Boston or Bust 2011

A Day in the Life of a Boston Marathon Finisher

2011-04-20T21:28:00.218-04:00

I am officially up a marathon and down a toenail. A decent trade, so I'll take it.

Our day started bright and early the morning of April 18, 2011. The bags were packed and our clothes were laid out the night before, which made waking up at 5:15 AM that much easier. MFNE sprung for a charter bus for the Running for Cover team so we were spared the long lines for the BAA buses to Hopkington. Micah and I made it to the team bus 15 minutes before it departed. (Note: Micah and I are never on time, especially for things like races (Sunday Morning) so this was a huge accomplishment for us.) We climbed on the bus, picked our cushy chairs, used the restroom (because we could), and while enjoying the warmth of our bus we quietly snickered at all the marathon suckers who were stuck waiting in line to be packed like sardines into a cold school bus. They may have been faster runners, but we showed up in style. Once in Hopkington, we were taken straight to Athlete's Village where all the Boston runners waited for their waves to start. I spent the majority of the morning curled up in the fetal position under a blanket to get away from the wind, but Micah braved the cold long enough to get a pretty good shot of our holding pen.

Micah and I were in the last wave. The walk to the start line was about .5 mile away from Athlete's Village. On the way, there were tons of water stations set up by the neighborhoods and volunteers along the road ready to donate all the "throw away" clothes left by the runners. Spectators lined the roads all the way from Athlete's Village to the start line and beyond...

The support along the way was absolutely amazing. There was not a single stretch of the 26.2 miles without spectators. Micah and I wrote our names on the front of our shirts and people yelled for us the entire race. Allie is an easy name to yell for but Micah got some interesting versions including Meekah, Meesah, Michael, Mick, and Mich. All attempts were greatly appreciated and extremely motivating.

We coasted for over half of the race with the exception of one bathroom break (sorry Micah). I may have taken the hydration thing a little too far...I've never had to pee so often in my life. Hopkington, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley flew by. Wellesley was the best thanks to the ladies of Wellesley College. And no, Micah did not kiss any of them. I was behind him for this section so I know this to be true. I, however, cannot vouch for the other guys running in front of us.

We started feeling the burn between miles 17-18. Newton's hills were harder than we expected, even before Heartbreak. Like many of the runners around us, we chose to walk the uphills and run the downhills. By Heartbreak, it got harder and harder to start that running part...And yes, we looked as beat down as the folks in front of us at this point.

Our pace slowed significantly between 20-24 miles. Despite the cheers and high fives, my legs refused to go. Getting out of Newton was exciting (no more hills!) but seeing the "Entering Brookline" sign made me want to cry. I forgot about Brookline. I wanted to be in Boston. We were able to muster our last bit of strength to finish out the race once we saw the "Entering Boston" sign.

Finally, the right on Hereford, left on Boylston was right in front of us. We came around that last left as strong as we could. Our legs were numb at this point, so it didn't matter. Lo and behold, my parents had squeezed their way up front and were cheering us all the way to the finish line!

We certainly didn't break any records by finishing at 4:56:10 but the Boston Marathon experience was out of this world. I learned a few things that will help us the next go-around, like how you probably shouldn't beat your best half marathon time when running your first marathon. And yes, I say first because there will most definitely be a second. But what will I call my blog from now on...?

More importantly: thanks to everyone's support we have raised $4500 (and counting) for the Melanoma Foundation of New England! Running the marathon was easy with so many people cheering for me. I never thought I would surpass my fundraising goal by so much but it's clear that I have the best fans in the world. Eat your heart out Geoffrey Mutai.

Just a Few Days Left!

2011-04-13T18:49:00.000-04:00

Just a few days to go before the Big Day! I'm practicing telling everyone "yes, I am ready for the marathon" with confidence. To be honest, I'm not sure if I actually believed April 18 would ever roll around. While the past 3 months of training have been fun, it's nice to know that the end is near. It was hard to keep the thought of that final right on Boylston and the image of the Pru looming in the distance when running through a blizzard in the dead of winter. But it's here, finally! And right now weather.com is advertising good news for Monday. Yes, I realize it's April in Boston and you can't ever count on the 10 day forecast but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Partly Cloudy doesn't turn into Rain in the next five days.

Now that training is winding down, I'm in my final push for those last minute donations. It's not too late to throw some money in the pot to support my Running for Cover team to benefit the Melanoma Foundation of New England! Just go to www.firstgiving.com/allisonsilletto. To help you keep your eye on the prize, I will be here in just a few days!

Boston Marathon Finish Line

Full Circle

2011-04-05T16:38:00.002-04:00

It's official. I've been running for one full year.

