Test driving

Today I test drove my legs and did a "long" run . . . of 5 miles.

I had originally planned on doing 6, but that felt stressful. And I really plan on taking it easy for the next few months to build a strong base and to keep running a fun thing.

But I'm calling it a long run because it happend on a Saturday at my usual Californian long run loacation (the beach).

True story. I need to invest in some body glide. TMI? Probably. 

After not running for a full month, now with three days of running, I'm ready to call tomorrow a rest day. 

I've actually been trying something new while running. When I ran the Seneca 7 relay, I met Jamie's mom who recommended that I wrap my high arches with sports tape. She told me that it has helped her become a life-long runner with minimal injury. 

So I've actually been trying it out. 

That's the way I've been doing it. I tried to do it in the way that she showed me. 

So far, it's hard to tell if it's better or not. I think I need more time with trying it. It does feel better when I'm walking barefoot inside the house, but with my shoes' arch supports, I'm not sure how it feels. Since it's not hurting anything, I'll try it until my roll of tape runs out. Anyone else try this? 

I also test drove a car for the first time in my life. 

After looking through everyone's suggestions and my parents suggestions, I liked the look of a Wrangler and Hyundai's Elantra the best. 

I was actually able to test drive the Elantra. The only car I've ever driven was my mom's Jeep so the quiet and short Elantra felt really odd. It was also weird to have brakes that work super quickly. 

Now all I have to worry about is haggling. How does one bring the price down of anything? 

Tomorrow, it's on to driving practice on a freeway. I wish I learned to drive like normal people during high school and college.

Hope everyone got their planned workout in during the weekend! 

Dante says hi!

Running Long

I finally got back on track and started off this week (yesterday) with a long run. I also have a new distance PR by 0.5 miles. I know that I have the half marathon this weekend, and I actually should be taking it easy, but I had good reasons to go running for 14.5 miles.

"We thought you'd be over the rookie mistakes and not go for a distance PR so close to the half and after the long break."

1. I needed to get back into the distance running mode and on with my marathon training
2. The race this Saturday is purely for fun. I'm not looking to PR and have no time goals for it at all
3. I ran over the half marathon course, so it's relevant to race preparation

For the first time ever, I ran a course pre-race and ran a long run without my Garmin. The course was very boring, and I fear that running the course beforehand made me dread running it again.

As for the Garmin, it refused to catch signal and I didn't feel like waiting for it. Also, the bf had his own garmin that I thought I could hijack. And because I am such a nice girlfriend, I ended up leaving him around mile 5 to keep my pace. We stopped briefly then so that I can figured out what time we started running so that I can keep a rough track of the time it took me to run the course.

Since, I didn't want to be completely stupid and get injured, I even took walk breaks when I wanted to. I never do that during a long run! Surprisingly, including the walk break, I ended up with a 10:38/mile ish pace.

It was a nice surprise, since I thought I had been running 11:00/mile or slower. In addition, other than being sore with tight muscles, I am pretty certain that I didn't cause any lasting damage. I'm ready to get out for some easy miles tomorrow.

If I can only be graceful like that elephant, and be able to run more than 14.5 miles consecutively, I'd be a happy girl.

Now, I have a great internal debate. For the first time ever, I am considering racing without a Garmin. I know that if I have a watch on my wrist, it'll stress me out even though I'm treating it as a training run. However, without the watch, I'm afraid that I'll go out too fast or get discouraged from thinking that the finish line is farther away than it really is.


What are your thoughts on "naked" racing? Btw, thanks for all your comments about the great hair debate. It made me feel better about trying to shampoo every other day. And sorry about the disconnectedness of the post. I wanted to write something about the run, but it's getting to be past 1AM still with plenty to get done before sleeping. 

Long Runs

Thank you so much for all your advice. It was very helpful.

Some things I took away:
1. Run my long runs and my easy runs slower
2. I don't have to run the whole run with the bf
3. For the first marathon, enjoy the race and the training.

There were other helpful insights in the comments, but these three were the ones that I focused on for this long run.

I ran this week's long run slower and ran the first half of it with the bf. It was a hard run to get started on mentally, because I knew that it would be the farthest that I've ever run before. This was the first long run that made me feel like I was actually training for a marathon, and for the first time ever, I went over the half marathon distance.

The last two miles were hard. I averaged 10:47/mile. 

Thankfully, next week will be a cutback week. I don't have to think about going over 14 miles yet. 

Usually I don't use any gels for half marathons, but I know that I would need something for the marathon. So the bf and I bought a gel each to try out. Those are expensive when you buy the, in singles! 

