Week of 09 DEC 2012

The Plan:

Monday: Cross training (at least 30 minutes)

Tuesday: 4.5 miles (HM training)

Wednesday: Cross training (at least 30 minutes)

Thursday: 3 miles (HM training)

Friday: 45 minutes elliptical training (HM training)

Saturday: rest

Sunday: 8 miles (HM training)

Actual:

Monday: Elliptical (30 minutes)

Tuesday: 4.58 miles (49 minutes, average 5.59 mph); .5 miles (sprinting around the track).

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: 3 miles (30 minutes, average 6 mph)

Friday: 21 minutes on the elliptical

Saturday: 3.20 miles, walking (45 minutes)

Sunday: 8 miles (1:34:43, average 5.07 mph)

        I'm  not quite sure why, but my natural running pace has been slowing since I began training. A number of things can be causing this, including consistent training (tired muscles), rougher terrain (my 4+ mile running route is the chip trail on base which is just grass, sand, and wood chips spread out over dirt and grass), or me just thinking about it too much and getting myself in my own rut. I have been running my long runs 20% slower than my normal pace (about a 12 minute mile now----as recommended) and I find that I am able to complete my runs. (All my walking breaks thus far have been from the need to go potty than from being unable to run or from too tired muscles!)

Total miles:  15.08 (+18.28 walking)

Average lbs: 159.1

Week of 02 DEC 2012

The Plan:

Monday: Elliptical, 20 minutes; strength training (shoulders and chest); push-up program (Push-up Pro iphone app).

Tuesday: 4 mile run (half marathon [HM] training); core exercises

Wednesday: Elliptical, 20 minutes; strength training (back and shoulders and biceps)

Thursday: 3 mile run (HM training); 30 minutes rowing; core exercises

Friday: 4 mile run (HM training); strength training (triceps and forearms)

Saturday: Stationary bike, 1 hour

Sunday: 7 mile run (HM training)

Actual:

Monday: Elliptical, 30 minutes; strength training (SH & CH); Push-up Pro (beginner workout)

Tuesday: 4.04 miles (42 minutes, average 5.78 mph); core exercises

Wednesday: Elliptical, 30 minutes; strength training (BCK & BCP)

Thursday: off day (studied for an exam instead!)

Friday: 4.53 miles (48 minutes, average 5.62 mph) --> chip trail

Saturday: Stationary bike, 30 minutes

Sunday: 7.22 miles (1 hour, 22 minutes, average 5.30 mph) --> NAS chip trail

Running route along the beach at NAS Pensacola, FL.

Total miles: 15.79

Average lbs:  161.6

Gulf Coast Spartan Sprint!

After several months I finally was able to compete in another race. This one was a shorter (and much muddier) version of the Spartan race I ran earlier this year in January. Located in Perkinson, MS, the Spartan Sprint was an obstacle course mud run, comprised of mud pits, taller-than-me-sized hay bales, rope climbs, fire, barbed wire, and streams.

I was pretty pumped for this race but almost did not go because I did not feel comfortable travelling such a far distance by myself; however, in the end I was not alone and ran the course with two individuals from my current duty station---one whom I had befriended in boot camp.

The way sign-ups went we ended up signing up for the competitive heat that began and 8am and kicked off the entire Spartan event. 8am was the most convenient time and while I was a little nervous at first for signing up for a competitive heat, it ended up being quite awesome.

Post-run! Bruised, bloody, and muddy!

Course was a total of 4.2 miles, and started off right away with a fire jump---right into a pit of water. Unlike San Diego, the terrain in Mississippi was much more muddy and slick and I even found myself at one point SWIMMING in a mud pit. I was so buoyant that I cannot really describe any other time I literally felt like I was floating. It was nothing like being in a pool! Any distance between obstacles was ran on flat terrain and very little of the course required hiking. There were several variations of rope climbs and a very vertical one towards the end of the course. Unlike January, I was unable to climb the vertical rope climb and it was pretty disappointing. Next time my #1 goal is to complete the rope climb. I HAVE to.

