Reflecting on Goals

It's the end of Q1 2012, and I've been reflecting on my running and fitness goals as outlined in this post. They have mostly been going well, although I might make one major change and drop the sprint triathlon. Here are the details.

1. Complete a sprint triathlon. After my first marathon in 2010, I decided I really, really wanted to change it up and to go for a triathlon. I had high hopes - I bought a nice new road bike, started riding with a cycling training group, and pushed myself to swim. Everything was going great, but last August I ended up with tendonitis in my knee and pes anserine bursitis due to biking and a bad bike fit. I took time off from everything, slowly went back to biking, and started riding on a bike trainer. But alas, this injury still rears its ugly head every time I ride the bike and sometimes when I don't.

To make matters worse, I have to admit that I don't like biking much at all. It's a workout that I have to force myself to do, I don't like riding on the road, and it always feels like a chore to deal with the equipment. Sorry to all the cyclists out there, it's just not for me. I get much more enjoyment and fulfillment from running.

With all of that said, I am re-evaluating this goal and might remove it from my list. I'm not looking at this as a failure, but instead as a need to do things I like and not to force myself to do things I don't enjoy.

2. Complete my second marathon. Training is underway, I ran a great half last weekend, and I'm continuing to increase distance for the full. The target race is the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on June 23, 2012, and I'm running the Big Sur 21-miler on April 29 as a fun training run. Bring it on!

3. Get back into strength training. This has been going pretty well. I decided to do it on my own, and I've been doing at least one time per week. I'll continue to do this and hopefully add more. I also focused on the Fab Abs February and Mad Abs March workouts to give myself a little direction and a goal. I'm sure they aren't the best ab workouts, but including those in my normal workout isn't bad either and keeps me going.

This weekend I have the Santa Cruz Half and plan to use it as a good supported training run. I had a good time (mentally and literally) in Oakland last weekend, and that was my real 'race' goal for the spring.

Oakland Half Marathon Race Report

The only way to sum up today's half marathon is - fantastic! I was very impressed with everything from the start to finish, and the weather was perfect. No rain, no heat, overcast, just the way I like it.

I finished with a time of 2:13:08, my second best half marathon. Considering I went in thinking I had no hope of coming close to my PR (2:10:39), I am even more excited about that finish time! I've been increasing distance for the marathon in June and have been feeling a little sluggish lately. But today, everything worked out.

My splits made me happy too. I was fairly steady, and I sped up just a bit the last few miles. My watch was a little over as always and I didn't stop it immediately, but this is close enough.

This is one of the first times I've felt great the whole way through, and I think I owe it to running above the half distance in training. I felt like I could keep going and I was so energized I kind of wanted to...strange I know. Perhaps if I'd realized how good I would still feel late in the race at the start I wouldn't have held back, but that's ok. I'm still perfectly excited about my finish.

Kevin caught me at mile 9 for a quick photo, taken as he ran alongside me. Nicely done hubby!

After mile 9 I held my pace and even sped up a tiny bit, and I started to pass lots of people. My strategy of holding back a little at the beginning definitely worked for me. I continued on to a great finish, a pretty medal, and Coors Light. We used the mylar sheet as a blanket to sit on, listened to the band, and stretched. It was a relaxing finish line festival.

Now for the race details.

The course: The half course is one of the easier ones I've done. It was very flat with a few short, easy grades at the end, but I wouldn't really call them big enough to be hills. However, I hear the marathon course is a bear so don't judge it by the half. We ran by many parts of Oakland, around Lake Merritt, and through a little tunnel. Everyone screamed in the tunnel, a nice touch of race energy! A few businesses in the city had surprises for runners, like baked goods, a fire arch, the Raiderettes, and a huge fire-breathing trojan horse vehicle. There were plenty of people out cheering for runners and giving high fives as we went by too.

The support: Way to go volunteers! Everything was very organized, no bottlenecks. The water stops were well-staffed and I could grab water as I ran by. There seemed to  be enough porta-potties, but I didn't stop. They handed out Gu, in my fave flavor of Chocolate Outrage. Traffic was controlled by many uniformed Police Officers who were cheering for us as well. All in all, I'm impressed.

The finish line had Gatorade, water, granola bars, fruit, potato chips, bagels and potentially other items I didn't see. I don't tend to go for solid food right after so I grabbed the fluids and headed on through. There were massage people there for free sports massage, but I didn't visit that line either. I went straight to the beer tent...

