Yesterday, for the first time since October of 2007, I ran longer than I'd ever run before. It was a bright, chilly day with a fair amount of wind, but I was feeling good. I'd run a total of eleven great miles during the week--not enough, but not a bad showing either. No clinics yesterday, so we did our dedication and headed out on the road for our first of two fourteen-mile runs.
Our back-of-the-pack group was me, Nicole, Emily, and Cindy (who I ran with last week). The two-mile warmup through Wellesley was fine, although I always dislike that part of the run--too many cars, pedestrians, and other obstacles. You can't really run on the street, and you can't really run on the sidewalk either. Once we hit Wellesley college and the hills, I started to relax. Passing Wellesley, the hills calm down and I really hit my stride as we entered Natick. I felt great (if frozen) at the 4.5 mile water stop, and the Gu I took there really helped me for the next couple of miles. We were farther away than I would have liked to have been from the turnaround point when our fastest teammates started passing us on the way back, but I felt happy and energized when we hit seven miles. My legs were tight from the running and the cold, but I was feeling good. The Boston marathon course still has some painted mile markers on the street, and I noticed that we turned around at the mile 8 marker, and we had just run 7 miles. In other words, we were fairly close to how we'd feel on the course running the next seven miles. I kind of distanced myself from the group on the way back--I was at that point in a run where you just need to be going at your own pace. Nicole was first, then me, then Cindy and Emily a little ways back. I felt much better than I thought I'd feel on the way back up the hill to Wellesley College, but those last two miles were brutal. My left knee started hurting in the last one (never felt that before!) and I ended up walking the last couple of blocks. I was frustrated because I walked into the community center hurting, when I actually had the best thirteen miles ever--just the crappiest fourteenth. I iced when I got home, and stretched a lot, but my calves are still talking to me.
The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow, so I'm going to see if I can get up ultra-early and get a few miles in before work (I can't run there, because I didn't leave anything!)
All in all, a good showing, I thought, but my plan is to be fairly cautious this week, while still trying to build up my leg strength.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon
I woke up this morning with a weird pain in (or really more ON) my left knee. Not a scary pain, but it felt like I had bumped it on something. But I hadn't. I was lying in bed thinking, I have 13 miles to run this morning, I haven't even rolled over yet, and my knee ALREADY hurts?! Not a good sign! Fortunately, it was only slightly below freezing and I hadn't run in a couple of days, so I was raring to go. We set off down the hill towards Newton, and my knee immediately stopped hurting. Awesome!
I was feeling remarkably confident, despite the fact that 13 miles is about the longest I've ever run in one stretch, and added to that today were all the hills of Newton (including Heartbreak!), TWICE (up AND down!!). Amy and I ran all the way up together, and I was really proud of both of us--this is the first time that either one of us had run all the hills in a single run. We got to the top at BC, and she decided to get a ride back with one of the volunteers (her knee was still bothering her from last time). Right when we turned around, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up, blowing right in our faces. I was (more or less) prepared this time, though, and had kept my windbreaker on (though I wished I had stashed an extra layer somewhere!). I started to get a LOT more tired and sore, and even though the way back is more down than up, there are two or three steep uphills that I didn't have much energy for. Sarad had waited for me at the top, and he serenaded me with Snoop Dogg lyrics much of the way down as we pointed out the nicest of the McMansions on Comm Ave. It helped. We picked up another straggler (a woman I hadn't met before named Cindy) near the Newton fire station, and ran back together. Crossing the 95 on Washington St. is always dangerous, but this time, a car stopped for me. As I ran out in front of it, though, I saw the driver make an exasperated face and yell "GO already!!" I'm thinking, I just ran 12 miles of hills, douchebag, I'm going as fast as I can! That extra two seconds, though, were apparently SO important to him that he almost ran over Sarad.
The last hill, from Lower Falls up to Wellesley, was absolutely impossible. Even walking up it I felt my butt muscles burning. I picked up the pace majorly for the last 10 blocks or so, because I was so excited to be done! My knee hurts again, but not more than it did in bed this morning, so I don't think it's anything serious. I do have one sore butt, though!
