Mar 19
Last year, I ran the 10K for the Brazen Dirty Dozen and Half Dozen.
This year, I’ve decided to do the six-hour endurance race at Point Pinole.
I’m probably crazy. It’s only a month after the marathon. But it will officially be my “back” point, I’m hoping.
A 3.1-mile loop around the recreational area. One foot at a time. One foot at a time.
This should be fun.
I haven’t had much luck with races lately. The Pasadena half marathon didn’t turn out as I had planned. I haven’t been running as much lately. And my time of the treadmill was fairly seriously compromised because of a weird blood sugar/body aching like it’s on fire thing, that happened earlier this week and basically kept me away from work for two days.
So.
I was hoping for a good run and finish at today’s Brazen Racing Badger Cove 10K.
It’s a new course for Brazen. When I looked at the elevation chart for the 10K initially I said no. Not only no, but hell no.
The climb? 934 feet. With switchbacks.
Yeah. It looked scary. My husband tried to calm my nerves today and basically told me no way it would be hard. There wasn’t all that much climbing involved. He didn’t run it, though.
And I signed up specifically because Brazen has never had a race within 20-miles of my home. I’ve usually had to drive into the East Bay, more than an hour or so, and venture somewhere distant.
I got to sleep in a little extra with this race. Big plus. And the Mountain House Running Club were showing up in force (more on that later).
The course stayed pretty calm the first couple miles. Not bad.
I stopped twice to tie my shoes. This was my first race wearing my Brooks PureGrit. It was a nice break-in run. But I’m still getting used to the shoes in general.
I wasn’t expecting having to tie my shoes. Lame. My Nike’s for street running never do that.
But the PureGrit’s were essential today, for many reasons.
First, everything was wet.
Lots and lots of puddles. Everywhere.
And second, there was a lot of mud, especially on the downhills.
The race was delayed until 8:30 a.m., which made getting there a little easier. By the time we showed up, the half marathon was already starting. I quickly got in line for my bib. Big surprise, the bibs today had our names on them.
Wow. Brazen is getting fancy. I was so impressed with this new addition to the regular Brazen star treatment. Really. I’ve been feeling not so great all week and this kind of made it for me.
Everything was moving along quickly as we lined up. Corey from the Mountain House Running Club found me. We had a nice chat before we took off.
I paced out pretty well. Outside of the shoe tying, things were going pretty well. Until the hills began. Then my body, which already felt slightly weak, really started hurting.
I was hitting under 11-minute miles until the climb.
Then things went downhill as I went uphill.
That mile three was brutal. It was switchback after switchback all uphill. I was ready to call it a day. I was lagging. People were passing. I was walking.
Then I hear someone behind me: “Tara, if I pass you, I’m putting it on my blog!”
That tidbit of motivation came from Corey. I dig Corey. He’s got a great personality. He’s sarcastic too, which makes talking to him all the better. Plus, he’s pretty accepting in general. (Let’s face it, I don’t live in Mountain House, but they let me claim their club. That’s nice, honestly. I don’t have a running club here in Tracy. The Mountain House Running Club is the only group that accepts all ages, genders, etc. around my area, but they are a cautious bunch who doesn’t just let anyone in. But I run in Mountain House frequently, so I kind of feel like it’s part of my routine.)
So…I decided to pick it up. Not really because I didn’t want Corey to pass me, but because his words served as motivation.
I kept looking back to see if he’d chide me again.
And, let’s face it, I didn’t want to be called out for the entire blogosphere.
So I pushed. When I wanted to quit, I kept pushing.
All the way to the end.
My official time: 1:26:41
Corey came in not long after me. Matt from the running club greeted me at the finish. He placed third in his age group (because he’s a lot faster than me). Soon after, Greg and Drew from the club came in. Chris was there before I came in too.
Here’s a group shot of those of us who were around at that time:
Of note: I’m really starting to look a little pudgy. Need to work on that. You’ll notice the mud on the ground. Yeah, it was kind of like that everywhere.
