Quick Race Check-In

Hey all! I’m still in NH with Lacey and we just got back from the race and brunch.  I’m not going to do a full recap right now as we’re off to go apple picking.  But I’m so pumped about my race and time that I need to share something now.  And Lacey told me to haha.

I ran a 1:33:57!!

Basically a PR by exactly 8 minutes. 

My legs are going to be soooooooooore tomorrow.  But in that “I totally kicked major ass” way 8)

The race was HARD and INTENSE but we both went out hard and strong and I was able to hold onto the pace for the whole time.  My splits were between 7:00 and 7:20 the whole time.  My fastest was the very first mile at 6:56 and the slowest was 7:28 for mile 2. But overall it was a 7:10!!

4th place woman.  3rd in my age group. Hooooollllleeerrrrr.

It hasn’t hit me yet how fast I went.  Kind of surreal.  We jumped into the lake afterward and just now finished up a “Protien Pancake” breakfast where I just ate 6 pancakes with peanut butter, 4 sausages and about a quart of berries.  I think I more than deserved it.  A most excellent post-race celebratory meal ;)

I’ll be back when I get back from vacay with a full recap (and hopefully some pictures) but we’re off to go mini-golfing and APPLE PICKING.  With champagne later of course because we’re celebrating a great race.

Have a great rest of your Labor Day weekend y’all

Monthly Recap: August 2010

Whoa there. This year has just been FLYING. I can’t believe yet another month is over and especially August.  Despite not being a student anymore (TEAR) the beginning of September is always bittersweet.  Sure we’ll get hot days (and are kind of having some this week), and likely could until October or November, but summer just feels over once I turn the page in my calendar to September.  Plus because it’s New England we could have snow in October or November.  Gahhh.  I need to move to a warmer climate! NOW.

Enough sadness. Because September means things like Labor Day Weekend, pretty foliage and APPLE PICKING.  I am anxiously awaiting for the first opportunity to do so. And I know that you’re sick of me talking about it by now muahaha!

Cooler weather (theoretically) also means that exciting stuff can happen with my running too.  I have a half marathon Labor Day weekend which will be a good barometer of where I’m at.  And maybe I’ll really start contemplating a late fall marathon.  I keep saying it and I do want to do one but the timing is just off.  I’d love to do a winter race but New England is not conducive to that.  We’ll see.

But before I get ahead of myself, let’s look back at what was August shall we?

And in true MM style it’s long.  But there’s a picture at the end so don’t get mad. Mmmmmkay?

Week of August 2 -  August 8

• 49.5 Miles
• 6 Hours 56 Minutes 11 Seconds
• 8:25 Pace
• 0 Core, 0 Lifting, 0 XT, 1 rest day

If I had known how close I was to 50 miles I sooooooo would have run that extra half mile. And that likely would have gotten me to 7 hours even.  Oh well.  This was the week that I was on vacay so I can’t really complain.  I had a great time in Texas and the running was great too, especially as I got to run with Jess again.  Plus: look how fast I was this week

Week of August 9 -  August 15

• 65.5 Miles
• 9 Hours 10 Minutes 43 Seconds
• 8:25 Pace
• 1 Core, 0 Lifting, 0 XT, 0 rest day

I guess I can look at the previous week as a cut back week and once I got back from vacay my stress amped up with the MCAT and moving.  And I took it out on my running.  But looking back at this week in my log book all my runs have comments saying how fast and ON I was feeling.  I also got to run my first run at my new place on Sunday of this week which was exciting

I also started going core on that Sunday too.  Let’s just say my abs were not ready for their wake up after 5 weeks off!

Week of August 16 -  August 22

• 61.4 Miles
• 8 Hours 51 Minutes 51 Seconds
• 8:40 Pace
• 4X Core, 0 Lifting, 0 XT, 0 rest day

My pace just shut down this week as I started running at 0530 in the morning.  And as my body adjusted to the path I was running on as opposed to the roads.  But it’s okay because I also started working this week which, being week one, was WAY stressful.  But great at the same time.  I think this was the week that I really was starting to feel life come together a bit.

Week of August 23 -  August 28

• 67.3 Miles
• 9 Hours 36 Minutes 4 Seconds
• 8:34 Pace
• 0 Core, 0 Lifting, 0 XT, 0 rest day

And then the core work stopped.  Oops.  I need to really make an effort to keep it up because, and I’ve said this before, I am such a vain person and love the way my abs look after consistent core work.  Not that my abs are terrible as is but I like having definition there.

