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October 31, 2004

Rocky Seven Sisters Range!

Today I finally ran along the mountain range that I have been eyeing since I moved to Northampton, the 7 sister's range. It was a perfect day for trail running because the sky was clear, the temperature was warm, and there was a slight breeze. The trail is about 7 miles in length and travels along 7 different peaks of about 700 to 1000 feet in height. The toughest climb is the initial climb to get to the ridge, from that point on it is small steep rocky climbs that you have to make to get to the different peaks and look out points.

The lighting through the trees was amazing and a bit distracting. The trails were covered in dry leaves which made the footing very slippery. I found the initial climb to be harder than I wanted it to be for my legs. I then considered the fact that the 800-foot climb was my warm up. I did not run anything level when I started off my run. The uphill running was easier than the downhill running because I could plan very easily where to place my feet. The downhill running on the trails that were rocky was more similar to fast downhill walking than running.

I was able to keep an ok pace when the trail was somewhat level or just slightly rolling but I felt like most of the runs I was looking for the white dots on the trees, watching my feet to make sure I could see the bulging rocks that were pointing through the leaves, or making sure I did not slip on the leaves. I did fall more than two times and luckily did not get hurt; I just got a few bruises.

I stopped along three different peaks to see the views of the Pioneer Valley. The views were really spectacular. The canopy of trees with their golden leaves were sparkling in the sunshine and the surroundings looked so peaceful. I felt like I was a guardian of the valley having such a clear view of the area. I saw the CT River meandering through the valley and squinted my eyes to see if I could locate any rowers on the river (nope).

After about 40 minutes of the run I realized this was not going to be a quality long run because I was moving so slowly to avoid falling and to become familiar with the twists and turns of the trail. My goal was to run from Hadley to Amherst and I managed to do that very slowly and then I turned around and came back on the same trail. There were lots of people hiking on the trail and they were all surprised to see me running the trail. They asked me if I was going to run the 7 sisters trail race in the spring. In the first 1.5 hours of the run I thought to myself there is no way I am going to break my ankle running that trail run in the spring. However, on the way back when I actually remembered some parts of the trail I thought to myself if I could memorize this trail and really get to know it, it might be really run to be racing along this crazy rocky windy trail. We'll see, it will take some work to figure out this trail and learn how to run on it. It could be a good adventure but I know I will loose some of my speed training if I concentrate on the ridge. I may make it a point to run it every other week while the weather is good and see if I can get any better at it.

On my return trip on the trail I stepped on a snake that was easily hidden in the orange and red leaves on the trail. All of a sudden I heard the hissing and the head go up. My friends in my exercise science classes tell me I have no vertical height jumping ability because I am an endurance athlete. I think I proved them wrong on the trail today. I jumped so high and got my legs off the ground so quickly that I surprised myself. It was not that the snake was huge and I highly doubt it was poisonous. It was thin and had some nice orange stripes along its back. I was frightened because it was so unexpected. When I ran in CA on the trails I was usually prepared to be on the look out for a rattlesnake or for some lizards along the trail. However, I did not expect to see any snakes on the trail in the fall in MA. It did make me feel that I was a part of a greater ecosystem when I saw the snake and afterwards I had my eyes open for other snakes. Of course, I did not see any other snakes.

I did have about 3 dogs chase me through the woods but that was actually more annoying than entertaining because they were darting all around me and I felt very close to falling when they were near.

All in all it was a good adventure. I am slightly disappointed that the trail is not more runnable or that I don't have the skills to run it very well. However, I think it is a beautiful area and in the back of my mind I do think it would be a fun challenge to learn to run the trail and scamper quickly and lightly over the rocks, and along the winding trail. I have a lot of things I want to do so we'll see how much of a priority this one becomes. I will definitely go back and hike the trail with some of my fellow graduate students because many of them have no made it to the top of the ridge. It is a view that should not be missed especially this time of year.

Posted by mary at 10:51 PM | Comments (1)

Day Off on Saturday and Film Night

I woke up at 6 a.m. Saturday morning and it was cold and rainy. I had planned to do a run but my legs were feeling really tired and I was not motivated to run in the rain by myself. I decided to wait and see how I felt later in the day. I spent the entire day in New London for our NEWMAC Conference Championships hosted by the Coast Guard. Our team finished in 5th place, the highest finish in over 6 years. Everyone had good races and the rain held off during the race. I felt disappointed after the race that we did not finish higher but was pleased that everyone was serious about the race and put in her best effort for the day. After the meet we went to one of the athlete's homes that lives in Montville and had a lunch/dinner there. It was very nice and festive and most of the parents were there as well.

When I returned to campus it was too late to go for a run because I had plans to see the film, Racing Against the Clock at the Northampton Film Festival. The film features these masters’ track and field athletes: Jacqueline Board, Margaret Hinton, Leonore McDaniels, Pat Peterson and Philippa "Phil" Raschker. These are extraordinary female athletes competing at ages ranging from 50 - 89 in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash, high jump, pole vault, long jump and over coming huge odds against them such as fighting cancer and going against the wishes of their families by continuing to train. I highly recommend it to anyone who gets a chance to see this documentary. These women truly enjoy themselves and get to meet people all over the country and world as they compete at a national and an international level. After the movie I went out to some pubs with my housemates in downtown Northampton in an attempt to meet some people. Unfortunately, we did not dress up, and most people who were out were dressed up. As it turned out we spent the entire night talking to ourselves, which was nice but sort of defeated, the purpose of our outing. The movie was definitely the highlight and it was a bonus that I got my roommates who are rowers to see the film as well.

Posted by mary at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

Pool Running and Halloween Run

On Friday afternoon I met the head coach and we did about an hour and ten minutes of pool running in the diving pool at Mt. Holyoke College. It was nice and relaxing and great not to have to worry about having our legs hit the bottom of the pool. Another reason the Mt. Holyoke pool is great for pool running is that there are a lot of windows around the pool so there is plenty of sunshine in the pool area which makes you feel like you might be running outside.

In the afternoon I met the team for a pre-meet run. All of the women came fully dressed in Halloween costumes. It was very entertaining. I was supposed to come in costume but took the easy way out and wore only a witch headpiece and black cloths. The women were a bit disappointed that I was not more creative. Next year I will be prepared. The first years organized and all came as a different character from the Wizard of Oz. The two juniors on the team came as Mary Kate and Ashley Olson and wore dresses, earrings, and lots of make up. We ran about 3 miles through downtown Northampton with our costumes on and had a lot of fun talking to people on the streets as we were running. When we got back the captains passed out Halloween treats to everyone. It was very nice. After practice I ran another 7 miles by myself. I ran through the cross-country campus and into town for about an hour. It was nice and relaxing.

Posted by mary at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2004

Photo Day and Light Workout

This morning I did my Interval Training for my Exercise Physiology class. I had two predicted VO2 rates and I used the lower VO2 of 58.6 ml/kg/min instead of my higher number of 74 ml/kg/min. If I had used the higher VO2 I would have had to run my intervals at 13.5 miles/hr. I was not prepared to run that fast on the treadmill for a minute. Instead I did 7.5 miles per hour at a 5% grade (I could have done 10 miles per hour at no grade but I did not want to run 6 minute pace on the treadmill). Anyway, the workout was pretty easy, I had to do 10 x 1 minute hard and 1 minute easy. My heart rate did not get very high (140) and when they tested my blood lactate level at the end it was less than 2 (I forget the units). If you do reach your maximum workout level your blood lactate level should be over 6. My workout partner was using the rowing machine and her blood lactate level did go beyond 6. I am pretty sure I did the equations right for the workouts. I am going to double check and perhaps do the test again if my equations were off. It was an interesting test.

I was going to head to the Reservoir this afternoon to do a tempo run. However, I was not feeling 100% fresh after all of my running yesterday and felt like a shorter workout on the track might be better for me today. I was also reading a recent article from Running Research News that recommended that you vary your training each week so you are not always doing just one type of workout. I admit that I get stuck into my routines once I find what I like. I also changed my workout because my roommate asked me if I wanted to spend sometime walking around campus taking pictures. I could not pass up that opportunity since I have been meaning to do that for ages. I spent about an hour and a half touring campus and taking pictures of the area. I am hoping to get those up on line this weekend. Thanks so much to everyone who has offered me advice. I just need to take the time to work on it. Today was a picture clear day so it was really relaxing and refreshing to just walk around and appreciate the beauty of the fall season.

