Long Beach Half Marathon 2011 - Race Recap

It's almost been a full week since Long Beach half marathon and I have been meaning to write to tell everyone what a fun race it ended up being!

I admitted earlier that my friend and I did not train like we needed to in order to run a fast race since we had been focused on the triathlon in September. In the future I won't plan races that close together or at the very least have a better plan in place before committing.

We decided to make this race a fun run and partially a training run for our full marathon coming up in February. The moment we made that decision all race jitters and any anxiety about the race went away. The night before the race I slept like a baby and this is not normal for me. The night before a race I usually get very little sleep because I'm really afraid of sleeping in and missing the race. So I usually wake up every hour which is not fun.

Race morning I felt well rested and I walked out my door to find my friend Karoline with two egg and chorizo burritos in her hand. Yummy! It was a real treat. We walked out to the street and the rest of our friends were there to pick us up and then we were off to the race.

We got to the start area in plenty of time to use the potties and get in our wave. Two of our friends went up to the speedy waves and Karoline and I went a couple waves back to where we thought we would pace ourselves. We took a quick picture before the start.


Then it was our turn to start the race. It was hard to keep our pace slower than normal but we knew it was needed to get through the race comfortably. We chose to walk through every water station which was a wonderful change! I usually run through them because I carry my own water and nutrition but occasionally I will grab a cup and try to drink it only to be plagued by a side cramp five seconds later. No side cramps this race. I really don't think we lost any time doing this because we would quickly catch up with the group we were around before the water break.

I really enjoyed all the scenery I totally missed last year. Around mile nine we were both talking about how good we felt mainly due to keeping the pace nice and easy. But around mile eleven I hit a point were I felt I was just done running for the day. Luckily Karoline told me to get my booty in gear and to keep moving and that little boost help me push through my yucky spot. I really wasn't hurting but I think it was more mental.

It was a great race experience this year so I couldn't ask for more than that!

Here are the race stats:

Official Finish time: 2:18:11
Avg. Pace: 10:33
Age group place: 364 out of 1063

Splits from my Garmin:
Mile 1- 10:10
Mile 2- 10:24
Mile 3- 10:05
Mile 4- 9:39
Mile 5- 10:06
Mile 6- 9:55
Mile 7- 9:44
Mile 8- 9:52
Mile 9- 10:14
Mile 10- 10:26
Mile 11- 10:18
Mile 12 -10:27
Mile 13- 9:33

Frozen Grapes

You know when your grapes are getting a little mushy and nobody wants anymore but you still have a bunch left, and you don't want to throw them away. That's when you throw them in the freezer. Frozen grapes are a great treat for hot summer days.

Warning: If you have small children make sure to cut the grapes in half or maybe quarters because frozen grapes can be a choke hazard. 


If your baby is teething, you can cut up frozen grapes and put them in those little mesh bags feeders, they are sweet and cold, babies love them. The bonus is you don't have to worry about them biting through one of those mystery rings with fluid.

**This post has been reposted from last summer because it's hot outside and I have slightly mushy grapes to tend to.

I am also participating in a Fitness Friday link up party by Ang at Sparkles and Bugs.

Oven Roasted Greek Chicken Breast | Roasted Greek Veggies

Or it can look like this...

if you don't like everything stacked. 

This is a pretty easy dinner and it's very flavorful with little effort. It's also a great way to use some of the summer veggies. So without further ado here is the recipe:

Oven Roasted Greek Chicken Breast with Veggies 

Created by: Simply Fit Mama

• 2lbs  Chicken breast--I used skinless boneless because it's what I had on hand but you could use thigh meat or bone in chicken breast too, whatever floats your boat.
• 2 Tablespoons of Oil-- I use coconut oil you could use olive oil just watch it and make sure it doesn't smoke when you brown the chicken.
• 2- 3 Zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch- 1 inch pieces--If they are too small they will get mushy in the oven.
• 1 cup  Grape tomatoes, cut in halves--any small tomatoes or big ones cut into smaller chunks.
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and left whole
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup marinated artichokes, drained and rinsed
• 1 lemon
• 1/4-1/2 cup Chicken broth--1/2 a cup if you like more juice at the bottom...yummy
• Seasonings: Salt and Pepper, Garlic powder, 1/2 Tbsp each of the following Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary.
• Feta Cheese 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Get your chicken rinsed and patted dry. Lay it on your chopping board and put a sheet of saran wrap over the top and pound out the thick part of the chicken. You're not making it super thin just even with the thin part so it cooks evenly in the oven. 

