Bloomsday PR

On a sunny first day of May (also practically the first sunny day of the year), I ran my first PR in a year! (The last one was Bloomsday 2010. 12K PRs are a little easier to come by since I only do one 12K a year.)It's a little embarrassing to admit, I only feel really good about a race if I do better than I expect to (i.e. PR). I am a strong proponent of the idea that you cannot PR in every race (especially if you race frequently), and I certainly have been happy with various non-PR finishes. But there is definitely a little extra measure of excitement and happiness that comes with a PR. I certainly didn't expect to PR today. I am less than two weeks out from Boston (though completely recovered). More significantly, my pace times, though significantly improved this spring from winter, have continued to be a little slower than last year. So my expectations were high for a good race, but not necessarily a great race.Actually I would call this one a very good race...it would take a little more speed to make it great. (Still waiting for that one-hour 12K...maybe I should find an easier 12K course!)The Bloomsday course is rather similar to Boston in its ups and downs...the difference being that it's only about a quarter of the distance, no time to destroy your legs! It starts with a long downhill then goes into an uphill...and repeat a few times ( with some flatter stretches in between) until the final long hill (known as Doomsday Hill) which takes you past the five mile point. Then it's a combination of flat and downhill to the finish. My mother and I had flown over to Spokane on Friday. Somehow I convinced myself to make it an extra long weekend even though I just got back from Boston. We settled in to the lovely Davenport Hotel and I was able to make my trip to the "trade show" (expo) Friday afternoon. I tried to be quick and untempted by merchandise but I did walk away with two new NuuMuu running dresses (I thought of wearing one today but I couldn't get one with any purple/lilac in it, and it also seemed a little chilly for sleeveless this morning (though actually it wasn't). I also made numerous passes by the Franz Bakery booth, taking handfuls of iced circus animal cookies which I stashed in my bag for later treats. I managed to get out of the building before being banned. One benefit of arriving early is that we could have two carbo-load dinners at Cafe Europa! Pizza on Friday night and pasta on Saturday. Plus plenty of bread both nights. Those meals also yielded leftovers for lunch on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we walked down to Riverfront Park and across the river to look at the falls.



That was pretty much the extent of our activities. We spent a lot of time enjoying our lovely room. And I have a new iPad which has me quite enthralled!Sunday morning I got up a little after 6 and headed down to the lobby to get coffee. I also got us huckleberry scones for pre-race breakfast. They seemed more appealing than the English muffins I brought. I wasn't worried that they would be hard on my stomach, and they were not. Then I had plenty of time to go back to bed, eat and drink, and play with the iPad rest ip for the race. The sun was out at 6 am, but by 7 it was foggy and stayed that way till close to race time. It was also quite cool, in the 30s, so I forwent the new sleeveless outfits and the sleeveless top I'd brought, and stuck with my tried and true long-sleeve. In purple, for Lilac Bloomsday. I also had one of my throwaway sweatshirts from Goodwill (only one left--I'll need to go shopping or maybe clean my closet). I reluctantly left my iPad the hotel and headed out for a warm-up jog. I thought 1.5+ mile would be good to add to the 7.46 race distance. After a mile or so I popped into the hotel for a final bathroom stop, then finished 1.6 miles heading to my corral (I was in the yellow group as usual). Last year I had been frustrated with the range of paces in the yellow group, so I made my way as close to the front as I could without being pushy. Then I waited.
It didn't seem cold in the crowd, but I kept my jacket on till we started walking forward. Then I tossed it to the curb along with hundreds of other jackets lining the sidewalk and dangling from trees. I was able to start out at a good pace. It was crowded, but for the most part I didn't feel trapped by those around me. Maybe a little, but there's certainly no guarantee I could have gone faster.During the week I did that tempo run I wrote about, then on Friday I did a few miles of fartleks, alternating fast quarter miles with jogging. On both days my fast paces were around 8:15 for the short distances. Today I figure I was running around 8:30 on the flats, 7:45-8:15 on downhills, and then there the uphills to keep my average pace up. Mile 1 was all downhill but there were a number of bottlenecks that did slow me. That mile was 8:38. I continued my rolling pace in miles 2-4...8:28, 8:48, 8:29. Mile 4 was the devil's combo. The first half was downhill and fast. Good thing, because the second half was the longest, steepest hill of all, Doomsday Hill! My pace slowed to 10+, but thanks to averaging my final time for mile 5 was 8:40. Mile 6 was my most frustrating. The first quarter was the end of Doomsday, but even when it flattened out I was having trouble getting back to my now-target pace of 8:30. That one was 8:53. Then I got my mojo back! Plus some gentle downhills. Mile 8 - 8:24. Now it was just a push to the finish. I gathered up that final kick which was so absent in Boston (um, after 21 miles) and finished up .56 miles at an 8:13 pace. Yes, as usual I ran an extra tenth of a mile. As I was finishing up I wasn't sure if I could squeak in under 1:05....Final Garmin time 1:04:57. That's an average pace of 8:35, though it will be slower for the official distance. Twenty seconds faster than last year! Woo hoo!Then I trudged through the finish area, picked up my finisher shirt, and headed to Madeleine's to meet my mom for breakfast. Cinnamon roll and a giant Americano (really just a grande)!

