This is a blog journaling the efforts of novice runner Andy Hinterman training for the Boston Marathon and the fundraising campaign he is undertaking on behalf of the American Liver Foundation.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

First '09 Long Run...and it felt it.

Saturday was not a particularly good day for me running-wise.  Turns out it's not a great idea to skip 2 weeks of long runs, eat holiday foods, and then try to run Heartbreak Hill for the first time.  You'd think I'd be smart enough to know that, but I guess there's some things you need to learn by doing.....

This was the first of our "Woodland" runs, which are going to become a pretty standard routine for my training.  Basically we do the usual meet at FitCorp at 8am, and then get on the D-Branch of the Green Line T train and head out to the Woodland Stop and from there we run back to FitCorp.  Seems kinda backwards to go all that way only to run back to where you started early on a saturday morning, but hey, it's what we do.  

Woodland is near to mile 17 on the marathon course and starts you on what is basically a slight downhill, I'll have to learn to enjoy that as it's the last time I'll be seeing a slight downhill on this 10.5 mile run.  

Within a quarter mile you make a right turn onto Commonwealth Avenue (Comm Ave to the locals) past the Newton Fire Station, and bam! you're climbing a hill.  I'm not sure what the actual boundaries of Heartbreak Hill are, but I think it actually is comprised of 4 smaller hills that rise up and level off a bit only to rise up again.  It's the sort of thing that always seems to be almost over - but then isn't.  Hills aside, the run up Comm Ave is very pretty and scenic, which offers something to take your mind off the hills.  This part also has what I've heard called a "Carriage Road" which is basically a third lane for local traffic on the other side of a grass (snow covered) median and made for a great place to run since the traffic was light and one-way.  This area is frequented by a lot of runner's who live in Newton, and you can tell them apart from the marathon trainers by their high-tech and expensive running gear and the lack of a look of terror or exhaustion on their faces.  Kevin O'Connor, the host of This Old House, ran part of this stretch for segment on the show once.  If you've seen it and you're a Boston runner you'll find it pretty amusing.

Anyway, the hills aren't easy, but eventually I get past them and hit Cleveland Circle and realize that I only have half of last weeks long run to go, 6 miles.  Later on in training that'll be a good thing, right now it still seems like a far way to go.  It is, but I make it without too much fuss.  I'm the second to last person to get back to the gym, except for Nhu who stayed out too late the night before and so was 20 minutes late starting the run.  He wasn't that far behind me when I got back.  

I don't like the feeling that I had when the run was over.  It was a hard run but I can only blame the hills for part of it.  For most of it I have to blame myself for not training harder over the holidays.  There's still plenty of time to get ready for the marathon, but I'm still disappointed that I'm not further along.  I have to keep pushing myself so that I can work out of this low point.  

1 comment:

  1. stop right there. STOP RIGHT THERE.
    you're up before 8 am on a Saturday?
    i'm out.

    ReplyDelete