Beautiful

A beautiful run on a beautiful day with beautiful new shoes!!  It's spring, and I'm a runner.

'Nuff said.

There's something about running in the snow

My running has been excellent while out east for the holidays!  Today, we're being treated to snow---and lots of it.  There's a magical feeling in the air when snowflakes start falling, blanketing the streets and sidewalks, and making the world quieter and softer.  And my body was content out there.

Roughing It

This morning, I headed out to Redwood Regional Park, which includes the hills above Oakland.  I did 60 minutes of trail running and had a BLAST!

I tried to maintain an even effort- relatively easy on the uphills plus moderate pace on downhill/level ground. I flew down some of the downhills but had to take a couple downhills really slow since I didn't want to fall/hurt my knees! I will continue working on gaining confidence on those downhills.  This picture shows some of the steepness in the park:

It was a lovely day for running---felt cool in the shade but nice and sunny with warmth on the ridge :) There were a few other trail runners out, as well as hikers, bikers, and even a woman on horseback! And this picture shows the glorious view of the SF Bay:

This run was so much fun, and I really didn't want to turn around after 30 minutes!! I noticed that I was using my core and arms more for balance than regular running, and I expect to be a tad sore tomorrow.

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!

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.

Happy Fall!

Yesterday I noticed that the leaves were changing colors, and it was lovely to see some red and golden foliage on my recovery run :)  Today is a gloriously sunny day, but fall is in the air!  I had a great, confidence boosting interval workout today--with 90 second bursts at 5K pace (7:44, 7:26, 7:12).  They felt great, and my legs truly felt "in the flow."  I'm looking forward to this weekend's 5 miler and just want to have fun at the race, and, well, feel some pain while pushing myself!!

These legs

Dear Legs,

Thanks for powering me around the track this morning! You seemed to enjoy the workout (1600/800/400/400), and I appreciate the way you beat my target-times! I sincerely hope you soaked up the carbs and protein from the bowl of oatmeal with almond butter, banana, and blueberries (sounds strange yet totally delish).

I know that sometimes I abuse you and force you to endure long runs, big hills, plus squat jumps (ouch with a capital O). But, deep down, I love you. After all, you've helped me walk around France, Greece, and Mexico; you've helped me dance at weddings, at raves, and around my living room; and you've supported me through highs-and-lows. For all that, I know I need to care for you with nutrition and hydration. I'm trying to eat more fruit and protein while holding onto my obsession with ice cream and chocolate :P

XOXO,

Moi

What you can do

The truth is, we can all do more than where we draw our limits and boundaries. We are able to rise up (even after hitting the snooze button) and work harder, dig deeper, or run harder. Our minds think we can only do this or that. But, step by step, I'm figuring out that we can do more than those silly (and sometimes sad) limits. I give thanks to running for teaching me this lesson.

And I surprised myself today. I ran 12 miles- with 2 miles sub 8:29, 2 miles sub 8:24, and a give-it-all-you-got mile in 8:00. So, yes, I could do it.

Summer routes

For the past month or so, I've been doing most of my training around my neighborhood. That means plenty of runs up Pleasant Valley and Wildwood, loops around Lake Merritt and its beloved menagerie of wildlife, and cruises around Trestle Glen....I'd love to get out there to do some different routes. So, here are a few running routes that I'd like to hit over the course of the summer:

• Inspiration Point in Tilden
• Tiburon
• Over the Golden Gate Bridge & Sausalito
• Ohlone Greenway in North Berkeley
• Alameda

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I have a hubby and family who support my running. BIG thanks to my amazing running buddies and can't wait to run more races and explore more routes with them. I am thankful that my legs, knees, and feet let me run this morning. I am thankful that my running routes are scenic and safe.

I'm thankful for getting to run consistently for over 3 years and today, too! Thanks.

RIP, Raccoon

Sadly, I ran by raccoon roadkill on Pleasant Valley today. I said a little prayer for it. You definitely see an assortment of things when out on runs--dead, alive, pretty, and not-so-cute. There are big and small dogs, as well as cats wandering about (plus wild dogs in my home state of TN!!). Sometimes I see cool birds in addition to the feared and ubiquitous pigeons :O I've seen cute babies (awww) and the infirm out and about. I've seen overflowing stinky garbage cans, condoms, and general litter (PEOPLE! Dispose of your waste properly!).

