Tag: half marathon

Golden Gate Half Recap

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Golden Gate Half to review 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!

Sorry this took so long!! When I left you last I was doubting my ability to run this race. After a restless night of tossing, turning, trying to ignore the crazies next door and likely running a fever, it was rough getting going in the morning. My first look in the mirror actually scared me! I got ready slowly, debating my outfit the whole time. I knew I was going to run the race but I also knew it wasn’t going to be a race. One last weather check had me wanting to cry- it showed a 40-50% chance of rain. Seriously?! I hadn’t recovered from the previous weeks rainy race. So I bundled up- capris over compression socks, arm sleeves and a windbreaker and my Buff® around my neck. It crossed my mind that I may be over dressed but I figured better to err on the side of caution right?
Due to the parking nightmare of San Francisco, I had picked my hotel based on proximity to the race. I had a short half mile walk to the race start. I was soon surrounded by thousands of other runners waiting for the race to begin. I was also officially confronted with the fact that the race started uphill. Ouch. I met up with another BibRave Pro- Brian– and we chatted. It was nice having someone to talk to pre-race, I usually try to just not freak out. 😛 The National Anthem was sung and the race started right on time.

This will be a little different from my usual recaps, I knew my only hope was to get across the finish line in one piece and not hate myself or running after. To that end, I never looked at my watch during the race. I didn’t even look at the splits for another 2 days. This race had nothing to do with pace or time. The odd thing was that I ended up predicting my finishing time within seconds. I had tried to give my mother a ballpark time just so she new when she and S should head down to the finish line. Nailed it! 😛

Miles 1-3

Outside of the hill right at the start, these miles were predominantly flat. We headed out through the Marina and the Presidio. The race had around 4000 runners but things felt really tight. It actually helped pull me along, looking back, these were my speediest miles. It wasn’t raining but the fog was so heavy it was misting and I realized my sunglasses were more of a hindrance than a help. I ended up carrying them for the next 8 miles. I just went with the flow and enjoyed what I could see of the sights. Parts of the course were parts of the SF marathon course so I thought I knew what I was in for. I was wrong.

Miles 4-5.5 ish

My calves were starting to tighten up a bit so I was thankful for the first hill. That was until I became so nauseous I was almost sick. Ok, new plan- walk all the hills. It’s cool. The course was very windy so there were plenty of times we could see the faster runners ahead of us, it was kind of cool. There was a lot of up in these miles so a lot of walking. There was a particularly long hill leading up to mile 5, we ran up it to a turn around before running back down towards the bridge. I passed Brian on my way up as he was coming down- he told me I had about a mile to go to the turn around. Damn I forgot the hill was that long. But that’s ok- I may have been sick but I could still rock a mean downhill- I kind of flew all the way the bridge.

Miles 5.5-9.8ish The Bridge

I was looking forward to running the bridge again as I was hoping I would be able to see more than last time. Unfortunately, it was just as foggy. We ran the walkways instead of the road this time and I liked that much better- it seemed less slippery. What I hadn’t counted on was the bottle necking. It hadn’t really thinned out so it was hard to pass people.. or be passed. Also, this was the race of selfies. I have never seen so many people taking pictures mid-race before. Dodging people became an art form. I was also starting to feel very tired. Once across the bridge we looped around Vista Point and down back under the bridge. #1- a downhill trail?!?! Sweet!! I ran like a 5 year old sprinting to the finish. #2- you can run under the bridge?!??! So cool!

Right after that we climbed what felt like the worst hill to me back up to the bridge. That could have have been due to my maniacal sprint down the trail though. 😛 From there it was back across the West Side of the bridge. It had finally thinned out so there was more breathing room. My Buff® was coming in handy though- I had it over my face and was breathing through it for most of this section. I felt like it had grown colder and I could actually see my breath.

Miles 9.8-11 Fort Point!!

Just off the bridge we looped under this side on a paved path. As we were coming down a small hill I could see Fort Point on my left- when I realized that I could see runners running up to the Fort and turning around I wanted to do a little jig. There was a field trip in 6th grade where we went to Fort Point and I remember loving it. I was so excited that we got to run by it. I even tried to photograph my excitement.

Miles 11-13.1

Once leaving Fort Point, we were on a dirt path along the bay. The last 2 miles were flat and I was starting to feel sore. I just tried to focus on the ocean to my left and Crissy Field to my right. I was alternating between running and walking and just kept making my way to the finish. We left the dirt path and turned onto Marina Drive and suddenly there were people cheering. We were close! Closer than I thought, I rounded a corner and suddenly the finish line was there! I had made it!

Finish- 2:30:17

The finish line was crowded and a little crazy but my mother and S found me fairly quickly after I was handed my medal and a water bottle. We moved away from the crowd and my mother, knowing how angry I was with the previous week’s finish asked how mad I was with this one. Not one damn bit. For once my brain and my body were in agreement- I was already pushing the limit by just being out there, whatever pace I could pull off was great. I walked when I needed to and didn’t berate myself for it, which is rare. I tried to enjoy the race and the course as much as I could.

