WEEK 8: 30 miles including DH Jones 10-miler (Amherst, MA)

Previous week miles: 30 miles
Monday: Strength Circuit + TM x 5miles easy + Core express with Acea
Tuesday: 10 miles TM (2 x 5 miles with a small break in between (stomach issues); did hills x 8 and 1/2miles pickups x 3); a struggle but i feel better now...
Wednesday: power out most of the morning; core + stretch. Good day to have off.
Thursday: Circuit Madness, 3.5 miles TM (1 each at HMP/10KP/ 5KP) + Spin with Acea; TIRED Legs
Friday, 5am: Spin with Ramona +core; pretty darn tired...
Saturday: 1.5 mile, dynamic warmup/short hills
Sunday: DH JONES 10-MILER, Amherst, MA; 1:20:24 (my watch from startline- 8:02 pace)
Miles this week: 30

Another week where my legs got really tired by the end of it. Actually throughout, but nutrition wasn't great and sleep wasn't great. Need to work on that- it does make a big difference.

So the race today... I was actually truly  nervous because I didn't want last week to be a fluke!  Luckily I found someone to go with and Ramona and Bob picked me up on the way. Lots more fun when you have people to wait around with. We did get there pretty early because Bob had to register- it's really not far from my house and there's a Whole Foods!!! woo-hoo! So we did a lot of sitting around, obsessing on what exactly to wear, and then warmed up (couple pee stops too, of course). My goal was to come close to my time last week even though the hills were supposedly going to be a lot harder...so my "out loud" goal was 1:20...my "in my head" goal was less than 1:20- did I really think I could throw in a couple more 7:30's after being soooo surprised about last weeks results? yes I did...silly girl. Mile 2 was 7:30 (downhill)...that's about it. (I'll get there in time, patience hasn't ever been a strong character trait for me! :)) Bib #55...another double number...i like it.

There were a lot of people at this race and I just kinda jumped in mid-pack for the start....was a little worried the first mile would be a 9 min/mile with all the people chatting away around me, but I got way over to the side and passed alot of people on the very first hill and hit Mile 1 at 8 flat. Whew. The second mile was 7:30...and then the hills started. Not what I would call rolling hills like last week...HILLS. But then down hills too so I held to the 8 min/mile pace ok. Finally passed an 8 year old at mile 6...didn't think I'd ever catch him! The race was a BLUR. All of a sudden the mile 6 marker was there...holy crap. Then mile 8...oh bye bye little 8 year old...drats. I can only hope he is a future olympic champion (Jason Beaver, 7:56 pace).

I guess I was losing it a little bit here, but no whining in my head like last week. I had been warned that mile 9 had a hill. Well I thought I had made it up the mile 9 hill and then looked at the right turn and at another hill! That one killed me. Mid hill- I hit the mile 9 marker right around 1:12- 8 minutes to the finish. There was a very nice girl who obviously had finished EONS ago cheering everyone up the hill-  thank you skinny, fast, wench...just kidding, i wish I had seen her after to say thanks (yah, because I would walk up to a complete stranger and say something! HAHAHHAHA).

OK, so I made it over and then it's all downhill from there with a weird spin around the parking lot to the finish. By my watch- which I started when I crossed the start line said 1:20:24 (20 seconds slower than last week).  Not bad.  I'm happy with that- i really died on that last hill so I'm lucky it didn't get into 1:21...Gun time was 1:20:39.  I waited around for Ramona and Bob because I knew they weren't far behind and we headed inside to see who won and if they had a soda. The only time she drinks soda too!! I had some tightness in Left Hammy (surprise) and Right quad, but nothing serious and feel fine now.

Inside we saw that the finish was a pretty close one and must have been exciting- then i could see how the the finish in the parking lot would be cool. Of course I was hoping our local guy, Justin Fyffe (50:58/5:06), had won, but he got beat by 5 seconds by a guy from CT (Brendan Callahan). Another Keene guy was third, Mark Miller (51:49/5:11), and Greg Hammett (54:09/5:25), 16th.  Heidi Westover from Walpole finished first for the females (57:58/5:47pace- jeez).  I don't know what all their expectations were, but that's AWESOME!! No soda, so we headed out pretty quick to find a convenience store and head home.

