Boston 2014

The short story
It was a great day. I felt reasonable good, never hit the wall, and finished strong. Given the issues I've had this winter, I was pleased with my time. My official time was 3:16:48. I'll be going back to BayState to work on my PR. ;)

Water stop woes
It's no secret that water stops and I don't get along. It's embarrassing really. I can't run and drink water from an open cup. Why oh why can't I drink and run at the same time!

Since training wasn't awesome this winter and I didn't find a hydration belt that I liked, I decided to run belt-less. It was a good opportunity to learn to drink from a cup while running. I mean, there are like 25 water stops, I was bound to pick up the skill along the way, right?

Here's what happened as I ran through water stops:

• Water stop 1: Grab a cup of water, throw water in face...nope that's not how you drink and run at the same time. Moving on...
• Water stop 2: Grab a cup of water, squeeze cup to a point, get a few drips in mouth, throw rest of water up nose. Still learning obviously...
• Water stop 3: Grab cup of water, squeeze cup to a point, get more in mouth...nice. Choke as swallowing. Oops.
• Water stop 4: Grab cup of water, curse because it's only half full, but get all the water in mouth! Too much to swallow at once though....Choke again
• Water stop 5: Grab water, empty some out, make the spout, drink the water in smaller sips!!!! Nice.
• Water stops 6, 7, 8, 9, 10....as my daughter would say "easy peasy". I got this running and drinking water thing down!
• Water stop 11: Grab a cup of Gatorade by mistake...gross.
• Water stop 12: Grab a cup of water, throw water up nose again...guess I shouldn't have gotten so cocky.
• Many water stops go by uneventful, then somewhere late in the race...Grab a cup of water, and almost ram into someone who seemed to take the term "water stop" literally. This was a common occurrence the last few miles. Runners would grab a cup and simply stop running right then and there. Then I had to become accomplished at running, drinking, AND dodging. Who am I kidding...I didn't dodge very well, but it's fair to say that I can now drink water and run at the same time.

25 water stops later, and now I should be good to use the provided hydration in races. Though I think at Boston using the water stops does lose some time. There are so many people, it's hard not to slow down.
 
Best part of the race
Running by the Wellesly girls. There were lots of high fives, and crazy screaming, and one runner dude yelled out, "Woo hoo! New PR! 7 kisses!" It was awesome. Trust me...

Worst part of the race
Technically it happened before the race, but I'm about 99% positive that I got peed on in the starting corral. To the gentlemen who pee in starting corrals...just because you can, doesn't mean you should. If the fairer sex can hold it, then so can you. (This happened to me last year too.) Ew. Enough said.

Splits & Stats
Net Time 3:16:48
Overall 5655/31931 (This makes me feel like I at least earned my 7000 bib number.)
In Gender 700/14356 (Female)
In Division 563/6979 (F18-39 Age Group)

I think my Garmin short changed me a bit. It reported 26.15, and I KNOW that Boston isn't short.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	3:16:49.4	26.15	7:32
1	7:22.8	1.00	7:23
2	7:08.3	1.00	7:08
3	7:10.0	1.00	7:10
4	7:19.9	1.00	7:20
5	7:28.2	1.00	7:28
6	7:15.2	1.00	7:15
7	7:11.5	1.00	7:11
8	7:17.6	1.00	7:18
9	7:14.2	1.00	7:14
10	7:25.2	1.00	7:25
11	7:20.6	1.00	7:21
12	7:27.7	1.00	7:28
13	7:24.7	1.00	7:25
14	7:28.6	1.00	7:29
15	7:31.7	1.00	7:32
16	7:16.9	1.00	7:17
17	7:32.2	1.00	7:32
18	7:43.6	1.00	7:44
19	7:41.3	1.00	7:41
20	7:57.4	1.00	7:57
21	8:16.3	1.00	8:16
22	8:03.0	1.00	8:03
23	8:09.9	1.00	8:10
24	7:14.7	1.00	7:15
25	8:14.9	1.00	8:15
26	7:37.6	1.00	7:38
27	:55.2	0.15	6:04

And...that's all I have! I hope you had a great day too!

The BAA inspired me today...

