Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts

Monday, July 4, 2011

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!

Friday, June 25, 2010

More Good Things :)


This week has been great now that I have started on my new training schedule and my ITB troubles seemed to have faded away . It is really going to improve my running; today I did my first tempo run and it really pushed me to push myself to run at my best, and I did! Today I ran a new personal best for the mile (8:24.4) and ran my usual 5 mile loop in under 50 minutes, averaging 9:57 per mile. Tempo runs are not easy for me, I have trouble regulating my speed when I am paying attention to it. My first mile, I completely missed my target time by nearly a minute. So as I pushed myself, I ended us cutting nearly 3 minutes off my time (surprise!  A new personal best!) and then finally I was able to drop down and run my last 3 miles at a steady pace of 9:24. I was huffing and puffing like a crazy person out there, especially when I had to run down a narrow path past probation workers doing landscaping stuff (scary!). One just kept doing his thing as I ran past, launching little pebble missiles at my legs with his lawnmower on the gravel path. I felt like I was being shot by a bb gun! Maybe his probation has to do with a domestic violence charge...

More good things: two intermediate jobs were posted in Davis today, and my master teacher tells me he is going to put a good word in for me. So far they are both 4th grade, which would be so much fun! I am also hopeful that a 5th grade job in the district will open up. I would love to be able to stay in Davis for a while, It is such a safe place to run. And next week I have interview #2 in Loomis for a dream job combining upper elementary and math, my two favorite things. I am pumped!

I am also very thankful to have been able to take some great hikes with some of my favorite teacher friends.  This week we hiked at Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve at Lake Berryessa, so beautiful, but definitely tough! This whole week has been full of fun and good times. I am excited to go home and see my family, but I will most certainly be looking forward to seeing all my good people again in August.

{So thanks for sticking with me on my blogging journey. Now I am reading more blogs (read: too much time on my hands), I am starting to play with mine a little more. Is the large text annoying? I am trying to highlight significant or humorous parts. Give me your feedback!}