Diary of an Average Runner

#Winning

2012-02-13T15:20:00.000-06:00

And 'ze winner of some Nuun, PureFit bars, and a bunch of GU (which I may or may not have shoved a few extra packets in this beautiful box about to be delivered) is...

KATIE from run this amazing day!

Katie, please send your mailing address to diaryofanaveragerunner [at] gmail [dot] com & I'll get this package out to you right away. ENJOY & thanks for playing. :)

A New Half PR + a Giveaway!

2012-02-06T21:52:00.016-06:00

Takin' care of some business:

1. I ran another half marathon yesterday. I was shooting for a PR. I got a PR. For the first time in, uh, ever, I never once looked at my Garmin during the race. While this was a great test of mental willpower, this kind of ended up screwing me over. I started too fast, I ended too slow. A PR is a PR no matter how small, I know, and there are some things I need to work on in regards to pacing. Moving on.

Oh, AND, for another first of this race, I didn't take a single picture before, during, or after the race! I didn't actually take a photo until we did some post-race grubbin'. And even then, I'm using Cate's photo because it turned out better. :)

Any day with Genki is a good day, race or no race!
Naomi, Courtney, me, Renee, RoadBunner, & Cate

Splits from the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon:

1: 7:27

2: 7:26

3: 7:48

4: 7:44

5: 7:45

6: 7:30

7: 7:33

8: 7:50

9: 8:01

10: 8:05

11: 8:03

12: 8:10

13: 8:07

.23: 7:54/pace

Garmin time: 13.23 miles, 1:43:16 -- 7:48 pace (7.7mph)

Official time: 13.1 miles, 1:43:19 -- a 52-second PR!

Average pace: 7:53 min/miles

Overall place: 1,025 out of 4,998

Gender place: 220 out of 2,491

A/G place: 46 out of 458

And that would mark half marathon #11.

2. A kind lady from PureFit nutrition sent me some samples of PureFit bars. They are high-protein, wheat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, all-natural protein bars that actually sounded intriguing. I gave them a whirl -- even brought one to Maui with me -- and they are seriously not bad for sounding as boring as they describe themselves! The best thing about these bars is that they aren't coated in chocolate like many nutrition bars out there, so there's no worry about them melting or deforming in your pocket while working out (or having them turn into sludge in tropical atmospheres). The only negative I had about the bars was that they are a little on the chalkier side & made me kind of thirsty. Seriously not a big deal, though, since water is usually pretty available in the areas where I tromp around. I still have a few bars left & I want to give them away... so here is your chance.

3. I guess I hit 200 followers on here. While this is nice, I really don't know why you guys keep coming back to my blog! ;) As a thank you, I'm going to do a fun little sweepstakes where you are going to get more GU that you probably want (6 kinds of Roctane, including the re-released Island Nectar flavor and 2x 6 kinds of regular GU, including the coveted new Peanut Butter flavor!). I am going to throw some Nuun in there, too, just because I love that stuff and want to share the love. And for your chance to try the PureFit bars, I'll throw some in there as well. I also have a bunch of stickers & temporary tattoos that I'm going to force upon you, muhahaha. :)

FREE STUFF TIME!

Want to win this goodness? EASY!

1. Leave me a comment and tell me why you want free stuff! (1 entry)

2. Go ahead and give this sweepstakes some Twitter love -- tag me, @DiaryAvgRunner, so I can tell that you did. (1 entry)

Enter as many times as you want, because I feel like being CrAZzzY.

PEASY! I'll randomly pick/contact a winner next Monday, February 13th. Good luck!

*Legal jargon that I know I should do but don't know what to say. I'm doing this sweepstakes because I want to, not because anyone put me up for it. I got the PureFit bars in exchange for a review, but the opinions are my own. Everything I'm giving away in this sweepstakes I've paid for/acquired on my own, blah blah blah. U.S. entries only, please and thank you and enjoy!

Race Recap: Maui Oceanfront (Impromptu) Marathon

2012-01-27T23:15:00.006-06:00

Let's cut to the chase here: I haven't been feeling like blogging much lately.

I don't know what it is -- lack of motivation to write, not much to write about, not feeling like my training or my racing is going anywhere grand at the moment, all of the above... and, to be brutally honest, after returning from 5 nights & 6 days in sleepy-ass, lazy town (aka Lahaina, Maui), I'm feeling unmotivated & don't even want to write about A MARATHON I RAN THERE.

But, for you loyal little loves out there, I will.

Sooooooo, a really really really really really long time ago, Courtney & I stumbled onto a great non-stop flight special to Maui. I haven't been on a "real" vacation in quite some time, I have never been to Hawai'i, and I have never traveled with a close friend. This vacation was already shaping out to be a great one, but of course when you have two runners traveling together, one thought entered our minds:

If we were going on vacation, duh, we wanted to come home with some bling.

The Maui Oceanfront Marathon, Half Marathon, 15k, and 5k fell within our flight's dates, which may or may not have been planned. After buying our flights and booking our hotel, Courtney and I found ourselves registering for the half marathon.

Banner outside our hotel

Once we got to Maui, though, a maniacal thought entered my head: We should just run the full marathon. Sure, we hadn't trained. Sure, we didn't bring the necessary stuff runners need to run a marathon. Sure, it was hot and humid and non-ideal conditions for a distance race.

Just as quickly as the thought entered my head, it disappeared. I want to race the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon again, the race that holds my current half PR, in two weeks. Running a marathon I hadn't prepared for could ruin any true shot I have for that.

Then, I waffled some more. And then some more. After a 28-mile bike ride down Haleakala, I realized I had seen a good chunk of Maui in a very unusually fashion and I liked it. The ever-thoughtful Courtney gave me a list of pros and cons for running either race as we were being shuttled back to our hotel from the bike tour. I made up my mind: I agreed to the run the full. At the expo, we paid a few bucks to upgrade and our decision became real. In just a few hours, I'd be running my sixth marathon & Courtney would be running her fourth.

The bustling expo where they accepted full-bodied red wine in exchange for an upgraded race.

The Maui Oceanfront Half is a 6.5-mile out & back that started and ended at our hotel. While this would have been an ideal option for sleeping in, walking to the start, going for a quick run, collecting our bling, and leaving, it suddenly wasn't seeming as impressive. Sure, most people don't run half marathons on vacations... but who in their right mind would run a full marathon on their vacation?

I had to do it.

Waking up at 3:30am, catching a bus for the 45-minute drive from Lahaina to Wailea, and running all the way back to our hotel seemed to fit the bill of seeing the island in another unusual way.

And I am so, so, so glad we did it.

Once our bus dropped us off in Wailea on Sunday morning, we were greeted by a traditional Hawaiian ceremony. Conch shells were played, chants were spoken, and we all held on to one another in a morning prayer-type ritual.

Pre-race marathon chants

The only way Courtney and I were going to survive this race was to take our sweet time. We had no desire to run fast, but we both agreed to get as many miles as we could under our belt before the sun rose. After the sun was up, we knew it would be a death march.

During this race, the mile markers count DOWN, which is AWESOME!! (Imagine how mentally draining it is to see the number 20 when you're hitting the wall. Then imagine how different it is to see the number 6. It's an entirely different mental game -- one I really enjoyed, especially in these conditions.)

At the 10k mark, still before sunrise.

Around mile 11, the sun peaked over the Maui Mountains. While our battle against the sun was about to begin, this was a perfect way to witness a Maui sunrise.

Maui mountain sunrise

After running on N. Kihei Rd and fighting some of the harshest winds I've been in, we hit an endless panoramic view of the ocean and began climbing a number of steady hills. There was very little shade, and these miles became hard. One redeeming factor: GETTING TO SEE HUMPBACK WHALES JUMPING IN THE OCEAN!!! Who gets to do that during a race?!?

Honoapi'ilani Highway -- endless beauty

I wanted to make it to mile 16 before stopping to walk, which we pretty much did. This section of the race reminded me a bit of Big Sur and I felt really happy despite the heat. We took our time through the water stops, reapplied sunscreen, stopped to stretch our legs and snap some photos, and enjoyed all of our surroundings.

Honoapi'ilani Highway

The final portion of the race was run with tiny beach towns and the ocean on one side of us, and the mountains on the other.

Papalaua Wayside State Park. Perfection.

Taking a dance break at Mile 20. Why the hell not. We still had hours to go before the race cut-off time. ;)

Usually seeing Mile 1 is kind of a bummer... but not when it's saying you only have 1 mile left!

(Courtney was asleep at this point.)

WINNERS. #MOM

Post-race fresh fruit hand-fanned by locals. Mmm mmm.