I definitely am hooked on Spartan runs now and plan on attending as many as I can if I happen to be in the area. One day, I'd love to compete in the Spartan Death race. First, maybe I should work on my plain ol' backpacking skills first!

New Running Goals and Running Grounds

It's been several months since I last updated but not long after my last post I relocated for 9 weeks to Great Lakes, IL., and now I'm currently stationed in Pensacola, FL. In the space of 7+ months I shipped off to boot camp for the United States Navy, graduated from boot camp, and set up residence (albeit temporarily) in Florida---my first time living outside of California. Unfortunately, in all the excitement, my big ol' feet actually didn't do much and pretty much took a break. I ended up gaining almost 15 pounds at boot camp and when I finally got to Florida, my ability to run any significant distance diminished quite significantly.

To turn things around, I've started running again, and with a goal. I signed up for my first ever half marathon, which is scheduled bright and early on January 14, 2013. I'm pretty excited and also a little nervous, since the greatest distance I have run this far has been just over 11 miles. I do not have a goal in regards to time; however, I would like to finish and finish by running most (if not all!) of it. I have a training plan from this website, which had a perfectly scheduled 8 week training plan which fits right in with my time frame.

All I can do is keep running!

April Hiking in California and Oregon

I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, preparing to head off to boot camp May 23 (USN). As part of the preparation I went for a goodbye trip in April to visit close friends and engage in some awesome adventures. I would have posted about my adventures previously but time is just moving so fast and with so much to do I'm not able to grasp time and hit the pause button.

My trip (with my partner-in-crime, Stacie) consisted of visiting Porland, OR, Susanville, CA, and Reno, NV while camping at state parks between visits. These state parks turned out to be Tumalo State Park in Oregon, Burney Falls State Park in California, and Whiskeytown, CA (which wasn't a state park but was open for camping). Except for Whiskeytown (because we were rained out), Stacie and I hiked in Portland, Tumalo, Burney Falls, and at Lassen National Park (near Susanville). Each of the different locations was different in terrain, weather, and elevation. We hiked in the rain, we hiked in the snow, we hiked in awful heat, and we hiked on a cool, partly cloudy day. Pictures would probably illustrate the best where my feet took me during this trip.

Creek parallel to the Pittock Mansion hiking trail

Our first real hike was in Portland, OR. My friends Tim and Ayn are new Portland residents and took us on this fantastic trail, a 5 mile loop with Pittock Mansion halfway through at the top of a hill. As a native Californian (from Socal, especially, where sometimes I think we were named the Golden State after the color of our dead grass) the trees were refreshing and the creek running alongside most of the trail was gorgeous. I might have even climbed across a few fallen trees that fell perpendicular to the water!

A view of the Deschutes River from the trail before the river spread out and slowed down

Our second hike was near Tumalo State Park, on the Deschutes River Trail. This trail was AMAZING. Talking about different terrain. On one side of this trail were woods, wild animals (I saw either a large squirrel or a fox), and just a lot of green. This was the side our trail was on. On the other side of the Deschutes River was just black rock. A long time ago a volcano erupted, crafting the river and changing the land. On the opposite side of the river, huge black rocks went on as far as I could see. The trail itself is 11.1 miles (according to the website); however after 2.5 hours of hiking we turned back due to rain. I was also deathly afraid of bears attacking me (a reoccurring theme the entire trip I promise you) so I was also a little uncomfortable going so long without seeing people. Of course, on our way back we ran into plenty of people and I had nothing to fear.

Moi, with Burney Falls in the background

Our next stop was McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park (what a mouthful). This was the most beautiful place we camped at. We also had the most varied views at this location. There is a gorgeous waterfall and several hiking trails which take you along the creek, out to Lake Briton (created by the falls) and along the creek and over the falls themselves (a nice, 2 mile loop). We explored every bit of the state park that we could. We hiked all of the trails leading to and from the falls/park and spent 3 hours of our morning taking ridiculous pictures and checking out the view. Burney Falls is located in California, but to me it still looked like another place---it was so green!

