I have about a million things to unpack from the week – both on the running front and the life front!
We are down to the wire on marathon training –> 4 weeks away! I notice that my runs drastically improve when I’m not drinking alcohol/kava/things to help me sleep (thank you insomnia), and so I’ve been trying to keep my substance-intake to a mimimim lately. I’m even committing to an entire sober month of April until the marathon – wish me luck on that!
Most of the fun stuff happened over the weekend:
Saturday: 18 miles + park chilling + white party
First thing Saturday, 18 miles on my favorite long-run route – it’s quite a hilly and challenging one as half of it is on trails. Despite the high mileage + crazy hills + my legs feeling like they were going to fall off by mile 16, I felt mentally strong and just excited to be outside on the gorgeous day.
One thing I thought about on my run was how smooth-sailing this training cycle has been. There haven’t been any crazy tough runs to power through but at the same time no crazy highs either. Usually at this point in the cycle I’ve had a few transformative runs and life lessons to share, but not this time. This will be my 6th marathon and I must say, the novelty does wear off as each goes by. I do kind of miss the early days of marathoning when finishing each long run felt like a miracle.
But despite the nostalgia, I’m incredibly grateful for the current role that running has in my life. When I ran my first marathon in college, I had zero self-confidence and really needed running to think, grow, and learn how to love myself. Then after college living in NYC, running was my way feeling like me in a city where I didn’t fit in. Years later, happy with the person I am and how everything has turned out my life, now I run just because I love it. Not to lose weight or to get a medal, but because I truly love running. Even if this hasn’t been the most transformative cycle, I’m still super humbled that I get to run –> (my favorite mantra). Not everyone gets this opportunity to do what they love everyday.
I had ambitious plans to hike Mount Tamalpais with Artur in the afternoon, but I had to cancel after my 18-miler. Note to self: runs longer than 15 miles = I NEED a few hours afterwards to nap/eat/recover. I’m usually pretty good about not letting marathon training affect my social life, but it’s this home stretch that feels more like a sacrifice. Artur was completely understanding, and I spent the rest of the afternoon soaking up some sun on a picnic blanket in Alamo Square park.
At night, me + Anna + Ben + some new friends had something super fun planned…we found a “white party” hosted by Opulent Temple, a Burning Man camp. We have been looking forward to this event for WEEKS! Music + crazy costumes + body jewels = our kind of fun 🙂
The event took place at the Regency Ballroom, which was a cool vintage-feeling venue with beautiful architecture throughout. The perfect place for this artsy event. Everyone was dressed in white, and there were rotating DJs, dancers, tarot card readings, face painting, and more. The whole event was very Burning Man-esque and makes me want to experience the real deal one day!
Our group had a complete ball together. We rotated around the fun stations, took over the dance floor, talked and vibed, made new friends…there was so much to do that we didn’t have a single minute not occupied!
Ben, Anna and I stuck together for most of the time. Our triple dates are always a great time.
We stayed until the very end of the event and even stopped by an after party. Overall it was one of the funnest parties I’ve been to in SF. I figured this was somewhat of last-hurrah before my substance-free month, and it definitely hit the spot :).
Sunday: New scooter + recovery
Needless to say, Sunday was very sleep-deprived and focused on recovery. It was another sunny day and so I got out of my apartment to try my new electric scooter! I know…I JUST got a kick scooter a few months ago and raved about it multiple times on this blog. Well throw out anything I said about non-electric scooters because electric is THE WAY TO GO! I love how much quicker it gets me to work, not worrying about hills, and how you literally don’t have to do any work. SF does not have the greatest public transit and Ubers have been adding up, so this really feels like the best option. I love it!
Afterwards, I unwinded for a few hours at my usual kava spot and unwinded into the evening.
The very last thing I want to talk about is a question I get a lot…and that is what I listen to on my runs. I usually start off 20-40 minutes without any music so I can think for a bit and get my mind bored enough to listen to something. I like but don’t LOVE podcasts…and so I’ll pop in a lifestyle or crime podcast every now and then.
And the rest of it is MUSIC! Music is a huge love for me. I like most genres but am picky at the song-level; it takes listening to a song 1-2 times to feel if I have an emotional connection, and then if I do, I’ll add it to the running playlist. I’m constantly updating my playlist (2-3 times per week) so I don’t get bored. These songs can be anything from instrumental-electronic sounds, to 90s throwbacks, to yogic chants, lots of EDM and indie-folk…I recently discovered THIS song and felt like it really captures the emotional vibe I go for. There’s nothing worse than grinding through a run and a song you don’t want to hear comes on, so I do put a lot of effort into these playlist to stay constantly inspired. ❤
I Run Like A Girl 