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December 28, 2005
jersey strides
tuesday:
~6+ miles in fair lawn. ran mostly on the bike paths. ran out towards the duck pond to the measured mile markers on the bike path. once i arrived to this section i ran 2 miles at tempo pace (6:35, 6:28). i then turned around and ran at a medium clip back to my starting point. it was windy, but not too cold.
wednesday:
~7.4 miles (54.43). this is also called the "high school 8". i guess in high school, my brother in law called this run "4". i ran the course twice. when i returned and noticed my time, 54+ minutes, i thought there's no way that's 8 miles. so i decided to check out usatf's map it site (http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/). it's pretty cool you can map out your courses and get a feel for how long they are. you can also share your route with the www and preserve it that way (too). according to this site (you can zoom in on satellite too, which makes it easier to find your route if you are on a bike path or a trail) the route is actually 3.69 miles. so since its short, for sure, i call it a "high school 4", b/c in high school, the estimated distances always seemed to be a bit exaggerated.
Posted by liz at 08:04 PM | Comments (1)
December 26, 2005
traveling
wed & thursday:
no running. traveled from ca to ct. ran around a lot visiting people, traveling from place to place and helping relatives out with holiday errands.
friday:
ran 3 x sis loops with my twin sister @ my sister's house. we ran each loop progressively faster. in total we ran for just over an hour. my twin sister and i talked nonstop. it was very nice. the run flew by. the temperature was cold for me , but my twin sister said it wasn't too bad.
saturday:
am: ran ~45 mins in new haven with an old college friend. we ran around the new haven golf course and west haven reservoir trails. the trails were covered in ice and snow so it was hard to negotiate at times so we just kept the pace really easy and talked the entire time. it was great.
pm: ran 7 miles (49 + change) on the night swinging course at a good clip w/my nephew. we talked the entire time. it was great running with him. he's in high school and he loves running and he's getting very strong. towards the end of the run his hip started to hurt so we stopped to stretch a bit. it was cold outside but warmer than friday.
sunday:
christmas day. ran the 5k scrooge scramble again. i ran this last year. although last year it was so cold i could hardly move. the temperature this year was great. many of the participants even wore shorts and tank tops. i've grown soft from living in california, so of course i had on my thick running tights. i ran 18:50. i felt pretty good. i was a bit tired but it was a good effort for a holiday run. i was 2nd for the women. during the first mile i thought maybe i could go after the 1st place finisher, but she kept putting more distance on me as the race progressed and i guess i thought about going after her a little too long. even so, it was a fun race, the temperature was great, and the rolling hills on the course weren't too bad. i cooled down with my twin sister and then headed home to be with the rest of the family.
monday:
ran ~30:23 w/my brother in law in new jersey. we ran the lollypop jersey sidewalk loop. i haven't run w/my brother in law in so long, so it was a great reunion. we talked the entire time. we ran nice and easy. that was good, b/c i was up way too late last night! :)
Posted by liz at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2005
China Camp & Deer Park
Monday:
Ran 1:15 in China camp w/a friend. We started @ Peacock Gap park and then hit the single track trails and ran along the bay for about 30 minutes. When we hit the north end of China camp, we started climbing up lots of switch back trails for another 30 minutes or so. Once we were at the top of the ridge, the zig zag, narrow, puddle filled and redwood lined trails were unbelievable. The hard work of getting to the top paid off. We ran along the top of the ridge until we hit the south end of the park. From there we took another zig zag switch back single track trail down and headed back to Peacock Gap. Ran the uphill a bit hard and cruised the rest. Felt tired @ the end of the run.
Tuesday:
1:24. Ran deer park/extension/yolanda. Ran from my house, out via the graveyard, via sun school, via the baseball park, out to Forest to Deer Park. Ran via Deer park up to Yolanda trail. Once I got to Deer Park the rain came. It wasn't pouring but it was raining consistently. Running along the Yolanda ridge was beautiful. The mountain was covered in stormie clouds but it was still fun to look out at the view from above. Once I got down to Phoenix lake I cruised all the way back to Sun valley. I had to run about 20+ minutes via the streets. I was a bit tired so I just took it easy. Once I finished my run, the rain kicked it up another notch and really started coming down. I wondered if I would have enjoyed that kind of run more? I take off tonight to go to the east coast. We'll see what the region has in store for me in terms of running... :)
Posted by liz at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2005
tuesday-sunday
tuesday:
ran 6 x 300s up on the ridge with a high school student. we warmed up for ~ 10 minutes. the 300s alternated between gradual uphill and gradual downhill. our 300s were probably a bit long. we ran all of them pretty hard. felt good. the last 300 was very fast. ran on effort more than time, since we didn't know exact distance. cooled down for ~ 10 minutes. 4
wednesday:
ran ~55 mins. am w/my larkspur friend in larkspur. we ran the branson winter loop. we chatted about the holidays nearly the entire run. the run flew by. i felt better than i expected.
thursday:
day off
friday:
ran 3+ miles in china camp w/a high school runner. we ran nice & easy. it was a very foggy, cool , overcast day in marin. no rain, just a heavy overcast cloud cover with a cold bite in the air that gets down to your bones.
saturday:
ran 1:15+ on mt. tam. started on edgewood w/a group of friends. we ran out to mt. home inn. then we ran up to west point inn all on single track trails. we ran nice and easy and talked the entire way. once we got to the west point inn, they kept going and i turned around and ran down on a combination of fire trails and single track trails. on the way back to edgewood, i got lost on some deer trails. i wasn't happy about that, but within 10 minutes i found the correct trail again. i felt a bit tired on the run and felt like i was coming down with a cold. i just took the entire run easy.
