My first silly run!

There is no shortage of silly fun runs in the Boston area, but for whatever reason, I've never raced in any. For example, just yesterday was a race in downtown Boston called the Speedo Santa. It's a mere 1.25 mile race in the Copley Square area. A 1.25 mile race? What's the point? Did you catch the name? The Speedo Santa Run requires that runners wear speedos. And nothing else. Yup, you are understanding this correctly. A *LOT* of people pay MONEY (which all goes to charity) to run nearly naked in December in downtown Boston.

I had friends who ran and I would have LOVED to join them, but had other obligations that couldn't be changed. Yet ANOTHER fun run missed!

But luckily, today I had no plans other than the Somerville Jingle Bell Run, a 5k in Davis Square. My first fun run! And fun it was. Hundreds of folks dressed up in elf costumes, reindeer costumes, santa get-ups, etc., to run a 5k around Davis, followed by free beer at a number of local pubs after the race.

While it really was a good time, as far as races go, I now recall the reason why I was having a hard time remembering my last 5k time: I hate short distance running. I'm not even warmed up until I'm a solid 4 miles into a run or race! To be totally done well before I'm in my zone? That's just stupid. The short distance stuff hurts - you find that line as fast as you can - that line that's just a HAIR under "OMG, I'm going to throw up right NOW if I don't slow down" and you hold it for ~20 minutes. There is simply nothing fun or enjoyable about running just under that line. Because sometimes you drift OVER the line, so you really do get that "OMG, I'm going to throw up right NOW if I don't slow down" feeling for a few seconds until you micromanage your pace back down to just under the line.

But from a racing perspective, it was a good experience. Since it was a 5k, I was miserable, and a goal for me this year is to work on the mental aspect of racing. I've got an evil little minion living in my head that often tries to talk me into slowing down. To take it easy, to relax, to have fun! This minion is screwing with my head and needs to be dealt with. So I've been working with my coach on strategies to bat the minion down when she rears her lazy ass head during a race. And she was having a FIELD day this morning! But I used the tricks suggested and was able to successfully shut the bitch up. Woo Hoo! It wasn't a spectacular performance by any means, but it was respectable and I won the mental battle today. Definitely a "W" in the Win/Loss column for me.

And even better, I think it helped to kick me out of Funky Town permanently. I'm getting more and more jazzed about killer training sessions again, which is happy news. I was starting to worry that I'd shot my racing wad, and was simply DONE, as I've been a lazy ass for the last 2 weeks.

It feels good to have found my mojo again.

...live as if this is all there is.

My bike trainer is set-up in the basement of my house. My house is a 120+ year old Victorian farmhouse in New England, which means that the basement is a scary, scary place. It's totally unfinished, with rocky walls, exposed beams and pipes, and lots and lots of spiderwebs. In other words, it's the perfect place to gut out bike trainer workouts. My bike is set-up somewhat in the middle of the basement, next to the furnace (because you really should sweat 4x your body weight when doing Spinervals workouts to do them right), with a TV/DVD in front of it. Off slightly to the left, is our downstairs spare refrigerator, and on that fridge I have a bunch of inspirational cards, magnets and pictures posted. You know, those square cards that Whole Foods carries with the feel good quotes on them? I collect the ones that may be inspirational when Troy is asking for the impossible 2.5 hours into a brutal workout. For example, I've got Eleanore Roosevelt's "Never never never give up" card. "Leap, and the net will appear." "When you are going through hell, keep going." That kind of thing. It does wonders for my psyche - I eat this stuff up.

My current favorite is from Mary Anne Radmacher. I don't know anything about Mary. I don't have a great literary background, and am embarrassed to admit that most of my free time reading is either triathlon books or magazines or trashy chick lit. So maybe Mary is famous - I'll have to look into that.

Anyway, the bit of genius that I love about Mary is the following:

live with intention.
walk to the edge.
listen hard.
practice wellness.
play with abandon.
laugh.
choose with no regret.
continue to learn.
appreciate your friends.
do what you love.
live as if this is all there is.

Nothing mindblowing, when you think about it. It's really just common sense. But ..... then again, how often do you really stick to these prinicples, if you'd like to call them that? At times it's really easy to just go through the motions day after day. You get up, you get your workout in, you get the kids ready for school, you go to work. You come home, make dinner, help the kids with their homework, clean up the house a bit, maybe squeeze in a few minutes on the computer before bed, then you hit the sack. Repeat. And repeat again. Over, and over, and over. You get numb to it all, and don't really see, feel, hear, experience.

