Mid-Year Book Check-In

This year has been light on visual reading.

Audiobooks have definitely taken over as my preferred method of consuming literature.

It's not that I don't enjoy visual reading, but it's *much* harder to multitask and time is a limited resource.  Stuff I can do while listening to an audiobook that I can't do while visually reading includes: driving, running, walking outside, doing dishes, doing laundry, and gardening.  In other words, there's stuff in almost every day that allows me to enjoy an audiobook while I do it, whereas with visual reading, I have to find the time.  These days, visual reading (unless I'm on the treadmill or a plane) feels like an unearned indulgence.  

Given that we're culling our physical belongings in preparation for the Sabbatical year, I've cut myself off from buying any more physical books.

At this point, I'm just doing my best to get through the pile by my bed which is primarily the books that E has finished and I want to read as well as a few others I either bought for myself or received as gifts.

E and I both bought Kindles with the assumption that we'll want to visually read while traveling (you guys, my reading wishlist for the year is already MUCH too long!), and we won't want to lug paper books.

I've only read one Kindle book so far (The Sellout, see review below).  I suspect visually reading a paper book (and possibly taking notes in the margins) will always be my preferred method of enjoying literature.  But, I have to consider the tradeoffs.  As I noted above re: time and audiobooks, I'll take more literature in exchange for an audio format.  Similarly, I'll take the electronic visual format in exchange for loss of weight while traveling.  The one major improvement in the digital visual xperience for me was the ability to tap a word or phrase and immediately get a definition or historical explanation -- the future is cool!

So, without further adieu, here's the visual reading list with reviews for the year so far:

The Story of My Teeth	Valeria Luiselli	A very unique book.  Histerically laugh out loud Fiction.  Surrealism.  An installation art project.  A translator who added a section of the book with a timeline explaining all the pop and historical latin american and hispanic cultural references.  A very clever work of art that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Blue Mars	Kim Stanley Robinson	I *could* not get through this book in any reasonable time frame.  It dragged on, and on.  The last book in a very enjoyable trilogy -- in other words, I had to find a way.  So I did.  But this is definitely the weakest of the 3 books and a bit all over the place.  As a stand-alone book, I don't think I'd recommend it, but I'm a sucker for finishing series, so in that light, when considered as part of a whole, it's still worth it.
My Brilliant Friend	Elena Ferrante	This book completely blew me away.  The language was sparse and descriptive and powerful and so evocative of the Italian it came from in a manner I've never really encountered.  The story of Elena and Lila is a very honest portrayal of young female emotions -- raw jealousy, love, competitiveness, hope, concern and more.  I immediately ordered the next book in the series for my Audiobook fun.
Rule 34	Charles Stross	Typical Stross -- fast, smart, clever, confusing, futuristic fun.  True to the name, this one was a little dirtier and darker than most of his stuff.
Saturn's Children	Charles Stross	Extremely fun.  Sex-robots built to please humans in a post-human futuristic world.  Transferable soul chips, space travel, intrigue and betrayal.
Neptune's Brood	Charles Stross	A more clever exploration of the world established in Saturn's Children with a decreased focus on sex and an increased focus on what it means to have soul chips and similar bodylines plus time travel, slow sleep, and monetary transactions between planetary systems.  Very thought provoking and enjoyable.
Singularity Sky	Charles Stross	Classic space opera with spying, interplanetary turmoil, futuristic maker-machines, and general goodness.
The Sellout	Paul Beatty	I came into this book blind, it was a book club assignment, so I read it as my first Kindle book.  It's weird.  Like really weird.  But also, it is one of the most beautifully linguistic and hilarious things I've ever read.  And, even while you're ogling the gorgeous language (Beatty is also a poet) and laughing out loud, in the back of your head, you realize this stuff is going to stick with you and make you think real real hard.  I regularly found myself reading snippets to E, just so he too could enjoy the the satire that interwove the painful and uncomfortable with truly Californian reality and very odd imaginative shit from Mr. Beatty's head.  I tried to explain the book to a friend at a party and my explanation was something like, "Well, it's a hilarious book about 'post-racial' america where the main character is a young black man on trial for keeping a slave, who turns out to be one of the original Little Rascals actors.  And, oh, did I mention he lives on a farm and rides a horse in a name-removed farming ghetto in the middle of Los Angeles?  There's a bus ride party with a post-party segregation movement.  Oh, he smokes weed in the Supreme Court of the US while waiting for his hearing.  It's so good.  No. Really."

