A Covey of Quail!

Masters of camouflage, surprised I saw them!

Seen on my long run, a covey of quail! Tiny quail are so cute, they just bop around like little feather balls. No wonder everyone wants to eat them up!

A day delayed, today ends my first week of training for SBIM. I approached it as a "get your life together and just get out there week" and it went over quite nicely. Getting back into a training rhythm is a little challenging, but it is turning out to be very rewarding, as always.

Week in Review: 15.5 miles run 

Models make it look easy.

Monday: Crosstraining. Paddleboarding on the American River. Awesome core workout, you gotta try it! Made me want to learn to surf and windsurf.

Tuesday: Easy run. 2 miles on treadmill, supposed to be 3 but I pulled up the wrong training plan. whoopsie!

Wednesday: Rest. Had to save my energy for the DMV.

Thursday: 5 mile tempo. Warm up, 3 miles @ 11:32/mi pace, cool down. Had to break it in half because there was a dude hovering near the treadmill only 15 minutes into my run (HATE THAT). Of course, I stick to the time limit (30 minutes) and when it is his turn he totally goes over. After 40 minutes, I started to hover to give him a taste of his own medicine. It felt kinda dirty, but it worked. Did 20 minutes weights, 10 minutes core, 5 minutes stretching while I waited for Mr. Hoversby.

Friday: Rest. It's week 1, so I needed to not get too excited and over-exert myself. Especially since I crammed in weights and core with my tempo run Thursday. However, I did play some frisbee at the park, which got my heart rate up for a few minutes. Any activity counts for something, right???

Saturday: Epic hike. Palomarin trailhead to Alamere falls, 7.5 miles 600 ft elevation gain. Waterfall goes right into the ocean. Anyone in the bay area MUST do this hike. You can even lay out on the beach after. We were a fast moving bunch, practically trail-running, so it was a really good workout.  

Sunday: Rest. My legs and butt were hurtin' from the hike, which is how I knew it was a good one. Planned to run 8, but my running buddy was too sun burned from the hike so we just ate pancakes her husband made instead. After a beautiful drive up the coast and over the Golden Gate bridge to get home, it was too hot to make up the run. So I took a nap instead!

Monday: 8.5 miles. Supposed to be 8 but took a detour to stop by a school to refill water bottle and soak my hat. Running hats are terribly dorky, but they sure get the job done! It took me 2 years to break down and wear the goofy thing, and it has changed my life (or at least my body temperature). Supposed to be run at a 13:21 pace, but I didn't bring the garmin. With water stops and breaks in the shade to cool down (I slept in too late and had to run in the heat), the average was 14:07/mi. Which means my actual pace when running was probably around 13:00/mi. 

Today wasn't about hitting the paces, but committing to the miles so I can get into my training plan. I know that if I want to hit my goal of a 5 hour marathon I am going to have to really pay attention to my times, but for the first week I think i am off to a promising start. I was not in a good mental place for my Boston training cycle, it is really affected my ability to log good miles. Now I am in a much better place. I could immediately feel the difference today on the long run. Of course the first few miles were really crappy, but I fell into a great rhythm and really enjoyed the miles logged. Best of all, the past week I really feel like I have returned to my old self again, and it feels great!

Week 2 training plan:

Tuesday: Easy run 4 miles @13:17

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 4 miles speedwork including warmup, 2x1600 in 10:58 w/800 jogs, cool down

Friday: Crosstraining (probably pool with some core & weights)

Saturday: Moving day, so lots of lifting!

Sunday: Long run 9 miles @3:17

Excited for speedwork (although 10:58 isn't really speedy at all) and I am loving crosstraining. My final week in Napa so I am going to have to take advantage of the beautiful scenery!

Not missing a beat...

Cross Train 30 min Elliptical 

It took about 2 days for the race endorphins to kick in. Or maybe it took 2 days for the pain to wear off enough to feel the endorphins. Either way, I am definitely ready for my next race and ready to take my training to the next level.

After reading Xaarlin's (Pain is Nothing) tweets, I decided to follow her lead and get back into marathon shape by jumping on the elliptical. The BF thinks I am insane for working out so quickly after the marathon, but it felt SO GOOD. My hips aren't quite back to normal, but my back already feels better, as do my knees. I think a good shake out is exactly what I needed. You could have never convinced me that working out when sore could make you feel better, but now I am a believer.

So, here is the moment of insanity. While at the expo in Boston, I stopped by the Big Sur International Marathon table, and they told me they had some spots they needed to fill for the Boston to Big Sur challenge next weekend. Yes, that would mean running another marathon 8 days from now. Since I can finally sit down and get up without crying out in pain, I thought I should send them an email and tell them I am in if they still have a space.

Last time I did something crazy like this, I landed myself in Boston. Is this crazy? Kinda. Stupid? Most likely. A once and a life time opportunity? OH BABY! I don't count on getting an email back confirming they will take me (said the same thing about Boston), but I am still waiting anxiously. I mean, seriously, how cool would this be? (I know what you are thinking... I have a mental illness... you are probably right).

