2010 and now 2011

This is what 2010 looked like:

Yup, I was running higher mileage in February and March before the Avenue of the Giants marathon.  I trained hard with my coach in July and August---even PRing at the Santa Rosa 1/2 marathon!!  The last couple months of 2010 were tough for training because I was collecting dissertation data, a crucial step toward completing my PhD (woohoo!).

Now it's time to consider what 2011 will look like.....Well, I'm actually resolving to be open to all possibilities, to go with the flow, and to bequeath control in a nice & calm way :)  Is that zen-enough for you?!???  I'm enjoying training for shorter distances and know that I'm still a runner, even if I'm not training for a marathon. I'd like to try more trail races. And I definitely want to keep on connecting with other runners. So, happy 2011---let's make it a wonderful one!

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!

Sweet running

According to the Jewish calendar, it's a new year. I wish you all a very sweet year ahead! And, I'm wishing myself some sweet running.

To keep my training fresh and fun, I'd like to:

1. Run races of different distances (there's a 5 miler in a couple weeks, and it would be cool to run a 5K this year, too)
2. Return to trail running (the Bay Area is loaded with cool trails)
3. Complete more fartlek workouts (they challenge me in a fun way)
4. Cook & bake more with fresh produce (should make blue cheese mac and cheese soon for my hubby & me)
5. Try out some different kinds of ice cream & gelato

Wrapping my brain around it

My goal half marathon is less than three days away. In fact, in two days, I'll be getting to bed extra early, hoping for sweet, overhydrated dreams ;) And currently my belly's full of Thai food.

Today's sharpening workout went well. My legs are starting to feel like they WANT to go fast!! Thanks to my coach, I have a race plan with pacing goals and fueling tips, but I still need to spend some time psyching myself up that a) pain is okay, b) I want it BAD, and C) Yes, I CAN and WILL do it. Part of me feels like it's been forever since I've raced. But another part of me feels quite relaxed about the whole affair. It's true that it's been awhile since I've raced a halfie (February '09!). But I've run a bunch of other races since then, including a marathon in May, a 5K in June, and a 4 miler in July. Right now, 13 miles sounds like a ton of miles to race.....eeeek :>

More quality time at the track

With the half marathon about ten days away, I did my final pre-race track workout this overcast morning. I woke up a bit tired but forced myself to eat part of a granola bar and actually felt pretty good on my warmup. Then it was time for intervals- 800s and mile repeats at goal pace! My fantastic track was hopping; there were some speedy runners and morning walkers and everything in between. A couple people failed to follow track etiquette and were doing recovery work in the inside lane---Boo :(

The 800s (3:40; 3:43) felt really good, and my legs felt strong. I was able to keep my breathing under control at the sub-7:15 pace. I definitely rely on my Garmin during track workouts to hit the goal paces from my coach :O By the way, at some point, I feel like I should go to the track and bust out intervals without the information from my Garmin.

Then it was time for mile repeats at my goal half marathon pace (8:10, yeehaw!!). I wasn't sure if these would feel really easy or boring or what....And, the first 1600 felt a bit too easy--8:07 pace. But on the second 1600, my legs felt a bit heavier, but I worked hard, reminded myself to breathe and did it at 8:02 pace :) Whew-- the best part of a track workout is completing it & knowing that it made you stronger AND faster!

Nope

Yesterday's long run was TOUGH. I got out there and ran 15 miles at an average pace of 9:20....It was my fastest training run in months and most likely my fastest long run EVER. But, it was ROUGH. I couldn't complete my coach's pace goals for the progression part of the run. For whatever reason, I wasn't able to sustain 8:30 pace :( At a few points, I tried changing the music on my ipod and really willed my legs to go, but they said no way!

After the rough workout, I dusted myself off (chocolate milk aided my recovery) and reminded myself that I can try again. My hubby and I drove down to Pescadero and enjoyed the dramatic coastline of Northern California. The scenery really tempted me to run the Big Sur Marathon :) I have a couple days of easy running and then another track workout to push my legs once again!!

August

It's the end of summer, and I want to squeeze in some good times---with family & friends, food, and running! From head to toe, I have a few FUN goals for the month of August....

Family & Friends: Celebrate my hubby's graduation from his MFA program; Skype with family on the east coast; Visit friends around the Bay Area

Food: Enjoy cooking with ingredients from our Eatwell CSA box, including goodies like strawberries, summer squash, and farm fresh eggs; Do some baking (perhaps a pie!); Get Thai food- just because :)

Running: Try a different running route; Keep up with core workouts; Get fired up for the Santa Rosa half marathon!!

