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April 30, 2006

Paper Update

I can't help myself :) Corrado wrote: " write what you think. The flow will come, the pages will fill. Write what you think. You can always go back and adjust your thoughts and aims. Write what you think."

For the past few hours, I have been doing exactly that: "write what you think . . . the pages will fill."

Instead of those infamous "NOW entering Newton" signs I saw almost two weeks ago, I am glad to report that I am now entering "Page 10." Final 10K to go . . . except now I feel like I am only at the half and that I could easily fill another 10 pages. Not a bad "problem" to have.

I must return to the strange body of Joe Christmas now, of whom Faulkner said, the tragedy of Joe Christmas is that "he didn't know what he was . . . which to me is the most tragic condition a man could find himself in - not to know what he is and to know that he will never know."

Thanks, Corrado, for all of the great (and much needed) writing inspiration.

Posted by bridget at 7:56 PM | Comments (1)

Go B.! Go!

I am collapsing under the weight of a rapidly approaching deadline. Fifteen page paper number one - of which I have 3.5 pages done - is due in 24 hours. I have been staring at a blank screen for 3 hours so I need another writing distraction to tide me over until I start to feel inspired. My current writing problem is that every word I am spitting onto the page is FORCED. I cannot find that magical rhythm or flow. One of my friends rightly summed up that I "care too much." Indeed. And we all know in grad. school that everyone gets an "A" - - so what is my problem! *Sigh*

ANYWAY, the point of this entry is not to announce that I am undergoing a painful writing experience, but to announce that Mr. B. (aka "the husband") just completed a 10 mile race in the pouring rain, packaged in a 20 mph wind, this morning in 1:20. He has not run in 2 years and he just finished a 10 mile race at marathon race pace. I am impressed. Beyond impressed. When he came home yesterday and told me that he wanted to run alone, I was inititally offended . . . and then he explained that he randomly signed up for a race. "A 5K?" I eagerly asked. "No," he says, "a 10 miler!" I told him that I thought he could finish around 90 minutes. Well, don't I feel like an idiot! I am so proud of him . . . he is definitely getting excited about running again, which is good because I just threw down $180.00 in entry fees into the chicago marathon ($90.00 bucks a pop is no small change). My pockets are empty, but my face is full of smiles . . . the last time we lined up together, I ran a 9 minute PR. I think this is a good omen.

I have nothing to report on the running front, except that until I finish this beastly paper, I am nailed to the chair. Here I am writing about bodies, and I am composing this paper the Foucauldian way. I am disciplining, regulating and policing my body until this paper gets written!

I am so screwed.

Posted by bridget at 3:25 PM | Comments (3)

April 27, 2006

CRUNCH TIME

It's crunch time. I cannot believe the amount of work that I have to get done by Monday, and once I survive that round, I have a more serious round to survive for Thursday. In other words, I should be investigating the strange body and career of Faulkner's Joe Christmas and the entire ensemble of Light in August (that's the paper for Monday), but it's 9:30PM and I am tired. That won't work as an excuse tomorrow, but I will let it slide tonight. I plan to wade away the remaining hours by reading trashy magazines instead of reading scholarly criticism.

I am somewhat apprehensive about my ability to crank out my paper for monday since I have a friend staying with me Saturday - Monday, and I am working a race Sunday morning from 6AM - noon. Fun stuff! Somehow, as my mom and those who know of my procrastination habits always remind me - it will all get done.

On the running front, today marked day 10! Maybe I cheated a little, but I was given a 10-14 day window. I decided to take my shoes for a spin, and I was amazed to discover that my quads are still a little shot. But at least I felt fairly fresh and reinvigorated. The next few days are spontaneously fun days. I can run or not run . . . I will let my body dictate my running schedule for the next few days.

I finally started to feel better this afternoon :-) I am a little concerned at my lack of appetite and the amount of stuff my body has rid itself of the past few days, but I think it is also in the process of re-setting itself. I will ride it out and, once again, let my body (instead of my mind) sit at the helm for awhile.

