a year later and i'm pretty much in the exact same place running-wise.
i just ran the SF Half again a few weeks ago. I am training (not that hard) to run the Tahoe Marathon at the end of September.
I was reading in the NYT the other day that the opportunity cost for marathon training is really high. i totally agree. to do it right, i'd have to run about 10 hours a week. and there are always fun things that come up along the way that i'd rather be doing that running in the summer heat here.
but all that said, i still really want to finish one of these to just see what it feels like. tahoe is a month away and im looking forward to a mini running vacay.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, August 4, 2008
San Francisco Half Marathon
yesterday was great. The overall experience was pleasant and i had fun.
in short, it was nothing like my last half marathon where it was COLD and RAINY and i was pretty sure i was going to die at about mile 11.
but back to the good stuff.
I woke up at 4 am, had breakfast (even though my body was really confused about eating at 4 am without being super-drunk), got dressed and was out of the house by 5. five in the morning might be the only time when there is no traffic on the 101 or through downtown. so, i got to the embarcadero by 5:15. Due to the high number of people and to avoid bottlenecks through the race, they assign people to waves based on their estimated finish times. clearly, i was in the last wave and did not start until 6:20.
the weather was perfect for the run and was one of the few times i was not complaining about the fact that SF has had a cold summer.
the first 5 miles were surprisingly easy. i was just singing along to my ipod and smiling. (so my pictures wont look like im crying this time)
miles 6-10 were an out and back on the golden gate and went by so quickly bc i was distracted by the scenary.
the SF Marathon provides professional pacers (people who can run at a specific pace for hours straight... i like to think of them as robots) and i ran with the 12:30 min/mile pacer all the way until mile 11 where the hills began.
these are not slight inclines, they are more like mountains, and i just saw the pacer get farther and farther ahead of me as we were running up the first one. the running turned into shuffling and then walking as my knee started to feel the pressure.
but other than that obstacle, the rest was great. i came in at 2 hours and 48 mins (12:48 min/mile pace) and was pretty happy since that was about 47 seconds/mile faster than the last half marathon in February.
I am actually super-exited for the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon on October 5th. San Jose is FLAT and i have a good 2 months of training left until then. so, my goal is to keep the 12:30 pace the whole time and come in at about 2:44.
as for how i felt today, my hamstrings are sore from the damn hills, but i feel physically fine otherwise. (i also havent been able to stop eating since i stopped running yesterday. hoping that will go away soon, cause its kinda ridiculous. )
Thats all for the update here. i will post pics in a few days when they are up.
To see the course map, click on the "first half marathon map" on the link below
http://www.runsfm.com/events/maps.html
in short, it was nothing like my last half marathon where it was COLD and RAINY and i was pretty sure i was going to die at about mile 11.
but back to the good stuff.
I woke up at 4 am, had breakfast (even though my body was really confused about eating at 4 am without being super-drunk), got dressed and was out of the house by 5. five in the morning might be the only time when there is no traffic on the 101 or through downtown. so, i got to the embarcadero by 5:15. Due to the high number of people and to avoid bottlenecks through the race, they assign people to waves based on their estimated finish times. clearly, i was in the last wave and did not start until 6:20.
the weather was perfect for the run and was one of the few times i was not complaining about the fact that SF has had a cold summer.
the first 5 miles were surprisingly easy. i was just singing along to my ipod and smiling. (so my pictures wont look like im crying this time)
miles 6-10 were an out and back on the golden gate and went by so quickly bc i was distracted by the scenary.
the SF Marathon provides professional pacers (people who can run at a specific pace for hours straight... i like to think of them as robots) and i ran with the 12:30 min/mile pacer all the way until mile 11 where the hills began.
these are not slight inclines, they are more like mountains, and i just saw the pacer get farther and farther ahead of me as we were running up the first one. the running turned into shuffling and then walking as my knee started to feel the pressure.
but other than that obstacle, the rest was great. i came in at 2 hours and 48 mins (12:48 min/mile pace) and was pretty happy since that was about 47 seconds/mile faster than the last half marathon in February.
I am actually super-exited for the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon on October 5th. San Jose is FLAT and i have a good 2 months of training left until then. so, my goal is to keep the 12:30 pace the whole time and come in at about 2:44.
as for how i felt today, my hamstrings are sore from the damn hills, but i feel physically fine otherwise. (i also havent been able to stop eating since i stopped running yesterday. hoping that will go away soon, cause its kinda ridiculous. )
Thats all for the update here. i will post pics in a few days when they are up.
