Cody's Marathon Training Blog

Week 11: Eleven miles

2010-10-15T14:10:00.001-07:00

3:00 hours, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

Have had a very exhausting week. I ended up splitting the difference between getting up early enough to avoid the heat of the day and getting up late enough to be completely rested, and got up a little before 7 am and was at Meadowbrook Park ready to run at around 8:35 am. Luckily, the sky was cloudy for most of my run, even dropping a few drops of rain on me. The sun came out in the middle of my 9th mile, so the last few miles had that on top of being "new" miles, but I didn't feel too tired by the time I was done. I expected to run a bit slowly today, and finished in exactly three hours, averaging about 16.4 minutes/mile.

I brought some oyster crackers along with me to nibble on for snacks while I ran. Had a few at 4 miles and a few more at 7.5. My stomach was a bit wonky, but I don't know if it was the crackers or just general wonkiness. I also brought GU but didn't eat any of them. I like the crackers; I'll try them again when I'm not so wiped out and see how I feel.

I stopped once for the bathroom after 3 miles. If I'm not going to stop during the actual Half Marathon, I'll have to get up earlier and watch what I eat the day before. Should probably have dinner early and stop eating after 5 pm. My digestion is kind of sensitive these days. For training runs, it doesn't matter, but it would be good to figure out how to run 3.5 hours without having to stop. That would have added about 7 minutes to my time. Don't even know how available bathrooms will be in Las Vegas.

All in all, not a great run, but not a bad one. And I've made it to eleven miles! At this point, I could run a half marathon if I had to -- only another 2.1 miles. But I've got another month and a half to get stronger.

I skipped my Thursday run this week -- first time I've had to miss a midweek run. Spent all day working on replacing the water heater and fixing the pipe from the pump. Skipping one run won't make a difference, but I've got to be extra diligent not start missing more of them.

Week 10: Four miles

2010-10-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

1:03 hours, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

I decided to do the Dennison-Valley run today, for something different, and because it was short enough that I could run without water or bathrooms or such. Didn't even use my waist pack. It was chilly this morning, so I wore my black running pants and shirt and my running hoodie, and just put handkerchief, ID, and truck key in my hoodie pockets. The sun was out and I ended up tying my hoodie around my waist after about a mile and a half. It was a very nice run, beautiful weather, and I felt strong the whole way.

Week 9: Nine and a half miles

2010-10-01T14:17:00.001-07:00

2:35 hours, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

Today's run was one of those runs. I got a late start, the weather was stifling, my stomach was wonky, and I was really, really glad when it was over. It was supposed to be cloudy today, so I was hoping for some shade, knowing I was going to be out there for over two hours, but none of the clouds ever came between me and the sun. It was probably close to 90 degrees, without a bit of shade. I felt like I was flirting with heat exhaustion by the time I was done, despite drinking plenty of water and pouring water over my head now and then. And I forgot to put on sunscreen before I left this morning.

I made bathroom stops at 4 and 7 miles, but stopped my watch while I was off the trail. I got a good start, with 1:01 at 4 miles, but had a hard time getting back into the groove after stopping. It was just so hot. I ate my last two Clif Shot Bloks at 4 and 8 miles. Must get some more! Maybe they were hard on my stomach, especially since they're so old and the package has been opened for a while now.

I ended up walking the last half-mile, because I was starting to feel pretty wrung out. Considering how awful I felt for the last half of my run, I still did a pretty darn good time, averaging about 16.5 minute miles.

One good thing: my shoulders and neck didn't get sore, like they have on previous long runs. Yay pushups!

Just after I got home, the sky clouded over and we were pounded with thunderstorms for about an hour and a half. And now it's nice and cool. Oh well. I got my 9.5 miles in!

Week 8: Three miles

2010-09-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

49:48 minutes, 28.1 laps, appx 30:60 sec run/walk ratio

I was still pretty worn out from hauling brush and tree limbs for three hours yesterday, so it was a slow-ish three miles around the house, but I got it done.

Week 7: Eight miles

2010-09-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

2:12 hours, 30:60 sec run/walk ratio

I got up a little before 7 am today, and was at the park for my run by 8:30 am. Weather was sunny with a bit of a breeze, hot but not too hot. I was feeling listless and slow, and was in fact a bit off my usual pace, but not too bad.

I brought along the Clif Shot Bloks I had left over and ate two or three of them while I ran. I like them, I think I'll try to get more. They'd gotten a bit dried out after being opened, but I splashed a couple of drops of water into the bag before I left, and they softened up a bit by the time I ate them.

I'm pleased at the way I've been keeping up with my runs, even though sometimes I feel blah and unmotivated. I haven't seriously been tempted to blow any of them off, I just trudge out there and do them anyway. Still, I hope I have a little more enthusiasm when it comes time for the longer runs. And especially for the half marathon itself. I still haven't registered. I think I'll enjoy it once I'm there, but I've got too many other things going on right now to think much about going to Las Vegas in December.

Week 6: Three miles

2010-09-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

47:37 minutes, 28.1 laps, 30:60 sec run/walk ratio (approximate)

I slept in until 8 am today, because I've been so tired this week, the weather has been cooling down, and it was only a 3-mile run. So I didn't get out there until 9:30-ish, and just did my run around the house. I felt pretty good, and my time showed it—I averaged just under 16-minute miles, and cut about 3.5 minutes off my Week 1 3-mile time. Go me!

I didn't use the watch to time intervals, so they're approximate. It's too easy to get messed up trying to run exact intervals on such short laps. I generally run somewhere between 30–40 seconds and then walk the rest of the way, usually about a minute. So it's close enough. Maybe it helps to run a little more than 30 seconds on the short runs, makes it easier to keep going for 30 seconds on the long runs.

Anyway, I'm pleased to have done such a good run after feeling so icky this week (mostly stressed out and not getting enough sleep, but I think I'm past it now). I hope I can stay strong for next week's eight-mile run.

I still haven't registered for the race. Registration is $145 and I had truck repair expenses this month, so maybe I'll wait until next month. There's still time. I should get my hotel reservations done, though.

Week 5: Six and a half miles

2010-09-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

1:46 hours, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

I actually did about six and three quarter miles, because I ended up doing the short lower loop at Meadowbrook Park for my "half mile," which I'd figured out from previous runs in the park was about three quarters of a mile. But I stopped my watch after eight and a half minutes or so, about where I thought a half mile was, and walked the rest of the way back. So my time and distance are approximate, but close enough.

I had a good run, despite being kind of tired. It was hard getting up at 6 am. I'd gone to bed at 10 pm, but wasn't really sleepy and didn't get to sleep until after 11. So I was a bit short on sleep. But I felt pretty good and finished without getting too tired, averaging just over 16 minute miles. (My time at 6 miles was 1:37.)

My shoulders and neck were a bit sore while I was running, which means I was leaning forward while I ran, trying to push myself ahead. I need to pay more attention to my posture and stay upright while I run.

I ate a Cliff Blok at 4 miles. Pretty good, kind of a gummy cube. It was probably a bit dried out from sitting in my cupboard for over a year—it was from a sample packet I picked up at my last half marathon. I will try them again on my next long run.

There was a light breeze, which kept the heat from being too overpowering. I finished by 9:30 am, so it wasn't too hot. But I hope the weather starts to cool down before my runs get much longer. I'm not going to be able to get up any earlier.

Five weeks into my training, and still going strong! Guess I could go ahead and register for the Las Vegas Half Marathon now.

Week 4: Two and a half miles

2010-08-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

23.5 laps, 40:17 minutes, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

Well, that was a kind of messed-up run. It was cool here today, so I decided to sleep in a bit and got started around 8:30 am. Since it was a "long" weekend run, I used my watch to time intervals, but otherwise it was just like my midweek runs with a few extra laps tacked onto the end.

The first glitch was hitting the split button right at the end of an interval. The interval didn't chime, so I ended up running nearly a minute and a half before I realized I'd been running too long. And the split apparently didn't take, either, because when I got to a mile, my time was off. I checked and found one 3:19 minute split, so obviously I'd missed one, so I hit the split button twice at the end of the lap to catch up.

Then, after about 20 laps, my neighbor from up the road stopped to talk, so I ended up taking about a ten-minute break in the middle of my run.

Oh well. I got my 2.5 miles in, which is the main thing. Time was pretty good after all that messing around, averaged around 16-minute miles.

Week 3: Five miles

2010-08-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

1:19:50, 30:60 sec run/walk ratio

Nice run! I got up early—set my alarm for 6 am and actually got up when the alarm went off—and was ready to head out by 7:15. I decided to run in Meadowbrook Park today, for a bit of variation, and it was very pleasant. Arrived at the park at 7:38 and headed out. It was already sunny but not too hot. I kept up my pace the whole way, even pushed a bit on the last mile. The only discomfort was that my digestion hadn't quite kicked in before I left, so I needed the restroom by the time I was finished. Luckily, the restrooms were open today, so that was the advantage of running in the park! I will probably do most of my long runs there.

I fixed up my running watch with a rubber back to cover the metal case. I cut it to fit around the case, with tabs on the end to fold over the watchband, and stitched the tabs shut with buttonhole thread. Works very well.

I had a rough week this week, busy helping out a friend, and not getting enough sleep, so I skipped my in-between walking days, but I did do my 19-lap runs around the house on Tuesday and Thursday, which is the important thing. Tuesday was about 32 minutes and Thursday was 33:30. I felt really slow and tired on Thursday, but also ran counter-clockwise, which is a bit harder. Still, decent times and I got my runs in.

I'm very pleased with today's run. The 30:60 second run/walk ratio is working very well. I don't get tired and keep my pace up. I felt like I could have run another mile with no trouble.

Week 2: Four miles

2010-08-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

1:03 hours, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

Whoo! Pretty good time, if I do say so myself. I got up early (then futzed around and still got started later than I wanted to) and drove down to the mailboxes, and ran Dennison to Valley, Valley to Curry, and back. I felt good and kept up a good pace the whole time. I think this 30:60 second run/walk ratio is really helping. I don't get as tired as I do running 1:2 minutes. I noticed that there is really no shade to speak of at all on that stretch of road. And not a cloud in the sky, so the sun was pretty hot, even before 9 am. But I didn't get too tired and finished strong.

I really need some new running clothes. Socks and shorts especially. I have shirts I can wear, but only two pairs of shorts. One, the elastic in the undershorts got hard and cracked and I cut it out so now the undies ride up. The other, the elastic in the waistband is all stretched out and they don't stay up as well as they should. So, neither one is in good shape. Now that there's a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in town, maybe I can buy clothes there. And my running socks are all wearing out. I want some more Wright Socks, I'll have to send for those.

I didn't take a water bottle with me, because I didn't feel like wearing my waist pack. It was okay for a four-mile run, but I think I'll need to start carrying it for my long runs from now on.

My new sport watch arrived yesterday, just in time! So I was able to time my mile splits and chime my intervals and all. Very nice. I didn't take the time to prepare a rubber thing to put under the case so it wouldn't short out, so I just wrapped my arm in plastic wrap. Which worked—the watch didn't short out, anyway—but it sure made my wrist sweaty. Need to figure out something for that.

I've sort of decided to do the Las Vegas Half Marathon instead of Long Beach. For one thing, the Long Beach hotels were mostly sold out already and the ones that were left were expensive. And the time—which I figured out was only 10 weeks, not 11—is really too short for decent training. Plus, I'm going to visit a friend in October, so it would be two out of town trips in one month, which I don't like doing. So I think I'll shoot for Las Vegas instead. It's not until December 5, so there's plenty of time. And I was checking the hotels, and I can stay at the Luxor! For not very much money! I love the Luxor.

