I Think I'll Go To Boston

AM: 5+ miles
15 mins. core
PM: 4 miles + 4x100m strides

This morning I departed with Jenna, Pezz and Maraya for a girls' weekend in the greater Boston area. We're all slated to compete in tomorrow night's New Balance Boston Twilight meet--Jenna and I in the 5k, Maraya and Pezz in the 1500. Maraya and Pezz both qualified for US Nationals (Pezz in the steeple and Maraya in the Junior 800) and are looking to get in a fast tune-up race. I initially planned on using this race to set a new 5k PR, but that was before I realized how completely and utterly depleted I would feel after Nationals. Plus, my left foot has still been nagging. I'm thinking it's tendonitis, and icing seems to help, but I don't expect that wearing spikes tomorrow night will do it any favors. At any rate, we set off on Friday eager to spend the weekend in the city.

Upon arriving after a pleasantly brief flight, we snagged our rental car and hit up the city for the remainder of the afternoon. Pezz grew up in nearby Narragansett but neither Maraya nor Jenna had ever been to Boston, so we spent some time downtown checking out Quincy Market and all that good stuff. Also, random side note: So we were downtown at Whole Foods grabbing some snacks for the trip. I was meandering around the bakery (naturally) when I heard a male voice calling my name. I assumed he was speaking to someone else, since I was absolutely certain no one in the city knew me, but when I looked up I was surprised to see a familiar face. Turns out a kid I lived down the hall from in the dorms my freshman year at TCU now lives in Boston and works part-time at Whole Foods. So random. I'd been in the city for all of an hour and had already been spotted by someone I hadn't seen in years.


View of the iconic Citgo sign and the Charles River in Boston

The rest of the evening was fairly tame. We headed out to the 'burbs of Waltham, where our race would be held, then changed clothes at our hotel and headed over to the track. Despite a day of travel my legs felt fairly good, no doubt due to the manageable humidity and markedly lower temperatures. I think the high today was 70 and it's expected to be 65 tomorrow. Considering the daily lows in Charlotte have been warmer than this, I'll take the New England weather any day. Hopefully this will be conducive to fast running tomorrow night.

The picture below is of Jenna icing her Achilles in the bathroom at the hotel while I took an ice bath in the tub. It makes me smile.

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D2 Nationals 5k Race Recap

AM: 3 miles
PM: 2 miles w/u + strides
5k race @16:35; 6th place
2.5 mile c/d
Total: 7.5-8 miles

After yesterday's weather fiasco and endless delays, I was feeling pretty recovered from the 10k and antsy to get back on the track tonight. That's not to say I actually was recovered--I knew that no matter how fervently I tried to convince myself otherwise, racing only 48 hours after a physically and mentally draining 10k would prove difficult. But I was looking forward to the challenge nonetheless. Fortunately the day passed quickly and before I knew it, it was time to head to the track.

The first event for Queens athletes was the men's 1500m final. After failing to qualify for the finals indoors, Simon redeemed himself by diving for the line and securing a 6th place (and All-American) finish. Next up for us was the women's 800, which was changed to a two-section final after last night's weather. Maraya was in the first heat after entering the meet with the 17th fastest time. She, too, made Queens proud by running a season best (2:10-high) and finishing 12th, five spots above her seed. Tanya and I cheered her down the homestretch before heading up the hill to check in and begin our warmup. Deja vu in the form of a cemetery loop, only with more lighthearted banter and fewer nerves than two nights prior. My legs felt light and surprisingly fresh, although I had no idea how they would respond once I stepped onto the track. For all I knew, I'd already run the power right out of them with my intense (if less than successful) kick at the end of Thursday night's race. I would find out soon enough.

At 8:45 our group of 19 filed down onto the track. Ten of the 19 had also competed in the 10k, and one of the remaining girls had just run the 1500m final a few hours prior. Only a few of the athletes were fresh coming into the race--including defending outdoor and indoor champ Neely Spence from Shippensburg. We all toed the line on the backstretch, waited for the starter's commands, and then were off into the night.

Predictably, the first lap started as a crawl. A crowded, fiesty, jostling crawl. Remembering how I'd gotten boxed in at Penn, I swung around the first turn wide and was actually leading the darn thing down the home stretch before others picked up the pace. Still, our first lap was a pedestrian 83, and for a brief moment I wondered if this would be reminiscent of the 2.5 mile jog followed by a half mile sprint we contested at indoor nationals. I didn't have to wonder for long, as Spence quickly took up the front and increased the pace. I saw later that we split 78, 77, 77 to come through the mile in 5:15. This was quick for me (possibly a mile PR?) and considerably faster than I expected--I honestly hadn't planned on running sub-PR pace in this championship race--but as I was already off the lead group I couldn't give any thought to slowing down. Simply put, this felt hard from second lap, and after a mile I digested the sobering realization that it certainly wasn't going to get any easier. There would be no planning or strategizing or settling in like during the 10k. From this point on it would be me running as hard as I could and trying to catch as many people as possible without blowing up and royally embarrassing myself.

