Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sunday Shuffle

Well, I can say that I am happy to be done, but that was not fun. I just finished my last long run before the marathon, 22 miles. It took me longer than I expected and that is disappointing. I ran about 10 minute miles. ugh! It makes me question my ability to run the Boston in a time that I can be proud of. I know I will be happy to finish the marathon, but I will wonder why I didn't run just a little more and train just a little harder.

Anyway, we woke up to rain this morning and I knew what I was in for. The run reminded me of a Juneau run, it was raining the entire time with temperatures in the mid-30's and overcast skies. I started off slow and just got slower. I was literally shuffling along many miles and if I wasn't three weeks away from the Boston, I'd have turned around and headed home. I completed my 22 miles on dirt roads with some hills and mud. I got home and rewarded myself with a nice long bath and a yummy chocolate milk recovery drink. Now, I'm feeling great and as always, happy to be done with that run!

Friday, March 27, 2009

$3005

Looks like we made it! Thanks to the generous support of family and friends (and family friends) I have reaced the minumum fundraising goal. Last October it seemed a pretty daunting task and I had my doubts. My mom was integral to making it happen as she shared my newsletter with colleagues, friends, associates, and acquaintances. She also passed along the names of family friends to whom I sent fundraising letters. With her support and determinaton, I've reached my goal. Thanks mom!

Thank-you to everyone who has donated and to those who are with me in spirit. Now, all I need to do is keep running for 24 more days and finish the marathon strong!

What goes up must come down!

I discovered a few new roads to run on near the house, trouble is they are all hilly. I decided to try out a new loop last night and ran up Lilliesville road then up Whittier Road until the end (about 4 miles with some pretty steep sections). My plan was to turn around and come down Whitcomb Hill Road, which looked doable on the map. It turns out the road is closed in the winter. So, I retraced my steps to the car. Ending up with a 9.5 mile run going up and down Whittier Road.

A friend of ours showed Stefan an online running tool at runningahead.com. It allows you to plot your course and get the mileage and elevation and to keep track of workouts. I know it will be a great tool to use to be more accurate in my workouts. I just plotted this course to get the mileage and learned I gained 1260 ft in elevation throughout the run. Phew!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Snowy surprise

Today's seventeen miles started out innocently enough. There were snow flurries predicted but by the time I left the house, we'd had just a few flakes fall from the sky. I left the house around 10:45 and ran across the bridge to the River Road near our house. It's a dirt road that stretches out about 6 miles and has 2 roads that connect to it that lead to a whole slew of dirt roads up in the hills. I ran out and back on River road (10 miles) and then up Lilliesville road for 2.5 and back down to add 5 and then back home, to make a total of 17. At mile 9 I got some wind and snow flurries, it was mild enough. When I got to mile 11-12, the snow started coming down heavy with wind (did I mention I was running uphill at this point?). I almost turned around but persevered for another mile or so and then turned around.

I was glad I stayed with it, I finished the 17 in 2 hours and 31 minutes. I'm sure I won't be breaking any speed records this year but I'm confident that I can finish.

My bib number

I logged on to the Boston Marathon site yesterday and got my bib number - it's 13090. Last year I was somewhere around 14125. The First Wave of runners (bib numbers 0-13,999 start at 10:00) and Second Wave runners (bib numbers 14,000-20,000+) start at 10:30. So, I'm happy to be starting in the first wave and at the back of that wave. That way, I'll be motivated to stay with the faster runners for a while. I will likely cross the starting line 10-15 minutes after the 10:00 start (due to the sheer volume of people starting at that time). Then I can stay motivated to stay in front of the Second Wave runners for as long as possible. Should be fun.

You can follow my progress on race day (Monday, April 20) by logging on to the Boston Marathon website and searching for me by name or bib number. They will be posting every 5K split (3.2 miles) which should mean every 25-33 minutes for me.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

One more month!

I can't believe there is only one more month! It's often at this point that I start to wish I had trained just a little bit harder. Now that I can imagine myself running the marathon, I'd like to see myself running it at a personal best. While this year's Boston might not prove to be my fastest, it will certainly be the most meaningful marathon to date. I have been fundraising since November and am almost there. By almost, I would say as of this moment I am at 2375, just 625 shy of my goal. I am hopeful! Many of the folks I first contacted in November said they'd support me when the time came. Well, time's up. I'm sending out a big e-mail reminder later today to everyone I've been in contact with to this point to let them know where I'm at.

I just finished a 7 mile run and feel pretty good. Tomorrow's long run will be around 18 and I just hope it is warm enough in the morning to run before 10. We woke up this morning to 10 degrees and I just didn't want to deal with the cold. It's amazing how spoiled you get once you run in 40-50 degree weather, it's hard to go back. The last two weeks we've seen pretty warm temperatures and it is so nice - no hat or gloves!

The downside to the melting snow (and running on dirt roads) is the mud. It's hard anytime and especially hard on tired legs. The trick is to time the run so that it's warm enough to leave the hat behind but not so warm that the roads are mush. Keep your fingers crossed.