1/4 Mile At a Time

Image result for 1/4 mile at a time memes

Or in my case I die 1/4 mile at a time. 😛

In my phone call with Coach Jenny with Ekiden last week we discussed the partial training schedule she had for me. She had intervals scheduled for this Wednesday. Sweet! I love intervals even though I know I do them wrong. Run like hell than slow jog (walk) for a bit? I’m all over that. Except I noticed the plan doesn’t say recovery. It said float.

Wait a second- what the hell is FLOAT?!

So I asked. Float is less of a recovery and more of a push. Instead of a recovery pace, you run closer to tempo pace. The logic behind it is two fold. One is that you get used to running the intervals on tired legs without a full recovery. Second is that your tempo pace should feel a little more comfortable post speedy interval. Ok, makes sense. Sounds intense but makes sense.

But could I do it?

Well, kind of. I headed to the lake path on Wednesday since I knew I would need flat and easy for this. My legs have been achy so I even had compression socks on for a shorter run. I had programmed 5 intervals into my phone but had a feeling I would only be completing 4. Yep. 😛

After a 1.25 mile warmup, I hit the first 400. 8:03 pace, yes! First float? 9:08 pace. Sweet! But I felt like was going to lose my cookies. Could I keep doing this?

Pace
Set 2- 7:50     9:16
Set 3- 7:48     10:49
Set 4- 7:50     10:37

So my speed intervals sped up but my float intervals slowed down. That crap was hard! There were a few times I came to a complete stop just panting. Granted those times were also to avoid being hit by a car or a kid on a motorized mini motorcycle thing but I milked them for all they were worth!

I cooled down with another mile but man I was toast. I felt pretty good but out of shape at the same time. It’s frustrating but it is what it is right now. It gives me something to work on, right? Or whine about. 😛

Do you like speed work?

Ever heard of a float interval?

Happy Friday!!!! What are you doing this weekend?

2016 HOB Fun Run 10k/5k

Woo hoo! First race(s) since the marathon! And it was one of my favorites. 🙂

I think I’ve talked enough about the logistics of this race over the years, even recently with my origin story. But if you’re looking for those details you can check out my reviews over on bibrave.com. Funny thing- a coworker called me today and asked if I had ever googled HOB Fun Run and clicked on images. No, why? So I did it. Holy crap, the images are either of me or taken by me. WTH?! And man, I change my hair color a lot. 😛

Race morning dawned early and of course my stomach was being an asshat. Lovely. I didn’t get to the start as early as I wanted. I had planned on attempting a warm up but was only able to get in a few blocks of walking. I stashed my shirt for the 5K at the refreshment table and lined up at the start.

10K

Loop 1- Miles 1-3 – 9:25, 9:54, 10:08

The plan had been to try and get as close to goal half marathon pace as possible but I knew from the moment I woke up that wasn’t likely. Mile 1 was my quickest of the race. My legs felt ok but I was feeling really sluggish and couldn’t seem to find another gear. Mile 2 was more of the same but I just kept running. I was hoping I just needed some time to warm up and would pick up the pace soon. Around mile 2.25 something felt weird on my left foot. I looked down and my shoelace was completely untied and flapping around. Huh?! I think my shoes have only come untied one other time…ever. I pulled to the side to retie but seemed to have lost all motor skills- it took forever! As I was coming up on mile 3 towards the start line I could hear the motorcycle police officer coming up behind me. Which meant I was about to get lapped by the race leaders. Yay. So they ran a 10K faster that I completed the 3.1 miles of loop one. Ouch. Loop one- 30:25 minutes.

