i want adventure in the great wide somewhere - running journal! (comments welcome)

[xjillianpaige]

Maurten 320 or Tailwind make it easy.

Good luck!

Thank you!

I love oatmeal with blueberries in it. Also roasted sweet potato ”fries”. In reality I’ve never met a carb I don’t love.

Have an amazing time at Chicago!!

I wish I liked oatmeal. The oatmeal baths I took when I was 8 and had chicken pox traumatized me.

I wrote this 5 years ago if it adds any insight to the conversation.

Glycogen Supercompensation (AKA Carb Loading)

I'm an advocate of using liquid sources because it lessens the bulk of carb loading. Although I've reduced the total content from liquids from 5 years ago. I used to do 50/50, but these days I'm more like 60/40 or 75/25 (slanted towards real foods). I prefer to use Maurten 320 because it's absorbable using less water than traditional carb sources.

The above review does include a 2011 paper that uses data from recreational runners ranging from marathon times of 2:48-7:40 and and average of 4:33 (which is close to the US average marathon time). It concluded that ~7g/kg bw or higher of carb consumption was the threshold for seeing less of a fade when comparing pair-wise matched runners that did not consume >7g/kg bw carbs. It's not perfectly designed from what I remember, but it is good.

When I carb load I aim for ~12 grams carbs per kilogram body weight (or for me is ~983 grams carbs).

ETA - It is something you'd want to practice weeks before the event though and not something I'd recommend trying given the race is this weekend.

Thank you! If I did 12 grams per kilo I'd be eating like, 800 (the 7 suggested is around 500). If getting 250 was as difficult for me as yesterday was, then I'm just going to focus on more carbs than usual instead of the crazy amount suggested.

Have fun this weekend!

Thank you!

Good luck and have fun!

Thank you!

 

[jmasgat]

Hope you have a great race!

 

[michigandergirl]

Have a great race! Weather looks amazing!!

 

[xjillianpaige]

11 minute PR! Recap to come when I’m back home in a few days.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Hope you have a great race!

Have a great race! Weather looks amazing!!

Thank you, both! The weather was perfect - recap coming soon!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Chicago Marathon Race Recap Part 1​

This was delayed, huh? It's been a month since Chicago and I'm back to running and I meant to write this 3 weeks ago. I will do my best to post these next few posts as quickly as possible. I've been waiting for life to calm down for like, three months now so maybe soon. Ok, let's go.

Travel Day​

I flew out to Chicago on Friday afternoon with my mom and dad. We landed around dinner time and took the L to the city, which took about an hour. The station was a short (quarter mile-ish) walk from our hotel so we got there and were already checked in so we went right to the room and dropped our stuff. My parents went downstairs to the lobby to get physical room keys so my mom and I didn't need to download the app and while they were there they ate dinner. I wasn't hungry, so from what I remember I just settled into the room and read.

Expo, Lunch, & Wrigley Field​

The next morning we woke up and went downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. I had eggs, pancakes, and bacon. The food was pretty good. I ate the pancakes liberally. To drink I had apple juice. I was drinking a ton of juice in an effort to help with liquid carbs. I decided to skip out on a shake out run because I figured I would be doing some walking at the expo and again at a Wrigley Field tour that night and I didn't need more time on my feet.

We called a Lyft and headed down to the expo after breakfast. Our Lyft driver was awesome and told us about what we were seeing as we drove by. He joked that if I got tired during the marathon I could call him and he would come pick me up and drop me at the finish. Once we got to the expo, it was pretty easy. They sent a million emails but I still couldn't find my expo pass, so I went off to the side for a moment and went through my email. Once I had it in hand it was a quick scan and no line at all to get my packet.

Once I had my packet we went in and went straight to merch. Here's a little haul.

​

I got the jacket and leggings outfit. I went up a size in the leggings to a large. The medium fit but was tighter than I like. The jacket had very few sizes left, so I got a women's XL. It's baggy and I could have gone in a smaller size but I don't mind a baggy jacket and I wear it all the time. I also got a tank top. Then the other two shirts were the "free" with race registration and then one from my charity.

