Category: Run!

Let Me Sleep On It

Disclaimer: I received a Bedgear Level 2.0 pillow 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 love sleep, sleeping in, naps- love them. Problem- I’m a total night owl who often struggles to fall asleep. This can be caused by a variety of things on a nightly basis but it makes for a sleepy Slacker.

I upgraded my bed last fall which a fiasco in its own way as I ended up returning the first one 90 days into 100 day trial but I never upgraded my pillows. Change is hard! And who is to say that what I bought would be any better than the current 3 I used or tried to on a nightly basis?

Then, Bedgear presented itself. I thought the name sounded familiar and oh, hey they made my mattress protector! Which I love so I was optimistic. The pillow choice started off with a quiz. Wait- I didn’t study!😂

The Pillow ID is designed to find the right pillow for you- the one that fits your body temperature, size, and sleeping position. Based on my answers, I was recommended the Level 2.0 pillow. The 2.0 refers to the pillow height- 0.0 being the thinnest and 3.0 being the thickest.

Some pillow specs from the website-

Dri-Tec® fabric to continuously wick away heat and moisture, stabilizing your temperature so you can get your most solid sleep.
React® foam has all the perks of a memory foam, without the sad sag or heat build-up. Designed to move with you, it cradles your head while supporting your neck, shoulders, and spine.
Air-X® Panels
Flexible, three-dimensional material vents warm air away from the body.

But how did it feel?

Game changer people, seriously. I’ve gone from 3 pillows and sometimes a stuffed animal (like I said- it was rough) to just 2 pillows on a nightly basis. In fact I tossed one of the older pillows completely. I feel like I fall asleep quicker and I don’t toss and turn. Which is how I used to sleep when I was younger- I’d burrow into a spot and not move all night. I haven’t done that in years. The bump out on this pillow is perfect for my shoulder as I always start out on my left side. Even if I do turn to my back, it still supports me well.

The pillow is awesome by itself too and I did try that for a few nights but unfortunately my GERD wasn’t too fond of that so the second pillow came back.

I’ve even been going to bed a little sooner these days. I choose to believe it’s because the pillow makes sleeping so nice and not that I am getting older.😛 My only issue is that my pillow cases are a little big for it, so now I’m on the hunt for smaller sized satin pillow cases. They have to exist somewhere.🤔

If you love sleep like I do, I definitely recommend checking out Bedgear. I even have a discount! Use code BIBRAVE15 to save 15% on your purchase (excluding Wow deals).

How do you sleep?

Rock n Roll San Jose Recap

Disclaimer: I received an entry into Rock n Roll San Jose 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!

After the worst night of sleep or lack thereof, I was up and getting ready for the race. I was also regretting the Spaghetti Factory dinner from the night before. 😛 I got ready and headed off to the start line.

The race started at 8 and while the Slacker in me liked that, every other part of me was worried. That is late. I knew I was going to be slower than planned. I still had to check out of my hotel. Rock n Roll had sent out a heat advisory email the night before. Let’s get this show on the road! Except we didn’t. I can usually guess exactly what time my corral is going to start for Rock N Roll races but I would have been so wrong this time. There was some delay for the trains? Buses? I don’t know but I was confused. I didn’t cross the start line until almost 8:30 and it already felt warm. I hate humidity.

Miles 1-3 9:58, 10:42, 10:21, 11:05
Irritation fueled the first mile. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to maintain that. My legs felt ok but the rest of me felt off- just kind of not present. I was running and felt like I was pushing but I knew I really wasn’t. I was realizing just how many turns this race course was going take. We turned so many times. We ran through the San Pedro Market area which brought us past the Spaghetti Factory- nope, nope. Then it was another turn and we were coming back towards the start line. I heard a woman tell her running partner that it was too hot for her.

Miles 5-8 11:05, 11:21, 11:31, 11:23
So much flat road. We were running towards the SAP Center and into an area of apartments and strip malls. I found the perfect apartment complex- an Orange Theory and Papa Johns were across the parking lot. Replace the Papa Johns with Domino’s and I am sold! The things we think about when trying to not think about running. 😜 So many more turns and we were in Santa Clara. I felt like we were so far away the finish line. I needed a hill. Why was it so warm, it’s October! There were some damn nice houses we ran by during this block as well.

