I have to admit I was a little worried that I would be the weak link in this mornings run. While I had a pretty good run last Sunday at the Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon I just couldn't find the motivation to run all week long. My mojo seems to be in hiding and I just can't locate it. Maybe it's the darkness of 4:30 a.m. or maybe it's the changing weather or maybe it's just laziness. I'm not quite sure.
When D Gee suggested that we run a little later than we usually do I was super happy. It meant I could sleep in until 5:45 and take my time getting ready to leave the house. It lifted a little weight for me. Friday nights for the last couple months have been really late nights for me and meeting up with the group in the wee hours of Saturday mornings has been tough. Really tough.
I met up with D Gee at the appointed hour and place this morning. It was cold. Colder than cold. Like 30 something degrees cold. Thank goodness for good running tights, a beanie and gloves! While we got ourselves together and our Garmins searched for satellites BC ran up (he started out an hour earlier so he could get in a longer run). His timing was impeccable! It was too cold to stand and chat so off we went.
My goal today was to not hold the boys back too much. I wanted to run hard and find my mojo where ever she may be. The boys were gracious and let me set the pace. We clipped along at just over a 10 minute pace and caught each other up on the goings on in our lives. We ran 5 miles without walking. That was huge for me. Sadly I haven't accomplished this feat for many months. I got into the walk/run habit and I liked it just a little too much. We stopped for a 2 minute bathroom break and we were on the move again.
As we approached Big Bertha that little nagging voice of self doubt starting chirping in my ear. I wanted to run every inch of her steep switch backed slope but I've only been able to do this once or twice. Usually I surrender to the burning in my legs and lungs and walk up. But not today. Instead of giving in I prevailed! It hurt and it wasn't pretty but I did it. I had to walk for a few feet up once at the top to catch my breath but then it was back to the run.
Around mile 7.5 or 8 the boys decided to do a little trail running. My left glute has been sore and tight for quite some time and today was no different so I decided to stick to the pavement. It gave me a couple miles to work on pace and push myself. I wanted to walk like nobodies business but I didn't. I pushed until the 9 mile mark and finally gave myself permission to take a small break and re-hydrate. I tried to power through the last two miles but I was quickly running out of steam. D Gee caught back up with me around mile 9.5. We both were feeling tired but good. I took one more small walk break at mile 10 and then made the final push to the parking lot.
I'm so happy I got out and ran hard today. I'm starting to remember what it feels like to really run not just half-ass run, to get out there and do work. While I can't say with certainty that my mojo is back I can say that today I feel damn good!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Procrastination Leads to a Run Down Memory Lane
I am the queen of procrastination. I always have been and I'm pretty sure I always will be. Somehow I just function better with a little pressure, at least in most things. There are certain circumstances that I will freak out about if I don't have them planned well in advance but that's a story for another day.
This weekend I put my long run off as long as I possibly could. I checked The Weekly Runner several times during the week to see what my other runner friends had planned for the weekend but no one posted anything. The group seems to be at a crossroads of some sort and is splintering somewhat. Growing pains I suspect but it makes me sad. I really love to run with my friends on the weekend and sit at a local Starbucks afterward for hot coffee and long chats about a lot of nothing (aka gossiping).
So with no plan on the books and a 10 mile run on the calendar I decided to map out a route around my town and knock it out by myself. I planned to go around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning but forgot that Son #1 was scheduled to take the ACT. I wanted to wish him luck and send him off so I pushed the run back about 30 minutes. Well in those 30 minutes I was able to talk myself out of running all-together. I decided to brew a steaming hot Cafe Americano and rent Horrible Bosses off of pay-per-view. My rational was there is always tomorrow for a long run. I spent the rest of the day cleaning carpets, furniture and a few windows. No rest for the wicked right?!
This morning I headed out the door around 6:45 a.m. just as daylight was beginning to break. It was crisp and cool, perfect running weather. I had mapped a route on Friday but I decided to wing it a bit once I stepped out the door. I ran part of the course in reverse of what I had planned. I am so glad that I chose to do this because when I reached the bike trail that runs along a creek I was able to get some amazing sunrise photos.
This weekend I put my long run off as long as I possibly could. I checked The Weekly Runner several times during the week to see what my other runner friends had planned for the weekend but no one posted anything. The group seems to be at a crossroads of some sort and is splintering somewhat. Growing pains I suspect but it makes me sad. I really love to run with my friends on the weekend and sit at a local Starbucks afterward for hot coffee and long chats about a lot of nothing (aka gossiping).
So with no plan on the books and a 10 mile run on the calendar I decided to map out a route around my town and knock it out by myself. I planned to go around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning but forgot that Son #1 was scheduled to take the ACT. I wanted to wish him luck and send him off so I pushed the run back about 30 minutes. Well in those 30 minutes I was able to talk myself out of running all-together. I decided to brew a steaming hot Cafe Americano and rent Horrible Bosses off of pay-per-view. My rational was there is always tomorrow for a long run. I spent the rest of the day cleaning carpets, furniture and a few windows. No rest for the wicked right?!
This morning I headed out the door around 6:45 a.m. just as daylight was beginning to break. It was crisp and cool, perfect running weather. I had mapped a route on Friday but I decided to wing it a bit once I stepped out the door. I ran part of the course in reverse of what I had planned. I am so glad that I chose to do this because when I reached the bike trail that runs along a creek I was able to get some amazing sunrise photos.
This nature area holds special sentimental value for me. It is a quarter mile walk from the house I grew up in. As I kid played in and around this creek. I learned to ride a dirt bike not far from this point and how to jump on a moving freight train here (sorry mom!). We also laid out scores of pennies and nickels for the passing trains to smash. I remember rushing to the tracks to find the warm coins once it was clear. We would stand near the tracks counting cars, feeling the breeze created by the speeding trains and waving to the brakemen on the cabooses. There was no paved trail back then and a lot fewer houses. But it is still a beautiful place to be.
Even as a kid the water would grow green and stagnant by summer's end but it wouldn't stop us from spending our days here. Being out there alone today I was able to focus on the fun that I've had on these shores. Now that I am an adult I realize how lucky I was to have this little bit of nature as a playground. I'm sure it contributed to my on-going love of being outside and near water.
This trestle provided shelter from the burning summer sun. We would sit on the cool damp earth and talk about whatever it is that kids talk about and chew on the wild fennel growing on the banks.
All in all I had a really great run. I was aiming for a 10:30 pace but stopping to take all of these pictures tanked my time (I averaged 10:55). It was worth every extra minute!
Next Sunday I will run my 20th half marathon, Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon. I'm so excited. I've never run this particular race before but I run the route often with my buddies. I'll be heading to the race solo and running solo. I was a little apprehensive about this prospect. Even though I usually run a race alone I usually have a carpool buddy. I'm glad I got out there alone today because now I'm not apprehensive at all just ready to run number 20!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
What To Do?
To CIM or not is the question of the week.
A few years ago I had a goal set for a 4:30 marathon. I trained hard and I was on target to meet my goal. On the morning of the marathon I felt strong and was running well. If I could keep up the pace I was running I would cross the finish line approximately 10 minutes ahead of my goal time. But it was not meant to be. I sustained an injury to my right knee somewhere along the way. By mile 23 I was in severe pain and unable to run. I was only able to sort of walk/limp. I missed 4:30 by 17 minutes crossing the finish line in 4 hours 47 minutes. I was letdown. 4:47 is my personal best to this day but I know it’s not the best I can do.
I was barely able to make my way from the finish corral to my waiting family and friends. The pain was unbearable. After hobbling for a couple of blocks towards our car I gave up. I just could not go any further. Hubs went to the parking garage to retrieve the car while I waited in the cold December air with Debra, her daughter, and my boys.
I spent the rest of the day in bed taking massive doses of Ibuprofen and icing my knee. I called the advice nurse. She told me to just rest, after all I had just run 26.2 miles and I should expect to be sore. This was not my first go at the rodeo that is marathoning and knew that this was not the usual kind of soreness but did not push the issue. I slept on and off all afternoon and through the night. I had to have Hubs help me do everything including walking me to the bathroom which really involved him carrying me.
First thing Monday morning I called my doctor. She told me to come in right away. Hubs piled me into the car and took me in. The doctor gently moved my knee this way and that. She decided it must be a stress fracture and I was off to the X-ray Department. 30 minutes later we sat looking at the bright white bones of my lower right leg. A fracture could not be found but Doc was sure we were missing it so she scheduled me for an MRI and a consultation with a Sports Medicine doctor. I was fitted with a pair of crutches, given the paperwork to take 4 weeks off of work and sent home.
Over the next few days I tried to get in the Christmas spirit. I tottered around the house on the crutches while trying to decorate. I was bored and anxious. The MRI and the sports med appointment were a week away. Hubs took a couple days off of work and took me to the mall to knock out some Christmas shopping. I just wanted to be fixed and for the pain to go away.
Hubs took another day off of work and took me to see Sports Doc. I sat on the paper lined table as she moved the knee this way and that. She poked and prodded. She assessed I had weak quad muscles. Again we looked at the x-ray films, still searching for a hidden fracture. A little more poking and prodding and Sport Doc diagnosed a torn meniscus and “the worst case of bursitis” that she had ever seen, worse than 70 or 80 year old patients. Wow! Way to go me! She cancelled the MRI appointment and laid treatment out for me.
Treatment would be long and slow starting with a corticosteroid shot to the inflamed bursa. Not as bad as it sounds and it did bring some relief. Sport Doc referred me to Sport Therapist to rehab and strengthen the area. She prohibited me from excessive walking and absolutely no running. The tear in the meniscus was small and did not need surgery; the bursitis was the primary problem.
Rehab was a test in patience. I was forced to give up the one thing that is at once my addiction and my salvation. I hated the rehab exercises. They were monotonous and boring. I skipped workouts and cheated on the walking and running. I set myself back. I hated the look on Sport Doc’s face when I admitted I ran a couple miles just to see how it felt. The look of disapproval made me want to hide under a rock. I admitted to her that my goal was to run CIM again that year. Sport Doc told me in no uncertain terms that if I ran a full marathon 12 months after this colossal injury I would wind up back in her office and possibly be facing surgical repair of said knee.
I heeded her advice and let the notion go until 2010. All was going as planned and then the tumor appeared on Easter Sunday on the top of my right foot. It was not painful. It was just a lump staring up at me mockingly. The following day I was back in my primary physician’s office. She diagnosed a ganglion cyst and referred me to podiatry. A week later Pod Doc tells me that it must be surgically removed and recovery time would be 2 – 3 weeks. I underwent surgery to find that the cyst was actually a solid mass and had grown into the tendon in that area of my foot. Pod Doc had to cut out and remove a section of tendon. Not the news I wanted to hear. Recovery time was now projected to be 4 – 6 months. CIM had to come off the calendar for a second year. I followed his orders and 8 weeks after surgery I was given the go-ahead to slowly start running again. CIM was 4 months away. I put the race back on the calendar and began training.
October rolled around and I ran Urban Cow. My foot ached throughout the entire race, something was not right. I booked an appointment with Pod Doc. There was a painful lump that I had attributed to scar tissue. Pod Doc assessed the lump and the mobility of the foot and determined the tumor had grown back. A second surgery was scheduled. CIM was once again of the calendar. I was defeated and unhappy. The second surgery revealed a tumor and a tear in the tendon. My running career was on hold yet again.
In late January 2011 Pod Doc cleared me to run once again. I did not run. I was fearful. I could not face another surgery. Finally in late February I laced my shoes up and went for a run.
I have spent the last 8 months diligently training and have successfully completed my first full marathon in nearly 3 years however I am apprehensive about registering for CIM. I am not overly superstitious nevertheless I am shy about committing. Something about being so focused on this one event seems to be a bad omen. I am mostly pain free and mostly injury free save for the toenail situation. Would running CIM lead to yet another injury? Should I just cut my losses and focus on Big Sur 2012?
I just don’t know.
A few years ago I had a goal set for a 4:30 marathon. I trained hard and I was on target to meet my goal. On the morning of the marathon I felt strong and was running well. If I could keep up the pace I was running I would cross the finish line approximately 10 minutes ahead of my goal time. But it was not meant to be. I sustained an injury to my right knee somewhere along the way. By mile 23 I was in severe pain and unable to run. I was only able to sort of walk/limp. I missed 4:30 by 17 minutes crossing the finish line in 4 hours 47 minutes. I was letdown. 4:47 is my personal best to this day but I know it’s not the best I can do.
