Race Report: Finish at the 50 10K

Tuesday marked the third consecutive year that Harvard Pilgrim has hosted a race at Gillette Stadium.  In the first two years, the race was a 10K on the morning of July 4th.  This year they made a drastic change by adding a 5K option and scheduling the race for the evening of July 3rd instead.  I had a hunch this would change the feel of the race, and that hunch was spot on.
The 10K is a weird distance that I don't have a lot of experience with.  In looking back at my race calendars, I've run a lot of 5 milers and a bunch of half marathons, but nothing in between.  The distance is short enough that you have to keep your speed up, but long enough that you have to reserve enough energy or you'll fizzle out at the end.  It requires strategy, and this is a great course to practice that strategy.  It's a very comfortable course, and doesn't get much flatter.  In fact, I felt like I was running downhill a lot. That's the good part about this race.  The bad part is that it takes place in July, and whether the race takes place at 10am or 6pm, either way it's still hot.  
This year, the race not only expanded to include a 5K option  but also added fireworks afterwards, making it an all night affair and encouraging a lot more participants.  In fact, participation more than doubled with over 7,000 entrants.  Seems that quite a few people wanted a chance to run across the field at Gillette Stadium and meet Jerod Mayo at the finish line.  And why not?  A 5K is a doable distance for runners and walkers alike and a much less intimidating distance than the 10K.  The result of this was, let's call it... "growing pains".


THE GOOD...
As mentioned, the course itself is great.  The volunteers at the water stops were efficient, and there were plenty of water stops.  I heard some folks complain that there weren't enough water stops, but I disagree.  There were stops at the 1.5 mile, 3 mile, 4 mile, and 5 mile marks.  As always, it's fun running across the field at Gillette Stadium.  And the fireworks were a blast!


THE BAD...
As mentioned, the theme of this year was growing pains.  I'm all for encouraging maximum participation but it shouldn't come at the expense of the entrant's experience. Both the 5K and the 10K races started at the same time, which caused overcrowding in the starting chute.  The chute was poorly designed, with the entry points to the chute blocked in several areas by large towers of water bottles.  Because of this, many runners were unable to enter the chutes and masses of people spilled out onto the sidewalks.  I could have lived with this, except...
Runners were self seeded, with the understanding that you line up in your pace category.  There are always going to be exceptions to this, but for the most part in most of the races I've participated in, runners do a pretty good and honest job at this.  I believe part of the problem in this race is that many of the participants were not avid racers, but instead local folks that wanted a chance to tour the stadium and used the 5K as a way to leisurely stroll the property.  And since they were just walking, heck why not start in front to get a head start!  The result was a bottleneck of runners trying to skirt around walkers and very slow joggers during the first mile.  I very much believe in running a smart race and avoiding jockeying for position at the beginning, which generally only results in wasted energy.  In this case it couldn't be helped, and it was very frustrating to me.
A similar frustration bubbled up in the final moments of the race, where the 5K and 10K routes merged shortly before entering the stadium.  It appears that someone had the foresight to realize this might become a problem, and had cones up to separate the two divisions.  Guess what runners do with cones...They run in between them!  If you really want to keep the two divisions separate, put up a solid barrier.  Here's the issue.  I'm a moderately paced 10K runner.  I'm not super fast, but I finished in the top 30% at a time of 54:45.  All of the folks finishing the 10K at this time are fairly strong runners looking for a good solid kick at the end.  Instead, we were finishing simultaneously with 5K entrants who were walking a 5K with a 54 minute finish time.  That's snail's pace.  The result: Log jam at the end in which I was barely able to jog around people up to the finish line.  Don't get me wrong, I am by no means a snobby runner.  I'm not breaking records or doing anything outstanding, but I have a strategy that really came unraveled because of the poor logistics.  My main strategy at the end of that race was "get me to a bottle of water as quickly as possible!", which leads me to my next gripe.  The water was all located outside the stadium, with signs posted everywhere that there was "NO RE-ENTRY!"  No one read those signs.  There were massive amounts of people standing, sitting, stretching, and drinking lots of water.  When I crossed that finish line I was lightheaded and nauseous, and knocked into people like a pinball trying to get off the field for water.  Literally, I would have failed a field sobriety test.  I'm not saying people shouldn't be able to hang out on the field, but if the "no re-entry" thing can't be enforced, then at least make it easier for finishers to get to the water before they pass out (which I nearly did).  


AND THE UGLY!
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't publicly humiliate the people that took advantage of the post-race snacks, hoarding them as if they were preparing for Armageddon.  This was an issue last year as well, when people were taking entire cases of granola bars instead of taking a single granola bar out of the case.  Seems that the race officials tried to prevent this by handing out pre-stuffed bags with goodies.  But these clever doomsday'ers found a work around, by stuffing tote bags with literally dozens of these pre-filled bags.  Not only does this represent heinous greed, but we can't even say it's impulsive.  Because really, what are you doing on the field of Gillette Stadium, after a 10K race, with several large empty tote bags?  Shame on you, sloths, for robbing the people that were still out on the course, working harder than you did.  


