2013 in Review

 1. Bought a house. Other than some routine maintenance, it has treated us well.
 
2. As the finishers certificate states, I successfully completed the Boston Marathon. That is about the most accurate thing I can say about the Boston Marathon.
 
3. Ran a road race in Hawaii.
 
4. Didn't do a whole lot of running otherwise. I will cap out the year at just over 600 miles. My major focus was getting over a series of injuries. So far so good on making a careful return to running.
 
Here's to lots of good things happening in 2014!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

The thumbs up first. I ran a 5K in Hawaii. A race T-shirt is a much better souvenir than a regular old T-shirt. I didn't set any land speed records, but I wasn't planning on it. I ran a respectable time, and I even snagged second in my age group.

Hawaii was very amazing, by the way. The pineapple (the sweetest ever), the shopping (tons of high-end stores), the restaurants (I may or may not have eaten udon noddles twice in 24 hours), the beaches, the hiking, the mai tais, all thumbs up.

And the thumbs down. My ankle is still bugging me a bit. I can tell it is getting better. Slowly. Stretching and foam rolling are helping, but I need to get myself fully healed. So it's time for another running break. I unintentionally took a complete exercise break for a few days. My body needs it. And I need to be patient.

Remembering Boston on National Running Day

Happy National Running Day!

Did I run today? Nope. I have not ran since the Boston Marathon. And I do not feel bad about that in the slightest bit. Oh, I am still exercising but in different ways. My body needs a break from running.

Since I did not run today, how about some photos from my trip to Boston over the weekend?

Honestly, it was a little weird to be in Boston. It seemed like nothing had changed, and yet everything has changed. But it was good. I got to go back and hang around downtown Boston and visit the Public Garden, just as I had planned to do after the Boston Marathon. I am glad I had a chance to go back.

I got to see the Boston Marathon memorial in Copley Square.






Hands touching hands reaching out touching you is a line from Sweet Caroline.




Been waiting for a while to show my medal to the mama duck in the Public Garden. Mama duck approved.


I do so enjoy Boston.

Volta a Cidade 6K Race Recap

Cross off run an international road race off of my running bucket list.

I ran the Volta a Cidade 6K race in Funchal, Portugal over the Christmas holidays. I'd link to the race website, but it is all in Portuguese.

Never heard of Funchal? Most people haven't. How about Madeira Island? Most people on this side of the Atlantic haven't heard of that either. Funchal is the main city on Madeira Island in the Atlantic. But I bet you have heard of Madeira wine. Mmmm, Madeira wine.

This is Madeira. I like it so very much. It also doesn't hurt that the temperature is between 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. It is very mountainous but also very pretty.


Volta a Cidade roughly means "tour of the city." What a nice tour of the city we had. The race started at 8pm. Running at night! Cool. It was a few days after Christmas, so all of the Christmas lights were up. Funchal does a good job of decorating for Christmas. Colored lights in trees. Lit up snowmen, presents, and angels. A big Nativity display. Booths selling food, drinks, and other things.

The entry fee was 5 euros (about $7). It was a no-brainer even-if-I-have-to-walk-this-is-still-a-bargain decision to enter the race. I was not in racing shape. Or, I was not even close to the racing shape I was in a year ago. I didn't really have a time goal (other than around 30 minutes). It was going to be an instant PR in a distance that I will never run again.

It was chip timed but only by gun time. I estimated I lost about 45 seconds just to get to the start line. There weren't a lot of women. I'd say the split was 90% men and 10% women. For a very mountainous area, the course was pretty flat. Most of it near Funchal's crescent-shaped harbor. Part of the race is on cobblestone streets. You have to be very careful when running on cobblestones. Especially if you are coming back from an injury.

I snuck in a just barely under my 30-minute goal. Yay. Go me.

If you ever find yourself in Funchal after Christmas, run this race. This was a really fun experience. For 5 euros, you really can't go wrong. Everyone got a T-shirt and a medal. I wasn't even expecting a T-shirt, no less a medal as well. I liked running through the streets with all of the Christmas lights up. I would definitely run this race again.

None of these pictures are actually from the race, but many are along the course.

Street decorations


Angels in front of the cathedral


Lit-up trees. Pretty sure this actually was on the course.


Booths and lights

Boston Bound

One of the nice things about being temporarily unemployed is having time to do whatever I want to do. Before I left Rhode Island, I went up to Boston for the day.

I started off in the Copley area. The Boston Marathon finishes just about here. Next year :-)


John Hancock Tower


Then I walked to the Public Garden. The pond for the swan boats was empty, but some trees were starting to bloom.



I took my Shamrock medal to the duck statues. The mama duck approved.