Checking out was actually so easy. There was a line that was probably, at minimum, an hour long. However, one of the employees hooked your girl up. I was waiting in line for the fitting room and while I was waiting the guy manning the line and I made small talk. He told me that when I was ready to check out, I could go over to where they were selling the Nike sneakers and someone there could ring me up. So, sure enough, I left the fitting room after deciding what I was going to buy and walked over to where they were selling shoes. I asked if they could ring me up and they said yes but not to tell anyone. I think I skipped the line, to be honest, but it was worth it and they could have said no to my very polite question. Oh - my mom got a t-shirt and my dad got a hoodie. They decided to get some swag that didn't say "marathon" on it.

After that, I started to meander down to where I could get my t-shirt and on the way I stopped at the pace group area and grabbed a 5:30 pace tattoo. Then I tried on some compression socks but decided not to spend $60 on a pair of SOCKS. I'll get free ones from my mom's hospital. Onward I went, stopping in to see what there was for shopping but ultimately not really buying anything. I did get some caffeinated clif bloks but never used them. One day I'll give them a shot during training and see how my stomach reacts to the concentrated caffeine. I've come a long way with my fuel but it still could use some work.

I grabbed my shirt and tried it on and decided I liked the fit, then I went over to the Alzheimer's Association booth for my free t-shirt from them. Side note: fundraising for Chicago was a breeze. The minimum was $1,750 and I raised just shy of $2,500. All it took was one Red Sox ticket raffle and my goal was done. Plus just doing some general asks on my social media garnered a few donations. Working with Alzheimer's Association was also really great. Tracy manages the team and she's very communicative and friendly and she is local to the area and has run Chicago. They have a coach you have access to and they do lots of virtual events for running and fundraising advice. Long story short, if you are ever looking for a charity to work with, I recommend this group.

On the way out I stopped for some photos! So here's a collection of those.

​

After the expo, we took another Lyft to a hotel across from Grant Park that was the home base for the Alzheimer's Association. There they had a buffet lunch of pasta, sauces, fish, chicken, meatballs, salad, etc. The lunch was free for me and a small donation of $35 for each guest, so my parents came with me. The food was fine - pasta and sauce is hard to mess up. The meatballs were okay but I didn't really need much of those. I skipped the chicken and fish but it did not get good reviews from my parents. Dry chicken. Fish was just not tasty. The presentation was really nice; Tracy spoke, the coach spoke, and then they had a gentleman who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's speak to us about his experience. It was really moving and I was so impressed.

I also got to chat with some other runners who sat at the table with me and my parents. One of them hadn't really trained and was kind of worried (I passed her at some point during the race and she was moving forward) and the other was pretty speedy and is going for all the majors.

Anyway, after lunch we took a Lyft back to the hotel to hang out for a little bit before our tour of Wrigley at 4:00.

The tour was a lot of fun! We're a baseball family so it was cool to see the second oldest ball field! I was about a 20 minute drive north to Wrigley. We took a Lyft, obviously. While we were there we figure it would be easy to just eat there since we got a small discount on a few of the restaurants nearby for going on the tour. And also because there was a discount I got a Wrigley Field beanie which was good because it was COLD that weekend and there were no beanies for sale at the expo that I could find (side note: the NYC marathon girls have these gorgeous RUN NYC beanies and I want a RUN CHI one with the Abbott logo).

​

So, for dinner we got Mexican. I got two tacos and then chips and guac and then we took a Lyft back to the hotel so I could go to sleep nice and early.

But of course, we have to end this night with a flat me so you guys can get the vision.

​

Now I was off to bed. I had been sharing a bed with my mom but she snored the night before and kept me up, so I went out and slept on the pull out couch. My dad had slept there the night before and used cushions to make a very comfy bed. Spoiler alert: I still struggled to sleep. There was some sort of like, tapping noise I could hear at one point and then I think some of it was anxiety and nerves that I would sleep through my alarm, and overall it was just tough. But I did manage to sleep a little bit before my alarm. And THAT is where I leave you until race morning.

 

[jmasgat]

If those are Brooks Ghost 14...I have those identical shoes and just ran NYC in them.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Chicago Marathon Race Recap Part 2​

I hope that, over a month later, I remember anything about the marathon. Let's hope my photos and notes help me out.

Race Morning​

I woke up at 5 am and laid in bed for a little bit longer. I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. It was anxiety, it was a beeping sound, it was not a great night of sleep. But I did finally fall and stay asleep at least for a little bit so when my alarm went off I woke up and hit snooze. My parents also woke up around the same time to make sure I got up because I was anxious that I would sleep through the alarm or fall back asleep and miss the marathon.

