Running Commentary

As for me, I ran to the gym today, lifted and then ran back home. It felt balmy in the sunny, 30 degree temps! I felt better than yesterday today but still on the sluggish side. I'm hoping to do 18-20 tomorrow and I'm really nervous about getting through it without bonking. But it's not hard to be conservative when you know you'll be ending with the heartbreak hills. We'll see what happens.

Posted by becky at 9:45 PM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2005

Fun Friday

Today is the last weekday before I start classes for real again. Boo-hoo. At least I had a good day. I was considering running and lifting today because I wasn't able to lift Wed. due to the gym being closed, but my arms and hamstrings were sore from lifting yesterday when I woke up, so I'll try to do it tomorrow instead. I just did a regular run, but even though the roads were much more runnable, I felt sluggish and heavy and like I was barely moving. One of those days where the time you run feels like it should be double based on the effort. Oh, well.

I came home and went to get my nails done, then went to pick my grandmother up for a little excursion we had planned. Her best friend's daughter (kind of like an aunt to me) owns a great accessory store on the North Shore, and both of us had been wanting to take a trip there. It's not that far, maybe 45 minutes without traffic, and since my grandfather has still been feeling down, I thought today would be a good day. We had a great time seeing our family friends and I got to pick out a new purse, whoo-hoo! It's almost identical to my old one, which I thought was way too trendy for me at first but now I love this bag because it's big enough to hold all my crap! Then we drove back (at which point a noise that the car has been making became decidedly worse, must check that out) to my grandparents' house and had dinner there. I could tell they were happy to have me there all day with them and it made me feel good--they've been stuck inside all week because of the snow and cold weather. (Matt would have come to dinner too but he's at a Celtics game.)

I'm so excited because we're going to the Boston Indoor Games tomorrow night! I can't wait, especially since my favorite runner Lauren Fleshman is scheduled to compete for the first time since her summer injury. I've interviewed her but never seen her run. Lots of other big studs should be there too--and hopefully some hot high jumpers or something to keep Matt occupied while I salivate over the distance races :)

Posted by becky at 8:36 PM | Comments (1)

January 27, 2005

Brrrr

We just came in from seeing Million Dollar Baby (good, but not as good as I expected) and it is really cold when the wind blows. I don't think it was that cold today when I ran, but then again, the sun was out then so that makes a difference. The roads were better today, but all the ice-melting stuff the plows spit out has created huge puddles (not to mention potholes.) One of my toes got wet early on in my run and it took a long time to regain feeling in it once I got home.

More of my run was normal pace today (i.e. less snow-pace) and I noticed how sore my legs are. They were just feeling so heavy today. I biked later for a bit and that felt better. I think it's just soreness/tiredness from altering my stride so much for the snow and ice. I'm going to try and take it easy tomorrow.

It's late! I should go to bed. Next week's full week of classes is going to be a shock to my system!

Posted by becky at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)

January 26, 2005

Foiled again by the white stuff

I'm not straying from my fondness for winter, but I do admit that I was a little annoyed when I woke up today and it was snowing again, only because it meant that the roads would be bad again. And actually, I had a harder time running safely today than I did on Sunday right after the blizzard, partly because there were a lot more cars out on the road today and partly because it wasn't quite as cold today so the snow was very slushy and slippery.

Nevertheless, I gave it my best shot. I got a lot of angry looks from drivers because I was a few inches from their tires, but running on the sidewalks was scarier because it is so uneven and I tend to fall when I step into big piles of snow (duh.) So I was just extra-careful on the roads. I've been noticing that I have new muscles that are sore when I snow-run; it's a good hip flexor workout even if I'm not getting my heart rate up as high because I am going so slow. I don't know exactly how far I went today but it took almost 1:10. Then later, because the gym closed at noon for inclement weather, I ran a tiny bit more. I was going to do about 30 minutes, but I just couldn't take it after 20 minutes and came home and baked instead :) I hate missing my planned lifting sessions, but when the gym is closed, I don't really have any other options.

Matt flew to NY tonight for an interview tomorrow, so I plan to spend tonight catching up on email and watching girlie shows he makes fun of.

Posted by becky at 6:54 PM | Comments (0)

January 25, 2005

Whistle workout

Tonight was another instance of me being glad to have the indoor track as a warm and dry place to run. It was sunny and not terribly cold today (when it gets into the 40s, it will feel like spring!) but the snow piles still make it hard to run at a normal pace. And drive at a normal speed, too--I picked up one of the girls I've been running with since her car is still buried and we got there a little too late to do my full warm-up loop. We did a couple of miles (maybe) and then a few laps once we got inside.

