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February 28, 2006
Decent workout for a change
It was still windy this morning. It feels like it's been windy for days! I didn't think it was quite as cold, though. And the sun was out. I didn't feel that great running though--no major problems but just kind of tired. And hungry. I was glad it was just a short run so I would be able to eat again soon. Sometimes when I don't eat enough the night before (and I don't always know that) I feel sub-par the next morning. But it's fine, no major aches or pains. I'm getting paranoid that I'm about to get sick, though. A lot of people at school have been sick and it's just that time of year.
One thing that is hurting me is my wisdom tooth that has a cavity. I should really get it taken out, but I do not have dental insurance and am trying to wait until August when at least I will be on Matt's plan if I haven't found a job of my own yet. I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago and he didn't seem to think that leaving it in was a huge deal. I guess it's just a question of whether I can take it. I actually had a little trouble sleeping last night because it was bothering me.
So the rest of my day was pretty by-the-book. I did a little work in the morning and then grabbed a sandwich on the way to school. I ran into Audrey in the few minutes before class while I was eating my lunch, so she got to hear me complain about how the guy that made the sandwich totally disregarded my sandwich specifications. I hate when that happens. She was planning to go for a run after class and I reassured her that it wasn't that cold out!
I snuck in a quick nap when I got home and then jogged up to the track, stopping to pick up Wynne along the way. Tonight's workout was a toughie: we knew we couldn't do it exactly as it was written on paper. It was supposed to be 3 x mile, with the first one at 6-8 seconds slower than interval pace, the second one 2-4 seconds slower than interval pace, and the third at interval pace. We actually haven't done very many workouts at interval pace lately, and I knew that doing just one mile at close to it would be tough. We ended up running the last one right on pace but the second one was 7 seconds slower and the third more like 11 seconds slower. I was just glad we were able to keep cutting our times down. Wynne was very strong in our workout tonight and I was glad to be able to just hang on to her! My legs don't feel terrible right now but you never know what the morning will bring.
It's almost bedtime but I should at least pretend to be productive for a little while...
Posted by becky at 9:24 PM | Comments (1)
February 27, 2006
Windchilled
Today was another cold one, especially in the morning when I think the temperature was only in the single digits. As I ran up to Alison's to meet her, I thought about how I've read recently that Carrie Tollefson and her training partners in Minnesota often train in sub-zero temperatures. Now I (almost) know how they feel! It was almost hard to breathe at first, especially when the wind was blowing. I did eventually get warmer, but it wasn't until close to the end of the run that I realized it.
We did a new (for us) route today--Alison's done it with the Tufts kids starting from campus. It was basically a new combination of roads I've been on before. Some of the sidewalks are still a bit snowy/icy, but we were both commenting about how lucky we've been this winter not to have any major limitations imposed by icy roads. Alison and I stopped to chat a bit when we parted ways and when I started running again, the warmth that I had accumulated quickly vanished. My hamstrings got very tight in the last mile or so, but sitting on my heating pad for a few minutes--and stretching--helped when I got home.
[A note on the cold: Audrey and I are both warm-blooded and both potentially heading back to the swamp that is DC. Today we talked about yes, it is very cold today, but we are already dreading being HOT next year!]
I had lunch with a couple of friends today and then went to the class that I am a TA for. After class I got off the bus at MIT and went to the gym to bike and lift. It sure was crowded in there today, probably because no one wanted to work out outside in the cold. I stopped by track practice afterwards and chatted with a few of the distance runners who had done other sports during winter season (basketball, swimming, etc.--that's kosher at MIT) and learned what events they planned to specialize in this spring.
Matt and I are both home working and catching up on emails and reading tonight. The two-hour season finale of The Bachelor is on and although I shouldn't waste so much time, I probably will watch!
Posted by becky at 8:28 PM | Comments (2)
February 26, 2006
You know it's cold when...
...the part of your ankles that sticks out between your tights and socks is freezing as soon as you walk out the door. Yes, it is cold out there today, especially when the wind is blowing. I should have worn higher socks and I should have brought my sunglasses--the glare off the couple of inches of snow we got yesterday was unbearable. But aside from those complaints, I actually felt pretty decent today. No soreness from the long run to speak of, and I wasn't even all that tired. Of course, I might feel it more tomorrow, since that sometimes happens.
I ran to and around Fresh Pond today, a route I used to do a lot but have been doing less often lately. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground but it felt pretty good to run on. There were lots of dogs off of their leashes but I put my faith in their owners and none of them attacked me. I also saw about 5 Tufts distance runners out for their long run at Fresh Pond. They don't know me but I recognize them from meets and because of Alison's coaching role at Tufts. They looked happy and chatty and I remembered the good old days of long runs at Cornell with my teammates!
I didn't go to sleep until about 1am so I let myself get about 8 hours of rest before getting out of bed and running. I hate starting the day so late, but it felt really good! I am trying to be (slightly) better about listening to my body, especially in these last 6 weeks before the marathon at which time I got injured last year. Continuing along that vein, I've vowed to do only one workout today. I'm a little tempted to go bike and/or lift, but I really have a lot of work to do and am looking forward to being productive. I think my mileage will be a tiny bit lower than it's been the past few weeks, but I need to stop being a slave to the numbers and go a little bit more on feel. Wow, I feel more mature already!
