Monthly Archives: October 2012

Exploring San Francisco By Foot

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One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to take long walks, exploring the corners of the city by foot rather than by any other means. When I studied abroad in Madrid, I’d often skip the metro and walk an hour to or from school, taking as many different routes as I could. Although I am a beach girl born and raised, I am fascinated by large cities.

This weekend Mike and I spent Thursday through Sunday exploring one of the largest and most diverse cities in the U.S.  - San Francisco. Our impetus for the trip was a wedding (number 6!) but given that we both have quite a few friends in the bay are, we extended our trip to last four days. We decided to save some money and rent a studio condo in Twin Peaks rather than stay in Union Square or another tourist-friendly area. As a result of our stay in a more remote neighborhood as well as our decision not to rent a car, we got quite a taste of the entire city. We took buses, trolleys, the metro and cabs in addition to countless miles on our feet as we explored the city and met up with various friends.

With Mike’s Friends at a Wedding at the SF Zoo!

One of those friends was someone who I consider a friend yet we haven’t met in person. Kind of like online dating, fellow blogger Page and I have developed a friendship via the internet and when I told her I’d be in the city, we both decided it was time to put our relationship to the test with a face-to-face hang out. When Page suggested that we meet up for a run in the city on Saturday, I was more than happy to join her. Although my training plan only called for about 15-16 miles, Page’s Ironman training plan called for 18 “easy” miles and I figured a few extra wouldn’t hurt.

Page sent out an email to some friends in San Francisco asking if they would be up for an 18 mile run at an “easy 9 min/mile ish pace.” Not only did they respond, three friends said they were up for the adventure! I am not sure I even have one friend I could email on Monday and ask to run 18 miles at a 9 min/mile pace with me that Saturday, let alone three! One of the friends mapped us a route, we set up a meeting time and I mentally prepared myself to keep up with these rock star runners.

On the way to the ferry building!

Since Mike is also racing Surf City in February, he got up with me at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning and made the trek via bus and then metro down to the Ferry Building in order to have time to get coffee and meet Page by 7:45. I was a little nervous as we made our way to meet everyone. I was a little worried about the planned pace (although my marathon PR is a 8:45 min/mile, I typically don’t run my long runs near that time) as well as anxious to meet my “blog friend,” as I call all people I meet via the internet.

Luckily there was no need to be nervous. Not only was Page incredibly nice, she was also really easy to talk to. And her friends, Kristin, Katie and Alyssa, were just as awesome. After a quick bathroom stop at the ferry building, we were off!  Our route was very similar to many of the San Francisco races (San Francisco Marathon, Nike Women’s Marathon, etc). We started at the ferry building, made our way down to the Marina and Fisherman’s Wharf, climbed a hill through Fort Mason, continued on along the water and then climbed up another hill and made our way over the Golden Gate bridge. The views were absolutely stunning and the weather was absolutely perfect. It was a sunny, warm and clear day in San Francisco.

We stopped along the way to take pictures, use the restroom, fill our water bottles and chat. Once we crossed the bridge, there were more photos as well as the realization that we skipped our add-on and would have to do an extra 3 mile loop once we reached the ferry building again. We headed back, each of us changing position to chat with different people along the way. This run brought back a lot of memories of training for my first marathon last year with The Vavi Running Club. There were about five or six of us girls that would run together and chat and the miles flew by. We kept the pace easy, fluttering between around the high 8s and low 9s, and I found that my body was responding well.

The 18 Mile Runners!

By the time we reached the Ferry Building, two of the girls dropped off but three of us continued. Mike was already back at the Ferry Building after doing 15 miles of his own, but we continued on for three more. We ran just past AT&T Park, which was even more exciting since the Giants were on the cusp of winning the World Series. Once we got back to the Ferry Building, my legs were tired, but overall I felt pretty good. We met up with Mike who ordered me a veggie burger while I went off with Page on a mission to find the vegan doughnut stand. After our meal, Page was incredibly nice and drove us back to our condo so we didn’t have to navigate public transit covered in sweat (not that the people on the trolley we took the day before smelled any better).

The entire weekend was pretty amazing and packed with action, but I have to say my long run across the bridge with some pretty cool girls was one of the highlights for me! These types of amazing runs remind me of how much I love running. It makes the hard work worth it.

Another highlight of the weekend (other than seeing all our awesome friends!) was the amazing food in San Francisco! We had no trouble finding amazingly delicious vegan food nearly every where we went! Of course, I also splurged on some yummy non-vegan desserts – you can’t go to San Francisco without a stop at Ghiradelli for a sundae!

