Monday, Monday, Monday

See? Told you I was running out of blog post titles!

I got in the car this morning and saw this on my odometer! 26662 - perfect omen to start another heavy week of marathon training!

What a busy weekend!  Thank you again for all the kind comments on my auntie.  She passed away peacefully early Thursday morning.  We all thought we would be heading down to LA for a funeral, but my uncle ended up honoring her request for no funeral and instead will have a small memorial at the end of next month when they scatter her ashes.  Although it made my life a bit easier to not have to fly down there on such short notice, I feel terrible for not being able to see him and console him.  She was a pretty awesome lady and will be very missed.

My running this weekend went exactly as planned.  It was a cut back week for me and I enjoyed the fewer miles.  Friday I still took off from work and tackled cleaning my house before heading out for a quick 8 miles.  Does anyone else suffer from this?  When deep into marathon training, any run less than 8 miles feels like I haven't run at all.  Those 5 milers and 6 miler recovery runs just don't feel like I've done much when you're tackling 18+ miles on your long run.  Hmmm....guess it comes with the territory.  The weather cooled off a ton this week and we were again greeted with fall like temps - my fav!  So that quick 8 miler was just that - refreshing, cool and speedy.

Saturday I woke up to the best running conditions you can ask for.  Perfect for just a sports bra and shorts but cool and comfortable the whole time.  I ran 14 miles as my long run this week and it felt so weird to stop at 14!  Oh, but it was a great welcome.  I managed to hold 8:19's the whole run and my knees decided to cooperate!  After an ice bath and a quick nap, I got ready to go and see Dave Matthews Band! with a friend from high school.  I was yawning the whole time while we waited for them to take the stage.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to stay awake!  But the show didn't disappoint and I even stayed up past 2am!  I don't think I've been up that late since the Relay! Ha!

That's Dave!  We were 15 rows back - I could almost touch him!

Sunday morning came way to early but I finally got my butt out for a nice 6 mile recovery run to end the week with 51.5 miles.  And actually, I think that figure is almost right - it's more of a guesstimate since I went to SF on Thursday to get my run on and when I got there my Garmin was dead!  I had charged it the night before and even cleared the history but it was dead - wouldn't even turn on.  So I did the 2.5 mile out and back stretch I know twice and then a little more to make it around 11 miles for the day.  When I got home that evening I attempted to put it on the charger again and turn it on.  But it was still dead even on the charger. So I googled dead Garmin and had to do a soft reset.  Has this happened to anyone else?  I've never, never (knock on wood) had issues with my Garmin, I don't even think I've had a case of the Garmin gremlins!  It's back to working now, but I did have a small freak out and my husband may or may have not had to talk me out of attempting to get to Sports Basement at 8pm at night for a new one ;)

Today is my second to last day at work!  Couldn't be more excited AND nervous all at the same time.  I'm excited to see where this new business venture takes me but still have some worries.  I'm sure once things get rolling this will all be cured.  So wish me luck today and tomorrow - should be interesting to say the least!

I'm off to catch up with all of you! 
Happy Monday and Happy Running!

3 Things Thursday

Because I love to number things, here we go!

1.  Yesterday was a much needed rest day!  Again, it felt sooo good to go home and do nothing.  Well, nothing is relative - I managed laundry and cooking dinner, but you get the point, NO RUNNING!  I like taking this mid-week rest day as it gives me the rest I need to tackle my med-long run on Thursday and then go into the weekend feeling a bit more rested than if I kept going.  I changed my schedule a few weeks back and I'm loving it!

2.  If you haven't been keeping track - it's been HOTTTTTTT here in the Bay Area!  Like triple digits hot!  Monday I had every intention of getting my run done on the treadmill at home, but when I hit start I just couldn't imagine slogging out 6 miles on that thing!  So off I hopped and went for a run outside.  Yeah, probably not my smartest move as it was 92+ when I started at 5:30.  But the heat was more bearable (believe it or not) than running on that stupid machine.  6 miles done and I was a sweaty beast!  I actually was able to maintain a 8:23 average the whole time and only stopped once to stretch!  Tuesday I went to the gym for my track workout.  It was 108 when I went in!!!  I really had no idea how it was going to go, but did I get part of the workout in with 6x800's (had 8 to do with one 1600 in the middle) with a great cool down.  8 miles in 1:00:03!  Nice!  I nailed it and it felt so good.  The second I stepped out of the Y though, it was still HOT!  Thankfully we have a cool down coming today - I don't think I can do much more of this!

