Falmouth, Cape Cod Weekend

Food tables overflowed with savory and sweets alike to compliment the turkey chili that Courtney makes weeks and months in advance for the Falmouth Road Race post-race party. The scene was boisterous and loud at Courtney and Carolyn’s annual party, a tradition since 1972. Dozens of families and friends had come from all around the Cape, but especially from the Falmouth and Woods Hole towns. Each guest brought another pie, cheese, or plate of cookies, adding to the already full tables. In addition to food, two kegs of beer were tapped and many bottles of wine were opened. The pours were generous but more kept coming along with sodas and Capri Sun pouches for the kids. The crowds at Courtney's rivaled those at the race earlier...

Hoards of grandparents and kids swarmed the yard, deck, and house at the feet of the able-bodied adults, most of whom were current/former runners. Guests swapped stories of the day’s run, running club gossip, and tales of old/new running injuries. (For more on my run and fitness-oriented weekend at Falmouth, please see my SunnyDayFitness blog here). Ulandt must have introduced me to a dozen people, but eventually we all lost track of each other’s names, gave up on conversation, and just enjoyed the party. In the backyard, an old-time Dixieland jazz band entertained with horns, a banjo, a trombone and drums. Dancing started on the lawn as the sun was setting over the marsh at the backyard’s edge. Lights came on over the bandstand illuminating smiling faces like fireflies in the night. It was so loud at times that I sometimes found myself at the fringe edge of the party, seeking solace in the quiet side garden out of sight of the guests and hosts. Contrast this exuberant scene with the calm disappointment found in my failed attempt at bioluminescent critter-finding later that same evening.

After the party had reached its zenith, my friend Ulandt and I ventured down to the water’s edge at Woods Hole with hopes of seeing funny little jellyfish that glow in the dark. Ulandt said that he had seen the bioluminescence many times before on summer nights like these. To get to the best viewing area we drove a long, winding dark road that is part of the Cape Cod Marathon course: Sippiwessett Road. The air was dark and cool and smelled like summer. Arriving at the harbor we decided to stay near the harbor docks and peered into the rippled water’s edge. Nothing. No glowing baubles or fishes could be seen in the depth or at the shores. Only dark and quiet gently moving water. Ulandt decided that a little disturbance could help our efforts, so he dipped a foot into the water’s surface and kicked it around a little. We waited and looked. Still nothing. He had seen the bioluminescent “ctenophores” before, but I never had, and this was not to be the night for me to see them. Here's what we were looking for, the ctenophore:

So we went home, and took advantage of the extra time to sleep on that calm summer night. By 11pm Ulandt had retired to the back cabin while I stayed awake in the main house. I plotted out the route on the map for the “return to Plymouth and catch the train” ride: 30-35 miles. I would just need to cross the Bourne Bridge and make my way to Plymouth for the Commuter Rail. Eagerly anticipating the journey ahead, I drifted off to dream about the glowing sea creatures still to be seen on a future visit to the Cape. P.S. I did just barely make it to the Commuter Rail the next day; on board the departing train at 12:10pm.

Thanksgiving day 4-mile road race

We do a local run each Thanksgiving that starts from Davis Square, a lively nexus of college students close to our North Cambridge abode. Sunny's old running club, the Somerville Road Runners, puts on the event and the course (all city streets) measures about 4 miles (4.2, according to the MyMapRun tracker below).



No problems with the weather this year, as the high-30s chill didn't include wind or rain. Our friend Rosanna joined us with her dog Luna, who exuberantly dragged her up and down the course without minding the throngs a-clogging the roadways.

The clock read about 35:30 at the finish line, a healthy 8:24 mile time! Not bad for a race we didn't really train for.

Boston half-marathon wrap-up!

Last weekend, Sunny and I took on another half-marathon, the second tandem run of the year after January's trip to Miami. Boston's version nicely tracks the Emerald Necklace, a shouldn't-miss part of any trip to the area.

Over 5000 people took part this year, a mighty motley crew of people waiting for registration, port-a-lets, and the starting line. We lucked (?) into excellent weather, with a couple hours' worth of low-wind, high-sun running. The route heads south down the Riverway, a road that twists through Boston's suburb of Jamaica Plain. You reach the Franklin Park Zoo at mile 6, do a couple of small loops, and then return on roughly the same route (but using a parallel road).

The winners break tape in just over an hour and keep a 13 MPH pace, almost all-out effort for many people. Sunny and I set personal records at about 2:01, largely because we didn't stop and walk anywhere. Miami included a few of those and led to a 2:15 time.

Our friend Rosanna joined in for the last few miles, which includes a final loop around the Fens prior to the finish. You can hear the announcer between 11 and 12 before losing him for most of 13, which feels a little discouraging. Sounds of the other runners wrapping up make for good motivation, so you want that crescendo-and-celebrate feeling.

I have to be honest and say that Sunny's enthusiasm gets me onto the course for 13.1 miles. That's a lot of leg work! At least it feels really good when you stop...

