Sunday, September 25, 2011

My belated Reach the Beach post

It's shocking, I know, but sleeping 3 hours in a van last Friday REALLY hit me hard this week.  I have not been so tired, maybe ever.  Really.  I just could not get going at all.  I tried every night to get to bed as early as I possibly could (which was never that early given other commitments),and sadly, I just could not manage to make the time to write.

But aside from the sleep deprivation...what an amazing weekend!  As I mentioned briefly in my last post, Reach the Beach, is an approximately 200 mile team relay race.  Between 6-12 teammates run 36 consecutive, predetermined  legs.  For my team of 12, that meant running 3 times over the course of what would end up being approximately 28 hours.  It means running through the night with headlamps, sleeping on van seats and sealing my sweaty clothes in zip lock bags to keep the rest of my gear dry and odor-free.  I have been fortunate enough to run the race with many of the same people from the Run for the Memory program the previous 2 times I have participated.  We also use the event as a fundraiser.  (You can still make a donation by clicking here!)

This year, I was excited to have Brenna, Laura, Dale, Dale and Scott in my van.  I have shared a van with "the Dales" for all 3 of my RTBs and I couldn't imagine it any other way.  Dale Bob implemented a rule years ago that each runner has to do push ups after completing his/her leg.  And we're all crazy enough to oblige.  Do you get the idea of what our van was like?

I was a bit disappointed earlier in the week to learn Hurricane Irene made part of the course un-runnable and the re-routing cut my first leg of the run by over 6 miles.  My cumulative total for the race which was supposed to be just under 16 miles, would instead be just under 9.  As she has many times, Laura came to my rescue.  She was looking to shorten her run for the weekend and volunteered to trade legs.  I was pleased to now be running 15.8 miles for the race, but upon looking at the elevation maps for my legs, reassessed my excitement.  Ah well, the entire course is hilly.  It's not really possible to escape a few good climbs, and plus it makes all the regular hills I run at home seem like speed bumps.

Our team took off just before 10:00am on Friday morning.  I have never left Cannon Mountain for the start of this race while the sun was shining and this year was no different, alternating between rain and mist.  I was runner #4 and had some time to prep before it was my turn.  My first run was 3.8 miles.  The first 3 were fine, some hills, but nothing ridiculous.  The last .8 was the exact opposite.  Short, steep climbs that I could not see because they were around corners.  And on grass.  Wet grass.  That last .8 was considerably slower than the rest of my run. Still, I passed 2 people.

My second leg began at 11:00pm.  Wearing my fancy new headlamp, I still hate running in the middle of the night.  But it makes me run faster (the dark, not the headlamp).  I guess that's good because this was also my hilliest run.  6.5 miles with 2 hills approximately a mile long and steep with some smaller hills in between.  I knew they were coming though and got through them.  It was by far my slowest run, but not bad given even mountain goats were having trouble with the course.  Passed 6, passed by 1. 

Leg 3 was by far my favorite.  Yes, it was mostly downhill, but after 20+ hours in the van, I was stiff, tired and recovering from an earlier unhappy stomach.  But somehow, I felt great as I left the starting area at about 10:00am.  5.5 miles and I was actually running, not jogging or shuffling!  I finished with my fastest pace, passing 8 along the way and getting passed twice. After my van finished running, we drove to Hampton Beach to meet our final runner from Van 2, Nicolle as she scorched the sand and crossed the finish line together as a team.

While the weekend may sound crazy, even to me, it continues to be, by far one of the most fun events in which I take part.  I continue to laugh at the jokes that took place in the van and along the sides of the road, and shared in a few follow up emails among my teammates this past week.  Maybe I miss the team sports I participated in all through high school and college.  Or maybe I just am lucky to be stuck in a van for 28 hours with some really great folks,doing what we love and making a few more great memories along the way.




