Tag: race

Friday, Finally

Friday– oh you are so pretty.

It’s been a coffee and soda kind of week. This week has me like-

Tuesday for example- You know it’s going to be a rough day when you drop your brand new foundation bottle on the floor. The glass bottle. On a tile floor. I felt like I watched it in slow motion as it shattered. Yeah, that was fun.

Considering how stressed and ~~hormonal~~ crappy I’ve felt this week, I haven’t gone completely crazy with the food. But it’s cookie Friday and it’s the new bakery. I can’t decide if that is going to an uh-oh or a good thing.

Running has only been so so this week but I got it done. My right ankle is a little achy. Not cool. I think another pair of shoes and I need to break up. This is getting ridiculous. Odd aches aside, I’ve had some great scenery to enjoy.⬆️

I have a 5K on Saturday. I haven’t run a race in 2 months. I think I forgot how. I haven’t raced a 5k since September. I’m gonna hurt. Did I mention it’s up a mountain? And the forecast calls for rain? Rain on the mountain. Yay. Now I am glad it’s only 3 miles. But, in all honesty I love this race. This will be my 4th time running it. I need to remind myself of that when I can’t walk on Sunday. Or Monday. Maybe Tuesday.

How was your week?

Ever had the day where you should have just stayed in bed?

Bets on my ability to not eat all the cookies?

Stressed Out

A little venting can be good for your mental state, right?

While my statement last week about my long runs being more consistent was true, what wasn’t mentioned was all the failed long runs along the way. And they failed in spectacular ways. Like I don’t know how I ever call myself a runner ways. And I just don’t get it.

It’s not that I expect all runs to be sunshine and roses, I mean let’s be real here. There is just something about these runs that just punch me in the gut and leave me pissed off. So what is it?

The long runs where I fight my inherent laziness and get up in the morning have been pretty consistent. Slow but that’s intentional, it’s the main point behind 80/20. It’s the midweek long runs that are kicking my ass. I love getting my long run done before the weekend. Every month I work a minimum of one Saturday. That means I typically get a half day during the week. Yay for extra running time! I love getting the long run out of the way before the weekend; that way I only have a short run to fit in then I can be lazy the rest of the time. However, this year, all attempts have just sucked. Misery, straight up.

First, there was the slowest 10 miler ever in January. February saw the 5.5 mile blow up- because sitting on the ground at a busy street corner is so normal. Today- attempt number 3- 12 miles was the plan. Reality saw 7.5, painful and slow miles. Grrrr.

I was looking forward to today, I was so excited to leave work to run. It was predicted for the mid 70’s, so I was thinking shorts would be perfect. I’ve been sore and tight lately, so I also had compression socks on. On an odd note- I was tight like this last year at this time-I swear it’s like an allergy. My calves were painfully tight so I walked more of the first mile than usual. Mile 2 saw more of the same plus stopping to stretch out my calves a few times. They hurt but I was having trouble figuring out if they were hurting in a injury way or just more tightness. Less than 2 miles in and I was hot, tired, hurting and having troubles maintaining any sort of pace. I was walking more than running and felt like bailing. I considered it but decided that I was just stiff and sore and needed to get better at toughing out runs. By mile 5, I was pissed off and talking to myself, no way in hell was 12 miles happening.

I had 2+ miles to get to the car and slow running wasn’t getting me anywhere. So it might not have been the best idea but I ran fartleks back to the car. Oddly enough, I was holding goal half marathon pace for the same amount of time I had been running slowly before. The walk breaks felt better too. The only time things felt rough was when I looked at my watch and figured out I was running a sub 7 pace. Oops. Hello crazy, slow the hell down. Yeah, it was only like a minute and a half and slightly downhill but it was a good minute.

The last 2 miles helped wash the sting of the first 5ish off but I just don’t get it. Have I not adjusted to temps in the 70’s yet? I made sure to eat breakfast and a small early lunch. I usually run races on an empty stomach without fuel. Was it the food that threw everything off? All three of these horrible runs were run in shorts. I am so self-conscious in shorts right now- like I wonder if I should burn them all. Could that really make me so uncomfortable that I tank my runs? I don’t get it!!!! The more I stress about it, the more I freak out and the more the run sucks. It’s driving me crazy!

Do I forego any more weekday long run attempts? Do I get over my desire to not have to run long on the weekends I work and just do it? Do I just make the weeks I work on Saturday a cut back week? I can’t decide!

Also, I’ve been running slow for 3 months now and I feel like I am getting nowhere. You would think an 11:something pace would be something I could maintain by now but no. Do I keep putting in the slower miles? Do I change things up while I have the time before marathon training gets really real? Or did I just need to whine it out?