My running career (term used loosely) began March 2010 when a friend of mine, Ronald (name changed to protect the innocent), randomly asked me to run the Cohasset Road Race by the Sea with him on April 11, 2010. At first I hesitated because my limited running experience left me with only negative thoughts. I only ran when forced to: high school gym class, basketball practice (suicides), marching band practice (yes, we ran), being chased by a lion while on safari in Africa...you know, only in dire circumstances...But we had just spent the winter learning to ski together so I figured I should give this running-for-fun thing a shot. Plus, Micah jumped at the opportunity and there was no way I was going to let him have fun without me, even if chances were slim that it would be fun at all.

Ronald gave us at least 4 weeks notice before the race. We signed up immediately but in true Silletto fashion we decided we would start training "tomorrow." Tomorrow ended up being 2 weeks before the race. I found a 4 week training program online and split it in half hoping that would do the trick. For the record, it is not recommended to go from the couch to running 10Ks in 14 days. You should work your way up. Don't procrastinate. Your body will hate you. The first run out of the gate was a 45 minute run. It was pouring rain and neither one of us had appropriate running clothes. We wore COTTON. Silly newbies. Minus the wheezing and the pain, running in the rain was surprisingly enjoyable. The second time we ran, we decided to go for a distance rather than a time limit. 1 mile. Sounded easy enough. So easy, we decided to take the dogs along. We split up because a) there were squirrels and Sota preferred chasing them over running with me and b) I couldn't make it. I blamed it on Sota but the truth was I ran a half mile and felt like I was teetering dangerously close to death. (I was in a very dramatic phase last year).

Needless to say, I was not overly confident that I would be able to run a full 10K is less than 2 weeks. Luckily for me, I have a competitive husband who refused to take no for an answer. We kept running. We even ran a nice hill training route through Beacon Hill. I hated it.
April 11 rolled around fairly quickly. We got to the starting line and I was immediately intimidated by the fancy running gear everyone else was sporting. Micah insisted he could maintain a 9 minute mile throughout the race so Ronald and I decided to roll our eyes at him and hang back to run it together. If you've ever been to Cohasset, you know that it is absolutely beautiful. It's the quintessential New England town right on the water. Ronald and I were handling the course well until we got just over halfway to Forest Ave where the course turns left and goes straight uphill. It was the most demoralizing sight I've ever seen. There was a collective gasp in the small group of runners around Ronald and me but we managed to muster on through the last 3 miles. Micah was there waiting for us when we crossed the finish line. We rushed over to the registration area where they were giving out free hot dogs and saw a small ice cream shop across the street. 6.2 miles deserves a good ice cream cone - and it was SO good. The feeling I had completing my first race was indescribable and I knew as I was downing my free hot dog that I would be doing this again.

So here I am one year later: 2 half marathons down, and two weeks away from running my first marathon. I managed to slice 11 minutes 22 seconds off last year's 10K time. Cohasset was just as beautiful as last year and the hills seemed significantly smaller. We went to the registration area and there were no hot dogs left and the ice cream shop hadn't opened yet, but that didn't dampen my spirits. Besides, no hot dogs meant we had to stop for lunch and there just so happened to be a McDonald's on the way home.

The Longest of the Long Runs

2011-03-27T20:48:00.001-04:00

A few things we learned on our latest long run:

1. Micah needs to limit his intake of Gatorade and other sweet drinks. He dilutes the Gatorade so he can't taste the sweet but still gets the benefits, but if he has too much it upsets his stomach leaving him to contemplate how he will vomit on the T without anyone noticing. (The conclusion was he would puke in his hat and wrap his hat in his shirt to avoid drippage - in case you were wondering)

2. Allison will stop and EVERY water station whether she needs it or not. There were tons of groups running the marathon route yesterday, which meant a water stop every mile or so in the beginning then every two miles past Newton. In the first 6 miles, I think I stopped at 10 water stations. Perhaps this is the culprit for #1.

3. Throw your running shoes away if you've gone more than 300 miles in them. I decided I was better off risking blisters and wore my new shoes on our run (New Shoes). No knee problems whatsoever and the blisters really weren't so bad.

4. Allison is unbelievably lucky to have a Micah.

5. You DO NOT take Commonwealth Ave all the way into Boston before hitting Beacon St. You take a right on Chestnut Hill Ave then an immediate left on Beacon which takes you straight to Copley Sq (the finish line). In the real marathon route, you should run by Boston College. Not Boston College AND Boston University.

6. There is a Raising Canes near Boston University.

7. Kinesiology Tape is best if applied properly. Otherwise it is just a nuisance. Removal is painful, worse than a Band-Aid.

