Catching Up: San Francisco Marathon Training Weeks 12-14

We are more or less settled in our new home in El Cerrito, CA. On Tuesday we return to the real world as our jobs start. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of moving/unpacking activity. I'm almost (almost) looking forward to getting into a more normal routine.

My favorite running-thing so far about my new city is all the wonderful water-front running I can do. Check out  today's 20-miler course:

Thumbs Up for Waterfront Running

Here's a quick catch-up on the last few weeks - with detail on this past week.

Week 12: This week was a complete bust - totally overcome by moving. I had two runs for a grand total of 7.5 miles. Oops.

Week 13: Our first week in the East Bay was a little more normal, from a running standpoint. I only got in 4 runs, but they were almost all quality miles and I had a nice 18.25 miler (9:30 pace) to cap off 35 miles for the week. I encountered a steep learning curve in my new city, literally, but enjoyed it all the same!


Week 14 Summary:

Total Mileage: 44.5
Average Pace: 8:58
Goals Achieved: 4 of 6 (No strength training or BOB run)

Week 14 Details:

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 5:00 pm - 6 miles easy GMP (8:36 pace). It was pouring rain and cool all day (finally, some cooler weather!). What's a runner to do? Pull out the old running shoes and get out the door, of course! I had actually forgotten (while living in LA) how nice it can be to run in the rain! This was supposed to be an easy run, but I just couldn't help myself and let it go a little quicker.

Wednesday: Rest Day - celebrated my official offer letter for the new job =)

Thursday: 10:15 am- 10.5 miles (8:28 pace overall, 4 tempo miles at 7:26, 7:32, 7:46 and 7:39). I didn't really have a plan for this run besides not getting lost along the new route I had planned. So, when I was confident on where I was I there in a tempo mile here or there and slowed it down when I knew I had to look out for new turns =)

Friday: 8:00 am - 3 EASY miles (9:34 pace). Whew, I was tired. My legs felt like lead. So, I took each of the exercise-starved doggies for 1.5 miles and called it good. They were happy and I was relieved to be done!

Saturday: 8:00 pm - 5 miles easy (9:02 pace). I was still feeling wiped and it was majorly hot outside (isn't it supposed to be cooler up in San Fran?). So, I scrapped the original plan for 10 miles and took it easy.

Sunday: 7:00 am – 20 miles (9:14 pace). It was going to be another very hot day (what gives?) but when my alarm went of at 5:30 I just couldn't get out of bed; not because I wasn't awake - had been since 5 am - but because baby girl was cuddled up next to me sleeping so sweetly. I'm all for getting miles in early, but I'm not leaving that behind =) At 7 am she woke up and I bolted out the door (thanks hubby, for taking the busy shift!) because if I waited any longer I'd be melting. I over hydrated a bit (ahem, 4 bathroom stops) but otherwise felt great and was soooo glad to have the miles done.