Boston Marathon RR

Brief Stats:

1st Half – 1:55:29
2nd Half – 1:54:49
Total Time – 3:50:18

Pace: 8:47/mile
Avg Heartrate: 160bpm

Felt great and loved it.

Long Stats:

Training:
Up until the end of February, my training was pretty spot-on for 8 minute miles or 3:30ish time. The goal was originally based on taking my last half marathon and 10k times (1:39 and 44 respectively) and using the conversion tools on some running sites.

March I was feeling very winded – even in easy workouts and my power on the bike was declining even though I was doing workouts that would typically make me stronger. Ended up having the internal bleeding/anemia (see last post), so not only was I slower, but it was somewhat painful to work out…not exactly motivational tools for training.

So, in a nutshell, my training in March and April was pretty much in the shit-can. I would work out when my body felt okay. Some days went well (like 30k for instance), but sometimes when I would get out there, I felt like I was fighting every step of the way.

Longest training run was 18.6 and for some of the others, I had to cut it short.

Goals
Canned the 3:30 time goal. I’ve wanted to run in the Boston Marathon since I was a teenager, so the most important thing for me was to enjoy the experience. Secondly, I wanted to finish in one piece without crapping-out too badly on the hills. I bonked in my first marathon which was FLAT at the end and felt horrible, so I couldn’t even imagine what level of hurt would be in store for me if I were to bonk in Boston. Third, but not so important, was being content with any time around 4 hours or less. With minimal training the past 2 months, I had no idea how my body would react, so I had in mind that I would need to run a very conservative race in order to do that.

Pre-Race
Turned the weekend into a celebration. I felt very relaxed about the race since I wasn’t putting much time pressure on myself. Picked up my number after work on Friday with my (very fast) co-worker Roger and purchased some customary loot at the expo. Saturday I had friends over for a barbecue party at my house. Sunday I chilled out and did a visualization of the race (pacing, nutrition, reactions to what-if’s and challenges).

Monday morning I went to my friend Tania’s to carpool over to the race start. It is a point-to-point, so you start 26 miles west of Boston in Hopkinton…and you run through 8 towns with the finish being in Boston’s Back Bay. Tania’s fiance Dave graciously offered to drive us (Tania, Paul, and I who all ran) over there in his construction truck which had a good chance of getting us past some “checkpoints”.

The other option was waking up at the a$$ crack of dawn to take some bus from Boston. 5am wake-up for a 10:30 race…OH HELLS NO!

So we followed the buses on the highway and got past the 1st checkpoint. Stopped at the 2nd, but was only a half-mile walk to the start.

Race
Pacing, nutrition and strategy-type stuff was already in my head from the previous night’s visualization, so I didn’t really have to think about that during the race.

Started-off conservatively as people barreled-past me on the downhills. Stayed in the present, ran my own race, and referred to my GPS watch for reference. I was pretty much enjoying the whole experience.

I felt like I was noticing a lot more around me while staying present, which I really haven’t done previously in races because I am so concerned with time, pressure, and “what will happen next?”. Seriously felt much better this way.

The crowd support was great. First saw a biker bar the first few miles…then at mile 12 came the Wellesley College screaming. The ladies were wearing shirts that said “kiss me” and “free kisses” so I blew kisses to them. Then in Wellesley center, I saw the McCrann clan Was great to see them. This was the halfway point, so I decided to pick it up a bit but not too much. Climb to rt95 I decided to attack a little to see how I felt…felt good…sweet.

So, when I banged the right turn from 30 to 16 onto the hills where I have trained repeatedly. I was still feeling good and it was mile 18, so I thought to myself “ok I know what to do”…1st hill I saw Karen and Dede – 2 women who are my inspirations for racing – which gave me more energy to launch an even bigger attack on the hill (thanks ladies!). I would recover on the downhills. 2nd hill felt the same.

Got to Heartbreak Hill and gunned it. Felt great. Recovered on the drop-off at BC. Saw Daniel there and he snapped a photo. On Beacon street I definitely had to put it on cruise-control and concentrate a bit more in order to de-energize the thought of “MAKE IT STOP!” hehe. Turned the thought into “the faster I run these last few miles, the sooner it will stop” so I picked it up. My last mile ended up being the fastest (7:23) – figured it would be a long shot, but perhaps I would try to squeak-in under 3:50.

Finished and was overall very happy with the experience – I had negative-split in Boston and felt good the whole time. My friend Robin was at the finish line volunteering so she got a great photo.