Posted by becky at 3:03 PM | Comments (2)
February 25, 2006
Oh, the conversations you will have (on a long run)
I was glad it wasn't nearly as cold this morning as it was supposed to be. For much of our run, we had the sun out and I was wondering if I had worn too much. But then the clouds rolled in and it got chilly again...that's what happens when you're out there for 2+ hours. Today's group was just me, Wynne and Alison. We were all pretty chatty and I decided to liven things up even more by describing this documentary on a pornographic film festival that we had seen on HBO last night. (It's really not as bad as it seems. You know when you're flipping channels and you just catch something and can't turn back to the Olympics?) I think I managed to entertain everybody and it made for some funny conversations. As I said, a lot can happen on these long runs.
Actually, today's run was shorter than the ones I've done the past two weeks--about 2 and a half hours. We went from Medford into Arlington and Winchester--site of a pretty long hill that I like to try to incorporate--and then just over the Woburn line before we looped back through Medford. I felt pretty relaxed today and my biggest complaints were tight hamstrings and a cold butt (my sweating persists in the cold, of course, so my tights get pretty wet. Gross but true.) I'm not sure how I'll feel running tomorrow but I hope that this run took less out of me than last week's 22 miler.
This afternoon I did some work and then went to watch the distance races (1,500 and 3,000) at the USATF indoor championships. The men's mile was probably the most exciting; the others seriously lacked drama. I like Treniere Clement a lot and was glad she won the 1,500 by stalking Tiffany McWilliams and passing her with 150 meters to go. Sara Hall also looked strong in the longer race, sticking close to Carrie Tollefson almost the whole time and finishing a (pretty) close second. I was disappointed that the crowd wasn't bigger OR more into the races, however.
Tonight we went to dinner at a Vietnamese place and then to a party at my classmate's apartment. It was fun but I am so tired that I am falling asleep while typing...(Well, almost.) 'Night!
Posted by becky at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2006
Friday again
Because she had a lot to do today, Alison actually volunteered to go running with me at 5:45am. I certainly wasn't protesting! I was glad to have company. Luckily it wasn't as windy early in the day as it was later this afternoon. (I had to stop and get out of the car to remove a recycling box from my path when I was on my way to my grandparents' house later!) I stuck to my usual Friday loop and Alison ran me back home. I felt okay, a little sleepy at first and then just kind of tired.
I was very productive between the hours of 8 and 2 today (going to class, meeting with my boss for my part-time job, holding an informal focus group for a project I'm working on, doing laundry and cleaning my apartment) and rewarded myself with a nap when I was done with all that. This afternoon I had my nails done and then stopped by my grandparents' for about an hour. Tonight we're hanging out at home and I am perfectly content to sit on the couch. It's supposed to be really cold in the morning so I need to plan the perfect long run outfit, too. Too bad most of my favorite running clothes are dirty. Hmm.
Anyway, happy last weekend of February! (Wow!)
Posted by becky at 8:32 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2006
A roadblock at Fresh Pond
I was getting all nervous on my way to meet Alison this morning because I was wearing pants and I saw two other runners wearing shorts! Usually I'm the only one in miles with my pasty white legs showing. But it was only in the low 30s and I think I made the right call. Neither one of us had been around Fresh Pond in a while, so we decided to head that way. I'm glad to report that although my hip/groin thing was still tender today, it felt a lot better as did my legs in general.
We ran halfway around Fresh Pond and noticed weird signs that said "Road Closed Ahead," but since the path around Fresh Pond isn't really a road, we didn't think it applied to us. But then we saw a big bulldozer that would have been difficult, though not impossible, to get around. We decided to turn around a go a different way, which took us up such a steep hill (thankfully it was short) that we felt like our shoes were falling off! It's always exciting on our runs, you just never know what is going to happen.
I did a short run tonight with a group of MIT girls, although some were going longer than others. It was drizzly and chilly, but I decided to wear shorts because of my indecision this morning. It ended up being fine but it took me some time to warm up afterwards. I did not feel so hot on this run. I think we were going kind of fast and I ran out of energy. Sometimes I don't mind a second run and sometimes I do--that's why I don't do it all that often.
I really should be doing work, but it's Ladies' Free Skate night on the Olympic broadcast! Good thing this will all be over soon.
Posted by becky at 8:09 PM | Comments (1)
February 22, 2006
More sore as the day went on
My hamstrings felt a lot better when I woke up than they did last night before I went to bed. I actually felt okay on the way up to Alison's place (making sure to take it very easy, of course. When we were running together I felt tired, but not too bad. In the last mile or so of the part of the run we did together, I started feeling like my legs (hamstrings again) were cramping up. And my hip/groin thing wasn't doing so well, either. I made it back to my place but I was so glad to stop running! I ate a big breakfast (I always like to think that helps my aches and pains and hey, maybe it does) and sat on my heating pad for a bit. I was feeling okay by the time I left the house, although still somewhat sore when I was walking to the bus.
At the gym later, I felt all shaky and luckily had a Balance bar with me--that did the trick. Not instantly, but it is amazing how medicinal calories can be. Never underestimate the importance of food, I say! But although I had a lot more energy when I got off the bike, my groin was killing me! This has been bothering me off and on since the fall. I foam rolled my butt which usually helps it, but it didn't help as much as I would have liked. I did what I could with lifting but this particular soreness makes it tough to do anything that stresses my groin (basically, anything where I'm sitting down. Free weights are okay.)