Anyway, two weeks down! I'm on my way!

Week 1: Three miles

2010-08-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

51:08 min, 28.1 laps, 40:60 sec run/walk ratio (approximate)

So, here I go again! It's been almost a year since I last posted... my attempt to run the Las Vegas Half Marathon last year failed after the first long run. I vaguely remember being so tired and skipping runs and finally deciding it just wasn't going to happen. I had a long, tiring, depressing winter, and didn't exercise at all. Except for shoveling snow. We had a very cold winter with lots of snow, and it would have been near impossible to get out to do any runs even if I'd wanted to.

I've been trying off and on since spring to get back into the habit of doing some kind of exercise, and for the past month or so have been taking two-mile walks three or four times a week. (I try to do six times a week, but something always seems to happen to make me skip a day or two.) This week, I started on Tuesday. Because we've had a big fire here and the road was filled with fire trucks and such, I decided not to walk on the road, but just to go around the house. And, to keep it interesting, I decided to run a bit while I walked. And it was fun! And I got all enthused! So I walked two miles on Wednesday, then ran/walked around the house on Thursday, with a good time of 33:30 min. So I decided, what the heck. Maybe I can do another half marathon!

I walked two miles yesterday, then today I did my three-mile run around the house. My time was pretty bad, but I've only just gotten started back, so I don't mind too much. I felt good the whole way, though, and didn't tire out. Okay, 51 min is 17-minute-miles. That's not that bad.

Anyway, I'm shooting for the Long Beach Half Marathon on October 17. That doesn't give me much time to train, so I'm going to just relax and not worry about the time. Because of the way it's laid out, Long Beach has the same time limit for the Half Marathon as for the Marathon—7.5 hours. So I've got plenty of time to finish! I'm going to just try to finish in under 4 hours. Hm, a 17-min-mile half marathon is 3:42 hours. I can do that.

Since I've only got 11 weeks to train, I've worked out a schedule of 3, 4, 5, 6.5, 8, 9, 10, 11.5, 13, and 6 miles. That will get me up to 13 miles two weeks before the race, with a 6-mile recovery run the week before. And a couple of 1.5-mile increases instead of 1-mile. It's tight, and I'll have to be careful to run slowly enough to avoid getting injured, but I think I can do it.

One week down, 10 to go!

Thursday 19 laps

2009-09-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

32:04 minutes, 30:70 sec run/walk ratio

I was really, really tired yesterday, and couldn't even face the thought of walking two miles, so I skipped it and did my two miles today. I didn't feel all that great today, either, but I guess my body didn't know it, because I had a good run. I didn't bother with iPod or anything, just did my laps. I will go ahead and walk tomorrow and run Saturday, and I'll get my 3 runs in this week, with 2 walks. Good enough.

Week 1: 3 miles

2009-09-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

46:32 minutes, 28 laps, 30:70 second run/walk ratio

So. I sat down and counted out the weeks until Las Vegas, and decided that I have time if I start my long runs now! I'm still not entirely sure I'm going to do the half marathon, but if I don't start training, I won't be able to whether I want to or not. So I went ahead and did three miles tonight, and darn, I did good! I decided that Mondays would be good for my long runs. I don't want to do them on Sundays, so if that's my day off from running and walking, it should be the day before my long run. I will try to do long runs on Mondays, 2-mile runs on Wednesdays and Fridays, and 2-mile walks on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Except, of course for weekends I'm out of town, in which case I'll fit in the long runs when I can. I set myself a schedule of 3 miles, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 5, 12, 6, 14, 7, and then the half marathon.

It was quite a bit cooler today than it has been. I actually put on my hoodie for the first five or six laps till I warmed up. I took off my hat after the first two miles, I don't really need it when I'm running after the sun goes behind the mountain and it just heats up my head. Felt better to run without it.

I may have to fiddle with my time of day for the long runs. I figure I can still do up to maybe six miles after dinner, but any longer and I'll need to start earlier so it doesn't get dark before I'm done. But by then it should be getting cooler anyway, so I should be able to start in the afternoon and run before dinner. We'll see. One down, fourteen weeks to go!

Friday 19 laps

2009-09-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

32:30 minutes, 30:70 sec run/walk ratio, appx.

Had a pretty good run tonight, despite being tired and icky-feeling earlier. I was pretty much all set to just walk it tonight, but then I went next door to have dinner with my mom, and ate some yummy salmon chowder that gave me some pep, so I went ahead and did the run. I'd thought that running soon after dinner would be hard on my stomach, but I was fine. I guess as long as I don't stuff myself, a half-hour is long enough to digest. (I do remember stopping to grab a slice of pizza in the middle of a long training run in San Francisco, and enjoying it immensely to no detriment, so I guess eating before/during a run isn't necessarily a bad thing.)

I skipped the iPod, I just didn't feel like listening tonight. Had a nice quiet run. The bugs are annoying when I run in the evening, but I don't suppose they're much worse than in the morning.

I didn't do a long run this week. I'm still not sure whether I'll do the Las Vegas half marathon this year or not. I suppose I should get out my calendar and figure out if I still have time to train for it.

Wednesday 19 laps

2009-09-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

33:30 minutes, 40:60 sec run/walk ratio

Again, the run/walk ratio is estimated—I just ran till I stopped, and walked the rest of the lap.

Pretty good run, not as fast as Monday, but decent time. I listened to Pema Chodron on my iPod shuffle and felt good the whole way.

I did my walk yesterday. It wasn't quite two miles; I'd started out planning to listen to my iPod shuffle, but found that, while I had charged up the battery, I'd forgotten to turn the thing off, and had already run the battery down again. So I came in and got my iPod touch to listen to instead. Found out after numerous times putting it in my pocket and having it change songs on me that it was set to "shake to shuffle." Whose bright idea was that? Argh. Turned that off, then listened to Rage Against the Machine while I walked, because I don't have any audiobooks on the touch. I felt tired and grumpy and didn't want to be out there, so I quit at 30 minutes. Good enough. The in-between days are just to get 30 minutes of some kind of exercise in.

One side benefit I'm finding of exercising in the evening is that it dulls my appetite for dinner so I don't eat as much. I wish I'd start showing a little weight loss; I gained ten pounds this spring and am hanging steady at 160, which is about 20 pounds more than I'd like to be. I hope exercising regularly will help get some of that weight off.

Monday 19 laps

2009-08-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

32:22 minutes, 30:70 sec run/walk ratio

(My run/walk ratio was actually more like "run for about 30–40 seconds, then walk the rest of the lap." It's very hard to pin a precise ratio on it. But my run interval was more than 30 seconds, less than half a lap.)

And, yay! An excellent time. Shows what a difference it makes to run rested and without the sun beating down on me! I went out around 6:15 pm (meant to go at 6 pm, but got distracted), after the sun was well down behind the mountain, so it was shady all around the loop. The temperature had already cooled off considerably from today's high near 100 F. I felt good and kept up a good pace the whole way. In fact, my second mile was a bit faster than my first, probably due to walking the first lap.

I was going to listen to my iPod shuffle, but the battery had run down, so I just ran in silence. I'd been worried that the bugs would be too annoying to run in the evening, but they weren't any worse than they are in the morning, so no big. Plus, it's much easier to kick myself out the door in the afternoon than it is in the morning. So, I think this schedule is going to be a keeper.

I've also decided to try to exercise six days a week, instead of only three. I'll continue to run/walk three days (looks like Monday Wednesday Friday for now), and on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I'll either walk two miles or do some yoga or Tai Chi or something. I did actually go out and walk two miles Saturday, but I don't plan to make separate posts for the in-between days. I did two miles in 37 minutes. It would have been less if I hadn't stopped twice to shake rocks out of my shoes, and once to see if someone was coming up my driveway. I figure I lost about two minutes in various stops, so I probably could have done the two miles in 35 minutes if I'd kept going. Which is kind of freaky when you think about it—that's as fast as some of my slower running days. Heh. If I could keep up that pace, I could walk a marathon as fast as my last few running ones. Oh well!

It does make me think that I'd be just as well off to walk on days that I'm feeling particularly tired or icky.

Friday 19 laps

2009-08-28T18:32:00.001-07:00

35:33 minutes, half:half lap run/walk ratio

Well. I really am having a hard time getting back into exercising. The heat, for one thing, and my tendency to stay up later and sleep in later when I'm not working. Finally, I decided to give running in the afternoon a try, so today, I went out at around 5:30-ish and did my 19 laps. It was pretty hot today, but the sun goes behind the mountain around 5 pm so it starts to cool down a little, and there's no sun beating down on me, which makes a big difference.

I still felt tired and enervated. Partly because I ate a late lunch today (around 3 pm), so I was still sort of full. But it was okay. I kind of liked going out in the afternoon. I didn't feel rushed like I do in the mornings, especially when I'm trying to beat the heat. Plus, this allows me to do my morning practice as late as I want, and not interfere with running. I think I will try this for a while and see how it works. Ideally, I would like to at least go out and walk on non-running days, so I'm getting some exercise every day.

I was followed by a very sweet blond dog who showed up at my door this afternoon. Looks like maybe a lab-golden mix. I hope he/she has a home to go to. Otherwise, I might just have a dog...

Saturday 19 laps

2009-08-15T10:19:00.001-07:00

35:50 minutes, half:half lap run/walk ratio

I slept in late this morning, didn't get up until 8:15 am, so it was 8:40-ish by the time I got out to do my run, even doing it right away after chores. Fortunately, it's cooler today with a light breeze, so it wasn't a problem to run later in the morning. Still, I felt very enervated and logy and my time was really slow. At least I got out there and did it, which I really didn't want to do.

I had already decided not to start ramping up mileage yet. I just want to get into the habit of running three times a week for a while first.

I've almost finished The Art of Happiness, I think. Probably start re-listening to Getting Unstuck next time.

Wednesday 19 laps

2009-08-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

34:30 minutes, half:half lap run/walk ratio

I did my run earlier this morning, going out as soon as I'd finished my morning chores (feeding fish and cats and cleaning cat boxes), so I was running by 7:20 am. It was much cooler, although I still felt the sun when I wasn't running in the shade. There's much more shade at that time of morning, though, so even if the sun's hot, I'll feel less of it.

I still felt tired and slow. Maybe I need to drink some soy milk or something before I go out. I do usually have my cocoa first, which probably helps boost my energy. Maybe I should have my protein drink first, and cocoa after, instead of waiting till after to have my protein drink. Hm. I'll try to remember to try that on Saturday.

Otherwise, it was more or less the same as on Monday. I listened to The Art of Happiness on my iPod and trudged around the house.

Monday 19 laps

2009-08-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

33:42 minutes, half:half lap run/walk ratio

Well. I'd meant to take a week off while I was visiting my friend in Monterey... but that week kind of turned into six weeks. For one thing, it was really hot here for about three or four weeks after I got home. The temperatures were near 100 F every day, and it never really cooled down. Even early in the morning, it was too hot to run. Plus, I suddenly found myself giving notice at my job, and I just kept thinking about how much easier it was all going to be when I wasn't working any more, so I just put everything on hold until the end of July. Then, when I did stop working, I spent about a week just lazing around enjoying not having to do anything.

But finally, today, I decided it was time to get my butt in gear and start exercising again. I will most likely switch back to my usual Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule after this week, since I'm volunteering at the library on Fridays, but I didn't want to lose the momentum I woke up with this morning, so I went ahead and did my 19 laps around the house.