Execution

So, a while back, I bailed on the Danville 10K that so many of my bay area running friends were doing.  Turns out Cat PR'd (thanks to some fancy pacing from Angela), as did Jen.  I bailed in order to do the Chrissy Field Parkrun today with E and his best friend (C) and C's wife (G).

Typical Chrissy Field ParkRun View (courtesy Chrissy Field Parkrun photographers)

It was the right call for me, even though I felt super jealous of the Danville folks throughout the day.  E PR'd pacing C to his first full 5K (E has a much faster 5K in him if he ever decides he wants it, but I digress).  C tried to keep it low-key since he's one of those "I don't enjoy working out" types, but after the finish he was texting family and friends, and just generally very proud of himself for coming in sub 30 on his first 5K (which is a big deal, and super impressive).  He seemed a bit surprised at all of the invitations from folks who weren't there to join various running activities now that he's shown himself capable of "running." 

In the interests of respecting E&C's privacy, I won't post their very *unique* finishing photos (which show how much effort the end was -- even in SF, while not Danville, the sun on the backstretch was direct and hot).  I will however post the competition they successfully bested in the last 0.25 miles of the race.

Mind you, this dude was a competitor.  As soon as E&C came up on him, ready to pass, he stopped to a walk for the first time in the whole race (we know, 'cause we'd been behind him) as if to signal, "you are only passing me because I am allowing you to do so."

I passed the kid on his walk break as well, but after a few seconds he sped back up and finished ahead of me, but after E&C.  All was well.


Meanwhile, G was pushing her stroller with her less than 1yo daughter taking a nap.  She opted into running the full 5K without stopping for her biggest workout effort in over 2 yrs.

So, in her shadow, I ran my highest grade-age effort in 2+ years.  I'm happy. 

The day before the race, I ran my standard 0.5 mile jogging warm-up, 1 mile at the pace I think I can sustain for the race by effort, and 0.5+ mile cooldown.  I was surprised to find that the 5K effort mile was 9:25 in the hot sun (and the prediction for SF was relatively cool, although, damn, the direct sun on that final 0.75 miles can make 65F feel like 80...).

So, I decided I'd shoot for 9:30 - 9:40 (McMillan had predicted 9:45 as my current fitness pace).  Historically speaking, these high 9 minutes per mile paces are not race paces.  They are weak tempos to my former self.  This is what humility (and acceptance of aging and laziness and lack of fitness) looks like.  I was actually excited to realize I could race in the 9s for the first time in 2 years.  This is who I am right now.  And it was fun.

At the start, I told E and C that I was shooting for this pace range, and they, being younger dudes with no running watches or data collection/reporting devices, decided to try to stick with me as long as possible.  This was ambitious.  C had ran no more than 2ish miles in any one run total in this training cycle.  We'd run as a group 1 time per week, breaking off with me and G chilling with the stroller and the guys doing their own thing each time.  Apparently, at some point in the 2ish mile running lap every week, C would ask for a break to walk, briefly.  E was always supportive (and is generally fit enough to string together some low 9 miles), but they were sticking together and they'd never run more than 1 mile at 9:30ish pace without stopping for a walk break.

I executed on my plan.  Guess what, it hurt.  I finished averaging 9:38, which is slower than my fastest marathon pace, but correct for me in a 5K right now. I knew my own fitness and I assumed I would drop the men at some point on the path due to lack of C's training.  But, they surprised me and stayed with me, using me as a rabbit at times in the first few miles in the sunny spots where they were lagging, but then taking off with 0.6 miles to the end to run down the random 12ish-year-old kid (pictured above).  As I noted, to his credit, the kid stopped to walk just as they passed as if to say, "Yeah, I know it.  But, for real, you're only passing me because I'm letting you."

Long story short, C was way more fit than his training let on.  29:30 5K for C (never more than 2ish miles ever) and E (not really interested in speed).  Well done, boys.

Overall, it was a gorgeous day in Chrissy Field and a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning (followed by brunch at one of my favorite restaurants, a crawfish boil at a friend's, and an early night at home on a 3 day weekend).

Weekly total mileage (after today's target 8 miles slow but actual 5.6 due to a blister and bad socks) is 29.77.  Big workouts this week include the Chrissy Field 5K at sub 30, plus an 11X400 speed workout, and of course today's "long run" plus lots of easy stuff including walking during the rest of the week.  I would have preferred to hit 8+ today on my long run, but the blister from the bad socks took precedence, so I bailed... c'est la vie.

All things considered, I'm oddly feeling reasonably prepared for next Sunday's half marathon in Alamada.  Wish me luck!

