(Down) Week in Review

81-82 miles
3 doubles
15-mile long run
2 AFDs

Nothing to see here. Cut it back due to work constraints and the general need for a break in mileage, but ended up with a little bit more than expected without realizing it. Hey, if it felt like enough of a reprieve, then it was! My Friday-Sunday mileage is probably what bumped up the totals due to Jon G. being in town. Jordan and I accompanied him on a Friday morning tempo + evening double, then dragged him around the Neck with Emily for his prescribed 15-miler on Sunday. 

Now that it's finally/already September, it's time for me to get serious. I might actually, you know, start doing some workouts and perhaps try to get in shape. I'll kick things off with a 7k race on Labor Day (guaranteed to be a PR, since I'm pretty sure I've never heard of, much less participated in, a 7k) before hitting the track for some light intervals on Wednesday and then teaming up with Sarah for something frisky in Central Park on Saturday. Let's get after it!

Read More

(Down) Week in Review

76 miles
4 doubles
1 day off
2 races in 48 hours
6 avocados

After four weeks of progressive mileage building, it only made sense to take a step back this week, especially when factoring in two weeknight races. I hadn't planned on taking a day off, but after sleeping in on Friday morning I found myself with exactly zero motivation to run after work. So, I didn't. Instead, I read a book and drank a few glasses of wine and fell asleep at 10pm. It was glorious. I capped off the week with two mid-day 20k runs, Saturday with Emily and Jordan around the Marblehead Neck and Sunday with Jordan through Salem and along the coastline in Beverly. 

Most productive part of the weekend: buying new sheets. Weezy approves.

Next week I plan to return to high-mileage business as usual, although things will start with a whimper thanks to a 6:30am flight tomorrow. Starting off with a Monday morning goose egg will make it all the more challenging to hit triple digits--as will the weather in my destination cities, Atlanta and Nashville, which will likely approach triple digits themselves--but I'm up for it. I can feel myself getting stronger with each passing week, and I'm excited to keep laying the foundation for a great fall season!

Read More

(Triple digit!) Week in Review

101 miles
12 runs
15-mile long run
3 runs in Pittsburgh
9 avocados

For the first time since October, I finally broke the century barrier this week--and actually felt good doing it! Maybe there's something to this whole "gradual progression" business. It helped that the weather was much milder, and that I found a great park and nice rail trail while traveling for work in Pittsburgh mid-week. I punctuated the week with an epic fall on the Lincoln trails at Walden Pond on Sunday, but it was still well worth the time spent with friends and a final run with Terry before he and Carly move later next week.

Speaking of next week, I decided today (possibly in a thirst-induced daze at the end of our challenging trail run) to sign up for the Yankee Homecoming 10 Miler in Newburyport on Tuesday night. I'm definitely not race ready, but the prize money goes four deep and I think/hope it's a bit out of the way for most of the metro area's heavy hitters. This wouldn't be an entirely big deal except for the fact that I'm also committed to the Beverly Yankee Homecoming 5k on Thursday night, a race I won last year which boasts exactly zero prize money but does come with hometown bragging rights. Considering how fatigued and wobbly my legs felt at the end of today's effort, I'll need a miraculous turnaround between now and Tuesday if I want to turn in any halfway respectable times. Either way, next week is sure to bring opportunities for future fitness gains!

Read More

Week in Review

95 miles
5 doubles
1 road race disaster
16-mile long run success
4 AFDs

This week was the ultimate test of mental and physical fortitude, as the relentless heat wave continued to grip the Northeast with absolutely no mercy. The weather finally broke late Saturday night, but until that point every run felt like a death march. 

No more acutely was this emphasized than at Saturday's Seacoast Seven, a road race in Gloucester that I'd scouted online because it was less than 30 minutes from our house and promised prize money (though how much was uncertain, apparently not worth mention on the race web site). But even as Jordan and I warmed up at Stage Fort Park early Saturday morning, I knew it was a bad idea. The mercury was already well past 80 with humidity to match, and the course that was billed online as "challenging" proved to be "hilly as sh@#" within the first 400 meters. I found myself in a comfortable lead that began to grow increasingly less comfortable as the race progressed--sure enough, as I came to a complete standstill at the 4-mile water stop to douse myself, I began to see spots. I had no choice but to take a break for a few minutes and regain my composure, watching helplessly as two other women (one wearing Nike Tempo shorts?!?--shoot me) trotted past. I asked a nearby race official if there were a shortcut back to the finish, having already thrown in the proverbial towel, and was assured there was not. So I started jogging, deciding a few miles later to cross the finish line only because there might be prize money for third place and I might be able to at least win back my entry fee. Fortunately this proved to be true, and though I hardly deserved it I've already deposited the $50 check.

In sharp contrast, Sunday's group long run was an absolute delight. Jordan and I drove to Harvard and met Terry, Emily, Hilary Dionne (2:39 at this year's Boston), Irish Kevin and several other BAA runners for a relaxed jaunt along the river, across the Emerald Necklace, around the Arboretum and back. With the temperature "only" in the upper 70s at midday we were quite comfortable, and despite this being my longest run in months there were only a few sections where I found myself struggling. I may not be getting fit just yet, but I'm slowly getting stronger. For now that's enough.