THE BOTTOM LINE...
I'm always going to run this race, because despite everything I just said, I really enjoy it. This race is put on by DMSE (Dave McGillivray Sports Enterprises, a top notch racing outfit) and I'm confident they will continue to fine tune this young event. The bottom line is that if they are going to continue drawing big-league numbers of participants, they are going to have to treat it like a big-league race.


But anyways, back to me...
Logistics aside, I still had a great time.  I stuck to my plan and ran conservatively in the first couple of miles, and even managed to move to the side of the road to wave to my son Andrew and Ronnie's wife Donna who were cheering for us.  Well, Donna was cheering for us.  Andrew was chatting on the phone, and holding a bag of Subway sandwiches.  I must say even though I was aggravated at all the people that lined up too far ahead, the benefit of this was that I felt like a rock star the entire race.  I literally passed people constantly for 6 miles, and had very few people pass me.  That was psychologically motivating, and although I got caught in a lot of traffic where it was difficult to pass, I felt relatively strong throughout the race.  My only hiccup was at the final water stop, where I slowed to walk, drank a sip of water and poured the rest over myself.  When I went to run again, my legs were spent and I found it very difficult to get back up to speed.  In the future, it seems that maybe I'm better off carrying my own water to avoid interrupting my legs' rhythm.  Once in the stadium, I was overwhelmed with thirst, crowds, and the feeling of any-minute-now-I'm-going-to-pass-out-or-vomit-or-both.  I pinballed my way to the water, grabbed a chunk of ice and stuck it under my hat, and downed a couple bottles of water.  Whereas the first two years I savored every moment of the experience of being on the field, looking for celebrities, seeing myself on the jumbotron, on this day it was more about survival.  Once I came back to life we headed back to the car, changed into dry clothes, and set up a great spread for tailgating.

Bragging rights...
As mentioned, my finishing time was 54:45.  Although I had a time goal of low 50's, I had modified that due to the heat.  Not only is that a new PR for me at that distance, but it's also a whopping six minutes faster than last year!

Track - 6 weeks later

Six weeks ago I attended my first track workout.  As a complete beginner to track I had to learn what 200's and 400's were, and how to avoid starting out too fast and fizzling before the end of the session.  I was also given modified assignments since I was not only new to track but also not in peak running condition.
The word on the street is that regularly incorporating track sessions into your weekly routine can make you a faster runner.  Coach said to give it a month before I should start expecting any improvement.  But like everything Coach says, I have to translate that into my very specific Jill-Dog Years-Fat Ass-multiplied by 3.14 slices of pie- formula.  I waited six weeks to reflect.
So here we go - the six week results:
Week 1:
200: untimed
200: untimed
400: 1:46
400: 1:46
400: 1:43
At the end of that first workout, I was definitely depleted.  I couldn't have run another 400 in under two minutes if Channing Tatum was waiting for me at the finish line in nothing but a bow tie.
In weeks 2 through 4, we added different distances and increased the number of intervals, but I still never completed an entire workout.  Week 5, I finally completed the entire workout, did my first 1200, and managed to still match or beat my previous weeks' times.  Holy smokes!  And that brings us to...
Week 6:
200: 47
400: 98
800: 3:38
800: 3:38
800: 3:36
400: 98
200: 43
I'm pretty psyched that I managed to shave significant time off the 400's (and the 800's, which I did in 3:51 on week 2).  I'm also pleased that my times stayed consistent or improved throughout the workout, I completed the entire workout, and I didn't even vomit doing it!  For me, an exciting milestone is getting my 400 times into double digits.  Coach counts anything under 1:40 in seconds, so I slid in right under the wire.  Go legs!
About halfway through last night's workout a family with some kids on scooters and with soccer balls showed up at the track.  I figured they would get in our way but they were pleasant, and I overheard the kids say, "wow they run so fast!!"  After we were done a boy of about 7 or 8 came up to us asking if he could do a lap on the track.  The coach timed him while we all watched and waited for him to come back around.  We clapped for him, and would you believe he did it in 89 seconds!  That little squirt blew my doors off!  You could tell it totally made the kid's night to be running with the "track runners", and he asked if he could run with us again next week.  I think we have a new recruit!


So, in my uneducated opinion with nothing but 6 weeks of modest experience to back me up, if one were to ask me how to run faster, here's what I would say:  Running faster makes you faster.  I think if you run 15 miles a week at a 9:00 pace, you probably won't finish a 5k at a 7:30 pace.  You might, but it will probably hurt a lot.  Again, I'm speculating.  I think if you want to run faster you have to train your body on how to adapt to faster paces and sustain it, which can be done through these grueling intervals that just keep getting longer and longer.  Again, I'm just thinking out loud.  Or, maybe all it really takes is the heart of a 7 year old.