All in all, this is shaping up to be a good training week!

We all have marathons

With precisely one month until Avenue, I had a deep thought during my steady state run this morning....We all have marathons. Everybody's marathon is different. Maybe your marathon is to cope with your job, or to take care of child or aging parents, or to jump through the hoops of graduate school, or to figure out your place in our wide world....

Marathon training is cool because you set goals and make plans and see what the day brings. Just like all those other marathons, in which you're never totally sure what will happen till it happens! Ah, can you tell that I'm trying to embrace uncertainty ;)

Happy Friday, folks! And keep striving toward your marathon.

Motivation

This morning, I lacked the will and oomph to exit the bed and do my tempo run. This afternoon, my motivation was low. Thank goodness, Jenica came to the rescue!! She reminded me, via Google chat & an e-card, that I had a workout to tackle. The happy ending to this story is that I nailed the tempo: 8:18, 8:08, and 7:56 :> Running buddies are a terrific source of motivation.

Control

Running involves a hearty jig around the fine line of control.

It's well known that us runners, especially us marathoners, have type-A/control freak tendencies. Yes, oftentimes, you can control when & where you run or how far you. On good days and great days, you can even control how fast you run. But there's plenty of stuff that you can't control--illness, poor sleep, evil injuries, unfortunate tummy incidents, weather & headwinds, and on so on and so forth.

So, running's not so different than life. And this week had a few downs (as well as some ups, including Girl Scout cookies, steak taco night with my Hubby, and some positive conversations!). I'm pleased to report that I was able to control today's steady state run. During a tough period, I reminded myself that THIS was my hard workout of the week, so it should feel hard and that I would do it. I averaged sub 8:34 for the 35 min. steady state.

Orange, orange

I realize I'm obsessed with the color orange....There's something very cheery and energetic about this color, and I think it makes me zoomier :)

I now have a couple orange running tops & an orange GPS (the Garmin 310xt), which is appropriately named Garmalade. Maybe it's because I'm from Tennessee, the volunteer state, and cheer for the VOLS, aka big orange!!

Going steady

Considering that Valentine's Day is around the corner, it's quite fitting that this week included a heart pounding steady state run. After a creaky warm up in which my legs searched for excuses to avoid the late afternoon workout, I did 30 minutes in my steady state zone. I felt strong and in control while cruising around Lake Merritt at an 8:30ish pace. But, by the last 10ish minutes, I was doing my fair share of huffing and nose-blowing (in other words, I probably looked like a crazed runner-cat-lady).

Yeah, I heart running!

Confidence run

I just let myself run today--for 80 minutes. I ignored Garmalade and just kept running. It felt great to wake up early, get moving, admire the views, and gain some confidence that it was gonna be an alright day :) I'm grateful that running gives me the deep gift of confidence--with the cherry on top of funs runs with buddies, exciting races, cute running skirts, and plenty of geekiness about pace zones & hydration!

Clarity, thanks to running

Some days, running gives me the gift of clarity.

I put in the effort to feel real, grounded. The run is a dance with just enough blue sky and fresh air for my body and spirit....I get back a kind of strength and freshness that helps me power through everything else.

High fives

I had a blast pacing my running buddy, J-chica, to a ginormous PR of 2:10 at the Kaiser Half Marathon in San Francisco! So, congratulations to J, and this experience made me think more about how cool it is to coach runners :)

It was great running weather with some fantastic views of the Pacific's mean, winter waves. I felt like I did good job with hydration (lots of water yesterday afternoon & evening plus a bottle with Nuun during the race) and fueling (1 gel around mile 6.5). Garmalade was extremely helpful for maintaining an even pace over the 13 miles, and it was useful to think of each mile as a new lap to run at a certain speed.

Three months from now

I confess that, as a woman, grad student, and runner, many things are up in the air...Fluctuations and change are the rule, not the exception. But there's something about a marathon that you can plan for, chart out, and check off. And THAT is so, so satisfying!

In a few months I'll be running amidst the redwoods of Northern California in the Avenue of the Giants marathon! I might just register tonight & check it off the to-do list :)