Running with Christian tonight!

It is finally Wednesday (this week seems to be going by at a snail's pace). I rested on Monday and last night we had the Dana Farber track workout. I started out aqua jogging in the pool with another DFMC runner, Jess, who injured her foot recently. Jack was letting me try on some different types of zoomers for when I am in the Caribbean. After the hard run on Sunday, I decided to do a few aqua jogging intervals in the pool with Jess and then I modified the track workout and did the second half of my workout on the track. My legs definitely feel like they worked very hard on Sunday, so I was taking it easy last night in the workout.

Wednesdays are days that I like the idea of running an 8-10 mile run but that generally turn into my regular 6.5 mile loop because of time constraints between getting home later from work than expected and having to tutor in the evening. There is also that whole lack of motivation factor... which sometimes pushes me to turn over to Comm Ave from Beacon Street a few streets too early when I am alone and the weather is not so pleasant.

Tonight I have great motivation to run a longer run though. Tonight I am going running with my good friend Christian! He is the type of runner that may not have run in three weeks, but will still be up for going out for a 10-mile run (and in all honesty sometimes I think he might actually prefer the longer distances). So, he is trekking over to Brookline tonight and I am going to bring him down Beacon to Walnut Street over to Commonwealth Ave, along the course over heartbreak hill and down into Coolidge Corner. It should be a good one!

Hyannis Marathon Relay

Kiirsten, Mo, me and Betsy before the relay!

This past weekend Kiirsten,, Mo, Besty, and I revisited Hyannis for our second year as a marathon relay team. Team Chicopee. We headed down to the race on Saturday afternoon and made it in time to pick up our numbers early and even see the Hoyts! (Mo's favorite racing team). After getting our numbers we settled into the Marriot and went to dinner at Not Your Average Joe's. We had an early, but very tasty, dinner in preparation for our big race.

When we got back from dinner we presented Mo with her birthday cake that Betsy, Kiirsten and I had secretly prepared the night before.

We woke up at 7:30am, got our Dunkin Donut's coffee and bagels and prepared for our race! I, as per usual, was debating about what to wear - long spandex or my running skirt. The weather forecast was for rain, and potentially snow, with a high of 41. I decided on the running skirt - definitely the right choice for me.

The race went very well. I decided I would take this opportunity to race a portion of the marathon relay and then use the rest to log in a 20.5 mile long run. This ended up working out really well. Jack had told me I should warm up before the race... and I am starting to realize I should start taking that advice. I ran the first 3 miles at a quick pace and was thinking there was no possible way I could sustain that pace over the next 13 miles. So, in my head I decided I would race the 7.2 mile leg and then use the next 13.1 miles as my long run portion. After three miles, though, I started to feel good. All of a sudden I went from being convinced I would want to stop at 7.2 miles to the realization that I definitely wanted to continue to race through to the half marathon. I ended up average approximately 7:22 min/mile for the half! It felt great. I got to the hand off station to give Mo the baton and we started off running together. It felt great to have someone to run with so that I would hold myself to doing the full 20.5 miles. When I made it to my finish line, I felt great and as though I could have kept going.

Mo, on the other hand, was not feeling so great. :( Before she started running, she was feeling a bit under the weather and the run definitely did not help. Don't mind the "I feel great" look on her face (see picture to the right). After finishing her leg she bundled up in the car and ended up having a fever! It was pretty amazing she was able to run her leg, and I am glad she made the wise decision not to continue on through the half marathon.

As Mo came shivering through the finish of her leg she handed the baton to Kiirsten, the only one of us that had to run her whole leg all alone! She took off in her new running spandex and jacket, listening to Ace of Base and "Barbie Girl"... Kiirsten is not as much of a runner as the rest of us. However, for the past two years she has been more than enthusiastic to join in on this relay and has tried to fit in the time to train for the couple of months leading to this race. (Last year her training also involved a last minute run at 4:30pm the night before the actual relay... she decided against that plan this year...) Well, her training really paid off this time. She not only ran faster than last year, she came cruising through the finish line at a quick pace with a huge smile on her face! Yay for Team Chicopee!!