Settling in for a great post-race massage under the downtown Banyan tree.

Finished with #6 and ready to begin the rest of vacation!

Even though this race is coming in at a close second for my personal worst marathon in terms of finishing time, it's truly vying for a spot as one of my favorites. We never would have experienced any of the beautiful sites, smells, and scenes had we run the half. And getting to do this while on vacation with a great friend is truly unforgettable for me.

Most people ask "How did you do?" when you finish a marathon; and for the first time in a long time, the numbers on the clock had truly no meaning to either of us -- the only time that mattered was that we were having a good one.

And I'm 100% sure we accomplished that.

Aloha & mahalo, Maui Oceanfront Marathon!

The bling we traveled so far for!

Race Recap: Crystal Spring 11-Miler TRAIL RACE!!

2012-01-10T23:50:00.016-06:00

Yesssss, folks: You read that correctly. I did a trail race!

Late last week, Aron asked me if I was interested in running a 22-mile trail race over the weekend. I laughed and turned her down. Then, Courtney asked me if I was interested in running that same trail race, but the 11-miler. I said I'd get back to her, but that I was leaning toward no. Then Naomi asked me to join, as she had signed up for the 5-miler. I said I'd think about it. And then I found out seasoned trailrunner Kabri was going to be running the 11-miler as well and it finally sunk in that this was an opportunity I shouldn't pass up. I do love running with friends!

After juggling around a few weekend plans, I bit the bullet and registered for my first legit trail race... with no terrain preparation and hardly any recent long runs under my belt.

The mountain we were ill-prepared to climb.

On Friday afternoon I met up with RoadBunner and Karin for a 13-mile run, my longest run since CIM. First smart move of the weekend.

On Saturday morning, I met up with Courtney, Naomi, Kabri, and Aron for the hardest 10.6-miler of my life, my second longest run since CIM. Second smart move.

Aron getting ready to take off on her 22-miler.

Me & Naomi, freezing our butts off while waiting for her start.

(Basically pro) trail runner Kabri, Naomi, & me.

As I've been waiting for Courtney to send me pictures from the weekend (my phone has been having issues & I got almost nothing from the weekend), she posted her race report and wrote essentially everything I wanted to write about this race, but much, much funnier than I would ever be able to do.

So, I am going to be uber lazy & say: Read Courtney's race report here.

For my not-so-entertaining take, read on.

Courtney and I agreed to run this race together, and we met up with a bunch of other maniacs preparing to run up a mountain. The atmosphere was so different compared to every race I've ever done. There was no starting gun, no one shoving and pushing their way to the front, and no one being rude.

Instead, everyone calmly jogged away when prompted, and the entire crowd joked and laughed at how we were all basically in last place from the very start. And they were okay with that. I liked it.

Not your standard starting line.

The first mile was nearly entirely downhill but bottle-necked, the second mile was gradually uphill, and by mile 3 I was ready to throw in the towel. The switchback climbing was ENDLESS. Courtney and I started walking to conserve energy the moment we felt tired, and even walking was hardly counting as recovery. The hill was so steep and unforgiving, and this was a serious power-hike.

Once Courtney reminded me that we were basically climbing five 40-story buildings in the span of 3 miles, I kind of wanted to lose it. Of course I couldn't let her know that. I tried to stay motivated by thinking about the checkpoint at mile 6 where we could take a break, and then it'd pretty much be a downhill fly from that point. (Yeah, right.)

Photo of the never-ending switchbacks courtesy of Dorna, whom we randomly met at the aid station!

Best aid station ever! Coke, potato chips, M&Ms, Oreos, PB&Js... I could get used to this! By mile 6 we felt famished and took serious advantage of the smorgasbord in front of us. And we also clocked a 19-mile mile thanks to that feast.

Still climbing among the Redwoods.

FINALLY WE FINISH.

Slowest 10.22 miler ever! I guess the course was rolotaped-certified to be 10.6 miles and my Garmin doesn't account for some of the distance gained during elevation, so this would put our pace at 12:37.
Still.
Slowest race ever.

Kabri (4th AG!), Court, & me after that grueling event.

Overall, trail running is still not quite my cup of tea, but this race was eye-opening. I realized very quickly where I am physically weak. My arches throbbed on the uphill, my left Achilles ached on the downhill, my ankles and knees felt wobbly the entire time, and my quads turned to jelly 3/4th of the way through. None of these pains I would normally feel on the road, and I hope to do more trail running in the future to naturally strengthen these areas.

I truly loved the scenery during this race. Running on the road doesn't usually give runners such humbling and awe-inspiring views, and that was a definite treat. I enjoyed being out in the woods, muddying up my shoes, slowing down my pace, and being out of the City and in nature.

But most of all, I loved the laid-back feel of this race and how encouraging and supportive the racers and the support crew were. I mean, any race director who calls a 10.6-mile race an 11-miler is automatically cool in my book! I can see myself signing up for more trail races in the future simply because it was nice to get away from the pace-driven competition I so frequently see in the road-running world.

And I have a newfound respect for all you trail runners. You're a bunch of GD bad asses.

Stats:

Official time: 10.6 miles/2:13:29/12:37 avg pace

Garmin time: 10.22 miles/2:13:29/13:03 avg pace
Splits:
1: 12:19
2: 12:15
3: 12:02
4: 16:18
5: 14:38
6: 18:46
7: 12:28
8: 10:31
9: 12:56
10: 9:28
.22/.6: 8:19 avg pace

Race Recap: NYE Dash (Almost) 5k

2012-01-01T21:32:00.012-06:00

Yesterday morning I met up with some friends to run the NYE Dash, a 5k supporting Project Open Hand. The race was limited to 200 people and was pretty... well, small.

Wave 1, runners who anticipated 8-minute miles or faster, lined up on the street (which was not closed to traffic, by the way). At the sound of someone screaming "Go!", we took off.

The first mile was downhill on JFK, so I started off in a hard sprint, thinking I could bank some time and go for a new 5k based on that mile alone. At one point I was in front of speed demon Katie and even said something like "I'm in the front!" while pumping my fists and turning around to look for her. She jokingly told me to shut up -- that I was running a 5k & shouldn't be able to talk.

Before I knew it, the frontrunners were turning around to run back up JFK via a very wet and uphill field. This mile seemed awkward -- I didn't remember reading that we'd be running through a field, but I guess that's what I get for not studying a course map. The grass was super slippery and I felt like my legs weren't even moving. At one point I looked down and saw 8:40 as my lap pace, and knew that this wasn't good if I wanted a PR.

We finished up the race with a lap around Stow Lake. I glanced at my watch on the downhill of Stow Lake Blvd. to recheck my pace and noticed my watch said I was at 2.75 miles. "Only a little more than a quarter mile to go" I noted to myself and tried to pick it up again. I turned the last corner and saw the finish line right in front of me... much too early.

Proof you can heel-strike in Newtons!

I stopped my Garmin at 2.87 miles and quickly chalked this up to being a short course because it was a low budget/charity race. Turns out that the frontrunner had taken the turnaround too soon and missed a small out-and-back that would have given us the full mileage.

I hold no hard feelings -- 5ks suck and there were libations for runners afterward. The sooner I got back, the sooner I could start drinking.

Courtney, Renee, Katie, Kabri, Cate, Alisyn & me post-almost-5k and pre-mimosas & beers.

2.87-Mile Splits:

Mile 1: 6:42!!

Mile 2: 7:50

Mile .87: 6:03 (6:55 pace!)

4th female...

Soooo, I get an automatic 2.87-mile distance PR and a 4th place finish for this short race. I am sure this would have been a 5k PR had we done the full distance (I am guessing I would have finished somewhere around 21:30ish), but what are you going to do? It'll just give me something to shoot for this coming year. :)

Happy New Year!

Katie (2nd female!) & me

DSE Christmas Blind Date Relay

2011-12-25T22:00:00.006-06:00

There's no big surprise in that I don't mind running the hills of San Francisco.

That stands for all hills except a few, one of them being Strawberry Hill in the middle of Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. It's a massive uphill that corkscrews to the top and then winds back down, all totaling a really terrible mile. Add a mile around Stow Lake, and you have a good place to do torturous hill and mile repeats.

And, apparently, the DSE run club's Christmas Blind Date Relay run.

