Napa Valley Marathon Training Week #10

It has been one busy holiday schedule for our household! Glad it is over. Why are holidays so stressful? It never used to be this way...

Week 10 for Napa was smack in the middle of my Christmas vacation. I took a couple of days off sandwiched between the Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. We were visiting my Mom-in-law in Arizona. I had to adjust the running schedule and be flexible with the program.  It was good call that I moved up my 14 miler to Saturday because Sunday turned out to be super windy. Sunday became a rest day. After running the 14 miler, I was anticipating sore legs from sitting in the car for the 8 hour trip, but I was fine.  My mother in law lives by a super long hill so I took advantage of that long grade for a series of hill repeats.  TheYasso workout was the quality workout for week 10, but there was no track or flat land available near where we were to complete it. But then again, there's the wonderful hill! I was okay with the switch-up.

My week #10 schedule is below.  Red indicates what was actually completed with the switcheroos.

Monday Rest  4.05 mi hill repeats 5x
Tuesday 6 easy  4.20 mi recovery walk
Wednesday 6x800 Yasso  Rest
Thursday 4 easy  Rest
Friday Rest  6.17 Tempo-ish
Saturday 5 pace run 5.5 pace
Sunday 10 mi long run 12 miles

Monday Rest 4.05 mi hill repeats 5x
I must admit when we first drove up to this hill, I thought it would be a challenge to run it.  It was a long gradual incline of more than 2 miles long. I thought it would be perfect to run repeats. For recovery I took 2 minutes of walking. Each repeat was 0.20 miles long.  The first one, I forgot to hit start.  I kept going and going.  I thought boy this is taking so long as I waited for my watch to beep but it never came.  Finally I looked and it was still on pause. I was bummed because I felt like I was going at a fast clip.  Now I will never know how good my effort was. I only have record for the next four repeats: 10:05/9:48/9:31/8:37. I made a conscious effort to try and beat the previous effort, so I ran as hard as I could at each repeat. I am happy with the results.


Tuesday 6 easy 4.20 mi recovery walk
I've never really taken the time to appreciate walking as recovery. I should do this more often.  My mother in law and I walked a gradual hill which took us 1 hour and 22 minutes to complete. It was windy and cold, but we got it done.  I was thinking my Achilles would be sore from the hill repeats the day before.  Pleasantly it was not the case. I must be doing something right.

Friday Rest 6.17 Tempo-ish
Did a fabulous effort today.  I need to do more of these kinds of workouts where I push myself just a little bit. I ran 3.42 miles at a 8:46 pace.  Today felt easy and at the same time I was careful not to go overboard as it is after all my first run in two days from vacation.

Saturday 5 pace run 5.5 pace run
Today's workout took a lot more effort.  I was more in tune with the watch keeping an eye on my pace since it is so easy to fall off.  For one thing, the temperature was a lot warmer than I wanted.  It was my fault, I got up too late. The longer I waited, the higher the temps got. I knew it and I paid for it. I got it done with a 9:15 pace.  I was slower 6 seconds per mile. Also I have been thinking more about my 1 minute walk breaks and how I should incorporate it not only on the long runs, but the short runs as well. This way I can figure out my pacing on both slow and fast runs. I knew that if I dropped the walk breaks I could have easily hit the 9:09 pace.  I know I can get there, there's plenty of time to practice this.

Sunday 10 mi long run 12 miles

Just me and the road...

Since today marks the start of the New Year, I thought what better way to start it with 12 miles. I knew my legs were a bit tired from Friday's tempo run and the Saturday's pace run. I did the best I could to stay as close as I could to a 9:45 pace from two weeks ago. My Turri Road route is a bit peppered with rolling hills so I anticipated an even more slower pace. I took my new pack/vest for a second spin. This time for a longer run. I even took my smart phone and Gu gels to practice running with a loaded pack. My smart phone is a tad more substantial than my dumb phone. It felt like I have a bit of weight on one pocket. I have to remember to bring something to pad inside the pocket to alleviate the jostling. Here are some pictures of my friends along my route. They were eyeing something that my nose didn't agree with.