Walked down Newbury Street, Boston's main shopping street. Dunkin Donuts and Lululemon are neighbors? Oh, that is bad.


I asked at LLL about the "stuff your bra" tank and bra that have pockets built into them. Great idea, but could be really flawed. They weren't in yet. I chatted with a couple of the salespeople about just qualifying for Boston and running next year. They were excited! I said I'd run in either Lululemon or a Boston College Superfan shirt. They approved either way.

Then I went to Coolidge Corner to meet a friend for lunch at Anna's Taqueria. Still the best Mexican food anywhere. Mmmm. Get extra fresh salsa and hot sauce. Coolidge Corner has a mix of chain stores and smaller shops. It kinda reminds me of the area in DC where I moved to.

Then I went to Boston College. Scaled the "Great Wall of China." Like many college campuses, BC is on a hill. It's about 125 steps to the top. When I used to give campus tours, we were told to never ever take tour groups up the Great Wall of China.


Gasson Hall is our centerpiece building. It looks shiny and new because parts of it are shiny and new. In 2008, the top 1/4 of the tower was taken down for restoration. It was *very* weird being at BC during that time with The Tower missing.


Walked the labyrinth. I love walking the labyrinth. It is not a maze. There is only one path to the center. You follow the path to the center, spend some time there, and then retrace your path back out. It is supposed to offer a chance for meditation. I've walked this particular labyrinth 5 times now. Every time has taught me something different. This time, it was focus and be patient.


Had dinner at Hillsides Cafe. Hillsides opened the year I graduated. Mmmm, turkey sandwich with homemade chips and a pickle. I miss those sandwiches.

Gasson Hall at night.



And that was it.

Chicago Marathon Recap

I ran the Chicago Marathon on October 9, 2011. This race has a history of being hot. It wasn’t as bad as some years, but it was hot enough to slow almost everyone down. While I didn’t get the BQ I had trained to run, I set a new marathon PR and had fun doing it.

The race expo was gigantic.


I got to meet Hal Higdon! And he signed my marathon book.



Ready to start on Sunday morning


Here's the mile-by-mile breakdown:

Mile 1-3 - The Loop in downtown Chicago. I really liked the architecture in Chicago. The beginning was crowded. There was only one part in the first mile or two on a narrow(er) street where I had to slow down. That’s probably a good thing. I knew I had to be careful about going out too fast. The crowding made that difficult to do. When I hit the 5K mark, I thought I was running too slow but then realized that I was just about where I wanted to be.

Mile 4-7 - LaSalle Drive heading north, then Lincoln Park. I like parks.

Mile 8-11 - This part was very pretty. Brownstone buildings, lots of spectators. If you look out for the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, you can use it as a reference point. Head north, then back, head west, then back, head south, then back. If you know to look for the Willis Tower just before mile 8, you will know where you are. I didn't see the Willis Tower, but I did catch a glimpse of the John Hancock Building, the other tall black building with antennas. I hit my planned pace on the nose for several miles. Oddly enough, I walked along mile 11 later in the day and did not recognize it at all.

Mile 12 - I honestly couldn’t tell you. Somewhere in downtown Chicago. At least it was shady. I got confused about where I was. I thought I was at mile 12 but was still in mile 11. I think the course goes very close to the Willis Tower and yet I completely missed it. My husband was spectating on a bridge. He did not see me. I did not see him. A note to spectators. Bright signs and distinctive clothing are not enough. We should have gone with a mylar helium balloon.

I am not in this picture, but this is what the marathon looked like around mile 12.


Mile 13 – Halfway done in 1:46:15. I was on pace to qualify for Boston and only about 30 seconds off my half marathon PR. I decided halfway was a good time to take my tank top off, take a walk break, and whip out my iPod. I was also dehydrated but mostly unaware of it at that point.

Mile 14-17 – Eh. I kinda don’t remember much about this part. Headed west out from downtown Chicago. The scenery and crowd support were OK but not as good as the first half. The charity cheer zone around mile 14 was fun. There was less shade (although I was expecting no shade and there was some shade). The heat was catching up with me. Started slowing down a bit. I felt kinda nauseous around mile 15. Ate some pretzels?

Mile 18-19 – I pulled out my race cheat sheet, a little piece of paper with paces and times. While I still had time to make a move and was close to BQ pace, I knew I needed to speed up to make it. That was not going to happen. So I slowed down again. Took more walk breaks. Stepped to the side to walk and drink water and Gatorade. Ate more pretzels. I figured I could still get a PR. Just enjoy the race and get my money’s worth by being out on the course longer.

