Such a journey in a short time...

I thought I would jump on the Runner's Lounge Take It and Run bandwagon and post in response to this week's topic.

This time last year, I had just begun thinking about getting into this running thing. I ran my very first 10K on July 28, 2007 (Happy runniversary to me!!!) That was the furthest I had ever run. After that, I was excited to do another 10K and talking about doing a 1/2 marathon.

I half-heartedly said I would run the Silver Strand Half Marathon in November. For one reason or another, I never got any long runs in and postponed the idea of a half marathon until January's Carlsbad Half. I got sick in late November/early December and junked any ideas of training. My friend, Penny, had run her first half marathon in September and kept telling me how great it felt to accomplish something like that and that I should do it.

In January, I was at my Stroller Strides class and my future running partners Jen and Laura made an announcement that they would be training for the Rock-n-Roll Marathon on June 1 and would anyone want to join them. I had occasionally entertained a vague thought of running a marathon.....SOMEDAY. This was the perfect opportunity for me. When would I be able to train with other mothers (with unique scheduling issues such as childcare) where we were all doing our first marathon? With myself and the other Lisa joining, the "Rockin' Mamas" running group was formed.

Six months later, after completing my first marathon, I am completely hooked. Here are the answers to the questions on the Runner's Lounge post:

-Are your goals still right for you this year?
My goal in the beginning of the year was simply to run a half marathon. That was upgraded in late January to a marathon. I am finally doing that half marathon in a few weeks when I run the America's Finest City Half. I am really excited about it. No matter how I do, it will be a PR :-)

-Anything you would change?
I don't think so. Training with my friends was the BEST way to keep me motivated. I have been known to be a bit of a talker (NO, you, Lisa??) and I was afraid I would talk about doing a marathon without actually doing it. I am so proud that all four of our little group finished the marathon.

What have you accomplished?
I ran a marathon!! It wasn't close to the time I wanted to run it in, so another one is probably in my future so I can bury that demon.

What have you learned along the way?
Since June, I have become a better runner, I think. I think more about my form and breathing and less about just getting from point A to point B. The first half of the year was building my endurance and fitness, whereas the second half will be running more effeciently. I am reading Matt Fitzgerald's Brain Training for Runners, which seems to have some good info (but it is a little on the dry side).

Altitude training Part 3

Distance: 5.01 miles
Time: 55:44 minutes
Pace: 11:07/mile

This morning, I did roughly the same route as I did on Tuesday and I am happy to report that I ran 14 seconds per mile faster! It was still hard, but I kept telling myself that the pain I was feeling would help me in my race in a few weeks.

I also did a mom's version of a stadium workout. We went to a water slide. I jogged up the stairs (probably four stories or so) with my four-year-old only to find out that they don't allow double riding. My son didn't want to go by himself. We went back down the stairs. They had life jackets, which gave him a lot more confidence. So back up the steps we went. At least I was able to have a nice ride down a water slide. I went through the same thing with my two-year-old (she went down the first time, but then declined the second trip once we got to the top). I probably went up those stairs five times. Does that count as a stadium workout??

Altitude training Part 2

Well, today was quite a bit harder. Is there a cumulative effect from altitude? I swear it felt like my lungs were going to explode this morning. The uphill parts of the run were really tough. I actually had to stop and walk a couple of times. I didn't even go three miles, but I was DONE by the time I got back to the house.

Distance: 2.69 miles
Time: 32:50
Pace: 12:13/mile

I almost skipped the run altogether, due to lack of sleep, so getting out at all is a success. My four-year-old woke up several times during the night crying with a headache. Bad mommy forgot the bag with the Tylenol and Ibuprofen. I contemplated running to a drugstore to get something to help him, but I didn't know where to find a drugstore that is open all night. After a cold wash cloth on his forehead and temples, he seemed to feel better and finally fell asleep for good.

The trail I followed today was rockier than yesterday's. At one point there was a log across the path that I had to climb over. One thing that was a little scary was that I almost missed the turn to get back to the road where the house is. I was mostly watching my feet, so I wouldn't trip or roll my ankle. That made it hard to watch for landmarks. I really should figure out that feature on the Garmin that can take you back to where you started. Have any of you Garmin users (I have a 205) ever used that feature?

