Tag: race week

San Jose- Ready or Not?

Disclaimer: I received an entry into Rock n Roll San Jose 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!

How is it race weekend already? It just can’t be.

Don’t get me wrong, I am excited but I am also in denial because I don’t feel ready. I missed a few runs and few miles along the way with this training plan. I did well with the first 8 weeks of cross training then stumbled for 3 weeks. This week has been strong again but is it enough? I’ve been feeling poorly for 2 weeks now and stressed at work. I haven’t run a half marathon since June and this is the longest race break I’ve had in years.

Ok, that sounds like I am freaking out. Maybe I am. Which is why I am reassessing that big goal I laid out in my first San Jose post. And that finishing time goal I claimed on Athlinks. I didn’t run enough flat. I have a lingering right leg issue. Work has become crazy (lost 2 employees in the last 3 weeks). I am not canceling my PR goal just pushing it back a few weeks.

So new plan- do what my legs and lungs want to do. Take in the sights of San Jose- all I have seen before is the airport. I am sure the city has more offer than that and what better way to see it than by running with a few thousand other people?

I love Rock n Roll races and what better way to shake the cobwebs loose than with some miles and good music along the way. And for once the race doesn’t start at the crack of dawn. Great news for a Slacker. 😛

So, here’s to a 4 day weekend (did I mention I took Friday off?) to decompress and run it all out.

Wish me luck!

Week 35:Upcoming Races-Rock n Roll San Jose Training Week 7

Upcoming Races-

SLO ULTRA 5K-9/2
Rock n Roll San Jose 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)-10/8
City to the Sea 13.1-10/14
Rock n Roll Los Angeles 13.1 (Thank you BibRave!)- 10/29
Monterey Bay Half Marathon (Thank you Bibrave!)- 11/12

So, I’m finally on the right week. Did anyone notice that I posted “week 32” 3 times? Haha, I really need to pay more attention when I copy and paste.

Last week was fairly uneventful outside of running which is fine by me. Plus this week is shaping up to be crazy so I needed a calm one.

This was a surprisingly solid training week. It had it’s ups and downs but when it came to sticking to the plan, it was pretty solid.

The plan called for a step back week with a 5K race instead of a long run. So it should have looked something like this- 4 mile run, 3 mile run, 5K race, maybe an extra easy run if I was feeling it and 4 Liift4 workouts.

Monday-3.1 miles
My legs do not like running the day after a long run. Not even a recovery run, my right leg and hip protest but running on Monday was fit my schedule. I kept it slow and easy and a little shorter than plan called for but I knew there was only so much my leg was going to put up with. That said, it was a decent few miles.

Tuesday- Liift4
I really meant to do this in the morning but nope. Another late night work out. We’re in the final 2 weeks of the challenge and my arms were shaking.

Wednesday- Rest
Oops. I meant to run but was easily distracted on the way home.

Thursday- 4.2 miles/ Liift4 legs
My hip was so stinkin’ sore. I’ve been trying to use my chair this week and I just can’t, it hurt my hip. Or aggravates my IT band. Whatever. By Thursday, my hip was pissed by 3 days of trying to make do. I had to stop and stretch it out various times throughout the run. I didn’t feel like things really loosened up until the middle of mile 3. By then I was done. Then at home I did the Liift4 leg workout not knowing what a sweat fest I was in for. 😛

Friday-Rest
After the brutal leg workout the day before and having a race the next day, I thought rest was the best choice. If you read Friday’s post, you know I wasn’t exactly stoked on the race but one of the upsides of the new location was that it was a 10 minute drive from work. So I hustled down on my lunch break to pick up my bib and shirt. Funny thing- a local runner I’ve met before was working packet pick up so I chatted for a moment but could tell that he had no idea who I was. Ha!

Saturday- SLO Ultra 5K
Race recap to come. I’ll just leave you with this-

Sunday- Liift4
I had hoped to add in that extra easy run but without giving away race details, I still wasn’t feeling quite right. I decided to just play by ear and see how things went and that ended up being the Liift4 workout late in the evening. I am fine with that.

