I feel like it just last week that I was writing the post about signing up for the marathon. In some ways time flew and in some ways, I wish that I had had more time. I don’t think you ever really feel prepared for a race let alone your first marathon but I felt like a wreck.
Monday- Rest With my last longish run of 9 miles the day before, I knew I wasn’t running today. It was another day of flats at work and trying not to freak out.
Tuesday- 3.1 miles With the race so close, I knew I wanted to run but also didn’t want to go crazy with the miles. Especially since week 17 was such a small one. I thought abut running in work town to expose myself to more humidity but decided that was silly. I thought it would be akin to trying to run ALL the miles right before a race. So instead I headed to home town and temps of 93 degrees. Why not dry out the lungs? 😛 My calves were so tight. They might have gotten better if I had run more but as it was a short run, they never loosened up. It stressed me out and I headed home for a date with my foam roller.
Wednesday- Rest Not only did I think 2 days in a row would be silly, this was also the day I dropped a FULL 5 gallon water jug on my left foot. Son of a monkey. I later found a bruise where it hit my stomach on the way down too.
Thursday- Rest Yeah. I fell off my chair this day and re-bruised the same foot. Like fall on the ground, legs splayed in a dress. What the hell?!
Friday- 2.21 miles Last run before race day. I had the day off work and I forced myself to stay in bed until 9. Once up, I headed out for a very short run. Figured the heat wouldn’t be too bad as I was only running for 2 miles. I didn’t take the fires into account. Oops. The smoke from the Sobraones fire has been burning for over a week and the smoke coming our way made for a severe air quality warning last week. My legs felt ok but I was disgustingly sweaty and gasping for air after a slow 2 miles. I had taken a 24 oz bottle with Ultima in it and I drank the whole damn thing. It was only 2 miles!
essentials, right?
Then I headed home to pack for San Francisco and to try to not stress. I watched a lot of Lost. 😛 Saturday- Expo day!! Ashley picked me up and we headed north. We made good time and checked into our hotel before heading for the expo. Seriously, roads and traffic in San Francisco are a giant cluster f***. Who designed that crap? It took the Uber driver 20 minutes to go less than 2 miles! It’s not even the time that made it stressful- that actually happens in Paso all the time but in apparently in SF red lights mean nothing and everyone loves their horn. Grrr.
I won’t lie- the second we got out of the car at the expo, my heart rate spiked. My Fitbit says it hit 105. Ha! We wandered around the expo a bit and picked up our bibs. I caved and bought a San Francisco marathon 3/4 zip. I hadn’t wanted to buy anything until after the race since I wasn’t even sure I was capable of finishing but they were selling out too fast. From there it was back to the hotel after picking up a pizza for me. I piled up my clothes for Sunday, tried not to panic and was in bed by 9. Once we had linens for the pull out bed that is. I think we frustrated room service that night. 😛 Surprisingly, I slept a decent amount of time. But race morning arrived all too quickly.
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!
Last post I shared that I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to be an Ambassador for the SLO Marathon again. Which is freakin’ awesome and I am looking forward to not only the race but all the awesome runners I get to see again. As with most ambassadorships, it comes with some challenges along the way. The first one was dropped last week- to share our resolutions/ goals for the 2016 race. Hmmm, there’s that word again.
I’ve spent some time thinking about it for the last week. How do I share a goal but stay true to my year of being goal free? Well, I am still goal free. That said, I feel like I have unfinished business with the SLO half. Let’s recap.
In 2014 I was looking forward to running a race that I had been trying to run for years but never made it happen. It was also my first ambassadorship so I was super stoked on that. I was excited on race morning but mentally I just wasn’t there. It wasn’t my fitness level, it wasn’t the hills; it was all in my head. Mentally, I blew up around mile 8. I finished the race in 2:10:32 which wasn’t bad but I felt like my legs had more in them, I just couldn’t stop the mind games. Not sure if you can tell by my smirk/smile but I was very irritated with myself post race.
I swear I was trying to smile not smirk
The Ambassadors!!!!
2015 rolled around and I was able to train with a custom McMillan training plan. The race fell in the middle of all my stomach issues so I knew breaking 2:00 was unlikely but I felt strong and ready to go. Even though I had felt sick prior to race start, I felt great for the first 5 miles. I was beginning to entertain thoughts of a new PR. Then I went down, hard. As clumsy as I am on a daily basis, I had never fallen while running before. There’s a first time for everything right? Thanks to some helpful runners I was back on my feet quickly and running on. Maybe it was a delayed reaction from the fall or just my stupid stomach but mile 7 started with my stomach cramping in a very bad way. I pretty much walked the entire mile taking deep, slow breathes. Mile 8 saw another first for me- a port a potty stop. Despite all that, I was still mentally on point. I had reassessed that a PR wasn’t going to happen but even with all that drama I knew I could still beat the previous year’s time. But my stomach fought back and miles 11-13 were all survival mode. I was also cursing that there are no porta-potties at mile 12. Cuz who needs one with only 1 mile left?! I crossed the finish line in 2:15:06 and I was damn proud of that. It may not have been the time I was hoping for but for everything that day threw at me, I stayed strong and positive the entire race.