I'm not sure I will want to do the Las Vegas Half Marathon in December—I'm going to have to cut back on my expenses now that I'm not bringing in that extra money working at the library—but, for now, I'll continue training as if I'm going to be doing it. I've got plenty of time, still, so there's no hurry.

I didn't get outside until 9 am this morning, and it was already getting hot, although nowhere near as hot as it was a few weeks ago. I think I'm going to have to start doing my runs first thing in the morning, after doing morning chores, instead of sitting down to have my cocoa and read journals and email and click dragons and such first. If I get up around 7-ish, I could be out running by 7:30 or 8 am, which should be cooler than 9 am. I'll try to do that next time.

I listened to the Dalai Lama's audiobook this morning. After I finish it, I think I'll listen to Pema Chodron's again. Then I'll have to get another Buddhist audiobook for my morning runs.

Thursday 19 laps

2009-06-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

34:10 minutes, half:half lap run/walk ratio

Blergh. Today was One of Those Days—I barely slept last night, got up at 6 am, finally dragged myself out of the house at 8:30 am, and felt completely enervated during my whole run. Still, my time wasn't that bad, especially considering that I stopped for at least 30 seconds to pick foxtails out of my shoe and let the timer run. Also, my time on my last lap was 1:51, which is only a few seconds more than my time for my initial laps. So I kept up my pace pretty well.

Tomorrow I head out of town for the weekend. I may or may not try to get in a short run sometime along the way, but if I don't, I'm not going to worry about it.

Tuesday 19 laps

2009-06-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

32:16 minutes, half:half lap run/walk ratio

My time is improving a bit on the midweek runs. This is really only my second week of doing them, so I mustn't get impatient.

I had a pretty good run this morning, keeping up my pace and feeling good. I've begun switching directions after each 9 or ten laps on all my runs, in order to work out both legs equally. My right foot has been stiff and creaky, and I thought it was perhaps because of always running clockwise and pivoting more on that foot. But then at temple the other day, I realized it was in fact because I've been doing a lot of sitting in half-lotus position with my right foot pulled up on top of my left leg. D'oh! Oh well, I think the change-up of directions will help, anyway.

I hooked my iPod shuffle (which I seem to have named "shufflet" in iTunes) so I could see what was on it, and both the audiobooks, the Dalai Lama's and Pema Chodron's, were there, neatly in order, so today I was determined to find the beginning of The Art of Happiness to listen to while I ran. It took about five minutes of clicking back and forth, but I finally found it. Yay! Now, if only I can keep from scrambling it again, I'll be able to listen to the book all the way through while I run.

Also, after I'd already gone and bought a new bottle of sunscreen at Kmart, the free sample packet of sunscreen that I knew I had but couldn't find when I needed it on Saturday fell out of the bathroom cabinet right in front of me last night when I was looking for something else. D'oh! again. I tried it this morning and it's really rather nice. Has a fresh, almost citrusy scent, and is thick and waterproof while not being sticky and greasy. If I hadn't already bought a big bottle of something else, I might try to find some. Probably couldn't find it around here, anyway.

I found the info about this year's Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon. Apparently, it's now part of the Rock'n'Roll series, and has a different website. It's December 6, a week closer than Honolulu, but has a half marathon, which Honolulu doesn't. I wouldn't be able to do the full marathon at Las Vegas, anyway, since the time limit is 7 hours, but the limit for the half is 4 hours, which is eminently doable. So I think I'll plan for the Las Vegas Half Marathon this year. That will give me plenty of time to train, and it will be much cheaper than going to Hawaii, since I can drive instead of flying.

Week 2: 4 miles

2009-06-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

1:08 hr, 30:60 sec run/walk ratio

Today's run was okay, but not great. I managed to get out by 8:30 am, but was still getting uncomfortably hot by the time I finished. It's becoming clear to me that I'm going to have to try to get up early enough on Saturdays to finish my long runs by 9 am, or else start running at a gym, or run in the evenings, or something, because it's not even the hottest part of the summer and already it's too hot. I wonder if I could get up early, do my run, then go back to bed to finish my night's sleep? Hm.

I used my vibrating timer to time my intervals, clipping it to my watchband part of the time and holding it in my hand the rest of the time. If I'm going to listen to my iPod while I run, I'll need to use the vibrating timer, because I can't hear beeps, but I'm still not satisfied with how to hold/wear it. I wonder if I hung it on my iPod lanyard?

I listened to the rest of Pema Chodron's audiobook, which took about 35 minutes, but then my iPod shuffle seems to have gotten scrambled. I couldn't find the beginning of the Dalai Lama's book, only a few random chapters. Then I couldn't find the beginning of Pema Chodron's book, either. So I stopped my watch at 23 laps and came inside to take off my iPod, and also to put some sunscreen on my arm, because my left arm was starting to feel hot and I didn't want to get a sunburn. But it seems I tossed my sunscreen (I vaguely recall that it was way out of date), so I changed my singlet for a short-sleeved shirt, and continued my run.

My time wasn't that great, but I felt pretty good the whole way. Two long runs down!

Thursday 19 laps

2009-06-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

33:08 minutes, half:half lap run/walk ratio

I don't really know how to write my run/walk ratio on these runs, because it's not really a set time or distance. I just run approximately 30 seconds, or half a lap, then walk the rest of the way. I think it was more 30:60 seconds on the first mile, and half/half lap on the second. Oh well! Close enough.

I'd hoped to get up early enough to start running at 8 am, when it would be a little cooler, but it was not to be. First of all, I had an allergy attack last night, and ended up getting up at 2 am to take a pill. (I took half a dose of my Walgreens Allergy Sinus-D, which is the chlorpheniramine maleate-pseudoephedrine HCL combo I used to use all the time, which has become really hard to find now that pseudoephedrine HCL has been taken off the shelf and you have to show your ID and sign a form to get it. The stuff I buy at Walgreens also has acetaminophen in it, which I don't need, and I don't like taking drugs I don't need, but it's the only one I can find that has the other two drugs in it. I was glad to find that half a dose works just as well, and I don't feel as groggy today as I do when I take a full dose.) Then I slept in later to make up for missing an hour or so of sleep, and then I found a chipmunk in the kitties' room when I went to scoop their litter boxes, and spent half an hour or so chasing that around till it finally escaped under the door into the utility room, so I gave up and set the live trap and hope to catch it later.

Anyway. It was after 9 am by the time I finally got out onto the driveway. I listened to Pema Chodron on my iPod as I ran. I hadn't loaded in any sutras or anything else, because I didn't want to lose my place where I was in the book last time I listened to it. Then I accidentally shuffled it anyway, and ended up with it starting on part of the next audiobook. Heh. Oh well, I went back and found a chapter of Pema Chodron's book that I don't think I'd heard before. (It's been so long since I listened to it anyway, I might as well start over and listen to the whole thing again.) I listened to Part 5.

The run itself was fine. I shortened my time a bit from Tuesday, but I'm still getting my strength back after being off for so long. One week down, twenty-six to go!

Tuesday 19 laps

2009-06-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

33:30 minutes, 30:60 sec run/walk ratio

After running three miles on Saturday, then doing 15–20 minutes of prostrations at the Zen Center Sunday, then working five hours on the porch screens yesterday, I was pretty low energy today, and my shins were still sore. So I set out to take it easy on today's run, but still did a decent time. I went out at 9 am and it was already getting a bit hot; it wasn't a big problem, but I'd probably do better if I tried to get out by 8 am, especially as it's not even really hot yet this year.

I've been thinking about how I'm going to coordinate morning runs with morning Buddhist practice, and it occurred to me that I could just do my practice while running on alternate mornings, instead of sitting in front of my altar. I could load the Heart Sutra, or whatever sutra I'm working on, on my iPod, along with some Kwan Seum Bosal chanting, maybe listen to more of Pema Chodron's book for a Dharma talk, or empty my mind and meditate while I'm running and walking around the house.

I charted out my long runs with the Honolulu Marathon as a goal, and it works out pretty well, except that I've got my 23-mile run the weekend of Yaoi-con. This actually might be an advantage—I could go do my run in Golden Gate Park, where it's beautiful and the weather's nice and there are bathrooms and water fountains readily available. The disadvantage is having to leave my roommate to her own devices for the entire day while I'm off running, but I don't really care about the con, so if she doesn't mind it wouldn't really be a problem.

We'll see. I still haven't settled on Honolulu. The expense and hassle of flying to Hawaii might be a deal-breaker this year. The 2009 Las Vegas Marathon doesn't appear to have been scheduled yet, but it's generally also in December, so it might be a good alternative.

Week 1: 3 miles

2009-06-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

28.1 laps, 30:60 sec run/walk ratio, 47:54 minutes

So, here I am again! After a long, hard winter of being sick five times, and then having a very hard time motivating myself to get back into it, I've finally gotten myself out running around the house again.

What happened was that my brother came over yesterday to help me fix up my porch, and we moved my vinyl couch onto the porch. Since the hallway & porch doors are too narrow for the couch, we carried it out the front, down the front steps, around the house, and up the porch steps. I found that I was able to lift my end of the couch easily enough, but I got tired really quickly and had to stop and rest about four times along the way. I have no stamina at all any more! Plus, I've gained weight, I'm not sleeping well, I'm fatigued all the time. I decided it was time to start running again.

I don't know which half marathon or marathon is my goal yet, or even if I'll end up running one. Right now, I'm sort of aiming at running Honolulu again. Counting today as Week 1, I have exactly 26 weeks till the marathon, so it's doable, although there's no leeway for missing runs built in, and I'm starting from zero. I don't know how I'll handle the long runs in the summer heat or winter cold, or if I'll be able to afford to go to Hawaii this winter, or any number of things. But it's a place to start.

Today's run wasn't too bad. My run/walk ratio was not timed exactly; I walked about two-thirds of a lap, then ran the rest of the way. I stopped twice because Mom stopped by; I stopped my watch so the pauses wouldn't count, but I don't know how much of an advantage those brief extra rests gave me. It got kind of hot in the last mile—I got a late start, because I had to go into town to pick up produce at 10:30. But this is the last week I'll be doing that, so I'll be able to start earlier on Saturdays from now on. (If I continue training for a full marathon, I'll have to either move my long runs to Friday or Monday, or take a few Saturdays off for the longest runs, but I'll worry about that when the time comes.)

I averaged 16 minute miles for my timing run, which is pretty good for not having run at all in six months. I sure would like to run a 16 minute/mile marathon!

Saturday, and not running

2008-12-20T16:35:00.000-08:00

We now have a foot of snow. The road hasn't been plowed, so I am not going to attempt to go into town. I can't run here—I can barely walk through the snow, and the ground is slippery and wet. So, no long run this weekend. I think Surf City is pretty well out of the question at this point. I was really counting on being able to do ten miles this weekend. Oh well, I can't do anything about the weather!

Tuesday

2008-12-16T09:26:00.001-08:00

There is four inches of snow on the ground, so I couldn't run around the house. I had intended to use my trampoline for 30 minutes today in lieu of running, but instead spent my half-hour wrestling with my generator, which did not want to produce electricity, and scraping snow off the solar panels. Oh well, it was some physical effort anyway.

Week 8: Four miles

2008-12-13T10:39:00.000-08:00

1:01 hours, 38 laps, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

I had a really good run today, despite the weather—it was cold and drizzly, then started snowing at about lap 23. I had originally planned to drive into town, but with the cold and wind I decided to just run around the house. I started out with the 1:1 lap ratio, but, as on Thursday, decided after three laps to switch to running about halfway and walking the rest of the way. So it wasn't exactly 30:60, but close enough. I ran the first 19 laps clockwise, and the second 19 counter-clockwise.

