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December 30, 2006

End of the Year Runs

Just a quick update in the middle of my travels. Yesterday I was at a nordic ski race at Mt. Hor which is on Lake Willoughby in Vermont. Mark was coaching the ski team and I went to cheer on the team and to discover some new trails and roads for running. It was about an hour north of Morrisville. The weather turned quite cold on Friday and reached the teens for the first time all winter. I ran 10 miles around the Lake and wore several layers of clothing. It was very beautiful. I stayed on the roads because I did not have my gore tex sneakers. I ran nice and easy and cheered on the team while they raced. Afterwards we drove to CT to visit with family for the new year.

Today Mark and I have been in Glastonbury, CT visiting my sister and her husband. We have spent the day relaxing. We both are feeling a bit under the weather so we took it easy all day. We went for a great run this afternoon, better for me than for Mark as he is feeling worse than me. Mark ran easy for himself and I ran hard for me. We ran 10 miles on and off the road. Half of the run were on some great trails that lead to Manchester. I felt sluggish at the beginning but after a few miles warming up I was staying right with Mark. I think we averaged at least 7 minute pace for a very hilly run. We are scheduled to do a New Year's race in Danbury tomorrow night. I am sure I will be quite tired for the run. I plan to run how I feel, ironically if I run hard it will probably be the same effort I ran today. Last week, I ran 70 miles for the week. I am happy about that and plan to start some serious Boston Marathon training in the New Year. Hopefully everyone enjoys the New Year and is safe.

Posted by mary at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)

December 28, 2006

A Day of Running and Hiking

This morning I met a former athlete for a one hour run. She is in her first year at St. Lawrence and had a great cross country season. She is just now starting her nordic ski season. It was really nice to catch up. It finally looks like winter here in VT. We had about three inches of soft fluffy snow last night. We ran an easy pace because the roads were not quite plowed yet. We were able to catch up about her classes, team-mates, and training. She will be home until the 14th of January so hopefully we will run a few more times together.

After lunch I did a hike with a friend from work. We hiked Hunger Mountain which is in between Waterbury and Middlesex. We hiked from the Waterbury side. It is about a two mile hike to the top. We were hiking in the snow and in some ice. Remarkably the parking lot for the trail head was full so I had to park on the road. The hike was beautiful, it was a very narrow trail with lots of tree branches filled with snow hanging on them. I was really sorry I had not hiked in the area before. I definitely plan to go back.

After the hike I had a run in Middlesex planned with two other friends. I unfortuantely, had to drive the long way to Middlesex to pick up one of my friends who was going with me. I was late for the run due to poor planning but since the moon was out we did not have to worry too much about seeing during the run. We did a six mile run along class 4 roads and some dirt roads. The course was half uphill and half downhill. I loved it, it was a nice change of scenary and there was hardly any traffic. I really enjoyed being on dirt roads covered with snow and dirt.

Now I am trying to get some school work done because I have done very little over my vacation. I am glad I was outside almost all day today because the sun was out and the sky was blue which is very rare here in Vermont especially this time of year. Tomorrow we are going to a ski race in the morning. I am going to get up and run in the morning before the meet. While at the meet I hope to hike around a bit. When we return to the meet we will drive to CT for the New Year's holiday to spend time with my family. It should be nice.

Posted by mary at 7:39 PM | Comments (0)

December 27, 2006

More Training and Organizing

This morning I got up and did a 5.5 mile run with Seb and Mark around the golf course. It is really nice to be able to run there at this time of year. There is only about an inch of snow so it is very runnable. I ran pretty easy because my hamstrings were tired from the lunges I did yesterday at the gym. After the run we had some apple cinnamin pancakes that Mark made for us and then I went to the gym to meet the sprinter.

At the gym I did a 45 minute pool workout. We spent half the time pool running. Half of the time pool running was easy and the other half involved 30 seconds of sprint and 30 seconds of rest. We then spent the second half of the pool workout using the kick-boards. The kick-boards are very hard for me. They really tired me out. We did 10 minutes easy and then 10 minutes of fartlek with the kickboard. We then tried to touch the bottom of the pool and I chickend out as I was heading towards the bottom. I hate opening my eyes with my contacts on in the pool and it was bugging me not being able to see how much farther down in the 12 foot pool I had to go. I bet I was pretty close.

