Hello there! I’ve survived #movepocalypse2014 and am happy to report that I’m much better rested and less stressed compared to last week. Today was momentous: the last box was unpacked, I finished acquiring all of the little things we needed, and we hung up a few pictures. We’re still lacking a bit of furniture, as to be expected when moving from an apartment to a single family house, but it’s beginning to feel like home. AT&T set up our internet on Wednesday (finally!), we’re getting a washer and dryer delivered this week, and today, we had dinner at a Korean restaurant just down the street that serves the world’s best kimchi (according to the Gypsy Runner). I’m glad to say that the transition to suburbia is going just swell.
Nothing says, “Welcome to the neighborhood” quite like delicious food – and lots of it!
As part of the move, I’ve traded my usual running routes at Lake Merritt for Lake Chabot. On Monday, I ran 3.2 hilly miles on Ten Hills Trail (11:05/mile; 440′ elevation gain). What a workout! I was proud of myself for running the whole way, which is the first time I’ve ever done that. On Wednesday, I returned to Lake Chabot and challenged myself with 6 x 1 mile tempo intervals on the flatter trails. The afternoon heat meant a really tough run. My splits were 9:32, 9:51, 9:37, 10:11, 9:56, 10:17, and I averaged 10:30/mile for a total of 8 miles. I usually jog during rest intervals, but my heart rate was through the roof and I had a lot of difficulty controlling my breathing. It was definitely a tough and humbling run.
My last Lake Chabot adventure for the week was on Friday, when the Gypsy Runner and I ran around the Lake together. Well, mostly together — the GR ended up having some knee pain at mile 6.8 and decided to walk the rest of the way, so I ran ahead. My goal was to keep an even effort through 9-10 miles, which I did achieve more or less, albeit slowly. In total, I ran 9 miles at 11:33/mile pace with ~600′ elevation gain. Even though I’ve only been running regularly at Lake Chabot for a week, I already know that running there will benefit me tremendously. My ego is a little bruised to see significantly slower paces compared to flat roads, but I also know that, “The hills pay the bills!” I’ve stuck to known trails this past week, but I’m really looking forward to exploring new routes. And I promise that I’ll be better about taking photos of those new trails too!
For my last long run of the Oakland Marathon training cycle, I decided to run 10 miles on familiar territory — the Bay Trail between Berkeley and Emeryville. I purposely chose this route because it’s mostly flat with a short hill up to Golden Gate Fields. Maybe it was all of the trail running I did this week, but that hill seemed way smaller than before! I felt really great during the run; it was a complete 180 from 2 weeks ago. The miles went by quickly and I could feel that my pace was strong given relatively easy effort. I averaged 10:08/mile for 10 miles. My only complaint was that it was pretty hot — it was probably in the low 70’s by the end of my run at 9:40 a.m. The forecast for race day is looking equally warm, so I’ll need to mentally and physically prepare myself for that.
Total for the week: 32 miles.
I can’t believe the Oakland Marathon is only one week away! With the unstructured and unconventional training cycle this spring and moving last week, I haven’t really been in “taper” mode at all… which I think is good and bad. Good in that I’m not putting too much pressure on myself or overthinking things (well, relatively anyway). Bad because I’m not as amped up or excited about it as I was for previous marathons. However, I have one more week to get my mind right, so y’all can look forward to a race preview this week when I’ll talk about ALL THE FEELINGS that I have about the Oakland Marathon.
Howdy! My name is Jen and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I like to eat, run, and blog, but not usually at the same time.
Running Tangents 
Bummed I’m not going to be at the event, I’d definitely make an effort to support your finish on such a difficult course. I’m super impressed with your commitment to the distance and elevation. Have a great day!
Thank you! You’ll be there in spirit. 🙂
Congrats on the new place, & good luck at Oakland! (I’d consider running the 5K, but to be honest, I don’t think one week in between 5Ks is enough for me right now!)
Thanks Angela! Yeah, I don’t blame you for not wanting to do too much too soon. Plus, I would hardly get to see you anyway…though there will be plenty of beer and wine at the finish if you feel like coming over to Oakland on Sunday. Just sayin’ 😉
You’re going to get so strong on those trails! Congrats on settling in nicely and finding your first of many good eating spots I am sure.
I hope this is just the beginning of the good eating spots too. Gotta be able to refuel after all of that trail running!
“Feelings. Nothing more than feeeeeelings.” Looking forward to hearing all of yours!
Glad the move went well, and KUDOS for being done with the unpacking and already finding your neighborhood Korean restaurant because this is something that we haven’t finished yet (plus, I think there is 1 Korean restaurant in all of ABQ).
Korean food is so under represented in most of the country, and yet it is so, so delicious. I never had Korean food until I moved to the Bay Area (well, I did have a few things here and there, but it really didn’t count).
Nice song quote!
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had Korean food…I need to pile in!
Good luck this weekend. I’m intrigued to see how you do – I feel like so much of racing is mental strength and you’ve definitely got that!!!
We definitely need to get you some Korean food! After an appetite-building trail run, perhaps?
Thanks for the good wishes and support. I’ll definitely need to tap into that mental strength on Sunday!