Santa Rosa Marathon

Santa Rosa Marathon

My realistic goal: finish this race.
My satisfied goal: get a PR (and hopefully sub 4)
My hopeful goal: BQ

To BQ, for my age group, I would have to run a 3:35 or less. According to my fast half marathon time, this is doable. But that race was nearly three months prior to this one. It meant I would have to run under an 8:12 pace the entire time. However, I didn't want it to be THAT close, so I thought I would shoot for a 3:30, which is an 8 minute per mile pace. I have to be honest with you though; after the last few weeks of training that I have had, I was not hopeful. I have been tired. I have been unmotivated, I have not been doing speed work and I have been running about an 8:45 pace for shorter runs.

I did not feel ready. I was ready to be happy to come in under 4 hours.

My strategy was this, and I often use this one to "trick" myself: I would start off at the right pace and if I got tired later, I would slow down. I had to try at the beginning though. I got in line right behind the 3:15 pace group and I thought in my mind that if I could only stay in front of the 3:30 group, I would be okay.

The race started and we were off like a shot. The beginning of the race was difficult. It was on a creek path with only a width of a few people and everyone was trying to get ahead and find their pace but there was no room to do so. As I was trying to get my pace, I passed under an overpass and my parents and uncle were up there, cheering me on. It felt great to have spectators, and to have someone to be accountable to, even though they would never say anything bad if I didn't make my goal. Still, I was running for them, as well as myself.

The first few miles I had trouble finding my pace. I wanted to stay under 8, but to not get too tired along the way. Mile 1: 7:43, Mile 2: 7:18 (otherwise known as the "what was I thinking" mile). The next few, I found my pace and kept at it for a while. Mile 3-6: 7:40, 7:38. 7:45, 7:48. After mile 6, I took two chews and used the bathroom. This is reflected in my pace, which was (Mile 7:) 8:00. After that, the next 6 miles were around (Mile 8-13) 7:50.

The course was a figure eight loop on the creek path that went around once for the half marathoners and twice for the marathoners. This was both good and bad. Good: my parents got to see me three times: once at the start, once at the middle, and again at the end. My brother also came and he got to see my 8 times, as his place was in the middle where the eight crossed over itself so he biked back and forth to cheer me on. Bad: I had to run the same route twice.

So I went around the loop once, saw the Parentals, waved, and started on the second loop. This loop was a little bit harder. I was wavering around the 8 minute mark, but still keeping it under. However, it wasn't much under, and I kept thinking, "DON'T let the 3:30 group pass!" Mile 14-24: 7:54 average. The good news was, at this point, I had hit no wall. I had taken two chews at mile 6 and then two more at each 3 mile mark after that. I had had water at all the stops, but only a sip or two. Around mile 19, a girl caught up to me, said she liked my pace, and we ran together for a couple miles and talked. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The other thing was that half of this path was a hard packed dirt and gravel path. I wore my Saucony Kinvaras, which don't really have much of a sole. By the second loop, and especially by mile 18 or so, I was really dreading the dirt sections!

At mile 25, I slowed down a little. Mile 25: 8 minutes. At mile 26, my legs started to feel really tight and it was hard to keep up the pace. At this point though I kept repeating my mantra about the 3:30 group over and over. Just stay ahead of them! I may have mumbled, "keep going, keep going, keep going" under my breath (or out loud) several times. Mile 26: 8:06/mi

Taken by Dad - seconds before the finish line

Then I got to the last .2 miles and there was Dad, taking photos of me at my finest. I think I even managed a smile before rounding the final corner and totally chicking this dude right at the very end. My mom even has the pics to prove it.

Final time: 3:27:27 / 7:53 pace (official)



At the end there was a band and pancakes and wine, naturally. I mean, we are in Sonoma county after all.  But I decided to forgo those in exchange for a huge bacon and avocado omelet at the Omelette Express with the Fam.

Do you hit "the wall" when you race? Do you make hopeful and/or unrealistic goals that you sometimes end up achieving after all? OR Do you underestimate yourself sometimes?

Don't forget to join up at Jills for Fitness Friday!
Weekend Activities

Weekend Activities

Last weekend was a crazy busy one. The last weekends of summer are upon us and everyone is trying to cram everything in while they can! I had two great days with family and friend filled events on each one.

