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March 30, 2005
Wednesday: Crown Road early in the morning!
This morning somehow I made it out of bed at 5:20 am. I met my friend over in Larkspur and we ran the Crown Road loop (1:01.09 --30:04, 20.10, 10.54). The first big climb up King Mt. was tough on my still sore hamstrings but once we got to the single track trails and the flat fire road (crown road) i was warmed up and feeling better. Although it was tough getting up...the morning sunshine, the good company and the fresh air made it all worthwhile!
In a couple days I leave for Costa Rica. I'll be there for 12 days with a group of students studying sea turtles. It should be very exciting. I'm not sure what will happen to my training....but I've done a little research and it looks like even though we will be in a remote area ( a nature preserve) there will be a 3 mile stretch of beach available to run on....so that'll be nice!
Posted by liz at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)
Tuesday Intervals in the city!
Well I finally made it to an Impala workout. This is the club that I race with. I seldom get the opportunity to do the workouts with the group b/c it can be difficult to get to the workouts during the week (with one car for the family, late high school track practices and just a busy life...). Last night I coordinated a ride with a friend...I knew if she was going to meet me somewhere I'd have to get to and do the workout!
When I arrived at the Kezar stadium in San Francisco... I was amazed ...there were tons of people using the track. I couldn't get over it really. It seemed like everyone who was anyone was out there. No just kidding- of course there were many somebodys who were doing normal things at the time like making dinner and relaxing with their families! Though, I still have to note...that there were tons of clubs, teams and individuals cranking out the miles around the oval.
Our team was doing their 15 min. warm up around the big loop when we arrived. My friend and I jumped in. We then broke up and did our dynamic warm up and drills, striders and then the workout began. I couldn't believe how many fast people were doing this workout. I was in the 2nd pack...and I thought we were moving fast. There was an incredibly strong pack of women WAY ahead of us and another strong group just behind us. This team is really loaded! Depending on what each individual was training for the group ran 4 to 8 half mile repeats. I ended up doing 5. My hamstrings got tighter and tighter as the workout progressed...so I just pulled out early. I intended to do 6.
I ran the first interval in 2:50 and the next 4 were between 2:46 and 2:45 with a one lap recovery. There were probably 6 to 7 women surrounding me and w/me for every interval. This made the workout SO much easier. I definitely have to try to get to the city more often...b/c this pack of strong women really can't be beat. Great training!
My hamstrings were really tight on the warm down. I ended up running really easy for about 30 minutes after the intervals....just to try to relax my hamstrings. The long cool down was helpful!
Posted by liz at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
Monday!- Early morning MA Dipsea
Monday morning my larkspur friend met me at my house at 5:40 am. My brother in law joined us and we hit the road. We decided to run the MA dipsea. This proved to be more difficult than we expected...(our legs were still a bit tired from Sunday's efforts!). Nevertheless we enjoyed the run. It was great to be out on the local hills so early in the morning. We added on about 3/4 of a mile to get in just over 60 minutes of running.
Posted by liz at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2005
Sunday Long Run: Red Rock Run
Today was a tough long hill run. A group of club members met up at 8 am to run to Red rock....which i sometimes call Hard Rock, Big Rock, Red stone, Rock... so when I refer to this run no one aroud here knows exactly what i'm talking about...b/c i misname the run frequently.
Red rock...we think is 1800 feet...but to get there...you have to do a lot of roller coaster running...so you end up climbing more like 2500 feet.
I ran with a few different people during the run. The climb was a grind and it was tough. We ran on fire roads for 95% of the run. At the very beginning of the run we had to start off on the roads. Towards the top of the run I was running in the front of the pack. I was going back and forth with this unbelievable downhill runner...on the uphills i'd go after him and on the downhills he'd ease by me.
Once we hit about 1200 feet or so the winds were unbelievable. At some points on the run...when we were exposed & at the tipidity top of these amazingly huge california hills/mts...the wind was so strong that we were actually getting blown uphill! I was loving that.
After 1:01 of climbing we reached red rock. I was beat. At this point we mainly only had downhill running left...with a few major rollercoaster sections...I decided to take it easy on the downhills and continue to push the uphills a little. That strategy kept me at the front of the pack.
In total the run was 1:51:49. I was definitely tired. I'm feeling pretty strong...right now...but my strategy for the next few months is just to listen to my body, keep my mileage moderate, & jump in a few races under 10 miles...just to see where i'm at...and hopefully by the end of may i might be able to shoot for some prs...we'll see!