My pace was at a good place this week and I remember having some “race” runs with some of the males on the running path this week.  If I recall correctly I won them

The mileage was a bit higher than I’d like but I know that’s because I ran a long run this week that was much longer than what I’ve done since the spring and some of my weekday runs have had 1-2 miles tacked on because I was feeling good and fast.  I’m not worried about this becoming a trend.  I may stay low 60s but I don’t plan on increasing the miles anytime soon.  Unless I find a marathon in November/December/January to commit to.

Month of August

• 270.2 Miles
• 38 Hours 27 Minutes 32 Seconds
• 8:33 Pace

Definitely a good solid month for me.  The fastest overall monthly pace! Woot!

Not the biggest month ever (I don’ t think anything could top this past June) but a good month indeed.  I actually just checked and it’s the LOWEST monthly total this year.

I could be extra nerdy and go back to last year’s data to compare August 2010 vs 2009 (and I’m doing this kind of stuff for work so I’m in full nerd mode) but I think it’s accurate to

Eff it. I’m a nerd and these research reports are now my job. I’m loving that I get to work in MEDICINE and with NUMBERS.

August:

• 2010 : 270.2 miles
• 2009: 264.3 miles
• Perfect change: 2.2%

Year to date:

• 2010: 2771.0 miles
• 2009: 1883.1 miles
• Percent change: 47.1%

So clearly up in both.  Crazy how much more I’ve run so far in 2010 than this same time in 2009.

But back to August 2010.  This is a currently monthly recap after all.

The weekly miles are a tad high (by like maybe 5-8 each week) but I’m not worried about it.  I’m still down from July’s monthly total which I’m sure a lot of you guys enjoy seeing

So the fast overall pace, despite having some slower times since my move, makes the upcoming fall, which I touched upon in my first paragraphs, really exciting to think about. I think my body would be primed for a marathon in the next 3-4 months.

I don’t really have any goals per se for this month.  Maybe try to fit in lifting.  Without access to a gym, however, my motivation to do so is very little.

And I want to try to find the funds to race more.  I have 3-4 5ks that I’d love to do, as well as the Tufts 10k that I’ve done the past 2 years.  Oh yeah and my upcoming half this weekend.

It’s time to turn all these miles and wicked hardwork into PRs and hardcore bamfness 8)

I need to feel like this again

Providence Marathon 2009. Debut and BQ

Up For A Breath Of Air

Hello Again! Did you miss me?

I got back from vacay Monday afternoon and have been on the go essentially ever since.  I had sooooooo much fun on vacation and totally got the R&R that I needed. Definitely good times.

It just sucks that now it’s time to snap back to reality.  But hopefully while I was gone you enjoyed the guest posts from my friends!

• Amy wrote about her half marathon experience
• Mary and Christina shared a fabulous pizza recipe
• Lacey told us all about her comeback from injury
• Caroline wrote about her long run experience

Like I said, life got kind of crazy coming back from vacation.  Lots to do but I’m trying to keep a level head.  Everything will get done!

Of course running is happening.  Duh.  So here’s a brief (?) recap of my running since I last left you.

Thursday (the day I left) I started my day with a LR.  I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to run a lot on vacation so I wanted to get something lengthy in.  It went really well.  Nice and fast especially considering that I was running first thing so I could catch my flight.  Which almost didn’t happen because of a t-storm that hit Boston with perfect timing that made getting my flight out of Boston next to impossible (my flight was postponed indefinitely).  Luckily I ended up catching a flight.  And after 11 hours of travel/being in airports I was out of Boston.  Not at my final destination though as my connecting flight was canceled.

There was a silver lining though: since I was in Texas (en route to Dallas), my connecting flight was in Houston and I got to run with Jess Friday! I have awesome friends and the friend I was staying with (who is friends with Jess) drove down from Dallas and we crashed at another friend’s house.  Which was actually MSB’s place (seriously: the people  in Texas are SO NICE)

Yes I know that I've shown this picture before (it's from when Jess was in Boston) butttt I didn't take any pictures when in Houston

Jess was doing her long run and swung by MSB’s place to let me tag along for 8.3 miles.  Not the fastest run ever but we averaged around 8:26 pace (at least during the miles I was with her).  We went out for these HUGE pancakes afterward which were soooo yummy and delicious.  Also delicious are the cookies that she made and sent to my friend, which I had eaten as my dinner the night before

After eating with Jess, my friend and I drove up to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and went out two-stepping that night (at the largest honky-tonk in the world!) which was FABULOUS.  I had an unbelievable amount of fun.  I really wish that there were places like that up here in New England.  I was surprised that I was also able to stay awake as long as I did because of my long travel day before and the run that morning but I’m glad I could because of all the fun I had.

