So I had an incredible weekend of running. Not in the sense of "oh HELL yes I nailed that workout/race", but I had 3 runs in a row that were all like gifts given to me to remind me of how much I love running. It's easy for me to get caught up in times and races and analysis, but when it all comes down to it I wouldn't be a runner if I didn't love the sport...and sometimes that sport gives back when you least expect it. 3 days, 3 reasons to love running...
Friday - Competition
Most of my run Friday wasn't great - it was hot and I was dehydrated and my legs felt like sandbags. I had set out on the run with the intention of purposely taking it EASY, only to find that on this particular day "easy" felt remarkably difficult. So I slogged around the reservoir and finally, happily, made the turn onto Beacon Street towards home. I was briefly caught at a stoplight with a girl wearing blue Asics - who I have weirdly seen on the train and out running multiple times in the last two weeks. Well - when I heard her footsteps behind me shortly after crossing the street, something just clicked - I was not going to let this girl pass me! Probably unnecessary on an easy run, but I hadn't felt that competitive spark in so long that I just had to roll with it. I picked up the pace just slightly and focused on running strong, and strangely enough once I started thinking to myself "I am strong and I will not let this girl pass me", I FELT strong. The sandbag feeling evaporated and I coasted down the street with ease. And beat the girl to my turn onto Washington. In the back of my mind I was laughing at myself - like, oookay crazy, what was the point of THAT? But it was a gleeful sort of laughter. Because why not? Why not beat the girl down Beacon Street or pass the guy on the reservoir who is clearly not cool with a girl being faster than him, or try to lead a set of intervals at a track workout? I love to compete, that's why. And while I realize that no one wins a workout, if you can't race every weekend you have to find other ways to keep that competitive spark alive. As I've said before, I don't run to not be fat or because it's good for my health [wonderful benefits, yes, but not the point] - I run to be fast, to compete, to win. So remembering that reason in the middle of a stupid, hot, pointless run was a good thing indeed.
Saturday - Discovery
Saturday I worked a double and had planned on running to work until the clouds opened up and I decided that if I was going to spend 13 hours of my day working with dogs, I sure as hell wasn't going to do it soaking wet. So I just had to hope that I would finish up shift #1 early enough to get in a run before shift #2 [in the world of bathing dogs, the end time is different every day - it all depends on how many, how hairy, and how cooperative. Several uncooperative huskies means you are in for a very long day.] Thankfully my prayers were answered and at 3:30 I headed out with one goal in mind: trails. I knew there was an "urban wild" near my work that I had run past several times but never thought to go in, mainly because during marathon training knowing exact miles and times and paces was not something I would ever be willing to give up. But I'm not in marathon training right now and I wanted to run in the woods, damnit. So off I went. And oh my lord...it was absolutely heaven. There were paths covered in pine needles...hills and valleys and random side trails splitting off every which way....a stream...a waterfall...a pond...in other words, it was amazing.
In Once A Runner [or maybe it's Again To Carthage] Cassidy thinks something like "doing this thing you occasionally come to a rare overlook". I ran up this hill and came to the top of this ridge overlooking this pond - the water was perfectly still, the sky a hazy gray reflecting on the surface, a couple of ducks calmly cruising nearby - this random oasis in the middle of a forest in the middle of the city. And I just felt so appreciative of the beauty and the fact that doing this thing I love could bring me to an incredible place like this. And for once I couldn't care less about the time or the pace, I was just enjoying the freedom of running through the forest, scampering around rocks, flying down hills, leaping fallen trees...it was phenomenal. I returned to work in an absolutely giddy mood as my co-workers looked at my damp, sweaty, muddy self in awe. ["Are you...serious? You just worked all morning, then went on like, a 10 mile jog, and now you're coming back to work again? How do you do that??" - direct quote from a groomer lol] And I felt like I had this wonderful secret place that only I knew about, that I had DISCOVERED! And I had no clue how far/fast I had run and I didn't care, and it was amazing. I always like taking the time to stop and look at interesting/pretty things I have the opportunity to see while running - sunset at the reservoir, cool buildings/houses, whatever - but in the middle of the city finding this oasis of trails! forests! nature! was pretty much a magical experience.
Sunday - Joy
And finally we reach the coup de grace of the weekend, my Sunday run. Which was just a beautiful experience [and gosh, are you guys sick of my blathering over 3 fairly run of the mill runs yet? Lol] Anyway I wasn't really that excited about the run, I'd been kind of a bum all day, but I headed out anyway. It was pretty cool actually and windy, so in my mind basically perfect for a run. I was headed to to my usual reservoir loop but instead kept heading straight on, out onto the Newton Hills. Ahh, those Newton Hills. Things look entirely different when the crowds are gone, the runners are gone, the Gatorade stations and music and signs are gone, and it's just you and the darkness and the road. And for me going back there after the disaster that was my last experience on those hills - well, it was about time I exorcised those demons. Anyway, let's just say the magic fairy dust was back...because this run was absolute, pure, joy. I felt like I was flying. And the whole time I was thinking to myself - yes, THIS is what it's supposed to feel like. It may not have felt this way on race day, but it can feel this way. And it will again. I cruised up Heartbreak with nothing weighing me down, nothing holding me back, all of the memories of the pain and struggle replaced with joy. No one saw me crest the top of the hill and throw a victory fist into the air. But it was, in its own small way, a victory. And maybe sometimes that's the way it's meant to be - that those purest, most perfect moments of running aren't on the racecourse with fans cheering, thousands of other runners at your side. They are the moments when it is just you, transcending a bad race, a bad day at work, all of the problems that weigh on your mind - you break free. All that's left is the pure, wonderful joy of running.
I know that in these descriptions, I tend to make running out to be so much more than is necessary - like it's some kind of amazing spiritual experience or something. But for me, sometimes, it truly is. Running gives me something that I find nowhere else in my life, something I can hardly explain. And runs like these just serve as a reminder of the reasons why. And no matter how many tough races I endure, whatever else life throws my way....if I go back to the road, I'll never forget those reasons.
And on a final non-philosophical rambling note, I'm racing a 5K this Sunday!! What do you get when you cross a hard marathon and a month of lazy recovery runs with a 5K where I might have a shot at running for some hardware [depending on who shows up this year, of course]? Guess we'll find out soon enough...=)
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Boston Analysis: What went wrong/right
OK, I know you all are probably sick to death of hearing about Boston from me. But what's the saying - that like, in a relationship that breaks up it takes a week for every year you were together to get over it? Or something to that effect? Well I think it's the same thing in running. A 5K is like that stupid fling you had where it clearly was just for fun and you can find another guy the next week. [uh..not that I've ever been in that situation haha]. You can race it every week if you want, and while it definitely takes a certain type of effort to train for a a good 5K, chances are if you're in good base shape to start and tack on a few weeks of speed and sharpening, you'll be ready to go. A marathon is different. A marathon is like a long, tumultuous relationship that has its ups and downs but the people in it are truly in love...and then when it ends, they're left picking up the pieces for a good long while afterward. You invest a lot more in every aspect of the training and the race, just the straight up time-commitment to running is longer, and you can't just race a marathon every weekend. [unless you are one of those people who does/can...I am not]
So anyway, I am still kind of trying to wrap my mind around the race. This isn't a post to whine about my time or how bad the race was - it is what it is and I know that under the circumstances I did damn well and I'm too far out to still be wallowing in my sorrows about a race that didn't live up to my expectations. No, this is more of an analysis trying to figure out WHY the circumstances were...well...the circumstances. Obviously all you can really do with training and racing is try different things and just see what happens. So here are my thoughts on what I did wrong and what I did right.
Thing I Did Right: Training Plan [in general]
I really don't think my training was the problem here. I know I was in the best shape of my life going into Boston as evidenced by my huge HM PR just 4 weeks out from the race. I thought the Hudson program was a great mix of things - his philosophy is to keep up ALL aspects of fitness throughout all aspects of training, so there's always plenty of different workouts to keep things interesting. I pretty much followed his level 2 marathon program to a T this past time, his philosophy is actually that at some point you are kind of able to coach yourself so I am thinking I might tweak things a little more this time around - but I do like the general makeup of his program.
Thing I Did Wrong: Race Pace Training
When I look back at my log, I see almost zero runs done at between 7:55-8:05 pace. That right there is/was my GMP. I think in my mind I figured that if I was running FASTER than that all the time, then that should be easy, right? But I think knowing how to run a pace requires a certain amount of time spent running AT that pace, and I think more GMP work will definitely be key in my future training...which leads me to...
Thing I Did Wrong: Run Too Fast, All The Time
Someone needs to pound it through my head that my easy days need to be EASY. Seriously. There are zero reasons for running marathon/GMP or faster on a long run [unless there's specifically a segment that's supposed to be done at that pace for the sake of a workout]. This especially applies to long runs; I think my super fast 23 miler 3 weeks before the race might have completely done me in. I am a speedster at heart and it's hard for me to see slow paces...but there is a time and a place for everything, and I am not absorbing my hard training as well as I could be when I'm running too hard on my easy/recovery runs.
Thing That I Kind of Did Wrong: Stomach Issues
I followed the exact same plan for nutrition during the race as Baystate - or so I thought. But there were 2 key differences that I think may have messed up my stomach. One was the caffienated Gu Chomps I ate before the race. This sounds like such a small, stupid thing, but I was not planning on having any caffeine until my Gu at mile 6. Combined with the nerves, I think that really started my stomach off on the wrong foot. Another issue was hydration - I think that I did a relatively good job of staying hydrated, but it actually became a problem because my stomach just couldn't handle the fluids. This really is partially my fault because I didn't TRAIN with fuel - I had one Gu and some water on each of my 22-23 mile runs...I think maybe some fruit snacks on my 20 miler...bottom line, need to get my stomach used to what I'm going to be taking in during the race.
Thing That I Have No Idea How To Fix: Peaking Too Early
I said this in my last post, but I think it's pretty much beyond doubt that I peaked somewhere in late March/early April. I was flying through workouts and long runs and ran a great race...and then something was different. I will confess that even in the early stages of taper my legs didn't feel right. Not really sure how to fix this one.
Thing I Might Change: Taper
I think the last week of my taper was a little too drastic. I did it because it was the same thing I did before Baystate, but what worked for me when I was running a lot fewer miles and nearly killed myself to hit 60 is not the same as what works when I was consistently running high 50s-low 60s for like 8-10 weeks straight. I still feel like a relatively drastic taper is my style, but maybe 3-4 milers instead of 1-2 next time around.
Thing I Did Wrong: Psyching Myself Out
I have an issue with choking. There's a quote: "Big races which are anticipated almost to the point of dread are where great things can be accomplished". Well, for me, big races which have been anticipated almost to the point of dread are where I will inevitably crash and burn, fall apart, or just fail. At Baystate I was so proud of myself for actually running the race I wanted, when I wanted - and you know why? I had zero expectations for that race - it's your first marathon, finish. Finish under 4 hours, ideally. I think I started thinking about a BQ around mile 14. It was always there in the back of my mind but I never really made it a big deal. Same thing with the New Bedford Half - I kind of vaguely knew I wanted to break 1:40 but it was just a tune up race, and hey, I like racing, why not? And look what happens -a 4 minute PR. And then we have Boston. And we have my training going amazingly, and suddenly I'm looking at wanting to run 3:30. And as soon as it became clear that that wasn't happening [early, EARLY in the race] - I completely fell apart mentally. I won't deny that there are so many mental games that go on with the marathon and I just absolutely didn't have it. If I had said "hey, it's Boston, just enjoy it" or even "hey, just shoot for a PR, sub-3:39"...I would have gone out less ridiculously, and likely could have ended up with a better time. I did everything that everyone says NOT to do in this race because I was so stubbornly set on this time goal. The mental game is definitely something I need to work on especially in the longer distances, and I definitely thing it came back to bite me in the ass at Boston. Yes, I want to set high but realistic goals for myself, but completely screwing myself up mentally over them is really not going to help me have the race of my dreams.
Alright...so there are my thoughts. In all seriousness, I had a good experience at Boston. I'm thankful that there were moments in the race - the thrill of walking to the start like, random drunk men dressed up as women, the giant window at 7.8 with the sign that said "check your form", high fiving little kids, Wellesley, the spectacular spectators who always seemed to have a cup of non-lemonlime Gatorade or a FREEZY POP when I needed it most, making that turn onto Boylston - where I was able to think how amazing that it was that this was The Boston Marathon. I think I just regret that my first experience there was not the magical one that I was hoping for [apparently, the 26,000 other people did steal my "magical fairy dust" that I experienced so many times out on the course alone] and that I wasn't able to simply ENJOY the experience as much as I wanted. I was so worried about racing, then so in pain, and so frustrated about having 'failed', that I was caught up in my own mind and body to get everything out of it that I wanted. You know what's lucky though? I live half a mile off the marathon course. I run on at least part of it almost every single day. And next year and the year after, somehow or another, I will hopefully make that trek from Hopkinton to Boston once again - learning from all of the mistakes of my first time and running the race I know I can.
This is my last word on Boston 2010. As you might be able to tell I've been sitting on this post for awhile, I just haven't had the words. It's been long enough since the 'breakup' that I can look back and smile at the good times - the 23 mile run in a pouring, wind whipping rainstorm, the mile repeats at faster than I thought possible, the best half marathon race of my life, and so many incredible runs in between - and forget about the bad. It's time to get back out there and start anew - remembering what's brought me to this point and believing - don't stop believin' :) - that I can only go further from here.
So anyway, I am still kind of trying to wrap my mind around the race. This isn't a post to whine about my time or how bad the race was - it is what it is and I know that under the circumstances I did damn well and I'm too far out to still be wallowing in my sorrows about a race that didn't live up to my expectations. No, this is more of an analysis trying to figure out WHY the circumstances were...well...the circumstances. Obviously all you can really do with training and racing is try different things and just see what happens. So here are my thoughts on what I did wrong and what I did right.
Thing I Did Right: Training Plan [in general]
I really don't think my training was the problem here. I know I was in the best shape of my life going into Boston as evidenced by my huge HM PR just 4 weeks out from the race. I thought the Hudson program was a great mix of things - his philosophy is to keep up ALL aspects of fitness throughout all aspects of training, so there's always plenty of different workouts to keep things interesting. I pretty much followed his level 2 marathon program to a T this past time, his philosophy is actually that at some point you are kind of able to coach yourself so I am thinking I might tweak things a little more this time around - but I do like the general makeup of his program.
Thing I Did Wrong: Race Pace Training
When I look back at my log, I see almost zero runs done at between 7:55-8:05 pace. That right there is/was my GMP. I think in my mind I figured that if I was running FASTER than that all the time, then that should be easy, right? But I think knowing how to run a pace requires a certain amount of time spent running AT that pace, and I think more GMP work will definitely be key in my future training...which leads me to...
Thing I Did Wrong: Run Too Fast, All The Time
Someone needs to pound it through my head that my easy days need to be EASY. Seriously. There are zero reasons for running marathon/GMP or faster on a long run [unless there's specifically a segment that's supposed to be done at that pace for the sake of a workout]. This especially applies to long runs; I think my super fast 23 miler 3 weeks before the race might have completely done me in. I am a speedster at heart and it's hard for me to see slow paces...but there is a time and a place for everything, and I am not absorbing my hard training as well as I could be when I'm running too hard on my easy/recovery runs.
Thing That I Kind of Did Wrong: Stomach Issues
I followed the exact same plan for nutrition during the race as Baystate - or so I thought. But there were 2 key differences that I think may have messed up my stomach. One was the caffienated Gu Chomps I ate before the race. This sounds like such a small, stupid thing, but I was not planning on having any caffeine until my Gu at mile 6. Combined with the nerves, I think that really started my stomach off on the wrong foot. Another issue was hydration - I think that I did a relatively good job of staying hydrated, but it actually became a problem because my stomach just couldn't handle the fluids. This really is partially my fault because I didn't TRAIN with fuel - I had one Gu and some water on each of my 22-23 mile runs...I think maybe some fruit snacks on my 20 miler...bottom line, need to get my stomach used to what I'm going to be taking in during the race.
Thing That I Have No Idea How To Fix: Peaking Too Early
I said this in my last post, but I think it's pretty much beyond doubt that I peaked somewhere in late March/early April. I was flying through workouts and long runs and ran a great race...and then something was different. I will confess that even in the early stages of taper my legs didn't feel right. Not really sure how to fix this one.
Thing I Might Change: Taper
I think the last week of my taper was a little too drastic. I did it because it was the same thing I did before Baystate, but what worked for me when I was running a lot fewer miles and nearly killed myself to hit 60 is not the same as what works when I was consistently running high 50s-low 60s for like 8-10 weeks straight. I still feel like a relatively drastic taper is my style, but maybe 3-4 milers instead of 1-2 next time around.
Thing I Did Wrong: Psyching Myself Out
I have an issue with choking. There's a quote: "Big races which are anticipated almost to the point of dread are where great things can be accomplished". Well, for me, big races which have been anticipated almost to the point of dread are where I will inevitably crash and burn, fall apart, or just fail. At Baystate I was so proud of myself for actually running the race I wanted, when I wanted - and you know why? I had zero expectations for that race - it's your first marathon, finish. Finish under 4 hours, ideally. I think I started thinking about a BQ around mile 14. It was always there in the back of my mind but I never really made it a big deal. Same thing with the New Bedford Half - I kind of vaguely knew I wanted to break 1:40 but it was just a tune up race, and hey, I like racing, why not? And look what happens -a 4 minute PR. And then we have Boston. And we have my training going amazingly, and suddenly I'm looking at wanting to run 3:30. And as soon as it became clear that that wasn't happening [early, EARLY in the race] - I completely fell apart mentally. I won't deny that there are so many mental games that go on with the marathon and I just absolutely didn't have it. If I had said "hey, it's Boston, just enjoy it" or even "hey, just shoot for a PR, sub-3:39"...I would have gone out less ridiculously, and likely could have ended up with a better time. I did everything that everyone says NOT to do in this race because I was so stubbornly set on this time goal. The mental game is definitely something I need to work on especially in the longer distances, and I definitely thing it came back to bite me in the ass at Boston. Yes, I want to set high but realistic goals for myself, but completely screwing myself up mentally over them is really not going to help me have the race of my dreams.
