Saturday morning started with an early run along the coast here in Carlsbad, 6.2 miles at an 8:49/mile average.
The beach where I hit the halfway point and turned around is appropriately called Turnarounds. There’s a shipwreck off the coast here you can only see in certain conditions. I’ve never been able to spot it; I’ve just seen pictures.
Later, we took Clark’s family to see some of our favorite spots.
We started at the Hotel del Coronado, which has been decked out for Christmas.
Lobby entrance.
Tree inside the lobby.
Courtyard tree. I took a picture with this tree for a couple nice ladies and one insisted on taking mine for me haha.
“Snowman” on the beach, near the skating rink.
Then we drove into downtown San Diego, walked along the Embarcadero a little and had lunch at Kansas City Barbecue.
Our next stop was La Jolla Cove. We’d been to La Jolla a couple times, but never the cove, so this was new to us.
A big draw was the sea lions:
There’s also this little cave you can walk through:
And the cove itself is part of an ecological preserve, and is very popular with snorkelers. Apparently you can see a lot of cool sea life here. You can rent snorkels, wetsuits and fins and go yourself or take a guided tour. Kayak tours are popular there too.
We took the scenic way home, on Coast Highway instead of the 5. We were all pretty wiped out when we got back and just stayed in that night.
Sunday morning, I decided to take my first rest day in a week. Clark made a big breakfast for everyone.
We spent the rest of the day at home too. I threw out all the pumpkins and put away the fall decorations, and brought out the Christmas stuff. Clark and I got all the outdoor lights put up. I meant to take a picture when the sun went down but I forgot. It looks festive out there!
It’s officially race week! The Rehoboth Half Marathon is only six days away, so I’m taking it pretty easy until then. I’m about to go out and do an easy 3-miler.
And speaking of that race, my brother has signed up to run it too! Unless something goes very wrong for him, he will be way ahead of me during the race, but we’ll get to hang out after.
I didn’t mean to not post all week but I’ve been busy!
Monday evening, I ran 3.1 miles at an 8:53/mile average and then Clark and I went to a strength training class at the gym. We came back home and finished up getting the house cleaned.
Tuesday, I did another short easy run in the morning, 3.1 miles at a 9:16/mile average, and then after work, Clark and I did another strength training class and then joined the running club at the track for a workout.
Track night has gotten pretty big all of a sudden now that training for the Carlsbad Half Marathon in January has officially started.
My legs felt heavy before we got started and I was not expecting to put down any fast intervals, but I wound up surprising myself. A lot of that was thanks to Rochelle, who’d just started coming out for the track workouts last Tuesday — which I skipped — and is pretty fast. We ran every interval together and pushed each other to some fast times.
Coach Jim had us do a relatively “easy” workout since we have some newbies, eight 400-meter repeats. I was just hoping to be around 1:45 for each but my actual splits were 1:40, 1:40, 1:40, 1:40, 1:38, 1:39, 1:35 and 1:30! Felt good to feel fast again, even if it was only for a quarter mile at a time!
With the warm up and cool down, I added another 2.8 miles to my day.
Wednesday morning, I ran again before work, 3.1 miles at a 9:29/mile pace.
Then I went to my office while Clark went to the airport to pick up his family.
My boss let us leave early, around 12:30 p.m., so I made it home in time to go to lunch with everyone, at Dini’s by the Beach here in Carlsbad. Later, Clark and I finally went to the grocery store to get everything to make Thanksgiving dinner.
Thursday was Thanksgiving. We all got up very early to be in Oceanside for the O’side Turkey Trot. Again, I was worried about traffic jams and having trouble finding parking, but it turned out to be a snap.
Part of that was because the 5-miler, which starts first at 6:45 a.m., is a much smaller race. Way more people come out for the 5K.
Clark, his dad and I all ran the 5-miler. I did a brief half-mile warm up and some drills, and then it was time to get in the corrals. I was hoping to run at least an 8:00/mile pace which put me near the back of the first one.
The Santa Ana winds are blowing right now, which made it breezier and warmer than usual, but all in all it was pretty much perfect running weather.
We got the commands and I took off with the rest of the first corral.