Say Hello to my little friends: the buzzards

My mistake: turkey vultures

All in all, Week #10 went well, even with all the switching up.  Sometimes we have to be flexible and just go with it. Running doesn't have to be so stressful. If it becomes stressful then, you lose the enjoyment. If there is no enjoyment then it becomes work. And who wants to work?

Happy running!

P.S.
I don't know why some of the text are in black print.  I've tried to figure it out and I gave up.

UltrAspire Spry - Gear Review

For Christmas, my husband and daughter decided to give me this wonderful new Brooks tech shirt and matching shorts from the Running Warehouse.  I love the shirt and shorts, but I had to exchange it for something else that caught my eye! From time to time I get this email from the Running Warehouse about sales and stuff.  I never really pay much attention since I have all the gear I could possibly need--well, for now, that is.   I try to avoid going to the RW it's pure temptation. But the email I received, lured me in. Thank goodness my Hubby gets me.  He knows that I am hard to shop for, I am very picky.  So my returning the running tee and shorts was okay with him.

Lately, I've been running with a hand-held 20 ounce bottle.  It's good for up to 12 miles of long run. Any longer than that, I would normally get a re-fill from a gas station or a water fountain. Luckily with the 14 miler last weekend, there's a supermarket perfectly situated by my Turri Road loop. For longer than 14 miles, I would usually wear the belt with four-flasks of 8 oz, which gives me a total of 32 oz. With the weight, sometimes it rubs me in spots that while running I can't really feel, but during a shower with hot water--let's just say I can't ignore it. Chaffing is not my thing. The extra pocket of the belt for gels is a plus. I can squeeze in my phone if I want to take pictures for my blog.  The thing that annoys me however is having to reach for stuff in the back while running. It messes up my gait and form and slows me down--not that I am running at an incredible rate of speed or anything like that, but at my glacial pace, seconds matter to me--most especially if I'm doing a pace run or tempo run. The other annoyance of mine is the way that my forearm would hit the top of the flasks or my water bottle. I can't totally blame the bottles, but with my short frame, I tend to hit it on my sides. It doesn't help to rotate it a bit since there are 4 bottles evenly space around me. I just learned to settle with it over time.

What do you think? Is it a keeper?

How do I look?

Now I have a choice.  Here's where the UltrAspire Spry comes in the picture.  It is a vest where everything is at your fingertips. It allows you freedom of movement, where all the action takes place in the front. I took it for a spin on my 5 mile pace run today. It would have been nicer if I didn't dilly dallied and waited until the sun was high. It also would be great as an extra layer for warmth on a cool day. After all it is a vest.

Hello running vest you and I will pal around in 2012!

I decided on the blue. It comes in purple and red. But RW didn't carry red and since there was only 1 left in blue and a ton in purple, I opted for the blue.  It's more like a bluish-greenish tint. It's pretty.  The Spry comes with 5 pockets in the front with two loops by the shoulder harness for something I haven't thought of.  But I know its going to come in handy.

I forgot to mention the reflective strips on the back

The back has one big pocket for bigger items such as a jacket.  I would use that big pocket for arm warmers and gloves or even extra bottle of water. One nice thing about the closure is that it is held by a magnet.  It's not a chinsy magnet, this one is strong. I hate the Velcro closures because it seems to always scratch me especially when I am in a hurry. Usually I am in a hurry. I'm just jamming stuff in so I can get back into running. Not only does it scratch me, it's guaranteed that the Velcro would snag my more high end tech shirts. Yes I am always bummed when I discover new snags!

This is where my smart phone is going.

Gu gel pouch perhaps?

The back side pocket is a perfect size.  Now the front is what I love.  Everything is right at my fingertips.  On the left side harness/shoulder strap, there's a zippered pouch where I keep my smart phone. I carry my phone for safety and also for pictures now that I have a 5 MP camera. It fits perfectly with more room to stuff more items in it. In front of the zippered pocket is another pouch which has a slanted opening for easy access. A Gu gel would go in there perfectly. Above the zippered pouch is another pocket. This one is slimmer and flatter. I envision putting a Gu gel in there or my pepper spray when I run the trails of Montana de Oro. (I've yet to come across a mama wild boar.) Above that slim pocket is another strap.  I know it's handy for something but I haven't thought of any at the moment. 