And . . . . DRUM ROLL . . . B. is training for a marathon! I think it is hard to go to Boston and not walk away feeling inspired to revisit the 26.2 mile beast. B. wants to take his PR from 3:29 to 3:19. I know he can do it. I just need to convince him ;)

Posted by bridget at 9:24 PM | Comments (2)

April 26, 2006

My Mom is So Great :)

This morning I awoke to a concerned message on my mobile phone. It was my mom. She called to make sure that I was feeling okay. She started off her message with the following sentence, "I just read your blog and . . . " I tend to forget that my mom and my sisters are my most loyal blog readers. So hopefully when my mom reads this later tonight, she will know that I am feeling much better than I was yesterday. I will have to give her a ring and let her know. It tickles and warms my heart to know that she still likes to check in on her 26 year-old kid :)

I still have a headache and viturally no appetite, but my fever is gone (hip, hip, hooray!). Today has been spent catching up on the work that I ditched yesterday. I composed a little blurb on my ideal writing center philosophy, appropriately or not so appropriately, titled "Toward a Nomadic Writing Center." I like the idea of "Nomadism" (Rosi Braidotti writes about a Nomadic subjectivity within a feminist discourse/theory) because the WC has traditionally been located in a liminal space between the University (i.e. funding) and the classroom. And since we are a public space, we have to be grounded and situated in many places at once - we have to be prepared to cross the boundaries of gender, race and class. I don't know, exactly, how that changes the way we tutor, but I think being aware of the injustices in the university structure and greeting each student without a prescribed formula, will better prepare us to tutor writers.

I still have two more papers to go and ANOTHER presentation to give tomorrow! By the way, I have to give a shout out to Corrado for his great advice on writing and research (I 100% agree with holding off the google until we have formed our own questions, theories, claims, etc). I have to present my research on The Hamlet by William Faulkner. I am trying to write about Faulkner and the body within the framework of body and disability studies. The way he writes his bodies - and the markers that he paints on their surfaces - are quite startling and thought-provoking. I guess, though, the big question I need to answer is the following: Does reading the body in Faulkner's works change the way that we read Faulkner? I am not too sure.

This post has abolutely nothing to do with running. It's probably blasphemy to admit that I do not miss running right now on a running blog titled "eliterunning." Tomorrow I have the green light to trot for 3-4 miles, and that is all I need right now to feel fulfilled in my running life. The game plan is to run whenever and however much I want for the rest of the month. In May, we are going to build my base, and then I am going to race some 5Ks and 10Ks (I would like to run sub 19 and sub 40). In August, the marathon journey begins again :-)

Happy Running!

Posted by bridget at 3:51 PM | Comments (5)

April 25, 2006

Not Feeling So Hot

I am not too sure what happened in the last 24 hours, but somewhere in between my post yesterday and this morning, I got pretty sick. I will spare you the details, but I feel like I got slammed by a semi truck and I am suffering from a terrible bout of whip lash. I don't like headaches or fevers. I HATE being sick :( I almost wonder if this is partly the result of last week's little adventure. I haven't run that many marathons, but the trend seems to be that I get violently ill after each one. Maybe my immune system is just shot from how hard my body had to work - especially from miles 23 to 26.2. All last week I felt completely depleted and exhausted. I started to feel better this weekend, and yesterday my legs were feeling fresh enough to run again. But I am glad that I have stuck to my no running plan for 10-14 days (I admire all of the marathoners who are out there the next day putting in the miles . . . ).

My presentation went okay yesterday. As always, I overprepared and then when the professor said, "speak," I turned bright red. I could feel the heat rolling off of my face (I always turn bright red when called upon to speak in a public forum). I managed to truck through the presentation, but around the time that I was presenting, I started to get really sick. I had crazy chills and the beginning of a migraine headache. The more dizzy and weak I started to feel, the more I began to wing the presentation since it hurt my head to look at my notes! I left out a lot of important details, but my Professor picked up the slack and kind of rescued me. I got home from class around 7PM, laid down, and didn't make it out of bed until 8AM this morning.

I am starting to freak out a little - one of my papers is due on Monday and the other one is due on May 5th. I also have a creative project due on the 5th. I have a little research done for each assignment, but not nearly enough to crank out some 15-20 page papers. I had ALL day today to work, but sitting upright hurt too much to work. I am finally feeling better so I am going to shift my focus to research for the rest of the night.

