Week 16 - 20 Miles to Taper Town

Before I get into my weekly recap, I want to talk a little bit about the charity I am running the Boston Marathon for - Victory Programs.  If you've been reading my blog from the start, you know that I am the Communications Manager for this incredible agency for over two years.  This Tuesday, March 24, Victory Programs held its annual Gratitude Dinner, a yearly gathering of our clients, staff, alumni, board and special guests to pause, reflect and celebrate what we are grateful for.

VPI President & CEO, Jonathan Scott

The highlight of this event are the Messages of Gratitude, when clients from across our 18 housing and health programs share their stories.  This year we heard from a women who was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS just 10 months ago.  She talked about how scared she was and how becoming a member of our Boston Living Center gave her peace and community when she was at her most terrified.  We had a clients from our Portis Family Home talk about her struggled with heroin addiction and how for the first year and a half of her baby's life, she wasn't able to take care of him and leaving him in the custody of her mother.  Today, both mother and son live together as she seeks permanent housing.  We heard from a client whose alcoholism gave him a DUI and court ordered enrollment in our Victory House program.  He is now sober and about to move into our new permanent housing program, Serenity Supportive Housing in Topsfield.  All of these individuals credit Victory Programs for helping them get to the new, healthy part of their life.

This event is an yearly reminder of why the work I get up every morning to do is important and valuable.  It's also a reminder that people who are struggling with homelessness, addiction and chronic illnesses are just that - people.  Every one of our clients is worthy of love, respect and a second (third or fourth) chance at a healthy and happy life.

To help support me AND this amazing agency, please click here today.

Marathon Runners Packet

All week I had been checking the mailbox, waiting for my Marathon packet from the BAA and it FINALLY CAME!  It was pretty funny because all in the same day my Facebook and Twitter feed exploded with photos just the like one I took and posted.  It seems everyone, no matter if they've run the Marathon a million times or are doing it for the first time like me, posted a nearly identical photo.  The packet included all kinds of logistical information, a map of the John Hancock Fitness Expo, our ticket to the pre-race dinner at City Hall Plaza the night before, the ticket to the post-race party at Fenway Park and MOST importantly our bib pick up slip!

I'll be picking up my bib (#28145) and runner's swag bag during the Expo, which begins on Friday, April 17 at 2pm and is free to EVERYONE.  If you're a runner, come by the Hynes Convention Center and check it out!

The Big Test

This was a big week in my Marathon training, friends!  On Saturday, I embarked on my last truly long run before the big day.  Due to nearly constant knee pain, I did next to no running during the week, which was less than ideal for a variety of reasons.  I did make it to the gym a few times to do some weight work and a whopping 1 mile on the treadmill.

To be 100% honest with all of you, I was pretty much terrified on this 20 mile run.  For me, this was a big test.  If I made it through the 20 ok, I felt like conquering the Marathon was completely within reach.  If I couldn't make it through the 20 miles...well...I'd be up a creek.  My stomach just wasn't right all week thanks to nerves and I couldn't wait to get it over with!

I woke up to rain and snow and pretty cold weather.  Up until this point, I had been really careful working my long runs around bad weather, going as far as taking a day off of work to do my 18 miler, but there was no getting around this.  In a way, I felt like I was finally earning my stripes by braving the weather like a good Marathon soldier should.

I joined up with my friend Dani and her charity runners from Tedy's Team to run the 20 miles from Framingham to Boston.  This is a big day for almost anyone running the Marathon.  Runners from all different charity teams all get out and run the course this day, making it a mini-Marathon day.  I met Dani at her house at 6:30 in the morning, got a ride into Kenmore with our friend Page and got on the buses to Framingham.  Everyone was chatting away on the bus and as we rode, my eyes started to well up.  I don't know if it was nerves or what, but I was so overcome with emotion, I had a hard time keeping it inside.  This was it.  The test run.

The bus dropped us off in a parking lot across from the Framingham commuter rail stop and off we went.  I was excited to run the actual Marathon route. Up until this point, I had only run miles 21-26 (the base of Heartbreak Hill to the finish line) so it was cool to see what to expect on April 20.  I kept my regular game plan in place, checking in on my cadence (180 foot strikes per minute) and sticking with my run 9 minutes, walk one minute approach.

