City livin'

For the past couple months, I've been waiting for our mileage to build up before taking on a full scale city run.  Living in Southie, it takes a couple miles of L St/Summer St before you get to anything worth looking at, and the fact that I walk the route every day to work makes it less than appealing for me.  That said, 14 miles seemed to be enough length for me to play around with and really explore the city.  After all my time thinking we needed to be in the suburbs to have a nice peaceful run, I forgot all of the emotions that are felt running through our own historic city.

Saturday morning the weather was perfect.  It was 70 degrees, maybe even a little cooler, with no humidity when we stepped out the door, geared up with water belts and GU.  We wasted no time running out of Southie.  In fact, we hit Harpoon over a mile in, and it felt like we had just left the house.  We ran through the Seaport and around the back of the courthouse where we marveled at the view of the sailboats in the harbor.  The rusty footbridge pulled us along toward the Marriott Longwharf where the hotel guests sat on the restaurant deck getting ready for what I can only imagine to be a day of heavy tourist activities.  As we ran around to the aquarium and past the Landing, I had memories of the guppy bowl from Kelly's bachelorette party... much of our route up to this point was actually the exact bar crawl, so running it is a bit different!

The next part of our route was the North End, Max's old stomping grounds.  Running around the back of this tiny neighborhood only took minutes, but it was enough to catch a festival being set up on Hanover Street, a baseball game in progress with quite a few spectators, and to see a number of people bustling about.

The big excitement of the route for me was running along Storrow Drive.  There's an area where you can run/walk/bike/suntan right along the river that is quite removed from the street.  Multiple docks jut out into the water, and plenty of people lay out on the grassy areas and benches, enjoying the serenity.  We saw a number of other runners, some fast and tall and skinny like that are actual elite athletes, others pushing along looking like first timers.  Either way, all of the runners were extremely motivating, and I loved looking at all the little foot bridges and pathways intersecting us along the way.

Things got a bit confusing around BU with construction, closed roads, a missing stairway (that Max THEN told me was "not very sturdy" to begin with)... finally, we found our way across the BU bridge and into Cambridge.  Following the bike path, there were a few boat houses, and a lot of runners and people with dogs.  This one guy had his dog jump into the Charles River to fetch a ball, and we had worries the dog was incapable of swimming back out!

By the time we rounded the canal around the Cambridgeside Galleria, we realized that this was a true long run.  Further impending on our progress, the bridge connecting the Museum of Science to the West End was up and made us wait a few minutes to cross.  Dodging the families with strollers and all the tourists, we made our way across the bridge, straight back through the city... and home!

Dehydration

So after a nice morning run on Tuesday, we ran our 7 miler last night when it was 90 degrees and humid.  The result:

The desk of a marathoner.

Running through the swamp

About every three weeks in the training program, there is a drop back week.  It's meant to give your legs a rest from continually building a mileage base while keeping you in the mode of running long distances.  This Saturday with only a 9 miler to complete, we thought it'd be a walk in the park.

There was one slight hurdle in our running plans.  We were on vacation in Fitchburg for the annual Darcy Open, so we needed to map out a new route.  After planning out a run in Ashburnham, we decided it was too far from the hotel and that we'd try to find something closer. 

Upon checking in, I asked the hotel front desk assistant if she had any suggestions on where we might run.  To my surprise, she said "yes, we have a nice loop."  In fact, she offered to get me a card that they took the time to print up with the route highlighted on one side and directions on the other.  All joking aside, she handed me a piece of cardboard with a line drawn showing a path exiting the hotel, traveling a few miles down the main road (50mph speed limit, no shoulders, very curvy), and at the end, you presumably cross the street and run back to the hotel.  The only part of the whole situation that made sense to me was the fine print on the card, "the hotel assumes no liability for injuries that may occur."

After a few scary mental images of diving into the woods to avoid oncoming traffic, Max and I decided to run in the Leominster State Forest which was not all that far from the hotel either.  It seemed safer to run through scenic hiking trails rather than get hit by a speeding car.  Excited about our decision, we hopped in the Jeep and drove down the road to the park bright and early on Saturday morning - again to beat the extreme heat and humidity that has taken over the area this summer.

