Feeling Strong!

I woke up 5:15 am Saturday Morning having about 5 hours of sleep. I had a little get together with college friends on Friday night; however, I managed to stay alcohol free. I think it was definitely a wise choice. I got to Alameda around 6:30 am and proceeded to hop on my bike and began marking the 10 mile trail in Alameda. I bumped into Rocky around mile 6 on my way back. We proceeded to ride back, until I had difficulty on an incline. Then Rocky pointed out I had all my gears wrong. After a few minutes of fixing everything, I could not believe how easy it was to go up the incline. Good lord, i've been riding like a dork all this time. It's no wonder i've had cycling troubles. I still can't explain what Rocky did; however, I like to think I have a little better understanding of what to do. If that makes sense. I stress "think."

So we got back to the start with about 5 minutes to spare. The team was already waiting for us. After switching back to running gear, Rocky led the stretch. After I explained the course, the team was off and running. I stuck with Olivia and Candace and by mile 1, I could feel my stomach growling. I was starving after my bike ride. I only brought 2 GUs and planned on using it every 45 minutes. Olivia suggested I take my GU at mile 1 and at mile 6. I followed her advice and it definitely paid off. The run going out was great. I stuck with the two girls until Candace turned around at the 3.5 mile marker and until Olivia turned around at mile 4. I continued to mile 5.

After the turnaround, I could feel the warm sun hiding behind the clouds. My liquids were running out. I was definitely dehydrated because my mouth felt dry and my water was almost down to nothing around mile 7. Fortunately I bumped into Portia on her bike at mile 7.5 and she re-fueled me some H2O. I then ran back with a participant who was having knee trouble. We ran/walked the last 2 miles. My finish time for the entire 10 miles was 1:53:54. I'm in disbelief because I had so many walk breaks in between. Perhaps the Galloway method really does work?

All in all, I was very satisfied with the run. It was my first time running 10 miles this year. I'm about 38% where I need to be. Can't wait to finish the other 62%!

On a sad note, Legendary 49er Head Coach, Bill Walsh passed away today at the age of 75 after a long battle with Leukemia, the same that took his son's life at the age of 46.

Mentally and Physically Strong

Tuesday night's buddy run was good. Only 4 participants showed up; however, it was my first time meeting them, so it was good. I ran with the last runner and we finished the lake in 50 minutes. I think she felt more confident after finishing the lake for the first time, so staying out there was well worth it.

Tonight's track workout was super fun. During my time off from running, doubts creep up. I mean i've completed endurance events, but there is always something in the back of the mind that questions whether you can still do it. Tonight's track made me realize I still have it. Nothing crazy, nothing fancy. Coach just had us predict how long it would take us to complete a mile.

We took our watches off and just ran one mile. I typically pace 11:30, so I decided to put down 10:26 because I figured I'd push it a little. Indeed I did push it. I finished in an unbelievable 8:05. I was 2:21 off. I certainly did not know "diddly squat", as the run was called. My best time since I did the mile back in high school.

Coach said this exercise showed how strong we have become physically and more importantly mentally. We proved we are better than what we thought we were. I definitely feel like I have the confidence I once had when training for marathons and i'm ready to tackle this damn thing!

Saturday is gonna be another fun exciting day. Rocky and I are leading the run and i'll get to mark the course again. 10 miles cycling. Let's see if I can still run 10 miles after. Duathalon, part deux!

My 2-day 10-miler!

Saturday morning I headed out to the Coach's run in Lake Chabot. I came in thinking I was going to run 6 miles. I really wanted to run the big hill. My calf was still bothering me so I spoke to Mama Lisa. She thought I probably strained it, so she taped it. I'm pretty sure my calf strain this time (unlike all my other calf problems of the past) was due to me cycling like a fool. Again, I think I was "mashing" and not cycling. As a result, I aggravated my lower calf. I thought about it again and knew the smart thing was to run 4 miles, especially since I was doing 6 miles the next day at Wharf to Wharf. However, I was still looking to do the big hill.