All in all, not a bad showing. I was tired and sore, but I definitely felt better than I had in Maine, even though the course was so hard. I think I'm just more USED to being tired and sore from running. From here on out, though, I'm in uncharted waters. As of next week, I'll be running longer than I've ever run, every week. This is the part of training that I like, and the part that terrifies me. No more slacking off, no more skipping runs. I've reached the show, friends, and it looks pretty good!
I was feeling remarkably confident, despite the fact that 13 miles is about the longest I've ever run in one stretch, and added to that today were all the hills of Newton (including Heartbreak!), TWICE (up AND down!!). Amy and I ran all the way up together, and I was really proud of both of us--this is the first time that either one of us had run all the hills in a single run. We got to the top at BC, and she decided to get a ride back with one of the volunteers (her knee was still bothering her from last time). Right when we turned around, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up, blowing right in our faces. I was (more or less) prepared this time, though, and had kept my windbreaker on (though I wished I had stashed an extra layer somewhere!). I started to get a LOT more tired and sore, and even though the way back is more down than up, there are two or three steep uphills that I didn't have much energy for. Sarad had waited for me at the top, and he serenaded me with Snoop Dogg lyrics much of the way down as we pointed out the nicest of the McMansions on Comm Ave. It helped. We picked up another straggler (a woman I hadn't met before named Cindy) near the Newton fire station, and ran back together. Crossing the 95 on Washington St. is always dangerous, but this time, a car stopped for me. As I ran out in front of it, though, I saw the driver make an exasperated face and yell "GO already!!" I'm thinking, I just ran 12 miles of hills, douchebag, I'm going as fast as I can! That extra two seconds, though, were apparently SO important to him that he almost ran over Sarad.
The last hill, from Lower Falls up to Wellesley, was absolutely impossible. Even walking up it I felt my butt muscles burning. I picked up the pace majorly for the last 10 blocks or so, because I was so excited to be done! My knee hurts again, but not more than it did in bed this morning, so I don't think it's anything serious. I do have one sore butt, though!
All in all, not a bad showing. I was tired and sore, but I definitely felt better than I had in Maine, even though the course was so hard. I think I'm just more USED to being tired and sore from running. From here on out, though, I'm in uncharted waters. As of next week, I'll be running longer than I've ever run, every week. This is the part of training that I like, and the part that terrifies me. No more slacking off, no more skipping runs. I've reached the show, friends, and it looks pretty good!
Monday, January 19, 2009
out in the cold
My parents were visiting this week, and since it's been absolutely frigid in Montreal, they were marveling (a little too much!) at the "balmy" and "tropical" Boston weather--it's been around -10 to -15 C instead of -25. Balmy indeed.
Running in this weather has been less than ideal, even though I prefer this to training in the heat and humidity of July. Last weekend, we had 11 miles of Newton hills ahead of us. I was doing fairly well, well enough to drop my windbreaker at the first waterstop after I started to warm up. The hills themselves were ok, but when we turned around at the foot of Heartbreak, the wind picked up and was blowing in our faces. I always find it harder to breathe when there's a cold wind blowing down my throat, but I was also sweaty at this point, and the wind was chilling me to the bone. I couldn't wait to get back to the water stop where I had left my jacket. Once we got there (I was running with Amy), I asked for my jacket, and was told that Kelly, our coach, had brought it back to the Wellesley community center! At this point, all the muscles in my upper body were tense and stiff with cold, and I actually started to cry--there was no way I could make it 3 more miles without a little relief from the cold. Kelly was called, and said she would head over with the jacket, and that we should start running and she would meet us. In the meantime, Amy gave me her jacket (a superhuman move), and I started feeling a lot better. Kelly found us, Amy took my jacket, and all was well...until Amy's knee, which had been bothering her the whole morning, really started to hurt. We had a major hill ahead of us, and I just wanted to get back to the warmth of the community center as quickly as possible, but Amy was in fairly dire straits with her knee, so we walked up the hill (I wasn't complaining too loudly--it is a giant hill!).
