The memory of our amazing winter in Boston has quickly faded this week after two snowfalls including "snowmageddon". This morning we got a light dusting from the Alberta Clipper but Monday may bring another blizzard, bringing 10-14in/25-35cm with it.
Despite missing my Monday run in exchange for shoveling, I managed a fun and stupid run on Tuesday in the blizzard, although that meant there was no track Tuesday, and something tells me we will be a few weeks before the next one since Harvard doesn't clear the track in the winter. Thursday, the DMFC run from Crossroads did a few repeats on the river back and forth (Thanks New Balance for paying Boston to plow the esplanade) to reach the 9 miles I needed.
As a result of an email plea from Dana-Farber, I donated blood which was definitely not in my marathon training plans. They said they were really low on blood supply, so I figured I'd make the donation. Apparently I was nervous as I spiked my blood pressure but luckily they can accept you as long as your BP is below 200/100.
Today's group run was largely revised because of the snow banks in Wellesley, so it ended up being a double out and bank along the Newton Hills starting at Boston College. Since I already despise out and back routes as it is (they are very boring) I decided to run back and forth between Boston College (~2miles/3.2km), which meant I only had to do 1 out and back to reach my target of 12-14 miles. I didn't want too crazy of a run today because I am racing the Super Sunday 5 miler tomorrow.
Tim and Steve weren't running their usual pace, so I luckily caught up with 3 runners from the Spaulding rehabilitation network run for Boston and joined them for the run. Thanks Sam, Dan and Jen for the company and a solid run!
Will post a weekly update tomorrow and hopefully a good result from Super Sunday!
Stay tuned for embarrassing marathon fact #2 next week!
Thanks for reading!
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Snow day = snow run
As I am sure you all of heard the snowpocalypse is hitting the north east of the States, and numerous states declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm. In an unprecedented move for Dana-Farber, they closed down all locations since pretty much everything is closed in Boston.
Shoveling is definitely a lost cause in this storm (see below), and a couple of my TMRICE friends decided to go for a snow run. Since I am obviously insane as them, I figured it was a good idea as well. So I suited up and met them in Kenmore Square (~2.5 miles from our place) for a fun snow run.
Numerous people definitely laughed at us as crazies but there were plenty of people out for walks or cross-country skiing in the streets. There was even a cow man running in the snow but I didn't get a picture.
While many people bailed on the run, Erin and (American) Chris came out and we enjoy a brisk enjoyable ~3 mile run together. The snow is useless for snowballs so there was no snowball fights, sadly.
Hope everything is enjoying their day!
Shoveling is definitely a lost cause in this storm (see below), and a couple of my TMRICE friends decided to go for a snow run. Since I am obviously insane as them, I figured it was a good idea as well. So I suited up and met them in Kenmore Square (~2.5 miles from our place) for a fun snow run.
Numerous people definitely laughed at us as crazies but there were plenty of people out for walks or cross-country skiing in the streets. There was even a cow man running in the snow but I didn't get a picture.
 |
| The best I could do with our walkway, driveway.....still snowing. |
While many people bailed on the run, Erin and (American) Chris came out and we enjoy a brisk enjoyable ~3 mile run together. The snow is useless for snowballs so there was no snowball fights, sadly.
Hope everything is enjoying their day!
 |
| Kenmore Square and me waiting for Chris and Erin to show up (20min late!) |
 |
| The end of the run....I swear my eyes are open.... |
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Let it snow! And embarrassing secret/fact #1 of marathon running!
So winter finally hit Boston today with a lovely powdering of at least 4 inches of snow. While I love snow usually, it is really throws a wrench into normal running plans. It also means that I have to shovel the sidewalks (in Boston/Brookline, residents are responsible for shoveling the snow on the sidewalk....) and driveway at our condo building, which is such a joy. The DFMC run was already cancelled for today because of the snow, so I was largely on my own for the run. This is an older photo, but this is legit how Boston cleans the sidewalks they are responsible for....
