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March 31, 2006
Back to the usual routine
After last week's mini-break from my usual Friday routine for Spring Break and our trip to DC, it was back to my early morning class again today. We didn't get home from the concert as late as I feared (around 11, and it was a great show) but then I stupidly stayed up watching my tape of ER. I don't know why I do things like that. I was just all keyed up. Plus, when you watch an hourlong show on tape, it only takes about 35 minutes because of all the fast-forwarding through commercials.
So it was not too pleasant to get out of bed and go running at 5:30, but I was meeting Wynne so that softened the blow. Neither one of us was too peppy. I didn't feel any aches or pains, I was just dragging. We did our usual Friday loop and gossiped about the uniformly bad behavior of men. (That's all I'll say about that!) I am a little worried that tomorrow's (pretty short!) long run will feel long because I'm tired and because it's so warm (it was in the low 70s today), but I'll bring my Gatorade and gummy bears and do my best.
I'm off to pick up Matt at the airport. His flight was delayed a bit due to a mechanical problem with the plane (very reassuring) but I'm hoping we can time it right so that neither one of us is waiting around too long. Enjoy your weekends!
Posted by becky at 7:36 PM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2006
Sluggishness strikes
I had very heavy and tired legs today--I could tell from the moment I started running. And the back of both knees are sore, which I'm attributing to the (kind of gross) fact that instead of jogging during the rest intervals during Tuesday's workout, I was sitting on the toilet. I told you it was gross--but I truly think that might be the culprit. Anyway, Alison and I met in one of our typical meeting spots and I suggested a route through Arlington that we had done a few weeks ago, but today we would be doing it in the other direction. We were on the Minuteman trail for a couple of miles, and I mentioned that I felt uncomfortable. Alison claimed I was pushing the pace. Not sure about that, but I'm always happy to slow down. I don't think we fell into the speed trap again after that, but both of us were complaining about how not good we felt. The glass of water I had at her house was really the only thing that got me the 2 miles home from there! It was quite warm again today, reminding me to start getting nervous about Boston Marathon weather.
I did some work at home for a few hours in the late morning and early afternoon and then I went to school for my afternoon class. After that, I decided to run a 3 mile loop around the River instead of biking, mostly because it seemed like so many people were out enjoying the nice weather and I was jealous. That feeling will pass as the weather gets warmer. It was very crowded on the Esplanade but it was a nice, quick run.
Tonight I am going to a Jamie Cullum concert with one of my friends from Cornell. She lives in NH now but will soon be moving back to Colorado, so this will probably be one of the last times I see her for awhile. It should be fun, but I am dreading getting back late because tomorrow is my early day. But I'll live it up as much as I can!
Posted by becky at 5:51 PM | Comments (1)
March 29, 2006
Nice day for a change
It was a little on the warm side for me, but today is a "perfect running day" here in Boston. I slept in a bit so I probably missed the height of the morning crowd, but I definitely did see a lot of walkers and runners enjoying the weather. You know how it is in the beginning of Spring--people coming out of the woodwork. I was really dreading my own run this morning because I knew I'd be tired from the workout. I wanted to make my route as scenic as possible so I'd have something to distract me. I brought my iPod and I ran down to the river, getting on to the Esplanade near the Museum of Science and then staying on the Boston side until the BU Bridge. I was taking it really easy, but I actually felt okay for about 5 miles. Then I started dragging for the last few miles. I've had worse runs but let's just say I was glad to get home and refuel with Gatorade and food!
Wednesday is my strange schedule day when it makes more sense for me to go to the gym in the middle of the day rather than in the late afternoon. I made good use of my time on the bike, almost getting through all of the reading for one of my classes. I ran in to a gym friend who was lifting at the same time that I was, so that was nice. We were both complaining about the (warm) temperature in the gym, but I have to admit it has been nice this week because MIT students are on spring break. It's definitely a lot emptier in there.
I don't have any other exciting news to report at this moment. Tonight will be a laundry and schoolwork night--whoo-hoo!
Posted by becky at 3:20 PM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2006
I'll know for next time
I just had a not-so-pleasant track workout. And it wasn't because of my tired legs, it was because of the fact that I had a spicy chicken wrap and a smoothie for lunch! I used to be very cautious about what I ate before workouts but have recently been living on the edge. I felt okay until I started running faster than warmup pace. Then I had to run to the bathroom between intervals. I was surprised I kept up with my group! We were doing 2 sets of a mile at tempo pace, an 800 at interval pace and a 400 and 2x200 at repeat pace. I was definitely struggling to get my legs to turn over during the repeat pace stuff, but I'm not sure if it was because my stomach hurt or my legs were tired or a combination of the two. In any case, I made it through the workout hitting pretty much the paces I wanted to, but it wasn't the most enjoyable experience. That was our last indoor workout though as we will move outside starting next after changing the clocks.
I did my usual morning run today and it was really nice out--sunny and pretty mild. I ran by an elementary school near my apartment and noticed several dads walking their kids to school. I don't know why in 2006 that surprises me--I expect to see moms! But it is definitely a good thing.
I also went to two new classes today, one of which I will probably take and one which I will likely drop. I am torn between taking things that seem interesting and challenging and taking stuff that doesn't have a whole lot of work. It's like senior year of college all over again! Hopefully I'll strike a good balance between the two.
Posted by becky at 9:27 PM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2006
Technological challenges
Today was a more hectic day than I anticipated, mainly because my cell phone broke in half. It was on the verge of breaking for a few days and finally kicked it today. Thankfully I got a nice salesperson at Verizon who allowed me to renew my contract (and therefore not pay the full retail price for a new phone) 2 months early. Now I have a cool camera phone! What I will do with it I do not know...but it's a fun toy for now! The other cool thing is that the Verizon techhies were able to transfer all my contacts from the old phone to the new phone: a very good thing as I don't have anyone's numbers memorized.
It was nice to meet up with Alison for a run this morning now that she's back from her vacation. We had a lot to catch up on so the run went by pretty quickly. I felt like I was dragging a bit but my legs weren't as heavy or sore as they were yesterday. Toward the end of the run, my HHG was tightening up. That hasn't happened recently so I think it was just my body complaining to me about mileage or something. (Doesn't my body know it's almost time to taper??)
I started a new class today and it is right up my alley since it is a practical (yay!) course on the health communication and media. I enjoyed it a lot and it's too bad that this class only meets on Mondays as I'll have to miss it for the marathon in a few weeks. Every other Boston university has Patriots Day off, but not us. Oh, well.
