Early Morning 11 Miles Around The Charles River
Posted: January 24, 2012 Filed under: City Running | Tags: boston, cambridge, charles river 8 Comments »
I did another long bridge loop around the Charles River this morning. I tacked on an extra bridge at the end (Museum of Science) and ended up with 11.42 instead of the 10-ish I’ve been doing. It was early when I started – 5:44am and pitch black. The snow was gone – it had been washed away by the drizzle and the 45 degree temperatures.
I started off slow, but picked things up by mile three. I again used an 8:2 run:walk pattern so that I could consolidate the miles – I did a few at 9:1 but overall just wanted to cover the distance. As the sky got lighter I started noticing more runners and the Esplanade was had a steady stream of bridge loop people out by the time I got to it. The sun was shinning when I finished at 7:45 and I felt strong and would have kept going but I had an 8:30 meeting.
Tomorrow morning (in 9 hours) I’m running Harvard Stadium with Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge. I don’t think I’ve ever done a full stadium anywhere so I took a look on YouTube a few minutes ago to see what I’m in for.
Based on the video I’d better get my ass in bed and rest up.
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Leveling Up On The Long Runs
Posted: January 22, 2012 Filed under: City Running | Tags: boston, cambridge, long run 17 Comments »
My original plan was to do 15 yesterday and 10 today. However, I was completely and totally fried from the week so I ended up sleeping until early afternoon yesterday. By the time I got up the snow was coming down hard and I just didn’t feel like running, so I got lunch with Amy and slept until dinner.
There was no new snow in Boston today, but plenty of clouds and future snow gloom. And it was cold again. But I suited up and went for it. Rather than start around the Charles River, I went across the Mass Ave bridge to Beacon and ran six or so miles until North Beacon turned into 20. I then hooked around on the river and did the long stretch all the way back to the Museum of Science. I finished hard with plenty of spring in my legs the last two miles.
I could have easily run a marathon today. It’s an hour later and I don’t even feel particularly tired from the run. When I hit 15 I thought about doing another bridge loop but I knew Amy was waiting for me in the hotel and even though she probably could see me on RunKeeper, I decided to call it a night.
I remember when 15 miles felt like a big deal. Actually, I remember when 10 miles felt like a big deal. Now, neither feels particularly long. Nice.
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Kicking Ass At Sea Level, With A Cold
Posted: January 14, 2012 Filed under: City Running | Tags: boston, double long weekend, head cold 10 Comments »Sung to the tune of Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s Taking Care of Business
I slept until noon today. I was tired from the week and have had a head cold since Wednesday. I’ve been hanging around with people who keep saying things like “I’ve got a cold I can’t shake, but I’m not contagious.” Bullshit – one of you was contagious. But it doesn’t matter – as long as it’s a head cold and not in my chest I can run.
I’m in Boston for two weeks (with a few days in New York in the middle). I lived here for a dozen years between 1983 and 1995 and ran hundreds of bridge loops. One of my favorite places in the world to run is around the Charles River. So that’s where I went today on day 1 of a double long run weekend (two long runs that are exactly the same – one on Saturday and one on Sunday).
I totally kicked ass. RunKeeper crapped out after about 5.5 miles so I had to manually enter the course. I’m going to guess that 10 miles is right – my Fitbit shows 9.51 and other than walking across the street for a cup of coffee and some oatmeal I’ve been sitting in my room at my desk since I woke up.
I used an 8:2 run:walk pattern, which means I walked for two minutes every 10 minutes. This makes the 10 minute miles even more significant as I was probably averaging a 9 minute pace as I was running. I felt great, other than the steady stream of snot dripping out of my nose.
I’m going out to dinner with friends and then going to bed early. We’ll give it another shot tomorrow – exactly the same course – and see how I do. In the mean time, I’ve very pleased with myself right now.
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