Read More

Lynn Woods "Long Run"

Emily and I have been meaning to get out to Lynn Woods for quite some time. In particular, I've heard rave reviews from North Shore residents and many of the Thursday night Wicked crew. In fact, at a 4th of July BBQ with said Wicked runners I spent several minutes chatting with my friend Mickel about the possibility of a Saturday morning group run. I passed along the news to Emily, and we agreed to meet up with their crew, at least at the outset so we could discern the lay of the land.

Ah, the best laid plans.

For starters, things derailed when I found out at 7:45am that the Salem contingent was going to the trails at 8:00. Since Emily had already texted me late the previous evening about her disinclination toward an early run, I knew it wasn't going to happen. By the time she woke up and we both got moving, it was slightly past 10am and solidly past 90 degrees outside. But hey, we thought, who cares? We hadn't seen each other in over a month, plus we were both admittedly slow and out of shape, so we were content to meander around and explore the trails for an hour or so without being in any danger of succumbing to the weather's ill effects.

What was that part about best laid plans?

Just as we were about to set off along the main fire road, I encountered a kind gentleman leaving the park who overheard that it was our first visit and offered to give us a trail map. "At least this way you won't get lost!" he said with an ominous (in hindsight) chuckle. I tucked it away into a plastic baggie that was lying around on my floorboard, and off we went. Despite the oppressive heat, we both quickly agreed that the park was beautiful, a perfect mix of wide open fire roads and winding single-track paths. We tried sections of both, all of which at some point seemed to intersect with each other. So when we found ourselves approaching our cars at the 55-minute mark but wanted to add on a few minutes of additional distance, we just assumed that taking a still-unexplored trail just off the main thoroughfare would be a simple solution. At some point it would surely end up back where we'd started.

That line of reasoning came to a dejected, thirsty halt when our "quick add-on trail" deposited us in the back parking lot of a car dealership off Route 1. You wouldn't have to be super familiar with the area to deduce that we were nowhere close to where we needed to be. Instead of panicking, we tiptoed into said dealership, attempting to drink as much water as possible from their cooler whilst not raising too much alarm from the clean-cut salespeople and suburban families who were there enjoying a wholesome Saturday afternoon. With our sweaty, dripping clothes and dirt-caked legs, we looked like some sort of escaped wildlife exhibit. Past the point of self-consciousness about our disheveled state, we approached the receptionist behind the desk and explained where we were trying to go, assisted by the visual aid of our (increasingly useless) map. "Oh, I know where you mean," she said. And then, in response to our crucial follow-up question: "Left. You definitely want to go left."

Armed with this information and a renewed sense of purpose, we set off along the sidewalk adjacent to Route 1, trying to ignore the boiling mid-day sun as it glared down at us. (Looking back, I'm confident I can pinpoint this particular section as the reason why my eyelids were sunburned the next day.) We ran past a steaming car, acrid smoke seething from its engine as it sputtered to the side of the road, and I said optimistically (and, I must admit, with just a hint of smugness), "See, it could always be worse!"

Oh, and could it. I have too much pride and not enough energy to detail the remainder of our misadventure, but I can tell you it included all of the following: another section of trail, another failed attempt to interpret the map (It's all lines and squiggles! Where are the words?? Use your words!) another dead end, another vehicle-related establishment (this time, a garage, where three friendly if not slightly lecherous men offered us ice cold water and yet another set of directions) and, finally, admission of defeat and a life-saving ride back to our vehicles from none other than the family members of the woman with the blown-out car. Honestly, you can't make this stuff up.

Total time elapsed: 2 hours 32 minutes
Total time spent running: 1 hour 46 minutes
Total distance covered: 13 miles max

"Map"of Lynn Woods. You can see Route 1 at the upper left...and where we parked,  Great Woods entrance, down near the bottom right. One could say the two locations are diametric opposites.

Read More

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

90 miles
3 doubles
2 days in DC
3 medium-long runs (15, 14+, 13+)
6x10 mins. core

This week was bookended by several long-ish runs, beginning with a solid 15-miler in DC and culminating with a 1-2 medium-long punch over the weekend. On Saturday, Jordan and I joined our boss, who's training for his first marathon, for one of his early long runs. Despite plenty of hills and wind, he cruised at an 8-minute pace average for over 14 miles (during which I managed to injure myself while vacating a port-a-potty, but that's neither here nor there) and even saved enough energy to make us breakfast and cappuccinos afterward. On Sunday, we joined Emily, Jenn and Justin for another solid effort out at the Battle Road trails. The good news is the snow was almost entirely melted and the trails were quite clear. Unfortunately, we discovered the bad news halfway through the run--one big, open, low-lying section called the Great Meadow was more or less completely flooded. I immediately suggested we turn around, but once Jordan tromped through the first ankle-deep puddle the size of a long jump pit we all reluctantly followed. We finished the run looking like we'd survived one of those extreme obstacle races instead of just an easy 90 minutes, but even I had to admit the adventure was a lot of fun.

