LONG MAY THEY RUN

Had a really nice active weekend. Started friday off with a 5 mile AM run (on super sore legs from 150 squats the night before) and drove to Cape Cod that night. We set off on the Rail Trail mid morning and ended up riding about 33 miles. It felt so nice to be back on a bike! And I could have ridden all day had I been outfitted with the right attire (aka bike shorts). I woke up on Sunday anxious to go on another bike ride, but started the day off with a 3 mile run. A few hours later we rode another 25 miles out to a beautiful beach on the Cape Cod National Seashore. Made me really excited about doing lots of exploring on long rides. By the end of the ride my quads were ready for a break & I gladly made this happen by laying on the beach for a few hours & eating a treat from the ice cream truck.

Think I’m going to start doing weekly charts like the one above just to track my workouts in a more organized way. I feel good about last week even though my mileage ran is pretty low. Hopefully this week I’ll be able to get in more double session days with early AM runs.

Was considering a relatively last minute registration for a half marathon in RI this weekend .. but then I saw the 6:30am start time. Since the race is 1.5 hours away that means a 4am wake up time. Nooo thank you. Maybe I’ll find a local 5K to do instead!

It’s been so hot in New England the past few weeks. If I don’t get up and run at 6am, I have little desire to do so when I get home from the studio in the evening and it’s still sunny and 85+ degrees. Most days this means I just go to the air conditioned gym for a spin class or weight lifting (not treadmill running though .. even though it’s cooler in the gym, I can’t bare the thought of spending time on a treadmill when it’s summer. I would last about 30 seconds before going crazy). Or this means I get in a double session day with an early morning run and an evening spin class (my favorite). But this past weekend I decided to take the dog on a hike instead of an early morning run. It was so nice! The woods were shady, cool & had a nice breeze. It was at least 10 degrees cooler than in the city. We hiked around for most of the afternoon .. not exactly sure how many miles .. 6? 7? But both Maisey and I were spent by the end.  Speaking of alternatives to running, Aaron is so close to having a bike up and running for me! It’s been 5+ years since I’ve been on a bike in the Boston area (after losing a friend to a tragic bike accident and experiencing intense anxiety/sadness even thinking about getting on a bike after that) but I’m finally ready to give it another go. I’m really excited to go on some long rides! We’re off to Cape Cod this weekend and my first priority is to ride the Cape Cod Rail Trail at least once. I’m curious to see how all these spin classes will pay off when I’m on an actual bike. So excited!! I’ve managed to get in a run or a spin class every day this week so far, and my legs are feeling great. My knee, not so much, but I’m always working on that. Tonight is a 5.5 mile (round trip) run to the gym for a weight lifting class and even though it’s going to be hot, I can’t wait. 

It’s been so hot in New England the past few weeks. If I don’t get up and run at 6am, I have little desire to do so when I get home from the studio in the evening and it’s still sunny and 85+ degrees. Most days this means I just go to the air conditioned gym for a spin class or weight lifting (not treadmill running though .. even though it’s cooler in the gym, I can’t bare the thought of spending time on a treadmill when it’s summer. I would last about 30 seconds before going crazy). Or this means I get in a double session day with an early morning run and an evening spin class (my favorite).

But this past weekend I decided to take the dog on a hike instead of an early morning run. It was so nice! The woods were shady, cool & had a nice breeze. It was at least 10 degrees cooler than in the city. We hiked around for most of the afternoon .. not exactly sure how many miles .. 6? 7? But both Maisey and I were spent by the end. 

Speaking of alternatives to running, Aaron is so close to having a bike up and running for me! It’s been 5+ years since I’ve been on a bike in the Boston area (after losing a friend to a tragic bike accident and experiencing intense anxiety/sadness even thinking about getting on a bike after that) but I’m finally ready to give it another go. I’m really excited to go on some long rides! We’re off to Cape Cod this weekend and my first priority is to ride the Cape Cod Rail Trail at least once. I’m curious to see how all these spin classes will pay off when I’m on an actual bike. So excited!!

I’ve managed to get in a run or a spin class every day this week so far, and my legs are feeling great. My knee, not so much, but I’m always working on that. Tonight is a 5.5 mile (round trip) run to the gym for a weight lifting class and even though it’s going to be hot, I can’t wait. 

Awhile ago I was asked to share what I listen to when I run .. and it took me awhile! .. but here’s one of my most used playlists during marathon training. I admittedly have questionable taste when it comes to running music and mostly just listen to cool Top 40 hits. Enjoy!

