Tag: long run

Never say Never?

So, about that marathon thing. And how I said never.

This has been simmering for a while. A long while. January of 2015 saw my first (and only so far) 25K. 16 miles. While that is still 10 miles short of a marathon, I was out there for 5+ hours. That started me thinking. Yes, I was still 10 miles short but whatever marathon I chose wouldn’t have 3000+ ft in elevation gain or involve actual mountains. But a trail 25K was still a long way from a road marathon. The seed was planted.

Then last fall, in the middle of my running funk, I read Ultra Marathon Man by Dan Karnazes. That book will give you all sorts of crazy ideas. Plus he eats pizza while on crazy long runs- how awesome is that?! Now, a marathon was a crazy enough idea for me. I wasn’t going to running in Antarctica or any 200 mile solo runs. But even then it was still just a seedling. It was still a maybe someday, far away.

New Year’s saw me stating emphatically that this was going to be the year of no goals. After spending 2+ years chasing a sub 2 half and failing, I was burned out. Some health issues added to that as well but I was feeling fried. This was going to be the year to just enjoy running. That is still the plan. With a twist.

Running is a lot like shopping at Target... You intend to run only $30 5Ks and before you know it, you're registering for $175 marathons!!:

Back in January, in one long text message session with Ashley and Heather, we started talking about The San Francisco Marathon. Ashley loved the race and Heather and I had always thought about running it. So we made plans to all take a road trip and run one of the half marathons. San Francisco has 2- the first half and the second half. I joked that if I was going to San Francisco, I was running the Golden Gate Bridge. So we were running the 1st half. Cool, right?

Then a week or so later, they decided they wanted to run the full. Well crap. What do I do? I had 2 choices- run my first full marathon or deal with public transportation in a very large city all by myself for the first time in my life. Both were scary propositions.

I chose the marathon.

Never+say+NEVER+with+ anything++running+related...+ "Never+could+I+run+a+5k." ....+DID+IT!+ "Never+could+I+run+a+10k" ...+DID+IT! "Never+could+I+run+a+ Half-Marathon."+ ....DID+IT!+:

Here’s my thinking- it was already in the back of my mind, so why not San Francisco? I had 2 friends running it and it was a city I’ve been wanting to visit again for a long time. The potential for hills was a little intimidating but I’ve said repeatedly that I hate flat courses, right? Plus Golden Gate Bridge! And friends!

But I still wasn’t ready to commit. Remember back in January when I asked for Excel help? I was cobbling together a training plan. I affectionately call it the McHig plan. I took my customized McMillan plan from last year and worked it into a Hal Higdon Novice plan for marathon training. I started training for SF the first week of February. Surprise!

Before I would register though, I needed an escape plan. My first 16 miler falls in the beginning of April. I told myself if I completed it and hated myself or running after I would pay the change fee and drop to the half. If I pulled it off and felt ok, training would continue. Next step would be to complete a 20-22 miler in late June, early July. Same rules applied-I could drop at the race expo before the race. And lastly, if all hell breaks loose, there is a finish line at the halfway point. I could call it there and Uber myself to the finish to meet Ashley and Heather.

I had a training plan, friends to run it with and an escape plan -all I had to do was register. Except when I tried to register in February, the website refused to cooperate. It wouldn’t let me use my discount code- Ashley’s an ambassador!- and it kept throwing up an error message. I missed a price deadline because of this. Finally after a few weeks of Twitter conversations and emails back and forth with the staff of the SF Marathon, I was able to complete my registration. Holy crap, I registered for my first marathon!!

I wasn’t going to tell anyone until post SLO half but I wasn’t very successful. After some Twitter convos and IG posts, I decided to come clean. I had my first panic attack after that blog post– ha!! Shit just got real. People know now- I have to follow through! Also, now my crazy shoe buying lately seems a little more understandable.

Did I bite off more than I can chew? My plan is deliberately long, I know I will miss a few runs along the way.

