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Little changes making a big difference.


Skirt Chaser 5k Race Recap

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About a week ago, Jason and Nacho mentioned to me that they were going to be running the Skirt Chaser 5k this weekend, and of course, I promptly invited myself to join them 🙂 I’ve been really wanted to do an other 5k since my last one was in November and I really wanted a PR! The problem? Well that course was short! I finished and my garmin said 3.02! That was super awesome at the time, but it makes trying to come in better scary! Also, the Skirt Chaser started at 2pm with a weather forecast of 80 degrees. Yikes! I figured I would go for a PR, and at the very least it would be a fun race with awesome people.

After I discovered that Carolyn was going to be in town for it, I got her to sign up as well. You see, if I’m doing a race, I want every single friend I have to sign up for it too. Some might call that pushy, but I like to think of myself as highly motivating 😉

Before the race, I met up with Jason and Nacho at REI to look for some new shoes. Okay, so perhaps I know buying new shoes right before a race is not super smart, but I had been REALLY needing them, and so did Jason, so it just kind of happened to work out that way. Jason, Nacho and I all ended up picking pairs of Brooks. I got the Brooks Ravenna and so far, I am in so much love!

Cute, and supportive! Yes!

The Nikes I’d been sporting were a neutral shoe, which the people at Road Runner that analyzed my running suggested I needed for my “medium arch”. Well, that was the first time anyone has ever referred to my arch as medium. My feet are almost flat, and because of that I have a lot of problems with pronating. My physical therapist has been on me to get new shoes for a while, so I used some birthday money to finally get it done.

Steve, Jason, Nacho and I arrived at the race really early because I still needed to register (I have a procrastination problem), and found some shade to hang under while we waited for the rest of the group.

Soon after, Carolyn arrived and then a big group of Jason’s work friends arrived as well.

Cool things about this race?

  1. You get a skirt!!! See my cute new purple skirt? Way better than a shirt!
  2. You get 2 beer tickets, and a food ticket! Okay, for $60, honestly you better get some clothes and some beer!
  3. The girls start 3 minutes before the guys and whoever crosses the finish line first is considered the winner.
  4. It was a girl.

When it got close to starting time, Carolyn and I made our way towards the middle/front area of the start. As soon as the race started, I darted around people trying to find my own space, and unfortunately lost Carolyn right away. I had this super awesome race strategy to do run the first mile at around 9:10-9:15, and the rest of the race sub 9. Then the race started down hill, and I turned into stupid racing Ari and ran as fast as I could, and was already breathing heavy a quarter mile in. I looked down at my garmin at one point in that first downhill section and it said my pace was 6 something! Ummm, too fast! Cannot maintain AT ALL!

We had barely gotten to the bottom of the first downhill, when we were going back up again. My pace slowed to about 9:30, but I was still pushing soooo hard. I realized pretty quickly that the entire 3.1 miles was going to be up and down and got even more worried about my ability to PR. Seriously, afternoon race, 80 degrees AND HILLS?! What are you trying to do to me here?!

I finished the first mile in 8:34. Awesome, right? Well, it would be if that was something I could maintain for 3 hilly miles. Mile to was in the 9:20s, then mile 3 was slightly better at 9:11. By the middle of mile 3, I had almost given up on the idea of a PR and just wanted to still finish under 30 minutes, but once I got closer to the finish line, I looked down at my garmin and was surprised to realize this whole PR business was actually still doable. I kicked it into gear, ran the last tenth of a mile at about a 6:20 pace (basically my sprint), and finished with a PR of 27:56!!

Not a huge difference from 28:04 which was my official time for the Undy, but considering the hills, heat, and extra tenth of a mile, it was actually a pretty big difference!

"Look!! I'm running!!!"

Nacho

Carolyn

Jason & Aaron

After the race, we all got our free beers and hung out for a while drinking, and listening to the band.

The weather felt perfect once we weren’t running in it! This was definitely a super fun race. Pretty pricey, and not very good in the cheer leading department, but I still had a really good time!

Why I Run

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Last Friday, I ran 15 miles for the first time ever. I was, of course, thrilled and wanted to post about it right away, but during the run, a million thoughts went through my head that I wanted to write about, so I waited and then we went to Disneyland, and I waited to put my thoughts together, and here we are over a week later and I still haven’t written about it. Whoops.

This run was different because every distance I had done up until this point was clearly in preparation to be able to run 13.1 miles on January 15th. Well, you don’t need to run 15 to know you can run 13. I chose, for no other reason than the fact that I wanted to, to run 15 miles. Crazy? Probably. It’s funny because the first 10 miles went so unbelievably well. This was my first long run since PF Chang’s and I was trying to listen to what the training plans say about taking your long runs nice and slow. Steve even came with me on his bike and rode next to me for the entire distance which was awesome! Around mile 7 I felt so good that I began to even consider going a longer distance (did I mention that I’m crazy?), but of course around mile 10, I started to feel it and get tired.

By mile 13, I just really wanted to be finished, and by mile 14 I was yelling and cursing at Steve asking him why I ever decided to do this in the first place. But then, that made me really thing–why?? I mean, of course I knew a few reasons:

  • I feel awesome and accomplished every time I conquer a new distance or hit a speed goal.
  • It is so much better than any piece of cardio equipment.
  • I love the social aspect of being outdoors with friends and getting my work out in at the same time.
  • It makes me feel like a little bit of a bad ass to walk around saying “Oh yeah, I ran ___ miles today.”

But I also know that none of those are the biggest reason deep down. I started to think about my attitude and feelings towards food, exercise and my body when I began running in October. They were vastly different than they are now. Going out to eat caused me to go into a panic. I meticulously counted every single calorie. My entire view of my body, and sometimes my worth, was based on whatever number the scale read that morning. I was absolutely miserable.

Then I started running. And my number-focused mind started seeing clear numerical results in something other than the scale. Something much more within my control. I am someone who has a hard time believing they have achieved something. It’s like my brain requires evidence. Proof. Facts. I feel like that is how I got so wrapped into what the scale said when I started losing weight. I would get on and see the evidence of my efforts. Until that stopped, and no matter how hard I worked, I had nothing to show for it the scale didn’t show it. Now I have a place where I can see my hard work adding up and paying off. It’s apparent in so many ways, but when I am lacking in confidence and self doubt sneaks in, I still have that proof in numbers that no one can’t argue with that I have accomplished something.