What really made it enjoyable was that I dug out my iPod shuffle and loaded it up with a couple of audiobooks, and listened to the first three parts of Pema Chodron's Getting Unstuck while I ran. It was very interesting and pleasant and kept my mind occupied while my body ran around and around. Yes, it's a bit ironic to be using a book about mindfulness and being in the present moment to keep myself distracted while I run. Hm. There was a short guided meditation in the middle where we were to relax and listen to all the sounds around us: I listened to the wind and my footsteps and my breath as I ran.

But even before I started running, I was using mindfulness to feel that running in the rain was going to be an interesting experience, rather than labeling it as bad and being attached to having good weather to run in. And I was actually kind of delighted when it started to snow, watching the white snowflakes falling all around, and feeling the cold little drops on my hands. I enjoyed the experience of being outdoors in the winter while I ran today.

After Getting Unstuck, I also have the Dalai Lama's The Art of Happiness to listen to. And then I suppose I'll have to get some more audiobooks to listen to while I run!

Thursday 19 laps

2008-12-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

29:37 minutes, 1/2:1/2 lap run/walk ratio

I did my first three laps as usual, walk:run:walk, then I decided to try shortening the interval and running about half a lap, then walking the rest of the way, just to see if it made any difference in my time, and boy, I guess it did! I ran counterclockwise today—the "uphill" direction—and wasn't feeling particularly fast (my first complete running lap was a slow 1:27), and still managed to finish 19 laps in under 30 minutes! I guess I really should be doing 30:60 second run/walk intervals on my long runs. Although I think I'll stick to 1:1 laps for my midweek runs generally, and 1:2 for the shorter long runs, just to keep my endurance up.

I did go ahead and make reservations at the Hotel Huntington Beach for Surf City. I went to their website, just to see what their hotel was like and check prices without the "Surf City" discount, and they had king rooms for $87! That's cheaper than the $95 it said on the Surf City website! So I went ahead and reserved a room for Saturday and Sunday nights.

It's supposed to be really cold this weekend—highs in the 40s on Saturday—but no rain or snow until Monday or so. Brr! I hope it stays dry!

Tuesday 19 laps

2008-12-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

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

I'm back! Decided to give it another go, and see if I can get back on track for Surf City. It was cold out there, but it felt good to get my circulation going, and I didn't seem to lose any time over the weeks of being sick. My cough is mostly gone—I'm still having the occasional bout of coughing, but not nearly as bad as before. Another week, at most, should see it totally gone, I think. I don't think it would have really stopped me from running anyway, unless I started coughing in the middle of a run, but I was sleeping 12 hours or more a night and just not having time to do my runs. Anyway, I feel better now, and am not quite ready to give up on Surf City yet.

I do need to make hotel reservations soon. I finally decided that the hotels within walking distance of the start/finish line were just too expensive (and the host hotel is sold out already anyway), so I'm going for the Hotel Huntington Beach, six miles from the start, and only $95 a night. I'll be able to stay two nights there for less than the price of one night at Hyatt Regency! I'll just have to drive to the start in the morning, or take a cab or something. I'll figure it out.

Still coughing

2008-12-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

Well, obviously, my training is not going well at all. I haven't run in a couple of weeks, and I'm not going to run today, either. I'm still coughing—my cold seems to be gone, but I can't get rid of this cough. I feel pretty good, most of the time, but I'm sleeping a lot, which interferes with me getting up in time to do my runs before work and whatever else I have scheduled.

I keep thinking about canceling Surf City... but then, I think, I still have time to get ready if I just get back on track and don't miss any more runs! I might not be able to match my time in Long Beach, but I'm pretty sure I can still finish. Then there's the hotel... the main hotel is already full, and the only other one that appears to be within walking distance of the start/finish is $250 a night... I've been thinking of just staying overnight, driving down Saturday in time to pick up my race packet, then home Sunday after the race. Huntington Beach is about a three hour drive from here, so it's doable. The main problem would be the check-out time—I won't be finishing the half marathon until around 11:30, so if check-out time is noon, I've got half an hour to get back to the hotel, shower and pack and check out. Also doable, but a bit close. Maybe I can get a late check-out? Or maybe just bite the bullet and pay for two nights.

I need to make a hotel reservation soon, though, if I'm still even considering doing the race. Sigh. I don't want to give up on it, but it's getting harder by the day. I just wish I could get rid of this darn cough! It's been hanging on for weeks.

Well, I'll give it a few more weeks and see if I can get myself back into training.

Tuesday 19 laps

2008-11-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

31:07 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

Still have this darned cold—it's at the coughing stage now, which means it should be winding down soon—but it doesn't seem to be slowing me down any. It was cold enough this morning that I wore my sweatshirt for the first mile, but then I warmed up and took it off. It was a nice fresh morning, but there's supposed to be a storm coming in today, bringing rain for the next couple of days. So... it may well be muddy and wet on Thursday, besides being Thanksgiving. My first weather challenge of the winter! And then a second storm is coming in on the weekend, bringing snow. I've only got three miles to do this weekend, but it may be too muddy and slushy to run around the house. Meadowbrook Park should be okay, though. And the library is closed this weekend, so I won't have to worry about finishing in time to go to work in the afternoon.

As for last Saturday's eight-mile run, I checked back and found that I'd done my best time for eight miles since I've been keeping track of times on all my long runs! And I was afraid it would be hard, after missing so much of my training for this half marathon, and having a cold to boot! I guess I was still in pretty good shape from Long Beach. I matched my overall time for that half marathon, and did it on the park's inclined course. That bodes well for being able to train up to San Francisco's hilly half marathon in the summer.

Week 5: Eight miles

2008-11-22T11:38:00.000-08:00

2:07 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

When I was putting stuff in my waist pack this morning, I discovered the empty GU packet left over from Long Beach! I haven't been to the park since the half marathon, yikes!

Well, today, I did go to Meadowbrook Park for my eight mile run. I'd meant to get going by 8 am, but in fact it was closer to 8:20 by the time I got ready and hit the road. Still, plenty of time to finish and get ready for work at 1:30, and the weather is cool enough now that I don't have to worry about finishing by 10 am.

I had a really good run. Maintained a good pace and didn't get too tired. The weather was perfect, high clouds, light breeze, probably in the 60s the whole time. I wore my black running pants, and layered one of my AIDS Marathon tank tops under my red running shirt. Probably didn't really need the extra layer, but it didn't hurt, either.

I ate a couple of PowerBar Gel Blasts (like gummy candies) at 4 miles. They were one of the free samples I picked up in my race packet at Long Beach. They were lemon-flavored, very yummy! They helped my sore throat, too. I may try to get hold of some more. Only problem is, the package says to eat 1–2 pieces every 10 minutes while exercising! No way am I going to eat that many. But I don't use GUs as often as they say, either. Maybe one every half hour or so, or a couple every mile. Hm. That would be a big bagful of candies to carry along on a half marathon! Well, we'll see. I do need to eat more on the long runs than I did for Long Beach.

Thursday 19 laps

2008-11-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

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

I didn't run on Tuesday, because I slept in late and was still feeling icky. But today I felt fine, if reluctant to get moving, and had a good run.

I'm scheduled for 8 miles on Saturday. The longest I've done since Long Beach was five miles, and that was a while ago. I'm having a real hard time getting back into training this time. I don't really want to do Surf City. But then, that was what scheduling another race right away was for—to keep me training throughout the winter even if I don't want to. If not for Surf City, I'd have been sitting on my butt ever since Long Beach. So I guess it's doing its job!

Week 4: Three miles

2008-11-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

46:56 minutes, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

Did 28.1 laps around the house today. It was kind of a comedy of errors—I didn't get enough sleep last night, and feel a cold coming on, so I was tired and decided to take it easy and try out some new stuff. Used the Gymboss timer on vibrate to time intervals, using 30:60 second intervals, which is what Jeff Galloway now suggests in the training book I got with the timer. Same amount of running/walking time total, but with the intervals each cut in half. And used my iPod shuffle to listen to music while I ran. So, first thing, I went out of the house without earbuds. Went back for earbuds and started over. Then, after two laps, when it was too hot to keep my hoodie on, I realized I didn't have my hat, either, so I went back to toss my hoodie on a chair and grab my hat.

I didn't wear my sleeve, so I couldn't clip the timer to the gauntlet. I tried clipping it various other places, but nothing worked, so I ended up holding it in my hand. I messed up some of the intervals while I was fiddling with it.

Despite everything, I did a pretty good time. Averaged about 15:40 minute miles. I like the 30:60 second run/walk ratio, I don't get as tired with the very short run intervals. I'll try it next week on my 8-mile run and see how it goes.

Thursday 19 laps

2008-11-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

31:32 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

Hm, faster than Tuesday and I did the counter-clockwise circle today. I felt like I was being slow, but I guess not. It was a bit warmer today than Tuesday and the driveway has mostly dried up.

Tuesday 19 laps

2008-11-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

32:21 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

There was frost on the ground this morning! Winter is coming, brr! I told myself it would be bracing. Actually, it wasn't all that cold. I ran in my sweatpants and hoodie and it was fine. The driveway was a bit muddy—apparently, there was a big rain/snow storm here while I was out of town—but not too bad. There was only one spot where I had to kind of run around the puddles.

I felt kind of slow but still ran a decent time.

Week 3: Four miles

2008-11-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

(Miles approximate) 1:05 hours, 1:2–2:3 minutes

Did my run on the treadmill at our hotel in South San Francisco—not quite the 6.5 miles I was scheduled to do, but not bad. I didn't wear my watch, thinking I'd just watch the timer on the treadmill for intervals, but found 1:2 hard to keep track of, so I switched to 2:3 after about 25 minutes. It was a pretty good run, and I'm glad I was able to fit it into my schedule this weekend, even though it wasn't the whole distance.

Thursday 19 laps

2008-11-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

32:58 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

I was slow today. Still, I remember when "slow" was 35–37 minutes, and 33 minutes was fast for 19 laps. I really do feel as though I'm finally recovered from the medical problems I've had over the past few years.

I ran counterclockwise today, which is also the slow direction. It was a good run, but I got a late start and I'm driving to Monterey today! Now it's nearly 10 am and I still have tons of stuff to do before I head out, so I'd better get to it!

Tuesday 19 laps

2008-11-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

31:01 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

I have really been finding it hard to keep up with my running since Long Beach. I think this is the first midweek run I've done since I got back! It was cold and windy out there, and it sprinkled a bit of rain on me, but I wore my sweatpants and hoodie and did it anyway. Had a pretty good run, actually. I haven't been sloughing off long enough to really affect my conditioning, so if I am determined and keep it up from here on out, I think I'll be fine for Surf City. But keeping it up throughout the winter will be a challenge! I'm still thinking of joining a gym, but I want to check out the various gyms in town and see who's the cheapest and see if there are any that have month-to-month memberships.

And this weekend, I'll be in South San Francisco for a con, so I will have to be creative and determined to get my 6.5 (or 7) mile run in.

Week 2: Five miles

2008-10-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

1:22 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

Today was one of those days... I was grumpy and tired and really, really didn't want to run. I fiddled around with my schedule for a while, trying to figure out if I could get away with a shorter run, finally decided I really had to do five miles today, put it off until after 10 am, and finally shoved myself out the door to run 47 laps around the house. Then, after two laps, decided that it was too hot to wear my long running pants and came inside to change. Stopped my watch while I did it, but I didn't want to start all over again so I still counted those first two laps.

