Exit trial, Kristen (sniff!) and base training...enter hard running and pain

So trial is over. We joke that January 2013 was just one long day. Or just never really happened... lost in the black hole of nothingness. Another murder victim of trial.

However having the ole bestie with me 24/7 pretty well rocked. K and I spent our last day together getting coffee (naturally):

And checking out the Chelsea Markets where we ate some ridiculously good crepes full of cheese and other delicious morsels.

Its always very important to carb-load. You know, for running and stuff. And you need cheese for all its dairy and calcium for the bones.  Moving on.

Last week was the first week out of base training, and into speed and tempo work for my May 5 marathon.

I realized very quickly how much I miiiiiiissed easy running. Running all my miles at 7:50 was intoxicating. You get a real runners high, but you're never tired/sore like you are with hard training. You don't have those first ginger steps out of bed to go to the loo, or the awkward quad-sore waddle, going down stairs.

During my dreamy easy running days, I ran lots of easy miles in Central Park with some lovely snow scenes:

Now Ive added back in speed and tempo (and aforementioned awkward waddling), those "easy" runs more closely approximate recovery runs and edge towards 8:30 avg pace, to give my legs a break.

The week of 2nd-9th of Feb I took off completely from running. I had a few niggles that just needed a couple of days to heal up, which all that dreamy easy running wasn't quite allowing.

Then 10th-16th Feb, 2013 looked like this:
Sunday: 8 easy
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 12x400 at 6:18 with 400 recoveries on 1.5% incline (treadmill). (8 miles)
Wednesday: 8 miles easy
 Thursday: Off
Friday: 4 easy
Saturday: 2 easy, 5 mile tempo (Splits of 7:30, 7:13, 7:06, 6:50, 6:55, 2 easy (9 miles)

Total: 37 miles

Obviously the first thing that sticks out is my complete inability to figure out where my "tempo" marathon place is. HM pace is easy, as its just below that lactate threshold. Marathon pace needs to be below that, but still a concerted effort. Also made harder because I am up in the air about what my marathon pace should be. I feel like my fitness exceeds my current race times, so they are not a good indication of what I should aim for. But even if they were, its my first marathon. So many unknowns. Such a huge possibility of getting dehydrated, hitting the wall or shitting myself.  Frankly, the latter is my major concern.

So the plan is to just test out paces between 7:15-7:30 in my long tempos (8-10 miles) and see what feels manageable and least likely to make me want to puke. Likely scenario is that I'll have a finish time range that I want to be in; run the first half in accordance with the slower end of the range, see how Im feeling then see if I can run a negative split the second half.

All Easy is All Good

two little runners ~ Kristen 

Ahhh! I have been blissfully running sweet, easy miles. Spending some time in the gym to get leg and core strength back to where it was. And stretching out with daily yoga. 

...om...

Base building has been treating me right! I love running without worrying about pace or distance. I've been heading out the door with just a time frame in mind. 

I'm finding that base building is also a healing time. All those little eeks and creaks from my intense fall half marathon training have cleared up. I haven't worn my compression socks since December! Habitual stiffness and knots in the calves - gone! What tiny strain in the piriformis from speed work on treadmill?

And I'm using this time to focus on some little niggles in my feet that I have been managing for awhile. I occasionally experience a sharp pain in my left foot where my arch meets the ball of my foot. Toward the end of long runs on pavement, it would manifest as feeling like there was a pebble in the arch of my shoe.  And I have some joint stiffness, from an old tennis injury, near my right arch as well. It is clearing up with what I can only describe as "plantar fascia scraping." Other people call it massage. 

The base building will continue for one more week while I am vacationing in Maui!! And then it will be time to pick a race, a pace, and get serious once again!

For now, I'm running to be happy, have fun, and explore new places and routes.

...and take pictures...

In New York:

Obsessed with the Brooklyn Bridge. I ran over it once and
under it as many times as I could!

 In Santa Barbara:

Quick weekend vacation. One of the most beautiful stretches
of California coast.

