A much better run...

I woke up at the butt crack of dawn this morning for my tempo run. I can't really do a tempo run in my neighborhood because of steep hills and a gravel trail. I drove to Lake Murray to run on a nice, paved bike path. This was the first time I have run at Lake Murray since before the marathon. During training, I was really tired of that run (it is an out-and-back totalling 10k) and pretty much boycotted that spot. But this morning, I really enjoyed it. It didn't seem quite as boring as it did. I just needed a break from it.

Honestly, I was looking forward to running it with my Garmin. AKA ALice at Hefferblog calls Lake Murray "Lake Boy Part." When I read her blog explaining that nickname, I laughed out loud. Now I have my own GPS drawing of a "boy part." Well, since I turned around a little more than a half mile before the end, it is not a complete drawing, but you get the picture...



When I started, it was dark. I don't have a fancy light yet, so I carried a little LED flashlight. It worked ok, since it was pretty nearly dawn. It was more for peace of mind than for actually lighting the path. I forgot my pepper spray (a fact that my dear husband was quite annoyed about). Luckily, there were no German Shepherds or coyotes. The only wild animals at Lake Murray are Shih Tzus, squirrels and bunnies. It was busier than I expected. Mostly, there were seniors walking their little dogs and women, like me, getting in an early morning run.

I had a good tempo run-- it was the first time I ran for a decent period of time trying to hit a certain pace. My RW training plan said to do one warm-up mile, three at 8:54, and then a cool-down mile. I can't quite hit the pace exactly, but I came pretty close. Here are the splits:
Mile 1- 9:32
Mile 2- 8:47
Mile 3- 8:43
Mile 4- 8:44
Mile 5- 9:42

Just another short easy run...

NOT! Well it was relatively short, but not just another run.

First, I have to take my hat off to all of you who run in cold climates (please imagine me bowing to you saying "I'm not worthy!") I have no idea how you do it! Maybe I am a wimp, but I barely made it out to run today because it was COLD (relatively speaking). Now... please keep in mind that I have lived in Southern California for over seven years before you boo and hiss at me. It was a chilly chilly 47 degrees and windy when I got dressed this morning. Brrrrrr. Seriously. I had to push myself to get out there. It took me about a quarter to a half a mile before I felt like I could unclench and get in a rhythm.

As I was starting to feel comfortable in my run, I saw a guy jogging toward me on the path with his German Shepherd on a leash. I noted how big the dog was and admired how pretty he was. I like dogs, but I also have a healthy respect. I moved over to one side of the path so I wouldn't scare the dog etc. I smiled at the guy and could see that the dog was looking at me as well. Suddenly, as I passed, the dog lunged at me and barked. It was a significantly aggressive bark; I could hear that. I moved away and fell/jumped into the ditch. I screamed some sort of profanity. I haven't been scared like that in a long time. Thank GOD the guy was big. It looked like an effort for him to hold his dog. I think if that dog belonged to a smaller person, I would have been in big trouble. He asked if I was ok and apologized. I said I was fine and ran away. I am glad I did. Had I stuck around to talk to him, I think I would have cried. As I ran, I had tears in my eyes and was very very shaken.

The route I run has me double back on that path and I was nervous about seeing the man and his dog again. I decided if I saw them I would stop and try to "meet" the dog. He must have been threatened because I was running, right? Well, that was what I was thinking then. Now as I sit here writing this I am actually getting a little pissed off about the whole thing. Although I suppose the owner did everything he could and had him on a leash (thank GOD). I just can't understand when people have an aggressive dog as a pet (speaking as a person who owns a passive Beagle). I didn't see them again. I will have my pepper spray next time.**

I finally relaxed and got back into my rhythm. Thank goodness for my iPod. I was trying something new this morning-- listening to a book on tape. It is perfect for a slow easy run. It let me just escape a bit and run relaxed. I decided to start with an easy read, a cheesy best-seller. I am listening Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz.

About 3/4 of a mile from home, I was met with yet another reason to bring pepper spray with me when running in my neighborhood. Suddenly, ten feet in front of me, a coyote emerged from the canyon onto the path. WTF??? I didn't need that! I yelled at him. He trotted down the path toward my house. *sigh* My options were to follow him or to turn around and go back the other way, which would involve a VERY steep hill. It would ruin my easy run. So I followed him, making my footfalls heavy and yelling for him to go away. I also put my arms over my head (looking like a complete idiot) so I might look taller. Finally, he scrambled up the hill into the brush. As I passed the spot where he went up, I picked up my pace for the rest of my run.

I was glad to be done. Surprisingly enough, it was a pretty good run--three miles at 10:00 minutes per mile and I felt good (physically, at least).
Next time I am bringing my pepper spray!!

**I had to add a comment on Jill's blog entry that was asking us to tell her what we carry with us on our runs. In the past, I brought pepper spray when I run alone downtown or out in the actual canyons on the trails. Now I realize that we live close enough to a canyon and threats can come anywhere.

Photos courtesy of www.kenyapolice.go.ke and www.aquariumofpacific.org

Recap of this week's training

I followed my training plan pretty well this past week. I was supposed to do 17 miles and ended up with 16 plus what I did during Stroller Strides. I taught three days last week and had long cardio stretches in all three classes. Plus, I had specific cardio drills. I don't necessarily get the same workout as my clients, since I am leading the class, watching form etc., but I did push a double stroller quite a distance. I am going to start wearing my Garmin during my classes and count the distance toward my training. I am pretty sure that Monday's class at Mission Bay was at least two miles. Granted, I had strength stations breaking it up, but I still ran/jogged the distance.

