"Only" 12 miles.

Monday night I had a phone date with my BFF during which we discussed the  long list of terrifying things that seem to happen to some marathon runners (you know the sort of thing… bleeding nipples, out of control bodily functions, etc.).  Once we spent a sufficient amount of time pondering various theories of what may make some people more susceptible than others and came up without an even remotely relevant hypothesis, I resorted to silently pleading to the gods of running to save me from such plights on race day.  I mean, I've had some seriously icky things going on with my toes and have spent my fare share of time obsessing about every single thing that could and might happen during this journey but thank goodness it hasn't been anything of that sort! We also had a very funny exchange about the people who don’t really train at all because they decide that the generally good physical condition they are in will carry them through (are they completely insane???) and as a result, end up in a world of hurt as punishment for their ignorance or finish in less than 4 hours and make all of the people like me despise them.  Poor Bendy… she’s had to cope with countless hours listening to anything and everything running related… such a trooper!

I was more sore than I expected to be after Monday’s 9.5 mile run (I’m guessing it was as a result of lingering soreness from Friday’s 20 miles) but was able to work the majority of it out before this morning’s 8 miles.  Other than my right foot still feeling like it wanted to detach/escape and the times I had to stop and retie my shoes (need to get that figured out fast as I would really like to avoid having to mess with them during the race), today’s run went relatively well. I’ve noticed that while it used to take me to about mile 3 to start to work out the kinks and get settled into a run, that seems to have shifted to around mile 6 (something I'm really hoping is a good sign vs. one that means all of my parts are about to implode).  If you look towards the horizon in the photo, you can see the super thick fog that tried to blind me down by the bridge... not bad weather to run in but seriously sucks for tourists trying to take pictures of the Golden Gate! 

Friday is my last double digit training run... totally cracks me up that I sighed in relief when I realized I had to run "only" 12 miles.. who is this girl I've become and where can I find replacement parts for her?!

8 miles, 1hr 24min 51sec, avg 10:36

Cheers,

SF runner in training

20 days and 50 miles to go.

My recovery from Friday's 20 mile long run actually went better than I thought it would… Sporty made me a delicious dinner that night while I lounged about with as many ice packs strapped to my parts as possible and by Saturday I was in good enough shape to walk around the Fillmore Street jazz festival for a couple hours (granted, it took me about 10 minutes to get down the stairs and I returned to my sofa and ice immediately afterwards but still, at least I could move!). 

Despite being able to move around fairly well over the weekend,  I wasn’t entirely sure how running would go today. Thankfully, I was able to get through all 9.5 miles (the .5 extra was a result of a sidewalk closure detour) this morning despite my still somewhat achy knees, sore right foot and horrifying toes. It was foggy and cool in the city this morning but as you can see in the photo, clear and sunny towards Sausalito and  Tiburon (I totally should have gone to Sam's Anchor Cafe afterwards... they make delightful drinks, yummy food and have a fantastic deck which is perfect for lounging about on sunny afternoons... I digress).  Needless to say, I was extremely relieved that my long run didn't cause me to miss any miles today and am hopeful that the 8 miles and 12 miles that are left this week go just as well if not better.  Disclaimer - this part is kind of gross so I'll use small font for those of you who want to skip over it (just squint enough to make it blurry and look for the start of the next paragraph and you'll be fine.. I promise). If you look closely at the photo you can see where the blood from my toe started to seep through the top of my right shoe... so gross but totally makes me a bad ass, right?!?

With 20 days and 50 training miles left, I’m officially in the tapering portion of my training (if they could, my toes would give that statement a standing ovation right about now).  I’ve had a few moments of doubt about my decision to make my longest run 20 miles vs. 22 or 24 and continue to experience flashes of uncertainty about how much I have or haven’t cross trained, run, etc. but overall I’d say that I feel pretty good about where I’m at (other than my damaged pieces and parts which I am now pleading with on a daily basis in the hopes that they will heal as much as possible in the next couple of weeks).  

So 20 more days… 20 days to run a few more miles, to stay as bendy and injury-free as possible, to keep fueled and hydrated, to pick out the perfect race day outfit, to obsess over every last detail and to enjoy the final days of what has been months and months and months of training both physically and mentally for the SF Marathon.  I can’t believe it’s almost here! 

9.5miles, 1hr 34min 23sec, avg 10.31

Cheers,

SF runner in training

 

Run 20 miles.... check!

Today I ran 20 miles… wait, I need to say that again… today I ran 20 miles…. 20 MILES… I RAN 20 MILES!! 

The first 8 miles went by pretty quickly and included a loop up to and over the Golden Gate (always offers beautiful distractions and is a nice way to log some miles and get in some hill work at the same time).  Miles 8-13 were mainly up and around in Fort Mason and were a little rocky as my toes started to really bother me after that scary hill. Thankfully, a quick stop to re-situate my socks and retie my shoes brought relief for a few miles (trust me, it was better than nothing!).   

Miles 13-17 were a bit of a blur although it was around that time that I asked a scary biker looking dude to please pick up the cigarette he had just thrown into the newly landscaped area at Palace of Fine Arts (he actually did it and said “sorry”…. Not the reaction I was thinking I might end up with but it was so awful and I was tired and figured if he clocked me then at least I would be able to get off my feet for a little while… regardless, I asked nicely and he responded the same which made me smile even though I didn’t get to lay down). 

