KristenRuns

Back home today where it is hot and windy! High of 99! This is a very early Santa Ana wind. Lots of fires sparked already. With our three year drought, hot winter, and early Santa Anas drying us out in the spring, we might be in for a bad wild fire season this year in SoCal. 

Very easy and slow run through Balboa Park. Besides being hot and windy, I was tired from an early flight from NY to San Diego. Calves and shins still a little achy from the La Jolla Half (Sunday). Muscles are not sore. Waiting for joints to recover. Why do the joints take so long to come back?

Legs/core workout at the gym with Brandon. Not up for agility or plyo - or really much hard strength - so we focused on core and stability and support muscles in legs.

Is this San Diego or the desert?

AM - 45 minutes of tennis at 8 a.m., and it was hot already. Changed at the courts and ran 5 miles in Balboa Park. It was HOT. I stopped at every water fountain to splash water on myself, and the water would instantly evaporate. So dry! Checked the temp when I was done. Only 80 degress. Felt like 95!

PM - Today was not a day to be on land, so I headed to the beach for some ocean kayaking at La Jolla Shores. About 3 miles. Saw a seal, two sea lions, and five dolphins!
 

Travel to Madison, Wisconsin today. Staying with my grandparents for a week to help them out as my grandpa recovers from surgery.

1 mile run with my 3 year old nephew. I wish I had this kid's energy!

Easy run on Sun Prairie bike path, which runs behind my grandparent's house It's a dedicated bike path that runs through neighborhoods, parks, the woods, and through some native prairie grass restoration areas. Tons of birds, squirrels, and frogs! Lots of trail. Didn't even run the entire thing today.

Legs back to feeling normal today. That only took 8 days!

Threshold run on the Sun Prairie bike paths. 12 miles and I still didn't run out of path. This is a great trail!

The wind made me work for it today. Plan was 2 miles warm up / 4 miles at marathon pace / 4 miles at half marathon pace / 2 miles cool down. Had to run the marathon pace and half marathon pace by feel of effort because the wind was 20 mph, seemingly in every direction. Paces were all over the place, but I think I managed to get the right effort levels for the workout.

warm up - easy

1 MP - 7:30

2 MP - 7:21

3 MP - 6:59

4 MP - 7:03

5 HMP - 7:12

6 HMP - 6:58

7 HMP - 7:47

8 HMP - 7:02

cool down - very easy

5 easy miles on the Sun Prairie bike path - to the woods and back. Heard thunder and noticed the sky turning dark grey, so I turned around to head for home. But I did not beat the storm. At first, there was a light rain and that felt great. I rarely get the chance to run in rain, so I was enjoying that fresh rain smell. The rain drops were BIG, and eventually it started pouring when I was about a mile from my grandparent's house. Then, it started HAILING when I was about a half mile from home - which was even better than rain! I doubt I'll get the chance to run in hail (or rain for that matter) for a long time! I got a few odd glances from motorists as I sprinted through the rain and hail with a huge smile plastered on my face! Rain, however, has a downside - wet feet!

Hot and humid today, so I kept it easy on the Sun Prairie bike paths. The trees literally started budding today. The hot weather made the new leaves pop out finally! I've been enjoying all the birds around here. There is a bird in every tree! I've see hundreds of robbins, of course (WI's state bird). And lots of cardinals, geese, swans, ducks, oreals, some kind of bright yellow warbler. Today I also had two huge birding scores. First, I saw a wood stork, an endangered species. It was sitting on the edge of the lake. I got within about 15 feet of it, and the thing was huge. Almost as tall as me! I almost expected it to shake my hand and introduce itself to me. Then, I drove my grandparents through the UW-Madison Arboretum, and we saw wild turkeys - the males were all puffed out!

I hate wind. Workout was 6 x 1 mile at 10K pace (6:30) with 3 minute active recoveries. The wind in Wisconsin made me work for it again. I wasn't able to hit the 10K pace very consistently because I was being blown all over the place! I thought about quitting about half way through each of the working reps. But I perservered somehow! Usually after a very hard workout, I feel good about the effort, but after this one I was just glad to go inside and get out of the wind!

2 mile warmup

mile 1 - 6:39

mile 2 - 6:33

mile 3 - 6:44

mile 4 - 6:47

mile 5 - 7:05

mile 6 - 6:41

1.5 mile cool down

Last run in Wisconsin. Heading back to San Diego today!

