run like the wind!

hey girls! just wanted to wish you all a happy running weekend. i'm off for a short stint (don't think i've ever actually used that word before) with the 'rents in miami so will be taking this weekend 'off'....which means i will do my best to run some, but will likely not do a super long run and my main goal is to rest and relax and get refreshed for the last bit of the boston winter and marathon training.

lauren, i understand your obsession. sometimes i just feel like my body itself is craving a power yoga class. don't get me wrong, usually i'm cursing the instructor under my breath for the first 20 minutes of class....but by the end, without a doubt, i'm so content and stretched out and at peace, that it makes it all worth it. (ha! that's the yogi inside of me speaking)

what do i do for cross-training? well....my usual week consists of only running 4 days (this is a new thing for me, and was hard to accept at the beginning.....but it's just the way it worked out b/c lots of times i'll have to do my workout at 5:30 am before work...and with it cold and dark and snowy, running just wasn't going to happen). i try to run 4 days per week, and on 2 days i do the elliptical machine in the morning....and then either a yoga class or indoor rock climbing in the evening (which i also highly recommend as a fun alternative to strength training......see picture).

great job with the blogging!

Yoga or Sliced Bread

I can't figure out which is more popular in Berkeley, CA. Even my downstairs neighbor (who is a little crazy) and her boyfriend are both yoga instructors. I admit I love yoga too!

One quick suggestion though, next time you look online for a schedule and show up to a yoga class...make sure you have the right studio. I looked up "Yoga Mandala" online and it showed a 7pm class one night and I showed up to shut doors! Then I went back to the website and realized I had been looking at "Yoga Mandala" in Worcester, MA! Wouldn't know from the website. Ha ha.

Also I HIGHLY recommend swimming and biking for cross-training. Not that I run much these days, but swimming on a Monday feels Heavenly after a 70-mile bike ride on a Saturday and a 10-mile run on a Sunday, it feels Amazing to get off your feet! Yoga for me keeps me to be able to run, And keeps me relaxed in life.

Happy Trails! Your guys runs sound so fun, I have had boring runs lately, I need a buddy, my sister ditches me for snowboarding every weekend.
XOX Megan D

Spin Class

Hello buddies!

First, Jenn, I just want to tell you how much I am OBSESSED with power yoga! I am so excited to go to the class every weekend. I only go once a week too, but just that has actually given me shoulders and I swear I have better posture...I don't slouch as much! I've never been to that studio in Porter Sq. but everyone I know that has gone there has raved about it. I will have to go next time I'm home.

And Mary, don't knock the cadbury mini-egg pancake til you try it! If you like chocolate you'll be in heaven :) Maybe I should try marketing it?!

This morning I went to a Spin Class with Sheeds at Gold's Gym. I was sorta nervous at first since I had never been to one before and it sounded pretty hardcore....but I really liked it and it was a great workout! I think anything longer than 45 min though would have been tough...I started looking at the clock with 15 min to go. The instructor is this guy in his early 30s...pretty hilarious with his remarks...and he played 90s rock music the majority of the time. Brought me back, I must say. It was definitely a nice change-up to using the elliptical or biking on your own. What do you guys usually do for cross training and how often? To be honest, I only cross train when I'm really sick of running or if I have an injury, but this morning I went just for fun...makes me remember that cross training is a really good workout too.

Caputo

Long Run

My run last Saturday was 18 miles. This weekend I will try for the big 2-0. There is really not much to report....I did it by myself because John was out of town. It's weird but I think I run better by myself sometimes anyway. When he's not there to complain to, I suck it up! Anyway, it was a nice run. I mostly stayed off the roads and ran on running paths and trails. I ran around Lake Fayetteville (see picture), which I do often and is 5.5 miles, part trails and part paved. I ran around it twice. It is hard to find a loop around here that isn't super hilly, and repeating myself was a way to make it so. Not that I avoid hills....I mean, I know I need them. But the hills around here are like WALL hills. Short and steep. Not ideal on your 15th mile. A typical 5-miler near my house can be pretty crazy. Someday I'll post an elevation profile of a run.

But I digress. Another point: I LOVE GU. On my long runs I typically bring a gu or two and eat one every hour or so. And I carry a water bottle. Somehow I find it the most delicious thing ever after running for a long time. I've tried drinking gatorade but I can't handle it. It sloshes too much in my stomach. Do you guys carry fluids/calories? (I know Jenn Edelmann is a camel....).