My run to work last week was great, but instead of running on Thursday, I spoke at another Team in Training info session--the first one in a long time. I always try my best not to sound like a cheesy motivational speaker, but that's really what I am. I do enjoy it, though, and I think I do an ok job. This week, Amanda Post had her transplant, so I had that to think about. I also met another long-term survivor who was signing up to do her first event. She expressed the same kind of emotions that I felt when I started--cancer is just not part of her life anymore, and the process to get there was really difficult, but now she's making the choice to bring it back in, in a very different capacity. It does feel odd.
I was hoping to bring my dad to practice this weekend so he could have the chance to run on the course before the race, but given the temperature, practice was canceled. It was cold, colder than I'd like to run 12 miles, but now that there's all this snow on the ground, I'm not sure when I'll be able to do it. We decided we'd drive out to Hopkinton on the Pike, and drive back into the city along the course. I had never seen the first 10 miles or so, and it was really cool. We stopped at a tiny Brazilian deli in Ashland (or Framingham, i forget!), saw the beautiful old houses in Natick, and I almost bought a life-sized cardboard Obama in Wellesley. Dad got out at the bottom of Heartbreak to run up it in his jeans and sneakers--no big deal, he said. Of course, he hadn't run the previous 20 miles, but still!
That just about brings us up to date--I've been doing some more strength training, and I'm still stretching every day, but my back has been giving me more grief than I'd like it to. My chiropractor says I'll be fine for Boston, but that if I plan to make a lifelong habit out of running marathons, I should probably have an MRI of my back. No thanks.
Running in this weather has been less than ideal, even though I prefer this to training in the heat and humidity of July. Last weekend, we had 11 miles of Newton hills ahead of us. I was doing fairly well, well enough to drop my windbreaker at the first waterstop after I started to warm up. The hills themselves were ok, but when we turned around at the foot of Heartbreak, the wind picked up and was blowing in our faces. I always find it harder to breathe when there's a cold wind blowing down my throat, but I was also sweaty at this point, and the wind was chilling me to the bone. I couldn't wait to get back to the water stop where I had left my jacket. Once we got there (I was running with Amy), I asked for my jacket, and was told that Kelly, our coach, had brought it back to the Wellesley community center! At this point, all the muscles in my upper body were tense and stiff with cold, and I actually started to cry--there was no way I could make it 3 more miles without a little relief from the cold. Kelly was called, and said she would head over with the jacket, and that we should start running and she would meet us. In the meantime, Amy gave me her jacket (a superhuman move), and I started feeling a lot better. Kelly found us, Amy took my jacket, and all was well...until Amy's knee, which had been bothering her the whole morning, really started to hurt. We had a major hill ahead of us, and I just wanted to get back to the warmth of the community center as quickly as possible, but Amy was in fairly dire straits with her knee, so we walked up the hill (I wasn't complaining too loudly--it is a giant hill!).
My run to work last week was great, but instead of running on Thursday, I spoke at another Team in Training info session--the first one in a long time. I always try my best not to sound like a cheesy motivational speaker, but that's really what I am. I do enjoy it, though, and I think I do an ok job. This week, Amanda Post had her transplant, so I had that to think about. I also met another long-term survivor who was signing up to do her first event. She expressed the same kind of emotions that I felt when I started--cancer is just not part of her life anymore, and the process to get there was really difficult, but now she's making the choice to bring it back in, in a very different capacity. It does feel odd.
I was hoping to bring my dad to practice this weekend so he could have the chance to run on the course before the race, but given the temperature, practice was canceled. It was cold, colder than I'd like to run 12 miles, but now that there's all this snow on the ground, I'm not sure when I'll be able to do it. We decided we'd drive out to Hopkinton on the Pike, and drive back into the city along the course. I had never seen the first 10 miles or so, and it was really cool. We stopped at a tiny Brazilian deli in Ashland (or Framingham, i forget!), saw the beautiful old houses in Natick, and I almost bought a life-sized cardboard Obama in Wellesley. Dad got out at the bottom of Heartbreak to run up it in his jeans and sneakers--no big deal, he said. Of course, he hadn't run the previous 20 miles, but still!