Ever run San Francisco?

Words of advice?!!? Please!

Training Week 8 Recap

Upcoming race– SLO 13.1- May 1

Focus– Just keep running, just keep running.

This week was an improvement over last week. Since ignoring my little lung issue for pretty much all of January, I am trying to pay more attention to how I am feeling and actually listen this time. I am also refocusing on eating a low carb diet but more on that later.

Monday- Rest I had the day off and I usually like to run on those days but instead I rested. I had my doctor’s appointment followed by a chest x-ray. Yay for the labs being open on a holiday.

Tuesday- 3.4 miles The fallen tree run. 🙂 Another day avoiding the treadmill and running from work.

Wednesday- Rest It was also my cheat day for pizza. Sadly, it wasn’t as good as it usually is. Boo.

Thursday- 3.1 miles I had a meeting at the end of the day but on the upside it was in home town! I was able to make it home before 5, sweet! I planned on changing quickly and heading out for a run. However the dog had other plans. She went nuts over someone in the neighbors yard. It took me 15 minutes to corral her. Once running, I realized I had overestimated how much time I had until the sun set. Oops. And because I had been frazzled by the dog I had left my flashlight behind. Double oops. Even though the run was shorter than I had hoped it was a pretty good one. Again, I tried to keep my pace slow and easy. It’s kind of sad that mile 3 was around 10:00 min. pace and it felt like it was at tempo pace.

Friday- Rest Work was stressful and I was so glad to see the end of the day.

Saturday- 10.93 miles With Heather! Heather, Ashley and I have been trying to meet up and we made it work on Saturday. Ashley couldn’t join us for the run but we met up with her later. I met up with Heather early on Saturday morning to run one of her routes. I apologized from the start that I was going to be slow and wasn’t sure how far my lungs were going to let me get. I was hoping for 10. We set out at a comfortable pace and just kept trucking. I don’t usually run with people so I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to talk and run at the same time. I don’t think I did too bad! The route was nice, we ran along parts of hwy 1 and streets in Pismo. Running past the cinnamon roll store was brutal- it smelled so good!! My lungs held up well on the way out but got fussy on the way back. I had to take more than a few walk breaks, boo. My legs and my body felt fine but every now and then I just had to slow down, it became too difficult to get in air. I kept apologizing for slowing down. But we finished! Back to the cars at 10.93 miles. I laughed over the mileage.

From there we cleaned up a bit before heading over to meet Ashley for brunch. We met at Custom House and I had heard really good things about their churro style french toast. So even though it broke all the diet rules, I had to try it right? Sadly, I wasn’t blown away. The bacon was amazing though. Know what else was amazing? Lunch with friends! We caught up on what’s been going on and planned some fun race trips for the future.

Sunday- Rest Ummm, I took a 2 hour nap. Can’t decide if it was an oops or awesome.

So other than I seemed to forget all about the bike this week, it was a pretty solid week. I was able to get in some decent miles that didn’t leave me hating either myself or running after. Looking to this week, the plan is to keep running easy and just take each run as it comes. I also need to get back on the bike and get in some miles there as well.

Food– I stopped talking about my diet for a while because let’s be honest- I wasn’t low carb or paleo at all. However in the hope of keeping myself accountable, I am going to start sharing a little recap on these posts. I am working on transitioning back to a lower carb lifestyle. With pizza thrown in once a week of course. This week was pretty good- I would say I was around 55/45%. Which doesn’t sound great but it’s epically better than I was previously. I also had a donut last week. When one of the company presidents makes a special trip to bring your location donuts- you eat them!

How was your week?

Week 4 Training Recap

Upcoming Races- Surf City 13.1

Focus this week- Long Run

4 weeks in and I already lost count. Oops. But I was just doing the numbers and this week was intense for a Slacker. 😃

Monday- 4 Miles Ugly, ugly run. It was the kind of run of that makes me feel like an imposter. I could not get it together. My head and body were in 2 entirely different worlds. I felt the beginnings of one of those weird asthma/ panic attacks. Maybe it’s a Monday thing? There’s a reason I usually take Mondays off. The last 2 weeks had rough Monday runs but how can I pass on running on a day off?