One of the awesome parts of this run, was how many volunteers were out on the course manning water and Gatorade stations.  A lot of the stations were run by volunteers from different charity teams (but they provided care to everyone) and some were just run by companies and groups from the towns on the route.  There were also a lot of police officers on duty throughout the route to make sure runners were taken care of.

Around mile 4, there was a water station with a LOT of people stopped at it.  I decided to keep going since it looked crowded and it wasn't until I was actually running past it that I noticed why do many people decided to stop.  TEDY BRUSCHI WAS AT THAT STOP!  I looked right at him as I cruised past and wished I had had the courage to turn around and get my picture taken with him.  I decided to keep going instead, which I now kind of regret.  It shouldn't have surprised me to see him, since I rode out to Framingham with HIS charity team, but it did. Sidenote: He's my all-time favorite Patriot AND is as handsome in person as he is on TV!

I found myself cruising along, taking in the sites and watching all of my fellow runners and I was really happy at how good my knee was feeling.  If it wasn't for running into the wind and snow it would have actually been a beautiful day to run.  Around mile 10, I took my first Clif Energy Gel and kept moving along.  Finally, I found myself in a familiar place.  I was at the base of Heartbreak Hill.  Oh boy.  Here we go.  I made a deal with myself.  I was NOT going to walk any part of Heartbreak except for my usual 1 minute walk break.  You guys, I totally did it!  The best part was that one of my minute walk breaks coincided with a red light at a crosswalk AND the chance to have my photo taken with Heartbreak Bill again!  You can really see how big the snowflakes were in this photo.

Since I had done the final stretch of the route, I knew what laid ahead and it suddenly felt so easy to finish the last handful of miles.  As I headed took the right onto Hereford and the left onto Boylston everything felt amazing.  I had done it.  I felt GOOD.  I AM TOTALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS ON APRIL 20!

I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch.  20.23 miles in 3:39:30 averaging a 10:51 mile.  I walked over to Marathon Sports, where there was a final water station set up, helped myself to a cup of Gatorade and took a finish line selfie.  When one of the water stop volunteers saw me, she asked if I wanted her to take my photo, which was so nice.

After 3.5 hours in the snow, I was pretty wet so I hopped into Marathon Sports to get warm for a minute and one of the employees saw how wet my glasses were and brought me a paper towel.  This race really brings out the kindness in everyone!  I was so appreciative of his thoughtfulness.

I called my boyfriend and we decided to have lunch in the city, so I bought a t-shirt from Marathon Sports so I could wear something dry to lunch and spent the rest of my recuperating.

Saturday's 20 mile run was one of the best things I've ever done.  There was such a great spirit around it.  I made sure to thank every volunteer at the water stations I stopped at - I mean these people volunteered to stand around in the snow for hours so we could have water. They are so amazing!  I made sure to thank the police officers who helped us get through busy intersections and chatted with us and wished us luck.  I never thought I'd be so happy being outside in crummy weather!

Taper Time

So folks, this is it.  We're three weeks out and this means its time to taper.  Shorter long runs, shorter short runs and taking the time to let our bodies heal before Marathon Monday.  We're in the home stretch and for the first time I am really really excited instead of being nervous.  If I can run 20 miles, I can run 26.2.  Let's do this.  Let's run this race!

Week 15 - One Month To Go!

Last week the Boston Marathon bib numbers were released - lucky number 28145 - and this week, we hit the one month mark until the big day!  If you're interested in following my progress on April 20, you can text my bib # to 234567 and you'll get text alerts at milestones along the route - 10k, 13.1, 30k, 35k, 40k and the Finish Line. 

I am so excited at how many amazing friends and family members have told me that they plan on being there to see me cross the finish line and I am happy that this service exists so they don't actually have to wait FOREVER to see it happen.

Why Am I Sick NOW!?

I am telling you, it seems like there has been something getting in the way of my training every step of the way.  Whether it be my knee (more on that later), asthma attacks or overall sickness.  This week it was the latter. I took Monday off as my usual rest day after a race and I took Tuesday off as well because I was meeting one of my boyfriend's best friends who was visiting from out of town.  I fully expected to get back on the proverbial horse on Wednesday after work and try to get at least two short runs in during the week before my 19 mile long run on Sunday.