Of course mine is the chocolate. I am of the opinion that chocolate can cover up any unpleasant taste.

I actually loved the gel. I think it was because this run happened on Friday night right during dinner time, (5PM - 7:30PM). We were both starving and wished that we had more.

All in all, it was a successful run. I probably will try other methods of fueling. Any recommendations? And how often should I take the gels? Have a great weekend! 

# Winning

My week was busy and stressful hence the lull in blogging. But at least I have things to do, so I should feel lucky. Right? Also, while my week has been less than stellar in the academic department, there were good things in there too. So here are the things that I won at:

1. Getting my long run in on Friday

I got in 12 miles at 10:44/mile pace with the bf and two others. This left my weekend free to not stress about waking up early. It was cold, rainy, and miserable, but I was so glad to be done. I promptly then went to bed on a Friday night. 

2. Finally breaking 30 miles for the week

I know, it's weird that I never have broken 30 miles for a week throughout my training. I think it's because I never get enough runs in during the week. It's sad that I've never broken 30 miles in the 8 months that I've been running. It's finally happened!

This week, I actually ran out my feelings. And the roads didn't care that I was stressed out and grouchy. 

3. February is so far the second highest mileage month

Despite it being the middle of semester and a shorter month, so far, it's the second highest mileage month with 86 miles. I still have time to get in some more mileage and make it the highest month ever! 

4. Finally remembered to buy trail mix supplies. 

AKA, I bought M&Ms and non brand honey bunches of oats. The granola and the M&Ms are my only favorite parts of a trail mix. 

I've been trying very hard to not just pick out the M&Ms. 

5. Went to Chipotle

Now that I'm graduating, there's a newly built Chipotle near my school. But am totally going to take advantage of it for the next few months. Chicken burrito? Yes please! Unfortunately, the line's about thirty minutes long because everyone and their mother is there. 

6. Nerding out with friends

Everyone putting on glasses and being a nerdy engineer.

Have a great Monday everyone! What was #winning about your week? 

AM Runs are Hard

I missed my weekend long run again. Surprise, surprise! 

It shouldn't be that hard to wake up at 8AM during the weekend, but it's near impossible to do for me. First of all, I usually average about 5-6 hours of sleep during the weekdays. And even during the weekend, I usually don't get to bed until 2AM. With the sleep debt built up during the weekday, I usually end up snoozing the alarm until 11AM. 

This is what I look like when I should be long running. I actually do sleep face down like the cat. 

Then, I frantically get up and head to Olin (chemical engineering basement) basement to work on senior design until dinner time. 

Since I missed my long run of ten miles two weeks ago, I headed out for that 10 miles today. It was hilly and brutal. 

Even though there was a net elevation loss, it definitely did not feel like it. 

I ended up averaging a 9:37/mile with wild splits. 

Look at that last mile, I was definitely glad to be heading home. 

At least I negative split on the last mile. 

Although, I did get my 10 miler in, from now on, I should stick to having my long runs during the weekend. It's just too tiring to run long and then stay up late for projects. 

Maybe I should try for a long run from Friday. So I'll have three days to get it right. Third time (Sunday) is the charm, right? 

Oh, and I totally did not have today off, because academia never sleeps. Also, my school never gives days off. 

Hope your three day weekend was great! I sure am jealous of it. Oh and happy Mardi Gras. I just looked it up, because all the fb status updates turned Mardi Gras related. How do you make sure to wake up for the long run? Any magical tricks (like sleeping with running clothes on, or turning three times and clicking your running shoes) other than going to bed earlier? 

If only starting wasn't so hard. 

Conquering the Long Run

I finally got a long run in. It was about time after weeks of not running.

I had originally planned on getting in 8 miles. I ended up completing 7.56 miles at 9:05/mile pace. It was awesome! I know it's not super fast or anything, but after all the stupid things that I did, the run exceeded expectations.

First of all, I was super sore from the three mile run on Friday and tennis yesterday. I feel so wimpy getting sore from a 3 mile run, but that's the sad truth these days. And tennis made me incredibly sore in weird places like my forearm.

And then I made the mistake of not eating. I didn't wake up as early as I would have liked. I usually tag along with my brother when he goes surfing. and while he surfs, I run on the bike path along the beach. I usually have cereal, but today I just didn't have time to.

A nice flat route that goes on for miles. Yay! 

So all things considered, 7.56 miles at 9:05/mile pace? It was a miracle. A Christmas miracle. 

