Tag: new shoes

San Francisco Marathon Training Week 12

Seriously, that’s a long title. Oof.

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!

How was your week?

Bought any new gear lately?

What are you watching?

The Jury’s Still Out

Before I get to the boring medical stuff, how’s this for a roadblock-

That thing is huge!   And was standing 2 weeks ago.   Wonder when that came down.

Why do I hope for answers from a doctors appointment when those have been so rare in the past? Particularly from this doctor. The only time I have ever seen him show any kind of emotion or urgency was when I was attacked by a dog a few years ago. Anyways, after a scheduling headache last week, I was able to see my doctor on Monday. He ordered a chest x-ray and some blood work and gave me a snazzy new inhaler to try. Instead of a rescue inhaler, it’s a daily use inhaler. Boo, I’m so over medications. My medicine drawer is looking a little crowded. But, I would like to run without gasping for air. Also, a rush at work shouldn’t leave me feeling winded. So hopefully these tests will shine at least a little light on what’s been going on.

That being said, I had a pretty good run on Tuesday. I took the Nike Free RN’s for another little test spin. I set out to run super slow. I was hoping I could maintain a slow, easy pace without any walk breaks. I was running from work so I was a little concerned about the humidity but I was hoping a nice and sloooow pace would keep my breathing under control. This route is not conducive to a slow start though-

I kept my pace calm and just kept trucking. I was feeling ok and enjoying the sunset on the ocean. I was also debating if I wanted to run 3 or 4 miles. I had gotten out of work a little later so the sun was setting quickly. I had remembered my flashlight though and I had my blinky lights on my belt. I love the turn around point for the 4 mile route but thought 3 might be the better idea as the return to my car is always slower. I was feeling sluggish but ok and was going to push for 4 when the roadblock pictured up top put a stop to that. Boo. I never quite realized how damn big the trees in the eucalyptus grove were before. I’m glad I wasn’t running when it came down!

I made it back to my car just before total darkness fell. One bonus about starting so slow? I negative split this route for the first time ever! #findtheshiny right?

How has your week been going?

Ever run into a roadblock like that?

Week 7 Training Recap

Upcoming Races– SLO Marathon- Half

Focus– Recovery

This will be a quick recap. This week shaped up a little fluffier than planned. Not a lot of exercise but eating like I ran a marathon. Or 2. Oddly, I was fine during race weekend and even Disneyland. It wasn’t until Tuesday that I went off the rails. A post race week combined with hormones = #eatallthethings.

Monday- Disneyland!! According to my Up band, we walked around 7 miles that day. Not too bad. My legs held up pretty well, I didn’t really feel sore from Surf City but there were moments my mother left me in the dust. Mostly going up, walking up to Super Hero HQ was a little rough.😁

Tuesday- Rest My chest was hurting pretty badly on Tuesday. I had the day off and thought about riding the bike or going for a short run but decided to pass on it. Instead I caught up on all the laundry from the weekend and worked on some computer issues that I had been having. The computer is fixed but I want to throw my printer out the window.

Wednesday- Rest Back at work and I had a meeting a few towns south in the morning. I kind of feel like I spent the day driving all over the county, so it was a planned rest day. Plus my chest was still sore.

Thursday- 12 miles stationary I had packed my running gear and was looking to try for a short run after work. I still felt a little bruised but nothing like the past few days. However a dense marine layer rolled in around closing time so I took it as as a sign to not push my lungs. I headed home for the bike instead.

Friday- Rest Like always. 😛

Saturday- Shoes! With spring races on the horizon and big plans for the summer, I need to figure out my shoe situation. While my Pure Flow’s aren’t making me bleed anymore, they are not making my feet happy either. My left foot in particular. With that in mind, I headed down to SLO for a little bit of shopping and ended up at the Running Warehouse. Uh oh. It was busy but someone was able to help me fairly quickly. I’m horrible because I don’t remember his name! After explaining all the issues I had been having lately, he brought out 3 pairs of shoes for me to try- New Balance Vazee Pace, Saucony Kinvara 6 and the Pure Flow 5’s.