10.7 miles for the week. Low but I did all the required workouts for the week. I missed a Liift4 workout but that was also deliberate- I tend to pass on the ones that are entirely HIIT because I end up breaking myself. Seriously. I cannot do a mountain climber without hurting myself- no matter how many modifications I make.

How was your week?

Week 31-Of Concerts and Poor Sleep

Upcoming Races-

Salinas Valley Half Marathon

Every time I think I have a handle on things, wham, curve ball. That’s life right? I don’t have a big opener this week so let’s get right to it!

Monday- 2.3 miles I think I got about an hour of sleep Sunday night. I was super tired after work but what else is new. I headed to the lake path because I wanted to at least get my new trail shoes dirty. That was the upside to the run. The downside was the 93* temp and the crazy high heart rate. I was practically crawling and couldn’t get it down so I made it a short one.

Tuesday- Rest Work ran late and I didn’t make it home until after 7.

Wednesday- AFI!!! One of my favorite bands came to town and I wasn’t missing that. The concert was awesome. It was a late night but it was awesome.

Thursday- 2.3 miles. I’m sensing a pattern here. Not sure if it’s a good one. 😛 I was so tired after work I was thisclose to just skipping my run. But I made myself change and headed for the river route. I ended up sticking entirely to the paved portions and keeping it short but it didn’t suck. I was glad I squeezed in a few miles. That was until I went to brush my teeth later and my left leg buckled… and then did it again. Something hurt right where the leg and hip connect. Umm, not cool.

Friday- Rest All the crappy sleep and long hours are catching up to me and I was a little slap happy at work. One coworker thought it was hilarious and the other said she was just going to back away slowly. My leg was still not happy but there wasn’t any more buckling.

Saturday- Salinas Valley Half Marathon That was an early morning. Race recap to come. 🙂

Sunday- Rest Serious rest. I slept in until almost 10. Well, kind of, I woke up a few times but refused to get out of bed. I thought about running in the afternoon but I took a long nap instead. Like passed out on the ground for almost 2 hours. Woke up, moved to a chair and fell asleep again. I decided to listen to what my body was shouting.

17.7 miles for the week. A run on Sunday would have put me over 20 but like I said my body was trying to tell me something. I know that part of my tiredness is stemming from work and part is coming from my bed. My bed has decided to die in the last month or so. I swear it went from fine to crap overnight. Sleeping has been rough. But a new bed is not exactly in the cards right now. Grrr.

How was your week?

Ever have an odd pain come out of nowhere?

Last concert you saw?

Week 44 Training Recap

Training for-

Paso Harvest Marathon 13.1
Golden Gate Half

So I started titling my weekly recaps like this back in January but took a little break during marathon training. The weekly numbers are starting to drag on me. I need figure out another way to do this. Good thing it’s almost 2017! Ouch, did I just say that?

This week saw me back on the dreadmill and it almost broke me. I don’t know if I can do that 2 nights a week until spring. I may have to get over my mountain lion fear. Well, and the fear of what’s hiding in the dark when you run at night. To that end, I bought a new pair of reflective leggings this week and I am hunting down all my blinking lights. I think I have them stashed in odd places. My flashlight also needs new batteries. Who said running was a cheap sport? 😛

Monday-2.3 miles The plan called for an easy 30 minute recovery run. Oh man, my calves were stiff. I walked more than I would have liked which meant I barely hit 3 miles in 30 minutes. Ouch. At least I was able to enjoy the view.

Tuesday- Rest I spent some time with my foam roller but probably not enough. I can’t remember if I did anything else. 😛

Wednesday- 4 miles Son of a treadmill. The plan was for a 7 mile run- some warm up and cool down with mile repeats at half marathon pace. Ha! I hate treadmills but I was trying to be optimistic. I couldn’t even pull off one mile at pace. My calves were tight and would not loosen up. I paused the treadmill so many times to try and stretch them out. At one point, I stretched so long the damn treadmill reset itself. I finally decided that I was doing more harm than good and called it. I was still pissed though so I cranked the incline to 7 and power walked it out. Things finally loosened up. So what, all my treadmill dates this winter will power walking at an incline?

Thursday- Rest I was still feeling sore from the day before so not much happened. I planned on jumping on the bike for a few miles but I didn’t. Oops.

