tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54597959800425566482024-03-06T03:57:34.375-05:00Meaga MilesThe journey of one sub-elite, semi-pro female marathonerMeagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.comBlogger1245125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-50567195930745500702014-05-18T13:55:00.000-04:002014-05-18T13:55:03.033-04:00Taper Time!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's hard to believe as I sit here typing this after a leisurely, relaxed 10-miler with Jordan, Larissa and Sarah, but one week from now I'll have finished the Vermont City Marathon! The hay is in the barn and all those other metaphorical ways to say that the hard work has been done; now it's time to start focusing on all the little things--sleep, nutrition, not drinking a bottle of wine every night--that will help me make it from here to the finish line as quickly as possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Technically speaking, my taper officially began after my final substantial workout on Thursday morning. On paper, it looked to be incredibly, suspiciously easy--so much so that I wondered if Coach Jordan had made a mistake, but I wasn't going to say anything. As it turned out, I didn't have to, because as we were warming up he casually mentioned that the workout was to be adjusted "slightly" from what he'd originally written. By "slightly," he meant all the paces would be considerably faster and all the rest significantly shorter. Fortunately I handled this curveball with ease and finished up feeling strong and confident. The most painful part of the entire session was during the third mile repeat when I ran up a little too close behind Jordan and managed to perfectly connect my injured knee with his back kick. (Up to that point it had been healing quite nicely.) The constant throbbing for the remainder of the workout diverted all attention away from the rest of my body. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Original target: 3xmile @5:50 w/2 mins. rest; 8x400 @85 w/1 min. rest</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New target: 3xmile @5:50 w/45 secs. rest; 8x400 @82 w/100m jog recovery (35-40 secs.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 5:46, 5:46, 5:44; 82 (39 jog), 81 (38), 81 (38), 82 (39), 81 (36), 81 (36), 80 (35), 80</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that's that. I've put in the doubles, the long runs, the tempos, the short intervals--can't wait to see it all pay off next Sunday!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WpWYj72qMVROBrUTPs1eCRXrscej38hoORjUb0pRDWYUjB_SB38majbOLXEmdLiqdAHbGWTurWwcNOQ8-59ENh51a0rrTQ-e1DUfC-IgkLznfab86I4pvVDypz6kaeh-M5pBtrmaDIbv/s1600/Mhead+beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WpWYj72qMVROBrUTPs1eCRXrscej38hoORjUb0pRDWYUjB_SB38majbOLXEmdLiqdAHbGWTurWwcNOQ8-59ENh51a0rrTQ-e1DUfC-IgkLznfab86I4pvVDypz6kaeh-M5pBtrmaDIbv/s1600/Mhead+beach.JPG" height="476" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First order of taper business: sunbathing with Larissa at our own private waterfront spot in Marblehead. #nofilter, for realz</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoE2S5I0KVK5X8Hv8giKpYq5KfLoaZVzd0oencRBfmCHj_iE-vNVw6RbTMzyn7eGVxDvD3mHW2D2qCHFWL44rwKDCBVOx7PGuIbtOfeujYkMP8GB0-HbtRgigZjORHI4x4yP8mpc8Ke0N/s1600/Larissa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoE2S5I0KVK5X8Hv8giKpYq5KfLoaZVzd0oencRBfmCHj_iE-vNVw6RbTMzyn7eGVxDvD3mHW2D2qCHFWL44rwKDCBVOx7PGuIbtOfeujYkMP8GB0-HbtRgigZjORHI4x4yP8mpc8Ke0N/s1600/Larissa.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Larissa modeling in front of the Marblehead harbor (and our old house) near Fort Sewall</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-43352734375198926532014-05-13T19:17:00.003-04:002014-05-13T19:42:38.371-04:00Fall From (Lack of) Grace<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rest assured, I appreciate the irony of the situation. The day before, whilst taking the scenic route home from Albany with my coworker Alex, I'd stumbled across the Appalachian Trail. Despite my well-established aversion to camping, or sweating, or generally being outdoors, I'd been harboring a curious interest--albeit in the most passive, voyeuristic sense possible--in the AT (as us seasoned hikers call it) ever since reading (and re-reading, and reading again) Bill Bryson's <i>A Walk in the Woods</i> a half decade ago. (Side note: if you haven't read this book, or any/all of Bryson's other work, what are you doing with your life?? Put down the new Grisham novel for goodness sake. Bryson is the best author in the history of authors in the history of Earth.) At any rate, now here I was, unexpectedly presented with an opportunity to <i>be on</i> the AT. A sign rakishly stapled to the parking lot bulletin board outlined various routes and landmarks from our starting point, including a ~4-mile round trip hike that would take us up a "very challenging" stone face hill and over wooded dale to a beautiful vista point overlooking the entire valley. Alex and I, previously having no intention of doing anything other than stopping in the parking lot to stretch our legs, looked at each other and said: why the hell not? A 4-mile hike, no matter how technical, shouldn't take more than a few hours at most. Never mind that we had minimal food, little water, no reliable means of carrying either of them, and spotty at best phone reception. What was the worst that could happen? I fired off a quick, relatively uninformative text to Sarah B. ("Stopped to hike on the App Trail. If I'm not back in two hours, I'm probably dead.)" and off we went. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon returning fully alive afterward, I saw that the text had not even sent. But, fortunately, our hike was fun and "challenging" and beautiful and otherwise uneventful. I was <i>painstakingly </i>careful about picking up my feet, paying strict attention to the trail, singularly focused on not tripping and breaking my leg or plummeting to my death. "Wouldn't that have been the absolute worst," I chuckled ruefully (and, truth be told, somewhat smugly) to myself later that day, "if I'd done everything right for months, only to somehow manage to fall and hurt myself a mere two weeks before my goal marathon."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as I said, I appreciate the irony. The next day, the warmest, sunniest, most beautiful day that the commonwealth has born witness to in all of 2014, the day I took off from work with the express purpose of banging out a hard 18 miler because I'd been unable to run long on Sunday due to the aforementioned trip to Albany, a mere three minutes--yes, minutes--into my run, I somehow managed to very nearly eff it all up. Jordan and I were running out of Salem on Canal Street, a route we'd taken dozens of times before, on the sidewalk bordering the right side of the road. We needed to cross the street so we could run against traffic and eventually turn left on the bike path that would take us into Marblehead. Somehow the process of stepping off the curb, crossing the street and avoiding a stealthily pernicious tree branch proved too much for my brain/legs to handle, and before I knew it I was skidding across the blacktop and frantically gasping for breath. To his credit, Jordan--who, as anyone who knows him will attest, is not one who coddles--immediately swooped me up and shepherded me back onto the very sidewalk that had cruelly tossed me aside only moments earlier. Having witnessed firsthand the force with which my delicate flower of a body collided with the open road, he did not suggest that I walk it off and then get back to business. Instead, we made an about face and began to slowly walk (him)/limp (me) back in the direction from which we'd come. One thing was glaringly obvious: my long run was not happening today. Also: this was going to leave a mark.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Nl8pV6A2-HDjYDQDNJpsp-6AmRDhQMJmRzpkhWicd1JXov1v2IpbXgDcM5Tk_FKWs9PbEoYXMgJSteT5lYAhVHX16nsErgG2G2uNYrFepXWPcYdfQ0nMEOJveFd2O0z5dMVVlWqMM8Y/s1600/knee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Nl8pV6A2-HDjYDQDNJpsp-6AmRDhQMJmRzpkhWicd1JXov1v2IpbXgDcM5Tk_FKWs9PbEoYXMgJSteT5lYAhVHX16nsErgG2G2uNYrFepXWPcYdfQ0nMEOJveFd2O0z5dMVVlWqMM8Y/s1600/knee.jpg" height="400" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> My view for the next few hours</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The white part is Neosporin. The red part is layers of my knee I never knew existed.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ensuing few hours were spent with Jordan springing into Florence Nightingale mode and me pouting/icing/elevating/Neosporin-ing and trying not to cry while thinking of all the worst case "what if" scenarios. Later that afternoon, infused with an indomitable (one could say stubborn) sense of determination and an elephant's dosage of Advil, I inched down the stairs intent on going for a run, any run, of any length, provided it was more or less pain free. I could tell that Jordan was against this course of action from a boyfriend/emergency contact perspective, but as my coach he knew that I knew that if I couldn't run without pain now, the remaining 12.5 (but who's counting) days between now and my marathon would be less about putting the finishing touches on a solid training block and more about pep rallies and damage control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, like all great sports biopics, this story has a happy ending (for now). After a few tentative, rusty steps, I coasted through eight miles with no ill effects. This morning, waking at dawn, I covered 15 miles at sub-6:40 pace--not quite the long run intended for yesterday, but not far from it. So whatever happens at Vermont City, I'm confident that this little mishap will have no bearing whatsoever on the result (unless I totally bomb, in which case it is 100% due to some invisible marathon sprite Tonya Harding-ing me yesterday). If I can get through the next 11.5 days without any other catastrophes, I just might be able to squeak out a Trials qualifier after all.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyARx2o_Ev-V5iutGQ22OJbbpoQEdys6nPeE_cHBmkWXeSnIk55DhC6WTb6Ls2YXinluJOeMUpvfLjJVBCzgWx72koviNrsk8s1oVbi1ZDBcrPGvXNfBDTo6WBpmnn7DZ97NMKfx3sTjc-/s1600/picnic.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyARx2o_Ev-V5iutGQ22OJbbpoQEdys6nPeE_cHBmkWXeSnIk55DhC6WTb6Ls2YXinluJOeMUpvfLjJVBCzgWx72koviNrsk8s1oVbi1ZDBcrPGvXNfBDTo6WBpmnn7DZ97NMKfx3sTjc-/s1600/picnic.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salvaging the beautiful day with a picnic by the ocean</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGleftIZU4R_YiP4N7H87_LnEPyA4NljXbpa-HSBh0xrTivddTifcv0OjC8g2K3vUjXCt-9PCLmhspuBfkud2jKYeVsjO1QVCetLB5GQJlYcRwHB9k02ss8pXAusnTyEzcjDiky3g_u1p/s1600/sunsetbeverly.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpGleftIZU4R_YiP4N7H87_LnEPyA4NljXbpa-HSBh0xrTivddTifcv0OjC8g2K3vUjXCt-9PCLmhspuBfkud2jKYeVsjO1QVCetLB5GQJlYcRwHB9k02ss8pXAusnTyEzcjDiky3g_u1p/s1600/sunsetbeverly.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-picnic, unfiltered, sunset view from Salem of the Beverly harbor</td></tr>
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Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-21230498980884362162014-05-04T19:09:00.001-04:002014-05-04T19:11:38.860-04:00Big Weekend Workout(s)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday, May 3rd</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9am: Target: 8-10 mile progression from 7:00-6:20</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 9.75 miles w/8 steady @6:26 avg. (7:12, 6:26, 6:29, 6:26, 6:29, 6:23, 6:28, 6:19, 6:27, .75 @7:15 pace)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4pm: Target: 10 miles @MP (6:05-6:10)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 2.25 mile w/u</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10 miles @61:00/6:06 avg. (6:14, 6:06, 6:08, 6:06, 6:04, 6:07, 6:00, 6:06, 6:03, 6:03)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.5 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 12.75</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daily total: 22.5</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday, May 4th</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2.25 mile w/u</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://racewire.com/live_results.php?id=3818&bibnumber=119">Run for HAWC "5 Miler" in 29:40</a> (actually 4.82): 5:55, 6:06, 6:10, 6:20, 5:08 @6:15 pace </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1st place female; $150 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 10 miles</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weekly total: 95 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whew! Just writing down all the above details took a considerable amount of energy. The fact that all three of these workouts took place within a 24-hour period means I definitely earned the 2+ hour nap with my kitty this afternoon! I'm glad to have this monster block behind me and even more pleased with the outcome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you've been following my blog for a while (and if you haven't, what else could you possibly have been doing with your spare time??), you know that usually once a training block I embark on a "double workout day." In the past, this has typically consisted of something shorter and faster in the morning, like a 10k tempo, followed by a longer effort at marathon pace in the evening. The focus is always on the second session, with the objective being to simulate the fatigue of the marathon and practice running fast on already heavy legs. Before Philly, I crushed both sessions and achieved arguably the greatest distinction of my running career, <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2012/10/all-tricks-and-no-treats-my-biggest.html">dropping a half-injured, totally unfit Jordan twice in one day</a>. Prior to CIM, I had to get creative due to weather and ended up pounding out a <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2013/11/winter-weather-workouts-part-one.html">10k tempo on the indoor track at Harvard</a> (that's a cool 50 laps) and then struggling mightily during <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2013/11/winter-weather-workouts-part-two.html">a solo point-to-point tempo in hurricane force winds</a> later that afternoon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time around, Coach Jordan was either feeling unusually beneficent or seriously doubting my fitness, because he scheduled my morning workout as a fairly relaxed uptempo run rather than something faster than marathon race pace. We set out together on our familiar "double bridge loop," a loop in the true sense of the word that runs from Salem to Beverly and back again without ever doubling over itself. This route is not particularly fast, with plenty of zigs and zags and several rolling sections, but that was sort of the point. Jordan wanted this to feel as much like a "normal" run as possible, allowing my legs to settle into pace naturally. Fortunately I had no problem doing so, and save for a few tricky sections--a gusty incline up the Beverly Bridge in mile 7, and Jordan sprinting to (unsuccessfully) chase down a curmudgeonly driver who honked at us in mile 2--this felt like a jog. The pace fluctuated naturally with the terrain and wind direction, and I never felt like I was pressing or strained. With my legs only moderately fatigued, I was confident round two would be a breeze.