The best meal of the weekend – Gracias Madre vegan squash quesadilla

I LOVE icecream!

Do you go for a run to explore cities while on vacation? Have you ever met up with a  blog or twitter friend in a city for a run?

Quinoa Black Bean Salad With Dried Apricots

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Since adopting our mostly vegan lifestyle, I’ve learned that our spinach and avocado salads that used to fill us up aren’t quite big enough to satisfy our lunchtime hunger. Although I’ve started adding things like chickpeas, hummus and almonds to  them, they just don’t quite cut it without the big hunks of turkey or chicken. So I’ve started making “side dishes” as I call them to go with our salad or sandwich each day (for the sandwich I substitute the meat for extra avocado and hummus and fill it with veggies). I actually had to do t his often during Ironman training as well since we were constantly starving. Sometimes our side dish is leftover curry or chili from dinner, but often I make a completely separate dish.

This quinoa black bean salad is one of my favorite side dishes. The recipe is adapted from Tony Horton’s Bring It! book which his also where I found my favorite chili recipe. Quinoa is one of my favorite vegan proteins because it is a complete protein (has all amino acids). I also like that the salad has pumpkin seeds since they are high in iron (you can find them at places like Whole Foods and Sprouts in bulk). The dried apricots make it unlike anything I typically eat, which is fun too!

Dressing

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice ( I just squeeze a full lime and don’t measure)

1/4 cup apricot nectar (I actually use 1 tbsp agave nectar instead because I haven’t been able to find apricot nectar)

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & diced (watch out if handling the inside of the jalapeno without gloves – I’ve burned my eyes trying to take out my contacts after making this recipe!)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or flax oil

1/4 tsp sea salt

Combine in a bottle and puree in a blender.

Salad

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots or 3 fresh apricots, pitted & chopped

1 small red bell pepper, seeded & diced

1 cup chopped scallions ( I recommend using less – there is a lot of flavor already)

1 small red onion (you could use just half and it’d be ok)

1 cup fresh cilantro (also could use less or is good without)

1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (can substitute sunflower seeds or walnuts)

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled ( I usually use a recipe that calls for 1 cup dry and 2 cups of water to cook, which makes about 3 cups for extra salad!)

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

Cook the quinoa and let it cool (I’m sure you could serve it warm as well but I never have). Combine the salad ingredients and toss to combine. Add the dressing, stir, and let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes. 

Do you love quinoa as much as me? Do you have any other quinoa salad recipes to share?

Trying to Fit It All In

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There is a reason why  people say they don’t have time to train for a marathon. Training plans can seem daunting when you first look at them – long runs every single weekend, cross-training, speed work, tempo runs and recovery runs throughout the week. No training plan has a scheduled weekend off. You have to modify your training plan to fit your life, and unfortunately sometimes that means missing some workouts.

I was thrown off of my training routine this past week for a couple of reasons. First, after running the half marathon on October 7, I went straight into a week of very high mileage – 40 for the week but since I did my long run on Saturday and the half marathon the Sunday before, I hit a new record 53 miles in 7 days. The reason that I ran my long run Saturday was because on  Sunday Mike and I volunteered at a charity paddle boarding event called Paddle Fest, to benefit Urban Surf 4 Kids. The inaugural event was a huge success but it did require that I be on my feet for about seven hours – not exactly the best recovery from a huge training week.

PaddleFest San Diego 2012

PaddleFest Volunteers!

Going into the next week, I knew that it’d be hard for me to get in many workouts over the weekend since I was going to Vegas for work from Thursday to Saturday and then immediately making my way to a wedding on Saturday afternoon. I positioned my week to be heavy on the miles Monday-Thursday, including a 12 mile “long” (shorter than it was supposed to be but the longest run of the week) run which was to include 6 miles at half marathon pace, for Thursday morning before we left for Vegas. Basically I was trying to front-load all the miles.

Monday’s run was a 8 mile run with 10 100 meter strides. I went into this run not anticipating how hard it would be. 100 meters seemed really short (it’s about 0.06 miles) but I was instructed (via my training book Advanced Marathoning) to run these strides at basically all out pace and then “float” for the final 20 meters. I was pretty exhausted after the run but still decided to wake up early for a 6 a.m.  Dailey Method class on Tuesday. That evening after Girls on Track, I headed to Torrey Pines where I ran up the huge hill and back down for a total of 5 miles. My legs felt heavy and tired. Wednesday I slept in and decided to do my recovery run at lunch. Unfortunately, a heat wave came through San Diego and by lunchtime the temperature outside was nearing 90. Luckily I dragged a co-worker out with me to run, but it was pretty miserable. That night when I got home and told Mike of my intention to wake up extra early the morning before we left for Vegas to run 12 miles, 6 at half marathon pace, he reminded me that I hadn’t been feeling great and putting myself through such a strenuous workout the morning before a very long night out would only make things worse. I listened to his advice and ended up running just 6 miles that morning – my legs felt like lead and I thanked Mike in my head the whole way for convincing me to shorten the run.

