Long Beach Marathon Training – Week 1

Mx3 is going to be getting a break, since I clearly am having issues blogging.  It’ll be sporadic if I think of stuff I want too share, but not weekly.  Way too much of ‘life’ going on, but luckily I’ve started marathon training! Something to blog about!

Last week marked week 1 of my 12 week training schedule for the Long Beach Marathon. Long Beach will be my 8th marathon, and my first SoCal race as a new SoCal resident.  I’m seriously considering registering for LA as number 9 now, considering I still have a paycheck to my name. We shall see. I may have to beg for change at your local freeway off-ramp, but I’m running the dang thing come hell or high water.  But I digress.

I’m trying something new in training for LB this year, and that is breaking off my long love affair with Pfitz.  He is quite a demanding boyfriend and I just really don’t have the time between moving, my sister’s wedding and job hunting. I may kick myself for this decision should I remain unemployed in the near future, but with the help of Tara, I devised a 4-runs-per-week training plan. It’s modeled loosely after Hal Higdon’s plans, so I’m giving it a go.   Having only run sporadically since the half marathon, I let myself off pretty easy on my paces during week 1. Here’s how it went:

Monday – easy 5 mile run
Time = 53:00
Pace = 10:38

Wednesday – mini tempo, 6 miles
Time = 58:00
Pace = 9:37 overall
I decided to run 1 warm-up mile, 3 miles at my prescribed tempo pace (9:02-9:25) and then 2 cool-down miles. Without much expectation, I was happy to hit all 3 tempo miles and then relax at a 10min pace on my warm-up and cool-down miles. Whoo!

Friday – easy 5 mile run
Time = 54:00
Pace = 10:48
This run was just painful. Going out for a run at noon in 90 degrees and a trillion percent humidity was probably not a good idea.

Saturday – long run, 11 miles
Time = 1:56:00
Pace = 10:33
I was a cheesy, happy runner on this run for some reason. I was smiling and saying good morning to everyone I encountered on the trail, I felt hydrated and fueled well and the birds were singing and the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day….which is exactly why I stepped into a dip on the paved trail and ate some asphalt.  I actually rolled my ankle in the dip and fell in slow-motion and didn’t actually get any scrapes. My immediate reaction, I must admit, was to scan around wildly and see if anyone had seen me. (Don’t pretend you wouldn’t do the same!)  Of course there was a cyclist coming up behind me, who asked if I was ok, to which I said, “oh yeah, I’m fine!!!” while I proceeded to try to disguise my tears as sweat.  Kidding, no tears, but my ankle did hurt! I stood up and walked it off for a bit, stretched my ankle in little circles and determined it was not broken. I was about 8 miles in at this point on a loop course, so I had to just keep going or call to be picked up. I started on a slow trot and felt just fine after a little bit.  The miles were slower, but not by too much. My ankle did swell, and I’ve been icing it like crazy. I actually won’t do my first run this week until tomorrow, just to give it enough time to rest.

On Sunday, I got the chance to cheer on many friends at the San Francisco Marathon.  It’s a toughie, so I am so proud of everyone for completing the race, full or half. I stood around and rang my cowbell for a few hours and cheered everyone in at around a mile short of the finish.  I do love me some marathon-sign-making, so you know I had to bust one out for the masses:

Oh yeah, here I am....

Well, first a few of excuses:

1. I haven't blogged because I've barely run. I fell off the wagon. HARD (that's what she said.)
2. There have been major life changes going on that are taking up my time.
3. Every weekend for the foreseeable future is booked with plans.

So as far as #2 goes, it's kind of a biggie. After much deliberation, the stars have aligned for me to move back to LA. I am returning to my beloved hometown for a few reasons...the main one being I just miss my family too much. I have happily lived in the Bay Area for almost 8 years and while there are many many things I love about this area, it's just not home and it's too far away from my family now. More and more I've grown frustrated about missing the little things - birthday parties, graduations, Sunday morning family breakfasts, random Tuesday movie outings. It's time. I've felt this way for a long time, probably always in the back of my head if I'm honest with myself. So why now? It's time to move up in the job world and try to find something new, something that is a challenge again....and my lease is up with my roomie. It's good timing.

Believe me, I am unbelievably sad about leaving my ROHOs, girls that I am so grateful to have met at the exact time that I needed good friends the most. Well, actually, I'm mad I didn't meet them 8 years ago when I moved here, but I can't complain. I found them exactly when I needed to find them. I am so grateful we are all runners though, because there are quite few races in the works and we're all running the Long Beach Marathon in October, so I know I will still get to run with them. And I know the trek between LA and the Bay Area well, so I know they are a mere 5 hour drive away to resume general debauchery with. They are the sole and major reason I am sad about leaving the bay.

