Tag: SLO Marathon

Dress Rehearsal

It was the weekend before SLO, so of course I made sure to get in all my workouts right? Ummm, no. I had good intentions but was feeling tired on Saturday. Even after sleeping in. I ended up helping my mom move a bunch of rocks. After multiple buckets of lifting rocks and carrying them, my hamstrings were cranky again. I decided that counted as cross training and was good or the day. 🙂

When too tired for miles, Mizuno make great yard work shoes.

Sunday though was going to happen. Last longish run before SLO. My training plan called for a 75 minute 2/3 progression run, each third progressively faster. On race days, 75 minutes could mean 8 miles, however on long run days, that would be more like 7. Having not run on Saturday, I was internally hoping for 9 at an easy pace. Since I know the likelihood of breaking 2:00 this weekend is small, I was fine with longer, slower miles.

I was a little sore from the rocks, oops, so I headed to the lake path for a flat surface. I headed out before lunch!! Who am I? My mom came with me, she was going to walk laps of the lake while I was running. I walked my usual warm up and just got to running. I didn’t feel up to the 2/3 plan but I thought maybe I could run the first have around 10:45 and the last half around 10:00. That sounded like a solid plan to me. That’s what I thought I could do, I was wrong. But in a good way for once! I didn’t feel like I was moving faster but according to my splits I was. I’m not sure how I hit those when I was feeling super tired but no complaints from me! Mile 6 was a little slower as I had run into my mother again and walked a bit with her. At that point, she was planning on only one more lap and I was torn between 2 or 3 more miles. It was a warmer day than planned so I decided to be smart and call it at 8 miles. It was in the 70’s by the time we were done. Last longish run done! Bring on the taper- oh wait, my plan doesn’t have one!It’s crunch time for the race now, so I set out on Sunday in a potential race day outfit. I had purchased a new skirt at Lululemon the week before so I wanted to test it out. SLO has a Lululemon now, well kind of, it’s only open 3 days a week, and my first time there cost me some money. I love their shorts so I bought a new pair and a skirt. Oops! I think I am a skirt fan now. If I could have an unlimited budget at Skirt Sports and Lulu, that would be awesome. Well, there and Mizuno too. 🙂 Endless shoes and skirts!!

I also hope it is partly the shade. :) — I also hope it is partly the shade. 🙂

Over all the outfit worked well. I am still not sold on the shirt and I will be wearing full compression socks but the skirt is a go. It turned out to be super comfy for 8 miles and that was without any Body Glide. I figured that was the only way to figure where the hot spots might be. 🙂 Since my mom was with me, I asked her to take a pic. I think another goal of 2015 is to finally get a decent race pic. Seriously, the pics from Surf City and Wine Country were so bad. So bad. Actually breaking 2:00 might be easier than a good race pic. Ha! My sock tan makes me laugh. I don’t wear full compression socks that often, just long runs and races but check that out!

Does moving rocks count as cross training?

What do you like to race in?

Do you take good pictures?

Well, that wasn’t the plan

Even though the extreme pain of Thursday evening eased, I still felt sore on Friday. Sore isn’t really the right word but it’s the closest thing to describe how my left side felt on Friday. I didn’t pay much mind to it throughout the day. Partly because the day was too damn busy and chaotic and partly because I figured it would go away by the end of the day. When the text messages start coming before your alarm, you know the day is going be a little rough. But eventually it was over and I was looking forward to a weekend of running and maybe a little shopping.

Saturday morning was a fundraiser for my mom’s tennis team. They were completing a walk-a-thon and each boy had to walk or run or crawl 20 laps on the track. One boy brought a unicycle! They had a few hours in which to do this so my original plan was to run to the school and then complete my 12 miler on the track with them. When my alarm went off, I could still feel that odd soreness before even getting up. So I chose to sleep a little longer and then just head straight to the school. I figured I would get in as many laps/ miles on the track that I could. They had the track for 3 hours, I was still hoping I could get in 10-12 miles. I didn’t really think they were going to be there that long and I was right about that. However I was overly optimistic about my goal.Running hurt. I walked a few laps and tried to run one. Ouch. Walked a few more and tried running another one. Still ow. Ok, fine I get it. I walked out the remainder of laps. So 5 miles walking done. I still hoped to try and run later in the afternoon. I ran a few errands and then had the afternoon free. I could have/ should have run but instead I took a nap. Naps are training right?

