26.2!!

Hi Blog I never write in. I thought I'd let you know I ran my marathon, finished under my goal time (Which was anything under five hours) and had a blast and am ready for the next one!!! I ran lots of long training runs that paid off and now I am a marathoner!! Yay!!!

Things nobody tells you about marathon training

1. You'll gain weight
2. You'll start to get pissed off at your Garmin if you see numbers you don't like
3. You never have time to dry your hair/make it look presentable
4. You ARE going to get pissed off at some point along that 16 miler.
5. Hopefully you like salt because its your new fav accessory as your sweat dries to create an awesome new mask on your face.
6. You will start to think Gu tastes yummy and get envious when you see other runners taking their gel and you haven't hit your mile to rip yours open.
7. You'll swear at kids, old people and families if they don't get out of the way when your are running that really awesome mile, man.
8. You start to say hi to random runners and hope the ones going faster than you are only on mile 5 or something, not mile 18 or something like that.

More to come.

Run, run and run some more

Hi blog. So much is going on over here! But I'll just chat about running. I've run quite a bit the last 6 days, 25 miles in fact! I have a 15-mile run planned for Saturday along the ocean. Sort of looking forward to it but also nervous as that will be my longest distance ever.

My 13 miler on Saturday went well and I even finished at a reasonable time despite it being at a slow pace for me. Tonight's 8 mile run went extremely well and I felt really good the whole time. I even ran more than 8 cause I am a Garmin freak and my watch didn't start working until .25 of my run and I needed it to read 8 exactly.

Speaking of 8, less than 8 weeks left until PDX. I am very nervous for my marathon because I know my training has been nowhere near what it should be. But, I think I can finish which has become my main priority right now.

Other thoughts on marathon training: I have gained weight. I will be the first person to say serious runners are not in this for weight loss. This is an endurance sport and you have to eat a ton and fuel your body properly to see good results and build a lot of muscle. I can see a complete transformation in my legs and abs. My calf muscles have gotten enormous as have my quads. I am totally OK with this and love my strong sturdy body. In fact when I shave my legs I am usually taken back by how strong and cut my legs are.

I must say though I haven't been making the best eating choices. I just want carbs, carbs, carbs. I need to eat more fruit and veggies. My two pieces of fruit a day and three servings or so of veggies aren't cutting it. I know for most people that is seriously awesome but for someone who usually eats 3-4 fruit servings and 5 veggies servings it's not anything to write home about.

Running so much has made me feel that it's OK to have a beer after work and eat snacks before dinner, two things I never did before. I can say my beer intake has tripled. For some bizarre reason nothing quenches my thirst or tastes as amazing after a long run then a beer. Hmmmm odd.

In other news I am a year older. 26!!! The same age as marathon distance. Crazzzy. Bedtime. Have lots to do this weekend and a 15-miler on my radar.

My First 10K

Can you believe despite all the races I have run I have never done a 10K? Well, on Saturday I finally did my first one and had a blast trail racing. I forgot how excited I get on trails and how much I love it.

Lauren drove us out to Lake Chabot bright and early and we picked up our bibs. Waited around for the 10K to line up and before we knew it we were off. This was the first time racing with my Garmin and I had no problems and it didn't hinder me like I though it might. Th first 1.5 miles was on a paved trail with small rolling hills. I clocked a 9:40 for the first mile but noticed the course was running long. Ended up being a 6.4 mile run rather than 6.2

After we hit dirt things started to get more difficult. There was a 900 foot climb to the top of mile 3.2 so basically I climbed for over a mile and it was EXTREMELY steep. I managed OK and enjoyed the challenged but clocked a 15 minute mile for mile 3. YIKES.

I managed to get back a little big of that time but forgot how bad I am at racing down steep hills. I struggled and nearly slipped a few times. Once we hit pavement again I picked up the pace a lot and raun the last 1.5 miles with an average of 8:50 min miles and crossed the finish line strong and so happy.