Alright...so there are my thoughts. In all seriousness, I had a good experience at Boston. I'm thankful that there were moments in the race - the thrill of walking to the start like, random drunk men dressed up as women, the giant window at 7.8 with the sign that said "check your form", high fiving little kids, Wellesley, the spectacular spectators who always seemed to have a cup of non-lemonlime Gatorade or a FREEZY POP when I needed it most, making that turn onto Boylston - where I was able to think how amazing that it was that this was The Boston Marathon. I think I just regret that my first experience there was not the magical one that I was hoping for [apparently, the 26,000 other people did steal my "magical fairy dust" that I experienced so many times out on the course alone] and that I wasn't able to simply ENJOY the experience as much as I wanted. I was so worried about racing, then so in pain, and so frustrated about having 'failed', that I was caught up in my own mind and body to get everything out of it that I wanted. You know what's lucky though? I live half a mile off the marathon course. I run on at least part of it almost every single day. And next year and the year after, somehow or another, I will hopefully make that trek from Hopkinton to Boston once again - learning from all of the mistakes of my first time and running the race I know I can.
This is my last word on Boston 2010. As you might be able to tell I've been sitting on this post for awhile, I just haven't had the words. It's been long enough since the 'breakup' that I can look back and smile at the good times - the 23 mile run in a pouring, wind whipping rainstorm, the mile repeats at faster than I thought possible, the best half marathon race of my life, and so many incredible runs in between - and forget about the bad. It's time to get back out there and start anew - remembering what's brought me to this point and believing - don't stop believin' :) - that I can only go further from here.
Monday, May 03, 2010
April Recap and What's Next?
It feels like it's been a really long time since I've posted, and I guess it kind of has - truthfully I haven't had much to say. I have been running a decent amount since Boston, but nothing really exciting - a whole bunch of 4.5-6 mile runs with one 7.5 miler yesterday, as I decided I needed to get back into the pattern of a Sunday "long" run. But I figured doing an April training recap was as good of a reason as any to post!
April's mileage was way down from March & February, mostly due to the fact that it pretty much went through the cycle of taper...race...recover...start slow. Still, I wound up with 156.5 miles, which I'd say is fairly respectable. The stats:
April 2010
Total miles: 156.5
Days off: 7
Races: 1
Workouts: 3
I've already been trying to peruse my training to figure out what things I want to change when I start my next marathon training cycle which will begin in July...remember when I said that Boston was going to be my last marathon for awhile? That was a huge lie. I think it's because the marathon is now my vendetta race, the one I KNOW I'm capable of more in and just haven't been able to show it yet. The 5K? Sad as it sounds, I got my sub-20 and that was really all I ever could have asked for. I will happily race 5Ks until the end of time, but something tells me that without a track season, actually training specifically for them isn't going to be a big priority for me. The 10K in my opinion is just a means to an end to other races...again, it's a fun distance, but not something I could see myself being devoted to training for one peak race. Half marathons get a little trickier, since technically a half COULD in and of itself be a peak race [to be honest, I think I very well might have left my Boston race out on the New Bedford half course]. And now that I've run a solid half that I was actually trained for, I like the distance, I really do. But I think the fact that I ran such a huge PR in the distance on my way somewhere else would make me less excited if the half itself was the end point. When it all comes down to it, at the moment, the marathon is the only distance where I'm actually dissatisfied with my PR. I think my 5K/10K/HM PRs are pretty reflective of my current status as a runner - of course I still want to improve them, but I'm thrilled with what they are even now. The marathon though...I know I have more to give. And my mileage-whore personality I don't think will be satisfied with anything less than the high mileage fun times that marathon training requires.
I learned a LOT from training for Boston and from actually following a plan - even though the end race wasn't what I wanted, I really can't say that there's much I'd change about my training. My fitness was high, my workouts were all fantastic. I do believe that I peaked too early [anyone remember me RAVING about my 23 mile long run in the rain, and then the kickass half marathon race the weekend after? Yeah, I think that might have been my peak...] I'm not really sure what the remedy for that is. I have been re-reading Hudson's book and he says the main reason for an early peak is too much race-pace running for too long - that that kind of running should really be limited to the 4 weeks of sharpening before the race. That doesn't seem to be the culprit in my case though, since really my race pace workouts were limited to that time frame. Maybe I needed a less drastic taper...who knows. Running, especially marathon running, is one big grand experiment.
Anyway, the next couple months are going to be pretty much a maintenance phase. No workouts, just base mileage hopefully staying in the high 30s-40s, and working my long run up to at least 12-13 miles or so. I am actually planning on jumping in a 5K in the next couple of weeks just for fun and because it's been forever since I've raced a 5K. My current plan is the Mystic River Herring Run - celebrate the return of the herring! Haha. It's funny, 2 weeks doesn't really seem like a long time post race, but it feels like it's been FOREVER. Like I hardly feel like Boston ever even happened. So I am a little gung ho now to get out and go have a race that isn't a death march...I think a 5K is a good place to make that happen. :)
Yeah...this is a pretty boring post haha. Seriously, I am just not as interesting when I'm not in training. We did have an exciting water main burst here in Boston that has left the entire city without clean drinking water...actually, the stuff running through our pipes now is partially coming out of my favorite Chestnut Hill Reservoir, which might be a gorgeous place to run, but with all the fish, birds, and muskrats that hang out in there...probably not so awesome to drink. Yesterday I did an easy 7.5 miles - longest run since the marathon - around the reservoir and it was weird seeing the spots where the water was bubbling and getting sucked out. Apparently things are supposed to be back to normal within 48 hours...I sure hope so!
April's mileage was way down from March & February, mostly due to the fact that it pretty much went through the cycle of taper...race...recover...start slow. Still, I wound up with 156.5 miles, which I'd say is fairly respectable. The stats:
April 2010
Total miles: 156.5
Days off: 7
Races: 1
Workouts: 3
I've already been trying to peruse my training to figure out what things I want to change when I start my next marathon training cycle which will begin in July...remember when I said that Boston was going to be my last marathon for awhile? That was a huge lie. I think it's because the marathon is now my vendetta race, the one I KNOW I'm capable of more in and just haven't been able to show it yet. The 5K? Sad as it sounds, I got my sub-20 and that was really all I ever could have asked for. I will happily race 5Ks until the end of time, but something tells me that without a track season, actually training specifically for them isn't going to be a big priority for me. The 10K in my opinion is just a means to an end to other races...again, it's a fun distance, but not something I could see myself being devoted to training for one peak race. Half marathons get a little trickier, since technically a half COULD in and of itself be a peak race [to be honest, I think I very well might have left my Boston race out on the New Bedford half course]. And now that I've run a solid half that I was actually trained for, I like the distance, I really do. But I think the fact that I ran such a huge PR in the distance on my way somewhere else would make me less excited if the half itself was the end point. When it all comes down to it, at the moment, the marathon is the only distance where I'm actually dissatisfied with my PR. I think my 5K/10K/HM PRs are pretty reflective of my current status as a runner - of course I still want to improve them, but I'm thrilled with what they are even now. The marathon though...I know I have more to give. And my mileage-whore personality I don't think will be satisfied with anything less than the high mileage fun times that marathon training requires.
I learned a LOT from training for Boston and from actually following a plan - even though the end race wasn't what I wanted, I really can't say that there's much I'd change about my training. My fitness was high, my workouts were all fantastic. I do believe that I peaked too early [anyone remember me RAVING about my 23 mile long run in the rain, and then the kickass half marathon race the weekend after? Yeah, I think that might have been my peak...] I'm not really sure what the remedy for that is. I have been re-reading Hudson's book and he says the main reason for an early peak is too much race-pace running for too long - that that kind of running should really be limited to the 4 weeks of sharpening before the race. That doesn't seem to be the culprit in my case though, since really my race pace workouts were limited to that time frame. Maybe I needed a less drastic taper...who knows. Running, especially marathon running, is one big grand experiment.
Anyway, the next couple months are going to be pretty much a maintenance phase. No workouts, just base mileage hopefully staying in the high 30s-40s, and working my long run up to at least 12-13 miles or so. I am actually planning on jumping in a 5K in the next couple of weeks just for fun and because it's been forever since I've raced a 5K. My current plan is the Mystic River Herring Run - celebrate the return of the herring! Haha. It's funny, 2 weeks doesn't really seem like a long time post race, but it feels like it's been FOREVER. Like I hardly feel like Boston ever even happened. So I am a little gung ho now to get out and go have a race that isn't a death march...I think a 5K is a good place to make that happen. :)
Yeah...this is a pretty boring post haha. Seriously, I am just not as interesting when I'm not in training. We did have an exciting water main burst here in Boston that has left the entire city without clean drinking water...actually, the stuff running through our pipes now is partially coming out of my favorite Chestnut Hill Reservoir, which might be a gorgeous place to run, but with all the fish, birds, and muskrats that hang out in there...probably not so awesome to drink. Yesterday I did an easy 7.5 miles - longest run since the marathon - around the reservoir and it was weird seeing the spots where the water was bubbling and getting sucked out. Apparently things are supposed to be back to normal within 48 hours...I sure hope so!
Friday, April 23, 2010
3 Things Thursday: Recovery Edition
Yes...I realize its Friday...but I worked a 13 hour shift yesterday [my post-marathon legs LOVED that, let me tell you] and didn't have time to post...so...ta da, 3 things Thurs/Friday!
1 - The legs! Physically, the day after the race I literally couldn't do ANYTHING - oh my god. My boyfriend was laughing at me and singing "domo arigato mr roboto" every time I attempted to get up off the couch [which was rare haha]. Ironically, my hamstrings which gave me so much trouble during the race weren't really that sore, but my quads? Let's just say I was feeling those downhills - ow ow ow! The outside of my left foot was also really sore, and I think I realized why after looking at my race pictures - apparently I land REALLY far to the outside of my left foot! There's one picture where it seriously looks like I'm going to roll my ankle when I land, my foot is so far sideways. I remember having the same pain after New Bedford but I've never felt it in workouts...wonder if it's just a race thing? Speaking of the pictures, I really want to order the CD so I can post them up here, because they are pretty ridiculous, and definitely tell the story of my race well. But we'll see if I feel like shelling out the $85 for that haha. Wednesday I went for a swim because I was having post-race mopey syndrome and needed to workout in some form to get over it, but my quads definitely weren't ready to run. Felt good to swim again and since I'm tossing around the possibility of an Olympic triathlon this summer, was glad to see that I still feel strong in the water. Today finally I am MUCH improved - definitely still some lingering stiffness and achiness, but nothing too severe. I am thinking about a 2 mile shakeout later just to kind of get things moving again, but we shall see!
2 - The schwag. I got my Boston Celebration jacket yesterday, along with a new pair of Asics armwarmers, which I sadly had to toss somewhere in Framingham during the race. RIP, Asics #1s. Luckily, they were only $8, and with the jacket being on sale after the race, I felt a little less guilty about my purchases :). Umm yeah...I don't think I'm ever going to take this jacket off again. EVER. I think I said at some point that I thought the celebration jacket was a little too over the top, but I lied. The further out I get from the actual pain of the race the more I want to SHOUT to the mountaintops that I ran Boston. Sooo the jacket is fantastic.
3 - The mind. As you all mayyy or may not have been able to tell, I was feeling a little disappointed about my race on Monday. That feeling is dissolving faster and faster as the days go by. The more I think about it, the more I am completely amazed with how fast I DID finish given the circumstances! It would have been easy to just dial it in and walk/jog to the finish - but I am a racer, and I raced that race to the end - if 3:46 was the best I had on that day, well at least I know that's ALL I had. So I am much more okay with my race now. I also have a lot more respect for that tricky bitch of a Boston course - I've heard it's almost impossible to run it right the first time and whoooo boy do I know now that's true. I certainly made some tactical errors on my part - ahem, going out too fast EVEN THOUGH I'd been warned time and time again that that was a bad idea. But what are you going to do? I learned from it, and that's just one more marathon under my belt to take into the next one. I am immensely proud of my training and of my race and nothing can change that.
As you can see, recovery is going pretty well...much as I am enjoying a little time off though, I'm raring to get back on the roads! Hope it stays cooler a little longer so I can keep rocking my Boston jacket. :)
Also....a final random side story. So I was on the train last night absentmindedly paging through one of the magazines that came in the Boston race packet - it was clearly an international magazine because it had ads for all these races all over the world - Europe, the Middle East, Australia...whatever. It was kind of amusing browsing the ads and all of a sudden I stumbled across an ad for...THE HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN MARATHON...obviously in his hometown [where he lived in a little yellow house] of Odense, Denmark [which is on the island of Funen]. How do I know these random HCA facts? Well, my sophomore year of college I needed a literature credit. Since I was already taking a full load of pre-med insanity, I tried to find an easy one. The result? Literature In Translation 275 - The Tales Of Hans Christian Andersen. The class was made even better by the fact that I took it with 7 of my friends, and that our professor was a complete nut who spoke in a faux-Danish accent and spent the first 2 weeks of class telling us about the glory that was Hans's life [we saw a map of Denmark + picture of the little yellow house about 300 times over that period]. Oh, and one of my friends joined the class a month late and still managed 100% on the first exam. It was hilarious and probably the most memorable class of my college career...so needless to say I am pretty sure the Hans Christian Andersen Marathon has just been added to my running "to-do" list of life. :)
1 - The legs! Physically, the day after the race I literally couldn't do ANYTHING - oh my god. My boyfriend was laughing at me and singing "domo arigato mr roboto" every time I attempted to get up off the couch [which was rare haha]. Ironically, my hamstrings which gave me so much trouble during the race weren't really that sore, but my quads? Let's just say I was feeling those downhills - ow ow ow! The outside of my left foot was also really sore, and I think I realized why after looking at my race pictures - apparently I land REALLY far to the outside of my left foot! There's one picture where it seriously looks like I'm going to roll my ankle when I land, my foot is so far sideways. I remember having the same pain after New Bedford but I've never felt it in workouts...wonder if it's just a race thing? Speaking of the pictures, I really want to order the CD so I can post them up here, because they are pretty ridiculous, and definitely tell the story of my race well. But we'll see if I feel like shelling out the $85 for that haha. Wednesday I went for a swim because I was having post-race mopey syndrome and needed to workout in some form to get over it, but my quads definitely weren't ready to run. Felt good to swim again and since I'm tossing around the possibility of an Olympic triathlon this summer, was glad to see that I still feel strong in the water. Today finally I am MUCH improved - definitely still some lingering stiffness and achiness, but nothing too severe. I am thinking about a 2 mile shakeout later just to kind of get things moving again, but we shall see!
2 - The schwag. I got my Boston Celebration jacket yesterday, along with a new pair of Asics armwarmers, which I sadly had to toss somewhere in Framingham during the race. RIP, Asics #1s. Luckily, they were only $8, and with the jacket being on sale after the race, I felt a little less guilty about my purchases :). Umm yeah...I don't think I'm ever going to take this jacket off again. EVER. I think I said at some point that I thought the celebration jacket was a little too over the top, but I lied. The further out I get from the actual pain of the race the more I want to SHOUT to the mountaintops that I ran Boston. Sooo the jacket is fantastic.
3 - The mind. As you all mayyy or may not have been able to tell, I was feeling a little disappointed about my race on Monday. That feeling is dissolving faster and faster as the days go by. The more I think about it, the more I am completely amazed with how fast I DID finish given the circumstances! It would have been easy to just dial it in and walk/jog to the finish - but I am a racer, and I raced that race to the end - if 3:46 was the best I had on that day, well at least I know that's ALL I had. So I am much more okay with my race now. I also have a lot more respect for that tricky bitch of a Boston course - I've heard it's almost impossible to run it right the first time and whoooo boy do I know now that's true. I certainly made some tactical errors on my part - ahem, going out too fast EVEN THOUGH I'd been warned time and time again that that was a bad idea. But what are you going to do? I learned from it, and that's just one more marathon under my belt to take into the next one. I am immensely proud of my training and of my race and nothing can change that.
As you can see, recovery is going pretty well...much as I am enjoying a little time off though, I'm raring to get back on the roads! Hope it stays cooler a little longer so I can keep rocking my Boston jacket. :)
Also....a final random side story. So I was on the train last night absentmindedly paging through one of the magazines that came in the Boston race packet - it was clearly an international magazine because it had ads for all these races all over the world - Europe, the Middle East, Australia...whatever. It was kind of amusing browsing the ads and all of a sudden I stumbled across an ad for...THE HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN MARATHON...obviously in his hometown [where he lived in a little yellow house] of Odense, Denmark [which is on the island of Funen]. How do I know these random HCA facts? Well, my sophomore year of college I needed a literature credit. Since I was already taking a full load of pre-med insanity, I tried to find an easy one. The result? Literature In Translation 275 - The Tales Of Hans Christian Andersen. The class was made even better by the fact that I took it with 7 of my friends, and that our professor was a complete nut who spoke in a faux-Danish accent and spent the first 2 weeks of class telling us about the glory that was Hans's life [we saw a map of Denmark + picture of the little yellow house about 300 times over that period]. Oh, and one of my friends joined the class a month late and still managed 100% on the first exam. It was hilarious and probably the most memorable class of my college career...so needless to say I am pretty sure the Hans Christian Andersen Marathon has just been added to my running "to-do" list of life. :)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
A Day That Will Live In Infamy: Boston Marathon 2010
First off, I just have to thank everyone for the AMAZING support and comments. The online running community is so. freaking. cool! It really means a lot to have a whole bunch of people picking you back up when a race knocks you down, so thank you all again.
