"That's Quite an Accomplishment!"

We finished our 5K strong. I suggested that when we got close to the finish area that we just run the rest of the way, even if the interval timer beeped at us to walk. They both agreed and I could tell that it was going to be a good, strong finish for all three of us.

It took us 44 minutes, but we did it. This is my slowest 5K, but it was also my first as a pace group leader (unless you count the races I run with my sister). A little over half way was the most difficult part which included a trail and uphill, two things we hadn't really trained for. It wasn't awful, but different.

My niece wanted to take an extra walk break just after mile 2 (something I told her we would do if needed). I suggested we just go a little slower for the next running interval. We did but then she complained about a cramp in her side. I had us put our arms above our heads and breathe deeply. I really wanted to push her enough to finish without taking extra breaks. I told her that it was her head telling her she couldn't do it and to push through.

She did and ended without taking any extra walk breaks.

I couldn't be more proud of my niece and of my friend.

So why is it impossible for me to be proud of myself as well?

After the race my mom, Isabel and I went to the nearby grocery store to pick up something to eat and a coffee from Starbucks. We had a little bit of time between the race and Emma's soccer game so we went to kill some time. I still had my bib and medal on so the lady at the Starbucks counter asked me what race I just did. I told her the Simi 5K and she said "That's quite an accomplishment."

My initial reaction was to tell her that it's really not. That my normal course is a 5K and I can do it daily. That my favorite distance is a half marathon. That the tattoo on my wrist was for a full marathon. The distance of a 5K is "only" 3.1. That there were people I ran with who completed their first 5K, that my niece placed second in her age group, that they accomplished something that day.

But I stopped myself. I simply said "thank you" because it is an accomplishment. The completion of a race- 5K, 10K, half, full, ultra- is an accomplishment. I will display my bib on my display board that I made myself with just as much pride as the rest. I will hang my medal on my display board that I made myself with just as much pride as the rest. Why? Because it was an experience that I don't want to forget.

Did anything special happen on that race to me in particular? No, not really. But I had a wonderful time. I felt pride in pushing other people to try something they may not have tried. I have a new running buddy that enjoys it just as much as I do. And whether I was participating in the race or not, I would have needed to run 3 miles that day for our training plan.

I really need to start giving myself more credit for the things that I do. I need to stop thinking that what I do isn't as important or impressive as someone else who is doing the same exact thing. I went out and I ran. Bottom line. Regardless of time, speed, distance. I did it.

The Voices In Your Head Are All Liars- LA Marathon 3/17/13

(I have so many things I want to write about regarding running and my plans to run the 2015 Dopey Challenge, but in order to focus on my future I want to embrace and share my running past... These race recaps were written for my original blog and have been added here for a view into how I came to where I am now.)

*Originally posted 3/17/13



Race shirt



Purchased shirt. I liked this one better than the race shirt. 

Today was the LA Marathon, and the second year that we participated in the event. And the last time I plan on running in a marathon. I intend on completing half marathons from this point on because, as they say, I'm only half crazy.

Last year was a lot different than this year for many reasons. I feel like I was better prepared last year than this year. Training this year did not go as well as had hoped because I'm stubborn and cheap and refused to be fitted properly for shoes. The last long training run ended for me 3 miles short, in tears, declaring that I was not going to do the marathon. I eventually went to get fitted (about 12 days before the marathon) and did end up getting new shoes (thanks mom & dad).

Another thing that was different was the time we got to the starting line. Last year we signed up for the 4:30 am shuttle in Santa Monica that brings you up to Dodger Stadium. This means that I spent the night at Rachel's and woke up at 2:30 am in order to be awake and ready to drive to Santa Monica to catch the bus. Then we sat around the parking lot of Dodger Stadium for a few hours freezing. This year Rachel's husband, Shawn, drove us. They picked me up at 5 am and dropped us off right at Dodger Stadium. Since they'd be at the finish line we'd have a ride home. I am forever grateful to Shawn for being willing to do this. It made a HUGE difference not having to sit around waiting.

