Immediately after the NYCM marathon, I wanted to take off any time needed to truly recover but also wanted to stay consistent with running and look ahead to training for 2022 races. I have a 10K early January that I want to be close to PR shape for (my PR is 53:xx from the amazing Monument Avenue 10K in Richmond).
11/8-11/14:
I did some serious recovery activities: steam room at the gym, low-impact Peloton ride, upper body/arms only weight lifting. It felt good to be active but low-key. I did two short recovery-pace runs this week as well since the weather was pretty nice. Saw my PT/acupuncturist which helped a lot as well.
11/15-11/21:
I actually ran less this week but stepped up the lifting at the gym. Got back to my squats and deadlifts but made a fatal error by trying to get back to my previous 10-rep max weights. Stupid. I was sore for days! Also got my flu and Covid booster shots Wednesday. Upper body lifts back to normal as well. On Sunday, I finally got out there for a ‘longish’ run again as per my 10K training plan: made it 6.9 miles/80 minutes. I was totally DONE and it was dark at the end so I didn’t try to hit 7 miles even.
11/22-11/30:
The real return to consistency. Easy shorter (30~ minute) runs Monday Wednesday Thursday, and a 20 minute treadmill tempo Tuesday (sandwiched between warm up and cool down). I had FOMO from all the Turkey Trot photos Thursday and will definitely try to be back in Brooklyn for it next year.
Totally off exercise Friday because we flew to Los Angeles! Then I had a charity 5K Saturday morning that I used as a fitness check. My Stryd Critical Power updated after which means my training paces will now be a bit quicker. Still not to where I was at March 2020.
Took off Sunday and Monday but went to Disneyland on a last-minute lark Sunday and logged a lot of steps.
So this was technically Week 1 of Brooklyn Half training (3/12-3/18) but I was also taking a trip to LA with Gabby and didn’t manage to get in any runs before I left Wednesday 3/14. So this is mainly about our hikes and run in LA and all the things we ate!
We flew in early Wednesday afternoon, dropped off our stuff in Hollywood, then headed in a very long car ride to Venice Beach.
It was so nice to see and smell the beach! We then had dinner with some friends of mine at A-Frame, Roy Choi’s Hawaiian outpost in nearby Culver City. No pictures because we were starving but we had loaded fries, two kinds of spam musubi, Brussels sprouts, and crispy chicken.
The next day, we took off on a Runyon Canyon hike. We took what we thought was the main route but then realized we were on the Eastern side of it. We figured out that we could keep going around the rim and back down but we had no idea how steep it would be.
Making new friends on the way up
We made it! It was 2.8 miles roundtrip and 740 feet of elevation gain.
Taking a chill break on the way down
After showering (I got some mud on my hiking leggings from bouldering and scooting down), we got some delicious ramen from Urban Ramen, bought snacks at Ralph’s, then walked to Hollywood to see the sights, namely the walk of fame and Mann’s Chinese Theater.
Oh, and some churros. Later on, I had dinner with a friend at Bowery Bungalow, then ice cream from Scoops in Silverlake.
On Friday, we headed to Universal Studios Hollywood. I was excited to see their version of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter after going to the one in Florida in January. It was almost exactly the same, down to the butterbeer (hot, cold, and frozen). We did the hour-long studio tour, which was super cool because I got to see Jaws in action and see the set of recent favorite The Good Place.
Plus, huge donuts at Simpsons World/Springfield.
We hit up the race Expo on the way back and got to see some more of Downtown LA. I got street tacos, finally (was on the hunt after seeing the LA taco episode of Ugly Delicious). And it rained, which we were totally prepared for in our hooded jackets and umbrellas.
On Saturday morning, we ran The Big 5K, which is sponsored by Big 5 Sports and is affiliated with the Los Angeles Marathon (the next day). We signed up sort of on a whim, figuring that we were in town anyway and it would be a fun race. We didn’t look up the course profile until the day before the race because they didn’t really highlight it on the website. Now we know why. There were some brutal hills, especially for this relative flatlander. It starts off in the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium, then around nearby Elysium Park.
According to Strava/Garmin, you are climbing for 33% of the time. Most of the first mile started out great and I was on pace for a PR. There was a slight downhill coming out of the parking lots, then boom, climb #1 just before 1 mile. I chugged my way up and hoped that was the worst of it. But of course, what goes up must come down. Then back up again. Then down. Then up.
My grade adjusted pace for the first mile says it all; I went out hard then couldn’t hang on. Around mile 3, I got to laugh with other runners at what felt like an onslaught of hills. But I was pretty bummed that I couldn’t handle the hills.
Glad to be done
Gabby and I grabbed our medals and snacks (she got the swag bag, I passed on it not realizing I could have had another Clif Bar). Then it was time to eat! I tried a pastrami egg and cheese burrito as well as a smoothie from some food trucks that were there. I was tempted by the taco truck too, of course.
We took a Lyft home, showered off, then headed back to Runyon Canyon for a gentler hike. We took the easy, paved road up this time then came down on the east side (where we had headed up on Thursday). It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday and so many people were out! It was impressed to watch all the runners, but we had a good time taking it easy and recovering. Lots of foam rolling that day! We had Korean BBQ bowls on the roof, coffee from nearby Blackwood Coffee, then I met with my friend Gina to hang out with her pup Riley and get donuts from California Donuts.
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Runyon Canyon Ups
Before we headed to the airport (I had a red eye), we stopped off at a mural that Mabelle had wanted to check out. And it’s right next door to See’s Candy factory and store.
Then I spent the extra time before my flight screaming at the Houston-Michigan basketball game and eating chilaquiles. I missed out on all the NYC Half action, but I’m going to enter the lottery for next year.
Mileage: 3.6 miles of running, most of it spent wheezing up hills. 4.6 miles of beautiful, sunny hiking.
East Coast Appetite 