After warming up for 30 minutes by shoveling the snow for the building, I somehow convinced myself to get out there for the planned 18 mile/29 kilometer run. My plan was to run the first 10-11 miles on my own, and then meet up at City Sports for TMRICE's Saturday morning run at 10am. That meant ~ 5 miles out of the city through Newton with a return through the dreaded Newton Hills trifecta from the marathon. Honestly, I thought about abandoning this run at least 3-4 times in the first few miles as I trudged through the slush and snow but decided to suck it up. Once I got to the Newton Hills, I was spurred on by all the other crazzies (runners) who were out there with me. It didn't hurt that I passed every single person I saw. "Heartbreak hill" was extremely challenging, especially with the difficult footing because of the snow but within a few minutes it was a distant memory.
Made it to TMRICE on time but unfortunately even though there was a bunch of people there, no one was my pace or running my distance (thanks a lot Jill ;-)) The last 7-7.5 were lonely and difficult on the Charles, especially since the river was only plowed on the Boston side (thanks New Balance!) but the Cambridge side was a disaster.
TMRICE gang pre-run!
Full details on the run here.
Some gross stuff to end the post! There are a few runner secrets/shameful facts when it comes to marathon running that no one wants to talk about or discuss. Today, one of the grosser ones, nipple bleeding during long runs, especially marathons. So first off, let's get this clear - I do not deal with this thanks to an amazing product called body glide. It is an amazing stick that prevents all sorts of chaffing and can help with blisters on your feet too. I was going to share a picture with you about nipple bleeding but that just seemed wrong. Anyways, if you decide to pick up running, don't forget your trusty anti-chafe stick.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
What the heck is a hill repeat?
So a few people have mentioned to me that they have no idea what I am talking about sometimes in regards to running and that I should provide a Running for Dummies guide in my blog when I mention new concepts.
Yesterday I talked about how my failed attempt at actually going for a run in Montreal resulted in a last resort workout with Dan of 6 hill repeats.
One person was particularly vocal (Roni - famous again! - you can check out her awesome year 2000 website here.) about that she didn't understand what that meant.
Hill repeats are an essential part of any half or full marathon training program but are especially critical for Boston. Technically Boston is on the easy side of marathon courses if you were just to look at the elevation net drop (450 ft lower at the finish) throughout the race.
While it is true that downhill running is easier, this much downhill can destroy the best runner if they aren't prepared. To make things more difficult, Boston has 3 climbs/hills between miles 15 and 20, culminating in the last hill known as Heartbreak Hill. So what's a hill repeat? Basically, you should warm up with 10-20 minutes of light-medium intensity running and then find a hill with a grade between 6-12% , long enough that you can run for 1-2 minutes without finishing the hill. Once at the hill, you should run up the incline at ~ race pace or slightly slower, until you reach the top (~320-400m of distance) and then slowly jog/walk down to the bottom to repeat the process again. Rinse/repeat 5-12 times, depending on how masochistic you are/where you are at in your training. Once the hill repeats are complete, do a cool down run for 10-15 minutes and bask in the glory that you completed the hills.
While most people only do uphill repeats most people recommend some downhill repeats, since the first 15 miles of Boston is largely downhill. I still haven't attempted that and I probably should because I am a miserable downhill runner.
Other posts will explain what a rumble roller is exactly as well as other running workouts including tempo runs, interval training and other assorted runner issues.
No run yesterday since it was an off day but hoping to pick up 10-12miles tonight to catch up for my short Monday and Tuesday.
I'll leave you with this image which was in my facebook feed, which is funny as a Canadian but even better as a Habs fan!
Hill repeats are an essential part of any half or full marathon training program but are especially critical for Boston. Technically Boston is on the easy side of marathon courses if you were just to look at the elevation net drop (450 ft lower at the finish) throughout the race.
