Tuesday

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 30:42 minutes

I felt like I was a bit slow this morning, but my time doesn't bear that out. I was thinking about stuff as I ran... things like, can I really expect to get any faster for the next half marathon? Should I try to increase my run/walk ratio, or stick to 1:2? I can do 15 minute miles at 1:2, the problem is keeping up with that pace over the course of 13.1 miles. How will I keep up my training over the winter for the Surf City Half Marathon? I might have to join a gym for the winter months so I can use a treadmill. Depends on the weather this winter, really.

I keep thinking about what kind of schedule I should try for the next race, since I won't be starting from scratch. But there's time enough for that once I finish this race. I think I should try to do at least six miles every week, and try to do a couple of 14-mile runs before the race. I'll have to sit down with my calendar and plan out a schedule. After Long Beach.

Did I mention I got my running shirt from WearYourNumber.com? It's fabulous! Fits perfectly, nice soft slinky material, and my bib number is part of the fabric! I love it! The only problem was—tags! Stiff, pokey tags! Two of them—one in the neckband and one in the side. I hate tags, and who puts tags in shirts for marathoners? I always pull the tags out of my clothes anyway, but for this shirt, I opened the seams and removed the tags, then sewed the seams up with my sewing machine, so it would be as smooth and neat as possible. Now it's perfect!

Week 15: Fourteen miles

3:49 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

The day got off to somewhat of a bad start, as I woke up at 2:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep. I'd been intending to get up at 5, but since I was still awake at 4:15, I decided to bag it and get up. I felt okay, though, except for a slightly wonky stomach, and at least I had plenty of time to get ready! I left the house around 6:20, and got to the park just as the sun was rising.

It was pretty cold at 7 am, and I wore my running hoodie at first, but was warmed up enough to toss it into the truck after three miles. Most of the run was very pleasant, sunny but cool. By the last few miles, it was starting to get hot, but nowhere near as hot as it's been. I kept up a good pace the whole way and never got too tired. The bathrooms were locked again—I stopped at 10 miles to check, and to refill my water bottle from extra bottles I'd brought with me in the truck. That kind of sucked, but fortunately I wasn't desperate. It would have been nice to take a break, but I finished okay without one.

I had a couple of GUs left over from the last marathon, so I took an Espresso Blast flavored one along with me today and ate it after my aborted break. I think it really helped. I haven't used any GUs or other sport gels or drinks this time, but I think I'll take one or two along with me for the half marathon, just for a boost near the end. I have only one left, but I'm sure I'll be able to pick up some more at the Expo before the race.

My time at mile 13 was 3:34, so, figuring another couple of minutes for the extra one-tenth of a mile, my half-marathon time would have been about 3:36. Still short of the 3:30 I'll need for San Francisco, but not bad. I think it's completely doable to shave another six minutes off my time in another nine months or so.

My WearYourNumber shirt is supposed to have been shipped, so I should be getting it soon! Yay!

Only two weeks to go!

Thursday

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 32:54 minutes

Today was a slow, lazy, late run. I don't know, I was just really tired today. Slept in until 8:30, then didn't get out to run until about 9:40. It was already getting hot, not hot enough to cause trouble, but enough to slow me down a bit. Still, I got my run in, which is the main thing.

I'm not looking forward to doing 14 miles on Saturday. But the half marathon is getting closer! Hm, I still haven't got my tee shirt with my number on it. But there's time.

Tuesday

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 31:00 minutes

I was going to run down the road and back this morning, but my stomach was threatening to be wonky, and I didn't want to get stuck half a mile out with an urgent need to go to the bathroom, so I ran around the house instead. I felt a bit slow and groggy, but my stomach was fine, and I finished in good time anyway.

I didn't do my six-mile run this weekend. Sigh. Events conspired, and all that. My solar guy emailed me Friday (while I was in Bakersfield) that he would come out Saturday morning to work on my system, and I figured I'd better stick around home. I planned to run on Sunday instead, but Saturday turned out to be a long and stressful day (watching out for a sick gray fox that wandered onto the property, as well as coordinating with the solar guy and working in the afternoon), and I was so exhausted Sunday I didn't do anything but read and nap and play Jewel Quest. Then I thought I might do it Monday, but I had too much other stuff to do, and running just wasn't in the cards.

In retrospect, I could have just started out running around the house Saturday morning, to get in as many miles as possible before the solar guy showed up. Since he didn't actually get here until around 11 am, there would easily have been time to do six miles before he arrived. But I didn't know that at the time, nor did I know that I was going to be so wiped out on Sunday. Oh well.

Still. If I had to skip a run this close to the half marathon, the six-miler was the one to skip. If all goes well with the 14-miler this weekend, and the seven-miler after that, the half marathon should be fine. The weather is much cooler these days—60s and 70s in the mornings, and highs in the 80s—so I won't have to try to finish the 14-mile run before 10 am. I still think I'll need to get up at 5 am in order to get started around 6:30–7:00 am. I imagine it will take around four hours, so I don't want to start any later than 7 am.

Thursday

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 31:42 minutes

I did the run around the house counter-clockwise today, which is always a little bit slower than running clockwise, because the steep bit at the front of the driveway becomes an uphill climb at the end of the lap, instead of a downhill boost at the beginning of a lap. Plus, I was feeling a bit logy today. I stopped after four laps to come into the house and go to the bathroom, but I stopped my watch for that so it doesn't count in my time. My running laps were all between 1:20–1:24 minutes.

But it was still a pretty good run, under 16-minute miles.

I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing 6-mile run this weekend, in preparation for the final 14-miler week after next.

Tuesday

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 31:34 minutes

Well, I was tired and a bit late getting out there this morning, and I lost about 20 seconds on my first lap stopping to move some boards off the side of the driveway, so I was surprised to find my time was still under 16 minutes per mile. Guess I'm faster than I think!

