Wildflower, Post-Wildflower

Ah.....the familiar 2-week funk! It has been just over 2 weeks since Wildflower, and they have not been my favorite 2 weeks. After any big race, I experience a period of "down" time where I usually eat bad food, lay around, and avoid workouts at all cost. It is similar to studying for a big test or writing a long paper - the last thing you want to do after all that prep (and accomplishing the task itself) is pick right back up again. This is probably not the best philosophy, but it's how these things go down with me. The post-race funk this time is much more complicated, since I didn't finish my race...

Wildflower: May 1

I remember this race experience in fragments, so bear with me...

Fragment #1 - Camping + triathlon = complicated

Fragment #2 - I LOVE my teammates. What a great time hanging out, enjoying the great outdoors, and reflecting on the past 6 months of hard work.

Fragment #3 - The swim was my favorite part - fun, challenging, exciting - and I felt strong. T1 was uncomplicated, and actually faster than I thought, given the hill from the swim finish to my bike.

Fragment #4 - Beach Hill was KILLER in the first mile, but I stayed on my bike and did not stop. All I could think about was throwing up. Or hyperventilating.

Fragment #5 - My lower back started hurting after Beach - REALLY hurting. Sharp pain. Distracting pain.

Fragment #6 - Stopping for sunscreen & Extra Strength Tylenol at an aid station early on in the ride. Realizing at this point that I might not finish.

Fragment #7 - Pushing through in the heat and wind to get to Nasty Grade. I made it halfway up before stopping (mile 43). Not worth the pain. At least in that moment it was not worth the pain.

Fragment #8 - I cried for the first time in a race - definitely not finishing and waiting for a ride. Thank God Sara D. came along. We both won't make the cutoff at this point anyway.

Fragment #9 - Seeing the coaches and other DNFers back in transition. NOT a good feeling, but we are definitely not alone.

Fragment #10 - Waiting at the finish line with the team. Waiting for EVERY last Ironteamer to finish. These people are amazing, and I miss them already!

So...I need to decide what to do next! I want to sign up for another half as soon as possible, and July 31st is an option. We shall see. Meanwhile, I need to try and harness that once unquenchable excitement for training, and get out there NOW!

P.S.

I just signed up for the Disneyland half marathon in September, and now I am toying around with the idea of the Nike Women's Marathon in October. Guess I'd better start planning out the rest of my race year!

Desert Tri Race Report Coming Soon!

Manhattan Beach 10k Race Report

It was a rather last-minute decision, but I decided last week to register for the Manhattan Beach 10k on October 3rd. A friend was choosing this as her first race, and I was inspired to make this my comeback race. My training has been spotty over the last two months, and I really needed to feel inspired again. The fact that MB is local made this choice even easier.

I was a bit nervous at the start, but I wanted to keep this race low pressure and high fun. I saw a ton of TNT people and some other acquaintances along the way. The route had plenty of hills, including one biggie at mile 5. Surprisingly, I maintained an 11:15 pace throughout - MUCH faster than my usual training pace (typically 12:00-13:00 depending on terrain). I had to run-walk up the final hill (due to lack of recent hill training), but it was heaven coming down onto the Strand for the final mile and a beautiful ocean view. I tried to push myself to the MB pier, where I saw balloons and the blessed finish line. My official chip time was 1:09:34. I am more than satisfied with the result, given my lack of consistency these days.

I can't wait to get back into my training routine and run my next race, which might be during a business trip in Washington, DC.

In other news, I am off to Hawaii for a wedding this week. I will definitely be bringing my running shoes and logging some island miles!

Marathon - Of Another Kind

Sorry for the long absence, friends. I've been running here and there, but not as consistent as I'd like to be. My last long run was 10 miles a few weeks ago. Since then, I've been cruising in the 5 mile range for a couple of different reasons...

1) I am a little burned out on running at the moment. I still love it, but I think my body was in need of a break, and is dying for some cross-training.

2) I am working on a major research project, which is like a marathon itself. It is slow-going, time consuming, and makes my body hurt just thinking about it!

