Sluggish run, gorgeous sky

Just a 3 mile recovery run last night. Wooden legs turning to cement as we dragged ourselves past the easy 2 mile turnaround point and down into the park. Some days, the body and mind settle in. On others, like last night, the only satisfaction is the task accomplished. I like to picture myself at mile 16 of a marathon, remind myself that the bad days are better training than the good sometimes. The sky was indeed beautiful - bright indigo and star filled.

Last night, I dreamed I was running the half marathon. The course was poorly marked, with jaunts into blind alleys, and even a mall. Somewhere along the way, I grew confused as to whether I was running a whole marathon or a half, and I only confirmed it was a half when someone jumped forward, holding up a stopwatch to record my time. In the dream, I finished in 2:14:55. Better than I'll do in the real thing - perhaps my mind has launched a positive visualization campaign.

Finally, I'm moving up in the blogosphere - the blog has cracked the top million on Technorati. (Insert amused smile). Thanks, everyone, for reading and linking here.

Speed

I can't help it, I want to go fast. Last night, Andy and I headed out for a 40 minute tempo run around 9pm and for some reason, I really wanted to see what I could do. It was a beautiful night, with a slender new moon hanging over the western horizon, and after about 5 minutes, I began to speed up until we reached a 9:30/minute mile. At the faster pace, it was difficult to remain consistent. We fluctuated between about 8:30 and 10:00, with one spurt at about 8:00. For now, that seems to be this machine's top speed - I could only keep it up for a couple of minutes.

About 4 miles into the run, I noticed Andy sneaking looks at me. "Tired," I asked gleefully. I was a bit tired too, but I thought about the advice from my running books: slowing down is often just a lapse in concentration; if you don't feel good, try running faster; stay with your competition until you can't any longer, then overtake them(!) I had fallen to a 10:06 pace, and I consciously pushed it faster, staying there until we reached the panhandle and could jog a fast, relaxed pace home.

I came away feeling like I'd overcome a plateau, that I had begun to tap into a new level of fitness and endurance. Shaving off the next 2 minutes per mile will be a more difficult (and long) task, but I'm ready for it.

The Gadget Search: First Try

I bought a Nike + running system on my lunch break today. Kurt suggested I try it when I posted about running watches last week, (though I noticed that he's been complaining about the sensor in his last few posts). It's nothing like the more expensive systems. From what I read, its accuracy runs in the low 90 percents, and it doesn't monitor heart rate, or make pretty graphs, or have a GPS device. But since I already have an ipod nano (OK, technically it belongs to Andy, but I got it for him, and I mostly use it, just like the guitar), the total cost was only $37 dollars - $29 for the system, and $8 bucks for a little shoe wallet to put the sensor in. If I can calibrate it to somewhere near 95% accuracy, it might be all I need for now. Anyway, it's certain to be more accurate than than the combination of Google mapping and a cell phone I've been using thus far.

Even if I do like it, I'll probably buy a Forerunner eventually. I'm enough of a geek to want the higher accuracy and better tricks, even if I'm not yet enough of a runner to really justify it. I know I said I didn't like the look of the Forerunner, but after seeing the size and look of some of the other ones, including Nike, I think I actually prefer something that's clearly a "device," rather than a watch. But that's for some other day. First, I'm going to give the little Nike pebble a day in court.

Wanted: Running Watch

Remember all that stuff I wrote about simplicity, about running when I want, where I want, for free? Throw that all out the window. I want a fancy running watch with heart rate monitor, and pace calculator and everything else. But which one? At something over $300 regardless of brand, I'm feeling some trepidation. I'd prefer to spend somewhere around $150, but it seems that in order to monitor speed, I'll have to spring for the more expensive version. If there's a good less expensive speed tracker, please tell me. i-run links to an excellent blog story explaining the technology of pace tracking. The story also evaluates most of the main contenders.

I'm turned off by the size and look of the Garmin Forerunners - I just don't like the idea of going out with a big clunky GPS device strapped to my wrist. And since I have an Apple Powerbook rather than a PC, I won't be able to interface with the thing anyway. If you are thinking about a Forerunner, however, there's currently a $50 rebate on the 205s and 305s - get it before May 15th.

So on to the Nike Triax Elite and Polar 625X models, both equally expensive and with similar technology (neither brand seems to use GPS). They're both ugly, but Nike seems a bit sleeker, with an S shaped band and face for easier viewing. Since I'm not an elite runner, or even an elite blogger, I don't have the luxury of testing each out. But I can go to the store and try them on and push their buttons, which is what I have planned for tomorrow - after my run.

Running for a Cause - My First Race!