After the walk I decided to head over to the field house and do a warm up. I decided I would try to do 8-12 400's (with a 100-meter jog/fast walk recovery) at 90 second pace. I did a longer warm up then expected on the cross-country course. It was so nice, all trails and a perfect time of day to run because the sun was setting but it was still light out and the rays of light were casting beautiful shadows amidst the leaves and tress. Everything was glowing all around me. It was awesome. I ran right into a cross country race that was taking place for the local high school team and got to cheer them on which was really fun. After 20 minutes I decided I better turn around if I wanted to do my workout in daylight. I had run about a 5 mile warm up by the time I got to the track. I started my first 400 and felt pretty good, running it in 88 seconds. I walked quickly for 100 meters and began my next 400, which I hit at 89. I continued with this for the next 6 and managed to do all between 89 and 91. I hit one at 91 seconds. I stopped after 8 because I knew my legs were tired and I did not see the point of beating myself up. I wanted to feel fresh when I finished the workout. After the last 400 I picked up my water bottle and went out to the cross-country course again. By this time the sun was beginning to set and I wished I had my camera. The sky was purple and pink and the air was getting really chilly. It made me feel like I was running fast even though I am sure I was moving along at a fairly slow pace. I ran about 3.5 to 4 miles for my cool down. I then went to the gym to do some leg exercises and sit-ups. I want to work on a new gym routine, which involves most of the muscles of the body working simultaneously (such as one leg squats, high bench step ups, one leg hops in place). This is another task I need to just sit down and work on.

While I was at work today I was listening to the Smith radio station, WOZQ and heard two of my latest favorite bands. My interests are always changing so I enjoy listening to the college radio station so I am exposed to lots of new types of musi, although; I generally gear towards Indi Rock music. One of the bands I really like is the Polyphonic Spree. The band is sort of spontaneous mixtures of people that have come together that all really like making music together. They all wear robes so it might seem like a cult or maybe just a chorus. I think they seem like a chorus and their songs are so happy and uplifting. They are originally from Texas and are known to bring new members into their ranking on a regular basis. I would really like to see them perform live. I think they are playing in Texas on December 18th live but I don't think I'll make that show. The other band I heard that I always forget about that I like is The Smiths. I don't know as much about this band except that they were more popular in the 80's. Getting a chance to listen to new music and old music is definitely a perk of my job at the library. It is so relaxing. I am sure I will break down and get a Polyphonic Spree cd. I just don't want to get sick of it by listening to it too much. It's a pretty fun group though so maybe I can get it and listen to it when I really want to get psyched up.

Tomorrow morning I am going to get up right around dawn with my roommates for their last day of crew practice so I better get going. They have been telling me about the beautiful sunrises and their practices all fall that I feel like I should experience at least once. And while I am out there I will bring my camera and take pictures.

Posted by mary at 7:18 PM | Comments (1)

October 27, 2004

Wednesday Training

This morning I met Alison at 7 a.m. and we did a nice bike path run. We started off along the pond path, actually Alison's trail, which was covered with leaves and very colorful. During the run we chatted and caught up and shared our stories of busy days and coaching experiences. It is nice to hear about Alison's experience with the high school team as a coach. Next week she will be in New York preparing for the marathon and have an opportunity to run with the elite runners. I am excited to hear all about it.

I was pretty sleepy throughout the day. I have no idea why because I got a lot of sleep and ate lots of nutritious things, like yogurt and fruit and cereal. By the time practice rolled around the weather was so nice that I knew I'd want to run with the women for their workout. Today the team ran a 20-minute warm up to Child's Park. Once they got to child's park they did 2 min. hard, 1 min easy, 1 min. hard, 1 min easy, x 4. I decided to run the workout with our athlete who just returned from her injury of 21 stitches in her knee. She has been cross training for about three weeks now and started running last week. This is her second workout since being out. It was really nice to run with her and I felt pretty good. We ran mostly on grass and on some trails throughout the park. Running through the leaves was a little nerve racking because I was worried one of the women might twist their ankle. They have their conference meet this weekend. After the workout we ran a 20-minute warm down back to campus. By the time we reached campus I realized the runner I had been running the workout with was not with us on the warm down and it was a really easy warm down, very slow about 10 minute pace. I decided to jog back and look for her. Once I started running again I was beat and pretty hungry. I jogged really slowly and finally saw her walking. She was having stomach problems. I told her to just shout ahead in the future to let us know so she would not be by herself. After practice I had dinner with the team at the dorms, which was really nice because it meant I did not have to cook. My meal was pretty boring but I did not have to prepare it so I was happy. I had some pasta and lots of salad and an ice cream cone for dessert.

Tomorrow I'd like to head over to the reservoir in the afternoon to do a workout. I just found out that in my exercise science class I have to do a workout at max VO2 effort so I may be tired for my tempo run at the lake. We'll see. The VO2 workout is only 10 x 1 minute hard but it is at 6 minute pace on the treadmill. I have run 6.30 pace on the treadmill but not 6 min. pace so I am a little worried about it. We'll see how it goes. Time to go and check out the eclipse!

Posted by mary at 10:33 PM | Comments (1)

October 26, 2004

Easy Fall Running

This morning I slept in again getting another 9 hours of sleep. It felt so nice. I wanted to get up and run about 3 miles but the sleep sounded like a better idea. I went to my morning classes; Tuesday is my full day, with three classes in a row, then went to work, and then practice.

At practice today I ran 6 miles with the women along the pond path and on the roads for a mile or two until we hit the cross-country course. We finished the remainder of the run on the course running along the trails covered with leaves. It was such a nice fall day. The temperature was a little cool but the sun was out to warm us up. When the women finished they did their striders and drills. Once they left I did another easy four miles on the cross-country course since it was still light out and I wanted to take advantage of the daylight. I felt pretty good and ran nice and easy. After my run I went to the gym and lifted for about a half hour. I am meeting Alison to run tomorrow morning so I am going to make this short so I can go to bed early.

Posted by mary at 8:05 PM | Comments (1)

October 25, 2004

Day Off

Today I slept in until almost 8:30 a.m. which was very good for me. I have been taking it easy all day, drinking lots of water and have decided not to go and bike which is what my original plan was for this evening. I think it would be better if I just go do some of my work now and get to bed early again tonight. I am hoping by tomorrow I will feel like I have a lot more energy. Today my legs and arms are very tired. I think I got sick yesterday because I was really dehydrated. I really did not have my usual 10+ glasses of water on Saturday. I was shopping for about 9 hours with my Mother and had nothing to drink and was then working on the computer very late in the evening. The computer room was really hot and stuffy and so was the room I slept in. When I woke up on Sunday my mouth felt like I had cotton balls in it. I drank a glass or two of water and had those two pieces of bread and did take a water bottle with me on the run. Unfortunately, I think my body was just craving a lot more. I learned a big lesson. I just have to carry my water bottle around and act like an athlete even when I am not around other athletes or just being casual with my Mom. This week I am going to make a big effort to get a lot of rest and eat really well. If I can get 9 hours of sleep I will get up and run tomorrow. Off to do some work.

Posted by mary at 6:38 PM | Comments (2)

October 24, 2004

Just Getting by Today!

I managed to get up at 10:30 and get right into my running cloths to prepare for my two hour run. I decided I would run to the nursing home where my Grandfather was and have my Father bring my extra cloths with him when he met me there at 1:30. At 11:20 or so I called my Father and told him I'd be leaving in 10 minutes to run to the nursing home. Before I left for the run, around 11 o'clock I had two pieces of bread. I was not hungry at all because I had been up so late the night before but I knew I should have something. I left the house with my water bottle and felt very fatigued. I decided to check my time at the one-mile mark to see just how slowly I was running. I was surprised to see that my time was 8 minutes. I thought I was definitely running 7 minute pace. I decided not to look at my watch and just run the way I felt the rest of the run. I decided to do my Christmas tree loop abbreviated because it would instead be a point-to-point run. Along the way I added on loops that would take me through trails and nearby streams that I could run along. About 80% of the run was on the road but the rest was on the trails. The temperature was so nice, perfect for running. It was a very gray cloudy day and it felt like it could have been 7 or 8 in the morning. Knowing that I could not tell the direct time of day made me feel better about getting such a late start to my run. I really enjoyed looking at the fall foliage and running on different parts of my high school training courses. When I had about 3 miles to go I began to feel pretty tired and weak. My legs were not tired but my stomach and head just started to feel weary. I decided to slow down and was annoyed because I was on such a busy road I felt like everyone driving by must think that I am walking. In reality I am sure they barely noticed me but I was frustrated that I felt so horrible. I timed the run perfectly so that when I got the nursing home it was exactly 2 hours. I am guessing it was around 15 miles but I was dragging a lot at the end so it could have been more like 14 miles.

