Tag: SLO

Trail Tuesday!

I have to say that I am liking Mondays as rest days. Even when I didn’t do anything on Sunday to warrant it. 🙂With that being said, I was ready to do something on Tuesday. Just not too early. 🙂 The temperature dropping at night combined with a new set of flannel sheets makes it really hard getting out of bed in the morning. But eventually I managed it. I headed down to SLO for a little shopping and a good lunch. From there my mom and I headed for a trail that she has done before with my dad. This trail is at the top of the grade, and you just pull off the freeway and park. You literally have to climb a fence and gate to get to the path. The fence is more for livestock than people and the trail sites actually tell you to jump the fence so I’m not that much of a rebel. Still, I was spooked for 2 miles for some reason. I knew there were other cars parked so there must be people on the trail but it was over 2 miles before we saw anyone.

Now trail may be a misnomer. While the sites claim it’s 4.6 miles up with an elevation gain of 1200’+, the trail is actually a dirt road. A well maintained dirt road. Why so maintained? TV towers!! Can’t lose access to those right? 🙂 Also I forgot my Garmin. Fail!! According to my Nike+ app which is kind of working again, it was 4 miles up with just under 1200′ elevation gain. On the way up, there is a steep drop to the right as you wind up the hill. You can see 101 but eventually the cars turn into ants and then you can’t hear them at all. I won’t lie, something about the climb and the trees bordering the side, I was waiting for the something to jump out at us. I am not sure what I was expecting more- a very real mountain lion or some mythical evil creature. You know you watch too much Supernatural when you start cracking jokes about wendigos and Sasquatch’s. Then a woman rode up behind us on a bike. I shrieked like a little girl and jumped 3 feet in the air. Seriously Fallon?! Get it together! We power walked up and power walked down enjoying the views along the way and at the top. It was overcast and chilly but still had great views. From the top we could see all of SLO. This put into perspective just how high up we were. I could see all of the two most well-known peaks in SLO- Madonna and Bishop’s Peak. They looked so small! At one point on the way down I looked west and realized I could see the rock and stacks in work town too! Kind of awesome! I wasn’t feeling well, so we kept the pace easy and stopped to take pictures and I usually didn’t pause the Nike app because it’s kind of a pain. Even with that we still completed the 8 mile trek in 2 hours. That’s not too shabby! I would like to go back again and try running it next time. And maybe keep my cool a little more. 🙂 I also need to remember my Garmin for more accurate data. I am trying to figure out where the other .5 mile is. There was a point when the trail went 3 possible ways right near the end. Plus we lost the mountain biker for a while. She ended up passing us on the way down. She had to have taken one of the other 2 ways.

All in all, I’m happy with an 8 mile day. 🙂 Now if I could just get to the treadmill.

What about you?

Ever jump a fence? With or without permission?

Afraid of things that go bump in the woods?

Almost there…

Friday was just as crazy as the rest of the week had been but it was ok, I had cookie Friday to get me through it. 🙂 Plus for once, I had plans after work, girls night! I met ML and A for dinner and a movie after work. Dinner was at a pub like restaurant, where I took no pictures. Oops! The burger was so good I was too busy eating it and catching up with them. Then it was on the movies, we saw Maze Runner. It was good and they did a decent job of sticking to the book. Granted I read it years ago, but they hit all the points I remembered. I also indulged in movie popcorn, maybe too much, but it was so worth it.

Saturday morning started with work. While I love that the weather is finally below triple digits, I could do with out the fog increase that has accompanied the cooler weather, particularly on my commute. At one point, I could barely see 2 car lengths ahead of me. Ugh. After work, I decided to use Saturday as a rest day and just ran some errands. My legs are a little tired from the extra 6 hours or so of standing per day but it’s still awesome. I decided that it had been too long since I had rearranged the bedroom furniture so that was how I spent my Saturday evening.

With my new plan to step back on running, I am aiming for 3 days a week, 15-20 miles. This week I had hoped for 15, a 3, a 5 and a 7 mile run. Instead it was 3.5, 4.5 and 4.3. I started the second set of medication that my doctor prescribed last night and woke with a pounding headache. I don’t have time for that! I had plans to go toSLO with my mom and get some shopping done plus that 7 mile run.