Awhile ago I was asked to share what I listen to when I run .. and it took me awhile! .. but here’s one of my most used playlists during marathon training. I admittedly have questionable taste when it comes to running music and mostly just listen to cool Top 40 hits. Enjoy!

Well, clearly after the marathon I needed a pretty serious break from running. I was so emotionally exhausted from spending almost every hour of the day, for 4 months straight, thinking about my knee and how it would hold up doing 26.2 miles. I just needed a few weeks where I didn’t have to think about dedicating at least an hour a day to stretching. And so I’ve had a pretty casual 6 weeks since the marathon. I’ve still been running at least 3 times a week, but they’ve been garmin free runs where I’m not too focused on my pace or on the distance. I’ve also been spinning a few times a week, and weight training as well .. so it’s not like I’ve stopped exercising entirely .. I’m just giving myself a little bit of a break, trying not to take everything too seriously. And it’s been great! I’m finally back at a point where I’m excited about training again and can’t wait to start getting back to a more regimented workout schedule.  I’m still on the fence about whether or not to do another marathon this fall/winter .. I want to make sure my knee is healed as much as possible before getting back into another marathon training cycle .. but I really, really want to run another 26.2 this year. I have a few 10K’s lined up for the summer, and then a half marathon in Hampton NH at the end of September .. so maybe a December or January marathon in a warmer part of the country? We’ll see!

Well, clearly after the marathon I needed a pretty serious break from running. I was so emotionally exhausted from spending almost every hour of the day, for 4 months straight, thinking about my knee and how it would hold up doing 26.2 miles. I just needed a few weeks where I didn’t have to think about dedicating at least an hour a day to stretching. And so I’ve had a pretty casual 6 weeks since the marathon. I’ve still been running at least 3 times a week, but they’ve been garmin free runs where I’m not too focused on my pace or on the distance. I’ve also been spinning a few times a week, and weight training as well .. so it’s not like I’ve stopped exercising entirely .. I’m just giving myself a little bit of a break, trying not to take everything too seriously.

And it’s been great! I’m finally back at a point where I’m excited about training again and can’t wait to start getting back to a more regimented workout schedule. 

I’m still on the fence about whether or not to do another marathon this fall/winter .. I want to make sure my knee is healed as much as possible before getting back into another marathon training cycle .. but I really, really want to run another 26.2 this year. I have a few 10K’s lined up for the summer, and then a half marathon in Hampton NH at the end of September .. so maybe a December or January marathon in a warmer part of the country? We’ll see!

Oh my poor little neglected running blog! I’ve been so bad at updating you .. but THE event finally happened. And of course I need to do a recap. 

I had been feeling pretty good for the few weeks leading up to the Providence Marathon. My last long run (21 miles) went great and I had my peak milage week (48). And then the taper started.. which wasn’t so bad. Reduced my weekly miles significantly, did an 8 mile ‘long’ run, and made sure to strech/foam roll/ice twice a day. I didn’t experience any sort of taper madness until the last 5 or so days before the marathon .. my body just wasn’t used to the lack of running/activity plus I was drinking & eating a bit more than usual. So I felt pretty gross and just wanted to run run run .. but I couldn’t! 

The actual marathon weekend was pretty dang great. A large group of us (12) spent the night at a hotel right outside of Providence. I was so happy to be running the race with my brother and friends because I spend most of my days running by myself. It’s always such a nice treat to have friends to run with.

Four of us were running the full marathon, and four ran the half. We were able to get some coffee & bagels/bananas in us before leaving the hotel at 6:30ish and then arrived at the start around 7. Of course the line for the porta potties was crazy long, so once we got to the actual start line it was packed and we started pretty far back .. around the 10:00 pace group. 

Our plan was to stay somewhere around 9:00 miles and then see how it felt at the half. I was confident that this could happen .. and of course after the gun went off and we started running our pace was a bit faster than we planned. We were comfortably running 8:30’s-8:45’s for the first 10 miles. The first few miles went through Providence and there were definitely more hills on this part of the course than we thought .. but I didn’t mind too much. Eventually the course ventured out of downtown Providence and along a really nice bike trail. It was a perfect day .. in the high 50’s and partly cloudy.. so I was thrilled just to be outside running and did a good job at distracting myself with identifying all the plants that we were running past. 