Tornado Alley Relay

A few months back, my friend Joanna invited me to join her in an inaugural relay race called the Tornado Alley Relay.  I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing because I had never done a relay race before, didn't know anyone else on the team, and had no idea how healed my hip would be by then.  But, she had a couple good selling points to lure me in.  1. it was for a really good cause: raising money for folks impacted by the tornadoes in western Massachusetts last year, and 2. the run segments were all very short and manageable*.  And oh heck, the relay was months away so I had plenty of time to train!
*Short and manageable until you read the elevation map
Our team was made up of friends, friends of friends, and replacement friends of friends.  Who knew how hard it could be to nail down six runners!  At the last minute we were down another runner, and Kerri was kind enough to join in the madness.  I was pretty psyched about this since now I had another friendly face in the team.  A couple weeks ago we all met up for a pre-relay fun run so we could get a chance to meet each other. That definitely helped break the ice and we got a glimpse of the size of some of the hills we would be facing on the relay.  Yikes!


The Event:
The Tornado Alley Relay was put on by Back of the Pack Productions.  It's a 57 mile relay course from Monson, MA to Charlton, covering much of the terrain that was destroyed in the tornado from one year ago.  Teams consist of six runners, with each runner doing 3 legs, a total of anywhere from 6 to 12 miles.  


The Team: "Vortex Vixens"
Team Captain: Diana "hostess with the mostest"
Jodie: Triathlete and Master Tweeter 
Joanna: Team contortionist and official "woo hoo'er"
Kerri: The Ninja
Missy: "I'm game!"
Jill: "You can fix anything with a foam roller"


Pre-Race:
Friday night Kerri and I headed out to Sturbridge to join our teammates in the pre-race pasta dinner at the Sturbridge Coffee House. We had a nice meal with Diana, Jodie, and Jodie's husband John.  Much of the conversation centered on stories of the tornado, and it was the first time I had heard anyone's first hand account of that day.  After dinner we headed back to Diana's house to spend the night.  On the agenda: arts and crafts!  Diana came up with the idea to have matching team shirts and socks, with the shirts each having one letter on the back.  When we all stand side-by-side, the shirts spell TORNADO.  Cool, right?

Kerri took control of the shirts

The finished product

As we were just finishing up the ironing (and by "we" I mean Kerri), I casually mentioned how I liked being "O2" ("2" is for my runner number).  Then we said, who's T1?  Wait a minute, I don't remember seeing a T.  Did anyone cut out a T?  And with that we realized Jodie's shirt accidentally had a big fat O ironed into it instead of a T!  And since we couldn't very well end the relay spelling OORNADO, we needed quick damage control.  We tried everything to lift the letter back off the shirt without luck, and finally at 9:30 at night, Joanna ran out to get another shirt.  She saved the day!  It made for a whole lot of laughs, and we spent the rest of the night chatting over some wine and relaxing before bed.


Race day - The weather
I woke up at 5am, after an outstanding night's sleep, to the sound of rain pelting the roof.  I hoped that it just sounded worse than it was since I was sleeping on the top floor.  But no, one look out the window confirmed what I feared: It was POURING.  This wasn't just a little mist.  This was mother nature making up big time for the drought over the last couple months, dumping out torrents of rain and soaking everything.  It stayed like this all day, except for occasionally when it rained even harder.


The wheels
Captain Diana, the hostess with the mostest, was able to secure her mother's Suburban, which offered us a roomy mode of transportation. Her amazingly patient and very Irish husband spent the entire day as our "escort", driving six soggy women around in the big rig.  His duties included reading maps, driving the course, stopping repeatedly, jumping out to offer someone water, and a whole lot of honking and turning around... and around... and around.  If I had a nickel for every time someone said, "Brian can you put it in park so I can open the hatch?"  He was a saint to us!  All of our gear was stored in the far back of the Suburban.  Luckily all of us prepared well with plenty of extra sets of clothing and gear to keep dry.  This meant three of everything, multiplied by six.  It was bag upon bag, and by the end of the day there were so many sopping wet clothes scattered about, it was like a tornado went through the truck!


The start
We piled into the Vixen Van and headed to Monson, to the start of the relay.  It was pouring so hard it was actually tough finding the race!  We signed in, listened to the safety briefing, and got good and pumped up for the relay.  One concern all of us had was finding enough toilet facilities on course, so we all took the opportunity to stop in the ladies room before heading to the start of the relay.  Well, make that 5 of the 6 of us.  We all left the ladies room and looked for Jodie, runner #1, only to find that the race already started and she was hightailing it down Main Street!  Doh!  Well so much for cheering on our runner!  We completely flubbed up the start of the relay!  We jumped into the Vixen Van and took off after her.  Finally we passed her with honking horns, windows down and lots of screaming and cheering.  She was bundled up with her raincoat on and a reflective vest, marching solidly into the pouring rain. 

Jodie, are you under there somewhere?

Transition 1  (Don't worry, I won't detail all 18 of the transitions!)
I hopped out of the van and waited for Jodie to arrive, hunkering down under an umbrella to stay dry.  (Ha!!) 