The run itself was great. Even though I was running on empty, I felt strong and saw lots of neat things. Like this boat for sale. If only I had $2500 extra dollars and dock space. 

That baby could be all mine. 

 I also made a froggy friend that I named Albert. I liked him so much that I tried to take a self picture with him, which failed horriblly. 

You can't even tell he's a frog in this picture. If only I had super long arms. 

All in all, it was a great morning run. And I'm starting to think maybe I won't die en route to the finish line come Jan 15. I might make it out of the race alive and running. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful start to their week! And what gets rid of muscle soreness? 

Long Run Sunday

For some reason, I seem to always need an extra day to get used to the idea of a long run. I schedule all long runs on Saturdays. Then I make up excuses, go back to sleep, and have to do the long run Sunday. Yesterday, I planned on getting a 12 miler in the morning, then going to the apple festival to reward myself. Well, it was very cold and rainy all day, so I convinced myself that I was getting sick.

But that clearly did not stop me from going to the apple festival and getting pumpkin funnel cake and deep fried oreos. 

As a side note, I wasn't a big fan of deep fried Oreo. The Oreo gets too soggy, but the funnel cake was awesome. 

Then I got some veggies and fruits to make a balanced diet. 

I would have taken picture of my corn and hot chocolate, but it was gone too quickly.

For fruit, I chose to have caramel coated apple with white chocolate chips, m&m's and nut toppings. 

Great fueling for the long run. And it must have worked, because despite the chilliness, I logged 10 miles in 9:06/mile pace with the last two miles at my Oak Tree Half goal pace.For the Bread Run, I am just aiming for something less than 10:10/mile. It was a great confidence booster that maybe I would be able to finish the half marathon this coming weekend despite a sad lack of training. 

Oh and I finally got to try cliff shot blocks. I didn't get that magical boost in energy, but it didn't disagree with  me. A step in the right direction!

All in all, it was a great way to start October. A great run along with tons of junk food. Hopefully rest of October stays awesome. 

And just to start your October with awesomeness, here's a picture from i<3 to run on fb. I found this sacrilegious since I'm Christian, but it still made me smile. And I sort of think of it whenever I do a long run on Sundays. 

Please don't be offended. 

Race this weekend

Something shocking happened yesterday at lunch. I was innocently enjoying my five dollar foot long talking about my planned long run of 12 miles for the weekend when two boys challenged me to a race.

They thought they would be able to beat me in a nine miler against me by running it as a relay. Three miles per each boy, nine miles for me. I agreed. They probably could beat me. I mean I've never been a speed demon. I just chug along at an averageish pace and place in the middleish of the pack in age group and overall.

But somehow, I got dragged into agreeing to do my long run as a race. Their biggest seller was that if I lose, no big deal, but if I won, I could lord it over them for the rest of senior year. And thanks to facebook, it's now officially an event on Saturday at noon. There will be spectators and picnic food. And if fb events were good indicators, there will be at least 15 people in attendance.

So here are the athletes!

Challenger #1 Master Debater

He'll be running the first leg. He claims to not have run in a month. But I know that when he did run, he ran the mile sprint a little faster than I did two months ago. He's a policy debater so you know he can out talk anyone. He's also a gifted speed reader. So, if he can run as fast as he can talk, I'm screwed. 

Challenger #2 Adventure Racer

He's running the second leg. He competes in those mud race type events. You know, the kind where you have to run with heavy stuff or climb a wall or all sorts of craziness. Not a regular runner, but he strength trains regularly. I'm guessing just a road race of 3 miles will seem like cake after the races he's done. Look at those long legs. Then look at mine. Clearly running gods favored him more than me. 

Challenger #3 Farm boy

As you can see his childhood of being raised on a farm has resulted in super human strength , which he now uses to curl ducklings. He's been known to go on three mile runs with me about once a week. He's racing the last leg. I know he's super competitive, so he'll definitely won't give it up easily. Look at that game face. 

Person who's challenged (Totally sounds like I'm talking about a disability, but I didn't know what to call myself).

Hopefully, like this picture, I will crush them. Even though I did finish a half marathon like three weeks ago, I've been reduced to running once a week for my long run. I hope to at least get one speed work in this week. And if I do lose, lose with dignity by five minutes at most. 

Wish me luck! And stay tuned for the race this Saturday. As more information is available (as I decide on more race details), I will let you guys know.

And I looked like a total creeper at the library going through all the guys' photos and saving them to put on the blog.

Anyone know any good speed workouts? Or wanna advise me on race strategy?