Tag: Marathon

The SF Marathon Week 18 Recap

Race week, no, marathon week- holy crap.

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!

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.

Sunday- Race day!! To be continued…

Anyone as accident prone as me?

Do you ever buy race themed apparel?

Share something!

Week 19 Training Recap

Training for: The San Francisco Marathon

Focus- Training plan gets real. Stay strong with 4, if feeling good step up to 5 days.

Well, that was a mixed bag. This week was weird, not sure why, it just seemed off in some way. It also flew by. One moment it was Monday, the next it was Thursday. I can’t keep up! Like I said in Friday’s post, this was the week I most nervous about- the week marathon training got real. It started pretty well actually and ended with an oops.

Monday- 4 miles easy My legs were feeling pretty achy after SLO, so for once it was very easy to keep it easy. I always have a hard time with that. Well, truthfully, keeping any sort of consistent pace is hard for me- be it slow or fast. I had the day off of work so I headed out around noon. I had a doctor’s appointment in the early afternoon and I wanted to get it done before that. My legs were super tired but it felt good too get them moving. It was also my second run in my Skechers. Still doing ok.

Tuesday- ~~12 x 400~~ Rest When making my training schedule, I knew this workout might not happen. I knew that if I needed an extra rest day after SLO, it would be this day. I was hopeful that I could run it but of the workouts of the week, I deemed the tempo more important. My legs felt rough, I realized that I needed to run more hills after SLO. I should not have been that sore. I waited until the end of the work day but then decided the smarter thing to do was rest.

Wednesday- Rest This time scheduled. I ended up having a sponsor dinner after work that went way longer than I thought it would. But the food was good and the company hilarious.

Thursday- Tempo!!! 1.2 mile w/u, 5 mile tempo, 1 mile c/d I don’t know if I am more proud of the tempo miles or the fact that I actually completed a warm up and a cool down. 😝 Tempo’s freak me out, so to stack the deck in my favor, I headed to the lake path after work. I needed the odds in my favor for this first one. Once again, I was a rebel and ignored the path closed signs. I was more of lemming, I made sure that there were plenty of people out there breaking the rules too. I’m not sure I like the changes to the path that are in process. After my warm up, I started the tempo portion. I was trying to run by feel as best as I could, I only checked my watch twice for every mile. I thought I blew the whole thing when the first mile clocked in at 9:45, 30 seconds off my intended 10:18. Crap. I figured I would blow up in the second mile. But I didn’t. So I just kept running and tried to keep it comfortably hard and consistent. I counted each mile out loud and threw my hands in the air when I hit mile 5. Woo hoo!! I know my next ones won’t be this awesome but that’s ok. I needed this one.

Friday- Rest Oof. I worked open to close and it was a rough day. I felt a little ragged by the end of the day. Cue Pizza night.

Saturday- 8 easy miles. Hills for days!! SLO showed me that I have done a pretty good job of avoiding hills the past few months. I may have been putting in the mileage but the average elevation gain of each run was only in the 200’s. Oops. So I figured my easy weekend run could be all about the hills. Plus I may have figured out how to maintain the prescribed easy pace-hills! I ran what used to be my typical route last year but added every hill I could find. The run actually went well, it was also the farthest I have run in my Skechers and they did ok. I feel like my left foot could use more arch support but other than that, they were ok. I only took a few walk breaks which is kind of awesome. I just kept trucking up the hills. I was feeling pretty good after this run. 😊

Sunday- ~~8 easy miles~~. Oops. Entirely my fault, I let time get away from me. I set my alarm so I could run early but when it went off, I just couldn’t. New carpet is coming soon so my closet was repainted. I went to the movies (Captain America– amazing!) Saturday night so nothing was put away. I couldn’t even get to my bed as everything from the closet was on it. I tried sleeping in a chair but ended up sleeping on the floor in the closet. As awkward as it sounds, it was actually one of the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a while. My neck and shoulders disagreed and they took a few hours to loosen up. I was planning on running mid afternoon before any Mother’s Day dinner plans that we had but my car threw a temper tantrum. My automatic stalled. Then it wouldn’t drive without bouncing. Grrr. Dad, help! Between that, actually putting things back in my closet and dinner, I just ran out of time. Lesson learned- listen to the alarm.