So I'm feeling a little mopey today. I honestly think I would be a little sad even if I had run a good time/PR - I mean, 4 months of training and it's OVER. Of course, it doesn't hurt that my mind is just one big loop of "what could have gone wrong, what happened?" Obviously, it just wasn't my day out there. Running is always, to some extent, a crapshoot. You can train and train, have the most perfect training you can imagine, but if you wake up on race day and for some reason or another your legs just aren't in it, there's nothing you can do about it. It happens to the elites - and they drop out. Well for me that isn't ever an option (much as I would have liked it to be at several points during the race haha) Unfortunately, the experience of "having a bad day" is completely exacerbated in a marathon because...well....it's LONG...and if you are feeling bad early, it's going to be a long, slow death march to the finish. But that's also what makes the marathon so special. Sometimes its just going to suck, but you get through it, you learn from it, and if you're crazy like me, you start thinking about the next one within hours after finishing haha.
So on to the nitty gritty details. Nothing that happened race morning indicated that I was going to have anything other than a good day. My legs felt solid, I had slept reasonably well, and all I had to do was walk out the door and hop on the T - fabulous! I had my usual banana & peanut butter toast, and grabbed another banana and some Gu Chomps for later. I got to Boston Common around 6:15, and immediately encountered the insanity that was 26,000 runners trying to get on buses. Somehow I found my way to a short-ish line and started talking with a girl around my age named Kristen, who would become my athlete's village buddy. The bus ride was like...infinity. By infinity I mean an hour, but sitting on the bus thinking about how you have to RUN the whole damn way back? Umm...yeah.
The athletes village was pretty cool. It was weird having to just kind of chill out for so long before the start, but people watching was pretty entertaining [people who brought inflatable pool toys to lay on = genius!] and there was plenty of free Gatorade and Powerbars to go around. I waited in an INSANELY long/slow moving porta potty line and ended up being extremely glad that I brought my own toilet paper haha...if cross country meets have taught me anything, it's that there's NEVER enough toilet paper when you need it! Time flew pretty fast and soon enough it was time for the second wave to leave the village. It was actually kind of chilly at that point, so I reluctantly dropped my gear bag at the bus and we began the walk to the start.
The atmosphere walking the .7 mile to the start line was absolutely electric. Looking back, that was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole day. Just an endless sea of runners, everyone bouncing with the nervous energy of standing at the start line of a marathon....gloves and sweatshirts flying to the side of the road everywhere, already people out on their lawns wishing good luck...it was really cool. I made my way to the 16000s corral and soon enough - "5 minutes to the start!" Holy crap. I was quite calm, and a little scared - probably my first indication of things to come, since fear isn't really a great emotion to have on the starting line. I figured I would be fine once I started running, and soon enough...we were walking, then shuffling, then crossing the fabled start line...26.2 miles of hell had just begun.
The first mile was a pain in the ass. There were just SO MANY PEOPLE and it was just impossible to find any sort of groove. I kept having to weave around or getting stuck behind groups and it was just annoying having to expend that much energy to find my place in the pack. I went through the first mile in 8:04 and I figured - ok, that's about right - but it hadn't felt as easy as it should have. I chalked it up to dealing with the crowds and continued on.
Whoever says that the first half of the course is all downhill is a liar, liar, pants on fire. There are PLENTY of little rollers to keep you on your toes. My next 2 miles were 7:43 and 7:51, and go ahead and say it - yes, I probably went out too fast. Hindsight IS 20-20 after all. At this point though, I was still feeling OK - not fantastic, and like I probably should relax and slow down, but no major issues with the pace yet. I was still smiling, high fiving kids, and enjoying the shout-outs I got to the "Don't Stop Believin" on the back of my shirt. I also noticed I was hearing a lot of "Go Wisconsin!" cheers coming from up ahead somewhere....I looked up and saw a Wisconsin team singlet bobbing a few meters in front of me! I pulled up alongside the girl and we actually had a brief conversation - turns out, she used to run for the team but now does marathons instead, and she actually knows one of my friends from the track club - such a small world of runners! I pulled ahead, but don't worry, I would see her again before the race was over...mile 4 with that conversation was 7:49. Again, go ahead and yell. I think honestly my thought process at this point was one of knowing that things probably were going to go bad pretty shortly, and that if I could hang with this pace now, I might as well buy myself some time for the horrors to come.
Miles 5 and 6 I remember I thought I slowed down, but really they were 8:04 and 8:06. I was already not feeling great and pretty much knew that 3:30 was out of the question, but I thought holding 8:05-8:10 pace was a solid goal now. I was still having some fun at this point - the crowds were just out of this world, and the whole thing was honestly kind of surreal. I wasn't feeling bad really, but something was just off - no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find that pace where you can just lock in, settle down, and let it ride until the later stages of the race. I couldn't relax and find a groove - and that had me worried. I took a Gu at the 10K which gave me a little bit of a boost, then grabbed some water which I somehow managed to shoot up my nose...that was special haha. Mile 7 was an 8:05, and that was the last reasonable split I was going to see for the day. I noticed that my hamstrings were starting to seize up a bit and overall I just was having dead legs - NOT a good feeling to experience 8 miles into a 26.2 mile race. I tried to slow up the pace a little bit to see if it helped - miles 8 and 9 were 8:16 and 8:13. Alas, no relief. The hamstring cramps were only getting worse and just in general - nothing was feeling right. I had hoped at the start that maybe I just needed awhile to get into the groove, but there was no groove to be found. Suddenly it was looking like it was going to be a very, very long day.
So then, without even trying, I slowed down alarmingly. When I saw an 8:28 for mile 10 I was not pleased, and the 8:34 that followed had me pretty much freaking out. It was way, way, WAY too early for me to feel this way! Like, I had to paste on a game face going under the camera at I think the 15K mark...that's bad news bears right there. I should have been feeling smooth and easy at that point...and the reality was not even close. So...things were not good, and I was worried. Then I had 2 miles in Wellesley where I thought for a minute that maybe it was going to come back. 8:10 and 8:09, the cramps mysteriously dissolved, and I was able to ENJOY the miles at Wellesley College..which was a wonderful thing. My favorite moment of the race for sure. I grinned the whole time, high fived everyone, laughed at the signs (I won't tell your wife! hah), and actually felt hopeful for the first time in awhile. Maybe it had just taken me this long to loosen up - maybe things were going to be okay after all...
Orrrr maybe they were not. I came through the half in 1:46 and that was all well and good - I thought to myself hey, even if you slow down a bit from here, you'll still be solid, and yay, now you're on the course that you've run before! Familiar territory, yay! Mile 14 was 8:13, which I was fine with...and then the wheels really fell off. All of a sudden, the hamstring cramps were back with a VENGEANCE. I mean honestly I can't even describe the feeling. I was immediately struck with just complete terror - the terrain in Wellesley is still pretty forgiving so feeling like this with the big hills still to come? Noooooot good. Around this time, the Wisconsin girl came back up on me and passed me, looking just peachy keen. Damn. Mile 15 I walked through a water stop because I was starting to feel dehydrated and I knew that would only add to my issues if I didn't get some fluids in me - 8:43 for that mile. Mile 16 was the HUGE downhill which I enjoyed primarily because it took some of the agony off my hamstrings and so I was actually able to maintain a normal pace for awhile - 8:24, and actually feeling OK again at that point. The crowds were still amazing and I was trying to take the time to enjoy the signs (After 800 miles of training, what's 26.2 more?) and high five some kids, anything to give myself a boost. But the cramps would. not. stop. I had to walk again through another water stop and so saw my first 9+ mile of the day at 9:15 for mile 17. And then we came up on the hills...and my stomach absolutely decided to reject everything I had done all morning. I have NEVER in my life had to stop and use a porta potty during a race, but honestly at this point it was either that or become one of those people with poop running down their legs that you cringe at when you see pictures of them on the internet. [TMI, I know] The fact that I ran a 9:37 with a restroom stop AND the first of the big Newton Hills astounds me - but wow, that was frustrating.
From that point on, it was pretty much a struggle to survive. My legs were gone beyond the point of repair, my hamstrings scrunched into tiny, death-like balls of pain. I honestly hardly even remember the Newton Hills. I was in such an abyss of pain that it was like I was surrounded with a haze, the stabbing in my hamstrings overriding every other stimulus. The irony is that I remember feeling like the hills wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been for the cramps. Mile 19 was 8:52 - I bore down a little bit and made myself get through it, but unfortunately that was the last sub-9 mile I would see. I walked through a water stop right before Heartbreak since again, I was feeling dehydration coming back on top of all of my other problems. Started running again and was INSTANTLY hit with the most debilitating side cramp I have ever experienced. Oh my God. I tried squeezing it, I tried stretching it, I tried to run through it, there was just no way. I am pretty sure I may have shouted a couple obscenities as it pulled me up to a walk. This was NOT how this was supposed to be happening! Why was everything going so. incredibly. wrong?
The cramp subsided a bit but thanks to the extensive walk break it caused mile 20 was an abysmal 9:56. I had pretty much resigned myself to a run as much as possible/walk when you have to situation at this point and honestly I think I wound up with a better time this way than I would have if I had just tried to continue running. The pain in my hamstrings was so intense, I can't remember feeling anything vaguely close to that in my life. From what I can remember outside my bubble of suffering, Boston College was AWESOME. Loud, drunk college kids make quite a fantastic cheering section, and since it was a downhill I was actually capable of running for awhile, so I tried to soak it in. I remember one surreal moment when the green line train slowed down so the people on it could watch the runners, so even at my pathetic speed I was beating the train. Mile 21 was a 9:48, walked through a water stop. God, 5 miles to go. Every step was a struggle as I made the turn into Cleveland Circle. The crowds were crazy and it was incredible, and I only wished that I could actually ENJOY this moment instead of being stuck in this God-awful state I was in. I saw the BF with my amazing dinosaur sign, amazingly I was actually running as I went past him, and the only gesture I could think of to sum up my current state was slapping my hand across my face haha. I think in sign language that loosely translates to "DISASTER!" Mile 22 was a 9:30, 23 a 9:39. I seriously can't believe that my splits were even staying that reasonable considering I actually stopped at the side of the road to stretch out my hamstrings at mile 23, and there was plenty of walking going on during those miles - my effing hamstrings were just spasming and now everything else was starting to go to, in the standard breakdown that is mile 23 of a marathon.
But now there were 3 miles to go, and the crowds were getting more intense, and I was going to be damned if I wasn't going to run as much as was physically possible for this last stretch of the race. And I tried to just soak it in and find something, anything, to cherish and savor and keep me going. Then I saw someone handing out icy pops. THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER TASTED! My body had long since given up on accepting "running" food, Gatorade was making me nauseous and the last Gu I took tasted like sticky death. So this magical, cold, sugary pop was like salvation. Run, run, run, walk. Just keep moving forward. Then suddenly I saw a Wisconsin singlet up ahead. Seeing this girl again not only brought out the competitor in me, at long last, but it also made me realize - I am not the only one in this situation. I came up on her and said hi and that I was dying - she responded that she was pretty much the same. I passed her and that became my carrot on the string for the rest of the race -just stay ahead of Wisconsin girl.
Mile 24 was 9:16, I was forcing myself to run more because come on, come ON, we are almost there. Beacon Street just seemed like it was never going to end. I was caught in this bizarre spiral where when I would walk, a lot of people would pass me...but I would start running and pass them back. I knew a PR was gone, that even re-qualifying was gone...all I could do was salvage the end of this race the best I could and try my best to enjoy the moment. 2 miles to go. The bridge over the highway nearly brought me to tears. I just had nothing left, anywhere. Somehow, despite walking up that hill, I found a 9:01 for mile 25. One. God-forsaken. mile. to go. And I was not going to walk. I just would not. It was the most painful mile I have EVER experienced. My face was twisted into a grimace, my hamstrings absolutely felt like they were being stabbed with steak knives, and the rest of my legs weren't far behind. But goddamnit, I was going to run that final stretch. And I did. People around me were pumping up the crowds, all I could do was bear down and focus and hope that my legs just didn't suddenly stop under me. The last stretch down Boylston seemed infinitely long, the finish line like a mirage on the horizon that didn't seem to be getting closer. But I ran, I ran, I ran, and finally, with an attempt at a smile that I'm sure more closely resembles a grimace and a fist haphazardly thrown in the air, I crossed the finish line. 3:46:48. Done.
And then everything that wasn't already cramped up did. My lower back. My stomach. My calves. My hip flexors. Everything - spazzing out, complete disaster. In a weird moment of running serendipity, I looked over and saw a guy in brown Vibrams with Luau on his jersey...it was Matt from DailyMile! Somehow, despite the fact that he started 11 corrals back from me and the odds of it are ridiculously low, we ended up crossing the finish line at the same time - crazy! I attempted to talk but eventually just wandered away I think haha. The chute was just neverending. Much as I really wanted my space blanket and my medal and my lunchbox of goodies and my Gatorade, mostly I just wanted - NEEDED - to sit down, or do anything to relieve the nuclear war currently being raged in my hamstrings. Eventually I reached the end - got my bag - and started slowly hobbling to the train station. I knew I should eat something, but I also felt like I was going to puke at any given moment - fantastic stuff I know.
After splatting onto my bed for awhile when I got home, I realized I was hungry. It was weird eating dinner and drinking beer down on Beacon Street where just hours before thousands of people had been running. The aid stations were gone, the porta potties were being trucked out, a few drunken stragglers playing beer pong were all that was left of the marathon crowds. And really, it was a little sad. That letdown after something really big has happened - it's always kind of hard. A good race tempers it a little bit but it's always still there, somehow.
So that was my Boston Marathon. I'll probably do some analysis on here in the days to come but this is getting long and Lost is on soon. :) I think, given the circumstances, I have no idea how I even finished in the time I did. With how bad I felt for such a large percentage of the race, and how much walking I did, the fact that I never cracked 10 minute miles absolutely amazes me. I can't chalk the race up as a total loss because of that. But it is hard - mostly frustrating - to KNOW that I was in shape to run 3:30-3:35 based on my training and tune up races...and have this be the result. There's a quote that "the marathon will humble you" and it's true, especially when you're talking the Boston course. You never know what will happen on any given day and as I said that's part of what gives the marathon it's mystique. I am a little bummed that I didn't manage to requalify for next year...yeah...remember when I said this would be my last marathon for awhile? Somehow, despite the fact that that was the most painful experience I've ever put myself through, I have pretty much already decided to train for Baystate again in the fall, ideally to requalify to run Boston again in the spring. Yes....the marathon has seduced me with its wiles...and looking back on the race achieving the time I did under the circumstances makes me wonder....damn, what could I have done on a GOOD day? But this is the truth: there will be good days, and there will be bad days. Yesterday definitely fell under the bad category. But no one can take my incredible training, the two PRs I gained on the way, or the fact that I'm a Boston Marathon finisher away from me. And I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be back for more.
So I'm feeling a little mopey today. I honestly think I would be a little sad even if I had run a good time/PR - I mean, 4 months of training and it's OVER. Of course, it doesn't hurt that my mind is just one big loop of "what could have gone wrong, what happened?" Obviously, it just wasn't my day out there. Running is always, to some extent, a crapshoot. You can train and train, have the most perfect training you can imagine, but if you wake up on race day and for some reason or another your legs just aren't in it, there's nothing you can do about it. It happens to the elites - and they drop out. Well for me that isn't ever an option (much as I would have liked it to be at several points during the race haha) Unfortunately, the experience of "having a bad day" is completely exacerbated in a marathon because...well....it's LONG...and if you are feeling bad early, it's going to be a long, slow death march to the finish. But that's also what makes the marathon so special. Sometimes its just going to suck, but you get through it, you learn from it, and if you're crazy like me, you start thinking about the next one within hours after finishing haha.
So on to the nitty gritty details. Nothing that happened race morning indicated that I was going to have anything other than a good day. My legs felt solid, I had slept reasonably well, and all I had to do was walk out the door and hop on the T - fabulous! I had my usual banana & peanut butter toast, and grabbed another banana and some Gu Chomps for later. I got to Boston Common around 6:15, and immediately encountered the insanity that was 26,000 runners trying to get on buses. Somehow I found my way to a short-ish line and started talking with a girl around my age named Kristen, who would become my athlete's village buddy. The bus ride was like...infinity. By infinity I mean an hour, but sitting on the bus thinking about how you have to RUN the whole damn way back? Umm...yeah.
The athletes village was pretty cool. It was weird having to just kind of chill out for so long before the start, but people watching was pretty entertaining [people who brought inflatable pool toys to lay on = genius!] and there was plenty of free Gatorade and Powerbars to go around. I waited in an INSANELY long/slow moving porta potty line and ended up being extremely glad that I brought my own toilet paper haha...if cross country meets have taught me anything, it's that there's NEVER enough toilet paper when you need it! Time flew pretty fast and soon enough it was time for the second wave to leave the village. It was actually kind of chilly at that point, so I reluctantly dropped my gear bag at the bus and we began the walk to the start.
The atmosphere walking the .7 mile to the start line was absolutely electric. Looking back, that was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole day. Just an endless sea of runners, everyone bouncing with the nervous energy of standing at the start line of a marathon....gloves and sweatshirts flying to the side of the road everywhere, already people out on their lawns wishing good luck...it was really cool. I made my way to the 16000s corral and soon enough - "5 minutes to the start!" Holy crap. I was quite calm, and a little scared - probably my first indication of things to come, since fear isn't really a great emotion to have on the starting line. I figured I would be fine once I started running, and soon enough...we were walking, then shuffling, then crossing the fabled start line...26.2 miles of hell had just begun.