Friday night included drinks out with friends at the Pier 23 cafe in San Francisco.  They were giving away free samples of Air, which is a beer mixed with carbonated water. It was gross. I was not compensated to say that.

Saturday started early with a really nice walk with a friend in the morning. After that, it was my grandma's 80th birthday party. She is my father's mother. My father is one of six kids, each with kids and some of them with kids! In addition to that, there were several cousins, step this and thats, in-laws and other friends of the family. I think all in all we were maybe 50, maybe more. It was held in the North Bay Area, in a park where there was a fabulous view of the city across the bay. We ate WAY too much food, but I did it in the name of carb-loading. A perk of being a runner? Everything is in the name of "carb-loading".

My favorite part of the party? My cousin made us color coordinated name tags. I was wearing a yellow shirt. By saying that, I just realized that I didn't get any photos of myself that day.


After the party, I raced to get to the race expo in time to pick up my bib. Then I went over to my brother's house and he made us a hearty carb loading Mexican Fiesta with fresh veggies from his garden! We had steak, fresh made salsa, black beans and rice! It was delicious! And I was so busy visiting I didn't take any photos of that either!

I got up early on Sunday morning for the marathon where I ran my buns off. My family was there to support me and luckily the course was conducive to their being able to see me several times. I will do a real recap in a couple of days, but for now, just check this out!


Holy crap; I am so excited. I don't think it hit me until I was writing up this post... I mean... WOO HOO!

After the race, I had a great brunch with my family at the Omelette Express, did some grocery shopping, watered the garden, made my lunches for the week and then passed the heck out! I feel like I need a vacation from my weekend!

How was your weekend? Are you trying to cram it all in at the very end of summer? Have you ever been to Sonoma county?
Tuesday Training (7)

Tuesday Training (7)

I know, you are thinking...how many gosh darn weeks ARE there in this training program? Well, I can tell you that it has been approximately 17 weeks, 1 day, 13 hours and 17 minutes. Approximately. The good news is this is the last you will have to hear about training for a while. The bad news is that the next week will probably be full of race recaps instead. Sorry. I do have a few non running related (what!?) posts in the works for both this and next week though!

But first, I had fun with last weeks "you might be an ultra runner". How about just plain old "you might be a RUNNER"? Here are a few that pertain to me. You can find a lot more here!

One of my all time favorite trails: PCT!

 You know you're a runner when...
-          you have more running clothes than regular clothes in your laundry pile.
-          you smirk when non-runners ask you, "So how long is this marathon?" (remember this post?)
-          your runs are longer than your commute to work.
-          you go into Starbucks more often to use the bathroom than to actually buy coffee.
-          you no longer make fun of fanny packs because your running belt looks very similar to one.
-          you get an invitation to a wedding and you automatically think about what race the date will conflict with.
-          you're always hungry.
-          you know where your illiotibial band is located.
-          you spend more time researching running routes than tourist attractions when traveling to a new city. (I have a list here)
-          you know where exactly one mile from your front door is (in any direction). (and get made fun of for it!)
-          you get jealous when you're driving in your car and pass runners.(or when I am walking!)

Now, on with the training show! 
Week 1 - 4
Week 5 - 8
Week 9 - 11
Week 12 - 13
Week 14 - 15
Week 16

Week 17:

This last week has been better than the week before, not so much miles wise, since I am technically in taper, but motivation wise. Funny how that works. Now that I am SUPPOSED to run less miles, I want to run more. It's all mental.

Monday: REST -- walk 2 miles
Tuesday: REST -- walk 3 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles easy run with a friend (no Garmin) / walk 3 miles
Thursday: 8.5 miles @ 8:44 pace / walk 2 miles
Friday: hike 4 miles / walk 2 miles
Saturday: 11 miles @ 11:00 pace (hills/trail run) / hike 5 miles **
Sunday: 4.5 miles @ 12:00 pace (hills/trail run) **I cut this one short because I left a pot of beans on the stove accidentally. I kid you not.

