Took my new ride out for a test "drive" through Cuyahoga Valley tonight. The rain held off and the sun stayed up long enough for me to get in 16 miles in an hour.
Not as fast as I would like to be going but I have like 3 weeks to get faster before Memphis ;) I need to get my body back in riding shape. My hands hurt a bit and my neck and back were definately not up to par. I am still not completely used to the new handlbars yet. And riding in the drops downhill still scares me to death. But I think I can handle the new shoes and clipless pedals.
I need to swim in the morning so I have to cut this short. This weekend is packed but hopefully I will finally find some time to write about the actual MARATHON this weekend!
TNT Swim
Dragged myself out of bed early this morning to Peak Performance for the TNT morning swim workout.
Had a strawberry bananna Power Gel gu for breakfast. Uggh. That and my chimichanga from last night do not mix well during a morning swim.
warmed up with an easy 200 swim
did 50 kickboard drill
50 kick without board
100 catch up drill
50 slow arm recovery
50 sculling drill
200 easy
150 medium
100 medium hard
50 all out
50 backstroke easy
3 sets of
50 breast easy
50 free medium
50 free all out
50 cool down
total yards approximately 1550
I would like to get up to around 2500 before Memphis. YIKES!
Off to work.
Had a strawberry bananna Power Gel gu for breakfast. Uggh. That and my chimichanga from last night do not mix well during a morning swim.
warmed up with an easy 200 swim
did 50 kickboard drill
50 kick without board
100 catch up drill
50 slow arm recovery
50 sculling drill
200 easy
150 medium
100 medium hard
50 all out
50 backstroke easy
3 sets of
50 breast easy
50 free medium
50 free all out
50 cool down
total yards approximately 1550
I would like to get up to around 2500 before Memphis. YIKES!
Off to work.
Boston Race!
Okay here is the scoop on Boston FINALLY!
Woke up at 5 am Monday morning and couldn’t fall back asleep. So I showered grabbed my stuff and headed down to the subway. It was completely empty! One other runner got on the train at my stop.
So all my stressing the night before was a HUGE waste of time. I got to the girls hotel way early so I ate a bagel and banana and hunkered down on a sofa with a copy of Runner’s World.
About an hour later the girls came down and we headed to Boston Commons to get on the bus! Yes that’s right big yellow school buses are the official transport to the start of the Boston Marathon (Unless you are a pro of course they get those fancy shuttle buses, with police escorts!)
We got in line and saw some of the guys. MG, SG, and a friend of theirs got in line with us. We pissed some lady off when MG “accidentally” jumped into a middle of a bus line but we ended up finding a shorter line anyway.
So it took about a half hour to get on the bus and once on it was another 45-60 minutes before we got to Hopkinton. I just relaxed and listened to everyone else’s conversations. I found out you can actually enter the Boston Marathon without qualifying through certain charities. I don’t know how much they have to raise, but I hope it is a lot!!! These people are certainly much better than the bandits though
All a part of the traditions of Boston though so I just took it all in.
Most people hang out in Athlete’s Village once they get to Hopkinton but my club goes to a church and lounges in the basement. This ended up being really nice for me because I think I might have freaked out being around 20,000 other runners for two hours before the race. The church atmosphere was pretty low key and I was able to eat, sunscreen up, and take care of any pre race jitters, etc. without worrying about anything else.
About 30 minutes before the start B, R, and I went and dropped off our bags on the yellow buses then headed to our Corrals. Corrals in Boston are by number so I was in the 13th Corral, far behind the Elite runners!!!
I realize then what a newbie I am to marathoning
The guys had told me to pin my gels to my shorts and tuck them in. Which works great as long as you pin your gels on the top above where the actual gel is
I actually punctured both my gel packets on accident and realized in the start that I had some gel sticking to my thighs and the inside of my shorts
After about 5 minutes in the Corral they started the national Anthem and about then you start to realize how amazing this is standing in a crowd of 20,000 other runners getting ready to run the granddaddy of all marathons. The elite women at this point are already about 25 minutes into their race. And the gun is getting ready to go off.
All this excitement builds up and then you realize how much different this start is than other races. In no race I have ever done has it taken over 12 minutes to actually get to the starting line. So it was slightly anticlimactic but still really amazing after you come over a small hill and hit the starting line you look out in front of you and all you can see in front of you is road filled with waves of runners. Absolutely incredible.
From there until Wellesley everything seems pretty similar. The crowd never thins out and it is rolling hills with a net decline until the half way mark. Surprisingly my IT Band wasn’t bothering me at all and my shoulder didn’t feel too bad. My feet started to blister REALLY early in the race, like mile 3. So I knew that wasn’t going to look pretty when I finished.
Right before I got to Wellesley College I could feel my legs chafing. It was about 71 degrees on the course and not a lick of shade to be seen. Luckily just as I thought to myself “this is going to get ugly” I heard the medical tent volunteers crying out “Vaseline!” I sprinted so quickly over to their side of the road and grabbed a Tongue Depressor covered in Vaseline and smeared it all over my legs. Nice visual huh?