Next get rid of the saran wrap and give the chicken a good dose of salt, pepper and a light sprinkling of garlic powder. Do this for both sides. While you are doing this get an oven safe pan or dutch oven heated on the stove set it at a medium to high heat.

Add your oil to the pan once it is heated. Now place your chicken in the pan and brown each side (it takes me about 2-3 minutes per side to get a golden brown). 

While your chicken is getting a nice tan you can take a large bowl and put the zucchini, tomatoes, olives, artichokes, and half of the lemon juiced, garlic and herbs and mix it all together. 

Once your chicken is golden pull it off the burner and add all the contents of the bowl plus the chicken broth. (You can skip the bowl step above if you don't want to dirty a bowl and just throw everything on top of the chicken, the herbs get better distributed if you combine them first, but I skipped the bowl and it turned out great) 

Put the pan in the oven and let it cook for around 15-20 minutes for boneless skinless breast, bone in I would say 35-45 minutes. If you don't have an oven safe pan (or it's not big enough) you can still make this recipe just after you brown the chicken place everything in a 13x9 dish.

Once your chicken is done make sure to let it rest for 5-10 minutes so you don't loose the juiciness. I like to use the other half of the lemon at the end before serving to brighten up the flavor a bit. Plate your food and add the feta cheese on top as desired. 

Enjoy!

Bike Ride- Newport Beach Back Bay

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I haven't rode my bike for a while really since last summer. Okay minus the occasional family rides to the frozen yogurt shop. I haven't really been riding because I have an older moutain bike that doesn't really fit me right so it can be frustrating to ride. 


My friend brought over her spare road bike a couple of months ago and I have been trying it out. Road bikes are so sleek and the tires are very skinny big difference in the feel when you ride. I rode a couple of months ago for a 20ish mile ride and yesterday we got out and rode 14ish miles. I say "ish" because I wasn't really tracking the miles it's really just an estimate.


Today my shoulders are a little sore. I'm not super fast on the bike but I really do enjoy riding. During the winter it get's too dark in the evening to ride after dinner (during the week) but now that it's light until 7:30 p.m. maybe I'll be able to get an extra ride or two in a week.


We have a wonderful bike path that takes you to Back Bay in Newport Beach. It's a nice ride. I plan on getting a lot more comfortable on the bike this summer. 


FYI- if you ride and you get saddle sore a hot bath with epson salt works wonders! Do it the same day you ride though don't wait until you are really sore.


Do you like to ride the road or the trails? Any tips to share on riding? 

Menu Plan for the week

Monday

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce | Salad | Bread

Tuesday

Mahi Mahi Burgers | Chili- Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

Wednesday

End of Season Pizza Party for T-ball!

Thursday

Oven Roasted Greek Chicken Breast | Greek Salad | Pita 

Friday

Family Fun Night @ (our elementary school)

I quit P90X!

So you may be wondering why you haven't heard from me and my P90X updates. Well that's because I decided to quit. I can't believe I'm even writing this...I'm not really a quitter. I really had to swallow some pride to make the decision to quit. But my time with P90X had come to it's end.

I was really excited to start the program and I really needed a little break from running. This made the first 30 days go by quickly and I really did enjoy the challenge and change. Then the next 20+ days were okay but I started to get really bored of the same workouts, the time commitment in front of my TV and the lack of fresh air in my workouts.

I started to dread working out and that is the opposite of what I try to achieve in my fitness goals. I never want to push through something I am not truly happy doing. I completed 7.5 weeks of P90X I took a week off for spring break thinking that would refresh my outlook of the program to finish it up. I tried a day here or there after spring break but just couldn't spend anymore time with the program.

The positives about the program are:

• If you have bad weather where you live this would be great for long winter months indoors.
• If you can't get away from the kiddos this is a great fully body program to do in the comfort of your home while kids are napping, sleeping, playing etc.
• Don't have a gym this is a good replacement: cardio and strength training
• You build a ton of strength

My shoulders, biceps and upper abs look a lot more defined than they have ever been. I feel a ton stronger in my legs, core and upper body. In the end I was able to do bicep curls and swimmers press' with 10 lb. weights my highest weight I have used before was 5 lbs. In the beginning I was only able to do 3-5 pull ups (chair assist) and by the end I was able to do 10 pull ups (chair assist).

