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February 26, 2007

Watch Out For Soy Sauce and More...

I thought I was so prepared bringing my home-made sushi with me to the airport for a healthy tasty cheap dinner while waiting for my plane. As I went through security my trip got delayed. They noticed something in my bag. I thought they were going to notice my glass tupperware container of sushi and take that. Instead they noticed the tiny package of soy sauce that I received from a Chinese restaurant months ago and told me it had to be wrapped in a plastic baggie to take it on the plane. I thought by not bringing the regular bottle of soy sauce I would avoid that problem. I should have poured some soy sauce on my sushi to begin with. They also took my yogurt. I still ate the dry sushi but I had to laugh about the soy sauce packet. How much liquid is really in that packet?

Our trip got delayed due to mechanical problems and we had to stay overnight in Dulles, Washington. We received a free night at a hotel and food vouchers but food at midnight is not that appealing and a nice hotel room for four hours is only a tease. We had to return to the airport five hours from the time we got to the hotel. Needless to say it was a restless night. Once we got to the airport our travels were stress free. The flights were fine except that I can't believe you now have to pay $5 for a snack pack on the plane. I did not anticipate that. I was really hungry so I paid the money but next time I'll bring a snack that does not require soy sauce. I was able to do a ton of work on the plane, grading all the most recent tests and doing my best to get through the latest writing assignment, a persuasive paper on cloning. Let's just say I was not convinced for most of the papers and many seemed like a summary of class discussions without a lot of elaboration. Fortunately, it is only their first draft but the students are not aware of that just yet.

My friend, Jen, and I arrived in CA around noon. Mark arrives tonight! :) When we arrived Liz picked us up and we went for a great two hour run around Mt. Tamalpais. It was drizzling and pouring at times but everything was so lush and the 50 degree weather felt really good. By the end of the run I felt numb with fatigue from the lack of sleep and traveling but I also felt refreshed. It was so nice to be on my old stomping grounds. We ran in Baltimore Canyon, onto Crown Road, down to Phoenix Lake, up Tuker, and back to Crown Road, and Baltimore Canyon. We spent the evening catching up with Sage and Carl and Neal and had a great home made dinner cooked by Liz's in-laws.

On Sunday I got up at 5:30 to meet my former coach and friend for a 2 hour and 45 minute run. We ran from Liz's house over to Phoenix Lake and did a version of our old Wednesday night run; we finished through Deer Park and ran through Fairfax, San Anselmo, and back to San Rafael. I felt really good but by the last half hour I was ready to be done. Again it was drizzling and pouring at times but I was still wearing shorts so I was very happy. We were also surrounded by greenness. I did not want to push the run too hard because at the end of the run I met Liz with her mini-course students.

This week we (me, Mark, and Jen) are helping Liz teach her outdoor experiential learning class. Her theme is running and hiking so we run with the students each morning and then hike in the afternoon. We go to many beautiful places to run. The experience in the group varies greatly with regard to running ability. Some are on the cross country team and some have never run at all.

Yesterday we took the runners to Mountain Home Inn and ran 50 minutes with them on a beautiful trail. The students did surprisingly well and had a great time. After the run we went to Muir Woods and had lunch. We finished the day with a two hour hike. It was really nice and it was great to meet the students.

This morning I got up at 5:30 again and met two of my running friends who I used to always run with when I lived in CA. We did a six mile run and had a great time catching up. This morning we will take the students to Pan Toll Station and run to Stinson Beach. We will have lunch at Stinson Beach and then hike back up Steep Ravine, one of my favorite trails for our afternoon hike. I can't wait. And tonight I will pick up Mark so he can begin his CA adventure.

Summary of Last Week's Running:
Sunday: Skiing and snowshoeing
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 12 miles
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 13 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Saturday: 15 miles
Total: 43 miles (very low but I think I'll make up for it this week)

Posted by mary at 8:42 AM | Comments (2)

February 23, 2007

Easy Running/Week before a Big Week of Training

Yesterday I was able to run 13 miles. I felt really good. I ran the first six miles with my friend Mike and the second seven miles with my friend Jen. I felt good and felt like I could have even run more. Today I only have time for about four miles. I just made some sushi to have on the way to the airport and I ate a few as I was making them so as soon as they feel more digested I will head out the door and do a quick four miles with our dog. I can't wait to leave for CA tonight at 7. I have a 25 to 28 mile run scheduled for tomorrow morning with friends at Pt. Reyes National Park. I am a bit nervous about the distance but I know the trails will inspire me. My friend Jen from VT is going with me to CA as well and so is Mark. Mark has never been to CA so I am very excited to show him around. Mark can not leave VT until Monday due to the State Ski meet so I will be anxiously awaiting his arrival. Now I am off to finish packing and tie up my sneakers so I can get a quick four miles in before I leave for the airport.

