Nike Women’s Marathon Race Report: Going way beyond comfort levels….

Well. What a race. The marathon deserves and demands much respect. if you do not train properly (i.e. enough), it will be a painful experience. Gonna be painful anyway, but not training enough will put your further into the hurt box. Such was my experience today at the Nike Women’s Marathon; my 3rd go at this particular race and my 9th marathon overall.

The start area is tremendous. 30,000 women packed into San Francisco’s Union Square to begin the journey at 6:30am. The thunderous crowd of females (and a few males) lined the narrow streets and waited for the countdown; 10, 9, 8…

A few strides in and I knew. I knew it was going to be a tough day for me. My legs just felt heavy. Tired. My quads. Not a good sign.

The start is a bit staggered but even so, it is very congested and for the first 3 miles, it is very packed. Runners moving tightly together, trying to find some space..It felt a bit surreal for me those first 1-3 miles. Felt like I was floating…couldn’t really get a good grasp of my feet. Strange. After we weaved our way through the financial district, we hit the Embarcadero and it was still quite dark out. Great running weather; about 50 degrees and foggy. The first 6 miles are almost all flat — just 2 very very short hills. Can you believe I had forgotten my earbuds so i was without my own music. very disappointed about this…could have really used it in the later miles…

Between running this race 2 times in the past, the SF marathon 2x and the SF 1/2 marathon 2 times, and all the training I’ve done, I knew this course well. I knew where the hilly parts were and what to expect, etc…but, today, it didn’t matter. Miles 6-11 are the most hilly…some steep climbs up through the Presidio area, Sea Cliff and then a long steep downhill past the Cliff House and into Golden Gate Park. The first 13 miles are “tougher” than the 2nd 13 from a standpoint of course difficulty, but of course the back half of the race is tougher because well….it’s 13 more miles!! Unfortunately, I started to feel physically bad around mile 9. Even after the long downhill around mile 10 didn’t help. In fact, my quads were feeling it there…very tender. So, basically from that point on until around mile 17, I found myself having a raging battle in my head!!! (THAT is a long time to have a battle in your head let me tell you!!)

Here is some of what it was like in my head: maybe you should not finish. maybe you need to stop. maybe you just need to call this a training run and let it go. then i have to explain to friends what happened. i don’t want to do that. i don’t want to disappoint them. disappoint myself. but, what do you have to prove? you have already run 8 marathons! you are already in pain…think of how much more pain you will be if you keep going? you have a long way to go still, Angie. this is driving me crazy. this is not fun. there is no way I will reach my goal of 4:20ish. my time will be bad. who cares? check your ego! let go!! i guess this is what happens when you don’t put in as many training miles as you should. ugh. crap. i don’t know what to do. i have to decide soon. just focus on one mile at a time.

So several times, i thought i would pull myself from the course and thereby receive a DNF…Did Not Finish for this race. There were several opportunities to do so at very attractive points on the course; Mile 13 and between miles 16-17 for example. Once I was past mile 17, I knew if I did in fact pull myself, I would have a long and unpleasant walk back to the finish line and where the shuttle was located to take us back to the start. For a few miles probably between 9-12, my mind was fixated on “should i stop”. There was a lot of badgering going on inside my head…the pros, the cons, the very realistic reasons why it would be ok. I suppose during those miles I was trying to come to peace with that possible decision. I guess I never found that peace. I stopped somewhere along the great highway between miles 17-18. I looked around and then started running again. A few minutes later, I stopped again. This time, I looked back and glanced at the runners behind me and who were now passing me in these few seconds. All I could think was; “how can I possibly NOT finish?”

And, so..i kept moving.

With full knowledge, I not only embraced the pain, I literally DOVE right in it and said, ‘Ok…I get it…it’s your time to take over…but, know this…you will not break me.’

