taper

Just What I Needed

August 7, 2012 by Kristy 13 Comments

Two days away, no running, some easy hiking, some sleep, time with Matt, dinner and drinks with family, and lots of Olympics watching is exactly what I needed to snap my mind and legs out of their funk.

Matt and I headed up north this weekend to the quaint town of Milford, PA for his birthday. Never heard of it? Either did we. It’s just south of where PA, NJ, and NY meet and right near the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area so there are lots of trails to hike. And the town of Milford is very pet friendly so Hawk was able to join us.

Before we headed north on Friday, I got my long run out of the way and it wasn’t as miserable as expected given how heavy my legs felt last week. 18 miles at 10:00 average pace. Done and done.

Our weekend in pictures…

Very late on Saturday night (after many drinks) I was faced with 2 options: (1) sleep in and watch the women’s marathon once I got home (and avoid all social media on the 2+ hour trip home) or (2) get up at 6AM and watch it live. Option #2 won and it was well worth the lack of sleep.

Amazing

Also amazing

The men’s 10,000 meters wasn’t bad to watch either!

Did you watch the marathon live or sleep in? Or don’t care? Is that possible?!

I Have Boston Fever

April 9, 2012 by Kristy 26 Comments

I have no idea what I’m going to do with myself this week. I’ll be pretty useless at work (yeah for a 4-day work week) since I can’t seem to think about anything but Boston.

So far the weather looks OK. A little warm and windy but I love cloudy. Can they really predict the wind this far out? I doubt it. I hope the 2003 Boston Marathon didn’t fall on April 16th…with a record high of 84 degrees! Oh wow, the nerdy meteorologist in me just came out.

I did my last long run on Sunday – 10 miles in 1:29 (8:54 average pace). I kept the pace easy and I felt great. My legs felt light and rested. From here on out, it’s all easy. The hard work is done!

Taper crazies have been kept to a minimum. Not sure why?

I’m running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week and that’s it. Also getting lots of sleep. I generally don’t carbo-load. I eat carbs all the time and may eat just a tad more of them on Saturday and Sunday. I hate feeling too “puffy” at the start line.

On Saturday I got this awesome card in the mail from my friend Camille wishing me well in Boston. Thank you Camille, I love it!

So perfect!

Do you do any special preparations before a big race?

Carbo-load – yay or nay?

The hay is in the barn

April 2, 2012 by Kristy 23 Comments

Or so they say…

21 miles, 8:46 average pace, done!

So this didn’t go exactly as planned. It went much slower! Physically, I felt great. Mentally, I’m a bit burned-out. I’m writing a “Boston Goals” post later this week and I’ll elaborate more then. I think Kristen Armstrong’s latest post sums it up best though…

Running can’t be full speed, full intensity training all the time or you start to crack – either with an injury or with splintering morale. I know some people who do this, go from one marathon to the next without a break, and eventually their bodies cry uncle (and make them take a break).

In other news (Boston-related, of course)…

I got crafty on Saturday. I normally don’t wear my name on my shirt for marathons (then again, my last 4 marathons weren’t exactly filled with spectators), but I want to for Boston.

Rather than ruin an expensive lulu tank, I stole the idea from Celia to make a name patch. I bought some felt and some sticky letters, and voila…a removable patch that I can use again.

The “S” is a little high and it drives me nuts…

Another great idea I read from Lora’s blog was to start eating lunch later, due to Boston’s late start. I’ve been trying to hold off until 1:30 for lunch (2:00 if possible). I can’t think of anything more unpleasant than a growling stomach during a marathon. OK, there are worse things but that is unpleasant.

I’m also eating breakfast between 8-8:30 which will be the time I’ll eat before the race. Five hours between breakfast and lunch does not make for a happy Kristy.

Better now than on race day…

Name on shirt – yay or nay?

For the readers that ran Boston before (or NYC), did you get hungry during the race? I don’t think this will be an issue – it wasn’t for NYC – but I’m taking all precautions!

Boston Week 12 Recap

March 28, 2012 by Kristy 29 Comments

Taper time! Well, taper time mileage-wise that is. I still have 22 miles to bang out on Saturday (the final dress rehearsal) and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a wee bit nervous.

The Boston welcome package came in the mail this weekend and confirmed what I already knew: I’m representin’ the rear of Wave 2!

I can’t be surprised. Remember, I just made the cut-off for Boston.

If a bug flew in my eye or I sneezed violently, I wouldn’t be running Boston.

