November 9, 2011 by Darlene

Santa Clarita Half Marathon Pre-Race Report

Friday night, I arrived in LA after a LONG uneventful flight. The 3 hr time gain was helpful as Ellen & I stayed up for awhile and chatted. I hadn’t seen Ellen since her sister’s wedding in 1975!!!

Ellen's house in Van Nuys

Saturday am we got up early and headed to the expo to pick up our race packets. It was a beautiful sunny day -a little cool but a perfect day for a race. Unfortunately the race was on Sunday when RAIN was predicted!!

Ellen & I with our bibs

I got a cool tech shirt & a bag

I tried to put that horrible thought out of my mind and let Ellen become my personal tour guide. She was great and drove me past all the famous sites of LA.

I even got to have a carb-loaded pasta lunch in Beverly Hills.

Of course, several times Ellen suggested that I buy something to wear in case it rains for the race. I chose to be optimistic – weather.com said 30% chance of showers. That’s 70% chance of no showers!

I ordered some more carbs – French toast – at dinner and I was set or so I thought at the time.

wearing our race shirts that we weren't racing in

Ellen and I spent the rest of the evening organizing our race outfits before heading to bed early for a early wake up…

To be continued…

Happy Running!

November 7, 2011 by Darlene

Last Week in Review & Another Half Completed

Monday – 1.5 hours tennis after work
Tuesday – 3 miles during lunch, 1.5 hours tennis after work
Wednesday – 3 miles after work, 1.25 hours yoga
Thursday – REST
Friday – REST
Saturday – REST
Sunday – 13.1 miles – HALF MARATHON #5 – DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2:30:12 – the short version: rain the first half…ran too fast..died…nice course..should have done better…

(Race Report coming when I return East…)

Happy Running!

November 4, 2011 by Darlene

Half Marathon Goal Revised

I decided to not be a wimp and just GO FOR IT!

My New Goal= 2:22:38 or lower!! Yes, I plan to try to PR!!!!

Here’s why…

Lake George Half elevation
Finish time = 2:22:39

Fall Foliage Half elevation
Finish time = 2:32:50

Santa Clarita Half elevation

Looks flatter to me….

I have nothing to lose…no embarrassment if I don’t make it.

I’ll be happy to finish and grab my medal…

Correction= HALF MARATHON 11/6/11

In fact, after my last long 12 min/mi run, it doesn’t appear very likely that I will succeed … but I’m gonna try!!

(You’ll find out on Thursday when I get back….suspense………..)

Happy Running! How do you come up with your goals?

November 3, 2011 by Darlene

Goals for Half Marathon #5

As I said in yesterday’s post, I am a little nervous about this race. In addition to having a heel injury and penguin-like training runs, I also will be changing time zones (3 hour time difference) and staying with a friend’s sister, Ellen, whom I haven’t seen in 36 years.

But really, I’m excited about leaving the Northeast and heading to sunny Cali! I am also looking forward to hanging out with Ellen, her hubby & her daughter. (Ellen, stop cleaning!!!)

My Goals:

A. Have FUN!
B. Finish!
C. Do not re-injure my foot or injure any other body part!
E. Finish faster than Half Marathon #3 –under 2:45.
F. Finish faster than Half Marathon #4 –under 2:32. (This is my hope!)
G.Finish faster than Half Marathon #2 — under 2:22. (This is A DREAM & a PR!!)

Happy Running! California, here I come!

November 2, 2011 by Darlene

My Half Marathon Nerves

I am running in my 5th Half Marathon this weekend and I am VERY NERVOUS. Here’s why:

1st Half in Naples, Florida

My 1st Half was 1-16-11 (my wedding anniversary). My longest race to that point was a 5k. I trained well. I was healthy. I was so excited. My hubby was waiting at the finish line. My goal was to cross standing up and finish under 2:45 so I could get a medal. I DID in 2:28.

My 2nd Half in Lake George, NY

My 2nd Half was 4-23-11. Now I had already run a half marathon so I knew that I could. I trained well & was healthy. My goal was to run faster but not too much since I knew that it was a hilly course. It was freezing and raining hard the whole 13.1 miles (& I didn’t wear my Garmin) so I was shocked that I was faster (2:22) and won an award for 2nd in my AG.

My 3rd Half in Schroon Lake, NY

My 3rd Half was 9-25-11. Unfortunately I got hurt in June and did not run most of the summer. My goal was no goal – Just finish it in under 5 hours and not re-injure my Achilles. The course was tough but I was able to run the lst half & then I walked most of the 2nd half to finish in 2:44.

my 4th Half Marathon in Rhinebeck, NY

My 4th Half was 10-23-11. I signed up for it on a whim and planned to use it as a week 10 of 12 training run. It was scenic and a race was just the motivation I needed for a good last long run. Unfortunately, I was not prepared physically for the HILLS and although I ran a very good first half of the race, I walked a lot during the last few hills and finished around 2:31. At least I was faster than my 3rd half and I did not get injured by not pushing myself on the hills.

The Santa Clarita Half this weekend is my 5th Half. I am running with my best friend’s sister (who runs marathons.) Of course, I want to do well. My nagging achilles has prevented me from training well. My running has been very cautious for fear of re-injury. The speed has not been there and the long runs have been mixed with walking. These half marathons have been getting harder NOT easier!!

