Tag: beach

10K Thursday

10K’s and I have a rough relationship. 4 years ago today, I lined up at the start of my 1st 10k. It was my third race, I had previously run a 5k and a half marathon. Having run a half, I figured how bad could a 10k be? Umm, yeah. I actually had this post planned this week without realizing the date. Timehop can be so helpful sometimes. Or eerily psychic.I am smiling in this picture but this race was rough. I had planned on running it withNikeC but she was so much faster than I was. My training at that point was best described as non-existent. She pulled ahead of me fairly quickly. I don’t remembermuch other than I walked a lot and generally felt exhausted. At one point during an out and back portion, I passedNikeC on her way back and she cheered me on. I probably grimaced. She texted me a few moments later to let me know I wasn’t last. At that time in my racing, I was obsessed with not being last. So I hung on to the finish. I actually finished that race in the time goal that I set for myself -1:12 but was so disappointed. For some reason it made me feel defeated and irritated. I couldn’t understand how I had finished 13.1 miles 2 months previous. I felt fried. I think I took the next 2-3 months off- zero running. Looking back I am not even sure why, but that feeling stayed with me for a long time.

Don't I look ready to race? Ha! Pre-Talley — Don’t I look ready to race? Ha! Pre-Talley

A long time. That first 10K was May of 2011. My next 10K was June 2013. Every time I saw a possible 10k race before that, I thought hell no. I finally decided to try another one, granted getting a comped entry helped. 🙂 So early one June morning, I headed out to Talley Vineyard for attempt #2. I told myself anything around 1:05 would make me happy. Right before the start, my mother dared me to break an hour. The incentive? $50.00. I laughed. I also didn’t anticipate that running in a vineyard was more like trail running and I was not prepared for that. That said, I crossed the finish line in 59:11. Hell yeah!

I ran 3 more 10K’s in 2013- 57:17, 55:57, 56:21. I began to think I liked 10K’s. A little less crazy than a 5K but only half as long as a half marathon. I thought it could be my new favorite distance. I went into 2014 with this mindset. First up was the Heart & Sole’s 10K– 55:40. This still stands as my PR but it was rough. 5 of the 6 miles, I felt like my achilles was going to snap. I even stopped to stretch it out at one point. It hurt. Next up was Bands on the Run– 59:28. The race where I phoned it in. I was mentally not there and it felt rough. I also hadn’t put it together yet that humidity triggered my asthma and with a race on the beach you get lots of humidity. Oops. Then there was the disaster that was the HOB Fun Run 10K– 1:08:03. That September when I finally admitted I had to back off racing because my system just wasn’t tolerating it. Stupid stomach. So out of 7 10K’s run, 4 have been less than stellar experiences. Where am I going with this? This Saturday, I am running Bands on the Run again. I haven’t really raced a 10K since Heart & Soles’ and I don’t think this will be a real race. I have no idea what time to even shoot for. I am hoping to use this as a tune up for next month when I run Talley again. But I don’t want to phone it in either. The course covers pavement, the high school track, a dirt trail, soft pack dune sand and hard pack wet sand. I don’t think I could PR it even if I was in tip-top shape. That damn dune sand takes a lot out of you. 🙂 And that’s ok, I want to enjoy the scenery and the music this year and not feel frustrated with myself. That said, :59 and below would be awesome but we’ll see.

This popped up today too, is the world trying to tell me something?

Speaking of the beach, I’ve run 4 races on the beach but this time I have shoe options. So what do you think? My normal shoes, trail shoes or my lighter weight pair of shoes?

Thoughts on 10K’s? What’s your favorite distance?

Anyone racing this weekend?

Missed the Boat

I feel like all I have done since February started is rearrange days on my training plan. Which it says you can do but still, my little calendar is full of color from moving things around. This week was more moving around. I had a business mixer to attend on Thursday evening so I moved my 40-50 minute easy run to Wednesday after work. It was also only 30 minutes. However I am not at all irritated about that. Why? I ran outside after work!!! Woo hoo! While this was awesome, it also meant a shorter run since I was racing twilight. Or in this case the marine layer. I intentionally did not look at the humidity before I ran. I knew it was high- hello ocean- but I was hoping outta sight, outta mind would apply. While shopping in SLO on Monday I had picked up an obnoxious yellow long sleeve that I figured would work for the next few weeks when I run the work route. 85% of the route has wide shoulders or good sidewalks but the other 15% not so much. In fact the road into the state park gets pretty sketchy. I wanted to make sure I could be seen. I knew I didn’t have a lot of time so I just ran to the state park and back. I also abbreviated my warm up but you gotta do what you gotta do right?It was awesome! Short and sweet and I got to see the boats and view that I had missed since last year. Yeah, I was out of breath and had my asthma frog in my throat when I got back to my car but it rocked. The frog could have been due to the 90%+ humidity (I checked after) or the fact that this is the elevation profile of my route from work-That hill isn’t huge but it kicks my butt every time. Positive splits for the win! But 3:36? Haha, funny Garmin. I can’t wait to run it again! Moving my run actually worked in favor since my stomach was a jerk on Thursday. I wore a very forgiving dress but I swear I was waiting for someone at the mixer to ask me when I was due. 😦

