Wow, it’s been awhile since I have updated this. Sadly, I had to put running on the back burner for a few weeks to catch up on school work before I end this semester. I’m just gonna update on my last 2 runs.
About 2 Saturdays, I ran my longest distance to date this season at Mt. Tam. All 18 miles, and boy did I feel great. Honestly, I felt like I could have run a full marathon or maybe even an ultra! Lol. It was just one of those runs where everything I did the days prior, helped my performance. I made sure I drank plenty of water that week, got my big pasta dinner in the night before, plenty of rest (more than my usual 5 hrs. :)!), had a good breakfast, and a little talk with Jesus. I have to admit, all of those factors allowed me to feel great and have a positive attitude throughout my entire run. I even had the energy to work . . . yes, I go straight to work after my long runs on Saturdays.
Please don’t ask me how I manage my time, cause I don’t. I really haven’t been training as hard as I’d like to because I have put so many hours into school, work, friends/family, and church. Fortunately, school will be over next week, and I can crack down on my training calendar.
This past Saturday, I participated in the Quicksilver 25k race at Almaden Park in San Jose. I don’t think I had been there since elementary school. The course was beautiful and we had perfect running conditions. However, I did not feel so hot. I think I did everything opposite from my previous long run 2 weeks ago. I had to wake up at 3am to get going on time so that shorten my sleep. I didn’t eat the right foods the night before, didn’t drink enough water, and didn’t get enough rest. I already knew it wasn’t going well when I started having stomach pain in the first 1 1/2 miles. I’m pretty sure it had to do with the orange juice I drank before ... too much acid I think. Then around mile 7, I had horrible pain in my right arch causing me to run funny. This resulted to creating pain in my left foot. Ugh, it just wasn’t my day. It’s alright though. I think all runners have their off days, and that day was it. The plus from the race . . . I got my first medal (Nike gave out Tiffany’s necklaces) and an awesome technical zip up. It seems that I get more swag when I sign up for smaller races.
Mama Lisa met me about a mile before the finish to help encourage me!
This last Saturday, we ran in Mill Valley. We were scheduled to run the double Dipsea Trail. For those of you that are familiar with this trail, you know that there are HUNDREDS of stairs....No Joke! I think there are 676 stairs?!? Well I ran through all the stairs but my running partner and I completely missed the trail entrance and kept running on the road to Pan Toll. We were kinda bummed we missed the beautiful trail but at least we still got our hills in. The road running was quite odd because it felt like we were fighting gravity. The It looked like we were running down but we had to walk/run and when we turned around, it looked like a down hill. On our way back we realized that we really were running uphill. I guess our constant trail running has had an affect on us because we didn't realize we were climbing. I've posted some links to the Dipsea Trail if anyone is interested. I really want to go back and run the entire trail. It is only 7 miles one way or 14 roundtrip.
http://www.bahiker.com/northbayhikes/stinson.html
http://home.pacbell.net/leewaysf/dipsea.html
Oh, I also got into the Nike lottery for this years Nike Women’s Marathon! I am only going to do a 1/2. I figure, I did the full last year, so let’s enjoy this year and not go overboard. Yeah, this means another Tiffany’s Box!!!
Fundraising: To date I have raised $1400
Balance Remaining: $1100
Honoree Update: These past few months have been tough. I keep hearing about more people I know being diagnosed with Leukemia. It’s crazy how many people I personally know have been affected by this horrible disease. On a positive note, I had the pleasure of seeing my personal honoree, Steven Anderson, at my Bowling fundraiser a few weeks ago. He looked good and had a smile on his face!
Still Running,
Bethany Perry
Some Randoms...