3.  Today the hubbs and I are going to head into SF for a run.  I have my med-long run to do and with his new found appreciation of running (he's lost 5 pounds in the last couple of weeks with running!) he has no prob driving all over the Bay with me to change it up.  I would love to get 14 in, but we'll see how long he lasts ;)  Afterwards we are going to treat ourselves to a fun dinner in the city - a perfect Thursday in my opinion.

I may be MIA after today in the blog world for a few days.  Looks like I will be heading down to LA in the next couple of days.  I have an auntie about to pass away.  It kind-of puts a damper on when I will be leaving work now - but family first.  I was planning on Tuesday being my last day but I don't think I will be there.  I will probably have to push it out a couple of days - oh well.

Have a great Thursday!  Happy Running peeps!

Of Long Runs and Lazy Weekends...

I think the only thing that got me out of bed and to work this morning was that I can finally start my count down!  7 work days left!  Whoo hoo!  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!  I'm going to be the Little Engine that could this week!

This weekend wasn't filled with too many exciting things - I really just focused on getting my runs in and recovering well.  It was a heavy running week for me and by last night my legs were not happy.  Actually, my knees weren't happy but they aren't as bas as they have been thank goodness.

Friday I took off work to get some things done for my new business.  In between everything I did manage an 8 miler that went so-so.  My legs were heavy from the Sunset Run that I did the night before where I ran 12 COLD miles up in San Francisco.  At the charity run I got to meet up with some awesome friends and bloggy peeps for 5 easy miles together.  I did 7 tempo miles before they arrived and then did joined them for the rest - thanks Kristen and Julianne!

At the base of the Golden Gate - see how cold it was! I was wearing a jacket - AND RUNNING!

Saturday it was cool in the Bay!  Just when we're starting to enjoy the Fall like temps, this week is going to heat up  close to 100 - boo!  I took advantage of the cool temps though and enjoyed 10 miles.  I drove to a cute area in San Jose called Willow Glen to get the miles done.  I really needed a change of pace and scenery!  And...this is where I did my MCM Mamma - Mamma Goes Masters Virtual Race!  Race report to follow!  Since the race was to be 8.25 miles and I had 10 to do, I did a nice 1.75 mile warm up and then hit the gas and ran a speedy 8.25 miles in some fun scenery.  Willow Glen is very charming and always busting with people out and about.  And with a race to run this was the perfect place to get it done!

After my run I went home and relaxed!  It felt good to do nothing!  Well, nothing is relative since I did have a pile of laundry to tackle, grocery shopping to get done and general errands - but with no place to be and no one to have to be accountable to it felt good to having nothing on my plate!

Sunday I woke up a little later than I would have liked.  I need to work on getting up earlier to get these dang long runs in.  Even though it wasn't by any means warm out, when you're finishing a long run at 11 am it still feels as if you're running in the heat.  I had 18 miles on schedule and the first 5 were a slog fest.  I contemplated quitting about a zillion times.  My legs just didn't want to move.  At mile 5 I stopped, stretched, ate some peanut butter and jelly and then with the help of the hubbs, psyched myself up enough to finish.  The plan was to run 10 of the miles at marathon pace, which for me right now is 8:00 miles.  I am gunning for a low 3:30 at Long Beach but I'm not sure if that is going to happen after this run.  Yes, I already had 43 miles on my legs for the week and asking them to run fast for 18 was probably not smart.  After mile 5, here are my mile splits - not bad, but not great:

6- 7:51 (whoa, slow it down speedy!)

7- 8:01 (perfect)

8- 8:00 (exactly!)

9- 8:06 (I think I'm in over my head!)

10- 8:05

11- 8:01

12- 8:11 (yeah, I'm crazy to think I can hold this for 26.2!)

13 - 8:10

14- 8:13

15- 8:02 (gotta make this one strong!)

I was still in the range I would need to be for my goal time but those last couple of miles at goal pace were brutal.  With just three miles to go I stopped and refueled and tried to gather myself.  Every self doubt I have been having came to light for me.  Today I'm still worried that I might be out of my league.  I finished the last 3 miles with a good cool down and went home to ice bath and drown my doubts in carbs.