Hopefully I will do OK. Maybe it’ll be flat…

I’m nervous!

Happy Running! Heading to LA!

November 1, 2011 by Darlene

Welcome November!

Wow, October flew by! But I am happy to say that I ran my most miles ever!!! (Previously it was 95 in Dec 2010) I have also surpassed my total miles for 2010 with 2 months left to go!!!

Here were my October Goals:

Continue to run pain-free – YUP!!
Continue tennis & yoga once a week – YUP!!
Run 3-4 times a week – YUP!!
Join a gym & start to cross-train ??? NOPE. Not yet!
Increase weekly mileage by adding long runs to prepare for Half Marathon #4 – YUP! Actually ran it and now it is HM #5
Run a 5k or 10K or both – YUP! A 5K on 10-1-11
10-1-11

10-10-11

10-16-11

10-22-11

10-23-11

10-30-11

GOALS

Hope to continue to run pain-free
Continue tennis & yoga once a week
Run 3-4 times a week
Survive Half Marathon #5
Run a 5k (& finish under 30 min.)
Join a gym & start cross-train

Happy Running!

October 30, 2011 by Darlene

Last Long Run

It’s funny to say that I am officially in Taper mode.

I started training on August 15. In those 12 weeks, I have run 2 half marathons. I also have had long runs of 10, 10.5, 12, 13. That’s six 2 digit runs!!!

On the surface, it appears that I am so much better prepared for this half marathon than my first two. (1-16-11 & 4-23-11)

Not so!!!

It’s deceiving because all of the long training runs this time have been mixed with walking. All except the last half marathon (10-23-11) have paces over 12 min/mile.

I feel that because of my injury, I have been tapering during all of the training runs.

I am pain-free now so I am okay with that. Running slowing is much better than not running at all. (I will repeat this to myself often.)

So today was my last long run.

We had some snow on Thursday and some yesterday. Yes, it’s still October. Those are the joys of living in the Northeast.It was unseasonably cool today (in the 30’s) but at least it was not snowing or raining!!!

4" on the ground this morning

So I headed into town to do at least 8 miles. However, the sidewalks were still snow-covered and slippery so I decided to go some place new.

I heard that the Corning Trail was an awesome place to run – flat & scenic. I usually do not feel like doing extra driving but today I had the time.

I parked at Riverside Park and headed toward Troy. The whole way you had a view of the Hudson River.

It was chilly but I definitely was overdressed. I started with a hat & gloves & jacket.

The trail was indeed flat. The sun came out and melted the snow on the trail.

It was neat to see snow on the ground & leaves still on the trees.

I turned around at the 4 1/4 mile mark and little by little took off my hat, gloves, & tied the jacket around my waist.

I haven’t reached a verdict about the new shoes – yes, they have more support & the bottoms of my feet don’t ache but they are heavier & it feels like running in cement boots (unless I was just tired & hungry).

warm enough for boating

When I got back, the weather was so nice & the scenery so beautiful that I continued in the other direction.

Done!!

I wound up doing 9.5 miles (though there was walking at the end & lots of photo stops). I’m definitely going to add the Corning Trail to my list of running routes.

I’m not sure how much or if any running I’ll get done this week. Tennis 2x, yoga, nails, hair appt, flight to LA …NO TIME!!

Happy Running! Do I need to run this week?

October 29, 2011 by Darlene

Eight Days Out

That’s means it’s time to stress out about the Weather and the Outfit:

I have no control about the weather. I’m fine as long as it doesn’t rain.

Santa Clarita forecast

But do you see a trend??? California must know that an Upstate New York girl is coming West. What they don’t know is that it is cold in the Northeast & I HATE it!! I like warm weather….

The outfit?

Definitely compressions socks and a cap. Those are a given. Possibly the outfit that got covered up during the rainy cold Lake George Half last April.

Maybe this outfit instead:

However, given that the temps will not be the 70’s or 80’s that I had hoped for…I will have to bring a short-sleeved shirt…either white, pink or green and a jacket. (I know will over pack!!)

Other important things:

book to read on the plane

new toy for blogging

Happy Running! Any advice in packing for destination races?

October 24, 2011 by Darlene

Last Week in Review & an Impromptu Half

Monday – 5 miles (on Jones Beach boardwalk)
Tuesday – 3 miles (after work)
Wednesday – 2 miles on treadmill, Yoga 1.25 hrs
Thursday – REST
Friday – 2 miles (after work)
Saturday – REST
Sunday – 13.1 miles – Fall Foliage Half Marathon in Rhinebeck

2 weeks to go… until Half Marathon #5!

Happy Running!

October 22, 2011 by Darlene

Mentoring & HM Goals

I’ve kinda been an absentee mentor. I’ve been working, running or boating & have seen Amanda very infrequently since May.

So today I decided to take her & her 2 sons to Ellms Family Farm. We went there 2 years ago and had a lot of fun.

It was chillier than I would have liked. Probably walking around a farm all day was not the besy way to rest but we had a good time. There were a lot of fun things to do: corn maze, zipline, rides, hayride…cider donuts, etc.