That’s more like it.

This week was much closer to where I want to be. My mileage is back up where it once was, and about where I want to be at this point in my training. Here’s a recap:

Monday:
4 miles (9:12 avg pace)
Just 4 miles, a little fast, along the normal route.

Tuesday:
Track – Whistle workout
This week’s track workout was another whistle workout. This time we would run at “L”-pace (a little faster than 5k pace) for the first 2/3rds of the workout and finish off the last 1/3rd at “S”-pace (short interval pace/fast). We were told we would be running about 20 minutes at quick speeds. It was a tough workout, but still pretty fun. It was also a long workout, and I definitely felt it through the rest of the week:

7 miles (8:42 avg pace)

Wednesday:
Rest Day

Thursday:
4 miles (8:59 avg pace)
Way too quick; guess I was excited, and in a hurry! (I had to make it to a pacer meeting that evening.) This run definitely added to the heaviness of my legs later on in the week.

Friday:
9.7 miles (10:53 avg pace)
I wanted to complete our long run on Friday after work, since we were going to be busy for most of Saturday due to a wedding, and there was no way I was going to plan a run on the Sunday after the wedding! We made it out a little before 6pm, and barely made it home before it got too dark. The first few miles were definitely tough for my legs, but they eventually warmed up. We still took it pretty slow, but that’s ok, I’ll just pretend it was practice for my upcoming pacing gig! ;)

Saturday:
Wedding Day

Wedding Day started with 2.5 “Matrimony Miles”. The friend that was getting married is “streaking” for 1 year, requiring her to run at least 1 mile every day for a year. She invited a bunch of friends out to join her for her last run as a single lady. It was a nice cool, foggy morning run. And we finished up with mimosas, mmm!

2.5 miles (10:46 avg pace)

 

The wedding itself was a ton of fun. It was fun celebrating our friends along with all their family and friends! Congrats guys!

Tired at the end of the night: 

Sunday:
Real rest day. We needed to recuperate!

I’m hoping to keep on track with my training plan next week. Thursday is “Last” Thursday, and we’re planning to meet up with Alisa on Wednesday for a hill workout, so things are shaping up pretty good so far. Yay for running plans with friends!

Another slow running week + Oktoberfest 5k Race Report

Kind of…

I didn’t log too many miles this week, and I haven’t been sticking to my training plan too harshly. In fact, I haven’t even really looked at it… Oops! What I need to do is type it up into a calendar so it’s easier to look at. I plan on doing that after I’m done with this blog entry! (*Fingers Crossed*)

Last week, I started by recuperating from Sunday’s 10k PR!

Monday:
2.5 miles (9:45 avg pace)
I used this recovery run to “run” some errands. I was on the lookout for a Bachelorette Party gift that included lots of bits and pieces. It was definitely fun to run with a purpose, and this would not be the last time I would “run” errands last week!

Tuesday:
Track
5.8 miles (with warm-up/cool down)

2x1200 (on chips) long interval pace
5:43, 5:43 (7:41 avg pace)

3 sets of 400-400 (400’s at short or medium interval pace with 100 float between each 400)
1:46-1:45 (7:07-7:04)
1:47-1:45 (7:09-7:02)
1:49-1:48 (7:19-7:16) Trying to hold on strong, but definitely tired!

Wednesday:
Rest

Thursday:
4.89 miles (10:15 avg pace)
Another night of “running” errands. This time planning for a bachelorette party. I ran at least 2 miles holding cupcakes! Mmm!

Friday:
Rest

Saturday:
Race Day - Oktoberfest 5k

This is a small race (about 724 total participants) in Mt. Angel, OR; famous for its Oktoberfest (hence the name). It was a pretty foggy morning, so the sights along the course were definitely hidden, but it looked like it would be a beautiful place to run! The weather here had been pretty great running weather, except for the humidity. (Believe it or not, we don’t get a whole lot of humidity here in the NW.) But it was a great morning to be racing! We arrived early to make sure we had no problem picking up our packets. (No problem at all!) And waited around (listening to some occasional German music) until the start of the race. I warmed up a bit about 20 minutes before the planned start time. My legs didn’t feel too terrific for some reason; like they never really warmed up, and were still pretty stiff. I hoped this wouldn’t affect the race. (I wanted a PR!)