Speaking of Garmin questions... the autopause didn't seem to work the last two days. It worked when I used it in downtown San Diego. Why isn't it working now? Is there a trick to get it to work? When I go to settings, it says that it is activated. I suppose I shouldn't pause it when I am crawling over a log or catching my breath. Maybe Garmin knows that it is cheating? LOL.

I think I am going to try to do one more trail run in the morning. Even though it was hard, I like it better than running on these narrow streets with no shoulder. I think I'll drive somewhere a bit flatter on Saturday for my long run. Maybe I'll try to find a path along the lake.

7400 ft elevation and ROCKED it!

Ok... so maybe I didn't "rock" it, but it was a great run. It was my second run with our new Garmin (yes...it is officially ours *wink*). I still don't quite understand how to use it. I am not sure exactly how accurate it is because the house across the street has a sign out front that says 7100 feet elevation but Garmin says we are over 7400 feet. Either way, it's high up here! According to the Garmin, I ran as high as 7689 feet! *EDITED: I looked again at the house across the street and it does say 7400 feet, so the Garmin is accurate.

Distance: 4.69 miles
Time: 53:29
Pace: 11:24/mile

It was not my fastest run, but it was 1) at high elevation 2) on a trail and 3) very hilly. It was a beautiful morning, not to hot and not too cold. When I started out, I was a little concerned that I would be in trouble from the elevation. As the hill leveled out, I was able to find a nice groove. I ran to the end of the street and onto the trail/fire road in the San Bernadino National Forest. The only time I felt the altitude was climbing uphill (which was about half the time).

I think I might be a trail convert. As we went hiking on Monday, all I could think about was how excited I was to run the same trail the next morning. Today I grabbed a bunch of trail maps when we were out and about. I am going to try to get out again tomorrow.

Did you know that Ryan Hall (winner of the Oympic Trials for the marathon) is from Big Bear? Man, this town LOVES this guy. His picture is up in every business. There is a movement here called Move a Million Miles for Ryan Hall. It is part of the Lighthouse Project, a local charity here in Big Bear. I signed up and logged my miles! Why not?

p.s. as I sit writing, I am sitting on the deck looking at the lake (pictures to come) drinking a beer. Ah... vacation. Oh, and one benefit of high altitude is that all I need is one beer to feel buzzed. :-?

off to vacation!

We are heading to Big Bear, CA later today for a week of (hopefully) relaxation. I don't know if we'll have internet access up in the mountains.

When I come back, I will report on my altitude training ;-) The elevation is over 6700 feet, so my running should be interesting. I am bringing my new trail shoes to try out as well. Heck, training at altitude works for Deena Castor, it should work for me!

Have a fantastic week, everyone!!

Reality check!

I have been getting really confident about my half marathon on August 17. Yesterday's 11.6 mile run was just the thing to make sure I don't suffer from over-confidence. I had been hoping to get pretty close to, if not under, two hours, but now I am not so sure. It wasn't a horrible run, but it certainly wasn't an easy one either.

We started in Balboa Park, right where the race ends. We ran the last few miles along the same streets as the race course, including a killer hill toward the end.

We started about two hours later than we had originally planned. The temperature wasn't too bad, but the humidity was horrible. I have never really been much of a sweater, but lately I am dripping! I brought a sweat towel with me and shoved it in an empty holster on my hydration belt. It really came in handy.

The first part of our run went along the same route as the marathon did. While I often think about the marathon as I drive through various parts of the city, this particular stretch didn't even feel familiar. It was so crowded then and I was so excited that I don't think I paid much attention to that first couple of miles. Once we hit Park Blvd., it all came back to me. I had a lot of fun during that part of the marathon.

As we ran around Petco Park toward the convention center, I was struck by how many people there were. Laura reminded me what it was-- Comic con! What is Comic Con? you may ask. I think it used to be a comic book convention. It has since moved to focus on general sci-fi and now it is described as 'pop culture.' It is the biggest convention in San Diego. This year, the sold out convention is expected to have over 125,000 self-proclaimed geeks and nerds attending. As we ran around the convention center, it was pretty clear that Laura and I stood out from the crowd. Whereas many of the people were dressed as everything from Storm Troopers to super heroes, I had my hydration belt, visor and sweat rag--my own version of a nerdy look. I told Laura that I doubted if too many of them ran 11 miles on a Saturday morning. I doubt if too many of them get outside much at all. Video games and movies all the time, just isn't my style.

