Overdo update!

I apologize for not writing in a while, but things have been really busy lately. Sometimes I feel like my life is work, run, eat, sleep, and repeat! But I am not complaining because I love what I do and I love running.....sometime it all just leaves me too tired to blog!

So last weekend was loaded with lots of running. Saturday I had a tough marathon pace long run with 17 total miles. As I've said before most of the time long runs are done significantly slower than marathon pace, but twice during my training I have marathon pace long runs. I started out on my own and ran a 3 mile warm up....then I kicked it up to goal marathon pace for 14 miles. Bryan met up with me for the last 4 of the goal pace miles. As we started out together, he says "wow...this is how fast you've been running?? This is how fast you want to run the marathon in?? WOW!!" It made me smile :) The run felt pretty good....my legs were tired and felt a little heavy, but I averaged 8:24 min/mile!! I'm really glad this run went well and that I was able to hit my pace without too much struggle. It leaves me confident that with a good taper and race day adrenaline I will be prepared for Vermont in 5 weeks....aaaahhhhh!!

I learned that I need to be wearing sun screen on all my runs even in the middle of April....I am now sporting a nice sports bra tan line on my back and an iPod arm band around my left bicep. I must be more careful about this!!!

Sunday was the women's Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston and I could not have been more excited to go watch it. I met up with Janette early Sunday and the weather was perfect....sunny, but cool. The course was four 6 mile loops through Boston and Cambridge so we could see the runners about 10 different times. Deena Kastor (who I love!!), Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, and Blake Russell came in 1, 2, and 3 and qualified for the Olympic Marathon in Beijing. It was an exciting race with Magdalena leading by almost 2 minutes at the half, but Deena kicking it up, passing her at mile 23 and going on to win by 45 seconds....she is truly my idol! It was also awesome to see Joan Benoit-Samuelson run a 2:49 at the age of 50!! She was the oldest woman to have qualified for the trials......very inspiring.

One of the highlights of the day was meeting Ryan Hall, the men's marathon trials winner. We were waiting for the runners to come by and Janette saw him standing two people down from us.....we were star stuck!! I mean he is the top American male marathoner!! We got up some courage and asked to get our picture with him....he was so nice! Below are some of the pictures I took at the trials (click on the picture to view it larger).

Janette and I with Ryan Hall!

Deena Kastor looking strong

Deena again!

Magdalena in the lead

Lead pack crossing the Mass Ave bridge for the 1st time

Marathon Monday was equally exciting!! I was sad not to be running it this year, but excited to watch. It was a beautiful day for the race....not at all like last year's weather! I took the day off work so Bryan, Janette and I walked up to mile 21 (top of Heartbreak Hill right before Boston College) and set up camp. Watching the elites is always amazing, seeing Lance Armstrong cruise by was fun too, but we were most excited to see our friends. I trained a lot with John this winter so I was really hoping he'd have a good run. We saw him coming over the hill and he was smiling....good sign! We started screaming for him and holding up our signs. I ran a couple yards with him and he said he was feeling good and having fun. I was so happy for him....after last year and then Chicago last fall, he deserved a good run. By my calculations he was doing great on time and looked like he would keep it up for the last 5 miles. Next we saw Steph and she had an equally big smile on her face....another good sign! A few minutes later, Jeff came looking tired, but still with a smile on his face. I am so proud of all my friends for an awesome race!! John broke his previous record by 12 minutes....GO JOHN!!! Jeff and Steph both came in a little slower than last year but said they had more fun this time around....and that's all that really matters!

Overall it was a great weekend and just what I needed to keep me motivated over the next 5 weeks before Vermont.

Total miles for the week = 54.5!

Weekly Update

I didn't post much last week because not much was new or exciting to talk about. After my record 60 mile week and 22 mile long run last week, things this week just felt ordinary. But I guess that's good. Plugging away at the miles when there isn't much excitement behind them is what helps make us mentally stronger. I need to keep my eye on the big picture for the next couple weeks and draw motivation from that.