I had all the intentions to run at some point over the weekend – either on Saturday after we arrived back from Vegas but before the wedding, or Sunday after the wedding. However, I had a little too much fun in Vegas and at the wedding and hangovers and lack of sleep kept me away from physical activity for three days, with the exception of the 6+ miles of walking on the strip we did on Friday (3 of which were in high heels!) and the impromptu 4.5 mile walk we took on Sunday in San Diego.

VEGAS!

Fun at the Pool!

 

Cirque Du Soilel – Beatles LOVE

My intended 37 miles for the week (which was shortened from the amount prescribed in my training plan to start with), ended up getting reduced to 23 miles of running. Considering my lack of recovery from the prior couple of weeks and my overall lack of energy during my runs, it was probably a good thing for me to take a short week last week. I’m really hoping to come out of this with a bit more energy and feeling stronger since hopefully my legs had some time to recover. I’m still trying to get the balance right with my training. The plan I’m following is quite ambitious as it is, and I think it’s not wise for me to try to alter it and cram all the miles in at the beginning of the week when I have weekend plans.

The next test will be this weekend – we are headed up to San Francisco for four days starting on Thursday for another wedding! Luckily, I have a running buddy up in the SF area and have plans for a long run in the city with her on Saturday. That should help keep me on track!

How do you alter your training for long weekends and vacations? How do you handle missing an long run during a training cycle?

Miles for Mokie!

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Dedicating our long run miles (32 in total) to Mokie on Saturday!

A couple of weeks ago, a pretty amazing woman was faced with a pretty incredible challenge. In the matter of moments, her priorities shifted from training for her next marathon to surviving a brain tumor.

Monika and I met through the amazing not for profit Girls on the Run. We actually, I recognized her from my very first coaches meeting last summer. I remember thinking that she was extremely energetic and passionate about the organization (as well as noting that she was also very well organized when she explained that she would create a to-the- minute timeline before each practice to keep everyone on track). Soon after this meeting, I wrote a blog post about my experience with Girls on the Run and Monika, as Marketing Chair, re-tweeted and posted it on Facebook. We then began to follow each other on Twitter and started to follow each other’s training journeys via our tweets and blog posts.

Monika Running the SF Marathon (I hope Monika is ok with me stealing a photo from her blog….)

I saw Monika for the 2nd time in person when she was volunteering at the Oceanside Half Ironman in March. She was cheerfully helping athlete’s find their transition bags after the race. Later I found out that she had been out there for hours – first unpacking all the heavy bags from a truck and then moving them into numerical order on the asphalt – and before that she had gone for a run on her own. I would have never known that she was tired from a long day because of her positive attitude.

After IM CdA, I decided to volunteer for Girls on the Run again and Monika encouraged me via Twitter to join her team of slightly older girls for Girls on Track. I put in the request and was selected to be on Monika’s team. Also around this time I attended my first Girls on the Run Marketing Committee meeting, in which Monika is the chairperson. Did I also mention that Monika also gives back to Girls on the Run through Glam Runner, where she and a friend make awesome running tu-tus? Proceeds go to SoleMates, the fundraising portion of Girls on the Run. She gives back in so many ways on top of working full time and training for marathons (she has run 18 full-distance marathons and 19 half marathons).

Photo thanks to http://glam-runner.com/about/

To sum it up, Monika is one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met. She is incredibly intelligent, hard working and above all, benevolent. When I heard the news that the 8 months of headaches Monika has been experiencing were due to a large tumor on her brain stem (read more on her blog here), my heart went out to her. Unsurprisingly, Monika has been incredibly positive throughout the process and has everyone cheering for her. She has a long road ahead of her, but her dedication to health and fitness and incredibly positive attitude will no doubt carry her through this and allow her live a long healthy life.

