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May 24, 2007

Weekend Update!

I had a busy weekend in CT visiting family and attending parties. It was a lot of late nights and a good time to catch up with my family.

On Sunday I did a 62 mile bike tour with my brother in law Kevin in Southern CT. We biked through areas of Fairfield and Westport. We rode through some great neighborhoods and were able to keep a steady pace of 18-22 mph which felt good. We were able to ride with some packs of riders and were able to go much faster. I was really glad I did the ride.

On Monday I was unable to ride or run due to a hectic traveling day.

On Tuesday I ran the six mile Mud City Loop with a student who has just finished her first year at college. We ran around five p.m. It was a great run and it was really fun to catch up. We will be running together a lot this summer which will be great. About thirty minutes after the run I did a track workout with our new Tuesday Night Track Workout Group. We ran 3 sets of 800, 400, and 200. I ran much faster than I expected and felt really good. My splits were:
Set 1: 3.07, 85, 38
Set 2: 2.59, 84, 38
Set 3: 2.52, 81, 38
I then ran a two mile cool down. My quad bothered me a bit but really not that bad at all. I can't remember the last time I ran 800's under 3 minutes. I was happy to feel so good. The day off the day before most likely helped and the six mile run before hand most likely loosened me up.

Yesterday I ran 8 miles in the morning on trails in our town. The trails are finally dry. It was awesome to be back on the trails and now I feel super motivated again.

Tonight I have a 12 mile run planned with a group of runners in Stowe and then plan to do some weight work at the gym. This weekend I plan to do a lot of running. Friday morning I'd like to do another 20 mile run, Saturday easy run, 8 miles, Sunday 26 miles, and Monday hopefully another long run. We'll see how I am feeling. On Sunday I will be running in a relay for the Vermont City Marathon and then plan to pace a few people in the marathon to get the total marathon distance in for the day.

Posted by mary at 8:22 AM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2007

Lots of Catching Up

Last weekend was very very busy! I have not updated in a while because this week has been really busy as well and I have been quite stressed and not my usual perky self but I have gotten in some good training and felt great this past week all things considered.

Last Saturday I ran a workout before I drove to MA to volunteer at the 50 mile race. I did a 2 mile warm up and 5 x 1000 at 3.10 pace for the 800 and a two mile warm down.

I spent 10+ hours on Saturday at the finish line of a 50 mile race in MA helping runners with food and recovery. A lot of people got lost during the race and were happy to be done after running for 13+ hours. I was really tired after standing on my feet all day. I did not get to bed until almost 1:00 a.m. I stayed with some friends North of Boston.

My 6 hour run on Sunday was not all I imagined. I thought it was a six mile adventure trail run around a mountain or park. Instead it was a 6 hour race in which people do a three mile trail loop as many times as they can in six hours. The idea really bored me. If I felt faster or more fit I might be up for it to see if I could run sub 8 min. pace average for 50 miles but otherwise I was not that inspired. The event also did not start until 9 which meant I would not be on the road to get home until at least 3 or 4. I was really missing Mark by the time Sunday rolled around. I think because I was so tired. I decided to go to the run and run as long as I could. I wanted to cover a marathon distance at least and that is basically what I did. I did 9 laps for 27 miles and did each lap in 25 minutes so I was super consistent. I was running with another man for most of the run and we talked a lot. It made the run go by faster but it also made me run faster than I might have by myself. When I said I was going to stop after 3 hours and 40 minutes of running he was trying to convince me to stay in. My response was that I still felt good, I had a four hour drive home still to go, and piles of work and a good man waiting for me at home. I was restless and wanting to jet. So I did, with some regrets but not many because I felt really good the next day and I am not sure I'd say the same thing if I did the entire six hours.

On Monday as I said I felt good, much better than I did after the Boston marathon, trails make a difference. I ran an easy three miles and lifted at the gym.

On Tuesday I lifted at the gym and did a workout at the track. I did 1 x mile at 6.30 pace and 2 x 2 miles at 7 minute pace and did not feel too tired. I also did a warm up and cool down.

On Wednesday I ran a workout with some of the athletes at school. I did 8 x 200 at 42 seconds and 4 x 400 at 85 seconds. I then ran three miles easy with my friend Jen.

On Thursday I ran a nice six mile, Mud City Loop, with an athlete who I helped coach who has returned from college in the morning. I felt good and forgot how much I enjoy that loop. It is so beautiful. You can see Sterling Mountain and Mount Mansfield during the run and you run by about five different beautiful farm houses and I think only one car passed us the entire way. Thursday afternoon I ran the Corporate Cup race in Montpelier. I wanted to pace my friend for a pr and run 6.40's. She got a 1 minute pr on the course and ran 21.05, I was right ahead of her cheering her on and finished in 20.55, no major quad pain so I was happy and it felt good. I did a good warm down afterwards too.

This morning I was supposed to meet another runner from VT who is running the VT 100 in Burlington at 6:30 on the UVM campus for a three hour run. I did not see her so I decided to run on my own. I ran 20 miles, 2 hours and 40 minutes and felt really good considering my week so far. I am really tired now because I got very little sleep last night.

