Running for Coffee and Fun

Yesterday I made a spontaneous trip down to Santa Cruz. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive from where I live. I just wanted to get out of town and go somewhere fun. I needed to get away but I didn’t know how much until I actually arrived. I arrived, checked into hotel, changed into my running clothes and hit the road for a quick 3 mile jaunt to explore and kinda get my bearings. It was a beautiful late afternoon, just a hint of cool temperatures. I ran through the cute, packed in downtown, saw the coffee shop i wanted to visit (VERVE COFFEE) and just made a loop back to hotel. Felt great to move my body. I’m SLOWLY getting back into running….and being ok with that…

I felt myself excited and awakened by the new sights all around me. My senses were awakened. On alert. I wanted to take it all in. I love how a new place has this effect. I had been to Santa Cruz many times in the past….but i’m talking about 25 years ago….

After run, made my way back downtown to visit Verve and find dinner. If you don’t know, I’m a big coffee fan and love finding new good coffee and coffee shops. Verve did not disappoint! I went to 1 of their 3 Santa Cruz locations. Its located downtown on the main street, Pacific. The shop was spacious, tall ceilings and a large area for the baristas to do their thing! A decent sized crowd were sitting and doing THEIR thing. I ordered a Cappuccino and passed on the yummy looking Chocolate Chip Cookie. While my drink was bring crafted, I nosed around in the shop…looking at their beans, mugs, apparel (yes!) and other logo items. I knew i would spend more than a few bucks in this place! I picked up my splendid cappuccino and took a seat at the bar area that allowed me to watch the baristas. Love that! The VIBE in this place was a huge plus. Young, cute,  friendly staff. All of them. Welcoming!  

I also ended up chatting w/ a gal who works there and she gave me a recommendation for dinner. I asked for “someplace casual with a TV to watch sports”. She directed me to SurfRider Cafe about 1/2 mile away. It was pretty packed but I got a seat at the bar immediately. Ordered a house-made Veggie burger w/ sweet potato fries and an ale called Dragon’s Breath. All very good! And again, loved the vibe in THIS place. Young, casual crowd. Very good and pleasant service. I think the VIBE i am speaking about is just very much Santa Cruz. Always been a very casual, independent, liberal place. Love that!

Saturday morning got up and went back to Verve for morning coffee. using my iPad, i found one of their other locations about 2 miles away and figured that would be a fun out and back route. So, off i went. There’s a river that runs thru town, The San Lorenzo River, and the route carried me on a path next to the river. Mostly flat, with just a little bit of incline. Gorgeous day outside. I could see the Boardwalk Rides off in the distance. And the Pacific Ocean. AHHHHH — Soon enough the short 3.6 mile run was over and again, i felt like i couldn’t run much more. for now!!

Got breakfast, walked around a bit, got cleaned up and headed to the Boardwalk. I went straight to the arcade and played my old favorite video games; Ms Pac Man & Centipede. Fun! I could’ve played longer, but had only a short time to get a few rides in and head back home. I chose 2 rides; Double Shot – which is just a straight ride up 125 ft. Super fast up and super fast down. a few times. I was facing the ocean and of course, great views. I was screaming and laughing the entire time. Other ride was the classic Giant Dipper roller coaster. More laughing the entire time. I love rides…i love the feeling of being locked in but totally out of control. SOOOO FUN. I really needed it.

This morning (Sunday) I drove just a short distance over to Mill Valley to hit some trails I had yet visited. These were right off of Tennessee Valley Road. I really had no idea where I was going, but i thought it would be easy to get back to the starting point, and it was. I ran, hiked up and came to some amazing views of the bay! Picture does not justice. 

The trail up was mostly single track with hard packed dirt. I could’ve worn regular road shoes but I had my adidas trail shoes on. Came to some fire roads also. A hefty climb, especially given my current level of fitness..but i sure loved being out there!

So…I am making progress with getting back to being as fit as i want to be. Here’s a snapshot of what i’ve done lately.

Feb 10: 6 mile trail run; Elevation gain 1,179 (highest elevation gain since last August!)

