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...