Category: Run!

Castle to the Coast Recap

First race of the year is in the books!

Castle to Coast is an 8.2 mile road race that starts at WR Hearst State Beach and runs along the highway to Moonstone Beach. It’s a no frills race with scenic views. It starts across from Hearst Castle. Granted the Castle is way up on the hill but on a clear day you can see it. I have wanted to run it for the past few years but they cap it around 300 runners each time and it always sold out before I registered. This year, well last November, I literally registered at 2 minutes past midnight the day registration opened. I was looking forward to finally running it but then slacker December happened followed by sick January. Oh and let’s not forget the sudden blister issue.

As I laid out my clothes on Friday night I was feeling very “meh” about it all. Between my blister issues and the fact that I have put on a few pounds, I knew my usual race outfit of knee high Pro Compression socks and a skirt was off the table. With temps predicted in the high 50’s I figured a tank and capris would be fine. Just in case, I added my arm warmers. Race morning dawned way too early but with one last weather check, I was out the door. I had already mentally moved this from a “race” to a very public long run. 8 miles with ocean views- piece of cake right?

Pre-race-

Rain!!! That was not in the forecast. I kept hoping it would clear up as we drove but no luck. It was so foggy and overcast I started to wonder if I had driven past the starting point. Then I saw a pack of Aggies warming up along the highway- we must be close. Once parked I headed to the epically long bathroom line and my mom headed to check me in. Benefits of small races right? She was back with my shirt and wristband and I still hadn’t moved forward in the bathroom line. 😂 I struck up a conversation with the women behind me. She is my new favorite person- she said I looked 24! I also saw Ashley before the race start. 😃 I grabbed my rain jacket from my gym bag at the last minute, it wasn’t raining hard but it was enough to get you wet and cold. The start line was about 1/4 up the road so we all headed that way. This is very low key event- no bibs, no timing chips, just a starter pistol at the start. I started towards the back of pack which might not be the best idea for a gun timed race but I was just aiming for a steady run.

Miles 1-4 9:54, 10:06, 10:03, 10:08

And we were off! We ran past the cutest little general store right at the start. It was so overcast that the castle was completely covered up. We went up a side street and then we were on the highway. I should mention that the roads were not closed so we were running along the highway. In the rain. With cars. My hood fell back by mile .5 and I decided to just leave it down. I was about a mile in when I noticed something odd with my right foot. The Vaseline was doing its job but my toes felt weird. My shoe was full of water! I could literally scrunch my toes and it felt like I was wringing out a towel and not my sock. My watch was covered by my jacket sleeve so I just tried to keep what felt like a steady pace. I started to get hot so I unzipped my jacket. Miles 2 and 3 felt rougher than I would have liked and are kind of a blur. I just kept my eyes forward and kept putting one foot in front of the other. I knew there was a water station at mile 4 so seeing that meant I was halfway there. Woo hoo!

Miles 4-8- 10:15, 10:09, 10:06, 9:56

By now I was super warm and there was a small hill in sight. I knew I was going to slow down running up it so I used that mile to take off my jacket and tie it around my waist. Which meant I could now see my watch and my pace. I did my best to ignore it and just kept running. Left foot then right, then curl my toes to try and move the water around. A little past mile 6 we turned off the highway onto a side street and headed for the finish. This street was longer than I thought and I started to worry that my mom might not have found the finish line. I hadn’t really given her directions and while running I realized I had given her the wrong street name. Oops! I was tiring and just wanted to be done. I was so happy to see the finish line. First race done!

Finish- 8.28 miles- 1:23:11

So yeah, that was about 7 minutes slower than my last 8 mile race. But 8.2 mile races are an automatic PR right? Official results aren’t posted yet but I think my Garmin is pretty accurate. I started way back in the pack and it was gun timed. This was not the race I would have liked to run but in reality it went exactly like I expected. I know I am out of shape right now but haven’t done a whole lot to fix it. I think the reality of this race will give me the kick in the ass I needed. As far as long runs go, it was a great pace. As for race pace? Umm, not so much. However I am pretty impressed with the consistency of my splits. I don’t think I’ve ever run a steadier race. I love how you can tell the hill was in mile 5. 😝 Something else that I am happy about? I did not take a single walk break, I ran the entire damn thing. I can’t even tell you the last time that happened.

The finish line area was a little disorganized. There were giveaways but I’m not sure how it was working. I met up with my mom and then later Ashley and we chatted a bit before heading out. Not only had my mother found the park but she beat everyone else there. She literally parked my car next to the finish line. 😝

The ocean view was pretty in a stormy, cloudy kind of way but I wish I could have run this race in the sun. And not just because I was soaking wet. I may consider running it again next year but not sure. The cost is great-$30- but I am still on the fence. We’ll see.