While it is true that downhill running is easier, this much downhill can destroy the best runner if they aren't prepared. To make things more difficult, Boston has 3 climbs/hills between miles 15 and 20, culminating in the last hill known as Heartbreak Hill. So what's a hill repeat? Basically, you should warm up with 10-20 minutes of light-medium intensity running and then find a hill with a grade between 6-12% , long enough that you can run for 1-2 minutes without finishing the hill. Once at the hill, you should run up the incline at ~ race pace or slightly slower, until you reach the top (~320-400m of distance) and then slowly jog/walk down to the bottom to repeat the process again. Rinse/repeat 5-12 times, depending on how masochistic you are/where you are at in your training. Once the hill repeats are complete, do a cool down run for 10-15 minutes and bask in the glory that you completed the hills.
While most people only do uphill repeats most people recommend some downhill repeats, since the first 15 miles of Boston is largely downhill. I still haven't attempted that and I probably should because I am a miserable downhill runner.
Other posts will explain what a rumble roller is exactly as well as other running workouts including tempo runs, interval training and other assorted runner issues.
No run yesterday since it was an off day but hoping to pick up 10-12miles tonight to catch up for my short Monday and Tuesday.
I'll leave you with this image which was in my facebook feed, which is funny as a Canadian but even better as a Habs fan!
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Week 5 into week 6 - Time is flying!
I am sure you have all been dying for the next installment of my training for Boston. Sorry for the delay but we were in Montreal this weekend and things are always crazy hectic there. It was great to see everyone and spend time with family and friends but if I had to train in Montreal instead of Boston for the marathon, I am pretty sure I would have almost no shot.
I had moved my long run to Thursday under the hopes of just being able to get in 7-8 miles on Saturday OR Sunday. Sunday, I didn't really have much of an excuse besides being busy seeing people and eating every minute of the day but Saturday was something else. It was a veritable freezer outside with temperatures reaching a high of -20C. It looked and felt like we lived in Narnia under the evil witch's regime.
Cold enough for the snowmen/women to have a picnic.
Monday was beautiful in Montreal except for the overnight snow, which left the roads and sidewalks a bloody mess. Dan and I tried to go out for a 7-8 mile run but quickly realized it wasn't meant to be. We settled on 6 hill repeats of about 320m, which honestly was better than nothing. After that I made a quick trip to visit my PhD supervisor to get some DNA for my research project at Dana-Farber and then Shirley and I were off back to Boston with our rideshare passengers (Greg and Ruby).
The drive back was pretty solid and in my mind I thought as soon as we got back, I would lace up and go for a run, since I planned on going to work anyways. Obviously, this didn't happen, we had local Jewish Chinese food from Golden Temple when we got back, watched some Castle (you should watch it people, it's awesome) and then I went to work for a bit at around 10pm.
Since last update, I managed to make some more progress on the fundraising front thanks to Roni and Evan and Beatrice and Dan. Thank you guys so much for helping me raise the money to help DFCI's Barr program.
Next post will focus on week 6 and getting back on track after a delicious and fattening weekend in Montreal.
On a positive note, I am down almost 4 pounds now. Still need about 14-15 to reach my goal race weight but I am getting there. And despite popular belief, it is crazy difficult to lose weight during marathon training because you need to eat to let your legs recover.
That's all for me today. If I made you even smile for half a second, consider donating to my DMFC fund. In the next few weeks, I will work out the details for a March Madness pool that I will organize to raise money.
On that note, does anyone have interest in a superbowl fundraising pool (superbowl squares)?
I had moved my long run to Thursday under the hopes of just being able to get in 7-8 miles on Saturday OR Sunday. Sunday, I didn't really have much of an excuse besides being busy seeing people and eating every minute of the day but Saturday was something else. It was a veritable freezer outside with temperatures reaching a high of -20C. It looked and felt like we lived in Narnia under the evil witch's regime.