But with the sad comes the happy. I will be closer to my aging parents. They aren't old by any means, but they can order from the senior menu now (My mom would kill me for saying that if she read my blog! HA!) I plan on being a lot more annoying about their lack of exercise now that I'll be close enough to monitor it but thankfully they have their health. It'll be fun to chat about how they exercise too little and how I run too much in person for a change. The best part about my move is I'll be living near my sister, who I am very close to. I have missed a lot of fun times with her and I plan on making up for it! ♥ SISTER TIME!!!!! ♥ There is also someone else waiting for me in LA but we don't talk about boys here so I will move on! ;-)

So there it is. I have turned in my notice at work and I will be moving in mid-August. I hope you'll stick with me through my sporadic blogging (I am starting to train for LB so there will be runs to discuss) and through some non-running posts about the drama that is moving your life from one end of the state to the other. Which I did 8 years ago and believe me, it's not pretty.

Sorry I've been bad about commenting! That ends today!

*****

note: I've temporarily changed my comments to require moderation until I stop getting comments from Korea. Thanks! (LOL!)

Mx3 – 6/7/10 – Your Questions

Marathon Maritza Monday - Mx3 is a Monday feature where I talk about completely random topics that have nothing to do whatsoever with running or working out. Basically an excuse to ramble.

Last week I asked you guys to send me any questions you were interested in asking me and I got some pretty interesting ones. Some are running-related, so we’ll break the non-running rule this week! Here are your questions (in the order received) and my answers.  Thanks for playing!

“Your fam is from El Salvador, how long have they been in California and do you ever want to move out there?” – from Nicole 

I came to California with my mom and dad when I was about 2 and a half years old. I have always lived in California since then.  Not too long ago, I probably would’ve said hell no to moving back, but the idea to someday live there in my old age might be enticing.  It’s a much calmer way of life and I could probably live on the beach.  It’s a third world country however and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m pretty spoiled by many of the current comforts available to me.  I guess my answer is never say never.

What is your favorite marathon you have ran and why? – from Tara

Without a doubt, my favorite marathon was the New York City marathon, which I ran in 2007.  35,000 racers, 7 boroughs of New York, and 2 million spectators. Need I say more?  It was INCREDIBLE.

Aren't we supposed to all do Mount Diablo one day?! – from Roadbunner

No. 
Hahaha maybe, but currently it sounds like torture!

From Alisa -
1. Favorite flavor of gu/gel?

I like plain, jet blackberry and TriBerry flavors of Gu….YUM!

2. If you could only run one more marathon in the world which one would you choose and why?

Only one???? This is a tough question! I want to run so many!  I guess I’ll go big and say the Antarctica marathon.

3. Thing you crave the most from your home country that you can't get (or can only get a crappy version of) in the states?

Fruit. There are a ton of fruits that you can’t get here: marañones, nances, granadillas, jocotes….sometimes you can find them frozen but it’s not the same as yanking them off the tree. Even mangoes aren’t the same here.  If you’re interested, you can look those up on google!

I want to know what your fave food in Westwood was. J/K! – from Amy

I’m still gonna answer it, because it was Diddy Riese.  Remember when it was only 50 cents? Sigh.  For those of you who don’t know, Amy and I are both UCLA alums. Go Bruins!

Would you run the Medoc Marathon? How long do you think it'll take you and whom would you choose as your running partner (s)? – from Lizzie Lee

This was a fun question, as it required some research!  What is the Medoc Marathon? Well I discovered TWO marathons with this name – a trail marathon in Hollister, North Carolina and the Marathon du Médoc in Le Bouscat, France.  The trail marathon in North Carolina is an ‘easy to moderate’ trail race and looks like a pretty, October marathon.  I am not a very fast trail runner, so it would take me at least 5 hours to finish this race.

But I’m guessing Lizzie meant the latter race, which has the following very clearly listed  in the rules section on their website: “THE MEDOC HAS TO BE RACED FANCY DRESSED !”

Yes, sir!  After my fun experience running Malibu in a tutu (see pics on the right) I would love to run another race in a (run-able) costume!  I won’t be wearing anything crazy like a gorilla suit (why would you, when a tutu is easier to run in, still as cute and hello! not nearly as hot.)  It appears that people pair up or organize the costumes in groups, so I’d love to run  as a celebrity group with my costume buddies, Danica and Tara again ….. Three Stooges?  The Kardashian sisters?!