I was barely able to make my way from the finish corral to my waiting family and friends. The pain was unbearable. After hobbling for a couple of blocks towards our car I gave up. I just could not go any further. Hubs went to the parking garage to retrieve the car while I waited in the cold December air with Debra, her daughter, and my boys.
I spent the rest of the day in bed taking massive doses of Ibuprofen and icing my knee. I called the advice nurse. She told me to just rest, after all I had just run 26.2 miles and I should expect to be sore. This was not my first go at the rodeo that is marathoning and knew that this was not the usual kind of soreness but did not push the issue. I slept on and off all afternoon and through the night. I had to have Hubs help me do everything including walking me to the bathroom which really involved him carrying me.
First thing Monday morning I called my doctor. She told me to come in right away. Hubs piled me into the car and took me in. The doctor gently moved my knee this way and that. She decided it must be a stress fracture and I was off to the X-ray Department. 30 minutes later we sat looking at the bright white bones of my lower right leg. A fracture could not be found but Doc was sure we were missing it so she scheduled me for an MRI and a consultation with a Sports Medicine doctor. I was fitted with a pair of crutches, given the paperwork to take 4 weeks off of work and sent home.
Over the next few days I tried to get in the Christmas spirit. I tottered around the house on the crutches while trying to decorate. I was bored and anxious. The MRI and the sports med appointment were a week away. Hubs took a couple days off of work and took me to the mall to knock out some Christmas shopping. I just wanted to be fixed and for the pain to go away.
Hubs took another day off of work and took me to see Sports Doc. I sat on the paper lined table as she moved the knee this way and that. She poked and prodded. She assessed I had weak quad muscles. Again we looked at the x-ray films, still searching for a hidden fracture. A little more poking and prodding and Sport Doc diagnosed a torn meniscus and “the worst case of bursitis” that she had ever seen, worse than 70 or 80 year old patients. Wow! Way to go me! She cancelled the MRI appointment and laid treatment out for me.
Treatment would be long and slow starting with a corticosteroid shot to the inflamed bursa. Not as bad as it sounds and it did bring some relief. Sport Doc referred me to Sport Therapist to rehab and strengthen the area. She prohibited me from excessive walking and absolutely no running. The tear in the meniscus was small and did not need surgery; the bursitis was the primary problem.
Rehab was a test in patience. I was forced to give up the one thing that is at once my addiction and my salvation. I hated the rehab exercises. They were monotonous and boring. I skipped workouts and cheated on the walking and running. I set myself back. I hated the look on Sport Doc’s face when I admitted I ran a couple miles just to see how it felt. The look of disapproval made me want to hide under a rock. I admitted to her that my goal was to run CIM again that year. Sport Doc told me in no uncertain terms that if I ran a full marathon 12 months after this colossal injury I would wind up back in her office and possibly be facing surgical repair of said knee.
I heeded her advice and let the notion go until 2010. All was going as planned and then the tumor appeared on Easter Sunday on the top of my right foot. It was not painful. It was just a lump staring up at me mockingly. The following day I was back in my primary physician’s office. She diagnosed a ganglion cyst and referred me to podiatry. A week later Pod Doc tells me that it must be surgically removed and recovery time would be 2 – 3 weeks. I underwent surgery to find that the cyst was actually a solid mass and had grown into the tendon in that area of my foot. Pod Doc had to cut out and remove a section of tendon. Not the news I wanted to hear. Recovery time was now projected to be 4 – 6 months. CIM had to come off the calendar for a second year. I followed his orders and 8 weeks after surgery I was given the go-ahead to slowly start running again. CIM was 4 months away. I put the race back on the calendar and began training.
October rolled around and I ran Urban Cow. My foot ached throughout the entire race, something was not right. I booked an appointment with Pod Doc. There was a painful lump that I had attributed to scar tissue. Pod Doc assessed the lump and the mobility of the foot and determined the tumor had grown back. A second surgery was scheduled. CIM was once again of the calendar. I was defeated and unhappy. The second surgery revealed a tumor and a tear in the tendon. My running career was on hold yet again.
In late January 2011 Pod Doc cleared me to run once again. I did not run. I was fearful. I could not face another surgery. Finally in late February I laced my shoes up and went for a run.
I have spent the last 8 months diligently training and have successfully completed my first full marathon in nearly 3 years however I am apprehensive about registering for CIM. I am not overly superstitious nevertheless I am shy about committing. Something about being so focused on this one event seems to be a bad omen. I am mostly pain free and mostly injury free save for the toenail situation. Would running CIM lead to yet another injury? Should I just cut my losses and focus on Big Sur 2012?
I just don’t know.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Toe Goes
I don’t have much to report on the running front these days. I’d love to be able to write that I’ve been sticking to my schedule and that I’ve signed up for CIM but sadly I have not done either. CIM is on my mind and I must decide this week but more about that later.
Last week was a rest week after the “Big Gravel Road to Hell Marathon”. I had planned to try a short run on Wednesday to see how tired my legs were recovering, however last Monday wiped any hope of that.
I was tidying up our backyard after work. Now that school is in session and the nights have cooled our backyard is sadly being ignored. I decided it was time to clean out the broken pool toys and move the pool supplies to the shed. Easy peasy lemon squeezy right? Nope, not the case. You see I was NOT wearing the proper foot attire. I was wearing flip flops, I was not mowing lawns or using power equipment so no need for covered feet. At least that was my thinking. I was wrong.
One of the items I keep at the pool equipment during the summer is 50 pound bags of salt. It’s easier than lugging them out of the shed whenever I need to add salt to the pool. No problem leaving out in the summer but in the fall the nights become damp and the salt turns into a brick. So as I stood in my flip flop clad feet I grabbed the unopened bag of salt and slid it towards me so I could get underneath it and lift with my legs. This was a mistake of epic proportions! Due to my super-human strength the bag slid with too much ease and the bag raked over the top of my right foot (yes, gimpy two surgery foot) lifting the toenail right off of its bed.
Oh Em Gee!
Thick, dark blood flowed from the wound as I stood there trying to comprehend what I had just done. I reached down pushed the nail back into place and gingerly made my way into the kitchen. I wrapped the mess in a paper towel and lay down on the cool tile floor. The notion was inconceivable. How on earth had I just done that? Will my clumsiness never cease?
I asked my youngest son to retrieve Hubs from the garage, I was not going to be able to handle this one by myself. I was eerily calm, I had no words. It was surreal. The shock was numbing any pain the injury was causing. All of a sudden tears began to swell in my eyes. Soon I came to the realization that there were only 13 days until my favorite race of the year, Urban Cow. The magnitude of the injury was slowly sinking in. I thought to myself, “How will I be able to run with no toenail?”
Hubs helped me off the kitchen floor and down the hall so we could clean the offending digit. He ran cool water in our tub and I gently placed my feet in. I sat on the edge of the tub and watched the blood float and swirl suspended in the water. “It’s not that bad” I said to Hubs. “I’m sure it will be fine in a couple days, look the bleeding has already stopped” I said trying to convince both of us that this was not a game changing wound. He was not convinced and neither was I.
I removed my feet from the tub. Hubs carefully dried and bandaged the toe. I called my medical provider. Should I come in or not? The customer service rep said I should speak with a doctor and she would have one call me within the hour. Said doctor called as promised and told me to pull the nail off. No can do I told him. While the nail had lifted much like the hood of a car it was not completely detached. No way was I going to man up and pull that baby off. He said I had a couple other options, one option was to keep it clean and let the nail fall off on its own but that I risked infection by doing so. The other was to visit him the next day and he would remove the nail. I could not bear the thought of having the nail removed so I opted to leave it in place.
For the next several days I cleaned it like my life depended on it. Morning, noon and night. I kept it swaddled in sterile gauze and did not even look at a pair of closed toe shoes. On the 6th day I felt like the toe needed to have some pressure released so I screwed up my courage and grabbed some toenail clippers. Carefully I began to trim away the toenail, surprisingly it was not painful. I could feel the pressure releasing with each small snip. I was able to trim away about 1/3 of the nail before I came to a tender point. I stopped for the day. The next day I removed a little more. Again I reached a point where the tenderness told me to stop.
Yesterday I awoke and for the first time in 8 days no pain! It gave me hope that by October 2nd I would be able to run!
While dressing for work I carefully slipped on a closed toe swanky pair of heels. I slowly walked up and down my hallway. No pain! Hallelujah! After work I slid on socks and my running shoes. I wore them for the evening. Still no pain!
Today the toe feels nearly healed and again I am wearing closed toe shoes. I am so incredibly happy and positive that I will be able to run the race this weekend!
Last week was a rest week after the “Big Gravel Road to Hell Marathon”. I had planned to try a short run on Wednesday to see how tired my legs were recovering, however last Monday wiped any hope of that.
I was tidying up our backyard after work. Now that school is in session and the nights have cooled our backyard is sadly being ignored. I decided it was time to clean out the broken pool toys and move the pool supplies to the shed. Easy peasy lemon squeezy right? Nope, not the case. You see I was NOT wearing the proper foot attire. I was wearing flip flops, I was not mowing lawns or using power equipment so no need for covered feet. At least that was my thinking. I was wrong.
One of the items I keep at the pool equipment during the summer is 50 pound bags of salt. It’s easier than lugging them out of the shed whenever I need to add salt to the pool. No problem leaving out in the summer but in the fall the nights become damp and the salt turns into a brick. So as I stood in my flip flop clad feet I grabbed the unopened bag of salt and slid it towards me so I could get underneath it and lift with my legs. This was a mistake of epic proportions! Due to my super-human strength the bag slid with too much ease and the bag raked over the top of my right foot (yes, gimpy two surgery foot) lifting the toenail right off of its bed.
Oh Em Gee!
Thick, dark blood flowed from the wound as I stood there trying to comprehend what I had just done. I reached down pushed the nail back into place and gingerly made my way into the kitchen. I wrapped the mess in a paper towel and lay down on the cool tile floor. The notion was inconceivable. How on earth had I just done that? Will my clumsiness never cease?
I asked my youngest son to retrieve Hubs from the garage, I was not going to be able to handle this one by myself. I was eerily calm, I had no words. It was surreal. The shock was numbing any pain the injury was causing. All of a sudden tears began to swell in my eyes. Soon I came to the realization that there were only 13 days until my favorite race of the year, Urban Cow. The magnitude of the injury was slowly sinking in. I thought to myself, “How will I be able to run with no toenail?”
Hubs helped me off the kitchen floor and down the hall so we could clean the offending digit. He ran cool water in our tub and I gently placed my feet in. I sat on the edge of the tub and watched the blood float and swirl suspended in the water. “It’s not that bad” I said to Hubs. “I’m sure it will be fine in a couple days, look the bleeding has already stopped” I said trying to convince both of us that this was not a game changing wound. He was not convinced and neither was I.
I removed my feet from the tub. Hubs carefully dried and bandaged the toe. I called my medical provider. Should I come in or not? The customer service rep said I should speak with a doctor and she would have one call me within the hour. Said doctor called as promised and told me to pull the nail off. No can do I told him. While the nail had lifted much like the hood of a car it was not completely detached. No way was I going to man up and pull that baby off. He said I had a couple other options, one option was to keep it clean and let the nail fall off on its own but that I risked infection by doing so. The other was to visit him the next day and he would remove the nail. I could not bear the thought of having the nail removed so I opted to leave it in place.
For the next several days I cleaned it like my life depended on it. Morning, noon and night. I kept it swaddled in sterile gauze and did not even look at a pair of closed toe shoes. On the 6th day I felt like the toe needed to have some pressure released so I screwed up my courage and grabbed some toenail clippers. Carefully I began to trim away the toenail, surprisingly it was not painful. I could feel the pressure releasing with each small snip. I was able to trim away about 1/3 of the nail before I came to a tender point. I stopped for the day. The next day I removed a little more. Again I reached a point where the tenderness told me to stop.
Yesterday I awoke and for the first time in 8 days no pain! It gave me hope that by October 2nd I would be able to run!
While dressing for work I carefully slipped on a closed toe swanky pair of heels. I slowly walked up and down my hallway. No pain! Hallelujah! After work I slid on socks and my running shoes. I wore them for the evening. Still no pain!
Today the toe feels nearly healed and again I am wearing closed toe shoes. I am so incredibly happy and positive that I will be able to run the race this weekend!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Nor Cal Marathon 9-18-2011
This is the post I wrote Sunday night after returning home mere hours after the Nor Cal Marathon:
We finished.
