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Back in September of 2011, Susan found out her Marine Corps Marathon time from 2010 qualified her for the Boston Marathon. I had not been nearly as good as Susan about keeping in shape since the USMC Marathon and decided if I trained with her through the winter I could get back in shape and help Susan train over while putting in long, cold winter miles. With this in mind I signed up for the Toledo Half Marathon in April 2012. Somehow I also managed to convince my little sister to sign up as well. The Toledo Half was just 6 days after Boston so it would be a good chance to be on the same training cycle as Susan, run with my sister, and see our family in the area.

Fast forward to November and a particularly nice stretch of weather. During the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving I ramped up my mileage way too quickly — something I warn every one of my friends about — and ended up causing a stress injury to my left ankle. When my ankle was still sore after walking or slowly jogging as little as 2 or 3 miles in February I knew my hope for a fast half marathon was not going to be possible and I decided the best thing I could do was to get to work losing the weight I had gained after USMC and running a very limited schedule to prep for Toledo.

April 22 was a clear and cold morning in Toledo. The temperature was 45 and winds were from the north about 5-10mph which is a bit cold for standing around but very good running weather. Everyone headed over to the race site where we met up with my sister’s friend Allyson who Susan and I knew from Leslie’s wedding. It was Allyson’s first half marathon and her estimated pace was about what I wanted to run to test the recovery of my ankle.

Brian and Leslie pre-race

We started out at around a 9:30/mi pace for the first 3 miles or so. That seemed a little fast so Allyson and I backed it off to a 10:00/mi pace. The course starts out from the UT Campus, through Ottawa Hills, before heading over to Wildwood Park. Mom and Allyson’s husband Pat were waiting for us in Ottawa Hills to cheer us on.

Brian and Allyson happy at 3 miles

Once through Wildwood we turned down the bike bath for the final 4 miles to the Glass Bowl. About mile 10 Allyson’s knee started to act up and we backed off the pace a bit. Allyson had a goal of running 2:15:00 and we were on pace for that easily even slowing down so we both coasted on through the finish line. Leslie came across shortly after us and set a personal record for her improving her old time by over 15 minutes. GO LESLIE!

The three smiling finishers

My race experience couldn’t have been any better. The pace seemed very easy and I was able to hold a consistent pace. Most importantly, there was no pain in my ankle. It turned out to be a gorgeous, pain free run through some very pretty parts of Toledo with a great running partner. Susan and I will almost certainly be back to run the full marathon in Toledo as it was a really pretty and fast course and we have family in the area. My final time was 2:13:42 which was nowhere near a personal best but it was a great step in my injury recovery.

I’ve decided that my new goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon just as Susan did. I was jealous watching Susan run Boston and decided I really want to share the experience she had. My fitness level is quite a bit away from being able to qualify. The first Boston I’ll have a shot at qualifying for will be Boston 2014 when I will be 40. I’ll need to run a 3:15:00 marathon to qualify and given that my personal best is a 3:55:51 I’ll have to do some serious work to qualify. Now that I’ve shown I can run longer miles without pain I’ve started back to an organized running program and am up to 25 miles a week and my weight is down 15 pounds since February.

My goal this year as an intermediate step to qualifying is to run a 1:35:00 half marathon at the BayState Half Marathon in October. That gives me about 24 weeks to keep putting in miles, losing weight, and having a great season of running!

My Boston Marathon experience was as awesome as I had hoped.  It started with picking up my number at the Expo on Friday – hey, it’s official, I have a number!

I'm Susan, #17930

I pretty much immediately smelled bacon when I walked into the expo.  Running and bacon are not usually associated, but in this case the Pork Council had rented a booth, so indeed, there *was* pork available!  I had to taste a sample, so I too could be pork powered.

Powered by Pork!

My earnest prayer a few weeks ago to avoid cold windy conditions was answered with gusto as the forecast predicted temps soaring to the high 80s with a slight (and non-cooling) tailwind.  Based on the numerous warnings I gave up on a PR or Boston Qualifying time, and just set out to run a smart, controlled race that would get me to the finish line still smiling.   I headed to Hopkinton on Monday morning feeling rested, fueled, and ready for the adventure that awaited me that day.

