First week of indoor track clinic

• 2 • My Running

This week was the start of the indoor track clinic I signed up for!

I was so nervous about getting there on time, because it starts at 9 a.m. and preschool drop off is from 8:45-9 about two miles away. Luckily, with a little help from Greg, we made it out the door on time and I was back in my car at 8:46 and parking by 8:55.

Now that I know where it is, it’s going to be perfect – no more worries that I’ll get turned around or park in the wrong lot. It begins at 9, but we warm up until 9:15 on our own, so it’s not cutting it as close as I’d originally feared! If I warm up a little less one week, oh well. I won’t show up halfway through drills.

It felt great to run indoors on a 21 degree day with a wind advisory!

This week week we did a 1 mile warm up at our own pace, did some drills (skipping, heel walking, leg swinging, lunges… can I just say that I’m not real coordinated with the opposite arm/leg moves?) and then did a mile test so we can measure our progress as the weeks go by, followed by a cool down.

My mile test came in at 8:24, which isn’t a personal best but feels pretty good since I’ve basically done no running since before Christmas.

There’s a similarly paced runner who is also training for a half marathon this spring whom I’m hoping to talk more with, and I was done with my workout by 10 and home and showered by 10:45… much more efficient when I go straight from drop-off to running rather than coming home and procrastinating!

Looking forward to seeing how this goes, so glad I signed up 🙂

 

How High Should You Set Your Winter Running Expectations?

• 2 • Motivation, My Running

poorfrosty

Winter is a lull in my race training schedule. For the past three years, I’ve run the Chilly Half Marathon in November and then spent several months running with no specific purpose until about March when I might start an actual training plan for an event in May or June.

I love these winter months.

My running expectations in the winter are intentionally low. I’ve learned to set myself up for success by factoring in the weather, snow days and cold season and not try to run my highest mileage weeks in January.

My goal is just to run enough to elevate my spirits and not lose too much of my aerobic capacity.

But there’s a real pleasure in going a bit further on some of these winter runs, or pushing a bit harder. It feels like cheating. It’s not part of my training plan for the next race, it’s squeezing in improvement for fun. Not that training isn’t fun, but it’s purposeful and goal oriented. When I accomplish a training workout, I’m hitting a target I already set, not doing extra credit.

When you expect yourself to run 3 times a week easy in the winter just to remind your legs you’re a runner, it’s easy to feel extra accomplished if you suddenly run a 5 day week. You could run the same 5 day week in the midst of a training cycle and have missed your goal and feel disappointed.

Not in the winter!

I have to achieve so little to pat myself on the back in the winter, and it’s GREAT.

I think that’s why I love the cyclical nature of training for races. I work hard getting ready for a race, then I ease up expectations and coast through some lower mileage weeks on those racing legs. Then I spend some time with the lowest of expectations, feeling awesome for just getting out and running at all when it’s 19 degrees out. By the time Spring approaches and I’m excited to get out, I’ve taken it easy enough all winter that I’m ready for the physical and mental challenge of more intense training.

Whatever your winter running goal, or your New Year’s Resolution, it’s worth keeping in mind that the easier it is to meet or exceed, the more likely you are to hit target and feel good about it.

It’s awesome to really challenge yourself, but if you really challenge yourself all of the time, you may risk burning out. In any category of life.

Happy Winter Running!*

*Or tea drinking, or reading, or making snowmen with the kids because school is cancelled, or otherwise taking it easy because you’ve set realistic expectations for yourself!

I’m doing a winter track clinic!

• 2 • My Running

A friend e-mailed me about a local running group that runs an indoor track clinic in the winter months… and I’ve signed up!

Here’s the description:

“I will be coaching weekly track workouts at the beautiful Babson College indoor track. This is a great way to get or stay in shape during the winter months. ALL levels of runners are encouraged to join. If you want to run a mile without stopping, a 5k, a half or full marathon – this group will be a great way to achieve your goal!”

I’m excited!

I love that ALL runners are encouraged to join, and it even spells out that you don’t have to be able to run a mile without stopping yet. Sounds welcoming, encouraging, non-elitist… what I strive to make this running blog! A perfect fit 🙂

As much as I love the treadmill, I love the idea that once a week I’ll be doing a workout indoors but where I’m still actually moving forward.

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This is part of my incentive to sign up for an INDOOR track clinic this winter!

I also love that I know someone else doing it; hello accountability!

And perhaps I’ll meet some new similarly paced friends, and forge some new running relationships.

Regardless, I’ll be getting my speed workouts in, something that occasionally slides by the wayside when the ground is covered with snow and ice!

I’m still planning to follow Jack Daniels somewhat for my half marathon training this Spring, but I’ll count this winter track clinic as my quality interval workout for the week and not panic about the exact numbers. Daniels’ schedule will still help me determine my other quality workouts for the week.

January 1st, and I’m already taking steps to meet my goals for the year 🙂

Happy New Year!!! May 2016 be a wonderful one 🙂

I’m Leaving My Next Athletic Goal Up to Chance

• 6 • Motivation, My Running

I’ve run 6 half marathons, and I’ve signed up for my seventh. I’m planning to add another layer to the onion that is my training (healthy, lots of layers, can make you cry… onions seem like the perfect analogy for training, don’t they?). I’m going to try training with a Jack Daniels inspired running plan, running 4-5 days per week and attempting to nail the quality workouts. I’m excited. It seems like a logical progression from the fall, when I trained on a 5 day a week running plan for the first time vs. 3. Now I’ll be adding more specific quality workouts, so I’m targeting quality as well as quantity.

So that’s cool, and I’m thrilled, and I’m signed up for the Maine Coast Shipyard Half Marathon in May.