Suddenly my first race is just two and a half weeks away. I've been shooting for the 12k in March, but today, on the spur of the moment, I signed up for the Kaiser Permanente 5k on February 4th as well. Well, Andy signed me up. After a bit of haggling ("why pay $25 to run 3 miles right where we always run 3 miles" - a fair point, but I liked the idea of a real race) we agreed: he signed me up, and paid, to celebrate running, and my running, and to do something anti-athletic-consumerism before settling down to watch the Super Bowl that afternoon. In return, I offered to pay for his introductory yoga pass (30 days for $30) when we finally try to get back into doing yoga again (we've made a date for 10am Saturday, January 27th).

More importantly, the race is in support of three Bay Area charities. I am running in support of Family House, a home away from home for families whose critically ill children are being treated at UCSF Children's Hospital. I already feel blessed to have made running a part of my life, so it makes sense to combine it with something else that's always been important to me - making a meaningful contribution to my community and the world. I'd like to raise a total of $500 for Family House, so please, if you can afford to help, follow the link at right and donate today. It will mean a great deal.

San Francisco Marathon Route

Jeff over at Map My Run alerted me to the fact that you can now embed maps into a blog. So here's the 2007 San Francisco Marathon route. A preview of what I'll be preparing for over the next several months.

Also, I hear it's National De-lurking Week, and I know there are a few of you who've found the blog, so please leave a comment and tell me about yourself!



Running the Embarcadero

At the risk of having to eat my words, I officially declare myself to be out of danger of shin splints. At least for now. Last night I took my first 5 mile run in about 2 weeks and everything felt great. I ran along the Embarcadero which, unlike Golden Gate Park, is full of activity. Runners, cyclists, and tourists filled the wide walkway along the waterfront. It was cold and windy near the water, so I pulled up my hood and ran to the sound of vinyl swishing against my ears. After about a mile and a half, I felt good enough to pick up the pace, and ran at something near a 10.5 minute mile for the next three miles. As I approached the Ferry Building on the way back, I forced myself to slow down again, though not quite to warm up pace. I completed the run in 58 minutes, an average pace of about 11:36.

Now that I'm back on track, I'll have a new training schedule with new pace goals up soon. The 12k is only 10 weeks away so, sadly, I might not get to add any 10 milers before the race. It's tempting to try for 7 miles on Sunday and stick with my current schedule, but it's probably smarter to play it safe and log a few solid 6 mile runs before upping my distances.

Jumping In

I first fell in love with marathons last July, when the San Francisco Marathon took its course down Haight Street. I woke in the early morning to the sounds of cheering outside my window and dimly remembered that the race was taking place. Feeling an odd sense of alertness and energy, I dressed and walked down to the street to watch as the first waves of runners made their way toward Fillmore Street. Friendly Hell's Angels directed traffic and pointed the way, and small crowds had gathered on almost every corner to cheer. I had never run more than a mile or two, and do not generally think of myself as athletic, but something about the moment captured my imagination. I decided that when the San Francisco Marathon came past Haight Street the following year, I would be running in it.

I have always loved running, and in the 4th and 5th grades, I excelled at the 50 yard dash, the long jump, and the relay. I even have a few blue and red ribbons. But mostly I rode horses and wrote poems and read books, and that is still true. On that July day, my only athletic shoes were a three year old pair of cross trainers. Still, I thought that if I could run for just thirty minutes. And then if I could keep running with some kind of sporadic consistency despite the demands of graduate school, and work, and loved ones, and vacations. And if, when January came and I was still running, I still loved it, then I would begin to train.

Of course, it didn't quite happen like that, though I did run for nearly thirty minutes the first day. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't too difficult either and slowly I began adding miles. At the end of a run, I couldn't wait to start the next one. I bought a pair of real running shoes. Though I began to feel a persistent soreness in my left leg, I thought little of it. Finally the pain the the beginning and end of runs was too much to ignore. I had expected a shin splint to present itself on the front of my leg, not along the inside calf near the muscle, as it did, but the signs were all too clear. I took a week off, which became two, then three. I took infrequent short runs but was frustrated by how quickly I had lost fitness. Finally, a few weeks ago, I asked after a pair of Capri sweat pants I had bought for running and Andy quipped, "I gave them to a runner." I couldn't even be mad, because he was right. I had not run for several weeks.

So I began running again. Not much, but enough. Then, last Sunday night, Andy and I took a frigid 4.5 mile run through Golden Gate Park. It was my first pain free run in several months and I came back ecstatic, despite the cold. I decided I needed a more immediate goal, and a bit more guidance, so I set my sites on a 12K race scheduled for March 18th. Then I went to Runners World and generated a 13 week training schedule, complete with speed work, tempo runs, and weekend long runs. It started with an easy run last night. Two miles at something like a 14:01 minute mile. It was the easiest run I've ever taken. Now for the hard part.