42 miles in 5 days = needed rest day. Taking sailing lessons this weekend. It's been a long time since I've learned a new skill. I even have to take an 80 question test tomorrow! 

Day 2 of sailing lessons. I passed my test and am now qualified to skipper and crew a 22 foot sailboat! 

Plyo/legs/core with Brandon.

Specific endurance intervals today. 75 degrees when I started and 85 degrees by the time I finished this run. Felt like Death Valley in the middle of the summer! But wanted to get this run in before it gets hotter - high temps and winds all week in San Diego.

I might have let the temperature get in my head a little bit. 75 degrees just isn't that hot . . .

Planned workout was warm up / 2 miles @ half pace / 1.5 miles @10K pace / 0.5 @ 5K pace (3 minute recoveries) / cool down. I was able to run the half marathon pace (6:50) for 2 miles but could not quite reach 10K pace (6:30) - and I didn't even attempt 5K pace (6:15). Also had to adjust the length of the intervals.

2 mile warm up

2 miles @ 6:50 (walked 3 minutes for recovery)

1 mile @ 6:40 - couldn't get to 6:30 (walked 3 minutes for recovery)

1 mile @ 6:50

2 miles cool down

Another run where I was just happy to get inside afterwards!

AM - Easy miles through the neighborhood. Already hot! Will reach record highs today, predicted 97 degrees with high winds. Another red flag day as the fires still burn in Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe, and Black Mountain areas of San Diego.

PM - was going to lift weights after work, but instead I gored myself at an office birthday party. CAKE!

I couldn't run outside today because of the smell of fires burning in the air. There aren't any warnings to stay inside, but even 30 mile south of the fires, I can smell it. Very very hot, dry, and windy again - fueling wildfires for the third straight day. Thousands of acres burned in 9 separate fires. Homes burned and one person killed. Hope the wind shifts tomorrow and it cools down.

Threshold run on treadmill.

1 - warmup

15 minutes at 6:48 = 2.1 miles

2 minute rest interval

17 minutes at 6:48 - 2.4 miles

1 - cooldown

Felt pretty good during these intervals. It was hot in the gym, so they were a challenge. But got through them with some pep talks. You feel good. You feel relaxed. You can do any thing for 5 minutes. Etc.

Staying indoors as much as possible. Smoke in the air. Some fires contained, others still burning. Check out this chilling time lapse video taken from the roof of Stone Brewery in Escondito. You can see the Harmony Grove fire and the San Marcos fire. Black smoke means the fire is burning. White smoke means the fire does not have an open flame.

Weather should be a little bit cooler today and cooling through the weekend.

Yoga at 6 a.m. - great way to start the day.

Easy miles on portions of the San Diego RnR Half Marathon course, which I am running June 1. I haven't run it since they re-routed the course, so I wanted to check out areas I am not familiar with. Although San Francisco gets all the attention for hills, San Diego is also very hilly - and this course goes through Bankers Hill, Mission Hills, Hillcrest, University Heights, Normal Heights, . . . But it was actually pretty flat where I ran today. I'll cover the rest this week.

This was the Navy’s Coronado Bay Bridge Run (4 miles). The race starts on the Embarcadero by the Convention Center and goes over the Coronado Bridge, finishing over in Coronado’s Tidelands Park. It’s the only time the bridge is open to foot traffic all year. So it’s a must do for any San Diegan! (It would also be a fantastic destination race.) Over 10,000 people showed up to run (or walk) and raised money for wounded warriors and other worthy causes.

The race lends itself to a fun run, and I wanted to run this race as a fun run, but I just don’t have that in me. I raced it – but I didn’t race it too hard, after a pretty intense week of running. Plus one more intense week to go before I start tapering for the San Diego Rock N Roll Half Marathon on June 1.

This was a tough race from the start. Maybe it was my fatigued legs, but I struggled with the baby hills in the first mile (6:30). And then, the big climb (complete with headwind) up the bridge was in mile 2 (7:30, no Garmin data on elevation on the bridge – shows a flat line – but it was steep and long). By the time I crested the bridge, I could barely be bothered to enjoy the 360 degree views of the Silver Strand, Pacific Ocean, San Diego Harbor, Coronado, and downtown. I felt pukey. So I coasted downhill on the bridge in mile 3 (6:42). (I could have pushed a lot harder here, but eh…) I was well recovered for the 4th mile, which was totally flat (6:13).

