Category: Run!

Run to the Music 4

But this isn’t giving up no this is letting go
Out with the old dreams I’ve borrowed
The path I carve from here on out will be my own
A path to take me home

Most of my runs lately have had me thinking deep thoughts. Maybe facing some truths too. I claimed that this was the year of no goals but I let myself get swayed by the dark side, the numbers side. It’s all too easy to get caught up with social media and fall into the comparison trap. Denying it can only dig you deeper and deeper into the hole. Combine that with a bunch of crappy things happening outside of running this year and I think I’m falling apart. Not completely but I’m starting to crack.

Which means a lot of things but one of those is letting go of those pesky numbers goals that snuck back up on me. I’ve become a little too mired in pace and miles. I realized the other week that I have run more miles this year than any year previous. Right after that, I realized how close I am to actually pulling off 1000 miles in a year. In other words, 2015’s failed goal. But let’s be honest, 2 hundred mile months right now would break me. Likely make me hate running too. I don’t want that, I want to enjoy running just to run for the rest of year. Maybe next year too. Who know? I want to enjoy races for awhile.

Thankfully, my iPod is still on shuffle all. The perfect song came on at the right time today.

This is Letting Go– Rise Against

So this me letting go. I saying it out loud…and in print. Hopefully, you’ll see a shinier Slacker in the coming months.

Harvest Half Recap

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Harvest Marathon half 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!

This race has been a long time coming for me so I was excited that I was finally going to run it. I’ve wanted to run it for the last 4 years but always ended up working an aid station during the marathon instead. Which was great but it wasn’t the same as running it. When the opportunity to run it with BibRave came up I was tempted but I had plans on race day. But I made it work! Woo hoo!

The race is a fundraiser for local schools and it has great potential. This was the first year without the marathon as it was canceled due to a few issues. 😢 Packet pick up was Saturday and went smoothly. You can read all the little details in my BibRave review. I admit I was nervous wearing BibRave orange in Bearcat Country (high school arch rival is the Greyhounds- orange!) but I had nothing to be worried about. My Bearcat coaching mother disagrees. 😛

The race is a big loop through back country roads. It takes you past numerous vineyards and farms and is very scenic. I drove it the day before and loved the sights. I was less enthusiastic about the hills. But it’s Paso and Paso doesn’t do flat. It is a quiet race- there is very little crowd support outside of aid stations and the finish line. Also the roads are not fully closed so it is entirely likely that vehicles will drive past you a few times or sometimes fly by doing 50ish. All of my early half marathons were similar so I am used to this but it can be alarming if you aren’t prepared.

Race morning-

I slept surprisingly well considering my recent insomnia struggles and usual race nerves but woke an hour before my alarm feeling freaky nauseous. I laid there and hoped it would pass. It did but I felt like I had been run over by a truck. Uh oh. I was suddenly thankful of the late start of 8:30. Once at the start I debated arm sleeves or a windbreaker. The skies looked ominous but the weather app said that rain was hours away if at all. The high school cross country coach said no rain was coming and it wasn’t cold so I decided to just go with my tank. We all lined up and it was go time!

Miles 1-3 9:43, 9:50, 10:17

The plan with Coach Jenny called for an easy first 8 before bringing the last 5 miles in at goal half marathon pace. Sounded good to me. I was trying not to look at my watch and run by feel but I was winded 1/2 mile in. I felt like I was working too hard so I checked my watching expecting to see something in the 8:30 range. Nope. 9:45. Crap, that shouldn’t feel this hard! My calves were also doing their lovely tight thing and the first 3 miles are flatter than I would have liked. Boo. I was running in the dirt on the side of the road any chance I got. Then, 2.5 miles in the skies opened up. Seriously?! It didn’t take long before I was soaked. It wasn’t pouring by any means but you got wet fast. And I was getting slower. I pretty much slammed into the wall at mile 3.5. Well crap.

