Tag: slacker

Marathon Musings 2

It’s week like this that freak me out about marathon training.

Last week, I was riding the high of my highest mileage week ever and I was stoked. This week? Three days off… in a row. Oh crap, is the real Slacker back?

Cue freak out. The plan I am following is pretty specific. Do the work outs when and how prescribed. Be as consistent as possible. Yes life happens but try to keep the volume consistent and lower the intensity if needs be. Did that happen? No.

Poor planning and faulty equipment brought about Monday’s missed run. I had a procedure done and the odds of running afterwards were unlikely but I was holding out hope. Then my damn car died in the parking lot of the doctors office. Seriously?! I took it as a sign that I shouldn’t be running and sweating all over the new cuts I had on my body. I figured I could make up the missed miles on Friday. Maybe.

Tuesday called for 800’s and I was excited to run them. I kind of love intervals and wanted to see how I fared. Except, the worst allergy day of my life sent me home from work where I proceeded to nap for 3 hours. On the floor. Maybe it was a gnarly head cold but all I know is that it got progressively worse from Sunday until Tuesday when my right eye was almost swollen shut. What the hell.

Wednesday wasn’t much better. My eyes were open and I made it through a full day of work but still felt crappy. Running was out the question though. New carpet went in at home on Wednesday so that evening was spent furniture moving. Can I count that as a workout? I actually cleared 10,000 steps which I only do when I run. 😛

I did so good for 7 weeks but week 8 is kicking my ass. Now I am freaking out. What kind of fitness am I losing? Or not gaining? Next week’s intervals are supposed be 1K repeats. Do I stick to the plan or run the 800’s I missed? Next week also sees my tempos increase to 8 miles. I’m not ready! I need to reread the book again.

Speaking of next week- I am supposed to be running a half marathon on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. I was torn between using it as part of my long run or using it as my tempo since the miles are supposed to increase next week anyways. It’s on the beach so I figured marathon pace would be a good goal for it. Something made me double check the time. 10AM!!! What the hell!!! This is California for crying out loud. I have never had any race start that late. Not even a 5K.

I have a few concerns with this. 1- the temp. It’s in work town and the temperature is usually fairly moderate but I would be finishing after noon so who knows? 2- food. I don’t fuel before half marathons or long runs yet. But I am also used to a 7AM start for races. I think I would have to eat something before a 10AM race start. Which wouldn’t be a horrible thing since I do need to get used to fueling more. But that leads to concern 3. 3-bathrooms. Food could make me sick; my stomach has a proclivity for going wonky at the worst times. What do beach races usually not have? Bathrooms. Ok, technically, there are bathrooms at 2 points but they are off course and would add 1/4-1/2 mile if needed. Plus that would be across soft dune sand. Grrrr. I am seriously considering running the 10K instead.

So help me out…

Half marathon or 10K?

How much ~~damage~~ will this week set me back in marathon training?

Week 20 Training Recap

Week 20 for real??!? Where has the year gone?

And the marathon training keeps rolling. I am already tired. Or still tired from an emotional April. Who knows anymore. My focus this week was to up my running from 4 days to 5. My big goal for May is to consistently run 5 days a week. My training plan actually calls for 6 days of running but one of the first changes I made was dropping Friday’s run. If I handle May well, I may consider adding in Friday miles but I am not going to worry about that now.

Monday- 4 easy miles. After an unplanned Sunday rest day, I was really hoping that these “easy” miles would feel easy. Yeah, not so much. My legs felt tired. Part of it may be mental- I was a die-hard believer in never running on Mondays. It’s only been a month-ish since I started running on Monday’s and I think I still mentally rebel sometimes. #rebelwithoutaclue Post-run, things snowballed quickly and the next 6sih hours were spent waiting in the ER.

Tuesday- 6.98 miles- 1.25 mile w/u, 8 x 600’s, 1 mile c/d. Dude. This was the first time using the workout feature on my Garmin; it worked pretty well. With Monday night being so long and not getting to bed until 2 something, I told myself 2 things going into this run. 1-walk the recoveries and 2- listen to your body. I knew I was overly tired and under fueled. I didn’t want to just bail on the workout though. I decided to try the warm up and 2 600’s with recoveries and see how I felt. If I needed to drop the intervals and do easy miles, I would. I was hoping that making the recoveries a walk would be enough to get me through it. My plan calls for 600m repeats to be done between 3:26-3:35 but never having done 600m before, I had no idea what to expect. I just tried to run by feel and be consistent. The drawback to the workout feature is that it showed my current pace, I’d knew what overall time I had to hit but had never translated that to pace. Oops. Actual repeat times– 3:17, 3:22, 3:15, 3:23, 3:20, 3:19,3:16, 3:21. Holy crap, I did it!! I felt pretty good when I was done but was tired so I skipped my last recovery and went straight to the cool down. I might not have done that had I realized the watch would just stop at 6.98 miles!!!! Grrr.