I was also trying out my new Gymboss interval timer, which I got from jeffgalloway.com. It's a clip-on timer with two programmable intervals that can be set to beep or vibrate or both. That took a bit of fiddling with: I tried it first set to vibrate only, clipped to my waistband, but I couldn't feel the vibration through my thick sweats, plus the clip began to irritate my waist after only a few laps. I reset it to beep and vibrate and carried it in my hand for a bit, then decided to clip it to the back of my compression gauntlet. That worked perfectly! I could easily glance at the timer to see where I was (and the display shows both timers, so I can always tell if I'm in a running or walking interval), and I could feel the vibration on my wrist. So I think that's going to work well. The vibration will work even if I'm running on a noisy road or in a race with a whole bunch of other people using watch beeps to time intervals, and I'll be able to use headphones if I want to on my weekend runs. So that was a success.

I'm still trying to work out what to do when I'm at BAScon in two weeks. I'm scheduled for seven miles that week. Ordinarily, I'd drive into SF and run in Golden Gate Park, but I'll be riding up from Monterey with my friend and won't have a car of my own at the con. I suppose I'll just try to run around the con hotel.

Thursday

2008-10-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

19 laps, 1:2 lap run/walk ratio, 30:54 minutes

I got a very late start today... the solar guys came this morning to install a couple of new batteries and take the old ones away, yay! and I didn't want to run while they were out there, and by the time they left it was 10 am and time to clean the fish tank, and by the time that was done, my mom called and I had email I wanted to write, and anyway, it was 11:30 when I finally got outside to do my run 'round the house. Felt good, and finished in good time. I wore my sweatpants, thinking it would still be cool, but it was fairly warm outside. I thought about coming in to change, but decided to just pull my pants legs up above my calves and keep going. Still, it was nothing like summer, when running at 11:30 would have been disastrous!

Tuesday

2008-10-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

19 laps, 1:2 lap run/walk ratio, 32:14 minutes

I felt very logy today, and got off to a slow start, but once I got going, I had a pretty good run. My quads were still sore from bowing at the temple on Sunday, but a few laps around the house loosened them up.

I haven't done a midweek run in two weeks. I'd like to say it's nice to get back out there, but meh. I'd rather be sitting on the couch websurfing. Oh well. Back to work! I've got another half marathon to run!

I'm sort of considering joining a gym again. Maybe try to get in a couple of workouts a week on my non-running days. And also have a treadmill available for winter days when the roads are too icy-slushy-snowy to run. I should take the tour of the gyms in town and see who has the cheapest rates.

Week 1: Three miles

2008-10-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

46:26 minutes, 28.1 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

I pondered over what to do my first week back after the Long Beach Half Marathon: take the week off? get right back into training? I finally decided to do a 3-mile timing run, to determine my pace and run/walk ratio for the next race. I cut my 3-mile time a good five minutes from the last 3-mile timing run I did, for Honolulu. Go me! But when I look at the chart I got for the last AIDS Marathon I did, I find that I'm actually slower than I was for LA. :( Oh well, I was really pushing myself in LA. And I think the three miles we ran in the park were probably flatter than my laps around the house. (I switched directions after 14 laps, to get the hills going both ways.) And the thing is, just last week I ran a half marathon in which I averaged that same 15:30 minutes per mile for the entire race, which I sure couldn't do in LA. So, never mind, I know I'm doing better than I was back then. Maybe I just had a bad day today.

Anyway, the chart tells me to use a 1:2 run/walk ratio, exactly what I've been using for Long Beach. I might try boosting it up to 2:3 or 1.5:2 for some of my shorter long runs, just to see how it goes.

I've already registered for the Surf City USA Half Marathon. I'm still working out my training schedule, but I think I'm going to try for a long run of 10-12 miles at least once every three weeks until the race.

Long Beach Half Marathon

2008-10-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

Picture report has been added to my marathon website!

Long Beach Half Marathon

Long Beach Half Marathon

2008-10-12T16:22:00.001-07:00

It's been a rough week... I didn't do either of my midweek runs, and if I hadn't already made plans with my Mom I'd have been tempted to skip the half marathon. But I didn't! Drove down to Long Beach yesterday, leaving around 12:30–1 pm, and arriving at the Long Beach Westin Hotel at 3:40ish. Found the Expo and picked up my packet (going the loooong way around to the Convention Center), then had dinner in the hotel restaurant with my mom. We were both tired and went to bed early, but I didn't sleep well. Got up at 5:30 feeling sluggish and icky, but was okay by the time I headed out for the race at about a quarter to 7 am.

I'd meant to locate the starting line the day before, so I'd know exactly where I was going in the morning, but didn't. The area is very confusing, with the convention center across the street from the hotel and lots of little twisty, turny streets, but I figured when the time came, I'd just follow the crowds. Which I did, and the start line turned out to be just the other side of the Convention Center, across from the hotel. No problem! Everything's a lot closer together than it looks on the map.

I wore my WearYourNumber shirt and my long gray running pants. It was a bit chilly waiting but by the time the race started, it had already begun to get warm. The weather was great for running all day, breezy and warm but not too hot. I'd considered not wearing my waist pack with water bottle, since there'd be water stations along the course, but decided I had too much other stuff to bring with me—GU and handkerchief and ID and chapstick—so I did wear it.

I had a good run. Started off with under 15-minute miles, which gradually increased to near 16-minute miles, but I had enough energy left to run the last maybe six minutes or so—turned the corner and saw the finish line and just ran it in. Finished in about 3:24—yay! I'd been hoping to finish under 3:30, but would have been happy with 3:40. 3:24 was icing on the cake! Averaged under 16 minutes/mile, and still felt good when I crossed the finish line.

Afterwards, I made my way back to the hotel to rejoin my mom. Rested in the room for a bit, then took a shower, and we headed out to find lunch. Ate in the Old Dubliner Irish Pub—yummy! Then, to top off the day, we continued on to the Aquarium of the Pacific to see all the fish and jellies and crabs and sea lions and sharks and rays and other sea animals. I petted several rays of various kinds and took lots of pictures.

That pretty much wore out both my mother and me. We got back to the hotel around 4 pm and are resting up before dinner.

All in all, a good day and a good run!

Week 16: Seven Miles

2008-10-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

1:53 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

I was going to do my run at Meadowbrook, but when I got there, the parking lot was full, and I noticed county sheriff cars parked at intersections on the way, so I presume there was something going on there. (Just checked the TVRPD website, and it was the Search & Rescue 5K Fun Run.) Anyway, I decided not to run there, but drove back to Highline and Dennison and parked at the mailboxes and did my old route, Dennison to Valley to Curry to Highline and back, with the additional jog down to Tehachapi Blvd on Curry for the extra mile.

The weather was cold today, windy and cloudy and even a few drops of rain. I wore my long running pants and hoody, and was comfortable but cool enough to keep the hoody on the whole way. Felt good, kept up a good pace—even finished my last mile up Dennison in under 17 minutes, which is pretty good for that mile.

I wore my WearYourNumber shirt to try it out. It was nice and comfy. I think I'll wear my long pants in Long Beach, since they say the weather averages around 60–70 degrees on race day.

Next week I'll be in Long Beach!

Thursday

2008-10-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 31:26 minutes

I was late getting out there this morning—not because of sleeping late, but because of getting distracted by bloggish stuff—and didn't start till after 9 am, but fortunately, it's cooled off enough that I didn't fry out there. I ran counter-clockwise this morning, the slow direction, and felt a bit off, but still had a decent run.

I'm pleased that lately I've been feeling much stronger than before. Walking next door to my mom's house, up her steep driveway, I barely breathe hard, and sometimes I break into a run just because I feel like it. So I guess all this exercise is worth it, heh.

Tuesday

2008-09-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-25T10:48:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-04T09:28:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

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!

Week 11: Eight miles

2008-08-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

2:14 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

Meh. I was tired today, got off to a late start, and decided to bag it after eight miles. I ran at Meadowbrook Park, and was going to try for 11 miles (scheduled to do 12, but didn't think I'd have time because of my late start). The first five miles went really well, but then the sun came out from behind the clouds and started beating down on me and I just lost all my strength. Mile 7 (the uphill mile) was really hard. Mile 8 was better, but I just didn't want to run any farther.

I'll have to re-work my schedule again. I keep not making the planned runs. I still have plenty of time to complete my training by Oct 12, but I have to figure out miles and days.

If the weather doesn't start to cool down soon, I'm going to have to start getting up at 4 am to do my long runs. It's just too hot to run after 10 am.

Thursday

2008-08-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 33:52 minutes

I didn't run on Tuesday this week, because my generator quit working the night before, and I had to spend the morning taking it into Bakersfield to get it fixed. Got some exercise wrangling the generator around, though.

Today I've been kind of spacey, didn't even get out on the road until 9 am, but I had a pretty good run. About a zillion dogs came out and barked at me today.

Week 10: Ten Miles

2008-08-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

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

I drove down to Meadowbrook Park and did the 1.5 mile path back and forth from the railroad tracks to Valley Blvd to make my ten miles. It was a pretty good run—my time was good, even including one bathroom break. I shorted my first mile, but probably not by much, by running down the inside path on my way to the spur that goes out to the railroad tracks. But the chalk marks were still there from the Fun Run last week, so I figured out that it was the outside path, closer to Westwood, that makes a half-mile from the parking lot to the railroad tracks.

It was kind of a hard run, though. My stomach was wonky (hence the bathroom stop at 4 miles) and it was really hot, with no breeze at all most of the time. I felt very tired by the time it was over. It was probably also hard because I only did 6.2 miles last week. The tenth mile was very hard! I almost skipped my last couple of run intervals, but I ended up doing them anyway.

Overall, my time was just under 17 minutes per mile. Not bad considering the hills and the heat and everything.

Thursday

2008-08-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 32:34 minutes

Woo hoo! Cut another 45 seconds off my best time on the down-the-road-and-back run. I didn't sleep well last night, and got off to a bit of a late start, and was wondering if I'd be able to match Tuesday's time. Not only matched it, but did even better! I was helped by the weather—it's been much cooler these past few days, so even though it was 8:30ish by the time I got out there, it was pleasant running the whole way. I feel as though I'm actually running on my run intervals these days, instead of just plodding along.

Tuesday

2008-08-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 33:19 minutes

I got up early this morning, started my run by 7:45, and zoomed! I pushed it a bit, but still felt good—in fact, I was a bit surprised to turn the corner and see my driveway coming up. I think I cut about a minute off my usual time for this run.

I think the hill-climbing and hill training has really helped me pick up my pace this time. Also, the 1:2 minute run/walk ratio is working really well for me. I begin to feel that a 3.5 hour half-marathon is within reach!

I got an email from the Long Beach Marathon this morning with a link to this site: WearYourNumber.com. What a great idea! I want to order a shirt, but I can't decide which one. I worry about a women's short-sleeve shirt being too tight on my left arm. On the other hand, it's supposed to be cooler in Long Beach in October, so a sleeveless shirt might be a bit cool. On the other, other hand.... Well, I'll think about it for a bit. They'll be making/selling the shirts right there at the Expo, so there's no hurry.

Week 9: 10k

2008-08-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

1:37 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

This morning, instead of my scheduled 9 mile run, I did the Tehachapi Mountain Festival Fun Run/Walk 10k. It was an interesting route, from Meadowbrook Park up the bike path almost to Valley Blvd, then a short jog over to one of the side streets that runs down to Westwood, out Westwood to the turnaround point and back.