Pretty soon, it was time to line up. I placed myself about 3 people behind the line, and soon enough, the gun went off! Holy smokes there were a lot of people quick off the starting line, but I resisted the urge to keep up, and immediately found my planned pace. I was hoping to hold 7:30’s, at least at first, and then give it all I had in the last 0.6 miles. There were a few turns soon after the start, and then we were out on open road. This mile held a lot of downhill, but I tried not to burn out my legs right at the start, especially with my legs feeling a bit rough!

Mile 1: 7:32 (Pretty dead on!)

Soon after the Mile 1 marker (which was pretty accurate according to my Garmin) the 5k’ers made their turn-around. It was pretty neat to be able to count the people in front of me. I only counted the females: 13 ahead of me at this point. Since the first mile was mostly downhill, this mile was mostly uphill. I was feeling a lot stronger at this point. Maybe it helps that I’ve gotten pretty strong with hills, and was able to get past quite a few people (2 girls, I believe). As we were nearing the end, I feared I had gone out too fast; I was pretty exhausted, and my breathing was definitely labored. Soon enough, we crested the hill, and made a turn into some neighborhood roads. Soon after landing on a flatter road, I was feeling fresh as a daisy, and ready to finish the last mile strong!

Mile 2: 7:52 (This could be better.)

The last mile wove through the neighborhood surrounding the park/start/finish area. I passed some more people here, including J (he’d been sick and wasn’t feeling very good on this last mile.) Finally we turned onto a familiar road; one I had seen on the way to the start area from where we’d parked our car. At this point, I had about 0.6 miles to go, and I was feeling it. I had pretty much followed my plan. My new mantra was “A 5k is supposed to hurt.” A couple more turns and we were onto the home stretch. I could see another girl in front of me, and really wanted to pass her so I could finish in the top 10. I couldn’t tell if she was in my age group, but I knew I could be in the running for a Top 3 Age Group finish (i.e. a ribbon!)

Mile 3: 7:12 (Almost over!)

The finish shoot is a little awkward, in that it is on a narrow stretch of sidewalk/trail going into the park. Because it was so narrow, and a guy had come and chased me and the girl in front of me down, I wasn’t able to shoot past the girl just in front of me, but I did manage to finish strong!

Mile 3.13: 0:52 (6:43 avg pace)

Official (non-chipped timed) Time:
23:28.40 (7:34 avg pace)

I finished just out of the Top 10 Females (11th) and just out of the Age Group awards (4th). That’s what you call rotten luck. At least I know the girl just ahead of me was out of my age group, and the girl who finished 3rd in my age group finished a full 40 seconds ahead of me, so there wasn’t really anything to do differently. And what else do I know? I totally PR’d!!! Woohoo! I’ll take it.

There was also a pretty neat raffle drawing post-race (which neither J, nor I won…ah well) which included things like tech shirts, tech socks, German flags, mustard (from the nearby Abbey), and Road ID (among other things).

Overall, it was a great and well organized race. I’d be interested in trying out the 10k course, too. It looks pretty similar to the 5k one, except it continues on the road after the 5k turnaround, and loops around the Abbey. Hopefully, if we do it again next year, the weather will be a little more cooperative, and we can actually see the Abbey.

Another reason to potentially do this race again next year: so that we can stick around and actually go to the Oktoberfest celebration that the town is famous for. We didn’t get a chance to this year, because I had a Bachelorette Party to finish up planning for/attend. What are you gonna do? ;)

Sunday:
Recuperate post-Bachelorette party

Not bad for a slow running week, but maybe I can start following my training plan, with a little more planning! Here’s hoping! :)

Pints to Pasta 10k Recap

Well, last week wasn’t what I was anticipating going into the race. I had planned a slight cut back week, since I had been increasing mileage for several weeks leading up to the race. I figured a 6.2 “long run” was a good way to follow through with that plan. But that plan kinda changed when I awoke on Monday (Happy Labor Day) sick with a fever. Yuck!!

This made for a week of super cut back mileage. I only ran 3 times last week (including the race) for a grand total of 14 miles! C’est la vie!

I was a little worried about the decrease in mileage going into the race, even though I’ve been going steady for several weeks previous to that. But I definitely had some goals going in: The biggest goal being to PR.