After school I went to the gym but felt pretty flat and tired both biking and lifting. I cut it a bit short since I had to go home to get the car and go to the Verizon store anyway. That ended up taking a lot longer than expected so I have not gotten anything done tonight and the work is starting to pile up. So I'm off to at least pretend to do some of it!
Posted by becky at 9:33 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2006
Recovery day
I don't have anything nearly as exciting as yesterday to report today. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep after getting back from the wedding after 12:30 am and I had to get up early because our flights were on the early side. It's not a big deal for me to run the day after a super long run or marathon; I just had to make sure to go nice and slow and short. (This was not hard.) My legs felt okay but I was just generally tired. I did a loop that went out through the main drag in Georgetown (M Street) and came back along the Capital Crescent trail and the Rock Creek bike path...just like old times. I wished I had gloves today as it was very windy and my sleeves weren't really long enough to keep my hands warm. Other than that and the tiredness, I can't complain too much about today's run. I have a hunch that I may be feeling it more tomorrow--terrific!
Matt and I parted ways at the airport today since I was going back to Boston and he was off to Florida until Friday for his spring break. He and his dad are traveling around going to spring training baseball games. It's always weird being here alone, but today I actually got some of the work that I've been procrastinating done...or at least started. I start my new quarter tomorrow so I'll probably have more on top of that soon. But there are only seven (!) more weeks of school left, amazingly enough. I should enjoy the school stress because there will definitely be no more school in my future. I can at least enjoy the ability to wake up later than I will for a job!
I thought fleetingly of going to the gym to lift today but I could not get motivated and I thought it would be best to chill since I was on my feet so much yesterday. Right now I'm having a yawning spell but I'm trying to stay up for Sopranos! We'll see how it goes.
Posted by becky at 7:53 PM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2006
Oops
So I kind of ran the National Marathon today. As a training run, but I kind of PR'd. That's because my old PR--and new one!--were soft, I think. Getting over the 3:30 barrier was good for me mentally (I ran 3:28 and it was very nice and easy) but I still believe I have a better one in me. My training times and other races make me think that I do, but I need to prove it to myself.
I just wrote a whole long entry about today and then erased it accidentally. I have to run out now and may not have time to finish until tomorrow, but I'll get to it!
Here's the rest of the story:
I'm finally getting around to finishing my National Marathon story. The rest of my day was not particularly restful—we walked around for hours looking at apartments (sometimes we got a ride from the realtor who is helping us) and I had only a half hour to lie down and try to nap before we had to leave for a wedding. I was really doing okay until about midnight, when I completely crashed. But the walking around seemed to loosen up my legs a lot; I was able to dance and everything—for a couple of hours, anyway.
Anyway…I didn't decide to run the marathon until Wed. of this week. I knew I'd be in DC this weekend way ahead of time because of the wedding, so I had planned to run with one of my running friends from DC Roadrunners. I checked in with her at the beginning of the week and she told me about her plan to run the marathon as a training run, if only to take advantage of an early start, a marked course and Gatorade stops. I've hardly ever done a race, let alone a marathon, on a whim, so at first I was thinking it sounded crazy. But having company on a long run means a lot to me. I figured, why not? If I needed to stop early I could probably find transportation back to the start/finish. I didn't particularly want to pay the entry fee, but I knew I would be taking advantage of the fluids along the course, so of course I coughed it up. (It turned out that the street closings were fairly complicated, so I know getting the police presence and the permits must have cost the marathoners a lot of money. Happy to help.)
This was the first "Washington, DC" marathon since the canceled one in 2003 (I think that was the year.) When I first heard about it I thought late March sounded like a terrible time for a marathon in DC, but the weather really was great. Cold at the start but I finished in shorts and a t-shirt. It was also pretty cloudy. I'm 85% sure that this weather will be better than what we get in a few weeks for Boston (another motivator for me to do this race!) Except for the fact that we had to wait in line forever for the port-a-potties, I really didn't feel like I was about to run a marathon when I started. I think that was a good thing.
The marathon was run concurrently with the first annual National Half Marathon. There were many more participants in the half marathon, which went from RFK Stadium to the Capitol, around the mall and back through Southwest DC. The first 11 miles (at which point we split from the half marathoners) were flat and pretty scenic, so I would highly recommend the half if they continue it. For the first couple of miles, the course was marked every half mile, which was driving us crazy! Thankfully that didn't last long.
We definitely started out nice and easy, 8:30 or so for a couple of miles. Then we pretty much clocked 8's consistently (except when we got into the 7:40s and backed off, every couple of miles) and were chatting the whole time. It was really a lot of fun. There were a few hills, but nothing like any of the New England races I've done this season. When we split from the half marathoners, we headed into Fort Dupont Park, which I've heard of but never been in. We were on the border of DC and PG County (MD) at that point and I do not know that area at all. The park seemed to be the beginning of the hills in this marathon—there were maybe a couple of flat stretches after that but it was pretty much rolling, gentle hills from then on. In every marathon I've done, I've had freak-out moments, around mile 15 or 16 and again at 22, kind of wondering whether I really even WANT to continue. I had a bad one at 15 but just made myself suck it up and remember all my training. I also realized that the doubts were reminders to eat. (That was another reason I wanted to run the marathon, to practice eating again.) I ate mostly gummy bears and drank Gatorade at nearly every station, and even tried a bit of a vanilla PowerGel. It wasn't too bad, actually. I still think I'd have even more energy in the last 10 miles if I could get myself to like the gels. It's a work in progress.
There was an annoying pace group in front of us at mile 18 or so (the 3:30 group) and I was a little afraid to pass them, but we did and it was fine. The last 6 miles were probably the hilliest, which was definitely tough on my mind if not my legs. I started to lose confidence right before mile 24 and my friend went ahead (with my blessing, of course!) She ended up a couple of minutes ahead of me, but I think I could have gone with her if I believed in myself more—and I was being extra cautious because I know it's almost taper time and I didn't want to do anything stupid. Actually, in the last mile I passed a bunch of people because I was like, hey, this still feels easy…and I knew at that point I'd make it. It felt good to see the clock when I finished and know that I didn't reach that deep in the tank. We were both fine when we finished and it was nice to be able to make a quick escape.
The thing about this marathon experience is that I really enjoyed it, probably because I started out slow and ran so comfortably. I honestly don't know if I have it in me to really race a marathon. I think it's more realistic just to try and cut a few minutes off with each one I run. In any case, I'm glad it was a positive experience and that I made it through the rest of the day with no (obvious) ill effects. I think it's time to start to taper a little and as much as it drives me nuts, my legs are looking forward to it!
