Hyannis 10k Race Report

February 28, 2011 by 12 Comments

When I woke up to snow this morning, my first thought was “This is why you train in all kinds of weather – a treadmill can’t prepare you for this!” My Hubs J and I quickly got ready, packed our gear, grabbed a bite and once the boys were settled in with grandparents we headed out to make the drive to the Cape.

As we got into Hyannis, we decided to avoid the madness of trying to find parking close to the race start and instead opted for a lot about a quarter mile away – gave us a nice little trot, warm up.  The lines at the porta-potties were crazy and slow but everyone around us at least was in good humor and we made the best of it. We made it to the start with no time to spare and were off.

For those of you who are not familiar with Cape Cod, to say Cape roads are narrow is a understatement! So narrow roads and slippery conditions thanks to the snow falling made for a little bit of a chaotic start. As we had planned, J and I ran the first mile together and then we separated — his goal was to finish in just under an hour. I was feeling pretty good at this point, there were some twinges in my left knee but nothing indicating the trouble to come. As the course turned along the water, I was still feeling good about reaching my goal of a PR. But then the dark mile came…the twinges in my left knee grew a lot more intense. I backed off and then tried to walk, but it actually felt worse to walk (does that make any sense?!?) so I started to run again. The mile markers were non-existent so I chatted with a couple of different runners who spotted my Garmin and asked for an update.

As I reached 5.5 miles, I decided to try to push for a strong finish. There was a great crowd at the end and I heard J cheering as I turned for the finishers chute. My brother had brought my oldest down to see the end of the race, so it was really great to see them both there!

Despite the snow and angry knee, it felt great to be back in a race. It was a great group of runners, scenic course, and a lot of fun to run with J in his first 10k! (For the record: J did hit his goal – I’m so proud of him! And I missed matching my previous 10k time by only 40 seconds!)

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Filed Under: Hyannis 10k, injuries, race report

Thursday Thoughts: Pre-Race Edition

February 24, 2011 by 6 Comments
  • The sharp knee pain from Sunday morphed into dull, but very present knee pain on Monday and Tuesday. So I skipped Tuesday’s 3 miler in favor of a lot of ice and some stretching. Seems to have paid off because today’s intervals felt great – speedy for me at a 9:30 pace and best of all the knee pain was gone!
  • There’s a different forecast every time  I check weather.com so still have no idea what the conditions will be like on Sunday. Being the type A personality that I am, I’ve made a gear list for every possible scenario so bring it on Mother Nature!
  • My TRX class last night and the recent knee pain have proven to me that I need to dedicate more time to strength training. It is one of my goals for 2011, but so far I haven’t been walking the walk with any consistency. But I’m committing to making it a key part of my half marathon training and will probably post my weekly training schedule here to help keep me accountable.

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    Filed Under: 3 things, Hyannis 10k, TRX, weather

    A Couple More Firsts

    February 20, 2011 by 8 Comments

    One of the beauties of being a new runner is that there are lots of firsts to celebrate! This morning I added a couple more firsts to my collection —  I ran 8 miles and in 15 degrees!

    Obviously I’m more excited about hitting 8 miles than I am about the new low temp…especially after such glorious weather just two days ago. But with a race on the Cape only a week away, I have to be prepared for whatever New England weather might decide to show up that day. Well given the high winds I ran into for at least half the run, I think I have definitely reached the point where I’m unfazed by the weather – a definite victory!

    The run itself was more like two runs – the first 4 and a half miles were smooth and easy. Then I felt a sharp pain on the outside of my left knee. I have no idea what happened, but after that it was part run, part hobble with the occasional stop and stretch. Not always pretty, but 8 done nonetheless – a first!

    Hopefully ice and rest is all that’s needed – I’m scheduled to run again until Tuesday…so fingers crossed!

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    Filed Under: firsts, Hyannis 10k, training, weather

    Giddy!

    February 18, 2011 by 4 Comments
    It’s 60 degrees today! 

    60 degrees! It’s been a l-o-n-g time since I’ve run in 60 degree weather. In fact I overdressed…definitely had too much on this morning. But, I didn’t care because I was running outside….and did I mention it was 60 degrees!