But if you remember that last one, especially, that's such a shame. Live as if this is all there is. Oh My GOD!!!!! Going through the motions, not pushing to the limits as often as you can, not doing what you love. That's just CRIMINAL.

So I'm going to do my best to live as if this is all there is. Because, well, this IS all there is. I'm not going to waste it.

What about you?

Gettin' Sweaty in the Basement with Coach Troy

Oh, stop it! It was a Spinervals workout!!! Big Gear Strength, to be exact. Although I will admit to having a HUGE crush on Coach Troy, but we'll leave that for another day...

I know that many people despise their bike trainers, but I love mine. I really do. I enjoy riding the trainer nearly as much as I enjoy riding outdoors. Now, if it weren't for Coach Troy and Spinervals, I'm sure I'd be in the "trainers are the work of the devil" camp. But with Troy, what's not to love? A handsome guy screaming at you to focus, ride harder, don't give up, "have some pride and finish strong." In addition, you've got a room full of uber fit cyclists and triathletes to watch suffer along with you. Awesome, awesome stuff.

Big Gear Strength is a 1 hour leg strength building workout. If you loving mashing the big gears, you will love this one. For the most part, you are parked in Big/12, only leaving for brief recovery periods. I happen to LOVE the standing sets, of which there are two. The first, fairly early in the workout, is a 5 minute set where you stand in Big/12 for 45 seconds, then sit in Big/13 for 15 - repeat that pattern 5 times. After the lunge sequence that comes at about the 2/3 point (3x10 lunges, each leg), you do it again, but this time for 3 minutes, alternating 50 seconds standing with 10 seconds sitting. Killer. And beautiful.

There is just under an hour of such quad burning fun, and you end with a leg and lung busting 3x20 seconds all out in Big/12. Ouch.

Troy can make me sweat like nothing else. My calves sweat. My forearms are dripping. I climb up the basement stairs when the workouts are over totally and completely spent, feeling like I just conquered the world.

I'm looking forward to my next sweaty session with Troy!

Thanksgiving Musings....

To be perfectly honest, what I'm really doing is avoiding cleaning the kitchen, bathrooms, and upstairs hallway, which are the remaining areas of the house that I haven't yet decluttered, swept, mopped, dusted, or otherwise beautified to prepare for my Mom & Stepdad's arrival tomorrow. I'm not really one to muse about Thanksgiving - it's definitely toward the bottom of my favorite holiday list. Xmas has got the obvious appeal - presents, carols, cookies, presents, the kids' excitement as it gets closer to the big day and they get to see what they got from the big guy, ornaments, presents. You understand what I mean. Then there is Halloween - candy and the opportunity to scare little kids - that's just fabu. Easter - more candy - can't really argue with the appeal of that one. 4th of July has fireworks - totally cool. But Thanksgiving - what does it really have going for it?


The dinner - it's ALL about the dinner. And that's my big problem. First of all, I'm not a big cook. I don't enjoy it in the least. If left to my natural tendencies, I'll figure out the absolute easiest way to get a healthy meal pulled together, even if it makes no sense at all to anyone else. A low fat cheese stick and an apple? Dinner is served! Unfortunately, unless there is a market for a live action version of the Peanuts Thankgiving starring my family, I don't think a platter full of cheese sticks and apple slices is going to cut it. Which is unfortunate, as I do a mean Snoopy dance....


Anyway, so I'm not a cook, which makes hosting the holiday an issue for me (btw, I'm hosting this year, which is a clear sign that my parents love me (ok, that they love the grandchildren...), as I know they aren't coming for the food). But on top of it, I'm just not all that into food in general. Sure, I enjoy a fine meal when one is presented to me, with no effort on my part. But if I woke up tomorrow and was told that there would be no more eating? That I could get optimal nutrition (really, not a snake oil scam, but it would really work) from a pill? Whaaaa Hooooo! Count me in! Seriously, think about it! No eathing == no cooking == no dirty dishes == no cleaning up == more time to do stuff I actually ENJOY! And we could turn the kitchen into a big workout room - I wouldn't have to share my space with the kids playroom (and therefore I'd no longer have to threaten them with death if one of their friends touches my weights or tries to do a flip off my roman chair). The benefits to this no eating thing really are incredible, once you start thinking about it.