7:15am, the last time I would be wearing all dry clothes for the next 9 hours

Suddenly everything happened so fast.  I heard "runner coming!" and then someone said, "It's Jodie!".  Quickly I ditched the umbrella, straightened out my safety vest, gave a few high fives, and waited for Jodie to come barreling in.

Jodie runs so fast she blurs

Then I was off!  I knew I had a long gradual hill to start off with, but I was pumped with adrenaline and absolutely freezing, so I started off at a brisk pace.  The climb wasn't bad, and a mile into the race I settled into a nice comfortable rhythm and started to warm up.  I thought to myself, this hill really isn't so bad, and then realized I had barely even begun to climb.  Up, up, and up I went, chiseling away at the hills while my pace slowed.  I trained for this, I prepared for this, I knew this was coming, I can do this.  It became a mental game with a lot of self talk to get me up those hills.  At one point the cheering Vixen Van rolled alongside me, asking how I was feeling.  "These hills are a bitch!" I shouted.  Eventually a guy caught up to me and shouted out the dutiful "lookin' good!" sentiment, even though I'm pretty sure I looked fat and wobbly.  I told him how this hill was just sucking the life out of me.  He responded, "You're doing great!  Just a few more of these and you'll be done before you know it!".  WHAT?  More??  I really wanted to ask him some follow up questions but I, 1. couldn't keep up with him, and 2. couldn't breathe.  A female runner also passed me, griping about the hills.  Once she passed me I got my rhythm back.  One thing that's hard about a relay is there are big chunks of time, if not the entire time, where you never see another runner.  Without someone to set your sights on, it can be tough to stay focused.  I let that lady pull me right into the finish line, and I finished strong!  I was very pleased, and a little shocked, in finishing this 5 mile run in 44 minutes.

Am I reading this right? And, does anyone have a hair dryer?

I can't be sure, but I think Joanna was doing the moonwalk while waiting for me

The transitions all became a routine of whipping off clothes, sliding into fresh clothes, finding a toilet, a water, and a snack.  Once I was back in the Vixen Van, we headed off to find Joanna, who was running strong and remarkably fast.

Lucky duck had a flat to downhill 5 mile course!  (this luck wouldn't last, she discovered)

I settled into the back of the van and chomped on Chex Mix and Swedish fish, which turned out to be a great snack in between runs.  I also broke out the massage stick and did a lot of massaging during my downtime.  There were some skeptics in the group, but everyone became a believer that day.


Diana must have somehow drawn the short straw when the assignments were handed out, because she got stuck with a monster of a hill.  This hill was almost an impossible climb at a run, but sure enough when we passed her she was smiling!


Quick question, what do you get when you cross one of the Village People with Gene Simmons, while listening to Thriller?  Answer:

Diana

Diana was more than thrilled when she finished that merciless first run, and if I'm not mistaken, she may have done a little Irish Jig when she handed the wristband to Missy.

Missy in Warrior Pose as she heads out on her first run

Missy headed out into her run bundled up like nobody's business.  Personally I don't know how she could run with so much clothing on, but she likes to be warm and it worked for her.  Missy handed the wristband off to Kerri, our sixth and final runner.  It was at this point that an interesting subplot began to form.  Kerri took up a little rivalry with a man on another team.  She was a fair distance behind him but was closing the gap.  The Vixen Van rolled up beside her and we gave her the order: "Kerri, faster!  Ninja his ass!".  And with that, Kerri became the team ninja.  She nodded to us, understanding the directive, and zeroed in on her new rival.  She easily passed by him and he gave a little wave in defeat.  This would become a recurring theme for the rest of the event.

Kerri finishing strong

Kerri transitioning to Jodie to start the 2nd wave.  Jodie shed some layers.

Here, the scenery was breathtaking, stunning, and devastating.  The sheer magnitude of this storm's destruction is unimaginable.  You can't fully appreciate it until you see it up close, and you can't help but feel for these people that lost so much.  It's easy to see now why this course is so winding and hilly.  It was designed to show us the damage up close and personal.  It was heartbreaking and inspiring all at once, and I'm betting all six of us ran a little faster because of it.

This used to be a forest, across from what used to be an auto garage in Brimfield, MA

My second segment was a nice, flat 5.6 miles.  I was really looking forward to it since my quads took a beating on the hills the first time around.  When I started running, my legs gave me some serious attitude.  The "I already worked today" attitude.  As much as I wanted to run faster, my heavy, rubber legs wouldn't cooperate.  Still, I managed a good time of 48 minutes, at an 8:38 pace.  Not bad for tired legs! 

Peace out, yo!

The best part of this segment was when I heard footsteps behind me.  I knew I was being passed and I was relatively certain it was by a guy.  That was confirmed when I heard a male voice behind me say, "hey, your socks match my skirt!"  Huh?  Sure enough, a guy in a hot pink tutu ran past me, a perfect match to my hot pink Zensah calf sleeves.  Always a joy getting passed by a guy in a tutu!  Oh, and did I mention how hard it was raining?  