I had made plans the night before to meet the early girls and head to the start line with them, so I got dressed, packed my bags, and grabbed my breakfast to go. I have trouble eating that early in the morning and the anxiety doesn't help my appetite. I had packed an English muffin and took peanut butter and jelly from the hotel breakfast the morning prior.

So, bag in hand, I started walking. It was about a quarter mile to the other hotel - side note - what a strange layout to the city. It's like, stacked. I walked across the bridge and then went into a weird alley and up some weird stairs to their hotel. I headed into the lobby and waited for them to come down. I met up with Christina, Cindy, and maybe Beth? I found the photo Carmela took of us (she was sending off each of the groups in the lobby) but can't tell if the fourth person is Beth. I think it was, though.

It was about another mile and a quarter or so to the start line. The girls I walked with were heading right in through security and to their start group, but I was going to the home base for the Alzheimer's Association and hanging out there. Tracy - the team lead for ALZ - had run before and has been managing the team for a long time, so she knew exactly what time we needed to actually go outside and head to security. I was in the last group (second to last corral) so I went outside at 7:50 for an 8:30 start. There was no line at security so I was in very quickly and over to corral M. I met up with my friend Mikayla there and we hung out up through the start line since she was doing a 1:1 run walk and I wanted to run continuous and do my own thing.

Ok, let's skip to the good part.

Race Time​

Mile 1: 11:54
The first mile went right by my hotel so my parents came out to watch the professionals go by and then hung around until I went by, too. Then they went up for breakfast before coming back out to the course to see me a few more times. More on that later. The first mile was uneventful a little bit of an up and down over the first bridge and some time in like, one of those underneath alley things the city has. I kept looking at my watch and trying to get myself to slow down to the 12:35 pace projected on my arm tattoo.

Mile 2: 11:00
Mile 2 went by the Chicago theater, which I got a photo of. This was very flat. I managed to follow the tangent line throughout this, only veering off it when I passed someone. A second bridge so again, a slight up and down hill. Again, still trying to get myself to slow down but not doing a great job of it. Drank my gatorade whenever I passed a water stop. Grabbed water from the last table to not get caught in crowds.

Mile 3: 12:50 and Mile 4: 11:13
Mile 3 began the long trek north. Still flat except for one up and down over a bridge. These were baby hills. Barely hills. They put like, a red carpet on the grates of the bridges but I ran over the regular grates. I didn't like not being able to see the grooves of the road and didn't want to trip whereas if I just ran right on the grate I could at least look at it and see hazards. I also didn't like how it felt to run on the carpet.

Mile 5: 11:22 and Mile 6: 11:47 and Mile 7: 11:43
This was pretty as it was the start of Lincoln Park. Saw and heard some great music. Note about the crowds - they were incredible from start to finish. I don't think there was ever a moment where it was quiet. Still feeling really good and really encouraged by the crowds calling my name. A note on my fuel plan, I was fueling with salt and maple syrup. I started with maple syrup 30 minutes in, then salt 15 minutes after that, and alternating every 15 minutes from there. I did this for a long time and then I stopped because when my brain and body quit I lose track of it and it stops feeling helpful, that was probably around mile 16 that I stopped fueling. I'm sure this is a problem, and I will need to figure it out for the next one.

Mile 8: 11:31 and Mile 9: 11:56 and Mile 10: 12:02
This was along the water and some more green spaces. Really gorgeous. And this was where the turn back south began. It's the Lakeview neighborhood which is so cool and I believe a historically LGBTQIA+ neighborhood so there were drag queens performing as we ran through. The energy in this neighborhood was phenomenal. The only bummer is that we were about two blocks away from Wrigley Field and didn't get to run by it. As you can see, I did start to slow down around mile 10 which was good because I really wanted to get closer to that 12:35 goal pace and not burn myself out. I also think I slowed down because I needed to use the bathroom.

Mile 11: 12:42 and Mile 12: 13:49
The next neighborhood was Old Town and again, it was SUCH a cool neighborhood. They were so loud and the music was bumping. This is where I stopped to use the bathroom, which is just about on par, maybe a little later, for where I was using the bathroom during training runs. Also the reason for the pace being in the 13 range instead of my 11 and 12 range.