What’s a route you love?

Seriously though, what constitutes a hill? Elevation or grade? When is a hill a hill?

Anyone race today? Or racing tomorrow?

An Unexpected Walk

Happy Monday!! Does that even make sense?

This weekend didn’t exactly go as I had hoped but it was still a good and mostly relaxing one. Step one was accomplished on Saturday morning, sleeping in! I actually woke around 7 and went back to sleep. My alarm went off at 9 but I have been feeling a little under weather lately (more than usual) so I totally admit to staying in bed for another 45 minutes. It was kind of glorious. I decided then that Saturday would be my full rest day. The plan was to go to lunch with my mom and my brother, do some errands and then clean my car. Best laid plans right?

I ended up getting a call while at lunch that had me flying out to work town for a little snafu. Actually, my mom was driving because I had been with her which was better because I would have been speeding. 🙂 After taking care of the situation we started for home. She asked if I wanted to try walking on the beach. Now I am not really a beach person- sacrilege, because I can see it from work- but she did just drive me, so I said sure. So glad I did.

I gave her directions to a park with beach access and we were off. We’re having a heat wave right now, it was 100 flippin’ degrees in a town that considers 85 hot. The sand was hot on the way down but the water felt amazing. No lie, part of me just wanted to sit in the water but I didn’t have clothes to change into. 😦

We did about 1/2 mile to the beach and around 2 on the beach. That’s the farthest I’ve ever walked barefoot. The water was super clear, and I went about knee high at most. Lower leg workout- score!! Downside to this walk- on the way back, all the beach access points looked alike. We missed ours and came up a ways down on the street. I was reasonably sure I knew where I was and what street I needed to be on. We found it but it dead ended into a mini canyon. What? No lie, I asked Siri for help. We were 1.4 miles from where we parked, oops. But we made it back and just chalked it up to extra exercise. 🙂

Sunday involved a little shopping. I may have spent some money at the Running Warehouse but more on that later. 🙂 I chose not to run that day but according to that stupid heath app on my iPhone, that I don’t know how to use, I walked over 3 miles shopping. Combine that with the almost 4 miles on Saturday and I will call this active rest. 🙂

How was your weekend?

Do you have fall weather yet or summer lingering where you are too? Tomorrow is supposed to be 90+ here. 😦

What’s the best unexpected thing you did lately?

~A change in plans~

~A change in plans~

Today is my Friday and that makes me smile 🙂 I have the next 4 days off, woo hoo! The original plan was to run a half marathon on a local army base on Saturday. Packet pick up would have been tomorrow, so I took the day off. They were also giving tours of the course. However, with my ankle a little sore and getting the chance to be an Ambassador for the SLO Marathon, I adjusted my race schedule. My first half of the year will be March 23 and this weekend I will be racing a 10K at a nearby college instead. I will then spend the day enjoying SLO. But I still have tomorrow off. 🙂

Yesterday, I packed everything I needed to hit the gym after work. I was planning on 4 miles with some sort of speed drills thrown in. The weather was amazing throughout the day and I was dreading the treadmill. On a last minute whim, I decided to chance it. I didn’t have my Garmin, I didn’t have my running belt and I only had my Wave Riders. I had never run in them outside only on the treadmill plus one puppy walk. But I was running outside!

I checked the sunset time and knew I could get in 3 miles. Maybe 3.5 if I pushed it. I had an armband, so I shoved my phone in it and was off. Seriously, I have never changed that fast and I was walking up the block before everyone else was in their cars. I had a 3 mile route planned, out and back. The first 1.5 miles are slightly downhill so in this route I am usually quicker going out than coming back. The first mile felt a little rough, I was breathing heavier than usual. I took that as a sign that 3.5 would not be happening. That is until Nike chimed in at mile 1- 9:00. Holy crap, that’s race pace not training!