I added that mess to the gel on my shorts and continued on.
Shortly after the Vaseline stop I hear this roar of sounds. At that point you can’t see where it is coming from about a half mile away you see the Wellesley College Girls! They are all lined up on the right side of the street held back by a fence. Most of them are leaning far over the fence high fiving runners as they go by. Others are holding signs like “Kiss me if you’re from Oklahoma.” They are all cheering at the top of their lungs. I had been running on the left the whole way so far but moved over to the right to high five pretty much all of the girls. Their energy was so amazing. It gave you this incredible boost of energy. Which is good but sad because you are going to need that energy a lot more in just over a mile.
All this time I have been getting water and Gatorade from the stops every mile on the left and walking through the stops. No need to waste energy trying to gulp down water while running too fast. I made it to Boston now that I was there I should try to enjoy the ride.
Most of the water I took ended up getting dumped over my head. I was feeling pretty hot and it seemed to help. I also jumped at anyone who had ice and held it in my hands for as long as I could stand to help keep cool.
Shortly after Wellesley and the half waypoint you start to add in some serious up hills to the rolling hills. At this point my quads were pretty much already a wreck from all the downhills, and my left calf started to bother me.
The rest of the race I pretty much ran water stop to water stop. I didn’t feel good but I could have felt worse for sure. I didn’t walk at any point except through the water stops. And I made it up the Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill in pretty good time. I think I ran a 9:22 mile up Heartbreak. So I was happy with that.
I was expecting my parents and David to be pretty close to the finish but they ended up being a little before the 26-mile mark. I heard my mom screaming as I passed, I turned and waved, then trucked on up the small incline before you turn onto Boylston Street and can finally see the finish line.
I didn’t have any amazing last mile splits like I did in Richmond, but I was still proud, and unlike Richmond I was actually happy as I crossed the finish line. And despite the stresses I have been having I have been pretty happy since!
After the marathon my legs felt pretty bad, but I was expecting that. I walked along with the crowd, grabbed some water, took off my chip, got my Mylar Blanket, and traded my chip for my finishers medal! And trekked over to the buses.
I got a frozen smoothie drink from some volunteer and spent most of that time trying to open it. Finally before I grabbed my bag I had to have a volunteer open it for me
He had a hard time too so it wasn’t just post marathon jitters keeping me from the frozen deliciousness ;)
I got my bag and headed to the family meeting area. I threw my stuff down near the H sign and worked on getting out of my shoes, into flip-flops. Out of my soaked sports bra into my Boston tank, and tried to stretch a bit. My parents and David showed up as I finished off my smoothie and was getting ready to start looking for them.
I got a phone call from my favorite aunt ;) you know who you are
wishing me well. I definitely felt loved at that moment.
We walked all the way over to Boston Commons to avoid the mad rush to the subway near the finish.
Got back to our hotel and our handicap room payed off. I was able to sit on the edge of the tub and spray my legs with ice cold water. My baby sis called while I was spraying, and I was glad to hear from her. Her support at this point in my life is very important to me and I am blessed to have such a great sister. We have not always gotten along but I am glad we come together when it really counts.
After I talked with her for a bit David and I met my parents down at the pool. I dipped my calf in the hot tub and took a lap around the pool then we got ready to go out for dinner.
We met a bunch of the SERC group at Joe Tecces. I had three beers and a steak! I felt I definitely deserved it! We had a good time and it was nice to hang out with everyone after doing the marathon together. Everyone from SERC did well and I am proud to call them all my friends. I can’t express how blessed I am to have met up with such a great group of runners.
I was pretty wiped out after the three beers and multiple trips to the restroom (of course stairs were involved). So we headed back to the hotel. Climbing down the stairs to the subway was a trip! I must have looked horrible.
We packed our stuff (well David did anyways, and I attempted to help), and then headed to bed. We had to be up really early to catch our flight home. I actually made it to work and managed to work 6 or 7 hours before I couldn’t manage anymore
Since being back I have run twice and I can tell my quads are still sore but I feel pretty good and am looking forward to the summer racing season. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this. I really appreciate your support!
Woke up at 5 am Monday morning and couldn’t fall back asleep. So I showered grabbed my stuff and headed down to the subway. It was completely empty! One other runner got on the train at my stop.
So all my stressing the night before was a HUGE waste of time. I got to the girls hotel way early so I ate a bagel and banana and hunkered down on a sofa with a copy of Runner’s World.
About an hour later the girls came down and we headed to Boston Commons to get on the bus! Yes that’s right big yellow school buses are the official transport to the start of the Boston Marathon (Unless you are a pro of course they get those fancy shuttle buses, with police escorts!)
We got in line and saw some of the guys. MG, SG, and a friend of theirs got in line with us. We pissed some lady off when MG “accidentally” jumped into a middle of a bus line but we ended up finding a shorter line anyway.