Cold enough for the snowmen/women to have a picnic.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 5 projected | 5-6 miles |
6-7 miles | Cross train | 7-8 miles | Cross train | 14-16 miles | OFF | 32-37 miles |
| Actual | 6.08 | 6.44 | 60min | 14.1 | 36min | off | OFF | 26.6 |
Monday was beautiful in Montreal except for the overnight snow, which left the roads and sidewalks a bloody mess. Dan and I tried to go out for a 7-8 mile run but quickly realized it wasn't meant to be. We settled on 6 hill repeats of about 320m, which honestly was better than nothing. After that I made a quick trip to visit my PhD supervisor to get some DNA for my research project at Dana-Farber and then Shirley and I were off back to Boston with our rideshare passengers (Greg and Ruby).
The drive back was pretty solid and in my mind I thought as soon as we got back, I would lace up and go for a run, since I planned on going to work anyways. Obviously, this didn't happen, we had local Jewish Chinese food from Golden Temple when we got back, watched some Castle (you should watch it people, it's awesome) and then I went to work for a bit at around 10pm.
Since last update, I managed to make some more progress on the fundraising front thanks to Roni and Evan and Beatrice and Dan. Thank you guys so much for helping me raise the money to help DFCI's Barr program.
Next post will focus on week 6 and getting back on track after a delicious and fattening weekend in Montreal.
On a positive note, I am down almost 4 pounds now. Still need about 14-15 to reach my goal race weight but I am getting there. And despite popular belief, it is crazy difficult to lose weight during marathon training because you need to eat to let your legs recover.
That's all for me today. If I made you even smile for half a second, consider donating to my DMFC fund. In the next few weeks, I will work out the details for a March Madness pool that I will organize to raise money.
On that note, does anyone have interest in a superbowl fundraising pool (superbowl squares)?
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Week 5 - Anyone seen my legs?
Saturday's 16 mile run felt great but since then my legs have been seriously fatigued. Basically, we can go to the Anchorman weather desk to show what I am dealing with.
I still managed to run both Monday (amazingly warm weather) and Tuesday (freezing cold - colder than last Tuesday weather), but I really felt like my legs didn't want any part of the workout.
It isn't to say that I had a bad track workout, I just didn't feel fresh like I usually do. It could be that the increased running load is finally catching up with me, or it could also be that I haven't been stretching very much after many of my runs, especially those that I have been doing with other people.
Last night, I used my rumble roller for like 20 minutes to release the tension in my legs and I almost fell asleep on the floor because of all the tension that came out/I was just really tired.
To make matters worse, I am switching up my long run this week to Thursday since I will be in Montreal over the weekend and who wants to run 14-16 miles (22+ km) in the frigid cold of Montreal, instead I will do my relatively short 12-14km run from Thursday on Saturday.
Hopefully my legs will come back soon though because it is going to be a long 14 weeks without them.
I still managed to run both Monday (amazingly warm weather) and Tuesday (freezing cold - colder than last Tuesday weather), but I really felt like my legs didn't want any part of the workout.
It isn't to say that I had a bad track workout, I just didn't feel fresh like I usually do. It could be that the increased running load is finally catching up with me, or it could also be that I haven't been stretching very much after many of my runs, especially those that I have been doing with other people.
Last night, I used my rumble roller for like 20 minutes to release the tension in my legs and I almost fell asleep on the floor because of all the tension that came out/I was just really tired.
To make matters worse, I am switching up my long run this week to Thursday since I will be in Montreal over the weekend and who wants to run 14-16 miles (22+ km) in the frigid cold of Montreal, instead I will do my relatively short 12-14km run from Thursday on Saturday.
Hopefully my legs will come back soon though because it is going to be a long 14 weeks without them.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Week 4 recap
There was definitely a few times this week where I questioned why I was forcing myself to run outside in the cold. Boston had its first actually cold week of the winter and my motivation level wasn't as high as I would like. Luckily, I only had to run once on my own this past week (Monday's run) with TMRICE's track Tuesday, DMFC's Crossroads Thursday and DMFC's organized Saturday run. Great people were there each time to help me through my run, notably Jill and Ivan on Tuesday at track, and Steve and Colleen for the long and hilly 16 mile Saturday run.