When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I knew my plans were in big trouble. I couldn't breath out of my nose and I had such a bad headache and so much sinus pressure, it felt like my face was going to cave in. I called out sick from work and spent nearly the entire day in bed.  Fortunately, I had these two little housemates there to help take care of me :)




On Thursday, the sinus pressure had gone away which was a huge relief, but breathing out of my nose was still not an option.  I did go to the gym after work to do some weights and try to get a few miles in on the treadmill, but I only managed to get one mile under my best before exhaustion set in.

Friday, I was feeling a lot better - just a lot of nose blowing typical for the end of a head cold.  My boyfriend wanted to cook me dinner at his house (he's such a great cook) so we decided to go to his gym (Gold's Gym,Twin City Plaza) together beforehand.  We did some stretching and some planks and then he hit the weights and I hit the treadmill.  I had never been on a treadmill like this one before and I thought it was cool that it came with a "5k Run" option.  I had hoped to do 5 miles all together, but decided I'd start with the 3.1 and go from there.  AND HERE IS WHERE I MADE A BIG MISTAKE. Since it was a new treadmill experience, I felt like I was going too slow, so I sped up a little and before I knew it, I realized I was running much much faster than I usually do and finished the 3.1 miles in less than 30 minutes.  Now, this isn't really fast - I've run 5ks that fast before - but I have been averaging a 10/10:30 minute mile while preparing for the Marathon so I just kind of threw my sick body into a speed workout it was NOT ready for...and I felt every step of it in my knee. 

We left the gym and I knew I made a big ol' boo boo.  I had a little limp in my walk on the way home and as soon as we landed in my boyfriend's apartment I knew I was going to have to rest it good in order to do my long run on Sunday.  The upside is that my knee felt good as new on Saturday so no major damage done, but an important lesson was learned.  I am too close to Marathon day to blow out my knee on a 3.1 treadmill workout!

19 Miles Done!

By Sunday morning I was feeling great.  My knee didn't hurt at all and my cold was on it's very last, spindly legs.  I woke up early to get through my routine long run meal of homemade oatmeal with dried fruit, coffee, water and a small juice glass of Gatorade.  I watched some TV and relaxed before taping up my knee and getting out the front door for my longest run to-date.

It was a cold, windy Sunday but at least the sun was shining.  It was weird because when there was no wind, I actually thought I was way too overdressed and was going to be too hot, but as soon as the wind would blow, I was thankful for every blessed article of clothing on my person.

Warning:  This part is kind of icky. Around the third mile or so I was running through Porter Square and had to pause for a minute.  Those first several miles where were I realized that when you are stationary, you think your cold is over, but when you are being active, there is no end to the mucus.  I'm sure anyone who saw me hunched over, coughing like crazy must have thought I was the saddest, out of shape person on earth, but really I just needed to expel all of the mucus that was hanging out in my lungs.  Although this was the only time it was so bad I had to actually stop, this issue plagued me for the first 5 or 6 miles of the day.  Yuck!  End of gross part.

I followed the same route I took last weekend and followed the same fueling plan, but holy cow did it feel so much harder this week.  Maybe it was because I had been sick or maybe because I hadn't logged enough miles since my last long run, but for whatever reason by mile 13 I was exhausted.  It just became a matter of getting the job done for the last 6 miles.  Dig deep, occupy my mind with other thoughts, count my cadence and keep going. 

The worst part of the run was crossing the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge.  On a nice day, this is one of my favorite places to run.  You can look out over the Charles River at our beautiful city and it's a lovely distraction.  On this day, however, I was running directly into the wind the entire time.  It was hard to keep my breath and I was afraid my little yellow hat was going to blow off my head and end up in the river.  Just running that bridge felt like it took an eternity and every ounce of energy I had.

That being said, I still finished my run.  All 19 miles.  And I was exhausted.  I walked in the front door, took off my damp clothes, put on my bathrobe and laid down on the couch for a good 30 minutes before doing anything else.  I was proud to have finished it, but wondering how on earth I am going to add 7 more miles to that length in less than a month!