It’s also not surprising that Monika has inspired hundreds, if not thousands of people, the same way that she has me. A week ago today, Monika had surgery that will keep her from her passion of running for at least 6 weeks. She also had to cancel her plans to run two full marathons this fall and winter.  As a result, her friends and family across the globe have come together to dedicate their miles run to her during this time. The challenge on Daily Mile and Facebook is called Miles for Mokie (Monika’s family nickname). So far, I’ve dedicated nearly 41 miles to Mokie and I plan to keep it up!

If you’d like to join in this awesome cause  you can find the Daily Mile challenge here and the Facebook challenge here. Participants are encouraged to post as frequently as  they want and to get creative with their dedications to Mokie!

Early Morning Miles for Mokie

Random Fact Friday

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This week has been crazy! I have been busy and haven’t had much time to blog so I thought it’d be fun to bust out one of Katie’s Random Fact Fridays. Here we go!

1. After my 1 month Dailey Method membership expired, I purchased a 10 pack with the intention of going to class at least once a week during marathon training. Due to the race last week, I went 10 days without attending class until this morning. Absence really makes the heart grow fonder because now I can’t wait to get back to my next class!

2. This week in Girls on Track we talked about gratitude. It was probably my favorite lesson so far. We talked about how we can choose react any situation with an attitude of graciousness instead of disappointment or anger – i.e. looking on the bright side of all situations. After spending much of my childhood throwing myself a pity party and often looking at the worst in a situation, I learned as I grew up that the only person I’m hurting by doing so is myself. Now I always try to find the best in a situation (sometime I fail but hey I’m human) rather than dwelling on the worst.

3. During the Girls on Track workout, each girl had to say something she was thankful for every time she ran a lap. My favorite was one girl said she was thankful for “filet mignon with a cabernet reduction.” I didn’t even know what any of that meant when I was in middle school and I was certainly too picky to eat it.

4. Growing up, I was kind of obsessed with quotes and poetry. I kept several journals full of quotes. One of my favorites was “Life is like freshly fallen snow, be careful where you walk for every step will show.” In my high school yearbook we were allowed to write a small quote under our Senior photo. There weren’t enough lines for my quote and they shortened it to “Life is like snow. Be careful where you step.” Fail.

5. Although I’ve voted in every Presidential election since I turned 18, this is the first one that I’ve paid a lot of attention to. It’s been fun watching the conventions and debates with Mike and learning more about where our country is going.

6. Since starting my Pfzitzinger training plan, I’ve logged all my miles in Daily Mile. I really like it although I’m not going to try to keep up with the social media aspect of commenting on everyone’s workouts. I already have enough to worry about.

7. Since starting Dailey Method, I spell the word “daily” like “Dailey” every time. Then I have to correct myself. I did that while writing #6.

8. I don’t close cupboards or drawers or turn off lights. It drives Mike nuts.

9. On Wednesday I attended the Girls on Track mid-season meeting at a pilates/spin studio called BodyRok. After the meeting I tried a pilates class on the reformer for the first time. That machine is like a tricked out torture device! I was on the fence about whether or not I liked it, but my abs and inner thighs were super sore the next day from only a 25 minute workout so I know it’s effective!

10. This morning I ate oatmeal and half a donut for breakfast at my desk, bite for bite. It was delicious.

Happy Friday! Any Friday facts you want to share?

Long Beach Half Marathon Race Report

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What a weekend I just had! The Long Beach Half Marathon was just part of a whirlwind weekend in Orange County. I am so thankful for Mike and his great attitude as we made the rounds as we saw practically everyone I’ve ever known in my life this weekend. Saturday we attended a good friend from high school’s brother’s funeral and reception which was absolutely heartbreaking. Immediately after, we drove over to the Long Beach Convention Center to pick up our bibs at the expo. Afterward we drove back to Huntington  Beach for dinner with my Mom and then immediately drove to my Dad’s house for an hour of chit-chat before bed. After the race we met up with my Aunt, Uncle and three cousins for breakfast and then headed to my childhood best friend’s house to meet her 5 day old baby boy. What a weekend!

Mike’s New Mug!

Buying My Favorite Discontinued Running Shoes for $50 – Priceless

Race morning was quite different for Mike and I since this was the first race that we didn’t have friends racing with us (my friend Amy was racing the full marathon and we saw her at the expo but didn’t meet up in the morning). We got up at 3:45 AM because we wanted to be on the road for the 40 minute drive to Long Beach by 4:15 a.m. After stopping for coffee and ridiculously over-priced gas (ummm $4.95 a gallon!? WTH?!), we arrived in Long Beach by 5 a.m. as planned and encountered almost no traffic. I had been warned that traffic getting into downtown Long Beach on race morning was pretty intense, so I made sure we got there extra early. We made our way to our pre-paid parking spot in a local parking garage and sat and ate our peanut  butter banana sandwiches and drank our coffee in the warm car. The rest of the morning went quickly and before we knew it, we were lining up in our corral, ready to start.