I’ve been doing the math and realized that if my Wave Rider’s wear like they usually do, I will need a new pair before the SLO Marathon. Even if they did hold up through April, I would be running the race in very worn down shoes. I’ve been hoarding the gift card I got along with my Heritage award for just this purpose so today called for a trip to SLO. My mom and I headed down for a day of shopping, yummy food and hopefully a good hike to end the day.

The weather was awesome and the food was yummy as always. My stomach was not cooperative for a hike, however. This was more of the usual though and less of the odd soreness. Which is probably partially my fault. I start a new diet with lots of restrictions tomorrow so I may have indulged a little too much this weekend. Oops, but not really. I had to say goodbye. 🙂 So the hoped for hike didn’t happen. I did clear 10,000 steps on my Fitbit though and that is only the second time I have done that outside a day with a run. Yeah, I need to work on that. 🙂The highlight of the shopping was the new shoe purchase. Aren’t new running shoes always the best? I knew exactly what I wanted to try on so that made it fairly easy. Per usual, the Running Warehouse was packed on a Sunday afternoon. There were already numerous people being helped and a few waiting. I checked out all the pretty shoes while waiting. So very many colors! I guess being a familiar face is helpful because one of the employees was able to grab the shoes I wanted to try while he was getting another customers. Score! I tried the Wave Rider 18 and Wave Inspire 11. I still love Mizuno. 🙂 I had 2 pairs of Wave Inspire 9’s that I loved but just could not get behind the 10’s. I never even bought a pair they felt so off. I’ve been in the Wave Rider 17 ever since and am on pair 3. I was nervous I wouldn’t like the update for the 18. I liked the fit and feel, nothing felt too different, I just liked the feel of the Inspire’s better today. In fact the only real issues I had with both pairs was deciding which to buy and the shoelaces. The laces seem short, so I may be changing those shortly. It’ll be interesting going to back to a support shoe after being in neutral for so long but I think it may be a good thing. I picked my shoes and was in and out of there fairly quickly, double score! Now I just can’t wait to take them for a run!

And I need to get back on track with training. This was not a shiny week, it happens right?

How was your weekend? Did you race? Or run?

Shoelaces? Do you like them longer or shorter?

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?

A (real) Plan for the Slacker?

I’ve mentioned before that I have serious problems sticking to training plans I’ve found online or in books,etc. They’re all a little too cookie cutter and it’s very rare to find one that has rest days on Fridays. And with my pace being all over the place these days, the pace based plans just make me sad. Then there’s the Slacker in me that just has a knee jerk reaction to being “told” to run. Which is why I created my own plan back in November in my almost free student planner. Which I still kind of love by the way. 🙂

Personalized plans are available from a variety of websites but have you seen the cost? Now if I could promise myself that I would follow it and not rebel like a clueless 4-year-old, the cost wouldn’t be that much. I’ve just never trusted myself to follow through. So I had my plan for the next few months and I was good. Then I got an email. The SLO Marathon partnered with McMillan Running for course specific plans. A limited number of free training plans were offered to the ambassadors. A personalized plan, just for you. The length of your choosing, designed for you. For free. Free? Seriously?!

I was so torn! I mean that is an awesome offer. I use their pace calculator all the time and they have articles and videos filled with training advice. With a limited number of spots, I had to think quickly. I liked my plan but also knew that I will likely need a little (or a lot) of guidance to break 2:00 at SLO. But would a plan stress me out? Also with the 25K this weekend and Surf City next weekend, I didn’t really have the time for a 12 week plan. After all most plans don’t have a 13.1 mile race the first week. 🙂 I checked out the website and saw that they offered an 8 week plan. Hang on, that’s doable. I would have a little time to rest after Surf City and surely I could stick to a plan for 8 weeks right? I finally decided it was too good of an offer to miss out on and jumped on it.

I received the questionnaire email about a week later. Mother of Toledo, it was 6 pages long. It asked my goals, my running habits, my usual schedule. It asked for my best times ever as well as just the best times from the last 12 months. It asked what I wanted out of running after accomplishing my goal and how many miles a week would burn me out. Etc, Etc. There was also a question about any races I may want to run before my goal race. I answered all of the questions as truthfully as I could. I do admit that I left out the 25K part. For some reason I was scared to put that in. 🙂 There was also a section that asked about any planned trips or events that would require schedule changes. I may not have any planned trips but I put Fridays in that section. Fridays usually end up being a longer (open to close) day plus my commute each way on top of that. That combined with the fact that Fridays are usually busier and I take Friday as a rest day 99.9% of the time. I wanted that to reflect in my plan so I made sure to specify that. I submitted my answers and was told it would be 1-2 weeks before I heard back. Even knowing that, I stalked my email everyday. It came on Sunday night.

