Thursday, June 30, 2011

20 Miles -- A First!

Last Friday I accomplished something I never thought I could:  I ran 20 miles!  I am still in a state of disbelief, which is why it's taken me almost a week to post about it.  My time was 4:05 and change, which makes me think that maybe I can finish this race in less than six hours after all.

I'm not going to bore you with all of the details of the run, because, trust me, had it not been for my  iPod Shuffle and several podcasts of "The Mike Malloy Show," I think I would have fallen asleep on my feet.  The park is gorgeous, but you've gotta do quite a few loops in order to get the miles to add up to 20.

The best part of finishing that run was 1) finishing, and 2) feeling great afterward.  Thanks to the expert input of my running friends, I'm slowly mastering the art of fueling myself on the road, which has made all the difference.

Here's what works for me:
  • Making sure that the day before my long run is a full rest day;
  • taking two Immodium tablets before heading out the door (my stomach often reacts badly when running such long distances, no matter how long I wait after eating);
  • doing a modified version of "Gallowalking," i.e., walking for one minute after finishing each mile;
  • using those walk breaks to drink water (after each mile) and choke down 1/4 packet of Chocolate Outrage GU (every/other mile after mile 3);
  • keeping a VERY conservative pace for at least the first half of my run; and, finally,
  • knowing that this little guy is waiting for me to get home!


Last week's runs added up to a total of 41 miles (!), so this week is another "cutback" week.  I need to prepare for a 22-miler next Friday!  The good news is that this will be the last of the super-long runs until the race on July 31st.

So far this week, I've run 4, 7, and 6 (tempo).  I'm planning on doing 16 miles tomorrow and an easy  recovery run of a few miles on Saturday.  Oh, and I've been doing strength work faithfully this week, too; which, for me, is a major accomplishment!

It's just a little over four weeks until the marathon.  How did that happen?!!?  In one way, I can't wait, but in another, I want time to go by as slowly as possible, because by then, we will be that much closer to the end of summer vacation!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Why I Run - Part 1

For those of you who don't know, I am part of a wonderful online community of women who run.  We jokingly refer to one another as our "imaginary friends," although many of us have met in person and have the photos to prove it!  Here I am with Rebecca and Tessa, both of whom traveled to San Francisco to run the Nike Women's Marathon in 2010.  And yes, they ran the full marathon!  (I stuck to the half - 13.1 miles.)


When I was asked to share some of my background in and motivation for the sport, the first thing I did was go back and look over some of my posts to my "imaginary friends" on the topic.  Here's what I wrote in response to a survey in 2008 about how we all started running:

It started in 1979, when the requirement to pass freshman P.E. was to run three miles.  Up to that point, I had hated ALL sports because of the insults I had endured from bratty grammar-school boys who loved to mock my lack of physical prowess.  High school was different, though, because it was an all-girls school.  We trained by running around the back campus and by the time the end of the semester rolled around, I completed three miles easily.

I never stopped, but was more of a seasonal runner until 2000.  That's when I started running through the winter as well.  In 2006, I entered my first 5-K and have run six more since then.  I'm running my first half-marathon in October. 

I now teach at the high-school that gave me my start in running and get to work with two of the P.E. teachers who inspired me all those years ago!  The P.E. requirement now is to run ONE mile, and the girls bitch about it like there's no tomorrow.  That's when I share my story and they can't believe that I'm STILL running, and far more than three miles! 


So, those are the basics of how I started running.  More about why I keep running to follow!

Marathon Training:  Last week was a cutback week.  I ran a total of 37 miles = 7, 5, 7, 14 (long run), and 4.  I hope that adds up right!  I also did one cross-training day on the stationary bike, and I've been keeping up pretty well with my "minimalist" strength training.  (I do only as much as needed to run well because I find it boring!)

This week is going to be tougher, especially the long run, which goes up to 20 miles.  But, after finishing my 18 miler two weeks ago feeling pretty good the whole way, I'm not as intimidated by this upcoming run as I was by that one.  Of course, we'll see how confident I really feel about it after I finish!

Monday, June 13, 2011

18 and Counting...



That would be "18 Miles and Counting" ... not the other version!

Overall, Saturday's 18 miler was a resounding success.  I got started at about 11:00 a.m. and finished shortly before 3:00.  I've often complained about our summer fog, but not anymore:  It provides the perfect weather for training.  And, I don't have to get up at 5:00 a.m. on my long-run days to beat the heat and humidity.  When I hear about the weather challenges my running friends in other parts of the country face, I am amazed at their tenacity!

My nearly four-hour quest started off very conservatively.  (That last word is not one that people usually equate with me -- LOL!)  I ran the park loop at about a 12:45/13:00 pace, walking one minute after completing every mile.  During those walk breaks, I'd drink some water from my brand-spanking-new fuel belt.  Every two miles, I would choke down some GU with a water chaser.   Maintaining such a slow pace was much harder than I thought; I'd often find that I was going too fast and had to force myself to hold back.

By the time I finished the loop, I had run about 12 miles.  Six more to go!  The question was, should I do my usual (boring) laps around the large track, or should I run along the path by the beach.  In the past, I would have stuck to the track because of its plentiful water fountains, but my new fuel belt enabled me to break free!   Roughly three miles out, three miles back, and -- drum roll please -- I had finished 18 miles!

I felt pretty good as I started to walk home, and that was pretty much how things stayed.  Other than a bit of tightness in my quads, the muscle soreness I had feared never really materialized.  The exhaustion did, however.  Big time.  I am just now starting to feel rested again, after a lot of sleep.

This week's plan calls for runs of 7, 5, and 5 with some tempo and speed work thrown in.  (I'm too lazy to go look at the chart right now!)  There's also one day of rest (Friday) and one day of cross-training (today). 

The big dilemma is the long run this week:  Jenny Hadfield's plan cuts this week's long run back to 10 miles, before going up to 20 miles next Saturday.  The Runner's World Challenge plan pushes it to 20 miles this Saturday and 22 the next, before cutting back.  My mindset right now is that I would really like to get this first 20-miler out of the way. 

Any input from my veteran running/marathoning friends would be great!  You ladies have helped me go from being terrified of racing, to running 5-Ks, 10-Ks, half-marathons, and now -- hopefully! -- my first full. I can't put into words how awesome you are!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

18 Miles, Baby!

Super-quick post because I've earned a nap:  The GU worked like a charm, my pacing worked well this week (ran the second half faster than the first, with an overall average of 12:44), and I am feeling much more confident about my ability to complete this marathon.

More to follow...

Friday, June 10, 2011

So Far

My running has been filled with a lot of "firsts" lately.  I ran my first 14-miler three weeks ago, my first 15.5 miler a week later, and my first half-marathon "training run" last Sunday.  While each of these has given me a real sense of accomplishment, they have also showed me that I need to work on hydrating and fueling myself at the right intervals, or face some unpleasant consequences.

This is why I am nervous about my first 18-miler, scheduled for tomorrow.  It's not the hills that scare me; as a native San Franciscan, I'm used to them!  It's the fact that the idea of ingesting anything other than water or Gatorade while running triggers my gag reflex.  But Gatorade has not been enough to power me through anything longer than a 13.1-miler, and I've ended up dragging myself to finish.

My fingers are crossed that the packets of GU that I bought last week will go down and stay down, and that I will get better about timing all of this stuff.  After thirty years, I'm learning that there's a real science to running.  Hopefully, I can figure it out before July 31st!

My First Marathon

Welcome to my online journal about the challenges of training for The San Francisco Marathon - my first!

Remind me: Why did I sign up for this again?