Monday and Tuesday Runs

Good runs the last few days, with some nice speed thrown into the mix

Monday I ran a speedy 3 miles at a 9:03 pace after the long 8 hour drive back to berkeley. I have a lot on my plate right now and was feeling the stress for the last hour of the drive and really needed a run to recenter. After running and taking a shower, I always feel so much better and happier about the world :)

Today I did my normal 6 miles at a 9:43 pace, which I was very happy about. All negative splits with the last mile at 8:43 pace! I ran in the middle of the day in an attempt to try to expose myself to heat, but it ended up being high 60s and sunny :) Not good for trying to acclimate, but sure nice weather to run in. I added in an extra hill which was nice. Noticed that it took me about 3 miles to hit my groove and then it all started feeling a lot easier. I notice that a lot on my runs.

Tomorrow I'm going to join up with a new trail group for an evening run in a new place. I found them through a very nice fellow berkeley ultrarunner that contacted me through the ultra listserve and I'm excited. The only anxiety (that I always have with a new group) is the fear that I'll be too slow and get left behind! I purposly didn't run my hilly trail run today so that my legs will (hopefully) be a bit fresher tomorrow and I'll be able to keep up. They seem nice though, and are through the local running store that I love, so hopefully it'll go well.

Speaking of shopping, ZombieRunner is amazing :) I emailed them about running my first 50k and inquiring about what to get, and they gave me a very helpful list and some useful suggestions as well as being incredibly nice. I highly recommend them to all! (though I'm guessing most all of you already use them ;) ).

I have a free morning tomorrow since I'm doing an evening run, so I'll hopefully get lots of thesis work done!

Trail Marathon?

Well, in preparation for the TRT 50k, I would really like to do marathon distance on trails to get a feel for what it feels like to be on a trail for a serious amount of time. As I'm doing a road marathon on June 3rd, timing works best to possibly fit a marathon in sometime this month. The 30k that I did last weekend went very well despite some stomach issued resulting from poor eating the prior week, and I felt like, at that pace (lots of walking!) I could have kept going for a while longer. Even after that race and a good 6.2 run sunday, I was still able to get my highest mileage week ever with:

monday- cross-training
tuesday- 6.25 miles
wednesday- 8.5 miles
thursday- 6 miles
friday- off
saturday- 11 miles w/ dad, 5 miles solo (total: 16)
sunday- 6.25 miles
For 43 miles this week!

I'm feeling great at this mileage and would like to do a 20ish mile run this weekend, time permitting.

With this in mind then, I've been eyeing the Diablo Trail Marathon on April 29th, put on by PCTR.

Now, the marathon is incredibly challenging with a wopping 7, 950 ft of elevation gain during the race. However, on the plus side, there's a 50 mile race being run concurrently, meaning that I would have 16 hours to complete the race! That's a 36 min/mile pace. I feel like I could hold that kind of pace for 26 miles :)

So my question is, is this sensible to attempt, or too much? I'm not planning to 'race' the June marathon and am fine being 'slow' at it, as the 50k is much more important. Also, since I'd have such a generous amount of time to be out there, I'd plan on doing lots of walking at Diablo (much like I'm guessing I'll have to do at Tahoe?)

I just feel like this might give me an idea of how I'd handle being out on a trail for that long and on a tough course.

So, opinions please!!!! I don't want to bite off more than I can chew and become injured, but I'd love to attempt this if it sounds like it'd be helpful for my training :)

Thanks everyone!!!

Addy

A Run of Many Parts

I had a very odd and broken run today, but overall very good. First, I ran 10.62 miles with my dad (with a .38 walk back to the house up a steep hill at the end). He's training for his first half marathon on April 22nd and this was his longest run ever! I'm so proud of him!!! I've also talked him into letting me email around and try to find a trail running group that he can join. He's been worried about his joints becoming damaged from the running, since he did lots of sports in high school that beat up his body a bit. I'm trying to be very non-pushing, but I have fantasies of us going running on trails together and maybe even doing races together someday. He loves hiking and such (did the John Muir trail, 220+ miles over a month after high school) and I think doing trail races would be a great thing for him. He's still a bit slow right now, and uses walking breaks, but, to me, that seems perfect for the trail running mentality ;) He's promised to come to the pre-race dinner with me for my 50k, and I'm hoping a bit that seeing so many other men his age doing the race will make it seem achievable.

