I had 10 on the schedule today. All of my runs this week are 10 except for the hellacious 20 on Saturday, and I’ll probably do some non-scheduled easy miles on my off days. I really wanted to run outside because of the weather. Hello 50 in February, and I was itching for a stroller run anyway, so when Marshall wouldn’t nap,we were off.

Ready for nap time in the stroller. He loves it.

This week is all about hard working, mostly faster miles. I’ll probably slow it down a bit tomorrow so I have a good amount of juice to work my butt off for Wednesdays tempo. Today, I wanted to be sure I didn’t creep over 8 minute miles even with the stroller. We started off with a pretty quick first mile, and progressively sped up, until mile 8, when we progressively slowed down.

I headed north on the monon for five and as I ran north, I had a good feeling the run back south would be much harder due to the wind. It was. Thankfully the 86th-75th st. stretch is blocked pretty well by lot’s of trees, so the wind didn’t get too crazy until we had 3 miles to go. Which is when we started slowing down.

The most ridiculous stretch wind-wise always heading south between 54th-52nd st. No wind barrier at all. I was using both hands (which I never do… I usually keep my left hand on the stroller) and forcefully pushing the stroller against the wind. There was a guy standing outside the Developer Town Building who probably thought I was crazy, because I was just smiling and almost laughing at what was going on. I didn’t know how else to take in the craziness of the wind I was experiencing. I could have slowed down or even walked it in at that point with a half a mile to go, but I was determined to keep my pace decent for that last bit. It was hilariously hard.

My Splits:

Mile 1– 7:41 
Mile 2– 7:13 
Mile 3– 7:15 
Mile 4– 7:06 
Mile 5– 7:00 
Mile 6 – 6:51 
Mile 7– 6:50 
Mile 8– 7:17 
Mile 9– 7:25 
Mile 10– 7:35

Average Pace: 7:14

That felt good.

Something about creeping under that 7 minute mile mark with the stroller feels kind of… awesome.

With Buddy after our 10. It was pretty warm, but he was bundled in his standard go to fleece.

Reasons I Love the Stroller Run:

• It makes me feel powerful & happy

• I look forward to it more than the standard 10 on the treadmill

• Fresh Air

• There is a pressure that is taken off when it’s you and the stroller. Meaning… it’s OK if I need to slow down a bit, after all I’m pushing a stroller. 

• Along with the above reason… also comes the desire to run fast with the stroller at times. It’s an added incentive to work hard. You feel extra accomplished if you get a nice paced run in with the stroller. 

• Although I can’t do the creepy stare anymore, I like that Marshall is with me. I know that he enjoys it. I think he finds it soothing and comfortable. The kid has been hearing my noisy feet smack the ground for a long time now, he’s used to it.

Happy Running everyone- hope you were able to get the week started off in a good place. 

Tried out the Vega Protein Powder today- loved it! Also, you’ll notice the baby formula back there… if you are into buying organic formula, Kroger brand has hella cheap organic!

When we ran our first marathon in June, 2008 Glenn ran a 3:49. Needless to say there was a lot of learning and work to be done if he would ever qualify for Boston. Little did we know, he would get the job done three years later. What did it take for Glenn to get to Boston? What it takes most people- hard work, dedication, CONFIDENCE, (If I can scram up half of the confidence he has when he runs, I think I’d PR by a good 20 minutes….) experience and the desire to get it done.

We headed out to Boston on Friday and stayed through Tuesday, so it was a nice little vacation, before Hein #4 comes along.

The expo was completely obnoxious and a little annoying with overly excited runners buying millions of dollars worth of B.A.A. gear and chatting with each other about qualifying times. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good Boston sweatshirt, but the amount of money being spent on these items was just a little gross.

Glenn with his first Boston Bib- if only he’d had his Birmingham time for his qualifier… that bad boy would have been even lower. We all know runners at Boston are proud of their bib number.

I don’t think my shirt fit. I exchanged for a medium. People were looking at me like I was crazy picking up my packet… kind of wanted to have a sign that says… no I’m not that crazy. I’m not running this thing in 85 degree heat.

Fast forward to race day.

I got up early and walked Glenn to the buses at 6am and sent him off like it was his first day of school. Peggy and I set up in an amazing shady spot on Boylston, just past the 26 mile marker at 9am and enjoyed the weather. We had a good bit of time to just relax and soak up the energy. Buying lawn chairs at walgreens was money well spent.

Ever since I realized I wouldn’t be running the race, I had been excited about being in Boston as a lover of running and spectator. It would mean I would get to see the wheelchair athletes, elite women, men, super speedy non-elites, average Jo’s like myself, BoMF resident and non-resident runners, charity runners, blind athletes, military men and women, athletes pushing other athletes in wheelchairs, people who headed to the finish line with smiles, grimaces, tears, looks of joy, disappointment, heat exhaustion, wobbly legs, fresh looking legs and the list goes on. If you follow running at all-  you know that times were slow on Marathon Monday in Boston. The winning times were almost 10 minutes slower than last years winning times and most “ordinary” runners out there were adding a good 30-60 minutes to their prize times.

First Wheelchair athlete in!

Women’s winner – Sharon Cherop

Military.

Running for Team Hoyt. You want inspiration? Watch something like this.

Heat getting the best of people. Bib # 393… trust me, this guy does not walk.

My favorite runner of the day. Here comes Glenn feeling and looking fresh. He ran very smart. I only told him 5,000 times to not race because I wasn’t interested in dealing with him having a heart attack in the heat.

Glenn’s support team.

We had a lot of fun adventures over the weekend, including running with Bart Yasso,(we actually got to meet and run with most of the staff from Runner’s World magazine), meeting up with BoMF Boston & hearing Joan Benoit Samuelson speak, eating at some amazing restaurants (we are just a bit obsessed with food), Glenn went to a game at Fenway Park, we got to see our good friends Erik and Lindsay, spent quality time with Glenn’s parents and enjoyed being a part of the marathon as both runner and spectator.

With Bart Yasso!

With Erik & Lindsay

Our original plan this year was to run together and that is still something I would like to do, but as for if we will go back next year- the last Marathon I raced was March 2011- therefore I would have to whip back in shape before September to qualify. (having baby in the beginning of July… not sure that will happen- aren’t you like not aloud to run for 4-6 weeks after giving birth?) The B.A.A. actually offered bib deferment for runners who chose not to race because of the heat, so I could do that – but after spectating on Boylston, now I’ve decided I want to run in wave 1 if we go back, then Glenn won’t have to run wave 2 with his kind of fast, but not fast enough wife. My bib number this year was 10,564 which put me about 2,000 away from wave 1. Guess I need to buck up and get a little faster.

When I ran Boston in 2009, it was only my second marathon and I was simply not an experienced enough runner to enjoy the ride. I was scared… small fish in a big sea of crazy runners. I was not prepared for the hills, my quads were ripped to shreds by mile 10, I was crying by mile 16 and ran a very sub par time. So, I’d like to go back as the runner I have become an will become. BUT, before I end this post, I just have to say- although Boston is great… I really don’t understand the crazy obsessed people. I get it. It’s cool to qualify for the Boston Marathon, it’s an honor to run the race. But when there are a ton of other great races out there, I’m really not interested in become one of the crazies that go back every single year. I’ll happily keep qualifying and improving myself elsewhere.

Perhaps we will head back in 2014, but who knows. I’ve never had a baby so I’m not sure how my priorities might change!

Hopefully you will see a post coming from the Hein that actually ran Boston this year in the near future. This was after all, the spectators perspective. 

Congrats to all the runners who braved the heat in Boston on Monday!

Happy runner – 11th marathon and 1st Boston!