Ready to head to Hopkinton

Brian and my parents dropped me off in Hopkinton and headed to Mile 7 to watch me; they would hustle on to mile 16 and then make a bee line for Boston to meet me after the race.  I also had cheering friends at Miles 17 and 20, as well as virtual cheering sections along the route – I had a mental list of friends and family whose name began with each letter of the alphabet, so at each mile I could imagine them cheering for me.

The first few miles were downhill and it was hard to hold back with all the adrenaline and excitement.  I tried to keep my pace between 8:00 and 8:30, knowing that the real race didn’t begin until after the halfway point.

Miles 1 to 5 elevation and pace

Even averaging 8:20s for the first 7 miles, I was starting to feel the heat, so I backed off a bit more and made sure to get enough fluids.

Miles 5-10 pace and elevation

I came through the halfway point at just under 1:51, an 8:32 pace.  My fueling plan was going well (a gel at 1 hour and a pack of honey at 2 hours), and I was able to chug a cup of Gatorade every other mile.  I fell into a rhythm with the aid stations, grabbing water to pour on my head or running through a hose when I could.

Miles 10-15 elevation and pace

By Mile 16 I was feeling even better than I had earlier, ready to charge up the Newton Hills after seeing Brian, Mom and Dad.  My goal for the hills was constant exertion, to run them strong but not wear out my legs.

Miles 15-20 elevation and pace

Then it was up and over Heartbreak Hill and then coasting down the backside.  I had been warned that if my legs were hurting at Mile 22, I should expect to have a rough time making it to the finish.  Instead, Mile 22 was one of the fastest of the race, a speedy 8:19 that propelled me through Brookline into Boston.

Miles 20-25 elevation and pace

I settled back into my ~8:30 pace for a couple miles, then savored the jog through Kenmore and down Commonwealth Ave.  It was such an amazing feeling to round Hereford and see the finish.

Final mile

I just grinned and strided on in, at 3:46:33.  I grabbed some water and pretty much any food they gave me, but ended up consuming a water, a banana and potato chips as I wound my way over to the Family Meeting Area and finally took a seat and removed my shoes to relax.

Finished!

It’s taken me a few days to recover, but I am still so thrilled with the experience.  Thousands of cheering crowds lining the path, hundreds of volunteers who stood out in the hot sun all day to make sure we had a safe run, and thousands of runners who were considerate and encouraging of one another.  So many weeks (years really!) of training, imagining my hill repeats were Heartbreak Hill, envisioning my speed work as the final miles of the race, getting up before daylight to get in my workout before heading to the office.  I’m happy to relax a bit, let my legs recover, and take a little time to reflect before embarking on my next adventure.  And maybe bask in a little bit of extra attention.

For several years we’ve talked about heading to Canada for a weekend getaway. We’ve mostly discussed taking a ferry over to Nova Scotia or heading to Quebec City which we’ve heard is full of old world charm. Now that our friend Dan is making regular trips to Montreal we decided to tag along and do a good old fashioned road trip. Another benefit of Montreal is that we get a built in tour guide in our new friend, G.

We left Friday morning from our house and within 5 miles I had already taken a wrong turn and set us on a path to downtown Lowell. A quick correction, and we were on Rt. 3 North heading to Canada. The weather was mostly sunny giving us some great views as we passed trough Franconia Notch. A quick stop for gas (since it’s more expensive in Canada) and coffee in Littleton, NH and we were on our way once again.

The border crossing was non eventful and despite a little rush hour traffic heading into Montreal we were at our hotel in about 6 hours. We decided to stay in the lovely boutique Hotel Gault in Old Montreal. Montreal is a collection of islands in the St. Lawrence river with Montreal island being the largest. Old Montreal is the location of the original European settlers and has great old architecture, cobblestone streets, and is rich in history.