​

Mile 13: 14:20
My parents had texted to let me know they were on the left hand side of the road after mile 12 at O'Leary's Public House so I was looking for them at the mile 12 marker - they were much further down into mile 12, closer to mile 13. I stopped here to switch out fuel (hence the slower time) and I felt really fantastic. I was still pretty far ahead for my goal time/pace and felt like I would be able to maintain it. Spoiler: joke was on me. The mile 13 marker was just over the next bridge and I smiled big for the camera because I still felt great and like my goal was a real possibility. I have not bought my photos yet - waiting on a Black Friday sale.

Mile 14: 12:13
The Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) was at the next turn to head west in the fourteenth mile. I had no idea until I looked at a map after the race. Another bridge here and my dad texted that they were going to be somewhere after mile 14. I don't remember a lot about this, just that I was starting to feel really tired and my feet were hurting now and the fun was diminishing and I just wanted it to be over. I cried a little, but my rule was that I couldn't walk until I saw my parents one more time - then it was up for negotiation. I didn't stop to hug them when I saw them, just kept moving, but they had found my coach and were with her so I called out, "I'm not having fun anymore" so they all knew how I was feeling. After this things get fuzzy so I'm trying to piece together what happened next.

Mile 15: 13:27 and Mile 16: 13:00 and Mile 17: 13:53
Okay, I've slowed a lot here. I think it's not as slow as I thought it would be because there was a charity cheer section in here so I just kept moving through all the charity tents since it was a really great energy. At mile 16 we started heading back east and I think I ran by the Alzheimer's Association tent somewhere in the 16th mile. The 17th mile marker was just before we turned to go south again toward the University of Illinois Chicago. I'm slowing down here, but one foot in front of the other.

Mile 18: 14:20 and Mile 19: 14:35
Mile 18 is the university and we turn to go West again and another turn to go South again during mile 19. We're basically zig-zagging our way South. As you can see, I think I finally began walking in here or at least I slowed down a lot, which means I ran continuously for a lot longer than I thought I would. Mile 18 I definitely was doing a lot of walking. I basically told myself that I just had to do whatever it took to get to mile 20, then I could party after that. What's crazy is that I think I was still on pace for 5:30, but the gap was closing. I believe there was a Latinx neighborhood somewhere in here and I got a slice of Mango from someone that was so tasty.

​

Mile 20: 15:30 and Mile 21: 13:27
During mile 20 we make another turn back East. I believe this is where I met a girl named Abby when she came by me as I was walking and said "Hey, you've got this." It is amazing how much someone seeing you and saying something can turn you around. She ran by me a little and I figured why not run with her? So I caught up to her and began chatting and asked if we could run together. She said she was running 4 minutes with a walk break and I said I was in. She and I both stopped at the BioFreeze stop and this was MIRACULOUS. It completely stopped the pain in my calves and I felt like I got a second wind.

​

Mile 22: 13:44 and Mile 23: 15:25
This second wind and my newfound buddy carried me through Chinatown. Once again, an amazing neighborhood with amazing energy. I believe that there was a Boston-based run club somewhere around the mile 22/mile 23 area that were doing confetti canons and super loud and encouraging. The confetti canon initially scared me and literally stopped me in my tracks, but once I realized I was safe I loved it and the energy it brought.

Mile 24: 15:36 and Mile 25: 15:07
This was an odd little out and back that was killing me. There's something difficult about seeing people on the other side of the road and not knowing how far you are from the turn and just wanting to go over to the other side and skipping the rest of it. I stopped in here for Tylenol because the BioFreeze had worn off and my legs were hurting pretty bag again. A little bit after the turn around heading into mile 25 I lost my friend and was now heading north to the finish on my own. You can see that I'm realizing it's almost over and I'm speeding up again. A lot of the walking I did throughout mile 18-26 was VERY fast walking. I tried to keep myself to a 16 minute mile or under even when walking. I think I knew that my 5:30 marathon pace was no longer feasible but I was going to finish as quickly as I could. Oh, I also took a shot.

​

Mile 26.2: 15:00
I gave it everything I had after that Jello Shot. And I saw my parents one more time! They were deep into mile 26 so I saw them and some friends before I headed up to the finish line. At this point I was back to running hard. There was a sign that there was 800 meters which is 2 laps on a track and then a sign for 400 meters which is literally 2 more minutes of running as hard as I can. This last uphill was made out to be SUCH a big deal and I can understand that some people might think it is but like, it was not a big deal. It wasn't any worse than any other bridge hill on the course and the MCM 10k/Marathon ends on a WAY WORSE hill than this one.