I did my first morning cross-training workout this weekend and it was horrible. I was so tight to start I felt the first 10-15 minutes was just me trying to get my legs moving. I will definitely have to try and find some way to warm up quicker, maybe do P90X's warm-up for 3-5 minutes or something.
On the fundraising front, it was a decent week with donations from two lab peeps, Wendy and Sasha. Thank you both so much!
In order to help reach my minimum goal, I decided to try an approach where each person donating can "sponsor" a kilometer of the marathon that way when I am running the race, I can be even more motivated with each section knowing that someone was behind me for each piece of the race.
I know it is still a lot of money to ask for especially for those of you who are Canadian (with the horrible exchange rate currently) but 100% of the funds go directly to the Barr fund at Dana-Farber, which invests towards projects and research aimed at developing novel approaches to cancer therapy.
I am really horrible at asking people for money/donations but anything you could give would not only help me reach my goal but also help Dana-Farber, one of the top cancer institutes in the USA, work towards the many cures we need.
14 weeks to go to Boston.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 4 projected | 4-5 miles | 6-7 miles | Cross train | 6-7 miles | Cross train | 14-16 miles | OFF | 30-35 miles |
| Actual | 5.01 miles | 6.4 miles | 54 minutes elliptical and core |
7.4 miles and core |
52 minutes elliptical and core |
16 miles | OFF | 34.8 miles |
I did my first morning cross-training workout this weekend and it was horrible. I was so tight to start I felt the first 10-15 minutes was just me trying to get my legs moving. I will definitely have to try and find some way to warm up quicker, maybe do P90X's warm-up for 3-5 minutes or something.
On the fundraising front, it was a decent week with donations from two lab peeps, Wendy and Sasha. Thank you both so much!
In order to help reach my minimum goal, I decided to try an approach where each person donating can "sponsor" a kilometer of the marathon that way when I am running the race, I can be even more motivated with each section knowing that someone was behind me for each piece of the race.
I know it is still a lot of money to ask for especially for those of you who are Canadian (with the horrible exchange rate currently) but 100% of the funds go directly to the Barr fund at Dana-Farber, which invests towards projects and research aimed at developing novel approaches to cancer therapy.
I am really horrible at asking people for money/donations but anything you could give would not only help me reach my goal but also help Dana-Farber, one of the top cancer institutes in the USA, work towards the many cures we need.
14 weeks to go to Boston.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Track Tuesday - Yikes it really got cold
Quicker post tonight hopefully I will have more time tomorrow and can talk a little bit more than just my life and talk about running in general.
Here is the schedule for the week
So not only was it -15C with the windchill today but it was snowing too. Luckily it was Tuesday, which meant it was TMRICE's (the most informal running club ever) track workout at Harvard Stadium in Allston. In 2014, I ran 33 of 52 Tuesdays the most runs on any day of the week thanks to this workout. You can pretty much count on people showing up whatever the weather.
Tonight, even with the track dusted in snow, we had a great turnout 8 people braving the cold. I again decked out in similar gear to yesterday, which was much more necessary given the cold. I got there early to run some extra distance and luckily Jill was there doing the same so it passed the laps around the track quicker.
Just a quick note, a track is 400 meter in length and usually the track workouts feature some sort of intervals that add up to 4.8km or 12 laps. Every first Tuesday of the month is the "Shawgo mile" where we run a timed interval of 1 mile within the track workout which helps track your progress month to month.
The total workout is as follows 800m/1mile (~1609m)/1200m/800m/400m (and sometimes a 200m sprint if the weather is decent). Everyone was pretty reserved tonight because of the weather and not running at full speed. Thankfully, Ivan showed up for the first time in 6 months or so and together we ran a pretty quick mile for the weather. I clocked in at 6:08 tonight. It was my slowest timed mile at TMRICE in almost 1.5 years but I was still pretty happy with the effort. The rest of the workout was pretty slow except for the final 400m because my stomach really didn't feel well. Also, I apparently I was very energetic tonight as Meredith needed earmuffs numerous times while I was talking. Sorry Mere - I'll clean it up :-)
I got in 6.4 miles tonight - over the 5-6 I needed, which is good considering how cold Thursday is supposed to be! Probably will plan on going to DFMC Crossroads run on Thursday since I am not planning on going to their run on Saturday.
