Tag: race

Week 13 Recap- Hell Yeah

13 out of 17 done! Hmm, my math seems off, I may have to check race day again. Not that I would complain about an extra week right now, though. 🙂

Monday- 9.35 miles bike

My neck was still feeling sore and stiff from Friday’s run in so I opted to not run that day. Instead I headed home and got on the bike. I’ve been testing out the resistance workouts on the bike and so far I like them. I was also thankful that I bought a recumbent- it made things easier on my neck. 🙂

Tuesday- Rest

My stomach was a total asshat all day so I ended up taking a rest day. The night before I had indulged in some candy and while I knew I was probably going to regret it, I didn’t think it would be that bad. Did you know sour straws were made of wheat? I had no idea! While I don’t necessarily have a wheat sensitivity, my stomach has never been too fond of it. Combine that with sugar and ouch. Don’t think I will crave candy for a while though.Wednesday- 3.2 miles

This run was thisclose to not happening. After a rough run on Sunday and 2 days off, I left work looking forward to running. Somehow, I drove past the lake without realizing it. Oops. Ok, I would head to home town. I stopped at Target along the way to pick up some prescriptions. Since I was getting a later start, I bypassed the river path and figured I would run from my old work spot again. Except there was road construction everywhere. Seriously?! It was almost 7pm and a primarily resident area. I was so close to just bailing but I had said I needed to get out of my own way, right? So I ended up parking at the bottom of my driveway and squeezing in a few miles before dark. I even saw one mile in the 9 min range. Sweet.

Thursday- Rest

Since I had a race on Sunday, I had a crazy idea of getting my long run done today. However, work had other plans. We were 45 minutes late getting out of work. By the time I would have changed and headed back to town, I wouldn’t have enough daylight even for 3 miles. Seriously, when did the days get shorter? I thought about the gym but Thursdays are pretty busy and I didn’t think hogging a treadmill for 2 hours would go over so well. Plus I wasn’t too fond of the idea of 2 hours on a treadmill. 😝

Friday- 10.1 Miles- Hell Yeah!

Confession- I ate a donut. 🍩 And it was awesome. Curious thing- so was my run. I worked the early shift so I was optimistic for a long run after work. Being Friday and a busy day at work though, I was doubtful of my follow through. I didn’t even think about the Labor Day traffic until I was on my way to the river path to run. Crap. I wanted 10 but decided 8 would be fine to if traffic was too crazy.I had woken the night before with a horrible charlie horse and I had felt it all day. I walked the first 3/4 of a mile just to make sure it wasn’t going to be a problem. Things felt good when I started running, better than they have in months. I told myself not to get cocky, I was only in mile 2! My goal was just run a nice comfortable pace and maintain it as long as I could. Which, let’s be honest, these days that is about 3 minutes. However, I just kept running, my legs felt good, my breathing wasn’t labored at all and things felt great! I had a lollipop route planned that I thought would put me around 8 miles when done. My math was so wrong. I figured it out around 4.5 when I hit a point in the route that I thought would have been 6.5. Oops. I had to decide if I wanted to go back up for another loop and hit 10 or head down and circle the river bed trail until I hit 8. I was still feeling good so I headed back up the hill for another loop.

I never really looked at my pace on my Garmin, I only recall seeing it once during mile 5 and it showing my ave pace in the 9’s. Slow down! Things were going well, I didn’t want to mess things up! 10 miles completed just as the sun was fading. 10 awesome miles. I ran the whole damn thing not counting the warm up and it felt awesome! I only started to feel sore for miles 9 and 10. Which was to be expected as this was my longest run in over a month but I still managed to pick up the pace a bit there too. In full disclosure- I admit that while I never walked or intentionally took a break, I did hit 5 or 6 stop lights. I was so freakin’ excited by this run. I was still smiling about it on Saturday. That one run will get me through another 2-3 months of crap runs. 😃😃

Saturday- 6 miles bike

I didn’t want to run since I had a race the next morning so I hopped on the bike. I kept things easy as I was a little sore from the previous day’s run. I also headed down to SLO to pick up my race packet so I would have one less thing to worry about on race morning. I missed the shirt deadline so this was a very small packet. I was kind of really worried about this race. I haven’t raced a 5K since July 2014 and I wasn’t sure I was even in 5K shape.Sunday- Central Coast Cancer Challenge 5K

Argh, nerves. After all you can’t have 2 good runs in a week right? Recap in next post. Spoilers on Instagram. 😃Overall, this was the best training week I’ve had in a long time. Like since April. While my mileage didn’t increase I finally feel like I put in 3 quality work outs, oh wait, I cross trained too- 5 work outs! Woo hoo!!! I also followed through with a plan and pulled off my long run before the weekend. Which for September I may have to do more often. Unfortunately, Fridays won’t be an option going forward. With my boss gone, I will be working open to close, so that will fill up most of Friday. So time to do some thinking!