That just about brings us up to date--I've been doing some more strength training, and I'm still stretching every day, but my back has been giving me more grief than I'd like it to. My chiropractor says I'll be fine for Boston, but that if I plan to make a lifelong habit out of running marathons, I should probably have an MRI of my back. No thanks.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
10 miles down!
Happy New Year, all!
Although the weather remains uncooperative, your fearless runner remains (somewhat) undaunted. Aliza and I went to visit the Ottawa Dwoskins over the holiday, where the weather warmed up just enough for it to rain and for everything to be coated in ice. Lovely. Fortunately, Myra has a new treadmill, so I got in a 5-miler on that. The warmish weather was making me pretty cabin-feverish, though, and I was eager to be running outside, suicidally slippery sidewalks be damned. The ice finally melted into pools of sludge, and I went for a 9-miler (15k)--my longest solo run to date. Normally it's good to be a little cold when one leaves for a run, because you just warm up. It was pretty windy that day, though, and just got windier, so that by the time I got back to the house I could barely feel most parts of my body. The run itself went ok, all things considered.
Once I got back to Boston, we were buried under another giant snowstorm, so that meant back onto the treadmill for me. I did manage to do a fairly strenuous core workout, so my obliques were killing me today all through my run. Today--sunny, just below freezing, a little windy, and 10 miles on the menu. I was psyched when our coach told us we were going back towards Hopkinton, rather than hitting Heartbreak. What I didn't know was that the road from Wellesley into Natick is pretty much all hills--rolling ones, though, so I kind of liked it. They were short enough that I was never too tired to get to the top before taking a little break (of which there were many). I felt each one of those miles, but it really wasn't bad considering how much of a slacker I've been. I'm not excited about my 6-mile "recovery" run tomorrow. I'm more up for a 6-mile recovery nap, frankly. We'll see how my legs feel in the morning.
I like that we've been running more and more of the Boston course each week. Today I took some time on the way back to notice each landmark--a church, a Dunkin Donuts, a garage--that I'm going to pass on April 20th. Of course, the problem is that I'll know EXACTLY how far I still have to go when I do pass all those things!
On a brighter note, I'm exactly $82 away from my $3000 minimum, so if any of you have 82 extra dollars lying around, you'll be able to push me over the top. I do want to raise a total of $5000 by Marathon Monday, and every penny of that extra $2000 goes directly to the Society's projects (research and patient care).
I did a dedication for Amanda today at practice, and I reminded my teammates how important it is to think about getting on the Bone Marrow Registry, so I figured I'd remind you all too. In Canada, go through the Canadian Blood Services (www.blood.ca)--it's the same process to donate bone marrow as stem cells. In the US, the National Bone Marrow Registry is at www.marrow.org. There isn't another drive in Boston for a little while (there's one in Lynn, MA on Jan 10), but I'll do my best to keep you posted.
Although the weather remains uncooperative, your fearless runner remains (somewhat) undaunted. Aliza and I went to visit the Ottawa Dwoskins over the holiday, where the weather warmed up just enough for it to rain and for everything to be coated in ice. Lovely. Fortunately, Myra has a new treadmill, so I got in a 5-miler on that. The warmish weather was making me pretty cabin-feverish, though, and I was eager to be running outside, suicidally slippery sidewalks be damned. The ice finally melted into pools of sludge, and I went for a 9-miler (15k)--my longest solo run to date. Normally it's good to be a little cold when one leaves for a run, because you just warm up. It was pretty windy that day, though, and just got windier, so that by the time I got back to the house I could barely feel most parts of my body. The run itself went ok, all things considered.
Once I got back to Boston, we were buried under another giant snowstorm, so that meant back onto the treadmill for me. I did manage to do a fairly strenuous core workout, so my obliques were killing me today all through my run. Today--sunny, just below freezing, a little windy, and 10 miles on the menu. I was psyched when our coach told us we were going back towards Hopkinton, rather than hitting Heartbreak. What I didn't know was that the road from Wellesley into Natick is pretty much all hills--rolling ones, though, so I kind of liked it. They were short enough that I was never too tired to get to the top before taking a little break (of which there were many). I felt each one of those miles, but it really wasn't bad considering how much of a slacker I've been. I'm not excited about my 6-mile "recovery" run tomorrow. I'm more up for a 6-mile recovery nap, frankly. We'll see how my legs feel in the morning.
