Friday Night Vertical 2021

Friday Night Vertical 2021

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

2017 USATF East Region and NE Masters Indoor Champs

That look sums up my week.
Despite having some good events at the USATF Masters indoor meet in Providence on Sunday, my week pretty much sucked. My running wasn't great, but it mostly went as planned (except Thursday's long run). It was really everything else going on in my personal life that sucked. I'm going to be vague here, but only because I don't really want to talk about anything that involves other people. I rarely talk about my relationships with other people on here for that reason. I do bring up my ex-husband probably too much, and I need to stop doing that, since he's a great dad, and I don't want people to think of him in a negative light. Other than that, people are mentioned in passing, but none of the details usually about the people I'm close to. What I've learned is that, other than John, I doubt I'll ever be able to trust anyone with me again. Giving someone 100% of you takes a lot of trust. Now that I've done that too many times and am once again left feeling like a fool, I'm done accepting new people into my life. So anyone who feels I'm desperate and thinks I'm evenly remotely interested in going out with them can just give up now. I'm on empty and have nothing left to give anyone right now. Not to mention, if I were desperate, I wouldn't be single. So, please, just leave me alone. I'm just going to stick with my running obsession, being a mom and share my king-sized bed with two of my dogs. I will NOT, however, get a cat! Gross. ;) So anyway, one of the main reasons I mentioned this is because this post may not be funny or interesting or even remotely worth reading. Just a warning, I suppose.

I was really sore and tired after all of the snowshoe running I had done the week before so I knew I needed to do a low-mileage week to recoup. I didn't plan to take the runs I was doing easy, but I did take 2 zeros. My first zeros of 2017! And both of them, I felt I really needed. It honestly took until Saturday for the soreness in my legs from the previous week to go away. I ended the week with 46.5 miles. I initially thought I would hit 50, but after Thursday's run and the unplanned zero on Friday, it put me under. I was perfectly fine with it. I wanted to be recovered for the Masters Indoor Meet in Providence on Sunday, and I was, so I feel like it was all the right decision. Plus, my mental state wasn't great. That stress made every run harder since I couldn't concentrate. The treadmill runs were better since I listen to music during those; that definitely helped distract the mind. I also couldn't sleep a few of those nights from the mind churning (which is rare for me), so by Thursday, I was junk.

Monday, I took the planned zero. We weren't busy at work either. It was a little excruciating. Really LONG shift.

Chill and Phoenix in the woods behind my house on Tuesday morning
The weather was terrible on Tuesday morning. Around 5am, I woke up to ice hitting the window. It was the weirdest "snow" ever, and definitely not runnable, in my opinion, so I hit the treadmill for a pretty good run. 10 miles in 1:10:22. Avg pace of 7:02. I had to really work for that one. The last two miles were a struggle. Calculated approximate elevation gain at 1,035ft so it kicked my ass. Followed that with 20 minutes of upper body and abs.

Normally, we would ski at King Pine on Tuesday, but it was sleeting by this point, and there was no way I wanted to ski in that again. I took John to see Patriot's Day instead. It was really good, but I actually got more emotional than I thought. I wasn't even there that year either. I had taken a year off after the brutal heat of 2012. I honestly don't know how anyone who was there that day could watch that movie without getting upset. It was tough to watch. But definitely a good movie. Drove John to ninja class after to find the place closed. They only posted on Facebook that they cancelled the evening classes, and I was hardly on FB that day so I missed it. I was bummed, too, since that was supposed to be John's exercise for the day. Oh well.

On Wednesday, it was the usual treadmill run in the early am. 5 miles in 35:55. 7:11/mi avg pace. Another quick run. Work was ok. Couple of calls. Nothing crazy.

I left from work on Thursday to drive to Scarborough, Maine with the intent to run the same run around Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough that I did last year. The difference this time around is that I still felt beat. Lack of sleep both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I ate way to much Skinny Pop on Wednesday which did no favors for my gut. The wind wasn't anything crazy, but there was a slight tail wind on the way out and a gradual decline to mile 8. The way back was a slight headwind and a gradual uphill. By mile 12, I was done. So done. I didn't feel good at all. I had gone out way too fast in the beginning with the easier running and just killed myself for the way back. I decided I would stop at mile 15 and then jog the last 2.5 miles back to the car. On paper, the run looks awesome, but I felt anything but awesome and seriously struggled those last 3 miles. By the time I stopped at mile 15, I had to make an emergency "pit stop". Haha. Not a good run. 15 miles in 1:45:04. 6:59/mi avg pace. Sounds good until you look at the splits. Ouch. If I had kept going to 17.5, I probably would have been close to 8 min/ per mile for those last 2.5. The worst part is that this is my last long run for 2 weeks since I will have John with me on the next two Thursdays and Fridays. So it sucked to have my last long run for awhile be that crappy. Oh well.