Onward. 

Miles and Miles

Our SoCal Road Trip

Whenever we go to Southern California, we drive so, so much.  We have many friends, family and work obligations in the area and we want to fit in as many as possible whenever we're down there.  This is, of course, suboptimal, since driving in Southern California always comes with tons of traffic.  For example, the estimated 7 hours that Google thinks this trip should have taken, in reality had us in our trusty rental car for at least 11 hours (split over many days).

It was a great week.  I'm continuing to scale my practice down, and working at about 50% capacity while traveling is *so* much better than working full time.

While we were in the area, in addition to work meetings for both of us during the week, we were social animals of the first degree: 1 weekend birthday celebration, 1 baby shower, 2 nights with one friend (including an authentic imported products Italian dinner cooked by me to say thank you), 1 dinner out at Republique with a college roommate and her husband, 2 nights with another set of friends, a drive through Irvine to Carlsbad to stay at the lovely Park Hyatt Aviara (booked on points *and* got upgraded to a suite... I LOVE HYATT), a wonderful wedding on the beach in Carlsbad, and a visit to see two of my cousins and my new baby 1st cousin once removed.

The running wasn't too bad.  I fit in the slow 10 on Monday, followed by a super-slow hilly 2.8 mile loop on Tuesday.  Wednesday I made up 3 Tabata workouts and then headed to the gym treadmill for an agressive strength workout of 1600, 1000, 800, 800 at decreasing paces with walking recovery, all at 1% incline -- this was definitely the best workout of the week and I was sore for 2+ days afterward.  Thursday, I ran from our friends' place down to Marina Del Rey to check out the Endeavor Tank for an easy 3 miler plus some walking mileage.  Friday was a write off due to some bizarre stomach issues -- 1.25 jogging and 0.05 walk.  Saturday still had some residual stomach issues, but I managed 2.81 jogging with 2.89 walking back.  Sunday I ran 3.2 miles from our hotel to get the car that we'd left at the wedding reception and discovered a wonderful trail paralleling the train tracks -- I love it when I discover somewhere new by running whatever route is defined for me by the Internet.

Total mileage for the week: 32.67.  Not bad, although, as predicted, the long run didn't happen over the weekend, so I'll have to fit it in early this week.

Yup.  That's a big tank.

Desert Thoughts

The desert scenery dares you not to be thoughtful.

One of my childhood best friends, R, invited me, E, another childhood best friend K, and her husband D, plus another good friend of R, B to go hang out in the desert to celebrate R's 40th Birthday.  I'd never been to Joshua Tree and R correctly predicted that I would love it.  The quality of the desert light is hard to explain, but it's harsh and yet clear and bright in a manner I couldn't help but feel awed by.  And the sounds -- so mild and subtle -- scratchy footsteps on sand, quiet wind, still quiet between them, all in a volume my sensitive ears just loved.

Getting there was a bit of a fiasco and we almost missed our flight but thankfully all flights to Palm Springs were delayed by at least 50 minutes, so we arrived to the 100F heat before they shut the airport down for the day.

Joshu Trees in Joshua Tree National Park

It was so nice to enjoy the desert scenery and solitude (no cell service!), multiple meals and late nights of too much indulgence.  Truly, I felt so very lucky to spend time with friends I've had for close to 3 decades.

The beautiful cholla cactus.

We are firmly in middle age at this point -- each of us women within spitting distance of the exact half-way point of the 81-year average US female life expectancy.  And yet, many of our best moments are full of childish comedy and laughter.  We've known each other for so long that we can ask after each other's family -- in fact, they reminded me that I hadn't caught up with my sister in a long time, so I made sure to do that yesterday.

Cholla, as far as the eye can see.

I'd packed clothes to run over the weekend, but didn't.  Not at all.  The heat was certainly a factor, and the day we spent in the national park we did little more than walk a mile and half in the direct sun.  On Friday, I'd hoped to fit in 10 miles before we flew out, but as I mentioned, the day did not go well and our departure was a catastrophe (mis-packing, misidentified departure airports, and Lyft/Uber/Cab ridiculousness to name a few problems).

Essentially, for the weekend, I just overate and overindulged on a few other consumption axes while enjoying time with friends.  I woke early each morning and read in the garden wind, listening to the chimes while waiting for others to wake -- it felt so decadent, calming, and correct. 

