Acknowledging the weak content of this blog so far

For those of you still checking in on me, thanks! I just wanted to say that I realize the blog has been lacking lately. This is mainly for two reasons. Firstly, training hasn't really kicked off for me yet so I haven't really had a chance to get in the swing of things. Once I start running more, I'll be sure to be more involved with the blog as well. Secondly, I've been traveling to New Jersey a lot which has kept me busy with other things.

My running right now is only 2 or 3 times a week. The runs have been varying from easy 4 mile runs to middle range 6 mile runs as well as some hill and interval workouts. Note, that 90% of my runs have been on the hotel treadmill lately, as I've been way too busy on the weekends when I've been back from New Jersey (NJ just doesn't have any good convenience running areas nearby). This is a shame since the weather has been beautiful the last two and I haven't been able to capitalize.

I encourage you to send me an email or provide other feedback when you feel this blog is lacking to keep me honest. Reef, I appreciate you doing so. And Jen Stonehouse, you too have given me some grief. So special shout outs to those who have been checking in. Thanks!

Running on Treadmills - A lesson in mental endurance

I've had a few indoor runs lately on the treadmill. Daylight savings time has made daytime runs almost impossible. Additionally, I've been on travel to NJ a lot lately, in a not-so-nice running area. This has given me the treadmill option as the only viable option.

I think this is something that I'll grow accustomed to. I knew getting into training for Boston that running indoors was just going to be part of the game. Here is where music is particularly crucial. Without the site of trees and pavement moving by me, my brain begins to revolt long before my body does. Someone told me that her trick for this is to take off her glasses/contacts so that everything is blurry, thereby blurring the fact that she's on a treadmill. I guess this is one case where 20/20 vision doesn't help me out. Anyway, I thought that was funny enough to add it here.

Also, I don't understand how people say running on treadmills is easier than running outside. I understand the physics of wind resistance etc but I feel like something else must be going on here. An 8:00/mi feels much more difficult to sustain even on an ever-so-slight incline than an outside 8:00.

Lastly, I'm finding that the trick to keeping the inflamation in my posterior tibialus at bay is a mix between laborious stretching and muscle-mashing with The Stick (tm). Many prefer foam rollers, but for me, the ability to maneuver The Stick with my hands allows me to get the spot where the tendon connects to the calf muscle.

My milage has remained pretty low still, I haven't ran more than 5 miles at all since the half-marathon. I'm planning to start inching up the longer runs to 6/7 miles in the next couple weeks. But there's still plenty of time to build milage. I'm just trying to temper the mileage increase for now.

Lastly, thanks (so much!) to everyone who has donated on my fundraising page so far. I'm offer to a better start than expected, so your help is very appreciated.

Thanks for reading!