Happy Running!

Posted by bridget at 4:48 PM | Comments (8)

April 24, 2006

Cyborg Feminism and Other Fun Stuff

I am about to jet out the door to school. I am working at the writing center and then I have class until 7:00PM. I am stressing out about class because I have to present on Cyborg Feminism and the posthuman body. It's too involved to deconstruct here - and I only have 5 minutes to toss something up on my blog - but maybe I will give it a try tonight. I am terrified of public speaking - much more so than I am afraid of mythical and materially real - cyborgs. While I totally dig the theory, I find it much too utopian and unrealisitc for any real world political or practical application. That is the thing that irks me about graduate school - we spend a lot of time reading about political struggles and high theory, but many of the theories crumble under the weight of a real world situation . . . but I digress.

As Corrado commented, Deena's win in London was incredibly inspiring and motivating. I would love to page through her training logs and devour all of her secrets (which we all know are not so secretive: consistent high mileage, good quality workouts, adequate rest and recovery, impeccable nutrition, etc.). Between Deena and the Hanson's, I am excited about the future of US distance running :-)

The butterflies are chirping . . . I am so nervous about this presentation (I wasn't even this nervous at the start line last Monday!).

Posted by bridget at 12:10 PM | Comments (1)

April 22, 2006

My Non-Running Life

I am so bored, and a little restless. I have a mountain of school work to dig through, but I am not too interested in shoveling through it right now. So I am procrastinating. And I am a little bored. And restless.

B. and I got married exactly 6 months ago! I think I might celebrate with a glass of wine (I abstained from all alcoholic beverages for a few months leading up to Boston).

Okay. I am going to absolve myself of some of my school guilt and read about the Post-Human body for my class presentation on Monday :) If I find out anything interesting, I will blog about it.

Posted by bridget at 3:47 PM | Comments (1)

April 21, 2006

Not the Best Picture

Since Becky posted a picture of her race in motion, I decided to do the same (it's a little bit better than some of the other race photos that I have seen of myself . . . which are extremely scary and completely unflattering!). I look so alone in this picture, but I swear there were thousands of runners passing me at this point. Ah, the death march to the finish.

Posted by bridget at 3:40 PM | Comments (4)

Oh, My Aching Quads

I had no idea it was going to hurt this much. I woke up this morning and met my friend, Corvette, for a brisk 4 mile walk. I felt pretty fresh and good. I even thought that I might be ready to jog across the street (we're talking 30 feet!). And then I jogged across the street and I had flashbacks to miles 14, 16 and 21 of the Boston Marathon course. Pain zig zagged through my quads and quickly reminded me why I am taking 14 days off from running/jogging and even shuffling!

I am still a little surprised at my general tiredness. I remember bouncing back rather quickly from Chicago in 2002 and I was running a few days after my DNF in Milwaukee this fall. Damn those downhills.

I managed to accomplish absolutely nothing yesterday, and I feel like I am well on my way to a repeat today. That said, I can already sense the overwhelming feeling of "I can't believe how much work I need to get done in the next 2 weeks."

Happy running (or recovering!).

Posted by bridget at 12:40 PM | Comments (1)

April 20, 2006

Rest and Recovery

Today marks day 3 of recovery for me, and I am relieved to report that my legs are finally coming back to me! Yesterday I had a mini meltdown at my inability to walk around and enjoy Boston . . . I was in too much pain and the inclines and declines that abound around the city are impossible to escape. So on a perfectly beautiful and sunny Boston day, B. and I snuggled into our hotel room and watched movies like a chain smoker. We saw "Munich"; "Syriana"; and "Walk the Line." We joked that we were having an Oscar party - totally cheesy, but we were both exhausted and watching movies seemed like a good decision :) I enjoyed all of them, particularly Syriana. It was difficult to follow at first, but once I got into the plot, I was hooked (especially given our current situation in Iraq . . . ).

Today is the first day that I feel like I could take a nice stroll and not yelp with pain every step of the way. The most challenging part of this recovery is going to be holding back. Once my legs start to revive even more, I know I am going to want to hustle outside and do some easy 3-4 milers. I have been strongly advised (okay, not advised, but TOLD) by my coach to take 14 complete days of no running. I am not sure if I am allowed to bike or elliptical . . . hmmmm. I will have to find out. I soooo want to run since I am kind of riding a nice high right now.