It’s an interesting thing…to knowingly dive into something you know will be challenging and very painful….especially when you know you have the choice. No one was forcing me to keep running. I could have stopped at any time. I’ve already run the marathon 8 times. What did it matter on this day that I finish? I hadn’t trained enough and I was clearly paying the price for not giving the marathon the absolute full respect it demands and deserves. Hands down. Really, what did it matter….I had nothing to prove to anyone. Did I? I guess the answer just came down to the fact that I truly owed it to the race, to the event itself, to finish. And, I owed it to me…for the amount of training i HAD put in. And I felt I owed it to the many other women out there…who were struggling in their own right…who were on the own journey…i owed it to them, my comrades on this day, to finish.

I felt more mentally and physically challenged than I have experienced in a while. And because of this, to finish, felt like a win. I had to dig deeper and stay focused more than I have ever had to before (or that I can remember) Miles 21-26 were super tough. I started to have some GI issues around miles 21-23….i was so sick of eating Hammer Gels and GU’s…i had also taken in 1/2 banana, 1 orange slice, 3 individual Clif Shot Blocks and a few sips of NUUN Electrolyte Mix. All of this was making my stomach not feel too good. Also, I did something I almost never do in a race; i stopped to urinate in a port-a-potty, not once, but twice! Arrrgghh! I truly hate having to stop for things while running. Usually, just a few short stops thru some of the water areas and I am good to go. But, today, was a whole different story and I just had to accept the circumstances and keep moving forward.

As I finish writing this 2 days post race, I feel this race experience perhaps taught me more than any other. It really feels quite profound. This was my overall 2nd worst finish time. And yet, It could very well be the marathon I am most proud of. Isn’t that something??!!

I definitely wouldn’t say I had fun out there…well, maybe I do enjoy the pain in some weird way…But, if you asked me after any marathon if i had fun, i would probably say no. It’s not a FUN event. I relish the experience. I enjoy the challenge. I bask in trying to find out just what I am capable of on any given day with the set of circumstances laid before me. That’s the “juice” for me. That’s what its always been about for me. Running…has been and is such an amazing teacher and the marathon is the event where there is a mirror all around you and you learn. You learn your strengths, weaknesses, etc…you see where you want to quit. And where you won’t. Where as ok as it could be, the fact of the matter is, you just must keep going. Some days, that is the only choice.

I thought I might cry a bit when I crossed the finish line, but I didn’t. That happened hours later when i came home and laid on my bed. I cried. For what it took. For what it gave. For me. going full circle.

Finish Time: 4 hours, 40 minutes, 27 seconds. — 2nd worst finish time. well….

What I ate: 6 gels, (Hammer Gel and GU Energy); 1/2 banana, 1 orange wedge, sips of Nuun Electrolyte.

Shoes worn: Nike Flynit (my orange pair) 🙂

Shorts: North Face (flight series) love these!

Shirt: Nike Dri-Fit Short Sleeve

Socks: Injinji toe socks…the best! no blisters ever.

Hat: San Francisco Running Co (orange hat)

Oh…yeah…this is the marathon that does NOT give you a medal….instead you get a little Tiffany Blue Box with a necklace after you cross the finish line. Each year it is different. In honor of the races 10th Anniversary, this was the necklace this year:

On the back, it has inscribed: Nike Women’s 2013 Marathon San Francisco.

Some stats I pulled from the Race Results:

most women ran the HALF – MARATHON; 26,402

Full marathon runners: 4,364

That stat alone makes me feel a little more bad ass.  🙂

In my age group W 40-44, I came in 168 out of  433.

Thanks for reading and to those of you who know me and cheer me on in my crazy endeavors…Thank you.

Toeing the line…again

Marathon #9 awaits me on Sunday. Can’t believe it. Really. Who would have thought…so long ago that this would be such a significant path of mine…

I still remember marathon #1 in Chicago 2000 like it was yesterday.

 

Nike Women’s Marathon. Sunday Oct 20th, 2013

6:30am

 

Wow! More later…

 

 

 

running updates

Well, I have been running. Yes, I have. Been on the trusty treadmill at the club, the track at the local high school, the many busy and rural streets of Petaluma, the streets of San Francisco, the trails of Helen Putnam Park in Petaluma, and lastly, the mighty trails of Tennessee Valley in Marin County. Whew!

