Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

52F, overcast w/ bright pink sunrise, gusty winds (15-25 mph). 

Just feeling warmed up and it was time to come in.  I wish my eyes didn't tear up so badly in windy conditions.  It got me thinking of the US women's short track skater who wears those cool goggles. Is that what they are called? Maybe gotta get me some.

Let's see if this link works: Mr. Sno running barefoot.  I noticed SnoFlake has renamed it at the beginning. I thought the ending was too sad, and not entirely true since he continues to come home smiling.  But there was that recent badly-stubbed toe...

48F, overcast, calm and dry.  2 mi easy, 2 MP (=/- for hills),  .5 c.d.   Core & pushups.

Perfect conditions for running.   :)

I heard an interesting comment about crunches the other day.  This guy was saying why do we consider crunches to be the centerpiece of our core-strengthening routine?  We hunch over all day and then we go strengthen the "hunching" muscle.  I don't know if he's right, but I did add more back work today.  

40F, light fog.  Easy run w/ 8 x ~100m (estimated, on roads) strides. 

Newsflash. Little Miss I-hate-all-speed-work (aka me) actually enjoyed these strides.  Maybe it's the taper, I don't know. It was just very enjoyable to go fast for a distance that didn't push me into the Misery Zone. 

I didn't pay attention to pace, but on the very last rep I couldn't help myself and snuck a peek.  7:22!  Who is this woman and what has she done with Sno?   Strides. The new Ego Workout.

4:17:21 Garmin Time  4:21:17 (transposed those numbers - bad sub-conscious! bad! bad!)

Official results now up.  4:21: 14  :) 

40F at the start, rising to 50s? 60s? Very sunny, all clear skies.

Executive Summary:  Another hilly marathon, though certainly less so than Victoria last October (almost identical time as Victoria, just around 30 seconds faster).  Did not feel I did my best today; just wasn't "on." Apologies to my gentlemen readers, but this was the worse time of the month for me to be running. I felt the slowness but was also very pleased about pushing through it.  Lovely, lovely course, though too much sunshine for yours truly. Had a bit of leg cramping in second half.  Walked only through water stops except a couple of very brief walking in last 4 miles to work out cramp. 

Splits: 10:15, 10:14, 10:14, 9:32, 9:46, 9:53, 9:53, 9:15, 9:29, 9:55, 9:41, 10:14, 9:34, 10:24, 9:08, 9:23, 9:56, 9:12, 9:57, 10:35, 9:49, 9:51, 10:23, 10:37, 10:00, 11:21, and last .2 @ 8:45. 

I'm debating as to how much whining I should put into this report, because it really was an extraordinary, gorgeous, well-organized marathon that I would definitely do again.  I guess I'll whine a little, but try to keep it brief, then talk about the abundance of "good stuff" about this course.   I wasn't at my best today, and I never run well in sunshine, and there was a headwind after about mile 10 or 11, and there were a ton of hills, with the exception of some long flat terrain after mile 20, and my left leg kept cramping up a bit, possibly because of the severe cant in the road during the first half, or possibly because of the warmth.  There. I think I'm done now. 

The course...  The Napa Valley Marathon is one of the most beautiful courses I've run, through vineyards and oak studded green hills.  For those who enjoy crowd support, you get it in little bursts at the cross streets as you run down the closed-to-traffic Silvarado Trail.  Or, UNtrail, as it is a two lane 45-55 mph highway.  The first 10 or 11 miles consists of rolling hills (pleasant) with a couple of steep, short hills thrown in (not pleasant).  From the mid point on, the hills become less steep but longer, culminating with the 1.3 mile 5% grade stretch that comes up around 19. (Already the memory elves are trying to erase it...)  After mile 20 or so the course is fairly flat and straight (which can be a little challenging mentally as you see all the miles stretching out before you).  In the last mile the course snakes through the town of Napa California, ending at a high school, where I had a nice cup of broth and a hot shower. Well, not terribly hot. Warm. 

First half...  It took me about 7 miles to feel "warmed up."  In spite of my mediocre splits, I was able to  get into a 9:30-9:20 pace by mile 4 - when I was traveling on flat or down hill that is. On the up hills, I eased up and stopped looking at the watch, careful not to "fight" the hills. The walk breaks in the water stops were about 30 seconds long.  The first 10 miles were the prettiest, I thought.  Throughout the course, the vineyards were incredible, and most of them feature a mansion in French Provincial or California Mission style, or some other jaw dropping form of grandeur.  The widely varying climate of this valley makes it possible to see giant cacti, pines, lemon trees, and oaks all in the same stretch of highway.