When I got to the nursing home I saw that my Father and Brother were already inside. I wanted to take sometime to stretch outside but was anxious to go in and visit with my Grandfather. When I entered the building the heat of the building struck me. It was so warm inside. As soon as I entered the room my Father and Brother told me to put more cloths on because I was going to freeze. I told them I was much too hot to put any cloths on at the moment and I needed sometime to cool down. I started to feel sick to my stomach and made a few trips to the bathroom. Nothing really helped. I did not want to tell everyone that I felt ill because I wanted to just visit with my Grandfather. Finally I just told them that I felt like I might pass out and they told me to lie on the bed. I felt better as soon as I did. A few minutes after I started to lie down an accordion player came in to entertain us. He was awesome. He played all of the songs my Grandfather recommended. We visited for a little while and my Brother and Father told me that I should have eaten more before the run. I really did not think that was the problem. When it was time to go I stood up and my Brother asked me if I was feeling ok. I said actually I wasn't and grabbed a bucket. The next thing I knew everyone in my stomach was coming up and I was throwing up into the bucket. I quickly went into the bathroom so I would not make scene. My Father came in and did not know what to do; he asked me if I wanted a doctor. I said I was fine even though I felt horrible. As soon as I was done I did feel a lot better. My stomach was sore but I was no longer dizzy. Unfortunately I had to leave to go to school less than an hour from that time when I got sick. My parents were worried I'd pass out on the road but I knew I was feeling better. I took a sprite and made the trip back to school. I spent the rest of the night doing my academic work and resting. I feel a lot better now and am hoping the soup I had for dinner will not come up. I have no idea why I got sick. My parents think I am doing too much. I am not sure if over doing it will cause you to get sick. I think perhaps I ate something that was bad when my Mother and I went for dinner. However that is a weak explanation because my Mother ate the same kind of mushroom and mozzarella sandwich panini style and did not get sick. I am not sure why it happened but I know now I have to get to bed so I can get 9 hours of sleep tonight.

Posted by mary at 9:46 PM | Comments (4)

Coast Guard Course Preview with the Team

I woke up very tired on Saturday morning because I was up late on the phone talking to friends in CA. I was meeting the team with the van at 7:30 to drive them to New London to preview the Coast Guard Course at Harkness Park. I was actually able to follow the van with my car until Hartford so that on the way home I could drive to Middletown to visit my grandfather in the nursing home. The team picked me up in Hartford and we drove to New London together. The head coach had been driving the van. The park was really beautiful, right on the ocean, and very open. We took sometime to stretch and figure out the course map. There are no obvious trails in the area so the landmarks on the map became very important to use for reference points. We managed to scramble through the course one time making changes along the way. This first run of the course was very slow. We decided to have the team run their long run in this area so we could make the most out of our road trip. After the first time through the course we ran the course again and really studied the course. We told the athletes not to talk and to really focus on the course and any important details they might want to remember for race day. I realized I had a hard time running in a pack of runners and not talking. It was tough. After the second loop of the course we added on another 20 minutes or so to make the total mileage somewhere between 8 and 9 for the day. The air temperature was nice and cool since we were by the water but once we got into the van I was happy to have the heater on.

I met up with my Mother in the afternoon and we decided it might be better for me to visit my Grandfather on Sunday. In this way, I'd be free to help my Mother shop for holiday gifts. We had a fun time shopping together and got some dinner together at a sandwich shop. We did not get home until almost 10 p.m. and I reminded my Mother I had to figure out how to work with my digital camera on line. My Mother and I spent the next few hours putting the gifts in the appropriate gift piles, which we had purchased and finally at midnight I got to work on my camera. I was able to successfully download the pictures to my computer at home. I was also able to print. Additionally I registered for an online website where I can post my pictures. The one thing I could not figure out how to do was transfer my pictures from the computer to the website. I spent too much time working on all of the above to get to that so that is my plan for the next week. My housemate just put her photos on line so I will hopefully be able to get some help from her. It was pretty late by the time I finished all that but I still had to write my thank you cards for all of my running friends who donated to my 100k-race experience. I had printed out a picture of me and my teammates to include in the card and already had the addresses written out. The next step was to write the individual thank you cards. I did this and the next thing I knew it was almost morning (4 a.m.) Fortunately, I was finished and jumped right into bed. I was planning to do a 3 hour run on Sunday but due to this late night of work I decided to make it a 2 hour run so I could get at least 6.5 hours of sleep. I set the alarm for 10:30 a.m.

Posted by mary at 9:33 PM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2004

More Trail Running!

This morning I met the head coach at the East Hampton Reservoir. It was so beautiful and colorful at the park. To access the reservoir trail you have to run about a 1/2 mile down to the loop from a gate at the main road. Once you make it to the reservoir the loop is 3.09 miles around the lake, all fire trails, wide trails that very gradually go up and down. It is definitely relatively flat but if you are pushing the pace you can feel the slight ups and downs of the trail. The trail runs along the side of the reservoir for much of the run with some parts cutting off to the side for a few hundred meters so that you have you trees on either side of you which I imagine in the summer must be very nice to keep you cool. I have definitely found a place to do my tempo runs. The team does their tempo runs here about once every two weeks we mark off 2 miles and the team goes out and back for a total of a 4 mile tempo run. There are currently leaves all over the trail that make it bright and colorful. Along some portion of the trail there are blankets of pine needles that cover the trail, which is very soft. Mt. Tom can be seen off in the distance, which adds a lot of depth to the scenery. For today I ran the course once with Ellen while she was on her bike marking off 1/2-mile segments. When she left I ran the loop again the same direction we had run it the first time. My legs were pretty tired and heavy and I felt like I was moving around at a slow pace. When I got to the start area I decided to do the loop one more time but in reverse direction. Running in the reverse direction made it seem like a different course. I really enjoyed the views in this direction and decided to pick up the pace for the 2 miles that were marked. I ran the last two miles of the marked course at a 7 minute pace and was happy with that effort. By the time I got back to the car I was pretty tired and decided that 10 miles of running would be enough for the day. When I got back to my house I did some sit ups and took a shower. In a few minutes I have to meet the team to bike the course with them while they are doing their tempo run. My hair is still a bit wet from the shower so I have to make sure I can find my hat.

Last night I started to figure out how to download my pictures from my camera to my computer. I was so inspired by Alison's great picture on her blog: www.eliterunning.com/alison that I wanted to pass along pictures to my family and friends who were interested. My twin sister, brother in law, and brother in laws brother gave me a digital camera this summer for my birthday but I still have not worked it all out. My goal for this weekend is to set it up so that I can download pictures on my computer and then create a website for my pictures so that others can view them. I hope I am not being too ambitious. The directions seem easy enough. I was trying to work it out last night but realized I had the mac CD in the computer instead of the pc CD. This weekend I will go to my parent's house and get the correct program so that I can install it and get started with my photojournalism efforts.

Posted by mary at 2:39 PM | Comments (3)

October 21, 2004

Trail Run with an uptempo finish

Today was my first free Thursday from coaching or recruiting. The team does not practice together on Thursdays. It is their day to cross train and be in the pool or inside on the bike, it's their choice. They can also take care of any appointments or meetings on this day as well. I usually am catching up on recruiting phone calls or letters or meeting with other coaches on this day. Today however, I had nothing planned. I was so happy to have some free time in the afternoon and be able to get my run in without rushing it or squeezing it in or trying to get up really early. I decided to run on trails as much as I could and to gradually increase my pace on the second half of the run and finish my run with the last mile on the track timed for hopefully a sub 6.20 mile. I ran for about 9.5 to 10 miles before hitting the track. I started my run off by running around the cross-country course and then ran out on the roads for another hour or so before finishing at the track. Once on the track, I decided I would try to run 95-second quarters for four laps and then call it a day. I started off the first lap at 93 seconds and felt pretty good. My quads did not bother me and I felt really loose from all of the running I had done. My second lap was another 93 seconds. Entering my third lap I began to feel tired in my chest from fatigue. I am not sure if it is from just being worn down in general, having run about 10 miles before this workout, or a combination of efforts. I decided to continue with the last two laps at the same effort and determine if my splits were the same. My third lap was another 93-second lap and I finished with a 92 to give me a 6.11 final time. I was happy with my effort but worried about the fatigued feeling I felt in my chest. Once I finished running hard I felt fine and ran about 600 meters back to the gym. I would like to do a harder effort on Thursday between now and December since I have more time on this day. When I finished my run I lifted for about a half hour before going home. Tomorrow I will be exploring some new trails, which I am looking forward to because our team is doing a tempo run around a reservoir. I will be marking the course in the morning so that I can preview it before they run the course. In the afternoon when they are practicing I will ride the bike while they are running so that I can encourage them on their way.

Posted by mary at 11:32 PM | Comments (2)

Arcadia Run with the Team

On Wednesday I was pretty busy preparing for a Thursday exam and carrying out the responsibilities of my normal day. I was hoping to get up for an early run but decided against it so that I would be able to get eight hours of sleep. I felt pretty lethargic all day long and was anxious to go out and run because the sky was blue and the air was nice and crisp. I knew the temperature and smells of fall would awaken me and stimulate my mind and spirit. The women decided to run the Arcadia loop, which is about 50% trail and 50% road. I was in favor of this course and looking forward to exploring more trails in the Arcadia Nature Center. We entered the park through a power line trail, which is really fun. At the end of the power lines where we turned to enter the park, the power lines continue but there is a fence prohibiting individuals from entering that area. Once we hit the trails it was very beautiful. The trails were covered with leaves and many of the women were worried about turning their ankle so we ran fairly cautiously through the trails. We ran for about twenty minutes on these trails exploring side trails that followed along the side of a creek and running along narrow paths with pine trees on either side of us. One of the runners on the team is from CA and at one point we both exclaimed that it was pretty close to a CA trail experience in these woods - but not quite. This was a huge compliment to these trails. I really enjoyed running along them. We exited the trail onto a side street and ran along the river and along the cornfields on some dirt roads until we hit the downtown Northampton area. The run was about 57 minutes long. I suspect we ran about 7 miles. It was nice and easy and I felt very refreshed after the run. I spent the rest of the evening watching the Boston Red Sox’s on mute and studying for my exam.

