Jodi’s Running Blog

While I may not be running the race, I am still feeling pretty psyched about the Boston Marathon today. I’m psyched about running in general. I have a 24-week cross-training schedule in place to prepare for the Portland Marathon, and while I still have not committed to participating in the race, today would be the day to start training. So I’ve decided to go for it – and if my work schedule for next year indicates that I cannot run the race, I will continue on a modified schedule for a different race. Either way I think a marathon may be in my future in the next six months.

So I began the day with my first official training run – a 40 minute foundation run with 4x30second strides built in. There is something about breaking into a sprint halfway through a distance run that is quite invigorating! As I have mentioned before, Evan and I live in a condo on a hill, so it makes for interesting and challenging running in that the entire way BACK from the run is uphill. Good training, though.

Now I am back at home, tracking the progress of various online running compadres who are running the Boston Marathon today. Maybe I can join them next year – it’s a far-fetched goal, but not impossible. I’ll use it to motivate me on days when it’s cold and rainy, or when I am tired post-call.

Here is my gripe for today, though – Evan and I have cable, which provides us with about 70 channels. Not ONE of them is covering the Boston Marathon. We have ESPN and ESPN2, and yet – rather than covering the most popular distance race in the nation, they are playing reruns from major league baseball games already played. I think, for a Monday during-the-day, their ratings would be higher with a few hours of marathon coverage, only because it is such a coveted event by hundreds of thousands of runners across the country. I’ve misjudged society before, though, and perhaps I am doing the same now.

In any case, the Boston Marathon website is providing up-to-the-minute text-based coverage of the race, so that will do for now. Enjoy the week, and happy running!

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Winter Olympics managed to fire me up again about running. After a couple of weeks of consistent workouts, I have created a new goal for myself, something I have wanted to do for years but have never actually made it happen: I would like to run a sub-50 minute 10k. My most recent 10k’s have brought times of 52:02 (Cooper River Bridge Run, 2002), 59:41 (Cooper River Bridge Run, 2003 – not a great race day), and 52:35 (Salmon Days Rotary Run, 2005). My accounts of these races are documented on my website. I think consistent running, pacing, and a good race day could finally lead to breaking into 49 territory in the 10k. Now to choose a race…spring is on the way, and road races are not scarce on Seattle weekends during the spring and summer months.

I have been running outdoors mostly as well, trying to better train myself on the natural inclines of the area. I trained for the Salmon Days 10k last October mainly on the treadmill; now, I’m reserving the treadmill only for those days when the weather is particularly nasty. However, it is nice to know exactly how far I have run and to be able to split my miles precisely.

On a slightly different but similar note, I recently received a free issue of Runner’s World in the mail, a magazine to which I used to have a subscription, but allowed it to lapse due to a lack of time in keeping up with all of them (Runner’s World, The New Yorker, JAMA, Neurology, Newsweek). However, I have REALLY enjoyed reading this issue and am considering a subscription (which, I imagine is the reason they have sent me a free issue, so their marketing is working). It is certainly motivating.

Happy running!

Evan will vouch for the fact that I almost become manic about running. I will go for months, lacking enthusiasm and unmotivated, and then – BAM! Some event comes along, like The Olympics (not that I expect to be there, it’s just that The Olympics have rekindled my running passion this particular time), and I can think of little else aside from becoming extremely physically fit. I seem to operate at two extremes – either I’m not motivated, or I desperately want to be the best runner I can be. It’s quite bizarre.

 So one of my frustrations during my current running craze is that, while making a huge effort to run outside more (for some of those challenging Seattle hills), I never seem to know how far I have run. I would love to be able to map my runs such that I know my distance, but in order to do this (via Mapquest or my Saturn’s odometer) I must stick to streets. I much prefer running through Seattle’s gorgeous parks.

Evan and I saw one of these last weekend at REI. It’s the Garmin Forerunner 301, a GPS device that tracks distance during sporting activities like running and cycling. It automatically records mile splits when these distances are achieved so one doesn’t have to worry about forgetting to hit a button. It also includes the other typical features like heart rate monitoring and calculating calories burned during workouts. I think that if I am really REALLY nice to Evan he might bestow upon me an “I love you” present.