What training plan do you follow? – from Erika

For marathons 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, I used the Pfizinger 12/55 plan found in the book Advanced Marathoning.  I really liked the high mileage and the fact that I only needed to stress myself out for 12 weeks and be done.  I’m actually a bit burnt out on the plan and I really enjoyed using SmartCoach on the Runners World website for my half marathon plan. Because I want to try a 4-running-days-per-week running plan for my next marathon (which is NOT Pfitz) I’ll probably be using SmartCoach again.

See Jane Run Half Marathon Race Report

 

The short: NOPE.

Garmin Stats:
Miles = 13.31
Time = 2:12:31
Pace = 9:57

Race Website Stats:
Miles = 13.1
Time = 2:12:30
Pace = 10:06

The long:  I could make a lot of excuses about this race.  I could tell you that it was 91% humidity out.  I could tell you that this course had the LEAST amount of shade and/or tree cover of any race I’ve ever run. I could tell you the fog and clouds burnt off too quickly, and by mile 6 I was running in direct sunshine the whole time. I could tell you the dehydration gave me a sidestitch (something I haven’t suffered from in years) and caused my left calf to cramp like a mutha.

But the truth of the matter is that I was on pace for the first 6 miles and then everything just fell apart.  I lost it. The wheels fell off.

The bottom line is I didn’t deliver and I’m pretty bummed about it.

I don’t really know what else to say about this race. It was difficult to run and I felt I couldn’t take a real breath the entire race. I kept breathing, but it felt so shallow, like I couldn’t swallow enough oxygen. I started dumping water on my head and chugging sports drink at the later water stops.  I dry heaved at the end of the race and then consoled myself with lots of free champagne.  The only good thing is that I got to see so many of my fabulous running friends and that my HOmie (my ho + roomie) stuck with me the whole race. ♥

The end.

Yay race buddies!

With Tara and Aron 

  Yay Punk Rock Racing!

Thumbs down for this half.
Thumbs up for champagne.

Last tempo run and half marathon goals

Last week I ran my final tempo run before this week's mini-taper for the half. I had had a pretty busy day at work and I was beat. The schedule called for 8 miles total, 6 at 9:16 tempo pace - my longest tempo of the training plan. I knew I'd been running stronger than the paces on the plan, so I decided I would try to get my tempo miles as close to 9's as I could and if I felt horrible, just hold the 9:16 pace at the very worst.


Mile 1 - 9:48 (warm-up)
I knew when I had to try to work REALLY hard to get my warm-up mile closer to 10 that it was going to be a good day. At one point I looked down and even saw 9:00 flat and had to pull the reigns hard. What!?

Mile 2 - 8:55
It was pretty easy to get that first tempo mile below 9 (it always is on the first mile, isn't it?) so I didn't think too much of it, other than it was close to 9 just like I had been hoping.

Mile 3 - 8:59
About halfway through this mile, I looked down and saw a 9:05, so I bumped it up and squeezed in under 9. It was at this point that I pretty much decided I was going to try to get them all under 9.

Mile 4 - 8:50
Clearly compensating for my decision, the jet packs apparently turned on during this mile. I was halfway so I knew I just needed to hold tempo pace for 3 more miles. It was at this point that I turned around on the trail (I'd run an out-and-back) only to realize that I had been running with some light wind at my back. Sigh. Even though it was light, it hit me in the face like a wall and I felt my legs suddenly go heavy. I told myself I would try to push through this first mile and if it sucked, I could aim for the 9:16's again and not the sub-9's anymore.

Mile 5 - 8:59
Barely, but I got it and it was TIRING. I decided I'd keep trying to shoot for the sub-9's.

Mile 6 - 8:55
I hit a better patch of the trail where I was protected from the wind a bit more. I knew I just couldn't let it go at this point, I only had one more tempo mile and I had to hit it.

Mile 7 - 8:41
It hurt, but when I saw the 8:4X on my watch, I figured I might as well hurt real good and make it my fastest mile of the bunch.

Mile 8 - 10:32 (cool-down)
I had no problems slowing this mile down!

I feel really strong going into the See Jan Run Half Marathon this Saturday, although I'm still a bundle of nerves this week. At the same time, I'm just ready to run it and be done (and PR please!) My last half was the 1st half of the San Francisco marathon last year, which is a TOUGH course. I finished that one in 2:15 and change, for a pace of 10:21. I need to break 2:05:47 (9:37 pace) to get a PR, one that's held steady since 2005! I don't know about you, but 2005 seems too long ago for a half PR, don't you? OK, good, we agree then. I'll just have to fix it this weekend.

