Speedwork Tuesday, 1/30/2018

Yesterday, I ran a 5.5 mile recovery run.  I needed a break to get ready for my first speed day.  My schedule called for (12) 400s at 1:44.

When I got up this morning, I skipped breakfast (coffee only), but I did use compression on my legs for about 20 minutes.  I packed some left-over spaghetti & meatballs, a banana, a 330 calorie lean cuisine, 20 oz. of water & a vitamin water.  That is probably less than 900 calories.  I should have eaten something for breakfast. I meant to have a scoop of Ucan & mix some tailwind, but I forgot.  I remembered as soon as I drove off, but I didn’t feel like going back.

I was a little bit nervous, but I feel great about the training.  I was able to pull out good numbers, and I only stopped the watch once for about ten seconds to drink some water after the 6th interval.

Long Run Sunday, 1/28/2018

Yesterday, I watched The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young.  You can see the trailer here.  The Barkley Marathons is an ultra-marathon trail race held in Frozen Head State Park  near Wartburg, Tennessee in which runners attempt to complete (5) 20+ mile loops within a 60-hour time limit.  Since 1995, only 18 people have completed all 5 loops.

The race and the people who run it are unusual and interesting.  I enjoyed the movie a great deal.  I'm not sure if someone who isn't a runner would enjoy it as much as I did.  There was an understated approach to production that zapped the excitement.  Instead of building anticipation, the production choices actually served to mute the viewers awe of these eccentric, amazing people. It is a great story that runners will enjoy, but I think it could have been better.

I had a long run on the schedule today. I stepped out the door & immediately realized that I was not recovered from yesterday.  I knew that trying to hit paces would be an excercise in frustration and no fun, so I decided to change plans.  I ran on my local trails.  My legs were heavy and the pace slow (11:30), but I enjoyed the run.  I went home for a pit stop at about 8 miles.  I had some water, an electrolyte pill & a goo.  I had already drank 10 oz. of tailwind.  I went back out for a few more miles.  I did 11.5 altogether.  Most of the miles were fun.  Predictably, I started getting tired at about 10 mile mark.  For recovery, I made a protein shake and took a soak in the spa.

Point Sal Scenic Saturday, 1/27/2018

Today, I did something interesting.  I went on a guided trail run to Point Sal.  Over the years, I've hiked quite a bit at Point Sal, but I usually don't run there.  As a matter of fact, when I'm running a lot, I tend not to hike very much.  Going downhill hurts my knees whether its hiking or running.  However, I couldn't resist meeting some new people and running in one of my favorite places.

The organization putting on the run was Team RWB (Red, White & Blue), a veterans organization.  The one thing that is always certain about Point Sal that there is no predicting the weather.  It can be freezing, hot, windy, foggy and anything in between.  The weather at the bottom isn't necessarily what you are going to encounter at the top.  I wore a short sleeve shirt & capris, but I packed a long sleeve shirt and gloves. In the parking lot, I realized that I definitely needed to change into the long sleeve and gloves.  It was cold and pretty windy.  Runners met up and we took off quickly.  We were all cold standing around.

The Point Sal hike takes you up and over a ridge to a secluded beach. We agreed at the bottom that we weren't going all the way to the beach, but rather to the top and back.  I thought that we would run together, but that didn't happen.  I ended up, basically, running alone until we got near the top.  I wasn't fast enough for the head group, but I really wanted to run without stopping to the top.  Near the top all the runners converged and most of us agreed that we would go all the way to the beach. Unfortunately, as we proceeded, it got windier and colder.  I was scared of being blown right off that cliff.  There was no way that I was going to do any tricky maneuvers in that weather.  When I backed out of the continuing to the beach, everyone agreed to turn around.

Relive 'Morning Jan 27th' (to the top)

I was in a big rush to get up that mountain, but no rush whatsoever going down.  I told the others that I planned on walking and taking pictures.  The other runners took off, and I took my time.  The weather was crazy, but the ocean was magnificent.  It was clear and bue, and I just wanted to see more of it.  I ran a little and stopped a lot, sometimes chit-chatting with a few of the walkers going in the opposite direction.

