Sunday Run

I love early Sunday morning runs. The streets are quiet. The air smells fresher. Possibilities seem abundant and my soul seems more open to take it all in. Life. As I have mentioned many times, this truly feels like my “church” time.

I slipped on my shorts, shoes, shirt, & iPod. I put 1 Hammer Gel in my shorts pocket and 2 GU Gels in my Nathan Water bottle pocket. I wrapped my Garmin watch onto my wrist and off I went onto the vacant streets of Petaluma. Headed West.

I ran a similar route as last Sunday, but with a little bit of change. The first long hill comes about 1.5 miles and takes me up and over a nice crest. I’m headed west, but then NorthWest onto Chapman Lane…a long, rolling street lined & scented with Lavender growing abundantly. As I head down the street, I can feel myself take deep breaths and I am just soaking it all in…this moment. This opportunity to move my body and do what I love: RUN!

Lots of homes on either side of me with lots of space between them. I see some horses, cows and hear the chickens off in the distance. Country.
I make my way onto Eastman and turn left and venture into new (hilly) territory. My pace quickens a little from the thrill of the unknown.

I come across folks walking and a few cyclists out putting their legs and hearts to work on this Labor Day Weekend. My legs are feeling good even with the hilly nature of these first 6 miles.

I look around and just see open spaces. So refreshing. I see the golden landscape that is synonymous with California. I live in such beauty. And, yes, I do miss my running routes in Atlanta. Such lushness there. GREEN! AHHH. I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by so much beauty!

I circle back and head East on Eastman, cross Bodega Hwy and off to Lohrman Lane…another long stretch of a new road for me. This takes me to Magnolia and I’m East headed back towards downtown.

I have a loved one who has a loved one here and I pay my respects as I run by. My footsteps seem to be a little more quiet, gentle.

I continue on and towards downtown where the traffic and activity has picked up. I finish out a few more miles on flatter ground and end close to home.

11.62 for the day. Happy.

Onward.

let’s break it down

Alright, lemme break it down for you. First, let me mention that I trained the least for this marathon compared to all other 5 run before. What that basically means is that I logged less miles over the specific training cycle. Normally, I get in at least one 18 miler and one 20 miler before tapering. This time, my long run was 16.25 and I felt that this alone could really hurt my race outcome.

Heading into the final 2 weeks of the race I was run down, traveling, and basically feeling like I wasn’t even sure I would finish the darn race. So, I really did not know what to expect from my body. Mentally, I was feeling so much better than a month or so ago so i was super thrilled with that part, but physically I wasn’t sure what to expect.

As  you might have read though in the earlier post, when I woke up on race day, I KNEW I was ready and I knew I would have a good day. Here are the mile breakdowns:

Mile 1: 8:45

Mile 2: 9:43

Mile 3: 9:41

Mile 4: 10:03

Mile 5: 9:31

Mile 6: 10:23

Mile 7: 11:00

Mile 8: 9:23

Mile 9: 10:29

Mile 10: 10:26

Mile 11: 9:47

Mile 12: 10:04

Mile 13: 11:17

Mile 14: 9:46

Mile 15: 9:58

Mile 16: 10:00

Mile 17: 9:40

Mile 18: 10:32

Mile 19: 10:21

Mile 20: 10:05

Mile 21: 10:13

Mile 22: 9:54

Mile 23: 10:22

Mile 24: 10:10

Mile 25: 10:17

Mile 26 + .2 = 12:44

OK. Here is where it gets tricky on my “official” time. I was wearing my Garmin, which is where I got my mile splits from, however, i noticed my mile markers on Garmin did not match up with race mile markers. Usually not a big deal because often it is pretty close. But, it was not close this time. When I completed the race, my watch read: 26.61 miles, 4:28:01. So that is .4 more than official race of 26.2. When i looked at my watch for 26.2, I was at 4:24. My RACE CHIP time was 4:28:10. Hmmm…what to do? Well, considering my Garmin has been off before, but never by that far of distance, i’m gonna split the difference and say I finished in 4:26. How does that sound? Fair?

