Category: Run!

Mission 10 Miler Recap

My first 10 mile race!

This race wasn’t on my radar until I received an email from a half marathon series. San Juan Bautista is only 2 hours up the road and this would make mission #3 for a race start. I didn’t know I was starting a list but hey, why not!

I had a 12 mile run on the schedule that week but instead of running the half marathon available, I wanted to run the 10 miler. I figured I would run 2 miles when I got back to to town. Then the week of pain happened and I spent Thursday and Friday feeling a little off but I refused to say I was sick. I wasn’t even sure I was going to be able run the race but I headed that way anyways.

Holy crap it was cold! And picking up my bib and shirt took barely any time, so we stood around and froze for almost an hour. Oops. After watching the kids race- so adorable, then the half marathon start, it was time for the 10 miler.

I am toying with running Big Sur with run/walk intervals so I tested those out here. When I was in super shape (for me)- I could have run this in the low 1:30:00 range. Yah, not so much anymore. Since I was treating it as a long run, I was hoping for a 10:30-11:00 pace but with my recent leg issues I told my mother I wasn’t expecting to be done before 2:00 hours. Then I put my watch on intervals of 1:15 run/ :45 walk, only had it on that screen and ran the race pace blind.

Miles 1-3- 9:38, 10:27, 10:33

I ran the entirety of the first mile, the race vibe just gets me moving. However, I felt like I was crawling. I was so cold, my legs didn’t feel like they were moving properly. But looking at my Garmin later, I guess they were. 😛 I went to the intervals in mile 2 not because of the leg issue I had been worried about but only because my calves and achilles were super tight. They were letting me know they were less than pleased with 3 miles of flat road.

Miles 4-7- 11:18, 11:19, 10:39, 9:47
Around 3.5 miles in we rounded a corner and passed a lone port-a potty and then the elevation finally started to change. I smiled. Yay, a hill! I slowed going up the hill but stuck to my intervals. The tightness in my calves eased- this is why I like hills- and I was feeling better than I thought I would. I was sticking to the plan and treating the race like a long run- I wasn’t pushing it but I was keeping a steady effort. The road through this section took the runners by some very pretty properties so I was also trying to enjoy the scenery. I picked up the pace a bit when we turned around to head back towards the finish and now had the aid of the downhill. Things were feeling good.

Miles 8-10- 11:16, 11:29, 11:17
Holy crap, what the hell??? My stomach cramped and cramped in a miserable, horrible way. My intervals disintegrated and the wheels came off. I ran when I could and walked when I was trying to breath through the pain and not cause any ummmm, issues. In all 10 miles of this race, I saw 1 port-a-potty. That didn’t help me. Where was the finish line????

Finish- 1:48:29
Well, look at that- even with the wheels falling off in the last 3 miles, that’s not bad!

I found a jail while looking for a bathroom

Unfortunately, I was sick for the next 4-5 hours and fought a cold for the next 3 days so that was less fun but the race was a pretty good way to start the year. Maybe next 10 miler, I can really race it. 😀

RnR San Diego- Going Back

Disclaimer: I received an entry into 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!

I’m going back, going back to San Diego!

Rock n Roll San Diego 2017 was my first time running a Rock n Roll race and it was awesome.

I was a little concerned going into it because it was going to be one of my biggest races yet. It was also flat- by my standards- and in a large city- again by my standards. All of which are outside of my comfort zone. Nothing to worry about it, it was all awesome. 👍

So when I found out that I had the chance to go back to San Diego to run it again, I did a little jig.

Now, Rock n Roll San Diego takes place the weekend of June 2-3. Which is a month after Big Sur. I am not sure how I am going to be feeling so as of now my plan is just go for a nice stroll and enjoy running through all the San Diego neighborhoods again.

I’m also looking forward to checking out the new things Rock n Roll has in store for 2018.

To name a few-

A new Marathon finisher zone with massages and pizza–(ok but what about half marathon-ers? 🤣)
New corral markers that light up!
Clearer aid station signage
You can rock out to on-course mile markers!
You can also take a quiz to pick your Rock ‘n’ Roll Spotify BPM playlist that will help inspire you to rock your next run: http://runrocknroll.co/5eux3X

Is it June yet???

Want to join me?? Use code RNRBRP2018 to save 15 on the half or full. I’ll be the one wearing orange!!!

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 4

I designed my plan with flexibility. I know I like to be able to move my days around depending on how work goes or if my stomach is being a complete asshat.

That said, I didn’t plan on basically chucking the plan out the window in week 4. I am so behind on miles. Don’t freak out, don’t freak out.

I mentioned last week that I ended week 3 feeling broken thanks to a crappy treadmill and some shoe issues. People, getting out bed on Monday hurt. Walking around work hurt. What the hell????? Don’t freak out, don’t freak out.

The plan-haha

week 4

Life-

Monday- Rest Haha, I worked and I rested. I tried not to make any sudden movements and just get through the day. I had to put the thought of my pretty new shoes out my head.

Tuesday- PT Otherwise, more of the same.

Wednesday- 4 miles on the bike My lump on a log- ness was getting to me so I went for a very short ride on the bike just to test the legs out. I followed up with half of my PT exercises.

Thursday- 2 miles I’m feeling very anti treadmill right now but wanted to test the leg considering I had a race on Saturday. Oh crap. While I wish I hadn’t been running on super uneven sidewalks, the miles were ok. I always think I run differently at night due to the limited light. I love my Knuckle Lights but I still feel like I run a little off. That could also be that I don’t run enough in the dark to get used to it though.