Paleo- B

Overall I made better choices last week, candy and doughnut aside. I have zero guilt about that doughnut though, I give it partial credit for my run on Friday. 😊 My weakness right now is these chips-

Since I won’t be able to leave the building while my boss is gone I am hoping to use that time as a way to make me stop eating them. I still need healthier dinners though. I did enjoy my pizza cheat on Wednesday and it was awesome. 😉

This week will be tight, with work and the Avocado Margarita Festival but I am hoping to get a solid week of work outs in. The heat wave coming in is concerning. Triple digits are predicted for all week. Last week’s cooler weather was just a tease. I may have to be a little Thomas this week- ” I think I can, I think I can”.

How was your week? Is the weather cooling down in your neck of the woods?

How was your Labor Day? Anyone else race?

Do you have a snack food you just can’t stop eating?

Week of Woe

I have a race tomorrow. A 10K. How did that happen?

It’s not that I forgot about it, just that it somehow snuck up on me. I thought I had another few weeks. But I don’t. I feel woefully unprepared for this race. Not just because I still haven’t upped my mileage but my head is just not in the game. At all. I considered downgrading to the 5K at packet pick up today. This coming from the person who completed a 5K after a 10K with serious asthma complications. But let’s back up.

Monday– I knew I wasn’t going to be running after work but it was odd not taking my gym bag. I had a meeting after work about a fall race so the evening was still spent talking about running. 🙂 Of course, as I was driving home I was jealous of all the people out running. Tuesday– Headed out after work for an easy run. My legs felt like lead. I tried out a new interval setting for my runs. I always take a walk break at some point each mile so I decided to try 4:30 run/ :30 walk intervals. I was curious to see how I felt. My easy runs never seem to feel that easy, so I was curious if this would help. I didn’t really notice a difference. I ran 3.5 miles with an average pace of 10:14. Which would have been fine if the splits hadn’t looked like this- 11:40, 9:51, 9:30. Wednesday– National Running Day! I was planning on running anyways but by days end I really needed to run. For the past month, I feel like I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don’t have to wait anymore, it drop kicked me. But it happened, so now I can build from here and move on. I made it through the day and headed to the lake for an easy 5K. 11:44, 10:17, 9:27. All over the place but pace wasn’t the goal, quiet thoughts were. I also stopped along the way to visit with lake cat. 🙂Thursday– I really had planned on running. The weather was odd all day and just kept getting grey-er and grey-er. The wind had increased as well. I changed into my running clothes and headed north, hoping to drive out of the grey. An upside to commuting is that I have multiple locations along the way to run. The sun came out a bit along the way but the wind increased. By the time I hit home town, the wind was 20+ mph and my head was not mentally wiling to do that. Rest day instead.

Friday– National Donut Day! My boss was nice enough to pick up donuts on her way in and you better believe I partook. I had 2. 🙂 Both were equally amazing. I had planned for the 2 all week, and my carb choices were on point all week, so I had zero guilt with either donut. Plus, don’t donuts have magical healing powers? And as an added bonus, I got to leave work shortly after 5, so it was only a 10 hour day. Woo hoo!Today- Instead of running, I headed down to SLO to pick up my packet for the race tomorrow. I had received an email that said this was their largest year yet with well over 500 runners and I knew that race morning could be more than chaotic. Parking!!! Packets could be picked up early at Left Lane Sports in SLO, so I decided it was worth the drive down. Plus, I’ll never turn down Firestone for lunch. 🙂 I returned home in time to make my hair appointment. I loved the cut I got in February but it had grown a little too long, so it needed to be chopped. I tried to take a before and after picture but I am crap at selfies. 🙂

Which brings me to tomorrow’s race. Honestly my head has been elsewhere all week. 6 miles seems so very far. My only goals are to finish and have fun. I ran this race 2 years ago, so I know it is lots of loops and turns throughout the vineyard. I am probably going to wear my trail shoes. It also has a start time of 8:00 and is quite a drive from home, so it will be an early morning. I am hoping it won’t be too cold. This has been the oddest May/ June weather.

Who raced today? Racing Sunday?

Advice for when your pride gets punched?

Did you indulge in donut day? How was your week?