That said, now that the marathon is over, I must turn my attention to my real life and focus on the two 15-20 page papers I have to write by May 1 and all of the magazine work that I have allowed to pile up since last Friday. I am somewhat saddened that the marathon is over - it was a nice diversion from what has been a trying semester at times.

I am going to study for a bit, do some writing, hit the grocery store (I am shocked at how depleted my body seems to be . . . I did not take my weight before or after the race, but I have been extremely hungry since Tuesday morning and my clothes seem to be too big . . . crazy how much one race can beat the body up), and just generally enjoy the day!

I plan to post a few boring entries. I usually talk about running so I guess I will talk about not running.

Thank you to everyone who sent me some positive energy on Monday!

Posted by bridget at 9:25 AM | Comments (3)

April 18, 2006

Some Weekend Highlights

I had no idea it was going to hurt like this, but WOW - I am in a tremendous amount of pain. My quads are pretty shot, and going down stairs has become quite a challenge. I almost cried today when B. and I had to walk slightly downhill . . . I never want to see another downhill as long as I live (uphills are okay, though).

It's funny to walk around downtown Boston - you can pick out the runners who ran yesterday by the way they are walking . . . a little limply with a strain on their faces. I count myself among them :)

So a few highlights from the weekend:

- B. and I went to a GBTC party and we met up with Alison and P. there. Alison walked in at the precise moment that I needed someone familiar to talk to (she knows what I mean). B. and I met Alison and P. last year at Boston, but I feel like we have known them forever. And B. really likes P. He kept talking about what a wonderful time he had.

- I totally randomly met Becky!! I was walking across the Athlete's Village with a friend from Chicago and I heard someone call my name. It was Becky . . . what a cool person! It's neat to finally meet some of the people in this blogging community.

- Mile 13 - the screaming girls. Need I say more? It was a total rush.

- The downhill at mile 16. One word: OUCH. And that's being pleasant - I could add quite a few swear words to go with that sentiment, but I will refrain for the greater good of eliterunning.com.

- Mile 20 - I saw Rodney from GBTC and I stuck my tongue out to indicate that I was really hurting. It was awesome to feed off of his screaming energy - I was actually quite surprised by the number of times I heard my name out on the course. It gave me such a boost each time. I guess Alison was at that corner too, but I missed her :(

- Mile 21. I saw B. And since B. had been stationed at the top of heartbreak since early in the day, he had made quite a few friends. When I ran by, about 30 people I have never seen in my entire life started to cheer for me. B. handed me a clif block, which I immediately spit back into his hand (I was afraid I was going to puke it up). What a sport - he took it and ran beside me for about a 100 yards. I looked over and told him: "I'm done." And he replied, "NO YOU ARE NOT! YOU ARE ON PR PACE!" I hit mile 21 at 2:27 - I should have easily been around 3:02. But we all know what happened the last 3 miles . . . .

- Mile 22. I saw Cynthia (coach Tom's wife). Seeing her made the next few steps less painful.

- Mile 23. I had a few low points here. One, I was reduced to a shuffle. Two, a runner decided to stop DEAD right in front of me. I slammed into the back of him and had to stop for less than a second. That second told me that if I stopped, I would not start again. I lost quite a bit of momentum. He didn't mean to stop and I was not upset at all - I was just shocked at the high decibels of pain that rang through my legs at the moment. Three, a spectator thought it was funny to let his/her toy dog run down the middle of the street as were making our way toward mile 24. I did not find this funny at all, and as luck would have it, the dog stopped, stared at me, and decided to run RIGHT in front of me. I hope the little kids in the crowd covered their ears when I yelled out "F**K!" I was really upset, and I am still amazed at the rudeness of the spectator who found this so funny. I did not. I think I kind of gave up a bit after that and really reduced my pace to a shuffle.

- Mile 24. I don't remember this one.

- Mile 25. OUCH OUCH OUCH. Am I there yet?

- Mile 26. Just make it under 3:10.

