2023 Race Plans

The theme of this year is Competition, USATF and back to running marathon distances! Plus trying new ones. My goal is to complete the New England Grand Prix and get Iron Runner status, along with the All Terrain Runner series.  I may add in Cross Country in the fall. 

Completed
Jan 1  - Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5k   

Planned (if there is an R next to race name, I've already registered)

Jan 29 R- (ATS) USATF NE Indoor Masters Championship 1 mile & 60 m 

Jan/Feb R - Freeze Your Buns 5k Series 

Feb V -Taji 100 Virtual 

Feb 12 R - (NEGP) Super Sunday 5k Cambridge, MA

Feb 26-Mar 4 V - Nashua Nor'Easter Walk/Run/Ride 

Mar 26 R - Eastern States 20 Miler

Apr 1 - (NEGP) 42nd Frank Nealon Boston Tune Up 15k Upton, MA

Apr 17 R - Cheap Marathon

May 7 - Cinco de Miles 5k (NHGP)

May 27 - (ATS) Wachusett Mtn

May 28 - (NEGP) Boston Run to Remember Half Marathon Boston, MA

Jun/Jul - Mine Falls Trail Series - likely virtual due to T&F and work

Jul 4 - Run for Freedom 10k (NHGP)

Jul 29 - (ATS) Kingman Farm Trail Race

Aug 13 - (NEGP/ATS) Bobby Doyle 5 mile
Aug 26 - (NEGP) AutoFair NH 10 Miler Manchester, NH 

Sept 17 - Halfway to St Patrick's Day 5k (NHGP)
Sept 24 - (NEGP) Lone Gull 10k Gloucester, MA
Oct 8 R - (NEGP) Cape Cod Marathon Falmouth, MA

Oct 22 - New England Half Marathon (NHGP)

Nov 6 - (NEGP) Cross Country Championships Franklin Park MA

Key

R = Registered

V = Virtual

ATS = All Terrain Series

NEGP = New England Grand Prix

USATF NE Cross Country Series 2022

TLDR: I completed the series and while i thought it wouldn't bother me, showing up to be DFL at all the races(and I was for 3 of them) was tougher than I thought and got the best of me on the last race, I did finish though. Everyone I encountered at the races, from the runners to the volunteers to the organizers were encouraging and supportive. I felt welcome and was treated as I belonged on that start line.  In the end I don't think I'd do this again solo but if the team needed a 5th female to be a team, I'll be there. 

Jumping for joy that the series was over.

This year I stepped way outside my comfort zone and ran the Cross Country series.  I was debating what to run for my fall races. Since making the decision to coach Track and Field in the spring, which meant I spent a lot of time with a whistle watching other run and not a lot of time running myself. After the season was over I honestly didn't do much running the rest of the summer before I started in on coaching little kids running cross country. All the endurance I had built up last year was gone. In the end it came down to training, I wasn't ready to run the New England Half marathon and didn't see myself getting to that level in 2 months, but I knew I could run cross country. I just wish I had found the internal push to train on the level I should have to improve at each race, rather than feel like I was treading water. 2022 running season would be summed up in my excuses were stronger than my desire to succeed. 

Cross country is intimidating, Anyone looking at the finish times of the last 10 runners can see, my 11-12+ min pace didn't belong in that field. I was assured many times that I did and the finish line would be there when I finished.  I will say, that those organizing the races were right, The finish line was up, there were people cheering me on and only one race I had course confusion because a volunteer was talking with someone and didn't hear me ask if I was supposed to turn. Any of my negative comments in regards to my performance are from me, no one at any of the races said anything. Runners would run by on their warm up today and tell me "Good job" as I puttered along. I was surprised at the number of runners that would run the course to warm up, while a race was actively taking place. 

There is something in the headspace to showing up to a race and knowing without a doubt you will be last.  Not maybe, not it'll be close, but absolutely last and last minutes after the previous runner. I'll admit it got me and I wanted to skip Attleboro, especially when I knew it was only me, no one else from the team. I was last in 3 of the 5 races. The other two I was second to last. In hindsight it doesn't bother me, I'm proud of my accomplishments, but it was hard to start. 

Race 1 - Great Brook Farm XC race in Carlisle MA

They had a youth race so my son was able to run as well. He ran 7 min miles on those trails. Several of my teammates were there cheer and to run.  I really got to see the atmosphere of cross country with the team tents. A volunteer was kind enough to wait for me at each turn and run to the next so I wouldn't get lost. This was the last time anyone said to me, don't worry I'm slow too. Cross country slow and general 5k runner slow are on two entirely different scales. Overall a nice race. I might run this again, just so my son can run the youth race. This was also when I was reminded, cross country races are no frills, no water stops and no snack tables. 

Race 2 - Brown Bear Invitational in Attleboro MA

This was the race I wanted to skip. I knew I would be the only Gate City Strider. It was too far for my co-competition coordinator to show up. I knew I'd be last and it was a 6k, which isn't that much longer but it does mean my time will be slower. The family joined me and my son helped me warm up, excited that I was going to run a course he ran last year. The start was huge, so many college teams, seriously the intimidation factor was high. It didn't help that I got confused at the number of loops and ended up thinking I was close to done before I was close to done. Plus because of loops, I was being passed. Several, quite a bit more than previous race by the fast runners, many said good job and flew by, I tried to be aware of where I was and stay in that lane so I didn't get in their way.  Being slow also meant I got to see the finish. The weather was rough, the grass was wet, and I was not in the right sneakers. This course condition needed spikes or trail shoes and I was in well worn brooks ghost road sneakers. I did get to wear my arm sleeves for the first time in a race environment, which I needed and my outfit was on point and perfect. 