The weather was different this time as well. Last year it was really cold and at the end of the course the winds were so strong that it was just awkward and very uncomfortable. This year it was much warmer. There was only one part that I was uncomfortable and it was near Santa Monica. There was a lot of fog (which was wonderful because it blocked the sun) and it got a little chilly and slightly windy. Nothing like last year and I am so thankful that it was a beautiful day today.

The last difference that I can tell is that last year I put 100% of my mental focus on Rachel because this was her goal. I may not have been the best support because I did hit some road blocks myself, but the only reason I ran the marathon last year was because she wanted to. This year I made a goal for myself, so I feel like I was focused on me more and I think that pushed me a little more.

My main goal this year was my pace and I had a time goal of finishing in under 6 hours. To be completely honest, I didn't think I was going to make it and doubted myself from the moment I made it. But I still had to try! I actually made 3 goals for myself so that I could at least reach one of them: 1. Finish 2. PR and finish faster than last years time of 6:15 and 3. Finish under 6 hours.

I achieved all three, by finishing with a time of 5:53:04. I am so excited and I cannot begin to explain the emotions that went along with crossing that finish line and reaching my goal. But I'll try.

While standing in line for the porter potties I was telling Rachel that I didn't really feel excited or nervous about the marathon. It just was something that I was doing. No big deal. In fact, the feeling I was experiencing was what I anticipated feeling at the end. I didn't like that because I still had to put in the work to actually feel what I was feeling.

Rachel and I started out strong.. A little too strong. We had some very fast paced miles. At mile 10 Rachel said she needed an extra walk break and encouraged me to keep going with our intervals. I will tell you that I felt guilty leaving her, but I knew that I needed to focus on my goal this year and I kept going. I ended up only skipping a few running intervals during the entire marathon. A couple during each of the hills, one during a water station because I wanted the water and gatorade to go in my mouth instead of all over my hand or down the front of my shirt. I have yet to perfect the water drinking while running..

I hit a mental wall around 16. I couldn't get my breathing under control, I felt slightly dizzy and I could tell my heart rate was up. I ended up texting my mom and she responded with "NO NONE OF THAT KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK" and "U CAN DO THIS." It definitely helped and I kept on going. Then I got behind a woman who's shirt read "The voices in your head are all liars." That was all it took to take me the rest of the way. I kept telling those voices to shut up and focused on the interval I was in, not the next or the one after that. Just the one I was in. It did help that I put music on around mile 14. I've been training without music, so it gave a little extra something to keep my feet in beat with the music.

The longest I've run without extra walk breaks straight through is 22 miles, so I kept telling myself to make it to that point and we can re-evaluate at that point. But then 22 miles was so close to 23 and after 23 it's just over a 5K and I could do that. And then I told myself I could walk mile 25-26 so that I could run the last .2 miles, but I felt like if I stopped running then I wouldn't start again. So I just kept going.

I was keeping track of my time by checking my interval print out. I was consistently around 6 minutes ahead of schedule so I kept trying to do the math toward the end to see how slow I technically could go, just in case. But I didn't need to. And there are no words to explain the pride I felt for myself.

I text the family when I turned onto Ocean Avenue and could see them around the 26 mile mark. I immediately welled up and showed them my watch as I ran by saying "I'm going to do it!"

I crossed the finish line with a distance on my watch .28 over that of a marathon distance. I knew this was going to happen early on since my watch would ding before the mile marker, so I took a picture of my time at the marathon distance and my time when I crossed the finish line.

