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October 31, 2005
Bad forecast, bad
I am already devoting too much time this week to thinking and worrying about running (and trying not to actually DO too much of it) so I've decided my blog entries are going to be especially brief. I didn't have a great run this morning for no good reason; I just felt blah and tired. I was also constantly thinking how it felt warm and it wasn't nearly as warm as it is now supposed to be in NYC on the weekend. Those thoughts couldn't have helped. I did enjoy running by some kiddies who were being walked to school and dressed in cute little Halloween costumes. I used to like Halloween a lot (now I just go for the candy) until I reached my costume pinnacle by dressing up as Pat from Saturday Night Live in high school. When I didn't win the costume contest, I stopped liking Halloween.
Anyhoo, the rest of my day was spent working on the final (yay!) newsletter for the NYRRF running team. It never seems like it will take too long but it always does. In fact, I must finish it shortly.
I also lifted (lightly) and biked a little bit while reading about Katie Holmes' newfound love of Scientology and her excitement over being pregnant with Tom Cruise's baby. That was a scary enough Halloween experience for me!
Posted by becky at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2005
Taking full advantage of the extra hour
Matt's high school reunion was pretty much what we expected: he talked to and caught up with classmates he hadn't seen in a long time while I hung out with the two wives of Matt's good friends. I had fun doing that, though. I was disappointed that the food wasn't better: for $75 a person at a beach club, you'd think it would be at least a served dinner (it was a buffet.) And the dessert wasn't even good! Oh, well. Matt ended up going out to a bar afterwards and I wisely decided to go home and go to sleep. I did watch a little of Lance and Sheryl on SNL, but I wasn't too impressed. Maybe I missed the funny skits, if there were any.
I was glad to get the extra hour of sleep that comes with changing the clocks back, but I also know that it is now going to be pretty dark already at MIT XC practice! I can never remember if it is darker in the mornings, too, but it has been dark when I have to go super-early for awhile now, so I don't think it will make a huge difference. Anyway, when I finally did get out of bed this morning, I did an easy, quick run. It was MUCH warmer than yesterday (sports bra weather for me) and I started to get nervous about the forecast for next weekend, which has been creeping from the high 50s into the mid-60s. But enough about that since no one is sure yet. I felt pretty good on my run and this guy in a car asked me for directions when I was waiting to cross the street and when I told him, he said, "Thanks, good luck to you!" and I wondered if I looked more tired than I should for being on a 6 mile run?? It was kind of funny.
Today we hung around at Matt's mom's house until early afternoon and then drove back to Boston. We stopped at Ikea on the way home to get a shoe rack for the front hall (one that I had seen and liked at Alison's house, actually) and of course I bought the wrong thing. Anyone need a hat and coat rack??
Now we're home and catching up on emails and work. I start some new classes this week and am unfortunately going to be busier and have a lot more work because I had a lighter load for the first quarter. I am not looking forward to it, but it's only 8 weeks. Have a great week, everyone!
Posted by becky at 9:44 PM | Comments (1)
October 29, 2005
Short long run
I slept in my old bed at my parents' house last night and I was so comfy that I didn't wake up until much later than intended! It didn't really matter, but my mom and I had a girls' shopping day planned so I wanted all the time I could get. I drove to Rockefeller to do my long run even though I knew it would take longer because it was a chilly fall morning and I wanted to get a chance to see the foliage at the park. I only needed to do 10-13 miles and I probably did a hair over 12.
I was actually a little chilly despite my long sleeves; once it was sweaty I just got cold. (And it was Coolmax--nothing helps with my sweat.) I saw a lot of Westchester Track Club studs doing a workout and noticed they were all in tights and winter hats. Hmm, I wonder what they wear when it really gets cold!
I felt pretty good on the run except for some of the hills at the end that got to me. I ran with my iPod for the first time in awhile and was glad to have it. It felt weird stopping before 2 hours; it's been a long time since I did a long run shorter than that. Don't get me wrong, I was glad to stop then! I am kind of enjoying my taper because I don't second guess my decisions on mileage--I feel like there is a greater force at hand here telling me to back off!
My mom and I did spend a few hours shopping this afternoon and I got a new outfit to wear to Matt's HS reunion tonight. I'm not sure what to expect but I do know a lot of his friends from HS already (and their significant others) so at least I know I'll have a good time hanging out with them! All right, time to go get ready...
Posted by becky at 6:13 PM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2005
Quick and chilly
There was no question about sticking to my plan of only running 5 easy miles this morning because I woke up with barely enough time to do that, get showered and get to class on time! For some reason, I had a really hard time falling asleep last night--I think it was a combination of Matt being out and my increasing nerves about the marathon--and I was up for hours watching mindless MTV shows. So waking up was not easy.
It was pretty cold this morning (but obviously still shorts weather; I will note when this is not the case) but I felt like I was running smoothly and although I picked a pretty boring route, it went by quickly. And I even made it to class with a minute to spare.
I was lucky to have the computer lab portion of my class today during Heps and I was definitely tuned in to Chasing Tradition for their updates. I only had time to pay attention to the women's race and the times were (as expected) very impressive! As a team, Penn came out of nowhere for third, beating Yale. I love when that happens.
We're in NY now for Matt's high school reunion (tomorrow night). Running out the door to meet my parents for dinner...
Posted by becky at 6:18 PM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2005
Closer to goal distance
This morning I was determined to stick as closely as possible to my plan of running not more than 6 miles. I met Alison and she pledged to help me meet my "goal." I still ended up running a little more than intended, but it was much better than both Mon. and Wed. when I was like 15 minutes over my planned running time. I feel like I have a ton of routes that take about an hour to run and it's hard for me to figure out how to modify them. Anyway, we were both pretty chatty today despite the early hour (and the dark) so it was fun. I felt okay but struggled a little up a hill that really wasn't that big. It's all mental, I tell you!
Since I was tired from staying up late and getting up early, I didn't do a whole lot today. I tried to work on something for one of my jobs and could not connect to the FTP site I needed for some reason. Matt was around for a while in the afternoon and we figured out that we were both going down to MIT at around the same time, him for a meeting and me for XC practice. I dropped him off and then went to practice, which was grass loops again but only a few this time since their conference meet is right around the corner. I did a few loops with the asst. coach but it didn't add up to too much mileage so I think I am still okay. Tomorrow's a planned short(er) mileage day anyway...