See Jane Run Half Marathon Goals
1. FINISH! - If I don't keel over somewhere along the course, I'll be happy.

2. PR - beat 2:05:47 - If I PR, I'll be VERY happy.

3. 2:02 (9:15 pace) or better - If I average a 9:15 or better pace for the whole race, I'll be EXTREMELY happy.

4. Sub-2 - If I sub-2, I'll probably question my Garmin incessantly until official race results are posted, at which point I will faint. Oh, and I'll be ECSTATIC.

3 and 4 are my big stretch goals, which I think are always fun to keep in mind in case I'm having the best race day on the entire planet, but I'm really just holding my breath for a PR. PLEASE RUNNING GODS, PLEASE! Amen.

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Thank you for all your questions, everyone! I'm going to do the Q&A post this coming Monday, so feel free to leave any other questions in the comments!!!

Breeze Comfort Sports Bra Review + trail runs + be nosy!

The lovely people of Breeze Comfort asked me to review their sports bra after I reviewed the Zensah sports bra that didn’t fit and ended up going to Aron (who loves it, by the way.)  I was excited for the chance, as I sadly had not gotten to keep the other one.

I chose the Mountain View sports bra in pink because a) I like pink, b) the back was cute and, c) it has the Breeze Comfort-designed ventilated bra pad.  Interesting!

The sports bras are sized as S, M, and L, with very clear specifications on the equivalents to bra size. I choose the Medium and it fit perfectly.

 

The sports bra is made of a soft wicking material, with very few seams on the inside of the sports bra, although there are seams on the outside. I loved loved loved this shade of pink!  This bra also comes in burgundy and silver.

I liked how wide the ‘X’ part of the racerback was, it really sat well on my back and helped to add support.  The breathable bra pads sit inside the front of the bra through small holes on either side, kind of like a bikini top that has removable bra inserts.  It made for very easy and thorough washings, since I removed the pads and then threw all 3 parts into the washing machine…..yay squeaky clean sports bra!  The pads are not padding, so it’s not like a push up bra or anything. But they do offer good coverage for that lovely ‘nipple view’ that we gals can get from thinner sports bras and cold running weather. :-/

The only part that threw me about the bra were the metal hooks on either side of the sports bra. I’m not sure why they have to be metal, but they allow you to hook the sports bra tighter or looser on either side (they sit right under your arms on each side.)  The view here shows the hook in the loosest loop.

I worried about this part of the bra rubbing, chaffing or downright hurting, and I was pleasantly surprised that I couldn’t feel the hooks at all!  I tested this bra out on both a 6-mile run and a turbo-kickboxing class, because I wanted to see how it would hold up to some real jumping around.  I really loved this sports bra and found it to be very supportive, but not overly tight.  It was very breathable, although I didn’t notice as big of a difference with the ventilated bra pads as with the general fabric of the bra overall.  I also noticed that the bra was almost fully dry pretty quickly after my workout. 

My favorite part as I said before, was really the width of the ‘X’ part of the back. It was just wide enough across the middle (and not in the straps, which was great) to feel like I had much more bounce support, especially in my kickboxing class.  The bras are a bit pricey, but I think they are a very good value, as they will really provide some good support of your ‘girls.’ I will probably save this bra for races and long runs, which is what I tend to do with my pricier sports bras so they stick around longer.

Thank you, Breeze Comfort for the chance to review your awesome product.

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I’m way too behind to update you on all my runs (I can’t even get Mx3 done, fail! Sorry!) but the highlights are that training is going well, despite a bit lower weekly mileage than on the training plan. I have had a lot of stuff going on and I have skipped a few of the easy runs. I have done my long runs, albeit some of them were ugly, and I have nailed all of my tempos! I need to be averaging 9:16 and I’m closer to 9’s than that and I am so so happy.  It’s been really really fun so far to train for a half marathon and I feel like it’s really improving my pacing, since I get to run fast for shorter distances.

I’ve also been venturing out on trail runs with Aron and Tara.  The runs have been fun, with gorgeous views of the Bay Area that I’ve never experienced before, and they are freaking HARD. (That’s what she said.) I don’t like hill training or hill repeats and I avoid them like the plague. I can count on my fingers the number of purposeful hill workouts I’ve ever done in training for all 7 of my marathons + many many other races.  I just don’t do them, I’d rather do tempo and track workouts.  However, I really feel the difference in my leg muscles after the trail runs, and soreness in little areas that I wasn’t working before.  And they are much much more fun than hill repeats!  I’m going to try to do a trail run a week if possible, as there is no shortness of trails in this area.  Also, it’s pretty fun to get dirty…

I’m thinking of doing a Q&A for one the Mx3s coming up, so send me your questions! I really like participating in requests for questions on other blogs and if you are like me, you find gossip and nosiness are fun pastimes.  So please go at it in the comments, ask me anything!