I’ve taken some waist deep ice baths in the Pacific Ocean after some long runs of the actual Nike Women’s Race course. I’ve basically ran the 2nd half of the marathon at least 3 times now so i’m getting pretty familiar with the moderate grades, the flats, etc…not that I really need to do this since I have run the course before. However, i’ve been running down in SF just to simply change scenery from outside my door and the streets here that become kinda boring to run on after awhile. Plus, going into the city allows me to take those mini ice-baths that have been a godsend after a couple of hours pounding pavement.

The cold water has felt so good (after the initial shock) And it’s just been amazingly pleasant out there. I’ve done this now 3x and each time, there has been no wind and very fair air temperatures. Lots of people out playing, surfing, walking, running on the beach. I just sort of pace back and forth in the water and let my mind chill and enjoy the awesome scenery.

During this training period, as usual, i’ve had my questions arise of “why am i doing this, why am i running another marathon, why don’t i take a break…” Obviously, there are days when it is just hard. Miles after miles. I get up around 5am during the week for work and at 6am basically every weekend to run. And, there are days when I think, man, i just want to sleep in. Chill. For a few weeks, I had some very minor aches and pains that were just weird. First, I had this right upper arm pain. The pain was in the area of my upper bicep, right where your arm meets shoulder. Serious pain. I knew it had been from me not using correct technique while doing some “cross fit” like exercises. I had a lot of massage work done on it and abandoned most cross training exercises.  But, the pain sucked, no kidding!

Then, for a couple of weeks (still slightly there, but going away) I’ve had this horrible pain in my left hip area…basically all the muscles conjoining there have been super tight and a mess. Mostly, I think it has originated in the glutes. Amazing how tight those muscles get. And, more massage to get them loose. Pretty damn painful, but necessary and it’s been working.

Thankfully, as these minor issues have gone, the running has been more enjoyable and as race day approaches, I am both excited and of course, a little nervous about how I’ll fare. I wish that i could say my time will be much faster at this marathon distance, but it won’t be. I expect to finish somewhere between 4:15-4:25. I think overall my body is tired and i do think i need a break from running, training for races at some point. I ‘m not sure I made the best choices this summer by signing up for this October marathon, but i did. I got caught up in excitement and here we are. Of course, I could have decided weeks ago not to do it, could have just rested some and then geared up for the December race in New Zealand, (more to come on this later) but…I didn’t. Just like I could have stopped running when i was around miles 3-4 of some of my long runs. I just didn’t. I think part of the thing is that right now, I am just training to truly “endure”, not for time….and that makes me continually feel like I am slow. But, I train this way because of the distances I will be racing. I think afterwards I will need a break and then maybe truly dedicate myself to speed and shorter distances to mix it up. Or maybe just take a break and then who knows….I’m just “writing out loud”.

Last weekend, I ran the longest distance I will run pre-marathon. It was only 17 miles. I’m ok with that as I have the experience of this race and the distance and frankly, just didn’t feel like doing any longer road training miles longer than that.

Today, I decided I would go for a group trail run. This is my second time with the group that gathers on Saturday mornings at San Francisco Running Company in Mill Valley. The group runs have gone on for a while now and honestly, one of the reasons I had not gone before was due to being intimidated. The guys who operate the shop are ultra runners, who have done multiple 100 mile races and fared very well. Anyways, I went for my first time at end of August to just sort of check it out. My fears were realized as I lost the group after the 1st mile. The trails are not ones I ever run on and they are tough if you are not familiar with the ascents/descents. So, that day, i basically ran alone for about 7.5 miles. The group did 13, i think. Gorgeous views all around. I left feeling proud that I actually went, because I need/want to do more group things (even if i was by myself after the start) and it was a learning experience…getting familiar with the trails and the level of fitness of the group. Ego checked. A great thing.

