Speed work

Have I ever mentioned that I have multiple jobs?

Maybe once or twice ... ?

Well, although two of them are very part-time, living this way has been putting major logistical strains on my time for blogging and working out these days, but I am doing my best to fit it all in. And hopefully the multiple-job situation will end soon.

Last night I got back on the pavement for the first time since Wednesday and it felt awesome. The long gap had a lot to do with my painful left ankle (plus work and a general lack of energy) and a desire to rest it up for good. I think five days off from running was enough.

The run was fast and powerful and sustained -- unlike any I have ever had, even in a race. Although I left the house feeling tired and heavy from a long day sitting in front of a computer, as soon as I started running I got the urge to go fast. I was so excited to be back out there and my body was being so cooperative that I couldn't resist the urge to do it, even though it meant straying from my usual mantra -- take a few minutes to warm up to a 9-minute mile pace and sustain it for as long as possible, with the goal to build stamina.

So I tossed stamina out the window and focused on speed. I sprinted down Lake Avenue, hit the valley and continued up the sloping hill. No ankle pain!

When I looped back down Caroline Street and hit 2.5 miles, I forced myself to slow down a little and not overdo it, for my ankle's sake. But when I returned to Broadway I didn't want to go home, so I sprinted back and forth a couple times in front of an elderly couple watching me curiously from their bench near City Hall.  Total = 3.7 miles, 38 minutes,  including some walking in between sprints.

Tonight was pretty good too, although I traveled less and dealt with some pain in the other ankle and calf -- although this feels like just a sore muscle that will ease up in a couple days. 

Speaking of speed, if my life was made into a movie, the year 2010 up to this point would only take up about 3 minutes of it ...  (How is it almost August, already?! I'm just getting around to changing the floor mats in my car from the winter ones to the regular ones!) ... And the 2010 part of the movie would be a montage, of course, which would have to include a shot of me zipping down Broadway at dusk on this sweet ass bike:

Popular belief and my general ignorance about cars may lead you to believe that I am not a motorized vehicle buff, but this hot orange Stella scooter just turns me on. I almost stole it off Lake Avenue this morning. It goes 65 mph. What can I say?

39 and counting

Here in Saratoga Springs, we have a little something called the race track. Today was opening day at the races, and in an attempt to cure myself of a bad case of the late-July blues I've been suffering with, I've composed a list of things this silly season indisputably means to me. 

(Cue Julie Andrews:

"When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feeeeeeeeeeel

sooooooo bad")

The List:
 
1.) It will now take about 15 minutes longer to drive anywhere in town.
2.) Everywhere you look, there's a tourist stroking/trying to take a photo with/drunkenly trying to jump up and straddle a painted fiber glass horse statue or one of the City Hall lion statues. 
3.) For the next six weeks, I will no longer be able to find a parking spot in front of my apartment.
4.) There's no point in trying to run on Broadway at any sane hour of the day or evening -- it's too crowded
5.) It's fun watching people strolling across Broadway at Lake Avenue when there's a red light but a green left-turn arrow that they don't notice. And then they wonder why they get honked at.
6.) It's raining.
7.) More people order pizza when it's raining.
8.) Trying to park in The Saratogian parking lot during non-business hours practically requires handing over your social security number and DNA to the crotchety security guard to thoroughly convince him that yes, you are an employee of the newspaper and you are entitled to park in the lot, for the whole night, without paying 10 bucks to do so, and without getting towed.
9.) The line for coffee at Uncommon Grounds is out the door.
10.) Caroline Street. Enough said.
11.) And, finally, the season means a new and chic addition to my wardrobe. And by new I mean foisted-upon-me and by chic I mean apparently designed to attract snickers from interview subjects and neighbors, and excite dogs. On second thought, maybe the dog just liked the smell of my perfume...

Just like a bridesmaid dress, you can wear it again.

Workin' for the weekend

It's Sunday, and you know what that means. Don't you?

When I work a Tuesday through Saturday shift at the paper, Sunday is my one day of rest before another working week.

Since I usually get home around 3 a.m. from job #2 Saturday night, I try to drag myself out of my delirium and out of my bed before 11 a.m. noon 2 p.m. so I can:

write my column for the newspaper
race to complete a long list of domestic tasks
squeeze in a run
and a long-distance phone call to a dear friend who's planning her wedding!
and, if I'm lucky, conclude the evening cooking dinner and relaxing.

Tonight was only slightly different from the norm, in a good way -- somehow, I managed to do all of those things in way less time than usual.

On my 3-mile run this evening, I discovered what I think is a new favorite route: Lake Avenue (starts off with a long and low uphill climb) to East Side Recreation Park, where there's a pavement track that circles a skate park and passes a baseball field. Why didn't I know that this track existed before today?

Anyway, I went around it a couple times at race speed and got in two half-miles under five minutes, with walking in between. Then I ran out of the park onto Caroline Street for a steady and easy trek back to Broadway. This part of the workout seemed effortless after the short, fast periods on the track and the uphill climb. I maintained a 7 mph pace without stopping for the entire last mile. This was made possible by the lack of humidity, fiiinally. Overall, running conditions were pretty perfect tonight -- a slight breeze, 70s and cloudy with no chance of rain.

Here's the route:
MapMyRun - LakeAve/EastSideRecTrack/Caroline in Saratoga Springs, NY 

After that, it was time to refuel with an amazing veggie burrito. I concocted so much of the inside mixture yesterday that I'm going to be eating it for a couple more days.

