Running Harvard Stadium
Posted: January 25, 2012 Filed under: Cross Training | Tags: bussgang, cambridge, cross training, harvard, stadium 7 Comments »
My friend Jeff Bussgang from Flybridge gave me a new experience today – we ran Harvard Stadium. To be precise, we ran half of Harvard Stadium, or 19 of the 38 sections. We started at one end (section 38), ran up the stairs, and then walked down. We shifted over a section and repeated until we were done.
It took 20 minutes. It was a beautiful morning – about 40 degrees – and the sun coming up over the edge of Harvard Stadium was stunning. The stadium was empty except for a few other crazy people running the stairs. We stretched for five minutes, Jeff gave me some hints, and we were off.
He finished each segment in about half the time it took me. He used to do this in college when he rowed crew at Harvard so he had a great rhythm. I tried a few different approaches but each time seemed to fade about half way to the top. By the tenth segment I was walking the last five to ten stairs each time, totally winded.
I expected my legs to be more tired but the breathing was the harder problem. I’d go anaerobic almost immediately. My heart rate never got about 165 but for some reason the effort of pulling myself up the stairs overtaxed by breathing. Before I realized it we were finished with half the stadium and my legs were shaking. That was plenty for a first timer like me.
RunKeeper clocked it at 0.62 miles and Fitbit was at 1.20 miles. The GPS data is totally fubared so I’ll call it a mile. Fitbit showed 67 flights of stairs up which is about the same as I cover in a 90 minute trail run and seems about right since each segment was about three flights of stairs.
Thirty minutes later I have a nice burn in my legs and I feel the soft fatigue that comes after a solid workout. I’ll definitely be running more stadiums in my future. Thanks Jeff!
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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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Day 2 Of The Double Long In Boston – Colder and Faster
Posted: January 15, 2012 Filed under: City Running | Tags: cambridge, charles river, city running, cold today, double long, snot 7 Comments »
Man – I crushed this run. Yesterday’s 10 miles was in 1:40:22. I covered a little more today (10.51) in the same time. I started off a little slower – I felt sluggish for the first few miles but picked it up at about mile 4 when I warmed up. At some point I was flying – solidly turning in sub 10′s and getting under 9′s, even with an 8:2 run:walk pattern.
The hill and altitude running in Keystone in December seems to have paid off nicely. Plus, I’m about 15 pounds lighter than I was in October. My body feels different when I’m running, and moving at sub-10′s feels natural again, which is awesome.
It was unbelievably fucking cold today. Yesterday was cold (in the 20′s), but today was under 10 and with windchill was probably -143 degrees. There was a two mile stretch against the wind (from mile 2 to mile 4) that just hurt – the sun was in my eyes as is was moving down in the sky, the wind was 20 – 30 miles an hour, and the snot was freezing before it dripped out of my nose. Both of my water bottles froze by mile 7 which was a drag, but just helps you understand how cold it was.
My cold seems to be gone. I’m still a little drippy but feel fine. We’ll know tomorrow if it’s completely decimated, but this time I think the running helped.
My coach Gary offered up the idea of a 15 mile on Saturday followed by a 10 mile on Sunday run next week. Sounds like fun!
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