Portland Marathon Training – Week 16

Portland Training:  Week in Review:

• Sunday – The Giant Race Half – 13:1 Miles
• Monday – Bikram Yoga – 90 minutes
• Tuesday – Track Workout – 7.5 miles
  • 3 mile warm-up
  • 400m @ 5k Pace, 200m recovery, 600m @5k, 400m recovery -x4 = 4 miles
  • 0.5 mile cooldown
• Wednesday – 45 minute spin class and weight workout
• Thursday – 5 mile run
• Friday – OFF
• Saturday 20 Miles

Total Miles – 45.5 Miles

45 miles – wow!  That is one of the highest mileage weeks I have run in a long time.  It was mostly due to the fact that I raced on Sunday so I did my long run Sunday instead of Saturday last week.  I was worried how my track workout would go on Tuesday after racing Sunday but I actually felt super strong.  We even ran our last 600m interval faster than the previous 3!  Spin on Wednesday morning was a bit rough to get going.  I didn’t have much recovery time between track and spinning (as in only 11 hours) so my legs were tired for the first 10 minutes.  Once I was warmed up though, I felt good and got a nice workout in.  I took my run on Thursday morning easy in prep for my 20 miler on Saturday am.

My long run on Saturday actually got off to an interesting start.  I was supposed to run at 6:30 with the early group to get 6 miles in before the 7:45 scheduled long run.  I actually had planned on arriving at 6am to get 2-3 in before the long run.  I had plans to camp for the night about an hour north of SF on Saturday and I was anxious to get up there.  I figured the earlier I could run, the sooner I would make it up to meet my friends.  My friends had gone up on Friday night but I had to stay back and get my run in Saturday am.  My plan to run early and get to camping earlier failed.  I accidentally set my “weekday” alarm and my alarm never went off on Saturday morning.  I woke up at 6:20 in a complete panic.  I actually was out of my house in 15 minutes (thank goodness I had everything ready to go the night before) and made it to the run for 7am.  I was able to get 4.5 miles in before the big run started so I was only about 1.5 miles behind the rest of the gang.

Hog Island Oysters!

The first part of the run went well.  I had a strong first 8 miles and started to feel a bit tired at 10.  I knew that wasn’t good with another 10 ahead of me.  I kept pushing though and did okay through mile 15.  After that I was really getting tired.  I was actually only scheduled to run 16 this week but my family will be in town next weekend and I didn’t want to have to run 20 miles while they were here so I swapped the weeks.  I knew why I was only supposed to run 16, once I hit 16 I was ready to be done!  Our big group had broken off so it was just me and another guy so we were on our own.  He was awesome and helped me get to 20, he took it easy with me and kept chatting.  (He was only doing 16 so he was in much better shape than me)  Long story, I finished.  It HURT when I stopped running and walked to my car.  I did a bunch of stretching but was actually really hurting on my drive home.  I managed to find time to take an ice back, hydrate, eat and take some Aleve and by the time I was out the door for camping I felt much better.  I forgot how much those 20 mile runs take out of you and certainly can hurt.  I have 3 more to go, I am just hoping that this will all pay off in Portland!

I spent the rest of the weekend camping in Olema which is up near Point Reyes.  It was really fun!  It basically was a relaxing weekend with no plans and outside of the city.  My friends and I went up to Hog Island and got 2 dozen oysters.  I’m not a big oyster person but decided to give them another go seeing as they couldn’t get any fresher!  We had a bunch raw and cooked some as well.  I actually really enjoyed the raw ones!  They were salty which tasted so delicious after running 20 miles.  We also had cheese and crackers and made burgers for dinner.  Of course we complimented all that with some adult beverages!  It was a very nice and relaxing evening sitting around a camp fire.

Our Campsite!

Today we hung out in the sun at the campground until about 2pm.  Living in SF in the summer can really get to you.  We have no summer.  It’s cold and foggy every day so spending time in 70+ degrees in the sun was a real treat!  It was a great weekend!

The Giant Race – Half Marathon

Last Sunday I ran the The Giant Race Half Marathon.  This is the second year I have run the Giant Race in SF.  Last year I ran the race because it sounded fun to finish a race at AT&T park.  Being from Boston I’m not a huge Giants Fan but I do love AT&T park and have gone to quite a few games since moving here two years ago. This year I decided to run again because the course is flat, easy and pretty and the race was for the most part, well-organized.

