I wonder how many times I have done that 4 mi loop. Today I had Mark for company. Mark continued on, planning on going long today.

My legs are not sore from yesterday, I can't believe it. Maybe because biking doesn't have the pounding that running does?
80 min elipsing and 55 min spinning
:)
swim time!

20-miles just under 2 hours. Fairly relaxed. Had to run down in Mulberry due to more snow, but plenty of hilly dirt roads to keep us happy.

and back to the y. Bonnie was there for one of her daycare kid's birthday so I took advantage of the opportunity to run. 1:28:22

Maine Blackbear Hockey beats Michigan 5-4 to go to the frozen four! Go Blackbears!!!!! I have no fingernails left!!! Go Blackbears!!!

First run in our new town. It felt like running out into a vast unknown. We headed out of Gorham on Hwy 25, speed limit 55 mph but most drivers seem to view that as an advisory. For the first 8 miles I felt like we were running at the Daytona 500 and drivers were scoring bonus points for "near misses". Once we got along the Saco River on Route 112 the scenery was beautiful. Still, Maple Syrup Sunday is clogging the streets of Western Maine, turning 1 1/2 lane rutted rural roads into parking lots, speed limit 55 mph, but that's just an advisory. Good news the direction we ran the big loop placed the worst of the hills in the first 17 to 18 miles. Holy, hilly, Batman! Six months from now we will either be much faster or road kill.

I could have gone with Craig to the Y to swim, but I've developed "tennis elbow" (and I don't even play tennis!) in my right arm from using a wide keyboard and a mouse, rather than my usual laptop keyboard plus a trackball, when I was down in Delaware. I was worried that swimming might aggravate it, so I decided to stick with the treadmill for awhile.

Good luck, Judy and Carol!

Hopkinton to the top of the Newton Hills. First four miles with Steve, in 30:48. I didn't catch too many mile markers after that, but the total time was about 2:24, so a bit better than 7:00 pace for the last ~16.5. Felt great and the weather was perfect, mostly overcast, 40s, with a distinct breeze from the east.

Lots of people were out on the marathon course today. The L Street runners and some other clubs actually had full blown water stations set up with tables and an assortment of beverages.

Thanks, Steve and Diane!

1ooo
2oo kick
2 x 5oo - 6:10, 6:12 :)
5 x 2oo - 2:30, 2:31, 2:30, 2:28, 2:27
2oo back
2oo kick
1o x 1oo on 1:30, 1:17-1:20 (tired!)
20 x 50 on :50, :33-:36 (still tired!)
2oo back
2oo kick

6ooo yds, the first half of the sets from the blocks. In the next lane over, a ten year old named Amanda was working on her backstroke. She's usually there for an hour or so on Sunday afternoons, with her mom, dad, and younger brother. The kids swim and their parents coach them and offered to time my sets for me, because it's hard to watch the clock and dive in on time. Amanda is soooo fast!

Glad to hear your 19.5 went well, I'm impressed and I must admit a bit jealous that I didn't have a similar experience. Oh well, it's strengthening my character anyway. Off to do three at the y with my new 2110 Aasics!

Sara and I forgot all about Maine Maple Sunday. No syrup for us :(

Another day at the pool, with 5 minute warmup, and then a ladder of hard/easy: 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, 4-1, 3-1 . Once again, the pool closed before I could finish my workout. I have to get there earlier.

I tried to indoctrinate Sara into the cult of pool running, but she basically wouldn't have it. I don't blame her.

Couldn't make the group run this morning, and ended up not getting out there until late in the afternoon, at which point I decided 8 was plenty. I'll make it up, I promise...

mostly brisk walking, a tiny bit of running...since I am pregnant I am nervous about running even though my DR has assured me over and over it is safe....I think I may try to incorporate little bits of running into my daily walks and see how that feels....I miss running!

2 miles walking at city forest with kids and dog. Trails are okay for running and cycling right now. Will get very muddy soon.

60 minutes spinning.

15 quick miles around Orono and vicinity (total time 1:56). Felt comfortable - Mile 14 was 7:08. Saw Tim at The Store in Orono - while we were all there after the post run drinking coffee. That's 77 for last week - with a day off - starting to taper down. Found Hal Higdon's book on the Boston Marathon he published for the 100th annversary today at a used bookstore.

Last Name, First Name, Sex/Age, Bib, Team, City, State, Overall Place Gender Place, Age, Place, Finish Time, Net Time, Pace/Mile, AG Time, AG Gender Place, AG %
BLAKE JUDITH F55 6274 EDEN BAR HARBOR ME 667 667 14 2:03:24 2:01:41 9:17 1:37:52 193 67.2 %
BULT CAROL F44 7274 EDEN BAR HARBOR ME 900 900 280 2:07:56 2:06:14 9:38 1:56:36 895 56.4 %

March 26, 2006. More Two-Person Half-Marathon, New York, NY

Hi All, Carol and I had great runs today. Carol ran 2:06:14 (chip time)in her first 1/2 marathon and I'm sure she will report more. Right now she's on a plane to California, but I'm back home, and here's my report.