Miles 4-7 10:50, 9:59, 11:16, 10:49

And the walk breaks started. Mile 4 was one of my toughest miles and I don’t know why. I ran past the second aid station and tried to pick it up but I failed. Why faster for this station? It was manned by my mother and her tennis team. 😛 Mile 5 was a long slow downhill and my legs were finally starting to loosen up. Second wind maybe? Nope. Mile 6 starts an out and back to add a little distance. I hate out and backs. And this one was all rollers as far as the eye could see. Plus whatever downhill you had on the way out was a climb on the way back. But I’m weird and even though my lungs hate hills, my legs don’t and mile 7 was almost 30 seconds faster than mile 6. Third wind???

Miles 8-9 11:05, 10:30

Haha, just kidding. My lungs were not happy with the constant cloud cover and rain. I knew the road to mile 8 was really pretty and I had been looking forward to it. For some reason, I remembered exactly where every mile marker was and it gave me something to look forward to. Mile 8 was in front of Graveyard Vineyards where I had just learned that there is a literal graveyard in the front of the vineyard. Mile 9 gave us a decent downhill and I tried to pick up the pace as I knew what was coming.

Mile 10 12:26

It’s the climb!!!! I knew from the drive yesterday that there was a long climb. Yeah, mile 9 to mile 10.2 was all up. It started slowly and then just kept increasing in slope as well. I was toast. It was still raining and I was starting to realize that I was having a giant chafing problem with my sports bra. I could feel it with every step. Stupid rain! I rounded a corner only to find more climb. Oh come on!

Miles 11-13 10:48, 11:39, 10:43

Yay! The crawl was over, I knew there was only a 5K left and the rain stopped! Let’s do this! Except that enthusiasm lasted about .25 of a mile. I didn’t feel overly tired but I had nothing. I don’t even know how many times I walked in those last 3 miles. A lot. I was actually passing people but I was still irritated with myself. I had just picked up the pace a little past mile 12 when I passed my mom and her team again, apparently they had moved stations and were now traffic control. With a mile left I told myself to run it in and I would at least be faster than City to the Sea. Haha. I am glad for small races because my proclivity for cursing like a sailor was in full force as I berated myself…out loud. Finally the finish line was in sight and I could be done.

Finish- 2:21:06

That did not go like I had hoped. At all. The course was awesome. It really had a great amount of up and down for me but it wasn’t my day. I don’t know how much of it was the rain (very rare here) and my lungs. If it was the weird nausea in the morning ( I did actually get sick and miss some work) or if I am just burnt out from a crazy year. I also don’t want to make excuses though, for whatever reasons I was not all there on race day and my race effort shows it.

The rain screwed with a lot of us. I have never chafed this bad in my life, clothing hurts. I wasn’t the only one either. I saw more than few blood stains on shirts. We’re in a drought, what is this water stuff?? I can count on one hand how many times I’ve run in the rain and that includes this race.

I initially delayed writing this recap because I needed some time to think about the race. Then I actually did get sick and missed some work which delayed this post even more but I think the extra time helped me accept the race for what it was. I think I can finally admit that speed is not my biggest adversary, my head is. Half the battle is knowing who you’re fighting right?

This was my kind of race though and I will be back. Redemption in 2017?

Week 44 Training Recap

Training for-

Paso Harvest Marathon 13.1
Golden Gate Half

So I started titling my weekly recaps like this back in January but took a little break during marathon training. The weekly numbers are starting to drag on me. I need figure out another way to do this. Good thing it’s almost 2017! Ouch, did I just say that?

This week saw me back on the dreadmill and it almost broke me. I don’t know if I can do that 2 nights a week until spring. I may have to get over my mountain lion fear. Well, and the fear of what’s hiding in the dark when you run at night. To that end, I bought a new pair of reflective leggings this week and I am hunting down all my blinking lights. I think I have them stashed in odd places. My flashlight also needs new batteries. Who said running was a cheap sport? 😛

Monday-2.3 miles The plan called for an easy 30 minute recovery run. Oh man, my calves were stiff. I walked more than I would have liked which meant I barely hit 3 miles in 30 minutes. Ouch. At least I was able to enjoy the view.