Feb 9: 3.6 mile road run

Feb 8: 3 mile road run

Feb 7: core workout @ home

Feb 5:  3 mile treadmill run

Feb 2: 4.25 mile trail run; Elevation gain 635 (makes me realize how this is really nothing compared to what i can do in muir woods)

Feb 1: 3 mile road run

So as you can see, February is off to a much better start than January. Thank God for HEALTH! I still have not picked any races. Basically, I’m just trying to get a base level of fitness back and go from there. I saw a lot of folks on the trails today and that also gave me a boost!

Also, these are the newest add to my collection:

Brooks Pure Connect. These are one of the minimalist shoes. Not the least MINIMAL, but mid range minimal. So far, so good. I like the feel..like they hug your feet. Good traction even on the trail I used them for last weekend. Got ‘em at a new specialty running store: San Francisco Running Company located in Mill Valley. If you are in the area, go pay them a visit. Good guys running the show!

2012 Recap

Time to look back on the year of 2o12. A year of much, much change. A move across the country, a new job, a new relationship. Major events in my life. Here’s how the running went down.

January – in the early part of the month, I prepared to make my cross country move from Atlanta back home to San Francisco. I had a new relationship and was brimming with excitement. I was also full of angst and upset over a job I voluntarily departed. Leaving Atlanta was a big decision as my years there were so rich and significant in so many ways. And yet, It was time to go. To move on. In more ways than one.

By January 23, I was on the road, headed west. Over the next 10 days, I drove some of my belongings across our great country and stopped in a few places to stretch my legs and breathe in the air. I was able to run some miles in Oxford, Mississippi; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Flagstaff, Arizona (2x); and Las Vegas, NV (treadmill). My favorite runs were in Flagstaff. The temperatures were cold and my breathing labored in the higher elevation town, but i still loved it. A great little town in Northern Arizona.

January Miles: 75

February – February 1, I touched down in the bay area. Specifically, Petaluma, CA, where I would make my new home. Surrounded by old friends and a new love, I was pretty darn happy. And, for the first time in many, many years, I was without employment. That lasted all of about 2 weeks until I landed a new one and a great one, at that!

My feet and legs went to explore the streets of my new town in ways that I had never done before. I ran all over Petaluma and found that it was mostly flat and to to get any kind of hills, I had to seek them out. This was in stark contrast to Atlanta where hills are everywhere and flatlands are hard to find. It was refreshing to run in a new place and find my way around and notice new things. I spent the last weekend of the month in Ashland, OR and was able to run there as well. A post-snow run day was pretty fun.

Februray Miles: 54

March – I had signed up for a trail race so i needed to get some proper training in for this upcoming event. The only place to run trails in Petaluma is Helen Putnam Park. A good park to run in with mostly single-track, but it is not that big of a space so to run long miles (+6), you will be going over some of the same trails more than once. I was getting settled in to my work environment and looking for a place to live.

March Miles: 71

April – in preparation mode for a 7 mile trail race in Muir Woods which was mid month. A fantastic race. Just love running in that area. After the race, I began using a training program NIKE had designed for me to help me break 2 hours in the half-marathon distance. I started incorporating intervals and very specific strength training exercises into my training. Also started fooling around with Tennis and found I really enjoy it. But, wow…patience, patience, patience is needed on the court.

April Miles: 35

May – A month of shorter, faster runs. Continually saw my pace in the 8:30-8:40 per mile mark and was happy with this. Traveled to NY for work for a week and was very tough to keep up the running due to very long work days. Not fun sitting all day and then being too wiped out to exercise, but I did a little. A bit more tennis and more interval training.

May Miles: 52

June – at the beginning of the month, I had flown back to Atlanta to visit clients and also gather the rest of my belongings. I had to drive a Penske Truck from Atlanta back to SF. My 2nd cross country trip in 6 months. Whew!!! It was definitely not as fun or as fast as driving my BMW!! I took a different route this go around and ran in Dallas, Texas; Amarillo, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada. I was so happy when I got home and had NO MORE DRIVING TO DO! I joined a great local gym and was feeling good about my fitness level.

