Good weekend of running*

Other than a bit of jello legs at the end of ten miles on Sunday, I have no complaints about my running weekend.

The mom I met at my son's school called me and arranged to pick me up for the run Saturday morning. They were running a trail run nearby and the directions were a bit tricky. She and her sister picked me up and we met a third member of the group at the trail head. It was a fantastic trail run through a little canyon, up to a dam that overlooked a gorgeous valley/canyon. We spent a lot of time navigating (they hadn't spent a lot of time on this trail) and deciding where to go. That's ok. I enjoyed taking it easy and getting to know them. I think we ended up going around four miles. We made plans to run the same trails next weekend without as much stopping to navigate. I didn't mind the relaxed pace and stopping at all. It isa lot of fun running trails with other people. I was just starting to walk/run with Jen up Cowles Mountain and really enjoying it. I am glad to pick up the trail running up here.

Since I didn't get a very long run in, I decide to run again Sunday morning. I was determined to run ten miles, although the longest I had run since AFC was nine miles a week or two afterward. I am supposed to pace a friend in a half marathon in a few weeks and I wanted to make sure I can even finish. At this point, I just want to be able to run it with her. I don't know how good I'll be at pacing with my lack of training, but I am going to try my best. I am just excited to finally be running with her.

Sunday's run was nice. It was a bit foggy when I started, which made things pretty humid once they warmed up a bit. I ran down to the river and headed east. I felt pretty good. I felt like I was getting into a groove. Around mile 7, I wanted to see if I could pick it up a bit. I ran the eighth mile in 8:39. Yeah! It was around that time that I had to head away from the river and back up to my house. The key word here is up. Oops. I didn't leave much in the tank for an uphill return to my neighborhood. As I started up the road, I started noticing my knees hurting and my legs feeling pretty heavy.

The good news is that even though it was tough, I was able to run those last two uphill miles under ten minutes each. I was really worked by the time I got home. I think that eight miles would have been more appropriate, considering the amount of running I have been doing. But I am glad I did ten. I know that I will be able to run that half marathon in Santa Barbara on November 8. I may not be speedy, but I should have a respectable time.

Next weekend should be more of the same-- a fun trail run on Saturday and a longer run on Sunday. Life is good.


* I know, I know... the weekend was DAYS ago

Ahhhhhhh......

I'm feeling a little mojo!! All I needed was a non-run run.

I met my friend, Jen, this morning to hike up Cowles Mountain, a local peak that has a 1.5 mile steep trail to the top. She and I set off at a nice brisk pace. Our goal was not to go on a leisurely hike, but to get a good workout. I was sweaty, but felt great. It is getting hotter again here, but not unbearably so. She and I chatted the entire time, working our lungs quite a bit.

At the top, we stopped for a minute or two and admired the view smog. SMOG??? This is San Diego... where is smog coming from? At least the air was clean at the top of Cowles.

We sipped on some water and headed back down. We ran down. And oh what a feeling. It was a great run. My quads feel it, but in a really good way. We chatted some more and watched our step. It reminded me how much I want to do more trail running. I think I could have run up it (most of it anyway), but I really enjoyed the brisk walking instead.

No Garmin. No watch. Just great company and a fun workout. We're doing it again next week!

yesterday's fitness fest!

I was in bed by 9 p.m. last night. I would have gone to bed earlier, but when you have two small children you still have to get them ready etc. before you can go down. Why was I such a slug? I worked my@$$ off yesterday.

9:00 a.m. -- taught a typical Stroller Strides class*.

11:00 a.m. -- Run 5.75 miles with a pretty major hill**.

3 p.m.-- Hike 3 miles. Gain of almost 1000 feet in 1.5 miles***.

*Here is what my Stroller Strides class consisted of:

station 1-
>dynamic warm-up

station 2- (We run or power walk between stations. It is 1-2.5 miles total for the class on an average day)
>Step ups onto 12 inch step (edge of a fountain)
>Step outs onto 12 inch step. Step on to step and then extend hip abductor out to side.
>Quad dips
>Static lunge with high knee lifts. Slow pace and double-time.

station 2-
>Bicep curls with resistance band anchored chest high onto a fence. Upper arms remain parallel to ground.
>Triceps kickbacks with resistance band.

station 3-
>One arm fly across chest with resistance band anchored onto fence. Add side lunge.
>One arm fly above head with resistance band anchored onto fence. Add side lunge.
>One arm fly sweeping under like an upper cut with resistance band anchored onto fence. Add side lunge.

station 4-
>Deep squats
>Static squats
>Static squats on one leg at a time

station 5-
>Abdominals (3-4 abdominal exercises with 10-20 reps each)
>Stretching

** My run constisted of running from Balboa Park down to the convention center and back. The return trip up 6th is the same hill that kicked my booty during the AFC Half Marathon in August. I did sort of a hybrid tempo run/hill training/speed workout. Whatever you call it, I was working hard. I tried to alternate the relatively easy miles with the miles where I really pushed myself (miles 2 and 4).

I am pleased to say that my second fastest mile was one with the most elevation gain. It was only 123 feet, but it sure felt like a lot. Here are my splits:

• mile 1- 9:07
• mile 2- 7:48 (this mile was completely downhill; I lost 107 feet in elevation)
• mile 3- 9:01 (elevation decrease of 52)
• mile 4- 8:34 (elevation gain of 123)
• mile 5- 9:34 (elevation gain of 40--I was getting tired by this point)
• .76- 6:49 (8:59 pace)

The good news is that I felt pretty strong. The bad news is that the La Jolla Half Marathon in April not only has a 190 foot hill, but a 420 foot mile-long hill!!! I have some work to do!

***My hubby and I hiked up Cowles Mt. to celebrate our anniversay. Other couples go out to dinner on their dates, we go hiking and mountain biking. I sure do love that guy! It is a relatively strenuous hike and my hips and hamstrings were killing me by the time we reached the top. Don't get me wrong, Kenny and I aren't all fitness and exercise. When we reached the top, we pulled out a bottle of chilled white wine and a couple of plastic wine glasses (that insulated wine carrier we received from our wedding sure does come in handy). We toasted to the eight years we have been together and the eighty years ahead of us. We ended the afternoon with an early dinner at a Thai restaurant close by. It was my kind of evening.