Running Buns

I couple of weeks ago I bought these:

 Sarah and I have been obsessed with buns ever since we read the Runner's World issue with Kara Goucher preparing for the Olympics. She was wearing buns in those pictures and for some reason, we thought it was a good idea. We'll never be trained Olympians, but we can dress like them!

What are "buns" you may ask? They are very short running shorts, sometimes called compression shorts or boy shorts - they cover your "buns" and not much else. If you google buns, you'll find some interesting results. Some buns look like bikini bottoms but we didn't want to go that far.

So for the Avenue of the Giants marathon, we got buns to wear. I also thought I'd be in excellent, getting ready to get married shape. Which is sort of the case, although I am still eating loads of cheese and not quite doing any other type of exercise besides run. But still, I was determined.

Here's what buns look like on an 130ish pound, 5 foot 2 runner, at the beginning of a race:

Here's the end of the race:

My overall thoughts on these particular buns:

I found them to be pretty comfortable and somewhat flattering from most angles. They did ride up pretty quickly and by the end of the marathon I was far too tired to pick the wedgie, and they looked like bikini bottoms (it's good to know these things, right?). As Sarah said, "If I had a treadmill I'd run in them again." They are probably good for yoga, but not for running long distances. I may wear them for shorter runs or to the gym.

When I looked back at the product description, it doesn't say good for running, but all of the other ones I tried on that are supposedly good for running, rode up in the fitting room when I jogged in place. This one at least made it to the road test.

I think I may try and wear a running skirt at my next marathon.

Personal Records

With 4 days to go until the Marathon, I'm having a terrible time focusing. Recently I left my company after 5 exciting and sometimes challenging years. I am also getting married in 2 months. Those are my confessions. What does this have to do with running? It has more to do with not running. I long for a long run - the head clearing, mile upon mile kind with a great running buddy. When I started training for my first marathon 5 years ago, I was single, just finishing up grad school, and still in the process of, well, processing. While I'll always be processing in some way, now I am a seasoned worker, runner, and about to be married. I've come a longer way than 26 miles, but I find myself at another crossroad and it's a bit scary. Life is all about PRing - I'm looking for my next PR.

In the groove

At the end of last week, I seem to have hit my stride again (literally). The hill workout, tempo and then the Saturday long run went very well (always love running in Alameda) - my legs have lost their early training sludge and seem to know what it is they should be doing. I'm blaming the following things for this:

a.) I have a kick ass running buddy who motivates me (Sarah!) and a very supportive fiance (Dan) who puts up with my crazy running schemes.

b.) I have other things going on that make running seem like a stress less joy!

c.) I am eating eating pasta again

d.) I am getting in better shape?

I know I'll have weeks when I'll reread this in disbelief, but for now, I'm just enjoying it.

That leads me to this week. I ran 8 miles in the rain today, down Lake Street, down to Baker Beach, up the hill to Golden Gate Bridge, down to Chrissy Field and back up Presidio. It's a loop I've done on the weekends but always added more by going over the Bridge. This time I did the loop without the bridge and added about another half mile or so when I could. It's very hilly in the middle and at the end but I like the terrain changes. Since it was raining, I had to be extra careful of cars and of slipping - I noticed that people really can't see you even if they are stopped at a stop sign and you've already been crossing. I almost got run over twice. After that I was extra careful.

Anyway, the rest of the week is pretty similar to last week (switch out the tempo for a steady state) except for a 17 miler this weekend. I think we'll hit 40 miles this week!

7 months till I get married, 5 months till my next marathon

I got three emails from wedding planning sites trying to freak me out about my wedding - my favorite is: "7 months to go - book your florist now or forever hold your peace!" Way scary. I'm wondering what running websites would send: "5 months until the marathon - get off the couch!" But I don't think they do that. It's funny to have two big events that seem way off in the future but right around the corner at the same time. I'm "training" for both by getting in shape, deep breathing, concentrating on one thing at a time.

And no, I didn't run on Monday to get my 100 miles for November. I went home and relaxed and ate cookies with Dan. I did get two runs in this week already, so I'm on schedule. I'm running with Sarah on Saturday in Oakland and we are going dress shopping. Fun times. I'm wondering how I fit a full time job into my wedding and marathon training?

Go Phillies, Go Brad Lidge and just go

I am a Phillies fan, turned also A's and Giants fan, and lately, I'm just back to being a good old Phillies fan. Sorry California teams, but my roots are strong. Watching the Phillies last week really made me nervous - I really wanted them to advance to the NLCS. But what really struck me, was the manager taking a chance on a relief pitcher named Brad Lidge. My Dad's face turned grey when the manager brought out Lidge in the 8th or 9th inning when the Phillies were finally ahead of the Rockies. He said "Here we go. I've seen this too many times - Lidge giving up the game." But Lidge actually saved the game, even though no one but the coach had faith in him. This happened again the next day when it was really important, and the Phillies went on to win that series. How the manager had faith in someone who showed him this season he should not have any faith, with everyone in Philadelphia against Lidge, really amazed me beyond words. I wonder if Lidge even had faith in himself?