Tonight I've been trying with the heating pad again to loosen up all my sore spots. I hope I feel more human again tomorrow. In the meantime, I actually have a bunch of work to do so off I go!
Posted by becky at 7:23 PM | Comments (4)
February 21, 2006
Mileage+track=dead legs
If there's one thing I am--or try to be--as a runner, it's consistent. My weekly mileage has been about the same (increasing a bit) for the last couple of months or so, but with the longer long run, I've been feeling a lot more tired during track workouts. I guess it's to be expected and I shouldn't beat myself up over it too much. Even this morning, when I was doing my pre-track run, I felt okay but noticed my legs were a little achy. I should probably be foam rolling even more than I am already. There are too many things to remember!
I don't have much to say about my day today because it was not very exciting! I only had one class and I spent the morning doing laundry and catching up on webmaster duties for my running club. When it was time for track, I ran up to Wynne's place and we jogged over together. Somehow the warmup jog over there is a lot more enjoyable when I have company :)
Tonight's workout was more marathon-appropriate than the 400s we did last week. We did 2 x 2 miles (3,200 meters, actually) with the first mile at tempo pace and the second about ten seconds faster. The rest in between was only a minute--practically nothing. We were right on tempo pace for both of the first miles and managed to finish the second second mile about 8 seconds faster than the first second mile. It really took a lot of concentration to pick up the pace--and maintain it--for that second mile. My legs were having a lot more trouble than my lungs were. I don't think I could have asked for much more though than the times we hit because of how tired I have been feeling.
I'm caught up in watching the figure skating on TV right now, even though I know what's going to happen. It sucks you in!
Posted by becky at 9:39 PM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2006
So close to getting lost
There was one point during my run today where I took a little bit of a wrong turn and I totally thought I was lost. Once I realized today was another "weekend" day and it wouldn't have been a big deal had I needed to retrace my steps, I was fine. I wanted to run somewhere a little different from my usual routes today since I was by myself. It wasn't as cold this morning as yesterday and a lot less windy, so I was pretty comfortable. I ran through Medford Center and got onto the bike path that follows the Mystic River. I've done this run (or parts of it) with Alison before, or else I really would have been lost. The bike path part is a little isolated but kind of pretty but unfortuately the last two miles of this route are on heavy traffic roads. I thought since today was a holiday traffic would be quieter, but it didn't appear to be any different! All in all it was a pretty good run as I felt less tired than yesterday, although my quads are definitely still tender.
Matt and I were both home during the day today doing schoolwork (and laundry in my case.) I went to the gym in the late afternoon when he was heading down to school anyway. I used the spinning bike (which hurt my butt, it doesn't always) and then lifted. The gym was really crowded because it had limited hours today. Other than that, it wasn't very exciting.
That's it for me--gotta go make dinner!
Posted by becky at 6:31 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2006
A very cold morning
The thermometer in our car read 13 degrees or something like that when we came home from New Hampshire last night, so I knew it would be pretty chilly this morning! I tried to get up early and be efficient today, but my body just wanted to sleep after my long run yesterday, I think (I never got a nap so I'm sure that made me more tired.) But I think by the time I got out the door, the temperature was warming up a little. I still wore my warmest jacket, hat and pants. When the wind wasn't blowing, it really wasn't bad. But there was one stretch along the Charles where I was completely running into the wind and I felt like I was walking. I hate wind!
I felt less tired than I thought I might today, but just kind of generally achy. I didn't feel it while I was running, but hours later my quads are really sore. I imagine it's from running so much of the Boston course (the downhills followed by the uphills.) I did also bike (very easy) today for a little while because I thought that would loosen up my legs even more. Plus, Matt was playing tennis nearby so I thought it would be nice to coordinate going to and from the gym.
The rest of my day has been pretty quiet, just catching up on school work and other stuff. We both have the day off tomorrow, so that makes the weekend even longer. Gotta love those three-day weekends!
Posted by becky at 8:04 PM | Comments (1)
February 18, 2006
Thankfully we were going in the 'right' direction
I heard the wind rattling our windows each time I woke up last night (once when Matt came home and a couple of other times) and I was definitely hoping it would have died down by the time I left to run. Luckily, when I went outside I realized that it wasn't nearly as cold as the forecasters had been predicting and the wind was definitely weaker. We also started in Hopkinton and ran the same direction (east, I guess) for the entire run. It was extremely fortuitous because that meant we got to have a tailwind for most of the run. It didn't make me feel particularly fast, though!
I've only done one long run on the course (besides the marathon in 2002) starting from the official starting line in Hopkinton. It's always thrilling to see the painted line, but today we laughed because it is so faded that you might even miss it! I'm sure they will be going over it with some fresh paint soon. Today's crew was my usual running partners Alyssa and Wynne and also a friend that Alison and I have in common. It was a good crowd. We couldn't find the port-o-potty that we thought was near the starting line so after the long drive out to Hopkinton (Wynne and I left our cars near Boston College) we were a little uncomfortable for the first three miles of the run. Thankfully a Dunkin' Donuts was right on the route. We were running a very consistent pace, which was interesting because it didn't always feel that way to me (i.e. sometimes it felt easy and sometimes I felt like I wanted to stop, even on downhills.)