The Finish: "oh my god, I can't walk." Thank goodness it is over! I saw two people from Chicago roll across the finish at the same time . . . what a comforting moment.

I could say more, but B. and I are going to grab some food.

Posted by bridget at 4:51 PM | Comments (3)

April 17, 2006

QUICK UPDATE FROM BOSTON: 3:09:43

I just sent out this email - so sorry for not posting this weekend (I did not have internet service at the place I was staying. B. and I are at a cafe and our internet is about to run its course . . . ). So I am doing the lazy thing and copying and pasting the email I just sent out. Here goes:

I don't have a lot of time before my internet service runs out so this will be a rather brief update (if such a thing is even possible).

Most everyone knew that today I was running the Boston Marathon as a recipient of the Margaret L. Bradley award. Margaret ran for the Greater Boston Track Club and when she moved to Chicago, she joined Universal Sole (the team that I currently run for; I ran for GBTC when I lived in Boston). Margaret tragically died 2 years ago, and not knowing exactly what to do, Universal Sole and GBTC came together and GBTC started the Margaret Bradley Award. Each year, GBTC sends a runner to the Chicago Marathon and the Sole sends a runner to Boston. This year I was greatly humbled and honored to receive the award.

I wasn't too sure what to expect since I had about 6 weeks to get myself psyched and ready for this race. I tossed in some emergency long runs - all of which went surprisingly well - and I continued to do an array of progression runs - my weekly mileage hovered in the 50s and once or twice in the 60s. My long runs and my progression runs told me to chase a sub 3:00 marathon time.

This entire experience has been incredibly powerful and rewarding. GBTC had a wonderful get together on Saturday night and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming - it was beautiful and bittersweet; the last time I was training for Boston, I was training with Margaret (she ran and I got injured). So the one time I was not planning to attack this course, Margaret brought me here . . .

This entire day has been special beyond words.

When I lined up at the start, I made a decision - in spite of everyone's warnings - to go after a sub 3. Why not? I have never felt this fit and the moment - to remember one of the toughest and most dedicated runners that I have ever known - seemed ripe. I kicked off my first mile at a conservative 7:01. The next three or four were around 6:30, and then I pulled on the brakes and the two guys from Chicago (Mike and John - the Universal Sole jersey attracted a lot of Chicagoan runners throughout the race) slowed down with me. We ran through 10K in 41:38 (give or take a few seconds), 10 miles around 1:07:35 or so and 15K around 1:02 + change. We hit the half in 1:29:05. Everything felt smooth and effortless at this point, in spite of the roller-coaster ride that is the Boston Marathon. Then I hit a downhill at mile 14 and my quads SCREAMED! LOUDLY. I freaked out a little. Never once did I think that I took it out too quickly - I still do not. BUT, nothing can prepare a Chicagoan for the downhills of this course. The uphills seemed like a piece of sweet apple pie in comparison.

The rest of the race was difficult, to say the least. I hung on to a sub 3 pace until mile 19 (6:50 pace). I hit 21 still chasing a PR of 3:02. Then I hit 23 and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. My quads started to shake from the constant rolliness of the course and I was afraid - deathly afraid - that if I took one walking step, it would all be over (in running lingo, "I BLEW UP; HIT THE WALL; TANKED; DIED"). So I resorted to shuffling. It was humiliating at times, but it was the best I could give . . . and I gave it my all. It was a truly humbling last 3 miles. When I hit Boylston Street and could see the finish, I realized that not even seeing the finish line (nor watching what seemed like thousands of people fly by me) could make my legs move any faster. I truly gave it everything that I had. I crept across the finish in 3:09:43. Hardly a sub 3, and not a PR, but good enough. I honestly feel like that could translate (easily translate) into a sub 3 in Chicago this fall. With some 80 mile weeks and a summer to focus and train, I can taste it - I am more excited about running than I have been in a long time (the magic of Boston?).

Some people say Boston is a fast course. I am not so sure. I think it can be. BUT only if one trains on downhills day in and day out. We do not have that luxury in Chicago.

At the end of the day, I finished around 112 out of 8,000+ women and a little over 2,000 out of 20,000+ runners.