I know what you're thinking. Who the heck is this chick? And what on earth is she holding? That's assuming there might actually be someone out there who even visits this blog, which is a pretty big assumption. (Random side note. Have you ever seen the movie "The Long Kiss Goodnight"? Samuel L. Jackson has a sweet line about what it means to make assumptions. I won't repeat it here. You'll have to go watch the movie to find out.) Moving on...

Yes, that's me in the picture. Why do I look so puffy and tired and puffy? And again, what am I holding? I had little Miss Kaylee take this picture with my phone after I ran a 10 mile progression run at 6:40 pace on the treadmill (the day after I ran a 22 miler at 7:40ish pace). Note to self: next time take the picture prior to running. You'll look prettier.

I'm holding my favorite recovery tool, the FRoller. I've mentioned it before, but a year after purchasing it, it's still my favorite (landing above both the foam roller and the Stick). It's especially nice after workouts, like 10 mile progression runs, for instance.

Besides modeling the FRoller, what have I been up to since running BayState three months ago!? I don't know...I've been running, among other things. Just prior to BayState I went back to work full time, which has been an adjustment. It's all good, and I'm happy, but priorities have shifted a bit. Hence the blog silence.

I received an email from the BAA today, which noted that there are less than 100 days until Boston! 100 days in marathon training is nothing! (Statements such as that only give credence to Nick's argument that I'm crazy.) Anyway, the BAA email got me thinking, and thinking got me back to my blog. So there you go. It all makes perfect sense now, right?

Am I excited about Boston? I wasn't. This training cycle is weird (due to my schedule), and since I have a renewed interest in work, training also seems less important (right now). Okay, so I write that, but the fact is, I'm still pretty much running every day. I consider my running schedule "relaxed", but my "relaxed" schedule has had me running 20 milers the past four weekends, with some kind of marathon paced run the day after. I've had some people tell me recently that my definition of relaxed is their definition of stark raving mad. I'm sure, however, that you fellow runners, can appreciate where I'm coming from...I might be less intense this training cycle, but I'm still training. And besides some irritating viruses that my little ladies keep trying to take me out with, I feel good.

Do I have lofty aspirations for Boston? I don't know! It's almost 100 days away! I'm generally more of a, put the training in now, and see how you feel as the race gets closer, kind of girl. I am more excited though. The BAA email makes it feel more real.

This may seem off the beaten path, but I need a new hydration belt for Boston (and training). I had a Nathan hydration belt, but I bought it when training for my first marathon after Kaylee was born, and I've shrunk a little. I had to drop the belt after the first half of Baystate this year because it was bouncing so much that it was cutting me. Does anyone have suggestions? I'd like one that  has a pocket that I could fit my phone or gels in. One that doesn't bounce and cut and chafe. Suggestions please!

Marathon Musings

It’s almost exactly 5 days to go time, and it feels surreal. Am I really running a marathon in just 5 days? This training cycle has just flown by, and I haven’t been thinking much about the race because we’ve simply been busy. I was reading Dani’s blog post yesterday, and reading it reminded me that I too have a marathon to run in a few days…then I remembered that I need to pick up more glide and gels before the race…

Am I uber psyched for race day? Well, to be honest, that’s generally not my style. It’s hard to get extra super excited to run as hard as you can for 26.2 miles. And while I’m being so very honest, marathon pace doesn’t feel “easy” to me. It’s not a pace that I can “run all day long”. I can run it for 26.2 miles (hopefully), and not much longer. Does this mean I have a bad attitude? I don’t think so. I’m simply realistic and generally aware of the difficulty of the task before me. Now some people like to ask me: “Why? Why do you do it? Why do you race?”

I guess it’s a fair question. I’m never going to be elite. I’m not going to the Olympics. I’m busy with children and work. Here’s the real deal though, I simply love running. I love training for a goal, and trying to chase that goal. I may be terrified of what will come on Sunday, but that’s all the more reason to do it. Eleanor Roosevelt said “Do one thing every day that scares you.” I am so behind because I only do something that scares about once a month.