However, I did sign up for the See Jane Run Half Marathon before we left, so I do have some shuffling to do to ensure I can finish comfortably.  Last week's running started well, with a slow easy 10 miler on Monday, and a 4 mile walk with a friend on Tuesday.  Wednesday, I did a very solid track ladder of 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 600, 400, 200, 100 where I actually hit some paces in the 6 min/mile pace, which hasn't happened in a long time and has *never* happened at this weight.  There was another 4 mile walk Wednesday afternoon (I was *sore* from those intervals), and 3 easy slow miles on Thursday with several hours of gardening.  Friday AM, I had to finish the water situation in the garden before we left or all of my work would just die in our absence, and then the weekend was a write-off, mileage-wise.

Monday of this week after a lazy weekend of desert heat and friends, much like Monday of last week after a lazy weekend of rain and family time, I got back on the horse, and fit in a slow easy 10 miler to try to ensure I get in at least one long run each week before the half marathon.  I'm hopeful I can stick to a more reasonable running schedule this week, but we've got family to visit and a wedding next weekend, so if I find myself trading quality emotional time for running yet again, perhaps I'll just slate next Monday for my long run, yet again.

Happy Mother's Day

E&I packed up pillows, blankets, clothes, and headed out in the rainstorm to brave the Friday traffic from the Bay Area to Northern California's Gold Country, where Mom and Stepdad are staying. (Friday AM's run didn't happen because while I don't mind running in the drizzle, it was actually truly raining, so I decided to call it a lazy rest day.)

Cozy Cabin at the RV Resort

We had a raucous night, alternating games of pool and ping pong.  My stepdad used to hustle for cash in his youth, so when he gets his game back on the pool table, watch out... My Mom plays in a ping pong league, and E confirmed that while his shoulder is doing well, it's definitely not 100% yet -- aka, she beat us all.  After the high effort games, we started a 500 piece puzzle and did about half of it before leaving it unfinished on the communal games table in the resort adult rec room.

Saturday, we slept in (waking to the sound of glorious rain -- so welcome in NorCal drought country) and sipped coffee.  Then we lunched with Mom and Stepdad at the awesome Christopher's Deli in downtown Grass Valley.  After lunch, E & I worked for a few hours at a local cafe before heading back to the rec room for more ping pong, pool, and puzzle work.  When we left for dinner, we had maybe 50 pieces left to complete the puzzle.

After dinner, we came straight back, elated to place all of the final pieces... almost.

Notice anything missing in the white lilies?

We searched the floor, the cabinet of lost puzzle pieces, and everywhere else in the rec room, but alas.  We were one piece short.  Oh well, it was a fun 2-day joint effort and a good memory, nonetheless. 

Sunday AM, it had finally stopped raining, so I headed up the hill with the goal of 3ish miles.  Elevation plus hills is no joke.  I found myself run-walking in less than a third of a mile.

But then I found the trail!

Just about when I was starting to get seriously frustrated with the incline, I hit the top of the ridge and found the trail.  It was absolutely beautiful, and thanks to the nature of the soil and forest, despite the 3-day rain storm, the trail was solid and easy to run.  I fit in a quick short one, but throughout it was one of those running experiences when I was just grinning the entire time.  How beautiful the world is!  How lucky I am to have a wonderful Mother, who lives, somewhere nearby, that happens to be so gorgeous.  Each of these blessings is so wonderful.

In terms of mileage, the week was all over the place, totaling 32.02 miles, with 2/3 or so jogging/running.  2 true rest days (if you don't count ping pong and pool).  1 day over 10 miles run/walking, but with the last 2 miles with E & a friend of his, both sub 10 min/mile (so *sore* the next day).  A decent track day (200; 2X400; 800; 2X400; 200) with jogging there and back to total over 7 miles. 1 pure walk day, 2 short runs with additional walking.  And no core to speak of.  I'm still on the fence about the half marathon in June but how the planned long runs go this week will make the decision for me.

A Tasty Mileage High Point

Under the MoPac bridge over Lady Bird Lake.

I enjoyed our week in Austin so much.  However, it was *humid* and I found it very difficult to string miles together to run without stopping to walk and recover.  Thanks to a slowing law practice, I could spend plenty of time walking and enjoying the outdoors, and I did so every day.  The end result was a week of 60.63 total miles (including the long run with a friend back in California after our return).  I haven't put that many miles on my feet in a single week in years.  It felt great.

Unfortunately, I really am a heat and humidity wuss, so I ran only about 25% of the mileage.  I didn't hit my 2 runs over 6 miles (many days of 10ish miles, but never 6 miles running straight), and I didn't get in any solid speed work.  I did, however, fit in tons of core.  There are workout stations interspersed throughout the  Butler Trail.  And I put them to use, doing pushups, dips, step up lunges, squats, ab work, and more on most days.  By the fourth day, my core and arms were very sore and wondering what exactly was going on.