In retrospect, I probably had a little too much energy at the end and, yes, the thought of “I could have squeezed-in the extra 5 minutes to re-qualify” has entered my head numerous times, but under the circumstances, I think I made a good decision because I really didn’t know that I would be feeling so good that day or whether I would crap out at some point with my minimal training.

Lessons Learned
Note to self: TRAIN MORE, however, my base is decent and if I am in the correct mental state (relaxed – no pressure), visualize the race beforehand, know the course, I can still pull-off a decent race. Still, though, I don’t want to make it a habit to be dependent on that. The race DID give me a kick-start to motivate…am back on the training wagon.

I will, however, continue to focus being in the mental state I was in for the race & be in the present. I was surprised how fast time flew.

Next up: Florida 70.3 on May 17th

Boston Marathon Training Update – 30k RR

My training for the Boston Marathon has been interesting – I have definitely made adjustments and adaptations to the initial plan.

From December until mid-February, I was feeling pretty good. At that point, I figured I could get back to the running shape I was in last year in late spring/summer as long as I followed my plan, so I was doing most of my training runs with a goal of 8ish mins/mile or 3:30ish based on translating my last half marathon time (1:39) to a projected marathon time.

As I indicated in my last post, in February, I went to a retreat for a week and then to Boulder to visit my brother. Upon my return to Boston, I was feeling strange during workouts. Usually – especially when coming back from an altitude – I feel really good, but this time, I felt like I had altitude sickness…at sea level. I was also getting sick any time I would put in a hard effort in running and even in cycling a few times combined with annoying abdominal pain..or if I ate too much.

Last Monday I went to the hospital and got a CT scan. Thankfully no appendicitis, but I am having some internal bleeding which is what is causing the pain and also inflaming tissues in the surrounding area, which explains the sick feeling. The drs said it would go away after a few weeks with anti-inflammatories. The bleeding is making me lose iron, so I am also anemic which is what’s been causing the altitude-sickness like feeling (as well as having to go slower in workouts and having my heartrate jacked-up).

So, I have adjusted my Boston plans. At this point, I would like to do the race to finish and will do the best that I can, but I will not be upset if I get a slower time than what I originally planned. I will simply enjoy the race that I have always dreamed of doing.

Yesterday was the North Shore 30k, which is basically a training race for the Boston Marathon. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I started taking some iron pills a week ago, but not sure how much of a difference that would make as far as feeling more “oxygenated”.

I started off at 9mins/mile, then lowered my pace by 10 seconds/mile until I got to the 8:25-8:30 area. I held that until around mile 10-11 and my heartrate had settled okay, so then I kept dropping the pace (8:20, 8:10) the next few miles and then the last 10k I was able to do 7:50’s-8s. Although it is by all means not where I was last year, I was pleasantly surprised that it went better than I expected. According to the race site, I ended up with 8:18s (my garmin had me at 8:21) but close enough.

Last year the pace I did at this race was the same pace I did at the National marathon (8:30) and this year they made the course more hilly. The Boston marathon is definitely more challenging and I definitely respect the course, but the training race definitely gave me more confidence as far as my capabilities. I have 4 weeks left until Boston and am looking forward to it.

March Update

Boston seems to be thawing, so it’s looking like tri training season is getting off to a good start. Over the winter, I have mostly been indoors, with the exception of running..although running has had a lot of indoors sessions due to excessive snow and ice. This winter was very tough for training and I am definitely glad it is coming to a close.

I have mostly been working on my cycling in the off season. There are some great spin classes at FastSplits given by pro triathletes Karen Smyers and Dede Griesbauer. I look forward to these all week! Most of the workouts are around threshold and are mostly centered around power, although some go by heartrate and/or cadence.

Other than that, I have been (sort of) training for the Boston Marathon. It has always been my dream to qualify for and run it. Last year I got a qualifying time in the National Marathon. This year, at the beginning of the year, my training was going pretty well.

I went to a retreat in California at the end of February which was a great experience. I loved meeting a lot of wonderful new people and definitely got a lot out of it.

As for my training, I did have to take some time off and also a lot of the sitting probably aggravated my sciatica, so lately I have not been training so much, but the experience of the retreat was definitely worth it.

As for the marathon, today I did a long run at an easy pace of 8:40 which did not feel too challenging (except for some GI issues at the end…but the legs were fine)…so that is about my expectation for the race. My sciatica did not bother me and I was able to pick it up to 8 minute miles for the last few miles.