With that said, last week wasn't to shabby either. Here's how it broke down:

Monday - 8 miles total with 5x800m intervals between 3:29 and 3:33 (I need to talk to Dr. Pfitzinger about this training plan....who schedules a track workout 2 days after a 22 mile run!?!?)
Tuesday - Easy 5 miles over lunch with some work friends
Wednesday - 12 miles including the Newton Hills
Thursday - 4 mile recovery run
Friday - 9.5 miles with 7 miles at goal marathon pace (not sure what that is yet, but I averaged 8:26 min/mile here)
Saturday - 18 mile long run including Newton Hills...not exactly sure what the pace was because I messed up my watch, but I think it averaged somewhere around 8:45 min/mile with the first half a little slower than the second
Sunday - REST!! And 60 minutes of yoga plus some additional stretching and foam rolling

Looking back I to have a lot to be proud of this week. I ran 6 days for the second week in a row and I managed to push some really good paces even though I was tired. I have also learned to cherish my rest and recovery days!

Saturday was odd because it went from thunder, lightning, and downpours as I drove into Fitcorp to sunny and 70 degrees as I finished my long run....very odd! Bryan and I took advantage of the nice day and walked around town and then went to a new sports bar up the street from our house to watch the Red Sox vs. Yankees game.....GO SOX!! Sure, beer isn't the best way to rehydrate after a long run.....but I needed the carbs :)

Total miles for the week = 56.5!

This time last training....

If you've been following my blog you will see that my training has been going really well this time around. I am feeling stronger than ever and really looking forward to seeing what I can do at Vermont.

Today I set out for an 8 mile run.....nothing special, just a run. I was feeling good and really getting into a rhythm. About half way through I started thinking about my last training cycle for Hartford. All of a sudden I remembered that it was this run....this 8 mile run last training that I quit after 4 miles and came home with tears in my eyes because I was in so much pain and couldn't run anymore. I had been running through the pain for a few weeks before that and it was this run that finally brought me to a halt. I took the next 5 days after that completely off and then hobbled through the next couple weeks running slowly and in pain.

But I'm not going to dwell on the negatives of that run. Even though things didn't turn out the way I had pictured back then, I learned a lot from that experience. Because of that experience, I am a stronger runner now. Clearly my body wasn't ready to handle the demands of a higher mileage training program back then.....but those miles (slow miles!) continued to build my strong running foundation. I definitely don't want to relive the pain I was in last year, but it made me appreciate the abilities I have been given and all the pain free days of running I have now!

I am now about 5.5 weeks away from Vermont. I have pushed my body beyond its comfort zone and this time it hasn't rebelled against me....keep knocking on that wood :)

Breakfast of Champions

Yesterday I was in the supermarket doing some grocery shopping. I was in the cereal aisle and noticed they were out of my usual Kashi Heart to Heart (literally Bryan and I eat a box of this stuff a week...each!) so I started scanning the boxes for something else. I stumbled upon a box of shredded wheat bricks and I immediately grabbed them and put them in my cart with a smile on my face.

Why does shredded wheat make me smile you ask?? My grandpa used to eat this for breakfast all the time, but in true Grandpa fashion, he had to spice it up some...no plain milk for him!

Now there is some controversy in my family as to what goes on the cereal and in what order. Here's my take on it and I think this is similar to what he used to do: You start with the shredded wheat in a bowl, pour black coffee over and around each brick, add a small pat of butter to each (it starts to melt from the hot coffee), then add milk and a sprinkle of sugar.....sounds weird?!?! I can't even remember the last time I ate this, but it brought back memories of sitting at the picnic table in the kitchen of their big house with the "big four" cousins and my grandparents. I think this might have been my first taste of coffee when I was little! I don't know when Grandpa last ate this for breakfast, but I'm guessing it was a few years back. I'm glad to have one more thing (as simple as it sounds) to remind myself of him.

As I ate it, I realized that Grandpa had the right idea with this breakfast....it has every thing that one needs in the morning. Whole grains from the shredded wheat, caffeine in the coffee (a must in the morning), and calcium in the milk. What more could you want....a true breakfast of champions!

So yes, its a little weird, but that was my Grandpa! I think he would be happy to know that this crazy tradition of his put a smile on my face on this cold and cloudy Monday morning :)

Two Major Milestones!

This weekend I set two new records for my training. After my step-back week last weekend, I was ready to run long again on Saturday. It was around 45 degrees, cloudy, with a light rain for the first 4 miles.....pretty much ideal for running. My plan was to run 22 miles.....my longest training run ever!!! In the past I ran up to 20 miles in training, but I wanted to get in something a little longer this time.

