That time I got us lost

Last week’s training was AMAZING. It was absolutely spot-on, and then some. On top of nailing each workout, I was able to get THREE of my workouts done outside. Booom!

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4.01 miles on Betty (my treadmill, for those of you that are new here)
Wednesday: 6.2 mile walk along Alki
Thursday: 3 mile PTP (Pond Track Party)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 11 mile long run with Erin around Lake Union
Sunday: Rest

Total Mileage (including walking): 24.21

On Saturday, I had 11 miles on tap. Erin and I planned to run 6 together and I would get the other 5 in prior to meeting up with her.

I was running a little late, so I was only able to get about 2.5 in before meeting up with Erin. I figured I could finish up the couple extra miles after I met up with her.

We decided to run Lake Union, which is basically a 10k loop for anyone that isn’t navigationally deficient. Let me preface this by saying that I have only ran Lake Union ONE other time and that was during a race. You don’t have to think about where you are going during races; you just follow the heard!

We started out chugging along and chatting up a storm. We hit our first hill leading up to the Freemont Bridge and were SO excited to see the bridge was up. Oh DARN. We were FORCED to take a break after running up a hill.

[Squinty eyes compliments of the rare orb in the sky that non Seattlites refer to as the sun. ]

After the bridge went back down, we were able to run across and keep chugging along. We were chatting up a storm and catching some gorgeous views. Before long, we made it to Gas Works Park. Of course, that meant we had to stop for a photo op.

Ugh. That’s hideous.

I knew that the turn to the bridge back to Lake Union Park wasn’t too far away, but I didn’t know exactly where it was. Next thing I knew, we were seeing flags for the University. Uhhhhhh…. Whoops! For those also not familiar with that area, it ended up being about a half mile or more detour. Finally, after asking for directions (because we are awesome like that) we found our way to the bridge we needed to cross.

At that point, we were home free… Until I got the brilliant idea to go down this HUGE ass hill so we could run along the water. That was awesome until we reached A DEAD END. Ya, that really happened. The only way to get where we needed to go was to turn around and go UP that huge ass hill we climbed down. All that to be able to run by the water. Stupid water. At least Erin was a good sport about it. We were both cracking up as we were climbing up the hill.

We made it back to Lake Union park without any other catastrophes. I ended up causing Erin to go well over a mile further than she was planning. Luckily for me, that meant I only had to run one more mile on my own! It was alllll part of my master plan… Muwahahahaha

We went to Cactus after and got the most bomb diggity breakfast.

Fruit bowl, yogurt, and granola. I ate every bite.

11 miles in the books!

Only one more long run and then it’s TAPER TIMEEE!

Have I mentioned how horribly ugly my city is?

Have you ever gotten lost on a run?

Rock n Roll San Diego Training: Week 5

How the heck have I already completed 5 weeks of training?!

Last week was a crazy week. Like many of you, I seemed to move on auto pilot. I was glued to the news at home and at work. It was a good thing I work in news and part of my job is to watch it. My coworkers and I would pause and watch every breaking news event that happened. Unfortunately, it seemed to happen way too often. It was one thing after another. It was absolutely unrelenting. At least, it ended on a good note. Thanks to the amazing men and women in uniform in Boston, we all could sleep a little easier Friday night.

The events in Boston motivated me so much last week. I wanted desperately to run for all of those who can’t anymore.

Monday, I got 3.11 miles in. It was an emotional run. I came home from work early and just wanted to do two things: hug my husband and run. I did just that.

Tuesday, I wore a race shirt to work. Runners unite.

Wednesday, I ran 4.09 miles in honor of Boston. So many people around the US were running 4.09 miles in remembrance of the explosions happening 4 hours and 9 minutes into the marathon. It wasn’t much but I felt like I needed to do something to honor the victims, no matter how inadequate my gesture was.

