I went to back-to-back Bikram classes (meaning on consecutive days) for the first time in a long time. I thought today would feel better than yesterday because it was the second day, but it didn’t. I think my body was so stiff from this morning’s run.

This morning I ran:

15-min Warm-Up
15 1-min intervals with 1-min recovery
15-min Cool Down (actually was 17 min 17 sec)

I felt GREAT during the run; it was a “Confidence Up” run. But I didn’t get started until an hour after I originally planned (I really needed that extra hour of sleep) so by the time I was done running, I was late for work and didn’t take any time for post-run stretches.

All the shortened and tight muscles manifested themselves in this evening’s Bikram Class. I could feel so much tension in my lower back and hips. The poses that felt so relaxing yesterday I struggled with today.

I’m really glad that I went to back-to-back classes, because had I not gone, I don’t think I would have noticed the effect that this morning’s run had on my body; how different it felt from just a day ago.

My personal “theme” for this year has been “Mindfulness” and “Honesty.” These are the kinds of things I’m trying to be more mindful of.

———————————-

I could not let January end without noting that this month marks 8 years since I first started training with Trainer Dave. I can hardly believe it’s been this long and I can honestly say he is one of the few people that have had a profound influence on my life. Seriously.

This is what I looked like 8 years ago:

I don’t even know who that person was. She’s so much different than the person I am today. Different priorities, different outlook, different attitude. I’m so much healthier and happier now.

And to think that it almost didn’t happen. You see, 8 years ago, a brand new Golds Gym (now Crunch) opened in my neighborhood. With a new membership, I got one free personal training session, which was originally scheduled with another trainer.

On the day of the appointment I got into a car accident on the freeway and totaled my car. When I called to reschedule, they made me wait a couple of weeks to make sure I didn’t have any residual injuries (I didn’t). When I did finally have my appointment the original trainer I was supposed to meet with wasn’t available so I got rescheduled to train with Dave and he’s been my trainer ever since.

I had no intention of having a long-term personal trainer. I had planned on just having that one session and then “doing things on my own.” Had I not decided to make the investment, I know I never would have been self-motivated enough to make the life changes that I’ve made and live the life I am living now.

It’s funny, he had no idea back then that by taking me to the high school track and forcing me to run laps that he was creating someone who would train for marathons for fun (which by the way, he thinks is crazy).

During those track workouts, I always used to slow down before the lap was up and he used to yell at me to finish strong and not quit. I still hear his voice yelling at me at the end of every race.

Maybe this year he’ll finally agree to run a race with me so that I can finally yell those words to him at the Finish Line for a change

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Plan
Rest Day

Actual
Rest Day

Monday, January 23, 2012

Plan
Strength Training
1-hr Bike Trainer

Actual
90-min Bikram Yoga Class

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Plan
6-mile run (2-miles easy, 8 1/4 mile hill repeats w/recovery, 1-mile easy)

Actual
6.18-mile run (2-miles easy, 8 1/4 mile hill repeats w/recovery)
1-hr Yin Yoga Class

I should get extra points for the logistical planning that went into this workout. There are no 1/4-mile hills around me. What few hills there are do not measure that long. However, there is a quarter mile hill by my office (which also has a locker room), so I packed a gym bag, shower bag, lunch bag and my workbag and drove to the office at 6 am. My office has a nice 1-mile circumference block around it, but is at the bottom of a hill. So those first 2 “easy” miles were the start of running hills.

After just running a few of the 1/4 mile repeats, I realized that the recoveries would make the run 7+ miles. I had a meeting scheduled and wasn’t going to have enough time to complete the entire workout. I contemplated doing less repeats but decided to just forego the last mile.

Followed up the workout with lunchtime Yin Yoga class – the timing was perfect and there weren’t any DOMS from this workout.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Plan
Brick of 30-min on the Bike Trainer + 30-min Run
Strength Training

Actual
AM: Brick of 30-min on the Bike Trainer + 30-min Run
PM: Strength Training

Learning from last week, I skipped lunchtime Vinyasa class so as not to overdue it. It made a huge difference and I felt pretty good after both these workouts.