Lauren wasn't far behind and we both agreed the race was super fun. The after race food was awesome, too. They had It's Its!! YUM.

Final time: 1:10:47
8/33 age group
114/313 overall

Listening to my body (part II)

Despite getting a  massage after my poor excuse for a seven miler Saturday I still took Sunday and Monday to rest as I typically do this training schedule. Monday is usually yoga and Sunday is always full rest. Tuesday I laced back up and stretched like a mofo before an easy short run. I ran at my normal pace and felt fine. I stretched and rolled afterwards and did squats and lunges and called it a day. Then yesterday my shins were on fire all morning. I have no idea why as I usually don't have shin issues and I have been pretty much on an extreme cutback the last week.

This morning I laced back up again and headed up for another easy three miles and felt great and pain free and my shins hurt less. But now I am nervous about my long run and if my body will revolt to 13 miles after only having to run 22 miles the last week and a half.

Perhaps I need new shoes? I realized I have about 400 miles on these guys I am running in right now. For now I am a bit frustrated and scared about getting injured but also scared about not sticking to my training plan. I figure listening to my body is more important than junky miles if I want to get to the start line healthy. I am also reassessing my idea of a sub 4:30 and just wanting to finish.

Sigh. I realize writing solely about running (no pun intended) is so very self-indulgent but I really like to externalize all of these thoughts and keep track of progress. So with that, on to the rest of the week and hopefully less pain and more smiling. 

Aloha!

We're back from our mini-vacation. It was beautiful and warm. I wish we had one more day to lay on the beach. 

The good news is I managed two pain-free runs and got a sports massage. Ahh. Much needed.

Back to the grind and time to gear up for my 14 miler.

Terrible, horrible, no good news

I laced up for my little four mile jaunt yesterday and as soon as I hit my third or fourth stride the back ligament on my right leg seemed to catch on something every fifth or so stride. I didn't feel any pain but I know that is NOT normal for me and tried a ton of stretching and did squats and lunges to see if I could loosen it up but nothing seemed to stop it.

I am angry, scared and mostly sad. I hope this is just my body telling me to take a few extra rest days and that I will be fine after resting my legs and perhaps a massage but it is frightening. The odd thing is it doesn't hurt at all and it doesn't "pop" or stretch or whatever it's doing when I am just walking. I know my calf and hammies are super tight so I am assuming that has something to do with it.

For now I am going to rest and cross-train and hope I can run four on Friday. I think four rest days may do the trick? Ugh. Let's hope so.

Too many pastries

After a weekend of 4th of July festivities and eating too much and drinking too many bottles of wine this week before we leave for Hawaii has been about getting things done and not eating a diet that is 100% based on sugar.

I ran a nine miler for my long run Sunday. It was a cut back week. This week I run 4-7-4-14 for a total of 29 miles. A 14 miler in Hawaii isn't sounding too awesome right now. Me and humidity aren't really BFF's. I may break up my 14 miler and four miler into two nine miler runs. One on Friday and one on Saturday. Let's hope I can get my 14 miler crossed off the training plan. Maybe I will tempt myself with a massage if I can get done with all my workouts. I am feeling like even with yoga 2x a week and foam rolling almost daily I still can't get rid of some aches.

Next week I run a 15 mile run and have already planned it out. I am actually super stoked for this one and am running to Sausalito and taking myself out to brunch afterward and hopping on the ferry home to SF. It will be SO fun and a treat for finishing those 15 miles.

After my run tonight we are going to a birthday party at Bix which I have been dying to try. (I know, I just said no wine!) I am excited. Here's two photos from the weekend. We picnicked in Washington Sq. Park on the 4th, had oyster happy hour then went to a BBQ on the 5th, and Saturday I did yoga, tried a new bakery called La Marais, got mani pedis with Lo and we hit up Napa. It was a fun filled day. Sunday after a Tartine trip and my run I was so exhausted I slept the rest of the afternoon. Yikes! I managed to wake up and grocery shop and cook a fabulous farmer's market skillet dinner that night. Recipe to come!