Around mile 9 my legs started to get a bit sore, which freaked me out. It was still early on and I usually never experience quad soreness at such a low mileage, but I did my best to not focus on it. Otherwise my body was feeling great and when we reached the half I felt like I confidently could increase the pace a bit. At this point my brother’s friend John and I pulled ahead of my brother and our friend Ben. Of course I would have preferred to run all together, but I also really wanted to push myself and try to keep the pace as quick as I could. John and I ended up running the rest of the race together and he was the perfect marathon buddy. We kept pace with each other pretty perfectly and running with him made me want to push myself further. If it wasn’t for him I most likely would have stayed at a slower pace with my brother .. but I’m SO happy that I went ahead and ended up running the rest of the marathon around an 8:45 pace. (I actually didn’t look at my Garmin at all after mile 15 for some reason that I still don’t really understand … but the official results say my average pace was 8:45). 

After mile 17 it got really hard and became a total mental game. My quads were hurting and the soles of my feet were sore … but I was running a marathon so of course my body was going to start hurting at some point. So I didn’t let that slow me down at all. At 10 miles to go I would think ‘Okay this is just a run out to Home Depot and back I can do this easily’ (out to Home Depot and back has become a regular training run for me.. even though it’s a pretty gross route along a parkway).. And then when there were only 5 miles to go I would think ‘Just a lap through the Arboretum, I do this practically every day of the week’. But the miles went by slooooow. The course circled back around and we were still running along some nice looking bike paths and roads.. but the miles just felt endless. 

As we got closer to downtown Providence (where the finish was) John and I kept our pace steady and didn’t slow down at all. Lots of people around us seemed to be hurting and walking, but we kept passing them and didn’t stop to walk at all. If anything I was more motivated and determined as the miles were going by. I had no desire to stop .. I just wanted to keep going and get there as fast as my body could take me. 
At around mile 24 the course took us over this funny pedestrian bridge .. it was only wide enough for one person, so it seemed a strange choice for the route .. but everyone I passed was gracious to quickly move to the right. At this point I saw a group of friends & my mom down below the bridge. We could see/hear them cheering from the top of the bridge and it was such a great moment. Running down the walkways and past them was my favorite part of the course. 

Downtown providence was getting closer and then at mile 25 we had another group of friends waiting. Seeing them gave me that one last push to get to the finish and see the rest of my friends & family who were waiting. 

Coming up to the finish we picked up our pace a bit and I saw my best friend Francesca & then saw my dad and then there was the finish! Finally! I saw 3:49 on the clock and was SO THRILLED. I hadn’t been paying attention to my time for the last 10 miles and had no idea where we were going to end up. I wanted to be anywhere under 4:00 and so seeing 3:49 just added to an already overwhelming feeling of joy. 
It’s hard to describe how happy this day made me. I had worked SO HARD to get to that point. Four months earlier a doctor told me there was no way I could run a marathon in May, but I knew that deep down I could prove him wrong. I dedicated so much time to Physical Therapy appointments and daily stretching/foam rolling to make sure that I could make it through the marathon in as little pain as possible … and as it turns out I had practically no knee pain!

When I first started thinking about running a marathon my goal pace was 8:45 but as soon as I found out the extent of my injury I knew that was out of the question, so I settled on somewhere around 9:15 as a goal pace. Finishing the marathon in 3:49:50 means that my average pace was 8:45.. my original goal pace. Pretty unbelievable. 
I’m also so happy that I was able to share this experience with my brother. Training and running with him was one of the best parts. We were also able to raise over $5,000 for a nonprofit that is extremely important to us. Plus we made our dad so proud, which was the whole idea behind running a marathon in the first place. Seeing my dad on the sidelines made me all misty eyed throughout the race. And then being able to watch him hop in and cross the finish line with my brother was maybe the best moment I’ve had in a very long time. 

Surprisingly I wasn’t that sore the few days following the race. I took it easy and forced myself to take at least 3 days off. But I’m definitely ready to run again. My plan is to keep my mileage down for a few months while I let my knee really heal, and then start training again for maybe a late fall marathon? We shall see. 

I’ve been looking forward to marathon Monday for weeks now, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. One of the best things about living in Boston is being only a few miles away from the marathon route. And this year’s race was for sure one of the most memorable.

Can’t believe it got up to almost 90 degrees! I can’t even imagine what it was like for all 30,000 of those runners who had trained hard for months only to be told to not try and PR during Boston but rather to enjoy the experience. Of course it was the smart thing to do .. but I imagine it was pretty heartbreaking to most. 

I was standing at mile 23.5 in Brookline when the elite runners started to come by & the females were first. The official time clock said 2:15:39 as Sharon Cherop went by. But the one female runner who really stood out to me most on Monday was Nadezdha Leonteva, a 27 year old Russian. It was striking how strong & fast she looked when she ran past. She ended up finishing 8th with a time of 2:40:40. Apparently she’s been running competitively for 12 years but only recently started distance running. She placed 2nd in the 2011 Twin Cities Marathon and 2nd again in the 2011 Russian National Marathon. Can’t wait to see how she does in upcoming races! 

