Bib Number and Tracking

Things have been so busy trying to get all the final pieces together for the maration.  I have not had a chance to write about my past few runs but hope to soon! 

In case anyone is interested in tracking my progress on race day, go to the website below and it will give you directions on what to do from there!!  My bib Number is 25385 :-)  I can't believe I am running the Boston Marathon on Monday!  ahhh so exciting and crazy. 

http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/att-athlete-alert.aspx

Thanks for all the support over the past few months! 

Less Than 2 Weeks

Thursday (4/7/2011) – Ran 3 miles around my apartment and wore shorts for the second time this spring!!  Hopefully race day is as nice as some of these past few days J  The run felt great!  Today I received my Catholic Charities singlet and finalized my outfit for race day.  Now I just have to work on getting my name printed on my shirt.  Only a few more workouts left until the big day! ahhhhhhh

Wednesday (4/6/2011) – Completed a solid 3 miles on the treadmill and a great circuit workout.   A nice mid week workout!

Tuesday (4/5/2011) – Did the usual 5 mile route with Run Club and although it was extremely windy along the Charles River, it created an extra challenge to our run. 

Monday (4/4/2011) – Today I was feeling pretty exhausted so decided to take the day off from running and just stretch, foam roll and ice plunge my knee/leg.  TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY IS RACE DAY!!  I’m so excited!!

Sunday (4/3/2011) – “Only” had to run 12 miles today.  We started around mile 14/15 on the marathon route and ran into Copley to the finish line.  I did not eat my DiGiorno pizza like I always do for dinner the night before a long run and I was feeling the difference.  The Buffalo wings were just not holding me like the pizza does.  I was struggling throughout the entire run and my body seemed to be craving carbs.  This was one of the most difficult long runs I have had and hope it is not a sign of what race day is going to be like!  I’m blaming it on the change in my pre long run dinner…

Saturday (4/2/2011) – Today was a rest day for me, but I did walk around on my legs all day while out doing some shopping.  I picked up a few 2011 Boston Marathon clothing items from City Sports.  This is all starting to become so real!  Even though I bought a few items, I still have them in the City Sports bag in my closet until after race day.  I have been told that I cannot wear any of the items until after I cross the finish line because I do not want to jinx myself as there are still 2 weeks before race day! 

Friday (4/1/2011) – I had hoped to get up early and head to the gym for a circuit workout before work, but was just too exhausted.  I decided that the extra hour of sleep would be beneficial and that I would just head to the gym after work.  I think this is the first time I have EVER gone to the gym on a Friday evening and it was kind of nice.  I did a ten minute warm up on the elliptical and then did my circuit workout.

Thursday (3/31/2011) – Ran a relaxed 3 miles outside that incorporated a few hills.  It was not the fastest run I have ever done, but I completed it and that is all that matters.

Wednesday (3/30/2011) – Headed to the gym after work for a circuit workout and 3 mile jog.  My knee was really sore and although I had hoped to do some sprint jogs, my knee was just not cooperating.  So, instead of doing sprints I just did a steady 3 mile jog that gave my knee time to warm up and have less pounding on it.  Headed home and iced my knee!

Tuesday (3/29/2011) – Run club day.  Today was the last run club that a friend of mine was going to be at for the next few months.  In order to go out with a bang, we both decided to run the 5 mile route one last time together.  Still feeling the soreness of the 20 miles I did on Sunday, I took it easy and kept a pace that was comfortable for me. 

Monday (3/28/2011) – My knee is a bit sore following the big run yesterday so today is a rest day only.

Sunday (3/27/2011) – 20 MILES DONE!!  I participated in a 20 mile race called the Eastern States 20 Miler which started in Kittery, ME and ended just over the NH border in Salisbury, MA.  The run went basically all along the coast on route 1A.  It was fairly windy and at times I felt as though my legs were going to be taken out from underneath me (partly because I was pretty tired towards the end of the race).  My family came to support me and was a big help with motivation.  They provided extra water and of course ibuprofen J  Although it was not an extremely hilly route, I still felt strong and now know that I can do anything if I set my mind to it!  

Another Training Week Done

Saturday (3/26/2011) - Spent the day preparing myself for the 20 miles that will be completed on Sunday.  Drank lots of water and did some carbo loading by eating pizza for dinner!  Yummmm.  Now time to continue resting up!