Sunday, September 11, 2011

A+ Training week

I'm not one to brag, but this week was probably the best training week I have had, maybe ever.  Really.  I think the holiday last Monday put things off to a good start.  It all began with a track workout where I managed to hit all my splits, despite dancing around an unusually large number of geese who periodically wandered off the infield and onto the track.  I ran home only to take a quick shower, that was pretty pointless and go sweat it out a bit at yoga.  It was a nice treat to make it to the 9:30 class led by my favorite omgal, Rebecca.

After some cross training on Tuesday, Wednesday's plan was for a 6 mile fartlek workout.  Pressed for time and with rain pouring outside, I admit I did this workout on the treadmill.  It was no less painful, I promise.  But 48 minutes later, I had done it.  I stuck to my paces and did not get thrown from the treadmill trying.  Success!  I also identified my new least favorite workout.

Thursday was an easy 6 miler.  I'm sad our days are so much shorter now.  Seeing the darkness outside my window when my alarm goes off makes it a bit tougher to get up now.  But I made it, and to my pleasant surprise, it had stopped raining.  Or so I thought.  By the end of my first mile it was drizzling and by the end of 2, it was full out raining.  By mile 4, I'd call it pouring.  But it was actually kind of fun, and at that point, I really didn't have much choice but to run home.  Later that night, I was fortunate to be able to make it home in time for my second yoga class of the week that night, stretching out all that was still tight and sore from that darn fartlek run.

Saturday was a short long run with the last 8 at my half marathon race pace.  Running with pal Brenna, we changed up all our usual routes, starting in Cambridge, heading to the Charles and then running up Comm Ave, through the Boston Common and back.  It was quite a pretty run, and not nearly as crowded along the sidewalks as I would have imagined.  My legs felt really heavy to start, and never felt great, but I hit my 8 miles at race pace much more comfortably than I had run 6 miles at this pace a few weeks back.

The BAA Half Marathon is now less than 4 weeks away.  This week was a huge confidence builder that I can run this race well and I'm really looking forward to it.  Before that though is Reach the Beach next weekend, where I'll run approximately 15 miles over 28 or so hours, fueled by peanut butter and jelly and little to no sleep.  Once again, I'll be running with a team of friends from the Run for the Memory program, and raising money and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association.  My goal is to raise $400 for this event, and if you'd like to help me reach this goal, you can donate here.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Hello old friend, it's been a while...

Today, I decided to run my long run on the hills of Newton along Comm Ave and Washington Street in Newton/Wellesley. I'm pretty sure I have not run these hills since the marathon. However, with the BAA Half Marathon and its rolling hills just 5 weeks away, it was time to stop running flatter courses.

I'm not sure why I decided today was a good day to come back to the hills. I had a 10 mile run with 6 miles at 10K pace in the middle. Sure, I'll run hills for the first time in months and it will be fine to run them harder than my typical long run pace. Good idea.

Actually, it wasn't so bad. It helped tremendously that the weather was um, awesome. Sunny, but a nice breeze that made even a headwind feel nice. It didn't stop me from sweating like a running faucet though.

Slightly intimidated by the tempo portion of my run, I did plan my route so that my first fast miles were down hill. Smart decision or not, I'm not sure. I felt great the first mile and good miles 2 and 3. Mile 4 was more difficult and Mile 5 landed me running up not-called-Grossman's-Hill-anymore hill.* I won't lie, I did not hit my split for that mile. But I'm glad I ran it because a) I have a pace to beat next time and b) I then got to run down it for my last fast mile.

I coasted back to my car for my last 2 miles at a very comfortable pace. I was happy to be done, sweaty, but not dead tired. This possibly means I could have run those middle miles a bit harder. But nonetheless, I ran the 10 miles faster than I would have for a training run, hopefully preparing me for the half in a few weeks.

While I may have needed a little space following the marathon, I think the hills and I can be friends again. See you next week, pal.

*Not-called-Grossman's-Hill-anymore hill is a .4 mile hill in Wellesley/Newton Lower Falls along Washington Street where Grossman's Lumber used to be. I've been corrected for still referring to it as Grossman's hill, but as it is still the way I identify that hill, I have altered it's name slightly until the construction of the new store in that location is completed.