Los Gatos Dammit Run and New Running Toys!

This week, I decided to sign up for the 40th Annual Los Gatos Dammit Run! I have always wanted to run this. I also got one of my friends to run it with me! 

I was pretty upset with myself for walking part of both hills, but I ran 8 miles last night so I guess that's acceptable. I've been trying to listen to my body instead of pushing myself to nausea. It's been going well so far! I don't really like to run with other people, but this race reminded me of how exciting it is to be in a race environment. I love seeing the sea of runners making their way through the trail. Speaking of trail, almost the entire course was unpaved. It was harder than my normal runs.

Marbud got 7th place for men in the 18-29 age group! Whoo! He's so fast, it's not fair. I was really jealous. He didn't want to take a pic by himself with his medal. We got to the car and realized we didn't check the women's listing. I insisted that this was not necessary since I didn't feel that I ran well, but what do you know, I got 8th for women in the 18-29 age group! I was really surprised. YAYY!!!

Thanks for running with me, Marbs!

In case anyone was dying to know, I picked the Mizuno Wave Inspire 9's! I am so so excited to put some more mileage on them and see how they feel. Yesterday afternoon my mom went to Athletic Performance with me because sometimes I get tired of doing everything by myself. It's lonely. As Kristine at Athletic Performance promised, the Willow Glen location sent over some shoes in my size! I immediately tried on the Wave Inspires and ran around the block. I decided that the weight of these feel better than the Asics. I initially didn't like this color but it has grown on me. Plus it's different from anything I own. I usually gravitate towards the pinks and purps.

 

Oh, my running belt came:

My mom is currently my running photographer. I am accepting applications.





On Sunday, she and my dad went on a walk and brought these minions to cheer me on------------>

Okay last picture I promise. A lot of exciting deliveries and purchases were made this week, sorry.
 THIS CAME TODAY. FedEx dropped it off as I was writing this post. I am wearing it right now. It feels like heaven. Like my new shoes. 

Week of 8/3-8/10:

• Sunday - 8 miles @ 8:31/mi. This felt amazing. I think it had to do with being well rested and hydrated. Oh and the lovely breezy weather. And running on a new part of the trail.
• Monday - Rest
• Tuesday - 1mi warm-up, then Track Workout with Alyssa
• Wednesday - 4 mile Tempo + Foam roll
• Thursday - supposed to be cross training but I was too tired from work. I did some abs and squats.
• Friday - 8 miles @ 8:39/mi + Foam roll; This was ok. I'm not completely used to the new shoes yet. 
• Saturday - Los Gatos Dammit Run! 5 miles with one long hill and one very steep hill + NTC tonight for strength training.

No new friends on the trail this week. Just more friendliness from runners I see frequently. I love when other runners smile/nod at me/each other. Sometimes I smile at people walking but then they don't reciprocate. It makes me sad. Today after the race people were like, Great Job, I saw you pass me! People are so nice sometimes.

Shoez!

This week I decided to leave my house for a reason other than work or running. Clearly this was very important, since I seldom leave my house. 

Since I did my long run on Sunday, on Monday I had time for a trip to Road Runner Sports in Campbell to get my gait analyzed. I haven't done this in a couple years so I thought pre-marathon would be a good time. Boy am I glad I did. The last time I did this we determined that I was a neutral, mid-foot runner with a high arch. Well, today they used this cool machine called the Shoe Dog (lol) with force plates that map out your pressure points, produce an image of your arch type, and then they had me run on a treadmill to see how my foot pronates while I run. Then the guy even molded some inserts for me to try on with a few pairs of shoes.

The verdict: Very high arch, extremely flexible arches, and some pronation.

Here's a nice little picture of arch types:

Made by this lovely blogger

Cool you have weird arches, so what? 

Normally, high arched runners supinate (roll outwards). Since my arches are so flexible, they collapse on every stride and make me pronate (roll inwards). This makes it a little tricky to find the perfect running shoe.

I tried on a few pairs here but only liked 1 and then the salesgirl disappeared for long periods of time and I had to go to an appointment so I didn't have time to wait another 40 min for her to help me.

So Tuesday I hit up Athletic Performance and Runner's Factory in Los Gatos. Runner's Factory is where I originally got fitted for shoes. What I love about these 2 stores is that they are small businesses and owned/staffed by knowledgeable runners. I felt that my questions were adequately and thoughtfully answered. I felt pretty unattended to at Road Runner. Both Kristine and the girls at Runner's Factory watched me run, squat, and then pulled shoes for me to try based on my preferences and such. Athletic Performance didn't have any of the shoes/colors I liked in my size, so Kristine called their Willow Glen location to have them bring some over. I will be making another visit at the end of the week. However, I did try on a pair at Runner's Factory that I really liked.

Now I can't decide which one to get and which color to get. I will have to sleep on this.

Option A: Mizuno Wave Inspire 9 - Not crazy about this color and the other options are gray and bland.

Option B: Asics Gel-Cumulus 15 - I like the color but the shoe felt bulkier than the Mizunos.

Tune in next time to find out which ones I got!

Getting out the door

Sometimes I have a really bad day where all I want to do is curl up in bed and sleep it off. And sometimes I give in, only to wake up feeling disoriented and annoyed that I wasted all that time. So I've been trying this thing where I tell myself that if I can just get through work and studying, I GET to go running! It works most of the time.

On days when I see this sunset or sunrise over the lake or creek, all my frustrations are suddenly irrelevant. How could I be upset when I get to run here? I don't even have to drive here. I am so lucky.

Maybe on Monday I will stop to take real pictures of the view instead of maneuvering my phone while running. It's really pretty, I swear.

I am no professional on running safety, but here are some things that I've learned to do over the years since I almost always run outside.

1. Run when it's light out/when there's people out. I just feel a bit safer when I see others on the trail.

2. Bring your phone, Road-ID, or identification. Better safe than sorry!

3. Wear sunscreen and chapstick with SPF. Use the broad spectrum sunscreen.

4. I have a hard time running without music, but try to listen to it at a volume at which you can still hear others on the trail.

5. Share the trail and smile at other runners!

Week of 7/28 - 8/2:

• Sunday - Rest
• Monday - 7 miles @ 8:47/mi. So brutal. I was so exhausted I could barely eat.
• Tuesday - NTC (15min Carmelita Jeter High Intensity Power + 15min Core Crunch + 15min Arm Definer)
• Wednesday - 5 miles @ 8:34/mi. Felt a lot better than Mon but was so dehydrated. 
• Thursday - 1mi warm-up on the track, then this workout, courtesy of my best girf Alyssa

I modified this to just 6x 100m sprints because I felt that I would not be able to run to my full capacity on Friday if I had. (I was right)

• Friday - 5.5 miles @ 8:47/mi. This was supposed to be 7 miles but I just couldn't anymore and I was running late (haha) for my dinner plans. Plus my glutes and hammies were getting sore. Also, SO dehydrated! Need to get a fuel belt ASAP.
• Saturday - Rest, foam roll.

P.S. I've been running on a new part of my normal trail to keep things interesting. So far, I've seen a family of 5 raccoons, 3 skunks, lots of cats, and fish bigger than my thigh. Seriously.