So it took about a half hour to get on the bus and once on it was another 45-60 minutes before we got to Hopkinton. I just relaxed and listened to everyone else’s conversations. I found out you can actually enter the Boston Marathon without qualifying through certain charities. I don’t know how much they have to raise, but I hope it is a lot!!! These people are certainly much better than the bandits though
All a part of the traditions of Boston though so I just took it all in.
Most people hang out in Athlete’s Village once they get to Hopkinton but my club goes to a church and lounges in the basement. This ended up being really nice for me because I think I might have freaked out being around 20,000 other runners for two hours before the race. The church atmosphere was pretty low key and I was able to eat, sunscreen up, and take care of any pre race jitters, etc. without worrying about anything else.
About 30 minutes before the start B, R, and I went and dropped off our bags on the yellow buses then headed to our Corrals. Corrals in Boston are by number so I was in the 13th Corral, far behind the Elite runners!!!
I realize then what a newbie I am to marathoning
The guys had told me to pin my gels to my shorts and tuck them in. Which works great as long as you pin your gels on the top above where the actual gel is
I actually punctured both my gel packets on accident and realized in the start that I had some gel sticking to my thighs and the inside of my shorts
After about 5 minutes in the Corral they started the national Anthem and about then you start to realize how amazing this is standing in a crowd of 20,000 other runners getting ready to run the granddaddy of all marathons. The elite women at this point are already about 25 minutes into their race. And the gun is getting ready to go off.
All this excitement builds up and then you realize how much different this start is than other races. In no race I have ever done has it taken over 12 minutes to actually get to the starting line. So it was slightly anticlimactic but still really amazing after you come over a small hill and hit the starting line you look out in front of you and all you can see in front of you is road filled with waves of runners. Absolutely incredible.
From there until Wellesley everything seems pretty similar. The crowd never thins out and it is rolling hills with a net decline until the half way mark. Surprisingly my IT Band wasn’t bothering me at all and my shoulder didn’t feel too bad. My feet started to blister REALLY early in the race, like mile 3. So I knew that wasn’t going to look pretty when I finished.
Right before I got to Wellesley College I could feel my legs chafing. It was about 71 degrees on the course and not a lick of shade to be seen. Luckily just as I thought to myself “this is going to get ugly” I heard the medical tent volunteers crying out “Vaseline!” I sprinted so quickly over to their side of the road and grabbed a Tongue Depressor covered in Vaseline and smeared it all over my legs. Nice visual huh?
I added that mess to the gel on my shorts and continued on.
Shortly after the Vaseline stop I hear this roar of sounds. At that point you can’t see where it is coming from about a half mile away you see the Wellesley College Girls! They are all lined up on the right side of the street held back by a fence. Most of them are leaning far over the fence high fiving runners as they go by. Others are holding signs like “Kiss me if you’re from Oklahoma.” They are all cheering at the top of their lungs. I had been running on the left the whole way so far but moved over to the right to high five pretty much all of the girls. Their energy was so amazing. It gave you this incredible boost of energy. Which is good but sad because you are going to need that energy a lot more in just over a mile.
All this time I have been getting water and Gatorade from the stops every mile on the left and walking through the stops. No need to waste energy trying to gulp down water while running too fast. I made it to Boston now that I was there I should try to enjoy the ride.
Most of the water I took ended up getting dumped over my head. I was feeling pretty hot and it seemed to help. I also jumped at anyone who had ice and held it in my hands for as long as I could stand to help keep cool.
Shortly after Wellesley and the half waypoint you start to add in some serious up hills to the rolling hills. At this point my quads were pretty much already a wreck from all the downhills, and my left calf started to bother me.
The rest of the race I pretty much ran water stop to water stop. I didn’t feel good but I could have felt worse for sure. I didn’t walk at any point except through the water stops. And I made it up the Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill in pretty good time. I think I ran a 9:22 mile up Heartbreak. So I was happy with that.
I was expecting my parents and David to be pretty close to the finish but they ended up being a little before the 26-mile mark. I heard my mom screaming as I passed, I turned and waved, then trucked on up the small incline before you turn onto Boylston Street and can finally see the finish line.
I didn’t have any amazing last mile splits like I did in Richmond, but I was still proud, and unlike Richmond I was actually happy as I crossed the finish line. And despite the stresses I have been having I have been pretty happy since!
After the marathon my legs felt pretty bad, but I was expecting that. I walked along with the crowd, grabbed some water, took off my chip, got my Mylar Blanket, and traded my chip for my finishers medal! And trekked over to the buses.
I got a frozen smoothie drink from some volunteer and spent most of that time trying to open it. Finally before I grabbed my bag I had to have a volunteer open it for me
He had a hard time too so it wasn’t just post marathon jitters keeping me from the frozen deliciousness ;)
I got my bag and headed to the family meeting area. I threw my stuff down near the H sign and worked on getting out of my shoes, into flip-flops. Out of my soaked sports bra into my Boston tank, and tried to stretch a bit. My parents and David showed up as I finished off my smoothie and was getting ready to start looking for them.