I’m just so happy to be in Wave 2 Smile

Boston Week 12 Recap
MON: 7 easy – my legs were so tired at the beginning of the week. I kept Monday and Tuesday’s runs easy.
TUE: 8 easy
WED: 11 tempo with 9 at MP – during this run I realized that this was my 5th consecutive day of running, or 52 miles. No wonder I felt like crap.
THU: rest!!!
FRI: 4 easy
SAT: 15 hilly miles (8:32 average pace)
SUN: 5 easy – up bright and early at 6AM to get this in!

So my peak week that wasn’t turned out pretty good! 50 miles total, which I was happy about considering how tired my legs were in the beginning of the week.

Less than 3 weeks to go…

Three Torturous Loops

March 26, 2012 by Kristy 17 Comments

For the past few weeks I’ve been studying the Boston course. A book, YouTube videos, race recaps from other bloggers – you name it, I probably read it.

I’m not so concerned with the quad-thrashing downhills. I ran Steamtown in 2010 – a course where the first 8 miles are practically downhill – and I was fine for the later uphill miles. I’m so glad I had the experience of Steamtown before Boston.

I’m more concerned with my ability to maintain MP over all the hills. Let me rephrase that…I know I won’t be able to maintain MP on all the uphills so I’m worried about it affecting my overall time. Definitely a valid concern.

My typical long run route is a hilly 5-mile loop with the perfect mix of all types of hills: long, windy stretches, short, steep climbs, and rolling hills. The flat stretches are few and far between and rarely last a half mile. I generally do 2 loops and then transition to a flat, paved trail for the final miles.

This week I did 3 torturous loops totaling 15 miles. Whoa, was it tough. I’m hoping this is a worst case scenario and Boston is a bit easier! I climbed the hills strong and tried to pick up the pace in between. I finished in 2:08 (8:32 average pace).

I wore my Oiselle distance shorts and, as suspected, they were perfect.

Taken post-run. I was a sweaty beast.

On Sunday, I spectated the OD Marathon since my sister was running it. Spectating is almost as fun as running one! The race was so small – my sister said they capped it around1500 runners. Can you believe the race wasn’t chip timed? I think that’s terrible for a marathon.

Just before Mile 12

Finishing strong!

My sister did a great job and she said it was the best she has ever felt in a marathon.

Have you ever run a marathon that wasn’t chip timed? Or a half marathon? Luckily, I haven’t. Most of the 5Ks I’ve done were not but that’s expected…and potentially dangerous if you have a large, competitive field. Everyone wants to be in the front but not everyone is going to start off running a 6:00 minute mile.

The peak week that wasn’t…

March 23, 2012 by Kristy 20 Comments

I find it hard to write a post solely on 1 topic these days. It seems my head is bouncing back and forth. It’s going to be a long 3 week taper…bear with me Smile

5 days in-a-row or 52 miles
I generally never run 5 consecutive days. I had to be a little creative with getting all my runs in this week so I ended up with running 5 days in-a-row. I didn’t really realize it until the 5th day, which called for 11 miles with 9 at MP. My legs felt like lead the entire time and MP felt difficult. I couldn’t figure out why until it dawned on me that I ran 52 miles in the last 5 days. No shit my legs are tired. Funny how we can miss the little details.

So my grand plans for hitting 50 miles this week were foiled. Thursday was a much needed rest day and this morning I ran 4 easy miles to be on the safe side. I have 15 tomorrow that I hope to do at MP.

Does all this matter? No. I had a great training cycle and I’m healthy going into the taper. That’s what matters.

Can I freeze time?
I was excited for Boston for so long (or I guess I should say waited for Boston for so long); I’m already a little sad that time is passing so quickly. These next 3 weeks will fly by and before I know it, it’ll all be over. I am going to savor these last few weeks and enjoy each and every mile.

My new love: Oiselle Distance Shorts
Umm, these are awesome. It’s like running without shorts on (that’s the more accurate way I can describe it). The length is perfect, the fit is perfect, they don’t bunch, they don’t chafe. They are perfect. Once I get another long run in them, they will be my marathon shorts.

They run a little big. I have 2 Oiselle tops – a jacket and a long-sleeved T – that run small (I normally wear a small but have a medium in these items). I initially got a size medium thinking they would run small and the mediums were too big. The small fits great (sidenote: if you want to gauge what size to buy I wear a small in the Nike tempo shorts).

Shout-outs
My sister is running the OD Marathon on Sunday! Karyn, you WILL do great. We’ll see you at the halfway point and finish! Run strong!!!

Good luck to Beth who is running her first ultra on Saturday!

Got a favorite pair of running shorts to rave about?