One of the other reasons for coming to Maine this morning was so I could hit Bissell Brothers's new beer release Industry vs Inferiority. My run took way longer than I thought, so I assumed the beer would be sold out by the time I got there. The line ended up not being super long, even though it still took an hour. I know that sounds crazy, but it was a good thing for me to be up standing for that long. Helped keep my legs from stiffening up. I didn't mind it either. I looked ridiculous, though. Meant to pack a coat but forgot. So I ended up standing in line wearing my work coat. I call it the Stay Puft Marshmallow coat. It's so warm, though.

In line at Bissell Brothers in my stupid coat

The line that I normally wouldn't have patience for.


I got my 2 4-packs of the beer and an Umbra to drink then sat upstairs. By the time I was done with the first beer, I needed food, so I ordered from the chicken place next store, grabbed another beer and watched the line below slowly get shorter and shorter. They ended up selling out just before maybe the last 15 people got up there. Bummer for them.



I had a short appointment at 3pm then drove home. I was so tired. I was really happy to see my dogs since they're the only ones who are ever happy to see me these days. I've said I'll never get another dog, but now I'm not so sure. Considering I plan to be alone for the rest of my life, I will probably always have a dog.





As tired as I was, I was able to get in a 20 minute upper body and abs workout as soon as I got home. Then I showered and watched Impractical Jokers for the rest of the night until my eyes wouldn't stay open.

I slept in on Friday with the plan of no running. I would have actually run on the trails if they weren't so soft. Not saying they weren't runnable, but it would have been way more effort than I wanted to put in, so I waited for the water aerobics class to end and got in the pool at Purity Spring for 45 minutes of aquajogging. It felt so good. My legs felt so much better after it, too. Afterwards, I got Spot and Phoenix out of the car for an hour walk on the trails there. I could have walked for hours.



I had planned for us to downhill ski later, but John and his dad had been out x-c skiing for hours that morning before John came home. So we ended up just running errands to Walmart. I got in another upper body and abs workout that night, too.

On Saturday, I woke up at 7am and went right out for a run through Cranmore Shores. This one I actually ran easy. 5.3 miles in 39:20. Loaded up the car and then hit the road for Rhode Island at 9:30am. The drive was smooth as it usually is on the weekends. (I was originally registered to run the Nippo Lake Snowshoe Race this morning, but it was cancelled due to lack of snow. So that planned stop no longer happened.) Once we got into town, I had to stop at Foolproof Brewing. I actually won something! I think I mentioned in a previous post that I entered their Fooltography contest by submitting a photo. Well, I won and got a shirt so I stopped to pick it up. The person who emailed me asked me to take a picture with it on and post it on my social media sites, so I did. I rarely post a picture of myself on Instagram, but I did this time...reluctantly. Haha.


I didn't stay there to drink, just got my shirt, bought a beer and then took all 3 dogs out in the park next door. On my agenda was the Tilted Barn Brewery. It had been almost a year since I had been there so I made sure I got there this time around. Their beer is great. I went upstairs with my beers and was joined by Klaus O'Neal, whom I'd never met. He saw my car in the lot and "knew" me from the FB beer page and figured it had to be me. So that was neat. He would end up being one of two people I would meet that weekend from the beer page. It was nice to have company since I was just expecting it to be John and me. I had 3 sample beers and took home the Raffi Oatmeal Stout, then we left.

Cactus DIPA at the Tilted Barn
We drove back north so John could go to Launch Trampoline Park again. Crazy to think of how the roads were the last time we were there in that blizzard. The place was super crowded this time. John had to wait 45 minutes for his jump time so we made a quick trip over to Barnes & Noble so that he could get more books. The kid went through 6 books over the weekend!!! He loves Manga and just goes through them one after the other. I dropped him back off at Launch, drove to Trader Joe's real quick and then back. He was completely worn out after an hour there.

From there, it was off to the La Quinta to check in. I originally planned for us to go to Union Station in Providence for dinner, but by the time we checked-in, it was so late that we decided to just walk over to Doherty's again. Beer and food were great as always. John read his book for awhile at first, but once he put it down, we had some decent conversation.


For some reason, John always has a lot of energy in hotel rooms. Why can't he have that at home?! Haha. So he messed around with the dogs. I attempted to do some ab work but I ended up with 3 dogs and John blocking my path. Haha.




USATF East Region and NE Masters Indoor Champs-

Sunday morning, I got up around 6:15am so that I could take my time getting ready for the indoor meet in Providence. I took the dogs out, had coffee, showered then loaded everything back in the car. We were out of there at 8:15am. I wanted to get to the track early to get John settled and a warm up with Chill in before our 10am start time in the 5000m.