I got a phone call from my favorite aunt ;) you know who you are
wishing me well. I definitely felt loved at that moment.
We walked all the way over to Boston Commons to avoid the mad rush to the subway near the finish.
Got back to our hotel and our handicap room payed off. I was able to sit on the edge of the tub and spray my legs with ice cold water. My baby sis called while I was spraying, and I was glad to hear from her. Her support at this point in my life is very important to me and I am blessed to have such a great sister. We have not always gotten along but I am glad we come together when it really counts.
After I talked with her for a bit David and I met my parents down at the pool. I dipped my calf in the hot tub and took a lap around the pool then we got ready to go out for dinner.
We met a bunch of the SERC group at Joe Tecces. I had three beers and a steak! I felt I definitely deserved it! We had a good time and it was nice to hang out with everyone after doing the marathon together. Everyone from SERC did well and I am proud to call them all my friends. I can’t express how blessed I am to have met up with such a great group of runners.
I was pretty wiped out after the three beers and multiple trips to the restroom (of course stairs were involved). So we headed back to the hotel. Climbing down the stairs to the subway was a trip! I must have looked horrible.
We packed our stuff (well David did anyways, and I attempted to help), and then headed to bed. We had to be up really early to catch our flight home. I actually made it to work and managed to work 6 or 7 hours before I couldn’t manage anymore
Since being back I have run twice and I can tell my quads are still sore but I feel pretty good and am looking forward to the summer racing season. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this. I really appreciate your support!
Morning Swim
Memphis in May Tri is less than a month away so I have to get my swimming and cycling into gear.
I swam for 30 minutes this morning. Mostly drills and some short intervals. The pool wasn't empty and I felt like I was going to vomit when I got out. I also felt like that when I swam in Tampa Bay this weekend. Maybe I need to take motion sickness pills before swimming, but they make me sleepy...Hopefully my body will get a clue quick that swimming is going to become routine again.
I swam for 30 minutes this morning. Mostly drills and some short intervals. The pool wasn't empty and I felt like I was going to vomit when I got out. I also felt like that when I swam in Tampa Bay this weekend. Maybe I need to take motion sickness pills before swimming, but they make me sleepy...Hopefully my body will get a clue quick that swimming is going to become routine again.
More Boston
The 2nd morning in Boston I woke up around 9 and went running with K and W. They were kind enough to wait for me to take the T over to the hotel, but the rest of the guys decided they were going to the expo early. We ran for about 45 minutes through a park and along the beach. It was really nice out, but my shoulder was still bothering me pretty badly.
After running my parents and David came over to the guys hotel and we ate breakfast, then headed to the expo.
I had been having trouble with my right arm. So at the Expo I had the guys with "The Stick" roll out my shoulder and neck. What a wonderful thing! My arm instantly felt worlds better. So my dad bought me "The Stick" and I have been using it to massage my shoulder, hamstrings, and calves!
The Expo was packed so I got in line to get the official Boston Marathon Jacket. It is really nice, embroidered and wind proof. After I got the jacket I went on a mission to find a tank top for the marathon and something to hold my gels in during the race.
I found the Adidas area and couldn't help myself and got myself another Boston Jacket, this one is lighter but more sporty and fitted, and a Boston Tank/Sports top.
By that time we were supposed to be meeting outside so I headed out.
We went to lunch with K and JG and B and his brother met us there. I don't think I have ever waited so long for food in my life. We waited about 30 minutes for a table. Probably another 30 before ordering and about an hour for food. K didn't get his SALAD that he ordered till after we were all done eating. It was ridiculous. We ended up getting 50% off the bill.
After lunch I went back over to the Expo to get a free Adidas poster that had all the names of the Boston entries on it. And took a picture of my name on the wall.
Then we headed back over to the hotel. My husband and parents took a nap and then we went out to eat over near Fanuil Hall. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but I got really good shrimp pasta. We went to the Cheers replica bar but by then it was late so we headed back to the hotel and I crashed while my family played cards.
Sunday morning we woke up early and headed to the Freedom run. This is a fun run that is about 2.8 miles long. There were so many people there! It is free and you get a free T-Shirt if you get there early enough. Unfortunately the shirts only came in large or extra large so my shirt came down to my knees. Curses on being 5'4"! I ran with B and his brother and my parents walked the run. It was really fun and amazing to see all the people running through the streets of Boston. And the finish was right where the marathon would finish the next day.
SERC club members met after the race and we took some group photos at the marathon finish line. This seemed to be a common thing because there were tons of people doing it.
After the Freedom Run my husband and parents and I went to check out the aqaurium. It was pretty amazing. I wish we would have had time to see the I-max movie but we just had enough time to tour the aqaurium.