Posted by becky at 12:43 PM | Comments (11)
March 24, 2006
Old route, new starting point
I didn't sleep that well last night. Even though the bed was comfortable, I never sleep as well when I am in someone else's bed because I am very particular about my pillow. (I like firm pillows and these were mushy.) Matt and I both slept in a little because we didn't have any early morning appointments. I didn't get out the door for my run until after 9, so I was especially glad today was my short run day. I have this staple Friday route that I did for years when I lived in Washington but I wasn't sure quite how to make it work starting from Laura's place. I decided to replace the giant hill in the National Zoo with another hill that took me in the right direction. The distance worked out, but I had a weird dizzy spell right after coming up the aforementioned hill. I stopped running for a second because I felt weak and like my heart was pounding out of control. (Not in the same "I just ran up a hill" way that I'm used to.) After a moment, the feeling passed. It was very odd and a little scary. Maybe I didn't eat enough before I left the apartment? Hopefully it was just a fluke thing.
Matt and I looked at a nice apartment around noon, just to get a feel for whether we'd be interested in a similar unit in that building if one should be available in the summer when we're ready to move. Then he went to have lunch with some of his future coworkers so I got a manicure :) and then went to my favorite DC sandwich place, Potbelly's. Later in the afternoon, I went to scope out some potential job opportunities at the American Red Cross (where I used to work.) It was great to see my old coworkers but it was also kind of bittersweet because one of the nicest women in our department died of a heart attack this past Sunday. She was young and vibrant and it was extremely unexpected. Today was her funeral so everyone was kind of in a daze.
Tonight we are having dinner at our favorite sushi place and then I'll probably call it a night in anticipation of tomorrow's long run. Right now I should really pound out a paper that's due next week but I'm so much more motivated to read US Weekly! Happy first weekend of Spring!
Posted by becky at 6:28 PM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2006
Trying out a new route
I wanted to do a slightly longish run this morning but knew I wouldn't have time for more than 10 miles unless I got up very early and the chances of that were slim. I've been staying up too late! I was debating wearing tights today because Boston.com said the weather was 34 degrees with a "real feel" of 29, but I'm so glad I thought better of it. The sun was out very strongly and by the time I was almost finished, I had my sleeves rolled all the way up and I was seriously considering stripping down to my sports bra. I bet I will be very warm running in DC this weekend!
Anyway, I started out the run with the first 4 or so miles that we often do on our long runs that go through Winchester. But instead of heading to the Mystic Lakes, I went down a very windy (and pretty) street that I knew had an entrance to a big cemetery that Alison has run through with the Tufts team. I wasn't sure exactly which roads in the cemetery to take, but I just stayed as close to the main road as possible and it came out very close to where my grandparents live in Medford. Instead of going back the way I usually do, I came back through Medford Center so that my last mile would be down one of my favorite hills.
I noticed yesterday that I must have pulled an ab muscle either at track running all those laps in the same direction or while lifting. I had a cramp right under my ribs both today and yesterday and stretching it out didn't seem to help. From past experience, these little muscle pulls just take a few days. Hopefully it will be better for this weekend's long run. It doesn't bother me when I'm not running so I forget about stretching it during the day. My legs felt pretty decent today but I was still pretty tired in the last couple of miles, and considering my weekly mileage has been near 80 for months now, I should not have trouble finishing 10 mile runs. (And I was short of 10, too, I think.) I'll just chalk it up to dead legs which will hopefully feel more energetic when I start to taper.
I'm writing this as Matt and I are on the plane on our way to Washington. Depending on how the day goes once we get in, I may try to sneak into Washington Sports Club with Laura, my sis-in-law, and get in some lifting. But for now I'm going to do what I always do on planes: nap!
Posted by becky at 11:10 PM | Comments (1)
March 22, 2006
Shuffling along
I knew I wouldn't feel so great running this morning after the long track workout we had last night, so it took me a while to get out the door. Once I did start running, I actually didn't feel that bad. I kept reminding myself to take it really easy, though. I did a roundabout loop that I used to do by myself a lot on the day after the workout but cut it slightly short since my "not so bad" feeling turned to "very, very bad" after only a half hour of running. It just hit me like a ton of bricks and I knew it would be best to take the most direct route back home. I did get somewhat of a second wind, but when I was sitting on the floor doing my situps after the run, I got very, very tired. I was worried that I was getting sick or something but I felt better after showering and eating so I'm hoping it was just the cumulative mileage.
Today was a day full of lots of errands, so I again was not too productive with the work I promised myself I'd do over Spring Break. Big shocker there--and we are going to DC for the weekend tomorrow afternoon so I guess I'm going to have my week cut out for me after that. I did do some biking and lifting (priorities) in the middle of the day. Now I'm getting ready for our little trip, which is actually the beginning of a bigger trip for Matt--his Spring Break is next week and he and his dad are meeting in Florida to go to some spring training baseball games. Even if I could go, I'm not sure I could take the heat!
Posted by becky at 7:56 PM | Comments (1)
March 21, 2006
Lotsa laps
Amazingly, it wasn't quite as windy this morning as it has been for so many days straight. I had an errand to do on my morning run so that made it go by pretty quickly. I headed out at a time that is apparently foot traffic rush hour, though--I had to dodge a lot of people, strollers, etc. when I was in Davis Square and surrounding streets. Still, sometimes it's nice to have a lot of other people around during a run. As long as they don't get too much in my way, of course :)
I had the bright idea to clean my computer this morning with cleaning products that are probably not recommended for electronics. I have a white iBook and I love it, but I can't stand how dirty it gets! Mr. Clean Magic Erasers took the black handprints off, but I think I got some water into the computer because it was giving me all sorts of problems for hours after that. I let it dry out for a long time and it seems okay now, but you never know. It would be just like me to do something like that to my beloved computer.
So because of the drying computer, I was very unproductive today. Sure, I could have packed for our trip to DC or cleaned the apartment, but instead I took a nap. I really love my naps. Plus, it was nice and sunny by the window where I was curled up--it was just like being on the beach. (Not!)
