Race Report: Boston Athletic Association 10K

This past weekend I was in Boston visiting friends.  When I had been researching things to do in Boston before we left for our trip, I came across this race.  It was the inaugural B.A.A. 10K and runners would be sharing the field with elite runners like Geoffrey Mutai (he won in 27:19) and Kim Smith.  Even though I didn't really feel in race shape so soon after my marathon, I just had to register.  The B.A.A. was going to mail my race packet, but, since M. and I were leaving for vacation before they mailed my packet out, I called the B.A.A. and asked them to hold it so that I could pick it up the morning of the race.

After a day of adventures in Salem and an amazing meal cooked by a friend on Saturday, I woke up early Sunday morning.  It was humid but still pretty cool out-- not bad for running.  I ate a banana, drank some water, got dressed, and put my contacts in.  M. and I traveled down to the race start on the T.  Probably at least half of the people on our train were other 10k runners.  When we got to the race start, I found the information booth and picked up my packet without any difficulties.  I pinned on my bib, had M. snap a couple of pictures and then made my way toward the back of the pack of about 4,000 participants.  

Pre-race

The race started in the Back Bay on Charles St. between the Public Gardens and Boston Common.  We turned onto Beacon Street and then essentially ran an out and back along Commonwealth Ave through the campus of Boston University and Kenmore Square before lapping the Public Garden in the opposite direction and finishing near the start.  I had planned to stop and take photos here and there of the race course, but once I got to running that sort of slipped my mind.  I also don't have any photos of me finishing because M. missed it -- he had gone to a nearby Starbucks and had miscalculated the time.*

Elite Start

M. snapped a number of photos from the start and I'm actually in this one

While it took me a bit longer than I hoped to finish this 10K (1:05:40), it was good to be out there.  My feet were hurting a little bit, which was probably due the fact that I had walked around Salem the day before in a pair of beloved but worn out flats.  I did push myself to have a faster last quarter of a mile, and doing that made me realize that I should really be doing more speedwork and pushing myself to work through more discomfort than I have been lately.

The only weird incident during the race was that somewhere around mile 2, when we had briefly split off of Commonwealth Ave. and were running in a residential area, a guy tried to drive down the street we were running on.  Several runners gave him a piece of their mind and he started honking and was still trying to drive behind us.  A block or so up we ran by a police officer at a traffic barricade, and I saw another runner go up to the officer to tell him what had happened and the officer started heading in that direction.  I don't know what the end result was. I guess I had to encounter at least one stereotypical Masshole during my trip, and the award goes to the guy who tried to drive his car through a major road race.  

Stretching post-race at the Civil War Memorial in Boston Common

The B.A.A. knows how to organize a race.  The volunteers were the best I've seen at a race - enthusiastic and professional.  They had handing out water cups honed to a precise art.  It was great to be participating in such a well-organized event on a gorgeous course in a city with such a rich running culture!  

*Note: "miscalculated the time" is a euphemism for being in the washroom.

Travels: Montreal

First off, while I was in Montreal, the awesome Jodi featured me on her blog, so go check out my interview with her!

After several days with my husband's family in Toronto, we took the train to Montreal to spend a day and a half there.  M. had been several times, but this was my first trip to Montreal.  It wasn't nearly long enough to explore such a truly excellent city.  Although I am very partial to Chicago, Puebla, New York, and Toronto, on first impressions, I would put Montreal up there as one of the best cities in North America.  It had an incredibly cosmopolitan kind of vibe and almost everyone that I saw of all genders, races, sizes, and ages was incredibly stylish.  If McGill wanted to hire me, I wouldn't hesitate to go.

At the quays

M. and I packed as much as we could into our time there.  Once we arrived and got checked into our hotel, we immediately set off to explore.  We walked around the quays of the Old Port, saw some street theater in the city's historic district, and had a delicious dinner at one of the many restaurants on Rue St. Denis, followed by dessert at Juliette & Chocolat, and a couple of microbrews on a bar patio.  I had the Dieu du Ciel Rosée d'Hibiscus, which was a lovely wheat beer with a very floral nose on it.