So with 3 miles left, jacked up toes, aching knees and what felt like a waning ability to keep my breathing regulated, I put my iPod on random, turned it up and tried to focus on getting one very sore foot in front of the other not as sore foot (something started to really hurt on the top of my right foot but have fingers crossed that ice and Advil will fix it right up).  I had been riffling through my mental library of positive mantras and whatnot pretty much the entire time but the last few miles had me repeating my favorites and wishing I could convince the gangs of biking tourists to ride along next to me cheering me on (I often wish I had joined one of those training groups until I remember that I prefer to run alone and would really rather have my own personal cheering section... preferably one playing loud booming music and holding signs promising that tequila and other sorts of goodies are just a few short miles away).

When I got to mile 19 I was desperately trying to keep my form from going to hell while simultaneously trying to keep my right foot from flinging itself off of my body and into the bay to get away from me.  Just when I thought I would have to walk the last mile, I got one final boost from a perfectly timed song on my iPod.  The song isn’t necessarily the kind I normally run to but it was a favorite of my significant other's brother who died of cancer 3 years ago. He was 37 and I keep the song on my running mix to help me keep perspective on what matters most.  The challenge I've given myself of training to run this marathon is incredibly difficult in a lot of ways but the aches, the pains, the setbacks and the triumphs are blessings that I cherish and will never take for granted.  

So there you have it... the final long run of my training. I think I’m still in shock that I actually ran 20 miles today (although my exhausted self and sore parts are constant reminders that I did) and even more than that, I’m amazed that I’ve come this far… not bad for a an almost 40-year-old who thought the world of physical fitness revolved around the bank of elliptical things at the gym and running was something done by crazy people with very long legs. I’ll be celebrating today’s accomplishment with obsessively icing, medicating, rolling, rubbing, elevating and hydrating with tons of water and one perfectly chilled and bubbly glass of champagne!

20miles 3hrs 38min 25sec, avg 10:55 (includes 2 shoe stops, 3 hydration walk breaks and 1 getting stuck on the bridge behind a work crew... not bad!)

Cheers,

SF runner in training

Go big or go home!

With my longest training run of 20 miles coming up tomorrow, 24 days left until the marathon and my 40th birthday coming just a few days before that, it's definitely feeling like a now or never time in my life in a lot of ways. The upcoming milestones are looming rather large on my horizon and I find myself feeling very introspective these days (okay, maybe not all that out of the ordinary for me but nevertheless, it's quite an interesting time in my head!). 

It hasn’t been a very easy training week thus far. Monday’s challenges of low energy and physical discomfort carried over to yesterday’s 10 mile run which was a little discouraging. I did luck out on one front though because Sporty came along to offer some much needed encouragement. If you look closely at the photo you can tell that said support had to be offered from the sidelines vs. running along next to me as Sporty is currently sporting a lovely cast/boot thing which was acquired during a softball game (clearly the name Sporty is for a reason!). 

I’m definitely experiencing some anxiety about tomorrow’s 20 miles in regards to how I will do physically (who knew toes could cause so much drama) as well as my ability to keep my head in the right place for that many miles. I’ve been doing what I can to prepare with all my regular stuff (liquids, nutrition, stretching, blah, blah, blah) and tomorrow my plan is to start as early as I can (maybe if I’m still sleepy I can get in some miles before I’m awake enough to realize what’s happening), stay on top of my hydration and fueling and remind myself every step of the way that I can do it… I can run 20 miles just like I ran 18 and just like I’ll run 26.2 (and if that doesn’t work I’ll start bribing myself with images of post-run prizes from Lululemon). 

So here I am at the final push with a fading propensity towards negativity, an ever-growing inclination towards positivity and the realization that I’ve come a long way and am ready for the rest of this journey... As Sporty would say, it’s time to “go big or go home” so 20 miles, here I come!

10miles, 1hr 45min 32 sec, avg 10:32

Cheers,

SF runner in training

I'm big in Russia.

Among the things I’ve learned by writing this blog (other than the fact that I have a propensity for being rather wordy, really am a sucker for anything inspirational and clearly have some common themes in my life), is that according to the auto generated stats for my blog, apparently I’m quite popular in Russia… okay, maybe “popular” is pushing it a bit but considering that none of my family or friends currently live in Russia and since I believe they are the only ones who actually read this, it’s kind of fun (it also totally reminds me of the scene in that movie Julie and Julia when Julie realizes that her only comment is from her mom… so funny and so my life… well, except for the part where she becomes a famous writer who they make a movie about).

Being home from vacation for a few days has helped to start getting things back on track in terms of my training  and today’s 10 mile run through the fog at my usual spot was definitely easier than the 14 miles on Saturday.  I was still a little sluggish and lower in energy than I normally am… fingers crossed that it’s a result of still working through the aftereffects of vacation and that it will all work itself out once my body realizes that the umbrella drinks have been replaced with Gatorade and the fried food items have been replaced with protein bars. I’ll spare you the details of my toes today but just so you know, I’m thinking I should start checking Google to see if there is such a thing as toe transplants in the event that mine really do fall off after this is all said and done.  

Other than doing everything I can to help myself physically, I’m thinking maybe I should throw some inspirational movies into the mix…  not Eat, Pray, Love because all that does is make me want mass quantities of Pasta and wine and not Forrest Gump because all that does is make me want chocolate and get freaked out thinking about Tom Hanks in that other movie where he has a pet volleyball and acts as his own dentist on the deserted island.  Maybe inspirational songs are a better idea… I wonder if Eye of The Tiger would do the trick or if that will just make me feel really, really old!

10miles, 1hr 45min 32sec, avg 10:33

Cheers (I tried to find a translation of "cheers" for my Russian friends however I don't trust the results and am afraid I may cause an international conflict... you know... because I'm so terribly famous there),

SF runner in training