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After what seemed like only a few short hours of lounging around trolling the interwebs, Sarah arrived at our door ready for the marathon paced tempo. Have I mentioned how glad I am that she decided to stick things out after a disappointing Boston and run Vermont with me?? With our queenmaker at the helm, we set off on a course that would take us from Salem into Marblehead and back with a short addition at the end. There was only one problem: I was <i>dying</i>. From the outset. My legs felt heavy, my breathing was short and erratic, and I was by no means comfortable at the pace I was supposed to be able to maintain <i>for almost three hours</i>. In hindsight, I think this was because we were charging straight into a 15-mph headwind down an unusually busy street (damn you nice weather for bringing the Salem tourists out in droves). If nothing else, I can find solace in the fact that there's no possible way the marathon will be this much of a cluster--weaving in and out of cars and pedestrians, creatively crossing busy intersections, ignoring various and sundry catcalls (and the creepy guy who drove sloooowly alongside us for almost a quarter mile blasting terrible '90s music like some sort of unrequited soundtrack). This run was neither easy nor particularly fun for me, but all that matters is we got it done on the faster end of our desired pace range and still had enough energy to walk over to our favorite neighborhood pub for a celebratory drink afterward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Needless to say, I woke up on Sunday morning without the desire to move, much less run, much less run quickly. However, it had been brought to my attention earlier in the week that a race was taking place in Salem that started and finished less than half a mile from our house and offered a tempting $150 prize purse. How could we <i>not</i> jog over and give it a shot?? But after shuffling through two creaky warmup miles at a blistering 8:15 pace, I was less than optimistic. If attaining the victory meant running a single step under six minute pace, I was screwed. Fortunately, all our hopes and dreams came true. No one showed up <i>and </i>the course was short! In fact, my new friend Mariah, whom I met through Larissa last weekend, decisively took second--and she was only running the race as part of her long run. As expected, my legs were utterly and completely trashed and I artfully executed a textbook positive split. (A stiff headwind for the entire second half didn't exactly help.) If yesterday's afternoon effort was meant to feel like the second half of a marathon, this morning definitely felt like the last five miles.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIUZza5_0JLNxlGRx8GYn2lLTT1W0-1TGoumpjIcTTl4-drH18Fx5IVoQRfxW0b6vj7PhUwkIb5f-0fjiGqP6j9K4QW4424ZJywspjii3PXCSjQUzlg4GBX5a2AhIj9ExEU-vmOVZZN6I/s1600/benjamins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghIUZza5_0JLNxlGRx8GYn2lLTT1W0-1TGoumpjIcTTl4-drH18Fx5IVoQRfxW0b6vj7PhUwkIb5f-0fjiGqP6j9K4QW4424ZJywspjii3PXCSjQUzlg4GBX5a2AhIj9ExEU-vmOVZZN6I/s1600/benjamins.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a bad way to start the morning: JoKin and I both bringing home the W (and the Benjamins)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But overall, I'm pleased. And tired. Very, very tired. The upcoming week will be a delicate balance of recovering from this weekend's shenanigans and still stringing together one more big chunk of high mileage and respectable workouts before starting the gradual taper process. It all hinges on a very unscientific combination of compression socks, pizza, Nuun, kale smoothies and wine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T-minus three weeks! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtTBE4a3rTLL-_8KhVRfMw0LFVFNYYh5SxgqrvudzZzYM5asIOMeNO5PmrBNIz2BuCu03vpx4TR2Egw39w2LvE7Hm0ME_CNIY4dKHNj1bvLUd3LyfYoslVjJ9iJ-jgJoXI68IzF357QFw/s1600/nuun.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtTBE4a3rTLL-_8KhVRfMw0LFVFNYYh5SxgqrvudzZzYM5asIOMeNO5PmrBNIz2BuCu03vpx4TR2Egw39w2LvE7Hm0ME_CNIY4dKHNj1bvLUd3LyfYoslVjJ9iJ-jgJoXI68IzF357QFw/s1600/nuun.jpg" height="400" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">better than water</td></tr>
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Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-59158882417532865292014-04-27T19:46:00.000-04:002014-04-28T19:47:30.488-04:00Four Weeks to Go...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...until Vermont City Marathon! In the midst of chaos with work and travel (more on that in a minute), the race seems to have snuck up on me. But just in time, I finally had what I would deem my "breakthrough workout" yesterday afternoon. I typically have one or two of these sessions during each training cycle (so, one outstanding workout for every handful that really, really stink)--you know, the rare occasion where you hit or even exceed your prescribed splits and actually feel strong doing it as opposed to counting down every excruciating second until you can <i>just hurry up and get it over with already. </i>Even better, yesterday's surprisingly-not-terrible workout came on the heels of the aforementioned life craziness, making it even more gratifying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But first, the deets:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: 2x5 miles w/4-5 mins. rest: first set @6:05-6:10 pace; second set @5:50-6:00 pace</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 5.01 miles in 30:09/6:01 pace (5:59, 6:08, 5:59, 5:59, 5:58); 5.05 miles in 29:20/5:49 pace (5:35, 5:57, 5:53, 5:52, 5:49, :15 @5:29 pace)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Results for second interval @<a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/results/14/ma/Apr27_RingAr_set1.shtml">Ring Around the Neck Five Miler</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The past 10 days have been a blur: working 10+ hour stretches at the Boston Marathon expo, <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/results/14/ma/Apr19_BAA5K_set1.shtml">making an ass of myself in the BAA 5k</a>, carrying on my Marathon Monday tradition of running/spectating with friends in Wellesley, boarding a plane later that night bound for the Craft international sales meeting in Sweden, then capping off said sales meeting with a 22+ hour day of Stockholm sightseeing and return travel on Friday. After all that, plus a 12/4 double on Saturday with Sarah (who dropped midway through Boston due to some wicked quad cramping, which I was objectively disappointed about but selfishly pleased with as it meant she would be attempting to rally with me at VCM instead), I simply hoped I'd be able to somewhat approximate the desired splits on Sunday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, I had company--and for the second interval, lots of it, as we'd planned the workout around the Ring Around the Neck Five Miler in Marblehead. It's a great little race that we sponsor which runs to and from the downtown area with a delightfully scenic (and painfully hilly) loop of the Neck in the middle. Prior to, Sarah and I planned to run a preview loop of the course at marathon pace. With Jordan gamely on board as our queenmaker and the timing meticulously allotted down to the minute, we set out from the starting line eager to tackle this big girl workout (read: get it over with). Fearing the consequences of running the first loop too fast, my last words to Jordan before we started were: "Absolutely no splits under 6:00." Naturally, our first mile was 5:59, setting the tone for the day. Only the second mile, inherently impeded by the steepest hill on the entire Neck, approached a pace as slow as our original target. We finished with just enough time for me to jog to the nearby bathrooms and then to our car to inhale a gel. I returned to the start line mere seconds before the race started, still out of breath from the first five miles and my less than relaxing break. Was I really going to be able to run faster for round two?!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately/unfortunately, I kicked the second interval off with some generous time in the bank thanks to my friend Larissa taking off at a veritable sprint. Despite splitting 5:35 through the first mile I was still several steps behind her, and that's the closest I would get for the duration. A self-proclaimed hill hater, I thought I might catch her on the rolling middle section, but she ran strong and confident throughout and only put more distance on me as the race progressed. Still, I was pleased to finish only four seconds slower than at <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/results/13/ma/Apr21_RingAr_set1.shtml">the same race last year</a>--and this time I ran a frisky warmup lap first! Sarah came across the line close behind me, decisively banishing any lingering disappointment from Monday and showing that her fitness is better than ever. Just a few more weeks of workouts and long runs--and that pesky 26.2--separate us from taking an honest crack at the Olympic Trials standard in Vermont. After today, I finally feel confident that I'm well on my way. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3WORKpwn3IfbVpp-eT0-SGGrcvyKXbVZkfuUrhuXcTxVRFMNFXgwWsg0rfuVvPhY-WCsxPDzAWULRJJpJr4FWthpDkvux3M7f2Da8KbtE7M02vDtVfOvQg0t8JDd8rK0iFJenhdZ6yrL/s1600/ring+around+the+neck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3WORKpwn3IfbVpp-eT0-SGGrcvyKXbVZkfuUrhuXcTxVRFMNFXgwWsg0rfuVvPhY-WCsxPDzAWULRJJpJr4FWthpDkvux3M7f2Da8KbtE7M02vDtVfOvQg0t8JDd8rK0iFJenhdZ6yrL/s1600/ring+around+the+neck.jpg" height="400" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A podium sweep! Me, Larissa and Sarah...with Jordan creepily photobombing</td></tr>
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Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-36240928280535124602014-04-14T20:54:00.003-04:002014-04-14T20:54:59.993-04:00Spring Training Update<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, let's just get this out of the way first: I suck at updating my blog. I know it, I feel bad about it, and I do have aspirations to improve. But for the time being, you'll have to take what you can get: an amalgamation of the past month's training and a few photos of good-looking ladies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Secondly, let's consider this my long overdue "official" announcement: I'm racing the <a href="http://www.runvcm.org/page.php?pid=1&pname=home">Vermont City Marathon</a> (yay!)! In five weeks (yikes!)! Similar to Hartford, this is a relatively fast, relatively flat regional race within reasonable driving distance of my home that has a great setup in place for local and regional elites. They've graciously invited me to participate this year and I couldn't be more excited about chasing my second Olympic Trials qualifying time there! As an added bonus, I'll have the queenmaking help of Charlotte friend Aaron Linz (I would link to his blog here, but it's either defunct or even more outdated than my own). Aaron's a great runner and solid pacer and was easily persuaded to become my buddy on race day. I love it when a plan comes together!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, with 26.2 looming on the horizon, exactly what is the state of my current fitness? I can confidently say it's situated somewhere between "not terrible" and "reasonably sufficient." Am I in sub-2:43 shape right this minute? Probably not. Can I get there in five weeks? Totes. And unlike at Cal, I'm not going to hold myself to lofty--some might say unreasonable--ambitions of smashing my PR and attaining the "A" standard of sub-2:37. After a winter like ours, and with only six weeks of solid training under my belt, that's simply not realistic. I won't go into the day expecting anything miraculous or exceptional, and I'll be just thrilled if I can run 2:41-2:42 and punch my ticket to Los Angeles in 2016.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few notables from the past 4-6 weeks:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Four runs in the 19-21 mile range, three of them taking place the day after pretty substantial workouts, all of them taking place with <a href="https://sarahjbard.wordpress.com/">Sarah B</a>. She's crushing Boston next week and then presumably taking some time off, which means I'll have to find some sort of intrinsic motivation to put on my big girl pants and do the rest of my long runs without her between now and VCM. Is this possible?! TBD.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Lots more runs and workouts and even a spontaneous game of Taboo with my new Marblehead neighbor, Larissa. She and her husband were on vacation last week in some tropical clime and I still managed to run a track workout, so perhaps I <i>can</i> do this by myself after all. (Except that Jordan did my track session with me. But you're focusing on all the wrong details.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. A fun, amazing, abs hurt from laughing so hard weekend in Charleston with my Charlotte running besties, which was only slightly marred by a mysterious stomach bug that derailed my hopes of notching a new 10k PR at the <a href="http://bridgerun.com/">Cooper River Bridge Run</a>. I woke up feeling distinctly nauseous, half-heartedly jogged 13 minutes of warmup in hopes that conditions would improve, started the race realizing they wouldn't, ran a 5:28 first mile, then promptly threw up in the bushes. Womp womp. On a positive note, Caitlin cruised to an impressive 34:45 finish and scored some serious cash for placing second American, which meant she was willing and able to buy shots for anyone who felt well enough to drink them later that night.