Author: eatplayrunkirby

Running has become an important part of my life over the past few years. It has helped me find a sustainable way to live happily and healthfully. The support that comes from being part of the worldwide running community is incredible and keeping my membership for the rest of my life is my primary goal! I may not be the fastest and I may not win any races, but I certainly have fun! I'm blogging to chronicle my adventures, to maybe inspire and motivate some newbie runners and to definitely get tips and motivation from those more seasoned than me!

Fabulous Flashbacks on Today’s Long Run

On September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 By eatplayrunkirbyIn Boston, Marathon, RunningLeave a comment

So first off, I have to ask! Did I get you to my blog post because on my social media I promised photo-documentation of “a little sumpin’ sumpin’ in my ice bath?” If so, that’s awesome!!! And here you go!

Oh yes, my first attempt at a post-run ice bath deserved a Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale. Definitely a fave of mine and a nice addition to the tub 🙂 I will say I was advised, probably rightfully so, to ease into the ice bath scene since this was my first go. It wasn’t SUPER cold, but it was definitely cold and regardless felt great on my legs after the 16 miles of hills today. I’ll up my game next weekend after my 20 miles and make it even colder. Maybe I should take a shot of whiskey prior to that bath? Hmmm….

Anyways, let’s go back to the start of this morning! My run buddies and I took our long run this weekend back to our old stomping ground. That’s right, we started out at the Woodland T stop to run into the city along the Boston Marathon course. From Newton we ran 8 miles in to the city getting us almost to Kenmore before our turn around. Overall, I’m looking back on the run and my legs felt really rough the second half, which I account to the lack of hill training, but I stand by my thinking it could have been way worse. I got a little tight and heavy feeling in my legs but ultimately ran almost the entire way, except for maybe .30 miles at mile 14. Hey, sometimes when the muscles talk you just gotta listen! Overall, my pace for 16 miles averaged out to 11’05”, which is way faster than I ran Boston and is definitely making me optimistic for my next marathon attempt the end of October.

My favorite part about this run, aside from the company (that’s a given!) was definitely the memories that came running back (pun intended) while on this route.

[Wavy Fadeout to Memories of March and April 2014]

I was remembering moments from both my 21 miler in March 2014 as well as from the day of the actual 2014 Boston Marathon.

The March training run started with a few more run buddies than today as I joined my Race for Rehab team at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital where we got shuttled out to our start that morning. This run was like none I had experienced to date and I was so proud to be rocking the RFR singlet and cheering on all of the other charity and individual runners along the course. A training long-run like none other!

The training run was also super exciting, because that was the day I got a photo with Tedy Bruschi! OK, OK….I did kinda stalk him and didn’t exactly ask for the photo, but the triptych memory I was able to create is possibly one of my favorite photos ever! We were also all a little sad today that Bill the Gorilla was not outside waiting for us, but that’s alright. The memory of my selfie with him on training day came flooding back as we passed by Heartbreak Hill Running Company.

The Cleveland Circle area is also the first part of the race where my friends started popping up along the course on the big day! I mentioned this in my final post for the Boston Marathon recap but it’s worth saying again: I would not have finished my first marathon without the love and support of my friends! Here’s a few people I remembered out there on this part of the course from a year and a half ago as I ran past theses areas of the route today!

I haven’t run this far in awhile, so it was awesome to be somewhere that brought back such amazing memories . Certainly a welcome distraction to the hills and achy quads. The greatness I felt from my first marathon experience is definitely the reason I am tackling a second marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, and I certainly expect to be taking on other races in the years to come. (Don’t worry Boston, I’ll get back to you at some point too for sure!)

We really lucked out with weather today. It was nice and cool, overcast and even misting the entire time. The perspectives are a little off (since I really couldn’t run in the middle of Beacon Street today!) but the view today was a bit different compared to my marathon day as I approached Kenmore!

