Welcome Spring

Week 18 March 15-21

Sunday- 14 miles at 8:11 pace

Monday- 0

Tuesday- 8 miles at 7:46 pace

Wednesday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8 minute pace

          Then 6 miles at 8:09 pace

Thursday- 7 miles at 7:27 pace with 6x3 minute pick-ups, 3 minutes easy

Friday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:19 pace

          Then 2.5 miles at 8:12 pace

Saturday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:20 pace

          Then 5 miles at 8:08 pace

Total miles: 48.5

Comments: The snowbanks are slowly melting. You don’t really notice until you’re running around a corner and realize that you can see if the top of a car is showing and about ready to hit you, whereas before you were just taking your life in your hands. I had a solid week of getting in miles, especially since a few days had less than ideal conditions; Sunday’s long run was icy, Wednesday and Thursday were windy, and Saturday was snowy. Isaac had his four month appointment and weighed in at 14lb. 12oz. (34%), measured 24.5 inches (21%), and has a head circumference of 17 inches (90%). He still shows no sign of rolling over. This kid just likes to sit and observe. I guess he won’t be the Olympian runner I had planned, but that's okay with me... I wouldn’t trade him for anything.

Hooray for a Good 5k

Week 17 March 8-14

Sunday- 14 miles at 8:11 pace

Monday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:23 pace

Tuesday- 8 miles at 7:58 pace

Wednesday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:12 pace

          Then 6 miles at 7:12 pace with 10x2 minute pick-ups, 1 minute easy

Thursday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:34 pace

          Then 4 miles at 8:30 pace

Friday- 5 miles at 8:26 pace

Saturday- We Run With Boston 5k in Keene

          11 minute warm up, 12 minute cool down

          5k in 19:28 (16:16 pace)

Total miles: 48.5

Comments: I’m pleased with my 5k race! I was supposed to run the St. Patty’s 5k in Salisbury which is part of the race series I entered, but it was postponed until April 11. I really wanted to run a 5k race, so I did a quick coolrunning search, and saw that two runners who are raising money for Boston Marathon charities were hosting a race. One runner was running for Dana Farber and the other for MR8 (for Martin Richard). There was also prize money which was a bonus, though I wasn’t banking on it (no pun intended). I figured even if I didn’t win anything, I would be supporting two important charities, and I especially felt it was important to support MR8. I can’t imagine losing my son, and to think of Martin’s mother breaks my heart. My week had gone pretty well for running, and I was happy with my Wednesday workout and long run.

The night before the race, Isaac woke up after only three hours-he had been sleeping 5-6 hours. Then he woke up again a few hours later. But in the morning, I felt fine. On my warm up run, the roads were a bit icy so I knew I’d have to be careful on the roads. I was with a girl for about a mile or so and she helped me get out to a good start. A boy (I mean, I say boy but he’s probably in college for all I know-these “kids” look so young to me now) and I pulled away, and we were running side by side throughout the entire race. It was so helpful. He pulled away the last 200 or so. When I saw my time I was excited. I had hoped to run at least 6:40 pace, but really hoped to do 6:30 pace. This was 6:16 pace. The race was advertised as being 3.2 miles (which would put me at 6:05 pace). I measured it and got 3.18. But I will call it a 5k. I did much better than I thought, and it makes me more excited about upcoming races. Oh, and the best part of the race was seeing Ian and Isaac cheering me on at the finish line. Well, Ian was cheering. Isaac was sleeping.

Hello March

Week 16 March 1-7

Sunday- 12 miles at 8:33 pace

Monday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:20 pace

Tuesday- 8 miles at 7:55 pace

Wednesday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:05 pace

            Then 5 miles at 7:30 pace with 6x2 minutes pick-ups/1 minute easy recovery

Thursday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:25 pace

            Then 4 miles at 8:24 pace

Friday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:30 pace

            Then 3.1 miles at 8:17 pace

Saturday- 14 minute warm up, 13 minute cool down

            4.1 miles in ~28:04 (6:51 pace)

Total miles: 47 miles

Comments: My stomach was hurting during my long run, so I was pleased I was able to get in 12 miles. It felt good to run the 5 miles on Wednesday at 7:30 pace. Of course, it included pick-ups  which helped get my pace down. I was a bit disappointed with the Winter Chiller race. I hoped to run 6:45 pace. The race was hilly, but I still thought I would run a bit faster than I did. The race was in the same town as my New Year’s race was, and I did 7 minute pace for that. I thought I would have gotten into better shape since then. It’s a bit daunting when my half marathon pace is 6:30 per mile, and I can’t even do that for a 4 mile race right now. I have a 5k next week that I think is on a flatter course, so I do hope to run between 6:40 and 6:45 pace. Happy March, all. Spring is on its way.