For Boston, originally I was going for a goal time of 3:30, but I have since changed the expectation and am okay with a little slower time. I will do my best to run a 3:45 (qualifying time) but even if it isn’t that, that’s okay since I can always run another marathon in the winter if I am unable to BQ. I have, however, found that if I start slow, I do much better than if I start too close to my goal pace, so that is what I will do and hopefully all will go well!

My priority race this year is Quelle Challenge Roth in July, so a lot of my run training will be taken care of with these long runs and also with running Boston. I also have a 70.3 race in May, and foresee May and June as my heavy training months. I look forward to doing long rides with my husband and with my friends.

I will see how I feel after Roth, and if I have another race left in me, I’ll perhaps do a 70.3 in August or September.

A few great things about the retreat that I have found after returning are:
- more focus/less ADD
- more motivation
- more presence and focus

Anyways, I will be tracking my training for Boston so will keep you posted!

Fall Update

whoa…it’s been awhile since I last posted. anywho, here’s a bit about what i’ve been up to this fall

For several years, I have wanted to try cyclocross (or ‘cross).

It’s a type of bike race typically held in the Fall/Winter in which you race a bike that basically looks almost like a road bike, except it has knobby tires and cantilever brakes. You race on grass, trails, and have obstacles like hills and barriers in which you have to dismount the bike, run or jump, and get back on several times in the race (more details here) – so it involves a little bit of running and leaping over short hurdles while carrying the bike.

This year for my b-day, I got such a bike which arrived at the beginning of October. 24 hours after its arrival, I did a race. The day of its arrival, I went on YouTube to watch a how-to-mount-dismount-and-carry-bike video and took the bike to a local park to learn how. The following day, Daniel and I drove down to the Cape. The race was being held on the grounds of a farm in Falmouth.

Having never been off-road before in my life, I resembled a cat on ice. I started at the back and figured I really wasn’t going to “race” it…more like try to finish & hopefully with no broken bones. Anyways, after one lap of my knuckles turning white from clinging to my brakes, I got a bit more comfortable and actually passed 2 people. I finished – even though I ran into a fence on one of the corners, I somehow managed to stay upright.

Since then I have done 4 other races – usually one each weekend. Most of the races are with Cat 4 and sometimes with Cat 3 women. I still need a lot of improvement – especially on any technical/tactical parts – but it is a lot of fun. With each race I have gotten more comfortable and improved little by little. The ambiance of ‘cross races is really nice too – usually there is beer at the end and the crowd support is awesome. Laps are short so you pass by the spectators a lot & there’s lots of cowbell (especially when you take a digger!)

The last one I did in Plymouth this past weekend, I finally felt like I actually raced the whole thing. When you race, you are pretty much going all-out the whole time. It’s similar to a 5k effort, but for 30-45 minutes. I did get tired the last lap and it probably didn’t help that I had 2 martinis on Friday night, but the start was wide and everyone got to start in the front row which I thought was nice. I definitely have room for improvement (for instance, in the last race I did, on the last lap there was a junior that held me up for a bit – I should have called out to him to let me through. Instead I waited for the space to get wide enough to pass & during that time the racer behind me caught up to my wheel. After that, I could not get a gap on her and she went around me at the end when I had already expended my energy working). I also need to be smoother on my mounts/dismounts and get more comfortable going fast in technical parts. Overall, I am really enjoying ‘cross. There are a few weeks left in the season, but I will definitely do it next year.

A few weeks ago, I was sick on a Saturday which was when the local ‘cross race was being held. There was no local race on Sunday, so instead I did the Wrentham Halloween Duathlon. It was my first duathlon and I haven’t really been running much this fall, but figured what the heck I’ll try it anyways. It was a 3 mile run, 11 mile bike, and 2 mile run. My goal was to keep the run under 7(mins/mile) and the bike over 20 (miles/hour). The first run, my brother told me to take it easy so I wouldn’t pay for it on the second. Getting on the bike afterward hurt…a LOT. Was not used to it and should have probably practiced it before racing. I think I was rolling around the first 2 miles and after that, I really had to pick it up if I wanted to average over 20. The second run, not sure how, but I managed to do a negative-split over the first. I felt like I was going slow, but I guess that’s just after coming off the bike. Anyways, ended up meeting my goal time/speed-wise. I was 6th female and 2nd in my AG. I might do some more duathlons in the Spring…and actually practice run-to-bike transitions before racing!

Anyways, have a few more ‘cross races and might even do one in DC when I go down there for Thanksgiving.

