Long Hiatus

Our moving day is rapidly approaching! which means that I will be away from a computer for most of the next month as we take a much needed series of vacations and do some celebrating along the way. I will be squeezing in runs around travels, but am leaving the computer behind! I'm sure I'll find time for a post here and there, but until mid-August it'll be mostly radio silence.

I will do 2 more runs here in LA- 5 miles and 7 miles, as we pack the truck and then head north. I'm so looking forward to Portland and cooler climes! we will miss the amazing restaurants, endless possibilities for entertainment, close proximity to the beautiful So Cal beaches and our cute little apartment here. But it's time for a smaller city! and a running/biking-centric city will be much appreciated too!

Today's 3 miler, small bike ride and ab/arm workout are already behind me, so now it's back to packing!

Santa Cruz Long Run

I did my weekly long run in Santa Cruz yesterday, which meant almost 2 hours of running on the Pacific coast in a place I love! And the people watching was entertaining as well. I had 10 miles planned but decided to run over to the tennis club to meet Boyfriend and his parents and neglected to add in the extra couple miles when I decided what route to run. So I ended up closer to 12 miles but felt great up until the last 1/2 mile or so. At 11.5 miles my IT bands both decided they had had enough of the slanted roads and running altogether but I didn't want to walk because it would take longer so I toughed it out. I feel good today so I guess they got over it.

We move this next weekend so I am trying to schedule this week's runs around packing, cleaning, errands, goodbye dinners, etc. But if that seems hard, I am trying not to think about July where I'll be trying to get my runs in while we travel all over the place and do other fun things that might make me tempted to skip the runs...

5 before the sun

I set the alarm for 6, changed it to 7 when I realized how little sleep I'd get, and then woke up at 6 anyway- took it as a sign and got out there before it was too hot. Me and everyone else! I don't think I've seen that many people biking and running at one time here, oh, maybe ever! It was great actually- and probably it's all the people who like me skipped their afternoon runs because it was too hot, the regular morning people and then the people who were getting in their runs planned for this afternoon too. It is nice to have so many people on the streets that early though.

My legs were a little heavy today- thanks to quite a bit of biking last night, which also included a bike disaster with Boyfriend and I ending up in a fight on the side of the street. He is comfortable with tons of traffic, which is frequent here in LA if you aren't careful to avoid it, I'm not comfortable with it. He took off way faster than me and took me on a route that had me biking past a highway on ramp and off ramp (yes, having to cross them!) which put me into full on I-am-going-to-die-on-this-bike-ride panic. Not good. So instead of bike back to the train station we'd gotten off at, we just bike the whole way home on much mellower streets. Who is glad they are moving away from LA?!

Today I wish...

that I could be at the beach. Or somewhere with a strong breeze. It's very hot and I don't actually feel like running. Let alone running on the treadmill which is really the only way I'll make it any distance at all. Thinking of switching my 5 miler to tomorrow a.m. and getting up ridiculously early to get it in before the sun sets in, and doing 3 on the mill right now. Ugh.

Success on the Bike & Easy Tuesday

I am so into this active recovery from the long run- I try to bike for an hour the day after my long runs and it makes my legs sooo happy. I did the bike-train-bike commute yesterday, and got in about 1.5 hours total on the bike. My legs didn't feel tired at all, which is nice!

Tuesdays are "easy" day on my marathon training plan, so it was 3 at 10 min/miles. I ended up getting every red light possible, so it was a run/wait, run/wait kind of run. I ran to the bank and then back home, to try and get in an errand too since I'm still trying to cut back on gas.

And then I made a strawberry rhubarb pie to celebrate summer! mmmm! (and I said to Boyfriend "when was the last time you made a pie before work? no, me neither!", there's a first time for everything).

Oh easy long run

Just back from a (hot) 9 miler and feeling terrific. I felt fabulous for miles 0-7 and then still felt good during 7-9 minus the extreme thirst and being drenched in sweat. It was my last long run here in Southern California, because we're moving at the end of the month and will be out of town next weekend so I'll be running there instead.

Boyfriend's graduate school commencement ceremony was yesterday, followed by a party to celebrate 4 years (!) of architectural school coming to a close. I volunteered to be the DD in order to make sure I got out the door early this morning. I think I have quite a few more celebrations and occasions between now and October where I'll be making that move, along with being the impetus for my carload of folks to depart before midnight. It's ok with me, and so far Boyfriend is extremely supportive, but I think he's in for a surprise at the way my weekends will need to revolve around the long run EVERY week. I tried to sneak out of bed early (trying to make it out before it was too hot and knew I'd need an hour to eat/digest etc.), and got the "where are you going?" followed by the "when will you be back? 10 miles?!"....long sleepy pause..."ok...". But, he's currently making me post-run breakfast crepes with peaches and cappucino so that's always fabulous!