Posted by mary at 11:24 PM | Comments (1)

Rainy Tuesday - No Running

On Tuesday evening it was dark and rainy by the time I finished cross country practice with the women's team. The women had just done a hard workout of Michigan miles and my hands and feet were frozen from standing on the side of the track reading splits. Occasionally I did jump up and down to keep my body temperature a little warmer. I did not really consider running because my legs were feeling tired from Sunday's effort and Monday's double running. Instead I decided to bike for an hour and then lift. It was an easy evening workout and my legs felt much better after cycling for an hour.

Posted by mary at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2004

Has anyone read anything about the Marathon Monks?

Hi Everyone! A quick entry.. I wanted to know if any of you out there have read anything about the Marathon Monks? My professor just asked me if had and I have heard of them but have not read their book. If anyone has read a book about them or has been influenced by them can you please let me know and tell me how they might have inspired or changed your persective on things. Thanks so much!

More soon.

Posted by mary at 1:09 PM | Comments (5)

October 18, 2004

Morning Run with Alison and Easy P.M. Run with the Team

I was really happy with myself to get to bed by 10 p.m. last night. I really needed to because I was so tired from getting up at 5 a.m. on Sunday and running the 1/2 marathon. I also wanted to be awake and fresh for my run with Alison in the morning. I knew I had gotten a decent amount of sleep last night because I did not reset my clock alarm when it initially went off. I just turned it off and gradually woke up. It was nice to feel sufficiently rested. I met Alison at 7 a.m. and suggested a route to her that I think was a little too busy with traffic for the first 2.5 miles but then became less congested. The first two miles I struggled a bit because my right quad, which is not really, my bad quad was sore. I think I am overusing this quad when I am running to make up for the tightness in my left quad. I hope the work I am doing in the gym to strengthen both quads will help to alleviate this strength discrepancy. We stopped after about 1.5 miles so I could stretch my legs and once we got running again I felt pretty good. During the first half of our runs we had to dodge cars and jump off to the side of the roads due to the narrow roads and the high number of cars on the road headed to work. The second half of the run was on side streets and the last portion was on the pond path next to the campus. I had a great time catching up with Alison and I laughed when she pointed out that most of my races were unplanned, this comment was made in reference to my surprise 1/2 marathon run yesterday. I guess I am pretty flexible when it comes to my racing and running and I enjoy variety.

I was debating if I should do a second run in the afternoon. Originally I planned to just go and lift while the team did their 1-hour run. However, as the women were getting ready to do their run they all asked if I was going to join them. I said I was not sure and they encouraged me to come along with them. I reminded them they had to run really easy because they have a hard workout tomorrow (Michigan Miles) and of course unknown to them I needed to run slowly because I was pretty tired from my effort on Sunday and the a.m. run. I ran the cornfield run by the airport with the women on the team. It was nice and relaxed and an easy pace. I was sure we were running easy because the last time we ran the course we ran it 10 minutes faster and had to run around the fields a few times to get in the total 60 minutes. Today we had 58 minutes by the time we returned to the fields and did not add anything else to the run. I enjoyed catching up with the women and after practice was invited to my first Smith dinner at the dorms. I was glad not to have to prepare my own dinner and appreciated the wide selection of food available to me. Although, I really did not have anything all that exciting. I had a baked potato, broccoli, refried beans, and a delicious green salad. I then brought back four pieces of cake for me and all of my roommates, they were all very appreciative. I am pretty beat now and still have work to do so I better sign off.. I want to get up and run at 7 a.m. tomorrow.. I hope I can make that happen. we'll see..

Posted by mary at 8:58 PM | Comments (1)

October 17, 2004

Bay State Half Marathon

I was able to get up at 5 a.m. and leave the house at 5:30 a.m. for the race. I was hoping to leave a little earlier but I decided there would not be that much traffic at that time and maybe I'd be lucky and get there faster than expected. There was some construction along the way, which slowed me down, and I also had a little pit stop about a 1/2 hour before getting to Lowell. I was guzzling water non-stop in the car so I had to use the restroom. I had stopped at a gas station and saw they had a dunkin donuts. I decided I would try to drink a small cup of coffee before the race. I have never had coffee before a race but I had just read that Jen Toomey (I think) has some about an hour before her races. I decided since I was going to use the race as a workout it would be a good testing ground. The smell of the donuts was so tempting. Against all of my usual standards, I ordered one miniature-glazed donut to have with my coffee. I hardly ever eat donuts to begin with so this was really out of the norm for me. I think I decided that I needed it since it was so early and it was so tiny that it would barely affect my race, which was an hour away.

I found parking relatively early and was in the registration building by 7:30. However, by the time I filled out my application and turned it in at 7:30 the half marathon registration was closed. I was really disappointed in myself. If I had not stopped for coffee I would have made it. I then decided that I actually saved $45 and I would just run the course and not drink any of their water (I had already had so much in the car) and I would not go through the finish line. I spent the next 20 minutes looking for my friend. I did not see her anywhere. I really wanted to wish her good luck before the marathon.

I had to get to the line as the race was starting in a few minutes. Fortunately, for me, they started the race about 7 minutes later than expected. to think perhaps I could have been registered.. if they extended registration by 7 minutes.. alas.. It was really exciting to be at the starting line. I have not run in an East Coast road race for so long. I forgot how overdressed some people could be for the race. It was definitely cool because at the last minute I put a short sleeve polypro t-shirt on over my singlet. However, I did not think a long sleeve and a jacket were necessary, maybe just a long sleeve. Yet, everyone is very particular about this matter. I loved hearing all of the Boston accents. Everyone was disappointed about the horrible loss the Red Sox's suffered last night. There were a lot of people in the half marathon so I was excited to start off easy and gradually pick people off during the race. The gun finally went off and as it did I saw my friend walking on the sidewalk. I quickly ran over and gave her a hug and wished her good luck. She told me she thought I'd be running late. I guess in my planning for the race, with an entire 12 hours notice, I forgot to plan my parking into the pre-race agenda. But it worked out; that I could say good luck and I reminded her I'd be there at the finish so we could catch up.

I did not look at my watch for the first 3miles. In the first mile I was pretty far behind because of the stop I made to greet my friend. At the second mile I stopped to use the bathroom but I did stop my watch since I was not officially being timed by the race. I restarted it on the road and made my way up into the pack. I clocked 21.50 for the first three miles. It was about what I expected. My quad was initially pretty tight but as I continued running it was loosening up and did not bother me as much. The tightness traveled a bit to my shin but that took away some of the stiffness in my quad. I decided to try to focus on 7-minute miles for the rest of the run and maybe to do this for 12 miles and run the last mile as a cool down so I would not be tempted to charge through the finish line. The racecourse consisted of a 6.5-mile loop that you ran twice. The course basically circled the CT River. We ran along either side for about a 2.5-mile stretch and crossed two bridges in one loop. It was scenic enough and relatively flat. There was a hill just before the 3 and 7-mile mark and another hill just before the 5 and 12-mile mark. They were gradual and definitely runable. I liked it because it gave me a chance to work a different muscle group. With the hills came the downhills, which were nice to be able to open up on. As the race continued I felt like I was getting into a rhythm and getting really focused. I was reminded of how much I love the 1/2 marathon and marathon distance. I try to just concentrate on one mile at a time and am usually pretty good at predicting when the next mile is coming without getting too anxious. I checked my split each mile after the first three miles. My splits for the last 10 miles were:
3-4 = 6.56
4-5 = 6.58
5-6 = 6.47
6-7 = 7.04
7-8 = 7.00
8-9 = 7.05
9-10 = 6.54
10-11 = 6.51
11-12 = 6.47
12-13 = 6.48 (I decided to run to the 13 mile mark at my current pace because I felt good and realized it would be about a 1/2 mile jog to the car for my warm down.)

Between miles 9-13 I was moving with a women who passed me around the 5-mile mark. She was running around the same pace as me. Each time I caught her she would speed up a lot so I decided to hang back and concentrate on my pace. In the last 4 miles I tried to compete a little bit more without going to far from my planned strategy of running 7 minute pace.

The entire race effort, workout effort, was really positive because I felt good throughout the entire run. Although, I was really tired by the end and glad to be finished. I do not think I would have wanted to or could have continued running at that pace for very much longer. I also was able to pass people the entire race. Two people passed me before the last mile, one was the women who I was trying to keep in sight and the other was a male around 11 miles who encouraged me to run with him so we could pass the women ahead of me. Everyone was really supportive which was really nice. In the last mile about 3 men passed me but I did not mind because I was tired by that point and ready to finish. The finish was at a ballpark, the runners had to run around the perimeter of the baseball field for the last 200 meters of the race. I was able to stop just outside the field making my run exactly 13 miles, finishing in 1.31.04.

