Category Archives: 52 Weeks, 52 Runs

52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 29: It’s a mad, mad, Mad Half-Marathon world

Posted on July 17, 2012 | 26 comments

I’m scheduled to run a half-marathon in Vancouver on August 11. That’s 25 days from now. Yep, 25 days …

My preparations for this run have been what some might call “erratic” and others might term “crap.” I had good intentions, but an unscheduled trip home to Australia knocked me off course and I haven’t quite managed to get back on. So I decided to just “train” at my own speed rather than sweat the fact I’m not doing pickups every Monday and hill repeats every Thursday. I won’t be fast when I finally run my half, but I’ll finish it eventually. Maybe. Probably.

When the Mad Marathon and Mad Half in the Mad River Valley, Vt., announced a walkers division (genius!), we thought it would be a good experiment. If I can walk a  half-marathon, then my running time should be faster. Right? (This statement may fall under the category of “famous last words.”)

Mad Marathon & Mad Half

At the back from the start. The pack has already pulled way ahead.

No running allowed

I was looking forward to not having the pressure of running hanging over my head at the Mad event. On this day, I was among a select group of people who had chosen dignity over beet-face. We weren’t allowed to so much as think about running or we’d be unceremoniously deposited among the speedy folk and left to fend for ourselves. I was going to be at the back of the pack, but it was by design, so I was down with it.

Mad Marathon & Mad Half

Hilly!

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 28: Ready, set, glow

Posted on July 15, 2012 | 7 comments

We signed up for the Firefly 5K in Waterville Valley, NH, months ago – long before the heatwave struck the US east coast and turned every run into a torture-fest, making me feel with each step like I was a chicken slowly being roasted (although hopefully slightly less crispy).

This 5K had an 8pm start and there were glow sticks involved (which, between you and me, may have been the real reason I wanted to do it). I had envisioned an idyllic, colorful romp through the mountains (Waterville Valley is a resort community in the White Mountain National Forest). I would be gently swatting away fireflies and generally reveling in the cool mountain air.

You know, I should really stop envisioning idyllic romps. Has anyone ever had a run that matched that description?

Firefly 5K

Runners gather at the start. Purty.

The temperature had dropped a little bit by the time we lined up at the start, but my definition of “cool” is, you know, not hot. And it was still pretty hot. Also, it wasn’t dark enough yet for the glow sticks to really do their thing. Sad.

But still, I was looking forward to this one, and I figured it would cool down eventually. I hadn’t had a good run in a while (in fact, I hadn’t run a full 5K in a while), so I thought this might be a chance to remind Mother Nature that, no, I don’t suck completely. My failings are all your fault.

Firefly 5K

The sun sets on my running career?

For safety reasons, we were told not to run with headphones, so I put mine away. I also had surrendered my GPS watch to Hubby because his was in the shop. I wasn’t too concerned about the watch, but I had never run without music. It felt so weird not having the buds in my ears. I may as well have been naked.

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 27: Red-faced, white hot, and blue

Posted on July 3, 2012 | 18 comments

After my comically crap showing at the Squantum 5 last week, I was ready to redeem myself. (Funny, I think I may have written that line before.) I figured a nice, easy 4K ought to do the trick. I’ve got this 5K thing down (sort of), so a 4K should be a piece of cake. Right?

In the words of the running gods: HA!

4K on the 4th

Best race sign ever.

4K on the 4th

I’m never getting up.

The occasion of my latest display of badness was the 4K on the 4th (which confused me by not actually being on the fourth) in Concord, NH. With the eastern states in the grip of a heatwave, it was a helluva hot morning for a run. Whipping up some pre-race bacon and eggs on the hood of our car wouldn’t have been out of the question.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am a terrible runner in hot weather (to the point where you’re all probably wishing I would shut the hell up about it and go bloviate about Lululemon or something). I know I am not alone in this affliction. But looking around after this weekend’s 4K was over, I couldn’t see anyone else who had been reduced to a pathetic, quivering, jelly-legged wreck (see photo).

Maybe they were just able to hide it much better than me … Continue reading →

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 26: (Jet) lagging behind

Posted on July 2, 2012 | 13 comments

Apologies for the extended absence. Can someone please invent a time machine? …

I had really been looking forward to writing this post. Last week, I officially hit the halfway point in my 52 Weeks, 52 Runs challenge. Hooray! I figured I would spend the next 300 words excitedly recounting my experiences and proclaiming how far I had come. (Nothing like a little proclaiming between friends.) But instead, on the illustrious occasion of my halfaversary, any excitement I may have had gave way to a feeling that I am Right. Back. Where. I. Started.

Lest you think I am a total drama queen, allow me to explain. I ran the five-mile Squantum 5 on Thursday night. It was very, very hot and there were hills. I was suffering from horrible jet lag, having flown in from Australia a couple of nights before and gone straight back to work. I had done very little exercise the previous two weeks thanks to travel and family obligations. (I squeezed in five miles, but they weren’t quality miles.)

Squantum 5 Road Race

Best start sign ever.

You know what happens when you combine jet lag, heat, hills, and a lack of preparation?

You come fourth last.

As in only three people are slower than you.

As in almost everyone is already on their second beer at the party tent before you’ve even managed to put a toenail across the finish line.

Squantum 5 Road Race

I’m the shadowy figure taking a photo. I thought I’d have no trouble keeping up with the woman in front with the knee brace, who looked to be pretty hobbled as she started running. But nooooo.

It was tough for me to get my head around this turn of events. I’m not fast by any means, but I’m usually somewhere about three-quarters into the pack; I have even been known to be in the middle on a good day.

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 25: Too hot by half

Posted on June 18, 2012 | 24 comments

One very overdue post. Better late than never, eh?

Endurance, you are dead to me. You abandon me right when I need you, like when it’s 82 degrees and I’m running up a hill and it feels as though my head is about to pop off.

This pretty much sums up the run I did the weekend before last (before I had to unexpectedly return to Australia), the Halfway 5K, in Canton, MA – No. 25 in my 52 Weeks, 52 Runs challenge. (And yes, I’m disappointed that we didn’t time this one to fall at No. 26, halfway into the challenge. That would have been clever, no?)

It was a splendid day for a 5K. Maybe a little too splendid. (When someone says “it’s a perfect day for a run,” I die a little inside. These perfect days usually mean cloud-less skies, piercing sun, and soaring temperatures. Which for me means one thing: sweaty beet-face.)

Halfway 5K

A gorgeous day for it.

Notwithstanding my ridiculous intolerance to heat, I was thrilled that the organizers of the Halfway had won the weather lottery, as it no doubt helped them attract about 1,200 runners to their cause: Cops for Kids With Cancer, which is a wonderful organization that sports a truly awesome logo.

The turnout was all the more impressive given that this was an inaugural run. We turned up expecting your typical smallish neighborhood event – with a Vita Coco stand, perhaps (there is always a Vita Coco stand) – but this was nothing of the sort. There were freshly grilled turkey tips! And offerings of Sam Adams beer! And cups of free coffee! And frozen yogurt popsicles! And can you tell I love this kind of stuff?!

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