June Miles: 54

July – Early in the month was the heart of my 1/2 marathon training. I was feeling good about my pace, but wasn’t sure i had gotten in enough in enough long mileage. Prior to race day, my longest run was only 10 miles. But, otherwise, i was feeling good going into race day and knew I would have to push hard and trust myself. Race day was on July 29th and what a day it was. My previous best had been 2:01 and change. I achieved my new PR on July 29th at the SF Half Marathon with a finish time of 1:58:42. I was over the moon delighted. Can’t tell you what this meant to me. And to be back running in my hometown, with my love at the finish line…nothing better. A magical day!

July Miles: 65

August – bought these superfly new Nike shoes. Nike Flyknit. Super light, awesome and fun to run in. 

Fresh off the high from the race, I wanted to run another one. The NIKE SF WOMENS MARATHON was coming up in a few months, but already sold out. Luckily for me, I entered into a raffle for an entry and won. Decision made. I was going. OMG. I had about 8 weeks to prepare and was definitely nervous about the quick back to back. (although I realize some people run marathons every weekend, this was a lot for me, especially since I pushed my body so hard for the Half.) I got myself in gear and kept my expectations in check and went took to the roads.

August Miles: 70

September – full on training for full marathon mode! And, I celebrated my 42nd birthday!! Again, was feeling good overall, but did not get in super long runs. Longest run pre race day was 16 miles. However, I felt steady and solid and mentally ready to keep pushing. It helped that i scaled down my expectations. All I wanted was to toe the line and be there and have a decent finish. A PR was out of the question.

September Miles: 111

October – Race month. The big day was Oct 14th, again in San Francisco. Another fantastic race experience. I actually was feeling pretty strong until around mile 20. I was also on good pace until then so I know my long run of just 16 miles was what had hurt me. Had I been able to get in an 18 or 20 miler in during training, i think I would have had a better finish time. However, I was still fine with the 4:24 finish. My 8th marathon was done and I was super happy!

Later in the month, spent some time up the north coast in Sea Ranch and Gualala. Small, quaint little communities. A great quiet get-a-way! And, I even went swimming for the first time in ages!

Last but not least, The SAN FRANCISCO GAINTS won the WORLD SERIES. I had been at Game 7 of the NLCS and that is a time I will never forget. Bottom of the ninth inning, the game was already won, cold & rainy at the park, everyone soaked and just screaming at the top of our lungs. What a freakin’ blast!

October Miles: 66

November – I tried to take it easy during the month and really rest, but that didn’t happen. I “should” have taken maybe 2-3 full weeks off, but I didn’t. I had some days where I wasn’t truly enjoying myself, but i still didn’t rest. On the positive side, I had an awesome Thanksgiving holiday. One of the best I have had in many, many years. Surrounded by love, new and old friends. A happy day.

November Miles: 52

December – last month of 2012. not a whole lot to say. Some running, but not a lot and some of the runs were uninspiring. A few were great and those were back on the trails at Helen Putnam Park. Rainy, cold days and it felt great! Unfortunately, late in the month, I noticed my chest was hurting. Weird, i thought. Well, a week or so later, I developed some kind of flu or something and am still recovering from this about 10 days later. I think I am at the end of it, but there’s no way I can run. I tried that and got set back even worse. I will wait for some good signs from my body and not push it. Its tough as I am becoming excited and anxious about getting back out there and trying to reach new goals. But, I cannot afford to get re-sick, so slow and easy is the plan for right now.

December Miles: 48

As I recapped this year, i am surprised to find i only participated in 3 races. It seems like I trained for more than that! Looking back, I found real value in the NIKE TRAINING PROGRAM. I believe it helped me increase my overall fitness and I enjoyed the program. For that race, I really needed to focus more on speed and I did and it helped me reach my goal! Highlight of the year in my running world. I’m continually learning about quantity versus quality. It’s so important and I know I have more to learn. I would like to spend more time cross training with cycling, swimming, tennis and maybe even yoga. I have more and more thoughts swirling in my head, but that will be for later. I’ll end this now, grateful for the year. Grateful to be alive and with an abundance of love and goodness. Need to be sure to continue to let it all in and believe i deserve it. That’s the challenge.

Thanks for following along and wishing you all the best in 2013. Go Get After IT.