Absolutely, positively, soaked

Joanna's second run featured much less forgiving terrain than her first run, but she powered up those hills.  Diana also had some tough hills.  Missy didn't yet shed a layer but at least the hood came down.

Kerri once again ninja'd her rival, who once again looked defeated.  We all cheered!  I definitely started hitting the wall while waiting for my next run.  I was exhausted, and losing any interest in running again.  The one thing I wish I had packed was coffee or Coke.  I could have really used a caffeine kick, and my stomach was craving sugar.


And finally, we were on our 3rd wave.  Jodie finished her last run strong, with her husband John cheering her on.  I hopped out of the van and the cold rain helped to wake me up.  I took off, a quick 1.2 miler around the Southbridge Airport.  I ran a brisk pace and didn't give my legs time to realize how tired they were, and finished in an 8:14 pace.  Relief!  What a sense of relief knowing my run was done, and I had no more hills to climb!


Joanna finished her 3rd leg strong, but surprised at how long it felt.  The hills from earlier caught up with Diana, and no amount of Aleve, stretching or foam rolling gave her any relief from the hip pain she felt.  She came in limping after her last run.  Missy achieved rock star status on her last run, hammering through a 2 miler in under 16 minutes.  Rock star!  And then finally, Kerri headed off for the final leg of the journey.  While she was running we all changed into our Vixen gear so that we would all match at the finish line.  Kerri was just finishing a long climb, and who was in front of her but that same rival!  "Ninja!" we all shouted out the window.  And she ninja'd.  Our Vixen Van slowly rolled past the rival.  He took one look at us and exclaimed, "are you kidding me?? Shit!"  We all laughed, and within seconds Kerri was passing him.  He gave her a big high-five and she took off.


Just before the finish, all of the matching Vortex Vixens pulled in behind Kerri to run across the finish together.  And fitting with the theme of the day, the finish line was a mud puddle. This might be my favorite picture of the day.

Kerri leading the Vixen charge across the puddle/finish line

Everyone was impressed with the official uniform of the Vixens.

All I can say is, thank you Diana for not choosing white shirts

At the end of the race, all of us were freezing, soaked, and famished.  We devoured the post-race food, which included pizza, potato salad, and orzo salad.  The food was good and filling, but we were too cold to stick around and socialize.  Kerri formally introduced herself to her rival and he gave her a hug.  You've got to love the relay sportsmanship!  


And when I mentioned Captain Diana, hostess with the mostest who thought of everything... I mean, everything.  What other team had a tray of specialized mini-cakes?

Eat your heart out 

Overall this relay was a phenomenal time.  I've heard of other relays that require an entire weekend, no sleep, and multiple vans.  This was on a smaller scale and for a very meaningful cause, and I am thrilled to have been a part of it.  The race itself was well organized for such a logistical challenge, and the volunteers were awesome.  I heard rumors that this will become a regular June event, and you can be sure the Vixens will return!

Track session #1 - The debut

My running club’s official track season started last night, and for the first time since joining the club two years ago, I decided to give it a try.  But not without a fair amount of anxiety.  Track is for fast people.  For people with funny looking track shoes.  For people that know a “400” is one lap.  I certainly don’t fit the profile of a track runner and was so afraid of being humiliated that I very nearly talked myself out of going.  Here are excerpts from actual conversations that occurred yesterday:

Conversation #1:

Me: I emailed the coach letting him know I’m planning on going but I’m scared.  He responded that I won’t regret doing it once it’s OVER.  So that makes me feel fantastic.

Scott: Maybe you shouldn’t have told him that. Now you have a target on your shorts.

Me: Let’s hope that’s all I have on my shorts at the end of the workout.  Seriously, I’m starting to wonder if I ate too much at lunch.  I might s**t myself on the track.

Scott: Just assume you will puke.

Conversation #2:

Me: I am terrified of track tonight.  Seriously.  Of being slow and not knowing what to do and embarrassing myself.

Dan: Ah, fear of the unknown.  You need this. You will get more out of it than anyone else.

Me: Okay! I’ll report back tonight.  Thanks for the encouragement!

Dan: Speedwork is a sick feeling.  No one in their right mind would look forward to it.

Me: Way to scare me again. Prepare for sickness.  Swell.

Dan: Oops.

So with friends like this, it’s easy to see why I was uptight heading to track.  Despite all my fears I got dressed and started out the door.  My mother questioned why I was driving there and not running there.  (The track is seven miles away).  On the way there I realized I was wearing the wrong glasses, and that was almost all it took to turn around, but I refused to let myself chicken out now.

Eight of us showed up for track, an even split of men and women.  The coach took our names and we headed off for a light 1 mile warm up through the neighborhood.  There was something about this warm up jog that immediately settled me in.  Usually I run either alone or in small groups, but never in a group of eight.  Eight is more than a few.  Eight is a team.  Eight is enough to stop traffic while we cross roads.  It was a great way for us to shed the jitters and make good conversation now with the same people we would be suffering with later.