Signpost for Pacific Crest Trail---only 1,380ish miles to home

Eager to stretch out our legs and bring on some soreness, Stacie and I also looked for additional hiking trails to spend the afternoon exploring. I kept seeing a trail on the corners of all our Burney Falls state park maps but there was no legend explaining what it was or where it went. Then, I oddly noticed the same trail on a California road map, which brought on a "WTH?" moment. Further investigation into this mystery yielded that this unnamed trail was actually the Pacific Crest Trail, which is a 2,600+ mile trail that spans Washington, Oregon, and California and ends at both international borders. WAY COOL. Not one to pass up an awesome adventure that spans three states we of course took out on this trail. We spent almost 3 hours on this trail. I wish I could have gone farther---maybe one day I will!

The view from the PCT of Lassen National Forest

After our stay at Burney Falls we made the trip to Susanville, CA, for the last leg of our trip. Susanville is located near Lassen National Forest, which is host to the famous Subway Cave AND, our new friend the Pacific Crest Trail. After taking a break from hiking and catching up on The Game of Thrones, myself, Stacie, and my friend Nick who was graciously hosting us all headed out to LNF for some hiking and exploring. The Subway Cave was cold, but very interesting. Just going by the seat of our pants we decided to check a map for nearby hiking trails and give them a go. It might have been fate (or just a very awesome coincidence) but we just HAPPENED to glance a sign indicating a path to the Pacific Crest Trail. Of course we took it. Unlike our last trek on this trail, it was almost unbearably hot, there was little tree coverage, and the path was mostly sand and dirt.

This trip was amazing ... and boy were my feet sore after 1.5 weeks of walking, running, hiking, exploring, and trekking. But it was totally worth it!

Some additional pictures

The view on the other side of the Deschutes River

 

There was still a lot of snow down in Tumalo State Park and in Lassen National Park (near Susanville, CA)

These silver metal diamonds are posted to trees along the Pacific Crest Trail as designators

The Subway Cave was pretty much just like a subway, but without the car and 30-something degrees too cold for me

Running While Sick

Normally, I'm pretty good about not getting sick (knock on wood). I'm a frequent hand-washer and when I am working or in public places I try not to touch my face or the like to keep the spreading of germs limited to my fingers ... fingers that I wash several times a day. I wouldn't say that I have a phobia of germs but I really dislike being sick. When I wasn't running, being sick was awesome because I had an excuse to lay in bed all day and do nothing. But now that I'm pretty active being sick gets me down because I dislike the feeling of being a blob.

Two nights ago I woke up with a sore throat. Nothing too terrible, just some scratchiness that seemed to be about the same level of scratchiness when I woke up that morning---which I am incredibly thankful for. As the day wore on I began sneezing but without any coughing, headaches, a runny nose, or any serious throat pain I just attributed my symptoms to allergies (we had some freak weather the day I developed my sore throat). I went for a run, but I definitely wasn't feeling it. Well, at first I was. I can usually tell if a run is going to be good or not after the first 5 minutes. If I'm still alive and full of energy after 5 minutes I know I've got it in me to run. If I'm tired or already out of breath after 5 minutes I know it's an off day for me. Yesterday started out fine but I found that my halfway point (that "time" where I just know I have exactly half the energy in me that I started out with to finish whatever I am doing) was much sooner than I expected. I went about 2 miles before I had to walk. Determined NOT to turn around, I walked the rest of the route (1.4 miles) and attempted to run the last 2 miles back in after I had rested up. I couldn't do it. My body felt so terrible.

