Officially Training

I went for my first Machu Picchu training hike on Sunday, 6 (and maybe a quarter) miles in the Blue Hills, but not in a hilly part.  Which was a good thing, because it was a pretty fast pace for me.  We did the hike in 2 hours, with a couple of stops (just water stops, and a quick port-a-potty break.  I can never resist a good port-a-potty.)  I'm going on another this Saturday that's about the same distance, six miles, but I think a little hillier.  It has waterfalls, so I guess we will stop some?  Both are meet-ups, which are great because you don't have to plan, just show up an follow like a pack mule :)

Today after work it was so nice out!  A little windy, but sunny and warmish, the trees are all flowering, the sky was blue, everyone was out running on the Charles.  I did the Mass Ave to Longfellow loop.  I got almost the exact same parking spot as I got last time I did that loop, which was exciting.  I had to parallel park in some kind of crazy traffic, and this pizza delivery guy in the car next to me was directing me a little, it totally cracked me up!

Anyhow, I was thinking I would make my loop longer, and go to the Museum of Science, but I think I jinxed myself, because then I got all crampy again.  Boo.  I did the same thing as last time, stopped running, and walked a little before I wanted to curl up in a ball and die.  And then I started running again at the Longfellow bridge.  It was so nice out, and everyone was so happy to be outdoors, it was actually pretty nice to be walking for a bit and enjoying the day.

Total distance 3.52 miles, total run distance, 3.07 miles.  Running time 33 min and 07 sec which is a 10 min 47 sec mile.  Certainly slowed down by impending cramps :)  (Not really, with all the millions of people out running, I didn't pass a single one.  At least no walkers passed me.)

Brrrrrr...

Cold and windy today, I so didn't want to go for a run.  I put on my running clothes at work and walked out to the parking garage and was so cold, I thought it would be miserable to go for a run.  I decided I could wait until tomorrow, but then I was all dressed for it, and told myself that I could just do a short run.  I parked over by MIT.  My parking karma was in overdrive and I got a spot on Mass Ave, not too far from the bridge, so I did the loop from MIT, over the Mass Ave bridge, up to the Longfellow and back.  It was freezing on the bridges!  There was a pretty good wind, which was awesome as I was running east, because it was at my back helping me out.

Sadly, just as I was at the furthest point (of course) I started getting cramps.  This time I actually decided to stop and walk before I got to the point where I wanted to curl up in a ball on the sidewalk. Novel!  I walked for about a third of a mile, on the Longfellow Bridge (yes, the uphill part) until I felt better, and then ran again.  Total running was just under 5 K in 33 min and 4 sec which is about a 10 min 40 sec mile.  Other than the cramps it was fine.  The sun was setting and the city looked amazing!  So glad for spring.

I dropped the one class today.  It will take me an extra year, but whatever.  I couldn't deal with the awful group that I was assigned, and the professor sucked.  Plus, I want to be able to enjoy life, and this was getting in the way.  I think this will be a good way to learn new things and expand my horizons without over stressing myself.

Weird

Went back to the free parking section of the Charles. It was so nice to go there today, it was all spring-like outside!  Everyone was out, running, walking, training their dogs.  Lots of people passing me. I passed walkers. >sigh<  So, for my run I went a total of about 3.3 miles in 36 min and 46 sec, which is like an 11 minute mile.  Slow, but it was windy out, and I was running into the wind on the way back, on the long side.  Plus, I really didn't want to go for a run, so I get props for going at all.  It felt about the same as the last run I did, the super speedy one.  Weird.

So, for one of my classes I was randomly put into a group with this uber annoying kindergarten teacher woman who's always like "yippee skipee! we can do it!!" I'm not sure I can handle it.  Also, she said that she spent 20-30 hours a week on her coursework last quarter, and that's excessive. I'm thinking about dropping the class and just taking one class at a time.  It would take longer to finish, but I would have to take this summer off, and it would be more manageable.  I think taking two classes is making me cranky.

Did I run fast today?

So, I may have broken a record for me!  Or, maybe I stopped my watch at a light and didn't start it again until the next?  I did the loop from my office again today, up the Southwest Corridor, through Copley, down the center of Comm Ave, past the Summer Shack (wind was in a different direction today so no smells), through the Christian Science plaza, and then back to NU.  There was some big hockey event at the arena, big college honors being given out apparently.  As I got to Mugar and stopped running I bumped into (not literally, fortunately) President Aoun and his court of bigwigs.  He was all "looking good!" and I was like "hhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhh" trying to breathe.  I was pretty beat at the end.

Anyhow, on mapmyrun it's exactly 3 miles and according to my watch I did it in 29 min and 15 sec which is a 9 min 45 sec mile which for me is crazy good!  I'm not totally convinced that I actually went that fast, because it felt pretty slow when I was running and I did have to stop for traffic a few times (which I quite enjoyed).  There was this one guy who fleeew past me on at one point, and then waited to cross the street while I took a different way so I wouldn't have to stop (see, I don't intentionally stop for traffic).  Then a few minutes later he passed me again - which made me feel super slow.  I would think that my watch battery is just dying, but my last run was so slow :)

Sadly, my tendon is pretty sore again.  I have an MD appointment in two weeks.  If it's not better I may ask to go to a PT.  Meh.

Spring!

Signs of spring are popping up!  It's hard to believe after this winter, I thought it would never come.  But, there are buds on some of the trees, and little flowers poking out.  And, crazy enough, most of the snow is gone.  Even the cars in Back Bay are pretty much clear, I never thought that would happen.

Today's the last day of staycation, sadly.  I wasn't feeling so great for the last couple days, I didn't leave my place yesterday, just spent pretty much all day on the couch reading a book.  And finished grouting my shower :)  Can't wait to use it again... baths are nice, but kind of inconvenient.  So, today I really wanted to get in a run to end staycation well.  It's pretty warm out, like 45 degrees, but super windy.  I was considering the gym, due to the wind, but then decided to go outside.  I've been planning this new route by the Mystic River, there's a bike/walking path there that's wood and gravel, so easier on the knees.  Of course it's been under snow, but I figured now it would be clear.  Parking at the cemetery in Somerville I was able to make it pretty much a perfect 5K, though I could have run over the river and on the other side to make it longer.

Good run today!  Slow, like an 11 min mile, but I blame the wind in part for that.  I ran for a total of 35 minutes, 3.17 ish miles.  It felt good, not like I particularly wanted to keep on running, but not like I wanted to curl up and die.  I would definitely run there again, pretty flat, easy on the knees, nice scenery (though not as good as the Charles), and lots of different options for length.  Hopefully the start of getting back into a regular routine!