​

After crossing the finish line I cried a lot and hugged some strangers and got my beer, which was the most important thing in the world at that finish line. The only bummer about the finish is that there's no spectators really, just a few. I think Ali on the Run announced my finish but I didn't realize she was there and so I'm sad I didn't look up to see her. The beer was great and I snuck it out of the finish area to the hotel where I met back up with my parents. It was easy to bring with me, I just held it and wrapped the blanket around my body to hide it. I was not about to chug the beer to bring the empty can and I wasn't going to pour it out. I spend $260 on that race beer.

​

At the hotel I rested and rinsed out the beer can to keep and then we walked about two blocks to catch a Lyft back to the hotel because I was done walking. Stay tuned for my post-run recap coming... sometime?

FINAL TIME: 5:48:21​

 

[xjillianpaige]

Chicago Marathon Race Recap Part 3
​

Whoops! I forgot to post my final time for the race in the last post. I went back and updated it. It was an 11 minute PR almost to the second. Okay, let's talk post race and the day after the race.

Post-Race​

We got back to the hotel and had a very short window to make our reservation at a restaurant with a bunch of the other girls in my running club. I hobbled my way into the shower and found out that I had a nice big blister on the inside of my big toe (I forget which foot now since it's healed).

My mom called the restaurant to let them know we were running late and my dad put two French braids in my hair. I threw on my gorgeous green Chicago jacket and medal and we walked about a block or two to the restaurant. My dad was well ahead of us and I was bringing up the rear.

We had our own table of 3 while the girls were at a few other tables. It was nice to be able to have a celebratory dinner with my family and also spend time with the other girls and celebrate their PRs and also not have to deal with splitting a check between 12 people.

Anyway, I got a margarita and the best chicken sandwich I think I've ever eaten.



Oh, I also forgot that I have this photo of the tattoo I mentioned getting at the expo and wearing during the race to help keep pace. I honestly didn't keep pace, obviously. I was too fast for the first half and slowed down the second half and it did not average out to be 5:30. This tattoo was on good - it finally came off when I took acetone to it a few days later. Also, a quick note on the GPS in Chicago. I had been told to do the manual lap button because the GPS would be totally off, but I left my GPS on automatic and let it auto lap and it was fine. It wasn't perfect, obviously, but I didn't need mile splits, just my total time, since I was matching that total time with my tattoo.

​

I think we stayed at the restaurant about 2 hours. We ordered a cinnamon toast crunch cheesecake to share for dessert and it was absolutely delicious. Some of the girls went back to their hotel and drank more but I was totally wiped so I went back to my hotel and crashed. I don't know how they stayed awake any longer.

The next morning I woke up and walked to the Nike store and met up with Andrea and Christina to buy finisher's gear. I got the green quarter zip that matched the jacket and leggings and said finisher on it. I didn't get the blue jacket. Maybe on Black Friday... Anyway. After the Nike store, Christina and I went to the giant Starbucks, but the line was too long for me to wait to order something and my family had a river cruise to get to. My dad had picked up some pastry items, though, which were delicious.

The river cruise was really nice but quite cold, so I went inside for a little bit of it. When we got to the Navy Pier area I got this great medal shot.

​

Gorgeous. After the cruise I needed a break from tourism so my parents and I went back to the hotel so I could rest and then they went for a walk down to the Navy Pier for a beer. While at the hotel, I booked some tickets for us to do the Chicago 360 building (the old Hancock Building) since the Willis/Sears Tower's observatory was sold out. Christina was also joining us for that (the rest of the girls all went home on Monday morning). Luckily this tower was in walking distance from our hotel and the views were just as amazing. Here's another medal glamour shot as proof.

​

And from there we walked another very short distance to Giordano's for our first deep dish pizza of the weekend! Christina and I were both too nervous to eat it the day leading up to the race, so this was the perfect time. I was pretty nervous because I'm not a big fan of sauce and I thought it was going to basically be tomato sauce soup - a layer of crust, a thin layer of cheese, and then just a ton of sauce filling the crust to the top. Instead it was a nice thick crust, a good thick layer of cheese, and a thin layer of sauce on top. And this was filling! I had a slice and a half and it was so filling (I also had a Caesar salad to start, which was so delicious). The crust was more than I needed and thick like a pie crust so I liked it, but couldn't have a ton of it. I also did not take a photo of my food this time. Missed opportunity.

