... does the Galloway together!

Hello everyone!

So I have been absent from the blog the last few weeks so here is a summary of what we've been up to:

July 11th Paul White Memorial Race, North Falmouth, MA

The PWM was held on a beautiful day. Our Team All Ears teammate and friend, Amanda, came down with her lovely family to enjoy the day with us. The course was hilly and it was a hot day compared to what we'd been experiencing this summer so it was a challenge. However, the course was pretty, there were lots of great spectators with hoses spraying to cool us off, so we had a great time. Amanda and family came back to Monument Beach with us after the race and the kids frolicked in the sun and surf while we chilled out and relaxed.  Unfortunately, Nik - Amanda's husband - lost his watch in the sand on the beach.  Talk about the proverbial needle in a hay stack...

After this race I sort of fell into a bit of a summer slump. I still added one mile to my long runs each week, but had been having a hard time getting out there for the training runs. I am now out of this slump thanks to a refreshing race this week that has motivated me again. Hooray!!!

July 28th Yankee Homecoming 10 mile race, Newburyport, MA

So much to say about this event!

First off it was a BIG race compared to the little ones we've been doing recently. There were 1,500 runners in EACH the 3 mile and the 10 mile. As a result we didn't get a chance to connect with Amanda before the start :( Next time I will remember my cell phone so we can find one another!!! However, we found all the runners and spectators to create a lot of excitement and ambiance. What fun! 

Although we have been doing Galloway run 4/walk 1 for all our training runs we have never raced using the method. Well, lets just say it takes a LOT of discipline. Here we are, all pumped up, excitement is tangible, the race starts, mid pack moves ahead and we are plugging along with the back of the packers, warming up, trying to find our rhythm, when...

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! BEEEEP! 

Time to walk already? Are you kidding? We just got started! There is still adrenaline and excitement! Walk? Do we have to? Can't we skip just this one walk interval?

Well, we did walk. We knew we could do 9 miles doing the Galloway and could do 10 even though we hadn't gone that far yet, but what if we tried to run the whole time? How would we feel? So we walked. We found ourselves being passed by almost the entire remainder of the runners. People around us wondering "What's up with those two? They haven't gone half a mile and they are walking already? They'll never make it 10 miles!"  

Well, we did make it 10 miles. The first 3 miles were tough. High 80's and REALLY humid. The scenery was great, beautiful houses, water views, but they were a long 3. Again, there were lots of spectators and hoses to help cool us off. I really appreciated that and it is always good to wave at the spectators to encourage them to cheer you on. I've found every time I give  a little wave I get a cheer. Every little bit helps! We also had the benefit of running near Mr. Moss, who apparently taught in the Newburyport school system for a long time so everyone knew him. It was fun hearing all those cheers - "Go Mr. Moss!" - even though they weren't for us :) 

Then between mile 3 and 4 we went through downtown Newburyport. Along with the race, there were other Yankee Homecoming events so downtown was packed with spectators and vendors - mmmmm - do I smell kettle corn? Whoo Hoo! What fun. All that cheering and clapping, plus the sun going down gave us an extra kick in our step. We were SO glad our watches weren't telling us to walk as we went through downtown. We will have to try and synchronize that for the WDW marathon so we are running, not walking, through the parks!

From there on out we hit our stride. We went through a more rural area - cows even - yipee! I love cows.  There were some hills in this section as well, but we were fine. At mile 8 it was pretty flat and we were feeling great so we kicked it up a notch and ended up passing 50-75 runners that had passed us in the first 5 minutes of the race. It was exciting to be feeling strong at the end instead of wiped out. Thanks Galloway!!! 

Then at around mile 9 who did we see running as fast as he could along the sidewalk heading towards us, but Gabe Gonzales - Amanda's son! Followed closely behind by the rest of his family of course. So I made a quick detour to hand off Nik's watch - which was found on the beach the day after it was lost - in a relay performance worthy of an olympic medal ... or at least youtube!  Those guys are great! This new boost of adrenaline carried us to - ugh! - a hill - up to the football field and across the finish line. Whoo Hoo! We made it! 1hr 48min and 20 seconds placing 1,233 and 1,234 out of 1,352. Our split was 2 1/2 minutes faster for the second half then the first. Thanks again Galloway and also to the sun for going down and making it cooler for us! 

