Weekly training recap: SF2HM Week 11 (aka Race Week!)

*SF2HM = San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon

Mon: Rest.

Tues: Easy 3 miles, walked for the remainder.
Stats: 3.3 miles + 30 min stretching/rolling

Wed: 30 min stretching/rolling

Thurs: Similar to Tuesday, except that I added strides in mile 2.
Stats: 3.2 miles + 30 min stretching/rolling

Fri: Rest. Went to the Race Expo.

Sat: 2 mile shake-out run + 30 min stretching/rolling

Sun: Race day! Recap coming soon, but here are the quick take-home messages:
1. I didn’t get my sub-2. Wah-wah. My official time: 2:01:05.
2. I ran a negative split, but mostly because I went out way too conservatively in the first 4 miles. But, hey, at least I didn’t blow up. *small victories*
3. I ran the same pace today as I did for Healdsburg, where I PR’d with 2:00:37. The main difference? I ran a slightly longer race today… which, if I had to guess, would mostly be due to the weaving I had to do to get around the crowds.
Stats: 13.2 miles @ 9:11/mile, ~500′ elevation gain

In front of the Bay Bridge with my hard-earned SF2HM medal.

WEEKLY TOTAL: 21.7 miles + ~1.5 hours stretching.
How I felt about it: I’m wondering if I tapered too much, because my legs did not have any spring in them this morning. I probably should have kept some intensity in my runs. Oh well. B.

SF2HM: Pre-race Rambles

In less than 34 hours, I’ll be toeing the line at my 7th half marathon. I’ve only ever run in San Francisco once, back in 2007, so I’m really looking forward to exploring a new course in the city across the Bay.

In an effort to keep my race recap to-the-point, I thought I’d write a post about my last-minute race preparations, the expo, and general thoughts going into Sunday’s race.

1. Last-minute preparations:

• I’ve decided on my race outfit: purple Lululemon tank, Oiselle Rogas shorts, and Zoot compression socks.
• I’m 90% certain that I’ll be running in my Merrell Pace Gloves on race day.
• I’ve decided not to listen to music so I can focus on my form and my surroundings. My earbuds have been acting up, and I don’t regularly rely on music, so it’s probably for the best.
• Since there is no BART service on Sunday mornings until 8am, I have to drive into the city, park downtown, and take a shuttle to the 2nd half start in Golden Gate Park. I wasn’t sure how crazy the parking situation would be, since the shuttle pickup is in the general vicinity of where the full marathon and 1st half marathon starts, and the waves for those two races start at 5:30 a.m. So, I did what any anal retentive thoughtful person would do: I reserved a parking spot through GottaPark. It seems like a pretty cool service; I’ll let you know how it goes.
• Due to increased security measures, they’re screening all of the sweat drop bags, which are (inconveniently) made of an opaque black material. Although I’ll end up being at the start in plenty of time to deal with bag check, something about it just rubs me the wrong way. So, I’ve decided to forgo the bag check. I went to the Salvation Army on Monday, where I scored a sweet, mint green fleece for $2. The good news is that all of the throwaway sweats from the race will be donated to thrift stores. Win-win!

2. The Expo was scheduled for today and tomorrow. I was originally planning on going tomorrow so I could attend the tweet-up/meet-up. Alas, I forgot about the expo when I organized an outing to eat dim sum. Sorry, Expo (and blogger friends)…I cannot resist the siren call of dumplings. Luckily, I have a very flexible work schedule, so I left early and took BART into the city. The Concourse Exhibit Center was a 20-minute walk down 7th St., which was much less sketchy than I imagined.
Anyway! So I got there around 4:15 p.m. and it was empty. I got my bib and my (too small) t-shirt in about 5 minutes. The neat thing about the drawstring bag is that you could write your bib number on the back with a Sharpee. Although I don’t intend on using the sweat drop, I wrote my number on my bag just in case. I also picked up a 2 hour pace band from the pace team table, even though there should be a 2 hour pace group on Sunday. You know, just in case.

Then I was corralled through the SFM merchandise area, which to be honest, was a bit lackluster. The only things that caught my eye were the “Worth the Hurt” hoodies, but I wondered if non-runners might assume you’re a masochist or something… which I guess isn’t that far away from being an ultramarathoner, but I digress. I also saw cheap, but cute silver necklaces with 26.2 or 13.1 engraved on them, which didn’t look very cute at all after I saw that they were $50-60. I’ll probably be doing a lot of Oakland vs. SF comparisons, so let this be the first one: Oakland Running Festival merchandise is way better than the SF stuff. Oakland 1, SF 0.