The workout tonight was the infamous "whistle workout." In high school we did this too, but it was called "Cuss the Coach." Basically we were supposed to run hard when the whistle blew (5K-10K pace) and then normal everyday running pace when the whistle blew again. I didn't have very high expectations tonight because of my lingering cold, but I actually felt better as I went on. It was terrible not knowing how long we'd have to run hard though. And the track was SUPER crowded, with two clubs and the Tufts men's soccer team.

I think we did a total of about 4 miles, or a little shorter, with most of it at a good clip. Then we did 3 x 200 and the wannabe sprinters of course took off like a bat out of hell--I think one of the girls was under 30 seconds. I feel okay now cold-wise and I think it's a good sign that I'm not coughing more than I was before, considering the dry air in there. I hope I find some good shoulders to run on tomorrow!

Posted by becky at 9:50 PM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2005

Still pretty snowy

My sinuses were completely clogged when I woke up today and it was giving me a headache. It got better later, but I'm paranoid that I need antibiotics to really get rid of this cold. Last spring, I was convinced I had a sinus infection and I went to the doctor and he told me I had an ear infection (although my ear didn't hurt) and I was conviced he just gave me antibiotics to placate me. If I still feel pretty bad on Wed. I will go seeking a cure.

But of course I wanted to run anyway! Matt and I left together--he was walking to the T stop--and when we got outside he reiterated how crazy I was to run when there was still snow on the main roads. I just smiled and promised I'd be careful. It's amazing how tiring such a slow-paced run can be--I didn't have a sense of exactly how slow, but shuffling at some points--both mentally and physically. I did find some roads in Belmont, bordering Cambridge, that were really well-cleared (i.e. you could see the road.) But most were still packed with an inch or so at best. I actually just read on Letsrun.com of all places that the path around Fresh Pond was plowed, which just astounds me. I didn't even stop to look today!

So after some close calls in 2 rotaries and much slippage, I headed back for home and ended up running 1:10 or so. No idea on the mileage, but it was a workout for sure. Later I biked and lifted, but I was feeling a lot of cold symptoms at that point so it was not very enjoyable. Being home now and having eaten a good dinner I feel somewhat better, but I'm going to try and go to bed as soon after The Bachelorette as I can. I need to be at school tomorrow at 9 to meet a friend to go over our final presentation for our winter class, which ends tomorrow. Early for me these days!

Posted by becky at 8:38 PM | Comments (1)

January 23, 2005

'Now that's dedication'

I woke up today around 9am and it was still snowing. I couldn't quite tell how much snow was on the ground but I could tell that some of the cars I saw last night out the window were now buried. But I also saw a couple of cars go by on the very small street behind our building, so I thought that was a good sign.

Thus, I decided to venture out on the main road in front of our building and hopefully make my way to Mass. Ave. which I assumed had to be plowed pretty well. Problem #1: When I got downstairs to our lobby, I noticed that the front door was blocked by a huge snowdrift. Luckily, I could go out through the garage. Problem #2: I could barely walk out to the aforementioned main road in front of our building, even though it is only 50 yards away. Problem #3: When I did make it onto the road and started shuffling, the wind was blowing snow so hard into my face that I couldn't even keep my eyes open. I "ran" for about 4 minutes and then decided to give up because it was just too painful.

I freaked out for awhile about not being able to run, etc. and then we took a walk to get our weekly supply of bagels. It was still pretty bad out and I felt like I had made the right decision not to run. Then I got home and all these emails from people in my running club started coming in, describing how they had managed to run and where. So finally at about 2:30, I ventured out again (after confirming that the gym was closed, or I might have tried to get there somehow.) It was still windy but not quite as bad, and I certainly was going really slowly, but I did run for almost an hour. I got some interesting looks (and some comments, like the one I used for my entry title) but it was really neat to be out in those conditions. The sun was even out for awhile and I managed to stay on my feet the whole time (without yaktrax or anything.) By the time I got home my eyelashes felt like they were frozen, but I was glad I had done it. These chances only come along infrequently!

Tonight was going well until I dropped my cellphone in the toilet. Why I brought it into the bathroom is a good question, but now I'm going to have to take a trip to the Verizon store tomorrow and hope that my phone is still under warranty...

Posted by becky at 7:49 PM | Comments (1)

January 22, 2005

Calm before the storm

We picked a T stop to meet at today for our run, and four of us showed up. We had a hard time recognizing each other because of how bundled up we were! (As usual, I probably had the least on.) I don't think any of us were looking forward to running in 3 degree weather, but it turned out to be the best decision because as soon as we got home, the snow started falling.