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioy1SPhfHmmCB6qvEOOJMwa4JlGv6diN5p476XFTzldkcaRhKKMS7TrdhxAE_9kihTIKifKBFp66Z4-Pt37r2uORfq3JYqw_f3jLRPKZ_JvbSGTe2aow4t-VYcoU8h_fh3iAGDOnJTyPL/s1600/Cooper2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioy1SPhfHmmCB6qvEOOJMwa4JlGv6diN5p476XFTzldkcaRhKKMS7TrdhxAE_9kihTIKifKBFp66Z4-Pt37r2uORfq3JYqw_f3jLRPKZ_JvbSGTe2aow4t-VYcoU8h_fh3iAGDOnJTyPL/s1600/Cooper2.jpg" height="357" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the expo on Friday evening with my lovely ladies</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgcZqPhYhNX4hTCtzkplNStaDgRVTIp9tQ4FembTqWe-SZlve0J99Wf-zsbTOcEcuf5J6NI-l3jaTVjF4Hfq7-4Rux8WnozB-5LwP20eDagDhDl6YanVOw7xtKz14atfpVApBdwAQniw9/s1600/Cooper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjgcZqPhYhNX4hTCtzkplNStaDgRVTIp9tQ4FembTqWe-SZlve0J99Wf-zsbTOcEcuf5J6NI-l3jaTVjF4Hfq7-4Rux8WnozB-5LwP20eDagDhDl6YanVOw7xtKz14atfpVApBdwAQniw9/s1600/Cooper.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headed out for a night on the town post-race. What a difference 24 hours and a curling iron can make!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCT1tJo3m8eB-oMnOYXJCBpAnIGAV9IkTQ4mmqhJf9LeWHexq_l35NHpUsg6iNFrW2W78hWiLHkL8Q8pOqWlpBmszdf3cwoyaOqt8n8O10_j2UPObuH-FONGCs5mSCFYZkEtQNbSyFfkAc/s1600/RunDMC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCT1tJo3m8eB-oMnOYXJCBpAnIGAV9IkTQ4mmqhJf9LeWHexq_l35NHpUsg6iNFrW2W78hWiLHkL8Q8pOqWlpBmszdf3cwoyaOqt8n8O10_j2UPObuH-FONGCs5mSCFYZkEtQNbSyFfkAc/s1600/RunDMC.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danielle M. Crockford + Dalena M. Custer = Run DMC. Fun shirts to celebrate their joint b-day on our Sunday morning wog! (P.S. Once you spot Nick's epic photobomb you won't be able to focus on anything else.)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. A handful of solid, respectable, not-life-changing-but-somewhat-encouraging marathon-pace workouts such as 3x20 minutes and 2x6 miles, plus a few laps around the Beverly High School oval at slightly faster than 5k pace. I finally downloaded Garmin Connect, so if you're really that interested and need a distraction to pass a slow day at work, <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=10354809">knock yourself out</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. An unexpected but totally, unquestionably deserved nomination for the <a href="http://www.letsrun.com/photos/2014/2013-photos-of-year/index.php">LetsRun.com 2013 Running Photo of the Year contest</a> featuring some (family-friendly) hot tub action with Laurie, Caitlin, Sarah C. and OH YEAH MEB after last year's Grandma's Marathon. At press time we are currently in second place behind some other picture that is somehow managing to outrank ours despite its total and complete lack of quality and overall hotness. To be honest, the voting process wasn't 100% clear to begin with and I'm not 100% sure the polls are still open, but just in case you should probably click on this link and then <a href="http://www.letsrun.com/photos/2014/2013-photos-of-year/imagepages/image3.php">like or tweet our photo</a> for good measure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, there you have it. Spring is finally here, my pale legs have made their first tentative forays into the ever-warming sunlight, and the training and racing season has finally begun in earnest. As I type this, tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of last year's Boston Marathon and all the events surrounding it. This entire week will serve as an opportunity to reflect and remember, while looking forward to this year's Marathon Monday with pure joy and excitement. I can't wait to race the BAA 5k and then cheer on my marathoning friends as I've done the past two years, watching Boylston Street be reclaimed for good. After that, it's just four short weeks until my own 26.2 attempt in Burlington.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be ready.</span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-1225879784471983462014-03-09T19:25:00.002-04:002014-03-09T20:23:23.951-04:00If It Looks Like Marathon Training...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3/3-3/9:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">98 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 doubles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 workouts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">20.5 mile-long run</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2/24-3/2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">82 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 doubles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 workouts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">19-mile long run</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If last week represented my first tentative steps onto the big-girl diving board, then this week was the headfirst plunge into the mileage abyss. Not only did I complete three workouts (well, one of those was a mini-workout--more on that in a minute) and a 20+ mile long run, but I actually felt strong and healthy and <i>pretty darn good</i> the entire week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The week started out strong (and chilly) bright and early on Tuesday morning with another near-single digit road workout with Larissa. I was a bit apprehensive about this, both due to the temperature and the fact that I'd completed my longest run in months less than 48 hours prior, but we somehow managed to stay warm and positive enough to take care of business. (At least until my body temperature plummeted on the aptly named cooldown, rendering my extremities totally numb and my fingers incapable of even grasping and inserting my housekey into the door without Larissa's assistance.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Workout #1: 2x1.5 mile progression w/2 min. jog, each 800m @3:10, 3:00, 2:50; 4x600m @5:20 pace (2:00) w/2 min. jog = 9 miles total</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My next (mini-)workout took place during Thursday's lunch hour with my boss and two coworkers. They're all training for a late spring marathon and had 6x800m on tap at 5k pace. The problem is, they're fairly new runners and rarely race 5k's, so the pace was approximated to be 6:30 although I suspected they could go faster. Sure enough:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Workout #2: 6x800m w/3 mins. jog in 3:10, 3:10, 3:07, 3:07, 3:00, 2:59 = 7 miles total</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From my perspective, it felt great to open up the legs a little bit without being too taxing, and I loved helping my comrades achieve the feeling of triumph that comes with exceeding your expectations and physical limitations. (Seriously, when's the last time you thought, "Well golly, I just couldn't seem to run slow enough during that workout!" Yeah, me neither. But I'm happy that such a euphoria apparently exists for others.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But without a doubt, and like a true American weekend warrior, my two biggest days of the week took place on Saturday and Sunday. I'd planned well in advance for a long run on Sunday with Sarah Cummings, who was making a quick trip to Boston, and then I somehow found myself getting roped into (read: eagerly volunteering for) Sarah Bard's lengthy Saturday workout as well. On an unseasonably warm morning (or perhaps only unseasonable relative to the rest of the week/month/year), Sarah and I joined Kevin and another BAA male escort whose name escapes me for some 4-3-2-1 mile action on the Charles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Workout #3: 4 mile (6:03, 6:02, 6:05, 6:08), 3:30 jog, 3 mile (6:00, 6:07, 5:57), 2:30 jog, 2 mile (5:50, 5:45), 1:30 jog, 1 mile (5:43) = 16 miles total</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Takeaways from this workout were:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Sarah is really fit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. There may be hope for me yet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. I love seeing happy, active people enjoying the river on a Saturday morning--except when they're in my way. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. 50 degrees is, indeed, warm enough to comfortably slam a post-run Frappuccino.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Though I questioned my weary body's ability to move, I somehow managed to remain bipedal and reasonably functional for an "easy" 20-miler (2:30 and 20.66 miles to be exact, not that I am enslaved to my new Garmin or anything) with the Sarahs and a few different male BAA escorts on Sunday. During that time we saw over half the Boston course and a 60-year-old man running shirtless wearing khaki pants and oven mitts, so I can't help but consider it a win.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will I be able to walk tomorrow? Debatable. Am I officially training for some sort of spring marathon? It sure looks that way... </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-29437417896435650132014-03-04T18:44:00.001-05:002014-03-04T18:44:19.671-05:00Being a Runner is Funner with Friends<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This entry could've more boringly been titled "February in Review." (Yes, that's how far I've fallen with my blogging; I now find it totally acceptable to lump an entire month into one succinct entry.) But I do love me some alliteration AND assonance (God bless my freshman English teacher), and more importantly I really do feel like the opportunities I've had to run and workout with other people comprise the only legitimate training I can claim for the month. In addition to a weekend in the Southeast with Jeannette and some solid miles on the Boston course with Sarah, there's been another exciting development: a new training partner right here on the North Shore! (Oh, and for the record, my weekly mileage for February was: 70, 74, 80, 82. Booooring.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As many of you know, other than Jordan (when he's in town) and Abbey D (when she's spending a few days at home in between winning national titles), I don't really have any training companions in the Salem-Beverly-Marblehead area who I can logistically run with every day. Driving into Boston and back before work simply isn't feasible, and going there in the evening is usually the last thing I want to do after a long day at the office. Last Sunday, at the 10-miler in Amherst, I ran into Larissa Park at the awards ceremony. I'm not sure if we'd ever been formally introduced, but we were familiar with each other from local races and from her trouncing me at the <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2013/08/beverly-yankee-homecoming-5k-race-recap.html">Beverly Homecoming 5k</a> this past summer. When she told me that she and her husband had recently relocated to Marblehead from Somerville, I was more than pleasantly surprised. She was so close by that we could run to meet each other! She would actually ensure that I got up when my alarm went off in the morning! We immediately took advantage of this newfound proximity by meeting up three separate times last week: on Wednesday morning for a speed workout devised by her coach (in 15 degree-weather), on Friday morning with Jordan for a 10-mile progression run (which was inconceivably even colder than Wednesday), and on Sunday with Jordan and Sarah for some long leisurely miles through Marblehead and Salem. In the span of one week, I'd already done more quality mileage with Larissa than the treadmill slogging I would've suffered through in her absence. If this is a sign of things to come, I think my spring training could finally be looking up!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvZS0r7LaEgn4N2LHPEFBJ3QjRY5jLqiDdcRuG5o6h6Z8-Yzpoplt9jxy42h5chx4_qFjYazcKZcS0HY5dYASsz64UWtOGxEi4n2prp0Ra03RRsTFZQx5u5k9V2ojO2mrsivV8Wy7Pg-m/s1600/weather3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvZS0r7LaEgn4N2LHPEFBJ3QjRY5jLqiDdcRuG5o6h6Z8-Yzpoplt9jxy42h5chx4_qFjYazcKZcS0HY5dYASsz64UWtOGxEi4n2prp0Ra03RRsTFZQx5u5k9V2ojO2mrsivV8Wy7Pg-m/s1600/weather3.PNG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This happened on Friday morning...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUhNRrV2S_nwrBKbyO5TSCnDkJ3nqkzMbxg4BUVQA2FCykr8oc1bEmHhRkd1gNMhBZ0Uvj7pEO8ywYSuRRQQu7lxSAthNnN_3hkpUfiSbB8HNRpuRrGJHetgCC09QDOo4iMm0lup6iePZ/s1600/icicle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUhNRrV2S_nwrBKbyO5TSCnDkJ3nqkzMbxg4BUVQA2FCykr8oc1bEmHhRkd1gNMhBZ0Uvj7pEO8ywYSuRRQQu7lxSAthNnN_3hkpUfiSbB8HNRpuRrGJHetgCC09QDOo4iMm0lup6iePZ/s1600/icicle.JPG" height="297" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and, as a result, so did this. #sweatsicles</td></tr>