Total Run miles: 26
Total Walk miles: 12
Total Hike miles: 9

I love hiking and walking as "cross training" and luckily have a friend who is willing to go with me. We have been walking or hiking 1-2 days a week after work and this week, we also got in a weekend hike, which was fabulous. It's been a great chance to catch up and get some exercise at the same time!

This last week is a low mileage one and I have to admit, I am kind of glad for taper this time. Madness there is not. Happiness there is. Thank you Yoda. Now all we have to do is get through this weekend without falling apart and then...well...then we will have to see! Most likely, then I will run.

Do you usually go crazy if you don't run or do you like a break from time to time? Do you have a go-to hiking/running/walking buddy? Can you relate to/add to any of those "you might be a runner if"s?

Tuesday Training (6)

Tuesday Training (6)

I thought I would start off today's post with some jokes. I did not think of these myself, although I may add some to the list. They came from the website run100s.com, which is a great resource if you are ever thinking about doing an ultra. Some of you can probably relate to these! I know I can.

You might be an ultra runner if (sung to the tune of "you might be a redneck"):

- You wonder why they don't make all running socks a dusty brown color.

My feet after the Ultra

- You postpone your wedding because it will interfere with your training. (I thought of Amber on this one; she did not postpone her wedding, but she DID train for a marathon and plan a wedding at the same time!)

- You don't recognize your friends with their regular clothes on. (or this one should be that MY friends don't recognize ME!)

 the party dress that got all the comments

- 6am is sleeping in

- You're tempted to look for a bush when there's a long line for the public restroom

- Your ideal way to celebrate your birthday is to run at least your age in miles (almost did it!).

- You can recite the protein grams of each energy bar by heart

- You know the location of every 7-11, restroom, and water fountain within a 25-mile radius of your house.

- You rotate your running shoes more often than you rotate your tires.

- You walk up the stairs and run down them.

You can find more here. And now, I want to specifically comment on a couple of them:

- Your crew tries to keep you motivated by saying, "You're in second place and only 6 hours behind first with 25 miles to go!"

This kind of happened to me on Sunday. I was told I was the 5th girl and the girl in front of me was ONLY 10 minutes ahead. I thought the guy was joking. Now I am not so sure. 

- The start of a marathon feels like a 5K and you're wondering "Why is everyone in such a rush? Where the ##@@**!! is the fire?"

I found this one funny for two reasons. (1) I have a marathon in two weeks and I only hope it feels like a 5k. I doubt it will, although I did try to do the ultra first, so it would seem "shorter", and (2) It's kind of true in regards to pace. I can only imagine, since my 50k (which is the shortest of the ultras) was done at a pretty easy pace compared to marathon pace. I bet those 100 mile runs are pretty "slow and easy wins the race" kind of attitude.

An actual recap of the ultra will be up later in the week. For now, here's the low down on this week's training.

Week 1 - 4
Week 5 - 8
Week 9 - 11
Week 12 - 13
Week 14 - 15

Week 16:

Monday: Rest / 6 mile walk
Tuesday: 4.5 miles @ 8:47 pace / 5 mile walk
Wednesday: Rest / 3 mile walk
Thursday: 10 miles @ 8:13 pace / 2 mile walk
Friday: Rest/ 2 mile walk
Saturday: Rest / 2 mile walk
Sunday: 31 miles @ an undisclosed pace :) (you have to wait for the recap!)

I have been walking every day, both on running days and rest days. This week was a little strange, as I only ran 3 days, because I wasn't sure about how much rest I should have before the ultra and I was pretty tired most of the week, so I decided not to overdo it. I walked instead, to keep some miles, but to take it easy a little. I am glad I did, because I am not really sore today! I may even go for a run this evening!

Total Miles: 45
Miles This Cycle: 648

According to RunningAhead, those miles were completed in 102 hours, giving me an approximate average pace per mile of 9:22. This week I have a pretty easy taper week ahead of me and then next week, it's "Take It Easy" time and then...marathon weekend!

Do you do a lot of walking? Do you have any "you might be a runner / ultra runner / marathon runner if..." jokes? Do your friend's recognize you if you wear a dress (or slacks if you are a boy)?
Tuesday Training (5)

Tuesday Training (5)

If you hate training posts, check out the first few days of my hike to Everest base camp.  Otherwise, read on McDuff! Also, whether you do or don't like training posts, can you please send some well wishes towards my parents, who are in the middle of a pretty nasty forest fire right now!? I appreciate it.

source

And now onto the training recap!