And my final point....every time I finish a long run I am always thinking, How on EARTH did I run a marathon last year, and a lot faster than this too? I guess it was adrenaline and tapering and a lot of hard work. But running this long is no joke. Crashing on the couch and eating Mini-Egg pancakes is perfectly excusable. (Just kidding...there is NO excuse for eating Mini-Egg pancakes...that is just weird, Caputo!) After my long run I.....ate grilled cheese and tomato soup and then did my taxes. I think I fell asleep at 9 that night though, don't worry.

hello MARCH!

hello ladies!
just wanted to write a quick update on my training......
so, "how was my long run?"...well, it was just that...one real LONG run. ha!
but i survived.
i wanted to get in my first 20 miler, but b/c i missed the 16-mile marker on the course (which was my turn-around point), i think i went closer to 21+ miles. grrr...i hate when that happens.
i ran on sunday b/c of the friday snow here...and was accompanied part of the way by my new friend adam (the guy i met at a bar while out in central square some weeks ago....he's good...keeps me mindful of pace). anyways, all in all the run wasn't too bad.....we conquered heartbreak hill, and it was nice and sunny throughout the whole thing. BUT once i got back to my apartment i was pretty much out of commission for the rest of the day. lauren, i love the way you said you were on your couch for an hour. hi - try 5 hours! :)

oh yeah, also wanted to comment on your doing power yoga.
don't you love it? when you were in boston did you ever go to the baptiste studio in porter (it's a hot power yoga place)? i've been going for the last fews years....just once a week....but i think it's done wonders on my overall strength and flexibility and core muscles and sense of balance etc. etc. i swear it's one of the reasons why i've been able to stay injury-free in my running (knock on wood).

anyways....time for me to get ready for bed.
hope everyone is doing well and loving the fact that march is here at the end of this week!!!

keep up with the posts.....i find that they really help me stay motivated.
talk soon,
jenn

ps - i feel like since i asked everyone else what their goal times were...i should disclose mine. well, i honestly have no real goal time for this upcoming boston. ideally, it would be awesome to come close to my PR (3.06)...but realistically i think this race will be closer to 3.20ish. but who knows!?!
would be fun to start off with some of you if that's possible.....g' night!

26 Miles Running Aint That Bad...

Hi Friends:
I am not a marathon runner. I like to spectate and ride my bike along...26 miles running certainly sounds like a long way. Well here's a short story to make it sound much more manageable perhaps :)

So I gave my ex-boyfriend Tim a call on Saturday night. It was his birthday. I ask how he is. He says "Great!" Always happy that boy. "Except for one thing. I have a broken leg." I ask him how did he break it, knowing full well it must have happened surfing, his passion in life. He said yes, he was surfing and fell on a massive rock and broke his tibia and couldn't walk etc. "Where were you?" I ask. He proceeds to tell me about his 4-day adventure to the 'Lost Coast' of California. At the 'Lost Coast' way up in Humboldt County CA, there is a 30-mile stretch of untouched land, forest, and beach, with no roads or people anywhere. Many people do a 3 day hike through Lost Coast to get away from it all. It is very beautiful I can assert.

Tim was hiking Lost Coast and decided to spend a few days surfing about 20 miles from his car, he was camping out, surfing, and spending time with his Dog Bunker. Well one day he breaks his leg surfing and there is nobody in sight for miles and miles, no phones, no car, no nothing. So he goes on to drink half a bottle of tequila that night because he is in agonizing pain and cannot walk. Finally the next afternoon a couple hikes by and he hobbles over, giving them some phone numbers telling his situation. A day and a half later, Tim got helicoptered out of the Lost Coast by the Coast Guard and put right into a cast. Tim said he would not have made it and stayed in good measure if not for his dog Bunker!

He said 20 miles sounded like the farthest thing in the world that day.
Yet many marathon runners can run 20 miles in 2 hours! If only you were there to help ;)
Happy Training. You guys got it going on, I'll say!!

Happy Monday! How was everyone's weekend? Claud, how did the Coach Bubba race go? Stef and I completed our first 20-miler this past Saturday...it was a big loop though DC that went through Rock Creek Parkway, all the way up to Betheda, MD, and then back down to Georgetown along the bike path. It's pretty crazy we actually ran to Maryland...a whole other state. I don't think I've ever done that before. We ran with 4 other girls (3 of whom are also doing Boston) so we had a nice big group to run with...it definitely keeps it entertaining. I felt pretty good the whole way, except at the end I always get tired and start running sloppy...I definitely need to work on that! And my hips always get a little tight, but I guess that just comes with running really far and I just need to stretch a lot before and after. After the run, Stef and I made chocolate-banana (choc-ban!!!) pancakces and they were SO amazing! I added some Cadbury mini-eggs into my last pancake to make it extra tasty...it was a choc-ban pancake on steroids!! The pancake-fest induced my body into a food coma and I totally passed out on my couch for an hour...oops! But I guess it was well-deserved after running 20 miles :)

Yesterday I went to a power yoga class with Stef and I am really hurting today...which is a good thing! This class was pretty hard-core...I think we were doing the flow sequence for like 10 minutes straight and I thought my arms were going to snap. Luckily, they didn't :) Hopefully all these yoga sessions will make me stronger!

How was YOUR long run?

Caputo