Category Archives: weekend

A Run Along the Ocean

This past weekend Ryan and I went to Santa Cruz for a little getaway with some friends. We rented a big house so we could all stay there. It was so fun to have all of us eat dinner together and play some games. The weather this weekend was perfect!

Saturday morning we went for a run along the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. See for yourself!

Amazing, right?!? There was a really nice paved path. SO many people were out walking, running and biking. Hard not to be outside with such beautiful weather.

I ended up running almost7 miles — a pretty good distance for my taper week long run. My next half marathon is coming up this weekend!

Other than the run, we spent the day lounging on the beach (even though it felt a bit too cold out to go in the water), ate some tasty clam chowder at the end of the pier, and said hello to the sea lions.

Do you like to run when you are on vacations? I love it. It is such a fun way to explore a new place!

Running Speedy

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I know speed is all relative, and fast for one person is super slow for another. But lately I have been trying hard to push my pace on my runs and work on speed — speedy for me anyway. It is seriously so much fun. I think I have underestimated myself for a while!

The last three weeks during my long runs, I have run some of the fastest times I’ve ever done at those distances. Each week my average pace has gotten consecutively faster too, even while my distance has increased. Basically, I think my comfortably hard pace has dropped at least 20 seconds/mile. I’m not sure if this is all a result of pushing my distance in the fall for my marathon, or the speedwork intervals I’ve been doing this month — either way, it is awesome! I’m so excited about it!

I have one more higher mileage week before my first of two March half marathons. I am really getting pumped for these races! I can’t wait to see how I do.

Besides running and P90x-ing, the last few weekends have been busy. Last weekend we went to San Francisco to see a friend. We had amazing weather, and enjoyed time outside. We walked up Twin Peaks and had a gorgeous view of the city. Check out these photos! Seriously beautiful.

This weekend we had a great time celebrating a few friends birthdays. Ryan found these AWESOME giant peanut butter cups at the store! They were delicious, but I could really only eat a bite or two because they were so sweet. I was glad we had friends to share them with!

Have you ever had a big/sudden increase in your running speed?

Dead Legs

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Oh my gosh…my legs are seriously sore this morning!

This weekend we spent a lot of time exercising. So it’s no wonder that I’m feeling like I have dead legs.

On Friday, Ryan and I did our usual P90x legs and back day. This one never feels any more difficult while it is going on, but always makes me so sore the next day!! I guess that means it must be doing something.

Saturday we headed to the pool for a swim. I managed to complete 2000yds. It felt harder than last week, but I actually don’t think my time was much different. I am really enjoying swimming lately. It’s a nice way to get a good workout without putting to much force on the legs.

Then, Sunday I did a short run in the morning (4.5 miles) followed by a 38 mile bike ride with Ryan and our friend Josh. First bike ride of 2013! It was a beautiful day for a ride–about 55 degrees. We had some wind though, so by the end of the ride we were pretty exhausted!

As a fun perk though we stopped in at a new brewery that was ing the route to do a beer sampler and enjoy some more time in the sun. By the way, if anyone is out in Northern California, I would definitely recommend checking out Berryessa Brewing Company. They even had some people playing music.

Needless to say, after all of that my legs were feeling pretty sluggish on my morning ride in. Haha! I bet they will loosen up throughout the day though.

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Lovely Long Weekend

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Sorry its been a bit since I last posted, but I wanted to have a relaxing weekend away from the computer!

Friday I was stuck at the car repair shop for most of the day after I took my car in for an oil change and they found important work to be done. Boo! Luckily the weather was amazing (finally warming up a little!) and I was able to take a little walk during my wait.

On an exciting note though, on Friday I won an entry to the Oakland Running Festival! Thanks Pavement Runner! I haven’t ever run in Oakland before, but I have friends who live very close to the race start/finish so I’m really looking forward to checking it out!

Saturday and Sunday were typical weekend days with a swim Saturday and long run Sunday. I have been trying to work on my swim form, and I think it is finally starting to improve! I’m planning to buy the Total Immersion book or DVD for some more tips since I have heard it’s pretty good.

I also wanted to give you guys an update on my hip/glute….it is starting to feel a little better. Earlier last week I was really feeling good — I think the exercises you guys recommended have been helping — Thanks Yum Runner, Cait and Holly!! But, Friday I did a tough legs workout, which caused me to get SUPER sore though Saturday and Sunday. I was nervous about my long run Sunday, and ended up cutting it a mile shorter than I had originally planned. I did some stretching and foam rolling after though, and I think that really helped too. Yesterday and today I woke up feeling great! Seems like I’m on the right track.

