Elite Runner, Deena Kastor, Enters Boston

A couple of months ago I saw this woman with killer legs. She was on the cover of Runner's World magazine and her name is Deena Kastor.

I had no idea who Deena Kastor was, but inside the issue I had the opportunity to find out. She is a world class runner, recipient of the Runner's World Heroes of 2006 award, olympic medalist, record holder and the woman runner I admire.

I will be competing agaist Deena Kastor in the 2007 Boston Marathon. Kastor, along with two other elite women, have entered the marathon (read about it here). I understand that I will not run beside her at any point in the race, but we will go the same distance, we will run by the same places and here the same crowd.

I can't think of another sport where I would have the opportunity to compete against world class athlete I admire. I could never sign up for a volleyball game with Gabrielle Reese or play basketball with Pat Summit. However, I can enter a race against an elite runner.

No. I will not beat Deena Kastor and like I said, I probably won't even see her, but it's still pretty exciting to know that when I look at the long list of results both of our names will be on there.

Boston: The Windy City

I'm officially stripping Chicago of the title of Windy City and transferring it to Boston. Tomorrow is the Team BMC long run and what did I read on boston.com at lunch? Let me tell you...

The National Weather Service has posted a high wind watch for tomorrow in
much of southern New England, including Boston Harbor.

The warning, issued at 5:43am, will run from tomorrow morning through the
evening.

Forecasters expect wind gusts of at least 45 miles per hour, with some
isolated gusts reaching 60 miles per hour.

So it's going to be a windy morning. We're running from the Woodland T-stop to Fitcorp at One Beacon Street (10.5 miles). I'm hoping that the wind is coming at my back and giving me that 45 mile an hour push. If it's not, this could be quite an interesting morning.

Long Runs Feel Great ... Say what?!

Long runs feel great! No, seriously, they do. I can't believe I'm saying it either, but I've really learned to love the long run. This Saturday, I completed 12 miles along with my running buddy and it just felt good the whole way. I didn't feel pain in my legs over the hills, even coming back up Beacon Hill. The real test for Beacon Hill will be on Tuesday night when Team BMC starts our Hill Repeat training runs. We start with four repeats and will build to 10. Whoa!

I did a little recovery run today - just three easy miles on the treadmill. It felt good and actually loosened up my legs a little bit. I did some weight training too. Just arms and a few ab moves too. I'm trying to work more weight training in during the week. I'll do a day of abs (usually my Pilates class on Monday night), then a day of legs, a day of arms and another day of abs. That's ideal, but I try to fit those in when and where I can.

I do have to admit that I've still been bad about cross training. I know I should be spinning, I know I should be doing the elliptical, but it's just not happening yet. I feel too good when I'm running to try anything else. I've got to learn to get over that hump.

Luckily, the weather this winter has been so warm! Well lucky in the sense that I don't have to trudge through snow when I'm outside, but not lucky in that I spent a fortune on winter running clothes and have hardly needed them. Last weekend I was in shorts. Yeah, I said that. I live in New England and I was running in shorts in January! Craziness! It looks like the weather is going to be getting a bit chilly this week so maybe winter is finally here.

Just 92 days to go until the 111th running of the Boston Marathon!