20:40 sec run/walk ratio
3:52 hours
14.49 miles
16.1 min/mile
Good run today! I was a bit worried, as I had a migraine yesterday, and drank green tea at lunch to try to help fight it off, so was a bit caffeinated last night. I didn't sleep as well as I could have, and for some reason decided to set the alarm for 5:30 AM instead of 5 AM and ended up not getting to the park until 7 AM, and my digestion hadn't quite kicked into gear when I left. In addition, I kept forgetting to finish washing my running clothes (had them soaking in the wash tub for two days) until I was about to go to bed last night, when I finally got them washed and hung up to dry, but the shorts and bra were still damp this morning, so I ended up using my not-as-comfy Kmart bra and over-the-knee running tights instead.
Despite all that, I felt pretty good and got off to a good energetic start. I'd had a protein drink before my run, and brought three GUs with me and used them all. They were 40 mg caffeine, 20 mg caffeine, and no caffeine and I used them in that order, at around 6, 9, and 12 miles.
I ended up having to stop and use the bathroom after 9 miles (see digestion not in gear when I left). If I'd gotten up at 5 AM and had another half hour at home to drink coffee and wake up and use the bathroom one more time, I might have been able to avoid the stop. I hope I don't have to make any bathroom stops during the actual half marathon, but even if I do, as long as there's not a big line, it shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. I put my app on pause while I was in the bathroom, because I felt like I was doing a pretty good pace and didn't want to throw it off, but a few minutes wouldn't have made that much difference. I did also take time to throw water on my face and refill my water bottle, because it was getting hot by then.
The weather was no bother until around 10 AM, when it started to get pretty hot. It was probably over 80 F by the time I finished. I could feel the heat slowing me down, but I poured water over my head and dribbled it down my back, and wet my handkerchief and put it around my neck, and was able to keep going pretty well. High today is supposed to be 88 F, so I'm glad I was finished by 11 AM! I've been watching the weather for Long Beach, and they've been having some days in the high 80s, too. Yikes! Hope it cools down by the half marathon. That's only two weeks away now! But even if it's still hot by then, I've already proved I can do a half marathon-length run starting at 7 AM and finishing in heat and still keep a good pace. I'm ready!
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Week 24: MM + 3 miles
20:40 sec run/walk ratio
1:08 hours
4.36 miles
15.7 minutes/mile
Magic Mile: 14.2 minutes
Great run! I'm in Monterey again this weekend for a visit, so I did my long run from my friend's house up to the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail and along the trail. Went much better than last time I tried it! Of course, I only went a fraction of the distance. I thought I was scheduled for a five mile run this weekend, but when I fired up my app, it was only four miles, with one Magic Mile, so even shorter than I expected.
It's been a tiring weekend, and a hard one on my stomach, as I've been eating a lot of dairy when I couldn't find vegan options, which doesn't really agree with me anymore. I was up late last night, driving back from the city after an opera, and got up this morning feeling worn out and stomach-rumbly and head-achy. It would have been tempting to bag it, but I figured since it was a short run, I'd just take it easy and get it done, and I knew some exercise would make me feel better anyway. I got started around 9:30 AM, and it was already near 80 F with no clouds, but there was some shade on the trail and I guess I'm used to the heat by now, at least on a short run, so I carried on.
The hardest part was when I got to the street I needed to turn up to get back to my friend's house. It was uphill and hard going, but I was on my last mile, so I just kept plodding along. I admit I was glad there were traffic lights at the corners that sometimes forced a brief rest while I waited for the light to change.
I sort of outsmarted myself when I neared the end. The run had finished anyway and I was just walking it in, and I was trying to avoid the steep hill up my friend's street by turning up a less steep street that I thought was one block short of home, thinking I'd cut across one of the little side streets and hope I could avoide the worst of the hills. Turned out I was actually about three or four blocks short of her street, and some of the side streets didn't go through to where I wanted to go, and I ended up having to go all the way up to the street above my friend's street on some hills that were as steep or steeper than the one I was trying to avoid! I'd have been better off just to come back the way I went out.
