Avenue of the Giants

My official chip time was 3:19:49. I thought the race was great, it was a beautiful course, shaded with some rolling hills but for the most part, the uphills did not feel hard with the exception of the last uphill right before the finish, and alot of the course felt like it was downhill or flat. I really felt in the groove for about 80% of this race.

The race started and I fell into step with a guy named Bob who was shooting for a time a little faster than I was but he was planning on starting slower then picking it up. We ended up running together for 16.5 miles. We also picked up a guy from Columbus and a local gal who ended up being the first master.

The first half of the race had more uphills than I had expected and the road was in really bad need of a paving job, infact, you didn't want to look to long at the gorgeous scenery for fear of tripping. Even though there was a lot of uphill in the first 6.5, I was really in the groove and the miles were flying by. When we turned around, we started picking up the pace and going with the flow, our little group was all feeling really good through these miles.

At the halfway point, I saw Jim and Scooter which put a little bounce in my step! We made a right hand turn and headed up the hill over the bridge. Soon Bob and I ran into a guy from one of the local running groups, I almost didn't recognize him at first. The three of us ran together for a while in a really nice rythme. Around 16.5, I started having problems. We had just passed a water stop when I started having trouble breathing. This has happened before, at the end of the Mississauga marathon just as I was crossing the finish line, but never during the actual run. Anyway, I wasn't sure if I should stop so I tried to relax and breathe deeply and within a minute or so, my breathing returned to normal. This happend about 4 more times during the race, and I tell you it was quite distressing. I used to use an inhaler but haven't needed it for years, guess I should get one just in case. Around the same time as the breathing trouble started, my heart rate also jumped up 10-15 beats. I was in the high 150's - low 160's for the first 16.5 miles, then it went up to the mid 170's and stayed there until the end of the race.

I still managed to hold onto my pace pretty good until mile 23, then I really started slowing, with 25 and 26 in the low 8's!

I know this is a certified course and the distance is accurate, but there was no one yelling splits, so I relied on my Garmin for pace and distance. Well my Garmin gave me 26.73 miles for the race which came out to a 7:29 pace. So what happened? Did I really run almost a half a mile extra due to all the turns or did my watch just over estimate the distance? I kept thinking the mile markers were off and eventually everything would even out, but as I got closer to the end I realized that it was not so. A little bit of a dissapointment since you think you are on pace for a certain time but then have almost a half mile more to run!

Here are the splits and official finish time
CHIP CHIP AGE PLACE SEX GUN GUN TIME TO 6.5 MILE 1/2 MAR 19.60 MILE BOSTON MAR
NO. NAME CITY & STATE RACE # SEX AGE TIME PACE DIV OVERALL OVERALL TIME PACE START LINE SPLIT PACE SPLIT PACE SPLIT PACE QUALIFYER
4. Joann Pavlovcak San Francisco, CA 43 F 37 3:19:49 7:37 2 / 21 22 / 416 4 / 181 3:19:51 7:37 0:02 0:48:20 7:26 2:26:05 7:27 BMQ

So 7:27 pace when I paced the last turn around at 19.60 miles, and overall pace was 7:37.

These are the splits my Garmin gave me.




This is the course and the course profile. Notice the red arrows, that is the 'killer' hill, it wasn't bad on the way out, but on the way back it was torture :)




Before the start of the race.


Rolling through the half way point with my posse.


Not much further now!


And on to the finish!!

April 13th to 19th, 2009

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Recovery
5.03 mi, 8:41/mi, 126 bpm

Wednesday
Aerobic + Speed
7.06 mi, 7:47/mi, 147 bpm
Did 8x100 pickups

Thursday
Unplanned off day. Didn't feel like running in the morning, was going to do it after work, but by the end of they day I was really tired and decided to just take an extra day off this week.

Friday
Med-Long
12.01 mi, 8:29/mi, 133 bpm
This run started out in the dark of the morning with me tripping over a speed bump because I was forced off the sidewalk due to a parked car! Let me tell you that dark speed bumps without yellow paint are very hard to see before the sun rises! Anyway, luckily I was wearing tights so I only removed 1 layer of skin from my knee! I walked off the pain for about 5 minutes and then decided I could still run so off I went! The rest of the run was great, it was a perfect morning with temps in the low 50's and plenty of sun once it came up.

