Tag: half marathon

5k to Start March

Sunday was one of those overcast, slightly rainy but still really wet days. The ones that just make you want to curl up inside with a nice warm blanket and a good book. We rarely get that in California, so I decided to take advantage of it. Plus with my less than graceful self, I figured I would still manage to find a way to fall even if it wasn’t pouring.

Yesterday was actually a pretty good day, no Monday blues in sight. I packed my stuff so that I could run right after work. My first run in 7 days and a chance to test my new shoes. A heavy marine layer had rolled in by the end of work, so I decided to turn the planned 4 miles into 3. It was darker than I had hoped for, but even 3 is better than last week!

The shoes were ok. They definitely have more cushion than I am used to. So much in fact, that I had troubles with the gas pedal on the way home. 🙂 The right shoe still feels abnormally loose but I am hoping I can adjust. Overall my legs felt good, maybe a little too good because my pace was faster than it should have been. The only thing that really annoyed me during my was that my belt kept sliding down. I had to yank it back up every half mile.

I finished a little over a 5k and then forced myself to walk around the block again as a cool down before stretching out. I am trying to be smarter now. Anyone want to place bets on how long that lasts? Tonight, I packed my stuff for the gym but did not want to run, I wanted to give my legs a break since yesterday was less than easy. I told myself I would do a few miles on the stationary bike. But I was totally looking for an excuse not to go, and it came! I ended up staying another hour at work with IT. Thanks pesky computers!

After driving home, I did complete a stretching program and some push ups. I attempted a plank or 2 but that was just an epic fail. 🙂 I am planning on a few more miles tomorrow but haven’t decided when or where yet. So this brings my total for the Around the World Running Blog Relay to a spectacular 5k. Woo hoo!!!!

I had a minor panic attack today when I checked my Facebook feed. There was a post reminding me that I only have 18 days until Wine Country Half. Yikes!!!! I’m not ready!!!! I need to get my training back on track, not only for this but for the SLO Marathon weekend too. Where did the time go? There is a 5K race that I was going to run on Saturday but I am on the fence. It’s kind of pricey for a local 5k and I need to do a long, slow run. I have to decide by tomorrow because that is the last day to register. Decisions, decisions.

While today may have been National Pancake day, I did not have pancakes today. 😦 However, I did have breakfast for dinner- scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls. So yummy.

I still have a discount code for the SLO Marathon,anyone want to come join me?

Who ate pancakes today?

How did everyone’s week start?

Slight Stumbling Block

Happy Hump Day!!!! Although by the time this is posted, it may be Thursday. 🙂 Which is better right?

Monday I was set to run after work. My ankle was a bit sore Sunday evening and Monday, so I figured I would head to the gym for the softer but boring treadmill. I changed before leaving work which involved taking off my derby socks and then went to tidy up a few things. That little amount of walking around the building made me rethink things. I was more than sore, I was straight up hurting. I had an argument with myself about what to do. I was smart, urgh, and did not run. I did not run yesterday nor today. 😦 Instead I have spent time like this-

What you can’t see is the laptop open to a blank page that should be a paper and a Netflix marathon on the tv. Does that kind of marathon count? I have spent plenty of time stretching and foam rolling too.

Tomorrow is up in the air. I am optimistically taking my running clothes with me but I am not expecting much right now. The smart little voice in my head says I should just take the 5 week days off. The cranky runner in me is growling at that. Grrrh. I have a half marathon in 25 days and have not done a long run since February 9. I was hoping to get to a 12 mile training run this time around but at this point I will be thrilled with a crawling 10 8 next weekend. I am supposed to racing a 5K on the 8th too, but I am not sure about that now.

Friday will probably end up to be a very long work day, like 12 hours or more, so I have absolutely no guilt about not running that day. Yesterday was a later meeting so it was easier not being able to run since I was busy. This weekend will hopefully have some decent runs (please!) but I also have a date with the Running Warehouse. My Inspire‘s have not seemed friendly lately and they only have 250 miles on them. I think it is time to be refitted for shoes. Especially when I consider that I have only been fitted once and it was before I even ran, I was 40 pounds heavier and had never been on a treadmill before. I am interested to see if things have changed since then. Also hoping that it may help my ankle issues.