The best part of this race was heading down to Providence to meet my best friend at Pizza Js for food and pinball.

Race 3 - Wayland Cross Country

This race also had a youth race. My son ran with one of his teammates.  It was a slow and difficult race and he had just run his elementary school race the day before. He still did well, but not as well as he wanted to. As for me, that hill was brutal, but it was also my friend. This was the first race I wasn't DFL. I noticed at the start a woman who wasn't dressed in team gear and I suspected that she was my competition, if there was really any competition when you run in the back. I was determined to keep her heels in my sights. I did succeed is being able to see her over all the grassy fields, which I have decided is my least favorite running surface. Then we headed in the woods and hit that hill. That was where my years of mountain running shined. I was already at max plus heart rate, I could not run that hill, so I switched to power walking and marched right past her.  I power walked until I had my heart rate in order and I cheered her on. She responded that she had never run a trail race before. Huge, huge kudos for tackling not just a trail race but a cross country one as her first. I have no doubt in a road race I would have struggled to keep her in my sights. 

Race 4 - New England Cross Country Championships - Franklin Park, MA

It was 74 degrees in Boston that day as I got started. It was muggy and it was November. The heat did me in. I could not get my heart rate under control. I could have really used a water stop, but cross country doesn't have them. The course itself was pretty, interesting, well marked, and aside from the volunteer that didn't hear me ask if I turn, easy to navigate. The hill that goes around the no-longer in use bear cage was a decent hill but not like a set of stairs. I had several team mates there as well, plus my family. After the race we headed into Boston to explore Chinatown and the Commons. While the weather was rough for racing it was perfect for exploring Boston. Oddly I was not last, which was super confusing, but I saw many people cheering on the last runner. This race also completed the number of races I needed for the series swag. 

Results of the 6k. My time is highlighted to show difference in finish times.

Race 5 - Rachel's Run - Tyngsboro, MA

I just finished this race hours ago so it's very fresh. I had been warned it was a rough course, and that friend was absolutely right. Being a double loop it was night to know what to expect on the second loop, but that also meant I knew what I was going to have to do. I did not like that hill. Had I just been hiking, it would have been fine, running a mountain race, expected, but on this course, wow, it was hard both times I power walked over it. I was last, I was very last, but everyone was encouraging even the warm up runners as they flew by. I will say this race more than any other just did a number on my headspace. I walked 5 hours in the dark solo over night last year at Ghost train and my headspace was calm and loving. 38 mins of this course was hard. I went through all the emotions about do I belong, should I finish, will I get passed by the finishers before I finish the first loop(I wasn't, barely). Lots of feelings of being an embarrassment to my team(of which I was the only runner in the women's race) and maybe I need to accept I'm just not good at this running thing and I should just hang up my singlet. It was bad and it was all internal, because everyone and I mean everyone was amazing and supportive. From the volunteers to the organizers, the random runners and the Liberty Track Team, who were always friendly at the races and helped make me feel like I belonged. My teammates running other races cheered me on via Strava or in person when they saw me.  I want to stress this was all internal and not accurate to what was going on around me. Sports can be like that, and honestly this headspace isn't like me. I was a goalie, I was a decent goalie, because I could shake off a goals, goals will happen, but you can't be so focused on the one that got past that you miss the next two.

Photo by volunteer at Rachel's Run

In the end, while I enjoyed the challenge that the series gave me, it was more than just running, the mental game was far harder than any I have experienced before. Mile 19-22 of marathons are easier. I don't know if I'll run the series again. I'd do it with a team without hesitation, but to show up solo, I'm not sure I can do that again. In December I start training for the Cheap Marathon, switching back to distance and completing the marathon right before I start directing the Track and Field program, which wraps up in July. As for the fall, my son's cross country races take priority, and I will again volunteer to help out the U8 boys in the fall. 

2021 Race Plans

Is it safe to create this list? I just copy and pasted last years list, and then deleted nearly everything. 

Completed
Jan 1 V - Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5k  -  Virtual

Jan 17 - Snowflake Shuffle - with Jack
Jan 31 V - Blizzard Blast Obstacle Course - With NFC 

Jan/Feb V - Freeze Your Buns 5k Series 

Feb V -Taji 100 Virtual 

Mar 27 - Shamrock Half Marathon

Mar 28 - Shamrock Shuffle - with Jack

Apr 17 Stonyfield Earth day 5k - with Jack

May 17 - Gate City Running Festival (May run full)

May 29 - Step Up for Meals on Wheels 5k

Planned (if there is an R next to race name, I've already registered)

Jun 12 R - Ascutney Mtn Race (USATF Mountain Series)

Jun 19 C/R- Mt Washington Road Race

Jun/Jul R - Mine Falls Trail Series - with Boys, partly virtual

Jul 17 R - Bill Luti 5 Miler NHGP
Aug 7 R - Santown 5 miler  NH GP
Sept 25 Rail Trail 10k Lebanon, NH NHGP
Nov 7 R Manchester Half Marathon NHGP

Oct 16-17 W - Ghost Train 30 hour Ultra

Key

R = Registered

V = Virtual

W = Waitlist

C = 2020 Race in 2021

Goggins Challenge - Attempt 1

My tracker

This weekend I attempted the Goggins Challenge, run/walk 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. 

I ended my attempt last night at 12:50am. While I didn't succeed, I have trouble saying 29.82 miles in 30 hours is a failure. It certainly helps my progress in the Great Circumpolar Race across the World.

As with any major challenge, I like to do a shake down of what worked and didn't work. I absolutely plan to try this again but not for several months. I have Mt Washington to train for. 

Major Lesson: In my 40's I can not just go 48 hours on minimal sleep with physical activity and zero prep as I did LARPing in my 20's. 