In my age group Female 35-39, there were 742 runners. I was #171 out of 742. Not bad.

I’m cool with it! Like I said, a few days before the race i wasn’t even sure i would be able to finish. Comparing this time of 4:26 to my best of 4:19 is interesting. I trained less and didn’t fare too much worse. I wonder what i could have done had I got more miles in….lots of info to consider going forward. I did notice that for rest of day and next day, I felt the best I had ever felt after a marathon. I wasn’t nearly as sore or as fatigued. And I almost want to whisper this, but it kinda “felt easy”. Maybe it’s because I was “home” and feeling so awesome and loved. Maybe it was because it wasn’t in the damn heat and humidity of the south. Maybe it was all the Peets coffee. Maybe it was the Pacific Ocean breeze. Maybe it was “Rocky” on the iPod. Or maybe…it was just one of those days.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for cheering. Thanks for the support. Means more than I can say!!

Cheers!

it’s a wrap

So, the Tour de France came to an end. Been amazing to watch the coverage on Versus. Very happy for Lance and his 3rd place finish. Pretty damn amazing. 4 years away from racing. Nearly 38 years old.
Can’t wait to see what he will do next. Speculation out there he will go for Ironman in Kona. Would not be surprised!

In my last post, I mentioned how I was trying to be more intentional with each outing and not running just for running sake. Well, that changed this weekend when I just ran to get the miles in. When the legs are tired, sometimes, it’s just gonna be this way.

I’ve designated Saturdays as my “shorter-longer” runs w/ hills. Sundays have been longer and flat. For now.

This past Saturday, i ran over by Emory University and Druid Hills neighborhood. Lots of good hills. Had good pace, but started late in the morning so did have some warmer temperatures. Paid the price for sleeping in and even so, had a crappy sleep! Last 1/2 mile was TOUGH.

Today’s run was again done over at Silver Comet Trail. No Jeff this time. He went away for weekend to go boozin’ with some buddies. SLACKER.
Got another later start than i would have liked, but oh well…
Strapped on my trusty Nathan pack and took off. One of the things i thought of while out there today was how some people say they get bored when they run. I don’t think I have ever been bored while running. For me, there are too many things to think about. When I start a long run, my focus is just on settling in and staying on pace and paying attention to my body. After I have settled in, my mind wanders; i people watch (when they are around) and then most of the time i think about things in my life; what’s been happening, what’s coming up for me, etc…I relish that time(mostly) as my escape from everything…from work, from TV, Internet, Phone, crowds of people…Other times I find myself completely zoned out to music on my iPod. And then, invariably, in the later miles, my mind is not wandering because the pain takes over and that’s all I am focused on. At that point, it’s about managing my thoughts so that I can get thru the run. I am definitely not off in LaLa land when my quads are stiffening and sweat is falling and burning my eyes.
Nope. Never bored. Plus, most of the time I am running somewhere beautiful. How could beauty ever be a bore?

July 26: 11 miles – Silver Comet Trail – solo
July 25: 6 miles – outside, hills

Would like to get a speed session in this week. Gotta hit the track. Painful but helpful.

See ya!

yesterday at the coffeeshop

A song comes on my iPod – something soft I found recently – always makes me feel softer, as if i’ve taken a deep breath and am calming down.

And, its wordless melody plays in such a way that I feel my heart breaking. 

I notice one of the items on this small, round, well-worn table where I sit — my black wallet. Its rectangular shape lies atop a copy of today’s New York Times yet to be read. A white receipt peeks out along with the small edges of cards from my life; Delta SkyMiles, Healthcare, ATM. 

What I’m struck by most is the wallet cover; its many creases & markings from my years with it. Looking at it, I am suddenly aware that I’ve owned it for as long as I have known you, 16 years, or thereabout. And just as suddenly, my heart sinks and tears swell at the flashes of our history. My friend, I miss you.