Nerves on the Rises

Disclaimer: I received an entry into Big Sur International Marathon 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!

And I spoke too soon.

The nerves came a callin’.  Ok, they came slamming in.   My sleep patterns have gotten worse, if that’s possible  My heart rates jumps at random moments- I really need to stop looking at my watch.  Oh lord, what was I thinking??

Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for this weekend but right now the anxiety is winning.  I mean I was slower than planned in San Francisco, am I going to pull this off?

I mean- no big deal, right?

Elevation

And most people would be worried about the part in the red circle.  But nope, I’m worried about the blue circle.  That flat is going to hurt.  I’m not a fan of flat.  But then this may make me change my mind about hills.

Oh and have I ever mentioned that I have a thing about bridges?  I don’t like them. Nope.  You may be thinking- but wait- Fallon, you ran 2 races across the Golden Gate Bridge. Yup and it was so damn fogged over with marine layer both times I could lie to myself about the whole bridge part.  And no, it’s not the heights part- it’s the bridge.   This bridge is gorgeous but I am a little anxious.

However, let’s focus on the positive- Mai, Aly, Martin and Diane will be there.  Other BibRave Pros I haven’t met will be there.  The views off of Highway 1 are amazing- I drove home via my tiny portion of it tonight just to calm myself down.   The Monterey Half remains one of my favorite races, if Big Sur is anything like that, I will be so happy.  I will need to carry an extra battery for my phone which I need to figure out but it’s worth it.

I have a tentative strategy for the race but it’s kind of crazy so I won’t even type it.

Wish me luck.

Any tips to help me calm down????

Carry All the Things

Disclaimer: I received a Gear Vest from Orange Mud 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 don’t always carry a lot when I run but I am very particular about how I carry it.  Then there are times that I feel like I am running with enough supplies for an ultra when it may just be 10-13 miles.  Which is funny considering I rarely fuel but I carry it!   So with that being said, I need someway to carry everything right?

Enter Orange Mud’s Gear Vest.

“]Gear Vest

Look at all the pockets!!!

3 on each side plus the bladder on the back? Score!  Once I had it, I couldn’t wait to take it on a test run.  And then a few more runs.  Every run since it came in the mail has been with the Gear Vest.   So I have plenty of thoughts.

Perks–

  • The front pockets are huge! My giant Iphone fits with no fears of it falling out.
  • If not carrying a bottle, I can fit a key, pepper spray, Buff, chapstick, and Honey Stinger chews in the other large pocket with room to spare.
  • My inhaler fits perfectly in one of the shoulder pockets.
  • The 1L bladder is a good size, not too big and not too small for those hot runs.
  • The bladder is much easier to wash than other bladders I have used- it is also dishwasher safe.
  • The pack seems very sturdily made- which holds true across all my Orange Mud packs- this is my third.
  • It fits a 600ML water bottle perfectly and the pepper spray fits in a trash pocket when I carry a flask.
  • I love that there are color options- like the white!
  • I have a tendency to stretch by bending at the waist and touching the ground- nothing falls out!!

Quirks–

  • The trash pockets- don’t put a small body glide in one.  It won’t stay in the pocket while running.  It bounces out.  I had to chase it down 3x before I moved up the other shoulder pocket.  It fits perfectly so I really hoped it would work.
  • My back is fussy right now so the bladder comfortable as it is is too much for it.  Flasks are how I carry water but unfortunately I can’t carry 2 flasks.  If I do I have nowhere to put my phone.  Let’s be real- my phone is the one thing I ALWAYS carry on any run.
  • The fit across my umm… chest. Ok, not to put it bluntly but I’m not small up top. Combine that with the fact that I am carrying more than a few extra pounds right now (it’s the truth, I know) and the pack and I were have some disagreements. I think I have it figured out now but I wish I could get the bottom chest strap under my ummmm chest but I can’t. I think that would solve my issues. So let’s see what happens if I lose a few pounds. I’ll let you know.🤞

Overall I really like the pack. I feel it works best for me for runs up to 10 miles or anything else supplemented with water. As the temps rise here, I will need to carry more than one soft flask. So I should probably keep doing those PT exercises for my back huh? Until then I’ll keep using the back pocket for a change of socks and some emergency cash. You never know when you might need one of those right?😀

Want your own? Use BRGV15 for %15 off!

How do you carry things on the run?

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 16

And with the end of week 16, there’s only 7 days to go.   And yet, I’m still waiting for the freak out.

If you were reading this blog when I was training for San Francisco then you may remember that I was hot mess for the entire month of July leading to the race.   I was breaking things, tripping, my heart rate was spiking all the time and I was having panic attacks.   So far, that hasn’t happened yet.  I am sure it will happen at one point and time.   I mean I have leg issues, doubts and oh, according to my app, I am supposed to be on my period.  Thanks Mother Nature.  😒 But until then the penny is still in the air.

So let’s get to last week.  I was still giving my leg some space so my mileage is once again super low.   I also came to an interesting theory- which may be me grasping at straws but hey plot twist- last minute shoe change!  Because that seems like a great idea right?