The big mistake was no prep, aside from picking a weekend, that was it. I don't think I sat down and mapped out the every 4 hours until the Thursday before. I didn't reach out for company as effectively as I did for the 50k on a whim I did in January. The weather had been so nice the last 2 weeks I was half counting on it to being nice and instead it was crap. Aside from my last complete 4 mile walk, every single walk outside involved some level of rain. 

I am incredibly grateful to a friend who joined me for two of the segments and without his arrival on Saturday at 4pm, I would have quit 2 segments earlier. I am grateful for my friends that messaged me to check in throughout the weekend. I am grateful for the CRAW team that not only encouraged me but was available to chat with at any hour, thanks to a member being in Australia. I'm grateful for a husband who tried to help me get back on track once I derailed and willing to help me plan my next attempt. 

My feelings on the weather. I was cold

Here is what went wrong, or items I need to correct to be successful.

I forgot my giant water bottle at home on my way to work on Friday. I ended the day with a dehydration headache. I was not successful at reversing this in the hour I had from getting home from work and starting the challenge. 

Treadmill Chips

While I told my husband what I was doing, I had not detailed the level of help I'd need from him or communicated what I needed when I needed it effectively. This is on me, I'm not the type to expect my partner to read my mind. On my way home from work I thought I had asked him to start heating dinner up for me. I had not been clear, and when I got home the boys suddenly needed food and various other distractions, that lead to my food not being ready until 7:45pm for an 8pm start. While there are foods I can wolf down and then go for a long brisk walk, Spicy coconut cream chicken curry with no curry, is not one of them. It is super tasty though, so I look forward to finishing the leftovers today. This was the start of a sour tummy, that never really stopped. 

The food pretty much did me in, aside from a bit during the 5k, I couldn't run, I walked this entire thing. I know I have a delicate balance of food to be able to run and I totally failed it. The problem with walking is it takes more time and reduce available rest time. 

I should have moved the treadmill to the living room on Friday.  Walking on it at 4am while watching my husband sleep was annoying. Had I been in the living room, I could have watched the TV.  We tried this Saturday night but by then I was just done. On the theme of I should have's, I should have cleared the recliner of all my winter running gear so that I could lie down and rest on it. Every time I napped/slept in my own bed for 1-2 hours I woke up insanely nauseous, which is not how things should start. A view from my late night
walks.

By 3pm on Saturday I had realized I was no longer safe to get behind the wheel of a car. Had the challenge been 48 miles in 48 hours, I'm absolutely certain I could do that, add in the sleep loss and that's a whole host of problems. 

TLDR: I shall make sure I'm properly hydrated the week before I start. I shall plan out my meals and make sure I do many of the early segments running. I shall make sure my husband is completely involved in the planning. I have a week off in July, when walking outside at night will be pleasant rather than miserable. I won't have to worry about going to work the day after. I'll likely start at 8am, making a 4am segment my final segment.

 

Moxie trying to comfort me by walking on me.

Garmin Summary

Sourdough Baking - Coffee Cake edition.

I'm completely handling the current situation in the world with distractions.  I'm not going to talk about the marathon I am registered to run, that didn't happen yesterday, but I will run in September.

Lets talk sourdough.  I created a starter because well I needed the square on my stay at home bingo card. I love bread, it's one of my favorite foods, but I can't eat it anymore. I'm allergic to yeast and have gluten sensitivity. Just because I can't eat it, doesn't mean other members of my household can't enjoy it.

The Township of Joe(my son's starter), I don't
have a good picture of the RYD.

Now I have an active starter, well two of them, my oldest son wanted one too. My starter is named The Republic of Yeast Dunstable. I've been researching recipes and while I've made a few loaves of bread, they are still very dense. I've also tried to figure out what to do with the discard sourdough(the stuff you throw away when you feed the starter). Many of the recipes require cooking with milk and butter, as my allergy to dairy requires an epi-pen, and stirring a pot of hot milk, is a bit too "get to ride in an ambulance" risky for me, I've been struggling. I'm not quite ready to try almond milk instead, that might be in a few weeks.

Then I discovered this recipe for Sourdough Coffee Cake. It looked awesome. I read it and then promptly ignored it. The results were fantastic, at least according to my husband. Warning, you want to use the result to make french bread, but only do so if you can nap in a recliner after.

Here are the changes I made to the recipe.

I completely ignored the whole feed the starter first and such instructions.  I had fed the starter the night before, I think and left it in the fridge, so I scooped out a good cup or so with a 1 cup measuring cup. I then re-fed the starter and let it sit for over an hour before returning it to the fridge.

Into the bowl with the starter I added a 1 cup scoop of flour(I guess, there was little precision in this measuring), grabbed a 1/4 cup measuring cup and added 1 scoop of organic cane sugar and then 2 scoops of dark brown sugar(mostly packed), totaled around 3/4 cup, maybe more. The change in sugar was a decision based on what type of sugar we have lots of in the house and what I like in my morning coffee. Added in an egg(another food I can't eat), actually measured the baking soda and salt, completely guessed on the cinnamon, then used the 1 cp measuring cup to approximate the oil. I'm well aware of how many baking rules I have violated. At one point in my life the only measuring cup I could find was a 1/3 cup. I could have bought more, but this was at a time when online shopping wasn't a thing and I never remembered I only had the 1/3 cup at home when I was out shopping. I baked many items from scratch with that single measuring cup, no one ever complained. Then again they were eating baked goods made by a sugar addict.

Before rise, after rise it filled the pan.