    Yes I was giddy for my run…so much so that I saw a rare sight – the words “slow down” on my garmin cause I was running faster than my pre-set pace range. A rare sight indeed but I was feeling good and enjoying the run and the feeling that Spring is on the way. Thank you Mother Nature…now behave yourself!

    Happy Friday!

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    Filed Under: general musings, weather

    I’ll take another week like that!

    February 14, 2011 by 9 Comments

    Last week was a good one!

    There were no snow days, which meant schedules were fairly normal for the first time since the begining of January.

    I got all of my planned workouts in except for an easy 3 miler which I opted to skip in favor of yoga to keep my ITB happy. On Friday, I treated myself to a Thai Massage which was heavenly and really helped to relieve some of the pressure/tightness I’ve been feeling in my hips and lower back.

    Saturday night we went to a fun event to raise money for a new school playground and I walked away a silent auction winner for a pair of Vibrams! Cannot wait to get them – more on that to come.

    And finally on Sunday, I got to run outside again for the first time in 3 weeks!! Without our weekly snow storm I figured the roads would be clear enough to venture out. And despite having to dance around black ice and being a bit tired (did I mention we went out Saturday night…did I mention there was a lot of wine involved?) I was psyched to say goodbye to my new BFF and get my 7 miles outside!!

    On the decks for this week:
    Rodney Yee's Yoga for BeginnersToday: Yoga. I was tweeting with Sage Roundtree and she forwarded a couple of her podcasts to try. I also just got Rodney Yee’s Yoga for Beginners DVD.

    Tuesday: 4 miles

    Wednesday: My weekly TRX/Pilates class

    Thursday:  Tempo run or speedwork — with less than 2 weeks to go until the Hyannis 10k I’ve been trying to figure out which workout is more beneficial.

    Friday: It’s suppose to warm up around here (read 40’s) so I’ll probably run again with some yoga as well.

    Saturday: my weekly Pilates Reformer group

    Sunday: my first attempt at 8 miles!

    How was your week? What have you got planned this week?

    Happy Running!
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    Filed Under: Hyannis 10k, Pilates, Thai Massage, training, TRX, Vibrams, Yoga

    Just Stylin’

    February 12, 2011 by 5 Comments

    The lovely Kittee over at Running Half Crazy was sweet enough to bestow this lovely award on me. Now many of you have seen this so you know the rules:

    • Make a post and link back to the person who tagged you. – If you have not checked out Kittee’s blog, please stop by and say hi!
    • Share 7 things about yourself
    • Pass the award along to 7 other bloggers
    Hmm…ok…so 7 things about me….
    1. I’m mom to two little boys who are really quite the characters and keep me on my toes. It’s funny I always knew that I would be mom to boys. And, I’m accepting the fact that my house will never be quiet!
    2.  I love food! I love to cook and I love to eat. Sharing a great meal with family and friends and lots of wine is a perfect evening!
    3.  I use to own a artisan olive oil company. I love running my own business and given that I’ve lost my “self-edit” button it’s probably better that I work for myself. I’m looking for my next biz idea.
    4. I’m a huge football fan – my hubs actually gave me tickets to see my favorite football team as an anniversary gift (at the time the 49ers in Candlestick) – still one of the best gifts ever 🙂
    5. I’m an avid reader – though at the moment I’m way behind on my reading wish list.
    6. I love to decorate – a wall of paint samples can seriously make me giddy!
    7. And, yes Emz, I did play rubgy. I played in college first as a hooker (my parents are so proud!) and then I quickly wised up and got out of the scrum to play fly-half. You gotta love a sport where you beat the tar out of each other and then share a beer or two (or twelve!)

    Now to pass this on…since many of you have already received this award and because I have too many favorites I’m breaking the rules and I’m not going to pick.  But if you haven’t played yet and want to, consider yourself tagged!