General Organization: The expo was easy, and the race logistics were easy too. We took BART to the 19th Street station, only about a 5 minute walk to the start. The BART train was full of runners - it was like starting the race party early. We followed the hoard over to Snow Park to the start of the race and caught the end of the 5K finishers.

Once the 5K was done, they lined up the half runners in the corral based on expected pace. I took my spot near the front of the 10 minute mile as I usually do. The start was not packed in tight (yay) and it only took a minute or two to get through the arch.

The size of the race was perfect, 4000 runners in the half. I never had to fight a crowd to pass, didn't get stuck behind walkers, and had no backups at turnarounds. It's so much easier to run when you don't have to expend extra energy to dodge people. In the finish area, it was easy to get food and drink, again not too crowded, and everyone moved through quickly out to the park.

And that's it! As you can tell, I had a great day and would highly recommend this half marathon to anyone and everyone. Thanks for a great race, Oakland!

Ready to Run - ORF Expo

I had a great time at the Oakland Running Festival Expo today. I haven't been to one since the little one for Malibu last November, and I have missed the excitement and energy of so many runners in one place. Even better, we had a 'Tweet Up' so I met quite a few Twitter peeps. It was so nice to put a face with a name (Twitter handle?) and to meet people in the area. I found fun new people to follow too; Twitter is great for running motivation and community.

And, a special thanks to Brian (@PavementRunner) - I won the entry to Oakland from his blog giveaway and he organized the Tweet Up.

As for the expo, it was a good size and organized well. No long lines to wait in when I was there, cute long sleeve tech shirts for the half, and little shops to buy running stuff. I came home with a cute pair of Sock Guy socks with cats on them. Yeah, I'm a dork. They also let you exchange shirts for a different size if needed, a nice bonus and not too common from my experience. I went up a size because it fit a little small. Here is the shirt and colorful bib (love it!) And those two little tabs on the bottom right of the bib in the photo? Those are beer tickets. Oh yeah.

Tonight, we're going out for pasta with friends and turning in early for a good night's sleep. I can't wait for tomorrow!

A Ski Vacation

I didn't update my blog last week and I don't have a training report - instead, I was having an amazing time skiing at Heavenly and Northstar in Tahoe! I drove to South Lake Tahoe on Sunday, and I skied every day for the next seven days. Seven. I've never skied that many in a row before, but I didn't tire out nearly as much as expected and felt great.

Here are a few trip highlights.

First time at Northstar, an awesome place. Loved the Backside area. The photo was taken at the top of Comstock Express with a view of the cool clouds.

Demo skis for two amazing powder days, the Rossignol S3. I ended up buying them for a good deal and have never felt so good on skis. My hubby and friends demoed powder skis too.

So. Much. Snow. on Saturday morning. Wow! Someone even left us a smiley face on our car.

Fun times at Stateline Brewery for St. Patrick's Day. I loved this place and the balsamic-topped potato chips they give you before the meal are amazing.

Fabulous tree skiing in Aries Woods at Heavenly. This was my first time really discovering tree skiing, and it rocked!

A crazy drive home in the snow. It took us 4 hours to go the first 60 miles out of South Lake Tahoe, and visibility was pretty bad for some of it. Luckily, we have snow tires and driving in the snow doesn't bother us mid-westerners.

I had so much fun, and it was a great end to the ski season. I don't think we'll be back this year because my hubby and I are moving on to running races - it's time to get more serious about training and pushing the distance for the marathon.

I'm running the Oakland Half next weekend and the Santa Cruz Half the following weekend. I can't wait to race again - it's been too long - and I'm especially pumped to tell you all about Oakland in my race report!

Training Week Nine + Conquering 15 Miles

Yesterday was my 15 mile long run in prep for the Big Sur 21-miler (and eventually Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Full.) Although very slow, it was great and I didn't have any knee pain. That is HUGE for me and I'm so happy! Hopefully that trend will continue.

This week I'm headed to South Lake Tahoe with a friend for my last ski hurrah of the season. I'm excited to use different muscles and to check out new-to-our-pass Kirkwood. Even better, we'll be skiing for St. Patty's Day and making the most of it.

Now, my week in workouts (which by the way, went fabulously.)