Then we went for a qucik lunch where I ordered everyone clam chowder in a bread bowl but then realized that wasn't want everyone wanted. SORRY! But it was really good clam chowder and it hit the spot! We saw some cool street performers and a great high school jazz band from New York. Then I had to head to the "T". While getting on I saw the girl that I had run Youngstown half marathon with. I stopped and we chatted about the race and her friend gave me some great advice for the next day.
The whole reason for qualifying so early in my running career was that the running club I am in lost two members last year. One in a cycling accident and another to leukemia. Both these men were in their later 40s early 50s and both were great runners and huge Boston fans. The team wanted to get as many people to Boston as they could in their memory. We had a memorial service at the John Kelley statue Sunday and we were supposed to meet there at 3.
I had no idea how far away the John Kelley Statue was from where I got on teh "T" near Fanuil Hall, but it was over 25 stops! I knew there was no way I was going to make it in time so I told my parents to call K on their way to the hotel and let him know I was running late. Well about two stops in I see the girls waiting to get on so they hop on and we are running late together!
We get to about 4 stops away from the last T stop near Boston College and our driver hops off the train and starts running. No explanation, nothing! We have no idea where the heck she is going. Someone on the train says sometimes the driver will get off to go to the bathroom or get a beverage. We are like this is nuts! We are late and we have no driver on the train. D goes up to the front and we take some candid shots of her "Driving" the train! Then a few Boston College students tell us we should get off and hop on the shuttle to Boston College. We follow their advice and get on a shuttle a few minutes after our driver jetted. She still hadn't come back when we got on the bus. We had no idea how far the John Kelley statue was from Boston College but we knew we were nowhere near getting there on time. It was already 3:15!
We started asking a bunch of the students if they knew where John Kelley statue was and finally one pointed us in the right direction and said it was about a half mile away. Well we are hoofing it when B sees a large van. She jumps into the street and waves her arms frantically. This lady lets us in her van and we ask her if she can drive us to the statue. As we are driving we see about 5 of the SERC guys walking towards the statue. We get them to jump in the van. So now there are about 7 of us piled in the poor ladies van. And she is driving us along. About a mile away she is forced to drop us because the streets are closed in preperation for the marathon the next day. So we still have to hoof it about another half mile before we finally arrive at the statue.
We had a very nice memorial for our members and then it was time to head back because we had 6:30 reservations at Vinny T's. We got to hike up Heart Break Hill and after what seemed like forever we finally got to the "T" and rode straight to the restaurant. My legs were tired just from walking up Heartbreak Hill . I was starting to get nervous about the next day.
We met everyone at Vinny T's and crammed all 30 of us at a table for about 20. It was close quarters but I think everyone had a good time and the food was great.
I made arrangements to meet the girls at their hotel the next morning and headed back to the hotel for the night. I set out all my gear and got ready for bed.
Man this is a long story!!! To be continued when I have more energy!
On a totally different note I had a track workout tonight which I was super late to, so I just got in a mile warm up, a 200, 5 100's and a mile cool down.
Been Awhile
I have been hectic busy at work and with Team in Training since Boston so I haven't had much time to dedicate to blogging
So maybe I can finally give you the full dish on Boston, or at least start to.
We left for Boston Friday morning (the 15th) and arrived around 9am. Luckily B was already there and he met us at the airport and helped us navigate the "T" to our hotel. We checked in and then headed out for some "touristing.”
We all wanted to check out the duck tours so we made our way across town to locate that and get tickets. We ended up timing it perfectly and were able to get on a tour within 20 minutes of buying the tickets. Our guide was very fun and entertaining. He was English (or at least had a strong English accent) and was full of knowledge about Boston. For those of you that are unaware a Duck is a WWII vehicle designed to travel on land and in water. Very useful in beach assaults.
So we rode around Boston checking out many historical sites and receiving a wealth of information about the beginnings of the USA. As we passed others walking on the streets or other ducks we were ordered by our captain to "Fire the Canons" which resulted in a loud "Quack Attack" on our part. It was definitely silly but still entertaining and I had fun.
We took the duck out onto the Charles River and the captain let the little kids drive the duck. It was neat, but quite chilly
I was glad we arrived in Boston early and were able to do the duck tour. It really made the rest of the trip more worthwhile knowing more background on Boston.
After the tour we had lunch at Legal Sea Foods. Excellent Chowder! I had a FABULOUS salad too. It had a very tasty dressing, apples, avocado, lemon, shrimp, red peppers, goat cheese, lettuce, tortillas, etc. It was great.
Then we walked around Boston Commons and checked out the end of the Freedom Trail.
My parents got in around 6pm so we met them at the airport and then went out for dinner at a great Italian restaurant a few blocks away from our hotel in Cambridge. I ate what felt like a million mussels and ordered eggplant Parmesan. I didn’t come close to finishing my meal and there was no refrigerator at our hotel so I felt pretty guilty.
After dinner we played cards then headed to bed.
Well that was day 1 in Boston! Hopefully I will have time to post on the rest of the trip soon! I am off to the track.
