Week in Review

85 miles
3 doubles
4 days in Raleigh
15-mile long run
6x10 mins. core

Without question, the highlights of this week were the Saturday and Sunday long(er) runs with friends. On Saturday I covered 15 miles in Raleigh's Umstead Park with Michelle (and Thomas, although he could only hang with us ladies for a five-mile loop before heading back home for ambiguous reasons). Umstead is one of the hilliest, toughest places I've ever run (the fact that they host a 100-miler here boggles my mind) but it's also one of the most beautiful. I'll deal with the hills any day in exchange for the seemingly endless miles of wide, soft carriage roads, ample tree cover and breathtaking vistas. Upon finishing the run, Michelle and I returned home and were greeted by the popping of a champagne bottle--thus, the double-fisting of post-run Nuun and pre-brunch mimosas commenced simultaneously. It was a beautiful thing.

This was consumed during our brunch. A lot of it. Do yourself a favor and get up in some.

Speaking of beautiful, I couldn't have asked for better weather (okay, so maybe a tad warmer and a touch less windy) for my Sunday run. After an inspiring morning watched Team USA more than hold their own at World XC, Jordan and I suited up and drove to the Nahant Beach parking lot to meet Emily for some easy miles. Over the next 90 minutes we took in stunning ocean views and even managed to explore an uncharted (to us) area of the Nahant peninsula. Despite my heavy legs from yesterday's mountainous run, I gladly soaked up every minute on my feet this morning.

Our backdrop for much of this morning's run.

It's difficult for me to close this post without mentioning an exciting new running/racing/life development that just unfolded over the past few days, but at the same time it's so freaking awesome that it merits its own post. And so, I'll keep you in suspense for a little bit until I have time to write a proper blog. But trust me, it's legit.

To be continued...

Read More

Week in Review

88 miles
4 doubles
6x10 mins. core
4 days in Texas
3 days with Brookelet

What a great week! It started with an early morning farewell run with Caitlin, progressed to absolutely gorgeous shorts-and-t-shirt morning runs with Allison in Austin, then culminated with my bestie Brooke coming to visit for her 30th birthday. Her rock star husband Lance earned huge brownie points by planning the entire thing as a surprise, including a dinner party in the North End on Saturday night that included Brooke's parents and brother and sis-in-law. Fortunately I did not spill the (Boston baked) beans in advance and everything went off without a hitch. Somehow I also found time during the weekend to participate in the Salem 10-mile race and an oceanfront 13-miler around Nahant with Emily. So many of my favorite people in such a short time frame--I love it!

Ready to hit the town--and stay up past 10pm!--with Brooke on Saturday night

 

 

Read More

Week in Review

87 miles
3 doubles
5 states (MA, NY, NJ, CT, PA) 
20+ mile long run
5 AFDs

Despite a lackluster race and hectic week of traveling, I still managed to salvage my mileage thanks to an epic Nahant run with Jordan on Sunday. Last time I traversed this loop was on Easter with Jordan and Emily, and I was so beat afterwards I swore I was sticking to two-hour long runs for the foreseeable future. At the time I didn't realize the foreseeable future would involve punishing myself for a craptastic 10k performance, so away I went! Fortunately it was an absolutely stunning, gorgeous morning, and though my spirits flagged when Jordan powered away over the final four miles, I felt much more spry finishing up the run (and throughout the rest of the day!) than on the last go around.

Speaking of Jordan, and in another stunning development, he is blogging again! Well, sort of. I wouldn't get your hopes up that this will last, but in an attempt to help him regain some of his disgruntled former fans I'll throw him a link. Plus, I'm lazy and would rather have this offer you an insight into what I've been doing than actually writing about what I've been doing. In a less stunning development, Jordan has a mullet. Lucky me.


So what's on tap for next week? No traveling, no races, just training and hanging out with Weezy. Oh, and potentially buying a condo. What, you thought I could have a normal, laid-back week for once? Silly you.