I stirred everything together by hand, as I sold my stand mixer several years ago. It took up way too much space on my counter and I had other things I wanted to spend the money on(like bills). I don't regret that decision, but it means all my bread adventures are by hand. I think I just stirred it with a spoon, but I may have gotten my hands involved. I poured it into the loaf pan, and then made the crumble with oil, because I can't touch butter(see comment about epi-pen) and now is not the time to waste gloves.

The loaf then sat on the stove to rise, while I made myself GF vegan chocolate cake from a box, and yes I use their measurements as suggestions and do my own thing.

I baked the chocolate cake first and thne the coffee cake after 1.5 hours of rise time. My youngest thought it was ok, but not sweet enough, the husband thought it was perfect and my oldest ate half the chocolate cake, or would have if I let him.

Next discard recipe will likely be pizza crust.

Cancellations and Crazy Plans

With races canceled or postponed, I've been failing to run or train.  But I need to run, it's my outlet, my sanity.

I decided to be a little crazy and registered for the BURCs Virtual Marathon. I was trained up for around 15 or so miles before I stopped, so I guess you could I've tapered.

With the way the city has semi-closed down, I've been trying to sort out the logistics. I don't want to go for a long run around town and need a bathroom, since no places will be open and I doubt the city is putting out portojohns at the parks.

Then I thought, would it be ridiculous, fun and possibly entertaining to others if I run the entire marathon in the ~0.2 mile loop in my parking lot. Around 131 loops.  I could tweet and fb Live updates. I expect to walk the last 6-10 miles. Plus this gives me easy access to a safe bathroom and my food.  I have 36 hours to finish the race, so I could even take a nap.

Maybe this is the thing I need to re-energize. Mt Washington is still a go and I need to start training for that.

Boston training starts again May 21st.

I have until April 20th.  I'm looking at the weather and hoping for a nicer day.

Week 9 of Training Already!!!

Boston training continues and I've been fairly consistent. Taji 100 helps with that, as I really need all the miles I can get.

Training Chart.  Green = miles completed; Blue =  more miles than planned; Red = Did not do; Yellow = Less miles than planned; Pink = Cross Training

This week I crossed the 50 mile mark before the 14th, which puts me in a great place to finish early.

Screen capture of my Taji 100 total miles of 57.97. 

Plus I've earned a few achievements.

Screen capture of my Taji 100 achievement badges. 

Today I'll walk a mile or two, but otherwise rest. Tomorrow I'll run 10 miles between treadmill and indoor track.

Taji 100 - 2020 - Week 1

Taji 100 has begun.  The mission to walk, run, elliptical 100 miles in the month of February.

I have a few personal goals this year as well.
1) To walk at least 1 mile every day of the challenge
2) To complete the challenge by Feb 24th.

Week 1

Saturday: Ran 10 mile long run for my marathon training. Had planned on 12 but left the house late and had to make bathroom stop at the 3 mile mark. Hit a wall around 6 miles and was getting super annoyed at all the crosswalks with lights. On a happy note, that completes Amherst St/101A in Nashua for my Run All the Roads in Nashua. I need to do some more focus in fueling while running. My basal metabolism has increased and I spent most of this run hungry expect for the mile and a half trying to find a bathroom and the 15 mins after I ate a gu. The Clif bloks didn't do anything to take the edge off the hunger.

Sunday: Ran Freeze Your Buns 5k, which my watch says is just short of a 5k, so I missed out on the badge. Good race, didn't push myself but my legs were tired and my son hasn't been running, so his legs were not up for pushing it. He alternated between he doesn't want to be last and he doesn't mind being last when I pointed out that if he kept walking he'd be last.

Monday: This is a rest day according to my training plan. That didn't stop me from getting miles. I walked 0.75 miles with my husband during our afternoon shift. After work I went to Fleet Feet to participate in Winter Warriors and walked another 3.1 with one of my favorite running friends.

Tuesday: An actual training day. Plan was for 3 on the schedule. Snuck out for an hour at work for a 3.5 mile loop of hills.

Wednesday: Mid week long run day for marathon training.  Plan was for 6 and I ran 6.11 miles. I forgot to stop my garmin when I got to the chiropractor for my weekly adjustment, which messed up the avg mile pace.  First mile was 12:36 and last mile was 10:24, so I'm thinking I may be taking it too easy on myself when I run.

Thursday: Snow, and slush and muck on the roads convinced me a lunchtime run on the track at the Y was a much better plan than waiting for it to freeze into a sheet of ice to run on during Winter Warriors. Bumped into another Strider, running on the treadmill. She reminded me that this weather is one of the challenges of training for Boston and a few indoor runs are not a bad idea to be comfortable running in the heat because who knows what the weather will be the day of the marathon.

This blog post is incomplete, but I'm posting it anyway. Next post will have some updates in pictures. I'm pretty sure Friday was two half mile walks due to mismanagement of free time and desire to hibernate.

January Wrap Up

Marathon training continues.

Over the month I have run a few 5ks, Freeze Your Buns, Snowflake Shuffle and Fudgesicle.

Here is the training update. I've had some struggles with the Wednesday run getting longer, but I'm working to find solutions to that. I realized this week as I was running that in a month it will be warmer than it is colder. There is something about the 30 degree temperature line. Above that temp is far easier to run, than below. In four weeks we'll be over 30 more than we'll be under it.

Green = complete, yellow = less than desired miles, blue = more than planned miles
red= skipped, pink = cross training

Cross training has started to take a hit, and I need to get back to that. Find some routine of body weight strength I can do. My pace is slowly improving, I am able to run further without walk breaks, and when I'm having a heavy legs struggle run, I'm running at my fast pace for last fall. The consistency is helping, along with the strength work I started in November.

