It has been over 3 weeks since my last blog post. That should mean that I have 3 weeks of training runs to report on but sadly, that is not what it means at all.

I may be taking pictures of Tim’s first marathon from the sidelines. Last Thursday (10/22) I threw out my back. Like an idiot, Saturday morning I tried to do our long run (yes honey, I know I can’t straighten my back but I’m sure once I warm up it will be fine). We walk/ran (stumbled) about 3 miles before Tim put an end to that nonsense. So it has been a full week of no running for me.

Working backwards we did have a slow (5:26:55) but successful 20.6 mile run. To beat the 6 hour cutoff I would have to run about 6 miles in half an hour to make up the pace. I did a 5k in a half hour once. So even without back problems beating the cutoff looks iffy.

One thing you never read about in running magazines is asshole chafing. I highly recommend this spray glide.

The problem with glide around the asshole is that it gets wiped off when you go to the bathroom. Hey – someone has to talk about these things, just be glad I had enough sense not to include a photo.

Also, why the hell are they called blisters? There is nothing blissful about them. I got one on the side of my nail on my big toe. I was actually relieved to see that it was a blister because while running it felt like I was getting an ingrown toenail.

As for the long run that was supposed to have happened the weekend after my last post – it turned into a long walk. Tim had a problem with his afib that came back every time he tried to run. So we walked. I felt awful for Tim (but a bit worried) because I could tell he was frustrated.

 

To recap my last 3 weekends.
Weekend 1: Mostly walked 18.3 miles (5:10:28).
Weekend 2: Our longest run, 20.6 miles (5:26:55).
Weekend 3: Made it 3.6 miles (1:13:10) before aborting.

 

If I can walk I’m going to do this race. I always tell people that they want their time to be slow at a new distance so they can beat it next time. Every new distance is a PR. This pep talk is not helping me because I’m not worried about being slow (that is a given) but I’m worried about getting pulled from the course by the sweeper vehicle. I have never had a DNF (did not finish). We have been at a couple of races that had cutoffs but they were never enforced. Maybe that will happen.

Note: I will be posting one more blog before the marathon. Please check it out because I plan to have Halloween pictures. We take Halloween very seriously.

Please leave a comment, question, or encouraging word. I am beyond frustrated with my back and all – you poor thing – sort of comments are appreciated.

I have made an awful mistake. When I was reading the general information about the Beat The Blerch marathon it stated that there was a 7 hour cutoff. I thought that would be cutting it close. It turns out (on a closer reading) that all the Blerch marathons except Sacramento have a 7 hour cutoff. Sacramento has a 6 hour cutoff. Why?! How did I miss this piece of information? If we were to run the marathon at our current pace (note that this pace is at a shorter distance) the – you’re a slow fat ass and we need to open the course to traffic now – sweeper vehicle would be giving us a ride to the finish. I wouldn’t get my medal. Usually I don’t care about medals but I really want a Blerch medal.

Here is the data from our last 5 long runs.

We have only done one long run at Los Peñasquitos Canyon since the last time I wrote. It has been crazy hot in San Diego so we decided to do our Saturday runs closer to home. We hope to get back on the trails as soon as it cools down.

Our new route starts on the promenade which is only steps from our door. We leave the house at (you guessed it) Fuck This O’Clock and run a couple miles next to the ocean. The promenade is oddly deserted before dawn. To beat the heat we are running in the dark for at least the first hour.

At the end of the promenade we cross the street and get onto the bay path. The bay path is a loop that always has interesting scenery and beautiful views. It’s more practical than running on the trail because the entire route has bathrooms and even vending machines for cold water and Gatorade. Did you know vending machines take credit cards now? I suppose it is old news but I was surprised.

It’s nice not to have to drive to our run spot but the downside is that we are running on mostly concrete, not the best surface for old bones and joints. We have also had some interesting issues on our around the bay runs. On our first bay run a section of the path was closed to foot traffic due to boat races. This is a popular running path so there were a lot of confused runners in the street looking for a new route. On our second run we found ourselves in the middle of a race. Volunteers were cheering for racers as well as for those of us who were just out for a run. That was nice. It was weird to be in the middle of a race but not in the race. The third week we finally made it around the bay.

This coming weekend we won’t be doing any trail running. The weather report predicts a high of 89° and I’m taking the route that has cold beverages available. My tummy is a hot weather wimp. It’s hard for me to keep even a Gu down when I’m overheating. That reminds me – we tried a new Gu flavor. They just came out with a Maple Bacon Gu. The nice man at Just Run, a new La Jolla running store, gave me a free sample. I’m not sure what I thought of it but I’m going to stick to Salted Caramel. They need to partner with Nutella. That’s a Gu I would try.

In addition to our long runs we have been running a little over 4 miles on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. At least that is the plan, We usually only make it 2 out of the 3 days. We run early enough that the promenade is almost empty. Sometimes we run by parties that are still going on from the night before.

Last weekend we went to the Makers Faire (Sunday) at Balboa Park. I was still sore from running Saturday and would have stayed home had I known it was going to be 6 hours of trains, robots, and electronics.

In other news – I got a haircut. Apparently, about an inch means scalp me in beautician talk.

At this point my only goal for this race is to make the 6 hour cutoff. Damn it – I want my Blerch medal.

Please leave a comment, question, or advise.