Emily, hoping she is doing well, hoping she is finding some joy in her quest of completing the New York City Marathon.
An event she is competing in this morning.

Emily is a coach with Team Lucca. She is the one that drives the effort of those with the big goals, the half marathon, the marathon and tri sports. So I run along like a nervous little mother on this early Sunday morning after Halloween, kicking out three miles, thinking if I were Em I would only have to throw down 23 more, waiting anxiously to hear that she made it, that she did well, that she is happy.

My other thoughts this morning move to the book I am currently reading “The art of racing in the rain”. A sweet book, with the narrative given by a dog.
Which makes me think of dogs and their highly attuned sense of smell.
One of the things I love about running or riding my bike along the trail are the smells. The heady smell of anise, the most divinely floral smell around mile 11 in the springtime, my favorite smell in the world, eucalyptus. Ron always laughs and knows whenever we are driving somewhere when I stick my head out the window ( like a dog) that we are approaching a grove of eucalyptus trees. I love when it rains just a little and layer upon layer of earthy smells abound that stir the primitive in my brain into wistful memories of what it must have been like to live surrounded by nature.

One theory on why our sense of smell is so diminished compared to a dogs is that when we developed higher thinking, something had to give. If all of our senses were so acute the powerful distraction would create a sensory overload, constantly crowding out our ability to focus.
Which now moves my thoughts to another sense, taste. Today the time changed and I realize I will have to wait even longer after this run for our Sunday ritual of actually sitting down in our restaurant to eat. I love breakfast at Roxy. While not a big pancake fan, Danny has added seasonal pumpkin pancakes as an addition to the menu on Sundays. They are delicious.

Which brings me back to Emily, who I know is sufficing on Gu gel or jelly beans or whatever other assortment of food energy she has chosen to get her through those 26 miles.

I am so proud to know someone like Emily.
I love that she has worked so hard toward this dream of hers.
Yesterday when out riding my bike on the trail I ran into our mutual friends Karyn and JoAnne. Two amazing ladies training for next months Ironman in Cozumel.
When talking about their great endeavor and Emily’s Marathon, Karyn, who seems to know everyone on the trail, said she is always so happy to see anyone out there running five miles, running two miles, for heavens sake walking one.
Anything that makes someone healthier physically or mentally is a great endeavor.

It is a constant in the media, this talk of fixing our country's health care problems.
It is a prevalent response to look at ways to treat the symptoms, high medical bills, overcrowding in hospitals, unaffordable health insurance.
I, myself, am all for the focus being first and foremost on treating the universal disease.
As a country we need to find the means to live a healthier life style.

Running is just one suggestion.

Way to go Emily !

Can’t wait to hear all about it..

Stay tuned as next week Emily will be reporting on her time in New York.