Category: Run!

20- The White Whale

If you had told me 2 years ago that I would be training for a marathon, I would have laughed at you. If you had said that marathon training would happen during a CA summer, I would have responded with a “hell no”. Had you said that I would get up early on a Sunday morning and go run a 20 miler by myself- I would have told you that you needed to have your head examined.

And yet, that’s exactly what I did.

While I was set on following Hansons, I admit that I had planned some adjustments to the long runs. I had hoped for a 16 in April, 18 in May, 20 in June and a second 20/22 in July. 16 in April was a success- ran it with Heather and Ashley. 18 in May? Yeah, that never happened. Could I pull off 20?

I stuck to the training plan for April and May. Then I got hurt- since then I’ve been taking it easy on my weekday runs and focusing on the long runs. The long runs are about the only part of Hansons I’m still doing but really I’m just doing my own thing. And my own thing really wanted to do 20 this weekend. Ok, maybe want is not the right word. 😛

Is it sad that one of my biggest worries about this run was getting myself out of bed in the morning? It’s been averaging in the 105 range here so I knew I would have to head out early. But I want to sleep in! I set my alarm and just hoped I wouldn’t hit snooze one too many times.

When you turn your trunk into an aid station

I still haven’t quite figured out how to carry enough water comfortably so I set my car up as an aid station. I had extra water, Gatorade, Nuun and Honey Stinger chews. I had a change of shoes, a change of socks and a fresh shirt. It pays to be prepared right? I had a looped route planned- 5 miles, then 10, then the last five. I told myself it was less intimidating if I only thought about each loop at a time.

I started my run around 6:15. I had hit snooze a few times. Oops. I started the run in my new Brooks. It’s one of the reasons I planned my first loop as a short one. I walked around 3/4 of the first mile just to make sure I didn’t have a sudden bloody blister problem like the last time I tried to break in new PureFlows. Everything felt ok so I started running. I am never out that early, it felt odd. I thought there would be multiple other people put beating the heat but there wasn’t. I was feeling pretty good so my first loop ended up being just shy of 8 miles. I hit my car and filled my water bottle back up and ate 2 chews.

Time for loop 2. People were starting to appear! It was also warming up. My loops were actually comprised of 3 smaller loops around neighborhoods- I could tell it was getting hotter faster than predicted so I looped the top one twice on the second big loop as it was the part of the route with the least amount of shade. I figured I should get it out of the way before it was full on hot. I also threw down a 10 minute mile in this loop. I never felt like I was moving that fast. I had only used 1/2 of my water bottle on the first big loop, now I was only halfway through the second loop and I knew I was going to run out. I made another course adjustment and was able to hit my car just shy of 16 miles.

Manual dexterity was tricky as I was super sweaty so instead of pouring water into my Orange Mud bottle, I just switched bottles. 😛 I was also feeling some chafing around my sports bra, so I took one of those extra socks, got it wet and shoved it in my sports bra. Classy right?

Loop 3. I won’t lie I was getting a little tired but overall I felt pretty good. I hit 16 miles in 3:03 and I was pretty stoked- that was faster than my last one! I might actually finish 15 minutes before my projected time of 4 hours! Then came the last 4 miles. Oh holy heatwave. It was only in the 80’s but it felt like 100 to me. My legs were tired but felt like they had more miles in them, my stomach was decent but holy crap, I was hot. I went through almost 23 ounces of water in 4 miles. The loop turned into more of an out and back up a hill and I kind of crawled. But I got it done!!!

20 miles in 3:53:13. I was still under 4 hours! And considering mile 17 was 13:10 and 18 and 19 weren’t much faster, I’ll take it! I walked a little ways back towards my car and took advantage of a shady spot on the path. I plopped myself down and just sat there for a while. I was kind of surprised at myself. Holy crap people, I ran 20 miles- voluntarily. By myself. On a Sunday. I actually followed through and got my ass out of bed early. I don’t know who I am right now.

I ended up dumping a bottle of water of over my head to cool off and took myself through the McDonald’s drive thru for a much craved Diet Coke. It tasted amazing. 😊😊

Ever surprised yourself with a run? Or anything really?

What do you crave after a hot run?

Run to the Music

Would it be embarrassing to say that I have a marathon song or 2?

I always hesitate to share my music choices because they are all over the place. However, I have had these songs on repeat since January and I still am not over them.

I call this one my marathon song. I first heard it around the time I was debating registering for the full. I think it fits. 😛

B.I.G

This one joined in the middle of March. I admit I never knew what the band looked like until I pulled the video for this post. 😛

Uncontainable–

What makes you want to run?

Boundary Boardwalk

I’m socially awkward.

I wasn’t as a child. I was obnoxious, outgoing and a bit of a daredevil. I don’t know what happened to me. 😛

Crowds make me uncomfortable- sometimes running in public still freaks me out. I’ve mostly gotten over it in home town. Granted the bridge still stresses me out. For crying out loud, I still sprint across the damn thing. Last weeks long run saw the bridge mile clocking in at 9:14. Which doesn’t sound that speedy until you take into account my stupid shins and the fact that I walked part of that mile too.