This course is a point to point course from the Adidas campus to The Spaghetti Factory, and mostly downhill. The race organizers suggest everyone park at The Spaghetti Factory, and take the shuttle to the start line. Since we live somewhat close to the Finish Line, we didn’t really want to park there. We looked up public transportation to the starting line, and found out the light rail would take us about 0.8 miles away. Perfect! We made it there in plenty of time and waited in the huge line to drop off our bag. After a quick warmup we saw that people were lining up. We ended up somewhat in the middle of the pack (not exactly where I wanted to be…) and soon enough, we were off!

Mile 1:
This mile included a lot of dodging, of course, especially with the large downhill section just after the starting line. It was also pretty quick! I tried to hold back a little bit on the downhill, since I didn’t want to burn myself out, but I still wanted to take advantage of it. Overall, I think I did well!

7:50

Mile 2:
Mile 2 was more of the same (except a little less descent), I just tried to keep a tough but manageable pace. I was aiming for 8:00-8:15 min/mi paces. Nailed it!

8:11

Mile 3:
We crossed the Broadway Bridge during this mile, which included a slight uphill, but was followed by a nice downhill section. This was the opposite direction of when we crossed this bridge on the Bridge to Brews course, and it was much nicer in comparison!

8:14

Mile 4-5:
These miles were in familiar territory: The Waterfront path. It was kinda fun to be in a race along a familiar route! Mile 4 was easy, but I think I started to worry about holding my pace on Mile 5, which is why I think I kinda slowed down.

8:00
8:15

Along the good ole Waterfront:

Mile 6:
Again, we were in familiar territory. It was nice to be running in an area that I’m familiar with, running-wise. I was able to feel how much further we had to go.

8:05

Sprinting to the finish:

Mile 6.2:
I could see the finish line from really far away (~0.3 miles). I looked at my watched and notice that I could break 50:00, so I took off at a sprint and gave it all I had! I even caught up with Paula Harkin, of Run with Paula!! (I literally “Ran” with Paula! ;)

6:19 avg pace

Running with Paula (she’s in the front, I’m in the back):

Official Time:
49:47 (8:01 avg pace)
Massive PR by over 6 minutes!! Woohoo!

It was a great course, even though I’ve run through most of it habitually. (The net elevation loss can’t help!) I was hoping to be able to break 50 minutes, and I totally did. Not too bad after a sick week! :)

_________________________________________________________________________________

Next Saturday we’re racing a 5k. I’m hoping for another PR, since it shouldn’t be nearly as hot as my last one…We’re doing the Oktoberfest 5k in Mt. Angel. It’s a bit of a drive, but it looks fun! It’s one of our last short races of the year (at least for what’s on our schedule now…)

This is also my first week of training for my “goal” race: The Run to Stay Warm Half Marathon. This training cycle might not work out exactly as “planned” on paper, since I have a *few* half marathons placed in the mix… You think I might be addicted?

These include:
10/10: First half of the Portland Marathon.
I’m going to be pacing the first half of the Portland Marathon with my friend. We’re running the 4:45 group (about 10:52 pace) so it’ll be a nice easy run, and I’m really looking forward to it!

10/17: Nike Women’s Half Marathon
This is another “fun” run. No PR here, although I’m sure the hills will be a good workout!

11/6: Silver Falls Trail Half Marathon
Sure to be a beautiful course, also another “fun” run! (What’s wrong with that?!) I’ll definitely bring my camera!

11/20: EWEB Run to Stay Warm
*Goal Race!!

Here’s to some great runs!

Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon Recap + Recap of the rest of the week

So this week culminated with the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon, and so shall this blog post! :) But first, a recap of the other fun runs from this week:

Monday:
Rest Day

Tuesday:
Easy Run
6.97 miles (11:03 avg pace)
I joined in for the Tuesday Lululemon Group Run again. I got an extra couple of miles by running on the way to and from the run. It was definitely an easy run, but it’s fun to get together with a group of other runners. I skipped out on track again this week, but I definitely want to go back next week. I have a 10k to prepare for! :)

Wednesday:
Ran to/from yoga
1.7 miles (10:12 avg pace)
I participated in a new class “Yoga for Cyclists”. It was pretty fun, even though I was the only runner. We targeted very similar areas as a “Yoga for Runners” class would. I’m thinking of heading back next week, so we’ll see if it fits into my schedule.

Thursday:
First Thursday
3.8 miles (9:53 avg pace)
Another fun afternoon/evening of running, and maybe the last of the year! :( They aren’t sure if they’ll be having an October run since the Portland Marathon is so near to it, but I hope they do. These runs are so fun, and its great to see so many people out there hitting the streets. This months was kind of a short run; most of the stops were on 23rd, but we still logged a few fun miles.