The New Balance felt great when I was sitting but horrible once I stood up and walked around. The Kinvara’s were super snug. I didn’t want to go up a size because I regret it every time I do. The newer Pure Flow’s were odd. They are firmer than they used to be. I didn’t feel any pinching in the heel and the arch support felt ok but the tongue was ridiculous! It’s harder now so it felt like a piece of plastic digging into my ankle. What is with that?! Based on what I liked and didn’t like, he then brought out a pair of Brooks Launch 3’s. They felt the best out everything but they still felt like a lot of shoe. I’ve really liked the lower heel- toe drop of the Pure Flow 4’s and the smaller foot print of the toe box. He then brought out a pair of Nike’s- the Free Run Distance. Say what?

I’ve tried on numerous pairs of Nike’s over the years and hated every single one. Which is odd since all my tennis shoes were Nike’s. I was predisposed to hate this pair, then I put it on. Holy crap, it felt like a slipper. Snug but not tight and with a 4mm drop. Now, it felt great in the store but running could be a different story. But it was the best fit and I ended up leaving with my first pair of Nike running shoes.

Oh and I had dvr’ed the marathon trials and watched them that night. How awesome was that? Shalane and Amy were amazing and the perfect example of #runningrelationshipgoals.

Sunday- 6 miles First run in a week and it was rough. I was hoping that all the extra rest would have helped my lungs but not so much. My training plan called for a 90 minute progression run but I had mentally changed that to an easy 8 since I wasn’t feeling great since the race and hadn’t run. I started out the run in my new shoes but knew I might end up looping back to the house if they didn’t work. Usually I try to break in my shoes with 3-4 mile runs. My warm up walk was a little longer than usual and felt pretty good but running was hard. I was huffing and puffing a mile in. I wasn’t wheezing, it just felt like it was harder to get in a decent amount of air. I ran slowly and took regular walk breaks. I called it at 6, I didn’t have another 2 in me today. The shoes felt pretty good. I started the run with some soreness and twinging in my left knee but that’s been there since Thursday. It actually got better by the end of the run. They held up well today but I am cautious to see how they do once I run in them more.

So this week ended up being on the lazier side of recovery with only 2 workouts. But I am ok with that as I needed a wake up call to make me go to the doctor and Surf City was that call. My appointment is Monday and I am really hoping that it is something that can fixed fairly quickly. Fingers crossed! I am trying not to plan to far ahead into next week until I hear what he has to say.

How was your week?

Ever had to change your mind about a brand of shoes?

Did you watch the trials?

2015 HOB Fun Run 10K/ 5K

This was my 9th year participating in the HOB Fun Run. It was my 8th time volunteering and my 6th time running. Breaking it down even further- this would be my 6th time running the 5K and 3rd time running the 10K. Also the 3rd time running both races. As much fun as I have at this race, it’s also one of the most stressful. So many people I know! It kind of freaks me out. Throw in team shirts and you can’t even blend in anymore. 🙂

The Scene-

The race starts and ends downtown. I could walk to the start if I wanted to. I have yet to do that though. The course is a loop around the city park and down the main drag. The 10K is 2 loops and the 5K is one. It’s one of the few races I’ve ever run that is a completely closed course. A kids 1/2 mile race, a 75 yard dash and a diaper dash are also offered. It’s a race known for being flat, fast and still offers prize money. The baby who wins the diaper dash wins a washer and dryer.

The 10K started at 8, so I arrived a little before 7:45. I knew we were attempting a group photo with whoever was there before the 10k. C and C-hub were there- race buddies!!! I haven’t run a race with them since last year’s fun run. I miss my buddies. 😞 There were 6 of us for the first shots. After the standard shot, the race photographer decided he wanted one of the back of our shirts. It was the most awkward picture ever. It’s a total butt shot and I was thankful I was wearing a skirt. 😏 The plan was to race the 10K and just have fun running the 5k. I was still feeling my running funk so I had very basic goals for the 10K-

A- Sub 55- PR- I knew it wasn’t happening but I could dream right?
B- Sub 60
C- Better than last year’s blow up

10K- The one where I was beat by a 30lb dog.

