Winter Splinters

Tuesday, Dec 13: 16 miles in Nashville Parks. Wahoo! first 5 miles on a hiking trail ranked "moderate" that was really steep up and down at points. Since it was muddy, had to walk some downhills. Quite tired by the end.
Wednesday, Dec 14: rest
Thursday, Dec 15: rest + b-day
Friday, Dec 16: 4 mile run Murray-> Sxtn--> 155th and then an hour of ice skating later that night (supposed to do 5 miles)
Saturday, Dec 17: rest.
Sunday, Dec 18: Had a dream about an angel carrying me when I had glass splinters in my feet which, when I pulled them out, turned to these long plants. I remember it feeling just like when you pull out long splinters. 9.1 miles. (Supposed to do 10. Oopsie Poopsie!)
Monday, Dec 19: rest
Tues, Dec 20: first 18 miler today! Tried out a gel @ the 6 mile mark, and a Lara bar @ the 9 mile mark
Wed, Dec 21: rest
Thurs, Dec 22: rest
Fri, Dec 23: rest?
Sat, Dec 24: 5 miles to Highland forest (and a little inside) with lili
Sun, Dec 25: rest
Mon, Dec 26: rest (tired from 6 am shopping)
Tues, Dec 27: past weir, scholls route + a little extra through powerlines @ end:
Wed, Dec 28: rest

TN Week 8, 9, 10

Wednesday, Nov 9: rest?
Thursday, Nov 10: 7 miles on river trail. Scared off the last mile by a pack of dogs.
Friday, Nov 11: rest
Saturday, Nov 12: rest
Sun, Nov 13: Mayor's 5k run! 24:15 - 30 second start and ran first 1/2 mile with DHaas's dad, who finished 36:06
Mon, Nov 14: rest
Tues, Nov 15: rest
Wed, Nov 16: rest for no reason
Thurs, Nov 17: attempted a 14 mile run but legs so unreasonably dead and tired and groins/quads extremely tight so walked the last 3 painful miles. : ( and I thought it was only 2 miles
Fri, Nov 18: rest
Sat, Nov 19: 5.4 mile run to Old Hickory via Rolling River including 3x3 min aerobic intervals... (43 min total. 9:15 pace avg)
Sun, Nov 20: zip, butt is killing me
Mon, Nov 21: zip
Tues, Nov 22: zip
Wed, Nov 23: zip
Thurs, Nov 24: zip
Fri, Nov 25: 1 mile run with tight butt
Sat, Nov 26: 3 mile run, very slowly and winded : (

Not sure what happened in this time block I think there were a couple 5 mile runs and a 3 mile treadmill attempt in there, but no long run this week:
Sun, Nov 27:
Mon, Nov 28:
Tues, Nov 29:
Wed, Nov 30:
Thurs, Dec 1:
Fri, Dec 2:
Sat, Dec 3:

Sun, Dec 4: rest
Mon, Dec 5: 14 mile long run in parks. Woooh!
Tues, Dec 6: rest (Stony Brook interview!)
Wed, Dec 7: rest
Thurs, Dec 8: 6 miles
Fri, Dec 9: rest
Sat, Dec 10: rest (scared of the cold)
Sun, Dec 11: 9 miles
Mon, Dec 12:

Irvine Week 7 and Beyond

Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 5 mile run w/ Joey (some 50m walk breaks every ~ 5 min) to Bommer Cyn followed by 2 mi cooldown walk.
Thursday: rest, then fly!
Friday: rest, first day of work
Saturday: 8 mi run in TN park : )
Sun, Nov 6: rest
Mon: 12 mi run back and forth x2 on river trail (not the town end). Tired! Face deformed by freckles??? Noooooooo (I need to wear sunblock)
weekly total: 25

next week: 5(w/7 TUT)-8-14 with mayor's 5k on Sunday (Nov 13)

