April Showers & Snowstorms... It's a Wrap!

What a dramatic April we have had in New England... 
 
I started the month running the hilliest 15k I have ever encountered in the pouring rain.  If it wasn't for my running club and being too competitive for my own good, it is doubtful I would have toughed this one out.  But I'm glad I did... one of my fastest runs this season at the Frank Nealon Boston Tuneup.
 

Just looking at this again makes me cold!

The following day, because my legs weren't quite dead enough, we had a freak snowstorm in the Boston area, and I ran one of the most miserable 5Ks of my life in about 4 inches of snow and windblown hail.  Check out my race recap of this doozy here... The Shovel Town 5K in Easton, MA was a fun, well-run local race, but I would love it if we could avoid the snow next year... 

April in New England.. why oh why...

A few weeks ago, I did another local race - the Raynham Knights of Columbus 5-Miler.  This was a familiar course for me, with a few rolling hills - and luckily it was a beautiful, sun-shiny day.  I ran in a tank top and shorts... what a contrast to the earlier part of the month.  Best part of this race?  The pancake breakfast at the end, duh! 

What a difference a week makes!

And then last weekend, I took a road trip across the mid-Atlantic, from Philadelphia, to Washington DC, to Virginia, to western Maryland, to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, and then back to Philly again... all in a whirlwind three days!  I checked off my 9th state last weekend running the Coastal Delaware Marathon - one of my all-time new favorite marathons.  I had a wonderfully relaxing weekend on the beach, exploring the boardwalk shops and eating my way around Rehoboth Beach.  Check out my race recap here.

Delaware, blue skies and beaches - I miss you!

So what's in store for May?  Four marathons, that's what!  Starting with the Sugarloaf Marathon in Maine on May 15th, followed the next day by a marathon in Portland, and the day after by a marathon in New Hampshire.  A few months ago, a good running friend convinced me in a moment of weakness to sign up for the New England Challenge - a week of five consecutive marathons across New England.  Yikes!  And then several friends from my running club were registering for the Vermont City Marathon, which I've always wanted to do... and I haven't run a Vermont marathon yet... so suddenly I was running four May marathons!  

I have no idea what to expect, but I am excited for a month of testing my limits, exploring New England and having a blast with good friends.  No doubt I will finish the month stronger - both mentally and physically - and with some memories to last a lifetime.  Can't wait to see what's in store!

I'm linking up with Holly from Hoho Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for the Weekly Wrap.

A Two-Race Weekend and April Snowstorm in New England

When I signed up for two races this weekend, it all seemed so logical.  After all, who doesn't love spring in New England?!  Hmm... famous last words!  It POURED on Saturday as I drove an hour in each direction to run 9.3 hilly miles for my running club's April Grand Prix race, and then I woke up this morning to three inches of snow for today's 5K.  Happy Spring to me.

I should have known I was in for a good time on Saturday when my alarm went off at 6:30 AM, and I started driving into this.

Great running weather, right?!

 Although despite the driving rain all morning, I had a great time at the Frank Nealon Boston Tune-Up 15k.  This race, held by the Tri-Valley Front Runners, is considered a prep race for the Boston Marathon, and more than half their field this year was club runners, which made for a fast and competitive race.  I enjoyed running with the more experienced runners and many of my own club members, which made it easier to push my speed by sticking with runners who were around my target pace. 

The awesome Colonial Road Runners!

 The only thing that I had conveniently forgotten about this area of Western Massachusetts is that it is hilly.  I mean HILLY.  My Garmin tells me that the race had a total elevation gain of 323 feet, and I can say that I felt every one of those.  This course was not for the weak, but after the first few miles, I actually found myself getting into a good groove.  The miles passed by quickly as I focused on getting to the top of one  hill, and then rejoiced in a downhill, and then refocused on the next hill.  I honestly didn't spend as much time enjoying the scenery as I usually would (and it was beautiful!) because I was so intently focused on the hills and keeping up my pace.  