After settling in we went out to a wonderful dinner at Le Comptoir Charcuteries et Vins. Fortunately we had a native French speaker with us to help with the menu translation but based upon what we ate we couldn’t have gone wrong with any order. The food was served on small plates and we ordered enough for the table and shared with each other. The cheese and meat plate we had to start was a hit, although my thinly sliced veal was a close second. After a leisurely, thoroughly enjoyable meal we headed back to the hotel to crash for the evening.

In the morning, we woke up, had a tasty fresh breakfast in the Hotel Gault lobby, and decided to wander on our own for a while. We walked down to the river and explored the waterfront of Old Montreal. It was a cold morning in the 20s (Fahrenheit) with a brisk north wind off of the river. We saw many people carrying ice skates and followed them to an outdoor ice rink. Susan loved watching the large crowd of young and old skating in a circle on a clear, cold March morning. She particularly enjoyed when the whistle blew and on cue all the skaters reversed direction.

Ice skating in Old Montreal

By this time we were cold and decided to head back to the hotel via the cobblestones instead of along the water. Along the way we stopped into the Notre-Dame Basilica. As in most large cathedrals the art work and architecture were spectacular.

Once we got back to the hotel we grabbed our car and decided to head to the Montreal Botanical Gardens. We had intended to go to the Biodome but there was a very long line just to get tickets and the line was filled with strollers and small children. Fortunately the Botanical Garden was a short walk away.

After a nice warm walk through the greenhouses and a moth and butterfly exhibit we were feeling a bit hungry. G suggested we try a French Canadian local delicacy, Poutine. We headed to a local fast food restaurant for our lunch of french fries covered with gravy and melted cheese curds (with a hot dog on the side for good measure). Fortunately we had a light breakfast and did a lot of walking or the amount of grease might have seriously injured one or both of us. I’m not sure I need to eat Poutine again, but I’m glad I tried it.

Su and Poutine

We headed back to the hotel for a late afternoon nap and hopefully sleep off some food before dinner. We had a late dinner scheduled at one of Montreal’s acclaimed restaurants, Joe Beef. It was going to be hard to top the meal from the night before but Joe Beef lived up to the hype. The menu was all in French and written in chalk on a wall so it took quite a while to translate and make up our minds. Susan opted for a straight forward steak (how can you go to Joe Beef and not order beef)? I ended up with a slow cooked wild hare with foie gras. I’m not sure how to describe it other than to say it was the richest food I’ve ever eaten. It was like cheesecake except it was a very tender, rich dark meat. Once again we all sampled each others wonderful meals and without exception they were all outstanding.

In the bathroom at Joe Beef

Upon getting back to the hotel we crashed into bed for our last night in Montreal. In the morning we decided to go for a run along the river to try to work off some of the previous nights dinner. It was moderately successful as we felt hungry enough to have a wonderful brunch before we said goodbye to G for the weekend.

The drive home was very pretty again and the weather had warmed up into the 60s; Spring came early this year. Hopefully it won’t take us 9 years to go on another vacation out of the United States. We’re both looking forward to going back to Montreal during the summer and seeing what else it has to offer.

It’s been an unusually mild winter, which has been terrific for marathon training, but really lousy for enjoying local snow sports.  We moved next to a state park, got our snow shoes warmed up, and even picked out nordic skis for Christmas so we were very anxious to try out the local trails as soon as we got enough snow.  Well, the most snow we got was in October, which quickly melted.  Then we got about 3 inches in January, so I actually did go out and snowshoe with Sarah (who also had new gear to try out), but it was barely enough to cover the trails, just mostly as a warm up for future snow to come.  But more snow never came, and it was almost March.

So, we decided to plan a trip north in search of snow, where we could take ski lessons and feel like we got a little taste of winter.  It turned out that we couldn’t have picked a better weekend than March 2-3!  Jackson, NH, our favorite winter getaway destination, had gotten some fresh powder on top of about a foot of base, perfect for trying out our cross country skis.  Since I had just returned Thursday morning on a red eye, we took our time heading up on Friday, but made it to the Inn at Ellis River in plenty of time to check in and take advantage of their complimentary pass to the Great Glen Ski Area to do a loop in our snow shoes.