Week 1 - 4
Week 5 - 8
Week 9 - 11
Week 12 - 13

Week 14: This week I still had trouble getting motivated. I was really, really not feeling like running. It was a struggle to get out the door. Every day. However, as usual, once I went and did it, I felt fine. Also, my pace was faster than it had been the week before, when I ran more miles, but at a much slower pace.


Monday: Rest
Tuesday:  Rest
Wednesday: 7 miles @ 9:29 pace (run with Dad)
Thursday: 5.5 miles @ 8:28 pace
Friday: 10 miles @ 8:37 pace
Saturday: 13.1 miles @ 9:01 pace (Bad Bass Half)
Sunday: Rest

Total Miles Week 14: 36


Week 15: After asking for your advice the other day, I decided to flip this week with week 16, which meant a low mileage week this week and the 57 mile week for week 16 (the week of the Ultra). Not only that, but I even decided to skim a few off Hal's suggested mileage. I only ran three days, which is two less than normal. It felt good physically, but super, super lazy mentally. It's still hard not to feel like I am wasting time or being lazy when I am not running! However, my 13 mile run on Saturday felt great! It was also about a 2200 ft elevation gain, but I was really feeling good, the weather was cooperating and my feet just kept moving! I need more of these runs!


Monday: Cross-Train -- 1.5 hours of painting
Tuesday: 12 miles @ 11:07 pace (trail run)
Wednesday: Cross-Train -- 1.5 hours of painting
Thursday: 7 miles @ 8:14 pace
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 13.1 miles @ 8:25 pace
Sunday: Rest

Total Miles Week 15: 32

The verdict? I think 18 weeks is too long for a training program (my last one was 12 but was added to a half marathon base). I am not feeling very much in love with the idea of running right now. I still love it once I get into it, but it's been really hard to get motivated to get out and do it. I also notice that even my faster paces are not fast enough. In order to get a 3:30 marathon, I need an 8 minute pace. For 26 (point two!) miles.

So, next up for this week? I have the Ultra on Sunday, which is a 50k, so I plan to have three shorter runs this week, giving me a total of 4 runs and somewhere around 50-60 miles. Then it's taper time for the Santa Rosa Marathon!

Ha! Something to make you laugh? I put my best half marathon time into the McMillan Pace Calculator, and, according to that, I should be able to run this weekend's 50k in 4 hours and 15 minutes. At a pace of 8:13. Um, I am sorry Mr. McMillan, but you need an elevation factor in that equation! Can you imagine running 30 hilly miles at an 8 minute pace? No? Me neither. Good luck with that.

Have you used the McMillan calculator? What kind of natural disasters have you been through where you live? Do you count painting as cross training?
Tuesday Training (4)

Tuesday Training (4)

Hate training posts? Love lists? Check out this list of 10 things that may make you realize that you are in Africa!

As I mentioned last week, I have been very unmotivated lately as far as running goes. However, this has not stopped me from getting out there and doing it anyway! I spent one of the weekends in Massachusetts, where it was HOT and humid. The rest of the time, I've been running in Santa Cruz, where its been in the 70s mostly. For both weeks, I pretty much ditched my speed work and am mostly running what some would call "junk miles". Junk or not, I am just happy that I managed to do any!

One thing I am really noticing lately is that the more I run, the more I eat. I know this is nothing new, but on my rest days, I am always hungry, so I am continuously eating! I'm like a 12 year old boy, appetite-wise. Also, I have a sock tan line which is pretty attractive.