The Strength Training workout was a personal training session with Trainer Dave that consisted of:

- 3 1-min planks
- 3 sets of 10 one-legged TRX squats on each leg (back to anchor point)

Circuit (3 sets):
- 10 TRX atomic push-ups
- 10 TRX body rows
- 10 TRX one-legged squats (facing anchor point) with bicep curls
- 20 KB swings
* 1-min rest in between sets

1 set of hip abductors with ankle weights – 10 on each leg (more on this here)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Plan
60-min Progressive Run, increasing pace every 20-min

Actual
AM: 30-min Strength Training of PT Exercises
PM: 90-min Silent Bikram Yoga Class

I made progress in Bikram Yoga by being able to wrap my feet on both sides during Eagle pose, and fully touch my feet during Camel Pose. While I can do that in Camel Pose sporadically, it was the first time being able to do that for Eagle.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Plan
Strength Training
Yoga

Actual
AM: VO2 Max and Lactic Threshold Test
PM: 5K Run + 30-min Strength Training of PT Exercises

I visited the UCSF Human Performance Center for a VO2 Max and Lactic Threshold Test. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect of it, so I switched my Thursday and Friday schedule. It was a really interesting experience that I will blog about later this week.

That evening was feeling pretty good so I went out for a 3-mile run:

Mile 1: 9:03
Mile 2: 8:42
Mile 3: 8:32
.01: 00:48
Total: 27:05 (Avg Pace 8:44 min/mile)

I guess I was feeling pretty excited about the things learned during the performance evaluation that this 5K turned out to be faster than my 5K PR.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Plan
8-mile Run (3-miles Easy, 4-miles at 8:50 pace, 1-mile Easy)

Actual
Rest Day

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Plan
Rest Day

Actual
8-mile Run (3-miles Easy, 2-miles at 8:50 pace, 2-miles Hills, 1-mile Easy)

I normally do Weekly Workouts posts from Sunday to Saturday, but since I ran today, I’ll include it in this post.

Next Sunday I’m running the Kaiser Half-Marathon in Golden Gate Park, so I decided to do this weekend’s run there. While I could have done it yesterday, a bunch of my favorite SF runners were meeting for lunch at Genki Ramen, so I switched Saturday and Sunday’s schedule so I could join them.

I tried to figure out a way to do the planned run avoiding the major hills in GGP, but it would have been a pain-in-the-ass logistically, so I improvised the workout. I started at the Conservatory of Flowers and ran down JFK Drive to the Great Highway which was about 3-miles. I did the 2 pick-up miles on the Great Highway (flat out-and-back). Then I started running back up JFK Drive, which is a long gradual hill. It felt like my heart was going to give out so I paused trying to catch my breath. That was when I ran into RoadBunner who was also out logging miles for next week’s race. She told me to forget trying to keep the pace, but just equal the effort. Great advice!

Mile 1: 9:48
Mile 2: 9:27
Mile 3: 9:19
Mile 4: 8:17
Mile 5: 8:20
Mile 6: 9:35
Mile 7: 9:41
Mile 8: 9:27
Total: 01:14:00 (Avg Pace 9:14 min/mile)

Disclaimer: I hoped for, and received a long red at the stoplight at MLK/Great Highway in both directions on Miles 4 and 5. I seriously needed those breathers.

For next week’s half, I don’t have a time goal. Instead, my goal will be to run it Garmin-free. I have been trying to learn how to run by feel and during most of my recent runs, I only had “Distance” displayed on my Garmin, no times or paces. I could do that again during the race, but I think I would be tempted to peak at the pace, so I’m leaving the Garmin at home. I want to see how I do without looking at it 1,035,8392 times.

Going back to last Fall, the right side of my body has felt a little “off.” The aches and pains were too inconsistent to feel injured, but it didn’t feeling 100%. For the longest time I thought it was my hip, but lately, I’ve been feeling twinges in other random parts of my body, from my neck down to my foot with a lot of tightness in my lower back. The discomfort moved all the time so I’ve been journaling everything that I’ve felt to correlating it against my workouts and pinpoint possible causes. After much research, I’m fairly certain that the source is the problem is my SI Joint. I’ve experienced some of the listed symptoms at some time or another.

Last night I pulled out my gait analysis report from the UCSF RunSafe Clinic I went to 14 months ago. It’d been a while since I read it and it felt like I was reading it again for the very first time. It basically said that I had weak hips and stabilizing muscles, then went on to predict all the symptoms I’ve been experiencing.

You’d think with all the strength training I’ve been doing, this wouldn’t be an issue, but in looking back at my Strength Training workouts, they mostly focus on large muscle groups and not the smaller ones like the gluteus medius. Sitting at a desk all day doesn’t really help the issue either.

The gait analysis report included a long list of recommended corrective strengthening exercises and stretches. They are quite simple and ones that I was familiar with from previous bouts with physical therapy. But at the time, I was of the mindset that these exercises were too simple and I needed to do tougher, more demanding workouts to address the problems. Well now I know how that worked out, so my mind-set is now corrected, I’m taking my “What If” approach.