I proceeded to walk around the Expo, picking up some bib holders for my Spibelt (to be tried at another, non-goal race) and a tube of Nuun, my first ever. There were vendors selling everything from sunglasses to earbuds. It seemed like there were a lot less clothing retailers than I’ve seen at other expos — I wonder if that was on purpose, so that people would buy more SFM merchandise? I also saw a Gypsy Runner booth, which unfortunately was not being manned by my Gypsy Runner. I ate my share of samples (Clif Bloks, Clif Bars, Picky Bars) and drank my fill of Nuun (fruit punch, FTW).

My haul from the Expo.

It seemed like every major California half marathon and marathon had a booth at the Expo. Most were just giving out information, but a couple (Oakland, San Jose Rock n Roll) were offering discounted registration. Other things at the expo that I saw but did not take advantage of: tech alley (various techy stuff to help runners), acupuncture area, yoga/meditation area, and a video tour of the course on a big screen, with couches. They also had leftover “vintage” (i.e., past year’s) race shirts for $5.

In summary, here are my thoughts about the Expo:
- Location: It’s a far walk from BART. Free street parking is available, but hard to find. There was a shuttle from one of the race hotels to the expo. I don’t know if they were free or not.
- Venue: Some things were spaced really far apart — the SFM tables, for example,  while other things seemed crowded together, like the first group of vendors.
- Organization: The signage was huge and it was easy to find where to go. I liked the one page map with race info on the back — it was an efficient use of paper.
- Selection: About what you’d expect from a big race expo. There were plenty of last-minute supplies on hand in case you forgot your favorite gels, socks, etc.
- Race goodies: The drawstring bag is OK/nothing special, though my cat seems to like it a lot. The shirt is WAY too small, and it looks short too. I’m debating whether it will be worth it to try to exchange it after the race or just stick it in my drawer, never to be seen or worn again.

Caution: SFM swag may cause crazy eyes.

3. General thoughts going into the race:

• I’m trying to walk (run?) the thin line between being confident, but not overly so, as well as being courageous, but not in a foolish way.
• I haven’t decided whether I want to cover up the pace on my Garmin. Maybe I’ll do it after the first couple of miles, if it’s not too much of a hassle to move the piece of electrical tape around.
• My plan is to start behind the 2:00 pace group and keep them in view for the first couple of miles, then spend a few miles catching up to them. Hopefully I can keep up with them for a majority of the race and surge ahead with a mile to go.
• Weather looks good for Sunday morning, if a bit windy. Luckily, the winds will be coming from the W/NW, so there will be a tailwind for a good portion of the race.

I’m sure I have more random thoughts floating around in my head, but that’s all for now. If you want to stalk track me in real-time Sunday morning, here are a couple of ways to do so. My wave starts at 8:23 a.m. Thanks for all of your encouragement and support so far! I hope I’ll have good news to report on Sunday!

Weekly training recap: SF2HM Week 10

*SF2HM = San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon

T minus 7 days ’til race day!

Mon: Rest.

Tues: Met up with DD for a conversational/easy run around the Lake.
Stats: 5.2 miles @ 10:25/mile + 30 min stretching/rolling

Wed: 7.6 miles bike commute + 3+ miles leisurely walk to dinner with the Gypsy Runner.

Thurs: One last set of the dreaded mile repeats before race day! Planned workout: warm-up 1 mi, 3 x (1 mile with 0.25 mi rest), and cool-down for remainder.

Actual workout:
– w/u @ 10:37
– 3 miles @ 8:28, 8:32, 8:49*
– c/d @10:58
*I blame a spontaneous bloody nose for the relative slowness of this mile.

I last ran mile repeats ~ 8 weeks ago. My average pace was roughly the same, but: (1) they’re slightly more consistent toward the faster pace (vs. 8:22, 8:43, 8:43); and (2) I ran a longer rest interval 8 weeks ago compared to today (0.5 mi vs 0.25).
Stats: 6 miles @ 9:47/mile + 30 min stretching/rolling

Fri: Yoga and stretching in the morning (45 min). More leisurely walking around town with the Gypsy Runner in the evening (~4 miles).

Sat: Rest.

Sun: Last long of this training cycle, so I thought long and hard about where I wanted to run. I decided on the Lafayette-Moraga Trail, since there is a consistent incline for the first 5 miles, just like SF2HM, only steeper. My general goals were to run faster than I did 4 weeks ago when I ran with KH and EH, and to pick up the effort/pace in the last 3 miles.