I really enjoyed the Kenpo cardio workout and the Yoga. I never really warmed up to Plyometrics. The weight videos became my favorite (minus the push ups and pull ups).

The negatives about P90X:

• They are videos, you are in front of your TV for an hour to an hour and a half everyday!
• The videos get really old after 45 days.
• There are a million pushups (different types) and a lot of pull ups and chin ups.
• The ab workout is intense and was really hard on my tailbone (349 ab moves in 15 minutes).
• 90 days is a long time to do the same program 7 days a week.

I was disappointed in the change or lack of change in my lower abs (my trouble area). My upper abs became very defined which I think made my lower abs look worse. I know that some of the problem with my lower abs is extra skin and still some fat that needs to get burned off but still I would have liked to see a little more change for the effort I put in.

P90X nutrition plan

The first 30 days is very high protein lower carbs. I felt great the first 30 days. The 2nd 30 day phase you take away some of the protein and add in a little more carbs. I felt awful with this change. So I ditched the nutrition program and ate how I normally eat I just boosted my calorie intake to ensure I had enough calories for the workouts. 

Supplements

I took my normal vitamin intake. Post workout I used a recovery drink that I really liked and think that it really made a difference in how sore I felt the next day. I did not use the P90X recovery mix because I felt it was too pricey. Mike's Mix is what I used and plan to continue using with running, swimming and biking. (I prefer the original formula over the chocolate.)

So in the end I was happy I tried it. I believe you would see major changes in your body probably after the 2nd round of P90X. If you love working out to videos  than this is a great program. 

If you love being outdoors than this program will drive you a little nutty. I felt like a bit of failure after quitting and really for not keeping this blog updated with my progress so I'm sorry if anyone was waiting to see progress reports I just couldn't squeeze it in. I hope you understand. :)

A few tips if you plan to embark on the P90X journey

• Make sure you print out the worksheets from their website. They are free and they are really easy to use to track your weights during the workouts. 
• Commit to a 2 hour time slot every day for the workouts.
• If you can have a committed space to workout in. Line up your weights, bands,  yoga mat, pull up bar.
• Drink a recovery drink, it makes a difference in how you feel the next day and I hear it helps your muscles rebuild quicker.

Menu Plan

Monday

Grilled Mahi-Mahi | Wild Rice | Asparagus

Tuesday

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken | Bread

Wednesday

Tilapia with a Lemon and Caper Pan Sauce | Herb Roasted New Potatoes | Haricot Verts

Thursday

Vegetarian Tex-Mex Grilled Pizza 

Friday

Simple Roasted Chicken | Sweet Potatoes | Salad

She Runs LA - Virtual 10K

Last night I ran my first ever virtual 10k with the She Runs LA hosted by Nike. I was able to get together with a couple of friends and pound out the miles. For the event Nike provided super cute pink tanks with the She Runs LA logo. Love it!

Since I have been on a break from running this was my first longish run since Surf City. I was slow as molasses but the company was great and the view was extraordinary! We decided to run Quail Hill Trailhead / Boomers Canyon area. It's very hilly which was a nice change but it was tough. Hopefully since the sun sets later now we can run this trail more often.

If you are ever in Irvine you should definitely run this trail the views are great. We finished a little after dusk and as we reached the top of the last hill we could see all the lights of the city. I was tempted to take a quick picture but decided to drink water instead.

It was really a fun idea to run a virtual 10k especially knowing that there were women all over running on the same day the same distance for the same event. 

I did download the Nike+ app for my iphone so that I could upload my run to their website. I have tried a couple other running apps for my phone in the past but I will say this one was neat. I used it for the first time last night so I haven't had a chance to play with all the features but for $1.99 it looks like you get a  lot of bang for your buck. 

Tonight they hosted the celebration at the Nokia theater in downtown LA for the She Runs LA event. It sounded like it was going to be a blast. Unfortunately I was not able to make it and I was totally bummed! Hopefully some of you were able to attend and if you did I would love to hear all the details.

Back to running...yippee!

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I haven't ran a single mile since Surf City half-marathon. Boy have I missed running. Saturday was my first day back and I had the pleasure of running alongside two lovely friends...running and friends = double awesomeness.