Honestly, much of the rest of the race is a blur, albeit a painful one. I think I remember passing through two miles in 10:35, probably around tenth place. I was well off the real race that was unfolding between Neely and Tanya, but I could tell that some of the girls in front of me were going to pay the price for going out too hard. I may not have been able to pick it up, but as long as I didn't fall off the pace I knew I would catch people. Sure enough, with two laps to go I was somewhere around eighth and still gaining, although I felt like I was about to die. After the race Jenna and Simmons would comment about how strong my kick was, but all I know is I kept telling myself that I was not going to get walked down before the finish like I did in the 10k. I finished utterly exhausted in sixth place and rather unexpectedly set a PR in the process. Admittedly, my previous PR of 16:44 wasn't that impressive, but as I've said before I never expect to run "fast" during a championship race--particularly this championship race when I had just raced a 10k 48 hours prior.

After the race Tanya and I took a few of the other girls--Neely, Sarah and Brenae--on a pitch dark cemetery cooldown. Along the way we noticed that the group of eight who finished as All-Americans tonight was virtually identical to the list that finished All-American indoors except for maybe one. At least we're consistent, I suppose. I know Tanya was disappointed about getting second (she was 16:20 to Neely's 16:14), but you can't argue that she had a phenomenal meet. Both of us were pretty pleased with how things turned out--especially when we found out that our combined 27 points had placed us sixth as a team! Turns out that's the highest NCAA finish of any Queens sports team in Queens history. Though both of us would be lying to say the team competition had been on our mind going into the meet, the result certainly ended up being the icing on the cake. Our last NCAA competition as Queens runners went about as well as we could've hoped. Thanks again to everyone who supported me this weekend, whether it was in person or through email or on Facebook. It truly meant a lot, and made me really appreciate having the meet right here in Charlotte. It's been quite a season, and I'm so grateful to have had you all along for the ride.

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Early Week Recovery

Tuesday, 5/18
AM: 59 mins. (8 miles)
PM: 3 miles

Monday, 5/17
AM: 4.5 miles
PM: 5.5 miles

Lots of easy, slow running to start out the week. On Monday I accompanied Jordan on a work field trip to the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. We were hoping to get in our afternoon run at a new venue, but it was absolutely pouring cats and dogs at our desired go time. We made a game time decision to drive back to Charlotte in hopes that the weather would abate by our return. (This also meant we would be starting our run well after 8pm, but I suppose this can't hurt since all my Nationals races take place at or near my normal bedtime.) Our strategy paid off, and we were able to get in a short Freedom Park loop sans rain. Tuesday was more wogging, only this time at McAlpine with Jenna and Maraya. I've got one final big workout tomorrow, so I took today extra easy in preparation.

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Harrisburg Riverfront

AM: 6 miles
PM: 29 mins. + strides (4 miles)

I was supposed to meet Caitlin at the Dowd to run at 6am. I didn't. I suck at life. Instead, Jenna came over at 6:30 and we got in a quick six before hitting the road.

Aaaaand nine hours later, we arrived at our interim destination: Harrisburg, PA. To my pleasant surprise, the city had a lovely riverfront area and downtown. Fortunately our hotel was located adjacent to both, which meant we had some viable options both for our shakeout run and for our subsequent dinner.


Me, Alex, Jenna, Jess, Patricia, Holly, Simon on the evening run.
Photo courtesy of Maraya.

After spending literally all day in the car, I expected my legs to feel like mush on the run. Instead they actually felt fresh, quite possibly the best of the week, and I could've easily gone farther if tomorrow's race weren't looming in my mind. Instead, I cut the run at four miles, went up to the room to grab my spikes, and indulged in some strides on the grass near the river. The air was cool, the sun was setting, the water was calm. I'm not saying I'm booking my vacation to Harrisburg any time soon (although did I mention that the Hershey factory is just down the road?), but as far as road trip stopovers go it wasn't half bad.


Me feeling artsy with my spikes.


Harrisburg sunset underneath the bridge

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Best Long Run. Ever.

