Today I completed 13 miles   ,,,,The full marathon would have been too much for me to handle.  ………..

It was very  rainy, cold, windy day. .My  worst running asthma nightmare.     Breathing in cold air : …..(  yuck  ….always makes me feel winded.

On the positive side, I am still a Bad-ass!

1.  I was running to bring awareness to Liver Disease.  Great Cause!  

      2. Just getting out there and trying is worth a major  congratulations ….pat on the back. 

3  I was running to strengthen my lungs and overall health

4  I    am going to participate in  more races above 60 degrees…. SUMMER RUNNING!

5   I am still going to wear my celebration Marathon jacket …

6 I have  the courage, spirit and enthusiasm to never give up!     I have come a long way…… I am truly a blessed  runner and women!

6 Tomorrow I am going to Florida for a week

One more day until the Boston Marathon

I am ready to run the Boston Marathon.

I am hydrated and hopefully I have plenty of glycogen in my muscles for the big day.

I visited the allergist, received my shots and hopefully my asthma and allergies will remain in control on Monday.

It is going to rain…… I have my rain poncho, waterproof jacket, waterproof pants, gloves layers

My goals for race day

Finish strong

Finish around 6:45

Have fun

The Boston Marathon is one week away.  I am running with the American Liver Foundation  Marathon Team . I am so excited.

My training went well. Most marathon training plans has a 3-week taper plan. As an asthmatic I need to have a more complete taper so my lungs can recover.  In the past two weeks I ran a few miles, rode a stationary fan bike a few times but mostly I just rested.  I do not want to risk any potential flare-ups come Marathon Monday.

I feel good and I am ready.

I also enjoyed celebrating Passover/ Easter with family and friends.   I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Today, I ran 23 miles.   I have been following the Jeff Galloway’s Training Plan.

I am glad I had taken my long run out to 23 miles because I now feel really good about race day.  By choosing the Galloway training program as my training tool this marathon season I feel I am in a better place to maximize my endurance and performance for the Boston Marathon.  Come race day, hopefully I can expect my body to run 26.2 miles without fading out.    Half-jokingly, I want to finish the race before I see any sweeper trucks sweeping up used papers cups and GU wrappers from the streets!

Time to trust my training.  Now It is time to taper  and heal my body.

Continue reading →

The Stupid Ground Hog has brought more snow to Massachusetts. It has been cold. It’s all Phils’ Fault.  Three Nor’easters in the past 2 weeks!  Spring starts tomorrow!

My  training runs have been going well.  Running on my treadmill has helped me complete my work out; if I was running outside, I may not be able to complete it.

Today’s …. LONG RUN ….20 miles …nailed it.

My pace was consistent each mile.

I got up at 6:00am Monday to get my 20 miles in on my treadmill.  The workout went well. I watched a few movies, listened to music, had some snacks, and kept pushing through each mile.

Running on the treadmill

I was not bored.

I felt more comfortable physically…. I wasn’t cold …….

I was not coughing, sneezing, wheezing and my nose was not running.

I never had a migraine or barometric pressure headache…… (My spouse always teases me and asks me…. what the hell is a barometric   pressure headache.

20 miles ……This run helped my self- confidence.

This came in the mail today.  One month to go !

18 miles on a treadmill … Boston Marathon Week 8

Running 18 miles outside, this week was not going to happen!  Since I am asthmatic, winter running always sucks the life out of me.   Cold, windy, snowy, rainy weather is not my ideal running conditions.  Four hours  running in the cold …no.

So, early Monday morning, my treadmill run begun. I chose to do this run as a run/walk to help my body go the distance without feeling dead at the end of the run.

I broke my run down into 4…(4 1/2 mile segments). After each segment, I had a snack to keep up my sugar levels. Having a variety of treats like runner wafers, pretzels, orange slices, chocolate candies, Swedish fish, Skittles and my all-time favorite snack mint and peanut butter girl scout cookies made my run so much more enjoyable.  I love those girl scout cookies!    Grape Gatorade and water provided my hydration needs.

…. Having a Smorgasbord kept my energy up and I was able to power through all 18 miles.

Also, my pre-long run nutrition has been working well.  For the past month, my favorite go to pre-race meal has been Bickford’s Pancake House.  It works! I always order the Dutch pancake or chocolate chip pancakes.  Bagels with peanut butter, and fruit are also a favorite snack.

I also watched the movie Grease to help pass the time on the treadmill.

18 miles done………successful

My splits were consistent.

This week…One long run 18

2 short runs ….30 minutes each

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Last weekend  Massachusetts had an insane wind and rainstorm. I live in Swampscott a coastal town and the streets  by the ocean  had  major flooding due to astronomical high tides  and  storm winds.  We husband and I were very lucky that we never loss our power. Approximately, 80 percent of our town loss power.   Our weekend was spent hanging around the house watching television and  resting.

Beautiful High Tide

Boston Marathon Training Week 7

Long Run 13.1

This weekend I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Florida.    I love Disney races and was thrilled to be able to participate in this race.  Plus, I used this race as a Boston Marathon Training run.

A few weeks ago, I was given an opportunity to run this race. The race was sold out; yet I had good fortune and was able to grab a last-minute race slot that came available. With quick discussions and support from my family, I was registered to run Disney!   My plan was to stay in Disney just long enough to run the race and then return home.  It would be a quick weekend get-way.

I flew into Orlando early Saturday Morning, and went straight to my hotel Old Key West.   Once I was settled in, I took a bus to the expo to pick up my bib number and race shirt. The Expo was held at the Wide World of Sports complex. I walked around a bit and enjoy   the upbeat atmosphere of the Princess Weekend. After the Expo, I hung around the hotel enjoying the beautiful nature grounds.