There were some hills on the route, but I was surprised by how well I managed them, not slowing up too much or feeling too tired. I guess all those trips up to the water tank made a difference! Plus the running up and down the road for my midweek runs. I actually had a really good time, about 15.6 minute miles!

The only bad part was that I was way last. No one else ran the 10k anywhere near as slowly as I did, I think I was at least 20–30 minutes behind the next to last runner. So it was kind of embarrassing to make everyone at the water stops and turnarounds and finish line stay out there till I finally plodded in. I don't think I'll do it again, but other than that, it was a fun run and I'm glad I did it at least once.

I was planning to go ahead and do three more miles after I finished, but I decided to bag it and come home. Hope it doesn't make the 10-miler too hard next week, but I think I'll be okay.

Thursday

2008-08-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 34:46 minutes

Still a little sore and tired today, but I kept up my pace pretty well up and down the hill and got my Thursday run in. I started about 8:30, with the sky a bit overcast, thinking it was going to be a cool run for a change—but the clouds started to burn off before I got half a mile down the road, and the sky was clear and hot by the time I headed back up the hill. Oh well!

Tuesday

2008-08-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to run today, because I did my exercise yesterday: I was working on the plumbing all day, and climbed the steep hill in back of the house eight times to shut the water off/on at the water tank. I am exhausted and sore and am calling all that hill-climbing my training for today.

Week 8: Eight miles

2008-08-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

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

It wasn't my fastest eight miles, but it was a good run. I kept up my pace and felt good the whole way. Even had enough energy left when I got home to climb the hill behind the house to turn the water back on (I have a leaky pipe under the bathroom sink I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to fix).

I ran Dennison to Valley, Valley to Curry, Curry to Highline and back, Valley to Tucker and back to Dennison. Slowed down on the hills but didn't feel too tired or get too hot, even though I'd gotten off to a slightly late start (a little after 8:30) and was out until almost 11 am. There was a good breeze, so that helped cool me down.

I wore my sleeve instead of my bandages on my arm and it felt much more comfortable. Think I'll use my sleeve for long runs from now on.

I drank my whole bottle of water. I'm going to have to start figuring out places to refill my water bottle for anything over 8 miles.

Thursday

2008-08-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 36:44 minutes

My time was long today, because I had to stop when I got about halfway down the road to run off behind a tree and go to the bathroom. My stomach's been wonky since Monday; I think I'm having a delayed reaction to the antibiotics and my digestion's all off. Despite that, I had a pretty good run, was able to keep up my pace with an 18-minute mile on the uphill. I think my stop took about two minutes, so my time would have been around 34:40 if I'd been able to keep going.

I've decided to participate in the Mountain Festival Fun Run on August 16, instead of my usual Saturday run. They have 1 mile, 5K and 10K run/walks. I'll do the 10K, of course, which is about 6.2 miles. I'm scheduled to run 9 miles that weekend, so I'm figuring I'll do the run, then tack on another three miles somewhere. The run is starting at Meadowbrook Park (and ending there, presumably), so I can probably just do 4 laps around the trail after it's over. It starts at 8 am, so I should be finished with the 10K by 10 am and another three miles by 11 am, which will still give me plenty of time to get home, showered, and ready to get to work by 1:30 pm.

Last year, I thought about doing the Fun Run, but no one seemed to know if there was any time limit on the runs. I didn't want to still be out there after everyone else had packed up and gone home. This year, I don't care. I'll just do the run at my own slow speed and finish when I finish.

Tuesday

2008-08-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 31:59 minutes

Ha! Made it under 32 minutes, by a mere second! 16-minute miles, and it felt pretty good.

I decided last night to skip the Zyrtec I've been taking for my allergies. I've been wondering if it was one of the reasons I've been feeling so tired and enervated lately. I tried skipping it once before, but my head got stuffed up at night so I continued taking it. This time, my head remained clear all night and I woke up at 6:30 am feeling refreshed and ready to go, so that's a very encouraging sign! I'm going to stop taking the Zyrtec for a while and see what happens.

I'm also considering trying to complete the California Dreamin' Racing Series. It occurred to me that, if I really want to keep exercising regularly throughout the year(s), I need to schedule myself for a race at least every six months to keep myself motivated to run. Otherwise, I just sit around and get lazy until the next time I decide to sign up for a race. And, conveniently, here's this series. You need to complete either a marathon or a half marathon over two years in each of three races: Long Beach, Surf City (Huntington Beach), and San Francisco. I'm already signed up for Long Beach. Next race would be Surf City on Feb 1 next year, then San Francisco on July 26. Both Surf City and SF have 6-hour time limits on their marathons, so it would have to be half marathons for both. Surf City's half marathon limit is 6 hours, same as the marathon, so that's no problem. San Francisco has two half marathons, one has a 3-hour time limit, and the other is 3.5 hours. I'd have to do the 3.5-hour one, and hope I can cut my time down by about ten minutes between now and next August. It's a challenge, but it's doable, I think.

Let's see, 13.1 miles in 3.5 hours comes out to 16-minute miles. Right now, I can do 16-minute miles for about two miles. On a good day. Heh. I will really need to increase my speed, but if I keep training, I think I can do it. I should also lose about 20 pounds. Having less weight to carry would enable me to run faster.

Anyway, it's something to think about. I know I can do Surf City, and that would be next. That will keep me running over the winter, brr! I may have to join a gym so I can run on a treadmill when the weather's bad.

Week 7: Seven miles

2008-08-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

1:57 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

I had a really good run today. I guess I'm getting back into the swing of things after my hiatus.

I got up early today—I set the alarm for 7 am, but I didn't need it because the woodpeckers woke me up at 6:30 drumming on the side of the house. Aargh. But I was at the mailboxes ready to run before 8 am, so that was a good thing. I did my 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, I'm really liking it. Did the same run as last week, with the addition of the half-mile jog down Curry to Tehachapi Blvd and back, to add in the extra mile. I felt good the whole way, and even kept up my pace pretty well on the final mile back uphill on Dennison.

After last Thursday's post, I decided to take Mom with me to Long Beach after all. I'll find someone else to take care of the fish and fur kids. She's looking forward to it, it will be a fun little vacation for both of us. I changed my reservation to two nights instead of three. That will be plenty of time, and will save me considerable bucks. So yay! That problem solved.

Thursday

2008-07-31T09:26:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 35:19 minutes

I was a bit slow today—I didn't sleep well last night, and my stomach was a bit off—but less than a minute slower than Tuesday's run, so I guess I wasn't that slow.

Still getting up at 7 am-ish. It was hard today, but I was out of bed by 7:10 and out running by 8:20.

I'm vacillating these days between "Yay! I'm going to do a half-marathon and Long Beach will be so much fun!" and "Blah, I'm tired, I don't want to do this, and Long Beach is going to be way too expensive." It's hard to keep going. I really lost a lot of momentum while I was sick. Plus, the person I thought might come to Long Beach with me (and share hotel expenses, which would really be a help financially) is almost certainly not coming. I wish I could bring my mom with me—I know she'd enjoy it. But then I'd have to find someone else to take care of the cats and fish while we're gone. Hm.

Tuesday

2008-07-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

2 miles, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio, 34:41 minutes

I did the run down the road and back today, so I wouldn't have to hurdle the trench, and also because I think the mile uphill is good for my training, even though it's hard! I tried the 1:2 minute run/walk ratio and I think I like it better than 2:3. I don't know if it makes my time any faster, but it doesn't make it any slower, and it's more comfortable doing 1 minute run intervals.

Week 6: Six miles

2008-07-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

1:41 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

I didn't know whether to count the weeks I didn't run, or just start up again with this week, but I decided to skip them. My last long run was Week 5, so this is Week 6, just about a month later.

I did the same route as last time, down Dennison to Valley, Valley to Curry, Curry to Highline, and back. It went pretty well. The 1:2 minute ratio seemed to work well, it's easier to only run one minute at a time, and two minutes is enough to recuperate. Despite missing so many weeks of training, my time for the six miles didn't slow down any. So it looks like I'm back in business!

I set the alarm to get up at 7 am, so I could get started by 8:15-ish. It still got pretty hot by the time I was done, but I didn't have any trouble with the early start. When my runs get up more than three hours, I'll probably get up at 6 am to get started even earlier.

Thursday

2008-07-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 34:09 minutes

I slept in till 8:30 am this morning, and had a hard time getting going, but I did my Thursday run, and I'm back on track (so far!) to continue training for Long Beach. It was a bit of a slow run, I just didn't have any energy today. But I did it, which is all that really matters.

I'm going to do six miles on Saturday and continue on from there. That will still get me to 14 miles before the half-marathon. I think I'll try doing a 1:2 minute run/walk ratio instead of the 2:3, and see how I like it. It's a bit less running than 2:3, and only one minute at a time. It might be easier to keep up for the longer runs than 2:3. I'm going to repeat my six-mile run of four weeks ago, and see how my time compares.

Tuesday

2008-07-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, 32:10 minutes

Skipped another week... last Thursday, I got up late and was just too tired, Saturday I just blew it off. I almost didn't run today, either, but I finally kicked myself out the door at 9 am and actually had a really good run—16 minute miles, kept my running laps under 1:30 and my walking laps under 2 minutes the whole way.

The hardest part about getting back into running is that my sleep/wake schedule has slipped back an hour while I wasn't doing anything. If I'm going to run on Tuesday mornings, I need to get up by 7 am. This morning, I didn't get up until after 7:30, and it's going to be tight getting ready for work on time. But now that I'm finally off the antibiotics, I hope I'll get some of my energy back.

I've had thoughts of bagging Long Beach this year... but there's still time to get back on track. I'll keep going for the time being and see how it goes.

Tuesday

2008-07-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

19 laps, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio, about 33 minutes

So. It's been two weeks since I've run. I got cellulitis in my left leg and was too sick to run, but I've been on heavy antibiotics for a week (and will stay on them for another week), and am finally getting better. So I went out today for two miles around the house—I didn't want to stray too far from home, in case my leg started to hurt, but it was fine and I had a good run. I'm not sure about the total time—I missed a split somewhere along the line, and was trying to figure it out, and ended up stopping my watch for maybe 20 seconds. But it was a good run, anyway.

I had plenty of extra time built into my training schedule, so missing two weeks won't hurt. I'm planning to pick up with another six mile run this weekend, and then carry on from there. I'll still be able to reach 16 miles before the half-marathon, if I decide to go that far, or do two 14-mile runs.

Tuesday

2008-07-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 34:47 minutes

Well, my decision to do my weekday runs on Mondays instead of Tuesdays lasted... zero weeks. I didn't feel like running yesterday; by the time I would have been ready, it was already 10 am and hot, so I canceled it and ran today instead. Got out there early enough, just after 8 am (and it was already hot, but not blisteringly so), and had a good run down the road and back.

I think that trying to do half-hour practice and running on the same day is not happening. I will make my morning run my practice for the day, and do sitting on alternate days. Hm.

Week 4: Six miles

2008-06-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

1:42 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio

I had a bad week this week, blew off my Thursday run because I felt so tired and dragged out. But today I felt fine! Set the alarm so I could get up by 7 am (and got up a few minutes early, so I didn't need it), then got ready and was at the mailboxes ready to run a little before 8:20. (If I really want to be out there by 8 am, I need to start getting ready by 7:40, I think. It takes a bit of time to change clothes, fill my water bottle, get my waist pack ready, and drive down to the mailboxes.)