Showing Dad the "secret" monument on Teddy's Island

 

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

Half-Marathon Boot Camp: Workout #3, or "30k For Emily's 30th"

Target: 30 min. easy, 30 min. tempo, 30 min. steady, 10x30 secs. hard for 30k total
Actual: 35 min. easy, 30 min. tempo @6 min. pace, 30 min. jogging around looking for Terry, 30 min. steady @~6:20 pace, 5 min. easy for 30k total

For her 30th birthday, Emily wanted to do something epic. Or, at minimum, epically symbolic. So after her initial plan of running the entire Boston course was scrapped due to, well, common sense, we enlisted Jordan to come up with something long and challenging but still fun and manageable, all in honor of the milestone of entering one's 30th year of life on this earth. He came up with the target workout above, which looked daunting enough on paper (especially considering it would be my longest run since Philly and my third workout in six days). Fortunately, Emily recruited others to join and help dissipate the suffering, including her former college teammate Christina and a rare joint appearance of Carly and Terry (made possible by Emily's mom, in town for the b-day celebration, virtually leaping at the chance to play surrogate grandmother for a few hours).

The group assembled at Emily's just after 9am, eager to get the run underway and even more eager to finish it up so we could return to a brunch feast that Emily's husband Matt had been slaving away over all morning. In fact, the toughest part of the run was forcing ourselves out the door with the tantalizing scent of fresh coffee and rising frittata wafting down the hallway behind us. Once out the door, however, we fell into a relaxed rhythm on the bike path in the direction of the arboretum. I'd never run there before, and in hindsight I'm glad that was the case, because if I'd known in advance how hilly it was I probably never would've agreed to run the entire tempo portion there. But from a logistical perspective it made perfect sense, since we could all work out at our own appropriate paces and still start and finish together. We prepared to pick it up, agreeing to meet back at our starting point 30 minutes later, and then set off to tackle what would be the toughest part of the run (even more difficult than leaving the kitchen behind, as it turned out). Almost immediately our group split into three natural pairings: myself and Jordan, Emily and Carly, Terry and Christina. As the two most unfamiliar with the territory, Jordan and I made a few wrong turns and came to a few dead ends before settling into a reliable loop, and as a result somehow ended up running the opposite direction as everyone else. This actually ended up being helpful for me, as I knew that every few minutes I would pass Carly and Emily, then Terry and Christina, and no matter how badly I was hurting I couldn't allow myself to get completely dropped at the risk of embarrassing myself in front of them. (That said, my increasingly pained facial expressions couldn't have done much in the way of making a good impression). Our pace fluctuated wildly, dictated by the undulating terrain, and every time we trudged up one particularly grueling hill I felt sure that  mile couldn't be faster than eight minutes. These are the times when I'm glad I don't wear a Garmin. Sometimes it's better not to know.

Somehow, I kept it together for 30 minutes, and shortly after finishing we were rejoined by Carly and Emily. Certain that Terry and Christina were close behind--after all, I'd just seen them less than 10 minutes prior--we dawdled around a bit near our meeting point, finally starting to jog in the direction from which we'd come after standing around became unbearably cold. Fully expecting to see them approaching at any minute, none of us were initially alarmed, but as the minutes ticked by it became clear that they simply weren't there. While I wasn't necessarily worried, I was definitely perplexed. If I know one truth to be constant, it is that Terry never, ever deviates from a plan. If we said to meet back in 30 minutes, he'd be there at 29:55 with a detailed mile-by-mile itinerary for the rest of our run. And yet, inexplicably, he wasn't there.

After another few miles of jogging around the arboretum, we agreed that the only logical explanation was that they'd somehow, for some reason, decided to forego the meeting and head back to Emily's. (Perhaps they were hoping to get a jump on the brunch buffet.) We'd already been on our feet for over 90 minutes and were growing more chilled with each step, so the only logical course of action was for us to do the same. Carly, clearly worried, began to pick up the pace. ("I hope he didn't have a heart attack," she said at one point, only half joking. I resisted the urge to respond with, "Don't worry; we would've heard the ambulance." Somehow I doubted that would provide much comfort.) Before I knew it, we'd crested the two-hour mark and were running uncomfortably close to my previous tempo pace--fortunately on a flat bike path this time, but my legs didn't seem to register much appreciation of this nuance.

Finally, mercifully, the run came to an end, and with it the discovery of nothing but good news: 30k was surpassed, Terry was fine (and somehow hadn't even heard the original "meet back in 30 minutes" plan), none of us received a parking ticket and at long last it was time to eat our collective body weight in brunch. Happy birthday, Emily!  

