Time for new challenges!!!

Still in recovery mode from Boston, and so many new goals are going through my head.  My parents had a first hand experience of why I love obsess over running.  I'm not crazy after all, am I? ha ha!  So, my father asked what if I could hold under a 7mm pace, marathon distance....well, if it were that easy.  Although marathons are not the most appealing distance I crave, I "may" do another in the future.  It makes me very happy that they are FINALLY understanding and more supportive of my running.  With three brothers who are naturally good at everything, I couldn't help to feel a little left out.  Time to find my inner Kenyan!  Here are a few things that I'd like to work on and achieve before the end of the year:

1. Sub 19 min. for the 5K-Sub 1:30 for 1/2 marathon

2. Do track workouts, more speed workouts

3. Work on faster turn over-more efficient running

4. incorporate more biking in my running schedule

5. Try barefoot running!

6. Defeat my sweet tooth =)  

7. Get these Lady Warriors on the streets!!!!

The Boston Experience!

Where to begin.....

A little background information before getting into the beast itself.  If you haven't been following my blogs, I had 15 weeks of unbelievably, great training runs. Once I began tapering, the problems began...along with some mistakes (i.e. wearing heels) made.  A couple deep tissue massages later, along with no running and we were Boston bound!  


We stayed at the Renaissance Waterfront Hotel in the bay area.  It was located about 1.7 miles out of downtown Boston.  For two straight days, my entire family was stressed about creating a plan to A. get me to the bus pick-up on time, B. figure out how they were going to get to Boylston Street, C. where should they stand, D. how were we going to meet up after the race, and E. how we were going to get back to our cars to head home.  I couldn't focus on any of those issues because I was fighting my own pre-race demons.  Eventually, all plans had worked out with the help of hotel staff and other helpful runners, which went like this:
A. I hopped on a shuttle($5.00) from the hotel at 6:15 a.m., which took me to the bus pick-up on Tremont St. in the Commons. Buses went to Boston to Hopkinton (1 hour drive), to Athlete's Village.
B. My family jumped on the T and got off on Arlington St. because Copley & Boylston St. stops were closed.
C. They found a wonderful spot on Boylston St, where they stood for nearly 3 hours waiting for me.
D. Luckily, I spotted them right after crossing the finish line. But, the plan was to meet at the park on the left, right past the Baggage buses.
E. We all jumped back on the T, back to the hotel, in the cars and headed home.

I won't ruin the fun for those of you who have not gone to Boston yet.  But, I will provide some helpful tips!  Take the "T". It is much cheaper than taking a cab, if you are not located directly in Boston. Have a plan of where to meet up with your family after the race. There are thousands of people, which makes it nearly impossible to find anyone!  

Onto the Expo, located at the Hynes Convention Center.  Extremely organized, but how could it not be with that many people?! Picked up the packet and went shopping!  I'm not going to lie, I've been to better expo's. It was nice, had great stuff, but the Rock N Roll Series definitely tops it!


The night before the race, we went to dinner at Legal Test Kitchen, which happened to be conveniently located right next to our hotel.  Pan Seared Shrimp in pasta, crab quesadillas, and fried pickles. I couldn't resist the fried pickles, they were the best I'd ever had!  

Race morning, let the fun begin!  Arrived in Hopkinton-Athlete's Village around 8:15 a.m. It was 40 degrees and the wind was brutal. Thousands of runners were laying all over the place, covered up, laying on pool rafts.  I contacted another friend, Tracey Hayes, who was also running.  We met up, eat a few bagels, bananas, scooped a few free Power Bars, water, chatted, went to the potty a couple times and then off to Wave 8!  I was one foot in my wave before it took off.  So much for stretching!


I tried to take the first few miles easy but my adrenaline was slowly taking over.  By mile 5, my stride had set in but my legs still didn't feel that comfortable-and I ditched the running sleeves.  My original plan was to run negative splits, like I usually do. After 13 miles of rolling hills, I knew I had to stick with a pace that could get me to the end.  By mile 13, my legs were starting to hurt-I hit GU number 1.  Thanks to a wonderful running buddy, Amy Balash, I put my name on my shirt for crowd support =)  I did not listen to music the entire time, because the crowds were yelling "GO KELLI" every step of the way. It was so awesome and really kept me going!  Wellesley Girls....you can hear them from a half mile away. My suggestion is run to the left ha ha!

