April 4th
This run was at the Redwood Regional Park at Oakland. One thing I am learning from the coached runs is how beautiful East Bay is. There are so many gorgeous locations and hikes and trails. Redwood Regional Park is a beautiful hill with gorgeous views. I knew that this run was going to be hillier than Lake Chabot but since I ran just 2 miles at Lake Chabot, I didnt really know what hilly meant. Lake Chabot was a breeze compared to Redwood Regional. And it was cold. I reached at about 7:55 and started running with 3-4 of my teammates. The rest of them had already taken off since we had staggered starts on that day, which basically means that marathoners start before the half marathoners who start before the 12K runners, so that everyone ends up coming back at more or less the same time.
Though I had worn a full sleeve top and gloves, it was still freezing cold. I thought I might have frostbites and i also thought that I would warm up in 1/2 a mile. But the start of the run was so damn hilly. Mama Lisa recommends having breakfast about 2-3 hours before the run. But when the run starts at 7:55 am on a Saturday (which is still early for me), it is almost impossible for me to get up at 5:45 and eat something. So I usually eat at about 7 while I am on my way out the door and that greatly affects my performance on the first couple of miles. I feel like I have no energy to run. So the first mile, though I tried very hard to run, I could barely walk. There were moments when I thought I would faint and pass out on the trail cause of the cold and lack of energy, but I kept pushing myself.
Two of my teammates, Todd and Jennifer were in front of me. I thought that as long as I could see them, I wasnt alone. They were struggling as well so that was a relief. After hiking/running the first mile, we saw a huge slope: I mean I would salute anyone who can run that slope. The slope went on for almost a mile and I thought that even if I can hike this slope that would be a victory. So Jen, Todd and me were hiking that slope for about a mile or so. I was running on some flats in between. And then after 2.75 miles we finally reached a water stop. By this time, I had "defrosted" (This was what Jen asked me after 2.3 miles, "Have you defrosted yet?") and by that time, I could feel the sun as well. I ran another till the 3.5 mile marker and then headed back.
The downhills were a bit painful to my knee. Anyone who has a knee issue knows that the downhills are more painful than the uphills. But I ran most of the distance going downhill. So I dont know if I can rightfully claim that I ran 7 miles. It was more like I ran 0.5 miles up, then hiked 2 miles up, then ran 2 miles, then hiked 1 mile down then ran 1.5 miles down. So I ran about 4 miles total and hiked a very big hill for about 3 miles. I am still proud of myself for doing the damn thing!! (as Coach Al says).
So counting the 7 miles that I did on Saturday and the 4 miles I did on Tuesday and the 2 miles that I did on Thursday, I did 13 miles this week!!! Now only if I can do that in one day. I am getting there....soon and I am excited about it.
Meanwhile, my fundraising is stuck. Devina and Jennifer (my mentors) have come up with a fundraising event so that we could raise money. So it is basically a raffle where people can buy a raffle ticket for $10 and there will be a drawing on April 26th and few of the donors will get some fabulous prizes. I need to talk to a few local businesses and see if they can donate some raffle prizes. Hopefully, this gets people to donate.