18 miles total

8 - 1:07:19 - 8:25/mi pace

10 - 1:21:40 - 8:07/mi pace

I know it doesn't look as bad as it could on paper.  But they were a hard 18 miles and now I am rethinking my plans for October.  Not sure what the plan is just yet, but I think letting go of some pressure will help me get to the finish line a little easier.

I finished the week with 61.5 miles - I haven't done that many miles in a long time and I think it's only the 3rd or 4th time I have ever broke the 60 mile mark.  Thankfully, this is a cut back week!  Whoo hoo!  My long run is only 14!  And I'm throwing in an extra rest day - yes!

I'm not too sure what my plan will be with Long Beach.  I even contimplated cutting down to the half.  I have a full in Tahoe at the end of September that should be fun and although it is a challenging course, the first half is relatively flat and I'm going to use it as a gage for Long Beach.  I would love to BQ again, but I'm not willing to do it if it makes me burnt out or hate my running.  I have less than 60 days left until the big race day - not that long but just long enough to figure out what I really want out of that race.

Looks like you all had a busy weekend!  I'm off to catch up with you all!

Happy Monday and Happy Running!

3 Things Thursday

I don't know about you, but I have the hardest time coming up with blog post titles!  If it's not an automatic given like a race report, I toil over what to title it every.single.time.  Thankfully, Thursday rolls around at least once a week and I get a break from having to think! LOL!  Now, on to the good stuff...

1.  Thank you again to all of you for your KIND words of support while I make this transition from working to self-employed.  It's scary, exciting and a whole other list of emotions that could really make me go crazy!  But your continued support means the world to me, so thank you again from the bottom of my heart.  My boss has attempted to scramble and try to keep me still.  I'm flattered, but it's a little to late.  He offered me a few months off until tax time and then more money.  But...as nice as that sounds, I need to attempt to make a go at it.  And although he has no clue I'm going out on my own, it does feel like a small safety net.  Who knows, I could fall flat on my face.  It's good to know I "potentially" still have a place to go back to work. 

2.  My knees are still a problem.  But they are not nearly as bad as they have been.  Meet my new best friend:

Yes, that is a rolling pin.  I know many of you use the Stick to self massage your aching, tired muscles, but I just couldn't justify spending $20 on a plastic stick.  I had this rolling pin laying around since we got married.  I don't bake so don't worry, I won't roll out my glutes then offer to bake you a pie.  It works just as well and in my opinion is even better since it was, well - free :)  I am rolling out my quads and my calves and it seems to really help with the soreness in my knees.  I think that my quads were tight and were pulling on my knees.  So every night I have a little torture session.  My hubbs loves to assist in this ;)  It hurts so good!  If you are looking for a self torture massage stick, look no further than your kitchen - I bet you have one lying around, too.

3.  Yesterday I took a rest day.  It had been 9 days since my last.  Wow, that sounds like a confession I would tell my priest!  But it felt soooo good to go home and do nothing but a little core work and play with the pooch.  Today though is back to business.  I'm heading into San Francisco for a charity run and am going to add on some miles to the scheduled 5 mile run.  I have 12-14 I need to get done and San Francisco's cool temps are calling my name!  Best part, I get to run with two awesome chica's - Julianne and Kristen!  Can't wait to see you ladies!

It's almost Friday!  Enjoy your day!
Happy Thursday and Happy Running peeps!

I Survived

Thank you to everyone who left me a kind comment yesterday giving me just the support I needed!  It didn't go as planned, but nothing ever does!  Our receptionist decided to quit, too.  Only, she just left a note with her key and basically said peace out!  No explanation, no reasons - just that she quit.  It wasn't a surprise to me as she was a pretty emotional wreck, but my boss was shocked.  Didn't I feel like a big jerk though when I had to go in and tell him my news!

He took it fairly well, asking me several times in light of both of us quiting, "is it me?  Is it something I have done?"  Hahahahaha!  If only I had the nerve to tell him, but I'm not that mean.  He tried in vain to offer me more money, give me time off, etc., but I stood firm and let him know that I was done.  Now, I have a little over two weeks to get my desk cleaned up for him and then I'm out of here!  I felt horrible I had to drop my bomb on him when the receptionist did what she did, I even had contemplated waiting until today, but I did it and just like many of you said the weight was off my shoulders immediately.