I didn't bring my Garmin. I wasn't interested in tracking my time or distance really. It was a beautiful and peaceful morning. I don't love waking up early but I do love the quiet of early morning runs. I love the  morning light and the gentle breeze against my skin.

I'm trying to take it nice and slow but it's hard because I just want to jump right back in where I left off. That's not how it works. I'm sore today but it's a good sore. It's been a long time since running has made me sore and I welcome it.

Tomorrow I will start my last month of P90X. I am changing from the classic plan to the doubles plan to get my running back into the mix. 

My running plan for this week:

M: 3-4 miles

W: 6.2 miles--She runs LA

F: 3 miles

S: Swim

The effects of not consuming enough calories...

Ninety percent of the foods I eat are whole foods and organic. I try to keep my food very "clean" and unprocessed. I have been eating like this for almost three year now. I have seen a boatload of health benefits since I changed the way I eat and of course how my family eats. Healthier teeth, clearer skin, weight loss, my son's eczema cleared and the list goes on.

But even when you eat good foods you still need to consume enough calories. As my fitness increased my calories should have increased along side it. I really didn't think about it that much. I just added a snack or two here and there. My snacks didn't equal enough calories to make up for all the calories burned running, swimming or biking.

My body went into starvation mode. For real.

Starvation mode: is a state in which the body is responding to prolonged periods of low caloric intake levels. During short periods of caloric abstinence, the human body will burn primarily free fatty acids from body fat stores. After prolonged periods of starvation the body has depleted its body fat and begins to burn lean tissue and muscle as a fuel source.

The result of my low calorie intake and high intensity workouts left me with a very high body fat percentage. My body fat percentage is 10% higher than it was when I was 30 pounds over weight. The crazy thing is that I am in the athletic range for cardiovascular fitness with a resting heart rate of 57. Which means my body burned lean tissue and muscle instead of fat and any food that I ate went straight into fat stores instead of being used for energy.

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There were many signs that my body was not functioning correctly. I just felt too busy to address them. I thought I just needed more sleep so I stopped working out in the mornings to catch a few more hours of sleep each day. I also hadn't lost one pound in a year of intense running which is odd since I knew I had a little (5-10lbs) to lose.

Within the first couple weeks of eating the right calorie amount for me and my fitness regimes I started to shed weight. I am in week five of P90X and have lost 5 pounds and I have shaved 2% off my body fat percentage.

If you eat healthy foods it can be a challenge to get your calories into the higher ranges it can feel like you are eating a lot of food. I know I have had to make those adjustments but I feel great because of the changes and I am seeing great results from adding calories.

If you haven't calculated the calories you need please take a minute to figure that out. Your body will thank you for it. Who knows you may be able to shave off those last stubborn pounds by eating more!

Also don't focus only on what the scale says it can dash your motivation. For example say Lulu weighs 160 pounds and her body fat percentage is 34%. After a month of eating right and exercising she weighs in at 158 pounds. She gets a frustrated that she has only lost two pounds in a month. But if she were to re-calculate her body fat percentage she would see that she is at 30% coming down a whopping 4%. Which shows that she has gained four pounds of lean muscle mass!! She has lost more fat than the scale alone will reveal and she has brought her body fat percentage into a healthy range.

So get your body fat percentage figured out. The easiest way to do this is by having / buying a scale that  can measure your body fat percentage. These can actually be more accurate than a fat caliper test, so a friend in the food science has shared with me. :)


Next post on nutrition will be a sample of my daily menu plan in the 1200-1500 calorie range and a sample of my day at 1900-2200 range.

Nutrition-Take a close look at your calorie intake it may be too low!

First off my disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist. I have no training in nutrition. I am constantly learning just like most people I know. Everything I know I have learned through reading books, trial and error and research on the world wide web :). So please don't take what I have to say as law. It is not. It is just what I know and have learned.


We moved here in May of last year and I had for the most point lost all but 5 pounds of the weight I wanted to lose. I began running in my neighborhood for fun instead of for weight loss. Then I met a group of friends who did lap swimming on the weekends. I joined them and really started learning how to swim laps. Then last fall I began training for my first half marathon. At this point I was very active but I still was hanging onto the last five pounds I wanted to lose. I trained hard for that first half topping out at 40+ miles a week. I was really tired and I ended up getting really sick. I couldn't figure out why I was so tired.

