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January 29, 2006
The End of My Rest Week
My schedule got changed around a bit in the last few days because I was fortunate to get to run about 18 miles (2:33) on the Boston Marathon course on Saturday with Becky and a couple of her friends. We didn't actually run all of those miles on the course, but I didn't care as long as I had people to run with. We started out a little faster than I'm used to, but I felt good until we made the (now) dreaded turn onto Commonwealth Ave. for the Newton Hills. I guess I never truly understood how long the hills last for. I ran them by myself because Becky was feeling good and had gone ahead (she's in great shape) and I was a little ahead of her friends. I can definitely say I was relieved when I spotted our starting point and knew we were done. This was the same spot that we saw Meb (2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon for anyone that doesn't know) flying down the hill. Becky and I both looked at each other and said, "Was that who I thought it was?" (or something like that).
Warning--On Saturday night, we watched "The Ring Two." If you can't deal with scary movies, do not watch this one, because it had to be the scariest movie I've EVER seen (besides the first one).
On Thursday I still did 70 minutes with 10 downhill strides. Then, Friday was my day off (rest week). Since I did my long run on Saturday, I had to take today off since I ALWAYS take the day off after a long run when I'm training for a marathon. Today was actually supposed to be a long tempo run instead of a long run, but it will work out better to do that next week because I can do another 15k race. All this change will throw my mileage out of whack, but I'm still essentially doing the same training and I got my rest week. I just have to look at my training for last week and next week as a 14 day cycle as opposed to a Sunday through Saturday week.
It was weird to be sitting around doing nothing today while Brad was out doing his long run. I was busy catching up on results from the weekend though. When Brad got back, we went to Medford to help a friend's aunt put together some shelving and hook up all her audiovisual equipment. I won't leave the impression that I helped. I "supervised" and the tall girl was called upon when something high needed to be reached. I have to say, it's nice to be married to someone that is extremely handy. Plus, we were rewarded with a delicious dinner that I'm still trying to digest.
My legs felt great today, but I'm ready for bed. First, I just want to note that Mary is back blogging!
Posted by Caitlin at 09:52 PM | Comments (2)
January 25, 2006
Pre-run Entry
Since I know I won't get to writing an entry later, I decided to write BEFORE I did my run. That will also force me into doing exactly what I said I would do (not that I ever cheat). So, I ran 45 minutes on the treadmill while catching up on a tv show. Then I did LOTS of work the rest of the night to help ease the tension I will be enduring at work tomorrow.
Yesterday, I also ran for 45 minutes, but outside. It was a little cooler than usual (45 degrees)--ha ha. I feel a little lazy since this is my rest week, but I should enjoy it while I can because in no time, I'll be wishing for it again.
Posted by Caitlin at 05:04 PM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2006
Updating
Once again, I'm behind in my entries. Maybe it's because it's been almost 60 degrees all week. That's really not an excuse though, because I didn't do anything differently except for run in a short sleeve shirt. I'd run in shorts too, but that would require me to shave, which I save until the day of my massages.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were all 70 minute runs (72 min. on Friday) with 10 downhill strides on Thursday. I didn't feel well any of those days, but it turns out I have a cold.
Yesterday, I did two runs (40 and 50 minutes). I tried to run with Brad in the morning, but I felt horrendous. I was very worried about overtraining, but my second run was fine. On the way home from the store, we stopped by the local college to see if the fields were accessible. They were, so we quickly went home and changed, only to get there and find out that the gate had been locked in the meantime. We decided to leave the car there and run to the high school. I did numerous laps around the track until Brad went back to get the car since he was racing the next day. When he left, I headed out on the roads. Brad met me at the school where I work.
Last night, we slept at Brad's parent's condo in Hudson because I like doing my long runs from there (and there are tons of big hills). It was hard to go out on my own because Brad wasn't running since he was racing later. I ran for 2:13 including a speedy (for me) 800 on the track at the end. I hit a couple of tracks along the way and was surprised to see that I was running much faster than I thought I could. It looks like I might be getting in better shape! Today's temperature was closer to 30 degrees.
Tomorrow is a day off and starts my "down week" which occurs every 6-7 weeks. If I remember correctly, this means that I have an extra day off and one of my runs is reduced from 70 minutes to 45 minutes. I think I'm definitely in need of some rest. Now if I would only use the time wisely...