When I woke up this morning my sore throat was still there and I felt a little sore from yesterday's run, which isn't normal because I'm not typically sore unless I do a really long run. I almost decided to rest up today and finish packing but I decided to not be a bed blob. Many sites (google: running while sick) suggest that running while you are sick is okay if your symptoms are limited to your head only (some sites also suggest that running while you are sick boosts your immune system but that claim wasn't conclusive all around so that advice I might take with a grain of salt). Coughing, a runny nose, and a sore throat---those kinds of symptoms won't be exasperated by running unless you're so sick you can barely breathe your nose is so runny or you can't stop coughing. Thankful that I didn't have a fever and happy my nose was runny but not too much so (a runny nose indicates your body is fighting off whatever you have and is eliminating white blood cells that attacked the sickness in your body) I suited up and took to the lake.

It was terrible.  I have it in me to run the entire 5.4 mile route no problem but I couldn't tap into any energy to do so. At first I was slightly disappointed in myself but then I realized I was out here anyway, feeling sickly and gross, and still giving it a go. And it is completely silly of me to expect me to run my best when I am feeling quite the opposite. I was able to run 2 miles out and 2 miles in (with walking 1.4 miles in between). I felt pretty good with my last 2 miles until I began my cool down walk after the run. I felt like I had the flu! By the time I got home my body was very sore and I was so tired. After I had lunch I felt better, but still obviously sick.

The good thing about running while sick is that, unless you're very sick, you're still able to do so. The bad thing about running while sick is that your run might not be the best your skill has to offer, or meet your expectations---but  the sense of accomplishment is still there in the wake of sneezing and croaking. Unless I am incapacitated I'll continue to hit the pavement while sick and just not expect a fast or long run out of me.

That all said, being sick still sucks big time.

Mt. Woodson & Potato Chip Ledge

Trail around the banks of Lake Poway

 My feet don't just adventure out at 6mph + speeds. My feet also work together with my calves and knees to get me up and down gradual or steep slopes lined with shrubbery and boulders. While I run more often than I hike, I do typically go for a hike about once a week. I hike at two locations: Iron Mountain and Mission Trails (from Mast Blvd), both of which are a lot of fun. Today, however, my friend Rachel and I planned out a day hike to a place I had never been before: Mt. Woodson.

According to yelp, Mt. Woodson is approximately 8 miles round trip, and located near Lake Poway. We arrived around 11:00am, probably the best time if you want to sweat a decent amount on your way up and work on getting the best tan or worst sunburn you can. I did the latter, although I only managed to get my legs sunburned, which is an interesting feeling.

Lake Poway

The trail itself is not what I expected. I'm a dedicated hiker. By dedicated I mean I keep going and going and going and unless I'm parched I don't pull over to take breaks---I just slow my pace if I start getting tired. I should pull over more, because I'd probably get more decent pictures if I did. But I get sucked into the challenge of hiking, especially when the going gets rough, and I just keep going. Rachel had remembered the trail as a gradual incline all the way to the top, which is very similar to Iron Mountain. Pretty much the trail was anything but gradual. Going up the trail was fairly steep the entire way up. Not so steep that I was crawling on my hands and knees, but I definitely felt my calves working to get me up to the top. There wasn't much shade on the way up, but we did stop at a rock formation with several trees (that were climbable!) shading the area. We had some water and enjoyed the view before going on.

The rest of the way up was great, but also a big tease. You are not able to see the peak of the trail on your way up and the trail is steep enough that when you feel like you've gone a mile a signpost will indicate that you've really only gone .5 miles. Almost at the peak is one of the main reasons (at least according to Yelp) why people hike this trail. Potato Chip ledge.

Potato Chip Ledge

Ta-da! I don't actually eat chips, but thank you to the person who dropped one on the ground to allow me to take this lovely picture. This ledge is a rock formation where the bottom half has fallen away. It looks incredibly unstable but once I jumped to it, I felt much better about it.

The view was amazing, and I'm sure if it were clear you could pretty much see everything. There was fog (or smog?) in the distance but you could just make out downtown San Diego and follow the coastline until was too hazy.

