ashleyd /

San Francisco Long Run

 

Good morning from cool but beautiful San Francisco!

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This morning I woke up 45 minutes later than planned, at 4:45, not knock out my long run.

I am proof that business travel doesn’t have to ruin your workout schedule!

Running in a new city, especially completing a long run, does take some extra planning. Before flying out to San Francisco, I referenced Google Maps and Twitter to find a perfect running route. I knew that I needed something relatively flat and that I wanted to see the San Francisco sights.

Luckily, multiple Twitter followers responded with suggested routes and tidbits of information.

In addition to figuring out a route, I also packed a few items that normally wouldn’t make it into my suitcase.

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  • Camelbak
  • Luna Bar to eat pre-run
  • A Gu packet
  • Garmin AND Garmin charger
  • Multiple layers since the weather is cool in San Francisco
  • Pepper Spray and a whistle for safety

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By 5am, I was out the door and ready for a slow and steady run. My goal was to keep my pace around a 10:30 today since I knew that 6 hours of travel yesterday and the time change had taken a toll on my body. I also decided early on to focus on the sights and sounds around me and actually ran without music for the first half of the run!

I captured some of the views so you could enjoy the sights of San Francisco’s Embarcadero and Ferry district. I only wish you could smell the fresh Sourdough Bread!

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Oh wait, who’s that you ask? Well, the beauty of Twitter and the blog world is that Katherine and I figured out that we’re both out in San Francisco for work this week! Even though we only live a few blocks apart in NYC, we’d never met. It was the perfect way to get to know someone, power through the last few miles, and enjoy the sights. She joined me for the last 3-4 miles which really helped as my legs were growing tired after the hills around mile 6-7.

My final time today was 2:06 which came to a 10:24 pace. While it isn’t quite as fast as I’m hoping to get, it’s definitely a pace I’m proud of considering that I spent 6 hours on a plane yesterday, didn’t have the best pre long run dinner last night, and only slept a few hours! In addition, it was a great way to see San Francisco!

Question: What city do you dream of touring on foot? I really want to tour Italy via bike someday but I’d love to run through Paris in the Spring!

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ashleyd /

New York City Marathon Training: Week 4

Happy Monday! I can’t believe the weekend is already over even though it was a wonderful 3 day weekend! In case you were out and about enjoying the sunshine, here is what you missed.

Cockles and Lamb

Thou Shalt Not Covet thy Neighbor’s Long Run

The Inn at Little Washington Double Date

Bo and I are officially a month into marathon training and so far things are going well.

IMG_2873 (640x478) The heat hasn’t kept me from averaging two outdoor runs per week, one long run and one tempo run. I’ve enjoyed runs with new and old friends alike, eaten four banana and peanut butter sandwiches so far, and have have only lost one toenail.

With 13 weeks left until the marathon, here’s how my mileage has progressed so far:

Week 1: 17 miles

Week 2: 21 miles

Week 3: 24 miles

Week 4: 23 miles

I was able to stick with all of my runs this week except the 2-3 mile shakeout that I was supposed to do yesterday. However, I did sprints as part of my personal training yesterday so it isn’t like I was lazy.

Monday: 4.8 miles split between a morning 5k and then the run home

Tuesday: Personal Training

Wednesday: 6 mile run outside

Thursday: rest day

Friday: 12 mile long run

Saturday: Personal Training

Sunday: 90 minute Vinyasa yoga class

It will definitely be harder to keep up with my schedule this week since I’m traveling to San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia! In hopes of keeping accountable, here is this week’s schedule:

Monday: 5 mile speed workout

Tuesday: Personal Training

Wednesday: 4-5 mile run in San Francisco

Thursday: rest day

Friday: 14 mile long run along Lake Michigan

Saturday: Shake out run

Sunday: Yoga

My goal this week is to get in each run and focus on eating well while traveling with colleagues.

Question: Have you run a marathon or a half marathon? If so, I’d love to feature you in my Wednesday series, Marathons+Moderation. Please email me or leave a comment if you’re interested!

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NYRR Queens Half Marathon Recap

I can’t really complain about anything right now.

In the last 36 hours I’ve run a half marathon, explored Manhattan’s waterways by sail boat, and taken a helicopter and hot air balloon ride. I just realized, typing all that, that they were all done with Theodora. 🙂

After a relaxing Friday rest day morning, I spent a few hours at work before enjoying Summer Friday and leaving around 3pm.

