Category: Run!

Upswing

Of course, the week after I express my concerns about my pace and where I am at fitness wise, I have a few good runs.

Not saying they were fast by any sort of scale but they didn’t suck.

For the first time in months, I actually kind of felt like a runner again. I know I am but sometimes I feel more like a farce these days.

Still working on getting back into my post work run follow through, so my first run of the week wasn’t until Wednesday. The weather was perfect- if a little windy- and I had new shoes to test out. I turned back on my run/walk intervals that I’ve been ignoring for weeks. Things felt pretty good.

Actually, I misspoke about the wind- it was stupid windy. The wind tried to take my hat multiple times, I was running with my head down more often than not. Maybe only visually seeing my route every few moments was actually helpful? I couldn’t see how much farther I had left to go, ha! 4 miles done.

I had planned on running Thursday but had to admit that I was feeling a little under the weather. Actually had been for a while but was ignoring it. It kept things pretty low key for the next few days, there may have been a few naps. And some random closet cleaning because that’s what you do when you’re feeling poorly, right?

I ventured out for my long run on Sunday, not sure how it was going to go. I had 9 on the schedule but wasn’t sure I was feeling that. I kept it at a brisk walk the first mile and a half just to see how everything felt. I once again ditched the run/walk app and decided to do my own thing. I headed for an old long run route that I haven’t seen in a long time. There weren’t any cows this time but I kept running! The wind was cuckoo again and I definitely felt like it was a long run but it felt pretty good. The only real issue with the run was the halfway point when I really needed a bathroom. The first set I tried at the nearest park had no stall doors. Ummm, no. So much for fixing that in the remodel. The second was gross and horrible but I really had to go! The way running lowers your standards. Ha! But, 9 miles done.

2 runs, both of them decent. Time to look on the bright side, right?

Bad Math

I did pretty damn decent with my training plan the first 4-5 weeks. Well, by my standards.

Weeks 6-9? Well, those were another story.

Disclaimer: I received an entry into CDA Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I was fine with how out of shape I am. I know it. I do. But even though I know this and I work with numbers everyday, all day, I was working bad math. It finally dawned on me during my failed long run last Sunday.

I set out for 8 miles on Sunday. Did I go early in the morning to avoid the very warm, i.e 90 degrees, May weather? No, of course not. I headed out around 2PM. Will I never learn??

It was so warm that my “run” soon turned into a walk. At first I thought that was fine. I mean, let’s be real, CDA is in 2-3 weeks, there was already going to be a lot of walking. And I would still be faster than I was at Napa in 2020. Except my brain suddenly learned how to do math again and I realized I wouldn’t be faster than Napa.

Sh**.

I finished Napa in 2:58:21. A pace of 13:28. A pace that included 3 or 4 bathroom stops as well as a lot of walking. But that pace also means there was a lot more running in there than I remember. I can’t maintain that pace by walking alone. I don’t even know if I can maintain that pace with running- I maybe haven’t been real with myself on how much I have been walking. Also the race has a measly 500 feet of elevation gain so I can’t even count on a boost from hills.

So do I try to work on my walking pace over the next few weeks or should I add in more running? Or just accept that my first live race in over a year will also be my personal worst? There are worse things I know but it’s still getting under my skin.

So, that’s where my running is these days.

Dilemma

A week and a half ago, I did 18 ish miles in Yosemite. This past Sunday I did 5 at a new to me trail- Riconada- in my area. Both days my feet let me know that my new trail shoes were not winning any points. Boo. Which puts me in a predicament. I need shoes! And it’s not for lacking of trying.

My first few years running trails, I had perfect shoes. First Mizuno Wave Hayate followed by a move into Under Armor Horizon HTT. Loved both of them with no issues but neither shoe is made anymore. Not only that, neither shoe company makes any trail shoes anymore. WTH? Which has started a 2ish years of trying all the trail shoes. Let’s recap-

First up- Brooks Cascadia. Anytime I say their name, I hiss a little and call them devil shoes. Pretty sure I broke my foot in the them during Spooner’s Cove back in Dec 2019. 2020 and my lack of running gave my foot time to heal and nope- I never went to the doctor. Did get rid of the shoes. Full disclosure- the rep at the store talked me into buying mens and they ended up being too big. I might like the woman’s version but can’t bring myself to order them.

Both my first trail shoes were pretty minimal and the Cascadia was a beast of a shoe so maybe that was my problem???

Next- Altra Lone Peak. Felt good up until 5 miles… and only on flat. My feet slid around like crazy when running downhill and I needed more cushion. I tend to run downhill like a 5 year old without brakes so I need my feel to feel secure. As for the cushion, I mean I am carrying 50ish more pounds than I used to so that may make sense.

3- Merrell SkyFire. Ok, ok, not bad. Nice blend of running shoe meets hiker. Ok, we may have something here. Until I ate trail going down the Grand Canyon. Son of a!

4- Topo Ultraventure. Kind of like a cross between the Skyfire and the Lone Peak. Traction was amazing, cushion felt good. Until my first 8-9 mile trail in them and I think I broke my big toe. Ok, dropping a bottle on it that night was probably what did it fully in but it was already severely bruised from that day. Returned.