Big Sur or not, I really want to start training for a my next marathon and half marathon. I don't think I am going to do Nike Women's Marathon after all, I am a little bothered by their lack of organization. I would much rather spend my entry fees on a race I haven't done that is better organized. The search for the next challenge is officially on!

UPDATE: THEY DID NOT HAVE SPACE. Too bad, but probably for the better :) I would have probably just injured myself anyways

7 weeks until Boston

12.75 miles of training this week; 30 minutes of cross-training
12 mile long run @ 2:13:29 (weak, I know)

Week 2 of training and the reality of meshing training and the rest of my life has reared it's ugly head. Had to skip speed training this week because of my little blood donation incident and didn't quite make my full 3 miles on Tuesday morning's early am run. The good news is that I didn't let it keep me from doing 12 miles today. Not my best 12, but 12 none the less.

Today was a little slower than usual, and I had to take breaks to stretch and let my body catch up with me. The nurse said that the shock of my blood donation fiasco would make running difficult (less oxygen delivered in my blood=less efficiency), so I am not surprised today was such a crappy run. But I did it, I feel good, had a great stretching session when I got home (man, will I be sore tomorrow, I can already feel it!), and I am going into the third of training with a positive, can do, gonna kick some butt attitude.

I was pretty nervous about passing out/getting ill because I had been pretty light headed and easily sick since the donation, so I chose to do a short route along the river near my house and just do laps (5 to be exact). Kinda boring, but safe because I was never more than 1.2 miles from the house. It was a good choice because there were lots of people around, just in case.

Good news, no tightness in the right hip today. Still having the left foot go numb in the first 8 miles (part of the reason I had to stop a lot), and my left knee and hip got a little irritated after mile 10. I am going to take pain as progress, because I had no troubles until I passed the distance I had covered in a previous long run. I think this is a message that it is going to be super important to get at least 20 miles before the marathon so my knee can get comfortable with the distance and not give me troubles on heartbreak hill.

This week's schedule:
Tuesday: Easy Run 3 miles
Thursday or Friday: Speed work 6 miles
Sunday: Long Run 14 miles

We are going to hopefully make up the speed work this week. I present for my MA Friday, so I think the speed work in the AM will be a good way to ease the nerves, build up my confidence, and make me feel good before I go before the panel. I am curious to see how I do tacking another 2 miles onto my long run, and excited to pass the half-marathon point in training. Maybe I will be ready for Boston after all!

And a final thought, thanks for all the kind wishes and support. Life seems crazy (almost too crazy right now), and the fact that people I have never met in my life care enough to say something to help me feel good about my training, well, it means so much. I am so thankful that the blogging community can bring you together with people you otherwise would have never had the pleasure of having in your life. Someday I want to meet you all!

Cravings

Workouts: Cross-training hike: 8 miles/1000 ft elevation gain. 3:11 with breaks. Lots of trail runners out there, bless them!

Today I am craving this:

and this:

Probably because they both remind me of our recent DC trip when I ate oysters and drank Irish coffees, and had the most amazing time with JF. Having neither at home, I decided on a hot chocolate with Baileys to go with my chocolate fro-yo dinner. Yes, I plan of logging 6 miles tomorrow if my legs don't hurt in the AM from the hike. Hopefully the Bailey's will help me loosen up from stretching.

Is there any advice out there about stretching under the influence? Do you stretch better after a drink or two? Or is it a recipe for disaster. All you MD's who follow my blog can weigh in any time ;)

I'll leave you with this image, brought to you because the lovely Maggie brought it to me for our post hike feast of tuna melts, grapes, and the finest cheese in northern California, and maybe the world. Humboldt Fog, my absolute favorite and a must buy if you are a lover of cheese:

What are you craving?

Jello Mousse

I dedicate this post to yummy Jello mousse. While in DC, I saw tons of commercials for these tasty little things, so I promised myself I would pick up a pack to treat myself when I got back to Cali. I love chocolate. I love pudding. And now I love Jello mousse. And, they are only 60 calories, so they are my new after dinner treat to break the candy feast that occurs after dinner every night. Let's just see how well that works, because right now I am about to break into the See's candy I hid in the freezer. What can I say, I am weak. (Jello, send me an endorsement check at any time. A case of chocolate jello will call it even).

Speaking of DC, it really threw a wrench into the training schedule. We walked nearly everywhere, some days covering well over 10 miles. Some days my legs were so sore, I didn't make it up to the little hotel gym that did not have a treadmill. But, they had an elliptical and nice free weights, so one day I took advantage of that. After this trip, I really admire people who make their fitness happen when they are traveling. For me, travel + exercise = epic fail. Poor garmin... gathering dust already.

I have decided to start the week off right with 3 miles on the treadmill (30:00 min), 30 minutes on the elliptical (it told me I "ran" another 3 miles) and upper body weights. I am a baby and will not run outside when it is cold. I HATE being cold. As I pumped away on the elliptical, trying to work off some stress, I wondered what the miles you log on an elliptical are really worth. I always feel like I work harder on the elliptical, even though I log the same time and distance as the treadmill.