I finished the race and took two weeks off to get rid of the bronchitis. But even after I had the rest and medication I still felt really tired. I just shook it off and thought maybe I wasn't getting enough sleep so I started going to bed early and sleeping in later. Then I started training for my second half marathon.

The tired feeling stayed and I started to have some nagging pains in my hip and foot during training. I also started to realize I never felt hungry, even after long runs. My friends would talk about how hungry they were at the end of a run and I started to think "Why am I not hungry?".

Then my dad sent me P90X. The day I got it I was very exited I read through both books cover to cover. And then the lightbulb went off in my head. I am not eating enough food!!! 


This is why I couldn't shake that tired feeling. As I read through this book and did the math I realized I was really only eating enough calories to survive not enough to fuel the type of workouts that I was doing. My calorie intake was not an uncommon number, you may be in the same calorie range. It was 1200-1500 calories. This is the number that was calculated by sparkpeople.com (love this site) when I first started trying to lose weight. I was not as active then so the calories met the need to create a deficit to lose a healthy 1-2lbs a week.

My activity increased but I continued to eat right around the same calories just out of habit. I didn't need to count the calories because I had been eating within that calorie range a couple of years. I was eating 3 meals a day with 3-4 snacks. Extra snacks before and after a run or swim. Sounds like enough meals and snacks, right? Wrong.

After reading the P90X nutrition book and then doing a little research online I figured out the right calorie range for my body. It is closer to 1800-1900 calories (creating a slight deficit) on an average day and on long run days more like 2300 calories!

The same week I got the book I quickly increased my calories to the 1800-1900 range. I felt 100% better within the week. My energy levels increased and I felt like a million bucks!

This is the first part of nutrition that I want to share with you. I have two more post coming on the rest of my thoughts on this topic.

I would love if you would take a moment and calculate your calorie range you should be in today. Not the range you were using last year. You can google all types of calculators for this but here is the math:

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RMR (resting metabolic rate): calories needed to perform vital body functions.

Weight x 10 = RMR (in calories)

Daily activity burn: calories needed for daily movement apart from exercise.

RMR x 20% = Daily activity burn

Now this the most important part. You need to calculate the calories required for your workouts. So all you runners out there wear your garmin and heart rate monitor to get an accurate calorie count on your runs. For other sports you can use estimations or use a heart rate monitor to calculate calories burned. There are a ton of calculators online that will give you an average.

RMR + Daily activity burn + Avg. Calories burned in your workouts = Calories needed for energy to perform your workouts.

Example:
150lb woman
RMR: 1,500
Daily activity burn: 300
Exercise: 400
Calories needed: 2,200 calories a day.
If you were trying to lose weight you would need to create a slight deficit so you would shoot for 1,900 to 2,000 calories a day.

P90X- Week 2

This is me right after Plyometrics, dripping with sweat!

I finished week two on Monday and I am working on week three as of Tuesday. I can't believe I'm already on week three! The first week was tough since it was all a surprise to me and a lot of the moves I have never done before. The second week felt better mainly because I knew what was coming next on video so I felt better prepared for the torture. Just kidding, a little.

I'm really not as sore as I thought I would be but I have been using a recovery drink after workouts. I've never used one before but I really do think it has help reduced soreness.

Next week will be recovery week. No weights. No Plyometrics. WooHoo!

I plan to add running back in when I start the second month of P90X. I can't wait I miss running.

I weighed myself on Monday morning and I lost another two pounds. So total weight lost is four pounds in two weeks. This is great I have had about five to ten stubborn pounds that haven't really budged in a year. I figured this was just my happy weight. What I am realizing more and more is that I was not fueling my body right and this is why my body was hanging on for dear life to those last pounds.

Nutrition post is coming I promise. I'm just trying to reduce the rambling so you won't fall asleep reading it!

Poached Chicken- Not rubber chicken!

Do you have a bad image of poached chicken in your head? I know I did for the longest time. Anytime I made "poached" chicken it had a rubber like consistency. Not very tasty. I stopped trying to poach the chicken and kept grilling, baking and pan searing because that's easier and tastier for me.

Then I figured out how to poach chicken a better way. What I've learned is that I used to boil my chicken not poach it. Boiled chicken is chewy like rubber. Poached chicken is tender and moist.

Poached chicken is a great way to get ahead of your week with very little effort. You can use this chicken for so many things here are a couple of examples: chicken salad sandwiches, chicken on a salad, stuff it into tortillas for burritos or enchiladas, use if for a quick pasta dinner, etc. It also freezes well! It's also a very low fat and low sodium way to cook chicken.

