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.

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.

Week 11 of 20

2/18- 3.07 miles

2/19- 4.87 miles (supposed to be 5, GPS went crazy and I went by time)

2/20- 8 miles

2/23- 16 miles

Total: 31.9 miles

I had some cramping issues with my left shin this week... including the first 4 miles of my long run.  It gets painfully rigid and I had to stop every mile or so. 

Week 10 of 20- Big Sur Marathon Training

Halfway there! Trying to hit lots of hills this week in preparation for Hurricane Point.

Wednesday 2/12- 6 miles / 602 ft. elevation gained / 10:18 average pace

Thursday 2/13- 7 miles / 275 ft. elevation gained / 9:48 pace

Saturday 2/15- 6 miles / 105 ft. elevation gained / 10:00 pace (end of a long day in the dark)

Sunday 2/16- 9 miles / 572 ft. elevation gained / 10:44 pace

Total: 28 miles

I'm feeling pretty fatigued this week.  It's another week of my highest weekly mileage so far and I'm slacking on the nutrition area.  I'm hungry but instead of eating high quality protein or anything good I'm eating a lot of ice cream sandwiches.  I'll work on that this week.

Big Sur Training Week 9 of 20

21 of my miles last week were done in the rain.  I missed some runs last week but considering I was switching shoes that probably isn't a horrible thing.  I don't mind running in the rain too much... the rain in the San Francisco Bay is a light drizzle that last for days and not the spurts of downpours I grew up with in Texas.  Pretty easy to run in, but I do wear a hat on rainy days.  This week I'm trying to run more hills in preparation for the killer hill in the middle of Big Sur, so I'll start adding in elevation information for each run as well. I'm going to try to run trails on my weeks of shorter long runs because that's where I love running most but I have to work up to some of the challenging hills the area's trails provide and I'm not quite ready to run 14-16 miles with huge climbs.  I tried out a 6 mile run with maybe a hill 60-70% as challenging as the hill in the marathon with regards to grade and length and it was a beating.

Week 9 of 20
2/5- 4 miles (243 elevation gained)
2/6- 7 miles (203 ft. elevation gained)
2/9- 14 miles (686 ft. elevation gained)

Total: 25 miles

Picture of cherry blossom trees, of which I saw many, around mile 10 of my long run last week:

Big Sur Training Week 8 of 20

I guess I have to change the name of the blog because I bought a pair of non-minimalist running shoes.  I've been in physical therapy the past few weeks because of posterior tibial tendonitis after the week I ran all my miles under 9:00 min/mile.  I had a gait analysis done and to my horror, I was still heel striking- 3 years into barefoot/minimalist running.  I was shocked and upset.  I have some other issues-overpronation, hyperdorsiflexion, asymmetry in several areas.... I'm doing strength training to improve where I'm weak. But the wear on my minimalist shoes show that I'm heel-striking even when it feels to me like I'm landing mid-foot.  I still am pretty sure I don't heel-strike while actually barefoot because I doubt I would have been able to run 14 miles barefoot while heel-striking and not have some sort of insanely bruised heel.  After I got over the inital shock, what concerned me more when viewing my gait videos was the collapsing in of my right ankle.  That's where I've been feeling consistent pain and on my last 12 mile long run I could really feel my form falling apart and being unable to prevent it from collapsing in.  If both ankles were doing it to the same degree I would be less worried about it but my right is doing it significantly more than my left.  So, after much thought I'm trying FOR THE FIRST TIME in my running career, some more "traditional" shoes.  I'm not sure if my body is just not cut out for barefoot/minimalist running or if my goals just don't coincide with it at this point.  I am super nervous to switch over to a different type of shoe- who knows if I will be trading my current injuries for new ones.  Only time will tell.  I definitely think the Bikilas aren't the shoe for me for marathon distances.  I'm only interested in running as many pain-free miles as possible right now.

Anyway,  I got some Saucony Kinvaras and am going to be slowly switching over to them for the marathon.  I tried on several low-heel drop shoes at a local running store and the Kinvaras feel pretty comfortable, though it is odd to run on these pillows of comfort.  I only wore it for my 5 miler Saturday.... no real difference in speed, which is good.  If I was suddenly running 1 minute per mile faster I would be more worried about injury.

Miles this week:

1/28: 4 miles
1/29: 5 mile trail run
1/30: 6 miles
2/1: 5 miles
2/2: 7 miles

Total: 27 miles

Big Sur Training Week 7 of 20

1/21- 3 miles (barefoot)
1/22- 3 miles (barefoot)
1/23- 5 miles (VFF)
1/25- 3 miles (VFF)
1/26- 12 miles (VFF)

Total: 26 miles

I went for a couple of barefoot runs this week, as my achilles issues seem to disappear when I take the shoes off.  I'm still doing most of my training in VFFs and will probably do the marathon in them as I don't have time to build my plantar skin back up to do it bare.  I'm also hoping the exercises my PT gave me will help with any issues I'm getting from the switch to VFFs.

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 6 of 20

Nearly back to where I need to be.  If I hadn't been derailed by the flu Friday.  I probably should not have even run today as I have had horrible body aches and a fever.

1/13/14: 6 miles
1/15/14: 3 miles
1/16/14: 4 miles
1/19/14: 8 miles

Total: 21 miles

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 3 of 20

Still in Texas. Still running. Will be back in the Bay for the New Year.

Week 3 of 20

12/24- 3.54 miles (supposed to be 4, MapMyRun GPS went all crazy in the beginning of the run) @ 8:40 pace
12/25- 5 miles @ 8:52 pace
12/26- 3 miles @ 8:39 pace
12/28- 3 miles splits at 10:47/11:20/8:40 because I was dragging my mother-in-law's Great Pyrenees for the first two miles before I dropped him back off for the final mile.
12/29- 8 miles @ 8:54 pace

Total miles: 22.5 miles

Big Sur Training Week 1 of 20 / Music of the Day

Week 1 of Big Sur Marathon training complete!  Week 1 was done in Vibram Bikilas and it went alright... time will tell how the transition back to shoes will go. I might take my invisible shoes out for a spin next week to see how they feel- I have used them for walking but never run in them because one of my toe knots were a little bothersome.

I missed one short run because I took a 20 minute afternoon nap yesterday that turned into a 3 hour nap and I woke up and it was dark at barely 5.  Can't wait for the longer days to come back! I've also been dealing with a lingering upper respiratory illness and was proud I made 4/5 runs this week since my breathing is somewhat compromised and I was spitting a lot of residual lung mucous at the end of my long run today.

Week 1 of 20, Big Sur Marathon 2014

12/10- 3 miles @ 8:47
12/11- 4 miles @ 9:40
12/12- 4 miles @ 9:46
12/15- 6 miles @ 9:34

Total: 17 miles

Now, some tunes that keep me running this week (I in no way endorse any lyrics regarding driving under the influence, in fact I think the lyrics aren't promoting that at all, and I do love me some Kid Cudi featuring MGMT):

and Lorde, who is doing an AMA on Reddit as we speak:

BIG SUR 2014

BIG SUR 2014!!

Yes, I am yelling.  I just can't contain my excitement because I just registered for my first marathon. Not just any marathon, but one of the most beautiful marathons in the world. Because it is such an amazing race, it sells out quickly and long before the event. So, I have a little over 9 months to train for the April 27, 2014 race date!