BUT….

I’d maybe, sort of, possibly, like to do a little more. I’m thrilled to be signing up for another half marathon; being in half marathon shape is one of my favorite things about myself. I feel strong, I feel proud, I feel like I’m someone who endures. I keep going the distance. I love it.

However, I kind of miss that initial feeling of “I’m just in this to FINISH” that I had for my very first half. That feeling that it’s so HYSTERICAL that it’s ME doing it, that I, KELLY CAIAZZO am planning to finish this thing. I don’t feel like it’s that unexpected, hilarious, or epic that I anticipate crossing the finish line anymore. It’s not am I going to cross?! it’s how long is it going to take me this time?

I miss, just a little bit, that feeling of Just keep going and finish and this will be EPIC!!!!

Not enough to sign up for a marathon, which I’m not sure I have time to train for.

But what about another event that I could possibly finish in about 2 or 2 1/2 hours?

What about… a sprint triathalon?

WHAT?! I know. I just typed that. Me. A triathlete? I mean, they put athlete in the name of the EVENT. That should tell you something.

And yet, I love spin class. I look forward to it every week. I biked around Paris last year for hours with a stupid grin on my face, loving every second. I’ve got the running thing down, I know I can do that.

All I have to do is learn to swim freestyle. For 1/3rd of a mile.

I would love to learn to do that. I could absolutely learn to swim freestyle by July, enough to start in the back and make it safely to the end of a sprint triathalon. I would learn something about myself. It would feel epic. I would feel proud. Just crossing the finish line would be enough. It would be an adventure.

So I signed up for the lottery for Maine’s Tri for a Cure. It’s a female only event, and if I don’t get in, I can think about this for another year. But if I DO get in, it’ll be an exciting opportunity, and the fact that I had to enter a lottery to get a chance to register will make it feel extra special, like this is my chance. This is my shot. This is my time to branch out and do something new and exciting and crazy.

I like feeling crazy.

So wish me luck. Either way, it’ll be great to be in good half marathon shape in May. But maybe, just maybe, I’ll be borrowing my mother-in-law’s bicycle and taking up the crawl stroke*, and getting ready for something new, and different, and exciting for July. I wouldn’t do more than one, though. Just one… that would be epic enough….

triforacure

*Mom if you’re reading this I promise I will ACTUALLY learn to swim before I attempt this. Like, really well. I’ll get lessons. It will be fine.

Cambridge Winter Classic 5K – Race Recap

• 5 • My Running
Greg, far left, next to one of my good friends from grad school that I reconnected with at this race, and then me in the gray sweatshirt.

Ran With a Team! 

I ran a really fun 5k on Sunday with the No Meat Athletes of Boston team!

I joined my local No Meat Athlete group on Facebook, and it’s been a great group for recipe sharing and workout swapping. Runners ask triathletes for their favorite pool workouts, I asked for advice on whether Cowspiracy was a safe documentary to watch while eating, people share funny vegan memes from veganstreet and beyond. The group also does weekly runs on Sunday mornings, which I haven’t made it to, but when they signed up for a race, Greg and I were in!

The Cambridge Winter Classic is a fantastic race to run with a team, because groups of 20 or more got their own dedicated beer tent where we could ditch our non-valuables during the race, and grab some brews and socialize in a dedicated spot. I made vegan cookies to share with the team, and we all hung out for over an hour after the race having beer and cookies and socializing.

It was fun to be in a space where I wasn’t “the runner” or “the vegan” or “the vegan runner”… because I was with a group of people who are also powered by plants and in love with running. All of a sudden, I was NORMAL.

As normal as someone wearing a tank top and mittens drinking beer at 10:08 a.m. can be, anyway.

Winter Classic 5K Review:

I thought this was a great race. There were tons of runners, all of whom seemed to be there to have fun as a first order of business.

Parking: There was limited street parking, but garage parking was plentiful albeit expensive ($14-20 depending on duration of your stay).

Bathrooms: The garage was connected to a Star Market that had public restrooms, an easy stop on the way to registration, and portables were available near registration with relatively quick moving lines.

Price vs. Perks: The race was expensive; $35 was the best early registration price available with prices increasing closer to the date of the race. Most 5ks cost closer to $20. Even factoring in a guaranteed free beer or two, that’s pricey. As a team member, though, I felt the $35 was well worth it. No lines for our beer, easy place to stash our extra layers prior to race start, dedicated space to socialize afterwards, it was fantastic. It was also just a fun experience. Even if you weren’t a member of a team, the line for beer at the general beer tent seemed to be extremely fast moving and VERY generous with the amount of beer being distributed. It was a fun and festive feel to be hanging out in a crowded street of runners all enjoying a brew or two after stretching their legs with a nice 5k.

Course: Flat course but PACKED with runners. I started a little further back than I probably should have, and couldn’t safely pass people through the crowd until it thinned out a little after the first mile. Speedsters starting at the front might find it a fast course. The average runner would be hindered by the crowds and is better off showing up to enjoy themselves and have a beer with a whole bunch of runners on a gorgeous December morning.

About the “5k” part: 

The lead police car took a wrong turn and accidentally extended the race course from 3.1 miles to 3.45 miles. This happens. It is not the race director’s fault. For most of us, it’s not that big of a deal; after all, we still got out and had a great run and finished off with some beers!

I was a little shocked to be finishing in over 31 minutes… but relieved when we received an e-mail apology from the race director explaining the mishap. So I ran a tie with my PR, according to Strava which took my best 3.1 out of the 3.45 miles and calculated it at 8:58 pace.

My overall pace was 9:04 for the race, which I was really happy with.

Hope you had a fabulous weekend also 🙂