After the pool workout we did the gravitron and an ab circuit routine. We did not do any lifting because we wanted to rest from yesterday's workout. I was then going to run 4.5 miles out on the bike path but since my hair was still wet I just used the treadmill. It was very boring. I wish I had just gone outside. I was able to watch a snow boarding show involving extreme athletes. The athletic moves of the snowboarders were very inspiring. I feel like running is so boring compared to their stunts. For the rest of the day I have been able to watch a movie and am now getting back to some organizing. I have to go to the store after I do the laundry and tonight I should try to get some grading done. Tomorrow I may go for a hike if some of my friends call me back. We'll see.

Posted by mary at 4:41 PM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2006

A Day of Cleaning and Catching Up

On Christmas morning I did a small 5k road race in Vernon, CT with Mark and Liz. It is now a three year tradition for us. The race starts at 10:30. This year the race course changed so the course became a loop instead of an out and back. We ran a 3.8 mile course. I was hoping to run about a 7 minute pace. I think I averaged that in the end. The course is very hilly. Liz and I did a 1.5 mile warm up. I ran the first two miles with Deb Livingston, great distance/ultra runner from CT who just had a baby in August. We ran about 6.30 for the first mile and 7.10 for the second mile which was very hilly. Liz and Mark were much farther ahead. I pulled a little ahead of Deb after the second mile and ran a 7.10 pace for the third mile and a sub 7 pace for the last .8 miles which were almost all downhill. Liz and Mark both finished first. We ran a 2 mile cool down and then drove back to VT. It was hard to say goodbye to Liz but she was going to New Jersey to visit her in-laws. I will see her and her family again next weekend for New Years.

This morning I got up and met the sprinter from the high school I teach at for a workout. We did a 1/2 hour interval workout on the bike and then did about 40 minutes of core body and weight work. We were throwing the medicine ball and doing lunges. I was getting a good workout in. After our workout I went to the bike path to get my run in for the day. It is raining and snowing, a wet and sloppy mix. I ran 9.5 miles on the bike path, out and back. The path was slushy and wet and in some places snowy. The snow was the easiest to run on. I made an effort to run nice and easy. I ran back a bit faster but it is downhill on the way back to the gym where I did the workout. Mark also ran at the gym and then lifted.

We have been spending the late afternoon cleaning and organizing. Chores that are long overdue are being addressed now. Tonight we are meeting some friends for dinner. Tomorrow I will go to the gym to meet the sprinter for a pool workout. Hopefully I will run before the pool workout.

Posted by mary at 5:08 PM | Comments (0)

December 24, 2006

Holiday Update

This is a quick holiday update. On Friday I was planning to go to Burlington for a run with my friend Beth. The forecast however was predicting rain that might freeze during the early evening. In addition to this Mark and I had two parties to go to on Friday night. I was pretty tired after school on Friday, nervous about the potential icey roads, and not sure if I could manage a long run after school followed by two holiday parties. I decided to stay in Morrisville and run there to save myself the hour drive to Burlington. I ran with Jen and Katy and we did an easy six mile loop, the Fitzgerald loop. I felt really good. It did not rain too badly so I sort of regretted not going to Burlington but I think I would have been exhausted at the parties had I driven two hours after school and ran for 10 or more miles.

On Saturday I met a group of runners with Mark in Richmond. It was a great group and a group I hope to continue running with. We ran 10 miles, Mark's pack ran a progressive 12 mile run. I ran what averaged to be 7.30 pace for the out and back loop. I ran with two women I have seen at races and who run about the same marathon time I do. They run about every weekend so whenever Mark and I are free we hope to run with them. We met them at 9 so it was a great way to start our day. We then went to a great place for breakfast, a diner, called Sneakers! We then did some shopping, went to a family Christmas party, and drove to CT. We arrived in CT at about midnight and waited for my youngest brother to get home from the airport. He got in at 1 a.m. and we stayed up with him until 2 a.m.

Mark and I got up at 7:30 and were very tired. We met my nephew and drove to New Haven to meet Liz and Kevin, my brother and sister. The five of us did an 8-9 mile loop through New Haven and the trails through the resevoir. We started out at a fast pace, for me and my energy level. We were running about a seven minute pace. I dropped back. My quad was so sore and I was so tired. I caught up to the group and they slowed down for me and I ran with the pack for about 2 miles and then the group separated. My brothers and Mark ran the last half together and Liz and I ran together. It was nice but now I am quite tired. It is great to see Liz and her baby Sage. She is back to her normal speed and shape and energy level. I can't believe it! I feel exhausted next to her and I don't even have a child.