Boston Pics
John Kelley Statue
I cannot remember the name of this church but the building is
considered one of the top 10 buildings in architectural design
(according to our duck tour guide) because of all the ornate details.
I could not get a good shot of the whole church but it was reflected
well in this building across the street.
The Freedom Trail is a red line connecting sixteen historic sites between Boston Common and The Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.
I cannot remember the name of this church but the building is
considered one of the top 10 buildings in architectural design
(according to our duck tour guide) because of all the ornate details.
I could not get a good shot of the whole church but it was reflected
well in this building across the street.
The Freedom Trail is a red line connecting sixteen historic sites between Boston Common and The Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.
Our hotel in Boston was right above the Kendall stop on the "T" While waiting for the train at the Kendall stop you can amuse yourself by playing the Kendall Band. This is a series of three instruments controlled by handles running between the subway tracks. This is a pic of the Chimes.
Adidas was the big sponsor of the marathon this year and they had posters up all around Boston. In addition to all the ads they gave out free posters at the expo that are printed with every Boston entries name on them. They also had huge black boards up in the expo with every name on them. Here is mine
These pics are from The Granary Burial Ground in Boston
These photos aren't nearly as artsy as Chicalookate's but I thought of her as I walked through the burial groud.
Some Background on the site:
With its massive front gate, the Granary Burying Ground serves as the final resting place for may notable Revolutionary-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence: John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine and Samuel Adams. Also buried here are Peter Faneuil, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin's parents and the victims of the Boston Massacre.
Boston
Gotta make this one a quickie, I promise the whole detailed Boston story soon!
I had a blast in Boston and finished the race in under 4 hours!
Official time 4:02:27
Net Chip Time 3:49:50
Overall place (I believe the stats are based on Official time) 8613
Gender Place 2223
Division place (35 and under) 1671
Me and the girls after the race
MarthonFinish Photo
Last Night's Track Workout
Whatever I do this week won't really make a huge difference on Monday. Basically I just need to keep my running legs without injuring myself further.
So I wasn't really sure what to do at the track last night.
Decided to mix it up a little.
I did a mile warm up easy. Then 8*400
I did the first one fast with MG 1:21
then tryed to do the rest at a fast marathon pace (2:00)
I did the next 6 at 2:00 to 1:45 per quarter
and the last one fast at 1:25
Then I did a mile and a half cool down easy.
My right shoulder was killing me and the pain was going all the way through to my hand. I think I probably have a pinched nerve. So I have been taking ibuprofen and last night took a muscle relaxor. It feels a little better today but my hand is starting to go numb... As if my leg injuries weren't enough
Tonight I am going to rest and then the rest of the week nothing hard or over 5 miles. We leave for Boston Friday morning.
So I wasn't really sure what to do at the track last night.
Decided to mix it up a little.
I did a mile warm up easy. Then 8*400
I did the first one fast with MG 1:21
then tryed to do the rest at a fast marathon pace (2:00)
I did the next 6 at 2:00 to 1:45 per quarter
and the last one fast at 1:25
Then I did a mile and a half cool down easy.
My right shoulder was killing me and the pain was going all the way through to my hand. I think I probably have a pinched nerve. So I have been taking ibuprofen and last night took a muscle relaxor. It feels a little better today but my hand is starting to go numb... As if my leg injuries weren't enough
Tonight I am going to rest and then the rest of the week nothing hard or over 5 miles. We leave for Boston Friday morning.
It finally happened...
I finally took a spill on the bike, or rather off of it I guess. A and I did a workshop this afternoon for a few of the TNT ladies on how to fix a flat tire on your bike. We had a good time and I think it was helpful. It helped refresh me too and I had a much easier time with it this time around. I just took my hybrid tires with and A brought her mountain bike for the ladies to each practice on. Everyone was able to get the tire off remove the tube and put it all back together in under 15 minutes so that is great.
Afterwards we rode our bikes a few miles on the all purpose path mostly for everyone to get used to their road bikes, we are all newbies. There was a pretty big hill and one of our members wasn't up right away so I stopped to wait, then tryed to turn around from a stand still position and my bike just fell over with me still attached to one pedal. I scraped my elbow, but not too badly. And the bike and my legs were fine so I am not too worried about it. I am sorta glad it happened right away, now I won't have to worry about it as much.
Afterwards we rode our bikes a few miles on the all purpose path mostly for everyone to get used to their road bikes, we are all newbies. There was a pretty big hill and one of our members wasn't up right away so I stopped to wait, then tryed to turn around from a stand still position and my bike just fell over with me still attached to one pedal. I scraped my elbow, but not too badly. And the bike and my legs were fine so I am not too worried about it. I am sorta glad it happened right away, now I won't have to worry about it as much.
5 Mile Bedford Race
Went out to Bedford this morning to do "Bud's Run." It was a 5 miler with pancake breakfast afterwards, my kind of race!
I took an Ibuprofen before the race today just to prevent too much inflamation. Not sure if it was that or the endorphins but my IT band held up fine today.