After the ‘cross season is over, I’ll take a few easy weeks and then it’s back to training. Boston Marathon and Quelle Challenge Roth are my big events for 2009.

Finally, Consistency!

This year I have been playing it by ear as far as racing. I’ve been having fun training. I feel and perform better if I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself.

I did set some goals for ‘08 – like qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which I did a few months back, and also to break 5:30 in the half-iron distance (hey, it makes it much easier to at least know WHAT i’m training for)

But, instead of signing up a year in advance for races, I have been signing up and doing races as I please. This tends to be a little challenging with distance races, since so many of the big events fill up far in advance, but this year I have been seeking-out new/small/well-organized races that might be overlooked and have spots open.

As far as training, running was going really well in the Spring. After the National Marathon, I felt like I had a “breakthrough” speedwise. My default cruise pace actually dropped below 8 mins/mile, which I was happy about. I had few PR’s and my first win (in a 5k).

I was also feeling better swimming because I was being good about waking up early 3x a week to go to masters swimming…so, might still be with the pack, but moving my way up at least!

Pre-Race with Daniel

As far as the bike, my favorite event, I was off to a bit of a late start going outdoors since we had a long crappy winter in New England, but finally, right before going to RAAM, I was feeling about 90 percent there.

Then came RAAM (see previous post)

Anyways, after RAAM, it took me about 2 weeks to recover and feel back in shape enough to feel ready to race. Cycling was the most challenging – I was feeling really weak because of the muscle loss. My last pre-race ride, I finally felt somewhat decent and hoped I could pull it together.

Returning to swimming after a few weeks felt so strange…I was a bit disoriented. The next time I went to Walden Pond, though, I actually felt good. Okay – at least I would do ok in those two sports.

As far as the run, though, I have felt a little sluggish since coming back. It might be me, the humid weather, or both…but I definitely feel that I may have lost a little of the “zip” I had a month ago. Oh well, running seems to come the most naturally for me, so I figured I could still pull-off a decent run if I had to.

So, since this past weekend was one of the few that were available to me to race in July, I chose the Patriot Triathlon. It is about an hour south of Boston and is sort-of a half iron. The swim is 1.2 miles, the run is 13.1 miles, but the bike is a little longer than typical – 58.3 miles instead of 56. Basically, in order to break 5:30, I would need to make up the 7 extra minutes (at my pace) on the bike of the 2.3 extra miles.

My goal for the race was to stay focused on the present moment and to not think about other stuff – basically if any other thought arose, I would ask myself “is this the best stroke/stride you can do now?” and if it wasn’t, to focus more and try harder. (yup, I read Power of Now…and hopefully I can apply what I’ve learned something in yoga class)

In the swim, I didn’t wear a watch (Garmin 305 is too clunky), but I seemed to be holding my own with the other swimmers, and even passing some of the slower swimmers in the previous wave. I wanted to do less than 40 minutes and ended up with 37 minutes (found that out at the end).

Coming into T2

On the bike, it was the maiden voyage of my new zipp wheels and also of the new compact crank. This meant I could be in the big ring more. Being my favorite sport, I really wanted to crush it and average more than 20…plus I needed the 7 minute cushion because of the longer distance, however, at the same time I didn’t want to kill my legs for the run, so I made it a point to not go anaerobic on the hills. I ended up with an average pace of 19.75 mph (2:57)..not quite 20, but close and ok considering I probably have a little more to go until I feel 100% there (might start doing the local weekly training time trials as my tempo interval to help that)

Finally, on the run, I wasn’t sure how my body would feel. I just started taking “baby steps” and I look down at my GPS which was reading 7:45ish pace…and it felt easy. Realized it was because the first part of the loop had a lot of downhills…well guess what that meant for the second part of the loop? Hills hills and more hills. Not really any big ones, but plenty of rollers. So, the second half, it was challenging for me to keep under 8 mins/mile…one mile was close to 8:30. Anyways, I wasn’t sure how my swim was, but I figured that I needed to do under 4:45 on the bike-plus-run to break 5:30, which I did. I ran 8:10/mile pace on the run (1:47)

Coming out of t2

I ended up with a 5:27 for the race – It was a PR of 9 minutes over a regular half iron (I guess that would be approximately 5:20 in a regular half iron) so my next goal is to break 5:15. I ended up getting 2nd in my age group (there was also an elite/open wave) and got a nice plaque.

Mostly, I was happy that I was finally consistent in the 3 disciplines and performed to my ability in each one.