The biggest challenge has honestly been finding time, which was the challenge last time as well. Saturday I ran from home to the Westwood branch of the Nashua YMCA and meet up with my family there. Sunday morning I ran Freeze Your Buns to complete the needed miles.

I'm starting to plan out my 2020 race schedule. The two big anchor races at the moment are Boston Marathon and Mt Washington. Eastern States is a secondary now that Boston is confirmed. Other races will be all the mountains leading up to Mt Washington, and I might just do one more after to get Goat status again. I'm hoping to complete the New Hampshire Grand Prix and possibly the USATF All Terrain Runner series. My fall running schedule will need some fluidity to accommodate my youngest running cross country.

Now onto February and striving towards completing Taji 100!

How far is a marathon?

We all know a marathon is 26.2 miles, but how far is that really? I've joked I run further than most people will drive for dinner.

Boston Marathon Course Map
Gate City Marathon 2018 - This was my first marathon, the route changed last year but is still 26.2 miles.

I live in South Nashua. Using my place near Shaws off Spit Brook Road as a starting point.

Here is a list of places less than a 26.2 mile walk from my place using googlemaps to create the route.  Walking avoids all highways that don't allow pedestrians and adds in any rail trails or walking paths.

The Burlington Mall in Massachusetts

Nelson's Candy and Music in Wilton, NH

Canobie Lake Park(less than 20 miles)

Manchester Airport

deCorvoda Museum


Other places less than 26.2 miles apart on foot

Fenway Park and Salem Mass

Providence RI to Gillette Stadium

January Updates

“Stop gambling with British Bookies” my Dad’s response to I’ve lost 10 pounds since November.

Plan spreadsheet. Green = run completed; Yellow = less than planned miles
Red = Skipped; Pink = cross training; Blue = More than planned miles

Week 5 of Boston Marathon/Eastern States training and I’ve been struggling. I walked on Monday when I should have rested and it really messed up my training week. My head has been in a funk and I’ve felt physically sluggish. Yesterday I finally checked my cycle and put it all together. PMS can be cruel.

The 10lbs is a problem, I can’t really lose anymore, that was the issue I had last time so I’m trying to incorporate more 200 calorie healthy snacks and not skip breakfast. 

Garmin screen shot of the 5
activites this week.

I’ve been beating myself up about not making my miles, until I realized I needed 11 mid-week miles and I got them. Some I walked, some I ran slow, but I got them all. Tomorrow is a rest day to prep for 10 miles on Saturday in 10 degree weather before the snow. 

A few other wins this week, I've been able to run after eating, or more accurately not in a complete fasting state. Yesterday I ate a huge lunch at around 2pm. Realizing I had some free time in the afternoon and a desire to not running 23 mph winds, I went to the Y and ran 3 miles on a treadmill around 4 pm. In the past for a meal of that size, I would wait 3+ hours before running. It slowed me down a bit but I didn't feel sick which is good. Eating and being able to move after is one of the things I need to train if I want to run an ultra. 

Last weekend I managed to complete another road, on my Run Nashua challenge. I haven't been focused much on this the last year or two and I don't want creative routes to get in the way of proper training. If it doesn't become a scheduling nightmare, I may try to run one or two of my 3 mile runs a month in a new area.

Most recent map of roads run. New roads are in the upper left corner.

Week 6 starts in on the challenge of mid-week longer runs. This was my challenge last time. I'll dedicate some time with my husband to help brain storm so answers that hopefully don't include wake up at 4:30am.

2020 Race Plans

Just like last year, this is the list of my planned 2020 races. I'll update as I complete and register. Plus some of the dates may be off and need to be adjusted.



Completed
Jan 1 R - Peanut Butter Chip Chase 5k  - With the boys
Jan 25 R - Blizzard Blast Obstacle Course

Planned (if there is an R next to race name, I've already registered)


Jan/Feb R - Freeze Your Buns 5k Series - With my youngest
Feb R- Fudgicle Series
February R -Taji 100 Virtual -
Mar 14 R - LebRec Shamrock Shuffle 5k - NH GP
Mar 29 R Eastern States 20 Miler
Apr 5 R - Nashua Soup Kitchen 5k - NH GP With my youngest
Apr 20 R - Boston Marathon!!
Apr 26 R - Sleepy Hollow
May 3 - Pack Monadnock
May 9 R - Narrow River in RI with my best friend
May 17 - Gate City Half Marathon (May run full)
May 23 - Wachusett Mtn Race (USATF ATR)
Jun 7 - Cranmore Mtn Race
Jun 13 - Ascutney Mtn Race
Jan 14  - Flag Day 5k Amherst
Jun 20 R- Mt Washington Road Race
Jun 27 - Capital City 10k NHGP
Jun/Jul - Mine Falls Trail Series
July 25 - Track Outdoor Championships (USATF ATR)
Aug 9 - Santown 5 miler  NH GP
Sept 7- St Charles 5k (USATF ATR)
Sept 26 - Hogsback Half with my best friend
Oct 18 - Baystate
Oct 20 R   - New England Half Marathon - NH  GP (Won at GCS Awards Dinner)
Nov 8 - NE Cross Country Championships (USATF ATR)
Nov 22 - Great Gobbler Thanksgiving Race
Nov 24 - Novemberfest

Dec ? - Mill Cities Relay (Awaiting team placement with Gate City Striders)

2020 Training has begun

I registered for Eastern States as soon as registration opened. I love my low bib numbers, and this time I might get number 1, as it was a few minutes past midnight. 