The first 16 miles of the course are not exactly downhill, but more like rolling with some significant downhills that result in the "net" downhill you hear and read about. I think the very first few miles are tough because there are a couple of very steep downhill slopes. I noticed when we stopped for the bathroom that after only 3ish miles, my quads were already slightly sore. Luckily they didn't bother me too much after that. We ran through a couple of pretty serious snow squalls but like I said before, I was almost too warm for a lot of the run.
I was nervous the whole time about the Newton hills so I was just focusing on getting to the fire station (which amazingly has a wonderful COLD water fountain--who knew?) feeling decent. I noticed that we did slow down by 20 or 30 seconds on the very last (steepest) hill but I was never dying or anything. I actually really only think it's the last one that is evil. Maybe with more people around it'll be better :)
Instead of going all the way to the 22 mile mark, we went to 21.5 (ish) and turned around since we had already run past our cars at that point. I finished feeling okay but sore and COLD as the wind had picked up again and I was of course soaked with sweat. Wynne was great and drove Alyssa back to her car in Hopkinton so I could get back here and hang out with Matt and our visiting friend. I had hoped to make it to New Englands to cheer on the MIT folks, but it was late by the time I got back and I decided to get some stuff done here.
We're going to visit some friends in NH tonight. She's a former Cornell trackster too and we haven't seen them in quite some time...should be a fun night!
Posted by becky at 4:06 PM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2006
The usual Friday deal
Today was a good day to have had to run early. It was in the mid-50s already when I went out and although it was starting to get windy, it only got windier and colder all day. I did my usual short Tufts loop and my legs were definitely feeling the week's mileage (so far). I probably didn't stretch as well as I should have after running at MIT last night, resulting in sore quads and hamstrings. Luckily it wasn't too long of a run and it was over quickly!
I got home around noon after class and a meeting over at school and it was just starting to get rainy and nasty out. By the time I woke up from a nap and had to go to my manicure appointment, the sun was shining brightly but the temperature had dropped. I'm not one to mind the cold, but since a bunch of us are planning to do a long long run tomorrow on the Boston course, I'm hoping the wind will have died down a bit by then.
A friend of ours from college decided to come up to Boston for the weekend, so we have company. He's moving out to the Pacific Northwest soon, so it's nice to get a chance to spend time with him. Not sure what we have planned for the weekend but it'll have to include some schoolwork, of course. Happy USA XC Nationals weekend!
Posted by becky at 7:59 PM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2006
Spring has sprung...
...although the weekend weather forecast has some "changes in store" as the meteorologists like to say. But this morning I was roasting in my shorts and long-sleeve shirt. The snow is almost all gone and I was fine walking around in a t-shirt during the day. Woop-dee-doo. My run today took me across the main Harvard campus, over to Belmont and back through North Cambridge. It's a route I used to do often but haven't as much lately. My legs felt okay, I was just kind of bored being by myself with no iPod (I left it in my gym locker.) Other than that, I don't have any commentary on my run.
I had a nice lunch "reunion" with the few other people and the professor from my aging class in the fall. One of the women in our class couldn't come because she is literally about to give birth! After lunch, I went to class, and then I headed to MIT. I did a little lifting and then met tagged along with three of the MIT runners for their run. They didn't have to go so far since they are tapering for a big meet on Saturday, so it was perfect for a second run for me. I actually felt a little peppier than I did in the morning, which was an added bonus.
I need to get up early tomorrow so I'm going to end here and finish up a couple of things. Where does the time go??
Posted by becky at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2006
Did Tom and Katie break up?
I feel unfulfilled. I first heard the rumor that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had broken up last night, but I have yet to confirm it. That relationship was just one of many topics Alison and I touched upon during our run this morning. I ran to her place and we did a short loop from there since she was planning to run lots more miles later and I was happy enough to just have company for part of it. It was back to shorts weather this morning, and since it's been so cold, mid to high-30s seems positively balmy! The only annoying thing with wearing shorts when there is still snow on the ground is that your legs get kind of wet when you're forced to jump out of the way of traffic and into a snowbank. No biggie, though.
I was really worried about how my legs would feel running today since they were so sore after track last night. The first 3-5 minutes of the run (mostly uphill) were pretty brutal. I didn't feel particularly sore, just tired. Once my heart rate went back down I felt somewhat better. There wasn't any snap in my legs this morning, but I didn't really expect that there would be.
I had a dentist appointment today during the time I usually do my lifting, so I pushed everything up. That meant I basically got home from running, showered and ate something and then left for the gym. It was not ideal timing but I'd rather get it done early so that I can be home at a decent hour. I used the stationary bike instead of the spin bike so I could get some reading done, and then I lifted. I usually don't see too many people I know there, but today I saw four classmates of Matt's and one spouse of a classmate. Exciting!
Tonight I'm going to try and get some work done, especially since Matt has a late class, but I'm so easily distracted that I might just end up watching TV for a couple of hours. I'll do the best I can!