Race Morning!

Just About to Start!

The race began and we were off! I was nervous waiting for the start and the adrenaline was pumping. Going into this race, I didn’t blog about it, but my #1 goal was to PR (former PR was AFC in August 2011 1:52:24) , 2nd goal was to break 1:50 and 3rd goal was to run the race at my Boston Qualifying Pace – 8:15 min/miles. After a pretty disappointing race in a very hot and humid AFC 2012, 8 weeks post-Ironman, I’ve been training pretty hard. Although weekend plans (i.e. weddings) have forced me to rearrange my schedule quite a bit, I’ve gotten in some solid mileage, including a 40 mile week. I did hill-repeats on Torrey Pines 3 times and had a really quality 7.5 mile interval workout 10 days before the race. However, I did have one of the worst long runs ever and in general haven’t always felt super strong. It was hard for me to mentally and phonically recover from Ironman without taking significant time off which ultimately resulted in a loss of fitness. I had the idea that coming out of Ironman I’d be the strongest and fittest I’ve ever been, and that definitely was not the case. However, these last four weeks or so I could tell that I was getting my mojo back and a PR/sub 1:50 was seeming very possible, especially with a good taper (which I did). The weather was somewhat cooperating with a high of 75 expected for the day – not ideal racing weather but not bad either.

As usual, the first mile I kind of just kept up with those around me, trying not to weave too much through the thick crowd and waste energy. My first mile ticked off at 8:27 and I knew it was time to pick up the pace. The first mile felt VERY easy, so I knew I could go a bit faster. The first few miles had a few slight hills as we ran up and over a couple of bridges. The sun was rising and the ocean looked absolutely beautiful.  I tried to soak it all in as I ran. The next two miles were closer to what I wanted – both 8:18. At this point, I kind of mentally checked out of the idea of a 1:47:30 race (8:15 average that I need to qualify for Boston), but figured it was possible for me to negative split and possibly get it done. My focus shifted to at least guaranteeing a sub 1:50.

RUN!

I had skipped the first aid station but I did drink water at the 2nd. During mile 4, I got my Gu out, knowing an aid station was coming at mile 4.5.I gulped down the Gu quickly and slowed a bit to take plenty of water and kept going.  Just before the aid station, I remember running past a “Your Speed” digital sign that warns cars of their speed. It was pretty entertaining when I saw that the speed sign was picking up the runner’s speed! It showed that we were running 7 mph.

Now we were running through downtown and soon we ended up on the boardwalk. The first portion of the boardwalk wound along the coast, next to stores and restaurants. There was a lot of crowd support here, which was nice since there hadn’t been a lot in the beginning. I remember running by and feeling strong and good. My pace on my Garmin kept showing me that I was in the high 7s, low 8s and I knew I’d achieve my goal. Mile 4 was a 8:21 pace, slightly slower most likely due to the aid station. As we wound through Shoreline Park, mile 5 showed 8:32. I was feeling great and really enjoying myself. Time to pick it up!

Around mile 6 is when we passed through the start area. Spectators lined the streets cheering us on. We were just about halfway and now it was time to run down the sand-lined boardwalk and then loop up into the street that parallels the ocean and run back. When I looked down at my watch at mile 6.55, the halfway point, I was at exactly 55 minutes, meaning that I would have to negative split in order to achieve sub-1:50 glory. At this point, I was feeling really good and told myself that this race would be like the La Jolla Half where I felt good the whole time and then picked it up at the end to negative split.

So I revved it up a notch and the mile 6 split came out to 8:22. Not bad but not great. I was hoping for something sub 8:15. I got in the zone and focused on my form – quick leg turnover, relaxed face and upper body. I reminded myself to take a look around and enjoy the sights, but also kept focus on my pace. Mile 7 – 8:24. Grr! Mile 8 I really picked it up. My watch was telling me I was in the high 7s, low 8s. However, there was also this random aid station during mile 8 that required me to veer quite a bit off the path. I had planned to take half a Gu at this station too but it came out of no where and I wad distracted by a guy who had started to make conversation about Ironman because of my hat.