I got up early enough to beat the crowds and the sun, and also managed to run in relatively cool temps for Moraga (low 60′s). I kept a moderate pace for the first 8.5 miles (avg ~10:05 pace), then pushed it to medium-hard for 2 miles (9:26, 9:21), and hardest for the last 0.75 (8:57 pace). I finished the run almost 9 minutes faster than I did 4 weeks ago, which felt great. On one hand, it was daunting to think about how I’d need to run 2 more miles in less than 9 minutes to break 2 hours next week. On the other hand, the elevation profile for today’s run was even more elevation gain than I had thought. Look at this fancy superimposed graph I made of today’s run (in green) and the SF2HM elevation chart (in purple):

The first hill for SF2HM looks steep-ish, but it’s eery how similar the slopes are from miles 1.5 to 3.5 between the two graphs. OK, I’ll stop geeking out about the graphs now. Basically, it was a great run, especially in the confidence-boosting department. Just what I needed before mini-taper.

Two other notes: I also wanted to try out a new gel and a possible race day outfit. I’ve tried Hammer Nutrition’s chocolate and apple cinnamon flavors, and I found both to be very palatable. The raspberry flavor, on the other hand, was sickly sweet and seemed really hard to swallow. I don’t usually have trouble taking gels, but I had to take a sip of water with every “bite” of gel. It got to the point where I was worried that I was going to drink too much water and that it’d be sloshing around my stomach. In other words, Hammer raspberry gel = gross.

The race outfit I wanted to try was also a fail. Basically, I had the same “lactating” sweat pattern that I did last week, only with a different sports bra. So at this point, I’m going to have to blame it on the Lululemon tank top (I think it’s the cool racerback in the Luon fabric, but I’m not 100% sure). Sadly, I think this tank will be relegated to short races or runs where I get completely drenched in either sweat or rain or both. Or maybe one where there are no race photographers! (Yes, I’m that vain.)

It kinda looks like a face, huh?

Stats: 11.25 miles @ 9:54/mile, ~550′ elevation gain + 30 min stretching/rolling

WEEKLY TOTAL: 22.5 miles + ~6 hours biking, walking, and stretching.
How I felt about it: A very good week. I’m ready to “taper”, which will consist of short, easy runs interspersed with strides. B+.

 

SF2HM Goals, etc.

Less than 10 days left to go before the San Francisco (2nd) Half Marathon! You know what that means: time to talk strategy and start getting my mind right for race day! Before I dive into that, let me give you a brief description of the course. The 2nd half marathon starts at the western end of picturesque Golden Gate Park, winds its way through the park, then goes through the Haight-Ashbury, Mission, and Dogpatch neighborhoods before finishing along the Embarcadero near the Ferry Building (and passing AT&T Park along the way). It’s considered the faster of the 2 half marathon courses, with a net loss of 100′, but don’t let that fool you: it’s not a cakewalk. Here’s the elevation profile:

OK, so it’s no Woodmonster, but still a little bit hilly for a road race, dontcha think? I’m just happy that the hills are early and then it gets flatter — hills at the end of a race are just plain brutal. I had talked myself into thinking that the hills weren’t too bad, when I got a wake-up call of sorts. You see, Cathryn made a reconnaissance trip yesterday to scope out the course and it was tougher than she had imagined. It definitely signaled to me that a PR will be hard-earned.

Still, I’m surprisingly unfazed, because as much as I want to run a sub-2 half marathon, that is not my #1 goal for this race. Instead, my main objective is to run a well-executed race, i.e., not blow up like I did for the Oakland Half Marathon. This should be aided by the crowds (this is my first race with wave starts) and by the steady incline in the first 4.5 miles. I want to transfer what I’ve been doing during my effort progression runs to the race. My strategy is run moderately hard in the first 7 miles, then harder in the next 5, and finally running full-out in the last 1.1 miles. This strategy should result in a negative split, which just so happens to be another goal of mine, and something that’s always eluded me in the half marathon distance.

Of course, I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to PR…  I just don’t want to force anything like I did at the Oakland Half. One thing that helps fuel my PR dreams is knowing that I’m in much better shape than I was 2.5 months ago (for Oakland), so it should be interesting to see how my increased fitness plays out on a different course. Regardless, it’s comforting to know that I’ll be running another half marathon later this year (in preparation for MCM), which relieves some of the pressure about “having to” run a sub-2 half next Sunday. If it happens, great! If not, I’ll live to run another race. And that’s how it should always be, right?

Weekly training recap: SF2HM Week 9

*SF2HM = San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon

Less than 2 weeks left to go until race day!! Look for a race goals post/thought ramble later this week.