On Saturday I was able to get out for a 4 mile sunset run with my friend.  We averaged ~8:27 pace.  Apparently Texas is in the middle of a heat wave right now but I was actually not that phased by it.  At least in terms of running.  My run with Jess was at 0700 and this run was as the sun was going down.  Shade makes such a huge difference! I did feel the heat a bit more during the day when we were out and about (highs of 105*?! What?!) but during my runs I was okay.  Definitely not as bad as I feared.

Sunday was a rest day.  I was actually pretty wiped out from not sleeping much the days before: flight getting in at midnight with a 0630 run, two-stepping, karaoke on Saturday night.  All about the R&R here.  Good thing too because I went to a house party BBQ that was sooooooooooo much fun too.

Just a quick note about the food: it was really really good.  Maybe it’s because I’m from New England and just don’t have a good comparison buttttt I had such good Mexican food while in Fort Worth and great BBQ on Sunday.  Seriously: nothing like that in New England.

I headed home early Monday morning.  Thank goodness my flight home was not as eventful as my flight to Texas! I was also really sad to leave! The weekend was just absolutely amazing and, to be 100% honest, Texas just felt comfortable.  It’s a totally different world there and one that I really found myself loving (I had never been before this weekend)

Yay Texas. Billy Bob's is also the honky-tonk we went to on Friday

Once I got home I was a bit overwhelmed with being home and back in my “real life” so after doing all the chores my family (who are on a vacay of their own) left for me to do, I headed out for a run to stretch the legs.  I ended up with 8.5 in about 8:14 pace.  It felt really good.  Like amazingly good. And I think I brought the Texan heat back with me as it was ~95*.  Okay so not 105* but still.  The week before I left the temps were in the 80s.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I got another 8 miler in.  Not quite as fast as Monday but it felt good and fluid.  The rest of my Tuesday was busy and nothing else to really say about it. Trying to catch up with lots of things that I missed while away.  And of course every time I tried to focus I kept getting distracted by thinking about the stellar weekend I had just had.  It was very memorable and, you’re probably tired of this word but, FUN.

Unfortunately, despite bringing my camera, I didn’t take a single picture.  I’m going to take that as a sign that I was having so much fun because I never once remembered I had my camera.  It was in my purse the whole time! Oops.  But it was definitely a fabulous weekend. I wish that could happen every weekend.

I apologize in advance in I fall off the face of the Earth in the next few days.  I’m moving to my new place this weekend (gahhhh need to pack!) and starting the new job on Monday.

I guess August is still going to be crazy.  Lots of changes but lots of excitement too

Hope everyone has had a great past week (I swear I’m playing the catch up game!) and that y’all (and note: I said y’all BEFORE I went to Texas but had to squelch the urge to say it because, well, New England represent!  haha) have a great Wednesday too.

Guest Post: Amy (second city randomness)

Hey guys! Hope that you’re doing well and that your Thursdays are going great.  I’m actually, well I was going to say on a plane to my vacation, but I’m really likely just sitting in the airport right now *waiting* to get on my plane.  Or maybe still driving there (I haven’t decided when I want to schedule this post).  Hopefully I’m on my way and not still packing or anything aha. But I’m officially on vacation so it’s all good

Because I’m away I know that blogging myself (and sadly keeping wicked close tabs on you guys) isn’t likely.  I’ll be having too much fun. So I’ve asked Amy (second city randomness) to do a guest post on her half-marathon experience (and throughout this weekend and next week I’m going to have friends fill in for me).  She’s actually on vacay now too which makes her even MORE awesome for writing this for me.  So stop by her blog too because she’s just that awesome.

**************************************************************************************************************************

My First Half Experience

I’ve always been somewhat of a runner.  And have enjoyed it since high school when I risked my life by running on the side of some crazy curvy roads past my house (praying I wouldn’t get hit by the idiot out-of-towners whipping around the corner to get to the camp site past my house). Even in college my running would just consist of a couple miles here and there during my workout when I would wander aimlessly around the rec center trying to figure out what a good “workout” would consist of.  Running didn’t become the main focus until 2009 when my cousin and I decided to go all-out with a 5k in April for our new years resolution.  Only 29 1/2 minutes later and I was hooked.  I wanted to do another one.  Immediately.  I’ve done 6 since last April and improved my time by over 5 1/2 minutes!  (one of my prouder accomplishments)

I also dealt with my fair share of leg issues.  Including a little stint on crutches I’m still not too happy about, undiagnosed leg pain before the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle, and some pains that I suspected would turn into shin splints if I wasn’t careful.  Clearly, runners are all crazy. Yeah, I said it.

