With my new running buddy Maha in Golden Gate park
We had our longest run – 20 miles in San Francisco on Saturday September 11th. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we met bright and early across from the Beach Chalet at Ocean Beach. My 5 minute run 1 minute walk running buddy (Ted!) was nowhere to be seen, and I was preparing myself for having to run the whole way by myself, when I noticed another teammate in front of me who was stopping to walk the same time as I was! I ran up to her and sure enough she had been having success with the 5/1 strategy.
Maha and I ended up staying together for the whole 20 miles which was wonderful! It was an amazing run – we went through Golden Gate park and the panhandle, then down Great Ocean Highway, passed San Francisco Zoo and around Lake Merced before heading back to Beach Chalet. I had gone around Lake Merced when I was training with TNT back in 1999, but had forgotten how long it was – I certainly appreciated having the company.
Sept 11th run
Once we finished the run we had dashed in to the Pacific Ocean for a quick leg ice bath. It took around 4:20 to do the 20 miles, and we felt great so it was a very successful run! It also incorporated the course of the last 1/2 of Nike, so since I did the first half last year I now know the entire course – no surprises.
2 weeks earlier we had run in Woodside.
August 28th
That was a 16 miler and that was a challenge – I ran with Ted for most of it. The last half of the run was pretty much trail running, and it was starting to get really hot near the end of it. Good news is that after that the 20 miler in San Francisco wasn’t so challenging!
We have begun to taper off. The last longish run we did was on Saturday Sept 25th in Los Gatos creek. For those in the Bay Area – that was that stinking hot weekend which isn’t exactly conducive to a good run. I ran with Maha again – and we decided to stick to 14 miles instead of the longest option of 18 since it was so hot (buddy Ted did 18 – go Ted!).
September 25th
We are going to run 12 miles this weekend near Oracle, and then only one week to go to the big day!!!
Stay tuned!
Wow Jose, what an amazing run. Do you run for 5 mins then walk for 1 for the total distance? When is the race? Good for you (and you managed a fabulous smile as well!!!)
Thanks Lisa! Yes I do the run/walk for the whole time- it works really well for me as I recover quickly and definitely finish faster than if I tried to run the entire distance. Big race is Sunday!!