And at home in San Diego:

A friendly humming bird let me shoot a closeup!

Even through trial, looking over my training log, I was fairly consistent with volume during my 6 week base building period.

Setting aside the two weeks of January. 

A dark period, never to be spoken of again.  

January week 3 – 30 miles

January week 4 – 30 miles

February week 1 – 40 miles

February week 2 – 30 miles

February week 3 – 40 miles

February week 4 – will end up being about 50 miles

Aloha!

two little runners ~ Kristen

Home Sweet Home

two little runners ~ Kristen

I’ve completed the progression from SoCalifornian to New Yorker. I’ve screamed at people on the sidewalk before 8 a.m. I’m not afraid to throw an elbow on the subway. And I ran a 10 miler outside when it was 25 degrees! Just in time to go home. Today is my last day in New York!

Goodbye New York! 

I’ll miss your bagels.

Pumpernickel with tofu veggie cream cheese.
That's my bagel.

I’ll miss your desserts and pastry.

New York cheesecake - the original. 

I’ll miss your macchiato.

Approximately 1/25 of the coffees Penny and I
drank to fuel us through 40 days of trial. 

But most of all, I’ll miss 24/7 with Penny.

And hhheeellllllooo life!

It's San Diego. 70 and gorgeous again!

On the running front, this week I continued to build aerobic base for my forthcoming marathon training. I ran 38 easy miles with some strides, progressions, and fartleks thrown in. I’m feeling more positive about my fitness this week. It’s amazing what a week without a sick day will do for the confidence barometer.

But I still have a lot to work on when I get home. My legs are bound up and tight from sitting in court all day and in front of a computer all night. I did not keep up with my daily yoga practice. I can feel tightness in my hip flexors when I run. I recall the same sensation before I started with yoga, so I anticipate the tightness going away in a few weeks of regular stretching.

I also want to spend some time in the gym building back all around strength, especially leg and core strength. My legs don’t feel as strong when I am running these days, and I feel instability in my core when I am running at fast paces – in strides, fartleks, and towards the end of progressions.

But first, some R&R in Santa Barbara for the weekend! 

two little runners ~ Kristen

Trail and Trial

By Two Little Runners ~ Kristen

I too ventured outdoors this week and did my first (and, so far, only) outdoor run of 2013. With temperatures downright balmy in the 40s, I ran a 10 miler along the Hudson River path over the weekend. 

My hotel is in TriBeCa, so I ran the south part of the path. The Hudson River path runs way up north to upper upper upper west side heights, as Penny calls her neighborhood, and beyond. (Penny and I ran the northern portion of this path when I was last in NYC for work during the fall, so I’ve run almost the entire Hudson River path in two runs!)

I ran from the World Trade Center up to 54th St. and back. The most scenic part of the route was through Chelsea. The path is nicely landscaped and built with tourists in mind - so they can wonder around after checking out Chelsea piers.

The most impressive sites along these parts are architectural. Not pictured is the Statue of Liberty. You can see it from the Canal St. pier, if you squint. 

WTC 1 - AKA Freedom Tower
Built near the site where the Twin Towers once stood, this tower
dominates the skyline of lower Manhattan.

The US Intrepid, now a museum.

The off beat Frank Geary building in Chelsea.

This week, I continued my marathon training with 30 easy, aerobic base-building miles. All easy paces (for all the treadmillers out there, 7.1/8:27) with a sprinkling of strides, fartleks, and short progressions. 

I'm struggling with consistency and volume at the moment. I've been sick almost constantly (along with most of the trial team), and again this week, prompting a renaming of our trial conference room from "The War Room" to "The Infirmary." Three doctor's visits since arriving on 12/27. I never see the doctor three times in a year - let alone in one month!

So in January, I took 12 days completely off of exercise due to illness. While I am doing the best I can to stay fit, I don't know how effective my training has been this month.