I was really worried about how I'd feel running considering I was still coughing when I woke up. But I took Advil, ate some hot cereal and felt better. When I started, I was worried about how my chest would hold up, but it turned out that it only bothered me on hills, so I just slowed down on them and caught the group on the downhills. I think our pace varied a lot--based on the GPS someone had--but we were probably doing about 8s most of the time, not bad for a fairly hilly route and freezing weather. I did a little more than the others because I ran to the start and back, so my total was about 15. I didn't feel so great when I got home, and my fingers were absolutely frozen despite my two pairs of gloves, but when I warmed up and had some hot tea I did feel okay.

One of the girls pointed out that an advantage to running in the cold is that your nagging injuries get numb--it's a natural anti-inflammatory! She's right; my knee didn't hurt me too much today. It was stiff when I got back but not as bad as it's been in weeks past. But then again, we didn't run all that long. Hey, I'll take what I can get.

We passed my grandparents' house on the way back to our starting point and stopped in to say hi and use the bathroom. I didn't warn them in advance so I think we really shocked them! They didn't understand why we couldn't sit down and have a cup of coffee instead of going back out there right away. They are so cute!

OK, we're about to watch a movie...

Posted by becky at 7:37 PM | Comments (0)

January 21, 2005

Been better

After waking up every hour last night with coughing fits and hearing that the windchill was around 15 below zero, I decided it would be for the best not to run today. (In 2003, I didn't take one day off from running and I'm always unrealistically trying to live up to that.) Matt was heading down to school anyway, so I drove him and biked for an hour in the gym. I was pretty tired after that, but I still didn't feel as achy and dizzy as I did all yesterday afternoon and evening, so I think I'm making progress. Still, I'm not feeling quite like myself today.

My long run friends decided today that we should run tomorrow instead of Sunday because of the storm we're supposed to get. Normally I like to run on Saturdays better, but I was hoping to give myself an extra day of recovery. I'm going to try and run with them, though, and just aim for about 12-14 and do a longer run (hopefully 20+) when I'm feeling better next weekend. It's still going to be really cold tomorrow, though, so I don't know how my chest will feel. One of the girls has something to do at 10am, too, so we decided to go at noon to give the weather a little time to warm up. I guess it's good practice for marathons with later starts, but I don't generally like doing that since it really seems to shorten the day. Hopefully it will be worth it. At least I'll have some time to get a couple of doses of Advil in before I leave to run.

Stay warm, everyone!

Posted by becky at 8:32 PM | Comments (2)

January 20, 2005

Sick

I woke up with a little cough and raspy throat and it's been downhill all day. Needless to say, my run this morning was not too pleasant (although not as bad as I worried about) and then I tried to go to the gym later in the day and didn't get very far. When I got home, I slept on the couch for awhile and took some Sudafed (I hardly ever take anything) and I do feel a little better now. However, I haven't been able to eat a whole lot all day so I'm still feeling kind of weak. It's also suppposed to be REALLY cold tomorrow morning so I will probably attempt to run, but I don't know how it's going to turn out...

Posted by becky at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2005

Changing it up

Matt has a bad cold and asked me to drive him down to school for an interview this morning, so I decided to just park at the gym after dropping him off and run from there for a change. That way I was able to do a new route, which is good because I tend to do the same ones over and over. I actually ran by school, which I've only done once or twice before. I was glad I didn't have to go in :) but sort of wanted to since it was really cold out again.

When I got back to the gym, I biked a little bit and did my lifting routine that I would have done later in the day anyway. It was nice to be at the gym at a less crowded time of the day and to get everything done early so I could go home and finish up an assignment.

I'm getting distracted because I'm watching The West Wing while trying to do this, so I'm going to go back to the TV!

Posted by becky at 9:01 PM | Comments (1)

January 18, 2005

Glad to be inside

Brr! Like the rest of the Northeast (and Midwest I think) Boston is experiencing a blast of Arctic air. Even I think it's painfully cold, so it must be chilly! My face was all chapped after my short run this morning, and my IT band never really warmed up. So even though the indoor track is dry and hot, I was actually relieved to have a warm place to run tonight.

I "warmed up" outside as usual and came inside just before the workout was about to start. We were supposed to do 2 miles at 10 seconds faster than 10K pace, then jog 200 meters and then do a mile at that same pace. My workout partners were the girls who ran with me on Sunday, so we were all pretty dead-legged still. K. brought her boyfriend to the track tonight (he was just walking) so she was showing off for him and went out fast. She seemed pretty dead at the end but managed to run about 20 seconds faster than W. and I did for the 2 mile. (We ran about 6:45-50 pace.) I was a bit ahead of both of them for the mile, but it still wasn't too speedy, just under 6:40 I think. Then we finished with our customary 2x200, but nobody was going under 40 tonight.

Time to clean up from dinner...