Point Sal is one of my favorite places to hike, but I had never ran all the way to the top before.  I figured that three miles uphill wouldn't be easy, but doable. Looking at the numbers, I guess I really didn't push myself.  My pace was super slow, and my heart rate is higher on an easy run in the neighborhood.  I can't believe that (slowly) jogging up a mountain doesn't train something, and I sure did enjoy myself; so its all good.

TM miles Friday, 1/26/18

I had 6 on the schedule today, but is so windy!  I just didn't want to face it, so I did a couple on the TM and called it quits.  I think that I can still maneuver 200 for the month.  It is a cutback week, and I've got a hard run planned tomorrow.  Excuses, excuses...right...ha.  I had better get at it tomorrow.

Marathon Pace, Thursday 1/2/18

I am using Hansons, again, for this training period.  Hansons has a few key features.  First, you run 6 days a week.  Second, there are two fast runs per week.  On Tuesdays, you run speed or strength (5K pace in the beginning & -10 MP during the second half), and on Thursdays, you run at marathon pace.  The third feature is a long run on the weekend.  I like a long run, so I usually look forward to that one.  Speed is difficult, but I can usually wrap my mind around it. My marathon pace run is, by far, the hardest of the week for me.  It is a mental challenge.  I start to worry about it on Wednesday.

I had really hoped to go for my marathon pace during this run (7:53), but the wind was blowing 16 MPH when I left, and I knew that I would have a headwind for most of the run.  I figured that I would try for 8:05.

I ended up doing 5.4 miles at 7:55. I feel pretty good about it because I was so much improved from last week. The run is difficult. It starts uphill and ends uphill. Today I had the added problem of a headwind starting at abut the 2.25 mile mark.

Elevation Chart

I took a recovery jog of almost 1/2 mile and did another mile interval at 7:43. Including warm up and cool down, I ran almost 9 miles in total.

I wore the show with the Milestone Pod. Data was about the same as last time.

Milestone Pod Wednesday, 1/24/1018

I had a short easy run on the schedule yesterday, so I thought this was a good time to review the Milestone Pod that my sister got me for Christmas. I had no expectations, because I had never heard of the product, but I was excited to try it out. More and more gadgets are being designed to give runners feedback on form.  They all sound good in theory, but I had two questions.  The first, is the data accurate?  Second, is the data really useful?

The Milestone Pod’s setup was very easy.  You download the app to your phone, and atttach the pod to your shoe. I can’t remember exactly how I told the pod to connect the app, but whatever I did worked perfectly.  There is nothing to do after that.  You just wear the shoe and press sync in the app after your runs.

After the first run, I noticed that the distance did not coincide with my Garmin.  There was a pretty easy process for calibrating, so I did it.  The distance is still off, but it is closer.

The Milestone Pod gives you data on:

• Distance,
• Pace,
• Foot Strike (heel, mid, toe),
• Cadence,
• Ground Contact,
• Rate of Impact,
• Leg swing,
• Stride Length, and
• Runefficiency.

My impressions with examples from yesterday's run:

Yesterday's run had a little bit of everything, including hiking.  I walked a few downhills and stopped my Garmin.  My pace was 9:14.  The running distance was 4.93. The elevation chart follows.

The pod recorded my total distance as 5.04.  The distance isn't too far off.

Since I can’t control when the pod starts and stops, the pace function isn't useful.  The pod recorded my pace as 9:25, but my running pace was 9:14

Foot strike appeared pretty accurate.  If you would have asked me before using the pod, I would have said that I was a forefoot striker (mid-toes).

Cadence seems pretty accurate.  It tells you that you should be aiming for 180.  I know that my cadence is high, and it shows a cadence consistently above 180.

I knew that my ground contact score should be poor if the pod worked correctly, and the score wasn't good.  The app said that elites were below 200.  Exactly what 200 measures, I have no idea, but my score is usually about 221.  Today it was 223.  I signed up through the app for hints about how to improve.  Though the device reconfirmed an area of weakness, but the “hints” are useless.  Today's hint was to jump rope.

