Various and Sundry Things

Brace yourselves, this will be a long (but hopefully entertaining) connection of various and sundry things...

I've been in Michigan for a summer job for less than 24 hours and have already had enough happen that a bloop was in order.

Yesterday was a travel day.  I'd originally intended to squeeze a few miles in when I got to here, but it became an impossibility because of meetings, key shenanigans (ie I didn't have them for a few hours after I got there) and my realization around 9:30 pm when I finally got settled that despite my best intentions a 4 miler was just not going to happen.  I'd been up since 5 am and had traveled most of the day and was just beat.

It was not the way I wanted to start my time at my summer job.

Speaking of which a bit of a tangent to hold myself accountable here:

I intend to use the next 5 weeks in different surroundings to amplify, not destroy, my current training cycle.  I am committing myself to running 4 or 5 days a week, in the AM, before work plus 3 strength training days geared at finally kicking these injuries to the curb.  That will occasionally require 2 a days.  I'm doing it.  I am recommitting myself to clean eating during this time.  There is a full kitchen here and an excellent salad/pasta bar at the dining hall.  There are no excuses for me spending extra money on food that is worse for me that doesn't help my training.  If that means I am slightly less "fun" and not going out at nights I am okay with that, because it will translate to better running later.  Will it always be easy? No.  Am I capable of making these choices for the betterment of myself?  Absolutely.  I will periodically be assessing my ability to pull this off in future posts (I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat...) 

Now that that's out of the way and I have created some public accountability...

Today started off much better than yesterday.  I was up at 6:30 am and out the door at 7 for my long run.  I'd like to make that a tad earlier in the future, but the weather was cooler today so no harm no foul.  It's the first time I've had a chance to run in 70 degree weather in weeks and I planned on enjoying every minute of it.  The streets were pretty deserted except for a few other runners and I was excited to try out my new long run shoes: Glycerin 10s (they fit the same as the 11s on me and were on sale, score!).  I ran in them on the 3rd for a 5K that I decided couldn't possibly be raced in the heat we were experiencing (I was right) but this was my first chance to try them out for more miles.

They felt luxuriously soft after my Pure Connects.  Like downright sinful.  And slow. But, hey, it's a long run and I've been battling shin splints forever, so slower is probably good anyway.  I ran 7.9 miles in a very easy 1:19 and enjoyed 95% of it profusely. The other 5% consisted of what I can only describe as a knee "thing."

Three times the following weirdness occurred (I use the term weirdness, and not pain, deliberately.  I'll explain more below).  The run was hillier than I've done recently and when I tried to accelerate on the uphills my left knee would sort of spasm and almost lock.  I'd stop, walked a couple of steps.  No pain.  Tentatively resumed running and was fine...until it happened again about a mile later when I forgot about it and attempted to accelerate a bit again on a hill.  Wash, rinse, repeat - although this time it wasn't because I forgot, I was attempting to see if there was a pattern to this spasm.  I finished the run (but still no pain!) stretched thoroughly afterwards and foam rolled and was about to treat myself to a shower/cold bath for my legs when I realized a packing error:

I had not packed a bath towel. 

It is 8:30 AM.  On a Sunday.  I am near the University of Michigan campus.  I have no towel and very limited prospects for getting one.  I have just run almost 8 miles and am sweaty and icky and my knee is being weird and I need a cold bath and...

Shmer.

So I figured challenge accepted:  I would walk around the downtown area and surely somewhere must be a) open b) selling a towel.  Any towel.  A beach towel, even.  ANYTHING.

A venti cup of black coffee, 90 minutes and 4.89 miles later I returned to my apartment towel-less and determined to MacGyver a solution from the rest of my luggage.  After searching for about 20 minutes I found it - the solution to my problems: a spare pillow case (You laugh, but it worked.  Not ideal and I don't recommend it but it was better than the alternative which was a pair of sweatpants I might actually want to wear tonight if it gets colder...) 

It was a serious amount of ridiculous to occur before noon. *hmpf*

If anyone got this far (and if you didn't I don't blame you, b/c holy long batman...but if you did, I am thrilled - and have a question) does anyone have any ideas as to what this knee thing is?  My cursory googling/searching of the RW forums seems to signal ITBS.  Which would be consistent with glute weakness I've already identified, but I'm a little skeptical because I have had that before on the other side a few months into running and it manifested totally differently...