My current thinking is that I need to extend my base building period by a few weeks after I get back to San Diego (someday?) to allow time to build on my aerobic base while healthy and when I'm back to regular hours like a normal person. And to give myself time to gain back some strength (because haven't lifted weights since December) before engaging in more intense training. I can't even handle the thought of a tempo run at the moment!

~ Kristen

Fueling for Morning Runs II and Running in the Snow

BREAKING NEWS.  I FINALLY braved the cold and snow. It was 10 degrees the other morning, and when I checked the weather, I thought I had accidentally switched my phone to Celsius mode. Ahhahahaha...no. F-degrees. F for Fahrenheit, F for Fail, F for Effen cold.

Proof, PROOF that there was snow. This was not the snow I ran in. My snow was everywhere and much colder.

I got up, got dressed, and went to go outside to the gym before work, and despite there being snow everywhere, it didnt feel toooo horrifically spirit-crushingly cold. So I decided to run in it. I'd never run actually on snow before, so that was an experience. I learned that if its dry and powdery, its actually got a fair bit of traction. That said, I am a massive klutz, and I didn't want to risk slipping, so I decided to head to the one place in the world - if there was ever one - that would likely have been cleared of snow by 8am in the morning: Central Park. Did a solid 8 miles (big loop + 1 mile to and from) and came home, immensely proud of my new-found bravery.

Total running mileage January 20-26: 38 miles. Mostly easy pace (around 8:00min/miles) with some fartleks and the occasional tempo mile here and there.

In other news, I got a few interesting responses to my questions re Fueling for Morning Runs - specifically hard workouts (I am fine to run on an empty stomach when its easy) - which Im going to copy and paste below:

My childhood friend Racer, said he runs fasted except the occasional long run: 
"[F]or anything under 2 hours I do all my morning runs with no fuel. When I did the handful of 30km+ runs I ate a banana before heading out and made sure there were plenty of drink points along my planned course. I don't know, but I've been told running on empty forces your body to be efficient? As for am sessions, I try to avoid doing speed work less than an hour after waking up. I'm told that when you sleep your core temp drops and it takes an hour or so to warm up in the morning. High intensity work before it warms up is risky. I figure tempo work is OK though - HMRP and slower isn't really high intensity.

As a side-note, when we were in kindergarten, our mothers made me and Racer matching tracksuits. Maybe we should do that again for a race back in Melbs, whaddaya reckon R?

Jake, who is far too great an athlete/runner to not be listened to, also said he runs unfueled:

"I never eat before running in the mornings. I'm usually up and out the door in 15-20 minutes. I find that eating some carbs before bed (ice cream!) is helpful :-)
I've gotten myself very used to running on an empty stomach.
Training "fasted" at times is definitely advantageous in marathon training - as Racer said, your body learns to be efficient and use fat as fuel.
Speed work in the morning can be tough. It helps to go a bit slower on your first couple reps (if doing an interval type workouts) or start the first mile or two (if doing a tempo run) a little slower b/c it does take some time to wake up and warm up."

Roserunner takes in some extra calories before her epic morning long runs before she heads to work [no one messes with this girl's three dinners or mileage plans]:
"I almost only run in the morning, and almost never eat beforehand. I just eat huge dinners. Not so much that I go to bed stuffed, but enough calories to fuel me up to 15 miles in the a.m. Which is to say my dinner+dessert is typically at least 1400-1800 calories."

And of course my co-star and fellow trial minion, Kristen who hates running on an empty stomach... so her approach is to have just a little oatmeal before heading out:
"I hate unfueled runs, even easy ones! Downing a very small amount of oatmeal (less than 1/4 cup) about 20 minutes before I start out makes a huge difference. By the time I am warmed up, I have just enough fuel, but no discomfort in my stomach."

