Tag: shopping

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?

Surf City Week 1-Oops

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to start an abbreviated training plan last week. I had the previous 2 weeks off, what could go wrong? Oh, and last week was my first week re-attempting Atkins. This time on no soda. Weee!

Monday was a given rest day. I packed my running gear but I knew it wasn’t really going to happen. First day back at work and I slept horribly the night before. According to my UP, I slept for a measly 4 hours. Woo hoo. I knew the day was going to be busy just catching up on things. I only had a couple hundred emails- double yay. 😏

Tuesday was odd as I had an appointment with an allergist/ immunologist to see if they had any ideas about my stupid stomach. Then it was off to work for a few hours before taking a partial half day. Half day after vacation? I was working Saturday but I still felt guilty taking a half day that close to vacation. That said, I didn’t fight it too hard. I changed and bolted out the door. I made it to the river path in home town with only enough time for a short run. I managed to squeeze in 4 really solid miles before it was too dark. Mile 4 saw an 8:45. Hello! Where is more of that? Actually it was a pretty sweet progression-13:08, 10:24, 9:38, 8:45. Plus I finished in time for this view-

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Migraine city. I was supposed to meet A at the gym on Wednesday but I was having troubles walking. I felt so bad when I texted her to cancel. My boss tried to send me home but not only did I feel guilty again I didn’t think I could drive home. It eased up enough by closing time and I drove home. I’d planned on saving my ~~cheat~~ indulgent meal of pizza for the weekend but I ended up eating it that night. I choose to believe that it helped a bit. Thursday, my head still hurt and I barely ate. I zoned out in front of the tv watching Christmas movies that evening.

Saturday– work and Vine St Showcase. I had hoped to squeeze in a run but my stomach had other plans. That said, this was also the first time I’ve hit my step goal without running since I bought the UP. Little victories right? Plus- Christmas lights!!

Sunday– I’ve been in a Christmas funk and having serious troubles with gift ideas. Unfortunately no one else in my family is a runner. 😢 I was feeling stressed. I headed down to SLO to see what I could accomplish. I shopped longer than planned, missed getting in a run but I feel more prepared for the holiday that is rapidly approaching. I’m calling that a win.

So, yeah that was a 4 mile week. Ouch. I am trying to look on the shiny side though. I got in 4 awesome miles. I was low carb half the week and I went 7 days with zero soda. 7! I still indulge if I go out to eat and they serve Diet Coke. I think that built in cheat is helping me pull this off. I went from 2 32oz a day to 1 or 2 a week. I didn’t even give in when I had my migraine. That was the first time in weeks that I was actually craving soda. But I held strong…while whimpering in the dark- ha. 😉

So for the week ahead, I am hoping to get in a few more miles. We also have our holiday party for work to look forward too. The only time I ever order the Filet. Yummm. I’m drooling in advance.

How was your week?

Are you finished shopping? How is it only 11 days away?

Anyone race over the weekend? I saw tons of Santa races online. 🎅

Vacation Week 1 Recap & Night November

Winter has arrived. The last few nights have been in the 20’s-yippie. 😓 I will adjust but haven’t just yet. My toes feel like Popsicles. Between a long, cold hike and the frozen Turkey Trot last week they still feel frozen. But besides that, I put more miles on my legs last week than I had in any training week in a long time. Yay for vacation!

Monday– 4.5 miles- progression. I chatted about that in this post but this was a good run. It wasn’t the speediest but it felt comfortable. I hadn’t felt that in a while while running. 😃

Tuesday– Rest. With 8 miles on Sunday and then Monday’s run I decided to implement a 2 days on/ 1 day off schedule for vacation. I figured my inherent laziness would kick in at some point but I also didn’t want to push too hard too fast.

Wednesday– 9+ mile hike/ trail run. More on that will be in Wednesday’s post. I’ll just say this- I had to climb up—out of a bat cave. With my iPhone flash to light the way.

Thursday– Turkey Trot! Also mentioned in my last post- so cold!! And all the miles caught up with me.

Friday– Rest. I really wanted to be outside hiking for REI’s #optoutside but my right leg was so sore and tight from #allthemiles in a short time, (for me) I could barely walk. I spent the day taking it easy and alternately cursing/ crying with my foam roller. 😒 Zero shopping was done on this #blackfriday.

Saturday– More rest. My right leg was still super tight and sore. It would actually buckle every now and then when my quad locked up. Fun. I spent the day wandering around SLO and made nice with my foam roller again.