1 hour 29 mins.
13 miles

You know those runs where everything just clicks? The pace feels comfortable, your legs are fresh, and perhaps you even have good conversation as a bonus? Against all odds, this turned out to be one of those runs. I say "against all odds" because the volume and intensity of this week logically suggested that today's long run would be a slow slog-fest. Instead, it was simultaneously uptempo and relaxed without involving any additional effort.

The best part, and yet another element that makes runs like this so rare, is that for the first time I can remember (and I have a good memory), we held together a solid group of girls for almost the entire run. Tanya, Jess, Maraya, Jenna, Pezz, Holly and myself cleaved together from the outset and somehow managed to stay together for a solid 11 miles. This NEVER happens. But despite seeing consistent splits of 6:55 to 7:05 after a 7:30 opening mile, no one fell off or dropped back. Perhaps it was because no one really "raced" this weekend, or because the weather was so gorgeous, or maybe it was just a pack mentality after the first few miles--whatever the reason, I was digging it.

In an effort to capitalize on the rare speediness of this run, I decided to pick up the pace the final few minutes and see how my legs would respond. I closed the last 1.5 in 9:15 with a 6:05 final mile, a pace I don't think I've ever touched in a long run before (and did I mention I have a good memory?). Now, the purpose of this whole entry isn't to brag about how fast I am, but rather to illustrate how much more beneficial (and, as an added bonus, more enjoyable) a run like this can be when a solid crew is involved. Though it would be naive to hope for a replica of this experience next week, I think it's realistic to aim for another quality group effort.

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A Little Help From My Friends

AM: 3 miles
PM: 3 mile w/u + strides
Target: 16x400 w/90 sec. rest @5k pace (80) or faster; hammer #11 and #15
Actual: 76, 80, 80, 79, 77, 76, 75, 75, 74, 74, 71, 75, 74, 74, 70, 75
2 mile c/d
Total: 9 miles

After running almost all of my recent track workouts solo, I'd all but forgotten what a difference it makes to have a solid group on the track together. Somehow the stars aligned and we were able to assemble an all-star cast for today's shape cutting: Tanya, Pezz, Maraya, Holly, Jess and myself. Maraya and Holly would only be running 8-12 intervals but the rest of us were stepping up to 16. Having not run this many 400s in quite a while, I was both apprehensive and excited to see what I could do. Judging from the warmup, I didn't think anything special was in store. My legs felt decent, but it was quite cold and very windy outside, making it almost impossible to get the blood flowing. I did my best to push that out of my mind and just focus on the workout.

With that in mind, you can understand why I panicked a bit when I saw the split for my first interval. The times for #2-5 reflect me fighting to keep the pace from getting out of control; the rest of the workout reflects me throwing my reservations out the window and just going for it. I cannot stress how much it helped to have the other girls out there at the same time. There was always someone in front of me who I could chase, and always someone behind me who I was trying to fend off. In between intervals we encouraged each other and rallied for the next go. When all was said and done, each of us agreed we had a much better workout together than we would have on our own. Even the wind seemed less bothersome than usual. Every way you look at it, this workout brought out the best in us.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I threw on my spikes for the last four intervals. Believe it or not, I haven't worn spikes in almost a year--I even wore flats in my recent 5k and 3k at the Armory--but I'm planning to bust them out at Nationals. With only 10 days until the race, it's probably time for me to start adjusting to them. I'm pretty sure my calves will be less than thrilled with me tomorrow.

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More Manhattan Shenanigans

AM: 48 mins. (~6.5 miles)
PM: Travel

A mere 12 hours after my race, I was out the door with Maraya and Simmons to enjoy a recovery run in Central Park. We had the option to run on our own this morning in case some people preferred the treadmill, but I'm 0 for 3 in outdoor runs since arriving here and was dying of cabin fever. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of taking the subway to Central Park instead of running there--the sidewalks were mostly plowed and vehicle traffic was at a minimum, but we weren't counting on that--which meant that our transit time nearly eclipsed our run time. I'm against that in principle but I knew Simmons and Maraya weren't looking to get in more than 30-45 minutes au pied, so I took one for the team and obliged them.


20 inches later, this is what Central Park looks like...

Once we arrived at the park via Columbus Circle, it was readily apparent that even the native New Yorkers had been itching to get back outside. Throngs of runners, cyclists, dog walkers, and even a few cross-country skiers and snowshoe-ists paraded up and down the park's main thoroughfares. Someone (likely many someones) did a stellar job of plowing the main paved loop, and since our beloved bridle path was impassible we were relegated to the roads throughout this jaunt. Simmons turned back after about 15 minutes but Maraya and I completed an entire loop, gradually picking up the pace as the minutes ticked by. My legs felt fine today--too fine, actually, for having just raced, which is yet another indicator that I didn't perform up to par last night--and I would've been perfectly content to run another loop in the midst of the park's snowy wonderland had time allowed. But, alas, the hotel checkout and a promised brunch with Mad & Co. awaited me back at the Affinia, so I begrudgingly returned home with the other two.