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Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-64882638516016615462014-02-23T20:47:00.000-05:002014-02-23T20:54:10.226-05:00Two Races, Two Ass Kickings<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's true what they say (and by "they" I mean I'm saying it now): there's nothing quite like a few solid wallopings to really motivate you to get in shape. As a bonus, I had the pleasure of getting thoroughly spanked two weekends in a row, and suffice it to say I'm experiencing a new resolve to work hard and ensure that the same thing doesn't happen (or at least, not quite so handily) the next time around.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be fair, these dismal outcomes were hardly unexpected, considering pretty much my entire winter of "training" has unfolded like this:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jordan: What day can you workout this week? Wednesday?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meagan: (checks weather app) Looks like another storm is moving in Tuesday night. And I'm traveling Thursday. Better make it Tuesday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">J: Okay, Tuesday morning?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">M: (expands hourly detail in weather app) The wind chill is going to be single digits. I doubt I can run fast then. Want to go at lunch?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">J: Sure, but I have a meeting at 12. Can we go at 1?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">M: No, I have a meeting at 2. How about we cut out a little early and go at 4?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">J: Perfect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">M: (3pm, looks outside incredulously, then glares at blatantly deceptive weather app, then looks outside again) Son of a! It already started snowing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">J: (doubtfully, furrows brow) Maybe it will stop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">M: (3:45pm, looks outside again) Well, you're right, it stopped snowing...and now it's sleeting. The roads are going to be a mess already.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">J: Want to go jog five miles on the treadmill?<br />M: Duh.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last weekend, I participated in the <a href="http://www.mercedesmarathon.com/">Mercedes-Benz Marathon Weekend</a> in Birmingham, AL for the fourth consecutive year. This race holds a special place in my heart, as it's where I snuck under the radar and <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2011/02/if-at-first-you-dont-succeed.html">nabbed my Trials qualifier in 2011</a>. (It's also the only race expo I've ever worked where the partner retailer calls me in advance to ask what kind of wine I'd like to drink while working their expo because they know I don't drink beer. <a href="http://www.trakshak.com/">Trak Shak</a>, you complete me.) I then came back to <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2012/02/mercdes-half-marathon-race-recap.html">win the half in 2012</a> and <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2013/02/mercedes-half-marathon-results.html">placed second in the half last year</a>, so despite my lack of fitness I illogically had high hopes for another podium finish this time around. But alas, it was not to be. Local standout Erica Speegle ran a 2+ minute PR to finish in 1:15-mid, with my friend <a href="http://www.jeannettefaber.com/blog/2014/2/19/welcome-detours.html">Jeannette Faber a close second in 1:15:53</a> (or 1:16:05 depending on which results you look at; obviously, runner code dictates we agree upon the faster time). I shuffled along in fourth place, also known as "first sucker who just misses out on a giant check," managing <a href="http://www.besttimescct.com/results/Mercedes14_Half_Awards.txt">6-minute pace</a> on the rolling course. It was neither my fastest nor slowest run there but my first time out of the money, which never feels great.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet the weekend was not all for naught. I road tripped back to Nashville with Jeannette and got in a few quality double-digit runs in the delightfully sunny, snow-free environs of a more temperate climate. "This is it!" I told myself triumphantly as I boarded my on-time flight back to Boston (via Philadelphia) on Tuesday morning. "This is the turning point when I stop grabassing around and start <i>getting serious </i>about my spring training!" Fast forward to three hours, a canceled flight and a few delays later, and I found myself cursing Mother Nature yet again and drowning my sorrows in a surprisingly delightful combination of Chick-Fil-A waffle fries and $6 pinot grigio in Concourse C of PHL. Literally and figuratively, thanks to the hellacious winter I just cannot win right now.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet, inexplicably, this weekend I found myself begging for more. My sometimes training partner and oftentimes Gchat companion <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/search/label/Sarah%20B">Sarah Bard</a> tipped me off that she was planning to make the 2+ hour trek to Amherst on Sunday for the first race in the <a href="http://www.usatfne.org/road/gp.html">USATF-NE Grand Prix series</a>, the <a href="http://jones10miler.com/">Jones 10 Miler</a>. Seeing this as an opportunity for a forced extended tempo with possible prize money (and an excuse for post-race brunch), I agreed to join. "After all," Sarah confidently and rhetorically assured me, "how many fast people are going to want to drive all the way to Amherst for a ridiculously hilly 10-miler in the middle of February?" Well, as it turned out, quite a few. In the time it took me to park, make my way to registration and fork over the $45 entry fee (which included nothing, least of all a t-shirt (not that I wanted one, but it's the principle), except my race number and a few questionably rusty safety pins), I'd already spotted at least a half dozen women who had beaten me or come pretty darn close to doing so at various races over the past year. My previously optimistic plan to "stick my nose in there and contend for the win" was summarily downgraded to "shoot for top 10," blowing straight past "place in the top three" and coming dangerously close to the graveyard of "win my age group." On the now-somber warmup, Sarah and I bumped into a trio of formidable Maine runners, <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/masters-profiles/more-prove?page=single">Sheri Piers, Kristin Barry</a> and <a href="http://running.competitor.com/2013/10/news/erica-jesseman-wins-hartford-marathon_86446">Erica Jesseman</a>, all of whom have faster PRs than me at approximately every distance. As we jogged, Sheri joked (but seriously) that last year's winner, Irish Olympian Steph Reilly, stated afterward that it was the "f#$&ing hardest race ever." Seeing as, in case you glossed over that part, <i>she's an Olympian</i>, this information didn't exactly do anything to alleviate my apprehension.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the outset, however, things progressed swimmingly. The first two miles, and in particular the second mile, were largely downhill (feel free to see this as foreshadowing for the latter part of the course), and other than a few tiptoe-inducing icy turns it was smooth sailing. A brief glance at my watch indicated I'd comfortably split two miles in 11:37 and was among the top three or four females. Unfortunately, the fun and games all came to an abrupt halt during the third and fourth miles, which I had been warned in advance were drastic uphills. (Mercifully, I forgot to wear my new Garmin and also neglected to peek at the third mile split (possibly because I was 100% focused on trying not to walk), but I learned later that Erica--who, keep in mind, was already a good distance ahead of me at this point--split a whopping 7:00.) Just when the road leveled out and the torture was seemingly over (for the time being), we turned onto a dirt road. This would not be noteworthy except for the fact that the past few days' slightly milder, rainy weather had resulted in much of the snow melting (and our condo building's basement flooding, but that's neither here nor there) but also, paradoxically, icing over many sections of road. So what in better times might simply be an innocuous dusty detour was now a half icy, half muddy mess. Within seconds, everyone in sight was slipping around and splattered shoulder to ankle with mud. The next few miles were dangerous at worst, frustrating at best, and I passed the halfway point in 30:30--almost 90 seconds slower than I'd eclipsed the same marker at Mercedes a week prior. I'd managed to hemorrhage almost a full minute in the past few miles and was feeling worse with each passing second. Punishing hills, ice, mud, potholes; this wasn't a road race, it was a 10-mile cross-country course!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately, miles 6-8 led us back onto pavement and were gradually downhill, and I somehow clawed my way back to a slightly sub-6 average with two to go. But lest there be any danger of me finishing in a respectable time, we then merged back onto the original road from whence we came and faced a punishing uphill for the next mile and a half. <a href="http://coolrunning.com/results/14/ma/Feb23_40thAn_set1.shtml">By the time I crossed the line fourth (and winning my age group, holla!) in 60:30</a> I was equal parts convinced that I was going to <i>really start training now </i>or never run another step for the rest of my life. (It is worth noting at this point that I am subsequently leaning toward the latter option given that winner Megan Hogan ran 55:30 and obliterated the <a href="http://jones10miler.com/results/">almost 30-year-old course record</a> previously set by <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/ar/running_greats.html">Nancy Conz</a>, who for the record <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-09-24/sports/0209240220_1_field-of-elite-runners-mayor-jane-byrne-boston-marathon">was no slouch</a> herself. I can confidently say that there will be no point in my running career at which I am capable of such flagrant badassery.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But seriously, you guys. It's time for me to get in shape. </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-8019328263380189452014-01-19T14:00:00.000-05:002014-01-19T18:59:07.243-05:00Meanwhile, In 2014<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jan 13-19</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">80 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">14-mile long run</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9-mile hilly uptempo at 6:28 pace</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 runs in Pittsburgh</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 treadmill run</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jan 6-12</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">65 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">15-mile long run with the BAA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 treadmill runs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 canceled flights</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dec 29-Jan5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">70 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">13-mile long run with Hilary</span><br />
<a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/results/14/ma/Jan1_Sevent_set1.shtml"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4-mile race in 23:18</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3xmile, 2x800 cutdown at Harvard indoor with Melissa and Sarah B </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 treadmill runs</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, you may have noticed I did not pen an effusive "2013 Year in Review." Or, maybe you didn't. Either way, I haven't written one, largely because there's not much to review in terms of running accomplishments. Honestly, in thinking back to my mindset a year ago, I may have been a bit...<i>overzealous</i> with my aspirations. After all, I was coming off a year of PR's in every distance from 10 miles up to the marathon, and I naively assumed that this trajectory of success would continue to skyrocket on a perfectly linear path right on through the next 12 months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, to sum up 2013 in a nutshell: it didn't happen. And that's okay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking ahead, I'm no less motivated or determined to improve than I was last January, but this time around my optimism is also tinged with a healthy dose of reality. In running as in eating airport sushi, there are no guarantees, and I know I need to appreciate exactly where I'm at right now while at the same time striving to get back to--and eventually surpass--where I've been. I can only take it one week at a time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite that heartwarming sentiment, it would be disingenuous of me to claim that the first 19 days of this new year have been all midgets and peanut butter. (Although there was a midget working the water stop at my New Year's Day race. But I digress.) It started out on a promising note, with the aforementioned four-miler on January 1st that took place on our familiar training roads here in Salem. Despite frigid, windy weather (first time I've ever raced in thermal tights, and I was never in any danger of overheating) I managed a halfway respectable 5:50 pace. So you're saying there's a chance! But the first snowstorm of the year roared in less than 24 hours later, ushering in the now-legendary polar vortex, which meant I spent much of the following week trying to convince myself that five and five on the YMCA treadmill was a perfectly acceptable double. Suffice it to say my momentum came to a sputtering halt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But this week has been better. The air is thawed, the snow banks melted, the black ice practically a distant memory. I got in a few solid runs on a business trip to Pittsburgh, including a 12x1 minute workout that I was way more proud of than could ever possibly be warranted. (One of the ancillary benefits of easing into training again: excessive boosts of pride and self-esteem instantly gained by clearing the lowest of hurdles. Courageously soldiered on for <i>six entire treadmill miles</i> instead of stopping at a lowly five? Brilliant! Only hit the snooze button once this morning? YOU ARE AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE.) On Saturday I took to one of my favorite training grounds (the Marblehead Neck) in some of my least favorite conditions (36 degrees, windy, raining), and surprised myself with a very comfortable uptempo effort on the unrelenting hilly terrain. In another exciting development, I was greeted upon returning from my trip this week by a care package from <a href="http://nuun.com/">Nuun</a>, welcoming me as an official member of their 2014 racing team. Rarely is a Nuun bottle far from my grasp whether I'm running, working, traveling or just lounging around pantsless drinking wine and updating my blog (gotta stay hydrated!), so needless to say I'm thrilled to make our relationship official. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVYVNsEtR8_s-RX_iqoeiBZMoucBbD-y55XhlTUlOmsIC-BZmka94KA8c-T27ma1VzfXEkA_1VDAYeJhYsGT24OxxS3D8mavZbG1O8If_iV9tAyojgVoIpnzr07XASmiDBP6TNKn33Nv9/s1600/Nuun.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVYVNsEtR8_s-RX_iqoeiBZMoucBbD-y55XhlTUlOmsIC-BZmka94KA8c-T27ma1VzfXEkA_1VDAYeJhYsGT24OxxS3D8mavZbG1O8If_iV9tAyojgVoIpnzr07XASmiDBP6TNKn33Nv9/s1600/Nuun.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a small sampling of my goodies from @nuunhydration</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will this trend of positivity continue? All signs point to yes...but, realistically, not next week. I'll be spending Monday night through Sunday in Salt Lake City at the <a href="http://www.outdoorretailer.com/">Outdoor Retailer Winter Market</a>, our biggest trade show of the entire year, and it's a doozy. The week entails a punishing schedule that includes four long days on the expo floor (not including an additional day of setup and a half day of breakdown) consisting of one presentation after another after another. I'll be eating like crap, drinking too much, sleeping too little and thoroughly exhausting myself by having to be unfailingly <i>nice</i> to people the whole damn time. I will also, ineluctably, end up with a cold. This will be my third year in attendance and the first time I'm aspiring to maintain some semblance of training throughout the whole endeavor. (Two years ago it was the week after the Trials, and last year I was darn proud of myself for getting up every morning to slog through six miles on the hotel treadmill.) Best case scenario, I'll get in a few miles of altitude training and not return home sick or morbidly obese. Stay tuned!