Pros and cons to both weather options. Today I was SUPER happy we weren’t in extreme heat and actually didn’t have any sun. The fact that I was able to get awesome photos during my first Boston Marathon, well yeah I liked the blue skies for that 🙂

So finally to round out this post, I want to make a special shout out to the ZERO Prostate Cancer Run/Walk that was being held in Newton, MA. As we were on mile 14-ish, their event had just started. Amanda and I got cheers and encouragement from the race volunteers and other run/walkers and even got a water refill at one of their stations. (I maybe sounded a bit pathetic in my “We’re at mile 15 of our run, can we please refill?” plea). But no seriously, they were all great and I have since made a donation to help support their cause.

So it’s on to 20 miles next weekend! I’ll be running this as part of the Tache Wicked 20 Mile Race up in Salem, MA. I think having the support of a race crew will be awesome. But I have no idea how large the 20-mile run field is since it’s kind of a random distance. Good chance I will be the final finisher for the entire event (there’s a 10 mile, Half Marathon, and 20 mile course option) but I figure finishing dead last at some event is something of an experience as well. Will give me a good topic for my next post 🙂

Until next time, happy running!

Time to Recap and Regroup

On September 11, 2015September 11, 2015 By eatplayrunkirbyIn Marathon, Running, Summer, TrainingLeave a comment

I’ve been trying to get away from a life of making excuses. But I will offer one here for my lag in updates (since May 4th, eek!) Basically, I had been severely technologically challenged with my painfully slow computer. Blogging is something I’ve wanted to keep up on, but posting from my phone was just getting way too cumbersome and my computer was making all efforts take 5 times as long. So I finally got an upgrade and the goal is to get back to this blog and hopefully make it better and more regular than ever! I’ve upgraded my blog client so bear with me as I try to really embrace the world of blogging and make this fun, more aesthetically pleasing, and interactive. Blogging was SUCH an important part of training for y first marathon and it received such a good response. I want to get back into the swing of things since I’m on to marathon #2 in less than 2 months and definitely have some big aspirations for my future running adventures!

The good news is that despite a writing lag, there has not been a running lag. Let me try to play a little catch up for the past few months and then we will move it forward from there 🙂

So super important here to remind everyone that my next big race undertaking is the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25th! It’s coming up and training has been surprisingly good so far! The summer heat has not been particularly enjoyable, but as of recent it’s started to cool down some and runs are happening in temperatures that are a bit more pleasant (and tolerable!)

Soon after returning from the Wings for Life run in Canada I ran the 5 mile course at the Boston Run to Remember. It’s a great course and always a great day for a good cause.

After the ferocious New England winter the race offered the option to downgrade from the half to 5-miler. I’ll be the first to admit that without Boston in my future this year, my winter running was much more sparse. Running 13 miles with the little running I had under my belt at this time of the year just did not seem like a smart move. So I downgraded (apparently with a ton of other folks!) and actually ran way faster than I expected, so that was a nice surprise!

Not long after this race it was time to start getting my base built back up again so going into full-blown marathon training mode would not be a huge stress on my body, and my mind! So clearly I needed to take my friend to yoga at Boston Winery 🙂

It’s all about the cross-training, folks 😉

I’m loving living in Charlestown, so I took advantage of the Battle of Bunker Hill Road Race to support the Boys and Girls Club of Charlestown and, while hilly, it was great being able to run through the new hood and there was so much more support from cheering fans along the course than I ever would have imagined!

So then, you guys, June 18th came. And HISTORY WAS MADE!

I DID MY FIRST EVER PRE-WORK RUN AT 5:30 A.M.!!!

I know, I know, it’s incredible! I’m really happy to report that this has also become a fairly consistent habit in large part to my running buddy Abigail. I have gone out a few times solo in the pre-work hours, but if it wasn’t for Abigail keeping me accountable at least one morning a week then I would not be going as often. We’ve also upped our morning mileage to 5 miles. It’s been tough at times (and only getting tougher as it’s now darker and darker) but it’s been really worth it. It’s amazing how much more you can do in the day after work when you’re not fitting in time for a run! It’s also been a pretty basic necessity for summer training given some of the extreme heat afternoons and evenings. And who knew how awesome the city is in the morning before everyone has woken up?! I mean I guess all you morning runners did, but it was like discovering a new world for me!

