Mar/Apr 2012 - Level Renner

Side by Side Susan Stirrat
Photo by Ted Tyler
Training Week
Monday
AM: easy run 4-6 miles at 9:10-9:30 pace
PM: one hour of stretching and leg strengthening consisting
of lunges, squats, band work and Power Yoga exercises
and ending with trigger point session using a lacrosse
ball followed by leg massage with foam roller
Tuesday
PM: A 2-3 mile warm up followed by hill repeats on an 8%
grade of 12-16 x 1 minute, ending with 6 x 30 seconds on a
flat at 5k pace and a 2-3 mile cool down followed by light
stretching, ball and foam roller
Wednesday
PM: easy run 6-8 miles at 9:10-9:30 pace followed by light
stretching, trigger point with ball and foam roller
Thursday
PM: Tempo run starting at 4 miles, increasing weekly by 1
mile up to 10 miles at an 8:00-8:15 pace followed by light
stretching, ball and foam roller
Friday
PM: Easy run 6-8 miles followed by Monday’s leg session
Saturday
AM: easy run 4-5 miles
PM: Heated Power Yoga
Sunday
AM: long run of 14 and increasing weekly up to 20 miles at
8:58-9:15 pace
Weekly Totals
50-60 miles per week
With leaves falling all around her on a crisp autumn day, a 21
year old coed took the first run of her life. The fifteen minute
jog left quite an impression on Susan Stirrat and a love affair
with running was born.
College life quickly passed and before she knew it Stirrat was
married with two children and in her thirties. She lived in
Southie, logically joined the L Street Running Club, and started
racing on weekends. In short time she was averaging 6:20-
30 a mile and winning lots of races. Winning the POW 10K
with a PR of 39:04 was a definite highlight.
Skipping to her 40s, Stirrat was looking for a new challenge.
She joined the BAA and took to the coaching of Ed Sheehan.
He quickly convinced her to run Boston as part of the master’s
team. To get a sense of Stirrat’s grit, a quick anecdote about
that marathon: Now with three children, Susan took her youngest
to the Hynes Convention Center for number pickup. Well,
in a very maternal moment she lifted up Jack and wretched
her back. She recalls, “The following morning when I woke
up, I couldn’t get out of bed. I called Ed and he said, ‘Just
make it to the bus.’” Somehow she did make it to the bus and
to the finish line. She nailed a 3:20 debut bad back and all.
After two knee surgeries, Stirrat started to doubt her running.
Juggling a fulltime job with the toils of being a single parent
only bolstered those doubts. She needed a change. In steps
her son Liam with future husband Reno in tow. Circuitously
through the marvels of modern technology, Liam introduced
his mom to Reno and a courtship commenced. Of course, the
understated Reno never mentioned his running credentials.
Susan found that out when she flipped through the pages of
New England Runner. As a close friend told her, “Susan, you
are talking to the real deal.”
The rest is history. Susan and Reno ran their first race together
at the Bradford Valentine’s Race and took 4 th team overall.
They both individually shared a passion for running, and now
they share a passion for each other. As Susan says, “Give us a
good pair of running shoes and healthy legs to run with, and
we are happy.” Enough said.
What is Side by Side?
Side by side is a new feature in Level Renner magazine.
From time to time, The Level wants to take a
look at people who share a common relationship
(spouses, siblings, best friends, etc) and how their
training is similar and different. Do they balance
each other out? Do they keep it on The Level?
Well, that’s for you , the reader, to decide. Post
your thoughts on this month’s tandem on Level Renner’s
facebook page or tweet 140 characters
@kevbalance.
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