We arrived at the forest and parked in a dirt pit on the side of the road.  The place looked desolate with the main entrance closed off and not another human in sight.  I was a bit nervous about how deserted this place was, but Max assured me that no humans OR bears would be coming after me.  With that, we ran into the dense forest.

At first, the run was a bit exciting.  We ran past an empty swimming hole on the left and a swamplike area on the right.  Once we hit the first trail, shrubs and roots crowded the path making me feel like GI Jane watching every step.  The path got a bit hilly, and softball sized rocks mixed in with the overgrown weeds and tree roots. 
Within a few minutes, I realized that the biggest threat was not a bear - it was a deer fly! Swarms of bugs, deer flies, mosquitos, and all of their little flying friends began to circle us and buzz in our ears.  I quickly regretted leaving the hotel without bug spray and tried to wave my hands around to annoy the bugs enough to make them leave.  I clearly underestimated their persisitence.  In fact, it got so bad that Max grabbed a branch and started waving it around in front of him like a giant fly swatter.  He made multiple comments about how lucky I am to have the natural protection of a pony tail to scare the bugs away - but let me tell you, it did nothing for my arms and legs!

After being "trapped" in the forest for 5 miles, we finally found a way out onto a paved road in the middle of a farm.  At this point, we were still miles from the car, but at least we were out of the swamp! We began running past the scattered rustic looking houses and uphill.  To our surprise, the next mile was ALL uphill.  The road would twist and turn, but there was no relief in sight.  Luckily, the hills did finally stop... I had confidence this would happen at some point!

Sticky, sweaty, covered in muck from the forest and multiple bug bites, we hopped back in the Jeep and drove back to the hotel...

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/Leominster.gif

Running the North Shore

For our long run this Saturday, we decided to break away from our typical route around Castle Island and UMASS Boston to map out a new route - with less sun.  With forecasters calling for temperatures to reach the mid 90's by 10 a.m., I was a bit concerned.  The humidity on Friday was so intense that merely walking was a big effort.  Refusing to give in to mother nature, we packed our bags with snacks, filled up our water belts, and went to bed early in order to be up for the 5:30 a.m. alarm.

Saturday morning I did not need the alarm.  Around 5 a.m., I felt a weird sensation on my face like someone was breathing on me, and I opened my eyes to find my cat leaning over me as if to check if I were alive.  Maybe we are a bit crazy if even the cat has caught on! Anyway, I figured it was useless to try to fall back asleep, so I jumped out of bed and started getting ready.  By the time Max woke up, I was raring to get on the road.

The drive to Endicott College was not all that exciting, even with the top down in the Jeep.  We stopped at Dunkin Donuts where I scoffed down half a bagel- just enough to give me some energy without causing running cramps.  Since it was so early, there were barely any cars on the road, and we made excellent time.

The run itself was amazing.  I wish I had captured some of the beauty we saw - the scenic views of the ocean and islands, the clan of bicyclists we past multiple times (as they made many pit stops yet had a slightly faster pace overall), and many gorgeous houses.  I was able to show Max the grocery store I used to shop at as a kid, the cafe where my mom and I ate BLTs on special occasions, the place I used to take ballet, and the beach I spent many nights hanging out with friends in high school.  Thinking back on all of those times, I realized that a digital photo can never tell the story of a memory... and now I can add to those memories the time that I ran around Manchester for 2 hours with my wonderful boyfriend! Success on a 12 miler :)

Back to Normal

One of the reasons I wanted to start a blog this year was to be able to look back and see all the emotions and physical pains that came along the way as we added mileage.  For me, the first couple weeks of this were a bit of a struggle.  Maybe that's because of our intense "pre-training" prep work, or maybe it's because it's been about 95 degrees and humid many of our runs.  Either way, I'm extremely proud that I finished an 11 mile run on Sunday, running at 7 am so that I could be on time for Kelly's bridal shower (and the mimosas bowl) at 11 a.m.  I will say, I was sleeping like a baby by about 9:30 that night!