8. Chipotle guac tastes delicious after 20 miles.

9. Running is one of the most unpretentious of all the sports. I plan on walking Heartbreak Hill. Nobody else running will judge me for this because they have/will be walking it as well.

10. In addition to Gatorade and water, a lot of the stops had gummy bears, swedish fish, cheez-its, dum dums, pretzels filled with peanut butter, pretzel rods, and starburst. I wasn't sure if I was preparing for a third graders birthday party or a marathon. I carb-loaded before the run; I crap-loaded during the run.

And now, here's some pictures from the Hyannis Half Marathon in February...

New Shoes...

2011-03-25T19:09:00.001-04:00

So, I haven't been as diligent about my blogging as I would have liked these last few weeks. A lot has been going on. Training has been going strong for the most part. I've had some knee troubles that I'm trying to figure out before the race. And yes, I Googled it. Google still says it's Runner's Knee. I'm starting to think that Runner's Knee is a result of old shoes...

My shoes of choice this year are Adidas Supernova Sequence. I tried my best to train in my Vibram Fivefinger Bikilas, but it just wasn't happening with all the snow, ice, and cold this season. Overall I haven't had a problem wearing these shoes but in the last few weeks I've had to cut my long runs short because of knee pain. It wasn't until earlier this week that I realized that I have run almost 350 miles in my running shoes! They look fine - tread is still in good shape and the outside structure doesn't at all look like they are 1 year old shoes, but the support is COMPLETELY shot.

Luckily, Marathon Sports is awesome and they carried my exact same shoe. Now I have to decide if it's worth risking blisters and sore feet running on new shoes in my longest long-run tomorrow to possibly cut out knee pain. Micah and I are running the last 21 miles of the marathon course. We will be waking up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday (ugh) to run from from Framingham to Boston. I'll be honest, it's a little daunting to have the start line in a town that I refuse to drive to because it's so far away... But this is the closest thing we'll have to a dress rehearsal. Wish us luck!

March Madness

2011-03-12T21:46:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again! March Madness is back! Join my pool to benefit the Melanoma Foundation of New England. The cost to join is $10 - $5 will go to the winner's pot and $5 will go directly to the MFNE. To pay via Paypal, simply click the Buy Now button located at the right sidebar (sent to massmas4444@yahoo.com). If you prefer to pay by check or cash, please email silletto.allie@gmail.com. Everyone is invited so please forward this information on to your friends!

Join the pool by following the instructions below:

Please join my group, March Madness for the MFNE, in Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick'em!

To accept the invitation, just follow this link. For reference, here's the group information.

Group ID#: 7700
Password: allison

Good luck!

The Golden Arches of the Finish Line

2011-03-06T19:39:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think my body is beginning to reject this whole running thing. I'm not talking about the sometimes achy joints and sore muscles. That comes with the territory. No, I'm talking about my diet. You would think all this running would make my body crave healthy, protein and carb-filled foods. Nope. Not even a little bit. I want Chipotle, Diet Coke, and ice cream on a daily basis. I am weak-willed, so my craving for Chipotle is constantly getting the better of me. It's gotten so bad that the cashier at our neighborhood Chipotle refers to us as her "favorite couple" and the guy who puts our order together jokes that the guac is like our crack and an intervention is near in our future. Should we be embarrassed? Probably. Will we be back tomorrow? Absolutely.

We finally made it to the Hyannis Half Marathon - the right place, right time, right weekend, and everything! (Sunday Morning). We had a delicious pre-race pasta meal the night before and a heart-healthy breakfast that we downed on our way to the Cape (complete with oatmeal and a peanut butter and banana sandwich - yum!). Despite the snow/sleet that pelted us throughout the race, it was a wonderful run. Micah and I were both at our best and we shaved 6 minutes off our previous half marathon time! I even had enough energy saved up to kick it up a notch in the last few feet and beat Micah by a second. There were professional photographers at the finish line who were able to capture this moment, solidifying my suspicion that I looked like a complete dork in those final seconds. But I won, daggnabit, and that's all that matters. After the race, we entered the expo where they were serving the usual bagels, bananas, granola bars, etc but also included some chowder and vegetable soup to help warm up the runners. As we walked around from booth to booth, waiting for our official time to be posted, Micah looked at me and said "you know what really sounds good right now?" Without hesitation, I answered "McDonalds?" He answered "yes, absolutely. That's exactly what I was going to say." I don't think we have ever loved one another more than we did at that exact moment. We gathered our free shirts and water and scampered to the car, desperate for some McNuggets and fries. Is this our bodies telling us that while we may refer to ourselves as runners (term used loosely), we can never escape our deeply-rooted love for fast food and things that can be deep fried? Why wouldn't I want to replenish nutrients and energy after a run instead of craving further depletion of my resources? Perhaps my body thinks this whole running thing is actually a search for pain, and if pain is what I seek then pain is what it will give me. Regardless, the McNuggets were a delight and nothing will ever beat a large fry and a large Diet Coke on the side. Now, pass the salt and get out of the way of the TV. Jersey Shore is on.

