Tag Archives: training

The Changing Plans Continue

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The changes just keep coming in my training/running schedule.

I had originally planned to run the Big Sur Marathon on April 28. This was assuming that I did well at LA and then could run Big Sur easy (well relatively speaking of course). Big Sur holds a special place in my heart because it was my first marathon. I had been especially looking forward to running it again because the year I ran the race was the year that part of Highway 1 collapsed and so rather than being a point-to-point course it was an out and back. So I was eagerly looking to running the full, original course.

But … I had to change all of that. For the 2nd race of 2013, I have dropped out of a race. Well, unlike the Santa Cruz Half Marathon and I am changing my registration for Big Sur. I have officially downgraded from the marathon (all 26.2 miles of it) to the 5k (all 3.1 miles!). I could have run the full but I was starting to worry that would erase all of the recovery work I have been doing. As I reassess the rest of my running goals for 2013, I didn’t want to throw any possibilities away because I ran Big Sur. While it’s a bummer to not run the marathon, I am excited to run the 5k because I get to run with two of my favorite running/training partners and SCE teammates, Elise and Leslie. The full marathon will just have to wait for another year (perhaps a Boston 2 Big Sur year? A girl can dream!)

When have you had to change your running/training plans? Have you had to drop a race?

Fit Friday: Return to Running

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I know, I know… lately my only posts are Fit Friday posts. Whoops!

Today’s post is short because I have a busy day ahead of me… but guess what! I’m running again today! I haven’t run since the LA Marathon and I am so excited! (Speaking of LA, did you read my post on the SF Marathon blog yesterday? You should!)

Today I’m running in one of my favorite places, the Forest of Nisene Marks. I usually run along the coast and while I love this, running in Nisene is such a nice change of pace.

Running/Volunteering at the Dirt Inspires Half Marathon 2012 at Nisene

Running/Volunteering at the Dirt Inspires Half Marathon 2012 at Nisene

So, where are your favorite places to run?

Marathon Training – The Last Long Run

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This past Saturday I ran the final 20 miler in my training for the Asics LA Marathon. It was originally scheduled for this coming weekend, but I signed up for the San Diego Women’s Half Marathon as part of the X-1 Audio Headphones team (with Elise), so I rearranged a few of my training runs to make this work.

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This training run was not easy. This was my peak weak, at the end I ran just shy of 64 miles. My legs were tired and I was running late to meet the group. But off I went. I left my house and with a little bit of a convoluted route, met up with SCE runners at Verve. Their run was 16 miles, so I had tacked on 4 miles before I started with them. Thankfully they had waited for me and we were off. We started with 5 runners, added 2 more a few miles into the run, and then added 1 more for the last 6 miles. I love these kind of runs, adding new runners makes the run feel new and helps break up all those miles!

The plan was to run 4 miles easy, 12 miles at goal marathon pace (GMP) and 4 miles easy.  I was not loving this run for the first half and keeping around that GMP was hard! At mile 15 I decided to go ahead and drop to the easy pace (but then I picked up another GMP mile at 19!). But even though I hurt and was tired, it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I was ready to be done when I hit mile 20, but I didn’t feel overly fatigued and in fact, almost felt better than when I started! What!? This was a great feeling to have and made me feel like the last few months of training was really paying off. I thought back to how I felt after my last 20 miler in my CIM training cycle. I was tired, defeated, and a little concerned about the reality of running 6.2 more miles come race day. Saturday’s run was a totally different experience! Come March 17, when I’m running streets of LA, I just need to keep this in my mind!

After finishing our run, the remaining runners treated ourselves to some serious caffeine from Verve. (I swear, if I could be sponsored by Verve and The Penny Ice Creamery I’d be in heaven!) Starting and ending runs at coffee shops is the best idea, and its so nice to drink that coffee with good friends.

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So, how is your training going? Are you ready for LA or your marathon? Will you be taking on the LA/SF Challenge??