All that said, I am looking forward to the long weekend, even if I'll be spending much of it in, ugh, the kitchen. My folks will be here, and my kids are about to EXPLODE with excitement at the notion of seeing Grandma and Papa. We are planning some fun activities with them that I'm looking forward to (some walks in the Fells, around Horn Pond, a tour of the North End, etc.), and I enjoy just hanging out with them. So it will be all good in the end.

Of course, it would be better if we could sit down to a plate loaded high with the perfect blend of protein/carb/fat pills, but, I'll deal.

Gladys, the Glady-ator!

Readers of my The Road to Boston '08 tale may recall that the driving reason for me running Boston last year was to celebrate my turning "the big four-oh." My birthday is about a week after the marathon, and I thought it would be a cool way to ring in a new decade. I thought I was pretty cool, thumbing my nose at aging and all that.

Compared to Gladys, however, I'm totally and completely lame. Check out this woman! Gladys is 90, and she's shooting to break the world record for the marathon in the 90-94 AG. Sweet Jesus! Who knew there even WAS a 90-94 AG!!!!!! This is her 5th marathon - she started training after she saw the fireworks for the 2003 marathon and thought it would be a cool thing to do. How many 85 year olds just decide that training for a marathon is a cool thing to do????

So here's to Gladys - keep on running (or, race walking, as the case may be!), old girl!

Busa Bushwhack Race Report

Here's my race report from my most recent event, my FIRST EVER trail race (and THIRD EVER trail run!!!). I love race reports, so I'll sprinkle my reports from this season here and there when I don't have much else exciting to talk about.



Busa Bushwhack 9.3 Mile Trail Race Report: The race was Sunday (11/2/08), which was a truly glorious day to run - chilly (in the 30's) and clear. I was totally nervous as I've only ever run on trails TWICE, but thankfully the woman who got me into this is a nut and she took me on REALLY hard trails those two times, so I was well prepared. She had warned me that trail racers are just different than road racers, and she was right. This was SO laid back and casual - it was nice! We met for the pre-race meeting outside the school (we used the cafe for registration and to hold our "stuff" while we ran, which was really convenient), then we all walked together to the start - about 1/2 mile through a sleepy neighborhood. The starting line seemed totally and completely arbitrary - we were literally in the middle of the road, and all of a sudden a guy yelled "Go!" So, off we went! We ran about 1/4 of a mile down the road before we dashed into the woods. I call my friend the Wood Sprite - she darts through the trail with such ease and skill it's amazing - she was gone in a flash (which she takes great delight in as I'm faster than her on the road, which seriously pisses her off!). We all ran together (the 9.3 & the 5.3 milers) for a while, then the 5.3 milers split off which really helped to thin the crowd. The trail was fairly narrow and more technical that I had expected, but less technical than what I had run on previously, so I was never nervous or felt uncomfortable (or at least any more than usual when running on trails). I definitely had to pay attention to where I was running, but never did I think "Ummmm.... How do I get up THAT?" The trail was very well marked and there were a lot of volunteers on the course to guide us. But even with all that I managed to go off trail once - I was just following some folks in front of me, and they took a wrong turn. Luckily, they figured it out quickly enough so I didn't add too much additional running to the route!

There were some VERY challenging hills involved - 2 were truly impossible to run - EVERYONE was walking, and this thinned the crowd even more. I ran essentially completely alone for the last 4 miles or so, which was REALLY REALLY weird for a race situation. I had a few "Blair Witch Project" moments where I was CERTAIN that I was somehow running in circles, and I'd never find my way out, and I'd be eaten by wild dogs (which I was positive I heard baying in the background!). I did one superman imitation (tripped on a rock/root when I took my eyes off the trail for a second, went flying to the ground...), but didn't get hurt at all - thankfully it was on a fairly softish part of the trail, not totally covered in rocks/roots. The hardest aspect was watching both your footing and looking for the trail markers (pink ribbon tied to trees/bushes/whatnot) - the route often just took a turn onto no discernible path - you just started heading up a hill in a random part of the woods, following the pink ribbons, so you HAD to look up to see the trail blazes to make sure you weren't headed off in the wrong direction. It's really very mentally challenging as well as physically challenging. Given I was so alone out there, I was convinced that I was dead last. I didn't care, really, but again, it was a very strange feeling - you are NEVER alone in a race! Bizarre. The scenery was truly spectacular - I'd love to run the course again when I could run at a more leisurely pace and actually take it in a bit more. When I finished, in 1:22, I saw my friend who had finished a few minutes before me, and she started laughing when I told her I was last. "Then who are all those people coming in behind you?" So, I wasn't, in fact, dead last. Woo Hoo! LOL. More like mid-packish, toward the bottom of the mid-pack. But in the woods, you can't see the pack! It was GREAT fun, and I really, really enjoyed it. I'll definitely be seeking out more trail race opportunities, and will continue to try to get in one trail run per week!