All and all a good day and I am still stunned by how fast the miles seemed to go by- better than struggling for each one.  Some stomach issues now (a couple brief scares during the race) and I'm not sure if it was the swig of gatorade or the Clif shot (I usually use GU). I'm going to stick with GU and water from now on, because one of those 2 things is causing some serious cramping right now and I am scared to go to the grocery store. But this is why I test these things out before the half marathon! :)

This week: Stick to what I've been doing. I'm already looking forward to a long run next weekend 15-17, ahhhh its going to be glorious....get outside as much as possible and keep it short on the treadmill if possible. Recheck nutrition (wish I could go to the grocery store) and GET SOME SLEEP! Don't lose focus now! :)

Next up: THREE WEEKS TIL New Bedford Half Marathon...sub 1:50 should be a breeze if I hit mile 10 at 1:20!!! ("Out-loud" goal ;))

Next 10-mile race will be a trail race (April 10th)- my first ever, so no time goal- not falling down is the goal! Hopefully my friend Dave Sontag will be healthy and motivated enough to join me on that one! ;)

In the future I need to get a road 10-miler under that 80 minute mark for sure.  I kinda can't believe I'm a solid 8 minute miler!  BUSTING MY ASS TO GET MID-PACK!   WOO-HOO! (maybe I should change the name of the blog?! lol)   It's a process...and I love it!

I found some pics online...coming up the last hill and me and Ramona joging back to our car! HAHA

I forgot to take a pic of the three of us at todays race...but I got a pic emailed to me of Nick at the meet in NYC this week....he's the white kid on the far right... pretty cool...

WEEK 7: 30 miles including Foxboro 10-miler Race

Previous week miles: 35 miles
Sunday: active recovery ride on bike trainer x 30 min + core + upper strength at home
Monday, 5am: 5 mile TM easy + Plyopower class
Tuesday, 7am: TM Speed Ladder to 10 miles; Kind of a struggle I'm not gonna lie! PM ICE BATH!
Wednesday, 10am: knew it wasnt going to be a good day when i woke with sciatic pain down left side...Core + Elliptical x 20minutes, some TM but not enough to count. oh well, back at it tomrrow. Got a date with the FOAM ROLLER tonite!
Thursday, 10:30am: Strength Circuit, 3 miles TM (1 each at HMP/10KP/ 5KP), + Spin with Acea (intervals)
Friday, 5am: Spin with Ramona (cadence/endurance) +core; LEGS ARE REALLY REALLY TIRED...couldn't do all the sprints
Saturday: Dynamic warm-ups + 2 miles/strides
Sunday: FOXBORO 10-MILER; Goal 85ish????  RESULT: 80:02 my watch from start line/80:18 guntime
Miles this week: 30

Well the week ended well!  The week itself was ok.  I was a little nervous about how tired my legs were getting but I guess I backed off enough when necessary and still got in 30 miles that includes the race.  The cross training is key.  SO the race went way better than I thought it would.  First of all I stayed at my brothers where I sleep with BOOMER!  A 90 pound yellow lab who is so cute but snores and hogs the bed (good thing I'm not married, heh?).  So i didn't sleep great (even for me), but I guess I am used to it.  I had forgotten to bring a sleep aid tablet. 

Anyway, I got to Foxboro (about 10 minutes from John and Sue's) and my bid number was 199.  I thought that just had to be a good thing.  I was way early of course, but actually did some warming up and the start was 1/2 mile from registration, so that was good too.  It started a few minutes late and somehow I seeded myself WAY back- I have to get better at that.  The gun went off- without a warning scaring a bunch of us -haha. And so it began...

It was a really nice day- the wind in our backs for the first couple miles (knew that would bite us in the ass later).  Rolling hills pretty much until mile 8 which I LOVE.  I really like powering up the hillls (but in a relxaed way) and then picking up my turnover on the downhill.  I don't know if that's what you are supposed to do but it was working for me.  I could catch my breath and really get comfortable on the hills more so than flats.  My first mile was 8:40ish and I thought, oh crap- same 'ol.  But with each successive mile I shaved off some seconds and finally was hitting the mile markers at 8 minutes or even less.  The miles were all marked well and someone yelling out a time almost at each one- thank you!  Faltered a little at 7.5 miles - like why would I want to do this again next sunday...why is the back of my entire left leg numb....and other whining blah blah blah...but as we got to mile 9 - hello wind in our face-  I had only been pased by 7-8 people (1 female).  A guy I had been playing tag with earlier, and i thought i finally lost, blew by me at 9mile - I didn't have the kick he had - drats.  I think my last 2 miles were solid 8 minute miles into the wind, but felt slower, wish i could remember the splits.  I was working but still feeling ok- well maybe not if you had asked me at the time, I kinda recall thinking I felt like crap but that's not what i'll focus on!  I turned the corner for the finish and there was BOOMER and John, Sue, and Hailey!  I came in at 1:20:18 (my watch had 1:20:02 because I started it when i hit the start line).  Good thing they came early-  I told them 85-90 minutes! :) 

