Boston Marathon Recap

It took me five months to train for Boston, three and a half hours to run it, and now two months to blog about it. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, after all.

What is there to say about April 18^th, the 120^th Boston Marathon? Or better put, what isn’t there to say? The 24 hours surrounding the Boston Marathon were, hands down, the best day of my life. Everything about my experience running Boston was amazing, but it wasn’t just the race itself. Let’s start a little further back…

In October of 2015 I was accepted both to run the Boston Marathon and to fundraise on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team to raise money for cancer research. Having already run one successful marathon, I knew what the training entailed and was confident in my ability to pump out the miles and gain strength. I was much more daunted by the prospect of raising $10,000. My parents flat-out said it couldn’t be done. But this was a truly important cause to me and I vowed to both run and fundraise as best I could.

The Dana-Farber team is an incredible network of passionate and driven people, committed to eradicating cancer. Their stories, reasons and motivations for fundraising and running Boston are inspiring. The majority of them live and train in Boston, and because I was in Connecticut, I was not able to connect with many of them. And so I trained out there on my own, and raised thousands of dollars—thanks to many of you. I did want to feel like a part of this team, however, so my parents and I attended the DFMC pasta dinner the night (or really afternoon, dinner started at 4 pm) before the race.

As I’ve said and written many times before, I have my own reasons for fundraising for Dana-Farber and felt strongly about making my first Boston Marathon about more than just myself. I thought that my movitation would be enough to get my from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. While I enjoyed my plate full of different kinds of pastas, I soon came to realize how much more of an impact Dana-Farber would have on me. Like me, there were many first time runners and fundraisers, about to toe the line and unsure of exactly how the race would unfold. And there were also runners who had volunteered five, ten or more years of their lives to putting an end to cancer. Their countless miles logged and hundreds of thousands of dollars raised set a fire within me. Naturally each of these runners had started because of a personal incentive, but throughout the years they realized that they were fighting a bigger fight. Even though I did not yet know any of these teammembers personally, I wanted to follow in their footsteps and continue fundraising and doing my part as well to help find a cure for cancer. Many of my teammates had also paired with a patient partner, a child being treated by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During the dinner, the patient partner teams of runner and child came onto the stage for recognition and the kids each received a marathon finisher’s medal. For me, this was the most moving part of the whole event. Up on that stage could have easily been my brother, had he not been lucky enough to be cured. Up on that stage could easily have been my little cousin, who is being treated by DFCI right now for a severe cancer. Up on that stage could have been any number of friends and family members. I was so thankful that David is healthy, and in that moment I was heartbroken for all of these patients, as well as inspired. I would run for them! They would all be waiting at mile 25, and this is what would get me through the hills and hard moment of the race.

Heading into the pasta dinner, I did not have many goals; I wanted to raise $10,000 (which I did!), and I wanted to have a great race. After the moving presentations from so many teammembers and people affected in so many ways by cancer, I readjusted. I needed to requalify for Boston. I needed to run for Dana-Farber again. I needed to continue to help in any way that I could to find a cure for cancer. In a matter of hours, my finishing goal went from sub-4 to sub-3:35. And given that my training had not gone nearly as well as I’d planned, and I hadn’t done a significant amount of strength or speed work, I was not sure that I could physically do it. But I did know that my motivation has burgeoned, and nothing was going to stop me.

Unsurprisingly, the Boston Marathon is impressively well organized. My mom dropped me off at the cool hour of 8 AM in Hopkinton, where I waited just a few minutes in line for a porta-potty, and then hopped on a bus to the athlete’s village. From there, I jogged to the DFMC center, where the incredible volunteers had set up food, drink, first aid and phone charging stations. We took team pictures and milled about. I wasn’t nervous. I was just ready. Looking around the room, I saw so many yellow bibs—signifying charity runners. My bib was blue—wave 3—and there were only a handful of us. Once again I realized just how important my requalification was; if Dana-Farber didn’t have to pay for me to enter the race, they could pay for an extra person to do so, and thus have a greater fundraising impact. Finally it was time to head to the starting line. I walked over with another DFMC runner, we wished each other good luck, and found our respective corrals. In corral 2, I found a Oiselle volée teammate, and we comforted each other as we got ready to start. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited or smiled so much at the start of a race before.

