Category: Run!

2019 SLO Half Marathon Recap

On Sunday, I toed the start line for my 5th SLO Half Marathon.

I have mixed feelings about this race. There was a time I loved it. Then it drove me batty. I’ve run it 5 times but only paid for it once. I was a race ambassador for the first few years but then I just couldn’t. Not to say I would have made the cut had I applied, I just stopped. This most recent trip down memory lane was sponsored by my work.

In the 5 times I’ve run it, I’ve run 3 different courses. I get that the city and the county dictate what roads could be closed and when but that’s a lot of change. The first course I ran was my favorite. I ran that one 3 times. Also, I seem to get slower every time I run SLO.

I headed into this race with no goal other than finishing. The preceding week and a half had wrung me out and I was hanging on by a thread. I was wondering why I hadn’t signed up for the 3 person relay. Oh yeah, needed 2 other people.

Unlike the last time I ran it, we made it into the parking lot before I jumped out of the car.

Then it became the “what pace is this?” game.

Mile 1- 10:10
Who starts a race uphill? I mean a short hill but still. Also I had to stop and tie my shoe so I don’t know where that pace came from.

Mile 2-10:35
Oh crap, I am already exhausted. This isn’t good. Oh, look another hill.

Mile 3- 11:00
Oh thank goodness, a water stop. Another reason to walk. More hill.

Miles 4- 11:13
More walking but a little bit of downhill. Also I know SLO pretty well but we’ve turned so damn many times I am so confused.

Mile 5- 11:42
Another hill, more walking and I must lose this long sleeve shirt before I melt. Oh crap, it’s under my pack. Why?! Oh and the work water station. Anyone want to tap in for me???? Please?

Mile 6- 12:44
Ok, I’m toast. Did I say I missed the Johnson hill stretch? I take it all back. Or as the pacer in front of me said- “Welcome to the hospital hills”.

Mile 7- 11:07
The climb is never ending. My brain broke. I had no sense of pace. I just remember walking. BUT I didn’t eat asphalt here like I did my 2nd time running it.

Mile 8-12:23
I’m done. Why do I do this to myself? Oh, Orcutt road is pretty, damn forgot about the hill. Not really, just lied to myself.

Mile 9-11:11
Tiny downhill, weeee! Also lost the 2:30 pacer, like they were miles ahead. Totally realizing this could very well be my slowest half marathon.

Mile 10-11:59
So much walking. Just keep moving, just keep moving. Oh look, it’s the railroad path.

Mile 11- 12:13
At this point I actually comprehend the numbers on my watch but they make no sense. Wait, if I drop 2 sub 10 miles, I’ll be around 2:25? Did I stop my watch somewhere?

Mile 12-12:30
Stupid, you don’t have sub 10 in you. Oh, hey it’s the criss cross bridge to run up to cross the railroad. Can’t we just run across? How much more is there?

Mile 13-11:14
I see the freeway overpass- run! The finish line is on the other side. I hate this last hill right before the finish- weeee! Downhill to the finish.

2:30:16

I had a team shirt on but was overheating from the humidity, I stripped fairly quickly after finishing

Wait, what? I started walking in mile 2 for crying out loud. I was ballparking a 2:45 finish, how the hell did I cut 10 minutes off of Oakland? I mean, yeah I was sick at Oakland but I was in a fog during SLO. I had no idea what pace I was running for 90% of the race. Or walking. So somehow I inadvertently proved I do better with hills. I’m not crazy!

Ok, maybe a little.

Week 17- Again

Oops- I skipped 16, hah!

Last week was jam packed full with life, work and running. Also Avengers but possibly not enough sleep.

2019 Race Schedule (so far):
4/28 SLO Half Marathon
6/2 RnR San Diego (Thanks BibRave)
8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)

As I mentioned in Friday’s post my work world saw a lot of change last week. I had 3 days to pack and transition out of my former position/location and I was in the new one by Thursday.

I knew the week had a lot going on so I front loaded my miles. Which works for the old Slacker but the new Slacker started a new training plan with a Coach last Monday and totally failed at week 1. But more on that later.

Oh and it was Endgame week so you know I had to clear my schedule for those 3 hours. Well plus the time to ruminate on it. 😂😢

Monday- 2.3 miles
I wanted to run in work town as a sort of Sayonara run but a super heavy marine layer rolled in. Instead I headed to the lake path for some easy breezy miles. It was kind of a so long run to the lake path as well. It’s now in the wrong direction of travel so I have to really want to run there to drive there.

Tuesday- 4 miles
The marine layer held so I headed out for my goodbye run. We actually ran really late that day and I would have blown it off if it wasn’t my last chance to run there. I was slower than normal but I was also pausing to take a lot of pictures so it makes sense.

Wednesday- Yoga
Oh, good golly. I did another Beachbody yoga and it kicked my ass. I was looking for a gentle flow/ stretch for the lower half but this was freakin’ intense. I also had the first coaching call with Endure Strong.

Thursday/ Friday- Adapt
No working out just survival.

Saturday- Work/ Expo
I worked a shift in the morning, it was busier than the last Saturday shift I worked. Once off work, I jetted down to SLO to pick up my race packet for the next morning. And maybe do a little shopping. Then I couldn’t take it anymore and made an evening showing of Avengers: Endgame. 😍

Sunday- SLO Half Marathon
What was I thinking? Race recap to come.

19.5 miles– getting better.

How was your week?

Week 17- Rollercoaster

This week was ummm, interesting.

2019 Race Schedule (so far):
4/28 SLO Half Marathon
6/2 RnR San Diego (Thanks BibRave)
8-11 Oaktown Half (Thanks BibRave)

I realize that I am my own worst enemy when it comes to training and even though I can admit that, fixing it is another story.