The spaz in the pool this morning? Yeah, that was me.

Now that I feel like I can truly practice on drills without feeling like I'm taking away "real" swim workout time (I know, I know. Swimming is ALL technique. Drills should be the BASIS of my swim plan, blah, blah, blah...), I spent a good deal of time this morning breathing on my right. You see, I'm a dedicated left side breather, and damn proud of it. When I read that it's good to be able to breathe on both sides, I gave it a try, and nearly drowned. I'm not sure what I do differently when I breathe to the right, but my form must go all to hell because I feel like a TOTAL spaz in the water.

Two of the big reasons commonly stated for bilateral breathing skill are: 1) in clockwise swims, you can see the buoys as you breathe, rather than having to actively sight for them, and 2) in high waves you might have to breathe to the other side to avoid taking a wave in the face. Well, conveniently for me, all of my races have been 1) counter clockwise, and 2) either in a lake or a very calm bay. So...... why again do I need to learn to breathe on the right?

I know deep down that I should pick up this skill before I hit a race when I'll NEED it, and will be cursing myself for being a lazy slob in the off-season. So, now that it's truly and honestly the off season, and I'm at a point in my training where I'm doing lots of aerobic intervals, it's time to finally learn to right-breathe (as well as commit to the flip turn, but I'm not talking about that now - that lunacy deserves its own post). Today after my warm-up and usual drills, I was to swim 8x200, with 15" rest in between each. And I mentally committed to giving the right side as much attention as the left, right out of the gate.

And so I went, initially alternating 50's, first doing left side breathing, then right side breathing. I must have looked insane - the first 50, I'd glide through the water like a fish, a truly beautiful and graceful sight, clocking impressive 50's even though they were purely aerobic.

"I didn't know that Dara Torres swam at the Woburn Y, did you Ralph?"

"No, I didn't, she's amazing!"

Then it would be time for the switch. "Ralph, is Dara having a seizure or something? She doesn't look .... right. Should we rescue her?" "Well, she IS making forward motion, so I think she's ok. Although I have NO idea what on earth she could be doing. Maybe it's some newfangled drill that only Olympians know about."

But, I kept it up. I'd switch things up a bit, sometimes swimming alternating 100's, sometimes doing the full 200 on one side, then switching for the next. And as much as the seizure-like swimming was driving me mad, I kept at it. And while the Dara-esque form never appeared on the right as it does on the left, by the end of the workout I think I was looking a BIT less like I was drowning.

Baby steps, boys and girls. Baby steps.

Well, drats...

I haven't run with my running club since Boston, which is a shame as it's a great group and a great deal of fun. But immediately after the marathon, I was in full on triathlon training, which means my workouts were not only very structured (i.e., there was no "easy 6 miler" to map to the group's Wednesday run around Mystic Lake), but also had swimming and biking in the mix, and my running was done on my own for the most part. Anyway, it was decided that since I haven't run with them in such a long time, that I shouldn't be allowed to participate in the BAA number lottery. I'm slightly annoyed (I did pay my yearly dues!), but do understand their point (sort of).

So, it's not looking likely that I'll repeat Boston this year. Perhaps for the best - I'd like to get there on my own (qualify), rather than getting a number handed to me. Maybe this is the kick in the nads I needed to get a qualifying marathon on my athletic pursuits roadmap.

Running is bliss...