I am getting really worried about the weather for the marathon. I'm refusing to look at the long term forecast, since it doesn't really mean anything anyway, but it's been so chilly this week that I have a hunch we're in for a change. The only time I was really happy with my marathon weather was in Philly in 2002. I think it was in the high 40s at the start and then got into the 50s and it never was too sunny. But you just never know in NYC and I am all too aware that it has been in the 70s for the past two years of the race. Obviously I can't do anything about it and as Mary points out, nothing could be as bad as the oppressive humidity we did so many long runs in this summer. True, but I am such a mental runner and I know that when it is cooler, I feel better and don't notice the miles piling up as much. Ugh, I'm getting a stomachache just thinking about all of this! I'm going to end here and go back to my dinner so I don't completely ruin my eating experience getting all worried.
Oh wait, tomorrow is HEPS: Go Big Red!
Posted by becky at 7:49 PM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2005
Easy run and "Pizza Relays"
I didn't get much sleep last night because I was working on something later than I usually allow myself to stay up, so my task of leaving the house at 6:15 to meet Wynne for a run was not an easy one. I was a little late, but so was she, so it didn't really matter. I knew I wanted to run about 6 or 7 miles but we are never sure where to go for that distance. We looped through Medford and back toward Tufts and Davis Square. It ended up being a little long, but what can you do? I swear that next week I'm going to be even more militant about capping my mileage. It may mean that I have to walk the last 2 miles of some runs, with the way I plan out routes!
My knee was a little sore after the treadmill yesterday (walking around and doing squats) but I was glad to note it felt okay today. I lifted this afternoon and intended to run a couple of miles with the MIT team, but they had shifted their workout until today because of the bad weather yesterday. When I heard that, I decided to just bike for a bit instead of running by myself while they were doing fast stuff. I ended up finishing my own workout just in time to get showered and back out to the track to watch them do this 3-person 3-mile relay. Both the men and women were doing it and it was actually pretty exciting to see everyone get super-competitive for the chance to win free pizza. It was pretty chilly out there tonight (windy, too) but everyone seemed to shrug off the less-than-ideal conditions and give it their best--ideal preparation for what they will be doing on Sat. at their conference meet!
I have a paper to finish tonight but I know if I do I will be able to relax and not do too much in the way of schoolwork this weekend!
Posted by becky at 7:42 PM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2005
Trying to ignore the Nor'easter
Last night I thought I heard something on the radio when I was driving back from the gym about a storm we were supposed to have today, but I figured it wouldn't be as bad as they were warning about. I heard the rain all night and it was very windy but warm (really) when I did my quick morning run. The wind was gusty and when it did gust, I felt like I was standing still, but I didn't think too much of it. Then I walked to class about a half hour after I returned from my run and it seemed even nastier out. I got completely soaked and my umbrella did nothing for me because it was turning inside out in the wind. I was freezing during class because my pants were so wet! Then I went outside to walk home and it was MUCH colder and even windier. The walk home was awful; I couldn't even walk in a straight line and I was worried that my umbrella was going to become a projectile and impale me!
All the while, I was thinking, should I even bother going to the track in this weather? Even if it got less windy, it would be dark and probably colder by the time my club met at 6:30. And I doubted that too many people were going to show up. So I decided it was going to have to be done on the treadmill (tomorrow's morning forecast did not look so hot either.)
I worked at home for a few hours and then went to the gym. I am wary of running more than 3 miles at a time on the treadmill because of the Honeymoon Injury, which I'm sure I've talked about before but I am too lazy to link to. Basically my sweat gets all over the belt and then my stride, which is not normal on a treadmill anyway, is compromised and I have to be careful not to slip. But this was not a typical day so I decided to go for it. I warmed up for 2 miles (so boring) and then did 3 x tempo miles (thank you to those of you who gave me workout suggestions.) They were actually each a little faster just because I wanted to get done. I cooled down for 2 miles after that and was happy that I had to stop (self-imposed tapering mileage limit) because I really was slipping all over the belt. And because I was listening to two MIT seniors complain about MD/PhD interviews.
Since it was a short workout, it wasn't too bad on the treadmill and hopefully I won't develop any weird injuries from it.
I just came across a link to a Gatorade blog, which I will check out more closely when I have time: http://firstinthirst.typepad.com. Cool!
Posted by becky at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2005
Draggin'
Both Alison and I seemed to have the same "I'm-so-not-in-the-mood-to-run" look on our faces when we met up this morning. She wasn't feeling well and I was just stressed out and tired. I think we were both glad to have company today. We ran on the Minuteman bike path out to Arlington Center and then ended at my apartment and I drove Alison back home from there. My legs felt okay but I just felt like I was moving at half-speed. I continued to feel pretty tired as the day went on. Thankfully I finished the paper I have been working on for days, but not without a nap and many web surfing breaks.
I wasn't feeling particularly motivated to lift this afternoon since I was so tired, but I wanted to get out of the house and hey, I'm a slave to my routine so who am I kidding? I didn't get to the gym until the dreaded 5pm hour when the place is packed. I managed to get done what I had to without being slowed down too much by waiting, which made me happy. After I left the gym, I met Matt at home since he had requested that "we" (really me) make a chicken and veggie stir-fry tonight. I don't love stir-fry especially when it involves cutting and touching raw chicken, but it's rare nowadays that we eat together during the week, so I did my wifely duties. And it was pretty good, if I do say so myself.
I have an ambitious schedule for the next hour and then I am getting into bed with my new issue of Runner's World that just arrived today. I kind of wish it was US Weekly, but this will have to do!
Posted by becky at 8:47 PM | Comments (1)
October 23, 2005
Happy Acorn revised
Matt was out pretty late last night and when he came home, I woke up and heard that it was raining pretty hard. Then I fell back to sleep and was awakened by a huge crash of thunder--I was very confused because I didn't think that thunderstorms happened when the temperature was in the 40s! It must be rare because I don't remember many late fall storms like that. It was still raining when I woke up to meet Mary and a couple of her friends for our long run, so I wasn't that surprised when the phone rang and Mary told me that one of the other women wanted to wait a couple of hours. This did not make me happy as I had a lot to do today and we compromised on waiting one and a half hours. I did a little work and read the Sunday Styles section (my fave) of the New York Times while I waited so it wasn't too bad.
Of course when I got to the meeting place, Mary had just gotten a call from the woman who requested the time change and she now wasn't coming at all! So annoying. And the fourth woman only ran with us for a couple of miles before deciding she would do her own thing. So it was just the two of us again and we decided on one last pre-NYCM Happy Acorn run, although we went out and back on the Jamaicaway today instead of the usual loop in the Arboretum. It wasn't raining anymore when we ran but it was overcast and chilly. I was comfortable in my long-sleeve t-shirt, shorts and gloves until we finished running and were just standing around talking--I got really cold then and my gloves were soaked (yes, with sweat) by that point.