Going longer

It's another sunny Sunday, and I nailed another long run- 13.8 miles! I knew that this would be a jump up in mileage, so the plan was to start at an easy pace. Even though it had been an up-and-down week for training, my legs felt fairly fresh for the first few miles. I'd gotten plenty of rest, but had Mexican food for dinner, which doesn't always lead to a happy runner's tummy! I cruised in zone from miles 3-8. Around mile 5 or 6, I got a bit tired/bored, but I think taking a gel (orange-vanilla Rocatane, which tastes narnar but propels me like jet fuel!) and relaxing helped that pass, which let me get back into a long run groove.

At mile 8, the *FUN* part of the workout began. With four repeats of 3 minutes hard (sub 8:05), followed by 3 minutes easy. I wasn't sure how this would feel, but it ended up being kinda easy ;) I think it's a sign that I'm getting stronger AND more comfortable with speedier paces, even during long runs or on tired legs!! I finished the run with 3+ miles in Zone 2 at around 9:30 pace, which was speedier than my warmup.

For the next week or so, I have the goal of running a couple different routes, and I also want to try a new electrolyte drink....Finally, I need to get back into the routine of doing two functional/core routines per week.

Marathon Pace in Golden Gate Park

I'm reporting back after a confidence building long pace workout. In honor of Jenica's birthday, we ran 20 miles with 9 miles at goal marathon pace (my best guess is that my pace range should be 8:45-55 minutes per mile). My first 3 mile set averaged 8:48, while the second averaged 8:41....For the final 3 mile set, I ran 8:35 with the final mile at 8:28 pace! Woot!!

Tomorrow, I will be watching and cheering on runners at the Oakland Marathon near mile 23. Looking forward to screaming & handing out treats to folks running through the streets of my city!

A Few Good Goals

I've been training quite consistently for over two years (thanks to Jenica's nutsarella idea in February of 2007 to run a 50K trail ultramarathon!), and I think it's time to chase down some big goals. I also realize that running is now a part of my life, and I definitely missed the serious training when I was on vacation last week. That means that I'm committed to keep on truckin' toward faster times and new challenges as a runner :)

1. Run a sub-1:46 Half marathon (8:02 pace) in the next year
2. Complete a marathon training cycle with 3 (or more) 60+ mile weeks
3. Race a 10K (sub-50 minutes) to figure out my overall fitness

** I promise I'll set a marathon PR goal as soon as I run Avenue of the Giants! Till then, I want to stay healthy as a marathoner and complete key workouts while having a blast!

Frontloading

After two luscious cutback weeks with lower mileage, it's time to ramp up the mileage---again. This time, the goal is to gradually (& hopefully without too many aches & pains) work up to running 55-60 miles per week. That means a couple medium long runs of 10+ miles and long runs of around 20 miles. That also means plenty of medium paced running to just cram in the miles :)

What's on tap for this week?

• 80 minute run
• Steady state run with 30 at SS pace
• Long run- 16 miles

Twenty Ten

Happy New Year! To usher in this new decade, I ran a mellow 50 minutes up in Piedmont, but the leggies were still jet lagged.

Reflecting back on 2009, I can confidently say that running helped me stay sane and happy by strengthening my body, mind, and friendships (aww). Also, I began this blog in 2009 :)

I'm resolving to run two marathons plus a few other races. In honor of twenty-ten, another goal is to complete 10 runs of 20+ miles.

Best wishes for a happy, peaceful, and speedy new year!

Ten

I thoroughly enjoyed running 10 miles to Berkeley and back with J. It had been awhile since J and I had run long together, and it made the time fly by :> The weather was cool and gray, but my legs and body were pleased to be out on a Saturday morning to do the long run routine. There's a few more weeks of unstructured running before serious training begins for the Avenue of the Giants marathon, and I'd like to experiment with heart rate training, a couple new routes, and maybe some extra stretching.

Last but not least, a HUGE congratulations to a fellow Bay Area blogger who qualified for the Boston Marathon today!

Saturday

After feasting for two days and studying up a storm, I was able to get out this afternoon for a decent run--45 minutes up Moraga. I also ran through a park on Piedmont because there's something so joyful and relaxing about running on grass!

I don't think I'll be able to do a long run this weekend but will try my best to get out for a short run again on Sunday. I keep reminding myself to endure this round of studying because the finish line is in sight :)

Ending on a good tempo

This morning's workout was a solid 6.7 miles on the roads of Oakland with the tempo parts at sub 8:18.