I grabbed something to eat, said my goodbyes and Thomas and I were off. Back to Tracy via Patterson Pass Road. (Why not? It was a nice drive.)
As for the PureGrits, the pair stood up to the test. I had better stability on the trail. I have no pain after. I did notice a little spring in my step. The elastic that crosses over the lace area actually kept my feet from slipping out. I didn’t feel as if every step would be the one that made me slip. I’m kind of in love with them.
Was it a bad race? No. But it still wasn’t my best. My race luck hasn’t returned yet. I’m still in a slump.
But the bling was awesome after. The shirts were green for St. Patrick’s Day. The medals were bigger than the one I got last month for running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half in Pasadena.
And now? On to the next one. I’m planning a treadmill run for Sunday. It’s pouring outside again. I’m kind of done with the mud for today. I have a week until the Oakland Half Marathon.
I’m just hoping for better luck at that one.
I hitting a two races in two weekend time of month starting this Saturday.
I have a trail 10K with a nasty elevation climb on Saturday. On March 25, I’m running the Oakland Half Marathon.
I ran two eight-mile runs on the treadmill this weekend.
I was supposed to run outside tonight, but that didn’t happen. I wish it did.
Now I’m staring down this forecast:
Yikes.
Earlier today it said rain through Sunday.
That kind of makes my 10K, with its already scary terrain, a little more so. Wet weather. Mud.
Oh boy.
This should be fun.
I’m running a six-miler on Wednesday. Then taper until Saturday morning.
All next week is taper for the half marathon.
Then, officially, I start marathon training again. I want to be stronger for the June marathon. But I also know my limitations for training. I’m not 100 percent sure I can do it. I’m not 100 percent sure of my training plan, which includes 18 and 21 mile races. No more half marathons until July, though.
I’m hoping to push hard at Oakland.
But I need to get through the wet weather of this week. And weekend.
Six miles on Friday.
Eight slow on Saturday in Mountain House.
Ten episodes of Supernatural.
Four stained bathroom vanity doors.
Four loads of laundry done.
One art project for my office at school.
And an almost-done retaining wall and backyard thanks for my husband:
He likes sticking his tongue out, yes.
Goals for March?
Blog more.
Run at least 100 miles. (Already 14 down, 8 on schedule for my Monday.)
Do better in Oakland than I did last year, though, right now I’d just like to be more consistent than I have been.
Does March come in like a lion? Doesn’t seem like it. It’s been beautiful here.
This month, though, marks the beginning of marathon training hard core again.
For 26.2 in June.
We left at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning. We ran at 7:30 a.m. Sunday. We hit the road for home at 1 p.m. after the race.
It was a whirlwind trip from Tracy to Pasadena and back.
I finished the half marathon, an inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll event, in 2:48:19.
It was definitely not a day for me to be racing. I was tired. Too much work in the past week, mixed in with a long drive and only about four hours of sleep because of noisy hotel neighbors made for a fairly lame race.
I was tired.
I’m planning a full recap tomorrow, since it’s a holiday and I have some time. But despite the fact that it wasn’t my best race ever, I had a good time away from home for a night.
I’m so tired now. So very tired.
I’ve made no secret about my love of trail 10Ks on this blog before. I find them challenging. And the 10K is that distance that I just can’t get comfortable in. I start warming up at mile four. And I just want to keep going.
And I can keep going. My fastest 10K is a nice 1:02:52.
I love trail 10Ks because those races offer a bit of a challenge. Rolling hills? Yep. Rough terrain? Oh yeah.
And let’s face it, the views are often breathtaking. The picture above is from the Coyote Hills 10K I ran the last weekend in January. I only shaved a couple seconds off my time, but I still finished faster than the previous year. Even though I bonked during and after (seriously, the ride home found me nearly delusional and wanting to throw up), I loved the run.