Half smile/ half grimace
raceSLO Ambassadors!!
So while I have no plans of setting a goal for SLO 2016, I do see it as a redemption race. Both years I felt like I had more to give and I would like to see that happen this year. I love the course- hills and all- and I can’t wait to see what I can do this year. 🙂
What about you? Do you have a race that haunts you?
It’s that time of year! Social media is filling up with goals and resolutions for 2016. For runners, that often shows as mileage goals, pace goals, race goals, etc. Along with all the other things we want to accomplish in the year to come. So without further ado- here are my goals for 2016-
No need to refresh your screen, there’s nothing there. I’m not setting goals for 2016.
There I said it. I’ve had this post half written for months, talked about it with my mother, talked about it with my boss. But clicking publish? Sharing it with a community who thrives on goals? A community that uses hashtags like #goaldigger? That was harder than I thought. So let’s break it down.
I set goals in 2014 and 2015. 2014 was about 50/50 for goal completion. 2015? I didn’t compete a single goal. Not one. 2015 was a stressful year, and worrying about hitting some arbitrary mileage/pace goal wasn’t helpful in calming me down. Feeling like I “should” run just to add to my total was harshing my running joy. That’s just one example. 2015 also had it’s share of shiny and that will be up in my next post.
Now, this is isn’t to say that I don’t want to improve. I do. I will continue to search for the training plan that works for me. I will do my speed work and my long runs. I will enjoy my easy runs more. I will still track my mileage and the paces I hit. Just not for some random number total I pick because I think it looks good. I want to become a better runner, but in a more natural, linear progression kind of way. Because I enjoy running enough to do it often and not just because I should get in that extra 3-4 miles. I will still recap my training and running, I like sharing with you all and I look forward to the feedback. Between this blog and Timehop, I am able to look back at the way things have changed for me over the past few years. I still like looking at all the numbers; I just need a break from the pressure of feeling like I don’t measure up. I used to care less about how I measured up with everyone else and I need to get back there. Back to basics, I was there in 2013, can I find that calm again?
2014 started a ball of stress that grew and grew in 2015. I felt like a boulder being rolled down a hill picking up mud along the way. Some of the stressors are things that I am not currently in the position to change, others I can. Starting with how I react to it. I did a piss poor job in 2015. Going forward, I want to focus on calming the hell down. And turning to food less, but that’s another story.
I want to try to focus on finding the shiny in things in life. Running should be one of those things. Now I realize that most of my runs will be hard and tiring and there will still be days I want to quit but I used to enjoy the hard or rough days. I haven’t in a long time. I need to change my mindset and in order to do that “goals” and I are taking a break. Goal has become a four letter word in my book, it’s joined the ranks of “potential”. I dislike that word and try to never use it but that’s not the point here.
That last bit needs to be my new motto
Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having goals. I just need a break from them. Call it a trial separation. Maybe this won’t work, maybe it will. Either way, it’s something I need to do. The journey to an improved Slacker starts now but goals are not invited on this road trip.
So, are you still with me or have I scared you all off?
Sunday morning saw the completion of half marathon #14. If I am doing my counting right that is. 😃
Pre-race
I headed down to SLO for packet pickup on Saturday. Pickup was in the Running Warehouse parking lot and super easy. I spent the day wandering around SLO and probably spent too much time on my feet. I actually cleared my step goal that day without running. Oops. I had a general idea of what I was wearing for the race and had created a new playlist on Thursday. Plenty of Shinedown, Linkin Park, AFI, Papa Roach with some Kip Moore thrown in. My mother heard it being played in my car and asked if I had made an angry playlist. 😜I laid everything out for the next morning and set my alarm. I made an effort to be in bed before 11. Which was a moot point as I tossed and turned all night long. If I got 2 hours of sleep I would be surprised. I could not fall asleep. My head hurt, my neck hurt, my arms felt kind of tingly. What the hell? It’s not like this was my first race, why was I having such issues? I was so tired by 1 AM, I even considered a DNS. But eventually I dozed off.
Race Day-
I was up, prepped and on the road by 6. Where I proceeded to have some road-rage-aholic tailgate me on an empty freeway flashing his brights because I wasn’t driving fast enough. Dude, seriously? Once in SLO, I stopped at the same Chevron station I have in years past to use the bathroom. Nice, bright, clean and not a port-a-pottie? Score. I parked 2 blocks from the start line and got ready. This is when I realized that while I made a nice and shiny new playlist, I never actually put it on my phone. #slackerfail
A few moments of cold.