My rate of impact (defined as how quickly force is transferred from the ground to your leg) is consistently regarded as good.  Good is defined as “low.”  I was surprised that my rate of impact was good given that my ground contact score is bad.

My leg swing score is inconsistent.  High is better.  Sometimes, I’m high.  Sometimes, I’m low.  My effort to influence the score has no affect at all.  You would think that leg swing would be the easiest score to improve, but I’m having no luck.  Today, it was high, but that is not always the case.

My stride length stays around the same number. My guess is that my stride length is not great, but doesn’t the length of my legs come into play?  I’m pretty short.  I don’t think the app ever asked for my height.  The app does not give a value for "good" or "bad" as related to stride length.  It just reports the length in inches.

My runefficiency score ranges from 81-92.  The app tells me that 100 is the best possible score, but it doesn’t give me a way to value a score of 81 or 92.  Today it was 91.

There are graphs to look at the data in 6 of the categories over the the course of one run or an average of the past 13 runs.  There is also a button to excludes or includes walking.  Why would I want to include walking?  Either I would want all walking or all running.

Overall, I believe that the pod’s data is fairly accurate. How useful it is to me is a different story. I don’t know how to work on improving areas of weakness.  I don’t find the hints very helpful. Also, there isn’t much information as to how to put a value judgement on a particular piece of data other than giving you the highest score available.  Finally, the pod didn’t tell me much that I didn’t know.

I find running data interesting.  I like to look at the charts, but I can’t say the data particularly helps me right now, though I can imagine situations where the data would be valuable--like if I were really concentrating on improving some specific aspect of my form or it I had a trainer.  When I start my speed work, next week, I'm going to move the pod to my speed shoe and see if there is any difference in the data.  A runner who loves data will like this little pod.  I like it, even though I'm not sure how helpful it really is.

Long Run Sunday and Recovery Monday, 1/22/18

Last week was a 50 mile week, but this week is a cutback.  I have 42 miles on the schedule with only an 11 miler scheduled yesterday, but I did a little over 14 (13 miles at 9:38 pace).  The weather was perfect, and I felt good.

There was a lot of activity out there during Sunday's long run.  I engaged (3) situations concerning off-leash dogs, none scary but all unnecessary.  In one, a man was yelling at another because the other guy's off-leash dog was being aggressive with his on-leash dog.  I managed to run past without being noticed.  If only people would follow the law and leash their dogs, but it is never going to happen.

I encountered a semi-hostile homeless man on a bike path.  I always give homeless people a wide birth, but I disturbed him, and he woke up agitated.  I knew that there was no way he could catch me, but I made mental note to stay alert on the way home.  He was still there on my way home, but he seemed very much asleep.

At one point, I had a race with a small child.  She might have been 4 or 5.  She was running up the bike path trying to get her mother and grandmother to chase her, but they weren't interested.  As I ran past, I asked the Mom if she wouldn't mind if raced the little girl.  She was all for it, so as I approached her I asked her if she wanted to race.  The gal got a huge smile on her face.  Said "yes," and took off.  We ran about 50 meters.  I didn't want her to get too far away from her Mom, so I made her stop.  She laughed the entire way.  Just thinking about how delighted she was fueled me for 5 or 6 miles.

It was a great run for about ten miles.  I felt good at the ten mile mark, but I was just ready to be done.  In general, 10 miles is where I lose interest.  Anything past 10 is just for training.

I did a tabata at 13 to keep myself motivated.  I had about 1.5 miles uphill to get home.  I figured that I was going to be miserable no matter what, so I might as well get it over with. I thought that I was running so fast during the tabata, but only about two of them were actually fast.

I have a 5 mile recovery run on the schedule today.  It hasn't happened yet, but I'll get it done.

Scenic Saturday 1/20/18

I will, eventually, do a review of my new Garmin 235, but I will just say now that the live tracking feature is nice.  My husband loves it.