Friday (3/25/2011) - Did absolutely nothing in terms of a workout and LOVED every minute of it.


Thursday (3/24/2011) - Did a 3 mile easy jog around the apartment with Jenny.  While running she noticed that I apparently was limping a little bit (my knee is still bothering me).  I had not noticed I was changing my form, but decided that it would be best to rest for the next 2 days and prepare myself and my knee for the Eastern States 20 mile run on Sunday. 


Wednesday (3/23/2011) - I was supposed to get up before work to head to the gym, but for the first time in my three plus months of training I decided I needed my rest more than anything.  So, I opted for an extra hour of sleep and headed to the gym after work for 3 miles of sprint jogs and a circuit workout.  The 3 miles of sprint jogs was very difficult for me.  I had no desire to be at the gym and was mentally weak.  I was not physically tired from running, but just not into it.   After what felt like the longest three miles and circuit workout ever, I was finally done at the gym.


Tuesday (3/22/2011) - Run club day!  Ran the 5 mile route with the usual crew, but this time was joined by a woman from Mississippi.   It was so nice to chat with her along the run, as she has run multiple marathons before and motivated me to keep working hard.  She reminded me to focus on the fact that I will have completed a marathon in less than a month, instead of focusing on how long it takes me to cross the finish line.  I finished the 5 miles with a favorable pace, but as soon as I stopped running was reminded of the fact that my knee has been bothering me.  I don't notice the pain when running, but as soon as I stop the pain returned.    I have no idea what caused the pain as it came upon me so quickly with no warning signs.  I iced the painful spot on my leg/knee when I got home (by using a bag of frozen peas :) and prepared for the rest of the week ahead of me.

Less than 1 Month

Monday (3/21/2011) - Took the day off to relax.  My knee is really sore today and needs to be rested. 

Sunday (3/20/2011) - Since I did not do my 14 mile run yesterday like I was supposed to, I decided I needed to complete at least a 12 mile "short run".   Let me tell you, it was a mental weakness day.  I started out on a roll, then before I knew it I was battling a constant low blood sugar.  I felt very weak and dreaded each and every step I was taking.  For the first time in a few weeks, I was completing my long run by myself.  Running two hours by myself caused me to start talking to myself.  Some of the comments I even said out loud to the tress and river next to me were "common Val, you can do it" and "it's just you and the pavement, one step after the other".  As I approached mile 11 I hear this "beep beep" with two hands sticking out either side of an approaching SUV.  Two of my friends had come to check on me and give me an extra water.  It is always fun to see people I know to give me that extra support for the final stretch.    Finally I had completed the run and have only 3 more weekend runs before the big race day!

Saturday (3/19/2011) - Shamrock Shuffle 5K!  I was too tired to get up early to do my 14 mile run, so decided to run with some friends in the 3.1 mile race in Lebanon, NH.  A friend of mine could not participate, but had previously registered and asked me to run on her behalf.  I agreed and actually achieved a personal record for a 5K!!  Sweet!  Guess I'll just have to sign up for another 5K so that the speedy time is actually under my own name :-)  It was a great day for a little "jog" with some amazing friends.

Friday (3/18/2011) - Rest Day

Thursday (3/17/2011) – St. Patty’s Day! Quick 3 mile route before heading out with friends for some corned beef and cabbage!  Cheers :-)

Wednesday (3/16/2011) – Up early to get to the gym!!  Time for a circuit workout again.  I just love waking up before the sun comes up to go work out. Nottttt.  But knowing that a friend was holding me accountable to meeting her there got me out of bed and off to start my day.  I did a little warm up on the elliptical and got through my circuit before it was even 7:00 A.M.   I had hoped to do a little jog after work but did not get home until after 10:00P.M. so decided to call it a night and rest up for the next workout.

