Setting the Pace

Well friends, it's finally that weekend. I'm writing this from my hotel room in Washington DC and on Sunday, I'll be racing the Marine Corps Marathon. And yes, I said racing, not running - more on that in a sec. My mom and I left Sacramento at the crack of dawn this morning, had a short layover in Philadelphia, then finally landed in Baltimore (it's cheaper than flying directly into DC). My mom and I managed to navigate the public transportation like pros (ok, with a little help from my new fancy phone!) and after one bus, two metros, and a short walk we arrived at our hotel in downtown DC! The weather is great, nice and clear with just a slight chill in the air. The hotel is better than expected and is just a 0.3 mile walk to the metro. We have some sightseeing planned for the next couple days and we're both pretty excited to explore the city. And while I'm looking forward to touring a bit of history, there's still that other little thing...

The Marine Corps Marathon. Yes, I'm managing to combine two of my loves, racing and traveling, but no awe-inspiring monuments or memorials can completely distract me from the fact that I'm running another marathon on Sunday. And not just running, but racing - myself that is, with high hopes of setting a new PR. This past week I've been struggling with setting my goals for this race. Unless tragedy strikes mid-race (knock on wood!) I'm almost guaranteed to PR based on my training the over the past couple months. The issue I'm struggling over, however, is how much of a PR to shoot for. My current best time for 26.2 is 4:49, set this past summer at the San Francisco Marathon, a notoriously challenging course. That required an 11:00 average pace. I've been running faster than I ever have before, running my two fastest halfs (2:04 and 2:07) within the last month. Nearly all of my weekday runs have been at a sub-10 pace, and my 20 miler I had an average of 10:17 min/mi. Punching in my recent half PR time in the McMillan Running Calculator, it predicts that I can run a 4:21 (an avg. pace of 10:00). This would clearly be a huge PR, but I'm a little hesitant to aim for it for a couple reasons.

First, I tend to play it safe. I've never really given a race my all, left everything on the pavement. I came close a few weeks ago at the Urban Cow Half, but looking back I definitely had some left in the tank when I finished. So part of me wants to take the easy way out and run just fast enough to beat my previous time rather than really push it and risk disappointment. Second, and this could actually be a big factor come race day, is that I don't know how my hip is going to feel. Like I mentioned, my left hip actually hurt pretty bad toward the end of my last long run and has continuously been sore since. I've been stretching and I even brought my grid roller with me, but anything can happen on Sunday. I know from my training that I can push through the nagging sore feeling, but if it starts feeling like it did this past weekend after only 9 miles, I'm going to have a problem. The final, more minor reason is a lack of trust in my own pacing abilities - aka I suck at maintaining any pace consistently. It really helped to run with a pace leader at Urban Cow. Instead of constantly looking at my watch and trying to do crazy math in my head, I just made myself hang on to her and zoned out. I don't know if MCM has a 4:20 pace group, and even if they do, sticking with them in such a huge race will probably be difficult.

So, there it is. I talked things over with several of my coworkers this past week and got some great advice. My tentative plan is start out at 10:00 pace and keep it between 10:00 and 10:15 for as long as possible. If my hip starts causing me problems, I will slow it down to a 10:30 pace, which would still give me a big PR. And if worse comes to worse, I'll settle with finishing another 26.2, which is always a big accomplishment. I know I can do this. I believe I can do this. Now I just gotta do it!

A goal: 4:21

B goal: 4:35

C goal: 4:45

D goal: finish

Any advice on this matter would still be greatly appreciated! On another note, I'm not feeling so hot. I don't know if it's from a lack of sleep this past week, traveling (all that recycled air and shared germs on planes...), or just a figment of my slightly neurotic pre-marathon mind. But here's hoping I feel more refreshed tomorrow morning - the last thing I need is to be sick this weekend!

p.s. Any other Giants fans out there watching us DOMINATE Texas?!?!

Yoga for Runners

Again, apologies for the lack of posts this week. As usual I was keeping pretty busy so allow me to play catch up! I took a couple rest days after Long Beach because I felt a little rundown from traveling. I blame the airplanes - too many people packed together with their germs floating around : / I got back out there Wednesday I did my first "two a day" with a workout in the morning and the evening.

