what i don't think about

I finally got a run in around the lake today!  It's been a long time since I've done that because the Minuteman Path is just so easy to use and (as I've mentioned before) I just love the mile markers!  It was a perfect day to run the lake, not too hot and not too breezy.  My knee felt okay for the first mile or two but after that it seemed to loosen up and not give me trouble.  Let's hope and pray it continues to not give me too much trouble!!  Oh, for the record, the lake loop is 4.5miles.

I sometimes randomly realize just how much I enjoy running.  And how much I like to run alone.  At the end of a long day.  I have about an hour when I just shut my mind off.  I don't think about the craziness at work or the list of groceries I have to buy or the pile of laundry I've been meaning to fold for the past week.  I just run.  I enjoy the sun and the trees and the flowers and the steady thud of my shoes hitting the pavement.  I don't have anyone to impress.  I don't have anyone to judge me.  It's just me.  And the miles that lay before me.  

Today was one of those days.  It was kind of a rough day at work and I couldn't wait to put on my running shoes and head out the door.  And blissfully turn my mind off.  Yeah, sure I still thought about things, like how the buds on the trees are slowly turning into leaves, how one stream joins up with the other, how the steeples of the churches in town look against the sky, how the sun glistens off the water.  But I didn't think about how much life is going to change in the coming months, how busy this summer will be, how much I will miss two great friends and a mentor, how hard it will be to say goodbye, how difficult it will be to not see two beautiful girls each week.  How thankful I am for new growth and opportunities yet how hard it is to change....

I don't have any closing thoughts on this yet.  It will come, but right now, it's still too fresh.  It will probably come when I am running.  In the warm sunshine.  Alone.  Just the way I like it.  :)

april or august?!

Today was the Ring Around the Neck in Marblehead, MA.  5miles of uphill, downhill, running along the ocean.  It was a beautiful blue sky, sun shining overhead, a few clouds that possibly threatened rain...oh, and 95 degrees.

As we were making our way to Marblehead, I told the guys that the thermometer on my car said 90 deg.  They didn't believe me.  They thought it just had to be wrong.  I said, "but it's really hot..."  "Can't be in the 90's though, no way!"  Well, just after the start of the race we passed a bank sign that flashed the time and temp.  Guess what it was.  Nope, not 95...it was merely 92deg.  It was when we were finishing that it had gone up an additional 3deg.  Dang, that is hot for April.  Are we sure it's not August after two straight days in the 90's?  

Anywho, I'll shut up about the weather...  You all want to hear about my knee.  Well, it didn't bother me during the warm up.  It didn't bother me thru mile 1.  It started bothering me somewhere around 1.5-2mi.  I thought I was going to have to give up.  I thought I was not going to finish even.  But I guess my mind started wandering and I started thinking about other things and I realized that I couldn't feel my knee twinging anymore.  And then I realized that I couldn't feel it twinging because it wasn't twinging!!!  Hooray, I believe the Advil trick worked!  It's feeling great even now and we'll see how it feels tomorrow.  

Now I've just got to get rid of these shin splints!!  Silly downhill running.... 

enjoying baseball

I just LOVE baseball season!  And currently, I am enjoying a back and forth battle: Red Sox vs Yankees.  It's always such an amazingly well fought game.  Last night the Sox pulled out a win by tying it up in the 9th inning with a two shot home run and finally, in the bottom of the 11th, we got a walk off home run from a favorite player we affectionately refer to as YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUK!  :)  Tonight is an equally crazy game.  And I'm am thoroughly enjoying it!

I'm also enjoying the fact that it was summer today!  Seriously, the temp 

was (according to my Corolla) 91deg!!  Clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight.  Outstanding.  I LOVE days like this...and watching baseball on days like this.  

Today was an awesome day.  I spent the morning with a former roommate, Kristy, walking the lake (4mi).  We cheated and stopped halfway through to enjoy a muffin and iced coffee from the Gingerbread Construction Company.  After that it was off to Savannah's one year birthday party.  Good times!  Lots of friends and fun and little kids.  And now a SA-weet game.

Update on my knee and the 5mile race tomorrow:  My knee feels better...I believe that it is a sore tendon behind my knee cap running down my calf, which would explain the numbness going all the way down my leg...  My favorite nurse practitioner (my friend, Jennifer) told me that Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory as well as a pain killer so I'll be taking that until the race tomorrow.  (and possibly after if I'm not feeling better...)  It's supposed to be about 82deg but we'll be right on the ocean so I don't think it will be too hot.  I really enjoy running in the sun and warm weather so I can NOT wait!  Just hope my leg is up to it.  