The first mile was a pain in the ass. There were just SO MANY PEOPLE and it was just impossible to find any sort of groove. I kept having to weave around or getting stuck behind groups and it was just annoying having to expend that much energy to find my place in the pack. I went through the first mile in 8:04 and I figured - ok, that's about right - but it hadn't felt as easy as it should have. I chalked it up to dealing with the crowds and continued on.
Whoever says that the first half of the course is all downhill is a liar, liar, pants on fire. There are PLENTY of little rollers to keep you on your toes. My next 2 miles were 7:43 and 7:51, and go ahead and say it - yes, I probably went out too fast. Hindsight IS 20-20 after all. At this point though, I was still feeling OK - not fantastic, and like I probably should relax and slow down, but no major issues with the pace yet. I was still smiling, high fiving kids, and enjoying the shout-outs I got to the "Don't Stop Believin" on the back of my shirt. I also noticed I was hearing a lot of "Go Wisconsin!" cheers coming from up ahead somewhere....I looked up and saw a Wisconsin team singlet bobbing a few meters in front of me! I pulled up alongside the girl and we actually had a brief conversation - turns out, she used to run for the team but now does marathons instead, and she actually knows one of my friends from the track club - such a small world of runners! I pulled ahead, but don't worry, I would see her again before the race was over...mile 4 with that conversation was 7:49. Again, go ahead and yell. I think honestly my thought process at this point was one of knowing that things probably were going to go bad pretty shortly, and that if I could hang with this pace now, I might as well buy myself some time for the horrors to come.
Miles 5 and 6 I remember I thought I slowed down, but really they were 8:04 and 8:06. I was already not feeling great and pretty much knew that 3:30 was out of the question, but I thought holding 8:05-8:10 pace was a solid goal now. I was still having some fun at this point - the crowds were just out of this world, and the whole thing was honestly kind of surreal. I wasn't feeling bad really, but something was just off - no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find that pace where you can just lock in, settle down, and let it ride until the later stages of the race. I couldn't relax and find a groove - and that had me worried. I took a Gu at the 10K which gave me a little bit of a boost, then grabbed some water which I somehow managed to shoot up my nose...that was special haha. Mile 7 was an 8:05, and that was the last reasonable split I was going to see for the day. I noticed that my hamstrings were starting to seize up a bit and overall I just was having dead legs - NOT a good feeling to experience 8 miles into a 26.2 mile race. I tried to slow up the pace a little bit to see if it helped - miles 8 and 9 were 8:16 and 8:13. Alas, no relief. The hamstring cramps were only getting worse and just in general - nothing was feeling right. I had hoped at the start that maybe I just needed awhile to get into the groove, but there was no groove to be found. Suddenly it was looking like it was going to be a very, very long day.
So then, without even trying, I slowed down alarmingly. When I saw an 8:28 for mile 10 I was not pleased, and the 8:34 that followed had me pretty much freaking out. It was way, way, WAY too early for me to feel this way! Like, I had to paste on a game face going under the camera at I think the 15K mark...that's bad news bears right there. I should have been feeling smooth and easy at that point...and the reality was not even close. So...things were not good, and I was worried. Then I had 2 miles in Wellesley where I thought for a minute that maybe it was going to come back. 8:10 and 8:09, the cramps mysteriously dissolved, and I was able to ENJOY the miles at Wellesley College..which was a wonderful thing. My favorite moment of the race for sure. I grinned the whole time, high fived everyone, laughed at the signs (I won't tell your wife! hah), and actually felt hopeful for the first time in awhile. Maybe it had just taken me this long to loosen up - maybe things were going to be okay after all...
Orrrr maybe they were not. I came through the half in 1:46 and that was all well and good - I thought to myself hey, even if you slow down a bit from here, you'll still be solid, and yay, now you're on the course that you've run before! Familiar territory, yay! Mile 14 was 8:13, which I was fine with...and then the wheels really fell off. All of a sudden, the hamstring cramps were back with a VENGEANCE. I mean honestly I can't even describe the feeling. I was immediately struck with just complete terror - the terrain in Wellesley is still pretty forgiving so feeling like this with the big hills still to come? Noooooot good. Around this time, the Wisconsin girl came back up on me and passed me, looking just peachy keen. Damn. Mile 15 I walked through a water stop because I was starting to feel dehydrated and I knew that would only add to my issues if I didn't get some fluids in me - 8:43 for that mile. Mile 16 was the HUGE downhill which I enjoyed primarily because it took some of the agony off my hamstrings and so I was actually able to maintain a normal pace for awhile - 8:24, and actually feeling OK again at that point. The crowds were still amazing and I was trying to take the time to enjoy the signs (After 800 miles of training, what's 26.2 more?) and high five some kids, anything to give myself a boost. But the cramps would. not. stop. I had to walk again through another water stop and so saw my first 9+ mile of the day at 9:15 for mile 17. And then we came up on the hills...and my stomach absolutely decided to reject everything I had done all morning. I have NEVER in my life had to stop and use a porta potty during a race, but honestly at this point it was either that or become one of those people with poop running down their legs that you cringe at when you see pictures of them on the internet. [TMI, I know] The fact that I ran a 9:37 with a restroom stop AND the first of the big Newton Hills astounds me - but wow, that was frustrating.
From that point on, it was pretty much a struggle to survive. My legs were gone beyond the point of repair, my hamstrings scrunched into tiny, death-like balls of pain. I honestly hardly even remember the Newton Hills. I was in such an abyss of pain that it was like I was surrounded with a haze, the stabbing in my hamstrings overriding every other stimulus. The irony is that I remember feeling like the hills wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been for the cramps. Mile 19 was 8:52 - I bore down a little bit and made myself get through it, but unfortunately that was the last sub-9 mile I would see. I walked through a water stop right before Heartbreak since again, I was feeling dehydration coming back on top of all of my other problems. Started running again and was INSTANTLY hit with the most debilitating side cramp I have ever experienced. Oh my God. I tried squeezing it, I tried stretching it, I tried to run through it, there was just no way. I am pretty sure I may have shouted a couple obscenities as it pulled me up to a walk. This was NOT how this was supposed to be happening! Why was everything going so. incredibly. wrong?
The cramp subsided a bit but thanks to the extensive walk break it caused mile 20 was an abysmal 9:56. I had pretty much resigned myself to a run as much as possible/walk when you have to situation at this point and honestly I think I wound up with a better time this way than I would have if I had just tried to continue running. The pain in my hamstrings was so intense, I can't remember feeling anything vaguely close to that in my life. From what I can remember outside my bubble of suffering, Boston College was AWESOME. Loud, drunk college kids make quite a fantastic cheering section, and since it was a downhill I was actually capable of running for awhile, so I tried to soak it in. I remember one surreal moment when the green line train slowed down so the people on it could watch the runners, so even at my pathetic speed I was beating the train. Mile 21 was a 9:48, walked through a water stop. God, 5 miles to go. Every step was a struggle as I made the turn into Cleveland Circle. The crowds were crazy and it was incredible, and I only wished that I could actually ENJOY this moment instead of being stuck in this God-awful state I was in. I saw the BF with my amazing dinosaur sign, amazingly I was actually running as I went past him, and the only gesture I could think of to sum up my current state was slapping my hand across my face haha. I think in sign language that loosely translates to "DISASTER!" Mile 22 was a 9:30, 23 a 9:39. I seriously can't believe that my splits were even staying that reasonable considering I actually stopped at the side of the road to stretch out my hamstrings at mile 23, and there was plenty of walking going on during those miles - my effing hamstrings were just spasming and now everything else was starting to go to, in the standard breakdown that is mile 23 of a marathon.
But now there were 3 miles to go, and the crowds were getting more intense, and I was going to be damned if I wasn't going to run as much as was physically possible for this last stretch of the race. And I tried to just soak it in and find something, anything, to cherish and savor and keep me going. Then I saw someone handing out icy pops. THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER TASTED! My body had long since given up on accepting "running" food, Gatorade was making me nauseous and the last Gu I took tasted like sticky death. So this magical, cold, sugary pop was like salvation. Run, run, run, walk. Just keep moving forward. Then suddenly I saw a Wisconsin singlet up ahead. Seeing this girl again not only brought out the competitor in me, at long last, but it also made me realize - I am not the only one in this situation. I came up on her and said hi and that I was dying - she responded that she was pretty much the same. I passed her and that became my carrot on the string for the rest of the race -just stay ahead of Wisconsin girl.
Mile 24 was 9:16, I was forcing myself to run more because come on, come ON, we are almost there. Beacon Street just seemed like it was never going to end. I was caught in this bizarre spiral where when I would walk, a lot of people would pass me...but I would start running and pass them back. I knew a PR was gone, that even re-qualifying was gone...all I could do was salvage the end of this race the best I could and try my best to enjoy the moment. 2 miles to go. The bridge over the highway nearly brought me to tears. I just had nothing left, anywhere. Somehow, despite walking up that hill, I found a 9:01 for mile 25. One. God-forsaken. mile. to go. And I was not going to walk. I just would not. It was the most painful mile I have EVER experienced. My face was twisted into a grimace, my hamstrings absolutely felt like they were being stabbed with steak knives, and the rest of my legs weren't far behind. But goddamnit, I was going to run that final stretch. And I did. People around me were pumping up the crowds, all I could do was bear down and focus and hope that my legs just didn't suddenly stop under me. The last stretch down Boylston seemed infinitely long, the finish line like a mirage on the horizon that didn't seem to be getting closer. But I ran, I ran, I ran, and finally, with an attempt at a smile that I'm sure more closely resembles a grimace and a fist haphazardly thrown in the air, I crossed the finish line. 3:46:48. Done.
And then everything that wasn't already cramped up did. My lower back. My stomach. My calves. My hip flexors. Everything - spazzing out, complete disaster. In a weird moment of running serendipity, I looked over and saw a guy in brown Vibrams with Luau on his jersey...it was Matt from DailyMile! Somehow, despite the fact that he started 11 corrals back from me and the odds of it are ridiculously low, we ended up crossing the finish line at the same time - crazy! I attempted to talk but eventually just wandered away I think haha. The chute was just neverending. Much as I really wanted my space blanket and my medal and my lunchbox of goodies and my Gatorade, mostly I just wanted - NEEDED - to sit down, or do anything to relieve the nuclear war currently being raged in my hamstrings. Eventually I reached the end - got my bag - and started slowly hobbling to the train station. I knew I should eat something, but I also felt like I was going to puke at any given moment - fantastic stuff I know.
After splatting onto my bed for awhile when I got home, I realized I was hungry. It was weird eating dinner and drinking beer down on Beacon Street where just hours before thousands of people had been running. The aid stations were gone, the porta potties were being trucked out, a few drunken stragglers playing beer pong were all that was left of the marathon crowds. And really, it was a little sad. That letdown after something really big has happened - it's always kind of hard. A good race tempers it a little bit but it's always still there, somehow.
So that was my Boston Marathon. I'll probably do some analysis on here in the days to come but this is getting long and Lost is on soon. :) I think, given the circumstances, I have no idea how I even finished in the time I did. With how bad I felt for such a large percentage of the race, and how much walking I did, the fact that I never cracked 10 minute miles absolutely amazes me. I can't chalk the race up as a total loss because of that. But it is hard - mostly frustrating - to KNOW that I was in shape to run 3:30-3:35 based on my training and tune up races...and have this be the result. There's a quote that "the marathon will humble you" and it's true, especially when you're talking the Boston course. You never know what will happen on any given day and as I said that's part of what gives the marathon it's mystique. I am a little bummed that I didn't manage to requalify for next year...yeah...remember when I said this would be my last marathon for awhile? Somehow, despite the fact that that was the most painful experience I've ever put myself through, I have pretty much already decided to train for Baystate again in the fall, ideally to requalify to run Boston again in the spring. Yes....the marathon has seduced me with its wiles...and looking back on the race achieving the time I did under the circumstances makes me wonder....damn, what could I have done on a GOOD day? But this is the truth: there will be good days, and there will be bad days. Yesterday definitely fell under the bad category. But no one can take my incredible training, the two PRs I gained on the way, or the fact that I'm a Boston Marathon finisher away from me. And I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be back for more.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Boston Short Recap: Not Even Close
3:46:48
Pretty much had to throw any hopes of a PR and/or 3:30 out the window early...it just wasn't my day today. Hot damn, it could have been a lot better. But based on the questionable legs starting at mile 5, MAJOR hamstring cramps starting at mile 8, stomach cramps followed by a necessary [but sad] porta potty stop at 18, with continuation of the worst leg cramps I've experienced in my LIFE, I'm impressed I made it in this time. Full race report to come [if I can actually remember enough outside my abyss of pain to actually write one]. For now all I have to say is this: I DID manage to beat a girl who used to run on the REAL track team for my alma mater [which in my mind is pretty cool], and since I'm a huge masochist, I'm already thinking about Baystate [since I didn't re-qualify, and all I want in life is to suffer massively on the Boston course again and again and again]
Today may not have been my day, but I know what I did in training...and I know what kind of marathon time I've got inside of me. It's a testament to how much I love this race that less than 2 hours after the most painful, awful, WORST, race of my life, I'm thinking about doing another....
Pretty much had to throw any hopes of a PR and/or 3:30 out the window early...it just wasn't my day today. Hot damn, it could have been a lot better. But based on the questionable legs starting at mile 5, MAJOR hamstring cramps starting at mile 8, stomach cramps followed by a necessary [but sad] porta potty stop at 18, with continuation of the worst leg cramps I've experienced in my LIFE, I'm impressed I made it in this time. Full race report to come [if I can actually remember enough outside my abyss of pain to actually write one]. For now all I have to say is this: I DID manage to beat a girl who used to run on the REAL track team for my alma mater [which in my mind is pretty cool], and since I'm a huge masochist, I'm already thinking about Baystate [since I didn't re-qualify, and all I want in life is to suffer massively on the Boston course again and again and again]
Today may not have been my day, but I know what I did in training...and I know what kind of marathon time I've got inside of me. It's a testament to how much I love this race that less than 2 hours after the most painful, awful, WORST, race of my life, I'm thinking about doing another....
Friday, April 16, 2010
Tik Tok: Boston Marathon Style
This song came on during my last GMP run last night...since it's been one of my training anthems for some reason this cycle, I was inspired to change some of the lyrics to make it more fitting...I'm actually pretty impressed with what I came up with haha. Enjoy! And yes, I hope to wake up marathon morning feeling like P. Diddy... :)
Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy
Put my Mizunos on, out the door, I'm gonna hit this city (Let's go)
Before I leave, brush my teeth, Gatorade in my pack
Cause when I leave Boston I've got to run the whole way back
I'm talkin' tech socks on my toes, toes
Skimpy spandex clothes, clothes
Athlete Alert texts on my friends phones, phones
School buses, listening to my favorite tracks
Eating power bars for snacks
The lines for the Porta Potties are staaaacked...
Don't stop, make it pop
Gonna blow my sneakers up this time
I'm gonna fight, til I see that finish line
Tik tok, on the clock, but the race don't stop, no
Oh oh oh oh....oh oh oh oh
Those BC students, they've got plenty of beer
Got my chip in my shoelaces, all the runners are here
And the corrals are lining up, cause we hear they got swagger
Don't wanna hit the curb with that Newton Hills stagger
I'm talkin' everybody goin' fast, fast
Hopin' that they can last, last
Where's the next girl I can pass, pass
Now, now we're goin' twenty six point two
I think I need another Gu....
Think I need another Gu-Gu
Think I need another....
Don't stop, make it pop
Gonna blow my sneakers up this time
I'm gonna fight, til I see that finish line
Tik tok, on the clock, but the race don't stop no
Oh oh oh oh....oh oh oh oh
Boston, you build me up
You break me down
My heart it pounds, yeah you've got me
Up Heartbreak Hill
You've got me now
Got that screaming crowd sound
Yeah you've got me
Ohh, you build me up
You break me down
My heart it pounds, yeah you've got me
We're at the top, put your hands up
Put your hands up...
Now the race don't start til mile 21...
Don't stop, make it pop
Gonna blow my sneakers up this time
I'm gonna fight, til I see that finish line
Tik tok, on the clock but the race don't stop no
Oh oh oh oh....oh oh oh oh
Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy
Put my Mizunos on, out the door, I'm gonna hit this city (Let's go)
Before I leave, brush my teeth, Gatorade in my pack
Cause when I leave Boston I've got to run the whole way back
I'm talkin' tech socks on my toes, toes
Skimpy spandex clothes, clothes
Athlete Alert texts on my friends phones, phones
School buses, listening to my favorite tracks
Eating power bars for snacks
The lines for the Porta Potties are staaaacked...
Don't stop, make it pop
Gonna blow my sneakers up this time
I'm gonna fight, til I see that finish line
Tik tok, on the clock, but the race don't stop, no
Oh oh oh oh....oh oh oh oh
Those BC students, they've got plenty of beer
Got my chip in my shoelaces, all the runners are here
And the corrals are lining up, cause we hear they got swagger
Don't wanna hit the curb with that Newton Hills stagger
I'm talkin' everybody goin' fast, fast
Hopin' that they can last, last
Where's the next girl I can pass, pass
Now, now we're goin' twenty six point two
I think I need another Gu....
Think I need another Gu-Gu
Think I need another....
Don't stop, make it pop
Gonna blow my sneakers up this time
I'm gonna fight, til I see that finish line
Tik tok, on the clock, but the race don't stop no
Oh oh oh oh....oh oh oh oh
Boston, you build me up
You break me down
My heart it pounds, yeah you've got me
Up Heartbreak Hill
You've got me now
Got that screaming crowd sound
Yeah you've got me
Ohh, you build me up
You break me down
My heart it pounds, yeah you've got me
We're at the top, put your hands up
Put your hands up...
