Tag: rest

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?

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The SF Marathon Week 17 Training Recap

17 down, 1 to go. I’m trying not to dwell on that.

This was the first week that I fully embraced the taper. Some might say I took it too far. 😛 I guess there really is a way to run less when training. I didn’t mean to have such an ummm- “relaxed” week it just kind of happened.

The week started off rough. I got little to no sleep on Sunday night and almost called in. good thing I didn’t as my boss wasn’t feeling well either and didn’t make it in. Then when I finally did make it into work, I was greeted by the news that my fish had died. Can you be done with the week by 8:20 on a Monday? Work was crazy from that point forward all week.

Monday- Rest. After 13 miles on Sunday and crap sleep, I was fried. Throw in the work day from hell and I was done.

Tuesday- Rest. I thought about running, I really did but I was still feeling kind of foggy. Besides, I had plenty of time during the rest of the week right?

Wednesday- ~~Run~~– Fall Out Boy!!!!! Running was the plan but when you are given the opportunity to see one of your favorite bands for the cost of only 2 drinks- you take it! So I made my trip to the fair a little sooner than planned. Both the funnel cake and the concert were amazing. 😃😃 They played all the songs I wanted them too and a few more.

Thursday- Rest. I took my gym bag to work. Even though I was still super tired I was planning on running. I really was but once again I allowed my family to text-coerce me into going to dinner with them. Yum.

Friday- 4 miles. Holy crap, I ran on a Friday! I didn’t get home until 7 but I was out the door fairly quick. After 4 days off, I was kind of worried my legs wouldn’t remember what to do. They did! It was slow and still very warm but it was nice to get moving.

Saturday- Rest. Damn, I’m really good at this rest thing aren’t I? I wasn’t completely sloth like though. I headed down to SLO and did a bit of shopping. That counts as moving the legs, right?

Sunday- 9 miles. I headed out around 8 but I should have headed out sooner. It was way hotter than I would have liked. I packed my Camelbak with more supplies than I needed and filled it with water. I knew I didn’t need all of it but I wanted to practice carrying the weight. The run was hot and slow and my neck was a little sore after it. I was a nasty, sweaty mess. Whose idea was it to train in the summer?

Shouldn’t I be feeling at least a little more fit these days? Every run just seems so damn hard. The smallest thing seems to trigger my asthma and I am freaking out. But let’s save all the drama for another post, ok?

How was your week?

Seen any good concerts lately?

Tell me something shiny!

The SF Marathon Week 16 Training

I just had to look up what week I was in, it’s all starting to blur. 😛

The head games have multiplied…the race is so close and unfortunately my last few weeks of running have not been confidence building. More like the exact opposite. I felt pretty damn good after my 20 miler a few weeks ago. I haven’t since. I’m trying to tell myself that it’s all part of training but I hurt and I am tired and I just… I don’t know.

Monday- Rest. I had a few vacation days from work and it was so nice to have no alarm to set. I really wanted to sleep in but I woke up a little before 8. Grr. However, I must have slept soundly- I woke up with a dead arm. Guess I hadn’t moved from the first position I fell asleep in.

Tuesday- 7.12 miles. Birthday miles!!! Another day off too. I was torn what to run today. I know some people like to run their birthday but let’s be real, there was no way I was running 35 miles or kilometers. 35 minutes seemed too short and 3.5 miles seemed like a cop out. So instead I ran the day. It slow and hot but it was fun. I ran to the high school where my mother was having tennis practice. I then dragged her along to a local burger place to get my free burger!!! The little things excite me.

Wednesday- Rest. Back to work. They bought me donuts!

Thursday- 3.75 miles. Talk about slow! I think all the over indulging of the past few days caught up with me, I did not feel well. Plus, I decided that until the marathon, I should probably wear flats. I forgot how sore that would make me. Ouch!

Friday- Rest. I still felt off, I think I found my sugar intake limit. Rough. A new toy came in the mail though.