This week has probably been the best week yet for me.  Tuesday, I had another post work event (bowling - woo hoo high score of 108!) Because of that, we got up early and ran.  I was a bit tired at first after hosting dinner for Kelly's last night and my father's first visit to our new digs in Southie! That said, 3 miles is cake to us these days, so we zoomed in and out in the thick humidity.  In fact, Max felt so good that he went to the gym to lift weights that night while I bowled, and we both commented that 3 miles felt like we had done nothing!

To sum up last night's run in a word: therapeutic.  The weather was cool after raining off and on, and my legs felt fresh.  I was a bit stressed after a long day on Tuesday and a crazy weekend.  We took off running at a decent clip, and by the end, I was striding to the finish - 6 miles later! Needless to say, my confidence in my running ability has been restored, and my entire focus now is finding a nicely shaded run for our 12 miler this weekend.

Willpower

Kristen's sister Kelly has been in town this weekend taking care of a bunch of stuff for her wedding. Friday night's bachelorette party (and my time entertaining the bachelor, Adam) was enough for us to postpone our 11 miler to this morning. We spent yesterday afternoon getting our butts kicked by Kelly instead, who has taken up professional yoga instruction. For a kid who can't touch his toes it was pretty painful.

I was still feeling the downward dogs this morning when we dragged ourselves out of bed at 6:30 am, strapped on our water belts, and headed out into the humid air for our long run. Both of us were feeling a little off after the 2 week lag from our last long run (last week was a drop back week) so we were pretty nervous about being able to crank out an 11. My longest run ever was 9 miles two weeks ago, so 11 seemed a tad daunting. But, the key to marathon training seems to be willpower and a positive attitude (and/or stubborness) so we trodded on, keeping a good slow pace. We did our usual loop around the bay and headed back along Carson Beach, where the bums were still sleeping and the sun was really starting to pound. By mile 6 we were relishing in the moments of shade, and were thankful when we hit the end of UMass and started heading back. To lighten the mood around mile 8 I tried to sing Kristen's power song "Stronger" but it was difficult not really knowing the words or the rhythm. Sooo I started singing Men At Work instead, which seemed appropriate:

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Oh no, got to keep on movin'

We added a few little "add-ons" to the run to make sure we would end 11 miles close to the house under the assumption that we would have little motivation so close to home. It worked perfectly and we were able to finally stop as the Nike+ hit 11.00 about a block from K street. Walking after so much running felt bizarre to me, legs all tight and tingly. Kristen and Kelly went off to Kelly's wedding shower, and I was left here to snack, sleep and watch TV. I've used up all my willpower for today.

Cross Training in the Mountains

This past weekend, Max and I went to the White Mountains with two of our friends, Holly & Ryan.  They've been hiking up there in the past and were kind enough to do most of the planning.  Since a picture is worth 1,000 words, here you go.

A Mish-Mash of Runs

I tend to be a bit long-winded in my writing, so I've decided that today I will just write one comment about each of our three mid-week runs.

Tuesday - I have to say that the bootcamp class on the beach was the most entertaining part of our run for me.  There was a 6 foot tall woman with a whistle around her neck and scowl on her face screaming at a group fo unsuspecting 20 something females who heard this class would give them a "bikini body" in 6 weeks.  The class was almost over when we ran past, and the majority of the girls looked so tired that I'm left wondering how they made it up the three steps to the parking lot when they were finally relased from their captor.

Wednesday - For me, what I enjoyed the most was seeing Max in his element.  This was a mid-length run, and he seemed so comfortable.  The last mile, he was jumping up and down from the two foot wall separating the beach from the boardwalk as we ran along.  I could tell that he wasn't just doing this for me - he was genuinely enjoying running!

Thursday - I was finally feeling good.  We ran hills, and I felt like a little kid taking stairs two at a time and running around the monument in Thomas Park like it was some sort of game. 

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Runner here!

Sunday morning was an absolutely gorgeous morning to run. Kristen had gotten her 9-miler out of the way Saturday while I was golfing and BBQing with the guys, so I was on my own to self-motivate; luckily it wasn't hard after looking out the window. But instead of running right out the door blurry eyed and hungry, I decided to take my time and have a little breakfast. We chatted while I sipped on my espresso shot and spread tiny layers of peanut butter over crispy thin corn wafers (like imitation rice cakes... as though there were some reason to imitate them). I tried to touch my toes a few times and headed out, clicking on my Nike+ band and clicking play on the iPod... I was running before I had even left the steps.