Saturday
Aerobic
10.09 mi, 8:39/mi, 127 bpm

Sunday
Long Run
17.02 mi, 8:25/mi, 136 bpm
This run started out really great, it was a lot warmer than usual and I was very excited about that. When I left the apartment it was 72 and when I returned it was 82. I guess I am not used to the heat though becuase half way through the run I started getting extremely thirsty to the point that I was changing my route so that I could run by water fountains. Oh my, I don't know how I made it through the last few miles, I can't remember the last time I felt so dehydrated during a run...actually I do, it was the summer of 2007, running the towpath with TM and it was 90+ and very humid at about 8am.

Total:
51.21 miles
Avg pace 8:25/mi
Avg HR 134

April 6th to April 12th, 2009

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Recovery
AM - 6.38 mi
PM - 4.33 mi

Wednesday
Med-Long
11.14 mi, 8:54/mi, 127 bpm

Thursday
Med-Long
14.14 mi, 8:10/mi, 136 bpm

Friday
Aerobic
8.23 mi, 8:31/mi, 125 bpm

Saturday
Recovery
5.27 mi, 8:43/mi, 121 bpm

Sunday
Long Run
20.01 mi, 8:31/mi, 135 bpm

Total:
69.50 miles

March 30th to April 5th, 2009

Monday
Recovery
3.77 mi, 9:22/mi, 120 bpm

Tuesday
VO2 Max
9.27 mi, 8:00/mi, 140 bpm
5x600's, I wasn't too technical about this run, since I wasn't at the track, just ran 5 x 2:30, so the pace ranged from 6:30 to just under 7. I have a hard time moving fast so early in the morning, so the first interval is always way too slow. I suppose I should add an extra one on in the future to make up for it.

Wednesday
Aerobic
8.12 mi, 8:29/mi, 130 bpm

Thursday
Recovery
5.33 mi, 9:03/mi, 119 bpm

Friday
Med-Long
13.25 mi, 8:33/mi, 129 bpm
Was supposed to do this run on Wednesday, but kept putting it off because I was tired and got out of the house too late in the morning.

Saturday
Recovery
6.06 mi, 8:30/mi, 126 bpm

Sunday
Race + Long Run
18.17 mi, 8:03/mi, 139 bpm
Did a 10k race today in Golden Gate Park, it was a beautiful day for a race! I jogged from the apartment to the start of the race which is about 2.5 miles and then warmed up a little more for a total of 3 miles. Prior to leaving for the race and even while jogging there, I was doubting even doing the race! I reminded myself that it would be good company for part of my long run, so just do it even if you won't be fast! Anyway, the race started and the first mile has a bit of a climb and was also into the wind, but by some amazing force, there was this nice tall runner running about the same pace as me so I tucked in behind him and used him as a shield until the course turned and headed east - thanks buddy! After I broke away from him, I caught up to the next group ahead of me and stuck with them for a bit, but soon I dropped them and started catching up to the next group. By this time I started realizing that I was feeling really good and these sub-7 miles were feeling pretty easy! I couldn't believe it, I thought I was going to struggle but it was quite the opposite, the training feels like it was really starting to payoff! About mile 3 we started down a downhill stretch and that's when a guy in the pack I was in said he couldn't keep up anymore and started falling off the back of the our little group, I tried to encourage him to stick with us and he told me to stick with the guy ahead of us to which I replied I was trying! This guy was about 50 yards ahead of me by this point, I had already made up some ground though because he was well ahead of me for the first 2 miles. Anyway, I stuck with him all the way to the 6 mile marker and we were picking off other runners along the way, it felt great! After the last mile marker though, he found another gear and dropped me. I was really pleased how this run turned out, I felt really strong through the entire run, uphill and downhill. The last 1.25 miles is all uphill, so my pace did slow down, but I always felt strong. Anyway, I did not get a PR today, but I feel this race was a good indication that my training is progressing nicely!


Total:
63.96 miles
Avg pace 8:24/mi
Avg HR 132

March 23rd to March 29th, 2009

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Recovery
4.02 mi, 9:18/mi, 117 bpm

Wednesday
Med-Long
12.33 mi, 8:23/mi, 131 bpm

Thursday
Med-Long
15.25 mi, 8:13/mi, 136 bpm

Friday
AM - Recovery
5.09 mi, 9:35/mi, 114 bpm
Really tired this morning

PM - Aerobic
7.00 mi, 8:18/mi, 135 bpm

Saturday
Aerobic
10.16 mi, 8:55/mi, 126 bpm
Legs feeling a little dead this morning.