Place desired amount of chicken breast in a heavy bottomed pot.

Cover your chicken with water or broth and make sure it's completely covered. 

(I added more water after this picture.) Add your herbs and seasonings.

Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat quickly to a simmer. You will want to simmer for 10 minutes with the pot partially covered. Now turn the heat off and let the chicken hang out in the pot for about 15-20 minutes.

Let cool a bit and then cut it up however you would like. You could use it immediately, put it in the fridge for later in the week or freeze it for later in the month.

Poached Chicken
recipe by: Simply Fit Mama


Chicken breast (In the photos above I used 2 pounds of chicken)
Water or Chicken broth
1 bay leaf
dried herbs (I use oregano, rosemary, thyme around a teaspoon each herb or more if you like.)
3-5 whole peppercorns

Using a heavy bottomed pot (to help retain the heat), place chicken at the bottom. They should not overlap. Keep them in a single layer.

Cover chicken with water or broth and add the bay leaf, peppercorns and any herbs you would like.

Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat quickly to a simmer. You will want to simmer for 10 minutes with the pot partially covered. Now turn the heat off and let the chicken hang out in the pot for about 15-20 minutes.

Let cool a bit and then cut it up however you would like. You could use it immediately, put it in the fridge for later in the week or freeze it for later in the month.

P90X- Week 1

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Done.

Despite last week being a crazy week with Natalie's surgery, I decided to start P90X last Tuesday. I needed the distraction.

I know...I know everyone says to start a new fitness program when you're well rested and have time to devote to it. But life with kids can be crazy and unpredictable and if I waited for this or that I would never get anything done. Especially fitness. For me the best thing I can do is just do it!

Last week after the first couple of days I started to get pretty sore. The two killer workouts for me were the Plyometrics and Ab Ripper X videos.  But my core is pretty weak and I have never done any sort of plyometrics before so it's a real challenge.

So that brings me to today the start of week two. I will work my Chest & Back and do the Ab Ripper X workouts tonight. I'm pretty excited especially since I had a rest day yesterday and I feel very rested and ready to kick booty.

Pre-measurements and all that good stuff I plan to share around day 30 because I feel more comfortable sharing if there is something to compare the numbers to.

I have scaled back my running to zero. I totally miss running but my body really needed a break. I can't wait to start adding running in as I start to adjust to this new program. I'm totally jealous every time I see someone running! I'm scanning the race schedules trying to figure out what I would like to do next. Right now I plan on adding small runs after day 30. I'm still swimming but only once a week and very easy going with the meters.

I am following the nutrition plan that comes with P90X. I feel like the nutrition needs it's own post. I am writing a P90X nutrition post for later this week. I have a lot to say about it. I'll start by saying I tried using their meal plan last week and it was a lot of preparation and it just didn't work for me. So after the weekend I came up with a new plan and so far so good.

Weekly weigh-in:  -2 pounds

Have you completed P90X? Do you have any tips to share?

Surf City Half-Marathon - Race Recap

What an amazing race! First off I just want to give all kinds of praise to Huntington Beach for hosting this great race. It was so well organized from packet pick up to the finish line chute.

This was my second half-marathon. I ran Long Beach in October and it was very disorganized and a bit frustrating at times especially for being such a large race (25,000 runners). Surf City was a large race (20,000 runners) but it didn't have the congested feel that Long Beach had. They had plenty of port-o-potties and public beach restrooms so there was never a huge line to use the restroom. Which was great!

Race morning I woke up at 4:30 a.m. got dressed rolled and took a little time to do some static stretches. By the time I was finished it was 5:30 a.m. and my friends were outside ready to go! I hopped in the van and enjoyed my breakfast on the way to Huntington Beach. I ate a banana and a Luna protein bar washed down with some water.

We arrived in Huntington beach a short drive later and found a good parking spot. Woo hoo! We arrived right around 6:00 a.m. and got to hang out and chat for a while. This is when race day jitters started for me. My stomach got a little upset and I got anxious. It was nice to have friends to chat with so that I didn't focus on unnecessary worries.

From the moment we got out of the car we started getting complements, winks, nods and "oh my look how cute those skirts are". Did I tell you that we bought super cute matching sparkle skirts? I didn't? Since the four of us were running this race and we trained together we thought it would be fun to match. So we bought these skirts from Team Sparkle. Now I want one in every color and adorable race legs to match!