Finally, I found some great advice from the website of the disarmingly honest, humble and all-round awesome US 5000m runner, Lauren Fleshman:

1. Get up 2-3 hours before the run and eat something “real” like a couple eggs and toast, or some oatmeal with some nuts, or 1 cup of good quality yogurt with berries and cereal, or other meal options with some protein and fat. Protein takes time to digest, but if you have the time, eating a breakfast like this leaves you well fueled for a tough morning session or race. I’d keep the total calories under 600.
2. Eat something easy to digest 30-90 minutes before, like a piece of toast with a little butter (or a small amount of peanut butter) and jam. This is my favorite option because I like to sleep in. Calorie estimate is between 150-350 depending on how much time you have.
3. If you are a roll-out-of-bedder, suck down a Powergel or an all natural Liquid Gold 5-15 minutes before you run with a little water. I do this when I have a basic endurance run, but never before a tough workout.

So basically, Im going to sum it up all this fantastic advice in a really generalized and altogether pretty unhelpful way. Everyone is different. I'm pretty sure we all just need to figure out what works for us through trial and error. I'm happy to know that running fasted is not uncommon, and I'll definitely keep doing that while it works. If I have a particularly epic tempo or key interval workout planned, I might keep it for the evening so I have something in the system.
 

Fueling for Morning Runs

Leading up to Vegas, I began doing most of my runs in the evening, for two reasons. First, the race was in the evening, so I was trying to prep my body to know when it was time to run. Second, I just couldn't complete any kind of hard workouts in the morning on an empty stomach, and I could never seem to get up early enough to eat such that I would feel "fueled" on the run.  And I noticed a big difference in the energy I had for evening runs. I would have had at least a half day of eating (800 calories ish) and then would time a carb-y snack about 2 hours before the workout (a single banana or 3 shot blocks - around 100 calories of pure carbs - was the best).

Yesterday I did an easy 9 miles in the morning with some fartleks thrown in, having only drunk a coffee beforehand. This is pretty typical for my easy runs, and I don't mind feeling a little sluggish for them. But this time my legs felt very heavy. I posted the below comment on my fast running blog:

Legs felt heavy and my easy pace felt a bit harder today (outside of the fartleks, avg pace would have been around 8:15). I only ate a salad and a dish of scallops last night; virtually no carbs. Hadnt really thought about it before, but every time I have Mexican, and chow down on a bunch of fried delicious tortilla chips, I have a great run the next day. Must attempt to incorporate more carbs (and more healthy ones) in the evening meals.

So I ask any readers out there:

If you run in the morning, and need to do a hard workout (ie speed or tempo) that requires serious energy, how many hours before you run, do you eat? How much do you eat?  Does anyone know how quickly we digest and absorb carbs so they are actually usable on a run? Is it better to just eat a hefty meal the night before?  Do people just eat to not be uber hungry on the run? 

 On race mornings, I try to eat 2 hours before the race and get in at least a few hundred (300-400) calories of carbs... That seems like a lot for just a training run... but is it?

- Penny

Running lots, working more and turning 30

Well hey there. After Kristen's diligent post - despite our current working conditions (ie, the work doesnt end) - I felt compelled to update the etherwebs about my last month or so. 

The last month running wise has been about slowly building my mileage back up with easy miles plus a few fast single miles and progression runs here and there. 

Dec 23- Dec 29: 23 miles

Dec 30 - Jan 5: 23 miles

Jan 6 - Jan 12: 36 miles

Jan 13 - Jan 20: 41 miles.

What else has been happening here? I got sick with a disgusting sinus infection right when we began trial. The group of people we are working with were all sick when we started, and it was only a matter of time before the festering germ-bank that is our work area began to infect us as well. 

Our heads feel like they are big enough to have their own weather systems. We're working til 10pm on New Years Eve. But smile for the camera!!

Also? I turned 30. Yup, the big 3-oh. I rang in my birthday with a lovely 10 miles.... followed by a 16-hour work day. That was a fantabulous way to enter my thirties. At least I got some lovely presents, including:

A road ID from the hubs (I think this was more for his peace of mind, than mine). As you can see, he decided to also get it engraved with my tongue-in-cheek running motto. 

I also received a lover-ly running swiftly lulu from Kristen:

These tops are deceptively warm, so I have been easily able to withstand running in 30 degree weather with these tops, a parka and running tights. 