Read More

Week in Review, or "That Time I Ate a Donut in the Middle of a Long Run"

85 miles
3 doubles
3 runs in Boston
3 runs with Emily

This post could've just as easily been titled "That Time I Ran 386 Laps Around the Harvard Parking Lot with the BAA," or "That Time Emily and I Found Out We Aren't As Out of Shape as We Thought." All three of these monikers are equally accurate, and all three effectively comprise the main takeaways from this week's key runs:

Sunday morning: 15-15.5 miles easy on the Boston Marathon course from Cleveland Circle with the BAA ladies (plus Jordan). About an hour into the run, the group had splintered into a handful of different groups, leaving Jordan and Emily and I standing in front of a Dunkin' Donuts somewhere in Newton. What can I say? Nature took its course, and the next thing I know the three of us were passing around a dense, gooey, double chocolatey frostedy donut while still running. It may have gotten a little messy, but no worse than when I clumsily try to rip open a gel packet during a race (and far tastier). Heartbreak Hill didn't stand a chance thanks to the ensuing sugar rush.

Saturday morning: ~13 mile progression run with a huge BAA crew around...the Harvard parking lot. Or, technically, the "Sheatock loop," so named for (or by, or both) the BAA's fearless leaders Carly and Terry. Given that the river path wasn't remotely frozen I'm still unclear as to why we insisted on spinning like an army of deranged hamsters around a 1200-meter loop, but at any rate the company was worth it.

Wednesday night:   
2 mile w/u
Target: 6x1000 w/1:30 jog @3:35 (5:45/mile pace); 4x500 @faster w/1:30 jog
Actual: 6x1000 @3:33, 3:31, 3:25, 3:26, 3:24, 3:21; 4x500 @1:39, 1:41, 1:38, 1:39
1.5 mile c/d
Total: 8.5 miles

Jordan pulled Emily and I through this workout on the Sheatock loop, and I think it's safe to say all of us were pleasantly surprised at how well it went considering we were basically dodging cars in the dark in the middle of a glorified parking lot. Excluding a baby fartlek last week I haven't worked out in over a month, and as per usual Emily claimed to be "terribly out of shape" after an extended trip home for the holidays. Fortunately we were able to average 5:30-5:40 pace on the 1000's with relative ease; only when I transitioned into the 500's at the end did I feel the telltale ragged breathing and burning legs that signify a dip into uncomfortably difficult territory. During one of our recovery jogs, Emily made me vow to hold her accountable and guilt her into working out for the remainder of the winter. It's always worth it once we're out here, she added. Tonight was a great start.     

Read More

Meagan Nedlo's Long-Overdue Blog Post, Meta Edition

Meagan Nedlo’s Long-Overdue Blog Post, Meta Edition

Interviewed by Jon Gugala

Meagan Nedlo: Hello?

Jon Gugala: What’s up?

MN: What’s up.

JG: Hey, so why haven’t you updated your blog?

MN: Wait, are we doing this right now? I haven’t updated because I’m lazy, I think. Also, busy. But primarily lazy.

JG: Do you not have anything to say?

MN: Do I not have anything to say? I have lots to say. Actually—

JG: Why haven’t you said them then?

MN: Well, there’s really not much to say, running-wise. I mean, if people want to hear what I got for Christmas . . .

JG: What’s going on with running?

MN: Oh, well, I just got back into running this week a little bit more consistently. Actually, I’ve been tracking my mileage, so I hit 75 this past week, and I’m looking at a schedule for the spring.

JG: And you think no one wants to hear about that?

MN: Well, other than that, I’ve really just been doing enough hot yoga to stave off obesity long enough to get through the holidays, and I don’t know how much there is to write about that.

JG: OK, but there’s also another accomplishment: You fit into your dress for your friend’s wedding.

MN: It was a Christmas miracle, yes.

JG: Christmas miracle, black dress.

MN: Yeah, there was a clasp at the top that was a little touch-and-go throughout the night, but the zipper did stay zipped, and that’s really all that matters.

Confirmation of the successful zipping. Oh yeah, and Caitlin looks decent too.

Further proof: from the front.

JG: Yes. So it’s a new year. What’s on your race calendar?

MN: The first race I’m going to do is the Mercedes Half Marathon in February in Alabama. Two years ago I ran that marathon and qualified for the Trials, and then last year I ran the half and won it. So it’s obviously a special event to me, and so I’m going to go back.

Actually, last year, when I won the half, it was so cold—the coldest race I’ve ever run—that they interviewed me right after the finish, and my mouth was frozen to the point where I couldn’t talk. And it was quite embarrassing. And when the interview was over, I was relieved that hopefully it wouldn’t be shown in the news, or at least that none of my family would see it. And then the newswoman told me that it was live.

Are my arms up? I wouldn't know. I can't feel them.

JG: Well, at least you had good Craft-brand baselayer, right, since you work for Craft?

MN: I did have the Craft baselayer—not that I could have enunciated that if she had asked me. But hopefully they could just see it on my shirt.

JG: So was your Craft baselayer not working then?

MN: Well, I didn’t say that my core was cold. I didn’t have the baselayer in my mouth, so . . .

JG: OK, fair enough. So, that’s your first race back. What else is there?

MN: See, I told you it’s not that exciting.

JG: Let’s go back to why you haven’t updated your blog.

MN: Because I was with my parents for Christmas, and they just recently upgraded from dial-up internet, so it’s not necessarily the most reliable. I still don’t think they have Wi-Fi.