Tuesday (3/15/2011) – RUN CLUB DAY! Yesss!  For the second week in a row I was joined by Jenny (my cousin/friend/roommate/trainer) at run club!   I started off the run with a group for about a mile and then decided I wanted to pick up the pace a bit.  I tried to keep between an 8 and a 9 minute mile pace and probably was averaging around an 8:30.  About 2.5 miles into my run I hear “VAL!!”  Next thing I knew, Jenny was sprinting behind me to catch up.  It was very helpful to me that she decided to sprint and catch up because it helped me to push myself and keep the 8:30ish pace for the rest of the 5 miles.  Towards the end of the run, I began to feel pretty weak but just wanted to finish.  I sprinted out the last half mile with Jenny (ok so maybe she was just a step or two ahead of me) and tested my blood sugar when I got back.  LOW ughhh.  BUT Nike had bought some sliders and cookies for us to eat after our run, so I helped myself to lots of yummy snacks.  This time Nike did a raffle of two shirts and Jenny was one of the winners!!! Yayyy.    

Monday (3/14/2011) – Headed to the gym to complete a 3 mile jog on the treadmill and do some circuits.  My most dreaded circuit is the push ups on the half ball (I don’t know the formal name).  After a quick 3 miles on the treadmill it was time to face the dreaded circuit.  Finally another workout done and only 5 more weeks until race day. Ahhhh Crazy!

Sunday  (3/13/2011) – Recovery Day

Saturday (3/12/2011) – 18 MILER!  Up early to get a head start on the run my running partner and I hit the pavement at 8:45 A.M.  We got dropped off at mile 8.5ish along the course and ran the next 17.5 miles right along the marathon course, finishing the last .5 miles of our route past the finish line into the South End.  The day was gorgeous.  A beautiful sunny day with temps in the low 50s.  It was the first day I didn’t have to wear two long sleeved shirts!!  I hope race day weather is just like this long runs!   The first eight miles were awesome, but consisted of lots of rolling hills which surprised me because I thought it was supposed to be all downhill.  We stopped every 4 miles for GU packs and water (I have some awesome friends that went out along the course and left us water and Gatorade about every 4 miles! THANK YOU).  So many people and teams were out running the course which was great motivation to know that lots of other people were running at the same time!  At the eight mile marker, two of my friends joined us to run the last 10 miles (they are both training for a half marathon).  Running around a nine minute mile pace I still was feeling strong.  I just kept thinking to myself this is my dream.  I am going to be able to say I DID IT.  I will have completed the Boston marathon which is more than most people can say.  Then along came heartbreak hill…the dreaded hill.  There are 7 do not enter signs along the half mile hill and my focus is to just pass each one.  Our pace slowed down slightly, but we did not walk at all.   Having the fresh legs of my two friends that joined us helped to keep me motivated to keep a steady pace and not slow down.  I made it up heartbreak hill yet again.  SUCCESS!  Finally we took a left onto Beacon St. and were on the final stretch.  Feeling much stronger than last week, 16 miles were behind me and the final 2 of the run were left.  My legs started to get tired and I could tell that if we had to stop at any cross walks my legs were going to hate me when I started to run again.  One mile to go and I had to slow my pace down to about a 10:30 minute mile. With the reassuring support of my friends, I kept on going and as soon as my Garman watch said 18.00miles I stopped running!  I DID IT!  And felt fairly strong!  Approximately 8 more miles and I will have finished a marathon!  WooHooo! I drank some chocolate milk and headed home to take an ice bath (BRRRRR).  Going up and down stairs was a little tough for the day but by Sunday I was ready for the next week of training that laid ahead of me.

Friday (3/11/2011) – REST DAY.  One of my most favorite days of training!! :)

Thursday (3/10/2011) – I had to work late and had a busy day so I wanted to go out for a nice stress releasing jog.  I had just received my Forerunner 305 Garmin watch in the mail and I could not wait to test out the distance and pace features.   I planned to go 5 to 6 miles, but 2 miles into my run I was unmotivated with a low blood sugar.  Luckily I had worn my fanny pack with my diabetes kit and some GU chews so I ate a few Chews and decided I would just head back home for the night.  According to my watch, I ended up completing a 3 mile route. 

Wednesday (3/9/2011) – I decided that I was pretty tired so headed to the gym after work to do a little bit of cross training and my circuit workout.  I was joined by a friend for the workout which helped motivate me to get a great workout in. 

Tuesday (3/8/2011) –Run Club DAY!!!  I completed a 5 mile route with run club.  Nike was the sponsor and allowed people to test wear their LunarGlide 2 sneakers!!  These are the same shoes that I have been training in…so, I decided that I would test wear their sneakers so that I could save some miles on my running sneakers.  After the route was completed, Nike raffled off 2 water bottles and I was one of the lucky winners!!  Yayyyy.  I love run club days :-)

Getting Closer!