The weather was great - 42degrees and little wind. Some drizzle. I wore shorts for the first time this year. Carol and I walked up the 15 blocks from our hotel, and that's a nice way to warm up. This event is for women over 40. The marathon is an individual event. The 1/2 marathon requires a team of two at least with at least one woman over 40. There were women there from 48 states and most of the European countries. I meet a group of woman in their 60s over from Yorkshire England to run the 1/2 marathon and go shopping in NYC. Way to go.

The start was very crowded and it took almost 2 miles for the field to open up. This probably because there were many people running around my pace. Anyway, that kept me slower than I probably would have gone, and that was probably a good thing since I still struggle with starting out too fast. The course is the road loop through the whole of Central Park...two loops plus a bit makes the 13.1 miles. There are some little bitty hills.

My worries were that my various heel or blister issues would be a factor and that I haven't run much on hard roads yet this year. As it was, my feet hurt a lot after an hour, as they do, so I stopped and changed socks. My poor tootsies just don't like all that pounding. Changing socks did help, and I finished fine with no injuries and that was the big goal today. The sock incident probably cost me the chance to break 2 hours this time, but I am very happy not to be injured.

by the way...funny about the BDN thing. Here's the scoop on that. I was emailed by one of the press people for the More event who used to work for the sports division of BDN. He called me and I said I didn't mind being interviewed. So then this was assigned to a woman at BDN and by the time she and I connected while I was in DC last Wednesday, she told me that her editor had nixed the story because there wasn't enough time. Fine with me. But now I get home and there is a message from this Ryan guy. I really think the More press guy must have called and really wanted the coverage and convinced the sports division at BDN to push the headline..sure is big enough....

mile
1 9:45
2 9:40
3 9:11
4 8:56
5 8:49
6 9:05
7 8:38
8 8:51
9 9:08
10 9:15
11 9:23
12 8:58
13.1 9:52

The total recorded above by me doesn't include the time to change my socks (I paused my monitor). My official average, including changing socks, is 2:01:41 with an average pace of 9:17 then.

back in Chicago in somewhere around 1:57. I did a bit on my own first, then met up with a teammate who'd just gotten back as well. We went south for a while and went through a hole in a fence into an abandoned shipyard. There were some doors in a big rock thingy in the distance, and supposedly there are caves inside. Unfortunately it was time to turn around by the time I we reached them. Sometime I'll have to go straight there and do some running/spelunking. We climbed over another fence to get back out. Sometimes I wonder how our team knows about certain areas and routes, given how hard they are to get to. 6x20 seconds strides on the minute towards the end. I managed to forget socks today, but my feet are pretty darn blister resistant so no problems have arisen from that.

Who I had barely met in the fall while doing atraining run during XC season. I was stuck in a bind with some digestive issues...being 3 miles from campus and needing to use a toilet. I have toughed it out for a mile before...but I knew 3 wasn't happening.

So I knew Ms. Emory lived nearby...and although it felt really awkward asking for the use of her bathroom facility, I was more then greatful.

After the run I drove back to thank her and ended up talking to her over some fresh ginger-cookies and coffee.

There needs to be more Ms. Emorys in this world :)

-Chris

Greetings from California!

Our whole trip to NYC was great fun but I'll just report here on the More half marathon.

The start time for the race was 8 am...which is way early for me since we had to start eating at 6 am to have enough fuel on board to run. It was cool (low 40's), drizzly, and overcast and I was worried that the wind would make it an uncomfy run. In the end I ran in shorts and a long sleeve top with gloves and my trusty baseball cap. Worked just fine. I took a wind shell with me in case the wind or rain picked up but didn't use it.

It didn't seem like all that many people until we all lined up at the start. Yipes! It was a lot of people! Like Judy said it took a good two miles for the field to clear to the point where I could get in a running stride and not have to dodge people. By mile three I was with a group of women whose pace and running style matched mine pretty well and I kept with them for about six miles. After that they picked up the pace (which was my plan as well) but when I called down to my legs to go a bit faster they didn't answer. I don't think I had enough fuel on board. So I plodded along on my own and at mile 9 I caught sight of Judy. I thought I'd be able to pick up the pace enough to at least keep her in sight. But no luck, I just couldn't seem to get my legs to turn over any faster and Judy really pushed her pace in those last few miles.

The last three miles were frustrating at times when I realized I had enough to finish but not enough to pick up the pace. But given that I really only trained to finish the race without a specific time goal I felt really good about the whole effort. I was surprised at how strong I felt for the first six miles. And running in Central Park was really quite enjoyable.

I don't have my splits with me but I think I managed just under 10 minute miles.

Next up for me on the training schedule....speed work. Time to focus on running faster in shorter races. See you all at the track!

Nice job! Carol, it must have felt good to finish your first half marathon. And it sounds like a fun crowd and a fun site for both of you.

Running/walking = 228
Spinning = 115 minutes
Elliptical = 80 minutes
Swimming = 6000 yards