Tagged!

Stephanie tagged me on her blog, and although I'm doing most of my blogging at Cate's World Kitchen instead of here, I thought it would be fun to answer these questions

1) What are you most fond of accomplishing in 2010?
The two biggest accomplishments are qualifying for Boston and running my first Ultra (a 50K).

2) What are your running goals for 2011?
I'm not sure yet... I know I want to PR at a couple different distances and run another trail race, but 2010 was the most successful running year of my life so it will be tough to beat.

3) What is your favorite race?
The San Francisco marathon. The weather is perfect, it's not too big, it's well-organized, and you get to run over the Golden Gate Bridge! The fact that I had a huge PR there doesn't hurt either.

4) What is your favorite holiday guilty pleasure?
Cookies

5) What was your most embarrassing running moment?
Hmmm. I'm not sure that I have a really embarassing moment.

I'm not going to tag anyone because I don't even know if anyone still reads this blog, but feel free to answer the questions!

It's been a little quiet around here

When I wasn't gainfully employed, it was totally doable (and kind of helped me keep my sanity) writing on two blogs.

But now, with a real job (and a husband with a real job!) I've decided to streamline and combine both blogs. If you haven't checked out my food blog, it's now (typically healthy vegetarian) food PLUS training and races. I may still update this blog from time to time, but if you want to stay up to date with my training for my first ultra (and beyond!) I'll see you over there!

My Unpopular (or Popular?) Opinions

Because it's cold and rainy and yes I will go run 20 miles, but indulge me first:

1. Tweeting/talking on your cell phone during a marathon is just weird to me.  I thought the whole point of running a marathon was pushing yourself


2. I will probably own a running skirt in the near future (what? I can't rule out the possibility and everyone keeps telling me how comfortable they are) but I just cannot get behind those matchy-matchy running outfits where everything from hat to shoes is perfectly coordinated

3. If you take a gu during a race, don't drop the packet on the ground unless you're in the middle of an aid station.  The Nike Women's Marathon went along my usual running route and after that weekend there was gel-packet litter EVERYWHERE. Just carry it to a trash can!

4. Running without socks is just better

5. I don't understand the concept of running a race just to finish.  I guess a fun run every now and then can be fun, but if I'm going to the expense of registering for a race, I want to push my hardest, not just finish.  Why settle for being mediocre?  Why not see what you're really capable of?

6. I love race volunteers. Love them.

7. I always complain about how ridiculous it is to get a medal after every marathon and triathlon I do...and yet I just can't bear to get rid of them.

8. I don't think I'll ever buy myself a Garmin (I've run just fine without one for 13 years) but if one happened to be under the Christmas tree this year, I wouldn't be sad.

I'm sure you have unpopular opinions/vents/confessions....Please spill! 

My weekend

I DID bake over 120 cupcakes for a wedding on Saturday night. (Really! You can read about it here)  I DID NOT have very much self-control when surrounded by frosting for said cupcakes.

I DID manage to squeeze in a 5 mile run on Saturday before heading to the wedding.  I DID NOT stop at 2 glasses of wine at the wedding like I told myself I should.

Wedding reception with all 80s music + a bunch of friends from college = not the healthiest weekend

I DID have a teeny little hangover on Sunday morning.  I DID NOT run my scheduled 12 miles.  Ooops.

I DID eat donuts (plural) on Sunday morning.  I DID NOT feel guilty about it...until my Boston confirmation popped up in my Inbox on Monday!

In college weekends like this were the norm...and it makes me really happy that they aren't usually like that anymore.   My mileage has been around 30-35 miles a week lately, which I really need to step up so I'm ready for the Pfitz 12/70 plan (which starts at 55 mpw) in January.  I'm also trying to cook more vegan meals because I've found that the fewer animal products I eat, the better I feel.  (I don't think I'll be going completely vegan anytime soon though...give up cheese?  Probably not possible)

50K, here I come

After talking about doing an ultra for months, I took the plunge last night and signed up for my first 50K on December 18.  I'm ridiculously excited!