Overall, I’ve had a great training cycle. 20 weeks, with 9 weeks being at 70+ miles. I’ve run five 20+ milers, three 18 milers, and several 16 milers. Two of my 20+ milers were fast finishes, where I ran the last 4-6 miles at 6:45 pace, which is a nice confidence booster. I just ran a reasonably good (for me) half marathon with no taper, which is also a nice confidence booster. I’ve done the training, and I’m as ready as ready can be. That being said…there are never any guarantees. That’s partly why race day feels so terrifying for me. All the hard work is necessary to having a good day, but it doesn’t guarantee a good day…

Getting back to the question of “Why?” Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote isn't really why I race. I revisit this question every marathon cycle. It’s a philosophical question, and while the why of running may change from day to day, the why I race stays fairly constant. See below…

That's going to be my mantra "Keep Calm, and Stay Fierce." I love it! Racing lets me stay fierce...whatever happens on Sunday...I hope to keep calm, and stay fierce.

The Numbers Game

The Fun Part:
So I was bored, and decided to check some race predictors. You know, I have this marathon coming up, and I just ran a half, so yeah, it seemed like a fun thing to do. (Do you like how nonchalant I am?) I've only run two races recently. A 5K in 18:41 and a half marathon in 1:25:55. I used the half time for the predictors. Here's what I found:

• I found this race predictor calculator over on Race Times, and really liked the predicted times it spit out at me. For one, based on my half marathon time it predicts an 18:41 5K time, which is exactly what I ran a month ago, so that's sort of interesting. And for another it predicts a marathon time of 2:59:08. Cool beans. 
• This Race Predictor predicts an 18:51 5K and 2:59:35 marathon time based on my half time. (I like this one too.)
• Another Race Calculator predicts an 18:26 5K and 2:59:56. Those are sweet times too (for me).
• Yet another predicts an 18:42 5K and 2:59:07. This one is my favorite (for obvious reasons).
• McMillan, on the other hand, is raining on my sub-3:00 parade with a prediction of 3:00:49. Boo, hiss, McMillan!

It seems only natural to find methods in which to predict one's marathon time. Especially once the taper begins. I mean, as the runner is forced to run less, we are also forced to go crazy. We tell ourselves that playing with the numbers is a way to keep us sane and mentally prepare for the big day to come, but in truth the numbers game really just displays our crazy for all to see.

Here, let me share an example. I was jauntily sharing with Nick how four of the five race predictors were predicting a sub 3:00 marathon based on last week's half marathon time. Rather than looking thoroughly pleased (as he should have). He looked really uncomfortable. Of course, I could tell what he was thinking. Race day performance is impacted by a variety of things like the weather and how one feels and a million other factors that play into having the "perfect" day. (Something I don't think I've experienced yet by the way.) Yeah, yeah, I know, but it's still sort of cool that some race predictors are predicting that I could possibly break 3:00, right? RIGHT!? (He pretty much continued to look uncomfortable until the topic of conversation changed.)

The Reality:
Do I really think I can break 3:00 on October 20th? I don't know. This is starting to feel stressful. Don't pressure me!!!

Seriously though, I have no idea. I didn't really train with a particular goal in mind. It's possible, but it seems (to me) if I am capable of breaking the big 3:00 mark, it would have to be a pretty darn good day. For one, I've never been able to run what the race predictors say I can run for a marathon. Realistically speaking, there's no evidence to suggest that this year I'll suddenly be able to run those predicted times. For another, though I haven't had a particular goal in mind, I've generally trained with a 7:03 marathon pace in mind, which is a 3:05.

Oh, also, I just started working full-time again....today, which is definitely adding some unforeseen stress to this taper time. I woke up this morning at 4:50 am to run my 6 miles to find I had a sore throat and glamorously hacked out some thick green mucus before heading out on my run. On the plus side, I ran fine, so there's that. Am I worried? Hmmm, good question, I know I've been running well, and it would be nice just to feel reasonably well on race day, but I really have been more relaxed this training cycle. I have a lot going on, and other things that are taking priority right now, and that's just the way it is sometimes.

On a positive note, this was my last long run (yes, I'm still taking picture of Garmin and will use those pictures to console myself should I have a bad race day):

This "training" cycle has treated me surprising well. For this week, I'll embrace the taper, and focus on surviving work stress. Next week...well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves...