Irvine Week 6

Tuesday: terrible mental PMS, so didn't get out the door to run, but biked 15 miles roundtrip to tutor. All the Herbalife-encouraged starvation backfired and I tried the caloric equivalent of drying my tears with cheeseburgers (and candy corn! 'Tis the season!) last night.
Wednesday: biked 15 miles roundtrip to tutor, then ran ~6miles (0.3 mile walk to cooldown) around Turtle Rock for my "5 mile run with uphills." This is my belated beginning of Week 6 of the RW training plan. I'm a little worried about running in Vegas, but something can be worked out, I'm sure... Tentatively a 7 mile run Friday morning there (where???), then on Sunday morning when I'm back from Vegas. ...Yeah!
Thursday: rest
Friday: wow, exactly 7.0 mile run on the sidewalks, steps, and pedestrian bridges of Vegas, from the MGM Grand to the Stratosphere and back around 7,8 in the a.m.. The hardcore drinkers were still up then, so my middle finger got some exercise, too.
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest
Monday: AWESOME 11.5-12 mi run on Shady Canyon to Uni all the way to Harvard and then home.
weekly mileage: 30 miles bike, 24.5-25 miles run

Irvine Week 5

Thus has begun a new month in Irvine... Wowza!

Tuesday: rest from running, but bike ~13 miles (to Herbalife and back). Signed up to be a coach and started the program this afternoon. A little hungry @ night time.
Wednesday: 4.5 miles (oh... I'd thought it was 5. Gaaah!). Day 2 of being on Herbalife (as my job requires), and didn't eat quite enough. Biked 15 miles (to Hunter and back, with breaks in between for tutoring and the smoothie party). Ravenous all day.
Thursday: rest.
Friday: Meant to do 7 miles, but ended up doing 8.4. 0.2 mile cooldown. Was hoping to do a certain set of paths near the Bonita Canyon sports park, but ended up running on a different path instead and figured it'd be shorter than the intended route, but it wasn't actually. Not just tired, but exhausted during and after the first mile, but really glad that I did it!
Saturday: rest.
Sunday: Discovered the most wonderful trails down Sandy Canyon. First 2 miles are pavement, but after that there is a dirt trail side-by-side with a bike trail. It passes by some nice areas, both naturally and neighborhood-wise, and 5 miles into the run I found Quail Trail (or some name along those lines), and got lost off-trail trying to figure out how it connected with Uni. I was so upset! At least 10 minutes bumbling around worrying about stepping in Quail (or rattlesnake) burrows, and destroying wildlife preserves : ( : ( : (. 2 miles on that quail loop, not including walking/hiking offtrail, and then ran 3 miles back to where the dirt trail ended, and finished by walking the last 2 miles on pavement. Total: 10 mile run, 2 mile walk to cooldown.
Monday: rest (bike 15 miles round trip to tutor)
Weekly total: 43 miles bike, 23 miles in 3 runs.

Irvine Week 4

Tues, Oct 11: 3 mile run-- started off fast-ish, then went easy as legs started to feel it.
Wed, Oct 12: Ran 3 miles to Newport Beach to pick up guitar case+ stand with E, then the 3 miles back carrying them. Easy.
Thurs, Oct 13: 5k race simulation started with E. 1 mile warmup to Harvard/U, then U into West side of park and back on University. Waited for E, who didn't show up, then jogged the course backwards to make sure she wasn't eaten by a rattlesnake or-- anything similarly crippling. Turns out she got lost and went home. I ran an extra two miles to make ~ 7 total (1 warmup, 3 race, 2 looking for E, 1 warmdown). Job interview! Got a sketchy wellness coach job.
Fri: Rest. Another job interview!
Sat: Rest-ish. Due to poor planning missed both the family reunion/Granny's birthday AND the alumni. Was very upset. Hung out with Steph and Clara, which was the opposite of upsetting. Ran to the gym with Steph on bike, did abs, and ran back. ~ 3/4 mile total. Reduced SHAX w/ all the great books!
Sun: Rest. Emo or something like that. Abs tired.
Mon: 8.4 miles. Wanted to follow Newport Coast Dr, but it didn't have a sidewalk, so I did Bonita Canyon instead and got some ideas for later runs this week.
Weekly total: ~25 miles in 4 days of running.
Next week: Week 6 (5 (6 min uphill),7,10). Maybe Turtle Rock, Bonita Canyon Parks, and... something awesome!