Posted by becky at 9:12 PM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2005

A little lost

We ended up getting home from the wedding we went to around 2:30am, so I was really glad that I was able to sleep in. Poor Matt had to wake up for a conference call that never happened. I didn't go running until about 10:30, and even though it was sunny, it was pretty cold. I did my best not to slip on the new snow (just a little bit) that fell the night before.

I was pretty sore from the long run, but nothing out of the ordinary with my knee. It took awhile to warm up but felt better after about 30 minutes. Since I was feeling decent, I decided to explore a little, veering off from my usual Monday route. I found some nice hills, but I really didn't know where I was and ended up making a big loop that left me exactly where I had begun to veer off course in the first place! I'm glad I didn't make myself run too much extra, but I did end up doing a couple more miles than I intended, which of course does not make me very confident for my track workout on Tues.

I went to the gym later in the day and it was ridiculously crowded--I guess the MIT students are returning back to school. I could barely even get a recumbent bike, let alone an elliptical. And there were no towels and hardly any of the weights were free when I wanted them. I guess I should be glad that these students are so motivated to work out!

Posted by becky at 5:53 PM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2005

Much-needed confidence booster

As my loyal fans know, I've had some trouble with long runs lately--they seem to be the one remaining thing my knee can't quite keep up with. Today I just wanted to feel decent when I was done, even though that probably meant not going as far as I should have. A bunch of us started out together but the pace was faster than I wanted to go--probably 7's or so for awhile--so three of us made a pact to stay together even if it meant slowing down. Neither one of them had a set mileage goal in mind so we did just under 17. I really have to start doing 20+ runs but I didn't want to build up too quickly.

We started at Cleveland Circle in Brighton today and did about 5 miles not on the Boston course and then met up with course again near Wellesley. This run was sponsored by the BAA which is mostly a bunch of fast guys, but there were water stops for us too :) We went out to the 14 mile mark of the marathon and then turned back. One of the girls I was with had a GPS thing and it really made me want one. I felt good today until we got back into Newton and into the hills. I kept thinking how the hills would be a piece of cake if I was still incorporating hills into my regular runs as I was in DC. Anyway, my knee did start to bother me on the hills and I tried to really consciously NOT favor it because I think that makes it worse. It was also very cold today and my fingers were frozen inside my gloves, which was an additional annoyance. But at least there were no icy patches to hurdle over like last week.

When we got back to the start of the run, one of the coaches asked me if I had parked in a certain lot just a few feet away. I looked up there and there were no cars! A towing company had just come by and taken all of the cars!! This is especially ridiculous because the lot is for a restaurant that is OUT OF BUSINESS. Plus it was Sunday morning. I was flipping out. We got a ride to the towing place--and I was soaked to the bone with sweat so I couldn't stop shivering--and found out it was going to be $110 to get the car and (of course) they only took cash. Luckily there was an ATM nearby, and even more luckily, the girl who I had driven offered to split the cost with me. She rocks!

So I got the car back and eventually got back here with enough time to eat something, shower and update my blog. Now we're about to get ready to leave for this wedding in Hartford. No rest for the weary!

Posted by becky at 1:35 PM | Comments (2)

January 15, 2005

Run 'n' lift

After what seemed like many days in a row of rain or snow, it was finally sunny today (and cold, hooray!) I am running on the Boston Marathon course again tomorrow for a long run, so today was just another easy day. I have only had terrible long runs lately so we'll see what happens tomorrow. This time I'm going to bring some gummies with me, at least, and start out extra slow just in case. Anyway, back to today: my stomach was bothering me for the first mile or so of the run, which doesn't happen to me often. Luckily it settled down. I took a very un-scenic route to MIT so I could stop and lift a little and then finish my run after that. Actually, running by the river was a scenic part of the overall ugly route--there were tons of people out enjoying the sun.

So I did some lifting--nothing too exciting and again no good magazines to read in between sets--and then put my wet clothes on to run home. I drank Gatorade while I was at the gym to keep my blood sugar up, but I knew I would feel weak by the time I got close to being home, and I did. But I made it and thankfully my grandmother had given me a freshly-baked loaf of banana bread that was perfect for getting my calories back :)

Today I did some errands and schoolwork. Tonight we are going to a semi-professional wrestling event, believe it or not. Matt likes WWE wrestling and I have accompanied him to many of those events up and down the east coast, but this is new for me. I guess it's the people who are almost good enough to be in the WWE but are still in training. A friend of his from high school who I've never met is joining us also. I will probably be bored but hopefully we won't get back too late so I can get a good night's sleep before tomorrow's run! Maybe I should bring my book with me... :)

Posted by becky at 4:01 PM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2005