It was hard.
I’m done running forever.
I sat and stared at those 3 lines for a very long time. Am I really done forever? Isn’t that one of my biggest fears that I will no longer be able to run? How many posts have I written about how crazy I get when I can’t run? Am I really ready to quit? My mouse hovered over the publish button for more than a minute. I decided not to post it, to sleep on it.
Those are big words to say and even bigger words to eat once you change your mind. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t post it. It was hard, harder than any other marathon I’ve run including the wind and rain at Surf City ’08 and the torn knee at mile 23 of CIM ’08. I know I’m not done forever but Sunday was a really tough day. I did not expect the marathon to be as challenging as it was and I was disappointed. Not disappointed about our time but disappointed that we had prepared so diligently and the course was not advertised as an off road marathon. We were more than prepared for a road race but trail racing is whole different beast all together. With that said the race was not all bad and we even had some laughs mixed in with the suffering.
We arrived and parked with about 20 minutes to spare. Heather wanted to hit the porta-potty city before the start. We walked through the nearly empty start area wondering where the heck everyone was and then we saw the masses standing in line for the little blue potty houses. We hopped in line and waited and waited some more. Finally we were at the front of the line and we could hear the announcer give the 2 minute warning. At this point I decided to skip using the facilities which turned out to be a mistake, more about that later. As the air horn blew signaling the start of the race H was in her little blue hut but since the race was chip timed it didn’t matter. As we crossed the start line it was clear of nearly every other runner and walker which was fine by me. I’m not a huge fan of the crowded start corral and the stutter step through the first quarter mile. Heather had a plan in place as to what pace she wanted run for different segments of the race. Her plan was excellent and would leave us with enough energy to finish the race feeling strong.
We ran a nice slow pace for the first two miles and then picked up the pace for approximately the next 7 miles. We wound around a pretty little park and enjoyed the coolness coming from the grass and trees. Around the 6 mile marker we left the paved road for the first section of loose gravel. The path ran parallel to the airport and the planes taking-off and landing were a nice distraction. At mile 9 the half marathon participants turned around. It was at this point that Heather and I realized exactly how small the marathon was. We ran up a small incline to another loose gravel road and found that we were the only 2 runners around. Up in the distance we could see another 2 or 3 runners. We trudged along staying at our target pace along the gravel levee road until the 14 mile marker. I was so relieved to find a porta-potty at this aid station. Since I had opted not to use the facilities at the start the urge to go was growing with each passing mile. I had stopped somewhere around 4 miles but grew impatient with the line and decided not to wait. I stopped again around mile 7 or 8 only to find that the door was zip tied shut. That was really cruel! So finally at 14 I found an unlocked, no wait porta-potty. This was a very happy moment for me! I told Heather to go on and I would catch up to her. With that business out of the way I took advantage of the nice smooth paved road to pick up my pace and meet back up with Heather. We ran along a small paved path into a park to the 16 mile marker that was the turn-around for the full marathon. It was getting hot and I was feeling spent after all the miles on the gravel and so was Heather. I decided since we were not running with our eyes on the clock that we should take the turn-around as an opportunity to take a photo.
As we made our way back up the paved trail out of the park I was beginning to dread returning to that levee road. At mile 17 we entered the gravel again. We stopped and thanked the volunteers and had a sip of Gatorade. After a mile or so on the gravel my quads and feet were screaming at me. They were indignant. How could I possibly ask them to put up with these less than favorable conditions for any longer? We spent a great deal of the next 8 miles walking. The day had turned out to be very warm. The sun was baking the earth and the rocks. The heat radiated upward like a never-ending wall. Areas of shade were very few and far between. At each aid station we refilled the water bottles we were carrying and poured water on our necks. We asked how long until we would be off the gravel. No one knew. It was treacherous and defeating. Heather had hit her wall and snapped back out of just in time for me to hit mine. I wanted to run. Heather wanted to run. We just couldn’t, it was too painful. Heather’s knees were angry and my feet were refusing to take anymore punishment. We would run in little bursts then walk. Over and over we repeated this pattern. It was grueling. Finally somewhere between miles 24 and 25 we returned to pavement. It was a joyous moment. We were still too hot and fatigued to run much but at least we were off that awful gravel.
I began to feel revitalized around mile 25, the end was so close! As we rounded the last corner and could see the finish line I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. All the months of hard work had paid off. The two surgeries and two recoveries were now in the distance. I had made a promise to BC to get Heather to the finish line in one piece and I did (more or less!). This was not my fastest marathon nor did I expect it to be. I just wanted to finish and I did!
We finished.
It was hard.
I’m done running forever.
I sat and stared at those 3 lines for a very long time. Am I really done forever? Isn’t that one of my biggest fears that I will no longer be able to run? How many posts have I written about how crazy I get when I can’t run? Am I really ready to quit? My mouse hovered over the publish button for more than a minute. I decided not to post it, to sleep on it.
Those are big words to say and even bigger words to eat once you change your mind. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t post it. It was hard, harder than any other marathon I’ve run including the wind and rain at Surf City ’08 and the torn knee at mile 23 of CIM ’08. I know I’m not done forever but Sunday was a really tough day. I did not expect the marathon to be as challenging as it was and I was disappointed. Not disappointed about our time but disappointed that we had prepared so diligently and the course was not advertised as an off road marathon. We were more than prepared for a road race but trail racing is whole different beast all together. With that said the race was not all bad and we even had some laughs mixed in with the suffering.
We arrived and parked with about 20 minutes to spare. Heather wanted to hit the porta-potty city before the start. We walked through the nearly empty start area wondering where the heck everyone was and then we saw the masses standing in line for the little blue potty houses. We hopped in line and waited and waited some more. Finally we were at the front of the line and we could hear the announcer give the 2 minute warning. At this point I decided to skip using the facilities which turned out to be a mistake, more about that later. As the air horn blew signaling the start of the race H was in her little blue hut but since the race was chip timed it didn’t matter. As we crossed the start line it was clear of nearly every other runner and walker which was fine by me. I’m not a huge fan of the crowded start corral and the stutter step through the first quarter mile. Heather had a plan in place as to what pace she wanted run for different segments of the race. Her plan was excellent and would leave us with enough energy to finish the race feeling strong.
We ran a nice slow pace for the first two miles and then picked up the pace for approximately the next 7 miles. We wound around a pretty little park and enjoyed the coolness coming from the grass and trees. Around the 6 mile marker we left the paved road for the first section of loose gravel. The path ran parallel to the airport and the planes taking-off and landing were a nice distraction. At mile 9 the half marathon participants turned around. It was at this point that Heather and I realized exactly how small the marathon was. We ran up a small incline to another loose gravel road and found that we were the only 2 runners around. Up in the distance we could see another 2 or 3 runners. We trudged along staying at our target pace along the gravel levee road until the 14 mile marker. I was so relieved to find a porta-potty at this aid station. Since I had opted not to use the facilities at the start the urge to go was growing with each passing mile. I had stopped somewhere around 4 miles but grew impatient with the line and decided not to wait. I stopped again around mile 7 or 8 only to find that the door was zip tied shut. That was really cruel! So finally at 14 I found an unlocked, no wait porta-potty. This was a very happy moment for me! I told Heather to go on and I would catch up to her. With that business out of the way I took advantage of the nice smooth paved road to pick up my pace and meet back up with Heather. We ran along a small paved path into a park to the 16 mile marker that was the turn-around for the full marathon. It was getting hot and I was feeling spent after all the miles on the gravel and so was Heather. I decided since we were not running with our eyes on the clock that we should take the turn-around as an opportunity to take a photo.
Here we are smiling and looking relaxed, not looking as tired and haggard as we felt.
As we made our way back up the paved trail out of the park I was beginning to dread returning to that levee road. At mile 17 we entered the gravel again. We stopped and thanked the volunteers and had a sip of Gatorade. After a mile or so on the gravel my quads and feet were screaming at me. They were indignant. How could I possibly ask them to put up with these less than favorable conditions for any longer? We spent a great deal of the next 8 miles walking. The day had turned out to be very warm. The sun was baking the earth and the rocks. The heat radiated upward like a never-ending wall. Areas of shade were very few and far between. At each aid station we refilled the water bottles we were carrying and poured water on our necks. We asked how long until we would be off the gravel. No one knew. It was treacherous and defeating. Heather had hit her wall and snapped back out of just in time for me to hit mine. I wanted to run. Heather wanted to run. We just couldn’t, it was too painful. Heather’s knees were angry and my feet were refusing to take anymore punishment. We would run in little bursts then walk. Over and over we repeated this pattern. It was grueling. Finally somewhere between miles 24 and 25 we returned to pavement. It was a joyous moment. We were still too hot and fatigued to run much but at least we were off that awful gravel.
I began to feel revitalized around mile 25, the end was so close! As we rounded the last corner and could see the finish line I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. All the months of hard work had paid off. The two surgeries and two recoveries were now in the distance. I had made a promise to BC to get Heather to the finish line in one piece and I did (more or less!). This was not my fastest marathon nor did I expect it to be. I just wanted to finish and I did!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Speedies Wednesday, A Recap
Last night was my first Speedies Wednesday evening workout. Yeah it pretty much sucked (except for the company of DG). I have not run at night in a looooong time, perhaps since the disastrous Moo-Nlight ½ marathon that was not actually a ½ marathon. Anyhoo, the thought of trying to cram speed work into the wee hours of the morning is obnoxious plus I miss my running buddies so I planned an evening track workout.
DG and I met at 6:00 p.m. at the local high school track. There were a couple other runners on the track and the Varsity football team was doing there thang out on the field. DG ran 800’s and I wimped and ran 200’s. Well wimped might be a little harsh since I do have a marathon this Sunday. It was hot, 85° (Fahrenheit for my Australian and Canadian friends) and I had a day’s worth of meals in my belly. Two factors I am unaccustomed to. While it was not the worst workout ever it surely was not the best. We powered through 3 miles and decided that was enough punishment for one day.
We gathered our belongings from the sideline and then the fun began. We found that the wonderful football coaching staff had locked us IN the stadium. Really? How about a little shout out dudes? You know something like “we’re locking up for the night kids so you might want pack it in”. To add insult to injury to us non-football playing types they watched us as we looked for an open gate. Of the four men standing shooting the breeze outside the locked gate not one of them offered to unlock the gate and let us out. Classy fellas, thanks so much! Luckily DG and I found an open gate at the far end of the stadium and were not forced to scale the chain link fence in front of the football team, their parents and coaching staff like the other group of runners had elected to do. My lack of height and gracefulness tells me that climbing over fences in front of semi-large groups is not a good idea. Trust me I know from experience my capabilities would not have allowed such actions to go unnoticed!
Today I am feeling healthy and relaxed (yes #1 girlfriend does have strep throat). I plan to run an easy 3 miles tomorrow morning just to stretch out a bit. I've begun making my lists of what I need to pack and searching for places to eat. Everything is feeling just right, I can’t wait for the weekend to begin!
DG and I met at 6:00 p.m. at the local high school track. There were a couple other runners on the track and the Varsity football team was doing there thang out on the field. DG ran 800’s and I wimped and ran 200’s. Well wimped might be a little harsh since I do have a marathon this Sunday. It was hot, 85° (Fahrenheit for my Australian and Canadian friends) and I had a day’s worth of meals in my belly. Two factors I am unaccustomed to. While it was not the worst workout ever it surely was not the best. We powered through 3 miles and decided that was enough punishment for one day.
We gathered our belongings from the sideline and then the fun began. We found that the wonderful football coaching staff had locked us IN the stadium. Really? How about a little shout out dudes? You know something like “we’re locking up for the night kids so you might want pack it in”. To add insult to injury to us non-football playing types they watched us as we looked for an open gate. Of the four men standing shooting the breeze outside the locked gate not one of them offered to unlock the gate and let us out. Classy fellas, thanks so much! Luckily DG and I found an open gate at the far end of the stadium and were not forced to scale the chain link fence in front of the football team, their parents and coaching staff like the other group of runners had elected to do. My lack of height and gracefulness tells me that climbing over fences in front of semi-large groups is not a good idea. Trust me I know from experience my capabilities would not have allowed such actions to go unnoticed!
Today I am feeling healthy and relaxed (yes #1 girlfriend does have strep throat). I plan to run an easy 3 miles tomorrow morning just to stretch out a bit. I've begun making my lists of what I need to pack and searching for places to eat. Everything is feeling just right, I can’t wait for the weekend to begin!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Irrational Fears?
