Madrid Marathon: 3 week countdown and a loooooooong run

My longest run before the New York Marathon last year was 20 miles. My husband and I trained together for this marathon. We picked a nice coastal route from Oceanside to Del Mar. It was my first time running the distance and needless to say I found it extremely challenging. It took me 4 hours and I could hardly walk afterward. I had a bad case of chaffing too.

For the RnR Madrid Marathon, I knew I would be all alone. My favorite running partner, aka my hubby, decided not to sign up for Madrid Marathon due to logistical issues (kids, school and tae kwon do). He also has a championship coming up on April 22nd, same day as the Madrid Marathon. Wishing him best of luck!

Yep, we don't need ladders around my house :-)

Because of this, I decided to join a running club. I wanted to be able to accomplish what I couldn't during training last year (longer runs, tempo runs and speedwork). It was the best decision in my life. Thanks JT for convincing me to sign up. This club has pushed me to the limits and I love them for it. My coaches are simply amazing.

Last Thursday, I had a decision to make. For my longest run before the marathon, should I run the same course that I did before the NY Marathon (nice, fast & flat but by myself) or should I run with my running club and supplement with extra miles? I emailed my coach for advice. He let me know that the group was doing 14 miles around Penasquitos Canyon. This means hilly trails. He suggested I run with them, then replenish bottles in the car and go out and back for 4 miles, for a total of 22 miles. The idea sounded ridiculous at first. However, it would give me an opportunity to start early at 6:00am and get it done and out of the way. Because my body is getting tired lately with all this running and I didn't trust myself, I went with the group. I needed all the help in the world. Would I do this again? Stay tune ...

These trails were new to me. I liked them better than the ones I ran before around
San Dieguito and Lake Hodges. There were multiple routes. The one my running group chose was wider but rockier. It was a 6.5 mile out and back with a 5-6 ft waterfall half way down. It was beautiful. I felt like I was running in Scotland instead of San Diego.

The first 7 miles were easy relatively easy with lots of hills. We stopped for 5 minutes at the end of the trail to wait for the rest of the group. The way back was harder. It's always harder. At mile 10, my Garmin died. It was 100% charged before I left home but he (yeah, it's a guy) decided to go back to bed or something. No problem. I always run with 2 GPS devices. My Nike+ is my backup. It's just more inconvenient since I keep my iPhone in the pouch.

Big hill in the horizon. "Oh crap, I can't do it", I thought. One of the coaches ran up to me

Coach: "Hey, how are you today?"
Me: "Good. Thanks!"
C: "Are you running Carlsbad 5000 tomorrow?"
Me: "Oh, no I am running 22 miles today"
C: "Really? Are you coming back to the trails after we are done?"
Me: "That was the plan!" Notice past tense. I am about to give up :-0
C: "You lived in Oregon before, right?"
Me: "Yes"
C: "Did you ever visit Nike Headquaters?"
Me: "Yes, I used to run around the campus"
C: "Did you meet Alberto Salazar?"
Me: Big laugh "Noooo, I wish"

The conversation goes on for 5 minutes and before I knew it I had climbed the hill. 1 min silence. I turned around and I notice that my coach was gone. He was at the bottom of the hill, helping the next victim :-)

Coach: "Hey, how are you today?"
Runner X: "Good! Thanks!"

Pretty cool coaches like I said! I finished the 14 miles ahead of this group but waaaay slower than the people training for Boston, of course. Also, we are talking trails here so I am not running at my regular speed, more like 10:00 - 10:30 min/mile. On my way to the car, I am thinking "I can't go back for another 8. I am going to die".

Right in that moment, I see my old friend & former co-worker Edward. This was a totally unexpected reunion, a nice surprise. He is a great runner. He is used to running 70 miles a week. I am not sure what his weekly mileage base is now but I know he runs 20 miles e-v-e-r-y single weekend. "I am saved", I thought. I am happy I was able to convince him to help me with the last 8 miles. He suggested we run the other side of the canyon, I believe it's the east side, a flatter but narrower course. We stopped at the "waterfall", mile 17 for me. I didn't have the chance to see it on the previous run.

After this, we ran for another mile and decided to cross to the other side. There are multiple crossing paths between the two main trails. I miscalculated the distance and ended up doing more hills than expected. I was again at the bottom of that hill I hardly finished at mile 10, the one that the coach helped me with. After that, came another hill and 2 miles of flat course. I ended up running 21.5 miles or 34.6 Km. after all! It was an awesome but loooong 4 hour run. Way better than last year! Longer distance, more challenging route and same finishing time. Oh and no chaffing whatsoever! Now, would I do it again? I would most definitely go back to Penasquitos Trails. However, I think a 14-miles off-the-road run is more than enough!