​

At this point we walked Christina to the bridge where she went to her hotel then made our way back to ours. We walked along the Chicago Tribune building and realized there are stones from places all over the world embedded into the building which was very cool. They did not mention that on the boat tour.

At the hotel we grabbed drinks at the bar since we got free happy hour drinks but they weren't very good so we threw them away and went upstairs to pack up and get some sleep because the next morning we were flying home.

So, fast forward thr0ugh the best night of sleep I got this whole trip to the morning. We woke up early and walked to Stan's Donuts for breakfast before going back to the hotel to catch a Lyft to the airport. These donuts were AMAZING. They apparently were at the finish line of the marathon, but I missed them. The chai latte was good. I got iced because there weren't hot drinks for some reason? I'm not totally sure, the people working at this one were honestly kind of unpleasant, bordering on rude, and largely unhelpful.

​

So we grabbed more donuts than we needed and walked back to the hotel and headed to the airport. The flight home was uneventful, just had a layover in NYC but everything was on time and we landed with enough time for me to grab dinner with the girls from the club when I landed. They were all pretty surprised to see me considering 3 hours before dinner I was in NYC. I was also pretty cranky waiting in NYC for our next flight because I was ready to be home and I was hungry and wanted real food, not snacks. But we made it and at this point I had done some good walking and sitting and standing wasn't incredibly painful anymore.

And that's Chicago! Stay tuned for me to catch up on all of my running these past few weeks and then what's next on the docket for races.

 

[NYC_MW]

Big congrats on the PR! Woohooooo

 

[col1]

Congrats on the PR

 

[RuntheMouse]

Way to go! Nice PR!

 

[AZMermaid]

Congrats on the PR!

 

[xjillianpaige]

If those are Brooks Ghost 14...I have those identical shoes and just ran NYC in them.

That's exactly what they are!

Big congrats on the PR! Woohooooo

Congrats on the PR

Way to go! Nice PR!

Congrats on the PR!

Thank you!!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dumbo Double Dare Challenge Journal
​

Can you believe that I've been running for weeks and not telling you about it? Oh, you can? Because I go weeks without posting all the time? That tracks. I took two weeks off of running after Chicago - getting some walks in. I'll quickly jot those down but focus on my runs from the past few weeks.

I have the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge, plus the 5k, in January. I've also applied for an invitational bib to Boston through my club but let's not talk about that yet because it makes me so nervous and I need to prepare myself mentally to not get it even though lots of people are telling me I'm a shoe in but anyway we can discuss that in a few weeks (and yes, you will all be some of the first to know). So.... this is officially a Dumbo journal right now.

October 17: 1.75 miles • 36:00 • 20:36 avg pace
October 20: 3.44 miles • 1:01:59 • 18:02 avg pace
October 21: 3.25 miles • 59:48 • 18:25 avg pace
A quick note about that first walk... I got to the Tuesday group for a walk and all of us were like... we don't actually have to walk, we can just go in and drink. But we at least got a short walk in so look at us being so good.

October 24: 3.00 miles • 32:02 • 10:40 avg pace
Why is my first run back after marathon training so fast? It's not intentional at all. I just went out for a run with my Tuesday girls. This also happened to be a nice progressive run with 10:45, 10:40, and 10:35 miles. Like a metronome that gets slightly faster.

October 28: 5.00 miles • 56:44 • 11:20 avg pace
I remember this being harder than my paces look in my Garmin. Maybe I'm mixing up runs because this has me at 11:13, 11:13, 11:33, 11:19, and 11:25. Anyway, I got right back into it with a 3 mile run and a 5 mile run in the same week. I skipped Thursday and can't remember why, but I must have had something and couldn't run before/after work.

November 2: 4.00 miles • 42:32 • 10:38 avg pace
I had skipped Tuesday this week because of Halloween. No time in the morning and then at night it was the holiday and I like to give out candy even though there's only like, 20 kids that come by. But Thursday morning I was working from home so I got a nice early run in! Again - speedy lady here. All four miles under 11 minute pace. I think I just run with fast people when I'm not out solo or doing a workout and so I forget about everything and just go and do my best to keep up with whoever I'm running with.