Sunday-3.8 miles. Night 3 of sub 30* temps, there was no way I was running in the morning. I’d like to say I’ll get used to it but yeah, probably not. Winter is the time of year that running in the mid afternoon rocks. 😄 I was pressed for time as I was going to an afternoon movie but I wanted to see how my legs felt. The right one felt great, nothing at all like the past few days. The left on the other hand was back to it’s old tricks. I had to stop a few miles in to stretch out a super tight calf. Grrr. It loosened up for the last mile or so but I need to figure out why that calf tends to get super tight. Other then the tight calf issue, it was another good run. All of this week’s runs had zero walk breaks. I can’t remember the last time that happened. 😃

Weekly mileage- 23.42

Who am I? 😄 Throw in last Sunday’s 8 and my 8 day total hit 31.42. How many rules of running did I break there? 😃 To put that in perspective let’s talk about how November as a whole went.

Miles- 59.9
Races– Big Sur Half Marathon 2:23:26
Turkey Trot 10k- 1:04:49

So yeah, half of this month’s mileage happened last week. Oops. Seriously why can’t I run at 3 all the time? I know my treadmill motivation is seriously lacking. I run so awkwardly slow on it, it also makes my legs overly sore. New goal for December- conquer the treadmill. Either that or invest in a headlamp and brave the cold, dark mornings. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

How was your November? Are you ready for December?

Anyone brave the shopping this weekend? Score any good deals?

Week 9 Recap

Hmmmm, let’s just call this a step back week?

Monday- Rest

Actually I had a Harvest Marathon meeting, so a rest day worked out perfectly. Plus it was Monday and I don’t seem to run well on Mondays’. I was late getting to the meeting so I felt like a total slacker. It’s just hard when work runs late and then I still have the commute.

Tuesday- 3.74 Miles

The less than great run. That being said, I think my post about it came across more negative than I had wanted. Yes, the run was rough but overall it wasn’t that bad and I was glad I didn’t bail because of all of my gear/ shoe issues. Maybe that’s why non runners think runners are crazy- I cried but I still call it a decent run. 😉

Wednesday- Rest

I remember!! Tuesday’s stomach issues doubled and I felt the beginning of a migraine coming on so rest day. I headed to Target for some small things and headed straight home for the comfy chair.

Thursday- 5 Miles- Creeptastic run

Not only was my headache still around, I was exhausted. Stupid hormones. Any how, I headed to the lake after work hoping for 6 miles but resigned to 4. I honestly didn’t think I had more in me even with keeping an easy pace. However once I got running I felt pretty good even with the headache and thought I could run a 10k. Then things got weird.

You know when you feel like something is looming over your shoulder? I got that feeling as I hit the backside of the lake just before mile 4. I looked over my right shoulder and there was a truck driving half in the dirt and half on the street super slowly. My first thought is that they wanted to pull over and park and I was in their way. So I sped up. So did the truck. Ummm? I slowed down again, so did the truck. This went on for 1/2 a mile. I came to a complete stop and tried to get a better look at it. It pulled behind some trees. Enough. Run done. I got my ass back to the parking lot as fast as possible while looking for the truck behind me. As an extra caution, I ran to the playground and waited there for a while just to make sure it didn’t follow me to my car. Cue the Slacker PSA– Maybe I overreacted, maybe I didn’t. As much as I love the running community and all people I cross paths with while running, I am out there running by myself. Hence rule #1- Be Paranoid. If something seems off, trust your gut. Don’t continue assuming that everything’s ok or that you’re tough enough to handle whatever comes your way. That may be true but toughness should be a last resort- cut your run short or change your route. Don’t be stubborn, you can get the miles in on another day. End PSA.

Friday- Rest

I fell prey to a cookie around 9:30 but that ended up working in my favor. I started work at 7:30 but didn’t get to lunch until after 3:00. I credit that cookie with getting me through the chaos that was Friday. 😆

Saturday- 4 Mile walk

I went to SLO for 2 intentional purchases but ended up spending more money than planned. One stop was the Running Warehouse but more on that next post. Victoria’s Secret had sports bras for $35 so I had to go check that out- those things are expensive! But kind of useful for running. 😝 Those were the planned purchases. What was not planned? At least it hadn’t been a fully formed thought-

So that happened. I was in the best running shape when I rode the stationary bike 4x a week. Ever since mine died, I have never followed through with going to the gym. Now I have to follow through. Yes, recumbent is lazy but my stomach and side appreciate it. Now if it would just get here.

Finished the evening with a 4 mile walk, testing out some new gear. More on that later, too.