The course headed south on Coast Highway, made a U-turn, went back by the start line, to the harbor, to the Strand, up to Pacific Street, to the other end of the Strand and then finally finished near the pier.
My Garmin was already off by a long shot by the time we hit the first mile marker — it was at 1.12! — which was annoying. It ended up measuring the course at nearly 5.2 miles. I know GPS watches aren’t totally accurate, and the course is certified, but Clark and his dad both also said their watches showed the course was long. Whatever.
Anyway, my watch said I ran the first mile in 7:37 and the second in 7:55, which was a little disheartening, because No. 1, I thought I’d maintained my pace, and No. 2, I was already close to slipping over an 8:00 pace.
In the third mile, we hit a little bit of an uphill leaving the harbor, but I sped back up to 7:42.
Then we hit the Strand and my freaking guts started rumbling. Can’t even make it through a 5-mile race without needing the bathroom now, great! I knew where we’d be running by a public facility on the beach and managed to hold on that long.
Map of my detour as recorded by my Garmin haha.
For some reason I paused my watch while I was in there — force of habit I guess — so I don’t know exactly how much time I wasted there but I don’t think it was more than a minute.
I felt a thousand times better after that stop. I had about 1.5 miles to go when I rejoined the course.
Not far from the bathroom was the biggest uphill on the course, up the ramp to the pier, and then a less severe incline from the pier to Pacific Street. The fourth mile ended on Pacific. That split was 7:49.
Then we hit a steep decline back down to the Strand and ran north toward the finish line near the pier. My Garmin said I ran the fifth mile in 7:39, but of course I was nowhere near the finish yet.
Officially, I crossed the finish line in 41:03, an 8:13/mile average for 5 miles with a bathroom break. But Garmin says I ran 5.17 miles in 40:00 on the dot, a 7:44/mile average, so obviously I like those results better ha.
Crossing the finish line.
Either way, I was pleased with the effort. The second mile wound up being my slowest and I managed to hold a sub-8 pace for 5 consecutive miles, which I haven’t done in a long time.
My time placed me fifth of 33 in the F 35-39 age group, 37th of 417 female runners and 171st of 869 total runners.
I got a little medal and picked up my race shirt, then walked to the car to drop off all that stuff and get my sunglasses and phone before the 5K.
Back near the start line, while I was looking for Clark’s mom and aunt, I ran into everyone from our gym running the 5K for the group photo.
Then I found my in-laws. Clark and his dad both showed up not long after that after finishing the 5-miler.
Soon, they started letting the 5K runners go in waves. We were going to walk the whole thing, so we jumped into the 10th one, which took off about a half hour after the first. And there were still plenty more walkers behind us.
The 5K course started and ended the same as the 5-miler, but took a shortcut to Pacific Street.
Since I was moving at a more leisurely pace, I took some pictures.
Hardcore turkey trotters on Coast Highway — Clark, his mom, dad and aunt.
After the turnaround on Coast Highway.
Finish line!
We managed to squeak in under an hour — 59:39, a 19:11/mile average.
We got some more medals and then went up on the pier for a group photo.
And that was my first O’side Turkey Trot. I really enjoyed the whole thing! Did we just start a new tradition?
We went back to Carlsbad and got everything going for dinner, which consisted of roast turkey, grilled sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts/butternut squash/onions, pumpkin muffins, green beans with slivered almonds, fruit salad, dressing, cranberry sauce and of course pies.
Everything turned out delicious and we had a nice warm afternoon to sit outside and eat, which is good because we still don’t have a dining room table ha.
This morning, I ran another very easy short run, 3.2 miles at a 9:13/mile average, and then we all walked into the village for a late breakfast.
I don’t know what the plan is for the weekend — Clark’s family is staying here through Tuesday morning so we will definitely be doing more stuff with them — but I do intend to get in a couple more runs tomorrow and Sunday morning. The Rehoboth Half Marathon is only a week away!
Saturday morning, I went out and ran 5 miles at an 8:35/mile average.
