kinnaird st.-science museum loop

distance: 7.82 miles (click here for route)
time: 1:07:47 (8:37-min-miles)
weather: 40F, windy
surface: asphalt, dirt (a mix of mud and hard pack)
music: run mix 5 (2.28.09)
pre-run eats: apple, banana, two Advil, cup of coffee.

bu running club run

(photo by vernon doucette, bu photo services)

took a run with the kids, they took mercy on me though i managed to keep a conversation up the entire jaunt

distance: 4.94 miles (this afternoon's route)
time: 44:42 mins (8:59-min miles)
weather: 57F, windy
surface: asphalt
music: none
pre-run eats: apple

the front nine (almost)

(brandon rhoads, left, marathon coordinator for the michael carter lisnow respite center, and me before my first run on the marathon course. hopkinton, mass)

distance: 17.72 miles (this morning's route)
time: 2 hrs. 45 mins. 48 secs (9:19 min.-miles)
weather: 31F, sunny, breezy
surface: asphalt
music: none
pre-run eats: 6:30 a.m.: apple, banana, bowl of Joe-O's, two Advil, cup of coffee, glass of water; 9 a.m.: one mini banana-chocolate muffin; 12 p.m.: one packet of lime goo


(the starting line for the boston marathon, a half mile from the respite center)

post-race run no. 1

distance: 7.77 miles (this morning's route)
time: 69 mins. 12 secs (8:53 min.-miles)
weather: 21F, breezy
surface: Clear asphalt, dirt (though the paths were uneven and hard to run, fossilized with footprints and animal tracks).
music: none
pre-run eats: apple, banana, two Advil, cup of coffee, glass of water.
aches & pains: the back of my left thigh was tight throughout the run, but my hip and glute pain were gone. top of my right thigh started out tight but loosened up within a mile or two.

1:53:06 (hyannis half-marathon)

distance: 13.1 miles (this morning's route)
time: 1 hr. 53 mins. o6 secs* (8:40 min.-miles); only 20 secs. better than my last half-marathon, but hey, I'll take it.
weather: 39-42F, overcast, mild wind.
surface: asphalt
music: none
pre-run eats: 6 a.m.: apple, banana, cup of yogurt, cup of coffee, glass of water. 9 a.m. mini banana-chocolate muffin, packet of energy beans. 11:22 a.m: one packet of tri-berry energy goo.

* according to my watch; official result was 1:54:20, according to gun time; with 4,200 runners, it took me more than a minute to reach the start line. I'll have to inquire about reconciling the discrepancy.

Lessons learned:
• pack Advil for inevitable knee pain from pavement running, left knee was barking from mile 7 to ten.
• lose 5-7 pounds before boston to take pressure off knees.
• start training without music. A lot of races forbid iPods and MP3 players. I missed the musical boosts and flights of mental transportation, felt like more of a grind out there.
• maybe a little less carbo-loading the day before; I felt heavy, was fighting stomach cramps for a few miles.
• the water-loading the day before made a difference. I wasn't nearly as thirsty as I get on my training runs, didn't even get to my two vitamin drinks.
• need to push myself more on my training runs. last time I ran this hard was my last race, five months ago.
• change in bathroom instead of crowded parking lot


Please consider sponsoring my boston marathon charity effort, on behalf of the michael carter lisnow respite center. click here to read about a recent visit.

Thanks, Shea!

gone racin'

hyannis-bound day-before chug-down

Been pounding so many glasses of water for tomorrow's race -- thirst will stop you quicker than hunger -- that "drinking" doesn't quite capture it. Pure hydrating. I'm bobbing.

At a recent running clinic, the nutritionist told me that lunch was the meal to load up on for a morning race, and to have a lighter dinner. So...

Lunch: a bowl of broccoli, a heaping bowl of pesto spaghetti with jalapeno sausage "icing," and four Joe-Joes (Trader Joe's Oreos with bits of candy cane).


Dinner: a salad, three shrimp tacos from Olecito, and three soy ice cream sandwiches.

Can't tell you how full I feel right now!

hyannis-bound taper (way) down, the strength-training and stretching edition

distance: 1.31 miles (this morning's route)
time: 26 mins. 09 secs. (20:53-miles)
weather: 27F, mix of sun and clouds
surface: asphalt
music: run mix 4 (2.15.09)
pre-run eats: banana, mug of coffee, cup of water, two hard-boiled eggs, two pieces of buttered toast, one with jelly

i try to strength train on off-days, here’s a glimpse: three sets of pull-ups, five reps each; three sets of push-ups, 10 reps each; six sets of deep knee bends, 20 reps each; six sets of calf lifts on step stool, 120 reps each; four sets of crunches, 50 reps each.

my hips and glutes have been consistently sore and achey, so i'm looking for exercises to target those areas. fellow runner Laura sent me these. and with today’s storm on the move, you may want to check out these winter-weather running tips.

