Last year, my daughter Aisling began running cross country for her high school team. She did well, and decided she wanted to run a half marathon. I agreed to do one with her, so in December we signed up for the American River Parkway Half Marathon.
We planned to start training in January, but then Aisling joined her track team, and naturally, the track coach doesn't want them doing road races during the season as it increases the risk of injury. So I started training by myself in January. I had always run short distances two to three times per week, I simply added a long run on the weekend to that. My long run actually started out pretty short - my first one being only 45 minutes - and I just increased it over the course of several months. A couple of things really worked to my advantage during training. First, I live very close to the American River Parkway and Lake Natoma, great places to run. The second thing that helped was my furlough days. It was so much easier to schedule a long run on a furlough day than a weekend day, just logistically. I increased my time and distance a little with each long run. Sometimes I felt really good with the increase, but some of the long runs were really hard. I remember the first time I ran 10 miles, I actually thought I was going to cry at the end. On the other hand, two weeks ago, I ran 12.5 miles, and felt really pretty good.
Yesterday was the big day. I arrived at the starting line at William Pond Park at the starting time of 8. We didn't actually get started until about 8:30, however. The race started with a Scottish band, with bagpipes and drums, marching across the starting line. It was great! It was also really crowded - about 3,000 people in all. The course was lovely, along the river, nice and flat. There were bands all along the way serenading us, and plenty of water/gatorade stations. I started out well, and as I hit the miles markers, I was feeling pretty good, all the way up until about mile 10. Then it started to get really hard! The mile markers seemed to be further apart at that point. So I would guess that I walked about .75 of the last 3 miles. Once I passed the 12 mile marker, there were many of the people who had already finished the race lined up yelling encouragement. So I pushed on and finally made it across the finish line. My time was 2:23:44. I had been aiming for under 2:30, so I was very satisfied. I did sort of feel like I was so tired and sore that I was about to cry! But instead of crying, I just went home and showered, that made me feel much better. I spent the rest of the day drinking probably gallons of water!
So will I do it again? I don't know - the length is hard. 10 miles felt okay, but 13 felt painful. So ask me again in a couple of weeks when the memory of the pain is gone!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Furlough day long run
So today was my furlough day. Many thanks to the governator for the day off and the accompanying paycut!! Anyhow, in an effort to not put my furlough day to waste, I decided to use it to stretch my long run out to ninety minutes. Rain was in the forecast for midmorning, so I thought I'd get out there early to miss that, so I started running at 8:30. While it wasn't raining it was overcast and slightly chilly - in other words, perfect running weather. When I did my last long run, 75 minutes, it was a little later in the day, and a little warmer, and I think I paced myself wrong, because when I got to the end of the run, I just thought I was going to die, or at least vomit. Happily I managed to avoid doing either! So today, I decided to pace myself slower by breaking up the run with stretches of short walks. So more or less, I ran for 20 minutes, then walked for a couple of minutes and continued on in that pace.
My favorite place to run is the American River Parkway. I usually cross the footbridge in Fair Oaks, and head upriver toward the Sac State Acquatic center and then back again. But that isn't quite long enough for 90 minutes, so instead I headed downriver. My plan was to run downriver until I hit about 50 minutes, and then head back. I had never run further than the Bannister Park bridge in that direction before, so it was good to get a change of scenery. You can see my route here. Because it was Friday, it wasn't too crowded on the parkway. And it is really a lovely run. I ran from the upper Sunrise are to the lower Sunrise area. Because the trail, the Jedediah Smith Memorial trail, winds through the recreation areas, sometimes you're close to the river and sometimes you're not. So it's heavily wooded in some areas, and more open in others. There's also a fair amount of interesting wildlife. There are warning signs for mountain lions (why are they down near a river if they're called mountain lions? there's no mountain) but luckily I didn't see them. I did have to run through a flock of turkeys though. They let me pass without pecking me too much. More information on the Jedediah Smith Trail can be found here.
Anyhow, perhaps it was the perfect running weather, or the time of day, or the slower pace I took, but it was a very good run. I ran almost 8.5 miles and I am planning to stretch it out to 10 miles next week on my next furlough day, following the same route, just going a little further!
Also, I really would like photos of the route but obviously I don't carry a camera on my run. However, we are currently dogsitting for some friends who are in Argentina. So perhaps we'll take their dog, Linus, for a walk on that route. That could be fun!