I checked last year's September runs and found that they were much faster than earlier in the summer, too. I guess it's the cooler weather. That heat really slows me down.

Week 13: Twelve miles

3:16 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

I meant to get up in time to be on the trail by 7 am, but it was not to be. I set the alarm for 6 am, and was out the door by 7, but it was about 7:20 or so before I was out running. I still had a really good run, averaging a little over 16 minute miles, even with the heat slowing me down over the last few miles. I only stopped once, to fill my water bottle from the water in the truck, which added maybe a minute and a half to my total time.

I felt pretty good while I was out there, and even felt that I could have done another mile or two if I had to, but once I was done, I started to feel achy and tired, and I had a couple of dizzy spells when I got home. I am really going to have to get up early when I do my 14 mile run. Probably I'll set the alarm for 5 am, and try to get to the park by 6:30. That won't be for two more weeks, though, so I hope the weather will have cooled down a little more by then.

Next week I'll do a short 6-mile run. It will be nice to have a short week.

Thursday

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 32:31 minutes

Hm. I'm not sure why my run was a whole 40 seconds slower than Tuesday's run. I didn't feel like I was running any slower! I think the difference was in the first mile—today's Mile 1 was 15:30-ish, while I'm fairly sure Tuesday's was under 15. I dunno. Well, it was still a good run, and 16:15 miles average with that long uphill mile is pretty darned good, compared to where I was a year ago.

I'm sure the cooler weather is helping a lot. I'm going to have to make sure I finish my long runs by around 10 am. Which means getting up at 5:30 am on Saturday so I can get to the park by 7 am. (And hope the bathrooms are open this week!)

Tuesday

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 31:52 minutes

Did the run down and up the road today, and still maintained my 16-minute mile speed! Of course, it was more like 14 minutes down the road and 18 minutes up, but still! That's the fastest I've ever done the road run, and I didn't even really feel like I was pushing it.

I did cut my turnaround a little bit short, because I didn't want to run all the way to the Dog Hill driveway, in case the dogs were out. But it was only three or four strides; 10 seconds' worth of distance at the most. Even with that bit added in, it's still my fastest run.

I don't know why I've suddenly gotten so much faster, but I'm not complaining!

Week 12: Ten miles

2:40 hours, ~1:2 minute run/walk ratio

I got up early this morning, 6 am, to get out there and try to finish my run before the sun got too hot, and was at Meadowbrook Park by 7:30 am. Was almost there when I realized I'd dummied up and forgot my watch. Oh well, it was too late to go back and get it, so I just guessed my intervals and checked the clock in the truck when I started out and when I got back for my overall time. It went really well! It was nice and cool for the first couple of hours and I never got overly hot or tired. I didn't feel as though I slowed down much over the ten miles, although of course I couldn't really tell. I didn't feel any more tired on my tenth mile than I do on my second mile when I run down the road and back. And my time was great! Averaged 16-minute miles. If I can keep up that pace for a whole 13.1, I'll be able to finish the half marathon in 3:30!

The only bad thing about running in the park this morning was that, when I stopped at the bathroom after mile 4, the bathrooms were locked! Luckily, I was not desperate and finished the run just fine without any bathroom breaks, but that sucked. Maybe they don't open until 9 am? Or maybe it was just a one-time thing? I've still got 12- and 14-mile runs to do, so I hope the bathrooms are open for those!

Thursday

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 29:52 minutes

Woo hoo! I decided to run around the house again today, so, in lieu of running up the hill, I decided to kick out the jams and see if I could get my time under 31 minutes. And, in fact, I got it under 30! All my running laps were under 1:15—a couple were as low as 1:11–1:12—and walking laps were all around 1:50. I didn't slow down much the whole way and finished strong. My first mile was about 14:40, so my second would have been around 15 minutes. Not bad at all! Finally, I'm doing some fast runs that aren't flukes or watch screw-ups or miscounts or whatever, and doing them consistently. Obviously, I wouldn't be able to keep up that pace for a whole marathon, or even a half—at least, not yet—but these are the fastest 2-milers I've done since I started running again after the cancer.

I am half-thinking about doing Honolulu again next year. But, let's get through Long Beach and Surf City and San Francisco first!

Tuesday

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 31:27 minutes

Well! My stomach was wonky this morning, and I wasn't sure I even wanted to run. I put it off for half an hour, first taking in the laundry, and then playing a few games of Jewel Quest III, when my stomach finally woke up and I went ahead and did my run. I decided to run around the house, because I didn't want to do that hill (and I didn't feel like having dogs bark at me), but I did the 1:1 lap run/walk ratio so I'd get a little training with running longer than a minute. And it turned out to be a really good run! I did most of my running laps at around 1:20, even did one at 1:16, and walking laps were under two minutes. And I felt good! It helped that the weather has finally cooled down, so I didn't have hot sun beating down on me. That was a great time! If only I could keep it up over the course of a long run! Well, I'll just have to keep training.

I don't think I've mentioned that I finally started to lose some weight, too. I've lost the extra pounds I gained recently, as well as a few of the pounds I gained on chemo. Now I just need to lose the pounds I gained after moving to Tehachapi! I would love to be back down to my running weight for the first couple of marathons. I know I'm finally getting my energy back. I may never get back to 14 minute miles... but who knows? If I keep training, I might!

I got out my calendar and re-did my schedule for the rest of the weeks before the half marathon. Turns out... I'm out of extra time. I really need to keep to my schedule now. I hope the weather stays cooler this month. It's September, anyway, so we shouldn't have any more 100F days.

My plan is to run 10 miles next week, then 12, 6, 14, 7—and then it's the race!