So now I am pumped for training again and ready to pound some pavement. WDW Marathon 2010 HERE WE COME!!!!

TFTRT .... goes to Disney together!

Well, this has been a down week for the both of us because we had a little last minute trip to ... you guessed it! WDW!

The incessant rain was really getting old and we had plans to go to Canobie Lake Park with the kids Thursday (assuming Josh didn't get picked for Jury duty which he did not - he was done at 11) However, as the rain came pouring down and we were discussing our alternative activities for the day we jokingly laughed about "lets go to Disney!". Well, of course we weren't going to pick up and go right THEN - but to cheer us up Josh called Southwest to look into some free flights he had to see if we could use them for our January WDW marathon trip ... but alas! The flights were expiring in a few weeks so....... could we ACTUALLY go right now? Was that CRAZY? Well yes, it was crazy but thats what we are!

And from there everything just fell into place:

It WAS a holiday weekend and Josh was VERY SLOW at work Monday, (Thanks Kap for picking up the two clinics!)

and there WERE 3 rapid reward flights available the next day (Friday) returning Monday so......

We called our AllEars teammate and Disney travel agent, Amanda at http://www.mommymouseplans.com and asked her to look into passholder discounts and sure enough ...

35% off at Port Orleans Riverside.

How could we NOT pass up such an opportunity???

So planning and packing took the place of running on Thursday and Friday we headed to the airport to spend the next three days in sunny, hot, NOT RAINY, Florida!

Josh attempted to track our milage walked on the Garmin but we do not have the details yet.

Regardless of the results, we know we walked a lot. Our legs were sore at the end of each day. Although the only time our heart rates were elevated was when we were running through the airport to catch our return flight!

So now we are on day 6 of not running. The training log is looking blank. But tomorrow is a new day and we will be back out there!

Goffstown Gallop Part 2

Goffstown Gallop Video Part 1

The Goffstown Gallop and hydration systems

The family that runs together .... gallops together!

So Friday night we decided it was time to check out hydration systems after running on the only warm day we've had all month holding water bottle by hand. Josh didn't mind but I didn't like it at all. I had run earlier in the day so Josh ran over to City Sports and I met him there with the boys. Sports stores are SO much fun that before we knew it, it was nine o'clock and Michael and Liam had rearranged the entire shoe department :) Not only was this past THEIR bedtime, but also pretty late for those of us running the Goffstown Gallop the next morning! Not the most well planned evening, but hey, spontaneity is the spice of life!

The Goffstown Gallop:

We started the day at 5:30. Giddy up! Got up the boys up (Hannah was at the cape with Grammy and Grampy) and hit the road. Along the way we picked up my niece who watched Michael at the playground while we ran. We arrived close the the end of registration - we were running 30 min behind schedule - so I dropped Josh off to get us signed in while I parked. Despite our late arrival we still had time to meet up with Team AllEars teammates, Mike and Michelle and husband Andy. 

Right away we knew this was a fast field as we were instantly pulling up the rear, police car right behind us. I thought, "hmmm, I don't feel like we are going slow" and sure enough at the mile mark we were at 10:40! Along with Mike we were the last three! Sure am I glad I resisted the urge to try and keep up with the pack or I wouldn't have lasted the whole 5.2 miles!

Here is my favorite quote from DisBoards Wish Team at Expedition everest challenge:

DLS: Dead last finish

 is better than

DNF: Did not finish

 is better than

DNS: did not start

Great huh?

So we continued on our merry way. Liam did great, smiling for the first half, sleeping for the second half. The course was hilly but shady. We ran some with Mike and some with Michelle. We had fun being silly taking photos and video and finished with smiles on our faces - our #1 goal! 

Mike and Michelle are the co-captains of Team AllEars - a group of disney fans that are running either the WDW Half or Full Marathon 2010 and raising money for breast cancer research. Being part of this team has been a wonderful way to maintain our enthusiasm. We both give and receive tips, advice, encouragement and laughs! Please see links below and on the side to make a donation! 