One bad run...

The power of one bad run is truly stunning. It has the ability to shake months of confidence and training, and to set you back at "can I do this???" so quickly. My four miler on Wednesday went from bad to worse to terrible. Started off with heavy legs and uncomfortable breathing and then went into the low blood sugar zone at about mile 1.5. I've struggled with blood sugar issues for years now, and generally pay very close attention to when/what I eat. I guess my crazy hectic schedule as of late caught up with me on Wednesday because I couldn't remember exactly when I'd had lunch and just went for my run instead of eating a snack and waiting a while like I normally do. The tunnel vision and lightheadness are complicating factors when you're trying to run... But I decided I was going to push through it, since I needed to get back home anyway. I made it through the run- but not without building up a mountain of doubts on my way, which stayed with me all night and into the next day.

I had company in town which provided a good excuse for postponing my next run. Of course that meant I had 24 hours to mull the impossibility of 26.2 miles when I could barely make it through 4!

The next morning I just put on my running clothes and shoes the minute I got up, to avoid any more excuses, at my one piece of toast and hopped out the door. My run went fine, of course, despite the lingering doubts. And I spent the entire time convincing myself that I will probably always have bad runs every once in a while- I'll just try to be grateful that they are few and far between. I'll also try to focus on drowning out those very loud voices of doubt that infiltrated my confidence this time, but surely won't the next time they come around.

Running toward October

I printed off my training calendar for the marathon today. And posted it on the fridge so it's really official! and when I get my paycheck next week I'll be entering the Portland Marathon! and buying a Garmin!

Off for four miles now with a new podcast- I'll let you know what it is if it's any good!

First Tire Blow Out & Onto the 3s

I had this brilliant idea to bike/train commute to work yesterday. I mapped out a route that would allow me to avoid the seriously busy LA streets- think Sunset, Beverly & Santa Monica Boulevards. I pumped my tires up on the way out the door and made it to the train, from one train to the other, back up to the street and 2 out of 5 miles into my ride. I was just thinking to myself "Biking in LA isn't that bad! this is great! I love biking!" when BOOM! my rear tire exploded. Not just a flat, but the sidewall has a 4 inch gap in it now. So me and my sad little bike got on the bus for the rest of the way and Boyfriend had to come rescue us at the end of the day. Sad. The funny thing is, I had brought my hand pump and patch kit for, yep, the first time EVER. I have been biking since I went to college and not once did I bring those things with me. And not once did I need them. The one day I cart them along...

But I'm not discouraged- I'm off to buy new tires (going to go ahead and replace the front one too, it is time...) and tomorrow we'll try again!

In running news: 3 miles easy on the treadmill this morning. Or I should say the running part was easy-- the treadmill is a serious mental test for me though. I really just can't handle it! Even when I cover up the clock all I can think it "am I almost done? has it been another minute? ohmygod, it's only been 8 minutes?!" and such. Not good, since I am inevitably going to be running on the mill at least occasionally in rainy Portland. I also forgot it was summer pool hours since it's June and missed my chance to swim this a.m. too. So back to the gym this evening for my first swim in forever.

Sunday Cross Training

So every Sunday is a "cross training" day on my plan, which is supposed to be active recovery from the long runs on Saturdays. I think today's activity failed to qualify as recovery... 5 hours of hiking most of it straight up or straight down. My legs feel good, but I'm now willing myself not to get poison oak- it was everywhere on the trails. And I forgot lesson #1 in being myself, which is never ever go hiking in shorts in California, lest you spend 3 weeks debilitated by the OAK. But homeopathic remedies, Tecnu, showering the second I get home and willing it not to happen seems to be working quite well lately, so let's hope!

We have 6 weeks to get ready for 2 solid weeks of serious backpacking, so every weekend will likely include a hike, and with the long runs I think Mondays are going to turn into the rest day where I convince myself it is a good idea to do undertake several physical challenges all at once :-)

6.36 Miles

Today was my first 'long run' as part of my marathon training plan. A nice easy 6 miles. I love that 6 miles can feel that easy! We drove to the Farmer's Market, stocked up on tons of gorgeous fruits and veggies and I ran home from there, while Boyfriend walked over to Ultimate Frisbee at the park.