Friday/Saturday:
Rest/Lazy days
Thought about running one of these days, but then I decided to be lazy instead!

Sunday:
Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon “Race” Recap
2:18:44 (10:36 avg pace)
This was a “fun/training” run rather than a race, which I did with my friend. We took lots of pictures, chatted with lots of other runners, and just had a fun time. This was the inaugural race, and the first race put on by Destination Races to take place outside of California. There were a lot of out-of-towners (runners from 46 states, Canada, and Singapore) which brought a lot of tourism to our local economy. The race itself was pretty well organized, especially for an inaugural race. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to go to the Race Expo/Packet Pickup, which took place near the race, or about 45-60 minutes away from where I live on Saturday, which definitely took some travel time out of my weekend. The race includes a pretty nice shirt and free wine tasting at the finish line. But onto the race itself:

We arrived about an hour before the start time (6am for the 7am start time) and had absolutely no problem finding parking. This was a point-to-point course, but J and my friend’s soon-to-be-husband drove us to the start line, and found us again at the finish. We lingered around the staging area, greeted other runner friends, and porto-d. Soon enough it was time to hit up the starting line. We lined up just in front of the 11-12 min pace line, since we were aiming for 10:50’s, in preparation for my friend (and maybe me) pacing the 4:45 Portland Marathon Pace Group. While we were lined up, we met a girl who had used this race as an excuse to come up from Santa Barbara and visit her friends in Portland. At about 7:10, the gun finally went off, and off we went.

I’m in the blue shirt and black skirt: And we’re off:

We started off in the large crowd, got passed by some grapes, hit a mile marker way late (12:00 for the first mile…?) and the second one too early (notice a theme here) then things quieted down. Part of the reason this run was so fun was probably because we were running at an easy pace, so it was fun to just chat along the way. The course didn’t seem too difficult (at least for the first 8 miles). There were some nice gentle rollers, nothing too over the top. About mile 6 we passed the relay exchange for the 2-person relay. It was nice to have so many spectators greet us at the mid-way point, especially since this race took place out in the country. In fact, there seemed to be a good amount of supporters along the course, mostly as we were travelling through neighborhoods, or past houses. A lot of people came out to spectate!

Grapes:
Pretty views:

After passing the 8 mile marker, we met the toughest part of the course: gravel. I hate gravel, and was just hoping it would be over soon. It wasn’t quite soon, in fact, it lingered far longer than I ever would have wanted… I don’t think it quite ended until after mile 11. That’s a lot of gravel. It wasn’t so bad for us, since we weren’t truly racing, but for some friends that were aiming for a PR, it was pretty rough.

So much gravel:

Other than the gravel, though, the race was pretty flat and scenic, and would probably be good for a PR course, but I’m not sure what 3.5+ miles of gravel does for other people legs…Soon enough, we were closing in on the finish. We got passed by a few people that were finishing strong, but no worries. We just glided into the finish, and collected our medals. Next up? Wine time. Yum!

Finish line:
Finishing at pace, no kick here:
Wine:

Next week is PR time. 10k PR that is. I’ll be racing the Pints to Pasta 10K next Sunday, and I’m pretty excited. I don’t think I’ll have a problem PR’ing. (It’s been awhile, and I feel much more in shape/speedier than I was when I raced this distance back in April.) This course is also known to be speedy and mostly downhill, so it should be fun!

After next weekends race, I’m going to finalize a training plan for my “goal race” in November: the EWEB Run to Stay Warm Half Marathon. Very exciting!

This is a long one! + Big news!

I haven’t blogged in a bit because I’ve been a bit busy. Well, last week, my knees were talking to me, but they’re feeling great now. I’m getting better at taking care of my body! :)

Last Monday, I attended a yoga class with a new teacher. Our old teacher was off for maternity leave, but I was excited to see what the new teacher might bring. Well, unfortunately I don’t think I clicked really well with the new one. I’m not planning on going back to that class…I like to work hard in my yoga class, but this felt more like a drill sergeant class, with less focus on our practice. I’m sure there are people out there who like that, but it’s just not my cup of tea.

After the couple of hill runs the week before, and a few classes filled with lunge sequences, my quads were already pretty pooped from the week before. Bring in the sergeant, and my quads were fried! This lead to some sore knees, and me taking it easy for a couple of days. I held off on yoga for the rest of the week, and took my runs somewhat easy. By Friday, my legs were feeling recuperated, and I haven’t had any problems since!