Anyway, I do feel much better now, that run really cleared away the cobwebs, so I'm glad I didn't skip it. Even kept my time under 16 minutes for the whole run, even with the traffic lights and hills on the way back.
1:08 hours
4.36 miles
15.7 minutes/mile
Magic Mile: 14.2 minutes
Great run! I'm in Monterey again this weekend for a visit, so I did my long run from my friend's house up to the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail and along the trail. Went much better than last time I tried it! Of course, I only went a fraction of the distance. I thought I was scheduled for a five mile run this weekend, but when I fired up my app, it was only four miles, with one Magic Mile, so even shorter than I expected.
It's been a tiring weekend, and a hard one on my stomach, as I've been eating a lot of dairy when I couldn't find vegan options, which doesn't really agree with me anymore. I was up late last night, driving back from the city after an opera, and got up this morning feeling worn out and stomach-rumbly and head-achy. It would have been tempting to bag it, but I figured since it was a short run, I'd just take it easy and get it done, and I knew some exercise would make me feel better anyway. I got started around 9:30 AM, and it was already near 80 F with no clouds, but there was some shade on the trail and I guess I'm used to the heat by now, at least on a short run, so I carried on.
The hardest part was when I got to the street I needed to turn up to get back to my friend's house. It was uphill and hard going, but I was on my last mile, so I just kept plodding along. I admit I was glad there were traffic lights at the corners that sometimes forced a brief rest while I waited for the light to change.
I sort of outsmarted myself when I neared the end. The run had finished anyway and I was just walking it in, and I was trying to avoid the steep hill up my friend's street by turning up a less steep street that I thought was one block short of home, thinking I'd cut across one of the little side streets and hope I could avoide the worst of the hills. Turned out I was actually about three or four blocks short of her street, and some of the side streets didn't go through to where I wanted to go, and I ended up having to go all the way up to the street above my friend's street on some hills that were as steep or steeper than the one I was trying to avoid! I'd have been better off just to come back the way I went out.
Anyway, I do feel much better now, that run really cleared away the cobwebs, so I'm glad I didn't skip it. Even kept my time under 16 minutes for the whole run, even with the traffic lights and hills on the way back.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Week 23: Twelve and a half miles
20:40 sec run/walk ratio
3:44:38 hours
12.81 miles
17.5 minutes/mile
Well, okay, it looks like somehow I didn't get the GPS turned on, and the distance was off, because I did four full loops plus one and a half lower loops, which is more like 13.5 miles than 12.5. My Stepz app (which for some reason seems to have the most accurate mileage, even though it doesn't use the GPS) says I did 13.7 miles today. Which would make my pace 16.4 minutes per mile, not 17.5. Hmph. Didn't think I was that slow. (My Health app says I did 14.94 miles today. Heh. It's always high, the running app is low, and Stepz is just about right.)
I was scheduled to do a 26-mile run today, but plans have changed. After such nice weather last week, we were back to forecasts of 90 F all weekend long, and between dreading trying to finish an eight-hour run in 90 degree weather, and not being able to properly finish my last two long runs, I thought about it and decided that I was not fully confident of being able to finish my training and complete a full marathon. So I switched my registration from the full marathon to the half marathon, and re-did my schedule based on that. Now my schedule is 12.5 miles today, 5 miles next weekend, then 14 miles, then 6, and then the half marathon! Since I've already trained up to over 20 miles, it should be relatively easy to do a half, and today's run was in fact no problem. I am thinking of resuming marathon training after Long Beach, when the weather's cooler, and doing Honolulu in December. We'll see. I won't make any decisions until after Long Beach.
So for today, I got up early—I'd set my alarm for 5 AM, but woke up at 4:40 and went ahead and got up—and was ready to hit the road by 5:40 AM. But I hadn't taken into consideration that the days are getting shorter, and it was still full dark at 5:40 AM. So I hung around until the sky started to lighten, which was around 6 AM, and hit the road, figuring it would be light enough to run by the time I got to the park, which it was. It was a pleasant 60 F when I got started.