Wet and warm, then wet and cold

I knew it was raining when I left to run this morning, but I didn't know it was torrential. Good thing, I guess. It was in the 60s though so (and even I'm saying this) at least it wasn't too cold. However, the temperature was starting to drop dramatically in the time I was out there. It was warm at first and that helped because I got completely SOAKED. The brim of my hat was dripping, my shoes were sloshy and I considered just taking my shirt off because it was heavy! Ugh. And my knee was bothering my today, probably because I was lazy last night and didn't use my foam roller. All of this was making for a run that really dragged. Then, it seemed like the temperature dropped 20 degrees. I started getting really cold, especially since I was wet! At that point I was close to home so I figured that was enough running! I wanted to take an easy day today anyway...

Later today, I went over to my grandparents' expressly to take a walk with my grandfather, whose doctor recently tried to convince him how important it was that he walk every day. But he didn't want to in the rain, and I wasn't going to force my run-in-any-weather preferences on him. So, I just hung out there for awhile and got some fashion advice from my grandmother as to what shoes to wear to this wedding this weekend. She's not your typical 80-year-old: she just recently retired from her job as a saleswoman at one of the ritziest boutiques on Newbury Street in Boston.

Tonight will be a continuation of my lazy day--we're going to eat dinner and then watch a movie. Happy weekend!

Posted by becky at 5:49 PM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2005

Just another day

When I woke up today, I was shocked to see that Boston.com said it was only 31 degrees. How could that be, when the high today was 56?? I checked two other TV channels and the consensus seemed to be that it was around 34. I put on my shorts anyway, figuring that it was probably a "warm 34" if the temperature really would be getting that high. Well, it never did get too warm today (or at least it didn't feel like it to me) but my choice of shorts was, thankfully, appropriate. This anecdote reminds me of an article I just read in the latest issue of Sports Ilustrated about why NFL players like to wear short sleeves during cold playoff games!

We have a wedding this weekend and I realized last night that the dress I was planning to wear is at my parents' house. This is a couple we don't know very well (Matt's second cousin who incidentally was not invited to our wedding) so a backup dress I found in the closet will do! The last time I dressed up in cold weather was at college, I think--in fact this very dress may be from one of my sorority formals! I have to remember to pick up some stockings this weekend. This whole dressing up thing is so foreign to the life of a student.

I did the elliptical today and lifted after class as per my usual routine. I was really hoping to find a trashy magazine to learn more about the Brad and Jen breakup, but the only thing less than 3 months old was a Teen People. Even I don't stoop that low. It's a rare case when I actually buy one of these magazines, but they really are a new guilty pleasure of mine.

Matt's train gets in to Boston in a little while, so I'm off to pick him up. I'm excited because he's bringing me the real New York Times, which is so much nicer to read than the online version.

Posted by becky at 6:50 PM | Comments (1)

January 12, 2005

A very wet day

I think I was lucky that I had to go running pretty early this morning, because it was kind of lightly snowing at that point. Throughout the day it has been sleeting and now just raining, making for a big mess with all the snow left on the sidewalks. I was dreading the post-workout run today as usual but it wasn't too bad. I was tired, but I think drinking a lot of water after leaving the track last night was a very good thing. Sometimes I'm too cold or I forget and then the dehydration makes me feel really bad the next morning.

Since I was near my bus route already this morning for a doctor's appointment, I decided to go to the gym after that instead of waiting until the afternoon. That was where my workouts started to catch up with me. I managed to bike for a bit and then lift, but I was really dead by the time I left and couldn't wait to get home and eat lunch! In retrospect, getting both workouts done in the morning was good because I was able to spend all afternoon working on an assignment that is due tomorrow. Plus, by only going out once, I didn't have to get wet a million times--I just never dried :)

My doctor's appt. was just a routine exam, but it was the first time I had been to one of the Harvard doctors. She asked if I needed any referrals and I tried to get one for physical therapy, since I still could use a little ART, but she said she could only refer to the Harvard PTs who do not do that sort of stuff. Very disappointing. I may call around and see how much one or two sessions would cost out of pocket.

I am being distracted by the sound of my stomach growling. Since Matt's still in NYC, I'm treating myself to takeout.

Posted by becky at 5:50 PM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2005

'Gut check'

For some reason, the SRR coach kept referring to tonight's workout as a "gut check." Having never heard the term before, I didn't really know what he meant, but it kept running through my head all day and especially during the workout!

