Firsts and Nexts

Over the past year and a half, I have had the privilege of running some "first races" with some of my nearest and dearests.  First it was a 5k with Amy in Portland, ME...then a 5K with Derek in Franklin, MA....and this month I got to run another couple firsts:  My co-worker/friend Katie ran her first 5k (at one of my favorite races, no less) and a couple friends ran their first half marathons - all in the same weekend!  

I was so excited for Katie and her first race.  After I posted a picture about the Huff N Cuff 5k on Facebook, Katie registered!  Running your first race at the Huff N Cuff definitely sets the bar high.  Truth be told, I am a little biased, since a friend is the race organizer, however it really is an awesome race - great schwag (long-sleeve T and a snazzy pint glass), live music by the talented Brian Richard, oh yeah, and free beer. Yup, I said it...free WACHUSETT beer.  Happy girl, right here.  (I had to let Katie in on a secret - all races don't have as great a post-race party and race schwag as this race.)

Anyway, we had a great time, with exceptional company. And I was super proud of Katie - her first race and a PR no less! 

Katie and I - pre-race! (Yes, blue was the Training Dept. uniform for the day)

The next day was...dun dun dun...Smuttynose.  As beautiful as Saturday was, Sunday turned out to be the complete opposite.  I should have known, it being Smuttynose and all.  As my friend Henry said, "I've run Smuttynose 4-5 times, and it has rained every year I've run."  Thanks for jinxing us again, Henry. (Kidding!)  Alas, I saddled up the next day with CRB and plans to meet up with at least a few of the dozen or so people I knew running the race.  

CRB and I - ready to run!

It was so chilly and windy at the start that I just wanted to get going.  We met up with Jessica, who was running her very first half marathon that day (yay Jess!), and found our corral.  

Now, I had planned on going for a PR that day, and for the first 10 miles, I felt like I could do it.  Then it happened - tight IT band, lower back pain, knee hurt...I just fell apart.  It definitely wasn't my worst half, by a long shot, but it was not the PR I wanted.  Next up - Rock'N'Roll Half in VEGAS!!  Just have to keep myself healthy and well for a few more weeks. 

A couple days before my October Race Extravaganza (a.k.a. October 5-6), I received a packet from the B.A.A.  It was my "participant" certificate and 2013 race record book.  I've said it since April, the B.A.A. has be so classy and amazing in how they have communicated with all involved in the marathon this year.  It was overwhelming and emotional to look at these things...the proof that April 15 did actually happen, and it wasn't just a bad dream.  Emotions from my first marathon came flooding back.  I just sat and stared at it for awhile.

My first marathon

And then, a couple weeks later another package arrived.  My signed copy of 4:09:43 from Hal Higdon.  He had emailed the 75 of us to say it was coming.  When I picked up my number for the 5k, Henry said, "Hey! You're famous!"  I must have had a confused look on my face, because he said, "Hal's book. I read it. You're famous!"  I felt humbled that Hal chose my blog and a small piece of my story to tell.  I felt more touched that Hal, a runner, told the story of us runners on that day.  He felt it. He encapsulated how we felt (at least a small number of us...the true gamut of emotions that day will never be truly understood.)

Wow. So humbled. 

Next, I have my sights set on Las Vegas. I want my PR. :) 

Tempus fugit

I've been delinquent in my blogging lately - well, for the past 2 months actually!  I was in a bit of a funk....ok, maybe more than that.  I went on vacation with CRB to Cape Cod, went to a concert, broke my toe, didn't run for a month.... So, I guess I've had a lot going on.  

Vacation was great.  We spent the week hanging around the world-renowned beaches of Dennis, visited with my family, toured Truro Vineyards, and made our annual climb to the top of the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown.  Oh, and of course ate our way through the Cape - oysters, fish & chips, chowder, quahogs - you name it, we ate it. 

We were there for the week encompassing the 4th of July.  I couldn't help but think about Papa a lot.  I have vivid memories of Independence Day up at camp: rides in the boat, water skiing, staying in the lake until our fingers resembled raisins, and Uncle Rob shooting off the best fireworks displays on the whole lake.  

Papa and yours truly circa 1983 @ Camp in Ashburnham, MA

Papa always said that July 4th was the end of summer. Memorial Day starts it, and it's all downhill after July 4th.  Us kids would groan because we had not even been on summer break for a month.  Now, as I am staring down the end of August, I realize what he meant.  It does go by so fast.  The last 4, almost 5, months have passed quickly, yet it seems just like yesterday we said goodbye to one of the greatest men I know.  

Between missing Papa and not running for about a month, I had a rough time.  We went to the Jason Aldean concert at Fenway in July, where I proceeded to trip over a girl who stopped coming out of the ladies room, catch my baby toe on the corner of a cement wall, and break it.  Yup, silly little broken toe.  (Or little sausage toe as I called it, because once it swelled up, it looked like a little sausage! I can laugh now, but then I had a vocabulary that would have made Papa *very* disappointed!)

Rather purple and sausage-like

That did it.  I couldn't run for nearly a month. I was 4 weeks out from the Monadnock Half Marathon in Jaffrey, NH, which I was really looking forward to running. I moped for a week and a half, feeling like a sad puppy when CRB went out for a run and I stayed at home, peering out the window waiting for him to get back.  I couldn't even wear shoes let alone run a few miles.  