10k-race-133 — Part of me wants to burn this picture source

Loop 2- miles 4-6- 10:24, 10:08, 10:21

I was getting more and more sluggish as I ran. The skies were clear and the smoke has been gone for a while but my lungs were not happy at all. Walk breaks became a real thing and I used my inhaler a few times. A woman came up behind me just before mile 4 and asked if I was ok- I was coughing a bit and she saw me pull out my inhaler. We ended up leap frogging each other the rest of the way. We chatted a bit occasionally too. She was from out of town and had registered the day before when she saw the booth in the park. I said something about how it just wasn’t my day out there and things were rougher than they should have been. I whined. I later felt like an asshat when I overheard her on the phone saying it was one of her best races. And I was whining the whole time- I’m sorry!!! I hit mile 5 around 50 minutes and wondered if I could push the pace to finish under 1 hour. Yeah no.

Finish- 1:02:55

Not the race I had hoped for but it was what I expected in those rare moments that I am realistic with myself. 😛 I missed the group photo opp so I grabbed my other shirt and then hauled ass to my car. I changed my shirt and my shoes. The last 2 miles of the 10k in my Nikes felt like my feet were on fire. Luckily I had the Hoka’s in my car.

Cool thing about this race is that a lot of kids run, bike or scoot with their parents. It’s just an accepted part of the race and there’s never any talk about bandits, which is cool since I ran with 2 coworkers and 2 kids. 🙂 One coworker brought her 2 kids and they were going to ride their scooters with us. I’ve learned that running with kids is more like fartlek training. 😛 Run!!!!!! Walk. Run!!!!!! Walk. Water! It was kind of awesome. And major props to my coworker- she was hauling a backpack with water and at one point was carrying both scooters. Moms rock! About halfway, her son (5) started fading and her daughter(7) started pulling ahead. I caught up with her and from then on we were in two teams. I did whatever she wanted to do and I learned that I should hang out 7 year olds more- she was awesome. At one point she asked why she could smell donuts. I told her we were passing the donut shop and pointed it out. Her response? “Oh, come on!”. I busted up laughing and for the next few blocks we talked about food. 🙂 She tired of the scooter so I started carrying it. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, luckily I only bruised one shin. I asked her is she wanted to wait for her mom and brother to catch up and she said no so we bolted to the finish.

45:17

All in all, was a good day and a fun one. I look forward to next year’s race.

Week 39 Training Recap

Training for:

City to the Sea 13.1
Harvest Marathon 13.1
Golden Gate Half

Where has the time gone?! We’re into the last week of September, how? I know I whine about this quite often but I really just can’t wrap my head around how fast this year is moving. Slow down!!

Last week was interesting as I received a tentative training schedule from Ekiden and a phone conversation with my coach. Woo hoo!! But also eeeek!!! Can I handle this? Someone give me a pizza, I’m freaking out over here. 🍕🍕

Monday- Rest Migraine from hell. Apparently I’ve turned into a big baby and any heat kicks my ass. Sunday’s long run while not super hot was too hot. I hydrated well but I couldn’t fight off the headache that started that evening. By Monday it was a full fledged migraine and it was all I could do to get through work.

Tuesday- 3.1 miles First run in the Hoka’s. Not too bad, nothing felt immediately off. Making it to 3 miles was huge though- I never accomplished that in the PureFlow 5’s. I also ran into a tarantula so I stopped and chatted with a gentlemen out walking about it.

Wednesday- Rest Yeah, I am sure I did something but I don’t remember what it was.

Thursday- 5 miles Half days for the win! I got off work early and finally went to lunch with my uncle. We’ve only been trying that for 4 years! Then I went home to wait for a call from my coach. 🙂🙂 It was a good conversation and I am looking forward to seeing what happens with this. Then I headed out for a run. The plan called for 4-6 easy miles with pickups so I figured I would run my 5 mile route. I was also trying the Hoka’s again so I wasn’t sure how far I would make it. Not too bad. My average pace at the end looked like an easy pace but in reality I was kind of all over the place. Oops. I did pretty good on the pickups though. I did have to reroute due to a large, angry dog though. Grrr. The shoes felt pretty good but I think I have a different definition of cushion than everyone else. I think they feel kind of hard.