Renee was also staying in San Francisco for Christmas this year, and we decided to make a "Friendsmas" out of the day, starting with the Blind Date Relay. You basically show up and get paired with a complete stranger. They try to pair males to females, but with more females showing up for this fun run, there were a couple same-sex teams. No attention is paid to age or speed or anything else that would normally matter. It seems like a pretty fair playing field, and it's cool to know you have a teammate on such a short and miserable run. ;)

I knew I was in luck when I drew the name of a man who went by "Tower" out of a hat. He was a tall, young man with a stride that went on for a mile in itself. Claiming he wasn't very fast coming out of racing CIM, I could tell he was sandbagging. I couldn't wait to see how fast he really was.

Each team member runs a 2-mile loop -- one mile up and down Strawberry Hill, and then one mile around Stow Lake -- before handing off to their teammate who does the same loop. The pseudo starting gun went off for the women, and after a quick jaunt up Stow Lake Dr., I found myself as the first female. I held that lead until the top of Strawberry Hill (that hill is a bitch), and then a couple ladies caught me on the way back down.

Mile 1: 7:45

I finished my lap around Stow Lake and tried to catch up to the ladies in front of me, but I was coughing up a lung. I guess I had a bit of a cold the last week or so, and the cold air this morning partnered with panting up a hill made everything come up. It was quite liberating and disgusting at the same time.

Mile 2: 7:05

I gave Tower a high-5 as he took off for his leg of the race. He yelled some congratulatory words as I approached him, then shot off like a bat out of hell. In a flash, his mile-long legs were gone.

On the uphill to Stow Lake, Tower passed the first man ahead of him, and on the way down from Strawberry Hill he caught up to the other. Holding a sub-6:30 average pace, Tower came charging in as the first man to cross the finish line.

Which meant, as a team, we finished first?!

Overall team time: 28:17 (7:04 average pace)

I have a number of "I Participated" DSE ribbons, and even a 4th place ribbon from a race earlier this year. But never before have I received a blue ribbon -- this will probably be my first and last one!

I participated -- and won!

Me & the dude solely responsible for winning our relay.

Renee and her teammate, Mort!

Overall, this fun run was everything it was described to be. I love the DSE run club because of the diversity of the crowd that shows up to every event. There are some competitive folks, some middle-of-the-pack folks, and some people who are really out just to say hi to their friends. But they are all there to have fun, and everyone is equally as pleasant.

And I can't imagine spending part of this holiday around people much cooler than that.

Merry Christmas!

Jingle Bell Hell Virtual Run

2011-12-18T19:45:00.001-06:00

My HTC friend XLMIC decided to bring back her Jingle Bell Hell race, a run she & some friends founded a while ago that basically was a route of purely torturous running. She invited some of her friends to run alongside her on Saturday morning or run alongside her virtually if they couldn't make it.

With a weekend packed with social events I needed to get ready for, I opted to run her virtual race near my place.

The goal: Run something that resembles your own personal hell and laugh while doing it.

Where I ran: Presidio Trails.

The parts I get: Trails are pretty. Trails are better on your body. There are no cars that can (or at least should) hit you on the trails. But I really have a hard time with them. Flat, packed dirt is one thing. Mud and hills are another. I don't like them and this was an uncomfortable run for me.

The parts I don't get: MUDDY HILLS ARE NOT FUN.

A few views from my run... (Okay, I really was just taking breaks to catch my breath.)

Looks nice, huh? In theory, yes. But this was hard. There were steps. There was mud. There were people out smiling and saying good morning. (How can runners be so friendly when they are running on muddy hills?!)

Attached are my splits. You can see exactly where...
...I HIT THE MASSIVE HELLISH HILL, and laughed as I walked up part of it.
The route kind of looks like a stupid smile, laughing right back at me, does it not?! Maybe I'm seeing things.
Not fun.

Part of me was thinking that I want to try running trails at least once a week in 2012 to give my body a break from the pavement and to change things up/slow myself down. But after running this on Saturday... I'm not so sure.

Happy Jingle Bell Hell! Thanks for organizing this virtual race, XL!

Race Recap: California International Marathon

2011-12-08T00:12:00.005-06:00

To be 100% honest, I don't remember much about the actual running of CIM, but I do know that I had a really, really fun weekend with a lot of great memories and key takeaways -- and running my fastest marathon yet was only a small blip on the weekend's spectrum. Without further ado: CIM weekend.

Pre-race fun times

On Saturday morning, the beautiful Courtney picked me up from my house and we headed straight to the CIM expo in Sacramento. There, we met up with Katie and Naomi. We had fun dinking around at vendor booths, met up with fellow San Francisco Marathon Ambassador Laura, bought cowbells for future races (can you believe I still don't have one?), picked up our race bibs/t-shirts, and parted ways. After the expo, Court & I pre-carb-loaded on sandwiches from a tasty bread shop in Sacramento, and then we headed straight to the grocery store for the real carb-loading that was about to happen.

Courtney, Katie, me, and Naomi, all excited to unite outside of SF for once.

Courtney, Laura, and me at the SFM booth

Courtney's parents are probably the coolest parents on the planet, and I think it would be nice if they'd adopt me. That isn't going to happen anytime soon, but the next best thing did happen: They let us take over their house for the evening to host a runner/spectator pizza party and sleepover, complete with nail painting. (Thank you so so so so SO much for your hospitality, Courtney's mom & dad!)

We were leaving SF for ONE DAY. How much stuff do two girls need?

Carbs courtesy of Court's parents.

MORE CARBS.

Cute little Layla & me

Painting my nails during a break from Sticking myself.

Best way to calm pre-marathon nerves: Friends.
Layla, me, Courtney, Michelle, Don, Angela, Sesa

5:00am Sunday morning rolled around, and I found myself excitedly eating what I could stomach of my breakfast, all while annoying the half-awake runners who were groggily stumbling around the house. I had high hopes for this race, and my energy was equally as high.

It's much too early for real smiles.

Our good friend (and volunteer for CIM) Layla dropped us off at the race site, we made our way to the Wall-o-Port-o-Potties, the sweat bag drop, and finally the famous starting line. I don't remember much except giving my friends good luck hugs, jumping around during the National Anthem, then toeing the marathon start line for the 5th time in a year and a half.

Photo courtesy of Katie's husband

The race

I had a distinct pacing strategy for this race, thanks to my good friend XLMIC. As a result, I was ONLY thinking about pace during this race. I was one of the un-fun runners who didn't high-five the kids out there or chuckle at any witty signs (but I did thank the volunteers for handing me water). I noticed the never-ending hills and a few people running in costumes around me; but for the most part I missed the sites and most of the spectators. I was focused on hitting my paces, getting water when I needed it, and pushing my limits. I was so focused that I missed fueling by a half mile more than 3 times, I only saw my friends in 1 of the 3 places they said they'd be cheering at, and I just tried to pick people off to keep myself going forward.

XL's pacing strategy for my race was this:
Miles 1 & 2: 8:30

Miles 3 & 4: 8:20

Miles 5-20: 8:10

Miles 21 & 22: 8:05

Miles 23 & 24: 8:00

Miles 25-26.2: 7:55

This would ensure a negative split (something I have never done), an overall pace of 8:10 (also something I have never done), and a finishing time of 3:33:55 (something I never thought I'd even dream of attempting).

Miles 1-4, The warm-up:

1: 8:24

2: 8:28

3: 8:23

4: 8:28

The race starts with some pretty significant downhills, so it was verrrry tricky trying to control a warm-up pace. I kept checking my watch every quarter of a mile or so, but I was also running with Angela for the first few miles and she helped me keep myself honest. I wanted to bust out and bank time on the downhills while I had the energy and terrain, but this is clearly a plan that has repeatedly failed me in the past. This was the time to try new a new strategy here: I had nothing to lose. Hopefully treating the first miles as a warm-up would make a marathon seem "easier" at the end.

Miles 5-8, It's go time:

5: 8:12

6: 8:12

7: 8:11

8: 8:11

I don't remember much except looking for my spectator friends after my true "go-time" clicked over at mile 5. I saw my friends at 7.5, and they were adorable with their signs, whistles, cameras, and excitement! It was such a boost seeing them out there, and it made me feel good to know people who cared about me were there to cheer me on.

The best spectators at CIM: Karin, Beth, and Jana

Miles 9-22, I'm rollin':
9: 8:10
10: 8:07
11: 8:08
12: 8:04
13: 8:06
14: 8:11
15: 8:20
16: 8:10
17: 8:04
18: 8:11
19: 8:07
20: 8:07
21: 8:07
22: 8:07

I have no recollection of anything race-related during these miles. I noted that the weather was perfect, I felt like I was hardly sweating, the miles were FLYING by, my lips kept getting chapped for some strange reason, and the wind was non-existent (good thing, since it has been so windy lately!). That, and I was excited that I was actually doing it -- I was getting close to my goal paces while controlling my breathing, and I felt optimistic about being able to PR. I tried to sip water every mile and just hold on.

