Live it Up Like a Local

I used to travel a lot. If you are a new reader, you probably didn't know that. You were probably wondering why this blog is called Travel Spot. You may have thought it was because I do a lot of foot travel. Well, that is true; I do, but I used to actually go to other countries, backpack on back and hiking boots (or flip flops) at the ready.

It's been been almost two years since I have been out of the country. That is a sad state of affairs.

I have friends that travel sometimes. They stay in 5 star hotels and do package tours and all-inclusive vacations. I am not saying that this is a bad thing; it's just not my style. Okay, sure, I like to put on a fluffy robe and lounge on a king sized white pillow top bed just as much as the rest of them. However, I also like to go to countries and experience them the local way. I like to ride the bus with the chickens and stay in the rattan hut with the mosquito nets. I like to find my own way. For me that is part of the fun.

Albania

When I went to the Himalayas to hike to Everest Base Camp, the fun part was slogging up the mountains (no, really!) with my pack on my back, making my own way up the mountain, without help. When I got to the next place to lay my head, I felt pride and a sense of adventure because I had done it myself. There were times when Mr. Lovely and I were all alone, without another soul around, and we could admire the majestic mountains and the endless peaks without a bunch of fellow tour members. That's how I like it. It may be more work to get there on my own, but in the end, it is totally worth it.

Nepal

I have stayed in a wide variety of accommodations. Sure, sometimes the low end route is pretty crappy. In India, I stayed in a mold infested room with mosquitoes keeping me awake all night, and it was not something I would like to repeat. I see no reason to subject myself to that! But I do like to experience some of the local flavor. Why go to Mexico if you are going to stay in an American hotel and eat American food? You may as well go to Newport Beach or Fort Lauderdale for that. 

India

I realize that everyone travels their own way. But what do you do when you are of one camp and your travel buddy is of another? A friend and I are trying to plan a vacation and she is one of the 5-star-hotel package-tour all-inclusive people. I want to get down and dirty, eat what the locals are eating, how they are eating it and I want to do what the locals do. This is difficult, as I don't want to spend $200+ for a hotel in a country where people make ten dollars a day.  She wants to stay in a place with fluffy robes and pillow top mattresses. She wants to be guided; I want to find my own way.

We are at an impasse. I ask you for help. What do you think we should do?

What camp are you in? Live it up? or Live like a local?

Panic Station

Today I had one of those "oh s**t" moments, where I thought that the Boston Marathon was next weekend and I was worried that I hadn't even picked out my throwaway sweatshirt yet. I also haven't ordered another pouch for my running belt (my current one is falling apart). I thought, "darn it, now I am going to have to pay for two day shipping on Amazon".

Then I realized, not only is the marathon not next weekend, it's not even the weekend after that OR the one after that. It's three weeks and three days away. Cue the panic.

I like to plan ahead. I lay out all my clothes and things a week beforehand and check them off my list (literally). Then I check to make sure I did not miss anything on the list. Then I check my bag again. I have found that this saves me running around at the last minute wondering what I have forgotten. It also saves me forgetting things like my toothbrush or my contacts. I hate feeling unprepared. I hate it. I feel a lot better when I have a nice tidy list and everything is all checked off.

However, I have this feeling that I am forgetting something, that I will forget something, or that I haven't trained enough (cue the laughter from all my non running work friends who think I am crazy when I run 6 miles even!). I know, its the taper madness, but really? I am not even done with my high mileage week yet! However, this week does mark the end of the high mileage. This week is my highest yet, and then comes the dreaded taper.

What will I do with myself when I am not running for several dozen  hours a week? Maybe I will take up the harp, or actually read a book this month. Probably I will spend more time at the gym, and by the time taper is over, my arms will look like this. You know, since I am supposed to be resting my legs.

source

**title inspired by this song

Is anyone you know running the Boston Marathon? Are you running the Boston Marathon? 

When you are leaving for a trip, do you pack beforehand? Have you ever felt like you are unprepared for something even when you were actually ready?

Happy Trails

Happy Spring everyone! I mentioned last week about how one of the things I love is trail running and what better time to do it than in the springtime? It is different than road running though. Instead of trying to go fast, you slow down a bit, take in the fresh air and look at the trees. It's out in nature and the surface is more giving and you can hear birds and see four legged creatures (and no legged creatures). There are three things that I like to remember when I am trail running that keep me going and remind me what it's all about. 

Home sweet home

Eat: This has a few different meanings. First of all, it's important to eat more during a trail run than a regular one. I am still working on this one myself, but it's important to get in more calories than you normally would. For a typical trail run, I tend to eat about twice as often as I do when I am on a road run. Second, when I am racing, I stop all of the aid stations and take the time to eat a few handfuls of food, instead of trying to do all my fueling while on the run. However, if you are running a race, check to see what the race will have in the way of food, because what you have trained with may not be available. And we all know that you don't want to try something for the first time during a race, especially if it's an Ultra!

Some suggested foods that work for me: potatoes and salt, gummy bears, any and all fruit, baby food / applesauce, honey stinger chews / waffles, chocolate raspberry roctane.