So the week started pretty strong but hit a big speed bump on Sunday. Oops. If I was training for a half, I would feel good about this week. Missing Sunday’s 8 makes me nervous. On one hand, I am glad I finally got a good night’s sleep, so maybe they will balance out? We’ll see.

Diet wise– I’ve been kind of quiet. The weeks leading up to SLO were kind of a train wreck. Last week was hit and miss. Lunches and breakfast were on point but, ummm, 4 donuts happened last week. Giant miss.

How was your week?

Seen any good movies lately?

Should I be nervous about that missed 8?

Marathon Musings

Head games are strong with this one.

I think I finally figured out why I was so panicky the week before SLO. Other then the leg issue, that was real. I know my last few ~~years~~ races have been rough but it seemed like I was stressing more than I should for a race that I wasn’t planning to try for a PR at. A course I had run twice before so I knew what I was in for. I don’t think my panic had anything to do with SLO, it was about this week. This is the week where marathon training got serious. #shitgotreal

What I haven’t mentioned is that I chucked my training plan out the window. I spent weeks mashing my McMillan plan with a Higdon Novice 2 plan. I gave myself an Excel headache over it. 😝 The more I looked at it, the more I didn’t think it was enough. I also realized how poorly I had followed McMillan last year. The only thing I remember really doing was hill repeats, all of the speed work outs looked completely foreign to me. Apparently, denial also runs strong in this one. Oops.

So I started over. I did the research, a lot, and I found an 18 week plan that I liked. It seemed intense for a Slacker like me but it also seemed doable. Doable if I put in the work that is. That is always the question. In fact I don’t even want to say how I’m training as I know it’s the crazy train for a Slacker. Even after a modification, it’s a little scary on paper. Let’s see if I can get through the next month without flaming out.

The first 5 weeks were easy- as I was already running more than the mileage scheduled, I was supposed to wait until the plan caught up to me. It caught up. Ahhh, crap. Thursday’s run in particular was freaking me out. A 5 mile tempo not counting warm up or cool down? After work?! Tempo’s scare the hell out of me. Which is why I wanted them in my training plan.

SLO kicked my ass and I couldn’t even really explain why. What was I thinking signing up for a marathon? My confidence took a beating and my past history with tempos wasn’t helping. I can’t remember the last time I ran without taking a walk break. I was thinking of numerous ways to rationalize bailing on the whole thing or cutting it short. But I’d already made one adjustment this week since SLO hurt a little more than I had planned so I told myself to get over it and just run.

Spoiler: I kicked that tempo’s ass. Probably a little too much as it was 30 seconds fast; I was aiming for 10:18. Considering I didn’t even think I could maintain a 10:30 pace for 5 miles, I’ll take it! Plus, for me, that is remarkably consistent pace.

I needed that, I really did. Even if the rest of the month knocks me down- and I know it will- this one run will keep going through the misery. 😝

Now, hopefully my legs will like me in the morning.

What run scares you?

What do you hate running? Love running?

Training Week 12 Recap

Upcoming Races– SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus this week– Getting back on track after a sickly week.

After a less than stellar week 11 and being truthful, week 10, I was eager to get back on track. Coming clean about San Francisco also provided a good kick in the pants as well. Eagerness aside, I also knew that 2 crappy weeks didn’t mean I should go all crazy this week. So, that meant I needed a measured improvement. Umm, what does that mean?

We had a full crew at work last week for the first time in a long time. We actually had more people behind the counter than we had stools. I was actually looking forward to it, I need to sit less and what better chance?

Monday- 4 miles stationary bike– Had I realized it was going to be a short ride I would have stopped at 3.14 for PI day. But I did not. I planned on riding longer but then my mom texted me and asked if I wanted to go to Subway for dinner. For some reason, it sounded amazing so it didn’t take much to convince me.