I brought three GUs with me and used them all, which I think really helped keep my energy up. Two of them had caffeine, which also gave me a lift. I generally avoid caffeine, because it keeps me up at night, but the amount of caffeine in GU is fairly small, and I figure I burn it off while running. I brought one GU with no caffeine, one with 20 mg, and one with 40 mg. Same as about half a cup of coffee for both of those, and it's early in the day, so I don't think it will bother me. Also drank most of a full bottle of water. I had a protein drink in the morning before I left.
It was starting to get pretty warm by the time I finished, at a little after 10 AM, but there was some slight cloud cover that kept the sun from beating down too hard, so the heat didn't bother me much. My digestion was a bit wonky, that might have slowed me down a little, but I didn't stop to use the bathroom until after I'd finished the run. I wanted to see if I could do a half marathon without any bathroom breaks, and it looks like I can!
All in all, I'm much more relaxed and looking forward to my runs instead of dreading them, so I'm glad I decided to do the half instead of the full marathon this time.
3:44:38 hours
12.81 miles
17.5 minutes/mile
Well, okay, it looks like somehow I didn't get the GPS turned on, and the distance was off, because I did four full loops plus one and a half lower loops, which is more like 13.5 miles than 12.5. My Stepz app (which for some reason seems to have the most accurate mileage, even though it doesn't use the GPS) says I did 13.7 miles today. Which would make my pace 16.4 minutes per mile, not 17.5. Hmph. Didn't think I was that slow. (My Health app says I did 14.94 miles today. Heh. It's always high, the running app is low, and Stepz is just about right.)
I was scheduled to do a 26-mile run today, but plans have changed. After such nice weather last week, we were back to forecasts of 90 F all weekend long, and between dreading trying to finish an eight-hour run in 90 degree weather, and not being able to properly finish my last two long runs, I thought about it and decided that I was not fully confident of being able to finish my training and complete a full marathon. So I switched my registration from the full marathon to the half marathon, and re-did my schedule based on that. Now my schedule is 12.5 miles today, 5 miles next weekend, then 14 miles, then 6, and then the half marathon! Since I've already trained up to over 20 miles, it should be relatively easy to do a half, and today's run was in fact no problem. I am thinking of resuming marathon training after Long Beach, when the weather's cooler, and doing Honolulu in December. We'll see. I won't make any decisions until after Long Beach.
So for today, I got up early—I'd set my alarm for 5 AM, but woke up at 4:40 and went ahead and got up—and was ready to hit the road by 5:40 AM. But I hadn't taken into consideration that the days are getting shorter, and it was still full dark at 5:40 AM. So I hung around until the sky started to lighten, which was around 6 AM, and hit the road, figuring it would be light enough to run by the time I got to the park, which it was. It was a pleasant 60 F when I got started.
I brought three GUs with me and used them all, which I think really helped keep my energy up. Two of them had caffeine, which also gave me a lift. I generally avoid caffeine, because it keeps me up at night, but the amount of caffeine in GU is fairly small, and I figure I burn it off while running. I brought one GU with no caffeine, one with 20 mg, and one with 40 mg. Same as about half a cup of coffee for both of those, and it's early in the day, so I don't think it will bother me. Also drank most of a full bottle of water. I had a protein drink in the morning before I left.
It was starting to get pretty warm by the time I finished, at a little after 10 AM, but there was some slight cloud cover that kept the sun from beating down too hard, so the heat didn't bother me much. My digestion was a bit wonky, that might have slowed me down a little, but I didn't stop to use the bathroom until after I'd finished the run. I wanted to see if I could do a half marathon without any bathroom breaks, and it looks like I can!
All in all, I'm much more relaxed and looking forward to my runs instead of dreading them, so I'm glad I decided to do the half instead of the full marathon this time.