Fern run

Drink: Every time I get to an uphill, I slow down (or walk) and drink. Even when I am only running a few miles, I always carry water with me. Of course, in the woods, there is the added bonus of being able to use the bushes whenever you want, without having to worry about needing a port-a-potty (PS, when I did my last 50k, I did not use the bathroom once!), so drink up! I also finally broke down and got a hydration vest a few weeks ago and I am loving it!

Suggested drinks: I usually only use water, but sometimes I also use Nuun when I feel I need a bit of an extra boost.

Coastal Run

Be Merry: Talk to other people. When you stop at the aid stations during a race, talk to the volunteers. Look at the trees. Stop to take pictures. Trail running is fun! It's hiking at a bit of a quicker pace. You are not really in a hurry, so slow down and enjoy the scenery. 

Through the eucalyptus.

Do you hike or trail run? What is your favorite thing about being on the trails? What is your favorite trial snack? 

Step Back!

Today marks the start of the 15th week of Boston training. For those of you who have followed an 18 week training schedule, you know what that means. It means that this week is the highest mileage week in the training schedule. On the schedule this week is my last 20 miler, and a total of 58 miles for the week. I have to say, I will be glad when it is over. Not that I love the taper weeks, but it will be nice to be able to go for a bike ride, or a hike or a kickboxing class, and not have to worry about it cutting into precious running time.

Speaking of a bike ride, last week was a step back week, which means that my long run was only 12 miles and the total mileage for the week was a lot lower than this upcoming week. This did give me a little bit more freedom and I ran with it (ha! no pun intended).

On Sunday, I ran a 5k for Jill's Virtual St Patrick's Day run. It was a great day for it and I gave it my all, finishing in 21:46.

Then I bought a few more accessories for the bike (U-lock and cushy seat cover), I took it out for it's first REAL ride. I have been using it to run errands, like going to the grocery store or library, which are only about a mile from my house. There is one big hill between my house and the grocery store though and I can ride all the way up it one way but coming back it is steeper on that side and I have had to walk it up.

So I was pretty nervous about attempting a longer bike ride. There were a few things I worried about.

(1) That I would get hit by a car. Other people on the road don't always pay attention! I know this, because as a runner, I have come VERY close to being hit a few times. I always feel a bit smaller when a bus comes within a few inches of me. I feel very small in fact.

(2) That I would have to walk up all the hills. Ah, failure, how we fear thee.

(3) That my butt would be on fire by mile 4. Hence the new cushy seat cover.

The Beast, with a new hat for the seat and a fancy St. Patty's day U-lock.

As a runner, we have the same issues. Chafe, pains, fear of failure, and feelings of fragility. So I am used to them. So I said to myself that it is no different than what I am used to, and I got to it. My running friend broke her toe and she asked me if I wanted to ride to a pub that was about 16 miles from my house. Why not? You only live once. YOLO!

It went well. In fact, it went better than I thought it would. I did NOT get run over. We started in Oakland, going through the town for about 7 miles before we got to the SF Bay Trail, where we stayed until we reached Richmond. We stopped for a St. Patrick's day beer at a local pub and then we headed back. We tackled one big hill on the way back and I didn't get off the bike once. The cushioned butt pad was fabulous!

Point Richmond

When I got back to Oakland, I had a humongous burrito and then headed for my final two miles to get home. Unfortunately, the last mile has another fairly steep hill (0 ft - 200 ft in about a half a mile) and I just couldn't do it. These legs were toast and they had really started to realize it when I sat down to eat the burrito.  But I made it. So that's one ride over.

See that hill at the very end? It was brutal!

Total miles: 41.4
Average speed: 11.3 mph

I am pretty excited, because I have always thought I would like to try a triathlon, but it's the biking that was my biggest fear. Now I just need to get over this week's "hill" in my Boston Training (and the Marathon itself) and then I can work on getting better at my biking skills! 

What did you do for St. Patrick's Day? Have you ever done a long bike ride? How do you combat butt soreness?

What I Love: Not

You have already heard about the things I love several times, so here I am back again, with a list of things that I don't love, in no particular order. 

- Those U-Verse commercials. Do you know the ones I am talking about? The little girl says to her younger sister, "when I was YOUR age, we couldn't move the TV into any room. We had to watch Mom's dumb channel..." It basically takes your grandpa's "uphill both ways in the snow" and "5 cents for a candy bar" and makes a really annoying copycat (mockery) of those stories. I am not amused.

- Dogs off leashes. You already know I don't like this. But it keeps getting reconfirmed. Maybe I need to stop running outside, on trails where dogs are supposed to be on leash. Why do people feel entitled to break the rules? It bothers me, especially when there are specific areas where your dog IS allowed to be off leash. I avoid them for a reason, people.

- Poop bags. Again, why can't people just follow the rules? If you want to share the space with everyone, keep it clean! Don't leave your poop bag on the trail! And seriously, you already did the dirty part of the job; now you can't even carry the darn bag to the trash can!?