Between my computer problems and napping, soon it was time to go to the track workout. It had gotten a lot warmer since I went out in the middle of the day to pick up a sandwich and when I got to Wynne's place on my way to the track, we were both shocked that I was wearing pants and she was wearing shorts. That isn't usually the case! We grumbled about the long workout on our warmup but it didn't turn out to be too terrible. We ended up running with a new group of people tonight, but it was good to have a big pack. (Although kind of crowded at times.) We were supposed to do 4xmile at tempo pace and then a fifth mile about 10 seconds faster than that...but what actually happened is we got about 10 seconds faster on each "tempo" mile and then picked it up as much as we could on the last. Our third "tempo mile" was way too fast and that one was uncomfortable, but I felt in control on the others. Wynne really picked up the pace in the last 800 of the fifth mile and I went with her since I felt pretty good. We were pleased with how it went and I was just glad to have done our long run on Saturday--what a difference an extra day makes! We only have one more indoor workout left in the season and then we move outside (with a week "off." I think, but I'll probably do something on my own.) How did it get to be almost April?? Anyway, I'm going to try and make up for my lack of productivity this afternoon in the next hour--we'll see how that goes.
Posted by becky at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)
March 20, 2006
What is it with the wind lately?
I really feel like it has been uncomfortably windy for weeks on end around here. I mentioned that to one of the MIT coaches tonight and he said it's always like that from March until May. It is true that I was cross-training more than I was running last year at this time because of my achilles problem, but I don't remember the wind being like this at all. But maybe he's right...he has lived in Boston for 20+ years longer than I have!
Anyway, it is going to be hard to motivate to run this week since Alison is away and I do much better when I have someone to meet. I tend to go later in the morning when I'm running by myself and that just eats away at the day. This morning I didn't leave until after 9...but it's okay, I guess. I got in a decent run that was enjoyable in parts and awful when the wind blew. I wore a windbreaker today which did help a bit, and it had a good pocket for my iPod as an added bonus. I ended up running through Medford Center and along the Mystic River bike path, which is kind of sketchy but there happened to be a few normal-looking people playing with their dogs in there, so it wasn't so bad. At one point I thought I saw a person lying down, but I blinked and then realized it was a rock!
I was not as productive (schoolwork-wise) as I had intended this afternoon, but I did get in a good 45 minutes of lifting and some biking! Plus I froze my butt off with the other MIT coaches timing people's track workouts. We were definitely colder than the runners tonight. My feet and fingers were killing me when I left. I blasted the heat in the car and finally did thaw out, but I'm still cold even hours later. I'm going to bury myself under some blankets on the couch!
Posted by becky at 8:21 PM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2006
Sleepy Sunday
I fell into such a dead sleep on the couch last night while Matt was watching a movie that I am surprised I even woke up to get into bed. And then I expected that I would be up on the early side this morning after all that sleep, but I couldn't drag myself out of bed and ended up getting a much later start to the day than I intended. It was nice to have a slower-paced weekend though after several action-packed ones.
Speaking of slow paces, I don't think I was moving very quickly on my run this morning. It was pretty chilly and not terribly windy but windy enough so I noticed it during the part that went along the Charles. I ran along the river to Watertown and then took back roads to get back to Cambridge/Somerville. My hip and butt were very tight as usual during the beginning of the run and I stopped to stretch after a couple of miles, which helped somewhat. It usually just takes time to loosen up on its own. As I was running, I was thinking that many people I knew were probably racing the New Bedford half marathon. And I was very glad that I was not doing it!
I was still kind of sleepy later in the day and even took a little nap while I was waiting for my laundry to come out of the dryer. Since it's Spring Break I am doing a little bit of work each day but also trying to give myself a little more relaxation time. This is a good thing as my next (and final!) quarter is going to be a lot busier than the previous one. But I'm sure I'll survive.
I was in the mood to go swimming later in the afternoon so I did laps for a little more than a half-hour. It was a nice change of pace and I am tired of lifting so this was a good substitute. I ran into one of the MIT runners there who unfortunately was swimming because her own hip is bothering her...The outdoor season is so short; I hope she doesn't end up missing the whole season.
OK, back to working on cover letters and resumes. If I'm good, I can reward myself with The Sopranos!
Posted by becky at 8:12 PM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2006
Not so long for a change
It was nice to wake up today and know that our long run was going to be shorter than last week! After doing 20+ for a number of weeks in a row, I thought it would be prudent to back off a bit. My usual group met up at Porter Square and did one of our now-usual Medford-Arlington-Winchester loops. It was pretty chilly again today--not even 30 when I left my apartment. I heard the windchimes next door a few times during the night so I expected it to be very windy, but mostly it was okay. There were a few stretches that had us battling the wind, but by that point I was actually on the warm side.
Our Winchester loop isn't too hilly except for one rather long stretch in the first hour. I hated the Hutchinson hill every time we did it last year but now I've almost grown fond of it. It's basically straight up for three-quarters of a mile but the scenery is gorgeous--huge houses, a golf course and a country club. Plus, after that, there's a lot of downhill. The three of us were talking during most of the run and except for some hip soreness in the first 10 minutes, I felt pretty good. We made sure to stay at a nice and relaxed pace and not push it and I think that helped make it more relaxing. The total time on the watch ended up being just a hair shy of 2:30. Good enough for today.
This afternoon I did some household things and then went to Bloomingdale's in Newton to pick up a couple of items (nothing too exciting) including an engagement gift. Mary was free so she took me up on my offer to join me. That made the errands a lot more fun!
Tonight we're going to dinner with some friends and then I think I will be boring and work on my resume and cover letter some more. Such is life on the job market!
Posted by becky at 5:35 PM | Comments (1)
March 17, 2006
It really must be almost spring...
I guess it's been cloudy out the past few Fridays when I've had to run early, because today was the first time I noticed how early it's been getting light out. (I thought I overslept for a minute!) I realized that makes sense because it isn't too long before the official start of spring and the changing of the clocks.
Today I had company on my run, which was very nice. I ran up to Wynne's place, then we did my usual short Friday loop and she ran back to her place from there. We were both surprised at how cold it was this morning. It wasn't terrible, it just felt like winter again. Not that I'm complaining. What I'll complain about is that I just felt kind of tired and creaky today. My hip was stiff and my left quad was all tight. Nothing terrible, but I've been feeling like that too often than I want to lately. When I got home, I tried to massage my quad using the foam roller. It felt a little better, but after I got up from sitting in class, I had the HHG uncomfortableness again. I don't know what set it off. Maybe I haven't been stretching/foam rolling as much as I should. And to top it all off, my achilles felt ever-so-slightly twingey when I was walking around the apartment. For some reason--I guess the pain--I dread the return of that injury more than any other, especially since it happened right around this time last year. In any case, I'm pre-emptively icing right now.
