2011- 2 Halves, no fulls, plenty of of 5ks

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2011 was a fun, laid back, mediocre racing year for me, however living in Santa Barbara every year is a great running year!

I'm happy to report there were NO running injuries this year. Yay. While I did break my shoulder and it did put me out for a few months, it was not running related.

2011 Summary

- Logged 350 miles - that's pretty low.
- I ran Ojai 2 Ocean and the Las Vegas half marathon. Loved the first, but not the second.
- Downgraded my Montecito half marathon to a 10k cause it was so unbelievably unorganized!
- Ran a lot more of the nite moves than I have before (4 or 5) then I broke my shoulder and couldn't continue.
- Missed State Street Mile - I want to say because I was sick?
- Sold my Wine Country Half Bib at the last possible minute because I double booked it as the same day as a friend's wedding.
- No PRs.

In 2012 I'm looking for a few things
- Another full marathon
- PR in a full marathon
- I'm considering a 10 mile trail race
- A 5k PR
- No running or other injuries that will put me out for anything longer than an average cold would...

One of the highlight of 2011 was the medal rack my best friend made, so I could display my medals :)


Cheers to hoping that you had as good of a running year as I did if not better!






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2011 Running in Santa Barbara County is easier.

Running in Santa Barbara should be easier than in most other places...if you don't believe me, check out dailymile.com where many of my fellow runners say things like:

"Running at -3ºC, lovely and cold... loved it!" @Jacky in Giorna Spain.

" Yeah, so remember last week when I tacked on a few extra miles to my long run, because 36ºF and sub-10mph winds is pretty good running weather? I had to cash in my chips today. Temp 27ºF, winds 16mph, and slippery snow. Any day when the temperature is higher than the wind speed is a day to give thanks, but I was glad to stop at 12mi. Good grief, I've become soft" @Elodie in Toronto (she's one of my faves!)

"When I left this morning the temp was about 15F which felt substantially better than 15F at home in the Windy City - thank goodness." @Will in Flossmoore, IL

These folks are committed.

I love the 50 degrees we get in Santa Barbara in the winter for a comfortable 7 and even 8am run. In the summer its warmer, but we seldom see 100 degree days. I think it is safe to say, that the willingness for us to get out there should come relatively easier than for those in other places. Besides, we have in SB, the ocean and mountains, we have a lot of open space, and in north county, we have fields to run by. (I've done it)

If you enjoy running and are looking to run races this upcoming year, here are the races, (that I usually try to run) that go on in our county all year long. A few I have yet to try, and could always use a buddy for any of these ;)

• Jan 1, 2011 8:00 AM New Year's Resolution Race - Cause who wants to start out the year hungover?
• Jan 29, 2011 9:00 AM Romeo's 4- Miler- part of the UCSB Running Series, with a couples relay too
• Feb 6, 2011 9:00 AM Superbowl 4-Miler in Goleta
• Feb 27, 2011 9:00 AM Roses en la Playa 5k
• Mar 5, 2011 9:00 AM Shamrock 5-miler also part of the UCSB Running Series
• April 16, 2010 8:00 AM Chardonnay 10 miler and 5k - This is one I have never run
• April 30,2010 9:00 AM Gaucho Gallop 10k & 5k- I've only done the 5k, 3 times and although it gets better every year, I'm not crazy about this race- but I keep running it
• May 5, 2011- Sept 1, 2011 at Sunset Nite Moves 5k Series - these are really fun! Once a week on Wednesdays.
• May 7, 2011 7:00 AM Wine Country Half Marathon 13.1- I'm planning on this one for this year. Who is in?
• June 5, 2011 8:00 AM SB State Street MILE - one miler, what could be better? This race is a special one for me, because the profits go to the District Attorney's office Crime Victim's emergency fund, which is helpful to people at very critical situations.
• July 16, 2011 ? Montecito Half Marathon never heard of this one? Has anybody run it?Good, bad, indifferent?
• Aug 21, 2011 8:30 AM McConnell's 5k and 10k - as we get closer to the date and a reg link comes up, I'll post it. (I never miss this one, because your registration includes post race ice-cream!) And it is closest to my birthday, so this is always my birthday race.
• Sep 4, 2011 6:30 AM Pier to Peak 13.1 I'm dying to do this half-marathon. It is always labor day weekend, but I often end up working on a political campaign- and that's a big weekend for campaigns- which means I might never run it. It looks super tough, but fun. I might need a friend to run it with me...who's up for it? It starts by the dolphin statue by the pier to the top of La Cumbre peak. Yea...
• Sep 12, 2011 Guadalupe 5k and Half Marathon- did the 5k this year. It was cool to run out there. Very small field of runners
• Oct 2, 2011 8:00 AM Carpinteria Avocado 5k
• Nov 14, 2011 SB International Marathon and Half-Marathon. Last year I did the half, and it was pretty fun.
• Nov 24, 2011 Thanksgiving 4 Miler out of Noleta- because we all know a big dinner awaits on Thanksgiving
• Dec 19, 2011 Santa Clause Run 5k- this was the first year and it rained, but it was still fun. I hope they keep it.

Anyhow, here are three more useful resources:

• California half-marathon list
• SBAA Running Calendar
• Routes of some of the races

2011 for Uribe-

This year, I'm keeping it local. Running the 5ks and 4 milers.

In regard to big races, I'm thinking the Wine Country 1/2, the Pier to Peak 1/2 (hopefully) but if not, the SBIM half or maybe full.

Running blogs, twitter lists, posts- oh and run

Today I created a running list on twitter! (http://twitter.com/#/list/osum/running) Oh and I found a website with a directory of running blogs (http://completerunning.com/running-blogs/) which I am working through. If they are good about updating on an ongoing basis, I will add them to my blog list. Also, I saw on one of them the idea of writing your races on your blog, so I added a Race Results list on my blog, and am now displaying my labels! Lots done regarding running communications- oh yes and I ran.

Good Short- Downtown – 3.69 mi / 00:44 11:52 pace

The run itself was good. (emotionally I just was feeling restless...) the run was smooth, I felt a little tight in the calves. The run up state street is where I made up for some time. It was fun running on state while there was a farmers market and a good crowd. Requires a little focus and alternating speed. (Although I'm not sure the pedestrians enjoyed it as much as I did)- I would do it again. Got dark exactly when I came back. Perfect timing and weather.

As the year wraps up, I am beginning to look for a goal for next year. I'd like to train for a marathon. The LA one seems appealing in March, but I'm open to finding a race I REALLY want to do. (I lost my runner's world latest issue which includes many of the upcoming races- if it is not at my parents' I might buy it again) urgh.

October and rethinking the plan

October pace is far better 11:28. Mind you, I've only run 7.38 miles in 2 days. I am thinking the half on 11/7 and full 12/6 might be too much too soon. (and a little expensive) but I would hate to not run any (big) race this year.

I missed many small ones I like to do, and the ones I did, were not impressive, PRs or anything. So I dunno what to do. Maybe keep increasing the mileage and if I'm at 13 in a month (which is kind of easy since a I have a 7.6 regular) and a (4 and 5 loop) then it might be worthwhile to shoot for the full. They're kind of expensive too. ($55 for the half and $115 for the full) (I guess it's all relative) but the way I see it, both of these races are $0 for travel and $0 for lodging. So, who knows...