Monday (3/7/2011) – 3 mile easy jog.  An easy jog that was made extremely difficult by me being not mentally tough.  Within 24 hours I better have my mental toughness back!!!

Sunday (3/6/2011) – REST DAY.  Enough said.

Saturday (3/5/2011) – 16 miles.  The furthest distance I have ever run in my life!!  I met a friend in the South End for 9 am and ran part of the course backwards, down Commonwealth Ave to Boylston Street, right onto Chestnut Hill then left onto Commonwealth Ave out towards Newton.  At eight miles out I was still feeling strong.  We were taking our time, testing my blood sugar every 4 miles and eating GU along the way.  At eight miles we turned around and headed back to the marathon finish line along the route of the course.   At mile 13 I began to feel tired, but knew only 3 more miles remained.  The only problem was that the only full water bottle I had left apparently did not get rinsed out enough and had dish soap mixed with it.  Ewww gross!!  Thank goodness for the Marathon Sports store on Boylston Street...they had a sink I could rinse my water bottle out in AND a water bubbler to fill it back up with fresh water!  The store was a savior for me.  Thank you to them!!  As we continued on the last two miles, my body just kept getting more and more tired.  Each time I thought we had completed a mile it was really only a half mile.  Talk about feeling like the last few miles were taking FOREVER!!  Anyways, finally we completed the 16 miles and it feels good to be able to say I DID IT!!  18 miles this Saturday all along the course!  Getting dropped off at mile 8 and running to the finish line.  Oh JOY.  Please feel free to drive the route and deliver some Gatorade or water!! J  That would be amazing.

Friday (3/4/2011) - Got up early and hit the gym to do some weight training before work.  The best part was that a friend joined me for the workout making getting up early seem a little bit more reasonable.  Thank you Kari!!

Thursday (3/3/2011) - Busy at work again and T issues made for a long, late commute home.  Got home after 8 pm and still had to get my run in.  I really had to give myself a pep talk in order to get myself motivated to go back out in the cold to run.  I decided I was going to do a little stress release jog and ended up going 4 miles.  The best part of the run was during my final stretch when I ran by some friends of mine!!  We all stopped and chatted for a bit.  Seeing people I knew and having them be excited for my marathon goal, gave me the final extra push I needed to complete a solid run.

Wednesday (3/2/2011) - Did not get home from work until late and so did not want to go to the gym for a run and weight workout.  After chatting with a friend who gave me some inspirational words, I was changed and ready to head out the door to the gym!  I ended up having the best 3 miles of sprint jogs on the treadmill since I started my training.  Feeling strong, I took the excitement into my weight training and pushed myself extra hard. 

Tuesday (3/1/2011) - Run club day!  Ran the 5 mile loop at just under a 9 minute mile pace and I finally did not feel so exhausted at the end of the run like I normally do.  yayyy!!!  My training is paying off!!  After the run, the group met for a raffle where New Balance was going to be giving away 2 pairs of their new minimalist shoes.  Guess what?!?!?!  I was one of the lucky winners!!  I am very excited to get a pair of these shoes in the mail soon, but probably will not wear them until after the marathon.  It is getting to close to race day to risk injury from wearing a different brand of shoes than I am used to.

Monday (2/28/2011) - Recovery day for my body that was matched with a busy day at work.  Perfect timing for a rest day so I did not have to think about when I was going to get my workout in!

Saturday & Sunday (2/26/2011 - 2/27/2011) - THE BIG DAY!!  This was the day of my 2nd 1/2 marathon EVER!!  Saturday afternoon I headed to the Cape with Jenny and Greg where we were meeting some friends for a little pre race slumber party.  I am so thankful that we were able to stay overnight in the Cape with great company.  One of them was also running the 1/2 marathon too!!  In preparation for the run, I carbo loaded Saturday night with some pasta and dinner rolls.  YUMMM!  Dinner was delicious.  When we got back to the house we were staying at, we listened to some amazing Celtic music to help relax us and drank lots of water to hydrate up.  We all called it a night fairly early and could not wait until race time (really I just wanted it to be over with so I could stop stressing over how my blood sugars were going to react to such a physically demanding task).   7:45 am rolled around quickly and I woke up to fresh snow on the ground and flurries.  Not the best conditions for a half marathon, but at least the snow was not really sticking to the road.  By the time the race start rolled around, it was cold and drizzly with puddles all over the ground.  2 hours after the start of the race I was crossing the finish line and receiving my first medal for completing a half marathon (the other 1/2 I did didn't give out medals).  My blood sugar stayed constant throughout the race with the help of a couple GU packs along the way.  I worked hard the entire race and feel as though I did my best!   16 miles next Saturday is scary sounding!! It will be the farthest distance I have EVER run.  Ahhhhh.  Can't wait to be able to say I DID IT!!