Not using that word but yeah... Thanks Pinterest — Not using that word but yeah…
Thanks Pinterest

I am anxious to get back up to speed, with last’s week’s easy miles and this weeks zero, I feel like I am falling behind. I had such hopes for Wine Country and even more for the SLO Marathon. Plus I feel like I just sound like a complete cranky pants right now, sorry! I was so bored tonight, I weighed my cat, which also meant I weighed myself, ugh. She’s 15 pounds by the way, she doesn’t look that big, but maybe she needs a treadmill too.

As I type this, I can hear it pouring outside, yay- rain!!!!! Driving home not so much fun but the rain is awesome. Keep it coming!

Who’s racing this weekend?

How has everyone’s week been going?

I’m an Ambassador!!!!!!

Last week, I promised big news and now for the follow through. I’m the type of person who likes to check and then double-check and the check again before announcing something. I want to make sure I read something right or that it wasn’t a mistake or that they won’t change their mind, etc. Anyways, on to the news!!!!

In my goals post I mentioned that I would love to race the SLO Marathon in April. I have wanted to run the half for the past 2 years but was never able to make it work. Either illness or finances would get in the way and I would spend part of race weekend mildly pouting. So this year I was making it a priority, I was going to run it. So when it popped up in my Facebook feed that they were looking for Ambassadors for the 2014 race, I about jumped out of my chair.

I love SLO, seriously if I could live there I would. The weather is usually amazing which is good because many of my races have been run in SLO. I spend many a weekend there shopping and eating- and running. I always come home with a little less money and a full stomach. Now being that I am a steak and potatoes kind of girl I admit that I don’t branch out often, but have enjoyed some of the best hamburgers and BBQ there. I consider it a reward for a good race– or a rough week. 🙂

Healthy all week until post race reward right?

I stared at the post for a bit and then texted a friend (I needed a little encouragement) before putting together an email and submitting it. I then proceeded to stalk my own email for a week or two. I was super excited but nervous as well. Even after a few years of running I still doubt myself sometimes. But I got an email back!!!!

They asked for a bio and a picture which I promptly sent back. I then still waited a little more before posting this (I also replied from the wrong email and had a temporary panic attack). I am so excited!!!!! I now have a new focus for training and a new goal race in April. 🙂 You’ll be hearing more about the race from me in future, hopefully I can convince you to come join us on race weekend!

Oh, did I mention that Dean Karnazes ran it?

Unseasonably Warm

It’s December 28th and my run today happened in shorts and a tank top. Say what? Christmas day was in the 70’s and sunny. Boo hoo, I wanted clouds. 😦 Where is winter? I know I should stop complaining, it will be cold soon enough and I will probably complain about that too. I’m fickle like that 🙂 I passed one guy running in heavy black pants and full sweatshirt and hood followed by another 4 blocks later running only in shorts. I’m not sure which one seemed more out-of-place.

I did start out wearing a long-sleeved shirt but I lost it by mile 2. Ever have one of those runs where you felt like your stomach was leading you? I know I said that I wasn’t going to worry about December and maybe indulge a little, but I really shouldn’t have stepped on the scale this morning. Wah. And to continue the spiral, I ate a tri-tip sandwich while out shopping (Christmas returns) followed by a cinnamon roll at Panera. So counter-productive. But I think I have finally figured the new diet restrictions, so fingers crossed I level out soon. Plus my training plan starts Monday so bring on the calorie burn! Hopefully half marathon ready by February 15th 🙂

Today’s run was an easy 5.5 miles around the neighborhood. I normally don’t run after eating a lot of food because my stomach with its issue just doesn’t like it. But I am trying force myself to run through it. I usually don’t eat anything pre-race, even on half-marathon days. I know that I need to change that in the future. So like I said, I felt like my stomach was leading the way. That being said it was a pretty good run. Ran the first 3 in 30 minutes, with only a little walk break. As I rounded the top of a hill, I saw my mom and Zoey coming up it. I met up with them and walked with them for .5 mile. It added in another little hill but oh well, it had a big downhill. I took Zoey’s leash while we were walking but she must not have noticed, because about 3/10 of a mile in she looked up the leash and was very surprised to see me holding it. The look on her face was priceless. I left them at the downhill and ran on. I looped around and met back up with them at the school, water stop! I walked a bit more with them before running on to finish my run.