5 days until the big day and I’m all kinds of nervous and excited at the same time. In the last few days day I have found thinking about things I’m afraid of happening before this mammoth event.
#1. I will forget to pack my running shoes, shorts, bra and/or top. Any one of these items left behind would be disastrous on many levels. You can’t just slap on any old pair of sneakers and expect your feet to reward you with a blister free marathon. No my friend your feet want the shoes they know and love. Try a new pair on marathon day and you are likely to end up like this:
Same goes with the outfit. You need to test drive all garment choices pre-race. Failure to do so could result in chafing so badly you will be making deals with the devil himself to make the burning pain from the rivulets of sweat running over the raw, exposed skin go away.
#2. I will get sick. Son #1’s girlfriend texted me this morning to tell me she had to be tested for strep throat this morning. What the heeeell?? Let the Lysol-ing begin, stat! I told her I love her but stay away from me. In addition two of my students are sick ( I only have 9). In first period one of the two students came in all snotty and sniffley after being absent yesterday. I handed him the hand santizer and asked him not to breathe or touch anything in the room until the bell rang at the end of class. Unreasonable you say? Well how about you try running for 26.2 miles with a clothes pin clipping your nose shut and a small hammer pounding away at your brain and see how you feel, mmmmkay? Running with a head cold is no joke and I’ve worked too hard this year to get to this place thank you very much.
#3. Mother Nature will pull some crazy stunt and send Aunt Flow for an early visit. Sorry dudes I know you are cringing right now. But we’re all runners and body functions go with the territory, am I right? Anyway this isn’t the worst thing that can happen but it would be a game changer all the same.
#4. What will I eat? We will be a couple hours from home in a city I am not familiar with. Should I bring my meals with me? Will there be a trusted chain restaurant where I can find a decent pre-race meal? The last thing I want is some dinner that wreaks havoc on my delicate gastrointestinal system. One of the golden rules of racing is do NOT try anything new during race week. Ever. Period. I have a friend that broke this rule the day before her first marathon and she tried an energy shot at the race expo. Guess what happened. That’s right she spent the night in her hotel bathroom hugging the porcelain. She also spent 6 ½ hours on the marathon course in agony. Lesson learned!
Also on my mind: Am I prepared enough? What if H gets sick of hearing my incessant talking? What if I fall down, again? What if I can’t sleep? What if my snoring keeps H awake?
Sheesh! Neurotic much?!
#1. I will forget to pack my running shoes, shorts, bra and/or top. Any one of these items left behind would be disastrous on many levels. You can’t just slap on any old pair of sneakers and expect your feet to reward you with a blister free marathon. No my friend your feet want the shoes they know and love. Try a new pair on marathon day and you are likely to end up like this:
Same goes with the outfit. You need to test drive all garment choices pre-race. Failure to do so could result in chafing so badly you will be making deals with the devil himself to make the burning pain from the rivulets of sweat running over the raw, exposed skin go away.
#2. I will get sick. Son #1’s girlfriend texted me this morning to tell me she had to be tested for strep throat this morning. What the heeeell?? Let the Lysol-ing begin, stat! I told her I love her but stay away from me. In addition two of my students are sick ( I only have 9). In first period one of the two students came in all snotty and sniffley after being absent yesterday. I handed him the hand santizer and asked him not to breathe or touch anything in the room until the bell rang at the end of class. Unreasonable you say? Well how about you try running for 26.2 miles with a clothes pin clipping your nose shut and a small hammer pounding away at your brain and see how you feel, mmmmkay? Running with a head cold is no joke and I’ve worked too hard this year to get to this place thank you very much.
#3. Mother Nature will pull some crazy stunt and send Aunt Flow for an early visit. Sorry dudes I know you are cringing right now. But we’re all runners and body functions go with the territory, am I right? Anyway this isn’t the worst thing that can happen but it would be a game changer all the same.
#4. What will I eat? We will be a couple hours from home in a city I am not familiar with. Should I bring my meals with me? Will there be a trusted chain restaurant where I can find a decent pre-race meal? The last thing I want is some dinner that wreaks havoc on my delicate gastrointestinal system. One of the golden rules of racing is do NOT try anything new during race week. Ever. Period. I have a friend that broke this rule the day before her first marathon and she tried an energy shot at the race expo. Guess what happened. That’s right she spent the night in her hotel bathroom hugging the porcelain. She also spent 6 ½ hours on the marathon course in agony. Lesson learned!
Also on my mind: Am I prepared enough? What if H gets sick of hearing my incessant talking? What if I fall down, again? What if I can’t sleep? What if my snoring keeps H awake?
Sheesh! Neurotic much?!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Marathon Countdown
Marathon week has arrived without so much as a single post by me about the long and sometimes arduous miles. Geez I feel like such a slacker! I started working full-time in for the first time in 18 years in mid-August and it’s been an adjustment for me. Some days it takes all I have just to get through the day so blogging has been pushed to the back burner. However, I did update my Dailymile profile after each run so if you want to see what I’ve been up to you can check it out here http://www.dailymile.com/people/KellyV3#ref=tophd
My right (gimpy) foot has held up amazingly well! But I made the mistake of wearing a single pair running shoes all summer. What a rookie move! I put nearly 500 miles on those bad boys and that has resulted in some ankle pain in my left foot. Nothing that some Motrin, ice and stretching can’t fix but annoying none the less.
Saturday was my final “long” run before the big day. My marathon partner, H, spent the weekend in the majestic Lake Tahoe area and a few other runners in our group wanted to run hills so DG and I decided to take an easy 11 mile lap around Lake Natoma. It was a b-e-a-u-tiful morning. The temperature was perfect and the sunrise absolutely gorgeous.
DG and I ran a leisurely first 5 miles until we got to “the clean bathrooms”. We stopped to use the facilities, refuel, and stretch. After about 8 or 9 minutes we decided it was time to get down to business. We set off towards a set of switch backs that I affectionately call “Big Bertha”. Mind you this is a small section of the trail leads up to the Auburn-Folsom Bridge but I was dreading the hill all the same. She routinely beats me down and forces my tired legs to walk up her steep incline. But not this time, I ran every single step! Of course I was toast by the time I reached the top and had to walk a portion of the bridge. But hey a victory is victory!
We crossed the bridge and considered leaving a message for BC out of twigs and leaves on his car parked in the lot at Karen’s Bakery. We giggled like second graders at the thought but decided that we should get serious and run so we did not make the detour. We dropped back down to the bike trail to do some work and push ourselves harder. We ran at a 9:30-10:00 min/mile pace even on the rolling hill sections. We slowed and sometimes even walked after a particularly tough stretch. We stopped briefly at the sight of a bicycle crash that H and I directed traffic around just a couple of weeks ago. The stain on the path is a grim reminder of how quickly a nice day on the trail can turn into tragedy.
Just as the temperature started to rise we finished up our 11.25 miles. It was a great run and I felt like I could continue on if I had needed or wanted to. That feeling has eluded me for much of the last month and I was beginning to doubt my love of running. But I it turns out that I do still love it and I’m excited to run my 4th marathon this coming Sunday!
My right (gimpy) foot has held up amazingly well! But I made the mistake of wearing a single pair running shoes all summer. What a rookie move! I put nearly 500 miles on those bad boys and that has resulted in some ankle pain in my left foot. Nothing that some Motrin, ice and stretching can’t fix but annoying none the less.
Saturday was my final “long” run before the big day. My marathon partner, H, spent the weekend in the majestic Lake Tahoe area and a few other runners in our group wanted to run hills so DG and I decided to take an easy 11 mile lap around Lake Natoma. It was a b-e-a-u-tiful morning. The temperature was perfect and the sunrise absolutely gorgeous.
DG and I ran a leisurely first 5 miles until we got to “the clean bathrooms”. We stopped to use the facilities, refuel, and stretch. After about 8 or 9 minutes we decided it was time to get down to business. We set off towards a set of switch backs that I affectionately call “Big Bertha”. Mind you this is a small section of the trail leads up to the Auburn-Folsom Bridge but I was dreading the hill all the same. She routinely beats me down and forces my tired legs to walk up her steep incline. But not this time, I ran every single step! Of course I was toast by the time I reached the top and had to walk a portion of the bridge. But hey a victory is victory!
We crossed the bridge and considered leaving a message for BC out of twigs and leaves on his car parked in the lot at Karen’s Bakery. We giggled like second graders at the thought but decided that we should get serious and run so we did not make the detour. We dropped back down to the bike trail to do some work and push ourselves harder. We ran at a 9:30-10:00 min/mile pace even on the rolling hill sections. We slowed and sometimes even walked after a particularly tough stretch. We stopped briefly at the sight of a bicycle crash that H and I directed traffic around just a couple of weeks ago. The stain on the path is a grim reminder of how quickly a nice day on the trail can turn into tragedy.
Just as the temperature started to rise we finished up our 11.25 miles. It was a great run and I felt like I could continue on if I had needed or wanted to. That feeling has eluded me for much of the last month and I was beginning to doubt my love of running. But I it turns out that I do still love it and I’m excited to run my 4th marathon this coming Sunday!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Davis Moo-nlight 12.2 Half Marathon
Last night I ran my 19th half marathon. Well almost half marathon. A 12.2 mile half marathon to be exact. I’m sure you are sitting there reading and wondering “did I read that correctly?” Well my friend you did so read on.
HP and I headed out of hometown to Davis for the Davis Moo-nlight Half Marathon around 5:30 p.m so we could pick up our packets and have plenty of pre-race time. Upon exiting the freeway we ran into some serious traffic. Although there was official event parking the race directors did not provide enough parking for the 3,000 participants and traffic had backed up. Our friend DG had beat us there and texted that there was parking at the IHOP. Cool enough except that I missed the turn for IHOP. I drove a couple more blocks made a u-turn and pulled into a full parking lot. Fail. I found a spot at the hotel behind IHOP. Score!
We made it over to packet pick-up and picked up our bibs and t-shirts. My last name falls at the end of the alphabet and the line is usually very short. With only two runners ahead of me I thought I’d have my bib in no time. But I stood and stood some more. There was some sort of problem with the registered runner at the front of the line. Finally it was my turn I was handed my bib by an adult volunteer and a pre-teen volunteer tossed my tech tee at me from the far side of the table. Hmmm, so much for customer service.
Back at the car I dug my running shoes out of my backpack and pinned the bib to the front of my tank. HP ran into the hotel for a quick potty stop and DG went in after HP returned. While waiting for DG this rude little man comes out and tells me that customers are complaining that the lot is full and to move my car. I did my best to keep my spot just a couple of blocks from the start but finally gave in and moved.
I made the short jog to the start to find my buddies and we watched the end of the kids race and headed to find the start. The start and finish were kind of hodge podged together and it was actually a little challenging to find the start. Another lit bit of frustration was that the 5K, 10K and half all had the same start time. This was yet another move by the race director that needs improvement.
I find that I must stop the story here and give my opinion of running a race with a stroller. Don’t. That’s my opinion. Don’t do it. Especially if you have not ever raced before and have no idea what your pace is. To the guy who easily breezed by me with the stroller just before the first mile marker you get on with your bad self because I am not talking about you. But to the all the others and to the walkers I applaud you for getting out there and doing work like the rest of us but please move to the back of the start line. The traffic at the start beat out the traffic on road coming to the race. While HP and I started at the 10 minute/mile marker we were forced to fight our way around strollers and walkers alike for much of the first mile. Very frustrating, I’m just saying.
