Running Journal Month 3 (March 2008)

Week 10 (3/3-3/9):
Weekly mileage: 5.5!
Mileage to date: 283.5

This week's numbers look like I just skipped out, but actually, I traveled to Ogden, Utah for my friend's snowshoe race. We spent 4 days there, and snowboarded for two of them. Snowboarding was how I remembered it from the one time I've tried it before - difficult and fun. We visited Antelope Island, the salt flats and a dinosaur museum as well. I love the nature in Utah, but I wouldn't want to live in SLC. I gave myself permission to take a break from running if needed while I travel. While maybe one day I'll be organized enough to run and travel, I wasn't quite there yet and I didn't want to miss out on anything while I was there.

Week 11 (3/10-3/16):
Weekly mileage: 24.5
Mileage to date: 308.3

I ran in a new place this week out of necessity - the baylands in Palo Alto, the park off of Shoreline Blvd. It was scenic and flat and served my purpose, but it was windy as hell. I forgot I used to fly my stunt kite there...

Race Stats:
Emerald Across the Bay 12k - 59:06; 7:55 pace; 529/2971 overall; 32/306F Age Group

Week 12 (3/17-3/23):
Weekly mileage: 47.4
Mileage to date: 355.7

Kept it up at Rancho and on the good ole treadmill. And then, on Saturday, had an absolutely awesome time running PCT's Pirate's Cove 30k. I felt great, and the views were a dream. Mostly ocean. So glad I did the 30k because the shorter one would not have had the same ocean views. On Sunday, I ran my first 5k. My legs were tired from the 30, and my ankle was aching, but it was interesting to try a shorter race. The roller coaster race had a very short but steep uphill at the turn around, which caught many runners by surprise.

Race Stats:
PCT Pirate's Cove 30k (elev. gain: ~3570'): 3:17:26; 10:30 pace; 29th overall; 5thF overall; 3rdF Age
DSE Easter Roller Coaster 5k: 25:56; 8:20 pace; 35/150; 6thF overall; 1st Age

Week 13 (3/24-3/30):
Weekly mileage: 18.7
Mileage to date: 374.4

And the pain begins... everything that could possibly go wrong with my body going wrong at the same time! A runner's fear realized. The list was long: I banged my knee; I was covered in poison oak (from the 30k maybe???); I had some mysterious stomach problems happening due to what my doctor told me was a severe bout of dehydration; and, last but not least, my left foot felt like it was either sprained or had a stress fracture. I didn't run during the week at all other than a couple miles on the treadmill Friday. Thought I was better by the weekend, so I ran two races... Nevertheless, I had tons of fun eating all kinds of jelly bellies from the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield on the way back from the race in Granite Bay.

Race Stats:
XTERRA Chanoko 16k - 1:24:34; 8:27 pace; 22/55 overall; 4th F Age
DSE Embarcadero 10k - 47:07; 7:34 pace; 37/171; 4thF; 2nd Age PR