Rainy 14 miles

We ran 14 miles in on-again, off-again rain last Saturday, Feb. 6. I felt pretty good - no terrible foot or leg aches.

However, I feel far from ready for the Marathon. We were regularly doing 12 and 13 miles runs in December of 2008, despite the fact that the 2009 Marathon wasn't until May. Now we are just building up to long runs at our race pace, with the Marathon only a little more than a month away.

Next week will be a 16 mile run, but then I'll miss the 10 mile run and the 20 mile run the two weeks after that due to work. Since that's the ONLY 20-miler we're doing this whole training season, I'm seriously bummed. I'll try to do it on my own, but have serious doubts that I'll be able to finish that mileage by myself. At those distances, it's truly all about group motivation and support.

Not feeling ready

We're finally doing our Saturday runs at race pace, but we started over mileage-wise and are only up to 14 miles (this Saturday). I do NOT feel ready for the Marathon. And I'm bummed that I'll miss our ONLY 20 mile run due to having to work that Saturday. ARGH!

Cold-weather running

Between the cold and the ice-slicked sidewalks, conditions have not been conducive to running here in Minneapolis - but I did manage it twice. I'm looking forward to getting back to Venice, where I can wear shoes, shorts, a shirt, and a hat - and that's it!

Sat, Dec. 12 - 16 miles

Ugh, this is the most I've run at one time since the LA Marathon last May - and man, was I feeling it. It didn't help that we ran it at our very slow "aerobic" pace of 11+ minute miles, so we were on the road a loooonnnngggg time. Very hard on the feet and joints, but excellent training for the four hours plus it will take us to run the Marathon.

Luckily, we go to a faster (10 minute per mile) pace starting in January.

Venice Christmas 10K - personal best!

Okay, so I've only run 3 official 10ks in my life - but still, it feels good that I ran my first in 8.29, my second in 8.32, and my third, just last Saturday, in 8.13.

Woohoo! Of course, I ran way too fast the first couple miles and then felt rotten the rest of the race (weak legs, hot and pounding head). This was an attempt to get away from my usual method of being too conservative the first few miles and then zooming the last mile or two, but frankly, I have more fun that way.

I get the feeling that 10ks are not my event - I much prefer half-marathons because you have time to warm up and really enjoy yourself.

Note my weird thumbs - I can't seem to hold them any other way while running. Very silly. Oh, and yes, it was raining.

Roadrunners - up to 8 miles; still slow

The Roadrunners is trying a new training plan, building up the miles at a slower-than-usual pace for a while and then going back to fewer miles at race pace and building up the miles again. So we ran 8 miles at a very leisurely 11 minutes per mile, as opposed to our race pace of 10 minutes per mile.

I will miss next week, perhaps the week after, and then the first two weeks in November due to work commitments. ARGH! But if we really are going down in miles soon, it will be easy to do them on my own.

In other news, I ran the Santa Monica 5000 (but I did the 10K) on the 11th - did a respectable 52:54, which was nevertheless slower than last May's 52:34, darn it! I'd REALLY like to break 50 minutes on my next 10K.

LA Roadrunners back in action

I may not have been an energetic blogger, but I've been running all summer long -mostly 5 or 6 miles a run, about 4 times a week. Because I've kept my base fitness strong, I feel absolutely ready to move up to Group 6 from Group 7 of the LA Roadrunners (10 minute miles). We've beening running for 3 Saturdays and are up to 6 miles - no problems so far, obviously.

Goal - to finish the 2010 LA Marathon in under 4 hours 15 minutes.

Stadium to the Sea in 2010!

The LA City Council voted yesterday to put on the Marathon on a Sunday in March (booya, religious leaders) and to change the course to a point-to-point one, going from Dodger Stadium to the sea (hopefully Venice...). Woot!

I've been running about 5 miles every other day, including when I was in Davis and Oakland last week. Feeling pretty good while running, despite heat and lack of sleep.

lots of running in Minneapolis

I went on three runs around various lakes while in Minneapolis - from 5 to 7 miles long. Twice I ran to and then around Lake Calhoun, but once I also ran around Lake of the Isles.

Very very pleasant, but I love my ocean breezes...

Back in Venice, I've had one 5 mile run since getting back. It may be time to hike up the mileage a tad...

Falling behind on blogging, but not running...

I've done three 5 or 6 mile runs, plus a 16-mile bike ride, since I wrote last - so the running is going well. The blogging - not so much.

Back to my regular schedule, minus grueling Saturdays

I've been running about every two to three days, always 5 or 6 miles. My legs feel just fine and I've even begun to speed up again - after beginning to worry that I'd never break that sturdy, slow 10:30 Marathon pace.

My goal is to train steadily for speed, not distance, all summer. When I join up with the Roadrunners again in August, I'll run with Group 6, which has a 10 minute per mile pace, rather than 10:30 Group 7. Who knows, maybe I'll even move up to Group 5 after the holidays (although that seems rather unlikely).

Had a nice hike today - about 9 long miles. My feet and hips hurt, but the weather was absolutely perfect.

Sat. May 30 - 5 miles

This was my first run post-marathon. I've felt fine, leg-wise, for a few days so I was quite eager to lace on my new running shoes and hit the pavement. However, there is clearly still a bit of healing to do - by mile 4, my thighs ached and my right hip was sore, something unheard of in such a short and slow run. Still, it felt really, really great. I wore my new Marathon t-shirt!

My Marathon video - highly shortened version

Almost recovered - and some pix

After several days of walking like a penguin, my legs are finally recovering. I can actually sit down without having to use my arms to lower myself down! I went for a nice walk yesterday and should be ready for a very mild run tomorrow (in my new post-Marathon running shoes).

Here are some photos of the last pre-LA Marathon LA Roadrunners training run - group 7, natch.

How I've been spending my Saturdays

WOOOO! I'm a Marathoner!!

I finished the LA Marathon in 4 hours and 32 minutes! It was all fun and exciting, with plenty to look at along the route - until about mile 22, when the sheer agony in my legs and feet began to suck much of my enjoyment from the run. I felt like I was staggering the last four miles, although I think it was mostly in my head - my form stayed more-or-less a run or at least a trot. Never needed to fall to my knees and crawl, anyway - and I didn't walk, either.

Now my legs, and particularly the front of my thighs, are aching so much that I limp when I walk - and I have to carefully lower myself down when I sit. It was HELL walking down the Library Steps (the escalator was out of order, natch) on my way back to my car - I had to use the handrail and limp down like an old lady.

Still - all worth it! And as soon as the ache wears off and I can't quite remember how agonizing those last few miles were, I'll be raring to do it again. Sort of like childbirth...

Dorky Marathon movie to come soon!

Wed. May 20 - 3 miles?

This was such a tiny little run, I didn't even bother to measure it. We were officially told by our pace leaders to "chill" and so that's what I'm doing. I'll take one more very short run on Friday and then that's it until the Big Day.

Sun. May 19 - biked 16 miles

Decided to throw a little cross-training into the mix... felt great.

Sat. May 16 - 8 miles

Our last Roadrunner run of the season! This was a 'happy run' - just 8 easy miles, with lots of phot0-taking along the way. Great vibe - we're ready!

May 13 - 4.5 miles

Another short run as I taper down. Next comes the 8-mile "happy run" on Saturday, a few little runs next week, and then - MARATHON!