It won't be easy...there's a total of 5,900 feet of elevation gain

 but it's going to be beautiful running through the Marin Headlands!

Last week my long run was 18 miles, and this week I did back-to-back 10 and 11 miles because I'm trying to get my legs used to running while I'm tired.

A month after the race, I start the Pfitz 12/70 plan for Boston!

What's your next big race?

I'm in!

After a VERY stressful 50 minutes, filling out the same form dozens of times only to click submit and end up back on the same page, I received this BEAUTIFUL email

Hard to believe it sold out in less than a day... I have a feeling qualifying is about to get a lot tougher, so I'm glad I made it in when I did!

A running kind of weekend

This weekend has been alllll about the running.

Friday after work Mike and I set off for an 18 mile run.  I've never attempted a long run like that after work, but it went really well, plus it was the longest he's ever run!

Saturday we got up bright and early to volunteer at a trail race in Clayton (Mt. Diablo State Park).  The company that put it on gives you FREE race entry when you volunteer for 5 hours, so it was definitely a good deal.  They're putting on the 50K I'm doing in December so I wanted to check out their operation and I was super impressed!  Everyone was friendly and very into Ultras so it was a cool group of people to be around (and get some great tips on loooong trail runs!)  I was glad I wasn't running that particular race, though...over 8,900 feet of elevation gain over the 50K course sounded intense!

Today we drove down to Pacifica for a 5K with the Dolphin South End Runners.  I LOVE their races because they're so small and laid back!  It was a little rainy but the temperature was perfect for running.  Another club member got this photo of me mid-race... I was feeling good!

The course was out and back on a bike path that went over a big hill and had a ton of switchbacks, so I knew I was probably not going to PR...but Mike did!  He ran 20:33 and I ran 22:31...good for 5th male and 2nd female overall! (Have I mentioned how much I love SMALL races?)

I was pretty excited about my red 2nd place ribbon!  I love that our weekends revolve around running now.

For real this time?

I have to confess...I did not run the last 2 days, and I at a whole bunch of crap.  As a a result, I now feel like total garbage.  The 4 mile run I just slogged through was also total garbage.  But in some way, I'm kind of glad I had that major slack session.

I think the best part of not training for anything is just being able to do what I feel like, and if that means lying on the couch eating handfuls of white chocolate chips (pshh who would do that?!), then that's what I'll do.  And inevitably, a day or two later I feel absolutely disgusting and it helps jolt me back to the reality that I actually do LOVE running, being active, having goals, and eating well.  So what does this mean now?

I have my sights set on a 50 K in the Marin headlands on December 18.  It's probably not in my best interest to attempt my first Ultra a few weeks before kicking off my training for Boston, but I didn't get to do that 50K I wanted to in August, and I think it would be a perfect way to round out what has definitely been the best running year of my life.  It also means I'm going to run 18 miles after work tomorrow. YIPEEE!!!

Friday afternoons have become "find a new trail" time for Mike and me.  Last week we drove down to Millbrae and ran 8 glorious miles on the Sawyer Camp Trail.  It was BEAUTIFUL and I loved that every half mile was marked!  Definitely not the last time we do that...

Very peaceful and relaxing.  Apparently it's a crazy mad house on weekends, so it was nice to run it at such a perfect time.

AND...some big news in the family: my dad qualified for Boston on Sunday (at the Portland Marathon) so we will be running it together in April!  We've talked about this since I first started running marathons 5 years ago, so I'm more than a little excited!  Congratulations, Dad!

Milestones

My husband has gotten so into running lately that not only will he get up and run with me at 5 AM and accompany me on mid-week, after-work 10-milers, but he's now beginning to train for an ultra!  Obviously this requires additional distance, so week by week we've been stepping up.  Last Saturday, we ran 16.2 miles, which was the farthest he's ever run!  It was a great run that included the Lake Merced path, Great Highway, and a GIANT set of stairs on the trail from Sutro heights park to Sea Cliff.

When we got home we celebrated with Green Monsters!