30 seconds to the start I realized I left my water in my bag with my bib change for the 5k. Crap! C rocks, I texted her and she grabbed it and tossed it my way when I ran past. I felt like I started out too fast but I really didn’t. However it was my fastest mile of the race. My stupid headphones refused to play and then wouldn’t stay in my ears so I ran the first loop with them wrapped in my hand. I stayed steady and tried to increase my turn over but it wasn’t happening. I rounded the corner to finish lap 1 and was able to toss my headphones to C-hub. I also saw my time at the 5K mark- 28:something- ouch. Miles 1-3: 9:08, 9:23, 9:23

I tried to pick it up on the second loop but I just couldn’t find another gear. I never felt like I was running hard but I didn’t feel like I could run any faster either. It was odd but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a banner day so I was ok with how I was running. Seeing a less than 30lb dog with little legs outrun me was a little disheartening though. 😃 Seriously, the dog ran the entire 10K with his owner and didn’t even seem phased. Miles 3-6: 9:13, 9:40, 9:31

Finish- 58:54

Goal B successfully accomplished. Time for a quick bib change and the main group shot before the 5K.

5K-

C, C-hub and their daughter E were planning on run/ walking the 5K and I was going to join them. C and E bolted from the starting line leaving C-hub and I in the dust. We eventually caught up around .5 mile in when E need a walk break. I could tell C just wanted to bolt so I suggested she and C-hub dash off and E and I would follow along behind. I didn’t have to twist her arm. 😄

It was E’s first race so I let her set the pace. We ran when she wanted to and walked when she needed. There are 3 water stations along the course and you pass 2 of them twice so that means there are 5 water points for a 5K. This was needed as it was very warm morning. I made sure that E got water at each stop. At the second stop, I hung on to my water cup for some reason. That station didn’t have a trash can and I didn’t want to toss onto the clean street so I hung onto it. I’ve never done that before but it turned out to be a good thing. As we were coming up on the third water station I saw that no on was manning it anymore. Where did they go? There were about 100 runners behind us! Once at the table, I realized there were no cups but there was still water in the 5 gallon jugs. Good thing I held onto my cup! I had E hold the cup while I hefted the water. We were able to get water this way here and on the way back. We continued run/ walking until 1 block before the finish and then it was a sprint to the end. E hauled ass and finished strong! Woo hoo!

Finish- E-37:37/ Me- 37:39

We got our medals and headed for water. We also met back up with C and C-hub. They finished just over 30 minutes. Awesome! We chatted a bit while waiting for the kids races. Seriously the kids are so stinking cute when they run. Some of them were so enthusiastic they were literally kicking themselves in the butt. The 75 yard dash was broken into 3 heats since there were so many kids. Unfortunately I had to leave before I could see the diaper dash. 😦

Overall, it was a fun morning and a great way to see a bunch of people I don’t see on a regular basis. I miss my running buddies, hopefully it’s not another year until we race together again. 😃 Water station 3 snafu aside, it was a great race, and always runs smoothly. I’m looking forward to next year.

Week 11 Recap- Wait, what?

This was the kind of week that ran over me with a truck, backed up for more, then sped off into the night. Workout wise, the week actually started off pretty good, it was work life that was kicking me around. The I got sick and spent a lot of time sleeping. How come that is never as exciting as it sounds?

Monday- 4.3 miles

I was debating where to run when traffic made the choice for me. A fire started on the Cuesta grade Sunday and by Monday it had grown exponentially. It was heavily stressed that people find alternate routes home which sent them my way. I couldn’t even get on to the off ramp to change highways so I just took the back roads home. This was repeated for most of the week.

I was feeling nostalgic apparently and headed to my former work location and ran from there. Which is really just my home route backwards but it feels different for some reason. 😀 My calves were super tight for the first few miles of the run. I ended up stopping every so often to try and stretch them out. I hit a hill at the halfway point and alternated walking forwards and backwards up it. I wonder what the home owners thought when they looked out the window. 😋 Things finally felt like they popped into place a mile later. By then I was almost done. Soreness aside, my splits were good for an easy run and I felt good after the run too.

