Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Running in Westford, MA

Thought I'd make a quick entry today before I rush out to pick up my brother at the station. Got into Westford, MA two weeks ago. Ran for the first time in 30 Degree F and in a light drizzle. The experience was surreal. I felt like I was in a Pink Floyd video. I thought I could tell between dark skies and pain.

I guess it takes some getting used to. Some of the people who post on Runner's World claim to run in 50 below (with Windchill of course). Im not there yet and dont know if I will ever be considering that most of my running is in good ole Chennai.

The next couple of runs were pretty ok. The weather changed. My immediate next run was in a hotel in New York - on the treadmill. I did a 4 mile tempo run with one mile warm up and one to cool down. Managed to keep a good pace even though the damn mill decided to keep slowing down. I had to keep increasing the speed every 3 - 4 minutes. So it was a like a Tempo-Interval run.

My next couple of runs were back in Westford. I did a long run on Saturday around this area - about 8.5 miles. Got to try out my new runner's belt and running glasses. It was really cool! Had some great music blasting out of the Ipod and the weather was perfect for a long run. After the run I had a real good breakfast of crepes and chicken at the Friendly's in Chelmsford. Felt really strong. The runs here are my first experience with hills. But I think my beach training in Chennai really paid off.

On Sunday I did a 16 mile bike ride from Bedford to Arlington - on pretty good mountain bikes. Managed to get in four 3-minute sprints on the way back. It was too crowded for more than that - sunday and earthday - everyone was there. I also went to Goodales in Nashua and checked out a few bikes there. Saw a 1000$ beauty that I am so tempted to buy - but not sure where to ride it. Apparently Im a size 54. One day..

This week is all about slow and easy recoveries. I ran a 4 mile easy (somewhat fast but comfortable) today to recover from a weight session yesterday. For the next few days until the Groton 10k I will only be walking to keep my legs fresh.

Most likely my next post will only be after the race. Wish me luck.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You write very well.