Saturday's are usually my trail day, so I did a little over 4 on my local trails.  It was a beautiful run.

Relive 'Morning Jan 20th'

I wrapped up a 50 mile week.  I'm schedule for a 200 mile month which I think is a good build-up to start marathon training.

Easy Run Friday, 1/19/18

Results for Castle to the Coast 8.2 mile race were published.  I was 37th overall and 14th woman.  I was 4th in the 40-49F AG and 1st in 45-49F AG.  Janet N. runs with the same run club as I do.  She is 60 years old and ran a 7 minute pace.  That is really fast for a woman of any age.  In my best shape, I probably couldn’t have put together a 5K on any portion of that course at a 7 minute mile pace.  Hats off to her.  I wish that she were blogging her training log, because I would read it every day.

Today was a (9) mile easy run.  The temps were a little cool, perfect really.  It was a nice run, but I was ready to be done at maybe the 7 mile mark.

I ran with my pone in a pocket on my shorts and the garmin tracking worked perfectly.  My husband was so happy!

Marathon Pace Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018

I wanted to try out Garmin's tracker feature on this run, so I decided to run with a vest.  I didn't fill the bladder.  Instead I used soft-bottles and loaded them in the front.  I also packed a headlamp and my phone.  You have to run with your phone for the tracker feature to work.  The minute I put on the vest, I knew it was a bad idea.  It was too heavy for me to do a six mile marathon pace run, especially one that started with hills.  I knew, but I did it anyway.  My husband wanted to run a mile with me to warm up, so after a slow mile, I stopped at home to pick up the vest and headed out.


I think that I'll never find a vest that I like.  It was uncomfortable from the start, but I really thought that I could gut it out.  At about the 2 1/2 mile mark I knew that I would pass my house.  That knowledge just sucked the will out of me.  I decided to stop and ditch the vest.  I couldn't even make it home.  I stopped at the 1.9 mark and just jogged home.

It was a longish break at home, because I had to fill my handheld.  My plan, at that point, was to run four miles at marathon pace.  So off, again, I went.  There were hills to be had, but I had no excuse at all to quit at 2.7, but that is exactly what I did.

The fog descended on me.  I left my light at home.  My glasses were wet.  I could barely see a thing, and I just tried my best to interval myself home.  When I got home, I was a wet mess.  Despite the fact that I looked like I had jumped into a swimming pool with my clothes on, my little handheld was not empty.  Somehow, I had managed not drink hardly anything.  I was nauseous, but despite feeling like crap, I drank everything in those soft bottles.

When my husband asked me about my run, I said that I failed on every level.  He reminded me that at least I got in my mileage.

This epic failure had two causes.  First, the minute I put that vest on, my mind decided that I was going to fail. Before I left the house, I knew that I was going to stop and put the vest down at the 2.5 mark.  I was determined to try out the tracking feature, so I didn't want to admit it.  I'm not sure if I could have salvaged the run after I stopped under any circumstances.  Training is more about your state of mind than that of your physical state, but I also didn't have nearly enough food during the day to sustain the run.  I had a scoop of UCAN before I left, but I had a small lunch, and I wasn't even really hydrated.

I can't do this two weeks in a row.  Next week's marathon pace run is going to be magnificent.  I'm promising myself right now that I am going to do everything right, or at the very least, make different mistakes.

Rest Day, Peak Performance Book Review Wed, 1/17/2018

I ran 6.25 recovery miles, yesterday.  It took a while to get out of the house. I really did not want to run, but I’m on schedule for a 50 mile week, and I didn’t want to blow it.  There’d be no way to make up 6 miles.  I felt terrible, at the beginning.  I had side stitches, but they went away after about a mile.  I ended up enjoying a few of the miles, but I was ready to be done by the time I got home.

Today is a scheduled rest day, but I intend to do my hip exercises.  My toes are hurting a little.

I finished a book about training recently.  The reviews is as follows.

Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I purchased Peak Performance as an audiobook. I like to listen to audiobooks when I run. I couldn’t get into it while I ran, so I listened to it during my commute. The book is worth the $2 or $3 dollars I paid, but it was disappointing. I didn’t learn much. Half of the book seemed to be trying to convince athletes to train hard and then rest. I think all serious athletes know the value of rest. I even named the blog Run, Rest, Repeat.  The value of rest is well documented. Another theme was that athletes should find a goal that transcends self. People can can push their bodies past perceived limits if they have a goal other than themselves.  Again, most people know that Momma Bear can lift a car if her babies are trapped underneath. The authors actually told a car lifting story.  On this topic though, the authors offered some practical advice on helping athletes figure out their goal.  They even included worksheets (I think).  I have the audio version, so I may have to go back and listen more carefully with a pen and paper handy.

Most of the book was a compilation of information that serious athletes already know, but I learned two new things. The first was that taking a walk break during intellectual activity is more effective than a sitting break. The second was that your brain treats looking at pictures of nature for six minutes almost the same as it treats actually sitting in a park for the same amount of time. Those two facts alone were worth three stars to me. If you haven’t read a lot of other training books, this book could be 4 or 5 stars.

View all my reviews

MLK Long Run Monday, 1/15/2018

Yesterday, I ran 5.82 recovery miles.  All I remember is that it was slow.

I wouldn't normally run long on a Monday, but since it's a holiday, I ran a long run of 13.5.  I didn't fuel particularly well.  I had a boiled egg, coffee and a piece of corn bread for breakfast.  Right before I left, I drank 4 oz. of water with a scoop of UCAN.  I carried 10 oz. of tailwind in a handheld.  I was aiming for a pace of 8:55-8:59.  I ran non-stop for 8.5.  At 8.5, I went to the bathroom, refilled my water bottle and took an endurolyte pill.  I stopped a few other times at lights.  Each of the times I stopped I milked it for a little more than I actually needed to.  I did 13 miles at 8:57 pace.

My pace was pretty even throughout.  I stopped my watch at 13 and then did a 1/2 mile recovery.  By the time I got home, I was feeling both nauseous and dizzy.  I had some milk and whey protein which evened me out. 

Garmin 310XT Free to Whoever Wants It, Sunday 1/14/2018

I have a Garmin 310XT with a broken wristband.  I have put the watch back together, but it will fall apart again without some attention.  Garmin will fix the watch for $99.  You can see a pic of the problem in my Jan 3rd post.   Honestly, it could probably be fixed with some crazy glue.  I am going to keep my new Garmin 235, and I already have a backup watch that works.  If anyone would like me to send them the Garmin 310XT, I'll give it to you for free.  You would have to pay the cost of shipping and the envelope to put it in.  I cannot give you the outlet plug, but I will send the charging cord.  For the cost of I would guess not more than $130 (shipping to Garmin & my shipping costs), you could have a good backup watch.  The 310XT is functionally pretty much like the 235, but it is bulkier and does not give you some of the stats like VO2max.  Leave a comment or contact me if you would like me to send it to you.

I have no desire to run today at all.  I just want to get down to watching some football!

Castle to the Coast 8.2 Mile Race Review, Saturday 1/13/2018

Relive 'Morning Jan 13th'

I wanted to run this race for two reasons.  First, it's an almost local that I have never  run.  The race has always been sold out by the time I thought to register.  Second, tomorrow, officially kicks off my training for Mountains 2 the Beach.  It’s always fun to kick off training with a race.

The race was scheduled to start at 8AM, but we were sent an email telling us to be there at 6:45 or 7.  An hour early seemed like a bit much, but I dislike dealing with parking, so I figured I would try make that happen.  My alarm went off at 4PM, and I groggily pulled myself out of bed.  For breakfast, I had my usual--a bagel with cream cheese, a banana and coffee, of course.  My husband was nice enough to get up and have coffee with me.  I was out the house by about 5:30.  The drive was uneventful, but very windy.  I had hoped the prevailing wind would be at my back, but, clearly, there would be a lot of crosswind.

When, I got to San Simeon Beach, there was plenty of parking, but the lot filled quickly.  There were 300 registered and that lot probably held less than 50.  It was nice to be there early, because the sunrise was magnificent and the elephant seals were out.