Friday- Rest day The computers crashed for the 3rd time in a week. And never came back. Seriously?! I didn’t end up getting off work until 7. Ouch.

Saturday- ~~30 minute shake out~~ 1.3 mile power walk I completely overbooked myself. I slept through my first alarm, oops. Then I headed out to work for the morning, thankfully the systems were back up. Traffic was nuts on the way home, there was a huge cycling event on the highway. I was volunteering at registration / packet pickup for the HOB Fun Run and I had to decide between lunch and running. I chose food but went with my mother so she could drop me off at packet pickup. After my shift was done I power walked home. Something was better than nothing right?

Sunday- HOB Fun Run 10K/5K Recap in next post.

18.8 miles for the week. Not too bad, better than previous weeks. I have some weird aches and pains right now so I am hoping that they go away quickly. I’ve been foam rolling and icing and wearing compression socks. Fingers crossed!!

How was your week?

What do you do at work when the computers go down?

Any tips for tight ankles?

Origin Story: HOB Fun Run

I was one of those people who never ran. You know the one- “I only run when I am being chased” type. I was active in sports growing up- years and years of softball and tennis- but I hated running. Why would anyone want to run? I think I ran the mile maybe 4 times all through high school? Maybe, I was very good at getting out of PE. 😛

Fast forward to years later when I was working at Taco Bell. I opened every Sunday so I was always headed there early in the morning- every so often I would notice that the main street in town was blocked off and people were running up and down it. I couldn’t even contemplate the idea of a “fun run” so I had no idea what was going on. It also never dawned on me that it was always the last Sunday in September that this happened.

Fast forward a few more years to 2007 and I had a career change. That new career was big on community service. I admit I was clueless but a coworker told me that a good way to ease into it was the fun run. I’m sorry the what? Turns out the HOB Fun Run was a big deal. Last Sunday of September with races for all levels and ages. It was USATF certified, offered a decent prize purse and was flat and fast. 100% of race entries are donated to local charities. There were 2 10k’s, 2 5k’s, a mile race, a kids 1/2 mile race, 75 yard dash and a mascot race. I had no idea what any of that meant but they said it was easy to work an aid station and hand out water. Ok, sign me up.

Holy crap, someone should have warned me that I was going to be cold! I think my hands went numb. I may live in CA but my town has crazy temperature fluctuations- I could have used mittens. The first 10k was the masters division. So yeah, I saw elites race before I ever had a clue what that meant. They never wanted any water. 😉 The second 10K was normal people- except they were all still speedy. The 10K has an unofficial time limit of 1:10:00-1:15:00 anything past that and you are running into the 5K start. I didn’t know any of that out at the mile 1 aid station but it wasn’t a horrible way to spend a Sunday morning.

I worked the water station at mile 3 in 2008 and froze again. 2009 saw me working the aid station at mile 2- conveniently located in front of a grocery store and I went and bought us all donuts. The runners were very jealous. I was getting to know the stories- one man always ran in suit. One year he had been running later after church so he just ran in his suit. It became a tradition. The mascot race was always hilarious. One year Smoky the Bear lost his pants. The diaper dash was always adorable. Plus the parents were always eager- the winner took home a washer and dryer. 😉

throwback — Throwback to my very first race

2010 was the first year I contemplated running. My friend, NikeC was training for a marathon- I could handle a 5k right?? So instead of volunteering, I ran my first 5K. It was hard and I walked more than I would have liked but I was back the next year. And the next. 2012 was when I started volunteering at registration/ packet pick up on Saturday’s. 2013 saw my first double– I raced the 10k, quick bib change and ran the 5K. Same story in 2014 with a dose of a massive asthma attack and another double race day in 2015. I worked registration those 2 years as well. Over the years, we got a little more organized running team wise and we now have a good showing-

Things have changed over the years-the race is no longer USATF certified. I heard it was more of a pain in the ass than it was worth. The course has never changed though so you know the distance is accurate. So now there’s only one 10K and 5K. Running hit a boom and the number of local races grew which made the number of runners dropped a little. Doesn’t matter, it’s still one of my favorite (and most stressful) races.