So, back to today. Today was my 2nd time going for the group run and again, i feared I would be pulling up the rear. Well, it happened again, even though I had a much better run. I was able to keep a couple of guys in sight for a few miles, then they were gone. I ran solo for about 10 miles…no harm…more amazing views!! Just stunning, really. The 1st picture below is taken from near the top of Tennessee Valley looking East towards the Marin, Sausalito, Tiburon. The 2nd photo is taken looking out at the Pacific Ocean. A gorgeous day, slight breeze, blue skies as you can see. Super freaking peaceful up there and all along the trails. I was equally humbled and inspired to be out there. I can only get better on the trails. And today, I put in 13 miles, about 2 hours, 50 min. with 2,205 ft of ascent and 2,228 descent. This is good training & experience for the December race. The other good thing is my legs don’t nearly feel as beat up as they do after long runs on the pavement.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

light and dark

Have missed writing for a bit, and instead of giving a total recap, will just give some highlights.

Last week, i was able to check off an item on my bucket list; i went to the US OPEN Tennis Tournament in NY. Going to see one of the Grand Slam Tennis events in person has been a desire of mine since I seriously began following tennis in the late 80’s. i finally made it happen and am thrilled that I did!

Here are just a couple of pics from midtown and central park

While I was severely disappointed not to see Roger Federer play because he had lost on the day prior to my travel, I did get to see Victoria Azarenka, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Stan Wawvrinka, and the Bryan brothers (play doubles) The Murray/Wawvrinka was the best match I saw. It had everything I wanted to see; drama, great intense tennis and an underdog winning. AND, the energy of the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium was thrilling. It was a gorgeous late afternoon match, the sun was beating down on us with not too much heat, and we watched awesome tennis. Perfect. Ashe stadium was the only stadium I watched matches so i don’t know what the others feel like, but Ashe was great. My seats were not very close, but in general, just to be there was pretty special.

I was only in NY for 3 days and only ran once for about 3 miles. Went for a wonderful walk in central park for about 1.5 hours with 2 pals. Did a ton of walking just in general. Of course, NY!!!

Came home on Friday and was beat!

(Sept 2) Monday: 6 miles outside – 9:23 pace; 1 mile walk

(Sept 5) Thursday: 30 minute run – NYC

(Sept 7) Saturday: 4 miles outside – 9:07 pace

(Sept 8) Sunday: 16 miles outside – 10:14 pace

This last Sunday run was clearly the highlight. Longest I have run all year. And the best I have felt on all my long runs as of late. As mentioned in previous posts, I have felt sluggish, very heavy physically (+emotionally) and have just felt very weighed down! I’ve definitely turned a corner and the first thing that happened as I turned my Garmin switch to “stop” after Sunday’s 16 miler was a huge smile came upon my face. So happy with my effort. Grateful to feel my running VIBE again. If you are a runner, I think you GET what I mean. AHHHHH

Went for another “ice bath” in the Pacific Ocean afterwards!! AMEN! Felt so freaking great!!

I cannot express enough how much “lighter” I felt while running, especially over the weekend. I attribute this to the following:

1) taking care of myself emotionally and getting thru my stuff

2) travel – having fun – complete change of pace

The hard stuff in our lives, the difficult times, we need it — for balance. Sure, it never feels good, all that hard stuff; but we gotta have the patience and the care for ourselves to get through it. It can be grueling. But…then….you get to the other side. There is light after darkness.

Thankful.

“Endurance is just not the ability to ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory” – William Barclay

Ramping up…

Been slowly ramping up the running as I prepare for my 9th Marathon, the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco on October 20th! This will be my 3rd time running this race and I believe they have altered the course a bit, but I don’t think the new route has been released yet.

I’m excited to run the race and continue to try to improve on my marathon finish time.

Ran 27 miles for the week:

5 miles Tues. Treadmill + strength training

5 miles Thurs. Treadmill  + strength training

5 miles Sat. – bay trail in san rafael – first time running there…pretty cool. great views of the bay!

(Richmond-San Rafael Bridge)

12 miles Sun. – Petaluma — a few hills the first 6 miles, then flat. Longest run since my Half Marathon at the beginning of June.