I followed up on a couple of potential job leads this afternoon and went to see my grandparents as usual this evening. Matt and I are both typing away at our computers now and might watch a movie if we can stay awake that long! Happy St. Paddy's Day/weekend to all!
Posted by becky at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2006
Getting there the long way
Well, no one could call today's run boring. Both Alison and I wanted to go a little longer than usual (she wanted to go even longer because of her travel plans this weekend) and we debated where to go. Alison had a book to pick up at Northeastern and wanted to incorporate that into the run, so we decided to go into the city a roundabout way and come back more directly. We ended up going through Charlestown (very cute, it was a part I had never been to before) and then picking up the Freedom Trail for quite awhile. I know I've walked on the Freedom Trail but never run on it. Some of it definitely brings you in a circle, but it's historical, right? And it was fun for a change. We stopped for a bit to look at this Holocaust memorial near the financial district that I never even knew existed. It was pretty cool and I was glad to see that there were other people looking at it, too.
We had to consult various maps we found a few times to figure out exactly where we were going, but we ended up at our destination just fine. It was chilly this morning and windy at times, so it helped to have to concentrate on getting somewhere, not just running to run. At Northeastern, Alison showed me around campus (it took only gesturing as it is very small) and then she did her errand and I refueled with some Powerade (there was no Gatorade to be found since Northeastern is a Coca-Cola campus.) We definitely took a more direct route back but it was still a longish mid-week run for me and even longer for her. The worst part about coming back from Northeastern was that we went over the Harvard bridge (which is really near MIT) and the wind was practically preventing us from running straight. I thought I might blow off.
At school, I went to this event announcing the results of a study one of my professors and some of my friends had worked on. They measured levels of tobacco smoke in Irish pubs around the U.S., in states with and without restaurant/bar smoking bans. They also had measurements in European and Mediterrean countries where the smoking rates are out of control. As you might imagine, the air quality inside Irish pubs is not very high. Ireland has had a restaurant/bar smoking ban for about two years and they have significantly reduced the level of health-harming air particles in pubs there. We heard from three Irish public health experts by webcast and then discussed the issues. It was very neat. (You can read about it here if you are interested.)
After I was done with my class, I went to the gym (a little biking and a little lifting, I was still tired from this morning's run.) Tonight I'm enjoying a quiet night of laundry and catching up on email. Since I have to get up so early tomorrow, it's actually almost my bedtime!
Posted by becky at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2006
Blown away
Ugh, my run was so unenjoyable this morning. On the positive side, the soreness in my quads is finally starting to abate. But my legs were pretty dead as they usually are after track, and the wind was horrendous! There were times when I could barely move myself forward. I really was afraid that some road sign or something was going to impale me--it was gusting that much! I did have my iPod, which kept me going mentally, but it was one of those runs where you know you're not out of shape, but you feel like you are. At least I hope I'm not out of shape.
But it's just a run, so I'm over the fact that it wasn't too much fun. In the early afternoon, I did my biking and lifting in time to make a dentist appointment. Now my teeth are clean again, but I got warned about my tendency to brush my teeth too hard which is resulting in receding gums. My sister recently got the same warning and we are convinced that we owe it all to our dad who taught us to brush our teeth too roughtly. But I'll try to be more gentle!
Anyway, not much else to report--off to wrap up a final project.
Posted by becky at 3:24 PM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2006
Hanging on
I woke up this morning with lots of butterflies in my stomach. I was nervous about my presentation and nervous about doing the workout on sore and tired legs. I felt kind of blah on my morning run but that is often the case because it's so short--it takes me the whole run to just settle into a rhythm and comfortable pace. When I got back from running I finalized my presentation for about an hour and then was off to school to meet my friends for lunch before class.
My presentation went fine, although I felt like the time flew by and I forgot to say a lot of the things I had planned to. I was just glad it was over, but then there were many more to sit through before I got to go home and reward myself with a quick nap.
Tonight's workout would have been tough if my quads weren't still bothering me, but I took Alison's advice to just slow down the paces I was supposed to hit on each interval. The workout was 1x1,600 at "5K" pace, 2x1,000, 2x800 and 2x400 all at interval pace and then 2 more 400s at repeat pace. I was definitely a bit slow on the 1,600, but kept the pace consistent and almost where I wanted it on the other interval-paced distances. The last 400s were slow but I expected that. The most painful thing for me were the first few steps of each interval--my groin, hips and quads were protesting until they loosened up (I'm sore on both sides so it's not like my recent HHG issues, I don't think.) The faster running didn't bother me so much, but I couldn't wait to get home so that I could finish my cool down. It was also very windy on the way home, which always bothers me.
Anyway, it's late and I need to do a couple of things before bed, so that's all from me!
Posted by becky at 9:58 PM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2006
Sore for sure
As expected, my quads were very sore this morning. Particularly my right quad, which is out of the ordinary for me. But I was thinking it has something to do with the fact that we ran on the left side of the road for so many miles yesterday, especially on the downhill parts of the course. It took me a couple of minutes to get moving at normal speed, but eventually I made it to the spot that Alison and I had decided to meet at. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to keep up today, but I ended up being okay. Neither one of us had picked out a route ahead of time, so we ran sort of aimlessly toward the Minuteman bike path but never actually got on it. No worries though as we had lots of catch-up conversation to keep us occupied. We were chatting for a couple of minutes before we parted ways, and when I started back up running again, my quad was even more sore. It seems to loosen up with activity, which is good.
After my class I biked (and read a book for class rather than US Weekly, my preferred bike entertainment) and lifted. If I didn't have this big project to finish up, I would have gone to track practice to help out especially since today was a day where it seemed every group was doing a different workout, and all on the track. So let me finish typing this and get down to business. I have to give a presentation tomorrow and I am already feeling more butterflies than I do before track--this is a serious phobia.
Posted by becky at 7:02 PM | Comments (1)
March 12, 2006
Another long one in the books
Besides the worrying beforehand and the suffering during, I really do like long runs :) But one thing that is always mind-boggling is how long these really long ones take--especially when you're driving somewhere to start. I left here at 7 this morning to pick up Wynne and drive out to Wellesley, where we were taking a bus out to the starting line in Hopkinton. (This was a BAA running club group run; while I don't compete for them I am a club member and join them for long runs now and then.) I'm not sure what time we actually got started running, but it probably was close to 8:30. There was a huge group of runners today and I recognized many of them from photos I've seen and races I've been at--it was quite the elite crowd.
