Category Archives: Marathon

Sunny and warm on the river

It’s March in Boston which means short-sleeve weather one day, and snow and ice two days later. Luckily I took advantage of the beautiful weather on Tuesday to go for a run on the river in the evening. 

I started to get a scratchy throat earlier this week…I gargled with salt water (Charlie would be so proud) and did my best to ward off an illness. I don’t have time to be sick! But those germs had a mind of their own and I woke up on Saturday morning feeling like garbage. And I’ve spent most of the weekend alternating between my couch and my bed. I did make some “recovery soup” (red lentil and spinach, recipe coming soon).

Recovery soup

Instead of the 19-mile run I was supposed to do on Saturday, I got a record low of < 500 steps. I did manage to venture out on Sunday to stock up on more tissues and cough medicine.

Am I bummed about missing my long run? Of course. But I also know it was the right decision, and that I will be a-OK even with this unintentional step-back in mileage. 

In other news, if you want to come to an awesome party at Royale on April 3, join us for Taper Madness, a party for runners and the people who tolerate them. You can get $5 off with the coupon code: 4CHARITY. Also, be sure to list my name in the “someone you know” field: Kara Becker. There is going to be an awesome band and lots of cool prizes (like an African safari)!

Total distance covered
13 miles (supposed to be 36…yikes!)

Donors of the week
Julie Spanos

Goals for next week
Get healthy and get back out on the roads

Visit my web site for more information or if you’d like to make a donation!

Saw this in Downtown Crossing

So there I was, running along the river on Tuesday, when that dreaded feeling hit me…I needed a bathroom. I wondered, could I hold it? Nope. Could I find someplace on the river to go where no one would see me? Double nope. I took a detour through Beacon Hill and popped into the Starbucks at the bottom (top?) of Charles Street, the one closest to the Common and the Public Garden. And that is twice this week I had to stop for a bio break – on Saturday I stopped at the Holiday Inn on Beacon Street. If you go in the entrance on Beacon Street, you can head straight downstairs and bypass the hotel lobby. Other restrooms of choice that I’ve discovered by trial and error include the Lenox Hotel in Copley and the Whole Foods in Wellesley. Of course there are Starbucks practically everywhere, but I am one of those people who feels bad using their restroom without buying something (though strangely I don’t feel that way about hotel restrooms). Plus it’s always hard to tell if you have to ask the barista for a key. I once had a hare-brained idea that someone should create access to restrooms through a subscription-based program with a code or key card (kind of like city toilets for runners) as well as partnering with local businesses. When you gotta go, you gotta go – do you have any secret ninja places you like to stop?

I also have to share that 10 miles on a weekday is no joke. I try to do my longer weekday run on the day I work from home, and it was just really tough to fit it in.

I lasted 10 minutes in the ice bath this week. I guess the first time (of the season) and the first two minutes are the hardest. After that I was just numb, obvi, and distracted myself with a hot beverage and my phone…Facebook, Instagram, and writing notes for this post. Want to read more about ice baths? I found a few interesting articles:

• 9 tips to survive a cold soak (via runladylike.com)
• 8 ice bath dos and don’ts (via active.com)
• Ice baths for sore muscles can work (via webmd.com)

Total distance covered
31 miles

Donors of the week
Sharon Darak
Sandy and Chris Carlberg
Brittany Martel
Katie Smith

Yeah, this happened

The hardest part of today’s long run (18 miles) was the post-run ice bath. Yes, I was on my feet for almost three hours, but those 2.5 minutes I managed to spend with two bags of ice seemed a whole lot more brutal. But my legs already feel better than they did after the Love your Liver run and the half marathon last weekend, so I really do believe the benefits outweigh the temporary pain. Do you use ice baths in your training? If so, I’d love to hear your strategies – feel free to post in the comments below. 

Boston Strong at El Pelon

So, how did I manage to run 18 miles and finish at El Pelon for a pescado burrito? I mentally broke it up into three segments, starting with the yuge (on the river from the BU bridge to the Museum of Science), then running the course on Beacon Street, and finally out-and-back on those infamous hills. While the BC area was my least favorite part of the course on marathon day (too many obnoxious, drunk college kids yelling at you to run faster), the BC chapel is a welcome sight when I am ending a run at El Pelon. I also got to try out my new Boston Strong headband, a pressie from Julie McGee!

I think this was also the first time I really noticed the Johnny Kelley statue. The plaque reads:

Johnny Kelley statue

Young at Heart, by Rich Muno

This sculpture immortalizes the spirit of Johnny Kelley, Boston’s Marathon Man. The two runners triumphantly holding hands represent Johnny Kelley when he first won Boston at age 27 and again at age 84 when he finished his 58th Boston Marathon. Johnny Kelley won the Boston Marathon in 1935 and 1945, finished second seven times, and placed in the top ten eighteen times. Beyond the personal achievements of one man, this sculpture is a dedication to the spirit of everyone who is YOUNG AT HEART.