Street theater in the old city

M's brownie at Juliette & Chocolat

Tasty Microbrews

I had wanted to run in Montreal, but the weather forecast for the second day we were there was threatening thunderstorms.  I decided to forgo my run in order to head out earlier in the day and hopefully beat the rain for a hike up the mountain with M.  The views of the city from the mountain were incredible and well worth the trek.  I saw lots of runners out and felt a little bit guilty for having skipped my run.  I think I got in some decent exercise, though.  By the time M. and I made it down from Mont Royal, it was lunchtime and we were starving.  In order to be fair and scientific we decided to sample bagels from both Fairmount Bagel and St. Viateur Bagel.  Both were delicious, but I'm going to give St. Viateur a slight edge.  We spend the afternoon museum-ing and doing some shopping as the rain poured down.  In the evening we got all gussied up and went to a light show at the Basilica. Unfortunately, it was still raining so I didn't get any pictures.  Also it was a shame that the light show turned out to be mainly cheesy historical reenactments of important events in the building of Notre Dame and it was pretty underwhelming.  Our dinner made up for it, though.  We had an incredible meal at a restaurant in the old part of the city, called Aix Cuisine du Terroir.

From Mont-Royal

I would have loved to have spent another day in Montreal, but we were due in Boston on Friday evening so we woke up early the next day and picked up our rental car to drive to make our way down.

That's all for now.  I have a recap of my time in Boston and a race report to post soon.  I'm hoping to catch up on everyone's blogs later today and tomorrow.  We just got home from our vacation last night (delayed for a few extra hours due to the discovery of a leaky front tire while still in the airport parking garage), and I had to be up and on campus early this morning for a MA defense, as I was sitting on the committee.

What is your favorite city in North America?  What do you love about it?

Travels: Weekend Adventures in Toronto

I spent this weekend with my husband and his family in Toronto.  We flew to Buffalo on Friday and M's parents drove down to do some shopping and to pick us up from the airport.  We had dinner in Buffalo and then made the drive back to Toronto, where we were dropped off at M's sister's place.

Saturday morning we woke up earlier than we had planned, since my brother-in-law had accidentally locked the laundry room.  After a misadventure with attempting to take the hinges off the door and a failed attempt to break in using a steak knife, we gave up temporarily and got ready for the day.  M. and I spent some time playing with our niece and then we all went to the farmers' market at Wychwood Barns.  We got coffee from one of the many vendors and had some yummy lunch at the cafe, enjoyed some live music, and my brother-in-law picked up a meat order from a local farmer.

M. and Norah

Band at Wychwood Barns

Artscape

After our trip to the market, we headed back to the house so that niece Norah could go down for a nap and that I could change out of my jeans since I was broiling.  Then M. and I headed down to David Pecaut Square to hear some live music at the Luminato Festival.  We sat in the grass and had a lemonade and just spent a couple of hours enjoying the sunshine, the urban atmosphere, and the performance of Egyptian artists, Natacha Atlas and Minor Empire.  We had to head back before too long, though, to get changed for dinner out with M's parents and sister.  It was a joint birthday (M's mother and sister have birthdays coming up soon) and father's day celebration.  Because of Norah's early bed time, it was an early dinner.  Afterwards, we headed back to my sister-in-law's for dessert, more conversation, and a nightcap.

Minor Empire performing at Luminato

Enjoying a summery day in a fabulous city

Yesterday morning I got up early and squeezed in a little 3 mile run.  Then M. and I went for brunch, which as you may know is my favorite meal of the week.  I had a latte and a veggie omelette and M. had scrambled eggs and chorizo.  We came back and hung out some more and watched Norah take a little bike ride around the block to test out the new seat and helmet for her.  Later in the afternoon we all attended the 50th wedding anniversary party of M's aunt and uncle.  It was a great time and wonderful to catch up with family and enjoy the antics of the younger generation.

Baby on board!

50 years together!

My sister-in-law, mother-in-law and I all ended up in surprisingly coordinating outfits

Balloons galore

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything to celebrate Father's Day?  Any races or spectacular meals.  