Next week is my longest long run until the Marathon!  21 miles along the course from Framingham to Boston.  This will be the big test.  I feel like if I can finish that run, I'll be ready for anything come April 20. 

Week 14 - Eliminating the Need for Speed

Before I begin, I want to thank my two wonderful colleagues Matt P. and Aaqila A. for donating to my Boston Marathon fundraising page!  I am only $10 away from hitting $5,700! If you'd like to help round me out, click here!

Friday was also bib assignment day!  Be sure to follow me on Marathon Monday - I'll be in wave 4, starting around 11:15am.

Celebrating Spring

I started this week out easy since my knee was still irritated.  It's a struggle to hold back on my training when the big day is so close at hand, but I'd rather have a healthy knee than hobble for 26.2 miles.  I spend Monday and Tuesday resting, but once the temps hit 55 and the sun was shining on Wednesday I knew I HAD to get out there!

Flowers will be here soon!

On my way home from work, I spied a bunch of lovely little crocus stems poking out of the ground in a neighbors yard and marveled over how clear the sidewalks were becoming.  It only took a few days of above freezing temperatures to melt a good portion of the snow that made February so miserable.  It feels hard to believe that spring is on it's way and soon colorful flowers and green grass will be here!

I got home from work, changed into a pair of capri (!) pants and a long sleeved shirt (only one layer!) and headed out the door for a lovely 55 degree, sun-filled run.  EVERYONE seemed to be out for a run!  People were everywhere and everyone was smiling as we passed one another (very un-Bostonian).  It was lovely.  I ran Broadway to the Somerville Bike Path through Davis Square and to the Mass. Ave. intersection - about 2.5 miles.

When I left my house I had planned on running 5 miles, but I also knew I'd better listen to the old
body and let it dictate things...and the funniest thing happened.  My knee felt fine, but for 5 solid miles I struggled to breath properly.  By the time I hit the 2.5 mile mark, I actually had to stop and catch my breath.  It's always gotta be something!  After a short break, I turned around and headed home, where I got a glimpse of the beautiful Boston skyline from the top of Winter Hill. 

Post-run selfie was photobombed by my cat

When I got home I was pretty freaked out by how hard it was to breath.  I didn't know if in just a few short days of spring weather, my allergies were kicking in or perhaps my lungs were so used to cold air that they got confused by the warmth or if an incident from the fall was coming back to haunt me.

Back in October, I bought a condo and before I moved in I had the carpet replaced.  On my first night there, the off gases from the new carpet gave me such a bad asthma attack that I ended up in the emergency room.  It took a few weeks for me to be able to get my lung capacity back to where it should be when I ran and I still use an inhaler from time to time to open up my airways.  My running speed has never quite rebounded to where it used to be, but as time went on my breathing seemed to normalize so I kind of forgot about it.  I guess time (and a few more warm days) will tell what might have caused the problem, but I'll be sure to keep my inhaler handy prior to runs on upcoming warmer days just in case.

 

 

 

 

Flexible Friday

So much sidewalk! So little snow!

This weekend posed a challenge for my 18-mile long run.  The Saturday forecast called for rain all day long and I couldn't move my long run to Sunday because I was running in the Cambridge 5k Craicfest.  I had two options: 1. Suck it up and run in the rain or 2. Take advantage of my vacation time at work and run on Friday.  Call me a wimp if you want, but I chose the latter.  Not only did I not want to run my longest route ever in the rain, but I also figured it would be good to have a rest day between my long run and the 5k.

In my last blog entry I mentioned the "little old lady" technique and the 180 foot strike per minute rule we were taught by Marathon training coach Rick Muhr, but I didn't mention his other tip because I hadn't tried it yet.  Coach Rick told us that for every 9 minutes we run, we should walk for 1 minute.  This isn't a new idea, I'd heard about the run/walk method plenty of time, but I guess I always thought it was cheating a little.  Well, let's be honest.  I know as well as any of you, that there is NO WAY I am going to be able to run 26.2 miles without stopping on April 20, so I figured this was as good a time as any to give this strategy a try.