Last night, I had 8-9 miles on tap. I decided to just take this run easy. I have been doing a lot of speedwork in order to get ready for the West Seattle 5k (my PR race), so I was due for some easy miles. My run was going GREAT. I finished the first 10k in 1 hour 12 min. Absolutely the pace I was going for with an 11:37 average. Besides my stomach cramping up a bit, I was feeling strong and decided to push it a bit more my last few miles. I was going to stop at 8 miles, but I was feeling so strong that I kept going. I finished 9 miles in 1 hour 42 min 53 seconds. It was an 11:26 average. That’s what we call negative splits babayyyyy!!

Total mileage for week 5 training: 16.2 miles.

My training plan called for 16 miles. Nailed it!

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Looking to dedicate some miles to Boston?
Fellow blogger Pavement Runner has come up with a way for all of us runners around the world to come together in honor of this tragic event. He is calling it Boston Strong. Cities ALL over the WORLD are planning short group runs to happen tonight. We are talking from San Diego to Paris, people. Ahh it gives me chills. Check out this link to find where a run is happening in your city! http://pavementrunner.com/boston-strong-city/

Unfortunately, I get off work too late these days and won’t be able to make it to #BostonStrongSEA in Green Lake, but I will get a run in for the nationwide event.

Will you be running Boston Strong in your city?

TTT

1. I ran 5.25 miles tonight in 1 hour. I have to say… I felt good. I didn’t try to push my pace. I just kept it slow and steady. It paid off because it was my best run in a while.

I didn’t mention it on here, but I got sick after my race Sunday. I was down and out Sunday and Monday. I had zero appetite and got tired really easily. I thought I was gonna roll over and die after just bringing laundry upstairs. It was not fun. Finally on Tuesday I was able to eat something substantial. I ran 2 slow “comeback” miles on Wednesday just to test my body out. Today, I officially feel 100%. Woooo! Just in time. 10 days baby!

2. My boss’s boss’s boss (did you get that) sent our team a GIANT edible arrangements bouquet as a thank you for a huge project we just released. Edible arrangements are officially my new favorite thing.

It was so delicious! She also sent us a bunch of chocolate covered strawberries (these strawberries were on steroids) and chocolate covered apple balls. The apple balls were out of control. I am no longer going to send flowers to people. Instead I will be sending apple balls.

3. I forgot to mention a couple weeks ago that I got my hurr did. I went to a different salon than normal because I was tired of spending $200+ with less than stellar results. This girl told me about a salon in Kirkland called Haute Philosophy.

O
M
G

I’m in love.

No, I wasn’t driving. I was just trying not to look like that idiot who takes pictures of herself in a parking lot.

Immediately when you walk into the salon, they offer you drinks and snacks… But not just any drinks and snacks. They have Italian sodas, lattes, mochas, and freshly made Otis Spunkmeyer cookies!

Holy yum. It is safe to say that I have finally found my salon. They are super reasonably priced too! That’s just icing on the cake. If you are in the Seattle-ish area and in need of an awesome salon, seriously check them out! First time customers get a free cut with color treatment!!

RnR San Diego Training: Week 8 & 9

I’m a bit behind on my weekly training recaps, so I decided to combine weeks 8 & 9 into one post. So far, my training is by far the most consistent that I have ever had. Let’s hope that translates well on race day. 🙂

Week 8:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 5x800s for a total of 4.6 miles
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 2.5 mile easy run (shins bothered me a little bit, so I took it easy on them)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10.03 mile long run along Alki with bloggy friends
Sunday: Rest

Total of 17.13 miles. Not too shabby at all.

Week 9:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Rest (personal things made me change my schedule)
Wednesday: Ran 8x400s for total of 3.13 miles; Biked 6 miles in 26:07
Thursday: rest
Friday: Ran 4.02 miles. 4th mile ran in 9:37 (I was feeling inspired thanks to Paula)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Walked in the SUN with hubs
Monday: 11.01 mile long run

Total of 18.16 miles ran for week 9. I had some stuff come up on Tuesday that caused me to completely shift my whole schedule around. It ended up working out well, but I had to do my long run after work on Monday. While 11 miles after work doesn’t sound like the most appealing thing in the world, it ended up being pretty decent.