Sunny's Mid-week Training

Mid-week means a fair amount of training for me (Sunessa). While Matthew takes mid-day breaks for soccer several times each week (Tu, Th, Fr?), I usually workout in the mornings or evenings. It gets predictable after a while, so I've changed up my routine lately. For example, instead of just cycling/spinning at 6am on Wednesday mornings, I've started going swimming for 45 min and then doing the 7am spin instead, so I get a swim-bike combo. Three other days I'm in the gym between 6:30-8am lifting or running or taking a personal training client. One evening I go for my own workout, usually following an Intro to PT session for a client.

Yesterday, however, was different. I slept in and skipped my Wednesday morning routine because I knew that I had a mid-day instruction session on how to instruct special cardio/strength combo classes called BURN. What I didn't know is that this would be a participatory class and I would get sweaty, big-time. The instructor was Tina DeMarco, a master trainer, and she almost let me "just watch" but then I saw that two other trainers, Tom and Lesley, would be taking the class AND participating. I couldn't just sit on the sidelines in my office clothes! So I got changed into workout duds and laced up my shoes...

• First running interval: 10 mins total - 2 min warmup jogging, 1 min incline running followed by 1 min recovery for 4 repeats. The catch...a 3% incline raise on each run segment. Start with 3%, 6%, 9%, and finally 12% incline. "Slow your run speed if you need to" Tina said, but us trainers were too competitive for that.
  
• Strength interval #1: Lunges, Bicep curls, Shoulder presses, and more Lunges. After the hill running, those Lunges got the quads tired quickly. Now I see why they call this BURN...
• Second running interval: 10 mins total - speed over hills with a sprint at the end. This time Tina pushed the hills up to "only" 6% and told us about shin splints. Lots of her new clients in the BURN sessions had really sore shins from the hills. More stretching was needed, but she admitted that stretching is the first thing to get cut from these short, jam-packed 55 minute workouts. Go figure!
  
• Strength interval #2: Wide squats with more curls and presses, plus Pushups. Using the back of the treadmill for our hands, we did these on a slight incline. But still, pushups are hard, really hard when the instructor says "Down and hold for 10 seconds hovering 2" from the ground". More BURNing going on, this time in the chest.
• Third running interval: 10 mins total - speed, Speed and more SPEED. We cranked it up with each 30 second that passed, taking only one break to a jog in the middle of the set. This was not easy, but it was fun, and again we (the trainers) got a little competitive. I could see double digits on Lesley's 10+ mph pace, but I held back at 9mph while Tom probably hit 11 mph. I just did not want to get thrown off the back! Oh, and I'd have to go back to the office in less than 15 mins so I wanted to not sweat too much more. Ha.
• Strength interval #3: Abs on the BoSu - I love ab/core work, so this was no problem. I got to ask questions about success and challenges with offering these BURN courses. Tina told me that she gets lots of "regular" clients for these, and that she has a reputation for being tough (I can see why!). She pushes her clients a lot, and it made me realize that I should push mine harder, too. I'm too nice sometimes. I should really toughen up. BURN will help.
  

So that was how I spent my mid-afternoon break yesterday. Although it made me work later in the evening, it was worth the chance to try something different and learn about another training technique. I really enjoy this kind of athletic challenge, and being able to share it with others (and get paid for it!) is really great. I guess that's why I keep up with my Personal Training certifications and keep working (and working out) at Healthworks. It's good fun.

Run to infinity--and beyond

We just returned from a weekend in Miami that included Sunny's first successful marathon and my second successful run at the half-distance, both at the ING Miami Marathon Sunday morning. Woot!

A field of thousands of runners helped the organizers commandeer much of the downtown area. The starting line stood right in front of the American Airlines Arena, where the Miami Heat play basketball. (They just endured a 15-game losing streak, but it's for the love of the game, right?)

Speaking as a companion runner more than a serious runner, the outlandish elements of big events stick out to me. Wake up at 4am to catch the shuttle! Wait in a 10-deep line to use port-a-potties! Dawdle in stockyard "grouped time" pens and wait ten minutes after the gun to cross the starting line! Such are the eccentricities of running folk.

On the plus side, you get to run the bridge from Miami to South Beach, watch the sun come up over the beach, and see a variety of town areas. Finishing the 13.1 miles took right around 2:16, slightly more than the first time (but I also wasn't sick then). Sunny, benefiting from an actual training plan, finished the whole nine yards in 4:45, just what she'd targeted at race sign-up months earlier.

It was great to see the spectator turnout distributed across the city. Anytime I passed musicians, the music blew away thoughts of slowing down or quitting, easy temptations in the normal fugue of lactic acid and brain drain. Some spots had high school drum corps and others were proper guitar, bass, and drum combos. One stage featured three guys playing Rock Band on a Playstation 3. (They were blasting through Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper"--unfortunately, it lacked cowbell.)

Sunny will follow with her own report, a more satisfying blow-by-blow for fans of the racing forum. We were happy to make it through, start to finish! Now back to winter, cold and icy, Boston-style.