10K Thursday

10K’s and I have a rough relationship. 4 years ago today, I lined up at the start of my 1st 10k. It was my third race, I had previously run a 5k and a half marathon. Having run a half, I figured how bad could a 10k be? Umm, yeah. I actually had this post planned this week without realizing the date. Timehop can be so helpful sometimes. Or eerily psychic.I am smiling in this picture but this race was rough. I had planned on running it withNikeC but she was so much faster than I was. My training at that point was best described as non-existent. She pulled ahead of me fairly quickly. I don’t remembermuch other than I walked a lot and generally felt exhausted. At one point during an out and back portion, I passedNikeC on her way back and she cheered me on. I probably grimaced. She texted me a few moments later to let me know I wasn’t last. At that time in my racing, I was obsessed with not being last. So I hung on to the finish. I actually finished that race in the time goal that I set for myself -1:12 but was so disappointed. For some reason it made me feel defeated and irritated. I couldn’t understand how I had finished 13.1 miles 2 months previous. I felt fried. I think I took the next 2-3 months off- zero running. Looking back I am not even sure why, but that feeling stayed with me for a long time.

Don't I look ready to race? Ha! Pre-Talley — Don’t I look ready to race? Ha! Pre-Talley

A long time. That first 10K was May of 2011. My next 10K was June 2013. Every time I saw a possible 10k race before that, I thought hell no. I finally decided to try another one, granted getting a comped entry helped. 🙂 So early one June morning, I headed out to Talley Vineyard for attempt #2. I told myself anything around 1:05 would make me happy. Right before the start, my mother dared me to break an hour. The incentive? $50.00. I laughed. I also didn’t anticipate that running in a vineyard was more like trail running and I was not prepared for that. That said, I crossed the finish line in 59:11. Hell yeah!

I ran 3 more 10K’s in 2013- 57:17, 55:57, 56:21. I began to think I liked 10K’s. A little less crazy than a 5K but only half as long as a half marathon. I thought it could be my new favorite distance. I went into 2014 with this mindset. First up was the Heart & Sole’s 10K– 55:40. This still stands as my PR but it was rough. 5 of the 6 miles, I felt like my achilles was going to snap. I even stopped to stretch it out at one point. It hurt. Next up was Bands on the Run– 59:28. The race where I phoned it in. I was mentally not there and it felt rough. I also hadn’t put it together yet that humidity triggered my asthma and with a race on the beach you get lots of humidity. Oops. Then there was the disaster that was the HOB Fun Run 10K– 1:08:03. That September when I finally admitted I had to back off racing because my system just wasn’t tolerating it. Stupid stomach. So out of 7 10K’s run, 4 have been less than stellar experiences. Where am I going with this? This Saturday, I am running Bands on the Run again. I haven’t really raced a 10K since Heart & Soles’ and I don’t think this will be a real race. I have no idea what time to even shoot for. I am hoping to use this as a tune up for next month when I run Talley again. But I don’t want to phone it in either. The course covers pavement, the high school track, a dirt trail, soft pack dune sand and hard pack wet sand. I don’t think I could PR it even if I was in tip-top shape. That damn dune sand takes a lot out of you. 🙂 And that’s ok, I want to enjoy the scenery and the music this year and not feel frustrated with myself. That said, :59 and below would be awesome but we’ll see.

This popped up today too, is the world trying to tell me something?

Speaking of the beach, I’ve run 4 races on the beach but this time I have shoe options. So what do you think? My normal shoes, trail shoes or my lighter weight pair of shoes?

Thoughts on 10K’s? What’s your favorite distance?

Anyone racing this weekend?

2015 Firehouse 5K -Recap

After 3 years of running this race, I can say with absolute certainty that moving my long run to Thursday was the best decision ever. Not just because it turned out to be a great run but because per usual, I feel a little broken after this race. Yesterday’s easy, hoped for 6 turned into a slow, limping crawl for 4 miles. But I still love this race! 🙂The race touts itself as the toughest 5K in the county. Not sure if that’s true but it’s the toughest 5K I have run. So of course that means I have had to run it 3 years in a row. The course starts at the firehouse then runs .5 mile on the street before hitting the trails and heading up for 2 miles before heading back to the street and returning to the firehouse.

