Spring Marathon?

It is probably too early to be registering for a spring marathon, but I really can't help thinking about it! I know I should wait until I run the Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon in November to make more plans, since I haven't done the distance since breaking my leg. I'm antsy, what can I say?

Here are a few I'm thinking about:

Tobacco Road Marathon, March 15

Wrightsville Beach Marathon, March 22

Mountains to Sea 50k, March 29

And of course, these would come after I finish the Charleston Marathon on January 17th! Yikes!

Long hilly run done!

I'm pretty happy with the nice little 14 mile hill run I did at Umstead this morning. I'm so glad there were a few friendly folks there making sure I didn't get lost (it can happen), and pulling me along for much of the run. Despite the heat and humidity, it was beautiful.



I'm also pretty happy to have finished my second consecutive week of doing all the workouts I'm supposed to. I just need to keep that up for the next eight weeks...

Now, time to eat massive quantities of tasty things.

Sticking To It

I started off my training for the Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon a bit late. In the back of my head, "fall marathon" equates to the California International Marathon (CIM), which is the first Sunday in December. I figured I had until August before I needed to begin training.

Unfortunately for me, City of Oaks will be run November 2, lopping off a whole month of training time. So, I began my training in earnest the third week of July, at Week 4 of the 18 week Hansons training plan I'll be following. Oops.

To complicate matters further, I wasn't up for the 6 day a week, high mileage yet, so I started out skipping a few easy runs a week. Then I took a week off to let the gash in my leg heal. Last week, Week 4 of my training, I did all of the substantive workouts (track, tempo, and two weekend runs), leaving out two easy runs.

This week, I will do all of my runs. I did my easy run yesterday on hills, and did a decent job at the track this morning with 3x1600. I have a tempo, two easy 10s and an easy 6 left. I may mix up the order so I can leave for the beach early Sunday, but at least I'll get it done.

I'm planning to start reading the Hansons training manual soon (immediately, or yesterday would be best), so that I know more about what I'm doing. I geek out on that stuff. I need to figure out if my early slacking will mean that the 16 mile top out long runs won't be enough to prepare me (since I started late and skipped some workouts). I may feel better if I do an 18, or maybe a 20.

Baking My Travels Clean

Side note: Perhaps that song reference doesn't work as a title (in my punny way of using song names as post titles). I sure hope I don't burn what I'm baking, as the proper name of the song would indicate. I have Rocky Votolato on the brain from his demo release and upcoming living room show in Boston!!

So... one of the great things about visiting family is enjoying fantastic, homemade goodies. My trip to California last month was no exception. On this trip, Neil fell in love with my aunt's awesome nutty granola. Or should I say, super secret recipe, awesome nutty granola? In either case, it is delicious, and she bent her rules to share the secret recipe with me.

After my morning 8 miles, I came home, ate, napped, and now I'm making my first batch of her granola. It is in the oven as I type.

I'm not telling what is in there!

Track Tuesday!

That's right! I can now do my Track Tuesday workouts... on a real live track! This morning was my second trip to the nearby Wallace Wade Stadium at Duke. It is a difficult adjustment from the spray-painted street markers the Buffalo Chips use. I think I lost count during one of my 1200s today. People say this isn't a nice track, but it is close, and it is actually a track!

Wallace Wade Stadium at Duke. Photo credit: Commons.wikimedia.org

Thanks, John and Jackie!

Yesterday, as I slogged through work, I had my blog page open to post about beginning marathon training for the Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon on November 2, and how excited I am to be doing yoga again. It has been a great week, getting set up with a training plan (thanks, Carol!), doing a quality track workout on Tuesday, and doing yoga five times in the past week. I didn't get around to writing that post yesterday, but my first week of training isn't over yet, right?

Wrong! I went out for an easy 6 this morning in the 7AM humidity. I got to 2.3, tripped and fell. And boy, did I fall. I hit the ground knees first, and rolled all the way over. When it was done, I just sat there, gushing blood from a deep cut on my right knee (and my right hand, left knee and elbow, though those are not too bad).

I don't run with a phone (perhaps rethinking that), so I was mustering the will to get my butt up and across the street to a coffee shop to ask to use a phone. A nice couple (John and Jackie) stopped to see if I was okay, and offered me a ride home (about 1.5 miles away). I certainly didn't say no. Jackie even helped me up the stairs since I was pretty dizzy.

11 hours and a doctor visit later, I have a knee taped shut to heel, with instructions not to get it wet for at least 4 days. Well, I guess I won't be running in the humidity until Monday, then!

I'm super thankful to have two very nice people stop and help me, especially considering that the dizzyness took about an hour to subside. Thanks, John and Jackie! You made a bad morning much easier on a bruised runner! And thanks, of course, to Neil for helping me once I got home, when I was in fine form for sure.

The sweet getup I'll be wearing for the next week. 

I'll add a PSA here: I'm glad I had my RoadID on this morning, like I always do. If I'd been worse, I was certainly too confused to know all my details!

California, how I've missed you!

California, as always, was wonderful. We had a nice, leisurely ten day trip to unwind, catch up with friends, and eat and drink everything we were missing.

When we arrived, Neil and I spent a few days in San Rafael visiting my aunt, uncle and cousin, and enjoying the beautiful weather. It was foggy and windy the day we walked in Tennessee Valley to the Ocean, and drove up Highway 1 to Bolinas, but it was still beautiful!

Tennessee Valley, and the Pacific Ocean. And fog. 

Me and my cousin, after a yummy brunch in San Rafael!

On Friday, we made a quick trip to Santa Rosa to see friends for lunch (and grab a quick Pliny the Elder), then made our way to Sacramento for a wedding. It was weird to be in Sacramento as a visitor, but it also still felt like home. We have a great group of friends who let us crash on their couches, barbequed and drank beers with us, and generally made us feel like we never left.

We went to a River Cats game, went wine tasting at Bogle, and drank 20 different Northern California beers (between the two of us over two weeks). We went to McKinley Park to read, had Ramen at Shoki, and caught up with the Buffalo Chips at the Fourth of July 5 Miler!

Thanks to all of our friends, it was a great trip!

At Weatherstone, where we had our first date.

Me and my Kintoki from Osaka-Ya!