In other tremendously thrilling news I am done with the GREs and Boyfriend is done with grad school!! so it's serious party time around here now! And time to get into hiking shape as well as train for the marathon since we have two full weeks of backpacking at altitude coming up in July. I am slightly nervous about not running for that long, even if we are working out many hours a day- I'm sure it won't have an impact on me physically but it'll be the longest I have gone without running in who knows how long.

Marathon Training Starts: Yesterday

So I got out the door for a very slow pretty short run yesterday- not the most flashy beginning to the marathon training, but I'll save the fireworks for later! like when I finish?! My IT band is definitely trying to assert some control so I'll have to rein that back in, but somewhere I read you should "take it easy one day after the race for every mile you raced". That puts me at next weekend so I'm giving that approach a try for now.

I am psyched though! I love the regimented accomplishment oriented feel of life with a training plan so that feels good (especially since there are lots of other big out-of-my-control things going on for Boyfriend and I right now- like moving out of state...).

I have enough Clif Shot's in Espresso flavor to live for 3 days in my cupboard, thanks Sports Basement!, so here's to the next 4 months : The Portland Marathon is 4 months from TODAY!

See Jane Run Race Report

So, today I logged on to check my exact time and found out that I had run 2 minutes faster than I thought! My time was 1:55:33. Which is Awesome! And here are the details:

I flew up to the Bay Area for the race and got to see some friends while I was there. Which meant going out on Friday night and trying to choose the lightest bar food possible for my pre-race meal (but I'd had pasta for 3 days straight before that). Got to bed around 10:30 and slept okay until I had to get up at 4:45.

We got to the course, ate a couple of mini bagels on the way, and I joined the longggggg bathroom line (an all women's race=waiting forever to use the bathroom...) and they had some pre-race entertainment in the form of aerobics and stretching, which I thankfully missed out on while in the bathroom.

I joined the 10 min/mile group because it was as far forward as I could get in the crowd, and thought that would slow me down in the beginning, but for once the minute the race started we were Running. No walking to get enough room- straight into the race. Which actually threw me a bit because I didn't have my ipod ready, but I quickly got that taken care of and was off.

I had spotted a woman about my age and thought "she looks about my pace" based on nothing other than looks, which is about the least scientific method ever but I just had a feeling-- we ran that entire race together! at no point was she further than 100 feet away, and she had on a really similar outfit so we looked like we were together I'm sure.

The first 3 miles were a little rough mentally-- my stomach was a little weird, the weather was cold and foggy and 13 miles all of sudden seemed really long. I got past that hurdle and sped things up, once it was "less than 10 miles to go" I was much more comfortable I guess.

I was feeling great around mile 8-9 and picked it up about 10 notches and passed a whole bunch of people, all the while thinking they'd pass me back but I didn't ever see any of them again which was nice! I had had the Clif Shot Double Espresso between miles 4.5-8 and that is the way for me to eat those- slowly, but somehow I also got it all over my hand which meant being really sticky for the rest of the race which was a little annoying.

Mile 10-13 were the same as 1-3 but felt wayyyy longer, and were slightly uphill. At mile 12 I was really ready to be done and the slight incline was enough to keep me from just sprinting to the finish so that last mile was a little long.

Food and water wise I just had the one Clif Shot and then ran through all the water stops so I probably didn't get much more than 10 oz. into my mouth... I didn't stop at all actually which wasn't exactly the plan but it got me in under 2 hours!

After the race it was Freezing but the expo was great and the food excellent and there was champagne which was fun. Post-race I got in an pseudo ice-bath- just stood in the cold pool for a while and then stretched a bunch. Went on my day-after bike ride and while my IT bands weren't happy about that at the time it helped overall.

The only soreness at all is the IT band, which is to be expected for me and given the serious grade on the course I am surprised it's not worse actually. And nothing else hurts at all!! so am I ready to do the marathon?! hmm. I think so! it definitely won't be easy, especially mentally. On the race course there was a sign the race organizers had put up that said "You only have to convince your mind you can do it", and that is so true for me. I think that will be my marathon mantra!

I'm psyched with my time and place and moving into marathon training starting with a mini-run today or tomorrow!

race!

The short version: I broke 2 hours for the 1/2 marathon, which is fabulous. It was a very different race than my first and only other 1/2 I have run so far. The main difference was that time I just wanted to finish and this time I had a time goal to keep me aware of my pace.

And I got to see the Garmin up close and personal and will be ordering one this week! I need some serious pacing help.

I will write a race report tomorrow or Tuesday and until then I'll be stretching and eating ice cream :-)