March 1, 2013 1 Comment

Quitting Boston

As of today, my training plan for Boston is in the recycle bin.

I’ve been injured and unable to run consistently or pain-free for almost two months.  The Boston Marathon will be here in just over 6 weeks and I’m bowing out.

No speed training for me.  No hard road miles.  No tempo Tuesdays or track workouts or long mid-week runs.  Not for Boston.

I didn’t wrestle with the decision.  It didn’t keep me up at nights.  The idea of NOT running Boston sat in my gut and gestated for several weeks before it dawned on me; I was truly apathetic about the race.  My entire reason for running Boston was to train and run with my friends.  If left to my own devices, I would hit the trails and never look back.

Training and running with Team Alpaca is one of the highlights of my week.  I look forward to our Sunday long runs even though they beat me up more than they should.  I’m the slow kid in the group; the starting pace is always a bit too high and my effort level at least 20% higher than theirs.  I did it for the company, the camaraderie, conversation, hours of happiness and laughter and sweat.  Now, I’ll incorporate the Sunday long runs into my week as a harder workout and use it to my advantage instead of detriment.

I’m still going to run with Team Alpaca, but the training plan has been scrapped.  I’m off the hook for speed and time.

All that’s left is my desire to run.

 

Filed Under: Sick or Injured, Training, Winter 2013 Tagged: , ,
August 4, 2012

Fall Training Begins

It’s barely August but today feels like Fall.  59 degrees and a cozy layer of clouds hint at days to come.  Tomorrow’s high of 96 will be harsh, but today is a love note from the Universe.

Summer is a time to get away from any routine or structure.  With kids home from school I don’t get out to run as frequently in the mornings.  I miss lots of Saturday Morning runs with the girls due to camping and family obligations.  It’s hard to reflect and write.

Summer is a season of “doing”.  I never get as much sleep in the summer due to the late sunset and early sunrise (I have to really work to ignore the Circadian rhythm).  There are 500 different things to do during the summer and for the life of me, I can’t get them all done.  It’s a time of Doing with very little time to reflect.

As much as I love the action of the season, I always look forward to Fall.

I love the cooler temperatures and not drowning in my own sweat.

I love the fall colors of the mountain.

I love the cloud coverage and the mist that sits in the forest on certain morning.

I love waking up at a 5:30 or 6am when it’s still dark.

I love seeing the sun crest the horizon halfway through my run rather than chasing it down when I’m still sleep-deprived from the previous night.

Fall is a “let’s get moving” time of year, where kids go back to school, there’s a new spurt of energy and we ease into routine once again.

My twitter feed is getting noisy with people talking about fall marathons and trail races.  Friday night discussions about Long Slow Runs are popping up again, as well as pictures of sore ankles, lost toenails and the like.

My calendar has several races already on it for the fall and today’s cool weather is a good reminder that it’s time to get serious about training again.

I ran Bobolink yesterday and managed some Marathon (and Half Marathon) paced miles in addition to the warm-up and “get the blood moving” miles.  The faster miles revealed tight muscles that need to be attended to before I ramp up again.

After the run I stretched hamstrings and adductors, and while sitting on the couch last night I massaged the leg and slathered tiger balm all over.  Today it’s a little sore from the deep tissue kneading.  I won’t run today but will hit a trail tomorrow morning.

“Ramping up” will consist of every-other-day running for at least two more weeks.  In the past I’ve run whenever it felt good and got injured because I pushed too hard or fast.  This fall I want to be smart about the running; come January when Boston Marathon training begins I want to be completely healthy and strong.

In two weeks I’ll be in Leadville pacing a runner.  He’s attempting to run 100 miles in 24 hours and while I could pace him 16 miles tomorrow, I’d like a better base before I run around the mountain at 10,000 feet for a few hours.

My self-treatment regimen consists of stretching, self-massage, yoga, tiger balm, arnica and castor oil wraps.  After torturing myself with Pigeon Pose and whatever else I can think of, I’ll put a castor oil wrap on the leg to draw out any inflammation and encourage blood flow to the muscles and tendons.

Tomorrow I’ll hit the trail and will spend a few hours on the mountain as an ultra runner, paying close attention to heart rate, tempo and terrain.

 

Filed Under: Summer 2012 Tagged: , , , , , ,
April 30, 2012

Colorado Marathon- T minus 6 days

In six days I’ll be toeing the line for the Colorado Marathon.

I have a lot of thoughts about my second marathon and the training cycle that I’ve experienced. So many things are different this time around. Everything is different, actually… I can’t think of a single thing that’s the same.

I’m looking forward to this race for so many reasons. Mostly, I have a huge group of friends doing this race and it’s going to be a complete blast.

Season- my first marathon was California International Marathon in Sacramento in December 2010. I had an autumn training cycle; this time I got to experience a Spring training cycle, which was fabulous.

Training- I trained with the 3 other members of Team Alpaca; Dave, Nico and Jen. We met for various runs throughout the week and did long runs together on the weekends. I always had company to motivate and get me onto trails and routes that kept things new and interesting.

Training plan- I left the plotting and tracking to others and jumped in whenever it felt good, doing speed, distance or trail running as the mood hit. I never got burned out.

Racing- I raced during this cycle when other team members raced, just because it sounded fun. I ended up PR’ing in both races and placing 2nd in my Age Group in the Boulder Spring Half Marathon.

Long Runs- I did five runs over 20 miles this time around, the last of which was the Desert R.A.T.S. trail marathon a week ago.

Nutrition- I’ve dialed in what works and how I’m going to fuel during the race.

Pacing- my pacing is faster this year as well, and there’s been speculation among Team members that I’m going to drastically crush my previous time. I don’t want to commit to that, but my competitive nature is peeking through and I have some ideas about a goal race time that I don’t want to talk about.

I feel incredibly ready for this race. The distance of 26.2 miles doesn’t scare me in the least; I’ve seen the beast and stared it down. Spending 3+ hours on my feet running sounds like a helluva good time, and I like the pace that I’ll be shooting for. The only thing that would make this better would be if it were a trail run. ☺

Filed Under: Racing, Spring 2012, Training Tagged: , , ,
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