Friday- Rest

Saturday- Rest Oops. I was supposed to do a 20-30 minute shakeout run. This also would have worked great with the Alzheimer’s Walk that I was supposed to participate in and yet neither happened. I took my car in for some tire work and planned on doing the shakeout run then except they moved at lightning pace and I did not have time. After a few errands, I headed to pick up my packet for the Harvest Half. I was nervous. This is the first time in 4 years that I haven’t volunteered to work it and it was the first time in 6 years that I was running it again. I ran the 5k years ago. This was also my first race with BibRave so I a little anxious.

They moved the expo into town this year and livened it up with a few vendor booths, some live music and a dinner in the park. I have to give them points for effort. There were only 2 vendors- Costco and a local gym. The tri tip smelled amazing though. I headed home to eat dinner and try to get a decent night’s sleep.

Sunday- Harvest Half To be continued…but ouch.

How was your week?

Any tips on making the treadmill less miserable?

Week 4- A Little Early

I am kind of liking these weekly recaps. I feel like they are helping keep me on track. Particularly this week, I ran the gamut of craving a run to feeling like doing nothing but stuffing food in my face. Yes, I am a stress eater. There were donuts involved this week. And those Sweet Potato Food Should Taste Good chips. Both so yummy but so not on the approved list of foods. 😦

I alternated between heels and flats all week but my legs are still pissed. I rarely get to sit while training and I am feeling it. I don’t think my legs ached this bad after my first half marathon. Then I just couldn’t sit down…or get up without help. 🙂 I normally stand the good majority of the day but would usually sit for about 2 hours through out the day. Now I just fall into the comfy chair exhausted on my lunch. Trainee #3 starts on Monday so I need to figure something out. Unfortunately running shoes are not an option.

Monday– Actual- 3.5 miles -12:13, 10:39, 10:13 and change

I had to do some rearranging this week, which meant a Monday run. Oof, that was hard. Monday running just seems harder. Plus I don’t think my legs appreciated running the day after my long run. I usually rest the following day. I tried to treat it like a recovery run and keep the pace easy but I was all over the place. I even wore compression socks since I knew I was sore. Truthfully, I wore them all day. I might have to do that more often until things calm down.

Tuesday- Rest

I had blood work planned for the morning. This was part of why I switched up my running days. I didn’t think they were going take a lot but I figured I better err on the side of caution. Ugh, I hate needles. I got to the lab at 7:04, they opened at 7. I was the 15th person in line. Seriously?! I was actually late to work.

Wednesday- Speed work- sort of

The plan called for a 25 min warm up followed by 3 minutes at HMP, 1 minute easy jog x5, then 16 min cool down. Sounds easy enough but I just wasn’t feeling it. As I drove north, I was trying to decide what to run and where to run it. My mom called and she wondered if I would head out with her. No speedwork-yay! So we headed out for a short 3 mile jaunt. That turned into 4+ for me with some random intervals. I was planning on taking it easy but then I decided to just run whatever I felt like. So I ended up up with really random speed intervals while I looped around and occasionally met back up with my mom but it was fun. 🙂

Thursday- Rest

Hmmm, I am sure I did something interesting this day but I can’t remember anything so I guess not? I know I posted this.

Friday- Rest

I was at work by 7:30. I am on vacation Monday and Tuesday so I wanted to make sure I did everything I needed to do before leaving. I was out a little after 5:30 and I though about running a few miles but I did all my weekend errands instead. One less stress this weekend right?

Saturday- Rest – more than likely.

I am torn between running or walking a couple miles as a shakeout for tomorrow or resting. My legs are still super sore and I can’t decide which one would be the smarter choice. I also need to decide exactly what shirt I am running in tomorrow. And I am procrastinating packing my change of clothes while I type this. For some reason, I am can’t decide what I am going to want to put on after tomorrow’s race. #decisionsdecisions Whatever it is, it needs to be comfy enough to get me through a day of walking and shopping. Ok, maybe hobbling and shopping. 🙂 I had helping making a new playlist though-

Sunday- Shoreline Half..and my birthday 🙂

To be continued…

Happy Saturday!!!

What do you like to do after a race?

How was your week?

Do you stand or sit at work?