Tag: slacker

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?

On the Marathon

Slight left turn here, my weekly recap will be up next post.

I said I would never run a marathon. Never had any desire to. Vehemently shot it down every time someone asked me. Thing is, it’s not even the marathon itself that deterred me. I mean I am the queen of stupid stubbornness, I figured I could drag myself through one if I had to. It wouldn’t be fun, wouldn’t be pretty, would take 10 hours, likely break me and turn me off from running forever. Like I said, queen of stupid, I totally realize I was underestimating the thing.

What scared me was the training. Who in their right mind signs up for marathon training? The mere idea of a 4 hour long run at the ass crack of dawn on a weekend morning almost gave me hives. I mean have you looked at some of those training plans? Who has time for all that? Don’t they realize I have Netflix to watch?! Doubt’s a nasty companion no matter hard you deny hearing it.

I am a self proclaimed slacker, laziness is my strong suit. Just ask my mother. I’d never stuck to a training plan for a half, how the hell would I stick one for a full marathon? Throw in long work days and a commute and it seemed even more unlikely and I was fine that. Until I wasn’t.

The hunt for a training plan began. It’s easy to get lost in the sheer number of them available. Some looked scary, some looked doable. How do you know what to choose? How do you know which one works for you? For me, a person who loves sleeping in on the weekends. For me, someone can find the simplest excuse to skip a run? For me- who still feels like a poser sometimes? There was one that kept jumping out at me…but it was for serious runners, not slackers like me. That would be crazy. But then I read the book and it didn’t help prevent the crazy. I’ve never shared what training plan I am using because I know all you real runners would think I lost my damn mind.

So yeah, Hansons. You know the one all about cumulative fatigue and hitting paces and no super crazy long runs? I can hear the “WTH’s” now. I blame Colby. And then Allison. ☺ Anyways, I read it cover to cover and then parts again. I stuck stickie tabs all over it. Suddenly the crazy seemed doable. The beginner plan looked like a chance I could take. So I took pen to paper and mapped everything out on calendar pages. April to race day. Then I only looked at each month at a time. April- nailed that. May- I knew this was where things got intense so I made an adjustment- I dropped Friday’s run. So, I guess this is technically no longer Hanson’s. I Slacker-ized it. But 5 days a week with 2 planned speed/ strength workouts was still such a huge step for me, I figured I would be sufficiently fatigued. 😛 My hope for June was to add in that 6th day.

Then I got hurt. And it wasn’t the mileage that did it. I only missed 4 runs in May and 3 didn’t happen until after I jacked up my shins. I think I figured out what did me in- I ended an easy Monday 5 miler with some butt kicks and high knees. Why? No real reason other than I watched a video on running form over the weekend. People- if it’s not breaking you- don’t mess with your form during training! After Tuesday’s 800 repeats, I did some more high knees and butt kicks. By Wednesday I could barely walk. That Thursday’s attempt at a tempo was laughable. Everything since then has been some odd combination of the Just Finish version of Hanson’s and rest. And I am pissed.

I was actually doing it- I was following a training plan. Yes, it was kicking my ass but in a good way. Tempo’s were growing on me and I was so stinkin’ proud that I was following through. That is what this marathon training has taught me. Doubt can shut it’s ugly trap.

There’s this tv show that I watch and there’s a character on it who says something like this-

” the souffle is not the souffle- the souffle is the recipe”

Which is finally making sense to me. The marathon is not the prize- training for it is. If I can train for a marathon and actually follow through with something, well, then I can do anything. At least that’s what it feels like.

Who knows what the next 48 days will bring? Not me, but until then I am going to #justkeeprunning.

Bands on the Run 10K 2016

I love this race but man I have a short term memory when it comes to dune sand. 😝

This is my 3rd time running the 10K portion of the event and I keep cracking jokes that I get slower every year. The race benefits a local high school music program and is very low frills. Which is fine by me, I am always impressed that they have their own designed bibs. Most smaller, local races use the free Road ID ones. They offer a 5k, 10k and a half marathon. All the races are out and backs. I considered running the half in lieu of my long run that week but decided against it. I am so glad I made that choice.