Either way, I persisted and started half marathon training in May.  Last year this time, if you asked if I’d consider a half marathon, I would have laughed.  And said, “well maybe I’ll do a 10k or something next year.”  I did two 10k’s in July.  Seems to be that I underestimated myself.

A lot of my friends also don’t get the “sport” of running.  Or how I enjoy it.  I could try to argue it’s all about conditioning and there is actually strategy involved, but there’s no point.  Probably why I enjoy talking about it on here with you fine folks so much…  And so what if they don’t understand?  I finally found something I like to do that is mine and mine alone.  My biggest competitor in running is myself.  And I like the challenge. Because the me from four or five years ago (or even one year ago) didn’t think it was possible.  The me from four or five years ago would have woken up at 6:30 in the morning and said “I’ve only been asleep for three hours?  Damn… I need to get up and take some advil.  I am going to be soooo worthless today.  The boyfriend better take me to a drive thru.”

Who knew all I needed was a little kick in the butt?

“People can’t understand why a man runs. They don’t see any sport in it. Argue it lacks the sight and thrill of body contact. Yet, the conflict is there, more raw and challenging than any man versus man competition. For in running it is man against himself, the cruelest of opponents. The other runners are not the real enemies. His adversary lies within him, in his ability, with brain and heart to master himself and his emotions.” – Glenn Cunningham

So let’s talk about race day for the Rock n’ Roll Chicago Half…  I was a little late getting into my corral, but I made it in time for the start (whew!).

With over 18,000 people running it, the start was crowded and bit hectic.  Although it thinned out quickly and by mile 2 or 3, I was in my “happy pace”- somewhere around 8:40 and 8:45.

I honestly can’t tell you too much specifically about what was going through my head during the race.  I got to a certain point where I completely zoned out.  I didn’t even see my friends at Mile 6 until they were practically right in front of my face.  But I looked up and there they were- so I shouted a happy shout of some decibel and it made me smile for a bit.

Here are a few things I do remember:

- People start to smell bad at around four or five miles.  This really bugged me.  Then I realized I probably smell just as bad.  So I was ok with it.  Because I’m no hypocrite.

- Watch where you run while going past water stops.  Most people were really considerate about throwing cups to the side.  But when you’re on the side, those cups are coming straight at you.

- I wonder where Guiliana Rancic is right now?  I saw her earlier at the start… when does she actually run?  What if she passes me?  Would it be weird to try and strike up a conversation?  Maybe they’re taping it and I could be on E!.

- I studied quite a few tattoos on the backs/arms of people I was behind.  And wondered the story behind them.

- Ahhhh… once we were on the lakefront, the breeze was seriously CLUTCH.

- Ahhhh Gu.  I hope they have Vanilla.  I can’t do the fruity stuff… I can see myself hurling right then and there.  Oh good- they have vanilla.

- My friends… where are my friends? I know they’re gonna be here around Mile 12… oh!  There they are!  (Seriously, at Mile 12 I was starting to drag, so seeing them jumping up and down and screaming got me to pick it up a lot for the last mile.  For this I thank them!)

- My favorite sign along the race sidelines ended with “that’s what she said”.  Yessssss.

- I have never been so excited to see a finish line in all my life (or the year and a half I’ve been doing official races- same thing).

I was smiling when I crossed the finish line.  Because I wanted this SO BAD. I proved to myself that I’m a runner.  And that I can do anything I set my mind to (Isn’t that the corniest thing ever?  But so true!).

Running for me is a break from my day.  It’s time that is mine and only mine.  It’s something I do to make myself healthier and stronger as an independent woman taking care of herself.  It’s something I’m good at and am constantly working at to improve.  Running keeps me healthy both physically and mentally. I could not be happier that I found it.  And can continue to enjoy it.

For all of you who run, why do you do it?  And for those of you who want to start- just get out there and go!  All it takes is a few small steps and a little will.  It will take you a long way.  Maybe even 13.1 miles if you feel like it. 

Lame and Out of Focus

I so desperately need a vacation.

Unfortunately it’ll be another 3 weeks before my class is over.  And then another 2 until I take my test.  And then I start my job.  Ugh. So much for an actual summer. But I am looking forward to having those two weeks of no classes.  Like a lot.  Yes I have full length tests to take during that time buttttt.  It just feels different.