Here’s the recap:

Monday:
Power Vinyasa, not my fav…

Tuesday:
Track, or not to track
3.2 miles (10:38 avg pace)
I went to the track, but decided to do a couple of easy miles instead. The knees were talking to me on the way to the track, so I think it was a smart move.

Wednesday:
Skipped the yoga, no runs = Rest Day!

Thursday:
Another lunch run.
3.8 miles (9:33 avg pace)
I really wanted to try to squeeze in 4 miles, but didn’t want to put too much pressure on the pace. I took it as easy as I could, and got 3.8 miles! Not quite 4, and I only had a few minutes to stuff my face with some food in order to make it on time to my meeting. But it was a good run, and I saw some more of Vancouver!

Friday:
Rest Day

Saturday:
Long Run
12.45 miles (10:46 avg pace)
Gathering outside before the start of the run:

My friend decided we should join the Lululemon Portland Marathon Training Clinic Group Run on Saturday. This is a free group long run, and you don’t have to complete the whole run, which we didn’t. They were doing 16, but the other friend we were running with is only at 8 miles for her long run, so we decided to run 4 out and 4 back, then head out for another 4 or so miles to complete our long run. I recognized a lot of people there, and there was a 15% discount offered to the runners at the end of the run. (Not a bad deal!) There were Lemons manning aid stations along the route, and pace leaders helping to make sure you don’t speed out of control. It’s definitely a nice set up, and would be a great group run to join if you dread doing long runs on your own. It’s also a great way to meet new friends, or meet up with current ones. Overall, great run! :)

Sunday:
Salmon Creek 6k
I kind of added this “race” at the last minute. I was able to run it since we were volunteering in the bag check, again! Since my knees were taking it easy, I didn’t want to go all out. (I may have thought twice about it if it had been a 5k…awkward). My friend said she wanted to jog too, so we lined up mid pack, and gave encouragement to the runners out there who were definitely giving it their all. I definitely got speedier as the run went on, and felt great at the end. My friend told me to go ahead, so I took off and finished the last 1.7 miles with an 8:00 min/mi pace. (Not bad considering we started at 9:35 :). So, now I have a random 6k PR: 33:04. Woot?

Now, to the real reason I haven’t been blogging. I was reading. Mockingjay was coming out on Tuesday, which is the third and final chapter of The Hunger Games Trilogy. I love this series, but was pretty much engrossed in it from Saturday night through Wednesday Evening. Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot of working out. But it was totally worth it! :)

So, this week wasn’t the most exciting, fitness-wise. In fact I only got 2 runs in this week (and plan on an easy 4 miles tomorrow):

Tuesday:
Run Oregon-Lululemon Group Run
5.55 miles (10:09 avg pace)
I decided to take a break from Track for the week, and join this run (especially since Megan had been bugging us to!) It was hot out (95° is HOT here!) so we took it easy. The run itself is 5 miles, but we ran a little bit before hand. I was initially planning on staying for yoga afterward, but I decided to go get my book, instead… :)

Saturday:
Long Run
11.5 miles (9:46 avg pace)
This run felt easy and fun. My knees talked to me just a bit about 5 miles in (pretty sure I need new shoes at this point), but just a little bit further in, I met up with the Brain Tumor Walk walkers. Wow. It was pretty amazing to see all those survivors, current fighters, and family members. So inspiring. I saw pictures of family members and friends that had passed on, as well as signs on the survivors. Friends walking with friends, and just a lot of love. I had to fight back some tears, and wait/walk a bit, but I didn’t mind. Sometimes it’s fun to run into unexpected events!

Ok, so I promised big news, so I hope it’s not disappointing! 2 big things:

First: We finally joined the Red Lizard Running Club. We’ve been joining their club for track workouts for a long time, and we’ve met quite a few people who are part of the club. The Lizards are a big club team in Portland. There are some super speedy people on the team, but also a lot of people at different levels. We’ve been to a few of their social events, too, and thought it was a fine time to make it official! As well as being a part of a group with our friends, we get a Red Lizard shirt and a discount at a local running store. Not a bad deal.