I like that we've been running more and more of the Boston course each week. Today I took some time on the way back to notice each landmark--a church, a Dunkin Donuts, a garage--that I'm going to pass on April 20th. Of course, the problem is that I'll know EXACTLY how far I still have to go when I do pass all those things!
On a brighter note, I'm exactly $82 away from my $3000 minimum, so if any of you have 82 extra dollars lying around, you'll be able to push me over the top. I do want to raise a total of $5000 by Marathon Monday, and every penny of that extra $2000 goes directly to the Society's projects (research and patient care).
I did a dedication for Amanda today at practice, and I reminded my teammates how important it is to think about getting on the Bone Marrow Registry, so I figured I'd remind you all too. In Canada, go through the Canadian Blood Services (www.blood.ca)--it's the same process to donate bone marrow as stem cells. In the US, the National Bone Marrow Registry is at www.marrow.org. There isn't another drive in Boston for a little while (there's one in Lynn, MA on Jan 10), but I'll do my best to keep you posted.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Slowing down
Hi all,
The last couple of weeks have been really difficult for me, running-wise, both because of the weather and because of my really uncooperative body. Last weekend I skipped our 7-mile practice because of my laryngitis, chest cough, and the frigid weather (it was really pretty brutal!). It was frustrating because I've been feeling really out of shape, and so I've been wanting to push my body a little harder. I ran a 5k race on Sunday (the Jingle Bell!), and I took a couple of hours out of my workday on Monday (it's been REALLY quiet at NU!) to go for a run around the river, because it had warmed up a bit, but the wind really slowed me down. I still haven't given up my Healthworks membership, which turned out to be great because I was able to go 4 miles on the treadmill on Thursday and crosstrain on Friday (before the storm). Practice was canceled on Saturday due to the crazy snow here, so Katie and I did an 8 mile run on the treadmill, which I don't recommend to ANYONE. It's a little easier physically to run on a machine, but it's really, really boring, even with a friend. Cooper totally showed me up when he went outside for a 7-miler that day--I would have liked to, but am pretty freaked out about getting injured. As it is, my hamstrings are still as tight as Michael Jackson's leather pants, and are causing me a fair bit of pain today, despite my best foam-rolling efforts.
As you might be able to tell, I'm starting to get a little freaked out about this whole marathon thing. Running has never been easy for me, and now with this crappy weather and my annoying aches and pains, I'm starting to get discouraged. I did just send a long inspirational letter to the team running the Phoenix Rock&Roll marathon (for which I'm the honored hero), but somehow I still haven't internalized it.
Everyone send happy thoughts to my right hamstring!!!
The last couple of weeks have been really difficult for me, running-wise, both because of the weather and because of my really uncooperative body. Last weekend I skipped our 7-mile practice because of my laryngitis, chest cough, and the frigid weather (it was really pretty brutal!). It was frustrating because I've been feeling really out of shape, and so I've been wanting to push my body a little harder. I ran a 5k race on Sunday (the Jingle Bell!), and I took a couple of hours out of my workday on Monday (it's been REALLY quiet at NU!) to go for a run around the river, because it had warmed up a bit, but the wind really slowed me down. I still haven't given up my Healthworks membership, which turned out to be great because I was able to go 4 miles on the treadmill on Thursday and crosstrain on Friday (before the storm). Practice was canceled on Saturday due to the crazy snow here, so Katie and I did an 8 mile run on the treadmill, which I don't recommend to ANYONE. It's a little easier physically to run on a machine, but it's really, really boring, even with a friend. Cooper totally showed me up when he went outside for a 7-miler that day--I would have liked to, but am pretty freaked out about getting injured. As it is, my hamstrings are still as tight as Michael Jackson's leather pants, and are causing me a fair bit of pain today, despite my best foam-rolling efforts.