Before the race

The gun went off and I crossed the starting line. The race course drops into a downhill almost immediately, so I reminded myself to settle in and not go out too fast. Of course there were thousands of people around me so for the first few miles I did have to stay really relaxed. My goal was to hover around 7:50 ppm as long as I could and hope that the hills wouldn’t destroy me. Prior to the race I had done my research and knew that going out too hard on the downhill in the first half of the race would kill my legs, and given that I did not know what to expect from Heartbreak Hill, I needed to play the game conservatively. And that’s basically what I did! After the race, a number of friends who were tracking me would compliment me on how evenly I ran the whole marathon, especially since many people struggled in the heat. I believe that because of my pacing skills I was able to manage my energy really well and that allowed me to run the exact race I wanted.

There were too many funny, incredible and memorable moments during the race for me to write them all down here, but I’ll throw out a number of my favorites:

• The honest sign at mile 2 that said “you’re not almost there”
• Making awkward eye contact with a man holding up a sign that said “keep running if you think I’m sexy” even though he definitely wasn’t sexy
• The Mormon missionaries dressed in their uber-conservative clothes cheering
• The Wellesley scream tunnel that did not disappoint
• Seeing my parents at mile 13 and knowing that the race was really starting at that point
• Finally starting to hurt around mile 16, just before the Newton hills
• Finding another Oiselle volée teammate just as Heartbreak Hill started, yelling “let’s do this,” and charging up the hills together
• The red ice pop that someone handed to me on Comm Ave. It was not in my fuel plan but it was too hot to care
• Feeling my legs starting to hit the wall and deciding that I would not allow it
• Seeing so many of my friends cheering for me from mile 20 and onward. Knowing that I had people at almost each of the last 6 miles made the pain of the third hour of running a lot more bearable
• Trying not to tear up as I approached mile 25, where DFMC was stationed. These people were the reason I was running, and why I was pushing my body way harder than it was happy about. The cheers that erupted as they recognized my neon yellow singlet gave me the motivation I needed to finish strong and under my qualifying time so that I could keep running for them next year
• Running my fastest mile of the whole marathon at mile 26, so desperate to be done with the race at that point
• Crossing the finish line at Boylston, slowing to a stop and letting the tears finally flow.

Official Finish Time: 3:31:42, only 35 seconds off my marathon PR!

After!

Despite writing my longest blog post ever about the marathon, it’s still hard for me to accurately describe all of the feelings and thoughts I have about my first Boston Marathon. I was so lucky to have the incredible support—emotional, physical and financial—of so many loved ones and I’m happy and proud that I was able to accomplish exactly what I set out to do. The best news is that I get do to this all again next year. Maybe by then I’ll have my thoughts together a little bit better and much sooner. I can’t wait.

My amazing friends and cheer squad

Training like an Elite, Volume 2

Two years ago, just coming off a broken leg, I was in Lake Tahoe, California at 6,000 feet above sea level when I started my slow comeback to running. This trip, with its scenery and confidence building steps, gave me the altitude bug. Ever since then, I've kept in the back of my mind that I wanted to head back to altitude to do some serious training. Training and peaking in my milage for Boston seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I booked tickets to Boulder, Colorado to visit a good friend and have the wind knocked out of me.

I was in Boulder for a full week and initially I didn't seem to be affected by being at 5,000+ feet above sea level. A quick shake-out run the first day I was there felt normal, even good. I did burn the chicken I cooked because #bakingataltitude. But my big concern, and the reason I was there, was my impending 20 mile long run on Saturday morning. 20 miles, or for me three hours of running, is mind-numbing and potentially awful on one's own even at sea-level, so I sought out a local running group that I could accompany. I got really lucky that the women I ran with were chatty and good for about 14 miles in the morning. They lead me through the packed dirt roads around the Boulder Reservoir, and thanks to their incessant chatter (one woman was espousing the incredible company that is Uber...like who's never heard of them before?), I was able to soak in the sun and beautiful scenery and forget that I was suffering internally.

No wonder I had a nice run!