I never regret a run

This morning was a perfect example of how deciding to run is almost always a better decision than deciding not to run. (I say almost always, because there are certainly legitimate reasons to not-run, including illness and injury, and sometimes a spontaneous rest day is totally worth it.)

This morning my almost not-running was not for any good reason, it was just because I didn't want to get out of bed. I actually got to the point of convincing myself that it would be a good idea to wait and run in the afternoon after work instead of the morning. Even though I didn't run yesterday and had no special need for extra rest. I did also convince myself to go to the Y instead of just staying in bed for an extra hour...so I wasn't being a complete slacker. Just a partial slacker.

But then the weather report came on (yes, I had the TV on as I was debating my morning plans) and the weather guy said that although it was dry this morning, it would almost certainly be raining by 5:00. Really? So I would choose not to run when it was not raining, and exchange that for running in the rain? Not real smart. Of course I will run in the rain when I need to, but choosing rain over no rain? That makes no sense.

So I jumped out of bed and threw on my running clothes. I figured I might only have time for about five miles since I had wasted so much time in my mental debating. Still, better than nothing.

This would be my third* run since Boston. I did seven miles on Easter, and 6.3 on Monday, all at about a 10:20 average pace. I felt fine and considered myself fully recovered. Today I wanted to do some kind of speed work, to challenge myself a little and prepare for Bloomsday on Sunday, where hopefully I can run a little bit fast.

So the plan was to warm up, then do three one-mile tempo intervals at Bloomsday goal pace**. Or something thereabouts.

I warmed up for about 2.25 miles (to a convenient turnaround point). Then I launched into my first speedy mile. I was running on a slightly downhill slope, so that gave me a little extra speed which I appreciated greatly. Mile 1 - 8:09 (woo hoo!). After a quarter mile recovery, mile 2 - 8:14. Another quarter mile, then mile 3 - 8:23 (a little incline in this mile). I added a tenth of a mile at 8:17 pace to make a 5K. I did a very short recovery jog then headed really downhill for the final half mile at 8:05 pace. With another short recovery, my total distance was 6.65 miles.

And I was really glad I decided to get out and run this morning.


*I did run a mile on a treadmill in the hotel on Friday, but that was more of a treadmill experiment than a run. Didn't enjoy the treadmill. I haven't been on a treadmill since about 2008, and I could tell.
**I am not claiming that I will actually run Bloomsday at an average pace of about 8:15. Just that I would like to.

Thoughts from the plane

Here are some non-running lessons I learned from this trip to Boston and Maine. You would think I would have learned them already after my many trips to England and elsewhere, but no, I never learn. And probably won't this time.

Some of these lessons are race-travel specific, and even Boston Marathon specific (and thus not likely to be relived), but basically I could apply them to any trip.

•Pack all the running clothes, shoes and gear I think I will need, even if some goes unused. (This one is a free license to pack!)

•Other than running gear, I do NOT need as many clothes as I think I do.

•Here are some items that I really don't need and won't wear no matter how much I think I will: Dressy clothes. Fancy shoes. More than a couple pairs of jeans or pants. Lots of shirts. You get the picture.

•I see no problem with wearing the same outfit two or more days in a row (or non-consecutive days, if I'm being fancy). I should pack (or under-pack) accordingly.

•However, it doesn't hurt to pack extra underwear. It hardly takes any space and no one wants to run short on that.

•Running shoes can double as walking/hiking shoes (as long as it is not a hiking trip). Bring a pair of slip-on shoes or sandals. Think hard about whether you really need yet another pair of cute casual shoes. I will admit, I did bring a spare pair of running shoes along. And I did wear every pair of shoes I brought, but only once each for the sandals, extra casual shoes, and spare running shoes.