Correction: Mark has been to CA, for the Kinney Footlocker National Championships in High School where he competed in San Diego.. so he actually has never been to Northern CA. I think most people would agree Southern and Northern CA are quite different. :)

Posted by mary at 3:30 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2007

Looking forward to my vacation

This weekend I had a preview into next week's official vacation. My sister and her husband came to VT to visit me. We had a great time. We spent the entire weekend snowshoeing and skiing and the weather was really good. It was about 25 degrees and the sun was out which felt so good. I wish my sister lived closer so we could see each other more often.

I did not run on Sunday because I had snowshoed for two hours in the morning and cross country skied for about an hour and a half in the afternoon. I loved it.

On Monday I was exhausted and had to play catch up after not doing any school work all weekend long. I did not run and did not feel like anything went very well but I survived.

Today I did twelve miles and felt really good. I ran the first six with my friend Katy and the second six right afterwards with my friend Jen. The roads are getting clear so running felt ok. This morning I also swam for about 40 minutes which felt very nice.

I leave on Friday for CA to see my twin sister and her family for about 10 days. I can not wait. I am really excited to spend time with her, see the trails, and visit with friends. I am also looking forward to running in shorts outside and getting a break from my work. I have been grading, lesson planning, or annoyed that I haven't done that every night for the past month or so. A good break is needed right about now.

Posted by mary at 7:38 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2007

20 mile Treadmill Run

Well I never really thought I would do a 20 mile treadmill run but it actually went by pretty quickly. It was warm enough and sort of clean enough to run outside today. However the snowbanks are so high and there are no free sidewalks that I did not want to deal with traffic. I also did not want to deal with wet roads. It is getting pretty warm today, in the mid 20's so lots of the ice on the roads is melting. In addition to the sketchy road conditions I also wanted to do 10 miles at marathon pace which I would not have been able to do outside.

I decided to do 6 miles warm up on the treadmill. I ran around 7.30 pace for this and then did 10 miles at 6.53 pace. I took two water breaks in the middle of this to cool off and stretch a bit. The pace does not feel too bad. I just wanted to stretch and have some water because it feels so hot inside. I was able to watch HBO while I ran and watched King Kong. This made the run go by very fast. When I finished the pacing portion I ran 4 miles but found that I had to stop several times because I was getting stomach cramps. I think it was from drinking the water during the tempo. I am glad I got the run in. It is much nicer running outside but it is also nice to get the feedback from the treadmill because outside running these days is so sluggish.

Total mileage for this week:

Sunday: 16 miles
Monday: off
Tuesday: 13 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 1 hour snowshoe hike/run
Friday: 5 miles at 6.53 pace and 40 min. snowshoe run/hike
Saturday: 20 miles total, middle 10 miles at 6.53 pace

Total Mileage 57

Posted by mary at 11:51 AM | Comments (1)

February 16, 2007

Snowshoe Running and Some Treadmill Running

On Thursday we spent about four hours shoveling out of our driveway and some neighbors driveways. We then went to the camp and shoveled Mark's Mom out of her parking space there. After all of this work we did a one hour snowshoe hike/run on the way back. We really could not run on the first half because we were breaking snow which was over three feet tall. The way back we ran which was fun but tough.

This morning I got up and did 5 miles on the treadmill at 6.49 pace. I warmed up for about a half mile at 8 minute pace and then started the workout. This afternoon Mark and I did a 40 minute snowshoe run/hike. We had to hike the first half and then ran the second half and did a few out and back sections of running where the snow was good. Tomorrow I am scheduled for a long run. I think half will be inside and half will be outside.

Posted by mary at 9:45 PM | Comments (0)

February 14, 2007

The Winter Storm Has Hit!

A quick summary of the last few days and then on to today's winter storm that so far has brought 16 inches of snow and it is still falling....

On Monday I took the day off. It's a tough day to begin with and I had too much work to do that I just could not squeeze it in. On Tuesday I ran my new favorite 13 mile loop in town with my friend Jen. We knew the storm was coming so we wanted to get a quality run in before the roads would become impossible. During our run we could see a huge fire in the distance, it looked like a house fire. We are still not sure what happened. Despite the 8 degree weather for yesterday's run it was nice. Of course, I must have been wearing about four layers of clothing with my outer most layer being a shell jacket. Sometimes I think about how much faster my runs would be if I was wearing less clothing.