The only complaint I have about the marathon is the finish area. I understand why, but it's very frustrating to have gates lining the street for half a mile to a mile after the finish line, forcing the finishers to continue to walk to the end of the area before they can get onto the side walk, turn around and walk that distance back to find their families. I just finished a 26.2 mile run, you really want me to walk 1-3 more miles after? I saw Rachel finishing as I was walking back and high fived her as she ran by. As soon as I got back to where my family was standing I burst into tears. I hugged Patrick and thanked him for everything he's done while I train for these insane events. I thanked my parents too. Then I laid down on the grass while Rachel made her way to us, eventually putting on a sweatshirt because I always get really cold and shiver after a marathon.

I reached my goal and I can say at this point in time that I do not plan on running any more marathons. But, who knows. I guess I shouldn't write it off completely, but as of tonight, no more! I didn't take as many pictures as I did last year, but I've posted what I have. Sorry if none of this makes sense. I'm exhausted!

Here's my actual pace:
Mile 1: 13:20
Mile 2: 12:55
Mile 3: 13:06
Mile 4: 12:51
Mile 5: 14:00
Mile 6: 13:35
Mile 7: 12:52
Mile 8: 12:37
Mile 9: 12:39
Mile 10: 12:48
Mile 11: 12:19
Mile 12: 12:55
Mile 13: 13:12
Mile 14: 13:34
Mile 15: 13:30
Mile 16: 13:21
Mile 17: 13:44
Mile 18: 13:48
Mile 19: 13:53
Mile 20: 13:59
Mile 21: 14:05
Mile 22: 14:10
Mile 23: 13:43
Mile 24: 13:44
Mile 25: 13:33
Mile 26: 12:48
Mile 0.48: 5:48

Pre Race photo

Start line

Chinatown

Downtown

Entertainment

Seeing my family

"I'm gonna make it!"

Marathon distance finishing time

LA Marathon finishing time



My finish photo

Rachel's finish photo

Finishers medals

First Night Race- New Year's Race 1/5/13

(I have so many things I want to write about regarding running and my plans to run the 2015 Dopey Challenge, but in order to focus on my future I want to embrace and share my running past... These race recaps were written for my original blog and have been added here for a view into how I came to where I am now.)

*Originally posted 1/6/13

Last night was our first night race, the New Year's Race. It was the inaugural year, so of course there were a few bumps in the road (like starting a half hour late), but I believe it was a pretty good race all around.

We got there pretty early to pick up our race packets and check into our hotel. We stayed at the Millenium Biltmore. What a historical amazing hotel. It was really nice to stay there in Downtown instead of driving home at one o'clock in the morning.. We walked around and had dinner around 3 at Chipotle.

We went back to the hotel and Rachel took a nap while I read. I then proceeded to have two red bull's before we headed to the start line and one 5 hour energy at the start line. Talk about energy! Thankfully it wore off before it was time to go to sleep.

Rachel and I agreed pretty early on (immediately after seeing the elevation chart) that we would be walking the majority of this race. It was the best decision for us as it was our first night race and the hills were pretty intense.

I really enjoyed this race, more so now that it's over. There was a lot of walking around the parking lot at Dodger Stadium, which I personally believe was smart because they didn't have to close as many streets in Downtown L.A., but it did make the course a little repetitive and boring.

The medal is amazing and instead of a race shirt they gave everyone a race sweatshirt. I'm wearing it now and probably will tomorrow to work. It's really nice.



Driving into Downtown.

Downtown.

 





My running outfit.

My racing bib. New Years Resolution? Be Awesome-Sauce, of course.

Rachel's running outfit.



Start line.



Downtown at night. View from the top of Dodger Stadium

Rock N Roll Half 10/28/12

(I have so many things I want to write about regarding running and my plans to run the 2015 Dopey Challenge, but in order to focus on my future I want to embrace and share my running past... These race recaps were written for my original blog and have been added here for a view into how I came to where I am now.)

*Originally posted 10/28/12

Today was the much anticipated Rock N Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon. This is the first race from the Rock N Roll series that Rachel and I have participated in, and I will say it was very well organized and a good race all around.