Second: I’ve got plans!! Well, I’m not exactly sure when I’ll start training, but I do have a goal race on the calendar! Here’s the break down of upcoming “races” (not all of them are for PRs):

September 5: Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon
This one I’m doing just for fun with a friend. I got a free entry from her (it was kinda pricey when we initially looked it up, but can’t pass up free!)

September 12: Pints to Pasta 10k
I’ll be going for a PR here!

September 18: Oktoberfest 10k
Just for fun again!

October 2: Fall Finale 5k
Not sure it’s a PR course, but I’m going to go for it anyway!

October 17: Nike Women’s Half Marathon
Another “just for fun” run! :)

November 6: Silver Falls Trail Half Marathon
I’m planning on using this as a training run/”just for fun” and stop and take lots of pictures. It looks absolutely gorgeous (and I love fall!) and it’s only $25. Not bad!!

November 20: EWEB Run to Stay Warm Half Marathon
GOAL RACE!! This looks flat and pretty fast. (Certainly flatter than our last half marathon!) The proceeds go to helping low income families pay their utility bills so the can “stay warm” during the winter months. So, a good fundraiser, a good price, and what looks to be a good course. I’m excited.

So, I think I’ll start “training” for the Goal Race after Pints to Pasta. I wanna get a good idea of my current fitness level (which I think a new PR at the 10k level would do), and then formulate a plan from there.

I’m pretty excited to see what I can do. I’m pretty sure I can beat my time from Helvetia, which was not ideal weather for me, and was definitely not “flat”. But I’m also excited for all the other “races” I have coming up. Most of them I am doing with friends, and I love feeling the race energy, even if I’m not using it to go fast.

It feels good to have a plan in place, but I’m definitely still having fun with running!

Big Running Week!

This week was FULL of running, although it did not go exactly according to plan…But I’m definitely having fun with running right now, as well as with yoga. I’m feeling really good, overall, and I’m starting to find a nice groove in the schedule. I had 5 total running days this week (more than ever!) and I’m still feeling pretty good (my knees are a bit sore, but I think that’s more due to running on hills/having tight quads versus too much running, but I’ve been stretching them!) Here’s a recap for the week:

Monday:
Vinyasa class (awesome as always)
Recovery Run
I went out for an easy jaunt around the waterfront to shake my legs out from the weekend activities. I don’t usually run with music, as I’m usually running with someone else/J, but this time J was unable to run due to his knee pain, so I let myself jam out on the run. Unfortunately, music really makes me go, and I completed the run way too fast! It still felt good, but I need to try to slow down on these runs!

4.1 miles (9:02 avg pace) OOPS!

Tuesday:
Track
Tonight was a hill workout. It was kind of an interval workout on the hill, involving cones. First, we would sprint up to the first cone, then slowly run back down. Then, we would sprint up past the first cone, until we reached the second cone, then run back down for a recovery. We continued on until reaching the 5th cone, at which time we would start over again with the 1st cone. We continued on this way for 25 minutes or so. I think the recoveries down the hill were kind of hard on the old knees, but the uphills felt really good! I did 2 full sets, and ran for more than 3 miles total, at about 8:30 pace overall. I wasn’t sure what to record with my watch, but you get the idea!

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa

Thursday:
Lunchtime run

3.2 miles (10:00 avg pace)

Vinyasa (the highlight of my otherwise horrible no good day…traffic + lost shoes + missing the streetcar = very sad Marya :( )

Friday:
Ok, so this was supposed to be the day of our next 5k race, The CATnip Friday 5k…First of all, it was the beginning of the heat wave here in Portland, so I was already kind of dreading another super hot race. But I was still determined to go, and try my hardest. Then I got home, said hello to the kitties, and knew that we wouldn’t be making it to the race… :( Our new addition, Bastian, had a super swollen eye, and just looked miserable, so we had to take him to the vet. The vet said it was probably just conjunctivitis, and we would just need to give him some eye drops for a couple of days. Bastian is much happier now, and he can open his eye all the way!! His stomach has been acting up recently, so we’ll continue to keep an eye on him, but I think he’s going to be ok! :) I am still sad that we weren’t able to at least hang out with some of our friends that were going to be there, but by the time we got home, it was definitely too late to make it all the way down to Sherwood… Oh well, here’s to next year!

We actually talked to the vet, as we were leaving, about running. I had gone to the vet in my running clothes, since I had been planning on just swinging by home to pick up J on the way to the race. Apparently, the vet used to run cross country in college, and ran with Frank Shorter and Prefontaine. He ran with all these super iconic runners, but thinks marathoners are crazy! Go figure!