After weeks of spending the first mile working out the pains in my shins, I was finally cruising along right off the bat. It helped that I was getting pumped listening to music and tried to time my stride the the rhythm of the music; normally Kristen and I chat but the music was an interesting change. Before I knew it I had cranked off four miles at an 8 minute pace and felt like the remaining five were going to be cake. As I passed by the house I happened to spot a cute lil lady snapping paparazzi photos with a pink camera. Some of the great shots she got are below... she is lucky she was able to get any shots as I blazed past.

Grinning from ear to ear, seeing Kristen gave me a great boost as I continued to blast out the miles. I passed the usual homeless folks near the beach, some firemen putting up a huge POW-MIA banner with a ladder truck, a few runners, and a couple of tourists by the JFK library. As I finally started doubling back toward the house in the final two mile stretch, I felt my pace really starting to drag but the sense of accomplishment was already swelling. I compulsively began glancing at my watch every twenty seconds, and as the meter reached 9.00 I immediately clicked it off to review my time. Averaging an 8:20 pace I decided that I was officially a runner.

ML

Running solo

As exciting as it is for the two of us to run together, we are not always able to make it work with our schedules. Last Thursday was the annual JPMorgan Corporate Challenge. This is a 3.5 mile road race through downtown Boston with 12,000 corporate runners. As team captain, I am forced to go.

As is quite typical, the weather was not on our side that day. It was literally 95 degrees and humid, and I was getting nervous about standing in a pack of sweaty runners, waiting for the starting bell. But, just as we walked out the door of the office for the long trek to the start line, the skies opened up. It did not just rain - it poured! Within a block of trudging along the wet streets with my motivated collegues at my sides, we were galloping over huge puddles. People put their "clean shirts" on their heads to stay dry, and those with umbrellas fought the harsh winds.

After walking for about 15 minutes, the rain stopped just as quickly as it had started. The sun again came out as if it was all a dream. Thanks to my (or should we say Nutter's) investment in quality shirts this year, we were lucky enough to dry off relatively quickly. The downpour was enough to cool the temperature to a comfortable 75 degrees. So, with the stress of extreme heat gone, we draped our wet jackets, backpacks, and umbrellas on a bench and headed for the start line.

Once we made it over to the chaotic area which I will call the "holding tank," we realized a huge problem - they shut down the gates into the holding tank and were yelling into horns that we should walk 1/4 mile further down to start at the end of the line.  Frustrated by this hurdle, a couple of my teammates and I eyed the tall, barbed fence.  Without giving it much thought, the smallest person lept up to the concrete platform and down to the other side of the gate.  Excited by her progress, I followed her and eased into the pack of already sweaty runners.
 
Once the race bell sounded, the true madness began.  I quickly tried to find a gap where I could run without too many runners breathing down my neck.  After jumping from left to right and passing runner after runner, I realized there would never be a gap.  The intense body heat once again raised the running temperature around 90 degrees, and I was forced to grab water at the makeshift tables to pour on my head for relief.  By the last mile, all I could think was "must finish!" I had lost all sense of speed, distance, and teammates as I sprinted to the broken ribbon.  Never have I been so happy to see the Frog Pond and our cheery intern, smiling and congratulating all of the runners.

Hills, Hills, Hills, and humidity

Sometimes having a couple days off gives you a false sense of strength.  This was the case yesterday.  Having healed from the 8 miler, we decided to take on the infamous hill repeats I've been reading about in my Runner's World magazine.  The biggest problem in attempting this on a week day is that we live at sea level - literally.  Most of the runs I map out are gorgeous and safe, all the way down around the water with few sidewalks to cross.  But, the only "hills" that exist are the tiny man-made bridges that carry you over the water flowing into the bay. That is except for G street.  In the span of about 4 blocks, the elevation rises 160 feet, steep enough to wind the best runner.  The idea of repeating this hill multiple times in a row is enough to cause anxiety. 