Speaking of Heroes, at one point I actually thought it would be fun to go in. I heard, as we ran by, someone announce that they would be letting the Heroes line in. Little did I know but the entire cast of NBC's Heroes was there. I found out later that they showed a sneak preview of the season premiere! I never said I didn't have geek tendencies. I LOVE that show and can't wait for the premiere. But I digress.....

We ran past the convention center, along the embarcadero, on to Seaport Village, one of my favorite spots in San Diego. We ran along Harbor to Ash, where we started on the streets of the half marathon. On one hand, it was nice running through the city. On the other hand....yuck. All too often we would get an overwhelming whiff of urine. San Diego is a very clean city. If it smells like this throughout parts of this city with a nice bay breeze coming through, what do other cities smell like??? I can only imagine the city streets of New York. Laura, if you are reading, do you get horrible smells while you run in NYC??

We finally hit the dreaded 6th street. It doesn't seem like much of a hill. In fact, if you are in a car, you would never describe it as such. But for a mile, it is a continuous climb. After nine miles or so (eleven on race day), it really takes the wind out of your sails. Alissa, I hope you are doing some hills to prepare. Just try to do a long (about a mile) incline of 200+ feet or so at the end of one of your long runs.

In an interesting turnabout, my running partner, Laura, had to stop and walk for a bit around ten miles. This is the same Laura who kicked my ass in every run during marathon training and finished twenty minutes ahead of me in the race. She was having a rough day. It could have easily been me. My point in mentioning this at all is that I am running at par with her now. I think I have really improved in the seven weeks or so since the marathon.

I still have some training to do before AFC, especially if I want to break the two-hour mark. The good news is that no matter how I finish, it will be a PR since I have never run a half marathon. I need to just do the best I can.

Track etiquette and a big, fat "DUH" on myself

This morning I asked my hubby if there is track etiquette (he used to run track in high school and college). He quickly said, "only that the slower people should go in the outside lanes." a HA!

I went to the track this morning, had a nice warm-up mile calibrating my Nike+ and a few speed laps. I was the only one there for a while and I was using lane 2. Why not lane 1, you may ask? I have no idea. But on to that question later...

A couple people showed up on the track, everyone doing their own thing. I passed one guy while I was doing my 400 meter interval. He was in lane 3 or 4. On the next 400 meters, he was WALKING in lane 2. WTH? He just saw me running in that lane. Why would he walk there, even when he heard me approach from behind and move to another lane? There are so many other lanes to use. The other lady there is walking on the outside lane. I just don't get it. I thought it was rather rude.

So as I am telling DH this story he reminded me of a simple fact. "You do know that lane 2 is a longer distance, right?" "Um....yeah, I knew THAT." Oops! I knew that, but my foggy morning brain never quite registered that fact properly. Somehow, in my head, the fact that I started in the staggered position would make up for that. It would, of course, if I stopped at the finish line and not at the same staggered line. DUH. CRAP. No wonder my Nike+ calibration seemed off on Sunday (yes, I ran in lane 2 to calibrate it before). So recalibrating it this morning just added insult to injury. My 400 meter calibration was probably off by 6 or 7 meters. Heck, my mile calibration was WAY off this morning. Good thing KG is getting a Garmin this week for bike riding. I can calibrate the Nike+ properly (but most likely, I will steal the Garmin every time I run *wink*).

So is that why that guy in lane 2? Did he think I should be in lane 1?? I still don't think that someone should walk in the inside lanes, unless he was doing a recovery walk after running...which he wasn't.

The good news is that I am faster than I thought. While I only got in less than half my speed workout (I really need to get out of the house earlier!), I think it was a pretty good one:

1 X 1200*-- 6:19
2 X 400*-- 1:54, 1:50
1 X 200*-- :53

*So because I didn't stop at the finish line, but where I started, I think my intervals were around 1220, 407 and 203.

Even though my speed workout was shorter than I wanted, I did go to Stroller Strides and got in a great cross-training workout.