Mark flies to Anchorage this weekend for an interview. This is one reason why I felt so busy this week. We were working on his lesson plan and getting my application material together for him to take it with him to some schools in AK. A private school is hosting him this weekend which should be cool. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

I have a big middle level track meet tomorrow and on Sunday I will be in CT to do a bike tour with my brother in law, it is 100k. Then I will go to my nephew's graduation party. It will be a busy but fun weekend.

Off to coach now.

Posted by mary at 2:34 PM | Comments (5)

May 10, 2007

Warm Weather Has Finally Arrived!

This entire week has been hot, sun-screen hot! I have really enjoyed it especially since I have spent three of the past days standing at track meets for 5+ hours. I have been able to wear shorts and sunglasses. Winters in VT are very cloudy so it is very nice to not only feel the sun but to see the blue sky and sun rays! I have been happy in the hot weather despite those around me who are groaning!

My training plans were ambitious considering my hectic track schedule for the week but I have managed to get in some ok runs. My quad has been bugging me all week long which is ironic because I have not been running that hard. This is the frustrating bit about my injury. I just can't always predict when it is going to act up. Sometimes it is obvious. If I run very hard it will act up. Other times there is absolutely no rhyme or reason and those days tend to be the worst. My quad and entire left leg feel numb the entire run or it just feels extremely fatigued and I feel like I want to stop. I usually make about two stops on the run to stretch it; as soon as I stop the pain disappears and usually returns when I start. It is these unpredictable days that make me the most depressed about the status of my quad. And yet, I am still grateful to have all of the days when I don't notice it and grateful that I can still enjoy running at an easy pace without pain. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't get angry or depressed about not being able to run faster and pain free... and the little twin envy bug at times sets in when I find out how speedy my sister is getting.. I wonder what if I was not chronically injured???? But I quickly move past that and think about all of the other adventures this will lead me to since I can no longer realistically be distracted by 5k and 10k prs, the pressure is lifted from those races.

On Tuesday morning I tried to do a workout at 6:30 in the morning at the high school track. I warmed up for about two miles around the field with my dog. I then stepped on the track for my first 1200 repeat. By the first 100 my leg was numb and I was just terribly tired. I knew I wasn't going to be happy running this repeat, I'd be gutting it out and I just had no pep. I canceled the workout after 1 lap which might be a record for me. I then ran another three miles around the fields with the dog.

I spent Tuesday afternoon at a track meet. Our girls and boys team both won the Relay Meet Race and we had a ton of fun. It was awesome to see the athletes cheer everyone on. The bus rides home are another story. This was a bit of a headache. The students have improved from the first meet but they still don't realize how loudly they laugh or squeal. The bus driver wanted me to yell at them. I sat in the back of the bus with the "loud" students. It is only a few who have the loud voices. The bus rides home take the most out of me. I am so nervous. I had a parent ride to the meet which was awesome. He volunteered to ride back with me and I should have taken him up on it. I was beat when I got home but the sun was just setting and I wanted to go dash out and get a quick run in so I could observe the sunset and feel my body move after standing four hours and after being on the loud bus. I felt really good the first mile and was tempted to return to the track. As I started up the hill to the track the fatigue and ache in my quad returned. I thought to myself you were feeling too good! Secretly in my mind I was thinking in the first mile of my run perhaps I will go to the track and run an amazingly fast workout. Yet my final conclusion was I am not in that great a shape that I can teach all day, stand at a track meet all afternoon, and then ace a track workout!! he he... in my mind for a few minutes that day I was ..

On Wednesday morning I went to Elmore State Park with our dog. Trails are off limit until Memorial Day so we ran on the main fire road leading to all of the side trails. We ran uphill for about two miles and then ran back down and then I did another half mile up hill to get five miles total in for the day. I was hoping to run in the afternoon but our high school was hosting a track meet with eight other schools and Mark was the official time keeper and I was the official score keeper and we did not get home until 8. Once we get home we have to call in results to the newspaper and we are usually starving. I was tempted to run but decided to rest my legs for Thursday morning’s workout.

This morning I got up at 6:30 and met two co-workers for a workout at the track. We were planning to do 6 x 800 but only did 4 due to time constraints. My quad and leg did not feel great again from the start but I think I was mentally more committed to this workout. I wanted to run them all steady at 3.10's and ran 3.10, 3.08, 3.05, and 3.05. I was happy with the times and it did not feel really hard overall but I was distracted because my quad bugged me the entire time. I tried to shake it out but it's just one of those weeks I guess. I just didn't feel springy. I felt like I was able to do those times because I know how to tell my legs to literally move at that tempo type effort and it is more taxing because when you tell your legs to move a certain stride it's not natural and you have to think about the mechanics the entire run, rather than just effortlessly running the workout. So I was pleased that I did four but when my quad ached the entire warm down I was just sad. I moved on though.