Registered: B.A.A. 10K!

The weekend that I will be in Boston coincides with Boston Athletic Association 10K, so I registered for it.  I'm excited.  It's been a couple of years since I've run a 10k, and it will ensure that I go for at least one run while I'm in Beantown.  There's a chance that a friend of mine who now lives in Boston will run it with me, which would be really awesome as we ran my last 10k together just over two years ago.  I'm also really excited because I think it will be some fun running tourism.  The race goes through the Back Bay and hopefully will provide some scenic running.

Since I'm still in reverse taper/marathon recovery mode, I don't have a time goal for this race.  Perhaps my body will feel more capable of speed in a week or two and I can think about shooting for a PR.  For right now, though, my plan is to just enjoy running a race and taking in the sights in my running shoes in Boston.

Writer's Bane (aka Facebook)

So far this summer hasn't been as writing-filled as I would like it to be.  In part it's because I am waiting for some research materials to come in still.  In part it's because I haven't been setting myself up for success the way that I should be.

I've been thinking back to times when I was most productive (and also most active) and trying to figure out how to replicate those conditions.  In the summer of 2004 I was incredibly productive, I was working as a research assistant, writing my MA thesis, biking a lot, getting to the gym or hitting the trails for a run 6 days a week, and I was enjoying most of my evenings with a glass of wine and a book on the porch, going out to get a drink or dinner with a girlfriend, or watching a movie with housemates.  How was I doing it all?  Well, I was single.  I didn't read blogs or have Facebook.  And I got up by 6am almost every morning and was often working by 7:30 or 8 at the library, a coffee shop, or my desk at home.

While I have no plans to divorce M., I can spend less time online and get up earlier.  I remember a time just a few years ago when I didn't check my email compulsively or scan my FB newsfeed or refresh my Google Reader every 30 minutes.  It's going to be a hard change to make, but I'm going to try to stay offline during the day.  I'll check my email in the morning and at lunch, check in with my newsfeed, and read a few blog posts.  Then I'm going to try to stay off of email, blogs, and Facebook until after 5pm.  I'm also going to start getting up earlier. That also means going to bed earlier.  In the fall, I'll have to get up early to teach an 8am class two days a week, so I might as well just get up early throughout the week, start writing earlier in the day most days and get my training runs and other work outs in later in the day.  My marathon clinic will be meeting in the evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and in the mornings on Saturdays.

If left to my natural tendencies, I prefer to write in the morning.  It's when my brain is functioning best and words tend to flow more easily.  I need to be maximizing my mornings and getting to work with that second cup of coffee.

When do you do your best work?  What are your strategies to carve out that time for yourself with minimal distractions?  What are your tips for afternoon/evening running?  Do you have a snack beforehand?  How long before?   

Three Things Thursday: Musings on Zero Week

1. Monday and Tuesday I was oh so sore, so I sat on my ass and did some reading/research for a writing project that I'm working on.  I avoided stairs at all costs and getting from sitting to standing and vice versa hurt like hell.  I think that my quads were in more pain after this marathon than Columbus but that my joints felt a lot better this time around. Yesterday I felt a relatively normal level of sore.  I had some errands to run, including a trip to the university library to pick up some research materials that had come in for me.  I parked in the farthest lot and walked about 30 minutes.  I enjoyed stretching my legs in a low impact kinda way.  Today I wanted to run, but I had promised myself that I would take this whole week off from running.  Instead I went to the gym for some lifting and a couple of easy peasy miles on the elliptical machine.

2. In a semi-successful effort to stave off the post-marathon blues, I signed up for a marathon class that starts at my local Y in July.  It's for a marathon here which is a couple of weeks after the Chicago marathon, so I might have to log an extra couple of miles on my own before or after the group long runs.  I'm looking forward to having other people to train with, though.  I just hope that none of them are my students....

3. I think I might also look into some minimalist running shoes since my mileage over the next couple of weeks is going to be on the low side as I reverse the taper.  Do you use minimalist shoes?  What have your experiences been with them or with barefoot running?  