We've got to get through the 1/2 marathon first though!

(My Dad and Me at Christmas with my first pair of trail running shoes and a tech shirt I got him for his 1/2 marathon training. We were both about to embark on new running adventures here!)

After the run I rested for a bit, had some water, and then headed out to the RSM lake, which is 1 mi. around. Got myself situated, shut the car door and realized the keys were still inside!. I used to lock my keys in my car quite frequently in high school, but hadn't done it since then. My spares are up in Berkeley, so I was definitely in a fix. Felt a bit like crying and sat for 20 minutes or so trying to figure out what to do. I then decided to run to a phone to call home (running is such a great way to deal with stress!), so ran the 1/2 mile or so to a pay phone. I didn't have money though, so I then ended up going to a B of A and they kindly let me use their phone. I called AAA and spoke to a very nice man who made me feel much better and talked me through everything. I bought their insurance, and they sent someone right out to unlock my car within 15 minutes.

After getting through all that, I finished up my run, doing another 4. 38 miles and a .62 mile cool down.

All together, my second run was 5.38 miles, giving me 16 miles for the day.

And it only took me 5 1/2 hours ;)

Round and Round and Round She Goes...



I ran around RSM Lake today to give my legs a break from the hills. Unfortunately, my legs were remembering only too well the hills that I've been battling in the last week, and didn't let me forget it. I hadn't run a flat course in a while, and I can't say that it was as 'easy' as I had imagined. I think I like hills to break up the monotony of things. Plus, I love running downhill :). Anyways, since my legs were sore, I decided to take it easy, for the first lap. However, after that, I decided that instead of indulging my legs, I'd make them work, and decided to go for negative splits. Each lap got progressivly harder, and after 5 miles, I was pretty tired, but definitely wanted to push out for the end. The results were well worth it:

m1- 9:59,

m2- 9:36,

m3 - 9:24,

m4- 9:17,

m5- 9:04,

m6- 8:38

for an average of a 9:20 pace :D

Whenever I get below 9:30 pace, I'm super excited, and getting below 9:00 is a cause for celebration! Granted, I was wiped at the end and definitly couldn't have gone longer at that pace, but I'm excited that I was able to keep it up for 6 miles. I also ran at high noon, so it was warmer than I've been used to (high 70s). Getting hot in that, though, reminds me of all the heat training I need to do to be ready for this summer.

Tomorrow is an off day, which should be good in terms of doing work for my thesis, if nothing else. I did work for 2 hours this morning, and am planning on doing in for the rest of the afternoon/evening after I shower and eat, but I have so much work to do!

I think I'm going to try to suggest a family hike for Sunday up on Saddleback Mountain. I've never hiked there before, and just looking up at it today during the run made me eager to go exploring. Hopefully I can get some takers!

Hit 300!

Hit 300.7 miles today for the year, which finally puts me back on track to get in my 1,200 miles by December 31st. Hopefully I'll exceed that number, but I want at least an average of 100 miles/month. I'm trying to get back up to around 40 miles a week, though, which should make hitting the goal nice and easy. After the time off post marathon in January, though, I've definitely been playing catchup.

Looking to hit 40 miles for the week. Only 26 to go :)

8.5 Miles

Did a nice 8.5 mile route today with lots and lots of hills, and still managed to keep the pace below 10 min/mile :) I'm starting to get used to being faster than I used to be. I definitely wasn't thrilled about the hills while I was out there, but I'm glad that I"m doing them. The hills around here aren't incredibly steep, but they all last about a 1/2 mile at least. And nothing is flat. We'll see how I feel tomorrow though. I'm planning to do 6 tomorrow, but if I'm too sore I might go down to another lake nearby and do the run there instead, as its a flat loop. Downside is its only a mile around, so I'd have to do 6 laps! We'll see.