Sunday- 4.5 miles

Long run fail. I had planned for 8-9 miles but woke with a gnarly headache again. I think it was part hormonal and part sinus- I’ve had some allergy issues lately. I blame the humidity, that’s my scapegoat these days. Sunday family dinner wasn’t happening so I decided sleep a little more and get the run in the evening when it was cooler. Then things changed. Not only was Sunday dinner happening but it was at a restaurant. Well damn, now I couldn’t even show up sweaty. I headed out in the heat of the afternoon and pulled off a slow 4.5 miles. My head was not too impressed with that decision. I was hoping I could out run the migraine. Not so much. It did ease a bit though by the time we headed to dinner (steak and veggies for me).

All in all, not a horrible training week. No speed work thanks to my stomach but I kept my weekly mileage consistent. Low but consistent. It’s the little things right?

Paleo Week 1- C

Last week was also my first week changing things up. Breakfasts and lunches were on point, dinner was atrocious. I ate out every single week night last week. I didn’t even do it on purpose, it just kind of happened. Tuesday pizza was supposed to be the only night eating out. Bad!! I also ate a little bag of Lay’s one day. Last week might not have been the best week to start paleo. I tend to want to eat everything that week of the month. So I guess in some respect it was a win because I didn’t go crazy on the snacks. Also something in my lunch veggies- spinach, romaine, cabbage slaw, celery and carrots pissed off my stomach every day. It couldn’t have been the spinach or cabbage slaw because those have been staples of my lunch for months. So I swapped a few things this week and we’ll see how I do. I meal prepped for the week on Sunday again. It’s like Tetris getting all the containers into my lunch bag on Monday morning. 😃

Goals for this week are to get in the miles. Definitely a long run and hopefully my side will accommodate some speed work. Another goal is to only eat out 2x for dinner. Last week was just ridiculous.

How was your week?

Ever had a potentially creepy situation on a run? What did you do?

How often do you eat out?

Shoreline Half- Recap

Going into this race, I knew not to expect too much. Partly because I had such an off May and June and I haven’t caught back up yet. Also, the course description was flat and I don’t do so well on flat courses. Then there was the humidity factor. Humidity is a big trigger for my asthma and I haven’t had the best showing at races with high humidity levels. Case in point-

Rock’n Around the Pier– 2:20:something and the first race I considered DNF’ing
Ventura- 2:34:something Granted there were other issues too, but I walked from mile 6.5 on. I also felt broken at the end- I almost couldn’t walk back to the hotel.
Surf City– 2:19- 95% humidity? Seriously?

So of course, I head back to Ventura for more ~~pain~~ fun. Different course but 85% humidity at the start. I tried not to look but have finally learned I need to be prepared. I was aiming to run a comfortable race and finish around 2:15. I don’t know about you but humidity is never comfortable. So here we go.

Race morning-

After 4 hours of sleep I was up at 3. I had limited my carb intake since Friday and eaten less than normal pre-race on Saturday. I did this for Wine Country and it worked well so I tried it again. We were on the road by 4:15. My mom drove so I dozed off and on along the way. We arrived 30 minutes before packet pickup so headed to a nearby McDonald’s to use the restrooms and she and S had breakfast. That place was sketchy. Parking was easy and we headed out to the start. Packet pickup was actually easy. I think I had birthday luck and got everywhere before lines formed. I had good port-a-potty luck too. 🙂 Exited one to find about 60 people in line. They had a map of the course up and announcer going over it. There were pacers for every 15 minutes starting at 1:30. The start was self seeded with 4 waves- Sub 8, 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00+. In keeping with my plan to run a 2:15, I lined up with that last group. Here’s where I had to contain my inner fan girl. Earlier while hanging in the grassy area with my mom and S, a man walked past up wearing a McFarland singlet. I pointed him out to my mom and wondered if it was real or just something they sold in association with the movie. I then forgot about it as we headed to the start line. The corral at the start was very tightly spaced and I looked right then snapped my head back. The flippin’ McFarland running team was standing there! At least part of it. Say what!? They soon squeezed their way through to the sub 8 group. Then the gun sounded and we were off.

Miles 1-3- 9:14, 9:23, 9:34

So much for lining up with the 10:00+ pace group. I went out too fast!! The race has 3 or so miles on the boardwalk- at the start and end. This meant amazing scenic ocean views, but it also meant running on concrete. My left leg was pissed early on. Nothing alarming, I just knew I needed to shake it out. We switched to black top by the end of mile 1. I shook off the pain by mile 3. The next miles alternated between a black top bike path and busy roadside. I was feeling pretty good but I also realized I was going to positive split this race in a big way.