I plan to run tomorrow morning, and keep to a new schedule where I am running 2 times/week anywhere from 3-5 miles, with 1 long run on the weekend. My long runs probably won't get over 10 miles, for now. I will definitely run the Las Vegas Half in December, so I will likely sneak in a 14 miler or 2 between now and then. I'd like to get a bit leaner as well, so I'm definitely beginning to focus on my nutrition again.

Sadly, I did not run the Disneyland Half. My good friend was married the night before, and I don't think I saw my pillow until sometime around 5am. I was definitely over-ambitious in my scheduling, but at least signing up for the race kept me on my training schedule!

I am starting to play around with the idea of triathlon training. SO many of my running buddies have made the transition, which I find intriguing...

Strip Running

I registered for the Las Vegas half marathon today! Looking forward to spending a nice December weekend in Sin City... eating at some great restaurants then running it off!

Race Planning

Even though I have yet to run my first post-marathon race (Disneyland Half September 6th), I'm already thinking about my next marathon. Originally I was planning on RNR Phoenix in January, but they just announced that the L.A. Marathon will be moved back to March in 2010... AND it will be the "stadium to the sea" route! Given that I've lived in L.A. most of my adult life, I feel somewhat obligated (in a good way) to run in March. I also had considered the Pittsburgh Marathon in May, since I might be there around that time for Ph.D. purposes anyway. Obviously this would not work out if I am running L.A. less than two months before. With all this in mind, here is the current plan:

September 6th: Disneyland Half

December 6th: RNR Las Vegas Half

March 21st: L.A. Marathon

This certainly has the potential to change, but for now I'm sticking to it!

The Elusive Long Run

I am writing this from the lovely state of WA, where I am enjoying the "working" part of my vacation. My plan is to write and run, and I've been mildly successful with both. My primary frustration at the moment is my lack of motivation in getting a long run on the books. I've logged about 27.5 miles since the marathon. However, the most mileage I've accrued in any one run is about 5. I've read MANY articles on post-marathon recovery and how one should go about rebuilding their base. Some people take an entire month off...others start jogging 3 days after they complete their race. Either way, it's time for me to start with my Saturday long run schedule again.

The good news: TNT alumni runs are beginning! Anyone interested can return to practice in PV on Saturday mornings at 7:30am. This will definitely help with my motivation issues.

The bad(ish) news: I am registered to run the Disneyland Half Marathon on September 6th! I have about 9 weeks to build up my base again. According to the adapted TNT training schedule, I should have ideally logged 8 miles over the weekend, and should embark on 10 next weekend. Let's hope some other TNT folks will be up for joining me on a longer route...

On another note, the Garmin continues to be awesome, especially the wonderful online world of Garmin Connect. I know many of you who read this have known about the wonders of the Garmin products for some time, but I still won't hesitate to share my excitement! :)

Goals for the week:

-log 25-30 miles by Saturday night

-incorporate some cross-training into my schedule (and not just talk about it)

-make yoga a priority next Monday

Post Marathon Reflections

It has been three weeks since the marathon, and in many ways, it seems like it never even occurred! I took about a ten day break from running, and since then have accumulated about 14 miles over four runs. It felt good to get my legs moving again, and I might embark on some longer mileage this Saturday morning. To keep myself motivated, I signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon on September 6th. I've heard it's a great race, albeit pricey! I might also register for the local Village Runner 5k on the 4th of July, depending on travel plans.

The biggest challenge I have faced since running the marathon has been around my mental health. The physical soreness only lasted a few days, but mentally I've been up and down for the last two weeks. Things are much more stable now, but I was not prepared for this side effect. I read that post-marathon depression is very common...I just didn't think it would happen to me! Refocusing on my eating habits and frequent short runs has certainly helped.

This being said, I would not shy away from running another full. In fact, I am contemplating Las Vegas in December or Phoenix in January. Well see...

I had the chance to run in Spokane, WA last Friday, which was a welcomed change of scenery. This is my last week of work before a two week vacation, and even though I will probably stick close to home, my goal is to discover some new trails in So Cal. I will provide some pics and reviews based on what I encounter.