Tuesday- Rest I spent some time with my foam roller but probably not enough. I can’t remember if I did anything else. 😛

Wednesday- 4 miles Son of a treadmill. The plan was for a 7 mile run- some warm up and cool down with mile repeats at half marathon pace. Ha! I hate treadmills but I was trying to be optimistic. I couldn’t even pull off one mile at pace. My calves were tight and would not loosen up. I paused the treadmill so many times to try and stretch them out. At one point, I stretched so long the damn treadmill reset itself. I finally decided that I was doing more harm than good and called it. I was still pissed though so I cranked the incline to 7 and power walked it out. Things finally loosened up. So what, all my treadmill dates this winter will power walking at an incline?

Thursday- Rest I was still feeling sore from the day before so not much happened. I planned on jumping on the bike for a few miles but I didn’t. Oops.

Friday- Rest

Saturday- Rest Oops. I was supposed to do a 20-30 minute shakeout run. This also would have worked great with the Alzheimer’s Walk that I was supposed to participate in and yet neither happened. I took my car in for some tire work and planned on doing the shakeout run then except they moved at lightning pace and I did not have time. After a few errands, I headed to pick up my packet for the Harvest Half. I was nervous. This is the first time in 4 years that I haven’t volunteered to work it and it was the first time in 6 years that I was running it again. I ran the 5k years ago. This was also my first race with BibRave so I a little anxious.

They moved the expo into town this year and livened it up with a few vendor booths, some live music and a dinner in the park. I have to give them points for effort. There were only 2 vendors- Costco and a local gym. The tri tip smelled amazing though. I headed home to eat dinner and try to get a decent night’s sleep.

Sunday- Harvest Half To be continued…but ouch.

How was your week?

Any tips on making the treadmill less miserable?

Taking Directions

Disclaimer: I received a session with Ekiden Coaching 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’ve said numerous times that I tend to have knee jerk reactions to training plans. I turn into a 5 year old and say ” I don’t wanna”. Or a rebellious teenager- “you can’t make me!’. I’ve posted pictures of my training plans before and they are usually full of color and corrections and look like a 5 year old used them as a coloring book.

That said I’ve always wondered how I would respond to a coach. Would reporting to an actual person hold me accountable? Would I get out of my own way and actually commit to a program that could make me a better runner? I was curious but I figured the odds of me finding out were slim to none as most options I saw could break the bank. And my bank is pretty broken as it is. 😛

Enter Ekiden Coaching.

ekiden

When I was given the opportunity to try their coaching services, I jumped at it. What better chance to see how I would do? Ekiden is fairly new to the scene and founded by Peter Duyan with Head Coach Mario Fraioli. I checked out the website, looked at their backgrounds and read some articles in Competitor by Mario. I was excited to get started.

The process started with a very in depth questionnaire that asked about your running habits, preferences and quirks. It also asked about your nutrition level and if you had any injuries. Once it was submitted, I waited to be matched with my coach. Once I learned that I had Coach Jenny, we set up a time for a phone conversation to go more in depth about my running level and upcoming race plans. This was also when I had the realization that I had a lot of races in the coming weeks. Oops. Jenny also let me know I may have bit off a bigger bite than I should have. Yes, Coach. This was also proved true when I had to bail on the Run The Runways 5K. 😢

From there the coaching plan is uploaded to the Ekiden site on a weekly basis. The site links to Strava and for every completed workout, you get a blue dot. Missed workouts show a red dot. You are sent a weekly text on Sundays with a link to the week’s workouts. A daily text at 5PM told you the next days workout. You can communicate with your coach via text message or on the Ekiden site. Text messages are my jam, sweet!

So how did training go? I really liked it! Every workout was something that I could or should be able to physically do and it was very easy to understand. I didn’t have to do any math or fancy equations to know what I was supposed to do. I’ve had a good mix of easy running and speed work. The speed work was great (remember Float?). It pushed me out of my comfort zone just enough. I never would have planned a long run with a fast finish end of 6 miles but I came close to pulling it off! My left leg has been giving me fits but being honest, it hasn’t been happy since halfway through marathon training. That said, Coach Jenny has been a great resource with that- I can text her when it hurts and we can adjust the plan. It helps to talk it out with someone so I don’t just panic on my own. The accountability portion of having a coach is kind of awesome. I call myself Slacker for a reason so having someone check in with you is a great way to stay on track. Even a day when I was feeling super crappy and knew I couldn’t handle a run, I went home and did a few miles on the bike. I can say without a doubt that I would not have done that had I not had a coach and a training plan.