Now the race don't start til mile 21...
Don't stop, make it pop
Gonna blow my sneakers up this time
I'm gonna fight, til I see that finish line
Tik tok, on the clock but the race don't stop no
Oh oh oh oh....oh oh oh oh
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The rock candy's melted, only diamonds now remain
[Apologies in advance for the extreme ramblings of this post...it is taper, after all....]
For some reason I've had this lyric running through my mind all throughout this taper week. 15 weeks of hard work, aching muscles, tears of joy and frustration, freezing wind, pouring rain, heartache, maybe heartbreak, and finding the point where you thought you just couldn't go on, then going on - to get to the starting line of a marathon, you've fought through these obstacles and the things that once held you back have melted away and you have been forged into something new, something strong, powerful, beautiful. Only diamonds now remain.
The nerves and the excitement have sprung up on me at random and utterly mundane times - walking from the bus stop to work listening to "Living on a Prayer", doing the dishes after dinner - and times that make complete sense - picking out Gu for the race at Marathon Sports, seeing the trappings of the finish line beginning to be constructed on Boylston Street. I am running the Boston Marathon. The number 16180 [my number!] floats around in my dreams...as does marathoning in general [I had a crazy dream last night involving being in a start corral by myself at 4 am and having a guy I had a crush on long ago come and give me a pep talk...bizarre.] I haven't been writing here a lot which is surprising because damn, I've sure been thinking about this marathon a lot. But every time I sit down to write something, I lose the words and the only thought that comes back is I am running the Boston Marathon....and I just don't think typing that out a million times would make for a very interesting blog post.
It's hard for me to explain or even quite figure out for myself why doing this race and doing it well means so much to me. When I first qualified I wasn't even planning on running, and before a few years ago I doubt I knew that the Boston Marathon existed, let alone that you had to qualify to run it. I am running it alone, without the motivation and support and push to perform that running with a team has given me throughout my entire running career up until this point. In a way, I think that's just it - this is the first race that I've ever trained for, and will be running, completely alone. No teammates, no friends - just me versus the road, my mind and heart versus my legs and the weather and the Newton hills. Getting through this training cycle alone has given me a strength that I'm not sure I would have found otherwise. As I once told my dad when he asked me if I ever went to church anymore, there's plenty of time on a 23 mile run to contemplate religion - and not only religion but me - who I am, what makes me do what I do - I have learned so much about myself. And I've learned enough to know that I can and I will run an amazing race on Monday - and when I do, I really won't be alone. My teammates, family, friends, and even rivals, who all, in some way, have been important in allowing me to get to a place where I actually AM capable of something like this - there will be a part of all of them with me as I run from Hopkinton to Boylston.
There is another reason I have come to realize too, and it's probably going to sound silly, but hey, it's the truth. By blogging standards I think I'm on the young end at 22, and I have a whole lifetime of training and racing ahead of me. But since I just graduated from college I've kind of seen the past year as an "end of an era" - the era in which I've gone from a 100 meter hurdler to a marathoner - crazy, right? As my events have changed I've changed as a person as well, but there are things in my high school past that have never quite escaped me - namely, my constant fear [which was sometimes made reality] of not being 'good enough'. I could tell stories about this from all over the map of my high school hobbies - getting cut from the top tier of dances in my competitive dance program, not getting the best and most prestigious scholarships, blah blah blah. But running-wise, what it all comes back to is this: my senior year of high school, the only thing I wanted in the world was to make it to state in the 100 meter hurdles. I trained my ass off, joined cross country to work on my endurance, ran some fantastic times, made the state honor roll, won the indoor conference championship....and then tripped out of the blocks at sectionals, costing myself precious tenths of a second and missing qualifying by 2 places. I. was. devastated. I felt like I let down my team, my coach, myself...It seems so silly in retrospect that I honestly can't remember being more depressed about anything in my life than not qualifying for a big high school track meet. But the sting of that defeat, combined with the fact that once I started running distance I found that I'd maybe been doing the wrong event all along - has given me this unconscious motivation to be better than okay at running - I want to be great. I want to make it.
And I think in the end, that's why I am so beyond pumped about running Boston. Because Boston means I made it. Boston means I am not average, Boston means I never settled, Boston means I refused to give up, Boston means I am stronger, better, more than I ever believed I could be. And Boston is only the beginning.
Only diamonds now remain...4 days. BRING IT, BOSTON!
For some reason I've had this lyric running through my mind all throughout this taper week. 15 weeks of hard work, aching muscles, tears of joy and frustration, freezing wind, pouring rain, heartache, maybe heartbreak, and finding the point where you thought you just couldn't go on, then going on - to get to the starting line of a marathon, you've fought through these obstacles and the things that once held you back have melted away and you have been forged into something new, something strong, powerful, beautiful. Only diamonds now remain.
The nerves and the excitement have sprung up on me at random and utterly mundane times - walking from the bus stop to work listening to "Living on a Prayer", doing the dishes after dinner - and times that make complete sense - picking out Gu for the race at Marathon Sports, seeing the trappings of the finish line beginning to be constructed on Boylston Street. I am running the Boston Marathon. The number 16180 [my number!] floats around in my dreams...as does marathoning in general [I had a crazy dream last night involving being in a start corral by myself at 4 am and having a guy I had a crush on long ago come and give me a pep talk...bizarre.] I haven't been writing here a lot which is surprising because damn, I've sure been thinking about this marathon a lot. But every time I sit down to write something, I lose the words and the only thought that comes back is I am running the Boston Marathon....and I just don't think typing that out a million times would make for a very interesting blog post.
It's hard for me to explain or even quite figure out for myself why doing this race and doing it well means so much to me. When I first qualified I wasn't even planning on running, and before a few years ago I doubt I knew that the Boston Marathon existed, let alone that you had to qualify to run it. I am running it alone, without the motivation and support and push to perform that running with a team has given me throughout my entire running career up until this point. In a way, I think that's just it - this is the first race that I've ever trained for, and will be running, completely alone. No teammates, no friends - just me versus the road, my mind and heart versus my legs and the weather and the Newton hills. Getting through this training cycle alone has given me a strength that I'm not sure I would have found otherwise. As I once told my dad when he asked me if I ever went to church anymore, there's plenty of time on a 23 mile run to contemplate religion - and not only religion but me - who I am, what makes me do what I do - I have learned so much about myself. And I've learned enough to know that I can and I will run an amazing race on Monday - and when I do, I really won't be alone. My teammates, family, friends, and even rivals, who all, in some way, have been important in allowing me to get to a place where I actually AM capable of something like this - there will be a part of all of them with me as I run from Hopkinton to Boylston.
There is another reason I have come to realize too, and it's probably going to sound silly, but hey, it's the truth. By blogging standards I think I'm on the young end at 22, and I have a whole lifetime of training and racing ahead of me. But since I just graduated from college I've kind of seen the past year as an "end of an era" - the era in which I've gone from a 100 meter hurdler to a marathoner - crazy, right? As my events have changed I've changed as a person as well, but there are things in my high school past that have never quite escaped me - namely, my constant fear [which was sometimes made reality] of not being 'good enough'. I could tell stories about this from all over the map of my high school hobbies - getting cut from the top tier of dances in my competitive dance program, not getting the best and most prestigious scholarships, blah blah blah. But running-wise, what it all comes back to is this: my senior year of high school, the only thing I wanted in the world was to make it to state in the 100 meter hurdles. I trained my ass off, joined cross country to work on my endurance, ran some fantastic times, made the state honor roll, won the indoor conference championship....and then tripped out of the blocks at sectionals, costing myself precious tenths of a second and missing qualifying by 2 places. I. was. devastated. I felt like I let down my team, my coach, myself...It seems so silly in retrospect that I honestly can't remember being more depressed about anything in my life than not qualifying for a big high school track meet. But the sting of that defeat, combined with the fact that once I started running distance I found that I'd maybe been doing the wrong event all along - has given me this unconscious motivation to be better than okay at running - I want to be great. I want to make it.
And I think in the end, that's why I am so beyond pumped about running Boston. Because Boston means I made it. Boston means I am not average, Boston means I never settled, Boston means I refused to give up, Boston means I am stronger, better, more than I ever believed I could be. And Boston is only the beginning.
Only diamonds now remain...4 days. BRING IT, BOSTON!
Monday, April 05, 2010
It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes, and leap
So here we are - 2 weeks until raceday...how time flies when you're training for a marathon! Weeks and months of endless miles, speedwork, long runs in every bizarre weather condition imaginable [freezing cold? check. monsoon? check. 70 and blazing sun? check.] - the hard work is all behind me and now it's just the one huge question burning in my mind: can I do this?
I feel like most runners probably experience the doubt that seems to appear in the days and weeks leading up to a big race. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I trained harder and better for this race than I've ever trained for any other in my life. But during taper all of the random insecurities creep in...will I be able to execute on race day? Did I REALLY train as well as I thought I did? And of course, the big one: can I REALLY PR by almost 10 minutes on a much harder course than Baystate?
I guess I'll just put it out there: I want to go sub-3:30 in 2 weeks. Actually writing that out is terrifying to me - I think I often have goals in my head but I never put them out there because I'm worried that they'll seem overly lofty or ridiculous, and actually having a number on paper to chase makes me put infinitely more pressure on myself to achieve it [and thus, much greater disappointment if I don't] But here are the things I know: both my 10K and HM performances during this cycle predict a 3:27 marathon according to the McMillan calculator, and the training I've done has put me in the best possible position to achieve that time. It seems so simple. I don't think at all that this is a crazy or random goal - I think with the way my training has been going I would be selling myself short if I "only" was shooting for a PR or say a 3:35 [and obviously, I wouldn't be unhappy about either of those...that's just not the A goal]
Why does it scare me so much to go for this time? I think it's the whole high risk/high reward situation - like, it's entirely possible [and frightening] that I could go out on pace for 3:30 and then have disaster strike in the Newton Hills and come shuffling into the finish - I don't want that. But at the same time, there's no way in hell I want to finish and feel like I could have run faster. I am fairly confident that this is going to be my last marathon for awhile [though I will admit, I am slightly addicted to the training and living in Boston makes it quite tempting to want to do this again year after year, masochist that I am...] and it's the freaking Boston marathon. At this point, I think I have to take the risk, see what happens, and regardless of what DOES happen, look back on it with no regrets and know I left it all out on the course. I think my problem is I'm still not used to thinking of myself as a decent-good runner and setting a goal that's maybe slightly out of my comfort zone scares the crap out of me. I am trying to come to terms with the fact that if I really want to go for it and run a fast time, there are probably going to be points in the race that are going to hurt. A lot. But I need to trust in my training and KNOW that I've put in the work to run this time and make it happen on the course.
Hmm well needless to say I'm getting quite nervous and excited for the race. I'm really happy that I forced myself to do a bunch of long runs out on the course - seriously, I know every bend and up and down of those damn Newton Hills. My last "long" run on Sunday was 17 on the course and it went pretty well. The heat definitely got to me - hello, 70 degrees, where did you come from? And would you kindly go away until AFTER the marathon? I was doing pretty well until the way back, just after cresting Heartbreak, and I was looking ahead to crossing the street, when BAM, I stepped in a pothole and rolled my ankle bad. Totally lost all of my momentum after that - and my foot is still bugging me a little bit, though not enough to really be worrisome, just another thing to freak out about during taper, obviously. After that, my hamstrings and glutes decided they wanted to join in the painful fun and cramp up like it was their job in life - SO awful! I kept trying to slow down since I knew I was being an idiot as usual and running closer to GMP pace than long run pace...but nothing really helped the little balls of pain that my hamstrings had turned into - it was AWFUL. Definitely a result of the heat/dehydration - if it's anything that even resembles warm on April 19, I am going to have to work my butt off to stay hydrated, because hot weather + me = disaster waiting to happen. All in all the fact that I got through it at around GMP while really not having a good day at all was heartening [although it was nothing compared to the excitement of my crazy-ass 23 miler the week before...good lord.]
It's funny because I was just looking back at my entries from before Baystate and there's one from 2 weeks out that is REALLY similar to this one - basically contemplating strategy and what kind of time I thought I could run...except with the goal pace being 20 seconds different haha. It's weird being back again so soon to pre-marathon taper madness...literally, this damn race is on my mind every minute of the day. 2 nights ago literally the last thing I thought about before falling asleep was what 3 flavors of Gu I wanted to buy for the race [I think I've decided on Chocolate Outrage, Mint Chocolate, and Tri-Berry]. I'm geeking out over what pair of shorts I want to wear. Aaah and now I'm getting myself all fired up, and I need to actually get some sleep before work in the morning, so I think I should just stop while I can still form coherent sentences haha.
2 WEEKS TO BOSTON!!!
I feel like most runners probably experience the doubt that seems to appear in the days and weeks leading up to a big race. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I trained harder and better for this race than I've ever trained for any other in my life. But during taper all of the random insecurities creep in...will I be able to execute on race day? Did I REALLY train as well as I thought I did? And of course, the big one: can I REALLY PR by almost 10 minutes on a much harder course than Baystate?
I guess I'll just put it out there: I want to go sub-3:30 in 2 weeks. Actually writing that out is terrifying to me - I think I often have goals in my head but I never put them out there because I'm worried that they'll seem overly lofty or ridiculous, and actually having a number on paper to chase makes me put infinitely more pressure on myself to achieve it [and thus, much greater disappointment if I don't] But here are the things I know: both my 10K and HM performances during this cycle predict a 3:27 marathon according to the McMillan calculator, and the training I've done has put me in the best possible position to achieve that time. It seems so simple. I don't think at all that this is a crazy or random goal - I think with the way my training has been going I would be selling myself short if I "only" was shooting for a PR or say a 3:35 [and obviously, I wouldn't be unhappy about either of those...that's just not the A goal]
Why does it scare me so much to go for this time? I think it's the whole high risk/high reward situation - like, it's entirely possible [and frightening] that I could go out on pace for 3:30 and then have disaster strike in the Newton Hills and come shuffling into the finish - I don't want that. But at the same time, there's no way in hell I want to finish and feel like I could have run faster. I am fairly confident that this is going to be my last marathon for awhile [though I will admit, I am slightly addicted to the training and living in Boston makes it quite tempting to want to do this again year after year, masochist that I am...] and it's the freaking Boston marathon. At this point, I think I have to take the risk, see what happens, and regardless of what DOES happen, look back on it with no regrets and know I left it all out on the course. I think my problem is I'm still not used to thinking of myself as a decent-good runner and setting a goal that's maybe slightly out of my comfort zone scares the crap out of me. I am trying to come to terms with the fact that if I really want to go for it and run a fast time, there are probably going to be points in the race that are going to hurt. A lot. But I need to trust in my training and KNOW that I've put in the work to run this time and make it happen on the course.
Hmm well needless to say I'm getting quite nervous and excited for the race. I'm really happy that I forced myself to do a bunch of long runs out on the course - seriously, I know every bend and up and down of those damn Newton Hills. My last "long" run on Sunday was 17 on the course and it went pretty well. The heat definitely got to me - hello, 70 degrees, where did you come from? And would you kindly go away until AFTER the marathon? I was doing pretty well until the way back, just after cresting Heartbreak, and I was looking ahead to crossing the street, when BAM, I stepped in a pothole and rolled my ankle bad. Totally lost all of my momentum after that - and my foot is still bugging me a little bit, though not enough to really be worrisome, just another thing to freak out about during taper, obviously. After that, my hamstrings and glutes decided they wanted to join in the painful fun and cramp up like it was their job in life - SO awful! I kept trying to slow down since I knew I was being an idiot as usual and running closer to GMP pace than long run pace...but nothing really helped the little balls of pain that my hamstrings had turned into - it was AWFUL. Definitely a result of the heat/dehydration - if it's anything that even resembles warm on April 19, I am going to have to work my butt off to stay hydrated, because hot weather + me = disaster waiting to happen. All in all the fact that I got through it at around GMP while really not having a good day at all was heartening [although it was nothing compared to the excitement of my crazy-ass 23 miler the week before...good lord.]
It's funny because I was just looking back at my entries from before Baystate and there's one from 2 weeks out that is REALLY similar to this one - basically contemplating strategy and what kind of time I thought I could run...except with the goal pace being 20 seconds different haha. It's weird being back again so soon to pre-marathon taper madness...literally, this damn race is on my mind every minute of the day. 2 nights ago literally the last thing I thought about before falling asleep was what 3 flavors of Gu I wanted to buy for the race [I think I've decided on Chocolate Outrage, Mint Chocolate, and Tri-Berry]. I'm geeking out over what pair of shorts I want to wear. Aaah and now I'm getting myself all fired up, and I need to actually get some sleep before work in the morning, so I think I should just stop while I can still form coherent sentences haha.
2 WEEKS TO BOSTON!!!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
256.2...and other mysterious numbers
I'm having a bit of an obsession with numbers lately. Numbers like....
66.7 - number of miles run last week [weekly high by 5 or so]
256.2 - number of miles run in March [a monthly high by almost 30]
20 - days until Boston
8:00 - marathon pace to run sub-3:30
7:52 - pace of my 23 mile long run on the course on Sunday
Um...yeah...
I have a whole lot of thoughts flying around my mind about the race, my training, and my goals, especially after the above-mentioned ridiculous long run, but I'm not having much luck transforming my thoughts into words at the moment....sooo I will leave you with this exciting list of numbers and hopefully come up with a more coherent post tomorrow. Suffice it to say, I'm getting extremely excited and nervous at the same time - feeling like I'm standing on the brink of a really phenomenal race, and hoping that everything that I think I've done right will pay off in 20 days.
