I'll Follow The Sun

Week 9 - Phase II - Core Workout: Anaerobic Threshold -
08/06/12 - 08/12/12 -
Week Total: 60.9 -

And after carefully traveling through cosmic space, planets, and galaxies, I got to Mercury. It took 28 Half Marathons in half a year. Tacoma Narrows was the culprit.

The next adventure translates to reach the hot, round, and yellow star that is above us. And with that I will secure a special place in the asylum sharing with nuts individuals that will continue doing nothing else than piling more Half Marathons underneath the bed. There will not be any more movements towards anywhere, no other dimensions, no other solar systems, nowhere, just moving around in circles around the star because when I arrive there I will become one of the Masters of the Asylum and I will be fried. 52 Half Marathons in a year, so I need 24 in the next 26 weeks.

The count started with Summer Series at Magnuson Park, but a couple of short races with high goals, my marathon in October, and winter in the middle of the endeavor, all threaten the challenge.

Now the time has come, and so, my love, I must go, and though I lose a friend, in the end you will know. One day, you'll find that I have gone, but tomorrow may rain, so I'll Follow The Sun.
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Magnuson Park by Lake Washington was the perfect location for a race on a sunny day. Hubby dropped me at the boat launch, he went fishing, I went running. Though hot - 68-70F, I ran a good run with good splits (I definitely learned how to run in the heat), 1:54:09. After the race, hubby picked me up at the boat launch and we went boating to Lake Washington and Lake Union to admire from the water my beautiful city, with the most gorgeous (rare though) sunny blue skies.

Heart Rate Monitor didn't work (this gadget and I are divorcing imminently). I was on my own. I followed my guts.

1- 8:49
2- 9:18
3- 8:41
4- 9:17
5- 8:58
6- 8:50
7- 9:09
8- 8:32
9- 8:11
10- 8:40
11- 8:36
12- 8:32
13- 8:20
13.1 - 0:50 (8:20)

The Scrooge Of Running

Week 10 - Phase I - Build up - Core Workout: Hills -
07/30/12 - 08/05/12 -
Week Total: 65.4 -

Commuting to/from work has been an amazing thing. I am able to log a bunch of miles without them being a burden. On Tue & Thu I logged about 15, and on Wed I logged 19, including hill sprints on one of the hilliest streets in the area. Steep as the steepest streets in Seattle: 22% slope (and I thought that 7% at Picnic Point was hilly)!!!

I concluded the week with 65.4 and I don't feel a little bit tired, to the point that I ran today the Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon and got a PR - 1:51:42 - 8:32 min/mile.

I wanted to run another Half on Sunday for another back-to-back weekend, I knew I'd do OK but I wanted to run the race more for being close to 80 miles, than for running the race. I felt like I wanted to have a lot of miles and put them in my closet or underneath my bed, like amassing a fortune, but I have a VO2Max test on Monday and they told me to be well rested (!); at least no workouts the day before.

After my daughter's comment "Mom, don't become obsessed now with this high mileage, I know you..." I realize that she was right (daughter knows best... or not). So, for the sake of a mental, physical, driving break (Sunday race 1.5 hour-drive), and for my test, I am skipping this race. Yes, unbelievable, but true.  I don't want to become The Scrooge Of Running.

Tacoma Narrows Splits
Mile - Pace - Heart Rate%
1- 8:40 - 80%
2- 8:18 - 84%
3- 8:46 - 84%
4- 9:31 - 86%
5- 9:20- 86%
6- 8:17- 89%
7- 8:14 - 90%
8- 8:23- 91%
9- 8:36 - 92%
10- 8:28 - 91%
11- 8:48 - 92%
12- 8:02 - 93%
13- 7:28 - 95%
13.1 -0:48 - (7:30) - 95%

PR and 1st place in the division - 1:51:42

With good friends Maryanne and Ginger

Great representation from Washington State 55-59 division. With Susie Hall, 3rd place with 2:01:48 and David Sherman, 2nd place with 1:34:38

The Mile That Saved The Race

Week 11 - Phase I - Build up - Core Workout: Hills
 07/23/12 - 07/29/12
 Week Total: 52.5

On Sunday 7/29 I went to a race without a major plan. I needed to log 17 miles so I went and ran 4.2 miles before the race; then went for 1:55ish. HR monitor was somehow screwed and started to act up, so I decided to drop it and ran by feel, but when I run by feel, I run too fast at the start… and then… I lose ground, and then… when I am normally passing people, people are passing me.

At mile 7 I was in 1:01.This was OK if I was running negative, but I was already struggling. At mile 8 two people passed me. I know what that meant. My paces were slowing down by the minute. Then 3 people, and 4, and 5. My horrendous positive splits faded by the mile. At mile 11, 15 people have passed me. I was running poorly, but after seeing I was almost at 10 min/mile I decided to give it a push.

Two girls that I’ve passed at mile 4, but passed me at mile 9 were not too happy when I approached them at mile 12. One was faster and was leading the other one. I accelerated. She did too. I think they must have communicated because all of a sudden the first girl started racing with me. Maybe she got a sign from her running partner “Go get her”? The race started. I told her “Come on, give me a battle” and she did. We were head to head for the whole final mile. I was about to puke. At mile 12.9 I told her: “It’s all yours”. I had to give in. If you see the splits you’ll understand how bad I ran and how tough the last mile was. I clocked 1:56:52 for 8:55 pace.

Thanks to this girl I ran The Mile That Saved The Race.

After Anacortes Half, a protein shake, a protein bar, a shower, a nap, a potato, an egg, a piece of bread, a nectarine, Olympics with Hubby, then to run another race the same day. One of my favorite: 8K/5 miles Seafair at 6:30 pm. Got me a nice PR, 41:21 - 8:19 min/mile. I took advantage of the first 3 miles, because last 2 miles were tough. To climb Alaska Viaduct, then Broad, and 2nd Ave to the finish line. Fun, tons of people. I finished among the top 5. (Yeap - 4th place)

1- 8:16
2- 8:28
3- 8:46
4- 9:06
5- 9:08
6- 8:43
7- 8:39
8- 9:01
9- 9:14
10- 9:36
11- 9:50
12- 9:09
13- 7:59
13.1 – 0:50 (8:30)

Anacortes Half Marathon - with niece Angie

Anacortes Half Marathon -with brother-in-law David

Seafair 8K