Woo hoo! Included in the email was their half marathon race guide, their training philosophies, as well as a nutrition guide. Ok, cool but what about the plan? I opened the excel file with trepidation… and then blinked. Wait, what? I paid more attention to the dates and workout before going back and reading the comments, if I had done it in order, I would have been less confused. 🙂

Fallon, thanks for choosing McMillan Running to help you train optimally for your upcoming goal race. As you head into your San Luis Obispo Half Marathon training program, remember that recovery between key workouts is the key. If you simply perform the workouts and get to the race healthy, you give yourself the best chance at success. Consistent, smart training will produce the best results. Run hard, but run smart. Listen to your body to know when to push and when to rest. For each workout in your plan, there is a corresponding training pace listed in the McMillan Running Calculator (www.mcmillanrunning.com). I know you requested 8 weeks of training, but I wanted to give you a full 14 weeks so that you will have some guidelines over the next few weeks to help you transition into half-marathon specific training in the final 2 months before SLO.

14 weeks? That’s a long time but the more I read it, the more I felt like it was doable. Most of the runs are time based as opposed to distance based. I’ve been transitioning to that since December so seeing that built into the plan was kind of awesome. Specific speed work drills are built in, no paces but guidelines that I can follow and actually accomplish (fingers crossed). Surf City 13.1 and Wine Country 13.1 are built into the plan as long training runs. The weeks following those are built as recovery weeks. Hmmm, I think I can do this. I was actually super excited to start. Now, if only I was feeling 100%! I am still coughing up a storm at night so I thought it would be smarter to only run 3x this week. Boo!

Ever follow a McMillan plan? Or use their pace calculator?

Think I can stick to a plan? Or will I slack off?

Who’s racing this weekend?

Talking about Training

Most of my online feeds are full of training talk these days. I don’t remember reading this much last year. Then again my only goal last November and December was to not take a long break from running like I had in previous years. I was constantly starting over every January. In November 2013 I ran 60 miles and 34 in December, not much but miles above previous years. My first race was always in March so I usually felt like I had time to catch up. Beyond that was always up in the air.

This year is ending a little different. With a 25K the last weekend in January and a half the following weekend I need to get my butt in gear now. Combine that with wanting to finally break 2 at SLO in April, and they seem like pretty large goals for this Slacker. Particularly when you factor in my track record with training plans.

Up until 2014, I trained my own way. For the most part it worked for me. But this year I had goals and goals need plans right? For SLO, I used a Nike+ training plan that was just too much mileage for me. I tried Higdon’s intermediate plan for Rock’n around the Pier in July. It didn’t work out so well. Ventura was an effort in denial regarding my stomach and lungs. Oh and remember this gem? Could I have made it any harder to understand?

I started training 12 weeks out from my 25k. Following Surf City, I aim to take a week off before getting back to training for SLO. That’s 11 weeks. With my stomach still dictating most of my pace and never having run back to back double-digit races, my goal for January is to just finish both races- no real speed or time goals. The plan is simple- run 4 days a week, try to cross train once. The tricky part lies in the weekends- back to back runs of at least 6 miles per day, topping out at 12. Even just typing that made me tired. There’s a reason I call myself a Slacker. 🙂 I would like to throw in a speed workout every other week but that will be up to my lovely stomach.

If I can stick to this, I ~~think~~ hope that I will be starting the year with a solid base. Hopefully that base will make me a stronger runner and I can really focus on speed for SLO. Fingers crossed. As for my plan- looking back I realized that my strongest half of the year was Wine Country in March. Granted, I was also the healthiest then. Barring an asthma issue during miles 5-7, I felt strong and ran 95% of it. Damn stupid hill at mile 12. And I trained my way- it was amazingly head game free- and I want to get back to that.

Pretty easy first two weeks. Next week steps up.

And how am I tracking my plan? A 90 cent student planner and pens because that is how I roll. 🙂 I’ve bought expensive logs and only used them a month. I tried Daily Mile as a way to track and never followed through. This fits in my purse, doesn’t take up a lot of space and I am hoping will be great incentive to keep it up! What can I say, I like filling in the purple for following through!

Happy weekend!

How do you train? Any suggestions?

What are your plans this weekend?