To see the course map, click on the "first half marathon map" on the link below
http://www.runsfm.com/events/maps.html
Monday, July 21, 2008
i'm back in the game
after weeks of being banned from running and suffering through 7am physical therapy, i am finally running again. i've done some shorter runs for the past 2 weeks and had a 7-miler on both weekends.
my knee is dealing rather beautifully with this and we are on track to run a half-marathon in 2 weeks.
i think i've finally moved past the disappointment of not being able to run the marathon and am actually starting to get super-excited to do the half. most of all, im looking forward to running on the Golden Gate Bridge. (they close the bridge for the event)
anyway, thats my short update for now. i will get back in the habit of posting here more as i get used to training again.
my knee is dealing rather beautifully with this and we are on track to run a half-marathon in 2 weeks.
i think i've finally moved past the disappointment of not being able to run the marathon and am actually starting to get super-excited to do the half. most of all, im looking forward to running on the Golden Gate Bridge. (they close the bridge for the event)
anyway, thats my short update for now. i will get back in the habit of posting here more as i get used to training again.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
non-running life
i might have to change the name of the site since "narges is running" is just not true anymore.
but aside from the bitterness, my knee is getting a little better. I have been doing all the exercises i was told to and have physical therapy scheduled for the near future.
as for my marathon dreams, the race is just delayed, not canceled. I will be running the half-marathon on Aug 3rd since they would only let me downgrade and would not refund my $100 race fee. In addition, I just signed up for the Silicon Valley Metro Marathon on October 26th. and there is the BBBS fund-raising half on October 5th.
With all the races a few months away, I feel like i have enough time to get better and put this whole thing behind me. I also feel much better knowing that I have all those races coming up and I'm not going to be sitting on my butt for too long.
meanwhile, i will take advantage of all this newfound free time and enjoy all the fun/injuries that await me in Jujitsu class.
but aside from the bitterness, my knee is getting a little better. I have been doing all the exercises i was told to and have physical therapy scheduled for the near future.
as for my marathon dreams, the race is just delayed, not canceled. I will be running the half-marathon on Aug 3rd since they would only let me downgrade and would not refund my $100 race fee. In addition, I just signed up for the Silicon Valley Metro Marathon on October 26th. and there is the BBBS fund-raising half on October 5th.
With all the races a few months away, I feel like i have enough time to get better and put this whole thing behind me. I also feel much better knowing that I have all those races coming up and I'm not going to be sitting on my butt for too long.
meanwhile, i will take advantage of all this newfound free time and enjoy all the fun/injuries that await me in Jujitsu class.
Monday, June 9, 2008
my knee and I are in a fight
i went to the doctor today for the knee situation and i apparently got patellar tracking disorder. PTD is when the knee-cap shifts off track when the knee bends and straightens.
though my right knee is why i went in, it turns out that i got this in both knees, right knee is just a lot worse than the left.
this is really common in women runners bc of the way our weight is distributed and it also happens when the quad and hamstring are too tight all the time. they are basically pulling on my knee-cap and getting it off track. the tightness can happen when there is not enough variation in work-outs. running makes those muscles tight and since i havent been doing too much other than running and weight training, they havent had a chance to loosen up. so, they stay tight even when im sitting at work. NOT GOOD.
to fix it, i need to significantly reduce my training for weeks and add a lot of swimming and light yoga to my routine to elongate the muscles and make them not so tight. as of now, the doctor was unsure if the marathon in August was realistic.
thats pretty much the update right now
though my right knee is why i went in, it turns out that i got this in both knees, right knee is just a lot worse than the left.
this is really common in women runners bc of the way our weight is distributed and it also happens when the quad and hamstring are too tight all the time. they are basically pulling on my knee-cap and getting it off track. the tightness can happen when there is not enough variation in work-outs. running makes those muscles tight and since i havent been doing too much other than running and weight training, they havent had a chance to loosen up. so, they stay tight even when im sitting at work. NOT GOOD.
to fix it, i need to significantly reduce my training for weeks and add a lot of swimming and light yoga to my routine to elongate the muscles and make them not so tight. as of now, the doctor was unsure if the marathon in August was realistic.
thats pretty much the update right now
Sunday, June 8, 2008
freaking out a little bit
so, my knee got a little better during the week since i stayed clear of running all together. but 2 days of walking the Vegas strip and pretending to know how to do Irish dances were not exactly helpful. so, now it even hurts to walk, which wasnt the case originally.
i'm gonna have to go see a doctor tomorrow since this is prime training time and having to take over a week off is certainly a setback with 8 weeks to go. i'm just hoping it's not as bad as it feels.
i'm gonna have to go see a doctor tomorrow since this is prime training time and having to take over a week off is certainly a setback with 8 weeks to go. i'm just hoping it's not as bad as it feels.
Monday, June 2, 2008
what happened to my knee?
i was supposed to do 18 miles yesterday, but had to settle for 12 because at about mile 9, my right knee felt like someone stuck a knife through it. I have never been stabbed, but i imagine thats what it would feel like.
i iced and took some advil and am just waiting it out.
i iced and took some advil and am just waiting it out.
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