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May 30, 2005

Vermont City Marathon Update

Yesterday I ran the VT City marathon. I had no idea what to expect. I wanted to run somewhere between 3 hours and 3.10 but deep down wanted a personal record which would be sub 3.06. Leading up to the race I had a month of decent training averaging about 70-80 miles a week for the first three weeks of May and then backing off to 50 to 40 miles the 10 days before the marathon.

Race day turned out to be relatively warm for VT with temperatures in the 60's. I felt pretty good at the start and decided to run a pace that felt comfortable without worrying about my splits too much. I would hit my split button each mile but I tried not to worry about it as long as I felt comfortable and relaxed. The first half of the race I felt relaxed and was very happy with the pace and how my body felt for the most part. After three miles my quad was already really tight and sore but I decided to run with it like I always do and try to make my stride as complete as possible. I went through 13 miles just under 1:30 and knew it would be tough to maintain that pace in the second half knowing that my quad muscle was getting tighter and tighter.

I maintained a decent pace for a bit but once I hit the hill around mile 14 and 15 my quad tightened up on me and began to shake. My calf muscle was shaking as well. It feels like a bad charlie horse. I decided to relax and stop worrying about my place. Up until this point I was maintaining 6th pace in the race and was having fun trying to be competitive and remain in the top 6 where there was prize money. I mentally did not have the energy to keep this up while I was worrying about my leg so I began to calculate what pace I had to maintain per mile to at least run a 3:10. I realized I would need to run no slower than an 8 minute pace for the rest of the race. From that point on in the race I ran from mile to mile and concentrated on making my stride feel smooth and relaxed. I managed to finish in 10th place in 3:08.20.

I was happy with the results considering how hard it was mentally in the last 10 miles to maintain pace and not think about my quad. It is frustrating to be distracted by my quad muscle so much. In the last six miles my quad muscles ached so much that I felt if I ran too fast they would just start shaking uncontrollably or if I stopped I would be through and they would shake uncontrollably. It is difficult to run through the scar tissue but I feel like each time I race I am able to maintain a decent pace for a longer period of time without as much discomfort and agony. As the race distance grows I have a tendency to overuse my noninjured quad so that leg gets very fatigued in the process. I feel like running the distance and focusing for three hours is not very hard for me but I am frustrated with the constant ache in my quad when I try to push myself hard. Trails provide a lot more support for my quad and do not stress it as much.

All in all I can't complain about my race. I saw Alison at the race and she cheered for me a lot as well as her boyfriend. Mark cheered for me during the race because he had a terrible cold and was only able to run the last leg of the relay. My best friend and her husband were at the race and they cheered for me which was awesome. And the students who are on Mark's team that I have been helping to coach all cheered for me which was awesome. My friend Cailin, who is great friend's with Alison, ran a great first time marathon, running just under 3:40 to qualify for Boston. My splits for the race were:

mile 1: 6:48
mile 2: 6:32
mile 3 and 4: 13:02
mile 5: 7:10
mile 6: 6:41
mile 7: 6:44
mile 8: 7:04
mile 9: 6:57
mile 10: 6:42
mile 11: 6:58
mile 12: 7:02
mile 13: 6:55 (1:28.53)
mile 14: 6:53
mile 15: 7:30 (THE HILL)
mile 16: 7:34 (TRYING TO RECOVER FROM THE HILL - QUAD TIGHTENED)
mile 17: 7:30
mile 18: 7:18 (TRYING TO STOP FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF)
mile 19: 7:18
mile 20: 7:24
mile 21: 7:37
mile 22: 7:42
mile 23: 7:50
mile 24: 7:57
mile 25: 7:43
mile 26: 7:38
.2 miles: 1:28
OVERALL: 3:08.21 on my watch

The race course itself is really nice in some parts. I enjoyed going through the downtown area. The crowds and support were awesome there, I enjoyed the bike paths especially at the finish when we had Lake Champlain on our right. I did not like the extra loops we had to add on that made circles in various neighborhoods. I also did not like the camber (slant) of some of the roads. Some of the roads had a lot of pot holes in them that made it hard to run on. The finish is tough because you have to run past the finish and turn around and run back towards it. You think you are finished but then you have more to run.

Today I woke up with a miserable cold. I am completely conjested, my throat aches, and I was feeling really beat. I am sure I have Mark's cold which prevented him from running the marathon. I am thankful I got it today rather than yesterday. I wanted to go outside today since it was Memorial Day weekend so I decided to hike up to the peak of Mt. Elmore. It is a one mile walk on dirt roads to the trail head and then a two mile hike to the peak. I hiked the three miles to the peak and enjoyed and incredible view of the area from the top of the fire tower on the top of the mountain. I then hiked back down the mountain. Hiking down was a lot harder because my legs were sore but hiking up made my legs feel good.