It’s almost like I’m waiting and waiting for those two weeks to get here.  And then I know they’ll fly right by.  Funny because I don’t have plans for them, and in all likelihood I won’t ha!, but I’m still wanted them to get here. Right. Now.

Must. Re. Focus.

Despite having a really great race over the holiday weekend, (you guys are way too kind with your comments! But thanks anyway )and remembering that racing is very fun, nothing has really transpired in terms of actually planning to do more racing.  Partly sheer laziness: I don’t want to actually look up races.  Partly I’ll plead the poverty line: I am working for AmeriCorps for the next 12 months.  And partly I’ll blame the weather: Tuesday was over 100* ambient temp and felt like 104*.  Then again, maybe I shouldn’t blame the weather because a lot of you routinely hit that

I have been running a little bit though.  I mean, I think you’d have to commit me if I didn’t.  In terms of running lots and lots I’ve stayed fairly committed to running less than I have been.  I think I mentioned it at the beginning of the month (which, by the way, was a week ago?! Time goes by wayyyy too fast) that I took some days off, then raced, and since then I’ve been doing some light stuff.  I’ve been going crazy, however, without that physical release and I think that’s contributing to my lack of focus, or rather my easy distractability, lately.

In terms of my body: my legs were kind of sore in the days post-race.  Nothing “OW” inducing but I was definitely working muscles that had not been worked before.  Funny how running fast is so not the same as running easy.  Go figure. I actually stretched. *GASP*.  Crazy, right?

I did also lift on Monday and it was HARD. I’m very sore right now. Well I was on Tuesday when I started drafting this post, today (Wednesday) is better but my chest is still a bit sore.  Weird how only one area is bugging me. Further actually making me want to stretch!  And, trying to see a silver lining in the “heat wave” hitting the good old NorthEast, the idea of stretching is more appealing because I don’t want to curl up into a ball and warm up post-run.

Despite that soreness of race + lift, the runs have still been on the quick side.  I think I’ve mentioned it before but following a hard effort it seems to not require too much additional effort to keep that speed in the days post-race, tempo, interval.  Inertia if you will.  My body is primed for it now. Doubly so since my running wasn’t too shabby before the 4th.

And, like I feel like I’ve said a lot lately, the whole lack of sleep thing must place a role on some level.  I just seem to run better sleep deprived.  Not too sure the source of my insomnia either: all the thoughts that run through my head (I cannot for the life of me turn my brain off! WTF?!) or the weather (I like to snuggle under the covers.  Hard to do when the temps don’t get below 75* overnight).  I’m sure there’s a breaking point but for now I guess I’ll just revel in the moment of quasi-fastness.

But nothing worth shouting from rooftops for.

I am, however, looking forward to my upcoming trip to Philly.  Sure the first part of the trip is work: job training.  But the second part I’ll be visiting one of my really good friends from high school who I never see because she’s in Philly and I’m, well, not.

Due to the fact that in a week I’ll be there, I’ve been thinking of how I’ll fit running in.  I don’t yet have the day-to-day schedule but it’ll follow something similar to 9-5.  Obviously running doubles or LR and whatnot won’t happen but I’m hoping to get a unique perspective of the city via running. Even though it’s hard to really believe sometimes due to how much I run but a short run is better than no run. Any tips?

And, of course, I’ll have ample study material with me.  When do I not? I’m actually that kid who brings her flashcards around with her so that I can be as productive and prepared as possible.  Major nerd alert again.

Interestingly I did study teleportation this past spring semester...

So I’m wondering how I’ll reconcile the amount of work I have with the training I’m in the city for.  I’m sure it’ll all work out but I’m type A.  So I worry about these things.

I mean, everything always works out in the end, but I’ve just been feeling out of focus (duh I did title this post that way) and distracted.  Which is why I haven’t posted in a couple days.  Everything I seem to do is covered in lame sauce.  Nothing terrible has happened or anything but I’ve just been feeling a bit stifled where I am.

So…yeah….lame and out of focused.  Kind of like this post. But life can’t all be fireworks and glory.

I’d still appreciate a vacation though

Now off to study some more.  Or at least try too!