As you might be able to tell, I'm starting to get a little freaked out about this whole marathon thing. Running has never been easy for me, and now with this crappy weather and my annoying aches and pains, I'm starting to get discouraged. I did just send a long inspirational letter to the team running the Phoenix Rock&Roll marathon (for which I'm the honored hero), but somehow I still haven't internalized it.
Everyone send happy thoughts to my right hamstring!!!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Newton hills, part one
So today we tackled the first of the Newton hills--but more on that later.
Let me catch you up. Picture it: Cambridge, two weeks ago. I finally decide to take my training seriously, and do 5 of my 6 scheduled workouts (all of my runs, but only one of my cross-trainings). All of a sudden, disaster strikes: Thanksgiving!!! Nooooo....!!! A short week with a messed-up schedule, far too much planning and shopping and prepping and hanging out before everyone goes away...and the runs just didn't happen. Then I went home and ran with my dad a couple of times, which was great except for the black ice! Oh--and I forgot--my run in Wellesley last week was ridiculously cold and windy and miserable. But no ice yet in these parts, so we're ok for the moment.
Back to the story--only one run during the week this week, but I did develop an "action plan" (I keep telling my students to make "action plans" and I think they think I'm nuts). The plan is this: long run on Saturday, recovery run on Sunday, rest on Monday, run to work on Tuesday (I can leave my stuff there on Monday afternoon!), crosstrain Wednesday, and run with Katie on Thursday nights. I'm supposed to crosstrain on Fridays as well, but I do need to eat and sleep and hang out occasionally.
This morning was pretty cold too, but no wind at all. We had a brief stretching clinic, then headed out towards Newton--the first time we've started out by heading forward on the marathon course instead of backward. The catch is this: at around mile 17 on the course, which is near where we start, there's a big (big!) downhill. This will be tricky on race day, because we'll have tired legs, and because it comes only 3 or 4 miles before Heartbreak Hill. Today it was tricky because after our 6 mile run, we had to run back UP it. I didn't do so well, to be honest. I need a lot more exercise in my life if I'm going to be able to do this thing. Running to work on Tuesdays will help--I really feel that doing the scheduling properly will make a big difference.
After our run, we went by the Marathon Sports in Wellesley, where they had 20% off everything, plus a free pair of running socks with shoe purchase. Folks, as some of you know, I've been a Saucony girl since I started running--I've had 4 pairs so far. And yet today, I bought (prepare yourselves!) a pair of Nikes. Nikes! Me! I know! But they're so roomy in the toebox, and a little bit firmer underfoot than my Sauconys, which I find weird but oddly reassuring. And the new version of my old shoes are so narrow that I'd have to amputate some toes. And I like my toes. So I bought the Nikes. The Nike "Zoom" to be exact. Roll your eyes if you like, but at least I still have all my toes.
Let me catch you up. Picture it: Cambridge, two weeks ago. I finally decide to take my training seriously, and do 5 of my 6 scheduled workouts (all of my runs, but only one of my cross-trainings). All of a sudden, disaster strikes: Thanksgiving!!! Nooooo....!!! A short week with a messed-up schedule, far too much planning and shopping and prepping and hanging out before everyone goes away...and the runs just didn't happen. Then I went home and ran with my dad a couple of times, which was great except for the black ice! Oh--and I forgot--my run in Wellesley last week was ridiculously cold and windy and miserable. But no ice yet in these parts, so we're ok for the moment.
Back to the story--only one run during the week this week, but I did develop an "action plan" (I keep telling my students to make "action plans" and I think they think I'm nuts). The plan is this: long run on Saturday, recovery run on Sunday, rest on Monday, run to work on Tuesday (I can leave my stuff there on Monday afternoon!), crosstrain Wednesday, and run with Katie on Thursday nights. I'm supposed to crosstrain on Fridays as well, but I do need to eat and sleep and hang out occasionally.