Saturday- Rest. Sensing a pattern here? After feeling poorly for 2 days, I chose sleep over running. After a few errands, I just had a low key evening. Plus, I was sucked into streaming Stranger Things on Netflix. So good.

Sunday- 13.1 miles. Dress rehearsal. My last long run of training. Plan ( what plan) called for 12, I wanted 16. Yes, I know that’s stupid. I was also testing a few things out this run. When I was shopping in Santa Barbara last weekend, I picked up a new Lululemon skirt for race day. I also recently ordered a new hydration vest as well. I’ve never been a huge fan of them but I need to be able to carry more water than just my handheld. So this long run was a test of all that.

Good lord, it was rough. It took my legs 4.5 miles to warm up. My lungs wanted no part in running. I probably should have tested the hose on the hydration pack before running. I choked twice. My new skirt rode up in very uncomfortable ways and yet also migrated down. That shouldn’t be possible?! I just kept moving forward. I hit 13.1 and called it for the day. Called my mom for a pick up as I was 4 miles from home and went for Chipotle. I really need to stop eating when I’m stressed.

24 miles for the week. Bring on taper. Even though part of me is excited for no long run next week, I feel like I haven’t done enough to prepare. The voices in my head are getting louder. But, this is the best week to quiet them. It’s fair time!!!!! It’s time for my yearly indulgence in a funnel cake. Hopefully, I’ve detoxed enough from birthday cake/ donuts to enjoy it. I look forward to a funnel cake and pretzel all year long until fair time. 😛

So here’s to week 17- another week in flats, even fewer miles and a funnel cake at the end.

How was your week? Do anything fun?

Do you have a dress rehearsal run?

What’s your favorite fair food?

The SF Marathon Training Week 13

13 weeks in and the title got a little shorter. 😛

After my last post, this recap may be a little boring. But I was so excited about my 20 miler that I just had to share it. Thanks for all your thoughts! So let’s see how the rest of week 13 went.

Monday- 4 miles. Home town was a comfortable 106 so I sucked it up and ran in work town. I love the views there but feel so awkward. I don’t know why I am so concerned for customers to see me. I kept the pace nice and easy but it took me 3 miles to warm up. My last mile felt the best which was funny as it was all uphill.

Tuesday- Rest. I’m somewhat sticking to a day on followed by a day off running plan as it seems to keep my shins less aggravated. Plus a rest day meant that I could participate in BibChat- my first as a BibRave Pro! 😃 😃 I’m looking forward to learning more and participating with BibRave.

Wednesday- 4 miles. I’m sensing a pattern here. I got off work early since I had to work Saturday. Home town was still an oven so I headed to a new path in work town. It kind of rocked. I still felt super uncomfortable but I am going to work on pushing those limits.

Thursday-Rest. I actually wanted to try a few miles to break in my new shoes but it didn’t happen. I had an eye appointment at the end of the day and the dilation messes with my eyes. I already have issues with too much brightness, even sunglasses weren’t enough protection post appointment. I stayed in a dark room until they calmed down. It wasn’t entirely a waste though. I spent some time working on the blog. The SLO milestone was still there- oops. And now I have a discount page!

Friday- Rest day. I worked the late shift so I tried to sleep a little later in preparation for the weekend’s plans. Wishful thinking, right?

Saturday- Rest. Again, seriously? This was intentional. I knew I was planning a huge (for me) long run on Sunday so I was hoping to rest my legs. I worked in the morning but things went well so we were able to get out on time. I ran a few errands, rested the remainder of the day and hydrated like it was my job. I also probably ate all the wrong things, oops.

Sunday- 20 miles. Hell yeah!! I am still riding high on this one. I actually did it, woo hoo! You can read all about that here.

28 miles for the week. Could have been better but could have been worse too. This week’s focus was on the long run and I would say mission accomplished. Now if I could just stop talking about it. 😛 Sorry!

Food wise, things have been a little rough. I would say I am around 40/60 right now. My nighttime snacking has gotten a little out of control. Oops. I really need to get a handle on that. I say as I eat a cinnamon bear…or 3.

How’s your weather?

What candy is your weakness?

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?