•Don't overestimate my willingness to bother with make-up or curling my hair. Most likely I will happily make do with the hotel hairdryer and my sunscreen moisturizer and be too lazy for anything else. Although I did use my curling iron a few times (after leaving Boston), and it really is an easy way to make my hair look better. I am going to shop for a smaller model for travel.

•If I am going somewhere that has irresistible shopping, like the Boston Marathon Expo or LL Bean, keep in mind that I will probably wear stuff purchased there and reduce packing accordingly!

•On the same lines, leave extra space in my suitcase and carry-on to add new stuff. This is especially important when flying, as you can't just haul extra shopping bags on the plane anymore. Not very many, anyway. (This is not a new rule for me. I have lived it again and again and again.)

•Either limit the number of magazines I bring or force myself to discard them before going home. No magazine should travel cross country more than once. (This is very hard for me. I have carried magazines to England and brought them home again. I don't know what's harder to get rid of, an unread magazine or one I've read that has some snippet of something that I think I want to keep.) (Can you download mags on the iPad? Something to check into.)

•Take advantage of the iPhone (and soon, iPad). I have downloaded books, and can add more if needed. There is no reason to carry more than one or two real books. (I can't go completely cold turkey.) Don't pack hardbacks. Read them at home. Books that aren't available on Kindle or whatever can be read another time.

•Try not to pack too much food. Try to eat the food you bring (if possible without overeating). Try not to carry too much food home. All of these are very difficult for me. I am working on the first (not overpacking) so that I have less trouble with the second and third.

So those are my travel tips from X-thousand feet (I have no idea of our flying altitude). Not brain surgery. And lucky for me, my dad came without a real carry-on, so he is now the temporary owner of a new LL Bean duffel bag filled with race gear and other purchases (including the Boston Marathon commemorative pillow, so cute!).

Running a marathon is hard!

Well, duh. Running a marathon is hard. So perhaps that enough explanation for how I didn't meet my 4:15-4:30 time goal. Not that I need an explanation. Because, you know, marathons are hard.

I will write a real race report when I have some pictures (hopefully, considering that I prepaid for photos) and I won't have to mess around with the iPhone. But here are some bullet points:

•The weather was pretty much ideal after we got past the chilly waiting period. I ditched my throwaway jacket at the start and tied my other jacket around my waist in the first two miles. I was comfortably sleeveless the remainder of the race.

•Traveling to different time zones messes with your bodily functions. Although I stood in porta potty lines twice before the start, it didn't do the trick and I made three stops along the way. The third one was probably gratuitous, especially since I only had three miles to go, but it did make me feel better, even though it didn't help my time.

•I was amazingly consistent through at least 25K, then things went downhill.

•The Newton hills aren't all that bad. That is, they aren't really any worse than other hilly races I've run, or the other hills that occur throughout the Boston course!

•The downhills really are hard on your legs. I expect that contributed to why my legs hurt so much by the last 20 miles. Perhaps my only real disappointment in the race, more than my slower finishing time, was that I didn't have the strength to take advantage of the last five miles.

•The day before the race, I figured out where my dad could go to watch the almost end of the race--the corner of Mass Ave and Boylston, near the Hynes Covention Center T stop. I didn't see him there in the crowd and he didn't see me among the runners, but approaching that spot gave me something to aim for near the end. Plus when I turned that corner onto Boylston I could see the finish, and that was amazing!

Now we are finishing our trip with a few days in Maine. Hopefully by the time I get home the photos will be online and I can see myself running the Boston Marathon!

Athlete Alert

EventInformation:
Event:	2011 Boston Marathon
Runner:	Kristin Timm
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 10km 1:00:30 9:44 Half-Marathon 2:08:49 9:49 30km 3:09:00 10:08 Finish 4:34:08 10:27

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Athlete Alert

EventInformation:
Event:	2011 Boston Marathon
Runner:	Kristin Timm
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 10km 1:00:30 9:44 Half-Marathon 2:08:49 9:49 30km 3:09:00 10:08

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.

Athlete Alert

EventInformation:
Event:	2011 Boston Marathon
Runner:	Kristin Timm
Latest Results:
Location Time Pace/mile 10km 1:00:30 9:44 Half-Marathon 2:08:49 9:49

All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.