Island Hopping

Where to begin!?

20 miler

Last I left off, I was gearing up for a 20 miler (to be completed after school on a Friday). That was back on March 19. I'm happy to report that it went extremely well!! I enjoyed the novelty of fueling for my afternoon run (oatmeal, soy latte, almond butter bagel, banana, lots of water) and set out shortly after dismissal. I did some miles on the west side highway and some in central park. It took 3hr12, which makes it my fastest twenty mile training run to date (9:38 avg, I think). My recovery consisted of a short ice bath, some beer, and packing for a long trip.

Sailing

Being on a sailboat for a week is not conducive to running. But I knew this ahead of time and wasn't worried (about running). I did get plenty of exercise sailing from island to island (try it--you'll see). I have to say that out of all of our sailing adventures, this one was the best! Beautiful weather, perfect winds, lovely islands--love it!! Here are a few pictures~

1. reefed mainsail..2. underway--approaching the southern grenadines (and you can see a bit down below--that's my red rain jacket hanging on the left "just in case")3. at the helm, though I prefer to employ "auto helm" (ie. set course and voila! like cruise control for boats). 4. went to check on the sail.. 5. Tobago Cays--perhaps the most beautiful place in the world! This island is Petit Tabac where parts of Pirates of the Carib were filmed. I don't think monohulls can go there--too shallow.

"Running"

Though you can't run ON the boat, you can run ashore. While anchored one afternoon, I decided to run down a rare paved road. It was a short out and back that lasted about five minutes. Check out my footwear--highly supportive flip flops ;)

Seconds after finishing my "run", Mick Jagger happened to drive by (tailed by security, of course). I'd like to think that this sighting only happened because of my silly desire to run. He owns a house on the island and it was confirmed that he was there that day, as well as the kind of car he drives (yes, he was driving). Anyway, I wish I could end every run with a salute from a rock star.

Post-Sailing Resort

Sailing is the best!! But it makes you wish for a "real" shower and a chance to let the bruises heal, not to mention some time to let the dock rock subside. This also gave me the chance to put in some miles and pretend I was still training. Since I was not heat acclimated in the least (short run mentioned above did not do the trick), these runs were tough (mostly mentally, because time spent running was time not spent pooling). Here's what I was able to do:

* Sunday: 4 miles (just getting the land legs back); 100 abs on the ball

* Monday: 6 miles (tried to do some yasso 800s--I did exactly two of them at 8 min pace and nearly died from exhaustion, so I stopped that madness and just ran)

* Tuesday: nothing. I stubbed my toe and was 90% convinced it was broken due to the swelling and black/purple color. It turned out to be just fine.

*Wednesday: 6 miles; 100 abs on the ball

*Thursday: 4 miles; some biceps, which bored me; 100 abs on the ball; massage at the spa

*Friday: stubbed a different toe (same swollen purple business) but ran anyway. 6 miles.

*Note on the toe stubbings: For some reason, I was able to run around on a slippery boat deck filled with toe-stubbing opportunities (ie. winches are particularly hazardous), but managed to escape without a single toe injury. Then I get into a swimming pool--and stub my toe. Badly. The second incident was at least a bit more understandable--rough waves breaking over sharp hidden rocks on the beach. Both caused lots of pain; the first one had me limping and wondering if I'd have to pull out of NJ..

Back in nyc..

Now that I'm home, I'm supposed to resume training. Today I headed out on a twenty miler. The weather was near 70, but there was a nice breeze. I tried to shake off a lingering migraine, but it bothered me with a dull thump every so often. Then when I got to mile 16 or so, I felt a slight pinch in my knee. So I stopped. I'm a little conservative with my knee, but I also have not been stretching properly these past two weeks and things have most likely gotten weaker (hip flexors come to mind). I'm not entirely concerned at this point, but I will be popping some nsaids, as well as icing, rolling, and stretching the band. My next run isn't until Thursday, so I'll have a better idea of the damage then.

Summary

best vacay ever!!