- Litterbugs. Same problem as above, but this time it's not just dog owners. I see TP, bottles, cans and other things in places they don't belong, but it REALLY chaps my hide when I am out in nature and people have littered there. Respect your home, people!

- People that won't shut up. Have you ever been on a plane and had the person next to you talk to you even though you have your headphones on AND your nose in a book!? There is certain body language that people need to learn to read. I don't want to feel (a) obligated to talk to you or (b) rude because I am ignoring you. Don't make me be rude to you. This also pertains to people at work. When I am starting to turn and (try to) walk away, please stop talking about your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend's cousin's daughter's cat. Please.

- Snakes. Yup, it's that time of year again. Remember last year when I saw 12 snakes by May? Well I am hoping not to repeat that again this year! I have my eye out though!

What don't you love? What annoys you? What's the weirdest/worst conversation you have had with a co-worker/airplane seat mate?

What I Love

- Trail Running.

Palos Colorados Trail

- Greek yogurt with honey. I have been buying the plain Fage from Costco and adding my own local honey to it as a treat and it is So Good.

- A weed free garden. I spent the last couple of weekends prepping the garden for planting and even planting a few things! So far in the ground: tomatoes, green beans, beets, carrots, zucchini and two that are new to me: peppers and broccoli. I am still waiting for a few more to sprout before planting them but I am excited to try a few new things and am looking forward to eating FRESH tomatoes again!

- This song

- Having this view every day.

Some days it's better than others

- The smell of clean laundry: our washer stopped working last week and I had to go without for a while. Let me tell you, gym clothes don't really keep very well.

- Lunch time workout sessions. I have been going for a half an hour once or twice a week and it's been great. Last week I ran outside because it was so beautiful and I am so glad I did.

Lunchtime run views

- Downton Abbey. Yup, I finally caved. It was on On Demand so I have been rationing them, but I am through the first two seasons and into the third. I am sad that there are only 7 episodes per season! What's up with that!? 

- Brunch. This week, no brunch, but I am building a list of my local favorites by going a couple times a month. Some of my favorites: Brown Sugar Kitchen, Sams Log Cabin, Cafe Biere & Venus. Are you a Bay Area native? Do you have a brunch place I should try?

What do you love? What makes you happy? Have you jumped on the Downton bandwagon yet?

Wheels on Fire

I got a bike. It is not a new bike. In fact, from what I can tell from the interwebs, it is a circa 1980 road bike. It looks like this:

That is not the actual bike. I found that on the Google. So you can't really see, but the shifters are on the frame, rather than on the handles.

Weird right? Okay, so I have to admit, I don't know anything much about bicycles. I think the last bike I had was the kind with the tassels on the handlebars that you pushed the pedals backwards in order to brake. It may have even had a banana seat. But I have rented or borrowed a few grown up bikes and have ridden a bit, even in the city. I know, I am a big girl now. However, I have never had a bike with the shifters on the frame.

Since I have a bike now, I decided to get prepared. I have a helmet and a bike lock of course. I also got a patch kit, a tube and a really cool 19-in-1 tool that I have absolutely no idea how to use. It looks really fun though. I also got a red blinky light for the back,  another blinky light for the front AND just for fun, some LED lights you put in the tire valve and it makes fun colors or shapes when you ride.

I bet you are wondering if I am planning to ride the bike or just buy ridiculous accessories for it. I am strongly considering the latter. No, I am kidding. I actually rode it once. A whole mile and a half, in the dark, to go and drop off my library book. I didn't fall or get run over, so that's a start. However, there is a very big hill between my house and the library and I had to walk the bike up it because (a) I couldn't lean down to shift the gears, pedal AND hold the handlebars at the same time very well, and (b) My legs were like jello.

It seems we have our work cut out for us.

*title inspired by this song

What have you had to learn/relearn as an adult? Was it hard? Do you ride a bike?

Looking Forward

I haven't done one of these Looking Forward posts in a while, but was just thinking about how much I am enjoying life right now, even though (or maybe because) it's been pretty full of things going on! So I thought this would be the perfect time to look forward to remember some of the things that are going to be happening sooner rather than later!

Today I am looking forward to another nice sunny day and a easy run after work. The evenings have been beautiful and it really brings me joy to have a nice place to run and to wind down after a busy day at work.

Lake Merritt

This week I am looking forward dinner out with friends on Thursday. We will be going to a place that I have not tried before and I always love trying new places! Also, Saturday night a friend is having a late Chinese New Years party. It will be really great to catch up with friends and eat lots of pot-stickers!

This month I am looking forward working in the garden. I started my seeds yesterday and hopefully in about a week they will start sprouting. Also, I spent some time weeding and getting the garden ready for the transplant, but there is still work to be done! It's so calming being outdoors in the sun with your fingers in the dirt, and so satisfying when things begin to grow and produce real food! I have barely bought a store bought tomato since I started growing my own; they just can't compare!