Even with the bad weather and Mo's sudden illness, the weekend was a blast. After getting home we all cozied on up at Sandal's resort (aka 79 Park Street) to watch the Oscars, eat sushi, drink wine, and celebrate our second year of a great race and a great weekend!

A weekend of running ahead...

This past week has been a great training week. The last time I wrote in here I had just gotten back from Burlington and my next workout was Tuesday night track at Tufts. That workout was a challenge, but felt great. We did 5 x [1000 hard, 200 medium, 400 hard, 400 medium]. The 'medium' sections were supposed to be a kind of active recovery, where we were still keeping our pace honest (not jogging at negative speed) but just bringing down the pace from the hard effort being put forth in the 1000s and the 400s. I am clearly a distance runner, because even though the 1000s felt hard, I was able to kind of get into a rhythm and enjoy that distance so much more than multiple hard, short sprinting sets.

Wednesday night - I had NO idea it was supposed to really really snow, so I headed out my door around 6:00pm to run. When I started, it was flurrying a bit, but nothing too bad. About two miles into my run it was full on snowing. As in I had to run with my head down and I still could hardly see because of the large amount of snow coming down. It was a fairly dangerous and difficult run, but I logged about 6.2 miles.

Last night was Crossroads, and the Dana Farber running coach (Jack Fultz, winner of the '76 Boston Marathon) told me that I should run hard for the first portion of the run and then take it easy for the remaining miles in preparation for my long run/race this weekend. I did just that and ended up having one of my best crossroads runs this week. I ran hard from Woodland to Washington Square (about 6 miles) and then brought my pace down for the remaining three miles into Crossroads.

I'm feeling a tiny bit under the weather today (which is not surprising seeing as I feel as though everyone around me has been sick). Hopefully I can fend off whatever this is, at least until after Sunday. Tonight will be a short 3-4 mile run up to Cleveland Circle and back in Brookline. Then I plan to rest up tomorrow before the relay on Sunday.

Boston, Montreal and Burlington

It has been a few days since I have written in here. I have lots of updating to do! Over this past weekend I went to Montreal with Fred and some friends of ours. I have actually never been to Canada. Before heading up there, Fred and I decided to get our weekend long run in on Thursday night. My right leg had been bothering me a bit from all of the hill work I had been doing, so we did a 14.2 mile run along the river at 6:15pm. We then joined the Crossroads group who were all back from the Woodland run for beers.


I chose not to swim on Thursday morning because I figured it would make the long run too painful. So, instead, I swam on Friday morning at 7am. It was a hard workout, but nice to be in the water. Then Friday night I logged an 8.2 mile run in Brookline on the hills. My shin and my hamstring seem to be feeling better! I used my Garmin for this run and was pleasantly surprised to see that I was able to do negative splits for the run when I wasn't even thinking about it.

This past week I dropped down from two weeks in a row of 51 miles to a 38 mile week. I figured my legs could use the rest. There was no running for me on Saturday or Sunday while we were in Montreal.


While in Montreal we went to the Biodome. You might be wondering why I am posting a a blurry picture of a bird here. Well... this bird was in one of the four Biodome environments and it was AQUA JOGGING!



As you can see, it's body is above the water and it is using its feet to run. This was not a momentary exercise. This bird was doing this continuously. He would start running for about a minute and then take a little break and then start running again. It was quite amusing.







After visiting the Biodome we went into Old Montreal and explored the area. It was really cute with quaint little shops and cobblestone streets. We got crepes at a great creperie so that we could escape from the frigid temperatures for a bit.






