Cinderella

This weekend was chock-full of running!  On Saturday, I ran the Cinderella trail 10k in the East Bay Regional Park system.  The race was fun and well organized. This was my first race of 2012. Since it was a trail race, I just ran by effort, also letting the terrain dictate my pace.

I started pretty hard and worked to weave my way around people on the single track trail. I was cruising on the flatter sections! I ran some of the uphills but hiked a long & super steep uphill around mile 4.  Closer to the end of the race, my legs were achey from the terrain. There was a rocky downhill that I walked down, and, unfortunately, several women sped down past me :O  I kicked it in at the finish and felt like I'd worked hard throughout the race.

On Sunday, I went for a scenic, classically San Francisco run with R....We ran down Golden Gate Park, up past the Cliff House, and absorbed a misty but awesome view of the GG Bridge!  I tried to soak up the views since I'll be moving eastwards & won't have views of the Pacific Ocean. At the end of the 10 miler, my legs still had some pep. All in all it was a fantastic long run.

The Run Down

To catch up, I did a couple fun races in the fall (a 5 miler in September, a 4 miler in October, a 10k in November, and a 5k at the very end of November). I ran most of the races with friends and family, which was terrific! I also did some trail running around the East Bay in the fall and winter (big thanks, XL). I am pretty sure that I'll do a trail race in mid-May.

Today I ran 40 minutes in the neighborhood- with a solid uphill and then a very nice downhill. Running gives me a certain amount of faith and hope that, yes, there's sunshine and that my body can be strong.

February

January flew by!!  I did some hardcore workouts and relished training for shorter distances :)  Now it's February, and I'm feeling ready to race hard again.  So, this weekend, I'll run the Kaiser 5K in Golden Gate Park. I've run the Kaiser half marathon several times, but I think the 5K will be an outstanding challenge.

In February, I'd also like to get back to the trails for some long runs--perhaps Briones or even Marin....

Angel Island Race

I had a blast running Enviroport's 12K yesterday! The morning began with coffee, breakfast, and driving over to Tiburon. After finding parking and meeting up with a couple running buddies, it was time to get on the ferry.  The boat ride to Angel Island took only 15 minutes, and then we waited at the starting area. It was damp and gray---with tons of fog hanging around.

The first couple of miles involved a lot of uphill.  I felt pretty good and just let my pace vary according to the terrain & the pace of people in front of me :) Part of racing on singletrack trails is dealing with being 'trapped' behind other runners. Due to the fog, our views of the SF Bay were extremely limited :(  But the trees and birds and ups and downs of the course kept it interesting!

Around mile 3, there was some flatter ground, since we were running on a ridge, and I let myself pick up the pace a bit.  But when the course threw in some more uphills around mile 4, I could feel my heartrate shooting up and had to back off a bit.  I reminded myself that there would eventually be some downhill, and when I got to the flatter and downhill segments, I let myself cruise.....That meant relaxing my body, concentrating on the trail and my footing, and just running. I worked hard on the last 1.5 miles, including kicking it in near the finish :)  My finishing time was 1:12, and I finished in the top 25% of women.  I think I'll be doing more trail races in the future!

I learned a few lessons from this race:
1) Trail running is very peaceful
2) Trail races also give me post-race glow
3) It can be tricky to figure out an appropriate racing pace/effort when the terrain varies
4) Extended uphills are tough on your lungs and heart
5) Racing with friends is the BEST way to kick off the holidays!!!

It's December

Training has been good, but not great this month.  My easy pace is getting a bit faster. I've done some yoga. But I haven't tested my endurance in a while, and I think it's gonna take some effort to get set for a February half marathon.  Holiday treats & drinks are also not so helpful for running :O

BUT- I'm really looking forward to this weekend's trail race. My plan is to start strong, have fun, enjoy the scenery, and finish hard---yeehaw!

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.