That afternoon, Clark and I went to the beer festival in Vista, and then we picked up a few things to get ready for our Thanksgiving guests. The main thing was a new coffee maker, since my old one crapped out a couple months ago.
Sunday, I intended to do a long run, but it’d been more than a week since my last complete rest day and honestly I just didn’t feel like it. Plus we had a lot to do around the house.
So I didn’t run, but we did get all the outside work done — power washing everything and cleaning up the yard.
Today, I’ve been cleaning the inside of the house and doing a bunch of laundry around working from home. I’m about to go out and run a few miles and then we’re going to the gym for a strength training class.
Today’s kind of a sad day. Exactly 11 years ago today, we brought home Pepper. It was even a Friday in 2010. This is our first “gotcha day” without him.
I just finished putting together a 200-photo album of him that’s now in our living room so I looked through that again today. I know I’m biased, but I think he’s the most photogenic dog who ever lived.
We still miss Pepper and think about him every day!
Yesterday, the painters finished up the eaves and trim on our house. It looks great!
By the time I’d gotten squared away with them and they’d packed up and left, it was too late to go for a run, but I did make it to the gym for a strength training class.
Turned out I was the only one who showed up! The coach, Emir, felt bad making me work out on my own so he did the workout with me. It was a fun workout; I had to roll a dice and then we did a set of exercises that correlated to whichever number I rolled.
Today, I did the run I didn’t do yesterday, 5.6 miles along the coast late in the afternoon. I took my “new” Garmin out for its first run and I really like it. It’s nice and light and has even more features than my old 220.
I also got to see the sunset:
This weekend, I have a couple runs on the schedule, a 5-miler and a 13-miler.
Outside of running, we have tickets to a beer festival in Vista tomorrow afternoon and there’s plenty more to do around here to get ready for Clark’s family visiting next week for Thanksgiving.
Monday afternoon, I went to the grocery store and bought stuff to make a batch of pumpkin muffins and a Crock Pot of chili, both of which I made when I got home. I didn’t manage my time well enough to go for a run, but I did make it to the gym for one of the classes with our former coach, Q. I think we were all happy to see him again!
Tuesday morning, I got up and ran the 4-miler I’d meant to do Monday, at a 9:10/mile average.
I was back in time to meet a painting crew Clark hired to repaint the eaves all the way around the house. We’d considered doing that when we moved in here last summer, but after we got a quote, we decided we’d maybe do it ourselves. Well, we never did it ourselves haha. So Clark got these guys to come do it this week, before his family gets here next week for Thanksgiving.
The crew had left when I got home from the office Tuesday evening. I really meant to go to the track workout. I don’t know if I’d just not slept well the night before or what, but I was exhausted. Also, since I went to a class at the gym Monday night, I didn’t go to the one Tuesday before the track workout, which gave me a lot more time to sit at home after work and get comfy. So I skipped it.
Wednesday, I got up early again and ran another short easy run, 3.1 miles at an 8:53/mile average. After the crew got here for the day, I went to my office.
Unlike the day before, after work, I actually changed into running clothes and went first to the gym for a class and then to Hungry Bear Deli to meet the running group.
I took off intending to just do a very easy run, since I’d run that morning already and it’s pretty hilly in Vista, but then Sheila passed me and I sped up to run the rest of the way with her. We wound up doing 4 miles at just under a 9:00/mile pace.
I’m working from home today but the painting crew has been here all day so I’ve not run yet. If I have time between when they leave and when I need to leave for another class at the gym, I’ll run, otherwise I’ll wait until tomorrow.
Also my “new” Garmin — a Forerunner 235 I bought off a friend who barely used it — just arrived in the mail and is currently charging so I can stop borrowing Clark’s Fenix!
Saturday morning, Clark and I met our gym group to hike Double Peak. It was a teeny bit chilly when we took a group photo at the bottom before the start:
Clark showing off his refreshments — two Port Brewing Mongo Double IPAs haha.
Clearly Clark wasn’t planning to try to run any of this, so I ran it with Sheila. She’s to the right of me, in the arm warmers, and she’s getting ready to do her first half Ironman the first weekend of December.
