Big Sur Training Week 13 of 20

I feel like this past week marathon training got real.  I had my longest run to date- 18 miles!  Man, that's a long run no matter how you slice it. It made me feel slightly more confident about Big Sur but it was a flattish 18 miles so I still need to hit some hills on one of my 20-milers before the race. I also fell doing speed (SPEED WORK KILLS) and messed up my knees, my hand and actually went to the doctor to see if my ribs were broken.  It still hurts but I didn't miss any runs and it's not actually bothered by running .

Last week:

3/4: Yasso 800s- 3 miles w/ 8:28 mpm. Fun! Until I fell. I averaged 7:35 pace for my fast intervals and even hovered around 6:40-7:00 for 1/4 mile before I ate pavement.
3/5: 6 miles @ 9:58 mpm 347 ft. elevation gained
3/6: 8 miles @10:00 mpm
3/8: 2 miles @ 11:45 mpm (horrible shin cramps)
3/9: 18 miles @ 10:18 mpm

Total: 37 miles

As far as fueling, I felt like I should have taken another gel (I took 3 Gu packets) and have more water/electrolytes but I was missing the cap for one of my water bottles and my Nathan vest mouthpiece tasted horribly of plastic so I ended up only taking 16 oz of water w/ Nuun tablets and 8 oz of water.  I also super hydrated before, to the point I was peeing clear before and during my 1 of 2 bathroom stops during the run.  Good thing I ran by some bathrooms! I'm hoping I can balance hydration so I don't have to stop so much during the race.

Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve

Last week was a cut back week in my marathon plan so I hit the hills on my 10 mile long run at Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve in Woodside, California. I never get used to how beautiful the trails are in the San Francisco Bay and if you are willing to brave the elevation changes the rewards are great.  The preserve is located on the western side of the Santa Cruz Mountains and you can even see the ocean from the northern part of the preserve. I ran down the Harkins Ridge Trail to the Bay Area Ridge and Craig Britton Trail down into the base of the canyon to the Purisima Creek Trail and then back up the Harkins Ridge Trail.  I stopped to take pictures every few miles because it was so beautiful but the poor white balance on my iPhone dulled the bright green of all the trees so just imagine everything much more saturated than this.  It was pretty slippery with mud in some places, I look forward to coming back when it hasn't been raining so I'm not slipping and sliding down the hills.

 

Big Sur Training Week 12 of 20

2/26- 5 miles
2/27- 8 miles
3/1- 5 miles
3/2-10 miles

Total: 28 miles

I ran Purisima Creek Redwood Preserve today! Over 1800 ft. elevation gain over 10 miles... what a beating.  I will post pictures later.