(still lovin’ my Nike FlyKnits…now I just want a 3rd Pair! eek!!!)

Been focused on eating better specifically for recovery purposes. Specifically trying to make sure I take in enough protein, and IRON especially, since lack of IRON seems to be a culprit with me when I boost up the mileage.

Been steadily using my R8 Recovery Tool I mentioned a while ago. Love that thing!! Self-Massage for LEGS.

In other news, I am finally fulfilling on my bucket list and that is to go to watch the US OPEN TENNIS Tournament in NY in SEPT! I’m super excited. I’m have tickets for a couple of night sessions — all quarterfinal matches and I hope to see Roger Federer play! I’ve always wanted to go to a major and watch him play, so I hope this is the one. If he happens to get knocked out earlier than the quarterfinals, I will be bummed, but I know whomever I get to see play will be playing great tennis. I can’t wait to go to the venue and be in the energy of that place!! Every year, I have watched from my TV set and keep saying, “I want to go.”

Well. I tell you now; I am going!! Woot Woot!!

The Marathon – a race report

“The real contest is within. The real trophy is the self” – George Sheehan

I arrived at the race start in the heart of Union Square in SF at about 6:30 a.m. The race would begin at 7:00 a.m. The streets in and around Union Square were at full capacity and BUZZING in the Sunday morning darkness. I walked around smiling, so happy to be in the race atmosphere once again. Glittering lights surrounded us and music  boomed through the city streets. Electric. The crowd of 25,000 runners quieted long enough for us to hear the beautiful voice of a 16 year old girl sing the National Anthem for us. AHHHHH……what a moment!

Soon enough, we got moving and I crossed the starting line, feeling loose and ready to go! We were off and running and within a block, into the Financial District, that area normally reserved for the suit wearing professionals, but today, was reserved for us Runners. This Mid-October Sunday that held much promise and possibility for us all. We passed the towering Transamerica building, home to the first professional job I ever had and where I would begin my financial career. Memories…

The route then took us along the Embarcadero and with the Bay to my right, I kept trying to find my stride. This proved difficult for the first 3 miles, at least, as it was VERY CROWDED. Lots of weaving in and out of fellow runners and walkers. We ran by Fisherman’s Wharf, the Marina Green and Chrissy Field. Along this stretch, I kept looking out onto the Bay…awesome views even on a foggy/overcast morning. I looked out to Alcatraz and the famed place was shrouded in fog except for a one light peeking out. Fantastic views of The Golden Gate in her early morning hour, still stunningly beautiful in her sleepy state. We, runners, very much awake as we tackled our 1st and steepest hill of the day. The was at Mile 6 as we made our way up into the Presidio area. I purposely paused my iPOD here so I could just listen to the group of us as we made our climb. I just think there is something beautiful about these moments…all together, but on our own separate journey; each with our own private thoughts and personal goals for the day…Top of the hill, iPOD back on.

The temperatures felt a little cooler up here but also felt awesome. Refreshing. Delicious aromas in the air from all the nearby Eucalyptus trees. I was on good pace — better than I had anticipated. Body was feeling good. Soon, we had a lengthy, fantastic downhill section. I took full advantage and stormed downhill. I had a small thought that maybe I should take it easier, but I just didn’t. I went for it and tried to make up some time in case I needed it later. Time in the bank, so to speak.

Soon enough, the Cliff House and The Pacific Ocean came into full view. AHHHHH…..

As we turned onto the Great Highway, I caught my 1st glance of Sharon, who was there at about mile 11. Gave her a quick hug and kept chugging along. I was happy to see her because we really didn’t plan it out well as to where we would see each other. She had her bike and was going to catch me at different mile markers, but we totally missed our specific details! As I left, I said, “meet me in the park”. That’s pretty specific, huh!

