Chasing Crewboats

Saturday morning was a beautiful morning for a long run.  The MDA team gathered at 6:30am at our usual spot along the Charles River on Memorial Drive by Starbucks and the Micro Center.  

Too tired to smile... but here I am!

It was a humid morning with showers threatening at any moment, but it still felt better than the sun beating on our backs and faces.  I'm nervous for each of my long runs so it's nice to have an easy win with the weather. The running is hard enough.  Yes, I said it - running is hard.  I enjoy it, but I'm not sure it comes natural for anyone.

Despite running being hard, I set myself up to enjoy the day a little more. 

1. I am well rested and well hydrated.
2. I have new shoes to wear!  

At the Greater Boston Running Company in Newton, we are one of the exclusive retailers of the ON running shoes.  I ran 12.5 miles in the ON Cloudsurfer.  From the picture above, you can see the shoe is not a conventional running shoe.  The pods on the bottom of the shoe or "clouds" as they are described move both horizontal and vertical to take down the impact of running, helping the runner to move in forward momentum and provide a soft landing.

The little clouds were a pleasure to run on.  I had a soft landing with each stride.  Check out the comparison video with other conventional running shoes.  The video also offers the visual evidence and support for compression socks too!  

In addition to new shoes, a couple other bright points emerged from my run.  

A lot of my usual training partners were unable to attend so I ran more than 10 miles by myself, but I made sure to involve others since I'm in the middle of a city and smack in the middle of the busiest running area.  As soon as I broke away from my warm up pace and the rest of the team, I zoned in on the crewboats that were laboring to stay in sync with their teammates.  The boats moved about 10 - 15 seconds faster than my current pace, which was enough to distract and push me along for miles 3 - 8.

As I turned the corner leaving the Esplanade area, I noticed the familiar colors of the BAA and Boston Strong shirts, but more accurately, it was a One Run for Boston T-shirt being worn by the one and only, Danny Boy Bent.

I ran the One Run for Boston back in June 2013.  The One Run was a worldwide response for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.  Danny is a British man that organized a relay across America in support of the One Fund.  With the help of a couple friends, Kate and Jamie, the young British team brought love and support from all over the world to Boston.  Danny has been back to the Boston area a few times since June 2014 and I've cheered him on for different races or November Project workouts, but I've never been able to personally thank and talk with him since the first One Run.  I couldn't stand around for long, but we've already emailed since Saturday morning and a real connection for future support and connections with the One Run.







I completed the 12.5 miles a little after 8:30am.  The sky was starting to open up with a couple drops of rain.  I love running in the rain, but the moisture added to some scraps and pains that I did not anticipate.  It is interesting to continuously learn ways to improve.  With these lessons, I wanted to be finished!  My body felt good, but it was wet and tired.  The calf pain held off until the last couple miles.  I immediately grabbed my foam roller, phone and wallet to head to Starbucks for some fuel before work.

Check out this text message and PROOF ...

that I did in fact run on Saturday morning around the Charles and I did not fabricate the entire story.  My sister spotted me running along.  It's not her usual hang out spot and I am only running with the team once a week on the river so it was a hoot to be seen!

Also - now it's clear, I am not wearing compressions socks because it's cool!

Track at Brookline

My calf did not hurt during the track workout this evening.  

Hallelujah!  

On top of the great health status, I also ran at peak performance (fast and consistent!).  

It was a relief.  This is the first workout in a couple weeks that my calf did not hurt while running.  I have a couple possible explanations as to why the pain has subsided.  

1.  I did attend church this afternoon with my sister and nieces.  They did some volunteer work and I suppose some of the good deeds rubbed off on me.

2.  I incorporated the strength training exercises prescribed by the physical therapists at Marathon Physical Therapy

3.  I also introduced and added the exercise suggestions from massage therapist Lisa Gorman from 360 Neuromuscular Therapy Massage.

4.  I have massaged my quads, hamstrings, calves, shins, and IT band a lot over the last couple weeks.

5.  I warmed up for a solid 30 minutes prior to the workout with massage and dynamic warm-ups.

6.  I wore light flexible Nike Free 4.0 Flyknit shoes with Blue SuperFeet inserts!

A tiny tint of red added to the bottom from the sweet red Brookline track.  Fancy materials over on the other side of the river!





7.  For the last couple weeks, I have been wearing compression socks as advised by the PT.

8.  I hung out with Maggie and Elizabeth today, which included short sprints and lots of kneeling.

I am not certain whether it was a combination of 1 &7 or 2, 6 & 7 or all of these, but I am on the road to a strong race!  

This evening, I ran 800 repeats on the track which is two laps around a standard track and equals a half mile.  It is an ideal "speed" workout for marathon training.  Sadly, I can't tell you the physical reasons why it's the ideal distance.  I only know because the best and most successful marathon coaches and trainers advise to include 800 repeats.  The workout is referred to as the Yasso 800s after Bart Yasso.    Based on the reading about Yasso 800, my marathon time will range between a 3:05 - 3:09 marathon.  Phew, that is fast and seems a little unlikely!

Thanks for your support! http://www2.mda.org/goto/katierunschicago2014

Day on a Foam Roller

With my training gearing up and reaching up and over 10 miles on the long runs, my legs are tired.  

That is a usual occurrence with marathon training.  The part that has stopped me for a couple days is some over tightness in my right calf muscle.

I know, the old secret has been broken.  Don't say it out loud and it won't be real!  The pain is real.  The race is real and more importantly, the cause is real.

Action has been taken! 