Tuesday- 11 miles Stationary bike- A recent obsession with Z Nation has been making these bike miles fly by. Who knew zombies would help me cross train?😀

Wednesday- Rest I had packed my gear to hit the gym and run but things went weird partway through the day. I just odd, just very not right for lack of a better description. I’m transitioning back to a lower carb diet and trying a new medication for my stomach issues. I think things just combined in a less than great way on Wednesday.

Thursday -12 miles Stationary bike- I was feeling better but just could not stomach the idea of heading to the gym and running on the treadmill. It was the last thing I felt like doing. I knew I had big plans for my long run this weekend so I figured an extra day off of the feet wouldn’t be horrible.😛

Friday- Rest Cookie Friday also won. #lowcarbfail

Saturday -12.4 mile long run!!!! 3.8 mile puppy jog Who got up and ran 12 miles in the morning?! This Slacker did! 12 miles is like my white whale. I chase it but never hit it. I think I have run maybe 2 or 3 12 milers tops since I started running. Maybe. And they were all miserable. With Surf City 2 weeks away, I really wanted to get a 12 miler under my belt. Both for training purposes and just to say I could do it. I had mapped out a route that was incessant loops or hills the night before. The plan was to meet up with my mom halfway and she would join me for a bit. My route would then double back to where she parked and we would head to lunch. Except when I texted her at mile 3, she said wasn’t meeting me. Well, crap. I had planned on getting more water from her plus now I had to change my route mid-run. Mid-run math always make my brain hurt. I knew I had to make it home so I was either going to end up short of 12 or over but I wasn’t sure which way it was going to fall. I tried to keep my pace as steady as possible aiming for between 10:45-11:15. My overall average pace was around 11:03 but my miles were all over the place. Mile 5 saw a 9:20 and mile 7 an 11:55. Oops. Mile 5 had me running across the bridge and hate the bridge so much that I usually speed up. Mile 7 had a long slow climb and I started having odd feelings in my toes. I also knew there was no way I was going to have enough water. Grr. Mile 9 had some drama with loose dogs too. It was one of the busiest streets in town and chocolate lab and wiener dog were running lose. A lady was trying to catch so I stayed with her for a bit. She then went on to follow them in her car and I ran on. I hope she was able to help them.

Ok, total #firstworldrunnerproblem moment. I was looking forward to seeing 12 miles on my watch, I needed to see it. Except my battery started to die. Seriously?! Finally I decided I didn’t want to risk losing my data so I stopped it at 10.2 miles, saved it and then started it over. It ended up lasting the whole run and I am glad I didn’t chance but I missed seeing that 12. 10.20 and 2.2 just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Plus I still ended up half a mile from my house when I stopped my watch the second time.

Sunday- 5 miles Stationary bike– All right, first 20 mile week in a long time had me feeling sore. I chose the bike over running as I didn’t want to push my legs too hard after a 16 mile Saturday. Plus I wore the wrong shoes on the puppy jog, so I was feeling familiar aches in my knee. 5 steady miles were freakin’ hard. But better than nothing right? Oh and I took a nap. 🙂

I am kind of proud of this week turned out. Running, cross training and I only had pizza once, I’m calling it a winning week! ✅👍🏽👏🏽 Question is, can I do it again?? Luckily I am only aiming for a 10 miler next weekend so I am hoping for 3 days running and 3 cross training. Which means I will have to go to the gym and use the treadmills. Grrr. I am counting down to the time change.

How was your week?

Do anything fun this weekend?

Do you have a white whale?

Week 15 Recap- Extremes

Week 15?! My race is almost here? How did that happen? I haven’t even registered for it yet! Well, crap, I better get on that. Right after this damn heat wave leaves.