(RSM Lake with Saddleback Mountain in the background)

In other fitness news, I can now dow at least 5 'real' pushups at a time now. This might not seem like anything, but up until less than a month ago, I was unable to do even one normal pushup. I've been religiously doing modified pushups though, as well as arm weights, and its really starting to pay off. My motivation is looking at female ultrarunners (A Race for the Soul especially) and seeing how fit they all look, and how strong. I want to be like that someday :)

I can't believe it's already wednesday. My how the week does fly by!

Sore!!!



Well, I safely got down to Orange County for the start of spring break, and despite some definite soreness from yesterday (especially the quads!!!) I got myself to do 6.2 miles around the lake at a 9:38 pace!!!






I'd be happy with that pace on a flat course on a good day, and to hold that around the lake (very hilly) after yesterday's 18 miles is really reassuring. Of course, my legs hate me now, and going down stairs is a serious challenge. One of my toe nails is also starting to turn purple...we'll see if it actually comes off or if its just complaining :)



It was really fun to be out there running though, even with the soreness. I'm amazed at how much easier the lake loop is than it used to be.



In other news, plans are definitely going forward for the TRT 50k It sounds like my parents have accepted my goal and will be supportive, which is a definite plus. I'm so excited!!!

Just a quick recap for now, I'll do a better race report when I have more time, but the 30k this morning actually went great, despite my fears :)

(Self Portrait after the race, back in Berkeley!)

My overeating on thursday punished me today by making my stomach off for the whole race! Almost the entire 18 miles I had some kind of side ache, though it did get better after the first few miles. It was a beautiful course though, even though it was incredibly foggy and cold. We missed out on the spectacular views that usually grace the course ("I think the golden gate bridge is somewhere over there...hmm...") but it was still pretty great.

I got clicked in with some 50k runners right away, since they did the 30k first and then the 20k, so that was great to have company the whole time. Because of the sideache I had to go super slow (lots of walking) but my legs never felt too tired, which was great. Finished in a super slow 4 hours (lots and lots of walking) but considering how sick I've been the past few weeks, I'll take it :) It was a beautiful course and a beautiful day and I'm glad I got to be a part of it. It was also great to meet and re meet some familiar faces. I finally met Terry, who I've been chatting with in the internet world for a while now, which was really fun, and I got to talk to Gail again, who I had run woodside with a few months prior. I even ended up running with her husband for the last 4 miles of the race. And my friend, Jenny, came along and did the 20k in a super fast 2:18! It was so great to have a friend to share this experience with :) More details of everything to follow!

My lovely dirt sock tan (and blood blister) The beautiful feet of a trail runner :)

It's Raining!

Well, my first run back was a bit on the wet side. Never really passed beyond just sprinking, but it was wet enough to leave the music at home and to internally question my decision to run in the rain while I was still sick. Luckily, common sense seems to have no real place amonst my running thoughts, so that question was immediately silenced in exchange for my feelings of happiness at running again.

Unfortunately, those happy feelings were competing with feelings of tiredness. Apparently the workout yesterday took more out of me than I thought (thank you cold) and I definitely didn't feel as fresh as I had hoped I would. Tired legs, weird side ache, and a bit of blahness, on top of my few moments of trouble breathing, led me to turn around at Bancroft for 4 miles instead of 5. I don't want to do anything that will make me too tired since I have that 30k the weekend. A little worried about going 18.4 on Saturday after having a not-easy 4 miler, but I'm planning to walk a lot, so I should be fine. Plus, I'll bring my brand new inhaler, just in case my lungs decide to give out on me :)

Not sure yet if I want to brave the trails tomorrow night (I miss them and it would be fun, but would probably be harder on my body) or just stick with road running this week so that I'm fully recovered for Saturday. Hmm....delimmas :)

Right now I'm killing time while waiting to meet with Sue about thesis stuff. I planned to go the gym during the break (have my gym bag with me and everything) but I left my umbrella in the car, and I really don't want to walk all the way down there in the rain (yes, I'll run it it, but I won't walk in it). I just need to do weights, so I think I'll just do them at home later. My arms are actually a little sore from doing the push ups yesterday, so I'll give them a break.

And speaking of breaks, spring break starts in just a few days. Only 5 days until I'm home with my family!

I'm excited about running tomorrow :) Not sure how far I'll go, but hopefully at least 4 or 5 miles. I can't wait!