20 daaaaaaays!!
66.7 - number of miles run last week [weekly high by 5 or so]
256.2 - number of miles run in March [a monthly high by almost 30]
20 - days until Boston
8:00 - marathon pace to run sub-3:30
7:52 - pace of my 23 mile long run on the course on Sunday
Um...yeah...
I have a whole lot of thoughts flying around my mind about the race, my training, and my goals, especially after the above-mentioned ridiculous long run, but I'm not having much luck transforming my thoughts into words at the moment....sooo I will leave you with this exciting list of numbers and hopefully come up with a more coherent post tomorrow. Suffice it to say, I'm getting extremely excited and nervous at the same time - feeling like I'm standing on the brink of a really phenomenal race, and hoping that everything that I think I've done right will pay off in 20 days.
20 daaaaaaays!!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Break on through to the other side: New Bedford HM Race Report
Man, racing is really fun. Settle in, it's another epic Run Like A Llama race report! :)
So yesterday I ran the New Bedford Half Marathon as sort of a "tuneup" race/a way to have a cutback week in my long runs before the last big push to Boston. The half marathon and I have had some interesting times together - my first one was cool simply because it was my first, but looking back it was hot and I got really dehydrated, resulting in an absolutely miserable last 4 miles or so. My second I ran at the end of track season last year, and while I was in really good 5K shape and had done long runs up to 14 miles, the endurance just wasn't there. I died pretty early and slowed down a lot over the last 5 miles, crushing my dreams of a sub-1:40 finish, though I did come through in a PR of 1:42:25. The last half I ran in August, as a kind of fun excuse to go back to Madison for one last run before I moved out to Boston...aaand it was a total disaster. I was sick, felt god-awful throughout the entire race, watched my friend/rival pull away from me at the 3 mile mark, and wound up finishing only 10 seconds faster than my first race - a pretty poor showing after 2 more years of hard distance training. Maybe that race just left a bad taste in my mouth, but I was skeptical about doing this race. Pretty much my overwhelming thought was - if I have a bad day on the course, if I don't PR, it's really going to kill my confidence for Boston, which really isn't what I need a month out from the race. Buuut with some convincing from Kelly and a cheap entry fee [$35 for a half? With medals, t-shirts, and a ridiculous spread of food after? Pretty hard to beat] I decided that I had to face my half marathon demons and see what I could do.
The race was about an hour away, so Kelly, Joy and I left pretty early because we knew it was a big race and didn't want to be stranded looking for parking at the last minute. Turns out, that was a genius idea because the check-in area was INSANE. Apparently they had moved it from the high school to the YMCA...which was way smaller, and involved waiting in long lines for a one-stall bathroom...ughhh. The line for number pick up was crazy even when we were there at like 9:30 [for a race starting at 11] and by the time we went off to warm-up, it was out the door...since I'm totally weird about having enough time to warm up and wander around before a race, that would pretty much be my worst nightmare...so definitely glad we got there early!
We went back to the car to drop off our clothes, since it was getting pretty warm out, and were trying to figure out what to do about the god-awful bathroom situation when suddenly...we spotted a lonely construction site porta potty! Being the smart runners that we are, we had to investigate. We found that they were fenced in, but there was a decent gap under the fence...someone mentioned that you could probably squeeze under, and I was already down army crawling under the fence haha. Of course, I got to the other side and stood up....only to see Kelly pushing the fence aside like a gate - apparently the two pieces weren't attached soooo I crawled under a fence for no reason lol.
After taking care of the bathroom, joking about going on a whale watch tour after the race, and warming up some more, we finally made our way to the start corral and worked our way up to the 7-8 minute mile area...only to hear an announcement that the race wasn't going to start until 11:15...half an hour away. We obviously weren't going to leave since we had a pretty prime spot at the start and there was no way we'd ever get back to it...so unfortunately we were stuck stretching and bobbing up and down as the MC tried to entertain us by enlightening us to the wonders of New Bedford....once again, talking up the whale museum hehe. At some point there was an announcement that the race would start in 7 minutes...and then approximately 2 minutes later the gun went off...and off we went!
I really had no strategy for this race at all, other than to just kind of relax into whatever pace worked and see what happened from there. The start was kind of crazy and the first mile I spent a lot of time weaving around people on a pretty long downhill...so when I looked at my watch at the 1 mile and saw 7:08 it was like - WHOA, slow the eff down. I pretty much just regarded it as money in the PR bank and tried to relax and chill out since clearly I wasn't going to be holding my 10K pr pace for a half marathon. Mile 2 was much more reasonable - 7:35 - and while in the back of my mind I had a few flashes of "but this is only 2 miles in, remember how you always crash at the end of halfs..." based on how easy the pace felt I knew that wasn't going to happen. There were a couple of little rollers leading up to a long, turning hill at the mile 3 mark [7:34 for mile 3 -holding steady], which actually kind of reminded me of Heartbreak in steepness and distance. Hills have generally been my downfall in life, but running up that hill, passing people and feeling really strong, made me realize that since moving to Boston, and especially over this training cycle, my hill running has improved immensely. I no longer look at hills with fear, but as a challenge to get through and push on into the rest of the race...and that's exactly what I did. Mile 4 was 7:39, with only a slight slowdown for probably 600 meters of hill. I think that was the moment when I knew - today was a PR day. But the real question was - could I go under 1:40? That remained to be seen.
The crowd support for this race was absolutely mindblowing - really, the ENTIRE town came out to support the race. It was really cool to see the pride these people had for their town and how excited they were about having this race. The cheers absolutely thrilled me and I had to think for a moment about how cool this was - me, who has this tendency to be so intense and get SO involved in races that I tune out the crowd and the experience of the whole thing, was actually enjoying the support, having FUN with this race. I mean, I was veering to the side of the road to high five little kids and loving it! I was just so relaxed, enjoying every moment, feeling like a rockstar to these kids who thought that these runners were the most incredible people around. And really, I feel like that attitude - just RELAXING for once, not completely freaking out every second over my splits or my pace or how I'm feeling, was totally the key to a monster PR in this race. Mile 5 was a 7:22, thanks in part I'm sure to the massive tunnel of screaming, cowbell banging, music playing New Bedford-ites gathered in a park to support the race. Seriously - so. cool. And at the same time I'm thinking..."I'm seriously running a 7:22 at mile 5 of a half marathon? Can I seriously go under 1:40 today?" All of those thoughts of a monster PR were always kind of present in my mind but they were never really the overwhelming thing - it was just stay relaxed, run your race, just do it.
Mile 6 [7:27] I took a mint chocolate Gu - YUM - which went down smooth since it had been heated in the sun haha. It was only maybe 55 out, but the sun was HOT out there! I took advantage of my recently discovered drinking-while-running skills to grab water at most of the aid stations since I've been down the road of HM dehydration before and I reallly have no desire to go back haha. So here I was, somehow holding pace, and feeling solid. Obviously I knew that the real race was yet to come, but for the moment I was just savoring the feeling of being able to run this fast for this long. Mile 7 was another 7:27, as we made the turn out of the random neighborhoods to start a long stretch by the ocean - what a gorgeous day to be running by the water. I actually NOTICED the scenery - the lighthouses, boats, sun sparkling on the water...it was just that kind of day. Also just past mile 7, possibly the greatest thing that's ever happened to me in a race happened. There was a random motorcycle? store that had music playing out of a car, and as I approached it I got excited, because hey, music! But suddenly it dawned on me what song was playing....
DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'
OK, I know. No one should really love a song as much as I love Don't Stop Believin'. But it is my anthem, my motto, and to hear it in a race, let alone a race where I'm pretty much having the race of my life, was basically the most exciting thing ever. I actually threw my arms up in the air with joy. The happiness of that carried me the rest of the way through mile 8 in 7:26. Still running sub-7:30 miles at mile 8 of a half? All I have to do is hold this pace...
And then there was mile 9. Which was pretty awful. Really the only dark time of the race. It was like it kind of dawned on my legs suddenly that, hey, we've been running fast for kind of a long time, and it would be nice to stop now? My left hamstring/glute was kind of starting to cramp, and I eased back a little bit to try to get it to work itself out. I really didn't realize I slowed down THAT much, so when I looked down at my watch and saw 7:56, I was definitely alarmed. So I guess it's time to race, huh? I forced myself to pick it up again after that, and set my sights on several girls in front of me to pick off and pass. Up until this point, I hadn't really paid attention to any other runners - pass me? I passed you? Whatever, I'm running my own race. But at this point I needed some other stimulus besides my splits to give myself the extra push, and picking off girls one at a time seemed to be the perfect way to do it. First came yellow singlet girl. Next up was tye dye shirt, followed by short girl with the sweet red singlet. I passed mile 10 in 7:32 and now that I was back on track, I realized that I had to stay on this pace for the last 3 miles, and I would get under 1:40 - the wall, broken through. There was a great aid station playing loud Irish music right after the 10 mile [the race was sponsored by the Friendly Sons of St Patrick, after all!] which gave me a boost, along with somehow managing to get the song "Kiss My Irish Ass" stuck in my head for the remainder of the race haha. I continued on with my picking-off plan...girl with the blue shorts, you're history. I was gazing at a woman in a pink hat for the longest time, but she was always just out of reach. We turned back into the city with the mile 11 mark [7:31] and I figured out [after about 3 minutes of mental math failing haha] that I had to run 2.1 miles in 18 minutes or something to go under 1:40. Well hell yes, I can do that!
I was starting to get really tired, definitely the point in the race when you are just ready to be DONE. But I set my sights on a girl in light green shorts and told myself to just HOLD ON. Just past mile 12 [7:34] there is a soul crushing, curse inducing hill. I have never wanted to walk so badly in a race as I did running up that damn hill. It's really the placement of it that's cruel - just looking at the hill its nothing spectacular - your average 400-600 meter, somewhat steep but not mountain-like hill. But at mile 12 of a half marathon? Death in road form. And for the first time in the race, true pain and exhaustion set in...but since I had just pulled even with green shorts girl, obviously I had to put in a little surge to pass her. Now I was at the top of the hill, everything simply screaming to stop, and yet...less than a mile to go and it's all basically down hill...come ON!
Finally there was one last big downhill leading to the mile 13 mark, and I just let my legs go and flew down the hill. Mile 13 was 7:31, all that was left was to kick it in...and I sprinted with everything I had. I actually pulled even with a short girl in an orange tank top, and was hoping to get past her, but she turned on the jet engines and shot away - I tried to respond, but my calves were cramping into tiny balls of pain and I just had nothing left to give. No matter, the finish line was a few steps away, and then, slamming my watch - DONE.
1:38:34.
I really wasn't even sure what to do with myself. I chugged a bottle of water while waiting for Joy and Kelly to finish. Once we all met up we decided to forgo cooling down in favor of fish sandwiches, seafood chowder, and other goodness back at the YMCA, where the gym had now been opened up to form a more acceptable space for 2500 people haha. We drove back to Boston and I went out for a quick 2.5 mile granny shuffle cooldown/beer run, then spent the rest of the night relaxing, watching basketball, and passing out early - I was out like a light by 11 haha. Racing hard really takes it out of you!
The race was really competitive and full of club athletes, since its part of the USATF New England Grand Prix series, so I was pretty pleased with 622/2308 overall and 117th woman [assuming I counted right, unfortunately the results didn't give any breakdown of AG or gender placements and I'm too lazy to figure it out haha] out of who knows how many. But really in these races I couldn't care less about my place - especially this one. I honestly didn't believe I had it in me to run under 1:40 in a half marathon. Maybe somewhere around 1:40, maybe just barely squeaking under, but not this fast, especially feeling as strong as I did the whole way. I feel like this has given me great confidence going into this last month before Boston that I can really do some great things out on the course on April 19th. Creepily, my 10K time a month ago predicted this performance within 5 seconds. Does that mean that a 3:27 marathon [the McMillan prediction given both by this HM and my 10K time] is in my future? Guess we'll just have to wait and see. For now, I'm really happy with finally showing the 13.1 mile distance who's boss, and having an amazing time while doing it. :)
So yesterday I ran the New Bedford Half Marathon as sort of a "tuneup" race/a way to have a cutback week in my long runs before the last big push to Boston. The half marathon and I have had some interesting times together - my first one was cool simply because it was my first, but looking back it was hot and I got really dehydrated, resulting in an absolutely miserable last 4 miles or so. My second I ran at the end of track season last year, and while I was in really good 5K shape and had done long runs up to 14 miles, the endurance just wasn't there. I died pretty early and slowed down a lot over the last 5 miles, crushing my dreams of a sub-1:40 finish, though I did come through in a PR of 1:42:25. The last half I ran in August, as a kind of fun excuse to go back to Madison for one last run before I moved out to Boston...aaand it was a total disaster. I was sick, felt god-awful throughout the entire race, watched my friend/rival pull away from me at the 3 mile mark, and wound up finishing only 10 seconds faster than my first race - a pretty poor showing after 2 more years of hard distance training. Maybe that race just left a bad taste in my mouth, but I was skeptical about doing this race. Pretty much my overwhelming thought was - if I have a bad day on the course, if I don't PR, it's really going to kill my confidence for Boston, which really isn't what I need a month out from the race. Buuut with some convincing from Kelly and a cheap entry fee [$35 for a half? With medals, t-shirts, and a ridiculous spread of food after? Pretty hard to beat] I decided that I had to face my half marathon demons and see what I could do.
The race was about an hour away, so Kelly, Joy and I left pretty early because we knew it was a big race and didn't want to be stranded looking for parking at the last minute. Turns out, that was a genius idea because the check-in area was INSANE. Apparently they had moved it from the high school to the YMCA...which was way smaller, and involved waiting in long lines for a one-stall bathroom...ughhh. The line for number pick up was crazy even when we were there at like 9:30 [for a race starting at 11] and by the time we went off to warm-up, it was out the door...since I'm totally weird about having enough time to warm up and wander around before a race, that would pretty much be my worst nightmare...so definitely glad we got there early!
We went back to the car to drop off our clothes, since it was getting pretty warm out, and were trying to figure out what to do about the god-awful bathroom situation when suddenly...we spotted a lonely construction site porta potty! Being the smart runners that we are, we had to investigate. We found that they were fenced in, but there was a decent gap under the fence...someone mentioned that you could probably squeeze under, and I was already down army crawling under the fence haha. Of course, I got to the other side and stood up....only to see Kelly pushing the fence aside like a gate - apparently the two pieces weren't attached soooo I crawled under a fence for no reason lol.
After taking care of the bathroom, joking about going on a whale watch tour after the race, and warming up some more, we finally made our way to the start corral and worked our way up to the 7-8 minute mile area...only to hear an announcement that the race wasn't going to start until 11:15...half an hour away. We obviously weren't going to leave since we had a pretty prime spot at the start and there was no way we'd ever get back to it...so unfortunately we were stuck stretching and bobbing up and down as the MC tried to entertain us by enlightening us to the wonders of New Bedford....once again, talking up the whale museum hehe. At some point there was an announcement that the race would start in 7 minutes...and then approximately 2 minutes later the gun went off...and off we went!
I really had no strategy for this race at all, other than to just kind of relax into whatever pace worked and see what happened from there. The start was kind of crazy and the first mile I spent a lot of time weaving around people on a pretty long downhill...so when I looked at my watch at the 1 mile and saw 7:08 it was like - WHOA, slow the eff down. I pretty much just regarded it as money in the PR bank and tried to relax and chill out since clearly I wasn't going to be holding my 10K pr pace for a half marathon. Mile 2 was much more reasonable - 7:35 - and while in the back of my mind I had a few flashes of "but this is only 2 miles in, remember how you always crash at the end of halfs..." based on how easy the pace felt I knew that wasn't going to happen. There were a couple of little rollers leading up to a long, turning hill at the mile 3 mark [7:34 for mile 3 -holding steady], which actually kind of reminded me of Heartbreak in steepness and distance. Hills have generally been my downfall in life, but running up that hill, passing people and feeling really strong, made me realize that since moving to Boston, and especially over this training cycle, my hill running has improved immensely. I no longer look at hills with fear, but as a challenge to get through and push on into the rest of the race...and that's exactly what I did. Mile 4 was 7:39, with only a slight slowdown for probably 600 meters of hill. I think that was the moment when I knew - today was a PR day. But the real question was - could I go under 1:40? That remained to be seen.
The crowd support for this race was absolutely mindblowing - really, the ENTIRE town came out to support the race. It was really cool to see the pride these people had for their town and how excited they were about having this race. The cheers absolutely thrilled me and I had to think for a moment about how cool this was - me, who has this tendency to be so intense and get SO involved in races that I tune out the crowd and the experience of the whole thing, was actually enjoying the support, having FUN with this race. I mean, I was veering to the side of the road to high five little kids and loving it! I was just so relaxed, enjoying every moment, feeling like a rockstar to these kids who thought that these runners were the most incredible people around. And really, I feel like that attitude - just RELAXING for once, not completely freaking out every second over my splits or my pace or how I'm feeling, was totally the key to a monster PR in this race. Mile 5 was a 7:22, thanks in part I'm sure to the massive tunnel of screaming, cowbell banging, music playing New Bedford-ites gathered in a park to support the race. Seriously - so. cool. And at the same time I'm thinking..."I'm seriously running a 7:22 at mile 5 of a half marathon? Can I seriously go under 1:40 today?" All of those thoughts of a monster PR were always kind of present in my mind but they were never really the overwhelming thing - it was just stay relaxed, run your race, just do it.