Sunday
Long Run
17.03 mi, 7:46/mi, 142 bpm
Did 10 miles at 'marathon pace', which I didn't really know what pace I should run, but decided to let my legs decide. There was a 25 mile per hour wind from the west, so half the run was running right into the wind. I ended up averaging about 7:40 for the marathon paced miles, not bad considering the wind. I also noticed that my heart rate is getting closer to where it was when I was running my best back in 2006, so that is a good sign.

Total:
70.88 miles
Avg pace 8:25/mi
Avg HR 132

301!

Woohoo! Just finished the biggest running month ever by cracking the 300 mile marker with a grand total of 301!!! 27 running days, 4 days off, average of just over 11 miles per day, 8:29/mile, heartrate of 133 bpm.

March 16th - 22nd, 2009

This week was interesting, I definitely saw some of the fruits of my labour paying off, I also got into an impromptu race of sorts in the park and finished the week off with a free exfoliating treatment.

On Wednesday I had the day off from work so rather than running in the morning, I went out in the afternoon to enjoy the warmth and the sun while I ran. I ran to Golden Gate Park and as is the norm, there were lots of people out walking kids, dogs, etc and lots of runners as well. One runner in particular was a ways ahead of me on the path, he was an older guy, maybe in his mid to late 50's and looked to be jogging at a leisurely pace. Well, it didn't take long for me to catch up to him and pass him, but as soon as I passed him, he proceeded to pass me back! Well, now he was just a step ahead of me and I wanted some space so I proceeded to pass him again and he kept picking up the pace to prevent me from doing so! I could not believe that he was doing that, I mean really??? So I ran up along side of him and turned my head to start a conversation and he wouldn't even acknowledge me so I decided to give him a run for his money and see how long he could keep this up. I kept picking up the pace until we were running around 6:30 or so and then finally after about 3/4 of a mile of this game, he peeled off...and I declared victory!!! Well, this run was supposed to be 14 miles and I had not planned on turning it into a tempo, but once he bailed on our little game, my legs wanted to keep moving, so I ran 4 more miles at sub-7 pace and was pretty pleased with how good I felt and where my heart rate was. I finished up the rest of the miles at a decent pace, so thank you to the stranger in the park who helped me run a really good unplanned tempo!


Monday
Off

Tuesday
AM - Recovery
3.80 mi, 9:12/mi, 120 bpm
My left foot was sore this morning so I aborted the run to try again later in the day.

PM - VO2
6.26 mi, 7:35/mi, 156 bpm
I wore my Brooks Glycerin for this run and my foot did not hurt. My Mizuno's may be getting close to retirement. This was a good run, did 5x600's.

Wednesday
Med-Long with Tempo
14.01 mi, 7:48/mi, 148 bpm
7:32 (143)
6:57 (157)
6:51 (162)
6:58 (161)
6:47 (162)
Great run!


Thursday
Recovery
9.14 mi, 9:28/mi, 119 bpm
Pretty sore, slow recovery run.

Friday
AM - Recovery
5.21 mi, 9:20/mi, 119 bpm
Still a little sore and tired from Wednesday's effort.

PM - Aerobic
7.09 mi, 7:28/mi, 154 bpm
Wow, that morning run must have really helped out because I felt really great for this run, the legs were just flowing. I ended up running faster than I planned, but hey, sometimes you just have to go with the flow!
7:30 (148)
7:29 (153)
7:19 (158)
7:07 (161)
7:16 (161)