The Fun Non-Running:
We went apple picking again this weekend, and this was my favorite phone photo from the day. I love how my phone has a camera. I get to record these moments without any fuss or planning.

A Little Poll:
Do you believe in race predictors? Does anyone out there actually run the times that are predicted?

Sometimes I surprise myself

Marathon Training
Lately I've had a more relaxed attitude towards training. I'm still running workouts and putting in the miles, but I'm not stressing about running mega crazy or mega long workouts. I've also given myself permission to skip some of the interval stuff (which seems to stress me out for some reason), and simply focus on tempo runs (which keeps me more relaxed).

Why the relaxed attitude? Well, my mindset last year was a bit intense, and honestly I needed a change of pace. I can only be intense so long. Also, a lot is changing all at once: Kaylee just started first grade, I'm going back to work full-time in October, and Emily will be starting preschool in a few weeks. Really there's just more important stuff going on. So, when I embarked on my solo 20 miler early Sunday morning, I didn't have a firm goal in mind. I thought it would be nice to run around 7:35ish pace, but that was about it.

As you can see from the picture, I ran faster, and it was a huge shock to me. I can only guess that cooler temps played an integral role in my legs wanting to move faster. The run didn't feel harder than any of my other long runs, but those runs were done on warmer more humid days. But still, I was completely taken aback. Then I was wondering if I'd be sore on Monday. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tiny bit stiff, but nothing was really sore, and I managed a 12 miler on Monday.

Now I'm left wondering what this means for BayState, which is in 5 weeks. My planned marathon pace was 7:03, and having just run a 20 plus miler at a faster pace, well, it seems as though my planned pace should change. Then I also have to wonder if I just peaked, and will be left at the marathon start line with no wind in my sails (and just this picture of my Garmin). But you know what, now that I'm thinking about, I don't even care. I'm sure my attitude will change as race day approaches, but for now I'm still shocked and excited that I was able to maintain a sub 7:00 minute pace for a 20 miler. That's good enough...for now.

Unrelated to running
Can I tell you a funny story? It's completely unrelated to running, but it's fun anyway. A few weeks ago Nick asked: "Can I borrow your crock pot?" I must have taken too long to respond because he followed up his question with: "Aren't you going to ask me why I want to use the crock pot?" To which I responded with raised eyebrows and, "well, I'm about 99% sure you don't plan to cook something..." As I'm scrunching up my face in what I imagine to be a look of suspicion, I add: "This doesn't have something to do with your RC truck does it? Because if you're planning to put chemicals in the crock pot, then the answer is definitely no." Nick suddenly looked shocked and amused and blurted out, "how did you know!" Then he laughed and started telling me how he had read that some people use crock pots to clean their RC truck engines, and while he didn't really plan to try it, he wanted to see what I'd say if he asked (as a joke). The moral of the story? First, wives are psychic. Second, crock pots are only for cooking.

I like to take pictures of my Garmin

I'm sort of marathon training. I write "sort of" because I don't feel the same fierce panic to run a mega PR like I did last year. I am training though, and when I go through my training log I can plainly see that I am running much faster than when I was training for BayState last year. I'm just going to assume that's probably good and leave it at that.

I don't have a "training plan" per se, but I have run 70+ miles six out of the last seven weeks. In that time I've also run a 17 miler, two 18 milers, and four 20+ miles. From the picture, you can see that I enjoy taking pictures of my Garmin after the fact. What you don't know is that I've done all my long runs on the track to make it look like I'm faster than I am. I'm joking! Maybe...

Hmmm, last post I mentioned a fast mile and two mile race on the track. That turned out to be a bust. It was fun though. I had the opportunity to see my old high school coach, which is always nice, but leading up the meet I had been ill and my asthma had kicked it up a notch. I wound up deciding to go and use it as workout. I wound up running 12:04 for the two mile, which was fine for a workout. The mile took place approximately five minutes after the two mile, and so the 5:52 I ran was okay. Not really race report worthy, but okay.

