marathon

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Happy Patriot’s Day! Not that anyone outside of New England is celebrating, but here it’s a day off of work for many, a Red Sox home game, and most importantly it’s Marathon Monday! Shortly after this post goes live I and 24,999 others, give or take a few, will be running or wheeling the 114th Boston Marathon. Everyone talks about how daunting the marathon day is, and trust me, I am nervous, but really more than anything it is a celebration and culmination of months of work and dedication. The hard part is over, and today is our chance to shine!

Yesterday was spent mostly resting and preparing with a stop at the MSPCA to walk a few of my favorite four legged friends like this little lady. I wanted to stick her in my bag and bring her home. Look at that face!

Pit Bull Terrier Picture

I got my bag and bib number ready.

Boston Marathon number

And my wonderful friends Meghan and Raija came by with a good luck basket.

gift basket and beer

Stocked with homemade salsa, gypsy juice from Gypsy Kitchen, 3 different chocolate bars, two types of beer, and Lush bath products, this gift is me to a T! I am lucky to have such great friends and can’t wait to celebrate with them post marathon.

chocolate bars

And then we headed to the Tennis & Racquetball Club on Boylston Street for The ALLY Foundation pasta party. 

Founded in 1902, the T & R is truly old Boston. I couldn’t even believe they fit a tennis and racquetball court in there! The building does not look that big from the outside.

Tennis & Racuetball Club

The room that the pasta party was in overlooked the tennis courts and was decorated in The ALLY Foundation’s signature pink and green, a color combination that I love!

image

The room was also decorated with photos of past marathoners, speaking engagements that Andrea, Ally’s mother has done, and a few of Ally as well.

Ally Foundation

And of course, as it was a pasta party, there was food, and lots of it! I started with an Izze sparkling juice which was perfectly light and refreshing, like sparkling water with a nice hint of natural fruit flavor. It was the perfect pre race drink.  Izze is a sponsor of The ALLY Foundation, so they are also doing good while making a tasty product, perfect!

pasta party food

I didn’t get the name of the caterer, but the food was excellent. There was an artichoke spinach dip that I would have eaten a lot more of if it weren’t for the whole marathon thing! I also had some pesto tortellini, chicken parmesan, and penne with peppers and sauce.

It was a lovely, early dinner which made it easy for us to head home and get some more rest before the big day. Since I am not sure he will be able to get a photo of me tomorrow, I asked the hubs to take a photo at the corner of Boylston and Hereford Streets.

image

Next time I am at a computer I will be writing my post race recap! What a journey. Spending last evening with people who knew Ally really brought this entire training and fundraising period together for me. They are all so kind and full of excitement and determination for the work that the foundation is doing. Being around them was a perfect, life giving reminder that despite the really awful things in the world, goodness and hope prevail in people like them.

Good luck to all of the other runners today, and I will see ya all later! 😉

Tags: Boston, Food, marathon, pasta, Team ALLY

I haven’t done a blog update on my Boston Marathon training in quite awhile, and now that I have a slight injury, I thought I would slow down and catch you all up.

My training has been progressing nicely with a weekly long run being the central part of my training with shorter, indoor workouts to help build muscle strength, endurance, and speed. I have been sticking to a formula that includes one spinning class a week, one 5 mile elliptical workout with hills at a “pushing it” pace of around 8 minute miles, and then some upper body strength, stretching, and of course a visit to the Healthworks sauna. It gets me through the winter!

Last week I started to notice the left side of my left foot. It didn’t hurt exactly, but I was aware of it in a way that I normally am not. I decided to skip the long run after completing a not-so-great 5 mile hill workout outside after I got out of jury duty and got to go home early. (So happy THAT is over with!) Instead of running, I went home to mom and I spent the weekend relaxing and off my foot, happy but a little stressed about my training.

When I returned to Boston on Monday, I mentally and physically prepped myself for a solo 18 mile run. . . and I did it. Miles 1-3 were okay with the exception of a bitter wind in my face. Boston Marathon training gives you a whole new appreciation for spring. I am just about all set with cold, whipping winds!

After mile 3, the run went downhill (though technically it didn’t as I ran the Beacon Street part of the course, where there were plenty of up hills!). I felt a jarring, throbbing pain in the side of my foot. I kept running. There was some walking involved and even a bit of hobbling, I made it to my 9.1 mile mark, all the while thinking about getting on the train and going home. It was then that I saw a familiar orange ski jacket up ahead. My husband knew my route, and he had driven to my halfway point with a snack and a drink for me. How sweet is that? It  saved the run, made me feel totally supported, and kept me going as I turned around and headed home.

Every step was a struggle, and fast forward two days later and I am in bed with ice on my foot. It hurts big time, and I have had to revise any sort of activity this week, including walking around my office.

So this is where the mental part kicks in. I am used to a certain amount of training each week, and I know that training needs to intensify for about another month before I start tapering.

My plan is to give the foot a couple of days and then to return to non impact cardio like spinning and to increase the intensity of my upper body workouts, then to try running again mid next week. In the meantime, managing the mental effects of an injury will be my top priority. . .

I would love to hear from you all how you deal with the mental aspect of being injured/working too much/traveling whatever keeps you from working out the way you are used to.

 

Even though my training has taken a slight pause, my fundraising for The ALLY Foundation is as important as ever! I have a bunch of great raffle prizes, so there are many chances to win, just a $10 donation per entry here:

http://firstgiving.com/meghanmalloyteamally

Tags: Boston Marathon, fundraising, injuries, marathon, marathon training, running

Happy Monday! Over the past few months, I have done a lot of thinking about blogging and realized that, while I consider myself a food and wine blogger much more than a healthy living blogger, there is still plenty of room for health and fitness in my blog. As you probably know, I am running the 2010 Boston Marathon for The ALLY Foundation. I haven’t written about running much at all lately, and that is because I am barely running! After a hip injury this fall, I am staying completely committed to a more holistic training approach than I have used in the past. It is my hope that this way of training will help me to avoid injury and mental/emotional burnout that comes with marathon training. The plan I am using is 100% my own, so I really won’t know how effective it is until I am doing my longer runs in February and March. I will report that I am feeling great right now and in surprisingly good shape at the moment! In case you are interested in my plan, I have included a full week’s workout plan below:

Sunday- 1.5 hours of dog walking, a mix of sprinting and standing around throwing a ball,  2.5 mile speed walk (11 minute miles), 20 minutes of Dave Farmar power yoga

 Monday- 2.5 mile walk to gym, 35 minute bike ride with low level hills   

Tuesday- 45 minutes on the elliptical at 8:30/ mile pace

Wednesday- 60 minute massage! (just this week, not every week)

Thursday- 2.5 mile walk  to work 40 minutes of power yoga

Friday- Rest

Saturday- 6 mile run,  20 minutes power yoga

 

For the next couple of weeks, I am only running one or two times a week! Hopefully this type of training will make my entire body strong and will give me endurance without overuse on any one muscle or muscle group.

How do you train for big runs/hikes/bikes/swims? Do you follow a recommended training plan, make your own, or a mix of both?

Tags: fitness, marathon, running

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