Hydration systems:

This will be an ongoing topic as we each try different systems.  

The GG wasn't so long, especially with the water stops, to require a hydration system but we were pumped to try them out so we went ahead and gave them a try.

I used the womans Camelbak Dream. This is not a running specific design, we just happened to get it on clearance last year for other uses but thought we'd give it a try. I had no problem with swinging or sloshing and really enjoyed the ease of drinking. It was very comfortable, only a bit hot and sticky underneath it on my back. Josh tried the Nathan multi bottle belt. He found the bottles both easy to remove and put back - a problem we discovered with some other brands/style. It was comfortable but he has some concern about chafing if worn for long distances. This of course we will be able to test outs lowly as we increase our milage to 26.2 over the next 6 months! The big bonus with the multi bottle is you can put electrolytes in 2 bottles and water in the other 2. The camelbak you need to make one choice and go with it.

More to come as we trade systems over the course of the week!

To steal a favorite quote of Pop Pop and Grams...

MAKE it a great day!!!

Mulling over my summer exercise options

Now that summer has arrived things have changed. 

Some things have been unexpected: we've been designing an Ark instead of sandcastles and have been stoking the fire instead of applying sunscreen!

But other changes are as we anticipated: school is over, gymnastics is over, and the kids and I have relocated to my parents house in Monument Beach for the majority of the summer. Josh comes down Tuesday nights and weekends. 

How do we fit in exercise?

I had it all planned out on my end. I had envisioned loading up the kids in the car after the baby's morning nap and heading to the canal bike path.  Birds would be chirping, boats cruising by, 70 degrees, not humid, with a light pleasant breeze ... aaaah! The boys could happily ride in the jogger admiring the scenery and my little lady would cruise along on her bike. 

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! 

This is when the alarm clock wakes me up from my pleasant dreams!!!! My darling daughter will NOT ride a bike. She has NO interest. We've been to REI, bike shops, Target, Walmart and she can get on, she can make it go, even has a little fun and smiles ... for maybe 10 seconds and that is it! Off she goes. "No thanks, I don't want a bike." 

UGH! Now what?

Pushing three kids is NOT an option.

1) we would need yet ANOTHER stroller which surely would cause Josh to sign me up for strollerholics anonymous. 

2) we'd be talking a total of over 100lbs of kids, never mind the weight of the stroller. I'd be outweighed! A good jogger rolls REAL nice but can it compensate for that much weight?

3) although it is pretty flat here on the cape (jogging strollers and hills don't mix) there is almost always a breeze. Jogging strollers are not aerodynamic.

4) it is just TOO daunting a task. I MUST find another option.

Options:

1) find a gym with babysitting. At home we have the Y which is about 20 min away, but here the closest Y is 35 min WITHOUT the summer traffic. The closer options do not have babysitting.

2) find a babysitter - this has been much harder in my experience then it sounds but I will try!

3) rely on the help of my parents - again. I am so blessed that they live downstairs from us in the winter and let us camp out with them for the summer on the cape. They are SO incredibly helpful without me ever even asking, so I try not to ask for help whenever possible. If I have to ask, I always try and minimize the impact. Here are my options:

a) Best scenario: wake up at 5:30 am and head out keeping fingers crossed that the baby will sleep until 7 (10% chance) and that the older two will sleep until then as well (75% chance). Teach the older two how to turn on the TV to kids shows, have sippy cups with milk ready to go in the fridge they can grab so IF they wake while I am out they don't have to wake up Grammy and Grampy. If the baby wakes up this scenario will be short lived :)

b) Wake up at 6 and just get the baby up if he happens to still be sleeping (90% chance at 6, 20% chance by 6:15 - this is his wake up time) and take him with me still in his jammies, milk ready to go. Same scenario above for the older two although they are more likely to wake up before I get back because I'll be leaving later.

c) Wait until the two boys have afternoon naps together and that leaves only my darling daughter in need of entertainment. This works great when it isn't hot but they nap 1:30-3:30  a real bummer as the summer heats up. Grammy also likes an afternoon nap so this means Grampy needs to be available or else ... TV which I hate to do on a nice sunny afternoon.