Austin is a big food city.  I had an average of one meal focused on meat (not counting fish) every day, which is *way* more than usual for me.

Texas BBQ platter at one of the events we attended.

Amazing pork buns from Odd Duck.

Terry Black's BBQ -- Delicious! (Texas state bird)

'Merica!

Last night, after 1 day back in California full of veggies and fish, we had guests from Georgia who wanted to break out the BBQ for the first time this season.  So, we obliged.  I was overloaded on meat, so I stuck mainly with the veggies, but even so, the first hosted outdoor meal of the season is always a cause for celebration.

California BBQ -- a little more color than the Texas variety

In running news, I can't seem to find a good 10K to replace the Danville 10K, so I'm toying with a half marathon in June.  Given how much I suck at running in the heat, this is a bold move, but it is likely to keep my motivated and keep my mileage up...

Progress and Loss

Hello from beautiful Austin.

Essentially the view from our hotel (but from a nearby bridge)

Why Hello!

View back toward downtown from the dam end of ladybird lake.

One of many picturesque bridges on the trails around the lake.

Last week was a solid execution of the super easy 10K training plan I devised (even if the 10K is now officially on hold).  Total mileage of 31.64.  Quite a bit of walking, but two separate speed workouts (10X400 and 5X400), and two runs longer than 6 miles as well as some shorter efforts.

For core, I walked to the yoga studio on Thursday, and was shocked and saddened to learn of Prince's death from the yoga instructor before class.  Like many folks my age, Prince's music was a major influence in my life.  Purple Rain was my every day workout album for my first season as a college gymnast, and  I've probably spent more time running to Prince songs than those from any other musician.  Like many, I can't really believe it's true.   

Now that I've gone to yoga 3 times in 4 weeks, I'm starting to feel like my body is remembering how to (sort of) be a yogi.  I'm definitely looking forward to continuing on this path and focusing more on yoga over the next few weeks and our sabbatical year. 

Patriots' Day, Quick Running Check-in

I watched the tail end of the Boston Marathon today, and while watching the women's winner come back from a 37 second deficit to win was inspiring, I found it interesting that no one talked about how slow the winning times were versus historical norms.  I do know it was supposed to be hot, so perhaps that's why.

Last week, I missed the goal of at least 2 days of >6 miles, but otherwise, I hit the rest of them.  Total mileage was light, due to a 2 day conference, but I still hit 24.3, which isn't bad.

For core, I couldn't fit in a 3rd consecutive week return to the yoga studio, but I did fit in 9 X (1 minute jump rope; 10 seconds rest; 30 seconds alternating pushups, dips, abs; 10 seconds rest).  Every time I do this workout I'm shocked at how badly it kicks my ass.  It's 16 minutes and 30 seconds of serious intensity.

For speed, I pulled off a treadmill workout with 8 X 400 @ 8:49/mile and 1% incline.

Saturday, I participated in the Spring Forward 10K.  The last time I'd done this race it was in Mountain View, but they moved it to a new location in Milpitas.  I finished in 1:02, which was my goal for a good tempo run.  Unfortunately, like last time, the course was short (this time it was 5.83 miles according to my garmin).  It's an out and back, and included some steep short uphills and downhills to go under freeways.  There was a mud pit under one of the overpasses within the first mile that slowed everyone down.  Other than that, I have no complaints.  I got in a good solid workout, averaging 10:42/mile including walking through the water stations and stopping for the mud pit, so my moving average was likely 10:30ish.

The one wrinkle in my plans is that E and his friend and his friend's wife and another friend are all committing to doing the 5K at Park Run in SF on 5/28.  That's the date and time of my goal race of the Danville 10K, where several of my running buddies will be running.  E and I are leaving the bay area in July for a year, so it's probably one of the last opportunities I'll have to see both groups of folks for a long time.  I'm torn.  It may come down to economics -- I'm not already registered for Danville, which costs $45, while Park Run is free...

Either way, I do want to pick a 10K to complete at the end of this training cycle, so if it's not Danville, it'll have to be something else.  Any suggestions?

 

Making Space for Adventure

A friend of mine knows that I love to try foods I've never tried before.  She's Mexican, and recently, she brought me an unripe mamey that she'd purchased for me as a gift at her local open air market.

Mamey, peeled.

