Boston Road Running Adventures

Side Stitch

A food not to be eaten before swimming: Fritos. I was debating about when the best time would be to head to the pool today. Do I leave around 11:30 and get there closer to 12 when there might be a lunch rush? Do I wait until noon to leave to get there a little after the lunch rush and hope that it isn't crowded/won't I be starving? I ended up waiting until after noon, unfortunately this meant I got hungry and just grabbed the first thing I saw around my desk. Usually when I get back from workouts I'm STARVING for something salty. I usually buy a bag of chips and eat a few and the stash the bags. As a result, I have a lot of random chip bags. I didn't have that many before the swim, but enough that I was feeling it for a bit. Only managed to do about 2000 yards: 250,   750, 500, 500. Regardless of the stitch, the swim felt good.
Yesterday I ran 2 miles and biked about 12 in 30 minutes. I'm not the biggest fan of biking, but my stomach has been bothering me so much this week that running isn't really an option and I should probably practice the bike a bit before this tri.
Don't know how much exercise I'll manage this weekend in Baltimore, but hopefully there will be at least some physical activity.

Running Out of Fuel

I'm so hungry all of the time recently. I'm assuming that with the new swimming and the longs runs I've been doing (and all of the bathroom trips), I should be eating more. I'm really bad at eating big meals. I'm definitely more of a snacker. I need to start buying healthier snacks. I'm also thinking I should alternate what I have for breakfast (not just oatmeal or oatmeal and a smoothie). By late morning or mid-afternoon I'm completely voracious.
Yesterday was a decent run - about 4.5 miles. Today was a little painful (stomach) but I did about 3+ miles. My legs are feeling a little dead so I wasn't too upset about having to cut back. After work I swam for the 2550 again. I think it felt even better today! I added more flipturns. I got an e-mail from the tri director yesterday that mentioned you should make sure your swim time is accurate so that you get the right slot in the swim portion of the race. I originally guessed it would take me 6 minutes to do the 250 yards. I timed this today and apparently it only takes me 4:05. Good thing I checked! I'm still nervous to give this number, but whatever. I'm only concerned because it looks like this time is pretty fast (would rank high) in this race. I think I'm a good swimmer, but that good?
A friend of a friend does the Danskin triathlon every summer and apparently she rents a road bike to do it. I'm wondering if maybe I should do the same for this tri. I'm starting to feel a little more competitive and I don't want to get completely blown away because of something I could potentially control. I might call a bike store and see what the deal is with rentals. Any thoughts anyone?

Mind = Non-functioning Organ

I'm so exhausted I'm about to pass out.

Ran a little over 4 miles at lunch today. Hot. Steamy. Stomach issues. Survived.

Went to the gym to swim tonight. Ended up doing about 2570+ yards or roughly a little under 1.5 miles. This was my longest and by far my best swim to date. I felt great throughout, especially once I got into a rhythm. Toward the end I strung about 15 laps (30 lengths) together, which for me is an accomplishment because I've gotten myself into a habit of always doing 5 laps (10 lengths). Now, as a result of said swim, I will enjoy a good night's sleep.

Running from Bathrooom to Bathroom

Today's run was interesting. Beautiful weather again. Tons of people out along the river. J (my roommate) and I had gone to the sailing club we belong to for the first time this morning. My stomach was bothering me a little bit earlier on (most likely due to some beverages last night and a wide variety of food) but I seemed to be fine after downing some Immodium. After coming home, J and I went for a run along the river. I felt fine until about 15 minutes into the run when I noticed a port-o-john and told J I needed to stop for a minute. Bathroom break #1. I mentioned to J that I might need to go a little slower today as I wasn't sure what my stomach could handle. Run, run, run. Another 15 minutes, Bathroom break #2 at the gas station (I've been to this one before, it's the cleanest). Another 12 minutes - bathroom break #3 at another port-o-john along the river. At this point I told J to go ahead and finish her run on her own. I couldn't decide whether I should walk or run. I walked part of the way across a close bridge, but then remembered I hate ending a run poorly and hate walking. I began again, and this time I was fine. I ended up running a total of about 7.5 miles in a little over an hour. Not too bad, considering all the tummy issues. I'm pretty sleepy now. Legs are tired. Love this feeling.

Let the Sun Shine

The weather is finally amazing! The sun is out, it's warm, everyone is outside. It's great. Yesterday my roommate and I went for a nice 9 mile run. It was great. My stomach was bothering me a bit, but it felt good regardless. I probably haven't gone that long since last fall.  We spent the rest of the afternoon out on the dock on the Charles (despite my peeling skin from the Floriday burn, I was still trying to get more color).
Roommate and I are hoping to go for another run today. I'm pretty tired, and a little hungover, but I'm trying to hydrate.  Must get back outside!

En-Dor-Phins, En-Dor-Phins, En-Dor-Phins

Today began with an emotional rollercoaster, punch-you-in-the-stomach sort of moment. It involved a morning subway run-in with someone who will remain nameless. Yes, it was a wonderful way to start off the day. I guess one way to look at it is that the day could only get better.
It did get better actually. The skies cleared, the sun finally came out, and I got in a nice 5+ mile run. The run was good. I was planning to run to the gym, but once I got outside I realized what a great day it was and I just kept going. I didn't time myself, but it was a decent clip. I felt a lot better after the run - the knot in my stomach was much less noticeable.
I'm left to wonder, what's the point in causing so much pain to each other? Why do things have to remain so complicated? When does the pain end?

