"Don't Stop Believing" Journey to Ironman

Running Through History--The Battle Road from Lexington to Concord

Went out for my long run today, and decided to shoot some pix since I was running the Battle Road. This beautiful path is part of the Minuteman National Historic Park, and is a short jog from my house. It's the path the Redcoats took out to Concord, MA on April 19, 1775, when the colonial militia fought them back to Boston. The Park spent the past 50 years restoring it, and it's recently finished. The surface is perfect, and you run through history. Very nice. It's about 4.25 miles each way.

One cool thing is that Kenyan runners live and train in Concord. Sometimes packs of them come running by--groups of men and women. You get swallowed up just like a peloton, and they're gone. The grace of their running is something to see.

Anyway, I took these pix on the fly, but you'll get the idea!

Here's the start.

There are markers for the British soldiers all along the way.

First downhill run. Thing about this run is that it's basically all downhill from my house. You know which way it goes to get home!

A little blurry taken on the fly, but this is the Paul Revere capture site.

Restored period houses and farms line the way.

 

 

This, I presume, is some kind of corral.

You cross streams over these pretty wooden bridges.

Lots of people bike the path too. Lots of typical New England stone fences all along.

When you get into Concord, the views change to farmland. On the Lexington side it's a lot more woodland.

This is the end at Meriam's Corner in Concord

 

This marker at the end says "Boston Harbor, 16 miles." Yeah, as the crow flies. After I hit the Boston Harbor marker, I turn around and go the other way.

Isn't it a beautiful place to run? I spent a lot of time in gratitude this morning that I am physically able to run--and able to run on such an incredible trail any time I choose. Life is good. Most definitely.

Boston Marathon Qualifying Times Changing? So Says Kathrine Switzer

 Kathrine Switzer is an expert commentators for Boston Marathon coverage on a local TV station. I’ve been meaning to post the following about extensive statements she made regarding Boston qualifying times.

In the broadcast, Switzer went on for quite a while about how she’s quite sure the BAA is going to change the qualifying times again. In this incarnation, it won’t be by adding minutes to the current times, but will be based on age-graded formulations. She claimed—with great certainty I might add—the qualifying times for older athletes will be loosened up quite a bit. (She mentioned up to 6 hours for runners 60+, if I recall.)

She said the BAA wants to do this because the science behind, and calculations used in age-graded tables is now reliably reflective of what happens to performance as we get older. She also said it responds to an aging population who wants to keep running. She also said that she felt quite sure the changes would be made “soon.” In BAA time, that could be the next century! Who really knows?

The qualifying times weren’t even started until the early 70s, and were only meant to keep numbers down. The BAA felt the course could not handle more than a few thousand people. Then the whole notion of "qualifying" took on a life of its own, morphing in the minds of runners into the performance badge it is today. Maybe another chapter of qualifying history is about to be written.

Anyone else know anything about these supposed changes?

Views from the 113th Boston Marathon, April 20, 2009

OK, time to be inspired...and have a giggle. For days after the Boston Marathon I live in a positive vibe orbit. Here are a few pictures for inspiration and...poking some fun.

Here's the women's lead pack. Look how cute Kara Goucher is! I have to tell you that Selina Kosgei, the woman who won, looked so incredible at mile 10 that I wrote down her number. (Can't see her here, but she was on Tune's right, behind Goucher.) I said to my husband, "we have to see where she finishes." She was tucked in out of the wind, and running unlike any of the other women in terms of form and effort. Sub-6' mile, looked like a jog.

I thought this was a cool picture that my husband was able to get, up close in the women's lead pack.

 

The men's lead pack takes my breath away. Robert Cheryiot last year almost made me cry with the speed with which he ran by. This year, he looked tired-er. Ryan Hall looked great, but ran upfront the entire day, breaking the wind, and using energy. Kara did the same. That took a toll, I'm sure.

 

Look at the speed here--and this is the B men's lead back. They were quite a bit behind the big dogs. This is the marathon--mile 10, not a 5K. Unreal.

 

Now, not only we mere mortals have bad form. I mean what is this woman doing??? She looked like was running and doing the chicken dance! She looked really, really weird. I can't believe she can keep up a truly bizarre form, and still run a 2:47:07. She 47 and was 3rd masters. I dunno, as fast as I wish I were, I'm not sure I'd want to look like that running down the road! 

 

Now this adorable girl runnerlooked like a spoof of someone trying to run really fast. Imagine a leaning-back speedwalker with a big loping stride. She is gonna get hurt. That form cannot be good. She, however, ran 3:12. Fix that form, and she can go sub 3!

 

Boston Marathon day is a highlight of my year. This year we watched for a few hours at mile 10, then made it into the city to cheer at the finish on Boylston Street. It's a fantastic sea of humanity swarming across the finish for hours on end. I can't get enough of it.

"To-The-Corner" PRs!

Goals. It's all about goals. Big goals, little goals, even super-nuts goals like deciding to do your first Ironman. But it's the little goals--even the silly, private ones--that keep you hitting the road and the pool day in and day out.

For more than 20 years I have had my private "to-the-corner" running PR goals. They exist in various configurations and distances depending on what loop I do. I know the particular cracks in the pavement that denote the start/stop of each "corner challenge." I know my PR times for each and every one. Obsessive? Maybe. But it's one of this tricks I use to gauge progress, fatigue, or just to make a run more interesting.