In other news Ive decided Im gunna run a marathon in 2013. May 5. Jersey shore. I hope I see Snookie and the Situation there.

Help, I am on the wrong coast!

I’ve been a temporary New Yorker for 23 days. And I am adjusting, slowly, sort of!

I learned from Penny that a Kindle is a must for the subway. I read Advanced Marathoning entirely while underground.

Another major subway discovery:  I discerned that the subway stops are named after cross town streets, for the most part. This has been a revelation in my navigation skills. When I pop up out of a subway station, I have a good sense of which direction to walk. No more roaming around until I can read a street sign, check Google maps, possibly still walk the wrong way, and be 15 minutes late to everything as a result.

I learned that it is not that cold here. But first, in an extreme overreaction to mid 30s temperatures my first days in New York, I purchased snow boots, which I still have not had the occasion to wear (thankfully).  

I have not yet run outside in 2013. All treadmill. All the time. So still working on that temperature acclimation. 

On the day I arrived, the city greeted me with a sleet/rain/snow mixture for two days. Then the temps warmed up to mid 40s and even the 50s, but I simultaneously caught a cold, which turned into a sinus infection. Only after a solid week of no exercise, I managed to do some very light yoga. Between being sick and working early to late every day on the trial, I was completely wiped out and went 10 days without running.

But I am back on track now with the base building phase for my undetermined spring marathon (leaning toward San Diego RnR, especially because I learned today that the finish is at Petco Park rather than Sea World). I'm continuing to run all easy miles with a sprinkling of strides, fartleks, and short progressions here and there. 

Last week of December - 54 miles. Highest mileage week ever! These were all easy pace miles, but  I felt the pounding in my bones. So I don't think I can manage much more than 55 miles for my peak mileage week in marathon training.

January week 1 - 0 miles. 

January week 2 - 6.5 miles. 

January week 3 - 30 miles.

two little runners ~ Kristen

I'm always moving forward

Another inspirational story about how running changed a young teenager's life featured in Runner's World's December issue (article quoted here). Casey Revman suffers from a disability that makes it difficult for her to perform many complex tasks, such as driving and team sports. When Casey joined her high school's cross country and track teams, she gained got fit and her confidence soared. She shares an important lesson on running:

Dear Running . . . Thanks for making me a normal teenager
Casey Revman
Runner's World December 2012

Tacos make me nostalgic; therefore, I'll write about mountain lions (again).

For those who have been following along, I'm officially a temporary New Yorker. Penny and I are preparing for a trial that begins in New York on January 7. It's scheduled to run for approximately 4 weeks. So I've taken residence in TriBeCa for 42 days. In the middle of winter.

200 square feet of bliss.

It's been a difficult adjustment. It's cold all the time - every day I have to wear shoes WITH SOCKS, layers of clothing, and a HEAVY jacket. Luckily, this is not my first cold winter . . . I still have my winter coat from when I lived in St. Louis, circa 2002.

You know you are getting old when your
clothes reach the double digits in age. 

And after being in New York for a week, I am still half way on Pacific time. Being anywhere by 9 a.m. ET is a huge burden at the moment.

Then there is the mountain of work and extra long hours. And I caught a cold. Sniff, sniff.

But my attitude about New York improved approximately 30% today when I discovered an excellent Mexican restaurant mere footsteps from my hotel: Papatzul in SoHo.

I reluctantly parked myself at the bar, ordered a Negro Modela figuring the beer would be the only part of the meal I would enjoy. New York has a poor reputation for Mexican food, and I was certain there was no way SoHo Mexican food could live up to the Mexican at my beloved restaurants in San Diego (En Fuego, Las Olas, Rubios, Bull Taco, El Callejon to name a few).

To my utter shock and delight, Papatzul was awesome. These are skirt steak tacos with chorizo and fried pork skin. New Year's resolution to eat every thing on the menu?

So, with that long introduction, I'm feeling nostalgic and thought I would recap another trail run I did in the days just before leaving home.