“What If” I actually did these exercises on a daily basis?

There’s only one way to find out. I’m committing myself to doing some of these exercises daily.

I separated the strengthening exercises from the stretches (the stretches are standard ones that I do in almost every yoga class so I’m not too concerned about those) and made 2 Strength Training Routines of 7 exercises each. I grouped them by personal preference but they can be easily intermixed.

PTX #1 (Physical Therapy Exercises)

Clam Shells
- Hold for 2-3 sec
- 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps on each side

Hip Abduction
- Hold for 5 sec
- 10 reps on each leg

** Instead of a band, I’m modifying this using an ankle weight for more range of motion

Single Leg Squat
- Hold 2-3 sec
- 15-20 reps on each side

** I’m modifying this exercises and using the TRX for my bent leg

Planks
- Hold for 1-min
- 3 reps on each side

Bridge
- Hold for 3-5 sec
- 15-20 reps

Bird Dog
- Hold for 3-5 sec
- 10-15 reps on each side

Single Leg Bridge
- Hold 3-5 sec
- 10-15 reps on each side

PTX #2

Fitness Ball Bridge
- Hold for 3-5 sec
- 20-30 reps

** Modifying by using a fitness ball instead of a chair

Squats
- 20-30 reps

Single-Leg Balance on Wobble Board
- Hold for 1-min
- 5 reps with 1-min rest in between sets

Band Walks

- 3-5 reps on each side

Towel Curls
- 10 reps on each side

Calf Raises
- 5 sets of 20 reps on each side

Quadrant Lunges
- 10-15 reps on each side

{photos are from my actual gait analysis report. exercises without photos were recommendations from physical therapy}

Last night Trainer Dave took a look at these and made recommendations (the listed modifications) that would make these more effective specifically for me. Then we went through a few of them so I knew what the proper forms were. Dear Lord, after just 10 reps of hip abductions I was already really feeling it. Clearly lots of work to be done.

I did the entire first set this morning and it took all of 30-minutes. I think I can spare 30-min of my day; i.e., while watching TV to do this. It may even motivate me to spend another few minutes foam rolling too. It will be interesting to see what kind of results this yields.

Well, I’m slowly coming out of depression over the 49ers loss. I watched the game with my cousins and friends. We all love this team so much, and after such an inspiring season, it was a tough loss to take. More than anything, my heart breaks for the Niner Defense – best defense I have ever seen. Justin Smith and Patrick Willis absolutely inspire me.

Sunday, January 15

Plan
Rest Day

Actual
Rest Day

After the Niners win in the NFC Divisional game, I was so emotionally spent, I felt like I had no energy going into the week. I felt “off” and the mojo just wasn’t flowing.

Monday, January 16

Plan
Strength Training
1-hr Bike Trainer

Actual
Strength Training

I took advantage of the MLK holiday and met Trainer Dave (also a life long 49er fan) at Seal Point for an outdoor workout.

3 sets of:
- 10 TRX Atomic push-ups
- 10 TRX body rows
- 10 TRX one-legged squats w/body rows

3 sets of 5 laps of stairs (50 stairs up, 50 stairs down):
- 1st: 3:16
- 2nd: 3:12
- 3rd: 3:08
*1-min rest in-between sets

2 hill repeats:
- 1st: 00:31
- 2nd: 00:29
*1-min rest in-between sets

Tuesday, January 17

Plan
5-mile Run, Speed Work

Actual
6.18-mile Run, Speed Work

So the actual running time was 5-miles, but factor in the recovery times in between intervals and you end up with 6.18 miles. It wasn’t the greatest run. I thought it would only be 5-miles so I misjudged the time and got stressed out when it took longer. I thought I was going to be late for evening plans with RoadBunner and Audrey. The evening plans all worked out, but overall, I just didn’t feel good during this run. It felt forced, I didn’t feel in control, and my calves were killing me from running stairs the day before.

Wednesday, January 18

Plan
Strength Training
1-hr Bike Trainer

Actual
1-hr Vinyasa Flow Yoga
30-min Bike Trainer
1-hr Strength Training

I need to remember that triple workout days wipe me out, physically *and* mentally.

Strength Training Workout:

3 1-min planks
3 1-min side planks on each side

5-sets of:
10 push-ups
10 squats with shoulder presses holding 10 lb weights
10 sumo squats with KB overhead presses using 20 lb KB
10 lateral arm raises holding 5 lb weights
10 hamstring curls on fitness ball
10 jack knives
**1-min rest in between sets

None of the workouts were particularly overpowering, but all 3 in one day was just too much. The rest of the week went downhill from here. And can I just say how bored I am on the Bike Trainer?!? I’m so over it right now.