Miles 9-12 12:58, 11:33, 12:26, 12:02
Oh, what the hell? My right hip/ sciatica seized and I ground to a slow crawl. I spent mile 9 mostly walking and punching myself in the butt. 🤣 I kind of wonder what I looked like to the runners behind me. I ran more in mile 10 but 11 was more of the same. Grrr. My stomach cramps from the morning also returned. Really?? What else? I was taking more walk breaks trying to loosen up my hip area. I was drinking water and Gatorade at every station and dumping water on my Buff then shoving it down my shirt to cool off. Classy, right? This course had an abundance of cheerleaders and they were needed as I was fading.

Mile 13 11:15
Around mile 11.5, the 2:30 pacer passed me. Umm, excuse me? I know they started after me and I was on pace for a 2:30 so they had no business passing me. I picked up the pace a bit because I was so ready to be done. Sure enough I passed the pace group in the last stretch to the finish line as they slammed on the breaks.

Finish – 2:30:00 on the nose

I was done, I was hot and my hip hurt. I made my way through the long finisher’s chute, getting my medal and food before finally making my way out and meeting up with my mother. In one good thing, the finisher chute pretty much dumped us out right at my hotel parking lot so I didn’t have far to hobble.

If you love flat, this is the race for you. I did like running through the neighborhoods of San Jose and course support- aid stations, music and cheerleaders. But I need hills. I don’t know if they would have made much of a difference that day but I missed them. Also, I haven’t been that sore post race in years- even after both marathons. 😛

Week 40:Upcoming Races-Rock n Roll San Jose Training Week 12

Upcoming Races-

Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
City to the Sea 13.1-10/14- maybe
Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you BibRave!)- 11/12

Welcome to funk town. I’m in a funk. I need out.

On the work front, things are getting interesting. We had an employee give notice which was sad because we had a great team in place. We were super lucky and managed to hire someone quickly so we were only short staffed last week but another employee turned in notice last week. Aaargh…what is in the water?!? And both of the them were afraid to tell me because they didn’t want to disappoint me so I was always the last person to “officially” know. Thanks, I think?

So workouts- the plan called for a 3 mile run, 4 mile run and the race. I also hoped to fit 3-4 cross training work outs in.

Monday- Liift4 week 1/day 1, Mes de Mas day 1
With my leg feeling cranky from the hot mess fail of a long run on Sunday, I decided not to run and just restart Liift4. It felt harder this time around. Hmmmm. I was feeling like doing more though so I pushed play on the Mes de Mas workout after. A workout for body and brain as the instructions are in Spanish. I’ve been looking forward to this one becoming available and it was fun.

Tuesday- 3 miles/ Liift4
I kept the miles nice and easy and just tried to focus on my form and stride. Nothing hurt but my leg didn’t feel marvelous either. I did another round of cross training once home.

Wednesday- Rest
Something pissed off my stomach in major way. It was enough just to make it through the work day. It also rained so I tried to just see it as good timing to feel crappy.

Thursday- Rest
My stomach was still angry. It’s been a while since I had bad flare up so I guess I was due for one. Race week timing was not great though.

Friday- Nothing
I meant to run a couple miles. I took the day off work in order to get a few things done and checked off my to-do list but only managed to check off a few things. Grrr.

Saturday- Road trip to San Jose
Road trip! I was on the road around 9 for the drive up to San Jose. Luckily San Jose is only about 3 hours away so the drive wasn’t bad. Getting to the expo was the easy part. Bib pick up was a breeze. Getting around town after was ridiculous. It was like Apple maps and Siri just refused to work. We got lost multiple times- on foot and by car. Grrrr. Thankfully I nailed the hotel choice- within walking distance of the start/finish- and it was within walking distance of a Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Though I came to regret that. Then I tried to get a decent nights sleep. Fail.

Sunday- Rock n Roll San Jose Half Marathon
Race recap to come.

16.2 miles for the week.

How was your week?

San Jose- Ready or Not?

How is it race weekend already? It just can’t be.