The snow was light and fluffy, but the temps were just barely below freezing, perfect weather for being outside and getting some fresh air.

Snowshoeing at Great Glen

As we made our way around the loop, I was so happy to finally be out in the snow on an adventure with Beej, I snuck in a little smooch.

Su and Beej snowshoeing through the trees, kissing

As we returned to the parking lot, the clouds were moving in, making for some spectacular views of Mt. Washington and the notch, with the depth of the range on showcase.  This was Brian’s favorite.

Mt. Washington from Great Glen

We enjoyed a casual dinner at our favorite pub, the Red Fox, before calling it a night.

We woke up Saturday morning to sleet and rain.  Undeterred by the weather and energized by a delicious breakfast at the Inn, went over to the Jackson X-co Ski Facility for our group lesson. We first tried skiing without poles to gain our balance, then practiced with poles as they are designed – for pushing. Next it was time to try out a few hills, and to learn how to get up if we fell, since X-co skis don’t have an automatic release mechanism. Finally, it was time to head out on our own to practice.

By then the sun had come out and it was a beautiful day!  We cruised over to the Ellis River Trail, made it through the covered bridge, and were off through the trees.  We stopped at the warming cabin to check it out and get some water.  We admit to falling a few times, mostly when not paying attention, and a few more times when our legs became too tired to maintain proper position on downhills, but it was a fantastic day!  We look forward to going again.

Another beautiful day in February found me toeing the starting line at Hampton Beach – awesome course, great volunteers, terrific organizers – I can’t keep myself away!  While the weather was not as warm as yesterday’s unseasonable high of 50, a 40 degree sunny day with mild winds was as good as I could have hoped considering it’s still New England in February.

It's a beautiful Day at Hampton Beach

My training for the Boston Marathon has been going very well. I just finished a speed training phase prescribed by Coach Beej, so I felt like a Personal Record (PR) was in the bag if I ran the race I had planned. As it turned out, I couldn’t have been more pleased.

The plan was to go out at 8 minutes/mile pace, my target for the marathon, and I would have been satisfied to hold that pace throughout, coming in at 1 hour 45 mins. If I felt particularly good, I figured I could pick up the pace toward the end of the race, and blaze down 1A along the ocean as I’ve been wanting to do on this course. The key was to fuel well before the race and avoid going out too fast. There was an 8:00 pace group leader, whom I easily found at the start, so I had a bit of a safety net there – though as I saw at Bay State, the pacer went out a little fast, so it’s not always great to bank on them for the first few miles.

I followed my usual pre-race routine. This time I had some Gu Chomps and a Honey Stinger during the hour before the race, since I didn’t plan on eating during my run. (Turns out the Chomps had caffeine – perhaps a little extra pickmeup didn’t hurt!) I was tempted to warm up a bit longer than I had in the past, but on Brian’s advice just did a few extra accelerations instead. Then we were off!

I came through the first mile at 7:51, and spent the next few miles settling into an 8 minute pace. I opted to stop a few seconds to drink water at miles 4, 6, and 9, which made them a few seconds slower, but I think worth the hydration. I typically surged going down hills to pick up a little time. At mile 8, I joined the 8 minute/mile pace group and planned to let them pull be along until mile 10. Then another little downhill came along, and I decided I was feeling good enough to start picking up the pace. From mile 9 through the finish, I just got a little faster each mile, to come in at 1:41:57 officially.

split              watchtime       mi        pace
0:07:51       0:07:51             1        0:07:51
0:08:01       0:15:52             2       0:07:56
0:07:56       0:23:48             3       0:07:56
0:08:13       0:32:01            4        0:08:00
0:07:49       0:39:50            5        0:07:58
0:08:09       0:47:59            6        0:07:59
0:07:44       0:55:43            7        0:07:57
0:07:45       1:03:28            8        0:07:56
0:07:47       1:11:15            9        0:07:55
0:07:38       1:18:53           10       0:07:53
0:07:38       1:26:31           11       0:07:51
0:07:24       1:33:55           12       0:07:49
0:07:20       1:41:15           13       0:07:47
0:00:44       1:41:59           13.1    0:07:47

Now *that* is the race I’ve been wanting to run!  And you can see by my smile with a half mile to go that I was feeling great.