When the pain hit me at mile 14, I had one thing on my mind: Margaret. The last 12 miles were somewhat of a journey that it is going to take me quite a long time to translate into words.

I cannot thank USole and GBTC enough for the gift that was today.

P.S. I CAN STILL WALK! . . .. (barely).

Posted by bridget at 8:50 PM | Comments (12)

April 14, 2006

Tapering to the Extreme

I think I have taken this taper to the extreme! I am on a consisten diet of 4 milers. I ran 5 miles on Tuesday, 4 miles on Thursday, and 4.4 this morning. I struggled to fight off a fever at the beginning of the week so I decided to take 2 rest days instead of pushing it. I really do not think a few 30-40 minute runs at this point will make much of a difference.

Today's run went really well - it provided the final confidence boost that I needed (especially since I have been feeling a little under the weather and out of it this week). I met up with my friend, Corvette, and we took the first 3 miles really easy. Then we hit the light that signifies one mile to go and Corvette said, "Why don't you run this last mile at marathon race pace and get your legs moving a bit." I thought that was brilliant. I hit a smooth stride pretty quickly and took off. I felt comfortable and the pace felt pretty good. I knew I was moving slightly faster than marathon race pace - I thought somewhere around 6:35-6:40. When I hit the mile it was 5:50 . . . so I ran to the second possible 1 mile marker and it was 6:19. I think the true 1 mile marker falls somewhere in between. I was shocked - I can't remember the last time I ran a mile that fast and it felt like a 6:35 effort! My glute behaved wonderfully too . . . I am keeping my fingers crossed that the stars are aligned and all is going to go well on Monday.

Other than my exciting mile time, I have been busy all week. I am a little concerned at my complete lack of sleep, but I am going to take a nap this afternoon and go to bed early. I had trouble falling asleep last night (at 1AM) and then I got up at 5AM. I am hoping tonight will be less restless. I leave for Boston tomorrow morning at 8AM - B. and I have a connecting flight so we will not arrive in Boston until 2PM. Once I get there, I am planning to meet up with a friend for an EASY 4 miler and then I am off to the GBTC fundraiser for Margaret L. Bradley. I cannot wait to see Margaret's mom and my old GBTC teammates!

I also need to give a shout out to my sister, Katie. She sent me a $25.00 Starbucks card as a good luck wish for Monday! My sisters and my brother are such amazing and spirited individuals. I am lucky to be part of the clan. My senior year of college I was supposed to run Boston, but I got injured. My sister, Katie, had planned to fly out to watch me run . . . she came anyway and decided to watch the race with me. We spent the Sunday before the race pulling an all-nighter as I put the final touches on my senior thesis. We literally ran from BC down to Beacon Street to Kinkos on Monday morning. We dropped off my thesis and stationed ourselves at mile 21. It's one of my fondest memories of living in Boston and watching the race. My dad also came out one year to watch the marathon with me . . . the two of us were the last spectators standing on mile 21. My dad, quite an athlete himself, has a tremendous respect for athletes. He proclaimed that we would not move until we were sure that every runner had passed us. Around 5PM a lone runner with a crinkled bib number came limping up heartbreak hill. My father took off his University of St. Francis sweatshirt and gave it the runner. And that, in my mind, is what this is all about . . . there is such a beautiful and unspoken bond that exists among those who push their physical bodies to the limit.

I am feeling fit and ready.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL WHO ARE RUNNING ON MONDAY! I plan to update my blog tomorrow, Sunday, and late on Monday.

Posted by bridget at 9:47 AM | Comments (11)

April 11, 2006

Rosie!

Posted by bridget at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

Tuesdays With Rosie (and Tapering Too)

I had such a great day today - I wish I could copy and paste this day into the next and the next and the next . . . Every Tuesday (I know I have mentioned this before, but I cannot help talking about it - it's the highlight of my week), I spend with my 14 month-old niece, Rosie. She is the coolest little person I have ever interacted with (okay, so I'm biased). I ran an easy 40 minutes yesterday and today was a scheduled day off. So Rosie and I spent the afternoon at the park and then I took her on a speedy stroller ride through the neighborhood. When we got back to my sister's house we did our usual workout routine of marching, dancing and turning around in circles (she can go both directions!). Seeing her today totally calmed my running nerves and my jumpy and eager legs.

