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2/12/11
15 miles
2:15
9:00 avg pace
3 reasons why this run felt great:
1. The trail was not a slip n’ slide. Imagine that. I didn’t have to worry about falling on ice or slowing down in the snow. So lovely.
2. I was not bundled up like the little brother from A Christmas Story. I had shorts on. Shorts! In February!
3. Amazing views (how many times have I said amazing and SF in the same sentence?!). Check ’em out…
Happy Saturday 🙂
No run today. I’m resting up for my 13-15 miler tomorrow. Seems silly but my legs are tired from running yesterday and then walking all around SF (up lots of hills, like crazy steep hills).
Lots of bloggers do “Friday Favorites” where they list some of their favorite things (running and non-running related). I figured I’d give it a try and maybe break up the monotony of my non-stop running talk?! I’m sure running will weave its way into some of my favorite things.
So for the first edition of Friday Favorites, I’ll do it up San Fran style 🙂
1. Buena Vista Park – Matt and I stumbled upon this park back in 2005. It’s in the Haight-Ashbury section of the city. You walk up this winding hill to unbelievably spectacular views of the city. We went back on Wednesday for a visit (birthday girl’s request). These pictures do NOT do it justice.
2. Niketown – I’m definitely a Nike girl and the Nike store in SF is amazing. I stop in every time I’m here. We went there on Thursday and I made Matt feel completely awkward and asked him to take pictures (do it for the blog, Matt).
3. Golden Gate Bridge – Looking at this bridge never gets old. Running over it is amazing. Running along Crissy Field and coming just underneath it is amazing.
Heading to Sausalito today!
2/10/11
8 miles
1:10
8:45 avg pace
It’s another beautiful day here in SF. I was so excited to run this morning. Guess who also ran?
I was thinking a lot about my training plan yesterday and realized I’m not doing many miles at goal marathon pace (GMP). I’m either running faster during speed work and tempo runs or running slower during my long runs. That needs to be fixed asap. One of the reasons I was able to PR last October was because I could run a 9:00 pace without a watch. I knew exactly what it felt like because I had spent so much time running at 9:00 pace. I need to start honing in on what 8:45 pace feels like…my breathing, my stride, etc. I don’t want to be a slave to my Garmin for 26.2 miles and constantly need to check-in and make sure I’m on pace. I definitely think this is a flaw with the FIRST training plan. Too much running faster or slower than GMP. I am going to start making some of my tempo runs at GMP, instead of half marathon pace. And a few of my long runs will be fast finish long runs, meaning the last few miles will be done at GMP.
My average pace today was GMP but I was all over the place in the early miles. I didn’t get into the groove until mile 5 or so.
Here are some pictures from my run:
I saved the best for last…the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge! I’ll get some better pics during my long run on Saturday.
Today is my birthday! I’m 34. I immediately start to think of my age in terms of running (is that strange?). This is my last year in the 30-34 age group and (the best part) I get 5 more minutes added to my BQ time. Let me explain…according to the B.A.A., “qualifying times are based upon each athlete’s age on the date of the Boston Marathon in which they are participating”. Since I’m clearly not running Boston in 2011, my first chance would be 2012 and I would be 35 on the day of the race. That means I need a 3:45 qualifying time…as of now. The B.A.A. had some changes in leadership this year and there is some talk of changing the qualifying times. We’ll see. I’m not even focusing on BQing this year (of course, I’d welcome it with open arms if it did happen). I’m just trying to get my marathon pace below 9:00 and try for 3:50 at the NJ Marathon.
I’m in San Fran for my birthday! Matt asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I said “go to SF”! It’s been almost 3 years since my last visit and I’ve been itching to get back. This is the BEST birthday present.
Back to turning 34. I’m fine with it. I certainly don’t feel 34. My friend Kristin said that’s because I don’t have kids…and that may very well be true. My 34-year-old self could kick my (drunken) 24-year-old self to the curb!
My 30s have been great so far (I included highlights below!). Fun like my 20s but also fulfilling, if that makes any sense. And my definition of fun has changed (I know that’s a sign of getting older!). Movies and pizza on a Friday night vs. going to a bar. I still like to go out and have fun but I hated crowded and loud bars. I prefer dinner and drinks and nice conversation 🙂
1. Getting engaged (June 2008). Matt and I dated for 10 years before getting engaged. He proposed on St. Joe’s campus and completely surprised me. It was absolutely perfect.
2. Buying our first house (June 2009). We looked at almost 40 houses. We saw our house on a Friday night and put a bid in the next morning. We knew what we wanted. And we love it! We moved in 6 weeks before our wedding, which was a little crazy. Sorry, I don’t really have any good pics but promise I’ll post some when all the painting is finished.
3. Getting married (July 2009). BEST day of my life. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. We had beautiful weather and everything went smoothly. We danced the night away with family and friends. I wish I could do it again every year (not the planning, just the reception!).
4. Becoming an RRCA-certified running coach (April 2010). I’ve coached family and friends but wanted to make it “official”. That weekend in Boston was the first step in doing something I’ve always wanted to do. Hopefully soon I’ll launch a coaching business.
5. Getting Hawk (May 2010). I’ve always wanted a dog of my own (I come from a family of dog lovers). Matt was not a dog lover (but not a hater either). It didn’t take long for Matt to come around. He’s smitten with Hawk. Hawk makes us laugh on a daily basis and we love walking in the door and being greeted by 25 lbs of cuteness.
6. Breaking 4:00 hours in the Steamtown Marathon (October 2010). This was huge for me mentally. I kind of got stuck in the 4:10 range for awhile and was dying to break through. I ran my first marathon at 27 but didn’t really “train” until my 30s. Now I know what works and what doesn’t and how hard I can push myself.
7. Going to Europe (September 2009). This was our honeymoon. Since neither of us had been to Europe and we couldn’t decide on a single country to visit, we took a cruise. The cruise itself was hokey and cheesy but we saw so much! It was like a European sampler. We loved the Amalfi Coast of Italy and Santorini, Greece.
8. Going to Australia (October 2010). This was a dream vacation for both of us. We stayed in Sydney, Melbourne, and Port Douglas (Great Barrier Reef area). Unreal…and the trip of a lifetime.
And with that I’m off to do some birthday celebrating in gorgeous San Fran!
Check out Tina’s blog, Carrots ‘N’ Cake. She just started a series of posts called “Blog Dogs”. You may recognize the second-to-last dog…what a handsome fella 🙂
There are so many miniature schnauzers! I love it!
Check out her first “Blog Dogs” post here.
2/8/11
8 miles
1:09
8:37 avg pace
The training plan called for some nonsense like 3×1-mile repeats at 7:15 pace. I loathe mile repeats. Since I didn’t feel like running a 5K this morning and my legs haven’t 100% recovered from Sunday’s 18-miler, I changed things up. I’ve wanted to do this workout for awhile now…
1 mile warm-up
2 miles at 10K pace – 7:53. Since I haven’t run a 10K in about 10 years, I have no idea what pace this would be…so I estimated just under 8:00.
2 miles at half marathon pace – 8:13. My half marathon time last September was 1:49 (8:19 pace).
2 miles at goal marathon pace – 8:46.
1 mile cool-down
There you have it…a speedy tempo. I’m definitely doing this run again. I really enjoyed it.
This is my last run on the treadmill this week, all my other runs will be outdoors in San Francisco! Woooohoooo! Hello 60+ degrees and sunshine!