Oh, and I saw someone fall off a treadmill for the first time today. Even funnier in real life than it is on TV. (Don't worry, the only thing he hurt was his pride).

Things to look forward to this week: the official end of college football season, a professional development day at work to help me get back into the swing of things, and hopefully logging some modest miles and cross training. I hope to do a recap of the week to be proud of! Now the house is organized and my healthy meals/lunches are packed neatly in the fridge, I have high hopes for being good this week.

4th quarter comeback

Workouts: Wednesday 30 minutes hill climb on the elliptical (my favorite inside workout) that really made me sweat, today a mile and a half with a nice hill. Keeping the runs short to help condition the foot and using lots of low impact alternatives, like weights and elliptical. Yay for not screwing my foot up! I'll be really proud if I can get 2.5 miles in Christmas Day. If Santa brings a Garmin, I am totally hitting the pavement. If not, I am hitting the tray of cookies.

Being with old friends reminds of how much I have changed since my adolescence. At one time of my life, I was the alpha personality in my social circle. Now, I am so far from that and my social circle has shrunk considerably. Is this just part of getting older?  It felt good to feel confident and laugh and have a good time. 2011 is going to focus more on feeling confident about being me and less about worrying about pleasing other people. It's time to reestablish some solid roots. Having a good talk with my marathon training buddy reminded me of the riches good friends bring to life. The past few years have been about establishing a career for myself. 2011 is going to be about building strong relationships.

On an exciting note, I bought my first dress for the Tahiti trip on clearance at Nordstrom's rack. I am so excited for everything this next year is going to bring!

I remember thinking midyear that 2010 was not the year I hoped it was going to be. I should have never given up at halftime. I have so many things to be thankful for and so fortunate for everything this past year has brought, especially the very special people in my life. Good people and new beginnings. Oh, what a wonderful year!

Gravy Pooch

Guys make it so hard to get in shape/stay in shape. I need no encouragement when it comes to putting down a Chipotle burrito or a superstar with cheese. At the holidays, my idea of helping clear the table is to sit after everyone has left and keep eating until every serving dish is empty. After holidays with the fam, I usually need to do a gravy detox to wean myself off of the 3 gravy meals a day habit I pick up courtesy of my loving family. It nearly killed me yesterday to order the boring BBQ chicken sandwich at Carls (380 calories, 7 grams of fat) when the BF (not to be confused with the bestie...I don't think she would torture me like this) orders a double bacon western cheeseburger (962 calories, 52 grams of fat). How is it that men just don't store fat like women do? I had burger envy like whoa. At least he shared some of his fries. Way to be a pal....

So, per doctor's orders, I am on low impact cross training until next Monday, when I am allowed to run a whopping 2 miles. This. Is. Killing. Me. I have no idea how runners do even crazier things like water running. So boring. This morning I did 30 on the elliptical and 15 doing arm/back weights. I will say, I am very happy that I don't have to use the Superfeet insoles. They just felt weird.

Also, no more Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks. They really need to stop putting crack in them. And no more impulse buys at the supermarket. How the hell do I come home with Bolani and Afghani spread, crab and brie mac and cheese, and a dark porter stout. No one runs enough to justify that dinner.

New Shoes!!!!

Today I picked up my fabulous, beautiful new shoes from overpriced running shoe store. These babies better feel like I am running on clouds, because they set a new bar for money spent on a pair of shoes. Justification: money spent on good shoes is money saved in injury prevention. The man I marry some day better believe that, or I am totally going to be screwed when it comes to buying new shoes! If I ever have to choose between new purse or shoes, I am going to be torn. I still can't believe my coach purse cost less than my Brooks. Yikes.

There is something about new gear that makes you want to get out there and run. If I didn't need an inhaler right now to do any slight physical activity, I would be logging 13 miles instead of whining about bronchitis in my blog. Heck, I can't even get excited or it hurts to breathe. No fun at all. Still, I can't wait to try out my new kicks, and I can't wait to start training for something. I feel so gross since the marathon and feel myself quickly going out of shape. I need to figure out how to get back to a 4 day a week training schedule. Sundays are good for long runs, but running during the week has turned out to be impossible with the time change. Looks like I am going to have to log miles on the treadmill and elliptical. I also tried to get started on P90X but looks like that is going to take a back seat to Reactive Airways Disease (which is apparently what I have in addition to bronchitis). Boo. Oh, how I am looking forward to the holiday breaks so I can resume my morning runs.

Looking forward to the holidays, I am investigating GPS running watch thingies. I want something to track my run and help me log my times and splits, as well as maybe support interval training. I still can't believe how expensive these little suckers are, but I am totally lusting over GPS run devices. Anyone have any input/advice? Right now I am looking into the Garmin Forerunner series, trying to keep the price under $200.

The one good thing about bronchitis? You don't need an excuse to take naps throughout the day. Doing laundry isn't so bad when you take naps between dryer cycles!