My alumni meet didn't exactly leave me oozing with confidence, but that took place about eight weeks ago, and it seems at least some of my running mojo has been resurrected since. Two weeks ago I ran a 5K on the track. My high school was having a 5K track meet that was open to anyone. A 5K on the track is hard to pass up. It's so fast on the track. I get excited just thinking about it...Anyway, there were only perhaps three downsides: first it took place at 9:00 pm (when I'm generally in my PJ's thinking about sleeping...hey no judging), second my high school is about an hour away (meaning it messed up bedtime, yes that's a big deal in my house), and third I've been marathon training (you know, building a base, running long, not doing short intervals). The upside: it was on the TRACK! Obviously, I had to go. Also, it's nice to see my coach.

To make a long story longer, I wound up running 18:41. I would be lying if I wrote that I wasn't a tiny bit disappointed for like 10 seconds. For some reason, I had thought that it was (of course) reasonable to assume that I could PR with no 5K training late in the evening simply because I was running on the track. I mean, running on a track does make you super human. It seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. Once I really thought about it though, I realized my time was good for where I am right now. There was also the fact that I didn't come in last, which had been a real possibility. The meet had several heats and my heat was suppose to be for those who could run 18:30 or faster (no pressure). I'm proud to say that I was only lapped by two people, and finished somewhere in the middle.

Besides not coming in last, I'm also happy because I ran strong and didn't feel completely wiped when I finished. I did make a couple mistakes that may have slowed me down a little. The first mile was 5:45, and I felt awesome. I had tucked myself right behind a girl and guy. Like practically on their heels. I thought that was a good place to be, but after the first mile they started slowing down. I still felt great, but was hesitant to pass them too early into the race because it takes energy to pass people on the track and (I'm ashamed to admit) that I was nervous that I would pass them and die out before the finish. That's probably the one downside to running on the track. There were a lot of people watching and there was some self imposed pressure not to embarrass myself. By the time I did pass them, I had lost a lot of time. My second mile was somewhere around 6:10. By this point I still felt good, but I knew a PR wasn't going to happen, and think I probably mentally checked out of the race. My last mile was around 6:05.

In the end, it was nice confidence booster. Also, I wound up winning $100. The high school girl who ran about minute (or more) faster than me can't accept race winnings. Not great for her, but sort of cool for me. Besides the money, everyone who registered received a t-shirt, a $20 gift card to Marathon Sports, and a 20% off coupon to Marathon Sports. For a little race, that has to be the best swag I've ever received. The gift card doesn't have any fine print or minimum that you have to spend. It's just a gift card. Cool beans. The cost of registration was $20, so basically the gift card is the cost of the race.

In case you're wondering, yes my high school coach invented the terrific FRoller which can be found: http://www.thefroller.com/. Yes, I bought a FRoller for myself about a year ago (though my coach is so nice he probably would have given me one), and yes I use it everyday. I love it. It's awesome. Enough said.

Saving the best for last...who will be registering for Boston next week?

"Normal"

I am the worst blogger. I love reaching out to other runners, but as I get closer to an important race the less likely I am to blog about training or running or share what my goals are or other things that "normal" bloggers blog about. I love reading about all that stuff when other people write about it, but I like to make like a clam and close my shell. ;)

I don't think I mentioned this previously, but I was picked to blog about the Boston Marathon on Boston.com. I've done a few posts. My most recent post can be found here if you're interested...I found blogging on another site more challenging than I would have thought. I don't feel like I know the audience. I feel like most of the people who read this blog are probably people relatively similar to me, you know, running is just something we do (all the time). I'm not sure that's the case over on the other blog. Or at the very least, I just don't know what the general experience it. When writing posts I would find myself wondering if people would think an 80 mile week was excessive, or would they be really grossed out by the fact that I'm constantly losing my toenails? And for whatever reason, people can't seem to leave comments, so I have no idea what they might be thinking. 

I love when you guys leave comments. I think the best aspect of blogging is the dialogue that might come after a post. It's interesting to get other people's thoughts on various subjects. 

Well, Boston is 11 days away, so I guess I should mention the highlights. (If you're super interested in my training you can always see what I'm doing on DailyMile.) I'm in full on taper, and yes, also full on crazy mode. In true tapering fashion, my right hip started to bother me on Saturday, so I took Sunday and Monday off. 