Thank you again for all your support.  It meant a ton to me.  When I got off work I went home for an awesome 8.2 mile run followed by a big gin and tonic ;)  Just what I needed. 

I promise, tomorrow this blog will resume back to it's normal running scene :)  Until then...
Happy Tuesday and Happy Running peeps!

Monday Mash Up

I really hate to do this to all of you, but hell it's my blog, but today is the day I'm putting in my notice and I'm a bundle of nerves.  I don't think I've ever been this nervous when giving notice, then again I've never worked in such an environment before.  I've gone over every possibility of my boss' reaction with my hubbs and family and it really just comes down to what I want and need and I can't let him affect me.  I'm moving on to bigger and better things and I need to channel that when I head into his office this afternoon.  I've decided that I'm not going to tell him that I'm going out on my own, just that I'm ready for change right now and I will eventually figure it out.  Which is really not a lie - I'm ready for change and I know the opportunities will present themselves when I'm ready.

So, enough with the stressful post!  On to the weekend round up!  Friday when I left work I really, really, really needed a run.  I was already anticipating what today would look like and I had a really stressful day of actual work.  When I got home the temps were actually decent enough so I set out with no particular goal in mind.  8 miles later and I felt like a new person.  I was able to sweat out a lot of anxiety and clear my head.  Man, how does the rest of the world operate without running therapy?
8 miles 1:05:42 - 8:13/mi pace - After my warm up mile I put my head down and did some mile repeats all coming in around the 7:45/mi pace.  My legs were turning over surprisingly well considering I had just done a long run the day before and I was exhausted.  Amazing what stress can do for your running!!

Saturday, after cleaning house, I headed out a little too late (again).  It was almost 11:00 by the time I got out there and it was warm.  Actually, it could have been a lot worse.  We have had the coolest summer on record in decades here in the Bay Area.  I don't think the temp ever really got above 82 all weekend - such a nice change from what the spring had originally brought.  I wanted to do 10 and packed up a small handheld with Nuun.  By mile 7 or so I was out of water and so thirsty!  I resorted to stopping at some one's front yard and using their hose to fill my water bottle and cool me down!  I'm sure their neighbors thought I was crazy!  So add that to the list of crap you wouldn't normally do if you weren't running: drinking from water hoses from houses you don't know!
10 miles 1:23:01 - 8:18/mi pace  I love to run the 10 mile distance. It makes you feel like you've worked for the day but doesn't leave you spent for hours after.  Which is a good thing since I just signed up for a 10 mile race in Sacramento on 9/12!  I decided to do this race instead of a trail race that day because they have a free kids 1/2 mile race that I want my nephew to do with me.  Should be fun!  If any of you Bay Area peeps are looking for a fun race, come and join me!

My knees are still not happy with me.  The rolling seems to help and I need to stay on top of that.  And icing seems to really do the trick, too.  They are angry and annoying the first mile or so of every run then warm up.  It isn't until I stop running and do my cool down that they start screaming.  I promise, if they don't start to improve soon I will go to the doctor.  I'm just afraid I'm going to get one of those doctor's that tell you to quit running because it's bad for the knees!  I think it's just tight quads so I'll keep up with the rolling and stretching.

Sunday I got up and I had a stiff neck!  Ugh!  I must have slept weird because it was painful (actually still is!).  I had wanted to do 12-14 for the day and just thought I would get out there and see how it would go.  I actually used that stupid Nike mantra, "Just Do It!" to get my butt out there.  About 1/2 mile into my run I saw my cousin Sarah out there running, too!  I crossed the street and joined her!  I love impromptu running dates!  We got all caught up on everything going on in our lives for about 3.5 miles.  She was doing 8 for the day in prep for the Rock N Roll San Jose Half in Oct (I'm going to bandit pace her!).  She was looking good!  But it was getting warm.  So I left her at about 4 miles and headed inside to finish my run.  I did another 8.25 on the mill and called it a day!
4 miles 38:10 - 9:32/mi pace
8.25 miles 1:09:34 - 8:26/mi pace 

I finished the week with 53.25 miles.  And earlier in the week I had passed the 1,000 mile mark for the year!  Whoo hoo!  I think I might actually reach 1,500!  It was a pretty decent week as far as runs go.  I definitely feel like I ran 53 miles for the week, though.  I really like to stay in the 45 range but with the longer runs over the weekend I packed on the miles.  Probably a good thing since Long Beach is just 60 days away!!!