I am resting for the rest of the night and hoping to get to bed early so I can kick this cold. I am going to take it easy with my training this week and start training for the Headlands 50k Trail Championships next week. I feel like racing on trails is a much better focus for me while I have so much scar tissue in my quad. It is just frustrating not being able to give a 100% effort while I am out on the roads running. I am happy with my current fitness level and plan to improve on my trail running and hill running over the next few months. I now have access to email on a daily basis so I should be a better blogger. More soon...

Posted by mary at 7:30 PM | Comments (10)

May 5, 2005

Bliss Hill 10 miler

This morning I got up and took Seb, Marks' cocker spaniel out for a quick 1 mile run along the golf course. It's good because Seb gets me out the door. I then came back to the house and got my water bottle and left for my 10 mile run. I ran a variation of the 8 mile course I ran yesterday. Again, the first two miles were uphill. When I was close to the house where the dog bite me yesterday I crossed the street. My bite is sore and bruised but otherwise fine. After the uphill portion I ran on this beautiful road called Upper Elmore Mountain Road for about 3 miles. This road is all dirt and it is gently rolling but mostly downhill. There are panaramic views of mountains on this run so it is really nice. I was out for my run around 7:30 a.m. so I could hear all of the birds and the dogs did not scare me as much today as they did yesterday. I then turned down a new street, Bliss Hill road, which was about 2 miles long and all downhill. It was really nice, again all dirt roads and great pastures, fields, and woods on either side of the road. I felt like I could really open it up and fly down this hill but I decided to keep the run nice and easy because my quad was feeling a bit sore. At the end of this road I finish by taking a right onto Randolph Road which is all pavement and leads me back to town. Running on the road after being on the dirt roads and running downhill feels so abrupt but I figure it is good marathon training. In the middle of my run I considered doing the 16 or 18 mile loop because I really need to get a long run in this week but I was too anxious to get back and do some studying. I feel like I need to study as much as I can today because after tomorrow I am finished with exams. So.. I should actually cut off my entry now and stop procrastinating. This afternoon I will probably run another 6 miles or so with the high school team.

Posted by mary at 9:42 AM | Comments (1)

Easy Wed. Afternoon 6 miler

On Wednesday afternoon I met the distance runner's on Mark's high school track team here in Vermont and ran an easy six miles with two of the girls on the team. It was great to learn a new course and really nice to meet some of that athletes on Mark's team. The weather was a bit cool so I actually wore tights and a long sleeve shirt. I wondered if I would regret wearing long cloths but I did not regret it at all. I stayed very comfortable. After the run I ran about a mile with Mark's dog along the golf course and then called it a day.

Posted by mary at 9:39 AM | Comments (1)

May 4, 2005

Wednesday's Dog Encounter!

This morning I got up just before 7 a.m. and took Mark's dog for a short 1-2 mile run around the golf course. I then took off for my run which was an 8 miler. I planned to go easy for the first half because the run begins with two miles of up hill running. After about a mile and a half a dog started to run towards me, medium size. A lot of dogs are off leashes here in VT so I don't think much about it. Unfortunately, I was on a busy road so I could not cross the street without having me or the dog get hit. The owner of the dog was just leaving the driveway and was just about to pull out. The dog caught up to me and started to bite me. Unfortunately, I have some scratch marks and a small bite on my rear end. Fortunately, I have some cushioning on this area of my body otherwise I am sure it would have hurt much more. I have not been bitten by a dog since middle school and have been around so many friendly dogs that this really took me by surprise. The rest of the run is on dirt roads and there are many farm houses that I run by that have dogs just sitting outside their houses untied. I have to admit I was worried running by these dogs and felt like I was on the defense. I was going to pick up some sand to be ready to throw it at the dog should another one attack but I really did not want to compromise the rest of my run by holding sand and feeling like I was ready to attack. I actually do not think I'd want to throw sand at the dog, that is just what I have heard you should do. When the dog bite me in the rear a car did pull over and ask if I was ok and if I wanted a ride. I said I was fine and continued on. The owner did call her dog and do something with him/her but I did not even bother to talk to her. I thought she might drive up and see if I was ok but I actually don't think she saw exactly what happened. The bite is more like a deep scratch so I don't think it is serious. I just knew I'd have to come back to the computer and vent about it. Just when I was thinking I really wanted to get a dog.