My favorite place to run is the American River Parkway. I usually cross the footbridge in Fair Oaks, and head upriver toward the Sac State Acquatic center and then back again. But that isn't quite long enough for 90 minutes, so instead I headed downriver. My plan was to run downriver until I hit about 50 minutes, and then head back. I had never run further than the Bannister Park bridge in that direction before, so it was good to get a change of scenery. You can see my route here. Because it was Friday, it wasn't too crowded on the parkway. And it is really a lovely run. I ran from the upper Sunrise are to the lower Sunrise area. Because the trail, the Jedediah Smith Memorial trail, winds through the recreation areas, sometimes you're close to the river and sometimes you're not. So it's heavily wooded in some areas, and more open in others. There's also a fair amount of interesting wildlife. There are warning signs for mountain lions (why are they down near a river if they're called mountain lions? there's no mountain) but luckily I didn't see them. I did have to run through a flock of turkeys though. They let me pass without pecking me too much. More information on the Jedediah Smith Trail can be found here.
Anyhow, perhaps it was the perfect running weather, or the time of day, or the slower pace I took, but it was a very good run. I ran almost 8.5 miles and I am planning to stretch it out to 10 miles next week on my next furlough day, following the same route, just going a little further!
Also, I really would like photos of the route but obviously I don't carry a camera on my run. However, we are currently dogsitting for some friends who are in Argentina. So perhaps we'll take their dog, Linus, for a walk on that route. That could be fun!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Weekend runs
So with two months to go before the half marathon, I am trying to build up more stamina with a weekly long run. Generally, to minimize the risk of missing it due to procrastination, I aim to do the long run on Saturday, rather than Sunday. This weekend, Ashling's track team was doing timed trials on Saturday, so I thought I could use that time for my long run. Rain was predicted for Saturday, but you can never be sure that's right. But when we woke up Saturday, it was pouring. Wet and chilly! Ashling's track team was meeting at American River College at 9, so off we went. When we got there, Ashling's coach, Sherri, had decided against the timed trial, so as to avoid having the girls sitting around in the cold rain in between being timed, and opted instead to do a short practice. I decided to do a short run around the track when the rain seemed to ease off. Well, that was a temporary easing off! I think I had done two laps when it really started to pour. So I managed to do about two miles in the pouring rain. It was fairly lonely out there at the ARC track, also. Just Ashling's track team, the Jesuit High School boys track team (apparently, they are not bothered by the rain), and a couple of very tough solo runners were out. I was glad to get back into the warm car, I tell you.
That meant that my long run needed to happen on Sunday. As it worked out, Sunday was an incredibly nice day. Last day in February, temperature in the 60s, and beautiful sunny skies. We took Ashling back to ARC to practice long jump and triple jump. That triple jump thing is wacky! Hopping and jumping? I wonder who thought that up and what they were smoking at the time? I also read that one of the women on the Irish Women's Olympic Bobsleigh team (yes we have one) is also a triple jumper. You must need the same special muscles (that I don't have) for both events. Anyhow, I had Gordon drop me off at a place called Bannister Park on the way home so I could start my long run. My plan was to do 75 minutes, so for those who know the Sacramento area, I planned to run through Bannister Park, cross the river on the footbridge, run up the River to the Sac State Aquatic Center, and then turn around and come back to the Fair Oaks bridge, cross there and then run home. For those who don't know the Sacramento area, I mapped my route using Runkeeper, and you can see it here. I've just started to use this runkeeper thing on my iPhone, and I won't say I've mastered it yet. I occasionally accidentally pause it (usually when I am trying to change a song or something) and I end up with a break in the run. But you get the idea.
This is really a very nice route. In fact, any route on the American River Parkway is just fabulous. And people who live here really take advantage of it. So on a beautiful day like today, the parkway is full of other runners, walkers, bicyclists, people walking dogs etc. etc. It means you have to pay attention so as not to collide with a bicyclist, but it it nice to see so many people out there. And of course, you're running right by the river, watching people fish, kayak etc. etc. It's also a good surface to run on - the bike path is in great shape, no potholes or anything - but most of the time you can run on the shoulder, which is a lot easier on the knees and ankles. Also, it's nice and flat! The only problem today is that there is some construction going on at the Aquatic Center end of the parkway, and the parkway is basically closed between the Nimbus Fish Hatchery and the Aquatic Center. That's not a huge distance or anything, but in order to make sure I got enough running in, I ran around the fish hatchery parking lot a couple of time. That was probably the low spot of the run, from a scenery perspective.
