Towards the end of training, training report

Big mileage weeks are starting to seem like the norm (Sarah, don't go thinking you can add more miles to next week :) and that's a good thing since there is one more before the taper begins. My routine has been - get up way before the crack of dawn, run 12-14 miles (depending on the day) and go to work. That just happens twice a week. Other days we just run an easy 7 or 8 unless there is a pace or track workout. I'm feeling like I'm in the sweet spot of the training where it seems pretty easy and I'm feeling in pretty good shape. I wish this lasted longer. Pretty soon we will start our taper and feel like out of shape slackers.

On Saturday I celebrated my 36th birthday with a 20 mile pace run with Sarah in Golden Gate Park (a new workout that Sarah made up I think. You do 3 miles easy, 3 miles pace three times with a 2 mile cool down).  She said to think of it as a 3 course meal and had a goal to run each pace segment faster than the last. I stayed slightly faster than my zone most of the time and felt pretty good - the last few pace miles I really felt like I was working, but it strangely made my legs feel good. Go figure. It was a nice birthday run. After, I hopped on a plane to NYC, where I am writing this.

This week is a lower mileage week before we ramp it up next week one more time.

Two other big developments!

I got an iphone and now I can easily take pics from the road!

I got a running skirt! I guess I can't make fun of them anymore!

First Week of Avenue of the Giants Marathon Training!

Week one of Ave of the Giants Marathon training began this morning with a 6 mile run. It felt pretty normal since I've been running pretty regularly (if you forget the holidays). This week of training is about on par with what I've been doing, except for one more run day. After this week, it really ramps up. I'm looking forward to getting into better running shape and to long runs with Sarah. Speaking of my running buddy, Sarah has been taking care of her husband who had stomach flu, and this morning it really hit her. So she'll be taking this week off I hope! Send her healthy vibes.

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 :)

Running in Vacationland

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We're getting so close to the end of our training plan - one more long run left next week. I am in Maine right now on vacation. Yesterday two Mai Tais caused a little run in between my foot and some kind of sharp object and I woke up with a gash on the bottom of my foot. This mixed with the fact that on Thursday's long run my hamstring was irritated with me and I felt that for sure I wouldn't be able to resist hanging out on the deck instead of running. But, for some reason I ran anyway, from Orrs Island to Bailey Island down rolling hills and over a bridge that didn't have room for pedestrians. Not so safe but very fun.

This was the first week that I didn't manage to run 5 times. I may go for an easy run tomorrow if I am super inspired and wake up early. Next week will involve a lot of traveling so I would like to have the option of skipping a workout without the guilt.

Feeling a little woozy post run

I didn't mention in my last post how woozy I felt after the 20 mile run on Saturday. Maybe I was too woozy to think about it. We went for lunch after and I felt like I may pass out. I'm not sure if I didn't drink enough water, eat enough food, if I was overheated, pushed to hard or what, but I felt out of it. After I ate I felt a bit better and that night I was just tired. On Sunday I woke up starving, and then I just felt fatigued all day. At around 4 I broke down and called to schedule a massage. I just couldn't hold out. I went to the Imperial Spa and got the most hardcore deep tissue massage that included 30 minutes of the masseuse walking on my back and legs. I probably should have told her to focus more on my legs, but she mostly discovered the knots in my back and put all of her energy there. I was trying hard to breathe through it all and didn't even realize we were almost done before she got to get to my legs. She did walk on them and in the end she did massage my calves. It was very intense. I would be more lighthearted and joke about it but my back hurts just typing this. At one point I did start to feel like myself again.

I am heading on vacation at the end of this week and this is a "cut back" week so hopefully I can continue to take care of myself (no more deep tissue massages for a while though) until the next (and last!) 20 mile run the following weekend.

This week includes today's (much later today) 50 minute easy run, a 100 minute medium run, a 15 mile with hills long run, and a 70 minute tempo.

Pace Yourself

Ah, a long training week is over. What a fun week. Yesterday capped it off with a 18 1/2 run in beautiful Tiburon.

I'm trying to think back to past marathon training weeks to see if this was indeed the hardest week ever. I think it may have been. Although last summer we ran from Stinson Beach to the top of Mt Tam and back, I think yesterday's workout is a rival for toughest run. We did our "pace run," starting out with a 12 mile long run pace segment, followed by 5 1/2 miles of "marathon pace." I've been a little confused as to what I should shoot for - two weeks ago all of my marathon pace miles were under or close to 10:00 miles. If I am training for a 4:30 marathon, my pace would average 10:19. So this time, I opted for sticking closer to that time, it helped that my legs felt way more tired this go around. My range was 9:58 - 10:26, 9:58 was my last mile. That was sort of my goal - to make the last mile the fastest. I started out slower so I think that really helped me end strong, even though I had a few miles out of the goal range. Next Saturday we have another one of these runs - I plan on trying very hard to keep it between 10 - 10:15 for each mile, again making the last the fastest. It's hard to maintain a good pace at the end of a marathon, so I'm hoping these runs will help me get to my goal this time.

On a wonderful side note, after the run, I celebrated my one year anniversary with my boyfriend Dan. He ran the Sacramento Marathon with me last year, staying with me every mile. He is the best.

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...

Monday running is madness

Ran 7.5 miles this morning at the Baylands trail before work. The highlight was seeing a jackrabbit and his big ears. I'm trying to stick to below 10 minute miles for these medium long runs, since that is my goal pace of the marathon. Since I still do walk breaks, it averages at around 10:30 or so per mile with the breaks. My legs felt pretty good, but I think I am a little bit tired in general from the weekend run. Tomorrow is a recovery run, Wednesday is a hill workout, and then a pace run on Friday. Saturday is a "short" 14 miler. All in all, it should be an easier week.

Tiburon makes me run faster

Yesterday was our first "pace run" - this is where we run for 12 miles at a easy pace, and follow it with several miles of our marathon goal pace. We started by doing 4 miles at goal pace with 3 more in store for the coming weeks. We choose a flat route which Sarah researched online - a 17 miles adventure in Tiburon. Most of the route is flat, with a paved bike trail and a sandy running trail on both sides. I couldn't believe how amazing the views are, even on an otherwise dreary foggy day.

The first part of the run went by pretty fast. We tried a new type of gel named Octane which I think gave our legs a burst of energy, and took off for the 4 miles. It went well - I started out a bit to fast and that ended up being the best mile. The third one was good and the last one was the slowest. I also stopped for a few seconds on those two miles to catch my breath and have some water. All in all it went well and I am almost excited for the next three. almost.

Monday is a 80 minute run. I am going to continue speeding up the medium runs to maintain a consistently faster pace.

First Week of Training Begins!

Monday was the first official day of training, well the first on our well documented training plan that Sarah has been constructing. It was also the first time I used my new Garmin. I ran with the wind (literally, but not as fast as the wind) up and then down Presidio to the Golden Gate Bridge and Back. Worked out to be 6 miles with an ascent of 1655 and descent of 1546 according to my watch! Crazy stuff. Next week I think I will pick a flatter route for a Monday run.

A hot runner

We have officially ish kicked off our marathon training this week, just in time for global warming to kick in. Or sort of. It's been hot in San Francisco - for me, this is always unsettling. I keep waiting for the fog to roll in, and I am almost afraid to take off a layer. I melt in the heat, and when I try and run up the hills, I feel like I am running through sweaty water. I guess this counts as heat training, so I will suck it up and try to move on (slowly).