Lake Poway Loop

On Christmas Eve day, I ran the trail around Lake Poway (trail map here). There is information about parking on the Lake Poway Recreation Area website. Basically, there is a huge parking lot at the trail head.

I recommend running the loop counter clockwise (turn right onto the trial from the trail head) because this part of the trail is very easy to follow, as the lake is in view at all times. On the back side of the loop (the first part you would get to if you took the trail clockwise), you leave the lake shore and do a bunch of switchbacks. It would be a confusing start.

The loop around the lake is about 3 miles. And there are a lot of hills! You can tell from the map that the Lake Poway loop connects to some other trails within the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve, if you are up for excursions.

This was a run that almost didn't happen because I saw THIS at the trail head:

THIS is a sculpture of a MOUNTAIN LION!

Also available at the trail head - pamphlets about coyotes, rattle snakes, and, of course, our friend the mountain lion! To summarize: Coyotes are no big deal to full grown humans. Rattle snakes probably won't kill you, even if they bite you. But best to go back the other way if you see one on a trail. Don't jump over them. Mountain lions . . . if you see one, you are f*cked. Cold comfort? They are around but are rarely seen. And "REMEMBER: MOUNTAIN LION ATTACKS ON HUMANS ARE RARE!" (emphasis in original)

Because it took me nearly 30 minutes to drive there, I summoned my courage and headed out on the trail.

In the first mile, the trail stays close to the lake, and there are some steep hills. Nothing too long though.

Round about mile 2, there is a picnic table that would be fun to hike to with a group of friends. It is near an interesting rock pile formation.

Mile 3 descends below the lake (there is a dam). And there are a bunch of switch backs and some hills again to take you back up lakeside.

For a mostly road runner like me, this is a good route for an easy run, provided you take it easy on the hills. The trail is soft and footing just difficult enough to keep you in your easy pace zone. There were a lot of people on the trail, and since the trail stays close to the shore of the lake, I never felt like I was being stalked by a mountain lion. I would run this route alone again for sure. (Don't tell the mountain lions.)

two little runners
Kristen

Experiencing (too much?) nature on Lake Hodges trails

Since I am base building in preparations for marathon training, I am taking advantage of the easy running time to check out a few new trails. Winter is a great time for trail running in SoCal because it is not dangerously hot on inland trails and the rattlesnakes are not as active.

So on Christmas day, I checked out some trails near Lake Hodges, which is a 20 minute drive inland from home (Solana Beach). I ran part of the north shore trail along Lake Hodges as well as the Del Dios Gorge and Sante Fe Valley trails, which lie west of and connect to the Lake Hodges trails (maps here and here).

This run was a 7.5 mile out and back. It is a great route for an easy run or long run because the trail setting necessarily slows down pace. I felt like I was running fast when I was doing a 9:00 pace. For the reasons you’ll discover in this post, the trail is probably best enjoyed when running with a companion. Snakes, cats, and bats: oh my!

These trails are part of the Coast to Crest trail system, a very ambitious project to connect Del Mar to Julian – 55 miles – by way of trail. I’ve previously written about a few other segments here and here, which are part of this trail system. The trails that I’ve run on in the Coast to Crest system so far are very well maintained. I ran the Lake Hodges route after about a week of wet weather – including at least one day of hard rain, cool temps, and a few days of continuous drizzle. There were a few minor puddles, but the trail was completely passable.

I parked at the Lake Hodges North Shore trail head off of S6 and the cross street Rancho Dr. I noticed that there is a café (Hernandez Hideaway) directly across the street from the trail head, so you could look up the address of this café and map it to find your way to the start. There is a port-a-potty at the trail head, or lots and lots of bushes on the trail. No water.