    Have a Great Weekend!!
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    Filed Under: awards, food, football, general musings, kids

    Thursday Thoughts – aka 3 things

    February 10, 2011 by 6 Comments

    1. A few weeks back I put out there that I was debating whether or not to sign up for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Providence Half in August. Well as some of you pointed out, RnR races are a lot of fun and with one right in my backyard why miss this opportunity? So I’ve bit the bullet and registered! Now I’ve got two half marathons on my race schedule — given that I haven’t run longer than 7 miles yet, is that crazy?!
    2. And, speaking of crazy, I’m starting to feel like a magnet for crazies at the gym….or at least bad singers! Seriously the last few times I’ve been at the gym I get the one person who wants the treadmill next to mine who feels the need to break out into song! One time might be an accident, but by the 4th time I’m starting to wonder! And it’s never the same person. Going to the gym is starting to turn into one long bad American Idol audition!   
    3. I’m going to try out Thai Muscular Therapy tomorrow. TMT is a unique combination of Traditional Thai Massage, Tui Na (Chinese Medical Massage), and Neuromuscular Therapy. One of my Pilates instructors, who also runs marathons, suggested it for my on again, off again ITB issues. I’m open to trying anything once so I figure I’ll give it a whirl!

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    Filed Under: 3 things, gym crazies, RnR, Thai Massage

    New Day, New Attitude

    February 6, 2011 by 6 Comments

    Thanks to those of you who indulged me in my little pity party on Friday – I really appreciated the encouragement!

    So I’ve shaken off my mini funk, tweaked my plan and am ready to get going again! After a week off, I wasn’t sure how the run was going to feel this morning or how far I was going to go. It was back to the treadmill and after the first couple of funky miles, I finally settled in, found a rhythm and decided that running a 10k would be good for my psyche. 6.2 miles done!

    This week’s revised plan:

    Monday — Yoga
    Tuesday — Easy 4 miles
    Wednesday — TRX/Pilates class
    Thursday — Speedwork
    Friday — 3 miles
    Saturday — Pilates Reformer
    Sunday — Long Run (7 or 8)

    Looking forward to a good week!

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    Filed Under: training, treadmill run

    Best laid plans….

    February 4, 2011 by 8 Comments

    The plan was to kick February off with a bang!

    After a step back week, I was going to up the mileage this week, I had my strength workouts laid out and the plan was to start and end every day with a little yoga. Sounds good, right?

    Yeah well…the combination of Mother Nature, early school closings, no school and the dreaded stomach bug quickly turned this week into the week that wasn’t. So now I sit here, almost two pounds lighter (but I would strongly advise against this diet approach) trying to tweak my plan so I can stay on my goal to improve my 10k time at Hyannis at the end of the month. I must admit that I’m not feeling very confident. I honestly feel like I’ve been getting slower on the treadmill….is that possible or am I just psyching myself out? Well, whatever it is I’ve got three weeks to shake it off…hmmm, better get back to tweaking….

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    Filed Under: goals, Hyannis 10k, treadmill run, weather

    January rewind

    February 1, 2011 by 2 Comments
    Good things this month:
    • Logged 56 relatively pain-free miles – ice and foam roller helped to keep the ITB in check.
    • Did not miss one scheduled run despite weekly snow storms of biblical proportion (ok slight exaggeration… or not if you listen to our local weatherman!)
    • Added TRX to my weekly routine and I’m loving it! It kicks my arse in a good way.
    • Finally took on hill work, and on the treadmill no less!
    • Added yoga to my training….ok on the last day of the month, but technically I did add it
    • Completed the first week of the Chopra Center’s 21-day Meditation Challenge. I’m not zen yet, but I’m working on it.
    • 63 of you now following my madness…er…journey — I appreciate the support!
    Things I could do without:
    • Treadmill as my new BFF….I need to start keeping better company. I miss the road. I will take the bitter cold temps if Mother Nature will just give the snow show a rest!
    • Shoveling as a form of cross-training…ok I’m done whining.
    • hmmm…that’s it…short list!
    On the decks for February:
    • More…more TRX, more yoga and more miles…more ice.
    • Want to do a better job paying attention to what I’m eating – I don’t eat a lot of junk, but I could fuel and hydrate better, especially as I hope to increase my miles.
    • Hyannis 10k

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      Filed Under: Chopra Center, Hyannis 10k, meditation, month in review, treadmill run, TRX, weather