We’ve been in the middle of a heatwave and I knew it was going to warm up fast but I was actually chilled at the start line. I have a habit of going out too fast, so I deliberately put myself behind the 2:15 pacer. I was aiming for 2:10 or faster and didn’t even want to see the 2:00 pacer, I knew I would want to try to catch them.
Miles 1-3 9:13, 9:03, 9:02
These were an eventful 3 miles. I was feeling pretty good but I was also confused. I was running a sub 9:30 pace and the 2:15 pacer was still in front of me. Ummm, what gives? Dude, you should be behind me now. Then there was butt cheeks. I admit I sometimes people watch while racing as a way to distract myself and help me keep my pace. Plus I can check out race shirts and look for new races to run. 😄 But I noticed this girl whose shorts were so short, seriously I have underwear that covers more. Maggie Vessey’s racing outfits cover more. Then I started to feel bad because I could see other people noticing and making comments about her shorts. But then I recognized a pair of socks in front of me- it was Heather of @sloluckystyle. I pulled up along side to say hi. Granted it was 1.5 miles into a 13 mile race but it was nice getting to meet someone I interact with on social media in real life.
Miles 4-6: 9:06, 9:23, 9:24
I was still feeling pretty good and I was pleased with the numbers I saw on my watch. Mile 6 was the first uphill and I held onto a 9:24. That number made me smile because I knew a 9:23 average pace would be a PR of 2:03. I wasn’t banking on that though as I knew I had a big hill at mile 10 and another new hill around mile 12. I was just focusing on how I felt and enjoying the scenery of a good race. I also knew I was about to hit the course change.
Miles 7-9: 10:45, 9:23, 10:02
Right after those good thoughts, I had an inhaler moment. I still haven’t mastered running and using my inhaler so it required a walk break. That’s something that’s hard to practice since I only want to use my inhaler as a last resort. The temp was rising and so was the humidity but I was still feeling ok. I knew I had lost a PR but I was fine with that as it hadn’t been my primary goal of the day. There was also a little more of an incline in mile 7 than I had anticipated. Followed by a dead skunk which made things real fragrant for half a mile. 😖 Mile 8-9 brought us onto the Bob Jones trail which is very nice. Well paved and surrounded by trees which meant shade!!! The irksome part to these 3 miles was the guy shouting out that we only had 5 miles to go…at the 10K mark. Grrrr.
Mile 10: 12:38
I slowed towards the end of mile 9 as I needed my inhaler again. We came out of the Bob Jones trails and were headed to the main drag in Avila. Which I have driven on numerous times and would have bet you money that it was downhill to the freeway. I had been looking forward to that downhill before the hill at mile 10. That downhill didn’t exist. We across a bridge and across traffic before making a left- up a hill. It looked like a freakin’ mountain. The wheels came off hard. The only thing consoling me was just how many people went to a walk on this damn hill. Then we hit the freeway and made a left for the original hill I had been worried about. And another spectator telling us it was last hill. No it’s not! Stop giving me false hope!!
Miles 11-13: 11:02, 10:54, 10:55
I never recovered from mile 10. From there on out, I was in survival mode. I walked way too much. The temp had hit the high 70’s and the humidity had jumped. I was almost out of Gatorade in my hand-held which is rare for me. I tend to run races under hydrated because I found it works for me. I carry a 10oz handheld of Gatorade and usually have half left at the end of the race. I grab water at aid stations starting around mile 5. I made myself sick drinking too much water at more than one race when I first started running. To have an almost empty bottle with 2 miles to go was not a good thing. I kept my head down and just kept trucking. I knew I was in the home stretch and the crowds were picking up. I could see the ocean and I was also starting to see people walking around with their medals and I wanted that medal. 😜
13.1- 2:12:40
The thing I forget about this race, that last .1 seems like it takes forever. I think it’s because of the way the street curves. From the mile 13 marker, you can’t even see the finish line, the road curves 2 more times. But I finally saw it and crossed the line so happy to be done. After being funneled through the shoot and receiving my medal- woo hoo, it’s seriously cool- I just wanted water and needed to find my parents. They were both coming to this finish line. For a local race, this finish area is the most congested I’ve seen. I eventually found my mom and the puppy but not my dad or water. I finally found water and refilled my water bottle then we headed for an empty space where my dad eventually found us. I was hot and sweaty and while I felt pretty good, I ended up going back for more water. We hung out a bit before we headed for their car. They were my ride back to my car. 😏
It was during the ride back to SLO that I knew I had made a rookie mistake. Those 2 bottles of water were a miscalculation. After they dropped me off at my car, I spent the next 30 minutes sitting on the curb by my car trying not to be sick. #slackerfail2
Overall, I didn’t meet either of my pace goals but realistically I am ok with that. I returned to run one of my favorite races and the course change actually made it better. I now know to be prepared for that damn hill in the future. I also have a few things I know I need to work on but we’ll leave that for another post. I do wonder how I might have fared if the temps had stayed down but it is what is. Gorgeous finish line though right?
Slacker Runner 