Still, there were a few women running around our pace and we had some company for parts of the run. The BAA had water stops set up and we carried our own Gatorade so we didn't need to stop, meaning that there was a lot of passing and re-passing going on after people would start running again. Wynne and I definitely decided that this is the last time we will run on the course before the marathon! Just like last time we started in Hopkinton, my legs felt the downhill already before mile 10. I think my legs are pretty used to the pounding by now, but it always happens. Other than that, I felt very stiff for about 3 miles and then settled into a more comfortable rhythm. My butt was a little tight but (thankfully) no major HHG problems.
The run today dragged at parts, just knowing how far we had to go, but we tried to occupy ourselves with conversations and jokes the best we could. When we got back to the car in Wellesley, we stopped to grab some food and stick our long-sleeves in the car (it was great running weather--thought I'd be too hot but I was fine) and then did the last eight or so miles of the run as an out and back. That basically meant going up some of the Newton hills, but not the worst one (Heartbreak). Still, we hit a long hill in the last mile and several others--it was not easy by any means! We ran for a bit over 3 hours and that will be my last 21+ long run before the marathon. I probably should have done the longest one next weekend, but I had originally planned on doing a half marathon then. (Now I'm thinking that might not happen!)
I didn't get back home until almost 1 pm, and then I had to focus on this project I'm working on. I did make some headway, but I also took a nap--it was inevitable. I'm going to watch the Sopranos with Matt, who has finally returned home from NYC, and then work as long as I can tonight. Normal people would probably be done by now, but I am very slow at doing work that is important to me. I also get easily distracted by email and the Web...Anyway, it's almost Sopranos time!
Posted by becky at 8:55 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2006
Quieting my internal dialogue
Wow, it's only afternoon and I've already had quite a busy day. I ran in the morning as usual, although it was again hard to get out of bed even knowing that I didn't need to go that far. I planned an easy (and relatively short) day for today because I like to do that before long runs. I felt very stiff when I first started out and increasingly looser. I expected the weather to be even warmer, but it was pretty windy this morning and my long-sleeve was definitely warranted.
When I got home, I started thinking how it would be nice to bring Dunkin' Donuts munchkins to this class field trip because everyone had to trek downtown pretty early on a Saturday. So I rushed around to ensure myself enough time, but was glad I did. Everyone was very appreciative of the treat, and since I am the TA for the class maybe they will remember that come course evaluation time :) Our field trip was really a lot of fun--we went to a professional recording studio and got a tour and heard a talk about the business from the studio owner who has been composing, editing and producing voice spots and commercials for more than 20 years. He had a great personality and told some great stories about voice talent he has worked with in the past, including Robin Williams and Liam Neeson. Then one of the local professional voiceover gurus came in to talk to us and tell us how he got started, etc. He can imitate almost any voice you ask him to--it was surreal and a little creepy at times! The culmination of our experience was a recording session with this voiceover guy. He read a 30-second public service announcement that I had written and I can go ahead and try to get it streamed on the Web as a PSA or maybe even on the radio. It's about testicular cancer, but his voice made a topic that might seem silly sound really important. I'll post it here when I get it.
Then I went with one of my friends who is also in the class to meet her family for lunch at Fanueil Hall. Since it was a nice day, there were TONS of tourists milling about and it was nuts over there. Still, it was nice to relax a little after an intense morning. Lunch took awhile and now I'm back home knowing that I need to get to work but itching for a short nap. My internal dialogue (which is a term we learned in this media class) is telling me I didn't run enough in the last two days combined, but I really don't have time to go out for another run nor do I think it would enhance tomorrow's long run at all. So, I'm trying my best to tune out the dialogue--we'll see how it goes. (The voice telling me to nap might win out, though!)
Posted by becky at 3:24 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2006
Fair weather Friday
The last two Fridays I've had to run at the butt-crack, Alison has volunteered to come with me, so it wasn't quite as hard to drag myself out of bed. Today, however, I knew it was going to be just me and my iPod, and I must have pressed the snooze bar a million times. Once I got out the door, I realized my plan to run a little more than an hour was not going to be possible or I would be late to class. I snuck in just barely an hour, but I had to really sprint at the end to get home on time.
It was windy this morning, but very warm. Even early in the morning I saw more people than I usually do. Later in the day, when the sun came out, there were just hoards of people who I'm sure felt that they were "finally" able to venture outside for a jog without freezing their lungs. I'm so mean, but since I think I am the opposite of a fair-weather runner, I'm giving myself permission to be obnoxious.
Class was pretty interesting today and because I didn't have to be anywhere until the afternoon, I did some grocery shopping, errands and cleaning and still had time to do some work and take a nap. I thought briefly about running a few miles in the afternoon, but I could tell my body didn't really want to because Fridays are usually my easy day! I think I'm going to do my long run on Sunday next week, too, so I'll be able to drive myself crazy one more week. Hooray.
I spent tonight at my grandparents' as usual, but today was a little special because tomorrow is my grandmother's 82nd birthday. I got her a cool bonzai and another pretty plant. She seemed to really like both of them.
I'm going to do some research on how to care for a bonzai, do some work on a project and go to bed on the early side as I have to run in the early morning again before a field trip. Enjoy your weekends!
Posted by becky at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)
March 9, 2006
My favorite kind of weather
I'm strange--I think weather in the low 40s and cloudy is fabulous for running. I always think back to college, when it was cloudy so much of the time (and raining when it wasn't)...good old Central New York. So that's what it was like out this morning, and I put on my baseball cap because I was expecting to get caught in the rain that the forecasters have been predicting. I decided that if my HHG felt okay, I would do a little bit of a longer run than I usually do mid-week. Because I run with the MIT girls on a lot of Thursdays, my mileage on that day has been one of the highest non-long run days, but because of how my leg has been feeling I am being cautious about doing more than one run a day.
I'm glad to report that except for some tightness in the first mile of the run, my HHG did not bother me. However, I know that it's something I need to keep giving TLC to, because that ball of muscles and whatever else is in there could rear its ugly head at any time. In any case, I ran from Somerville to Medford via Tufts and the Mystic Valley Parkway, getting on to the path around the Mystic Lake soon after that. I was thinking of just turning around and doing an out and back, but I decided to go back by my grandparents' house (no, I didn't stop in) to mix things up a bit. I had my iPod and it definitely helped with the boredom that usually sets in after 30 minutes of running by myself. My legs were getting tired toward the end of the run and I wouldn't be surprised if I was still feeling lingering soreness from Stu's. I am actually nervous about this weekend's long run because 1) I have to run on Sunday again and 2) I'm planning to run on the course, which leaves me aching every time. I'm sure I'll get through it, but a little worrying never hurt anyone.