During my peak week I ran 80 miles, last week I wound up with 53 (but had planned to run 60), and this week I'll probably wind up with 42-50 miles. All typical. My hip bothers me when I sit or lay down, but not when I'm running, which is also pretty typical for me. I'm so weird...

I have my ride to Boston with the GLRR all set, and my parents are picking me up at  the finish. My mom is so cute. I think she's been to the finish just to figure out where to park and such. I've been studying the course, and reading all kinds of "advice" for the Boston course, but honestly a lot of it seems random and not backed up by evidence or experience. I'm planning to call my college friend this weekend and get her take on the course. She's run there at least twice successfully. I'm predicting that when she eventually gets back there that she'll run sub-3:00. 

Feel free to throw in your thoughts on the Boston course (or if you'll be at Boston). One of the sillier things I read was to go out 25 seconds slower than MP for the first 5 miles...there was no explanation for this (other than you'll feel better at the end). I don't get it, though. It seems to me that it may actually take more energy to slow down that much if you're running down hill. Perhaps I'm missing something crucial.

I'll leave you with this gem from Calvin and Hobbes that Nick sent me last week. I'm not sure if it's Kosher that I copied it, but I got it from: http://www.gocomics.com/. It. Is. AWESOME! As an aside, Kaylee is a lot like Calvin sometimes. One day she asked me if she could pretend her pancakes were "grubs and slugs". 

Relating my race to how training is going...

Some additional thoughts on Derry:
It's funny, I found running Derry sort of befuddling. I really wanted to somehow correlate my pace to either my marathon pace or half marathon pace, but just couldn't do it. Then it dawned on my that I wasn't attacking the issue from the correct angle. Runners are just different. Some are really strong on a hilly course or in the bitter cold, and some aren't. As a result, it's very difficult to find the correlation I was looking for.

What I was truly looking for though, was how my training is going. I do most of my runs on the treadmill. It's a combination of being a busy mom and trying to stay injury free. But TM running simply isn't the same as running outside, so how can I tell if my TM runs are on track with what I think my MP and HMP should be? Well, I did run a workout on the treadmill two weeks prior to Derry that was meant to "simulate" Derry as much as possible. I ran 16 miles. The first 8 miles were at a 1% incline. Mile 9 was at at 4% incline, Mile 10 was at a 5% incline, and the first 2 minutes of mile 11 were at a 6% incline. Then I thought my heart was going to explode, so I paused the TM, took a 2 minute breather, jumped back on and finished the rest with no incline. My average pace for this run was 6:50 (excluding the 2 minute break). If I factor in the 2 minute break (because race clocks don't pause), then my pace was 6:57. I climbed around 800 feet during this "simulation." Derry has total climb of about 600 feet. My pace at Derry was 6:53. So my pace at Derry was a little faster than my TM run, but the climb was less too. I know it's not an exact science or an exact correlation, but it's as close I'm going to get. I actually felt a lot better running Derry than I felt running the "simulation" on the TM. (Probably because the week I ran Derry was a cut back week, while the "simulation" was during a 70 mile week.) Now, at least, I feel like I know where I stand with my TM running.


More on the tread mill:
Now the TM is interesting because I don't believe that all distances correlate the same. For example, I've broken 18 minutes in the 5K on the TM, but have only run 18:34 recently on the roads. (I don't count TM runs for my PR's.) I was running with no incline at the time, so there's that, but I also know from my own experience that as the distance gets shorter (or the faster the pace) there seems to be more "advantage" time wise on the mill (at least for me). As the distance gets longer, the times start to correlate better (for me). Last year prior to running the Hampton Half, I ran an 8 mile workout on the TM at 6:40 pace (with no incline). At Hampton I wound up running 6:49 pace, which probably seems like the TM was off by more than you'd like to see, but when you consider that the TM run was 8 miles (versus 13), and that I was incredibly sick at Hampton, I think it's probably not all that bad. This last summer and fall while training for the BayState Marathon, I did all my marathon paced runs at 7:19 pace (no incline), and did wind up running 7:19 pace at BayState.