Posted by liz at 06:42 PM | Comments (1)
March 26, 2005
Sat- MA DIPSEA
this morning my brother in law and i ran the ma dipsea. we decided to run the first 20 minutes (including the first big hill --san rafael hill) as our warm up and then run tempo pace the rest of the way...(& when we hit the "del hardo" hill ((which is a very steep 600' climb at least..straight up!!))...just run it to the best of our ability!).
the start of the run was easy. it turned out to be warmer than i expected. i was glad i was only wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts.
after we hit san rafael hill and we hit the water tower we started to pick up the pace. the next 1200m or so are all downhill..so we were moving...but not all out...the next mile or so was a gradual downhill with a few tiny little uphills. i felt really good on the gradual uphills...better than i've felt in weeks. once i got to del hardo i had already moved ahead of my brother in law and decided to run up del hardo at a decent pace but not all out...b/c i wanted to save something for the last 1.3 miles...home..in the back of my mind i was hoping i'd break the ma dipsea record 49:09 that one of my high school runners has. granted...it's a bit soft...b/c there aren't many people who run this course...and even i don't run after the record that often...but all of those are good enought reasons to think about going after it now and then.
once i hit the top of del hardo hill...i picked up my pace again...cruised down the switch backs and then i had a half mile on the roads left to run. i pushed the lap button on my watch at this time...b/c i was curious what my last 1/2 mile split was...whenever i do this...i think i also pick up my pace...i ended up running 2:55 for the last half mile...and i broke the ma dipsea record...running 49:02! i was happy about that. less than 2 minutes later my brother in law finished. one of these days i ll have to run the entire course hard...and see just how low i can get this record. i'll also have to invite some of my speedie friends to run the course too...so i can go after additional records.
Posted by liz at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
friday- mt. tam run
today we had a half day of school. practice was optional. so i took my group of athletes...middle distance/distance on an optional mt. tam run. on a typical school day driving all the way over to mill valley to run on the mt. takes too long--so i thought this would be a special half day treat.
we left campus at 12:15 and arrived at mt. home inn around 12:55. there were 8 of us all together. i picked a course...that i hoped would be just about one hour. less and some of the distance kids would complain, more and surely the middle distance kids would complain.
we ran out to the troop 80 trail. a beautiful single track trail that runs right via the dense redwood trees ..you have to cross multiple bridges/streams...and on a good day you can feel like you are on a forested race track on trails like this one. the three main places i decided to have the group wait and regroup were: the bootjack trailhead, the mt. theater and the west point inn. these meeting points ended up being great. it allowed the group to run at their own paces and really get the most out of the run. i served as the sweeper and hung in the back of the pack to make sure everyone was ok.
it was a beautiful day. running from the mt. theater over to the west point inn was probably the most beautiful section. we ran via dense woods, and then would come out on the side of the mt. and get sweeping views of marin, the bay, the east bay and i think even san francisco. the sky was a beautiful blue...the views were inspiring and the kids were running really well. from the west point inn...it was a quick downhill back to the car. the run ended up taking just over an hour. it was a fun way to end the week.
Posted by liz at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2005
tuesday, wednesday and thursday running...
tuesday:
today i ran w/the high school track team. we ran 6 x in / out 400s. i felt a bit tight and out of sorts. we ran the first 4 in 1:27/1:45 and the last two in 1:24/1:43. a little cool down and that was the workout!
wednesday:
am: met my larkspur friend in larkspur and we ran the old out and back phoenix lake route. we ran it in just under 58 minutes...that was a bit faster than we usually run it...but we were chatting the entire time...the morning was very beautiful...it's so light out at 5:55 in the morning...it's so much easier to get out of bed...however...in only a few short weeks...we'll be back to the darkness....urrrggghhh...but later days...so...that's a plus!
pm: ran w/the high school team over on crown road. we ran the superbowl crown road loop. we ran all the way out on crown road...2.8 miles flat fire road and then took a sharp right hand turn up a single track trail...for about 1/2 mile or so...and then continued on all railroad grade until we got to hoo koo koo and from there we dashed down the single track trail and called it a day. there were 4 of us who ran together... one of our alumnae came back and joined us for this run. she is training for a marathon... i thought that was very cool! she asked me for advice...and i had no problem...saying start off SLOW...! our run was 53 minutes.