JG: So that’s what you’re going to blame it on.

MN: And then the power went out on Christmas, because we got snow in Texas. That’s reason number two.

JG: How’s your workout mule, a.k.a. boyfriend, Jordan Kinley?

MN: Healthy, so that also is a Christmas miracle. I’m actually going to work out tomorrow [Wednesday, January 9] with my friend Emily, who lives in Boston, runs for the B.A.A., and Jordan might drag us through as Queen-maker, as he is accustomed to doing. Maybe I’ll write an update about that.

JG: What’s the workout?

MN: I don’t know yet. There’s some people working out at Harvard on the indoor track, but that’s an injury waiting to happen for me. So I’ll just run outside where it’s slippery and snowy. Pick your battles, I guess.

JG: Yeah. What else is there? There was something else.

MN: Are you typing this right now?

JG: No. I’m recording it, though.

MN: It sounds like you’re a court reporter in the background.

JG: Yeah, you didn’t . . . What was I . . . [Bad word]. I had another question . . . [Very bad word]. Nope, it’s gone.

MN: Was it about my workout?

JG: No.

MN: Harvard?

JG: Oh, yeah, you didn’t talk about running with Abbey D'Agostino [a junior at Dartmouth, and fifth at the 2012 Olympic Team Trials 5,000-meters] in your blog, have you?

MN: Oh, yeah. No, because I haven’t blogged since then, really.

JG: So you’re working out with Abbey D'Agostino.

MN: Yes. So by proxy, I should probably be at 15:30 shape right now [for 5,000m].

I met her at this cross country race the day after Thanksgiving, and it turns out she’s from a town right next to where I live, and she was home for six weeks for the break, which sounds like a long time, but I guess these Ivy League schools are a little lax with their time off.

She was home and we got to run together a lot during the week. I’m only 10 years older than her; I think she only called me “Ma’am” once or twice.

JG: That’s good.

MN: We’re totally, like, peers.

JG: So you can credit your 2013 campaign to Abbey D'Agostino.

MN: Yes, exactly.

JG: Are you guys Facebook friends?

MN: We are.

JG: How long have you been Facebook friends?

MN: With Abbey D'Agostino? [JG: Notice how you can never just call her by her first or last name, but always together.]

JG: Yes.

MN: Well, if we met the day after Thanksgiving, probably since the day after the day after Thanksgiving. I’m not, like, a creepy stalker.

JG: Do you follow her on Twitter?

MN: No, is she on Twitter?

JG: I don’t know.

MN: I just recently learned how to tweet, so following people in itself is still something that I’m getting caught up on. I think I have 100 people that I follow. How many people do you follow? Like, 1000?

JG: I try to keep the follower/follow ratio lopsided, so I like to go five or six to one. So I think I follow 150 people maybe. You always want more people following you than you want to follow, because that way you feel better about yourself.

MN: Yeah, I’ll have to look into that.

JG: So what would you want to say, how do you want to close to all your blog followers?

MN: So, to my dad? Well, I would like to say that I’m healthy [and] I’m apparently not too fat, since I was able to fit into the dress. Although I haven’t had much excitement to report in the last month, I think that 2013 is going to be a good year. And a skinny year, more importantly.

-

Jon Gugala is a freelance writer based in Santa Cruz, California. His writing has appeared in Runner’s World, IAAF.org, and elsewhere. He’s on Twitter (https://twitter.com/JonGugala), as is Meagan Nedlo (https://twitter.com/KarhuKinLo). Unfortunately, Abbey D'Agostino is not.

Read More

#conradical Week in Review

50-51 miles
14-mile long run with Emily
90 minutes of hot yoga
5 AFDs

Despite the fact that I still only logged half as many miles as a "normal" week, I do feel like I got my life back on track to a reasonable degree. As it turns out, barely running affords plenty of time for luxuries like stretching, core work and even yoga, all of which have been vigorously performed with the goal of zipping up my bridesmaid dress for Caitlin's wedding a mere two weeks from now.

Though everything about it runs contrary to the objectives I just outlined, I will admit that I had a great time at the #conradical pub crawl hosted by Terry and Carly on behalf of the BAA on Saturday. It was pretty #conradical to see everyone in civilian attire as opposed to sweaty running clothes. (As a result, I only recognized 1/3 of the faces I spoke to.) On a related note, apparently it takes more than six people with a collective total of 1000 Twitter followers to generate enough momentum for something like #conradical to start trending. But, rest assured, not for lack of trying.

OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I LOST 50 POUNDS ON THE #CONRADICAL DIET! 




Still nothing? Damn.