Wednesday- Rest day Pizza day- nuff said. 😜

Thursday- 7.25 miles- 1.25 mile w/u, 5 tempo miles, 1 mile c/d. Oof, that was rough. Nothing about this run ever felt good. I ran this tempo on the streets and I looked forward to every stop light. Built in breaks without having to feel guilty? Hell yeah! Outside of those, I never walked or took a break, so that is huge in itself. I was glad to hit the cool down portion and even happier when that was done. I was so happy for cool down that it was almost faster than the tempo miles. Oops. A run-in with an off leash dog turned it into a walk and lowered the pace, which was probably better anyways. 😒 Tempo goal- 10:18. Tempo miles- 10:03, 9:58, 10:04, 10:10, 10:07. Pace wise, I did what I was supposed to do but it was just ugly. It was also my first run with my Fitbit and one point it said my heart rate was 182. What?! I know that most runs will feel tired but this one just had me worried for the longer tempo runs that I know are coming all too soon.

Friday- Rest day. Aww, bliss. I indulged in some very yummy tri-tip, garlic bread and garlic green beans. It was amazing.

Saturday- 8 miles Misery. I am intentionally keeping one of my weekend runs in the mid-late afternoon. I need to work on building my heat tolerance back up. I know that’s one of the things that hurt me at SLO- it was a very warm morning. Saturday was only 76 but it kicked my ass. I took more than a few walk breaks, a couple of stops and ran out of water. Well hell, that’s not a good sign. We’re not too far from constant triple digits here! Oh well, I got in some hills. To add to the pain, I realized that my training plan only called for 6 miles. 😓😂

Failed cool pic attempt but my Benjamin Button-ish made me laugh

Sunday- 10 miles I got up early in an effort to beat the very high heat of 81. Yes, that was sarcasm. 😏 This was rough, my pace was all over the place. Some 10’s, some 11’s and some 12 minute miles. It was warmer than I would have liked but like I said I have to get used to it. I had more water than the day before but I dropped my bottle around mile 4 and broke the lid. Seriously?? I had enough left to get me through the run but I had to carry the bottle in a certain way so I didn’t spill the rest. I also knew that week’s mileage was catching up with me so I was fine with going slower. When all was said and done, I was still closer to long run place than I thought I would be.

Weekly miles- 36.2 miles

It was a long, hard week but I completed every workout I set out to do. I felt like throwing a little party when I finished my long run. This was my highest mileage week ever– hell yeah! Right now I feel ok, but I know I need to keep on foam rolling and stretching. Moving on to this week, my mileage stays relatively the same but my intervals shift to 6x 800’s. Yikes!! I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday that could mess with my easy run though. I thought about moving it to the morning but if I am still struggling with 8 AM runs, 4 AM is not going to happen. 😜 I really don’t want to miss my run so we will see. I know consistency is going to be key to getting through this training cycle. And a good dose of good luck.

I feel like there is something else I wanted to share but I can’t remember what it was. Oops!

How was your weekend?

Do you run a last recovery or go straight to cool down?

How’s your weather?

Week 15 Training Recap

Upcoming races– Firehouse 5K (this week!!)
SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus– Take it easy and bump it up to 4 days of running

Maybe it was something in the air or the water but this week kicked my trash. I haven’t been sleeping well and that hasn’t helped matters any. I was so tired most days I ordered a coffee and a soda most mornings. Not the best, I know. Towards the end of the week, I made a choice about my stomach meds and that threw some things out of whack as well. I was also feeling very hermit like this week and I ended up bailing on all my public involved plans. #horribleslacker

Running was rough but I hit the days I set out to. Last week was the week of the my first 16 miler attempt and this was the week where I stepped it up to 4 days a week. In retrospect, I should have scheduled those 4 days better.

Monday- 3.5 miles I ran on a Monday! Say what?! I was supposed to have plans later in the week, so I decided to run on Monday. I also ran in some new shorts that I had picked up over the weekend. I have to get over my sudden phobia of running in shorts in public somehow right? Even if it means buying a bigger size. 😭 The run was average if anything. I wasn’t sore after the 16 miler but my legs felt tired. I headed to the lake path for a few easy laps. I kept the pace slow and easy and just tried to enjoy running. However I had shoe issues. I started out in my Launch’s thinking the extra cushion would be a good thing right? My calves tightened up so badly, I changed my shoes 2 laps into the run. Luckily I had my Nike’s in the car as well. I made sure to stretch really well after my run.