At this point, the crowd was pretty heavy. We entered Golden Gate Park from the ocean side and headed west for about 1.5 miles. This was also where the Half Marathoners split off and us Marathons continued on. Amazing how the running crowd totally thinned out. Out of 25,000 total runners, only about 5000 ran the FULL MARATHON. (Bragging here!! 🙂

I had taken about 6 Gels with me at the start and by mile 15-16, I only had 2 left so when i saw Sharon again, I was hoping she had some with her. We saw each other around mile 16 and she didn’t have them and would have to ride back to the car to get them. Then, I said, “ok. meet me at the lake.” THE Lake would be Lake Merced and its about a 3 miles loop. So, another example of no specifics. I don’t know what i was thinking. Apparently, I wasn’t. HA!

So, I had 2 Gels left with 10 miles to go and I was a little worried I would need more. and nervous we would not meet up again. I started drinking the NUUN Electrolyte cups they had at the aid stations. I had never had it before, but figured it was safe enough for my system. And, I did find it to be helpful. So, basically, I was drinking water at every aid station and in the later miles, added the Nuun. Thankfully, somewhere around Mile 20, they had some Clif Bloks so I grabbed some of those too,  just in case. Let me backtrack for a minute…at Mile 13, I remember thinking, “wow, 13 miles already? I’m glad I’m not done yet. I still feel like running.” And even after this, I felt the miles were passing by quickly. Let me tell you, when you are running a marathon, having THAT feeling…that miles are passing QUICKLY, is an awesome thought/feeling to have!

Miles 17-Finish are along the Great Highway to Lake Merced and then back along the Great Highway to the finish line. I was feeling good and actually on pace for a personal best until about Mile 22. I was very surprised by this, given my longest run during training had only been 16 miles. Surprised and happy…but I just couldn’t keep up that pace for the remaining miles. Legs were getting super heavy. I saw Sharon at mile 23 and she gave me more Gels, which I was still needing. Seeing her gave me a big boost at just the right time. I knew all I had to do was make the final stretch along the lake, go up the hill and I was back on the Great Highway and heading home! I know it might sound crazy, but I consciously thought, “embrace the pain…embrace the pain…you only have a few more miles to go..” By mile 23, I knew I would definitely not PR, so I just focused on giving my best effort, keep going as best I can. I knew my finish time would still be decent. Sharon was nearby on her bike and told me another friend of ours was at the finish line. YAY! A Surprise! So cool! During the last mile, the spectators became quite numerous and loud and it was such a neat feeling…the thunderous cheering for all the runners! I tried to pick up my legs, move them as fast as I could and finish strong that last mile. Within a few short strides, I was done with my 8th Marathon.

Finish time: 4 hours, 24 minutes, 34 seconds.

As always, I run to find the better me. On Sunday, I did.

Onward.

Massive THANK YOU to Sharon,who was my total wing woman, supporter, cheerleader! And, THANK YOU to all my friends near and far who continuously cheer me on. These adventures of mine would not be quite the same if I could not share them with you. THANK YOU for being there in person or in spirit!!

Race Eve

On this day prior to Race Day, I wanted to jot down a few thoughts.

For one, I can’t wait to run. I feel like I’ve been a little cooped up because of tapering an all. It’s been a long time since I’ve run a full marathon…last one was March 2010 in Los Angeles. As noted in this blog in recent weeks, I am not going for any sort of personal best. The time I had to train just didn’t suit this type of goal. I’m just gonna run and do my best. I want to soak it in and enjoy the experience as much as possible. And yes, in a sick sort of way, the pain is enjoyable. I hope to be able to tolerate the pain long enough to finish. The pain will be there, that will be no surprise! Every marathon is different and I expect to have a new experience this time around. I ran this race in 2009 and really enjoyed it. I’m excited to actually be in a race atmosphere again…a Marathon atmosphere…it’s different. If you have been there, you know what I’m talking about. Every person out there has their own goal, their own dreams, their own struggles with their body, nutrition, etc…and we keep going…we keep going because we give ourselves no other choice. We must keep moving to follow our dreams, our goals. We must get thru the huge discomfort and pain that will inevitably find it’s way into the body. We must be strong in our heads to slay the dragon that wants us slay us! Everyone has their own plan, their own strategy and their own “tricks of the trade” that will get them to the finish line. I will have my own plan but I will most definitely be guided by this sentence … the shirt I got from my very 1st Marathon in Chicago, 2000.