As Many Things As I Want Thursday

Soooooooo I’m kind of liking the Three Four As Many Things As I Want Thursday.  I don’t think I did it last week but whatever. I’m feeling a bit lazy today.  Or just too busy to really think of anything creative. Or maybe I just like the bullet style

But first (and I’m not counting this as one of my Four Billion Things) I’m really glad that you guys agree with the whole “Tell Yourself You’re Awesome” deal-io.  I know it’s kind of a “heavy” topic or at least a more personal one for a blog, and I debated a bit before hitting publish, but worth it to get it out there that dealing with insecurities with running is NORMAL. It happens to everyone and, to beat a dead horse, I think there was an article awhile ago about Kara Goucher having lots of self-doubts.  So we’re in good company

I also think that on some level, that having small insecurities is a good thing because it shows that there is passion and a sense of *caring* involved.  If you’re so confident that you’re going to do well or awesome or amazing then, at some level, what’s the point of even trying?  Sometimes the fact that I don’t know if I can complete a run is just fuel to go out there and do it.

Okay so now my Four Things.  It did start out with four but then I decided to add more.  Because it’s been a way to procrastinate on my studying.  Oops.

• Last night I decided to call it an early night of studying and went to a BBQ.  I think technically it was a housewarming party for my friend? Buttttt it wasn’t at her new place.  So I was a bit confused.  But a night out with the girls is always appreciated.  Drinking + farm stand ice cream (her family runs a state park) + good music = dance party.  Can I get some love for the dance party?

• My toes still feel weird.  And I’m still not quite sure what it is .  A couple people suggested that my shoes are too tight but I would have thought it would result in blisters if that was the case.  This is more that the tendons and muscles are sore and almost tender-like.  Jess made a really good point that I’ve been trying to run on my toes a bit more (it makes me feel and go a bit faster I think. Maybe it’s all mental.  I will say that it takes so much effort to do so though despite the more powerful feeling)

• Plus these shoes I’ve been wearing for….well I think the term “awhile” is an understatement   But maybe rather than being too small they’re just worn out. LeSigh. I have given consideration to the fact that I’ve been running A LOT lately.  Like practically marathon training weeks.  It’s almost embarrassing how much I’m running lately. Therefore…

• I need to plan some races.  Yes I love running but lately I’ve just been running for the sake of running.  Which was fine post-Boston but Boston was kind of a long time ago.  I need to regain some speed.  It’s not like I’m not thinking about it.  Pretty much on every run I go on I’m like “Damn.  I should do something fast today.  But then I get settled into a pace.  And no fastness occurs.  I’m pretty sure having a race on the docket would change that but hey, I’m too lazy to do some actual searching.  I should hire a personal assistant or something.

• I also need a vacation.  Seriously.  I have job training in Philly during July and probably will stay with a friend for a couple extra days after but I want a tropical island vacation.  Or actually anything that isn’t where I am now.  Sadly my schedule is so tight this summer that it’s going to be hard to do.  But not impossible.  Kind of as a tangent to racing, I’ve been toying with the idea of a destination race.  Likely a marathon because it just doesn’t seem right to travel and do anything less.  I’m totally open to suggestions and, while I am starting a year of poverty service in August I’m not going to be really picky about cost.  Wow. Those are words I never thought I’d say.  Thoughts?

• I actually am wearing sunscreen right now.  Well maybe not as I think I sweated it all off on my run just a few moments ago.  But I’ve been waking up recently and the first thing I see are two scars on my chest from getting two *atypical* moles removed recently and I realized I needed to just suck it up and wear the stupid sunscreen.  Skin cancer is probably one of the, if not THE, most preventable cancer due to sun exposure which is in our control.  I need to smarten up and make sunscreen the first thing I put on everyday.

• My second run went well yesterday and was incredibly faster than the first 7 miler.  I ran the same route as the morning run just to see what kind of difference I could produce.  It was about a 5 minute difference.  Hollllleeeerrrrrr.  And my run this afternoon was a lovely 8 miler that was, oh I don’t know, 8:22 pace.  Where is this coming from? I still think I’m dehydrated, sleep deprived and stressed out though.  Maybe that should be my new math equation to good running

• I’m stealing this one from Ada because I really liked it: What are the 10 countries in the world that only have 4 letters in them? I got 5 of ‘em before I had to resort to google.  And she posted the answers in a recent post so you can cheat that way if you want

So much for Three Things ahahah.  Maybe I should have majored in English or Writing rather than Physics. Hope everyone enjoy their Thursdays And here are two pictures of me and Jess when she was here in Boston over the weekend.

We look incredibly put together for having run 9 miles!

And again. We look really put together. And awesome

And the road I want is…where?