Friday- Rest For doing next to nothing all week, I was super tired. That stupid cold/flu better not have caught up to me. I worked the early shift at work and headed home to try and get some sleep before the early morning of race day errr, well supported long run. 😋

Saturday- Mission 10 miler– race recap to come.

Sunday- 3.1 miles I finally put some miles in the Altra’s. I took it super easy as it was my first time in zero drop shoes but I surprisingly it took over 2 miles for me to feel any calf/achilles tightness. Mini spoiler- that happened within 1/4 mile the day before during the race. I also took it easy because I still wasn’t feeling well- another mini spoiler? All in all this was decent recovery run.

15.4 miles for the week. So basically, I ran a long run and skipped everything else. Only 9 miles short. Don’t freak out.

How was your week?<

Keeping Track

Disclaimer: I am promoting Athlinks 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!

We runner love our numbers. At least I know I do. 😁

When I first started running, I would scrapbook every bib with race dates and finish times. But let’s be real, I soon ran out of steam with that one and now that scrapbook languishes at the bottom of a hope chest in the closet.

I have pages dedicated to race times and links to recaps on the this blog (look up) but sometimes I fall behind on keeping them up to date. Then there was the time a couple months back when I accidentally deleted the entire page that listed all my races prior to 2014. Ack!!! What do I do?!

Tah dah- Athlinks!!

Athlinks works like a database and pulls all your race results together and keeps them in one place for you. At least that was what it did when I signed up years ago.

It’s so much cooler now! Yes, it still tracks all your races and it’s super easy to claim them- well as long you don’t have a common name, which I don’t 😋. Now you can follow your friends and they can follow you. Anytime you run a race with them, they become your rivals. I don’t how much of a rival I am as everyone I follow and vice versa is faster than me but it’s fun!

mission add

Another cool feature is that you can add upcoming races so those friendly rivals 😀 know what your upcoming races are. Who knows, they might be running the race with you. And if that race doesn’t immediately pop up, it’s super easy to add it. For example, my race this Saturday is on the small side and didn’t pop up when I searched. So I added it. I added all the distances- 13.1, 10 mile, 5k and then I added myself to the starting list for the 10 miler. It took less than 3 minutes. Easy, peasy.

PRS — haha, remember the hot mess 25k????

There’s even a Statistics tab that keeps track of all your PR’s for you. My 10K PR is not accurate since I set it at a super tiny race but it’s close enough and since I’ve slowed down, I can still use it as incentive to make that number drop! Also, I somehow forgot my marathon finish time. I thought I was slower than that so seeing it there is kind of awesome… and again, incentive to make that number drop. 😋

Now, I have run some super tiny races (I mean how else did I first OA female one??-tiny) , so not all of my races report times and data so Athlinks doesn’t have those. Heck, some of those races didn’t even have timing clocks or bibs but the majority of my races are available. So, I look forward to adding to my stats over time.

You can set your profile to private if you want and still take advantage of all the awesome tracking capabilities that Athlinks has. Public or private- either way it’s awesome!

Do you use Athlinks?

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 3

If I had one word to describe this week, it would be ouch.

If I used more words, ouch would likely be followed by a couple of colorful expletives and then some more ouch.

Work was stressful and busy. I ran but it didn’t go well. I bought new running shoes, oh and I cut most of my hair off. Surprise!

The plan-

Week 3

Life-

Monday- PT/3 miles It was a day off from work and part of me really wanted to run the 6 miles of speed work that was on the plan for the week. Part of me was also really feeling the 15 miles I had put on them in the previous 2 days and wanted a rest day. I compromised and stuck with the plan and headed out for 3. I should have gone with the rest. My legs were not having it. Not even turning to my long run run/walk intervals helped. I probably shouldn’t have run the same day I had a PT appointment with traction. I ended up just walking it in.

Tuesday- Rest Insanely busy work day plus I was listening to my legs.

Wednesday- 2 miles Another busy day and mentally, I did not think I could handle the treadmill. I changed into my running clothes at work but was talking myself out of it the entire drive home. I was thisclose to bailing entirely but instead I parked my car and a headed out for a dark few miles. Things were a little stiff but I chalked it up to all the uneven sidewalks I have to run on at night and figure I run a little differently in the dark.

Thursday- 4 miles -400’s On the lake path, my typical 400 pace ranges from 7:55-8:15. On this night, due to some very poor treadmill math, I was running these 400’s around 9:45. And they were kicking my ass. I normally love 400’s. Not tonight. My legs and back were not agreeing with the treadmill at all. I called it at 4 miles because an ache in my upper left leg started to turn into pain. I hate treadmills. Particularly bouncy ones.

Friday- Rest/ PT exercisesI wore compression socks all days and my for the most part, I felt ok.

Saturday- 9 miles/ PT exercises I wanted 11, should have quit at 5. The plan was to run from home, do my 11 and finish at the high school where my mother was having tennis practice then she would give me a ride. I was super achy and stiff the first 2 miles but sometimes it can take until mile 4 for me to loosen up so I kept running. By mile 5, the aches had turned into straight up pain and I knew I was in trouble. So I took a shortcut and hobble-ran my way to the high school stopping occasionally to stretch as best as I could. Once home, I iced, and stretched and foam rolled as much as I could.

Sunday- Rest I did wander around SLO and do some shopping. My left leg is still not to happy but I was able to walk without pain. But certain muscles and bones are making their presence known if that makes sense. I stopped in at the Running Warehouse and made the leap into a new pair of shoes. I’m moving around too much in the Adidas right now no matter how many pairs of socks I wear. Fingers crossed these help.

18.19 miles for the week. 5 short of where I should be. But it’s early days and I am not going to freak out yet. No, I am not. If I repeat it enough, it’s true right?

How was your week?