</span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-43505382504800055462013-12-27T18:42:00.000-05:002013-12-29T19:00:27.481-05:00A Nedlo Family Christmas Run<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My dad, John Nedlo, henceforth referred to as J-Ned, had but one meager wish this Christmas: to rewrite, make that <i>rerun</i>, history. You see, J-Ned has undertaken the famed Boston Marathon two times with, shall we say, unsatisfactory results. He unwittingly picked two of the hottest years on record, '03 and '05 (not quite as steamy as '12, but close enough), and as a result ended up semi-coherently Gallowalking his way straight into the medical tent both times. To my knowledge, his finish line photos don't include the celebratory hand-holding of two Fuel Belt-clad Team in Training participants like someone's who shall remain nameless (but rhymes with Schmallen Schrickland) and whose epic and almost literal meltdown is chronicled <a href="http://allensroadtoboston.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/">here</a>, but I'm pretty sure in '05 I spent the better part of two hours frantically darting up and down the crowded Back Bay streets calling everyone on my emergency contact list only to discover J-Ned slumped up against the side of a random building awaiting the sweet, sweet embrace of death.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgnRijyd67Uxer_jhToGAXOrwGCb86q8gbq74cPuuzX6Yb7VunocLeZODhB6Yq4vvjOFALRJWq8j4xqjK1fbqcj5d1rCTs7-hpdzaTno1XZvHQCchUMRXm9KJdoa6SSHkRMKjABrhPUuL/s1600/allenboston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgnRijyd67Uxer_jhToGAXOrwGCb86q8gbq74cPuuzX6Yb7VunocLeZODhB6Yq4vvjOFALRJWq8j4xqjK1fbqcj5d1rCTs7-hpdzaTno1XZvHQCchUMRXm9KJdoa6SSHkRMKjABrhPUuL/s640/allenboston.jpg" width="588" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is not J-Ned. But it is my favorite Boston finish line photo of all time.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So anyhow, back to Christmas present. J-Ned wanted redemption, or at minimum a pleasant, memorable stroll up and down the Newton hills, through Brookline and down Commonwealth before hanging right on Hereford, left on Boylston. I was happy to oblige, and even snapped some pics along the way seeing as he's long since burned the official race photographs from the aforementioned attempts. And though he's allegedly sworn off marathons, I wouldn't be surprised if J-Ned makes one more trek from Hopkinton before hanging up his shoes for good. Maybe next year Santa will bring him a new, shiny BQ!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAg2be44hcGiEIJ5hOSgobRFozDTGgxvAf7nKoV3LZiUOEkUa1y3R_-YF60FKsqS355M3W0dHClywKM_18WkXz8IDiWgZrlB38vge3rTeKtwbpqqRBG_AchgDJxooQ-NO4rWx3JNZAlOzf/s1600/bostoncourse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAg2be44hcGiEIJ5hOSgobRFozDTGgxvAf7nKoV3LZiUOEkUa1y3R_-YF60FKsqS355M3W0dHClywKM_18WkXz8IDiWgZrlB38vge3rTeKtwbpqqRBG_AchgDJxooQ-NO4rWx3JNZAlOzf/s400/bostoncourse.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J-Ned ready to roll at the Newton fire station, mile 17.2-ish</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7p6QgEQqy6xEmRZMPza8CJml9c1OVpUWzSU1aKkNxhyYs0tie-6SiFwWUUqw9wU_6KH2lquXvoGjzrf_fJbRqXFhXBOW-NklKhKLz1zSbb6oPHrIZXuvBeTfpfk7Y2czQSCB7613XLsA/s1600/bostoncourse5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7p6QgEQqy6xEmRZMPza8CJml9c1OVpUWzSU1aKkNxhyYs0tie-6SiFwWUUqw9wU_6KH2lquXvoGjzrf_fJbRqXFhXBOW-NklKhKLz1zSbb6oPHrIZXuvBeTfpfk7Y2czQSCB7613XLsA/s400/bostoncourse5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One John posing with another </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilGkf3QpLre1h82GsS0WkNmAqLrrxVOQ0uLnCKjK6S6o_pEo0zwNdnGW2ri6Vf1U3r1lvCcwqRXQrXhrWBNyOvd33DwgZVNlnPZBeoqff1VaV88yf7OG275WwB7fa126opnMvSpLRhOEQJ/s1600/bostoncourse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilGkf3QpLre1h82GsS0WkNmAqLrrxVOQ0uLnCKjK6S6o_pEo0zwNdnGW2ri6Vf1U3r1lvCcwqRXQrXhrWBNyOvd33DwgZVNlnPZBeoqff1VaV88yf7OG275WwB7fa126opnMvSpLRhOEQJ/s640/bostoncourse2.jpg" width="475" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a quick break before we tackle the final hill</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphToS8kBiipqYuolf2I1lvU4PAbzTkVzwyn0VGlHEaAGhER_ZxBc7m2lBIGfva1IDlOG4ih3LZ5gsAPRhgJTAzJg2i00dnNHbzxh3paTNC1LsY5zfbikguPMhebC809PC1KUXpc79OvtD/s1600/bostoncourse3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphToS8kBiipqYuolf2I1lvU4PAbzTkVzwyn0VGlHEaAGhER_ZxBc7m2lBIGfva1IDlOG4ih3LZ5gsAPRhgJTAzJg2i00dnNHbzxh3paTNC1LsY5zfbikguPMhebC809PC1KUXpc79OvtD/s400/bostoncourse3.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One to go!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEEyjWzUx9PoMVPZgDqUSlYqU73EsICCTfz-UoT_L4BtFVzZgD9ziuOHXAls-msZF_dKHrF6Rly2ytv3HRSqVVXdl_yP0su95-tXTEagYK4Glyr5UxbVran_5Kyj1dMawiAwMfApuvqwu/s1600/bostoncourse6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEEyjWzUx9PoMVPZgDqUSlYqU73EsICCTfz-UoT_L4BtFVzZgD9ziuOHXAls-msZF_dKHrF6Rly2ytv3HRSqVVXdl_yP0su95-tXTEagYK4Glyr5UxbVran_5Kyj1dMawiAwMfApuvqwu/s640/bostoncourse6.jpg" width="475" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished! And potential future father/daughter Christmas card photo</td></tr>
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Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-74595282888520440472013-12-15T20:13:00.000-05:002013-12-15T20:23:27.135-05:00Down in the Valley<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've attempted to write a long-overdue blog update at several different points during the past few weeks. First, I wanted to post about my final days of training and tapering (otherwise known as "running a little, eating a lot and drinking even more wine") leading up to CIM. After comfortably securing my 2016 Trials qualifier, I planned to summarize my experience and emotions as I've done after my other marathons and significant finishes. Lastly, I'd hoped to regale you with how much I've been enjoying my down time in the days since, sampling an extra dessert here and a fumbled smack of the snooze button there. Trust me, it was going to be riveting. But in the handful of times I've had the opportunity to sit down in front of the computer to address my tens of readers, I've allowed myself instead to get distracted by things like the world's most amazing <a href="http://yougottobekidding.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/wal-mart-called-your-christmas-photos-are-in/">Wal-Mart "portrait studio" Christmas card photos.</a> (Although, in my defense, can you blame me? This is redneck <i>gold</i>!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because, truth be told, I don't really feel up to the mental and emotional challenge of writing about any of that. It's something I've always done with a celebratory spirit, as if chronicling the experience is a reward in itself, something pleasurable to savor. I can't tell you how many times I re-read my own <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2012/11/philly-marathon-race-report.html">Philly entry</a> last year, if for no other reason than to continually remind myself that I had, in fact, <i>actually done it</i>. (And also to double- and triple-check for typos, seeing as I was about two-thirds tucked into a bottle of wine at first writing.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as I'm typing this, I don't have a whole hell of a lot to celebrate as far as running is concerned. Our entire lives, we're fed platitudes like "You can be anything you want to be!" (says the person who's never seen me dribble a basketball) and "If you work hard and persevere, you'll always achieve your goals!" (Also: "don't do drugs" and "stay in school," a directive that half my high school class seems to have disregarded.) Well, I worked pretty damn hard this time around, and at the moment I don't have much to show for it. To get even more depressingly specific, I have very little in the way of quantifiable, tangible results to show for this entire year of running. I haven't recorded a single PR (except for 8k, but that was summarily filed in the "made up distances that no one cares about" folder) nor can I name any specific race about which I feel particularly proud. Had I spent the entire year taking a pastry class or toilet training my cat (yes, despite the fact that she lacks opposable thumbs, SkyMall tells me this is a thing that is possible) or learning a new language, I would've probably emerged with a greater return on my time investment, <i>mais oui</i>?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Riding the high after Philly, there was simply no conceivably logical chain of events other than me running faster the next time around. I would train just as hard, race just as smart, ideally not have to take a very public bathroom break on the side of the road, and continue my solid progression away from sub-<i>sub</i>-elite and toward the coveted A-standard of 2:37. It sounds naive to say out loud, but I truly didn't think there was any way for this <i>not </i>to happen. And yet, for myriad and varied reasons which don't actually matter to the finishing clock, it simply didn't. I made it through halfway relatively on pace while trying to ignore an increasingly persistent tightness and limited range of motion in my (frozen) left hip and glute. Could I have finished? I'm sure. But anyone who reads this blog knows I've never been interested in a participant ribbon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So at this juncture, instead of turning up the emo music and dwelling on all the things I didn't accomplish at CIM, allow me to present you with a few notable positive memories of the past few weeks via everyone's favorite blogging device, the photo montage. And rest assured, though behind all the flippant self-deprecating banter my frustration is genuine and I've indulged in a few ugly cries, I'm still as determined as ever. My next step is yet to be decided, but I can only move forward.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqBdynIcd_N8srHZVFLTDVlVI-NkeGVLo2P0ZIBP5zxo7AKgCp_GhDTGbnW1aVgN45DiR7pm9ax1a1Gp-dYhkGVD5yQQVXcUe9EDSgJCMFWixF7FIztvVdr0LTAlFU6uB_YiYjd6k_CUL/s1600/thanksgiving.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqBdynIcd_N8srHZVFLTDVlVI-NkeGVLo2P0ZIBP5zxo7AKgCp_GhDTGbnW1aVgN45DiR7pm9ax1a1Gp-dYhkGVD5yQQVXcUe9EDSgJCMFWixF7FIztvVdr0LTAlFU6uB_YiYjd6k_CUL/s400/thanksgiving.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jordan celebrating Thanksgiving in Ohio with mom, brother, sisters, aunts, cousins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zpddokAVfpYq5DkUkndQKwpfmD4MFXxTqhTHYUqX3_R-681aI1lp8WVZYMThNFpBi1oE9NYJSYQ9VVjeoer0YaxLYrQf6XQ2LB_p0qv65FkNd2mmG_zAsmkMXqcC7lujLhSDz4FKiQKi/s1600/thanksgiving2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zpddokAVfpYq5DkUkndQKwpfmD4MFXxTqhTHYUqX3_R-681aI1lp8WVZYMThNFpBi1oE9NYJSYQ9VVjeoer0YaxLYrQf6XQ2LB_p0qv65FkNd2mmG_zAsmkMXqcC7lujLhSDz4FKiQKi/s400/thanksgiving2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jealous of my hairstyle? I have a very exclusive stylist (pictured to my right)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSlVjS6cOHn2qYF939fXNEc_TC6zFWgWNDWg7WiZ25M0D0CGAQbYAieemTnb3H09V84F4ClxBn_8tYfCvfp-px9la-HapynNhVC7HhgJWpfb0vnvti911vmaEGvoCtRppHuIt5W6hSnCp/s1600/thanskgiving3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSlVjS6cOHn2qYF939fXNEc_TC6zFWgWNDWg7WiZ25M0D0CGAQbYAieemTnb3H09V84F4ClxBn_8tYfCvfp-px9la-HapynNhVC7HhgJWpfb0vnvti911vmaEGvoCtRppHuIt5W6hSnCp/s400/thanskgiving3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-Black Friday Cincinnati shopping nourishment</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfV3IKlx5HUQHrj5L56oeukxkRJlh_7wkVwjhYFYeDOdKLMmUMwXUcRJSDRgJ7OE2EevrImmmyZ4fhI5Dyx-hNfrWd9UvI1YFzjs_nNAr3OvEEjaS5a0inZXXZFEfTMl1sBLZmZ41HGGz/s1600/CIM3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfV3IKlx5HUQHrj5L56oeukxkRJlh_7wkVwjhYFYeDOdKLMmUMwXUcRJSDRgJ7OE2EevrImmmyZ4fhI5Dyx-hNfrWd9UvI1YFzjs_nNAr3OvEEjaS5a0inZXXZFEfTMl1sBLZmZ41HGGz/s640/CIM3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My CIM roomie, Brett, reliving her epic finish from 2010</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL6E-gc7CxrPoxwiPflCarJQYpHnh3l2eZxiGk5wRtD2XmVWU6eCmTV01Y02oFvLa9qQWaeA5oTF68pBLy_XSI4hbO9hTpiNoICYJeJ98BjiosUrv8Jjd1RU84JTjWpFm6f-I9JnYnVouB/s1600/CIM4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL6E-gc7CxrPoxwiPflCarJQYpHnh3l2eZxiGk5wRtD2XmVWU6eCmTV01Y02oFvLa9qQWaeA5oTF68pBLy_XSI4hbO9hTpiNoICYJeJ98BjiosUrv8Jjd1RU84JTjWpFm6f-I9JnYnVouB/s400/CIM4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-race libations at the ready in the elite hospitality suite</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBR0K6qhiWnjhqugPqCX63yk4lTXH-IWJRFRNYEXnoYjFE9JictCqaIxc9wTvy7O74A6D2dShOnmEG7rUTtojsd9JZA9uMgxDijirn3KCC6vHHQYL_Ir30L2lcbpO2Vu6OLSLQ9VZ6GRl/s1600/CIM7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBR0K6qhiWnjhqugPqCX63yk4lTXH-IWJRFRNYEXnoYjFE9JictCqaIxc9wTvy7O74A6D2dShOnmEG7rUTtojsd9JZA9uMgxDijirn3KCC6vHHQYL_Ir30L2lcbpO2Vu6OLSLQ9VZ6GRl/s400/CIM7.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caitlin and Brett deep in concentration while decorating their water bottles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqjNeDZ-Mc4c-Ke7wGiyYDhGPUZ7Q1oFllmLSRzdxAAZvYP9c1VeddAZp_eBYXW8-9Y1wKDTzDhHlLMQZA_UKMoD_ah4NJOm1RfosXveTlcWpAtMhMCgEq-j3T3SQSNjIilbzckJHFYMh/s1600/CIM5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqjNeDZ-Mc4c-Ke7wGiyYDhGPUZ7Q1oFllmLSRzdxAAZvYP9c1VeddAZp_eBYXW8-9Y1wKDTzDhHlLMQZA_UKMoD_ah4NJOm1RfosXveTlcWpAtMhMCgEq-j3T3SQSNjIilbzckJHFYMh/s400/CIM5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Nuun Hydration for the support and the sweet black ops bottles!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxcZifBQRCOVdSRwvmT_jFIK4l9lMjrxwG9sD5BBVRxL-li_4MZFp3GXF0njawZuoqyjrWoIqgIJNTfpAeuuO_V2iwB3kloHtJ_Q2fOrmA23UFXyRZaFXeNXb4_jcyh3rkWyGHqnnoLdT/s1600/CIM6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxcZifBQRCOVdSRwvmT_jFIK4l9lMjrxwG9sD5BBVRxL-li_4MZFp3GXF0njawZuoqyjrWoIqgIJNTfpAeuuO_V2iwB3kloHtJ_Q2fOrmA23UFXyRZaFXeNXb4_jcyh3rkWyGHqnnoLdT/s640/CIM6.