She'd instructed me to wrap it in newspaper and put it on a shelf in the kitchen.  Today, I checked and it was ready.  I peeled it and E and I both enjoyed some of the delicious, very unique tasting, sweet fruit.  (Turns out Guito *loved* it, too.)

This whole experience (receiving the very hard brown skinned fuzzy fruit, wrapping it to let it ripen, then peeling, cutting, and tasting it once it was soft) was a new one for me.

And I *love* new culinary experiences. I also love new linguistic experiences, and (most of the time) I love new cultural experiences as well. I do my best to seek them all whenever I can.


BUT, life often requires that you stay within your well-known box.  And there's nothing wrong with that.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a routine you enjoy and sticking to it -- it's very efficient.  In fact, all of the times when I've been in peak physical shape have come after a period where I committed to a well-known routine, pushed the physical aspect to my own limits, and then enjoyed the benefits. 

Today's mamey reminded me that you can always have an adventurer's mindset, regardless of where you are.  You can recruit others to help you have adventures that are their normal, but are foreign to you.

This lesson was a big one for me, because E & I are in the preparation phase of embarking on a sabbatical year.

After 10 years of constant career hustling as my number 1 priority, I'm excited to go on sabbatical and focus instead on enjoying far-away friends and family in person, food, languages, travel, local foreign culture, reading and more. (I'm also hoping that with work on hold, I can focus on getting more fit as well, but I understand that this may cause a conflict and in the event that it does, the sabbatical's joys other than working out are going to take precedence.) 

I'm even excited at the preparation.  I've got 14ish weeks to plan all the dependencies -- and I *love* planning complex tasks.  One of my favorite things I've found to do so far is figuring out the creative meals I can make to most efficiently use up the pantry and freezer contents before we leave.  Since we will be packing up the entire house to prepare for renters, we can actually evaluate our *stuff* and finally get rid of things that we've just kept around because we haven't moved in 13+ years -- so, every week, I've been enjoying throwing yet another ton of things into the Goodwill pile.  We even splurged on his and hers kindles to avoid the weight of physical books -- so I'm anxiously waiting for those to arrive so I can take advantage of the lessons from my first kindle book as we prepare:  The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up.

In short, I'm looking forward to remembering the lesson of the mamey (adventure can be anywhere) as we embark on this next journey.
   

This is how large the mamey pit is!  Huge.

Sweet Exhaustion

35.57 miles this week. Closed it out today with 8 easy chatting miles at 11:31/mile average with E2 -- such a pleasure to return to long runs with my long lost running buddy.

Also included was the 2nd visit to the yoga studio in 2 weeks (yup, still sore for days afterwards) and a decent track workout (2X800; 400; 800; 400).

The rest was easy running and walking.

I didn't *quite* get in 2 runs longer than 6 miles, but the full mileage for track day was 5.58, which is almost close enough.

And now, I'm enjoying that awesome slightly sore, creaky, late Sunday post long-run and brunch satisfaction of a week well run. (Pun intended.)


Next week, I'm going to do my best to see if I can actually hit up my 3rd yoga class in 3 weeks (which would be a record for the last several years).  Other than that, I've got typical work ridiculousness, 3 days to finish the book club book (which I haven't started), a 2-day conference that will interfere with running, and a local 10K on the weekend to test my fitness level.   

Slipping By

Last week was a blur.  Nothing special, just lots of work to close the quarter and daily stuff at home, so time sped by me and before I realized it the week and weekend were over.

I walked a little on Monday to recover from the Sunday's 12 miler, and then, in keeping with recent trends, on Tuesday I walked to yoga, completed a class for the first time in 6 weeks, walked home and proceeded to be sore throughout my arms, core, and abs for the rest of the week.

Wednesday I eased into speedwork in prep for the Danville 10K.  1 mile w/u. 6X400 (w 1X300) @ McMillan target paces.  Some walking cooldown.  I was supposed to do 8X400 but nature called. 

It's probably for the best that I cut Wednesday's speed short, as Thursday was quite the struggle.  I gave up after 0.71 super slow jogged miles and just walked the rest of my "easy" 4 miler.

Friday I did 3 easy and 0.25 walk.

