It is official!

The results are in. I accomplished a personal best on an 80 degree day along the beautiful coast of Maine! I finished at 54:50 and for not being a 'real' runner, I feel pretty good about an 8.79 mile. It was even a bit faster than I thought. I came in 2,390 out of 5,613. It felt really really good to pass people and not so bad as usual being passed. I had fun hanging out with co-workers who I had never really spoken to and who were extremely supportive and enthusiastic. I finally feel like an 'insider' when it comes to running! The only problem is that I couldn't sleep last night so I am beat. So, it is a glass of celebration wine then off to bed. Congrats goes out to all 5,613 strong people of the Beach to Beacon!

Beach to Beacon complete!

Well, I survived the Beach to Beacon. At this point in my training it didn't feel long- but it sure felt hot, and crowded and fast!

It was really well put-together and had a great feel. I tried to shrug off my competitive tendencies and focus on my own time...easier said than done. The official results are not yet in but I think I came in at around 55 minutes (what I was shooting for) but I was certainly giving it all that I had at the end.

So, I would like to shave off a minute or two for the Trails to Ale. That is the next goal. And mentally I need to work on the fact that my marathon will be more that 4 times what I just did! I still have two whole months to make it happen!

speedwork stinks

I did some speedwork on my hometown track today- for about an hour in the rain (seems to be the theme of the summer). After a hike, a swim, and a run yesterday as well- I feel as if I could sleep for about 3 days.

week off

I do still exist! I actually took last week off from training due to a very busy schedule due to the fact I was the chair of the Vegetarian Food Festival planning committee that took place this past Saturday. We had around 350 attendees last year, were hoping for 500 this year, and ended up with 750! It was successful, I am exhausted and content.

So, now with the B to B two weeks away, it is time to get down to business. I would like to shed about 5 pounds and shave off about 5 minutes from a 10K time.

I am at my mom's in northern Maine and ran yesterday. The humidity was pretty brutal and my hour-long jaunt took me up and down some pretty serious hills. It was really nice to reminisce about my childhood years while running around town- past schools, past old friends' houses, past parks. I felt very good and very strong after a full week off. I tend to become obsessive and it becomes detrimental to my self-confidence at a point, so it was good practice to take a week off and feel okay about it!

I also did some canoeing yesterday and am feeling the effects of that in my back. I love the feeling of muscles sore from use. Is that crazy or masochistic?

ouch and sharks

Well, I just did 6 miles of fartleks in the rain which pretty much sucked- but it that good way that it felt like a real workout with real pain towards a goal of real improvement. I ran 1/4 as fast as I could muster up the strength for, then 1/4 mile at an easy pace for 6 entire miles.

On a different note (I can't leave the animal issues part of me out of this blog after all) I just looked at the website for the Downeast Shark Tournament and was disgusted by the event and the pictures! Why as human beings do we have this desire to catch and kill things we are not eating. They claim the sharks are then used for 'scientific research'. What are we- Japanese whaling fleets now?! What in the world does it prove that you happen to have luck and catch the biggest shark? Oohh, what a man! I hate it! I wish I would've read this crap before my run- I think I run faster when angry.

Still Running

It has been while...on July 4th I did an easy 4-miler -IN THE SUN! And on Sunday, July 5 Gav and I did a 9 mile, easy paced run. It was great and he was a great sport for joining me, considering he isn't training for anything. He did keep saying I was trying to kill him. He is great to run with because he is good at pacing himself, which is good for me so I don't take off after people who pass us like a greyhound after a bunny! Yesterday was a day of rest. Rest= housework at this point with my hectic schedule. We are 2 weeks away from the Veg Fest I am the chair for. Yikes!

I need to step it up a bit on speed-work now that I am officially registered for the Beach to Beacon through work and Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Not that I have any delusions of being fast- I am not real runner after all but our goal at work is to beat the L.L. Bean team and I think we can do it!

Today is a 5-6 mile 'quality' run so I think I will do some fartleks- (hee hee fart-lick).

Beach to Beacon

Great news- I think I am going to be given a spot to run in the Beach to Beacon. Some people at work had spots and someone backed out. Quite an honor considering the race filled up in two hours!

A 5.5 mile tempo run today. Man, it is humid out there! At least it isn't raining.

FYI

So, I was wondering about elevation after yesterday's run. North Conway has an elevation of 525 feet according to Wikipedia. This is quite a difference from my usual 62 foot elevation here in Portland!

really?