Irvine Week 3

Tuesday, Oct 4: 6am-9:30pm workday with 2 hours for dinner. I had time for a run, but didn't apply it because I thought I would have to take the bus.
Wednesday, Oct 5: No clue why I didn't run this day-- probably something about working or feeling sorry for myself. I think I ate a lot of chocolate.
Thursday, Oct 6: Finally back into it! Same for E+ J. Hill workout by running through the West side of the park (2 mile warmup), then up ~ 200m stretch on Ridgeline x 4.5, then jog back via University. Total? ~ 4.5 + 1 mile of hills = 5.5 miles.
Friday, Oct 7: Easy 3 or 4 miles with E + J. Got a little confused on the route, so not sure how far it was.
Saturday, Oct 8: Goal was to do a long run to the Bruxie Gourmet Waffle Sandwiches (11.8mi), but J pulled something around his knee 6.5 miles through, so Malia picked us up from there. Got a little lost (Grand Ave was poorly labeled) but now we know. Ordered E + J new running shoes, as theirs have been in service for years.
Sun: rest
Mon, Oct 10: a.m. workout with E: run to East side of the park. 4 accelerations. 3 short tempo (~400m, 800m, 400m) jogging back. 2 accelerations, then ran back. Started walk/warm down on our street. 2.6 mi (warm up/down) + 2 miles tempo/jog + 0.5 mile accelerations = 5.1 miles

Weekly total: 20.6 miles
Plan week: Let's say that just finished Week 5, except there was no 5k race. I think we need that long speedwork, just to break out of our little distance shells, so maybe next week should be speed week.
Goal for next week: Week 5 of the plan, with one extra run.

Irvine Week 2

Tuesday 27 Sep: rest, eat a lot of food, get fat
Wednesday 28 Sep: Ran with J: 3.25 miles warm up (Culver/Michelin/University), 3 accelerations, then 3 x 0.5 miles tempo, jog back as recovery. Jog to our street and walk from there. Workout on blacktop mostly. Plantar fascia took a while to warm up. Can't wait to ice them (DHaas left the ice pack in Pasadena : (). Total: 6.5 mi? Possibly a little more including accelerations and warm-down.
Thursday 29 Sep: ran easy with E + J, but plantar fascia disturbingly tight. (Forgot to massage them before starting out.) Thought of going back early, but it warmed up after 2 or 3 miles. Total: 4.7 mile run, then 0.3 mile walk cooldown.
Friday 30 Sep: rest!
Saturday 1 Oct: Trying to put the long runs back onto Saturdays. 8.6 miles (E side of park, Ridgeline, Turtleridge going clockwise) (first 7.4 miles with E+J) then 0.3 miles walk to cooldown.
Sunday 2 Oct: rest
Monday 3 Oct: 5am-11pm workday. No run.
Weekly total: 19.8 (only 3 runs)

Irvine!

(I had decided that Stephanie's format is easier to follow and analyze than my previous "one post per run" philosophy.)

Tues: rested, and moved to Irvine
Wed: 3.2 mile easy, but light-on-feet run as it got dark. Explored the new territory. Traffic lights around here make everything stop and go but the spaces between are a good length, so it's not really a burden.
Thurs: 5.7 miles. Longer run, but it didn't even feel like that! I thought it would be around 4 miles. Found the local park and am plotting to take E and J on an easy run tomorrow with some accelerations 2/3 of the way through. 8am, we have decided, is our a.m. start time.
Fri: 6.something miles. Started a little after 8, did the East side of the park, lost E to a stomachache (@ 4 miles), did 7 accelerations with J, ran around the inside of the park West side of the park, then came home. Walked the last 1/2 mile (so 6.6 or so miles altogether).
Sat: walked around looking at garage sales, took a wrong turn and a 2 mile walk turned into 6 miles! yargh!
Sun: back hurts. Ran 4.4 miles with J and E and ended with 0.3 mile walk. Long run tomorrow!
Mon: Back warmed up, but was still quite sore in a.m.. Ran Turtle Rock loop with E + J (5.7 miles) and then went on by exploring down Campus until it turned into dirt. Total for Monday: 8.4 miles then 0.4 miles walk to cool down.

Weekly total: 27.7+ 6 miles walk
TMS = 83 miles

I own my running shoes

Fri, Sep 16: Lacey Long way. ~ 5 miles.
Sat, Sep 17: Ran to NF, but it was locked, so went down Euston--> Pinehurst--> Hillcrest after doing 3x 10s sprints up Euston. Also sped up for most of Pinehurst. Total: ~5 miles.
Sun, Sep 18: rest
Mon, Sep 19: a.m. run: PATRICIAN! Wahoo! First time doing it since Frosh year, and loved it. Didn't stop a single time on the hill, though the way there and back on Green street had lots of pauses for traffic. 8.8 miles.