Turkey Trotting

I’ve run or raced on Thanksgiving many times. In fact, I can’t recall when the last time it was I didn’t run/race on the holiday. While living in Atlanta, I raced the Atlanta Half Marathon on turkey day many times and other times, I just went for a quiet run on my own. THIS year was a bit different. Now that I live in Petaluma, I found out there was a race on Thanksgiving…a local “turkey trot”. Only, this was not a “formal” race with paid registration and t-shirts, etc…This was simply a run organized by a wonderful local woman and this was year #6. To give you an idea of the “feel” of the event, here is some of the description from the website:

The basic idea is simple – a group fun run. No registration, no fee, no volunteer support, no T-shirts. Just running or walking with community and feeling darn good about the calorie burn before the big feast.

In lieu of a registration fee, we were to bring food items for the local food bank.

So…Sharon did the run last year and coerced me into joining her this year.  There was a 4 mile and 6 mile option. We both had said we would just do the 4 miler. The run started at a park about 1/2 mile from my house and it was fun to arrive early and see everyone milling about and bringing food, etc. We ran into another friend, who upon hearing I was running the 4 miler said, “can i challenge you to do the 6?” What? OK. I’m in. I have not been running too much and certainly not been running any hills so i figured it would be a good challenge. Pretty soon we were on our way. The first 2 miles are basically a gradual, steep, and steeper uphill into the heart of Helen Putnam Park. The next 2 were on narrow hard packed dirt trails in and around the park. A few times, we came to open areas that looked like this:

Tough place to run, huh?!! GORGEOUS! I have run in this park before but had not been here since last Jan/Feb when I was training for a trail race in Muir Woods. It was good to be back and be off the pavement. At the onset, I was relaxed and felt really low key  – but then once I started running and especially when I made my way into the park, my competitive juices took over. I kept noticing these 2 women in front of me and I just could not seem to catch them. Ever have that feeling??? I was passing some people, but still could not catch them. The 2 miles we did in the park were all up and down hills and on the downhills, I just tried to fly down them and I did! I LOVE that feeling of being in the open so free and when my stride opens up. AHHHHH! As I was coming onto the start of the final 2 mile portion of the race, the race organizer, snapped this photo of me:

Once I crested over this area, it was basically 2 miles all downhill to the finish. The 2 women were still in my sights and I started to push hard and harder and I guess they did too! My legs were burning and aching, my breathing was heavy and my arms were flailing about and yet…i still could not catch them. I probably got to within 200-300 feet and I just let it go. We were less than 1/4 mile to the finish but I just had nothing left. AND WHAT A GREAT FEELING THAT WAS!!! I found the 2 speedy women afterwards and congratulated them on a great run and we chatted for a bit. Soon afterwards, I greeted Sharon and I know we both felt great and accomplished. Awesome way to the start of what was a wonderful Holiday. Me at the end:

NEW TOPIC:

So, did you see it? Did you catch it? Of course, I am talking about the 3rd win of the season for the Underdog, Cleveland Browns!! They battled against their interstate rival, Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday in Cleveland, on the banks of Lake Erie. Let me assure you, this is an intense sports rivalry and there is no love loss between the teams and fans. Pittsburgh was in the unfortunate position of having to start their 3rd string QB, since #1 and #2 were unavailable. Boo hoo. No sympathy here.

The Steelers played awful. They had 8 turnovers. Pretty much no team will win when they turn the ball over that much. Most of the turnovers were fumbles by the running backs, which I was surprised about, but hey, I will take it. Thank you. The Browns did what they should have done; they took advantage of these opportunities and played good enough to win 20-14, at home in front of their home crowd who cheer them on RELENTLESSLY! I’m telling you there is NO FAN BASE like that of the BROWNS! I followed the game online and was so happy they won, in case you couldn’t tell!

Next up, they have a fantastic opportunity to secure their 4th win of the season against the truly awful Oakland Raiders. Since the Raiders are here locally, I watch some of the games on tv…and they are not easy to watch. They are one of the worst teams in the league….and I say this knowing my Browns are NOT that much better, but I believe Cleveland is a better team. And should win. Mark it down. I said it. Browns will win. Hope I’m not the turkey…

Here’s a pic of one of the best players on the team, if not The Best, Running Back Trent Richardson. He’s having an awesome season. Go BROWNS!!