Saturday
Recovery
5.03 mi, 8:47/mi, 123 bpm

Sunday
Race + Long Run
18.01 mi, 8:29/mi, 140 bpm
Did a 12k race today at Chrissy Field, and wow, it was windy! 27mph with gusts up to 32mph! The wind kicking the sand up and in my face made me feel like I had just had an exfoliating treatment done! I wasn't expecting to go too hard in the race since I already had 3 hard runs this week, I know, I should have saved myself for the race, but when I feel good, I want to go with it. Anyway, the first mile or so of this race was OK, then my legs started getting sore, I was really thinking of just dropping out since it was really a low-key local race etc, but then I thought what the heck, I am here anyway and have to run today, who cares if my time sucks! So on I went. There was a really big hill in this race, just one, most of the course was flat aside from that. The terrain was a mix of packed sand and pavement, however, three was a section on the path with 3 sets of barricades that you had to navigate in a zig-zag around twice, so that was a bit of a slowdown. Anyway, halfway through the race, my legs started coming around and I started picking up the pace even into the strong headwind and started to pick off a few people. Once we hit the final turn around, we finally got a break from the head wind and now it was at our backs which was great because my legs started moving faster and faster and I was passing more people. With less than a half mile to go, I saw the 2nd place women ahead of me, so I picked it up and flew past her, so I ended up 2nd. After the race, I still had 10 more miles to run, but there was no way I wanted to stay by the bay since my face was already burning from wind and sand, so I drove back home parked the car and did the rest at Golden Gate Park.

Total:
68.55 miles
Avg pace 8:25/mi
Avg HR 136

March 9th to 15th, 2009

This was supposed to be a recovery week and I took full advantage of it and ran really slowly. I didn't have to force myself to run slowly either since my legs were like cement blocks the entire week!

Monday
Med-Long
11.27 mi, 8:40/mi, 142

Tuesday
Recovery
4.01 mi, 10:01/mi, 112 bpm
Uhhhg, this run was awful, barely made it 4 miles, soooo tired!

Wednesday
Off - I think my body was trying to tell me something yesterday.

Thursday
Recovery
10.02 mi, 9:00/mi, 125 bpm
Felt awful for the first 3-4 miles, then started to get in a groove.

Friday
Med-Long
15.03 mi, 8:21/mi, 138 bpm
Feeling better today, energy returning.

Saturday
Fartlek
9.23 mi, 8:11/mi, 146 bpm
Good run, but felt reallllly slooowww on the faster portions of the fartlek.

Sunday
Recovery
8.30 mi, 8:56/mi, 124 bpm
It rained today, that seems to be the theme lately on Sundays. Wasn't really into this run, was happy to be done.

Total:
57.86 miles
Avg pace 8:42/mi
Avg HR 130

March 2nd to 8th, 2009

I wasn't sure how this week was going to go since I felt the fatigue has been building and I'm due for a down week. Overall it went pretty good, the long run felt better than last week and I got a good tempo run in.

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Recovery
7.02 mi, 9:03/mi, 126 bpm

Wednesday
Med-Long
15.09 mi, 8:15/mi, 142 bpm
A bit of a struggle today, it rained the entire run and I didn't get in the groove until half way through.

Thursday
Recovery
7.05 mi, 9:05/mi, 126 bpm

Friday
Tempo
12.02 mi, 7:43/mi, 143 bpm
Legs felt fine starting out, but when I got to crossover drive, i really didn't feel like picking it up, then I decided I would just do a short pickup to get the legs moving instead of the 7mi tempo, then once my legs started going, they kept going! pace felt pretty good actually.
7:24 (151)
7:21 (153)
7:22 (159)
7:12 (162)
7:07 (159)
7:14 (159)
7:06 (161)

Saturday
Long Run
21.17 mi, 8:25/mi, 136bpm

Sunday
Recovery
8.12 mi, 8:38/mi, 129 bpm

Total:
70.47 miles
Avg pace 8:25/mi
Avg HR 135

February 23rd to March 1st, 2009

The last few weeks has been nothing but rain around here, its a good thing I have 3 pairs of running shoes to alternate between. Running in the rain is not so bad, the hardest part is just getting out the door.

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Recovery
8.24 mi, 8:23/mi, 135 bpm

Wednesday
Recovery
8.16 mi, 8:43/mi, 129 bpm

Thursday
Med-Long
14.16 mi, 8:23/mi, 136 bpm

Friday
Tempo
11.22 mi, 8:03/mi, 141 bpm
Today I started this run pretty slow and decided that I didn't want to do a tempo, I was too tired, etc, etc, and just as I was running that thought through my head, my legs started picking up the pace and before you know it I was running the tempo!
7:32 (155)
7:20 (162)
7:26 (163)
7:12 (165)
7:26 (163)

Saturday
Recovery
6.58 mi, 8:36/mi, 129bpm
Felt springy and light on my feet today!

Sunday
Long
20.32 mi, 8:34/mi, 132 bpm
Today I felt the opposite of yesterday, my legs had no bounce, the run was a struggle from the get-go and it rained for the entire 3 hours!