5- Nike Terra Kiger– Nope. Never made it out of the house. Went back in the back and back to the Running Warehouse. For a person who wants snug shoes- this was a form fitting brick.

6- Altra Timp– Tried a size 9, felt way too small. There went that idea. Exchanged for a 9.5 (my usual size). Holy fire of arch pain Batman. Returned.

7. Brooks Caldera- good lord, that’s a cushiony shoe! It also made me about 2 inches taller and that it just too much shoe for me. Back to the store without running in them.

At what point does the Running Warehouse fire me as a customer? And before you @ me about buying from a local running store, the Warehouse is my local running store. Shout out to local businesses going big. But the storefront still hasn’t really reopened since COVID.

8- Merrell MQM Flex 2 I liked the SkyFire but wanted more traction so I searched the Merrell site for a possible other option. They started out good. I’ve put more miles on them then any of the other shoes. But I didn’t really test them until Yosemite. The path was basic so I didn’t really need to worry about traction but my feet were so damn sore, I almost tore them off. My bad toe even reared its head again. Then in Riconada, I slipped 4 or 5 times on the rockier parts of the trail. Which is most of our local trails. WTH again!

So now I don’t know what to do. What else is there to try? I know there is Hoka, but that seems like it will be way too much shoe for me. I’ve looked at Saucony but nothing jumps out at me as the answer. I have dreams of running a 50K but I can’t even begin to contemplate that if I can’t last more than a few miles or a couple of hours in a pair of shoes.

So seriously, if anyone has any tips- throw them my way!

Yosemite

Heyo! It’s been a bit longer than planned since my last post- oops.

Let’s see, I ran some, I slacked off, ate food, gave myself heat stroke and cut my hair. Great, now that we are caught up, let’s move on to cool part. I went to Yosemite for the first time!

My brother is a crazy person who builds houses during the week and summits mountains on the weekends, car camping and taking amazing pictures along the way. He said he wanted to take my mother and I to Yosemite before things got crazy for the summer. Umm, ok?

Woah, 4 AM came early. And the drive was longer than I thought it would be… with my brother driving my car like it was a NASCAR race. That first view driving down into the park is just great, you get a look of Yosemite Falls, El Capitan and Half Dome all on the drive down.

We let my brother lead the way as he had planned the day… I thought I was prepared. He even told us, he was taking it easy on us… yeah, sure 18ish miles later! But this was “easy” as it only gained 1100 ft in elevation. Thanks, B.

We stuck mostly to the Valley Loop Trail with a few off shoots and add ons. The trail was crowded even on an overcast, slightly chilly day. There were parts where it felt like people were everywhere followed by parts where you felt so alone in the woods you almost forgot where you were. The trail varied from dirt to rocks to paved path.

Mirror Lake was gorgeous- I may have taken too many photos.

Yosemite Falls was awesome- although a massive crowd gatherer.

Half Dome watched over it all. Yet, I now realize I have no pictures??? How did I do that?

El Capitan was impressive.

Although I also hit my breaking point around El Cap. My blood sugar dropped, I was running low on water, may have worked myself into a panic attack and I turned into a major bitch. Climbers halfway up El Cap may have heard me shout “this is bullsh**” as I tripped on rocks trying to get closer. More than once. My bad.

Actually that put me into a dark mental space for the 4-5 miles it took to get back to the car. But let’s be honest- Yosemite is the sights and sounds… words don’t really work. Which is why this post is mostly pictures.

If you have been there, what was your favorite part?

If you haven’t been there-put it on your list!

Stitch Life

I guess it’s fitting that my favorite Disney character is Stitch.

I had my second melanoma procedure on Wednesday and now possess a lovely row of stitches on my back. Basically just below my sports bra line. Yay. They told me to basically do nothing for 3 days and then nothing strenuous until the stitches come out. Is running strenuous? Haha.

I figured out a way to pick heavy things up at work that didn’t pull my back and I took 4 days off running. Which 2020 me would just call a normal week but I am trying to stick to my training plan here.

On Sunday, I started by just trying to put on a sports bra. Success! Then I tried for a run. Ok, things were a little uncomfortable. Combine that with the surprise 82 degree weather and I decided to be smart. I walked it all. At this point, my only real goal for CDA half is to finish it and maybe faster than the sh*t show that was Napa in 2020.

Walking let me enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. I also chose a different path then the same old one I’ve been running lately and found a tiny sliver of green and trails hidden in the houses. And unexpected water crossings! I miss dirt. I miss trails. That said, I still completed my “long run” for the week, all 5 miles of it.

Other things I learned in the last few days- I have the swallowing capacity of someone twice my age and it’s a problem. Well, I have been choking on food for the last 4 years but no doctors would believe me. Grrrr. So now I am seeing a speech therapist twice a week for what essentially equates to PT for my throat. Part of me feels it is needed and the other part wonders if I am getting scammed. Hmmm. Can’t decide which one yet.

Sunday night was the best, I had no alarm to set for Monday morning- I’m on vacation! Woo hoo!