It’s three days after the More/Fittness Magazine half and my legs are still sore! Was not expecting that at all since I’ve hardly been sore after my 15, 18 & 20 milers. But I guess that’s what happens when you run as hard & fast as you can.  I’ve been doing garmin/iPod free runs this week and I am so glad for that since Tuesdays 6 miler was sloooooow. Yesterday my legs were loosened up a bit more and I could feel that I was running somewhere between 8:00-8:30’s and keeping a steady pace during the uphills at the arboretum. It’s my favorite time of year to be running in the arboretum since the lilacs are just starting to bloom and the temperature is perfect. I’m trying to find any excuse I can to stop working during the day and go run for a few miles. Also think I might try and start doing some early morning runs with the pup. There is a chance that will go badly since she is very easily distracted by squirrels .. but it would be a great way for both of us to wake up.  I’m also really excited about this marathon/half marathon in California that I saw mentioned in the most recent issue of Runners World. The route follows an old Southern Pacific railroad line & crosses rivers on old wooden bridges. I’m sold! I’ve been wanting to travel somewhere for a race so this seems like the perfect one. 

It’s three days after the More/Fittness Magazine half and my legs are still sore! Was not expecting that at all since I’ve hardly been sore after my 15, 18 & 20 milers. But I guess that’s what happens when you run as hard & fast as you can. 

I’ve been doing garmin/iPod free runs this week and I am so glad for that since Tuesdays 6 miler was sloooooow. Yesterday my legs were loosened up a bit more and I could feel that I was running somewhere between 8:00-8:30’s and keeping a steady pace during the uphills at the arboretum. It’s my favorite time of year to be running in the arboretum since the lilacs are just starting to bloom and the temperature is perfect. I’m trying to find any excuse I can to stop working during the day and go run for a few miles. Also think I might try and start doing some early morning runs with the pup. There is a chance that will go badly since she is very easily distracted by squirrels .. but it would be a great way for both of us to wake up. 

I’m also really excited about this marathon/half marathon in California that I saw mentioned in the most recent issue of Runners World. The route follows an old Southern Pacific railroad line & crosses rivers on old wooden bridges. I’m sold! I’ve been wanting to travel somewhere for a race so this seems like the perfect one. 

Well, yesterday marked my second time running the More/Fitness Women’s Half Marathon in Central Park. I had been doing some serious struggling the past few weeks with wanting to run fast and PR at this half, but also not wanting to push my knee too hard since a full marathon is only three weeks away. Of course I don’t want to potentially injure myself any more than I already am … but I also knew that deep down I am way too competitive to not try my hardest to PR.  I picked up my bib on Saturday and was thrilled to see #672 which meant that I was in the first corral again this year. I am very aware that I’m not as fast as the majority of women that I was surrounded by in this corral, but I would much rather be surrounded by them than try and run through thousands of people after the gun goes off. On race day I ended up being only a few steps behind the start line and very close to three incredible runners (Alemtsehay Misganaw - who set a new course record of 1:13:25-, Jen Rhines, and Michelle Frey). It was so nice to hear the gun go off and be able to run full out right away.  For miles 1-4 I kept a pace under 7:30 and then increased a bit when the hills hit. I had forgotten how hilly this course was! Pretty much a gradual increase for half the loop (the course is 2+ loops of the park). But I was able to keep a pretty steady pace around 8:00-8:15 for the majority of the hills. I tried to go all out on the downhill/flats because I knew my pace was going to suffer from all the uphill.  It was great to see Aaron & Francesca around mile 6 (I usually never find my family/friends in the crowd!) and I was still feeling strong for the start of the second loop. My knee started to hurt a bit around mile 7 so I backed off a bit, but was still keeping a pace around 7:45 and was feeling good about PRing.  Miles 9-12 were a bit rough since they were all uphill and my knee was starting to get unhappy. This was the point where I decided it was better to slow my pace than push my knee more than I should. So I slowed a bit on the uphills hoping to still be able to sprint for the last 1.5ish miles of flat/downhill.  I was still feeling strong and was able to sprint through the finish line, which always feels so incredible. And whaddya know .. I PRed! 1:45:17. Average pace of 8:03. #229 out of 7,100 racers.  Of course I’m happy with the results .. my best half marathon time yet! But I was really hoping for 1:44 or less. I know I have it in me.. I felt strong and confident running between a 7:00-7:30 pace and once I’m all healed up and able to do more speed work, I know I’ll be able to get there. 

