Track is Wack...sort of

So after this Saturday's pitiful run, I'm dead set on making up for it this week. Thus, my second trip to Tufts for Tuesday Night Track. What more could you ask for than running around a track in circles for an hour and a half? The workout consisted of 10 800s at 5k pace with 200 meter recovery. Brutal. Since I was running with Steph and Jeff, and they are dead-set on running a sub-4 hour marathon, this meant we'd have to finish our 800s in 4 or under. Jeff and Steph are really strong runners and it's clear that all of Steph's track appearances have been paying off. By our 7th set, I was ready to call it quits. But then Jeff reminded me why I was running and told me to suck it up. So I did my best to finish strong. He took off like lightening for the last two sets and I did my best to keep up. On the final 800 I finished strong, with a 3:45. Not too shabby. The only thing that got me through the workout was having company, and a running (no pun intended) commentary from Jeff about everything from motivational quotes, what he was planning on cooking/eating, his desire to kiss some girls along the marathon course (Note: Jeff loves his wife and new baby girl dearly), and what songs he was "playing" in his head at the moment. I believe last nights mix involved the 80s hit "right round," some Madonna, and "Hells Bells". Whatever that is (I was born in the 80s, hello). So even though track is not fun, I'm going to keep showing up in the hopes that it leads to a sub-4 hour victory on marathon monday.

MMMMM Salty

So after a little spring break it's back to running and blogging...After monsoon season struck Boston, and I was forced to run 14 miles on a treadmill instead of outside, I headed south to the equator in the hopes that the warm weather would inspire me to run. It did not. I had convinced myself that I would run at least twice while I was in Aruba but it did not happen. Even after I saw tons of athletic-looking individuals running up and down the beach. 90 degree temperatures made me just want to lay on a raft in the middle of the ocean, not run 5 miles a day. Epic failure.

When I headed back to Boston on Thursday night I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing weather that had suddenly arrived and I was really excited to get back into training. Friday I took it easy with a little 3 mile warm up run, not wanting to overdo it before our long group run on Saturday morning. The goal was 18 miles out and back from Wellesley to BC. I was all peppy and dressed in my Dana-Farber shirt and hat because they were taping us on our run. Note to self: do not wear a black hat, black shorts, and a t-shirt with a tank top under it when it's 70 degrees outside and you're running hills. Stephanie and I started out strong and the first few miles we ran at a 9 minute mile pace. But as soon as we turned onto Comm Ave I started to feel sluggish. I told Stephanie to go ahead and I started to lag behind and was forced to turn on my music, even though I told myself I would try to run without it. At each water stop I took off one of my layers--first the hat, then the tank top, and finally at mile 9, the turnaround, I had to ditch the Dana-Farber shirt. I was feeling BAD. And now here I was, running in just a sports bra and shorts and looking (and feeling) like crap.

With every hill I ran down, I felt worse and worse. My legs were cramping, my stomach was churning, and I thought I was going to pace out. I have never felt this bad on a run, nor have I ever just stopped running. But here I was, only to mile 12, and I had to walk for a few minutes. Marcy tried to convince me to "listen to my body" and stop running altogether and get a ride back from the water stop, but I was stubborn. I convinced myself that I could make it back to Wellesley, at least to the last water stop. I kept telling myself, only 3 more miles. Just make it there. When I passed the firestation at the end of Comm Ave, I had to ask the fireman who was outside washing the firetrucks to spray my head down with cold water. He took pity on me, thankfully. The cool water helped for a little while, and I managed to keep stumbling along, but the minute I hit Grossman's Hill I tanked. Here I was, crying and walking up this hill, just praying the water stop was around the corner. Once I got over the hill I told myself RUN. Grasso. Just run, you have to. I tried. I failed. I tried I failed. When I finally got to the stop I knew it was over. I had to ask for a ride back to the health club.

It didn't bother me so much that I felt like I'd been hit by a truck, or that my pace was as slow as molasses, it was the fact that I couldn't finish my run and meet my goal. There is only one long run left, next saturday, and it's a 22-miler on the same course. If I couldn't finish 18, how am I going to do 22?