In reality, my 20 miler went great! I ran the third hour on my own, and while I did start to get very hungry around mile 17, I didn't hit a wall and was able to keep pace for my whole run. Even more exciting was that this 20 miler was two minutes faster than my run of that distance last year, but this time I was breathing in significantly less oxygen. I had been warned beforehand that recovery at altitude often takes a lot longer, so as soon as I finished my run and returned to the car, I chugged some water and a protein shake, and nibbled on a pistachio muffin (all the sugars and carbs!) as I did some dynamic stretching. Once I got home, I showered, pulled on some compression socks and curled up for a nap.

Of course, my "elite" altitude training wouldn't be complete without some sort of social media interaction with women much faster than I. Heading to Boulder, I knew that many elites were in the area altitude training as well, and I was hoping to at least run into them, if not actually stalk them and become best friends (Kara Goucher, why didn't you respond to my invitation to get coffee together!?). And I did almost literally run into a few. My running team, Oiselle, has an elite training group called Little Wing that at the moment consists of three steeple chasers chasing the OTQ, and coached by the incredible Lauren Fleshman. Halfway into my LR around the reservoir, my group and I ran by another group and I recognized these women by the Oiselle clothes they were in. Later, on my own, I ran by two of the women and waved to them, yelling "Hey Little Wing!" They seemed pumped to both recognize my running top (also obviously Oiselle #flystyle) and realize that I knew who they were. After my run I checked Twitter, and was delighted to find this awesome tweet from them. Once again, day/week/life made:

*praise hands emoji*

And my active altitude training didn't end there. The next morning, I headed even higher up, to about 10,000 feet, to go cross country skiing. Now I am not one to put on any type of snow sport equipment, but knowing that Nordic skiing is such good cardio and non-impact cross training, I had to give it a try. I went with my friend to her local mountain and we explored the pristine trails for about two hours. We worked up both a sweat and an appetite and had so much fun. My parents can't believe I'm saying this, but I would definitely cross country ski again!

Now that I'm back at sea-level and tapering, I'm continuing to get massages from my amazing PT, and today even I ran some easy miles on the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill at 75% body weight. Boston is 11(!) days away and I'm doing the best I can to take care of my body, given how many miles I've pounded them through over the course of the past four months. My training hasn't gone exactly as planned but at the same time I've had some awesome runs. I feel fit, ready and beyond excited to toe the line in Hopkinton and make my way into Boston, with a right on Hereford and left on Boylston. My stint as an elite at altitude in Boulder has prepared me well.

Love,
Rachel "legs up on the wall" Runner

By the numbers: Providence Marathon Race Recap

I can barely put into words the experience of my first marathon the other week. It was incredible, hard, fun, rewarding, painful, and everything in between. Instead of writing a blog post as long as the race itself, I am going to recap by the numbers.

18: the number of weeks I trained for the race.

563: the number of miles I ran, from January 1 to May 3rd.

55: the number of miles I ran during my highest mileage week.

20: Longest run pre-marathon.

3:03: How long it took me to run those aforementioned 20 miles. In the marathon, I hit 23 miles in exactly the same time.

3: the number of pairs of shoes worn for training. Mizuno Wave Inspire, Mizuno Wave Rider, Brooks Launch 2 Boston edition.

5:15: the time I woke up on the morning of the marathon. Rarely am I ever awake that early.

Is that you, sunrise?

15: the number of people I knew at the race. Jillian and Colleen ran the half marathon. Sharon, Amelia, Amanda, Than, and a Oiselle teammate Beth all ran the marathon. Robyn, Chris, Sarah, Sarah's parents, my parents and my brother were all there watching, cheering and taking pictures.

Chris, Robyn, Jillian, me and Colleen

Amelia (her first marathon as well!), Sarah and me

Dad and Mom

Me and Sharon

3 1/2: the number of GUs I consumed. In order: mandarin orange (my favorite!), triple berry, salted caramel, and half of a chocolate. By the time I tried my last one, it was so hot and the sugar was starting to make me feel sick. I held onto it for many miles and finally threw it away.

18: the mile at which I hit the wall. Mentally I was fine, but my legs tightened up like crazy. I felt like I slowed down considerably, even though in reality I was able to maintain a decent pace and even push through at the end.

22 and 24: the miles at which Robyn found me, first in pain and agony "deep cleansing breaths, like Deb taught us" and later in excitement and elation. Hearing her say "see you at the finish line!" helped me realize how close I was to finishing and qualifying.

"I can do this?"

"I can do this!"