thursday:
got up at 5:45 to meet my "del hardo" friend for hill repeats. my brother in law came along too. we warmed up for about 10 minutes or so...and then we did 4 sets of 3 different hill repeats...totaling 12 hills in the end. we ran through them continuously. my goal was to negative split the workout ...start off conservatively and ease into the workout and by the end try to hang with or beat my "del hardo friend". the first time via i ran the hills in 1:24, 1:35 and 1:45 by the final repeat...i was down to 1:09, 1:18, and 1:31 and i was hanging w/my friend and beat him on the 2nd interval. the first hill was a gradual / steep hill with a solid crest to work at the top. the second hill was incredibly steep...it was just a grind (that proved to be my strength)...and the third hill was much more gradual..with a tough little grind at the end...this one felt like a tough 400...like i was running in place...! it was nice to get the hills in so early this morning!
Posted by liz at 08:55 AM | Comments (1)
March 21, 2005
Monday am run:
Got up very early and starting running at 5:40 with my larkspur running friend. She met me at my house and we ran the ridge mary surprise loop. It's about 8 miles. A lot of climbing...but beautiful to be up on the ridge when the sun rises! We got our run in before the rain started--that was great. I felt better than I expected. We ran quite a bit faster than I ran with my brother in law on Sunday. After the run I headed to work. About an hour after the run..my hamstrings got really really tight again. I'm planning on a big professional sports massage Thursday or Friday depending on if there are any cancelations in the office I plan on going to. This therapy will be great!
My spring training is all going to be geared towards 5k/10k training. No more super long runs on the weekend...and more short high quality stuff!
More later........
Posted by liz at 01:48 PM | Comments (2)
Sunday: MA Dipsea
Tonight (5 pm) I ran the MA Dipsea (~52 minutes) with my brother in law. We just ran really easy...especially on the uphills....his calves have been bothering him and I was still worried about my hamstrings. We ran so easy...I felt great. It was a good first run!
Posted by liz at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)
Week off!
well after 6 months of pretty hard, consistent training I decided I needed to take a week off and do absolutely nothing. I did that!
I had time to think about things that worked through out the last 6 months & things that didn't. I think I went into Way TOO cool a bit stale... none of my long runs...since the marathon felt good...at some point during all of those long runs...i struggled...so that was one sign.
I also grew tired of the type of training I was doing... Long runs every weekend...long tempo runs, etc...!
So needless to say the Week off has been great!
Posted by liz at 01:44 PM | Comments (0)
50k race
well, the race didn't go that well. i started off way too fast...and after only 60 minutes...i already felt tired and my hamstrings were shot (really tight!). at this point...i thought there was still hope. i thought...well, maybe it just won't get any worse...i can deal with this...! however, by the time i hit 2 hours...i was spent. i didn't have that much energy left and i felt like it was a crawl to the finish (compared to my usual pace!). i was reduced to walking every single uphill and jogging (every so slowly) the flats and walking/stumbling down the downhills (my hamstrings were most tight during these sections!). my twin sister caught up to me...sometime before 2 hours...she stayed with me for a few miles..., talking nonstop wonderful words of encouragement and hopes of finishing together and how much fun that would be....i got carried away and at first i thought..hmm, that sounds good...but it was clear that she was moving ahead and i was only drifting farther behind. the last 90 minutes were the hardest...b/c i just wanted to be done. if there was any easy way to drop out...i'm sure i would have....the problem is...the trail is so remote..that you are better off finishing (any way you can) than waiting...b/c the wait is soooo long! so after 4 hours and 50 minutes...longer than i've ever been out there...i finished. i ran the last uphill and "pushed" in the last 1 mile just to really ensure i had given it my all! tons of people passed me throughout the race. i couldn't help but remember viaout the race how great i felt the first time i ran this course...walking the uphills and crawling via the course made me just appreciate and respect the sport and its members that much more...it's humbling... i'm not going to do another ultra any time soon...but i think i have to try one more...i'd hate to end on this ntoe.