I met up with John and ran the first 18 miles with him on the Boston Marathon course and the broke off and ran the extra 4 miles around the river. I wanted to keep the pace a little slower and focus more on time on my feet to train my body to run for over 3 hours. I ran the first 16 miles around a 9:05 - 9:10 pace then picked it up just a bit to 8:45-8:50. Overall I averaged 9:02 min/mile and ran 22.15 miles in 3 hours 19 minutes and 57 seconds! I felt really good during the entire run.....felt like I could have kept going at the end if I had to, but was happy to be done! The pace felt easy and conversational....just ask John because I think I was talking his ear off :) After we got over Heartbreak Hill he commented that I didn't even sound winded....trust me, I was! There were some rough patches so I tried to concentrate on my stride and remind myself why I am doing this....I thought about my grandpa and pushed harder for him, I thanked God for giving me the abilities that I have and pushed harder because I could, and I thought about myself and how far I've come from this time last year.

I didn't listen to music until the last 4 miles where I put on my new favorite song...When I close my eyes by Ozomatli. I was singing along and these are some of my favorite lyrics. "The power inside you, let it come and work it out. The strength within you will make the sadness disappear. Everyday I'm getting stronger I feel ten feet tall right now."

With this run, I set a second milestone for myself. I ran a total of 60 miles for the week....that's the highest I have ever run!! Before I maxed out at around 55 miles so getting into the next decade was exciting for me. Having these kind of goals and milestones help to keep me motivated during the training cycle. I remember when I thought running 25 miles in a week was a ton and here I am more than doubling that....and feeling good! Here's how it was broken down:

Monday: 6 mile recovery run
Tuesday: 12 mile with 7 miles at LT pace (see last blog)
Wednesday: 3 mile recovery run
Thursday: 12 mile run (8.5 miles on my own then Bryan met me and we did 3.5 miles together)
Friday: 5 mile recovery run and 75 minute power yoga
Saturday: 22.15 mile long run
Sunday: REST!!

This is also the first week I ran 6 days instead of 5. I plan to keep the miles between 55-60 for the next 4 weeks of training before taper. I've said it before, but I have been feeling so strong during this training....knock on wood! I just hope I can keep this up until race day......7 more weeks!

Total miles for the week = 60.18!!!

Last Official Tempo Run!

On Tuesday I had what I consider one of the hardest runs of the training schedule....a 12 mile tempo run with 7 miles at LT pace. To me, this run is harder than some 20 milers I have done....7 miles at LT pace is tough. I was busy at work that day which was good because I didn't have time to worry about the run or stress about the weather. The weather....the bane of my existence for tempo runs!! Another day of wind was on the forecast....you know its going to be bad when the symbol for the day on weather.com is just WIND! But it was 60 degrees out so I can't complain much.

I set out on my run (in my new Lululemon shorts!) and was feeling good. After a 3 mile warm up I picked up the pace. The first of the LT miles felt rough, but I soon settled in and got into a groove. I got stopped at a couple stop lights which forced me to take a few extra breaks than I would have liked. The wind wasn't bad until the last 2 miles of the LT pace when it started doing laps around the bridges on the river.....first it was coming from the west....then the east....then it was just vortexing around me!! And no this was not just in my imagination because I was watching the flags being whipped around in all directions!

I pushed through it though and finished with a 2 mile cool down. Overall my pace for the 7 LT miles was 7:58.....right where I wanted it to be! When things were getting rough I kept telling myself that this is my last tempo run of this training.....push harder! The next 4-5 weeks don't have official tempo runs, but in their place there are a couple tune up races and a marathon paced long run. Fine by me....I'm just happy that I don't have to see the dreaded LT on my schedule again!!

Yesterday I had an easy 3 miles at lunch with a work friend and then got a much needed massage after work. It hurt....it hurt bad!! I went to a new place that's closer to work and I both loved her and hated her at the same time!! She started with some deep stretching and then moved to the massage. What I really liked was that she thought about how everything is connected and worked on those points. I told her about my past calf issues and she noticed that my hips and hamstrings were really tight which would cause me to alter my gait some and maybe put extra stress on my calves. Its one of those pains that you can't wait for it to stop, but when it does you want it back because you know it will make you feel so good after :) Why can't my husband be like elite runner Deena Kastor's husband....he's a massage therapist and works on her every day!