Total:
68.67 miles
Avg pace 8:27/mi
Avg HR 134

February 16th to 22nd, 2009

This was another really good week of training. Most of my runs I felt stronger and stronger as the run went on. The week started out with a very slow recovery run then on Wednesday I ran a medium-long run at a comfortable pace. Thursday I had the day off of work and the weather was warm and sunny, so instead of my normal loop through the park, I ran down to the ocean and back. The best part about this run was how strong I felt running from the ocean back to the apartment which is mostly uphill. Saturday was an uneventful easy run and Sunday was another medium-long run, the weather was awful, howling winds and pouring rain for the entire day!

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Recover
6.30 mi, 9:43/mi, 116 bpm

Wednesday
Med-Long
13.54 mi, 8:28/mi, 130 bpm

Thursday
Med-Long
15.05 mi, 7:51/mi, 148 bpm
This was a really good run, ran the second half faster than the first even with a lot of it being uphill. Last 2 were at 7:23(158) and 7:24(160), last week, near the end of an 11 miler, I ran 7:38(157) and 7:32(161), so for almost the same heart rate, the pace was faster this week. That is a good sign if the trend continues.

Friday
Recovery
6.36 mi, 8:33/mi, 128 bpm

Saturday
Recovery + Speed
9.32 mi, 8:15/mi, 142bpm
Easy run with 6x100 pickups.

Sunday
Med-Long
15.04 mi, 7:52/mi, 145 bpm
I ran through a downpour for 2 hours and was totally drenched when I got home. Luckily they kept JFK closed to traffic so I could run in the middle of the road and avoid running through the small lakes forming on the sidewalks.

Total:
65.58 miles
Avg pace 8:17/mi
Avg HR 137

February 9th to 15th, 2009

After feeling pretty tired lately and wondering if maybe I was putting in too many miles, I finally feel like I had a breakthrough week! I felt stronger than ever!

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Lactate Threshold
10.16 mi, 7:51/mi, 148 bpm
7:21 (160)
7:19 (162)
7:19 (163)
7:17 (159)
7:07 (167)

Wednesday
Med-Long
14.06 mi, 8:06/mi, 151 bpm
HR went a little crazy during the run today, jumped up about 20 beats for the same 8 minute pace.

Thursday
Recovery
5.14 mi, 8:19/mi, 141 bpm
HR very high again today, or at least higher than normal. Pace felt easy though. I started getting a sore throat at work, so maybe the high heart rate was an indication of a pending cold. Luckily by Friday the sore throat was gone.

Friday
11.08 mi, 7:57/mi, 146 bpm
Felt really good today. There was a guy on the path ahead of my and I felt compelled to chase him down, so after averaging about 8:15 for the first 5, I started picking it up to catch him and then after I passed him I was in a groove, so just kept going with it. The last 6 I was feeling strong, splits:
7:44 (152)
7:38 (156)
7:36 (156)
7:38 (157)
7:32 (161)
7:47 (162)

Saturday
Long Run
21.01 mi, 8:05/mi, 140bpm
Felt pretty good and kept a pretty even pace throughout the run, felt really strong at the end and picked up the pace to 7:34 and 7:29 for the last two miles.


Sunday
Aerobic Run
8.58 mi, 7:39/mi, 154 bpm
It was pouring rain all day today and since I had to work this morning, I only got my run in around 3pm at which time the puddles were very deep. After realizing I was not going to get away with dry feet, I happily bounded through the puddles, some which were do deep the water was up to my calves. So along with the puddles, it was raining with 20 mile an hour winds. Sounds like fun, I know. Anyway, usually I love to run on JFK Blvd on Sundays since the road is closed to traffic, but since nobody was crazy enough to be out in the rain, they opened the road early and I was forced to run on the path which is another reason I couldn't avoid the massive puddles. After about 3 miles, I felt like my legs were running on their own and at the half way point the pace dropped from even 8's to 7:15's. Maybe my body just wanted to get home as fast as possible, I'm not sure, but I felt really great today and the pace felt comfortable. Last 4 miles:
7:15 (162)
7:12 (165)
7:16 (168)
7:18 (158)


Total: 70.04 miles

February 2nd to 8th, 2009

This week I felt motivated to add a little more variety such as hills and some faster running because I've been feeling a little slow and sluggish lately while my body is adapting to the mileage.