Saturday, I was supposed to go join some local bay area runners for a loop around Lake Chabot.  I was very much looking forward to this run as these ladies are all more fit than I am and I figured I could really push myself to keep up with them as long as I could.  Unfortunately, my plan had a flaw. E got his Oculus Rift on Friday and invited several of his friends over to try it out.  By 10:30 PM the gaming rig was still open and under modification and the Rift had not yet been deployed.  They were having a great time, but they were loud.  There was no way I was going to be able to go to sleep until they left and it appeared like it was going to be a long night.  I wasn't wrong.  I got to play with the Rift, which was super fun, but I was also one of the early ones to bed at 1 AM.  This is the long explanation (plus some unexpected belly issues on Saturday AM) for why Saturday's run went from the planned 8.5 mile loop with elevation to 0.75 miles of jogging filed by 0.45 miles of walking.

Sunday, I fit in 8.16 every easy slow miles (4.5ish by myself plus another 3.6 with a friend who is ramping back up with run walk intervals after giving birth) plus another 1.42 walking miles in the afternoon while talking with a friend.

The good things here are that I finally started speedwork, I got back in the yoga studio, and I got my total mileage up to 28.51.  The bad thing (obviously) is that I walked way more of the miles than I would like for 10K training.

I've got 9 weeks 'til Danville, and we've got a few trips in that time, so realistically speaking, I think the big goals for me for Danville will be for me to move things around to ensure the following:

1. Get in one speed day per week (or make it up to average a total of 9)
2. Get in at least one core day per week (jump-rope calisthenics, yoga, etc.)
3. Get in at least two 6+ mile runs per week (this is going to be the toughest one, scheduling wise, but I do think it'll result in the best improvement)
4. Get the weekly mileage over 30 and keep it there.

If I can do that, I'll be completely happy with whatever performance I can pull off in Danville (and any local 5 or 10Ks I may throw into the schedule for fitness testing).  It's been so long since I've actually raced a 10K and my fitness is so much lower than historical levels that I want to just focus on getting in a good training cycle, increasing my mileage, and enjoying the goal race.

A Pause

Sunset over the Hudson River -- Such a beautiful visual goodbye

We spent last Sunday after the race making last minute travel plans to go to E's grandpa's memorial services.

Monday, we fit in a normal work day, and then Tuesday afternoon we were on a plane.  Wednesday it was a day full of driving with family and attending the wake (where we were comforted with this absolutely gorgeous sunset).  Thursday was a chapel service, another long drive, and the internment service.

I was raised in a Christian environment, was confirmed Lutheran (which means 3 years of reasonably diligent Bible study classes) and have only ever attended Christian funerals.  Today, while I think of myself as a spiritual person, I don't self-identify as belonging to any religion.  But damn if funerals don't remind me that there are some very good reasons why religions exist.

I said the Lord's Prayer 3 times in 2 days.  I bowed my head and joined in group prayers too many times to count.  I crossed myself after saying my final goodbyes to such a sweet grandfather figure.  I listened, and was comforted yet again by Psalm 23.  These rituals, the only ones I know for death, are sad and almost immediately bring me emotionally to all of the other losses I've experienced.  But they are also calming, comforting, and very helpful to remind me that the grief of death is a thing that is a part of life.  And we, the living, will continue forward.

As you might imagine, running was almost non-existent this week in terms of importance given all the logistical needs and family emotional obligations.  Monday, I rested.  Tuesday I returned to the jump-rope interval/core workout to give my legs another day of recovery from the race and I spent the next 4 days with very sore arms, shoulders and core.  Wednesday AM, I fit in a quick 3.5 miles on the treadmill and was very pleasantly surprised at the paces I could maintain for some harder long intervals.  Thursday and Friday were much too busy to fit in any runs (although the path along the Hudson looked very enticing and I would have loved to find a way to make it happen).  Saturday, I did an easy 2 miler, and today I slogged through a slow 10 miler.

Total mileage for the week:  18.06, which is fine with me.  I figure it's enough for maintenance of whatever minimal fitness gains I've made in 2016, and given everything else that was going on, I'm calling that a victory.

Oakland Half -- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Fire Arch at the Crucible.

I really had no idea what to expect at ORF.  My "training" had been all over the place.  The speedwork since Kaiser had shown me that I'd definitely improved my short distance fitness, but since I hadn't really pushed through any real long runs since Kaiser, I wasn't sure how it would translate into distance performance.

The night before the race was a bit non-standard.  I opted out of a party that E was attending and closed out a bunch of work and housekeeping items while waiting for him to get home.  His mom called to inform us of a death in the family but asked me not to interrupt him at the party.  So, after poking around the Internet to investigate pre-race meals, I decided dinner of leftovers (carrot soup and turkish salad) should be fine.

