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:

Wearing shoes again

So after the Half I did what I always do after a race- I completely stop running.  I can see I improve over the months & years but I would probably improve a lot faster if I didn't lose all motivation to run every few months. I ran 8 miles a few weeks ago and 3 miles today.

The 8-miler a few weeks ago ended in quite literally, bloody disaster.  I ran on a really rough trail (cheap and seal asphalt) after having done little barefoot running in the month or so before that.... because I ended up running my 16-miler and half in Merrell Trail Gloves and what do you KNOW when you don't condition your soles you can get blisters when you run 8 miles on rough surfaces.  I looked like an idiot hobbling, whining, EXTREMELY slowly for the last 2 miles to the end of the trail after I totally thrashed my soles.  Some other British runners who my running partner and I had passed even got to see my shame and suggest, "Maybe wear some trainers next time?" Yes.  Probably next time I will wear some "trainers".  I wanted to yell at them that I had run nearly twice this distance with no pain before but its useless... but once you're the insane barefoot runner who runs until her feet are slinging blood splatters all over your ankles there isn't much you can say.

You see, I've only been running for a few years. I am by no means a running expert.  I started running in Vibram Fivefinger Sprints with the Couch to 5k program in March 2011... by the time I was running ten miles I had some pain in the tops of my feet (where the straps were) so I took my shoes off.  It felt great.  I learned about barefoot running and decided to see how far I could take it.  In August 2011 I started building up to 3-4 miles and I had blisters. I read about form... a million things... high cadence, soft feet, relaxed legs, lean forward, etc... and it got better.  I could run 6-10 miles easily barefoot for a couple of years. I stopped wearing shoes.  I still got injured.  A few times I bloodied my big toes and though about putting shoes back on but even the minimalist Vibrams weren't as comfortable as being barefoot.  Even my everyday walking around shoes became uncomfortable... anything with a structured sole or the slightest heel was uncomfortable.  It wasn't that big of a deal.  I wore ballet flats and flip-flops and continued to run barefoot.

I also continued to have bad experiences.  My first half marathon was a trail race.  Filled with sticks and tiny rocks and root and slabs of rocks and more roots.  By mile 9 my feet were bruised to hell and I put on my Vibram Bikilas to finish.  It was not a fun race.  I decided to at least wear minimal shoes for trails longer than 10ks.  Trails weren't always miserable barefoot- mud and soft pine needles on dirt are actually quite wonderful to run on barefoot.  I broke in minimal shoes on the road and started running more 50% shoes and 50% barefoot.  My last half was in shoes and it felt great, physically.  I don't think they are quite the right shoes (Merrell Trail Gloves) because they give me achilles pain I don't have when barefoot but I also don't have to constantly be looking out for surface dangers that I would need to be wary of when barefoot.  I ran my 3 miler today in Vibram Bikilas and it felt pretty good.

I feel like the barefoot running community is not as upfront about the injuries that come along with it.  Sure, you probably won't have shin splints or as many knee problems and for me it was the most comfortable way to run for a long time.  But after the blister fiasco from the 8 mile run a few weeks ago I have to wonder if I'm just trading some injuries for others.  I think I will probably always do some mileage barefoot because I still enjoy it but my running goals aren't based around that anymore.  I want to go farther and faster.  I am about to start training for my first marathon- Big Sur 2014.  I'm sure I could do it barefoot; I think I might have a little more fun and achieve loftier speed goals if I put some (minimalist) shoes on. So that's what I'm doing for now.

Nike Women's Half Marathon

Sunday, I ran the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. 30,000 runners, mostly women, filled the streets of San Francisco to run half or full marathons.  This was the 10th year of the race and had about 5,000 more participants than the previous year- entry is only available via lottery because of the swanky Tiffany necklace you get in place of a medal handed to you by a San Francisco Firefighter.  The course is mildly hilly (I would have said very hilly when I first moved here from Texas but after trail running have reevaluated what I think hilly means) and runs down the Embarcadero, near Fort Mason, through Golden Gate Park and ends at the Great Highway on the Pacific Ocean.

Race morning I got up at 3:45 a.m., a little earlier than I usually have to get up for races but it started at 6:30 a.m. and because it is such a large race I wanted to make sure I parked remotely close to the starting line.  I picked up an iced latte and a bagel on the way and ended up in a parking garage a few blocks away that was nearly full over an hour before the race started.

I started the race with a few friends in the last corral, which didn't end up getting over the starting line until 45 minutes after the gun.  Unfortunately, because I was in the last corral and it was such a crowded race I ended up dodging slower runners and walkers the entire 13.1 miles.  The energy was really something special but I doubt I will be signing up for a race that large again.  I like my space! Along the course to motivate us were a full choir some time in the first 5k, many spectators with signs and even chocolate (that I didn't partake in because I was booking it) at mile 11.  This was the largest race I've ever been a part of and I was a little unused to all of the people cheering us on but it sure did help to hear the crowd at the finish line who were loudly cheering on the first place marathon finisher as I finished my half.

I came in with a time of 2:08:19, which was pretty darn good for me! I've been doing about 10:30 pace on my long runs with the longest being a 16 miler a couple of weeks before the Half.  I attribute my increased pace with trying to keep up with my running partner Courtney who kept me pushing through every mile and I even had a 7:50 pace on mile 11 (flying downhill).

