Long Run

I had my first "training" for Team in Training, it was boot camp style, and kind of kicked my butt.  Plus it was at 9 am on Saturday in Natick!  I mean, yikes!!  Apparently only 2 people went to the info session that I slept through, so that wasn't a great loss, and there were only like 10 of us at the training.  It was pretty good, lots of stretches, squats, planks, etc.  All the sort of stuff that I need someone to make me do, because I just won't do it on my own.  It was a really nice day out, so after I went paddle boarding for an hour.  And then the next day my legs were killing me, so I went to yoga.

This week I'm on Stay-cation, so I could go for a run in the afternoon.  It's actually kind of warm out for a long run, 84 degrees.  So, I went on the path in the woods at the end of the Minuteman bike path in Bedford.  It's pretty much all shaded, so no SeaWorld type incidents.

I wound up running for a full hour!  Sadly, I ran out of steam at the end.  The first 45 minutes were pretty good actually, I went the first half of the run, 2.83 miles, in 31 minutes, and then turned around and ran another 15 minute.  It was about minute 40 or 45 that I started feeling tired, and at 49 I had to stop and walk for a bit.  It's OK, even elite marathoners do that sometimes in their long runs.  Then I finished my hour, and then walked the last bit back to the car.  In total I went about five and a half miles, but about half mile of that wasn't running.  Still, five miles of running in an hour, I'm counting it!  I have 7 weeks until the race, I think I should be able to run the entire thing in less than an hour and a half (apparently that's their time limit for the good swag.)

I also have to say, I notice that saying "Duck Boat" in my last posting has lead to a lot of hits.  At least, I assume it was duck boat.  So, Duck Boat!  And thank you for reading :)

Passed a Duck Boat!

I decided to do the post-Weight Watchers run again today (down 1.6 pounds, yay, and I kinda had to poop, so it could have really been more!)  I wanted to make the loop a little bigger, and so spur of the moment decided to go over the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge, up the Boston side to the Museum of Science Bridge and back.  I sort of forgot that the access to the park is blocked by construction, so it was a little difficult to get around, but sadly I didn't get stopped at any lights.

When I was running up the Charles I looked at the water and there was an orange duck boat a little in front of me.  I was pretty surprised as I started gaining on it, and then I passed it!  Awesome!!  I quacked at it a few times in my head.  Of course, in the mean time like 50 people passed me, so it's not like I was flying or anything.

In total I went 3.63 miles, so respectable, but not really a long run.  Time was 38 minutes, 14 sec, so a 10 and a half minute mile.  I felt pretty good while I was running.  Like I could keep going for a long time (not that I really wanted to, I was still happy to stop.)

Broke the 9 minute mile!

For a full minute I ran faster than a 9 minute mile!  Go me.  I did the interval training on the treadmill at the gym again (gym still looks no different except that they are very slowly putting down a wood floor in one room).  I did a couple minutes to warm up then bumped it up to a 9 min 30 sec mile for 30 sec.  Then I went back down to 10 min 45 sec for a minute, then I alternated one minute faster, one minute slower.  My "slowers" stayed the same (10 min, 45 sec) but I kept going a little faster on each of the faster minutes.  Finally I was at almost a 9 minute mile - 9 min and 5 sec, and I was like "I can totally go faster."  So, I did a one minute interval at 8 minutes and 56 sec.  And it was ok.  I did a total of 10 minutes at 9 min 30 sec or faster, 3 miles in about 25 minutes (I was so focused on finishing the last of the fasts that I kind of missed it.

Tomorrow is my first Team in Training day.  Here are my hopes:
1 - I won't be the oldest person there.
2 - I won't be the slowest person there.
3 - I won't be the person who's raised the least money.

I would say it's possible that I'm feeling a tad insecure about this.

Multipitch Climber :)

I didn't get to run this weekend, but I did do my first multi pitch climbing ever!  Three of them.  I went up to New Hampshire and climbed at Whitehorse and Cathedral.  The first day we did 3 pitches x 2 on Whitehorse.  Pretty easy climbing, but that was a good thing, because we were way the heck up there.  The second day we were at Cathedral and did 4 pitches, much harder climbing and it seemed way higher.  I was a little freaked out by the end, and happy to get off the cliff!  The ropes that my friends use for multi pitch are thinner than the ones I'm used to (they hold 5000 pounds, but it's not a logic thing.)  Anyhow, I fell at the beginning of the Cathedral climb and it didn't kill me, but that didn't help when I was almost 500 feet up.  The first night we were sitting on my friend's porch having a glass of wine, and I was just looking around, watching the bears walking by...  And then suddenly I was like, "there are bears walking by!" Mama and two little cubs, so cute!  She gave us a little sniff, but wasn't really very worried.