I jogged slowly back to my car to change and get some coke which I had packed in my car. When I finish a race or hard workout I always crave a regular coke. The combination of sweet and salty is so good. I walked with my coke and phone back to the ballpark to wait for my friend in the marathon to finish. As I waited I was able to make some important phone calls that I hadn't had time for and relax in the baseball stadium seats in the sun. I was pretty comfortable sitting there with my coke and I found some chex mix in my bag to munch.

I expected my friend to finish as the first woman in the race and she did. She won the race overall in a time of 3.04. She is using this race as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon where she wants to break 2.48 to qualify for the trials. She currently works quite a bit and is responsible for her 3-year-old daughter when she finishes work. Often time she has to run at really odd times of the day, either at 4 a.m. or 10 p.m. at night at the local gym. I found out that this evening after the race she has to work from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. I could never do that after a marathon effort. I'd be falling asleep. She told her coworkers not to feel badly for her. Now that is hard-core. My friend is an extremely talented runner. I really wish she had a better work schedule so that she could have more time to train. I am really proud of her for squeezing in some time to train for this marathon. She has applied for a job with better work hours for the spring. I really hope she gets it so she can have more time for her running and family.

I plan to go to bed really early tonight so I can rest up from my busy weekend. I really hope my twin sister had a good marathon today. I have been eagerly waiting a phone call with a report from her. Hopefully I will get one some time tonight.

Oh.. and one of these weekends I will get to exploring the local trails. I didn't mind missing them today because it was so nice to see my friend and I think it was good to run the 1/2 marathon at a decent pace to prepare for the NY City Marathon.

Posted by mary at 5:03 PM | Comments (2)

Running Around on Saturday

I had to get up early on Saturday morning to open up the gym for one of our injured athletes before the meet at Mt.Holyoke began. I met the athlete at 6:30 in the morning and biked while she worked on the stairmaster. I was going to ride for just an hour but the athlete needed to be on the elliptical machine for an hour and a half so I stayed on the bike for an extra half hour. I also thought it was a good idea in case I did not have time to train after the morning race. I felt pretty good on the bike and again maintained my rpm's over 90. I was drenched by the time I finished and ready for my English muffin with peanut butter.

The race went very well. Our team came in second and everyone ran pr's on the very flat course. We were very lucky that it was not raining and the temperature was nice and cool, perfect for cross-country running. The campus at Mt. Holyoke looked beautiful with the fall foliage at its peak. The women were all really pleased with their races. After the race the 7 sisters (the group of women's colleges who were at the meet) all had a banquet lunch together and awards ceremony. It was very nice and relaxing. Our women got to interact with all of the women from the other 6 schools.

I returned from the race at 4 p.m. and decided it was too nice a day not to go for a run. I decided to do a nice 5-mile loop that runs along the pond path for the first mile and a half or so and then catches the road for another mile and a half and then meets up with the community gardens for the last two miles. It is nice because more than half of the course is on trails and it is a good loop. I ran nice and easy because I was tired from the meet and getting up so early. I felt really good on the run and held myself back from pushing the pace.

In the evening, around 8 p.m., I received a phone call from a college friend who I have not seen in over five years. She informed me that she would be running the Bay State Marathon in Lowell the next day. I asked her what time it started and if they had a half marathon. I was secretly in twin envy because my twin, Liz, was doing a half marathon on Sunday. I was told that the marathon started at 8:30 and the half marathon started at 8 a.m. I decided to find out how far away Lowell was from my location. If it were less than 2 hours I would go to cheer my friend in the marathon and run the half marathon myself. I knew that I had reserved the day for a long trail run but it was too tempting not to see my friend who is from New Hampshire. I found out that it would take an hour and fifty minutes to get there, the distance just meet my standard. I decided to go to bed right away at 9 p.m. so I could get up at 5 a.m. to drive to the race. I actually did not fall asleep until 10 p.m. but was happy to be resting in bed at 9 p.m.

Posted by mary at 4:51 PM | Comments (0)

Biking and Easy 3 miler

I had a rough afternoon Friday. I realized I was using the wrong technique to fix some of the books that I was fixing at the library. My supervisor informed me that the method I was using was too advanced and not necessary and my work was not that neat. Fortunately, I know how to do the more simple style neatly. And it is a more efficient way to do the way. I was disappointed with myself and taking a huge cup of humility when I realized that I probably should have asked specifically what he expected from me before I got started with the work. Needless to say when I left work for the afternoon I was upset with myself. Originally I was planning to take a nap before our afternoon practice and pre-meet dinner but I knew I would be distracted and not be able to rest.

I decided to go to the gym and bike for an hour. I rode for 55 minutes and maintained the rpms at 90 or above. It was a good ride and I did so much sweating that I felt pretty tired afterwards but I felt better about what I need to do at the library. After the ride I met the team and drove them to Mt. Holyoke to preview the course. It was rainy and cold so we were all anxious to get the run over with. The course was incredibly flat; essentially it was two loops around the lake on the campus. Pr's were sure to come the next day. After the workout everyone showered in the locker rooms and headed to the head coaches house for a delicious dinner and pre-race meeting. I really enjoy dinners at other people's houses these days because I so rarely cook a decent meal for myself. I am usually rushing around and making the easiest meal I can find. I left the house feeling satisfied and excited about the next day's meet.

Posted by mary at 3:56 PM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2004

A.M. Pool Run and Quick 3 mile run

I stayed up too late last night talking to a friend on the phone, then talking to my room mate, and then trying to get some work done, being distracted and then emailing my friend again who I talked with on the phone. I did not even pay attention to time. I should have. I went to bed around 1 a.m. and got up at 7 to pool run with one of the athletes. I only had about 35 minutes to pool run with her. It was nice to be in the water but I really did not feel like I was getting any exercise. When I left the pool my heart rate did not even seem elevated. After the pool run I met one of my roommates for a quick three-mile run along the pond path. It was really nice to be outside running in the morning. The trails were so pretty with all of the fallen leaves on them, the yellows and reds and orange colors. It was damp and cool from last night's rain and today's ensuing rain. I wanted to be out there longer but we had to get to class. I am going to run with my room mate for 3 miles at least three mornings a week which will be nice because it will get me up and enjoying the trails early in the morning. This afternoon I have to work and then take the course to Mt. Holyoke to preview tomorrow's racecourse at that site. In the evening we will have a team dinner and meeting at the head coaches house which will be nice. If I have some time before I have to drive the team to the other college I may hope on the bike to spin my legs for a while. They feel a little tight probably from the treadmill running. I am really excited to relax on Sunday!

Posted by mary at 11:18 AM | Comments (1)

October 14, 2004

Treadmill Run and Lifting

Today I was nonstop busy. I spent the afternoon working for 4 hours in the library and then spent another 3 hours writing recruiting letters. By the time I finished everything it was 7:30 p.m. dark and rainy. I wanted to go out and run but the rain was not that appealing. Pretty sad for an ultra trail runner, I know. but I think because I was going nonstop from 7 until 7:30 p.m I just did not have the proper motivation. I was going to bike and then lift. However, my roommate encouraged me to go for a run on the treadmill. The thought of running on the treadmill did not appeal to me but then I decided it was time to do a workout. I decided I would warm up for a 1/2-mile at 8 min. pace and then run 4.5 miles at 6.58 pace. Initially I did not feel very good at that pace. My lower leg was really tight on my left leg. However, my quad did not bother me at all so that was encouraging. I was going to cut the workout to 3 miles but I started to feel better and better. I got so focused into the run that I was going to extend it to 6 or 7 miles. Realistically I did not really have time to do another 2 or 3 miles and I wanted to keep my spirits up with the good effort. After the run I did 40 minutes of lifting. I was pretty distracted while I was lifting because I wanted to get home and eat and shower and finish up my reading. I still have to do that now so I am kind of rushing this blog entry. I think it will be a good idea for me to do at least one tempo run a week at around 6.50-7.00 pace with an increase of mileage each week. Perhaps one day I can test my quad and leg on the track with a tempo run and determine if I can run with no pain. That would be really exciting if I can run with no pain. Tomorrow morning I am meeting an athlete to pool run again in the morning. It will be nice to get up and start the day in the pool... so I better get my reading done now so I can't go to bed soon.

Posted by mary at 8:48 PM | Comments (2)

Morning Swim/Water Running

This morning I woke up and met one of the athletes at the pool. We were planning to swim for an hour but after a half hour we decided to do some pool running for the second half. Swimming for an hour can seem like a very long time. It is very difficult to stay focused and to be social while you are swimming. Once we started pool running we were able to talk and catch up a bit. I have to admit though, that the swimming seemed like it required much more effort.

I have meetings all afternoon and work. I really want to get in an 8-9 mile run later in the day. Unfortunately, I have a feeling I will be running in the dark again tonight. I hope I can find my headlamp so that I can see where I am going. I also want to try to lift tonight if I have time.