Posted by becky at 6:50 PM | Comments (1)
February 14, 2006
Not meant to be a sprinter
It was very nice that I didn't have to wake up too early this morning. Matt had to be somewhere so I just kind of waited until his moving around, showering, etc. roused me out of bed. It was nice weather out for my pre-track run, and I was glad to see that the sidewalks and road shoulders were in even better condition than yesterday. It's all getting slushy since it's warming up this week, which is kind of gross, but I prefer that over icy patches.
In my bioterrorism class today, we talked about things that could make a person paranoid. We heard from a top-level epidemiologist at the Boston health department about flu outbreaks, foodborne pathogens and potential bioterrorism agents. But on the bright side, the health department (at least in Boston) monitors every suspicious disease and test result extremely carefully. I'm sure that if something happens, they will be the first to discover it. It's the ensuing panic that scares me...
We've been doing a lot of strength/tempo-type work at track these days, but tonight's workout was more of a classic anaerobic one. We did 12 x 400 at "repeat + 2" pace, meaning 2 seconds slower than repeat pace, which for me is pretty much moot since repeat pace is like all-out for me these days and a second per lap doesn't mean much! Attendance was down at track because of V-day, but there were still enough people to cause traffic. Alison was trying to hit slightly faster times than I was, but not so much faster that we couldn't start each one together, so that helped pass the time. I was slow on the first one, but I think it was because I was in lane 3 trying to pass people so much of the time. The others were between 86 and 88, which is fine with me. I felt in control but I really have to concentrate to run that pace--if I zone out, I could easily add 5 seconds. I didn't feel that bad until the 10th one, when my hamstrings began to cramp up. They never really recovered and I'm sitting here on a heating pad hoping that will help!
I better get something of value done now, because it's almost time for bed!
Posted by becky at 9:53 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2006
Valentine's Day comes early
Alison managed to run way longer around the indoor track yesterday than I hope ever to, but I decided to join her for a few miles today just because many of the sidewalks still aren't clear and my achilles/ankle bothers me when I have to jump into and off of snowbanks. The sun was out today and it wasn't windy like it was yesterday, so the run up to the track was much more comfortable. Once we got to the track, we ran about four miles. It wasn't fast, but it felt harder than just running outside because we were so aware of our pace (at least that's why I think it felt harder!) Running around an indoor track beats running on a treadmill, but it is still pretty boring. Once we move out of New England I will not have the luxury of having access to such a nice facility (or any indoor track at all, for that matter) so I should count my blessings.
After class today I went to the gym to do my usual biking and lifting. I saw a couple of the track girls who are either injured or taking the week to cross-train because it is in between indoor and outdoor seasons (you have to have qualified to run in the championship meets for indoor.) I didn't have time to go to practice tonight because I was meeting Matt to go to dinner. We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day tonight instead of tomorrow since it is track night tomorrow (and because going to dinner on holidays like V-Day is always overpriced.) We went to a cozy bistro in the South End whose chef had done a demonstration meal at Sloan that Matt had attended. He was impressed then and we had an enjoyable dinner tonight as well. But the best part of the night was when we got home and found out that someone from our apartment building's management company had found my diamond earring that I had dropped down the sink drain on Friday night. We had been waiting all weekend for them to come and open the drain, but I had my doubts that it would be still down there. But thankfully it survived--hooray!
Posted by becky at 9:34 PM | Comments (1)
February 12, 2006
Letting Mother Nature decide
My family knows me too well. When I woke up this morning and saw that the snow was still falling pretty heavily, I knew I had to wait a bit to run, at least until I assessed what the roads looked like. My phone rang and it was my grandmother, begging me not to go running today. Then I checked me email and my mom had written telling me to stay calm and not worry if I had to take a day off today. Sheesh! Actually, my running partner Wynne and I had touched base last night and planned to try and run at least a little today once the snow let up. She didn't get her long run in yesterday because she went skiing, so she was even antsier than I was to get out there!
We waited until about noon, at which point Wynne reported seeing a runner out her window. I was a little tempted to stay in my position on the couch, but I told her I'd meet her at Porter Square. My road is a pretty main one, so it was decently plowed. (All in all, it seems NYC got the worst of this storm--it didn't seem like there was that much snow out there.) The hard part about running was the the wind was blowing hard and the snow was very icy at that point and it was just pelting us. It was so painful. It was better when we changed directions. I'm not sure how far we went in total (maybe 8 or a little more for her) but it took a long time. My legs were tired on every incline because I was trying to get some traction. I also noticed that my achilles was getting sore, probably from running on the uneven surface, so of course I didn't like that. That's all I need now, to hurt my achilles again...
I was really tired when I got home and thawed out. Still, I was glad to have gotten in some aerobic activity and managed to be pretty productive. Matt and I ventured out later in the afternoon to pick up something he needed in his locker at school and it was still pretty dead out. I intend to continue to hibernate tonight, but everything should be pretty much back to normal in the morning. (Maybe not running conditions, but I'll do my best!)
Posted by becky at 7:04 PM | Comments (3)
February 11, 2006
First cold long run in a while
Brrr, even I was cold when I left my building this morning at 7am for my run. It actually ended up warming up quite a bit, but my hands were cold enough to bother me for more than an hour. I should have realized that I needed my super-warm, wind-proof gloves. Oh, well. My running club is not as good at having weekly long runs as my DC club was, but they are making an effort during peak marathon training season. This morning, one guy was nice enough to host a group of us from his house in Arlington. He said he would definitely map out a couple of different courses, but that he probably wouldn't have anything over 20 miles (my goal today) so I decided to run there. Alison was interested in joining me for most of the run, so we met at Davis Square and ran over to Arlington. (Yay for company on a (long) long run!) It was probably about 6 miles (from my place) to the run host's house, so that gave us a good start.