Running in work town? Oh hell no. I do it very rarely. What if people see me? I don’t want customers to see me in a sweaty mess. And shorts? Forget it. If I run in work town, I wear capris, no matter what time of year. Throw in the fact that I only have only the one 4 mile route and I don’t run there very often. Too uncomfortable.

The week has been running around 105ish in hometown. Mid 70’s at 7 am. Yay. 😭😭 I ran in work town on Monday- tried to be invisible. Wednesday was my half day and I wanted to run but 100+ temps? Not so much. Whereas work town was a lovely 72. Decisions, decisions.

I stepped outside my comfort zone. I ran in work town. On a new path. In shorts. In the middle of the day. There were people around. It’s summer in a beach town- what was I thinking?

It freakin’ rocked.

Don’t get me wrong- those 4 miles kicked my ass. First I was cold then I was hot. The path I thought I was on turned out to be not what I thought. My shorts rode up every 5 steps and I spent most of the run trying to discreetly dig them out of my crotch and yanking them down. Cover those legs! My legs hurt, my shins ached. I was sinking in the sand. The pavement seemed too hard. I lost the cover to my new handheld Orange Mud and didn’t even notice for 1/2 a mile. How? I was breathing like I was sprinting but I so wasn’t. I walked more than I would have liked. People saw me.

But —

I ran through a tunnel of Cypress trees–

Found three stacks–

And a rock–

Like I said- this run rocked. Can’t wait to push my boundaries ( a little) again with a longer run. And maybe with different shorts. 😛

How do you push your boundaries?

San Francisco Marathon Training Week 12

Seriously, that’s a long title. Oof.

How is it week 12 already? My little countdown app is telling me I only have 41 days to go. Holy crap!

I admit I struggled hard with motivation this week. Everything seemed hard. I thought my boss coming back from vacation would make things easier but I just felt fried. At one point on Friday, I had so many pots in the fire I couldn’t even tell which way was up. I was just waiting for one of them to blow up in my face. Which may still happen this week, who knows. All week long, I kind of just wanted to curl up in the corner and hide under a blanket.

This spilled into running. I had serious trouble getting myself to run on Monday and then Wednesday turned into a rest day too. Convinced myself that my shins needed more time anyways. Week 12 is not the time to be getting lazy but I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Monday- 3.5 miles My legs were feeling rough for this run. I haven’t run a Monday since I first hurt my shins. Taking the day off after my long run seemed to help but I knew I couldn’t run on Tuesday this week. I headed to the lake path and planned to take it nice and easy. Even slow running with walking intervals was rough. My shins protested. I called it when lap 3 put me back at my car. 3.5 miles was not a great way to start the week.

Tuesday- Rest A mandatory conference call had been scheduled for after normal work hours. This was why I had to move my run up to Monday.

Wednesday- Rest I had planned on running, even took my stuff to work. I tell myself I took the day off because my shins hurt. While that is partially accurate, I didn’t even take my gym bag out of the car in the morning. So yeah, I enjoyed pizza night instead.

Thursday- 7 miles Work was tiring and the last thing I wanted to do was run. I told myself to suck it up and change. I left work town and headed for the river path. Of course, right as I parked I suddenly felt like I needed to use the restroom. Of course- most of my routes have no bathrooms or water fountains. Whatever, I figured that would be a reason to keep the run short. I started out up the hill and just stuck to the run/ walk intervals. My legs were feeling ok so when I hit the turn around point I decided to go a little further. I made a left and headed up a street. I remember the street from my very first 10K years ago but I remembered it wrong. I thought it was flat but it was hillier than I recalled. Little rollers but they still felt like mountains. But it’s cool- I made some new friends-

On the way back, the wind had turned insane. It was pushing me backwards it was so strong, I felt like I was running in quicksand. That said, my running intervals were the fastest they’ve been since I got hurt so this run ended up being more like speed work.

Friday- Rest Work was insane. Straight up crazy. By the time I got off I was running out the door. But I didn’t have to close so yay!

Saturday- 9 miles The plan called for a 10 mile long run and 8 mile easy this weekend. I knew Sunday was going to be busy with family stuff so I was doubtful of getting a run in. With only a 10 mile long run planned, I got a little cocky- I mean what’s 10 miles? Stupid. I didn’t start my run until 8:30. Stupid. By mile 2 it was warm. NikeC was out for her run too and we started texted each other about how warm it was. I kept a comfortable pace until I hit the bridge. Even though I know it’s stupid, I still fly across the thing and then up past Walmart. Miles 4-5 saw a 9:14 and 9:44. Oops. So not long run pace for a person with wonky shins. I walked more of mile 6 than planned but still the pace was decent. Mile 7 saw a break- NikeC! Our routes crossed paths and I finally got to meet the cutest little guy ever.

