52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 15: To hill and back

Posted on April 9, 2012 | 19 comments

This weekend’s 5K had a tough act to follow. A duo of tough acts, in fact. My two most recent runs, the North Carolina motor speedway 5K and the Ukrop’s 10K in Virginia, were both brilliant, festive, flat, speedy, spirited events that left me with renewed enthusiasm for my 52 Weeks, 52 Runs challenge. During one I set a PR (yes, I talk like this now); and during the other I ran farther than I ever had before (with only a mild case of jelly legs).

So the Great Bay Half Marathon and Beyond the Rainbow 5K in lovely Newmarket, New Hampshire, part of the wonderful-in-every-way Will Run for Beer series, had its work cut out for it.

Correction: We had our work cut out for us. (There’s a reason the back of the half-marathon shirt has the slogan “These legs conquered the Great Bay Half Marathon.”)

Great Bay Half Marathon & Beyond the Rainbow 5K

The innocuous start under lovely sunny skies at the Great Bay Half Marathon and Beyond the Rainbow 5K. No rainbows, though.

The last two runs were so fabulously flat, I think I had forgotten that there are many hills in the world, and that they are all positioned to cause runners (OK, me) maximum discomfort.

This run was not flat. And I was ill-prepared (which is slightly pathetic given how many of these suckers I have done).

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 14: Did someone say 10K?

Posted on April 5, 2012 | 29 comments

I ran 10K this past weekend.

No, really, I ran 10K.

Some might say that what I was doing was jogging. But that’s just semantics. For a distance of no less than 6.2 miles, I did not walk. I may have slowed briefly to obtain water, and I may have adjusted my pace to snap a photo or two, but there was more than enough running involved to make up for all of that. Did I mention that I ran 10K?

Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K

The super-fast folk take off at the start of the Ukrop's Monument Ave. 10K in Richmond, Va. Meanwhile, a photographer runs for his life.

The occasion of my triumph (which may be overstating it) was the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K in Richmond, Va., No. 14 in the 52 Weeks, 52 Runs challenge. We had signed up for our second mini-runcation many moons ago. At the time I could barely get through a 5K, and had no idea how I was supposed to go any farther. I still felt that way a few weeks back. Although I had been racking up the 5Ks, and had even managed my first five-miler, I wasn’t exactly powering through them with ease, as anyone who has seen my face at the end of a run will attest (I’m not even going to address my frankly ludicrous running style; let’s just say you would have a hard time distinguishing me from a moose).

But I was excited about this run. For one, it has been named one of the best races in the US by USA Today. And it is one of the 10 biggest races in the country, with more than 40,000 runners participating. That’s right, 40,000.

Particularly amusing was the idea that Hubby would complete the entire distance before I even started. So ginormous is this event that runners were put into waves depending on their estimated finishing time. Hubby was in Wave C; I was in Wave WA (jog/walkers: 90 to 100 minutes). Not only did I have time to watch him come home, we were able to squeeze in brunch and a movie before I started. OK, maybe not, but I think we had time.

Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K

Hubby's wave. Fast folk.

Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K

My wave. What we lack in speed, we make up for in enthusiasm.

It was a drizzly day, which was perfect for me. I have a narrow temperature comfort zone at the best of times, but it’s reduced 10-fold when I’m running, or jogging, or whatever you want to call it. Cool with 100 per cent chance of cool is my ideal situation …

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 13: Motor-vation

Posted on March 29, 2012 | 30 comments

I have been considering how I might improve my pace. I could work on my appalling form, eat better before a run (hash browns are bad), lift more weights, or, you know, train. Or … I could just run on a motor speedway and steal its mojo. I mean, it expects fast, right?

This was part of my thinking when we signed up to do the North Carolina Half-Marathon and 5K this past weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Our mini-runcation marked No. 13 in my 52 Weeks, 52 Runs challenge, which shockingly means I am a quarter of the way through and show no signs of slowing (except when I do).

But back to North Carolina. The real reason we decided to head south was this:

N.C. Half Marathon

Flashy!

Most of you know how I feel about medals (although I am coming around), but this, the “Fastest Medal Ever,” lights up in speedy colors. It lights up! It doesn’t make car noises (something for the race organizers to think about), but it lights up!

I didn’t get this fine piece of neck bling myself (it was for half-marathoners only, i.e. Hubby), but I was still dazzled by its presence. It lights up! So worth it.

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 12: How green was my 5K

Posted on March 22, 2012 | 9 comments

This week’s run was a cautionary tale. When it’s March in Boston but it feels like March in Sydney, do not wear tights. I repeat: Do not wear tights. You may at first think you’re terribly clever for eschewing your super-duper heavy winter tights in favor of lighter-weight poly/cotton gym leggings. But this superior feeling will be fleeting. You see, leggings are still tights. And tights + running + ridiculous March weather = TOO HOT.

Told you it wouldn’t take long for me to start complaining about the heat …

Ras Na hEireann

I'm not sure green is my color.

All jokes aside (never!), this weekend’s 5K, the Ras na hEireann U.S.A. (“race of Ireland and the United States”) in Boston, marked No. 12 in my 52 Weeks, 52 Runs challenge. That’s right, 12! And despite my poor sartorial judgement, it was a glorious occasion. Blue skies, green duds, and the promise of many, many ales.

I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me (although lately I’ve been making up for that with beer), but I thought I should show some spirit. My spirit-delivery mechanism was long socks, a common choice for runners at St Patrick’s-themed events. But, alas, long socks have many tights-like properties, so on this occasion, they quickly became socks of the ankle persuasion. Oh well, I tried.

Ras Na hEireann

They had their fleeting moment in the sun.

Needless to say, my  running performance was hampered somewhat by the overzealous dressing.

I would have taken off my long-sleeved shirt, but the universe is  definitely not ready for me to run in a sports bra and nothing else on top.

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 11: Gimme five!

Posted on March 16, 2012 | 20 comments

I never thought I could run five miles in a row. Maybe over the course of my life, but not in a row. If you had told me this time last year that I would be running such a vast distance at some point in the next 12 months, I would have declared you the ruler of Crazy Land.

Well, I must have relocated to Crazy Land, because last weekend I ran the Hynes 5-Mile Road Race. It was No. 3 in the Wild Rover series, and No. 11 in my 52 Weeks, 52 Runs challenge (gosh, the time has flown by – at a blistering speed of 5.5 mph). Needless to say, this race signaled a new distance for me. And, I am ashamed to say, yet another week of zero training. I must stop doing that.

Hynes 5 Mile Road Race

The Hynes Tavern in Lowell, MA, that would soon be overrun (!) by folks in bibs. This was the 32nd incarnation of the Hynes road race.

The forecast was for windy/warm weather, which prompted a question: Could I finally retire the Absurd Winter Running Outfit? It’s a fine line between too chilly and too hot. Sartorial quandaries aside, it turned out to be a glorious day. Warm but not steamy; breezy but not blowy. Ideal. So I doffed my trusty wool and donned one of my many, many running shirts. I would have felt totally hard core had a significant number of runners not also been wearing the same threads. Note to self: Next time, wear a shirt from a different series.

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