We have family festivities tonight and then tomorrow we'll head back to VT in the morning. On our way back to VT we will do a local 5k in Vernon, CT. Mark plans to race as best he can given the fact that we'll probably get very little sleep tonight. I hope to do the run and use it as a training run. After how I felt today I am not sure my legs will feel like racing tomorrow. I can't wait to catch up on sleep next week and I am very excited to see all but one of my siblings tonight (7). My oldest is still in Arizona and I will really miss seeing him. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Posted by mary at 10:53 AM | Comments (1)

December 21, 2006

First Half of My Run

I did not think I was up for a run right after school today but I had to meet an athlete even if I did not feel 100% ready to workout. The athlete I met is the best sprinter in VT and has made it to NE's since her freshmen year. She is now a senior. She asked if I would workout with her a few times a week over the winter. I was flattered and could not say no. She runs a 200 in about 27 seconds. We did a half-mile warm up and then did many drills. It is obvious I am not a sprinter and I am not coordinated when I do these exercises next to someone who has explosive power as this athlete does. The drills really warmed me up and I noticed it more than I do in the summer when you already feel warm. After the drills, we did 7 x 150 with a 50-meter walk recovery. It was her first time running on the track so I suggested a tempo effort for her. She ran with me at 20 second pace per 100. On the last 100 of the 150, I told her to pick it up without going all out and see what she could do. She ran 15 seconds for the last 100 and made it look easy. I was impressed because it was at the end of doing 1200 meters of faster running. We then did a half-mile cool down and some stretching. I have about 15 minutes before my next run. I am meeting Jen for a run and hopefully we will run about 7-8 miles, we will see. Tonight Mark and I have to go back to school to do some grading. I am not looking forward to it but at least I will have some company and after tomorrow, I will be on vacation for a week.

I have been listening to the updates on the snowstorms in Colorado and wondering when Vermont is going to get some snow. I cannot believe I actually want snow but I do. I love this temperate weather for running but if it is going to be cold, it would be nice to have some snow to do some snowshoe running and skiing. I heard one Mother in Bolder say that tonight she was going to teach her children to make a snow cave. She has been waiting until there was enough snow to be able to do this activity. I think that would be so much fun. One of my favorite activities in the snow when I was a child was to make long tunnels out of snow that would run up and down the driveway. I loved crawling in them and playing secret games. It has been a long time since I have made any igloos or caves but the story reminded me of it.

Tomorrow I am going to go to Burlington after school to run with my friend Beth. We were thinking about doing two hours again but we decided to make it ten, which I think is just fine as we ran hard last week. Next week we can go for two hours again. I may also have a group of people to run with on Saturday as well in Richmond.

p.s. I just ran 50 minutes with Jen, perhaps we ran about 6.5 miles. I was overdressed. I wore a fleece jacket. I just really wanted to feel warm. I did and then I was cold. I could have run longer but I am scheduled for an early a.m. workout tomorrow at the gym and an afternoon 10 mile run so I am happy with the distance. Mark and I are about to go to the Beez Knees for dinner! Good Local food with a coffee home atmosphere (because it is a coffee house). They have a great tofu burrito that has our names written all over it. On Saturday Mark and I are both going to do the group run in Richmond at 9. It should be fun. It will be a whole new group of people to run with.

Posted by mary at 4:15 PM | Comments (0)

December 20, 2006

Double Run

Today after school I was able to run with one of the middle level teachers. It was nice and sunny out today and about 40 degrees. We ran the Fitzgerald loop at an easy to moderate pace. I felt good even though I thought I might be really dehydrated since I barely had anything to drink during the day. About 20 minutes after my run at school I went to Elmore to meet my friend Jen. We met and did a seven mile run around the lake. It was very nice. The temperature had dropped by then and the sky was dark but the stars were out. We ran a good pace and I was surprised how good I felt. I felt better the longer we went.

After the run I stopped at the store and got some delicious Elmore Mountain bread to have with dinner. The bread is made every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and delivered at 4 p.m. to the stores. If you get to the store between 4 and 5 you can usually get bread that is still hot. Mark and I always think we will get sick of it but we never do. We usually cut the break and put some oil on it, then a slice of tomato, and then a piece of mozzarella cheese. It is very tasty.

