17-mile run!

I only have about 3 weeks of serious training left before tapering off in preparation for running the Marathon on July 29th. This past Sunday I ran with a group from a local running club that are also training for the S.F. Marathon. Those training for the Half Marathon ran for the first 10 miles and the rest of us continued on a longer run. The Marathon training group were putting in an 18 mile run. I was aiming for 16 miles so I didn't stay with them and took a slightly shorter route. The route I took came out to be 17 miles and included a lot of hills. The biggest climb started around the 10-mile mark. This turned out to be almost a 1000' climb over the next 3 miles. For reference, the tallest hill in San Francisco is Mount Davidson which is 925' high.
By the time I reached the top my legs were sore and tired - and I still had 4 miles left to go. The last few miles were tough but thankfully mostly downhill. By the time I was done I was beat! Needless to say I didn't do much the rest of the day...
Next weekend I'll attempt a 20-mile run - that should be interesting!

Woodminster race

Last weekend I participated in the 42nd annual Dick Houston Memorial Woodminster Cross County race. This is a 9-mile race starting in Joaquin Miller park in the East Bay hills. This is a small event with mostly competitive runners. It has an interesting feature in that it is a handicapped race with different starting times depending on age and gender. It was a tough hilly course with a long, tough hill at around the 5-mile mark. Most of us running at my pace walked most of the hill. I had tough workouts prior to this event and wasn't fully rested for this race so I wasn't competitive at all. I considered it a workout and didn't worry about how well I did. I finished 136th out of 150 runners - tough field! My time for the event was 1:38:43 - not great at all - the winner finished in just under an hour! This was a fun event and was the third event of the Triple Crown Trail Championship. I look forward to competing in these events seriously next year...

6 1/2 weeks to go! Feeling strong and injury-free!

Well, I have just over 6 weeks to go until the San Francisco Marathon. I'm currently without any injuries which is a very pleasant surprise. I've been plagued with injuries for most of my training. I think the 9 days off took care of my shin splints and taking 3 rest days per week is paying off.
I'm feeling relatively strong and confident. I had a challenging 13+ mile run Saturday, another hilly 7 mile run Monday and then 7 more miles with a good track workout today. Even with 27 miles of pretty hard running in the last 5 days I feel relatively fresh and could go for another easy run this evening.
My main challenge now is to increase my mileage from my current longest day of 14 miles to 16, 18 and then my longest scheduled run of 20 miles on July 7th. These long runs are critical as they train my body to adapt to running longer distances.

My first attempt at a 16-mile run: crash and burn!

Well, on Sunday I attempted a challenging 16-mile run in Tilden park. I made a couple of minor miscalculations so it didn't work out so well...
I got a late start, so i didn't start my run until about 10:30. I started out by running a fairly flat 3-mile loop. I had a quick drink of water and then started on the rest of my run. This 2nd segment started with a 500ft climb in elevation over the next 2 miles. This took me up to Inspiration point. I had then planned to run out Nimitz Way for 5 miles and back to my starting point which would make for a 16-mile run. I didn't think there was water at Inspiration Point or on Nimitz Way, but I wasn't 100% sure. A mile or 2 along Nimitz way in the sun and I was ready for more water. I realized that my 13-mile loop in the sun on a warm day was going to be much too far to go without water so I changed my plans. I instead ran out Nimitz 3.5 miles and then back to my starting point with the intention of adding on the final 3 miles after drinking more water. By the time I got back to my starting point I was totally baked and decided to call it a day. 10 miles in the sun on a warm day was much too far to run without water. If I had started my run earlier it may have been fine.
So, in the future, I have to be more careful planning my long runs. I need to get a couple of 18-20 mile runs in before the Marathon and it will be important to make sure I have water available along the runs and that I'm not running out in the sun when it's hot. I grew up in San Francisco in the fog and I don't do well in the heat.
I wasn't able to push my mileage to 16 miles, but I did put in a challenging 13+ mile run that included plenty of hill running. I'll attempt another 16-mile run next weekend or the weekend after.

Training again and now raising funds for Diabetes research!

Well, my shin splints seem to have responded to some rest, ice and Advil. I took 9 days off with no running at all and now I have only a dull ache in my left shin when I run. I now have a 9 mile run and a 6 mile run since starting again and I think it's going to be fine to pick up where I left off. I'm determined to do what I can to avoid further injury. I intend to run most of my miles at a slower pace (~10 minute miles) and to not race as often. I'll probably take 3 rest days per week. I expect to run a long day each weekend and one other medium hard day during the week. I think I have just enough time to get a couple of 18-22 mile runs in and should be able to complete the full Marathon in late July.
Also, I am now raising funds for Diabetes research! I have joined Team Diabetes to help raise funds for The American Diabetes Association.