Anyway, I found this really inspirational, especially as I have not been running at all and when I have, I am molasses slow. But I think I can bounce back if I keep going, especially with very supportive people around...

Running, swimming, biking, repeat

It's Sunday, the end of a beautiful weekend and I'm left pondering the fall race season. Yes, I was (am?) planning on doing a Triathlon in September and the Philly Marathon in November. Mostly I am (was?) planning on running the Philly Marathon so I could train with Sarah who is doing the NYC marathon, and so I could run with Amber in Philly. What's changed since I came to this decision? The biggest thing is that I got engaged and now am spending some time planning the wedding. Since it will be on the east coast, I am planning it from across the country, and that will probably take up a bit of my time. Also, I started biking and swimming and this has turned out to be pretty fun and not as tiring as long runs (mostly because I am biking and swimming pretty slowly). After my 8 mile run I found myself to be really tired. I didn't really have energy to do all of the other things I should have been doing. It made me wonder if I was ready to get back into training for another marathon so soon. I look at my fall training schedule, and it looks a bit daunting - three of the weeks I will have family in town and since Sarah's marathon is sooner, we won't get to do all of our training runs together. So that's my confession - I am tired. I think I'm going to think about it for another week. If I don't do the marathon, I'll probably do the US Half, and shoot for a really good time, so I won't be sitting at home all fall eating bon bons...

Ps. Saturday's 8 mile run was really nice. I ran from my house to the Presidio and over the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Today I biked 15 miles with my friend Jessica through the Golden Gate Park and down to Ocean Beach and back. I'm loving the bike rides with Jess. It's a fun way to catch up with her and is cheaper than our normal pedicure dates :)

Oh the drama of being a runner

The ups (runner's high, good times), the downs (aches, falls, goals missed) of being a runner can make you feel a little bipolar sometimes. Last week was hard - I didn't take as good of care of myself and each run seemed harder than the last. We finished off the week with a 14 miler in Alameda. We were chatting about the NYC Marathon that Sarah will do this year and I hit a rock and caught air, landing on my side. These falls always make me feel hardcore. I have scratches and bruises on my right side and was covered in dirt for the rest of the run. It added a little bit of drama to the day.

On Sunday, Dan and I went for a 5 mile walk to the Golden Gate Bridge. I have a theory that long walks the day after a long run help your legs heal. Today my legs felt a lot better and I did a medium long run down to the Bridge, to the Marina Safeway and back home - I was missing the hills so I decided to include them this morning.

The rest of this week should be intense: Track workout tomorrow with 800's, Thursday a 4 1/2 mile race, Friday a recovery run, and Sunday an 18 1/2 mile run with the last 5 miles at race pace.

Let's see if the ups and downs continue...

Performance

I wish I could yell at my shin splints, "you are lucky that I take you to such nice places! Quit your bitching." In today's tough economic times, blah blah blah, everybody has to work hard or go home. Or that's what I feel. Stress is your body's way of telling you to slow the heck down (I'll stop cursing now). Shin splints are your legs way of telling you the same? I don't know. I'm not sure I actually have shin splints, but I know my legs are tired. My poor tired legs. I slept 12 hours last night. I am doing no exercising today except a walk to the frozen yogurt place. Tomorrow I will get new sneakers and my shin splints will be fired!

First the heat, then the fog

Ghosts, that's what the fog sometimes reminds me of. Trees creak and groan, the air is misty, and everyone seems to disappear. Running through it is so invigorating. The weather is big and San Francisco seems to go back to its roots. I'm reminded of boats crashing into the shoreline, forts being built and deserted, landfill placed on top of all of those abandoned boats. Maybe it's the ghosts that spur my imagination, maybe it's the weather, but I get lost on these runs and before I know it, I'm back into the present day San Francisco, feeling great from a long misty run.

New Year's Resolution finally broken

Well, did I really think I could make it a year without torturing myself with another 26.2 miler? What is it I can't live without? That moment at 20 miles when every pore in my body cries "Why?" I think I just love the challenge, the Saturdays spent running along, thoughts that come to me only after 3 hours of thinking of everything else. So, here it goes! I'm planning on running the San Francisco Marathon on July 26th. Can I break my records? We are planning on training differently so I'm hoping for different results. Can't wait to see how I do...

Pace and Miles

Oh Miles, how I have slowly defeated you. How you have tried to wear down my toes, my skin and my sanity. And Pace, I have tried to defy you, to wear you down, but you, you have never surrendered in defeat. Pace, that slow, fast, mysteriously fleeting friend and foe. I have never loved you. Miles, it is you that are my love.