We did a lap of the loop around the lake behind us to start, which was about 0.7 miles. The sun was already high enough to hit us when we finished that and it didn’t feel chilly at all anymore.
Then we started climbing the trail toward the peak. We ran what we could but there were some very steep parts on which walking was definitely just as fast. Luckily we caught up to and passed everyone else in the group on the parts on a gentle enough incline to run haha.
With the extra bit at the beginning, it was about 2.7 miles — and 945 feet of climbing — to the top.
Once everyone got up there, we got a picture of our team in the challenge, the Snow Ballers.
Clark had finished his uphill beer and was working on the downhill one.
Sheila and me at the peak.
The only other time I ran this, it was an overcast morning. We got a clear one this time, so we could see the ocean off to the west and more mountains to the east. The views were beautiful!
We headed back down, which was a lot quicker, and then we did two more loops of the lake to get to an even 6 miles. Our overall average pace was 11:11/mile.
Clark and I went home and changed clothes and then we went to Oceanside. We had breakfast at Swami’s, walked around a bit and then had a drink at High/Low near the pier.
Sunday morning, Clark didn’t want to get up to meet the group for the bike ride, so I just did my long run along the coast at home.
Since I’d run two miles farther than I’d planned the day before, I cut the long run short by two and did 10 at a 9:12/mile average.
It was another gorgeous day out there. Most of my run was along the Carlsbad Half Marathon course, which I am trying to convince Susan and Kelly to come out and run in January, so I sent them this picture:
After my run, Clark and I went to the gym for the mid-point weigh-in.
Later, we took my monstera to a plant shop in Oceanside, where we got it re-potted. I have done everything wrong with this plant — under watering it, not getting it enough indirect sunlight, putting it in direct sunlight to try to make up for that (which burnt some of the leaves) and apparently it was also in too BIG of a planter. Why are houseplants so fragile and why did I think I was an expert after I’d kept a snake plant alive — the easiest plant ever — for like three weeks? This poor monstera!
Well now it’s in an appropriately-sized pot and I know to never put it outside, just in sunlight filtering through the back doors. On the bright side, the roots still looked good, so it has a chance.
The dracaena plant near the back door was probably just under watered, but I thought it was also lacking sunlight last week, so it got some burnt leaves outside too.
Anyway, today, Clark had to leave very early for another trip to a job site in Canada, so I’m on my own until Friday. I normally take Mondays off strength training but one of our gym’s former coaches, Q, is back in town (he had a fight Saturday night, which he won) and he’s teaching the evening classes, so I’m going to one of those. I’m also planning to get in a few miles before that.
Wednesday evening, Clark and I went to a strength training class, but it ran late and we missed the meet-up for the neighborhood run with the group by a long shot. I’d run that morning when I thought we weren’t going to be able to go to the gym or the run, and then we’d probably done almost a mile total of running laps between sets at the gym. So I wasn’t too broken up about just heading to the brewery and getting started on beers a little earlier than intended.
Yesterday, the gym had a special workout for Veterans Day, so Clark and I went to the one in the evening.
It was pretty tough. We had to start with two big laps, which was probably close to a half-mile, then do 50 pull-ups (full disclosure — I got a LOT of help from some bands because if I’d had to do 50 unassisted pull-ups, I’d still be there now), 50 kettlebell snatches and 50 deadlifts, followed by another two big laps, and then 100 body weight squats, 100 push-ups (also had to modify these — I did half regular and half on my knees) and 100 kettlebell goblet squats, all capped off with 10 man-makers.
We did that workout for time. It took me just over 33 minutes to finish, and I was drenched in sweat at the end.
Today is my scheduled rest day for the week, and I am taking it.
This weekend, our gym group is meeting tomorrow morning for another run/hike, this time at Double Peak, about 4 miles round trip. I ran this one with Pepper the last time we met there, in March 2020. The first two miles are straight up to the top, and then we came back down. Pepper was not interested in the uphill half haha.
Clark missed it because he was out of town, so this time I’ll get to run it with him. I assume we’ll be faster.
Sunday, we’ll meet the group for another bike/run. I’m planning on another 12-miler. And then it’s the challenge mid-point weigh-in at the gym to see how we’re doing.