Saturday:
Long Run
I knew it was going to be a hot weekend, so I tried to get out the door for my long run, before it got too hot. I didn’t quite make it out until 9am, which had me a little worried, but overall it was ok. I decided to run up the west-side of the Willamette, and try to find my way back up to Terwilliger, so that I could finish my run under the shade of` trees, by the time it would really start to heat up. The first 4.5 miles went along smoothly, then I hit the spot I had guessed would get me up onto Terwilliger. I found some signage pointing to the 4T Trail. I see these signs everywhere, but I knew it was pointing me in the right direction. Unfortunately, a half mile into the change of direction, I found the the way up contained a LOT of stairs. I didn’t count them, but I climbed about 350ft in about 1/8 of a mile. You better believe I walked up those stairs! I was pretty tired when I got to the top, and just hoped I could make my way to to Terwilliger somehow, because there was no way I was heading back down that way again…When I finally reached the top, the signage was a bit unclear, but after traipsing about the neighborhood for about 10 minutes, I finally found my way to Terwilliger. I checked Google maps on my iPhone to make sure I was heading in the right direction, and I was on my way! From here it was all smooth sailing back home (mostly downhill! :) I drank about 3 bottles of water on this run (the first with some electrolytes in it), but didn’t really experience that whole “it’s too hot and my head feels faint” kind of feeling, except briefly just before the stairs. I’ve been working on making it through hot runs in one piece, and I think the electrolytes really help. I made it home before it got too hot (although it did reach up to 85°!!) Overall, great long run!

10.1 miles (10:09 avg pace) I tried to take it easy (for long slow distance)

Sunday:
Recovery Run

Another recovery run, another waterfront loop adventure. I also tried to complete this run somewhat early, as the heat wave was continuing on! I had my music again, but tried very hard to mentally slow myself down. It worked, somewhat, but I think I was still a bit too fast…I guess I’ll keep trying!

4.1 miles (9:33 avg pace)

Weekly total: 25.9 miles

Here’s my tentative plan for the upcoming week:

Monday:
Power Vinyasa
Rest day from running/lunchtime run?

Tuesday:
Track!

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa

Thursday:
Lunchtime Run
Vinyasa

Friday:
Rest Day?

Saturday/Sunday:
Long run/more yoga!

We’ll see what the week holds!

Someday I’d like to be on a structured training plan again, but I’m still enjoying the freedom of my schedule at the moment!

Helping hands

My running mileage this week was a whopping 20.9 miles. Woot! And I was still able to attend 3 yoga sessions AND take a rest day! Go me! Here’s the recap:

Monday:
Lunchtime run
Power Vinyasa class
This was my first EVER lunchtime run. It was 73° out, so the weather wasn’t TOO bad, but I was still nervous about being hot the rest of the day. (I do work pretty closely to people in my job.) But it wasn’t too bad. I work in Vancouver, directly over the Columbia River from where I live. I don’t know much about the Vancouver area, except how to get to work, so it was kind of exciting to venture out to the surrounding area. I found a track (by a High School) and a couple of parks. Overall, it was a fun run, and I made it back in time to scarf down some lunch, and wasn’t too sweaty the rest of the day. Success!

3.2 miles (9:42 avg pace)

Later on, J and I attended the last class our (pregnant) instructor will be teaching on Monday nights. I’m kind of bummed she’s leaving, but I understand the reasons! It’ll be fun experiencing a new teacher; they’re all so different. But I’m definitely looking forward to our former teacher’s return in October/November! :)

Tuesday:
Track
My legs had definitely recovered from the Bowerman 5k, and track ran a lot more smoothly.
The workout:

2 sets 800 - 800 (300) @ L (3:54 [7:48 avg pace])
4 x 400 @ S (400) (1:48 [7:12 avg pace])

The outcome

800 - 3:42.00 (7:24 min/mi)
800 - 3:45.80 (7:29 min/mi)
800 - 3:49.74 (7:38 min/mi)
800 - 3:53.24 (7:45 min/mi) [Hey! It’s still under! ;)]

400 - 1:44.18 (6:55 min/mi)
400 - 1:48.44 (7:12 min/mi)
400 - 1:45.62 (7:05 min/mi)
400 - 1:44.82 (7:00 min/mi) [Last one!]