Read More

Week in Review

95 miles
4 doubles
20+ mile long run
2 runs in Boston
4 AFDs

Happy Easter and Passover and whatever else you may be celebrating! Today Jordan and I observed Easter by running long (too long!) around Nahant and back with Emily, eating a delicious brunch, taking a nap, then later being treated to a traditional Korean BBQ dinner at our friend/coworker ST's place. It was a fun way to cap off a solid week of training, though Sunday's looooong run combined with a lackluster tempo on Saturday left me fatigued enough to realize that I need to take it a bit easy if I have hopes of performing well at the BAA 5k next Sunday. (And by "performing well" I mean running a fast time and road PR--with plenty of speedy American and international runners in the field, I could very likely go sub-17 and still not finish sub-17 in the placing!) Regardless of how the race goes, Emily and I have agreed that it will be a great rustbuster and opportunity to participate in the marathon weekend festivities without the whole silly "running 26 miles" business. I'm beyond excited for a weekend filled with friends, running, parties, more running, more friends--and, of course, lots of sweet Karhu action. If you're coming to the expo, make sure you stop by for our ribbon cutting and autograph signing with Karhu's own 1972 Boston Marathon champion, Olavi Suomalainen. Hope to see you there!

Read More

Week in Review

94 miles
2 doubles
10.5 mile Boston tempo
20 mile long run
4 AFDs

Even as I type this, I'm shocked that I was able to run almost 95 miles this week. The intensity of my work schedule and the resultant non-running-related exhaustion should've rendered serious training almost impossible, but somehow I got it done. For future, that simply means that barring injury or illness there are no excuses for not putting in the miles!

Admittedly, a substantial long run helps. I ran over 35 miles on Saturday and Sunday alone, which bumps up the total mileage number significantly. However, even more important than the number of miles run this weekend was the company I enjoyed them with. After a great workout with Emily and Teresa on Saturday, they agreed to reciprocate by driving up to Marblehead for the Sunday long run. The three of us plus our trusty queenmaker JSK embarked on a glorious jaunt that took us from the fort, through downtown Marblehead, all the way down Atlantic Ave., along the Swampscott boardwalk, and to the island of Nahant. Jordan and I ran around Nahant with Huub about six weeks ago and have been looking to come back ever since. Today we traversed a similar loop as that first time, admiring the gorgeous ocean views and equally gorgeous ocean view homes, before returning back home the way we came. The pace naturally picked up on the return trip with the wind at our backs, and before long Jordan and Emily had separated from Teresa and me. Though it seemed like we were plodding along due to the distance between us and the other two, in reality we were probably cruising along at 6:45 pace for most of the final miles. This was Teresa's longest run ever and she was definitely feeling it toward the end, but we hung tough and tried to enjoy the scenery as much as possible. It was great to have the opportunity to show the city folk our quaint little New England hamlet, and as we meet more BAA members I envision massive group runs (and possibly sleepovers??) taking place right here at the fort. A girl can dream.

With another quality week behind me, I'll start Monday off less than auspiciously by missing my morning run. I have a 7:20am flight and am simply not hardcore enough to wake up at 4:00. Fortunately after landing in Austin I'll finish the day in Ft. Worth, Texas, home to my horny toad alma mater and some of my favorite soft surface running trails. Come Wednesday I'll be joined in Austin by Jordan and Huub and a few hundred of our favorite industry colleagues at The Running Event, a massive trade show/reunion that I look forward to attending every year. On Friday morning we'll compete in the Indie 5k, arguably the most hotly contested free prizeless race in the country. Last year I ran 17:29 on the rolling course and was the fifth overall woman, if that gives you an idea of the quality and depth of the field. Currently knee deep in marathon training and having not raced a 5k in many months, I have no idea how I'll fare, but I'd be pretty pleased with anything in the 17:20 range. If nothing else, it will be one workout that doesn't require Jordan to do all the heavy lifting! Overall I'm looking forward to the trip and the opportunity to put in some soft surface miles with friends in both Ft. Worth and Austin. Giddyup!