Apparently, reading about me running inspired a friend of mine to get out and run tonight, so if nothing else I have that :-)
Anyone have any questions? Anything you want to hear about?
Here is the schedule for the week
So not only was it -15C with the windchill today but it was snowing too. Luckily it was Tuesday, which meant it was TMRICE's (the most informal running club ever) track workout at Harvard Stadium in Allston. In 2014, I ran 33 of 52 Tuesdays the most runs on any day of the week thanks to this workout. You can pretty much count on people showing up whatever the weather.
Tonight, even with the track dusted in snow, we had a great turnout 8 people braving the cold. I again decked out in similar gear to yesterday, which was much more necessary given the cold. I got there early to run some extra distance and luckily Jill was there doing the same so it passed the laps around the track quicker.
Just a quick note, a track is 400 meter in length and usually the track workouts feature some sort of intervals that add up to 4.8km or 12 laps. Every first Tuesday of the month is the "Shawgo mile" where we run a timed interval of 1 mile within the track workout which helps track your progress month to month.
The total workout is as follows 800m/1mile (~1609m)/1200m/800m/400m (and sometimes a 200m sprint if the weather is decent). Everyone was pretty reserved tonight because of the weather and not running at full speed. Thankfully, Ivan showed up for the first time in 6 months or so and together we ran a pretty quick mile for the weather. I clocked in at 6:08 tonight. It was my slowest timed mile at TMRICE in almost 1.5 years but I was still pretty happy with the effort. The rest of the workout was pretty slow except for the final 400m because my stomach really didn't feel well. Also, I apparently I was very energetic tonight as Meredith needed earmuffs numerous times while I was talking. Sorry Mere - I'll clean it up :-)
I got in 6.4 miles tonight - over the 5-6 I needed, which is good considering how cold Thursday is supposed to be! Probably will plan on going to DFMC Crossroads run on Thursday since I am not planning on going to their run on Saturday.
Apparently, reading about me running inspired a friend of mine to get out and run tonight, so if nothing else I have that :-)
Anyone have any questions? Anything you want to hear about?
Monday, January 5, 2015
Brrrr - Cold and Windy outside! Winter arrives in Boston.
The beginning of week 4 brought the first actual cold day of the year and the winter. Walking to work wasn't too bad as it was sunny but both my hip and ankle felt weird, which was surprising because I haven't felt any injuries on my runs and Sunday was a day off. It didn't seem to be too bad though, so hopefully it isn't a sign of a future injury.
Everyone was finally back at work but it was still super quiet. Everyone seemed tired/still on vacation and so it was a lazy day in the lab. Steve joined us for lunch and Brian's paper was accepted to Molecular Cell, which is awesome. A good way to start the new year it seems. I finally gave the lab the Christmas/Holiday gift we purchased back in December, and we all hung out for an hour and shot the shit except Mike who wasn't anywhere to be seen until the end. Izabela was amazing as always and made us have a few good laughs.
After the coffee break, I finished up my work and started the walk home in the cold. I feel like I became soft since we moved to Boston, as it wasn't very cold as all just like -2/-3 degreesC but it was wicked windy with gusts in the range of 50 kph. Needless to say that after my 30 minute walk home, I really wasn't feeling that getting out for my run but as I was leaving work Liz harassed me if I was going to run tonight, Andrew thought I was insane and I promised them both that I'd be logging the miles in the cold tonight.
So I got home and prepared dinner and put it in the over and got ready for my run. I definitely overdressed for my run with a base layer, a mid layer and an outer layer on top and tights and thermal tights on top. Even more, I had my hat, neckwarmer and running gloves, which had almost every inch of me covered in Luon (Yes I love Lululemon - feel free to make fun - if you don't have ). Shirley came home just as I was getting ready to leave but I still managed to convince myself out the door.