Mon: Mondays are usually my rest days, but when it’s Memorial Day and my friend RF organizes his annual low-tide hike at Point Reyes National Seashore, who am I to say no? We got up at 4am to make it up there for the 6:30 low tide, which allowed us to hike through areas that are normally inaccessible. We saw lots of sea creatures (crabs, sea anemones, starfish, fish) and beautiful landscapes. The hike itself was a mix of treacherous seaweed- and algae-topped rocks and flat sand. It was a great workout for my ankle, quads, and hamstrings!

Stats: ~4 miles hiking

Tues: Probably my worst run in a long time. I was already tired before the run and thought about taking a rest day, but since this was a short week running-wise, I knew I should get out and log some miles, regardless of pace. So I left my Garmin at home and didn’t care about pace at all. I felt like I was running half asleep, and I had some GI issues too. Yuck.
Stats: 4 miles + 30 min stretching/rolling

Wed: 30 min stretching/rolling

Random photo of my cat…just because.

Thurs: Since I was going backpacking over the weekend, I had to combine my long run with my speed/tempo workout. I decided to do a long progression tempo run to mirror half marathon effort: 1 mile warm-up, 5 miles @ moderate-hard, 2 miles @ hard, 1 mile @ hardest, and 1 mile cool-down. The key for this workout was to have a fast finish — something I struggle with a lot in half marathons.

Actual workout:
- warm-up @ 10:35
- 5 miles moderate/hard: 9:53, 9:40, 9:16, 9:25, 9:29
- 2 miles hard: 9:02, 9:05
- 1 mile hardest: 8:43
- cool down @ 10:45

It took me a while to warm-up into the “moderate hard” effort, but all in all, I think it was a good workout. I didn’t take any gels or bloks so I could have a no-carb run (water only). The one unfortunate thing was I came home and realized I had really weird sweat marks from my sports bra/tank top combo — I looked like I was lactating! I said to the Gypsy Runner, “And I thought people were looking at me because I looked cool…” Haha.
Stats: 10 miles @ 9:35/mile + 15 min stretching/rolling

Fri-Sun: I went on my first ever backpacking trip with the Gypsy Runner and 4 friends. It was a lot of fun, and definitely challenging! We drove to the Ventana Wilderness on Friday night and night-hiked to our campsite, another thing that I’ve never done. The way in was cool temperature-wise (since it was dark) and mostly downhill. The main challenge was hiking in the dark with only our headlamps and having to walk through brush-covered trails about 1/5 of the way. Even though it didn’t feel like we were walking particularly slow, I was shocked to find out that we averaged less than 2 miles per hour. I guess carrying 20 lbs. of weight does slow you down!

On Saturday, we did some light, short hikes to a nearby cave (mission accomplished) and in search of a waterfall (mission aborted). Even though they were short hikes, I found that any hike in the Ventana Wilderness could be challenging because the trails were not well maintained. I kept thinking about how “wilderness” was a very apt description indeed. Of course, the upside was that we had the whole place virtually to ourselves.

On Sunday morning, it was time to hike back out of the park. We knew we had a significant elevation gain ahead of us, as well as sweltering heat. There were a few shaded areas along the way, thankfully, as well as plenty of beautiful views to keep my mind distracted. It was kinda cool to hike in the dark on the way in and go back out during daylight hours — it made an out-and-back hike into 2 distinct experiences.

It was funny/ironic that I had just told the Gypsy Runner on Thursday or Friday how I was feeling fairly confident going into SF2HM except for the hills. Well, I got plenty of hill training this weekend, and with weight too… hopefully the hike had enough hills to pay the bills!

I’m really into collages lately…

Stats: 12 miles, ~3200′ elevation gain

WEEKLY TOTAL: 14 miles running, 16 miles hiking + 75 min stretching + 2 days of planks.
How I felt about it: Great run on Thursday with some nice strength work in the form of technical hikes. I’m really falling off the stretching and rolling wagon though. B-

Weekly training recap: SF2HM Week 8

*SF2HM = San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon

Sorry for the delayed post, but I was busy enjoying my Memorial Day weekend, as I hope you all were too!

Mon: Rest.

Tues: Met up with KH for a run around the Lake. We were both feeling pretty tired, so we took it super easy.
Stats: 5.1 miles @ 10:51/mile + 30 min stretching/rolling

Wed: I had planned to go to the climbing gym with LF, but a long meeting with a client rendered me completely lifeless. We went out for drinks and food instead… which totally has the same benefits as exercising, right? Oh, actually, I did ride my bike to and from the bar, so there’s that.
Stats: 20 min cycling around town + 15 min stretching/rolling

Thurs: I read about a half marathon benchmark workout on Runner’s World earlier in the week, so I thought I’d try it. The workout: warm-up, followed by 10 x (1000 m @ race pace, 60 seconds jog), cool down. My goal race pace range was 9:00 to 9:10/mile. This totally went against my new “pacing by effort” project, but I thought it might be a fun workout to try. It was definitely more intense than the 6 x 800 m intervals that I had considered! My other goal was to focus on relaxing my form at race pace. I tend to tense up a lot when I run faster than ~9:15, which is obviously a waste of energy.