At the race last year I set my new Half Marathon PR for 2012.  I ran a 1:49:14.  I had been trying really hard to break the 1:50 barrier and I finally did!  It was really fun but I definitely really struggled at the end to keep my pace and set that PR.  As I approached the race this year I did not want to try to set another PR.  I’m in the height of marathon training for Portland right now and really had not had a good week of runs.  I ran 18 miles the weekend before and it took me a lot longer to recover from that then I expected.  My legs felt like lead all week!  I decided to treat this run for what it was, a training run until the gun went off…

The race started at 7am this year.  I think it was much earlier than last year because it felt really early!  I parked and headed over to meet people from my running club around 6:40am.  I never ended up finding them because I tried to find a bathroom to use before the race but the lines were ridiculous.  I ended up in my corral just before the start with a running club friend that I had found.  We were towards the front of the race and shortly after 7am we were off.

Mile 1 was as usual, dodgey.  I spent most of the mile trying to get in front of the slower runners but was still just planning on an 8:45ish pace to keep it more like a training run.  My Garmin was messed up the first mile, maybe because of the all the other runners?  It was telling me I was running a 6:16 pace at one point.  Haha, I don’t think I could run that fast if I tried.  It then hit Mile 1 about 2 tenths before the Mile Marker so I reset the lap when I hit the marker to get a more accurate read on my pace.  I ran about an 8:20 first mile, FAST.

I kept going and trying not to look at my pace, I was trying to run where I felt comfortable.  I had a great day because “comfortable” at Mile 2 was an 8:07 then an 8:18.  I was shocked, I just kept telling myself to keep it up as long as I could.  I kept thinking I’d crash on the second half.  I hit Mile 6,7, and 8 and still felt good!  At Mile 9 we hit a hill that I run pretty consistently, sometimes it’s really hard, and sometimes it’s easy.  Well it felt easy that day and I managed to keep an 8:19 pace for that mile and PASS the 1:50 pace group that had started before me!  I was right behind a friend from running club but I didn’t want to use up energy trying to catch up to her so I just stayed right behind her the last 4 miles.  I couldn’t believe when I hit Mile 11 in 8:06 and Mile 12 in 8:03!  I knew at that point I was well on my way to a PR so I stuck with it and ran an 8:09 last mile and crossed the finish line at 1:48:16!  I PR’d but just shy I was 1 minute!  I was thrilled.  I was even more excited that while I felt like I had pushed really hard, I felt strong at the finish.  I usually go out to fast and end up really slow the last few miles, not this race, I pushed hard and strong and never missed a beat!

I found my friend Susan at the finish line, she had run a 1:48 as well and it was her best Half time over 6 years!  She was also really excited.  The race finishes in AT&T park in the outfield.  We got our medals, water and snacks and walked up around Home plate while waiting for some of our friends.  We found a few more friends, took pictures, stretched and headed out for a celebration lunch at one of the Road Runners apartments!

Members of SFRRC at the Finish!

The Giant Race Finish Line

The medal is awesome, it looks like the World Series Ring!  It’s definitely one of my favorites, if only it was had a “B” and Blue/Red ribbon! 😉

The Giant Race Half Marathon Medal – 2013

My only complaint about the race was that Packet Pick-up was awful. I  waited over a half hour in line to get my bib.  It was a bit ridiculous.  Aside from that I love the Giant Race and will be back again next year!

Ridiculous Packet Pick-up Line. At least it’s a pretty view!

Family vacation to ring in 2012!

So this post is a few weeks late…but Happy 2012 everyone!

I spent a wonderful week in NH/Boston visiting friends and family.  I headed down to Florida with my parents, sister, cousin and Aunt & Uncle for a week of fun in Florida.

Here is a quick recap of how I spent New Year’s Eve and the week after…

Happy 21st Birthday to my little sister - she's finally legal! (She was born on New Year's Day!)

My Uncle's 90 degree heated pool - Heaven

Beach time on New Years Day!

Fort Lauderdale beach on my run Monday morning

After a few days in Fort Lauderdale/Miami staying at my Uncle’s beautiful house we headed down to Key West for 3 days.

Lunch at Island Grill - Mile 85 Marker

My Aunt made a dangerous pull-off on Route 1 so we could get a picture in front of the “Marathon” sign in Key West.  (An area of Islands is called Marathon)

My cousin Heather, me and my Dad in front of the "Marathon" sign

Beautiful Key West

Me and my little sis

Last run before the Marathon with my Dad - I stopped for a picture at Mile Marker "0" on Route 1. (Ignore my beautiful hair and put together look at 7am)

Last Breakfast in Key West (Yes, it was cold - typical family vacation for us) L-R Sister, Mom, Uncle Sonny, Aunt Marie

Heather and I of course had “Bloody Gooses” because this restaurant had one of the best Bloody Mary’s I have ever had.