That morning I went for a quick 5 miles before work and although I wasn't trying to, I ran each mile slightly faster than the previous one. Then after work my coworker and I headed over to Zuda Yoga, a local yoga studio which offers a "$10 for 10 days" deal for newbies. I've heard many proclaim the wonderful and endless benefits of yoga, especially for runners, so I'd been meaning to check out some classes. My only yoga experience was brief and intense. Back in high school I did Bikram (aka hot) yoga for a few months and can distinctly remember two things: first, how hot it was and how I sweat buckets, and second, how much it kicked my ass. Seriously, I remember being sore in places where I didn't even know I had muscles! Anyway, back to the present. We could only make the late class after work which happened to be for all levels and not specifically for beginners. After checking in and paying we waited around for the current class to finish, and much to my surprise, when the door opened I saw that everyone who came out was drenched in sweat! Ummm was I missing something? Turns out while Zuda doesn't practice hot yoga, they do keep the room heated to around 87 degrees to aid muscle flexibility (and make you sweat!). Zuda practices Power Vinyasa Yoga:

"Power Vinyasa is a dynamic and physical yoga where students move and flow from posture to posture. This movement introduces a cardiovascular element to the practice. A Vinyasa practice reminds us that life and everything around us is temporal and subject to change. A Vinyasa practice varies from class to class. As a derivative of Ashtanga yoga, it uses Sun Salutations A and B as a base. There are no mirrors in the studio because students are taught to feel their practice and focus on self- awareness."

Crystal and I set up our mats at the front of the room as had been recommended for newcomers and sat and waited for class to begin. It started off slowly, and I was pleased to find that I remembered more poses than I thought. However I was still constantly looking around the room to see what I was supposed to be doing. I totally felt like one of those people who come to yoga to look at other people instead of focusing on my own practice. Things started to pick up pretty quickly and it sort of became like a yoga circuit, going from one pose to the next fluidly with no break. And man did we start sweating! I was also amazed at how much flexibility I've lost (although it also could be that I'm just tight from running so much). I was able to do all of the poses, but I found the ones that required arm strength to be especially difficult for me - I'm like a t-rex, all legs with weak little arms! Our instructor had us doing a lot of chaturangas going into cobra pose and holy cow were my arms tired after! There was also lots of downward dog and child's pose, which was quite welcomed.

(all yoga photos from here)

 child's pose

 chaturanga to cobra

 bow pose

eagle pose

The class ended with the typical savasana, or corpse pose - essentially lying in a neutral, open position on the floor. The lights were dimmed while we relaxed and focused on our breathing, and the class aid actually gave Crystal and I a mini massage, with the lightest touch and a lovely smelling lotion. It was divine : ) All in all I really enjoyed the class. It was a serious workout but was relaxing at the same time. It really does give you a whole new sense of awareness of your body, mind, and even spirit. My one drawback to yoga, however, is the expense. I'll definitely be going again during my 10 days but I'll have to reassess after that. So after a loooong day I finally made it and took my second shower of the day.

Thankfully I had Thursday off from work because when I woke up it hurt to move anything! I totally underestimated how sore I would be after yoga and man was I feeling it. And I noticed that my hip bones were actually bruised from doing bow pose (see above)! I took it easy and ran some errands then headed out for a tempo run despite my aching muscles. I did an easy warm-up mile then cranked up the pace for 4 miles. I was aiming for around 9:00min/mi and ended up with 9:43, 9:41, 9:36, and 9:39. I call that a success! I finished it up with a mile cool-down for a total of 6 miles for the day.

On Friday I decided to sleep a little bit more and push my run til after work. As much as I prefer to get my runs out of the way, sometimes I just can't get out of bed. Running after work isn't so bad if I'm not going very far, but it does suck a little to postpone dinner that much longer and have to run in the dark. I got it done, though, and finished 4 miles with a 9:43 average pace.