Thursday, January 19

Plan
6-mile Run

Actual
5-mile Run
Bikram Yoga

I felt wrecked from Wednesday and could only manage 5-miles. And even then, it felt so hard. I figured since I had banked a mile on Tuesday’s run, I could cut this one short.

To try and snap out of the funk, I went to a Silent Bikram Yoga class. It helped loosen up some tight muscles and work out some aches, but I still felt blah.

Friday, January 20

Plan
Strength Training
Yoga

Actual
Unplanned Rest Day

I worked from home and needed a Fat Dog Day.

(Fat Dog Day = days where you do nothing but lay around, read magazines, watch TV/movies and eat all day. Must have at least one per week…)

Saturday, January 21

Plan
11-mile Run

Actual
11.33-mile Run

This was my first double-digit run since CIM on December 4th. I would like to say it went well. If you look at the average pace per my Garmin of 9:22 min/mile, you would think it did.

Truth was, it was a stormy weekend. I ran along the Bay where the winds were 20+ mph. It was miserable. I had to stop several times when my hat flew completely off (this happened about 4 times), when the dust and sand kept blowing in my eyes and mouth, and when I had to stop and put on a jacket when it down poured. I love running in the rain, but running in soaking wet clothes in the wind is not fun – at all.

I was supposed to run 2 of the 11 miles at a 9:10 min/mile pace. They ended up being sub-9. I think mostly because I just wanted the whole darn thing over with.

One thing to note, I decided to try out some new nutritional products so this was my second longer run eating an Accel-Gel and the first one drinking Accelerade. The good news is that neither upset my stomach and both tasted okay. The neutral news is, I didn’t feel any different from the other products that I had been taking. I plan to continue experimenting with these and see how it goes.

I went for a run after work this evening. It was nothing special, just 6.19 miles with some intervals mixed in.

While I was happy to be outside running, I wasn’t really into it. I had some friends coming over and was preoccupied that I had to finish running by a certain time. That is, until I saw this, a mile into the run…

I have been trying to keep things honest this year and minimize the number of breaks I take during a run. I have been pretty successful so far and have only stopped at stoplights. But when I saw this, I had to pause and take a photo. This little bundle of joy had to be shared.

I wonder what the story was behind it…

…whatever it was, it made me smile and think of happy thoughts.

Sunday, January 8

Plan
Rest Day

Actual
Rest Day

Monday, January 9

Plan
Strength Training
1-hr Bike Trainer

Actual
AM: 1-hr Bike Trainer
PM: Bikram Yoga

AM: 1-hr on the Bike Trainer watching Sunday Night’s episode of The Good Wife. This is a great schedule for me on Monday’s because I can just get up and walk to the next room to do my workout. No need to drive anywhere or run outside in the dark, cold morning.

PM: I have a mental block that I can’t do Strength Training on my own without my personal trainer. It’s a little ridiculous because I *can* and I have all the equipment at home, so I don’t even have to walk out the door to get it done, but it still doesn’t happen. It’s the one thing that I just can’t make myself do. So I went to an evening Bikram Yoga class instead – still lots of core work involved.

Tuesday, January 10

Plan
5-mile run, Speed Work

Actual
5.20-mile run, Speed Work
Avg Pace: 9:56 min/mi

It was a pretty uneventful run. It did call for 2-miles of 1-minute pick-ups with 1-min recovery. When I program my Garmin, it doesn’t program the number of intervals by miles, so I have to guess. I miscalculated so this run went a bit longer – 5.20 miles. I’m finding that I should judge a run the next day, when I feel how I my body respond to it. This one went pretty well – no out-of-ordinary soreness.

Wednesday, January 11

Plan
Strength Training
1-hr Bike Trainer

Actual
AM: 1-hr on the Bike Trainer watching Tuesday night’s episode of The Biggest Loser.