Sunday will mark my 10th time participating in the HOB Fun Run in some way. I will be working registration in the park on Saturday and toeing the 10K line on Sunday. I haven’t signed up for the 5K yet but it’s 95% likely I will. 😛

Do you have any “tradition” races?

Ever run a double race?

Week 38 Training Recap

So, I think I have been a little too hard on myself. Maybe. It’s been 50 days since I ran a marathon and I’ve been over sitting over here pissed that my long runs haven’t hit 16 yet. This coming from the person who took 3 months off after her first half marathon years ago. I think I momentarily lost my mind. So, I am trying to get it back. My legs are achy and I am more tired now than I was during marathon training. I also have 6 races in the next 8 weeks. Oops. I have the opportunity to work with Ekiden Coaching though, so I am hoping that having someone to report to will reign in my craziness. Fingers crossed!

Training for:

City to the Sea 13.1
Harvest Marathon 13.1
Golden Gate Half

So let’s get to last week!

Monday- 2.34 miles Another short Monday. Not entirely my fault though. You can read all about the creep fest here.

Tuesday- 8 miles bike, plank, pushups, bridges. I had an appointment with my gastro and it was more of the same old, same old. Decent cross training after though.

Wednesday- Rest. I had planned on running but I fell off/ on my stool at work and it felt like I broke my foot. The top swelled and turned purple. Destructo girl, that’s me. My planks had to be broken into 30 second sections- it hurt to bend my foot.

Thursday- 4.25 miles Not the best but could have been worse. I determine my last pair of PureFlow 4’s were dead dead though. Calf pain, shin pain, foot pain, you name it this run had it. I changed into my Nike’s for the last 1/2 mile or so. I just really wanted to hit 4 miles!

Friday- Rest First early shift Friday in over a month- it was awesome. Except the computers were down for the first 6 hours. Oof.

Saturday- Rest Well, does shopping and trying on shoes count as exercise? I did clear 10, 000 steps without running though. Woo hoo! The PureFlow 5’s went back to the store. I hate returning shoes! I went in with an open mind and asked for help. I tired on 10 pairs of shoes!!! 10! I was torn between a pair of Nike’s, New Balance and Hoka’s. I left with the Hoka’s. Fingers crossed!

Sunday- 10 miles In my original schedule for myself, I really wanted to run 16 miles today. But since I didn’t pull off 14 last week or 12 the week before, I decided to be smart. After last week’s tunnel of dark and pain 8 miles, I headed out early and with a full Camelbak. It wasn’t early enough. The predicted high for the day was 102. Ouch. I optimistically hoped for 12 but knew 10 was more likely. Especially since I was running this in my Nike’s. I didn’t want to test the Hoka’s on a long run. My Nike’s may be the least painful pair of shoes I own but they are not a distance shoe. 10 miles is their limit. Truthfully, today I wanted them off my feet by mile 9. The run was hot and long and I was tired. I found a lone shady spot at the end and sat down. Cool concrete post run feels kind of amazing. 😛

Rookie moment- My mom had planned on meeting me halfway so she could walk some miles but had texted that she wasn’t feeling well. Which I got because I was thisclose to saying screw it when my alarm went off. Anyways, while I was waiting for her to pick me up so we could do lunch I drank more water from my Camelbak then part of water bottle when she picked me up. Too much water, too quickly. I got so nauseated I thought I was going to lose my cookies. Guess it’s a good thing I don’t eat breakfast before running right? I know better!

16.6 miles for the week. It is what it is. There was a time when I would have called this a very solid week. That was also the time when I lied to myself and said I ran long runs but rarely did. I was also faster than so hmmm…..

How was your week?

Ever tried to run in Hoka’s? Thoughts?

How is it almost October?!?!?