Now we are watching a TLC program about three individuals who ran the NY City Marathon, one featured athlete was Lance Armstrong, the other a solider who lost both of his legs in Iraq, and the third a woman recovering from breast cancer. Lance's marathon training is considered a cancer recovery; however, I think his recovery was quite awhile ago compared to the woman's recovery. The program is good but I wish they high lighted someone else besides Lance because I feel like he already receives a lot of attention and I think he was fortunate to have some great people to train and run with during the marathon and he is already an elite athlete. I respect his athletic accomplishments a lot but I was not surprised to hear that he broke three hours. He knows how to train and he knows how to push himself. I am going to get back to the program now so I can learn more about the other athletes.

Posted by mary at 8:16 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2006

One Day off followed by a Double Run Day

Yesterday I just never felt motivated to run. I had no one scheduled to run with and I had a million things on my mind and a mile long list of things to do. I also was not optimistic about how I would feel after a sluggish weekend of running. I took the day off but regreted it later in the day.

Today however, I did not regret it. I did two 6 mile runs today pretty easy for both of them and felt very good. My legs felt fresh and I felt energetic. I ran afterschool with a coworker and friend Mike. We did the Fitzgerald Loop and had a great conversation. I waited about thirty mintues before my next run and managed to get very cold waiting. I was at home and changed my clothes but still started my next run with very cold fingers. I warmed up pretty fast. I ran the course again with Jen. By the time I ran with Jen the roads were slick from about a half inch of snow that had been falling since my first run. Our pace was slower because of the slick roads. It felt good to do 12 miles and feel really good.

Tonight we are finishing up our Holiday cards and I have a bit of school work to do. I am about to take a hot shower now and then finish the cards. Mark makes all of our greeting cards with photos that he takes. He makes the cards and I write them out. It is a pretty good routine. I can't wait to catch up on some sleep next week.

Posted by mary at 8:03 PM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2006

Tired Legs Catching up with Me!

I knew I would be tired after Friday's long run. My fatigued was multiplied by standing on my feet for about four hours after the run on Friday at a party. I could feel my quads aching as I was in search of hot food at the party.

On Saturday morning we drove to Burlington to do a local 5k which was a fundraiser. I went with Mark and Jen. As I was limping to the registration I warned Jen that she might be on her own. My knees get really sore and achy after long runs and I need a big warm up when I run when they are that sore. We only had about 12 minutes before the start of the race so a big warm up was not going to happen. We did a half mile warm up and then the race started. My legs were so stiff and my quad was aching right from the start. When it is bad there is very little I can do for it except to stop or slow down. I ran with Jen for the first 1/2 mile in 3.22 and then told her to go and chase the women ahead of us. I went through the mile at 7.02 and it did not feel hard but my quad hurt a lot. I decided to just back off and really just try to help my quad out. I ran the next two miles at 7.25 and was very happy to finish. Jen ran 20.54 which she was very happy about and Mark felt really fatigued after a 70 mile week and backed off to run a 16.41. He was disappointed that he did not feel better but happy that he could do a long warm down with a bunch of the men who were at the race. Jen and I did a three mile cool down and then I called it a day.

We had a very long day on Saturday, visiting a friend at a hospital in Burlington and then driving to Boston and back in the evening. We did not get home until almost 2. Our friend was completely surprised so we were glad we got to be there to see the look on his face. We were exhausted when we got home and went to bed. I was going to take Sunday off but Mark encouraged me to go out and run a few miles to loosen up my body. It was a good idea. My quad was very sore for the first half of my run but felt much better by the second half. I went to Stowe with Jen and we just ran an easy five miles on the bike path. The first half was very hard because my quad was so sore but luckily I was feeling much better by the second half. I considered going to the gym but I really want to take it easy during the month of December so I can stay motivated Jan. - April as I prepare for Boston. Mark and I also spent most of the day yesterday making Christmas Cookies and decorating the apartment so I did not want to miss out on that quality time. In the evening we went to see the movie, In the Pursuit of Happiness. It was very good but pretty intense. I would recommend it to others but don't expect to feel really relaxed the entire movie. It is inspiring in that it is a true story.

Today I plan to run an easy 5-8 miles depending on how I feel.