Then Coached described the various run options and unfortunately the big hill was not incorporated in my 4 miler scheme. As a result, I did the other side, which was still a steady incline challenge. I went 2 miles out and was ready to turnaround until Portia noticed one of the walk participants was not looking so good. I stayed with her while Portia went to find a walk coach or mentor. After she was in good hands, I headed back and then I saw one of my mentees sitting and talking to Coach. She bonked out because she broke one of Coach's rules. I run/walked her back. In the end, I completed 4 miles in almost 1 hour (at least that's what the watch told me). The good news was my calf seemed fine.

Woke up 5:00 am Sunday morning, got ready, and picked up my friends Joan and Jamie along the way to Santa Cruz for the Wharf to Wharf race. By the time we got there it was a little past 8:00 am. The race began at 8:30 am and we still needed to be shuttled in. Unfortunately all the parking lots were full, so we had to find street parking. After about 20 minutes we did find a spot. We boarded the shuttle bus at 8:20 am and didn't get off until 8:38 am. By the time we got to the start line, it was empty. Everybody had left already. We ran to the start line and figured we were 11 minutes behind the official start time. As you can imagine, the walkers were pretty much at the back of the pack. It was definitely quite a feat to weave through everyone. I mean the race itself is already a weaving fest with 15,000 participants in a narrow road, but know we had to punch through everyone from the back because we started late.

Just like last year, the race was super hot. I'm guessing 80's with no shade. Joan and Jamie are much faster runners than me, but they stuck by me throughout the race at a consistent 11:15/mile pace. They probably would not have been able to go any faster if they had wanted to do because the race was crammed full of people. We were dodging people left and right throughout the 6 miles. I was surprised I didn't twist an ankle. There were good rolling hills on the course, so I did get some hill workout. The best part of the race is definitely the non-stop entertainment and the community involvement. It still surpasses anything Rock 'n' Roll tries to put out.

One hour seven minutes later, we were done and my calf felt good. So I was able to do 10 miles this weekend, the unconventional way.

Bad Calves

At the start of Tuesday's buddy run, I knew there was something wrong with my calves. They were sore from my "duathalon" on Saturday. I started the run a little sluggish, but I got in a groove and didn't think anymore of the calves. That was until Wednesday. I couldn't figure out why my calves were sore. Tonight's track didn't make matters better. Even during the warm up run, my calves were bothering me. Then came the funky toe hopping exercise for 1/2 mile. My calves were definitely worse off. I still managed to finish the speed/recovery exercise for the 2 miles. I finished in good time too. 19:10. Less than 10 minute miles! Who would of thought? Then came the cool down lap. My calves were beaten up and the soreness was more intense by just walking. It almost felt better to jog. Which I did. When I got home, I iced it. I think I will pop some ibuprofen before I go to bed. I'm pretty nervous because I have a big run on Saturday and on Sunday. I think i'm going to do 6 miles each on both days and take it very easy.

Back at the Lake!

Lake Merritt is a love/hate relationship. I hate how it gave me trouble when I first started running. I love how I overcame it. I hate all the goose poop. I love how the lake has character. You get the picture. It's not perfect, but I have to admit it is a fun loop course. This will be my new Tuesday home as Sarah and I bid farewell to Alameda. I'll miss the cool breeze and beautiful view of SF. However, when you start running out of buddies, you have to move on. And lots of buddies there were at the Lake tonight. Most of them fast too. I think I held up pretty good with them. I finished 32:43 which I think is my second fastest time there. Pretty close to my time when I ran with Rocky during my first season in Nov. 2005.

Tonight's run was pretty hot (71 degrees). Overall I felt good even though I huffed and puffed throughout the entire run. No foot troubles to report. Lots of annoying geese and walkers who don't have trail etiquette. Oh how I love/hate Lake Merritt!