Tuesday- Rest

I didn’t get home until 8ish. I looked at the bike but nah.

Wednesday- 6 miles -intervals

I haven’t done speed work in a few weeks and I was feeling nervous. Since I couldn’t get to the lake path due to traffic, I headed to the gym. I figured the treadmill would help me maintain pace better anyways. Turns out I haven’t been to the gym in 182 days. 😁!!!!! They have a new system that tells you things like that now. Ouch.

The plan called for a warm up followed by 10 min @ HMP, 1 min recovery x3 then cool down. I knew I didn’t have that in me so I went back to a speed workout I skipped 2 weeks ago. Similar except only 8 min HMP x3. But yeah, that’s not what happened. What I did pull off was 6 min @ 9:13 pace, 2 min recovery x4 with warm up and cool down. Time wise, I hit the 24 minutes but my pace should have been 9:08. Still for my first attempt in 2+ weeks, I am calling it a win. It was also my longest run in my Pure Flow’s so far. Other than the general first mile achiness, they felt great. I always feel like it takes longer for me to find my stride on a treadmill. Anyone else have that issue?

Thursday- 7 miles stationary bike

I was feeling pretty good after Wednesday’s speed work but planned for a rest day. I was hoping I could maybe get my long run in on Friday so I wanted to stay off my feet. I started off the day feeling pretty good but things went south early in the morning. I started to feel light headed and nauseous and just exhausted. It only got worse as the day went on. I was supposed to attend a business mixer but just wasn’t feeling up to mingling. I was hoping I could sweat it out on the bike. I also figured if it made me worse, it was easy to quit since I owned the bike. 😃 I didn’t feel worse so that’s a plus right?

Friday- Rest

Or not. I still felt crappy on Friday. A coworker was feeling poorly too so we thought we were fighting a bug of some sort. I was drinking Airborne and Vitamin C but no luck. I didn’t even make it through the day at work. It takes a lot for me to leave but I just couldn’t do it. I went home and crashed, taking a 4 hour nap. Is it still a nap if it’s dark when you wake up?

Saturday- Rest

I had some errands to do in SLO and those hurt. I was so tired and just beat. Running was not happening. The furniture did finally get rearranged. Now, there should be no way I can run into the bike in the dark. I’m sure I’ll find a way though. 😃

Sunday- 5.5 miles Stationary bike

Grrr. I had a company picnic for most of the day so I needed to run in the morning. Yeah, no. The alarm went off, I checked the temp and saw 90% humidity. My lungs were having none of that. When did I become such a baby? I headed south for the company picnic. Hours of sun and sand later, and I was again exhausted. I didn’t even do anything! Watching the executives hula hoop was amusing though. It was around 100 when I got home and there was still Sunday dinner. Plus my gym closes early on the weekend so I figured a little time on the bike was better than nothing at all.

Overall, the week started pretty good and hit some speed bumps at the end. That said, it could have been worse, I still got in 4 workouts. Much better than it would have been without the bike. It seems like lately I have only been able to accomplish a long run or a speed workout during the week. One but not both, I really need to work on that.

Paleo- B-

I actually did really well until I got sick. I admit that something I always crave when sick is french fries. It’s my comfort food, something about the grease and salt make me feel better. Burger King happened on Thursday and In N Out on Friday. I do have to say that they didn’t taste as good as I remember. But that should help fight future cravings right? I got things back under control by Sunday. Tri tip and salad at the BBQ, I passed on the bread. I also really like subbing broccoli in for pasta when Sunday dinner involves pasta. Plus it’s super easy to steam and clean up so no extra work on my mom’s part since she’s in charge of Sunday dinner. 😉

This week has more testing for my current GI issues but it doesn’t seem very invasive so I am hoping to hit all my workouts. Fingers crossed! Plus I am attending an injury prevention seminar so that should be interesting. Now if people could just stop yelling at me, that would be awesome.

How was your week?

Does your company do annual BBQ’s or parties? Year’s ago we did formal ones, I kind of miss them.

Anyone else have some weird summer sickness?