 I went down to the beach to take a pic and one of the monstrous seals scared the bejeebers out of me.  He was the same color as the sand.  I didn’t see him until I was up close.  I was focusing on the sunrise and walked right pass the caution tape without even seeing it.

I thought that I had  tons of time, but with all my puttering around, I really had the perfect amount of time.  We were called to head to the road for the start.  Everything was low key.  I chatted, and off we went.  I knew that this would be an amazingly scenic race.  We were running along the beach on the highway.  For some reason, I had talked myself into believing that the elevation was flat.  We took off up a hill. I kept a really fast pace, but it was killing me.  I felt a breeze, but really the wind was a non-issue.  My problem was that taken off way too fast up that hill.  I was doing OK in beginning, but the hills kept coming.  At about the 4 mile mark, I teamed up with a gal to make it to the top of one of the hills. We were chatting back-and-forth and encouraging each other, but I knew that at the top of the hill I would let her have it.  I just didn’t have a whole lot of fight in me.  People started passing me around the 6 mile mark.  I didn’t even try to press back.  The view didn't help.  It was breathtaking.  Every now and then, I would look up and my heart would lift, but my pace would slow.

The race was a straight shot down the beach.  There were no awards and no bling of any kind.  There were assorted breads to eat and an ongoing raffle.  I didn’t have my phone to take a pic of the board.  I was number 37 overall.  I’m guessing, maybe 10th women.  There were some women in their 40’s ahead of me, but I was the first 45-49.  Regardless of how competitive I was (or wasn’t), my time of 1:05:07 was slower than I wanted.  I’m going to look on the bright side.  What would be the point of training 4 months for a race if I were already where I wanted to be?  Thankfully, I am capable of 8 miles at MP, but I’m going to have to start speed work sooner than I hoped.

Back to the race...organization was great.  The volunteers were friendly.  They had an old school method of timing, but it worked out just fine.  My only advice for anyone wanting to run this race would be to get there early because the lot will fill up.  Also, there are only four bathrooms at the start.  By 7:30, I had to wait 15 minutes in line.  Participants had to be shuttled back to the start, but when I was ready to go, a shuttle was waiting.

The final treat was seeing the zebras on the way home.  Zebras roam around Hearst Castle, and if you are lucky, you can catch a peak from the road.

Rest Day with Chicken and Chickpea Marsala Thursday, 1/11/3018

It is a rest day for me today.  I told myself that I would do my hip and abs exercises, but I didn’t. What I did do was eat.  I made a great dinner of Chicken and Chickpea Marsala. Everybody is happy and full.

Easy Run Wednesday, 1/10/2018

I had six miles on the schedule today, and six miles tomorrow.  I really want to take two days off in a row before racing, so I combined them for an 11.5 mile easy run, today.  I ate with free abandon before I went out for the run, and my GI tract made me pay.  I was pretty uncomfortable the entire run. For recovery I got in the spa & spent about 30 minutes compressing.  I have a medical unit that I got off of eBay.  I’m out of my recovery drink, so I had a glass of milk when I got in.  I’m considering trying Fluid recovery instead of Physiophyx, because it is cheaper, but I’m not quite ready to make the purchase.

I haven't decided how I want to handle the race.  I could go all out and just see what I have.  The disadvantage to that is that it will effect my training next week.  Another option is to run it at fast MP, that would be great training, but I would miss out on the fun of racing.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

Marathon Pace Tuesday, 1/9/2018

I didn't eat much for lunch, so when I got home I had a UCAN bar.  I really hate the taste, but it curbs hunger for sure.   I went for a run about 1/2 hour after eating.  I ran 4 miles at marathon pace (7:53).  I had a head wind, but I managed to just make the pace. I suffered from a pretty severe bout of asthma after the 4 miles.  I have an inhaler, but it is expired and the doctor won't give me another one without an appointment.  I've got to get that.  I finished up with another 6 for 10.43 all together.