Feeling great with a half mile to go!

Also, Brian was there to cheer me on and take a photo, plus I may have “chicked” a few guys there toward the finish, which is always a good motivation.

You can see all the results on coolrunning or search a subset on active.com.

Coach Beej (and Jack Daniels Running) says I am right on pace for a 3:30 marathon (which would be another PR) and confirms my training is improving my speed.  I am feeling good about the next 8 weeks of training!

We received a lovely sendoff from People’s UMC today in their best tradition – with a potluck lunch, flowers, cake, and a poem by Pat.

Sue, with your sparkling eyes and contagious smile

We’ve loved you being with us all the while

We’re gathered here today to honor you and Brian

For all the things you say and do

Behind the scenes, all the work

Never a duty did either of you shirk.

Composing letters, phone calls, always always lots to do

And, God love Brian waiting patiently

Keeping track of what you were doing and where you would be.

Both of you such a joy and help to us,

Doing things quietly, without a fuss

I knew when I met you that first day

We would be friends, and that will stay that way.

Sue, you joined the cantata group

We were surely one heck of a troop!

A lovely voice, you love to sing

Our concerts, joy, to many people did bring

And all the events we planned came out fine.

With your hectic schedule you always found time.

I know you and Brian entertained at home

Your cooking skills were really well known.

Being loyal to a small church is a hard thing to do

But we always knew we could count on you.

Brian, a wonderful quiet guy

Was our Treasurer and a great one was he!

A good thing they didn’t pick someone like me…

I can’t add one and one and have it come out two;

That wouldn’t be good for me or you.

We all worked the suppers and fairs, A lot of work for all

But we put out best feet forward and really had a ball.

Now, circumstances have changed and you will move away

We really love you both and wish that you could stay.

Our thoughts and prayers will be with you

No matter where you are,

whether near or far

May God and our blessings go with you!

Love, Pat Sayward, January 29, 21012

I’ve always had a little bit of a love/hate relationship with report cards.  On the one hand, I love getting the official grade, the confirmation of how my performance stacked up to expectations, the results of a term, hopefully with some comments and feedback.  On the other hand, I was often frustrated that a single letter or number could not possibly fully reflect learning, understanding, progress made, and challenges tackled.

As an adult, the report cards come less frequently.  Whereas my school sent home report cards every semester, quarter, or 6 weeks, now I’m lucky to get a thorough review once a year, with a mid-year check-in conversation.  The consequences of the decisions and actions I take this week may not play out for months or years, and are often difficult to correlate with a simple cause and effect. Even so, goals are set at the start of the year, and tracking progress lends focus and priority to my work.

In 2011, I inherited financial goals from my predecessor, though I was able to learn about the process and participate in some of the discussions as his deputy.  I also discovered in September that among the 9 financial metrics that we track monthly, the two that I was focused on meeting were not the ones my boss thought were most important. (Surprise!)  At that point I resigned myself to missing the funding and sales numbers and revised my forecast to something I thought was more realistic.  So it was even sweeter when my customers and my team came through with fortuitous funding at the end of the year, enabling us to come in at the original targets.  We met our Orders goals (with organic funding exceeding even my most aggressive expectations!), were solid in our margin/profit, and made a valiant attempt toward our sales goals despite being understaffed for most of the year.

The non-financial goals are trickier.  I need to be an ethical leader, I need to collaborate with other business area leaders, I need to lead my team through the regular challenges we face, such as retaining key staff, changes in management, keeping the business healthy, and maintaining a work environment where people grow, are successful, and want to bring in others.  The results of these are harder to quantify.  For example, one of my staff spent a year developing relationships across the business and with partners, with no new programs to show for it.  Is a year’s time long enough to try something new, and if it doesn’t pan out, should we change approaches?  It turned out that this year, those relationships were instrumental in to bringing in over $10M in new programs.  Sometimes it takes a while for a new initiative to show results – trust and time are required to see it through, not to mention judgement on whether to stay the course or change direction.