So now back to the story. HP and I stayed together for the first 2ish miles. We were both running too fast and it was hot. We were on a stretch of road that paralleled a major freeway and it was somewhat stifling. HP said she was going to pull back a bit and we said our good lucks and see ya at the ends. For most of the next four miles I was running a comfortable pace and enjoying the scenery of the beautiful Davis park we ran around and through. The sun started to set and it began to cool some. Around mile 6 the 10K and half marathon runners were directed to split from the 5K runners. As I made the climb up the freeway overpass I came to the 7 mile marker. Huh? My Garmin had only logged just over 6 miles. What the freak? Did I miss a turn? How could I have? I never strayed from the group I had been running with. I figured the sign was placed in the wrong area and that the next mile marker would be in the appropriate place. That did not happen, ever. At each subsequent mile marker my Garmin was short a full mile. How could this be? I started losing sight of my goal of 2:15 (not a PR but still a decent time for a rehabber like me) and trying to figure what the hell happened. Just as my Garmin beeped to signal mile 12 a volunteer cheering us on said “3 blocks to the finish”. Ummm what? No sir I have a mile to go not 3 blocks. As I rounded the corner there was the finish. The clock read 2:06 and I was nearly 10 minutes ahead of my goal. I crossed the mat and a volunteer tossed a finish medal at me, (literally tossed) thanks a lot I thought. I searched out the water station and I looked around for DG who had a goal of 2 hours in his sights. I walked around a bit dazed and confused. Had my Garmin failed, had I failed, or was the course really a mile short? Mind you this was an USATF certified course. I sat down feeling deflated. Then I caught a glimpse of DG. He runs low tech, no fancy water bottles or watches, and I asked if he thought we were off. He thought so but couldn’t figure out how either. A few minutes later HP comes in and she is just as perplexed about the mileage. Now I know something is up because the chances of both Garmins failing was like zero to none.
So my official result is this: 12.2 mile Half Marathon 2:07:10. This would have been a PR by nearly a minute if I had of actually run 13.1 miles which I did not.
Needless to say I will not be shelling out any cash next summer to go and run this poorly managed event.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Random little bits
Today's goal: Easy run, 3 miles @10:46
Workout: 3 miles @9:37
Much better run today. The air was still and crisp with the faint smell of freshly mowed lawn. No mini river or annoying little dogs. Still trying to run without paying much attention to the 'ol Garmin. Feeling really strong today. Think I need new shoes though, feeling a little shin splinty. Opted to wade in pool instead of ice bath. 70 degree water was much nicer than 50!
Lately I've had more good runs than bad ones. I've got a new summer routine and I like it. Over the last few weeks my friends and I have been able to fit in a mid-week speedwork session. As much as I dread running around that oval track I can't wait to meet up with my crew. Okay let's get real, what I really look forward to is sitting enjoying a well deserved latte after the workout and visiting! But nonetheless it's great to see my buddies twice a week and my increasing strength is an added bonus.
Did you notice the new blog title? Last Saturday while trying to power through the last couple miles of my first 14+ mile run in I don't know how long (umm I'm thinking like forever but probably like the fall of '08) I had the thought that I should stop using Bart's title and come up with my own. I find on long runs I often tell myself "just get through one more mile". So I thought, violá I have a new title! I did a little Internet research and found that there is a book with the title Just One More Mile. Surprisingly enough it is not about running in the sense of the sport but about running towards a better life. It looks interesting, I may have to read it. So after a little deliberation (and trying to come up with something else til my brain hurt) I decided to use the title because everyday I'm truly trying to get through just one more mile.
You may have noticed that I also changed the look too. I like the clean simple lines. What do you think??
I've got two new events on my calendar. A 10K on June 25 and a half on July 16. I've also pretty much committed to a full marathon in September. I guess all that I have left to do is sign up to be fully committed. Oh and do a whole lotta training!
So there you have it, some random little bits!
Workout: 3 miles @9:37
Much better run today. The air was still and crisp with the faint smell of freshly mowed lawn. No mini river or annoying little dogs. Still trying to run without paying much attention to the 'ol Garmin. Feeling really strong today. Think I need new shoes though, feeling a little shin splinty. Opted to wade in pool instead of ice bath. 70 degree water was much nicer than 50!
Lately I've had more good runs than bad ones. I've got a new summer routine and I like it. Over the last few weeks my friends and I have been able to fit in a mid-week speedwork session. As much as I dread running around that oval track I can't wait to meet up with my crew. Okay let's get real, what I really look forward to is sitting enjoying a well deserved latte after the workout and visiting! But nonetheless it's great to see my buddies twice a week and my increasing strength is an added bonus.
Did you notice the new blog title? Last Saturday while trying to power through the last couple miles of my first 14+ mile run in I don't know how long (umm I'm thinking like forever but probably like the fall of '08) I had the thought that I should stop using Bart's title and come up with my own. I find on long runs I often tell myself "just get through one more mile". So I thought, violá I have a new title! I did a little Internet research and found that there is a book with the title Just One More Mile. Surprisingly enough it is not about running in the sense of the sport but about running towards a better life. It looks interesting, I may have to read it. So after a little deliberation (and trying to come up with something else til my brain hurt) I decided to use the title because everyday I'm truly trying to get through just one more mile.
You may have noticed that I also changed the look too. I like the clean simple lines. What do you think??
I've got two new events on my calendar. A 10K on June 25 and a half on July 16. I've also pretty much committed to a full marathon in September. I guess all that I have left to do is sign up to be fully committed. Oh and do a whole lotta training!
So there you have it, some random little bits!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Women's Fitness Festival 5K
Yesterday was one of those good days. My mojo was in synchronicity with the universe if you will.
I started the rainy day with a 5K race. I had a goal of 26:anything in my sights. It was a lofty goal and I had serious doubts the clock would read 26 when I crossed the finish mat. I’ve been training pretty regularly but I’ve been struggling with a bout of depression which has led to skipped workouts and less than ideal eating habits. The sunny, warm California weather of legend has been non-existant for the better part of 9 months making it hard for me to get myself out the door on many days.
As I prepared for the 8:00 a.m. event the rain steadily fell from the sky. I once again could not decide what to wear. This seems to be the theme of my spring training. It is more daunting to me than say a 13 mile run. So as I stood in front of my closet I pondered my choices; shorts and a tank, shorts and a short sleeve or long sleeve shirt? Capris or pants were out of the question so it really came down what to wear on top. I knew I didn’t want to be cold as I waited at the start and I detest running with anything tied around my waist so I opted for shorts and long sleeve shirt. Wrong choice! Within a couple blocks of this urban course I was too hot. I decided to not let being to warm ruin my run so I pushed my sleeves up as far as they would go, cranked up the Ipod and just ran.
I find that I often run with my eyes glued to my Garmin in order to pace myself. It’s not a good way to train and I have been working on running by feel as opposed to the time on my watch. As I waited for the start of the race I told myself to not look at my pace the entire first mile. I didn’t and as I approached the first mile marker my Garmin signaled my first split of the morning. 8:19! Yikes! That was not the plan. It was at this point I realized I was running waaaay to fast and was going to crash burn if I tried to keep this up. Like I said, I had my doubts about actually making this goal. I knew I needed to keep a constant 8:30 pace to achieve my goal so I spent mile 2 trying to settle into this pace. I couldn’t do it and grew ever more doubtful. I really need to work on a positive attitude while I’m out on the run!
One of the things my friend and mentor BC has taught me is to take the inside corners. This course had very few so I didn’t have to do too much jockeying to get down into the corners. However as we rounded the next to last corner another runner cut in front of me and stepped on my right foot as she passed. I thought for sure I was going eat pavement. Even worse this is my "fragile" foot! Now I realize that this was not a purposeful act on the part of the other runner but she did not even mutter a “sorry”as she moved out in front of me. How rude! Miraculously I was able to stay upright and kept on running. It sure is a lot more cut-throat at the 8:30 pace than it is back at the 10:00 minute pace! This will take some getting used to if I continue to race at this pace.
At the two mile marker my Garmin showed an 8:46 mile. Not great but not bad either. If I could hold it together for one more mile I might actually make my goal. I walked through the water station took a couple quick sips of water and picked up the run again. The third mile was an act of self torture. The doubt swirled in cyclone-like fashion in my ears. “You didn’t train hard enough”, “You can’t do this”, "why do you set yourself up to fail?", etc… My eyes kept straying to the Garmin and I didn’t like the numbers I saw. Each time I saw a pace of 9:something I got panicky and picked up the pace. I bounced around like a pinball. Slow and fast, up and down. I passed the 3 mile marker and I was spent. So close to my goal and yet so far. A tenth of a mile to go seemed so long. I rounded the last corner and could see the clock. 26:40! If I ran hard I could make it! I ran harder than I have since I was a child and crossed the mat at 26:58!
As I made my way out of the finish corral a nauseous feeling crept up and became nearly uncontrollable. I thought for sure I had run to the point of sickness. I’ve witnessed this phenomenon many times but never have I pushed so hard that it’s happened to me. I had radar lock on a garbage can off to my left just in case I could not hold back this impending tidal wave of overexertion. As I made my way through the other finishers to said garbage can I felt a hand on my back. It was my husband. He was smiling and congratulatory. I had indeed made my goal! It was in that moment that the nausea subsided and the full magnitude of what I had accomplished sank in. I had just run my fastest 5K, ever. Whoa! What a feeling!
My official time is 26:49.5., a personal best by 17 seconds. Not too shabby for an old chick who has endured 2 surgeries and recoveries in the last 12 months!
I started the rainy day with a 5K race. I had a goal of 26:anything in my sights. It was a lofty goal and I had serious doubts the clock would read 26 when I crossed the finish mat. I’ve been training pretty regularly but I’ve been struggling with a bout of depression which has led to skipped workouts and less than ideal eating habits. The sunny, warm California weather of legend has been non-existant for the better part of 9 months making it hard for me to get myself out the door on many days.
As I prepared for the 8:00 a.m. event the rain steadily fell from the sky. I once again could not decide what to wear. This seems to be the theme of my spring training. It is more daunting to me than say a 13 mile run. So as I stood in front of my closet I pondered my choices; shorts and a tank, shorts and a short sleeve or long sleeve shirt? Capris or pants were out of the question so it really came down what to wear on top. I knew I didn’t want to be cold as I waited at the start and I detest running with anything tied around my waist so I opted for shorts and long sleeve shirt. Wrong choice! Within a couple blocks of this urban course I was too hot. I decided to not let being to warm ruin my run so I pushed my sleeves up as far as they would go, cranked up the Ipod and just ran.
I find that I often run with my eyes glued to my Garmin in order to pace myself. It’s not a good way to train and I have been working on running by feel as opposed to the time on my watch. As I waited for the start of the race I told myself to not look at my pace the entire first mile. I didn’t and as I approached the first mile marker my Garmin signaled my first split of the morning. 8:19! Yikes! That was not the plan. It was at this point I realized I was running waaaay to fast and was going to crash burn if I tried to keep this up. Like I said, I had my doubts about actually making this goal. I knew I needed to keep a constant 8:30 pace to achieve my goal so I spent mile 2 trying to settle into this pace. I couldn’t do it and grew ever more doubtful. I really need to work on a positive attitude while I’m out on the run!
One of the things my friend and mentor BC has taught me is to take the inside corners. This course had very few so I didn’t have to do too much jockeying to get down into the corners. However as we rounded the next to last corner another runner cut in front of me and stepped on my right foot as she passed. I thought for sure I was going eat pavement. Even worse this is my "fragile" foot! Now I realize that this was not a purposeful act on the part of the other runner but she did not even mutter a “sorry”as she moved out in front of me. How rude! Miraculously I was able to stay upright and kept on running. It sure is a lot more cut-throat at the 8:30 pace than it is back at the 10:00 minute pace! This will take some getting used to if I continue to race at this pace.
At the two mile marker my Garmin showed an 8:46 mile. Not great but not bad either. If I could hold it together for one more mile I might actually make my goal. I walked through the water station took a couple quick sips of water and picked up the run again. The third mile was an act of self torture. The doubt swirled in cyclone-like fashion in my ears. “You didn’t train hard enough”, “You can’t do this”, "why do you set yourself up to fail?", etc… My eyes kept straying to the Garmin and I didn’t like the numbers I saw. Each time I saw a pace of 9:something I got panicky and picked up the pace. I bounced around like a pinball. Slow and fast, up and down. I passed the 3 mile marker and I was spent. So close to my goal and yet so far. A tenth of a mile to go seemed so long. I rounded the last corner and could see the clock. 26:40! If I ran hard I could make it! I ran harder than I have since I was a child and crossed the mat at 26:58!
As I made my way out of the finish corral a nauseous feeling crept up and became nearly uncontrollable. I thought for sure I had run to the point of sickness. I’ve witnessed this phenomenon many times but never have I pushed so hard that it’s happened to me. I had radar lock on a garbage can off to my left just in case I could not hold back this impending tidal wave of overexertion. As I made my way through the other finishers to said garbage can I felt a hand on my back. It was my husband. He was smiling and congratulatory. I had indeed made my goal! It was in that moment that the nausea subsided and the full magnitude of what I had accomplished sank in. I had just run my fastest 5K, ever. Whoa! What a feeling!