The run itself was okay, a little blah for both of us I think, but I felt better than I had yesterday with my mysterious aches and pains. My ankles were VERY tight the first few miles, almost to the point of pins and needles in my feet again, but retying my shoelaces and stretching my ankles helped. When we were on our way back toward "our" side of the river, Mary found a new acorn to make noises with. She commented that I was very good at not letting my annoyance with her show (it's what you learn when you are a big sister)! All in all it was a decent run, probably about 16 or 17 miles and the last time we will run at all together before the marathon because Mary is taking off on Tuesday for two work trips and a mini-vacation.
As expected, I spent the rest of the day working on my paper (not finished yet but getting there) and going out on an errand with Matt. I usually like to swim or lift on one weekend day but it just wasn't in the cards this weekend and as I think about my schedule for next weekend, probably won't be then either. I guess it's okay because I am supposed to be tapering.
Speaking of tapering, does anyone have a good track workout that they like to do a week and a half before their goal marathon? I'm not sure what to do this week and my club is probably doing 400s. Have a great week, everyone!
Posted by becky at 10:52 PM | Comments (1)
October 22, 2005
Mysteriously tired legs
I slept in a bit this morning because I knew I only needed to run about 5 miles so as to remain in the taper zone this week (we are planning to run about 16 or 17 tomorrow.) It was cold enough to wear gloves and even I, lover of cold temps, didn't enjoy the first few shivering steps out there. I warmed up quickly enough but never seemed to find a rhythm. My (left) knee was a little achy as was my calf and ankle on the same side (left.) I stretched it out a little and that helped some, but I kept thinking about how I felt bad on a short run, so how was I going to make it tomorrow on my long run? I think I was thinking too much! Although I think the left side soreness thing is probably due to running so many of those loops the other day in the same direction (clockwise). Hopefully it will go away soon. Crossed fingers always seem to help.
Even though I got plenty of sleep last night, I got drowsy sitting at my computer working on a paper I have due. I took a 25 minute catnap at one point and that did help. I was pretty much sitting here all day working but unfortunately my paper writing speed lately has been like molasses so I don't have much to show for it!
Tonight Matt and I went to see our friend Julie who was my roommate (for three years!) at Cornell at her new place she shares with her boyfriend in Salem, about a half hour away. Salem has lots of Halloween events centered around the historical witch trials, but we just went for Julie's boyfriend's birthday party! It was fun to catch up--even though she lives fairly close by, there's this unspoken divide between the North Shore and the Cambridge/Somerville area. It takes a long time to get from one place to the other because there are tons of lights on a slow road. Tonight it was rainy so it was even slower. But it was a lot of fun. Now Matt is heading out to another party, but my eyes are so tired from staring at the computer all day that I am just heading to bed!
Posted by becky at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2005
Downright chilly
Since it was pretty cold last night when I came home from MIT practice and having dinner with a friend, I "took a chance" and wore a long sleeved shirt this morning. For once, I was glad I did! My hands were cold most of the time but I just kept them inside my sleeves and I was fine. I love it!
I started adding up my mileage for the week so far last night and realized that I better start taking this tapering thing seriously. So that meant I had to limit myself to about 5 today. I think it was more like 6, but I tried. My friend Wynne, who I met at SRR track and run with on the weekends a lot, emailed me the other day to see if I ever wanted company on my morning runs. I had no idea she ran in the morning so I was psyched. We met this morning and it was especially nice to have company because my legs were pretty tired (despite the soft surface run last night!) She is planning to run the Philly marathon and I hope that Mary and I can get a couple more long runs in with her before that.
I spent the rest of my day in class (4 hours so not insignificant), having lunch with a friend, doing errands and some beautification and then going over to my grandparents' for a little while. Tonight we're going to celebrate a friend's birthday at a restaurant and then possibly a party near MIT after that. Then it's running and work all the rest of the weekend, if I have to chain myself to my computer!
Posted by becky at 7:18 PM | Comments (1)
October 20, 2005
Loopy
With all my complaining about the hot weather over the past few months, I have to say that today was a real fall day, crisp and sunny. I loved it! Actually, it felt warmer in the morning when I ran and chillier later on in the day. This is the time of year when my early am runs are done almost entirely in the dark, which I don't mind exactly, but today I was worried that I might fall, even though I was wearing my head lamp. I headed to Fresh Pond, hoping that since it was a clear morning the moon might light up the side of the reservoir that doesn't have lights for some unknown (and annoying) reason. But it was really dark--I saw several other runners (one who almost crashed into me because she had her music turned up so loud that she was not paying attention) and dogwalkers but I had to really watch my footing so I didn't trip. I felt okay, just kind of hungry toward the end. That's an easily remedied problem though and I even had an extra 3 minutes to scarf down a bowl of cereal before racewalking to class.
I had a very hard time staying awake in class as usual, even through I got a decent enough amount of sleep. It was BAD. I didn't even know that my eyes were closed half the time until I opened them to see the professor a few feet away from me! (He likes to walk around the room a lot.) I guess a "decent" amount of sleep just isn't enough for my early class. It's weird though, because afterwards, I'm never really that sleepy or tired! I came home and was fairly productive for a few hours, although I did take a nap in there too.
In the late afternoon, I went to MIT practice again. This was the first time I've been able to go on a Thursday, which is the day the team does these grass loops around the athletic fields. The loop is a little less than a mile and today we were doing 6. I guess the point is to run on soft surfaces so it beats your legs up less, but I didn't like it very much! We were going at a pretty easy pace for most of the loops--I had expected that it would be more like tempo, but it turns out I didn't get in a tempo run in this week. Oh well! Anyway, I just thought the run seemed much longer since we were doing the same thing over and over. And on the third loop or so, my stomach started bothering me. The same thing happened yesterday on my afternoon run, but I thought it was because I ate a lot of raisins. Today I didn't eat anything that usually gives me a stomachache. It's still bothering me now, hours later...not sure what's going on.
Some of the team lifted after the run, so I went up there to do situps and learn a little more about their weight routine. Everyone was pretty jovial and I think they are getting psyched about their conference meet next weekend.
I have so much work to do, yet I am sitting here watching ER and I just can't turn it off!
Posted by becky at 9:34 PM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2005
Two recovery runs
My old legs sure were sore when I woke up this morning--it's never good for me to do anything shorter than a mile on the track because my legs get mad at me! But the soreness in my legs pretty much disappeared as soon as I started running. Then I got a cramp underneath my ribs which was very painful and annoying. I stopped and massaged it a bit, which helped for the time being but it came back later on toward the end of the run. It didn't bother me the rest of the day, though, so hopefully it was just dehydration or something and not one of my infamous stomach cramps that lasts a week.
