« Revisions | Main | Nor'easter »
October 21, 2005
Blogger's Guilt
Is this an officially coined term yet out the in blogosphere? Because I definitely have it. It's been so crazy this past week that I haven't been able to write--but I've had this nagging feeling with me all week that I should be writing. Who was the writer whose motto was, "Never a day without a line"? Joyce, maybe? (Note: According to Google, it's practically every writer's motto.) Then again, the guilt itself seems kind of self-centered--"What will my audience do without me?" ;) Anyway, moving on...
Last week was a pretty good training week. The week before, I hit 30 miles for the first time in forever; this past week's goal was 33 (in keeping with the 10% increase recommendation), but I actually ended up with 36 for the week, mainly because of warm-ups and cool-downs, which I definitely count! This week, I'm dropping back to about 27-28 miles as a "consolidation week" before spiraling back up to 40 miles and beyond for weekly mileage. So far, so good. My body seems to be handling the workload well--although I made the mistake of wearing my boots with heels the other night and my feet and lower shins are still a little sore. I'm sticking to sneakers as much as I possibly can now!
So, let's see, highlights from last week. Here we go:
1) New running shoes! Always a good thing...it feels like I never notice how bad my last training shoes have gotten until I slip on a brand-new pair and feel like I'm walking on air. Yay.
2) I have finally built up enough endurance to be confident that I can run all the way to Jamaica Pond to do a workout and come back and not worry about stranding myself out there, miles from home. I really liked running there, although tempo pace doesn't let me sightsee so much. =) And apparently, I blew by a classmate of mine and didn't even notice! She told me in class today that she shouted my name and said hello and that I completely ignored her. Oops. I had no idea that she was even there. I'm planning to do a long run that incorporates the pond soon, so that I can enjoy my surroundings more.
3) Caught up with a former teammate of mine who's a grad student at BC and ran with her at the reservoir. It was fun to catch up, but she's clearly ahead of me in her training. I felt like I was gasping for air, only able to get a few words out on the exhale, while she was chatting freely and without effort. If we keep running once a week together, I'm going to have make sure that I plan it as a hard run!
4) On Saturday, I went out to my alma mater for their home invitational. I couldn't get over how big the team is--they now have 25 women on the roster. And the women were amazing, shutting out their other two competitors. I really think that they have a shot at going to Div. III Nationals as a team this year if they can stay healthy and focused and they all have a good day at Regionals--all of which may be very large "ifs." But their performance on Saturday truly was inspiring and I hope gives them confidence as they approach the championship part of the season. I ran the course as a tempo run before their race, which was tough. It was real cross country, in the sense that I had to really be careful of my footing, especially in the first mile. So it was hard to settle into a rhythm until the second mile because the first mile was so rocky and root-y. But I thought it was a successful workout with splits of 7:02, 13:57, and a final time of 21:41. I ran about 7 miles for the day after my warm-up, cool-down, and the mile that I'm adding on for running to various points on the course to cheer for the runners.
5) I was also further inspired by the Mayor's Cup yesterday. I had considered racing the Franklin Park 5K, but changed my mind on Friday after deciding that I'd rather do a workout at my college's XC meet and just enjoy a relaxing night out on Saturday with my husband to celebrate our wedding anniversary (4 years already!). When I saw the conditions on Sunday, I was glad I wasn't running! It was one of those days at Franklin Park that you could finish the race, go home, shower, and hours later, still find mud in between your toes, in your hair, or in your ears. I felt like we spectators needed spikes, too!
Anyway, after running an easy 6 miles earlier in the morning, I drove over to Franklin Park to check out the women's race. Another (different) woman from my grad program was racing and I wanted to cheer her on. She ran an amazing race, finishing in the top 5, which was very exciting. Also, it was fun to see Kim Smith race. I had seen her race on the BU track (last year, I think?), but on a cross country course, it just looks so different--she was flying! On the track, a runner of her caliber can just make her race look so smooth and effortless (especially if she's uncontested, as she was), but on a cross country course, I feel like I can perceive the strength and the effort of the athlete more. She was so impressive. And it was, of course, also great to see Alison again and P, and to meet Caitlin!
OK, gotta run--my stomach is grumbling. Time to make dinner!
Posted by Megan at October 21, 2005 02:45 PM
Comments
Happy Anniversary!! It was great meeting you. Sorry I lost you guys during the men's race. Hopefully we'll be able to run together soon.
Posted by: Caitlin at October 24, 2005 10:34 PM