When I started off in the half-iron distance, I was slow in everything. Then, the next season, I would do well in 2 and badly in 1…or well in 1 and badly in 2. Finally, Timberman last year was somewhat consistent, so I did feel like I was finally pulling together the 3 disciplines, but the speed was not too fast…in this race I felt like the times I got were consistent **and** at my ability level (ie close to my PR’s for each discipline…but this time all in the same race!)

How to lose 5lbs in 6 days Without Dieting or Exercising

**disclaimer** I am not recommending this weight-loss method!!! Just a name for the post since that is what occurred.

Anyhow, a while back, my friend Andrea decided to do Race Across America (RAAM) and was in need of volunteers for her team’s crew (xtreme4). At first, I was not sure if I could go, but then it turned out I could, so I signed up.

Having done Reach the Beach twice and not having been a fan of it either time, I wasn’t sure how I would handle the experience. You could say I am somewhat Type-A – I like to do things well and usually my way (I am a Virgo and the eldest child). I also like to be left alone (you don’t mess with me, I don’t mess with you) and not told what to do.

I also don’t handle sleep deprivation too well – I get a bit cranky, emotional, and confrontational (probably lots of people do I suppose) Furthermore, I am a bit challenged when it comes to being in a supporting/b-team/cog-in-wheel role due to my Type-A-ness.

But hey, Andrea is one of my best friends and so is her partner Mariana…so I signed up.

She raced in a 4-person mixed team. Within the team, 2 teams of 2 riders were going to switch-off every few hours. Within their stretches, they would take short pulls one at a time (with help from a leapfrog vehicle) – time depended on terrain and the rider’s strength and ability in the conditions (ie some were climbers, some had a lot of force and power to fly through the flats and wind…some bombed-down descents really fast etc etc).

So, as a crew member I would be either working or sleeping. We had an RV for sleeping. The first thing that came to mind was “Road Rules” – and, yes, the conditions turned out to be a bit similar. Sleep deprivation and close quarters brought drama. People weren’t at their nicest at all times, however, I knew that getting angry and losing my temper would only bring negative energy to the team. Some people dealt with the stress by tuning-out, others by blowing their tops. A few people remained calm and positive the whole time, which is extremely impressive in those conditions.

At first when I was well rested, I let stuff roll off my shoulder…but within a few days when I was sleep-deprived and it didn’t roll off my shoulder, I instead “sucked it up” and internalized a lot of it which definitely made me upset..but I just kept thinking “take it for the team…take it for the team” since blowing up at people would just hurt the team’s efforts.

With the stress of the environment is most likely how I lost weight. I was also a navigator in the chase vehicle at night, meaning I could not get out of the vehicle for the 6- hour duration, so I couldn’t eat or drink anything before or during (until the end of the shift) or I would need to go to the bathroom. I probably slept a total of 9 or 10 hours during the 6 days we were on the road. Some people might have slept even less. When I got to my mom’s house outside of DC after coming back, I weighed 108 pounds and my resting heartrate was 20 higher than what it normally was before.

Even with all of that, it was really nice so meet a lot of the people on board and I hope to see them again when I go to DC or if they come up here for a race. It was also nice to see a lot of the country as I had never traveled cross-country before. The race got very exciting at the end when Xtreme4 duked it out with the Irish team. Xtreme4 ended up getting 3rd overall (only 2 men’s teams beat them and the Irish only by a minute) aaand they also shattered the speed record for mixed teams.

Was it worth it? Hell, yeah!!!

It has really motivated me to put a lot of effort into my cycling and maybe one day sign up for this insanity as a rider. Even though I practically RAN away from the RV once we got to Annapolis, I miss everyone already and can’t wait for the party in a few weeks!!!

The Art of Equilibrium

When I started racing in triathlons, my strongest AND favorite discipline was the bike. Actually, that’s all I had really done before starting. I didn’t swim or run. Swimming had more of a learning curve, so it took me awhile to improve, but running came quickly and naturally (speaking relatively among age group triathletes here – I am by no means “fast” and there are many people faster and/or more talented than I am) – I just felt that in order to perform at the same level running, I didn’t have to do as much work as cycling.

I feel like my cycling has taken a bit of a hit. What’s odd is that my power meter says otherwise. I can hold a higher wattage than last year up climbs and I weigh 10lbs less. I think it is because the people I ride with are very fast. I know that riding with fast people makes you faster, but for me it just makes me feel slow.