Ran for 12 minutes to warm up before the race with some of the SERC guys. Then stretched a bit and headed over to the start with A. Quite a few people from the club showed up today so that was nice.
It was absolutely beautiful out. Sunny with a breeze. Around 50-60 degrees. I think it is almost 70 out now.
The race started at 9 and I told A I would take the first mile easy and then start to fall into a groove later in the race. So much for that theory. I didn't feel like we were running very hard but our first mile split was 7:17. So we backed it off a bit for the next mile coming through around 7:55. The third mile was a little faster and had a small hill 7:42. After the 3rd mile A fell back a little, the whole 4th mile is up hill. I was feeling good so I passed two women and three men going up that stretch with a 7:28 mile. The last mile was about half up hill and the rest flat, finishing with one lap around the Bedford high school track and I ran that last one in 7:26 for a total time of 37:50. I am happy with that. Considering I was planning on running 40 or slower.
Did a couple miles afterwards with B and D for a cool down. There was a killer hill on that loop. Glad that wasn't part of the race
So total mileage for the day was probably 8-9 miles.
Afterwards they had awards, there was also a 2 mile race and they gave out awards for that then for the 5 mile race. We had 6 SERC women there, and at least 5 SERC guys. Every single one of us got an awardIt was pretty sweet. The winners in both the womens and mens race were from our club and B took 1st womens masters. I got first in my age group and A took second in hers so that was great.
After that we all went down to the cafeteria and had pancakes. They were pretty good.
It is so nice out. We are going on a bike ride later, and I can't wait to try out my new bike and shoes!
I took an Ibuprofen before the race today just to prevent too much inflamation. Not sure if it was that or the endorphins but my IT band held up fine today.
Ran for 12 minutes to warm up before the race with some of the SERC guys. Then stretched a bit and headed over to the start with A. Quite a few people from the club showed up today so that was nice.
It was absolutely beautiful out. Sunny with a breeze. Around 50-60 degrees. I think it is almost 70 out now.
The race started at 9 and I told A I would take the first mile easy and then start to fall into a groove later in the race. So much for that theory. I didn't feel like we were running very hard but our first mile split was 7:17. So we backed it off a bit for the next mile coming through around 7:55. The third mile was a little faster and had a small hill 7:42. After the 3rd mile A fell back a little, the whole 4th mile is up hill. I was feeling good so I passed two women and three men going up that stretch with a 7:28 mile. The last mile was about half up hill and the rest flat, finishing with one lap around the Bedford high school track and I ran that last one in 7:26 for a total time of 37:50. I am happy with that. Considering I was planning on running 40 or slower.
Did a couple miles afterwards with B and D for a cool down. There was a killer hill on that loop. Glad that wasn't part of the race
So total mileage for the day was probably 8-9 miles.Afterwards they had awards, there was also a 2 mile race and they gave out awards for that then for the 5 mile race. We had 6 SERC women there, and at least 5 SERC guys. Every single one of us got an award
It was pretty sweet. The winners in both the womens and mens race were from our club and B took 1st womens masters. I got first in my age group and A took second in hers so that was great.After that we all went down to the cafeteria and had pancakes. They were pretty good.
It is so nice out. We are going on a bike ride later, and I can't wait to try out my new bike and shoes!
Yesterday's run
Got out yesterday morning to the valley run. We ran on the towpath since it is nice out now and all the snow has finally melted. Managed to get in around 6.5 miles in under an hour.
It was a good run, my IT Band was a little sore but not horrendus.
This morning I am heading to Bedford for a 5 mile race.
It was a good run, my IT Band was a little sore but not horrendus.
This morning I am heading to Bedford for a 5 mile race.
Wild Night
Last night was pretty eventful (for my life anyways).
Got out of work around 5:30 and headed down to Peninsula to look at bikes. I tried out the Fuji Roubaix and the Giant OCR2. Bikes must not usually be built for my size because I could barely reach the handlebars on that Fuji (it was a 52). The OCR2 was an XS and it fit perfectly 
(For a road bike) I am still not used to road bike geometry but hopefully I will adjust quickly.
I took the bike out and it felt good. It will take awhile to get used to the clipless pedals and the speed but I am sure I will be loving it soon. Check it out!
I also got some new sunglasses (I broke my last pair just before Richmond), bike shoes (the OCR came with clipless pedals!), extra tubes, a hitch to put on my truck to hold the bike, some cages and water bottles, and a bike stand, I figured my hubby wouldn't be so upset with the new bike if I could store two bikes in the space of one.
The guys at Century Cycles were very nice to me and hooked me up so that I was able to bring the bike home last night.
So I got home hauled the bike and my gear up to the apartment and headed back down with my husband to get the bike stand. I am out the door and moving along the sidewalk when I hear this loud flapping noise and look and see a huge goose coming right at me. I screamed holy hell and ran out of the way. My husband seemed to be okay and thought I would be able to get the stand out of the truck without incident.