Yesterday was supposed to be a rest day (according to the schedule prepared by my coach - I'll talk more about him at a later time), but my week got completely sidetracked on Thursday morning when I was told that I was being laid off. In short, a lousy few days followed, and my training plan went TOTALLY out the window. Although sometimes when bad things happen, you realize how truly lucky you are - the support I received from colleagues (actually, that's a poor description - these people are good, good friends, not just colleagues) and friends was tremendous, and I was truly blown away by their thoughtfulness and kind words/deeds. I could go on, but then I'll start crying, and I've already moved on from sadness to bitterness and anger about the whole thing and have no desire to backtrack - the bitterness/anger phase is great fun, while crying just sucks.

Anyway, so yesterday. Anne, one of the rock-star friends mentioned above, planned a long run for Sunday, followed by brunch at her house. In addition to being a great friend, Anne is a genius - she's an amazing cook, so if food is involved in any way, shape or form, you say yes to whatever she asks of you. "I'm cleaning the grout in my bathroom this weekend, want to bring your toothbrush and come help?" "Ummmm, I think I might have to take the kids to something or other this weekend......" "I'll make lunch!" "Oh! Well, then, I'm IN!" Not that food was needed as a lure for a long run. I'm a huge fan of the long run - while other folks complained about the longest long runs of marathon training, I looked forward to them. I use them to totally veg out and think about nothing at all, simply listening to my playlist (I have the greatest running playlist of all time) as I crank out the miles. I use them to think about problems with work. I use them to think about problems with life. The long run is better than any therapist in the world, and it's always available and free. You really can't beat that.

So I was in for the run even BEFORE Anne mentioned the food. The weather report wasn't looking great (a good chance of rain was predicted), but that was also of no concern, at least to me (I'm a big fan of running in the rain). Turns out we totally lucked out - it was a lovely day, a bit windy but that added a bit of fun to it. Anne's house is within a mile of the Fresh Pond Resevoir, which has a very nice 2.25 mile running loop around it, so we (Anne, myself, and her friend Laurie who I had met once before) headed over around 10:00 with the notion that we'd run 2 loops for sure, then make a call to decide whether to call it a day at 7 miles or tack on another loop.

Anne asked us what our goals were before we started (always the planner, that Anne!), while Laurie wanted to finish, I wanted to forget about life for a while. Hmmmmm, now I can't remember what Anne said! Anyway, we headed off and had a lovely run. We were all feeling good after the 2nd loop and continued on for another - it's amazing how quickly the miles go by when you are running with others and chatting! We called it at 3 loops and headed back to Anne's. She had already made muffins that were waiting for us, and started in on one of the best omlette's I've ever had!

It was a great morning with a great group. In addition to the wonderful company, I realized yet again that I'm stoked about my winter running plans. The 9 miles felt like nothing - I could have gone on for much longer, and today I feel great. I have definitely settled into the 1/2 marathon distance as being my comfort zone distance (I'm not even feeling warmed up until the 3-4 mile mark!), so I'm really excited about training for races like Derry and Stu's this winter.

Oh, and keep your fingers crossed for me! There are 7 people in my running club interested in the 5 numbers that the BAA has made available for us. I *really* want to run Boston again this year, this time without my bum calf so I can actually train HARD for it to see what I can do. I think I'll find out sometime this week if I get a number.

Viva la Run!

Welcome!

Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking ahead when I started my first blog, The Road to Boston '08. It was a great story about my training leading up to my first marathon, Boston '08 (and I'm not just saying that - OTHER people told me it was great, I swear!). But now, well, it's over - the race was run, I started, I finished, I laughed, I cried.... Well, you can read about all that in the old blog. The point is that the blog was about training for Boston, which has come and gone, so it's time for a new blog.

So here we are. I was surprised at how many people found and read and enjoyed my old blog, hopefully this one will be as interesting for folks. At the very least, I enjoy writing it, so even if I'm writing only to myself, that'll be ok too.

If you don't know me, check out my Boston blog to see if you like my writing style. I hope you stick around to hear about my training / random ramblings going forward. Which is what this blog will be primarily about. I'm a professional athlete trapped in a high tech weenie's body and life - which means while I have the heart and desire to train and race at a professional level, I actually don't have the talent required to pursue that option. I'm a solid front of the mid packer who for the most part truly loves training and is striving to be the best that I can be given my day-to-day life constraints (job, kids, etc.).