Saturday, September 05, 2015
Week 22: Seven miles
30:45 sec run/walk ratio
1:58 hours
7.38 miles
16.0 min/mile
Good run today!
I ended up using a different run/walk ratio—I'd bumped it up for my midweek run Thursday, and of course forgot to change it back. I only noticed when I started my first run interval today. Since I was already out there, I just let it go. I actually think it feels better to run a little longer. With the 20 sec run interval, sometimes I feel like I'm just hitting my stride when it's time to start walking. It felt good to use the 30:45 sec ratio for the whole run, and I never got tired of running that long. I wish I'd started it sooner—at this point, it might be too late to switch for the marathon. I've only got 26-mile run to do, then three more 6 – 7 mile runs. I guess I could try it next week on the 26-mile run and see how it goes.
The weather was great today, in the low-to-mid 60s all morning. I didn't get started until a little after 9 AM, even wore my capri leggings instead of shorts because it was still cold when I headed out. So nice to run without getting beaten down by the hot sun!
I got my new running pouch from Amphipod, and I really like it. It turned out to be smaller than I'd imagined, even though I checked the measurements. I was afraid it might be bulky and in the way on my belt, but it isn't. It's barely wider than the belt, and fits nice and snug against my waist. I also worried, once I saw it, that it would be too small to be useful, but it's great! It has a separate compartment for ID, which fit my driver's license just right and kept it secure and safe from accidentally being pulled out with other stuff. Also has a tiny key compartment, which would be fine for one or two keys on a small ring, but didn't really fit my truck remote, so I put my keys in the lower pocket of the main pouch, with my handkerchief and lip balm. I only put one GU in my new pouch today, since it was a short run, but it's stretchy and I'm sure I'll be able to shove 6 or 7 GUs or gummy packs in there for the marathon, and they'll be easily reachable and convenient. So, plenty of room for everything now!
Good time today. I don't know if it's because of the cool weather, late start, longer run interval, or some combination or all of the above, but it was good to be able to finish a run with a good pace and still feeling strong.
1:58 hours
7.38 miles
16.0 min/mile
Good run today!
I ended up using a different run/walk ratio—I'd bumped it up for my midweek run Thursday, and of course forgot to change it back. I only noticed when I started my first run interval today. Since I was already out there, I just let it go. I actually think it feels better to run a little longer. With the 20 sec run interval, sometimes I feel like I'm just hitting my stride when it's time to start walking. It felt good to use the 30:45 sec ratio for the whole run, and I never got tired of running that long. I wish I'd started it sooner—at this point, it might be too late to switch for the marathon. I've only got 26-mile run to do, then three more 6 – 7 mile runs. I guess I could try it next week on the 26-mile run and see how it goes.
The weather was great today, in the low-to-mid 60s all morning. I didn't get started until a little after 9 AM, even wore my capri leggings instead of shorts because it was still cold when I headed out. So nice to run without getting beaten down by the hot sun!
I got my new running pouch from Amphipod, and I really like it. It turned out to be smaller than I'd imagined, even though I checked the measurements. I was afraid it might be bulky and in the way on my belt, but it isn't. It's barely wider than the belt, and fits nice and snug against my waist. I also worried, once I saw it, that it would be too small to be useful, but it's great! It has a separate compartment for ID, which fit my driver's license just right and kept it secure and safe from accidentally being pulled out with other stuff. Also has a tiny key compartment, which would be fine for one or two keys on a small ring, but didn't really fit my truck remote, so I put my keys in the lower pocket of the main pouch, with my handkerchief and lip balm. I only put one GU in my new pouch today, since it was a short run, but it's stretchy and I'm sure I'll be able to shove 6 or 7 GUs or gummy packs in there for the marathon, and they'll be easily reachable and convenient. So, plenty of room for everything now!
Good time today. I don't know if it's because of the cool weather, late start, longer run interval, or some combination or all of the above, but it was good to be able to finish a run with a good pace and still feeling strong.
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