Saturday was a rest day but was spent working all day at the store. All day I kept checking outside since the weather has finally accepted that it's fall and it was supposed to rain. Finally I saw the first sign of drops! I couldn't wait to run in the rain : ) After work I went to get a new cell phone since my screen went black the night before. I got a fancy Droid Incredible (so cool) and stayed up way too late that night figuring out how to use the darn thing - not so smart when you've got a long run the next morning! Luckily I only had 11 on schedule since I'm tapering for MCM on Sunday (yikes!). When I woke up this morning I saw that I'd got my wish - it was still raining. I wore capris and a long sleeve for the first time this fall and headed out into the chilly morning. 

the impending storm...

 

It was only drizzling when I started out but quite windy. It didn't take long for things to quickly progress, however, and before I knew it I was running in a storm! I was completely drenched halfway through but managed to stay pretty warm and reasonably comfortable, but I was glad I was only doing 11 : ) My left hip started nagging me from the start but actually got to the point that I almost had to stop around mile 9.5. I stretched it a bit and was able to make it home but it's been pretty sore all day so I'll be keeping an eye on it this week and stretching/rolling like crazy. I finished up my final long run of this training cycle with an average pace of 9:53, sopping wet.

MCM goals and thoughts coming soon!

Long Beach Half Marathon (Race Report)

My trip down to Long Beach was as whirlwind a trip as expected. My flight landed around 3pm Saturday and I immediately caught a cab to the expo at the LB Convention Center. The weather, however, was quite unexpected - cool and cloudy, with threats of rain! The expo was pretty typical and crowded so I tried to get in and out. I picked up my bib/race packet and then my CA Dreamin' jacket. I browsed some of the booths, grabbed some yummy samples then just as things started to feel slightly claustrophobic I got the heck out of dodge. I had some time to kill before my friend could pick me up so I headed to the nearby Borders, bought a pumpkin latte (mmmm fall!) and a fantastic book (The Devil in the White City) and was quite comfortable as I waited! Finally got some quick dinner at a little Mexican restaurant before getting picked up by my friend, Alyssa. The rest of the evening was quite relaxed. We chatted for a bit and caught up, made plans for the next morning, I laid out all my stuff, then I read my book in bed til I fell asleep : )

the view from the convention center

 

Being wary of the traffic that comes with 25,000 people going to the same place, we gave ourselves a little over an hour to cover the usually 20 minutes to the start and man was I glad we did! We hit traffic as soon as we got close to downtown, but luckily it kept moving, albeit slowly. The first wave of the race started at 7am and based on my planned finish time I belonged in wave 3 at 7:10am. Well that time came and went and we were still in traffic, but I wasn't too worried as long as a made it by the final wave at 7:30am. We actually managed to get pretty close to the start to drop me off and as soon as I was out I was running to the start line! I made it in time for wave 5 and as a result I was dodging slower runners (and walkers) the rest of the race. Oh well, I guess I should've got there earlier!

the crowd waiting to start

 

The weather from the previous day had lingered giving us a wonderful cloud cover and cool temps, perfect for running. The course started on Shoreline Drive, then passed the new Pike at Shoreline Village with a couple short out-and-backs. I was able to keep up a sub 9:30 pace for the first 5k, but then I decided that I would rather stick to my plan and take it a little easier for my hips' sake and just enjoy the race. Next we crossed the Queensway Bridge and headed toward the Port of Long Beach, home to the famous Queen Mary (the ship, not the woman!).

 starting out along shoreline drive

 heading to the port of long beach

 one of the only "hills", the Queensway Bridge

the Queen Mary (and a less-cool cruise ship)

Then we circled back around the Aquarium of the Pacific, passing the Lighthouse at Rainbow Harbor and Pierpoint Landing before heading back by Shoreline Village and down to the beach. We hit the 10k mark right as we were passing the start area for the final out-and-back. I had set my Garmin to a 9:45 pace at the start and decided to just stay as close to that as I could for the remainder of the race. I was carrying my camera and taking lots of pics and enjoying myself. My only big complaint was how many people I had to dodge throughout the race. I know it's partly my fault for starting further back, but many of he people were also just totally oblivious! Anyway, the next few miles were run on a bike path that wound through the sand and was quite narrow, making the crowding even worse. This stretch was a little monotonous and boring, but finally ended just before the 10 mile mark.

 the lighthouse!

 rainbow harbor

 pierpoint landing

 a cool boat (not the Queen Mary)

back to shoreline village

on the bike path

 

The full marathoners split from us at the 10.5 mark and I couldn't help but think that I was glad I was only doing the half : ) The last few miles were straight back to the start on Ocean Blvd. so I picked up the pace a tad. When I finally reached mile 12 I stepped on the gas and clocked a sub-9 split for the last mile. The course was a tad long per usual (about .15) and I sprinted those last tenths of a mile at sub-8 pace. I crossed the finish line along with a crowd of others, with an official time of 2:07:59.

 the split

 heading back along ocean blvd.

the home stretch!