So far my manager thinks I’m on track, but next year will be more telling as to whether I can grow our business into adjacent markets, hire and train the right staff to execute programs and bring in new ones, and align my diverse and vocal team to a common set of priorities.  We started on that path this week with an off-site meeting, the main result being the realization that we are starting out with very different perspectives.  We learned a lot about one another, we made a commitment to work together and help one another to set and achieve goals.

I agree with my manager’s sentiment: “I’ve seen the pilot and I can’t wait to watch the next season!”

We’re back from our Midwestern holiday tour, which seems to pass faster every year.  Because we now live farther west, we avoided the “woogie hours” at each end, making the trip in under 12 hours each way.  In this in-between day before the festivities of New Year’s Eve, I unpacked, washed, cleaned, napped, ran, and generally puttered, and took some time to reflect on the year and think about 2012.

Following Kristin Armstrong’s advice, I’ve been enjoying the natural break of the holidays.  I ran a few times during our trip, mostly to revisit favorite routes and regulate my energy, but I tried to not be overly concerned about the distance or frequency.  I’m definitely ready to get back to training for Boston and also focus on regaining core and upper body strength next year.  Visiting family and participating in their routine, trying on their pace, and enjoying their favorite foods is fun and helps me to connect with them.  It also makes returning home feel like putting on your favorite slippers, well-worn and comfortable.

Work has been thoroughly enjoyable this year, rewarding, and more successful than I expected.  I took on a new position in April leading the ISR, Mission Management and Fusion technical group.  I have had the luxury of a new boss who was clearly dedicated to his team, the guidance and assistance of my former boss who became his deputy, a terrific group of peers who genuinely value collaboration, the mentorship of a good friend who first hired me to the company 8 years ago, and the benefit of having the VP of Finance as my formal mentor.  My group’s leadership team is experienced and engaged.  We have grown in numbers this year, not as fast as we’d hoped, but the new crew positions us well for an even better 2012.  I’ve particularly enjoyed being part of the company’s Women’s Forum and recruiting at the Society of Women Engineers convention, resulting in 3 promising hires for our Burlington site and great networking opportunities.

Though we have loved and dedicated many hours to People’s United Methodist Church in Newburyport over the past 10 years, it’s time to move on and find a local church near our new home in Chelmsford.  I’m looking forward to attending church with friends for the next few months, which I’ve not done since college, and eventually getting involved in a new church.

We learned a valuable lesson in 2011 about taking advantage of local opportunities.  We went kayaking for the first time with some friends from work, walking 2 blocks to the kayak rental company and another short distance to put in our kayaks in the Merrimack.  After living in Newburyport 10 years, this was the first time we took advantage of a great natural resource in this way, and we had a fantastic time, wondering why hadn’t done it sooner!  We vowed to avoid the same error when we moved to Chelmsford.  We live just behind a state park that has groomed cross country ski trails in the winter.  So, we pooled Christmas money from Dad and Grandma to purchase skis so we are ready to enjoy the park when we finally get snow.

2011 was a pretty good year, overall.  I’m excited to see what 2012 has in store.

You’ll note that there’s not been a house-related update since we put our house on the market in May.  Suffice it to say that we’ve been disappointed with progress toward selling our home in Newburyport, which culminated this week in hiring a new realtor and adjusting the price substantially.  We are hopeful that we’re now in the right ballpark for pricing.  It was a good sign when our new realtor had a showing scheduled the day after being on the job, did an open house on Sunday, and called us right afterwards to let us know 6 people came through in an hour and two seemed reasonably serious.  Much improved.  We are still keeping our fingers crossed that we can sell the place this year.