Miles 23 - 26.2, Mental miles:

23: 8:21

24: 8:20

25: 8:22

26: 8:13

.27: 2:02/7:23 pace

My good friend/unofficial running coach/marathon "bible"/wonderful resource RoadBunner sent me a good-luck message from Hawai'i that I got early Sunday morning before the marathon. She told me that I was a strong runner and that I needed for fight for it at the end of the race. The last 3 to 5 miles of the marathon have traditionally been the darkest for me. I battle a lot of mind games where I always end up convincing myself that taking walk breaks is the only way I'll get to the finish. Not this time. Hearing RoadBunner say "fight for it" kept playing in my head. My goal paces started slipping away, and instead of giving in, I kept repeating my new mantra.

I know marathons are not easy. I know that great things don't happen by accident. I set my sites on people in front of me, tried to catch them, and fought for it. I had a bit of a fade in these miles, but I'm proud of how well I held it together. Fight for it.

Apparently Jana took this picture of me. I never saw her.

Fight for it.

I crossed the finish line and stopped my Garmin: 3:35:44.97. I put my hands down on my knees because I was so tired and yet so happy to be done. I had nothing left in me. I looked up when I heard my name being screamed for the entire world to hear -- it was Layla!

There she was, a foot in front of me, hollering my name, grinning the brightest smile on her face, holding her arms extended with my 5th marathon medal and the biggest hug. I was so out of it when she jumped in front of me, but I do know this is THE coolest way to end a race ever!!

SO HAPPY TO SEE LAYLA!

Layla got me a space blanket (with which I covered my mouth and gagged under a few times because I didn't want to have the slightest chance of puking on her), she quickly grabbed me water, and she helped me walk over to the people cutting off our timing chips. I felt like I was truly, wholehearted taken care of at this race, and it's all thanks to Layla. No one has ever given me personal support at the end of a race -- they always just herd us off down the line like cattle. Layla took the time to hug me, congratulate me, make sure I was okay and stable and getting my senses back, boost my spirits, and chat with me for a good 15 minutes even though I was a smelly, sweaty, incomprehensible wreck. She's truly one of the greatest friends anyone could ask for ... and, not to mention, a pro athlete catcher (she just did this same job at the Kona Ironman championships! :)

I was in the best of hands at this race thanks to her, no doubt about it.

Layla & me in front of the Capitol.

Katie and me after running our hearts out.

All of us reuniting on the Capitol's lawn.

BAM.

After the race, my friends who were there and I all met up, rehashed our tales, helped each other see clearly and reaffirm that we all kick ass, and headed off to breakfast. The whole morning I couldn't help but look around me and realize that I have some of the best friends in the entire world... both in front of me, and via the text messages/emails/Facebook messages/tweets I received all morning from people tracking my progress. The support of the running community boggles my mind... I am not worthy.

Refueling at Tower Cafe

Post-race thoughts

With that, I did not make my A+ goal (3:33:xx). However, I did make my A goal (3:39 or faster). Never ever ever in my short-legged life did I think I'd run close to an 8-minute mile... let alone 26.2+ of them in a row without a break. But I did it. And I'm eager to do it again -- only I'm going to get that 3:33 next time. I think, after five tries, I might have caught the marathon bug. (Or maybe I'm still just on a runner's high.)

I set nearly a 9-minute PR. I negative split a marathon for the first time. I ran my shortest marathon to date. I never stopped to walk -- not even through the water stops. I realized I have the best support around me. I realized I can do this.

2011 has been a year that has flown by, but not without its major discoveries. I've learned that it's okay to put goals out there; it's okay to dream big, run long, and push to the point of discomfort. I've learned it's okay to fail, it's okay to admit shortcomings, and it's okay to try and try and try again.

I came into 2011 wanting to run a marathon in 4 hours, and wanting to do so after building up into a fall/winter race. I ended up accidentally getting it early on in the year, and that instilled in me a level of confidence I never knew I had. I dreamed of 4 hours, and I got 3:35.

Naturally, I couldn't do any of this without the greatest support in the world -- the people who push me, believe in me, run with me, listen to me, talk with me, and advise me. I couldn't (and probably wouldn't) do this without the greatest friends anyone could ever imagine having: The Running Community -- Bay Area and beyond. Thank you all for believing in me.

Race stats

Garmin time: 26.27 miles, 3:35:44 -- 8:12 pace (7.3 mph)

Official time: 26.2 miles, 3:35:45 -- a 8:29 PR!

Average pace: 8:12 (7.3 mph)
Overall place: 1,406 out of 5,755
Gender place: 321 out of 2,484
Age/Gender place: 60 out of 350
Air temp: 43F

Splits:
1: 8:24

2: 8:28
3: 8:23
4: 8:28
5: 8:12
6: 8:12
7: 8:11
8: 8:11
9: 8:10
10: 8:07
11: 8:08
12: 8:04
13: 8:06 (first half: 1:48)
14: 8:11
15: 8:20
16: 8:10
17: 8:04
18: 8:11
19: 8:07
20: 8:07
21: 8:07
22: 8:07
23: 8:21
24: 8:20
25: 8:22
26: 8:13
.27: 2:02/7:23 pace (second half: 1:47)

Race Recap: Run Wild for a Child 10k (2011)

2011-11-27T23:34:00.007-06:00

When thinking about Thanksgiving races this year, I knew of two good options in San Francisco proper: The Turkey Trail Trot 5-Miler and the Run Wild for a Child. Last year I ran both. This year, with the constant reminder of how I should be saving my pennies for the out-of-state races I have in the coming months, I decided to register for just one.

On Thanksgiving morning, RoadBunner and I went on our own unofficial 10k turkey trot. We met bright and early, threw on our rain gear, and headed out into the mist for a fun and friendly jaunt. We even stopped by the Turkey Trail Trot 5-Miler to steal a pic with the mascot and cheer for our friend @Renee who was running the race.

A Turkey Trot of our own

I just love hanging out with RoadBunner and I'm so glad we got to run together on Thanksgiving morning -- it's something I hope to make a tradition! :)

For my official Turkey trot, I put my money toward the San Francisco Fire Fighter's Toy Drive and ran the Run Wild for a Child 10k again. I ran it last year, PR'd, and haven't run a 10k since. They suck too much.

With CIM on the horizon (holy crap, that's next weekend), I knew in my heart of hearts that all-out racing a 10k would not be a smart choice this weekend. Many a friend also confirmed. But with some solid improvements in my running lately, I figured I might have a new PR in me without needing to push it too hard.

While running my 2-mile warm-up to the race, I debated about using this 10k to hit some goal MP miles. I ran into Naomi and RoadBunner's Boyfriend before the race, and even declared to them that that was going to be my strategy.

Naomi & me at the start. I'm not normally this pale.

It wasn't as cold this year as it was last year,
where we were all wearing sweatshirts and hats.

Once the starting gun went off and I crossed the timing mat, I decided that I wanted the PR. My PR pace from last year's race was 7:44 -- so I thought I'd try to hold 7:45s and pick it up at the end for a teeny tiny PR.

Mile 1: 7:10. Oops.

Mile 2: 7:12. Oops again.

By mile 3, where I saw RoadBunner, Naomi, a coworker & her husband running -- as well as Courtney out cheering -- I knew I wasn't holding back enough. I was caught up in the atmosphere and enjoying myself while screaming for my friends. Mile 3: 7:07.

The last half of the race is a series of hills in Golden Gate Park: Mile 4: 7:28, Mile 5: 7:26, Mile 6: 7:25.

The race ends on a nice little downhill: .2 at 6:59 pace (one of the very rare times I've seen a sub-7 pace on my Garmin!).

Done and done.

The best part about this race is that I never really felt tired. I got a bit of a side stitch around Mile 4, but I think it's because I decided to charge up a hill while drinking a swig of water. I never got close to redlining, I never had the urge to puke (or even gag, unlike last year when that was all I wanted to do), and at the end I didn't feel spent at all. Naturally, my thoughts start veering toward the "Could I have pulled a sub-45 minute 10k if I pushed a little harder?" but I'll need to save that debate and effort for another day.

For now, I've got a 3:29 PR under my belt, I ran perfect tangents for the first time ever, I somehow managed a 5k PR during today's 10k, and I'm happy how the day played out.

Happy Friendsgiving. <3

Next up: CIM!

