lucky

today was one of the days that i felt so lucky to be a runner.

sure i got up at 3:45am voluntarily on a sunday. instead of going out on saturday night i went to bed really early because i was tired from that morning's run and also had my long run to rest up for. i had to leave my warm bed and husband behind and drive 30 minutes to meet some new running friends.

it was worth every second.

sometimes seeing a city before it's awake, on foot, before your body is even awake, can be the most rewarding experience. you feel so lucky to be out there and kind of feel sad for the people who never get to experience something like that.

first my run saturday...

i am following the pfitzinger 9 weeks between marathon schedule and this week he called for a tune up race of 8-15k. since i ran a race last weekend, and there weren't any great ones this weekend, i decided to use it as a goal pace run as i have in passed training cycles to get a feel for what marathon pace feels like. the schedule had a total of 10 miles for the day, so 10 miles at goal pace it was.

i have adjusted my race strategy a little bit and also adjusted my goal pace slightly. CIM last year is the shortest marathon i have ran, but it was still 26.33 miles. technically speaking a 3:40 marathon is an 8:23 avg pace, but that assumes you are running exactly 26.2 miles, which rarely, if ever, seems to happen. if you take the 8:23 avg pace and adjust the mileage to 26.33 in a running calculator the total time comes out to 3:40:56, which for me is cutting it a little too close, especially because 26.33 is on the low end. i decided to ball park and use a 3:39:00 time on a 26.4 mile course which is a ~8:17-8:18 avg pace, then i rounded down to 8:15 just because i like numbers that end in 0 or 5.

after getting to sleep in until 7:30 i got up and got in pre-run mode... coffee, small breakfast, running clothes, etc. chris was running 8 miles saturday, so we decided to go together and drove down to danville to hit one of my favorite sections of the iron horse trail. this was the first time in a LONG time that we went to do a weekend run together and it was really nice, i have missed him! the pace i was shooting for was right around the pace he was planning to run at so we started off together.

it took me a little while to find the right pace (yo-yoing a bit at first), and really i never found it exactly, but i felt reallllly good. i was just following along right next to chris, not using my watch too much, and totally zoned out to my music. i have a killer playlist right now for only special runs because i really don't want it to wear off before the marathon. i was slightly faster than "goal pace" for most of the run, but i really concentrated on my form - keeping my posture up, my shoulders back and making sure my stride was on. i was totally in the zone and really have found that focusing on my form and stride really helps me. i was happy to see how consistent my splits were - slowest being 8:16 and the fastest being 8:09, i sure seemed to be able to nail the 8:11/8:12 pace on that run. chris picked it up for his last 2 miles, so i ran alone and then added on another 2 for a total of 10. i was very happy with this run.

10.0 miles/1:21:59/8:12 avg pace

we went to a yummy breakfast after and spent the day running errands and just had a really great day. we made dinner at home and i was in bed pretty early since i had an early morning date with maritza, meghann and sabrina. obviously i know maritza, but the other two are new running friends! i met meghann shortly at the san diego marathon expo, but had never met sabrina. they were in town for the foodbuzz festival and had 11 miles scheduled for their run on sunday. we planned on meeting in san francisco around 5:30am, which meant a very early wake up call for me... i seem to be getting good at them :)

3:45am my alarm went off, and i was up and in pre-long run mode. coffee, english muffin with peanut butter, and a banana. i could not decide between shorts or capri tights. it's been much cooler in the mornings here, but sf is usually slightly warmer this time of year. the forecast was showing upper 40's or very low 50's for the time i was going to be running. after a bunch of internal debating i ended up in shorts and a long sleeve top and later was very happy with my decision. i was out the door by 4:45am to pick up maritza and head into sf! we got there and got started pretty quickly.

it was pretty exciting since this was going to be sabrina's longest run to date, which always makes me excited. i very much remember when every run was a new milestone and it was the best part about training for your first distance race. we started near the ferry building and kept a good pace as we set out into the dark city. i enjoyed chatting and hearing about their eventful weekend and the miles were ticking by really fast. the city was so peaceful and calm this early in the morning, the only time i had ever run in sf that early was for the san francisco marathon and half marathon, which definitely had a different feel to it.

we winded along the embarcadero, through fisherman's wharf and up the hill over to the marina and crissy field. you could see the golden gate bridge in the distance. (thank you maritza for the pics!)


the sun started coming out slowly and it created such a beautiful sky. we couldn't get over what an amazing morning for a run it was. the weather was cold, but not too cold, there was a slight breeze, but nothing bad. everything was just beautiful. we inched closer and closer to the golden gate bridge and it was still really quiet out. i was excited it was such a beautiful day to be showing off san francisco to some visiting runners.

we made it to the foot of the bay bridge around 5.5 miles and turned around to head back. the waves were big this morning and were crashing against the rocks here and we almost got splashed a couple times.

the views on the way back did not disappoint either.

we had fun taking pics (will post when i get them from meghann), talking about blogging, about training schedules, upcoming races and life in general. it was great to get to know these girls, they are both awesome! sabrina was saying the best way to get to know someone is to go on a run with them, so true!

we made our way back through fisherman's wharf and then picked it up for their last 2 miles. mile 11 was the fastest of that portion of the run, so we finished off very strong! we said goodbye and i continued on my way, i had miles to add (18 on my schedule)

i ran pretty much the same route back the way we came, but my stomach was bugging and i had to make a couple pit stops. my pace had definitely picked up though and i could see the average pace dropping every time i checked it. my legs felt great and i was still loving this run even though my stomach was misbehaving. i turned around and headed back to the ferry building where maritza was waiting.

i had a pesky .4 miles hanging out from earlier in the week, and if i did 18 today it would have made me weekly mileage total 59.4. so you know i HAD to add the extra .6 on there to get that number rounded off, plus i couldn't be that close to 60! my last mile was my fastest at 8:24 and the last .6 was an 8:00 avg pace. i felt awesome and could have kept running if i had to. it was a great way to end a great week of training.

miles 1-9: 1:27:51/9:45 avg pace

miles 10-18.6: 1:24:50/8:50 avg pace

total run: 18.6 miles/2:52:41/9:17 avg pace

total miles for the week: 60

amazing scenery, perfect weather, great company, negative splits, time on my feet, and second highest mileage week ever - couldn't ask for a better long run!

i am feeling really great right now, very mentally strong and very happy with how my legs are feeling. i hope i can bring this enthusiasm through one more big week of training before the mileage starts backing down a bit. 4 weeks to go until CIM!