I decided to run Dennison to Valley, Valley to Curry, then up Curry to Highline and back, instead of continuing up Valley to Tucker. I'd only done that once before, and I remember that I thought the hill up Curry to Highline was very hard, but this time it didn't seem so bad. I think running down and up the road for my midweek runs has been helping my ability to go up hills. Didn't even slow down much on the final mile. So yay!

I suspect I've been feeling tired and bad-tempered because I haven't been getting enough protein or fat in my diet. I've been living mostly on fruits and vegetables and rice, with a bit of cheese and soy dogs thrown in. Yesterday, I had lunch at Gracian's—cheese enchilada with rice and beans and two glasses of soda—and I even had chocolate last night. I decided, I'm not losing any weight anyway, so why deprive myself? And I feel so much better today. I'm going to try to boost my protein quite a bit, and be careful not to cut down on fat too much, and hope that increases my energy levels.

Tuesday

2008-06-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 34:18 minutes

Bleah. I got up late, only 7:20, but on Tuesday mornings, every 20 minutes count. So I pushed myself to get out there by 8 am anyway, barely finished my cocoa, and my stomach was still a little queasy. I didn't feel like running that mile back up the hill, so I decided to just run laps around the house. Time wasn't too bad; I felt slow but strong enough.

Mom did the laundry this morning, so I took a break between finishing my run and doing my ab work and stretches to hang clothes on the line. That used up any time I might have had to do morning practice; I'll just have to do evening practice instead.

And, it occurs to me that it's pretty unrealistic to expect to be able to do a two-mile run and morning practice on Tuesdays with any regularity; all it takes is sleeping late by half an hour or mom doing the laundry or getting a phone call or any of a number of things to eat up my time. But, it also occurs to me that, since I'm doing my long runs on Saturday this time, I can do my midweek runs on Monday and Thursday, and avoid having to do any runs on my 11–5:30 work days. Next week, I'll try that.

I still haven't made my hotel reservations for Long Beach. I'd probably better do that soon

Week 3: Five miles

2008-06-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

1:26 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio

I made myself get up at 7 am so I could get out there before it got too hot. I was hoping to be ready to run by 7:30, but it was actually a little after 8 am by the time I was at the mailboxes. Oh well, still better than starting at 9:30! I ran on Dennison from Highline to Valley, Valley to Curry, Curry to Tehachapi Blvd and back. It was hot, but I kept up my pace pretty well and felt good the whole run. I drank water every mile and poured some over my head once to keep cool. I didn't slow down too much on my final mile back up Dennison. Good run!

Thursday

2008-06-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 34:22 minutes

(*&#$ watch did it to me again—went into Recall mode instead of stopping when I hit the Stop/Reset button at the end. Finally got it stopped at 34:42; estimating that it took me about 20 seconds to fiddle it around and get it stopped, so I'm calling it 34:22. Guess from now on I'd better hit the Split button first, then stop the watch, so if it declines to stop I'll at least have the right time on the splits.

Probably the battery is getting low—I've had this watch since LA. I'll try to remember to take it in for a new battery soon.

Anyway, I pushed it a little today, trying to get my time down a bit, which I think I did, but I also really got hot and tired by the end. I couldn't finish my third run interval on the second mile. It was awfully hot out there, and I'd gotten a bit of a late start, getting up at 8 am so I wasn't ready to run until 9:30 am. And the summer is only going to get hotter for the next couple of months. I may have to start using the alarm clock to get up early for my runs. Or start carrying a water bottle on even the midweek two-milers.

But I did my run, and I feel fine now. My right shin is still sore. Hm. It doesn't seem to get any worse, but it doesn't get any better, either. I may have to take a few days off to let it heal up.

Tuesday

2008-06-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 34:45 minutes

About the same time as last time, but the difference is, I didn't feel like I was pushing it this time, I was just taking it easy. I didn't start to feel the hill on the way back until the last ten minutes or so, and didn't feel as though I slowed down too much (although it was still 16:20 out and 18:20 back).

The not-yay is that my right shin is sore. It's been hurting since yesterday, and now, after running, it's worse. I have a feeling it's the bowing I've been doing that's making it sore. Or maybe it was the drive into Bakersfield yesterday. I didn't use the cruise control as much as usual, so my right leg was doing a lot of work. Anyway, I hope it's better soon.

The new question is how I'm going to work daily bowing/chanting/meditation practice into my schedule, along with running. This morning it went well—I got up around 7 am, started practice at 8 am, went out to run at 8:30 am and am now finishing up breakfast and getting ready to go to work. Tuesday is going to be the tightest squeeze, with practice and running and getting to work by 11 am. Saturdays will also get tighter as my long runs get longer. But I am going to keep at it. My mind needs the exercise as much as my body.

Week 2: Four miles

2008-06-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

1:08 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio

I'm a bit annoyed at my watch... somehow, instead of stopping it at the end of the run, I got caught up in a recall loop where it kept showing me the minutes for each mile, and I couldn't figure out how to get back out to turn it off. So I ended up with an extra 30 seconds or so while I fussed with it.

But, close enough! I averaged just under 17 minutes per mile, running down Dennison from Highline to Valley, then up Valley to Curry and back. It was kind of fun getting back out on my old stomping grounds. It was hot—I didn't get out there until just after 9 am—but not too hot, and I felt pretty good the whole way. So, I'm on my way!

Thursday

2008-06-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 34:44 minutes

Whee! I cut over a minute off my last run up and down the road. I pushed it a little bit today, but not too much. I'm getting my strength back after not exercising much at all since Honolulu.

My weight is bouncing around between 158 and 162. Every time I go below 160, I think, yay! I'm finally losing weight! and every time it goes over, I think, boo! I'm not losing any. I don't know. My pants feel looser. I think I'm gaining muscle so I must be losing fat just to stay even. I sure would like to get back down to around 140 lb. I'm exercising and watching what I eat. I should be losing, but my weight seems to be stuck. Oh well, I feel better anyway.

I've come thisclose to making my hotel reservations for Long Beach at least four times, and every time I bail at the last minute. I know I will eventually, but I can't quite bring myself to commit yet. I have a friend who might come with me; therefore, I feel that I should reserve a room for two with a double bed (costs the same as a single, so that's no problem). But, if I'm going by myself, I'd rather have a king bed (so I can sleep sideways and lean against the headboard. Don't ask). I can always ask for a different room when I get there, but there's no guarantee I'll get it. But if she does decide to come along at the last minute, I'll want the two beds. Hmm.

My mom has offered to pay for one night as a gift to me, which is very nice, but I hesitate to accept. I'm pretty broke right now, but by October I should be in good shape again. (Financially, I mean, as well as physically.)

Hmm again.

Tuesday

2008-06-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

2 miles, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 35:58 minutes

Did my 1 lap around the house, then ran down to the driveway just before dog hill and back. It was a good run. I slowed down on my way back up the hill, but not as much as before, I don't think. I feel pretty good.

Week 1: Three miles

2008-06-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

52:06 minutes, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio

And, we're off! I did my three miles around the house, 28.1 laps as I calculated last time. It took me about a minute longer than it did when I started training for Honolulu last year, which is actually okay by me, since I've only been running for a week. For Honolulu, I'd started running three times a week for about a month before I officially began training, so I was already in better shape than I am now. This time, though, I decided to just jump right into it and see how far I could get before the race.

I got started at about 9 am, so I was done with my run before 10 am. When the runs get longer, I'll have to calculate how long it's going to take and make sure I get started in time to finish by 11 am. That will give me time for stretches and cool down and breakfast and a shower and so on, so I can be ready to head for work by 1 pm. It will also be better to get started earlier as the summer goes on and the weather gets hotter. It's already pretty warm out there, but we haven't hit the hottest part of summer yet.

Next week, four miles! I'm going to try to train at 2:3 this time, since it's a shorter race than the marathon. But we'll see. If I can do just as good a time at 1:3 as 2:3, why make myself more tired?

Thursday

2008-06-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

36:31 minutes, 2 miles, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio

Okay, this was another day that would likely have been blown off if I didn't have a race to train for. I had to get up early to take my truck in for service. My mom followed me in and drove me home. I was tired and would have liked to go back to bed, but instead I put on my running clothes and went out for my morning run.

Tuesday on the way to work, I measured off one mile from my place, which turned out to be just out to the curve near the top of what I call Dog Hill. (So Tuesday's run? About a mile and a half, at the most. And it was actually 2:3, not 2:2.) I decided to run just to the driveway before Dog Hill, starting off with one circle around the house to make up for cutting it a bit short (probably more than made up for it). It took me about 16:40 to get to my turnaround point, including the extra lap around the house, then 19:45 to get back, without an extra lap. Going uphill really makes a difference! But it was a good run.

Tuesday

2008-06-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

My resolve was tested already this morning: the solar guys are here working on my new electric system (Yay!), and I really didn't want to go out and run around the driveway with them here. I thought about skipping the run and doing something else today, like T'ai Chi or trampoline; I thought about getting up early and doing it before they got here (ha!); but finally I decided to just run down the road and back for about thirty minutes, instead of running around the house, which is what I did. My time was 30:34, using a 2:2-ish minute run/walk ratio. I have no idea how far I ran—less than two miles, no doubt, especially considering that I stopped to chat with Merle for a minute or so (there have been bears and mountain lions spotted on the hills!), but close enough.

I've considered running on the road for my weekday runs instead of around the house before, but never actually tried it. Here's what I found:

1) The time goes by much more quickly when you're going someplace and back, instead of just around in circles.

2) It's downhill all the way out and uphill all the way back, which makes the return mile a lot harder than the outbound, but it's not as bad as I thought it might be.

3) There is the danger of being interrupted when people driving by decide to stop and chat. Oh well!

I think I will measure off a mile from the house in my truck this morning and try doing a real two miles on Thursday.

In other news, I did go ahead and register for the Long Beach Half Marathon. After counting up the months again more carefully, I realized that there are really just over four months until the race, which would definitely not be enough time to train for a full marathon. Maybe next year!

Then I choked on how expensive the hotels were. I may have someone who'll go with me (yay!), but if not, it's going to be about $200 a night for a good hotel within walking distance of the race start/finish. Oh well! This will probably be my only other weekend trip for the year, so I guess I can afford it. I need to make reservations soon, the hotels are filling up fast. The official marathon hotel, the Hyatt, is already sold out for the marathon.

Here I go again

2008-05-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

This morning, as I was writing in my personal blog, bemoaning the fact that I can't seem to keep myself motivated to exercise on a regular basis unless I have some goal or purpose (other than a general "I need to exercise"), I jokingly wrote, "Maybe I should sign up for another marathon."

Then I thought, hm, when's the Long Beach Marathon? Do they have a time limit? It's close enough to drive, and it looks like a great course....

And then I put on my running shoes, watch, and cap, and went out and ran/walked 19 laps around the house. Took me 34:20 minutes, which isn't bad for having done no running at all since Honolulu. I did my old one lap running, one lap walking run/walk ratio, and felt pretty good.