Today it has been snowing all day long. They actually canceled school last night in anticipation of the weather. The roads have been a mess all day long. This morning Mark and I went on a snowshoe hike for an hour and a half and the snow in some places was up to our knees. Our dog was getting lost in the snow. We then shoveled for about an hour knowing we would have to do it again soon. In the early afternoon I went on a three mile run with my friend. It was a bit ridiculous. The visiblity is very low but we went on a lot of back roads and moved very slowly as the roads had not been plowed. After the run I shoveled for another two hours. The snow on the sides of our driveway is over our heads. It's crazy. Mark is out shoveling right now so I am going to check on him. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Posted by mary at 5:27 PM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2007

Easy Running

Today I ran very easy. My left quad was very sore from yesterday's workout even though I did not feel it at all yesterday. I was very disappointed but I decided to listen to my body and back off from my really long run. I ran with a group for the first part of my run and then ran with someone new for the last ten miles of the run. I ran the first 5 miles with two people who I have run with before in Richmond. We ran out and back before the entire group came at 8:30 to get a few extra miles in before the scheduled 16 mile run. The new woman I ran with did not want to run 16 so I ran about 10 miles with her. We ran a very easy pace and it felt nice to back off a bit. My quad did not hurt when I ran with her at all. I was really tempted to add on five more miles afterwards to make it 20 for the day but I had so much work to do that I decided to go home and give my body a break and get my work done. I have been at the computer since 12 noon doing work and am ready to hit the sack. I have had a very productive work day so I am happy about that.

Summary of Last Week's Running

Sunday: 12 miles
Monday: off
Tuesday: 8 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 10 miles
Friday: 13 miles
Saturday: 15 miles (8.5 miles at 6.48-6.25 pace)
Week's Mileage: 72 miles

Posted by mary at 10:55 PM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2007

Finally A Workout!

On Friday after school I ran 13 miles with my friend Katy. We did the same route we did last Friday. I love it. It is really beautiful. For most of the run we have beautiful scenary that is filled with mountains and idyllic winter landscapes of snow capped farmhouses and fields. There is about one mile of the run that goes through an old dirt road that is not maintained and we are running in the middle of pine trees the entire time. It is really peaceful.

Friday night was a date night with Mark. We saw Dream Girls and went to a Mexican restaurant in Stowe for dinner. The movie was great and dinner was ok. I am not a big fan of Mexican food in VT. I will be looking forward to some good cheap Mexican food in CA in a few weeks!

Today it took me awhile to get to the gym to do my workout. I wanted to do it right when I got up but we had chores to do around the house and I had school work to get done. Mark went with me to the gym. We did not get to the gym until almost noon. I wanted to do a one hour steady state run at marathon pace. I was so happy that I got it done. The first 1/2 mile was at 8.00 to 7.30 pace then the next 5 miles were at 6.52 to 6.48 pace. For the final three miles I ran 6.40, 6.35, and 6.25 for the last mile. I felt good. Afterwards I was going to lift but I saw Mark water running in the pool and decided to join him because I was very hot from running inside on the treadmill. The tempo run felt good and not very hard. I watched My Best Friend's Wedding during the run so it went by fairly fast. I ran in the water with Mark for about 25 minutes.

Later in the afternoon I ran another 5.5 miles with my friend Jen. We drove over to a new area and did a nice loop all on dirt roads. It was snowing while we ran. I was very tired for the first 2.5 miles. It took me a long time to warm up but once I did I felt pretty good and felt like I could have continued running.

Tomorrow I have a long run planned. I am meeting the group at 8:30 a.m. for a long run and hope to get there early to run a bit extra. We'll see how I feel. We are staying at the camp tonight which should be nice. I wish I did not have to leave so early for the run but I am going to relax while we are at the camp.

Posted by mary at 7:22 PM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2007

Easy Running

The past two days have been very cold and my schedule continues to be very busy. On Wednesday I decided against doing a workout because my right quad which is usually my good quad was still sore from the weekend of running. I waited until the afternoon and then did an easy four miles with my dog Seb.

This afternoon I ran 12 miles with my friend Jen. It was still light out when we ran but it was under 10 degrees and my toes could feel it. I was quite cold for the first three miles. I eventually warmed up. About two weeks ago I foolishly got a bit of frost bite on my big toe so now I am paying for it. I don't think I realized how cold it was when I was running that day a few Sundays ago. Since then the toe has blistered but the stingy pains return on very cold days like today. Tomorrow I have a 13 mile run planned and I am crossing my fingers that I will be motivated and finally ready for a workout on Saturday. It will have to be at the gym because the roads are snowy and icey these days and conditions pretty slippery. Despite this, I think my runs lately have not been too slow. At the very least I hope I am maintaining my base.

