Training is such sweet sorrow

As my 3rd Marathon training season starts to wind down, I can't help but think.

This season has been many things to me. Horrible. Wonderful. A milestone. Enlightening. Hot. Inspiring. Difficult. Rewarding. It's brought about my best running, and indeed, some of my worst. And soon, it will be over. I'm excited about this for a couple of reasons:

• The big show (Marine Corp Marathon)
  
• I heart the off season (a.k.a. Winter)
  

But as the MCM nears, I can't help but want to keep going after it's over. To find my upper bound. To top where I'm at now. I feel like I've surpassed a longstanding plateau in my running and that I've only begun to see what I can do. We'll see how I fare on race-day. If things go as I hope during the Marathon, then Winters off may be a thing of the past.

Blast from the Past!

It has been a while since Dave and I have posted anything on our training but things are going really well thus far. It hasn't been easy and sleep has taken a back seat as sometimes the only time to run is at 5am after running 10 miles the night before. Wait, that's what happened today.

This morning I headed to the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge to watch the sun rise and at my turnaround point I wasn't across the bridge so I kept going. The bridge connects Old Town Alexandria with the newly built up National Harbor in Maryland. It has a great pedestrian path with little niches that have telescopes to check out the view. It's really beautiful up there and kept my interest level high which is hard to do at that hour.

Few other quick tidbits about what's going on in our lives:
* My siblings and I went to Trapeze School for my sister's birthday
* Dave and I moved in together
* We have yet to even come close to killing each other
* Dave and I both ran a PR in the local Rockville Twilighter 8k
* We ran that PR after running 13 miles and biking 8 that morning
* Dave owns part of an island in Michigan
* We ran 16 miles on the island on a dirt path looking at nothing but trees
* During that 16 mile run a nice man caught up with me and we ran together. He told me he has never seen another human running on the island let alone at the same pace at the same time
* I'm leaving my job in less than a month
* After I had "the talk" with my boss I went out for my second run of the day and knocked out 7.5 miles just trying to digest the situation

Lastly, Dave and I are having a housewarming party on Aug 22nd and plan on putting a donation basket out to get people ramped up again. Jonathon's mom (my aunt) just got married last week (congrats!) and we are so happy for her.

This kid is serious. I mean, look at his watch!

After a couple years of half-fast and half-serious marathon training/racing I find that it's time for a change in approach.

I've set some pretty ambitious goals for this year's Marine Corp. Marathon and in order to reach them, I will need to be whole-serious. I'm aiming to slice 51 minutes off of last year's time. Bringing me from a meh 4:36:and change to a solid 3:45. To reach these goals I find that I'm going to need some help (and a few more speed workouts!).

Keeping track of pace has been hit or miss with my current sports watch. I tend not to know the mile markers on my runs and ultimately just shoot for an accurate total run time then figure out the average after the fact. This really doesn't offer me the insight into my performance over time that I'm hoping for. And, the buttons on the watch have become a bit dodgy. They tend to only work if you press them at a funny angle with a hefty amount of pressure. I'd like to think that this makes my watch unique and special. But really it's just annoying.


After reading a couple of reviews, talking with fellow Fun Runners, and obsessively comparing models and pricing I opted to get a Garmin Forerunner 405 last week. *rapture*

Now I've only had a chance to take it with me on a couple of runs and bike rides. But in that short span it's been pretty enlightening.

I've never seen the big allure to GPS watches, until now. It's the right tool for the job.

Need For Speed

The unofficial training season for Marine Corps has begun which means I start including hills, 800s, and mile repeats on a weekly rotation. This week marks the end of the first series and I have concluded that all hurt like hell and make a world of difference. Already, I feel so much stronger and faster - plus I have the results to back it up.

Thanks to my incredibly awesome GPS watch (Garmin Forerunner 405) I have all the stats on my latest runs including average pace, elevation, calories, distance, max speed... the list goes on. Here is a link to my run on Tuesday, which was by far the fastest I've ever run this route. (**sidenote** Garmin Connect is the website that wirelessly collects the data from the GPS watch. The info and stats it collects is mind boggling to me and I just learned how to use it on Wednesday after having the watch since December. If you click on player at the top right you can actually watch how I ran this course). This is only one of a few runs where I've beaten my pr by a landslide. It's an awesome feeling. Plus, I really enjoy doing hills/speedwork. I had a coach who used to tell me before matches to love the hurt, to love the fight. It actually is beautiful in a way to struggle and then prevail. Think of all the sports movies in the world and the team or athlete always goes through that type of transformation.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day thank goodness since we've seen nothing but rain the past two days. I've got a 14 mile run on the Mount Vernon Trail and I'm excited to see what I can do in the next few months.

Another weekend another race success!

Last weekend's adventure race was the most fun running experience I've had in a long time - and best of all Dave and I got to do it together! I know that sounds cheesy but when you finish something exciting and new it always makes it better to have someone else to compare stories and share favorite parts, and this guy was in my way, did you get lost? And oh my gosh the stairs were so awesome!