Run Strong, Runners and may you feel light on your feet.

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.

Pressing on…

After last Sunday’s 16 miler, I received a massage about 1.5 hours after running. I have no idea what the optimal time is as when one should receive massage post run, but it sure felt good. I’m glad to have found a very wonderful massage therapist here in Petaluma. I felt like this helped me recover a bit better than usual.

Tuesday I went to the gym and decided to do some “speedwork”. I ran 4×400 and then 2×800 all at 8:00/min pace. Felt good and felt pushed. Legs still a bit tired from that 16 miler. Wednesday ran about 3.5 on the streets and then Thursday back at the gym for 5 good miles. Admittedly, my nutrition was not too good this week. Sometimes, like this, I just become lazy about making good dinners and eating enough. I really don’t have the luxury of doing this, especially when I am training so hard…so I need to get my act together this week. (i still wish I had a personal chef, a la Ellen!)

I wake up about 5:45am every work day. And most days this week, it was super duper hard to get my butt out of bed. I just felt super tired in the morning and soooo wished to sleep in. I actually could sleep in and go to work a bit later, but I don’t elect to do this because i would then be stuck in traffic. So.

Friday night I caught a movie in San Rafael. Arbitrage with Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. I love watching Gere and the movie was ok. Felt like I hadn’t been to a movie at nite in like forever! Made my way into San Francisco and had a late night soup and snack at The Waterfront Restaurant right along the pier along the Embarcadero. Enjoyed one of the best Cosmopolitans I’ve ever had and some yummy roasted heirloom tomato soup. I sat at the bar and could see SF Bay outside. Such a view. Such a sight. Never gets old. I walked outside and caught this picture.

That’s a dock and then the Bay Bridge beyond. It was such a nice night. Not cold or windy. Awesome.

Made my way to pick up Sharon from SFO on a late flight. Happy she got home safe and sound from her journey to France.

Saturday — didn’t do much. Slept in some (THANK GOD) and then meandered down to Corte Madera for some attempts at shopping for clothing. Found nothing at my usual places of J. Crew and Banana Republic. I did, however, get something new at The Apple Store. (no, not the new iPhone 5 although I might in the near future…) It was crazy busy inside as you can imagine. I found an employee and said, “ok. So. I LOVE Apple. But, here is my one complaint…when i am running and i use my iPOD NANO, I can’t skip to the next song because it it touch screen and I have to pull it out and look at screen, etc..i wish it had the features of the big iPOD or the Shuffle so I can just touch the FF button”. Apple guy says, “Well, do you have the earbuds with the remote on them?” “Um…no…I had no idea.” “yes, you can use the remote to skip songs, volume, etc…” Me: “Oh my god, you just solved my 1 little complaint. Now I love Apple even more.”

Suffice it to say, I bought the earbuds. I also asked another employee if there was a way to sync my iTunes from my iBOOK G4 (older version laptop) onto my big MAC. Yes, was his reply and he showed me how. So…today, I synched all my songs. I have been wondering how to do this for about 2 years. I guess the lesson of today is “ASK QUESTIONS, ASK FOR HELP”. My level of happiness went up so much today because I got these 2 lingering things resolved. WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG??? I don’t know why, but it is probably related or in the same part of my brain that has me only BUY ONE THING AT A TIME (see last weeks post if you are confused)

