Mike and I just got back from the Rock’n Roll San Francisco half marathon, which went really well! It took place three weeks after LA Marathon, so that didn’t give us tons of time to recover. Last year I struggled getting back to running after LAM, I took some time off and the first five miles I did felt really clunky. With my run streak and longer training runs this year, I felt ready! I ran RnR Los Angeles about three weeks after Long Beach Marathon last October, so I knew it was doable!

RNR SF a success! Our medals featured Lombard Street so of course we had to take pics there!

I was excited for RnR SF for various reasons: I’m from the Bay Area, I couldn’t wait to run over the Golden Gate Bridge, I would be staying with my grandma, and I planned on running with Mike.

I snapped this pic right after we had finished running the bridge, to Marin County and back!

Getting to San Francisco had been tricky. I was falling into a pit of depression, not being able to find a job in the new suburb we were living in. I missed a few days on the run streak, tried again, and fell off the wagon a second time. I stopped doing morning yoga videos. I’ve been working gigs, and while grateful, I realize I do better with the stability of a schedule and bi-weekly pay. I finally got a bite, a successful interview and was feeling on top of the world. I’ve definitely enjoyed the time off during our transition here in Claremont, but I am restless and ready for a full time job again. We are struggling financially and I didn’t think finding work out here would be so challenging! There is also the fact I am trying to leave behind restaurant work for something new. After my successful interview, and thumbs up to be hired, my paperwork still had to be okayed by corporate. Things have gotten tied up on that end. The hiring process in restaurants is very different, and unfortunately for me in this situation, that is all I know. Fingers crossed it all gets sorted out, but I’m starting to lose hope again. I know I should stay positive, and envision the outcome I want! Between you and me, I’m getting depressed, anxious and restless again.

So, we went to SF with not much to spend, and being able to stay with my grandma helped us in that department quite a bit. Plus, I got to hang with my grandma, whom I miss so much since moving to LA. The trips are never long enough. I was already sad on the day we were leaving, but had gotten good news that they were able to get ahold of my references! Then today I got news my paperwork was agin held up (I mixed up a starting date on one of my restaurant jobs from a few years ago, so my resume date and application form date didn’t match) but I could resubmit, they wanted me to resubmit! It’s been a rollercoaster of a week.

What to do with all that restless energy and anxiety?! GET MYSELF ON A RUN! It’s been three days since the half marathon, and my recovery has been great. I haven’t been doing yoga or stretching, so I started my day with a couple videos!

Yoga for Flexibility to get back into the swing of things.

Healthy Body Yoga because it had been awhile since I’ve done this one!

I had a quick errand to run in town, about a mile away. If I ran the long way, I could stretch it out to a mile and a half, making that three miles roundtrip. I decided to finally implement a run/walk method (or Galloway Method), which Mike had tried on RnRSF. Running at Mike’s intervals was not quite right for me, but I really wanted to run with him in my old home city. (We finished in 2:50, my average range has been between 2:15 and 2:25 lately.) I was really excited to incorporate the intervals at my pace, after seeing how alive and energetic he was after this last half marathon. It was so successful for him!

I tried 3:00 minutes on/3o seconds off (run/walk). I still have some adjusting to do, but what was initially going to be a three mile run turned into a 10k, with hills! And my average pace was about 9:41, which for me, has been the pace I’ve been running anyway. So running and walking made my pace similar if not faster to me running the whole thing, and I felt like I could run forever.  Haha, or at least another mile or two. Problem was, I was super dehydrated from the road trip home, and ready to be done after 6.2 miles.

I’ve been wanting to try this method for a long time, and I’m really glad I finally did! As I’ve been running more, and tackling longer distances, I struggle in new ways. I bonk out earlier than I’d like to in races, which has made my goal of running an ultra feel…like I’m just not there yet. I need new methods, new motivations! The plan is also, when I get my job, I’ll get a gym membership which means…cross-training!

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