So I think I officially hate mapping out my routes online.  At least the site I use (which I will decline to name here) is LAME. I mapped out a route for today but half the roads didn’t exist! WTF? Luckily I was able to improvise well and still got a decent run in but there’s nothing more unsettling than realizing that there *should* be XYZ road here and it’s no where to be found.  This isn’t the first time this has happened to me, so I should either A) stop being so damn cheap and buy a Garmin B) stop being so lazy and drive my routes before I run them or C) pick out a new mapping site. And while I won’t disclose which lame site I use I would appreciate any advise on for a site that will allow me to map (and save) my running routes.

Irregardless (and yes I know that is not a real word but I like it anyway) I had a pretty decent run this morning.   First off I’m going to say that I love being up and out and done while the rest of the peeps I’m with are still sleeping. Silly non-runners

Secondly I’m going to say that these NH hills are killing me! My legs are still a bit sore (and by bit I mean very) from the hill workout I did yesterday.  Plus my arms are a bit sore too.  This could be a combo of the swimming and the hard arm driving I did on the hills. The only good thing about doing hills is that it means when I get back home and eventually to school I’m going to feel superhuman because they’re pancake flat compared to here!

I did feel a little bit stronger even if the pace wasn’t too strong.  I definitely noticed that I was cruising at a nice quick clip over the last bit of the run.  Definitely nice to end any run on a strong note. Based on my (lame ass) mapping I’m going to say that the run was somewhere around 7.5-8 miles.  Maybe a bit too long for recovery but it took a good 5 miles to loosen up. Plus the pace was nice and comfy the whole time so I’m ok with the distance being a tad long.

We ended up seeing District 9 last night and, while I didn’t hate it, I wouldn’t recommend seeing it.  Or at least paying to see it.  We went to a drive-in so two of us (which included me) hid under blankets and snuck in so we wouldn’t have to pay. But the night wasn’t a complete bust because I really love drive-ins, we need to bring those back people!

And as much fun as I’ve had these past 4 days (tubing, canoeing, swimming etc) I think I’m going to head home late tonight or early tmrw.  I still have to go school shopping and pack.  Not that big of a deal but I leave Friday morning! I definitely need two full days to get all my stuff together.  It’s going to be very sad leaving the lake but I’m still very very happy that I decided to come up here.  Lots of relaxing, speaking of which, I should get back to!

What I think of hill repeats

and no, it’s nothing nice.  At least I don’t have anything nice to say at the moment.  They definitely kicked my butt this morning.

I decided to do a lap of the island to warm up.  Now, mind you the island is about 4 miles in circumference.  I kept it nice and easy and my legs didn’t feel worn down at all as I scoped out what would be the ultimate hill for me today.

I found it and man was it steep! My legs felt good going into the first one but by the time I got to the top I was panting and not having so much fun.  I was planning on doing 6-8 of them but after the first I told myself that I would just go until I couldn’t anymore because I didn’t feel like 6 was in the cards.

I took a longer more gentle downhill as recovery and, although each repeat was tougher than the last, my legs did feel pretty good going into each one so I know that I didn’t rush my recovery as I’ve been known to do. I only made it to 4 which is slightly embarrassing to admit to a bunch of runner who are reading this.  In my mind I was going to be a BAMF and pound out enough repeats to make y’all impressed.  I will settle for impressing all the people that I’m staying with and that is good enough for me right now

I warmed down with another lap of the island but this lap was MUCH slower than the warm up one.  I discovered early on during the repeats that I couldn’t stop moving or else my legs would seize up.  Like legit go all stiff and rigor on me.  So I plodded along.  After the first mile of the warm down I was starting to feel like myself again (or as close to it as possible).

When I got back to the house, however, I was dismayed to see that my time was so so so much slower than I would have thought.  I know a lot of this has to do with 1) the hill repeats beating me senseless and 2) my type-A perfectionism driving me to be on all the time.  Just need to keep those thoughts at bay.  And here at the lake, not such a hard thing to do.

Not too sure of the distance, I can’t really base it on time because, like I said, my repeats killed my overall pace average.  Guesstimating I’d say: 4 mile warm up + 1.5 miles in repeats/recovery + 4 miles warm down = 9.5 miles.  Ish.

Not too much going on later today.  Just catching up on email / blogging / reading blogs etc.  I managed to pink-ify my skin again which makes me feel slightly hypocritical seeing as I’m on the committee for Relay for Life and a member of Colleges Against Cancer.  I mean, I hand out friggen sunscreen during Spring Weekend on campus and I am now sporting a lovely pink hue.  Great.

