Oh holy moly, where did May go? Why is it June? Why is it 15 degrees C and rainy? Where is summer?
I can't answer any of these questions, but here are some recent running and life updates:
A weekend in Providence
On May 7 I did the Providence half marathon. The week of the race, as Murphy's law would have it, I contracted the daycare grot from the D-monster. I considered the weather, the head cold, and the elevation profile, and downgraded my expectations.
My usual half marathon strategy is: 5 miles easy to moderate effort, 5 miles moderate to hard, 3.1 miles 'run like you're being chased by a velociraptor' - I made it the first 10 and then would have been eaten. Nutrition and water were ok. Just a cold that lasted too long, plus one too many hills.
In the end, I finished in 1:56:22, although I'd trained for a more aggressive stretch target. That is the second fastest half marathon I've ever run in my life - the fastest was one second faster. Gah!
There were no velociraptors. (This is a plus. We will not be doing the Jurassic World Half Marathon anytime soon, thank you.) There were donut holes at the finish, and frozen yogurt bars, and pizza, and bananas, and clementines — the usual array of delectables. The (by then no longer snotty, as life is not fair!) toddler ran the quarter-mile kids race with his dad, and then ran it again because the big kids were doing it. A grand time was had by all, especially the kiddo, who stole all my donuts and clementines.
Other stuff to do in Providence: eat at a restaurant featuring a ceiling-mounted working toy train, which for a quarter a pop will mesmerise your toddler long enough for you to scarf your spaghetti. Go to the Providence Children's Museum. Have your zoo plans derailed by an epic family nap.
I Ran A 5K On No Training* And The Results Were Surprising!
On June 4 I ran the Cambridge Freedom Run 5K. We did it as a family outing, strollers and all, with some of the kiddo's little swim class buddies. (OK, when the class first started in winter, the munchkins were all running around together and I pounced on...I mean, started chatting with potential new mom friends, because I am completely shameless like that.) Dads pushed strollers and we moms lined up ahead. Zero stakes, zero expectations, zero strategy or plan, surprise PR (24:23)! How did that happen? I tried to keep up / chat with one of the girls for the first mile. And then she TOOK OFF. I was like, please go ahead, I haven't done any real speed workouts in months. Ouch.
* Yes, I have been running. Like 25 miles/ week. I just haven't trained specifically for a short fast race. Just trolling!
Also, yes, I am clutching my phone in the photo above, because I didn't want to short it out by sticking it down my shirt.
Maybe the theme for this year is low-stakes, low-expectations? I've already tossed out my marathon time goals. I have none. I have other goals for the marathon, like being good about the 'extra salt' and doing my strength work and stretching and getting to the start line injury-free - all with an eye to not cramping. I think my big fat hairy audacious goal here, the true emotional core of all this, is to run for joy.
I can't answer any of these questions, but here are some recent running and life updates:
A weekend in Providence
On May 7 I did the Providence half marathon. The week of the race, as Murphy's law would have it, I contracted the daycare grot from the D-monster. I considered the weather, the head cold, and the elevation profile, and downgraded my expectations.
My usual half marathon strategy is: 5 miles easy to moderate effort, 5 miles moderate to hard, 3.1 miles 'run like you're being chased by a velociraptor' - I made it the first 10 and then would have been eaten. Nutrition and water were ok. Just a cold that lasted too long, plus one too many hills.
In the end, I finished in 1:56:22, although I'd trained for a more aggressive stretch target. That is the second fastest half marathon I've ever run in my life - the fastest was one second faster. Gah!
There were no velociraptors. (This is a plus. We will not be doing the Jurassic World Half Marathon anytime soon, thank you.) There were donut holes at the finish, and frozen yogurt bars, and pizza, and bananas, and clementines — the usual array of delectables. The (by then no longer snotty, as life is not fair!) toddler ran the quarter-mile kids race with his dad, and then ran it again because the big kids were doing it. A grand time was had by all, especially the kiddo, who stole all my donuts and clementines.
Other stuff to do in Providence: eat at a restaurant featuring a ceiling-mounted working toy train, which for a quarter a pop will mesmerise your toddler long enough for you to scarf your spaghetti. Go to the Providence Children's Museum. Have your zoo plans derailed by an epic family nap.
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| basically any time you let a small child ride or drive a large vehicle it is the BEST DAY OF THEIR LIFE |
I Ran A 5K On No Training* And The Results Were Surprising!
On June 4 I ran the Cambridge Freedom Run 5K. We did it as a family outing, strollers and all, with some of the kiddo's little swim class buddies. (OK, when the class first started in winter, the munchkins were all running around together and I pounced on...I mean, started chatting with potential new mom friends, because I am completely shameless like that.) Dads pushed strollers and we moms lined up ahead. Zero stakes, zero expectations, zero strategy or plan, surprise PR (24:23)! How did that happen? I tried to keep up / chat with one of the girls for the first mile. And then she TOOK OFF. I was like, please go ahead, I haven't done any real speed workouts in months. Ouch.
* Yes, I have been running. Like 25 miles/ week. I just haven't trained specifically for a short fast race. Just trolling!
Also, yes, I am clutching my phone in the photo above, because I didn't want to short it out by sticking it down my shirt.
Maybe the theme for this year is low-stakes, low-expectations? I've already tossed out my marathon time goals. I have none. I have other goals for the marathon, like being good about the 'extra salt' and doing my strength work and stretching and getting to the start line injury-free - all with an eye to not cramping. I think my big fat hairy audacious goal here, the true emotional core of all this, is to run for joy.