Mile 20 – The nauseous feeling from mile 15 or so had gone away. I picked up the pace a bit here. I was feeling better. My legs were still feeling OK, too. Well, that was a victory. I don’t remember my exact 20 mile time, but it was my fastest 20 miles in a marathon yet. Another victory.

Mile 21 – Chinatown. Lots of crowds. The wheels started falling off around this point. But this time it wasn’t because my legs hurt. It was the heat. At a certain point, there isn’t much you can do to beat the heat. So my plan was to hold on.

Mile 22 – Eh. I kinda don’t remember much about this part either. Except for a bunch of people giving out little cups of beer. I was really tempted to take one (because a marathoner I met several months ago described beer in a marathon as “sweet nectar of the gods”). But I resisted. Kinda knew I was dehydrated. Beer would only make that worse.

Mile 23 – The heat was really starting to get to me. Full sun by a highway. The temperature was rising. Slowest 5K split of the entire marathon. Saw a runner go down, probably because of the heat. I tripped on a runner at a water stop (didn’t fall but later realized that I got a nasty blister on a toe that had been giving me trouble since May). The course finally started turning north towards the finish line. 5K to go. Rebel Yell by Billy Idol came on my iPod. More more more.

Mile 24-25 – Straight north up Michigan Ave. I was expecting more full sun and was pleasantly surprised that there was a little bit of shade. Two miles to go, then 1 mile to go. The crowds were getting loud again. The Willis Tower was getting bigger and bigger.

Mile 26 – There is a lot of hype about the bridge/hill at the very end of marathon, right before you turn left to see the finish line. Maybe I am used to hills, but I didn’t think it was that bad. Or maybe it was because I knew it was there. Or maybe it was all the spectators.

Mile 26.2 – Slight downhill to the finish line. There were a lot of spectators in bleachers, but I honestly do not remember hearing them. I was a marathoner for the third time. 3:53 flat on my Garmin, but I knew I had a few seconds of wiggle room. Official finish time was 3:52:56. New marathon PR by a few minutes. All things considered, I’ll call that a win.

I felt fine at the finish but didn’t feel fine about 10 minutes afterwards. My stomach decided it did not want what I was trying to put in it. Thankfully (I guess?), this very thing has happened to me before. I knew this was classic dehydration for me. Sat down, let my stomach do its thing, and then started to feel better. I got up, made my way out of the runners only area, found my husband (nightmare ... he had to stand next to someone with a helium balloon), walked to the post-race party area, and started getting food and water back in my system. I knew I was fine once I could eat and drink again.

Back to all smiles at Cloud Gate aka The Bean


Would I run Chicago again? Yes. The course is crowded, flat, well-supported, and lined with spectators. There are some big caveats, though. More on that later.

On the Rhode Again

This post is brought to you by Washington, DC and the National Park Service.

I was looking forward to a scenic long run around Washington, DC this weekend. There are many things in DC that are free. The Smithsonian Museums, the monuments, and pretty much anything run by the U.S. Government or National Park Service. Public bathrooms and water fountains are everywhere. Thanks, DC. This runner took advantage of both of those.

Starting off at Union Station in sight of the Capitol.




Running down the National Mall


National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. The garden is interesting, and there is a pretty fountain in the center of it. One of my favorite places in DC.


Washington Monument. Good thing I went to the top the last time I was in DC.


World War II Memorial



Found Rhode Island


Vietnam War Memorial


Lincoln Memorial



Then I headed across the Potomac River on the bridge behind the Lincoln Memorial, went back over the bridge, and followed the Potomac for a few miles.



On my way back, I realized the Pentagon was across the river.


Tidal Basin


Jefferson Memorial


White House


U.S. Capitol. Note to self: there is a reason it is called Capitol Hill. Remember that the next time you run in DC.


Done!! Thumbs up to DC for having lots of public bathrooms, water fountains, many paths suitable for running, and free monuments. (Thumbs down to the sun and humidity, but that's another story).

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

1. Ran a half marathon. Kicked asphalt to a new PR. Take that, hills and rain.
2. Went to Vermont where I enjoyed homemade apple pie, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Cabot cheese, and Long Trail beer.
3. Ran up and down mountains.
4. Read a book on best practices in teaching statistics.
5. Did a whole lot of nothing.
6. Hiked up and down a mountain. On part of the Long Trail.
7. Did an 8 mile pace run.
8. Went to Dear Husband's family reunion.

Mr. Potato Head is my traveling buddy. He ate some cheese, hiked to the top of a mountain, and had a Long Trail beer.









I ran on roads like this ...



... with beautiful views like this.



Mountains with and without clouds






Small town New England church



Farm



Why it was worth it to climb 2000 vertical feet