Total distance covered
32 miles

Donors of the week
Robin Swanson
Jill and Greg Yurasek
Nada Cuvalo
Kim Dong
Nick Bolt

Hyannis finisher!

It was so great to see the sun this weekend, and enjoy some mild temperatures. I ran the Hyannis half marathon in short-sleeves and capri pants. I was a little nervous about being cold, but it turned out just fine and there were a lot of overdressed peeps at the race this morning.

Duck fat fried potato cake

I’ve always said that the half marathon (13.1 miles) is my favorite distance. It requires training, but the training is not as overwhelming a commitment as the training required for a full marathon. My first half marathon was the BAA half in 2006, and that’s the PR I’ve been chasing ever since. I think about it every time I line up for a half, but it hasn’t really seemed possible so I just vow to do the best I can do in that moment. And today, I felt great and wanted to see what I could do – and voila, I cut more than three minutes off my PR. The stars were aligned, the weather was great, and perhaps I should also give credit to my pre-race meal at Fairsted Kitchen in Brookline. 

My pre-race meal included a delicious cheese plate, a duck fat fried potato cake, ricotta gnocchi with duck confit and kohlrabi, a young chicken, and a couple glasses of wine. We couldn’t resist the “coffee tower” for dessert – and the dessert wine that came highly recommended by one of the servers.

Coffee tower

Only two more weeks until daylight savings time!

Total distance covered
27.1 miles

Donors of the week
Chris Balduino
Lisa and Keith Welch

Pre-long run smoothie ingredients

And just like that, we’ve made it to the halfway point! This week the training plan also upped the ante to running four days a week (from the previous three days)…which is no joke. 

Never leave home without your burrito card

Instead of my usual Saturday morning long run, I decided to head out on Sunday for a burrito run. For those of you who are not familiar with this (which is probably most, since I’m pretty sure we made it up), it’s a run organized to finish at a burrito spot, preferably El Pelon. It just so happens that one of their locations is by BC which makes it super convenient to tackle Heartbreak Hill…which is super good practice for marathon day. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. It is fun and motivating to know that there are friends (and yummy burritos) waiting for me at the end of the run.

After the run on Sunday, my friend (and fellow Liver teammate) and I baked more cookies for the 50:50 raffle we’ll be holding at the UNC-Duke game this Wednesday (9 PM at the Baseball Tavern). We baked Valentine M&M cookies and Butterfinger cookies – and don’t worry, I did some quality control to make sure they were acceptable. 

Post-run feasting

Total distance covered
28 miles

Donors of the week
Adam and Aimee Kensky
Pam Brooks
Melanie Maletta


Goals for next week
Show some liver love on the team run (for real this time) – I’m getting on a bus and running to the finish line. I may even wear some Valentine’s Day socks.

Visit my web site for more information or if you’d like to make a donation!

This week I had my first (and hopefully only) wipeout…tripped on the sidewalk on a very early morning run, resulting in a bruised elbow, knee, and ego. But thankfully no major injuries, open wounds, or ripped clothing. Phew!

Running in circles

I was in Baltimore this weekend, staying at the Aloft hotel in Arundel Mills. I asked the guy at the front desk for suggestions on a route and he didn’t understand why I would want to go out running in “this weather”. It was 24 degrees and sunny, tropical compared to some of those wicked cold January runs. One of his suggestions was to run laps in the mall with the mall walkers. I can’t imagine how many laps I would have had to do! So off I went, blindly, and this is what 15 miles of “I don’t know where I’m going” looks like. It turned out to be a bit hilly too – it’s definitely unnerving to feel yourself running downhill, knowing that you will have to run back up the hill to get back!

Total distance covered
26 miles

Donors of the week
Trudy Jewett – who got me over the 3K mark!
Kathy Kelley
Tawnya and Mike Lopez
FM Global Matching Gifts Program (my first corporate match, via Christian Sonneville)

Goals for next week
Enjoy the fact that we’re almost halfway there!

Visit my web site for more information or if you’d like to make a donation!

Week 8 is in the books and I’ve officially made it to the second page of my training schedule.

New sneaks

I got new sneakers this week (or maybe they arrived last week and I finally opened the package this week…I’ll never tell). And yes, they look exactly like my old ones! I found the old (aka my current) model on Amazon for a pretty good price…$75 instead of the usual $100ish price tag. I usually go to Marathon Sports and use a 15% coupon. I always have a coupon, either from a previous race or there is one at the bottom of the monthly email newsletter they send out. It was a lucky find since I can’t normally order my shoes online due to the sort of atypical size I wear, a whole size bigger than my normal shoes in a narrow width (size 8 2A). I have been super happy with this model and I get to continue the Wendy Davis shoe craze for a little bit longer, say another 350-500 miles or so.