Streaking Through January

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Not that kind of streaking, pervert! :)

No, January was my first attempt at a solid running streak. At the end of last year, I half heartedly committed to running every day in 2013. In my mind, I thought “well I’ll just run when I can and if I can do a few weeks that would be awesome.” And here we are finished with January and moving into February and I have run every day in 2013, so far. While I had originally planned on have lots of low mileage runs to replace my “rest” days, I ended up having pretty high mileage. The first weeks added up to the high 40s each and the last two weeks were both in the high 50s. I ended January having run 241 miles! That is a record for me by over 50 miles! What!?!

So why all the miles? Why so much? Well, I have my eyes on what will be my third marathon: the Honda LA Marathon. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not exactly a fan of LA… so why would I choose to run 26.2 miles through its city limits? Well, I am still looking for the Boston Qualifying time and its a relatively flat course, plus its part of the LA/SF Challenge. And since I’m an ambassador, who am I to pass up such a great challenge? And that medal? Yes I want one! Plus I have many fellow ambassadors who are also taking on LA and so we will be supporting each other, even if not actually running next to each other.

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Along with all this running, I have added some cross training to my routine. I haven’t been back on my bike yet… it’s been cold and now I’m nervous about the clips all over again. But I will be soon. I recently became a 24 Hour Fitness member (again) and have jumped into spin classes to help me get ready to take my bike back out on the road. Additionally, I also finally got a trainer for my bike so I can “ride” it inside. I’ve only tried it out once, but I’m excited to add it to my routine (especially when I’m watching my favorite soap, don’t judge). Finally, I started going to Body Pump classes at 24 Hour. What’s Body Pump you ask? Well according to their website, a typical class will:

  • Improve your strength
  • Perform 70-100 repetitions per body part totaling up to 800 repetitions in a single workout
  • Improve your general fitness
  • Shape and tone your muscles
  • Protect your bones and joints from injury
  • Get into shape fast
  • Feel confident

And there’s music! And my friend and fellow SCE runner, Leslie, teaches it. She’s kind of an amazing instructor. Anyway, it’s definitely toning me up and I’m adding strength. I’m hoping all this will help me be more fit overall but also have less chance of injury in my running. 

And this is paying off. Yesterday, I nailed a new PR in the 10k distance in a local race (look for a recap soon). You can also read about my training at the SFM blog.

Take a Break? How about a Run or a Ride?

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Everyone told me that after passing my qualifying exam, I should take a break. I had planned to take a week off… now I’ve taken almost 3 weeks off. Eh, that’s ok. I plan to start getting some work done tomorrow (grant research here I come).

So what have I been doing with all this free time? Well I gardened a little (my mother is amazed and in shock right now.. she knows best of all that I am a plant murderer) and I cleaned the house. But that pretty much took up a total of 5 hours. My life has otherwise been consumed with a massive amount of working out (at least massive compared to my workout schedule during course work). For example, last week I ran 38 miles, rode 26 miles, and did about 2 hours of abs and arm weight work. I love logging into dailymile and seeing this (notice my rest day? important!):

This is partially due to this lovely new addition to my life:

Sometimes I wish I could back and tell this all to Meg ten years ago. I hated running so much. I mean I HATED running. I would do anything to avoid it. But now it’s one of my favorite things. I began with a desire to lose a few pounds. So, I started out so small. I would pick a landmark, in the beginning a lifeguard tower near my house, and run there. As I felt better, I’d add a little distance. My goal was to run 5 miles. Now I’ve run a marathon.

At the beginning of this month, I bought my first road bike. My friend, Pat, helped me find it on Craig’s List. I wasn’t sure how I would like cycling so I didn’t want to shell out a lot of money. My first ride was just shy of 7 miles and I braked as hard as I possibly could on every hill. I’m still pretty slow, but not nearly as wobbly and I rocked the downhills on tonight’s ride :)

I love this new routine. I know that this free time won’t last, but I hope to maintain a similar schedule as I get into research and resume my teaching/TA schedule in the fall. But for now? I’m excited for my early morning trail run tomorrow!

Are you looking for a beginning running plan? You can start the way I did, with little goals. Or try the Couch to 5k, lots of people swear by this. I also suggest finding a podcast you enjoy, listening to a story or discussion can take your mind off the early difficulties of running. Keep the volume low, especially if you do run on the road, allow yourself to be aware of your surroundings. You should be having fun.. but also be safe!