Yesterday, on our way back from Montreal, Fred and I stopped in Burlington, Vermont, to go for a run along Lake Champlain. I am most likely going to be moving North this summer to start medical school at the University of Vermont in the fall. I wanted to give Fred a little tour of the area. We did about a 5.5 mile run along the lake for a bit and then through town, down Church Street (a pedestrian walkway with lots of shops and restaurants) and along the water front. We had lunch at the Red Onion. The sandwiches were great but HUGE. I could not actually fit my sandwich in my mouth because of the size of the bread with all of the filling inside as well. We then got desert at a new restaurant (well, new to me) called the Skinny Pancake. Stopping in Burlington for a run was a great way to split up the trip.


Now I'm "back to the grind". This morning I had my 1.5 hour swim and tonight is the track workout. I am hoping to up my mileage again this week and still run a good pace at the Hyannis Marathon Relay that I am doing with Mo, Betsy and Kiirsten on Sunday.

Bowling and Beers

Betsy and I are having a fundraiser at Jillians/Lucky Strike (http://www.jilliansboston.com/) tonight. There is a suggested donation of $20.00 for Dana Farber and then free bowling and appetizers from 6-8!!! Who doesn't love to bowl?? If you are free, come on by and join us. We will be hanging out after 8 as well, so if you can't make it for the bowling, come by for a drink!

Sunday's Long Run

It has been a few days since I last posted. This past weekend was a great weekend for running. It is finally warming up and I was able to run my long run in shorts! Friday night my roommates and I headed down to visit our old roommate Mo in New Haven. On Saturday we had a group run in preparation for the Hyannis Marathon Relay that we will be doing together in two weeks. Mo gave us a little tour of her neighborhood and one of her popular running routes. It is great the way that running allows you to see more of an area because you are forced to navigate through more residential areas.

Sunday was our group run with Dana Farber out of the Wellesley BSC. It was a challenging 18.2 miles, with the Boston Marathon Newton hills on the way out and the big hill up in to Wellesley (which I have learned is called Grossman's Hill) on the way back. I ran with Aimee and Betsy for the majority of the run and it was great. The weather could not have been more perfect. I ended the run in a short sleeve and my running skirt. That is the kind of long run I enjoy most!

Then, after our long run, we went to one of the greatest fundraising ideas I have heard of. Two Dana Farber runners had a haircutting fundraiser at the salon Acote on Newbury Street. $30.00 for a hair cut and all proceeds went to Dana Farber. They must have raised at least a couple of thousand dollars. After stopping for Bloody Mary's and appetizers at American Joe's after our run, Aimee, Laurie, Kristan, Betsy and I headed over to the salon for our cuts. There was food, coffee and good music and we all got great hair cuts. It could not have been a more perfect Sunday.

Yesterday morning I went out for an 8.2 mile run on the river to stretch out my legs from the long run the day before. I really enjoy getting out in the sun early as opposed to waiting to run in the dark after work. The river has finally, mostly, defrosted.

Tonight we have track. Tomorrow night is Betsy and my bowling party!!!!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

We have a lot of snow. I am thinking that maybe this is the worst winter I have had in Boston, or it may be comparable to my first winter in Boston. The snow is not melting and the temperatures have been bitterly cold. Today it "feels like" 15 degrees... yesterday it "felt like" 4 degrees. I broke down and decided to wear long fleece long underwear under my khakis today because my legs almost froze off yesterday in my corduroys.

I ran Crossroads last night. I definitely started the run too fast. I am slowly learning the HUGE benefits of starting out slow, warming up into a run, and then really pushing the pace towards the end. My run last night was kind of the opposite - start really fast, keep pushing, and struggle to maintain the ending pace for the last four miles... Anyhow, sometimes it is good to do that just to remind myself of how much better it feels to finish strong.

My right leg is still bothering me a bit - my shin and hamstring - so I am taking the day off of running today. I swam this morning with the Masters swim group at BU. It was a good 2650 meter workout.