I've developed a long run routine this winter.  I wake up early, have breakfast of some kind with coffee, water and Gatorade and watch TV for an hour or two before taping up my knees and getting ready to go out.  It gives me an opportunity to fuel, hydrate and perhaps most importantly - WAKE UP!  I followed my routine on Friday morning and was out of the house by 9am.

Over the BU Bridge and to the Riverway!

I packed a Clif Shot Gel and a package of Clif Shot Bloks (both of which are what will be available on the marathon course) and filled my hand-held water bottle with Gatorade.  I thought this was a good time to start strategizing how I was going to fuel on race day.  I had planned to have two Bloks at miles 5, 13 & 16 and use the Gel at mile 9.

I also opted to leave music and headphones at home.  I brought my phone just in case of emergency and used only my Garmin watch to keep track of time for the sake of foot strike counting and implementing the walk/run technique. 

I had plotted out the first half of my route in advance through getting around Jamaica Pond - I had
never run it before and really wanted to - but was a little more improvisational on the way home.  It was really nice to run on a Friday when most other folks were at work.  The sidewalks were nearly empty and I was able to try my run/walk technique without feeling like anyone was silently judging me (my own made up neuroses, I'm sure).

Mid-point selfie at Olmstead Park

I got into a pattern where I would do a foot strike count from minutes 7-8 and 8-9 of each 10 minute block of time and then walk from miles 9-10.  When the minute walk was over, I'd do a foot strike count for minutes 1-2 and 2-3 of the next 10 minute chunk.  Not only did this exercise ensure that I kept my cadence throughout the run, but it also had an amazing effect on my psyche.  By breaking down and 18 mile run into 10 minute chunks, the whole run seemed easy to accomplish.  Instead of my usual "Ok, only 13 miles left to go...OH MY GOD 13 MILES," I was thinking "Ok, only 2 more minutes until the next walk break.  Time to count my foot strikes.  One, two, three..."  That two hour coaching session seriously changed my entire approach to the long run and I could not be any more grateful. Even as I was hitting the final leg of the run and was starting to feel tired, I kept my mind on the foot strike counting to keep my brain busy and to ensure I wasn't adding any unnecessary stress on my legs and knees.

I was only a few blocks away from my house when my watch hit 18 miles and I was SO EXCITED.  Not only had I completed the longest run of my life, but I actually felt AMAZING.  My knees felt strong and my legs, though tired, didn't hurt like the used to when I would finish.  I walked the few blocks back to my house, drank some Gatorade and basked in accomplishment.  It was a good, good day.

Cambridge 5k Craicfest

L to R: Paul, Heather, Me, Chris and Sarah

This year, I bought a season pass to the Cambridge 5k race series which includes 4 races throughout the year.  I started running their races last summer when I did my first trail run (Sasquatch) and had an amazing time on the run and even more fun at the after party.  Every run has an after party that includes a DJ, a dance off, and free beer from a bunch of different local craft breweries.  I run with the Slumbrew team every time and it's a lot of fun.  I usually try to convince people to come run with me and have had luck getting one or two people to join in, but I did good this time with FOUR friends participating!  My friend Sarah also bought a season pass, my buddy Chris ran his 4th Cambridge 5k race with me and my friend Heather and her boyfriend Paul joined in the fun too.

As I mentioned earlier, my speed hasn't been what it was before hurting my knee and especially since my ER-inducing asthma attack.  I used to go after breaking times and hitting PRs at races.  Over the summer when I was training for my half marathon I was running 8:45/9 minute miles - still not super fast, but not bad.  Lately, I am lucky to run a 10 minute mile.  I struggled with this HARD for awhile. I felt a little bit like I was failing.  I tried so hard to get back to my old times and found myself panting like crazy and still not getting to where I wanted to be.  It was frustrating and at times a little embarrassing.  But if Marathon training has done anything for me it is this: I have stopped looking at the clock.  Yes, I am keeping track of my 10 minute chunks for the walk/run strategy, but not because I care how fast - or slow - I am going.  When I finished my 18 mile run, I didn't even really look at how long it took me to finish.  It stopped being something I cared about.  Why beat myself up over a time when I had just finished something awesome. 