Tuesday- 3.5 miles– I love Daylight Savings, I really do. I headed for the lake path after work. I missed it. This also means that speed work is about to make a reappearance in my life, just not today. I was taking the Launch’s for their second spin and was aiming for between 3-5 miles. My left calf was freakishly tight so it ended up being 3.5 miles. I kept a fairly easy pace but had to stop to stretch more than a few times. My back was also hurting and my stomach muscles were super sore. It’s sad how badly 2 days of standing kicked my ass.

Wednesday- Rest– Pizza night!! Also, I was still so damn sore, that I sat for most of the day. Luckily, Wednesday is a usual day off for one employee so M and I weren’t fighting for the chair. 🙂

Thursday- 4.34 miles– I finally figured out the best way to run easy- run with friends!! They say your easy pace should be a pace you can have a conversation at but it’s not like you can run and have a conversation with yourself, right? NikeC and I made plans to meet up for a run and we stuck to it! It was so great catching up!! Plus I was finally able to give her her baby shower gift! Only 4 months late.

Friday- Rest day– My boss was on vacation all week and while the week wasn’t crazy busy, there were some fires to put out. By Friday, I was feeling frazzled and needed a new fire extinguisher. Grrr. Plus my left knee started hurting towards the end of the day, pretty badly and I couldn’t figure it out. I had played catch with a 40lb box- it had started to fall so I caught it, then lost it and caught it again. Probably shouldn’t have done that.

Saturday- 9 mile long run– I am trying to switch my long runs to Saturday mornings but it’s been hit or miss the last few months. When I woke up and saw that there was heavy fog and my weather app said the humidity level was 98%, I was thisclose to saying F* it. My lungs maybe doing better but they would not appreciate that at all. They just might revolt. I had all weekend right? Then marathon training creeped into my thoughts. Other than its hills, San Francisco is known for fog. So after a few more moments of denial, I dragged myself out of my warm, cozy bed and went for my run.

I had originally hoped for 10 miles but I wasn’t sure I had enough time. The plan had been to run then meet my mom and S after tennis practice for lunch. So I was running from home across town. Which meant 7 stop lights and an unspecified amount of time spent standing still. 😛 Combine that with a slower pace due to the moisture in the air aggravating my lungs and I finished 9 miles.

Once again, my goal was to just run as easy and steady as possible. I knew I would need walk breaks and was fine with that. Overall I didn’t take as many as I thought I would. Other than the bridge miles, I kept a pretty steady 11:00 min pace, which is actually on the fast side of my current pace guidelines. The bridge mile saw a 9:41. Typical, I hate running the bridge. The mile following was also faster, coming in at 10:00. I have a serious issue running in the busy areas of town. I tend to speed up. I slowed down again by mile 6 and kept it steady until the end. I almost ate asphalt around mile 8 though. I was coming up on a stop light and was crossing through the dirt to punch the signal button. I didn’t notice the cover for the power lines and caught it with my left foot. I stumbled hard and almost went down. Luckily, flailing my arms about seemed to help me stay upright. Un-luckily, this is one of the 5 busiest intersections in town. Doh!! I recovered and finished my run. It might have been slower than my pride would like but it was where it should be right now. And it was done before lunch on a Saturday! I celebrated my getting a much needed haircut.

Sunday- 8.5 miles stationary bike– I still felt a little achy in my knee but other than that I felt pretty good. I decided to err on the side of caution though and leave my running mileage where it was at. Just shy of 17 miles was a significant improvement on the previous weeks 4.5.

Low-Carb– Ummm, oops. Monday through Thursday were great. From Friday on, not so much. And I feel puffy and gross after a few less than stellar eating days. I only have myself to blame, I should know better.

Overall, it was a pretty good week. I was feeling good about it until I realized that SLO is only 41 days away. 41 days?!?! How did that sneak up on me? I’m not ready!! Oddly, though my mileage is down from last year, my long runs have drastically improved so at least something is working. Finding the shiny, right? That said, it’s time to bring some speed work back into play. Oh crap, that sounds scary.

How was your week?

Anyone race over the weekend?

Ever almost fall in a public place?

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!