Our move to Chelmsford has progressed slowly but steadily.  We’ve taken weekly trips back a forth for church or other meetings, bringing boxes back each time.  We’ve settled into a routine in the new house, which includes a MUCH better commute for me and plenty of trail running.  As expected we spend a lot of time in the kitchen and have enjoyed the hot tub.  It’s great to get up and get ready for work without waking up Brian, and to have all my clothes in one [big closet!] place.  We also like that Brian has his own office, with a new desk and chair, a much more comfortable place to spend his time.  I traveled a lot in October, which slowed unpacking progress, but we caught up this weekend, and the kitchen is basically done.

The movers arrive tomorrow to move our furniture, another big step.  Our new coffee table arrived this week, and the sectional is scheduled to arrive on Thursday.  There will definitely be another round of unpacking, but frankly at this point we’re down to the attic and items we rarely use, so there will likely be as much culling of “stuff” as there will be putting things away.

We’ve traded the ability to walk to dinner for being closer to friends and work.  We’ve traded well-known running and biking paths for the extensive trails at the state park, and we’ll have to learn new roads to run and bike.  On the plus side, it’s a pleasure to cook together and we actually get to do so more often, so I expect more of our entertaining to be based around home.

I find myself now saying that I live in Chelmsford, and while we don’t get the same “OH I love Newburyport!” level response,  it’s definitely the right choice to move on to another phase in our lives.

Several months ago, my running buddies at work and I renewed our commitment to run more frequently.  We decided to sign up for a race to assist in motivation.  I’m not sure how we all decided on the Stone Cat Trail Marathon, but some combination of wanting to run trails, the close proximity and excellent reviews led us to sign up.

The first 4-5 weeks of training went well.  I sent out workout plans, we met at least once a week to run at work or on the weekends.  Then work travel picked up, a few nagging injuries crept in for my colleagues, and it wasn’t too long until our group’s training became ad hoc.  Moving to Chelmsford was a big help to me, because there are tons of trails just out our back door, but I too had travel and schedule constraints.  While I had a good base, and my training in the last month was good quality, the quantity was certainly less than I’d originally planned.  I managed a couple long runs on 10/2 (part of the race course) and 10/23 to check that I could actually run 2.5 – 3 hours and feel confident I could complete the distance, but I honestly had no idea how fast I could run.  I had in mind, based on the McNaughton Race in 2010, that I should be under 6 hours.  I figured I’d take it easy, have a good time, and see how the day unfolded.

But I admit, two little ideas had entered my mind.  First, I looked at the 2010 Stone Cat results.  I thought it *might* just be possible to finish in the top 10 women based on my pace and their times.  Second, as I was picking up my race number and T-shirt on Friday night, I chatted with a veteran trail runner.  I picked his brain about what to eat, what to wear, and details about the race.  He asked my road marathon time and estimated I should be able to run a 4:30.

On Friday night I enjoyed a lively dinner at the Hones with their neighbors, giving me some time to relax and be around friends, as well as carbo load on spaghetti.  I got a good night’s sleep, laid out my gear, and followed my normal race morning ritual – oatmeal with raisins, coffee, water, suit up, and head to the race site.  I felt my normal pre-race jitters, especially while packed into the elementary school gym with hundreds of friendly but rather intimidating runners.  The bathroom line offered a chance to chat with other women, I chatted again with the veteran runner I’d met the night before, and then took a quick jog around the school yard to warm up and clear my head.

Then, at 6:25am, we were off!  The marathoners had a 1.2 mile out-and-back on the road to allow time to spread out.  I felt spunky and wanted to get into a reasonable position in the pack before we got onto the narrow trail, but also tried to hold it back a little.  From Reach the Beach I knew that I tend to run faster in the dark.  According to my watch, I hit the fire road at 8min19seconds, and soon we were off down the trail.  I alternated trailing other runners with headlamps to let them select footing, and then passing when I determined their pace was too tentative.  I definitely felt some old cross country instincts emerging as my eyes would sight the next runner ahead and I reeled them in.  Often a backup line of runners would form on the single track, then once the trail opened up people would pass and spread out again.