Today is Monday, I have rested for 2 days and I feel great. I went for a slow short run at lunch time. My legs were happy. Epsom Salts and Advil are my best friends!

Let taper week begin!

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Coming up ...
Next weekend - Hollywood Half Marathon
April 15th - RnR Edinburgh (Scotland) Half Marathon
April 22nd - RnR Madrid (Full) Marathon

Hot Chocolate 15k/5k San Diego

Race Info

Hot Chocolate 15k/5k
March 25th – San Diego, CA
5K start time — 6:45am* 15K start time — 7:15am*

Race Course (15k)

Thursday, March 22nd

The packet pick-up was conveniently located at Road Runners Sports in Carlsbad. I happen to work 5 minutes away from the store. It was an easy grab and go. But of course, I had to snap some pictures of the chocolate truck first!

In the goodie bag, there were the race bib with the B-tag, some discount coupons and an adorable Hot Chocolate jacket.

Sunday, March 25th - Race Day

The weather forecast for Sunday was rain with 80% chance of precipitation. Oh, nooo! I woke up 20 minutes late, around 5:20 am. Thank goodness my friend Melissa sent me a text message. I was on the road 15 minutes later. I arrived in downtown around 6:10 am and found street parking a couple of blocks from the starting line. Nice! The weather was also perfect! No rain or wind, mild temperatures. The weather prediction couldn't be more wrong. I also had 40 minutes to spare until the race started. I was so happy about that!

I headed to corral A and met San Diego's speedy runners, beautiful Nicole from Haute Running Mama and Skinny Runner who was dressed like a Tootsie Roll. I loved it! Helloooooo fellow bloggers! Since I didn't take any pictures, I am linking back to SR blog.

Then, I met my friends from Embrace The Crazy (Tonja, Abbie, Melissa and Kristin) and a couple of coaches from West Coast Road Runners.

The race started at 7:15am. The first mile was uphill. I was running slow but steady. Then came a a short downhill, a long uphill, a short uphill, a long uphill. OMG! Ups and downs non-stop until mile 6 when we had a very pronounced down hill. I was happy when we reached that point thinking "We are almost done". Little did I know, there was another crazy uphill around the corner, near the Golden Hill Park. Now, I have never been to this part of town and I didn't realize until this race how hilly San Diego is. The good news is that it was all downhill from mile 8. My legs were feeling strong so I was able to make up for the lost time.

I think this elevation graph shows it better.

My official finishing time was 1:30:51. Not my fastest race ever but not too bad considering the roller-coaster course and the fact that I had run a total of 17.5 miles within 24 hours. Now I am facing Madrid more confident. I've been told that the Madrid Marathon is like running two La Jolla 1/2 marathons back to back. Wish me luck!

After the race, it was time to celebrate with some great chocolate!

Pros
- Well organized
- Easy packet pick-up
- Hot Chocolate jacket. They run a little bit small but they are beautiful.
- Awesome post-race party featuring Ghirardelli chocolates, chocolate fondue and hot chocolate. Delicious!

Cons
-No finisher's medal. OK, we got jackets instead.


*********
Coming up ...
April 1st - 22 miles ( 35 km)
April 7th - Hollywood Half Marathon
April 15th - RnR Edinburgh (Scotland) Half Marathon
April 22nd - RnR Madrid (Full) Marathon

Madrid Marathon Around The Corner -31 days to go!!!!

Here you go, the finisher's medal for the Rock N Roll Madrid.

What do you think? I love it! I like that the guitar is red & yellow, the colors of Spain. I also like "la Puerta de Alcala" in the background and the fact that Madrid's flag is represented ( red with 7 white stars). I am assuming that the red spot in the middle is a bear running? Also symbols of Madrid, "El Oso y El Madroño". Perhaps a fellow blogger from Spain could tell me what it is. I don't get the blue accents (it doesn't match) but the rest gets an A+ or "diez puntos" from me!

31 days 11 hours until the Rock n Roll Madrid. Who is counting? ;) My schedule for the next few weeks is packed. I have a challenging 15k race, a very long run (21 miles or 33 km.) and 2 half marathons ( April 8th and 15th) before heading to Spain. This leaves me little time to blog. Hope I survive!