This morning was pretty cold too, but no wind at all. We had a brief stretching clinic, then headed out towards Newton--the first time we've started out by heading forward on the marathon course instead of backward. The catch is this: at around mile 17 on the course, which is near where we start, there's a big (big!) downhill. This will be tricky on race day, because we'll have tired legs, and because it comes only 3 or 4 miles before Heartbreak Hill. Today it was tricky because after our 6 mile run, we had to run back UP it. I didn't do so well, to be honest. I need a lot more exercise in my life if I'm going to be able to do this thing. Running to work on Tuesdays will help--I really feel that doing the scheduling properly will make a big difference.
After our run, we went by the Marathon Sports in Wellesley, where they had 20% off everything, plus a free pair of running socks with shoe purchase. Folks, as some of you know, I've been a Saucony girl since I started running--I've had 4 pairs so far. And yet today, I bought (prepare yourselves!) a pair of Nikes. Nikes! Me! I know! But they're so roomy in the toebox, and a little bit firmer underfoot than my Sauconys, which I find weird but oddly reassuring. And the new version of my old shoes are so narrow that I'd have to amputate some toes. And I like my toes. So I bought the Nikes. The Nike "Zoom" to be exact. Roll your eyes if you like, but at least I still have all my toes.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Terrible posting, but good running...
So, I know I've been awful about keeping up with my posts. I blame two things: my busy week at work last week, and this whole marathon training thing--it takes a lot of time!
We had our first group training last Saturday in Wellesley, prefaced by the same Marathon Sports spiel about proper shoes, gear, etc that I've heard about six times already. This time I should have listened better, because I still haven't had a cold-weather run that hasn't been cold and sweaty. More on that later. The run itself was only 3 miles, and I ran it with Nicole, who's a friend of a friend and runs about my pace. There's a whole TNT Boston team culture--lots of people do this event year after year, and they all know each other, and I'm the new kid on the block now instead of the old hand--that's going to take some getting used to. I did go to "breakfast" (just Starbucks, nothing like our normal post-run S&S) with some of my friends and some "new" people, which was nice, but I do miss the comfort of seeing all my buddies every week. The run itself was good--rainy and kind of warm, but fine.
The other new thing is the Sunday recovery run. My training schedule last year was 4 runs/week: Saturday long runs, then Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with cross-training two days, then Sunday off. Now we do "recovery runs" on Sundays, take Monday off, run Tuesday and Thursday, and cross-train Wednesday and Friday. I don't mind it so much now, because our mileage is still low, but once I'm running 15 miles on Saturday, I'm not going to want to run 7-8 miles on Sunday! Then again, running during the week is so difficult to schedule that another weekend run might work out for me. We'll see.
My Sunday run was great--it had started getting cold, but wasn't too bad. I got myself in gear and ran Tuesday after work (and wore all the wrong things and was WAY too hot!), and went to the gym on Wednesday to use the bike and do some abs (still not doing them every day, though!). I know lots of people that love Spin class, but I haven't been able to get into it. I don't know if it's that my quads are too weak, but I always find that my legs get really tired before I'm even breathing heavily, no matter how carefully I adjust the bike. Still, if my legs really are that weak then that will make them stronger, regardless of whether I'm getting a good cardio workout or not. I was also told by one instructor that if I'm used to running, nothing's going to be as hard as that, so it's harder to gauge my effort.
This evening I went for a run with Katie, who lives close by and who's been a good friend of mine since beginning with TNT (and who's also on the Boston team!). This was her last run before she runs the Philadelphia marathon on Sunday, so I felt motivated to give her a run for her money, so to speak. I was still cold and sweaty by the end, and worst of all, couldn't find my awesome winter headband that I got at a fantastic bike store last year, even though I tore my room apart looking for it. I'll buy another and then find it right away, I'm sure.
One other special thing happened this week, but one that requires some back story. A few months ago, I agreed to be the Honored Hero for the team running the Phoenix Rock&Roll Marathon--I've given loads of speeches, done team dedications, even went to a pizza party in Natick (Natick!) to speak. Honored Heroes (as lame as that sounds!) are there to provide participants with some connection to the mission of the Society--we're the faces that have been helped by the kind of research that all this running is funding. Since I stopped going to city team practice, I haven't seen my honorary teammates, but because it's Thanksgiving, the TNT office asked me to do something for those raising money on my behalf. I was a little shamed that I hadn't thought about it myself. I took a picture of myself holding a giant "Thank you" sign, and another sign that read "You guys are my heroes," and emailed it to the team.