Living life on the ledge

The hike down was good. I much prefer going up than down, even though up is more difficult. Going up I put in more effort and I definitely get a cardiovascular workout hiking inclines. Going down is another story. Usually it is a combination of catching myself in a slip and controlling my momentum. Downhill is definitely a very efficient leg workout and harder on my knees.

We wrapped up the hike with a walk around the banks of Lake Poway instead of taking a straight-shot trail to the parking lot. Total time for the trip was just over 4 hours. It took us about 1.5-ish hours to get to the top and an hour to get back down. Toss in time for a picnic lunch at the top and some exploring around the lake and it was a great day. I will definitely be hiking this trail again, although I might plan it on a cooler day or much, much earlier in the morning.

Girls on the Go Run - My first 10k race

On Sunday, March 18th I participated in the Girls on the Go Run, my first official 10k race. I've been running pretty regularly at Lake Murray in La Mesa, CA (an east county San Diego suburb) which is 5.6 miles round trip. My mileage is anywhere between 4-6 miles a run, depending on the time of day and my work schedule. As my first 10k I was mostly nervous about running out of gas before the finish line due to all the excitement, not because I couldn't actually run 6.4 miles. In the end, the running part was a piece of cake. While I didn't actually achieve a running high my body was definitely prepared for a long period of running and even after I completed the 6.4 miles I still had enough juice left in me to run several more miles.

Race day itself was pretty disappointing. Upon my arrival to the Del Mar Fairgrounds it began pouring, and the wind was gusting so hard and it was just so cold that my teeth were chattering as I waited for the race to start. I brought additional clothes in anticipation of being drenched after the race, including a sweater, but it was so cold (weather.com reported 42 degrees after the windchill!) that I actually wore my hoodie sweatshirt during the race. In fact, I was so miserable and cold that I came very close to asking race officials if I could switch from the 10k run to the 5k run because who the hell wants to run in the cold and rain? However, I was unable to locate any race officials and then I pretty much decided that I needed to stop being a pussy and just buck up and do the run. That's what I was there for, right?

The race itself turned out to be great. The rain held off and the wind moved in. It was so windy my hat kept flying off and finally I had to carry it the entire race. But my sweater kept me warm and the wind kept my face from getting damp so it worked out all right. Once I was running my size 11s carried me out and reliably through the streets. The running course was partly on the fairgrounds, partly on the surface streets surrounding the fairgrounds, and partly through the parking lot for the fairgrounds. There was even a section of the race that took you through the horse racing track, which was kind of exciting if you had the mindset of staying to the inside and running your heart out like a little horsie running for the finish line. (Which I totally did.) For most of the race (about 5 miles or so) I kept pace with a woman just ahead of me. I don't have gadgets to allow me to track my pace and I don't know if she did, either, but my natural pace and her own pace kept us together for most of the run. On the second lap around the course she began to slow and once we got to a hill (a slight incline for 3 blocks) I lost her. My mentality was that I was totally going to run up the hill and not walk it, because hell if I wasn't going to reward myself going up that hill with running back down it like a maniac. I picked up the pace for the last half mile or so and kicked in across the finish line around 1:01:42 (according to the clock at the finish line). My goal was to finish in 1:10:00 so I definitely did better than expected AND calculations on this race pace conversation website show my average pace was 6.2mph. I'm pretty proud of that speed because my normal pace is between 5.6-5.8mph without pushing myself.

Post-race I was greeted with a medal (it's actually pretty snazzy and as the second medal in my collection, I have belated realized maybe I should have some place to set up my collection) and a cup of wine. There was also an expo with clothing, health and body, and jewelry booths set up. After a little shopping and a new sterling silver pendant, I went home and spent the rest of the day listening to the rain and hail come down and napping. All in all, a great race!

 

Me, post-race. Technically it is almost 3 hours after my race, but since I went alone I could only take a picture for my adventure book once I got home. Running tights are comfortable, but not exactly flattering!