November 4: 8.00 miles • 1:27:33 • 10:57 avg pace
Another run and up to 8 miles! There was no real plan yet for Dumbo, I was just trying to keep mileage up. Now I'm sort of following the Galloway plan but not really. Anyway, back to this run. Our usual routes for Saturday morning were all messed up from paving, so I did an out and back totaling 5 miles and then a loop that got me to just about another 3. This was a really strong 8 miles. My first 2 miles were mid to low 11's and then after that it was all 10 somethings.

November 7: 4.00 miles • 43:34 • 10:53 avg pace
Back at my usual Tuesday night. I did an early mile and then 3 with the group. Then we ate. Sounds like a good night to me.

November 9: 4.00 miles • 42:54 • 10:43 avg pace
Instead of waking up for an early early run, I met up with Kristin for a later start, around 9:00 am. Another good progression run, starting easy and getting faster. And even though we started later, we still sat around for coffee after. Don't tell my boss!

November 11: 5.01 miles • 55:16 • 11:03 avg pace
Saturday morning. An easy 5, did some walking since the ladies I was with did a little walking on some particularly poorly placed hills. Who put those there, anyway? Nothing much comes to mind about this one. My journal must be so interesting. "I ran, but I remember nothing about it. Come back next week for more thrilling details."

November 14: 4.00 miles • 43:52 • 10:58 avg pace
Tuesday night run. Just shy of one early and then just over 3 with the group. Food and drink after. Super steady after a fast first mile since we were starting our early mile later than planned because someone (probably me) was late. So that first mile was 10:46 and then the rest were 11:03, 11:00, and 11:02. Steady.

November 16: 3.00 miles • 32:35 • 10:51 avg pace
I had no plan this morning, just 3 or 4 miles. I saw 2 of my friends turn around at the 3 mile point so I decided to turn around at the 3 mile point. I was also racing on Saturday so figured I didn't need to go crazy and tire myself out. Also look at me being such an early riser! It's amazing that I'm awake at 5:30 am, running by 6:30 am, done by 7:15 am, and somehow still late for working from my own home.

November 18: 3.16 miles • 30:12 • 9:34 avg pace
This was a 5k (my work's annual 5k fundraiser) and I raced it! The course is gorgeous - a very flat out and back in Boston. I set my watch for a progression run with my first mile being between 9:45 and 10:00, then 9:30 and 9:45, then 9:15 and 9:30. Obviously just setting the watch doesn't make me run that fast, but it at least gave me some targets, kept me conservative at the start, then hopefully I could hit the paces and maybe PR with them. So that went pretty well, with my first two miles at 9:42 - super steady. One on the faster end of the target and one at the slower end. The third mile I felt so tired and like I couldn't get into that 9:15-9:30 range, but looking back at my pace I was so much faster than I realized, running the third mile in 9:32. The last .10 I aimed for a very fast 8:30 pace, basically sprinting into the finish, and I was just around there. In the end I finished in 30:12, which was not a PR for me, but was pretty darn close. The weather was not great, and my shoes got wet pretty quickly due to rain and I was careful not to slip on the painted crosswalks. I know that sub :30 is in my reaches again, I just need the right weather.

November 21: 3.70 miles • 39:49 • 10:45 avg pace
I mixed it up and ran on a Tuesday morning! I had a late day at work as we distribute frozen turkeys, produce, pies, and gift cards for Thanksgiving to our families, so I had to run early. The Tuesday morning ladies run a different route than on Thursdays so that they get different routes and don't run the same streets over and over. Jen was doing a tempo run and asked if I wanted to join and I figured what could it hurt? So we did just under 4 miles. The first mile was an easy warm up, then 2 miles at 10:28 and 10:30, then a cool down. She was running for time, 40 minutes, hence the odd distance. And don't worry, after work I met with the Tuesday night ladies for drinks and dinner.

November 23: 3.00 miles • 32:56 • 10:58 avg pace
Thursday morning I ran solo since it was the holiday. I had toyed with the idea of doing a turkey trot and getting that PR, but ultimately decided to just have a solo morning before the holiday. I got to sleep in and run when I woke up. I just did 3 miles. It was actually pretty warm, the sun was out and I was sweating by the end of my run. I had to take off my gloves and headband. Got it done, walked my friend's dog at noon, and had a nice Thanksgiving meal with family.