Packet pickup took less than 5 minutes on Friday and that included parking. 😃 I was able to get what is a decent nights sleep for me pre-race- 6 hours- but that was only because the race had a late start. The races started at 10. 10? This is California! I have never had a race start that late. Most half marathons start at 7 or earlier, 10K’s around 8. If you’re really lucky, a 5K may start at 9. Maybe. I have troubles fueling properly on a normal basis, how the hell do I fuel for a late 10K? I know that beach races are dictated by the tides though so this must have been the best option. It was ridiculously cold when we first got to the high school so I was optimistic it would stay that way. After a fitness warm-up, the presenting of the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem, we lined up and were off!

Miles 1-2 9:35, 10:41

Mile 1 takes you around the track out the parking lot into the cypress tunnel trail and down to the beach. Since I was running this in place of the week’s tempo, I was perfectly content with mile 1. I also don’t think I could PR this course if I tried. 😝 Just before you exit the cypress tunnel to hit the beach you run through the drum line which is always awesome. Then mile 2 starts. And I pretty much came to a standstill. I’ve run 6 races on the beach but I still have no idea how to run over soft dune sand. I just keep sinking. I swear one of these times I am just going to take my shoes off and carry them. I tried to bring my pace back down once on the hard pack but the damage was done.

Miles 3-4 9:59, 10:03

I was tiring and that was not cool. I wasn’t even halfway, what was going on? I also noticed that there were more rocks and pebbles and things on the beach, then I realized how far up the beach we were. This was not low tide. We had to cross some rocks to get to the turn around point. Little rocks but they were still wet. The half marathoners were scrambling over big rocks as they kept going. To my untrained eye, it seemed like the tide was coming in but I had to have been wrong. How were the half marathoners going to come back?! Once at the turn around, I knew I only had 3 miles left and told myself to pick up the pace. Except I couldn’t seem to find another gear. The moisture in the air was aggravating my asthma but I just tried to ignore it. I just told myself to focus on running towards the rock.

From 2014, the tide was much higher on Saturday

Miles 5-6 10:42, 10:31

Damn, I’m consistent on the dune sand. Those miles are within 1 second of each other. I hit the dune sand with a lap pace of 9:40 for mile 5. By the time I was out, I was at 10:42. I was also regretting running without my headphones as all I could hear was myself sucking wind- ha! I was hoping to pick up the pace on the last mile but I was toast. The sun had come out the last 2 miles and it felt like the temp had jumped 20 degrees. Once more through the drum line and the cypress tunnel then back around the track to the finish. I saw my mother on the sidelines and tried to muster up a smile. Some of the pictures she shot show that smile, some show some truly horrible form. 😛 My Garmin shows that I picked up the pace for the last bit but I felt like I was running in quicksand.

Finish- 1:02:38
See, slowest one yet! 😉

Now, if my intention was to treat it as a true tempo for marathon training, then I mostly succeeded. My overall pace was right where I needed it to be even with dune sand miles. In all honesty though, I was hoping for a better showing. I don’t even think it was my time that disappointed me, it was how hard it felt. This was only 6 miles, how on earth am I ever going to run a marathon?!

All that aside, I still love this race. Sore calves, sand in my shoes and all. I look forward to running it next year. Maybe a little faster? 😉

San Francisco Marathon Training Week 8

Name Change!!

Let’s be real, who was I lying to? As if calling it “Week 21 Training Recap” meant I could bury my head in the sand a little longer? So, let’s rip the band-aid off. There should be an emoji for that.

If you’ve read my whiny, ranting post from Friday, you know that last week went a little sideways. After such a great week 7, I was hoping to keep the momentum going. But, well, life happens right?