Also, it probably has to do with most of my rides so far being on the trainer, so the majority are 90 minutes or less – so I ride well for 90 minutes and then I bonk. I really need to get out and do long rides to work on my endurance. I guess I get a bit anxious because the people I ride with are fast over long distances, and I am always afraid I will be the anchor that holds them back. I shouldn’t worry about that and just let them go, though, but I feel like instead of being enjoyable like it used to be, now cycling makes me anxious. However, the more I go, the better I’ll get and the more I’ll be used to it.

On a positive note, my running has been going well. I qualified for the Boston Marathon. Within the past month, I have won a 5k, PR’ed in a 10k (and broke 7 mins/mile for the first time at that distance according to my GPS. the course was a bit longer, so unfortunately the official time was for 6.42 miles but i still got a PR and placed in my AG). I will try a half-marathon this coming weekend (haha marathon is NOT after that! I will probably wait until the fall)

Swimming is always an uphill battle for me since it is my weakest, so I pretty much always improve which is good. Masters swimming has helped a lot, but I still have a long way to go.

Well, this past weekend, I went on a race simulation ride with my RAAM team which inspired me to get out more on my bike.

The guys and Andrea got out there at all hours of the night no matter what the conditions to ride for 90 miles averaging 20-23mph, so I have no excuses this coming Saturday morning for a 3-hour 56 mile ride LOL

I guess that in my head, I am hoping that if I start biking a lot, that my running won’t be too affected. I should not let that get to me. Maybe it will, but I should know that with running, even if I get a bit slower, at least I can still do okay at it. With cycling, if I don’t do it much, as a 35-year-old woman, I lose power very quickly.

In triathlon, it seems like finding an equilibrium is just as challenging as the training itself and that is part of the fun that keeps me (and probably a lot of other triathletes) coming back to the sport. It was outlined in a recent New York Times article.

National Marathon Race Report

Pre-Race

In November of 2007, I made my first attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon. All was good until mile 18, where I bonked badly and ended up missing qualifying by 3 minutes. My training had been spotty as I had been sick a lot in the fall. I had also gained weight. During the race, I had probably started off too fast and didn’t take-in the proper nutrition (note to self: it is not smart to drink smart water as an “electrolyte replacement” during a race)

I learned my lesson(s) and was determined to not let something like that happen for my second attempt.

Initially, I had chosen the Napa Marathon on March 2nd, but it was not logistically feasible, so I chose the National Marathon instead. I figured it would be a nice opportunity to visit with family and friends, too, since they live in the D.C area.

Between November and March, I followed my training plan really well. I changed my eating habits and lost 15 pounds. I incorporated speedwork at track. A half marathon 5 weeks out went decently (PR), as did a 30k race that was 3 weeks out. I still had another long run after that, so I was curious as to how my body would handle a short taper – something I had never tried before.

The night before, my friends threw a carbo loading party for a RAAM team member (who did his first marathon and kicked ass) and for me. It was great to meet all the RAAM teammates and enjoy some yummy food (and customary glass of red wine!).

Race

Race morning I woke up at 5am, had coffee, my friends’ magic bread, and gathered my nutrition (Cytomax this time!) – I had GU’s as well but figured I would chase them with the water at the aid stations.

I started off VERY leisurely – I didn’t want to take any chances. At mile 1, I saw my friends and ditched my warmup jacket and maintained the leisurely pace. Unfortunately, I was having some stomach issues. At mile 3 I had to make a pit stop (sorry if TMI!) – oh well – I just kept going and didn’t think about the loss of time.

My GPS stopwatch was set to stop when I stopped, so it didn’t count that time – ditto with going under tunnels, so I’d just have to mentally add them in. At the 10k, I figured my pace was just under 9 mins/mile, so I picked it up just a tad – but still maintained an easy pace until Mile 10. I picked it up a bit and my stomach started to feel a bit better…except after the half I had to make a pit stop AGAIN. At the half I was basically just at the pace I would need to be to qualify since I had lost some time at mile 3…but for some reason, I wasn’t worried. The whole time I had it in my head that I was going to do it no matter what.

Anyways, after the half it was pretty much game on. My nutrition had been spot on and my energy level was good.

At mile 20, there was a bridge with an incline. I was still feeling good, so that’s where I decided to gun it. I couldn’t believe it and I was wondering when the “hurt” would come since it usually does for me in long distance running, but it never did. Instead of being passed at the end (as usually happens with me), I was the one doing the passing.

My last 10k averaged 8 mins/mile and my last mile was my fastest (7:18 – the red bull at mile 23 gave me wings). Must admit at the end, up the climb at RFK stadium, I was beginning to get tired, but a friend was there on his bike motivating me the whole way up so I kept going.