Otherwise we spent the days going to the movies (saw the Hobbit — it was good!) and out to dinner, and watching football (while resting after running). We also went for a walk around the neighborhood one day. Nice to not have anywhere to be sometimes and just relax.

Ryan and I both had Monday off (does happen very often!), so we decided to enjoy the day by going wine tasting in Amador County. It was great to get out with friends!

What did you do this weekend?

When is your next race? I have my first half marathon of 2013 coming up the first weekend in February! The Davis Stampede!

Hip Strengthening?

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Out here in Northern California, the winter time weather is usually high’s in the mid- to high 50’s and lows around the mid 30s. So, this past week when every night was down to about 25 degrees, it made me want to just snuggle under the covers as long as possible.

wasn’t actually snowing — just lots of frost on the ground

Despite the freezing temperatures, the sun made my Sunday morning run bearable. I finished 10 miles with an average pace of 9:20 — sped up the second half for a nice negative split.

Besides running on Sunday, I also fit in a swim on Saturday morning. I’m really trying to start working on my swimming so I can do another triathlon or two this summer. This week I felt stronger than last week, even though I was exhausted by the end. I think after a couple weeks my shoulders will be much more comfortable.

Outside of the workouts, my weekend was full of other fun things like a date night on Friday night with my main man, and a wine tasting with some friends on Saturday. Sunday we spent the day watching football and eating homemade chicken wings. I used this recipe, and it was amazing. Highly recommend if you are looking for a tasty fried treat.

Sorry for the randomness of this post! But, I do have a running related question. Anyone have some good exercise recommendations for exercises glute / hip weakness? I think I’m dealing with something like that right now on my right side. I’d love some ideas if you have any!

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

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How was your weekend??

Mine was full of holiday cheer!

Of course, first I had to get in a run. Last week I had a dream about doing a 10 mile long run (yes, I seriously dreamt about it! guess I was really missing running!), but that just didn’t fit in with the busy day for Saturday. I did squeeze in a chilly but speedy 5-miler. It was actually really great run because I almost beat Ryan and did beat Matt back to our starting point — that never happens!

General run stats: mile 1 in 9:35, mile 2 took 9:03, mile 3 was 8:33, mile 4 8:09, and finished off with mile 5 in 7:58. Sweet! I actually passed both guys, but Ryan just couldn’t let me beat him! Haha.

Chilly morning, so I layered up. Compression pants and socks, and a long sleeve shirt

After the run, we packed up and headed to Reno, NV for the night. The drive out was a little snowy, but nothing too crazy. Mostly, I just loved seeing all the snow stuck to the trees.

We went to Reno for the Reno Santa Pub Crawl! So once we got there and checked into our hotel, we got all dressed up in our holiday gear, ready to run around the town.

It is quite the event with thousands of people showing up. We had heard of it this fall when the guys went to Reno for a trip, and saw the zombie crawl. Overall, it was a blast! So many fun costumes! Not only were there Santa’s all over the place, but there was also elves, reindeer, and even some Christmas tress. I don’t have a picture of it, but my personal favorite was a group of people who dressed up as a plate, cookies, and milk.

At midnight they try to get everyone to congregate at the Reno arch for a picture. This one is from last year:

from santa crawl website

We made it just in the nick of time! The crawl was definitely a blast! I’d love to go to it again next year if we can.

What did you do this weekend?

Thankful for Good Friends

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We spent all weekend with Matt & Raechel. It is great to have good friends you can spend a ton of time with and have a blast the whole time.

Thursday, the four of us did our morning turkey trot. Then we cooked all day for an amazing Thanksgiving feast! Ate way too much food, looked through all the Black Friday adds, ate dessert, lounged on the couch in a food coma. Thanksgiving is perfect for taper week — carbs + relaxing.

Friday, we enjoyed the beautiful weather on a nice walk (it was beautiful out!), then the four of us headed out to South Lake Tahoe for the rest of the weekend. We got a great deal on a condo rental in the Heavenly village area. The weekend continued to be filled with food, (window) shopping, and board games.

squinting in the sun!

Today, Ryan and I settled back in after being away all weekend. And we got our Christmas tree! It is lovely this year! I love to have a few blinking lights on my Christmas tree. So now we are relaxing, watching the tree and enjoying a fire in the fireplace. Love.