 Although I was exhausted by the end, I was proud of maintaining a strong, relatively consistent pace on a rainy day on a difficult course.  I was completely soaked when I finished, and couldn't have been more excited to see the race volunteers ladling hot soup into bowls right near the finish line.  Awesome!  Inside the school gym where the race finished, I enjoyed a slice of pizza and a chocolate chip cookie as well.  My only moment of sadness occurred when I realized that I had forgotten dry clothes to change into.  Let's just say it was a COLD hour-long drive home...

I spent most of the day recovering and mentally preparing for my 5K today.  The race director for the TCS Shovel Town 5K is a fellow club member, so a large group of Colonials were planning to head out to support him.  I was looking forward to racing a 5K, since I've been mostly focused on longer distances this past year.  Excited, however, until I woke up to a winter wonderland!  

April in Massachusetts.  Thank you very little.

The weather forecast had said "flurries" starting at 10 am, so when I woke up to two inches on the ground and snow continuing to come down rapidly at 6 am, I was less than impressed.  But this is what we runners do, right?!  Onward!  True to form, the snow didn't keep many of my club members away, although it did cause us to break out our winter clothes once again... hats, gloves, jackets, and even ski goggles to ward off the blowing snow.

Surprisingly enthusiastic for this race!

Almost immediately, I stepped in a huge puddle and my feet were soaked in icy water.  Also, although I felt fine when I woke up, my legs felt heavy and tired almost immediately after starting to run - testament to the previous day's hills.  It was the race volunteers that kept me going - over 75 volunteers out on the course, manning water stations, giving splits at mile markers, taking photos and just cheering us on, while they themselves were covered in snow.  The support was pretty incredible, and it kept me motivated.  As I sprinted across the finish line with snow and hail blowing in my eyes, I felt unstoppable.

Although I was over a minute from placing in my age group, I was proud of my time, 26:51, an 8:40 pace.  Not bad on tired legs in the snow!  As is the theme pretty much whenever I race, my immediate thought was food... so one of my running buddies and I changed into dry shoes and socks (I remembered this time, lesson learned!) and treated ourselves to a fancy breakfast out.  Smoked salmon benedict on a sweet tomato brioche with chive hollandaise.  Unreal.  

With the unpredictable nature of New England weather this weekend and some challenging race conditions, I feel stronger than ever with two sub-9 minute mile races down.  This weekend also reminded me once again how much I love being part of a running club.  Had it not been for my teammates, I would absolutely have pressed the "snooze" button both mornings and watched the rain and snow from the comfort of my couch.  Instead, my running friends motivated me to finish both races strong, with a smile on my face.  What a weekend!  I am starting to feel ready for my next race - the Coastal Delaware Marathon on April 24th!  The countdown begins...

Foyer full of wet running gear... a runner lives here!

Questions: 

What spring races do you have planned?

Any tips for racing in the rain?

What is your favorite post-race treat?

Race Recap: Eastern States 20 (aka My Love Affair with Running)

My 20-mile run this weekend reminded me of every wonderful, crazy thing that I love about this sport.  The Eastern States 20-Mile has been on my running wish list for several years now.  There is just something SO irresistibly cool to me about running across state borders in a race.  Like "yeah, no big deal, I ran through three states on Saturday morning, what did you do this weekend?!"  The brag factor is big with this one!  

Eastern States is a point-to-point race starting in Kittery, Maine and running primarily along Route 1A (which stretches from Maine, all the way to Florida) through New Hampshire and finishing just over the Massachusetts border in Salisbury, MA.  It is almost 100% along the ocean, and is extremely flat, with only about a 50 foot elevation change throughout.  

 

I was excited to be able to share this experience with two new friends from my running club, who I met at 6 AM in Newton to drive up to New Hampshire together.  That meant setting my alarm for 4:30 AM on Saturday morning... which would have been rough, had I not been SO excited all night long (yes, I am obnoxiously perky on race mornings!)  As we made our way to Hampton Beach for the shuttle, we caught a glimpse of the beach from a side-street and parked to get a closer look.  The sun was just beginning to rise over the ocean, casting streaks of yellow and orange through the sky.  The scene took my breath away, and I knew in that moment that it was going to be a magical day.