By the way, the Planfield racing track for dogs is getting rid of 500 greyhounds. The first story I heard was that they would be destroyed if homes were not found for them but this is not true. They should all be adopted or be able to find homes. If I was not in graduate school I would definitely want to adopt one. I think it would be so nice to have a companion such as a mellow grehound. Some day I think I will have to get one when I have more time and more space for the dog. Until then I plan to stay away from stray dogs.

I need to study for the remainder of the day and I plan to head up to Mark's track practice at 3 to run with the girls and boys on the team. It should be fun. In the meantime I have plenty to do.

Posted by mary at 9:37 AM | Comments (3)

Tuesday Easy 4 miles

I got up on Tuesday morning to run with one of the college students. We ran an easy four miles and got to catch up. This student is from San Francisco so we always have a lot to talk about. She is a senior who is on her way to medical school. I will miss her a lot but hopefully we will stay in touch. I was busy the rest of the day trying to tie up loose ends before heading to VT for a few days. I have two exams left and have to touch up one paper but plan to do that from VT. I rushed around all day and finally left campus around 2:30. I met Mark at a high school track meet and got to see his athletes compete in the second half of the meet. His girl's team is very strong and the boys team is younger but all very nice. I did not run again for the day because I was pretty tired.

Posted by mary at 9:34 AM | Comments (0)

May 2, 2005

Weekend Update and Great Rainy Day Run

Friday Afternoon Update

On Friday I ran another three miles with the team to get them ready for their meet. I was tempted to run a few more miles on my own but I had to finish my trianing calendar for the year for one of my classes. Friday night I had to work at an end of the semester party in the field house from 9:30 to 12:30. I was hoping I might be able to leave early but that was not the case.

Saturday - Rainy Track Meet All day Long!

On Saturday I had to leave for our conference track meet at 7 a.m. I wanted to get up and run but I was much too tired from going to bed so late. I was at the track meet until almost 8:30 p.m. The conditions were not the greatest but not the worst. It was drizzling all day long but it never got really horrible with pounding rain. I was very exhausted by the time I returned to school at 10 and could not even think about running. I drove to CT to visit my parents and get ready for my neice's first communion on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, I stayed up until 2 a.m. with my Mother on Saturday night.

Sunday's Tough Ten Miler

I woke up much too early on Sunday morning, around 7:30 which was too early considering my late night on Saturday. It was hard to sleep with my parents up and at em doing work so early in the morning. I felt compelled to get up and start helping them. I had dreams of running first thing in the morning but I felt sick because I was so tired. Instead I just helped my parents get ready for the first communion. I spent the entire day with my family and had a great time catching up with all of my family members. I did not leave CT until 5 p.m. and really hit the wall around 4 p.m. My Mother and I actually took a 20 min. power nap around 4:15 that felt great. On my way back to school I called Liz to get her advise on if I should run or not. I was so tired but I knew I would regret it if I did not run the entire weekend. She recommended that I run in the resevoir that was on my way back to school. It is a three mile loop around the resevoir that is really really beautiful. I decided that was a good idea and somehow managed to run about 10 miles at a decent pace. By the time I finished I was ready to hit the sack but I still had a ton of work to do at school. I managed to go to bed before 1 a.m. which was better than I expected.

Monday's Great Quabin Run

This evening I met Alison for a great 10 mile run. I have been wanting to run in the Quabin ever since Alison wrote about it in her blog. I always do the same runs but I really love finding new runs and especially finding trails to run. I was looking forward to the run all day long. I knew it was crazy to go because I have a lot of work to do but I also knew it would be totally inspiring. The run did not disappoint me at all. It was awesome and I can't wait to go back. The area is all dirt roads with beautiful forests on either side. The area is the water district for the city of Boston and the history of the area is really fascinating. Alison and I talked the entire time. We ran up some really decent hills and ran in the mud and in the pouring rain. Time just flew by. We saw two deer and then about 10 minutes later we saw a huge creature in the field.. it turned out it was a moose. I was really really excited. I was asking Alison if she ever saw a moose in MA before and if she was surprised. I loved it. It looked at us for a moment and then ran off. I think it was definitely a male because it was gigantic. I really enjoyed seeing it and called my brother and Grandfather after the run to tell them about it. The run was a good effort and by the time we finished I was pretty tired. I was really glad to go on such a great trail run with Alison. I will miss her a lot next year.

Posted by mary at 8:53 PM | Comments (2)