The course was relatively flat for the most part. At least until mile 9 when the elevation spiked. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't pretty either. Plus, whatever goes up must come down.

It's at races that I always miss having a small camera. There is no way that I would be able to run with the camera I currently have. I used to borrow Patrick's camera, but it was dropped one too many times and no longer works. I've used Rachel's phone before, but that means she can't listen to music. I think it may be time to budget some money for a small camera to bring with me to races. Thankfully Rachel took a few pictures so this post won't be completely boring..

There were a lot of costumes today too. Some cute, some creative and some that made me wonder if these people had ever run in a race before. I'm sure at some point they regretted the decision to wear full get ups in 80+ degree weather and while running a half marathon. Live and learn.

I was lucky enough to find my costume online and it was fairly easy to run in. I was not as lucky to find spandex shorts that were in the right price range and I mistakenly picked a pair of shorts that ended up riding up the entire race. Instead of pulling them down every walking interval I decided to just leave it be. My thighs hate me now. Vaseline will be my new best friend for the next few days.

Rachel and I did really well time wise from the beginning. We hit our stride and stuck with it for a really long time. I had a difficult first two miles, as always, but ended up feeling better between mile two and three. For some reason my shins, knees and thighs were irritating me and my feet were really heavy. Not sure if it's mental or if I just take a while to warm up. It's annoying, but at least it goes away.

We started incorporating extra walk breaks around mile 8. The heat was getting to us and it was nice to cool down by walking a little longer. Shortly after walking up the hill Rachel felt like she was going to slow me down. She told me to go on and I told her no. We're both stubborn like that. I'm not 100% sure, but I think she feels bad, like she's holding me back or something, but to be honest I'd rather walk the entire distance with her than leave her 3 miles out to finish alone. It's not a pride thing, it's a I started this with you I'm finishing it with you feeling.

At mile 12 she told me again to go on and I did. I decided to go from 45:1 intervals to 1:30 intervals. Our goal, as with all half marathons, is to finish in under 3 hours. I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:54:39. Rachel quickly followed, finishing in 2:58:20.

It felt good that both of us were able to reach our goal. We both also discussed getting more serious about our training. We have Santa to the Sea coming up in December. My goal is to start November 1st. I'm not going to go crazy or anything the next few days, but I'm not going to be super strict either. I'm going to do a little research and find a few options for breakfasts and lunches that are easy to make, healthy and filling. I'm also going to sit down and think about a workout schedule in order to get my weekday runs in as well as a few strength training days.

Race results:

Time- 2:54:39

Distance- 13.39

Mile 1- 12:34

Mile 2- 12:44

Mile 3- 13:07

Mile 4- 12:29

Mile 5- 12:41

Mile 6- 12:49

Mile 7- 12:26

Mile 8- 12:55

Mile 9- 13:31

Mile 10- 14:10

Mile 11- 14:45

Mile 12- 15:27

Mile 13- 10:44

Mile 0.39- 4:10

Happiest Race on Earth- Disney Half Marathon 9/2/12

(I have so many things I want to write about regarding running and my plans to run the 2015 Dopey Challenge, but in order to focus on my future I want to embrace and share my running past... These race recaps were written for my original blog and have been added here for a view into how I came to where I am now.)

*Originally posted 9/3/12

I've been looking forward to this race since we signed up for it in January. It's by far the most expensive half marathon that we have signed up for and it is also our first Disney race.

We hadn't heard many great things about this race, mostly about the course and about how little you run through Disneyland compared to how much you run through industrial areas. I'm not going to lie, we were pretty sure we wasted our money on this race. To be honest, we spent the same amount of money on this half marathon that we did on the full marathon.

Rachel and I drove to Anaheim Saturday afternoon in order to check into our hotel for the night and attend the expo. I must admit, for a race that had over 17,000 people enrolled I was highly impressed with the expo. I never once felt overwhelmed or crowded. There was a lot to see and a lot to do.