Overall, good workout! The dash between the 2 sets of 800’s are “floats” or just easy running (but not too easy) before getting back into the next 800. It’s like running a mile with an easy jog in the middle. I enjoyed myself, and ran with 2 other girls for the most part. I’m looking forward to this week’s track workout; should be more quick fun! :)

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa
This instructor is also going to be leaving us for a few months. She’s going on sabbatical to India (jealous!), so we’ll have another sub; hope we like her!

Thursday:
First Thursday
I loooove First Thursdays. This month we had a few stops over in the Pearl (from NW Portland). It’s fun when there are new checkpoints/businesses to stop in. We had a few different ones this month that I might be interested in visiting one of these days. It was a warm day, and one of the checkpoints was a slip-n-slide. Sounded like fun, but I wasn’t sure I really wanted to get that into it; plus the line was ridiculous, so we skipped it ;). We made it back after our “fartlek”-type run, and enjoyed our delicious Widmer beers, only to strike out on the raffle, again! Oh well, maybe next month!

4.2 miles (10:43 avg pace…probably)

Do we look hot yet?

So cute during our “run” :P

Look how small my beer looks next to my massive head in this pic! (hopefully that’s due to the camera angle… :/

Friday:
REST DAY!!

Saturday:
Skirtchaser 5k Volunteering
I heeded the call for volunteers for this race earlier in the week. How could I say no to the promise of a free running skirt + 2 free beers!? There were a lot of ladies (at least 2/3rds of the race participants were ladies). If you don’t know about this race series, it’s put on by SkirtSports, and involves a “chase” of the women by the men. Women get a 3 minute headstart for the 5k, and the first individual (man or woman) to finish, gets $500. So far, women have won every event this year, and Vancouver was no exception. The winning women clocked in at 16:56!! Not too shabby! (I think she was running for charity, but either way, she was smoking!) The first man came in at 15:55, which, although quite speedy, was not enough to surpass 2 ladies. I think the cutest part of the race was that the first couple to cross the finish line together (ie holding hands) each won a free pair of shoes. Adorable!! The skirts they were giving out at the race were black with pink under shorts (and a slit in the skirt so you can see the shorts!) I like the skirt, and it will definitely be used in the future!

“Enforcing” at the beer garden. Do I look intimidating? The skirt probably helps!

Sunday:
Bridge Pedal Volunteer
9 mile long run
Those of you that are unfamiliar with Portland may not know this, but we have a lot of bridges! The annual Bridge Pedal is a bike ride that allows you to ride over 10 of them, including the freeways. I’m sure it’s a nightmare for cars, but it only happens once a year, and so many people are out there, I think it’s a sacrifice they can make! This year, my friend asked for people to help her hand out balloons at the finish line. I guess last year, her and her fiancé did it alone, and this year she had 4 friends to help her. We gave out so many balloons. We only had 2 helium tanks, and ran out early! Oops! My friend says she only used one tank last year, but this year she had a lot of help. Oh well! Kids of all ages were definitely appreciative of the balloons! We had a great time!

Afterward, my friend, J, and I headed out for a long-ish run of 9 miles around the un-closed bridges! My friend is a big proponent of long slow distance, so she helped me reign in the speed a little bit, and before we knew it, 9 miles were completed and it was (finally) time to eat! :) Unfortunately, J only made it to about 4.5 miles, then reported (at the furthest point from home) that his knee could take no more…Thanks for the heads-up dude! It all worked out in the end, but poor J and his knee. Sometimes injury recovery can take forever!

9 miles (11:20 avg pace, definitely negative split!)

So, a very successful week, in my opinion. First lunch run ever, yoga + run on the same day, great track workout, great long run, and lots of volunteering! Here’s hoping next week is just as great! Here’s the plan, thus far:

Monday:
Recovery Run + yoga

Tuesday:
Track!

Wednesday:
Yoga

Thursday:
Lunch run + yoga

Friday:
CATnip Friday 5k

Saturday/Sunday:
10 mile run, hopefully; to be reassessed after the 5k

**And, just as an aside, my friend is one of the race directors for the CATnip Friday 5k. So, if you’re in the Portland area and like cats, this is a run to benefit the CAT adoption center. This is a great no-kill shelter that takes in cats, and has a great adoption program for kitties. This is where we got our new kitty, and he fits in just great with our family! So, if you want to do an evening race, on a Friday, for a great cause, sign up and join in the fun!