Read More

Eight By Mile By Moonlight

2.5 mile w/u
Target: 8xmile w/1 min. rest: 2x5:50, 2x5:40,2x5:35, 2x5:30
Actual: 5:47, 5:48, 5:38, 5:39, 5:37, 5:36, 5:34, 5:32
0.5 mile c/d
Total: 11 miles

Actually, there wasn't much moonlight. I just liked the alliteration. In reality, this evening was just as drizzly and cloudy and gloomy as the handful that have preceded it. The only bright spot was a metaphorical one, the opportunity to work out with a strong contingent of BAA ladies. For the first time in many months, I made the trek down to Harvard for the Wednesday night workout and ended up being incredibly glad I did. This lengthy but not particularly fast workout, which looked benign enough on paper, ended up being a bit of a grind. I suppose that mentally I was flashing back to the last time I did mile repeats on this track, a cool spring evening almost six months ago when I'd clicked off six repeats with two minutes rest and averaged around 5:20. Never mind that I'd been at the peak of my spring fitness and running significantly less weekly volume; in my mind, running just two more intervals at a significantly slower pace should be a breeze.

In summary: it wasn't. But with a little help from my friends, I got through it.

For the first two intervals, I jumped in with a group that was running 1200 repeats. Unsure of what 5:50 pace was supposed to feel like, I tucked in at the back of the pack and hoped we would settle into a rhythm. Instead our first few laps were all over the place, resulting in me overcompensating and inadvertently splitting an 81 last lap to ultimately finish ahead of schedule in 5:47. That may not have been the smartest move on my part, but I reasoned that I'd rather be a few seconds ahead than a few seconds behind. (Easy to say at that point.) Emily and Hilary--the girl who gave me a good throttling at 13.1 Boston a few weeks ago--entered the workout at the start of the third interval and immediately picked up the pace. For the next several repeats I found myself a good 20 meters behind Emily with Hilary equidistant between us, but fortunately there were plenty of other girls around to help me settle in and not get discouraged. I was quickly learning that the term "one minute recovery" was somewhat of an oxymoron, and as we progressed through the workout like clockwork my legs grew increasingly heavy.

By this point, the track was almost completely dark save for the ambient light spilling over from the adjacent soccer fields. (Apparently one of the richest institutions in the country does not have an endowment dedicated to lighting its outdoor track facilities, or at the very least its track alums are not as beneficent as its soccer alums.) Most of the other girls had departed for their cooldown, leaving just Emily, Hilary and myself with the always trusty Terry holding the stopwatch. Unlike the previous intervals, I actually led off for the first lap of this one and stuck close to the girls until they pulled away on the final straightaway. Hilary, less than two weeks removed from her goal marathon, was finished at this point--as were my legs. Had Emily suggested bagging the final repeat I would've struggled to find a reason to demur, but instead I found myself to agreeing to trade off leading each lap. Both of us were obviously laboring--myself clearly more so--but when your training partner is putting forth such a team effort there's really no justification for giving up. 

Overall, I'm pleased with completing the workout but a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to achieve the desired progression. My average was probably right on, but instead of overachieving on the first half it would've been nice to feel strong clicking off low- or sub-5:30s through the second half. Regardless, I have no doubt I'll reap tangible fitness gains from both the pace and volume of this workout.

Read More

Battle Road Long Run/Fartlek

60 mins. easy
60 mins. w/1x 1 min. hard; 2x2 mins.; 3x3; 4x4; 3x3; 2x2; 1x1 all with 1 min. rest
5 mins. easy
Total: 18 miles

For the third day in a row, I awoke to cool, dreary weather. Emily and I had plans to meet at Battle Road, but the second I stepped outside and saw how hard it was raining I immediately longed to be back under the covers enjoying a rare lazy Sunday morning. Instead, I steeled my resolve and began the 30-minute drive toward Lexington. No sooner had I flipped on my wipers and inched out of the parking lot than I received a plaintive text from Emily: "Have you left yet??" If she'd reached me five minutes earlier things might have turned out differently; instead, the two of us met as planned and resolved to enjoy some social time together despite the inclement conditions. The next hour passed quickly and with little effort, but the entire time I was mindful of the hard running to come. Since Emily had tempoed the previous day she just planned to go 10 easy, so we reluctantly parted ways at the 60-minute mark.

One aspect of marathon training that I really want to focus on this segment is running hard and fast while tired. Anyone should be able to hit marathon pace or faster after a light warmup, but that won't really be of much help when you're two hours deep on race day. Today, though the first hour of running had flown by easily, its effects were instantly palpable once I embarked upon the faster segments. Despite the weekend's incessant rain the trail was mostly dry, but as the run progressed and the rain intensified yet again it became necessary for me to incorporate some modified steeplechase water pit tactics. All a part of the training stimulus, I suppose. Though I never felt great or even good during this workout, I executed it to the letter and continued to push despite the temptation and freedom to do otherwise. Count it a success!

Read More

Solo Progression Run

2 mile w/u
Target: 12 mile progression: 3@ 6:30, 3@ 6:15, 3@6:00, 3@ faster
Actual: ~3@ 19:10; ~2.5 @15:03; ~2.5@ 14:26; ~3@ 17:30; bonus fast finish to the stoplight at the top of the hill by Salem State @3:38
1.5 mile c/d
Total: 15 miles

I considered doing this workout yesterday evening since Emily made plans to come up to Salem and run with me for a change of scenery. However, in general I prefer working out (especially marathon workouts) in the morning, so by Tuesday afternoon I was already hoping that she would agree to a more relaxed social run instead. Fortunately she was on the same page (no doubt running a whopping 28 miles on Monday played into her decision-making process) so we enjoyed a fun 13-mile frolic through the Marblehead rail trail, around the Neck and back. Though this run was at least twice as far as I usually go on my typical evening double, it was totally worth it for the company and the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the Atlantic.