Last weekend my son wrapped up his cross country season by running in the USATF Nationals in Wisconsin! I'm super proud of him and this was the first season. He ran a 7:50 pace, which is not his fastest, but the ground was not a nice running surface. He enjoyed running and has committed to joining me for many 5ks this year to prep for next season. If you are southern NH local and have kids that love to run, consider checking out Gate City PAL Striders in the fall. This is the first sport in which we never had to ask him twice to get ready for practice, never had to listen to him negotiate to skip 'just this one'. His entire team was supportive of each other, I never saw the connection with his baseball teammates that I saw with cross country teammates. 

Back to my upcoming season. I'm committed to Eastern States 20 Miler. I'll register Mt. Washington once I can with my Mountain Goat status. I started strength training with EnduraFit a few months ago as I want to be a stronger and faster runner. I didn't train running or otherwise in 2019, I just ran many races and for most of the mountains I came in the last 10 or DFL. I'd like to do better this year. NH Grand Prix has a conflict with Mt. Washington, so while I'll run most of those races, 2021 will have to be my Granite Runner year. I'm going to run a half and 10k with my best friend. I'm going to run another full marathon. I haven't picked one yet, but Providence is the most likely candidate as it lines up nicely Eastern States. I entered the NYC Marathon lotto. but I'm not optimistic, with the Brittany Runs A Marathon Movie out, I suspect they will have a record high number of entries this year. By the way, if you haven't seen that movie, find time this winter to do so.  

Green - miles completed; Yellow - Less than planned Miles; Pink - cross training; Red- skipped

Week One Training

Tuesday

Goal 3 miles

Actual: 3 miles, outside running laps around my building and garage in the snow. I should have worn my Yax but thankfully I did not slip.

Wednesday

Goal: 3 miles

Actual: 1.5 miles. Once again laps around my building and garage, but it was a comedy of errors to start. I left my gps garmin at the office, so I used my step tracker garmin, which is very generous with miles. I'm fairly certain I did not run a 9:45 pace. I cut the run early due to the need for a bathroom and never got back out, but the ground was worse than when it was snowing. I followed it up with an hour session with Chris(trainer). Considering I did clockwork planks and the alphabet on the bosu ball, I'm going to not be upset that I missed my mile mark. 

Thursday

Goal: 3 miles

Actual: 3 miles. Due to single digit temps and windchill, I opted out of Winter Warriors and headed to the Nashua Y instead. My son joined me to keep up his running. He didn't need to run all 3 miles, but I wanted him to do at least 1. I ran the entire 3 miles. I've never done that before. I've always taken a moment to walk. The last 3 laps, Jack joined me on the track again and when I told him what I was about to accomplish, he cheered me on while running along side me. Just the way I cheered him on when he was running. I used my gps watch on indoor mode, to count laps. 3 miles is 27 laps on that track. 

Friday

Body weight strength training and extended foam rolling.

Saturday

Goal: 6 miles

Actual: 6 miles on a treadmill.  Another first, ran for 56 mins at 12 min pace without a walk break. Ran until the treadmill shut off and needed to be restarted. Discovered after I was done that it would warm up  over the weekend to better running temps. Went to Star Wars after.

Sunday

Goal: Cross training

Actual: While sipping my morning coffee, I thought about the week and decided that I'd take Sunday as a rest day. I had body work strength on Monday planned.  This is my first week back to serious training and rest is important for success.

Cambridge Half Marathon Review

Date: 3 November 2019
Location: Cambridge, MA

Cambridge Half Marathon

TLDR: This a beautiful course with some nice swag, but if you run in the back of the pack, skip this one.

Hanging out in the starting corral waiting for the blue wave to move forward.

This was a second half marathon in 2 weeks. My best friend had chosen this as her first half marathon and I didn't want her to run alone, so I registered to join her.

This is a hard review to write, I knew we were going to have some time challenges with this race. There were annoyances that day that could have been anticipated and there were a few things I was disappointed in. I dislike writing anything negative about a race, as I understand how much work goes into making them happen. Running in the back of the pack is not new to me and I'm not sure I would have chosen this race on my own due to the 3 hour cut off. While I'm starting to put in the work to make a 3 hour cut off something I don't concern myself with, I'm not sure I could have pulled that off this seasons twice 2 weeks apart. When reading this review, keep in mind I'm a back of the pack runner(right now) and if you run a half in 2 hrs or less, your experience and opinion of a race may be entirely different.

Harvard football field. 

The Good

• Easy Check In
• Nice swag shirts, I will definitely be wearing this in the future.
• Beautiful flat course.
• Parking pass for 4 more visits to the Galleria which just happens to be a 10 min walk from the Museum of Science.
• We ran the Harvard football field. That was fun. There were people running the stadium stairs and cheering us on.
• Race director good about responding to emails before race.

The Reasons I Won't Likely Return

• Expensive. Compared to other half marathons, this one is expensive. 
• No one checked in on us. We were sent to the side walk early on, and when we were in a complicated part of the course volunteers just walked off their posts rather than wait the 10-15 minutes for us to clear the area. No one came by to just say "hey the race is being packed up, you're welcome to continue, but the finish line and the med tent will be gone when you get there". I get it we were going slow, which is why I'm not upset that the water stops were gone after the first 4-5 miles. 
• I don't drink beer. A 3 beer after party is not an incentive to me. I want an uncut underripe banana and a bottle of water, maybe a bag of salty potato chips, but that's it.
• Race photos were not free. Official Photos Here.  I got a good jump shot so you'll need to go there to see them.
• With no rain that day, our experience could have been improved with some simple sidewalk chalk arrows on the path. 

The Weird

• The cups for the water stop we did use made the water taste minty. 

Garmin record of finish

This is my first DNF (did not finish). While we did walk/run all 13.1 miles plus some bonus distance as I'm sure we got a bit lost following the course map online, the lack of finishing mats means we are not in the final results. We did take a picture in front of the Best Buy sign to prove we made it!