On Sunday, I told myself to just relax, take it slow and have fun.  I ran the whole race alongside a friend and kept a friendly conversation going throughout.  I felt strong, took a hill at the end without losing any breath and finished feeling like I could have gone for another 3 miles.  To me, that was a success - not anything the clock said.  In a way, this new approach is really freeing.  Maybe after the Marathon is over and I can go back to running more for fun and not for training, I'll play with trying to get faster again...maybe I won't...but for now just enjoying it is enough for me.

After the run, the post-race party began!  I didn't stay long - just enough to enjoy a Happy Sol and participate in the Slumbrew Team photo.  My boyfriend had come home from New York and was at my house with fresh bagels, cream cheese and lox, so I bid the party adieu and went home.

Week 13 - I Kneed A Break!

Before we get started this week, I want to thank Kathy H., Alex B. and Kathleen M. for their recent donations to my Team Victory fundraising page!  I am now just over $5,600, which is more than I could have ever hoped to raise.  Now that $6,000 is so close...I kind of want to hit it!  If you'd like to make a gift, please click here.

Weak in the Knees

Post run selfie with Heather

Ever since I saw the orthopedic doctor back in the fall, I've been working on getting my knees stronger and up until recently I felt like I was making great progress and then...BOOM!

After my long run last weekend I could feel some soreness in my right knee (it was my left in October) and knew it meant Sunday needed to be a rest day of the highest order and it seemed to have done the trick.  My knee felt oodles better on Monday.  So much better, in fact, that when I went to the gym on Monday evening with my friend Heather, I logged a full 6 miles.  In retrospect, this probably wasn't the smartest idea. My knee pain came back and continued to nag me for the rest of the week.  I knew I wanted to get my long run in on Sunday so it was imperative that I not put any unnecessary stress on it so I took most of the rest of the week off.

I just finished my long run an hour or so ago (more on that later) and although I do feel a little soreness, I think taking the time to rest really made a difference.  From here on out my long runs are no joke - 18, 19 and 21 over the next three weeks before tapering for the marathon.  I'll be monitoring my knee and training accordingly.  I haven't made it this far to be stubborn and injure myself before the big day.  As my orthopedic doctor said - LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.  It can be really hard to pull back on training - especially at this juncture when you feel like you need to be ramping it up even more than normal, but keeping the goal in the forefront of my mind means making smart choices - not emotional ones.

Ironically, I came home the other nice to find my new issue of Runner's World in my mailbox with a headline on the cover about how to keep your knees healthy.  It's like they knew!  The spread on the inside gave 4 common knee injuries, what the symptoms are, how to treat them and of course how to avoid them. It looked like I had a case of the ol' runners knee.  Hurts after a run and mostly acts up when I am going down stairs.  The magazine said to treat it, I should ice my knee for 15 minutes, 5 times a day, take ibuprofen, foam roll my quads and reduce my mileage.  It, of course, said to see a doctor if paid doesn't cease.  I think I'll be ok if I continue to follow those guidelines, as my knee has felt better and better every day since starting to take care of it on Tuesday.

Team Victory Meeting

On Tuesday, my coworker Shauna who is running our Team Victory efforts organized a team meeting with marathon charity trainer Rick Muhr who spent about two hours with us sharing tips on our training and the marathon course.  Rick was really fantastic and I was so glad we had the opportunity to learn from him.  He stressed the importance of cadence in our running and suggested that we try to keep a pattern of 180 foot strikes per minute.  He told us to count the number of foot strikes we make with our dominant foot (my right) and you should hit 90 foot strikes in one minute.  If you can keep that cadence going, he said, you'll be making the most efficient use of your energy.  I knew I was going to utilize this exercise on my long run!

I also had the opportunity finally buy my official 2015 Boston Marathon jacket.  I didn't want to risk waiting and having them be sold out by the time the Expo rolled around the weekend of the race.  I also know it's bad luck to actually wear your jacket until after crossing the finish line so I bought it, took a requisite selfie with it and put it in my closet until the mission is complete!  I plan on asking my boyfriend to bring it with him so I can put it on as soon as possible after finishing!