Later in the day, I enjoyed a delicious spaghetti dinner and headed to bed very early.  I had to be on a Disney bus at the crack of dawn 3:00am to get to the start.  UGH! 3:00am!
The next morning, Sunday, I woke up very early 2:30am and headed towards the hotel bus stop to get a ride to the race.

At the start staging area, (Epcot Parking lot) there was a DJ playing music to get runners pumped before the race.  We were rocking to the music, it was like a Disney theme party before the race.  It was a funny sight to see all of us dancing to various club music.

Around 4:30am, runners lined up in the corrals. I was in H the last one, so I had plenty of time to hang out before the race started. Forty-five minutes later, my corral was senT off with an exciting display of fireworks granted by all the Disney Princesses. Disney chooses to set off the fireworks for each corral start, so that we all got the same start experience.

The first 4 miles were very flat, as we left the Epcot Staging area and headed towards Magic Kingdom.  Runners were greeted with Disney Princes and Princesses along the course. We then passed the street entrance to the Magic Kingdom, Disney Transportation Monorail Center, and all the Monorails leading to the Magic Kingdom.

The next stop on our journey was The Magic Kingdom.  At mile 5, we ran down Main Street heading towards Cinderella’s castle. There were so many cast members, volunteers, spectators, Disney characters and families cheering us on.   It was an amazing experience to run down Main Street, and to be able to see the beautiful castle without any tourist in our way.  What a great feeling!

After running down Main Street, we ran through Tomorrow Land, Fantasy Land, Adventure Land. Frontier Land and out a back gate heading back towards Epcot.

As we made our way back to Epcot, there were more characters, and cast members along the way to cheer us on. Soon, I was able to see that golf ball, Epcot’s Icon Space Ship Earth.  That meant I have one mile left.  I ran around Test Track, Sourin , Mission to Mars,  Space Ship Earth and out a  back gate to the Finish line.

I got my medal, drank some water and Gatorade and then headed straight to the hotel to shower and head to the airport to catch a flight back to Massachusetts.  I arrived   in Massachusetts Sunday night around 7:00pm and had a lovely dinner.

Friday afternoon, Ed and I drove to the expo.  The expo was very nice.   It was held at the Broward Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale. The expo is never crowded, so it’s always a pleasure to walk around sampling free snacks, exploring all of the gadgets and collecting all the freebie running items from various venders.  I got my number, free shirt, swag bag and then we headed back home.

Saturday, I spent the day lounging around the house enjoying the quiet.

That night, I went to bed early, because I had to wake up at 3:30am the next morning.

Race Day:

I got dress, ate my breakfast and I was in the race parking area by 4:00am.  Driving to the race was very easy, no traffic.

The race started at 6am in Fort Lauderdale near the Science Museum.  There was about 5000 runners participating in the Half Marathon.  The race was self-seeded and had various pacing groups to help us succeed. I lined up with the 2: 45 minute pacers.

The National Anthem was played and then we were sent on our way to complete 13.1 miles.    It is one of the prettiest courses I ran.   The most memorable view for me was watching the sun rise along the ocean.  The course was also very flat, except for the draw bridge leading to the ocean.

The first mile was on Las Olas Blvd, a street with lots of cute boutique shops, restaurants, and art galleries.  It was a very touristy neighborhood.

The second mile crosses the intercostal waterway, over a small draw bridge and then heads east towards the ocean.

The rest of the run is mostly an out and back course on Ocean Drive with gorgeous scenery.   There are no cars allowed on the course, so I had awesome views of the ocean. Palm trees surrounded the course and runners can see the waves crashing on the beach.

At mile 8, there is an amazing loop through Birth State Park which offers some shade. Inside the park, there are many bike and walking trails, forest trees, and more gorgeous views of the inner coastal waterway.

After running through the park, runners reach the turnaround point (Mile 9) on Ocean Drive and we all head back to the finish line.

At mile 12.5 I sprinted down the beach towards the finish line.

Overall, I had a good race.    I had plenty of fluids and fuel to survive the heat. The temperature during the race was mid 70’s.

I love my medal.   It is one of the prettiest medals I received; also, it weighs a ton!

.After the race, Ed (spouse) and I went for a celebration lunch by the pool.

Long run 16 miles!

Some people may not know, I am running the Boston Marathon on the behalf of the American Liver Foundation.   I want to bring more awareness to liver disease and the effects it causes on the body especially fatty liver disease.

Fatty Liver Disease can develop in people who are overweight or obese or have diabetes, high cholesterol or high triglycerides. Rapid weight loss and poor eating habits also may lead to a fatty liver.   Many people who have this disease are unaware they have a fatty liver.

If you would like To make a donation

http://bit.ly/2gdmpsF
………………..

Anyways, early this morning, I ran 16 miles on a treadmill.  Watched a musical movie, (I’ll admit …. The Sound of Music) had some grape Gatorade, Swedish fish, and listened to some 80’s music.

I started the first week of February with low motivation to run. The cold winter weather, the dark days, the rain, the ice storms, lack of natural sunlight, and a cough has left me with little desire to run.    I believe, I am dealing with the ebb and flow of marathon training.

I am glad that I still have the inner knowledge nagging feeling to get off the couch and get my long run in.

My 16 miles run…

It went well.

I was well rested.

Long run nutrition good

Besides running, last week was a good week.  I enjoyed watching the Superbowl.   What a very exciting game! Too bad my home team loss …The Patriots.

Next week I will be in Florida…