 

After a quick coffee (and chocolate glazed doughnut) stop, we boarded the shuttle that would take us from Hampton Beach up to Kittery, Maine for the race start.  A quick 15-minutes later and we were at Traip Academy for packet pickup and a mega-long porta-potty line!  We spent much of the next hour waiting in line while debating our race attire... It was 39 degrees and slightly cloudy, but forecasted to be 45 degrees and sunny by the finish, with a slight wind along the ocean.  The challenges that we runners face!  After much angst, I decided to put my windbreaker in the gear check bag, and couldn't have been happier with my decision when I warmed up within minutes.

Who doesn't love a good porta potty line pic!

It is hard to say enough about how beautiful this race was.  I am fairly positive I spent the first 18 miles of this race with a cheesy grin on my face, just completely in awe of my surroundings.  Totally obnoxious, like I said!  
 

Just can't help myself!

The first mile or so of the race ran through downtown Kittery to Memorial Bridge, which crosses the Maine-New Hampshire border.  There we passed Warren's Lobster House, my all-time favorite seafood restaurant from my time living up in Maine, which brought back some incredible memories of friends and food comas.  We then crossed through  downtown Portsmouth, making our way to Route 1A and the ocean.

The next 10 or so miles of the race followed the curve of the coastline past several state beaches, and more lobster shacks and ice cream shops than I could count.  Talk about great memories of Maine summers... I could practically taste a buttery lobster roll with a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.  I have to say, my sports gel was not quite the same!

We began passing a series of beaches that I recognized, first by name and then by sight, having spent some fun long weekends with friends along the New Hampshire coast.  First Wallis Sands Beach, and then Rye Beach, where there was a small crowd of spectators braving the cold winds to cheer us on, and then a view of the Isle of Shoals off in the distance.  Although the stretch between Rye and North Hampton marked 13 miles, I barely felt the distance, believing instead that I was on my own little tour of coastal New England.

It was somewhere around mile 16 and Hampton Beach when reality started to hit.  At this point, my legs felt heavy and with the sun out, the water stations started to feel further apart.  We passed the parking lot where we had met the shuttle over 5 hours before, and then the hotel where the post-race party being held, and the half marathoners were already celebrating, which mentally was a little rough.  Only four more miles!  Hampton Beach was undeniably beautiful though, and I tried to let the scenery take my mind off the distance.

The last two miles seemed to stretch forever for me, and I really started hurting just as we approached a small climb over the Hampton Bridge.  I started counting down half miles and then quarter miles, pushing to keep up my pace and get it done.  The race turned slightly inland, so I lost track of my blissfully distracting beach views as well.  I was so relieved when we approached a large crowd of spectators and then turned a corner and saw the finish line just100 yards away.  

Elated to have completed my last 20-mile training run for my April marathon, I walked (okay hobbled) to the gear check bus, where I was amazed that the incredibly organized race volunteers had already retrieved my bag and had it waiting to hand to me.  Just a few steps beyond that, a shuttle bus was waiting to take runners to the post-race celebration.  It couldn't have been better, because when we got back to Hampton Beach, I practically inhaled three cups of chicken noodle soup, two slices of pizza, an orange slice and a Diet Coke.  Recovery food of champions! 

I was psyched to check off one of my wish list races and to be still feeling halfway decent after 20 miles with a finish time I could be proud of.  I felt lucky to have had such an incredible race experience, running through one of the most beautiful parts of New England, with a tailwind behind us, on a perfectly clear and sunny March day.  Most of all, I couldn't have been happier to share this experience with some new friends from my running club family.  Everything about this day epitomized everything I love about this wonderful sport of running.  Here I come, Eastern States 2017!

I am linking up this post with the Tuesdays on the Run link-up with My No-Guilt Life, MCM Mama Runs and Marcia's Healthy Slice!