PM: Strength Training

I workout with my trainer once a week, on Wednesday evenings, so I’m guaranteed to at least get one strength training workout done. Perhaps I can get over my mental block and do this on my own so I can get 2 or 3 strength training workouts done a week. Tonight’s workout was:

• Three 1-min planks
• 5 set circuit of:
15 push-ups
10 TRX body rows
10 TRX squats with bicep curls
10 hamstring curls on a fitness ball
10 squats with shoulder presses holding 10 lbs weights
20 Kettle bell swings
**1-min rest in-between sets

Thursday, January 12

Plan
6-mile run

Actual
6-mile run
Avg Pace: 10:00 min/mi

I started with doing some dynamic stretching, and then set my Garmin to display Distance only. I am trying to learn to run by feel so I’m trying to get used to not seeing my paces while I’m running. I wanted to run easy, even paces and get used to what that felt like. I did pretty well:

Mile 1: 10:09
Mile 2: 10:04
Mile 3: 9:58
Mile 4: 10:01
Mile 5: 10:03
Mile 6: 9:49

I was happy with how this went and how I felt. After the run I drank some Zico coconut water and went through my post-run stretches – something I did to do more of. I’ve recently started doing some in Yin Yoga poses after my run. Today I did Legs at the Wall for 15 minutes and then Sleeping Swan (aka Pigeon) for 5-minutes on each leg.

Friday, January 13

Plan
Strength Training
Yoga

Actual
Bikram Yoga

I worked from home and had been somewhat battling a cold, so I went to an early morning Bikram Yoga class to see if the heat would help clear up some congestion. There were only 15 people in the class so we had a lot of room and lots of individualized attention from the instructor. I loved it.

I could see myself in the mirror (which makes a huge difference in correcting form) and got some useful tips from the instructor to make certain poses more effective. I also didn’t sweat as much and overall, felt really, really good after class.

Saturday, January 14

Plan
9-mile Run, Easy

Actual
9-mile Run, Easy
Avg Pace: 9:54 min/mi

Up until that very morning I debated whether to do this run solo on Saturday morning, or with a bunch of my favorite Bay Area running friends on Sunday. In the end I decided to stick to my original schedule and run on Saturday so I that I could indulge and enjoy the SF 49er playoff game without having to worry about running on Sunday.

My cousin Michi has long recommended CWX compression tights. I had gotten a pair last month and finally wore them during this run. It was an adventure just getting into them, but they fit well and felt good during the run.

I mapped out a new route around town that took me out to the Bay where there were tons of runners and bikers – many of whom wore 49er gear – lots of Patrick Willis #52 jersey sightings! Loved it!

Like Thursday, I had my Garmin set to display Distance only, but I did get alerts at every mile. I started out easy and just let my body ease into the run. The weather was ideal, sunny and cool. I want to try adding protein to what I eat during my runs, so I tried a chocolate Accel-Gel at Mile 6. I tasted okay and didn’t upset my stomach.

At the end of the run I still felt so fresh, like I could have run longer. It was such a great feeling; I really could not ask for a more perfect run.

Summary

I’d still like to take one or two more yoga classes during the week, but it really is subject to my work schedule. Overall, it was still a really good week.

# of Miles Run: 20.20 (which means $20.20 in my piggy bank!)
# of Yards Swam: 0
# of Hours on Bike Trainer: 2
# of Hours Strength Training: 1
# of Hours Practicing Yoga: 4
# of Rest Days: 1

I fell off the wagon at the end of last year in posting my Weekly Workout summaries, so let’s see if I can be more consistent for all 52 weeks this year.

Sunday, January 1

Plan: Rest Day

Actual:
Who wants to start the New Year out with a Rest Day? But I told myself I would make more of an effort to respect Rest Days so I compromised and went on a 3-mile walk.

Monday, January 2

Plan: Strength Training & 1-hr Spinning

Actual:
It was my last day of Staycation so I took advantage of the extra time and met Dave, my personal trainer at Seal Point for an outdoor training session. He had me do the same workout I had done 3 times the previous week:

A multi-circuit workout of:
- 10 push-ups
- 10 TRX body rows
- 10 TRX one-legged squats (on each leg) with bicep curls

Then he had me run stairs. I did 3 laps of 50 stairs, 3 times. My splits were: 3:24, 3:10 and 3:07, which was an improvement from the week prior when I ran it in 3:39, 3:28 and 3:17.

We ended the session with 2 hill repeats that were :31 and :30 respectively. These short, power workouts are pretty tiring so the 1-hr on the bike trainer never happened.

Tuesday, January 3

Plan: 4-mile Run – Intervals

Actual:
AM: 1-hr Yin Yoga Class
PM: 1-hr Bike Trainer

I blogged about this here.

Wednesday, January 4

Plan: 1-hour Bike Trainer & Strength Training

Actual:
AM: Since I switched Tuesday and Wednesday’s workout, I did the 4-mile run on Wednesday morning. It was a little easier to get up in the morning, but I still needed the extra 20 minutes that it would’ve taken me to drive to/from the track, so this run was done around the neighborhood.