This year I am looking forward to so many things! The Boston marathon, going to hike and spend time with my second family in Oregon, hiking Mt. Shasta with my brother and Dad, going to the Bottle Rock concert in Napa, and possibly taking a couple other short trips to see friends.

*inspired by Lisa

What are you looking forward to? Do you grow any vegetables? Do you have any fun trips on the horizon?

My Side of the Mountain

This weekend I went skiing. It was fun.

Did you know that skiing costs about the same amount (and more in some cases) as running a marathon?! I missed last year's ski season and somehow the price of tickets went up by about 20%. Since it costs the same amount, and I am a nerd when it comes to stats etc, I decided to wear my Garmin the whole time and see what happened.

Do you remember science class when you had to make a hypothesis and then test it to see if you were right or not?

What I was testing was this:

(1) How far each downhill run was.
(2) How many runs we would be able to take.
(3) If my heart rate would raise if I was going downhill, or if I fell or went over a jump.
(4) How many total miles we would ski that day.
(5) What my top speed would be.

I really had no idea what the results would be. I know I can run about 9 MPH at the most and I can't do that for very long, so I would definitely ski faster than that, but I had no idea how fast. I know that it always seems like the time in line is really long and the run down is really short, so I would probably guess that it was about 20 minutes up and 1 minute down. I figured my heart rate would raise but I wasn't sure how much since I wouldn't be putting out too much effort.

Here is what I found:

(1) Average wait/ride up  =  6 - 10 minutes. Average trip down = 3 minutes / 1.25 miles.
(2) We got in 23 runs, maybe 24.
(3) Resting HR = 44, Max HR = 116, Ave HR = 60 (88 when I fell)
(4) We skiied between 25 and 28 miles in total.
(5) Top speed = 57 MPH, Average = 35 MPH

It was kind of fun to see the stats. I mean, it's amazing how fast 1.25 miles goes when you are speeding down hill at 57 MPH. We skied a marathon! Just for fun, I did some googling to find out what a really fast skier is: Fastest (speed skiing) = 156 MPH, Olympians (ave) = 75 - 95 MPH, Downhill racers (ave) = 40 - 60 MPH, Normal skiers (ave) = 10 - 20 MPH (source). Now I wonder if my Garmin was a little off.

Do you ever use your Garmin (or other tools) to track other things besides running? What did you find out?

A Day in The Life: Finding Free Time

Lately I have been feeling a bit like I don't have time for the things I like to do. I know that I have definitely been blogging less. So I sat down to try to figure out if I am managing my time badly, or if one thing has taken the place for others or what is going on.

5:30 Alarm goes off.

5:45 I actually get up.

5:45 - 6:10 Get ready for work, eat breakfast, get dressed, etc

6:10 - 6:30 Internet time: blogs, pay bills, return emails. You can see why my internet presence has been diminished lately.

6:40 - 7:10 Walk to carpool, wait for car, ride to city, walk to work (morning commute). During this commute I really don't have time to do other things, as I am usually chatting with the driver.

7:10 - 4:00 Work. I usually take a half an hour walk somewhere in the middle of all this, in order to get some fresh air and exercise during the day. I am also going to start going to the gym 1 - 2x per week on my lunch break. In that case I will take an hour for lunch and go home later.

4:00 - 5:00 Commute. This takes a little longer than in the morning, since I take the bus home and there is more traffic. Also the walk on either end is a little longer. Each day for my commute, I walk about 2 miles total. I also try to read on the bus ride home, which is about 25 minutes. This is sometimes the only chance I get (make) to read each day.

5:00 - 7:00 Get dressed for a run, get ready for a run and then go running. Lately my runs have been anywhere from 1 - 2 hours long since I am in the height of Boston training (last week: 58 miles).

7:00 - 8:00 Cook dinner, eat dinner, make lunch for the next day.

8:00 - 8:30 Shower, get ready for bed

8:30 - 10:00 Free time. Lately I have been trying to use this time to read, but I have been so tired, so I admit that I often have been catching up on Top Chef or the like. Some days I also use this time to make big meals for the week, or to do some more internet chores. However, I have even been too tired lately to blog or comment on blogs.

The Verdict? Maybe I need to be more specific about what I do during my free time hours? I find that I feel guilty if I don't "do" something productive but I feel tired sometimes if I do. Also, I think running has been taking over, but it's something I like to do, so it's not like I am giving up things I like to do when I am running. I am just doing less of the OTHER things I like to do, I guess. Which is okay. I just feel like I want to curl up all day and read once in a while.

The other thing is the TV. I have been putting it on for background noise during "free time" and then I end up watching it instead of doing other things. I need to either get over feeling guilty about it or stop doing it. "Poop or get out of the ocean", as a lady at work is fond of saying. Don't ask me what that even means.

What does your typical day look like? Do you find that you have enough free time in a day? If so, how do you do it!?

2nd Saratoga Fat Ass

It's a big secret. It's a "race" that doesn't have a website, that you don't pay for, and that doesn't have a start time. You have no idea who is running it or if you are going the right way. It's promoted by word of mouth.