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-race early bird special dinner with Caitlin, Jeannette and Brett</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBV1OBPKWQfzu8LITQkSRov2vojIxffidxFWvMuorPCMp_uvqeEgiVMB-EFOW90sLEGTgjTuOW-_A6J0Rg6XQg80_TOYzhQi48YZFQZiWxp9nTM9HhpnswcWicx2eBSJqHj-lUrPuys4ps/s1600/CIM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBV1OBPKWQfzu8LITQkSRov2vojIxffidxFWvMuorPCMp_uvqeEgiVMB-EFOW90sLEGTgjTuOW-_A6J0Rg6XQg80_TOYzhQi48YZFQZiWxp9nTM9HhpnswcWicx2eBSJqHj-lUrPuys4ps/s400/CIM.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About as photogenic as it gets at 4:30 on race morning. Note to self: My Craft reflective headband works and doubles as a neck warmer.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sHmruRRZ2VN7ISsHZ2735rtR_o7n-Y1uw1mWejUxXDV2FXXnPnJBqZamVNU5bGsdRfKKxh4wim-oGUBO5CZyeoR0ault5vqexxM134k-TfIwiNv1hxzQLg8thS_w5T5RbGIC75TjMb5P/s1600/CIM2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sHmruRRZ2VN7ISsHZ2735rtR_o7n-Y1uw1mWejUxXDV2FXXnPnJBqZamVNU5bGsdRfKKxh4wim-oGUBO5CZyeoR0ault5vqexxM134k-TfIwiNv1hxzQLg8thS_w5T5RbGIC75TjMb5P/s640/CIM2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-race afterpartay: a bunch of speedy marathon finishers, plus me and Jordan</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Want to hear more from people who actually finished the race and qualified for the Trials? Then get up in <a href="http://caitchris.blogspot.com/2013/12/cal-international-marathon-recap.html">Caitlin's</a> and <a href="http://dp14xc.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/one-more-time/">Drew's</a> blogs. Until next time, we can all live vicariously through them.</span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-81693418005906832642013-11-24T23:40:00.000-05:002013-12-01T17:41:41.219-05:00Week in Review<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">101 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 doubles </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">20-mile long run</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 successful workouts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">14 days until CIM</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow, what a week. Though it wasn't originally intended as such, this was by far my most intense, high-quality block of the training cycle...and I crushed it! Balancing and adapting to the weather proved to be the most challenging hurdle, but I think I did a pretty good job of rolling with it and maintaining my equanimity. From here there is little left to do but rest up, recover, race the <a href="http://www.thanksgivingdayrace.com/">104th Annual Thanksgiving Day Race</a> in Cincinnati and then taper all the way to the starting line!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Personal success aside, by far the most rewarding part of my week was having the opportunity to hang out with the <a href="http://fitgirlsrunclubmarblehead.blogspot.com/">Fit Girls</a> from Village School in Marblehead on Thursday afternoon. The head coach of Fit Girls, an organization similar to <a href="http://www.girlsontherun.org/">Girls on the Run</a> with over 140 participants, invited me to attend one of their practices and spend some time with the girls. There was never a program like this for me to participate in when I was their age (4th-6th grade), and I can only imagine how many more young girls from my hometown would be engaged in the sport of running if there were! I had a blast and will be cheering these girls on virtually as they complete their target 5k on the same weekend I'm racing CIM.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which is in exactly two weeks. Yikes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-37335621417360630712013-11-24T22:37:00.000-05:002013-12-01T14:44:02.179-05:00Winter Weather Workout(s): Part Two<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2013/11/winter-weather-workouts-part-one.html">Part One here</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PM: 1/2 mile w/u</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: 10 miles @6-6:10 pace</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 15k @58:30 (6:15 pace)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://goo.gl/maps/tud4G">My route</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1/2 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 11 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daily total: 20 miles</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I last left you, I was eating a donut and drinking chocolate milk in bed with my cat whilst wearing compression socks, all in an effort to recover from <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2013/11/winter-weather-workouts-part-one.html">Part One</a> of today's workout. Part Two, a 10-mile steady tempo, would take place later in the afternoon...but where? It was still sub-freezing with ridiculous gusting winds outside and no improvement on the horizon. Upon returning home from his road trip in the early afternoon, Jordan once again floated the idea of hitting the YMCA treadmill...but I just couldn't do it. I was already convinced I wouldn't be able to maintain the pace, which meant the workout would be doomed before it even began. My next strategy was to gauge the direction of the wind (WSW) and try to devise a point-to-point course which would allow me to run more or less with the wind at my back on easily navigable roads...all before the ridiculous 4:30pm sunset would plunge everything into total darkness. Simple enough, right?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coach Jordan was skeptical, but agreed to let me give it a try. We settled on a route that would start in Danvers, run past our office complex, through downtown Beverly and into Salem, through downtown Salem and past Salem State, down the long hill to the Marblehead Rail Trail, then finish up with ~3 miles on the soft surface path before being dumped out near my boss's house on Seaview Ave just over the Marblehead/Swampscott line. If all went to plan, I would pass through a total of five towns in an hour's time. There were a few sections where the streets might be busy and a couple questionable intersections where I would almost surely have to stop, but once I made it through Salem the second half would likely be free of interruption. If only the weather would cooperate, this just might work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ride into Danvers was a solemn one, as I tried to ignore the wind whipping tree branches and debris across the road. I kept trying to reassure myself with the reminder that the wind would actually be helping me for most of the run, which worked until I almost couldn't force Jordan's car door open due to a particularly strong blast. He instructed me on the use of his Garmin, promised to pop in at a few spots along the course, and then sent me on my way. I jogged a few minutes easy and navigated a tricky intersection before launching into the uptempo portion. I actually couldn't remember where my exact starting location was supposed to be based on our prior Google mapping--as it turns out, I didn't start out far enough, which explains why the end result was closer to 9.5 miles instead of 10--so at some arbitrary point I just clicked the watch and started rolling.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pace was difficult to gauge, unsurprisingly. I wanted to run by feel instead of looking at the Garmin every five minutes, but I found it increasingly difficult to establish a consistent rhythm. My legs were a little fatigued from the morning's effort but felt fairly decent, so I was confident they wouldn't hinder my completion of the workout. The one true variable was the wind, which seemed to swirl at random. During the course of running several minutes in a straight line, it might be aggressively pushing me forward one second and then slapping me in the face shortly after. Somewhere on Rantoul Street in Beverly, just before I would see Jordan for the first time, I actually had to stop for a moment when a wayward tree branch made a beeline in the direction of my face. The worst of it came on the Beverly Bridge, when the violent crosswinds literally had me scared that I might get blown over into the harbor. In hindsight, crossing the bridge might not have been the safest or smartest move--not to mention my pace (and form!) slowed to a veritable crawl--but I had honestly underestimated how tough and exposed it would be.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Understandably, the pace fluctuated. But overall I knew I should be averaging well under 3:50 per kilometer, and instead I was hovering in the 3:58-4:00 range. I was growing flustered and frustrated, and biding my time until I thought it would be acceptable to drop out. I suspected I would see Jordan again at the bottom of Lafayette Street, just over halfway and just before entering the rail trail, and I made up my mind that I would call it a day there. What was the point?! Sure enough, I spotted him, stopped my watch, slowed to a stop and commenced whining. "I'm not even close to the pace!" I moaned despairingly, hoping he would tell me to stop. "Just keep pushing," he responded. "Settle in on the trail." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But darkness was falling, and quickly. The trail is exceptionally well groomed, so footing wasn't an issue, but I still wanted to make it through to the other side before the lighting completely waned. Once I rounded the turn by the middle school I found myself running directly into the wind, but inexplicably the average pace was finally inching down into the low 3:50s. Perhaps I wasn't completely screwing this up after all.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once I popped out on Seaview, I knew the course would be short. I was just under 14k and now running in complete darkness. Jordan was waiting in his car near my boss's house, and he started driving just ahead to light my way. I decided then that finishing out 15k would be respectable enough. It was cold and dark and seemed rather pointless to continue. My breathing was controlled and my legs felt as though they could continue at that pace and effort level indefinitely, but I was just incapable of going any faster. Whatever the ultimate objective was, the conditions simply weren't going to allow for a different outcome. I've never been happier to jump in a warm car at the conclusion of a run!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to execute this workout as well as I did last year, but in spite of that it actually does provide a boost of confidence. More than the result itself, I'm proud of myself for staying mentally tough--did I mention I ran <i>50 laps indoors</i> this morning?!--and troubleshooting the conditions instead of writing this off before even giving myself a chance. If I can do the same in two weeks' time, I just might have a shot at pulling off a respectable marathon.</span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-59981120492394960852013-11-24T11:55:00.000-05:002013-12-01T10:56:35.681-05:00Winter Weather Workout(s): Part One<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: 2 mile w/u + strides</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: 10k tempo @ 35:45-36:30</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 36:21 (5:51 pace); 18:18/18:03</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 9 miles</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year, two and a half weeks out from Philly, I executed arguably my most difficult (and most impressive) workout(s) ever, consisting of <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2012/10/all-tricks-and-no-treats-my-biggest.html">a morning 10k tempo followed by an evening 10-miler at MP</a>. Jordan, fresh off an injury, joined me for both efforts--and I dropped him on both. Having never outrun Jordan once in my life, much less twice in one day, this workout served as a huge confidence booster and solidified my fitness for what would be a breakthrough marathon performance a few weeks later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With only 14 days separating me from my next 26.2 endeavor, it was time to attempt this workout again. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXqwGfB-uRRFfuebhQR-WpwgAKT6Y6rXpW3u2sFcOl_SlZLbvezXPCxFV8XhqURRkpQo65hCuwFx2XXei1bVJfHK5jXvaRSXtf5wGvjrh2DWmDeurg_3SSn1iV7ZFAc-j_c8wdv-pP22T/s1600/weather.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXqwGfB-uRRFfuebhQR-WpwgAKT6Y6rXpW3u2sFcOl_SlZLbvezXPCxFV8XhqURRkpQo65hCuwFx2XXei1bVJfHK5jXvaRSXtf5wGvjrh2DWmDeurg_3SSn1iV7ZFAc-j_c8wdv-pP22T/s400/weather.PNG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture perfect conditions on tap for Sunday morning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I saw this abysmal forecast less than 24 hours before the first part of this workout was to begin and promptly started freaking out. I called Jordan, who was on the road, and we started running through our options. Unfortunately, delaying the workout wasn't one of them, as we'd be flying out for Thanksgiving on Monday evening, and anything after that would be much too close to the race. Could we try a treadmill? Certainly more favorable, but I unequivocally suck at treadmills and highly doubted I could run sub-6 pace for more than three consecutive minutes. I floated the scenario by Carly and Terry, who came up with the perfect solution (at least for Part One): the Harvard indoor track! Why didn't I think of that?? Oh wait, maybe because it meant I would be running <i>50 laps?!?</i> But still, it was by far my best option. The next step was trying to recruit someone crazy enough to do this with me. I put out some feelers to the BAA with no success, and by Saturday night I'd all but tucked myself in on Sarah's futon (she lives so close to Harvard!) and resigned myself to doing this solo. Then, around 9:30pm, I received an email from a GBTC member named Charly Allan who'd heard of my plight and offered to help as part of his long run. Needless to say, I jumped at the offer and prayed he would actually show up the next morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sure enough, just before 8am, my new BFF arrived as I was in the midst of my warmup jog counterclockwise along the perimeter of the eerily quiet facility. The weather prediction had been spot on, and as the gusts of wind howled around the outside of the building I knew I'd made the right decision. Before long, Charly and I were toeing the imaginary start line. The plan was simply to take it out conservatively, tuck in behind him and gradually crank the pace down during the second half--all without losing count of our laps. I was just as intimidated by the mental challenge as I was the physical one, and was beyond relieved that someone else was there to do the heavy lifting for me. I just needed to relax, zone out, fall into a rhythm behind Charly and trust that the pace would come naturally.