PM: Had another personal training session, but now that I’m back on my work schedule, these are limited to evenings, when it’s too dark to go to Seal Point. Boo. We resumed the usual Strength Training-only workouts:

3 1-min planks
3 1-min side planks, on each side

3 sets of:
10 push-ups
10 squats with shoulder presses holding 10# weights
10 sumo squats with overhead swings holding a kettle bell
10 jack knives
*1-min rest in between sets

Thursday, January 5

Plan: 5-mile Run

Actual:
AM: 5-mile Run – easy miles

PM: My first Bikram Yoga since December 12th! I did not realize it had been that long! It’s no wonder my body was feeling achey and sore. After just one class, some of those aches and pains went away. It felt so good to be back to it again.

Friday, January 6

Plan: Strength Training & Yoga

Actual:
AM: I hadn’t swam in a while so I decided to skip Strength Training and swim instead. I used the pull buoy so it was like upper body strength training! I swam 2000 yards:

Warm-Up: 400 yards
3 sets of 400 yards with 1-min recovery time
Cool Down: 400 yards

PM: Vinyasa Flow Yoga is also like strength training. This class was all about core and hip strength and I was pretty sore afterwards!

Saturday, January 7

Plan: 7-miles – Easy

Actual: Crystal Springs Trail Race

Summary

I had grand ambitions of going to more yoga classes during the week and was feeling a little guilty for not fitting them in. But in writing this post, I think it was a pretty good week for the first one of the year.

# of Miles Run: 16.22 (which means $16.22 in my piggy bank!)
# of Yards Swam: 2000
# of Hours on Bike Trainer: 1
# of Hours Strength Training: 2
# of Hours Practicing Yoga: 3.5
# of Rest Days: 1

Last week I joined DSE Runners, a San Francisco-based running group. They hold very inexpensive (like $3), mostly short-distanced races around the City almost every weekend.

I was scheduled to run 7-miles this weekend and had originally planned to run in the Golden Gate Park 10K that they held today. That is until Courtney tweeted about a Saturday trail race at Huddart Park.

Huddart Park is a large forested area about 20 minutes from my house. It’s comprised of a bunch of trails that connect to each other; it looks rather complicated (like Rancho San Antonio), and I had been hesitant to explore it on my own. So when I heard about this race, the Crystal Springs Trail Run (hosted by CTR), I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with this area!

The race offered a 50K, Marathon, 22-mile, 11-mile and 5-mile options. I registered for the 5-miler and then had to dig out my trail running shoes. I hadn’t used them since the Coyote Hills Half-Marathon a year ago!

It was a nice drive up to Woodside, but when I got to the park, I found a long line of cars waiting to enter (there was a $6 park entrance fee).

After I parked, I walked over to the Registration area to pick up my race packet. They handed me my bib and a t-shirt. Puzzled, I asked them where my timing chip was. They laughed and explained there was no timing chip! I liked the race already!

The 50K, Marathon and 22-mile races started first at 8:30 am. I saw Aron (who ran the 22-miler) just time to give her a hug before she was off and running. The next races didn’t start until 9:00 and 9:15 am, so I met up with Alyssa and Courtney, and met Kabri all of whom ran the 11-mile race.

When the 5-mile race was ready to begin, we gathered at the Start area (there was no “Start Line”) for some instructions and tips on how to navigate the trail. It was at that point that I got a little nervous. The thought of running through the forest was a bit scary and I was glad I had my phone with me in case I got lost.

The first .75th mile of course was single trail and downhill. I was a little stressed because:

1. I didn’t want to slip and fall.
2. I was paranoid that I was holding people up behind me.

I was extra cautious after seeing a few guys trip and almost fall. I thought to myself, “If this is how it is for the entire race, I’m in trouble.”

But after the first .75th mile, the trail opened up on to a wide fire road. I moved to the side and surprisingly, only a couple of people passed me.

The next 2.5 miles were all uphill. I did pretty well for the first mile or so, and then the inclines got steep and everyone around me (including me) began walking hiking. I tried to keep walking to a minimum by running fartleks. I’d run in short bursts when it wasn’t so steep but then walk when it was.

I found myself behind a girl who seemed to be a pretty experienced trail runner. She was running about the same pace as me, so I drafted off of her and did whatever she did in terms of foot placement, passing others (I wasn’t sure what the proper etiquette was for this during trail races), etc. But around Mile 3 I lost her. I was so tired of climbing and I lost her on a walk break.