Back at the track we did some initial, untimed 200’s with 200 recoveries.  Our coach, Rich, preferred that we don’t use Garmin’s at all during our workouts but insisted that we remove them for the first 200’s out of respect for the previous track coach.  Larry, the previous coach, never believed in runners wearing timing equipment and had an amazing ability to keep time in his head.  So off we went for our 200’s, with the Garmin sitting on the grass.  I have no idea what my pace was on those 200’s but it was a good wake up call for my legs.  I listened to Rich’s instruction and ran conservatively starting off on the turns, then opened it up on the straight-aways.  I made it through the 200’s pretty well, although I wondered if I would be able to sustain that for the 3 400’s I had coming up.  After the 200’s I found myself shedding a layer, and despite the 50 degree raw conditions, I lined up at the start in just a t-shirt and shorts. 

In the 400’s we split up into two waves, with the fast guys heading out first.  When my wave started, I again ran conservatively going into the first turn, and then opened it up on the straight-aways.  I ran faster than I realized I could, and it was great having faster runners ahead of me pulling me along.  I also realized why Rich wants us to ditch the Garmin’s.  For one thing, I kept pressing the wrong button in my haste.  For another thing, I couldn’t possibly read the Garmin while I was running that fast so I had no idea how fast I was going anyways.  When I crossed the 400 mark and Rich shouted out “1:46”, I was shocked.  I ran the slowest 400 recovery I could possibly run without walking to give myself time to catch my breath, and I admitted to Rich that I overdid the first lap.  I wouldn’t be able to sustain that.  He cautioned about this at the beginning, of making sure we didn’t use up all our gas in the first one or two laps so we’d have enough to finish the workout.  Rookie mistake.  The second 400 started and I took the same approach, and strangely didn’t feel any worse than the first 400.  Rich was at the finish line cheering me on with words of encouragement and again shouted, “1:46!”  I gave out a holler and slowed back down.  I was ecstatic that I maintained the same exact pace through two intervals, and again ran as slowly as possible back around to the start.  On the third and final interval I gave whatever I had left, and Rich seemed genuinely pleased when I crossed in 1:43.  I ran two cool down laps after that (maybe I should call them “victory laps”) and was surprised at how easy the effort seemed.  Running that fast makes running slow seem so much easier!  We all regrouped at the end and went for a cool down 1 mile jog back through the neighborhood, and it was a great way to end the session.

Last night’s introduction to track work made me aware of a few things

1. I have nothing to be afraid of
2. I have no one to compete against except myself
3. It hurts, but the sense of accomplishment is unlike anything else
4. The suffering among friends makes it almost enjoyable
5. I will be there every single week

When I got home from track, I texted a few people to let them know I survived, and then I sent a boastful tweet out in Twitter about my track debut and my amazement at running a sub-7 pace.  The icing on the cake?  Bart Yasso responded, congratulating me!  THE Bart Yasso!  Now THAT made it all worth it.

What horses teach us about running

Long before I was a runner, I was a rider.  Horses have always been a part of my life, and I’ve spent many years riding and training them, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized how much they could teach me about running.

Today I volunteered at a trail clean up day located at the West Hill Dam.  Since this land is right behind my house and I’m on these trails literally every day of my life, it’s pretty important to me that they stay in good shape.  The work day is organized by my riding club, but for the last two years I’ve solicited volunteers from my running club as well.  Every year the Tri-Valley Front Runners hosts a summer trail race series at the West Hill Dam, so they too have a vested interest in keeping the trails in ship shape. 

Knowing I had a very busy afternoon ahead of me, and feeling a bit guilty about my lack of miles this week, I headed out the door early for a run before the trail work.  What I thought was going to be a quick 3 miler turned into 5 when I added on a couple new roads, and by the time I got home I had literally 5 minutes to clean myself up, pack a bag, and head to the dam.  When I got there, it was easy to see who came from what club.  Without fail, every single horseback rider was wearing an old pair of Ariat boots, and equally without fail, each and every runner was wearing a beat up pair of old running shoes.  As a hybrid, I compromised with Ariat boots and a running shirt.

After the work day was done, a few of us headed to Boston for the Boston Marathon race expo.  I have several friends running it, and a couple of us just tagged along for the fun of it.  This is a runner’s paradise, with free samples and vendors of all kinds just dying to show you the latest gismo that you simply can’t run without.  I got a good chuckle out of this, because every year I attend the Equine Affaire, which is a horse-themed trade show with the very same feel.  The more I got to think about it, there seemed to be a lot more similarities between the two sports than I ever first imagined!  When I got home from Boston I hopped on my horse Rocco and gave it some thought. 