Coming up this weekend

The race course is a little messed up with lots of hills. Good for RnR Madrid training though.

Inagural San Diego Half Marathon at Petco Park - Recap

Saturday, March 10th

Expo
My husband and I picked up our race packets at the Sport, Health & Fitness Expo located at the Petco Park. Yeahhh, we haven't ran together since the New York Marathon. We arrived around 2:45pm. I was worried that we were tight on time. I wanted to stop by the West Coast Road Runners (WCRR) booth to say hi to my coaches. They were also the official pacers for this race, which made it extra special for me. Since the expo was rather small we had plenty of time for picking up our packets, chat and more. For those that don't like staying at the Expos too long, this race is perfect for you. Easy grab-and-go. Also, finding parking was not too bad.

The evening before the race, we stayed in San Diego downtown. We decided to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurant, Royal India. Oh, BIG mistake! Don't EVER eat Indian food the night before the race. Believe me! Those malai kofta and navratan korma taste & look really good but perhaps not the best before a race. Pavana Muktasana - wind removing pose! That's all I am going to say.

After dinner, we walked to our hotel just a few blocks from Petco Park. We spent the rest of the evening downloading MP3s. I usually run without music but I decided to bring my headphones to this race, as we had a crazy hill at mile 9-10.

Sunday, March 11th
We woke up at 6:00am. I think this is the latest I've ever woken up before a race. For the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, a month and a half ago, I was up at 3:00am :-0 It was definitely convenient to stay that close to the starting line. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cold. We met a few of our friends and my coaches at wave #4.

The gun went off at 7:30ish am. The first few miles were around San Diego's Gaslamp district, Pacific Highway and Harbor Island. They were flat and fast. I was averaging 8:35 min/mile. I was feeling very good with the 2:00 hour pacers just behind me.

At mile 7-8, we passed the Bikram Yoga Old Town studio. I thought of one of the main teachers as we ran by. I was thinking maybe she will come out and do some asanas with me in the middle of the race. hahaha, I know, I have a great imagination. The thought put a smile on my face and gave me strength to continue. I slowed down a tiny bit as I knew I had to save my energy to conquer Washington Street and the crazy hill, around mile 9-10.

As we reached the tough part of the course, I saw coach Sharon holding the 2:00 hour sign passing me. Nooooooooo, where do you think you are going? This is my sub-2. Oh, I couldn't keep up. I ran the hill at a ridiculously slow pace. Aghghg, my hill training in the garbage can. Unbelievable! I need to work more on those hills before RnR Madrid!

At the top of the hill was Hillcrest, one of my favorite neighborhoods.

We passed by Hash House, an award winning brunch restaurant in San Diego. Perhaps a good place to go after this race ( hint for out-of-towners).

The good news is that it was all downhill from there, over 2 miles of pure joy. I don't think I've ever felt better in my entire life. My mind and body wanted to run. The sun and wind were in my face and Gavin DeGraw was singing "Not Over" to me



I usually listen to a different type of music when I am training, something more like this:



But Gavin DeGraw worked for me this time around. I was experiencing a runner's high like never before. I think this picture summarizes my happiness. Still smiling for the cameras at miles 12, hahaha such a diva!

I almost cried when I saw the stadium. I didn't want the race to finish. I wanted to continue running. I was feeling alive.

Entrance to the stadium

I looked at my watch and saw 2:06, this a new PR for me. I was happy but a little disappointment at the same time for wasting so much time at the hill. But now I know I can run a sub-2 at a flatter course and even go a little faster.

Posing with my yogi sis Maria aka "tough chik"

On our way home, I saw many people running in the sun. I seriously felt a little jealous. I wanted to go for a second run but my hubby convinced me to rest. I have speedwork on Tuesdays. The plan moving forward includes lots of hills. I don't want to die in Madrid.

Race Review
- Very well organized
- Beautiful course with challenging hill and outstanding finishing at the Petco stadium.

- Nice goodies at the finish line including: Coconut water, bananas, fresh cut oranges, Pop Chips, chocolate milk. Not bad at all!

- Awesome gear check bags

- Beautiful technical shirts

- Beautiful finisher's medal

- Beautiful matching blue toes? hahaha, hey all runners end up having blue toes sooner or later. We might as well embrace it, right? ;)

Oh, I will run this race again next year!