The cold actually wasn't too bad but the wind was incredibly strong making it difficult to run in multiple directions. Apparently, most of the running community in the area decided they didn't need to get out for a run tonight, as only 3 other people were out there for my 5 mile/8 kilometer route. Luckily, it was a shorter run tonight and within no time I was home to have dinner.
Izabela asked me today how this blog helps me stay motivated to run or how she can help me stay motivated. Basically knowing that people are possibly reading it makes me feel pressure that people are looking to see if I am keeping up the runs.
So for reference - my running schedule features runs on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday and elliptical workouts on 2 of the other 3 days. Keep the pressure on guys because this will be my last competitive marathon ever and the goal is to break 3 hours.
Thanks for reading and happy Monday!
Everyone was finally back at work but it was still super quiet. Everyone seemed tired/still on vacation and so it was a lazy day in the lab. Steve joined us for lunch and Brian's paper was accepted to Molecular Cell, which is awesome. A good way to start the new year it seems. I finally gave the lab the Christmas/Holiday gift we purchased back in December, and we all hung out for an hour and shot the shit except Mike who wasn't anywhere to be seen until the end. Izabela was amazing as always and made us have a few good laughs.
After the coffee break, I finished up my work and started the walk home in the cold. I feel like I became soft since we moved to Boston, as it wasn't very cold as all just like -2/-3 degreesC but it was wicked windy with gusts in the range of 50 kph. Needless to say that after my 30 minute walk home, I really wasn't feeling that getting out for my run but as I was leaving work Liz harassed me if I was going to run tonight, Andrew thought I was insane and I promised them both that I'd be logging the miles in the cold tonight.
So I got home and prepared dinner and put it in the over and got ready for my run. I definitely overdressed for my run with a base layer, a mid layer and an outer layer on top and tights and thermal tights on top. Even more, I had my hat, neckwarmer and running gloves, which had almost every inch of me covered in Luon (Yes I love Lululemon - feel free to make fun - if you don't have ). Shirley came home just as I was getting ready to leave but I still managed to convince myself out the door.
The cold actually wasn't too bad but the wind was incredibly strong making it difficult to run in multiple directions. Apparently, most of the running community in the area decided they didn't need to get out for a run tonight, as only 3 other people were out there for my 5 mile/8 kilometer route. Luckily, it was a shorter run tonight and within no time I was home to have dinner.
Izabela asked me today how this blog helps me stay motivated to run or how she can help me stay motivated. Basically knowing that people are possibly reading it makes me feel pressure that people are looking to see if I am keeping up the runs.
So for reference - my running schedule features runs on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday and elliptical workouts on 2 of the other 3 days. Keep the pressure on guys because this will be my last competitive marathon ever and the goal is to break 3 hours.
Thanks for reading and happy Monday!
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Week 3 recap - Happy New Year!
Week 3 is over. Obviously I haven't posted a lot even though the week was quieter at work.
Running has been going very well,- even with the dramatically increased mileage over the past 5-6 weeks. My legs aren't THAT sore and so far I don't feel any injuries developing.
Thursday was a lonely run New Year's day run around Chestnut Hill reservoir and Boston College. The weather was beautiful, a sunny and cool day which meant that at least there were 10-20 other runners at the reservoir. I hadn't drunk too much on NYE, so I wasn't hungover or that tired.
Friday was an elliptical day, which I think really has been helping me not get injured. After driving Shirley to work and putting in a short 7 hour day at the lab, I watched part of the latest Star Trek movie while riding the elliptical. Since it was the first Friday of the month, we went out to First Friday happy hour with TMRICE. It happened to be at Washington Square Tavern, so we hopped on by and saw a lot of the regular crew there. We didn't join them for Golden Temple Dancing, which if you haven't done or you don't know what it is you definitely need to try out at least once. I wanted to get a good rest as I was running 14 miles on Saturday, so we ended up being lame and heading home early.