I had class this morning (ran about 3 miles before that) and then had time for a nice nap before going to the track. I tried to do some work but my eyes kept closing, so finally I gave in. I warmed up alone tonight because the woman I've been warming up with is away on a business trip, and I was paranoid I was going to fall on the remaining patches of ice. Luckily, I didn't. (We're supposed to get some more snow/ice/rain tonight and then it is supposed to get into the 60s, which means I'll be sweltering.) The "gut check" workout was 4 x 1200 at a fairly hard pace and then 2 x 200 as well. A group of 4 of us were working together and trying to hit between 4:45-4:50. My legs sure were heavy from Sunday's long run, but my knee wasn't too bad, just the usual indoor-tight-turn-track tightness, and I managed to get a little faster each time and was within the target range. On the 200s, I was again humiliated by the closet sprinters I have been training with. I managed 38s but my knee hurt a lot on the first one--I bet I was tightening up.

All right, I've got an early morning doctor's appointment tomorrow so I better get going on the things I need to do tonight.

Posted by becky at 9:00 PM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2005

Post-long run soreness

I woke up several times during the night noticing that my knee and calf were still sore (especially in the curled up position I was sleeping in) but when I actually got up for real, I didn't feel so bad. I just ran easy for about an hour--my knee was at first a little stiff and then I had just my usual IT tightness, so I was pretty happy with that. This afternoon, I did the elliptical for a little while to warm up before lifting, and strangely my kneecap, which hasn't bothered me recently, hurt at first. I just can't win.

I watched the NCAA XC broadcast today, but I really should have taped it because there were so many commercials! I guess it's the only way they can drag out the whole thing to an hour. It seemed liked the name mispronounciations were kept to a minumum this year ("Caroline BIRNBAUM" stuck in my mind) but I wish they had more post-race interviews.

It's almost time for The Bachelorette! I was planning on watching anyway (I like Jen and she is a friend of a friend), but now that Josh Cox is on, I have even more incentive. Ah, the joy of mind-numbing television.

Posted by becky at 8:29 PM | Comments (0)

January 9, 2005

Feeling good...and then bad

Well, I started out feeling strong and pretty relaxed this morning on our long run. I ran to meet three others (about a mile) and was glad to note that the roads weren't too icy after the wet weather we had all day yesterday. One girl we were running with grew up in Winchester, right near my grandparents', actually, so she led us around that area. I felt good until about 1:45 into the run, and then I started feeling kind of weak and dizzy. I had Gatorade with me and drinking that helped some, but my hands were cold so it was hard to grab my bottle out of my water-holder. I didn't realize how long we would be running, so I didn't bring gummy bears, either, which probably would have prevented that feeling (I've gotten it before on many a long run.)

Anyway, I think I ended up running about 17 miles and the last 3 or so were death march-ish. The other girls got a bit ahead and I really didn't care because I felt so crappy! My IT band and calf also tightened up A LOT when I started to have trouble--maybe due to unconsiously altering my stride?--and when I finally stopped running, I had a little trouble walking. I iced my knee and I'm icing it again now, but it's definitely sore and so is my calf, which hadn't been bothering me before. I thought about going to the gym later this afternoon and biking to loosen it up, but I bagged that idea when it was still hurting tonight. I got three good days of lifting in this week anyway.

We had a lot of fun last night at the game, even though Cornell lost to Harvard 1-0. The number of Cornell fans that show up to this game every year is always astounding! It's a great time.

Hmm, I should probably go do some work for my class, but Matt is watching 24 and I'm getting sucked in!

Posted by becky at 7:55 PM | Comments (3)

January 8, 2005

Quick update

Nothing too exciting going on in terms of running today--I did a short run this morning and luckily only caught the beginning of this snow/rain/ice storm that we are having. Right now it seems to just be raining, but it was hailing a lot earlier so I'm glad I missed that. Thankfully, my run was uneventful--no falls--and even the bike path along the Charles was pretty clear of snow. I wonder who actually shovels it, because there are many sidewalks in our neighborhood that are still messy despite the sunny day yesterday. Hmm.

Tonight we're going to my grandparents' house for a quick and early dinner and then it's off to the Cornell-Harvard hockey game. We're putting on our Big Red gear and doing our best to remember all the vulgar cheers from our college days. The other two party animals might go out afterwards, but I'll probably want to get to bed at a reasonable hour so I am rested for my long run tomorrow.

Posted by becky at 3:14 PM | Comments (1)

January 7, 2005

Ouch!

I was so proud of myself for negotiating the little patches of snow and ice remaining on the sidewalks today without wiping out...and then...I bit it when I was about a mile from home. It wasn't too bad of a fall but I slid and cut my knee badly enough for it to begin bleeding right away (yes, I was wearing shorts again.) Luckily no one saw me fall or it would have been very embarassing. :) I used some snow to ice the cut a little bit and then sucked it up and ran home. It's a little sore now but I think it will be just fine tomorrow.