Monday- Rest

Lugging one less bag to work on Mondays is kind of nice. Think I’ll stick with this Monday rest thing. I was going to come home and ride the back but I decided to dye my hair instead. #byebyeblonde

Tuesday- 4.51 Miles

Holy speed, Batman, I ran a 7:49 mile?!?!? Awesome! I’m still kind of stoked about that. If you missed me shouting it from the rooftops, you can read about it here. 😃😄

Wednesday-Rest

Day from hell. For reasons I can’t say, the day went south real fast in the afternoon. If there was ever a day to drink, it was this day. But the only alcohol in my house is Patron and I wasn’t feeling shots. 😏 So I ate pizza instead.

Thursday- 4 Miles

It was in the low 80’s when I started my run and it was so nice. There was a nice breeze too. It later turned into a pretty strong headwind but that’s not the point. The cooler temps were amazing, this run actually felt comfortable. I wanted to keep running for a few more miles. But the downside to the cooler temps is the quicker setting sun. And the river bed is not really the place for a post twilight run. But it was a 4 solid miles. ✅

Friday- Rest

Day 10 of 11 in a row working. Stick a fork in me, I’m done. I really did think about getting on the bike when I got home but just couldn’t make myself do it. Plus the heat had come back and my house wasn’t much cooler than outside.

Saturday- 7.5 miles bike

Day 11! With a projected high of 100 I knew I wasn’t running after work. Unfortunately I am just not fast enough to pull off a long run before work on Saturday’s. Even with it being a later start, I still have to be on the road before 8. So errands, laundry and biking was it for the day.

Sunday- 6 Miles AM, 3.2 Miles PM

Shot myself in the foot on this one. I needed to a run a 12 miler. Needed it for this training cycle and mentally because I have as serious mental block with a 12 mile training run. It was also predicted to be 101. My alarm was set for an early morning run, I even managed to go to bed around the 11:30 on Saturday. I was going to do this. Then my alarm went off.

So, the average hours I sleep every night run around 6. And those aren’t a good 6. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in so long I can’t even remember. Until Saturday night. When that alarm went off, I didn’t even think about it, I turned it off. I was in such a good spot sleeping, I wasn’t wasting it. I had a back up alarm an hour later anyways. Except it was turned off in the same way. The sleep was seriously awesome. I did eventually make myself get up and got ready to run. I was out the door by 9:15. It was already warm so I knew I wasn’t finishing 12. So I planned to get in as many as I could before I felt too hot and then do the remainder at the gym a little later. Not ideal but better than nothing.

I pulled off a slow, hot 6 miles before calling it. After a few more errands I was on my way to the gym. I was taking my mom to the movies later so I wasn’t sure I had the time for 6 anymore. Thanks to some stupid shorts and some horrible stomach cramps I only pulled off 3 miles. I started to feel better around 2.5 miles but the first part took so long I wasn’t getting much farther. So I called it and went home to shower for the movies. 9 miles for the day- not what I wanted but not too bad either. I don’t regret the extra sleep at all. I needed that. 😏

The movie- The Scorch Trials– was awesome and the popcorn was a yummy consolation prize. Oh and that temp? We broke records and hit 105*.

Paleo- C

Honestly, this might be a B. I was pretty behaved last week even with all the stress. I didn’t binge on chips or cookies and after Wednesday, I could have rationalized it. But I didn’t. However, I did eat pizza twice and had the popcorn and some candy at the movies. So I am sticking with the C.

Considering the chaos of last week, I am actually content with the training I got in. They were all solid miles that will only help me grow as a runner. I am thinking more long term than short term here and that’s what counts- running for a long time to come. Not just for my upcoming races. 😊 And there was that fast mile! Yeah, I’m going to hang on to that for a while.