My husband also likes taking me to these ones because he basically gets to explore. He enjoys it and, sometimes, I think he hopes I will take a little longer so he can hang around more.
I decided, though, after the run, that maybe I should invest in some trail running shoes. I’ve been running all my races in the same pair of Nike Equalon 4+’s for the past two-plus years. It’s time I seriously invested in better shoes.
What’s nice is that I didn’t have to invest a tremendous amount of money.
Over the weekend, I got a RoadRunner VIP coupon. I could get 25-percent off my purchase. Add on my already awesome VIP discount and free shipping and I literally only spent $75 on a pair of new shoes.
And these are them:
Yep, I decided to go minimalist. On the way to my house is a pair of Brooks PureProject PureGrit.
I’m more than excited to try them out when I finally get them.
And I’m considering my next trail run. Brazen Racing, my favorite race company, has a challenging 10K in Livermore, which is literally 20 minutes away. It’s the first time Brazen has been thisclose to me. So I figured I should take advantage.
The run is called Badger Cove.
The elevation is a little scary:
I think I can tackle that. I hope, at least. I’m planning on signing up by the end of the week.
The run is also a week before the Oakland Half Marathon, which was my first half marathon last year. It will be my ninth this year. So I’m expecting Badger Cove to serve as a good warm-up for the half.
I’m going to take trail running a step at a time, literally. But I’m hoping my new Brooks PureGrit shoes will be the beginning of many more happy race endings and a continued obsession with the trail 10K.
Yesterday I found my way back to the trails. And running. And fitness in general for all that’s worth.
I purposely waited until the end of the month to sign up for a race. I wanted to. Badly. But I couldn’t. I was still tired. I’d gained some holiday weight. I wasn’t feeling as if I was in “racing shape.” The marathon had took its toll. And every time I stepped on the treadmill I thought about the fact that in six months, I’d have to do it all over again.
That actually motivated me. I want to have a better performance in my next marathon. I need to. I feel as if I need to work toward that. So I am.
The work toward it started on Saturday with the Brazen Coyote Hills 10K.
This was a new race in 2010. I’ve now done it two years in a row.
I woke up Saturday with a bit of a stomachache. I was tired. My legs weren’t really feeling it. But I started making my way through the process of getting up and getting dressed. When I put on my new Mizuno pants and Nike wool long-sleeved shirt, I felt like a runner again. My first thought: “Well, that only took two months.”
We ventured to Fremont where we were among the first to arrive. I know this because it was only at four cars in front of us they started diverting people back to the overflow parking. Thomas dropped me off at the mouth of Coyote Hills Regional Park and I walked/ran in.
I felt like running. It was a good warm up. So I ran.
I immediately headed over and picked up my race number/tech shirt (I always pay for the upgrade)/goodie bag from the booth.
The race shirt was more awesome this year than last. I really liked the design. Brazen has been selling sweatshirts lately and getting the shirt kind of made me wished I had bought one. I realized only after I picked my shirt and other items up that Thomas may not make it to the start line. I figured I’d have to use bag check. I actually trust and appreciate Brazen bag check. The volunteers are ALWAYS top notch. And I often don’t worry about my stuff while I run with them.
I figured I’d bag check and not worry.
I had a great view while I put on my number.
I’m not kidding, Coyote Hills is beautiful. It’s also slightly desolate. I like that we run along the shore with the Dumbarton Bridge in the background.
My run started out incredibly well. But I became so inconsistent at the end.
I’m not sure if it was the fact that the minor stomachache caused me to not eat. Or that maybe my legs were tired. But I just didn’t seem to want to move forward. I had a lot of starts and stops. I kept pushing forward and kept slowing down.
My hope was to finish somewhere around 1:07. I would have too if the last mile or so hadn’t taken so much out of me. I even walked near the end, which I never do. I was just tired.
My official time: 1:09:17.