Unfortunately, the finish line was insanely crowded because of a change in the land available to the race organizers and that caused me to not be able to find any of the people I came with (cell phones were not working because of how many people were trying to call out at the same time). I ended up just picking up my Tiffany necklace, shirt, drop bag and getting on the shuttles back to the starting line after an hour of trying to find anyone I knew and my phone ended up dying.

ETA: I ended up running in Merrell Trail Gloves instead of barefoot... I debated up until morning of what I was going to do but after my first half experience with an unknown course and it being an early morning race with a bit of chill in the air I put on my shoes.  I've run in them a few times including a 16 miler a couple of weeks before the race and I've also been having a couple of new "twinges" in my achilles... Coincidence?  I'm not sure but I'm definitely going to stick with bare feet for my familiar training routes.  I definitely could have done the course barefoot after seeing it but you never know.  The gravel I stood on waiting for the shuttles back to the start would not have been fun after a Half, either!

Overall, it was a great race and I was happy about my time but the sheer number of people caused a lot of logistical problems both during and after the race.  I also didn't get any course photos so I'm still on the hunt for the mythical "floating" running picture! I did get one before crossing the starting line as my corral moved towards it:

Weekly Mileage ending 9/29/13

9/26- 5 miles
9/29- 14 miles

Out for a week + Mileage ending 9/22/13

I fell on that awesome Wunderlich trail run the other day when my foot caught a root and although I ran about 2 more miles after that, I ended up taking a week off because I mildly sprained my knee on the fall.  I was limping for 4-5 days the first week and even this last week took it VERY light on the mileage. It feels fine now- no pain on short or long runs- and I hope to be back to building mileage this week.

9/17- 3 miles
9/22- 10 miles

Pictures from my run out and back over the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday:

Weekly Mileage 9/8/13 / Wunderlich

9/3- 4 miles
9/4- 6 miles
9/6- 3 miles
9/8- 10 miles

Total: 23 miles

I ended my mileage this week with a beautiful 10 mile trail run in Wunderlich County Park in Woodside, California.  I definitely did some walking on the way up as it was a pretty even split of 5 miles uphill and 5 miles downhill with an elevation change of 1591 ft.  Good practice for those Big Sur hills!  I caught a root again on the downhill and banged up my knees pretty good- we'll see how they feel tomorrow.  The view was worth it:

Skirt 'n Dirt 10k Race Report

This Saturday I ran a really fun trail race called the Skirt 'n Dirt Trail Run in Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, CA.  I ran the 10k distance but there was also a 25k and 50k distance.  I was running with my good friend Liane, it was her first 10k and she did GREAT! It was an all-women's race with a companion race called Stud 'n Mud that ran with us but it was mostly women.  The race organizer, Inside Trail Racing was awesome and I would highly recommend any races organized by them for several reasons:

1) The trail markers were vandalized and volunteers got up super early to fix this so we could have a safe and fun race.  What nice people, right? 

2) They had lightly flavored or unflavored electrolyte drinks instead of Gatorade. They also had plenty of yummy snacks.

3) SWAG. I got a hat, a shirt, a wine glass (right?) and medal. For a 10k this is pretty awesome bang for your registration buck. 

The race is in the Oakland Hills which I have run before during my half-marathon last year during the Cinderella Trail Run.   They are absolutely beautiful trails and also have plenty of rocks that make barefooting not the most fun. So, I strapped on my Vibram Fivefinger Bikilas and intending to enjoy the scenery of towering Redwoods instead of picking my way around rocks on the trail. The Bikilas worked well enough except for a weird bruising in the joint of one of my toes. I'm looking around at other trail shoes without toe pockets.

I arrived a little later than when I had agreed to meet up with my friend so I warmed up running around between the check-in table and the bathrooms before I found her.  We started off at 8:30 am. after the 25k and 50k runners started at 8:00 a.m. This might have been a little late for a summer run but 90% of the run was in delightful heavy shade.  I had checked out the elevation profile and was a little intimidated- it was "only" 850 ft. elevation change for the 10k but 600 of that was in the first 2.5 miles and the 500 ft. climb from mile 1.5-2.5 was... challenging to say the least.  I need to run more hills.

Took a couple of blurry pictures with my phone while catching my breath on the climb. 

However, after that initial beast of a climb it was mostly downhill from there!  It was a pretty small race so I was running alone most of the time with just a couple glimpses of a person in front of and behind me.  There were a lot more roots on this trail than on my other trail runs and that proved to be my quite literal downfall in the last mile of the race.  My right foot caught a root and I went down on my hands and my right knee.  I hopped up and hobbled the rest of the way not sure how bad it was hurt.  The medical technician wrapped it with ice and although I've got a nasty bruise, a swollen knee and a slight limp today it is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think walking around after the race helped the potential stiffness.

My time was 1:14:06- not a personal best of course but my personal best for 10k was on a flat road and this was a hilly trail so they're really not comparable.  I did come in 3rd in my age group which was my first time placing in a race!  Great race overall and it is getting me pumped for my Fall Halfs!