This was my first time inside the Disneyland Hotel.

This was the first expo that I have purchased something at as well. I bought a t-shirt that says "If you see me collapse, pause my Garmin."

I also liked this one:

We also got to see Jeff Galloway again. He gave us some great advise and suggested instead of us running 45:1 we run 30:30. I froze again. I wish I could tell him all of the amazing things he's done for me and that if it wasn't for his program I probably wouldn't have stuck with the training and I wouldn't have made it across the finish line. This is the second time I've talked to him. The second time that he's made me feel like I'm the only person in the world. And the second time that the only words I can get out are "Thank you."

Sunday morning came early. We went to bed early Saturday night, however it didn't feel like enough sleep for either of us. Rachel had trouble falling asleep in the first place and when she did she got woken up by the fireworks from Disneyland. I woke up at 12:44am wide awake and ready to go. I ended up falling back asleep but had some difficulty staying asleep. I had a dream about the race, so when I woke up I thought it was over..

We got up, got ready and made the 1.32 mile walk over to the starting area. Out of 17,000 people we were lucky to find the other members of our running group. We said good morning, wished them luck, then made our way to our specific corral to get ready for the start of the race.

It didn't feel like we had been there that long before the National Anthem was sung, complete with red, white and blue fireworks. Then each corral was given it's own send off, Disney style. Complete with Minnie and Mickey waving to us as we started our 13.1 journey.

The first mile brought us around Downtown Disney to the outside of California Adventure in order to bring us into the amusement park. We ran by the roller coaster, through the new Cars Land, by the Tower of Terror and out to make our way to Disneyland.









We started our run through Disneyland down Main Street and started the character sightings then as well with Princess Tiana. At the end of Main Street was Princess Jasmine, Aladdin and the Genie. We turned to run through Frontierland running by Thunder Mountain and making our way to Sleeping Beauty's Castle. We passed the carousel with Peter Pan and Wendy on it, along with a few pirates.

After making our way through the castle we turned to head to Tomorrowland, passing Darth Vader and a few Storm Troopers. After passing the Matterhorn we saw Ariel, Snow White and Cinderella on our way past It's a Small World and into Toon Town where we left the park.

This is when it got difficult for me. There wasn't a lot to distract me from the fact that we were running a race. There were a lot of cheerleaders and a lot of bands, which helped. There was also about a half mile of old and restored cars. It was amazing and I will always be grateful to the volunteers and to the people cheering on the side line. They always help push me through.







It wasn't long before we could see the "Big A" in the distance. It made me really excited and I couldn't wait to get to the stadium. I was under the impression we would be running through the stadium, however I was very excited to find out that we were able to run on the warning track and actually be on the field. There are no words...

It was shortly after leaving Angel Stadium that Rachel was having difficulty catching her breath. There's no wonder it didn't happen sooner for either of us considering it was extremely hot outside, add to that running it seems like a crazy idea.

We did more walking than running the last 3 miles, but we made it to the end and that's the important part. Our original plan was to finish the race in under 3 hours. We crossed the finish line in 3 hours 3 minutes, which considering we stopped a few times for photo op's isn't a horrible time for us.

I am highly impressed with the organization of this race and the price is actually worth what you get. I'm glad we had the opportunity to have this experience.

I'm planning on running this race again, in 2014. After I run The Goofy Challenge in January 2014, I will get 3 medals, for completing the half marathon (a Donald Duck medal), for completing the marathon (a Mickey Mouse medal), and for completing both (a Goofy medal). If I also complete the Disney Half Marathon at Disneyland that year I will receive two more medals. One for completing the half marathon and the Coast-to-Coast medal. A medal for completing a Disney race in both Florida and California in the same calender year.

I am not obsessed... I'm dedicated. 

I'm not sure if I have to tell other people that to make them believe it or if I'm trying to convince myself. Either way I guess there are worse things in life to be addicted to.