Category: Running

I swapped distances on the weekday runs because I got overheated and overtired on what was supposed to be 8 miles through the Meadows – nice to be able to cut it short. I did get to see an airplane landing.

I finally moved into second place in Easthampton with my last very long run, but I neglected to note the exact percentage (I completed a record 48 streets in one go, so it would be over 90%) . It was an extra-exciting one because friends who live on one of the downtown streets I’d saved for last came out to greet me. I gave them the window when I expected to be there, and they had to be up early anyway. What a lift to see friendly faces and hear encouraging cheers! I ran through a lot of older neighborhoods, more interesting than the cookie-cutter developments.

On the hydration/fuel front, I think I’m finally at the point where I notice my body’s responses well enough to play it by ear. That’s one of the reasons to keep chasing big physical goals like this; it fine-tunes my sense of where my limits are and what’s changing with age. I ended up with usually 5-6 gulps of water every 2 miles, a Medjool date every 3 to 5, and a salt cap every 8 to 10. I’ll bring enough for the marathon so I can up the frequency if necessary, but I’m confident I’ll recognize the signs and won’t have to rely so much on a schedule.

Finished 10/4 and backposted – I hope to catch up before the marathon!!!

Weekday runs – Northampton

Long run – Easthampton

I’m behind on this again – posting 9/30/2021 for the week ending 9/5 – hey, at least it’s the same month! I am discovering that as I age, I lose not only physical stamina but also attentional stamina. There’s been a bunch of work stuff going on that’s soaked up way more of my energy than I’d ideally let it. Always learning, always trying to grow…

On the medium (8-mile) run through the Meadows in Northampton, I spotted an old apple tree, on a semi-abandoned verge, with an abundance of very large windfalls. My sample tasted much juicier and sweeter than typical wild-reverted apples, so one of these years I’ll fetch some to make a pie. Then near the airfield I think I saw maturing chestnuts. So much to forage if one pays attention!

The long run took me to 70.52% of Easthampton – stuck at #3 – but I dipped into Southampton to complete part of the western edge and I SAW A BEAR! Always super-exciting. Just over the city line on Glendale Road, I heard crashing in the brush and it emerged onto the road. Before I could get to the camera on my phone it noticed me, did almost a cartoon double-take, and rushed across the road.

The other notable aspect of the long run was adding in fuel – specifically Deglet Noor dates to try something different taste-wise from the Medjool I’d used the last time. They don’t have as many calories and I was aiming for 100-120/hour, but reaching that would have meant pretty much bringing the whole container. Instead I just stuffed a bunch into a baggie and ate 2 every two miles, cutting down to one at a time near the end. I’m not sure it made much difference. My body is well-accustomed to burning whatever’s on hand, glycogen or no glycogen. Thank you, fat-adapted metabolism (if that’s what’s going on)!

Weekday photos (Northampton)

Long run (Easthampton)

I’m getting behind on blogging again, but not as badly as during the NYC training when I did four weeks in one post, so I’ll keep them separate for now – this was posted 9/4 and backdated, so “only” 2 weeks behind and still fairly vivid in my memory. The main event from this week was the Frozen Yogurt 5K. Alas, I just realized that I didn’t post my results in time to be on RaceWire, which is very annoying. I did order a shirt so I hope I’ll still get all the swag. This is the fourth time for this race, the second time by myself. I run the actual course and really do my best to treat it like a race, and the conditions were good, so to be 50 seconds slower than last year is a little sobering. Oh well – comparison chart below. I treated myself to real GoBerry because it’s so so so much better than the Yasso coupon I may get (if my delay doesn’t screw it up).

Other highlight of the week included running 7 miles in the leftovers of Tropical Storm Fred – looks like 2 inches of rain fell while I was out. It’s fun to run in a downpour once in a while. I had been out on the Connecticut River the day before, enjoying the water patterns made by the kayak paddle and thinking I should take that opportunity more; I got it in spades! For the second short run Jonathan walked very fast while I ran slowly for the first three miles; he can walk up to a 13.5 minute mile without looking like he’s race-walking, which is quite amazing.