Thanks Danny and Caroline! I'm now over the $2,000 mark, a big milestone!

hyannis-bound taper down II

distance: 4.68 miles (this morning's route)
time: 41 mins. 11 secs. (8:46-miles)
weather: 26F, sun, wind
surface: asphalt, dirt track (about 50-50 mix)
music: run mix 4 (2.15.09)
pre-run eats: banana, apple, two Advil, mug of coffee, cup of water, cup of soy milk.

hyannis-bound taper down

a week from today, i'll be running the hyannis half-marathon, a canary in the coalmine of sorts for boston. i've been experimenting with on-the-go energy fuels and drinks, additional strength training, as well as night-before meals (right now, after several shrimp tacos from cambridge's olecito, I wake up primed to chase down hobbits). we'll see what the road has to say about it all. weather report for sunday, the 22nd, is 33F with possible snow showers, welcome conditions after the past six weeks.

this morning's route
distance: 6.73 miles
time: 59 mins.11 secs. (8:46-miles)
weather: 27F, sun, wind
surface: asphalt, dirt track (about 50-50 mix)
music: run mix 4 (2.15.09)
pre-run eats: banana, mini banana-chocolate muffin, one packet of energy beans, two Advil, mug of coffee, cup of water

first dirt run of the season (double whoo-hoo!)

distance: 7.82 miles (this morning's route)
time: 71 mins. 15 secs (9:o5 min.-miles)
weather: 37F, stiff winds
surface: Clear asphalt, and blessed, beloved, beautiful, bestest dirt paths -- a sight for sore eyes and sore joints, even though it was mostly like running on cookie dough.
music: enhanced run mix 3 (2.8.09)
pre-run eats: apple, banana, two Advil, cup of coffee, glass of water.

hopkinton-bound

(the starting line for the boston marathon, jan. '09)

click here for the debut of my marathon series on bu today (apologies to the three readers of this blog, who may find some of the material familiar).

this morning's route
distance: 7.82 miles
time: 67 mins. 25 secs (8:35 min.-miles)
weather: 37F, slight wind
surface: Mostly clear asphalt with some stretches of black ice and crusty snow, and about fifty yards of blessed, beloved dirt
music: enhanced run mix 3 (2.8.09)
pre-run eats: apple, yogurt, two Advil, cup of coffee, glass of water.

Please consider sponsoring my boston marathon charity effort, on behalf of the michael carter lisnow respite center. click here to read about my recent visit.

Thanks, Mary! Thanks, Shawn and Jessica!

first shorts run of the season (whoo-hoo!)

photo by trent campbell

distance: 14.17 miles (click here for route)
time: 2 hrs. 8 mins. 45 secs. (@ 9 min. miles)
weather: 50F, windy
surface: melted ice, puddles, slush, mud, and clear pavement.
music: enhanced run mix 3 (2.8.09)
pre-run eats (about 2 hrs before): chorizo cheese omelette, wheat toast, home fries, glass of water, glass of orange juice. didn't need energy goo during the run, but found my water supply (four 8 oz. bottles) inadequate, and not entirely quenching. will try gator-ade next time.

science museum redux

distance: 7.82 miles (click here for route)
time: 71 mins., 16 secs. (@ 9 mins. 5 sec. miles)
weather: 12F, slight wind
surface: hard, snow-covered asphalt and patches of ice (65 percent), clear pavement (35 percent)
music: run mix 3 (1.10.09)
pre-run eats: apple, banana, two Advil, cup of coffee, glass of water

Please consider sponsoring my boston marathon charity effort. click here for more info.

science museum loop

distance: 7.82 miles (click here for route)
time: none (no point, with all the slippage)
weather: 20F, slight wind, diminishing flurries
surface: snow-covered asphalt (but blanket-soft for much of the way, with little under-crust, only one ankle-deep puddle mistaken for blessed pavement)
music: none
pre-run eats: apple, yogurt, two Advil, cup of coffee.

ice ice baby

distance: 18.1 miles (click here for the route, 7 times around fresh pond, and back to river street), longest run yet.
time: 2 hrs. 53 mins., 39 secs (@ 9 min 30 sec miles).
weather: 22F, mostly overcast with sun breaking through.
surface: clear asphalt with long stretches of dirt-sprinkled ice around the pond, hard bubbled icy sidewalks on the way home -- pure venus-scape. sure wish i'd had some of these. check out the jan. issue of runner's world for a how-to on drilling sheetrock screws into the soles of your running shoes (you'll look pretty cool sparking up the pavement, too!).
music: run mix 3 (1.10.09).
pre-run eats: cup of coffee, apple, yogurt, cup of water, a couple strips of beef jerky, half a stick of chicken satay, one packet of vanilla bean energy goo, three Advil (hips still a-creakin').