Thanks again for listening to me complain about work!  I swear, it will all get better come 8/31!!!  I promise!  Until then, you may get some posts that contain more complaining than I like :(  What's that saying, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?"  I think that will be my mantra over the next two weeks!

I'm off to catch up with all of you!  Thanks again to all of you who keep coming back, I don't say it enough but your words of support and encouragement mean the world to me :)
Happy Running and Happy Monday peeps!

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner! & A Friday Update

Yes, I am way behind on announcing my SCAPE winner giveaway - but life has thrown me for a loop this week with training and getting my new business off the ground.  But enough with excuses!  And the winner is:  # 3 Katie at Run This Amazing Day!  When asked the question, what do you do to keep your skin protected? She answered in typical Katie fashion, "I protect my skin by letting a puppy lick me!!"  Nice! And as much as I'm a dog lover, this might be a little over my head :)  Congrats Katie, leave me a comment and I will get your SCAPE products out to you!!!

In other news, work has been a bear.  I'm drained and defeated and can't wait until I'm out on my own and doing business the way I want it to be done.  I decided to take some time off this week as my boss was out of town, and I had a fabulous time with the hubbs.  We were going to go up to Tahoe but work threw a wrench in that for me and we stuck around town enjoying the beautiful weather we have been having.

Wednesday I got in a so-so run.  I think my legs were still recovering from the hard trail race I had ran on Sunday.  They were so lead like that I couldn't believe I was still out there attempting to get a decent run in.  Oh well, got the miles in and called it a day.
7 miles 1:00:33 - 8:39/mi pace

I still hadn't gotten in my long run from last weekend so with a day off I decided yesterday I would tackle it.  We went over to the east bay to get some change of scenery and make it a little less mentally draining.  We went to the Iron Horse Trail and the temps were perfect.  The one awesome thing about this trail is that it is wide and the scenery is just beautiful.  The one bad thing about it, depending on which direction you start it, the way back is a steady incline.  I was an idiot and started at the downhill section which meant for part of the run on the way back I was going uphill.  Mind you, it's not a hill, just a steady incline, but when you already have 6 miles on your legs and you have 10 more ahead of you - you feel it!  I may or may not have had a mental break down, cry fest at mile 12 when I looped back to the start and still had 4 miles ahead of me.  My legs were done and I just didn't want to finish.  But being the good sherpa that he is, the hubbs knocked some sense into me and had me finish strong those last 4 miles :)
16 miles 2:14:06 - 8:23/mi pace

When we got home, my hubbs who is slowly taking up running, wanted to go out for a run.  He asked me to join him and off we went for another 2 miles.  They were slow miles but probably a good way to really cool down after the 16 miles I had ran and the hour long drive we had home.  He is doing great, his kick is good, his form is good, and as much as he keeps telling himself he is NOT a runner, I have a feeling this might stick.  I'm hoping he enters a DU at the end of September - I would love to cheer him on in a race!
2 miles 19:07 - 9:34/mi pace 

When we finished I was toast!  I quickly iced bathed, put some compression socks on and called it a day.  18 miles in one day sure is draining.  I felt bad I didn't even have any energy to help with dinner!   But I'm glad I got it done and I think on Sunday I will cut back the miles of my long run and shoot for 12-14.  We'll see how they feel by then :)

So many changes right now for me, so many un-knowns and it's taking it's toll.  I wish I could fast-forward time to 8/31 and be out of this job.  I'm dreading turning in my notice on Monday.  I need to work on it though, it's eating up a lot of my thoughts and keeping me from being able to be productive with other things.  Although I am leaving on a good note, things haven't been very good at my office and I'm thinking of a zillion million thoughts of how it's going to go.  I just want to get it over.  I have a feeling I won't be sleeping much on Sunday. :(

It's FRIDAY!  And I couldn't be more happy about that!!  I'm off to catch up with all of you.  Man, missing a day of blogging sure puts you behind!  You have all been busy!  Good luck to any of you racing this weekend!
Happy Friday and Happy Running peeps!