There are seven weeks left until the half marathon. If yesterday's run was any indication, I am feeling pretty good. Neither Laura nor I were feeling all that spunky yesterday morning. Thank goodness I was meeting her to run or I might have blown it off. We chatted nearly the entire eight miles. Both of us had tummy issues towards the end and picked up the pace the last mile. Without really trying, we ran an average of 9:11. Not bad. My training program tells me to run it at 10:29, but that is hard when your friend is running at the faster pace and it feels comfortable to do so. I will try to run my easy run tomorrow at the slower pace and see how it feels.

A couple of shout outs...

Tomorrow Jill, Kristin and (I think) Laura are running in Las Vegas tomorrow. It makes me a little sad (and jealous) since I thought I would be there too, until life got in the way. However, I am cheering for you all in spirit. Think of me when you are running down the Strip. I was really looking forward to that part!

Good luck to you all!!!

I know I am finally committed!

I am finally officially training for the half marathon next month.

I needed to do some speedwork today. I can't do it in my neighborhood due to hills, dirt trails etc. I didn't think I could get it all done if I had to drive to the track. I decided to go to the rec center, put the kids in their daycare and run on the dreaded treadmill (now I know why so many people call it the dreadmill). Yes, I have run on treadmills before. The last time was relatively early in my marathon training, before I knew better.

Next time it is VERY important that I DO NOT forget my iPod!! Holy moly. That is a good way to make five miles seem like an eternity! It is very difficult to run at a 8:19-8:27 pace while reading the subtitles on The View. I don't even like The View. It was just the only tv close enough to my chosen treadmill that I could read the words. I actually increased the speed at the end of the intervals just so I could get the misery over sooner. I was bored to tears and more sweaty than normal. I just take for granted the benefit of nice scenery and a slight breeze. I really feel for those of you in terribly cold climates where the treadmill is the only thing between you and freezing your tooshies off!

I was glad I did it. It means I am following my Runnersworld training plan. And to answer a question in my comments (I think it was from Alissa), I did put my most recent 5K time into the Runnersworld SmartCoach to get my plan. I ran one warm up mile at around a 10:30 pace. I did two miles between a 8:19 and 8:27 pace with 1/2 mile recovery in between and after. I am supposed to jog the 800's, but I did walk for a few minutes to drink some water. I ended with a cool down mile for a total of five.

Happy Running!!

Finally!

I actually got my butt out of bed and went running during the week. It has been a couple of months since I have done that. It was cold (relatively speaking, in San Diego terms) and foggy and I didn't really feel like going. But, if I am going to break two hours in that half marathon next month, I need to run more than once a week! It was a pretty non-descript, uneventful run in my neighborhood. The only thing noteworthy was the mere fact that I went. I am glad that I did.

Sunday's run was nice. I did a relatively easy eight. It still shocks me that eight miles is an easy run. A year ago, that was unheard of--I'd get nervous at the thought of five or six. I dropped my dad off at the airport to fly back to Portland. I thought, while I was down there, I might as well run along the big bay. It was a nice change of pace. I parked across from the airport at a favorite park of ours and ran down to Seaport Village and back. I enjoyed the San Diego skyline, the tall ships and a beautiful morning.

I had forgotten to charge the Garmin, so I just used my Nike+ to tell me when to turn around. Luckily, it is running pretty accurate lately (it matched the Garmin exactly on Thanksgiving). It was actually freeing not to worry about my pace at all. I decided to take it easy and give myself a relaxing run through a beautiful city. Much to my surprise, when I listened to the results at the end of my run, I had averaged a pace of 9:17. Holy cow. According to my RW training plan, I should be doing my long runs slower than that. Oops. But I didn't feel like I was pushing myself particularly hard.

My new favorite clothing item for running!

When I was getting ready for our trip to Moab, I realized that it might be cold there. All I had was biking shorts and a short sleeved biking jersey. I ordered some biking knickers and a long sleeved jersey from one of Kenny's suppliers, but I wasn't going to get them until the day of the trip. I didn't know if they would fit. I went to a bike store and bought some arm warmers and leg warmers as a backup.




It turned out to be COLD, not chilly. I needed every layer I could get. Those two items were a Godsend (especially when the knickers were way too big and I couldn't use them). Both items are like lycra on the outside and fleecy on the inside (is fleecy a word???). I even wore the arm warmers under the long-sleeve jersey along with a fleece vest. I was perfectly warm! On one day I took off the arm warmers and stuffed them into my backpack very easily.


Fast forward to this past Thursday. It was chilly (not cold) and rainy. I don't have running tights yet. My long pants that I have run in get really sloppy when they are wet. I often have to take off my long sleeve tech shirt when I wear it because I warm up pretty quickly. [note: the temps here have not dipped much lower than 60 degrees, so it is really only brisk] I decided to try the arm and leg warmers for the race. I wore the leg warmers on my eight-mile run last week and they worked pretty well. I wasn't exactly a fashion queen with a running skirt and lycra leg warmers, but hey, I was comfy.

Result:
*The arm warmers ROCK. I was warm and toasty with these things. They were the perfect addition to the morning. I think my arms were my least wet part of my body when all was said and done. These things will be perfect for long runs during the winter when it starts out in the 40's and ends up in the 60's. I can strip them off and tuck them into my waistband or something.

*The leg warmers were a success, but don't receive as high marks as the arm warmers. During the first mile when I was running pretty fast, they seemed to inch down my leg. I kept wanting to hike them up. During the second two miles, however, I didn't think about them much. They must have crept down and found a good spot to stay. They are also not quite as convenient since I would have to stop if I wanted to take them off.

All in all, even though these are biking apparel, I am a fan. They add an extra layer without adding bulk or warmth in areas I don't need it. I would definitely recommend them, especially for the price. The arm warmers were around $20 and the leg warmers were $30. Not a bad investment for an additional layer for the winter.