I realized while running that last mile that at moments felt like torture, that more than all of the pain and exhaustion, I felt free. Running gives me freedom. And I realized just how big of a blessing it has been on my life, and how lucky I am to have found something positive that brings me a sense of joy and accomplishment.

Then yesterday I ran 12 miles, and you know what? It really sucked. It was my first long run that I legitimately ended feeling like it sucked. I wore the wrong shorts and had no body glide and by half way through, my inner thighs were rubbed raw and I had to call my step dad to come and pick me up. I thought maybe the little break at the half way point would make the next 6 miles easier, but it made them like a million times harder. By the time I got to my house, the last thing I felt like doing was going back out and running more, but I went out and my legs felt like lead. I had to get my body warmed up all over again and it was already tired, and I was not happy about it.

Then of course my ipod and headphones kept getting tangled in my camelback and falling out and getting in my way, and at one point I literally stopped and repeated the F word about 6 times before giving myself a little pep talk that I had to finish whether I liked it or not, and it would suck a lot less if I could get a freakin attitude adjustment! I told myself to pull it together, and I finished my damn 12 miles, but I was not happy about it. I was grumpy and cranky that it hadn’t gone well, and I felt frustrated and of course on top of all of it, my achilles tendons were hurting worse than they have hurt in a long time. Okay, you get the point, it really sucked.

But….

I finished.

It would have been so easy to give up at the 6 mile mark when I had to come home and change, but I made a commitment, and I remembered all of those feelings that came to the surface the week before, and even though I did not necessarily enjoy this particular run, it was that discovery of why that powered me through, and in the end I felt a different kind of pride. I felt proud for not giving up when I easily could have, and it only further cemented the sense of freedom I discovered the week before.

And that is why I run, and why I think I will always run. Every day I am beyond thankful that I have a body that is capable of carrying me for miles at a time. I am strong, healthy and capable regardless of whether or not I actually ever make it to my “goal weight”. I have bigger and better goals these days!

My Attempt at Speed Training

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In case you couldn’t tell by my 10+ min/miles in long distances, I am kind of a slow runner. That’s okay. I am also a very new and inexperienced runner, and for almost the entire time I have been running, my focus has been on endurance and working towards long distance. Now that I know that I can, in fact, run at least half of a really long distance, I want to learn how to do it at the speed of light! I also have pretty much no idea what I’m doing.

The other day, I was reading Monica’s blog when I saw a speed work out her awesome, ridiculously fast friend Margot had given her. It looked really awesome and challenging and I left a comment saying that I wanted Margot to be my friend too. Well, turns out Margot really is the nicest person on Earth, because she graciously offered to give me all sorts of amazing advice with lots of great ideas on how to train for speed. Aside from being overwhelmed by her kindness and willingness to help a sister out, I was so excited to put some of it to use!

One thing I hadn’t totally understood was how to do a tempo run. I just read blogs where people say they did one and there is usually a warm-up mile and some faster ones and a cool down, so I was like “Okay, I run fast in the middle”, but Margot explained that there are lots of different ways to do it (for example to sets of two miles each), and that the “fast” time should be at half marathon goal pace. She also explained that the purpose of these runs is to lower the idea of what your comfortable pace is. That makes sense, because when I do my sprint intervals, it is never something I can maintain. I like the idea of having to do a few miles at a pace that feels fast and figuring out how to maintain that so that it eventually becomes comfortable.

I also read a lot of people suggesting running with faster people. Yesterday I had a running date with my new friend Ashley who works in my physical therapy office. The plan was to do a mile warm up, then 3 tempo miles at 9:15, then cool down for the last mile. I had never run with Ashley before, and so towards the beginning I asked what pace she usually runs at and she responded “I usually do about 3 miles at a 7:30 pace.” F. Commence me being scared for my life and certain that I would embarrass myself. I had told her my goals at the beginning so I guess she knew we would be going at snails pace, but I suddenly felt a ton of pressure not to suck.

We completed our warm up at a nice easy pace, then kicked it up and completed mile 2 at 9:13. Right on pace for where I wanted to be. During mile 3, I could feel that we had picked it up a little bit, but I just focused on keeping up and trying to hide the fact that I was already feeling tired and we hadn’t even hit 5k. We finished mile 3 in 8:58, and I was feeling pretty proud of myself, but also worried about maintaining that pace for another mile when Ashley said “Okay, let’s make this one faster!” Yes, coach! Somewhere along this mile, I told her about my 2012 goal of running a 7:59 mile, and that I had never been able to break the 8 min/mi point. She seemed convinced that I could do it sooner than I think, and pushed me into high gear for all of mile 4. So many times I wanted to slow down, or just plain out quit, but having her there pushed me and kept me accountable. We finished mile 4 in 8:07, then I requested a stop to catch my breath before doing a cool down jog for the last 1/2 mile.

Is it just me, or does anyone else hate what the warm up and cool down do to your average pace by the end of the run? It would look so much more impressive with out thoe 10 min/mi paces tacked onto the outside!

So, I’m not sure that actually ended up being a tempo run, but it was definitely a fast (for me) and challenging training run. I kind of hated it in the moment, but I spent the entire rest of the day feeling proud of myself and wanting to tell everyone–the same way I feel after completing a PDR. I am excited that the speed work outs can be so rewarding, and give me that same feeling of awesomeness! I had been a little bummed about feeling like I have to wait until next year to do a full marathon, but this makes me excited to focus on speed and hopefully make some 5K and 10K PRs along the way! I also hope that this means that by the time I do run a marathon, I will be able to do it a decent pace, and that I will feel more prepared.

Until then, I am going to try some more of the ideas super speedy Margot gave me (seriously, this girl just ran a 5K in like 20:20 or something nuts like that!), and continue to force speed demon Ashley to run with me before PT on Wednesdays, and also try to keep running with my speedy friend Nicole!