We decided to tackle the 12 mile route that the guy had laid out, because I knew that after about 6 or 7 miles of it we could head back in our home direction and not have to go all the way back to Arlington. The beginning of the route was kind of boring because it was alongside a highway, but then it got prettier (and hillier!) Alison and I were running with two other woman for awhile--both club members but I hadn't met either of them before--and then we picked up one guy I know from track who had gotten a bit of a late start. There was one pretty steep climb up to and around a water tower but aside from that, none of the hills were too terrible. I felt better than expected most of the way considering I felt so crappy right after Thursday's workout. I don't think I took in as many calories as I needed because I didn't drink nearly as much Gatorade as I usually do on long runs (probably because it was a lot colder than it's been on recent long runs). I really felt it during the last ten minutes of the run when I was running out of energy. I was really glad to be able to stop running when I got home--the total run time was about 2:51 so I'm hoping it was in the 21-mile range.
I spent the rest of today at a track meet hosted by MIT. I helped take splits and typed them all up to save some work for the other coaches. There weren't too many spectacular times or performances, but we had a few PRs and everything seemed to go smoothly.
Tonight we're going to dinner with some friends and then to see a movie. I'm curious whether the predicted snow actually pans out!
Posted by becky at 4:28 PM | Comments (1)
February 10, 2006
Resting as much as I can
After last night's abysmal run, I didn't have high hopes for this morning. I went really early because of my 8am class, but I was happy to because that meant I had the whole rest of today to get stuff done and not run or work out again! It was really cold out this morning and I was silly and wore one of my lightest pairs of tights when it really was more of a Sporthill pants day. Even I had a hard time keeping warm and my legs felt very tight during the last couple of miles. Probably a combination of the cold and being tired from yesterday's workout. Anyway, the run was decent until the last mile or so when I started getting really hungry and tired. But having to get home at a certain time made me keep going even when I felt bad. Sometimes it's nice to have that deadline.
My class this morning was not too exciting and after about a half hour my eyes started closing. I thought I got a decent amount of sleep last night, but it could just have been my usual sitting-in-one-spot-so-I'm-feeling drowsy syndrome. I was glad to be done with class so early and I headed over to get a book from the main Harvard library (Widener). I've been to Widener to read/study but never to find a book, and it was very daunting. Their collection is absolutely enormous (see image) and I had a very hard time finding out where I needed to go once I had the call number I needed.
Once I found the location, the book just wasn't there! I checked 5 times but it was just missing, despite being listed as "available" in the catalog. The disaffected student worker didn't seem to be that excited and told me that I could check the Harvard Law Library across the quad. What a pain! But at least those stacks were a lot smaller and I found what I needed. But it's like a 400 page book and I need to read it in the next two weeks. That is what I'll be doing tonight...and this weekend...
I'm hoping that my legs feel a little perkier for my long run tomorrow. It's going to be a hilly one, so we'll see how it goes. But it is supposed to actually snow on Sat. night into Sunday, so I am looking forward to getting it done before it's too difficult. Anyway, I must go read. Happy weekend to all!
Posted by becky at 8:34 PM | Comments (0)
February 9, 2006
Tired of running
I tagged along with Alison, who was doing a speed workout this morning, but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have. It wasn't the most pleasant experience (5x800 at interval pace) but it wasn't terrible. It's just that I've been feeling tired ever since and worried already that this second hard workout in a week is going to cause me to have a bad long run this weekend.
I also added to my own tiredness by running (slowly) for another half-hour tonight. I had planned to meet some of the MIT ladies for their run and I either missed them or they were very late. In any case, it was getting dark and I went out to do a quick Charles River loop when I probably should have listened to my body and biked for a bit instead. I had a terrible run, because I was tired, hungry (didn't eat enough for lunch today) and it was REALLY windy along the river. I was not in the best of moods when I returned...and that was only an hour ago.
My mood has improved a little since then, but I need to eat a meal before I'll feel significantly better. There is a Chinese New Year thing tonight at MIT and Matt and I are going to take advantage of the free food. I hope there's enough to feed me! I'm sitting in Au Bon Pain now waiting for him to be ready to head over there. Thankfully baked goods are on sale here at this time in the evening!
Posted by becky at 6:58 PM | Comments (1)
February 8, 2006
Keeping those legs moving
I didn't feel as terrible this morning as I have after some workouts--probably because what we did last night was a lot of volume but not speed--but I was definitely tired. It was nice out (in my mind) today--chilly, but sunny and much less windy than it's been the past few days. Alison and I met at a somewhat equidistant spot between our places and I suggested going on a boring (but flat) run out the Minuteman bike path and back on Mass. Ave. I haven't been on the path in quite some time, actually, so it was a nice change. Usually at this time of year those paths have icy patches big enough to make them unrunnable, but that has not been a problem during the non-winter of 2006. It was nice to have company because I started to get heavy-legged and very tired toward the end of the run and conversing distracted me (a little).