This afternoon I brought popsicles and ice cold water to practice. I was received by big smiles and hugs! They were so happy. It was 85 degrees today which felt HOT. The students told me in class all day long how hot it was! I plan to bring a fan to class tomorrow. I ran three miles with the athletes at practice. After the run with the athletes I ran with another two friends for five miles around town on as much grass as I could find. These final two runs of the day I had no quad pain so was very happy. The last run of the day I was beat by the end, I think I was really dehydrated. I made a huge fruit salad to compliment my dinner and that totally hit the spot.

One more home meet to go tomorrow and then I am off to MA for some volunteering at a 50 mile race and then my long run. Should be a busy but fun weekend. I am just not looking forward to the three hour drive.

Posted by mary at 10:16 PM | Comments (2)

May 7, 2007

Feeling Better

Finally I was feeling better by last Friday. I was looking forward to going out for an easy run when I got a message that a track athlete that Mark and I helped coach in the fall needed her spikes for a meet that was an hour away. I decided to drive the spikes to the meet and hang out with Mark for the rest of the meet. I was going to run once I got to the meet but I was pretty tired by the time I arrived. The athlete was really glad to have her spikes so it made the trip worth it and she ran great.

I had some good training over the weekend and feel like I am back on track.

Saturday morning I did a workout with my friend Jen. We did a two mile warm up and than ran 2 x 1.5 miles at 6.40 pace. I felt a lot better than I expected since I had not run since Tuesday. I ran the first 1.5 miles exactly at 6.40 pace and the second 1.5 miles at 6.35 pace and felt good. I ran a two mile warm down and stretched when I got home.

Saturday afternoon I went for a very windy 27 mile bike ride. For about 10 miles I was riding directly into the wind and was barely moving. I was going about 13 miles per hour when I usually average about 19. On the way back I had the wind at my bike and enjoyed riding about 27 miles per hour which felt great.

On Sunday morning I went to Montpelier with my friend to run on the trails in Hubbard Park behind the capital building. They were nice and dry and great to run on. We ran 10 miles and I felt like I was back to my normal running self by the end of the run.

On Sunday evening I biked 15 miles and then lifted for 30 minutes.

This is a crazy week for me. We are hosting three track meets at our school and I am taking the athletes to a meet tomorrow. I will have to do lots of workouts in the morning so I am not tired out for my run in the evening.

This morning I had a lot of work to do to get ready for school because I spent the weekend doing house hold errands and future planning errands and was behind on my curriculum planning for the week so I was unable to run. I ran tonight after scoring the meet on my feet all afternoon and felt flat and tired on my run. I ran 8 miles with our dog through as many trails and parks and fields that I could that were open. The run went by pretty fast since I was making an effort to run in as many different places as I could but they all had to have grass on them. Despite feeling tired I had a fun run.

Plans for this week:
Tuesday: track workout in the morning, gym in the evening if I get back from the meet in time
Wednesday: run in the morning, bike and gym in the evening
Thursday: bike in the morning and gym, run in the afternoon
Friday: hill workout in the morning, gym in the evening
Saturday: 2 hour run, volunteering at an ultra race in MA
Sunday: 6 hour trail run in MA with the group I will be volunteering with on Saturday

Posted by mary at 10:00 PM | Comments (3)

May 1, 2007

Still Under the Weather.....

Yikes.. I am getting worried.. my throat is still very sore. I don't have a lot of other symptoms but I have an incredibly bad cough and soreness in my throat. I rarely go to the doctors but I may have to if this does not disappear soon.

I did nothing on Monday, I just tried to rest and go to bed early. It was tough talking during the day while I was at school. Today the students tried to talk me out of teaching because I sounded so bad. They said oh, you don't have to teach today just take a break, we'll be ok. I told them we had an easy day so I'd be ok. We had a half day so I knew I could handle half a day and then go home and sleep.

I woke up in time to go to the first Morrisville Track workout. I am organizing a community track session for a few reasons. I think a lot of people will eventually become interested and get involved with the workouts. I also really enjoy running with other people. And I really want to leave my good friend Jen with a great group of people to train with once I take off for AK. She will continue the track workouts and weekly runs once I have moved.

I did not plan on running but I ended up running easy with one of the runners. Four people showed up for the workout and everyone was a different pace. I am not sure how many people I eventually expect/hope to show up, maybe 10-15 would be a good number for this rural area I live in, mostly I want people to know there are others out there running and trying to improve and sometimes it's easier if you know someone else is out there pushing themselves too. I decided to run with an individual I have been coaching for awhile who is older. His marathon goal is to break 3.40 in the marathon again. The workout for the night was 6 x 800. I was not sure what pace to run the 800's with when I was pacing but I decided to shoot for 3:30 to 3:40 and see how he felt. He felt pretty good so we ran all of the 800's around 3:26 - 3:35 pace. My legs felt really good from so much time off but I was really happy not to be running any faster because breathing would have become very difficult. I guess I'll find out tomorrow if it was crazy to run tonight or not. So far I don't feel worse but I don't feel any better either. Urgh.. it is very strange for me to get so sick this time of year. And worst of all...I think Mark has it now. Yikes.. inevitable .. I guess. Hoping for better days....

Posted by mary at 10:46 PM | Comments (2)