1    1.   Proper warm-up.  Ever since I was young it was instilled in me that horses need proper warm up.  You can’t just throw a saddle on them and take off.  I always adhered to this rule (as if my mother would ever let me just “take off”) but I noticed that not all riders abide by that rule.  As a runner, I can attest to the fact that a warm up is key.  Some runners run a couple miles before a race.  I warm up differently depending on what distance I’m planning to run, but one thing’s for sure: I don’t just jump out of the car, slam the door, and take off running.
2.       Proper hydration: It’s true what they say about leading a horse to water but not getting them to drink.  They say that because horses can be finicky about water, and they sometimes won’t drink it when we know darn well they should.  My horse never met a puddle he didn’t like, and I always give him the option to stop for a drink.  You know why?  Because he might be thirsty.  Just like I am when I’m running.  I sure wouldn’t want someone kicking me in the ribs as I passed a water station with my mouth getting crusty.
3.       Salt: Horses, like people, need salt.  We give the horses a salt block that they can lick freely, but sometimes that’s not enough.  Just like people, horses can sweat out a lot of salt.  During heavy workouts, horses get electrolytes.  We even keep a tube of electrolyte paste attached to our saddle just in case a ride ends up getting overly strenuous.  When runners talk about taking salt tabs and Gatorade and Perpetuem, I can’t help but equate that to what we do for horses.
4.       The quickest, most efficient way from Point A to Point B is a straight line.  Horses try to tell us this all the time, yet we force them to do their dainty little circles and stay along the perimeter of the ring.  Sometimes I find myself on a race course not running the most direct route.  Remember, all certified race courses are measured on the most direct path of a street, so this is a good time to act like a horse.
5.       It’s always more fun to run with a friend.
6.       But, sometimes we need to know when we can’t keep up with our friend, and doing so will eventually hurt us.
7.       Running/riding on a track/arena is not always the most fun or most scenic event, but it’s usually a necessary evil to make you a better runner/rider.
8.       Footing is everything.  The impact of running on asphalt can be severe, and running through deep footing can be equally damaging.  Anyone who wants to gallop their horses down sand dunes should try running it first.
9.       Sometimes horses don’t know what’s best for them, and their rider needs to exercise the better judgment.  This is often true of runners too, who sometimes don’t know when to admit they are injured, when it’s time to slow down, or when it’s time to walk off a race course and live to run another day.
10.   Re-purposing:  Horses go through many careers over their lives.  Race horses evolve into show horses, show horses evolve into trail horses, trail horses evolve into companion horses.  Similarly, runners evolve through different stages of their lives.  Sprinters become marathoners, marathoners become ultra-marathoners, road runners  become trail runners, trail runners become hikers.  As long as we are still moving, there’s a purpose.

I’m sure I could offer another list of 10 things I’ve learned about horses from running, but that’s going to have to wait for another day.  Time to go count sheep!

Life according to runners

Now that I am back into full swing running, I can't remember what I did to fill my time when I wasn't. Running once again dominates most of my discussions (at least the important ones) and is a major factor in many everyday life situations. It seems that life revolves around running, preparing to run, and recovering from running.

When runners drive down streets, they analyze the street in terms of its "runability". I'm guilty of this, scoping out shoulders, sidewalks, traffic patterns, hill grades, blind spots, potential water bottle hiding spots, scenery, and proximity to connecting streets to make a decent loop. Last weekend I had a memorial service to attend, and we drove down the neighborhood where my mother grew up and where I spent many many days of my childhood. As she reminisced about growing up in the house, my response was, "This would be a great neighborhood to run a few miles". On Tuesday I had to pick up my son from school. Not letting an opportunity go to waste, I showed up in front of the school in my florescent shirt, running shorts, Garmin and water bottle. We drove a little ways down the street until I pulled over, hopped out, and ran the rest of the way home.

When runners (female) purchase beauty products, the number one question is: "Is it sweat-proof?" After a hard lunch run on a mild day last week, my face wasn't cooling down too well. I was sweating like a garden hose and even after I showered, my make up was sweating right back off my face. That's when Kerri introduced me to tinted moisturizer. What a hidden gem! Now I just use that instead of foundation on my running days and I don't have to worry about looking blotchy. While I was at the store purchasing the new moisturizer, I stumbled across "24 hour Color Tattoo" eye shadow. It's like they knew I was coming!

Meal planning is another area that leads to interesting discussion. Runners eat foods that serve a purpose. "What do you feel like having for dinner?" can be answered a number of ways:

1. Something with a good carb-to-protein ratio and no fiber. I have a long run in the morning.

2. Nothing, I have a track workout tonight. But I'll nibble on these almonds and an ounce of cheese before I go. And I'd like some electrolytes when I get home.

3. Nothing but carbs. I have a race tomorrow.

4. Since I'm not running tonight or tomorrow, let's load up on veggies and fiber.

Runners know what it means to go shoe shopping, but this isn't so obvious for non-runners. Here's an excerpt from an actual conversation last week:

Non-Runner (NR): What did you do yesterday?

Me: Went shoe shopping

NR: Oh what did you get?

Me: Got my first pair of Brooks. Defyance 5. Pretty sweet!

NR: Uh... what color?

Me: Pretty much white, with some purple and neon green trim.

NR: Umm... and you like them?

Me: Yes! Roomy toe box, good arch support, very lightweight, good cushion. Nice neutral shoe.