My legs were getting tired and I couldn’t believe that we were “only” at Mile 3. I called out anyone who was around me and asked, “How much more climbing do we have to do?” Turns out the lady in front of me was very familiar with Huddart Park and told me there wasn’t much more climbing left to do. We walked together, chatting with each other until we got to where the 5-mile course split from the 11-mile course.

At the split, the 5-mile course turned left, then it was all down hill from there. The lady and I ran together for about a quarter mile, then she wished me well and I broke off and ran to the finish.

Turns out the 5-mile course were actually 4.53 miles.

At the Finish Line, there were all kinds of snacks and drinks…

{gotta love trail races!}

I had about 10 mini cinnamon rolls, did some stretching, then decided to drive to Seal Point (closer to home) to finish up the rest of the 7 miles I had scheduled.

So I went from running in the forest, to running along the Bay. As you can see, these 2.5 miles were much flatter.

I had hoped to do some strength training and run a few sets of stairs afterwards. I did 1 set of stairs then decided that my legs had done enough climbing and called it a day.

Technically, this wasn’t my first trail race, but I kinda feel like it was. It was definitely the most technical trail course that I’ve run on!

Trail races are a whole lot different from road racing, but I liked it and hope it won’t be another year until I wear these trail running shoes again!

It was really fun to try something different, and a great way to start the year!

Although today was January 3rd, technically, it was the “real first day of the New Year.” , as in the first work day after the Staycation. Actually, I wasn’t dreading it as much as I thought I would; I was looking forward to getting back to my regular routine.

Last night I planned out what today’s schedule was going to be:

- Wake up at 5 am
- Go to the 6 am Bikram Yoga class
- Shower and get ready in the locker room at the office
- Work
- 4-mile run after work at the high school track

Then I spent a good 40 minutes packing my yoga bag, a shower bag, my work and lunch bags, then another bag with my run gear. I set all 5 bags at the door, set my alarm, and then was lights out by 9:30 pm.

When the alarm went off at 5 am I thought I was dead. It truly *hurt* to get up that early. I don’t drink coffee, but I imagine that must be what coffee drinkers feel like in the morning. It surprised me – I’m naturally an early riser, but I guess I had grown accustomed to waking up after 7 am. I did not realize how hard it would be to get back to a 5 am wake up call.

I finally stumbled out of bed around 5:20 am and made it to the kitchen. I made myself a bowl of cereal, then stumbled back to bed. I thought to myself, “Am I crazy?” then booted up my laptop and rescheduled myself from the 6 am Bikram class to the 12 pm Yin Yoga class. I put my cereal on the floor (don’t worry, I eat my cereal dry), turned off the lights and went back to sleep for another hour. Another much needed hour.

*Sigh* – I guess “Day 1″ of the New Year turned out to be “practice.”

At the end of the workday (BTW, I did make it to the lunch time Yin Yoga class), I changed to my running gear and turned on my Garmin to program today’s speed workout. It beeped 10% battery life even though I had it on the charger last night. Blah. I decided that I could still do the workout on guesstimations without a watch so I drove to the track.

This time of year I usually become an evening track runner because the track has lights, and it’s also a good time to change up the terrain. And now that I’m doing more stair running, I had also hoped to run some bleachers. Well I should have checked the high school web site first because when I got there, I found the track closed for a soccer game. Blah again.

There are 2 other high schools in the area, neither of which have lights but I figured I still had small window of time to get to one of them and get my run done before the sun completely set. But I got stuck in traffic, it got dark and I didn’t have my headlamp with me.

By then I decided that the universe was working against me and tonight’s run was just not meant to be.

So I came home and rode the Bike Trainer for an hour (which was on tomorrow morning’s schedule). In its place will be another (and final) attempt at the 4-mile workout. Whether it will be on a treadmill or track (at 6 am) is still TBD, but I am determined that it will happen and I will conquer the temptation for more sleep.

I’m chalking up today to be “baby steps” towards getting back into the swing of things, and lesson learned, it’s always good to have a Plan B.

The first day of a new year. A sense of renewal. A clean slate. So much energy to tackle those new goals and resolutions. But as luck would have it, my schedule said, “Rest Day.” Boo.

Well, easy swimming is like resting right? I planned to be at the pool by 8 am so I could get a solid hour of swimming in before the 49er game started at 10 am. Then I thought, “Well since I’m there, I may as well get started on the ‘Become Friends with the Treadmill Again’ goal and hop on for 15-20 min.” I went to bed on New Year’s Eve with this grand plan in mind.

The thing is, it was 6 hours past my normal bedtime so I didn’t get up till 9 am. For someone who wakes up at 5 am like clockwork, this felt like half the day was gone (because it was!).