My left side still has sciatic stuff after 7 miles but I'll work on it, I should know how....:) NO STOMACH issues! WOO-HOO!!!!  I'm happy.  I never thought I would be able to string together 8 minute miles let alone do one!  I still clearly remember not being able to run to the end of Timberline Road in Colorado -and when I finally could do a mile it was a good 12 minutes!  OH AND I usually grab some recovery food/drink and take off, but they were doing a raffle and I just had a feeling....yep..."199"...got an asics long sleeve shirt! :)  lol  Ended the day at Whole Foods Market for a treat and Old Navy for some pants that fit.

Some silly stats:  18th F (30-39) of 68; the first 2 females were in this category; 37th female overall (of 178); 184 of 484 runners. 

This week will be another game with the weather and making sure I don't over do it.  I am going to try to catch up on Z's tomorrow and skip the early Plyopower class :( but will go in later for a strength circuit and maybe some treadmill easy.  The rest of the week is up in the air.  Excited for next week's 10-miler but almost nervous because I want to do sub-80 now!  This was such a surprise that I almost wish I had saved it till then!  :)Oh well, we'll see if it was a fluke I guess. 

crap, I just realized I made my speedwork a LOT harder! hmmm Something's going right in the process...and I love it!

BOOMER!!! :)

WEEK 6: 35 miles (2/7 - 2/13)

Previous week miles: 40 miles fri to fri ...oops
Sunday: i got nothin but shredded legs...
Monday, 5am: Upper strength, 4 mile Treadmill + Plyopower class
Tuesday, 10am: 10mi roads (mid 6.5 miles Tempo - ugh)
Wednesday, 10am: Core + 4 miles TM easy
Thursday, 11am: Strength Circuit, 2 miles TM with 1/4mile hills (6%), Spin with Acea (intervals)
Friday, 5am: Core + Spin with Ramona (endurance ride)
Saturday: 15 miles roads (4+miles rail trail) (2:18/9:05ish pace- not bad for icy rail trails)

Very encouraging week, maintained mileage volume but do not feel like I over did it.  Taking last weekend off was probably a good thing.  Keeping balanced with spin, core, and plyopower classes, as well as the extra few miles on the treadmill when i don't have daylight is also helpful.  I think having good spin classes thu and fri will be great for my long runs or races on the weekend.  My long run today went really well.  Some of the first half was on rail-trails (4.5 miles) that were somewhat icy in parts and then dirt in others, the way back I ran the road so I could run some rolling hills.  My favorite cows were in their barn so I didn't get to stop and chat with them! :(  I wanted to keep it slow but not painfully so.  I think I attained that and averaged about a 8:45-9:15 pace (saw a 7:50 on a downhill mile ;)); my half marathon split was 2:00:30 (that used to be a race goal! woo-hoo).  So I think it went well- I wasn't struggling and think I could get out some faster miles in a race...that is the point right?!  I was feeling it after 13 miles though- tight left side- hamstring/hip/sciatic, but that should get better as I train into and maintain higher mileage and maybe, oh i don't know, ....STRETCH! duh.  Still don't love the Nike structure traix trail shoes on the roads, but my feet were dry.  Had a GU at 6.5 miles and at 11 with some water and that was it. No stomach issues as of yet....Can't wait for beers tonight with the girls ... 

Still need to work on a warm-up routine  AND  need to get some quality speedwork done on the track- not just treadmill.  Not sure how to schedule this week's workouts with the 10-mile race on Sunday and snow forecasted.  Mileage might end up real low, but I could use an unloading week I guess.  It should all come together...its a process....and i love it!

Indoor State Track Meet, Class I, M, S

Not my running, but running none the less so I'll post it.  I went to the state track meet with my Huskies sunday at Dartmouth.  We have a small, young team, but they have big hearts and work real hard.  We met for treatments at 7am at MRHS, everyone was guardedly loose- I think they were somewhat nervous, but not overly so. I really don't speak unless spoken to in these kinds of situations...  (they might disagree) :)

At the meet the first thing they did was announce the All-State team.  We had 4 athletes selected...Nick, Jenna, and Michaela Athanasopoulos and Jon Hanninen.  Good selection- by far the hardest workers on the team...probably in the state.

