Running in Portland

After returning from vacation at the beach, I began a new project for work in Portland, Maine. This prompted an immediate change in my running schedule. Now that I was on the road Monday through Thursday, I decided to adjust my running schedule so that my long runs were now on Sundays instead of Saturdays. The cross training and day "off" at the beginning of my travel week made things alot easier. I was also lucky in that my hotel was right in front of a running trail! This made it very easy to wake up at 5:30 am and get my run in before the day started. The trail in front of the hotel was right along the coast with a boating dock and small beach.

This made for nice scenery during a run! Although it took some discipline, I can say that for the most part I have kept up with my running over the past two weeks. Mid week runs in Portland, and long runs on Sundays in Boston. This weeks milestone was reaching the 13 mile long run mark. Although I've ran a half-marathon before, it still felt great to get to this point in my training plan. This 13 mile run was also much easier than my half marathon. I guess my fitness is starting to improve. I finished with energy left in the tank at the end. I even sprinted part of the last mile!

Until next time,
-Kevin

Training at the Beach!!

Summertime usually brings a few vacations if you're lucky. I was able to spend the past week vacationing with friends at the beach. Its always nice to get out of the city and just relax. However, its not as easy to keep up with your training while "away". I was disciplined this time and stuck to my schedule. The initial run at the beach was a 6 mile run. This was probably the most difficult due to the weather. Anyone on the east coast can probably empathize with me on this one. Even running at night next to the ocean was just plain difficult. The air was so thick, you could hardly breathe. The next run, a short 3 miler wasn't too bad as the humidity eased up a bit. Running along the beach provided my legs with a nice soft surface. A very nice break from the concrete and roads while training in Boston. It was also calming to run along hearing the waves crashing and smelling the salt water of the ocean. My long run for this training cycle was only 7 miles, a step back week. Instead of running on the beach, I decided to run along the streets and explore the shops and scenery of the beach town I was visiting. Running at sunset was pretty amazing. The sunset was so picturesque, I actually stopped for a minute to take it all in. I wish I had a camera with me to show you all just how beautiful it was. Instead I'll have to leave you with a similar photo I found online. Until next time!

-Kevin

P.S. Don't forget to donate to the American Cancer Society, I still have a ways to go to reach my $1,000 goal!!

http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Kevin.Fletcher

Back on Track

It has been a while since my last post. I have continued on with my training, however; I will admit that I have skipped a few running days! It's way too easy to skip a day, or 2.....ok maybe 3 days during the summer!! During a recent vacation, I packed my running shoes and was determined to keep up with my schedule while "away". A few "nights out on the town", and various other distractions later, I skipped nearly a week of running! My first morning back in Boston, I was determined to get back on track. I made a slight detour from my running schedule and ran 6 miles over the normal weekly 3 mile runs to make myself feel better. I'm happy to report that the 6 mile runs are starting to feel shorter and shorter each time!

On Saturday morning, I went for a nice 10 mile run around the Charles River. Although all of the preparation for the Boston fireworks caused a few runner "detours", I did get a behind the scenes view of all the preparation that went into preparing for such a big show! Check out the clip I took below from the finale of the amazing fireworks display on July 4th in Boston.

Ok, back to the running now. Since this was a pretty long run, I decided to use my GU energy gels and the fuel belt for hydration. I haven't had the GU's in a while, but the chocolate outrage flavor was a pretty awesome treat midway through my run. It tastes just like chocolate pudding! It was also great to have the fuel belt with the extreme heat outside. I'm trying to be extremely careful about hydrating myself so that I don't end up with heat exhaustion.

At the end of the 10 mile run, I did a nice stretch routine in the park near my apartment which was awesomely relaxing. I also gulped down 2 large Powerades! I'm thinking I'll have to pack my fuel belt next weekend with H20 and powerade to keep up with my thirst.

I also find it funny how ridiculously hungry I am after a long run of 10 miles. I had tons of carbs a few days before, and had a lsnack before my run. After the run I had a protein shake and more pasta. Two hours later I was still hungry! One of my buddies invited me out for Mexican food, so I let the awesome enchiladas and nachos take care of my appetite. If running this much allows me to eat as much food as this, I think i'll keep it up!

This was a pretty long post, but like I said before it has been a while. I am back on track now with all of my training, and look forward to my midweek runs reaching 5 miles this week. I'll continue to keep you posted.

Also, don't forget to donate to the American Cancer Society. I still have a long way to reach my $1,000 fundraising goal: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Kevin.Fletcher

Until next time,

-Kev