Miles 4-6- 9:36, 9:50, 9:47

There was a tiny incline for miles 5 and 6 and I loved it. It made my legs happy. 🙂 Nasty looking dumpster aside, the course scenery was still awesome. It was a clear, sunny day and the ocean looked amazing. It was high 60’s, low 70’s which normally I would love but I could tell the humidity was getting to me. It was no longer a question of if but when. We hit the turn around for this section a little past mile 5. Now I knew what I was getting on the way back so I was ready. The course leaders had also flown by when I was around mile 4- they were flying! I was pacing myself by following a tall man in front of me. I did that for about 4 miles before I passed him.

Miles 7-9- 10:32, 10:47, 10:07

I took my first walk break during mile 7. And another. Grrr. I was trying to make up my time in mile 8 when I had a breathing issue. I had used my inhaler 3x leading up to race start but it wasn’t enough. I haven’t mastered using my inhaler while running so that meant slowing to a walk, taking out the inhaler, using it and giving my lungs a minute or 2 to calm down. I need to work on that but I don’t train in humidity. Mile 8 is usually my favorite mile but I feel like I missed most of it. I did find someone new to ~~chase~~ pace though. Up ahead, I saw someone I thought I recognized but have never seen in real life- Hilary @ Embrace the Neon! I chased her for the next 5 miles. Running- the only acceptable way to chase people. 🙂 I promise I’m not creepy, I just find someone to pace off of. Miles 10-11- 11:13, 10:57

I had graduated to walking all the water stops. I would drink half the water and dump the rest on my head or down my back. I was so sweaty, it was hard to tell the difference. Heading back to the boardwalk something funny happened- the arms at the train crossing came down! I saw everyone ahead stopped but I didn’t want to stand still and wait so I slowed to a walk hoping the train would come through before I got there. They lifted without a train ever coming through- what? Then we were back on the board walk. This is where things got dicey.

The boardwalk wasn’t closed so we were dodging walkers, non-racing runners, bikers, surfers, dogs, etc. That took so much more energy, mental and physical, than I had. One woman got off of her bike and parked it horizontal across the path. I swear she looked at us racers like “deal with it” but that could have been the fatigue making things up in my head. Another hard part of mile 11? Running past the finish line. We had to run past the finish/ start area to head the other direction for a 2+ mile loop before the finish. Grrr.

Miles 12-13.1- 11:32, 11:00, 8:17 pace

And my lungs protested again. Once more I slowed to use my inhaler. I had troubles getting started after that. I knew I was so close to the finish but I was hot and tired. I was so sweaty, the shorties under my skirt started sliding- they have never done that. I took more than a few walk breaks those last 2 miles. Then it was back on the board walk for the final push to the finish- dodging people all the while. Somehow I mustered up energy for a final kick to the finish.

A thumbs up?

Finish- 2:14:39

We were given our medals and herded into the grassy registration area. This is where my only real race gripe came about. The race promised tacos and beer at the finish line. Which were there but all I wanted was water. I could not find a freakin’ water table! I looked everywhere, even my mom and S couldn’t find one when they met up with me. I had read about other bloggers having this issue at races but had never experienced it.

I was so hot and sweaty and I just wanted to cool down. I took off my shoes and belt and passed them to my mom. I went down the beach, climbed over the rocks and walked right into the ocean. I heard her yell that I had paid a lot of money for the socks I was now walking the beach in. 🙂 It was seriously amazing. If I didn’t have my bib or my Garmin on I may have just sat down in the water. I hung out there for a bit before heading down the beach to the stairs back to the boardwalk. I didn’t trust myself negotiating the rocks the a second time.

All in all, I really liked the race. Even with falling apart at the end (thanks humidity) I managed to come in under my goal time for the race. Granted it wasn’t comfortable but it was fun and a great way to start a birthday. 🙂 After changing at a nearby In n Out (fries- Diet Coke!) we headed up the freeway to Santa Barbara for some birthday shopping. S’s birthday was the day before. My legs were feeling pretty good after the race but I kept popping my toes out of joint, grrr. Sorry if you’re squeamish. This isn’t something that’s new, I’ve had the issue for years it just seemed to happen multiple times yesterday. I managed to restrain myself shopping wise but did come away with a new skirt and pair of shorts from Lululemon. Oh and a purse from Macy’s. A great but tiring day. I was in bed by 10pm. 🙂

How do you celebrate your birthday? I’ve yet to have any cake!

Ever had to dodge the public while running a race?