On my way to the gym this afternoon I got some disappointing news about a fellowship that I did not get. I wasn't that surprised, but rejection always hurts. Plus, this would have almost guaranteed me a job in DC for next year. I really need to jump start my job search. Biking made me feel better, as I knew it would. Then I lifted, but just a little because that was the third time this week already and I'm kind of sore.
Matt is in New York until Sunday, and it's very quiet here. I do have a decent amount of work to do this weekend, so the quiet should help me be productive (maybe) but I never love being alone!
Posted by becky at 8:15 PM | Comments (0)
March 8, 2006
Not too bad
I truly wasn't sure how I would feel this morning given my ongoing HHG issue and the fact that it was a post-track morning. Since she was leaving for MN and this was the last chance we would have to run together for a few days, I joined Alison for the second half of her run this morning. She was in a hurry so we just kind of made the route up as we went along to minimize the standing-around-and-debating time. I stretched some before leaving and noticed that (knock on wood!) my hip was a little sore when I first started running but loosened up well after only a couple of minutes.
We ended up running through Harvard Square (sort of) to Fresh Pond Parkway, on the perimeter of Fresh Pond and then through Danehy Park before returning to the Davis/Somerville area. My legs did feel the effects of last night's workout, but I was just glad not to have much pain. I did, however, stick to my sort-of plan to take this week a bit easy. My mileage will be a tad lower and I'll add in a bit more cross-training and hopefully things will even out.
I was glad to be done with my run relatively early since I had some car-related errands to take care of before going to the gym to bike/lift and then going to school. I felt really tired when lifting, but oddly okay on the bike. My afternoon class ended up getting out early, so I went to MIT practice and helped time the sprinters, hurdlers and a few stragglers who were doing a workout on the outdoor track. It was still sunny and not too cold when they started, but BOY did it get cold quickly. I was putting on people's warmup clothes that they had dropped on the track--I was not very comfortable. Now I will know for next time and dress inappropriately warmly (which on principle I hate). Still, I was glad I went because there was a lot to do.
I came across an article about a young runner who lost her battle with anorexia this week at age 20. It's a tragic story, yet so important for young (and old) runners to read and think about. It sounds like a cliche, but this girl truly had everything going for her before she developed AN. She was so sick by the time she graduated from high school that she wasn't even able to take advantage of scholarship offers. I'm guilty of gossiping about which elite runners "look like they have" eating disorders, but sometimes I forget that death is a real risk that goes along with this all-too-common problem we see in top-level athletes. I have no personal connection to the girl, but I can't stop thinking about her plight.
Anyway, I'll end on that somber note. If you are a coach, please share this story (no details, because would-be anorexics look for tips in such stories) with your athletes. Being hypervigilant about eating disorders on your team will hopefully save others from a fate like Alex's.
Posted by becky at 7:49 PM | Comments (1)
March 7, 2006
Survivor: Track Workout
The one thing I don't like too much about track night is how late I get home...by the time I stretch, eat dinner and clean up, it's almost 10pm and there's still a lot left to do. So I'll be quick with the blog entry. Basically, this morning's run wasn't terrible, but my HHG was definitely tight. I stopped to stretch a couple of times and it seemed to help, but the tightness ended up just moving to my butt. (This may be a piriformis issue since I know butt tightness/pain is a symptom.) I was kind of bummed after that but I wanted to at least try to do the workout tonight since...well, that's just a "me" sort of goal.
I actually enjoyed this disaster simulation exercise we did in my class today, although it kind of freaked me out. We all took on different roles and dealt with a fictional avian influenza outbreak. Since I am doing my project for that class on bird flu, it was perfect for me. I think everyone did really well in their roles and I learned a lot. Very neat.
I was worried about how I'd even feel on the jog up to the track, and I was pretty tight. We actually ended up starting the workout later than usual, so I used the extra time to stretch. We were supposed do do 3x1600 starting at tempo pace and getting about 5 seconds faster on each, and then a 1200 at interval pace. I was running with a friend who also ran Stu's on Sunday, and we hit our times for the 3 1600s, but it wasn't pleasant. However, my legs were only tired and I was not feeling any pain or tightness--that made me very relieved. The interval pace 1200 was about 8 seconds slow, but we were doing our best on tired legs so I wasn't too bothered. All in all, it was the kind of workout where the thought was worse than the actual running.
OK, I really should be productive now...
Posted by becky at 9:48 PM | Comments (0)
March 6, 2006
Shameless shuffle
I was really nervous about my run this morning because I wasn't sure how I'd feel, being sore from the hills yesterday on top of my ongoing hip/hamstring/groin (which will now be abbreviated as HHG) pain. Alison and I had agreed to meet with the caveat that either one of us might be turning around and going home soon after. We sure were a sight to see, shuffling along toward each other. Alison was convinced I was moving faster than she was, but I don't know about that. My HHG wasn't terrible and going slow seemed to help. We ran together for a short while, maybe 20 minutes or so, and then parted ways in Davis Sq. at the bike path. I decided to go a little further since I wasn't feeling pain, just tiredness and soreness (don't get me wrong, there was a lot of that!) My run was still shorter than my usual Monday run, which is okay, I'm sure, but another reason why it throws me for a loop to do my long run on Sunday rather than Saturday.
I spent a few hours at school perusing our (rather small) career fair, having lunch with a friend and going to class. Then I went to bike and lift. Somehow it took a lot longer than usual, which is fine, but I was starving when I left even after a Balance bar. I deided to experiment and make a pad thai-ish dish with chicken and veggies and rice noodles tonight. I'm pretty impressed with how it turned out! Now it's s time for a couple of hours of work and catching up on emails. I can't believe Spring Break is only 2 weeks away! (Not that I'm doing anything special.) Time is flying...and I heard a rumor that it is going to be in the 70s this weekend. I'm not ready to leave my beloved cold temps behind!
Posted by becky at 7:39 PM | Comments (2)
March 5, 2006
Was it worth it?
I'm sure that all the other bloggers who ran Stu's today--that's Alison, Caitlin and Mary, who I met for the first time today--will have better stories to tell than I do. I'm also a little stressed out because I didn't get home until about 4pm and I still have a lot of work left.