I've been bouncing back and forth this week on how many miles I should run this weekend. I have the Wharf to Wharf this Sunday and although it's only a 6 mile run, I do plan on running Lake Chabot the day before. I can't say no to a hilly course right? If I do 10 miles Saturday, i'm likely toast Sunday. Should I do 6 miles Saturday and then 6 miles Sunday? Do 8 and then 6? That's what i'm leaning towards, but i'm sure it'll continue to change.

Saturday Duathalon

I am severely aching. Combined with Thursday's intense track workout and Saturday's workout, I haven't felt this sore in a very long while. I need to pop some ibuprofen.

I woke up 5:30 am, just so I could prep everything needed for my bike ride and run. I arrived at the Berkeley Marina around 6:45 am. I rode along the course and marked it with chalk and flour. The only other time I marked a course was a short little run in Danville which was basically straight.

This time I didn't get done until 7:55 am. A lot more twists and turns with a twice as long course. Granted some of the other old arrows were still on the ground, however, times does add up when you stop the bike, pull over and remark the chalk. In addition, I had to stop and confirm what I was doing was right. A little bit of second guessing. Also, I am one of the world's slowest bike rider so it was no surprise I got back at 7:55 am, which was 5 minutes shy of the run start time.

I was pretty exhausted from the bike ride back. The plan was still to run 8 miles, but that was still up to debate. I had a wait and see attitude. I started out the run with Karen K. We went the first 3 miles together. I felt great so I decided to keep going. I went up the hill at Golden Gate fields with Olivia and made it to the 4 mile marker. So I ended up doing the 8 with a total run time of 1:34:01.

So I covered 8 miles biking and 8 miles running that morning. Even better news, no one got lost. The only bummer was Mrs. Reyes getting injured. Hope you bounce back soon!

GO BRENDA!

More circuit drills tonight! Because San Leandro's track has no hills, Coach treated us to a much more intense round of circuit drills. Here's the recap:

1/4 mile warm up
stretches
1/2 mile run
30 squats
15 crunches
15 push ups
30 squats
1/2 mile run
20 supermans
15 push ups
15 one-legged squats
1/4 mile warm up
stretches
1/2 mile run
30 squats
15 crunches
15 push ups
30 squats
1/2 mile run
20 supermans
15 push ups
15 one-legged squats
1/2 mile run

I wanted to poop out the final 1/2 mile run, but I was able to finish it with the help of Brenda. I swear I was just in a zone and I just pictured her right in front of me with her pink Nike shox running shoes and I just sprinted the last 1/4 mile. Similar to one of our sprint runs we both did at the Concord track last year. As I turned the corner, I did hear one of the participants go "wow" as I passed by. I guess I was possessed. I finished in 36:44. No record, but it felt great to run with Brenda again.

This Saturday, I think i'm leading the run with Lindsay and Matt for the Mentor led run in Berkeley. After all I did choose the course. The reason I say "think" is because according to the e-mail sent to the team today, it's just Lindsay and Matt. I swear I'm beginning to feel like the character "Milton" from Office Space.

It's bad enough my name and e-mail address was not even on the team packet given at kick-off. It's funny because there was actually a space for a name and contact, but it was left blank. Do I even exist? Perhaps I did something to piss someone off? Sorry, just letting out some steam. I'll suck it up and move on.

So, I will have the honored duty to mark the course on my bike. Hopefully I don't screw this up.

All-Star Tuesday

All-star game Tuesday and I was out at the buddy run. Just Sarah and I standing in the wind as 6:30 pm rolled around. I turned around and saw AT&T park all lit up and the giant goodyear blimp hovering over the ballpark. 6:31 pm and one of our participants walked up from the trail and she threw her arms up in the air as if she was done. She was done. She just completed a 50 minute walk because she was rehabbing from her aggravation. Just like the past 3 weeks, nobody else showed up. I had grubbed on a powerbar an hour before and I had to burn it off. No way was that powerbar going to be my dinner. Since no else was going to run, I decided to sprint my ass off for one mile out and one mile back. I finished in 19:40, huffing and puffing all the way through. I still managed to get home to watch the last 3 innings of the all-star game.