Not only did I miss my chance to Gu (I hate taking Gu without water), suddenly my watch beeped – Mile 8 – 8:28. I was utterly confused. I actually spoke out loud “What the F*ck?!” because I had been seeing high 7s and low 8s on my watch and now it was telling me I ran a 8:28. Another thing that added to my disappointment was the fact that my Garmin had been tracking fairly evenly with the mile markers until this point. When my watch clicked off 8 miles, I was still quite a ways from the 8 mile official sign.  I think this was the point where I realized that sub 1:50 was probably not happening.

Seeing my Family on the Course!

Family Spotting Mike!

My  body still felt pretty good going into Mile 9, despite my disappointment in my most recent mile. As we climbed a small hill to get off the boardwalk and into a neighborhood around this point, I saw my aunt, uncle, and three cousins, who had come out to support me! I had told my cousin who goes to Cal State Long Beach about the race, but I didn’t actually think she would come. It was a great surprise to not only see her but also four other family members cheering me on! I got a pretty big boost of energy seeing them and picked up the pace again. Right after I saw them, I hit an aid station and took my 2nd Gu down quickly. Mile 9 was 8:22 and as I rounded the final turn and headed back toward the finish line, mile 10 ticked off at 8:23.

I had heard/read that there was an incline around mile 11 and I was expecting it. However, I wasn’t expecting how hard it would seem! My heart rate skyrocketed and suddenly running at my planned sub 8 minute mile seemed impossible. I allowed myself to back off during the incline and coasted down a decline. The mile was 8:28. Sub 1:50 dreams destroyed. At this point, I knew that my only hope was to hold on to a PR. My body suddenly didn’t want to run – my heart rate continued to be extremely high (high 180s). As I started into Mile 12, I wanted to give up. I put the 2nd ear bud into my ear and cranked up the music. Don’t give up.

Ironically, Eminem’s “Til I Collapse” flooded my ears.

“Cause sometimes you just feel tired,
Feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
And just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.”

I know this is only a race, not life and death,  but the timing of this song coming on was pretty incredible. This is the song that reminds me of the determination and endurance it takes to complete an Ironman because of this YouTube video. This song reminds me that suffering is sometimes required to achieve goals.

Eminem- you saved my life! Erm…race.

Mile 12 was a disappointing 8:51 pace but I tried to channel my inner-Eminem and not quit. Luckily, the last mile or so has a slight decline which was absolutely fabulous. I felt like absolute crap by the hill pulled me forward. I got out my last Gu out and started slowly eating it despite having just passed an aid station so there would be no water to wash it down. I figured since I just drank water, I’d be ok eating the Gu. I didn’t know what else to do – I literally felt like I had hit the wall during a marathon. I just kept telling myself that I had less than 10 minutes to go. I could do anything for that long.

My heart rate was off the charts – 190 (I have a very high heart rate in general but this is extreme even for me). I was probably using 100% glycogen to fuel my muscles which is why the Gu was slightly helping but not quite fast enough. Mile 13 – 8:27. I was holding on. I knew I was going to PR if I kept it up. KEEP GOING!!!!

The last .1 miles was the worst, mostly because it was actually .3. After my Garmin hit 13 miles, I wasn’t even close to the 13 mile marker. Luckily the very last portion of the race is an even steeper hill and I was able to coast down it at an average 7:20 pace to the finish.

Final time: 1:51:53. A 31 second PR.

After I crossed the finish line, I was disappointed. I know – boo hoo I PRed and I’m sad about it. I’m disappointed because for some reason I thought after doing an Ironman that I would magically be a superior runner than I was pre-Ironman. That is certainly not the case.  I’m pretty positive that had I run a half marathon before my 3:49 performance at Surf City that I would have blew 1:50 out of the water. So what this means is not only do I need to take 14 minutes off of my marathon PR to get to a BQ, but I’m also not even at my marathon PR fitness. The road to Boston seemed even longer in that moment.

I’m going to write another post about the lessons I learned during this race as well as some ideas as to why I crashed and burned at the end, but for now, I’ll focus on the good news – this race was a big PR in terms of age group, sex and overall rankings.

The results page has this pretty cool image:

The above graphic is based on net times, not gun times, so my actual stats were: 1:51:53 (8:33 pace); 44 out of 998 in age group (top 5%!); 227/6,536 women (top 3.4%), 936/11,200 overall (top 8.4%). My pace according to my Garmin was 8:25.

Despite not meeting my goal of sub-1:50, I was absolutely thrilled when I saw my age group and sex rankings! AFC was my first half marathon that I placed in the top 10% of my age group and this time I placed in the top 10% overall and in the top 3.4% of women! It was obvious that this course was a bit more difficult than originally thought and I really do think that it was a bit too long (I talked to several others who agreed). The best part of the stats above is the “for the record – you were ahead of 85% of men runners.” CHICKED!

