Napa Valley Half Marathon

Hello, everyone!

I somehow managed to complete the Napa Valley Half-Marathon a little over a week ago.  It is a BRUTAL half-marathon.  The uphill part doesn't feel like it will ever end, and there are a lot of rocky parts that can be dangerous.  The good news, though, is that (1) the dirt part of the trail is soft, so it's easier on the body, (2) it is utterly beautiful, and (3) it is almost entirely totally shaded, so you're not running in the hot, hot sun.

I walked up nearly the entire uphill part, and I jogged nearly all of the flat and down-hill parts.  The only problem was that I got lost for nearly an hour.  That was frightening.  When I re-traced my steps and found the route, I saw that it was clearly marked, so I must have been paying too much attention to my feet instead of to the trail.

Thus, yet again, I was dead last for my race (not including DNFs, of course).  To be honest, even if I hadn't gotten lost, I'm certain that I still would have been last.

I'm highly considering letting you all know in advance what runs I'm going to do so that you can sign up and have the confidence that you won't be dead last (because surely I will).

Thus, on that note, I am signed up for my first full marathon on 2/7/15---the Surf City Marathon.  This is the same marathon that I had signed up for many years ago.  However, since I had failed the Bar, I didn't have time to train, so I never showed up.  It turns out that not much has changed in terms of having enough time.  In fact, it's clear that I'm far busier now than I was then, but, you know, hindsight.

Anyhow, even though I suck at running, and even though I pretty much hate it, I was glad to get this half-marathon under my belt.  If it was only slightly hilly, it would be an ideal run... but it's not.  Buyer beware.

First Run in Over 3 Years

Yesterday, I went on my first run in over 3 years. I decided the night beforehand that I was going to sign up for a half marathon in October (in Napa) and a marathon in February (in Huntington Beach). Thus, my training began yesterday with a three-mile jog. I was able to jog the entire way and was rather proud of myself regardless of the fact that it took me 41 minutes to do so.

Last September, I had a surgery. It was to correct palmar hyperhidrosis. The reason why I mention this is because, prior to the surgery, I always had an extraordinarily high heart rate. For instance, the day before the surgery, my heart rate was around 95 beats per minute. The day after the surgery, the doctors measured my heart rate once again, and it had lowered significantly to a normal range, averaging around 65 beats per minute. I've always had low blood pressure, so that was not the issue and did not change. I think that this is significant because, prior to my surgery, whenever I would run, I would always feel trashed quite quickly.  I could hardly breath, and I would get really, really hot.  My entire face would turn cherry red even if I had only been jogging for a couple of minutes at a slow pace. Yesterday, however, I didn't feel this way. It was different. I think that having a much lower heart rate may make a difference as to whether I can return to running and possibly even enjoy it.

So, today, I am suffering from some blisters but nothing that won't heal soon. I also ran with my five-finger shoes, and that was great. I'm going to get back on this horse. I'll let you know how it goes.

:)