Catch Up

Thursday (2/24/2011) - Unmotivated was the word for today.   I had no desire to go to the gym to do 3 miles of sprint jogs say anything about doing any weight training too.  But, I received a text from my wonderful family personal trainer that asked what my workout was for the day.  When I responded with 3 miles, I then proceeded to receive a follow up text from her that stated I should go to the gym and do my weight training workout too. Ughhhhh.  Not what I wanted to do at all.  After some serious stalling I knew that I needed to get my act together and just go complete the workout.  An hour later I was finally at the gym and ready to work off some stress that accumulated during my hectic week.  24 and a half minutes later my 3 miles of sprint jogs were done and it was time to move on to the weight training.  Since I was so sore after the first weight work out last week, it was recommended that I only go through the circuit twice this time instead of three times. Before I knew it, I had completed the circuits twice and was all set to head home for the night with two rest days ahead of me!  Yayyyy.

Wednesday (2/23/2011) - I got caught up at work late and had plans for the evening which meant I had only a half hour to fit in my 3 mile loop that I had to do.  The whole hour T ride home I was preparing myself to just go out there and get my run completed as fast as possible.  My adrenaline got pumping early on which is always a plus during any run.  I kept pushing myself even when I was tired and wanted to stop which helped me to complete my goal of 3 miles, easily under 30 minutes.

Tuesday (2/22/2011) - Run Club day!!  I could not decide if I wanted to run 3.5 or 5 miles due to the amount of ice that was on the route the past few weeks, but I was talked into doing 5 miles by my run club friends.  Thankfully, there was hardly any snow or ice on the sidewalks which allowed for a much stronger run than in the past.  Running with the group pushed me to go faster than I would of if I was running by myself.  As I sprinted the final stretch back to the store and heard the overall time it took me to finish the run I was very excited to hear that this was one of the fastest runs I had ever completed.  Wooo Hooooo!!  Accomplishments like this help me to continue on the long marathon journey.

Monday (2/21/2011) - Rest Day.  I had hoped to make it to the gym to do some weight training but my busy schedule did not allow this to happen.  Maybe next time.

Sunday (2/20/2011) - After two days of so called rest, you would think that I would be ready to head out for an easy eight mile jog.  However, I was extremely exhausted from lack of sleep and too much dancing!!!  The last thing I felt like doing when I got home mid afternoon was to go for a run.  Thankfully all of my friends were busy which gave me a solid hour to go out and get my run before anyone was available.  Shortly after beginning my route, I was in the zone and nothing was going to get in my way and slow me down.  There were less hills on this route through Hanover, NH than I normally face along Commonwealth Ave. so it felt as though I was running extremely fast (ok so really it just felt like I was running a little bit faster than my typical nine minute mile, but still!).  A little over an hour later my run was done and I was ready to relax for the evening.  I cannot wait to see how my half marathon goes this coming Sunday!!

Saturday (2/19/2011) - A rest day that consisted of elevating my heart rate by standing high above the ground on the ropes course at the Hulbert Outdoor Center.  I am so thankful for my amazing ropes course partner!!  If it was not for him cheering me on and showing me how to complete the various tasks by always flying through the mission first, I would not have even attempted or completed the so called "island" walk high in the air.  Awesome work by all!!  The evening was completed by a great dance with lots of jumping, jigging, laughter and of course the seemingly never ending cotton eye joe!!

Friday (2/18/2011) - Friday was a rest day, but I definitely was keeping busy and having fun with all of the Winter Weekend campers!!