Actual workout:
- Warm-up 1 mile @ 10:50 (nice and slow)
- 0.6 mile intervals (min/mile; I was too lazy to reset my watch to meters): 9:02, 8:59, 9:07, 9:08, 9:09, 9:06, 8:58, 9:11, 9:09, 9:03 (Average = 9:04)
- Cool down for the rest (~0.7 mi) @ 11:48/mi (yeah, I was very tired)

I would’ve been happy to do 8 of these at race pace, so I’m *very* happy to have done 10! The article actually says you should do 10-12, but 10 was plenty for me, thank you very much. Who knows if this really means I’ll be able to run a 9:04 pace on race day, but this workout definitely had me feeling quite fit!
Stats: 8.5 miles @ 9:48/mile

Fri: Rest.

Sat: Went out for a nice long trail run with Cathryn at Lake Chabot. Having her with me definitely pushed me a little more on the hills than usual, though we took walk breaks when we deemed it necessary. It started out a bit overcast and chilly, which was perfect running weather, and the sun came out just at the end. We chatted away and the miles just flew by. It was so much fun! You can see more photos (and a better recap of the run!) over at Cathryn’s blog.

Enjoying post-run cupcakes – the perfect recovery food! (photo courtesy of Cathryn)

In the afternoon/early evening, we went to one of the most laid back and unique “weddings” ever. (It was technically a post-wedding ceremony party.) There was a food truck and an R2D2 wedding cake. I got to wear a dress, the Gypsy Runner got to wear sneakers, and a good time was had by all.

Stylin’ and profilin’

coolest wedding cake EVER.

Stats: 11.35 miles @ 12:06/mile, 1150′ elevation gain + 30 min stretching/rolling

Sun: It was the Gypsy Runner’s birthday, so we celebrated by doing a few of his favorite things: eating bagels from our favorite place in Berkeley, going to the climbing gym, and watching the San Jose Sharks win game 6 of their playoff series against the L.A. Kings. Woohoo!

Not one, but two bagels for the birthday boy.

Stats: 90 min indoor rock climbing

WEEKLY TOTAL: 25 miles + ~3.3 hours climbing, biking, stretching.
How I felt about it: Another great week running-wise. However, this is the first week in a long time where I’ve slacked on the stretching and rolling. I did do a couple of planks though, so that’s something?? B.

Weekly training recap: SF2HM Week 7

*SF2HM = San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon

Mon: Rest.

Tues: I decided it was time to add some minor elevation gains to my usually easy Tuesday morning run. I ran up Trestle Glen and did 3 hill repeats at the top (hard effort to the top, jog down, rest for ~1 min). My legs were still a little tired from the week before, so things felt sluggish, but I kept reminding myself that, “The hills pay the bills!”
Stats: 6.3 miles @ 10:53/mile, ~311′ elevation gain + 30 min stretching/rolling

Wed: 7.6 mile bike commute to/from work + 60 min PT exercises/stretching/rolling

Thurs: Tempo run with progression by effort, which you can read about here.
Stats: 6 miles @ 9:23/mile + 30 min stretching/rolling

Fri: 90 min rock climbing

Sat: My soft goal was to run 12 miles in 2 hours. I made it with 24 seconds to spare. My other goal was to do a progression run by effort, starting slow-ish and ramp up. I actually did OK on that too, starting with 10:29 for mile 1 and ending with 9:33 for mile 12, but kinda all over the place in between. I had some GI issues at the start, and am beginning to rethink taking a Gu 15-min before my long runs, which I’ve done 2 weeks in a row without much luck. Anyone else have experience with this? I seem to be okay taking fuel once the run starts, so maybe I should just do that.

View of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina. Gorgeous day for a run!

Stats: 12 miles @ 9:58/mile + ~40 min biking around town

Sun: Lazy Sunday. Woke up to this:

Time to wake up!

Stats: 30 min stretching/rolling

WEEKLY TOTAL: 24.3 miles + ~5.5 hours climbing, biking, stretching.
How I felt about it: Really solid running week with lots of quality miles. Still skipping core work, which I need to amend this week. A-