*********
I just connected my Garmin FR 110 to my MAC with the intention of uploading the course elevation and my stats to find out that all data was corrupted. No data found on this device! Mierrrrrcoles! Thank goodness I also had the Nike+ GPS app running. These are my stats for the race in min/km which is a little confusing but hey I gotta get used to it for RnR Madrid, right? You can tell where I hit the hills, right? Yep, km 14-16th ( miles 9-10) :-0

YES, more hill training for me coming up!

Madrid Marathon Training: Week 9 (Feb 27th - Mar 4th) - Speedwork & Trails

The highlights this week were: Speedwork, Trails and Meeting Friends.

Speedwork
My friend and fellow blogger Lynne from Beginners Run Marathons Too! sent me a link a while back about a speedwork program that they follow in Denmark called the 10-20-30 system. I've been doing this system for a couple of weeks now. Just for fun!

What is the 10-20-30 system? It's 30 second walk or jog, followed by a moderately paced 20 seconds run, and then a 10 second sprint. This is done five times. After a break, the process starts again for a total of two to five times for each training session. The workout is repeated two to three times a week. You can read more about it here. It's supposed to improve your time by one minute on a 5k. Oh, I'll tell you if it worked for me after my half marathon this coming weekend ;-)

Then, on Tuesday my running group decided to meet at the tracks. This was my first speedwork with a group. I always do it on my own. This was also my first visit to the tracks in many years. We were instructed to run just for 30 seconds at 95% of our capacity and then take it easy for another 30 seconds. We repeated this series at least 10 times. To be honest, I lost track of time and space that day ( no pund intended). Since my Garmin Forerunner 110 doesn't have an interval training feature and I was not wearing my heart monitor neither, I am also missing stats. The good news is that I was guided by two amazing coaches that knew what they were doing.

All I know is that I ran at least 4 miles that day ( 2 miles to warm up and 2 miles for recovering) and went to hell and back a dozen of times. :-) It was tough! I talked more about my experienced in my previous post I titled, "I speak Spanglish and I practice ROGA!".

Trails
On Saturday, we headed to Lake Hodges for an 11-mile trail run at 6:30am. This was my third trail run ever. I just completed my second trail run around San Elijo Lagoon the weekend before and fell madly in love. It was 37 degree Farenheit or 3 degree Celsius . It was way too cold for this Bikram Yogini who usually loves to practice her asanas in a room at 105 degree F (42°C). However, the sun came out and the story changed as usual. It was HOT after 45 minutes. These trails are very close to my home. Ironically, I never ran there before. The lake is beautiful, but it's a little dangerous too. I don't think I'll be running at this location very often.

The terrain was different than the previous trails. No sand but lots of mud and horse caca! There was also a little creek. We were told to be careful as someone fell down last year. Also, the paths were wider but they were pretty wet from the rain.

After the 11-mile run, we had a seminar on running injuries. It was conducted by a chiropractor who runs his practice in Encinitas with his wife, a four time Kona Ironman Triathlete finisher. Very impressive! We learned about the importance of good hydration, consumption of electrolytes ( especially potassium, magnesium and sodium), the need for wearing the correct shoes, using the foam rolls, etc... It was informative.

Sunday Runday
Next day, I met Edward and Tessa at Lake Miramar. Edward is my old running buddy. We used to work together and run at lunch time. Then he changed jobs and started to become as a runner. He is now working on qualifying for the Boston Marathon. He just needs to shave a few minutes. I have no doubt he will be able to qualify this year. Tessa is a runner from Switzerland who I just met. She has a beautiful accent and smile just like me. ;-) We are both running RnR Edinburgh together on April 15th.

Lake Miramar is as flat as it can get. It's a 5-mile loop. I was thinking of running 6-8 miles, since I ran 11 miles the day before, but ended up running 10 miles. Yahooo, 2 long runs within 24 hours!

This is my weekly summary:

Mon:	REST
Tue:	4-miles + *Speedwork
Wed:	90-min Bikram Yoga
Thu:	4-miles run + 90-min Bikram Yoga
Fri:	5.5-miles run
Sat:	11-miles trail run
Sun:	10-miles
Total:	at least 35.5 miles (55 km) and 2 BY classes

I speak Spanglish and I practice ROGA!

I speak both English and Spanish on a regular basis. However, every now and then I speak Spanglish. No, en serio! :-) As many of you know, I am also a devoted runner and a Bikram Yogini. I practice both with the same dedication and love. However, every now and then I practice ROGA. Now, you might have heard this ROGA term before. The famous Lululemon store dedicated to "yoga clothes and running gear for sweaty workout" thinks that they invented the term but I can guarantee you that I've been using it for years. ;) For Lulumenon it means to "compliment your running and strengthen your body and mind by joining a yoga group". To me, it's more than running + yoga. It's taking what I learn from both disciplines and mixing it up a little bit. It's like speaking Spanglish.