November 25: 8.10 miles • 1:29:30 • 11:03 avg pace
Today! I hosted our group run and got 8 miles done! I did the 3 mile loop with one crew and then we went back to pick up a few others for the 5 mile loop. The first 3 were nice and easy (11:39, 11:01 and 11:04). Then one more easy at 11:11 before Kristin needed to do pick up miles in the 9:30 ish area. I was not about that so I let them go ahead and I hung out with some miles at 10:44 and 10:28. Jen ended up stopping to wait for me because she wasn't feeling well, dealing with a head cold that was slowing her down and so we did the last 2 miles or so at 11:20 and 11:02. Afterwards I grabbed brunch with Kristin, Christina, Cathy and Carmela (and coffee with Jill) and then I went to the store real quick for some hats and gloves to run in this winter.

 

[DopeyBadger]

 

[xjillianpaige]

That's me (sometimes)!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dumbo Double Dare Challenge Journal &
Boston Marathon Journal
​

So... I'm running the Boston Marathon in April. I'm like, totally chill and calm about it. Didn't jump up and down and scream when I found out...

Okay I'm lying I am FREAKING out! Here's the story: Some of you may be familiar with the Boston Marathon. There's basically four ways to get in. Qualify. Charity Partner. International Tour Program. Invitational. My club, as one of the local clubs that is very involved in the BAA, receives 4 invitational bibs. We then have the opportunity to distribute those 4 bibs to members however we choose. My club has us fill out an application if we're interested that asks about how we contribute to the club, our marathon history, our current running stats, injury history, and an essay about why we deserve to represent the club with one of the bibs. A secret committee then reviews these applications and selects four people to receive the bibs.

So Thursday night I was at my niece's house for her birthday. As I am leaving, I take a peek at my phone and see a text from the president of our club and it says, "Oh my god did you see the email?"

My first reaction is "What now?" I'm on the board and run the social media so while 99% of the time it's fun and easy, every so often there's a moment that makes us all roll our eyes. So I figured something had happened of the eye-rolling variety. So I text "No..." and open my email on my phone. And right there, at the top, is the email letting me know that I was selected to represent the club.

I literally was jumping up and down and screaming in the street. My nephew heard me from the window and called out to see what I was yelling about and asked, "Is that a good thing?" then texted me "Awesome job." He's a sweet kiddo.

I texted the president to thank her and then told my dad when he got home and texted some friends and my brother and called my grandparents. It's so freaking exciting. And I know my friend Kayla also got one of the bibs, but I don' know who the other two are. We'll all be announced to the club at large on 12/13 at our annual meeting (that I can't be at because I have a Hanukkah party obligation).

Anyway, that means this is now a Dumbo Double Dare AND Boston Marathon Training Journal. I'll be starting with my coach soon and will continue to update this semi-regularly!



November 28: 3.01 miles • 33:13 • 11:03 avg pace
My Tuesday night group run. Some of the girls did a workout but one of them was just looking for 3 so I just did those 3 easy with her. Opposite of progressive. We went out at 10:56 and she was like "this is very fast" so we slowed down to 11:03 and 11:11 for the last two.

November 30: 4.01 miles • 43:37 • 10:53 avg pace
I had a first aid/CPR class in the morning so couldn't do my usual early group. One of the girls in my club regularly goes in the afternoon on Thursdays so I went with her and Kristin. The route we took is the same as the early route, but there's definitely more traffic during the day than early morning and the sun was out in full effect. I was overdressed for sure so faded a little when I got hot and was sweating like mad. Still a good run, though. 11:27, 10:49, 10:37, and 10:39. Even though it was almost 2 pm I got an ice coffee, too.

Skipped my long run this weekend. Saturday morning I had an early nail appointment and didn't want to go out a 6 am solo for 10 miles, then today it was raining. I figure this will be my last quiet weekend for a long time so gave myself a break before I dive in with my coach. I'm also having my brother give me some core and arm strength work, and I am going to add yoga in as a Sunday night ritual/practice to help with some flexibility. My nutrition is also a big thing for me this round, I want to add protein to my diet since I get very little and I need to eat more food in general.

Wish me luck! This is a bucket list item - my hometown race - and likely a first and only.

 

[Naomeri]

That’s pretty much the coolest thing ever, at least as far as running goes

 

[azrivest]

I'm running the Boston Marathon in April.

So happy for you Try to soak it in as much as you can