I am really looking forward to doing a long run this Sunday. I will actually have the entire day off except for working in the evening from 3-5. I hope to go and explore some trails and get a better sense of the area. I have been wanting to do this since I moved here and I finally have a free weekend. I also feel like I should get in at least 2-3 long runs before I run the New York City marathon.

Posted by mary at 10:53 AM | Comments (5)

October 13, 2004

Have to hit the sack soon!

My entry today will hopefully be brief because I am really beat and need to go to sleep as soon as possible. I got up this morning at 6:10 so that I could swim with one of the women on the team at 6:30. Unfortunately, right when I jumped in the pool the power went out. The pool closed and we had to leave. We decided to go to the main gym since that was still open and to use the elliptical trainer. By the time I got to the elliptical machine I only had 40 minutes to work out. I had a nice 40 min. workout with the woman on the team and then dashed off to a morning meeting.

My afternoon was packed with class, work, errands, and our team practice. After practice today I went out for my run. Unfortunately, by the time I started my run it was already getting dark. I was able to make it down the pond path while it was still light out but by the time I hit the road it was dark. I tried to run on the sidewalk the entire time but for some parts of the run I had to cross the street. I have to find my reflector vest and start to wear that in addition to my headlight. The second half of my run was on the bike path. It was a dark night and I could barely see the sidewalk. I ended up running pretty fast on the bike path portion of the run because I did not like the idea of running in so much darkness. By the time I can into downtown Northampton I could feel the fatigue in my legs. I was beat from the lifting I had done yesterday. I was going to go to the gym to work on my abs but I decided I really had no more time in my day for any exercise. Instead, I went home and had some rice and beans and got to work on my various projects. I am going to hit the sack within the next 1/2 hour so that I can get up early tomorrow morning and try another pool run with our injured athlete on the team.

Posted by mary at 9:07 PM | Comments (0)

Anticlimatic Weekend

Wickham Invitational

On Saturday morning I woke up and drove to the Wickham Park Invitational in CT. I met one of the students who I am currently coaching for an 11-12 mile run. I was feeling incredibly horrible. I was drained and felt my cold/flu symptoms were approaching. I was hoping I'd feel better once I started running but instead I found myself looking at my watch wondering how much longer we'd be running. The pace was pretty easy so I did not bother to stop running. It was too crowded at the park to run in the park due to all of the races. Instead we ran along a bike path into East Hartford and through Manchester. The company was great and answered all of my probing questions. I was feeling too tired to be my usual talkative self so instead I just asked a lot of questions that required long answers. When we finished after an hour and a half I was wiped. I went to my car to change and get ready to watch the races.

I saw most of the Varsity races. The highlight of the day was watching my nephew run in his first varsity race ever. He is just a sophomore and made the Varsity team for this race. He did a great job and ran 18.45. I know he can run even faster the next time he runs the course. It was really fun to watch him run on the same course I have run so many times in my past. Getting a chance to watch my nephew run in a few cross-country races was a huge high light of my return to the east coast after living in CA. I was very proud to see him run. My parents, his grandparents, his father, his stepmother, and his mother, and one of his uncles were all there to watch. It was great. While I was at the meet I got to talk to my old high school coach at Mercy High School and meet his team. I really enjoyed meeting them. They have a great front-runner this year that just converted from soccer to cross-country. When my nephew's race was over I had to dash back to the campus in MA to work for a few hours in the gym shutting the building down. I was disappointed I had to rush off but relieved that I could get some rest.

I worked for a few hours in the gym and then went home for some hot soup. Once I finished my soup, around 8 p.m. I tried to do some reading for my classes but I was falling asleep. I decided to call it a night at 8:30 p.m. The earliest I have gone to bed in ages. I was toying with the idea of doing a trail race in Monroe, MA the next day but decided to wait until the morning to make my decision.

Lazy Sunday

I did not wake up until 9 a.m. on Sunday morning. It felt really good to sleep so long. However, I was discouraged to realize that my body felt just as achy and tired on Sunday as it did Saturday. I decided not to do the trail race. I put on some running cloths and decided to do a few hours of work before I tried to go for a run. While I was doing some work in my lab area I made the decision not to run for the day. I was beat and felt a run would be counterproductive.

I n the afternoon I went to the Middletown Regatta race to watch my roommate row in a singles race. I sat on the dock in Cromwell, Ct for about 2 hours watching all of the rowers get into and out of their boats. I thought it was interesting which teams were super organized and could get in and out quickly vs. which teams struggled just to get the boat in the water. I thought there must be a correlation with this relationship and performance.

In order to watch the Regatta I had to get someone to work for me at my job at the gym. I made a poor decision and asked my room mate if he could work for me. Little did I know that he was not officially trained yet? Tomorrow I have to talk to my supervisor about this. I am annoyed that I made such a foolish decision but I know part of it was that I was feeling so drained I was trying to make my day as simple as possible. I wanted to be in CT as early as possible because in addition to the Regatta races I wanted to be at the airport when my sister and her new husband arrived from their honeymoon. Of course, they did not arrive until 9:15 p.m. so I easily could have worked and then met them but I was hoping it would all work out. I think it still will I will just have to face the facts about procedures to take when getting a sub to work for you.

Anyway, the Regatta races turned out to be very relaxing. After the races I showed my friend downtown Middletown my hometown. I took her to my favorite coffee shop in downtown Middletown and ordered my favorite hot drink, white-hot cocoa. We then went to get some dinner at a very good Thai restaurant in Middletown. I had some hot soup, which made my throat feel very good.

In the evening I did get a chance to meet my sister and brother in law at the airport. I was over excited to see them because I realized how much I missed having close family live near me. We stayed up pretty late talking about Aruba and CA. They had a great time on their honeymoon but said they were ready to return to CA. I asked them if they had room for me in one of the suitcases! I do plan to go back and visit over the winter holidays, which will be nice.

Errand Day

On Monday morning I was hoping to get up and convince my sister and brother in law to do a three-mile run with me. They were in a rush to get to breakfast and go to the airport. I decided I wanted to maximize all my time with them and canceled my a.m. run. We all had breakfast at a diner which was nice and then my Mother and I dropped them off at the airport. I was really sad to see them leave.

I spent the entire afternoon shopping with my Mother. She is a very early Christmas shopper and was looking for gifts for everyone in my family. My legs were aching from standing around in stores all day. It's funny because I can be at a meet all day and not feel my legs ache the way they ache after being in a store all day. I was pretty good and did not mention the time until it was 5 p.m. At that point I told my Mother we should head home so I could run and she could get a break before dinner. I was relieved that she admitted she was also tired.

When we got back I did a quick 5-mile run. I actually felt pretty good. My sore throat was gone and my legs felt strong. I ran my first mile in 7.40 even though I thought I was running 9 minute pace. It was growing dark during my run and I think I picked up the pace every mile. I ran an extended apartment loop near my parent's house. The air was cool and crisp and the leaves are really spectacular this weekend. I was really sad that I had not spent anytime at all over the weekend on the trails, as that was one of my main goals. But I was happy that my body was feeling better.

Dinner was ready when I got home, homemade pasta, which I enjoyed with my parents. My Mother and I then sent off some Fall Treats to my two sisters in CA because we were missing them and had them on my mind. I had to spend the rest of the evening working on recruiting letters and meet analysis reports. I stayed up pretty late and decided I had to cancel my intended plans to visit the Storrs campus on Tuesday morning.

Back to Normal

I slept in on Tuesday morning and canceled my trip to work in the lab on the Uconn campus. I was hoping to fix some books in the morning and do a lunchtime run with a friend in the area. I realized I had too much to do to squeeze all of that in and instead did some work on the computer at my parent's house before heading up to school. I ran a 3.5-mile Poplar Street loop run in the morning to wake myself up and get myself back into a normal running routine.

Over the weekend I made two marathon training plans for two of my brothers and one sister in law. All three of these individuals are new to running in this decade. One of my brothers who lives in AZ has to quit smoking before he starts his program so his program starts with a 6 week walking plan. I am really inspired by my brother’s desires to begin and stick to these programs. I feel really lucky that they asked me to be a part of their goal. I want to support them in anyway that I can in their journey towards fitness and hopefully enlightenment. Originally they wanted to do the Rock and Roll marathon in San Diego. However, we just realized that my sister in law would still be teaching in June so we need to find a July or August marathon in AZ or CA for them to run. Hopefully we will find one that will work for them.

While I was making their month-by-month plans I decided it was time for me to make up my own 1-year plan. Right now I am in the process of writing out a plan for myself. On a short-term basis I want to get back into my training plan and organize my training. My roommates have been buying ice for me to begin to ice my quad on a regular basis. Another graduate student is helping me to work on my lower stomach muscles so that I can gain more strength in that area. My plan is to have a program written by Sunday.

This afternoon I met the cross-country team and ran for an hour with them on the Amherst bike path. We ran a lollipop course, running out for about 3.5 miles and then doing a loop around a big cornfield and heading back on the bike path. I felt pretty good and enjoyed catching up with the women on the team. In the evening I was able to lift for about an hour. I was pretty beat by the time I finished.