Then the meet begins.  There is a lot to be done in a really short period of time and I don't know how they do it. I didn't run sunday, but my heart rate was up for most of the afternoon!  From today's Sentinel (omg they mentioned Monadnock High School sports):

As expected, the local contingent was led by Monadnock juniors Nick Athanasopoulos and Jon Hanninen.

Athanasopoulos won the state title in the 55 hurdles — beating out Hanninen 7.90 seconds to 7.93 — and was second in the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches) and long jump (21-2). Hanninen was also second in the 600 meters (1:25.60) and fifth in the long jump (19-9.75). Both helped the 4x400 relay team place seventh.

A pair of fifth places paced Monadnock’s girls. Michaela Athanasopoulos was fifth in the long jump (15-08.50) and Chelsea Kruse was fifth in the 55 hurdles (8.93).

The dynamics of the Jon and Nick relationship are awesome.  They work hard together and the race mentioned above (55 hurdles) is the one where they really get after it.  Jon complains about Nick hitting him at each hurdle and it's always close.  I was standing a ways down from the finish with some people in front (I get too nervous to actually watch too close) so when they both leaned in at the finish I thought they both fell....I almost puked.  But when i looked again I could tell by Nick's big smile that he had prevailed (by .03); don't worry, Jon was smiling too- just with gritted teeth underneath.  That will be a source of ribbing until spring.  Later, Jon's 600 was phenomenol!  He did end up getting beat at the finish (by like .07 or something ridiculous) but he ran the race so well.  He knows he had a great race and was exhausted.  I wish we had more distance and middle distance runners- those races are fun to watch because they are so tactical.  We had some guys like Spencer make a surprisingly good showing during the 400 relay- lets hope he sticks with it.  Overall, the boys tied for 4th with 42 points.

On the girls team, Chelsea is awesome to watch during hurdles and she is looking forward to the 300 hurdles in the spring.  She's been a little sick/injured and I can't wait for her to get healthy so she can get back to quality training (coach too!).  We have a little work to do in this break before spring, but I am sure she will do well.  She is another hard worker on the team.  The twins (Jenna and Michaela) are always improving.  As freshman they are still finding their niche in the sport, but right now they are good at everything they try.

Like I said this is a young team. I'm glad they will all be here for another year- they are a nice group to be around. Nick has already determined they will win the indoor championship next year and I have to say I am on board with that.  Nick and Jon will compete at New Englands in Boston, March 5th. 

Today, however, is a day of active recovery in the form of "dropping some J's in the gym" (Nick playing basketball) and Jon spinning his legs on the bike.  Chelsea came in for some treatment and we will work on a plan to get her healthy and strong over the next few weeks.  I am excited to watch the spring team....now lets get rid of the snow already!  First home meet is April 9th!

WEEK 5: 30 miles!! (1/31 - 2/6)

Sunday, 1pm: Fitchburg 10k; 50:55 (8:13pace)
Monday, 5am: 3mi TM, Plyopower + upper str.
Tuesday, 9am: 13 miles: Old Westport Rd to Coombs Bridge and back around via Very Brook Rd
Wednesday, 5am: bike trainer 30min + core
Thursday, 8am: strength circuit #7 + TM speedwork= 5 miles in all;
Friday, 5am: Spin (hills with Ramona) + 3 miles
Saturday, 8am: Elliptical (LAZILY); Ice bath!!!
This week: 30 miles

A good week, kind of a lot of miles for me, but hopefully this will be the average (and less on treadmill- 11miles).  I wanted to go over 30 miles but just too sore today.  (actually fri to fri I did 40 miles!!!) Having a "race" sunday was good and I am looking forward to the 10 milers coming up this month.  They will be a good test although I don't want to "rest up" much for them- want to keep on the training schedule for New Bedford.  Thursday I was definitely feeling tired and thought I had a crappy workout that day, but I woke up friday sore in all the right places and am still sore today. Today has been pretty lazy and tomorrow will be too.  Need to focus more on good running- each workout having a purpose.  More ice baths are in the future (ahhh) and maybe a warm one too.  New Bedford is only 6 weeks away!!!  It's a process...love it!