Sunday, March 4
Planned: Skiing
Completed: Skiing
Yes, I ski a lot during the ski season. I love it! This day was my most vertical in a day so far this season.

Monday, March 5
Rest after lots of skiing over the weekend

Tuesday, March 6
Planned: 4 miles
Completed: 5 miles + strength
I intended to do 4 miles but ran a bigger loop. It was fabulous outside, so why not? The run was followed by a little strength work, which I try to do at least once a week. I'm sure it should be more but some is better than none, right? My strength workout was focused on Abs and Legs: Push-ups, Abs (frog crunches, side plank); Legs (sumo squats, forward and reverse lunges, side leg lifts.)

Wednesday, March 7
Planned: 7 miles
Completed: None
I went to a going away party for a co-worker and didn't squeeze the run in this time. Pushed it to the next day.

Thursday, March 8
Planned: 4 miles
Completed: 7 miles
It worked out better in my schedule to do my 7 mile run today, and it was beautiful outside. Muscles felt great, although I was tired from staying up way too late. Oh well, I got out there and had a successful run none-the-less!

Friday, March 9
Rest

Saturday, March 10
Planned: 15 mile long run
Completed: 15 mile long run
I did it! My hubby and I ran this one together. I felt great from the start but kept it super slow, so the average pace ended up at 11:11/mile. There were a few stop lights and we walked a little to take gels, but otherwise it was running the whole time. I am happy I didn't have knee pain this time and didn't really start feeling fatigued until mile 13. By the time we finished, my right IT band felt very tight but not enough to make me stop.

When we finished, we walked about a half mile to cool down. I was initially sad at how tired I felt post-run - especially knowing that my ultimate goal is 11 more miles past what I had just run - but then I put it in perspective. I remember feeling this tired (if not worse) after my 8 mile runs back in 2009 when training for my first half marathon. To be able to run 15 or more before feeling as tired as those 2009 8 milers is pretty amazing! I've come a long way and need to remember that as I continue training.

And now the highlight of the week - spring forward means more daylight for evening runs. Get out there everyone!

Mad Abs March

That's right, it's not ending with February! I'm a few days late on the post, but I've started off Mad Abs March strong. I love the addition of side planks because I skimp on obliques way too often.

Fab Ab February went quite well, although I missed a few days when we had a visitor and life was feeling super busy. It happens, right? Even so, I'm already feeling better at push ups and love the extra motivation to do ab work daily.

Here's the March calendar.

My usual ab workouts are different than this calendar, so adding new exercises is nice too. When left to my own devices, I do some combination of the following ab exercises, 2-3 sets each. (Disclaimer: I'm not a trainer, and I learned these from various classes in the past.)

Frog Crunches - One of my favorites. Add a medicine ball to the hands for extra weight.

Leg raises with scissor kick - This one never ceases to feel hard. I scissor kick as I lower my legs to about 45 degrees and return them to 90 degrees, then raise the hips at the top. I learned this awesome exercise from a class in Ann Arbor.

Crunches on the Bosu - Just like it sounds, lay back over the Bosu with feet on the floor or held at 90 degrees. Do crunches.

Bicycle - This one is pretty standard but I originally learned it in a Pilates class. Bring one knee in to the opposite elbow, switch.

Ball Toss - This is for obliques. Hold torso and legs bent, feet off the ground, by engaging abs. Hold a large exercise/stability ball, turn to one side using the obliques, come to the center, toss and catch. Continue switching. I learned this one from the Ann Arbor class too. I've done it with a medicine ball too.

Plank - Everyone knows this one! I like to add raising one foot at a time or reaching one arm at a time for extra work.

V-ups - I've done different variations of an exercise by the same name in different classes. My preferred version starts with torso and legs held up with ab muscles, feet off the ground. Lengthen feet and torso, return to starting position.

What are your favorite ab exercises? I'm always up for learning more.

Training Week Eight

This week felt great after having an exercise break last weekend. I ran my intended weekday mileage and finished up with more fantastic skiing over this weekend. It'll be better for running when ski season is over, but I adore skiing and am not ready to stop yet. I can't believe how wonderful living on the West coast is.

I like my weekly recap post because it keeps me honest and makes me stop to think about my plan versus my actual workouts. This is a ramp up for the Big Sur 21-miler and then the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. I look forward to revisiting my training post-marathon to see what worked and where I felt burned out.