After the race Mike and I met up with my family and my uncle (who was wearing his Long Beach marathon t-shirt from 1988) announced that next year for his 50th birthday he is going to run the Long Beach Marathon again. It’ll be exactly 25 years since his first and only marathon. My cousin also wants to run and Mike and I just might have to join them!

Do you have a motivational song that helps you get through tough moments in a race or during a hard workout? 

15 Minutes of Fame

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Last night was my television debut! In May, while training for the Ironman, I spent a day in LA filming for a new game show called “Oh Sit.” The show is brand new so I knew nothing about it when I auditioned other than it was a “high octane version of musical chairs” in which I had a chance to win “a large cash prize” (I was later told it was up to $50,000). I had SO much fun filming the show and even more fun watching it last night. It was incredibly interesting to see which footage they used (we filmed a lot more than they showed of course) and what angle they chose for my character and nickname. I was very relieved/pleased to find out my nickname was a play on Ironman – “Ironma’am!” The show incorporated a lot of corny puns about my fitness such as “Ironma’am raises her iron fist!”

During filming, my main concern was not getting hurt since I was only a month away from IM CdA. I took it pretty easy over the obstacles and didn’t push or shove anyone since I didn’t want to get it back at me. You’ll have to watch and see how that turned out for me….

Here’s a link to the show online if you are interested in watching!

http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/oh-sit/episode-10/?play=c54fce1c-865e-47be-8a36-40fcc3db6904

Oohhhhh Sit!

My dream show: The Amazing Race (let me know if you have any connections…. )!!!

Would you go on a game show you knew nothing about to win up to $50k? Have you ever wanted to be on a reality show or game show? Which one?

Girls on Track!

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Girls on Track Carmel Valley

Yesterday was my 4th practice with Girls on Track for the Fall 2012 season. Girls on Track is the program for girls that have grown out of Girls on the Run – i.e. 6th-8th graders. Girls on the Run is only available to 3rd – 5th graders. Last Fall I volunteered with Girls on the Run, but this season the location that I was previously volunteering at moved and the new start time was too early for me to feasibly leave work in time to make. Since I knew Monika was a coach for Girls on Track, I talked to her about it and she convinced me that Girls on Track was equally (if not more) awesome than Girls on the Run.

Managing the Bead Bags (the girls get one per lap)

I’m really glad she did convince me because I absolutely love the girls I coach for Girls on Track. For those of you who aren’t aware, Girls on the Run and Girls on Track are a national program with local branches. The Girls on the Run national website describes the program better than I could. It is a “transformational learning program for 8 to 13 year-old girls. We teach life skills through dynamic, conversation-based lessons and running games. The program culminates with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5k running event. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness.”

Reflecting on the Lesson

The program is 10 weeks and the girls meet twice a week. Since I am an assistant coach, I meet just once a week but I am more than welcome to come twice if my schedule were to allow (unfortunately I can’t since I have to leave work at 3:45 to make it to the practice). Over the course of the 10 weeks, the girls follow a well-crafted curriculum that teaches them valuable life lessons that aren’t often taught in the classroom. From the beginning, we teach the girls that they are intelligent, beautiful and gifted and that they should not listen to anyone who tells them otherwise. We call girls who are confident, secure in their beliefs and in themselves and who don’t allow others opinions of them to affect them “Girls Outside The Box.” The “Girl Box” is the place that society teaches us to go – a place where we conform to what others think we should be.

Warm-Up!

Each meeting has a lesson plan that begins with a discussion, continues with a warm-up and finished with the actual running workout. The girls only spend about 1/3 of the practice running, although toward the end of the season we run a bit more to get ready for the 5k. So far in Girls on Track we’ve discussed topics like time-management, fueling our  bodies with the right foods, and stress management. We will continue into more sensitive topics like bullying, being role models to younger girls, and crushes and relationships. These are many of the same topics discussed in Girls on the Run, but they are more mature conversations.

 

Differences in Girls on the Run & Girls on Track 

Girls on the Run Team 2011

I found Girls on the Run involved a lot of repetition to get the girls to understand concepts, and Girls on Track is definitely more of an in depth conversation. When I coached Girls on the Run, I wasn’t exactly sure where the girls were coming from or what they already knew. I feel that I can relate a bit more to the Girls on Track girls. However, they still surprise me at times with their vocabulary and maturity at times!

