Hi there! I’m happy to report that I’ve survived yet another marathon. The post-race marathon waddle has set in, with a lot of soreness and achiness in my hips. My calves were the only muscles that really despised being foam-rolled yesterday, and my upper hamstrings are still quite tight. Otherwise, I feel pretty good. My runger hasn’t reached epic proportions, which is sort of unusual, but it might be because I ran at a much slower pace than I have in previous marathons. Anyway, I thought I’d write up a quick weekly training recap before I forget what happened last week.
Tuesday: KP came to check out the new place, then we went for a run at Lake Chabot. We kept it at a conversational pace and took 2 walk breaks, so I was pleasantly surprised when we ran 5 miles averaging 10:18/mile.
Thursday: Out-and-back at Lake Chabot. I took it very easy on the way out and added hill sprints on the way back. 3 miles @ 10:30/mile.
Friday: Shake-out run in Alameda. Easy run with ~5 sets of strides towards the end. My legs felt a little tired and the speed wasn’t quite there, so I wondered if I should’ve tapered more. Oh well, too late!
2.7 miles @ 10:22/mile.
Sunday: Race day! I started off strong, but the hills in the first half drained my legs. I kept a positive attitude, however, and finished with a smile and a feeling of gratitude (and fatigue!). Full recap coming soon!
26.4 miles @ 10:51/mile, race time: 4:46:50
Unofficial results: 558/820 overall, 176/303 F, 27/43 AG
With DL after the race, who ran the last mile with me. It’s hard not to be grateful with such supportive friends!
Total for the week: 37.1 miles. Third highest weekly mileage for the cycle. No wonder I was so tired!
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 
Congrats on completing the marathon and staying so positive! I was thinking about how miserable the heat must’ve been all morning and was hoping you were running strong. Hopefully MCM won’t be haunting you anymore after yesterday. It was also so great to finally meet you in person at the expo!!
It was great to meet you too!!
I’m not sure that I’ve completely shed the ghost of MCM. On one hand, I wouldn’t have been so grateful and positive if it hadn’t been for MCM. On the other, I feel like I’m not made for the marathon distance… I can’t seem to conquer the last 6-10 miles! However, I could argue that I probably would’ve done better had the weather been cooler, on a less hilly course, and with more long runs (duh). But whatevs – I’m grateful to have made it through another 26.2 miles!
Awesome to see a positive attitude in the face of hiiiiilllls. As to why they make a hilly marathon course, the world may never know, that is just mean. Way to power through and great job! One more in the books, which is also insane.
Ugh HILLS. Why indeed?! The most insane part is that I’ll have another hilly marathon in 5 weeks. Wheeeeee!
Nice week! Can’t wait to read about your race!
Thanks Angela!
Now THAT’S how post-race face should look! Great to see Danielle join you, and congrats to her on killing the half. Look forward to your recap; the folks who organize the Oakland Marathon should hella have you on their payroll…
Thanks, Mike. Now, if you could send along your message to Corrigan Sports, I’d appreciate it very much! 😉
Woohoo! Great job!
Thanks, Astrid!
Congrats on your finish, Jen!! Your training and dedication to racing is inspiring.
Thanks F! Hope you had a great race on Sunday too!
Amazing on your run! I survived my half marathon three weeks ago in Paris and totally surprised myself with a personal best! I signed up for another one — they’re strangely addictive aren’t they? I guess I felt kind of lost the week after and needed a new goal. So it’s another half, this time in Stratford-upon-Avon, so I’ll be running in Shakespeare country. I’m eyeing some of the Bay Area runs when I’m back in California in the fall though, what have you signed up for? Maybe we’ll finally meet in person!!!
Congrats on your half marathon PR! Running in Shakespeare country sounds very romantic, though to be honest, I have no clue what the area looks like. haha
I haven’t signed up for any races in the fall yet… I’m looking at doing a trail marathon in mid-October. It would be great to meet IRL – let me know if you sign up for anything!
Congrats on the race! I love that wrote about it with your week update, like “Oh, and I ran a marathon, NBD.” LOL Your time was awesome!
Thanks, Jan! Don’t worry, the marathon will get its own spotlight soon enough. And it was a very big deal! 😉
Hills are evil. But YAY on your marathon! Excited for the recap.
Thanks, Amy! Hope your excitement lasts, because it might take me a while to post that recap.
Considering I tend to be on a “1-2 months after the fact” recap schedule, I can wait!
Congrat on the marathon finish, Jen! That course looks difficult!
Thanks, Kira! I thought of you as I ran through Montclair.