Journal Entry 4 – My Goals for 2013

First and foremost, I’m sorry for the hiatus in posts. It’s been a very long holiday season (but so much fun!), which was then overshadowed by a whopping flu and sickness season. I was hit with a bad strain of flu (I think, who knows anymore?) that really took me off the road for almost five weeks. Who knew I could actually not run for five whole weeks? It was tough, but I did some Soul Cycling, lots of yoga and plenty of resting.

Then my whole family got sick – that’s a lot of nose wiping, whining, and general misery in one household, I can tell you. We are finally all almost better now. I was hit with yet another bout this week, not as severe, but enough to make flying this past Friday feel like the most miserable day of my life. Blocked up nose and high altitudes are very bad for your ears. I didn’t even think.

But enough about snotty noses and feeling sorry for myself, this is what I did discover: it takes a long time to lose your base fitness so long as you’re doing some aerobic exercise. For me, that has been a lot more Soul Cycling (I love it!). When I finally got out on the road again two weeks ago, I ran an easy 7-miler and maintained an eight minute per mile pace. I couldn’t believe it, to be honest. So I’m trying this for a bit longer to see if I can avoid ITB problems and maintain fitness: run harder and faster, but run less. Intermix with cross training and yoga and will I be fitter and injury-free? We shall see.

So 2013 is a big year for me: I am turning the big 4-0 in March. I’ve been apprehensive about this to say the least. I’ve been downright miserable about it, if I’m truthfully honest. Now, I have decided to make it MY year, not my age’s.

Here is my hit list so far:

1. Spend more time with my family.
2. Manage stress at work better.
3. Run two marathons at least (Long Island marathon in May and NYC marathon in November already booked – considering some others).
4. And here is the big one for me: fulfill a lifelong ambition to complete my Yoga Teacher Training. I begin class on January 26 with Yogaworks and will complete an 8-month training program. I am beyond excited and so very grateful to my husband for his support to do this. I’ll keep you posted on progress.

What are your resolutions for 2013? Wishing you all a healthy and happy year.

The post Athlete Journal: Narisa Wild, Entry 4 – My Goals For 2013 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Journal Entry 3 – What’s Next?

The biggest question posed by a runner about a minute after completing a marathon is: “What’s next?” There is such elation with the accomplishment that with it follows a big crash and sometimes mild sadness about what one’s next goal should be. A marathon runner isn’t happy unless they are working towards a goal.

So that’s where I am currently. I’ve been focusing on my family and on letting my leg rest properly with lots of physical therapy and stretching.

I’ve got a new obsession called Soul Cycle, which is like a club mixed with serious hardcore spin cycling. It incorporates leg, arms and abdominal work all at once – love it. My other strength training is through Pure Barre, which is like yoga meets Pilates meets core strength work. I can definitely feel the benefits of doing this once a week coupled with intense marathon training.

I’ll get back to running over turkeyweekend for sure. Two weeks of no running is about all I can bear.

So now I’ll be maintaining a base level of fitness, with around 20-30 miles per week, and I hope to find a spring marathon in May to compete in. Any suggestions are very welcome.

Wishing you all a happy and restful Thanksgiving.

The post Athlete Journal: Narisa Wild, Entry 3 – What’s Next? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Journal Entry 2 – Making My Own Marathon

For the first time in its forty-two year history, the ING NYC Marathon on Sunday, November 4, 2012 was canceled due to divisive reactions to the hosting of the event in the wake of hurricane Sandy, a superstorm that ravaged the East Coast causing massive flooding, deaths, and power outages, and instigated a fuel and food shortage during its aftermath.

A day earlier, on Saturday around 5pm on November 3, 2012, we learnt through a media release that the New York Marathon was canceled. Finally, the right decision was made! The race had created so much controversy and division both amongst runners and the New York community at large that it was sad to be caught in the middle of it all. The pre-race enthusiasm wasn’t there, and the spirit of New Yorkers is understandably elsewhere right now.

I was so relieved and happy that they came to the good decision for the better of New York and all those suffering the impact of Sandy. In my heart, though, I did feel obligated to honor and see through the promise I had made to all of my generous sponsors, to Fred’s Team and to Memorial Sloan Kettering: to complete two marathons in three weeks.

So that’s what I did. On my own. 