Today's obligatory weather note: since it was cold in the apartment when I woke up, I expected it to be crisp outside. But it was fake cold. Most of the runners I saw knew this, as they were wearing shorts and t-shirts as opposed to the tights and hats I've been scoffing at recently. (In my head, of course.) Anyway.
I spent most of the day over at school-- at class, at a meeting with some friends in my finance class, and at work. I didn't have much to do at work so I took advantage of free printing to print out some research articles I hope to use for a paper.
I lifted for a bit in the late afternoon and then went to MIT practice. The assistant coach and I joined the group doing the shortest run, which turned out to be about 5.5 miles. I also learned some new form drills which I should really do because everytime I catch a glimpse of myself in a store window, I am reminded of how atrocious (and probably injury-causing) my running form is. The run was at a pretty relaxed pace and it was gorgeous to be running along the river as the sun was setting. There were a lot of rowers out tonight and I learned that this weekend is Head of the Charles! Maybe Mary and I will swing by as part of our long run on Sunday, since I've never really seen it. I think I ran by accidentally last year but it was bad weather or something, I can't remember.
I must run and grab my laundry before someone rudely removes it for me!
Posted by becky at 8:39 PM | Comments (1)
October 18, 2005
Short and sweet
I couldn't believe it when it was raining again when I woke up and headed out for a quick pre-workout run. With all the rain we had last week, I thought it would never rain again! It turned out to be pretty short lived though and it was mostly a nice, fall-like day. (Yay!) Alison joined me for my short run and then continued on her way. A short run feels even shorter when you have company! On the whole, my groin has been feeling better, but it is still kind of twingy and today I think the rainy, cool weather exacerbated it a little. Once it warms up it is okay and then aches some when I'm home. I've been using the heating pad at night which feels good if nothing else.
After I came back from class this morning, I took a nap (I think Matt and I are both still emotionally drained from the past couple of days), ate lunch and did some work. Then I ran to the Tufts track and picked up Mary on the way. She's been out of town on workout day a lot so it was nice to have her here. We were surprised when we got to track because the workout was super-short. I guess most people are done with marathon season and are in "maintainance" mode. It will be another few weeks before I am ready for that, though! A few of us added to the workout a little bit but I am still paranoid because it was the lowest total "hard mileage" workout I've done in quite some time: just 200, 400, 800, 800, 400, 200. At least I can say that I ran workout PRs on almost all of the intervals (well, not the 200s. I hate them.) It was NOT a marathoner's workout but I wouldn't have run that pace on my own and I do know that there isn't much I can do 3 weeks before the race to really improve my speed. I will try to fit in a tempo-ish run later in the week, but it might not happen. I guess most of the work is behind me now anyway.
I'm running out the door to pick up some sushi because I'm too lazy to cook tonight...
Posted by becky at 8:26 PM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2005
Running in the dark
Today was a really sad and difficult day. Both Matt and I feel very out of it right now and I just don't feel like writing very much about running, either. We had to leave the house at 7:30 this morning so I was out early and the sun was only starting to light up the sky when I was almost back. I couldn't do my usual run on the Leatherstocking Trail because it was too dark, so I added an out and back to replace that bit on the trail. Even though I was wearing my head lamp, it was really hard to see! Luckily I didn't fall, and I did a good job of jumping on to the "sidewalk" (really a grassy shoulder in the suburbs) when cars were coming. I did see two other earlybird runners out, which made me feel a little better!
We went to the funeral and then the cemetary afterwards today but since everything started early, we were able to make it back to Boston by 4. Matt had a class to go to and I went to lift, but my heart wasn't in it--I was just going through the motions. Now we are just catching up on reading, emails and work and waiting for things to get back to "normal." I know we will feel better soon but right now it doesn't seem like it.
Posted by becky at 8:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2005
Blowin' in the wind
We ended up staying out later than expected at the party we went to last night, and I didn't go to bed until about 1am. I had to wake up before 7 to run before we left for New York for the wake and it was not easy. When I finally did get out the door, my legs and body were extremely angry at me for only waiting 14 hours or so since my long run to run again. I was in bad shape; I had all sorts of stomach cramps and my legs were so sore. Plus the wind was blowing me all over the place--I ran by the river and I was honestly worried that I might lose my balance and fall in after one of the gusts! I had planned to run 8 miles or whatever more that I had time for, but I did about an hour and called it a day because I felt so terrible. I probably did the right thing since my legs have still been sore most of the day. I need to be careful these next few weeks leading up to the marathon, much as I hate to be. I also had about an hour of free time this afternoon at which point I contemplated lifting, but I just didn't feel like it and was too hungry, so...I gave in to my laziness, for once!
I was very apprehensive to go to the wake today because neither Matt nor I had ever been to a non-Jewish funeral so I didn't know what to expect. The casket was not open though (something I was worried about) so that calmed my nerves. We knew a lot of people there and basically just talked to all the friends and family that had gathered to celebrate Marc's life. I couldn't believe all the flowers and pictures they had hung up. When he died, Marc and his brother had just arrived in Egypt for the start of a long-planned vacation in the Middle East and Europe. Even though Marc must have been sick when he got there, he insisted on touring the pyramids and taking hundreds of pictures, many of which were displayed at the wake today. He certainly lived life to the fullest and it was very moving. Tomorrow morning we will go to the funeral mass, and Marc's family asked Matt to be a pallbearer.
So although I definitely have a hard time sticking to the mantra of, "If it's not fun, why do it?", today's events reminded me that I should try harder to remember to enjoy life and the time I spend with all the people in my life. It's hard to grow up.
Posted by becky at 9:03 PM | Comments (1)
October 15, 2005
Blame it on the rain
Last night, Mary text messaged me asking if we were going to run this morning if it was still raining as hard as it was. I was pretty sure that it couldn't possibly be raining that hard for that many more hours and I told her we'd be fine. Sure enough, I woke up every hour during the night to hear a steady downpour which didn't let up in the morning. Even weather.com didn't seem sure when it was going to stop raining. We decided to wait a couple of hours and see if it let up. I like to get my runs (especially long ones) out of the way early in the day so I can get stuff done the rest of the day, but today I was trying so hard to be flexible. Anyway, after a lot of waiting around and falling asleep reading boring finance articles, the weather wasn't showing much improvement and we just decided to go.