At the end my stopwatch said 3:36. I figured that for three minutes, I was going under tunnels (so maybe closer to 3:39 running) and then I prob. lost 3 more minutes with the 2 pit stops, but since I had mentally added them in, I knew my stopwatch needed to read less than 3:40…so I knew I had qualified and that chip time was prob. around 3:42 when I finished. Was happy at the finish line and glad to see my family and friends (thanks for coming to cheer!!)

Results/Stats

half marathon split = 1:52:31 pace at half = 8:35
overall time = 3:42:41 overall pace = 8:30

average heartrate = 159
energy expenditure = 2300 kCals (i made this up post-race with my twice-a-year treat: a gigantic cheeseburger with fries)

Take Aways

START EASY, START EASY, START EASY

I really enjoyed this race. Even though this course had more hills, this race felt much more pleasant and easier than Philly because even though I was pushing hard at the end, I was never out of control or hurting.

I couldn’t do much about the pit stops. Goes to show the unexpected can always happen in a race – that is why I was running a sub 3:40 pace so I had a 5-minute “cushion” for hiccups and didn’t worry much about losing the 3 minutes.

RTFM for the GPS – so that I can learn how to set it right to keep going during stops so I don’t have to think about math while racing.

The short taper worked for me. So did the more thoughtful nutrition plan. So did yoga for staying injury-free.

I could have started just a tad faster (5-10 seconds/mile) so I will try that next time but will DEFINITELY KEEP STARTING OFF SLOW. It works and is conducive to a negative split. Hopefully I have learned to have patience at the beginning of races LOL.

Can’t wait ’till the 2009 Boston Marathon!

Not My Depaaaaahtment!

Greetings from Boston.

In many ways, Boston is a nice place to live. It has great universities and it’s very pretty in the spring and summer. Running around the Charles river is nice. So is the bike riding scenery once you get a bit outside the city. Other nice things include: the majority of the population has similar political beliefs to mine, it’s not hard to find a job, there are plenty of cool places to shop, you don’t have to travel too far to get from one part of the city to another, etc etc etc.

Sometimes, though, I wished I lived somewhere else. Yes, it’s frigid here – even at the end of March – and many of the days are gray and depressing. The cost of living is outrageous. Housing for instance..and most of the houses here are old, small, and rickety. Forget anything affordable in the new/green-built/contemporary category! But…it’s not all those reasons that make me want to move out.

It’s M*ssholes! Yup – a portmanteau of Massachusetts and *sshole.

NOT all people who are from here and live here are like that, though – if they were, I wouldn’t live here. However, there are probably enough of them around that are vocal and annoying enough to piss off the most seasoned Yogi master.

For those visiting Boston, there are a few distinguishing characteristics so that you can steer clear:

Personality

Surly, grouchy, and selfish.

Accent

Drop “r”s that appear after vowels in words (car becomes cah – department becomes depahtment)

In some words, ADD an “r” to the end (ie Santa becomes Santer – spa becomes spar)

Driving Style

Offensive. Prepared to be cut-off at 90 miles per hour. Use of a directional (aka “Blinkah”) is non-existent. The roads around here are a clustahf*ck, so there is no indication when 4 lanes turn into 2 lanes, however, if you don’t know that and accidentally get stuck, prepare to get the fingah…and the haaaaahn (aka you will be honked at and shall receive the bird simultaneously).

Demographics

M*ssholes come in old, young, male, and female varieties. They also live in various geographical areas throughout Eastern and Central Massachusetts. I have been to Western Massachusetts, but haven’t encountered many M*ssholes there.

According to natives, accents vary from between Southie, Everett, Revere, North Shore, and South Shore varieties.

Occupation

Again, there are many varieties here. They can be white collar, blue collar, clerical, or unemployed.

Since their work style tends to be VERY LAZY, they look for jobs where they can get away with murder without being canned. Those in white collar occupations tend to be pencil-pushers. Those in clerical occupations ditto. Many are in state agencies or government due to the lax atmosphere (private sector is a bit more challenging for them) – for instance, check out City Hall or the RMV. For all occupations, you can see many of them slacking off and ordering a “lahge regulah” (it is a large coffee with cream and sugar) at Dunkin Donuts.

Look at the “big dig” – that is the biggest example of M*ssholiness on all different levels of occupations.