Don’t worry, even though I was only at the office for 6 hours I ate 2 meals while there and have the pictures to prove it. 🙂

IMG_3494 (640x478) (640x478) IMG_3495 (640x478) (640x478) That sandwich was bigger than I expected. Therefore, I took 3/4 of the chicken off and shared with a co-worker. However, the mix of cucumber, sprouts, hummus, tomatoes, and lettuce were amazing!

A few months ago, Bo and I both saw a Groupon for a 2 hour sailing trip on the Hudson River though Hudson River Community Sailing.  We took out a J24 with an instructor, unlike in Miami when Bo captained the boat.

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We had a blast but definitely felt bad for the one random girl there on her own. The 3 of us were talking the whole entire time in between shifts steering and tacking. The breeze on the water kept the heat and humidity at bay.

IMG_0169 (640x480) IMG_0163 (640x480) IMG_0179 (640x480) IMG_0171 (640x480) The views put the city in a whole new perspective.

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After all the fresh air and adventures, I was ready for dinner and bed! If you live in New York City, Bocca Roman is delicious, amazing Italian food AND they are on Seamless Web!

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This morning, I woke up at 5:30 to run my 12th half marathon! While I hadn’t planned in advance to run the Queens Half Marathon when I found out multiple friends were running it and I came across a bib, I couldn’t resist. I’d never been to Corona Park before and was excited to experience a new area of Queens and spend time with Rebecca, Theodora, Melissa, and Shannon.

IMG_3499 (640x478) (640x478) I knew it was going to be hot so I went with as few layers as possible!

IMG_3500 (640x478) (640x478) I met Rebecca at 23rd and 3rd to hail a cab out to Corona. We didn’t want to deal with the weekend subway schedule, especially since the Queen subway lines were all messed up due to rail construction.

Upon arriving, the sun was rising along with the heat and humidity. But, the views and monuments were pretty amazing!

IMG_3502 (640x478) (640x478) We were each treating this as a long training run since most of our schedules had somewhere between 11-13 miles on tap for today. We were all happy that the course was known for being around 75% flat.

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It was also 75% shade free, but we didn’t know those details in advance.Oops!

IMG_3505 (640x478) (640x478)Our plan was go out slow and steady and enjoy the sights. The race was scheduled to begin at 7am, which is late compared to when we normally begin long summer runs.

Unfortunately, we didn’t cross the start line until 7:20. It was already over 80 degrees and quite humid when we started which I knew would be tough on me as I have a bad history with hot half marathons (Brooklyn 2009, More Half 2009, and Brooklyn 2010).

I started with Theodora and Rebecca, chatting away happily while we kept a consistent pace around 10:05 and taking in the sights.  I was able to hang with the ladies for the first 3 miles and then ran with Melissa for the next mile. By mile 5 I knew I needed to do this race on my own if I was going to finish. I am not as fast as Theodora and Rebecca and trying to hang with them isn’t a good idea at this point in my training. My coach told me to aim for an 11 minute pace today. Oops, clearly I didn’t listen. In turn, my last few miles were pretty ugly, including a run walk mix. The whole issue was made worse by the fact that I had to use the bathroom really badly around mile 10.5. I had to RUN backwards to the porta potties which only added to my time and mileage. By the time I finished going to the bathroom running again was pretty challenging. It was similar to the 18 mile tune up run with Theodora.

Mile 1 10:10

Mile 2 10:07

Mile 3 10:09

Mile 4 10:42

Mile 5 10:25

Mile 6 10:28

Mile 7 10:56

Mile 8 10:54

Mile 9 11:12

Mile 10 11:25

Mile 11 12:43 (Bathroom issues)

Mile 12  12:42 (Bathroom issues)

Mile 13- 13.5 11:11 pace

IMG_3510 (478x640) (478x640)Notice the crazy tan lines I developed during today’s 2.5 hour run. Clearly the sun was out in full force!IMG_3511 (640x480) (640x480)

Was it a PR or my best training run? Heck no but it was a great training run which forced me to face the reality that I need to train at my current pace right now and continue building my speed base versus trying for a trifecta: heat, mileage jump, and speed jump.

IMG_3506 (640x480) (640x480) I’m very happy to have my long run done and have spent the rest of the day recovering with a whole wheat everything bagel, epsom salt bath, manicure & pedicure, and hair cut.

IMG_3509 (640x478) (640x478) How has your weekend been?

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