Seeing Some Sevens

Week 15 February 22-28

Sunday- 12 miles at 8:16 pace

Monday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:30 pace

Tuesday- 8 miles at 8:15 pace

Wednesday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:21 pace

          Then 5 miles at 7:37 pace with 8 x 1 minute pick-ups/1 minute easy

Thursday- 2 miles with Lucy at 9:12 pace

          Then 3 miles at 9:07 pace

Friday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:20 pace

          Then 4 miles at 7:52 pace

Saturday- 2 miles with Lucy at 8:36 pace

          Then 3 miles at 8:27 pace

Total miles: 45

Comments: I had a decent week of running, and a couple of my runs were in the 7 minute range. Slowly, I’m starting to get my paces back to normal. I had a good run on Sunday. At first, I was feeling a bit blah on the run and didn’t feel like working, but after a couple miles I started to feel better and didn’t let myself slack and throw in the towel. The best part of my paces getting a bit faster is how quickly my runs are over with. An 8 minute per mile run seems to go by so much faster than a 9:30 minute per mile run, even if it ends up only being a few minutes.

Plugging Away

Weeks 7-14 December 28-February 21

Week 14, February 15-21: 37.5 miles

Week 13, February 8-14: 50.5 miles

Week 12, February 1-7: 42 miles

Week 11, January 25-31: 40 miles

Week 10, January 18-24: 42 miles

Week 9, January 11-17: 41 miles

Week 8, January 4-10: 37 miles

Week 7, December 28-January 3: 39.75 miles

Comments: Well, it hasn’t been the easiest winter to run with the snow and such cold temperatures. I run in the evening when Ian gets home from work. By then, it’s cold and dark, and the roads haven’t been clear for a while, but it’s still nice to get out and RUN! In the beginning, I often came back to a hungry, crying baby (he still won’t take a bottle, I’ve pretty much given up on it). But as he quickly grows he doesn’t need to be fed what seemed like every ten minutes, and he and his Papa get quality time in. Oh, and we’re getting more sleep, too! We consider 7 hours sleeping through the night, and we have gotten three of those nights, one of them being last night. Isaac and I have been keeping busy while his Papa is at work. We’re going to Storytime at the library, Mom’s Group at the hospital, several playdates with other babies, and reading lots of books. He is growing up much too fast, and yet at every age I love him even more. He’s such a wonderful baby. He’s very good in public, and Ian and I can go out to dinner and not worry too much about him disrupting the restaurant. We even went down to Boston for a weekend to visit and see friends and stayed at a hotel in Coolidge Corner for two nights, and he was great. We went to the New Balance Indoor Games which I think he enjoyed, or at least his Mama and Papa did. He’s a very serious guy, and doesn’t give many smiles in public, but at home, he has the greatest smiles.

Okay, this blog is about running, so I better get back to writing about that! I’m slowly plugging along and getting back into shape. I can actually feel some abdominal muscles, though I still have pooch to lose. My hips and ‘leg joints’ still feel a bit off, but overall I’m feeling better. I ran a 5k January 1^st in 21:43, which was my goal. Today, I ran a small fun race (one of the Winter Chillers I spoke about in the beginning of the blog). I ran about 7:05 pace for 4.5 miles. It was frigid, and my hat kept slipping so I ditched it. My ears still hurt a bit. The track has been covered in snow, so no more track workouts. My runs are averaging about 8:30 pace, faster if the roads are completely covered in snow, and slower when they are. I’m doing 12 miles for my long runs. The 50.5 mile week had two long runs in it to get one in before a Sunday snow storm. I signed up for the CU Green Stride Race Series which includes two half marathons (one in May and one in October), two 5k’s and a one mile race. I thought the May half marathon would be a great starting point, and my goal would be to be back in shape by October and run a good time (a PR hopefully). Or, it will all just be for fun. We’ll take it one day at a time.