Race Report: Team Ortho Minneapolis Marathon

Yesterday I completed my second marathon.

Pre-Race
On Saturday M. dropped Bailey off to be boarded for the night and then we headed to the Twin Cities for the rest of the weekend.  We got to Minneapolis, ran a quick errand at The Container Store for my mother-in-law and then checked into the Residence Inn near the start/finish.  We went over to the connected Renaissance Hotel, where I picked up my race packet and checked out the expo.  It was a pretty small expo, so it didn't take long to explore.  Then we headed down to pick up a few things at Target and hung out a bookstore for awhile.  Normally, we would have checked out a museum or done more exploring, but I was trying not to do too much walking around.  Before long it was dinner time.  On Lisa's recommendation, we went to Zelo and had a yummy and leisurely dinner there.  I had a salad and ravioli and M. had the fettucini alfredo, and we split a piece of lemon cake for dessert.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel.  M. caught the end of the hockey game, and I had a cup of herbal tea and read my book for a little bit.  I headed to bed and slept relatively well.

My alarm went off at 5:45, which was good, because the wake-up call I requested never happened.  I drank a couple glasses of water, ate some breakfast, put on my clothes, lathered on the sunblock, pulled my hair back into two very unprofessorial pigtails and brushed my teeth.  This is probably more than you wanted to know, but I was unable to have a bm before the race.  I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable, so I took a couple of Tums and hoped for the best.

M. and I headed down to the start.  It was kind of chaotic because of the placement of the p-pots.  They were alongside the starting corral and the lines were really long so it was hard to tell who was in line and who was just milling around.  M. snapped a couple of pre-race pictures of me and then wished me luck.  I found the 4:45 pacer and introduced myself.  I was hoping that I would be able to stick with her the whole way or at least stay ahead of the 5:00 pacer.  Before too much longer we were off.

Miles 1-10

The first few miles of this race are a blur to me.  There were some hills and it was already pretty hot and sunny.  The water stops were pretty congested and I was trying to do the pinch the cup and drink on the run thing to stay with my pace group.  I managed to do so with relative success - about half a cup of powerade ended up on my face and neck, but not bad for a klutz like me.  Around mile 5 I felt a little rumble in my tummy and I was doing some sporadic burping, but I just ignored it and chatted with people in my pace group.  At this point the race was very energetic.  There were spectators on the course and we were sharing the route up to mile 9 with the half-marathoners.  Distracted from my intestinal distress, I was having a good time and running pretty strong.  Around mile 9, I spotted M. up on the Lake Street Bridge.  He snapped some photos.  I waved and blew him a kiss.  

I missed the Hammer Gels at the aid station just before mile 10, but my pacer had grabbed an extra and gave it to me.  When I ripped into it, I didn't tear it all the way across.  I didn't realize it, but about half of the gel ended up on my shirt and only about half in my mouth.  Unfortunately, the gel that I got into my mouth did not settle well in my already rumbly stomach.  My issues were probably exacerbated by the heat.  The temperature was probably already in the high 70s, which I know is not all that hot (I'm from Texas for crying out loud), but it was definitely hotter than any day that I had trained.  The areas without shade were feeling brutal, and my stomach started revolting.  I soon said goodbye to my pace group and stopped to use a biffy.

Miles 10-17
After my rest stop, I felt a bit better.  As long as I kept the pace really slow (11min/mile or slower) I felt physically alright.  Mentally the race was getting much tougher though.  The half-marathoners had turned back as we continued forward, and crowd support was minimal.  I talked with another runner for a little while before she speeded up a bit.  I dug out my ipod and pressed on.  Around mile 12 we headed onto a paved trail and then on to an unpaved one.  I'm not sure if this was because of the change they had to make to the course due to flooding or not, but we were on the unpaved and narrow trail for a couple of miles.  This part of the race was brutal and annoying.  The trail was killing my quads, and those fluffy cottony pieces of pollen were floating in the air everywhere and aggravating my breathing.  I was walking more than I wanted to be, and I was oh so hot.  My stomach started feeling a little queasy again.