Got the stand and started heading back inside. My husband was fine but as soon as the goose saw me he came after me again. So I am running for the door but I could hear him almost on top of me so I started running around the yard, still carrying this huge box with the bike stand in it, (near our pool) screaming and my husband is chasing the goose telling it to get away from me.
It stops flying at us over by the pool and David tells me to get inside. As I am heading for the door it attacks again this time going after David. It was horrible. It landed right on his head, luckily he ducked out of the way before the goose did any damage with his feet or beak, but he pulled his neck trying to get out of the way. So we get inside and I am completely out of breath and David can't move his neck. I can't imagine what some one would have thought if they had found us in the hall like we were.
So that was probably the scariest thing that has ever happened to me, yikes! I don't know if I will be able to get to my truck safely this morning. I am worried that the goose has a nest near there.
So we get in the apartment and I start putting together this bike rack, well "some assembly required" took me most of the time it took us to watch I-Robot to complete. I get it up and realize the space I wanted it isn't larger enough for the bikes. So I have to do some brainstorming. I end up moving our cabinet out of the kitchen breakfast nook area and into our dining room and installing the rack in the kitchen. I get it up and start putting the first bike on and realize this is way more trouble than it is worth. So I take the rack down and end up just putting both bikes in that space sans stand. There is plenty of room that way and I don't have to worry about the stand crashing down on anyone.
Hopefully I can return the stand, but if not I guess I will keep it until we get a house and garage that I can better install it in.
Thank Goodness for more Daylight!
It is so nice to be able to go running after work and have it not be dark.
Went to EC and ran on the trails for 5.5 miles. It was pretty warm out so I had a difficult time. Hopefully I will acclimate to the heat ASAP before Boston.
First track workout of the season
Ahh the wonderful feeling of burning lungs, tired arms, and overworked muscles! Must be spring, finally!
It was so warm tonight (around 70) and sunny. Not my ideal weather for a track workout but much better than 32 degrees and covered in snow like it was this weekend.
I didn't do so hot tonight but I will take it.
Did a mile and a half warm up.
Then 4*800 and 2*400
Then a mile cool down.
Splits in order
3:09
3:17
3:29
3:28
1:44
1:27
The last quarter I pushed it and I was cruising until I came around the last curve and got Slammed by this huge gust of wind. I don't think I have ever felt anything like that. I was so focused on running fast (trying to stay with the guys since they were doing an 800) when that wind hit me it felt like everything instantly drained from me including my focus. It was really bizarre.
I stretched a lot today before and after the workout and my IT Band didn't feel too bad.
I also had a huge lunch today, I think I almost lost that on the third 800.
Pilates
Didn't manage to find time to run yesterday but decided I needed to do something before heading to bed so I got in an abs pilates workout. I also did some stretching for my IT Band and heated it.
My left calf is a little tight again. Do the frustrations never end
I am going to try and keep it stretched out today and hopefully I will have a good run tonight.
My left calf is a little tight again. Do the frustrations never end
I am going to try and keep it stretched out today and hopefully I will have a good run tonight.
Boston Info
Oh I completely forgot I got my Boston welcome packet and I am bib number 13052. There are going to be over 20,000 runners this year! Completely nuts! I am starting to get really nervous, especially because I am not healthy.
I know it will be awesome no matter what. They are so high tech now. I can set up 6 of my friends/family to receive text messages when I pass every 5k mark during the race (plus the halfway mark and the 20 mile marker) Also they now take not only photos of you, but video too so I can order a DVD with coverage of me running in the marathon!
Running with Rammstein
Got out today by myself in the afternoon for a run. Couldn't drag myself out of bed for the SERC or TNT run. It has been a blah kind of weekend. I spent most of it sick and laying on the couch. But at least I got caught up on some crappy TV ;)
I managed to get off the couch finally this afternoon, did a thigh and abs pilates workout as a warm up then headed out for my run.
I managed to get in 6 miles today without too much trouble. I just ran from the apartment out 3 miles and back. Took my MP3 Run out with me. I desperately needed some motivation. The injury and horrible weather have been bringing me down this weekend. So I uploaded some choice songs from Rammstein's Mutter CD to my mp3 player and headed out. Something about German Heavy Metal just seems to help me get into the groove. I especially like Feuer Frei!, they used that in the XXX soundtrack, pretty sweet. The knee held up pretty well. I have been heating my IT Band at night to loosen it up, not sure if it is helping but it isn't making it any worse. The knee was a little sore but it stood up to the workout despite the hard core winds. It was supposively 42 out but the windchill had it at 28. It was very windy to say the least.
After the run David and I went to the pool. I did some drills and swam some laps with the pull buoy, but my arms were really sore, no idea why though...
We had a huge winter storm this weekend starting Friday night sometime. We had three power surges on Saturday which kicked off our pilot for the heater. Didn't notice until we woke up this morning shivering. Thankfully they are really good about coming out to fix things as soon as we call.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)