With that, here was my week.

Sunday, February 26
Rest day

Monday, February 27
Planned: 4 miles
Completed: 3.6 miles
Slightly short on my route planning and I didn't extend because it became dark. Felt great after my weekend break.

Tuesday, February 28
Planned: 7 miles
Completed: 7 miles
Nice and cool outside for this run, which I love. I kept my pace at 10:30 and it felt easy enough, close to my goal pace for the half, so I was happy about that. Hopefully race day I can push a little harder.

Wednesday, February 29
Rest day

Thursday, March 1
Planned: 4 miles
Completed: 3.25 miles + strength
Again, I left late and it got very dark on me (silly job, had to leave later.) I followed up the run with a good strength workout focused on core and legs.

Friday, March 2
Rest day (drive to Tahoe!)

Saturday, March 3
Planned: Skiing
Completed: Skiing
Skiing in the beautiful sun. It was so warm outside and the snow was better than it has been all season so far. I skied without my gloves and could have easily lost the coat too if I had somewhere to stash it. I was skiing with a friend who ski patrols/teaches, and along with him I challenged myself on a steeper mogul run and feel great about it. A little confidence boost if you will!

Trying Out the Hurricane

I've been wanting to alternate a different pair of running shoes my Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11, and I anticipated buying the redesigned Saucony Hurricane 14. The new version appeals to me because of the decreased heel-to-forefoot drop. After experimenting with the Altra Intuition, I found I wasn't ready to go zero drop, and I hoped to try a less-dramatic change in the same direction.

Being the data person I am, I went in search of reviews on the Hurricane 14 to help with my decision. I didn't find many reviews on the updated version, but I did find this article and video discussing the main differences between the Hurricane 13 and 14. The doctor in the video made a few good points, enough for me to question going to the Hurricane 14. Instead, I decided to try the old version. I'm very aware that this does me basically no good if I like it and want it later...but I went this route anyway. I can always reevaluate the Hurricane 14 once it's been out longer and reviewed by more runners.

I'm going to back up for a minute to explain why I'm really conscious about what running shoes I buy. Unfortunately, I have bunions on both feet, which have been there since way before I began running. I'm not at a point of needing surgery or being in constant pain when I'm running, but I fear getting to that point and every once in a while I get a little pain under the bunion in my forefoot. I experienced some bunion progression when wearing a lower stability shoe (Asics 3010), a shoe that felt amazing and I thought was going to be my forever shoe. Sadly, after wearing out 3 pairs of that shoe I realized that was not the case.

Now, in trying to prevent more trouble and to give myself peace of mind, I've gone back to the heavier stability shoes and make sure to wear a wide width. Is the the right approach? I'm really not sure. I have asked the question at various running stores and of personal trainers, and the answer is generally yes, stick to a wide stability shoe. I'm still not sure whether to believe that stability wins, but I'm also not willing to take too many chances with minimal or lower stability shoes until I have a good answer.

Back to my run in the Hurricane 13 today. I set out to do between 3 and 4 miles, and from the first step the shoes felt very different from the Brooks Adrenaline, as if I were landing more flat-footed. I also felt slower (I need NO help being slow) and a little clunky. Running felt more normal after a few minutes, but the Hurricane 13 is much more rigid than I'm used to. Here are my main pros and cons.

Pros:

• Not the reason to buy shoes, but I like the design and color! All of my wide Brooks shoes end up being blue and I get tired of the same color.
• Cushioning feels nice overall.
• The width and bunion window is good for my foot. They fit perfectly, snug in the arch-lock section where they need to be and loose enough at my forefoot.
• The Hurricane 13 doesn't feel as tapered in the toe as other shoes, which helps fit my foot better.

Cons:

• It feels heavy and clunky.
• The shoe is more rigid than I expected, and I felt flat-footed (perhaps because they don't bend as easily?) This may ease up after a few more runs.
• The tongue slips to the side even with the laces through the loop, and it is pretty short. I noticed it had slid a lot after my run, but it didn't necessarily bother me during.

The jury is still out on if this will be a new go to shoe for me, but I'm going to give it a shot on my shorter runs for now. If nothing else, I'll be happy to have another pair to alternate. Besides, I can't return them. Kitty is loving his new bed.