Book Review Dust Tracks on a Road 1/9/2018

I love to read as much as I love to run.  I just finished Dust Tracks on a Road.  It was a wonderful book.  My review, that you can find on goodreads, is as follows.


Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This autobiography is a collection of memories and short stories. Zora Neal Hurston uses her life as a backdrop to let a loose plot unfold. Her talent as a storyteller shines through and is the star of the book. She paints vivid pictures, and the pace is just right. Hurston tells us what she wants us to hear and leaves out quite a bit, but I didn’t really want more. She told me the one thing I wanted to know which was what was going on in her mind when she wrote Her Eyes Were Watching God. In my opinion, that book is a Harlem Renaissance masterpiece. If I was left wanting anything, it was more about her process in writing it.

I’m going to let everyone else debate about Hurston’s politics, plagiarism or whatever. This book is intriguing, interesting and entertaining. I'm going with 5 stars all the way.


View all my reviews

Wet Windy Miles Monday 1/8/2017

Saturday, I ate a bagel about an hour before my run, and had a scoop of UCAN with 4 ounces of water right before I went out the door.  I ran 13.5 at an easy pace.  The first 11 miles were fine, but it was difficult toward the end.  I hope to run my marathon at a 7:53 pace, so I aim for my easy runs to be between 9:45-9:55 once I really get into training.  At the amount of mileage that I’m doing right now, I could run the easy runs faster, but I usually don’t.  I  haven’t done my hip and ab exercises in a while, so I should get on that.


I hoped to get up and run this morning in the rain, because at least there wouldn’t be too much wind, but I didn’t get up early enough.  I did 3.9 in the rain and wind, but the temp was mild.  I can't figure out how I misread my watch.  I thought that I had ran 4 until I got home and checked.

Garmin 235 Saturday, 1/6/2018

Thursday I ran 11.5 at an easy pace and after headed for the lake with the family for a quick camping trip.  It rained on us Thursday night, but it was pleasantly adventurous.  Friday, we spent the day at the lake.  I did a lot of reading, but no exercise whatsoever.  We caught one fish, but he was so tiny we threw him back to let him fatten up. 

One of my teenage sons makes it his business to make a rocket stove every so often.  He is trying to perfect his design.  He used it to make lunch.  This could be his most efficient version yet.

When I got home today, a new Garmin 235 was waiting.  I ran 6 miles easy with a tabata added in to try it out.  I really did not want to run.  Certainly, a review for that will come in the next couple of days.

This luluemon challenge on strava is giving me a lot of trouble.  It only takes miles input from your watch.  I didn't know that so I manually input the miles when my watch broke.  That was a waste.  The miles I ran with my husband's watch will never count, but I used an old watch for a couple of other runs.  I figured out how to sync those miles, but the whole thing is a waste of time.  I hope the luluemon prize is worth it!

Garmin 310XT, Wednesday, 1/3/2018

I have a Garmin 310TXT and my husband has a Garmin 310XT.  Mine fell apart in my hand on the 1st, and my husband's doesn't seem to hold a charge.  Good grief!  The last thing I want to do is buy a new watch.  Yesterday, I ran 11 miles and went to a stretch yoga class.

I pulled out the Garmin 205 for today's run.  That is my last hope.  I charged it and went for a run.  I don't want to go through the hassle of figuring out how to sink it unless I am going to use it for a while.

I did a mile .75 mile warm-up on the TM., then a 4 mile marathon pace followed by a 1.75 mile cool down.  The MP was actually slower than last week.  I'm not going to get too concerned, yet.  The route is extremely hilly.  I'm running a pretty flat 8 mile race in a couple of weeks.  If I can't maintain marathon pace for at least 5 miles, I'll adjust my goal.  I still have a couple of weeks before official training starts.

Pier to Plunge Race Report, Monday 1/1/2018

I don't normally race on New Years Day, but I decided to run a race this New Years because I could do a polar plunge after.  I don't know why I wanted to do a polar plunge.  I, normally, won't put my big toe in the ocean without a shortie on, but I got this polar plunge thing in my head.