My splits were not as consistent as I wanted them to be either, but all but one stayed under the 12-minute mark. Good, but I’d like to stay under 11-minute miles when I race this year. I can hope, right?
Mile 1: 10:17
Mile 2: 10:38
Mile 3: 10:44
Mile 4: 11:20
Mile 5: 12:03
Mile 6: 11:24
Mile .29: 3:08
I want to run faster this year. I really do. I’m adding speedwork into my treadmill runs. I’m trying to trim down, despite the fact it seems I am gaining weight because swimming is finally paying off.
I know I should be extremely happy. I did better than last year when my time was 1:09:57. It was an incremental improvement, but still an improvement.
But I felt off. I was handed my beautiful medal and immediately went and drank four cups of water.
I immediately felt faint after the race. I figured it was the heat. But I went to bag check, grabbed my stuff, went to the bathroom and told Thomas I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to stay. I didn’t feel good.
We waited about 20-minutes for the shuttle to the parking lot. Then walked to the car.
By the time we started moving, I felt like I was going to throw up. I was also hungry. And tired.
I felt horrible. By the time we made it halfway home, I felt so horrible I couldn’t sit still. Thomas bought me a Gatorade. I felt better after that. We stopped to eat when we got back to Tracy and, after a salad and pulled-pork sandwich at a local diner, I started to feel better.
The point? I was running on an extremely empty stomach. By the time I got to mile four of my 10K, I was out of energy. It killed my run.
I have to say that I’m still figuring out this fueling/running thing. Every time I think I get it down, something like this happens. Lessons learned not to be repeated next time, I suppose.
After careful consideration and a lot of thought, today, I did it: I registered for my second Bay to Breakers.
It’s a little special this year because it’s on my 28th birthday. My friends don’t want to do it. So I’m running it with my brother.
And my husband is leaving town that weekend to watch a solar eclipse. (On my birthday, yes.)
So I’m not even sure how we’ll be getting to San Francisco quite yet, but we will get there. I’m thinking of dressing up like Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I already have the Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses and a Nike running skirt, so I’m well on my way.
My brother ran a half marathon with me for my birthday last year. Then he ended up in the hospital with stress-induced heart issues. I thought maybe I shouldn’t make him run another half marathon. And Bay to Breakers is kind of a nice, noncompetitive environment.
So we’re all set…kind of. We’ll figure out the logistics later.
But we’re registered. For Corral C. (Also my corral last year.) And I’ll be going back for a crazy year two.
It’s been a little crazy here with the weather in the past couple days.
I’ve been relegated to the treadmill as of last night and this morning. I don’t mind running in the rain, usually. However, the wind is a little annoying and I woke up this morning with a killer headache.
I went out for a five-mile run around Mountain House on Wednesday with Jennie. And I was cold. Really cold. I’m used to running at night. I tend to warm up a little later than I want, usually at about the end of my shorter runs. But on Wednesday, my body didn’t seem to want to warm up. I got to mile four of the run and was still a little cold.
I was wearing a pair of long Nike tech running tights and my newish Lululemon Run: Your Heart Out long sleeve pullover. I had a short-sleeve Nike Dri-Fit shirt on underneath the long sleeve.
None of the gear had a thermal layer.
I thought a lot about this, especially since I knew there would be bad weather this weekend.
On Wednesday, I also noticed that, despite the headlamp I wear, sometimes people driving ridiculously fast through Mountain House don’t see us. I saw lights before I saw the car on one intersection, but I knew to slow down. We had the right of way in the cross walk, but that never means I should trust that a car will stop.
In many cases they don’t.
So I ventured to my local Fleet Feet store in Stockton with some goals in mind: I needed better layering for the cold and I needed to find something to make me more visible to cars, other people, etc.
The worker at the store directed me to some standard Nike pants, but the first thing he grabbed was a pair of Mizuno Breath Thermo tights. I was looking around a little more. The store had all jackets on sale for the rain, but I have a couple nice running jackets for rainy conditions.