In contrast, Wednesday morning dawned gray and dreary and decidedly solo. With Jordan's hip bugging him, my one chance of having a weekday morning workout buddy had instantly evaporated. As I trotted down toward the trail, retracing in reverse the return trip Emily and I had taken a mere 12 hours prior, I knew this lengthy progression run would be just as much a test of mental fortitude as it would be physical strength. Fortunately/unfortunately, with no Garmin and no specific mile or distance markers the endeavor would be largely effort-based. I decided to mentally and physically break up the route into four separate segments: the largely unpaved and slightly downhill section from the trailhead to the Neck, two paved and rolling loops of the Neck itself (minus the "lollipop" add-on to the lighthouse that Emily and I had tacked on the previous evening) and then the return trip, now slightly uphill and into the wind, from the Neck back to the termination of the trail. Normally that would also signal the end of the hard effort, but Jordan had also instructed me to run the next half-mile uphill section from the end of the trail to the next major street crossing hard. "Like, really really hard." If I had anything left, that is.

Based on feel, I might have gone out slightly too fast. 6:30 is sort of an ambiguous pace for my legs, one that sounds like it should be difficult but usually ends up feeling quite easy. As a result, in situations like this when I don't have any feedback on the pace, it usually means I end up running faster than prescribed. I didn't necessarily mind since my legs were feeling pretty good, but at the same time in the back of my head I knew that the faster I ran on the way out, the faster I would be required to run on the return trip. Nonetheless, I reached the Neck eager to pick up the pace and increase my level of effort. Thanks to its constantly rolling terrain, that happened quickly enough. Again, I maintained control knowing I was expected to run the second loop faster despite the accumulated fatigue. With only a general knowledge of distance and pace any time goals were somewhat arbitrary, but I set a target on the second loop of finishing at least 30 seconds faster than the first loop of 15:03. Satisfied to see a 14:26 split on the watch, I knew the toughest running was yet to come. Not only would I be headed into a headwind across the causeway, but I would also be running gradually uphill for the majority of the return trip. It would've been easy to get discouraged as my comfort zone quickly evaporated, but the minutes ticked by quicker than expected and I held on to finish strong all the way to the top of the hill.

To be honest, this wasn't nearly as bad (or as boring) as I'd anticipated. Mentally breaking the workout up into four sections made the time fly, and not feeling pressure to hit exact splits allowed me to lose myself completely in the effort. As my marathon training progresses, I look forward to revisiting this workout and seeing some tangible improvements. 

Read More

(New Record High!) Week in Review

107 miles
11 runs
15-mile long run
1 hour yoga
7 days/nights at home

With a significantly less hectic work schedule, no travel and my previously detailed abundance of sleep, it was actually quite easy to hit this week's unexpectedly record-setting mileage total. Winning a few bucks was a much-appreciated bonus, as was capping off the week with some enjoyable miles and even more enjoyable social time along the Charles with Emily and a strong BAA contingent--including a special guest appearance by Teresa, back from her Fulbright fellowship in Mumbai for a brief sojourn. The air is crisp, the leaves are beginning to change and pumpkin-flavored products are in abundance: it's officially autumn in New England!

Not only am I lucky enough to enjoy this famously beautiful and temperate season, but I'm also fortunate to be embarking on my marathon-specific training at the same time. The past three weeks' half-marathon trifecta established a baseline for this incipient phase of my race preparation, and by all accounts I'd say I'm feeling pretty good about where things stand. The most important thing is that after a summer of unprecedented (for me) high mileage, I'm feeling 100% healthy and remarkably fresh as opposed to banged up or worn down. This is likely due to taking several strategic down weeks, banking some much-needed sleep (have I mentioned that already?) and not having really gone to the well with any grueling workouts or long runs. In fact, true "long" runs have been all but nonexistent save for an impromptu 20-miler with Brett and Jordan during my first high-mileage week way back in June. With only eight weeks remaining until Philly, it's time to start incorporating a smattering of 18-22 milers--ideally with some of those miles at marathon pace--into my training regimen, along with, you know, some sort of structured workout routine. Honestly though, I don't think it will take anything drastic to round me into race shape provided I can continue to stay healthy and strong.

While Philly stands as the end goal, I will have several interim opportunities to test my fitness. The first will be Army 10 Miler, exactly one month from now and one month from the marathon. Last year, recently removed from injury, I ran this race "for fun" with Caitlin and pleasantly surprised myself with a 58:55 clocking. Seeing as I split 59:00 through 10 miles in last weekend's half-marathon, I've obviously got higher hopes for this year's edition. In fact, I've set the ambitious if somewhat arbitrary goal of running 57:00, or just under 5:45 place, which has a realistic chance of placing me as the first non-African (which again is completely arbitrary seeing as there's no prize money or specific award designation either way). The next week I'll be in Dallas working and running yet another 13.1 event. Last year I just eeked under 1:20 at this race (including an unplanned but absolutely necessary bathroom detour) and really enjoyed the relatively flat, fast course. This year the event will fall three weeks before Philly and I'm hoping to run 1:16:30 or faster. Not only would that be a much-needed half PR but it would also boost my confidence with the knowledge that I could split a full three minutes slower through the half at Philly and still achieve my marathon goal.