Update: It's Awards Season!

2011-03-06T18:39:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Micah Silletto for winning the Oscar pool. No, it was not a fix. It just so happens Micah researched the Vegas odds to make his picks (I know, shocking) and all the favorites won. Even better news: he donated his winnings to MFNE so the Oscar pool ended up raising $140 for MFNE. Success!

Sunday Morning

2011-02-20T12:43:00.001-05:00

7:00 AM - Alarm went off, hit snooze
7:01 AM - Buttercup lays across my stomach and licks my nose. I choose to believe this is an act of love rather than a message to get my lazy butt out of bed because she has to pee.
7:09 AM - Snooze went off, hit again
7:10 AM - Sota paws my leg. Not sure if this is because she wants to play or because she also has to pee. Regardless, I roll over and go back to sleep.
7:18 AM - Snooze went off, hit again
7:27 AM - Snooze went off, hit again
7:36 AM - Snooze went off, got up, let the dogs outside, began to get ready
7:50 AM - Forced Micah out of bed and gave him some 'tude because he's known about our plans for today for at least a month. And informed him that we were late.
8:10 AM - Headed on our way to Hyannis, MA for the Hyannis Half Marathon, the first of the Cape Cod race trilogy. We were prepared with our running gear, oatmeal, granola bars, 3 clementines, 1 banana, 2 bottles of water, and saltines.
9:35 AM - Pulled into the Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis. Did not see any signs for the race or anyone else wearing their obnoxious running gear. Began to get worried.
9:38 AM - Asked the lady at the registration desk where we should go to get our packets for the Hyannis Half. She smiled and informed us we were a week early, but next week we could get our bibs at the next building over in the recreation area. Also need to mention, we were not the first to make this mistake.
9:39 AM - I hung my head in shame and apologized to Micah for making him get out of bed.
9:40 AM - Back in the car, headed for home.

Oops.

I don't care if it's February, I'm calling this springtime

2011-02-17T20:42:00.000-05:00

For all you cynics out there (Micah) who says it's only a couple days of nice weather, I say NO! I saw a guy in shorts, sandals, and a sleeveless shirt today. Normally I would never trust a man wearing a sleeveless shirt outside of a gym but since this guy's saying what I want to hear, I'll drink that glass of kool-aid. It's spring, dagnabbit.

Weekdays mean short runs (between 2 and 5 miles) and today is the first day this year I have been able to run a quality short run outside. Sure I was dodging Lake Michigan-sized puddles

but I will gladly take the puddles over inch-thick-ankle-spraining-icy sidewalks.

We ran a little over two miles tonight, just to get the blood flowing. The first loop we averaged 10:22 min miles. The second was 8:14 min miles. The difference? 1 squirrel and 1 dog at the .0001 mile marker. Sota hasn't seen a squirrel in over 2 months, so when we saw this jerk running across the electric lines I knew we had a problem. First she stands on her hind legs and whines. Then the screaming begins. The sounds that came out of this animal rivaled those of a mob of 12 year old girls at a Justin Bieber concert. Cars slowed down to see what the problem was. Mothers hugged their children closer. Micah and Buttercup walked away like they didn't know us. I dragged her away from the squirrel and settled her down to the point of only semi-embarrassment, just to the point where Micah would wave at me if I said hello. But she looked for that squirrel for the rest of the run. She dragged me through bushes, snow banks, and puddles for the rest of the mile ready to pounce on anything that moved. Needless to say, once we were back at the house she was thrown inside so Micah and I could continue on our run sans crazy monster dog. Add desensitizing my neurotic pet to small critters to my list of things to do.

Yay spring.

It's Award Season!!

2011-02-06T23:08:00.005-05:00

It's my favorite time of year! And with all the snow we've gotten recently, this is the perfect excuse to curl up and fit in as many movies as I possibly can before awards night. I've got a list of the movies I need to watch before February 27 so I can make my "educated" Oscar picks.

So, join my Oscar pool and see if you can beat me! I am an Oscar-force to be reckoned with. It's a double win, donate to the Melanoma Foundation of New England and enter to win some moolah for your movie knowledge! Each entry is $10 - $5 will go to the winner's pot and $5 will go to the Melanoma Foundation of New England. Payments can be sent through Paypal to massmas4444@yahoo.com or email me at silletto.allie@gmail.com to get my info to send a personal check. The Oscar pool can be found at http://www.funofficepools.com/.

