Halloween Highway

This morning's 4 mile race went great! I woke up early to head to San Francisco for another DSE race.  The route was an out and back--down the Great Highway and then back up to Sloat. At the start, I went out pretty hard because I didn't want to be trapped behind people on the narrow path.  I felt awesome during the first mile and had to reel myself in to run a 7:21 mile. Of course, this meant that I wasn't listening my coach, who'd suggested that I start at 7:40 pace and then go-negative ;O

I felt good on the second mile (7:35) and tried to enjoy the gentle, rolling hills along the Great Highway. At this point, I realized that a few women were running right around my pace.  But mile 3 felt harder, and I was huffing and puffing. I eeked out a 7:46 mile and could tell that my legs weren't too happy with me....On the 4th and last mile, I just hung on--7:50--and worked on pulling myself closer to the women in front of me.  It felt like a lonnnnng mile, and I was very ready for this Halloween "trick" to be finished!!  I kicked it in just a bit at the end, finishing in 30:40 & getting 5th place overall woman.  I think I'm getting addicted to the finisher's ribbons ;)  Now it's time for treats & more treats, as I am a pumpkin & candy addict  :P 

A couple reflections:  My average pace was 7:39, and now I should work on starting smarter in races....the going out fast probably hurt me a tad in this race. If I'd started under control, I may have been less of a pumpkin in the last 1.5 miles. Going to races with friends & meeting other runners at races is very, very motivating. So, I'm happy that I'm now in the habit of racing every month or so, instead of just a couple times a year.

Rainy day

According to the calendar, it's been fall for about a month.  But we've only experienced a few days of fall thus far. And today's a rainy, fall day.  I went out for a 30 minute recovery run in the rain, and it was quite soothing.  The Bay Area feels quieter when it's raining, and I only crossed paths with a few people on the sidewalks of Oakland. I appreciated the fresh smell of rain and paid a bit of extra attention to the fallen leaves.  With my rain jacket on, there was no need to chase the rain away!

Someday races

The Boston Marathon filled up in one day, and it made me think about races that I really, truly want to run....
**Garden of the Gods 10 miler in Colorado
**Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington, DC
**Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine
**Knoxville half marathon

Oh, and the Boston Marathon  :)

Piriformis

Piriformis is a total pain in the butt.....It aches & has been bugging me :(  I had a bad case in the spring, pre-Avenue of the Giants.  And it's come back this fall.

Yesterday, I ignored the pain and ran a terrific long pace run (with 7 miles sub 8:45).  But it's really not a healthy strategy to run through pain. So now I'm antsy to get my body to feel well :O

Run by me

If you go for a long run with someone, you end up talking a lot about running socks, fueling, future races, and life :) There's something about running that gives you space and time to share and reflect, which are pretty important things.

Today, I ran 20 miles with Tamara. We soaked up the California sunshine and took in some lovely views of the Cliff House, Pacific Ocean and Golden Gate Park.  It felt good to get into endurance mode and just let my legs tick off the miles. That meant no stressing over pace! And, I'm pleased to say that, although the last 3 miles took some extra determination, I managed the jump in mileage up to 20 quite well.

Watch out, track

Yay for acing another track workout! This ladder workout only had a 400 meter jog for recoveries.  I concentrated and really dug deep on the last couple intervals.

400---1:42  Feeling strong & in control
800----3:44   Hmm, this almost feels too easy, but my coach wouldn't give me an easy workout ;O
1200---5:35  I realized that I could have pushed harder and was peeved
800---3:32  No holds barred :-)  Definitely one of my speediest 800s!!
400---1:40  Keep on speedin'!!

Long run Saturday

I just realized that I hadn't run over 10 miles in training since mid-August  :O  That makes me feel like today's long run was a serious success. I ran the 12 miler on the Iron Horse Trail and averaged 9:34 pace (with 5 miles at 8:30 pace and 2 miles at sub 8:20 pace)....By the way, a year ago--when I was in revving up for the NYC Marathon-- I ran my long runs at 10:30-10:50 pace.  


I still wonder about my strengths and limitations as a runner.  I am curious whether the marathon or half marathon is my "best" distance.  I know I'd like to try racing 5Ks and 10Ks, and it could be cool to find larger ones with some more hype and schwag ;)  At the same time, I also think another Ultra would be a blast (especially due to the M and Ms at the aid stations!!).  All in all, I think I've progressed as a runner over the past couple of years. More importantly, I've stayed healthy and in adoration of running!