I definitely think I could've run faster and possibly PR'ed, but I'll admit it was nice to take it a bit easier and not be so focused on pace and checking my Garmin every 5 seconds. Plus my hips were nagging me early on and I didn't want to risk it. I still accomplished my goal of a sub 2:10 race, and it was actually my second best half time yet. I enjoyed the race and had fun, too, so it was definitely a win-win. Immediately after I made my way into the crowded finish area (I think crowded was the theme at LB) and grabbed a goodie bag, chocolate milk, and a space blanket. I didn't have a whole lot of time so I quickly found the CA Dreamin' tent to pick up my huge medal. On my way out I stopped to take a quick pic in front of the awesome sand sculpture carved into the race logo. Alyssa was already downtown so I walked a little ways to meet her and then we headed straight to the airport (I told you it was a quick trip!). I freshened up as much as possible on the way, but thankfully since it was only an hour long flight I don't think I offended too many people : )

the awesome sand sculpture

Definitely happy I did this race, and not just to complete the CA Dreamin' Series. It was well organized and the course was great. I somehow was given today off work so I'm getting some much needed rest and relaxation. I actually passed out on the couch last night at 8:30pm!

another half in the books!

CA Dreamin' finally complete!

CA Dreamin' Series Complete!

LB race report is coming... In the meantime, check out the goods I got for completing the CA Dreamin' Series! Not only do you get an extra medal (a huge one in the shape of CA) but you also get a sweet jacket with the series logo embroidered on the front. I was actually really impressed with the quality of the jacket and wore it after today's race. It's super lightweight and soft but still warm! Looking back I'm glad I ran all three of these races, but the extra schwag sure doesn't hurt : )

 my sweet jacket and series medals

  surf city, san francisco, & long beach = CA dreamin' : )

Congrats to all LB, Denver, and Nike Women's finishers! Another great weekend in the running world. I had a fun (and very quick) time in Long Beach and came in right around my goal time. Stay tuned for details!

Long Beach Bound

In just a few hours I'll be boarding a plane and heading down south to Long Beach for my half marathon this weekend! I'll be honest: the main reason I signed up for LB was to complete the California Dreamin' Series. The series includes three of California's "big" races: Surf City, San Francisco, and Long Beach. By running all three (any combo of fulls or halfs) you receive an awesome jacket and a big medal in the shape of the golden state of CA! If you know me, you know things like this are right up my alley : ) Since I ran the Surf City Half in February and the San Francisco Marathon this past July I'm all set to claim my goods after I finish Long Beach this weekend!

So about this weekend... After my big PR at Urban Cow a couple weeks ago I started to reassess my goals for this race - specifically, trying to go for a sub-2 hour finish. After talking to a few people at work I think I could be capable of this. But with all the trouble I've been having with my his lately I don't think it's such a good idea to try and push it. Especially considering I have my big goal marathon (Marine Corps in DC) just two weeks later. And let me just tell you, I booked all my travel for DC last night and holy cow, I better run an awesome race because it's costing me a fortune! So a sub-2 attempt won't be happening this weekend (but will surely be in the not-too-far-off future), but that doesn't mean I'm going to leisurely jog the race. My goal is to run a sub 2:10, which will require me to keep a pace under 10:00/mi. This will be just challenging enough to make things interesting while still allowing me to have fun and enjoy the race. I plan on carrying my camera again, too, so I can capture all the awesome sights of LB along the way. Of course, if my hips start really bugging me I'll pull in the reigns, but here's hoping they behave! My trip to LB is going to literally be in and out - I'll be heading straight to the airport after the race! Should be a whirlwind of a weekend : )

Good luck to all my friends running the Nike Women's Marathon and Denver Marathon tomorrow!