There was no chip for the race so they started in waves based on your estimated time of finishing. Dave and I were in the second wave (the way end of the second wave) which made for a very slow start. I had a hard time visualizing what exactly an off-road race would look like so I defaulted to sticking with the herd and tracking other people's footsteps. Early in the race we made a turn and ended up running on the side of the road which was disappointing at first but that did last long (later I would be wishing for some pavement). We went over a bridge overlooking downtown Richmond which was pretty cool, then ran through some packed earth for a while, and then came the stairs. These are no ordinary stairs. They are hands and legs stairs, meaning you are literally clawing at earth trying to get up this thing. Meanwhile, I've got a disposable camera in my hand trying to take pictures during the entire run.

The whole middle part of the run is kind of blurry for me. My main goal was not to fall. I'm kind of prissy when it comes to steep downhills and jumping over obstacles. I was literally coming to a stop when there was a big log or something in the way because I'm not comfortable with my jumping skills. Dave on the other hand, I learned, was flying over these things like they were nothing. To make up for lost time I was sprinting at every opportunity I had - which was pretty much any straightaway.

The trail running community is really different than road runners. They're not as cut-throat competitive and more encouraging and into the group effort. It seems like trail runners are more into it for the experience and not for the race PR (personal record). During the forest trail part of the race where only one person could fit at a time runners would yell back to see if they needed to pull over for someone to pass. Things like that don't usually happen in road races. I will fight someone for the cup of water and cut someone off to get ahead of them before a turn.

At the home stretch of the race this guy comes running up behind me yelling, "Hey girl! Hey girl don't let me catch you! Don't let me beat you!" We booked it to the finish screaming out of exhaustion (and I did beat him). It was an incredible race. Unfortunately my running/picture taking abilities aren't quite there yet so they don't do the experience justice. And although I probably didn't explain it much better, it's best to go out and see it for yourself.

Off to the races

Saturday morning Dave and I will be headed to Richmond for our first adventure race, the James River Scramble 10k. I don't know too much about the race except that there will be large rock jumping and steep stair climbing and narrow bridge crossing. Supposedly these races are very fun and very addictive so it will be interesting to see if this leads to larger adventure/trail races in the future.

After the race there will be a whole host of activities in the area such as Ultimate Air Dogs (which is some competition where dogs catch a frisbee of sorts as they jump off a deck into a pool. I'm a big fan of this picture by the way). There's also a professional mountain bike race and a pub crawl. This race and our overnight stay in Richmond is Dave's extended birthday present so it is pretty safe to say that beer will be involved in this trip.

As a follow-up to my previous post, the bike ride home to Maryland was awesome though it wasn't the epic bike adventure I imagined it to be (did I really think it was 40 miles to get home?) The ride was actually more like 20 miles but I was riding against the wind the entire time so I'll pretend my effort was the equivalent of a 40 mile ride. I came home to an empty house and had to climb in through the back window while the men working on our lawn curiously watched me break into my own house. After I devoured the contents in the fridge my mom, sister, and I got pedicures and went shopping. Then we proceeded to eat and drink the rest of the night. It was an awesome Mother's day.

So, back to the present - I'm really excited for this race especially since it's something I've never done before and there's no pressure of time goals or qualifying for anything. Dave and I will be equipped with digital or disposable cameras (I can't decide which would work better) so there will be lots of great pics to post next week. Wish us luck!

Bum knee and a new toy!

Of all the ways I could have injured my knee, I would never have thought it would be in yoga attempting this pose. It's nothing serious (hopefully) but as I was attempting to lower to the ground I heard and felt a pop in my knee. It was just really tingly at first and then as the day progressed it swelled a bit and formed a little lump on the side of my knee. I iced it a few times that day and made an emergency stop to my chiropractor (aka the Miracle Healer). The next few days it started to feel better but I was not going to test my luck by running.

So instead, I thought I'd take it easy and just go for a long bike ride. And what better way to get motivated for a bike ride then to add a new toy to the mix? I bought some bright pink clipless pedals and awesome space shoes to go with it.

My adventure with clipless pedals began on the street Dave lives on. I was just practicing starting and stopping using the clipless pedals. It's a little scary being attached to your bike. (It's kind of why I'm hesitant about cayaking - if you flip you have to be able to get yourself back up while attached to the kayak!) Anyway, I had no issues whatsoever during practice. I actually thought it was really easy. Dave gave me a kiss goodbye and wished me luck and off I went!

About 30 seconds into my ride I get to the first traffic light which happened to be at a major intersection. I saw the red light way ahead and thought about taking my foot out early just to be sure but it was so far away I thought it would be silly. So I'm getting closer and therefore needing to get my foot out but it's completely stuck. I'm turning my foot out as far as it will possibly go but no dice. I actually start turning right on the road so I could keep pedling and keep trying to get my foot out. It was a complete fail. I just stopped and let myself fall on my left side, landing smack on my left knee (which is now my good knee yay!) Then I proceded to laugh and myself for the next 5 minutes. I took pictures of my bloody knee and sent it to Dave and my Mom. Nothing like a pressure situation to show you whether you really know something or not.