My friend D, who I met when I volunteered for the Oholone 50k last year, invited me to run this with him. He is part of a running club in the San Jose area, and they do runs together quite often. The ultra running community really is quite small. You see a lot of the same people at the runs and races and often the same two guys are at the top of the results. This guy and this guy are the ones to beat (moral of the story: fast people have blogs?).

A few days before the run, D told me that he hurt his knee and that he wasn't going to make it. The area where the run was was one that I hadn't run before and I was a little wary of trying to negotiate the turns by myself. So I asked D if he knew anyone I could hook up with for the run. He suggested his friend L and soon she and I had arranged a meeting the next morning at 7. There weren't any other runners there when we started, but we knew a lot of them were planning on starting at 8.

We started off and I have to admit, she ran slower than I usually do. However, it made it so the run was not stressful. I never felt any twinges or pain or worries that I was overdoing it. The plan was to do three 10 mile loops, each which started and ended at the parking lot where the car was. This was a great way to not have to carry so much stuff because we could stop and refuel / refill every 10 miles. I have only run one 50k before, but it took me a little over 5 hours, so I figured this would be the same.

We saw several of the other runners along the way. One of them even took our picture!

Thanks Jean!

After the second loop, it was later than anticipated, so I ran a bit of the third loop with L and then turned around and went back to the car. All in all, I completed 24 miles in 5:02:36, for a pace of about 13 minutes per mile. There were some beautiful views along the way and I can't wait to come back to this area for another run!

I felt great the next day, which just goes to show that slow and steady is the way to go! The best thing is that I made a new friend (thanks L!) and had a great time running around in the woods, as usual!

Have you ever done an "unofficial" race? Have you ever met up with a stranger for an event and ended up getting along great? Or badly?

Currently: February

Current Book - Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum -- so far this book is EXCELLENT and I can barely put it down! I am about half way through so far!

Current Drink - Beer

Current Excitement - I am hoping to go skiing soon!! The weather has been gorgeous and it has been snowing this week so it should be a great weekend for some fresh powder!

Current fashion trend - I have been seeing a lot of leggings on men. Mostly in the fitness world. But fellas, there are just some things you should really keep hidden. You know what I am talking about. 

Current Favorite Blog/Website - RunningAhead. I use it to track my miles, shoes, and routes while running. It's fun to see how many miles each of my shoes have on them and how much it has cost me per mile for that particular shoe! Best so far: $0.08 per mile! 

Current Garden Item - Dirt. It's time to start planting!
 

Current Love - Music/Concerts. I saw Muse in January, Jake Shimabukuro this month, and am going to Vampire Weekend in April and Bottle Rock in May. I am really loving the live music lately!

Current Food - Korean food. I love it all but the best part is all the little side dishes! I have had up to 20 at a time at this place! 
 

Current Indulgence - Maple almonds, or nuts in general. I have been going to town on them lately! 

Currently Pondering - Boston logistics. Hotels are SO expensive, but do I want to sleep on someone's couch the night before the big race? Decisions, decisions.... 

Current Mood - A little tired, but it's nothing I can't handle. Otherwise, pretty darn satisfied. Life is good.

Current New Find - Go Pago -- Its an app where you can order and pay for your food and then just go and pick it up (or have it delivered). I haven't used it much but it's great when you are in a crunch for time. I think it's only good in San Francisco and Dallas (go figure) but there are similar ones like GrubHub and Seamless. 

Current Outfit - Same ol', same ol', OH, except I got a hydration vest! Hurray!

 

Current Peeve - Litterbugs! I sat and watched two girls on the streets of San Francisco eat their McDonalds burgers and then throw the wrappers on the ground! At first I thought it was an accident and they were going to pick them up, but NO, it was blatant littering in the middle of the sidewalk! 

 

Current Song - 

Current Triumph - I ran a 24 mile trail run and I was NOT sore the next day! And I went to the DMV and I didn't pull out any hair or hurt anyone! 

 

Current TV Show - Army Wives. It's silly, but I am kind of hooked.

Current Wish-List - A trip to Nepal. Or anywhere really, but I really love Nepal. 

Currently Delaying - Sorting and naming my photos (I used to be very diligent about it. I don't know what happened). 

Do you sort your photos?  What are you currently pondering? 

Golden Gate Trail 30k

Remember the last half? The one where I fell? Well I guess I hadn't had enough because I went back to the scene of the crime for more, but this time, I decided to tackle the 30k. This was my first 30k and I wasn't sure how it would go. I have been running long runs of 20 miles, but they were on flat ground and this was going to be quite hilly. Here is the elevation profile.

According to the Coastal website, this would be approximately 4000 ft of elevation gain. I have run Coastal races before and have always liked them. They are in gorgeous places, the courses are varying, the snacks are great and the staff, volunteers and other runners are all very friendly. The usual players were in attendance: Broski and my friend TJ, who is one of my long run buddies but hasn't really done a lot of trail running. TJ and I ran the 30k and Broski ran the half.