Bottom line is it will be up to the Grandparents. Until I can find a local babysitter.

This is not every day. I will aim for 2-3 weekdays and then I will get out both weekend days when Josh is here. 

I also have a happy dream for Josh: Mon/Wed/Thur he finishes work and no one his home. So although he is sad that the adoring faces of his three children and loving wife will not be there to greet him when he walks in the door, he also will face no distractions. He will quickly change into his running gear and hit the pavement. If it is hot, he goes to the gym. Comes home, quiet dinner, phone call to say good night to the kids. Nice relaxing evening to unwind. Tues and Fri he will be on the road to Cape Cod so these will be his rest days. Saturday and Sunday, training runs and swims with his partner, wife, teammate and best friend :)

Aaaaaaah! Birds are chirping. Sounds good right? But the grass is always greener. I look forward to hearing his perspective! 

This is what I've been pondering over the last few days. This and hydration systems but I'll save that for another post!

Take care and happy Monday!

Busy Week!

HIGHLIGHTS

Sunday we ran the Bunker Hill Day Road Race 8k. We finished in 52 min and change which was great for us. However, it was a fast race so we were definitely in the "back of the back" of the pack.

Monday we went for a run at the Y followed by a 1/2 mile swim. Whew! I didn't think I was going to be able to do it but my training buddy and hubby cheered me on and sure enough I was able to do it! My arms and triceps still are sore but it was a GREAT workout and I hope to incorporate more swimming into my weekly routine.

Wednesday night we met up with AllEars Teammate, Amanda, for the Rossetti 5k in Beverly, MA. for her very first race! It was SO much fun to meet Amanda and her family. What fun and we can't wait to get together for more runs or races between now and 1/9/10. Way to go Amanda!!!

THE GALLOWAY

Saturday we went for our longer run - 6.2 miles. We have decided to do the Galloway Method for the marathon and therefore all our training runs over 5 miles will be done this way. Today was our first try giving it a shot. Our impressions were pretty much unanimous: it is GREAT!

I had some reservations about stopping and starting and never being able to get into my "groove". Josh was worried it would just be too slow. I had my new Garmin 405 which I had set up for a warmup (we always start with a 1/2 mile fast walk) then the 4 min run/1 min walk intervals which made it very easy to stay on track. The Garmin gives you a 5 beep countdown and then one longer beep so you know when to switch walk to run and vice versa. 

I found I was able to get into a nice groove, just a "different" one. I felt warmed up at the same time although it wasn't as painful as the first mile and a half usually is. The 4 min always gave you something to look forward to, so it was many small goals instead of one big, long, seemingly endless run. When I developed a side stitch it was easier to push through knowing a walk break was near and not feeling let down that I had to walk which I would have if I didn't have the walks already planned for. At the end we both felt good, legs not too sore, and finished with a final mile "semisprint" average pace of 9:20. Woohoo!

Josh had the concern of the Galloway being or feeling too slow. It didn't feel too slow because we ran faster then normal when we ran and we tried to keep a decent walking pace as well. Our overall time was slower, but how much of this was my side stitch which slowed me (and therefore us - thanks buddy!) for a good 10 min or the fact that we chose to run during the hottest time of the day. We had aimed for an average of an 11 min/mi and ended up with 11:18. I think as we get used to the method we can easily make up the 18 sec difference. Looking at the Garmin splits it looks like our walk interval got slower and slower so we will need to just keep up the pace there and should be all set. 

In summary: 

Our overall time was slower but this could have been due to heat, side stitch or growing pains of trying a new method.

We had a lot more kick at the end! Instead of dreading the last mile - will we make it? - we were able to kick it up a notch! 9:20 mile! Hurrah!

We felt so much better at the end and since this is our method to get us to FINISH 26.2 miles, we are sticking with it!!! I definitely feel like our goal is more attainable having tried this method. 26.2 miles is VERY intimidating but having tried the Galloway we feel WE CAN DO IT!

Thanks for reading and happy week ahead!

Cailin Gidlewski