In vacation news I think we’re going out on the boat in a few moments and later tonight we’re going to the drive-in movies.  I’m wicked excited about that regardless of what movie we’re seeing because I’ve never been to a drive-in and I totally think I’m a 50′s girl in my heart.  I think it’ll be District 9 but there are a bunch of screens so I’ll just have to wait and see.

Enjoy the rest of your Monday everyone!

Hello from Lake Winnipesaukee!

I made it up to the lake safe and sound last night and have thoroughly enjoyed the past…20 hours or so that I’ve been here. It’s just been so nice to relax and lounge around for a change rather than being go go go all the time.

Not too much to really recap here.  Got up and out for a nice 8 (ish) mile run. I mapped it but the route/streets that were on the map weren’t identical to the ones that I actually ran so I’m just guessing based on time how far I went. And despite it being *much* hillier than home I felt pretty darn good about it!

It was also a few degrees cooler here than home which made a huge difference.  Yesterday running at 0730 was sticky and hot but today it was less humid and definitely not as hot.  I think it’s because I’m literally on the water which sucks all the heat out of the air. I also saw a bunch of runners / walkers/ cyclists during the run which surprised me because it’s a 4 mile circumference island.  I figured that I wouldn’t see many people until I ventured off the island for a run along the actual lake tmrw. (For those of you who are unfamiliar, Lake Winnipesaukee is a HUGE lake that has many islands and inlets that jut around it.  My friend’s property is on one of the small islands.  Not sure if this applies to all of them but this one is called a “club” which might just be as pretentious as it sounds haha.)

I am a little miffed that my friend didn’t tell me about the 3 mile race that the island was having today.  If I had known I totally would have run it but I didn’t figure it out until mile 7 and by then I knew that I wouldn’t be able to give the race my all.  And to me racing = try to win.  There is no racing for fun in my book.

I also found an amazing hill to do some repeats on tmrw or whenever.  It’s wicked steep so it should be a real challenge. I’m actually pretty excited.

Other than that I’ve just been lying in the sun all morning / afternoon.  I’ve let myself get pretty pink already though! Hopefully it doesn’t turn into a full blown sunburn.  I guess sunscreen is going to be my new best friend.

I’ll try and post a weekly recap tonight or tmrw morning, I have all my running stuff with me (duh) so that includes my (yes handwritten) log book so it’s just a matter of time for me to actually run the calculations.  Not that hard but I’ve had enough computer / inside time right now, I need to go and enjoy the SUN and my VACATION!

“I’m an asphalt cowboy…

…born to run underneath the stars”

Still on the Jason Aldean kick.  I just am craving his music so I’ve just been playing his cds on repeat. I must be annoying the neighbors for sure because it’s been a constant loop of the same stuff haha. If you’ve never listened to him, DO IT!

Today I don’t have to go into work (the gym) until noon so I got to sleep in a bit.  It was nice because I got to watch Psych last night (such a funny show!) and still get 8.5 hours before I got up.

I hit the streets around 0800 for a nice 7.6 miler.  My legs felt better than yesterday but by the end of the run I was absolutely famished! I guess I don’t really notice it when I’m up at 0600 because my mind hasn’t gotten up yet, but since I typically get up at 0800 anyway my stomach wanted food. It was a pretty relaxing run, no sense of urgency.  Granted, that translates into a slow pace but it was nice to enjoy the moment I was in.  Pretty rare for me to get to do that.  I’m usually thinking of stuff a mile a minute.

The only complaint I had about it was that I think my shoes are getting to the point where they need to be replaced.  Stinks because I don’t have the $$ to do it but it’s gotten to the point where I really can’t ignore the small nagging aches in my shins and feet. Boo! Maybe I’ll try to mooch a new pair off of my mom or dad.  Can’t hurt to try right? Heh.

The weather was decent, very humid but not too hot yet.  It would be the perfect beach day if only I didn’t have to work! Oh well, it’s my last day and hopefully I can fit a beach day in soon.  In fact, I’m going to up Lake Winnipesaukee tonight or tmrw to spend some time actually on a vacation.  My friend has (what I affectionately refer to as) a compound up there so it will be really nice to sit by the lake and read and swim and relax (if that’s even possible for me haha). This conveniently coincides with the return of my family who are coming back from a week on the cape today.  I still have a ton of stuff to do to prepare for my back to school trip this upcoming Friday which may or may not stress me out.  But hey, I think it’ll be worth it.

I’m hopefully going to get some good runs in too.  It’ll be nice to get a change of scenery.  Plus running by a lake –> jumping in said lake when run is done.  Not sure if I can handle the amazingness of it but trust me, I will try.

P.S. This was my 100th post! Woot!