7:59: my last mile. I was able to stay under 8:00 per mile for 18 miles before I hit the wall. As I approached the finish line, despite my legs being completely dead, I tried for one last rally. Sub-8 after 25 miles felt like a huge accomplishment!

164: My overall place. In a field of 1,107 runners, I was in the top 15%.

3:31:07: My official finishing time. Average pace of 8:01, and fast enough for a Boston Qualifier!

Full marathon results here.

Back on Track

It's a new year, so how about some new running goals? As I mentioned in my last post, I signed up for my first marathon. I know I'm capable of running 26.2 miles if I train properly, but the training is really daunting. I have a lot of hard work and many miles ahead of me. To get my butt in gear, I met up with a Boston area runner and coach. Lauren is super speedy and also represents Oiselle through their Flock program, so we connected through Facebook. We met at the starting line of the Boston Marathon (how have I never see that before? So cool!) and got in a great 8 miles before continuing our conversation at Starbucks for over an hour. Lauren has coached a number of people before and between how well we got along and the results her athletes have gotten, I decided to entrust her with my first marathon training plan! She sends me my training plans and checks in with me periodically. It feels great knowing that someone is cheering for me and keeping me in check. I'm even more excited for my marathon now!

But before marathon training officially started, I had a track race to run. Just for giggles I signed up for the USATF-CT championship track meet and entered the 3k. I haven't raced on a track since my senior year of college, and it felt good to try something different for a change. I got in two quality track workouts and good mileage over the winter break, so I was feeling pretty good heading into this meet. My goal was to run 12:00 or under, which would be squarely within how I ran in college, but given that it had been so long since I'd laced up on any oval office I really didn't know how it would go. I anticipated that I'd be in the mix of all the women racing. Turns out, I was the only woman, so I jumped into the men's race and quickly readjusted my goal: not to be last. The gun went off and the adrenaline kicked in. I wanted to run 46-48 per 200, and realized I was running 40-42 for the first few laps. I actually felt good but knew that I couldn't sustain that. I went through the mile in 6:12 and that's where things started going downhill. The lactic acid started to build up and I wasn't able to run the splits I wanted despite my effort. I was lapping some guys but I was slowing down a lot. I was able to kick in the end, and finished in 12:07. Slower than I'd hoped for but I was happy with it. The race was fun and I had gotten in a solid race after only a few weeks of purposeful training. And because I was the only woman, I won a medal!

Also, shoutout to Robyn for letting me borrow her track spikes! And speaking of Robyn, she and I were able to ring in the new year together! A good sized sampling of Colby XC/Track alum from the past 10 years gathered at Kat and DV's house for an annual celebration, although this was just my first year. It was so fun to see and catch up with so many friends. I'm already looking forward to next year's party, though I'm sure I'll be out running with Robyn and others much sooner than that. 

So much Mule Love

Looking Back and Planning Ahead

Since yesterday marked the one year anniversary of breaking my leg, and as the year draws to a close, I thought a bit of reflection on the last 12 months was in order.

I started off the year relearning to how walk and eventually run, thanks to my fractured fibula. I focused on upper body and core strength until I was out of the boot, and then worked my way back up to running. First a comeback-5k, then a 10k until eventually I was back to running normal mileage and workouts. And let’s not forget the time some famous sister-runners tweeted at me!

This summer I fell in love with the trails and rolling hills of rural Vermont. A hot and muggy 5k on Middlebury’s xc course didn’t illustrate very well the shape I was in, but I’m still happy with the process over product. I can’t wait to go back next summer.

Also, in August I achieved a big goal of mine and joined the Oiselle volée team. I know I sound like a broken record, but I love their clothes and am honored to be sponsored by them. The sisterhood and motivation I’ve found in just a few short months of being on the team is incredible. I’m one lucky bird!

Autumn rolled around and with it came another season of coaching my girls cross country team. Despite a great group of talented and invested girls, they weren’t able to race up to the potential I knew they had, and so the season ended in some disappointment. Regardless of their results every week, my girls pushed me to be my best self and to be a good role model for them, and with that in mind I started PT on my aching hip (actually a psoas issue…who knew?!), took care of myself and raced my 4^th half marathon. I, too, didn’t quite achieve my goals but I’m proud of running a consistent race.