Posted by liz at 01:36 PM | Comments (1)
belated update
so cal running:
monday:
ran in del mar with the girls. we ran about 6 miles in torrey pines park. it's a beautiful location right on the bluffs of southern california. every view was spectacular. everyone felt great...after being couped up in the car for close to 9 hours!
tuesday:
am: ran around the UCSD campus. ran via the eucalyptus patch with the girls. ran about 4 miles.
pm: ran about 4 miles in the anza borrego desert. we ran the palm oasis trail. this is a short hike/run that takes you to a wonderful little oasis in the middle of the desert. there's a great waterfall, a wonderful palm tree grove all contrasted against the dry, harsh desert background. once we ot to the waterfall...we went under the waterfall to cool off, hung out in the little pools of water, had our lunch and just relaxed!
wednesday:
our group headed over to penasquitos canyon to run. local runners claim this is one of the best local areas to run. our timing ws defnitely off. after a week of hard rains...the trail that we entered on...was flooded. we ran out for about 24 minutes or so...but the trail was very hard to follow (we had to jump over huge puddles, run via rocky rocky areas and do a lot of back tracking...b/c we lost the trail quite a bit!). i think on a good day/season this canyon is probably a great place to run...we just found the entire run frustrating. we ran for about 5+ miles probably...
pm: ran in balboa park.. 3-4 miles. showed the group where the xc national high school meets are held. we ran here right around sunset. the sky was beautiful and the temperature was perfect. many of the girls considered this their favorite run!
thursday:
ran along the carpinteria bluffs in the santa barbara area. these trails and views were unbelievable. we ran about 30 minutes. below we could see seals and a wonderful coastline.
friday:
no running for me...but the girls ran along East Beach, by the SB zoo and around the downtown area of Santa Barbara. Today was a long drive back up to the bay area.
Posted by liz at 01:21 PM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2005
sat/sun running!
sat:
got up at 6:30 am. met a friend on the ridge. we ran a great new loop along the top of the ridge, via the sleepy hollow open space preserve and then down via lucas valley onto lucas valley road and then we cut via the mountain pass and made our way back over to las gallinas road , via terra linda and back up to ridgewood ridge. on the half mile+++ very steep climb back up to the ridge i really pushed the pace to try to beat my friend's new record. i ran up in 6:10, his record was 6:45. that felt pretty good. i ran for about 65 minutes. after the run i had to move quickly to get to a high school track and field meet. it was a beautiful sunny day...perfect for being outside on the track and field! all of our kids really impressed me. they did really well!
sun:
this morning i got up early again...6:45...and drove up to napa valley to cheer on and support a friend who was running the marathon. i found him at mile 16 and ran about 4.5 miles with him...he was running a great pace..6:49, 6:39, 6:59, 7:17 (mile 19-20 on the course is one long gradual climb!!!), 3:32 (a little over a half mile) and then i turned around and ran back to my car which was about 5 miles away...6:55, 7:00, 6:52, 6:51, 6:49. while running backward along the course...i was able to watch all the marathoners competing. they looked really great. many of the participants told me i was running the wrong way or to jump into the race--i looked great!--although i appreciated the kindness of these comments i really doubted that i could have been out there pushing as hard for the entire 26.2 miles today...it was a beautiful day...but very warm towards the end!!!
when i started running it was still cool...the fog rolls in and out of the valley...cooling it...but after about 30 minutes i noticed the temperature rising and i felt pretty warm. my friend ended up breaking 3:10...and having a great debut marathon. i was very impressed! i got in about 9+ miles for the day.
in general i'm a bit tired from not taking a day off this week and just from running around so much lately.
tomorrow i take off for a 5 day trip to southern california. i'm taking a group of students on a hiking/running adventure. we'll run, hike and rest along the coast, via the desert, in beautiful canyons and up many mountains. although this is going to be a very great trip..i'm going to have to take advantage of down time and take it easy this week...since saturday i'm racing a 50k. the timing of these two events isn't ideal...but the trip is actually part of my job detail (who can complain about that!!!)and i love trail running and racing ...so i'll just have to take everything in stride and be smart! more updates after the 50k next saturday!!!
Posted by liz at 07:49 PM | Comments (1)
March 04, 2005
Friday run
This morning I was supposed to meet a friend to run up on the ridge at 6:15...but it turns out we both missed one another. While I was running in one direction looking for him , he was running in the opposite direction looking for me. After 15 minutes --I gave up and went back home and crawled into bed and slept for 2 more hours! Lucky me , I thought!
This afternoon I was able to meet up with a friend to run along concrete pipe trail. Although the skies were full of doom (dark, cloudy, ominous) the run ended with blue skies and rays of sun--go figure. We ran for about 45 minutes and then we ran into my brother in law and he joined us for the last 5 minutes. Then I joined my brother in law and ran for about 25 additional minutes. I ended up getting about 9 miles in. The pace was nice and easy & I talked the entire way. In some places the single track trails were terribly muddy but the main fire roads weren't bad at all.