The race started here, at Rodeo Beach:

It was a nice clear and crisp day and the course, as you can see from the above map, started off by going straight uphill. And then straight down to the aid station. And then straight up. That's the thing about these trail races; it is very uncommon to have many flat areas. This one was no different.

The cool thing about the course is that it goes through scrubby coastal areas, and then through Eucalyptus groves and then through open fields. There are views of the other hills, of the bay, the ocean, the city and the Golden Gate bridge. The entire time there is a nice fresh, cooling sea breeze. It was great. TJ and I basically chatted the entire time, just like we do on our long runs, and the run went by in a flash. At the end we ran it out although I have to admit, the quads were a bit tired.

We finished in 3:11:23. We got number 22 and 23 out of 100 runners for the 30k. Broski got 2:08, which was almost as good as his FLAT half marathon PR!! He is much faster without me (last time we got around a 2:30). He got #57 out of 232! He said he only walked once or twice. Go Broski!

All in all it was a great run on a beautiful day and I would return to THAT scene of the crime again in a heartbeat. 

What did you do on Sunday? Have you ever run a race with a friend? Do you like running hills?

Cream or Sugar?

A few days ago, I kind eavesdropped on Amber's virtual coffee date. She did most of the talking, but I really enjoyed it, so I thought I would invite you to have coffee with me and I would do some of the talking this time.

What are you having? I am buying. A latte? I am drinking a non-fat peppermint mocha, light on the mint, light on the chocolate. Double the whipped cream.

Things have been going well over here. The weather has been great and I have been enjoying it and getting outside and doing things. People talk about how San Francisco is the foggy city, but lately, it's been clear as a bell. Going to work, as ironic as it seems, has been great, since I have to go over the bay bridge and I get a view of the city each morning. It is like a little two minute pep talk each morning. It gets my day started right.

Speaking of work, it never gets old. About three months after I started, just as I was starting to understand what I was doing and to finally feel like I was doing things right, they switched me into a different department. Since then I have been slowly learning the ropes in the new position, but I have a long way to go. Every day I feel like I am behind. However, I have talked to others in the office and have been told you never DO feel caught up. The name of the game is prioritizing. I am learning how to do it better, but it's a game I am not quite used to playing yet.

Speaking of playing games, I have been having a great time meeting up with old friends from the Bay Area. I went running with one of them who was about to run her first marathon, I met up with another at First Friday and I had a great time going to the Muse concert with Broski last week. We bought tall beer cans at the corner market and put them in paper bags and pretended we were 17 years old, sneaking around behind the woodshed, drinking stolen beers from our parent's basement refrigerator. Not that I ever did that, but I heard that some people did.

Speaking of beers, this weekend was part of the SF Beer Week (which is still going on through next weekend) where you get a taster sized glass and you get to try a bunch of different kinds of beers in the same place. Also, many of them are beers you would not normally get. They are from smaller, lesser known breweries and are often from out of town. Saturday, I went to the Double IPA Fest with Broski and friends, where the beers and the beards were flowing. Yes, there were a lot of bearded dudes there. I found a new favorite beer Societe Brewing Co's Double IPA and I met the brewer, Doug, who was a nice guy on top of making a great beer. On Sunday, we went to the Sour Beer Fest and found another great beer: the Upright Brewery "Four". 

Let me summarize: Ladies, if you are single and you are looking for a bearded brewer who likes drinking beer, you should go to beer week. It was probably 80% men. Of those, 73% of them were bearded.

Although I haven't been talking about it much, I am also still running a lot. There are a couple of recaps in the works, but let me tell you that Broski was involved again! He is really on a roll folks! Other than that, there has been much training for Boston, running up and down hills, applying sunscreen, doing multiple loads of stinky laundry and plenty of listening to Pandora. My new favorite running station is the Rap Strength Training station. It really gets my feet moving!

So, now that you have had your latte and I have unloaded on you, tell me:

What's new in your life? What did you do over the weekend? What do have planned for the next week?

Virtual Weekend

This weekend I had a really great run along the San Francisco Bay Trail. This is 500 miles of shoreline trails around the bay. The trail doesn't go continuously the entire way; there are some gaps. The section I ran runs from Emeryville to Richmond with no gaps and is about 11 miles long. It's a really nice section, with views of San Francisco almost the entire time. I did an out and back totaling 20 miles and it couldn't have been a better day for it.

As I've already mentioned, Laura is doing a 5 by the 5th Virtual Race where you run either a 5k or a 5 miler before the 5th of each month. This is a great way to get out there and get each month started right. In fact, I may make a tradition out of it, even after June is over. For this race, I used the last 5 miles, where I clocked a 40:30 for those 5 miles.

I also used part of this run as an entry for Jill's Tackle the Miles Virtual Race. For hers I used the first 13.1 miles of my run, which I finished in 1:52.24. Even though the Niners lost, I still tried to make some tackles of my own. The first half of the run was actually a lot harder than the last half. I had a really hard time getting going and was glad to have Jill's challenge in my mind to help push me along.