The corporate people don’t take responsibility for pocketing all of that taxpayer money – they pass the buck onto each other (each company says it’s another company’s fault and that the other company stole). According to all of the major newspapers and news agencies (AND a few people who were on the project) many of the laborers were intoxicated on the job. Finally, the government agencies were too lazy to do anything about it until it was too late (a woman got killed when she was driving through it and a concrete slab fell off and smashed her). If you ask anyone who had anything to do in the project why it went wrong – u guessed it – “NOT MY DEPAAAHTMENT!”

Yes, this is “state of the art” construction in one of the states with the highest tax rate in one of the richest countries in the world…not to mention one of the highest-costing urban projects ever.

Whatever they do, If something goes well (rarely) they take full responsibility for it, however, when they get called out, they love to pass the buck whenever something is wrong because it’s never “theah depahtment”.

Hobbies

Going to the bah (bar) for beeeahz (beers). Favorite is Millah Lite (for its cheapness).

Looking for baaaaahgains (Christmas Tree Shop, building 19 and whatever, etc etc)

Watching The Pats and The Sox (nothing wrong with these – I like both teams…however, be careful where you sit when you go to any of the games). Also, to some extent, Nascah, although they have to go ovah the bordah to New Hampshire to watch.

Reading the Herald (a godawful newspaper – the ugly red-headed step-sibling of the Globe).

Becoming a “Morning Person”

This Sunday, I am going to be a speaker in a panel called “Try the Tri”. One of the questions asks “how do you balance training with work and the rest of your life?”. To that question, I say there are many different priorities that people have.

Training/exercise is a pretty important important part of my life. I am not a professional athlete or a fast age grouper, I just happen to be a middle-of-the-pack-ster who really enjoys the sport.

So, I have taken certain steps in my life so that my life situation is conducive to training and an active lifestyle.

Family: I married an endurance athlete. He pushes me to train and vice versa – obviously, he is supportive (and that is also why he sought a partner similar to himself) so the more I train and race, the more he does and the happier we both are. Thankfully, in our marriage, there’s no such thing as “lockdown” (ie “oh you’re training way too much and not spending enough time with me”) because we spend a lot of time together in our hobby. We are not having children, but instead we adopted a doggie named Louie who we love very much and who loves to run with us (he does 14 mile runs with us and isn’t even tired!). Also, my brother is a fast age-grouper triathlete and we make family trips out of racing which is great.

Work: I got a job that is conducive to training. I’m a graphic designer and the first three and a half years I did triathlon, I was self-employed so my schedule was flexible and I could train and travel whenever I wanted to – plus, I could work from wherever. Now I am employed full-time, but I made sure it was in an environment that would not interfere with my training.

I am not too “work-driven”…I basically work so that it covers expenses to eat healthily, live in a nice area, train, travel, and shop. It is not important to me whether I have a mansion or amass millions of dollars. Obviously, it is important that I enjoy what I am doing, which I do, however, there needs to be a balance and I think that in our culture here in the U.S., too much importance is placed on work/career/money/power and it sacrifices other aspects of life that make it enjoyable.

My organization encourages employees to be healthy and active (not that I need that type of motivation, but it is a good indicator of their values). The work-week is 35 hours and lunch is a full hour, but is flexible with training (ie if I take longer, I just work a little later which is no big deal). There is almost-free access to their state-of-the art gyms and I get a lot of vacation time to travel to my races and training camps. They appreciate that while I am there, I work very hard, but they are really good about respecting their employee’s time and that they have a life outside of work, so they don’t make people work ridiculous hours.

Furthermore, there is a group of employees who are triathletes and/or runners and often we train together at lunch. It’s also nice to see my department head at a race because I know that being active and having a balanced life is a priority for her too and will reflect upon the culture at work.

One thing, though, is the gym where the pool is is a little old and ratty. Not dirty, just that it was built in the 40’s. Swimming is my weakest sport, and I need to do it a lot. I go swimming at lunch, sometimes with a friend, but usually by myself, so I really don’t push myself much. I just signed up for a master’s swim class at a really nice gym – but – it is EARLY. For those of you who know me, I am not a big morning person, but I suppose that paying a few hundred dollars to go to these classes encourages me to “maximize my investment” by sucking it up and waking up at 5am. The workouts are very challenging, but hopefully that will make me faster. I am hoping that I get used to the schedule, especially with the time change, because I am a bit tired all the time now. I do feel a good sense of accomplishement having been awake for 4 hours before starting work, though. I just need to turn into a “Morning Person” like my mom and probably a lot of triathletes.