Total mileage this week = 34 miles

This was a great training week. The weather was perfect for running. I was really excited about running this week. I felt good. There was absolutely nothing standing in my way of having great runs this week.

My long run went off as planned this week. However, I get bored circling the reservoir more than two times. So I decided that I would head up to the bike trail in Hadley. I parked and ran toward Amherst College on the trail. I got off the trail and ran past Amherst College to UMass. I purposely didn’t look at my Garmin until I reached UMass because I wanted to be surprised by how far I had gone. Oh the psychological games I play!

I entered the UMass campus (my alma mater!) and I was surprised alright, but not by how far I had gone. I was stunned to look down and see that I had only run about 4.6 miles. It certainly felt like more. I ran through campus and then trekked along a back road which would eventually take me back to the bike trail. I came upon a tag sale and a lemonade stance. I couldn’t resist making a donation to the adorable kids running the stand. The sun was beaming and the humidity was increasing as I chugged along so the lemonade tasted like gold at that point. I chatted with the children’s mom for a bit and then started out again. I was nearing 9 miles and I knew that I would have no trouble making it the rest of the way.

Since I hadn’t actually planned the route I was pleasantly surprised that it was almost exactly 12 miles back to my car. I had to run about .20 past my car and then back to hit 12 miles on the button. I did it! Overall it was a good run. I started out pretty strong, not fast, but steady and at a comfortable pace. My legs got really achy around mile 6. They felt pretty tight the rest of the way. I attribute that to running 6 miles the day before and not adequately stretching. Lesson learned!

The week ahead will bring a little less running, no double digit run, and an exciting trip for two at the end of the week.

Happy Labor Day!

I have always run alone. In the beginning I ran alone because I felt so awkward about running. I could only run very short distances without getting winded. I was painfully aware of my heavy breathing and self conscious about jiggly body parts. I typically ran in places where few people would see me.

As the running became more comfortable so did my feelings about running. I run anywhere and everywhere now. I no longer care who sees me. However, I still run alone. It’s my alone time. It’s my time to clear my head, to be silent, to think and do something healthy for myself.

The only time I run with others is during a race. I love the social aspect of a race. I particularly love the supporters cheering along the road. Races motivate me. Training for a race provides a focus for running on a regular basis. As I’ve mentioned before I thrive when I have a schedule to follow. Oddly enough even in a race setting I still feel as though I am running alone. I never feel competitive with anyone but myself. I almost always enter a race with the intention of beating my last time in a race of the same distance.

I will train for the Disney Marathon entirely on my own. All the while my cousin, Jenna, is training a Team in Training group of runners in Fort Lauderdale, FL who will also run the Disney Marathon. My cousin has run numerous marathons including Disney and more recently the Paris Marathon as a member of TNT. TNT runners raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Jenna has always run as a member of a TNT group. It’s been interesting to share our experiences and the differences between running solo and running as a part of a group. She is a huge inspiration to me.

Jenna includes me in all of her team’s correspondence and I receive their monthly training schedule to follow if I want to. I’ve enjoyed reading about the team activities and some of the team members. I’m honored to be a virtual team member and I plan to make a donation to the team at the end of the training. Jenna assures me that she will push me along the marathon course with her words of encouragement just as she will for the rest of the team.

While I envy the built in emotional support a team offers as well as the expertise of the coach, I realize that running as a part of a team, unfortunately, does not work with my life right now. I have to plan my runs around my husband’s work schedule, my son’s school schedule and social life!, and my work and sleep schedule. Since my husband and I work different shifts it is often up to me to find childcare to accommodate my runs. It would be very difficult to commit to working with a team and following their set training schedule. Besides that the only TNT teams in Massachusetts are in the Boston area.

We do have a couple of local running groups and I would like to check them out next year when I am not actively training for a marathon. I think what I like the most about the thought of running with a group is meeting people with similar interests and learning about new opportunities and experiences. What I imagine I would like least is feeling like I am holding someone back and actually talking to people while running since I love listening to music while running. But who knows, I might absolutely love it. If there is one thing running has taught me, it’s to never say never.

I brought Carlos to school this morning. For this first week of school the half-day preschoolers are only attending from 9 to 11 a.m. I took Carlos up to his classroom and then I headed out to the reservoir for a 6 mile training run. The sun was shining, a light breeze blowing and there was a hint of crispness signaling a change of season just around the corner, but for today I would enjoy these last moments of summer.

I took my normal route around the reservoir. I started out at a comfortable pace letting the music guide me. My legs felt light and my breathing was even. There was a smile on my face. I waved or mouthed good morning to everyone I passed.

I returned to the car for water after finishing four miles. I rested for a few minutes then took off again. It seemed as though everything was in sync on this run. My breathing became rhythmic and effortless. My legs felt like they could run forever. I picked up the pace and the smile on my face grew instantly bigger. I meant it too. I was truly happy to be running.

This was not a stellar week by any means. Work, birthdays, husband’s work schedule and weather are not to blame, but all played a part in the outcome of this week in marathon training. I have maintained from day 1 of marathon training that my goal is not to be perfect, but to be flexible. Life happens. I will cross that finish line on January 8, 2012. I started my training early so that I could allow for interruptions and scheduling conflicts along the way. Here is the week in a nutshell:

I fell 9.5 miles short of my intended mileage. I’m not the least bit worried or upset about this. I truly did the best that I could. I have a plan to make up for my shortcomings. My long run for this upcoming Saturday calls for 9 miles. Well since I did almost 9 miles this week I will trade the long runs for these two weeks. I will do a 12 mile long run this Saturday. Carlos starts school this week so I will use Wednesday and Friday to make up some of the mileage I missed last week. I will also try to incorporate a double workout tomorrow which will consist of a morning run after work and a strength training session in the evening.