Tuesday- Rest This was a rough day at work and a big part of me wanted to run it out. However I was trying to rest my legs after the previous days issues. It was also the lovely shattered make up morning.

Wednesday- Rest– I wanted to run after work, I had everything packed. I had a meeting in SLO in the morning. Part way through the meeting my head started to hurt. By the time I got back to work, I had a full on migraine. I still told myself I was running after work. Around 4:30, I realized that just wasn’t going to happen. I wanted pizza, then comfy clothes and a dark room and an ice pack. So I did just that.

Thursday- 4.5 miles– Ouch, ouch, ouch, damn it. Another run in the Launch’s and a ouch filled 4.5 miles. I probably should have called it sooner but I was stubborn. I kept stopping and stretching out my calves. No luck. I was thisclose to taking my shoes off and finishing the run barefoot. But instead, I went back to my car, then home to stretch. It was probably payback for not going to the work social thing that I was supposed to that evening.

I don’t know if it was the shoes or what but I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst cramp in my left leg. I damn near screamed. It was like a charlie horse all over my calf. I felt like I had barely dozed off when it happened again- in the right leg. WTF?!

Friday- Rest– Ha! Standing in the morning and walking around was real fun. My upper calves were so painful and tight from the cramps. Compression socks can be had to conceal at work but thankfully it was a casual Friday. And I pushed it to the limit when I wore my old dark blue Pureflow’s with my jeans. I meant to change them, I really did but never did. So bad.

Saturday- Firehouse 5K, 3.75 walk– First 5K of the year! It was rough, no lies, recap will be up on Wednesday. I tried to get ahead of the soreness I knew was coming by heading out for a walk later that day. I could tell that I was getting super stiff already. I was really hoping the walk would make things better. I also missed another social situation- this one was family related. #horribleslacker

Sunday- 7.5 miles– Oh my quad. Serious ouch! Full disclosure- I have never run the day after Firehouse. I usually take 2-3 days off, sometimes 4, I’m that sore. I ventured out Sunday morning for a long run. I was hoping for 10 miles but I knew that was unlikely. My quads were so tight, my feet hurt and my knees were sore. Throw in 90% plus humidity and this run was Rough. I slogged my way through 7.5 miles. I welcomed any break so when some cyclists needed directions, I was more than happy to. ☺ 7.5 is better than none right?

All in all, it wasn’t a bad week. The runs weren’t the best but I got them done. The mileage was a little lower than I would have liked but I knew that was likely with Firehouse in the mix. It’s suddenly dawned on me that SLO is only 3 weeks away. How did that happen? I feel unprepared, I’m not ready! I need more time. So this week, I am just going to keep my head down and just keep running. Hopefully the soreness will ease up and I can have a decent week of running. And foam rolling, I really need to do that more. 😛

How was your week?

Ever get horrible cramps in the middle of the night?

Have you ever had a week where you just wanted to be a hermit?

March Madness- Recap

Just like that March is gone. Instead of lamenting about fast it flew by, let’s talk about what happened.

66.8 Miles

March ended up being a race free month. I sat out Wine Country Half for the first time in 5 (6?) years and never replaced it with anything. I think this is the longest race free stretch that I have had in years. Part of me likes it and the other part fears I’ve forgotten all race etiquette. 😛

After February’s realization that my long run consistency over the years was all a big lie, I was hoping for a better March. In some ways it was. I had 3 good long runs and one major flame out. I missed one long run and a few easy runs due a stupid cold/ flu thing that knocked me out but other than that I stuck to my 3x a week schedule. I do wish my overall mileage was higher but you get back what you put in right?

snapseed-14

Looking to April, it’s time to step things up. SLO is one month out and San Fransisco is 4 months out. That means increased mileage and the return of speed work. If I stick to my plan, running will increase to 4x a week. Cross training really needs to be more consistent too. It’s just so hard for me to follow through. Again, that is something I need to work on.

Let’s end on a funny story–

I headed out for a run with NikeC tonight. We explored a neighborhood I had never run in before so that was cool. On the way back to the car, a moth was flying towards us. I batted at it as it neared my face but it didn’t help. I felt like it was stuck between the frame of my sunglasses and my face. I tried swatting it away while running but it didn’t help. I ended up coming to a full stop and ripping my glasses off my face. I don’t know if it flew away then or if it was even ever really there but I noticed NikeC trying not to laugh while I swatted my face. I know I probably looked funny but it was more than that. Between coming to a stop and ripping off my glasses, I had paused my Garmin. I didn’t even realize I had done it. Apparently pausing the watch was more important than getting the moth off my face. Priorities right?

ecards/_0072_s7-29_21_07_13_17_33.png:

How was your March? Are you ready for April?

Do you pause your Garmin when you stop?

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!