The long run was my first 16-miler, the morning that Tropical Storm Henri was coming through. The plan to get out early worked perfectly; it rained a bit off and on but the real storm held off until I got home. I moved to 4th place in Easthampton at 58.38%! I continue to tweak hydration, settling on 5 gulps of water per mile plus a salt cap every 5 miles (at 4 I feel too salted-up).

Pictures that weren’t interesting enough to post: whale and dog weathervanes; over-the-top year-round Halloween yard with creepy dolls in an office chair, and a gnome with a T-rex head growing out of its red cap

I decided to work on Easthampton as my next City Strides project. I forgot to check where I started – about 2%? – but after one long run I’m at 5.78%, 22nd place (and that’s having lost at least 5 streets I’ll have to redo because Runkeeper crashed and I didn’t catch it right away). I’ll get up as early as I can on Sundays, ride Valley Bike over, and pick up bagels from Tandem on the way home! The electric bike will keep my legs fresher, I hope, and Sunday bagels are an Elwitt family tradition that it’s fun to pick up again. Tandem opens at 7am so at least for the first few months I hope to be done with my run by then and have lots of day left. Riding to Easthampton adds almost an hour to the whole expedition, but the motivation of exploring new streets is worth it. I considered tackling Hatfield next, because it has fewer streets, I’m already at 15%, and the leader is only at 74%, but it’s uphill to the nearest access point and I’d have to ride my regular bike. The Easthampton exploration is off to a great start – I enjoyed parts of the Williston Northampton campus, spotted Bigfoot, and got some great views of Mount Tom.

A copy of Jeff Galloway’s Marathon! jumped out at me from a giveaway box and I’m making my way through it. I love his focus on enjoyment and his recommendations for runners as they age, so I’m trying out his “walk for a minute periodically” technique on long runs – experimenting with a walk break every half mile, which is about every 6 or 7 minutes.

I’ve run three marathons with the same plan, so why break the streak? This is the Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer schedule, which is probably about the minimum mileage possible. Because I’m such a slow runner, that helps keep the time commitment reasonable. And I’m not aiming for a PR… I don’t think I’ll ever break 5 hours again, but if I could at least beat my New York Marathon time (5:19), that would be fantastic.

I would love to fit some races into the training schedule. Bridge of Flowers, normally in August, hasn’t announced a date yet. Update 8/5: cancelled, may never happen again! The Frozen Yogurt 5K is only tentatively set for 8/27, so I didn’t put that in yet. Update 8/5: Frozen Yogurt is virtual again, which I’m not thrilled about, and is giving out a coupon for the brand Yasso instead of local Go-Berry, which I hate, but since I ran it virtually before I will again. I see that Impact Racing is currently holding some of their annual events but at different times. Also the registration fees have gone way up, which shouldn’t be a surprise I suppose. I went ahead and signed up for the Black Birch 10-miler (only the second time it’s been held and will be new to me) and the Fort Hill 5K (ran once in 2019).

My current mileage is only about 8-10/week so I’ll start ramping up soon (targets 10 miles week of 5/24, 11 week of 5/31, 12 week of 6/7, 13 week of 6/14, 14 week of 6/21).

I ran a timed mile at the Smith College track at the 3-month mark (March 9th) and again a few days ago, but alas I just used the Fitbit stopwatch, forgetting that it doesn’t save to the dashboard. I’m sure both were under 11 minutes and pretty sure the most recent one was 10:48 or so, which is better than January’s speed. More time since the surgery may be helping, but also I’ve been rigorous about doing the 7-minute workout every day since late January, followed by pull-ups. I’ve done strength workouts off and on before but never kept it up for very long. It’s even more important as I age, and now that I have a long streak going in the phone app it’s much easier to want to continue that investment. Apps creating external accountability really work for me!

I’m half-vaxxed (second Pfizer next Wednesday) and looking forward to May when I’ll be fully vaccinated and will start ramping up to marathon training. I’ll stick to my same Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer schedule; it’s worked so well in the past, why mess with a good thing?