My mom and I were planning on spending the day in SLO afterwards so we headed out in the morning. I had picked up my packet the day before and parking was a breeze. We’ve parked in the same spot the last 3 years. 🙂 She stayed in the car where it was warm and I headed to the start line. The morning was kind of chilly so I wore a long sleeved layer over my tank. I would later regret that. A lot. I ran into an old coworker so we chatted for a bit. The starting line is under a large flag hanging from the ladder truck and the mayor blows the truck horn to start the race. I was super relaxed going into this race and that may have given me some problems. I started way too far back in the pack and had trouble getting out of a cluster in the beginning. The mountain starts with a series of switchbacks on the trail that usually slows to a single file walk. I was prepared for this but not for how crowded it was farther back. I passed people when I could but was hung up a few times. Once out of the switchbacks we had more single file climbing to do. The top is kind of a false summit so after reaching the top, there was still a little more up. I finally got past a few people and was looking forward to cranking it on the way down. I love running down a mountain. 🙂

But I got hung up again! I had to bob and weave to get around people and it just took longer. 😦 I ran past a teenage boy who I thought was going to fall off the side of the trail, he was wobbling so much. I started to wonder if I was gonna have to help him. Once past him, I ran on down to the bottom and back up another hill. Once again, I was stuck. I was behind another teenage boy who had no concept of pacing himself. He would haul ass for 30 feet and then just stop. Every time I got past him, he would sprint to pass me and then just stop. Finally I just sprinted past him and kept going. We had one last trail downhill and I was able to pass a few more people. I was sucking air, seriously thirsty and so hot. I pushed for the last .5 mile and crossed back under the big flag. First 5K of the year done!Apparently I should have pushed a little harder, I finished in 33:56. My slowest time on this course. Waah. I said I was relaxed but that still stung a bit. Oh well, I still love this course and careening downhill so it was an awesome morning! Starting so far back and getting hung up a few times probably contributed to the extra time but in reality it was only a minute off my best outing on that course. The race is always well staffed and has volunteers at every point making sure no one makes a wrong turn. Other than some interesting trail etiquette I observed, I only had one issue with the race this year. Water. Or lack thereof. In the past 2 years, there was a water station at the junction where the road meets the trail. You would pass it on the way in and on the way back out. It wasn’t there this year and it hadn’t been mentioned anywhere. I ran without water since I thought it would be there. Boo.

All in all, I still love this race. Even though, it still hurts to move today. My calves are pissed. There was no way I was able to do my long run yesterday. Knowing that I had already done it was kind of awesome. 🙂

Ever run a trail race? Or a race without aid stations?

How do you get past people who just don’t want to move?

January Recap

How is it 4 days into February already?! I am not ready for that!

Backtracking to January- well it started great and then derailed. I rang in the New Year and new month with a great 10 mile run. I was ready to get to my training and get started on that 1000 mile goal for 2015. I was doing great up until January 8. Then the sickness hit. I took 11 days off. 11?! That hurt both my training and my miles. According to Smash Run, I ran 10 days in January- 10. That’s 21 days off. Ouch. So with that in mind, I suppose the below number is actually a good thing- 🙂

So 68 miles? Not too bad. January included one race- Spooner’s Cove 25K. My farthest race/ run to date and the most time I’ve spent on my feet outside of working at Taco Bell. Just kidding. However, with the way that my runs were so spaced out, I am not sure how well they added to base building.

As for some of my other goals? Well, socializing didn’t happen because well, who wants to hang when you are contagious? And I finished one book. One of the 4 I started. I did read your blogs and some fanfic online but that last bit doesn’t count. January did have some shiny though- sorry- still excited.So now on to February. The original plan was to run easy/ rest this first week of February and then get to work on speed. My spring goal race is SLO and it is 11 weeks out now. I admit I am nervous about breaking 2. Part of me doesn’t think I can and the other part thinks I need to get out of my own way. Luckily my training plan has me easing back into things the next two weeks so that’s a little comforting. Oh and for added incentive- I received this shiny news in my email this morning-

Runners take their finisher medals seriously because it is a tangible badge-of-honor and proof of their accomplishment. The 2015 finisher medal with the barn and windmill highlights our local rural heritage, and like competing a marathon or half-marathon, it represents hard work and tradition,” said Heather Hellman, Event Director. “Our medals are unique and we change it every year, so they become very collectible. On race day, we look forward to placing our 2015 medals around the necks of all our proud finishers so they can take a little piece of San Luis Obispo home with them.” Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-san-luis-obispo-marathon-half-marathon-5k-april-24-26-registration-10056923529

That was just the kick in the pants I needed! Plus I’ve kind of always loved old barns, so I think it’s kind of awesome! The email helped get me out the door today for the baby speed work that was on my training plan. Woo hoo! Let’s see if I can keep this motivation going!

And on the socializing front, ~~my friend talked me into~~ I signed up for a craft swap online. What the hell was I thinking? Oh yeah, I heard Harry Potter and signed up. However I have the crafting skill of Longbottom (nerd moment!!) so I feel sorry for my partner. Fingers crossed!

How has your February started?

Are you crafty? Help!!

What’s your shiny/ dull for the week so far?