Miles, ice cream and a semi-stalker

The highlight run of the past week was the Sunday run(s). For some reason, I FELT like running on the treadmill for the longer run. I think I actually just wanted to switch it up…switch up the route and because Petaluma is not very big, I have already run all over the place here. Anyways, I ran on the treadmill. Luckily, Sunday Football was on and I watched the 49er game. I thought I would go 10, but ended up running 12. Happily. For my nutrition needs, I had 1 PowerBar Gel, a few CLIF BLOKS, water and some diluted Gatorade. All was good. Since I’ve been experimenting with the Gatorade, at least I now know I can drink some during race and not have any stomach issues. Huge lesson here is not to try anything DURING a race you have not already done in training.

Post-run — just came home and ate, rested. Felt like I had it in me to go more miles later in the early evening, so i did. Just a short 3.25 in the neighborhood. At the end of the night, felt really good. Stretched & ate well. So, for the day a solid 15.25. Also, did some shorter runs during the week and a good 3 mile hilly hike at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland on Saturday with friends.

After hike, we went to Fenton’s and I had no problem finishing this long awaited Black & Tan Sundae! Toasted Almond & creamy vanilla ice cream, handmade caramel & chocolate fudge, toasted almonds, whipped cream & cherry! OMG! SO Freaking GOOD!

Race day is now less than 14 days away. I was looking back into my running journal from 2009 when I ran this race before. My longest run for that training block was only 16 miles (same as this block). My finish time that day was 4 hours, 21 minutes. If I can be in that ballpark on 10/14/12, I will be more than satisfied.

I know I’ve said before that for THIS RACE, I am not concerned with my finish time because I have not had enough time to train like I should/need to…BUT, it’s also the MARATHON and I know that deep down, I DO CARE. I can’t help it. It’s just my nature.

I bought a new pair of K-Swiss Shoes for my birthday present. They have not arrived yet. Fedex is trying to deliver, but need a signature. UGH. I got home today and JUST missed the driver…so i then got in my car to go see if i could see fedex truck somewhere in neighborhood. I drove about 1 mile and saw truck. No driver inside. I waited. Fedex guy walks towards truck. I then realize, my fedex sticker is for GROUND DELIVERY and his truck is EXPRESS. No luck. I drove back home, kept a watch for FEDEX GROUND. Came home. Deflated. Who knew I was such a stalker. What? You didn’t KNOW how much I love my running shoes???? Where have you been….

Run Strong and Stand Tall.

Take a ride on the Dipsea….

So…the week post race was a fun one…ya know, I had that happier than usual feeling..fun to have the memory and experience of last weekend’s race.

As part of my reward and just simply because i have been waiting, patiently, for these shoes to come out, I went and got these new Nike Shoes.

They are the Nike Flyknit Trainer and I first saw them online about 6 months ago. Nike said they would not be released until the Olympics and if you have been watching, you might have seen some athletes running in these shoes.
They are pretty damn sweet! They fit like a glove…very snug..like a nice sock. The shoe feels like it hugs your foot. If you can wear a light shoe, with minimal cushion, you might like it. I am a neutral runner so I wear it just fine. Been running on it twice now and love ‘em. I must warn you…they are not cheap! I don’t mind spending $$ on running shoes. I’d rather spend there than on most other things.

The day I bought them was a super long day for me filled with lots of sitting and driving and so when I finally got home, i just HAD to take ‘em out for about a 2.5 mile spin. Nice!

Yesterday, I went for a get-a-way by myself in Muir Woods. I just wanted to be in nature and be lost for a little bit. Craved the time alone to be quiet, without technology/distractions, etc… I strapped on my Nathan pack and headed out for the Dipsea Trail starting in Mill Valley.

This is a shot from a section of 1 of the many stair sections.

I wasn’t in any hurry so i walked/hiked much of the steep climbs and ran the downhill sections. And basically, that’s what it is…up, down, up, down…and it’s gorgeous as I have mentioned before.

As I climbed, the sun that shined in downtown Mill Valley was now gone and we had this:

It was pretty awesome, actually. Felt like I could breathe better, hear better, see better. All my senses were on high alert. I felt calm, peaceful yet with a insatiable desire to suck it all in…everything. It was as if I was starved and dehydrated for days…

I came across a few people hiking/running in both directions, but there were ample alone moments as well. I went til about 3.5 miles out and then turned around. I had a severely steep downhill section here that was cool, but man…my legs are still feeling it big time. SOOOORE!