I’m happy with my progress so far. I am excited about the week to come. The weather looks great. I am ready to run!

“Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.” –Paul Kagame

Week 4 was a challenging week. My grandmother was in the hospital and that took priority over my training. So I did the absolute best that I could and here is how it went.

I calculated that I missed 4.7 miles during Week 4. I’m working hard to include some of those missed miles in my runs this week. I’m not sure if I can do it, but I’m trying. Running simply does not come first in my life. The purpose of a schedule is to hold me accountable and to have a guideline to follow. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, flexibility in my running plan will be the key to my success.

I’m already in good shape this week, even a little ahead of the game. If I continue as planned I will indeed make up some of the mileage I missed last week.

I am off for the next two nights and looking forward to a trip to the Connecticut shore with Carlos, of course, and my oldest and dearest BFF and her four boys! I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for a sunny day.

On Saturday, August 13, 2011 I ran my first repeat race. A year ago I ran the Bridge of Flowers 10K in Shelburne Falls, MA. I knew that I would run it again this year. It’s a great race in a beautiful location with a fabulous after race event. The spectator support is incredible along the way. The event runs like a well oiled machine thanks to the dedicated volunteers and sponsors.

We were up at 6 and the sun was too! I began race day as I always do, with a piece of peanut butter and banana toast. We were out the door by 7:15. I love having my guys with me on race day.

We parked in the free parking area at the elementary school. I walked a block to pick up my race packet while Orlando stayed with Carlos at the school playground. I returned to the parking area to pin my number on and take some pre-race photos.

Really Mom, another race?

Carlos and I on the Bridge of Flowers

View from the Bridge of Flowers

Runners line up on the Iron Bridge for the race start

And just like that it was time to join the other runners on the Iron Bridge. The start of this race is divided into men on the right and women on the left, but no one seems to really enforce it too much. I did join the ladies on the left. Before I knew it the National Anthem was sung and we were off. I always have little butterflies as I start a race, and this one was no exception. I took off at a steady pace, not too fast, not too slow. The spectators were cheering loudly. The first two miles take you through the town and back over the Iron Bridge. Just after mile two is “the hill.” It is a half mile of increasingly steep incline that doesn’t seem to end until all of a sudden you are met with a dirt road that flattens out and then gives way to some much needed declines. If you really must know it is actually a small mountain. I tried to run it but came to a crushing halt up the first ascent. I walked it along with everyone else around me.

The race finishes just over the Iron Bridge where it all started. For the last 3 miles I kept seeing the same woman in gray shorts. We were often neck and neck or one of us was just slightly ahead of the other. After mile 4 I didn’t see her for a bit. I thought she had passed me. She was in fabulous shape. I envied her long lean legs imagining how much swifter I might move if they were on me. Then I realized that I wasn’t doing too bad with my own legs. Around mile 5 she surpassed me. Spurred on by friendly competition and the motivation to beat my last year’s time, I sped up a bit. Again we took turns passing each other. As we entered the bridge for the last time she was coming up on my heels. I began sprinting as the time clock came into view. The lady in the gray shorts and I crossed the finish line at exactly the same time. As soon as I caught my breath I approached her. We shook hands and congratulated each other. I appreciated the push at the end. Thanks Gail!

So how did I do? I did great. I finished in 1:04:16. Last year’s finish was 1:07:36. It was a great improvement in my opinion. My only goal was to finish a second or more under last year’s time. I did that and more. The hill really slowed me down. Even though I train on hills this one was clearly no match for my training. My husband did manage to take a pretty bad ass photo of me as I neared the finish line.

Now that's determination!

Sunday, July 31, 2011 – Rest Day
Monday, August 1, 2011 – 5 miles
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 – Walked about 4 miles a friend then did 2 miles in under 20 minutes. Swapped out the 5 mile run I was supposed to do today and did the 5 miles yesterday. Today should have been 3 miles but I figured that the walk more than compensated for the mile that I missed with the run.
Wednesday, August 2, 2011 – 5 miles
Thursday, August 3, 2011 – 3 miles
Friday, August, 4, 2011 – Rest Day
Saturday, August 5, 2011 – unintentional Rest Day

When I planned out my training calendar it was important to account for flexibility. This week was a perfect example of how to maintain training momentum amidst unplanned events. I flip flopped runs at the beginning of the week simply because that is what worked best for that particular day. My 5 mile run on Wednesday was horrible. My legs felt really heavy and tired. On Thursday, I took my run inside at the gym so that I could do some strength training as well. My planned long run on Saturday did not happen because I wanted to spend time with my grandmother at the hospital and also needed to sleep before work.

All winter I did strength training 2-3 times a week. I was feeling really strong and fit. It recently dawned on me that I have only done scattered strength training for the past few months. Now that the weather is nicer I prefer to be outdoors. I haven’t thought about going to the gym just to strength train. I am going to try to incorporate at least two days of weights or some other form of strength training activity like yoga, Pilates or Boot Camp.

So far I am really happy with my marathon training. I realize I have started about a month earlier than necessary, but I needed the structure. We will see how this week goes now that Carlos is done with day camp. I will have to get creative in order to sneak in my runs.