NR: (Blank stare)

Just this afternoon as Jaimee and I prepared for our lunch time run, we realized we both had the exact same shoe! It's cool, because she's a runner. She gets me.

Month in review: Wind, battle scars, and hovercrafts

Hard to believe it’s been over a month since I last wrote!  I really need to work on this, and I have a lot of making up to do!  The last five weeks have been go-go-go, and everything’s starting to come together.  I am now in my fifth month of healing post-surgery, and although I’m making strong progress, I still have a long way to go.  I remember when the surgeon told me it was a 3-5 month recovery and I was so convinced I’d beat that estimate, but the truth was he was spot on.  Now I’m starting to get my running legs back but I have to be super cautious not to add miles on too fast and risk another injury due to carelessness.  Once I finally felt like I was doing enough to justify tracking my miles, I started a new running log.  In some ways it’s hard not to get discouraged by this, because I can’t help but compare my stats to last year (or better yet, the year before).  The good thing about the log though is it shows the progress that I’ve been making post-surgery.  I guess that’s the way I have to measure myself now: BS (Before Surgery) and AS (After Surgery).  Without boring everyone too much with details, here are my AS (After Surgery) stats:

Week 1: Total miles: 4.6  Average Pace: 12:40

Week 2: Total miles: 10.6  Average Pace: 11:40

Week 3: Total miles: 5.5  Average Pace: 11:10

Week 4: Total miles: 12  Average Pace: 10:57

Week 5: Total miles: 10.8  Average Pace: 10:17

Week 6: Total miles: 13.7  Average Pace: 9:40

Making good progress!

Some of my more memorable runs:

Track runs: A few of us have been getting together at the track for nighttime runs.  What a blast this is, trotting around the track in the dark and trying to figure out who is passing you.  And even though I was wearing a Garmin, I couldn’t really see it in the dark and 5 miles flew by in no time!

Windy runs: The weather has been wacky lately, and a couple of my recent runs have been in some serious wind!  Last week Kerri and I ran together at work.  It was unseasonably warm and WINDY!  It seemed like the wind was hitting us in the face no matter what direction we were running.  Then on the way back, the wind was hitting me so strongly from the left that my pony tail was extended straight off to the right!  And then let’s not even talk about how bad the wind was when we passed the pig farm, or when the trash trucks passed us. 

“Running” errands:  My son and I had an appointment on Monday afternoon, and it’s only 3 miles away.  Since he just got his license, it gave me a great idea.  We drove to the appointment together, and then I had him drive the car home while I ran home!  I thought this was a great idea, but for him I don’t know which was more embarrassing: Me showing up in public with fluorescent skin tight running clothes, or him having to drive home in the Prius.  I hope he gets over it, because this is definitely going to become routine!

“I feel like I’m being watched” run: A couple weeks ago I went out for my trail loop in the backyard.  It’s 2.25 miles, and I’ve been trying to get just a little bit faster each time.  On this particular run, I was in the last half mile home where the footing gets a little trickier and it’s uphill, and I naturally start to lose steam.  Suddenly I hear a helicopter over me, and I didn’t think much of it until it got progressively louder and I realized it wasn’t moving forward.  It was just hovering right over me!  At  first I joked in my head that someone was going to jump out of it, then maybe they were going to bomb me, and then I had flashbacks to the Hunger Games book and was convinced I was going to get sucked up into a hovercraft.  I wasted no time looking up to see who it was that was preparing to abduct me and booked it home.  Thanks to that close encounter I managed to shave another two minutes off my previous time!  Later I found out there was an escaped mental patient in the woods and police and SWAT were scouring the woods!  Luckily I didn’t run into him!

A couple other observations: 

During my running hiatus, I forgot about some of the ugliness that occurs with running.  Namely: Chafing and blisters!  The running shoes I had bought just before my surgery ended up giving me a nasty blister.  I brought them back to the store and they gave me replacement liners that had softer edges, but the blister still ballooned.  After a couple successful years with Asics, I just made the transition to Brooks.  So far so good! Comfortable, no blisters, no problems!  But, the damage is done and I'm sporting some ugly dogs at the moment.  I don't think I quite realized the extent of the war zone until I took my socks off at morning yoga on Saturday.  As for the chafing, let's just say I'm in the market for a new sports bra.  And, it's a good thing I'm single.

Upcoming races:

This is definitely not the year to be adding events onto my calendar, but it's fun to have something to look forward to.  I had hoped to be able to do my club's 15k, but it's only a couple weeks away and I'm just not ready for that so I'll be volunteering instead.  However, my friend Joanna talked me into joining her relay team for a "Tornado Alley Relay" in June to benefit towns in western Massachusetts that were hit hard by last year's tornadoes.  It's a good thing I didn't look at the elevation map before I agreed to it!  Let's just say I'll be adding some hill work into my training soon!  And as for long term race plans, I've got my sights on the Disney Marathon, next January!

Further proof of progress:

Breaking news: I can cross my legs! Almost!