We were heading to SLO because back in July, I bought her a pair of running shoes at The Running Warehouse. They were supposed to be a very early Christmas present but after a month, she decided that she hated them because the tongue never stayed in place. So that was the first stop of the morning. Probably should have checked the times because they didn’t open until 10. Oops. I told her that she had to do all the talking. 🙂 Luckily the service was great as usual. She didn’t have a second choice, so I took partial store credit and picked up a new pair of Wave Rider’s with the other part. The new version comes out in a month so this way I have a back up when I need a new pair. Plus who knows if I will like the new version. I hated the Wave Inspire update.

Then it was lunch and some more shopping. I wanted to stop at Banana Republic, I have an interview on Tuesday, so I felt I needed a new dress. My head was still pounding and I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get in any running. Once home, I put my stuff away and then took a 25 minute power nap. I had very little desire run at that point but my head felt a little better, so I headed out. I kept it super easy and walked whenever I needed. Considering how I felt for the most of the day, I’d say it was damn good run. I even had the energy to take the last hill (slowly) and hit 4.3 miles instead of the other way, 3.8. I’d call that a win. 🙂 So mileage for the week- 12.3.

How was your weekend?

Anyone else hoard shoes in advance?

Ever hated a shoe update?

Different Kind of Marathon

After Tuesday’s run debacle, actually it was more of a phone debacle than a run debacle, I was anxious to get over it. After work on Thursday, I had planned on running there but the wind had picked up and I did not want cold ears. Seriously, why do my ears get cold so easily? I went to the park instead. Once there, I found that it was super busy. Well, there were cars everywhere but when I got on the path, there weren’t a lot of people.

I set out for three laps of the lake. With the construction still going on, I decided to walk that section every lap. I figured with my luck, I would trip over an orange cone. I tried to keep my pace as steady as possible while still focusing on my form. Why is that so hard? It was a pretty good run. I kind of looked forward to the little walk break each time it came around. I finished out my laps and checked my Garmin. My pace was faster than planned and I didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard. Sweet! If only it be like that all the time. 🙂 There was some big shindig going at the park, so as I was walking out all sweaty, I had to walk through groups of people all dressed up. Oops!

Hey, that's pretty good :) — Hey, that’s pretty good 🙂

At work on Friday we had a sandwich potluck. We were celebrating the arrival of a new coworker and anothers birthday. It was fun and a healthier option for a potluck. Well, not counting the onion dip, that was just tasty. Plus it wouldn’t be a Friday without my usual Friday breakfast- healthy food fail.

I had 8 miles on the schedule for today. I knew my mother and I were heading into SLO to go shopping early, so I figured I would be running them in the evening. That was until we were shopping and running errands until 7:00 pm. Does a marathon of shopping count? Yeah, I didn’t think so. We hit a few stores before lunch. Lunch was Firestone as usual. I enjoyed my usual kid’s burger with bacon wrapped in lettuce. I’m such a grown up. 🙂 But guess what this grown up did? She didn’t order any fries!!! I think that’s a first, they have awesome fries.

That is when things got a little busy. A Homegoods recently opened in SLO and we had been waiting to check it out. So had the rest of the county apparently. The place was packed. Plus the store isn’t really set up for carts but you need a cart to carry your haul! There is so much to look at, we were there for a while. 🙂 The line to check out was freaky long but actually moved pretty quickly. I behaved myself and spent under 40 bucks. From there, it was time for the Running Warehouse.

I did something that I have never done before. I returned a pair of shoes. I tried, I really did, to like the Adrenalines but I just couldn’t. They felt like bricks on my feet. Plus, they had so much cushioning that the first few times I wore them, I had troubles feeling the gas pedal. At the SLO Marathon, I think I counted more than 10 people wearing them. I wanted to grab them and ask why???? What was I missing? I haven’t even worn them in a month. I have been wearing my old pink Inspire’s even though they kind of hurt and my Waver Rider’s. I felt kind of weird returning them. The service was awesome as usual. The only questions asked were what didn’t I like about them. Then we discussed the replacement. Thankfully, he said what I had been thinking. My pronation is similar in minimum support shoes and moderate to max support shoes so I may as well go with what is comfortable. So here is my shiny new pair of… Wave Rider 17’s.

Yep, second pair. Now I just have to decide if I want to use these just for races (after breaking them in) or save them for when my current ones are worn out. I was leaning towards the race idea but then I remembered that my next 2 races are on the beach. They will get wet and dirty. But no, they’re too pretty!

So all that combined with the usual Saturday errands turned into a Saturday of no miles. 😦 But there’s tomorrow right?