So would I do it all over again? I actually have a week or 2 left on my plan right now but I think I would do it again. Personal plans can be as low $49 a month and I think a 3 month plan would be a great fit for me next year- I may finally buckle down to train for a sub 2 half… or maybe a second marathon. 😛

I also have a discount for you- use code BibRave16 and get 1 month of free training when you purchase 3 months. Dang it, I could use that next year!

Looking for more information? Check out the Ekiden website or read these Pro’s reviews-

Christine
Angie

Have you ever worked with a coach?

Do you like training plans?

Week 43 Training Recap

Training for-

Paso Harvest Marathon 13.1
Golden Gate Half

It’s the final countdown! Come on, sing it with me! Sorry, I think the lack of sleep is making me slap happy. 😛 I’m still not sleeping but I’m also tired of whining about it. It is what it is so I am trying to just find the shiny and keep moving on.

I actually ran all the miles planned this week and almost pulled off some of the paces. Who am I?!? I started off the week by taking some rest days. It’s how being told to rest by someone else takes some of guilt away. I think my brain needed that after the last few weeks.

Monday- Yoga What?!? I used an app on my phone and did a beginners workout just to try to loosen up and relax a little. I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before so I was dragging.

Tuesday- Rest This day was a Monday Redux. Seriously, it was rough at work. I was so glad I didn’t have to run.

Wednesday- 4 miles After a few days off, I was feeling nervous like I forgot how to run. As you can read here– the run was freakin’ awesome!

Thursday-3.5 miles Interval ouch. The workout called for 6×400 with warm up and cool down. Normally I love 400’s but I was so damn tired and I knew I would be chasing the sunset. I had an option of rest or a light jog between the 400’s and I chose the rest. Even with that, the intervals kicked my ass. My paces were 7:58, 7:53, 8:41, 8:25, 7:56, 8:33. Not sure what happened with that third one. I was whipped at the end. I could not have run another one if I tried. I was proud that I finished the work out but damn that was hard.

Friday- Rest Oh crap, I think I broke myself. I was limping all day and my left knee and shin were pissed. I was kind of freaking out. I had 12 miles on the plan the next day, what do I do?!?! Does it really hurt or am I just being a baby? I have a mental block with 12 mile runs. Give me 11 or 13 or 15 and I look forward to them after marathon training, but 12? I hate them for some reason. Was I just whining? I texted Coach Jenny for her opinion and she agreed I should push my run back to Sunday and rest.

Saturday- Rest I attempted to catch up on sleep. Did I mention Thursday night was another 4 hours if I was lucky? Then I ran a few errands and read a book-Run!. I love reading Dean Karnazes’ books. Even if they make me think crazy thoughts. I signed up for my first marathon 2 months after reading Ultramarathon Man. What now?

Sunday- 12 miles Of course, when my alarm went off I was in the most comfortable moment of sleep that I had had all week. I hit snooze for 40 minutes before dragging myself out of bed for my run. My plan called for 6 miles @ 12:00, 5@ 9:30 and the last @ 9:00. My leg felt a little better but I was planning on taking it easy and keeping an eye on how it felt. I even had my mom on alert in case I needed a pick up.

I kept it nice and easy in the beginning and just focused on my leg. Mile 1 was super slow and I managed to keep the bridge mile at 10:00 which is fairly calm considering I usually bolt across it. At the halfway point I was actually right on pace and I felt ok so I tried to pick up the pace a bit. I couldn’t get to 9:30 though. Miles 7, 8, and 9 clocked in at 10:00. I was still pretty stoked about that though so I was hoping I could keep it up. Then I slammed right into a wall. Miles 10 and 11 were 11:18 and 10:57. Oops. I didn’t necessarily feel tired but I could not move any faster. I took so many walk breaks. I had already run more miles than I thought I was going to pull off so I decided not to stress about the pace. That said, I was so glad to see my watch hit 12. Success!

19.5 miles- an improvement over the last few weeks! Woo hoo! And now it’s on to race week #1! Eeek!

How was your week?

I whined a little didn’t I? Oops.

What are you reading?