My usual recipe is:
1 frozen banana
1 cup almond milk
2 tbsp carob powder
2 tsp flax seeds
2 tsp chia seeds
a few handfuls of spinach

SO GOOD!

Another milestone happened the weekend before last.... I won a race!

OK, so it was a tiny race with only 89 people, but I've NEVER been first overall female before, and this time I was!  I ran 5 miles in 36:31 (7:18 min/mile) which was good for a 9-second PR and that pretty blue ribbon.

I love the Dolphin South End Running Club...they put on this race and the half marathon a couple weeks ago (and have $5 races pretty much every weekend).  If you're ever in San Francisco, definitely try out one of their events!  Everyone is super friendly and you can't beat the price.

The Finish Line

I have been really loving just kind of doing my own thing with regards to running.  I hate to say it, but I don't really miss tempo runs or track workouts (mainly because I haven't found a track close to my house yet).  I'm still figuring out which plan I'm going to use for Boston, but until Dec/Jan, I'm winging it and loving it!

Trails are my drug

For some reason I was kind of a giant stress-ball yesterday, which makes no sense because who gets stressed out on a Friday afternoon!?! I knew I needed to run, but the idea of doing our usual loop for the millionth time kind of made me feel like cracking open a beer instead.

So Mike and I jumped in the car and headed south to San Pedro Valley County Park in Pacifica. We didn't really know where we were going, but we were definitely climbing! We ended up on the Montara Mountain trail, and reached the summit 3.5 miles and at least 1700 feet of elevation gain later. The visibility was PERFECT!  This is looking north over Pacifica and towards San Francisco.  We could see the Golden Gate Bridge, which always makes me abnormally happy.

This is looking across the bay towards Oakland:

And here are my beautifully clean legs/shoes at the end of the run:

It's not very often it takes over 80 minutes to go 7 miles, but I seriously enjoyed every single mile.  Then we came home and had pizza and beer, which obviously tastes a whole lot better after a good sweaty, dirty trail run!

Lake Merced Half Marathon (and checking in with my goals)

Rocking my 2nd place (age group) medal and participant ribbon

This was just a test.


To say running hasn't been highest on my priority list might be a little bit of an understatement.  A new apartment and a new job kind of edged out speedwork in the "important life things" category, so for the past month or so I've been running a maximum of 35 miles a week, with long runs up to 13 miles. 


Then Mike found this race, which is a mile from our house and on the loop we run all the time, so we both decided to sign up and use it to gague our fitness levels.  Anything faster than my half split from San Francisco (about 1:46) would be a PR, but I honestly wasn't expecting to run anything faster than 1:50 because my runs have been so inconsistent.


The course was 2 4.5 mile loops plus a 4.1 mile loop.  Mike stayed with me for the first loop and a half but I could tell I was totally slowing him down.  I was feeling OK but not great, and was not totally thrilled about having to do roughly the same thing 3 times.  I finished the first loop in 34:58 and started in on the second just kind of going through the motions.  Halfway through the second lap Mike took off, which was fine with me because I didn't want to keep slowing him down.


I spent the rest of that loop passing then being passed by the same girl, and felt like I was slowing down. Sure enough, my second lap was 35:47.  By this point I had passed the girl from lap 2 for good and was just ready to be done.  I was coming up on another girl (who looked about my age), and for about a mile or so we were running right next to each other.  I caught myself thinking "this sucks, obviously she's just going to beat me," but then I realized that attitude was ridiculous.  I could tell she was working harder than I was, so I just relaxed and decided I'd wear her down and take off....which I kind of did (although I wouldn't call it taking off...it was more of just a slight pickup).


The rest of the third loop went by pretty quickly.  I was passing a lot of people doing the shorter race, which is always a big mental boost even if I'm not in direct competition with them.  I rounded the last corner into the parking lot well below my goal of 1:46, and crossed the line at 1:42:30.  I was the third female, and 2nd in my age group!  (Mike ran a huge PR too...1:38:59!!)