It wasn't raining that hard the whole time, but there were so many puddles in the first few miles that we both felt like our feet weighed 20 pounds by the time we got to the hills in Winchester. (We were doing the same route we did at the end of September and had planned this to be our last 20+ run before NYCM.) For someone that seemed like she really didn't want to run in the rain today, Mary was in good spirits and kicking my butt up the hills as usual. I think we actually started out a bit fast because of all of our pent up energy from waiting around to run, but I felt pretty good (groin-wise and in general) for the first hour and a half. Then I knew I needed to eat something but it didn't seem to help all that much. My hamstrings were so tight (and they still are) that I felt like it was affecting my stride. I also just wasn't mentally into it during the second 90 minutes; I kept thinking about how I probably hadn't eaten enough beforehand and it was worrying me.
But Mary reminded me that we pretty much had to finish out the run because we weren't near any public transportation options and took my mind off how I was feeling by telling me the plot of Finding Nemo, one of her all-time favorite movies and one that I haven't seen. We finally made it back to Somerville and amazingly had run about 3 or 4 minutes faster than last time we did this route in gorgeous, 60-degree and sunny weather! We were both glad to finish and to officially start the pre-marathon taper. (Usually I dread the taper, but I'm sort of looking forward to the next few weeks.)
Our late start today means I didn't get a whole lot done, and we're going out tonight with some friends from Matt's class. We are driving to New York in the morning for the wake and funeral for our friend, so I must go get ready and packed.
Posted by becky at 6:18 PM | Comments (1)
October 14, 2005
The post-fast tummy rumbles
I woke up starving this morning (actually, I usually wake up pretty hungry, but this was even more pronounced than usual) but didn't leave myself enough time to eat more than half a Pop Tart. Today was short and easy day, and it was nice to have Alison's company too. She was wearing a lot more clothes than I was today, because it was sort of fake cold again. I think fake cold has something to do with humidity, something I didn't realize last year during the late fall and early spring. But my body temperature is the one that's screwy, so it was probably my choice of outfit that was weird. In any case, we did one of my staple Friday runs that involves part of the Tufts campus, a little Cambridge and a lot of Somerville. My legs felt a lot less dead and sore than yesterday, but I was hungry almost the whole way.
Oddly, I haven't been very hungry since lunch. I am worried that I will have a bad long run tomorrow because of my fast, but maybe I'll be back to normal when I wake up. I hope so!
I have a lot of work to do this weekend and not a lot of time to do it. We still haven't decided if we are driving down to NY or taking the train. One of Matt's top reasons for taking the train is to get work done, but that doesn't apply to me, because I fall asleep in moving vehicles no matter how much I have to do!
Happy weekend to all and good luck to anyone running Bay State, Baltimore, Columbus or any of the other millions of fall marathons this weekend!
Posted by becky at 5:41 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2005
Half a fast
Since I had a lot to do in the beginning of the day today but not after about noon, I decided to observe the traditional practice of fasting for Yom Kippur but only for half the day. I eat almost constantly, so I was definitely feeling like I was atoning for my past year's sins, even after a few hours. Plus I ran this morning, which didn't help my hunger level!
I expected that I would not feel so peppy on my run this morning, and that was definitely the case. It seemed a lot warmer than it was last night and it was dark almost the whole time because it was early and because it was cloudy/rainy (again.) Since I was feeling so dead (and was fasting later!) I just ran for about an hour. But I was pretty much sore all over rather than feeling it so much in my groin and hip. I guess that's good!
I had to go over to school for a meeting with a professor after my early class today and it didn't even take 10 minutes. Kind of annoying, since it takes me about 40 minutes door to door to get there. But I was still eating at that point so it wasn't so bad. When I got home I started my "fast" and got some work done until I just didn't feel like doing anything, at which point I watched Napoleon Dynamite on HBO OnDemand. It was pretty funny, but not as poignant as I expected. When it was finally getting dark, I drove to my grandparents' and broke the fast with them and a couple of their friends. As much as I love spending time with them, the conversation was kind of boring as it revolved around people I didn't know :) But the food was great as usual and I got to take some home with me.
It feels like today was a long day, yet I haven't finished everything I wanted to. Seems to be a theme with me these days!
Posted by becky at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2005
Still wet and chilly
As much as I like the cooler temperatures, even I can't believe how long it's been raining, or at least cloudy. It is even darker than usual when I wake up, which makes getting out of bed all that much harder. It helped today that I had planned to meet Alison. Once we met up, neither one of us had any exciting ideas of where to go, so we pretty much just ran toward Fresh Pond (my suggestion, I think) and then back a different way. I was just trying to run an hour or so. My groin felt better at the beginning and then tightened up toward the end. I knew that sitting all day in class and at a meeting wouldn't be good for it, and I was right. As soon as I got up to go to the bathroom during a break in class, I had gotten all tight. Stretching helps since I can't carry around my foam roller (unfortunately.)
I had a lunch meeting at my on-campus job and then stayed for a presentation that was interesting at first but started to get really tedious. THEN they turned the lights down so we could see something on one of the Powerpoint slides and that was it for me. I absolutely HATE the feeling of not being able to keep my eyes open, but it was inevitable that it was going to happen a lot this semester, with the combination of early classes and more running. Nothing helps me when I get that drowsy, and I could (literally) fall asleep while pinching myself and staring straight at whomever is speaking. I am terrible.
After my wannabe-nap, I lifted a little bit and went to MIT's practice. It was rainy and very windy at that point and I was so glad I had thought to bring a long-sleeve shirt this morning when I packed my bag. The assistant coach and I ran with one of the groups to Jamaica Pond and back, which was a nice change since the team usually does one of the Esplanade loops. For once they were going at a reasonable pace, too--hooray! It was a nice run. Afterwards I remembered that Yom Kippur starts tonight and I should have made plans to go to services. I don't know what it is with me this week, but the holiday is the last thing on my mind. I have fasted for YK every year in recent memory, but tomorrow I absolutely have to go to class and a meeting with my professor. Technically I could get out of both, but neither professor made mention of the holiday and we are doing something important in my finance class. As I was just saying to Matt, I hate having to choose whether to observe. When I was growing up, we always got the day off from school so it was much more a part of my existence.
Matt and I will go to New York on Sunday for our friend's wake and funeral. I am dreading it, of course, because it will be so sad. But I know it is important for us to be there, and we will have a lot of friends and family with us.
All right, it's almost bedtime and I still have reading to do...ahhh!