I love my new Garmin, and all its shiny new data. Even If I am still trying to figure it all out. I was able to send workouts to it but I have not made it to the track yet to test them out. Right now I all I know is that my pace is all over the place and my cadence is really low. More things to work on 🙂

I have one last guilty lunch with my family planned for tomorrow hopefully followed by a run. I also have boring errands and laundry to catch up on 😦

Anyone racing tomorrow? If you raced today, you rock!!!

Can you believe it’s almost 2014?!!

Running Ahead

When 2013 started I had a few running goals that I mostly kept to myself. I knew I had at least 2 half marathons in the year to come and by City to Sea in October I was hoping to break 2:15:00. That would be 11 minutes off City to Sea of 2012, so I was a little nervous. I also wanted to break 30:00 for a 5K again, just to make sure that the first time wasn’t ~~a fluke~~ just because it was the HOB fun run. I figured it may have just been the adrenaline stemming from the literally almost 100 people I knew there, it’s a very popular local event. Most races, I only know 1 or 2 other people, less stress. 🙂 In 2013, I wanted to get over the horrible mental block I had with 10K’s, I had only run 1 but I hated it so much, it was 2 years before I ran another. Give me half marathon any day. I was also aiming for 12 races through out the year.

2013 also began with a promotion and job location change. I now commuted every day. On top of that, work was insanely busy. We were going through a merger, so most days including the commute were over 12 hour days. I wasn’t getting home until after 7, and then I was so tired I usually just crashed. This went on for a few months. Running took a backseat and I became a weekend runner. 😦 My first 2 races of the year were in that time period as well. A 5K in February and the Wine Country 1/2 in March.

Also the last time I had my natural hair color, ha!!

I went into Wine Country feeling seriously under trained. I had run this half twice before so I knew the course well. I was hoping to finish near 2:25:00, so only a minute faster than 2012’s City to Sea. Then 3 minutes to the starting gun they announced a last minute course change. The out and back portion would be shorter to accommodate adding a crazy hill at the end, at mile 12.4. Seriously?! I figured I would run as much as I could and walk when I needed to. I won’t lie, I walked that entire damn hill and some after that, cursing in my head the whole way up. The shocker was that I crossed the finish line at 2:14:04. Ummm, how now? I still have no idea where that came from. I had to double check Nike, the official time and the starting clock, I was in disbelief. But then I was like, what now? I wasn’t sure I could get faster. So in June, I started Slacker Runner (thanks for joining me!), partially to hold myself accountable and to find motivation in all your stories as well (which are amazing, by the way). And to stop driving my coworkers crazy with running talk.

In June, I also ran my first 10K in 2 years and it didn’t suck!!! In fact, I ran another in July and loved it. As for 12 races, I ran in 11 events but 12 races. I am not sure how to count that. 🙂 And I finished City to Sea Half in 2:05:56. I had discovered this great path at a park in the town halfway between home and work. It helped with sticking to my training plan and I think that helped with my overall pace. I can’t wait to get back to it in the spring!

So now we are heading into 2014 and where do I go from here? I am putting my goals in writing this year, so let’s do this!

5K- Finish under 27:00

10K- Finish under 54:00

Half marathon- Break under 2:00:00 in the first half of the year. If I do– see how close I can get to 1:50:00 by City to the Sea 2014. (yikes!)

So, in order to do that I need races!!!! I am debating joining the 14 in 2014 (but more on that later). I generally plan my races only a quarter ahead and most of the time it also comes down to finances 😦 So for the beginning of the year, I am thinking-

Feb 1- Super Fun Run 5K
Feb 15- Buzz 1/2 Marathon
March 23- Wine Country 1/2 marathon ( dang hill!!!)
April 27- SLO 1/2 Marathon

So now I need to get moving, get running!!! That first 1/2 marathon is less than 2 months away. Which is making me regret finishing my Christmas shopping tonight instead of running, oops.

To everyone who has their race year mapped out, you seriously impress me.

Anyone have a goal race in the first half of the year?

Everyone ready for Christmas?