Let me give you an example. In Bikram Yoga, we hold certain postures for just 30 seconds. Our Bikram instructors often remind us that this allows us to direct freshly oxygenated blood to certain parts of the body. In the running world, we have speed-work. While there are many techniques out there, perhaps the most common is intervals training. Last Tuesday, I went to the tracks for the first time in years to practice with my running group. We were instructed to run just for 30 seconds at 95% of our capacity and then take it easy for another 30 seconds. We repeated this series at least 10 times. After a couple of minutes, I was exhausted and all I could think was Bikram Yoga. Oh if I can hold any posture for 30 seconds, I can do this. But let's not LOCK THE KNEES right now that would be "un catastrofe".

After we finished this exercise, our coach explained to us that with higher intensity training, we have a better oxygen delivery system. aha, I heard this before. He proceeded by giving me posture corrections. Oh, the best Bikram Yoga instructors give good corrections too. My coach looked at my running form and let me know that both of my arms were moving towards the chest. This is not good except on downhills. The arms need to be straight. I tried running that way. Holy cow, this correction makes all the difference in the world. Thanks Bikram. I meant, thanks coach. I left the tracks tired, sore and extremely happy. After all, I have had embarked on a 90-minutes of mental vacation. Oh wait, I am getting mixed up again.

Next day, I went to Bikram Yoga. I had a really bad day at work and I just wanted to take a 90-minute savasana but I knew it was not going to happen. I told the instructor before class that I was sore and that I was going to take it easy. The room was HOT, the humidity sky rocketing, my stomach was making funny noises. During standing head to knee pose, I thought of my coach and the tracks the day before. Oh if I can run at 95% capacity for 30 seconds, I can do this. Soon we were doing full locust pose. Arms, Body, head, legs, everything lift up, 747 taking off. YES, I am going to nail the next 400 meters. I see the finish line.

I am telling you Spanglish. The story of my life and I am loving it. I am not sure anyone reading this post will understand it unless you are a ROGA practitioner. Are you? Lo eres? :-)

Namaste and Don't forget to run like the wind!

Madrid Marathon Training: Week 8 (Feb 20th - 26th). I am back!

After struggling for three weeks with allergies and a nasty sinus infection (courtesy of the Flower Fields in Carlsbad), I am back. It's nice to feel like a human being again. This was my weekly summary:

Mon:	4-mile (hill)run
Tue:	4-mile run + 90-min Bikram Yoga
Wed:	4-mile (hill)run + 90-min Bikram Yoga +
Thu:	4-mile run + 90-min Bikram Yoga
Fri:	4-mile run
Sat:	11-mile trail run
Sun:	REST
Total:	31 miles (49km) and 3 BY classes

I was planning on running 15 miles on Saturday but my running coach surprised us with a challenging 9-mile trail run which I complemented with a couple of miles on asphalt. We started at Fletcher Cove, near Solana Beach.

We ran for a couple of miles before entering the San Elijo Lagoon. I've seen this place before from the highway many times but I had no idea that these trails existed. It was surprisingly beautiful! Apparently, it's one of the few remaining coastal wetlands in San Diego County.

This was my second trail run to date, a 6.5 mile stretch near the coast. The course was an out-and-back traversing varying terrains. There were several narrow paths which meant we had to keep up with the pace. Also, there were pockets of loose sand which made it difficult to run by. However, the course was nice, the temperatures were ideal and everything felt just right. Oh, runner's high! I found myself running and smiling a lot, thinking how lucky I was for having all of this. I think I've fallen in love with the trails sans the sandy terrain.

After this run, we had a seminar on speed training. We went over the exercises that we'll be doing in the next few weeks. I am looking forward to this. I've done speed-work on my own in the past but this will be my first time with a running group. According to our coach, 4 weeks is the magic number. After 4 weeks, you start experiencing SPEED. ha, we'll see!

After the seminar, I stopped at the Running Skirts store which is only 1-2 miles away and purchased my first kilt runningskirt for the Rock N Roll Edinburgh Half Marathon. Oh, this place is dangerous for my wallet!

The owner with her baby

I am hoping to increase mileage significantly over the next few weeks. Rain rain go away!