Going up to collect my medal:

I got some pretty sweet stuff in the goodie bag, too

So now that we're nearing the end of 2010 (holy crap how did that happen), I wanted to take a look at the goals I set back in January:


Goals for 2010:
1. Qualify for Boston (hopefully at the LA Marathon) - DONE (San Francisco Marathon)
2. Run at least two full marathons - DONE (LA and SF)
3. Set PRs at 2 or more different distances - DONE (5K, Half Marathon, and Marathon!)
4. Run at least one trail race - hopefully in October or November


Whew, it's been a pretty awesome year!

Perks of the Job

I've now completed 2 weeks as a PE teacher, and I am pretty stoked on the job. I have 4 periods of PE, which means plenty of opportunities to be active with the kids (my PE teacher in Middle school was a short, pudgy, obnoxious guy who just yelled at us and never did any physical activity himself).  Yesterday, I ran with the girls in each class for a total of 3.2 miles, and also did 40 pushups over the course of the day.  The girls were pretty excited that I was running with them, and of course an extra opportunity to run (while on the job) is pretty nice.

My own running has been up and down.  Fortunately there are TONS of amazing places to run around here.  Last week I managed to get 35 miles in, and on the weekend we did an awesome run along the coast with beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Having Lake Merced about a mile away (a 4.5 mile paved loop with no stoplights!) has been pretty nice, and today we're going to run up to Golden Gate Park for a total of 13 miles.  I'm not surprised at all that San Francisco is consistently ranked in the top 10 cities for running by Runners World. I love it!

There are races all.the.time up here, so hopefully I'll get back into that and train more consistently so this blog will see some action again.  In the meantime, happy running!

Adjustment

I'm still alive, and I'm still running (kind of).  It's been a CRAZY couple of weeks.  Within 10 days, I interviewed for a teaching job, got the job, packed up our house, and moved 3 1/2 hours away (to the San Francisco Bay Area!)

I've managed to squeeze a few runs in, but nothing impressive - just a few 45 minute 5-mile runs here and there that felt a LOT harder than they should have.  I'm starting my new job Monday and will be able to bike to work most days (up a GIANT hill), plus I'm teaching a few periods of PE, which I think will be really fun.

At this point, I'm just incredibly relieved I BQd in SF so I don't have to train for CIM right now, because I have so much going on - teaching for the first time, and living in a new place.  I'll get into a routine soon, I'm sure, and there are TONS of races up here, so stay tuned and happy running!

Now What?

I guess it's normal to have a little bit of a post-race let-down period.  I'm in the middle of one.

My right knee is having issues.

I'm not sure what I'm training for.

It's weird!

I definitely think I need a few days off to deal with this right knee issue.  I'm going to do some spin classes, bike rides, yoga, and weights and hopefully be back to normal running in the next few weeks.  I'm still tentatively planning to do a half marathon in October, but we'll see.

Also, I didn't gain any weight in New Zealand! That was definitely a pleasant surprise because I definitely indulged more than a little.  Now that I'm home I'm focusing on a clean diet and enjoying some cross-training. I think this little break is actually kind of nice!

Recovering in NZ

My parents are living in New Zealand for the year, so I'm doing a few recovery runs in the Southern Hemisphere over the next few days while I visit them.

It was a perfect 60 and raining this morning.  I LOVE running in the rain!

and I love it even more when I see cute little sheep!

This was supposed to be a 13 mile run with my dad, who's now training for the Portland Marathon.  Unfortunately, we had to turn back early because my right IT band was having major issues. We ended up running about 7 miles.

Amazingly, I was barely sore after the marathon... Monday night I went to yoga and was able to do everything, even lots of low lunges!  I ran 4 miles Wednesday morning, went to yoga again Wednesday night, and then ran 4 miles when I landed in New Zealand last night, bringing my week total to a very impressive 15.  Yayyyy recovery week!

Dear Body

Dear Body,

You are amazing.  I never thought we'd get along as well as we are now, and I'm so, so sorry for all those years I took you for granted. 