I think I'm going to sign up for the Long Beach Half Marathon. For one thing, it's October 12, which is only five months, a bit short to train for a full marathon. For another, the course has a 7.5 hour time limit. They do have an early start for walkers—I'm not sure whether it's okay to start early if you're planning to run and walk, or if it's for race walkers only—but, bleah, I don't want to be on the course for that long. I'm getting too old for this stuff! Besides, I weigh another ten pounds more this year than I did for Honolulu, and I'll probably be even slower. And, for a third thing, I don't want to do the training for a full marathon. I've got other plans for Sundays—I go to the Buddhist temple from 11 am to 1 pm—and don't have a full day for running any more. I figure I can do my weekday runs on Tuesday and Thursday, and long runs on Saturday before work. I should be able to do a half marathon in under four hours, so if I get started by 7 am, even on the longest training runs I should be done by 11 am, and have time to get ready to go to work at 1:30.

Anyway, I ran today! Go me!

If I can finish the half marathon in under 3.5 hours, maybe I'll try Disneyland next year.

Honolulu Marathon

2007-12-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

Well, my fifth marathon is over! I finished in 7:40:56. I was hoping for better, but that's just about what I expected. I could have saved about 15 minutes, I think, if I hadn't had to make two bathroom stops, but I did, so there you go.
The good thing was that I kept a good pace and never got really tired. I did my 1:3 minute run/walk ratio pretty much the whole way, and even increased my ratio to 2:2 for the last mile or so, and ran in the final 0.2 mile. I wanted to beat my LA time, which I did—by about a minute and a half, which really doesn't amount to much, but the big difference is that I feel fine and didn't get injured (except for many blisters on my feet).

Full race day report, with pictures, is here.

I had a lot of fun, but I think this is going to be my last marathon, unless I can get strong enough to finish in seven hours or less. Which isn't likely at this point. Maybe next time, I'll do a half-marathon.

But it was good to go out with another Honolulu, and have a good race.

Honolulu!

2007-12-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

So here I am in Honolulu! The marathon is only two days away!

I feel... not entirely ready, but close enough. I missed my last long run, an eight-mile run I should have done last Sunday. I'd strained my back carrying some wood up to the woodshed, and decided I'd be better off letting it rest and recover rather than possibly straining it further by bouncing on it for a couple of hours. I felt a bit guilty about "slacking off," but my back feels pretty good now, so I expect it was for the best.

I have a room on the seventh floor of the ResortQuest Waikiki Beach, right near the entrance to the park where the marathon finishes. It's still dark at the moment, windy and wet after several weeks of storms, but I can see groups of runners out heading down the street toward the park for a morning run. Too early for me! Although the marathon itself will be starting at 5 am, and it's 6:20 now. But today, I'm exhausted from yesterday's long day of travel. I didn't even get to my hotel until nearly 10 pm (Hawaii time, after midnight my time), and then wanted to get something to eat and unwind a bit before going to bed. And I'd drunk a can of Coke on the plane, and was too caffeinated to sleep until hours later. So I haven't gotten much sleep yet, but I got up early anyway, planning to nap this afternoon if necessary and go to bed early tonight, so I can be ready to get up at 3 am on Sunday to go do the marathon!

Today, I plan to take it easy. If the weather's like this all day, I may not even stray far from the room! Things I need to do either today or tomorrow: go to the Expo, pick up my race packet, scout out the location of the start of the race and decide whether to walk or take a shuttle there Sunday morning. I'd prefer to walk, if it's not too far and I'm sure I know where I'm going.

Marathon in two days!

Week 24: Eight miles

2007-11-25T14:28:00.000-08:00

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

I got off to a very slow start again this morning, not starting my run until after 11 am. I had planned to go down to the park to run, but since I got out there so late, I just ran around the house. It was a pretty good run. I didn't get tired and kept up my pace. My time includes one bathroom stop at around lap 56—I was going along just fine, then suddenly, my stomach cramped up, and I had to stop. Then when I came back out, I stopped again to get a rock out of my shoe. Probably took about five minutes altogether. If I could make a bathroom stop in five minutes in Hawaii, I wouldn't mind, but with 30,000 people on the course, there are always lines for the bathrooms, and it can take 20–30 minutes for a stop. It would be nice if I didn't have to stop, but when it takes over seven hours to finish, it's inevitable that I'll need to stop at some point. I can only hope the lines aren't too bad when I do.

I tried out a couple of things for the marathon: for one thing, I wore my waist pack with the big pocket, and put my camera, phone, small wallet with ID and a few bucks and lip gloss in the pocket. It also has an outside pocket that I put my handkerchief in. There was still plenty of room for GU and other snacks. So that was good. The bad was that the strap tends to loosen up as I run, and the pack bounces around and slides to the side, so I'm constantly adjusting it. I still think it will work better than using the one with the small pockets, so I'll take it to Hawaii.

The other thing I did was sew a small square of rubber onto the back of my running watch, so I can wear it on my wrist without shorting it out with my static electricity. I used buttonhole thread and tied the corners of the rubber square together across the top and bottom of the watch face. I had to be careful to tie it tightly enough to hold the rubber in place, but not so tightly that it ripped the corners of the rubber. It seemed to work fine for eight miles, so I'll do that for Honolulu, too.

I'm trying to decide whether to send for this dress to wear while I'm in Hawaii. I'm leaning towards doing it, although time is short and I'm not sure it will fit me. If it doesn't, or if it arrives too late, I suppose I can just send it back, so no loss. It sure is pretty, and I don't have any other casual dresses I can wear on the beach.

Week 23: Twenty-six miles

2007-11-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

8:01 hours, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio

I did my 26 miles! And it was a pretty good run, all things considered.

As planned, I did eight miles around the house, then ran ten miles to Meadowbrook Park and did another eight miles around the trail there.

I made four stops, which are included in my time. One at about five or six miles to go to the bathroom, then another at eight miles to refill my water bottle and drink some soy milk and orange juice before heading on down the road. Then, I stopped at about 17 miles, when I reached the Chevron station at Valley and Golden Hills Blvd. to buy a 20-oz Coke, which I drank over the next two miles, and at 18 miles when I reached the park to use the rest room and fill up my water bottle again.

I may regret drinking all that Coke tonight and tomorrow, but it sure did make the run easier! Nothing like a big jolt of sugar and caffeine to keep my energy up! I got tired, and slow, but was able to keep going with my run intervals all the way to the end, and outside of some stiffness and sore shoulders, and a blister on my right little toe, I have no big aches and pains afterwards.

I also ate two GUs along the way. I have about six left, which should get me through the marathon. I also need to figure out something to bring along to eat or drink. Maybe I can bring a small bottle of soy milk and orange juice in my waist pack. I think I'll use the one with the bigger pockets for marathon, so I can put my handkerchief and camera and phone and everything in it. I was going to bring my camera along with me today, but I got tired of carrying it and left it home.

I also think I'll use my Shox 2.45s for the marathon. I wore my newest Nikes today, but they're not as comfortable as the old 2.45s. I think the new ones make my little toe blister.

I had a few difficult patches. Running up Valley was very tiring, and I ended up walking about the last half of mile 17. I resumed my running intervals after I'd stopped for the Coke, and was able to keep up after that. I felt that I was going very slowly all the way along. Which, really, was as it should be. Our coaches for the AIDS Marathon always told us to slow down on the long runs, and do them 2 minutes/mile slower than our usual pace. I averaged about 18.5 minute miles, so that's about right. Actually, I could have even gone slower, considering that I'm averaging 17 minute miles on the shorter runs. Anyway, it all went as it should, and now I'm done with long runs until the marathon, which is in only three weeks now! Two more eight-mile runs, and then I'll be in Honolulu.

Friday

2007-11-16T11:31:00.000-08:00

19 laps, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio, 31:47 minutes

I had a good run today. I got out there kind of late, having not gotten up until 8:30 or so, and it was very pleasant, just warm enough to feel good on my back, but still cool enough to stay comfortable. The 2:3 minute ratio was easy to keep up with, and I had a good time. I hope this bodes well for the 26-miler on Sunday! I've decided to do the same route as I did on my last 26-miler, for the LA Marathon—I'll do eight miles around the house, then run to Meadowbrook Park for another ten miles, then finish with eight miles around the trail at the park. Mom will pick me up at the park when I'm done. And then—pizza!

I think one reason I've been so tired lately is that I've been having herpes outbreaks one after the other ever since I had surgery. I've upped my Vitamin C these past few days to 4000 mg a day, which should help. Aargh. If I can just get myself healthy again before the marathon, I think it will go well. It's been one thing after the other these past few months.

Wednesday

2007-11-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

19 laps, 1:2.3 minute run/walk ratio, 33:12 minutes

My run/walk ratio is an estimate today. I decided to do it partially by laps and partially by minutes: I'd walk one lap, then run for about a minute and walk the rest of the lap, then walk one lap, etc. So I was running for about a minute, then walking for something between two and two-and-a-half minutes, depending on how fast I was walking.

The weather was beautiful: sunny with a chilly breeze. It was warm when I was running in the sun, then cool in the shade. I was a bit slow today, but I just wanted to take it easy, after Monday's exhausting run. I don't know why I have these off days when I'm just too tired to move. I hope I don't have one on the marathon day! I expect skipping my midweek runs might have had something to do with it. Or stress over my poor kitty, who's back at the vet's getting his ears cleaned daily for three days. In any case, I feel better today. I'm going to make sure I don't skip any more runs before the marathon. I've got less than a month before Honolulu! I'll do my 26-mile run this week, then two eight-milers, then the marathon.

I got my documents from Pleasant Holidays yesterday. It's official! I'm going to Hawaii!

Week 22: Ten miles

2007-11-12T13:27:00.000-08:00

2:58 hours, 1:3 minute run/walk ratio

This has been one of those weeks—I didn't do either of my midweek runs, then yesterday (Sunday) I was exhausted and the weather was cold and wet, so I decided to put off my long run until today. Today, I wasn't so tired and the weather was good, but I still had a hard time motivating myself to get out there and do it. I didn't start until after 10 am. I did my run here around the house (94 laps!) because I didn't feel like going into town.

I started out fairly well, but got pretty tired by the end. I think I was mostly hungry, since it was 1 pm by the time I finished. I should have had a protein drink or something before I started. My time doesn't include two breaks where I stopped my watch, one at four miles to go to the bathroom and grab a handkerchief, and one at about eight miles, when I stopped for a drink of water and got dizzy and abruptly decided I was finished. I stopped my watch and went to sit down in one of the chairs by the front porch, but after I rested for a few minutes, I decided to go ahead and finish ten miles.

I amused myself while I was running by planning how I'd survive out here if I had to be completely self-sufficient: no propane, no gas, no grocery store. I guess I'd be living on squirrels, acorns, and pine nuts. And chopping a lot of wood.

I started out with my iPod shuffle. The first song that came up was the first movement of Mahler's Ninth Symphony. That kept me going for about the first half hour. Then the earbuds started making static-y noise, so I took them off.

Week 21: Eight miles

2007-11-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

2:15 hours, 2:3 minute run/walk ratio

Good thing it was only an eight-miler today—I was completely exhausted, and had a hard time finishing. I don't know why I was so tired. I slept ten hours last night, but woke up still groggy and tired and never had any energy.

I did my run from Dennison & Highline, down Dennison to Valley, then Valley to Curry. I looped back on Valley to Dennison and back to Curry, then ran up Curry to Highline and back to Valley, then finally back on Valley to Dennison and up Dennison to Highline. I was okay for the first four miles or so, but running uphill on Curry to Dennison was very hard. I think it's a bigger hill on Curry than on Dennison. I kept up my running intervals until the last mile, but I walked most of the last mile. I did try to keep my walking speed up, and finished in a reasonable time, but I was very dizzy and tired when I got home. I've been napping this afternoon, and still feel tired.

But I got my eight miles in. I hope next week's run is better.