When I checked my email this evening I found out that a good friend of mine lost his cat, Chubbo, today. I am very sorry for my friend and his cat. I used to cat sit often for my friend and got to know Chubbo pretty well. I know how hard it is to loose a pet having witnessed my parent's loss of their dog this summer. I feel like I should do something for my friend and the loss of his cat. For now, I will remember what a good cat Chubbo was and think about how happy he made my friend.

I called my friend to express my condolences and shared with him my own feelings of loss being away from my sisters and friends in CA. While I love what I am currently doing it is difficult not to feel lonely at times having been used to being around close friends all the time. In time I will probably feel less lonely but for now it's hard not to think often of my friends who are far away.

Posted by mary at 12:08 AM | Comments (3)

October 8, 2004

Night Run

I had hoped to get up and run before our cross-country meet this morning but decided to take the extra hour of sleep. I spent the day at the New England Championships in Boston. It was a tough meet for our women. Four out of the ten women had pr's and there were about 4 women who did not run that well. It was a warm day and there was a lot of competition at the event. The women are pretty tired and anxious for this weekend as it is their fall break. I enjoyed seeing all of the Div. I, Div. II, and Div. III teams there. Our team finished 28th overall out of 45 teams. My sister's alma mater, Colby, finished 10th overall. My alma mater, Uconn, finished 5th overall. The Division III schools are becoming extremely competitive. Williams College finished 4th overall and Middlebury was 6th overall.

When I got back from the meet I quickly got changed and went out for an 8 mile ran. I decided to do the same course I ran yesterday because it was getting dark out and I wanted decent footing. The last 1/2-hour of my run was pretty dark and I was on the bike path. I ran pretty fast through this area because there was not that much lighting and I decided it would be good to work on some turn over. Tomorrow I will be at the Wickham Park Cross Country Invitational in CT to watch my nephew run and to see my high school team race. It should be a nice day. I plan to meet up with one of my athletes in the morning and run with her before the big races begin. Tonight, I plan to hit the sack early.

Posted by mary at 7:35 PM | Comments (3)

October 7, 2004

Bike Path Run

This morning I got up at 6:30 to run with Alison at 7 a.m. I was pretty tired when I woke up and worried that I might not have enough energy to be friendly during the run. Right before I left the house I had about 1/2 of a vanilla gu to psychologically give me some quick energy. It is really awesome because Alison always meets me right on campus. One of these days I will meet her in her neck of the woods to give her a break and to explore another area. Today it was very convenient for me to meet her only 3 minutes from my house because I had a jammed packed day.

Alison and I ran for an hour and four minutes. We started off along the pond path and then ran towards the bike path and took the Northampton bike path back to downtown. Right before we hit the busy downtown section we veered over and returned on the pond path. The run went by very quickly. We got to catch up on a lot of events that were happening this week and on some events that happened in my past. I made an announcement to Alison today that surprised her. I told her that I was going to run the New York marathon. My friend from NY just called me on Wednesday night and told me she had an extra bib number and asked if I was interested in running. I really did not hesitate to say yes to the bib. I have never run the New York marathon and have a difficult time passing up a long run opportunity with so much support and enthusiasm. I do not plan to race the marathon at all. I am hoping to run the race around an 8-minute pace or maybe 7.50. It will all depend on how much sleep I can get between now and then. I did not even know the date of the marathon until I asked Alison this morning. I knew it was in November but could not remember which weekend it was held. Alison, I think, was a bit surprised. My friends from CA will not be as surprised I don't think. I should note that one of my teammates who ran the 100k races in the Netherlands with me, ran a 50-mile race the next weekend. I am not that die hard about back to back ultra races but I do admit that it is hard for me to pass up a new long distance race event in an interesting venue. I hope that my decision to run the marathon keeps me focused on my rest and health so that I can have a decent effort once I am there.

The rest of my day was jam packed after my run. I had to attend a class in motor science and then my exercise science class. During my exercise science class we had to race walk a mile to determine our VO2. My professor had told me last week I would not win the mile race walk. I was determined to win. Only about half of us took it seriously. I set a goal to race walk the mile in 10 minutes. One of the men in my class started out really fast, at first I was nervous about it, but then realized he was quickly fading. By the end of the first lap I caught him. I walked 2.30 for the first lap, 2.30 for the second lap, 2.26 for the third lap, and 2.17 for the last lap to finish in 9.42. I was really happy with my effort. My starting heart rate before the race was 102, which was actually really high so I think I must still be fighting off my cold even though I feel better. My heart rate at the end of the walk was 160. It was fun to do this kind of activity in my class and I realized how much I miss track workouts. I am definitely going to focus on working on the knot in my quad so that I can get back to speed workouts sooner rather than later. I will start to log when I do my legwork in my blog.

After the classes, I had to work at the library and then meet a potential recruit for an hour and show her around campus. In the evening I met the head coach at her house for dinner and to talk about recruiting. I finished the night off by attending a show at the Fine Arts Center on the UMASS campus. I saw a performance given by the Axis Dance Company. Axis Dance Company creates dance and art with groups of disabled and nondisabled dancers. It is very interesting and very surprising when you see the artistic moves that arise. I have heard about this type of dance but never seen it before. The first half was a little depressing for me because the music was very serious and mellow. The second half of the show was move upbeat and had more action in the movements. I really enjoyed the second half of the evening show. Tomorrow, I will be in Boston all day for the New England Collegiate Cross Country Championships.

Posted by mary at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)

October 6, 2004

Sore Throat Lingers On......

My sore throat disguised itself yesterday making me think I was quickly over my cold/flu. As soon as I woke up this morning I realized I had not fully kicked this bug yet. I was hoping to run three miles in the morning but opted not to in order to rest myself a bit more.

I met my friend for her sprinting lesson at 7:45 a.m. I coached her for some strides, sprint drills, and fast 100-meter dashes. After her workout I had my 1/2-hour pool workout. Today we focused on arm extension forward and back so that the velocity of my arm would increase as it went through the water. After several drills working on these two aspects of my freestyle swim we worked on floating. I discovered that I do not float at all. My legs start to sink immediately. I thought I could float but it was a pretty sad sight to see me constantly going under. We tried on my stomach and my back and in both cases I sank. I definitely need to work on this aspect of my swimming.

The rest of my day was pretty busy. At practice with the women, I ran an easy 5-mile run. I was wondering if I'd feel horrible due to my lingering sore throat. My throat had been bothering me for much of the day. Yet, during the run I felt fine and even a little better than I had been feeling. I took it very easy and ran in the back of the pack and just talked with some of the women. The women did some strides and drills afterwards. When practice was over I went to the gym and biked for an hour. I wanted to just keep my rpm's above 90 and was able to do that without too much effort. Tomorrow morning I am running with Alison so I have to keep this short so I can get to bed soon.

Posted by mary at 6:24 PM | Comments (7)

October 5, 2004

Feeling Better :)

I was able to get about 8 hours of sleep last night and was actually able to sleep through the night without any throat irritation. I was so happy to wake up and feel refreshed. I have been eating a lot of yogurt and soup over the past three days so I think that is helping me to get over this cold/flu at a faster rate. My morning was packed with three classes; I worked in the library for two hours in the afternoon, and then went to the field for practice with the team. I decided that if I felt like running I should. Yesterday I had no motivation to run so I felt like that was a good indication that my body was not up for it. Today on the other hand, I felt pretty excited about running. My throat is still sore and it is difficult to eat food that is hard and solid but I am no longer achy and do not feel exhausted. I decided to start the run with the women and evaluate how I felt as I went along. If I started to feel badly I would turn around and stretch while I was waiting for them. As it turned out I ran with the top runner on the team and felt much better than I expected. Our pace was not fast at all, maybe 7.50 to 8 min. We ran out to the airport and ran along the cornfields and finished our run along the levy and back to Main Street. My legs were initially tight at first and my throat was sore but as the run continued I felt better and better. Towards the end of the run my legs felt great, really fresh. The women had a strong effort in the last mile and pushed it in at a faster rate than normal. When I finished the run I was so happy to have been outside. The leaves are really starting to change now and it is so beautiful. There are leaves along the side of the road that crinkle and crunch as you run through them and the air is crisp and fresh. Today the sun was out and shining which warmed us up on what would otherwise be a chilly day. After the run I was able to do a half hour of easy lifting. I did not want to push it too much since I am still trying to get rid of the last bit of this cold. I am definitely going to hit the sack early tonight. I am really happy that I enjoyed my run so much today! Tomorrow morning I plan to hit the trails for an easy 3-4 mile run to start the day off.

Posted by mary at 4:35 PM | Comments (3)

October 4, 2004

Weekend Update!

Friday Afternoon

After my morning run with Alison and Liz I had to present my running drills presentation to my Motor Skills class which is filled with other coaches. I was nervous about teaching a class to fellow teachers but in the end it turned out all right. I was really tired from getting only five hours of sleep. Some of the mistakes I made I think I could have avoided had I been more alert. At the end of the lesson I forgot to summarize the objectives of the lesson. I just quickly said, " Ok, everyone was great! I hope you can incorporate some of these skills into classes that you teach." Actually, in addition to not having a great closure I definitely said, "ok" a little too much in my lesson and my explanations were a little too lengthy. I have to stop being so gabby. Despite my weaknesses I was happy to be finished with the lesson and excited to head to my hometown to see all of my relatives.