Thank you for not giving up on me when I starved you to the point of hospitalization.

Thank you for not giving up on me through the relapses in the years that followed that hospitalization.

Thank you for all the miles since those three screws went into my hip.

Thank you, IT band, for calming down these past few months.

Thank you, body, for staying strong through all the triathlons, marathons, shorter races, spin classes, bike rides, hikes, rock climbing, and yoga classes.  I know I haven't always appreciated you, but now I do more than ever. 

Stomach, I'm cool with the fact that you're not as flat as I used to want you to be.  Legs, your strength amazed me this weekend. 

I promise to feed you right, treat you well, and not put you down.  You continually amaze me, and I'm so grateful for everything you help me do.

Love, Cate

2010 San Francisco Marathon Race Report

Without a doubt, this was the best race of my entire life.  This was basically a complete opposite of my experience in LA!  The weather was perfect, the course was awesome (the hills were tough, but kept it interesting), and I loved all the signs with fun facts about San Francisco.  Starting at the beginning...

The alarm went of at 4 AM.  I'd actually slept pretty well so I popped out of bed, got dressed, and had my usual breakfast (soy milk, rice chex, and raisins. Mmm).  We started walking to get a cab when I realized I didn't have the timing tag on my shoe.  Oops!  I ran back to the room, put on the tag, and we were off in a cab.

It was dark and cold at the start, and at this point I wasn't really nervous or excited.  I was kind of dreading having a repeat of LA, and I wasn't sure what to expect.

It was EARLY!

I headed into the 3rd corral for my 5:42 AM start.  The waves before me went off and I was still kind of out of it.  Then before I knew it we were on our way...

The first mile was not awesome.  My stomach was bugging me, my pants felt like they were falling down, and when I went through the first mile in 8:38 I was worried I would have a long, slow race.

Things got better as we worked our way past Fisherman's Wharf and up into Fort Mason.  There was a pretty steep hill at mile 3 but it was short.  At this point the bridge still looked really far away, but I was starting to feel good.  I went through mile 4 in about 32:20 and was concerned it might be a little too fast, but I tried not to worry about it.

The bridge was awesome!  It was foggy and seeing the elites coming back the other way was really inspiring.  The hill up to the bridge wasn't as bad as I remembered, and I felt strong and relaxed.  I had a Gu at the turn-around, and on the way back ended up chatting a little with another runner.  We'd been near each other most of the way so far, and she asked what pace I was trying to run.  I said I was running 8:10s but was worried it was a little fast.  We talked about qualifying for Boston, which she had done before.  I admitted that was my goal, but wasn't sure if I'd make it.

There were some hills I wasn't quite ready for going from the bridge to Golden Gate park.  At the halfway point I was still feeling strong, and went through at around 1:46.  That was about when I started thinking I had a decent chance of running a BQ time, but I knew there was still a long way to go.

The next 6 miles were up and down hills in Golden Gate park.  It was beautiful, but I kept kind of expecting to hit the wall.  I remembered how dead my legs started to feel around mile 15 or 16 in LA.  When we left the park at Mile 19 I was still feeling really good.  There was a steep downhill at about mile 20 and at that point my legs were starting to feel kind of tired.  I was still taking Cytomax and water at every aid station, but realizing that I could slow down to almost 10-minute miles and still BQ was a really comforting thought. 

The last few miles were L O N G but at that point I was just in shock about my time.  I couldn't believe I would finish in under 3:35, and I still hadn't hit the wall.  I kept thinking a mile marker was wrong or I had taken a shortcut on accident!

I crossed the finish line in 3:32:46, which was a 14 minute PR! (12/428 in my age group!)

I was not feeling like eating AT ALL, but grabbed some Pirate's Booty for later.  The finishers medal doubled as a coaster, which I put to good use at brunch.

I think I'm still in shock that I actually qualified for Boston and PRd by so much, especially on such a tough course!

So...what was so different about this race?