Finished!

Now this it's several days later, I can laugh at the loss of all the water stops, using gu packets like bread crumbs to know if we were on the right route, and the disappearance of the mile markers around mile 10. We were in an area I knew well in the early 2000's and we said hello twice to a building I used to work in. It feels like a lifetime ago that I spent all my time there and knew all the streets and where to park a car. We went out on the bike path west more than I had ever explored when I was there, I may have driven through the area at times but never stopped long enough to acknowledge it.

I had a great time with my best friend and I'm super proud of her accomplishment. There is a different kind of toughness needed to power through 13.1 miles as we did. Once I have my racing schedule for next year, we can plan another half together.

Baystate Half Marathon 2019

Date: 20 October 2019
Location: Lowell, MA

Baystate Marathon and Half Marathon and Half Marathon Relay

This was the completion of my second major running goal this year, the first being mountain goat status. This race earned me a Mill Cities Double jacket, as I had run Gate City Half Marathon in the spring.

Musing on 2020 Racing

After watching Brittney Runs A Marathon with the Gate City Striders, I'm inspired to train.

Recent 10 miler in costume!

I have 2 Half Marathons coming up this fall, along with a 10 miler and a few smaller races.

Eastern States posted with their date, and I want to run that race. Even if only to say I ran 3 states. The race is 20 miles, so it's nearly marathon training and it has a cut off time of 4.5 hours, which means I need to improve my pace. I enjoy my current pace and the back of the pack status, but I know that some races are out of my reach because of it. 

To be honest, I want to run one of the Majors. I want the drama and the excitement of running a course with online tracking for my friends at home, with spectators cheering on the runners, and all the perks and chaos that comes with it.

I ran Gate City Marathon, and it was a great first marathon, but it's a small marathon. I generally avoid the big races, but after seeing the movie, I want the big race. I want that experience.

I'm starting to look to my goals for next year. Contemplating what races I want to run, what goals I want to accomplish, and then I'll need to wait and see what is possible. 

Absolutely I will be running Mt. Washington! I'm considering trying for the complete NH Grand Prix series and get Granite runner status. I'll likely run a few more mountain races just for fun, thinking Sleepy Hollow and Pack Monadnock. I'm tempted to toss my name into the lottery for NYC Marathon, it's unlikely I'll get a bib, and honestly with the movie out, even less likely. Boston while closer in mileage, it is out of my reach financially(charity bib) and qualification (8:14 pace is twice my speed).

2019 is coming to an end, and 2020 races are almost here!

Mt Greylock Road Race

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Mt Greylock Road Race in North Adams, MA
May 5, 2019
This race is part of the USATF Mountain Series, I ran as a Gate City Strider.

I'm a Mountain Goat! This was my 6th race to qualify. Next year I will tackle Mt Washington!

Over the Edge - Follow Up

I wrote about my experience for Catalyst Chiropractic's Blog. 

What I'm discussing here are the many floors on a stair-master I promised.

Quoting directly from my donation page.

Committed to the rappel. Too far down to climb back up!

Between 5/14 and 6/1, I will climb one floor on a stair master for every dollar donated.  Donate $50 and I'll climb 50 floors.  Donate $100 and I'll climb 100 floors(might take me 2 climbing sessions)

Floors Donated: 408

Floors Completed: 144

The about tally is as of June 28th when I rappelled off the Brady Sullivan Tower.

This post is to update and keep track of floors climbed. I have not forgotten I just got distracted by the nice weather and running outside. 

Aug 11, 2019 - YMCA Nashua - Victoria Falls 33 Floors      Total: 177

All United Way photos from the event can be found here and are used with permission.

Loon Mtn Race

Loon Mountain Race in Lincoln, NH
July 7, 2019
This race is part of the USATF Mountain Series, I ran as a Gate City Strider.

I'm aware I haven't written about Mt. Ascutney, but Loon just happened yesterday and I have it fresh in my mind.

Thanks to an amazing offer from a friend with a place in the region, instead of driving up the night before or the morning of the race, we went up Friday evening and spent the weekend relaxing by one of the smaller NH lakes.

While the time was relaxing, it didn't come without snags that wouldn't happen at home. Eating on a strange schedule, eating too much sugar(roasted marshmallows are a favorite food), and not enough sleep. The night before the race, the children had a rough moment of homesickness and missing Moxie, their dog. I think I got 3 hours of sleep that night, as we had to get up super early for the race.

Before we left I had 1 waffle as I don't like to run with a full stomach, or even partly full stomach. I knew I was dehydrated and had struggled all weekend to drink water. I mention all this so you know where I was at once we got there.

Arriving at Loon, the kids were a bit bouncy, hungry and tired. Husband was in the same state. Thankfully it wasn't long between check in and race start. Once I was on my way the family headed out to find breakfast.

The views from this race were just amazing.

I just wasn't feeling this race. I wasn't excited, I wasn't nervous, I had thought this would be the highlight of my weekend, but I knew it wouldn't. This was just a step along the way to get Mountain Goat status. I was under trained, not to the extent that I was worried about injury or getting a DNF, but enough to know this would be hard. I told my husband to plan on me taking 3 hours to finish.

Jumpy stones, but unlike my LARPing days, the penalty for failure was wet feet.

Every time I looked at the course map, I read it but never fully processed trails. The first few miles were pleasant in the trails with shade. I ran some, I walked some, I skipped some. I tried to keep my feet dry until I failed to and decided to embrace it. I had moments where I had one of those video game power ups and for 15-30 seconds I leaped up a hill rock to rock, occasionally splashing in the muddy puddles. This part of the race was pleasant. I should run more trail races.