The week had some work stresses and some good news but that also brings a kind of stress as well. A good one but it allowed me to rationalize too much Slacker-ness. And pizza.

In nerdy news, I finished my re-watch of the majority of the Marvel movies over the weekend. Bring on Endgame!

Monday- Nada
I need to run on Monday’s just to combat my own laziness for the rest of the week but I didn’t. Instead I finished my parent’s taxes. Does raising your blood pressure count as exercise?

Tuesday- 3.1 miles/ Liift4/ Transform20
I had a doctor’s appointment late in the day but I had planned on running. Then the appointment ran way late and I was coming up with every reason to skip my run. I was tired, it was late, I had to pee, it was Bibchat night, etc. I drove past run town and kept going. When I made it home town, I made a sudden freeway exit and headed for the river path. I told myself to get out of my own way and just run. It was a surprisingly decent 5K. I would have run more but I really did have to pee.

I did a few more workouts once I was home.

Wednesday-Nada
I was feeling sore from doing 3 workouts the previous day but I had planned on running. However the weather changed that when it knocked down a tree which took down power lines and started a couple fires in the State Park. Which is where I planned on running. Yeah, I could have run somewhere else but that seemed like a pretty big sign.

Thursday- Rollercoaster
I should stop planning. I got some great news which had me pumped and nervous. My mother also gave herself a concussion again so I spent the day checking on her via text and then headed home right after work to see how she was in person.

Friday- Still riding the emotional rollercoaster.

Saturday- 5 miles
I had aimed to complete my long run on Saturday but when my cell and then my work cell both started ringing in the predawn hours, my day was thrown off. I didn’t sleep well and ended up napping more than I should have in the afternoon. Part of me considering skipping my run entirely but I laced up anyways. Blisters not withstanding, it was a surpisingly good run. I stopped twice to put more BodyGlide on my heels but the damage was done. Maybe I should give barefoot running a try?

Sunday- 6.2 miles/ yoga
Long run fail. I overslept in the morning so that meant I had to run before Easter dinner. Which might have been fine except for lunch. I went to lunch with my mother and brother but we chose a place that I know tends to screw with my stomach. I ate less than I normally would but it wasn’t enough to stave the inevitable. I was sick a few times before I headed out to run. I was hoping things had calmed down but I was wrong. I was barely 2 miles into my run when my stomach protested. I tried run/walk intervals but those gave way to just walking. And deep breathing. I eventually admitted it wasn’t happening so I just slow crawled back to my car.

14.26 miles for the week. No, I am not concerned about next week’s half at all.

How was your week?

Guess Who’s Back

Guess who’s back, back again?

Disclaimer: I received an entry to Rock N Roll San Diego 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!

Going back to RnR San Diego that is!

I am so excited. I love this race, really do. It was my first Rock n Roll race ever back in 2017 and I couldn’t have picked a better way to introduce myself to Rock n Roll.

The course is great, has the right amount of hills and flat. The city neighborhoods really come out for the runners. I mean, there’s a full bar at mile 4! I love the crowds and know that once I hit the Big Guitar guy in the park at mile 10, there’s a lot of downhill to the finish. And on clear days- planes!! You can see airplanes flying overhead as they a head for San Diego Airport. I still need a picture of that.

I had fun at the expo, enjoyed a few sights in San Diego and met up with some other BibRave Pro’s. I ran a pretty good race too. I went back in 2018 for another round. Same awesome course, same amazing crowd support AND I talked Kate into coming out from Texas. Downside was the crazy humidity we dealt with on race day.

I am looking forward to round 3 on June 2. Maybe with a little less humidity. I was planning on set a big goal for this race but certain things are changing for me in a big way and I am not sure how it will effect my running but more on that later.

So right now, I am just planning on enjoying the party.

Want to party with me? Use code 19RNRBRP16 to save $16 on the half or full. Or code 19RNRBRP6 for $6 off the 5K.

Week 15- Antique

People, keep me out of antique stores.

Seriously. I am blaming that for the lack of running this week.

However it started off as all my fault. I missed Monday’s run because work was just chaos. We are hiring one position right now and another called in sick. That dropped us to 4 people and one is relatively new to the position. It was just scrambling to survive. That kind of set the tone for the whole week actually. Monday, Tuesday and Friday were just crazy busy.

Wednesday- 4 miles/ yoga
I headed to home town after work and set out for a few miles. I honestly thought I would turn around at the point for a quick 5K but instead I continued on. I was still on antibiotics at this point so I stuck to my run/walk intervals. That said, I kept the miles pretty steady and they weren’t a bad pace.

Once home, I found a yoga for runners on Beachbody and followed along. Oh man, that was a good stretch.

Thursday-2.5 miles/ yoga
For some reason, I couldn’t decide where to run. I wasn’t feeling work town, headed for run town- almost pulled into the parking lot but changed my mind at the last minute. I headed for home town and ran a shorter version of the previous nights run. I should have run more but I was feeling moody and funky and figured I would make it up over the weekend. I had planned on a long run and trail day. I did the same yoga workout again when I got home.

Weekend- oops
Keep me out of furniture stores. I had promised my mom a day of shopping in SLO and the plan was to finish off the day with a hike. However she has a foot issue (likely PF) that grew worse over the day and I wore stupid sandals that rubbed my feet wrong. So we headed back towards home. We detoured on the way back into a one street town that has an awesome antique store of all things. And I may have fallen for a dresser. Oops. Then on Sunday, I had to beg my mother’s help and her Explorer as there was no way the dresser was fitting in my rental car. Once home, of course I had to fill it and organize it right??? I had to be able to find all my running clothes after all!

I really need to not miss the beginning of the week runs. I was so much more organized when I got in a Monday/ Tuesday run. 6.5 miles for the week.

How was your week?