My average pace was 6:47 – which, on paper, is a bit troubling because I am going for 6:50-6:55 pace in my half. But I feel really positive about the 6:13 in the final mile. It felt almost effortless after several very tough miles that I recovered from pretty quickly.

Splits

1 – 6:30

2 – 7:30

3 – 6:42

7 – 6:13

27:07 (6:47)

3rd female of 2548 / 54th overall of 4840 runners (over 10,000 runners and walkers!)

AM - a little core, a little legs, a little stretching (with Brandon). Muscles not sore from the race, but joints (feet) are feeling it. How can I get my joints to recover faster????????????

PM - 60 minute yoga class. And it felt sooo good! Inspired me to go back to work and type out some pain in the rear emails that I had been procrastinating on for several days. And I'm still smiling. :)

Less than 2 weeks before the SD RnR Half, and I am feeling the urge to exercise compuslively to cram in more training (resisting that urge). And also expressing some regrets on how my training has gone. I wish I had run more easy runs and more of these medium-length easy runs. Going to look through my log tonight to remind myself how much hard work I put in for some positive thoughts. 

Easy miles (8:00-ish) on Ocean Beach bike path, plus I ran the Sports Arena bridge an Mission bridge. This was a few more miles than I had planned, but I just had to take advantage of the perfect running weather this morning - cool, cloudy, a slight ocean breeze.

Easy miles on the Embarcadero. Saw the Dole ship - this carries all the Dole bananas and pineapples imported to the west coast.

Some yoga and stretching at the gym afterwards.

Threshold run (Ocean Beach) - 2 x 15 at half marathon pace (6:50) with 1 minute recovery. This is the hardest (AND LAST!) threshold workout of my training cycle. I did this same workout last Thursday on the treadmill (wild fires, smoke, hot). I needed to see how I would fare outdoors.

I did the first 15 minutes at 6:52 and the second 15 minutes at 6:51. While I was running, I was disappointed that this pace did not feel effortless. But then reminded myself that if a threshold run felt like an easy run, I wouldn't be running fast enough.

To get myself to relax, I surveyed the way my body felt from head to toe and relaxed everything one by one: the head, face, shoulders, arms, breathing, legs, knees, calves, and feet. Everything felt good, so I told myself, "This is what The Run feels like." I visualized  feeling this way during the race and pushing through to the end.

Kinda hokey I suppose, but when I was a gymnast, I always visualized my routines and especially nailing the hardest tricks before I competed them. It works!

30 minutes elliptical and 30 minutes yoga before work.

Long run on Ocean Beach bike path and in Mission Bay. Most miles areound 8:00. I haven't run this far in ages. Got turned around on Fiesta Island and ended up running about 3 extra miles. Napped for 2 hours after this one. Would have been better to run this distance last week, and a little easier this week . . . Oh well, now I taper.

Easy miles checking out more of the San Diego Rock N Roll Half course - Adams Ave. and Mountainview area in Normal Heights. Flat!

Easy five up in San Clemente on the beautiful beach ped path. Tapering this week.

The thought of eating a burito while watching French Open coverage on my DVR almost stopped me in my tracks on the way to the gym after work. But I delayed burito/tennis gratification and had a good stretch/yoga/foam rolling session (+30 minutes cardio warmup). Legs feeling that deep fatigue from Saturday's 16 miler. But it's only Tuesday. The taper continues...

4 easy miles at lunch. Ran to Balboa Park and up 6th Ave. to check out the first mile of the race. It's flat. Legs still feeling the fatigue of Saturday's 16 miler. But it's only Wednesday, and I'm getting a massage tonight. Tapering continues . . .

Been reading articles on tapering. Most of the information I've found is geared to elite-level runners. The suggested taper plans are almost harder than my hardest week of training. Not much out there on tapering for the hobbyist half marathon runner.

For my taper, I decided that a week woudl be enough. I'm planning on about 20 mile this week - half of my average weekly mileage over the last month - and keeping it all to easy miles because I'm worried about recovering from the 16 miles (I like to worry...).

One mile at race pace, and the rest were easy. Legs are not feeling springy yet. So this is the last run before the race. Probably.

6 a.m. yoga. Had to note the start time. I need credit for getting up that early. I was the only pupil, so the instructor customized the class for me. We did restorative yoga.

Yoga and foam rolling today. Legs are feeling good. Like they have a lot of blood in them. Ready to run tomorrow. We are going to be running through the fog. Forecast is mid 60s with 85% humidity. No wind.