There were two main challenges in the race.  The first was self-inflicted: fairly early in the race, as I looked up to spot the next turn ahead, I lost my footing on the rocks and roots and took a spill.  My hip, right arm, and right knee definitely smarted as I dusted myself off and walked a few steps.  I determined nothing was sprained, broken, or bleeding, and continued on, with some fresh adrenaline.  I also made a note to get Advil at the upcoming aid station to try to keep the swelling down on my knee.

The second challenge was well known ahead of time – one of the sections of trail was under water.  Even in the dry summer months there were easily 4-6 inches of water.  We heard at the pre-race brief that it was up to 12 inches, and of course it was 30 degrees at the start of the race, so we’d be running about 50 yards through knee deep ice water.   But, other than coming out with numb feet that took a little while to warm up and dry out, that part didn’t end up being much of an issue.  I took it as an opportunity for mental toughness and just plowed through the water both times.

There were three aid stations on the two-loop course, and the volunteers were terrific.  At the first one, “Al Cat’s Lounge” (he’s the mascot for Mercury Brewing Company, who sponsors the race) I picked up some baked potato wedges, dipped them in the nearby bowl of salt, and also got a cup of Coke.  I asked for Vaseline (same issue as McNaughton, needed to protect my lips and drippy nose), which they quickly provided. I picked up Advil and water at the next one, along with a square of PB&J.  At each station they asked if they could refill my bottle, took it, and had it ready to go by the time I had grabbed some snacks. I like to think of trail races as picnics they set up in the woods, where a bunch of people run from one to another as we eat our way across the park.

At the halfway point there was an out-and back turnaround, so I could see the faster runners coming back up the path.  I saw one woman with a red #1 (red meaning she was in the marathon vs. black for the 50M, and #1 typically indicating last year’s winner), and another woman with a black number coming out ahead of me.  I figured I might actually be in the top 5 at this point, and came through with about a 2hr 18 min split for 13.7 miles.  At that point I decided to make it a race (not just a fun run) and see what I had in me.  I kept picking off runners during the first part of the 2nd loop and stayed aggressive on the hills.  I did take an extended break at the next aid station, to make sure I had enough fuel to get me to the end.  I grabbed a pancake, some ramen, a half banana and tried to eat them as fast as I could.    During this stop I noticed that 2 or 3 women passed me.  One I was able to pass back quickly, and headed back off down the trail.

I tried not to think about how many miles I was running, or my pace,  just think about being tough, keeping my balance, and keeping my feet turning over. When my knees started hurting on I drank more water, to make sure I was well enough hydrated to keep my joints lubricated.  When my hamstrings started hurting and bordering on cramping, I opted to walk up the steepest sections of trail to stretch my legs and tax them less.   But, I tried not to walk more than about 30 seconds, worrying it would just get harder to pick up the pace again, and I went as fast down the hills as I could while keeping my balance.  I kept picking off male runners, and got passed by one or two as well.  Finally the next woman ahead of me was within my sights at around 5 miles to go, but wasn’t able to catch her, and then she and her pacer pulled away.  My legs were feeling pretty dead, so I just tried to estimate how long I had left – a 5K, then less than 2 miles, then I was turning onto the last trail and headed back to the school and pushing the pace as much as my legs could handle.  I came through at about 4:27, feeling very spent, but thrilled with my time.

Then I checked my splits.  I deviated less than 1 min per mile in pace (all estimated, of course), between 10 min and about 10:48 per mile, including the aid stops.  I was also really happy to see that I only slowed down 3 minutes between the first loop and the second loop.   Woot!  And the icing on the cake – I asked the race director where splits were posted and he showed me his clipboard.  I came in as the 5th fastest woman.  I haven’t really raced in a long time, and it felt really good.  (I will link the official results and some photos when they are posted!)

Bring on the training for Boston! After I ice my bruises, of course.  They are looking spectacularly red and purple.

PS – I walked to church on Sunday morning rather gingerly, mainly due to a sore knee.  Walking home was better, and then my knee didn’t hurt at all after my short nap, including while raking leaves and trimming back the perennials.  I’m definitely on the mend, and my muscles are feeling WAY better than after a road marathon!