How was your Saturday?

Anyone have a race?

Should I save the shoes or just break them in?

Pre Race Jitters

Where did this week go? Seriously wasn’t it just Tuesday? Now it is Saturday evening, and I feel unprepared for tomorrow‘s race. I’ve picked up my bib, edited my playlist, and laid out my clothes. Since I decided that a PR is unlikely with that last hill, what do I have to be nervous about?

Taper week has been completed, probably a little too well. After Monday’s 10K, I headed back to the lake path on Tuesday, I ran a good 4.5 miles. Probably a little faster than I should have but they felt like good miles. After that the week seemed to pick up speed.

I had a meeting Wednesday morning but when that was completed I was done for the day, woo hoo!! Since I had to drive through SLO on the way home, I stopped by the Running Warehouse to exchange the handheld I had picked up on Saturday. That thing drove me batty; taking the sleeve off was a pain and I decided to just exchange it. Hopefully the Ultimate Direction handheld I chose will be better. I then headed home to change and go drive tomorrow’s race course. After getting home and changing, I checked Twitter and was ticked. Apparently Jordan Hasay stopped by the Running Warehouse like an hour after I left!!! Ugh!!!! So in the past 2 weeks, Benedict Cumberbatch comes to SLO and I miss it, Jordan Hasay shows up and I miss that too 😦 Oh and Lady Gaga was nearby a few weeks ago too. 😦

Thursday I had a business mixer after work, but the night ended fun! I met some friends for an early showing of Divergent!!! It was really good, they did a pretty good job converting it to a movie. I treated myself to In n Out before the movie, carb loading right? It was so yummy but apparently I was still hungry because 20 minutes into the movie my stomach growled. And it was loud. So awkward.

Friday I had briefly thought about getting in a 2 mile run after work but decided against it. Which turned out to be a good thing because I ended up working longer. The carb loading rationale struck again when I ate a bag of chips. 😦 Today I woke feeling a little under the weather, I have felt like that for a few days now but I am in denial. I keep telling myself that it is just nerves. I worked this morning so I didn’t get to packet pick up until later. It was quick and easy. They are using a new timing system this year so I won’t have to worry about them cutting the chip off as soon as I cross the finish line. 🙂 The shirt is cool too. This is the first time I have received a long sleeve tech tee. And I love gray.

I indulged with a little nap today too. 🙂 Then I went through the swag bag to see what was there-

Now I am in my comfy chair relaxing. Well trying too, I am still antsy for some reason… I have gone through the list a few times and I swear I have everything ready. I can’t shake the feeling that I forgot something. Guess I will find out tomorrow. now if I can just get to sleep at a decent hour tonight…

How was your Saturday?

Anyone else ever get that antsy feeling?

I’m an Ambassador!!!!!!

Last week, I promised big news and now for the follow through. I’m the type of person who likes to check and then double-check and the check again before announcing something. I want to make sure I read something right or that it wasn’t a mistake or that they won’t change their mind, etc. Anyways, on to the news!!!!

In my goals post I mentioned that I would love to race the SLO Marathon in April. I have wanted to run the half for the past 2 years but was never able to make it work. Either illness or finances would get in the way and I would spend part of race weekend mildly pouting. So this year I was making it a priority, I was going to run it. So when it popped up in my Facebook feed that they were looking for Ambassadors for the 2014 race, I about jumped out of my chair.

I love SLO, seriously if I could live there I would. The weather is usually amazing which is good because many of my races have been run in SLO. I spend many a weekend there shopping and eating- and running. I always come home with a little less money and a full stomach. Now being that I am a steak and potatoes kind of girl I admit that I don’t branch out often, but have enjoyed some of the best hamburgers and BBQ there. I consider it a reward for a good race– or a rough week. 🙂

Healthy all week until post race reward right?

I stared at the post for a bit and then texted a friend (I needed a little encouragement) before putting together an email and submitting it. I then proceeded to stalk my own email for a week or two. I was super excited but nervous as well. Even after a few years of running I still doubt myself sometimes. But I got an email back!!!!

They asked for a bio and a picture which I promptly sent back. I then still waited a little more before posting this (I also replied from the wrong email and had a temporary panic attack). I am so excited!!!!! I now have a new focus for training and a new goal race in April. 🙂 You’ll be hearing more about the race from me in future, hopefully I can convince you to come join us on race weekend!

Oh, did I mention that Dean Karnazes ran it?