I ran back into Mill Valley completely content with my time in the woods. When can I go back???? A NECESSITY!
Was about 7 miles total.

Today, went to the gym and ran 4 on the treadmill followed by lots of core exercises. Aim is to keep getting fitter, stronger.

As I write this, I know my quads are in some hurt and I have no Advil. Damn. Can someone send me some. Stat. Thx.

Follow your dreams. Aim high. Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged by anyone or anything. You can make it happen. One step at a time!!

ONWARD!

Final week of June

The last week of June has come and gone. I’m glad to see the month over as it was super busy and very challenging in just trying to stay healthy in all ways.

I got in 2 short runs this past week. Treadmill run – 3.5 miles at 8:45 pace – followed by solid strength workout. Outdoor run – 3.0 miles at 8:58 pace. Lately, I had been running Saturday and Sunday, but I decided to rest legs yesteday and go for it today. Sunday run – 8 miles at 9:04 pace. I was pleased with this effort. I just looked back in my training journal and saw that 8 miles is the longest I have run on any training day since last OCTOBER. wow. Yikes! Didn’t know it had been that long. And yet, my pace today for this distance was better than it has been in a LOOOONG time. SO, what this tells me is the interval runs and strength training is paying off. AND, it helps to live somewhere where the heat and humidity suck every once of enery you have…BTW, I saw it was over 100 degrees in Atlanta this weekend….YES, its safe to say I am glad to not have to face that weather anymore. Yikes!
Oddly enough, it was cool in Petaluma this morning, but there was some humidity….

I am still reading “Running on Empty” by Marshall Ulrich. I am thoroughly enjoying and recommend for anyone to read…not just runners. He writes simply, yet with a lot of depth and shows his humanity. His adventures are incredible!

As I write this late Sunday evening, I am still feeling good from the 8 miler today. The pace gives me confidence for my upcoming half marathon in SF. I still have work to do, but I am getting there, one step at a time. There were moments today in the early miles where I just had a hard time getting focused, but as I saw my splits on my watch as each mile passed, I became more and more intent. The last 2 miles, I just put my head down and ran. Breathing, running…great way to start JULY 2012

Make it count. Be brave. Be bold. Make it happen.

Dipsea-do

Today, Easter Sunday, a friend and I went down to Marin and over to Stinson Beach to test out some of the trails for our 7 mile trail race next weekend. The race is put on by EnviroSports and along with a 7 miler, there will also be a half and full marathon. Um…after the 5.25 miles I did today, I’m more than ok with NOT running the half or full marathon. If you know Marin and the Dipsea and surrounding trails, you KNOW exactly what one goes through. If you don’t, well, I’m here to tell ya…it is NOT for the faint of heart, both literally and figuratively. I have run the Dipsea trails (via the DIPSEA race 3 times in the past) but because I have lived in Atlanta for the past 10+ years, I had not been on these trails in quite some time. It’s more than fair to say I had forgotten both how challenging they are and how utterly beautiful, refreshing, and invigorating it is to run on the famed trails. AHHH…so amazing.
Our 7 mile race will begin at Stinson Beach and go up! Basically, up, up up and more up, up, up. Up steep climbs, up steep, narrow wooded staircases amongst the glorious ferns, eucalyptus trees and tons of other greenery. We will travel over many small bridges, go over and under huge fallen trees, swiftly and carefully navigate our feet among heavily rooted and sometimes very slippery trails. We will huff and puff our way as we climb the many sections that are un-runnable to the common man/woman. WHO CAN RUN THOSE SECTIONS? I WANNA SEE IT! We will even go up and down a ladder. A LADDER! Pretty fun, actually. So…this is part of what I did and saw today during my 2.5 mile excursion UP the trail and another 2.75 miles down. LOVED the downhill. Felt like I had very good pace; was able to maneuver the steep and often tricky sections pretty well. I’ve always been good at those parts, which makes it more fun for me and am able to pick up some pace that i lose on the climbs. But, the beginning part. The 2.5 miles up…that was NO JOKE. I had a tough time getting going…it was early morning. no warm up. nothing. just start climbing. Plus, all week, I have been doing my new NIKE Training Program and I’m feeling it. Lots and lots of squat exercises, which is totally new for me. Legs have been sore all week. So, then throw the super duper trail run in from today and what do you have? Some super duper tired and sore legs. Need to try to find a hot tub this week. My friend, Sharon, and I did not run the trail together but we started together and then caught up afterwards. We we both smiling and feeling quite accomplished. We enjoyed a wonderful, delicious breakfast at the Dipsea Cafe afterwards. Where else would we go?!!