Week 1 - 4
Week 5 - 8
Week 9 - 11

Week 12 - 13

Week 12:

Phoenix Rail Trail

Monday: Rest -- my right calf was giving me pain
Tuesday: Rest -- still in pain, so I decided to take an extra day of rest
Wednesday: 12 miles @ 9:36 pace (calf still hurting)
Thursday: 12.5 miles @ 9:53 pace (hilly trail run)
Friday: 7 miles -- 6 @ 9:40 pace / 1 mile walk on beach in middle
Saturday: Rest -- Travel Day
Sunday: 9 miles @ 9:00 pace

Total Miles: 40.5
Overall feeling: Tired

Week 13:

Norwottuck Rail Trail

Monday: 6 miles @ 8:57 pace (Norwottuck Rail Trail)
Tuesday: 8.5 miles @ 9:19 pace (Phoenix Rail Trail)
Wednesday: Rest -- Travel Day
Thursday: 11 miles @ 8:46 pace
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10 miles @ 8:31 pace
Sunday: 20 miles @ 9:06 pace (Wilder Ranch)

Total Miles: 55.5
Overall feeling: Okay (better than last week!)

Wilder Ranch SP

What I have learned these past two weeks is that...I don't think I can sustain the required BQ pace of an 8 minute mile for 26.2 miles! I am having a hard enough time sustaining a 9 minute mile! This weekend I have a half marathon, which should give me an idea of my race pace, but I am feeling like maybe I am biting off more than I can chew with the BQ goal right now.

How is your training going? Do you have a hard time maintaining your pace in the heat?
Tuesday Training (3)

Tuesday Training (3)

I know some of you get bored with training posts, so, if that is the case, instead of reading the below post, read THIS, about the time I missed the bus in Argentina due to an unknown time change and met a local in the process.  Week 1 - 4 and Week 5 - 8 can be found by clicking the links <----.
 
Santa Rosa Marathon Training -- Week 9 to Week 11

Week 9: Luckily this was a step-back week, because I was really not feeling it. I had to go to the city on Thursday and it threw off my run for that day. Saturday was a stress ball day of broken cars and Sunday was the drive to Oregon, which meant 8 hours in the car. This week was a lot of trail running, which some may consider "junk" miles, but I call them hill workouts!

Monday: 1 hour of P90x Core
Tuesday: 13.1 mile trail run @ 10:20 pace
Wednesday: 8.5 mile trail run @ 10:13 pace
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 8.2 mile trail run @ 10:09 pace
Saturday: 6 miles @ 8:20 pace
Sunday: Rest

Total Miles: Goal 35.6 / Actual 35.5 / Long Run 13.1

Week 10: This week I was in Oregon until Friday, which I thought would cause me to have LESS miles, but in fact, with three ladies trying to get ready plus a baby to get ready, feed and give naps to, there ended up being extra free time, which I used to run. Also, my friend is trying to get back into running, so I also did run/walk intervals with her. I put them in parenthesis.


Monday: 7 miles @ 7:40 pace (+ 3 miles @ 12:53)
Tuesday: 2 miles @ 7:15 pace (+ 3.5 miles @ 13:36)
Wednesday: 9 miles @ 8:03 pace
Thursday: 9.5 miles @ 8:43 pace (on Peterson Ridge Trail -- mostly flat)
Friday: (3.75 miles @ 14:14 pace) Flight home
Saturday: 19 miles @ 8:40 pace (8:20 - 9:20 is the pace suggested by McMillan for my long runs)
Sunday: Rest

Total Miles: Goal 47 / Actual 56 (*my highest ever!) / Long Run 19

Week 11:  This week was a difficult one, physically and mentally. First of all, I went out and had a few drinks on Sunday, so I took Monday off. Then there was 4th of July and more drinks, so I took Thursday off. My schedule calls for 6 days of running, but I often combine the two shorter ones (this week it was 4 and 5) so I can have two rest days. This week I needed them! Wine + little sleep Does Not = happy runner.


Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 10 miles @ 9:05 pace
Wednesday: 9 miles @ 8:22 pace
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 6 miles @ 8:26 pace
Saturday: 20 miles @ 8:58 pace
Sunday: 8 miles @ 9:54 pace (my legs were SO tired from the long run. Remind me to keep Sunday as my rest day if my long run is going to be on Saturday. This was NOT a fun run. McMillan suggests a recovery pace of 9:20 - 9:50, so I missed my mark on this one).

Total Miles: Goal 54.5 / Actual 53 / Long Run 20

Luckily this means next week is another step back week because I will be traveling again and who knows what the conditions will be. I have to admit, I know that I am SUPER lucky to be training in a place where the high usually doesn't reach the 70s. I am a bit worried that the marathon is going to be HOT and I am going to keel over because I am not accustomed to it. So this weekend there may be a few hot training runs just as a test to see how I will do. Wish me luck!