Ever run on an open highway?

Race in the rain?

Week 3 Training Recap

Upcoming Races- Castle to Coast 8.2
Surf City 13.1

After a week of being sick, this was a much better week. So let’s get to it!

Monday– 3.7 miles Ah, yes bloody mile Monday. That was fun.

Tuesday. 10.65 mile Stationary bike. As I am just getting back to riding the bike I meant to keep it short and easy. Oops. It’s back in a position where I can watch tv while I ride, apparently that makes a huge difference. 😝 I zoned out while being irritated with Pretty Little Liars. Why do I keep watching?

Wednesday– Rest-Doctor’s appointment #2 of the week. I ended up home earlier than normal and seriously considered a run but there just wasn’t enough daylight left. I thought about the gym but once home I just couldn’t bring myself to change and head back out.

Thursday– 3 miles I should have run on Wednesday. Thanks to hormones, I had had a horrible migraine all day. The last thing I wanted to do was head to the gym but I did. After everyone’s great tips on my last post, I was prepared with Vaseline, band-aids and an extra sock. The plan was to start with one and keeping trying all the options until I hopefully found one that worked. I also made my shoelaces as loose as they could be and still keep my shoes on. The Vaseline idea reminded me of something my grandmother used to do when she would go for a walk, so that is what I tried first. I kept it super slow and paused the treadmill every mile to check my ankles. Why is treadmill running so damn hard?! Other than a little twinge every now and then, the Vaseline seemed to do the job. I was concerned that I only tested it for 3 very slow miles but I also didn’t want to push my luck so close to race day. But 3 blood free miles were a win in my book.

Friday– Rest– like always. 😃 And doctor’s appointment #3.

Saturday– 8.2 miles- Castle to Coast I did about as well as I expected but more on that in my next post.

Sunday– Food and Talking…errr Rest. Blogger meet up!! I headed down to SLO to meet up with Ashley of RatherBeRunnin’ and Heather of SLOluckyruns. We met for brunch/ late breakfast and it was kind of awesome. 😝😝 I think the restaurant might have been a little miffed though. We talked for over 3 hours! But what do you expect when you get 3 runners/ bloggers at the same place at the same time? There was so much to talk about! Then I headed back home for a bit before heading back down to SLO with the family. It was my parents 35th wedding anniversary today and the brother and I treated them to dinner. 😄

Looking at it, I am calling it a pretty solid week. I still don’t feel 100% from that stupid cold last week (fell asleep almost every time I sat down) but I worked out 4 of the 7 days. I had hoped to ride the bike today but after sleeping in and then all of the socialness, I just ran out of time. Which is perfectly fine, don’t people trump miles? Moving forward I just want to keep working on building my base back up. Which will hopefully include 3 running days and 2 bike days.

How was your week?

Did anyone race? It seemed like a very race heavy weekend. 😏

Favorite breakfast food?

Would You Rather…

Would you rather run a race in 2 days in–

A worn down pair of shoes that makes your arches sore

A new pair of the same shoes that leaves you bloody?

Great choices, right?

Ok, backing up. This is week is a mess of doctor’s appointments so I was keeping my running plan fluid but since Monday was appointment #1 I figured it would be a rest day. Plus Monday workouts rarely work in my favor. Except the late afternoon appointment went faster than I thought it would. Driving home I realized I had enough time to change super quickly and get in a run outside before it got dark. Since I still don’t feel 100% I figured any more ventures into running in the dark would wait until next week. I changed as fast as I could and was out the door.

My right shoe had felt off on Sunday’s walk but I figured I was cold and just getting over my sickness so I was probably walking weird. I didn’t think about it until I was about 5 minutes from my house. You know the feeling when you have a sticker or a burr in your sock? That’s what it felt like. 1/2 mile in, I stopped at the top of a hill to adjust my sock and check it out…holy crap- blood!

My sock was bloody and there was a large red spot on my new shoes. Well, crap, that’s not good. I sat for a moment and debated what to do. I didn’t see a blister, just a tiny hole. Hmm. I put my shoe back on and ran another half mile. I stopped and checked again, Hey look, blood was now down the inside of my shoe. Ok, I get it, time to call it. I rerouted to home.

A 1.51 mile run is better than none right? Except I didn’t like that. So after a quick clean up, a sock change, I slapped on a band-aid and my old shoes and was out the door again. I figured I had enough daylight for another 1.5 mile loop but I decided to run it backwards. My foot felt ok so I added on a little more. 😃 2.19 miles for a total of 3.7 for the day. I’m calling that a win in my book. ✅ And that last 2.19 miles felt pretty good. It was a great run mentally speaking.