Unfortunately, I don't feel like the TM builds confidence for me. I feel like it's "fake" running. When I input my runs into DailyMile, I feel like reporting those paces is cheating. I will admit, that once or twice I've added a couple minutes to a TM run when I reported it on DM. I know some of you are looking at my DM stuff, so 99% of the time, I am totally honest, but there have been maybe a half dozen runs over the last 2 years, where I ran a huge PR on the mill and just felt weird about it, so I added some time to the total. Part of the issue might be that I often keep one hand on the TM when I run, and I feel like that's cheating too. But running hard is sort of scary on the TM, and I've promised Nick that I'll be with him forever. Keeping that one hand on makes me feel less like I'm going to get thrown across the room if I stumble a bit. I do try to make sure that I'm not "hanging" on the machine in anyway.

I'm trying to get over my TM hangups. The truth is, that it's not exactly like running outside, but it almost doesn't even matter. It's a training tool, and there are things you can do with the TM that you can't do outside. If you have an elevation map of a course, you can sort of "simulate" that course like I did with Derry. You can train your body to know what a certain pace feels like. My workouts heavily rely on using the specific pace (or slightly faster) than what I'm training for. You can put the TM on that pace and just rely on it to maintain it for you. That's huge for me. When I'm outside by myself, it's so easy to just give in. For me, it's a lot easier to slow down outside, than it is for me to touch that minus button...It's almost like having a training partner or having someone pace you. I also found this interesting article on TM running. Basically it says running on the TM feels harder, but is actually easier due to lack of wind resistance. It was interesting to read, because most of my paces do feel harder on the TM (well all except 5K pace, 5K pace feels easier on the mill to me).

Derry Pics:
Remember how I mentioned the the Greater Derry Track Club (GDTC) did a great job organizing the race? Well, they had Nuvision Action Image do the photography. And guess what!? You can download the full resolution image for free! No strings attached! Apparently the cost of the photography is covered with the race registration fee. That's pretty cool. Derry's registration fee was $50, and I have to say it was worth every dollar. Okay, so here are a few pics of me at Derry. Note that I looked pained AND I'm slightly heel striking (so I was probably tired too). To be fair, there were a number of pictures where I wasn't heel striking, but I didn't like them as much as these...

 My Stride is a lot longer than I thought...oh, and yes, I am wearing arm warmers over my jacket.

 Those are the CW-X tights I mentioned last time...so ugly...yet so awesome.

 So my arm swing always crosses my body, which is bad, but I can't seem to fix it...

Derry Boston Prep 16 Miler RP

This is a race that runners tell horror stories of. While I was waiting in the bathroom line prior to the start, I was listening to the ladies talk. Most had run the race several times, and they all had a tale of horror for each year they ran. I didn't hear anyone say, "Well, when I ran in year such and such, the weather was great!" And to be completely fair, I think the weather is pretty awful every year. This year it was 14 degrees at the start, but with 14 MPH winds the "feels like" temperature was about 2 degrees. From what I've heard, the worst year was run in the snow. I'm not sure I would have run if had been snowing. Knowing what I know now about the course, I can write without a doubt that I wouldn't run in the snow. There are some steep downhills that I cannot imagine running when slippery...but I digress...

I arrived at the gym about an hour early to collect my number. I quickly found Raelyn and her running group. Everyone was very nice. Everyone was also very nervous. It seems that runners both love and hate this race, and almost everyone I spoke to was calling this a "training" or "tempo" run. I really didn't know what to expect. I mean I knew the course was challenging. I knew miles 9-12 were suppose to be ridiculously hard. I knew the last 4 miles were suppose to be mostly downhill. I knew it was suppose to be cold. But I had no idea what that would mean for me. I had told Raelyn that I was thinking/hoping to run around 6:45-6:50 pace, but that was really a shot in the dark.

I actually felt a lot better when I saw that everyone else was nervous too, though I'm not sure why because it probably should have made me more nervous (given that these runners were all Derry veterans). I was most nervous about the cold (and so were they). I had run an easy run earlier in the week where the "feels like" temperature was -5 degrees, and it was just miserable. Dressing for races can be tricky. When it's cold everything needs to be covered, but you also don't want so many layers that you start to sweat and get colder because you're sweating. Did that make sense? Anyway, I was having trouble figuring out what to wear...here's what I started with.