Mileage: (Tues-Mon) 18.8 miles + 149.5 minutes cross training + a bunch of running to/fro gym

Wrapping up the transition

Wed, Sep 14: ran to gym, 20 min exercise bike, 7.5 min stairmaster (those things are weird!), 15 min bike, then 8-abs!
Thurs, Sep 15: ran around campus, ran to the gym, 20 min exercise bike, then jog back. A little foot pain when running around the campus, but not bad. Feel ready for a real run tomorrow. : )

I'm tired of all my entries being about "getting back into shape" and such. I have so many beginnings, and if I had been smarter I would have bought new shoes before my foot started complaining about it. Anyway, rain or shine I start the plan on Sep 21!

X training

jogged to the gym, used the same book for 15 min bike, 17 min elliptical, 10 min bike, then alternated jog/walk back. These shoes are so... bouncy! and I feel like they lengthen my stride because they are so supple. All in new shoes! Tomorrow will continue breaking shoes in by running around campus, and then I can do a workout on Thurs. Med interview at Keck was awesome!

waiting

for new shoes to come. Went to gym and did 45 min on exercise bike while reading book, then 6 min abs (5 min abs with an extra min of regular crunches @ the beginning).

Ye gods! Foot pain!

Saturday: rest
Sunday: Gaaah I knew that a squeaky left shoe was a bad sign and shouldn't have ignored it for weeks. Luckily a new pair of shoes is coming in the mail. Boohoohoo. Biked 6 miles to Rose Bowl and back to get some semblance of exercise.

rest, 5.1

Thursday: Rest
Friday: 5.1 miles, Lacey long way, but up via Shenandoah. Also trying this thing where each easy run (assume 2 of them/week) has some 10-second all-out uphill sprints towards the end. (Mixing it up instead of just doing accelerations.) Start with 2 sprints/easy run this week and then increase that number by one each week until @ 8. See how this goes.

Weekly mileage so far: 18.5
TMS = 36

3.7 North Fields

Ran to NF and then ran every other lap running how I hoped/imagined I would run were I awesomely awesome in shape. That added up to 5 light tempo laps as the sky fell away from its peachy self into an opaque navy punctured by those really bright gym lights. Estimate each lap as 1/4 mile. That's my "speedwork" for this week. Someone told me that you can increase speedwork, or hills, or mileage, but only one at a time. So because I know the 16-week marathon plan is a steady increase in mileage (--well, it has to be--), I'm trying to use this and the next week to lift my knees up and get used to running at different gears before moving to Irvine and officially starting the plan. Wahoo!

Weekly mileage so far: 13.5
TMS = 31

Huntington: 6.3 miles

La-dee-da da...

Labor(ious) Day! 2.15

Went to the gym hoping to do some North Field or Track accelerations, but the gym was closed and the NF gate ostensibly locked! (Although there was a soccer practice going on in there...) Went to Arden and then came back through campus (2 medium accels throughout) for a measly 2.15. I think accelerations and faster runs are really important for *feeling* like I'm in shape (they make easy runs actually seem easy) so I really want to get those in. Today will just basically be a rest day with this brief shaking of the legs out.

rest, rest, 5.0

Thurs: rest (travel, sleep depr)
Fri: rest (intestinal distress)
Sat: rest (no particular reason... bad planning?)
Sun: 5.0 miles: Lacey long way

last week's mileage: (Sat-Sat 9/3) = 17.5
goal for this week: 22, including 2 "workouts" with accelerations or tempo bursts

TMS: 22.5

3.68 miles

Found a new path through the parks! A little 3-inch trail cleaving into a land of blackberries. Although it's very short, it was refreshing to find a new route in Beaverton. Finished via Barrows and Scholls. As I gmap-pedometer the route, I see I ran alongside a park and could have run there for 1/2 a mile instead of alongside the newly developed shopping centers, but next time.

Am going blind. Need to buy hat ASAP.