Change in plans, now I wanted to run 4 and hold that pace. Mile 2 came in at 8:57, then the turn around. Here I did stop for a few pics, also to lose the sweatshirt I had started out in. I ran past so many photo opportunities but I wanted to hold pace and beat the setting sun. Then it was back the way I came, uphill. I always walk a part of mile 3 as the road in the state park gets super narrow. The return route has a blind corner on a downhill for cars, so I slow down to pay more attention to the cars. I figure it’s easier to jump out of the way when I am not huffing and puffing. 🙂

The sun set just past mile 3. The last bit of uphill was hard and I knew I was slowing. I hit my car and was only at 3.8 so I ran around the block again. Luckily I hit 4 and stopped Nike before walking a cool down. Which was cool because I was not running around the block and the police station again. Figured that would look a little odd. 🙂

I was so pumped after this run. I had no idea I could do that in a training run. I think racing the sun was a huge part of that. That pace would not have happened at the gym. Nor would it have been so pretty. Plus I could smell the ocean and the eucalyptus while running. I may have to try that again next week.

On an annoying note, today my favorite boots decided to lose a bottom. I almost took a header while walking across the tile floor. Now I am trying to decide if they are worth repairing or if they should be retired like a pair of running shoes. They probably have a similar amount of miles on them. 🙂

Now I just need to decide how to spend my four days off. Is it bad that I kind of want to have an Austen marathon? Jane Austen, that is. Or maybe I can get my friend to actually go to the movies. Hmmmm. And somehow, I agreed to help my mother with tennis practice tomorrow. One thing I know, I will be sleeping later tomorrow morning. 🙂

Anyone have big plans for Valentine’s day?

Who’s racing this weekend?

Low Tide + Running= Squishy shoes

Rock to Pier 10K

So I set out for this race this morning feeling like I usually do; a little green around the gills. Seriously, I should be past the nervousness by now. I didn’t even have a huge goal set for this race. Today’s goal was just to finish. I was really nervous about the sand, having never run on the beach, I was kind of freaking out. Also they said that the race was going to be a wave start, I had never done that before.

It didn’t help that even though we left with plenty of time we made it to the start line like 30 seconds before the gun. I wasn’t even in the chute when the starting gun went off, but luckily neither were another couple hundred people. Luckily it’s all based on your chip time, :). And as for wave starts, there were no pretty colored flags waving anywhere, so maybe next time.

The first hundred or so yards of the race were across the soft sand to get to hard pack exposed by low tide. I thought it was going to suck my shoes off, hehe. Once you got to the hard pack, it was so much easier. And a little softer than pavement, nice!! So then you just got to run along with the waves coming in at your left and making you sure you dodged clumps of seaweed or the random unattended fishing rod. Or the people who were still trying to surf through this crowd of runners.

Other than the overcast sky, the weather was perfect, about 58. Of course, I felt cold before so started out in a long sleeve shirt over my tank. At mile 2, I wanted it gone, but it wasn’t until mile 4 that I was slowing down to walk. I shoved my water bottle in sports bra and tried to lose the shirt and get it tied around my waist as quick as possible. Still took too long, next time no long sleeves! Or maybe just my arm sleeves, easier to lose while running.

Since my goal wasn’t to push it,and with my recent ankle twinges, I just took my time and tried to maintain my pace without taking another walk break. So other than the wardrobe issue, I ran the whole race:). It was nice not stressing too much, and the change of scenery was awesome too. Seeing the pier come into view at mile 5 was a great feeling, finish lines are usually that visible from far away. That was also about the time that people running the half marathon were coming back our way. So you go from feeling like “yes I ran a race this morning!” to “oh they are running more than me, now I feel lazy”. Hehe, mood swings at mile 5.

At the finish line, we left behind the sand dollars and crabs, and water getting into your shoes to cross another stretch of soft sand. Even harder when your shoes (and socks) are wet! Crossed the finish line at 58.21, Nike said 56:47 but it was being glitchy, so now I just have to wait for the chip time to be released. I am happy with that finish:)

Met up with my race photographer (my mother) at the end, where she always relays her people observations from the finish line:). It’s great having support there for you.

So now I have run my race, had a nap (slacker!), CPR done for my shoes, I think it’s time to celebrate yesterday’s birthday!!!