I didn't do any cross-training today because I wanted a break from it. I'm doing a long run on Sunday with a few girls I met at the track and the last time I ran with them I was totally dragging, so I'm trying to give myself a couple of easy days today and tomorrow! Who knows if it'll work, but it might help so I'm willing to try.

Matt's sister is flying here tonight for the weekend, so we're off to the airport to pick her up! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Posted by becky at 6:15 PM | Comments (0)

January 6, 2005

More snow, no more shorts

I'm glad so many of you found my choice of wardrobe yesterday amusing! :) Today it appeared to be flurrying as I left, and Boston.com said 28 degrees, so I dressed more appropriately. We got another couple of inches last night and the non-main roads were so unplowed that I was surprised to see Cambridge Public School buses picking up at the usual time--I thought the schools would at least have a delayed opening or something.

I definitely felt less tired than yesterday, but I was slowed by the messiness in the streets. I ran in the road when I safely could, but a lot of the time I was relegated to the sidewalk, where it was only a few inches deep with snow but very heavy and wet. I kept remembering some of the runs we did at Cornell when it had just snowed--it was always hard running there, but the snow combined with the hills made it even harder. Anyway, I looked at my watch when I stopped to cross a street and realized it still said 6 minutes from the first time I had stopped it to cross somewhere else! Damn--I hate when that happens. Thus, I'm not sure how far I ran but my legs were hurting from all the snow-shuffling when I finished.

I went to school for my class after that and then stopped at the gym on the way home. I'm really into this book I'm reading (grabbed it from my parents' bookshelf when I left their house) so I sort of just wanted to go home and curl up and read, but I knew I'd be mad at myself later. I actually ran a couple of easy miles on the treadmill because I felt like it, and then biked a bit. I was really, really apprehensive about the 'mill because this was the first time I had tried it out since last May, when I had my big knee injury. Back then, my knee had been bothering me a bit but got a ton worse after doing many miles on a treadmill at the resort where we spent our honeymoon. There wasn't much air conditioning in the gym there and my PT and I think that I strained my knee more from slipping a lot on a sweaty treadmill belt (gross, but true.) She advised me to avoid it for awhile and I have. Today felt okay but I will not do any long or fast running on the treadmill unless it is a dire circumstance.

On another subject, did anyone read the article about Rachel Umberger transferring from Duke to UNH? It was one of the fast-women.com newslinks today. I thought it was a very open and honest account by someone frustrated with the pressures of a Division 1 environment. I hope Rachel succeeds at a lower-key (but still D1) school--she should be praised for getting out of a situation in which she wasn't happy and thriving.

Posted by becky at 6:42 PM | Comments (3)

January 5, 2005

Shorts in the snow

My fear of being too hot when I'm running occasionally results in poor clothing choices. Today was one of those days when I probably should have worn tights, but I didn't because Boston.com told me that it was about 35 degrees, my general cut-off. It was lightly snowing when I left and I figured it was tapering off. However, the snow picked up and was blowing in my face the whole time, making me colder than usual. My legs weren't actually too bad, but I got a lot of funny looks and one, "You're a brave soul!" It was amusing.

Besides the weather, I was dragging big-time on my run. It was one of those runs where you look at your watch and can't believe it's only been a half-hour. (At least I assume that happens to other people.) My legs were tired from the workout last night, I think, and I just couldn't motivate to go more than about 50 minutes. I was relieved to get home and dry off.

I did some school work and watched half of About Schmidt, a movie I've always wanted to see but never got around to actually seeing, this afternoon and then went to the gym. I think I biked harder than usual because I was super-sweaty (even for me) and really tired when I was done. It made lifting not so enjoyable--I did what I could until my hunger pangs kicked in. When that happens, I start to get weak and shaky and that's it for me.

On that very subject, I must check on the progress of our dinner cooking in the oven!

Posted by becky at 6:41 PM | Comments (5)

January 4, 2005

Round and round we go

Today I realized how much longer the day is when you wake up "normal" time instead of at 9 or 10, as I've been doing! I did my short pre-workout loop this morning and felt kind of groggy--probably because I hadn't been running at 7am in almost 2 weeks. Once I got back and showered and everything, I felt more awake and was actually looking forward to going back to school. (It helps that I'm only taking one class this month.) The class was actually really great--it's going to be a lot of work but I think it will be very worthwhile.

I took a nice nap in the middle of the day and then got ready to go to the track workout. My friend and I got lost warming up and almost missed the start of the workout, but luckily some nice dog-walkers pointed us to Tufts. The workout was a fairly easy one to mark the transition from shorter stuff to longer workouts for the next few months: 3 by a mile, starting at tempo pace and getting 10 seconds faster each time (only 200 jog in between), then 2 by 200 at repeat pace.