I had a couple of errands to do after running and then I managed to fit in lifting (and biking, but at least I got some school reading done) before my late afternoon class. It was quite pleasant to be at the MIT gym during an "off" hour. Most of the people working out seemed to be faculty/staff or grad students and it was just generally quiet and there was no wait for the weights. (Hah!)
I went back to MIT after my class to help out at practice but many people were doing their workouts on BU's banked track to prepare to race there this weekend. So it was pretty quiet but I learned a little more about how to coach sprinters starting out of blocks (having never done so myself, it is foreign to me!) Matt has a late class tonight so I'm on my own for a few hours--I am tempted to turn on the TV but I'm going to try and get some work done instead!
Posted by becky at 8:14 PM | Comments (0)
February 7, 2006
Too many laps
Even though I got a decent amount of sleep last night, I woke up feeling still tired. I went for my short pre-track run and it was super-windy and pretty chilly. My legs felt so dead almost the whole time--it was strange. I stopped to stretch my quads and hamstrings a couple of times but nothing really seemed to help. I knew that tonight's track workout was a looong one, so I was especially worried about my ability to do it on dead legs. In fact, I was so worried about it that it put me in a bad mood almost all day. I hate when that happens--track is supposed to be fun!
Eventually the time to run up to the track rolled around and I was glad to see that my legs felt slightly better on the way there. Just slightly, though. The workout was 6.5 miles of "in and out 800s," alternating between tempo pace and marathon pace (presumably about 15-20 seconds slower per mile). I don't particularly enjoy doing more than 3 or 4 miles of continuous running in the same direction around a track because it makes me sore (and bored), especially indoors. The paces I was targeting should not have been hard for me but I started to feel it way too early, before 2 miles even. It didn't help that we had to weave around people a lot and that I was getting lapped by some of the faster people in the club--I'm such a baby, but that always bums me out. My paces were pretty consistent for about 3 or 3.5 miles and then I slowed down a bit. But, I saw one of the women I usually run with in my sights and decided that I did have enough energy to stick with her for the rest. It was good for both of us to have someone there, I think. We finally finished and I was pooped. Definitely more tired than I expected after having read the workout on paper.
I decided to cut my cool down a bit short because we did so much running on the track. Thankfully Matt was home when I called him to pick my tired self up!
Posted by becky at 9:35 PM | Comments (0)
February 6, 2006
Title block
I am suffering from a lack of creativity today, so no catchy titles for this blog entry! My day was pretty uneventful, anyway. I ran this morning with Alison, mostly in Medford. My legs felt pretty tired. I'm not sure why, but it could be a delayed long run reaction or possibly because I pushed the pace a little (unintentionally) on my run yesterday morning. In any event, I was especially glad to have company today. Our one (scary) highlight was when we got stuck in the middle of a highway-ish road (basically an intersection where cars are either coming off of the highway or going on.) Something was wrong with the walk signal button and it never changed for us! We got halfway across and then had to wait a good five minutes or so before there was finally an opening long enough for us to dash across. I thought we'd never get a chance since it was rush hour...but we finally made it safely across. Phew!
I spent a few hours at school today, in the class I TA and doing a couple of administrative things. After my class was over I went to the gym to bike and lift. Spring classes start tomorrow at MIT and the gym was more packed than I've seen it since the beginning of the school year. It was really nuts and I was glad I wasn't staying long.
Matt's finally done with the project he's been working on around the clock for the past 10 days. We were able to have dinner together tonight and he gets to relax now while I go work on a (thankfully short) paper. If I'm efficient and finish before The Bachelor is over, I will be especially happy :)
Posted by becky at 6:57 PM | Comments (0)
February 5, 2006
Saran wrap barometer
I knew I needed to pick up some coffee cream on the way home from my run this morning, so I wrapped a five dollar bill in Saran wrap and tucked it in my sports bra. This technique usually works just fine during the winter months. But it was really muggy again this morning! I shouldn't have worn a long sleeve shirt, but the temperature was supposedly 45 or something when I left. I was super-sweaty the whole time (I'm talking I had to wring out my shirt at a point) and by the time I got to the store at the end of the run, the five dollar bill was completely soaked despite my plastic wrap job. The cashier was kind of grossed out, but at least he wasn't obnoxious about it!
I ended up running one of my Charles River loops. It's about two and a half miles to the beginning of the Esplanade at the Museum of Science, and from there I ran on the Boston side and came back over the BU bridge and through Cambridge. Besides the humidity, I didn't feel too terrible. My legs were a little tired from my long run but not too bad.
We are having some people over to watch the Superbowl, so I spent most of the day cleaning and shopping for that. I did run over to the gym to lift very briefly, but I felt crappy on the way back. I hardly ever do that (run to the gym and lift) because this always happens--I run out of energy on the way back and end up having to walk. It wasn't quite that bad today, but very unpleasant.
I must go get ready for my guests!
Posted by becky at 5:40 PM | Comments (0)
February 4, 2006
Over hill and dale in Winchester
I haven't done one of my long Mystic Lakes/Winchester loops in several weeks now. Today I was joined by a running partner who is actually a native of that area, so she showed me a couple of big hills and several ways to extend the loop that I didn't know about. Luckily today's run wasn't super-long (I actually wanted to do about 18 but I think it was more like 17.) The weather was not to my liking, because it was actually muggy (it's February! Hello!) and of course there were tons of fair weather runners out. As my running partner Alyssa pointed out, if we had run on the Marathon course today, there would have been even more (runner) traffic. True enough.