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first few laps felt clunky and awkward, both of us adjusting as strangers in a strange land. After the first mile or so I settled in, feeling comfortable and eager and trying not to clip his heels. The pace seemed slow, a little too easy, and I was unsurprised when we came through 5k a touch off the target. "Let's hold this until four, then gradually pick it up for the last two miles," I requested. He was happy to oblige, and before I knew it the invisible lap counter was down to single digits. We dug deeper (or at least I did) for the final mile, and I felt like I was working for the first time in 30 minutes. As we crossed the finish line to the applause of exactly no one, I was ecstatic--not just that the workout had felt relatively easy, but that I hadn't allowed the adverse weather conditions to thwart my carefully laid plans.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAufVpX37YRLLF1gKzyArk_clTQcgxkvcxfazdzU7iHxrpOtfAOFC1XIuZ112eKsyd1GgSZaFXZsbY4g15Oy2gNPQKW9i1e1uKMmtfx0775wuvdJouPPk1N-Qy98TUXGn6l3-a22jJ16JZ/s1600/weather2.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAufVpX37YRLLF1gKzyArk_clTQcgxkvcxfazdzU7iHxrpOtfAOFC1XIuZ112eKsyd1GgSZaFXZsbY4g15Oy2gNPQKW9i1e1uKMmtfx0775wuvdJouPPk1N-Qy98TUXGn6l3-a22jJ16JZ/s400/weather2.PNG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual weather at go time. Meanwhile, inside was pleasant and wind-free!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> At least, not yet. There was still an afternoon tempo to contend with, and the frigid winds showed no signs of abating. Time to go home, recover, and plot my next move... </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-81508043504721422492013-11-21T21:41:00.000-05:002013-11-23T13:11:02.897-05:00Beverly High School Benchmark, v3.0<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 mile w/u + strides</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: 10x3 mins. @3:23-3:25/k pace w/2 mins. rest</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: Above</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 11 miles</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As all my devoted readers know, this is a core benchmark workout that I'm fond of doing sporadically throughout the course of every training cycle regardless of what specific distance I'm training for. Most recently, I've done this twice during my buildup for CIM. The second session, <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2013/10/beverly-high-school-benchmark-v20.html">done almost exactly one month ago</a>, was a breakthrough for me as I ran two more intervals than ever before and with shorter rest. Today, running without the assistance of my favorite pacer, my objective was not necessarily to run faster, but to replicate the workout from last time feeling stronger and more relaxed. Since my workouts have been much improved as of late, I was confident I could achieve this goal even flying solo.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just as I'd hoped, I'm happy to report that I did feel much stronger and more relaxed than last time--and still ran faster and farther on most of the intervals! I didn't realize until writing this blog that I'd only been given 1:45 rest last time. For some reason I totally forgot that and did this off a 2:00 rest today, which felt unnecessarily long. Now I know why! Even during the second half of the workout, when my legs were more fatigued and my body more taxed, I still found my breathing returning almost completely to normal after 45 seconds or so. I'm confident I could've hit the same paces off 1:45 or even 1:30 rest, which is not something I've been able to say many times before. I was also a teeny bit nervous going into this, knowing in the back of my mind that this was the workout that directly precipitated my mystifying hip mini-injury last time, but fortunately it was a non-issue today. (But I didn't <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2013/10/beverly-high-school-benchmark-v20.html">sit down</a> for a while afterward, just in case!) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This will probably be my last Beverly High benchmark workout of the year, so I'm excited to end it on such a high note! </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-39151761076846598462013-11-18T19:58:00.000-05:002013-11-21T20:03:32.278-05:00Solo 20-Mile Success...Which Is Weird<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This long run can best be summarized by the email I sent to my friend Brett shortly after finishing it. Brett is a Boston expat (now living out west) and accomplished marathoner who also has the good fortune of being my upcoming roomie at CIM. We've been keeping each other abreast of our recent training, by which I mean commiserating about how out of shape we feel and how frustrated we are that things aren't going as smoothly as we'd hoped. But recently we both seem to have rounded a metaphorical corner, an unexpected phenomenon no better exemplified than by my strangely awesome solo long run on Monday afternoon.</span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"So, as I mentioned in our text convo, I've had a surprising recent
development: I'm not feeling like total shit. My workout Saturday was
solid, for starters. Then I was supposed to do 20 but I pushed it
because my legs were tired Sunday, then crazy bad weather here Monday
morning, so I finally got out and did it this afternoon/evening
(snuck out of work...shhhh...) One of my biggest weaknesses from this
training cycle is I haven't done enough long (18+) runs, so I was a
little uncertain about how this one would go, especially solo and in the
afternoon which is weird timing. But I felt GREAT. I'm not sure about
pace because I don't run with a Garmin but it wasn't slow. And literally
afterward I stopped, clicked my watch, and said 'Welp, that was easy.'</span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />What's going on????!!!"</span></i>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-80951400825506246432013-11-17T19:34:00.000-05:002013-11-19T19:35:04.662-05:00Week in Review<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">100 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 doubles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3x20 minute workout</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2xmedium long run (12 and 13)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 AFDs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things are finally starting to come together. The only missing piece this week was a true long run, but I aspire to knock that out tomorrow morning. I could've/should've done it today, but my legs were just too fatigued from yesterday afternoon's lengthy workout. Instead I did an easy 13 with my boss and devoted the rest of the day to recovery (read: eating pizza in my underwear). I'm nervous and excited to tackle 20 tomorrow--SOLO, no less--and I think the way I feel after the two-hour mark will be a reliable harbinger of what's to come in three weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-68757640027783360432013-11-16T15:53:00.000-05:002013-11-17T15:54:01.912-05:003x20 Minute Success<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: 5k shakeout</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PM: 5k w/u + strides</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: 3x20 mins. (10 mins. hard, 10 mins. @6:00 pace) w/4 mins. rest</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 20 mins @5:53 pace (3k @10:58, 5k @18:20), 20 mins @5:54 pace (3k @11:00, 5k @18:23), 20 mins @5:53 pace (3k @11:00, 5k @18:22)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2k c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/405006895">Garmin splits</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 15 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daily total: 18 miles</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There may be hope for me yet.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a reference, I did this exact workout at the exact same time (three weeks out) in December '11 prior to the January '12 Trials. At the time, I would say I was objectively in 2:40-low shape, but ended up running just slightly off that at <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2012/01/us-olympic-marathon-trials-recap.html">2:41:06</a>. I ran this particular workout quite well, and ended up splitting between 18:35-18:45 through each 5k. (See my recap (in astonishingly small font) <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2011/12/3x20-minutes-in-dark.html">here</a> and Jordan's more detailed splits <a href="http://okrunner.blogspot.com/2011/12/gearing-up-for-trials.html">here</a>.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, as you can see above, I was consistently 15-20 seconds (a full 80-90 meters) faster through 5k on each interval, and with shorter rest. Granted, some of my "hard" sections weren't as fast as last time--in '11 I snuck a 3:32 in there, while today's quickest was 3:35--but I was able to consistently maintain a much faster clip on the marathon-paced second halves. I wouldn't exactly say the whole thing was a walk in the park--the third kilometer, which in theory is meant to be one of the fastest, is in reality almost entirely uphill--I ran strong throughout and there were sections where I truly felt like I was jogging.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Too little too late, or finally coming around at just the right time? We'll see in three weeks. </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-33541028469768341792013-11-10T22:04:00.000-05:002013-11-17T14:07:09.247-05:00Week in Review<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">92 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 doubles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 AFDs </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite today's disastrous race, I'm actually feeling relatively encouraged about my training. I've felt consistently better on runs and workouts the past few weeks than in the months prior, and other than some hamstring tightness and general body fatigue I'm healthy and strong. With four weeks to go, it's critical that I hit a handful of big workouts and longer runs, but I'm confident I can get it done.</span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-23038559211671186832013-11-10T21:46:00.000-05:002013-11-17T13:48:39.227-05:00Seacoast Half Marathon: A Lucrative Disaster<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 mile w/u</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: win, run marathon pace-ish (1:18:30-1:19:30)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 1st place female; 1:23:11, $300</span><br />
<a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/results/13/nh/Nov10_8thAnn_set1.shtml"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Results</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 17 miles</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be honest, I don't want to dwell on this race because I know it's not indicative of my fitness and I refuse to let it get me down. The Seacoast Half Marathon was a great local event, very well-run and with excellent crowd support given the small coastal community, and despite the race being long closed the event director was gracious enough to allow me a spot. Regretfully, I wasn't able to capitalize on any of this with a solid performance. My legs felt tired and lifeless, and with few runners in sight in either direction I had little motivation to push myself beyond mild discomfort. I stopped a handful of times, mainly to stretch an exceptionally tight hamstring (residual from my hip issue?) and once for a bathroom break (because hey, at that point, why the hell not) and as a result managed to run my slowest time in years. I'm going to chalk it up as getting paid 300 bucks for a bad workout and move on. </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-9520595108671879482013-11-07T21:25:00.000-05:002013-11-17T13:49:30.613-05:00Fast K's<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2.5 mile w/u + strides</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: 5x1k @3:25 (5:30 pace) w/2:30 rest; 5x1 min. faster</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 3:25, 3:25, 3:25, 3:22, 3:23; 5x1 min. @5:07-5:17 pace</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 9 miles</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday morning I did a light fartlek of 5x(30, 45, 60) to limber up the legs and prepare to run fast today. It must've worked, because I hit the necessary splits just fine despite the cold temps and early hour. Hopefully this workout will benefit me in a few weeks when I try to avenge my second place finish from the <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2011/11/102nd-annual-thanksgiving-day-race.html">2011 Cincinnati turkey trot</a>! </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-74948437879858142272013-11-03T23:14:00.000-05:002013-11-12T20:15:52.690-05:00Week in Review<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">99-100 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 doubles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 night in NJ</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 night in PA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 nights in NYC</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't be certain that I actually cleared triple digits this week--in reality, 99 is probably more accurate--but regardless I'm darn impressed with myself. Despite a majority of the week spent on the road, a hectic work schedule and far more socializing than usual, I still managed to hit two solid workouts and otherwise squeeze in the miles. I doubt every week of my 31st year will be this eventful, but it's certainly a good one to start with. </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-38452991380581233602013-11-03T22:09:00.000-05:002013-11-09T14:25:09.978-05:00NYCM Birthday Weekend (Oh, and a Workout)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday AM: 3 mile w/u + strides</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: 4-5x3k @11:00 or faster (5:52 pace) w/2 min. jog/rest</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 11:18 (into wind), 10:55, 10:57, 10:53</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 12 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday AM #2: ~4 miles to/from/around marathon course</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daily total: 16 miles</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow, what a weekend! It's hard to summarize it all into one cohesive blog post, but since I'm far too lazy to write a handful of separate entries I'm going to attempt just that.