Miles 17-26
Around mile 17 there was a very steep hill going up to Fort Snelling.  I walked up it.  At that point the 5:00 pacer overtook me.  I kept him in my sights for the next mile, but then I had to stop to use the p-pots again.  When I emerged from the biffy, I made a decision.  I decided that I would run/walk the rest of the way, and that my time did not matter.  I adjusted my expectations and my goals.  Instead of sulking or having an emotional blow out, I decided to just focus on completing the race.  Some days finishing is a victory, and yesterday was one of those days for me.  Once I was no longer concerned about time, I was able to spend the next several miles focusing on the things in my life that I am grateful for.  I put away my ipod and focused on a litany of gratitudes:  being able to train for a marathon, my mom's back improving after her injection treatment, my mother-in-law responding well to cancer treatments, my sister getting to become a mom, my marriage and my husband who is my biggest supporter, having a job that I love.  I plodded along, smiling at volunteers and thanking them for being out there for us (though I do wish aid station volunteers would hold water cups from the bottom and not stick their fingers in them).  I talked to some other runners for a few minutes here and there until either they or I sped up or slowed down.  I was tired and my quads hurt but my stomach was no longer bothering me.

Miles 26-26.2
I headed toward the finish line, and I picked up the pace.  Just as I was crossing the finish line, with my arms raised in celebration and a big-ass grin on my face, one of those damn fluffy cotton pollen things flew into my mouth.  After the finish, I got my medal and then I hacked for a couple of minutes until my throat was clear.  Then, I downed some more water.  M. met me at the finish with a smile and a kiss.  

My official time was 5:28:30.

Post-Race
We headed back to the hotel, and I took an ice bath and then a quick shower.  I ate a banana and had a cup of coffee and a lot more water.  Then, M. and I headed out for a late lunch, stopped at Trader Joe's and then headed home.  My quads felt trashed and I had a little bit of a fever, but I was happy.

Racing Reflections
This course was really pretty.  It also had some very challenging hills.  My first marathon (Columbus 2009) was on a much, much flatter course, and, while I am better at running hills than I was when I moved here last August, I still need to do more hill work.  (Seriously, before the move, when I saw a tiny hill, I would curse up a storm.)  Hill repeats will be in my future.  It was bad luck that this past week has really been the first one that has been anything approaching hot.  I didn't have a chance to get acclimated to running in warmer temps.

Team Ortho puts on a good race.  The p-pots had toilet paper and hand sanitizer.  The volunteers were numerous and friendly.  Again, my biggest complaint is that aid station workers should keep their fingers out of the drinking cups and could probably stand to wear gloves.  (Also, why did Team Ortho delete my comment to that effect from their Facebook page wall?)

As in the Mankato Half, I found the lower energy of a smaller racing event to be a challenge.  Before the half-marathon turn around and after the turn around were like two completely different events.  The first was high energy and like a party, the second was much quieter and often quite solitary going.  I'm glad that I did a fair amount of my training on my own, as the lack of spectators and decrease in energy during those middle miles of the marathon were pretty tough.  There were points in the last few miles where I could only see around 2-3 other participants up ahead in the distance.

Am I disappointed for not meeting the time goal that I set the day before the race?  Maybe a little.  But I think on another day and maybe on a different course I would have had that sub-5 marathon.  I realize that's a slow pace for many of you, but someone has to bring in the rear.  To be honest, I was proud of myself for finishing under adverse conditions.  I got a 5 minute PR on a (comparatively) hot day, on a hilly course, with two biffy stops for stomach problems.  More importantly, though, I crossed the finish line of a freaking marathon!  I survived.  I endured.  And you know what?  I actually enjoyed myself during those last few miles!  I'm looking forward to running again soon, but probably not for a few more days.  I will run a faster marathon in Chicago in October.

What do you do when you're not having the race you hoped?  How do you deal with adverse conditions?  Any advice or reading recommendations for hill training?

Minneapolis Marathon: Done!