Taken from Running Ahead

Verdict? 20 miles is not that bad anymore. What IS bad is the run the day after. I think I need to have a short run on Friday (or a rest day) and a rest day on Sunday (or a shorter run). I also don't know how some people can run 100 miles a week when training. I am pretty tired. My feet are tender. I have listened to all the This American Life episodes and 3 audio books. What keeps me going? Views like the one in the photo above. If I was running 20 miles on the street or a bike path or in the heat, I would be an emotional wreck.

A quick note on fueling. Jelly beans? Too sweet, but good because I can take one by one when I want them. Gu? Sticks in my belly UNLESS I eat it over the course of several miles which is okay but can get messy (I fold it and tuck it into my wrist band).  Nuun? So far, so good, but I think better to take before or after rather than during, since I just don't like sweet stuff while I am running. I also found that watering it down a bit helps. I have a new favorite fuel, but I think it deserves it's own post, so stay tuned!

Also, congratulations to Amber, a fellow marathoner and blogger who just got married yesterday!

Are you training for anything? When you travel, do you exercise less or more? What is your favorite distance to run?
Tuesday Training (2)

Tuesday Training (2)

Well, it's time for my monthly training post. The post about training week 1-4 can be found here. For those of you who get bored by these training posts, feel free to check out some posts that are more interesting but little read, due to the fact that I wrote these back when I was but a wee blogger, like a post I wrote about The Latte Factor, or maybe you would prefer one where I ask, "Why Weight?"

Training is still going strong. I have had fun exploring new places as well as getting to run in a coastal city in the summer, which beats running in Missouri in the summer (which is what I did last year)! 

Week 5: May 21 - 28: 41 miles


For week five I ran a couple of fast and flat runs around the lake and then I did the group trail run, where I got to wear test the Brooks Connect. After that, I decided to explore the BA Ridge Trail and ended up doing a 17 mile trail run just for fun. I saw a few snakes, stopped and took dozens of photos, got lost, got rained on and had a great time! I wish all long runs were like that. I experimented with fuel: I tried Nuun (on the uphills) and a mocha Gu, which I took half at 1 hr and half at 2 hrs and they both seemed to settle pretty well.

Week 6: May 29 - June 3: 42 miles


In keeping with my exploration of the BA Ridge trail, for week six, I decided to run on the trail to meet a friend for a walk and I got lost again, so this one became an 11 mile trail run. I really didn't mind, except the next day's 3 mile run was pretty lead legged! I also did some 800s with an average pace of 7:40 for the entire run. My long run (13.1 miles at 7:26 pace)for the week was the See Jane Half Marathon. I did not use any fuel for the race.

Week 7: June 4 - June 10: 45 miles


Week seven was the week of the broken down car, and therefore I was stuck without my Garmin for a few days. I actually enjoyed not knowing what my pace was, although I missed having the data to analyze later. My average pace was around an 8:30 without it. My long run this week (16 miles at 8:52 pace) was in Santa Cruz along the West cliffs. The highlight was a snake eating a mouse. I also experimented with Gu Chomps, which are okay, but not great.

Week 8: June 11 - June 17: 47.5 miles


I was sick for the majority of week 8, which was a bummer. It's hard to run and breathe through your mouth the whole time. It's also a pain to have any extra reason to spit. However, I rested for the first couple of days and then made myself get back outside (it was beautiful in Santa Cruz this week -- weather in the 60s and low 70s) and just do it. I did a quick tempo run in the Kinvaras, which was like running on air. I also did a hill run, which was a 10 mile trail run uphill most of the way (I took the bus back down the hill). My long run (17 miles at 8:51 pace) was on the East Cliffs. I got a little lost but had another beautiful view (albeit a bit foggy).

Aside from the running, I have been walking approximately 2 miles (or more) a day, just to do normal things like walk to the bus stop, the grocery store, or just a leisurely after dinner photo walk. I have not done any strength/cross training, aside from carrying boxes, moving things, gardening and cleaning the house.