Lake Hodges North Shore

From the trail head, I ran west on the Lake Hodges North Shore Trail. This route only covers one short segment of this 7 mile trail along the lake. The segment I ran follows the shore for about a mile. Then it winds away from the lake through dense brush and lots of tree cover. The trail narrows, but it is still soft and not very rocky. Once the trail veered away from the lake, it got too wild for my comfort. As I said, this time of year, I am not as concerned about snakes. But cats – mountain lions – were definitely on my mind for this part of the run. Especially because I saw a deer on my drive to the trail, and deer are a mountain lion’s favorite prey. Deer, and probably little blond runners running alone. Then the trail widened and moved back toward the lake, phew!

Del Dios Gorge

The Del Dios Gorge segment begins where the Lake Hodges dam is located.

 And then the trail drops into a valley. The trail on this part of the run is flat and wide. It feels decidedly less wild. Most of the trail is adjacent to S6, aka the Del Dios Highway. But the highway isn’t noisy or busy. And most of the time, the highway isn’t even visible from the trail, which is sort of built into the side of the mountain that the highway runs on top of.

Rattlesnakes must like the habitat of the gorge, as the trail was lined with “beware of rattlesnake” signs every half mile or so. But since it is winter and the path is wide here, I wasn’t very concerned. And I didn’t need to be – I didn’t see or hear any snakes.

Sante Fe Valley

The Del Dios Gorge trail connects to the Santa Fe Valley trail by a bridge that runs across the gorge. 

This part of the trail has some steep hills and was a little bit muddy at the bottom of the hills.

I had mountain lions on the brain again because I saw deer hoof prints all over the trail. But then the trail wound behind some neighborhoods in Rancho Sante Fe, and I felt safe(r) again. There are a few very steep hills to run up if the mood strikes. And if rattlesnakes and mountain lions aren’t enough nature for you, you can also check out the bat houses. 

The end of the Sante Valley Fe trail is the turnaround point. Currently, there is no trail that connects to the Sante Fe Valley trail from the west.

In all, I would say I felt like I was about to become a mountain lion's next meal less than 10% of the run. And I felt the snakes and bats were no match for me. Not too bad? I want to check out other trails around Lake Hodges, but next time definitely with a companion runner!

two little runners

Kristen

Free as a bird and Christmas Prezzies

I'm not usually one to back away from a challenge. After the Las Vegas 1/2 went pear-shaped and my 10K was pretty underwhelming, Jake and Andrea suggested I hop in a 5K to get a PR and a good indicator of my current fitness. This, the thinking went, would really help me map out a training plan for future halfs/marathons in the new year. 

So I decided to do a Santa 5K run out in Rockaway Beach, Queens. Paid up and all. Which is weird for me, because I usually wait until the last minute, figuring there is almost always something that could prevent me racing (usually some dumb niggle).

Well I felt ok after the 10K. A bit tired but pretty fine. I rested for two days post race, then cross-trained on the elliptical the rest of the week. I was set to run the 5K on Dec 22nd. 

And then three things happened. I realized that because of Hurricane Sandy, the subway was still partly down in Rockaway. It would've taken me nearly 2 hours to get there and back with buses. Second, the weather went from a balmy 40-50 degrees to 30 degrees. The former is bearable. The latter begins to crush my spirit a little. Finally, the wind. 30mph winds were forecast. On a beach. With 30 degree weather. F*** that. 

So I felt a little wimpy for not doing the race. And I know I have a little PTSD with respect to wind after Vegas. But I was going to run it for a good PR/time trial, not to prove that I'm a complete hard-ass. So I figured it was going to be more fun to run a slower and less windy 8 miles through Riverside park and do a more 'true' 5K effort sometime later down the road.

Anyway, for now I am just going to enjoy some easy miles, get in some good strength training, and rest up my glute/hamstring weirdness before I set my sights on the next goal. It is so lovely, running whatever mileage/speed I want, outside of a training plan!! I feel free as a bird!

In the meantime, I am also enjoying two of my favorite Christmas presents. From the hubs, sexy new compression socks, made all the more attractive with the addition of wide-leg pants and Birkenstocks:

 

And my Christmas present, from me to me. A monstrosity of a down-coat, complete with fur-lined hood and water-proof shell, to  shelter me from the current impending gloom that is the New York winter. Below is not the exact jacket I bought, but very similar.