These pictures DO NOT show how tough the course is…but hopefully they show some of its amazing beauty. Another reason I am so glad to be back in the Bay Area!

Week 9 Run Report

Finally a week free from any kind of sickness, sluggishness or anything related to not feeling physically well. THANKFUL!

Since I had gotten my job, but had not heard on my start date yet, I decided to take some time to do more traveling. Made a spontaneous trip up to Ashland, OR for just 2 days. I left a sunny, warm Petaluma for a cold, snowy Southern Oregon. Who does that, right? Well…I needed it and it was much welcome as you can read in my previous post. 

I ran Wednesday morning in light snowy conditions. Wasn’t very cold; about 35 -37 degrees. I ran from my little place at Ashland Inn into downtown and down to Southern Oregon University, turned around and went up into some neighborhoods and zig-zagged my way though town. Cute homes in Ashland. Love the narrow, short streets with moderate hills. I could see far off into the distance to the neighboring white mountains. Beautiful. Don’t know how far I ran, but watch was 52 minutes. Was going a little slower than usual as I had a hard time loosening up. Sometimes that happens in the cooler temperatures. 

I thought of running the following morning before leaving, but it had snowed even more the night before and was coming down heavy as I woke up and enjoyed some coffee. I figured I would just enjoy it from a spectators point of view and go get some breakfast at a place that had been recommended; MORNING GLORY.

I packed up my stuff and off I went. MORNING GLORY was a great place for some grub. The portions were very large so I was bummed to not have RUN BEFORE eating. Large and yummy portions. Be sure to check it out of you are ever in Ashland. Off I went for my 6 hour drive back to Petaluma.

I ran again on Friday. 3 faster miles followed by 4 x .25 intervals at even faster pace. I did this on the streets of Petaluma, not a track. Quiet, flat streets.

Highlight run of week was on Sunday. 6.65 miles through Petaluma. Mostly flat but with a strong, steep long hill at the end. I was (happily) surprised to see my pace at 9:11 as I didn’t feel I was moving that well out on the streets. 

Funny thing happened. I was about 3 miles into the run when I looked ahead and saw a woman standing on a corner, looking in my direction. As I approached, I smiled, realizing it was a friend I had not seen in about 15 years. She lives in a nearby town. She had been driving by and said she saw my shoes and said, “that has to be Angie”

We had already been connected on Facebook, which is how she recognized my shoes. How cool is that!! Shout out to K-SWISS, baby!!

 

Looking at making some decisions today on races for at least the first half of 2012. Excited! Stay tuned.

Week 9: Total Approx Miles: 15

Week 1 Run Report

The first week of 2012 started off pretty good with the running. I mixed in treadmill with street running and felt ok. I did start to notice my longest run, my 6.4 miler, didn’t feel too great toward the second half. That could be for a variety of reasons: 1) my weekly mileage was higher than lately 2) overall fatigue 3) stress effects

As mentioned in previous posts, I have been running steadily, but low mileage. I’ve been enjoying it and for the most part, having more quality sessions. I want to keep up both, the quality and enjoyment.

I have not yet decided on any races for 2012, but I know I will NOT be running the Birmingham Half Marathon in February. I should be already moved to California by then, so that race is out. A bit of a bummer as I LOVE that race! (hmmmm, maybe I should try to find a race to run while I am driving cross country!)

My favorite runs this week were the 2 days of treadmill running on Jan 1st and 2nd. 5 miles each time at 9:14 pace, which is good for me right now. A good pace to start the year and only get better as i train to achieve my main near term goal of running a half marathon under 2 hours!

I’ve been running some of the same routes lately…especially one in particular…a route thru the Druid Hills neighborhood/Emory University. It’s beautiful, quiet with various small hills both up and down and it just plain fuels me!! I am soaking in all my moments. Taking it all in.

