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.