Summary of Last Week's Mileage

Monday - Sunday

Monday: 10 miles
Tuesday: 2 x 5 miles
Wednesday: 9 miles
Thursday: Workout - 10 miles
Friday: 16 miles
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 5 miles

Total Mileage: 66 miles

Posted by mary at 9:44 AM | Comments (2)

December 15, 2006

Burlington Bike Path - Long Run

This afternoon as soon as school was over I left to drive to Burlington to meet Beth for a two hour run. I was anxious about the run all day at school because our pace is usually a bit fast and I knew I'd be tired from teaching and from rushing after school. I had a meeting at lunch time so I had to eat my lunch during the drive to the city. The drive takes about an hour so I figured I would have time to digest half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, some Newman's Mint cookies, and a few lime nacho chips. Additionally I drank about a liter of water. It was pouring on the way to the drive so I thought the run would be miserable. By the time I arrived the rain stopped and I found I was overdressed in tights and a long sleeve shirt. I just rolled up the sleeves and put my head lamp on. The pace started off fast but after about five miles we seemed to be settling in. After an hour we turned around. We made it out to Colchester where we were running on a penisula in the lake. It was beautiful and the last bit of sun shine was shining in the air. At the start of the run my quad was fatigued and I knew I had run a bit too much this week. Once we turned around we both agreed to slow down with four miles to go. Despite slowing down a lot we still finished in exactly two hours which tells me we were running a good pace for quite awhile. The bike path is so flat compared to where I run that is a nice change. I get nervous for the runs but am always happy afterwards. I have to take it a bit more easy a few days before my long run so I can feel more fresh during the long runs and I have to be careful not to get too anxious about my training too soon. However, with this mild weather it is so hard not to want to train as much as I can.

Tomorrow we are going to Burlington again because Mark is doing a 5k. I'll run the 5k too but I can't imagine I will be any fast. We have been at a party for four hours standing and my legs are shot. I will be lucky if I have any legs tomorrow. I will do an easy warm up and try to maintain a 6.50 to 7.00 pace then do a mile cool down. We are then visiting a former student who is in the hospital and then off to Boston for a surprise birthday party. We will then be driving back to VT tomorrow night so I have a long day ahead of me. I can't wait until Sunday!

Posted by mary at 11:21 PM | Comments (2)

December 14, 2006

Sage Gottlieb and her Aunt going on a hike in Marin County

Posted by mary at 8:17 PM | Comments (2)

Sage Gottlieb - Liz's Baby

Posted by mary at 8:16 PM | Comments (0)

Some Easy 800's

The weather has been extremely mild here in Vermont. My training partner Jen and I decided to take advantage of this warm weather and use the track while we still have access to it. We did our usual mile and a half to two mile warm up through the neighborhood. I took Seb with us for the warm up so he could get his evening exercise in. During the fall I got into the habit of wearing my light weight distance racing shoes during workouts so I continued with the tradition and wore the light weight shoes even though I did not have any high expectations for the workout. We really did not decide what we would do until we got to the track. Jen played volleyball last night and was up late and still tired and sore. I decided that perhaps we should do shorter intervals to keep the concentration level high. We decided on 6 x 800's starting at 7.00 minute pace and seeing where we would end up. We also decided to take very little recovery, 30 seconds or less.

Just this fall Jen got a huge pr in the 5k. I have been coaching/training with her the past year so it was very rewarding. Jen was an ALL-AMERICAN long jumper in college and has amazing speed but she has since wanted to work on her endurance. Her best 5k last year was 21.13 which we got at the end of the fall last year. This year she improved her best 5k at the last 5k of the training period we set up at a race in Montepelier and she ran a 20.31. It was very exciting. I was really happy for her and of course have set higher goals for next year. We did a lot of tempo runs to make 7 minute pace feel easy. We worked up to the point where we did three mile runs at 7 minute pace and that felt easy about once every other week. Usually we did two workouts a week, one workout at a tempo pace, 7 minute pace intervals with short recovery and one workout faster running between 5.40 pace for 400's to 6.10 pace for 800's and maybe 6.40's for a mile. This really improved her strength and helped my endurance along the way. During the winter the plan is to keep her mileage around 40 while she does cross-training. It has been really fun training with Jen and having a running partner who is so motivated.

Tonight we did our 800's with the following splits:
1st: 3.32
2nd: 3:26
3rd: 3:21
4th: 3:17
5th: 3:15
6th: 3:10
We took less than 30 seconds rest in between intervals. The far corner had some black ice so we had to slow down on the second turn and make up for it in the last straight away. It was pretty interesting. We felt better as the workout continued. My quad was a bit tired by the second lap but my respiratory rate was comfortable and relaxed.