I woke up a few times last night and noticed that my groin still hurt when I shifted a certain way in bed. (Sometimes things that hurt me when I'm sleeping don't bother me running, oddly.) I tried to stretch some and loosen up before leaving for the race, but I brought my foam roller with me too. It was a good thing since we ended up arriving about an hour and a half before the race started so there was plenty of time to use it!
I ran about a mile and a half to warm-up/test out my hip before the race started with a friend from my club. I also wanted to make sure I wouldn't be too cold in shorts (no way!). My leg felt decent for the short jog and for about 3 miles of the race, but then the constant downhill and uphill caused me to tighten up. I tried to relax and not worry about what pace I was running. (I had a goal of 7:30 miles or a little faster just based on the hilly 16 mile race I ran at that pace in Jan.) Plus the mile markers were screwy, and the wind was annoying at times. (But not as bad as it's been this week.) I felt a little better, leg-wise, by about mile 9. Then it was more of a mental battle. I knew I wasn't running my goal pace and I also knew I felt better running the faster pace six weeks ago than I did running slower today. I also have trouble knowing that I have so many more miles to go in these long races.
But, I did start to gain more confidence in the last 10K and passed a bunch of people who had blown by me earlier. The last hill in the race is infamous and I pretty much was crawling up it, but I expected that. I wasn't completely dead when I finished but I was certainly glad to be done running and go inside and drink lots!! It was actually pretty warm out there in the sun (esp. for me) and I was sooo thirsty the whole time. They only had baby dixie cups of Gatorade and I should definitely have brought my belt and bottle. Oh well. In fact, I'm still thirsty now and I am going to go get something to drink.
I'm not sure how my leg will feel running this week, but I have a feeling I'm going to need to be careful.
Posted by becky at 9:24 PM | Comments (0)
March 4, 2006
Worried
I'm not sure what exactly is going on with my leg (I'll just refer to the area that's bothering me as my leg because it is a combination of my groin, butt and upper hamstring), but I'm not sure that I will be able to make it through this 30K tomorrow, let alone "race" it. It's not a normal injury pain, it's more like a cramp that hasn't worked itself out yet. I ran for less than an hour this morning and it was not very enjoyable. Stretching helped some, but my range of motion was definitely limited. Plus, it was super-windy so that didn't make me feel any better.
I have enough work to do today so that I'm barely tempted to do any other working out anyway. I'll see how my leg feels tomorrow, but I am going to be really upset if this is history repeating itself and I'm knocked out of my spring marathon again. But this time it will be even worse, because I think I am in better shape. Sigh...keep those fingers crossed.
Posted by becky at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)
March 3, 2006
Fun times on Friday
It seems like a very long time ago now when I got up and out the door to run this morning. I don't know how I'm going to get back into the swing of getting up early every day when I'm working full-time again, but I have a couple of months to worry about that. Anyway, Alison claimed she wanted to get up early and run with me, so I wasn't alone in the dark. (It actually wasn't too dark, only for about 15 minutes.) I ran up to her place and then we did a Medford-to-Somerville loop. I didn't feel quite awake for the majority of the run. As for my groin, it was definitely better today although still a little sore. The cold and the wind didn't help loosen up my muscles. I didn't have very much time to stretch and foam roll before rushing off to class, but I will do some of that before I go to bed.
Sometimes I'm pretty awake in my 8am class, but today wasn't one of those days, unfortunately. I suffered through the two hours and could barely keep my eyes open during the second hour. At least I was fairly productive after that--I went over to school and did some research for a project I have due very soon and then had lunch in Brookline with a couple of friends. After that I came home to clean my apartment and take a (very brief) nap. Tonight I went to see my grandparents as usual and tonight I'm staying in to "do work" but I am pretty tired so I doubt I'll last too long.
Tomorrow is the first Sat. in awhile I'm not doing a long run. It totally throws me for a loop...but I'm sure I'll survive. Anyway, I hope all of you who do not have a lot of schoolwork like me are able to enjoy your weekends!
Posted by becky at 8:41 PM | Comments (0)
March 2, 2006
Better safe than sorry (I hope)
My groin felt better when I woke up this morning, but I definitely noticed it while I was tossing and turning last night due to other (tooth) pain. Because I'm me, I went running (you know, to "test it out.") I met Alison and P at one of our usual meeting spots and we all complained about what was ailing us...and then continued to run, with a few stretch breaks. My groin was just feeling sore for most of the run and then better toward the end when it actually did loosen up. We did a loop on the roads that border Fresh Pond and then got onto the actual path around it for a bit--the part that isn't under construction.
I was worrying aloud about changing my routine this afternoon and not doing a second run as I've been doing on most Thursdays to give my groin a break, and Alison wisely reminded me that the ultimate goal here is to make it to the marathon healthy, not to do a second run today. So, after class today--which was rather enjoyable because our guest speaker was a riot, even talking about bioterrorism--I decided to make my triumphant return to the pool! (It's been a long time. I'm not sure how long.) Audrey assured me that I would probably still be able to swim, so I hopped in the pool for about 40 minutes. I used the pull buoy the whole time so I wouldn't be using my legs (groin, really) and boy was it tiring. My arms were sore when I was done and I bet they still will be tomorrow. But I was glad to get an upper-body workout without lifting, for a change.
I have a "race" this weekend--a hilly 30K that a couple of the local bloggers are going to do as well--so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I will allow myself to take it easy the next couple of days so I can get in a quality marathon-pace run. It's so hard to be good!
Posted by becky at 7:39 PM | Comments (1)
March 1, 2006
The hip that wouldn't crack
I woke up surprised that my legs felt as fine as they did, considering my track times last night were pretty fast (for me). I felt okay on the 10 minute run over to meet Alison in one of our usual meeting spots, and then as soon as we started running again, I got this strange cramp/pain in my hip/groin (but different from last week's groin pain because it was more on the outside.) I felt like some joint had to crack, but no matter which way I stretched, nothing was working. I ended up being in pain for most of the run--basically feeling like my range of motion was limited. My hip did start to feel better toward the end of our run, but I was freaking out because I haven't felt that bad on a run in quite some time. As Alison reminded me, this is the time that I got injured last year during Boston training, so I definitely do owe it to myself to be careful. I've been stretching it and using the heating pad throughout the day and I hope it feels a little better tomorrow.
Incorporated into all that stretching and foam rolling was a little biking and lifting, but I was careful not to do the lifting things that bother my groin. (There are more than you may think!) After the gym I had class in the afternoon and now I'm here trying to get focused and actually do some work. I have been the worst procrastinator lately. It must be a sign that it's almost spring break!
Posted by becky at 8:08 PM | Comments (0)