Second half...  The second half of my marathon was extremely challenging.  I wanted to find someone to draft on when the head wind started, but we seemed to enter the Carnage Zone a little early in this race, so all my candidates were either moving too fast, or dropping to a walk once I caught them.  But mentally, I think I did quite well.  Knowing by about mile 15 that I was not having a stellar day, I'm sure I could have slipped into some serious self-pity but I didn't.  There was a moment around mile 22 when I knew there was no hope whatsoever for a PR and felt a drop in my energy, but it didn't last long.  So many people were struggling at that point and I love, love, LOVE passing people in the last miles - it really gave me a boost to think about the fact that I was "hurting but still strong."  The left quad cramping up was so disappointing, but a completely different outcome from the same problem a year ago in Eugene (also a warm day with some weird paving); I was able to relax it enough to keep running.  The severe slowdown in mile 26 was me deciding to shuffle occasionally rather than surrender to more walking.  See my kick at the end?  Ouch. 

Flotsam...  I should also mention the very nice expo, and good speakers, including Dean Karnazes, who, despite what anyone will say about his character, is an amazing and inspiring runner.  Our hotel in Calistoga, though buggy (stuff not working, Best Western style), was a delightful .25 mile from the start.  The sun came over the mountains the very moment of the "...and the rockets red glare..." being sung by the amazing John Keston.   Mr. Sno and the lovely SnoFlake drove to Napa and ran the 5K (Mr. Sno barefoot as usual, a moving conversation piece).  They were there at the finish with my bag, joined by my sister, up from Oakland with her husband, neither of whom has ever come to any of my races.  And speaking of bags, THE BEST RACE SCHWAG EVER: the Napa Valley Marathon duffle or backpack (I chose the backpack). Lovely shirt and nice medal.  A wonderful marathon.

Another rest day, and I hope to start walking tomorrow, jogging by the weekend. The quads are still MIA but not worse today, which is unusual (I typically get a 2nd-day-worse DOMS.)

It's fun to be on this side of the race and to ponder and plan.  I like to make lists right away of my impressions and what I learned during the race. I always learn something.  For example, in this marathon I learned that it was more helpful to focus on getting to the next aid station than my usual "one more mile."  

I also make a list called "to be improved."  "Quad strength" always wants to be on the list, but it seems like sore quads are just part of marathoning.  "Better form in final miles" is definitely on the list.  "Psychology" is a big one too.  I intend to start practicing some visualizations to try to get over my fear of holding MP for all those miles.  I fear it, and that has got to go. 

It is so nice to be home.  The Cascades got a big dump of snow yesterday and it is just beautiful.  I missed my cats and my own bed so much.  Travel wimp.  ;)  

It's one thing to do something you love in the pouring rain, but no way am I going out there to walk.    A short, successful walk on level 8 incline on the TM.  Weirdly out of breath at first; I guess more than legs must recover. 

Check out this not-bike I saw at the marathon expo, ElliptiGO.  Watch the short video. 

52F, gusty winds (13-21 mph).  Easy run w/ walk breaks.  

I've been going crazy from not being able to run, but I know that the time off is important.  All soreness was gone by Thursday, but I was feeling "weak as a kitten" when I climbed stairs. I'm doing better day by day, but I still had to add a significant amount of walking, especially on the hills.  My doc always wants me to take a period off from running now and then, and marathon recovery is the only time I actually comply.  Now I can check that box off.  Easy, short runs this week.  Maybe a longer run by next weekend. 

On Friday I did a little pool exercising in a fairly shallow pool we go to sometimes.  It's used for a Water Babies school, so in addition to being rather shallow (4.5' max), it is incredibly warm, almost unpleasantly so.  (I'm guessing about 95F.)  SnoFlake likes it, and has a great time swimming with friends there. I just did leg exercises under the water until I overheated, then I would rest a bit. 

SnoFlake and I volunteered at the local 5K yesterday and saw Jefferey and many of my running club friends participating.  No regrets at missing the 5K, but I did wish I could run again.   I think volunteering at a race is an experience every runner would enjoy. 