Running Ninja

I told Kaylee I was going to be a running Ninja. She replied, "Momma, ninjas wear black." That kid is way too serious and literal sometimes. So, while it looks scary and silly, I needed to have something to cover my face for at least the first few miles. I have asthma, which hates hates hates running hard in the cold. Breathing through something for the first few miles helps.

After everyone finally figured out what they were wearing, it was time to head to the start. My first impression was that the cold didn't feel too awful. We only had to wait on the line for 5 minutes, so we didn't freeze while waiting. I think the cold felt worse while running. I was breathing through my makeshift mask, but it was getting wet from my breath, so I'd take it off, then the air would feel to cold to breath, so I'd put it back on. I did this on/off thing constantly through the first 5 miles, then I mostly kept it off, but really the air was just too cold to breath. My impression of the first 5 miles was something like, "yeah, this is hard, but not impossible." and "I wish the air wasn't so cold."

I was really waiting for the dreaded miles 9-12, and they didn't disappoint. They were some pretty tough spots, to which I just kept telling myself, "just keep running, just keep running." (Insert Dori's sing songy voice from Finding Nemo.) Around mile 10 or 11 Raelyn found me. I should probably mention that I ran this race completely alone. The first 5 miles or so I could see people, but at some point I couldn't see any runners at all. I had this awful feeling that I was going to get lost. Really I could see no one. So, when she came up and started running next to me, it was a huge relief. We sort of ran near each other for a mile or so, but she was just ready to go, and I couldn't hang on to her.

After the super hard miles, the last four miles were suppose to be much easier. It was sort of a joke though, because we turned the corner towards those "easy miles" and ran straight into a ridiculous head wind. It was just miserable. After 12 miles of running, I was still cold, my chest was tight, and this head wind was just making everything more uncomfortable. But what's a runner to do? I don't think running slower would have helped. I still would have been cold and miserable. The only real option is to hang on...

With about a mile to go, I was completely alone again. I couldn't see anyone in the distance. ANYONE. I was completely panicked that I wasn't running on the course anymore. I just kept going and eventually I hit someone directing traffic. A couple of turns later and I was done! Phew.

My official time was 1:50:20 (6:53 pace). I finished first in my age group, but Raelyn was completely robbed. She beat me by at least 30 seconds and placed second in her age group. I think the competition was fierce this year.

My thoughts on this race? Hmmm, I have no idea what to think. It was a good training race for Boston. It was definitely hard. The GDTC organizes this race, and I have to say they do an excellent job. The race starts at the middle school. They open the gym to the runners, so there's no waiting in the cold, and there are real bathrooms to use. There is someone directing runners at every single turn, so as long as you don't start taking random turns you won't get lost. That's a big deal. These people are standing out in the freezing cold for hours! They also had results kiosks in the gym. I was able to look up my official time right after I finished, which was awesome. We got long sleeved tech tops and a nifty pair of running gloves too. I didn't stay for the awards, but I've heard they have chicken soup and coffee. Really a great race. Now, will I run it again? I would love to say YES! Of course! It's well run. It's challenging. The runners and volunteers are all great. Unfortunately, the price I paid for running 16 hard miles in the cold was steep. My asthma was bothering me the rest of the day, and today though my legs aren't sore my chest and back are very sore (I think from breathing so hard). And given that this race is notorious for its difficult weather conditions, I will probably have to pass.

For anyone interested, my Garmin splits are below. The orange highlighted miles were the miles with the most uphill, which is probably obvious given the slower splits. You can tell where there's lots of uphill and lots of downhill based on my splits. Except mile 14. That's a slower split without a lot of uphill (just a lot of headwind).

Mile 1: 6:55 

Mile 2: 6:41

Mile 3: 6:04 

Mile 4: 6:29

Mile 5: 7:12

Mile 6: 6:32

Mile 7: 6:44

Mile 8: 6:42

Mile 9: 6:53

Mile 10: 7:29

Mile 11: 7:29

Mile 12: 7:49

Mile 13: 6:57

Mile 14: 7:07

Mile 15: 6:51

Mile 16: 6:23