Read More

First Massachusetts Long Run

1 hour 57 mins. (15-15.5 miles)

For our first Saturday in Massachusetts, Jordan and I had big plans. For starters, it was move-in day at our new place. This meant we'd finally be able to unload Felix (the Jetta Sportwagon) after a week of Jordan craning his head and muttering "I can't see anything" and me wringing my hands nervously every time he tried to change lanes. I'm sure my boss, Huub, who has been acting as our hotel proprietor and pancake maker for the entire week, was also excited at this prospect. But before we left Chez Valkenburg, he offered to take us on a running tour of his favorite long run route to and around the nearby peninsula of Nahant. Though I traditionally do my long runs on Sundays, I couldn't think of any reason not to move it up a day this week. After all, I'd only worked out once and it was already several days ago, so why not run long a day early and facilitate better recovery leading up to next Tuesday's workout? I was game.

After several days of seemingly incessant rain and fog, Saturday dawned beautiful and crystal clear if a tad breezy. We slept in past sunup for the first time all week, not stepping outside with Huub until after 8am. Though Huub rarely runs more than an hour at a time, he was confident he could survive the entire run albeit at a restrained pace. Since we had no idea where we were going, the plan was to hang back with him to and around the peninsula, which should take about 75 minutes, at which point we were free to rev the engines for the return trip. We began the run by turning right on Atlantic--which, not coincidentally, borders the Atlantic--and hitting the pavement toward Swampscott. The unfortunate name of this seaside town belies how picturesque and truly lovely it actually is, particularly on a stunning autumn morning such as this one. Tons of people were out walking, running, riding their bikes and otherwise embracing physical activity with the cascading surf as their backdrop. For the entire run out approaching Nahant, we were faced by a stiff cheek-flapping headwind which would've made maintaining a respectable pace rather futile, so I didn't mind tucking in behind Jordan and moseying along at Huub's speed. When we turned left on the causeway to the peninsula the gusts intensified, but once we entered the refuge of Nahant the conditions improved measurably. By an hour into the run I was itching to drop the pace, but every time we approached an intersection or fork I had to wait for Huub's guidance, so eventually I just fell back in step with the boys.

Once we turned back onto the main causeway, our return route apparent, Jordan and I made our move. The 20-mph wind which had previously been buffeting our every step now acted like a jetpack strapped to our backs. Organically the pace dropped almost two minutes per mile, and before I knew it I found myself running near marathon pace with little strain. I couldn't help but be reminded of the 2011 Boston Marathon, which boasted similar conditions, and found myself jealous of all those who'd taken advantage of the opportunity to run screaming fast times on that day. It's no stretch of the imagination to envision that conditions would've been ripe for a huge PR.

Jordan and I finished the run with Huub not too far behind, then spent a few minutes doing some stretching and core in the basement fitness center. After showers, breakfast crepes and some freshly made espresso it was time for Jordan and I to head over to our new home at the fort! For those of you who don't know, we've acquired a seasonal rental through the end of May overlooking the harbor near the grounds of historic Fort Sewall, a public landmark that represents the easternmost point in Marblehead. In fact, we learned upon meeting the owners yesterday that the original part of our house used to be the fort caretaker's cottage. Our place is furnished (with another family's belongings, which is sort of weird but unarguably convenient), and offers some of the most stunning ocean views I've ever seen. I must admit that typing this right now while overlooking boats bobbing in the harbor waters does seem a bit surreal but I'm certainly not complaining. We're lucky to call this place our home for the next few months while we seek something more permanent. And I've heard that watching storms from here is amazing! Check out a few photos while we try to get settled in.


Driving up to our new home, the square one right on the water


I took this photo from our dining room window. True story.


Our nice, big living room with doors opening into the two guest
bedrooms. Ocean views from both! Come visit!


"Our" fort, Fort Sewall

Read More