Weather: The conditions were absolutely PERFECT.  It was cool and not too windy, even on the bridge

Training: I pretty much followed the Pfitz 12/55 plan to the letter, only skipping 2 or 3 runs over the whole 12 weeks.  With the base I built up training for LA, I think I was just in MUCH better shape than back in March.  Also, that 5K PR on the 4th of July definitely didn't hurt my confidence!

Fueling and Hydration: I got REALLY dehydrated in LA, but this time I walked through every water station so I could drink the whole cup without spilling.  I grabbed a Cytomax, then a water, and drank them both.  I really didn't feel like I lost any time, and I know I took in a LOT more fluid and electrolytes

Nerves: They were OUT OF CONTROL before LA, probably because I didn't prepare enough.  This time around, I was relaxed and confident because I knew I'd put in a lot of effort training.  I wasn't fully convinced I'd BQ and my attitude the first mile was actually kind of crappy, but overall I was just a lot calmer about the whole race.

So now I'm not sure if I'll run CIM in December...I got my BQ and I kind of want to focus on half marathons and 5/10Ks through the fall, keeping my base up until I start training for Boston sometime in the winter.  I'm not sure what plan I'll use yet, but I'm doing some research.

BQ!!!!

I PRd by 13 minutes this morning at the San Francisco marathon...Boston here I come!!!

Should I Be Afraid?

One of my friends recently sent me a link to this article, published last week by the Wall Street Journal: The Race Even Marathoners Fear

I've run the first half of the course before (you can race either the first or second half, or the full), and yeah that hill leading up to the bridge is kind of a pain, but I really don't think the hills are that bad (and I think it helps that I've been training on hills).  I realize it may be stupid to think I can run faster now than I did in LA, which had a pretty big net elevation loss, but I'm pretty sure it will be a lot cooler, and I've put in a ton more miles and quality workouts leading up to this race.

Last week was a good one.  My foot seems totally fine, and I can't believe how comfortable I feel running mile repeats around 6:43.  I am kind of excited to focus on more speedwork once this race is over so I can do some shorter races through the fall (maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

Summary of the week:

Monday - 90 minute Vinyasa yoga class
Tuesday - 7 @ 7:38 min/mile
Wednesday - 8 miles w/ 3 x 1 mile (6:43, 6:45, 6:41)
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 5 miles @ 7:23 min/mile
Saturday - rest
Sunday - 12 miles @ 8:35 min/mile

Total: 32 miles

RICE-ing it

It's 15 days from the San Francisco marathon and I'm sitting on my couch, icing my foot, and planning to sit tomorrow's 16-miler out.  I'm trying not to stress myself out about this foot situation, but I'm kind of freaking out.

(Image from tweakfit.com)

It all started on a 4 mile run yesterday.  I felt a sudden, cramp-like pain around the base of my big toe.  I ran home, but it was definitely pretty sore.

This morning it felt fine, so I went to the track for 4 x 800.  My 2 mile warm-up and 800s were pain-free, but as soon as I started my 3 mile run home, I felt the pain coming back.  It's been hurting ever since then, particularly when I flex and extend my toes.  It's also tender between my first and second metatarsals.

I'm guessing it's not a stress fracture just based on the location and fact that I can't exactly pinpoint the pain, so I'm doing RICE-ing and will take the next day or two off.  I really REALLY hope I'm feeling better in a few days!

This week was kind of a weird one.  After my 5K on Sunday I had a horrible headache and decided to push my 20 miler to Monday.  The rest of the week was pretty easy.  I was supposed to have a track workout Monday and a 8K or 10K race today, but instead I moved my track workout to today.  It wasn't a fabulous workout - I never really felt in the zone, but my times were OK.

Summary of the week:
Monday - 20.1 miles (8:56 min/mile)
Tuesday - Cross train (22 min stationary bike, abs, lifted for upper body)
Wednesday - 6.5 miles (8:31 min/mile)
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 4.4 miles (7:31 min/mile)
Saturday - 8 miles w/ 4 x800 (3:14, 3:14, 3:17, 3:12)
Sunday - resting my poor little foot :(

Total: 39 miles