To join, just click join pool.

If the link does not work, copy http://www.funofficepools.com/joinpool.php?Passed_Pool_Key=09f483ef2f2 into the address field on your browser.

Pool Name: Silletto Charity Pool
Password: allison
Type: Oscar Pool -- select a winner from each category, win the points if you are right.
Description: It's Oscar season! This pool will support the Running for Cover Boston Marathon team for the Melanoma Foundation of New England. Sign up for $10, half the registration will go to the winner's payout and the other half will be donated to MFNE.

Please note all entries and payments must be entered by February 27 at 8 PM EST to be eligible to win. Email me with any questions! Good luck!

And now, here is a good example of what Micah and I looked like running yesterday afternoon on the snow and ice packed sidewalks. Watch Sota as she runs past Micah...

Faceplant.

Snow Moat, Snow Problem

2011-01-23T18:29:00.001-05:00

Another week and a 12 mile long-run down. As most of you already know, we have gotten a ton of snow the past couple of weeks. The best bet for finding a safe, non-icy long distance route is to stay on a main road and go out and back which makes for an exceptionally boring run. And, because of where I live, Mass Ave would be the only road with enough sidewalks to make a long run out of. Running on Mass Ave means running through Harvard Square and, for whatever reason, I never have good runs when I run through Harvard. To combat the unknown sidewalks, Harvard, and the cold, Micah and I split yesterday's long run between running outside and on the treadmill. It worked out well, except running on the street right after getting off the treadmill is not easy. I felt like I had sea legs and was a little wobbly on our way back home.

My running stories this week aren't really worthy of a blog so I'm going to turn this over to my two dogs, Minnesota (Sota) and Buttercup. Sota is master of escaping in general and the mounds of snow in the backyard has made it even easier for her to figure a way out. The neighbors had piled the snow from their driveway over our bushes and into our yard, giving her a bridge to get out. When I saw what they had done, I hoped that Sota's fear of everything would keep her in the yard. Unfortunately, Sota is afraid of everything but snow and jumping. In lieu of a run on Friday, I decided I would knock down her bridge and shovel a moat in between the bushes and our yard. After an hour and a half of shoveling and excavating of ice blocks, I had a pretty nice pathway.

Surely this would keep Sota's tricks at bay. I was very proud of myself and decided my hard work was certainly deserving of some hot chocolate. This sense of accomplishment was short lived. I was inside for all of two minutes before I heard barking. From the front porch. I opened the door and there was my little Houdini. Smiling and taunting me with her unbelievable escaping abilities. The only way I was going to be able to put a stop to this was to figure out exactly where she was getting out. I put my snow gear back on, took the girls outside, walked on the other side of the fence and called her. Please note that in the photo above that there are no trampolines of any kind in our yard.

Unbelievable. This isn't even fair.

Baby, it's cold outside

2011-01-13T20:06:00.000-05:00

January in Boston = Cold

As you are dodging snow banks and icy spots on the sidewalk, it's easy to think to yourself, "self, what is wrong with you? It's 29° out here. You could be watching Jersey Shore in your cozy living room. There's lots of unfinished business between the ladies of the house and Deena is definitely going to add to the trainwreck-nicity that makes the show so great." (I tend to ramble and make up words when I talk to myself.) But this is what I've signed up for. Unfortunately, you have to get through January to make it to April.

We've had two snowstorms so far, so Micah and I finally broke down and joined a gym. Planet Fitness at Porter Square. I can get there by walking, driving or public transportation so there is officially no excuse for skipping trainings now. And now I have equipment readily available to start training for the Tough Mudder 2 weeks after the marathon. It's not a 26.2 mile race, but there is mud and toughness involved so I need to be ready. I was really excited walking into the gym because I noticed that each treadmill had its own tv. There are only about 15 channels to choose from, but it beats staring at the timer for an entire run. However, I ended up running a 12 minute mile pace because going faster made the screen bounce. A girl can't watch Kind of Queens and Adventures of Old Christine on a shaky screen. To remedy the situation, I moved to a bike. Technically Wednesday is cross training day so this justified my move. All I can say is I hope I get better about running in front of a tv. I'm not sure if I will make it outside for an 11 mile run this Saturday and based on my first run at Planet Fitness, it will take me the entire day to watch tv/run.

For the record, I never watch either of these shows. I only cared because they were on.

The Holidays

2010-12-29T21:53:00.001-05:00

My entire body is sore.