6.2-mile splits: 7:10, 7:12, 7:07, 7:28, 7:26, 7:25, 6:59 pace

Official Time: 6.2 miles, 45:13 -- a 3:29 PR! (8.2 mph)

Average Pace: 7:17 min/mile

Overall place 77 out of 673

Gender Place: 10 out of 358

Age/Gender Place: 4 out of 40

Air Temp: 52F

Dream Big: CIM Goals

2011-11-23T17:57:00.014-06:00

My fellow Nuunie-HTC Runner No. 2 buddy, Dorothy, has been infecting the Internet with a phrase she's been inspiring this fall: Dream Big.

The super-speedy, brand-spankin'-new-marathon-PRing (3:13!), totally adorable Dorothy & me during our nighttime leg of Hood to Coast.

As I've been tapering from my pseudo-training plan for CIM, I have been thinking about this phrase quite a bit while I'm out running. I know Dorothy didn't plan for this to become an assignment for people -- but I just need to fess up here.

As we all may (or may not) know, I was dealing with some burnout right after PRing at the San Francisco Marathon. Even though I qualified for guaranteed CIM entry with my SFM time, I debated about signing up for the race. I wanted the burnout to go away before I committed to another marathon, and yet the burnout wasn't going anywhere. From the beginning of August to mid-October, I sort of half-assed ran, went on long slow Sunday Rundays with friends, I spectated a lot of races, took a lot of days off (and by that I mean a LOT of days off), had my first DNS, tried running based on heart rate zones instead of pace, pretty much stopped blogging, and even changed my diet. I was willing to do anything to make myself feel better.

However, my heart rate was still exploding through the roof when I ran up hills, I was taking numerous breaks on even 5-mile casual runs, I felt tired and exhausted and frustrated most of the time, and I had little drive to even want to try marathoning again.

At the very last second possible, I signed up for CIM with my guaranteed entry before it closed. Then I got my butt back into gear since I had exactly 7 weeks until race day. There was no time to waste.

Something clicked, and it happened almost right away. Maybe it was because I had another race to look forward to. Maybe it was because I had 2+ months of rest that I denied actually needing. I'm very much looking forward to CIM because I think I have a good chance of doing well (by my own standards).

And this is where Dream Big plays in for me.

I've always sort of (ok, no really) underestimated my running goals. I want to give myself plenty of cushion for if/when I fail. I want to make things seem bigger and better when I hit my lowered goals.

Not this time. I want to put everything out there.

My first of two 20 milers for this shortened training cycle left me in disbelief. I came up with excuses ("But I broke it up into 3 little runs," "But I ran a race as part of it," "But I ran with friends and we stopped to talk," "blah blah blah"). The truth is, it happened.

My second 20 miler was even better and left me physically shaking my head. I came up with more excuses ("But I took 4 water/fuel breaks," "But I ran in the rain and that made me go fast," "But I tucked my watch away so I had no idea what my pace was," "blah blah blah"). The truth is, it also happened.

Thank you, Garmin Connect.

My 16-miler last weekend was even better. Another Nuunie-HTC buddy, XLMIC, made for me a pacing strategy to try. And it worked. Very well. There were no excuses.

Thank you, Daily Mile ... & XLMIC for the goal!

Things are getting better and better. I have high hopes.

For CIM, I am dreaming big. During my run today I truly absorbed my goals for this race, and I'm not going to hide behind them or underestimate myself this time.

If I fail at it, who cares? No one is going to hate me. It's not going to make me a bad person. It's not going to mean I'm a crappy runner. It just means I tried, I didn't make it, I'll train better, and I'll try again at my spring marathon. (Light-bulb moment!)

People put their Dream Big goals out there all the time and I respect them for not hiding behind lowered expectations. I admire that they are going for something beyond their comfort zone. I don't want to hide behind myself by setting goals I know I can hit anymore. I have absolutely nothing to lose and hopefully many more chances to try.

And with that... My Dream Big Goals for CIM.

A+ goal: Finish in 3:33:xx. XLMIC has created a pacing strategy for me that would have me finishing a few seconds under 3:34 if I have a perfect day. I will pretty much piss my pants if this happens, but hey... crazy things have happened for me in races before. Why not shoot for that perfect day?
A goal: Finish in 3:39. This would mark shaving an hour off my marathon time from when I first started. I will pretty much piss my pants if this happens, too, to be honest... and I truly believe I have a good chance at doing it at CIM. But maybe I can push beyond that, which is why I have an A+ goal. :)
B goal: Finish with a PR (sub-3:44). Did I ever think a PR would be so far down my goal list? No. But this time... it has to be. I've got more in me.
C goal: Finish strong, but knowing I'm going to do my absolute hardest to get my A+ goal next spring. That might actually include a real training cycle next time. ;)

There we have it folks. If I fail, I fail. If I get this, well, I'm probably going to shy off and not boast about it.

Or maybe I will.

Dream Big. 11 more days!

Thanks for the inspiration, Dorothy.

Friendly reminder: You can use the discount code "ALYSSAFF10" until this Saturday (11-26) to save $10 on your SF 1st half, 2nd half, and full marathon registration for the 2012 races. After that the code expires -- and race fees go up! -- so now is your best time to save.

SFM Discount Code

2011-11-16T17:46:00.002-06:00

I'm already going to do my first shameless San Francisco Marathon plug, and I am totally not sorry!

Since you're all training for your Turkey Trots next week, why not keep the training up, push yourself a little further ... and sign up for the San Francisco Marathon on July 29, 2012!? Sure, it's a hard & hilly marathon -- but it's also extremely scenic, professionally organized, and completely awesome. Have you SEEN those massive medals they give you for running? It's worth the hurt for that alone!

I've got a $10 off code just for you to use on your registration. It's good for the 1st Half, 2nd Half, and Full Marathon! COME ON! You've got options and no reason for excuses.

Just enter "ALYSSAFF10" in the discount code field at check out, and you'll quickly see 10 big ones taken off your total. (You know you can use those $10 around the holidays. Yes, you can.)

Act fast though; this code expires the day after Turkey Day, 11/26/11.

Right after you register, why not go vote on the shirt you'd like to wear for running one of the races next year? That's right -- you can help design the SFM 2012 shirt!

Happy, Happy Friday!

2011-11-04T18:45:00.004-05:00

Today I received some exciting news!

For those of you who don't know, I moved to San Francisco in August of 2010, just days after the San Francisco Marathon. One of the first things I did as a new resident was sign up for the 2011 race when registration opened.

As I began training for SFM, I was introduced to another local running blogger, Aron. Aron was an Ambassador for SFM, and she invited me to join her for a run with the San Francisco Marathon training group during their first week of training.

The meeting that started it all...

Aron introduced me to a ton of other awesome and rad Bay Area running bloggers by generously planning group runs.

Iron Horse Trail run day!
Back row: Alisyn, Naomi, Page, Kristen, Caitlin, Kerry, Layla, Beth, Courtney
Front row: Tara, Audrey, Jana, Katie, Megan, Aron

Training for the San Francisco Marathon forced me to get out and explore my new city by foot. Doing so, I became very close with a few other local runners who were also training for the race. I am lucky to call these runners some of my closest friends now.

Katie & Aron

Rad & Ron

Megan, Katie, Kristin, & Aron

Punky & Layla

RoadBunner, Page, Susan, Aron, Kristin, Jessica, & Tara

And then of course, I overtrained my tush off for SFM, the ultra-hilly marathon that currently holds my PR.

I feel like the San Francisco Marathon allowed me to grow as a runner, develop as a person, expand my perceptions of The City, and reach out and make new friends. I want to give back to the San Francisco Marathon in exchange for all it has given me...

And this coming year, I will get to do exactly that. I was chosen, alongside Aron, Courtney, Susan, and 28 other fabulous runners from around the country, to be an Ambassador for next year's race.

I'm so excited for this opportunity, and I can only hope to help this race change someone's life in the way it has changed mine.

Whoops

2011-10-30T21:28:00.007-05:00

Somewhere between Nike Women's Marathon and today I added another year onto my age and life has once again figured out a way to get in the way of me writing here... but I certainly have been reading inspiring blogs and hanging out with supportive running friends.

I guess, in a moment of panic a couple weeks ago, I signed up for another marathon. It's, oh, in 5 weeks. I'm coming off major, major post-SFM burnout... burnout so bad I altered my diet and took running wayyyy easy for months to get my health back and elevated heart rate down. I'm again running on a regular basis, I'm feeling stronger every day, and having the California International Marathon as my next goal has given me something to work toward again.

With just 7 weeks to train for this marathon, long runs are of the utmost importance. While I do my share of shorter runs during the week (4 and 5 miles are my favorite after-work distance, especially while it's getting darker earlier), I've been throwing in more 8- and 10-mile runs to make sure I have a solid base going into CIM.