I took several short breaks during my 11 mile long run because I was in the middle of cooking dinner. Also, at mile 7, I started getting pretty nauseous. I reflected on what I ate through the day and I realized that I did not consume nearly enough calories to sustain me through a long run. I ate dinner and was able to finish up the last 4 miles nice and strong after I got some food in my belly. It just goes to show how important it is to fuel your body right.

I have one more long run to complete this weekend. After I get my 12 miler in, the taper starts. I can’t believe I am 17 days away from running my 4th half mary. This training cycle has absolutely FLOWN by. Last year, I did a 10 week long training cycle. By the end of week 10, I had only ran 103.18 miles. This year, at the end of week 9, I have 124.54 miles under my belt. Yes, I’d say this has been some of my best training yet! Things have come up here and there, but I have tried my best to get my miles in.

 

How do you handle shifting your schedule around when other priorities in life come up?

 

RnR San Diego Training: Week 7

I just want to start by saying YOU GUYS FREAKING ROCK!!! More on that later….

 

For the most part, last week was absolutely STELLAR when it comes to my training. That is, until my long run flops that you can read about here. This is how it went down:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Ran 4 miles (3×1 mile repeats, finished up til I hit 4 miles even) in 41:29 (10:22 pace), Biked 1 cool down mile
Wednesday: Biked 14.6 miles in 1 hour
Thursday: Ran 3.07 miles in 34:51 (11:21 pace)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 3 miles in 35:11 (LR flop #1 – 11:44 pace)
Sunday: 5 miles in 59:36 (LR flop #2 – 11:55 pace)

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Total Mileage for week 7: 15 miles Ran and 15.6 miles biked

You can even tell in the pacing that my body was just not cooperating with me this weekend…

Thanks so much for all of our kind words on my last post. You guys are giving me the confidence that I CAN do this even if I have had a few bonked long runs. My training plan calls for 6 miles on Thursday and 10 this weekend, so I think I am just going to stick to my plan and not stress so much. The more I stress about it, the more pressure it puts on me, and the bigger chance there is of my stomach not cooperating. I need to remember that if I have to adjust my goals, it is NOT the end of the world. I just need to go out there and have fun. Plus, I will be running half of my LR with people this week which automatically makes it 49835793845 times more awesome.

OH and this week also calls for some Yasso 800s! I have never done them before, so I am kind of REALLY excited about it. That will be on Tuesday.

In totally unrelated news, my lulu top came in the mail!!!! I am SO glad I ordered the size I did. I ALMOST ordered an 8 because that was a Medium, but I ended up ordering a 6. ANY bigger and it would have been too big. VICTORYYYYYYY!

Johnny Drama, anyone?

So, all in all, not a bad week. I am SO looking forward to long run redemption on Saturday, though!

RnR SD Training: Week 6

Tonights workout:
Ran 4 miles ( including 3×1 mile repeats that were all in the 9’s pace!)
Biked 1 mile in 4:58 – nice and easy cool down from my run

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Another week is down in my half marathon training. Last week was less than stellar but I am already redeeming myself this week. There is no more time to waste with the race around the corner! Here’s how my training went down last week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4 miles including 3×1 mile repeats
Wednesday: Ab work for cross training
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 6.11 mile long run

What’s with all those rest days, you might ask? Last week was an insane week at work that left me with a massive tension headache for several days straight. When I get tension headaches, Advil does NOT help. I even had to work from home on Friday because it was so bad. Ick.

Anyways, it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL in Seattle this weekend. 70s and sunny skies. GORG!!

[Hubs and I at the space needle 50th anniversary!]