Hawaii bound in two more days, Aloooooha!

Strolling one of the gardens at Cakebread Cellars in St. Helena

Bread pudding with seasonal berries from Tartine!

Case of the Fridays?

It's cold and cloudy in SF today. The only thing I want to do is browse my favorite bookstore on Fillmore, eat mac and cheese with a glass of cab at the Grove and see Before Midnight at the Clay Theater.

I ran a six-miler yesterday before our fourth of July festivities kicked off and today my quads are shot. Not sure how that happened. Hoping the pain goes away later. Back to work and hoping my fowl mood goes away before I get home.

24 miles

Last week I successfully went to two days of yoga and ran all four of my running workouts.  I have nothing bad to say about any of these workouts and even had a blissful time on my 12-miler where I ran over the bridge and back Saturday before the temps soared.

But, today I kinda feel crappy about my training. I think reading all these running blogs with girls who have run marathons before or even ran in college make me feel discouraged. I'll never (probably) BQ nor will I be someone who starts their marathon training with 35 miles a week. Maybe, someday? But, really I doubt that. I was actually feeling proud of my 24 mile week until I read about someone's second week of their training cycle who was running 34 miles.

It's really dumb for me to compare myself and I need to be more proud of my hard work and the time it takes along with all the other stuff I try to do. It's just difficult to work hard for those 24 miles that don't clock in at sub 9:00 miles like their week's seem to.

This week I have a cut back on my long run, just 9 miles, then we start getting really serious until marathon tapering at the end of September. I am excited, nervous, and filled with questions as I continue on the journey.

Fueling has been a big question for me. I know I need to be eating more but I don't know what I can add. I don't feel overly hungry yet and I also have been bad about pre-planning meals. I have been trying to incorporate protien shakes 30 minutes after my run to aid recovery. So far so good? Though they aren't my first choice in refueling as I must rather eat watermelon and a pancake. I also am getting really nervous about being injured. I have had two injuries and know how terrible they are and I want to avoid that at all costs. I've been rolling and stretching like a boss. Let's hope this helps.

As far as other things go? Good. Excited for Hawaii next week and relaxing while traveling, not cramming my schedule and zippinf around like a crazy woman.

Happy Monday, friends.

Wednesday Reflections

I am super excited to run my six miles tonight. Weird. I kinda wanna soak up the feeling of humidity and summer as it makes me nostalgic for Boston summers. (Remind me of this at mile three) Typically, I do not enjoy evening runs because I have to be super cautious with what I eat all day as my sensitive stomach rejects most things that aren't bagels or oatmeal before a run. Hopefully my egg burrito with avocado and a whole wheat tortilla will be OK and digested by 5:30.

I bought a two-week pass to a new yoga studio on Monday. It was an odd vinyassa power flow class with a little less mindfulness than my usual studio. I definitely prefer my home studio better but it's fun to try new places. I didn't feel like I got as much of a good stretch but I definitely did feel a burn.

Other notes: I have been wanting a beer after all my longer runs lately. So odd as I have never been a huge beer drinking even though I do enjoy a beer every so often.

Trying to incorporate protein powder into my morning routine. Meh. Bleh.

Hawaii two weeks from tomorrow!

Tentative Fourth of July plans made with two BBQ's and a Napa visit.

Twelve miles Saturday followed by dinner in Sausalito and a visit from an old roommate Sunday!

Oh, and I found this gem today. Someday I will take a good race photo. I look like a gleeful idiot in this one. 

Sundays

Sunday nights that happen to fall on slightly gloomy days are made for cooking French suppers (coq au vin), reading books on the couch and lavender baths followed by dark chocolate. 

Onto marathon training week five: 24 miles on the schedule. Also: desperately in need of a yoga class. Maybe tomorrow morning. Happy Sunday, friends. 