The first aid station felt like it took forever to get to. But I saw a familiar face, took a moment to drink water, and refill my bottle. The next section would be alot more sun. I have decided my least favorite trails are sandy gravel ones that sneak into your shoes. I had failed to glue my gaiter hook and loop stickers to my sneakers so I went without. These trails were slippery but not like mud.

The next section was sunnier and I had an incredibly difficult crossing of a ski hill. Walking across a steep hill, my ankles were pissed. I eventuality walked sideways as that was just easier.

Then we hit the lower speak easy. This was the not boss hill. It was challenging, I took breaks. I enjoyed the view. I knew I wasn't getting any kind of decent time, so I just enjoyed the hike.

Not Upper Walking Boss

The next turn was back to a sandy, gravelly hill. On this hill the men, who started the race 75 mins after then women started to pass me. I tried to be aware of where they were to keep out of the way and stopped a few times to let them pass. At this point I was just hoping for the final aid station, I was going to gu(but then forgot and just did clif blocks the whole time). I wanted a full water bottle before I hit the walking boss.

As I got close to the aid station there were spectators cheering us on. I made a mistake. I filled my water bottle but the bucket was empty and I topped it off from anther bucket, that unexpectedly had the electrolyte drink in it. I don't know what they were offering but it was some horrible tropical chalky disgusting mix. The chalkiness made me worry about dairy and I spent several minutes debating if I should drink anymore. Because of this mistake I minimized how much I drank(it was horrible and I guess I wasn't that dehydrated as I suspected I was as if I had been dehydrated it would have tasted fine.) I did a good job remembering my electrolyte pills.

Beginning of the UWB.

I was also passed by spectators on the course, which was odd and I hope they went an easier way up to that point. I saw several familiar faces before getting on the trail that leads to the upper walking boss. This trail was all down hill and I walked it. Trying to avoid being run over by male runners flying down it. The steepness of it made me uncomfortable running much of it and I was exhausted. My goal was to finish without injury and this trail screamed injury to me.

The view was almost worth walking up this hill(UWB).

At the base of the Upper Walking Boss I took a picture with the sign, paused a few moments, before crossing the checkpoint and starting the hill. Wow, it was brutal. I would take anywhere from 5-20 steps before needing to stop and just recover. I took steps backwards just to use different muscles, I did sections on hands and feet, oddly after those I'd get fist bumps and high fives from the men that passed me. I didn't put that together until after when I was telling my husband about it. I flipped off the signs and chatted a bit with the woman who would sit down every 30 ft or so to stretch her bum. It was hard, seriously hard. Not even fun hard, just hard. I worried about missing footing and tumbling downward. I worried about bumping other runners. I knew I'd make it to the top and I knew I'd finish, but I had little concern about time. I spent a moment admiring the view. It felt like it went on forever. I kept checking my watch to see how far I hadn't gone.

There were two signs on the boss.

Nearly at top.

As I neared the top and the finish line a spectator said sprint when I got to a person. I grumbled back at them, there was no way I could sprint. I was toast. I had left everything on that hill. I tried to run over the finish line but I was done, and walked myself over those mats. I had done it.  Mountain race Five was complete!

Finished!

I looked around, asked someone to take a picture, drank some more plain water. I'm guessing that the electrolyte drink was dairy free, as I wasn't literally dead.

The trail to the gondola rides down.

The next step was to get to the family, who rode the gondola up the mountain. The joke about the mountain races is, just because the race is over doesn't mean the miles are over. I walked the sunset loop which was a crazy steep down hill follow by a short up hill to get to the gondola place and find the family. We chatted, I drank more water, and grabbed an orange slice. As there wasn't much to do and I was toast, we got in line for the gondola. It was then that I remembered I was afraid of heights and the last gondola I was in I tried to jump out of into a tree.

The boys told me the ride up was scary but fun. They warned me that the gondola goes fast at first and then slows down and that when it passes a pole there is a bump. They were right and I was crazy nervous as the gondola speed down the first incline before slowing and bump-bump. This ride all the windows were open so we had a nice breeze and while we slowed a bit the ride never came to a stop. Apparently on the ride out it was like being left in a hot car. Aside from minor moments of panic, I enjoyed the ride down. Then it was time to walk to the car, drive to the lake house, pack up everything and head home.

Pace and heart rate chart really shows the effort of the UWB.

I failed all levels of post race recovery.  I failed to remind my husband to bring my recovery drink to the top of the mountain, I failed to lie down and do a leg drain, I failed to eat much of anything all day with the packing and the driving. Then dinner decided to take longer than normal to cook. The first meal I ate was at 7pm.

I'm glad I'm done with Loon. I have no interest in running the race again or as I overheard someone say extreme hiking the race. It was an experience and I'm glad I can say I did it, but I don't need to repeat it. It's funny how little things can taint an experience. Spectators for the race were supposed to get discounted gondola tickets. As I expected it to take me 3 hours to finish, there was no rush to the top for my family and they went to breakfast. When they got to the mountain to buy tickets, they discovered they missed the discounted tickets by 15 minutes(at 10:07am) and would have to pay full price. This was never posted or mentioned in anything leading up to the race. I doubt the organizers even knew there was a cut off for this discount.  It's a minor thing, but it just rubbed me wrong and it's a big reason why I won't go back. That said the organizers of the race, ran a good race, they were great with communication, registration was easy and the aid stations were well stocked. My only issue was with Loon and a rude employee, likely amplified in my head by hunger and exhaustion.

I didn't bother with editing this write up, so there will be mistakes in the words chosen, the grammar and spelling. Thank you for seeing past it to get to this point.

Next race is Greylock Mountain Labor Day Weekend and my official mountain goat completion.