It is always fun to participate in these virtual races. It never hurts to have a little more inspiration to get my butt moving! Plus, it was well worth it. The views were fabulous and the weather was great and I was so glad to get out and enjoy it (at least after the first 13 miles were over). These races also count as part of my 13 in 2013 challenge that Jill is hosting! 

What did you do this weekend? How was the weather in your neck of the woods? Did you join either of these virtual challenges? 

Karma Police

I must have done something wrong because this weekend it was one of those weekends where all kinds of weird stuff happened. Friday started out pretty good, with some time in Uptown Oakland, where there is a monthly street fair called the Art Murmur (or First Friday) where you can walk around, eat street food, look at art and listen to music. It was quite fun. Until this happened. Luckily I didn't find out about this until the next day.

I left around 10:30 and headed home. The next day I realized my wallet was missing. I know I had it when I got on the bus, because I took my bus pass out of it to get on the bus. Somewhere between getting on the bus and getting home, it went missing. I know also that someone took it and it's not just hidden in the inside pocket of my jacket, because I checked my accounts online and there were purchases on there that I hadn't made. The ironic part? They only spent $1.75 at Safeway (grocery store), $2.50 at 711 and $40 at Chevron. That's it. If I stole a credit card, I would go on a way bigger shopping spree than that!

So I spent Saturday first trying to remember everything that I had in my wallet. Do you know exactly what you have in yours? It took me a while and I am still not sure that I remembered all of them. Then I started calling to cancel my cards. The cards aren't the crappy part though; the purchases on them can be reversed and I will get new ones in the mail in 3-5 days. The worst is the drivers license. Getting a new one entails going to the DMV, which is only open from 8 - 5 on weekdays, hence causing me to miss work to go over there to stand in line for hours. Argh.

SF Bay Trail

Sunday I decided to erase any bad events from the past few days and take a nice long run along the bay. It was a beautiful day and the run was going pretty well until I was running along minding my own business when an unleashed dog bounded up to me, jumped on me and knocked me down onto the pavement. Remember when I fell before? Well this time I fell on the opposite knee and hand so I have matching pairs. Hurray. I didn't even take time to get mad at the guy whose dog was supposed to be leashed before heading off to finish the run.

And then the Niners lost.

Watch out for the Karma police. They are a B. Itch.

Have you ever had a series of strange events happen to you? Do you believe in Karma? Have you ever had your wallet stolen/lost?

Failure to Communicate

I work with a lot of recent college grads. On the other hand, there are quite a few people who are closer to retirement than college. It's interesting when you are sitting around talking with them; sometimes it's me staring at one of them with a blank look when what they say makes no sense to me; sometimes it's the other way around.

For instance, do you guys know what YOLO means? Yeah, I didn't either. It means, "you only live once".

There are so many other things where I have no idea what people are talking about. I don't watch TV, so I already have a gap when it comes to that kind of stuff, no matter what the era, but if it's in the past few years especially, I am so out of the loop. I was informed of several shows that were "so good" that I just "had to watch" so I went and watched one of them and was baffled by what was going on.

One of my coworkers keeps talking about Roadhouse. Have you seen it? Yeah, me neither. Apparently it's about Patrick Swayze and a bar and a bouncer and there are a couple of one liners that these guys keep throwing out. Like this one: I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice. Apparently that works for my line of work as well as being a bouncer. So I am just like a bouncer.

I was talking to some different coworkers the other day and they were talking about how the reason something wasn't working was because there was bad communication and I threw out this line: What we've got here is failure to communicate. Do you know where it comes from? Neither did any of my coworkers. It was first coined in Cool Hand Luke and was later put into the G&R song Civil War, which is what I was quoting.

It's funny how people have different phrases, movies or music that were popular when they were growing up, as well as different things that they are interested in now. These things can separate us sometimes, but they can also bring us together. I mean, now I know a couple of lines from a bad Swayze movie and a very useful phrase in acronym form.

What topic, phrases or lines have people said to you lately that went over your head? or What have you said to them that they didn't understand?

Over and Over Again

I am currently on week 8 of training for Boston. This training schedule, like my last, I decided to (loosely) follow Hal Higdon's Advanced training program. I have already mentioned how I don't really follow it to a T, because it calls for 6 days of running per week. Sometimes it doesn't matter if you change it up during training a little bit. However, there are many that you have to do the same each time. This takes a lot of experimentation and it took me a while to figure out what did and did not work for me.

A typical training week includes:

- On weekdays, I run twice after work. Lately this has consisted of one easy day and one day of speed work. I have mentioned this before, but my intervals of choice are Yasso 800s. If you are not familiar, this is where you take your marathon goal time in hours (mine is 3:30) and you run an 800 meter interval in that many minutes. So I would have to run each 800 interval at a 7 minute mile pace. It really kicks my butt, let me tell you! I do feel that it helps a lot with overall speed. 

- On weekends I do one easy run and one long run. The long run is usually between two and three hours and I've been using it to explore the area. One of my favorite long runs is a long loop around Oakland and through Berkeley, ending with a loop around Lake Merritt before heading home.