Anyway, Michigan is off to a crazy (although 95%) good start.  And I finally have a towel!

So Much More than a Race Report: The One Run For Boston

I tend to throw myself into things I get involved in - my job, running, the Loop, you know...so 6 weeks ago when I found out about the One Run for Boston (ORFB) and signed up to run a very modest 6.5 miles from Framingham to Wellesley on the Boston Marathon Route I characteristically became a little obsessed (in a good way) with the relay.  

Pretty much every entry I've posted here since late May has referenced the ORFB in some way - sometimes a plea for runners, sometimes as a reminder of something amazing that I was thrilled to be a part of.  Everyday since June 7th the first thing I've checked when I got home or woke up was the progress of the relay.  I love pretty much everything about it.  The stories of the individual runners, the energy of the Brits who dreamed this up, but most of all I loved the people who were involved in this great event.  Everyone was so positive and generous.  It was a beacon of pure hope in an answer to a truly hideous event.  We need more of those in this world. 

Two weeks ago, after the BAA 10K I got to meet some of the amazing runners for the first time in person.  We all grabbed brunch and talked about how excited we were to be a part of this amazing event.

  

 

And the night before Miles le Baton reached Massachusetts we gathered at Patriot's Place outside of Gillette Stadium for a pre-race carb loading feast and great company:

It was a very diverse and wonderful group of people.  Some people had run the Boston Marathon before.  Some had run multiple times.  Some were running their first Boston this April and got stopped between 24 and 25 miles.  Some were long time runners who were celebrating at or near the finish.  Some had never run Boston, and came from as far away as New Mexico and Missouri.  Some had run earlier and flown to Boston to be part of the finish as well. Some, like me, were new runners, who had never run Boston or any other marathon - but just needed to be part of this somehow.  

Yesterday I ran my very modest 6.5 miles from Framingham to Wellesley as part of the One Run for Boston relay.

We started later than we thought we would.  The relay was running about 4.5 hours behind when it reached us 3,000 miles from where it started.  That's a miraculously small amount of time to be delayed when you consider that the relay traveled through 110 degree weather in Death Valley and Arizona, lightening storms in Texas and torrential rain in Connecticut.  So we adjusted our outfits, adding headlamps and glow sticks and anxiously awaited our small part in this epic event.

 

While we waited to run, we added our signatures to the One Run Banner, which has been traveling with Miles le Baton and the runners all the way from California.  I was able to sign right over Price, Utah, which choked me up a little bit and felt, well, perfect.

The group ahead of us arrived at around 9:15.  We cheered for them and got to take a few pictures before we got started.  This is us with the flag and the baton about 30 seconds before we take off!

We started our journey at 9:17 pm from Framingham - 20 miles from the Boston Marathon finish line.

And...we're off!!!  That's me with the flag at the start of leg 317.

We ran through the very modest hills that precede the famous hills of Newton.  We had some epic ultramarathoners, and some really strong runners with us.  I fell a little behind but kept chugging along with my 9:00-9:30 miles all the way to Wellesley with a new friend who runs at the exact same pace as me. 

It was my first time running with others, it was my first time running at night, it was my first time running without music, and it was my first time running without a clock going.  All of that feels strangely very appropriate.

And then...after what felt more like 15 minutes than a little under an hour, we were done.

My wonderful friend S brought me some Gatorade, which I demolished and brought me back to my car, which I hopped in to drive to the finish so I could be part of the amazing end to this epic journey.  The baton was pushed over the finish line by one of the marathoners whose father was hurt in the bombings just after 12:30 am.

There are really no words for the emotion we had at the end, so I'll let those pictures speak for themselves.

It was about 12:30 am, and we had done it - almost 1,500 runners had run 3,000 miles.  Together.  It was the strength of the human spirit answering an event that had affected everyone in different ways.  It was time to celebrate, so we took over a little bar down the street.

The cameras literally couldn't capture all of the joy in one shot.  That's about 1/3 of the people who took over the Rattlesnake.  We didn't leave until they made us, right about 2:30 am.

I know I've written a lot above, but I really don't  feel like words are enough to convey the truly amazing events that made up the ORFB.  The pictures do a slightly better, although still incomplete, job.  I am humbled and in awe that I was able to be a part of something so amazing.  I am very thankful that running allowed me to participate.  The word "awesome" is overused in modern language.  I'm as guilty as anyone else of this.

The One Run for Boston was, literally, Awesome.