We decided to do this series of hills (probably almost a mile in distance) pretty early on in the run, which was good and bad. I still felt pretty good at that point, but my legs tightened up after the downhills that followed the uphills. I find that lately it's my hamstrings that get sore on hilly long runs. It wasn't too bad, but I enjoyed the run incrementally less because of it (does that make sense?) I've done most parts of today's route before but we added a little bit in Woburn/Stoneham which ended up coming by a pond that I believe is Spot Pond. It was pretty. In addition to the pond, the other notable site was a huge dead raccoon near one of the Mystic Lakes. I am not a big fan of raccoons (haven't been since one had babies in our chimney on the morning of my bat mitzvah) and it totally freaked me out.
When I got back from running, I quickly got ready and went over to the track at Tufts to watch MIT compete. All of MIT's meets this winter have been away so far, so this was my first chance to go to one. It was a long, but fun, day. The highlight was the 5K. Almost all of the girls in the race were shooting for the All-New Englands qualifying standard of 19:36. We had 5 MIT ladies and one ran a HUGE PR, coming in second, and all the others except one (who missed by a second!) qualified. It was a great effort by all of them. I know they've been working hard so it was nice to see their hard work pay off!
I'm staying in tonight to catch up on work and stuff since I was gone all day. I'm going to end this entry here because something is wrong with my keyboard and it's really hard to type!
Posted by becky at 8:21 PM | Comments (0)
February 3, 2006
Beating the rain
I admittedly have not had to go running before 6am in a couple of months. I was surprised at how dark it was this morning, but I think a lot of it was due to the fact that it was about to rain. I actually like running in the rain, but today I was glad to just have caught the beginning of it because it was making me cold (!) and I wasn't prepared with my baseball cap. It was definitely *not* cold this morning (and it's almost 60 degrees now) but something about the darkness and the rain definitely made me glad to come inside when I was done running.
I brought my iPod today, which I haven't done in a long time. I do like running with music, but I need better headphones than the good old standard Apple ones. They are fine for walking around with, but not really for running. I am tempted to invest in a pair of (really) good ones, but they are pricey and I have a tendency to lose things.
Anyway, I did my standard, short Friday loop and felt decent but not excellent. Definitely glad that I had only one workout planned today. I enjoyed my class today despite its ungodly early Friday start time, and then I had a doctor's appointment and have been hanging around at home ever since. Tonight I'm off to my grandparents' house as is my custom, and then Matt and I are planning to watch Murderball, which I've had sitting here for a week!
Happy weekend!
Posted by becky at 3:07 PM | Comments (0)
February 2, 2006
Groundhog Day already?
Since my mom is an elementary school teacher, we always used to know when Groundhog Day was coming up. It's a big deal in first grade! I like to know if we are going to have six weeks more of winter, because that's my favorite season. I thought it was later in the month, but apparently it's today. I just checked the official G-Day site and found out that Pux. Phil saw his shadow. But does that mean 6 more weeks of high 40s and 50s, or real winter?
OK, back to reality. My legs felt very heavy in the morning, even though I got a decent amount of sleep, the weather was good and Alison and I were having interesting conversations. Maybe I'm just feeling my mileage; I'm not sure. In any case, it was not the best run in the world, but we went somewhere I hadn't been in probably more than a month, and that was a good thing. Sometimes I forget to mix it up.
I did some work at home in the morning and then I had one class in the early afternoon. We did not get a break in the middle of the two hours and I just started to zone out. I had to go to the bathroom really badly but I was sitting in a spot where it would have been pretty disruptive for me to get up while the guest speaker was talking. I just sat very still and stopped drinking from my water bottle :)
After class I went over to MIT and did part of the distance runners' run with them. They were going faster than I wanted to go, but I wasn't uncomfortable or anything. But I ended up running a little longer than I had intended because I had to double back to get to a bridge that I accidentally missed. I did some strides when I got back but not too many because my hamstring was very tight. I hope I get some energy back for my long run this weekend.
My laundry is calling for me, so I will go put it in the dryer before some mean neighbor gets to it first. I sure do lead an exciting life!
Posted by becky at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)
February 1, 2006
My week is flying by...
...and I'm already behind on my reading. I ended up being a lot less productive than I had anticipated today, so I am stuck doing my reading when I'm tired again. So I will write a very quick entry!
My legs were not happy this morning after all that pounding on the track last night. I ran up to Alison's place, avoiding the icy patches as best I could, and then we ran a loop that went sort of around the Tufts campus. Neither one of us was too talkative, probably because we were both tired. And sore. I sure was glad to get back home.
I had a big chunk of down time in the early afternoon so I ate a quick lunch and got my biking and lifting done before my afternoon class. Then I was able to go to track practice after that class. I didn't help out too much today but I did get to talk with the other coaches a lot, which is always nice. Then I met Matt on campus at MIT and we went to get burgers near our place. I was starving and a slab of meat totally hit the spot!
Posted by becky at 9:53 PM | Comments (2)