Speaking of which…you will be happy to know I stocked up on gels & gatorade this past week. So, Sunday morning. Woke up and didn’t feel good. Felt a sore throat coming on last night and it emerged this morning. Wanted to try for 18 today and as I woke at 6am, i knew it wasn’t going to happen. I took some Emergen-C and went back to bed. Felt like crap. Woke up again and thought it was about 10am. I turned on my phone to see it was 2:00pm. HOLY COW. I knew i needed to sleep! Woke up and made coffee and big bowl of Oatmeal with raspberries, blueberries, almonds, & walnuts. YUM. Started to feel better. Actually, my body was feeling ok. Just my throat and my head were a little suspect. A few hours passed and I felt like I could give running a try. My body felt awake and I felt like I wanted to run. Got all my stuff together and hit the road. As soon as I took my first few strides, i knew i would be ok for a while. The miles were passing and I was feeling ok. I was taking some Powerbar Gels and watered down Gatorade. Ran much of the same route on the east side that i have been running these past 2 weeks. I wasn’t sure if I had made the smartest decision by running today, but I felt like I had to try and it felt great to be out there. A beautiful fall day…about 5pm…the roads were getting quieter, the sun was descending, and the moon rising. I saw it all. Beauty. I called it in at 10 miles, which was better than I thought I could do. It wasn’t 18, but it was 10 and what i could do today. Rushed over to the club to soak in the hot tub for 15 minutes. Ahhh…heaven.

This week, my goal is to take better care of myself with nutrition. Given that the race is in 3 weeks, I now have no more time to try to do 18 miles and have good recovery time. So, my longest run pre-marathon will be the 16 I ran last week. I have no idea what this will mean going forward for the race. I’m trying to stay “loose and relaxed” mentally about it since I knew I didn’t have enough time to get all the proper training in…but…still…

I think race day will be tough and hard. And a damn worthy challenge. As it should be.

ONWARD…

P.S. It’s my birthday this week. Think I need a new pair of running shoes… 🙂

Expectations (Delusions of Grandeur)

This was what was written on the back of the New Balance T-Shirt I bought at my 1st ever marathon expo in Chicago, 2000. “The Marathon. A chance to be your own Hero”

Don’t we all suffer from delusions at one time or another? Don’t we all, at some point, become so wrapped up in excitement that we think we can be X or Y or Z? Yes, I think it is quite common….this affliction called Delusions of Grandeur. This affliction definitely has its drawbacks as I will soon discuss, but I think it has positive sides too. I don’t want to be Abby or Chrissie or Serena or Lolo. And I sure as heck don’t wanna be Lance. I just wanna be the best I can be. The best possible Angie. The best Angelina Funtanilla I can be at a given time. And, so….I wanna push. And when I have an outcome that surpasses my goals like I had a the SF Half Marathon a few weeks ago, I become extra motivated, extra inspired…and I wanna keep it up. I wanna keep going. I can’t help it. It’s my nature.
So. I knew the SF WOMEN’S NIKE MARATHON was coming up and wished I had signed up cuz it is already sold out. Sold out as soon as registration opened back in early March, I believe. I was thinking, “oh..that would be fun to run again. (I ran the race a few years ago and had a great time) wouldn’t it be great if I could set a PR or even get real close to 4 hours??” That was the thought in my head. Well, about a month ago, I went into a local running store and bought some new Nike shoes and because I did, I gained a entry to a lottery for a slot in the race. A week ago I found out I had won! I was super excited but then worried I wouldn’t have enough time to train properly. I thought the race was in Novemeber. I picked up my entry “ticket”, which was not free, by the way. I still had to register and pay, but at least I had a spot. I go look online and see that the race is…

Well, what happened? What happened was that as I was writing all the above, I had to go look at the actual date of the race, which is OCT 14th. As I went to the website, the first thing I see in big bold letters is 8 weeks to go. And, I just stopped writing the above part and thought, “8 weeks! I can run! I can do this….I just have to alter my expectations. I’m not going to go for a PR. Not possible. I will simply train as smartly as I can, and see how it goes. No pressure. Let go of expectations. I just wanna run this one!

I want to PR in the marathon and I also want to run under 4 hours. Those goals will have to wait until 2013 and I am ok with that…

I ran this race, Nike Women’s Marathon, back in 2009. It remains one of my favorite experiences. The Expo, the crowd, the course (San Fran), are all fantastic. Nike does a phenomemal job and I am looking forward to toeing the line, once again, for my 8th marathon!

ONWARD!