I've been really moved throughout the Obama campaign by the power and vitality of a fairly small, grassroots group of dedicated people who decided that yes, we can change this country, and put their own time and money and resources into making it happen. My teammates are doing that for cancer--the small act of showing up and running on a Saturday morning, the collection can they put on their desk at work, the $25 and $50 donations they get from their friends and family: this is what's going to cure blood cancer, if anything will.
Yes, we can.
We had our first group training last Saturday in Wellesley, prefaced by the same Marathon Sports spiel about proper shoes, gear, etc that I've heard about six times already. This time I should have listened better, because I still haven't had a cold-weather run that hasn't been cold and sweaty. More on that later. The run itself was only 3 miles, and I ran it with Nicole, who's a friend of a friend and runs about my pace. There's a whole TNT Boston team culture--lots of people do this event year after year, and they all know each other, and I'm the new kid on the block now instead of the old hand--that's going to take some getting used to. I did go to "breakfast" (just Starbucks, nothing like our normal post-run S&S) with some of my friends and some "new" people, which was nice, but I do miss the comfort of seeing all my buddies every week. The run itself was good--rainy and kind of warm, but fine.
The other new thing is the Sunday recovery run. My training schedule last year was 4 runs/week: Saturday long runs, then Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with cross-training two days, then Sunday off. Now we do "recovery runs" on Sundays, take Monday off, run Tuesday and Thursday, and cross-train Wednesday and Friday. I don't mind it so much now, because our mileage is still low, but once I'm running 15 miles on Saturday, I'm not going to want to run 7-8 miles on Sunday! Then again, running during the week is so difficult to schedule that another weekend run might work out for me. We'll see.
My Sunday run was great--it had started getting cold, but wasn't too bad. I got myself in gear and ran Tuesday after work (and wore all the wrong things and was WAY too hot!), and went to the gym on Wednesday to use the bike and do some abs (still not doing them every day, though!). I know lots of people that love Spin class, but I haven't been able to get into it. I don't know if it's that my quads are too weak, but I always find that my legs get really tired before I'm even breathing heavily, no matter how carefully I adjust the bike. Still, if my legs really are that weak then that will make them stronger, regardless of whether I'm getting a good cardio workout or not. I was also told by one instructor that if I'm used to running, nothing's going to be as hard as that, so it's harder to gauge my effort.
This evening I went for a run with Katie, who lives close by and who's been a good friend of mine since beginning with TNT (and who's also on the Boston team!). This was her last run before she runs the Philadelphia marathon on Sunday, so I felt motivated to give her a run for her money, so to speak. I was still cold and sweaty by the end, and worst of all, couldn't find my awesome winter headband that I got at a fantastic bike store last year, even though I tore my room apart looking for it. I'll buy another and then find it right away, I'm sure.
One other special thing happened this week, but one that requires some back story. A few months ago, I agreed to be the Honored Hero for the team running the Phoenix Rock&Roll Marathon--I've given loads of speeches, done team dedications, even went to a pizza party in Natick (Natick!) to speak. Honored Heroes (as lame as that sounds!) are there to provide participants with some connection to the mission of the Society--we're the faces that have been helped by the kind of research that all this running is funding. Since I stopped going to city team practice, I haven't seen my honorary teammates, but because it's Thanksgiving, the TNT office asked me to do something for those raising money on my behalf. I was a little shamed that I hadn't thought about it myself. I took a picture of myself holding a giant "Thank you" sign, and another sign that read "You guys are my heroes," and emailed it to the team.
I've been really moved throughout the Obama campaign by the power and vitality of a fairly small, grassroots group of dedicated people who decided that yes, we can change this country, and put their own time and money and resources into making it happen. My teammates are doing that for cancer--the small act of showing up and running on a Saturday morning, the collection can they put on their desk at work, the $25 and $50 donations they get from their friends and family: this is what's going to cure blood cancer, if anything will.
Yes, we can.
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