For Christmas, I took a week and a half off work and traveled to Newburgh, IN and Louisville, KY to spend as much time with family as I could. With the exception of the actual traveling, it was a fantastic vacation. I was a little concerned on my way down that I wouldn't be able to run anywhere. The only sidewalks I knew of were in neighborhoods (mostly small - I could squeeze a mile out of my parents' subdivision) and at the elementary and high schools (4 laps = 1 mile). This meant I would have to count while I ran. No way. Get real. So, I went to a gym with my dad to run on a treadmill. Please note, I only brought running clothes for outdoor running. No sleeveless shirts in my suitcase. Running inside is HOT and running on a treadmill is harder than I thought. I quickly realized I am not a "metronome" runner. When I run on the street, I must change my pace and shorten/lengthen my stride constantly. I kept scooting up against the front of the treadmill and hitting my hands against the display, and ended up adjusting the speeds high, low, high, low for most of the run. And the distractions in a gym are unbelievable! I had my ipod, six TVs to choose from, and all kinds of people moving around downstairs in the weightlifting section to watch. I was switching from college basketball, to the news, to George Lopez, to music, to laughing at people, and back to music. I couldn't help myself! It was pretty entertaining, though. This is something I may need to get used to - at least a little bit. Any more blizzards come through Boston and I will definitely need to have a training back up plan.

I decided to try my long run outside and, surprisingly, Newburgh has a nice, new Riverfront Trail. It's still a work in progress, but it made for a very nice run. I went back and forth to get my 9 miles in and thoroughly enjoyed the sites of the Ohio River. My parents came with me and ran/walked the trail to start their training for the Bourbon Chase in October 2011! We decided Dad needs new shoes.

The rest of the week I took it easy. I was really enjoying my full days of laziness and spending time with the family. Oh, and eating. We ate a lot. I was back in my old stomping grounds and thought it was necessary to grab a bite to eat at all the faves. We hit up B-Dubs, White Castle (not necessarily a fave, but a must-have), Moe's, Acapulco's, and much more. Add those on to the delicious (and much more wholesome) dinners at home and I think I could cut out eating for a good part of 2011. Great marathon training foods.

On the plane ride back to Beantown, I couldn't get comfortable because I hurt so much. I can't laugh or even sneeze without doubling over in pain. You would think marathon training, right? Not even close. Call it Xbox Kinect. Call it Track & Field games. Sprints, Javelin Throw, Long Jump, Discus, Hurdles. Call it Boxing. Head, body, head, body, KO. Oh the pain. I'm positive my body can hold up for a 26.2 mile run but put me in front a TV with a controller-less video game and I am a goner.

Happy New Year!

Fresh Pond Park

2010-12-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, we went to Green Bay, WI to watch the Packers - 49ers game. And no, I did not run while in Wisconsin. I raced from heated building to heated building, ate, drank beer and watched football as a good mid-Westerner should. I did, however, run my 5 miles Friday after work to get the training in before we left. I ran from my house to Fresh Pond Park and back. It's a pretty decent run, nice and flat, and the route goes right past Chipotle. So let's just say I "got hurt" or "hit the wall" and needed some delicious guac to get my strength back, wonderful Chipotle is right there. Not this run, though. Micah and I ran the five miles without a hitch. No runner's knee to speak of.

Fresh Pond Park is a fairly popular place to go. It's got a nice little path around a pond (it’s fresh…get it?) and people bring their dogs and strollers and walk around. Which is fine. Great, even. Only problem is, everyone at Fresh Pond seems to think they are the only ones at Fresh Pond. This is a popular place to take dogs off leash and let them run, which again, is great. I'm always looking for another place to take my dogs where I can let them run and play. Typically, however, when my dogs are off leash I try to have at least the vaguest clue as to where they are in the park. In between dodging feral dogs (and hearing in the distance "oh, he's normally really good with people, I don't understand what happened") you have to also weave in and out of the hordes of people who, from what I can tell, are playing the "who can take up more of the sidewalk?" game. Everyone wins at this game but me. Here's what happens:

We are running, la di da, down the sidewalk. Up ahead we see a young lady taking a nice stroll around the Pond.

She hears the pitter-patter of our feet coming up behind us. It's clear we're going to pass her. I'm looking very athletic with my running gloves, runner's knee strap and reflective gear, so it's pretty obvious I will be moving at a much faster pace than she is. Her reaction?

Where did that come from? Did the baby and the dogs just appear? Maybe she was hiding them in her awesome white peacoat that was probably recently purchased in Montreal (underground, no less). Is she just going to leave that poor baby naked on the sidewalk? More importantly, her yoga pose is in really poor form.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. There was no baby. I photo-shopped that in. From my run I learned I need to steer clear of parks or any other place that encourages people to “stroll.” I’m better off on the sidewalks of busy streets shared with my fellow runners or other pedestrians who have places to be and are far too busy to purposefully get in my way.