I kept working and waiting for E until it was apparent that he was having too much fun and I should try to go to sleep.  I was a bit wound up, so I had a glass of wine to help me fall asleep (I don't normally have wine the night before a race, but I don't really think this one glass made any difference at all, I'd been hydrating like crazy all day and definitely didn't feel any wine-related negative effects).  He ended up not making it back to the house 'til after 11 PM, and I woke to tell him the bad news.  We chatted and then I fell back asleep.

The day of the race, I'll report in the style of The Classic Spaghetti Western:

The Good

I finished a half marathon healthy and happy.  I saw Cat before the start -- she'd gotten her 5K PR!  I enjoyed a delicious post-race bruch with Jen (who got her 5K PR *and* ran the half afterwards), Angela, and Clare (who also PR'd).

Jen could *not* wait for the pre-brunch doughnuts!

Mmmmm... Malfatti.  Delicious!

The Bad

I got up and out the door on time, stopped at Starbucks, ordered my standard pre-race latte, and hit the road, letting my phone guide me to the parking garage.  Except, I'd forgotten about road closures, so once I was in Oakland, I was blocked by the 5K that Cat and Jen were in the middle of running.  I had to do some creative driving, including a few miles on the coned-off half course down Mandela Parkway until I found a pay parking lot that was within jogging distance of the start.  Every other time I've run this race, I've *easily* parked in the lot across the street from Snow Park (the location of the start/finish/celebration).  So, this was definitely not ideal.

I started at an effort I thought I might be able to maintain, and then about 0.87 miles in, we hit a gated area around a construction site.  The crowd funneled to a walk.  Someone started a "let's go Oakland" cheer.  We had nothing better to do while we walked, so most of us joined in.  45 seconds later, we were able to start running again.  Not exactly an ideal first mile.

I hit the first aid station around 2.4 miles and walked a minute to take a gu and gatorade and water as planned.  I started back up for a 10:23 mile and realized I'd probably started too fast.  I knew this was a possibility, and I wasn't too concerned.  But it didn't bode well nonetheless.

Somewhere in this area Jen caught up to me, we said hi, and then I let her go as I started to slow.  I knew my A goal of 10:50/mile (assuming I ran 13.1, which is a big assumption on this case) was going to be tough.  I hit the 10K (by my watch) at an average pace of 10:51 and figured I'd keep an eye out for Clare.  She was doing 5 min run/ 1 min walk intervals and should be shooting for something in roughly that pace overall.  Sure enough, I found her, and we stuck together for a while.  The running segments felt good, but her walking recovery was *fast* and perhaps even more difficult for me than just running an even pace.  It was nice to have company though, so I enjoyed a few miles with her.  

The Ugly

At around mile 8 it became very apparent that carrot soup and turkish salad had *way* more fiber than I realized and I would be needing an on-course porta-john soon. (Why had I deviated from my go-to standard spicy noodle soup option?).  At the 8.5 mile aid station, they had portapotties, thankfully, so I told Clare to go on and waited.  In an uncomfortable state.  4+ minutes later, I was back on the course.

I knew I wouldn't meet my A goal, so I settled for my B goal of trying to beat my Kaiser time of 2:32ish.  It was a long slow slog, but I kept on, walking through the aid stations, but otherwise just trying to get done, finally crossing the finish at 2:34:36.  I didn't even beat my Kaiser time!  The only small improvement I can claim here is that my average *moving* time decreased from 11:22/mile at Kaiser to 11:09/mile at Oakland.

I'm definitely looking forward to training for a 10K next.  I want to enjoy some of those speedwork benefits.

Best Training Ever

So, E and I are celebrating a big anniversary in Mexico.

The view from our hotel room does not suck.

As you might imagine, since we've arrived, restraint on the food and alcohol side of things has not been very forthcoming.

This week's workouts were okay, if sparse.  The most notable workout was 7.25 miles -- 2 easy jog to and from the track each way plus 3+ miles of intervals at much faster than McMillan recommended paces for my target race time (I just could not slow down any more... my effort level felt much too easy, so I just went with the faster paces). Yesterday, I had a luxurious yoga session followed by a decent speed workout on the treadmill where I hit the McMillan paces exactly.  So now I've got today's workout to figure out to close out the week.

I know I should try to do something approximating a medium length run as my last opportunity for a long run before the race, but I'm guessing it's not gonna happen on the treadmill in the heat and humidity.  Instead, I'll likely do something short and speedy to get over the 20 mile mark for the week.

I think I've convinced myself that vacation is a great way to start a long taper.  I figure I'll clean up my diet next week, fit in some easy race-week runs, and see how that plan works out for me on race day!