Evening Running

Glorious run last night. Worried about thunder storms, I decided to run around the block, up and down local streets so I would always be close to home. How do I make this interesting.?

In my mind I listed out all those who supported my fund raising for BOMF who live locally and laid out a path where I would run by each of their houses.  I zig-zagged through the neighborhood and as I ran by each house, I thanked them mentally for their support, secretly hoping they were looking out their window and  that somehow seeing me run made their donation worth while.

I really love late evening runs, right now between 8 and 9, just when the sun is going down.

Morning run No. 2

Beth spoke this morning about Chi Running and what we can learn from each long run. Here is what I learned from our run this morning.

• Emer is actually a morning person. Hasn't she been keeping that a secret.
• I am not a morning person, but 10 years ago I wasn't a runner, so there is hope.
• The neighborhood rabbits have their 5am morning meeting on Upland Road.
• The neightborhood racoons have their meeting on Beacon Street.
• You can cover 3 cities on a 9 mile run, Newton, Watertown, Waltham.
• Woerd Ave is a great place to launch your kayak.
• Running sideways up a hill really helps (wait, I learned that last week)
• Running 9 miles is hard.
• Running 9 miles at 5am is really hard.
• Running 9 miles with Emer and Beth is always a pleasure.
• We need Isabelle on our long runs. Beth and I can't talk beyond mile 8.

Biking in the Rain

"Is the bike ride on?"  Bart wanted to know.  The weather was predicted to be strong rains and winds.  I looked outside and indeed that was picture.  The reason for this 5 am ride to Boston and back was to make getting up at the crack of dawn a pleasurable experience.  We would see the rising sun peeking up from the Charles River and speed into the city without having to stop for any cars.  On a day like today, we would only be miserable.  There is nothing wrong with adding that to your training, but we were looking for pleasure, not misery to start off our early practices.  Is anyone available for an early morning next week?

Morning running

Set my alarm clock this morning for 5am. Not being a morning person, there was a slim chance (but still a chance) that I would actually get up, and do my run before going to work. If I am going to train for The Chicago Marathon over the Summer, early morning runs are a must.

Alarm went off at 5am, hit the snooze button, 5:15 it went off again, hit the snooze button again, then at 5:30 somehow, still in a daze I got myself up, dressed, laced up my sneakers and was actually on the road running at 5:40.  For the first 5 minutes I honestly thought I was dreaming about running. 30 minutes and 3 miles later I was home, fully awake, and invigorated and that first cup of coffee never tasted so good.

It wasn't my best run,  but it absolutely was my best 5:30am run.

Can I do this again.....

Boston's Run To Remember

As Emer, Isabelle, Maura and I move closer to the Chicago Marathon, we scheduled a half marathon along the way.  With three of us signed up and one running as a bandit (we won't say who), we got in our 13.1 miles.  We treated it as a real LSD (long slow distance), stopping at Starbucks to use the bathroom and taking our shoes off for the last mile.  The Boston Run To Remember half marathon was the jumping off point to our training.  There is no looking back!

Getting to the Starting Line

 As I will be moving to Chicago for the year, I convinced three friends to run the Chicago Marathon this October with me.  Stay tuned to updates about our training and how we "get to the starting line."  I borrowed that line from Bill Rogers.  He talked at the Boston Marathon expo this year, telling the audience it was about getting to the starting line, because once you are there, you know you will finish.