Well, yesterday marked my second time running the More/Fitness Women’s Half Marathon in Central Park. I had been doing some serious struggling the past few weeks with wanting to run fast and PR at this half, but also not wanting to push my knee too hard since a full marathon is only three weeks away. Of course I don’t want to potentially injure myself any more than I already am … but I also knew that deep down I am way too competitive to not try my hardest to PR. 

I picked up my bib on Saturday and was thrilled to see #672 which meant that I was in the first corral again this year. I am very aware that I’m not as fast as the majority of women that I was surrounded by in this corral, but I would much rather be surrounded by them than try and run through thousands of people after the gun goes off. On race day I ended up being only a few steps behind the start line and very close to three incredible runners (Alemtsehay Misganaw - who set a new course record of 1:13:25-, Jen Rhines, and Michelle Frey). It was so nice to hear the gun go off and be able to run full out right away. 

For miles 1-4 I kept a pace under 7:30 and then increased a bit when the hills hit. I had forgotten how hilly this course was! Pretty much a gradual increase for half the loop (the course is 2+ loops of the park). But I was able to keep a pretty steady pace around 8:00-8:15 for the majority of the hills. I tried to go all out on the downhill/flats because I knew my pace was going to suffer from all the uphill. 

It was great to see Aaron & Francesca around mile 6 (I usually never find my family/friends in the crowd!) and I was still feeling strong for the start of the second loop. My knee started to hurt a bit around mile 7 so I backed off a bit, but was still keeping a pace around 7:45 and was feeling good about PRing. 

Miles 9-12 were a bit rough since they were all uphill and my knee was starting to get unhappy. This was the point where I decided it was better to slow my pace than push my knee more than I should. So I slowed a bit on the uphills hoping to still be able to sprint for the last 1.5ish miles of flat/downhill. 

I was still feeling strong and was able to sprint through the finish line, which always feels so incredible. And whaddya know .. I PRed!

1:45:17. Average pace of 8:03. #229 out of 7,100 racers. 

Of course I’m happy with the results .. my best half marathon time yet! But I was really hoping for 1:44 or less. I know I have it in me.. I felt strong and confident running between a 7:00-7:30 pace and once I’m all healed up and able to do more speed work, I know I’ll be able to get there. 

Is it really time for another long run? An entire week has gone by since last weekend’s 15.5 miler? Dang the days are just disappearing. Plus that means I’m running a marathon in 4 short weeks! I’ve been feeling pretty great about all running related things lately … 15.5 miles last weekend went by fast & relatively easy. I ran the first 12 pretty fast .. around an 8:00 mile pace .. just to get myself in the zone for attempting to PR at next weekend’s More Magazine Women’s Half in NYC.  I have 18 miles scheduled for today .. but I woke up with a sore knee and a bad headache, so I’m nervous to see how it’ll go.  Been keeping up with my 3x a week strength training and once a week spin class. As much as I love running, I’ll be thrilled to incorporate more cross training once the marathon has passed. Can’t wait to start boxing again. And spinning more. And trying new strength training classes.  (Photo above is from a 5K I ran this past Thanksgiving with my family. Couldn’t help taking some photos of my brother while running.)

Is it really time for another long run? An entire week has gone by since last weekend’s 15.5 miler? Dang the days are just disappearing. Plus that means I’m running a marathon in 4 short weeks!

I’ve been feeling pretty great about all running related things lately … 15.5 miles last weekend went by fast & relatively easy. I ran the first 12 pretty fast .. around an 8:00 mile pace .. just to get myself in the zone for attempting to PR at next weekend’s More Magazine Women’s Half in NYC. 

I have 18 miles scheduled for today .. but I woke up with a sore knee and a bad headache, so I’m nervous to see how it’ll go. 

Been keeping up with my 3x a week strength training and once a week spin class. As much as I love running, I’ll be thrilled to incorporate more cross training once the marathon has passed. Can’t wait to start boxing again. And spinning more. And trying new strength training classes. 

(Photo above is from a 5K I ran this past Thanksgiving with my family. Couldn’t help taking some photos of my brother while running.)

“In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston marathon. After realizing that a woman was running, race organizer Jock Semple went after Switzer shouting, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers.” However, Switzer’s boyfriend and other male runners provided a protective shield during the entire marathon.The photographs taken of the incident made world headlines, and Kathrine later won the NYC marathon with a time of 3:07:29.” 

^^^^
All time favorite running story.