Santa to the Sea Half-Marathon (Goodbye to running for now)

December 8, 2013. After a tri, a half and a 4 miler I was ready to set an amazing PR for myself. I was hoping to set a PR yet, I was feeling so good I went too fast. My half PR is 2:23:21. I was going so fast that I hit the halfway point at 1:10:55. After the halfway point, I began getting a pain on my side leading down to my knee. I never knew about the tibial band - but now I do. I finished the half by walking jus under the 3-hour mark at 2:59:04.6. My second half of the race took 1:48:09. I was crying because I felt I could've had a great finish. Sure it's not winning the Olympics but after the year I had - I expected to do better. My mom was at the finish line and she looked worried.

My leg was hurt but my soul was crushed. Everything hurt for days later. For the first year in long time, I didn't start 2014 with a 5k race. It sucked!

That's a wrap- Racing 2010

Today was my last race of the year- a fun 5k in the rain!

2010 was a good year (despite the stress fracture and 3 month break/ recovery).

I raced 1 full marathon (LA) and 2 half marathons (sb & Oxnard)

Ran a 4-miler the turkey trot and 6 5ks (McConnell's, gaucho gallop, night moves, Guadalupe, Avila Beach & Santa Run)

I am most thankful for each of these races and each run in between. Onward to bigger and better for 2011. Best wishes for you and your running in the coming year!

Santa to the sea

Dear fellow runners, this is the blog about my latest 13.1. The entries were made and saved as a mobile post, with a retrospective summary. Hence, the interesting tenses. Last time I blog posted immediately, I didn't like the way it looked- created a new entry every time- but the microblogging (i.e. Twitter) was odd too. Let me know if you have any feedback re the style.

6:18 am Bus ride from harbor blvd to the start. In life in general I'm not known for being overly enthusiastic ever, but I often seem under- enthused on the races bus rides, in comparison to many hyper 30 some year old women...I'd say they seem the most excited. Least excited "looking"group I would say older men, but that was to be expected.

Overhearing first timers- wondering if they'll finish the half, certain they will never train for a full, but maybe if all goes well...

I don't know what makes somebody decide to run a full. For me it was the lower percentage of finishers than a half- especially women. (The second time it was for a better experience). The half though is an optimal distance. I still am aiming for a full once a year or every other year- if anything for the training, and the marathon weekend. The challenge of the marathon doesn't really get easier, it's just approached differently and with more experience every time.

Interestng start location, but at least I caught the sunrise

Why am I at the start time so early? On a random thought, a case can be made to race directors for technical race shirts because in addition too people actually wearing them (as opposed to tshirts, they are great conversation starters among runners).

7:39 am The worse part about races? Port-a-potties and even worse waiting in line for it.

7:42 still in line- seeing vibram fivefingers a lot more. Have any of you tried them? Any feedback? I want to try them but I don't want to spend $100+ and wear them once to find that I don't like them

12/13/10 The race was fun. My overall time did not improve although, my 10 mile time did. Weird, I know. My overall time was 2:42:21 which is just 9 seconds less than the SB Half last month. (and 10:23 more than the Disney half, and 19:00 minutes more than my PR of the first SB Half).

My first mile was a 10:06 mile, the second was a 20:20 mile, the 3rd, was at 32:00 so I was running between a 10 and 11 mile pace for the 5k. At the halfway point I was at 1:17:00 so an 11:50 mile. So far so good right? A little while after mile 10 I looked at my watch and it had been about 1:52:00 so at that point I was doing 10:58 pace, but it was all downhill from there. I was exhausted. The last 2.8 miles more or less took me 44 minutes :p yikes!