Now this week- My boss is on vacation still so one more week with little breaks is on tap. That’s ok, I can do it. Then this weekend is my favorite race of the year! Woo hoo! I will be racing a 10K on Sunday and running a 5K right after. 😜 Oh and volunteering the day before. Love it.

How was your weekend?

Tell me all about your fall weather- I need to live vicariously right now.

Ever run double races?

Bye July/ Week 8 Recap

First up, let’s talk about July. July did not see the mileage increase that I was hoping. Between a week of feeling meh some achy legs and well life, the number didn’t grow. Instead, my mileage held steady. Which for right now, I am calling a win.

Miles- 64.30
Races- Shoreline Half

So let’s move on to last week’s training!Monday- 4 Miles

This run sucked. There are no other words for how much I hated this run. There was some reason I was running on Monday instead of a rest day like usual. Except even then, I couldn’t remember why. Maybe it was a combo of all the fair walking on Saturday plus the speed work on Sunday but my legs would not work. I knew I was tired and was aiming for a nice easy run at recovery pace. Instead I got a jumbled mess- 14:09, 10:51, 10:08, 9:43. Even walking felt funny at the beginning so I walked more. Then I ran too fast when I did run. But even that felt like I was slogging through peanut butter while running. Tuesday- Rest

Awesome. Plus I enjoyed Monday’s usual pizza night just a day late. I said 80/20 paleo right? But even more shocking- I left the building! Haha. But seriously, I can count on 2 hands the number of times I’ve left the building during work for the last 2+ years. I had to get my book swap package in the mail so I decided to walk on down to the post office. It was farther than I thought in heels- oops!

Wednesday-

Seriously, is Wednesday a black hole? Why can I never remember it?Thursday- 4.26 miles

Same route as Monday but a better run overall. My mom met me there so I ended up walking the first mile with her. 15:01, 10:08, 9:41, 9:09. Seriously, what is with this route and the progression miles? One of these days I will get my weekday runs back up in miles. One day. I meant to run slower due to achy legs but nothing seemed labored so why not?

Friday- Rest

I survived cookie day unscathed! Woo hoo!! Plus grocery shopping for all the veggies. 🙂

Saturday- Rest

Walked around SLO most of the day and did a little shopping. I really mean little- I bought one shirt. But I got my steps in so yay! I also woke up to an email regarding the HP swap I signed up for that had me scrambling all day. Let’s just say I am starting over…only 2 weeks from ship date. Well crap. Is it odd that I think the time crunch pressure might be fun? I ended the evening at movies. We saw Mission Impossible. Not my choice but I was outvoted. It wasn’t bad. I also ate way too much popcorn.

Sunday- 7.3 mile long run

My mother was going to clean/ organize the tennis courts so my plan was to run early and meet her there then she would give me a ride home. I was feeling rough that morning so I set out a little behind schedule. I then walked the first 10 minutes just to make sure I was even ready to run. Other than that first mile I maintained a 10:30 pace for the rest of the run. I am completely ok with that pace for a long run right now. It was just under 5 miles to the school and I finished the rest on the track. Mile 4 makes me laugh. I hate running the bridge across town and tend to pick up the pace there. As much as I can with 4 stop lights that is. Then a hill hits you in the face so you slow down. 😐 Outside of the obnoxious humidity (68%!) I liked this run. I felt pretty good afterwards. 😃 Oh, and I meal prepped salads for lunches for the week. Who am I?

All in all, an average week. I felt tired all week so I passed on my speed work. I am sure smoothies for lunch and cutting back on soda added to the tiredness but I anticipated that so I planned to take it easier this week. My mileage stayed pretty consistent to previous week so that’s a plus at least. Going into this week, I have some scheduling issues but I would like to see the miles increase. Pace will depend on how I feel with my stupid stomach and new (goal) eating habits. Fingers crossed! As for August? Keep on keeping on. 😄

How is your training going?

Any streets/ bridges you dislike running?

Seen any good movies lately?

What are you looking forward to in August?