sunday:
paced a high school runner via a local 5k. i ran the first 3 miles with her. warmed up for about 25 minutes. the conditions were crazy. 2 minutes into the race it started pouring. the first mile was uphill. all gradual uphill. we hit the mile in 6:09 or so. the 2nd mile is almost entirely downhill, but we had to deal with some head wind and lots of rain. we made it to 2 miles in 12:18. the final mile is nearly all flat. a slight grade here and there, but pretty flat. we really pushed this section. ideally my fellow runner was hoping to break 19, but the conditions for the day combined with a generally slow course proved to be more challenging than we imagined. we hit 3 miles in 18:22. our fastest mile yet, if the markers are accurate. i jumped out here, b/c i wasn't registered. my high school runner continued on. the last .1 mile was uphill (a slight grade, nothing serious, but notable). she finished in 19:13. a PR, so that was good, especially considering the conditions. she was 3rd overall too, 1st woman. running in the rain was very fun. i enjoyed the conditions and had fun. athough, it's hard to pace someone. i'm not sure if i should run way ahead or behind or right next to someone. i tried to stay one step in front of my runner and whenever she came up on me, i picked up the pace a bit!
Posted by liz at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2005
gees, tons of catching up
thursday:
ran a workout w/the high school kids. we ran the MA 5k loop. only the first 3 miles. ran 6:20, 6:25, 6:10. ran the first 1200 hard, the last 400 @ conversational pace. ran the entire run continously, no break. felt pretty good. the air was cool and crisp and refreshing. 4+ for the day
friday:
ran a "run w/a view" at lunch w/a coworker and a student. we ran about 35-37 minutes. nice & easy. it was a beautiful afternoon.
saturday:
ran a local woman's run from crown road. ran 1:15. it was an amazingly beautiful cool crisp day. we ran up hoo koo e koo, up hoo koo e koo fire road, out all the way almost to mt. home inn and then we turned around and came back. the views were awesome. the company was great.
sunday:
ran 1:39. ran the lake loop from ross commons with a group of friends. we ran a nice pace. i was a little tired from saturday's run, but all in all the company, pace, day were all great.
monday:
ran ~53 mins. in larkspur in the early morning w/my larkspur friend. we talked non stop. my hamstrings were a bit tired and i felt sluggish but the run flew by due to good company and conversation.
pm: ran the ridge / puppy loop from my house w/a friend. we ran up the switch backs, up the ridge, up the hill on the ridge and around the lollypop loop and back. i took xander my border collie with me. it was so cool to run w/my dog again. it would have been nice to take all 3 puppies, but with company i don't like to overwhelm them w/my herd. xander was so good off leash, he remembered the route perfectly (it's also called "the dog loop"), and he stopped under the last tree to wait for us (that's where i put him back on leash!). so i was really proud of him! more dog runs to come!
Posted by liz at 11:41 AM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2005
tue/wed
tuesday:
(~37:30) ran a run w/a view from school w/a group of students. went down 5th, via the graveyard, to the ridge and then up, along the ridge, to the road with a view. once we returned to the valley, i went back up 5th to end my run.
(1:01) ran w/a couple of friends in larkspur. we met up at redwood high school and did a night run. we ran via downtown larkspur, up behind the bank, up the road to crown road. ran down crown road/trail for ~2.7 miles and then went down the road to corte madera. we hit the bike path and from there we ran 6 x 100 meter striders. the striders were tougher than i thought they would be. i was dusted by my two friends. they could accelerate with ease. by the time they yelled to stop, i just kept running hard to catch up with them and then i'd have about 10 seconds of easy running before the next one. it was very fun, but faster than i'm used to. all in all the run was a very good pace and we talked the entire time. it was very fun.
wed.
42:54. ran (w/a group of students) from the watershed parking lot, up to phoenix lake, around phoenix lake and then up hidden meadows, to yolanda, along yolanda until we got back down to phoenix and then back down to the parking lot. half way through the run, the rain hit us. the rain picked up as we picked up our pace. running along the ridge with stormie views of mt. tam and the hillsides along side us, was just incredible. the run felt nice.
Posted by liz at 08:34 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
catching up...
wed (pm):
ran ~ 20 mins. in tiburon on the bike paths and met up w/some friends. nice & easy pace.
thursday:
No run. Pouring rain. Took the day off due to general fatigue, not the rain. I love running in the rain.
friday:
~37 mins. ran the elbow loop at lunch w/my coworker. we ran nice & easy.
saturday:
~ 1:20 and then ~ 30 in the city. ran w/two different friends. ran from kezar stadium, down all the way through golden gate park to the ocean. ran up along the ocean to the cliff house to the trails. from there ran around pacific heights to 25th and then ran back to golden gate park to kezar stadium. it was a cool, crisp day. the running was great. ran another 30 mins. with a different friend in the city. ran nice & easy along the ocean.
sunday:
~2:11. ran in pt. reyes with a big group of friends. the weather was incredible. the trails were amazing. we started at 5 brooks and then went uphill for a good 30 minutes or so. we made our way out to coastal trail, ran along the ocean and lakes for awhile and then went back up and over the ridge back over to 5 brooks. the pace, the company, the trails, the weather were all amazing. i saw mushrooms, no slugs, lots of lichen, moss, beautiful trees and lots of green grass.
monday:
am: ~59.50 in the am (5:45). ran the fawn street am loop. ran nice & easy w/my larkspur friend. we talked the entire way. it's getting dark out again. by the time we hit the trails it was still quite dark. although by the time we hit the ridge the highest point of the run, the sun was just coming up, so we got spectacular views of the bay and mountain.
pm: ~26.26 ran hoo koo e koo w/3 kids on the running team. we ran nice & easy. it was still cool and crisp out. we talked the entire way.
Posted by liz at 08:43 AM | Comments (0)