For my weekend long runs, I am simply repeating the last few weeks of my SFM training plan: 18, 20, 15, 20, 16, 13, race. I don't care how fast or slow I do these long runs -- it's just important that I get them done if I want a shot at finishing the marathon.

The truth: I don't have high expectations for CIM. I think I am capable of surprising myself, definitely, simply because the course is less technical and much less hilly than every other marathon I've done. CIM is a notoriously famous PR-course, and while I hope to use that to my advantage, it's not my goal. I simply want to run a marathon that has awesome & steady crowd support and hills that don't kill your legs in the first half. Finishing strong is also a goal, but I'm saving any serious PR efforts for a spring race. If it happens it happens, but I am wary of burning out again and I've been exercising caution.

20 miler

Today was my first 20-miler since SFM (and also Week 2 into my 7-week training plan, ha!). I had some nerves going into today's long run because, ahem, 20 miles still is a daunting distance, even when you've got 4 marathon medals in your display case.

Doing 20 miles without much of a build-up into it makes it seem even longer. My plan for today was to break it up mentally as much as possible.

The DSE Great Halloween Highway 4-Mile Run

This morning I rolled out of bed, snarfed half a bagel, and headed out the door to the DSE Great Halloween Highway Run, a 4-mile race that required about 3 miles of warm up to get there.

3 miles to the start: 8:32, 7:54, 7:50

Since I arrived at the race late, I was the last person to start. They don't chip time, so the clock was already about 3 minutes against me. I knew I probably shouldn't "race" this race since it was at the beginning of a long run, but I really wanted to run with my friends. I booked it until I met up with Cate, her husband Mike, their adorable baby, and Courtney right around mile 1.

By mile 2, Cate and Mike took off, Courtney held back, and I decided to see what I had.

Garmin time: 4 miles in 30:17 (7:34/mile pace): 7:16, 8:08, 7:40, 7:13

I participated!

Cate & Mike at their daughter's first race -- and she slept through it!

After the race, I ran to Stow Lake to meet up with a fellow running blogger/tweeter, Kristine, for 8 more miles. She was doing her first 20 miler (ever!) and asked if I would keep her company for some miles. Of course I agreed -- I like doing my long runs with people and figured she's the same way if she was asking me to join her. Plus, meeting other local running bloggers is not anything I've regretted doing in the past!

3 miles to Stow Lake: 8:17, 8:19, 8:20

While I was waiting for Kristine at Stow Lake, I got a message from Layla saying she and Karin had spotted me running in Golden Gate Park. I invited them up to the lake to join us. Soon after they arrived, Courtney came charging up the hill much to my surprise... and we had an awesome impromptu group meet-up to knock out a bunch of miles together.

I'm so ready for this Indian Summer to go away. Come back, cool foggy weather!
With Kristine, Layla, Courtney, & Karin

Impromptu Sunday Runday

Getting to chat with Kristine was awesome -- what a cool girl! I am so glad I finally got to meet her in person. And seeing Layla, Karin, and Courtney was seriously icing on the cake. I loved this part of my long run the most.

8 miles with friends: 8:57, 8:59, 10:06, 8:43, 9:00, 9:00, 9:05, 9:13

After that random little meet-up, I headed home. Going back to my place is flat/downhill from Stow Lake, so I decided to crank it and tire my legs out like a true masochist.

2 miles home: 7:50, 7:18

Total: 20 miles in 2:47:49 (8:23/mile pace)

Even though today's run did have a number of pauses, water stops, bathroom breaks, and a little bit of standing around for pictures and chatting, 20 miles is 20 miles. I may not have run it completely nonstop, but I didn't know if I'd be able to finish otherwise. After today, I'm feeling pretty good about my last-minute decision to sign up for CIM.

I know I'll finish. And maybe I'll even do alright.

Have a great & safe Halloween!

Race Recap: Nike Women's Half Marathon

2011-10-17T22:00:00.004-05:00

I'm not completely happy to say that my 10th half marathon was one filled with so many ups and so many downs (I am not talking about the San Francisco hills here) -- but at the end of the day, I'd call the Nike Women's Half Marathon fun.

I initially wrote a long post that screamed of complete negativity and I didn't like how it turned out. I don't want to diss a race that's important to so many people for so many reasons, so instead I will just breeze over the bad instead of focusing on it. Condensing the negative points into bullets will prevent me from going off on some unnecessary diatribe right?

1.) The "Expotique": A 3-day event in Union Square where Nike doesn't let any other company sell anything to ensure they dominate the entire sport's market for a few days. Going to the "expo" was more like going into a nightclub, but outside and in the middle of the day. Huge crowds, blaring music, and inconsiderate and pushy participants gave me a headache and the angries within minutes.

ZOMG my name is a square inch on the temporary wall art! I'm famous! Let me through!

2.) The participants: 25,000 people is a lot of people. A LOT of people. When the majority of them are walking/randomly stopping/switching lanes without signaling/being inconsiderate/never having been a part of a race before and therefore not following any sort of etiquette, it makes me want to kick some necks. I felt that sensation a lot while in the bag check and during the 13.45 miles I ultimately ran on Sunday morning.

Effff.

3.) The bag check. In theory, the way they set up a bag check with school buses was a great idea. However, it was so inconveniently located and congested with people that we couldn't even push our way through. My claustrophobic tendencies made me want to panic a bit, simply because I was afraid of being trampled to death by a bunch of perfumey girls.

Efffff part 2.

4.) This course. This was definitely not an easy course! I venture to say that this was harder than the San Francisco Marathon in terms of the hills (three different stretches of mile+ uphills?), and yet it seemed to be marketed to beginners...

NWM 2011 course profile.

5.) The immature high-school volunteers. Let's just say that some physical volunteer-to-participant contact was unnecessarily made, some 4-letter words were exchanged, security was about to be called on us, and we left the post-race expo angry, ready to kick some more necks, and drink the last few hours away.

NOW, onto all the good!

1.) Rad Runner Girl! Early Friday morning, my best running friend Rad flew into town and we had grand plans for the most epic weekend ever; a weekend that just so happened to include a race with 24,198 other psychos. We started off by heading to the Expotique where we met up with Courtney, found our names on the Niketown wall, satiated Rad's photobooth junkieness, and then busted the hell out of there in leiu of ramen.

(Okay, okay, so we pushed our way through to find our names on the wall, too.
Guilty as charged.)

Niketown Expotique

Loves.

Thanks, Pom, for letting us waste too much time in the photobooth with a long line behind us.

2.) Audrey Hepburn outfits! Originally we were planning on wearing good-ole Tiffany Blue for the race, but nixed the idea in the last few weeks because we ~~were actually too lazy to shop for the outfit~~ figured other people were going to be wearing that. Instead, we decided to dress like Audrey Hepburn a la Breakfast at Tiffany's. While I'm not sure many people appreciated or even understood the costume, we did get a lot of hoots and hollers for the pearls. :)

Courtney, me, & Rad, channeling Audrey.

Sheer brilliance.

Ready to rawk.

Work it!

3.) Friends! Courtney and I told Rad we were going to do our best to get her across the finish line in under 2 hours so she could set a new PR, but the fact is there was no way it was going to happen with all the people or the hills we were running. Instead we just went with the slow & painful march, enjoyed one another's company, dodged whoever and whatever we could whenever we could, and successfully stayed together the entire time. (This was a huge feat, honestly.) I am used to running races alone, so running with two awesome running friends was seriously, seriously amazing. So fun.

BRFs actually getting to run together!

There was a big TV screen with runners going by featured on it. Do the people on screen look familiar?

How about now? I see a Courtney Audrey & a Rad Audrey!

Best cheerleaders ever: Page, Jess, and Katie! (Sorry I cut you off, Dennis. Makes up for you forgetting to give me a Twitter shout-out???) Hey, XLMIC, where were ya??

4.) The scenery! While running the hills on this particular course was a royal pain in the ass, I never get sick of these views.

Sun rising behind the Bay Bridge. It looked much better with purple sunglasses on.

Running toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Running down Lincoln Blvd, looking onto the Avenues.

Passing the Cliff House on the way to Ocean Beach.

5.) The finisher's medal, provided by Tiffany & Co. Ahhhh. This was perhaps the most redeeming factor of the race and/or the only reason we ran it.

Tiffany & Co. necklaces are passed out by firefighters in tuxedos.
Totally ridiculous. Totally fun.

This is probably my first real piece of jewelry because, if you haven't surmised, the pearls I ran with around my neck were actually plastic.

Overall...

