Mental roadmap of an early morning run.

Alarm.
Snooze.

x12.
This is why I set my alarm so early. Sucker. I’ve fooled my early morning self.
Oh, hello smart self, hello running outfit already laid out.

Mm spandex. So much spandex. Neon pink vest! I’m already more awake.

Boo, no running food.
Aha. Brownies. Yesss.

Out the door.
Fucking cold. Why don’t I live somewhere warmer.
Jog it out.

I have to pee again? Already? Fine. Thanks, Bruegger’s.

Turn off the distance on the watch thingie. Pace only.

Oh hello! Faster pace than predicted. I’m a rock star even at 7 am.

Zone. Out.

Wake up again sometime on the Mass Ave bridge.
Hello, my pretty city.

Esplanade. Best thing ever.
Puppies. So many puppies. Don’t stop to pet the puppies. You have to get to work.

Stop to stretch. Spin class + run = confused quads. It’ll be ok, quads. I promise.

Zone. Out.

Is this getting easier/more normal? Sure seems like it. Also, 6.5 miles is NOTHING compared to 15. What a breeze.
This is so much better than being on the T.

Hungry. Should’ve brought another brownie.

Longfellow Bridge…why do you have to have a little hill? Why?
And now a downhill. Ok, bridge, you’ve redeemed yourself.
Hospital workers, out of my way.

Aaaand done. Starving. Did I remember dry shampoo at the office? Whatever, the cute dress will solve everything.

Prance into office, feeling more productive, already, than anyone else in the entire universe.

Eat all of the food.

Sunday Runday

15 miles. Never took out my phone to take a picture, whoops.

Being on a new path—the Carriageway on Comm Ave—was fantastic. I had no real gauge for distance, there was little to no traffic, some rolling hills, other runners to keep me motivated. The fire station that I was on the lookout for didn’t look….firestation-y enough for me, so I ended up running past it into some weird area before I just decided to turn around.

Also, yay fire station! Our team run leader had driven out to leave water/gatorade/candy. KitKats and the bathroom at the fire station were, in a word, delightful. The only issue now is that the sum total of my food consumption today is: one piece of peanut butter toast, 2 Swedish fish, 1 mini KitKat, and 10 (yep, no shame) munchkin donut holes from Dunkin. The lazy has trumped the hungry.

Sunny, clear, cold but not Siberian—can’t really ask for better running conditions thus far, just makes me nervous of what’s to come. [knocking on everything, wood and otherwise, in my vicinity]

Pushed it to 15, instead of the scheduled 13 and the planned 14 for this specific team run. Feeling slightly incapacitated, mostly because I can’t muster the motivation to shower or locate real food. Otherwise, I’m sore but not dead, and the Stick remains one of my best purchases in recent history.

Shower? Food? Leaving the house for the Super Bowl? Only time will tell.

Top 5 Tuesday

• emails from my ladyfriends that make me snort out loud in my cube
• cake in the kitchen. brilliant.
• a killer dress that also feels like wearing a t-shirt. win.
• getting the ball rolling on marathon outreach/fundraising (www.bit.ly/marisamarathon …!!)
• 3 days til Florida, and then 4 days of work between that and going home for a week!

Almost the weekend?

It’s early. Several observations:

1. I almost got hit in the head with a flying newspaper this morning. Centimeters from my nose. If I wasn’t quite awake before, I was after.
2. There are some CUTE boys out running as early as I am. Maybe I’m doing something right.
3. Tight, tight calves. So tight.
4. I should never have climbed back in bed to read email/write this…now I’m not sure how I’m going to get out for work.
5. I had a dream, just prior to waking up for my run, that I had already run 5 miles. This was obviously not the case, and insanely disappointing.

One last long run this weekend, two shorter ones next week. Then a weekend in Florida with two of my best friends (and 13 miles near the water!).

Sparkly.

Because of basically a life hangover, I skipped my long run this weekend—two weeks before my 2nd half-marathon. Whoops? Sorry I’m not sorry; sometimes, you need an all-day party, latkes, wine, couch time, and seasonal [read: Christmas] movies.

So today, instead of a weekday shorter run, I tacked on a few more miles. I dragged all my gear to work, even planning ahead for the 70% chance of rain. I mapped out a course that would give me lots of options—3ish miles straight home, or 6, 7, 10, etc.

I left work furious at a situation, but knew running would at least kill some of the anger. 70% rain also  = 100% rain, and I was glad I brought plastic bags to tuck my belongings into in my running belt.

I ended up traipsing through the Public Gardens—so pretty and lit up. Then I spotted the long lanes of Comm Ave—lights from end to end! Instead of looping up and down different Back Bay streets, I did a few laps of Comm instead. I zoned out, looked at the lights, dodged puppies (resisting the urge to stop and pet them), then headed out over and back on the Mass Ave bridge, then towards home. Tacked on one last mile.

Thank god for a hat when glasses are a little treacherous—these suckers need windshield wipers.

About 8 miles. Would’ve done 10, but I jumped in a giant puddle at Kenmore by accident, and didn’t want more blisters than I knew I already had.

Can’t remember a single thing I thought about on my run, and I feel sore in a good way. The best kind of run. A few more runs, including 10-11 this weekend, and then to Jacksonville!

Excited for my first official MassGeneral Hospital for Children Marathon team meeting tomorrow! Raised a little over $600 so far, and happy to have a least a little base before we even really get started.

Yeaaa, buddy.

I’d conveniently forgotten that the first run after a long weekend is…more difficult. Mentally and physically, both. But sometimes, when things are a pain in the ass, you push through that much harder.

This morning’s 5-ish miles? About 10-15 seconds/mile faster than usual, even with some creaking and soreness. Go figure. Maybe it’s the summer in November weather, or that I can run my morning route practically asleep, but I’m feeling gooood about that.

Plus, a run in the morning means I have zero guilt about grabbing drinks with friends post-work.

And since I somehow got through the horrific first day after a week out of the office, I can’t imagine today can be anything but easier all around. [Yes, I knocked on wood].

Win. Win. Win.

Did I mention I have purple glittery nails? Because I do. I most certainly do.

19 days til the half-marathon in Jacksonville.

$453 raised for the marathon goal (ok, minimum) of $5,000.

Hills. Hatred. Have to Do Them.

Mentally preparing for what is actually my first attempt at voluntarily running multiple hills in a row later tonight.

Let me preface this: I hate hills. Loathe. Despise. Wish to eradicate them from the face of the earth.

However, I’ll say they’ve been getting easier of late, maybe because I’ve hypnotized myself to get through them. I require the combination of perfect song (Super Bass, please!) and the need to actually get somewhere—I have to run an obnoxious hill at the end of almost every run, regardless of which direction I’m coming from, so I’m trying to trick my brain into knowing they’re a must.

Tips? Tricks? Favorite/recommended hill workouts in Boston/Brookline? I’ve got a suggestion for what looks like a killer series in Beacon Hill, but I’ll just be on Summit Ave tonight.

Dear Marisa,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to run in the 2012 Boston Marathon on the Mass General Marathon Team, Fighting Kids’ Cancer…One Step at a Time. Congratulations and welcome to the team!

— BAM. Friends, open your wallets (and strap on your shoes for a training run with me!)—my legs will run hundreds of miles in preparation and I’ve got to raise $5,000. Many, many more posts to come.