After the workout I ran a two mile cool down with Jen and then added another three miles on afterwards because it is so mild out and Mark is out shopping and I have already completed my lesson plans for tomorrow and I already have my test graded from today... so I figured why not add on a few more miles. Hopefully it won't hurt me for tomorrow's run.

Tomorrow immediately after school I will drive to Burlington and run with Beth. Beth is training for the Boston marathon. We were able to train together about once a week during the fall. Her best marathon time is a 3.22 with very little planned training. I wrote a training plan for her largely based on the Jack Daniel's program. She is shooting for 3.15 to 3.10 at Boston. I am confident she will meet her goal. When we meet at 4 tomorrow we will run for about two hours. It will be really nice to be able to do my long training runs for Boston with someone else.

I am going to take a shower now and make some sushi!

Posted by mary at 6:49 PM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2006

Getting in Some Easy Runs

On Monday I managed to run an easy ten miles with Jen, all around the town of Morrisville. We did not leave the village because it was so foggy. We stayed on sidewalks because the visibility was so low. We ran for an hour and twenty five minutes so I'd say that was at least ten miles. We ran nice and easy. Mark has poker on Monday nights so I usually try to get a lot of school work done on Monday. I never get as much done as I would like.

On Tuesday after school I ran about five miles with Katy, one of the middle level teachers that Mark teaches with on his 8th grade team. We ran around the golf course three times. I then met up with Mike, the 9th grade science teacher and ran 4 miles with him. We ran around the Ox Bow (a local park) and then around the golf course. Mike has a gps watch and always tells me our pace and distance. According to his watch we ran 3.66 miles at a 7.50 pace. I then ran an extra mile with Seb (our dog) so he could get his evening exercise. Mark usually takes him on his morning run with him so Seb ends up with a lot of exercise for the day.

In a few minutes I will be running with Jen. She has volley-ball tonight so we may only do 5-6 miles so she won't be too tired for her games. I would like to run at least 8 miles today but we'll see how motivated I am when we finish. I was supposed to get up to go to spin class today but I slept in. I am still in my post marathon break mode and not feeling especially motivated. I can't wait to get more motivated because in general my mood is much better when I am focused on my training and meeting all of my athletic goals. Tomorrow if the weather holds up Jen and I plan to do a workout on the track. Most likely we will do a ladder workout. I am looking forward to it. I hope my legs feel ok. More soon!

p.s. Tonight I ran six miles with Jen, the Fitzgerald loop and then ran another 3 miles on my own afterwards. I felt good. It is very mild here in VT. I am afraid I am the only one who is happy about it. Yet, to tell you the truth, though it is terrific for my training and running I am afraid that this is just another indication of the effects of global warming. I am hoping to make it to the gym tomorrow! We'll see what time I get to bed tonight.

Posted by mary at 4:20 PM | Comments (1)

December 11, 2006

Getting Ready for Boston 2007

I just recently flew to California to visit my twin sister and her new baby girl Sage. I had a great time being in CA again and enjoying the temperate climate. While I was in CA I was able to run the Cal International Marathon. I was shooting for a pr and possibly a sub 3 hour marathon. My previous best marathon time was 3.06 which I had run at Boston a few years ago. Not really knowing what my current fitness level was due to a lack of racing I had no idea what to expect. I ran the race with my great friend and training partner Frank Ruona who is a great senior runner in the Bay area. It was a big come back race for him as he had broken his hip two years ago during a run just before we were to meet up. The two of us ran the first 16 miles together at a 2.58 to 3.00 pace. It felt very relaxed and I enjoyed being on the flat and fast roads. At mile 16 Frank fell back just a bit and I pressed on looking forward to meeting my twin sister at mile 20. I met Liz around mile 20.5 and at that point my quads had begun to lock up. I still felt strong and I was not tired but my quads did not want to continue, they were shaking. I was afraid I might not finish so I just shut it down at that point and decided to focus on a pr, breaking 3.05 and getting to the finish line. I finished in 3.04.31 and was happy to cross the line still standing. I was happy with the effort and my friend Frank finished in 3.08. He never felt great the entire race and at mile 16 backed off a bit. We have both decided to train for Boston and shoot for sub 3.00 hours. I am excited about it but nervous about training through the winter. I have a membership to the Swimming Hole which is a local gym which should help a lot. I took it easy last week and plan to start to get back into training this week. This evening I have a 10 mile run planned with my friend Jen and I'd like to get to the Swimming Hole to do some lifting. It depends how much work I have to do after school today.

Posted by mary at 8:49 AM | Comments (2)