I had a great discussion with my friend from Boston today as well. His name is John and he used to work at the Bill Rodgers Running Center when I lived there. We became friends as a result of my obsessive need to trek down to Quincy Market every weekend to map out the store like a treasure hunt. He reminded me that when Cosmas N'Deti ran 2:07:15, he ran the first half in 1:05 and the second half in 1:02. That's beyond impressive, but it's also really inspiring and motivational. He also advised that I run two races, the first 16 miles at an easy pace and the second 10 all out. I like hearing advice from people . . . . it makes this race seem all the more interesting and challenging to me.

Of course, what I am most excited about - and what I will remind myself of as I make my way from Hopkinton to Boston - is that this race isn't about me or my running goals. It's about a runner who died too young; it's about continuing Margaret Bradley's legacy and passion for the sport. I feel honored that I was chosen to run in memory of her. I don't think I will ever be able to articulate in words what this means to me . . .

Posted by bridget at 10:34 PM | Comments (2)

April 10, 2006

SO SO SO NERVOUS!

ONE WEEK . . . ONE WEEK! I am feeling the butterflies flip flop in my stomach as I write this. I am totally and completely nervous about the marathon - the same questions rewind in my head over and over again: Am I ready for this? Did I train enough? Did I do enough long runs? Did I get enough sleep? Can I make it the whole way? I pretty much know the answers to the above questions, but that doesn't help calm my nerves at all. I think part of the reason that I am so overwhelmed is that I am juggling the end of my semester (with two 20 page papers looming over my shoulder), a lot of magazine work and the marathon and I keep wondering how in the world I am going to get everything done by their prescribed deadlines. At least the marathon is a no-brainer - I know I will get that done on the 17th!! I just hope I can steal enough sleep to fuel my energy stores between now and then :-)

Last week ended up going okay. I did the workout, but I ended up doing 6x800 @ 3:00 instead of 8x800. It wasn't a great workout, but I was glad that I hit 3:00. I felt like I could have dipped a little below 3:00, but my legs could not rotate fast enough (where are you, fast twitch muscle fibers??). I cut the workout 2 intervals short because my glute flared up enough to make me wince at the pain . . . I do not want to record another DNF next to my name so I called it. I did feel guilty about it the rest of the week, but I know it was the right decision to make.

Aside from that workout, the rest of the week was rather uneventful and boring. I did a few 6 and 4 mile runs and then I had my last "long" run yesterday of 11 miles!! I was supposed to run the last 3 at Marathon Race Pace, but I screwed this run up from the first mile on. I had too much juice in my legs from tapering and what I thought was a "comfortable" and "easy" first mile turned out to be a 6:20. I slammed on the brakes at that point, but I consistently ran around 6:50 pace until mile 8 . . . I decided to ease my way home the last 3 miles, but my overall pace still came out to 6:57 . . . I hope I feel that fresh and good in a week!

I have an easy 6 miles scheduled for tonight and then I have an optional day off tomorrow. I might take it and rest.

As for right now, I need to read a million pages of theory to prepare for an upcoming class. I am defintely a little too distracted to focus on the postmodern body and the burning of gender, as Judith Butler so aptly states it.

Posted by bridget at 10:18 AM | Comments (6)

April 5, 2006

Boston Marathon Split Calculator

I am not too sure how accurate this calculator is, but it was made specifically based on the Boston Marathon Course: Boston Marathon Split Calculator

I definitely figured out where every hill on the course is from putting in my goal time and seeing the splits roll back. By the way, I don't really have a goal time . . . other than to run as fast as I can (whatever that happens to be).

Enjoy!

Posted by bridget at 3:32 PM | Comments (0)

2 Weeks!

Two weeks. Now I am starting to feel a nervousness swell inside of my heart and my muscles. Two weeks - less than two weeks! I keep having strange running dreams and I am having a difficult time interpreting them. In some of them I tend to run really well, whereas in others, I never seem to make it past mile 24.