We stopped and chatted for a bit before going on to finish our runs. Our chat meant I wasn’t going to be able to finish 10 but it was worth it. I was planning on ending my run at the high school and getting a ride from my mother. She’s having summer practices right now- and bonus- the school has water fountains and sometimes the bathrooms are open. Thing is her practice ended at 10:30. I picked up the pace and managed to get there right at 10:30. Those last 3 miles were most I’ve run without walk breaks in a month. Sweet!

4.5 miles walk– Knowing that Sunday was iffy, I had a second run of the day in the back of my mind. I headed out around 3 for some more miles. I wanted to run it like last week’s double but the week caught up with me so I walked it. I’m still counting it because let’s be real here- there will be walking in this marathon. I may as well get used to doing it on tired legs now instead of race day.

Sunday- rest Happy Father’s Day! I knew my mother and I had plans in SLO and then family dinner in the evening. I could have run in the morning but I was just so tired, I chose sleep instead. I still managed to get in 10,000 steps without running so that’s not too lazy. I also came home with some pretties-

So, 24 miles for the week. Could have been better, could have been worse. My shins were overly fussy in the beginning of the week but they calmed down by the end. I have big plans for this week so I am hoping they will continue to behave. Fingers crossed!! I also hope the motivation bus comes by again, I fear I will get sucked into the black hole that is binge watching Lost again and put off running. Oh and I have some awesome news share this week!

How was your week?

Bought any new gear lately?

What are you watching?

San Francisco Marathon Training Week 11

Another one bites the dust.

Anyone else just start singing that? Maybe it’s just me. 😛

While my week 11 did not see the start of the strength portion of Hansons, it did see my mileage go back up a little. Little victories, right? There are a few perks to running fewer days though. I suddenly have way less laundry to do on the weekends. Which also means fewer clothing items strewn everywhere while they air dry. Also I can wash my hair less, so that’s a win right?

Monday- Rest day It was a fairly busy day at work and it went a little late. Going straight home was kind of nice.

Tuesday- 6 miles Slow and steady, slow and steady. Outside of long runs, I’ve taken to run/ walk intervals. My walk intervals are always .25 mile and the run portion will vary from .25- .75 miles. It’s slow going but I am getting it done. The shin pain was minimal so I’m calling it a victory.

Wednesday- Rest– We were down 2 people at work so I sure felt like I was running around though.

Thursday-6 miles I had a work meeting in another town and about 3 hours in I started to feel super sick. The room was so hot and stuffy, I thought I was going to lose it. And this is coming from the person who runs her space heater everyday at work. I still felt crappy at the end of the day but I wanted to at least attempt to run. River path this time, so more concrete and baby elevation gains. More run/ walk intervals but my shins were still manageable. I was able to pick up the pace a bit on the downhill portions and things felt pretty good actually. I also saw a bunny or two at the end! 😃

Friday – Rest Another open to close and I was tired. While my shins felt ok, my calf muscles on both legs felt like they were seconds away from a massive charlie horse all day. I was supposed to run with Heather and Ashley the next morning but between being exhausted and my crazy calves, I texted and canceled. I knew I would push harder than I should if I ran with people. 😢

Saturday- Rest Oops. The weekend was supposed to be cooler so I planned for an afternoon run. It was nice not even setting an alarm that morning. I admit I slept until 10. No shame. I needed it. After lunch and a few errands, I was planning on heading out for a run. I started to feel super nauseated though. I waited to see if it would pass but eventually decided that Sunday’s long run was more important.

Sunday-16 miles -Run 1- 11.5, Run 2- 4.5 miles Not the way I planned it but got it done! Once again, I listened to the weather man when they said the weekend would be cooler. I started my long run at 9 shooting for 16 miles. 6 miles in, I was over heating and my form was trashed. My shins were holding up but I knew finishing 16 at that point would probably do more harm than good. The plan had been to meet my mom at the high school after my run and go to lunch. I texted her at mile 6 and let her know that was going to be sooner than planned. With a route change I hit the school at 11.5 miles. Good enough. I felt like ran most of it but my Garmin data shows more than a few dips where I walked.

We ate lunch, then I rested a bit before heading back out to finish my mileage. I was expecting to feel tired and have to concentrate on my form but I felt surprisingly good. My legs actually felt kind of peppy. I knew it was going to be slower due to the heat of the afternoon but I was fine with that. What I didn’t account for was some….ummm… uncomfortable chafing issues that had me taking more walking breaks than planned. I had changed everything I was wearing but my socks so I have no idea what was up with that. I hope it never happens again though because that was not cool. Sorry for the TMI.

Overall- 28 miles.

Not too bad. Better than the previous few weeks at least. Survival mode it is, which means my long runs have become the most important part of my weekly mileage. I do kind of miss the speed work though. #justkeeprunning

Dietary wise– my breakfasts, lunches and most of my snacks have been on point. Dinners have been a whole other ball game. Kind of a mess actually. Grrr. And why does everything have soy in it?! Some of my favorite Crystal Light flavors have soy in them. What the hell does lemonade need soy for?

This week will probably see fewer miles than last week if I stick to the way the long runs are scheduled on my plan. My boss is back though so hopefully things will calm down on the work front a little. Fingers crossed!

How has your week been?

Do you flavor your water with anything?