What a week

Last week after running a TON of hills I started out easy. Monday, I just did a short sweat session at the gym, lifting and then doing some intervals on the eliptical. Mother Nature was still being kind of douchey and the roads were not safe to run in with another monster storm in the forecast.

I didn’t let it get me down. Tuesday, I registered for the Chicago Marathon in October! I’ve never been to Chicago so it will be really fun. A few of my friends signed up too so we’re already getting a small group together for the trip. After work I did another dreadmill workout. (100 jump rope jumps + 1 mile run + 2 mile bike) x 5 It’s pretty intense and by the time I finish I’m usually starving so it’s a good substitute for an outdoor run dodging traffic and snow and ice.
Speaking of snow and ice Mother Nature delivered MORE to us on Tuesday and Wednesday in a one-two punch combo storm. It was not nearly as bad as the whiteout conditions two weeks prior, but the freezing rain and sleet on Wednesday made it bad enough that for the first time in the 10 years I’ve been working at my company, they closed the site. I had planned on taking a vacation day anyway because I’m sick of dealing with the lack of parking situation when I get home, but I didn’t even need to use a vacation day. So, I didn’t get to the gym on Wednesday and I didn’t go for a run, but I DID shovel for 2 hours. Then, my a-hole neighbor that doesn’t know how to park his giant SUV came home just as I was finishing shoveling all the snow out of the street to clear the parking spaces in front of our condo and he plowed right into the snow bank with his car knocking over everything I had just shoveled!!! He even tried to park right in the friggin middle again until I told him to back up so other people had space to park too.

Thursday was insane at work because of all the stuff that didn’t get done Wednesday because of the snow. I was running around all day like crazy right up until quiting time. I went to the gym and did an extended version of my new favorite indoor dreadmill workout. (100 jump rope jumps + 1.5 mile run + 2 mile bike) x 5 It took me about 2hrs to do it, but it felt AWESOME!

Friday, I was torn. I didn’t really know what to do with myself. The Stair Climb race was Saturday and I didn’t want to do too much and go into it tired, but I also knew it was only going to take me 8-10 minutes to complete so I felt weird “tapering” for a 10 minute effort. I decided to rest. I always say it’s better to show up a little undertrained than injured and not able to race at all.

The rest totally paid off. Saturday morning I went to the Race Up Boston Place. My start time was 9:29:00am and I’m so psyched I got to go early. My adrenaline was pumping from the moment I woke up. I was so nervous and excited. I brought my jump rope with me to warm up a little before the climb. Finally it was go time. I lined up and waited for the clock to tick to my start time and the volunteer said “go”. I tapped my timing chip on the mat and started climbing. I went every other step and used my arms to help pull me up. It was tricky to find a good rhythm at first because the floors were all uneven and weird. One flight would be 3 stairs and the next would be 11 and then 7. It was really strange and not consistent. I realized after I made it up to the first turn I forgot to start my watch so it was a few seconds off. I was still doing awesome. I did the first 10 flights in 90seconds. I could hear the person that had start 15 seconds ahead of me and some other climbers only a few flights up. I was catching them! I passed one person, then another person, then a guy came up behind me and passed me. Before I knew it there was only 5 flights left to go. I stayed right on the heels of the fast guy that passed me and picked up the pace. I kept telling myself only 8 minutes of suffering. Push through it! I MADE IT. 41 flights, 789 stairs. 7 minutes and 58 seconds!!!!

I was coughing and hacking my lungs out at the top and one of the elite racers said to me “you did it right”. It was awesome! Only a short walk down to the 39th floor for a very nice recovery zone with tons of free stuff including my new favorite thing – Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt. It will be in stores soon, but not soon enough. I was very pleased to see that almost all the vendors there were supplying All-Natural and organic products.
After I recovered and enjoyed some more frozen yogurt my friend Jenna and I headed back down to the lobby to watch the other climbers go. I met up with my friend Jenine and her team of Fit Climbers from the Fit Lifestyle Studios in Melrose and saw a few familiar faces from Boston Fire and Portland Fire. Then as luck would have it, of all places in Greater Boston for it to happen, the fire alarm went off, in a building FULL of firefighters! We thought it was just a mistake until the volunteers started saying “it’s not a drill – GET OUT!” I guess there was a real fire somewhere in the building. Kind of random and funny at the same time just because the whole place was crawling with firemen. We got lunch at B-good after and then spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the eye candy.

Sunday, Mother Nature finally gave us a break and provided a nearly perfect day for training for Boston. It was about 35 degrees and sunny. Most of the snow in the streets melted and just a few spots were icy, but not bad at all. It felt like spring. I did my 14 miler with ease. I should climb ~1000 steps (we did an extra 25 flights after the climb) before every long run. I averaged under 10:00 miles for the entire run and I felt amazing. I hope Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction is right and we are really getting an early spring, but I’m not going to hold my breathe. I’m guessing that Mother Nature still has a few challenges up her sleeves for those of us that are trying to train for a little race to be run in Boston on April 18th.