I decided to start my long run as late as possible on Sunday, because that would be when it is the hottest out. No, I am not a masochist. I just wanted to get the conditions to closely resemble RnR San Diego. Last year it was HOT at mile 8. Spectators were even handing out ice! So, I felt like I needed a hot long run.

One thing is for sure, I have officially acclimated to Seattle temps!

It was 73 degrees out and holy hell that was the hardest run ever. I was dyingggg and I was going SO slowww! I purposefully ran hills, which didn’t make it any easier. I got 6.11 miles down and called it quits. Brutal.

Anyways, another week down! Almost there!!

RnR SD training: Week 5

This past week was a great training week. I posted some solid numbers. This is how it went down.

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4 miles of hills (10:54 pace)
Wednesday: Ab workout
Thursday: 3 mile easy run (10:58 pace)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: pulled weeds = arm & leg workout
Sunday: 8 mile long run (11:26 pace)

You guys should be proud of me. I did BOTH of my weekday runs right after work! I was completely done with my workout by 7pm both days. It’s crazy how much you can get done when you aren’t waiting for your food to settle so you can work out. It was rad! Since hubs hasn’t worked out with me in a long time, I decided that I’m going to workout earlier now. Ahhh I am so excited.

I put off doing my long run as long as possible this past weekend. I spent the weekend cleaning with hubs so I was TIRED. Finally, at 9 pm on Sunday, I decided to git-R-dun. I almost stopped at mile 6 because I was just ready to be done but I told myself to go just one more mile. Then I hit 7 and decided I was too close to 8 to stop. In the end, I got 8 miles done in a pretty dang good time for me.

This week is going to jump up in mileage big time, so even though it is Marathon Monday and I really want to run, I’m using this rest day wisely.

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This weekend was SO much fun! We decided to celebrate the fact that my husband is AWESOME with good food all weekend.

Saturday, we made the most delicious steaks with mashed potatoes, salad and WINE.

Holy YUM! Then Sunday we had Carne asada tacos.

You can take the girl outta SoCal but you can’t take SoCal outta the girl.

Then we decided to be über classy and finish Sunday up with indoor s’mores.

It was fan-freaking-tastic. It’s a good thing I didn’t stop at 6 miles so that I could burn off more of the food I ate!

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend. Now, is it Friday yet?!

RnR San Diego Trainning Week 1

Sorry for the lack of posts last week. I just wasn’t really feelin it. I blame it on the time change. I felt SO sluggish ALL week and could not for the life of me get to bed before 1 am. On a positive note, my training was SPOT ON last week.

Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: 3 miles of Fartleks in 32:48 (10:56 pace)
Wednesday: My first spin class ever with Rebecca
Thursday: 3 miles easy in 34:08 (11:23 pace)
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 6 miles in 1:05:52 (10:59 pace)
Sunday: 2.67 miles in 30:51 (11:33 pace)

Both Tuesday and Thursday’s runs were dreadful, awful, horrible, no good, very bad runs. I found myself watching the miles slowly tick by the whole dang time. I felt sluggish and kept getting light headed. I had to take way too many walk breaks for a measly 3 miles, but I got it done.

Wednesday, Rebecca invited me to a spin class at her gym in Bellevue. Holy moly, now THAT is a good time.

We totally disrupted the cleaning guy just so we could be camera whores after class.

WHAT A WORKOUT! My legs and tush were on FIRE. I am definitely going to have to incorporate spin into my regular workouts. If only it didn’t completely bruise my lady bits. Yes, I went there. Major ouch. Looks like I will be investing in some padded bike shorts in the future. I just hope it doesn’t feel like I am wearing a diaper.

And just in case you were curious (and I’m sure you were), there are some REALLY awkward pictures on Google if you search for adult diapers.

Did you notice that I ran FOUR days last week? Yes, FOUR! It was rad. I am still on the fence if I am going to keep up with it or go down to 3, but I am still pretty stoked about the first week of training going as planned. Here’s to a successful week 2!

Are you training for anything right now?