Mile 6 [7:27] I took a mint chocolate Gu - YUM - which went down smooth since it had been heated in the sun haha. It was only maybe 55 out, but the sun was HOT out there! I took advantage of my recently discovered drinking-while-running skills to grab water at most of the aid stations since I've been down the road of HM dehydration before and I reallly have no desire to go back haha. So here I was, somehow holding pace, and feeling solid. Obviously I knew that the real race was yet to come, but for the moment I was just savoring the feeling of being able to run this fast for this long. Mile 7 was another 7:27, as we made the turn out of the random neighborhoods to start a long stretch by the ocean - what a gorgeous day to be running by the water. I actually NOTICED the scenery - the lighthouses, boats, sun sparkling on the water...it was just that kind of day. Also just past mile 7, possibly the greatest thing that's ever happened to me in a race happened. There was a random motorcycle? store that had music playing out of a car, and as I approached it I got excited, because hey, music! But suddenly it dawned on me what song was playing....
DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'
OK, I know. No one should really love a song as much as I love Don't Stop Believin'. But it is my anthem, my motto, and to hear it in a race, let alone a race where I'm pretty much having the race of my life, was basically the most exciting thing ever. I actually threw my arms up in the air with joy. The happiness of that carried me the rest of the way through mile 8 in 7:26. Still running sub-7:30 miles at mile 8 of a half? All I have to do is hold this pace...
And then there was mile 9. Which was pretty awful. Really the only dark time of the race. It was like it kind of dawned on my legs suddenly that, hey, we've been running fast for kind of a long time, and it would be nice to stop now? My left hamstring/glute was kind of starting to cramp, and I eased back a little bit to try to get it to work itself out. I really didn't realize I slowed down THAT much, so when I looked down at my watch and saw 7:56, I was definitely alarmed. So I guess it's time to race, huh? I forced myself to pick it up again after that, and set my sights on several girls in front of me to pick off and pass. Up until this point, I hadn't really paid attention to any other runners - pass me? I passed you? Whatever, I'm running my own race. But at this point I needed some other stimulus besides my splits to give myself the extra push, and picking off girls one at a time seemed to be the perfect way to do it. First came yellow singlet girl. Next up was tye dye shirt, followed by short girl with the sweet red singlet. I passed mile 10 in 7:32 and now that I was back on track, I realized that I had to stay on this pace for the last 3 miles, and I would get under 1:40 - the wall, broken through. There was a great aid station playing loud Irish music right after the 10 mile [the race was sponsored by the Friendly Sons of St Patrick, after all!] which gave me a boost, along with somehow managing to get the song "Kiss My Irish Ass" stuck in my head for the remainder of the race haha. I continued on with my picking-off plan...girl with the blue shorts, you're history. I was gazing at a woman in a pink hat for the longest time, but she was always just out of reach. We turned back into the city with the mile 11 mark [7:31] and I figured out [after about 3 minutes of mental math failing haha] that I had to run 2.1 miles in 18 minutes or something to go under 1:40. Well hell yes, I can do that!
I was starting to get really tired, definitely the point in the race when you are just ready to be DONE. But I set my sights on a girl in light green shorts and told myself to just HOLD ON. Just past mile 12 [7:34] there is a soul crushing, curse inducing hill. I have never wanted to walk so badly in a race as I did running up that damn hill. It's really the placement of it that's cruel - just looking at the hill its nothing spectacular - your average 400-600 meter, somewhat steep but not mountain-like hill. But at mile 12 of a half marathon? Death in road form. And for the first time in the race, true pain and exhaustion set in...but since I had just pulled even with green shorts girl, obviously I had to put in a little surge to pass her. Now I was at the top of the hill, everything simply screaming to stop, and yet...less than a mile to go and it's all basically down hill...come ON!
Finally there was one last big downhill leading to the mile 13 mark, and I just let my legs go and flew down the hill. Mile 13 was 7:31, all that was left was to kick it in...and I sprinted with everything I had. I actually pulled even with a short girl in an orange tank top, and was hoping to get past her, but she turned on the jet engines and shot away - I tried to respond, but my calves were cramping into tiny balls of pain and I just had nothing left to give. No matter, the finish line was a few steps away, and then, slamming my watch - DONE.
1:38:34.
I really wasn't even sure what to do with myself. I chugged a bottle of water while waiting for Joy and Kelly to finish. Once we all met up we decided to forgo cooling down in favor of fish sandwiches, seafood chowder, and other goodness back at the YMCA, where the gym had now been opened up to form a more acceptable space for 2500 people haha. We drove back to Boston and I went out for a quick 2.5 mile granny shuffle cooldown/beer run, then spent the rest of the night relaxing, watching basketball, and passing out early - I was out like a light by 11 haha. Racing hard really takes it out of you!
The race was really competitive and full of club athletes, since its part of the USATF New England Grand Prix series, so I was pretty pleased with 622/2308 overall and 117th woman [assuming I counted right, unfortunately the results didn't give any breakdown of AG or gender placements and I'm too lazy to figure it out haha] out of who knows how many. But really in these races I couldn't care less about my place - especially this one. I honestly didn't believe I had it in me to run under 1:40 in a half marathon. Maybe somewhere around 1:40, maybe just barely squeaking under, but not this fast, especially feeling as strong as I did the whole way. I feel like this has given me great confidence going into this last month before Boston that I can really do some great things out on the course on April 19th. Creepily, my 10K time a month ago predicted this performance within 5 seconds. Does that mean that a 3:27 marathon [the McMillan prediction given both by this HM and my 10K time] is in my future? Guess we'll just have to wait and see. For now, I'm really happy with finally showing the 13.1 mile distance who's boss, and having an amazing time while doing it. :)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I need to get back home to cool, cool rain
Long run song of the day:
So today's long run was...epic. And awesome. And hands down the best long run of my life - I am not joking. What the hell is it about the combination of pouring rain, gusting wind, and general nastiness that turns me into some kind of run-dominating beast? I spent most of yesterday and this morning debating whether I even should set out for 22 miles in the craptastic weather - I seriously don't think I've ever been so unhappy about the prospect of going for a long run in my life. 22 miles just seemed so. long [okay well...it is...but yeah] and throwing the weather on top of that didn't help. But since this was really a KEY workout I had planned in my training schedule - 22 miles on the actual marathon course - I knew I had to just suck it up buttercup and get out there.
So I did - and I think once I realized that it wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be, I knew everything was going to be okay. I wasn't planning on really worrying about the pace, so I just fell into something that felt comfortable and easy and got into the groove. You know those days when things just fall into place and you find that sweet spot of pace where you feel like you could literally keep running forever? That was me today. Running on the course, as always, was a great plan because while there weren't a ton of runners out there, it seemed like everyone who was was a) wearing some kind of neon jacket or shirt that made them like a beacon of light in the endless gray of the rain and b) was equally happy to see a fellow runner partaking in this madness and would give a wave, hi, or at least a smile. Seriously, every runner I saw gave me an extra shot of energy - knowing I'm not alone, and that we're all out there for a reason, is such a boost.
It actually took me kind of awhile to notice that I was cold or wet. I think I had on enough layers that the gradual soaking-through process took about an hour haha. I stopped at the Marathon Sports on the course in Wellesley to grab a Gu and some water - perfect timing because I was getting really hungry and had the feeling I was on my way to being pretty dehydrated as well. Tried the new flavor of Gu - Jet Blackberry - it pretty much tasted the same as the Tri Berry, but I think it has more caffeine...anyway, after a few minutes in the store coming back into the deluge kind of sucked, and that was the first time I noticed the cold. And then I just kept trucking through Wellesley. There seemed to be a lot of hills [I really wouldn't notice that as much on the way back, maybe because anything that was uphill running the course backwards would be downhill going the right way]. I got nerdily excited when I saw the 14 mile/water mark with the BAA unicorn on the road, waved gleefully at a fellow runner on the opposite side of the street, and had to kind of laugh at the random empty Gu packets strewn around randomly on the sidewalk. [Definitely don't advocate littering...but it was just kind of funny...like, gee, do you think a lot of marathoners run out here or something?]. Generally I just continued to enjoy myself, finally reaching my turnaround point at Bacon Street [which...I seriously picked because I thought I would want some bacon at that point in the run. I really don't know what's going on in my head sometimes haha]
So I started the long trek back towards Boston, and honestly I kept waiting for my legs to do their usual seizing up/dying act that they always seem to do at the end of long runs, or for it to start feeling hard, or something...none of those feelings ever came. It just simply felt easy. Seriously, I don't know if there's magical fairy dust scattered all over the course or what, but every time I've run out there over this training cycle, it's been an incredible, effortless run...fingers crossed that the magic still works when I have to share it with 25,000 other runners. :) Also, my thought on this new part of the course that I hadn't seen before: really, not that many bad hills. It's funny because at first I thought "yes, well, you'll be running this at mile 12-20 of a marathon"...but then I realized that this section of the course was at mile 12-20 of my long run too...which was obviously the point haha. I guess the impression I get is that the course is never REALLY flat...but that you also spend more time running downhill than you do running up...and yes, that is the definition of a net downhill course, which Boston is, so sorry for stating the obvious haha. The one hill for me that was sort of a beeyotch, actually moreso than Heartbreak, was the one that comes right after the turn onto Comm Ave, at around the 18 mile mark. It's sort of a long hill that seems to drag, and I think since you've just had a big downhill it's kind of like...aww...a hill? Wah wah. But then there's like a mile of basically downhill before you have to deal with Heartbreak...I don't know, maybe it was just because my run went SO well on the course today, but I was left feeling a lot more confident about running a good race on this course than I was before.
You'll notice that I've only mentioned the crazy-ass weather once in this epic description of this run so far...really, I didn't pay much attention to it, and what thoughts I did give to it were basically along the lines of "this is so effing awesome. I am kicking so much ass right now. If the marathon was today, I would probably run a PR. I am so freaking glad I didn't skip this run. I love the rain". So the "song of the day" came on my ipod just as I had crested Heartbreak, and was headed onto the GIANT downhill through BC. Everytime I run that downhill, I want to put my arms up and yell like a little kid on a rollercoaster haha...it's like..I MADE IT! Combine that with The Who screaming about rain and the fact that there are less than 2 miles to go of a 23 mile run, and you have yourself a pretty amazing moment. I was also pretty impressed at how the run absolutely FLEW by...normally I get so sick of running by about 2:15 into a long run that the last 30-45 minutes are just a death march...but this time, probably since I was feeling good, it was totally no big deal.
Probably the funniest moment of the run actually happened after I finished. I finally made it back to my door, thrilled to be done, thrilled at how I was feeling, basically just on this massive runner's high...oh yeah, and also completely drenched and dripping a puddle into the foyer of my apartment building. My hands were COMPLETELY frozen, so I struggled for like 5 minutes to get my key out of my pocket...then struggled to actually get it in the door...and THEN once I got it in the door, I couldn't grip my hands enough to turn it...FAIL! I was just attempting to use the two-handed grip approach and looking like a giant idiot when a neighbor came in behind me and was like...uh...are you okay? [he probably thought I was trying to break into the place or something!] Just then I got the door open and let him in, and I was like oh, yeah, I'm fine, I just ran 22 miles though and so my hands are really cold, I couldn't get the key to turn. The guy was like oh...and then was like..wait...you ran 22 miles...TODAY? You have issues... Kind of reminds me of my boss who commented yesterday that "looks like you won't be getting any miles in this weekend". I'm pretty confident that 99% of the population [my mom, grandma, and boyfriend included!] think that what I did today was borderline insane...but seriously, having that great of a run in this disgusting of weather gave me such a HUGE mental boost - like whatever raceday throws at me, I'll be able to get through it. Maybe more importantly, it gave me the confidence that my training is actually working - that the higher miles and workouts and things I've been doing that I've bitched and moaned about really HAVE made me stronger, much stronger, than I was going into Baystate. Being able to hit 8:15 pace [haha, guess I didn't mention that I was actually running kind of fast for a LR...] for that long of a run without going downhill into my usual "run for a few minutes...legs tighten up...stop....stretch...start again" act that I usually wind up doing for the last 5 miles or so of any long run, was a total eye opener to me. And it was my longest run EVER...coming in at 22.9 miles [and yes, I kind of wish I had run around the block to get in that extra .1 mile, especially since I was feeling so good. Oh well!]
Sooo I will stop boring you all now with my epic account of my long run haha...I'm just really pumped about it and I feel like it's been so long since I had a run where I just wanted to run around shouting from the mountaintops about how awesome it was, that I had to let myself get a little excited about this. :) Running on the course was a great idea and one I'm going to continue to incorporate for the next few weeks...and probably for the rest of the time that I live near it too, since like I said, I think it might be magic. :)
Well, now I am comfy and warm [well, as warm as is possible in my apartment, where we don't pay for heat but the heat is also almost never on...], the rain is still blasting outside, and I enjoyed a delicious plate of pesto pasta, a Magic Hat #9, and some Ben & Jerry's as a post-epic-run treat. I actually have a lot of random things bouncing around in my head to post about, more musings than actual day-to-day running stuff....but I think this post is long enough, so maybe I'll just actually post more than once this week!
Oh...and it's a little late...but happy pi day! :P Thanks MarathonMaiden for reminding me :)
So today's long run was...epic. And awesome. And hands down the best long run of my life - I am not joking. What the hell is it about the combination of pouring rain, gusting wind, and general nastiness that turns me into some kind of run-dominating beast? I spent most of yesterday and this morning debating whether I even should set out for 22 miles in the craptastic weather - I seriously don't think I've ever been so unhappy about the prospect of going for a long run in my life. 22 miles just seemed so. long [okay well...it is...but yeah] and throwing the weather on top of that didn't help. But since this was really a KEY workout I had planned in my training schedule - 22 miles on the actual marathon course - I knew I had to just suck it up buttercup and get out there.
So I did - and I think once I realized that it wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be, I knew everything was going to be okay. I wasn't planning on really worrying about the pace, so I just fell into something that felt comfortable and easy and got into the groove. You know those days when things just fall into place and you find that sweet spot of pace where you feel like you could literally keep running forever? That was me today. Running on the course, as always, was a great plan because while there weren't a ton of runners out there, it seemed like everyone who was was a) wearing some kind of neon jacket or shirt that made them like a beacon of light in the endless gray of the rain and b) was equally happy to see a fellow runner partaking in this madness and would give a wave, hi, or at least a smile. Seriously, every runner I saw gave me an extra shot of energy - knowing I'm not alone, and that we're all out there for a reason, is such a boost.
It actually took me kind of awhile to notice that I was cold or wet. I think I had on enough layers that the gradual soaking-through process took about an hour haha. I stopped at the Marathon Sports on the course in Wellesley to grab a Gu and some water - perfect timing because I was getting really hungry and had the feeling I was on my way to being pretty dehydrated as well. Tried the new flavor of Gu - Jet Blackberry - it pretty much tasted the same as the Tri Berry, but I think it has more caffeine...anyway, after a few minutes in the store coming back into the deluge kind of sucked, and that was the first time I noticed the cold. And then I just kept trucking through Wellesley. There seemed to be a lot of hills [I really wouldn't notice that as much on the way back, maybe because anything that was uphill running the course backwards would be downhill going the right way]. I got nerdily excited when I saw the 14 mile/water mark with the BAA unicorn on the road, waved gleefully at a fellow runner on the opposite side of the street, and had to kind of laugh at the random empty Gu packets strewn around randomly on the sidewalk. [Definitely don't advocate littering...but it was just kind of funny...like, gee, do you think a lot of marathoners run out here or something?]. Generally I just continued to enjoy myself, finally reaching my turnaround point at Bacon Street [which...I seriously picked because I thought I would want some bacon at that point in the run. I really don't know what's going on in my head sometimes haha]
So I started the long trek back towards Boston, and honestly I kept waiting for my legs to do their usual seizing up/dying act that they always seem to do at the end of long runs, or for it to start feeling hard, or something...none of those feelings ever came. It just simply felt easy. Seriously, I don't know if there's magical fairy dust scattered all over the course or what, but every time I've run out there over this training cycle, it's been an incredible, effortless run...fingers crossed that the magic still works when I have to share it with 25,000 other runners. :) Also, my thought on this new part of the course that I hadn't seen before: really, not that many bad hills. It's funny because at first I thought "yes, well, you'll be running this at mile 12-20 of a marathon"...but then I realized that this section of the course was at mile 12-20 of my long run too...which was obviously the point haha. I guess the impression I get is that the course is never REALLY flat...but that you also spend more time running downhill than you do running up...and yes, that is the definition of a net downhill course, which Boston is, so sorry for stating the obvious haha. The one hill for me that was sort of a beeyotch, actually moreso than Heartbreak, was the one that comes right after the turn onto Comm Ave, at around the 18 mile mark. It's sort of a long hill that seems to drag, and I think since you've just had a big downhill it's kind of like...aww...a hill? Wah wah. But then there's like a mile of basically downhill before you have to deal with Heartbreak...I don't know, maybe it was just because my run went SO well on the course today, but I was left feeling a lot more confident about running a good race on this course than I was before.
You'll notice that I've only mentioned the crazy-ass weather once in this epic description of this run so far...really, I didn't pay much attention to it, and what thoughts I did give to it were basically along the lines of "this is so effing awesome. I am kicking so much ass right now. If the marathon was today, I would probably run a PR. I am so freaking glad I didn't skip this run. I love the rain". So the "song of the day" came on my ipod just as I had crested Heartbreak, and was headed onto the GIANT downhill through BC. Everytime I run that downhill, I want to put my arms up and yell like a little kid on a rollercoaster haha...it's like..I MADE IT! Combine that with The Who screaming about rain and the fact that there are less than 2 miles to go of a 23 mile run, and you have yourself a pretty amazing moment. I was also pretty impressed at how the run absolutely FLEW by...normally I get so sick of running by about 2:15 into a long run that the last 30-45 minutes are just a death march...but this time, probably since I was feeling good, it was totally no big deal.