A re-enactment of Penelope's purchase of bulbous down coat, beneath which all legs look like toothpicks.

Merry Christmas all and have a safe and Happy New Year!

Correcting an imbalance: aerobic base building

It's hard to know what lessons to draw from last cycle's half marathon training about what worked or didn't work because the conditions were so terrible during the goal race.

But reflecting on a year's worth of training and racing, I've come to a conclusion: my aerobic capacity is weak in comparison to my leg strength.

I spent a lot of time this year in the gym working on leg strength. Weekly running-specific strength and plyo workouts made my legs stronger than they've ever been.  Until this year, I'd never squatted more than my body weight. I definitely put on some muscle.

I also felt stronger running at 5K pace for short intervals than I did for threshold runs at a little slower than half marathon pace. My hardest runs during last cycle's half marathon training were definitely the thresholds. In contrast, I responded very well to speed interval training. Each week my speed workouts felt easy, even the pinnacle workout of 15 x 0.5 miles at 6:27. But I cut a lot of threshold runs short, unable to hang onto the pace. I also ran my long runs slower than I ever have before - but that could have been the heat wave that sat in San Diego all summer and fall.

Further evidence in the case of weaker aerobic capacity: I performed better in short distance races this year. My best 5K and 10K race times indicate faster half marathon times than I achieved. My June 5K time of 19:53 indicated a 1:31 half marathon time on a pace calculator. But I ran a 1:34 PR half in June. My November 10K pace of 6:33 indicated a 1:29 half.

Solving it - my to do list (Penny, note the effective use of a bulleted list, :)):

• Increase overall running volume by adding an additional easy run in the week or by making easy runs slightly longer. 
• Run more thresholds.
• Tack on some progression runs to the end of easy and long runs. 
• And since I'm now in marathon territory, I need to run longer long runs. 

Week 2, Unknown Spring Marathon: 32.25 miles/4h27m

Sunday 12/16 - Easy run (8:30, 2% treadmill incline) + progression (7:15 for 20"): 7.25 miles in 60"
     In Boston this week for work. Thank god for treadmills - it was cold, windy, rainy, and snowy. And thank god for hot tubs in hotel gyms. Felt so good to soak after a long plane ride. 

Monday 12/17 - Easy run (8:15, 2% treadmill incline) + fartlek (4 x 2 minutes at 10K pace): 4 miles in 30"

Tuesday 12/18 - Rest day, kind of.
     Lots of work, full day in court.

Wednesday 12/19 - Rest day, kind of.
     Another full day in court, plus over 8 hours on planes traveling back to San Diego.

Thursday 12/20 - Easy run (8:15) in Balboa Park: 7.2 miles in 60"; yoga

Friday 12/21 - Easy run (8:45) in Solana Beach: 6.8 miles in 60"

Saturday 12/22 - Easy run (8:00) in Del Mar/Solana Beach + 6 short hill sprints: 7 miles in 55"; yoga

two little runners
Kristen

Oh . . . the places I ran!

My favorite part of running is exploring new places. In 2012, vacations and work took me to lots of interesting places where I was lucky enough to squeeze some miles in and capture some of beautiful moments on camera. All taken on the run with my iPhone, amazing!

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Palm Springs, California

Seattle, Washington

New York, New York

Normal, Illinois 

Healdsburg, California

San Francisco, California

Malibu, California

My other favorite part of running is covering the same paths and experiencing how the scenery changes throughout the year. Just a few of many beautiful moments captured during my runs in San Diego.

Hot winter day in Mission Trails in San Diego

Hangliders above Black's Beach in La Jolla

Take off at Torrey Pines Glider Port in Del Mar

Clouds reflecting off the sand at low tide on a summer evening
at San Elijo State Beach in Cardiff

Sunset casting warm light against the cliffs in Solana Beach

Spring wild flowers on the Del Mar River Path

two little runners
Kristen