48F, cloudy & breezy, and... dark again. (gr)  Easy run.  20 min. strength.

 A bit stronger today, but still sloooooow.   My first day back to strength training felt good, but now I have that shaky feeling in my limbs.  I hope I won't be sore tomorrow. 

58F, partly cloudy, windy (16-22 mph).  Easy run. 

Very tricky to dress today, due to the wind.  Feeling stronger.  I sure do love these shoes. (Asics Piranha) 

Failed to get my minimum sleep, so I had to dreadmill it this morning.  :(  

The jury is still out as to whether getting a "run" is worth the misery.  20 min. strength work afterwards. 

Busy day, busy week.  

32F; clear, dark, calm, and frosty.  Easy run w/ about half mile of faster pace before cool down, just 'cuz it felt so good!   20 min. strength workout. 

The recovery is going well.  Hate the low miles but love the extra sleep!  

52F; very windy (20-25 mph) and a bit overcast. 1 mile easy, 7 mi moderately hard, .67 cool down.

I was on a bit of a time crunch to get home this morning, so no club run and no longer run yet.  Under the circumstances, I decided to see what some faster paced running felt like.  After the warm up I kept the pace around 9:45, give or take for hills and wind.  Everything felt great.  I'm ready to start building back up next week.  :D

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!  I'll look forward to race reports later today, and tomorrow.   

47F, showers.  Easy run w/ 1/2 mi faster before cool down. 

Refreshing light rain!  It's so hard to dress for rain at these higher temps.  I don't like the feeling of getting "soaked" clothing, so I tend to wear more than I need.  The light rain felt fantastic once I got too warm.   

42F, cloudy and calm, a few sprinkles.  Easy run w/ form drills. 20 min strength work.

This is the best marathon recovery I've ever had.  Today's run was so much fun. When I was doing the form drills, I just shot forward and my pace was dropping into the 9s without much extra effort at all.  

So here's the formula, for my future reference:

week 1 - no running, walk as much as I can.

week 2 - short runs with added (brief) intensity as soon as it feels good.

3rd week - (this week) begin running longer but still no long, intense speed work. 

So my mileage for March will be ka-ka, but I think I'll be more healthy and fit for the training to come.  Still no injuries, 8 years and counting.   :D 

41F; partly cloudy, calm, w/ 1 weird little patch of light fog.  G-A run. 

First frog song of the season!  Also saw a baby rabbit.  Such signs of Spring!  

I had a nice run, despite some soreness. Yesterday I did a mega-cleaning of my house in preparation for some guests coming today.  I woke up feeling stiff all over. And it took about 3 miles to lose my Inner Senior and find my Inner Twenty Year Old.  

40F, mostly clear.  Easy run. 20 min. strength work.  

Short and sweet...  :) 

48F, raining, breezy at times. G-A run. 20 min. strength work.

I am really pleased with this run.  After about 2 miles of very easy, gentle pace, I concentrated on form and got my pace down to 9:45 for the rest of the run, excepting a half mile cool down.  Normally my post-warm up pace would be closer to 10:20-10:40.  Everything feels great.  

Ladies only...  I have not been sleeping well at all for the past month or so, but fortunately the effects of broken sleep don't usually hit me until the afternoon and so do not affect my running.  I'm looking forward to talking to my doc again today; I cannot continue like this.  I get about 2 hours of sleep at a time, punctuated by severe hot flashes that wake me up.  I wish I could just pull the reproductive plug and be done with it, but that's not evidently what Mother Nature has in mind.  About a year ago I had this problem and "fixed" it with an herbal supplement called Vitex.  But I have been experiencing increased hair loss and found out recently that Vitex can have that side effect. Well, I'd rather have hot flashes than be bald, so I dropped the Vitex, even though the hair thing might be biotin shortage, or low ferritin, or a number of other things.  If you know anything about this issue, drop me a line.  If you're young and free of hormone issues, count your blessings.  :) 

High 30s, low 40s F. Overcast w/ some patches of blue (once it got light out).  Endurance run, club run, Leg Builder Hill. 