Which brings me to- the course!!! People, this race freakin’ rocked! I loved the course. And I say that even with the 1200′ in elevation gain. To me, this race offered some of the best things to see in San Francisco and half of it was covered by fog and it still rocked. This is definitely a race I would like to run again someday. Maybe when I am healthy and can actually enjoy it? 😛 All the organizational details can be found here in my BibRave review.

This was my last half of the year. It may not have gone the way I had hoped when training but I am ok with that. I did the best I could that day and that’s all that matters. 😏😏😏

2016 City to the Sea Recap

Disclaimer: Do I even need this? I won entry into this race via a Facebook contest. I would have registered for it anyways but winning is better. 😛

I love this race but it also stresses me out. Why? This race is still my half marathon PR…from 2013. Sometimes I feel like I am getting farther and farther away from that race. I knew going in this year that I was no where near PR shape and that was fine, I was just hoping for a solid race. Coach Jenny with Ekiden Coaching and I had discussed using the race as a training run for the Harvest Marathon half and we were both on the same page of aiming for a 2:10. It sounded a little ambitious as most of my 13.1’s this year have been plagued by a variety of issues but I was hopeful. While my marathon training had little speed work I was hopeful the distance training would help.

Then HOB Fun Run happened and I hurt like hell after. Missed 2 runs due to leg pain, stopped sleeping because well, life and received bad family news. I chucked all time thoughts out the window and just hoped to finish. When my mom dropped me off at the race start I told her to not even look for me before the 2:30 point. City to the Sea is a point to point so logistics can be a little tricky. This year my mom decided she would just drop me off, kill time, pick me up and then we would go to lunch. Thanks mom!

Pet peeve- the race had a 7AM start time. I got like 2 hours of sleep the night before and was feeling a little nauseous. The dang thing started 10 minutes late!

The beginning-

Miles 1-5- 10:04, 10:40, 10:23, 10:00, 10:19

And we were off! I had placed myself near the 2:30 pace group but I lost them fairly quickly. Oops. I tried to just keep it steady but it was only mile 1! Miles 1-5 are fairly flat to downhill so I tried to not be crazy. I felt something flapping about .75 in and looked down to see my left shoelace was undone. Again?! I pulled off to the side to tie and once again it was like I forgot how to tie my shoes. Once fixed I ran on. Damn, my calves were getting super tight. Just keep running…wait, now my other shoe was untied. What?!! Again, I pulled to the side to tie my shoes. Then I ran on. Until I pulled to the side to stretch out my calves. Less than 2.5 miles in and I had stopped 3 times. Probably not a good sign. 😞 I kept going but my lower legs were getting super tight. I hate flat routes. I took my first walk break at 3.5 miles trying to shake the tightness out. Between the slight downhill and the slant of the road, my legs were screaming. I knew there was a hill coming soon and I needed it.

The middle-

Miles 6-10- 10:05, 11:01, 9:58, 10:26, 11:53

We were off the main strip in SLO, under the freeway and onto a side road. Hills!! I never thought I would be so excited to hit the hilly portion. But the first hill did exactly what I wanted it to do- the calf tightness loosened almost completely and I didn’t really notice it the rest of the race. Woo hoo! My stomach cramped in a very bad way partway through mile 7- walk break! Bummer was the slant- the road was super slanted and something about it aggravated a muscle high up in my right butt. I have no other way to describe it. That in turn tweaked my right knee. While things didn’t hurt, they sure didn’t feel comfortable.

The calm before the big hill…oh and cars.

There was a decent downhill in mile 8 as we ran into Avila and I was feeling good so I picked up a tiny bit of pace. Then we rounded onto the Bob Jones trail and I just told myself to enjoy running through the trees. I also ran in the dirt alongside the path to take some of the pounding off my legs. I had felt a slight twinge from the troublesome left shin area and the butt issue was still around. 😛 Once out the trail we headed for Avila Bay drive which thanks to last year I knew to expect a good size hill. I told myself I could take a walk break if I ran halfway up. Success! So much better than last year. Rounded to the corner to another hill and we were into Pismo! And the temp jumped about 20 degrees. Ouch.

The Sea!!!! Really there was a mile+ to go.

The End-

Miles 11-13- 11:11, 10:58, 11:33

I wanted to be singing the I’m almost done song but instead I was having some GI issues. My stomach had decided to be pissed off- seriously?! From then on it was run until I cramped then walk until it eased. Grrr. During one of my walk breaks I noticed someone familiar pass me. I wasn’t sure but I hollered Bix anyways- it was! Bix was my very first race buddy- we ran a few races together years ago. Until I convinced her to run Firehouse 5K with me without knowing how brutal it was- she never ran with me again. 😛 This was her fist half marathon! We chatted a bit, discussed how the slanted roads were killing us and I warned her another hill was coming around mile 12. We separated then but it was cool seeing her. I did my run/ walk thing until the very end. I swear this race has the longest last .25 mile. Every single time I run it, it drags on forever! But finally, the finish line was in sight!