- I always eat breakfast on long run days, usually around a half an hour before the run. I always eat the same thing, steel cut oats with fruit and Silk Almond milk. If I am traveling or at someone else's house, I have Cheerios instead. It gives me a great hearty meal before heading out and the almond milk does not give me any tummy issues (like real milk does) while I am running. I actually use Silk milk instead of regular milk in everything. I also use it to make lattes, smoothies, baked goods and other things like mac and cheese or pumpkin curry. You can find tons of great recipes on their Facebook page. I use the unsweetened kind, since it doesn't overpower whatever you are making. *

Travel breakfast

- I almost always listen to music, unless I am running with someone else. Lately, a great companion has been this Pandora station. I find that rap has a beat that makes my steps just a little bit faster.

- I try to get out onto the trails once a week, but there isn't always enough time. When I do make time for it, I really enjoy the change in scenery, the quietness, being in nature AND it's a great way to get stronger legs and to work all of your muscles, therefore hopefully keeping injuries at bay. Some of my favorite trails are in the East Bay Parks near my house but I am finding great ones all over the Bay Area!

I only have 10 more weeks of training and here's hoping that the next 10 go as well as the last 7 have!

Do you have any training tips or tricks for me? What does your typical week look like? If you are a non-runner, what is your favorite outdoor activity? 

*FitFluential LLC compensated me for this Campaign. All opinions are my own.

A Weekend Streak

Remember how I talked about falling at the last trail race I did? Well, not only did I look silly, but unbeknownst to me at the time, I got a nasty case of poison oak. So the last few weeks at work (and in life!) were torture. I couldn't wear pants, although I had to, so I was literally sitting on the edge of my chair so that nothing itchy would be touching it. Then I would get home and all I would want to do was take off my pants and stand somewhere without touching anything.

However, I am on a training schedule. For the first week, I endured it. For the second week, I almost punched somebody or scratched my own leg off, but I muscled through. However, the third week, which was last week, I decided to take a few days off. After a long run on Sunday, I did not run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Maybe that doesn't seem like a big deal to some, but running is my crack and without my crack, I am whack. 

So on Friday when I was finally not quite as itchy as before, I did a 9 mile speed workout to make up for the days I had missed. On Saturday, when a friend asked if I would run her long run with her, I said sure. It was 20 miles. I was pretty sore by the end of it. Then on Sunday, I ran a few miles with a different friend in order to get in my 36 miles for the week.

Let me tell you, there is a reason you are supposed to take recovery days after a long run.

Monday I was off and I could not waste a beautiful day off by not running, especially when my other runs would have to be done at night, so I ran again. This was a great run, a slow ramble through the forest, with no destination or set mileage in mind. It was sunny and about 50 degrees and I couldn't have asked for a nicer day or a better run.

This training cycle I am currently on calls for 6 days of running a week. SIX. Usually I am a fan of schedules and planning and of things being a certain way and of knowing what that way is going to be. However, this time, I am just running. I am making my own schedule. I am running three or four days a week. I am cramming two days miles into one. If I am putting on my running gear, I am going for it.

Yes, I am still doing a long run and I will most likely get in a hill or a speed workout each week, but other than that, I am enjoying running with friends, and running on the days where it works for me. Sure, sometimes this means running 9 mile and upward runs four days in a row, which isn't the best idea, but it's good. It is testing different boundaries and teaching me (yet again) new things about myself.

It's teaching me things like: running for a long time or many days in a row is good practice for an Ultra. Specifically, the Oholone 50k, which I just signed up for.  Yikes.

Have you ever had poison oak? Do you follow your training schedule to a T? Have you ever had to cram all your mileage into less days?

Incredisocks

I have always been one of those that are a bit skeptical of compression gear. In fact, anything that is hyped up by everyone else, I tend to stray away from. I tried the ice bath; it only made me cold. I tried the foam roller; it's fun and it feels good but I don't feel a big difference from not using it. So when Incrediwear contacted me to try their compression gear, I thought I would give it a go, even though I was doubtful.

Lucky for me, they not only sent me a calf compression sleeve, but they also sent me several of their different kinds of socks! I usually buy whatever socks Costco or Target has on sale in multi packs, so these socks were such a treat! The compression sleeve, like the foam roller, feels great. It is just tight enough but not too tight and wearing it makes my calf feel like it's being squeezed in a very nice way. I really can't complain.

However, my favorite thing that they sent were the hiking socks. If you ever see me wearing boots and jeans, you can guarantee that I am wearing them under my boots! I wear them around the house as a way to keep warm (and lately it's been pretty chilly) with the hard wood floors. I even wear them for hiking! They are awesome. I want 10 more pairs of these!

My favorite!

So, if you are a compression sleeve lover, you will love their calf sleeves, or if you just want to get cozy feet, you will love their entire line of socks. They also have other compression gear, braces and insoles.

I received these products free of charge in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Do you like compression gear? What is your favorite brand of socks?