 Mile 17, I'm starting to feel a little comfortable again.  The road is going up and down, up and down, and all I see if thousands of runners ahead up me. I can honestly say, the uphills felt great compared to the downhill.  My quads were getting exhausted.  There are so many uphill & downhill drops in that course, that no one talks about; I know because I've studied it like a state exam LOL!  Mile 19 is where I began to really feel fatigued.  The sun was beaming down, it was hot, my legs were tired, my form was a wreck and I was just trying to hold it together.  I began to stop completely at every single drink station to keep myself hydrated. Mile 21, Heart Break Hill.  You see "thump, thump, thump", written on the road in chalk.  Not that the hill itself was steep, but it was long, and at mile 21, the last thing you want to do is pedal your way up a hill.  Not as bad as I had anticipated though-GU number 2.  Once you get to the top, its quite a drop downhill, and that's what kills your legs.  Once I had passed mile 22, my goal was to just hold on to an 8mm pace or under until the finish.  The last few miles weren't that bad, aside from the dry heaving that I began to experience, the heat, and the tears that bellowed down my face. It was such a glorious moment to run past that mile 26 marker, take a left onto Boylston Street and see the finish ahead.  It seemed like an eternity to get to the finish line, but nothing beats the feeling of crossing that finish line!  

Check my Garmin....HUGE PR!  Official finishing time for 26.52 miles = 3:32:53!!!  I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to experience the phenomenon of Boston.  IT truly is an amazing time! Thank you to everyone who encouraged and support me!


Picked up my medal, post race goodies, baggage and headed home.  That, I do not recommend!  6 hours of sitting after running a marathon, is painful! What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger!

The Finish!!!

What was I thinking?

I am notorious for taking full advantage of a good run. This particular run was with Greg Grund and Jim Chely, which run considerably faster than my average pace. My pace 8:00, their pace 7:30 and below.  I knew I could handle it but should NOT have done it two weeks out of Boston.  My legs may are in pain....a lot of pain; and I'm kicking myself in the butt for doing this run.  Hoping for a miracle within the next eleven days!!!!!

Here's is the garmin correspondence from the run:

Summary

Overall

Time:	02:09:46
Distance:	17.00 mi
Elevation Gain:	539 ft
Calories:	1,612 C

Timing

Time:	02:09:46
Moving Time:	02:09:35
Elapsed Time:	02:14:28

Avg Pace:	07:37 min/mi
Avg Moving Pace:	07:37 min/mi
Best Pace:	05:12 min/mi

Speed

Pace

Elevation

Elevation Gain:	539 ft
Elevation Loss:	529 ft
Min Elevation:	849 ft
Max Elevation:	1,091 ft

Laps 17

View Splits

Split Time Distance Avg Pace Summary 02:09:46 17.00 07:37 1 00:08:09 1.00 08:09 2 00:08:20 1.00 08:20 3 00:08:29 1.00 08:29 4 00:07:43 1.00 07:43 5 00:07:08 1.00 07:08 6 00:07:05 1.00 07:05 7 00:07:16 1.00 07:16 8 00:07:29 1.00 07:29 9 00:07:32 1.00 07:32 10 00:07:55 1.00 07:55 11 00:07:29 1.00 07:29 12 00:07:35 1.00 07:35 13 00:07:34 1.00 07:34 14 00:07:23 1.00 07:24 15 00:07:32 1.00 07:32 16 00:07:27 1.00 07:27 17 00:07:31 1.00 07:31

I like to ramble....

It's the seventeen day countdown!  I can tell my body is getting tired and is ready for a break.  An entire week of complete monotonous, hard, slaving runs-on the treadmill, which led to a running a couple doubles. I actually enjoy running doubles, due to the fact that it breaks up a long run. However, with two small children and an unpredictable life, the second run usually takes place around 8:30 p.m. =(  I like to refer to them as "fatigue training".


I couldn't handle anymore treadmill this week. My legs had just had enough.  So, this morning, the cold weather gear came out and my legs hit the streets.  As ridiculous as the snow/rain mixture was, it didn't seem all that bad. I finished a nice 8 mile run at a substantial 7:45 pace.  Time to simmer down on the weekly milage. Sunday's forecast appears to be fairly descent.  We are heading out for an 18 miler, followed by a 13 miler next weekend.  Then it's all about BOSTON!!!!  In the meantime, hoping to have some nice weather soon, so there will be more road running and less treadmill runs!


On another note. Passing motorist!  As a runner, I know NOT to run in the road with traffic-I'm always on a sidewalk or the shoulder, hugging the sidewalk.  By all means, I'm not trying to kill myself. But, for some unknown reason, I've encountered many "douche bags" that like to slam on their horn while approaching me and scare the living sh!t out of me!  I also specifically enjoy the meathead men in their big trucks that like to drive by and mash the gas, yell things out the window about my butt, or better yet, drive circles so they keep passing you-like you didn't see them the first five times. Come on people, go eat your donuts and let me do my thing, jeeeeez! Ugh, this town is sooo full of creepers!   I'm done venting... 


Hope everyone has a wonderful, safe Easter Break.  Good Luck to my girl, Megan Hugg on her marathon in Knoxville, TN on Sunday!