It ended up being worth it an hour later when Madeleine, her brother Tom, Becky and myself sat down for brunch at the iconic Tick Tock Diner in Midtown. Tell me anywhere else in New York where you can enjoy a stack of carrot cake pancakes with cream cheese frosting and a cup of coffee for under 10 dollars. Go on, I dare you. That's what I thought. To steal a recap from Mad's blog (which I cannot link you to because she is super important and thus shares her musings only with the privileged few): "The food was great, the carrot cake pancakes were magical. Conversation was awesome, ranging from the predictable but oh-so-delicious Craig Lake bashing, to my fabulous cousin Patrick who lives in Soho and has a ram coat, to my brother's plans to have a spectacular hair cut by his stylist, Robert, all while having a glass of wine or two. It was great. I think we may have scared Meagan and Becky. Anyway, it was a great brunch. And we made Meagan late. Oops."


Mad, Becky and me eagerly awaiting our tasty treats

No harm no foul on making me late, as the Queens team still arrived at the airport with two hours to spare (somewhere the elder Nedlos are beaming with pride). Another fun, crazy, unpredictable, one-of-a-kind weekend in NYC is successfully in the books.

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NYU FastTrack Invitational 3k

AM: 3 miles
PM: 2 mile w/u + strides
3k race in 9:58
2 mile c/d
Total: 6.5-7 miles

Despite being pummeled with what would later be described as the "4th biggest snow in NYC in 141 years," the NYU FastTrack Invitational proceeded as scheduled today. I arrived at the Armory around 2pm with the QU crew and was surprised at the number of athletes who'd braved the storm to show up to the meet. There were a few scratches in each event, but overall there were plenty of bodies to fill out the fields.

Unfortunately for me, the 3000 was scheduled as the second-to-last event of the meet. This meant I probably wouldn't be racing until around 9pm, which most of you know is dangerously close to my bedtime. I could've stayed at the hotel this afternoon and ventured to the Armory later in the day, but there's only so much E! News that one person can watch and still feel good about herself. Plus, I wanted to support my teammates in their last-chance attempts to qualify for Nationals.

First up was Simon in the mile. When we were here three weeks ago he ran 4:09.24, just an eyelash away from the auto time of 4:09.00, and he needed to dip below that standard to punch his ticket to ABQ. He ran brilliantly and crossed the line in 4:07.6, a huge PR and well within the qualifying standards. Maraya followed next in the women's 800. She won her heat with ease, but the pace lagged too much at the start; her 2:18 was about five seconds shy of what she needed. Nelson, on the other hand, absolutely rocked his 800; his time of 1:52.5 is half a second short of the auto time but should put him high enough on the list to ensure his trip to the big meet.

Slowly but surely the hours and minutes ticked away, and by 8pm it was finally time for me to warm up. Maraya had offered (read: been instructed by Simmons) to pace me through the mile, which meant I had a companion for my warmup in the hallway. Yes, that's right, I ran two miles in the hallway. For the first time since I've been to the Armory, running outside was simply not an option. Finally, just before 9, it was go time. I was seeded in the faster of the two heats, and my plan was to pass through the mile at 5:15 or faster and then go from there. Seeing as I've never run a mile in 5:15 before I wasn't sure how that would feel, but I suppose it's always good to have a plan.

From the gun, I could tell things felt a bit off. I got stuck behind a few slowpokes on the first several laps, which meant by 800 meters in I was way off the back of the leader. Maraya, bless her heart, had never paced anyone before and didn't realize that the pacer is supposed to run in front of the pace-ee. Instead, she sort of danced around me in lane 2, not really slowing the pace but not pushing it either. Ultimately her legs would be too fatigued from her earlier race to make it to the mile; I think she dropped out around 1k. I definitely appreciated her effort regardless of the outcome though.