Tonight I am heading down to New Hay Hay with my roommates Kiirsten and Betsy to visit our old roommate, Mo, for the night! It should be fun! We are all doing the Hyannis Marathon Relay together so we may venture out on a short run tomorrow in Mo's neighborhood if we are feeling particularly motivated. Then on Sunday I will have my second group Dana Farber run out on the hills in Wellesley. The temperatures are supposed to get up to 50 on Sunday!!! (which is hard to imagine with the temperatures today...)

Thursday!

I think Thursday is slowly becoming my favorite day of the week. Thursday night is the weekly Crossroads run, where a group of us takes the T out to the Woodland T stop in Newton and runs the 8.8 miles back into Brookline to the bar Crossroads. I really enjoy the company, the pace, and having a drink when coming in from (for now) the bitter cold. It's great motivation to get a longer run in and I feel like I am able to push my pace with the crowd that I try to keep up with each week.

Otherwise, my desire to keep my mileage higher than usual is going fairly well again this week. Monday I had a 6.9 mile run on the river. It was a good run, minus the fact I woke up 15 minutes late and really had to rush in my last few miles in order to be on time for work. Tuesday I did my regular swim in the morning with the BU Masters group, and then had the 8PM track workout with the Dana Farber Team. I noticed that my right hamstring and shin were really starting to tighten up on me at the track workout. After debating about whether or not it was the direction we were running on the track, I realized that Tuesday morning we had done a swim workout with a flipper on our right foot and a paddle on our left hand. I am assuming that the flipper on the right foot for about 1600m on top of the track workout may have contributed to the sore hamstrings and shin. We did 4 by 600 meters three times. I have a really great group to work with at the track, so even when I feel like I am ready to pass out and give up, I have Betsy, Laurie, Aimee and (this week) Jess to pull me along and keep me running.

Yesterday I headed out for a, very slow, 6.5 mile run in Brookline. I am realizing that if I want to have my mileage higher, I need to take it really easy on any of the extra runs I may be adding to my weekly mileage. Once again, my hamstring and my shin were bothering me on my right leg. I decided that I should rest my legs and I chose sleep over my usual Thursday morning swim workout this morning.

All in all, I am getting more and more into my training as the weeks go by. I really am enjoying running with Dana Farber. The people are great, the workouts are fun, and the support from my donors and the people I am running in honor of are a great motivation!

What do YOU listen to while you run?

One of my biggest problems with running alone is that I mostly enjoy running to music. However, I have three mixes that I rotate through and I quickly get very sick of the songs that I am listening to, but I can never think of what new songs to download off of the Internet to create a new play list.

This is where YOU come in to help me out. I am curious to know what other people listen to when they are running, lifting, working out at the gym - whatever. If you have specific artists or songs you recommend, please comment, and I will compile a list of good music to work out with and post the list on my blog. Maybe some other people have this same dilemma, so it will not only help me with my training, but could make your workouts more enjoyable as well.

2 months 18 days to go...

At the end of last week I made it half way to my fundraising goal of $6000.00. I am very excited to be on my way towards that final goal and thank you for all of your support!

As for my training, last week was one of the best training weeks I have had so far. If my schedule would allow me to log the miles I logged last week every week I would be very excited. I managed to log a total of 51 miles. I did my first group DFMC run on Saturday. We started at the Mount Auburn Club and ran out to the top of Grossman's Hill in Welesley (backwards on the Marathon course) and then back (on the marathon course) to the club. It was so nice to start early (8:30AM), have water stops every three miles, and to run with other people. I ran with Betsy, Chris (another Bowdoin grad) and Ben. We ran a bit faster than I had planned, but it felt really good.

Yesterday and this morning I ran on the Charles River (something I have not done in quite some time). It has been warm - 42 degrees today and similar yesterday - which has been a huge treat given the temperatures we have been having over the past month. However, the Cambridge side of the river is still very treacherous. The melting ice has a layer of water over the layer of ice making it especially slippery and difficult to navigate. Though the river is beautiful in the relatively warm, sunny weather... I think I'll be sticking to the roads in Brookline for now.