Summer/ Fall Race Plans

Okay since I threw in the towel for P90X I have been casually running here and there. Swimming a day or two then a week or so off and a ride thrown in for good measure every blue moon.

I have not been consistent at all. Which is not terrible but I love how I feel when I am on more of a schedule. I love to cross training days off a plan. Registering for races helps keep me consistent and challenged. I usually have a goal in mind when I sign up for a race and I try to figure out a plan/schedule to help meet that goal.

I have signed up for one fall race so far but I have one summer fun race and one other fall race I am a little too nervous to sign up for.

These are the races I have in mind for the rest of this year and a little into next:

7/4/11-- Ralph J. Redington (aka Woodbridge) 5K--I ran this last year for my first race in CA. It was a really fun race. Here's my race recap.

9/11/11--Pacific Coast Triathlon-- I have not signed up for this race yet. I really would love to complete a triathlon. This is a local tri (I have a group of friends already racing in it) but the swim is in the ocean which really frightens me. You know sharks, big waves, murky deep water, etc. Open water???? Hmmm.. I'm just not sure.

10/9/11--Long Beach half marathon -- This is where I ran my first half last year. Poor organization last year but I hear they have a new event planner this year. Here's my recap.

2/5/12--Surf City MARATHON-- Oh yeah I typed that big fat word MARATHON not half but a full marathon I am pondering for Surf City. I want to run a marathon one day...I think 2/5/12 may be my day. Not signed up yet I have to grow a little more courage to click the marathon option. Yikes! Oh I meant YIPPEE!! :) Here's my race recap.

If you think you might be interested in signing up for a race and you're not sure how to get started take a look at this post.

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!!

Long Beach Half-Marathon - Race Recap

If you follow me on twitter or facebook you know that I finished my first half-marathon in Long Beach Sunday morning. Wooo Hooo!!

My Official Time: 2:06:28

My original goal nine weeks ago was 2:15. Then four weeks ago I started dreaming of a 2:10 or better finish.

On Saturday we packed up and headed out to Long Beach. We are only thirty minutes away from Long Beach but I had heard that traffic is awful the morning of the race and that you could get stuck on the freeway for over an hour waiting to get off the exit. I'm glad we spent the night it gave me time to relax and do absolutely nothing the night before the race.

Here's what I packed for the race:

Starting at the top left of the picture:

• Toilet Paper - friends told me to bring some toilet paper because the port-o-potties usually run out fast. (I heard they ran out at 7am!!)
• Anti-bacterial spray- because there are no sinks in the yucky port-o-potties.
• Running shoes
• Two outfits- I couldn't decide if I was going to wear the new Lululemon outfit my husband bought me or my regular running clothes.
• Socks- not tech sock just plain old cotton because for some reason the tech socks make my feet super hot.
• Garmin
• Ear buds
• iphone - Pandora for the race
• Race nutrition- Cliff Shot bloks, couldn't decide which flavor, I only used part of one.
• Hydration belt- I use a Nathan belt

That's all that I needed. I was really worried that I would forget something important, you know like running shoes.

The only thing we did on Saturday was pick up my race packet at the health and fitness expo. My husband picked up dinner and brought it back to the room. I ate grilled salmon, rice and a salad for dinner.

Run for today- Long Run

This run concludes week one of my half-marathon training. Eight more weeks of training and then one week of taper before my first half-marathon. This week of running was challenging for me, that's good, it's kind of what I needed.

I love learning how to get better, at anything really. I am nervous about the race itself because it is a rather large race but that's what makes it exciting at the same time.

I practiced using Cliff Shot Blok's today, I have been told after an hour I should eat/drink some carbs/electrolytes. I was amazed at the foreign/processed ingredients in some of the gels, gu's, and other stuff. I stuck with Cliff because I love that they use mostly organic ingredients, I can read their ingredients list, and we like their protein bars. The shot blok's were good, not like a treat or anything, but a nice boost in energy. I took them at mile 5 (halfway point), I noticed a big difference at the end of the run, I didn't feel shaky or cranky like I needed food right away.

After the halfway point a running group came up and started running all around me. I couldn't get away, I kept trying to fall back but there were people behind and on both sides of me. I knew I would keep pace with them for a while because I get "herd mentality" especially in races, this is why I am working hard at pacing myself. Of course they were going too fast for me but I hung in there for a while and when I finally broke free I was struggling to keep my pace and the next mile was really bad.

My hip has been bothering me since I started the 10 mile runs. I am using a foam roller to work it out and focusing on stretching more frequently (I am not great at stretching).

My stats:
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1:43
Avg. Pace: 10:17
Calories Burned: 989
Avg. HR: 167 bpm

Splits:
Mile 1-10:22
Mile 2-10:28
Mile 3-10:30
Mile 4-10:23
Mile 5-10:06
Mile 6-9:56- (swept away with the running group)
Mile 7-10:08
Mile 8-10:36
Mile 9-10:19
Mile 10-10:00

My goal pace was: 10:25