I talked to Jack, our team guru/trainer, after the run and expressed my frustration. He told me that I am always a consistent runner and to not get down on myself about this run. In fact, after examining me and seeing that I was covered in a fine layer of salt he suggested that my issue was that I was sweating/leaching out too much salt during the run, and that my body was shutting down as a result. No amount of gatorade at the water stops was going to replenish my body with the amount of salt I was losing so I was getting dehydrated. He suggested I invest in some tasty bullion cubes of salt and pop a few of them over the course of the run, particularly on those hot days. Yummy. Nothing I like to do more than eat a giant cube of salt while I'm running.

Now I've had a few days to think about it. I realize I really shouldn't have expected I could make it all the way to marathon day without having a run that just did not go well. How can you expect to just kill every run when you're training over a 5 month period? It's unrealistic. We're pushing our body to the limits. I just need to focus on why I'm running. So I'm attaching this picture to remind myself. This photo was taken at the In-Memory dinner a few weeks ago and it's of me and Joey's family. I've been emailing with his mother and every time I open one it only inspires me more. She is SO supportive and positive, and I cannot wait until Marathon weekend and the Pasta Party when I can sit down with Joey's family and my own family and friends and get ready for what will certainly be one of the best days of my life. There is less than a month left until April 19th and I cannot wait to see what the rest of March and April brings!

Oh, and keep your fingers crossed that Marathon Monday is NOT 70 degrees, because I don't know if the firemen are going to be out there washing the trucks again and I really don't feel like throwing my singlet out into the crowd.

Sunshine!

I contemplated calling this blog entry "Caitlin and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," because this weekends 20 miler (my longest run by far) was horrible. Even though it was so beautiful outside and I ran a really strong run (finished in 3 hours and 3 minutes) I felt awful the entire time. I ran with Stephanie, Jeff, and our new convert, Kim, this week. They were all running really strong and were all in really good moods. I, however, was just not feeling it. The run was all hills, and I felt sick to my stomach the entire time. According to those runners who saw me, I had a grimace on my face the entire time. The only thing that got me through was my iPod and a desire to reach my goal of 20 miles. I told myself that as long as I stuck with my group I could do it. When I finally finished, I couldn't even bask in the post-run glow/runners high. I just wanted to go home and down a few gatorades.

I know I cant expect to have a great run every time, but being 6 weeks away from the marathon makes me kind of nervous. I can only imagine how bad I'm going to feel after 26.2. OH well, it's a new week, and I'm hoping this good weather continues and it improves my mood and my running!

Under the Weather

Literally. The weather in Boston has been drab/bleak/awful for the past week or two and I'm beginning to feel the effects. A majority of my runs have taken place on the treadmill, which I loathe.

Quick update on last week: Total miles ran=38. I made my first trip to Tuesday Night Track...all I can say is running in circles for 45 minutes is not my idea of a good time. We did 4 sets of 4x400 meters, with 200 meter rest laps in between. All my 400s were under 2 minutes. That is a pretty good pace, and more or less puts me at a projected marathon pace of under 9 (if I can keep that speed up). I ran with a group of 4 and it was nice to have others setting the pace with me, and making some conversation because we weren't running with music. I definitely cannot make 26.2 miles with some kind of musical motivation though.

As for my long run this week, it felt great despite the weather. One minute we were running in an inch of snow with white out conditions and the next minute it was sunny and warm and the snow had disappeared. The run was out on the Minuteman trail out in Lexington and ended up running out to Arlington, back through Lexington to Bedford, and then back to Lexington again. I decided to do the full distance, of 17, and I ran it at a pretty fast pace. A majority of my splits were 15-45 seconds faster than my average (maybe because the trail is completely flat). Towards the end I was running 8:45s, but by mile 15 that was back down to 9:15. Felt so good about it though and rewarded myself with a heaping plate of scrambled eggs and fries. Followed by an entire small pizza.

This week is sadly not off to a good start. I managed to get sick again on Sunday and have yet to run. Today is my busiest class day so I'm going to try and brave the gym tonight because I'm starting to feel better. Gotta try and save up some energy for the 20 miler on Saturday. Just gotta remember, slow and steady wins the race.