My official time is 26:49.5., a personal best by 17 seconds. Not too shabby for an old chick who has endured 2 surgeries and recoveries in the last 12 months!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
It’s been a while
Today’s goal: 6 mile, speed work
Today’s workout: 4.97 miles, 11:30/mile
Weather: Clear and warm, 60° F
Hey there internet friends. Yes, I know I’ve been absent for some time now but life has been in the way. You know marriage, kids, and the dreaded W word (work). Things have been less than positive of late and I just haven’t been able to sit down and write. I have been running though and had a successful race last Saturday (recap to come in the next few days).
This week I was asked to come into work an hour and a half earlier than usual and stay an hour later in the afternoon because we are short a body in the office. This adds up to nearly a full work day when I am used to only a half work day. It has thrown my schedule into a bit of tizzy and I’m trying to adapt. I keep telling myself it’s only for a couple of weeks but I’m having a hard time with the new morning routine. In order to get my run in and a shower before Hubs and kids I need to be out the door by 4:30 AM. This is unfathomably early to be outside alone in the dark especially since I am the fraidy cat extraordinaire.
Today I am all sorts of proud of myself. When the alarm went off at 4:15 I really wanted to turn it off and snuggle back into the blankets but I didn’t. I got up and got dressed in the dark and headed out the door. Okay, I did pace around a little trying to screw up the courage because it’s been years since I’ve run alone in the wee hours of the morning. After a minute or two I decided I would take my 5-year-old lab mix, Jack, with me. There’s safety in numbers right?? Plus check out this face, what’s not to love?
Well, Jack and I have a bit of negative run history and that has made me not love to run with him. We have tried in the past and it always ended up with him choking on his collar, me angry and eventually his feet tangled in mine with both of us hitting the pavement. The last such adventure was the Wednesday before a Sunday 1/2 marathon. I took the brunt of the fall and ended up with skinned hands and knees. That was the last straw for me. But about a year ago a woman told me about this crazy little contraption called a Gentle Leader. I was skeptical but decided to give it a try. You see at 85 pounds of muscle this dog had been dragging my old butt around whenever we tried to walk or run. This thing is amazing! It fits over his nose and he no longer tugs or chokes. Oh how I wish I had one of these when he was a puppy!
Anyway, we headed out and we had a few little disagreements about who was in charge of pace and where we were going for the first half mile but then a little miracle happened. Jack fell into my pace right alongside of me. No more tug of war, no more hopping around with impatience, just a nice 11 minute pace. I didn’t have a route in mind when we left so I decided we should take our Sunday morning walk route minus the scary dark creek. Jack was happy with this, he knew the route and we went along like this is a normal everyday kind of thing.
The best thing about running before the world wakes? No cars to contend with and fresh clean air. No waiting at traffic lights and no pedestrian traffic (aka sweet old ladies with little yappy dogs) just wide open streets.
The only downside is one of us will have to learn to ignore the suburban wildlife (squirrels, ducks, geese, skunks and kitty cats). But you can only ask so much of a dog who was born to be a hunter. While he has never hurt any of the wildlife we have come across he does love a good chase! His favorites are to swim after the ducks in the creek and play follow the leader with egrets in the marshy fields. Those graceful white birds hover above him just out of reach in a mocking sort of fashion. Luckily he loses interest quickly and is right back at my side!
I feel like I have obtained some sort of new freedom. I can have my cake and eat it too if you will. No longer do I have to fear the starry pre-dawn sky. I can lace up and head out the door with this new run buddy.
Ah bliss!
Today’s workout: 4.97 miles, 11:30/mile
Weather: Clear and warm, 60° F
Hey there internet friends. Yes, I know I’ve been absent for some time now but life has been in the way. You know marriage, kids, and the dreaded W word (work). Things have been less than positive of late and I just haven’t been able to sit down and write. I have been running though and had a successful race last Saturday (recap to come in the next few days).
This week I was asked to come into work an hour and a half earlier than usual and stay an hour later in the afternoon because we are short a body in the office. This adds up to nearly a full work day when I am used to only a half work day. It has thrown my schedule into a bit of tizzy and I’m trying to adapt. I keep telling myself it’s only for a couple of weeks but I’m having a hard time with the new morning routine. In order to get my run in and a shower before Hubs and kids I need to be out the door by 4:30 AM. This is unfathomably early to be outside alone in the dark especially since I am the fraidy cat extraordinaire.
Today I am all sorts of proud of myself. When the alarm went off at 4:15 I really wanted to turn it off and snuggle back into the blankets but I didn’t. I got up and got dressed in the dark and headed out the door. Okay, I did pace around a little trying to screw up the courage because it’s been years since I’ve run alone in the wee hours of the morning. After a minute or two I decided I would take my 5-year-old lab mix, Jack, with me. There’s safety in numbers right?? Plus check out this face, what’s not to love?
Well, Jack and I have a bit of negative run history and that has made me not love to run with him. We have tried in the past and it always ended up with him choking on his collar, me angry and eventually his feet tangled in mine with both of us hitting the pavement. The last such adventure was the Wednesday before a Sunday 1/2 marathon. I took the brunt of the fall and ended up with skinned hands and knees. That was the last straw for me. But about a year ago a woman told me about this crazy little contraption called a Gentle Leader. I was skeptical but decided to give it a try. You see at 85 pounds of muscle this dog had been dragging my old butt around whenever we tried to walk or run. This thing is amazing! It fits over his nose and he no longer tugs or chokes. Oh how I wish I had one of these when he was a puppy!
Anyway, we headed out and we had a few little disagreements about who was in charge of pace and where we were going for the first half mile but then a little miracle happened. Jack fell into my pace right alongside of me. No more tug of war, no more hopping around with impatience, just a nice 11 minute pace. I didn’t have a route in mind when we left so I decided we should take our Sunday morning walk route minus the scary dark creek. Jack was happy with this, he knew the route and we went along like this is a normal everyday kind of thing.
The best thing about running before the world wakes? No cars to contend with and fresh clean air. No waiting at traffic lights and no pedestrian traffic (aka sweet old ladies with little yappy dogs) just wide open streets.
The only downside is one of us will have to learn to ignore the suburban wildlife (squirrels, ducks, geese, skunks and kitty cats). But you can only ask so much of a dog who was born to be a hunter. While he has never hurt any of the wildlife we have come across he does love a good chase! His favorites are to swim after the ducks in the creek and play follow the leader with egrets in the marshy fields. Those graceful white birds hover above him just out of reach in a mocking sort of fashion. Luckily he loses interest quickly and is right back at my side!
I feel like I have obtained some sort of new freedom. I can have my cake and eat it too if you will. No longer do I have to fear the starry pre-dawn sky. I can lace up and head out the door with this new run buddy.
Ah bliss!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day
Saturday, April 16, 2011
After some parking lot stretching we headed off to Starbucks for a cup of java and some people watching. These coffeehouse sessions really make getting out of bed in the dark worth it!
Here’s my morning run in pictures. Like I said the camera doesn’t do the scenery justice but you’ll get the general idea.
I love these little purple flowers. The grow all around the trails this time of year.
Today’s goal: Long run, 10 miles
Workout: 10 miles. Rolling hills both paved and unpaved. Time 1:52:55. 11:17/mile.
I need to admit that my workout, sleep and eating habits have all been suffering for the better part of two weeks. I went through a sweets binge for about the last 10 days. This morning I paid for it. I just couldn’t get to a pace that felt good and comfortable for the first 4 or so miles. (Actually looking at data from the Garmin I didn’t really ever seem to settle in today.) Then something changed and I began feeling better. I don’t know what it was and I don’t really care. All that really matters is that I quit hating every stride and started enjoying the morning. I forgot to pause the Garmin when we took a small photo/refuel break. Apparently we stood around for 5 or more minutes. That actually surprised me, it didn’t feel like we had stopped for more than a minute or two. But anyway since today I was more concerned with putting in longer miles than I was with time I decided to take photos. It’s too bad the camera on my phone is so crappy because the photos don’t really do the beauty of the area justice.
The plan was to meet BC, Rocket and DG at our regular parking spot and head out around 6:00 AM. Now if this spot was around the corner and not a 25 mile drive 6:00 AM wouldn’t be so big a deal. But like I said my sleep habits have been out of whack and I didn’t crash out until well after 11:30 PM and when the alarm went off at 4:30 I felt like I hadn’t slept at all. But I digress. We all arrived, grabbed whatever gear we were taking and hit the trail about 6:15. The sun was just beginning to come up, the air was cool and fresh. All was peaceful and quiet. It was just the 3 (plus the dog) of us getting caught up on the past week and the plan for next week. We all 3 work in education and are officially on spring break! This means we may get in an extra run or two together next week! The hills were tougher this week for me but I’m sure that had to do with only one run this past week. No excuses, just didn’t feel like getting out of bed in the morning. We ran out 5 and looped our way back. DG was a beast and took ALL of the hard hills while BC and I decided to skip a couple and stay up on the levee. I am going to Santa Cruz with my family tomorrow and I want to be able to walk! Around mile 7 or 8 Tigger caught up with the group and we finished up those last few miles strong. I was happy with a sub-10 for mile 8 and ran the last ½ mile between 8:45 and 9:00. Not bad after 2 foot surgeries in 10 months!
After some parking lot stretching we headed off to Starbucks for a cup of java and some people watching. These coffeehouse sessions really make getting out of bed in the dark worth it!
Here’s my morning run in pictures. Like I said the camera doesn’t do the scenery justice but you’ll get the general idea.
Happy running. Peace out.
The razor wire is a nice touch!
Look closely to see how swift the water is moving
Yes this is me looking like 43-yr-old hammered dog doo!
This doesn't look like much a hill but it kicked my @$$ this morning.
See that tiny boat out there? That's fishermen, they're as crazy as runners!
The AR 50 was last weekend. DG said he's thinking about doing it for his 50th birthday. Yeah, I'll get back to you on that DG!
Off the distance you can see the infamous Folsom Prison. Can you say Johnny Cash was here??
Thursday, April 7, 2011
More from the past
I have not been running as much as I'd like but I'm not so unhappy about it that I'm doing anything to change that fact. I did run a beautiful 11 miler last Saturday with BC and DG. We ran a hilly paved trail and happily I didn't need to take any walk breaks. The foot is feeling nice and strong.
Blast from the past entries March 26, 2001 - April 7, 2001
Tuesday, March 27, 2001
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: None
Didn't run. Couldn't make myself go. I know I'd feel better. I have to go tomorrow before the funeral.
Wednesday, March 28, 2001
Today's goal: 7 miles
Workout: None
Didn't run. Dave's kids spent the night, too many kids to get ready.
Thursday, March 29, 2001
Todays' goal: 5 miles
Workout: None
Went to the cemetery in SF and didn't get back to EG until after 7 PM. #2 asked at graveside if Great Grandma and Grandpa are being buried in bunk beds. Out of the mouths of babes. Very tired, very depressed.
Saturday, March 31, 2001
Today's goal: 12-14 miles with the Team
Workout: 12 miles
Time: 2:16
Weather: Sunny, warm
Ran 12. Really warm today. Still fighting blisters. Tony says to try thicker socks.
Monday, April 2, 2001
Today's goal: 5-6 miles
Workout: None
Still out of it. Kids still off-track. Maybe next week I'll get back into my routine.
Thursday, April 5, 2001
Today's goal: 6 miles
Workout: None
Leaving for Yosemite tomorrow. No time to breathe let alone run.
Saturday, April 7, 2001
Today's goal: 9-10 miles
Workout: None
Today is my 33rd birthday. Still in Yosemite. Snowed all day. Swam a little at the hotel and had two snowball fights. Back to the grind next week.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Rain, rain go away!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Today's goal: Easy run, 5 miles
Workout: 5 miles @ 10:26/mile
I haven't run as much as I intended this week. The weather, too much to do at work and PMS have left me feeling blah. I have danced everyday so at least I'm moving.
I put off running until 9:00 this morning which is at least 2 hours later than I like on a Saturday but at least I did it. I was able to muster up negative splits for all 5 miles and I'm pretty happy with that.
Today's goal: Easy run, 5 miles
Workout: 5 miles @ 10:26/mile
I haven't run as much as I intended this week. The weather, too much to do at work and PMS have left me feeling blah. I have danced everyday so at least I'm moving.
I put off running until 9:00 this morning which is at least 2 hours later than I like on a Saturday but at least I did it. I was able to muster up negative splits for all 5 miles and I'm pretty happy with that.