Check in tomorrow for an update on how the race went and possibly some pics from the race!   ;)

8 days, 3 races, 13.1 miles

I'm totally exhausted tonight so I will make this short and sweet.  Part of the fun I have with training is entering races.  Not to win, mind you.  That is never my goal.  My goal is simply to have fun and possibly achieve a PR (personal record).  The first goal is easy to achieve.  I just really enjoy the whole atmosphere at a race and the drive it brings out in me.  The free snacks at the end aren't to shabby either....  The PR is a little bit harder.  I've found that I'm a little bit behind where I was when I was training for the Half Marathon two years ago and my race times have also been a bit behind.  It's fine...it's just kind of a bummer.

Anyway, here are the races I've done and the times I got.  

April 18 - Chase the Gorilla 5K (3.1miles) - 28.28.

April 20 - (aka Marathon Monday to folks here in Mass) 95th Annual Lexington Patriots Day Race 5miler - 46.15. (this is just 30 sec off my 5mi PR...)

And coming up on Sunday I've got another 5miler scheduled in Marblehead, MA.  Right on the ocean...forecast for Sunday:  82deg and sunny.  Hot diggity!!

Sidebar:  I just realized that putting all three of these together exactly equals the distance of a half marathon.  Sweet!  :)

Today I went out for 10.  And I made it.  I walked a few times as the wind was KILLER on back 5mi.  And towards the end my left knee started to give me trouble.  I'm going to go ahead and take some Advil and hope it feels better in the morning.  I'd hate to miss this run on Sunday b/c I was silly and pushed too hard today.  

This 10 was the farthest I've gone in this round of training.  And I was stoked to get it in.  I'm hoping my knee will feel better and I can get another 10 in next Thursday before going away for the weekend.  We shall see....

(okay so this wasn't short or sweet...rather, disjointed and rambling....oh well, as I said, I'm exhausted.)

a random posting of many things

I love spring! I love green things and purple things and yellow things; all poking out of the ground and out of trees reminding me that winter is FINALLY over and warmer days are on their way. (I can love spring so much because I am blessed not to be affected by seasonal allergies!)

I have seen a lot of these green, yellow and purple things on my runs the past few days. I have been taking advantage of the Minuteman Path that runs from Bedford to Cambridge, conveniently passing through Lexington, on the nice days that we've been having. It's so fun to run the same way over the course of a few days and see the progress of the bright green things along the path. It makes me smile and makes the runs seem shorter. (I'm totally kidding about that last part. The runs are still v. long...)

Again, the path is so great. Here are a few of the great things about it:
1. like I said, it runs from Bedford to Cambridge, so I can choose which way to go depending on which way the wind is blowing. Options are good.
2. there are mile markers. I like to know how far I've gone and how far I've yet to go. Like yesterday, I got to the half way point and thought, "sweet, I've only got three more miles!" and at each point that number got smaller and smaller. I like that.
3. you see a lot of other people. Mostly you see many bikers racing past but there are a great number of fellow runners, walkers and rollerbladers, as well. And actually, just yesterday I saw someone I knew, that was fun. :)
4. it's beautiful. One day I'll post some pictures of the path...but parts of it are urban, parts of it are surrounded by nature.

Okay. Here's the update on the training: I got a lot of mileage in last week, over 20! This week is looking to be quite a bit as well...but maybe not as much. I got 6 in yesterday, am shooting for 4-5mi tonight (at the gym), another 3 on Wed and possibly 4-5 on Thursday. Friday is a day off, but time outside doing something is a MUST since it will be near 70deg!!!

Also, I've got three races coming up:
Saturday - Chase the Gorilla Down Argilla, 5k in Ipswich, MA.
Monday - Patriots Day Race, 5miles in Lexington, MA
Sunday 4/26/09 - Ring Around Marblehead Race, 5miles in Marblehead, MA

Only 40 more days to the Half Marathon in Boston!! Yahoo!

my neglection

Dear Faithful Blog Reader,

I am sorry it has been so long since my last post.  You probably think I have not been running and am ruining my chances at completing the Run to Remember in May.  I assure you that is not the case.  I have been keeping up on my workouts, running more and more and getting faster and stronger.  It's a good feeling.

No, it is not my runs that I have been neglecting, but you, dear reader.  I am sorry to have not kept you up to date on my schedule.  I am sorry for not pouring out every detail of my training.  Not that you need to know every detail...  or want every detail, for that matter.

Anywho, thank you for checking back.  I will do my best to continue to update this little blogspot and therefore update you on all that has been happening in the running world of Angela.  

For now, peace out.

A

yes, I realize "neglection" is not necessarily a word...but it works in this case.