TMS = 17.5

2.89 miles easy

To Weir/Murray on the sidewalk and back through the parks. On the way back I raced my mom and little sisters, who were in the car coming home for the last 50 meters uphill. They of course got to the driveway first, but I got to the front door first. My left shoe makes a squeaky sound sometimes so I think it's time to get a new pair. I will try buying them online, I think, maybe get last year's model for cheaper. The theme of my life currently is that unless I'm paralyzed by the fact that I'm just not good enough, and that crept into my mind as I thought, wow, less than 3 miles, that's shameful. On the bright side, a mere 2.9 miles does make me feel better and makes me 2.9 miles closer to my goals.

What's the theme of this week? Ease back into running so that I can begin my marathon plan week after next.

Arghh!!! Someone just stole the shower while I was writing this entry. Agony upon agonies! Darkness upon neverending night!

TMS = 14

4.45 miles (Easy)

Ran down to Sexton Mtn and back. Legs feel better, but maybe that's because I set my own pace today. I'm going to try and get in the habit of posting after every run.

I actually really, really like writing (emo) introspective things in blogs about my life and how meaningful it seems at the time and how much I connect with it, but that's kind of like "so high school" so maybe I must content myself to express myself only about running. He he he?

4.2 miles

Ran to the local high school and back, pulled the whole way by my youngest sister, the gymnast. Oompf! We sprinted a couple times past the speed van parked near the school and the first time (when we were side-by-side) got it to register 13 mph. Legs pretty stiff starting out, and wow, is my sis in shape, but it was a good run. I'm glad to be out there. Long Beach, you're 4 miles closer!

TMS = 6.5
TMS = Total Mileage of the Season, counted by adding up runs which are first rounded up or down to the nearest 0.5 mile.

Back! 2.35 miles

Have been getting fat here at Fortress Pintail in Oregon. I went to my pediatrician last week (haven't graduated to a grown ups doctor yet... too lazy) with a fever and she got really spooked by one result of a blood test. The result doesn't really tell much, but sometimes when people are really sick it's elevated like mine was. Anyway, she was afraid that I had metastatic lymphoma or something terrible and told me to stop running and don't go to Pasadena until we got it figured out. I became emo and sullen (and fat!) for the next week.

We've finally shrugged the result off as a seemingly harmless oddity and I am beginning to train for the Long Beach Marathon on Sunday, February 5. I think the important thing for me to remember is that I'm not doing this because it's easy, but because it's difficult and that that's the direction I want my life to take right now. Also, running's really awesome.

Anyway, today ran the usual segment of the powerlines park and took the scenic route down for a measly 2.35 miles, albeit including some good hills. (The first half is a series of (5? 6?) hills which by the time you get to the top of the last one you're at the top of "suicide hill--" to give some idea of the altitude gain.) Not a mega run, but I'm glad to be back in the business. Wahoo!

Trotting + pondering possible beginnings

Today sortof marks the 3.5 week mark for continuous running around. 58 miles total. Last week included three long nights at the hospital (autopsy, meeting, trauma), so I didn't run those days, yet managed to feel tired the three days I did run.

I'm thinking very seriously about this marathon business, but I think I would need to commit to some desperate measures to prevent injury. Like, maybe investing in a bucket to ice my feet in. They feel a bit apprehensive at times, and I always fear that it may develop into injury. But maybe they're just tired from the Vibram's. The marathon plan I'm thinking of following is a 16-week schedule get a beginner runner (my current fitness level) to the point where they're able to run and probably finish a marathon. It's also a 4 day/week plan, only running T/Th/S/Su. http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244--6946-2-3X5X7-4,00.html

RW suggests that this is for someone who does 4 mile runs like nothing, (but they are still something to me) so my plan is to build to a thirty mile week, hold it, and then start the plan. But if I start @ 20 miles/week, it'll progress (using 10% rule) like:

20 miles
22 miles
24 miles
27 miles
30 miles
30 miles
(week of September 1)-->begin 16-week marathon plan

That's 22 weeks total, with Dec 10 as the absolute earliest I could run a marathon. To be conservative, I'd add an extra few weeks to stave off injury.

Need to buy: bucket to ice feet + running hat so I don't get cataracts.

All I have to do...

...is run regularly until not running makes me antsy-- then training is easy. I think I'm getting there! Running ~ 4 days/week. Trying to reduce likelihood of injury by upping mileage slowly and running on Pasadena grass. That said, living 1/2 mile from campus makes most of my routes 1 mile longer and has made feel particularly macho when all of my runs turn out to be a mile longer than I expected. The sum mileage this week should be about 20.