Today's run was the longest that I have done so far, and takes me beyond the halfway point for a half marathon. A quarter marathon maybe. But I must say, it was hard! When I crossed the Fair Oaks bridge, probably at the 6.5 mile point, I was really feeling it. There's a slight hill from the bridge going toward the village, and I thought that I would die, or at least throw up, at that point. But I managed to not do either, so that was good. I am not sure how it is going to feel to double that distance. I foresee a substantial period of time walking during the midpoint of the half marathon!
Next week I am aiming for a longish run on Thursday night with the Folsom Trail Runners, as Aidan is coming to spend the weekend starting Friday night. Maybe I'll do a long walk with Aidan instead of a long run.
That meant that my long run needed to happen on Sunday. As it worked out, Sunday was an incredibly nice day. Last day in February, temperature in the 60s, and beautiful sunny skies. We took Ashling back to ARC to practice long jump and triple jump. That triple jump thing is wacky! Hopping and jumping? I wonder who thought that up and what they were smoking at the time? I also read that one of the women on the Irish Women's Olympic Bobsleigh team (yes we have one) is also a triple jumper. You must need the same special muscles (that I don't have) for both events. Anyhow, I had Gordon drop me off at a place called Bannister Park on the way home so I could start my long run. My plan was to do 75 minutes, so for those who know the Sacramento area, I planned to run through Bannister Park, cross the river on the footbridge, run up the River to the Sac State Aquatic Center, and then turn around and come back to the Fair Oaks bridge, cross there and then run home. For those who don't know the Sacramento area, I mapped my route using Runkeeper, and you can see it here. I've just started to use this runkeeper thing on my iPhone, and I won't say I've mastered it yet. I occasionally accidentally pause it (usually when I am trying to change a song or something) and I end up with a break in the run. But you get the idea.
This is really a very nice route. In fact, any route on the American River Parkway is just fabulous. And people who live here really take advantage of it. So on a beautiful day like today, the parkway is full of other runners, walkers, bicyclists, people walking dogs etc. etc. It means you have to pay attention so as not to collide with a bicyclist, but it it nice to see so many people out there. And of course, you're running right by the river, watching people fish, kayak etc. etc. It's also a good surface to run on - the bike path is in great shape, no potholes or anything - but most of the time you can run on the shoulder, which is a lot easier on the knees and ankles. Also, it's nice and flat! The only problem today is that there is some construction going on at the Aquatic Center end of the parkway, and the parkway is basically closed between the Nimbus Fish Hatchery and the Aquatic Center. That's not a huge distance or anything, but in order to make sure I got enough running in, I ran around the fish hatchery parking lot a couple of time. That was probably the low spot of the run, from a scenery perspective.
Today's run was the longest that I have done so far, and takes me beyond the halfway point for a half marathon. A quarter marathon maybe. But I must say, it was hard! When I crossed the Fair Oaks bridge, probably at the 6.5 mile point, I was really feeling it. There's a slight hill from the bridge going toward the village, and I thought that I would die, or at least throw up, at that point. But I managed to not do either, so that was good. I am not sure how it is going to feel to double that distance. I foresee a substantial period of time walking during the midpoint of the half marathon!
Next week I am aiming for a longish run on Thursday night with the Folsom Trail Runners, as Aidan is coming to spend the weekend starting Friday night. Maybe I'll do a long walk with Aidan instead of a long run.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Running by the river
I've been running for several years, but mostly short distances. However, I have decided to do a half marathon in May, the American River Parkway Half Marathon.. That's 13.1 miles. That's a long way. I have heard from other runners, who all think I can do this, that the difference between training for this and training for something short distance is pretty straightforward. In addition to the normal runs and other workouts during the week, you simply add a long run on the weekend. So I've been doing that, gradually increasing the length of the run. I want to get it to a two hour run by the middle of March. This weekend, I did a one hour run. For those who know the area, I ran through Fair Oaks village, down to the American River, across the Fair Oaks bridge, and then on upstream along the river, until I got to Nimbus Fish Hatchery by Hazel Avenue and then back again. I'm not fast, so I think it's overall under six miles. But it was a good run. Yesterday was the most lovely day so far this year weather-wise. After several weeks of rain, it was clear and warm (at least for January). The American River Parkway trail is very popular and because of the great weather, there were lots of people running and biking, and also people in the river fishing.
So I plan to keep up this schedule, gym workouts four or five times a week and a long run on the weekend, probably always by the American River. I am also hoping to recruit a team of runners (other than Ashling) to do the half marathon!
So I plan to keep up this schedule, gym workouts four or five times a week and a long run on the weekend, probably always by the American River. I am also hoping to recruit a team of runners (other than Ashling) to do the half marathon!
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