What was not great was that 2 miles in old shoes was enough to make the arches of my feet start to ache. Which was why I switched to the new shoes. They are the same brand and model just a different color. I have never had a blister problem in any shoe. Any time I ever felt even the slightest hot spot it meant I needed new shoes or new socks. A quick switch and the problem was solved. So now what?

I have an 8.2 mile race on Saturday, I already knew it was going to be rough, being so undertrained and after a week of being sick. I wasn’t anticipating pain with most of my steps though. I don’t spend most of my time in the air like Usain Bolt. 😝 Do I wear the old shoes and suffer arch pain? Do I wear the new shoes and hope for less bleeding? I have an old pair of Mizuno’s but they made my knees and left calf hurt. It’s why I switched to the Pure Flow’s. I’ve even considered wearing my trail shoes.

So, in short- HELP! Any tips on blisters? Actually it still doesn’t look like a blister but that’s not the point. Any suggestions on how to make the new shoes work? Or should I run in the old ones? So many questions!

Week 2 Training Recap

Upcoming races– Castle to Coast 8.2 miles
Surf City 13.1

This week’s focus– Working on base building

Yeah, this will be quick.

Monday- Rest
Tuesday-Sick
Wednesday-Sick
Thursday-Sick
Friday-Sick
Saturday-Sick
Sunday- 3.65 miles

Well, that didn’t go according to plan. The sore throat I’d been fighting/ignoring for a week or so turned into so much more. By Tuesday, I felt horrible and ended up leaving work early. I treated myself to In-n-Out on the way home and spent the afternoon sleeping. Somehow In-n-Out has become my go-to sick food. Which considering I drive past one 2x a day, only getting it when I feel completely crappy is a win in my book. 😏

Wednesday, I felt slightly better and I headed to work. I finished out the day, came home, posted a blog post and was hopeful for at least getting on the bike on Thursday. The denial was strong at this point, my right eye was starting to swell. I went to bed with an ice pack and hoped for the best. Thursday morning arrived and my eye was damn near swollen shut. I hate calling sick on a regular day but we are also running short staffed right now and I was supposed to have lunch with my uncle. We have been trying to plan lunch for years but it never works out so the last thing I wanted to do was cancel. So I dragged myself to work. Bad idea. I made it half the day before being booted out the door. And I had to cancel on my uncle. Boo. Once again, I was on my way home early. No In-n-Out this time just more sleep. I learned my Up band is smart enough to know when I am napping though.

I made it through work on Friday only to go home and crash. Seriously when did walking to the copy machine become so exhausting? No lie, I slept for 11 hours on Friday night. 11! How is that even possible? I did feel a little better on Saturday though. That didn’t stop me from sleeping for a freaky amount of time on Saturday night though.

Today, I got out for a slow 3.65 mile walk. It was in the low 50’s and perfect running weather but I was bundled up like it was in the 30’s. 😝 But I had zero coughing fits! Which was great since I somehow forgot my water bottle on top of my car. Oops. And I could have checked the weather better as it started to rain on me on the way back. 😢

So, yeah not the way I had hoped to greet the first week of 2016. I seem to get super sick every January. 2 partial work days is better than I fared last year so calling that a win? Now the test is to ease back into things this week… oh with a race in 5 days. Sure no problem, right?

Tell me all about your running adventures this last week!

Or non running ones too, I watched way too much tv. 😆

Mid Week Musings 5

And I’m sick. Boo. I tried ignoring it but the damn germs won. I even went home sick on Tuesday. Then proceeded to sleep for the next few hours. I haven’t done any sort of exercise since Sunday. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being lazy- slacker is in my name after all- but not being able to run because I am sick? Not cool.

El Nino has arrived. Or at least 2 days of it. I hydroplaned on my way to work this morning along with plenty of thunder and lightening. Trees were down all the place, including in our parking lot at work. Home town flooded pretty badly when we had a freak thunderstorm in July, I am curious how my usual running route looks. They’ve made some storm preparations but what can hay bales do?

Have I mentioned that I am a nerd who loves my tv shows? Both Downton Abbey and Teen Wolf are back. 😏 Now I vacillate between confused/happy/sad on Sundays and Tuesdays. What is going on?!

I have a race in 10 days. How did that happen? I am so not ready. And I had the date wrong. I was convinced the race was on Sunday but an email yesterday corrected that. The race is on Saturday. I know the difference is only 1 day but for some reason it’s freaking me out. This will definitely be more a long run with people than a race. But 8.2 miles equals instant PR right?

Does constant coughing count as an ab workout? No? Bummer. I hoping to attempt a ride on the stationary bike. Coughing in my house is acceptable, coughing in the gym? Not so much. Fingers crossed I can push through a couple of miles.

I never notice how long 90 seconds is until I started drinking hot tea. That takes forever!

How has your week been?

What are you watching lately?