I'll write a full recap and report in the next day or two, but for now I just wanted to say that I finished the Minneapolis Marathon.  My time wasn't want I had originally hoped for, but I am still so grateful for this race.  I feel lucky and blessed to have arrived at the starting line of my second marathon and to have crossed the finish.

June Goals

It's the start of another month.  I love the feeling of starting a new month, with all the possibilities it brings.  Even when I'm working on projects that I've been dealing with for months, it feels like a reset button has been pressed.  Anne Shirley would say that "tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet." I say June is a new month with no mistakes in it yet.

A Lily Pond, June 2009

Fitness/Health Goals
- I don't have a mileage goal for June, but I do have a pretty big running goal:  run marathon #2.   I would love to finish this marathon in under 5 hours or get a PR.  Mainly, though, I just want to finish and enjoy the experience.
- Journal everything I eat, every day for the whole month of June.  I did this in May, and I think it really helped me to make healthier choices, especially when it came to snacking.  So I'm setting this goal again this month.
- Do yoga at least twice a week.  I plan to take it easy on the running front after the marathon this weekend, but I want to make sure that I'm staying active and getting a couple of yoga practices in each week.

Writing/Professional Goals
- Finish revising an article and resubmit it to an academic journal.  I feel like a broken record with this one, but here it is again.  Hopefully, it will be the last time for this particular article.
- Do at least 10 hours of research for a conference paper/article draft.  August and the next academic year will be here before I know it, so I need to at least get a start on this project and put myself in a position to start doing some new writing by beginning of next month.
- Renew some professional memberships and update my personal/professional information.

I'm going a little light on the goals this month, but I'll be running a marathon and I have a couple of trips planned in June.  I hope and believe that June is going to be a great month with a nice mix of productivity, achievement, and relaxation.  What's June bringing your way?  Do you have any goals for June?

May in Review

May has been a pretty good month for me.  I nailed all of my fitness goals, and, while I wasn't quite as successful in terms of my writing goals for the month, I have made some progress in that area as well.

My Fitness/Health Goals were to:

- Journal everything I eat, every day for the whole month.  I kept track of everything I ate all month.  In order to give myself a visual reminder I went old elementary school style and put a sticker on the calendar for every day that I kept track.  

- Run 100+ miles.  Even though I was in taper mode for the last couple of weeks of May, I ran 121.2 miles this month.  My longest run was 19 miles, I also ran my longest treadmill run to date of 16 miles and a half-marathon. 

- Practice yoga at least twice a week.  Sometimes it's just been a couple of sun salutations and a handful of seated postures, but I have practiced 2-3 times a week in May.  It could be all in my head, but I do think the yoga and lifting weights once or twice a week are starting go make my arms look a bit more toned.  

My Writing/Professional Goals were to:

- Revise and resubmit an article.  I'm not done with this, as there was more to do than I remembered in order to get this manuscript revised.  However, I have made decent progress.  I've been doing a lot of reading and a lot of thinking about how to address the criticisms in the reviewer reports and adding comments on a draft.  Now I just need to get to actually doing the revisions.  I'm planning on getting this kicked back out the door in June.  

- Outline and get a start on my book proposal.  Sadly I haven't really made any progress on this task this month.  Between the end of the semester and article revisions, I just haven't had the time to devote to myself to my book proposal yet.  

- Work out a schedule for sharing the desk. M. and I have been doing pretty well with this.  I posted about creating a makeshift standing work station a week or so ago as well.  I've put in some good hours of work this month at that desk, at my writing desk, and in coffee shops.  

- Spend 3 hours each week during the second half of May doing some new research.  I've done a bit of reading here and there, but it's probably only been about 3 hours total instead of 3 hours a week.  

So not a perfect month, but it has been an eventful one.  I ended another academic year and graded a mountain of final exams and papers.  I took a few days off to relax and reset.  I organized my work spaces and started using a balance ball and standing more while reading and writing.  I tried some new recipes and wines.  I took a little road trip to Madison and ran a half-marathon with a friend.

Most exciting of all: I found out that my sister is going to have a baby and I'm going to be an auntie again!

How was your May?  Did you travel, race, accomplish a professional goal?  I'd love to hear from you!