Fifth Third Riverbank 25K Race Report

and trip recap!

(note: Mx3 will be back next week.  I used my Mx3 time this week to figure out how the heck to finally change my template and also to write this ridiculously long post.)

Tara and I flew out to Michigan 2 weekends ago to visit our awesome friend Nicole and to run a 25K race.  You know, my roommate is kinda sneaky.  She makes me think all these races are a great idea in sneaky little ways, like buying me this race entry for my birthday.  Along with the matching shorts we were gonna wear.  Who says no to THAT?

Hahaha in all seriousness, I am so so glad she did that, as it turned out to be a great present and an awesome, fun-filled weekend.

There’s one of those GIANT cop lights I was telling you guys about!  FASCINATING!  Anyway, Nicole picked us up at the airport and it was essentially a big giggle-fest from then on.  She drove us through the town she works in and we stopped to see her office.  Then she drove us to Concord where we would be staying for the night.  Because we arrived Thursday night and the race wasn’t until Saturday, we basically had a dinner of margaritas that night. (Don’t judge.)

Friday, we drove into Grand Rapids to pick up our race packets!  It was a pretty big race expo since the race is large for being a 25K.  I really was in the mood to buy unnecessary crap and thankfully, I only bought a bondiband.

Then there was much general tomfoolery to be had before we went to pick up Melanie at the airport.

We had a fun dinner at an Italian place in GR and then headed to the airport to pick up Melanie! It was late, so we went back to the lake house at Gun Lake (where we were staying for the next few nights, since it was closer to the race) and got into bed.

Race morning! I was pumped despite the fact that The Relay beat me up so much that I hadn’t run all week. No joke. Not a run all week. 

Michigan treated us to 41 degrees, wind and rain on race morning.  Oh man, we were MAD.  It was so gross on the drive to the start and I really had my doubts about how this race would go.  It was just so ugly outside!

We all lined up together, but pretty soon Tara and Nicole took off and Melanie and I stayed together. I am so grateful that she was with me, because I would’ve talked myself into way more walking breaks.  The course ran through downtown Grand Rapids and out along the river.  It was GORGEOUS.  The trees met in the middle and we were running down this 2-lane road, surrounded in green and hearing the water rush by. At the halfway mark, we went out onto a main road overpass, and then turned to run back down along the other side of the river.  We ran very strong through mile 11 and then started walking through the water stops. I think we were both grateful for that little breather and then chance to take a sip of Gatorade. I really wanted the boost at that point.  We continued to push it however, and kept pretty consistent in the end.

1 = 8:46
2 = 9:55
3 = 9:55
4 = 9:45
5 = 9:39
6 = 9:36
7 = 9:28
8 = 9:36
9 = 9:47
10 = 10:03
11 = 10:04
12 = 10:16
13 = 10:18
14 = 10:28
15 = 10:04
0.94 = 9:55

Per Garmin = 15.94 miles
Time = 2:37
Avg. Pace = 9:51

Just as Melanie and rounded that last corner, the wind and rain that had held off (thankfully!) the entire race came on full force, even nearly pushing us backwards!  Thankfully we pushed through to the finish and immediately made our way over to meet the girls at the car because we were getting VERY cold, VERY fast. 

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!  I drank a million cups of coffee to warm up too.  Then once we were fed and feeling back to normal, it was right back to our shenanigans.

We went back to the house and took showers and a nice loooooooong nap!  We went into town later on for some electric margaritas and more food.  Then we went back to the house for a big mixture of cocktails and yes, more antics.

The next day was our final day with Melanie. We went and had a fun lunch and sadly had to take her back to the airport.

Thanks race buddy! So great to meet you!

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out and driving around a lot of Michigan.  I really loved how green everything was and it was so cool to see where my dear friend lives and to see her life. It was so nice to get to meet some of her friends and her family and I feel like we all bonded even more.  Thank you, Nicole, for opening up your homes to us and for being our weekend chauffer and the hostest with the mostest!  Love you, girl!

I had a wonderful and fun weekend, and ran my first 25K (instant PR!)  I am forever grateful for the great friends that running and racing have brought into my life.