After four weekends of not being in San Francisco I am SO happy to be home. Ten miles of perfection along the water, a gorgeous day of celebrating summer, dinner at our place drinking some of our favorite wine while eating pulled pork (I bought this BBQ sauce and it's too delicious), arugula watermelon and feta salad, corn on the cob and angel food cake with berries. I love you, California.

Miles this week: 19

Wednesdays

6 miles

Free avocados

Need desk nap time

Lately.

My grandmother passed away May 31 early in the morning. I flew back home to Boston last week and spent some great time with my family and celebrated her life with lots of friends and relatives in a fashion she most certainly would approve of. (Especially the Merlot toast.)

Gorgeous sunset that greeted me on my ferry ride from Boston to Hull. 

I somehow managed to stick to my marathon training schedule and only miss one run out of the nine I have had scheduled so far. Pretty happy I managed to do that, despite flying around the country and back, trying to work, spending time with loved ones and even going out of town last weekend for some much needed quality time with J. (We haven't seen each other and spent time just the two of us in three weeks.)

Gorgeous Lake Tahoe where we kayaked.

We went up to Lake Tahoe (it was my first time and now I am obsessed) and had a wonderful weekend of kayaking, pool lounging and eating at our amazing hotel the Ritz Carlton. (Best hotel I have ever stayed at.) It was lovely.

Our cozy room that looked out to the mountains

This week I am back in SF until Thursday night. Then I fly to Arizona. I haven't visited since I moved over a year ago. I am looking forward to seeing friends, celebrating Emily and Jeremy's wedding, trail racing and drinking a GIANT Macy's Special in my little mountain town.

Workouts this week include:

Monday: 3 miles (9:45 pace)
Tuesday: yoga
Wednesday: 5 miles (9:11 pace)
Thursday: 3 miles (pace tbd)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 6 miles (pace tbd) - 5k trail race followed by 3 more miles (assuming they let me buy a bib)
Sunday: Rest

I am looking forward to my longer runs coming up, oddly. I can't wait to get up to the 14 mile, 15 milers. I must say though adding an extra mid-milage run to my week is a challenge. Thankfully we have so much sunlight now, otherwise I'd be on the dreadmill which I can only handle for about 30 minutes.

And on a cheesy note: My favorite person and myself from last weekend in Tahoe on a gondola from our hotel to the village. I like him.

My Grandmother

Many of my favorite summer memories are punctuated with moments spent at my grandparent's house: Hood ice cream in the living room after dinner while my Grammy yelled (lovingly always) at her Red Sox on TV, late nights where I was left to believe it's definitely OK to use Egyptian words in games of Scrabble and countless viewings of Pride and Prejudice (the A&E boxed set) after days spent at the beach.

My grandmother was a woman who really cared for everyone she ever met. She always could see the good in people and was always willing to give her time and energy to help anyone in need. I am thankful for her teaching me to always be generous, that small gestures can make big impacts and to never cook on Friday nights. Miss you already, Grammy.

Lovely long weekends

I spent the long weekend eating and eating and eating and hanging out with my lovely family in Seattle. I ran zero miles last week. That definitely changed this week. My 18-week training plan is in full swing.

Weekend favorites? Seeing my family, of course. They are always so much fun. Eating donuts here and here. Having a delicious dinner here. Making homemade mac n' cheese with mom Mom and drinking pinot on the deck. Salt and Straw with brothers. And coffee and REI shopping with everyone, our favorite.  Oh, and my doggies!

Quick photo highlights:

Beer with my brother

A bit of sun. We had a great view of the space needle from our hotel, too

 Hanging out with my little doggies (Max not pictured)

8 miles then null

Last week I ran a nice easy little 14 mile week. Two three milers and a glorious, beautiful, perfect eight miler on Saturday through Golden Gate Park. Aside from running the rest of the week was filled with lots of...outings. Friday we tried a bar I hadn't been to called Chambers. I loved the outdoor space and the art galleries. 