So, there you have it: a goal, a plan, a checklist to keep me on track along the way. It sounds overly simplistic, but then I've never been one who believed marathon training to be complicated. I trust the process, I trust my body, and I go to bed tonight excited to wake up early and begin the next phase of this journey.

Read More

Second Verse, Same As the First

2 mile w/u
Target: 5.5 miles @6:00-5:55 pace; 6 min. jog/rest; 5.5 miles @5:55-5:50 pace
Actual: 5.5 miles @32:30ish; 6 min. jog/rest; 2.5 miles @14:40ish
3+ mile c/d
Total: 14 miles

Two weekends ago, fresh off an extended trip to the left coast and a restless redeye flight, I dragged Jordan down to the Charles to join Jenn, Emily and some BAA dudes for what was intended to be a 12-mile tempo effort. Due to my general state of exhaustion and a gravely necessary bathroom break, that workout ended up morphing into something slightly less intense and significantly less impressive. This morning, with Jenn already planning to maintain a faster pace (5:50 was advertised as opposed to 6:00 like the previous run), I knew that even without a built-in jet lag excuse I wouldn't be able to hang on for 12 miles faster than my half-marathon PR. Instead, I planned to stop at essentially the same location where I made my bathroom detour last time, as this was almost exactly at 5.5 miles and would thus allow for a delightfully long recovery segment before the group turned around and caught back up with me. Hopefully by that time I'd feel refreshed enough to tuck in and tough it out for the remainder of the workout.

Within a few minutes of starting the warmup, however, I could tell the conditions would be adversarial. Unlike the cool, calm, overcast morning that greeted us several weekends ago, today the already-prominent sun radiated a dense, sticky heat. A warm wind whipped off the water, making it immediately obvious that we'd have to battle its gusts for several miles of both halves of the u-shaped run route. Don't get me wrong; things could've been much worse. In fact, for any purpose other than attempting a hard workout it was by all measures a beautiful morning. But these were hardly the weather conditions I'd pick to race a half-marathon, which is essentially what we'd be doing. 

As 8:00 approached, so did a trickle of runners to our meeting point from virtually every direction. By go time there were almost a dozen of us, mostly the usual suspects and including our favorite baby daddy Terry Shea. On his suggestion, I joined him and Emily for a 15-second head start on the group. Quite simply, neither she nor I wanted (or really needed) to hit 5:50 pace right out of the gate on a run of this length, especially since she was contemplating extending even farther beyond 12 miles. Instead Terry led us out in a calm, comfortable 6:05-6:10 (not sure the exact split as I intentionally avoided glancing at my watch) at which point we were absorbed by the chase group as planned. From that point onward I focused on settling in and locking my eyes on Jordan's back just as I've done countless times before. Jenn was situated at my left and seemed quite comfortable, but I could hear Emily breathing harder than normal just behind me. It clearly wasn't a fitness issue, seeing as she crushed me in the original workout two weeks ago, but for whatever reason I could tell that she was struggling to find her rhythm. The miles clicked by, and before I knew it we rounded the bridge that signaled the approach of the 5.5 marker. I slowed and trotted to the side as planned and was not entirely surprised when Em did the same. It wasn't her day and she knew it, so rather than force the issue she was content to jog with me for a few minutes and then shut things down. Emily is smarter about listening to her body than almost any runner I know, so I didn't question her decision. (Though I would definitely miss her company on the second half!) 

I shuffled along for a few more minutes until I could see the group approaching in the distance. At that point it was time for me to refocus and, unlike in the first segment, commit to pushing past my comfort zone. My breathing to that point had been surprisingly calm and relaxed but my legs were heavy. (As well they should have been, as I'd already logged over 90 miles since Monday.) I felt sure of my ability to lock into 6-minute pace or even 5:55, but if Jordan stepped on the gas like last time I'd be toast. Steady as clockwork, the group materialized around the bend behind me and I seamlessly fell in line. This time it was Jenn whose breathing sounded increasingly ragged, and every step we took into the wind seemed to sap a bit more of her strength. I, too, began to fall off the boys but was still maintaining some semblance of the intended pace, so when Jenn and a few others decided to stop at eight miles I continued onward for a few more uncomfortable minutes. I tried to stay focused on the backs of the guys in front of me (even as those backs grew increasingly more distant), but after one more mile I knew I was almost in the red. The heat, the wind, the dead legs--it was all too much to allow me to finish the entire distance feeling as strong and confident as I'd hoped. Instead I waited for Jenn to approach so we could commiserate and cool down side by side. It wasn't our best workout ever, but that certainly doesn't discount the effort or the fitness gains attained.

Read More