This run isn't so much blog-worthy except to say that it was the best run I've had since the half-marathon.
I ran without feeling like I was working my ass off. It was the first 5 miles under an hour since the race (my pre-race pace). I can't say I thought it would take 2.5 weeks to "recover" from the race given how much training I had done for it, and maybe bad runs recently are completely unrelated.
(Nike+ is being funny again; I have no idea why there are two lines in the widget.)
Yesterday's run felt better. A bit more consistent, though I had to work at it.
The run was most certainly like this:
The first mile hates seeing you with running. It would rather you would just go back to the couch. But both you and running know there are other things to look forward to, like the second mile. Of course I've never owned anything New Balance, but this commercial certainly captures the way I feel on most runs.
2009 total miles: 364.99 2009 average miles per day: 2.42
The final month of half-marathon training meant some great mileage, and the speediest month, too. I suspect a significant drop for June, but maybe just back down to 70 miles/month.
I didn't intend to take the week off from running; it just happened.
I did try to run on Wednesday, three days after the race; it didn't go very well. However, it could have been (1) the hour - 8 pm, (2) the 2 pieces of pizza and 4 cinna-sticks still rumbling around my belly, or (3) the fact that I was tired and contemplating go to bed early instead. My goal was 3 mi, but I could only run about half. I had physically felt okay until I tried to run. My calves didn't agree. And running slower was just annoying.
Today, however, I decided a 7-day break was long enough, and I needed to run.
I didn't really have a plan. I decided 6 miles sounded like a nice run. It was warm and partly sunny. It felt great to be out. I felt good, but still not quite at my peak. I realized, however, that I was running 6 miles without giving it much thought.
Above all, it was nice to be running just to run. I'm looking forward to more running just to run. No training for a while.
Prerace: I got up at 5:30 with plans to be out the door by 6:30. Since the race didn't start until 8a, I figured I could eat a reasonable breakfast by 6a and still have two hours to rest my stomach. I made an egg beater and cheese breakfast burrito with a big glass of OJ. It then started pouring while I was in the shower....
What I wore: I had picked out my clothes the night before, but still had doubt about my shirt. I ended up wearing:
+ Body Glide antichaffing stuff in all the right places including at waist/bra bands, arms, thighs, feet, etc.
+ Nike Dri Fit Personal Best Capri's (my absolutely favorite bottoms)
+ Nike Dri Fit bra. (actually quite old, and they don't make the style anymore which is why I am still wearing it)
+ Lightweight Nike Dri fit longsleeve shirt. I was back and forth about short sleeves vs long. Ultimately I decided I wouldn't be too hot in long sleeves in the 60-65 degree weather. It would also meant I wouldn't have to wear sunscreen.
+ My new favorite running socks: ASICS Women's Sorbtec® Tab Lowcut Socks. I bought them on Friday as a race splurge. I will now buy many more pairs on eBay.
+ Nike Air Zoom Plus. One of the two original styles of Nike+ that they no longer make. I've been working through the pairs I've been able to find on eBay.
+ Nike Feather Light Hat.
+ Sunglasses (generic). For some reason I usually run in sunglasses even if it's not particularly sunny. Reduces eye strain or something.
I was dressing and realized I was covered head to toe in some sort of moisture-wicking technology except my underwear. Maybe I should change that.
What I packed to bring:
+ Nike Trailwind wind breaker. Okay, I actually wore this enroute to the race since it was still raining, and planned to wear it if it looked the rain would continue.
+ Heavier Nike Dri Fit shirt incase it seemed colder once we got out side.
+ Short sleeved Run to Remember Tech shirt to either wear home or during the race if it seemed appropriate once we got there.
+ SPF 30 lip balm
+ money/Charlie Card/phone/ATM card
+ iPod Nano with Nike +
+ Race number (3628)
What I would bring next time:
+ flip flops or a different pair of shoes for the commute home
+ a bottle of water or poweraide or something to be able to drink on the way home
+ a piece of fruit or spoonful of peanut butter for the same
The race: Fortunately the rain stopped before we got to the Seaport World Trade Center and from the radar, it looked like more rain should hold off until the afternoon. Bag check was easy. There were tons of port-a-potties. We stretched and lined up in the 10 min/mi pace spot. We sang the national anthem which seemed very cool.
And we ran.
The official results aren't up yet, but we finished the first 6 miles in a hour which is the fastest I've ever run 6 miles. I was worried we would run too fast and wouldn't be able to finish. I liked being with "regular people" for whom this was quite an accomplishment as well.
At 7 miles I could see that my Nike+ was ahead by ~0.05 miles, so I paused the workout to "catch up" a bit because who wants your arm to say you're at mile 11.5 when you haven't yet reached mile 11!?!
Mile 9 kicked my butt again. Mile 10 was okay, and 11-13 weren't the easiest but we kept running. We weren't carried off in an ambulance like the two people we saw about mile 11. While we took a couple ~60 second walk breaks at the water stations, we didn't really take a break until mile 10, I think. And then we only walked for 2 minutes.
Overall, my Nike+ seemed to be ahead by ~8%. Given that I've never calibrated it, I can't complain.
We believe our chip time will be 2:25. We crossed the line at 2:27-something, and had been 3 minutes behind the gun time. My goal was 2:30, so I was pleased. It's a 11 min/mi pace overall which is just fine with me.
When we were done we were still walking, not hobbling. We collected our medals and several more cups of water/gatorade. We finished late enough to miss the fruit. There were plenty of bagels and potato chips. Never have I finished running and though, "gee, I could go for some potato chips". We didn't need band aids, and I actually have no blisters.