Monday
Off

Tuesday
9 mi, 8:35/mi, 141 bpm
I started this run by tackling Parnassus St from 6th to Stanyan. The first uphill section starts at 300 feet and rises to 500 feet over 1/4 mile. It then flattens out briefly before a 1/4 mile downhill to about 375 feet. I did this section twice then headed to the track for a 5 x 100 meters to get the legs moving a little. After that I headed into the park. Overall a nice run.

Wednesday
Med-Long
12.25 mi, 8:37/mi, 132 bpm
Started out the same as yesterday on Parnassus, then the track then out to the park. Feeling a little tired today.

Thursday
Recovery
4.5 mi, 9:10/mi, 118 bpm
Felt really tired today.

Friday
Off
Had planned on running today. Got up, got dressed, then headed out the door, that's when I saw the pouring rain, it was coming down sideways and there were puddles out there that looked deep enough to swim in...so I turned around and jumped back into bed for an extra hour and a half of sleep. Glad I made that decision, I needed the sleep.

Saturday
Fartlek
7.5 mi, 8:02/mi, 145bpm
Due to the extra sleep yesterday I felt terrific today. Headed out super early (5am) since we had some friends in town and it was the only time that I could get it done.

This run included 5 pickups between 1/2 and 3/4 mile with the pace between 6:38 and 7:10. It was VERY quiet in the park this early, I only saw 2 other runners and that was near the end of the run.

Sunday
Long Run
20.25 mi, 8:13/mi, 142 bpm
This run was kind of tough today, I felt good for the most part, but my legs started getting really tight a few times which forced me to stop and stretch them out. After stretching though, they felt really good for a while. The middle miles were the toughest, once I got to 15 I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and started picking it up. At the end I felt like I could of run a few more.

Total: 53.50 miles

January 26th to February 1st, 2009

This week I wanted to cut back a bit and I was hoping the recovery would help in having a good race.

Monday
5 mi, 9:20/mi, 118 bpm
Felt slow and sluggish.

Tuesday
Off

Wednesday
Fartlek
9.5 mi, 8:18/mi, 143 bpm
Shins were really sore for the first 3 miles, then I picked it up an did a fartlek.

Thursday
Recovery
6.5 mi, 9:02/mi, 129 bpm
Legs really tight today, didn't get into a groove at all. Too bad because this was one of the nicest days, 68 and sunny in the afternoon when I went running.

Friday
Aerobic
5.25 mi, 8:27/mi, 133 bpm
Felt nice and loose today, run was comfortable.

Saturday
Recovery
3 mi, 9:18/mi, 124 bpm

Sunday
Warm up
2 mile jog to warm up

Race
13.21 mi, 7:27/mi, 159 bpm


Total: 44.46 miles

Kaiser Permanente Race

I couldn't have asked for a better day for a race, it was beautiful this morning! When I left the apartment it was 49 and the sun was just coming up. By the time the race started it was about 52, best of all, it seemed like there was no wind out there today!

After a brief warm up, I started making my way to the 7 minute pace section of the starting coral and ran into someone from work, we chatted briefly and I wished him luck before finding my spot. After a few minutes I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of gals I met at the last race I ran! We hung out in the corral jumping and trying to get ready to go until finally the gun went off and we were on our way.

This race was pretty big, over 6000 half marathoners and about 2700 5k runners. It took about 30 seconds to cross the starting line. I was a little disappointed when I realized that there were tons of people who started in the 5 and 6 minute per mile sections that were barely running at 9 minute pace, this meant that navigation was very difficult for the first mile.

The race headed east and looped around the panhandle before heading back into the park down a nice long incline and then out to the ocean. I started out at an OK pace, about 7:15ish average, but after about 8 miles, the legs started getting really sore and my pace slowed quite a bit. The last few miles were not too fun since I was getting passed quite a bit, but I tried to stay positive keeping in mind that I only started the marathon training four weeks ago and have not put in very much tempo or faster paced work and that this race can be a baseline to see where my fitness is. So now I know that I have a lot of work to do before May 3rd if I want to get a good marathon time!

After the race I picked up my t-shirt, drink, etc and walked around the expo for a bit before meeting up with the girls who had invited me over for brunch. Nothing like enjoying a mimosa and some delicious food with new friends after a nice race! I also found out that one of the gals runs as early as I do in the mornings, so looks like I may have some company on some of my morning runs.