So, lesson is, again I went out way way too fast. I did find a guy that was running a nice pace and followed him from mile 4-6, but then he ran past where I could see him. ( I was following his foot turn over, and when I mirrored it, my pace got steady). But then he stopped at the halfway point to get water. At mile 7.5 he caught up to me and asked if he could run with me, cause he liked my pace...lol...go figure. Eventually he passed me though. I find that I need to be able to find my own pace, and maintain it. I had a good time, and the course was flat. The people were fun. I was a little dissapointed about the end result, mainly because it looked like while I might not have PRed, there was no way I would come in at a 2:30 or more...and then I did. Oh well, running is a sport where you live and you learn.

The one cool thing about this race is the guy that I was following, at some point was following me, and we were shooting for 11 min pace. And there were 2 other guys that were pacing me! First time it either happens, or I notice it. Which means, I can't be that bad of a runner.

Oh yea, and did I mention it was in the mid 70s? Who would've thought a blazing sun in December. Next up- Santa Run 5k this Saturday...no reason why I should not do well. Heck, if I just go out as if it were a half-marathon, or a long run, I could even PR.

Turtle Power

All I needed was an excuse to associate myself with the forever awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and here it is: TURTLE POWER! - hey, I'm a child that grew up in the late 1980s...

Not so proudly, this year I have massively evaded a single PR- I have a million excuses but I also believe I have 2 more opportunities this year (Santa to the Sea 1/2 marathon 12/12 & Santa Run 12/18) ...and worst case scenario there is a near opportunity next year (New Year's Resolution Run 1/1). Cheers to Turtle Power, let's get past this though.

The last race I ran was the Turkey Trot with my sister last Thursday- my third consecutive year, and sorry to say slowest time (46:11:7) for this fun 4 miler. In my defense, I was a bit sick...but on to bigger and better.

Cowabunga Dude!

Almost there...A quarter of recovery

This year has been a fun one. After the recovery from the stress fracture I began running well enough again in late August at the same time as I took a temporary job in Santa Maria,CA. I am now training for the Santa Barbara Half Marathon which is on Nov 6, only 4 days after the completion of my current work assignment. Because my work is also wrapping up in 12 days, I figured, it is possible that I might fall off the training schedule, which is why my goal for SBIM(1/2) is only to finish strong. I have also scheduled myself for the Santa to the Sea race on December 12, with a goal of a PR.

I feel my running is once again steady and boy am I thankful. I did one 5k in September, theSalad Bowl 5k in Guadalupe (pic below), and will be doing the Avila beach midnight fun run 5k this sat (at midnight, of course).

My favorite part about training, other than coming up with a schedule is the long runs! I did one in Santa Maria out by the strawberry fields, but although it was beautiful, it is too secluded. The next weekend I returned to The Goodland to do my long runs. The first was the average perfect temperature and sunshine. The second, just this past weekend was in a constant mist and gloom. While it was not inviting at 7am on Sunday when I headed out the door, within minutes, I was loving it. It was fresh, and misting enough to be comfortable. The thought did cross my mind that I must be the only crazy person to enjoy this, but it just so happened I encountered a total of 19 other runners on the road that day. When I made it out to the bluffs, the ocean was a little louder than usual, and although at times the setting could seem ominous, it was very peaceful.

After my run, I jumped in the shower and dashed out the door, with just enough time to grab a banana. Before I made my 1 hr drive back to work, I filled up my coffee mug, grabbed a banana and remembered I had a box of Kardea Nutrition bars in my car. Kardea (found me via twitter) and sent me a sample box a few months back and although I had tried their banana nut bar in one moment of extreme hunger, I hadn't actually taken the time to eat one in the appropriate setting. After 8 miles, I was definately hungry. The bar I pulled was a cranberry almond bar, and although it is small in size, it filled me up. It is flavorful, in that you can really taste the cranberry and the almonds. The problem for the most part with nutrition bars I find - at expos etc- is that sometimes they are so healthy, they taste horrible. But luckily that was not the case with these bars. They are enjoyable, and work perfectly as part of a small post run meal! I look forward to trying their two other flavors, lemon ginger and Chai Spice.

All that to say, it has been a very good few months: healthy, fun and yummy. Cheers to a happy winter to all of us runners!