Another reason that Girls on Track is close to my heart is that I know what a nightmare middle school can be. personally, middle school was the hardest time of my life. Although I had plenty of friends, I had many of them turn on me. As a result, I transformed from a uber-confident elementary school child to a quiet, reserved and insecure middle schooler. I also put on weight during this time since in 6th grader we weren’t allowed to participate in after school sports and I was old enough to take the bus home. I would ride the bus home and fix myself a big fattening snack and then sit on the couch all afternoon and watch TV. As a result, I gained quite a bit of weight. I absolutely hated when we had to run the mile in P.E. Since we only ran it a few times a year and i wasn’t participating in sports, it was difficult for me to run a full lap without stopping.  Running was not something fun for me – it was a chore.

In 7th grade, I joined the Track and Field team and learned to enjoy running. I saw my mile time drop from 13 minutes to 8 minutes. I lost weight and gained some confidence, but this confidence was often tested by friends who turned their backs on me or boys who bullied me. As a really tall girl in a world where the boys hadn’t had their growth spurts yet, I felt really big and uncomfortable in my skin.  I really wish I’d had a program like Girls on the Run when I was young so that I could have gained confidence in myself and learned to enjoy running even more. I absolutely love working with these middle school girls because I feel like I can make an impact on their self-esteem and teach them that no matter how different they are from anyone else, they are themselves and they should embrace that.

My Running Buddy and Me at the 2011 Girls on the Run Sparkle and Shine 5k

I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds. Last year, one of my favorite parts of the season was watching the girls test themselves in a practice 5k as well as the organized Girls on the Run Sparkle and Shine 5k. Last year I was a running buddy and ran by one of my girls’ sides as she completed her first ever running race. It was incredible. Unfortunately this year I will be returning from our trip to Belize very late the night before but I’m really hoping to get out to the 5k to at least cheer all the girls on.

Have you heard about Girls on the Run? 

Life and Death

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This week one of my very best friends is having a baby. Bringing new life into the world is an undeniably incredible act. It reminds you that we have more purpose in life than obtaining our desired heart rate during a tempo run or getting on the podium at a sprint triathlon. Those are the moments that we step outside of our normal routine and celebrate life – a heart beat, a healthy pulse, and the sound of a loud cry. Things that we may take for granted at times, but when a baby is first born, these little things mean the world.

Unfortunately in the past week, two of my good friends lost loved ones whose time on earth was far from over. They each had long, healthy lives of ahead of them and they were taken much too soon. Another friend was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Hearing the news of each of these events shocked me to the core. One moment you think you have everything figured out, and the next you’re lost.

My priorities are changing and the tragedies as of late have encouraged me to re-evaluate some things. I probably won’t ever train for another Ironman. Although I enjoyed training and I am so glad that I did it, training for that many hours a week doesn’t give me the joy that it does for others. It was certainly an incredible journey and a life changing event, but I really need more time in my life to spend with friends and family. I don’t want to skip any more family parties, miss family camping weekends, or pass up opportunities to share a glass of wine with a friend because I can’t miss a workout. The events as of late have solidified my decision to not race long distance triathlon even more. There is certainly a balance when it comes to training and for me personally, I couldn’t maintain that balance while training. I was fortunate enough that my race didn’t overlap many key events in my friends and families lives (all 7 weddings and the related bachelorette parties and bridal showers were post Ironman!), but I certainly put those relationships on the back burner.  Even Mike and I put our relationship with one another to the side a bit during training. As we trained for hours on end, side by side, our relationship as friends and training partners was strengthened, but our romantic relationship dwindled a bit.

I still intend to qualify for Boston because running gives me joy. If it were to stop or interfere too much with other aspects of my life, I will give the goal up. Health and fitness are surely one of the most important things in my life but I know that I can live a healthy and balanced life by following a conscious diet and getting a moderate amount of exercise. Ironman and running marathons (or even halves) are not a requirement for good health. Running marathons and competing in short distance triathlons do make my happy and give me a sense of purpose and a goal to work toward and as long as they it makes sense for me, I will keep racing.

In addition to spending plenty of time with friends and family, I want to travel the world before I leave this earth and I’ve been reminded lately that that day could come earlier than I think. There will be no more delaying of trips for “the right time”. The recent events have also solidified my decision to leave my prior accounting firm that would have been a super fast track to upper management but required me to work hundreds of hours of overtime each year. Spending my life eating dinner at my desk instead of with loved ones is not worth a hefty paycheck to me. Time is the ultimate equalizer. No one has more minutes in a day than anyone else. No amount of cash in your bank account is going to change that.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln