FUNDRAISER: Dinner and a Movie!

Starring: Dennis Quaid
Movie Summary: Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his 3 friends, The comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends and parents annoyance. While meanwhile, the 4 friends try to break away from their townie, Indiana reputation while fighting with nearby college snobs.

SEPT 9th: Come join me and Bob! The funs starts at 7:00 at 1634 Lexington Avenue, Apt 3B (cross street 103rd) Take the 6 train to the 103rd St Station and cross 103rd, apartment is on the NW corner.

Food:
Meatballs ala Mama Scofield
Pasta
some sort of Lasagna
Garlic Bread
Salad

BYOB!

RSVP to either me or Bob Scofield bobscof@gmail.com and feel free to check out Bob's blog! http://tfkbob.blogspot.com/

DONATE $20 to me online and $5 at the door! Hope to see you there!!

Spots limited so act quick! Donate now :-)

To pick up where we last left off.... MARATHON DAY 2005

Running NYC 2005 was a great experience. Though I didn't have the perfect running day... accomplishing my goal of finishing the marathon in under 4 hours and running with my friends that I trained so hard with over the span of three months was truly satisfying. This picture is taken somewhere along the first 16 miles before we reached Manhattan. We're the ones in flourescent green. Meet my pace group: Russ (in white cap & blue shorts next to me), Cool Craig (in the sunglasses behind me), Highly Questionable Bob (in backwards cap behind me), and Amy (you can get a glimpse of her arm in the shot). We ran the first 18 miles of the marathon together... and countless miles prior to that day. This was my core group. And without them, I would not have been able to finish the marathon in the manner that I did.
The day started early. O-dark hundred... wake-up marathon day was 0400. Way early, even for an ex-Army gal. I made my way into the city and to our bus pick-up point in mid-town Manhattan. Once happily installed on the bus, I tried to nap, but wasn't too successful. The anticipation of the race day ahead was too much to block out. The ride to Staten Island, the time killing at Fort Wadsworth getting ready for the race (body glide, writing names on shirts, etc.), the nervous energy, the massive lines for the port-a-potties (a runner's nightmare) all sped by at lightning speed. Before I knew it, we were lining up in our corrals for the race start.

1010 Race start time... and we're off. Over the Verazano Bridge and into Brooklyn. The next 16 miles pretty much breezed by. We were like Rockstars. Shouts of encouragement through Brooklyn and Queens...Go Team Kids! Go Amy! Go Russ! Go Bob! And then we were at the Queensboro bridge -- no enraged spitting runner this time as I crossed. I was sooo excited to reach Manhattan! Anxiously looking forward to seeing some friendly faces... which came no sooner than I turned off the bridge to start my long trek up 1st Avenue. There were my friends Anthony, Jeanne, and Suzanne right under the bridge. THANKS guys! And then up 1st Ave... looking for other familiar faces and looking forward to the TFK Cheer Zone, around mile 18, where my father would be.
Mile 18/19... still feeling good leaving Manhattan for our short foray into the Bronx before returning to Manhattan for our finish in Central Park, but here's where I knew things would start to get hard... and they did. Our pace group started to spread out and soon... it was only me and Amy running together. As we left the Bronx behind... uphill along 5th Avenue, all I kept thinking about was making it to the top where my friends would be. What street were they on again?? Oh... 10 more blocks. 10 blocks... 9 blocks.... 8 blocks..... 7 blocks... each block seeming like an eternity. And then finally... there they are. So happy to see them... but then my thoughts return to -- I still have a half loop in the park and I'm running out of gas. The Boston Marathon is famous for having Heartbreak Hill but I would venture to say that 5th Avenue is just as big of a heartbreaker as any... and to borrow a quote from my friend, here is where my heart broke. Entering the park, I did not have the euphoria that most people say they experience and the crowds, though loud and numerous, did not make me forget how badly I was feeling. Amy was ahead of me and I watched, sadly, as she pulled away... I was alone to struggle through the last mile on my own.
It was a very long lonely mile with one surprise that nearly brought me to tears. Unexpectly, near the SE corner of the park, my friend Michelle pops out of the crowd with a large green sign encouraging me on. And with that little bit... I focused on picking up my cadence and pushed on to the finish.

NYC 2005 Marathonalogues

From: Song, Sonia
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 8:51 PM
To: Song, Sonia
Subject: Marathonalogues...

10 DAYS and a WAKE UP!!!! I can hardly believe the big day is almost here!!! It’s been a long haul. So what have I been up to since the 20 miler? Running… what else ;-)

So under my belt since the 20 mile run across the GW bridge are two half marathons, a 23 miler, and most recently a 10 miler tracing highlights of the last 10 miles of the actual NYC marathon. All I have left is a 5 mile fun run this coming weekend and then the marathon itself on Nov 6th…. YIPEE!!!

So to catch y’all up:

10/2: Grete’s Gallop (Half marathon #1) was a nice jog through the park. Nothing really eventful happened on this run. The coolest part about that day was that I got to meet Grete Waitz (hence the name of the race in honor of her birthday), 9 time winner of the NYC Marathon and former world record holder for the distance. She was gracious, funny, witty and absolutely down to earth when addressing us mere mortals about her marathon experiences. Advice and little tidbits from a real pro along with delicious birthday cake… what else could a girl ask for?

10/9: Westchester Half Marathon. Cold and wet is what I remember most… and that I picked up a cute little dress for my friend’s wedding following the race. Filthy and all… I managed to find something in Rye in a boutique no less! The race was good. I actually placed third in my age group and got an award. Doesn’t really say much… normal fish in a very small pond if ya get what I mean. Still, it was completely unexpected, and a nice surprise.

10/16: 23 miler. This one was a good run. Really one of my best… and a great confidence builder for me. Especially since I hadn’t had a really good long run since the 16 miler, oh so many moons ago. I was actually dreading this one. I really thought it would be a struggle for me because I was coming in from Atlanta the night before at 0100. In bed by 0230 and up by 0600… No sleep and then running 23 miles… not a good combo. But it turned out to be a great run for me. We started on the Westside @ 72nd Street and ran uptown to 123rd before turning around to run all the way down and around the southern tip of Manhattan and then up the Eastside until 24th Street and then ALL the way back again to finish up at 72nd. Long way, huh? U know it! But what made the run sooo much more enjoyable were my wonderful friends, Suzanne, Jeanne, Anthony, and Heather, that volunteered to be stationed along the route to hand out water and Gatorade to TFK runners. And that was a tremendous effort. They were up and in the city by 0500!!! I cannot tell you how much I truly appreciated seeing their lovely faces as I made my way up and down the east and west side. Possibly the secret to my success that day :)

And finally… this past weekend – the 10 miler. Now this one was actually kind of eventful. First of all… it was billed as the 10 Mile Manhattan Surprise. WTF does that mean? Well rumors were rampant amongst us TFKers about what the run would actually entail. Unconfirmed sources were spreading the word that we would run the actual last 10 miles of the marathon route. I personally didn’t give a rats a$$ what we were running. Did it matter? 10 miles… let’s just get it over with. What I was most pleased about was that I didn’t have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to get somewhere and that somewhere was not as far usual. We were meeting up at 0800 (much better than 0600!) at Central Park South and 5th Ave, right across the street from the Plaza Hotel (much closer than 72nd and Riverside or 90th and 5th, etc. u get the picture). I was actually early… if u can believe that! So I entertained myself while awaiting the rest of the runners to congregate by listening to tunes on the iPod, bopping around to keep warm, and chasing pigeons just for kicks ;-) Lucky for me… none of them crapped on my head while they flew away. Anywho, after much anticipation… the coaches revealed the route. We were running across and back the Queensboro Bridge, up 1st Ave to 102nd (I think) and then down 5th Ave ‘til 90th, cutting into Central Park and then back to where we started. We’re officially in taper mode so we were supposed to go slow and easy for a leisurely (ha! ha!) 10 miles. They lined us up according to pace… and we’re off. It was a REALLY brisk morning so, of course, I just wanted to motor to warm up, fully intending to slow down into an easy pace once I was no longer cold. That didn’t quite happen, but oh well. Anywho… runnin, runnin, minding our own business, across the Queensboro Bridge and then back when of course, we had to run into a crazy. You’ve heard of road rage, well… let me tell you – there’s such a thing as RUNNER RAGE! We’re running across the bridge on our way back to the city… we’re just about at the crest of the bridge when this dude passes us. No biggie… he’s doing intervals, pushing hard on the incline, whatever. Who cares? But he slows down once he reaches the crest of the bridge… me and my runnin buddy Russ… keeping a consistent pace, of course, catch up to him so we part like the Red Sea and then pass him. As we pass… I hear him mumble under his breath… “a$$hole.” Now, I admit, Russ might have cut him off a bit, but really nothing to get worked up about. I mean, if you run a race in NYC, you’re in much more cramped quarters with people cutting you off left and right. Next thing ya know… this guy is sprinting to catch up to us and then cutting in front of us and then slowing down just to piss us off. Russ and I look at each other like… WTF? What’s wrong this dude?? So once again... we decide to pass, but this time I suggest that we both pass him on the left leaving ample space, to not impede on his work out, stride, whatever. So here we go… wide left – and if you can believe this… the guy spits at us! He spits to the left intentionally as we pass… and then as we’re in front him, he speeds up to try and get close… get us in range, I guess, and spits at us again!! So then, I of course, turn to him and say, “What’s your problem, sir?!?!?!?” And without hesitation, he pops off, “You b*tch! Your type’s my problem.” As I run past him. Then again… we hear his approaching footsteps behind… when I turn to Russ and say… let’s ditch this guy. We high tail it off the bridge with crazy guy in pursuit leaving two of our other pace group runners behind wondering, “Where’s the fire? I thought we were supposed to go slow.” Thankfully… crazy guy continued straight while we made the turn north onto 1st Avenue. We re-grouped and continued on our 10 mile journey… but fueled by our run-in with crazy runner rage guy, we zipped through the rest of the 10 miles at a faster than instructed pace. So we got in trouble, and for penance Coach Alem made us do push-ups. Getting in trouble for running TOO fast… well, there’s a first time for everything.

Well, now that I’ve written you a novella… I hope y’all are still reading this and that your eyes haven’t completely glazed over. Thanks for all the support and encouragement that you’ve given me over the past few months. On November 6th, not only will I be running for Team for Kids, but with all of you in my heart! My goal of sub-4 is all but guaranteed…. Just get me to the starting line!


-----Original Message-----
From: Song, Sonia
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 3:06 PM
Subject: Re: Marathonalogues...

Hey all... 2 half marathons down and one 23 miler this wkend to go before I'm done w/all my serious trng prior to the actual event. After this Sunday's run, I'll be 3 wks out from the marathon. I think all that's on the schedule is a 10 miler and some 5-6 mile fun runs :) Yipee!!!!! Ahhhhh the light @ the end of the tunnel. Its been a long 3 months of running, but well worth it. Shout out to susan... Well done in chicago! U were totally smokin girl!! Maybe one day I'll catch up 2 you (hahaha! Not in this lifetime ;-)) but until then, I'll keep pluggin along. More 2 follow after Sunday's run.... I know y'all cannot wait!!
--------------------------
Sonia Song


-----Original Message-----
From: Song, Sonia
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 5:55 PM
Subject: Marathonalogues...

Hey all… so usually most of u get my subway sagas... which have actually kind of been a marathon-a-logues in and of themselves, but since so many of u have asked – thought I’d send out a little note regarding training.

I can’t even count how many miles I have logged to date, but I can tell you that one of the two pairs of kicks I bought just before July 4th are ready to be retired. The treads are pretty worn down. Thank goodness for the “shoe clinic” that I attended last Wednesday, where the “expert” help promptly laughed out loud at the current sneaks I’ve been running in. The “better” pair from my July purchase that I have used sparingly to date.

He was like, “You run in THOSE?!?”

I’m like, “Um hmmm. Why?”

Expert Shoe guy, “You’re a little girl. Those are for big people. You don’t have any injuries?”

Moi, “No. But maybe that’s why my feet have been falling asleep on all my long runs? Perhaps??” Or, I’m thinking to myself, I’m tying my shoes too tight and cutting off circulation.

Anywho – He brings out a couple pairs. I veto one pair immediately b/c of color. He’s laughing at me once again, but I’m like… I’m a GIRL! I can’t wear those. I mean… they were an obnoxious fluorescent green for goodness sakes! Thank goodness they were NOT the most comfortable pair. I bought some pink power shoes (the ones I was making fun of when I first walked in the store) so hopefully that will cure the running on pins & needles. I mean they say on the soles that they’re “Wicked Fast” (shout out to Boston!) so…

I however did not bust out the pink power shoes for my 20 miler this weekend. I didn’t think taking new shoes on a 20 mile test run was the wisest, so I wore my “too much shoe for a little girl" pair and once again struggled with the wonderful sensation of running on fallen asleep feet for a good 15 of the 20 miles I’d say. Tried to loosen the laces at the half-way point, but it didn’t help much and I was too stressed out about falling behind (type A in me) that I didn’t want to stop again.

Regardless of the feet… the day was absolutely perfect for running. Beautiful and clear with a crispness in the air that signals Fall is upon us :) We ran up the west side starting at 72nd Street and all the way up to the GW bridge. Across the bridge (something I really NEVER thought I’d do… I mean… I DRIVE over the freakin thing!) and into dirty Jersey. That’s where the run became pretty… running under tree cover and being able to appreciate the Manhattan skyline. We ran through a park on the Jersey side and turned around somewhere right by the Hudson to retrace our tracks. A bit dehydrated and completely depleted of energy because I was sooo intent on catching up with my pace group that I didn’t bother to drink or take in calories… so I was a sad puppy by the end of the run, numb from the knees down, completely chafed between the legs, and probably on the verge of cramping up… but almost a liter of Gatorade later once I finished and I was almost as good as new and ready to run some more (NOT!). Now I just want the marathon to come sooner that later! I’m sooooo sick of HAVING to run.

Anywho… gotta get going. Need to squeeze in a 45 minute run before Monday Night Football festivities 2nite :) Running tomorrow... probably the day after… definitely this weekend… get the picture? Happy Monday everyone!

-----Original Message-----
From: Song, Sonia
Sent: Saturday, September 24, 2005 2:08 PM
To: Song, Sonia
Cc: 'sunyua_song@yahoo.com'
Subject: FW: NYC Marathon & Team for Kids

Hello! Just thought I’d give you an update on how marathon training is going now that I’m about half-way to marathon day! I just finished a 20 mile run this morning… the longest to date. I’ve been logging about 50 miles per week. I usually run with Team for Kids on Tuesday and Thursday nights for about an hour and then there is always a long run on the weekend. It’s been a BIG commitment signing up to do the marathon, but I’m on track to run the marathon at an 8:30~9:00ish pace so I guess that’s good :) I’ll come in under 4 hours with time to spare. I’m really glad I’m training (btw I have done it without training and I don’t really recommend it) so I’ll be able to enjoy the marathon instead of thinking its cruel and unusual punishment. It’s also been great running with a team. Something I haven’t really done since college. It’s nice to be part of a group. And, what this whole training bit has done for me… I will tell you… is that my concept of long runs is completely skewed now. A half-marathon is a nice easy run. Before a 14-miler… what will often be heard amongst my fellow lunatics in running is, “Oh… it’s not too bad today. It’s ONLY 14 miles.” Who says that????

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. Banning me from going out and forcing me to get rest is something that I apparently need. As much as I would like to be… I’m apparently NOT Superwoman or Wonderwoman or any sort of super-hero at all. I’m a mere mortal. R&R is something I need. It’s put a REAL damper on my “going-out” life, but its well worth it.

I’m also going to take this opportunity to remind all you folks, if you’re going to donate (as many of you have voiced) please go ahead and do so before October 15th so I can plan fundraising events accordingly. And a BIG THANK YOU to all that have donated already. Team for Kids raises money for something I feel is really worthwhile. Of course I’m biased, as a lifetime runner, but I feel participating in organized sports and running in particular, teaches kids a lot about themselves, goal setting, dedication and hard work. All very important life skills! And childhood obesity is becoming more and more prevalent in our society, especially amongst lower income households. Team for Kids provides opportunities for those children most at risk to learn about nutrition, exercise, and teaches them about a healthy lifestyle. Okay – okay… I’ll get off my soap box. But really – it’s a worthwhile cause!

Hope everyone is doing well! Have a great weekend!



-----Original Message-----
From: Song, Sonia
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 6:56 PM
To: Song, Sonia
Cc: 'sunyua_song@yahoo.com'
Subject: NYC Marathon & Team for Kids

Hey everybody! How’s your summer goin? Can you believe it’s already August???? Too fast I tell ya!

Anywho… I’m writing to let y’all know that I’m running the NYC Marathon this year. This will be my fourth marathon… And the road to this moment actually started a few years ago! You see, I’ve actually been trying to run the NYC marathon for the past three years, but I was always one of the lucky ones NOT to get picked ;-) for a number through the lottery. However, this year was different because I qualified for an automatic number as a result of my many rejections. So… early this spring I decided that THIS would be the year that I would run the city. I mean, if P.Diddy did it… there’s no way I’m NOT running the marathon!

So – locked in with a guaranteed marathon berth… I decided to also commit to run for Team for Kids and raise $2,000. Team for Kids is a program run by the NY Road Runners Foundation which funds youth running programs around the city. This enables kids to take part in organized training and races which would otherwise not be available to them. And in return for my fund raising efforts, the organized team training program will help me attain my own personal goal of running the marathon in under 4 hours. Based on my past performances… this is very doable for me, but ONLY if I train! And… that’s the kicker b/c I’m just not that disciplined to get myself into that kind of shape… on my own that is :)

Please support me and Team for Kids! It’s easy… just click on the secure link below. You’ll need to enter my marathon number. The NYRR Foundation will inform me of all donations. Please let me know if you’d prefer to send a check. I’ll be happy to mail you all the information you need! And be on the look out for my “marathon-a-logues”!

If you’d like more information regarding the NYRR Foundation and the programs it supports… check out www.nyrrfoundation.org

Thanks for your support!