My last run of the week was just a short 3.5 miler on treadmill on Sunday.

Afterwards though, I did some weights/strength training and then saw another opportunity.
I love running stairs! When I run stairs, I usually run the ones in our stairwell post run outside. 6 good flights.
But, I saw these and figured, “why not?!”
So, I got some good repeats on these bad boys done as well.

Felt awesome. It’s one thing to push yourself, but can you push yourself when it seemingly doesn’t matter, when no one is around but you. Can you? Do it. Push yourself. Amaze yourself. Feel freaking awesome!

The Shoes I’ve been running in most lately are these:

THE KSWISS KWICKY BLADE-LIGHT. Awesome Shoe! An incredibly light shoe coming in a 8oz. I love the feel of it. It’s the lightest shoe I’ve ever run in. I thought the K-ONA’s were light at 9oz and this is even lighter and I can feel the difference. My foot feels snug and comfortable and I feel FAST. FASTER.
I wasn’t sure I would like the color when I looked at it on website, but when I put them on, I loved the color and the feel of shoe.

I have been exclusively doing my road running in K-SWISS shoes for about 2 years now and I can’t see any reason to stop. They make some good shoes.

2012 Week 1 – approx 23 miles

Hope YOUR 2012 has started off well. Onward. Let’s go.

Running Renaissance

Not sure why or how, but lately it sure seems I am experiencing a running renaissance. This may come as a surprise to some of you. So, let’s look at what renaissance means: A renewal of life, vigor, interest.

As you might recall, I had such a tough summer of training. No need to go into any further details since it has all been already documented here.

The Fall rolled around and I felt I barely made it to SF for the half marathon on my birthday in Sept. Then, I thought….I am going to rest. Just chill and take a break from the running for a while. Well, what is “awhile”?

In my mind, I thought I would try to not run at all for about a month. Well, that didn’t happen. I just couldn’t sit still. Plus, the Fall is such an awesome time to be outside. The temperatures cool, the humidity falls away and becomes nonexistent. How could I not want to be running in this weather?? And, I feel that FALL running sorta adds it’s own natural/organic inspiration. The scenery, the environment completely changes and it’s such a natural time of reflection and contemplation. The air seems fresher, cleaner and like I can breathe deeper. So, I’ve been taking deeper breaths as I am rounding the corners and crunching on leaves and feeling the Fall air on my arms, face, fingers.

I feel my legs moving more swiftly as I tackle the hills of the Atlanta neighborhoods. My legs feel lighter, my entire body feels lighter, even weightless at times. I face the hills and I am running up them with a quickness that has surprised me. I am getting to the tops with less effort than I remember from the past. Most of my runs have all beeen with negative splits, which feels awesome! Where has all this come from?
I’m sure part of it is the volume has come way down! Today, for the first time ever, I thought back to the summer training and do believe I ran a bunch of junk miles. JUNK MILES = miles just to get in miles thinking I needed more when in fact I didn’t. An important lesson.
I didnt know it then, but I can recognize it now and apply this to my future training.
Perhaps part of this “renaissance” I am experiencing is also due to the break in a specific goal or a specific race in mind. I think I needed the break from that kind of self inflicted pressure. Looking back to the first 6 months of the year as I tried to break 2 hours in the half marathon distance….I put a lot of pressure on myself to accomplish it. Came close, but failed. Then, immediately afterwards, signed up for the full marathon and summer training. More pressure. In the midst of all this self inflicted pressure was also dramatic changes in my work life that came with real external pressure. I think it all just got to me. Now, for the record, let me clarify: I actually like pressure. Like the challenge of it. However, like everything in life, there is a limit and I definitely bumped up against mine. And obviously, I like goals and setting them, etc…. I just needed a break from them since I had a specific running goal for about 9 months.

So, since my last race in Sept, I have been running, but without any specific goal. As of today, there is no race on my calendar. In the last month or so, I have not gone any distance over 6 miles. The coolest part about all this is that I am running FASTER without much extra effort. In fact, I feel like I have NOT focused on effort much at all. Just going out running…I have felt loose, free, light and my mind feels quieter while on the roads.

So, yes. I feel a renewal. See ya on the roads. Lace ‘em up!