Other than that, we don’t have any big plans for the weekend.
Late Monday afternoon, I got in 3 miles at an 8:58/mile average just before sunset.
Tuesday, Clark and I did a strength training class at the gym and then we went to the high school track for this week’s workout.
I still don’t have a working Garmin but Coach Jim was calling out our splits as we finished each interval and I think I remember mine.
We started with three 400s, which I ran in 1:44, 1:42 and 1:42.
Then we did two 800s. Those killed me. I was hoping to run them in 3:30 but I could only pull off 3:33 and 3:35, I think.
We finished up with three more 400s. The first one was the slowest of the night for me, 1:45, but then I ran my two fastest — 1:40 and 1:34.
That last interval, all the guys I’d been running with (and mostly beating) on all the other intervals took off like they were handing out free cheese to the winner and I just tried to hang on and not get trampled ha.
With the brief warmup and cool down, Clark said his Garmin showed we ran 3.2 miles.
This morning, I ran an easy 3.1 miles at a 9:01/mile pace, thinking we were going to be busy tonight. But when I got home, Clark told me the thing had been postponed, so now we’re going to the gym for another strength training class and then meeting the run club for the neighborhood run at a brewery in downtown Vista. Looks like a good day for a double!
Saturday morning, Clark and I met the gym group at Lake Calaveras to run/hike a lap of the 5-mile trail loop. I last ran this on Labor Day weekend but Clark had never done it before.
We ran the whole thing together — partly because I wanted to run with him, but also partly because my Garmin has finally kicked the bucket and he has the only working watch right now ha.
Anyway, I can’t remember exactly what our time was, but it was just under an hour, so just under 12:00/mile pace. There were parts Clark said we were running 8:20 pace, but there were also some pretty steep uphills and downhills in the first couple miles especially that slowed us way down.
The rest of Saturday was not as productive as we’d intended it to be, but I think we did get a couple house plants back on the road to health. We’d gotten them in April and they were both looking rough.
I think I was severely under watering them. I’d read too much water can cause root rot. But not enough water is also pretty bad for a plant.
Also, I don’t think they’ve been getting enough light, especially the monstera in the kitchen, which doesn’t really get any natural light. Again, I’d read too much sun can burn them, but I was being too cautious. So we put both plants outside to soak up some sunlight, which I think will have to become a regular thing.
We also changed the soil in the pots. I checked for root bounding — meaning the pot is too small for the root ball — but that was definitely not an issue, at least.
Sunday morning, we met the bike/run group at the head of the Las Pulgas bike trail. I rode this one with Clark a couple months ago but I just wanted to do a 12-mile long run this time.
Everyone else in the group was there to ride. I’m on the far right looking like I forgot my bike haha:
Then we all took off north. I just ran until I hit six miles and then turned around.
Clark rode 20 miles, changed into his running shoes, ran back out along the trail until he met me, then turned around and ran back with me. I’d just hit 10 miles when he met me, meaning he was at two, so he ran a total of four.
I was using the Map My Run app on my phone, and apparently seeing individual mile splits is a premium feature you have to pay for (eye roll), but Clark really cranked up the pace at the end and he said our last mile was around 8:00. My average for the entire 12 miles was 9:20/mile.
We were done by 9 a.m. but the rest of Sunday was just as unproductive as Saturday had been ha. Oh well. We did see Kyle Larson win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, so that was cool.
Today, I just have an easy 3-miler on the schedule, but I better get out there soon because the sun sets before 5 p.m. now.
Yesterday, I was at the gym at 6 a.m. for the third day in a row, this time for another strength training class. I still had to work later hours but I at least didn’t have to go into the office, so I waited until the late afternoon to go out and run 4 miles at an 8:58/mile average.
Since I actually ran every day this week so far, I took a rest day today.
This weekend, we are meeting the gym/running group tomorrow morning for the 5-mile trail loop at Lake Calaveras, and then I want to do a long run Sunday, probably 12 miles.
Other than that, we just need to clean this house and watch the NASCAR championship race Sunday afternoon. Hard to believe the season is already over!
A Simple Running Log 