Monday- Rest I had a doctor’s appointment where I had 3 excisions done. Why I thought I was going to follow through with running after that, I am not sure. One was even under my sports bra band so it’s not like I really wanted to put one on after that. Combine that with my car battery dying in the office parking lot and the day was shot. It was surprisingly hard to find a place that sold the battery to my car. My very common Nissan. Grrr.

Tuesday- Rest/ furniture moving I had what I called severe allergies start after my run on Saturday but by Tuesday, it was full blown head cold status. I could barely see out of my eyes and spent most of my time sneezing. I ended up leaving work early and went home. I treated myself to my go-to sick meal- In n Out- on the way home and then took a 3 hour nap. On the floor. 😝 Once I woke up, the rest of the evening was spent moving furniture in preparation for new carpet the next day.

Wednesday- Rest This time planned but I felt guilty. I should have been running. I still wasn’t feeling well but I made it through the full day at work before heading home to move furniture back into place. Apparently, I am not as strong as I once was. Some of that crap was hard to move!

Thursday- 3.4 miles Aborted tempo. What’s that saying about good intentions? I headed to the lake path to get in what was supposed to my last 5 mile tempo. Next week they jump to 8 miles. Holy crap! Anyways, back to this week. Let’s just say I should put my phone on Do Not Disturb when I run from now on. Of those 3.4 miles, 2 were at tempo pace. What was not cool was how hard they felt. So much harder than the week before. Had I finished my run I am not sure I could have held that for another 3 miles. That worried me. Ok, it freaked me out. Hence Friday’s post.

Friday- Rest Oddly enough, one of the excisions was really bothering me . Of course it was the one on my butt. Maybe it was just trying to make me sit less? Oh and the morning started with finding out that my debit card had been compromised. Not my main one but the one linked to my race account. Double Grrrr.

Saturday- 12 miles- I worked in the morning so I knew this would be an afternoon run. Luckily the temp was predicted for the mid 60’s so I wasn’t too worried about that. I used the timing as a training exercise, sort of. I’ve been trying to figure out what I can eat before long runs and races that my system will tolerate. I’m testing out various protein shakes as I seem to tolerate liquids better. So I had 2 pieces of sausage for breakfast and a protein shake at 11:30. The poor choice might have been the cookie I ate as well. 😝

That said, I headed out around 2 PM for my run. Overall, I kept my head down and just kept running. I was feeling ok and didn’t need any walk breaks through mile 5, I met with my mom halfway through mile 6 so I walked with her for 1/2 a mile. Then I ran on and just kept trucking. It was so windy, my hat was almost ripped off my head 3 times. My stomach cramped in bad way at mile 10. I stopped for a moment and breathed it out. I was only 2 miles from being done so I kept my break short and ran on. My stomach cramped again around mile 11.3 but this time I walked it out. Stupid stomach. I then ran on to finish my run. Other than the cramping issues, the run was pretty good. My pace was right in the middle of my long run range and it would have been even better without the the little break in the middle. Obviously I need to work on the fueling thing some more.

Sunday- 6.2 miles – The plan called for 6 but I wanted 8. Seriously, this was one of the slowest 10K’s of my life. Smash Run tells me it was my 47th slowest- yay! I don’t know what it was but I could not get it into gear. My legs felt fine but the rest of me just wasn’t out there. My pace was all over the place and by the end I was glad the plan only called for 6. I felt fine when I was done so maybe it was all in my head?

So yeah, 21.6 miles. About 15 short of where I had hoped to be. I am trying to find the shiny here and say that 21 miles is still pretty good for a Slacker right? We live and we learn and we plan for the week to come. Right? Right. #justkeeprunning I am still on the fence about Saturday’s half- partly due to indecision and partly because that account was cleaned out. Boo. I will get the money back and I will make a decision but right now I am playing it by ear. I also want to give the protein shakes another try. Any recommendations?

How was your week/ weekend?

Ever been hit by fraud? Someone had fun at a bar with mine. And tried to buy a suit. Weird.