On another note, this post has taken about 2 weeks to complete. Between starting and finishing I have been to Montreal and completed my first semester as an MBA student of Arizona State University. Going out of the country and getting a 97% on my Accounting final should make up for the missed posts, right? I am currently on my way to Newburgh, IN and Louisville, KY to visit the family. And yes, I brought my running clothes with me. Training doesn’t stop just because it’s Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone!

Runner's Knee

2010-11-29T21:35:00.001-05:00

My first week of training is finished. Even better, I met my fundraising goal for the week. All in all, a successful marathon training week.

My long run this weekend was 7 miles. I didn't do so well...my left knee got really sore once we hit 3 miles so we cut the run short about 2 miles and "speed walked" home. It was kind of a bummer, but I think I just tweaked it running the half marathon a couple weeks ago. I'll just rub some dirt on it and I'll be okay.

Any time I have any aches or pains, running induced or not, I attempt self-diagnosis. My initial go-to is Google, of course. I Google EVERYTHING because Google has everything you could ever need. Just recently, I interviewed three different people for a cashier position we had available. I picked one person and couldn't figure out what to say to the other two. Since I found them through Craigslist (not recommended, by the way), I decided emailing would be most appropriate. So I googled "how to reject someone for a position." Here is my favorite hit. My goal was to find a sample letter that I could copy and paste thinking it would save me time. Instead I wasted a half hour going through the search results and began to realize what a huge dork I am. I ended up writing the e-mail all by myself. It was 2 lines and took 30 seconds. But I feel my google perusing gave me a good knowledge base.

The last time I googled a possible ailment was at work last year. I didn't feel well, so I decided I was going to get everything done early so I could go home and rest. Feeling short of breath was the only symptom I could pinpoint. I just couldn't fill my lungs all the way. Otherwise, I just felt like crap. When I mentioned this to my boss, she seemed genuinely concerned and said "you may want to check that out, Al." I'm pretty sure by "check that out" she meant "Google it," so Google it I did. I gathered all the information I could find from my all-truth, all-knowing web sites like Wikipedia and WebMD (you know, the legitimate ones) and found that my shortness of breath could be a symptom of one of three things:

1. I am having a heart attack
2. My cancer radiation treatment is the culprit
3. I was bitten by a venomous snake. (Not sure what kind of snake, @iamdoctorish needed a bit more information before releasing the full details of my analysis.)

Since I was still walking around and not currently undergoing chemotherapy I figured I could rule out 1 and 2. Number 3 was a little unnerving.

Naturally, when my knee started hurting I figured there was no better place to turn other than good 'ole trusty Google. I typed in "sharp ache kneecap running." Can you believe that what came up was Runner's Knee? Google is so smart. So there it is, kids, I have runner's knee. It's fairly common among hardcore athletes such as myself, so no need to worry. I'll just wear a cool kneestrap. It just makes me look more legit anyway. It will help me move faster when I'm running away from all the venomous snakes hanging around Mass Ave.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T13:21:00.001-05:00

Breakin' in the Bikilas

2010-11-21T22:16:00.004-05:00

Allie Running in Bikilas

Bikilas are my new barefoot running shoes. Don't I look cool in them?

I'm starting off Thanksgiving week on a good foot. I have officially transitioned from my half marathon training plan to full on marathon training. I have 22 weeks to get in tip top shape and raise $3065 more for the Melanoma Foundation. Funny how "April" sounds so far away but "22 weeks" feels like it's right around the corner. I wanted to loosen up and break in my new shoes with an easy 1 mile run. Micah and I grabbed the dogs and set out on our usual 1 mile loop. Sota was not in the mood to run on a leash. As soon as we got down the steps she broke into a run, dragging me behind, and went straight for the park across the street. I got her under control and untangled myself from the rose bushes in front of the abandoned house at the end of our street and continued on our way. These random bursts of speed from Sota make my running times look a lot better. It doesn't matter that I am flailing behind her, I figure I am still covering ground and should count that toward my running time. Of course, she makes up for it on her pee breaks in front of houses 42, 44, 46, 48, 50... I tell her bad dogs pee during training runs. She doesn't seem to care. Minus the constant stopping, the dogs do pretty well on our short runs. Buttercup starts showing her age after 1 mile and Sota starts showing her lack of attention span at about 2. We leave them at home on our longer runs, and then they join us on our cool down W-A-L-Ks (I have to spell it out, otherwise there will be two very excited dogs harassing one very tired Allie).