If made it through this- thank you!

What do you think?

Happy Friday!!

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!

Smart Sucks Sometimes

And the streak comes to an end. Waah. 😭😭

I called in sick on Monday. I don’t really remember doing it. When I woke at 1- 1 PM!- I panicked. I was late! Oh, wait, my phone shows that I both texted and called my boss. Oh ok, then. But really?! I called in sick?! To emphasize how rare that is- my boss told me she was proud of me for calling in sick. Proud. And I’m sad I’m no longer in the 200’s for accrued sick time.

Wednesday, I woke to find the room spinning. Boo. I still sound like an angry Minnie Mouse. I’ve made it to work since Tuesday but it’s been rough. Talking tires me out. And when I momentarily forget and try to sing along with my iPod while driving, it comes out more of a wheezy screech.

Combine all of that with a projected storm on race morning and even I can see the writing on the wall. I will not be running Wine Country this weekend. My streak stops at 5 years. My wine glass collection stalls at 4. This year’s medal will probably be awesome. I briefly considered trying to run the 5K instead but I’m not up for that kind of pain right now.😁

I have run this race post flu before. In the rain. It was my second half marathon. It was miserable, it made me want to quit running. I burst into tears around mile 10 and scared the crap out of a volunteer. But watching them pick up the mile markers while you are still on the course is pretty demoralizing. It still stands as my slowest half ever. It was also my first experience with an out and back. So not a fan. Thankfully, they changed the course the following year. Granted the new course included a beast of a hill at mile 12 but that’s ok. I mean beast- it climbs around 130 feet in less than 2/10 of a mile. The race itself has around 1000ft gain in elevation throughout. Ok, I’m making myself sad now.

So, here I am being smart. Smart sucks. This cold sucks. Boo.

Do you run the same race every year? Longest streak?

Should I be stupid?

How has your week gone?

Week 3 Training Recap

Upcoming Races- Castle to Coast 8.2
Surf City 13.1

After a week of being sick, this was a much better week. So let’s get to it!

Monday– 3.7 miles Ah, yes bloody mile Monday. That was fun.

Tuesday. 10.65 mile Stationary bike. As I am just getting back to riding the bike I meant to keep it short and easy. Oops. It’s back in a position where I can watch tv while I ride, apparently that makes a huge difference. 😝 I zoned out while being irritated with Pretty Little Liars. Why do I keep watching?

Wednesday– Rest-Doctor’s appointment #2 of the week. I ended up home earlier than normal and seriously considered a run but there just wasn’t enough daylight left. I thought about the gym but once home I just couldn’t bring myself to change and head back out.

Thursday– 3 miles I should have run on Wednesday. Thanks to hormones, I had had a horrible migraine all day. The last thing I wanted to do was head to the gym but I did. After everyone’s great tips on my last post, I was prepared with Vaseline, band-aids and an extra sock. The plan was to start with one and keeping trying all the options until I hopefully found one that worked. I also made my shoelaces as loose as they could be and still keep my shoes on. The Vaseline idea reminded me of something my grandmother used to do when she would go for a walk, so that is what I tried first. I kept it super slow and paused the treadmill every mile to check my ankles. Why is treadmill running so damn hard?! Other than a little twinge every now and then, the Vaseline seemed to do the job. I was concerned that I only tested it for 3 very slow miles but I also didn’t want to push my luck so close to race day. But 3 blood free miles were a win in my book.

Friday– Rest– like always. 😃 And doctor’s appointment #3.

Saturday– 8.2 miles- Castle to Coast I did about as well as I expected but more on that in my next post.

Sunday– Food and Talking…errr Rest. Blogger meet up!! I headed down to SLO to meet up with Ashley of RatherBeRunnin’ and Heather of SLOluckyruns. We met for brunch/ late breakfast and it was kind of awesome. 😝😝 I think the restaurant might have been a little miffed though. We talked for over 3 hours! But what do you expect when you get 3 runners/ bloggers at the same place at the same time? There was so much to talk about! Then I headed back home for a bit before heading back down to SLO with the family. It was my parents 35th wedding anniversary today and the brother and I treated them to dinner. 😄

Looking at it, I am calling it a pretty solid week. I still don’t feel 100% from that stupid cold last week (fell asleep almost every time I sat down) but I worked out 4 of the 7 days. I had hoped to ride the bike today but after sleeping in and then all of the socialness, I just ran out of time. Which is perfectly fine, don’t people trump miles? Moving forward I just want to keep working on building my base back up. Which will hopefully include 3 running days and 2 bike days.

How was your week?

Did anyone race? It seemed like a very race heavy weekend. 😏

Favorite breakfast food?