In the midst of the fall running, I was able to get into Boston a number of times and see Robyn! Now that she’s only about an hour’s drive from me, it’s been great seeing her more frequently and getting in some runs together. I also have acquired an embarrassing/impressive amount of Oiselle gear. My new favorite by far is the Lux Funnel Neck long sleeve. It’s so soft and the faux turtleneck offers just enough protection from the cold; it’s my go-to layering piece.  Here I am post-run at the gym, wearing as much Oiselle as possible and looking fly:

Rogas, big O burnout tank, lesko bra, and lux funnel neck

Recovery after a half marathon can be physically and emotionally hard, I’ve found, but this year I was determined not to let myself slack too much so I signed up for a local turkey trot. Unlike Robyn who killed it at her turkey trot, I viewed my Thanksgiving day race as an opportunity to get in some quality miles before gorging myself that evening. I showed up, ran a 1 mile warm up, negative split the 5k, finished in 23:02 and left. My parents had politely requested to not wake up early and stand in the cold while I raced so I didn’t have anyone to take my picture in my Oiselle singlet. I did manage to snap one picture once I got back home and back into bed. Here’s my kitty, Reginald, and I keeping each other warm:

So what’s up for 2015? Who knows for sure, but I do have a few exciting things lined up. I’m lucky to have been selected as a Nuun Ambassador for 2015. I haven’t talked a lot about Nuun on here, but it’s a great hydration option for after workouts and everyday life. I have also signed up for an open indoor track meet on January 3^rd in Connecticut, where I’ll be racing the 3k. I’m hoping the adrenaline kicks in. Could I go sub-12:00?

Lastly, I’m going to run my first marathon! Guys, I’m really going to do it this time. I’ve already signed up for the Cox Providence Marathon on May 3^rd. A friend from work is running it as well, and bestie Jillian is running the half, so I’ll have some training partners and motivators. My next step is to decide what training plan I want to use. I know a lot of people have had success with Hal Higdon’s various plans, but I’m not sure if that’s the direction I want to go in. I also don’t think I’m up for making my own training plan, since this is my first full.  Feel free to leave suggestions of what has worked for you!

Happy holidays and Happy New Year. Thanks for reading our blog!

Rachel “big things acomin’ ” Runner

What happens when you don't think and just run: Newport Half Marathon

A proud Oiselle bird

A couple of weeks ago, I ran my fourth half marathon. I had almost everything going against me: a cold, hip issues, severe lack of sleep and colder weather. Because of all these factors, I abandoned my hopes and dreams of a new half marathon PR (that 1:35 keeps eluding me) and just decided to run what I could. This mentality ended up being quite liberating and I was able to really enjoy the run.

The race took us all around beautiful Newport, RI. We ran through neighborhoods of mansions and parks, by marinas and golf courses, and were treated with stunning views of the water for about half of the race. It was really windy but the day was nearly perfect, dry and cool, and as I took in all the scenery I wished I had my iPhone with me to capture the views. The beauty of the course helped to ease the pain in my legs as I pushed through.

As with most races, the first mile of the course was congested. Just a half mile in, I started to feel my hip hurt. A few days before the race I had been really worried that this would happen and even considered not running the race at all. In this moment, I thought about dropping out. I went through the first mile in 8:37, a good pace for a training run but not for a half marathon. I tried to pick it up a bit, and ended up dropping over a minute on my next mile: 7:28. I hovered around the 7:30s for the rest of the race, and once I forgot about my hip I felt really good. The course had just enough twists and turns to keep it interesting, and the hills really weren't that bad. I saw (and passed) a number of Oiselle birds, both Volée team members and some Flock members as well, and it was so exciting to have an instant bond with other runners. That's definitely one of the best parts of being a Oiselle bird now!

The rest of the race happened without incident. The hills got harder and I could feel my legs working. But I kept passing people and the thrill of moving up pushed me to keep at it. Once we hit mile 10, it was go time. I hadn't looked at the course map before so I had no idea where I was or what I had left. Ignorance is bliss, right? I kicked and even when I felt like I was letting up, I tried to maintain that kick. Luckily it was flat to down hill, and I was able to finish strong. I ran 1:41:37, and though it wasn't a PR, it was actually pretty close. I felt a good as one can feel racing and my splits were consistent. Aside from running my fastest half marathon time, I can't complain about my performance.