After I fell I realized I forgot my helmet in my car and needed to go meet up with Dave who was then about 8 miles away. The direction I had to ride to get to him was completely against the wind. Then it started to rain. But, I stuck with it and once I got my helmet and got moving with the wind at my back I started to get into a groove. I ended up riding 31 miles and felt like I could have kept going except that I desperately needed some padded ass shorts and my neck was all tense from being hunched over. It was awesome though and I am officially hooked.

As for my knee, I ran 6.5 miles on Tuesday and it felt fine, but later that night it definitely felt aggrivated. Instead of running I just biked the rest of the week. I am going to try to run 10.2 miles tomorrow with the group so I'm crossing my fingers for no knee pain. Wish me luck!

Race Success

Today, Dave and I both set PR's despite the heat and despite my complaints about shoulder pain! Here's how it all went down:

The race is a point to point style race so the idea is that you park at the finish and then buses drive all the runners to the start at the Mount Vernon estate (beware of annoying music if you click the link). I ran the race last year and missed the start because the lines for the buses was three blocks long and it took forever just to get to the start. So, I was really pushing for us to get there early. I drove to Dave's place at 6AM and we had a friend pick us up from there because she wanted to try to stick together. We arrived at the bus loading area at around 6:20 and it was already really crowded. The line moved quickly though and we hopped on the bus at around 6:40. Dave took a nice nap in my lap on the ride over while I was all hopped up on caffeine. (I rarely drink caffeine so the slightest bit gets me jumpy!) We got off the bus, headed straight to the (no-line!) porta-potties, which were surprisingly not disgusting. Then we met up with fellow fun-runners from our running group and mingled in the grass near the start. I headed for my second trip to the porta-potties and 5 minutes later we were off!

The first mile was mostly downhill and my friends took off (including the friend who wanted to stay with me). I stayed back and tried to focus on how I was feeling rather than the time (though I still got to the first mile marker at 6:00. I tried to focus on staying within myself and keeping an uncomfortably hard pace but not too hard that I was going to burn out. I also made a mini-goal to try to catch my friends later in the race. The beginning of runs are always more of a struggle for me than the end. Once I got sweating and got over the scary heat-factor I got into a nice groove. I love this race because the road is much more flat than the trail and when there are hills they are more gradual. After mile 6 it felt like home stretch. I kept thinking back to the marathon I ran last month when I was so happy to have 4 miles left. It really puts things in perspective. In the last mile we ran right past my work, where I start and end a lot of my runs. I have had a lot of home stretches on that route so it really felt fitting to end the race there.

After I finished I walked back so I could cheer Dave on and about 5 minutes later there he was! I don't remember what exactly I was screaming but he heard me and waved. He looked really strong and definitely had enough juice to kick it at the end which was really cool to see.

I came in at around 1:13. Last year I ran this race in 1:24:09, which was my fastest 10 miler until today. I think Dave came in at 1:23 which is an awesome time. I'm so glad I saw him finish a PR best since he's been there for me so many times at my races.

If this is any indication how the rest of the summer is going to go then I am very excited. What a great way to kick of the running season!

-Ali

Day Before The Fieldtrip

First, I want to start by introducing myself and the reason for starting this blog.

My name is Ali Piacente and I am a former tennis player turned marathon runner. I've completed 2 marathons so far and recently qualified for Boston 2010. Like most people, I've been touched by cancer and recently lost a cousin who passed away after fighting the disease for several years. My boyfriend Dave and I decided we would honor lost family members by raising money for the American Cancer Society during our training for the Marine Corps Marathon this fall. So, I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog to log our training regimine for the following months.

So, to kick things off this spring we are both running the GW Parkway Classic, a 10 mile point-to-point race from Mt.Vernon to Old Town. The race is really fun because they close the GW Parkway and we get to run on the pavement. It's a beautiful course even on the trail but the road is much less hilly - plus the cool factor of running on a major road.

I have a few concerns for the race - one of which is the weather. Out of no where we skipped from winter to summer and tomorrow it is expected to be close to 90 degrees! When we start the race it should be closer to 70 degrees - which is still a lot hotter than we're used to.

I've also been struggling with some nerve issues in both shoulders - so whenever I move my arms a nerve pinches and it rings up through my neck. Not fun. I haven't done much running this week to try not to aggrivate it so I'm hoping race-day adrenaline plus telling myself to suck it up will help put it out of my mind.

I also want to give a huge thanks to everyone who has donated to us so far. We've already received $1,075 and we've only had the site up for around two weeks! I know money is tight for most of us right now so it really means a lot that people are donating to our cause. Huge thanks to everyone!

I'll check back in tomorrow after the race - think speedy thoughts for us!

-Ali