Posted by becky at 8:50 PM | Comments (1)
October 11, 2005
Nothing beats a chilly, rainy track workout
Well, in my mind, being cold and wet is way preferable to being hot and wet, which is how I am when it's humid and above 70 degrees. The only thing that bothers me about running in the rain is that my hands get cold sometimes, but that can easily be remedied (as opposed to my entire body feeling like it is so hot that I am going to combust.) This morning's run (which Alisonjoined me for as part of her run) was done in cloudy but pretty warm weather. I only ran about 4 miles since I was planning on going to track later. My groin thing felt pretty good in the morning, probably because I spent so much time stretching last night.
When I walked back home after class this morning, it was raining (again) and it felt a little chillier. I was happy about that, of course. Matt was home today because MIT had Monday and Tuesday off to extend the Columbus Day weekend, so we both were hanging around doing work. I also got in a nice nap later in the afternoon. I didn't get to sleep early like I had planned on last night because Matt got a phone call around 9pm telling us that one of our friends had died while on vacation in Egypt. He was one of Matt's groomsmen in our wedding and although he and I had our differences, we spent a lot of time with him this summer in New York and I was beginning to see a different side of him. Matt still hasn't found out what happened to cause his death and we are both obviously very shocked. I imagine we will go to New York for the funeral but we have not gotten that information yet.
So today was a weird day. Both of us having been thinking a lot about our friend but we also know that he would not have wanted us to stop what we were doing (school, work, running) because of this. When I ran up to the track for the workout, I was thinking a lot about him, because he always seemed so interested in my running even though he wasn't one to work out (that is an understatement.) When I got to the track, it started pouring, so all I thought about was getting through the workout.
There were maybe 5 people at the workout tonight, a combination of the rain and lots of recent races and marathons. Even our coach said he wasn't going to stick around after giving us the workout--and I didn't blame him! Luckily there were 2 people who I usually run with there. We were doing only 10x400, but they were supposed to be fast, which was especially challenging in the rain and with the huge puddles on the inside lane of the track. I asked our coach if I should do 1,200s instead since it seemed more marathon-appropriate, but he said to do the quarters. I am glad I did; it was the fastest set of 400s I have done in recent memory. They hurt, but they were consistent. My groin bothered me a little bit on the slower jogs in between intervals but not too much during the fast stuff. Now that I'm home it is aching and I am going to try the heating pad when I get into bed to see if that does anything. It can't hurt!
Posted by becky at 9:27 PM | Comments (1)
October 10, 2005
Another cloudy day
I've got to be quick because I have a lot of work to get done in order to get to bed at a reasonable hour! Sadly, this is not school work and I am way behind on my reading. Too bad. So this morning I met Mary for a run since she did not have to work today because she was traveling to Wyoming for work later in the day. She did a hilly long run yesterday so I was happy to go whatever pace she wanted, but it felt just like the pace we usually go (and probably was--she bounces back quickly.) We ran to and around Fresh Pond and back. It was misty and cool, but I was sweating a lot (even for me) so it must have been humid. My shirt was soaked so I ended up taking it off since it was actually making me cold (!) When we got back to Mary's I decided to add on another half hour of running. I just wandered through Somerville and made a little loop.
My hip and especially groin today were super-tight for a while, and then loosened up as usual. But when I came home, my whole left leg felt all out of whack and sore. I used the foam roller and stretched a lot. Later in the day I biked and lifted at the gym, where I stretched again. It feels better now, but I'm sure it'll be tight again when I wake up.
Congrats to Alison and Blondie, who I watched run by (twice) at the Tufts 10K today. I had fun watching all the elite runners go by and yelling for them by name since I have a photographic memory for elite runners' pictures and names. A sick talent, useful only in situations like these! The race looked like fun and I hope to run it next year if we are here. OK, off to do work!
Posted by becky at 8:32 PM | Comments (0)
October 9, 2005
Finally cooler
Well, the temperature and humidity have both dropped (for now) and I am happy about that, of course. I felt a little more energetic running this morning, but my body was tired. I felt all out of sync; that happens sometimes when I'm tired and sore. As usual, my hip hurt starting out but felt fine once it loosened up. However, my whole left leg from the hip down annoys me in varying places at varying times. I'm hoping it will thank me when I start to cut down my mileage (in another week, I think) and feel better. Anyway, I ran today along the river on the Cambridge side for a few miles and then came back through Watertown and Harvard Square. It wasn't raining but it was definitely on the chilly side--I was holding my hands in tight fists to keep them warm almost the whole time. Wahoo!
We had our neighbors over for brunch this morning, which was fun. It's funny, because we hung out with them a bit when we first moved here (the husband is a classmate of Matt's) but have only seen them in passing since. It was good to catch up.
I spent several hours working on a project for my school-related job. I have a lot more to do but I think it will all get done without too much pain. Of course I'm neglecting my schoolwork for this project, but what can you do? I also swam late this afternoon but only for about 35 minutes as I had to go grocery shopping and make dinner too. (Matt did help with the cleaning up though!)
I am going to try and watch Alison and others at the Tufts 10K tomorrow if I get enough done. Good luck to all running it (or any other Columbus Day race)!
Posted by becky at 8:51 PM | Comments (0)
October 8, 2005
Just about what I expected
I was really hoping that I would wake up this morning and the humidity would have broken. I knew it was supposed to rain, and I didn't really care about that (I like running in the rain) but I knew I was in for a challenging run if it was still as sticky as it was when we were walking home from going to dinner last night. I checked the weather in the morning and it was 93% humidity and around 70 degrees--a steamy combination. As you can imagine, I was not too thrilled.
Just running the mile up to meet my friend Wynne at the Porter Square T stop felt pretty bad (although my hip felt better than it had the day before) and I think I psyched her out a bit by complaining so much about the weather. She is training for Philly though and we agreed that there's always a chance marathon day could be like this, so you have to be prepared.
Alison joined us for about part of our run (unfortunately the most urban, least scenic part) and then took the T back across the river. Wynne and I did the Magic Acorn Run course from last weekend, but it wasn't nearly as magical. We both felt decent enough for the first 45 minutes and then we pretty much stopped chatting and started complaining. My legs just felt really heavy and sore in the hamstring area. I felt like we were crawling, but we ended up with the same overall time as we ran last week (about two and a half hours) so maybe we just felt like we were going slower. Whatever it was, it wasn't pleasant.
Since it was so muggy, I brought my double Gatorade carrier for the first time in a few weeks and the added weight made me feel even more sluggish. I dropped it off at my place when we passed it on the way back to Wynne's place and I felt immeasuraby lighter.
Both of us were grateful that we didn't have to suffer by ourselves through such a bad run, but we were also disppointed to have had a crappy day today. As I like to say, you have to have the bad runs so that you can enjoy the good ones. (At least I hope that's true.)
