..until my first full marathon. For those just tuning in, I’m running a full on trails this Saturday. Here’s some more from my training log; let’s pick up where we left off:

3/22 – 7.06 miles with 1,247 feet of climbing (1:08:07)

ran Redwoods with Carl; we did the dreaded “Woodmonster”, one of the steepest and toughest trails in the park (the combo of Starflower and Madrone Trails; it climbs ~850 feet in less than a mile). Great run, was able to hang with Carl for most of it (he is a 2:55 marathoner btw)

3/23 – rest day

3/24 – 13.1 miles with 2,871 feet of climbing (2:33:17)

ran Tilden in a downpour- some sections of the trail were downright scary; the uphills were hard to get footing, so I had to either use the sides of the trail to get up or go up sideways. Downhills were scarier- I decided to shut it down after running the first loop (today was supposed to be the full marathon simulation run). No sense getting injured 2 weeks out. 

3/25 – 16.74 miles with 1,127 feet of climbing (2:15:56)

ran 14 miles of the Oakland Marathon course as a bandit, jumping in near my apt at 41st & Telegraph and running all the way through to Chinatown (jumped out at 10th & Harrison), easily jogged the 2.74 miles back. Did the 14 in ~1:50 for a 7:50 pace, so I’m counting this as my longest tempo run ever.

week of 3/19 to 3/25 total mileage: 64.39

3/26 – rest day

3/27 – 6.22 miles (52:58)

tried to take it easy, my legs are really sore. I think the above number (64.39 miles) is the most I’ve ever run in a 7-day stretch, so there ya go.

3/28 – 6.64 miles (1:00:31)

ran the lake twice with Pat; his first run after his race the past Saturday. Told him we had to run a negative split if we’re running the same loop twice. We did by a minute and a half- 31:30 1st loop and 29:01 for the 2nd.

3/29 – 6.55 miles with 1,076 feet of climbing (1:04:11)

another hard Redwoods run with Carl; we shortened our previous run here by a half mile, and basically did a modified reverse of the last run. It was pretty muddy still (have I mentioned the rain we’ve been getting?). I had much stronger legs than the week before, was able to hang right behind.

3/30 – rest day

3/31 – 16.84 miles with 2,871 feet of climbing (3:08:05)

last long run before marathon; ran Chabot from Redwood Road (MacDonald Staging Area) all the way into the lake (MacDonald Trail -> Grass Valley -> Brandon) then along the top (Towhee -> Columbine) down into the ravine where the creek was absolutely raging, washed away most of the trail (Cascade) so I had to get in up to almost my waist at a few points (now this is trail running). It was like taking an ice bath in the middle of my run, absolutely refreshing. Ran hard back up Cascade, back to the Stone Bridge (the climb after Grass Valley onto MacDonald was gnarly). Legs were really sore but I knew I’d be shutting it down somewhat this coming week.

4/1 – rest day (no April Fool’s jokes)

week of 3/26 to 4/1 total mileage: 36.25

March total mileage: 214.12 with 11 rest days

4/2 – 6.82 miles with 728 feet of climbing

did the basic 4 hills run; took it pretty easy (didn’t keep time, maybe 1:05-ish?).

4/3 – 5.3 miles in 42:05

tempo run; ran first mile in 8:20 then the next 4 at a 7:40 pace and cooled it down last quarter mile. These legs feel like they have some pop in them now…

4/4 – speed work on track with heart monitor

did 4×400 with 400m cool down between; times were all under 1:30 per 400. Did ~8 min warm up jog then hit

1:26.75 / 1:27.75 / 1:26.69 / 1:29.38

did another 4×200 with 200m cool down between; times were all under 42 seconds.

41.75 / 39.81 / 37.63 / 39.13

both times the 3rd intervals were the fastest; I wonder what that means?

Anyway, that’s it. Next time you see me, I’ll have run my first marathon. 26.2 miles with 5,796 feet of climbing. I’m targeting a ~5 hour finish. I think I know what to expect, know the course forwards and backwards, feel like I know every twist and every turn, where to run. 

Here goes nothing!