I am still trying to look at this race from an objective point of view. While it was a Nike event, there were clear problems with the organization and the execution of this race. It was not a runner's race -- instead, it was a race geared toward the amazing Team in Training participants & supporters, many of whom were doing a race for the first time and had no qualms about stopping at a dead standstill in the middle of the road or having any regard for a finishing time. Their efforts should in no way be overlooked, and it's important to note that they raised a sick amount of money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This is far more important than any time on the finisher's clock, but it was frustrating for the runners to not get to run their own race safely.

That being said, I had a great time running with my friends, and I wouldn't change that experience for the world. After seeing how this race went down, I wouldn't want to do it any other way either; and if the opportunity ever comes up again, I'd want to run it casually in this same fashion. It's the kind of event that brings everyone of every ability together; it's an activity that should be absorbed and enjoyed.

So there we have it... the fastest slow (and my longest) half marathon I've ever run. Being around my friends in such a crowded and energetic atmosphere made the miles FLY by, even though we were doing anything but flying. Every time a mile clicked by, I think I told Rad & Courtney that I really didn't want it to be done.

And yet, at the exact same time, I just couldn't wait to be far, far, FAR away from the Nike Women's Marathon.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2011-10-10T14:30:00.001-05:00

(Sorry, RoadBunner, I am not breaking out my Christmas tunes just yet...)

I'm talking about Fleet Week, friends! I GD love Fleet Week. And the only thing better about Fleet Week is meeting up with a bunch of other local blogging runners (and even some blogging foodies -- that's a whole new world to me!) to watch some of the Fleet Week festivities.

This past Saturday, the gorgeous and amazing Courtney planned a truly magnificent blogger meet-up, hosted at our own equally generous and incredible Sports Basement-Presidio.

Love love.

That's us -- the Bad Ass Bloggers! Or Bay Area Bloggers. Whatever.

Oh goodness, the food. Some of this was given to us on behalf of SB (THANKS!), and the rest were our contributions. We had wayyyy too much food & not enough room in our bellies, which is usually not a problem for a group of runners.

We scared the other people using the Community Area away -- more space for us to gab!
Back row, left to right: Me, Jana, and Cate. Front row, left to right: Courtney, Teresa, Naomi, Audrey, Courtney, and Annalies.)

After stuffing ourselves to the brim with snacks, we headed out for the Fleet Week airshow, where we conveniently had front-row seats.

Gorgeous day for an air show, me thinks.

About a trillion boats were out on the water.
In comes the Marines plane.

(Great shot, Jana!)

Another groups of BAs... the Blue Angels.

They looked much cooler in person, I promise.

(Once again, Jana's pic is 289371023 sweeter than mine).

FLEET WEEK FUN! Back row, left to right: Courtney, Theresa, Suki, Audrey, Naomi, and Courtney. Front row, left to right: Cate, yours truly, and Jana. Not pictured: Annalies, Karin, and her adorable son.)

Overall, it was really fun getting to meet new people, hanging out with old friends, watching the airshow, and running run a few miles with Cate, who is back into running from her maternity leave! I'd call it a successful day all around. Thanks for organizing, Courtney!

A Spectator (For the Third Weekend in a Row): The Twin Cities Marathon

2011-10-04T07:48:00.005-05:00

This past weekend was the 30th running of the Twin Cities Marathon, a popular fall marathon known for its cooler temperatures, flat course, scenic views, and crowd support. The last few years when I was living in Minneapolis, I would bike the Greenway down to Lake Calhoun to cheer on the athletes & look for local celebrities and running buddies.

This year was only slightly different -- I didn't bike the Greenway to Lake Calhoun. Instead I flew 3,000 some miles, drove 40 minutes, and walked another 15 to make it to the race. Granted, I was in the metro area for other reasons, but while I was so close to my old stomping grounds, I figured I'd stop by, hoot & holler for a bit, do a long run of my own, and spend the rest of the day with friends.

Some of the trees starting to change colors. <3

Good morning, Lake Calhoun!

Not long after staking out my spot at Lake Calhoun, the wheelchair racers came blazing through. This was the lead wheelchair racer being completely blinded by the rising sun.

Just a few minutes after the wheelchairs, the lead men came through. Mannnnn, they were flying.

Lead women

The Flash?

Early on in the race, my Big Sur friend, SF-touring buddy, and Hood to Coast Nuun Platuun teammate, Susan, came blazing through! Seeing her was the main reason I wanted to spectate at the race.

My hands were full as I wanted to snap a picture for Twitter while filming her come through, so it looks like I'm about to hand her my phone. I'm pretty glad she didn't steal it.

SUSAAAAN!!!

Susan ended up setting a new PR, finishing the Twin Cities Marathon in 3:18 (that's a blistering 7:35 pace, might I add), and finished in the top 100 women. Way to go, Susan!!

Sorry for the bum shot, Susan. At least you look good in those booty shorts. :)

Further behind Susan, I recognized another person slogging through the race at a decent, but much slower, clip. I freaked out, star-struck, and fumbled with my camera to snap a picture but it was totally too late. Do you recognize this man's fine behind?

DUH! It's The Ultramarathon Man himself, Mr. Dean Karnazes!

After all the TCM runners and walkers made it past my little cheering station, I set out on a 13.1 miler of my own. I was originally slated to run the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon back in California the same morning, but gave my entries away since I was out of town. I figured the least I could do is run my own half marathon in my old neighborhood. I ended up having one of my best runs in a long time around the tri lakes -- turns out that all that race energy rubs off, even if you're not racing.

13.1 miles/1:45:29/8:03 pace

Lake Calhoun

The infamous Lake of the Isles water monster.

I feel like all my race spectating has been a huge success (how can one fail, really?) and I totally love going to races & can't wait to do more of it! Next up, though, is finally race I intend on doing -- the Nike Women's Half Marathon. I'm looking forward to a casual race with so many of my friends.

From Stationary Spectating to Mobile Spectating

2011-09-26T22:08:00.008-05:00

After two weekends of spectating races, I'm making my way up in the race-spectating food chain. Last weekend, Page's husband and I moved a mere .5 of a mile to cheer in two different San Jose locations. Yesterday, I cheered/spectated over the course of 14.5 miles in Half Moon Bay -- all by foot!

Queue the Half Moon Bay International Marathon -- another first-year race set along the beautiful edge of the West Coast. Alisyn had been training for this race for months, RoadBunner & her boyfriend had been signed up since registration opened, Dennis is a freak and just kind of runs everything successfully, and Naomi was registered for the 10k.

Courtney & I headed out of San Francisco early Sunday morning to meet up with Katie. The HMB course is kind of crazy in that runners start at a point, run north for about 6 miles, turn around and run south back to the starting point, continue south for about another 7.5 miles, and then turn around and head north back to the start. So, yeah, doing the math, they saw the start/finish line 4 times. Which really can't be fun.

I'm basically stealing all these photos from RoadBunner & Courtney. Thanks, friends.

Oh, silly Half Moon Bay Marathon & your inefficient course maps!
You are lucky you are pretty in person.

Katie & I (and her cowbell) stop for a photo op on the HMB course while making our way to the southernmost point of the race.

One of the best parts of the HMB Marathon: BAGPIPES outside the Ritz! And gorgeous scenery.

This place is real.

Courtney, Katie, & I parked at the finish, and then ran 7.5 miles down to the final turnaround of the race. We then waited for Alisyn to come by, where the plan was to hop in and run with her back to the finish, for a total of 15 miles for the day.

One of the coolest things about this well-organized race was that it was so tiny. I think I read that only 106 people ran the marathon, and there were just 500 people for all events (marathon, half marathon, 10k, & 5k). I can say with all honestly I think we were able to cheer for EVERY person who did an event, sometimes multiple times because of the turnarounds. How awesome.

As we waited around the 18.5 mile marker, Alisyn came by, flying like an eagle & looking great, but Courtney and I had a hard time keeping up. We've both been pretty burned out lately, so we took the route back easily, just chatting and enjoying the scenery with plenty of walk breaks. It was such a fun morning!

Courtney, me, and the lovely Half Moon Bay.

Half Moon Bay: I love you & might do your half next year, even though I hate your single-track dirt trails.

If you can even begin to wrap your mind around this, HMB was RoadBunner's 29th marathon. Yup. She's run a marathon every year since birth, pretty much. :)

Remember when I raced RoadBunner's boyfriend, E, at the St. Patrick's Day 5k earlier this year? He ran the half marathon and totally kicked ass. Here are the cute couple post-race. (I took this photo with their camera -- can I take some credit?)