Don't let this pouch fool you, it can fit a water bottle in it

Magnetic pocket for electrolyte tabs

Hook closure, so small and unobtrusive

The front closure is held by diminutive metal loop that hooks on to the other side.  It is not like the usual clip, where my skin sometimes gets caught if I was too hasty. Ouch! Tightening and loosening takes seconds. There's two harnesses that connects the front and back, one on the left and one on the right. Again the tightening and loosening mechanism is quick.

I ran for 5 miles and it worked great.  I practiced taking my smart phone out to take pictures and it was a cinch.  (Here's a bonus picture for you from my Baywood run. You can see Morro Bay's Morro Rock through the tree.)

 Morro Rock through the trees 

The pockets are perfectly placed where I can get my gels in and out. My water bottle was the perk.  I didn't expect to fit it, but it did. I was going to run with it on my hand but for short runs like this, I am able to run free. This means I can have another 8 ounce of water on me in addition to the hand-held 24 ounce for longer runs up to 18 miles.
I must say this vest was made for people who like hand-helds.  I know I am going to like it for the simple fact that I won't have to set it down on the ground when I use the porta-potties unlike my Fuel belt.   You know what I am talking about.

The Nathan HPL #28 Running Vest

Krissy Moehl, the ultra runner superstar likes to run with her hydration vest without the bladder.  She likes the vest because she can get to her nutrition quickly.  Nathan Sports made a vest specific to Krissy's liking with a slimmer pouch on the back. It is called Nathan HPL #028 Running Vest. They stopped making it for several years then Nathan Sports brought it back--it might have been this past year. I've had my eyes out for it, Zombierunner carries it and I am so glad that I waited.  I like the Spry's magnetic closure a lot. This will save my tech tees from snags. Good things comes to those who wait...

Napa Valley Marathon Training Week 11

It has been a while since I have posted.  Sandwiched between the holidays, my little girl’s 12th b-day came barreling at me in awesome speed. I barely had time to get my runs in, but I did manage to get them in.  I just have been doing a poor job logging in my miles. It’s because I had unknowingly wiped out my calendar clean.  I had been logging my morning heart rate and weight first thing in the morning and my miles on my ipad calendar.  When I synched my ipad to my computer, it told me that I had the option to update to OS 5.00.  The sound of getting something new always gets me giddy.  I put off downloading the new software and rightfully so since the cause of my hesitation was the fact that the little message came on that said, some of my stuff would be erased.  Well it said it in much more flowery language and being the idiot that I am pushed yes! So it did, I have now overhauled my system to the updated one sans my NYC training data!  I wanted to crawl in a small space and cry.  But the good news is my entry in the Daily Mile would save me. It’s just a lot of work having to transfer every single day in manually!  I wished there was an exporting device that I could use.

I have been formulating my training plan for Napa 2012. As you can tell, I don’t have the luxury of training 18 weeks using Hal Higdon’s Plan. After CIM, I merely have 13 weeks, and one of those weeks is technically my recovery week.  I have to condense 18 weeks of training into 12 and hope that it will be enough.   The tricky part is finding that balance between rest and hard work.  I finally devised a plan. And I hope it works.

I just finished Week 12 with roughly 25 miles:

Mon – Rest

Tuesday – Easy (4.41mi)
I ran with the Running Divas. I could only go for 1 mile with them, then puttered out. They are like gazelles.  I love running with them.

Wed – 5x200m hill repeats (3.1 mi)
Hill kicked my butt. I went back to Lizzie Hill for some tastes of steepness. I knew I would need some rest come Thursday.

Thursday – Rest

Fri – Fast (5.71 mi)
I forgot to set my Garmin. I ran with my other morning running buddy, Mora. It felt like we ran faster than normal.

Sat – Rest
Sun – Long Run (12 mi)
I ran one loop of Turri Road. This was awesome. I’ve incorporated back one minute walk breaks per 10 minutes of running. Jeff Galloway would be so proud. Including the walk breaks my pace was 9:45 for a hilly route.

It was an awesome week, on the whole.  A little low on the miles, but I am not worried about it. I wanted to make sure that I eased back into the mileage. I’ve learned to be patient. It was around this time last year that I injured myself doing too much.
Happy Running!