information & inspiration for long distance runners
It’s been 18 years since I last ran at a track meet. I used to be the star of the track, having run all throughout middle school and high school, in the 400, 800, 1600, and even the occasional 4×400. But after decades of marathon training and focusing on long distance endurance events, I feel like quite the newbie again. Back on the track, baby! I asked my dad if […]
My name is Anna, and I am addicted to trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon. There. I said it. It’s been over a decade since I started running marathons, and about 8 years since I started getting serious about it. There have been memorable races, painful workouts, grudgingly long runs, and many many lessons learned along the way, but this goal had been ever present throughout […]
What a year! It’s been 16 weeks of sheltering-in-place due to the coronavirus, and everyone’s going a bit stir crazy from staying indoors. Luckily, George and I found some home projects to keep us busy. The wall of the raised garden bed in our backyard collapsed a few months ago, and we decided to give it a much needed makeover. It was such an eyesore. So we decided to roll […]
Ingredients Steps Cook the rice. I put 4 cups rice and 6 cups water in the Instant Pot on the rice cooker mode, and they were too wet and too al dente. I will test out some other recipes; this wasn’t a good one. Once rice is cooked, set aside. Cook the lentils. Put 4 cups lentils and 6 cups of water in the Instant Pot at high pressure for […]
All smiles after finishing my last speed workout of this training cycle at Kezar. It was this past Wednesday, and the rain had just cleared up. I ran 2×800, then 2×1600, and then 2×800 all at 6:00 pace. I’m still feeling a bit sore from that workout, but I hope I’ll be back at 💯 by Sunday morning. Fast forward to today, and now we’re 2 days away from the […]
Hey guys. It’s me again. I know. It’s been a while. I’ve been really busy training, and now I’m gearing up for attempt #2 at the OTQ. 😅 11 more days until the CIM, my next race. It’ll be my 4th time running it, and I think I’m the most prepared I’ve ever been for a marathon. I did a speed workout today at Kezar. 3x3200m at 6:10 pace with […]
It’s 2 days before my 1/2 marathon, and I’m debating whether I should even be running or not. My left foot started hurting about 3 weeks ago. I was out for a 16 miler, and my right knee was bothering me. There was some pain in the left foot, but my main concern was the knee. After texting my coach, we decided to call it a day and try again […]
I’m 1 week away from my first ultramarathon. 50km of trails, sunshine, and spectacular views. I’m excited! What is an ultra, you might ask? It’s any distance longer than a marathon (26.2 miles). So it could be 50km (which is ~31 miles), 50 miles, 100 miles, or it could even be an all-you-can-run for a certain amount of time. Like everyone runs as many loops as they can in 12 […]
Let February 21, 2019 go down in history as the day when I worked out three times in 1 day. Uyy, my legs are feeling it now. I started off with a body pump class in the morning. Then immediately afterwards, I put on my running gear and headed to Embarcadero for some speedwork. I always dread speedwork, because I feel intimidated by the faster pace. But afterwards, I glow. […]
Hey guys! Happy New Year :) It’s been a while since my last update, because I’ve been so busy. Let’s see what’s happened since October last year… I ran the San Jose 1/2 Marathon. It did not go well. My left knee started hurting and I hobbled my way to a 1:38:49, my worst half marathon performance to date. The knee pain came out of the blue, and I was […]