I ran into Dave Dunham just as we got there. He went to the upstairs bleachers with all of his stuff and set it down before coming back down to check in. I did the same thing. John wanted to sit in the upstairs bleachers. I wasn't too keen on it since I couldn't see up there from one side of the track. I was also uneasy about leaving my stuff up there. My uneasiness ended up being justified. After checking in, I came back up to see a frantic Dave Dunham searching everywhere for his stuff. It was ALL GONE. I didn't like this at all so I immediately made John move down to the track level bleachers. Dave ended up getting his stuff back. A cleaning person had come through and taken it all. Phew. That was lucky. Still odd that this person took all of his stuff but didn't pick up a bit of the hordes of trash strewn about the bleachers. I was glad we moved downstairs.

Went outside to get Chill. We ran 2 miles down the street and around a park. The day was similar to last year. Sunny and warm-ish. Would have been great to have an outdoor race. Haha.

Once back inside, I had 30 minutes to get ready. The 5000m was the main reason I was there today. This year's USATF-NE All Terrain Series called for a 5000m on the indoor track, so there I was. I have only done one 5000 on the outdoor track, but never indoor. Ginger Reiner was there for the same reason and had also not done the 5000m before. Tammie Robie came for the training and hadn't run a 5000m indoor since 1996, so the three of us would make a good team out there, I suspected. Regina Loiacano was registered, but told me a few days before that she wouldn't be coming. It would have also been great to have her there with us. I wasn't exactly nervous like I was before that first 3000m in 2016 at BU, but I was a little unsure of how it would go. I had no idea how to pace myself. Ginger schooled me on the track last year, so I figured I would just hang behind her as long as I could. Tammie's plan was 44 sec 200s for the first 10 laps. I thought that was a little faster than I wanted, so I doubted I would follow her out. It was finally go time. Scott Mason got this awesome photo of us starting off. I really should buy this one from him at some point and probably will if I do an order of prints in the near future.


As predicted, Ginger, Tammie and I went out front together. It was kind of funny because I think each one of us expected one of the others to take the lead, but we hung in a little group for the first lap, hitting it in 50 seconds. Hahaha. We all realized this was way too slow, so Tammie picked up the pace and shot out in front. Ginger followed with me right behind her. I'm sure I was super annoying as I ran RIGHT on her heels the entire 25 laps, but I honestly couldn't go any faster than her. Not even a little bit. We ended up running the same pace the whole way. 25 laps was like an eternity during the 10,000m, but these 25 laps actually flew by. I couldn't tell you my splits since I didn't keep track. I don't have the energy to hit my watch every lap, so I didn't even wear one. All I know is at some point, Ginger and I started to catch Tammie. She had pulled us along for most of the race, but that pace ended up being too fast for her to maintain. She hung on for a long time, though, and without her out front like that, I'm not sure Ginger and I would have run as fast. We slowly caught up to her and passed her, but she never would be that far back. I just stuck to Ginger. By the bell lap, I had nothing left to push and Ginger pushed ahead finishing less than a second ahead of me. I came in in 18:48.00. I was 1st in the 40-44. I was really happy with that time for sure. I had hoped for at least an 18:50, so I hit my goal time. It was a solid run, especially for my first time running that distance on the track. Ginger kept track on her watch and said we ran negative splits, so that made me even happier.

Ginger and me at some point in the 5000. Staring at Ginger's back. Haha.
I didn't have a lot of time in between the 5000 and 3000, unfortunately, so I was feeling it in my legs by the time the 3000 came around. I was seeded first and realized early on that I was going to be way ahead of everyone else the entire time. This wouldn't be good for me pace wise since I don't know how to race a 3000m without someone else to follow. I went out way too fast for the first lap in 38 seconds so I slowed it down from there. I ended up lapping everyone at least once. I had no idea what my splits were. I felt like I was moving quickly, but that wasn't a good indication of my pace since I was also fatigued from the 5000m. It just ended up not being a good race. I finished it in 11:04. 21 seconds slower than BU on New Year's Eve! Ouch. I know I was tired, but I think it was more lack of experience that led to such a slow time. In the end it didn't matter since I was first in the 40-44 and it was really just for training anyway.

I stayed over at the finish area with Scott Mason to watch the men's 3000. That was a much more exciting race. I made my way back over to John just before they finished. He was content with his book and phone the whole time. I felt bad about this, though. He really needed exercise, and I honestly should have made more of an effort to get him outside on the outdoor track. I took Spot and Phoenix for an easy .6 on that outdoor track and saw the coolest graffiti ever on a building nearby. I came back in and told John I was going to take him out to it after I finished the mile. We never would make it out there. He ended up falling asleep briefly and had no desire to go see the graffiti. I definitely failed as a parent by not making sure he got out there. It would have been a short walk with fresh air, but I got caught in the lazy parenting trap, mainly because I was so beat myself. John never complained once, though, so I have to hand him that. But still, shitty day as a mom for sure. Selfish.