Is it really necessary that it is raining again? I ran a short 4 miler today and, once again, it started pouring about a quarter of the way in. The humidity makes it harder to breath, the moisture makes your clothes sit like plastic wrap on your skin, the pavement is slippery in some parts and and flooded in other parts. It is giving me some serious runners' rage.

Yesterday, I did 5.2 miles in N Conway where Gav and I were visiting his parents. I could feel the difference in elevation, though I am sure it is not a huge difference. It was beautiful there when the fog lifted for about 2 seconds. And at the end of my run I purchased a giant iced soy latte from the 'bucks' and it might have been the best iced latte I have ever had!

While driving around the area the day before, we saw a couple of mountain runners. Now, there is a serious endeavor! I like hills but I like them to have a peak, then an end and I want them to be around 5 minutes to climb. I imagine that lacing up at the bottom of an entire mountain must feel a bit like a bad nightmare. But getting to the top, calf-muscles burning like they are being squeezed from your flesh like toothpaste from an empty tube, sweat pouring down your body like mountain streams, breath being sipped as if from a narrow straw in a thick soy-shake- that must feel like something amazing. Maybe I will try running up a mountain if this rain ever stops...

We're all a little crazy

I certainly didn't run on vegetables today- I ran on vegan cake, soy ice cream, and champagne sangria. Surprisingly, this brunch fuel seemed to work for my long run- I did 1 hour and 22 minutes today.

Why is it that a light mist turns into a downpour about 5 minutes into a run? After I have invested that 5 minutes, I am very unlikely to turn around. The first 5 is really the most uncomfortable part of any run. I was soaked and ran through a couple of puddles the size of lakes on my way up York street. I ran a couple of loops for the stairs in the park at the top of York and passed another lady doing the same. We smiled at our mutual craziness as the rain poured down our faces.

I made my way past Maine Med, past USM and finished off my run around the boulevard. It was mucky and misty and windy and I passed a handful of runners. A certain sort of person runs in weather like this...I like to think it is raw dedication, or a kinship with nature and all of her elements, or a tolerance for suffering. I think what it comes right down to is that we are all a little bit crazy and it is a sort of crazy that only another runner or athlete would understand.

This was one of the best runs I've had for a while- I was happy to spend a morning with friends and happy to spend an hour and a half with my own thoughts and this rain that doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

what's black and white...

Yesterday's 4-mile hilly run was pretty uneventful. Uneventful is good in many ways. Tonight was a bit of a different story.

After a long day of errand running and an entirely unhealthy lunch at Silly's, Gav and I decided to do a late run. It is a beautiful night and, though a little heavy from our food, we were moving along at a decent pace. While running up the hill from Danforth to the Western Prom (killer hill by the graveyard) we had a bit of a scare. I was in a meditative state, running along when I noticed a small figure running towards us. Slow to process what I was seeing, I realized that the skunk was also out for a nightly run and he noticed us about the time we noticed him. He was headed right at us and as soon as I yelled 'skunk' to Gav, he lifted his little tail. I was a sprinter for a moment. A damn fast sprinter. I could win serious races if you released a bunch of skunks at me. I think Gavin could too. We either narrowly escaped the spray or he decided against it after all. That was about halfway through our run and every shadow after that looked like it might be a black and white critter. I am glad to be home and only mildly stinky as I usually am after a run!

no run today

Today is a cross-training day. Thank god because it just started pouring again. I think I will do some weight training here at home where it is dry and warm. Weight training makes me feel like a bad-ass. Especially bench presses. Bench presses are tough.

running in the rain and foamy pits

Yesterday was the punishment run. The I had too much beer last night, I feel like a soggy lush with a quarter of a brain sort of run. Running is such a good cure for a hangover but god it sucks. Buckets of sweat that may or may not smell of beer, a feeling that you are running through molasses. I suppose I must learn my lesson somehow. Anyway, I felt great after.

Funny think about yesterdays run...I looked down at one point and saw that my armpits were foaming. I didn't have that much beer the night before! After a moment of panic I realized that I had hand-washed my clothes and not rinsed out the soap well so it was bubbling from the rain and collecting right at my pits! People driving by must have wondered what the heck was wrong with me!

Technology master!

Okay, so maybe you have all been doing this for years but I am old fashioned and stubborn beyond my years so give me a break.

I am starting this blog (never say never I guess) so you all might follow my progress towards my marathon in October- my first marathon and first big race.

Today is one of those days that it is hard to motivate- rainy and gross. I have to run 6 miles today. Nothing too painful.

So...keep an eye on this and give me hell if I slack on it. I Hope you will all be amused at the story of my continued work towards 26 (gulp) miles.