Posted by liz at 05:16 PM | Comments (1)
March 03, 2005
wed pm & thursday track w/team!
wed pm:
this afternoon at practice our 400 and up runners went out for a trail run. I dropped most of the group off at concrete pipe and they ran a point to point run down to phoenix lake/tennis courts. i then drove down to the tennis courts parked the van and ran phoenix lake w/some of the runners who were running a bit less. we ran for about 35 minutes and eventually we ran into the long distance runners. everyone had a great run. the weather was absolutely beautiful, who could complain! i was really glad we were able to hit the trails!
thursday:
if i don't get up early to run, sometimes it can be hard to run a workout for the team and then go out and get my own workout in. the day just seems that much longer. today i decided to jump in and do the workout with the team...and kill two birds with one stone so to speak.
the 400 and under crew was running 200 accelerator repeats and the distance crew (800 and up) ran 400 accelerators. basically the first half of the interval you run controlled (5k pace for the distance crew) and then the second half of the interval you kick into mile pace. the 200 group did the same thing for their intervals and they started their interval as the 400 m group came by...so when we finished we were all one big group.
running w/the team is very fun. there's a lot more energy around..it seems ...to drive off of. in general...the athletes are very optimisitc and eager to keep going, learning and growing.
there was about 4 of us who ran together. (there was a group in front of us and a group behind--so we were right in the middle of the pack). i led the first 200 to help keep us on pace...we went via in 43-45 seconds each time and then we picked it up to finish the intervals in 80- 81 seconds. we ran 8 x 400 intervals. our rest was the time it took the 200m runners to get back to their starting points. each interval was pretty much right on pace...80 to 81 seconds. to me--it felt very good. a much longer rest than i usually get for intervals. all of the students ran really really well.
i also did my push ups and dynamic warm up today!
Posted by liz at 05:42 PM | Comments (1)
March 02, 2005
wed. am run
this morning i got up at 5:20 am to meet my larkspur friend who is back in town. although, it was hard to get up early--i'm glad i did. we ran the crown road loop (1 hour+). the first half of the run was in the dark...so we took it easy as we meandered around king mt-- on the single track trail. once we got to the top of the mountain the sun was with us and the footing was much easier. since we hadn't seen each other for almost a month we just talked non stop the entire way. the run flew by . i was so glad it wasn't raining this morning. by the time we finished the run the sun was burning brightly...a sign that today will be a beautiful day.
Posted by liz at 07:25 AM | Comments (1)
March 01, 2005
Monday Easy/ Tuesday Track
Monday:
Well...a little bug hit me. Monday morning I woke up with a sore throat...and a sore body...and a little cough. I decided to take everything easy...walk slower, take more time to make decisions, get up slowly...everything easy.
I was planning on taking the day off from running...but my plans changed a bit. The track and field distance runners were doing an easy run up on crown road...so i decided to be the sweeper and run in the back and make sure all the kids made it back. i ran very easy on the fire roads. when most of the group was back...we all did 22 push ups together...it was cute the kids counted each one...it certainly was motivating! i probably ran about 4 + miles easy. the day was absolutley beautiful. blue skies - warm -- a great february day!
Tuesday Track:
I was rolling around a lot again last night...again I didn't feel great..I had a sore throat and just couldn't get comfortable. Finally I took some Nyquill and the rest is history...I fell asleep and somehow made it out of bed this morning.
Throughout the day I felt tired and my throat was really sore. I wondered if I'd make it to track this evening. I could easily have gone home and rested.
In the end...I ran to track in the pouring rain. I listened to my ipod shuffle to get me motivated as I ran through the city streets. Once we got to the track our workout was 6 x 800/300 repeats. In the end I ran 5 x 800/300 repeats. I ran 2:53/60, 2:46/61, 2:45/60, 2:44/61, 2:41/56. We jogged to the start of the 300 right after the 800 and that was the recovery between 800 and 300. Then after the 800/300 we had about 1 minute rest. Overall I felt A LOT better than I expected. In fact now my sore throat is "better than ever". Well I still feel it...but it doesn't seem as bad.
I feel like the intervals on the track are getting easier. Next Saturday I'm running/racing a 50k...which I'm looking forward to. It's all on trails and it's a beautiful course. It's one of the few ultra events I'd consider. However, after this 50k I'm really looking forward to training for some fast 5ks and 10ks this spring..b/c I'm really enjoying these track workouts and I"m looking forward to cutting back on my volume...especially on the weekends...!
More later!
Posted by liz at 07:50 PM | Comments (1)