With Turkey Day coming up, my training will be off a little bit. I'm headed for Nashville, TN Wednesday night and will get back on Friday. I probably won't do any training while down there - I'll be too busy eating. But I'll be back in time for our first Running for Cover team run where I can embarrass myself in front of the teammates who have run 10-18 marathons (yikes). My long run this week is 7 miles, which means my fundraising goal is $70. Help me hit my goal so I can run off my second helping of turkey and sweet potato casserole!

Daylight Savings Time

2010-11-19T23:03:00.000-05:00

It's starting to feel like winter. I went to City Sports the other day and purchased things like "base layers" and "running gloves" (I'm not really sure how running gloves differ from other gloves, but I bought them anyway because I feel like it'll make me look more like an athlete). Now all I need is to remind myself that when I get home from work I should probably go for a run instead of immediately climbing in bed.

About the time I should have really been gearing up for the half marathon we ran Sunday, it was time to fall back an hour. Which means it is pitch dark by about 5:30. Darkness = Bedtime. Bedtime ≠ Running.

The half marathon went well. Probably would have been better if I had run more the two weeks before but Micah and I finished within our time goal, so we were happy. I do want to note here that the half marathon started and ended at Newton South High School, which means we had to loop around and run the same three miles at the beginning and end of the race. Listen up, Grandpas, because you'll only hear this once. You were right, it can happen. WE RAN UPHILL BOTH WAYS. Literally. I saw the 10 mile mark and thought "oh, this is a piece of cake. The whole first half of the race was uphill so we'll just be flying down the hills and be finished in no time." Fail.

Anyway, we had our first Running for Cover team meeting this week and I was discussing my early darkness dilemma with a teammate. His immediate response was, "you should run in the morning." I responded with "yea, I would, but, you know, I have to be to work by 6:30 so it's kind of impossible." And he said, "oh yea, me too, I wake up at 4:00 AM every day." WHAT???? The only time I ever see 4am is when I wake up having to use the bathroom. And I usually lay in bed for 10-15 minutes doing a cost/benefit analysis of whether it is worth getting out of bed for. Like maybe I could hold it for another 5 hours or so. No way. So on Monday when you get home from work and it looks like nighttime outside, give me a call and tell me to get off my butt and go for a run.

Patriots' Day Woes

2010-11-17T22:30:00.002-05:00

My first encounter with Patriots' Day was on Monday, April 20, 2009. Toward the end of the work day on this particular Monday I decided I desperately needed mint chocolate chip ice cream on a chocolate dipped waffle cone from Brigham's. (Yes, my cravings are that specific). I convinced a friend to sneak a break and walk down High Street with me to get my ice cream cone. It was about 3:00 PM by the time we got there and the doors were closed with a sign that said "Brigham's will be closing early for Patriots' Day Monday, April 20." I looked at my friend and said "Patriots' Day?!?! There's no such thing. Brigham's is making that up. If that was a real holiday I would have the day off, too." He assured me that Patriots' Day was a real thing with real historical significance blah, blah, blah. I, however, was hearing none of it because all I could think of was my elusive ice cream cone and how jealous I was that the kids at Brigham's got to go home early while I was stuck at work for at least another hour. I went home hungry, unhappy, and very much against the holiday.

My second encounter with Patriots' Day was on Monday, April 19, 2010. The wounds were still open about the whole Brigham's ordeal and I was still pretty skeptical about it being a holiday since I was expected to be at work, but this year I was prepared for the nonsense. My boss was running the Boston Marathon which meant in addition to running the joint, I was also the designated "How's she doing so far?" lady. She had been training for the marathon for 5-6 months and I had slowly become jealous of her ability to run 26.2 miles while I occasionally ran out of breath on the ride up the elevator. After following her training and seeing her after the race, I decided I wanted to run a marathon. And do it faster than her.

So this is my year, folks! Patriots' Day 2011 is the day where all previous Patriots' Day experiences are forgiven. I am on the Running for Cover Marathon Team for the Melanoma Foundation of New England. Cancer, including Melanoma, has affected all of us in one way or another. Many members of my family have been diagnosed with all different types of cancer, some of whom have been lost to the battle. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, but if detected early can be cured. Research has also shown that Melanoma can be prevented by reducing the amount of exposure to ultraviolet rays. In my opinion, there is no better reason to run 26.2 miles than to help the Melanoma Foundation of New England educate the public about the prevention and detection of Melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. Please help me raise my goal of $3250 for this great program!

Donate on my First Giving page, www.firstgiving.com/allisonsilletto. I appreciate all of your help and support.