At this point, I should mention that I had no idea what the pace was. The race officials and the announcer did a crappy job of calling out times at any of the sensible markers (e.g., 1k, mile, 2k, etc.). I also learned afterward that the jumbo-tron time was also off--apparently they hadn't started the clock until we were halfway through our first lap, which meant the time it showed was 20 seconds faster than we were actually running. So the clock was telling me one thing but I could hear Simmons yelling out something different, which made for a very bizarre overall race experience. It didn't help that I was behind the leader but a good 10 seconds ahead of the next person, so I essentially ran in no-man's land for the entire race. Not ideal, but I'm not one for excuses either; I should've been able to lock into pace regardless. Actually, I did lock into pace...just not the pace I wanted to run. Apparently I came through the mile in 5:17 (a PR! Woohoo!) and then locked into 80-point for the rest of the race. The leader started coming back with about three laps to go, and I did my best to gain on her, but in the end I needed one more lap to reel her in. I finished in 9:58, well short of my goal of 9:50.

In looking at the positives, I set a substantial 3k PR and ran 25 seconds faster than the 3k at ETSU last month. I also finished 8 seconds faster than I went through the 3k in my 5k several weeks ago. And let's not forget that mile PR either. I also feel good about how easily I locked into 40-second laps; if I have someone to run with, I'm confident I can maintain that pace for 5k. I should also mention that Madeleine braved downed trees and power lines and Becky gave up part of her rare snow day to come cheer me on! So, all in all, this race wasn't a total wash. It's just frustrating because I know where my fitness is right now and I don't think this effort was an accurate representation of that. Let's hope I can make up for it at Nationals.


Simon and Nelson rabbiting the last race of the evening, the men's 5k.
Futsum would go on to win in 14:35, while Alex set a PR of 14:51.

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A Tree Falls in Brooklyn

AM: 6.5-7 miles
PM: 20 mins (2.5 miles) + strength



Wow, I don't even know where to begin with today, except to say that I'm officially done complaining about the conditions in Charlotte. That's because I have an entirely new weather system to lament: the storm of the century in NYC! That's right, we left Charlotte today to return to NYC for another Armory meet, only to find ourselves in the midst of a full-on blizzard. I know you're probably thinking, "But she's from the South. Any amount of snow would seem like a blizzard to her." Perhaps, but when the mayor holds a press conference to announce that every school, university, library, museum and department store in the tri-state area is closed on Friday...well, that's when you know it's kind of a big deal. At this point I'm not even sure if the meet will go on tomorrow; and if it does, I'm not sure who all will show up. Oh, and did I mention that a man died in Central Park today when a snowy tree branch fell on his head?? Scary stuff. Needless to say, my afternoon shakeout took place within the confines of the hotel fitness center.


Me, Maraya and Futsum in the limo from the airport. Baller.

The one silver lining to today's snow-laden clouds was the wonderful coincidence of Jordan's dad and Roger being in the city for the weekend. Even better, their hotel was just a five minute taxi ride from my weekend home, the Affinia Manhattan, which made getting to them super easy. (As an added bonus, I found a stray umbrella in the taxi on the way over, which will no doubt serve me well for the rest of the weekend.) Due to the inclement weather, we opted to stay at the Sheraton and dine in the hotel lobby bar instead of venturing outside. It was great to spend a few hours hanging out with them and swapping stories about their darling son. Now it's time to get some rest and hope all goes as planned tomorrow!


The view from our hotel room

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Probably Not My Smartest Idea

50 mins. (6.5 miles)
2 mile walk

When I woke up this morning my hip felt noticeably better than the previous day. This made me happy, since I didn't want to miss out on yet another run at Moses Cone while everyone else did their long runs. Originally I was also supposed to go long, but at this point I would take anything as opposed to sitting it out yet again. Plus, it was an absolutely gorgeous day--sunny, slightly cool, and a touch less humid than in previous days.

The run started out at a conservative pace around Bass Lake with Jess, Jenna, Holly and Maraya (an incoming freshman), then halfway around the lake we took one of the side trails that would wind gradually up the mountain. They had plans to run all the way up to the fire tower, while I was hoping to make it up to the Manor with Jess before turning around. The trail is literally uphill the entire way until you choose to turn around, gaining altitude all the while, so the 8-minute pace we managed going up felt harder than the watch would suggest. My hip felt okay but not great going up, and every few steps I would feel a twinge of discomfort. Probably not good.


Gorgeous view of the Manor from Bass Lake

After stopping to stretch and admire the view at the Manor, Jess and I turned around to begin the descent back to the lake. Aaand that's when the level of discomfort increased from around a 2 to, oh I'd say about a 6-7. The downhill was way worse than the uphill, which I suppose I could've conjectured ahead of time, but of course stupid me refused to be patient. Oh well. Decided to walk a few loops around the lake when I returned, with the combined intention of keeping my hip loose and killing time while everyone else finished their runs. Oh, and to snap a few pictures.


Bass Lake scenery--could be a postcard.

I should probably take a few days off when I get back to Charlotte.

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