The Green Girl Is Ready For San Francisco

The Green Girl is ready for the San Francisco Half Marathon. No, the Green Girl is not planning on setting any personal records, but she will cross that Finish Line before the marathon cut-off at 12:42.

My right arch is finally doing much better after getting the magical* orthotics. It's amazing to me that those inserts can make such a noticeable difference in how I feel when I can't even tell I'm wearing them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining - just making an observation.

I'm so relieved I won't have to tell everyone who donated that I won't be able to run the race due to an injury.

No, I have not done any hill training. And, no, I don't plan on running any hills before the race. I don't want to risk injuring myself at this point. My longest run has been 10 miles. My plan is to listen to my body. I'm not going to follow any specific run:walk intervals. I'm going to jog up hills and walk down every single one of them. This will be about self-preservation, crossing the Finish Line, and completing the California Dreamin' Racing Series.

* Even my podiatrist agreed they were "magical" when I was able to run 10 pain-free miles in them.

First Ever Long Beach California Dreamin’ SparkRally

The Green Girl is throwing an event for the first time in her green life. I'm hosting the first ever Long Beach California Dreamin' SparkRally to help celebrate SparkPeople's Show Your Spark Weekend which goes from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28.

SparkPeople is a free website that offers nutrition, health, and fitness tools, support, and resources. I think of it as a healthy social networking site. I believe strongly in Spreading The Spark because of the positive impact this site has had on my life. I learned so much about nutrition simply by using the nutrition tracker. I feel more confident knowing I am able to make more informed food decisions.

SparkPeople uses this four-stage approach which they call the SparkDiet. It's actually a a misnomer because it's not just a diet - it's a holistic approach to moving towards a healthier lifestyle. It took me a little over 1.5 years to go from Stage 1 to Stage 4.

According to SparkPeople, Stage 4 has three main purposes:

• Continue to live a healthy lifestyle with healthy habits that you’ve worked hard to create
• Help to 'spark' others toward their own goals
• Get ready to go after your goals and dreams

I am trying to Help to 'spark' others toward their own goals by hosting this SparkRally.

I mapped out the route for the 1/3rd Mile/5k Fun Run/Walk. We're offering participants the option to do a 1/3rd mile around the duck pond or a full 5k loop.

After the optional Fun Run/Walk, we'll munch on healthy snacks and just have some fun.

The Green Girl Is Back In Business

This morning, the Green Girl met up with her running group, the Sole Runners, at Marina Vista Park.

In addition to my new orthotics, I also taped up my arch as a reinforcement.

I tried to stretch my calves as much as possible because the podiatrist had noticed my insanely tight calves and mentioned I need to stretch them more. I also purchased The Stick a few weeks ago and I've been using it on my calves a lot.

I started out slow. I wanted to see how my foot felt. I had gotten so accustomed to having that arch pad supporting my foot that I feel insecure without it now. Amazingly enough, my foot felt good. I felt like the orthotic was really supporting my arch.

I ended up running all the way to the Belmont Pool and back without stopping. I couldn't believe it.

On my way back, I saw Coach Steve and he asked me how my foot was and I told him I was feeling good.

Yes, my friends, the Green Girl managed to run 6.9 miles today. I would have tried for an even 7 but I was really really tired.

The Green Girl Squeaks Along

The Green Girl got her spiffy new orthotics yesterday. The podiatrist said it will take 2-4 weeks for me to break them in. The Green Girl doesn't have that kind of time so to help speed things up, she is wearing them in her running shoes with her work clothes today. The funny thing is that the left orthotic is squeaking really loudly. I think it's really obvious when I'm walking around the office but we all know a squeaky shoe is a small price to pay when we have more important things we need to be focusing on!

The podiatrist had specifically ordered full length orthotics because I had mentioned how I had gotten a pair years ago for plantar fasciitis that only extended from the heel to the ball of my foot and I could feel the edge of the orthotic under my foot and it drive me crazy. Those orthotics ended up in the trash in no time.

I even got to keep the plaster of paris molds of my faithful short, wide feet which can be re-used for future orthotics.

One thing that made me feel really good was the podiatrist - who is also a runner! - studied my running shoes for a really long time. He stared at them from the back and then put them on the floor. And then he finally said, 'These shoes are really good for you.'

Hopefully, if I walk around in them today and tomorrow, I'll be able to get a good run in them on Saturday.

The Green Girl Does Marathon Math

Thank you so much for all your advice. After reading all your replies, I'm feeling a lot better.

I should be getting my orthotics this week. The podiatrist taped up my foot again last week when I got fitted for the orthotics and I was able to run 4.5 miles Friday night. I didn't run as fast as I did at the Wrigley River Run but I was able to maintain a steady pace and ended up averaging about a 15 minute mile.

Now that my running confidence is slowly increasing, I'm cautiously optimistic about San Francisco.

Which brings me to my next point. I'm trying to do marathon math. More specifically, San Francisco Marathon and Half Marathon math.

Now, my math is based on the fact that the slowest people always start last, right? And they are the slowest so they will take the longest.



The last Wave Start for the full marathon is 06:42. Almost 07:00, right? Assuming the slowest runners take 6 hours (this is coming from a girl who finished her marathon in just over 7.5), that means they will be finishing just before 13:00.



The Green Girl is doing the second half of the marathon and will also be in the last Wave Start which is 08:35. The website says The 6-hour time limit will begin after the last runner in the last wave has cleared the Start Line. Doesn't that mean the Green Girl has until 12:42 to cross the Finish Line?