Marathon waves started at 6:45 a.m. half-marathon waves started at 7:45. We had time to walk around and stop for a couple potty breaks. We also said "hi" to the folks at the Train 4 Autism booth. My friend Tiffany is training and racing this year to raise funds and awareness for autism and other social disorders. She is an amazing athlete and mother and it's a pleasure and a privilege to know her and train with her.

Here is a picture of our team before the race:

Left to right: Tracey, Me, Tiffany, Karoline

Next we headed over to our waves. I love how Surf City had the waves organized. Your wave was determined by your estimated finish time that you entered when you registered. They also had a nice wide walkway on the side to get to your wave easily. At Long Beach you had to push your way through the crowds. Thank you, Surf City!!

The weather was great and the miles went by fairly quickly. The goal for time was to finish right at 2:00 or just under 2:00. We knew we needed to keep our pace around 9:10 and under to make that goal.

Official Finish Time: 2:00:02
Average Pace: 9:10 (my garmin says 9:07)

Mile Splits:

Mile 1- 9:03
Mile 2- 9:07
Mile 3- 8:55
Mile 4- 9:18 --left side cramp--ate two cliff bloks
Mile 5- 9:04
Mile 6- 8:53
Mile 7- 9:03
Mile 8- 9:17--ate two cliff bloks--started having some hip pain
Mile 9- 9:16
Mile 10- 9:14
Mile 11- 9:21--really bad right side cramp--ate one more cliff bloks
Mile 12- 9:18
Mile 13- 8:58
Mile .16- 7:45

Of course after making that time I wish I would have ran just a bit faster to get under two but that's for another race I suppose! I am super happy with my time and with the race in general. It was soo much fun running with my friends. They are great ladies and I am thankful for every run that I run with them and the time we get to spend together!

The weird thing about this race was that I couldn't think of anything to talk about. I am usually pretty chatty but my mind just drew blank for nearly the entire race. Sorry race buddies. :(

One thing about wearing the sparkle skirt was that I would forget I was wearing it and then someone would cheer us on by saying "love those skirts ladies, run!!" Or we would see others in sparkle skirts and I felt a little burst of energy to cheer them on! We couldn't get over what a hit these skirts were. Funny how much sparkly things inspire. At the end of this race we were able to meet up and take pictures with the creators of "Team Sparkle" and they are a fun, crafty and sporty bunch of ladies. It was nice meeting you and hope to see more of you this race season. Sparkle Love!!

Left to right: Tiffany, Tracey, Karoline, Me, Elise, Carrie and Kelly

Prepping before the race

I picked up my race packet yesterday afternoon good thing because today ended up being a lot busier than I expected! Huntington beach is about 15-20 minutes away from my house depending on traffic.

The kids enjoyed checking on the ocean to make sure it is still there and of course all the free samples of power bars and energy drinks at the expo.

I love looking around at all the goodies but it is always a little too crowded and busy for me.

I like to get all my ducks in a row the night before the race. I think most people do this. Although I know some people that prefer getting up a little early and getting things together. I like to get as much sleep as possible. Plus I think clearer at night.

I usually don't sleep well because I'm always worried I'm going to sleep in and miss the race. I think this is also pretty common. Lucky for me this race I will be going with a group of friends which will make the early morning drive more pleasant I am sure.

I don't have any crazy routines that I follow before race day. I try to be extra cautious of my hydration and drinking things that deplete my hydration. I like to eat a little extra a couple days leading up to a race not really carb loading just extra calories.

I lay out my clothes the night before and all the things I plan on using. I check the pile seven hundred times. Here's what that looks like:

As soon as I finish up on the computer I will put my chip on my shoe. Then add my Garmin to the pile since I forgot about it earlier and just remembered as I was looking at this picture. See it's good to make a pile and take a picture! 

I will go to bed no later than 10:00 p.m. tonight. I had a little cat nap earlier in the day which was nice. I plan on waking up at 4:30 a.m. to get up and roll myself. Then tinker around the house nervously visiting the bathroom every two minutes. Okay not every two minutes but pretty close to that. My friends are picking me up at 5:30 and we will be on our way! The waves for the half-marathon start at 7:45 a.m. so I'm still debating on when I will eat my breakfast. Probably on the way to the race or walking to the start line.

Have a great night!!