Running Hurts!

I often regret taking that break from the team. Minus my very first season, training was easy. I never had to ice after any runs. Yesterday morning I headed out to Pt. Isabel in Richmond for a 7:30 am mentor-led run. It was 55 degrees, overcast, windy, and slightly drizzly. Track workout on Thursday caught up to me as I felt more sore Saturday than Friday. Only 12 of us showed up to the run and many were going 4 to 6 miles. I decided to go 6 miles. I felt great the first 2 miles and then my feet began to feel uncomfortable. I typically tape my feet for runs more than 6 miles, but I decided to do it for this run. I later realized, I taped it too tight and was probably cutting off the blood circulation to my feet. I'm pretty sure my feet expanded and the tape suffocated it causing this unusual discomfort. I stuck it out on the run, taking it very easy. However, it did feel great to run 6 miles again. I now i've done plenty of 6-milers, but it almost felt like it was the first one again. Like it was a big accomplishment. Go figure. Anyways, i'm extremely sore right now. My back from those supermans, my quads from who knows what, and my butt from all those squats. What a great reminder that i'm not in shape.

Miles: 6
Time: 1:07:08
Pace: 11:11

Circuit Drills Kicked My Butt!

I seem to say that every season. Perhaps I should do more and then I wouldn't complain as much. Let's see what we did:

1/4 mile warm up run
stretches
1/4 mile run
25 squats
15 sit-ups
15 push-ups
25 squats
1/4 mile run
15 supermans
15 push-ups
15 one-legged squat
15 one-legged squat
1/4 mile run
25 squats
15 sit-ups
15 push-ups
25 squats
1/4 mile run
15 supermans
15 push-ups
15 one-legged squat
15 one-legged squat
1/4 mile run

Total time was 22:23.

I wasn't sore this morning, but at this moment, i'm feeling it. Tomorrow i'll be shooting for 6 miles at Pt. Isabel.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDA!
MISS YOU DEARLY.

Dry Air! Gotta Love It!

Back in the bay, gotta love the dry air! Headed out to the buddy run in Alameda. It was probably 70 degrees, but as always, a light breeze. Only one participant showed up and we decided to head out the opposite direction of what we normally take. I ended up going a little over 30 minutes and at the pace we were going, i'm thinking we we probably just shy of 2.5 miles. All in all, it went great and there's nothing like running at home. Let's see if I continue saying that when its suppose to hit near 100s on Thursday. *gulp*

I Hate Humidity

I'm proud to announce I was able to squeeze one run in Maui. I woke up Wednesday morning at 4:45 am, did my normal prep work and decided to run on Front Street in Lahaina where I was staying. I finally got out the door around 5:30 am and while the sun was just rising, it was probably around low 70s. My goal was to run at least a total of 40 minutes. The first thing I noticed was that it was still kind of humid. I don't think there was anyway in getting around it. I headed out to Front Street, which was empty like a ghost town. If you are unfamiliar with Front Street, during the day it's probably the busiest street on the west side of Maui. Lots of shops and restaurants that border the shoreline. You'll be lucky if you get to walk on the narrow sidewalk. I definitely did not find any good trails, so I decided to run here since there was a sidewalk. I headed out north where the commercial district ended and it began residential. I ran for about 13 minutes up to where the Aloha Mixed Plate restaurant was located before I turned around. While it was not sunny, I was definitely sweating like a pig. My water bottle was already running low on water, so I turned around and headed back to the hotel. I ran for a total of 26 minutes. Not quite what I wanted to do, but at least I attempted to tackle the humidity. So according the Maui course, I did run a portion of the marathon. I don't think i'll ever run (outside) in Hawaii again. I don't know how my teammates have been able to run races in Hawaii. They are definitely amazing.