Borrowing a cue from my new friend and food blogger, Rebecca, here is a visual of the amazing veggie burrito:

Looking forward to checking out Phila Fusion with her tomorrow!

S.R.S. returns, with a tan

Hello again!

I forgot to mention one big item in my list in the last post, which would have explained why it's been quiet around here the last week.

I went on vacation, first to Oneonta for July 4th and then to Cape Cod for five glorious days of enjoying wonderful company, 90-degree weather, the ocean, the beach, swimming ponds, Provincetown, the beautiful scenery and much delicious food and drink.

While I was there, I fully intended to blog, but all of the above were, shall we say, slightly distracting.

I made it a point to run a couple times during the week though. The runs were short, about 2.2 miles each because of the intense heat. I carried a water bottle with me, ran as early in the day as I could, and slathered myself in sunscreen.

You can't really beat running along the shore: When your view is a harbor full of sailboats bobbing in pristine blue water, your feet are kicking up beach sand and the sweat is rolling down your face and into your eyelashes, all the stresses, worries and complications of work and day-to-day life melt away. The only thing that matters is inhaling, exhaling, and hearing the pounding of one foot and then the other on the ground. You are left with the simple thought "Life is good."

 Near my running route, with Wellfleet Harbor in the background.

Here is a picture of my route around Wellfleet Harbor, with Cape Cod Bay to the west and the National Seashore and the Atlantic to the east.
 

View Cape Cod run in a larger map

When I returned to Saratoga, I met up with my bestie Emily, who was visiting from Brooklyn, for a weekend of girls-only fun. Thanks to The Saratogian, we scored a majorly awesome surprise Saturday night: red-carpet access to the New York City Ballet gala at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where we were wined and dined, saw two breathtaking performances, and later, sipped champagne and ate chocolate eclairs several feet away from two members of ballet world royalty: City Ballet master-in-chief Peter Martins and his wife, the Balanchine-trained ballerina Darci Kistler.

I tried not to stare but was very, very unsuccessful.

I'll wrap things up with a quick update on the Firecracker 4 last Sunday:

Had a decent run, finished in 36:30, and felt better than I ever have after a race (i.e. little risk of barfing).

Still standing after conquering four miles at 8 a.m.

Could this race location be any more convenient? 

The start/finish and activities were located in the Algonquin building parking lot.

Thank you to the Caroline Street resident who provided a mist station, (i.e. sprayed the runners with a hose as we passed by) and King Brothers Dairy of Schuylerville that handed out samples of chocolate milk afterward.

It was fun to see some friends, as well as some former and current coworkers from The Saratogian both running in and covering the race.

 Let's just say the whole week, from Sunday to Sunday was, if not the Best Week Ever, the Best Week in a Long, Long, Time. Yay.

Now that the temperature has dropped from an uncomfortable 92 degrees to a nice, brisk 87, I think it's time to suit up and go for a run.

Red, white, blue and grey

Bye Bye Birdie

 

Unfortunately for her, and to my great joy,

this feathered foe was forced 

to find new digs today.

How's that for some alliteration?

I'm really looking forward to this weekend for lots of reasons.

In no particular order:

No. 1 at the moment is because I'm hoping to score some quality time on my clean, bird-free balcony, perhaps enjoying a cold beverage in the warm sun, perhaps while recovering from Sunday morning's race.

No. 2, naturally, then, is Sunday's road race, the Firecracker 4. It's an annual 4-mile race that kicks off the city's Fourth of July celebration. It starts and finishes just outside my apartment building at the City Center, goes straight up Broadway, swings around the East Side, then hangs a left for a long journey down Excelsior Avenue, ending with a short but steep hill going past the Courtyard Marriott hotel.

About 2,000 runners are expected to be in town, double the amount from last year. Hopefully there will be lots of spectators coming out to hear the musicians along the course, browse the vendors and listen to the live announcer.

Registration is still open now, and is through the morning of the race. Sign up here.

This will be the largest race I've participated in to date, which probably means I'll be finishing way back in the pack, but no big deal. This time, I'm mostly concerned about racing against myself, and enjoying the sense of community provided by the event.  

I've been training hard the last week, running an average of 3 miles every workout. Monday I ran 4.11 miles in 38 minutes, and even spent the first .75 mile walking briskly. Finishing in that time despite the walking really pumped up my confidence -- I hope to finish the race in 36 minutes. 

No. 3 is because a major project at the newspaper will finally conclude on Saturday evening as Sunday's paper goes to press. If you're interested, read about the Ben Franklin Project, here. Note the final paragraph of the post --

"The second phase of the Ben Franklin Project is for all 18 Journal Register Company daily publications to publish — both online and in print — on July 4, 2010 using only free web-based tools."

-- It's what we've all been consumed with at The Saratogian for the last six weeks or so. Let's just say it's been a month-long headache for everyone that will hopefully result in some positive changes at Journal Register Company and maybe even in industry-wide.

No. 4 is that after the race and recovery Sunday, it's off to Oneonta for the hometown Fourth of July festivities, complete with my sweetie, the Fam, a visit with my favorite out-of-town lovebirds, spiedies (you have to be from upstate New York to be fortunate enough to know what this delicacy is, or at least be dating someone from upstate New York), and fireworks, of course.

Ok, end of list.

Check back later this week for a training update, and Sunday or Monday for race results.