Finish- 2:20:35

Well, that’s not too bad! Actually it is my fastest half marathon finish this year! There are a couple of points where I know I lost time but who’s to say I wouldn’t have lost it somewhere else. The shoelaces thing drives me crazy though. I never have that problem but now I have at the last two races! Grrr.

Once I crossed the finish I was given my medal and then a tumbler and then a sticker. Hey, that’s new! Kind of helps make up for the tiny shirt. 😛 I got out of the chute but hung around as I wanted to see Bix finish. Woo hoo!

I was still feeling a little green so I met up with my mom and we just got ourselves out of everyone’s way. I got myself under control and we headed out to find a yummy lunch.

All in all, I would say this was a solid race. I was way more consistent than I thought I would be. I won’t complain about being faster than I figured- neither would my mom- she’d waited long enough. That said, I believe I ran the best I could for where I was at the time- both mentally and physically. I wanted to run a good race, one to clear away the lingering issues with my other halves this year. I wanted to run a race that would help me dust the cobwebs in my head.

Mission accomplished-✅ Can’t wait til next year.

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?

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?!?!?

Week 37 Training Recap

Training for:

City to the Sea 13.1
Harvest Marathon 13.1
Golden Gate Half

A week of shoe issues, calf issues, wardrobe malfunctions and a long run attempt that knocked me flat. Yay?

Monday- 2.0 miles. Yeah, another run testing the new Brooks. I also wore the wrong shorts. This was a hot mess from the start and I could tell it just wasn’t going to get better.

Tuesday- Rest I was sore from the baby run. 😩

Wednesday-Rest Pizza night!! 🍕🍕

Thursday- 3.8 miles I was optimistically hoping for 5-6 miles. Fail. Everything hurt. Ankles, shins, calves. Which led to whiny thoughts then deep thoughts. Which prompted my last post and my concerns that my weight gain was affecting my shoes.

Friday- Rest I’ve closed the last 4 Fridays and I admit it’s making me tired. Crossing the street on my way back to my car, I felt twinges in my left shin. I was also feeling a little off so I decided right then that my planned 14 miler was going to be broken into 2 runs over the weekend. I was trying to be smart for once. I failed.

Saturday-8 miles The first run of the weekend. I overslept and was feeling a little weird but if I didn’t run every time I felt a little off, I would never run. I headed out around 9:30 but as the high of the day was only supposed to be 91 so I figured I would be fine. If only I had known how wrong I was.

The run started off ok. I was sticking to my 5/2 run walk intervals, wearing my Nike’s and compression socks and my shins/ ankles were feeling pretty good. Since I was only running 8 miles I decided to throw in some hill repeats. What was I thinking? I was huffing and puffing but I kept running. I did 2 hill repeats before running to the turn around point then back for another 2 hill repeats. I felt fine though mile 6 then things went bad.

My 24oz water bottle was almost empty and I was slowing down significantly. My town doesn’t believe in water fountains. They are either turned off or locked up. A little over a mile from house I passed an elementary school. The gates weren’t locked!!! Hallelujah! I felt like a creeper opening the gates but I really needed water. I was loosing steam though. I barely made it up the last hill- I had to stop halfway up, I couldn’t catch my breath. I normally love running the downhill and the flat on the way back to my driveway. I couldn’t do it. I hit 8 miles about 1/4 mile from my driveway and just quit. I crawled back. Once confronted with my driveway, I almost just gave up. I was seriously thisclose to just sitting down partway up and hoping someone drove by.

That wasn’t the end. Once I made it inside, I started overheating. I was still sweating so I wasn’t freaking out about heat stroke but something was not right. I tried taking a cold shower, chugging water and I had my brother bring me food. Then I tried napping. Every time I tried to stand up, everything kind of went black and tunnel like. I kept going back to bed. I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon sleeping. I knew I had the Avocado Margarita Festival to volunteer at in the evening. I finally managed to get up without the world spinning and I headed towards work town. I treated myself to In n Out hoping it would make me feel better. Not really. Boo. I left work town around 8 and was glad to see my bed when I got home.

I don’t know if it was too hot- only in the 80’s, not hot at all- or if it was the fact that I did hill repeats for the first time in months. Or if I actually had a touch of something. I later found out a coworker had similar issues on Saturday as well and they didn’t run. They ended up doing nothing but sleeping after their festival shift.

Sunday- 10 miles bike This time I listened to the off feeling I still had. I had woken up at 7 with a pounding headache so I rolled over and went back to sleep. I woke up at 10:30! feeling a little more human. After running some errands I decided my 6 mile run was not a good idea and decided to just ride the bike.

13.9 run miles for the week. Ouch. Let’s just chalk it up to a rough week and move on. I wish I knew what set off Saturday’s issues because I never want to feel like that again.

Have you had a recent wardrobe malfunction?

Would you eat an avocado Popsicle? Yes, it does exist.