My real concern is my lack of any "serious" speedwork for Boston. What I really need to do is to write a training schedule for myself. I seem to be able to do this for everyone but myself. I also need my schedule to calm down a bit but I am afraid that is not going to happen. I'd like to say I'll write a schedule this weekend but I don't really see that happening. We have guest coming from Canada for a local snowshoe race so in between hosting, grading, planning, and training I doubt I'll have a free hour or two to consider my training. I know what I should be doing, I just need to get enough sleep and free time to make it happen.

Posted by mary at 11:42 PM | Comments (2)

February 6, 2007

Easy Running

I took yesterday off from running to give my legs a break after four days of high volume. Today I ran an easy eight miles. It was 8 degrees when I ran so it was very hard to get out the door but once I did it wasn't too bad. There was no wind so once I was used to the weather and warmed up I felt ok. Tomorrow is another busy day so I'll need to get up and do a workout at the gym. I hope I can get a good workout in on the treadmill.

Posted by mary at 6:18 PM | Comments (1)

February 4, 2007

New Long Run

I did not know if I would run or not today because I felt pretty tired from the last three days of running. I decided to run a few miles and determine how I felt from there. I did not feel that bad after a few miles so I decided to continue on with my run with my friend Jen. We ran a new 12.5 mile course. We ran on some back roads from Morrisville to Stowe. It was mostly all up-hill but there was hardly any traffic. We had a light snow falling on us the entire time. It was really beautiful. We ran by some beautiful farm houses but mostly ran past woods and open fields. It was about 17 degrees but we were protected from the cold by the trees on either side of the road. We ran past a house that is almost entirely built under ground for conservation reasons. It was very cool. I want to go inside of that house. We also ran over a covered bridge that I have never been over. I really enjoyed the run and can't wait to run it again.

My good quad was pretty sore but I only felt it on the downhills. It is the same soreness I felt during the marathon, it is a deep fatigue from over-use.

We ran extremely easy so that I would not strain it any more. I plan to run in the pool tomorrow and run easy on Tuesday. I hope by Wednesday I am ready for some intervals. Despite taking two days off from training last week I still had a good week of mileage and I am pretty sure I have kicked my cold. My work schedule does not get any easier so I just hope I can avoid the next cold or any resurges from this past cold/flu.

Mileage Last Week:

Sunday: 16 miles
Monday: 5 miles workout (progressive run)
Tuesday/Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 10 miles
Friday: 13 and 4 miles
Saturday: 20 miles
Total: 68 miles

Posted by mary at 10:52 PM | Comments (1)

Feeling Better

I ran a lot of mileage over the last three days so I am definitely feeling better. As mentioned in my last blog, on Thursday I ran an easy ten miles which was a nice way to get back after feeling very sick for two days. On Friday I ran 13 miles with one of my coworkers. We ran a really beautiful course. About a mile of the loop we ran on a snow-mobile trail through the woods which looked so beautiful with all of the trees covered with snow. Towards the end of the run I was getting hungry because I had had no snacks since lunch. Usually I eat something before I run after I have been at school all day.

After the run with my friend I went to a ski party that Mark was hosting. It was a moon light ski party at one of our friend's house. I brought my friend Jen and we were planning to run. It turned out that it was snowing so it was very hard to see the trails and you could not see the moon light. We decided to run an easy four miles. We then had a great pasta dinner with some delicious bread that had been cooked in our friends bread oven. I was tired by the time I finished the four mile run but it was really fun to run in the falling snow and the area where we ran was so remote and beautiful that I felt really alive.

Yesterday I ran an easy twenty miles with my friend Beth. We ran in the same area as last weekend. I felt really good except the last four miles my quad was sore.

Today I will either swim or run, I am waiting until the afternoon to decide.

Posted by mary at 9:30 AM | Comments (0)

February 1, 2007

Hanging in there!

My cold symptoms have persisted with a slight fever so I had to take Tuesday and Wednesday off from running. Today I mostly had cold symptoms so I went out for an easy run. I ran 10 miles at a very easy pace with my friend Jen. My body felt good except that my knee joints were very sore. I felt like I had been sitting the last two days. Since the run my congestion has returned and my ears are sore. I am going to take it day to day until I feel better.

Posted by mary at 9:23 PM | Comments (2)