I tried running after about a week and a half after I broke it. 

Note to runners with broken toes: THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. IT SUCKS, BUT YOU HAVE TO WAIT IT OUT. There.  I moped for a few more days, then dragged myself to Bikram yoga.  It felt good to use my muscles. My balance was not spectacular given the inability to stabilize my right foot, but boy did it feel good to sweat and push myself.  I returned to Bikram four days in a row (!) and felt better and better.  By the middle of the next week, I gave it a go.  Four weeks of waiting...it felt good!!  Little twinges occasionally, but the toe was better.  I ended up switching to the 5k trail run instead of the half, so at least I got to race that weekend.  Yipee!  Then a week later I ran 7 miles..and felt great! Yipee again!  SO, I am back on track for the Smuttynose Half Marathon in October.  I have a goal to PR this race, and hopefully break 2 hours.  

In other exciting news... The B.A.A. was in communication with the 5,633 of us who did not get to finish the marathon. We all got a special code to register this week.  And I did. I am in for the 118th running of the Boston Marathon on April 21, 2014.  I can't believe that I will begin training for my second marathon in just a few months. 

And I will finish this race. 

Trial and Error

This week I *finally* had a few good runs!  Last week, I struggled through each and every run. As I slogged through the streets of town I said I hated running.  To which my CRB replied, "No, you don't. You're doing great!" (Then I might have reverted to my 5 year old self and initiated a "yeah I do!" "No, you don't" back and forth with CRB for the next half mile. Hey, we all have our moments...)  

#sneakerlove #solemates

Alas, I broke through. This week, I had a few GREAT runs, including one workout on the track.  My goal for the Smuttynose half marathon in October is to PR.  Really, I not only want to PR, but I want to shave almost 10 minutes off my best time to break 2 hours.  To do this, as my more seasoned runner friends and bloggers have attested, I must do speed work.  Not my favorite activity, since at one point in recent memory, just running a couple miles was enough of a challenge.  Well, since I have run a couple dozen 5ks, 5 half marathons, and a (almost) marathon, I guess I can consider myself a "real" runner.  I need to suck it up and do what I know (and hope!) will work - running 5x400s, tempo runs, and the like. 

I learned a few things this week...

• I feel like a hamster on a wheel when I run around a track (probably explains why, in my VERY short stint in high school track, I never ran more than the 100 or 200 meter events!)
• Running around said track is much more tolerable when I have company (Thanks, CRB!)
• Although I LOVE my shoe collection, I must not wear my cute heels to work too often (high heels = leg pain while running = no bueno!)
• and foam rolling is SO much better when accompanied with a glass (or 3) of wine. ;)

SO much of running is trial and error.  What works for one, may not work for all.  While I am clearly not an expert, that's what I have learned.  You can take suggestions and ideas from other runners, but you have to figure out what works for you. 

Like foam rolling + wine....works for me! ;) 

Happy Running!

Holding down the couch

Here I sit (more of a lounge, really), on my couch. On my birthday. Sick. Sad face. :( The blessing in disguise: I really needed a day like this.  As much as I think I can keep going nonstop, my body has spoken.  And it has told me, "Girl, I don't know what you think you are doing, but you need to slow down!"  Between working a ton, training for the marathon, planning fundraisers....  Yeah, I needed a time out.

I did have a restful day. I had ice cream for lunch. (hey, it's my birthday! why not!)  And I am swimming in Facebook birthday wishes.  I am overwhelmed with the birthday love! Thank you all! I am so lucky to have so many special people in my life - old friends, new friends, running buddies, work friends, family - you all inspire me beyond words. Thank you.

So, in between my life of chaos lately, I did stumble upon a new blog - Miles Gone By.  What an awesome blog.  And her name is Amanda too, so she must be cool. :)  Our running stories are similar - she got into running in her late 20s, runs for the fun of it, and paces about the same as me.  If we lived closer, I'm pretty sure we would be running buddies. Check out her blog!!!

I found this picture she posted last week:

 

 

Yup. Simple as that.  Run for you, and no one else. And there is a lot of satisfaction in that. 



Warm thoughts from a chilly run

Last night's 3-mile training run was by far the coldest yet (about 20 degrees, maybe less), and the most treacherous, since we've received about a foot and a half of snow in the past couple weeks.  The sidewalks were a minefield of snow, ice, and a combo of the two in some spots.  (Unfortunately, my Chief Running Buddy suffered an ankle twist with about a mile to go - a direct result of the sidewalk conditions.  I foresee a Yaktrax purchase in our very near future!)

As we ran last night, clothing layered and headlamps on, I kept thinking about training for the marathon. I have been battling some hip and back pain, but as we ran last night, I felt great. Exhilarated, even. The day before, I ran in my first 10k race ever.  Yeah, I know, seems weird, since I have run so many 5ks, 5-milers, and four half marathons.  The 10k race distance is one that had eluded my schedule until now.  I kept visualizing myself running in Boston, right on Hereford, left on Boylston.... I have a long way to go before April 15, but a training run like last night helps me believe that I CAN do this.