I was pretty productive today, finishing up an application and some other odds and ends. I fell asleep on the couch at 5pm and slept soundly until Matt woke me at 7, proving once again that I do not get enough sleep. We are going to see In Her Shoes in a little while--I can't believe Matt agreed to see a chick flick, but Cameron Diaz is in it. I like Jennifer Weiner (the author of the book the movie is based on) a lot, so I'm interested to see the movie.
Good luck Chicago Marathoners!!
Posted by becky at 7:56 PM | Comments (0)
October 7, 2005
Praying for rain
I'm sure I will be rueing my sentiments tomorrow if my long run ends up being really soggy, but right now I just want it to rain so this awful humidity finally breaks! It feels more like August than October and I am tired of it. I felt pretty much the same today on my run as I did yesterday, only marginally less tired. Even though my mileage is lower than I intended this week, I still kept today as an easy day (one run, a little more than 6 miles) because I've just been so tired. I am a creature of habit and I tend to do the same run every Friday (if I'm alone) but today I mixed it up and just explored a little bit near Tufts since I didn't want to know exactly where I was at all times. It definitely helped, but I accidentally threw in a couple of hills toward the end that didn't feel so great! Oh, well--I did say I wanted to get stronger on hills.
I had my long (4 hour) class this morning and then grabbed a bite to eat with a friend in the class. After that, I had a ton of errands to do and I stopped by my grandparents' to pick up some food since it was too much for her on Tuesday to get it all together for me after our Rosh Hashanah dinner. I didn't eat dinner there tonight because we're going out with friends.
I must run and get my laundry out of the machine--happy Columbus Day weekend and GOOD LUCK to all you peeps racing at Chicago, the BAA Half and Tufts!!
Posted by becky at 5:50 PM | Comments (0)
October 6, 2005
Pooped
I don't know what it is with me this week--I haven't even run as many miles as last week and I'm really dragging. Part of it may be the weather. Once again, it was gray and super-humid this morning when I left for my run, and then the haze burned off into a sunny, hot day. When my alarm went off at 4:55 today, the time I would need to get up to be able to fit in a run of more than an hour, my body said, "Forget it. Sleep another 20 minutes and run shorter!" I usually don't give in to those feelings, but today I did. Yesterday's afternoon run was faster than it should have been since I was technically "recovering" from the morning's workout, and even though it was short it took a lot out of me. So I decided running an hour was fine. (I'm kind of paranoid of "peaking" too early before I start to taper, which is why I'm trying to keep my mileage consistent right now--at least for this week and next.)
My psoas/groin wasn't quite as tight today, a good thing, but the humidity got to me right away. I felt like I couldn't move through it. I did the loop I usually do the morning after track since it is fairly mindless (and flat, but most of my hill running is done on the weekends anyway since there aren't hills in the immediate running route area.) The time definitely dragged and I was glad I had decided on a shorter run! When I got back, I had to rush around like crazy, racewalk (practically) to class and when I got there I was dripping with sweat. So becoming! People must wonder why I'm always so sweaty.
I intended to get a lot done this afternoon but I feel like I answered emails and took care of little things I had been meaning to do for awhile. Then I took a nap, woke up feeling groggy but slightly less tired and went to bike at the gym for awhile. I just noticed that they put a spinning bike in there, so I used that for a bit. It feels a lot more natural than the upright one I usually use, but it is hard!
Now I'm eating a quick dinner and heading out to hang out at a friend's house and watch The Apprentice. So bad, but so good!
Posted by becky at 7:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 5, 2005
Faster than the fog
This morning's weather was just like yesterday--not too warm temperature wise (58 or 59 degrees) but incredibly humid and misty. I knew Mary and I would not be too comfortable cardio-wise doing our workout this morning, but what can you do?
Although my psoas/groin thing felt better yesterday and seemed fine walking around later in the day, it had totally locked up again when I left to go meet Mary this morning. I'm sure a little Active Release Therapy would do the trick, but I'm too poor to splurge on it right now and I don't have a massage therapist/ART person I like here in Boston. It does loosen up as I run, but I have to start out at a snail's pace and my range of motion is majorly limited until it eases up.
Anyway, Mary and I jogged up to the Tufts track, complaining about the weather (me) and how tired we were (both of us.) We were a cheery bunch! Our workout was 5 by a mile at tempo pace with a minute of (standing) rest in between each one. It was hard to find our pace at first but we did a good job on the first one and were fairly conservative. Then we got faster on each of the next 3 and, as Mary astutely noticed, they all felt the same despite the fact that we were cutting down the mile time by a few seconds each time. We picked it up to more like 10K pace for the last one, more for variety's sake than anything else. We were very proud of ourselves for getting through a long workout and sticking to our plan. Jogging home, we were both pretty tired and I was dreading sitting in class for 3 hours. (We had interesting speakers today, so it ended up fine.) But thanks to Mary for helping me through that workout--she will be away next week for work and I will miss her company.
After school and work today I lifted for about 45 minutes, trying to avoid things that bother my groin, and then I ran part of what the MIT girls were running for practice. My legs were totally dead--it was quite painful. I only ran a little more than 4 because I felt so crappy--but one of the assistant coaches was happy to just do that with me. I am just getting to know her but she is really cool. She just came to MIT after coaching at Tulsa and before that Minot State in ND. She was an NAIA national champion in several distance events, I believe.
I just got REALLY tired and I have some work to do, so I will go prioritize. Or sleep.
Posted by becky at 8:30 PM | Comments (2)
October 4, 2005
Workout switcheroo
Since today was Rosh Hashanah and my family is in town (traditionally we used to come to go to services with my grandparents but now my family comes just to eat and celebrate the New Year) I knew it would be easier to switch track days this week. So I just did a regular run today and Mary and I are going to attempt some tempo miles at the track tomorrow morning. I still feel my sore throat and I have a hint of a cough, so I'm a little worried but I'll do my best.
This morning was an early one--I ran to Alison's to meet her and both of us had our head lamps on. It was a good thing, too, because it was dark for probably three-quarters of our run, and misty too. She picked the route today (at my request) so I'm not entirely sure where we went but I know we followed the Mystic River for a lot of it. I felt decent--definitely better than yesterday and I think I've finally found a way to get to my psoas with the foam roller. It's not something I feel comfortable doing in public, but that's the beauty of having a foam roller in your own home!