It's the end of the week, and, for us Jews, the end of a year. Rosh Hashanah is tonight and Saturday, so I could make a couple running resolutions for the new year. However, I'd rather wish everyone a very happy, healthy, and sweet new year!

Friday tempo

Thank goodness for fantastic Friday tempo runs! Today's run around Lake Merritt went very well, with a 20 minute warm up, 20 minutes in my tempo zone, and an easy 20 minute cool down.

I started the tempo portion at 8:19 pace and finished at 8:11 pace, and that pace fit nicely in my goal range of 8:09-8:30! The best news is that, even though I was working harder than usual on the run, I wasn't gasping or straining to hit those paces. This makes me feel more confident in my overall pacing goals :) And confidence is a great thing!!

That's the way

I aced the 60 minute steady state run with 30 minutes at 8:35 pace (at the low end of my goal pace zone!). Now I can say I like steady state workouts ;) Yay!!

2 months 1 week

With just over two months until the NY marathon, it's time to leap into a new training plan. For better or worse, the next few months will be very, very busy, and the Big Apple marathon plan will pile on tough workouts and additional mileage to the mix.

There are a bunch of things that I loved about SF marathon training, including the medium long runs and the pace runs, so I'm keeping those...I'm eager to ramp up my during-the-week medium long run (up to 120 minutes!). I will switch up the long pace workouts so up to 10 miles are at GMP. But I may do sets of 4-5 miles at GMP instead of running 8-10 miles at GMP in a row!

Of course, I'm adding a new type of workout, too...Tomorrow I'll go on my very first first steady-state run, which is similar to a tempo run but slightly slower and a fair amount longer. Mcmillan recommends steady state runs and prescribes appropriate paces for those runs, and I think that alternating tempo and steady state runs will be fun :)

Finally, I've set some speedy new goal training paces based on a 3:55 marathon. We'll see how the next few weeks of runnin' feel--especially the 8:40 steady state and 8:25 tempo pace runs-- to determine whether I can hang with this shoot-for-the-moon goal :P

What's different

I ran the Chicago marathon in October 2001 (the U.S. began bombing targets in Afghanistan on the day of the marathon) and the New Orleans marathon in February 2005 (about 6 months pre-Katrina), and the training for those two races was special and highly-memorable. For Chicago, I trained with my friend Carolyn during the hot months of August and September. One of our long runs was on the shoulder of the 280/Skyline Blvd (ie- not safe) near Daly City. I actually had to cut a long run short due to heatstrokey issues and was, very, very, unfortunately, accosted by a young man while waiting for my ride to pick me up :( I loved getting to know Chitown during the marathon and was pleased to run it in 4:43.

For New Orleans, I trained with a fundraising group. Prior to signing up for the marathon group, I hadn't been running more than four miles for several years, so I didn't start training with the highest fitness level. We actually did a 26.2 mile run/walk during training (all around Golden Gate Park and Sunset Blvd which took FOREVER)! However, during the week, I ran a couple times a week on the treadmill at the gym--pretty sure I didn't run more than 4 miles. I also recall doing jumprope stuff and triceps exercises at the gym with Ang. I was dating Jeff before the New Orleans marathon and distinctly recall us going to out to mega-huge pizza dinners after my training runs, as well as his very sweet encouragement in the days before the race. Thanks, Jeff!!

How has our training for the SF marathon been oh-so-different?? Well, for starters, I trained consistently for about four months after racing a half marathon in 1:51. I ran five times per week, including medium long runs of around 9 miles. The midweek workouts also included hill repeats, track intervals, and tempo runs. I did long pace runs, with 4-7 miles at goal marathon paces of sub 9:20 and plenty of sub 9:10 (yeehaw!). In those previous marathon training cycles, I didn't have Garmalade so couldn't track my speed or weekly mileage. All that variety helped add purpose to each run, each week, and the steps toward race day. At the same, oh my gosh, that's a lot of big, fast new stuff :) So, right now my questions and concerns are *not* about did I train enough, but about whether I trained too much or will be 'peaking' at the right time. I'd like to peak this Sunday morning- sometime between 6:06 am and 10:20 am would work perfectly for me and my dear PR ;)

Goalio

Goals are funny, and I have a very silly running goal: to not really have a goal!

Last week over a family dinner, I blurted out that my goal was to run a marathon as fast as I could without becoming obsessed over how fast I'm running ;) In other words, I want marathoning to keep feeling fun and not just be a number on the clock. I love running for what it lets me see and feel, and I really appreciate the experiences its given me. I am fortunate to have the space, time, energy, and health to run; racing is an even bigger privilege.