Due to my new job, I have discovered and made a great connection with Marathon Physical Therapy .  The team at marathon PT know the importance of endurance events and how to get each athlete to the starting line. 

 

I'm going to be ok!  

I met with a therapist early this morning on my off day from work.  

I retreated home and followed their advice.  I sat on a foam roller, a lacrosse ball, and massaged out the tightness as much as possible.   See above for an understanding an instruction of foam rolling!

This photo is not completely accurate for a couple reasons.  

1. This is not me
2. You cannot foam roll correctly with two people
3. This is not from today

But ... for entertainment factors, I did use that foam roller and I did see these two monsters today!  It was a big day out in the "city" for my little ladies.

Anyway, I did a whole lot of push ups, squats, hips monster walks, and calf raises to get ready for Chicago!  It's less than 100 days!  

Tempo Run

I completed another hard run this evening.  I struggled to want to start, but I have my goals and my MDA team and partners depending on me.

As part of the training for the Chicago marathon, coach Barbara adjusted the training for a couple members of the team to include harder workouts focused on achieving time goals.  

Tonight's run was called a tempo run and the time goal was 15 minutes for two interval at a tempo pace with 5 minutes of slow pace in between.  For my family members and other supporters, a tempo also referred to as anaerobic threshold (AT) run or lactate-threshold run is defined with amazing imagery by Runner's World in the following paragraphs.

The fact of the matter, according to the Runner's World article, What is a Tempo Run?, "doing a tempo run incorrectly greatly compromises its training benefits."  Well what is a tempo run then... and hopefully I did it correctly!

The term "tempo run" is to distance running in the ’90s what Studio 54 was to ’70s decadence: Tossing it around separates the wannabes from the in-crowd. 

Wannabes - not using the lingo correctly.

Now, it sounds serious!  But what is threshold pace and how does one find it?

The tempo pace is the effort level just below which the body’s ability to clear lactate, a by-product of carbohydrate metabolism, can no longer keep up with lactate production. 

Jack Daniels, Ph.D. made the tempo run popular  in Daniels’ Running Formula (Human Kinetics).  A tempo run is nothing more than 20 minutes of steady running at threshold pace.  Daniels states that this pace is, for most people, about 25 to 30 seconds per mile slower than current 5K race pace. 

Thank goodness!  I did it correctly!!  

I did it!

In the words of my favorite 3 year old, Maggie, "I did it...!"

I ran my 4 miles this evening.  As a marathoner, recovering injured, cautious, goal oriented runner, I am stumbling through the first couple weeks of the training program.  I finally realized in the last couple years that a training program is only a suggestion and a runner is more successful when the individual body directs the daily mileage.  

This aligns well with an understanding that the number one cause of injuries is overuse or fatigue.

On the other side of the coin, how do you balance that with the drive to complete a goal and/or suppress the tired side of yourself?  I can tell every person in my life that they're capable of running a marathon and in the space, I can convince myself to sit home and that I deserve a rest day.

When is it best to run the miles, rest, or even dare I say... Cross Train or Work on Your Core!?

I am learning, have learned, and will most likely struggle and learn this lesson over and over again throughout this marathon training.  

For today's run, I ran 4.48 miles in the Hoka One One Stinson ATR.  It's a big shoe.  You can see how big it is!  As noted on The Hoka website, "HOKA ONE ONE engineers unique performance midsole geometries that feature higher volume, softer density, and greater rebounding foam than standard running shoes." 

Engineered midsole volume which is up to 2.5X the volume than standard running shoes, made with performance-specific cushioning material.

Benefit:

Excellent shock absorption and an inherently stable ride.

The HOKA did not make my top 5 favorite shoes based on today's 4 mile run.  I must re-evaluate and will provide further feedback after a couple more runs.  They did provide a nice cushioned ride and I enjoyed the Meta-rocker for the supreme rolling through my gait cycle.  For the construction of the shoe, it provided and delivered on its big volume foam.

Chicago Postcard from Eleni

This afternoon, I received a sign and postcard all in the mail!  

This cute lovely postcard arrived from Chicago sent by my dear friend Eleni Kalafatis.  And it could not have been more welcomed and appreciated.

"Katie, this city is right up your alley! ...lots of places to run"  

Truth be told, I needed the official invite from Chicago (in postcard form) to shake my nerves away.  As much as I know I'm running for a good cause and Team Momentum is the most welcoming group, I needed a little push.  

Eleni didn't know when she sent the little note about my plans to train and run Chicago so it seems even more magical.  

Hopefully, her premonition is correct and I'll run up and down all of the alleys, corners, and across the finish line!  

It Begins!

Welcome to my Chicago Marathon blog!  

In less than 4 months, I will be toeing the line with the Muscular Dystrophy Association Team Momentum in Chiacgo, Illinois for the Chicago World Marathon!  

When 2014 started, I did not anticipate or plan on running another marathon.  As the manager of the Greater Boston Running Company, I speak with marathoners every single day whether an employee, customer, or aspiring goal setters.  As a member of Team Momentum, I had the privilege of meeting some other marathoners - the patients that are fighting muscle disease and I knew I had to help.  

I am helping in the way best way that I know -Running and with as much enthusiasm and excitement for the cause as possible.  

The Greater Boston Running Company is hosting Team Momentum for their weekly group runs on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.  As a member of the team, I am able to drive more support, excitement and hopefully more runners and donations to the MDA team.   We are a team so far with over 50 runners strong!  

I'll write an update again soon about the upcoming runs and the past couple events!  Thanks for reading and please consider making a donation.  http://www2.mda.org/goto/katierunschicago2014