Saturday morning I met up with Jill prior to TMRICE's (https://www.facebook.com/informalrunning) Saturday run to get in some extra mileage. 2.2 miles to meet her, 3 miles with her and then I broke normal protocol and ran 8.8 on my own to complete the 14. I couldn't find anyone in my pace this time with the younger Franco blazing his way with Anthony (visiting from NYC and leader of The Rise) at a 6:30min/mile pace and everyone else running 7:45s or slower. Anyways, after pissing off the planned parenthood protests for the 4th time that day - I got back not much after some of the 7 milers, and had a nice potluck style breakfast as usual. Hudson made a return appearance fresh off his flight from Panama and a few of us headed over to his favourite spot (T. Anthony's on Comm ave) for some Italian eats.
The rest of Saturday was super lazy - I didn't even go to work (?!?!). Shirley and I continued our 24 day ab challenge that was 50 crunches/50 leg raises/38 second plank. For the first time in the challenge, I actually needed to take a break to get through the set, and it isn't getting any easier going forward. Afterwards, we had a lovely dinner at our friends' place where I drank way more than I should during training, while it snowed/rained/hailed outside. Thankfully today (Sunday) was super warm so most of the snow has melted.
So as week 3 ends, I have been so lucky so far weather wise but that looks to be coming to an end. The high for this Thursday is a lovely -11 deg C (-19 with the wind chill) which will definitely start to put my dedication to the test.
Running has been going very well,- even with the dramatically increased mileage over the past 5-6 weeks. My legs aren't THAT sore and so far I don't feel any injuries developing.
Thursday was a lonely run New Year's day run around Chestnut Hill reservoir and Boston College. The weather was beautiful, a sunny and cool day which meant that at least there were 10-20 other runners at the reservoir. I hadn't drunk too much on NYE, so I wasn't hungover or that tired.
Friday was an elliptical day, which I think really has been helping me not get injured. After driving Shirley to work and putting in a short 7 hour day at the lab, I watched part of the latest Star Trek movie while riding the elliptical. Since it was the first Friday of the month, we went out to First Friday happy hour with TMRICE. It happened to be at Washington Square Tavern, so we hopped on by and saw a lot of the regular crew there. We didn't join them for Golden Temple Dancing, which if you haven't done or you don't know what it is you definitely need to try out at least once. I wanted to get a good rest as I was running 14 miles on Saturday, so we ended up being lame and heading home early.
Saturday morning I met up with Jill prior to TMRICE's (https://www.facebook.com/informalrunning) Saturday run to get in some extra mileage. 2.2 miles to meet her, 3 miles with her and then I broke normal protocol and ran 8.8 on my own to complete the 14. I couldn't find anyone in my pace this time with the younger Franco blazing his way with Anthony (visiting from NYC and leader of The Rise) at a 6:30min/mile pace and everyone else running 7:45s or slower. Anyways, after pissing off the planned parenthood protests for the 4th time that day - I got back not much after some of the 7 milers, and had a nice potluck style breakfast as usual. Hudson made a return appearance fresh off his flight from Panama and a few of us headed over to his favourite spot (T. Anthony's on Comm ave) for some Italian eats.
The rest of Saturday was super lazy - I didn't even go to work (?!?!). Shirley and I continued our 24 day ab challenge that was 50 crunches/50 leg raises/38 second plank. For the first time in the challenge, I actually needed to take a break to get through the set, and it isn't getting any easier going forward. Afterwards, we had a lovely dinner at our friends' place where I drank way more than I should during training, while it snowed/rained/hailed outside. Thankfully today (Sunday) was super warm so most of the snow has melted.
So as week 3 ends, I have been so lucky so far weather wise but that looks to be coming to an end. The high for this Thursday is a lovely -11 deg C (-19 with the wind chill) which will definitely start to put my dedication to the test.
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