As soon as I crossed the line, my legs tightened up--a sign of a race well run. I looked at the marathoners who were only half way done and couldn't even imagine continuing to repeat what I had just run. Some day, for sure, but not this day.

Friends and colleagues

The week that followed was painful as well, and I wanted to take time off. On day 3, I wobbled down the stairs and stationary biked for 25 minutes. I had to talk to someone afterwards and hopped over to his office. I didn't even realize that my legs all of a sudden felt better, but getting them moving again and draining that built-up lactic acid was the key. I did mile repeats with my team the next day and have been running regularly since then. I'm still working with my PT to strengthen my legs and correct a number of imbalances that have appeared this year. I plan on running a turkey trot on Thanksgiving, so I've gotta get moving once again!

Race Recap: Goodwin Forest Trail Race

Fun facts: It's been a month and half since I've posted on here (sorry) and alsooooo I'm racing a half marathon in 3 weeks.

My training has been going well so far but hasn't taken off like I was hoping it would. I've been enjoying my long runs, cross training, and doing strength work but I'm missing the crucial speed work that will allow me to run a good race. I would like to PR, and my goal is 1:35, but honestly I don't think that I'm in shape to run 7:15 per mile for 13 miles. In an effort to engage my fast twitch muscles, I signed up for a local 10k trail race.

Let me preface this by saying that I have never run a trail race before. I assumed it was like running cross country, and since I'm knee-deep into my team's cross country season, I was fired up. In fact, I borrowed back my college cross country spikes from my top runner so that I could fly through the trails. But fly I did not. The first mile was pretty flat but a little rocky and I was completely disheartened to see my watch beep at 7:57 for the first split. From there, the race just got worse. I had a blister on my heel that was rubbing annoyingly, the footing was hard and the trails were narrow. I wanted to go faster but I was afraid of falling. Those cross country spikes were actually not a good idea because although I could grip the humid ground well, my feet and ankles weren't supported. During the rougher patches, ankles were slightly rolled, paces slowed and many choice words were uttered. The race also was advertised as a 10k but even the website admitted it was only 5.8 miles. Once I hit 4 miles, I knew it was time to go. My hopes of finishing in any sort of respectable time had long flown the coop but I wanted to at least make up some ground. I saw that there was a woman behind me and if there's one thing I can't stand in races it's losing to people I shouldn't. I wanted some sort of female award (top female? 1st age group?) so instead of letting her overtake me, I focused on the hairy dude* in front of me and reeled him in.

*Sidenote: I think I'll need to do some more research, but I think trail runners are a different breed of human. Lots of crazy hair and too many hydration belts for my comfort level. I felt very out of place.

As I turned the corner and headed up the last quarter mile stretch of the path, one man who had already finished yelled at me that there was someone hot on my tail. I was still frustrated with the whole race and feeling tired from the trail, the humidity, and life, but I gave it one last push. I was not  about to let that girl beat me so as to at least have something good to say about the race, and I opened up the gap and finished strong. Turns out, it was hairy dude who was behind me and then the woman, so I shouldn't have been too worried, but feeling that pressure definitely propelled me to run faster than I wanted to.

I look too happy on this cool down

Once I crossed the finish line, I learned two things. 1: I was the 2nd female, yay! 2: Only 1st female got a prize, bummer. I chatted with the race director about the trails and training for my upcoming half marathon. He pointed out that while I didn't work my speed as much as I had hoped, I definitely worked on my running strength, and I liked this perspective. Perhaps all was not lost with this race. Another runner (tall skinny guy) started talking to me, but he was a little creepy, so I peaced out with the excuse of a long cool down to hit my 10 miles for the day. After standing around for a while, the cool down started out rough, and especially my butt felt heavy. I understood what the race director meant by running strength as I took my first couple steps. I headed onto the local Airline Trails that bisect this state forest, knowing the the trails are flat and smooth. I slogged 3 miles, took a selfie to show my incredibly sweaty Oiselle #flystyle, and finished at the pavilion to get one more drink of water and steal a banana. As I arrived, I heard the race director call out my name; I won a loaf of zucchini bread after all. Turns out all was not lost, and actually, I'm pretty glad I did this race.