Thursday (2/17/2011) - Knowing that I had a busy weekend ahead of me, I had to get up before work in order to be sure I could get my run done.  I struggled to wake up (so not into waking up early to go for a run), but the weather was beautiful and the sun was shining.  So after hitting the snooze button once, I was up and ready to hit the pavement.  There were very few people out and about at this hour of the morning, which allowed for a very peacful run.  Even though it was peaceful, I still struggled with sore muscles.  I completed a 3 mile loop at one of the slowest paces I have run since I started my training.  Thankfully I had already told myself that today was not about speed but completion of the task on hand instead which was to run 3 miles.  The best news about being done this run was that I would be taking the next two days off from running to go to VT to volunteer for a diabetes camp! So fun!

Wednesday (2/16/2011) - All I can say is SORE!  I was still extremely sore from my Tuesday workout at the gym and decided it would be a good day to take off and just rest and stretch.  I used the foam roller for about 20 minutes.  Foam rolling was very painful, but having my muscles feel much better on Thursday made the pain all the more worth it!

 

 

Spring Fever

Wednesday (2/16/2011) - I thought that on Tuesday my body was sore, well just getting up and down out of my chair at the office today is painful!!  I can tell that I got an excellent workout in on Tuesday and for anyone that would like a great trainer just let me know!!!   My elbow is a bit sore today from my fall, but besides that I am feeling great!  Decided to take today off and foam roll and stretch.  Early work out again in the AM tomorrow.

Tuesday (2/15/2011) - I started my morning off extra early and hit the gym at 6:00am to get in some strength training before work.  This is the first day I have completed any strength training during my marathon preparation.  Luckily for me, my roommate/cousin is an amazing personal trainer who completed the Boston marathon last year and knows exactly what it takes to get one's body ready for the long journey.  Even though it was her day to sleep in, she was willing to get up early with me and go to the gym to show me some exercises that I need to be doing at least twice a week in order to prep my body.  I learned six new exercises that were not going to bulk my muscles up like heavy weights and completed each one three times.  After a great workout it was time to head out an get ready for the workday!

 

Although I was a bit tired from getting up early to work out in the morning, I headed over to City Sports Run Club after work to meet up with the crew to complete a 5 mile run that I needed to do as part of my running schedule.  There were approximately ten people there and since last week the Charles River route was extremely icy, we all decided to do a new route down Beacon St. to Comm Ave to the BU Bridge.  The past few runs, at least one person has fallen during the run.  WELL it was my turn this week!!  Although the sidewalks were not too icy, I apparently did not see a bump and tripped and fell :-(  It seemed to all happen in slow motion and was fairly graceful.  I guess it was my week to take a spill.  Thank goodness I only scrapped my elbow!!  The fall must have been partly due to the fact my legs were tired from the morning workout and I got lazy.  After the fall we finished the trek to the BU Bridge and then turned around and came the 2.5 miles back to the Store.  Now that my running fall for the year is out of the way, the rest of the year should be no problem!

Monday (2/14/2011) - Although it was Valentine's Day and most people were out celebrating their loved ones and friends and family, I was back at it again.  The weather was significantly warmer than it has been and created a gorgeous night for a run.  I did my usual 3 mile loop around the apartment and this time I even passed someone else that was out running!!  Passing someone always gives me that extra motivation to keep working hard. 


Saturday (2/12/2011) - On Saturday, I participated in a 12.5 mile route that took me along part of the marathon route.  I started at Chestnut Hill, took a left onto Com Ave and ran all the way down to the end of the Carriage Lane by the Mass Pike and then stopped, turned around and did the same route back.  I was lucky enough to be joined by three great friends who all helped me perform at my best.  When I began to slow down or get tired, one of them was always providing support to keep going strong, reminding me that the marathon was only "64 days away".  Crazyy!!  Not only was I running with friends, but there were numerous other people and teams completing training runs along Com Ave as well.  A variety of distances were being covered and there were numerous refueling stations with water, Gatorade, gel packs and other snacks being provided along the way.  All the refueling stations were extremely supportive and even allowed my friends and I some refueling liquids along the way.  Without the Gatorade and water I received, my body would not have been able to push as hard.  Another successful run completed!!!  I just want to say THANK YOU to all my family and friends who have been patient with my training schedule which consists of going to bed early on Friday nights now, no drinking, early Saturday mornings, and resting all day Saturday after the long run has been completed.  I just keep telling myself it will be so worth it in the end!