We meet some very nice people including the guy who convinced me and his sister that bridges might look like hills, but they really get you places. Thanks to Tara who made us run the hills/bridges, too.
Post-race: We took the T back home, feeling bad for the people riding with us. However, we did not reek as much as the sweaty men. We collected Tara's husband & kids, showered, and had brunch. They hung out for a bit, and then I fell asleep on the couch for several hours, remembering that I had napped after our 12 mile run, too.
Post-race Day 1: I feel a bit achy but hungry. I feel a bit like "that was it"? Maybe I didn't quite leave it all out there. Maybe next time we can finish with a 10 min/mi overall pace.
Stay tuned for what is next to come in terms of running and for our official finish times and official race photos.
The week leading up to the race is to be an easy one, and I've stuck to it though I was willing to do more: 6, 4, and 2 miles.
Tuesday's run:
I promise it was really 6 mi, but my iPod died before I finished my run. Sad, but it's a sign of the fact that with my new iPod I don't think about needing to charge it after every run (as I was doing with my old iPod). Subsequently, it hadn't been charged for at least 4 runs prior.
Yesterday's run was at dusk, around the Charles River, and while it was still 80 degrees outside. It was awesome.
[The Boston skyline at dusk as seen from the Cambridge/MIT side of the Charles River.]
That just leaves a little 2 mile jog tomorrow and the race on Sunday. I went out walking today to do some errands and keep my legs loose.
I figure I had better blog about the rest of half-marathon training before the actual race.
Week 11 (last week in real time) was the first of the tapering weeks, so the schedule was 6, 6, and 8 miles.
Again I realized that some of the weekday runs lately only happened because I was "training", and otherwise I would have claimed I was too busy -- certainly something to take away from training for when I'm back to just running.
Tuesday's run I was able to carve some time in the afternoon (the benefit of being the Chief):
Thursday's run was late, as a result I did finish my 6 miles because I was already up past my bedtime.
Saturday's long run was good. I took it somewhat easy just wanting to run. I can't honestly remember what the route was.
Mentally it was nice to set out on Sunday not needing to run 10+ miles.
I never posted about the first version of this hat. I finished the first hat before the new year. Ben liked it very much, and I was pleased.
Then in March Ben has his coat stolen, and the hat was in the pocket (along with his wallet). We recovered from the annoyance of having his wallet stolen, and survived his winter coat being gone. But he would look at me with sad eyes and say "I wish I had a hat". What knitter doesn't LOVE requests for new knit items?
So despite the fact that it was now May and no longer hat season, it was a good project especially for my travels. I decided I could do no better than replace the hat that was stolen with an exact replica.
Project info (Ravelry link) Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood Made for: Ben Size: med/lg Needles: US 7 / 4.5 mm, US 8 / 5.0 mm Yarn: Berroco Pure Merino Nuance, 1.5 skeins = 138.0 yards (126.2m) Colorway: Ecologique
I was again amazed at the design and beauty of the cables all blending into each other in the crown. Jared Flood is one smart guy!
Despite Thursday's run not really happening, I wasn't deterred for today's 12-mile run. I am a bit surprised I wasn't too stressed about needing to run 12 miles today. I suppose that's what the last 9 weeks of training does. Ten and 11 mile runs weren't horrible. I can do 12.
Running 12 miles takes some planning.
(Interactive map here.)
I collected my running partner and we set out a bit later than we would have hoped (11a). We haven't run together in weeks and haven't done a long run in even longer. So it would be interesting to see how we had progressed without each other. The weather was good: 65, overcast, rained for a couple minutes, breezy.
We averaged 5 MPH for the entire 12 miles, which thrills me. We finished 12 miles in 2:20. I'm still not quite sure how/if we'll get to 13.1 miles in 2:30 (my unofficial goal). When running, we're at or below 10-min miles, but the walk breaks drop us to 12-min mile averages.
By mile 9, I was struggling. Miles 9, 10 and 11 were ok, but not great. At mile 11 we ran into a March of Dimes walk and had no choice by to walk, maybe for longer than we would have otherwise. We started running again at mile 11.3, and I remember complaining that my whole body hurt. My lats hurt, my delts hurt, my hip flexors hurt. We finished 12 miles strong, though I counted every hundredth of the last 0.7 miles.
The mile that we walked home felt like an eternity. I wanted to sit down when I got home, but don't allow sweaty people on the furniture. I was afraid if I sat down on the ground I wouldn't be able to get up. I immediately got in the shower, but found that my quads were still screaming. I finally sat down on the side of the tub. After the shower I drank some poweraid zero, ate two spoon-fulls of peanut butter, and crawled into bed with my napping husband.
The half-marathon is 2 weeks from tomorrow. Time to taper.
This is the last week of increased mileage, and we start to taper after this in our 12 week plan. This week was to be 6 miles, 6 miles, and 12 miles.
Tuesday's run was "eh", mostly because the first 3 miles were uphill, certainly much more uphill for which I am conditioned.
Thursday's run was not to be. I came up with at least a half-dozen reasons why that might be: 1. too much running lately, 2. being on vacation and doing strange "vacation" things, 3. being in Canada, 4. Tuesday's run uphill, 5. the cold/wet weather in Niagara falls that morning, 6. it being too early in the morning. Most of my problem were my hip flexors where killing, which made me favor the uphill run as the biggest problem.
Alas, I listened to my body and walked 3 miles before heading back to the hotel.
Today's long run is in it's own entry.
No, I still have no idea what the line on the bottom of the widget graphs is.....
The scenery for Tuesday's and Thursday's runs:
The rest of the vacation pictures are here and here.