Blast from the past entries for March 24-25, 2001
Saturday, March 24, 2001
Today's goal: No workout
My head is a mess. I got nothing done today. I can't decide if I should run tomorrow's race or not. Mom says to go. I guess I will.
Sunday, March 25, 2001
Today's goal: Houlihan's 12K
Workout: 12K, time 1:19
Weather: Perfect
Saulsalito to Giradellhi Square. Good hard run. I was fine until the Presidio and the cemetery*. The tears came and I couldn't stop them. I ran like hell to get out of there. Orin, Tony and Dru were at the last corner cheering me on and that was great. I finished within a minute of Ramie and Sue, that's a first! Can't wait to sleep. I didn't fall asleep until 10:30 last night and was up at 2:30 to get to the bus this morning. Couldn't sleep on the bus. I think I am finally exhausted.
*My grandparents are both buried at the Presidio in San Francisco. My grandfather had been laid to rest there in 1992 so running through the Presidio just two days after my grandmother's death was extremely hard for me.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A sad week
Monday, March 21, 2011
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: 5 miles, 11:45/mile
Weather sucks.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: 2 hours of dance
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: 5 miles, 10:40/mile
Weather still sucks.
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: 5 miles, 11:45/mile
Weather sucks.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: 2 hours of dance
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: 5 miles, 10:40/mile
Weather still sucks.
Blast from the past entries, March 21-23, 2001
Wednesday, March 21, 2001
Today's goal: 6.25 with the Team
Workout: None
Didn't go to workout. Did therapy with Gram and spent time with the kids.
Thursday, March 22, 2001
Today's goal: 5-6 miles
Workout: None
Didn't make it to rehab center in time for Gram's therapy today and I didn't make it to workout either. I did get to visit with Gram and she looked better today. She actually got out of bed and we had a great visit. I'm going to keep going to therapy and really push her.
Friday, March 23, 2001
Today's goal: None
Grandma died today. I am in utter shock. She developed a blood clot in her lungs and her heart failed. I am absolutely heartbroken. Yesterday was such a great day. I was sure she would come home soon. I am not ready for her to be gone.
*This was a really awful time in my life. I was very close to my Grandmother and I still miss her desperately even 10 years later. The hole that she left behind has never really healed. I remember sitting on the floor of our hallway with my sons, then 7, 5 1/2 & 2 1/2, and crying for what seemed like an eternity. They were also very close to Gram. Her death was such a shock and my training never really recovered from it. There will be a few more entries before I give up writing in my running journal. In hindsight I wish I would have kept writing for therapeutic reasons.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
March 14 - March 19
Monday, March 14, 2011
Today's goal: 3 miles, easy run
Workout: 3 miles, treadmill, 11:12/mi and 1 hour dance practice
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Today's goal: 6 mile tempo run
Workout: No run, 1 hour dance practice
Had to be to work at 7:30 AM. Thought I'd get to it in the evening but that didn't pan out.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Today's goal: 3 mile easy run
Workout: No run, 1 hour dance practice
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Today's goal: 11 mile long run
Workout: 11 miles @ 11:09/mile
I had my doubts that I could do this distance and keep up a halfway decent pace. I wish I could be faster but that may not be in the cards. It's only been 4 months since the surgery so hopefully there is still some room for improvement.
Distance for the week: 14 miles
Time for the week: 2:36:05
End of week weight: 113 pounds
Today's goal: 7.7 miles with the Team
Workout: 7.7 miles
Time: 1:17:23
Weather: warm
Good run, no complaints.
Thursday, March 15, 2001
Today's goal: 6 miles
Workout: None
Grandma fell and broke her hip today. Never made it to my workout.
Saturday, March 17, 2001
Today's goal: 12 miles with the Team
Workout: 12 mile hilly run
Time: 1:54:40
Weather: Perfect
The hardest 12 miles ever! Lot's of rocks, roots and sand. One hill after another. A great workout!
Sunday, March 18, 2001
Today's goal: 5-6 miles
Workout: None
Feeling tired and want to see Grandma. Have to work from Noon to 5:00 PM. I'll try again tomorrow.
Monday, March 19, 2001
Did therapy with Grandma. Julie, my Team in Training mentor, is her therapist. Fate is a strange thing.
Distance for the week: 19.7
Time for the week: 3:12:03
Distance to date: 171.5
End of week weight: 109 pounds
Quote of the week: You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
-Eleanor Roosevelt, Aamerican First Lady
Today's goal: 3 miles, easy run
Workout: 3 miles, treadmill, 11:12/mi and 1 hour dance practice
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Today's goal: 6 mile tempo run
Workout: No run, 1 hour dance practice
Had to be to work at 7:30 AM. Thought I'd get to it in the evening but that didn't pan out.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Today's goal: 3 mile easy run
Workout: No run, 1 hour dance practice
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Today's goal: 11 mile long run
Workout: 11 miles @ 11:09/mile
I had my doubts that I could do this distance and keep up a halfway decent pace. I wish I could be faster but that may not be in the cards. It's only been 4 months since the surgery so hopefully there is still some room for improvement.
Distance for the week: 14 miles
Time for the week: 2:36:05
End of week weight: 113 pounds
Blast from the past entries 3/14/2001-3/19/2001
Wednesday March 14, 2001Today's goal: 7.7 miles with the Team
Workout: 7.7 miles
Time: 1:17:23
Weather: warm
Good run, no complaints.
Thursday, March 15, 2001
Today's goal: 6 miles
Workout: None
Grandma fell and broke her hip today. Never made it to my workout.
Saturday, March 17, 2001
Today's goal: 12 miles with the Team
Workout: 12 mile hilly run
Time: 1:54:40
Weather: Perfect
The hardest 12 miles ever! Lot's of rocks, roots and sand. One hill after another. A great workout!
Sunday, March 18, 2001
Today's goal: 5-6 miles
Workout: None
Feeling tired and want to see Grandma. Have to work from Noon to 5:00 PM. I'll try again tomorrow.
Monday, March 19, 2001
Did therapy with Grandma. Julie, my Team in Training mentor, is her therapist. Fate is a strange thing.
Distance for the week: 19.7
Time for the week: 3:12:03
Distance to date: 171.5
End of week weight: 109 pounds
Quote of the week: You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
-Eleanor Roosevelt, Aamerican First Lady
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Not so sunny Sunday
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day, XT
Workout: 5 mile walk with C and the pooches
Weather: Overcast, cool
I love Sunday morning walks with C because we walk longer than usual and get to catch up without any of the kids with us. I let Jack off the leash at the creek, he was in seventh heaven. The ducks and egrets weren't too happy to share the water with him though. Luckily he was a good dog and left them alone.
Blast from the past, Tuesday, March 13, 2001
Today's goal: No workout
Workout: None
Today's goal: Run rest day, XT
Workout: 5 mile walk with C and the pooches
Weather: Overcast, cool
I love Sunday morning walks with C because we walk longer than usual and get to catch up without any of the kids with us. I let Jack off the leash at the creek, he was in seventh heaven. The ducks and egrets weren't too happy to share the water with him though. Luckily he was a good dog and left them alone.
I can't imagine why the water fowl don't like sharing the water with him!
Truth be told I'm not a fan of daylight savings. Let's just leave the clock alone and be happy for a little more daylight in the morning and let nature lengthen the evening. Mmmmkay? Thankyoueversomuch! I know tomorrow is going to suck. I prefer to run first thing in the morning and now it's going to be pitch black at 5:30 AM again. Being that I'm Miss Fraidypants I will be forced to run on the treadmill instead of out in the fresh air because I'm afraid of the creepers out there who might just do me harm. Take the pooch you say? Well let's just say I am far from graceful and he is even farther from it. He has tripped me twice in the past. Once just a few short days before a race and it was no bueno. So until I gain a whole lot of confidence or daylight starts breaking earlier I will be stuck on the dready.Blast from the past, Tuesday, March 13, 2001
Today's goal: No workout
Workout: None
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Today's goal: 2 mile easy run
Workout: 1 hour dance rehearsal. No run.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: 2 mile walk with #3 and the dogs
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Today's goal: Long run, 8 miles
Workout: 8 miles out on the lake.
Weather: Gorgeous.
What a perfect morning for a run! Heather picked me up at 6:00 AM so we could hit the trail nice and early. I am so glad that we went at that time. The trail was empty except for the two of us, no bikes to contend with. We are both working our way back from injuries so our only goal was to run the entire 8 miles and we did it! My foot feels nice and strong. This was the best run I've had in ages!
Notes from the week: Overall a good running week. I'm working running back into my daily routine and it feels good. My head is in the right place and I'm falling in love with the run all over again!
Run distance for the week: 18 miles
Time for the week: 3:53:48
End of week weight: 113 lbs
Thought for the week: In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that.
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder
Blast from the past, Saturday, March 10, 2001
Today's goal: 11 miles with the Team
Workout: 11 miles, hills
Time: 1:53
Weather: Perfect
There are BIG hills in El Dorado Hills! Felt like I could keep going if I had to. I will be sore tomorrow!
Sunday, March 11, 2001
Today's goal: No workout
Notes from the week 2001: Motivations needs improvement. Been in a slump. Need a great run to help get back into a routine.
Distance for the week: 14.8
Time for the week: 2:33
Distance to date: 151.8
End of week weight: 109 lbs
Monday, March 12, 2001
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: None
Still sore after Saturdays' workout. Decided not to push it. May try to make the miles up later in the week.
Today's goal: 2 mile easy run
Workout: 1 hour dance rehearsal. No run.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: 2 mile walk with #3 and the dogs
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Today's goal: Long run, 8 miles
Workout: 8 miles out on the lake.
Weather: Gorgeous.
What a perfect morning for a run! Heather picked me up at 6:00 AM so we could hit the trail nice and early. I am so glad that we went at that time. The trail was empty except for the two of us, no bikes to contend with. We are both working our way back from injuries so our only goal was to run the entire 8 miles and we did it! My foot feels nice and strong. This was the best run I've had in ages!
Notes from the week: Overall a good running week. I'm working running back into my daily routine and it feels good. My head is in the right place and I'm falling in love with the run all over again!
Run distance for the week: 18 miles
Time for the week: 3:53:48
End of week weight: 113 lbs
Thought for the week: In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that.
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder
Blast from the past, Saturday, March 10, 2001
Today's goal: 11 miles with the Team
Workout: 11 miles, hills
Time: 1:53
Weather: Perfect
There are BIG hills in El Dorado Hills! Felt like I could keep going if I had to. I will be sore tomorrow!
Sunday, March 11, 2001
Today's goal: No workout
Notes from the week 2001: Motivations needs improvement. Been in a slump. Need a great run to help get back into a routine.
Distance for the week: 14.8
Time for the week: 2:33
Distance to date: 151.8
End of week weight: 109 lbs
Monday, March 12, 2001
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: None
Still sore after Saturdays' workout. Decided not to push it. May try to make the miles up later in the week.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Hump Day
Today's goal: Tempo run. 6 miles including warm-up; 4 miles @ 9:43; Cool
Workout: 6 miles 11:15/mile
Got up at 4:30 AM to fit this into my day. Gah! Still not feeling 100% healthy and I have an hour of dance rehearsal today so I decided not to do tempo run. I did run negative splits for miles 2, 3, 4 & 5 though. Feeling pretty good overall.
Favorite tune of the day: Pretty (Fly for a White Guy) by The Offspring. Word!
Blast from the past: Friday, March 9, 2001
No training
Workout: 6 miles 11:15/mile
Got up at 4:30 AM to fit this into my day. Gah! Still not feeling 100% healthy and I have an hour of dance rehearsal today so I decided not to do tempo run. I did run negative splits for miles 2, 3, 4 & 5 though. Feeling pretty good overall.
Favorite tune of the day: Pretty (Fly for a White Guy) by The Offspring. Word!
Blast from the past: Friday, March 9, 2001
No training
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday and Tuesday
Monday, March 7, 2011
Today's goal: Easy 3 miles
Workout: Easy 4 miles on dreadmill, 11:00/mile
Felt better than I have in a long time so I decided to go an extra mile.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: 3 mile walk with C and the dogs.
Blast from the past, Wednesday, March 7, 2001
Today's goal: 5 miles with the team
Workout: 3.8 miles. 40 minutes, easy run
Weather: Perfect
Got stuck in traffic was 20 minutes late. Run was good and easy.
Blast from the past, Thursday, March 8, 2001
Today's goal: 6-7 miles
Workout: None
Same as Tuesday.