Although my partners in crime were grumbling about how slow they were going to do the first one, we were aiming for about 7 minutes just to make sure that it really felt easy. Of course we did 6:51, then 6:41, then 6:35 or so. I never felt too awful, but I was getting tired of running around in circles. We were pretty pleased because we kept it at a do-able pace the whole time, as we were supposed to. I know the times aren't "fast" by most people's standards, but it wasn't bad for the first track workout in Jan.

I got completely burned on the 200s we had to do at the end. Four of us were doing them together, and the three others lean towards being short-distance specialists and I certainly do not. They took off and ran probably 34 seconds (on tired legs) for the first one and 32 for the second. I was about 5-6 seconds behind each time. No matter how fast I tried to run, there was nothing I could do to improve my turnover! It was brutal. But in a fun way, so I was happy. Now I'm just tired!

Posted by becky at 9:19 PM | Comments (1)

January 3, 2005

Return to Fresh Pond

I got a lot of sleep last night, but I woke up dreading my run for no good reason. Sometimes it's harder for me to get out the door when I'm not in a rush, that's what I've been realizing since I've been on break. Anyway, I did get out there--and was not happy with the warm, heavy air--and felt really sluggish the whole time. This sluggish feeling has been happening every few days lately, and I have a feeling it's because I haven't been eating enough when I wake up late and combine breakfast and lunch whenever I'm done running. Yesterday in particular, we spent a few hours in the car and then ate a much later dinner than I planned on. It seems like such a minor thing, but I require lots of eating and I'm sure being a bit off can affect how I feel when I'm running. On a positive note, my knee felt pretty decent today.

Matt and I spent most of the afternoon cleaning up the apartment, which we had left pretty messy after finals. His sister is coming to visit this weekend for the Cornell-Harvard hockey game (big event in our circles) and she will be sleeping in the second bedroom which was covered in books, papers and computer supplies. It looks a lot neater now.

I made my triumphant return to the MIT gym later this afternoon--I was glad to get back to my favorite elliptical machine and the weights I'm used to. I guess most MIT students take winter classes, because it was packed. My own winter class starts tomorrow, and it looks like it will be a lot of work but hopefully worthwhile.

I'm nervous about my track workout tomorrow because I was only able to do that road workout last week. I don't know what it is yet, but I'm sure I'll be worrying all day. We're supposed to be moving from shorter, faster stuff to longer intervals to get ready for spring marathoning, and I usually do better at those. The apprehension is usually worse than the actual workout--but not always--so I'll continue to worry!

Posted by becky at 9:44 PM | Comments (0)

January 2, 2005

Back to Boston

Hooray, we're back in Boston! I'm glad that we got to spend so much time with our families but there comes a time when you just need to get back into your old routine.

I ran this morning before we left and was happy to be able to make it up one of the hugest hills in my town without stopping. So being in NY was definitely good for hill training. I'm going to have to make sure to find more around here so I don't lose the ground I've gained! I also ran about 3 easy miles tonight because I felt all hyper from sitting in the car and I had to pick up something at the grocery store anyway--I combined the errand with a quick run, so that worked out. Tonight we had dinner at my grandparents' to see them but also because my aunt, uncle and cousins have been in Boston for the past few days. It was nice to catch up with everyone.

Matt and I are both exhausted for no particular reason, so we're going to try and watch an HBO show we taped weeks ago when we were too busy to watch it and then head right to bed.

Posted by becky at 10:50 PM | Comments (1)

January 1, 2005

Too much wine

I didn't even have that much wine last night--maybe a glass and a half?--but for me, that was enough to make me feel really sluggish running today. We had a very low-key New Year's Eve, just hanging out with some friends, and took a 1 am train back into Westchester. I was in bed by 2 or so, but even waking up at 10, I still felt tired.

I felt really crappy starting from the time I left my house, and the back of my knee was bothering me again, too. It is so maddening because it felt fine yesterday! Anyway, I wanted to run at least 8 miles but I felt so awful after 45 minutes that I just ended it at an hour. Sometimes you have those days. I should probably crosstrain tomorrow but since we are trying to get out of here to go back to Boston on the early side, I know it will be easier to just run. We'll see.

Matt's mom was feeling sick again today so he and I spent the majority of the afternoon and early evening at the emergency room. She got some more sodium by IV and is supposed to go see her regular doctor to figure out what's really going on. I'm glad she's okay but I was bummed because Matt and I were supposed to go to this New Year's Day dessert party hosted every year by my parents' good friends who have a huge Manhattan apartment.

I forgot to say Happy New Year to everyone!

Posted by becky at 8:14 PM | Comments (0)