I came across a beautiful purple Nike pullover with a weave design on it. The worker came over and told me that was an excellent choice, especially considering the Nike pullover was made of wool. Wool is a natural insulator. It’s incredibly thin, but really warm. I’m wearing it right now as I type this, if only because it is really, really comfortable.
I bought a size medium, which will be great for runs because I like my clothes skin tight as to not get in my way.
Plus, did I mention it’s gorgeous? The purple is beautiful.
Here are product screen shots from online retailers. I wore the pants on my treadmill run this morning because my legs were feeling a little fatigued. The Mizuno Breath Thermo material responds to sweat (does that sound gross? Maybe a little?) and warm in return. By the end of my five-mile run my legs were feeling rather toasty.
I think these will be a nice combination when I run a trail 10K next week in Fremont. I’m hoping, though, that I get an outdoor run or two next week in Mountain House as well.
So warmth was taken care of. I nearly forgot about the safety aspect of my visit until I saw a gift basket behind the worker who was cashing me out. In it was a pair of Brooks Nightlife Arm and Leg Bands.
I hate that when people take pictures of florescent items, they always seem to leave a little something to be desired. These bands are bright. The reflective tape is awesome. I’m really looking forward to trying them out.
As I was trying to finish the one purchase, the worker asked me if I’d seen the flashing strobe lights they had for runners to. I hadn’t. He brought one over. For $7 it was a steal, so I picked one of those up too.
The regular lighted mode is really bright. But the strobes will make people notice us more as we run. I shot a quick video of the strobe types, which didn’t exactly show up very well, but you get the idea. (And I apologize for the background sound, I was watching an episode of Cheers on Netflix. Don’t ask me why, I just decided to turn it on.)
So now I’m cold weather and safety ready. I’m excited for more bad weather runs, just not the wind-prone type.
I’ve been avoiding writing a “year-end wrap up” report. I kind of don’t feel a need to on many levels. I’ve only been blogging for about four months. I’ve only been running for a little more than two years. Last year wasn’t a huge year for me, but it was a banner year for my running.
Still, why write a sentimental “all the things I did this year defined me” report?
Of all things, though, my dailymile account has been one of the most consistent things about 2011 for me. Prior to Jan. 2011, I never bothered to track my runs.
I didn’t care about weekly mileage. I didn’t care about fitting a run in here or there to make a quota.
But I knew I’d be running my first half marathon in 2011. So I signed up to track my mileage on dailymile. I was immediately hooked. The website is easy to use. It sent me weekly mileage reports. And knowing about many miles I had ran during the week helped me gauge my training.
A positive end result was I also knew how many miles I ran in 2011: 930.
And, so far, in 2012, I’ve run 60 miles.
That puts me on track for a month over 100 miles. I hope that turns out to be the case.
Dailymile last week sent me a link to my 2011 report. I’ve been staring at the data for months, so nothing was surprising.
I had a very low month when I went on vacation to New York City for a week. I only ran 38 miles in June.
I had three over 100 months leading into the marathon. I want to run further in November, but taper for the marathon killed it for me. I only logged 68 miles in December because I sincerely underestimated my recovery time from the marathon. Now that my “legs are back” I’ve been running my heart out to start logging some major mileage going into a Feb. 18 half marathon.
I have a trail 10K, a prep run for the half, coming up on Jan. 29 too.
So…about 2011.
How do I feel about it? Blah, blah…blah.
Great. I probably ran half of the 930 the year before as I prepped for 5Ks and 10Ks. With an increase in distance came an increase in mileage. That was a given. This year, with the fact I’m registered for another marathon in June, I’ll be running even more at the beginning of the year. I’m not sure yet what the end of the year holds, but we’ll see if a winter marathon is in the cards for me.
So, hopefully, 2012 will see me cut back on the number of races (21) and entry into longer races. And a mileage increase. And more running.
Copyright © 2025 Tara Cuslidge-Staiano. All rights reserved.