Today's goal: Easy 3 miles
Workout: Easy 4 miles on dreadmill, 11:00/mile
Felt better than I have in a long time so I decided to go an extra mile.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: 3 mile walk with C and the dogs.
Blast from the past, Wednesday, March 7, 2001
Today's goal: 5 miles with the team
Workout: 3.8 miles. 40 minutes, easy run
Weather: Perfect
Got stuck in traffic was 20 minutes late. Run was good and easy.
Blast from the past, Thursday, March 8, 2001
Today's goal: 6-7 miles
Workout: None
Same as Tuesday.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sunday
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: None
I signed up for my 19th half marathon today, the American River Parkway 1/2 in late April. I'm pretty excited about it. I don't have any idea what kind of time I will finish in and to quite honest I don't even care. After being forced to take so much time off last year I have been re-evaluating my training strategy. I fell into the bad habit of no cross training whatsoever. That proved to be to hinder me in more ways than one. I also realized that I got to be a lazy runner and I relied upon what others were doing. I stopped running like me and tried to run like someone else. My competitive nature made me miserable and I felt let down each time I fell shy of a time goal.
I miss running with my friends though. I'd like to be able to run with them a few times a month. Hopefully after the last 9 months of surgery and recovery I can go back to the group setting without putting pressure on myself. Only time will tell.
I've got a busy week ahead and I'm trying to figure out how to fit my runs in. I'm going to be working 7 hour days as opposed to my regular 4 hours. In order to get my run in before getting the kids off to school and myself to work I will have to get up around 4:30 AM. I don't know if I can't commit to that but I'm not great at working in afternoon workouts so it may be my only choice. In addition to running this week I am going to get to at least 3 of 4 scheduled dance rehearsals. I love dancing with my homies and I feel like I'm getting stronger by using my legs in a completely different way.
Blast from the past, Tuesday, March 6, 2001.
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: None
No excuses, just didn't feel like going.
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: None
I signed up for my 19th half marathon today, the American River Parkway 1/2 in late April. I'm pretty excited about it. I don't have any idea what kind of time I will finish in and to quite honest I don't even care. After being forced to take so much time off last year I have been re-evaluating my training strategy. I fell into the bad habit of no cross training whatsoever. That proved to be to hinder me in more ways than one. I also realized that I got to be a lazy runner and I relied upon what others were doing. I stopped running like me and tried to run like someone else. My competitive nature made me miserable and I felt let down each time I fell shy of a time goal.
I miss running with my friends though. I'd like to be able to run with them a few times a month. Hopefully after the last 9 months of surgery and recovery I can go back to the group setting without putting pressure on myself. Only time will tell.
I've got a busy week ahead and I'm trying to figure out how to fit my runs in. I'm going to be working 7 hour days as opposed to my regular 4 hours. In order to get my run in before getting the kids off to school and myself to work I will have to get up around 4:30 AM. I don't know if I can't commit to that but I'm not great at working in afternoon workouts so it may be my only choice. In addition to running this week I am going to get to at least 3 of 4 scheduled dance rehearsals. I love dancing with my homies and I feel like I'm getting stronger by using my legs in a completely different way.
Blast from the past, Tuesday, March 6, 2001.
Today's goal: 5 miles
Workout: None
No excuses, just didn't feel like going.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturday
Today's goal: 7 miles
Workout: 6.5 miles. 1 mile walking warm-up. 4 miles at 11:30/mi. 1.5 mile cool down walk.
Weather: Gorgeous. Couldn't decide between shorts and capris this morning. Should have opted for the shorts. Way. Too. Hot. Run was a struggle but I'm glad I got it done. I'm still fighting off this bug but am on the mend.
Total mileage for the week: 6.5
Time for the week: 1:26
Total mileage on shoes: 21 miles
End of week weight: 112.6
Notes for the week: This week was less than spectacular! I started getting sick last weekend. By Monday I had a full blown cold and had sprouted a big 'ol canker sore on the roof of the my mouth.. Monday morning also brought an early visit from Mother Nature. Super! Just what I needed! Tuesday morning I awoke with pink eye. Bonus! Visited the doc and she said sorry I can't help, you have a viral infection, let it run it's course. Yippee! I have been coughing all week and lost most my of voice for several days. Thursday morning I woke up with a bloody nose. Seriously. This was my health week. On the up side I lost 2 pounds because I had next to nothing to eat all week. The canker sore was just too painful and the cold rendered my taste buds useless.
Thought for the week: Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don't think about them, I just do them.
-PattiSue Plummer (American runner and Olympian)
Workout: 6.5 miles. 1 mile walking warm-up. 4 miles at 11:30/mi. 1.5 mile cool down walk.
Weather: Gorgeous. Couldn't decide between shorts and capris this morning. Should have opted for the shorts. Way. Too. Hot. Run was a struggle but I'm glad I got it done. I'm still fighting off this bug but am on the mend.
Total mileage for the week: 6.5
Time for the week: 1:26
Total mileage on shoes: 21 miles
End of week weight: 112.6
Notes for the week: This week was less than spectacular! I started getting sick last weekend. By Monday I had a full blown cold and had sprouted a big 'ol canker sore on the roof of the my mouth.. Monday morning also brought an early visit from Mother Nature. Super! Just what I needed! Tuesday morning I awoke with pink eye. Bonus! Visited the doc and she said sorry I can't help, you have a viral infection, let it run it's course. Yippee! I have been coughing all week and lost most my of voice for several days. Thursday morning I woke up with a bloody nose. Seriously. This was my health week. On the up side I lost 2 pounds because I had next to nothing to eat all week. The canker sore was just too painful and the cold rendered my taste buds useless.
Thought for the week: Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don't think about them, I just do them.
-PattiSue Plummer (American runner and Olympian)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
This week
This week has been a training fail. I am still sick. Today I'm feeling a little better but I'm not ready to run yet. I have been to dance rehearsal 3 times but I definitely do not feel 100%.
Here are a few blast from the past entries. I hope to hit the road this weekend.
Wednesday, February 28, 2001
Today's goal: 60 minutes with the Team
Workout: Didn't run. B stayed home from school with the flu today. I'm feeling tired.
Thursday, March 1, 2001
Today's goal: 55 minutes
Workout: Started throwing up at 11 PM on Wednesday. Haven't left the couch all day.
Friday, March 2, 2001
Today's goal: No training
Workout: None
Saturday, March 3, 2001
Today's goal: 5-6 miles
Workout: Tony changed workout to 80-90 minutes. Sue and I ran 8 miles. I'm still tired and weak but at least I finished. The weather is supposed to bad the next few days. May not get many runs in.
Time: 1:38
Easy run
Weather: Cool and sunny
Sunday, March 4, 2001
Today's goal: 50-60 minutes
Workout: Serious wind and rain. I'll do aerobics and weights on Monday.
Notes from the week:
Not a great week. Having the flu sucked. I hope the weather starts improving. I'm getting tired of running in the rain.
Distance for the week: 12 miles
Time for the week: 2:22
Distance to date: 137 miles
End of week weight: 108 pounds
Thought for the week: All that I am, I am because of my mind.
-Paavo Nurmi (Finnish 9-Time Olympic Champion)
Here are a few blast from the past entries. I hope to hit the road this weekend.
Wednesday, February 28, 2001
Today's goal: 60 minutes with the Team
Workout: Didn't run. B stayed home from school with the flu today. I'm feeling tired.
Thursday, March 1, 2001
Today's goal: 55 minutes
Workout: Started throwing up at 11 PM on Wednesday. Haven't left the couch all day.
Friday, March 2, 2001
Today's goal: No training
Workout: None
Saturday, March 3, 2001
Today's goal: 5-6 miles
Workout: Tony changed workout to 80-90 minutes. Sue and I ran 8 miles. I'm still tired and weak but at least I finished. The weather is supposed to bad the next few days. May not get many runs in.
Time: 1:38
Easy run
Weather: Cool and sunny
Sunday, March 4, 2001
Today's goal: 50-60 minutes
Workout: Serious wind and rain. I'll do aerobics and weights on Monday.
Notes from the week:
Not a great week. Having the flu sucked. I hope the weather starts improving. I'm getting tired of running in the rain.
Distance for the week: 12 miles
Time for the week: 2:22
Distance to date: 137 miles
End of week weight: 108 pounds
Thought for the week: All that I am, I am because of my mind.
-Paavo Nurmi (Finnish 9-Time Olympic Champion)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday
Sunday, February 27, 2011 Today's goal: Run rest day/XT (planned to make up yesterday's missed run)
Workout: 4.75 mile walk with C and the dogs. Feel worse than I did yesterday and my voice is nearly gone. Coughed most of the night so I decided not to push it and let the run go for the weekend.
Weather: Cold and sunny
Blast from the past, Tuesday, February 27, 2001
Today's goal: 80 minutes
Workout: 4 miles, 44 minutes, easy run
Felt tired, didn't push too hard. Babysitter had to leave so I ran short. I may try to make it up tomorrow or Thursday.
Weather: Sunny, cool
Workout: 4.75 mile walk with C and the dogs. Feel worse than I did yesterday and my voice is nearly gone. Coughed most of the night so I decided not to push it and let the run go for the weekend.
Weather: Cold and sunny
Blast from the past, Tuesday, February 27, 2001
Today's goal: 80 minutes
Workout: 4 miles, 44 minutes, easy run
Felt tired, didn't push too hard. Babysitter had to leave so I ran short. I may try to make it up tomorrow or Thursday.
Weather: Sunny, cool
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: None
CPR class in the evening. Wiped out when I got home.
Blast from the past, Saturday, February 24, 2001
Today's goal: 105-115 minutes with the Team
Workout: 11.5 miles
Time: 2:06
Weather: Awful
I hate the wind! Most miserable run ever. Felt completely beat up. Cant' wait to go to San Diego and run in good weather!
*To this day I remember this run. It was the furtherst I had ever run and the wind pushed the rain sideways the entire run. When we finished we were soaked to the bone and half frozen. I remember sitting in the car in the parking lot trying to peel off my wet clothes but my hands were so stiff I could barely get changed. I've only had one run more miserable in all my years of running, Surf City Marathon 2008. More on that later!
Notes from the week: Horrible weather all week. Couldn't drag myself out.
Distance for the week: 11.5
Time for the week: Distance to date: 125 miles
End of week weight: 109 lbs
Thought for the week: ...Any day I am too busy to run is a day I am too busy.
-John Bryant (Deputy Editor, London Times)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: None. Sick AGAIN!
Weather: Crazy!
Blast from the past, Sunday, February 25, 2001
Today's goal: No workout
Workout: None
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Today's goal: "Long" run, 4 miles
Workout: Decided to postpone run to tomorrow. I have a very sore throat and am losing my voice. Boo. Guess that's what I get for working with teenagers! Took a beautiful 5 mile walk with C and the dogs in place of run.
Blast from the past, Monday, February 26, 2001
Today's goal: No training
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: None
CPR class in the evening. Wiped out when I got home.
Blast from the past, Saturday, February 24, 2001
Today's goal: 105-115 minutes with the Team
Workout: 11.5 miles
Time: 2:06
Weather: Awful
I hate the wind! Most miserable run ever. Felt completely beat up. Cant' wait to go to San Diego and run in good weather!
*To this day I remember this run. It was the furtherst I had ever run and the wind pushed the rain sideways the entire run. When we finished we were soaked to the bone and half frozen. I remember sitting in the car in the parking lot trying to peel off my wet clothes but my hands were so stiff I could barely get changed. I've only had one run more miserable in all my years of running, Surf City Marathon 2008. More on that later!
Notes from the week: Horrible weather all week. Couldn't drag myself out.
Distance for the week: 11.5
Time for the week: Distance to date: 125 miles
End of week weight: 109 lbs
Thought for the week: ...Any day I am too busy to run is a day I am too busy.
-John Bryant (Deputy Editor, London Times)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Today's goal: Run rest day/XT
Workout: None. Sick AGAIN!
Weather: Crazy!
Blast from the past, Sunday, February 25, 2001
Today's goal: No workout
Workout: None
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Today's goal: "Long" run, 4 miles
Workout: Decided to postpone run to tomorrow. I have a very sore throat and am losing my voice. Boo. Guess that's what I get for working with teenagers! Took a beautiful 5 mile walk with C and the dogs in place of run.
Blast from the past, Monday, February 26, 2001
Today's goal: No training
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