After 3 days in Key West it was off to Fort Lauderdale for one last night with Uncle Dan and then Orlando the next morning.

Disney World Marathon Recap next…

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas!  Mine was great, busy but great!  I spent lots of time with family and friends and now I’m off to Boston for 2 days to spend more time with friends!

Snickers aka "pup" in her new Christmas Collar from Laura Bass Cote!

I flew home from San Francisco bright and early on Thursday morning and arrived in Boston at 2:30pm.  My sister picked me up in Boston and brought a surprise, my little pup, Snickers.  (She’s not actually a pup – she’s 11 years old but we call her “pup”)  That kicked off a weekend of family and eating.  Friday night we went for Mexican as a family.  This is a newer family tradition but it’s fun.  Saturday my Dad and I went to spin at 8:30am at his gym and I did a total of 1 hour 45 min on the bike.  I have issues again with my feet so I skipped the 12 mile run and substituted spinning instead.  It was a good workout and felt good to burn a lot of calories before all the Christmas eating.   We met my mom and sister for Breakfast after!

My new running Garmin and Yoga Matt strap

Christmas Eve we go to church at 4pm and then head to my Grandparents house for our Christmas with my Dad’s side.  We had a great evening with lots of gifts and good conversation.  Of course we had a delicious dinner as well.  My grandparents gave me a Running Garmin for Christmas!  I’m so excited, I’ve been running long distance for well over 2 years now and have never had one.  I have been using MapMyRun on my phone which works pretty good but it will be nice not have to bring my phone out on my runs now!  The Garmin also has a heart rate monitor which I have already used in two spin classes – I love having that as well!

I finished out Christmas Eve at my best friend Laura’s family Christmas Eve party.  It was great seeing her and her family before she heads off to Europe where her and her husband will be working for the next two years!

Sunday morning we celebrated Christmas with my immediate family.  I got some new running clothes including a pair of Lululemon pants!  (My first pair)  I’m excited to give them a try.  I also got an adorable 26.2 ornament from parents!  It’s a tradition to collect ornaments in our family for significant events or places we visit. It’s always fun to put up my tree and relive my vacations and some of my great accomplishments.  Can’t wait to hang this one up!  We spent the afternoon at my mom’s family’s Christmas.  It was another great and fun Christmas!

26.2 Runner Girl Ornament

The rest of the week I’ll be visiting friends in Boston and some more family before we head down to Sunny warm Florida for the Walt Disney World Marathon!  Can’t wait!

Hope everyone had a great Holiday!

My tree in SF!

Saturday Spin

So I spent 2 hours on the bike yesterday simulating a 12-13 mile run.  It wasn’t very fun.  I like spinning but 2 hours straight is a lot.  I got to the gym at 8:45 and headed for the spin room.  I was about to get in about 40 minutes of spinning on my own before class started at 9:30.  My plan was to spin before class, take class and then finish up on my own.  I pretty much kept it simple before and after just riding a stead pace and working endurance.  Class was tough after 40 minutes on the bike, lot of sprints, hill climbs and even worse, hill climbs with sprints.  After class I was already pretty tired but I still had 45 minutes to go.  I managed to pull through it and finished strong at 1 hour 57 minutes.  (I had to catch the bus home) Overall a good workout, but I struggled through it.  I was glad to have that done.

After a quick shower and lunch I was off to visit some friends in the burbs.  I met Samuel Bartlet who was born on 1/29/11.  I didn’t take any pictures of him while I was there but I stole one from my friend Lyndsey’s facebook page.  He is adorable!  He slept in my arms for an hour.  So cute.  I really enjoyed visiting with Lyndsey and Sam and they’ll be there cheering me on April 18th!

My friend Jules from my Wilde Agency days lived about 10 minutes down the road from Lyndsey so I headed over to meet her son Danny.  He’s almost 1 and I hadn’t met him yet.  He’s so adorable.  Big chubby cheeks and  a great little personality.  It was great seeing Jules and finally meeting Danny.

I headed to my friend Kelly’s house after that.  I figured why not make the rounds while I was out that way?  Kelly’s mom had made a delicious turkey dinner for the fam so I enjoyed some leftovers.  Her butternut squash is to die for.  After a glass or two of wine I decided to just stay out in Medway.  The prospect of driving home and looking for parking in snow infested Southie just didn’t sound appealing.  I had a wonderful time with the Dubrawski family playing games and chatting.

Overall it was a wonderful Saturday.  I love getting up and having a good workout before enjoying the rest of the day with friends and family.