Monday- 1.12 miles/ PT exercises So this was not supposed to be this short but I was having a big wardrobe malfunction.  My pants kept sliding down.  I don’t mean they needed a slight adjustment, I mean they falling down and taking my underwear with them.  😛  After the 5th time in the space of a mile, I gave up.   It may be time to retire those crops.   Except when it came time to do laundry- I washed them instead of tossing them.

Tuesday- PT exercises I had a super early DR appointment so it seemed like a very long day.

Wednesday- 3.11 miles/ PT exercises I was dressed much more appropriately.   This run went pretty well.  Maybe too well as I ran too fast.   Why do I keep doing that??   I mean what business do I have running a 9 minute mile this close to race day?  This isn’t 3 years ago!  That’s now how I roll these days.  But it was kind of fun.

Thursday- PT exercises  I am sure something else happened but I can’t remember what.

Friday- PT Exercises Who am I???? But my leg was feeling better so yay!

Saturday- Nada I had planned on running in the morning as I was volunteering at a silent auction for Habitat for Humanity that evening.  However my mother and I had talked about doing an 8 mile trail on Sunday instead so I passed on the run and got a little more sleep and ran some errands before heading to the SLO Airport for my shift.  Where I proceeded to get lost trying to figure out where to park.   A couple hours into my shift, I knew boots were a very bad idea.  Bad idea.  After 6 hours of that, I was fried.  I let my mother know that the trail was no longer likely.

Sunday- 5.29 miles The trail might have been cooler.  Instead I headed out in the afternoon and it was around 86*.  Yeah, I’m not acclimated yet.  It was a little rough.  Plus, once again I had moments where I was running too fast.  Stupid.  Trust me, the warmth got to me and I slowed way down.  Wanted more miles but I was beat.

9.53 miles for week.  I miscounted!  I really meant to at least be over 10 miles but I screwed up the math.  How do I do that with only 3 runs??  Oops.

7 days people. 7 days.

How was your week?

 

 

 

LA Redemption

Disclaimer: I received an entry into Rock n Roll Los Angeles 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!

Los Angeles.

City of Angels, largest city in California.  I’ve run races from San Diego to San Francisco but some how missed Los Angeles.

That’s not say I haven’t registered for a race in Los Angeles.  In fact Rock N Roll Los Angeles.  I have unfinished business with this race as the 2016 race was home to my very first DNS.  😯  It’s time to balance the scales.

The course for 2018 hasn’t been set yet but 2017 was an out and back with some hills.  I can get behind that.  Plus I get to see the sights of a city that I haven’t toured on foot yet.

LAHashtag2018

Plus there is still all the new upgrades that Rock n Roll made for 2018 that will make the race awesome-

To name a few-

  • 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

Now it’s still a ways off but I have a couple of options come race day.  If my PR attempt in San Jose fails then this could be a another chance.  If I succeed, then I could just sit back, relax and soak in the atmosphere of “the world’s largest Halloween half marathon”.  Heck, maybe I’ll wear a costume.  Maybe. No promises.  I wore a tutu for 3 miles once and that thing was riding up into places it had no business being.  🤣

Either way I have something to look forward to!

Want to join me?  Use code RNRBRP2018 to save $15.00 on the half.

Ever run in a costume?

*** Ok, so I totally thought I hit publish months ago but cleaning out some comments and drafts on my blog told me differently. Slacker!!!!

 

Run to the Music 9

Big Sur Edition 🙂

Oh, for crying out loud, I haven’t shared a music post since June 21??? How the flip did that happen?  Also, I started these posts when I was training for San Francisco in 2016 and I am only on 9? Slacker.

Well, it’s a good thing I have 2 songs today then.

Shinedown- Devil

I went to grab this video for this post and fell down a YouTube hole watching ALL the Shinedown videos.   I could spend a long time there.

Ok, back to the post- I love this band, this band has got me through training and with be with me on race day and if I have my way, I will see them in concert in August. 🤞 I’ve been a fan for years and can find a song to fit any purpose.  If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have seen me reference them in a #tbt post last week.  And FYI, they have the best cover of Simple Man from Lynyrd Skynyrd ever, actually it might be the best version ever.  Yes, I said that.

I loved this song when it first came out just because it was awesome, seriously, I’m hard pressed to think of one of their songs I don’t like- but then I watched a behind the scenes about the meaning of the song.   The “devil” being referred to is the thing that scares you whatever that may be.  So for me right now that could be the miles, the hills, my leg, my side- I have so many options!   So, yeah, I will playing this when things are getting heavy… like my legs.  😛

  • Side note- love the band, love the song but the video is a little odd.  I could have done with the baby bird moment.  Chew your own damn food.🤣

Papa Roach- Born for Greatness

On the other hand, this video is awesome if you stick around to the end.   I’ve shared this song before actually- last April with only a lyric video- but it hasn’t left ANY of my playlists since.  In fact it spawned my motto for the year- Sound the Alarm.  However I never hit publish on that post so surprise!   This song reminds me that we can be better and do better if we only wake up.     And I try not to whine too much when I think about the fact that they are on tour in CA this year but it either doesn’t fit my schedule or is in a town I won’t go to at night.  😢

I have another song that helps get me up hills these days but I’ll save that for another day.

What’s in your ear these days?