So anyway, back to the mile. I had more time in between the 3000 and the mile than I did between the 5000 and 3000. Plus the mile was only 8 laps! Haha. As I stood around, a lot of people approached me saying they were impressed I was doing all of these events. I wasn't the impressive one, though. Diana Davis was also doing all 3 of the same events I was...PLUS the 800. THAT is way more impressive. I hope she got just as many accolades as I did since she deserved it way more than I did. I did enjoy talking to all of these people, though. Everyone there was impressive. I love this meet. The atmosphere is welcoming and laid back. Just a friendly event. I have a feeling I'll be making this an annual thing.

I was surprised to see myself seeded 7th for the mile. I had put 5:40 down for a seed time. Last year, I ran a 5:44 here. I was hoping for around 5:40 since I knew I would be fatigued from the other two events. Plus this track isn't quite as fast as BU. No 5:33 today. I figured the women seeded ahead of me put down some pretty ambitious seed times. I didn't really care, honestly, but Kim Ionta was seeded 1st, and we finished really close in time at BU. Moving from the 7th position to fall in line behind her wasn't going to be as easy as being seeded 2nd. Right off the line, it sucked. A younger woman went out in front with Kim stuck in lane 2 almost next to her. Diana fell in line behind the young woman which left me stuck in lane 2 behind Kim. It was a cluster. I didn't want to drop back behind Diana because I thought I would lose Kim, so we hung there for probably the first 2-3 laps (I really can't remember!) Kim finally pulled ahead of the younger woman and I followed suit. Kim and I pulled out ahead of everyone else at this point. The pace was fast. I didn't know if my legs could hold out since I was really feeling the burn, but all of a sudden at the beginning of lap 6 (I think! Haha) Kim started to slow just slightly. Knowing we were so close to end, I decided to make a move and went around Kim. She didn't let up, though. She hung onto me for the rest of the 6th and 7th laps. Finally the bell lap!!! She was way too close for comfort. I was on my 48th lap for the day, but I knew it was my last one, so I gave everything I had left in me on this last lap. I was able to pull ahead of Kim to finish first in 5:39.39 (damn good on my seed time!) just over 2 seconds ahead of Kim. It was a good race. I was SPENT!

The mile bell lap and my 48th and final lap for the day!
I was so happy to be done for the day. That was tough. 5.9 miles of racing on the indoor track left me way more fatigued than a 10K for sure. I went back over to John who had fallen asleep and watched Darin Brown and Dave Principe duke it out in the mile. Both ran well! Full Results

I had no desire to do a cool down after this, so I went right to the bathroom to change into my girly clothes and HAT! Speaking of, remember my last post where I said I had given up on caring how I looked? Well, after seeing my hair in these pics, I scheduled a hair appointment for Friday. Time to redo those highlights and cut a few inches off. No waiting until March as planned. I'd like to maybe go without a hat now and then. Haha. So I guess I lied. I do care how I look...every now and then. Once I got dressed, I grabbed my 3 medals and then followed Steve Vaitones out on the track floor to get my Iron Runner jacket. He had brought it along to give it to me. That was nice of him to do. The jackets are nice. I totally forgot to take a picture of it for the blog post, but I'll put it in the next one.

John and I went to Ogie's Trailer Park after and had brunch and beers with Scott Mason, Tony Wild and Mike Daniels. As usual, I was STARVING. I had eggs and pulled pork on biscuits. John had a grilled cheese. I was still STARVING when I finished, but decided to wait about 20 minutes to see if I was still hungry. I was! So I ordered two more biscuits and ended up finishing off John's grilled cheese, too. Still not full, but I left it at that.

The drive home took a little longer with a few stops for coffee, gas and more books for John!! We stopped at Barnes & Noble in Danvers and came across sleeping geese in the parking lot. Very strange! We woke them up as I stopped to take a picture.


I was SOOOO tired when we got home, but I had so much to do like unpacking, laundry, getting ready for work the next day, dishes, dogs, etc that I was literally on my feet for two hours getting things done. One of the downsides to choosing to be alone forever. Hahaha!

It was a tough week, but thanks to the Masters meet, it ended ok. I was in a little bit better of a mood that night. Honestly a lot of my sour mood was probably PMS. Sorry TMI, but it's probably true. The things that upset me were legitimate, but I'm normally better at dealing with it emotionally. I don't like feeling weak and foolish, but it's par for the course of life sometimes. This week has only been slightly better, but mainly because I've been really busy. No time to wallow.

I first heard this song about a month ago, and I LOVE it, especially the Kia part. Haha. I wanted to put it on my blog post then, but they only just put it on YouTube 2 days ago. Sooooo...here it is!


1 comment:

  1. HA! TMI. I totally get that PMS crap, sucks. Dogs are great companions, otherwise it's just someone else messing up the house.

    ReplyDelete