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, let's go back to the beginning. Except I don't really know where the beginning is. Technically, this trip started on Wednesday morning as Jordan and I loaded up and headed out for the rest of the week on the road. NYC was our ultimate destination for Friday meetings at the Runner's World international editors summit and marathon weekend shenanigans, but we had several stops along the way. Wednesday night found us in Princeton, NJ and an impromptu hosting from newly relocated Esther Erb. Fresh off her recent top three finish at the US Marathon Champs, she led us on a great Thursday morning run in an amazing soft surface park next to her new digs before we continued southbound to Philly. On Thursday night, Karhu sponsored a Halloween-themed Urban Scramble with <a href="http://philadelphiarunner.com/">Philadelphia Runner</a>, which basically meant that I sprinted through the downtown Philly streets with a heavily perspiring Karhu bear (and yes, I did count those two miles). We had great company yet again for my birthday morning run, as former D2 standout and soon-to-be Philadelphia Marathoner <a href="http://fuelyourfuturewithtina.blogspot.com/">Tina Muir</a> showed us around her favorite local training grounds in <a href="http://www.fow.org/about-park">Wissahickon Park</a>. And then, finally, we set off on the final leg of our journey into Manhattan. Marathon weekend was upon us!</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUOC5tpfYt6-oo0a-7YVXIDNgrVJEjIOaqbs6E6W4i9XuTNVNeXGzPva3r_wZUGJjQCPq-FyTQrdvICvMaA6EnTSRwBkKaZVWN5vuzetqX2Vu0nnJzorbCSDOicL1m2kd4GEVxRORa-US/s1600/nycm6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUOC5tpfYt6-oo0a-7YVXIDNgrVJEjIOaqbs6E6W4i9XuTNVNeXGzPva3r_wZUGJjQCPq-FyTQrdvICvMaA6EnTSRwBkKaZVWN5vuzetqX2Vu0nnJzorbCSDOicL1m2kd4GEVxRORa-US/s400/nycm6.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Karhu Bear and his new Philly Runner buddies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday afternoon until Sunday morning was all a blur of reunions with friends, industry colleagues, and elite marathoners and coaches past and present. My workout was originally slated for Saturday morning, but after a little bit too much fun Friday night at the Runner's World party it seemed a bit unrealistic. Instead, Jordan and I decided to see how long we could stretch out a 10-mile run (answer: about five hours) by meandering our way around various marathon-related activities. First we jogged up to Columbus Circle and met Sarah and Jay to cheer on Molly, Esther and other elites in the <a href="http://www.nyrr.org/races-and-events/2013/nyrr-dash-to-the-finish-line-5k">NYRR Dash to the Finish 5k</a>. In desperate need of coffee and lured by the buttery aroma of freshly baked croissants, we swung by <a href="http://www.fikanyc.com/">Fika</a> before making our way over to the Hilton on Avenue of the Americas for a quick work meeting. If you've never experienced this hotel during marathon weekend, it's really something else. Besides being the official host hotel for the event and its athletes, it is also the unofficial hub for the elite race and everything it entails. Within its massive lobby and bar area, you're likely to be surrounded at any given time by dozens of elite marathoners, coaches, agents, team--ahem--doctors, media and pretty much anyone else that is associated with the race in any capacity. It's hard to make it through the lobby to the elevators without bumping into a handful of people that you know, which of course is what happened and somehow resulted in us abandoning my workout plans in favor of a pre-race shakeout with Kim, Amy, Katie DiCamillo and Diane Nukuri-Johnson, whom I'd never met before in person but upon first glance quickly confirmed that, as suspected, her legs were twice as long and half as fat as mine.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhez69N_WvEhpmPQT86Iw3-e_XuReO23QkjgP7xnvk4xuAeFNUj0xHPh6wmEtnheNuoxosEMCO-9ZIMkhmNfpqAk54H3eJ-uQAsnKhr92we9JWIR6bqum1pSSVJjjLjdfLg_6F7OnXwG48g/s1600/nycm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhez69N_WvEhpmPQT86Iw3-e_XuReO23QkjgP7xnvk4xuAeFNUj0xHPh6wmEtnheNuoxosEMCO-9ZIMkhmNfpqAk54H3eJ-uQAsnKhr92we9JWIR6bqum1pSSVJjjLjdfLg_6F7OnXwG48g/s400/nycm.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing for the paparazzi on Friday night with Huub, the Karhu CEO. He would go on to run 3:50 on Sunday.</td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The run was easy, relaxed and fun, but at the same time infused with a distinct undercurrent of nervous energy. As we entered Central Park, I'm sure each of the girls visualized what it would be like the next day when their race-weary feet would pound the same section of pavement on the finishing stretch. The park is always bursting with energy the day before the marathon, as eager runners criss-cross the paths and snatches of conversation in every imaginable language can be heard in passing. The girls stopped for drills and I continued on with Jordan, jogging under the finish line banner to soak in the atmosphere even though we knew it would be an absolute cluster. We continued south on the West Side Highway, our run now approaching a total of eight miles and approximately three hours, before deciding to stop at the Javits Center and poke around the expo for a bit. Finally, just past 1pm, we returned to our hotel to relax before another run and a birthday dinner with friends. Since Heidi was in town and she turned 31 just a few days before me, it was only natural to make this a joint celebration. Naturally, with a group comprising all runners, we were full and happy and buzzed and soundly tucked away in bed before 11pm.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ99FMcX48wIDW_QMNVQvzCD8-9OUaR_Sf191Ld2Oj61UteTsGTuiD2KJ0BxBypMBGisfzwhyphenhyphenXXPl6nOuNRTDMubGcAd7u-WgufIuuFv3Wd3MHvRxFAFFwDt_5GE3Lblohl1vEhqmGRSU/s1600/nycm2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ99FMcX48wIDW_QMNVQvzCD8-9OUaR_Sf191Ld2Oj61UteTsGTuiD2KJ0BxBypMBGisfzwhyphenhyphenXXPl6nOuNRTDMubGcAd7u-WgufIuuFv3Wd3MHvRxFAFFwDt_5GE3Lblohl1vEhqmGRSU/s400/nycm2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-dinner Sardinia reunion at the Hilton with the incomparable Marcello Magnani. His two elite athletes, Valeria Straneo and Daniele Meucci, would crack the top 10 in the elite race the following mroning. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Race morning! But first, my stupid workout. Delaying it by a day sure sounded like a better idea 24 hours prior, but at this point I was out of options. Time to get it done. The first few steps out the door confirmed that the weather had indeed turned overnight--the first two days of November had found me incredulously running in only a sports bra--and now it was cold, overcast and quite breezy. Actually, "gale force winds" might have been a more appropriate way to describe the gusts that blasted us in the face as we hit the West Side Highway, but I tried not to dwell on it. As unpleasant as it would be for the first part of my workout, the marathoners would face it for the majority of their run. If they could handle it, so could I.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That optimism lasted approximately five minutes into my first 3k interval, which we were unfortunately forced to run northbound into the wind so that the rest of the workout didn't send me south all the way to the Statue of Liberty. Jordan and I consciously decided to relax and not force the pace for this one; there was simply no point. But my struggle would be rewarded with the wind at my back for the remainder, which enabled me to run strong and relaxed and totally comfortable at the target pace. Hell, with as much action packed into this weekend, I consider simply completing a workout to be an accomplishment in itself! There was no time to revel in my self-satisfaction, however, as we started jogging back to the hotel immediately after the final interval so we could rinse off, layer up and then head uptown to meet the crew for some race spectating. We hoofed it over to First Ave to see the elite women at 17, and I was pumped to see Kim holding strong in seventh place. From there we dashed to the park and planted ourselves squarely at the 24-mile marker, eager to see the final stages of the race unfold in front of us. We screamed like crazy for Kim (who finished sixth!) and Amy and Diane (who still managed to look like a model over two hours into a marathon) and then the elite men who followed shortly thereafter. I've never spectated from this particular location before but I'd definitely recommend it--not too crowded and with a fantastic vantage point.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAGhS43bffJ_6idNGQA6mNiamXls2J1BvbY60wlhvRacrv83h1EvpERTs2pSWk0kNmxj_QBCTauuHSWN-NKOVN0NkDSCe4BSt0kkmixGLez24zmZkIVCoYfJzmFb2hjlCmzgXypewyeY9/s1600/nycm3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAGhS43bffJ_6idNGQA6mNiamXls2J1BvbY60wlhvRacrv83h1EvpERTs2pSWk0kNmxj_QBCTauuHSWN-NKOVN0NkDSCe4BSt0kkmixGLez24zmZkIVCoYfJzmFb2hjlCmzgXypewyeY9/s640/nycm3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagerly waiting at mile 24...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhm94qdYxx6xB7nd2ZWF3_8cFsgqp5k6MYs26wg-SnDbdXzs3XbQgNPEjOY4ohqyqmZ_szeYcBW8paJ_p610RJ9DtJUiWnU0CpFHR6A_DyUnRRFql-1PHGJLgbZEacm_xKYLHINzkxJtg/s1600/nycm4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhm94qdYxx6xB7nd2ZWF3_8cFsgqp5k6MYs26wg-SnDbdXzs3XbQgNPEjOY4ohqyqmZ_szeYcBW8paJ_p610RJ9DtJUiWnU0CpFHR6A_DyUnRRFql-1PHGJLgbZEacm_xKYLHINzkxJtg/s400/nycm4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...for Kimberley to come flying by!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the time I made it back to the hotel, checked out, said goodbye to Jordan as he departed for a friend's house, and met Sarah back at NYAC for some post-race fun, it was time to hit the train station and head home. I boarded the car and settled in alongside Huub and our other coworker ST--both of whom had just crushed the four-hour barrier in the marathon and then hustled down to Penn Station--and was almost immediately struck by the letdown, the carefully measured mix of exhaustion and sadness and almost instantaneous nostalgia that always sets in at the end of this sort of weekend. People ask me all the time if I plan to run NYC, and I always honestly respond that I'm not sure. It's a deceptively tough course with mercurial weather, and I would be lying if I didn't say that I witnessed some carnage out there today. But without question, I know I'll return next year and years to come just to be part of this amazing experience. </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-15899195885997930872013-10-29T21:22:00.000-04:002013-11-09T09:25:35.666-05:00Wave Tempo<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AM: 3 mile w/u</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Target: 13k/8 mile wave tempo alternating 3:35/4:00 per k (~5:45/6:25 per mile); 4 min. rest/jog; 3k @11:00</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actual: 3:41, 4:02, 3:31, 4:01, 3:33, 3:57, 3:35, 4:00, 3:35, 3:59, 3:33, 3:58, 3:32; 3k @10:50</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 mile c/d</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total: 14 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">PM: 3 miles easy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daily total: 17 miles</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did this exact same workout at the same relative time (~six weeks out) before Philly last year, to great success. On that occasion I was actually supposed to be alternating half miles, but I was running solo and as a timepiece novice was clearly outsmarted by technology. So I adjusted on the fly, switched to alternating kilometers, and <a href="http://greenlightningrunning.blogspot.com/2012/10/early-morning-workout-improvisation.html">absolutely crushed it</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, with my queenmaker (and Garmin expert) leading the charge, I was confident I would at least get the general workout configuration right. In comparing to last year's data, this time around I was able to hit roughly the same pace for the "on" segments (with the exception of an outlying 3:23 last time, holy moly) but struggled more with maintaining a respectable clip on the recovery portion. Though I intentionally tried to push thoughts of last time out of my head during the workout--there's nothing more discouraging than the realization that present day you is getting her ass kicked by younger, faster you--the one split I did remember quite clearly was that I'd run 11:00 on the nose for the final "bonus" 3k, and I was determined to finish faster today. I did just that, clocking a strong 10:50, immediately after which Jordan exclaimed, "That was the best part of the whole workout!" Perhaps that says more about the preceding 13k than the final 3k, but I will choose to take it as a compliment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still lots of work to be done, still grinding away. Making progress one day at a time.</span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459795980042556648.post-52471594976247375782013-10-27T20:24:00.000-04:002013-11-04T20:25:07.131-05:00Week in Review<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">80 miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 doubles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 successful workouts </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 chiropractic appointments</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After two scheduled down weeks--the days before and after Hartford--I'd planned to ramp back up to triple digits beginning this past Monday. Thanks to my hip injury scare, that didn't exactly happen. In fact, I'm actually surprised I hit 80 considering I felt like I did virtually nothing from Wednesday to Friday, and had no long run to speak of unless you count Saturday's workout. Assuming my body continues its quick mending process, I hope to return to full-blown marathon mileage next week. With CIM a mere six weeks away, there's simply no time to waste. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Meagan Nedlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08765071425503584768noreply@blogger.com0