Next up was the BAA 10K which we ran in a total monsoon.

I’m happy to say I toughed it out, but I was surprised how many did as well! It was one of the worst rain storms I ever ran in but this race certainly holds a special place in my memory thanks to the weather. Special shout out to Dan who outfitted us in GIANT trashbags pre-run. Not gonna lie, we were the most #trashbagchic folks around!

A huge perk to living in the city has been all of the free summer fitness classes available. My favorite has been a Cardio Pilates class on the Greenway.

It’s been a nice addition into training to add some strength work to my training, which has not always been my forte. (I think about doing strength training a lot, does that count at all??)

And then came July! A super important month. Not only was it the official start of Marine Corps Marathon training, but it was also the month of the Run Selfie Challenge!

Oh yes, my friends. Every day of the month had a different selfie challenge. I am extremely proud to report that I participated in EVERY challenge 🙂 Rather than post each individual challenge, here’s a compilation of them all for the month.

It was a ton of fun! I would definitely do this again. It connected me with a great virtual community of runners and held me even more accountable to getting runs in every day for the month (although I did observe a few rest days, but still found ways to meet the challenges!)

When it was time to re-enter the world of double-digit running, I needed something interesting to run for so I got my new running buddies, Amanda and Scott, on board with my plan to run to Revere Beach for the International Sand Sculpting Competition. The route from Charlestown (10 miles, by the way) left a lot to be desired in terms of scenery mid run, however, the end was well worth it as there were the coolest and most ridiculous sand sculptures I have ever seen!

We also ended our 10 miler with a dip into the ocean which is truthfully how I wish I could end every single long run!

The rest of the summer has been full of midweek running, Pilates classes on the greenway, increasing long runs on the weekend, and other fun and awesome things. I’m sad I didn’t keep this up to chronicle it all live-time, but this is the time to get back on track with the blog! Here are a few more favorite pictures of recent. Lots of more fun adventures to come and I’m looking forward to you all joining me for the journey!

Wings For Life World Run, Niagara Falls, Canada – Lots of Play and a Run!

On May 4, 2015August 21, 2015 By eatplayrunkirbyIn #worldrun #travel #running #canada #niagarafalls #runforthosewhocantLeave a comment

I’m officially back from Canada, specifically the Niagara Falls area, where I raced in the Wings for Life World Run with tens of thousands of runners ALL AROUND THE WORLD raising a ton of money to go towards spinal cord injury (SCI) research. In addition to having many friends with SCIs I am also an SCI Case Manager at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. The cause definitely attracted me from a personal perspective. The other cool thing was the race format. A global run, with runners taking off from 35 locations around the world all at the same time! You run as far as you can until a catcher car, which has set off at the same time (30 minutes after the race start) at every location. At the end, the global winners are the man and woman who runs the longest! I was able to get 7.2 miles (11.73 km) and ranked 13299th globally and 168th country (assuming Canada, where I ran?) for females. It was really pretty awesome to be a part of something happening all over the world. At the end of the race global footage was being broadcast and people in Australia and Japan were in reflective vests and headlamps, running in the middle of the night! My friend Jenn joined me for this weekend adventure, as well. Let’s get to some of the race day highlights!

On Saturday we went to pick up our bibs

Greeted by a beautiful sunrise on race day near the start line

Rocking a little Boston and a little Canada.
You all should know by now, I enjoy my
race day fun!

Getting Ready to Run!

Race start

I’ll be honest, tons of cheers from runners and
spectators for this headband! I know how to
get people to interact with me! 🙂

Runners start lining up. I think we were the smallest
world site, with about 800 runners

Jenn getting a taste of what it means to run a race with me.
Lots of ussies!! 🙂

And we’re off!

I took lots of pics as we ran by the falls, and here are a couple that came out pretty good!

Jenn and I didn’t run together, but we did pass on the turn around and took a moment for the photo op!

Couldn’t beat the views! (And a nice morning mist!)