Early Sunday morning, at 6:45am I set out on my 26.2-mile solo run from my house, in my Fred’s Team gear, with the intention of running a full marathon. It was cold, sunny, and messy out there. Roads strewn with branches, sea residue, fallen trees, and the dangling power lines, I gingerly made my way along my route feeling out my sensitive hamstring and my disheveled nerves. I wasn’t sure how I felt: emotional – yes, sad – no, excited – yes, but I couldn’t shake Sandy from my memory for long – her devastation was all around me.

Six miles in and my hamstring felt tight, my heart heavy, and my nose cold. But I kept pushing forward. I wasn’t able to charge my Garmin (still no power at our house at that point) so I had charged my iPhone in the car the night before and was relying on the Nike+ app to get me around. Unfortunately this meant I couldn’t play any music (the app sucks too much battery life) so it was me and my thoughts. Luckily I have a lot to think about, it seems!

It’s tough carrying all of your own supplies, too (Gatorade, gels), but you get by with the bare minimum when you have to. I ran a 19-mile loop that took me past my house for some emotional and psychological refreshment: the sight of my family gave me the strength to run the remaining 7.2 miles.

The biggest test of a marathon is the mental capacity to see it through, the rest comes with training but your mind has to be there – or at the finish – right from the word go. If it’s not, you’re unlikely to succeed.

My finish line was pink, created by my wonderful family, complete with a medal and prize! The emotions were still there and the craving for spicy food, as always.

Now for some rest, protein refuel, and then a few weeks of cross training to really rest these tired legs!

The post Athlete Journal: Narisa Wild, Entry 2 – Making My Own Marathon appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Get to Know Narisa Wild

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Narisa is a wife and mother of three living in Westchester, New York. A keen runner for almost thirty years, she still remembers her first track trial when her dad took her to the local athletic club at the age of nine. She grew up running cross country and track at national level and eventually moved into longer distances (half marathons mainly) during early adulthood.

Narisa ran her first full marathon in the year 2000, finishing in 3hrs 29min and realizing she enjoyed the whole 26.2 miles. Between 2000 and 2007 she ran 11 marathons, 4 ultras, and achieved competitive level with her fastest marathon time of 3hrs 14mins in 2003. This time allowed her to start the London marathon (which she competed in six times overall) of 2004 at the same start line as the amazing Paula Radcliffe! (Right at the back of this start line we might add!)

She moved to the U.S. in 2007 with three suitcases, a husband, an 8-month-old baby girl, and a 1-year-old golden retriever called Roger. Moving countries can be hard to do but running was the tool Narisa adopted to discover and become acquainted with her new home in Manhattan, to make new friends and to get to grips with the “grid system.” Narisa works for Scripps Networks Interactive, the parent company of Food Network, HGTV, The Travel Channel, and Cooking Channel in their interactive division.

She has fond memories of her daily run around Central Park with little Amelie (aged 9 months) in her pink BOB stroller, bundled up to protect her against the January temperatures. What struck her most is the beauty of New York on a winter morning, blazing and alive under the winter sun. Quickly Narisa discovered that two laps of Central Park, stroller and babe in tow, is no easy feat but she’s not one to give in to a challenge. Being so central in the city, Narisa joined NYRR and began to participate in all the local races: NY Half, NY mini 10km, and a handful of other races.

Busy growing her family, with the addition of two more siblings for Amelie (now 5 years old) – Aaron in 2009 (now aged 3) and Aimee in 2011 (now aged 1) – Narisa spent almost six years being pregnant or being a nursing mom! Nonetheless, she is competitive by nature and competed in the ING NY marathon in November 2009 (Aaron was just 8 months old) and also in November 2011 (Aimee was 10 mths old) and is due to compete this year too.

Throw into this mix two operations for a torn meniscus (removed from both knees) in 2007 and 2011 and you have one lady who loves to run and run and run. She has even been seen running up to 12 miles with two kids in tow in their double stroller. Not able to run with the same speed she once had, Narisa now runs to raise money for charity, usually Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and feels good putting her talents and passion to real use.

2012 has a new twist, with the challenge for sponsorship being: to complete two marathons in three weeks. She ran Nike Womens’ Marathon in San Fran on Oct 14th and finished in 3hrs 44min (her best time in five years) which also qualified her for Boston in 2014.

Journal Entry 1 – Running Through Sandy

The post Athlete Journal: Narisa Wild, Entry 1 – Running Through Sandy appeared first on Breaking Muscle.