I can’t believe it’s MAY already. This year is flying by so fast.
The Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon is less than 50 days away (!!) (Check out the awesome-looking medals above!), and I honestly don’t feel as prepared as I should (but then again, when have I ever really felt prepared to run 26 miles?).
I’m slacking on my runs — the weekday runs and weekend long runs are not long enough. And I haven’t done the super long run yet – the dreaded 20-miler. I’m hoping to squeeze that in this weekend or next. Mentally, I am all over the place, and just not as focused on this training as I should be.
I still have another month to pull myself together though. Let’s see if I can do it.
Upside: I managed to score running buddies for both the Hatfield-McCoy and the San Francisco (Half) Marathon in July. Yay for running/travel buddies!
My good friend’s younger cousin (whom I’m also friends with) is also into running. She and her husband are meeting me in Kentucky for the Hatfield-McCoy. Right now, she’s undecided if she’s running both halves, but said she’s definitely in for the first 13.1 miles. It’ll be nice to have some company during that trip. I feel like there isn’t much around there, so I’m not sure how much I can explore by myself.
And for the San Francisco race…
A former summer intern came to visit the office last week (one of my favorite interns!). She was recently accepted into a PhD program at Stanford. I mentioned that we should meet up when I’m in SF this summer. She said yes, obviously. 😉 And then later that night, she sent me message saying that she wanted to run the SF race with me. Awesome! She signed up for the first half, too (it’s the more popular half that goes over the Golden Gate Bridge… it’s also the more challenging, hillier half). So I now have a buddy for that race — someone to celebrate with after conquering those hills.
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Training the last couple of weeks has been tough. I got into a pretty bad car accident a couple of weeks ago – luckily, I only have some minor cuts and a few bruises, but the car was not so lucky, and dealing with that mess has been a pain. I’ve also been really busy at work, and trying to refi my home and catch up on a class that I’ve been ignoring all semester. The final exam is around corner. Ahh procrastination at its finest.
Here’s how the last three weeks of training went:
Week 10
Monday, April 11 – nothing
Tuesday, April 12 – 6 miles – treadmill
Wednesday, April 13 – 4 miles – treadmill
Thursday, April 14 – nothing
Friday, April 15 – nothing
Saturday, April 16 – 10 miles – treadmill
Sunday, April 17 – nothing
Total = 20 miles
Week 11
Monday, April 18 – nothing
Tuesday, April 19 – nothing
Wednesday, April 20 – 4 miles – treadmill
Thursday, April 21 – 6 miles – treadmill
Friday, April 22 – 5 miles – treadmill
Saturday, April 23 – 12 miles – C&O Canal
Sunday, April 24 – nothing
Total = 27 miles
Week 12
Monday, April 25 – nothing
Tuesday, April 26 – 3 miles – treadmill
Wednesday, April 27 – nothing
Thursday, April 28 – 6 miles – treadmill
Friday, April 29 – nothing
Saturday, April 30 – 14 miles – treadmill
Sunday, May 1 – 6 miles – treadmill
Total = 29 miles
Total miles for the year = 365.2
You may have noticed that those hill and core workouts that I was so diligently keeping up with earlier this year has been nonexistent the last few weeks. Yeah… the struggle was real the last three weeks. I’m surprised I even managed to log in 29 miles in week 12.
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In other news, my cousin, Stephanie, is moving to LA in a couple of weeks. I’m really sad about this, but proud of her and excited about her new adventure. I’m planning to spend some time in LA after the SF race this summer.
The original plan for California was to spend a few days in SF after the race, head to Santa Cruz for a few days to surf, then go camping in Big Sur, and then head to LA to spend time with family. Now I think it’s just going to be a few days in SF and the rest of the time in LA — it’s been a while since my last visit to Los Angeles, so I’ll probably need at least a week to catch up with everyone. There’s always next year for Big Sur and Santa Cruz (fingers crossed we get into the Big Sur relay!).
Steph’s mom had monks over last weekend to bless her. Photos:
And have you ever been to a bodybuilding competition? My co-worker, Fayola, was a participant in one last weekend. Co-worker Erin and I went to support her. It was my first time at such an event. It was very interesting. Fayola competed in the physique category — they’re not super bulky, just really toned and defined. She came in third place! Seriously, I admire the dedication these bodybuilders have. Their workouts are long and intense, and their diets are super strict.
Judging by how I’ve treated my training for this upcoming race, I probably would not last two weeks on a bodybuilder’s training schedule!
Running the States 
Sounds like a great month with some race travels and adventures coming up! Not sure if I asked already but have you ran in WA yet? Best of luck on the 20…you got it!!
Thanks, James! 🙂 Nope, haven’t done WA yet. The RnR Seattle is on my list for WA, which I know you’re doing. So I’m looking fwd to hearing your experience with that!