So it’s still TBD if there are pictures of me finishing (aka being caught) by the Catcher Car. But in case there weren’t going to be, I had to try and photo document that moment. Enjoy this series of unattractive photos as the Catcher Car, and my finish line, approaches!

And there it goes! Off to catch those up ahead!

We hopped a bus back to the start to get our medals

For the record, I announced that I keep a running blog and would like a photo so everyone “get excited!” Thinking folks would actually, in fact, get quite excited!
And this is what I got… a total lack of interest haha

In any case, I got back and enjoyed the finish with my medal!

Jenn was on a bus or 2 behind me but we met up so we could make sure to get our own photo shoot!

So all in all, it was a wonderful race day and I’m happy to have had the opportunity to participate!

I was a little dismayed to learn the morning of the race that there was some controversy around the race. While all were welcome, apparently if you use a wheelchair racing chairs were not allowed. You needed to use a more standard wheelchair and also be accompanied by someone (though I’m not sure about the latter part, there were a few individuals in chairs at our race who I didn’t see accompanied). I guess the reason was that racing chairs are too fast and it becomes a safety issue to get caught. I understand the uproar but I also appreciate the issue (as long as that is the case). I’m hopeful that moving forward they can find some resolution. There are many stellar and world renowned athletes who do in fact have an SCI and compete in racing chairs and I imagine would want to participate in this run, given the cause. The only way I can possibly relate to this is if I was told I can participate in a race but I can’t wear my running sneakers. With that perspective I completely get the frustration some athletes who use wheelchairs have expressed. There’s a year until the next Wings for Life World Run event and I feel like there are a number of ways they can reconsider this rule and come up with a way for all athletes to be able to participate with their gear, allowing them to put forth their optimal performance. Fingers crossed!

My mini vacation was 4 days, Friday to Monday. Since this is a blog that I try to keep focused on running, I prioritized the details and pics from my race experience. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the rest of the weekend, because isn’t life also about a little fun, eh? (my one nod to a few days in Canada 😉 )

On Friday, my first view of the falls (Horseshoe Falls)

Friday afternoon I drove up the Niagara River a ways and took a hike down in gorge. Talk about a butt workout! This pic of the stairs doesn’t even do the hike justice!

The beautiful Niagara Falls lit up at night!

A little bit of fun at Clifton Hill at night. Because adults definitely ride a ferris wheel and do a Mystery Maze at 12:30 a.m. on a Friday.

Honestly could not get enough of the views!

A view from the back of Horseshoe Falls

From the back of Horseshoe Falls

Definitely had to do the Journey Under the Falls

(Horseshoe Falls)

We found time to go to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Across the way is Fort Niagara, on the US side.

We made sure to stop for an Ice Wine Tasting.

Kirby’s travel tip: It’s important to take advantage of any and all tourist picture opportunities.

Going into “the Mist” was also a must do. We took Hornblower Niagara Cruises from the Canadian side. Let me just say, the saying “Into the Mist” is a total misnomer. I completely suggest you do this, but be prepared to be amid a torrential and freezing monsoon, not so much a “mist” as one might assume 🙂

Horseshoe Falls at night with a full moon

We headed back to Buffalo, where we were flying back to Boston, and decided that we would stop to see what the American side of the falls is all about. I feel bad dissing my own country, but wow it didn’t even compare in regards to what there was to do. That said, we lucked out with a few cool pics, complete with rainbows, and I am happy to have experienced both perspectives of Niagara Falls.

Yes, that is leftover ice/snow from this past winter!!

On our final leg of our mini run-cation journey, I was told by many to have buffalo wings when in Buffalo. So we made time to do just that for lunch before our flight. And not only did we have buffalo wings, we had “The Original” buffalo wings at a restaurant called The Anchor.

It was a wonderful few days with a wonderful co-traveler and friend with a wonderful run added to the mix. Do you think it sounds wonderful? Back to the grind of reality tomorrow. But it’s finally spring in my beautiful Boston and the outdoor runs will be plentiful with I’m sure lots more fun posting to come!

Until next time, happy running!

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