Awesome sign behind the bar

Outdoor pool at a bar in SF? This seems like LA to me...

 Saturday morning I ran that awesome eight miler with Lauren then ended back at home where I scarfed down some spinach and eggs and got a phone call from friends of ours inviting us to Napa for a quick tasting at their favorite winery. We went to Peju which was spectacular. We did a tasting of about seven wines and left with three bottles plus one more we drank before we drove back to the city. The Provence may be the best summer wine ever. That night we had dinner with our friends at the famous House of Prime Rib where I was able to eat back three times the calories I burned on my run. English cut, spinach, mashed potatoes and seconds, please.

Some vines at Peju.

 Sunday was Bay to Breakers which I did not really run, just casually walked and enjoyed the crazy costumes and more crazy people. It was a long day with a lot of beer and too much bar food.

B2B near Alamo Sq.

Due to the crazy week last week, this week I have felt awful and have run zero times, been to the gym zero times and done yoga, you guess it, zero times. Let's hope I feel better before I fly north for my weekend trip to Seattle to hang out with my parents.

Official marathon 18-week marathon plan starts next week. Yikes!!

Wanderlust and Bridge Runs

You know that feeling in the middle of your long run where you pass mile three and you feel like you're flying and you just run faster so effortlessly you think you're weightless? That  has gotta' be the sweetest feeling in the whole world and perfectly describes how I felt almost the entire time on my run over the Golden Gate Bridge this Saturday.

Lauren and I set out Saturday morning to run across the GG and get in six miles for her half training and my ramp up to marathon training. I had never run over the bridge before so I was EXTREMELY excited. She picked me up and we made a pit stop at Sport's Basement and I finally bought a new running hat. Another Nike pink one. I am such a creature of habit.

Me and Lauren after coming off the bridge (Girl Scouts in background) also, new pink hat.

We hit the bay trail and ran up some steps and through winding paths and we realized there was a Girl Scout event going on. There were literally hundred upon hundreds of girl's doing a project for a badg which involved walking across the bridge. Somehow, despite weaving around all these kids we still managed to have a great run. The weather was perfect (55 degrees, light flog, breeze and some sun) Running over the bridge was amazing and gave me a whole new perspective on the city and how beautiful it is. I had a blast and clocked 6 miles at a reasonable time considering the weaving and how hilly it is.

Perhaps the only people-less part of this run

The rest of Saturday was followed by laundry, eating giant breakfast burritos with J and some drinks with friends.

Yesterday, I went to Wanderlust in the City, an awesome city version of the famous Wanderlust Festival. I ate lots of samples and got my Vinyassa on in the sunshine. It was very fun and nice to dedicate my practice to my lovely Mom.

Me in the white tank top! Thanks random Instagram photo taker.

View of the stage from my mat

I love doing yoga outside with a ton of people. I did City of Hope's Yoga Fest last year and loved that, too. I'd love to do a girlfriend trip to Wanderlust in Tahoe someday. Speaking of Tahoe, we are going for a little weekend out of the city in three weeks. Can't wait!

I am already looking forward to this coming weekend and along run in Golden Gate Park (I LOVE running there, it's so peaceful and I have so much room to run!) Oh and it's Bay to Breakers, too. Yeah!

Happy Monday, friends!

Morning routine

Oh hey. How is your week? Mine is going OK, thanks. After J's parents were here this last week I spent this last week getting settled into a normal routine of eating at home and running. I am slowly building my mileage back up starting with 12 miles total this week followed by 15 next week and from there the mileage will continue to ramp as we get into deep marathon training.

I decided to use the 18-week Hal Higdon marathon plan (Novice 2) Wish me luck. I also really think I need a speed workout I've got to mess with the schedule a tiny bit.

I am feeling tightness in my left calf after my 3 miler last night. So I spent this morning with NPR and these guys:

Foam roll, sip coffee, stretch band, repeat.