Posted by Caitlin at 08:27 PM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2006
Positive Race Report
The plan on Sunday was to run a 15k (9.3 miles) as a workout. I wasn't too psyched on Sunday to wake up to freezing cold temperatures, wind, and snowy ice. However, the alternative was running on the treadmill, so I figured I'd make my $23 entry worthwhile. The conditions were less than ideal and we almost turned around on the way there because the highway was a slippery mess.
When I got to the race, I only warmed up for 10 minutes because the wind was unbearable. Plus, I wanted to spend the first couple of miles warming up in order to go no faster than 7:48 pace (Daniel's target marathon pace based on a 5k- since that's the only other distance I tend to do). I ran really relaxed and hit the first mile in 7:41. Whoops! I continued to stay relaxed and did the second mile in 7:25. From there on, my splits were completely messed up. The third mile mark was too early (unless I can run a 4:40 mile). All the other mile markers were missing except mile 5 to 6 was 7:24. I was running comfortably through mile 6, easier than what felt like a tempo run. At about mile 6, things started to feel more like a tempo after I went up a monstrous hill and it started snowing again and the wind really picked up. I picked up my pace at mile 8 and came in at 1:09:39 (7:30 pace)! I cooled down for 15 minutes, which gave me about 12 miles for the day. This was so much easier than doing a tempo run on my own, so I'm going to keep doing races on the weekends I have tempo runs if I can.
After the race we went to my hometown, Northampton, so Brad could run the mile at an indoor track meet (he won in 4:27). We spent the night at my Mom's, so we could bring my sister back to college the next day. It was still slippery and cold out so I ran an easy 45 minutes on the treadmill. Today is my day off. I'm hoping it's going to warm up in the next few days because I definitely got used to the 60 degree days, making the below freezing temperatures a shock to the system.
Posted by Caitlin at 08:38 PM | Comments (3)
January 14, 2006
Can't It Stay This Warm Longer?
It was about 60 degrees for both of my runs today (55 minutes and 35 minutes respectively) as well as my 70 minute run yesterday. During this morning's run it was raining pretty hard. Tonight the temperature is supposed to drop to 28 degrees and we're going to get snow, just in time for my race. I'm actually not racing, just using the race as a workout since I have a tempo run. It's a 15k, so I want to make sure I start out conservatively. I tend to start out too hard and get myself stuck at a very fast pace. Yes, I know I could slow down, but somehow I end up picking it up. So, my goal for tomorrow is to run at least the first two miles at a relaxed pace and then start picking it up to my marathon pace. I think it's 7:48 (according to Jack Daniel's Running Formula), but I won't actually run that pace in Boston. That's my translated pace based on a 5k.
Even though it's just a workout, I'm going to have to miss the end of the Patriots game to get a decent amount of sleep. Right now I'm more interested to see what it's going to look like in the morning. Hopefully, just a dusting. I'll just have to wait and see.
Posted by Caitlin at 07:40 PM | Comments (1)
January 12, 2006
Spring is in the Air
I can't believe how warm it is. Right now it feels like late March. It's almost a tease as it feels like winter is about to end. I won't get my hopes up too much though, since Sunday is supposed to drop to 29 degrees. For now I'm loving it. I've been wearing short-sleeves on most of my runs.
Monday was an easy 45 minute recovery run followed by a day off on Tuesday. I also got a massage on Monday, which helped tremendously. I had a little scare with my car not starting. It turned out to be a clogged fuel injector (according to the AAA tow-truck driver). It was nothing a little fuel injector cleaner couldn't take care of. He also suggested dry gas, but we had already gone that route. I was just glad since I've been lucky with my car (knock on wood).
Yesterday, I did a 77 minute run on the treadmill because of intense fog. I had psyched myself up to run in the dark, but as soon as I stepped out of work, I knew I would be risking my life if I ran outside. If there were actually sidewalks around here, I would have gone for it. Today was 72 minutes with 10 downhill strides.
My motivation is back this week. It must be the warm weather. If only it would stick around longer. To make up for the warm week, there's probably a bitterly cold week coming our way soon. I'm just glad it's been a manageable winter (so far).
Posted by Caitlin at 09:11 PM | Comments (1)
January 08, 2006
Wanted: Motivation
Another five days has passed since my last entry, making me feel the need to play "catch up." Rather than bore you in one post about 5 days of running, I'll just cut right to the chase with a summary for my log.
