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.

A short race is a different kind of drug

Sarah scheduled a 4 1/2 mile race into our training plan for the SF Marathon. I've always seen this recommended in training plans, but it somehow always seemed like crazy talk to me. The race Sarah found is the Summer Evening Race Series at Lake Merced 4.5M loop which only costs $1. This is the shortest race I've done - in fact, it's the first thing I've ever called a race. Marathons are not really races, at least according to my legs. We got a bit intimidated by all of the serious runners there that seemed to know each other but it went really well. I ran faster than I thought I could and got such a rush out of it. I think I want to run shorter races more often.

Now I am still on my high and am thinking of signing up to do the New York Marathon for charity. I should probably do so while I'm in my post running stupor.

ps. Lake Merced is a 4 1/2 mile paved loop and is so pretty.

Track Stars

I wish I still had my 7th grade track team photo. Picture this: little Jenica in a red well worn track suit sitting in the front with my hair probably in tangles, laughing with my friend Jen. I wasn't the star, nor did I think I was - to me it was just fun. I think of this every time Sarah and I do a track workout at the Piedmont High School - I wonder how much my 400 time has improved or not.

Today the drama continued as Sarah found her car window smashed in. I didn't mention but last week my bank account was hacked into. We went to the track anyway doing 4 800's and a 400. My times were within my goal except for the last 800. I thought we were doing one more and I was running out of steam. To make up for it, during the last 400 I pretended I was playing hide and seek and someone was chasing me. That was fun and helped. Hopefully I can think of this on mile 24 of the marathon....

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...

Boy am I tired!

The golden retriever running next to me made it look easy today as I attempted to master the "tempo run." I ran for 25 mins at an easy pace, 20 mins at a faster speed, and then a 10 minute cool down. The path from my brain to my legs is a muddy one sometimes, "run! run!" my brain tells my legs. My legs are like the golden retriever laying in the sun, "not today, thanks." But I somehow nudged them away, and they ran.

Last week I felt like I had a breakthrough with my running and my legs felt great. This week they felt tired. The next two weeks will be hard as we get into the "meat" of our training.

Sarah just won the lottery, the NYC Marathon lottery - go Sarah! I did not get in but am happy (and only slightly bitter) for her :)

Happy National Running Day!

In honor of this, my new favorite holiday, I ran up the same hill 6 times. Well it wasn't just for this holiday, and was part of my training schedule, but it is a nice way to celebrate running. I am very grateful I am a runner - my sanity, strength and family thanks you.

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.