I had one class to go to this morning and then I met some friends at one of the places that Harvard was holding Rosh Hashanah services. The traditional sermon/speech was given by a famous economist, Jeffrey Sachs, who left Harvard not too long ago for Columbia. He spoke mainly about the importance of giving donations of money and time to groups of people in the world who are suffering without making headlines (i.e. the millions of starving children in Africa.) It was pretty interesting and then they opened it up to questions, so that was neat to hear too. The president of Harvard was there too and every time I happened to look over at him he looked bored and restless! I thought that was funny.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening hanging out at my grandparents' house with my family and some family friends we celebrate with every year. After eating a huge midday meal, a bunch of us took a walk that was well-needed. Matt had classes until later in the afternoon but he came over when he was done, just in time for dessert! Now we're back home doing work as another day comes to a close.
Posted by becky at 9:07 PM | Comments (0)
October 3, 2005
Still feeling blah
I woke up with a little more of a sore throat than I had yesterday, but my cold doesn't seem to be progressing into anything too worrisome. Still, I just felt low on energy when I woke up and I wonder if I can blame my bad run on the beginnings of being a little under the weather. Actually, my run wasn't that bad; I just had all sorts of things bothering me. The main thing when I started out was my hip/groin thing (which might be my psoas, someone knowledgable about such things suggested today.) It took longer than usual to loosen up, which might have been due to the fact that I was running generally downhill for a mile and that seems to bother it more. Then I got a cramp in my stomach, which hardly ever happens when I'm running. I stopped to massage it and it did eventually go away, but it was really annoying me! Finally, a tall, skinny guy not wearing running clothes blew by me right as I was about to stop to cross at a light. It shouldn't bother me, but it does! :)
I did get to explore a little on my run today as I went further into Watertown than I usually do, and came back through the edge of Belmont to get back to Cambridge. Nothing too exciting, just a little change of scenery. Always good to mix it up. I ran for a little more than an hour; since I don't have class on Mondays I usually try to do a little more than that but today I just didn't even want to.
I spent the late morning and afternoon finishing a paper which should not have taken me as long as it has, and then I had to run an errand at MIT so I of course stopped at the gym to bike and lift. I actually was thinking about going to XC practice again but all they do on Mondays is run and I didn't want to be tempted to do another run since I have a sneaking suscpicion that too much running in the middle of the week is the root of my aching groin. Probably a good decision. Actually, while I was at the gym I made some progress with the foam roller. If I really massage my butt and upper hamstring, it seems to help my leg. Whatever works...
I've never been one to wear sunglasses while running, but recently I've been sick of squinting. I know the newly famous B. has a pair she really likes and I always forget to write down the brand. Does anyone else have any recommendations? Obviously I will have to try on a few pairs to make sure they fit, but it will help to have a starting point. Thanks!
Posted by becky at 7:29 PM | Comments (4)
October 2, 2005
I should have asked the Magic Acorn
Matt and I went out to a birthday party in downtown Boston last night and my hip/groin was hurting a lot just walking up the stairs on the T and walking around the streets. I was trying to stretch it, but nothing was really helping. When I woke up this morning, it felt a little better (I used the foam roller last night and in the morning) but it was really bothering me when I started out running. It's like a tightness that subsides after a few strides, but I have to really start out shuffling to get it to go back to normal. It's not any worse (knock on wood) than it's been in the past few weeks, but I am frustrated because I can't pinpoint what it is that I'm doing (or not doing) that makes it act up.
Anyway, with that on my mind, the sun beating down on me and tired post-long run legs, I did not have the most enjoyable run this morning! It was warmer than I thought it would be and I should have brought my Gatorade. I ran by the Charles for a good chunk of the run and the only water fountain I knew of was 45 minutes into the run at the BU boathouse. That helped, though! I was glad to get back and be done with running for the day, even though I knew I had a lot of schoolwork to do the rest of the day.
I was not as productive as I had hoped to be today, meaning that tomorrow I must force myself to get up and go running early so that I can take advantage of the fact that I have no classes and finish this paper I'm working on! I did get some work done, and then took a break at around 4:30 to go for a quick swim and grocery shopping. The lines in the store were out of control--it took me forever in there! How frustrating. I also am a bit worried that I'm coming down with a cold because my throat is a little sore. But I'd rather get one now than right before the marathon, of course. Have a good week, everyone! If you know what this means, Shana Tovah!
Posted by becky at 8:48 PM | Comments (0)
October 1, 2005
The Magic Acorn Run
This morning's long run was anything but boring! Mary and I had great weather (sunny and probably in the high 50s-low 60s) for the second week in a row and we explored a new route, seeing lots of interesting sights and scenery along the way. We started out by going through Havard Square and crossed the river near the Harvard athletic fields. Exactly as we were crossing the bridge, the Harvard marching band (which I must say pales in comparison to the Big Red Marching Band) was heading to the football stadium, I guess to practice before the game since it was still pretty early. Mary and I both enjoyed the music and the fact that the band was holding up traffic, making it easy for us to cross the street.
After that, we ran through Allston (and over an overpass that Mary commented was probably good training for the (ING NYC) marathon) and into Brookline. We passed an older man with a think Eastern European accent who sang to us a little. In another mile or so, we got onto the Jamaicaway, which is a bike path that is part of the Emerald Necklace. The BAA Half Marathon, which I should be doing next weekend but forgot to get a number for, goes around here. The Jamaicaway connects to the path around Jamaica Pond, which I have only been to once before. Since it was so nice out, there were tons of people there, but it was still nice to run somewhere (relatively) new for both of us. We went about halfway around the Pond and then headed to Arnold Arboreteum for a loop there. There were even more runners there, but it is so beautiful there, especially in the fall. I didn't even mind the dogs. We took a little break to try a new kind of gel (CarBoom Apple Cinnamon) which was tasty but I only had a little bit and had some of my energy bar pieces to supplement. After our snack, we retraced our steps through the Arboreteum and finished the loop around Jamaica Pond.
Coming back along the Jamaicaway, Mary picked up an acorn top because she wanted to show me how she learned in grade school to make a loud whistle noise by blowing into it. Wow, impressive. We brainstormed about an idea for a children's (?) book about a magic acorn that would allow you to run at any pace you told it without thinking of it. I think the acorn top is our new mascot and I took a picture of it so everyone can enjoy the power of the Magic Acorn.
We made our way back to Somerville a slightly different way and ended up coming over the Mass. Ave. bridge, where we saw a large group of people walking and carrying signs. At first it looked like some sort of charity walk, but we decided it was more of a protest or something. We were both too blind to be able to read the signs from across the bridge, though, so we had no idea what it was about.
We ended up running for a little more than 2:20 and we both felt pretty good the whole time. (It felt short compared to last week!) Another one down in the books and just a few more long runs to go before the marathon--time flies when you're training.
Posted by becky at 2:28 PM | Comments (2)