I am feeling pretty ready. I capped off my training with a final 17 mile long run on Sunday afternoon and it went surprisingly well. I was having one of those "I don't want to run" days, but I ran anyway. I knew that I had to, and I also knew that it was the finale to a few months of hard and focused training. I kicked off the run at a leisurely pace and continued to progress faster and faster. The goal was the hit marathon race pace for the final three miles. I ran the final 3.5 sub 7:00 and hit the final three in 6:53, 6:46 and 6:33. I was surprised, but really, really happy! Of course, I didn't run over a single hill and I didn't have to battle any downhills either. But that's what makes Boston so damn scary and appealing. I found a splits calculator specifically for the Boston Marathon and it confirmed what I already knew: DO NOT TAKE SPLITS IN BOSTON! It's crazy!

Last night I ran an easy 6 at 7:30 pace, and tonight marks my final hard workout of this training cycle! I have 8x800 @ 2:55 - 3:00. I honestly do not think I can do it, but I think I can get close to 3:00 on the intervals. I am guessing that I will be more around 3:05 for 8 of them (YIKES). The more important goal going into this workout is that I do not irritate my glute - if I start to feel shooting pain, I am calling the workout. It's too late in the game to allow my marathon race to depend on one workout out of the countless ones that I have done preparing for this race.

School is switching into high gear and I have some giant papers to write. I have no idea how the work is going to get done at this point, but it will . . . it always does.

For now, I am just excited to be heading "home" to Boston :-)

Posted by bridget at 8:58 AM | Comments (7)

April 1, 2006

Everything's Coming Up Roses!

The love of my life: My 1 year-old niece, Rosie (the one I danced with for my 25 minute workout the other night!)

Posted by bridget at 8:52 PM | Comments (1)

What a Weird Week

Where do I even begin? This week started off rather normally with an easy 6 mile recovery run on Monday, but then it sort of roller-coastered thereafter. I did not run on Tuesday, and I was perfectly okay with that since I always, without fail, allot myself 1 day/week of complete rest. Then Wednesday showed up and I squeezed in an hour weight training session in the morning, went to school, and by the time I got home and realized that I had 2 papers to write, I did not feel like running. But realizing that it was going to be an all-nighter no matter whether or not I ran, I decided to run. I did a 9 mile fartlek with 8 x 2:00 @ marathon race pace. I ended up doing 2 at marathon race pace, and the next 6 a little bit quicker. I was all jazzed to run on Thursday, but after 3 hours of sleep and a 4AM to 10:30 PM day, I decided to go to bed instead. Plus, I baby-sat my niece, Roise (she is one), and we danced for 25 minutes to the Laurie Berkner Band - that has to count for something, right?!!!

Fortunately, I did not freak out about the two missed days of training, but I pulled a marathon training session on Friday. I got up, walked a mile to the gym, circuit trained for an hour, walked a mile home, ran 7 miles immediately thereafter, walked a mile to my sister's house, hung out for an hour, walked a mile back to my house and then ran 8 miles with my friend, Cam, who is going to kick the big A tomorrow at the Shamrock Shuffle. Needless to say, I was fatigued, but I think training days like that prepare my body for the ruthless beast that is the marathon :-) I ran 8 miles this morning at 7:01 pace and the effort felt super comfortable - even after my mini-marathon yesterday! I am getting excited to take a fresh pair of legs into Boston and race.

Speaking of racing, I have been thinking about something Corrado commented on a couple of entries ago. He basically talked about just getting out there and training - letting the body dictate the pace for the day and just RUNNING. Forget about splits and intervals and all of that scientific stuff and just train - instinctually, like an animal. The comments made me smile . . . I have always run well when I have thrown aside all of the "stuff" and just run. So there we have it, I am going to show up in Boston and I am going to RUN. No splits, no mental insecurity, no laboring over every little thing. I am simply going to run; savor the experience and carry Margaret's legacy in my heart. As someone said to me this moring, the "hay is in the barn." The work has been done and it has been a good ride.

Up next: a 19 mile run tomorrow on the trails and a sweet taper starting next week. I am subtracting the miles from 56-57 this week to 36 next week. I am SO EXCITED to reward my body with this break and gear up for April 17th.

Happy Running (and thanks, Corrado, for the comments!!!)

Posted by bridget at 3:18 PM | Comments (0)