Riding the burbs

Woke up at the crack of dawn this morning in anticipation of a long ride. Headed out to Arlington to the Quad Cycles shop to make it for the 9:30am departure. I walked in and the guys working there told me that as of Nov 1 (today), the ride starts at 10. Ok. I am 45 mins early. Hmmm. What do I do? The guys at the shop told me to just hang out and so I did ... Since this was to be my first group ride and longest ride to date, I was a little nervous. They told me not to worry, that no one gets dropped and asked if I wanted coffee. How nice. As one of the guys left to go get caffeine in a cup, the other pulled me aside and said - You know, I'll tell you this since you're nice and you're new to all this. They will drop you if you can't keep up. And by the way, you're going to be cold in that outfit. huh? Great way to make me feel at ease. I looked at him funny because I was wearing my long tights and 2 top layers along with my long finger gloves .... not to mention it was already 55* outside. Well, he says to me, you might not be cold today, but once it stars to get really cold you'll need something like this - he pulls out a jacket. Uh huh. Always a salesman.

People started to arrive and I was introduced to a couple of the regular riders. Around the same time, the two NEBC riders I was supposed to meet showed up and ... we were off. We went down Mass Ave and the pace was just around 16. Not bad. We swung over to the Minuteman and headed toward Bedford where we regrouped and split into the fast and slow packs. My NEBC counterparts were kind enough to hang with the turtles and we sped off at a comfortable pace (we ranged between 17-21 and I hit my highest to date - 24) toward Chelmsford and down to Great Brook. We encountered a series of 2-3 hills that caused me to drop back because I hadn't shifted properly and I couldn't regain my momentum to catch up with the leaders. The only thing I could think at that point was oh my god I have no idea where I am...how am I going to get home? Never to fear, I wasn't the last rider and just before the panic set in, said rider passed me and started to speed away. Crap! I picked up my pace as the pain tore through my legs and followed her the couple miles straight ahead to Carlisle where everyone had stopped for break #3. We discussed the rest of the route and due to time constraints, we decided to take the quick way back down 225 (which, I have to mention is in TERRIBLE shape) through Bedford, back down the Minuteman and into to Arlington. 30 miles completed!

It was a great morning topped off with a quick lunch with N & R from NEBC who hung with me pretty much the whole way. It was much appreciated.

Complete route is here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2370999

nuovi inizi

So I am trying to decide if I should continue posting here. My main reason for keeping this blog alive was the half marathon and now that it's done, I am technically not training for anything anymore. However, I did sign up for another half in the frigid month of February in Hyannis. And I now also have my bike. So maybe that's enough to keep this going for awhile longer.

Went for a ride last night on the Minuteman. It was cold, but I was wearing my winter gear and warmed up after about 15 minutes. The first part of the ride was frustrating because I wasn't able to cruise along at my normal pace. But once my muscles had adjusted, I picked it up and sped toward Bedford. I am not a big fan of riding at night and because of this I snuck out of work early so that I could make it back to Alewife before the sun set completely. Usually I finish the route in just under two hours and last night I did it in about an hour and 45 minutes. Not too shabby. However, halfway back, as I stopped at a traffic light, my right calf completely cramped up on me. Not sure if it was due to the cold, not stretching before, lack of H2O or what. I was able to shake it out and continue on my journey. But it hurt like hell. I'm still feeling the effects of it this morning...

I have a really, really long ride tomorrow, which at the moment, I think I am crazy to attempt. But there are stops along the way for lunch and ice cream (!), I'm bringing a bunch of nutrition and liquids, so I think it will be fine. Worst case, I turn around and head back...

Fin

I successfully completed the half-marathon on Sunday! Thank you for all of the encouragement and support I received through the training. I definitely appreciated it.

Race day started at 5am when I rolled out of bed, threw on my running gear and gobbled down a bagel with peanut butter, a banana and a luna bar. We arrived at the start line at 6am in Union Square with 20,000 other runners. It was an unbelievable mass of people. The start was staggered by mileage time and about 4 minutes after the gun went off, I hit the pavement
running. The beginning of the course went through the financial district to the Embarcadero, past all of the piers and through Chrissy Field. Just after running by the Golden Gate Bridge at mile 6, the first monsterous hill approached. I thought the worst of it was over when I reached the peak, but no such luck. The next 3.5 miles were full of running up and down hills through the Presidio and Lincoln Park. Around mile 10, the course flattened and we had a great view of the Pacific Ocean. I could see the finish line and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the course took an abrupt left had turn into Golden Gate Park. By then, my legs were burning and I'd been trying to work through some knee pain that had appeared around mile 9. Miles 11 and 12 seemed to go on forever...As I flew past some volunteers handing out Ghirardelli chocolates, I realized the finish line was only about 500 feet in front of me. I threw it into high gear, squinted at the clock to see what my time was and realized I'd beaten my goal time by almost 15 minutes. I crossed at 02:04:47, tired, out of breath and thinking that when I run my next half, I will shoot for a sub 2hour finish time.

Official results are posted here:
http://results.eternaltiming.com/event/NWM2008 under the 'find athlete' link. I was bib #9445

and (not so attractive) pictures are here: http://www.brightroom.com/go.asp?41296148
What's next?!?! Hyannis Half in February and Cycling...

Tufts 10k

Great 6mile run this morning - broke a new PR for the (very) few races I've done this year. Results below:

Place Divpl/Tot  Div   Guntime Nettime Pace age S Race#

1464  462/1545  F3039  1:00:01  56:08  9:02 32  F  1284



and Andrea left me in her dust...nice job!

1230  395/1249 F2029   58:49    54:54  8:50 26  F  3319

Sunday

Went for a ride this morning - when it was all said & done I logged just about 22 miles. My ipod battery ran out 3/4 of the way through which was a bummer. I needed M.I.A. to give me that extra push through the jumps. Came home and later in the afternoon did a quick 3 mile round-trip run to Marathon to pick up some gels for next week. Can't believe the race is coming up so quickly.

Hip Flexors

I went the whole week without running. I know I am supposed to be tapering, but this is taking it too far. I have been suffering the consequences though and since I've been doing all this riding, my hip flexors have decided to tighten up. I tried to stretch them out yesterday with some of Salah's stretching tips, but alas, they just didn't want to budge. So I went for a 6 mile run today and threw in a summit ascent. I felt like an old woman shuffling along, but I made it through and my legs feel much better now.

Alternating Currents

...between biking and running. Ran 10 miles on Saturday and haven't run since. Yikes. Well, I am supposed to be tapering anyway. I did convince Salah (who is honoring us with his presence from CA this week) to bring his running shoes...so a run is in my near future.

What have I been doing in the meantime? Riding my brand new road bike! Yep, I just bought this beauty ... I've begun the crossover and I love it. Rode every day this week. Just need the sidis to come in and the package will be *almost* complete.