Prepping for the race, before bed at about one in the morning, I plugged in my garmin and it fell apart in my hand!  There is a crack in the plastic where the band attaches.  I have a Garmin Forerunner 310XT.  Garmin used to fix watches for $99, so I'll see if I can send it to them.  I hope that the price hasn't gone up too much.  Luckily, my husband has a Garmin too, so I used his for the race.

The wake-up was tough.  I didn't feel great after staying up late and indulging in champagne, but a bagel and coffee evened me out.  A friend picked me up, and we carpooled to the event.  When we got to the pier to check in, we were greeted with a pretty long, slow moving line.  If we hadn't actually pre-registered, we could have been in and out in a couple of minutes.  I don't know how long we waited in line, but it was long enough for my friend to go to the bathroom and return and for me to get chummy with the people around us.  We finally did check in and got a raffle ticket to put in a bucket for one of several great prizes.  There was a short wait in the t-shirt line, but the smallest shirt was an XL.  The shirt was signed by Jordan Hasay, however, who was there MCing the event.

My friend and I posed for a free pic which I thought was such a nice perk.  By the time we got down to the beach, the 5k should have just been getting ready to start.  It didn't start though.  There was music, and the atmosphere was generally entertaining.  After about 20 minutes, they held the kids race.  I'm not sure when the 5K actually started, but it was pretty late.

The weather was perfect. There was full sun, but it wasn't hot or cold, and the wind was still.The race began in the deep sand.  Runners sped past me.  I couldn't figure out the technique for moving quickly and I was in shock as to how difficult it was to run.  Runners veered immediately to the wet stuff.  Again, runners weaved pass me.  The sand was very wet, so it was sucked at your feet.  I was shocked and was moving very slowly. The race was difficult from start to finish.  During a hilly race, you can wrap you head around the ebb and flow of harder and easier running.  This was all hard.  We ran on loose sand and wet sand.  There was even much hard packed sand.  At some point I decided that there was nothing to do but run, so I had better get to it.  I settled down and tried to get into a rhythm.  I started passing people at this point.  I spotted a couple of gals running close together.  I assumed that they were friends, but as I got closer, I could see they were racing each other.  I thought that I could keep up with them, but when I reached them, they both began to surge.  I didn't have the heart to go chasing those two, so I set my sights on a pair of young girls.  The seemed in great spirits, but I was slowly gaining on them.  Just as I caught up to them, they stopped and started talking.  Young people are so funny.  After passing those two young gals, there were no more females to chase.  Since it was a loop, I could see who was ahead of me.  There was one or two women that might have been in my age group ahead of me.  I couldn't be sure, but there was nothing I could do about it anyway.  As I was just processing my position and probably slowing down, I noticed two guys racing me on both flanks. One died off, but the one on my left was sticking with me.  I held him off for a while, but he got me with about 1/4 mile to go.  If I had my head in the game, I probably could have stayed with him, but I was really distracted feeling sorry for myself.  We had to get back in the fluffy sand to go through the shoot.  I couldn't actually believe how slow I was going.  I honestly was just glad that it was over.  We were given a coin at the finish which was quite nice. (I forgot to stop my watch which would come back to bite me.)

I was pretty concerned with the plunge, so I decided to get it over with and do what I came to do.  The water was cold, but bearable.  I thought that I would freeze waiting for my friend, but in the full sun, it wasn't very cold. By the time I caught up to my friend, she had already plunged as well.  We wanted to do it together, so we went in again.

At some point, I inquired about my time.  The person who I asked told me that there was a problem and that there were no times at all.  He offered me a small bear to make the news a little easier to hear.  I told him no worries.  I got my plunge beanie, and that was what mattered to me. I didn't turn off my watch after the race, so I have absolutely no idea what my time was.  We waited a little while for raffle announcements and headed out.

Without a doubt, there were problems related to organization and execution.  For this particular event, I really didn't care about my time but, under different circumstances, I would have probably been pretty heated about that. Despite the problems, I would give Pier to Plunge an A+ for effort, and I would run it again.