 

Running is Like Dancing

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Well, running is kind of like pirouettes (turns), I feel. I remember watching the amazing, beautiful dancers who could do 6 pirouettes and make it looks like nothing while I tried over and over to land a triple. I also remember how the guys could start and all of the sudden be able to do so many tricks and turns, but with that super fast growth, they lacked the control that others had learned over the years. I remember one saying “Today I discovered I can do a triple pirouette, but I can’t do a single.” I didn’t really get it. How is that possible?!?! I’ll trade you! I want to turn lots of pretty turns!!! I never did end up being much of a turner, but I did, over time, discover the balance of power necessary to complete one turn vs 2 or on a great day 3.

Today, as I was running, I kept feeling the desire to go faster, push harder, give more power. I only really wanted to be able to run the two middle miles at a 9:10 average pace, and I wanted that to feel comfortable. I ended up with 9:01 and 8:43 and it was not comfortable. I mean, 8:43 is really awesome for me, but that was not the goal. I was thinking about it during my cool down and realized that learning how much power my body needs to keep a certain pace is a learning experience. I am still so new at all of this and I don’t know what 9:10 feels like, or how much effort that requires, or how to keep the same amount of effort consistently.

I actually found the whole realization really exciting because I’m a huge nerd I learned something new about myself as a runner. I made a discovery that went beyond I can run XX miles! In case you didn’t notice, I am all about self discovery, learning about myself and figuring out how to make myself all around a better person, so any time I can make self discovery is exciting to me.

While we’re on the topics of discoveries (Kelly Q would be so proud if she read this post!), I made an even bigger one this morning. Sometimes, life is hard. Okay, I promise that’s not the discovery. But seriously, sometimes things happen in life that actually are the “big things”, and they are things we have no control over, and often seem unfair and never ending. So often in life, it is important to look at the big picture, but sometimes the big picture can be overwhelming. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is look at what you can do right now. Tackle one small individual goal that can make things even a little bit better. Then try to tackle an other.

There are some things going on in life at the moment that are out of my control. I know that in the end everything will be okay, but the moment you get bad news, it can seem completely helpless, as if there is nothing you can do, but I realized that, although there is nothing I can do that will fix the problem, there is  a lot I can do that can change this moment, and that is not only comforting, but makes me feel powerful and not quite so helpless.

Is there a point to this whole story? Well, this afternoon I talked this all through with one of my best friends, and she said some of the nicest things ever, and made me cry in the middle of Starbucks (thanks Lisa!),  but I figured that maybe if this small discovery meant something to me, and helped me feel a little better, it could help someone else too, and that is really the reason I do this whole blog thing in the first place. Because I hope it will help someone else.

And lastly, because this post needs a picture and because I need to help you people discovery something else that is AMAZING, please take my advice, head to the nearest Starbucks and order the Casi Cielo. It is the most delicious brewed coffee you will ever taste in your life and they don’t usually keep it around very long. Seriously. You will thank me later!

Check out that foam!! That is not a latte, and not even technically a misto (a misto is 1/3-1/2 milk). Tall casi cielo with 2 pumps sf caramel, 1 pump toffee nut and topped with steamed soy in a mug. Heaven.

PS: I have been considering adding a “How to Order at Starbucks” page to the blog. Thoughts?

What is one thing you discovered recently? Big, small, or silly–it all counts!

 

My New Training Plan

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After completing my first half marathon, the big question on my mind was where is the food?!?!?! what next? Even after registering for The Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon, I wasn’t really sure what to do with my training plan now that I already know I can run the distance. All I know is this time I’d like to run it faster, and soon I’d like to run one in less than 2:10, and maybe by next year in 1:XX:XX!!! Is that enough goals yet? Well, I’ve made a decision on one more, but I’ll get to that in a minute. The real question became

How do I get faster and more comfortable with the distance??

I read a lot of blogs. A lot of blogs. Those links are some fabulous ladies that are speedier than me and inspire me to work harder and run faster. I looked at the types of things they seem to do, and tried to copy. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! So, I made a plan, scheduled everything into my phone until race week, and aside from a couple skipped work outs due to sickness, I have stayed on track so far and it’s been going really well!

Here is my plan. It’s the same days every week so it’s easy to remember. Plus every morning my phone goes off and says things like “Yo, bitch! Do a speed run.” Okay, it doesn’t curse at me, but I kind of wish I would have set it to say that because it makes me laugh.

Mondays–Speed work. 3 miles with sprint intervals.

I only kind of thought I was going to die. Sprint intervals are hard, but I can already feel just how worth it they are! Sub 9 min/mi average pace?! That is speedy for me!

Tuesdays–Spin

This was seriously the sweatiest class ever. I hadn't felt like I'd gone to class and really given 100% in a while because I was taking it easy before the race and then I got sick, but yesterday I totally felt like I was back and resumed my flat road at gear 10!

Wednesdays–Tempo run with warm up mile, middle miles shooting for 9 min/mi, then a cool down. That is a tempo run, right? I’m still not sure I completely understand haha. These change distance. Today was 4 (well, 4 cut slightly short on the cool down–whoops), next week is 5, then 6, then 5.

Warm up at 10:17, then 9:01, 8:43 (yes!!!!), and a cool down at 10:02. Not too shabby.

Thursdays–off/upper body

Fridays–Long run. This Friday is 15 miles. Good lord. Anyone want to come along?? Even just for a few miles?? Please! Next week is 12, and then I don’t remember.

Saturdays–off/upper body–maybe if I give myself 2 possible days to strength train I will actually make one of them happen!

Sundays–Spin

I am really loving this so far because it gives every work out a specific purpose. If I just have to do a medium length run, it is easy to skip and say “Well, I know I can run 4 miles, so what is that really going to do for me? I’ll skip it today.” Today I didn’t feel like going. I wanted to be lazy. I laid around in bed for a long time being lazy, and you know what? It felt pretty amazing and I kinda needed it, but that didn’t mean I had an excuse not to make my run happen, and I knew if I had to do a 5 mile tempo run next week, I would be unprepared if I didn’t do 4(ish) miles today.

This will get me through to a hopefully awesome finish at The Lost Dutchman, and then I’m not 100% sure what is on the agenda. I was all but ready to sign up for the RnR San Diego full marathon, but then I was talking to my spin teacher about racing and wanting to sign up for a full and I mentioned San Diego and she told me it was miserable and slanted and humid and that she would NEVER do it again. She strongly suggested that I not do it for my first marathon, and I plan on taking her advice. I would really like to run a full this year, but it feels like the timing just will not be right, and like my best bet is to wait and do the full at PF Chang’s next year. That will give me perfect training weather and a lot of time in between to improve as a distance runner and hopefully complete more half marathons. I wish it wasn’t so far away, but it will be here before I know it and I’m sure I will have lots to do in the meantime!

Trusting of Naive?

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Yesterday I went out on my first post half marathon run! Holy crap, my hamstrings are still so very angry with me! Now that I’m finally feeling less sick I really need to schedule a massage.

It was super short and slow, but it felt nice to get back out there and move my feet again. A girl can only take so many days of lying on the couch complaining about being sick. Seriously. I was really hoping to get to Linda’s spin class on Tuesday, but I just did not feel up to it, so I listened to my body and focused on getting better. I still definitely don’t feel 100%, but I feel much, much closer.

After hearing rave reviews about the Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon, I decided I was ready for round 2! I texted my fabulous, newly married, speedy friend Lisa and asked if she would be down to do it with me. She wanted to run the RnR, but had some family stuff come up. She’s been a runner for years, but has never done a race. After a few minutes, I finally asked her if buying her the race would be a stupid and crappy wedding gift (the wedding was all of the sudden, and she’s having her reception in March, so I hadn’t figured out what to get her yet…and Lisa, are you even registered? You should do that!) Luckily, she loved the idea and so I took the liberty of signing us both up! Hopefully I will get to meet her new husband (they live up in Flagstaff so I haven’t even gotten to see her since she tied the knot!) and get a chance to do some post race celebrating with both of them. I’m super stoked!!

On a totally separate topic…

Are you someone who trusts strangers, or are you more guarded and suspicious?

The other day I met my mom at The Bux. I go there pretty often to do my prep work since I don’t have an office, and I can hardly ever get anything done at home, plus I am a social creature and need to be around other humans, even if they’re strangers. I left my laptop as we got up to order and she asked “Aren’t you worried about leaving that there?” I shrugged it off and mentioned how many people were around. I’ll often get up, use the restroom and just leave my things because I trust that people have mostly good intentions and that if a stranger saw someone try to take it, they would help. I often brush off things that concern other people, or that some might consider dangerous because I truly like to believe that people are inherently good, and I really don’t prefer to live my life in a state of fear. Let’s be honest, I am an anxious person by nature, I get quite enough of that!

Well, yesterday I walked into The Bux and one of the baristas told me that only a day before a woman had been there with her laptop and this man had been sitting, watching her and waiting. The second she got up to do something, he grabbed the laptop and ran into his getaway car. Seriously, it was 100% planned out. I couldn’t believe it. I tweeted about it, and then heard that at a different location, a woman had her laptop grabbed straight out of her hands and stolen! Are you kidding me?!?! I literally had to take my laptop with me every time I used the restroom while I was there yesterday. It makes me sad that people can be such jerks, and honestly, I don’t really get it. What I want to ask them is why? Maybe that sounds naive, and perhaps after nearly 27 (oy) years on this Earth, I should just know better, but I still hang onto a shred of hope that although some people are legitimately sick, we can, every single one of us, be kind to others.

For right now, however, I think it’s time for me to be a little more careful, because as frustrating as it would be to have my laptop stolen (I really love this baby and it was a Christmas present from Steve), reading this post on running safety, brought up even more concern. I guess although being trusting and generally idealistic has it’s benefits, I may need to re-evaluate how far that trust spreads.

What do you think? Are you trusting? Suspicious? How far do you extend your ‘benefit of the doubt’?

Check, Next?

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For the last 4 months, I have had one big goal in mind: 13.1. It’s always weird when you accomplish something and don’t have an other big goal lined up immediately. A gray area with no specific goals, and what feels like a lack of direction. I know that I need a goal, and I know that I WANT a goal. I saw a shirt during the race that said “The finish line is just the beginning.” I love that.

Well, of course I’ve kind of been thinking about what would come next, since I figured out I’d actually be able to make it through the half. I’ll be honest, when I first decided I wanted to do PF Chang’s, I more decided to train than race. I mean, I wanted to race, but I wasn’t anywhere near confident I’d actually make it there. I don’t know exactly when my mind changed, but I think it was when I did my 10 mile solo run. As soon as I knew I could do it, my mind started to wonder “What else did you always tell yourself you could never do?” I knew the answer immediately, and I didn’t make it much of a secret. Let’s be honest, I put it out there for the world to see in my 2o12 goals.

But in case you missed that, let me put it out there for realsies.

I want to run a full marathon.

Duh. I know I want to run a full, and I know that with the right training, I can. The question is when. And that is what I would like help with from you fabulous people. There are two that I am strongly considering, and I don’t know which way to go. I would also be open to a different suggestions 🙂

Option 1:

RnR San Diego June 3 2012

Pros:

  1. It is sooner rather than later! I’m already on the training bandwagon–why stop now?
  2. It ends at Sea World. ‘Nuff said.
  3. I love San Diego, and it’s only a 6 hour drive.

Cons:

  1. Is it too soon? Would I actually be ready by June?
  2. I’d probably have to drive back that night, or take the entire next week off work and not get paid (it’s complicated, but it’s how most summer work would be).
  3. In case you haven’t noticed, AZ is a HOT place and by May, it’s already in the 100s. Can you imagine doing a 20 miler in those temps?

RnR Phoenix 2013

Pros:

  1. Close to home, wouldn’t have to go anywhere.
  2. Winter training.
  3. More time to work up to it,

Cons:

  1. I said I wanted to do a full in 2012. That is 2013.
  2. Is it too far away to be motivating?
  3. I’m going to run 26 miles and I don’t even get to go on vacation?!
  4. It does NOT end at Sea World.

I know there are lots of other non RnR races out there too, and I would be totally open to trying a different one. RnR just makes it so easy with their little packets and all their course dates, and both of those races fall at times that I think I could make work. I would love to hear your opinions as I weigh things out in my brain for a bit!

I also have an other goal 🙂 I never expected to finish PF Chang’s in 2 hours and 14 minutes! When I first started, I was anticipating something like 2:45! I totally surprised myself and now I want to get faster! I really want a nice, shiny, sub 2:10 finish time. I want to run more half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks and I want to get faster and better and more confident! I’m pretty sure I’m going to sign up for the Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon on Feb 19, but that’s all I’ve got so far. Thanks, Diana, for the recommendation! Any other races that I should be thinking of?

RnR AZ 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

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Honestly, it’s hard to even know where to begin. Yesterday feels kind of like a blur. I got into bed the night before at about 10:00, finally kind of fell asleep after about 45 minutes, and then proceeded to wake up about every hour until my first alarm went off at 4:40 am. I had a “take your pill” alarm and a “yo b, get yo booty outta bed and run this half marathon” alarm, but I knew after the first one went off, there was no way I was falling back asleep, so I got up and started getting ready. I still felt about the same sick level as I had Friday and Saturday, but was grateful not to feel worse and knew that it would be annoying, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t push through.

Kara and Mona arrived at about 5:40, Kara and I drank some iced via (which was delicious and did everything I wanted it too—HOORAY! Why have I NOT been drinking coffee before my long runs until now???) and ate our pre-run breakfast of Ezekiel bread with sunflower butter and banana.

Just like what every other blogger out there eats. So yummy and almost always sits well and fuels well!

Then, we took some pictures and were on our way!

“Even though it is the butt crack of dawn and the sun is not up, I am really excited to run this half marathon!”

“We’re ready!!!!” Mona is sleepy. Good friends wake up at 5am to watch you cross the finish line 🙂

We got to the start/finish area of the race (loop course) pretty quickly and were amazed that traffic really wasn’t bad and we found parking immediately. After a quick stop at the porta potties, we made our way to the starting line just as they were setting up the corrals.

As soon as I saw this, I got a little emotional. I couldn’t believe after 3 1.2 months of training, this was finally it,

Pretty soon after we got there, we met up with Nicole and Carolyn.

Of course we had to take an action shot. You know, just getting warmed up 😉 Ok friends, my face is flat out ridiculous–feel free to laugh at me!

Steve took a picture of my shoe with my time chip. I don’t know why.

Pretty soon, it was time to start heading to our corrals. I handed my sweat shirt off to Mona and Steve, wished Nicole and Carolyn good luck and set out to find lucky number 13. Steve headed over to the starting line and caught the first people to take off.

That guy in front was the frst to start and the first to finish in a ridiculous time of 1:02. Holy amazing.

He also got pictures of the dragon. You know the one that I passed later on in the race 😉

And he caught Nicole too. Of course, she had made a friend in her corral and was talking her ear off haha.

Go team lava, go!!!

We had to wait quite a while (almost half an hour) before finally starting due to delays with the light rail and just being back in such a high corral. I was so antsy! I kept saying to Kara “I want it to be my turn!!!” like a 5 year old. Finally, we were off and running through Mill Ave. It was a pretty neat area to start out, and I was really grateful for some new scenery. We saw Steve and Mona pretty quickly. Steve took a lot of pictures of me and I learned the lesson that I should never put my arms in the air for these pictures because I look about 40 lbs heavier than I am in most of them, but I figured I had to post one, so I picked the least unflattering of the bunch haha.

Awesome arm pit sweat and everything. Running is the most attractive sport ever.

From there, Kara and I just kept on truckin’. I was super annoyed by my ipod because I had spent all of this time putting my perfect playlist in the perfect order, but I couldn’t get the stupid thing not to shuffle. I messed with it for a while, and then just decided it was okay and I still liked all of my music, so it was fine. The day before at the expo, Kara and I had picked up these temporary tattoos that have your goal time on the bottom and where you need to be at each mile to reach that. They didn’t have a 2:20, so we grabbed the 2:15.

This was so unbelievably helpful. We took the first mile as a warm up at 10:24, and then every mile after was under the 10:18 needed to finish sub 2:15. I had told Kara she was in charge of making sure we started out slow, but honestly we were both too excited and I know that I was feeling really great, and so we didn’t go out speeding, but we went out with the intention of following the tattoos. We ran through Tempe, and pretty quickly got into Scottsdale. I was so excited that we had made it into a different city! My dad and Hermano were supposed to be in Scottsdale–my dad was all nostalgic about meeting me right in front of where my high school used to be–so I looked for them, but never ended up seeing them. I was a little bummed because I thought maybe I had just not seen them, but figured they’d understand and I’d see them at the finish. Turns out they had some directional confusion haha.

Before I knew it, we had reached the 10K mark and I still felt like we were passing people left and right! I love passing people. Is that bad? I definitely felt like the motivation to get in front of people pushed me to go faster. Just after the 10K mark, I took my first Gu. Not long after that, Kara and I lost each other. This race was packed from start to finish (my only maybe not so favorite thing about it) and I thought she was right behind me, but I turned around and she was gone. I kind of started to panic, and didn’t know what to do. Do I wait? Do I keep going? I slowed down a bit, but eventually I just went for it. I knew I’d see her at the finish and I was so grateful for being able to run the first half side by side, but I knew I just needed to focus on my goal at this point.

Right around this time, I saw a man in pink compression socks running the entire race backwards. I also so him run into a gate. It was pretty entertaining and took my mind off how quickly I was starting to feel tired. By the time I got to mile 8 marker, I was no longer feeling like I could run forever, and I started to wish for the finish line. It’s funny that the tattoo says “lucky mile 9” because mile 9 was my least favorite of the entire race! I had to start taking walking breaks, I was exhausted and I just wanted to be done. I really hoped I wouldn’t have to walk during this race, but I got 8 miles without walking (except for water and Gatorade), and I knew I needed to take breaks if I was going to make it to the end. I was still right on track with my time goal though, so I just kept pushing and running hard so that my walking breaks didn’t kill my time.

Once I got to mile 10, it started to get real. I was going to finish this race. I was going to complete my first half marathon. I was exhausted, my feet hurt, and I wanted to lay down on the side of the road, but I was going to make it. Most of the end was even downhill!! Excellent choice, map people. Seriously, thank you. I took my second Gu and tried to soak up the energy from the crowd. One thing I will say, is there was so much crowd support! I don;t think I went through a single section where there weren’t people on the side lines cheering, and several people called me out by name which was awesome! Having a shirt with my name on it was more than worth it for that extra support!

Finally, I realized I was crossing the bridge back to the finish line. I saw the building I had pointed out to Kara when we arrived and said “When we see that, we’ll know we’re almost to the finish line!” and that’s when the emotions started, but even more than the emotional idea of finishing, I was so focused on my goal. I knew I had to keep pushing if I wanted to make this new goal of sub 2:15 (I’m so glad there was no 2:20 tattoo!!!!). I was meticulously checking my Garmin, and I knew it was possible, but I had to focus. Just before I got the mile 13 mark, Defying Gravity came on my ipod and I started to cry a little. “I’m through accepting limits cause someone says they’re so. Some things I cannot change, but ’til I try I’ll never know.” Seriously, it’s like the musical theatre kid’s anthem and the words are so fitting.

I crossed the finish line, stopped my Garmin and realized that now Proud Mary was playing and even with my stupid ipod shennanigans, I finished to it after all. And then I cried more, and took my medal and just kept walking, overcome with emotion. I took my phone out of my spibelt and it was ringing! I answered the phone and Bethany asked where I was and I said “I’M AT THE FINISH LINE!!!! I DID IT!!!!” She told me how proud of me she was. I can’t think of a better person to talk to right away than my best friend who has been there through the last 13 years of my life, has seen me at my very worst and understands just how far I’ve come.

Once I got off the phone with Bethany, it didn’t stop ringing! Hermano and my dad were trying to find me, then I had to meet up with Team Lava and Steve was at the finish line still trying to get pictures of Kara. I found myself a little area, sat down and just tried to stretch a little and soak it all in. Before I knew it Kara was right in front of me! I was so happy to see her!! I honestly don’t know if I could have done all of this without her.

Steve got some more super attractive photos of me just before the finish. Haha, it was like a series of unfortunate pictures, but here we go 🙂

I actually don’t hate this one!

That face! Hahahaha. “GET ME TO THE FINISH LINE!!!!!’

And he got one of Carolyn crossing too!

Whooo! Go team lava!

Okay, now the part you’ve all been waiting for (unless you’re my friend on facebook or follow me on twitter)….

OFFICIAL CHIP TIME: 2:13:58!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5K–31:47

10K–1:03:09

10 mile–1:42:18

Average pace–10:14

Although, according to my little garmin

My least favorite part of racing is when my Garmin tells me I’ve finished the distance, yet I’m not across the finish line!

My average pace was 10:07 😉 I like the sound of that much better!

Regardless, my goal was sub 2:20, and I beat it by 6 freaking minutes!!!!!! I had signed up for updates to go to some friends and family so they would know where I was in the course. Steve told me that when he got the final message that said 2:13:58 he even got a little emotional knowing I had beat my goal.

After I graduated college and got married, I thought all of my major life events were behind me at 26 years old. I felt like I already had my big moments, and there was a sense of sadness that came with that after our wedding. I’ll be honest, I am a person that thrives on making others proud and feeling supported by the important people in my life, and of course they always support me, but there are moments in life where you realize just how amazing your life and the people in it are.

Almost exactly 4 years ago, I reached my breaking point. Something shifted in my mind and I wish I could explain how it happened or why or pass that shift on to others I know who are struggling with the same issues I was and continue to struggle with. I knew I wanted to change, and I loved the feeling I got every time someone said “Wow, you’ve lost so much weight!” I knew I wanted needed to lose weight for my own health and well being. I never expected any of this. My waiver for the race had a spot at the bottom that said “signature of athlete” I looked at my friends and said “Who am I going to find to sign this? I need an athlete.” Me? An athlete? A runner? ME?!

I spent so many years of my life believing I couldn’t do things, believing I wasn’t good enough to perform, to run, to have friends, to be likable. So many years spent telling myself every reason why I couldn’t do things and living in too much fear to take risks and try. More than anything, I want every single person out there to know that you can do anything. And it is so freaking worth it to do the things that matter to you, that make you feel proud. Nothing worth accomplishing is easy, but good lord is it rewarding. In 3.5 months, I went from barely being able to run 3 miles, to running a half freaking marathon–A HALF MARATHON!!!!

The only time I can remember feeling this proud of myself is after I did my senior recital, but the best part is, this isn’t the last time I will feel this way. This is just the beginning of accomplishing new things, proving to myself that I am strong and capable, and crossing finish lines both literal and figurative.

Lastly, in the longest blog post ever. I want to say thank you to everyone for the amazing support I received during this process. All of the texts, comments on facebook, phone calls, and especially to Steve, Bethany, my dad, Hermano, and Mona for showing up at the race to support me, Nicole and Carolyn for making the whole experience amazing and all of your kind motivating words, and most especially Kara–you’re friendship has changed my life and I am so grateful to have you as my friend! I don’t know how I scored the most amazing people on the planet to all be my friends, but seriously every single congratulatory message I got meant so much to me and I am beyond grateful. I don’t know what I did to deserve all of you, but I do know that I am beyond grateful.

Half Marathon Playlist

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This morning I woke up at 3:30am convinced today was Sunday. The good news is, I woke up excited and happy and pumped. Then I realized it wasn’t Sunday and thought it was Saturday. Then I realized it was only Thursday, was totally bummed and went back to sleep. I actually ended up getting my first decent night’s sleep in days and it felt so wonderful! I spent a good portion of my morning being lazy before heading out for my last training run.

Two miles is a weird distance. I started, and then it was time to turn around. I felt so confused. I felt good, but not like yesterday where I felt fantastic. I’m nervous. Did I mention that? Taper week is weird. I know they say “trust in your training”, but how do I know that my training is trustworthy? I mean for the most part, I made it up, and this is my first time at this so perhaps my training totally sucked. Or on the other hand, perhaps I am so unaware of how amazing it was and I will bust out my half marathon in record time! Hah. Positive thoughts, right? 🙂

Last night, I spent hours took no time at all creating the perfect half marathon playlist. Seriously, record time. I am so fast at everything these days 🙂 I tried to be smart and figure out how to import the list to my blog, but that’s a little too high tech for me, so now I will–in record time!–type it all out instead. You can judge my music. It’s okay. Sometimes I do too,

  1. Rockin’ Robin by Michael Jackson
  2. I Want it That Way by The Backstreet Boys
  3. Fighter by Christina Aguilera
  4. Sisters are Doin’ it for Themselves by The Eurythmics (suggested by Sylvi)
  5. Paper Planes by M.I.A
  6. Summer Girls by LFO (to remind me of camp, Mac and Sylvi)
  7. Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root
  8. Dirrty by Christina Aguilera
  9. MmmBop by Hanson (to remind me that I have awesome taste in music)
  10. Empire State of Mind by Jay Z and Alicia Keys
  11. 96,000 from In the Heights (suggested by Heather)
  12. The Story by Sara Ramirez
  13. Foundations by Kate Nash
  14. Baby by Justin Bieber (to remind me that I’m really mature)
  15. Jen Doesn’t Like Me Anymore by Less Than Jake
  16. It’s Your Wedding Day from The Wedding Singer
  17. Kiss That Girl by Kate Nash
  18. Come On Eileen by Save Ferris (to remind me of Bethy)
  19. Stand Out from A Goofy Movie (suggested by Heather and Megs)
  20. Born This Way by Lady Gaga
  21. Let’s Hear it for the Boy from Footloose
  22. Defying Gravity from Wicked (because I don’t actually hate it as much as the musical theatre snob in me pretends to)
  23. Turn Me On by David Guetta and Nicki Minaj
  24. Life’s a Happy Song from The Muppets
  25. Aint No Mountain High Enough from Sister Act (how could this playlist NOT include Sister Act?!)
  26. The Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga
  27. Brand New Day from The Wiz
  28. La Vie Boheme B from Rent
  29. 121 from A Goofy Movie (suggested by Heather and Megs)
  30. Blackout from In The Heights
  31. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
  32. Set Fire to the Rain by Adele
  33. Proud Mary by Ike and Tina Turner (to remind me of my favorite spin teacher who is 50, ran a marathon and 2 days later taught spin–I want to be her when I grow up!)
  34. Footloose from Footloose
  35. ABC by Michael Jackson

That’s about 2 hours and 22 minutes (whoa lots of 2s!) of music. The hope is that I will finish to Proud Mary because how awesome would that be? But Footloose is my fav running song, so that one would be pretty good too. I do not want ABC to play. I put it there because I like it, so if I do happen to get to it, maybe I won’t be totally bummed, but I do NOT want it to play.

Okay, I know my goal should just be to finish, and originally it was. Then I was like “Okay, I just want to finish in under 2:30. I can totally do that.” Then somehow I got totally stuck on this goal of sub 2:20. Not super fast by any means, but still something that I feel not too sure of. I will be happy to finish regardless, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t start to get a little competitive with myself.

Now for a kind of embarrassing question. If you would rather go the rest of your life without reading (not in a ton of detail–I promise) about my running and bathroom trips, then please stop reading now. It’s okay–no hard feelings!

Runner friends, I need help. Almost every single time I run, I have to go to the bathroom between mile .5 and mile 2. It almost always happens in the very beginning, but it isn’t like a mild I’ll go when I can, it’s like “Where the hell is the nearest bathroom?!?!?!” Whether I eat, don’t eat, take my thyroid meds, wait to take them (yes, I tried not taking them to see if it would help), or whatever I do, I just have to go. Thank goodness it has not happened during any of my races so far. That seems like a miracle, because anyone I’ve run with has experienced waiting outside while I go into sketchy bathrooms. Please oh please, tell me how to make sure this doesn’t happen during this race and tank my finish time!!! Do I drink some coffee and jog around the block to make sure it happens before? Do I just wait and hope for the best? Do I pack TP and squat behind a tree? Yes, that is a legitimate question. I do not want to waste time in bathroom lines. Please, oh please, help!

 

 

Inspired

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I just read the best blog post. Seriously, you need to read it. Kathleen talks about something that I very clearly hearing over and over in Kelly Q’s class–opening yourself up, being vulnerable and letting others in. This could not have come at a more important time, and I felt so inspired by her post that I wanted to write about it too.

In the past month or so I have noticed the way I react to kindness. Someone tells me “Good job!” or “Wow, you’re running a half marathon? That is so impressive.” and I immediately jump to “Oh thanks, if only _____ had been better…” or “Yes, but I’m really slow, so it’s not really that big of a deal.” What the F, self? What is that? What am I afraid of? I sit and reflect for hours on every piece of negative criticism I receive, but push away so many attempts at kindness. I get so uncomfortable when people compliment me. I feel like I don’t know what to say and like I owe them some kind of epic reaction to thank them for their kind words. Well, that’s stupid. I don’t expect anything when I compliment others. Is it so terrible to think that I might actually be kind of awesome and people have no motives for their compliments other than to be a part of my life?

There’s been some life challenges that have popped up recently that I don’t feel comfortable getting into detail about–really with anyone for that matter. But today instead of crying alone in my car on the way to my work meeting, I called my beautiful, amazing friend Lisa and told her that I needed to talk to her, but essentially couldn’t tell her anything. She just listened and made me feel important and like my feelings mattered and by the end of the conversation, I felt a million times better. If I hadn’t opened myself up and let her help, I’d probably still be feeling super crappy. It’s easy to forget how wonderful we all are and how many people in our lives would jump at the opportunity to be whatever we need them to be, if we could only be brave enough to ask, because we all know that actually telling someone what you need can be downright terrifying, but even more so rewarding.

This morning I felt totally blah. I was wide awake at 6:30 and had plenty of time to go for my scheduled run, but I layed in bed and tossed and turned and then was late to a meeting. Normally I have this complex where if I don’t get my workout–especially a run–done first thing, then I completely let go of the whole idea and move on with my day and it never happens, but today I came home and the weather was perfect and I didn’t have anything that I couldn’t put off for 30 minutes, so I laced up and went for a beautiful run around the lake at 11am. Let me tell you, this whole running at an easy pace for taper week is awesome! I felt great the entire time, and it just felt so relaxing–exactly what I needed! And actually–this is probably the only time in my life I will ever use this sentence—I meant to run slower. I thought an easy pace for me was like a 10:30-10:45 min/mi, but 10:00 felt easy! Yay!! Now to finish an other 10 at that speed… 😉

Now to get some choreography done and audition Bravo! kiddos tonight. Then I have a date with a super cute boy who is making me dinner 🙂

Food for thought: What makes opening up to others scary for you? What amazing payoffs have come from it when you did?

 

Half Marathon Week & Movie Thoughts

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It feels a little surreal. In case I haven’t beat this thought into the ground, in October I could barely run 3 miles. I had given up the idea of running because I was so sure I couldn’t do it, but inspired by training for and completing the Susan G Komen 5K, I nervously signed up to run my first half marathon. Every night before a long run I would toss and turn all night long because I was so nervous that I wouldn’t be able to complete my mileage the next morning, and it wasn’t until I hit double digits in my first solo long run, that I finally started to believe that I can do this.

So here we are. The race is exactly 1 week away and I am filled with nervousness, anxiety, excitement, and anticipation. Yesterday Kara and I completed out last “long” run in our training.

Check out that time! That is speedy for me!!

It felt really good. I’ve been feeling so slow and sluggish, and it was really nice to prove to myself that I could still maintain a decent pace. I almost feel like I don’t know what to do with myself this week. I know I’m supposed to cut back on my mileage, but it just feels so weird. I started today at the gym with Kara doing some upper body/abs and an awesome spin class with Linda my favorite spin teacher!

My plan for work outs for the rest of the week is this:

Monday–3 miles (hopefully I’ll take my favorite furry running buddy with me!) + physical therapy (Yes, my physical therapy is a legit work out. I get all kinds of sweaty.)

Tuesday–Linda’s spin class

Wednesday–Sentimental 2-3 miles around the duckies with Kara

Thursday–Yoga. I found a nice looking studio right by the duck lake, so I’m hoping to find a easy class to take that will get me nice and loosened up.

Friday–Long walk with the puppies

Saturday–Off

Sunday–Holy crap.

 

Anyone have any brilliant thoughts or advice on that plan?

In other news, I’ve been staying on top of my award season movie list! In the past week, I’ve seen:

The Descendants

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I absolutely loved everything about this movie. I laughed, I cried, and I was engaged the entire time. I was also really impressed with how human and vulnerable George Clooney was the entire film. I’ve never been his biggest fan, but I loved him in this movie. If you like movies about humans/life/relationships, then this is a must see!

50/50

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I almost couldn’t believe that after seeing The Descendants, I was seeing something equally incredible. I don’t know if a movie has ever been so equally hilarious and moving at the same time. I laughed so loudly, then 10 minutes later I was a sobbing mess. I really appreciate how both of the last two films have found the humor in movies that could have been just depression city. Life is funny, and even life’s tragedies are sometimes funny. If you like movies at all, see 50/50.

Moneyball

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I liked Moneyball. It’s not a typical “Ari movie”, but I did enjoy it. I thought the whole statistical concept was interesting, and surprisingly found myself with an emotional connection to Billy Beane at the end of the film. If you like sports movies, you will probably like Moneyball more than me, but I enjoyed it and was glad I saw it.

Also friends, the dollar theater is where it’s at! Even though it doesn’t cost $1 anymore, Steve and I saw two movies yesterday and paid less money all together (4 tickets) than we paid for one ticket to see The Descendants. Thank you Tempe Cinemas! Too bad your seats are super uncomfortable, but I guess that’s what you get for $3 a ticket 😉

 

 

Boston Day 2: Salem

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Yesterday morning started with my first legit winter run. I mean, I’ve been running all “winter” in Phoenix, and the lows in Phoenix do get down there sometimes, but I don’t think it really counts. Yesterday I put on long yoga pants, tall socks, leg warmers, 2 long sleeve shirts, a sweat shirt, performance fleece, a hat and gloves. Ummm, I was regretting my top half a little bit. My face was so cold, but my middle body was totally over heated! Also, this neighborhood is super hilly. I don’t think I encountered flat road for more than 10 seconds. I was pretty proud of myself for busting out 2.5 miles with an average pace of 9:03. Not too shabby for winter/hills/vacation 🙂

After I got back, we made breakfast and then headed out to Salem. I have to be honest, I’ve never thought too much about Salem or the witch trials.

Oh, just all of us with our awesome porta potty friends.

I don’t think it was even in my school curriculum (Arizona schools are so awesome), but I found myself fascinated! It’s so hard to believe that at one point you could so easily be hanged just for being different. Our society isn’t perfect by any means, but looking back on things like this, I really do feel like we’ve learned a lot, and although our justice system is by no means perfect, we’ve come a long way.

We started by exploring the graveyard.

Whhheeeeeeee!!!!

Tree huggers

We looked at the “witches” grave stones and I found this one especially interesting. He refused to plead guilty or not guilty so they pressed him to death with stones to make him talk. He still refused, so for two days they stacked more and more stones on top of him until he finally passed.

After the graveyard, we went to the wax museum and explored downtown Salem.

After walking around for a bit, we stopped into Salem Beer Works for some drinks. Jason, Nacho and I each ordered the sampler with 4 oz samples of 4 different beers.

Yummmm. The Rustic Porter was definitely my favorite.

Steve just got the Black Stout which was also delicious and David ordered an Irish coffee. It was disgusting. Here is the evidence.

Steve got a candid of Lisa trying a sip.

There was no cream, no sugar. Just about half coffee and half whiskey. Holy hell. That’s a little too intense for this girl. I mean I like coffee, and I like whiskey, but I need some half and half in there or something! Yikes!

After Beer Works, we headed back to Rockport to make dinner at David and Lisa’s. More on that coming soon 🙂

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