Cross Training Instead

To be honest I have been terrible at cross training from the get-go.  There isn't much other activity I really enjoy and since I'm on a budget, adding spin classes or yoga classes is a luxury I really can't afford.  This week, however, with my knee acting up the way it was, I knew I had to try something to get the ol' heart rate up that would have less impact on my joints.  So on Friday, I went to the gym and did three miles on the elliptical machine.

It's funny because a few years ago when I was trying to lose weight the elliptical was my favorite machine.  I'd do it for an hour at a time like it was nothing and now I really struggled to get through just over 30 minutes.  I had a hard time getting into a groove and it was so boring!  I'm going to have to suck it up, I suppose since I want to be conservative with my knee going into this next week and will probably replace one or two runs with elliptical work instead.  Blech!

Last Short Long Run

To be totally honest I had no intention of doing a short long run this week.  I planned on doing 18 miles, but - again - I knew I had to play it SMART and be flexible so I don't cause any damage to my body before the big day.  I knew I still had three solid weeks of long runs left so I should just roll it back a little this week and cut myself a break.

A friend of mine on Facebook had posted that the bike trail from Davis to Arlington was, for the most part, clear of snow and ice and I knew that from my house to the Arlington line and back was about 10 miles so that's what I decided to do.

My friend hadn't steered me wrong! The path was pretty clear until the last leg heading toward Arlington when there was a stretch with three or four unavoidable ice patches.  I saw several runners just keep going across them (how on earth do they do that!?!), but I stopped and walked/slid across them until clear ground showed up again.  I actually almost fell a few times just trying to walk on it!

On my run, I practiced Rick's cadence count - 180 steps per minute - by counting my right foot strikes until I got to 90.  I did the exercise 2-3 times per mile and was happy to see I was right on track!  The biggest aid in this, I think, is that Rick told us we should run like little old ladies walking on ice.  Teeny tiny steps.  I usually keep a short stride to begin with, but any time I felt like I was stretching out too far, it was a mental reminder - BE AN OLD LADY!

I finished my 10 miles in about 1:50 - although I did pause at the half way mark to try the Clif Shot Energy Gel.  These will be the gels passed out along the marathon course so I wanted to be sure to try it and make sure it didn't mess with my stomach on race day.  I am relived to say it settled nicely and I'll be sure to use them along the course along with the Clif Blocs that I have been using since my half marathon training over the summer.

Next Week

I am excited to finally hit the 18 mile mark on my long run next week!  I plan on doing the long run with the folks from South End Athletic Company again (I had to get my taxes done this Saturday, otherwise I would have been with them again this weekend).  It's insane to think there are only a few more weeks left until the big day!!!!

Week 12 - There's Sidewalk Out There!

Many thanks to Kathy H. and Denise T. for donating to my Boston Marathon fundraising page! I am only $82 away from hitting $5,500!  It would be so lovely to hit a nice round number like that :)  If you'd like to make a donation, please click here!

Treadmill Time

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I am actually getting used to the treadmill.  I cannot wait until I don't have to look at it ever again, but it is becoming less of an enemy with every passing week.  Though we've been spared much snowfall over the past week or so, temperatures have been unbearable and snow has turned to ice making running on the pavement a little too scary for my liking.  I decided to keep my training indoors for awhile long.  The Marathon is less than two months away and I don't want to slip and break a bone this close to the big day!

Accidentally hit the stop button of mile 1 of 6 so it says 5. Oops.

This week, I took rest days on Monday for the Boston Marathon Training Clinic, Thursday to attend a fundraiser and Sunday to recover from my long run.  On Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, I spent quality time at the gym.  In addition to the treadmill runs, I've been some time working on the weight machines to build up my leg muscles to try to prevent any further knee injuries.  I've noticed that my right knee takes about a full day to recover after my long runs and I really want to make sure I can keep it healthy until after April 20!