Why hello Newton

This week I also signed up for the BAA distance medley, which includes the 5K on marathon weekend, the 10K in June, and the half-marathon in October. Though I’m not convinced I’m actually in since I haven’t received a confirmation email about my entry. I do show up on the searchable entry list on their web site, so hopefully that is a good sign. Last year I tried to sign up for the half-marathon and it filled up in about 12.2 minutes. Running, especially in Boston, is super popular these days! It seems like 2014 will be the year of BAA races for me – if I get in to the medley, I’ll be completing the quadrilogy or the hat trick +1. For those of you who are wondering, I thought I might have made up a cool word (quadrilogy), but I didn’t…if it’s on Urban Dictionary, it must be a real word, right?

The frozen Charles + Instagram, from the BU bridge

Saturday’s long run was a slight step-back in distance, from 14 miles to 12 miles. I had to be up and out early, earlier than the team run, so I could go meet another favorite pint-sized cheerleader. Since I was on my own, I decided to head out on the course and take on some of those infamous hills. Out and back on Comm Ave meant that I hit the hills in both Brighton and Newton. The first time I ran a course like this, my friend Kendrin was with me and she called me Gilly (from SNL) because I didn’t tell her the route would take us to Heartbreak Hill. Ignorance is bliss…or so they say. It was great to see lots of runners on the course, including the Project Hope team who looked super snazzy in their matching marathon jackets. It was pretty chilly and my Camelbak straw, skittles (a new addition to the trail mix), and phone all froze at certain times during the run.

I joined the “Meg’s Miles” event on Facebook and dedicated this week’s long run to Meg Cross Menzies, and ran it from Chantilly, VA where I was visiting some friends (who turned out to be huge heroes for me this weekend too).

Meg Cross Menzies was tragically killed by a drunk driver while out for her morning run on January 13, 2014. As an avid runner, member of the Richmond Road Runners Club, and Boston marathoner, she was a member of the running family nationwide. In her honor, our hope is to raise awareness of drunk driving, texting and driving, and overall safety of runners and cyclists everywhere. 

This Saturday, January 18, 2014, no matter what your distance, no matter where you live, run for Meg. Take in the fresh air, be aware of your surroundings, keep your headphones on low, feel the heaviness in your lungs, the soreness in your legs, and be grateful for it–for all of it. The sweat, the pain, the wind, the cold…everything. Be grateful for that moment.

Feel free to post pictures of yourself pre-run or post-run, post your distance, post your thoughts, prayers, condolences with the hashtag #megsmiles. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Let all runners unite together and remember the loss of a beautiful spirit. It’s not a coincidence the hashtag reads either “Meg’s Miles” or “Meg Smiles.” She will be smiling on all of us forevermore.

Directions!

I’ll be honest, I did miss a pretty long run this week (7 miles). It was a trade-off, and I made the right decision because I got to spend time with my cousins and go to the Celtics-Pacers game.

Two of the cities in the four city 10-miler

As of today, there are 98 days until the marathon! I know, that’s not quite as catchy as being able to say “100 days until the marathon!”, but that milestone has already passed…and I only knew about it because Coach Jorge posted it to the team Facebook page on Friday.

Sapporo and soju for the table

Anyway, what a difference a week makes…from 3 degrees last weekend to a balmy 50-something degree day yesterday. I dubbed yesterday’s long run the Four City Kara and Claire 10-miler. My friend Claire planned a route that took us through Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, and Cambridge. I will admit that sometimes I had no idea where I was…actually…most of the time. It was a little wet out, but I’m super glad we finished before the real rain (and thunder and lightning) started. 

I must confess that my pre-long run meal on Friday night involved Korean bbq, Sapporo, and shots (yes that’s plural) of soju. It was delicious and totally worth it, but also part of the reason I decided to skip the 8 AM team run (yet again)! The other reasons were of course getting to run with Claire and enjoying a post-run adult “haute” chocolate and lunch at Not Your Average Joe’s.

Korean bbq

On a slightly more nutritious note, I’ve been experimenting with mid-run snacks. I’m not a fan of GU, and my stomach’s not a fan of a lot of the other energy products on the market. Lately I’ve been putting together a combination of M&M’s, dried cranberries, and the honey stinger chew things and so far so good. I think I need to add something salty, probably goldfish or pretzels…or perhaps pretzel goldfish! Perhaps I should market this as Kara’s running trail mix. On a side note, if you’re a GU fan, Claire gave two thumbs up to the salted caramel GU flavor yesterday.

23 miles

Donors of the week
Anonymous Anonymous (super curious about this one – anyone want to step forward?)
Daniella Argueta
Daniel Bahcheli
Suzanne and Fred Battenfeld
Mickee Brocato
Etienne Ratte-Delorme
Jill Kurtz
Andy Soares
Ellen Farren

Goals for next week
Take my long run out (way out) of Boston!

Visit my web site for more information or if you’d like to make a donation!