Oh long runs, how I have missed you!  I am on a pretty short leash this morning (time-wise) so I got up quite early and had run a little over 10 miles by the time I got down to the club run.  Didn't quite make the 18 miles that I planned, but it doesn't matter.  When I ran out of time, I felt like I could have easily run a few more miles.  Woohoo!  The L.B. Hill did kick my butt more than usual though.  Comin' back.  :) 

High 40s, cloudy with sun breaks.  Recovery run. 

My quads are just a little sore, but otherwise I'm feeling great today.  My 3rd and final week of official marathon recovery is now complete.  :D    

Mon-Sun weekly total: 47.02 miles 

47F, very windy, and extremely heavy rain. May have been mixed with hail for about 5 minutes. Easy pace, just trying to stay out there.  15 min weights after I dried off & changed.

I was soaked through before I got to mile 3, complete with audibly squishy fish.  (A baptism for my new Smartwool socks I bought this weekend with my REI dividend.)  So here are some good things about my run today: 

It wasn't a treadmill run.

I stayed out the whole time I intended to, earning me huge Macho Points.

Rain is good for the earth. 

It wasn't a treadmill run.

I've had relatively few "soakers" this winter, so I was due for one. 

I doubled back after half a block to switch to my thick, stranded woolen mittens - hands stayed comfy longer. 

It wasn't a treadmill run.

The weight of water in my shoes probably gave my legs a good strength workout. 

I remembered to put my cell phone in a zip lock bag. 

I didn't have to run long this morning, or do any speed work. 

It wasn't a treadmill run.

36F; rain mixed with snow, changed to light rain around mile 4. General-Aerobic run. 20 min. strength.  

This precipitation was entirely tolerable after yesterday's deluge, and I had a very pleasant run.   

Fellow females... if you lift weights at home, as I do, you might be interested in this book, The New Rules of Lifting, For Women.  I skipped over a lot of the book and am mostly using it for instruction on specific exercises.  One thing it has convinced me is to lift heavier weights.  We'll see how that goes.  

38F; partly cloudy w/ moonlight, wet streets but no precip. and little to no wind.  Hill repeats (VO2 & leg strength workout):   2.8 mi w.u.,  6 x 1 min. on ~10% hill w/ 2 min recov. between reps.  All reps .11 miles except last rep .12:  9:16, 9:03, 9:15, 9:05, 8:41, 8:22. 

A very satisfying workout.  The first rep felt horrible, as always. Penultimate and final reps were faster "on purpose," and I'm so pleased I could do it.  My legs were shaky and "dead" for about 15 minutes after the hill reps, but then I finished the run feeling great.

And now, for Sno's Online Therapy Session...  

My daughter (aka SnoFlake on the blog) was scheduled to be in a horse show this Saturday, and we've been preparing for it and looking forward to it for months.  Last night we got word that the show is being postponed due to rain. The new date is May 1, the day of my running club's inaugural Cinco De Mayo Mini-Marathon (half-mar).   We are both very upset. SnoFlake really wants me to go to her show, but she also would hate for me to miss my race, bless her heart.  

After sleeping on it, and letting it all rattle around in my brain while running this morning, here are my thoughts. I'm inclined to try to find a way to hush my inner two-year-old. (ie "I want what I want!")  I'll have many races in my future, but I have only one "daughter's first horse show." We don't even have a horse (her teacher lends her one of his), and I have no idea what role her hobby will play later in her life.  But she has worked so hard and improved so much.  And she wants me there.  I do not take for granted that my presence is important to my teenager; to me it is an honor.  And at how many marathon finish lines have she and Mr. Sno shivered, waiting, waiting, for me to come in?  

There is actually some chance the horse show could be delayed a second time for rain. It's the Pacific Northwest after all!  I was planning only a mini-taper, so I do not have to officially bail until I'm right up against the date.  And perhaps missing the half-m will be a blessing, in that I will not lose a week of taper and a week of recovery; that's two extra weeks of hard training that will go into my June marathon.   

"When in doubt, go to the rocker."  If I close my eyes I can put myself in the big Rocking Chair of the Future: I am 80 or 90 years old and I look back upon difficult moments of my life, and ask, "Did I do the right thing?"  When SnoFlake went to bed last night, she declared she would not go to the show if I had to miss my race or if I would not be there for the show.  That just won't do.  This is really, really important to her.  I think I need to dry these tears and never let my girl see how badly I want to be selfish and have my own way.  I think the Rocker says, "horse show."  What do you think?