Exciting news and a not-so-exciting race

Those of you who know me well, or have been following me closely on the blog know that I've been talking a lot about Oiselle recently. This by-women, for-women company makes awesome clothes and sponsors a number of elite and non-elite athletes throughout the country. Last year, I applied too late to be considered to join their team, but I couldn't let it go. Oiselle fosters a great community that's so inspirational, plus their clothes are so stylin'. I kept in touch with the team manager throughout the year, and I'm pleased to finally officially announce that I'm one of the newest members of the Oiselle Volée team! If you don't believe me, check out my profile on the Oiselle website. I am already really feeling the love--women that I've never met wished me luck on my race via Twitter and I can't wait to meet up with some of the more local ones. And now I'm essentially sister-runners with the likes of Lauren Fleshman, Kate Grace and Kara Goucher. It's going to be a great year.

My awesome Volée welcome kit

I had my first race running for Oiselle this past weekend. As you'll surely recall, I'm up in Vermont for the summer, and Middlebury put on a 5k fun run to benefit student scholarships. The race took place on their cross country course, which forms part of their incredible TAM-trail around Middlebury. I run this section of the TAM at least twice a week; it's well groomed and keeps me on my toes due to the rolling hills. That being said, I knew that this 5k was not going to be my fastest.

Spot the bird! Some of the Spanish school before the race.

Even though this race was small and local, I wanted to run well because it was my first race repping Oiselle. Like any well-trained runner, my intentions started days before with track workouts, proper hydration and attention to sleep...except that I'm also taking advantage of my Spanish summer and have been going out dancing salsa. So while my plan for the Saturday race was to get a solid 8 hours of sleep on Thursday night (sleep runs on a 2 days cycle and this Thursday is the night before the night before, we've talked about this right?), I ended up dancing until at least 1 in the morning with class at 9 AM the following day. Friday night wasn't much better so I was worried how this serious lack of sleep would affect my performance. 

Going into the race I had a couple of goals. It was being "scored" by language school and the top 3 runners of each school were to win a prize. This prize ended up being a tiny plastic trophy so it wasn't worth much. What I was more aiming for was to be one of the top women, and to run a respectable time. As I warmed up and stretched out before the race, I was able to size up the competition--there wasn't much. A couple of girls looked like they could maybe be fast, but this was a small race so I figured that I could do well. 

None of us paying attention, on purpose

The course was an out and back that was heavily downhill for the first half, and regrettably uphill the second half. I knew my splits were going to be fast for the first half and I was ready. I also knew (and let me get up on my soapbox here for a minute) that a lot of the people running this race were doing so for fun, and didn't have a great sense of pacing. The race went out fast but I stayed just a little behind the lead group. Sure enough, within half a mile, I was passing some of them already. There was one girl in front of me, wearing spikes, who looked pretty legit. I tried to hang on but she already had a lead on me. I settled in to make sure no other girls were around me, and that a couple of buddies stayed behind me. My first (extremely) downhill mile was a 7:10. I was happy with that and tried to keep pushing myself, because a 5k at 7:10 pace on this course would be awesome. Unfortunately, things went, only figuratively, downhill from there. I turned around at the halfway mark, tried to focus on running the tangents and hit my second mile at 7:42. Not great, but I could work with it. 

At this point, I was in no man's land. The guy (in Vibrams, what?) in front of me was gone, and there wasn't anyone behind me, breathing down my neck to push me forward. I came out of the woods onto the grass that approached the hill. It is a massive hill, and it killed me. I hadn't felt lactic acid burn in my legs like that for ages. I realized then, in that moment, that despite the great and consistent track workouts I'd been doing for weeks, I hadn't trained on hills. My body couldn't respond. I was a little embarrassed at my lack of training foresight and totally sucking air. As I crested the hill, I tried to shake it out and keep up whatever momentum I had left. Then my Garmin struck again, and my 3rd mile showed up as 8:17. I was toast. I finished in 24:25--definitely NOT my best time, and ended up 5th overall for the Spanish school but 2nd girl. It was a hard race but given my limitations, I don't know that I could have done any better. Afterwards, I talked to the girl who finished ahead of me. She talked in Portuguese and I in Spanish, and she told me that she had run mid-distance at Lafayette, a DI school. I didn't feel so bad after that; she would have beaten me any day. We cheered the rest of the runners in, I cooled down and headed first to brunch, then to a lake, then to a local beer festival. Despite not running a fast time, it was a great way to start the day.