Are you training for any races? Do you do any strength training? How do you feel about working out in the summer time? (**Do you like to mess around with Excel?)
Tuesday Training

Tuesday Training

I have not really talked about this lately, because I feel like it's not as big of a deal, but I signed up for another marathon. It's in August. So, I am already a few weeks into my marathon training for the race. I have to admit, like everyone (I guess) I would like to qualify for Boston. But I am not sure if I have it in me. I am not doubting my ability to get faster, but I have recently been distracted by trail racing, which I love, and am contemplating signing up for a 30k in June and a 50k in August.

Am I crazy? Maybe. Can I do it all? I don't know. Can I try? Yes.

I am not going to bore you every week with my training details, but this week (and probably every few if I remember) I am going to! You know I hate it when people say, "I blog for myself" but in this case, I do want to get my training miles, fuel woes, and notes down on paper so I can look back later and see what I did wrong, needed to change or where I went right! And if it helps someone else, that is great too. So it's for me, and for you, if you want it. If you get bored reading post after post about mileage and taper and Gu, you may want to skip this one.

The Marathon: Santa Rosa Marathon

The Training "Plan" (loosely followed so far!): Hal Higdon's Advanced Plan. I wanted to run at least two 20 mile runs before the race. This advanced plan actually calls for 3. This plan also suggests alternating (on Thursday) hill, speed and tempo runs. Some of the other plans did not have any speed work, but I NEED to get faster in order to get the (new and "improved") 3:35 BQ time required for my age group. And I would LIKE to get more like a 3:30.

WEEK ONE: Goal: 27.5 miles / Actual: 27.5 miles / Long Run: 10 miles


Week one went exactly as planned. I did two easy runs, a hill run, a pace run and a long run. The plan calls for 6 days of running per week, which I find a bit excessive, so I put two of them together and still got the mileage with 5 runs instead. I was surprised by how hard the pace run was. I ran it at an average of 7:55/mi, with my fastest mile at 7:10/mi.

WEEK TWO: Goal: 31 miles / Actual 31 miles / Long Run: 7 miles**


Week two was the weekend of The Relay, so I ran 16 miles total on Sunday, but it was run in 4 separate legs (7 mi, 2 mi, 6.2 mi, 1.2 mi), so I guess my actual long run was only 7 miles. I also skipped the tempo run on Thursday but ran my 1st leg (7 miles) of the Relay near tempo pace (7:43 according to the McMillan Pace Calculator).

WEEK THREE: Goal: 31 miles / Actual: 32 miles / Long Run: 13 miles

As you can see, I lowered week three to 5 days a week as well, and added a bit of extra mileage in the form of a trail race. I love adding races to my training plan as long runs, as they are so fun! However, I maybe should have dialed it back a little and spread it out over 6 days, since I was pretty sore from the Relay. This week’s Thursday run was 4x800 intervals, which I ran at an average of 7:52. The fastest 800 was 6:36. In order to get a 3:30 marathon according to Bart Yasso, I should be running my 800s at about 7 minutes. I wouldn’t mind being faster than that though.

WEEK FOUR: Goal: 33 miles / Actual 28 miles / Long Run: 19 miles


This also includes 4 mi walk on Mon and 5 mile hike on Fri.


Week 4 was hard because I was still a bit fatigued from the Relay/Half, and then I went to my parents house and my 6 mile run became a 1 mile run because of snakes and poison oak. I also knew that I was going to be running a pretty long run on Sunday and did not want to be as tired on Sunday as I was last Saturday. So I took it easy this week. I am glad that I did because Sunday’s run was pretty hot and VERY hilly and I went through a lot of water and a lot of wear and tear on the ol’ quads. And thank goodness, because I feel great now because of it! I also "skipped" Thursday's hill run because the run on Sunday had about a 7000 ft climb. I think that warrants a skip! Wednesday I moved heavy boxes and gardened and washed cars. I am calling that cross training.

So, a few questions for you guys: Have you ever run an Ultra race? Do you think I can fit in a 30k, an ultra and a marathon in a two month period? I am planning on running a flat half marathon at the start of June just so I can analyze my road racing fitness level a bit, but other than that, much of my running/training will be on trails. Have any of you run the Santa Rosa Marathon? Do any of you hate training recaps? Go ahead and say it; I won’t be mad.