I reassessed the day. There was no way I was going to skip the 49er game (priorities people!) so I would start my goal of “Respecting Rest Days.”

After the Niners won, I started to clean up the house and took the trash out. I was shocked to see that it felt like summer! Mid-60′s on January 1st! I wanted to rush back in the house, lace up my sneaks and go for a run! I just couldn’t let the day go to waste! But I was torn – what about the Rest Day?

So I compromised. I laced up my sneaks and went for…a walk!

Seriously, when was the last time I just went out for a walk? I couldn’t remember. I strolled along my usual running path, taking in the sights that I ignore while running. I petted the dogs that normally try to bite me and said hello to the neighbors who were also out enjoying the day.

3 miles in 1 hr 15 min. Lovely way to start the New Year!

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And with the New Year comes a whole new schedule of races for 2012!

I had told myself I was cutting back on the number of races I do, but somehow I’ve managed to already be registered for a handful of them. I blame peer pressure and screaming registration deals…

February 5: The Kaiser Half Marathon in Golden Gate Park – San Francisco, CA
I was opposed to doing this race because it’s on SuperBowl Sunday, they don’t give medals, and it’s in hilly GGP. But now that I’m pretty familiar with the park, I looked at the course and it avoids all it’s major hills. It’s actually a pretty good course so I signed up. It’s 4 weeks away and I doubt my fitness level will be back to where it was a month ago, so my goal for this race is to run it Garminless and see how it goes/feels.

March 11: The 408K Race for Pat Tillman – San Jose, CA
An inaugural 5-mile race in San Jose in memory of the NFL player from SJ who joined the military and got killed in war. It’s rather pricey for a 5-mile race, but it’s for a good cause and it would be fun to end a race at Santana Row. Audrey is in for it and I think I’ve got Dave convinced to run this race with me too.

March 25: The Oakland Running Festival Half Marathon – Oakland, CA
Everyone who ran last year’s SFM received a special rate of $35 so I have been registered for this race since last July. Most of my Bay Area running friends are participating, as well as my cousin Michi. She is an East Bay native, who now lives in New York. She’s coming home to run it and also signed up her Mom, aunt and Grandma to run the 5K. It’ll be a family affair! I also would like to attempt a PR at this race.

May 19: Ogden Half Marathon – Ogden, Utah
My friend Aaron participated in last year’s marathon relay and told me what a beautiful course this is. Runners are bused to up to the canyon for the Start, and then run down the canyon and finish in downtown Ogden. So….downhill marathon! Count me in! I had also read other race reports and saw photos to see how lovely it really is. Since it’s downhill, it’s a very fast course that a lot of people attempt to BQ at so it sold out within a few days. Luckily, Alyssa, Courtney and I were on it – registered and confirmed, and Aaron will be attempting his first half-marathon as well! I am concerned about the altitude so it will be one more thing to train for.

May 20: Portland Rock’nRoll Half Marathon – Portland, OR
Yeah, I kinda messed up on this date. I thought it was on May 12th. After the Vancouver Marathon last May, my cousin Lauren beat her Dad’s (my Uncle Rich) time without even training or trying. Naturally, he wants a head-to-head match so we all signed up for this race…on May 1, 2011. Another family affair that will also include my Aunty Delta and cousin Riley (I think) each embarking on their first half-marathon. I’ll be there, no matter what, but whether I actually make it to the Start Line will be a game day decision. My own personal reverse Goofy Challenge perhaps?

June 9: Mermaid Sprint Triathlon – Alameda, CA
I don’t know how this happened. Just yesterday I wrote about how I just wanted to learn how to ride my bike before I attempted any sort of tri. But yesterday, I was cleaning out my emails and read the Mermaid newsletter again and before I knew it, I had the registration screen filled out and clicked “Submit.” I guess now I really do need to learn how to ride this thing.

July 29: San Francisco Marathon, 2nd Half – San Francisco, CA
I will always plan to run one of the SFM races and have decided that the 2nd Half is my favorite course. While it’s not as scenic as the 1st Half, I feel that almost every other race in San Francisco runs along the Embarcadero, and I can run across the Golden Gate Bridge anytime I like. I also despise running up the Lincoln Hill coming off of the GGB. But how often do I run through The Haight or in The Mission? Ummm, never. I also like to finish at the main Finish Line, not the tiny one in GGP, so the 2H is my race of choice.

These are way more races than I anticipated doing, but I’m excited for each of them. And clearly, SFM in July is not going to be my last race of the year, but I’ll wait and see how the first few months of 2012 go before deciding on what will come after that.