So fun! NEED to stop being a slacker and get back to yoga class. Tomorrow morning, I SWEAR. Must get a solid hour of stretchy-ness in before I run Saturday's six miler with Lauren.

In other news, these:

My new fav choco chip cookie friends

Go make them right now. They take 20 minutes and taste amazing and are vegan and gluten free. You will really like these. J ate almost all of them.

Tonight I have reservations at Flour + Water after nearly one year of waiting for an open table not at 5pm or 9pm. Let's hope the hype is all true. 

Happy running, friends!

Happy Marathon Training!

Ordered myself some gifts as a celebration to kick off marathon training. Who's ready to eat 26.2 miles for breakfast?!

Run commuting

Sometimes I like to get my miles in before work. I feel more energized and relaxed going into the day and have way more time to make dinner and eat before 8:30pm unlike days when I try to run after work. It also means I can try to get to yoga class, go lift or even grab a drink with a friend. Plus, who doesn't love running through downtown SF and along the Embarcadero in the morning? It's gorgeous and not crowded. I love it.

SO pretty!

Usually I just take the bus to the office, drop off my bag and head out for a run. This means I need to leave the house by 7:15 in order to get to work, go for a run and shower. (I am lucky enough to work at an office with a locker room.) Lately, when I do this I noticed a ton of run commuters. At first I thought it was a little lame to run to work with a backpack on you back, but I thought I would put my snowshoe day pack to the test and run to work to see how much more time I could save and how running with a pack was.

Tuesday I geared up and decided I wanted to get four miles in (I only work 2.5 miles from my apartment) so I mapped a route, packed my bag and hit the streets. The first two miles were fun and then by mile two and a half the pack started to get a tiny bit annoying but it was definitely manageable. I got to work so fast that I decided I was going to try it again today.

This time I packed a little lighter and had no problem at all with the backpack. I took the faster route (2.65 miles) and got to work/showered/made breakfast and was at my desk all in 40 minutes. Woohooo!

Now, obviously running 2.65 miles a day during the week for marathon training isn't going to cut it. But, this was definitely a fun, fast was to get to the office and get some miles in. I am going to make it part of my routine now that the sun is out earlier and the temps are warming.

Next on my list? Maybe find a better suited pack for run commuters. Mine is teeny and I can't fit my lunch in it too well with all my other stuff. Any recommendations?

Happy running, friends!

Off week

I took a big big vacation from my workout schedule and typical semi-healthy eating. (wow that sounds lame) In fact, I only ran two miles on the treadmill along with a small little weight training session then a one hour boxing class Saturday. Not to mention ate way too many sweets. But hey, you can do that every once and again. Time to get back on track today. Marathon training starts in three weeks. So I am doing a light cleanse this week of mostly vegan food, aside from dinner tonight and an already scheduled lunch date this week.

Evidence of too many treats...

In order to keep myself accountable here goes my week all typed out...

Monday: Breakfast: Oatmeal with chia seeds, almonds, berries and a tbl of honey, lunch: juice and fruit and cashews. dinner: turkey, kale and black bean tacos. Workout: three miles, strength session.

Tuesday: Breakfast: Almond milk smoothie and banana, lunch: leftover kale black bean tacos, dinner: green juice. AM Barre class, pm yoga

Wednesday: Breakfast: Green juice, Lunch: lunch with work friends at a tea house Dinner: brussel sprouts and sweet potato. Spin class.

Thursday: Breakfast: almond milk smoothie and banana Lunch: quinoa salad, Dinner: brussel sprouts and sweet potato. Run four miles + strength.

Friday: Breakfast: oatmeal same as monday, Lunch: kale salad from Darwin Cafe! (the best): dinner: homemade vegan pizza yummm!! Happy hour yoga.

Saturday: Run 6 miles and have a free eating day.

Sunday: yoga, brunch cheat meal out, try a new recipe for dinner.

I am trying these juices out this week. I picked up my first batch this morning. I'll write a review after I try a few more of them.