Probably the funniest moment of the run actually happened after I finished. I finally made it back to my door, thrilled to be done, thrilled at how I was feeling, basically just on this massive runner's high...oh yeah, and also completely drenched and dripping a puddle into the foyer of my apartment building. My hands were COMPLETELY frozen, so I struggled for like 5 minutes to get my key out of my pocket...then struggled to actually get it in the door...and THEN once I got it in the door, I couldn't grip my hands enough to turn it...FAIL! I was just attempting to use the two-handed grip approach and looking like a giant idiot when a neighbor came in behind me and was like...uh...are you okay? [he probably thought I was trying to break into the place or something!] Just then I got the door open and let him in, and I was like oh, yeah, I'm fine, I just ran 22 miles though and so my hands are really cold, I couldn't get the key to turn. The guy was like oh...and then was like..wait...you ran 22 miles...TODAY? You have issues... Kind of reminds me of my boss who commented yesterday that "looks like you won't be getting any miles in this weekend". I'm pretty confident that 99% of the population [my mom, grandma, and boyfriend included!] think that what I did today was borderline insane...but seriously, having that great of a run in this disgusting of weather gave me such a HUGE mental boost - like whatever raceday throws at me, I'll be able to get through it. Maybe more importantly, it gave me the confidence that my training is actually working - that the higher miles and workouts and things I've been doing that I've bitched and moaned about really HAVE made me stronger, much stronger, than I was going into Baystate. Being able to hit 8:15 pace [haha, guess I didn't mention that I was actually running kind of fast for a LR...] for that long of a run without going downhill into my usual "run for a few minutes...legs tighten up...stop....stretch...start again" act that I usually wind up doing for the last 5 miles or so of any long run, was a total eye opener to me. And it was my longest run EVER...coming in at 22.9 miles [and yes, I kind of wish I had run around the block to get in that extra .1 mile, especially since I was feeling so good. Oh well!]
Sooo I will stop boring you all now with my epic account of my long run haha...I'm just really pumped about it and I feel like it's been so long since I had a run where I just wanted to run around shouting from the mountaintops about how awesome it was, that I had to let myself get a little excited about this. :) Running on the course was a great idea and one I'm going to continue to incorporate for the next few weeks...and probably for the rest of the time that I live near it too, since like I said, I think it might be magic. :)
Well, now I am comfy and warm [well, as warm as is possible in my apartment, where we don't pay for heat but the heat is also almost never on...], the rain is still blasting outside, and I enjoyed a delicious plate of pesto pasta, a Magic Hat #9, and some Ben & Jerry's as a post-epic-run treat. I actually have a lot of random things bouncing around in my head to post about, more musings than actual day-to-day running stuff....but I think this post is long enough, so maybe I'll just actually post more than once this week!
Oh...and it's a little late...but happy pi day! :P Thanks MarathonMaiden for reminding me :)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tugging at my hamstrings
Woo, I've been kind of MIA the last week or so - my laptop charger cord decided to fray it to the point where it doesn't even charge the computer any more, and since my laptop battery lasts for like 45 minutes anyway...no laptop for me! I've been jumping on the BF's computer when I get the chance but I never seem to have enough time to throw together a coherent post haha. Not that my posts are really ever coherent...
So last week was kind of a "meh" week of training. Yes, I got all of my runs done at their prescribed [or faster] paces, and it was another over-60 mile week...but I just wasn't really feeling it. The week just seemed to CRAWL by...the workout I did last Tuesday seems like about an eternity ago. By the time I got to my 18 mile "cutback" long run on Sunday, I just wasn't a happy camper. Thank God for the fact that my running buddy, Kelly, was down for doing 13 miles of it with me....I honestly think I would have called it in at like 10 otherwise. The first thing I said to her when I walked out my door was "I am SO SICK of running!" Most non-runners would be like, OK, why are you doing this then? But Kelly is awesome and basically let me know that I'm going to get out of this slump and I'll come through stronger than I was before thanks to all of the training I've been doing. The rest of the run wasn't great, we were both suffering from "dead legs syndrome" a little bit, but the conversation and company definitely saved me from getting to the point of just wanting to throw myself into the Charles to end the run.
As it turned out, the rest of my day Sunday was the perfect way to break out of the slump. AKA....I needed to have some fun! Working Friday and Saturday nights kind of sucks, let me tell you, and sometimes makes me feel like I lose all of my potential "fun time" of the weekend to work. So Sunday nights have kind of become the BF and I's "fun" nights where we either go out to dinner, get pizza and watch a movie, go have drinks, or whatever...basically things you would do on a regular weekend night, except on Sunday...Sunday Funday! Haha. Well anyway, last Sunday worked out particularly well because the weather was gorgeous and the Badger hockey AND basketball teams were playing conference rivals at 2:00. So off we went to the Baseball Tavern to cheer on the Badgers with some Wisconsin [and...sadly....Minnesota...] alums. A few beers and a Badger basketball victory later, we decided to walk across the bridge to Cambridge, where we were planning on using our Tupelo Groupon. It was a beautiful day and we stopped for some pictures
So last week was kind of a "meh" week of training. Yes, I got all of my runs done at their prescribed [or faster] paces, and it was another over-60 mile week...but I just wasn't really feeling it. The week just seemed to CRAWL by...the workout I did last Tuesday seems like about an eternity ago. By the time I got to my 18 mile "cutback" long run on Sunday, I just wasn't a happy camper. Thank God for the fact that my running buddy, Kelly, was down for doing 13 miles of it with me....I honestly think I would have called it in at like 10 otherwise. The first thing I said to her when I walked out my door was "I am SO SICK of running!" Most non-runners would be like, OK, why are you doing this then? But Kelly is awesome and basically let me know that I'm going to get out of this slump and I'll come through stronger than I was before thanks to all of the training I've been doing. The rest of the run wasn't great, we were both suffering from "dead legs syndrome" a little bit, but the conversation and company definitely saved me from getting to the point of just wanting to throw myself into the Charles to end the run.
As it turned out, the rest of my day Sunday was the perfect way to break out of the slump. AKA....I needed to have some fun! Working Friday and Saturday nights kind of sucks, let me tell you, and sometimes makes me feel like I lose all of my potential "fun time" of the weekend to work. So Sunday nights have kind of become the BF and I's "fun" nights where we either go out to dinner, get pizza and watch a movie, go have drinks, or whatever...basically things you would do on a regular weekend night, except on Sunday...Sunday Funday! Haha. Well anyway, last Sunday worked out particularly well because the weather was gorgeous and the Badger hockey AND basketball teams were playing conference rivals at 2:00. So off we went to the Baseball Tavern to cheer on the Badgers with some Wisconsin [and...sadly....Minnesota...] alums. A few beers and a Badger basketball victory later, we decided to walk across the bridge to Cambridge, where we were planning on using our Tupelo Groupon. It was a beautiful day and we stopped for some pictures
On our way to Tupelo [kind of a lengthy walk, but we were up to it, as usual :)] we decided we needed a bathroom, and maybe another beer. Miracle of Science looked like the perfect stop!
Their menu was a periodic table, and their stools looked like they were stolen right out of a lab. My chemistry major BF was a fan. :) So we continued onward towards Tupelo only to find it was CLOSED! FAIL! No problem - we went back to the T and decided to hit up our old standby - the Sunset, home of 380 bottles and 112 taps...beer lover's heaven, and with some pretty tasty Tex-Mex food too! It worked out perfectly, and I got to try Dogfish Head Fort....an 18% raspberry beer. So basically like a beer-wine? Whatever it was, it was amazing.
It comes in a teeny 8 oz glass...because it's crazy strong. And crazy delicious.
It was a fantastic night...I had so much fun. And when I woke up the next day, albeit a little hungover, I felt so refreshed from actually going out and doing something OTHER than run, work, sleep, eat, or clean the apartment, that I was pretty much instantly happier. Pretty sure the feeling carried over to my running too, because I banged out a great 7.5 miler on the Newton hills on Tuesday. I realized that I really have NOT been taking advantage of the fact that I live on the course of the marathon I'm going to be running. What kind of idiot wouldn't want to know the course, especially theoretically the hardest part of the course, like the back of their hand if they had the chance? So I've decided that I'm going to make myself run on the course at least twice a week for the remainder of training - well, until taper anyway. I really want to get to know the feel of running those particular hills, both while running hard and running easy, so that when race day comes running the hills is just like coming home.
Wednesday was another beautiful day, and I did this crazy bridge fartlek along the Charles. Basically the workout I had to do was 10 miles with 10 x 30 seconds @ 5K pace...how those were supposed to be spaced out was something I had to guess. So to keep it entertaining, and to not have to look at my watch constantly, I picked a route where I was constantly going under, over, or past bridges...and every time that happened, I had to do a pickup. There was a set of 4 around 6 miles where I only had about a minute easy in between [if you know the area...past Cambridge St, over Western Ave, past Cambridge St on the other side...and then another random overpass before the BU bridge about 5 minutes later] and that got tough, but I made it through strong and felt great when I was done. Only problem: I seem to have tweaked my right hamstring a bit, either from pushing it too hard on the hills on Tuesday or from the pickups on Wednesday, or most likely some combination of the two. I had a 4 mile easy scheduled for yesterday, but decided to skip it in favor of resting and icing the hammy. I HATE skipping runs, but then again if I have to skip a planned workout, "4 miles easy" is about as good as it gets - either to make up or just forget about all together. Had I just been sore I totally would have done the run, but this felt a little beyond that realm into more of a strain, and that's definitely not something I want to have escalate! It's feeling better today, so I'm happy I chose to rest it - guess we'll see how my 3 mile WU/5 miles GMP/3 mile CD run goes later today!
Oh, did I also mention Kelly convinced me to run the New Bedford Half? I think that might be a whole separate post. I do have a score to settle with the HM...
Anyway, Happy Friday! Hopefully my new laptop cord will arrive ASAP and I'll be back to posting/commenting on a more regular basis again. :)
Friday, March 05, 2010
Give me back that filet o'fish, give me that fish
This has absolutely nothing to do with..well...anything...and the last time I had a Filet O'Fish was probably sometime in the 90s...but this commercial just cracks me up for some reason
Other things that start with F...February...as in, February Training Recap!
Total miles: 227.7
This was JUST OFF my all time mileage PR of 229.1, set in September '09. I'm pretty much giving it to myself as my highest mileage training month ever though, since February is a short month so in terms of miles/day, it was definitely a high!
Days off: 5
Workouts: 8 [3 fartlek, 2 tempo, 1 mile repeats, 1 progression, 1 race]
Longest run: 20.6
Weekly mileage range: 49.6-61.9
Wow, I usually despise February with all of my heart and soul, but this was probably the best month of training I've ever had. No offense to my home state, but leaving the Wisconsin winter behind was definitely a pretty fantastic thing as far as running was concerned. The winter out here has been super mild by my standards - there really haven't been any days when I've been like "oh, hell no am I running outside in that...", and really the only time I took my workouts to the TM was for the sake of knowing my pace. I really can't think of any god-awful runs in February either. I hit pace for every workout, set a big 10K PR, my long runs went reasonably well and I've been running them faster than last training cycle, and I've already got 2 20 milers under my belt. I guess my only concern at this point is that my training is going TOO well...as in, I really don't want to peak too early. That might have something to do with the fact that during my last training cycle, I was running a lot but I wasn't really "training" until like...7 weeks out from the race. So the plan at this point is to just stay tuned in to my physical/mental state as March, ie, training month from hell, progresses, keep an eye on an possible signs of overtraining, and other than that, just continue to rock it out!
Speaking of training, is it weird that lately I have been anxiously looking forward to my speed workouts, and absolutely dreading my longer easy runs? Seriously, why am I totally excited to run fartleks or tempo intervals on the treadmill, with a long warmup and cooldown, and yet an 8-12 mile easy run is something I just dread? I can't quite figure it out. I guess its GOOD that I get excited about speedwork though haha - never really thought I'd see the day when that would happen! I think it's because my quality workouts have been going really well in general, as far as hitting my paces and not feeling like I'm going to die at the same time. They've served as really great confidence boosters and kind of stand in my mind as a testament to the fact that I actually AM getting faster and stronger through all of this training. The easy runs just kind of "are" - some days I'm feeling it, some days I'm not. 12 miles is pretty long, but not long enough to be a "long run", but still takes a long time, you know what I mean? Well anyway, maybe if I start thinking of my easy runs as "3 mile warmup, 6 miles easy, 3 mile cooldown" I'll like them better. Haha.
Training aside, here are a couple of random things I've really been enjoying lately [aside from the Filet O'Fish commercial, haha]...mostly food. Because who doesn't love food?
Is it really Friday already? Guess I should stop whining about my 12 miles and just Get. It Done! Have a great weekend!
Other things that start with F...February...as in, February Training Recap!
Total miles: 227.7
This was JUST OFF my all time mileage PR of 229.1, set in September '09. I'm pretty much giving it to myself as my highest mileage training month ever though, since February is a short month so in terms of miles/day, it was definitely a high!
Days off: 5
Workouts: 8 [3 fartlek, 2 tempo, 1 mile repeats, 1 progression, 1 race]
Longest run: 20.6
Weekly mileage range: 49.6-61.9
Wow, I usually despise February with all of my heart and soul, but this was probably the best month of training I've ever had. No offense to my home state, but leaving the Wisconsin winter behind was definitely a pretty fantastic thing as far as running was concerned. The winter out here has been super mild by my standards - there really haven't been any days when I've been like "oh, hell no am I running outside in that...", and really the only time I took my workouts to the TM was for the sake of knowing my pace. I really can't think of any god-awful runs in February either. I hit pace for every workout, set a big 10K PR, my long runs went reasonably well and I've been running them faster than last training cycle, and I've already got 2 20 milers under my belt. I guess my only concern at this point is that my training is going TOO well...as in, I really don't want to peak too early. That might have something to do with the fact that during my last training cycle, I was running a lot but I wasn't really "training" until like...7 weeks out from the race. So the plan at this point is to just stay tuned in to my physical/mental state as March, ie, training month from hell, progresses, keep an eye on an possible signs of overtraining, and other than that, just continue to rock it out!
Speaking of training, is it weird that lately I have been anxiously looking forward to my speed workouts, and absolutely dreading my longer easy runs? Seriously, why am I totally excited to run fartleks or tempo intervals on the treadmill, with a long warmup and cooldown, and yet an 8-12 mile easy run is something I just dread? I can't quite figure it out. I guess its GOOD that I get excited about speedwork though haha - never really thought I'd see the day when that would happen! I think it's because my quality workouts have been going really well in general, as far as hitting my paces and not feeling like I'm going to die at the same time. They've served as really great confidence boosters and kind of stand in my mind as a testament to the fact that I actually AM getting faster and stronger through all of this training. The easy runs just kind of "are" - some days I'm feeling it, some days I'm not. 12 miles is pretty long, but not long enough to be a "long run", but still takes a long time, you know what I mean? Well anyway, maybe if I start thinking of my easy runs as "3 mile warmup, 6 miles easy, 3 mile cooldown" I'll like them better. Haha.
Training aside, here are a couple of random things I've really been enjoying lately [aside from the Filet O'Fish commercial, haha]...mostly food. Because who doesn't love food?
- Coconut Water! I had heard about this from some other blog or something, that it's supposedly this big deal in sports drinks because it naturally has a ton of electrolytes [especially potassium] and some sugar, without the obscene dose of fake sugar and dyes that you get in Gatorade or whatever. I really don't go one way or the other on the whole natural eating thing, but I saw this at Whole Foods and was intrigued. It was AMAZING! It comes in a bunch of flavors - I tried the VitaCoco tangerine and peach/mango flavors. I was kind of wary because I don't really like the taste of coconut that much, but the fruit purees that they added [the only other ingredient besides the coconut water itself] really added a nice, light fruity flavor. Totally not the super sugary, almost syrupy taste you sometimes get with sports drinks. The peach/mango was my favorite. As for it's properties as a good sports drink, I haven't tested that one yet - I had it for breakfast haha. I'm doing an 18 miler this weekend, 13 of which will be with a friend, so I'm planning on grabbing one for the last 5 miles and see how I feel!
- Australian Yogurt! I LOVE yogurt. For breakfast, for a snack, for dessert...don't care, I think it's delicious. During my last WF visit I wasn't too impressed with the flavor selection or price on their "generic" brand yogurt, so I figured I would spend the extra 20 cents per carton and try something new - enter Wallaby Australian Yogurt. What is Australian yogurt? I'm still kind of trying to figure out the difference haha. As far as ingredients, I think they use a slightly lower percentage milkfat milk than like, Yoplait [1.5% instead of 2%?] and use organic cane sugar. I'm not sure if there's some sort of difference in the culturing process, all I know is the yogurt is super smooth and very light. It comes in some pretty tasty and interesting flavors that you don't see in regular yogurt [I mean, I love blueberry and strawberry as much as the next person...but sometimes that gets a little boring]. And I absolutely LOVED their fruit on the bottom flavors. Like, half the carton is fruit! I had the grapefruit one, which sounded weird but ended up being totally delicious. I think for the fact that this stuff is natural, comes in fun flavors, and not as uber-sweet as other yogurt tends to be, it might be worth the extra couple bucks to buy it instead. Yum!
- Sweet Potato Fries! I think I got this idea from someone's blog too...and it has quickly become a go-to snack/side for me! So easy: cut up sweet potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, toss with pepper, seasoned salt, and whatever other seasonings you desire, and bake for 15-20 minutes...and there you have GOODNESS! It's a great way to eat something salty/tastes kind of unhealthy, but really it isn't! Yay for good-for-you food! :)
Is it really Friday already? Guess I should stop whining about my 12 miles and just Get. It Done! Have a great weekend!
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