Don’t get me wrong, I am excited but I am also in denial because I don’t feel ready. I missed a few runs and few miles along the way with this training plan. I did well with the first 8 weeks of cross training then stumbled for 3 weeks. This week has been strong again but is it enough? I’ve been feeling poorly for 2 weeks now and stressed at work. I haven’t run a half marathon since June and this is the longest race break I’ve had in years.

Ok, that sounds like I am freaking out. Maybe I am. Which is why I am reassessing that big goal I laid out in my first San Jose post. And that finishing time goal I claimed on Athlinks. I didn’t run enough flat. I have a lingering right leg issue. Work has become crazy (lost 2 employees in the last 3 weeks). I am not canceling my PR goal just pushing it back a few weeks.

So new plan- do what my legs and lungs want to do. Take in the sights of San Jose- all I have seen before is the airport. I am sure the city has more offer than that and what better way to see it than by running with a few thousand other people?

I love Rock n Roll races and what better way to shake the cobwebs loose than with some miles and good music along the way. And for once the race doesn’t start at the crack of dawn. Great news for a Slacker. 😛

So, here’s to a 4 day weekend (did I mention I took Friday off?) to decompress and run it all out.

Wish me luck!

Week 39:Upcoming Races-Rock n Roll San Jose Training Week 11

Upcoming Races-

Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
City to the Sea 13.1-10/14- maybe
Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you BibRave!)- 11/12

Peek weak redux? More like epic fail.

Like I said in Friday’s post this week was less than stellar. I was in a funk with no real reason as to why. I started the week out sick and things just kind of went down hill from there. We had an employee with a last day on Friday and it’s always sad when the team changes. On the upside, I finally have a hotel for my work trip coming up in October so I won’t be sleeping in my car, haha.

The plan called for a 6 mile run, 6 mile pace run, 10 mile long run and 3-4 cross training workouts.

Monday- Sick
I felt fine in the morning and had my running gear with me at work. However things went south around 4:00pm when I suddenly felt nauseous, clammy and like I was running a fever. I went home and just curled up under a blanket. It was still hot outside so it was a sign that I really wasn’t feeling well.

Tuesday- Liift4
I still wasn’t feeling well. I couldn’t focus and everything took so much more effort. I ran into my uncle during the day and he took one look at me and asked why the hell I went to work. I’m stupid?? I felt like a total sloth so I dragged my way through a Liift4 workout in the late evening. I did feel a little better after.

Wednesday-1.2 miles
Not what I intended. I planned to attempt 5-6 pace-ish miles around the lake path but the path had other plans. Creeper alert! Both could have been false alarms but my #1 rule is Be Paranoid. The first creeper was a windowless van parked on the path. Ummm, why? Next up was a gold Ford Fusion that slowed as it passed me, then drove in front of me. When it came back for a second, slower pass, I was done -I’m out. I’ll run another day.

Thursday- 3 miles
My leg was hurting. I was stupid and sat in my chair this week- why do I keep doing that- and it aggravates my right leg in a bad way. I toughed out 3 miles but managed to find a decent, easy pace actually. I knew more would probably be stupid judging by how the leg felt though.

Friday- Nothing
I just wanted to stay in bed all day but I went to work. I did bring back the desk chair instead of my stool though.

Saturday-Nothing
And I mean nothing. I set my alarm to get in my long run but when it came time to run I was so not feeling it. In fact I was feeling like being a sloth. So I did. The upcoming month of October is looking to be crazy busy and this was my last weekend before things get crazy. So, I did the bare minimum. I ran 2 errands and I napped.

Sunday- 6.35 miles
I should have napped more. I kept putting off this run because I really didn’t want to run. I wanted to be lazy but I told myself that was stupid. So I headed out for a run. Why? It was miserable. It was too warm, I wasn’t into it and my leg started to hurt towards the end. I walked a lot. I was done. I just looped and headed back to the car. I should have just skipped it. My pace wasn’t completely horrible- it was actually near marathon long run pace so I guess I have made some improvements in the last few weeks if I tanked that badly but it doesn’t look like it.

10.56 miles for the week. Yay. And with that it’s race week.

How was your week?