Today it was back to running.  After the climbing, my calves were killing me!  So, it was a pretty slow day - at least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.  I started out trying to push myself, but it was tough going.  I had to slow down a little.  In the end I wound up going about 2.72 miles in 30 minutes, which is over an 11 minute mile.

I went a new route, from Weight Watchers (because I just keep getting fatter, and I gotta cut it out), through Cambridge to the Charles River, up the river, past the Galleria Mall, and then back.  It's a pretty cute part of Cambridge, older houses, but not too big.  While I was running back this little girl saw me and started running too.  She was very cute, and probably faster than me.

This coming Saturday I have my first meeting with Team in Training and we find out the training schedule for the race!  The meeting is Saturday at 9 am in Natick.  I hope this isn't what the training will be like.  Not crazy about running at 9 am on Saturdays.

Lost in Cambridge

I had to work late tonight. Ironically I was giving a presentation on how to interview. I really suck at interviews, so bad, and these students are so together. Oh, irony. I had a late lunch, but I was still pretty hungry by the time I left campus. So, I decided to do a shorter run on the Charles - from The Mass Ave bridge up the esplanade, over the Longfellow, and back. I parked on MIT campus, by the place where the cop always tells me not to do a Uturn and headed off. A couple of little quirks at the start of my run, I didn't have any ear buds, and one of my socks was all bunchy in my shoe.

I had to walk a couple time, I swear once because my calf was sore, but once I was running out of steam. So, brilliantly I decided to take a short cut back. Uh huh. That's where I got totally lost. I did finally figure out where the Kendall Google office is, and I got to walk through a very large building at MIT. At this point I was HUNGRY and out of steam, and just wanted to get back to my car (not so much that I would run to get there faster apparently) and the sock thing was driving me crazy. I finally stopped to straighten it out, and realized I had a ponytail holder in my shoe!

Anyhow, it took about 30 minutes to find my way back from my shortcut, and yup, the Google office is about two blocks from where I was parked. I don't know total distance or run time because I walked some, but it was about 35 min. Acceptable, but I will try not to repeat.

9 and a half minute mile!

I went to the gym to do the speed work of my training plan on the treadmill.  It says you only have to run two miles, and then lift weights.  It was sort of supposed to be done on Wednesday or Thursday, but my legs and feet were killing me, and I didn't want to overdo it.  So, today was Speedwork Saturday.  I started with a two minute warm-up at like an 11 minute mile, then bumped up to 10.46 minute mile, then I decided to try to do 30 seconds at 9.5 minute mile.  And it wasn't that bad!  So, I alternated 9.5 minute mile for one minute with 10.46 minute mile for one minute.  In total I think I ran 10 minutes at 9.5 minute mile!  I was on the treadmill for 26 minutes and went 2 and a half miles.  Which was much less painful than the usual 3.1 miles I do.  I think that speeding up and slowing down also made the time go faster.  I'm definitely going to do that again.  Goes to show there is truth in the saying "if you want to run faster then you have to run faster."  We'll see if it makes a difference in the rest of my running.

I was trying to follow this plan I got online, but I'm not sure how it's going to work.  I did OK for about 4 days.  Then on Wednesday last week I was supposed to do speed work and lift (I actually did lift today.  Ya, still sucked, but what are you gonna do?).  But it was really sunny and beautiful out, and there was this free outdoor yoga class on the Esplanade, so I couldn't resist going.  I was so glad I went, too!  It was great, tons of people lined up by the river, blue sky with just a few puffy clouds, sail boats on the water and people running and walking their dogs.  It was a perfect "summer in the city" day, and I felt so lucky to get to be a part of it!  They also have free cross fit on Thursdays, which I might try, though I'm a little scared of it. And that's a really public venue to totally bomb at an activity (I mean, tourists were stopping and taking pics!)