With this concern in mind, we ran a 2 mile warmup and then took on the hill.  At the top, we ran around Thomas Park for the first time.  In doing so, I noticed a bunch of handicapped ramps and staircases climbing up further to the grassy park.  Willing to go off the route with our trusty GPS on hand, we started run up and down sets of staircases and never ending ramps.  The view from the top was gorgeous as well.  On one side you can see all of the Seaport District and the Zakim bridge.  Then, peering over the tops of the roof decks, all the other impressive pieces of architecture appear- the Prudential Center, the Hancock Tower, and all the houses and beach huts.  Anyway, this park was a great find and will prove to be very useful in our future training.

Now back to my point about the false sense of strength.  Having completed the hill workout with such success, we set the alarm at 6 a.m. to take on Castle Island and our 5 miler.  The air was so thick and heavy with moisture, it almost seemed like we were running through a steam shower.  Our legs were heavy and tired, and I was really missing my extra hour of sleep.  Even so, the end of the run provided such a sense of completion, and now I'm able to join my corporate softball team on the field tonight.  Go team Nutter!

Beating the sun

This past Saturday was officially our first long run - 8 miles.  All things considered, it went well.  I woke up at about 6:30 a.m. and somehow convinced Max that sleeping is overrated, and we should run before the temperature hit the expected forecast of 90 degrees.  We were on the road by 7:15 with just a swig of water in our bellies.  The day was gorgeous; the beach perfectly raked with only one or two people down by the water, their dogs jumping in the shallow water.  The sky was clear, and the air was dry.  We passed multiple what I would call "responsible" runners - you know the people that are running before they rush their kids to the beach, the ones that didn't close out a keg party the night before, the people that know that noon is a horrible time to run on a hot summer day.

Around the second mile, the end seemed to be so far away, but we kept pushing.  I think that Max regretted the lobster roll from the night before, and I was realizing that my grape vodkas likely negated the benefits of my pasta dinner.  That said, we continued on down the boardwalk to mile 5.  It was getting pretty hot, so when we passed a little park at the exact time that the sprinkler system turned on, it seemed like heaven.  We passed a few interesting people - the man precisely watering and soiling the grounds at the JFK museum, the group of fishermen sitting below the sidewalk in the rocks with their rods, the older couple that joked with Max about jumping around in the sprinkler system... It was all enough to get us back on our way home where we powered out the end of the run and went inside to start our day as the first beachgoers rolled out of bed.

So it's official now?

Although we have been training for weeks now to build up our base, official training started on Tuesday.  I was not feeling that well at 6 a.m. when Max jumped out of bed and took off around the island.  He came back saying he had one of his best runs averaging 8 minute miles, and the weather was perfect.  Lucky him! And, to make matters worse for me, I had a hair appointment downtown after work to get highlights.  Feeling jealous of Max's early morning success, I came up with a plan.  I brought my backpack and running clothes to work, changed before my walk to the hairdresser, and planned to run home with everything on my back. 

As wonderful as the plan sounds, it was a HUGE failure.  As soon as I started running with my soaking wet hair flying all over, the backpack was bouncing irratically in all directions.  The straps dug in and rubbed on my neck, and the pack flew from side to side.  Discouraged, I started walking.  Now, anyone that knows me well knows I don't accept defeat.  I quickly realized that walking would take too long, so I rolled up the pack under my arm the best I could and started running home, changing the weight from side to side as my arms got tired.  I have never been so happy to see my apartment! I dropped my bag in the kitchen, and I decided to make up for the walk/run effort by running another 3 miles.  Lucky for me, I have an amazing boyfriend who had dinner started by the time I got home!

Last night was a bit better.  Max and I did a 4 miler together.  The weather was gorgeous for running, but we were both sore from our "cross training" attempt on Sunday that included more backward lunges than a person should do in a lifetime.  That said, our pace was a hair faster than a 9 minute mile - quite slow for us .  Even so, it was enough to celebrate completing day 2.  Max was really happy that his Nike+ moved him up a level :) Today is a new day...