I dashed to the car after the lesson and drove to CT to meet my family. I met up with my twin sister Liz and soon to be brother in law, Kevin. We decided to do an afternoon run in Wadsworth falls. Our older brother called us up at the last minute and wanted to meet us there to run with us. I was worried. My brother, Kevin, who ran with us is pretty fast. Every time I run with Kevin I run a little faster than I want to run. In the end I always feel good and glad that I did. However, on this day I was so drained I was nervous that I'd be way too slow for him. As it turned out we ran for about 5 miles through the trails. It was a beautiful day. For the first half of the run we ran a pretty easy pace and I did not feel as badly as I expected. In the second half we picked it up. I did stop at one point and had my older brother run about 400 meters further and turn around while I was stretching and basically just taking a break. We he came back I felt more refreshed and was able to finish the run with him. I sprinted up the last hill with my brother and was glad to have gone on the run.

In the evening the entire family went to the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. It was a fun night because everyone got to catch up with one another. The food was great and the soon to be bride and groom looked great.

Saturday - Too busy and tired to run! :(

Liz and I were planning to get up around 7 a.m. to run a quick 4 miles before we had to be at our hair appointment. As it turned out we each had slept very poorly. We were sleeping on the floor in our older sister's room, Kate, and could not get comfortable. Between the two of us we probably only got about 6 hours sleep total. We opted to sleep in and forget the run; our day would be busy enough.

The sky was pretty gray on Saturday and the weather a bit cool. We were worried it would rain during the day but the rain held off. My sisters and I all got our hair done, got dressed, and prepared for the photographer. Kate looked amazing. She was so glamorous and stunning. I was really impressed and so happy that everything was working out for her. The day flew by with the wedding ceremony and reception, which followed. We took a train from Essex to Deep River and then rode a ferryboat for three hours along the CT River for the reception. A jazz band played while we were on the boat and there were floating appetizers and buffet tables available for food and drink. It was a very classy wedding. I did not want it to end. There was a post wedding party at my parent's house, which lasted until 3 a.m. Many of my family members were leaving early Sunday morning to go home so everyone wanted to make the most of their time together.

Sunday Morning - Easy 6.5 miles run with my Nephew

When I woke up on Sunday morning, after doing my best to get 8 hours of sleep, my throat ached and my body was sore. The inevitable cold had finally arrived to shake me from my long nights of work and not enough sleep. Even though I expected the cold I was not really prepared. I cannot remember the last time my throat hurt so much. I decided to lie in bed as long as possible but soon the house was filled with people and my name was being called.

I woke up and had an ice pop. I had an afternoon run planned with my nephew. When he came over I told him I was sorry but the run would have to be really easy, as I was not feeling well. He had just run in the Hartford Invitational on Saturday and was tired from his race and the wedding festivities. He did not mind running easy at all. I showed him the Night Swinging Course that is a favorite of mine. The course wanders through two different neighborhoods near my parent's house and cuts through the woods and a playground. My sister and I used to run the course in the summer around 10 p.m. when we were in college. When we got to the playground we would stop our run and "play" for about 5 minutes. It always broke up the run and helped us to relax. This was a course we usually raced because we were running at night and our adrenaline was going. The rule was if we stopped to go on the swings, once we started running again we had to resume our pre-stop pace. I told my nephew all about our night runs and he thought it was pretty crazy. We also ran on Miner Street, which holds a lot of significance for me. This street is where my Father told me when I was a child that the Easter Bunny lived and the Boggy Man. I did not realize the contradiction of this statement until I was older. For a long time I never knew where we were when I was in the car with my family. As soon as I could not see the family house I was lost. Miner Street had a big (well not really big in grown up eyes) downhill and uphill section. At the bottom of the hill there is a flat portion that last for about 100 meters. This location was really wooded and had no streetlights. My Father used to drive down the hill at night and shut off the car lights and tell us to watch out because we were in the Boggy Man's yard. During the day if we drove by this same section my Father would point into the woods and tell us that was where the Easter Bunny lived. I laugh about it now and think about how gullible I once was (but actually I am still susceptible to being tricked pretty easily). Since I was telling so many stories the run went by pretty quickly. When we returned I realized I was beat, the effort had taken a lot out of me. My throat was sorer after the run from all of my talking.

I had to drive back up to school in the late afternoon. I was going to go to bed early but my oldest brother, Jimmy, who used to live in Northampton surprised me with a visit. We went out to dinner and he showed me all of the spots he used to enjoy almost 15 years ago. Many of his favorite spots are no longer here but a few still remain. My brother spent the night. I had a hard time sleeping because my throat was so sore.

Monday Blahs!

When I woke up on Monday I wanted to stay in bed. My cold had developed into flu like symptoms. My shoulders and body were achy and my throat was still screeching. I only had one class to go to today so I decided I should sit through the class. Sitting still I felt ok so I decided to go to my job at the library. My afternoon was filled with coaching meetings. In the late afternoon I met the team for their workout. Luckily, they had a workout today and all I was required to do was to read splits. After the workout I momentarily thought of working out at the gym but I was totally exhausted and knew I'd have no energy. Instead I went home and made some vegetable soup. My throat feels better now and I am hoping I will have the energy to do an easy run with the team tomorrow afternoon.

Posted by mary at 6:33 PM | Comments (5)

October 1, 2004

A trio of early morning happy runners!

My sister and I did get up at 5:30 a.m. this morning to meet Alison. We were pretty beat but decided we'd have to run really easy because our bodies were so fatigued. It turned out to be a really fun run. We ran out to the Airport through the cornfields. I should clarify that part of the run. We are not actually running in the middle of the rows of corn. We are running on dirt roads along the side of cornfields. The roads are all dirt and it is very flat. This morning there were huge puddles of water and mud. Initially we were all very tentative about going around the puddles and we did not want to get our feet wet. However, as the run continued getting wet was inevitable and we were forced to stomp right through the mud baths. It was very trail like for me. The run just flew by because we were all rambling about different topics. It is so nice to run with other people. While we were running I was trying to give my sister a tour of the area, what I knew, pointing out various landmarks. Alison informed us of a few movies that were filmed in the area. Apparently Nicole Kidman has visited the area for a movie so that was a good piece of trivia to learn about. We finished the run by coming in the back way through campus and running along the cross-country course. The trails in this area were not as muddy and were rolling. We ended up running for 74 minutes. I thought it had been an hour so it was just proof as to how quickly it happened. I wanted to run longer but we had things to do. My sister had to hop in the car and head back to CT for a nail appointment and I had to get ready for class. The rest of my day will be pretty booked so I am so glad to have my run finished for the day. Hopefully the trio, the twins and Alison, will run together again. I hope I can squeeze in a few runs this weekend despite the hectic wedding plans. It should be fun.

p.s. A big thanks to Alison who posted this new design for my website!!! Thank you!!

Posted by mary at 5:33 AM | Comments (3)

Day off on Thursday

On Thursday morning I contemplated getting up to run early for a run or possibly a swim. I however, did not have the motivation to get up and decided to sleep in to get at least 7 hours of sleep knowing that my weekend would be filled with late nights of socializing and getting together with family and friends for my sister's wedding. My day was pretty packed with classes, meetings, and work. I was hoping to squeeze in a run somewhere during the day. As I was walking around campus I realized my hips were so sore. I could not figure out why they were sore. I then remember that I had spent two days during the last week doing squats and lunges and hamstring exercises. I felt better knowing the cause of the soreness. I was driving back to CT in the late afternoon and was thinking about stopping at a reservoir in East Hampton to check out the trails before the evening dinner gathering with my family. While I was on route I decided to call home to see if anyone needed to be picked up from the airport since I'd be going right back and the timing might coincide. As it turned out my brother's girl friend needed to be picked up in a 1/2 hour. I decided to cancel my run and enjoy a day off. I was a bit worried about going for the run and then having time for a shower so fortunately it all worked out. Technically this is my easy month so I want to really go with the flow and not feel obliged to run because of some "schedule". However, in about two weeks I do want to be in a routine and follow some guidelines so I can start gearing for some of my goals. The evening was spent at an Italian restaurant with 10 members of my immediate family and about 8 members of my soon to be brother in laws family. We went to a pub after dinner and I did not head back to campus until almost 1 a.m. I did convince my twin sister to return to campus with me so she could run with me and Alison in the morning. I felt horrible that I was dragging her along on my crazy no sleep adventure. She was a trooper. We set two alarms for 5:30 a.m. We were going to set three but I told my sister that one of my house mates does crew and her alarm goes off at 5:15 every day so I was sure we'd be awake. I am not sure that either me or my sister slept very well during the night but at least our bodies were laying down.

Posted by mary at 5:24 AM | Comments (0)