Here's the race breakdown:
7:25 (150)
7:07 (161)
7:15 (163)
7:03 (162)
7:14 (161)
6:52 (162)
7:13 (158)
7:31 (159)
7:36 (159)
7:36 (160)
7:44 (159)
7:52 (155)
8:01 (155)
1:45 (158) - .22 (guess I didn't run the tangents very well)
1:38:22 ... quite a bit off the old PR!

Upcoming Race

A few weeks ago I decided to sign up for the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon which is on Super Bowl Sunday! I am looking forward to this race even though I don't think I'll be able to run anything close to a PR. The race starts in Golden Gate Park near Stow Lake, so I'll be able to jog to the start from my apartment. The course is one that I am very familiar with since I run it every weekend for my long run! It is a big race with close to 10,000 runners. The course starts in the park, heads east to the panhandle then back into the park heading down JFK to the Great Highway along the ocean. It turns around just past the zoo and then back along the ocean before heading into the park for the finish.

Last year the weather was apparently quite bad with high winds and rain, so far the forecast this year is calling for sun and a low of 41 and a high of 61. Hopefully that forecast holds true and the winds stay at bay.

January 19th to 25th, 2009

This week can be summed up in one word: consistency

Monday
Recovery
5 mi, 8:55/mi, 123 bpm

Tuesday
Aerobic
11 mi, 8:32/mi, 136 bpm

Wednesday
Off

Thursday
Med-Long
14 mi, 8:33/mi, no HR

Friday
Recovery
5 mi, 8:30/mi, 132 bpm

Saturday
Long
18 mi, 8:16/mi, 143 bpm

Sunday
Fartlek
9 mi, 8:34/mi, 135 bpm

Total: 62 miles

January 12th to 18th, 2009

Another great week of training is complete and I am happy to report that my legs bounced back nicely after feeling a little fatigued last week.

Monday
Recovery
5 miles, 9:19/mi, 121 bpm

Tuesday
Med-Long run, general aerobic
13 miles, 8:18/mi, 140 bpm

Wednesday
Med-Long run, general aerobic
11 miles, 7:58/mi, 148 bpm

Thursday
General aerobic with speed
10 x 100 m pickups
9 miles, 8:06/mi, 146 bpm

Friday
Recovery
5 miles, 8:36/mi, 132 bpm

Saturday
Med-Long run
15 miles, 8:10/mi, 151 bpm

This run felt harder than it should have. My heart rate was also higher than normal, I expected it to be about 145 or so. I've been doing all my running really early in the morning when the temperature is about 40-45. For this run, I started at 10am and the temperature was 60, so that may have made the difference.

Sunday
Off

Total: 58 miles

January 5th to 11th, 2009

Week 2 of the 18 week marathon training plan is now complete. My legs were feeling it this week as is obvious by the paces of most of the runs this week. Halfway through the mid week long run on Wednesday I was really feeling it and I struggled to finish. The easy day on Thursday helped somewhat, but the run on Friday was no picnic. Saturday was the group run, so the first 4 were comfortable but after splitting with the group to head back, the hills felt like they were double their normal size. Finally things started looking up when I headed out this morning for the long run. My legs didn't feel too bad and I was able to comfortably keep the pace between 8 and 8:30 for most of the 17.

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Aerobic with speed
8 miles w/10x100 pickups, 8:32/mi, 137 bpm

Wednesday
Mid-week medium-long run
12 miles, 8:43/mi, 134 bpm

Thursday
Recovery
5 miles, 9:15/mi, 119 bpm

Friday
Aerobic
9 miles, 8:34/mi, 134 bpm

Saturday
Supposed to be recovery, but it was more like a general aerobic run
6 miles, 8:40/mi, 135 bpm

Sunday
Long run
17 miles, 8:24/mi, 144 bpm

Total: 57 miles

The Perfect Running Headphones

After destroying many pairs of cheap and not-so-cheap headphones while running, I think I finally found the perfect pair! They are called Nike Flight and I really like the way they feel while running, or more accurately, the way the don't feel. When I run with these headphones I don't even know they are there. They sit lightly in my ears so they don't start hurting after 2 hours of running. The way they sit in your ears makes them impossible to fall out and the cable comes out behind your head and runs down the center of your back which keeps the cable completely out of the way. I am hopeful that this pair will not meet the fate of so many others in the past. The most common problem I've had is that after a few runs, the cable starts breaking down from the constant movement and the sound starts to cut out. Hopefully this cable management system will make that a non-issue.