Wednesday- 20 min. warmup, 10 x 90 sec. hill, 20 min. cooldown (treadmill)
Thursday- 45 min. recovery
Friday- 50 min. treadmill, serious boredom break, 20 min. (treadmill)
Saturday- 35 min. AM/ 55 min. PM with Brad
Sunday- 20 min. warmup, 30 min. tempo, 20 minute cooldown (treadmill) AM/ 40 min. (treadmill) PM
Somehow I ended up with a lot of treadmill running this week. Some of it was due to the conditions (it was snowing this morning) and some of it was due to waiting too late to run becasue I couldn't bear the thought of running. I'm lacking in the motivation department this week and need to get out of this rut. We added a second run on Sunday this week since I only do a long run every other week. I didn't want to do an extremely long warmup and cooldown to make my workout into a medium long run, so instead we decided to double to deplete my glycogen further which will help me with my longer long runs.
Posted by Caitlin at 10:06 PM | Comments (1)
January 03, 2006
Last Year and This Year
In addition to many of the other bloggers, I also wanted to do a year-in-review. The trouble is that there isn't that much to say, especially running-wise.
The biggest thing for me was that I consistently ran 50 mile weeks throughout the year. This was a big achievement since I've only averaged about half of that since I ran in college. I also ran my first marathon in May, the Vermont City Marathon, qualifying for Boston with a sprint (literally) to the finish. I did a few other races, mostly 5k's, just for "fun."
Early in the year, I finished my Master's degree in Special Education. It took a while since I was only taking a class per semester, so it felt good to finally have that done.
In July, we moved from Northampton to Medway. Brad was actually already out this way because he had started his new job in January. We were apart for 6 months (except weekends), because I loved where I worked and couldn't even fathom leaving in the middle of the school year. It was hard enough to say goodbye in June. It's also been a major adjustment for me as I'm very, very close with my family.
We went on two vacations. The first one was a trip to Disney World during my April vacation. It was a special one-year anniversary/ Christmas present given to us by Brad's parents. It was a very exciting trip for me as I had never been before. Brad and I ran at 7 every morning and then exhausted ourselves all day by doing pretty much everything. We came home each night around 8 or 9 and collapsed (only to do it again the next day). In mid-August we drove to Bar Harbor, Maine for a week. We rented a place with many of Brad's cousins that we don't get to see very often (no more than once a year). For 2006, we have no vacations planned. Please send any affordable, driveable ideas my way.
I'm not sure about resolutions/ goals for 2006. I'm running Boston, so I'd like to stay healthy and injury-free. In order to do that, I need to make more of a commitment to stretching and using the foam roller. After that, I'd like to race a little more. I know my PR's are completely out of reach, but maybe I could set some post-collegiate PR's. I guess I'll have to just wait and see where 2006 takes me.
Posted by Caitlin at 07:18 PM | Comments (2)
Snow Day #2
The snow day could have been a delay because even though it continued to snow all day, there was zero accumulation. I shouldn't complain about my extended vacation, but I really wasn't sure if I could handle another boring day. Yesterday I woke up early, didn't have to run, and couldn't motivate myself to do anything. Today I slept in to kill some time. Brad and I decided against running in the sloppy mess, so he hopped on the treadmill. I was going to get on it next, but decided to run while he was at practice tonight (70 minutes on treadmill-blah). The rest of the day was quite productive, so I'm going to lay down and read for a little once I post another entry.
Posted by Caitlin at 07:03 PM | Comments (0)
January 01, 2006
58 miles
Somehow I ended up with 58 miles this week. A few of those miles were extra, but that's what happens when you're not working. Anyway, I think this was my highest week ever (besides a week of 60 when I was at a running camp when I was 13). Not bad considering it wasn't even that tiring. Again, I didn't have to work and got tons of sleep. If only it were always this easy.
Monday- 90 minutes (with Brad)
Tuesday- off
Wednesday- 70 minutes
Thursday- 70 minutes on treadmill (had a cold and didn't want to run in rain)
Friday- 70 minutes with 10 downhill strides
Saturday- 45 minutes AM/ 55 minutes PM (with Brad)
Sunday- 2:02
Posted by Caitlin at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)