Stop Hitting Snooze/My Skin Is Falling Off

I'm obsessed with the snooze button on my alarm clock. We are officially having an affair. I set my alarm for a time relatively close to the time I want to get out of bed, and yet I continue to hit snooze for an extra 20+ minutes. Why am I so addicted to you, habit-forming-snooze-button? For two days in a row I have denied myself the pleasure (I'm using this word generously) of a pre-work swim in favor of continuing to lay in bed and listening to an obnoxious beeping sound. I need to stop and just hop out of bed. I know the real problem lies in the fact that I've been having trouble sleeping and I don't fall asleep early enough, but this is getting ridiculous. Wake up! Wake up! I'm going to put a sign next to my bed that says "Get the hell out of bed, Katie" or I'm going to put some loud song on my iPod and use this to throw me out of bed.
I ran during lunch. A nice 5+miler. Was trying to do 7, but I'll settle for about 5 and a quarter. Yesterday I was really paranoid about getting prickly heat (those water blisters you get on your skin when you have a bad sunburn) and kept looking under my pants as I was running. Today I forgot to be nervous and, in fact, got said blisters. By the time I got back to the locker room, my legs were a disaster. The blisters were all over my shins and quads. Gross. The blisters don't really hurt, they just look disgusting and the texture is less than appealling. My face is also multiple colors from the pealing skin. Lovely.

My body is so confused

Thursday I had no chance to run. Friday was a nice morning run. And by nice I mean HOT. I ran at about 8:30 in Miami and it gets hot early there. It had to be high 80s. To go from 40s and rain to 80s and humidity was a tough transition. And yet it felt good to get so hot I needed to take my top off (obviously wearing a sports bra).  The rest of the weekend was a wash. Saturday I was too hungover to run (thank you table service at Sky Bar at Shore Club and Louis the bartender at the rehearsal dinner for getting me more drunk than I've been in at least 6 months). By Sunday my skin was so burned (thank you boat ride around Miami and lack of SPF) that I couldn't move faster than an ancient tortoise. Monday I was still in pain, both from the sunburn and the fact that my flight didn't get in until 2AM, getting me home at 3AM. Today was the first day back in the sneaks. So it was back to 30s and rain.
I want to mention that I seem to have an aversion to eating Kashi Heart to Heart cereal before running. I've noticed I get really nausious while running after eating said cereal. This morning it was to the point that I was actually gagging and thought I wasn't going to be able to control my stomach. I had to stop on a bridge after running for about 5 minutes and stand in the cold rain for about 5 more minutes to make sure the feeling subsided. Has anyone had this happen before? I never get nausious while running. Strange.
Kudos to the Boston Marathon runners. Great job to all who made it through that miserable weather. Watching the finish was amazing. Seeing all the top runners was cool. It's also incredible just to see the strain put on so many people. There would be people who were just barely able to make it to the end. Sort of heartbreaking yet inspirational to watch.

Finding My Stroke

Since I decided I would sign myself up for this triath-hell, I decided I needed to get to the pool ASAP to make sure I can swim at least 10 laps of freestyle in a row. So I headed to the gym at 6:15 this morning. When I got there, I found that there was a swimmer in ever lane. Boo. I jumped in with the least intense swimmer - an older man who looked like he was more playing than working hard. It was a little rough to get into a rhythm with said guy hanging around. He was taking up a little too much room and I kept having to navigate around him. Once he left I began to get more comfortable. Pretty soon just about everyone was gone and I had the pool to myself. Once this was the case, I had an even better swim. Once I made myself calm down I had an easier time going longer. I read that the average number of strokes of a beginner-ish swimmer is about 22. I only did about 16-18 each length so I was pretty psyched.
At lunch I ran 5 miles.
Double sessions make me tired and hungry! I've kept the eating normal until I got home and chowed on a waffle. Yum!

Exhaustion

I totally knocked myself out on Saturday. I've been eyeing an easy-ish triathlon which takes place in about a month. I probably have no business getting myself into this since 1-I've never even watched a triathlon, 2-I'm not planning to really become a triathlete, 3-I have no idea what to wear, 4-my bike is a hybrid (not road bike) and I don't know that much about it other than it get me from point A to point B, and 5-I have no idea what I'd be doing out there. At any rate, I guess I'm interested in giving it a whirl because my swimming has improved a lot and I'd just like to try it out. The website for the triathlon even says they love newbies. So on Saturday I decided I would do a makeshift triathlon for myself. First of all, it was completely out of order. Secondly, nothing was particularly impressive about my performance. Thirdly, it was SO exhausting! But I think I could do it, the only thing I'm worried about is my bike being different. Do people use hybrids in triathlons? Also, does practicing biking on a gym bike suffice at all? Well, my workout consisted of a bike ride a little over 10 miles (bike @ gym), a little over 3 miles on the treadmill, and finally a swim under a little half a mile. The bike wasn't too bad, the running was fine - as always. The swimming was a little more rough than usual. I was hoping the pool would be a little less crowded, but at least I got a lane to myself. Usually I try to go for a mile when I get in, but my legs were really tired from the other activities, so I was fine with a little under half. I would consider it a good swim because I finally remembered how to do flipturns - success! So, I'm still undecided about that tri. Maybe I should try the actual sequence and biking/running outside.
Yesterday was a wash. I was hoping to fit in a long run, but between church, brunch at my roommate's family's place, and being completely exhausted, I never managed any sort of run.
Today I got five miles in at lunch which made me happy. I also got some new running shirts which were long overdue. I let my shirts get way too crusty before replacing them. This bad habit was passed down from my father. My dad's clothes will literally be falling apart with holes in them and he'll still wear them. I'm not quite that bad...