Today I had a "to-the-corner" PR bonanza! I have never made it to corner #1 in under 16 minutes. Today, 15:20! From corner #2 to my house, I've been trying to beat 2:48. Today 2:22! That's on a EZ "frequency" run! Psych!

I know this is a direct result of my hard work in the the Endurance Nation out-season program. In this block of training,  I ran the intervals to improve my 5K time. I biked VO2max "puke-effort" sessions for eight weeks. I was consistent and gave the training my best go. And there you have it--work works. Today was just an easy run for frequency, nothing more expected, and I raised the bar for myself with new "to-the-corner" PRs. Can't wait to demolish those times when doing some fast intervals! Oh yeah!

Working Hard With VO2max Intervals, Getting A Big Payoff

I just finished my second year of incredible out-season training with Endurance Nation (EN). Seventeen weeks of sheer challenge focusing on the bike and the run. I have some interesting and inspiring results to share.

This season I was able to be part of a lab-rat group that experimented with VO2max protocols on the bike, and how to use the "Power Profile" protocol to tweak training schedules and calculate functional threshold. Through EN, 16 of us (with my husband a rogue member on the side). participated in a 4-week VO2max "Power Hack" experiment for a group of 16 triathletes.

When the experiment began, it was clear I had a very small "attic." In other words, I needed to raise my VO2max, which would "raise the roof" of my physiologic "house." In turn, this creates more room to raise my "ceiling," which is power at functional threshold. If "attic" is too small, then you can't raise the "ceiling" very easily. You have to create more physiologic "space" by creating a bigger "attic" in order for your threshold power to progress. It all sounds easy--until you start doing the work to make these adaptations happen! Hard, hard, hard work.

The plan had us experimenting with a particular way of executing VO2max workouts. We did this for four solid weeks. The fifth week was testing to see what progress we had made. My results were excellent, as were all 16 athletes in the experiment.

A good indicator of power at VO2max is an all-out 5' test. Here are the results. And this is in only four weeks!

Linda--5' Power                                               Keith--5' power
3/1/09 --211                                                    3/1/09 --267                                    
3/29/09--221                                                    3/29/09--289

Also in that month, my power at functional threshold also went up from 176 to 181! Tell me that isn't a kick-butt way to start the season!

Here's another recap. Since I started with EN and training with power, my functional threshold has increased from a start of a very humble 148 to now at 181. That's a TON. Lots and lots of hard work went into that increase, but it's so worth putting in the time and effort and getting results that are measurable--and make a difference on race day!

If it ever warms up here in New England, I can't wait to take this new speed and power on the road!

Protesting The Bank Bail Out--A New Way Forward

Today was sorta different. After a good ride in the basement pain cave, since it's freezing and raining here,  Keith and I went into Boston to the statehouse to take part in a nationwide protest--A New Way Forward--regarding the policies that are guiding the bank bail out. And yes, this does apply to triathlon.

I have made a deep study of what is going on--many, many hours of reading and listening to the intricacies of how this all happened, and what is being done about it to save the economy and protect us citizens. And while I support Obama overall, what the White House is doing is with AIG and the like is just plain scary and wrong. Let me just say that top economists like Paul Krugman (Nobel winner), Joseph Steiglitz (Nobel winner), and Simon Johnson (former head of the IMF) and many others are sounding the alarm about what Geithner and Summers continue to do. Seems every other expert economist, save those in the White House, feel the banks need to be decentralized and regulated--pronto. Tim and Larry, however, live right in the pockets of the very people on Wall Street who have put us in this situation. My feeling is, if people don't pay attention to this, learn what is going on, and try to do something about it, then we deserve what we get. It is serious sh*&, and I refuse to be passive. Anywho, I did my civic duty, and exercised my right of peaceful protest--in the wind, and the rain. Young and old turned out. Lot of car horns with people giving the thumbs up. It was pretty cool.

Like everyone else I know, my husband and I work hard. We have worked to raise four great children, and are now facing college tuition bills through 2016. But you know what? I still want to be able to do my races. I want to be able to return to Ironman Florida next year. And I want a some financial wherewithal left over to help so many who are less fortunate than we. Our 401Ks have taken huge hits, just as everyone else has experienced. No more will I tolerate anyone squandering my--or your--livelihood! I love my triathlon lifestyle. It makes me a better person. It makes me live in a constant state of gratitude to have the health and means to take part in this sport. That, in turn, makes me so much more aware of and willing to help those less fortunate. I want what I have worked for to remain safe and not at risk. We all deserve that from our banking system, and nothing less. So see--going to the protest does, in fact, have a lot to do with triathlon!

 Then hubby and I went onto other important stuff--stopping at Kickass Cupcakes for some sustenance on the drive home!

Endurance Nation Podcast Interview with Moi!

Here's a fun interview I did the other day with Coach Rich from Endurance Nation. It's a look at my personal life, and a rundown of some of the highlights I have had with EN over the past 18 months, including that terrific Ironman Florida PR of 1:30+!

EN is doing a "Meet the Team" series of podcasts with a number of athletes. They're fun to listen to and reveal the gamut of athletes we have in "da haus"--all very cool people. Head over to the blog, have a listen, and see if you might want to be part of a really great crew!

Meet the Team Podcast Series: Linda Patch

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