At the training clinic I attended on Monday, the BAA High Performance Program Coach, Terrence Mahon talked a lot about different types of training - including hill training, which I have avoided because hills are awful.  He did point out, however, that since Boston is a hilly course training our muscles to be able to tackle them is really important.  So, this week at the gym I did all of my workouts using the Hills option - something I'll probably do more frequently now through the race.  I kept the incline relatively low this week with the hopes of amping it up a little each week.  Maybe this is just what I need to get through Heartbreak!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I did 4 miles each.  I had wanted to do more, but I had evening plans following the gym so I needed to get in and out quickly as I could and 3 miles just isn't enough at this stage in the game.  On Friday, I went back and forth about how many miles I would do.  I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I didn't have any plans for the rest of the night so I didn't need to rush, but I also wanted to have fresh legs for my long run on Saturday.  What to do!?!  I settled for 6 miles.

The hardest part of running on the treadmill is finding something interesting enough to watch on the TV to keep me engaged enough that I don't obsess over the time/mileage on the machine's dashboard. I should really bring a towel to cover it over, but I keep forgetting...and I'd probably just peek anyway. On Tuesday I forgot to bring my headphones and watched the news with questionable closed captioning, which was pretty bad.  Luckily, on Friday Ghostbusters II was on, making it an easy hour!

Long Run OUTSIDE with SEAC

THANKS SEAC! YOU'RE AWESOME!

From the get-go, long runs have been tricky to plan out by myself.  I usually just ended up doing the same routes over and over again, which is kind of boring.  I just found out this week that the South End Athletic Company & Heartbreak Hill Running Company do group long runs out of their stores on Saturday mornings and I got really excited to run with them!

I decided to run with the South End Running Company, since getting to their store is much easier for me AND their run started at 10am instead of 9am.  I always get really nervous when I go to join a new running group.  You never know if the people are going to be nice or not (although in my experience they usually are), if you're going to be the slowest person there (you're probably not and even if you are, who cares), if you're going to get LOST (I didn't, but you never know!), or any number of other things. I am really happy to tell you all that the staff and runners at SEAC were totally awesome.  I felt really welcomed by everyone and ran with a few folks who were around the same pace as me.  It was great to have some other people to keep me motivated and I know without them, I would have stopped once or twice when I really didn't NEED to.

You know you're marathon training when 16.5 is the beginner route

SEAC offered two routes - beginners at 16.5 miles and intermediates at 18 miles - I did the beginners. The route started at their store in the South End, along the Muddy River in the Fenway, around Jamaica Pond to the Brookline Reservoir, through Newton Center to their Heartbreak Hill Running Company store where we paused to get some water and fuel up (around mile 9).  I was so excited for our break because I FINALLY GOT TO TAKE MY PICTURE WITH HEARTBREAK BILL! This kind, wonderful person dresses in a gorilla suit every weekend to cheer on marathon runners making their way up and down Heartbreak and I hadn't had the pleasure of making his acquaintance yet.  It was pretty cool.  You can see he's wearing a Batman mask ON TOP of his gorilla suit because evidently there was a superhero theme this week (I never got the memo :shrug::).  Anyway, it was a fun break!

Heartbreak Bill - Batman Gorilla

From the store we did the final leg of Heartbreak and the 6 miles back into Boston along the actual marathon route - Commonwealth Avenue to Beacon Street then into the City, across the Finish line on Boylston St. and back to the store on Tremont.  As my new friends and I made the iconic left on Boylston we ran (no pun intended) into one of the intermediate runners who paused at a red light and we exchanged fist bumps.  He'll be running his FIFTH Boston and said he still gets goosebumps running down that final stretch on Boylston even in training runs.

Upon arriving back at SEAC, the staff greeted us with high-fives, smiles and water, which was much needed and appreciated.  Justin, who runs their social media accounts had recognized me from Twitter and tweeted a shout out to me, which made me feel great!  I really wish I could run with this crew again next week, but I have to get my taxes done ::eye roll::  I definitely plan on joining them again on 3/14, though and will probably use whatever route they post for this week for my long run on Sunday.

Heartbreak Hill Running Company

Before I end this post, I want to say what a total joy it was to run outside on Saturday.  The sun was out, the air was cold and everything looked beautiful. Sure, the terrain was still a little iffy with packed down ice and snow and a lot of slush, but being able to watch the world pass by is one of the great joys of running. I didn't listen to my headphones at all.  I just took the time to think, center myself and take in my surroundings.  It's so rare to be able to do that and I loved it SO MUCH.  Hopefully the coming weeks will feature more beautiful days like this!