New Found Love

The other day Jim brought home a foam roller...ho hum...sounds pretty boring right? Up until then, I had read about people using foam rollers to massage their achy muscles, but I had never used one and I really thought it was similar to 'the stick'. I actually own 'the stick' but unfortunately it is packed in a box somewhere sitting in Ohio. The stick is a really great tool, for massaging hamstrings, quads and calves, but it never worked that well on my glutes. So along comes the foam roller and I cannot believe it, but after using it for only 2 days, this nagging ache I had in my glutes has completely disappeared! So I am totally sold on the foam roller and wanted to share my joy with whoever may find themselves reading this blog.

Here's a good article from Running Times.

December 29th, 2008 - January 4th, 2009

This is the first official week of marathon training and I must say that I am quite pleased with the way it went. The biggest issue I was having was with my knee/calf but that seems to be working itself out and I was able to complete all planned workouts this week.

Monday
Off

Tuesday
Run - 11.5 mi, 8:25/mi, 144 bpm
Bike - 5.5

Wednesday
Run - 6.35 mi, 8:11/mi, 141 bpm
Bike - 5.5
The run started out promising but took a turn for the worst at about 5 miles. I was let out of work early, 2pm which is when I started running. I didn't know I was getting out that early and ate lunch at 1pm...so, that wasn't good.

Thursday
Run - 9 mi, 8:03/mi, 143 bpm

Friday
Run - 4.5 recovery, watch battery died, so no data

Saturday
Run - 15 mi, 7:46/mi, 155 bpm
I was pretty pleased with this run. I was going to shoot for an 8 minute pace, but after 2 miles, I fell in to the 7:20 groove and stayed around there for 8 miles. My heart rate was a little higher than it should have been but it's probably from taking so many days off the last two weeks due to the knee/calf issue.
Here are the splits for the middle 8:
7:16 (155)
7:21 (156)
7:17 (158)
7:18 (166)
7:23 (163)
7:29 (156)
7:36 (163)
7:36 (158)

Sunday
Run - 8 miles w/10x100, 8:21/mi, 136 bpm

Summary
Run 54.35 miles
Bike 11 miles

Overall a successful week.

Out with the old, in with the new

Well 2008 as far as running goes was awful and not even worth reviewing. The rest of my life was much better thank you, but running took a turn for the worst. I started 2008 with grand plans to finally break 19 minutes in the 5k and was training my butt off. Well I should have listened to my body but I didn't and kept trying to push forward thinking all the fatigue was normal. Anyway, months later after a few awful races in which I didn't think I would even finish, I finally realized something must be wrong because I was struggling through 'easy' runs at 9:30 pace when 8:30's used to be an easy run. It was difficult to get out the door to run when I knew that after a mile or two my legs would turn to stone and I'd want to crawl home. This was the complete opposite of the way running used to be. I used to get out the door and need 3 or 4 miles to warm up before I got in the groove and then keep pushing the pace faster until the end. Anyway, a quick little blood test revealed that my ferritin was low, so a month after starting iron supplements I was beginning to feel like my old self.

I still did not really get back in the training groove for the rest of 2008 as I was preoccupied with the move and the new job. But now that things have settled down and I have a marathon to train for, I am feeling more motivated than ever. Week 1 of the marathon training plan is almost in the books and if this is any indication of things to come then there may be a marathon PR in my future :).

Marathon History:
October 2004 - Dublin Marathon - 3:48:37
October 2005 - Columbus Marathon - 3:20:51
May 2006 - Mississauga Marathon - 3:17:24
May 2009 - Avenue of the Giants Marathon - ??? We'll see!

Planned Races for 2009:
January 11th - Arts and Sciences 5k
March 29th - Presidio 10 mile race or Golden Gate 10 miler April 3rd
May 3rd - Avenue of the Giants
May 17th - Bay to Breakers
June 27th - Double Dipsea 13.7 (if I get in)
October 18th - Nike Women's Marathon

The key races for 2009 are the two marathons. I'll add more races prior to the Nike marathon once I secure my entry and start planning for it. I also may do the half marathon on February 1st, but I haven't decided yet, I'll decide by Friday. Other than that, there will probably be a few 5k's and 10k's thrown in when the training plan calls for it.

Looking forward to a great 2009!