Ummm... coolest running picture ever? I think so. Here's Alisyn flying by us near her last turnaround point.

Naomi & RoadBunner show off their bling!

Dennis was featured in the Half Moon Bay Patch for this spectacular water hand-off. And the fact he got a 3-minute marathon PR without trying. (Oh, and he also did the Napa Ragnar Relay last weekend, so he essentially did this tough course on tired legs. Amazing.)

We are sexy, even in foil blankets! (Left to right: Courtney, me, E, Dennis, Katie, Naomi, & RoadBunner. Not pictured: Alisyn. WHERE WAS SHE?)

I'm getting really good at this spectating thing, and I seriously hope to keep it up since I'm having a lot of fun with it! Next up: I'm really hoping to catch my opposite-coast blogger buddy Susan while she runs the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis/St. Paul next weekend!

The Marathon-Turned-Half-Marathon-Turned-Spectating-A-Race Recap

2011-09-19T22:27:00.014-05:00

Rewind to the beginning of 2011:

My goal was to run the May 1st Big Sur 21-miler as a training run for the July 31st San Francisco Marathon. I then wanted to run SFM as a practice run for the NorCal Marathon, where I was going to attempt a sub-4 as my main goal for the year.

I ended up running the full marathon at Big Sur and accidentally got my sub-4 there, then went on to get a 3:44 at San Francisco, and decided I was going to go for broke at the NorCal Marathon to see what I was made of.

Well, NorCal was this weekend, and what I wasn't planning on happening was coming down with a major case of burnout paired with a minor case of anemia (more on that later). Last week I decided to officially drop to the half marathon. Further confirming my decision was the fact it was a billion degrees when we got to San Jose; it was a first-year race; and it was a confusing route with out-and-backs, gravel, and sharp turnarounds.

My "go for broke" marathon turned into a "just do the mileage" half marathon. Nothing more, nothing less. Yesterday morning, I made it to the starting line.

That was as far as I got.

Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls! I present to you... my first DNS!

About 5 minutes before the race, I made the executive/medical decision to not run. I stepped to the sideline, hung out with Page's husband Chicken Face, smothered their adorable dog Lola, and cheered on my friends who had more balls than I did. I even ran into the super cute Audrey, who was out on a run of her own -- and then realized she was running with a cowbell just to make some noise for the racers!

The starting line -- a pretty great turnout for a first-year race.

Me and Miss Lola, cheering on runners! Lola definitely stole the show at the race.

Weeee! Happy 2nd birthday, little Lola!

Chicken Face and I made our way down to the mile 3 marker so we could watch for our friends. Page and Katie baaaaaasically led the way.

Alisyn rocking some stellar running form in her hometown race!

True: Kristin has never taken a bad running picture. (Actually, I don't think she's taken a bad picture period.)

After all our runners came by mile 3, we made our way over to the finishing area to watch people start crossing. Because there was prize money on the line, a few Olympic Trial runners showed up and it was incredible to watch them zip through. There's something about elite runners that's so beautiful and graceful to watch -- those gazelles make running look effortless. I was glad I had the chance to see this. Obviously, it's something I wouldn't have seen had I been on the course myself.

Katie & Page finished side-by-side and placed 6th & 7th female, respectively. This was by far the coolest thing to watch -- two really good (and really fast!) friends pushing each other to finish a really tough race. Page even walked away with a new PR, and both left with age group prizes.

Alisyn kicking major booty.

See? Kristin always looks good.

After the race we all met up for breakfast & bottomless mimosas. It was the greatest plate of food I never worked for.

Alisyn, who's prepping for the Half Moon Bay marathon next weekend; Katie, who's prepping for the Portland Marathon in three weeks; and me, a lazy slacker who's enjoying every minute of throwing training plans straight out the window.

Key takeaway:

If going for broke at this race was truly a test of what I was made of... I guess I'm made for spectating.

In all honesty, though, it was nice to be a part of a race in a non-running/non-volunteering fashion. I must do more of it, only next time I need to remember to pack a cowbell in my sweat bag.

Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon WINNER!

2011-09-15T12:00:00.003-05:00

I know this was a super-duper short time frame for a giveaway, so thanks to all of you who were honest about being ready for a half marathon and decided to enter! I tallied all the official entries and we still had a pretty awesome turnout.

I can be professional with giveaways at times.

The simple way of choosing a winner...

Winner winner, meatless-chicken dinner!

Congrats to PAVEMENT RUNNER! You are running the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon AGAIN, for the 5th year in a row! Please email me at diaryofanaveragerunner [at] gmail [dot] com & I'll send you your registration code stat.

Giveaway! Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon

2011-09-13T10:50:00.003-05:00

BAM!

I have ONE entry to the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon to give to a lucky reader!* Could that lucky reader be you?

Race day is Oct. 2, 2011.

Entering the contest -- or earning multiple entries, in this case -- is simple!

1. Follow my blog, and let me know that you do. (Required)

2. Link/Announce this giveaway on your blog, and let me know that you did. (1 entry)

3. Follow me on Twitter (@DiaryAvgRunner), and let me know that you do. (1 entry)

4. Tweet about this giveaway -- feel free to be creative, just include my blog and my Twitter handle. Something along the lines of "Check out http://diaryofanaveragerunner.blogspot.com for @diaryavgrunner's RnR SJ Half Marathon giveaway!" will work fine. (1 entry)

5. For fun, let me know why you want to run this race! (1 entry)

I will announce one random winner at noon THIS THURSDAY, September 15th.

Hope you're "half marathon ready" because this race is coming up soon -- October 2, 2011. It's going to be one hell of a party! Good luck!

Bling bling!

*I am not affiliated with the Rock 'n' Roll race series other than my connection with Brooks Running, the company who gave me an entry into the race. I simply have a registration code I cannot use and am passing it along.

Part 4 of ???: Hood to Coast Relay Recap -- My Legs of the Relay

2011-09-06T22:59:00.004-05:00

With Hood to Coast being more than a week ago already (!), I need to act on recapping my legs of the race before I forgot everything. My brain is bad these days -- and I was really tired & sleep-deprived during the race -- so this will be reconstructed from photos I'm stealing from others.

My first leg:
Hood to Coast estimate: 5.67 miles, difficulty rating Hard, predicted pace of 7:04 min/miles
Actual leg: 5.34 miles, difficulty rating I'd call Moderate, actual pace of 7:40 min/miles

This leg of the race was entirely downhill -- it dropped 1,500 feet of elevation in the span of 5+ miles -- and if it weren't for the fact that it completely shreds up your quads, I'd call this leg "Easy." There's a fine line between letting gravity pull you, putting out too much effort because of adrenaline, and trying to fight gravity. I think I did a good job of letting the mountain pull me downhill -- until the very last few minutes of the leg, when my shoe came untied.

Yup, I seriously saw Caitlin waiting for the hand-off about a quarter of a mile away, and I had to pull over to tie my shoe. Awesome.

Getting read for Tricia to charge into the transition area.

Look at that smooth exchange! You'd never know we were relay newbs.
I think this is the only photo Ricardo? Diego? got of me running. :)
Yup, van driver Alex did a better job photographing -- USING AN IPHONE -- than the professional photographer did. ;)
5.34 miles later, I'm coming into the pass to hand off to Caitlin.

BAM. Pros.

My only gripe about this leg of the race was that it was painfully hot for my sissy SF-self. With temperatures in the mid-80s at 1:30 in the afternoon, there was no shade along this stretch of the highway. The recently repaved sections of the road smelled of nauseating asphalt and radiated even more heat.

It was seriously SO BEAUTIFUL running down Mount Hood and through the forest, though, that all of this is definitely forgivable. :)

Time: 5.34 miles in 41:01
My splits: 7:41, 7:39, 7:35, 7:35, 7:56, 7:28 pace -- average pace of 7:40 min/miles

My second leg:
Hood to Coast estimate: 6.08 miles, difficulty rating of Moderate, predicted pace of 8:20 min/miles
Actual leg: 6.07 miles, difficulty rating I'd call Hard, actual pace of 7:56 min/miles

This was my nighttime leg along the wonderful industrial part of Portland. (By wonderful, I mean boring.) While a few of our runners got a scenic view of downtown Portland and the riverfront, I ran along the highway next to a big rig loading zone. It was still hot even at night, but thankfully every time a rig passed, a gust of wind would blow by and provide a welcomed breeze.

Because it was dark, I couldn't tell exactly but the entire leg felt uphill. I was also fatigued from running just a few hours earlier (and I was stuffed from snarfing down a veggie burger and a mountain of fries at a delicious local brewery), so this could be why this leg felt harder than predicted.

Headphones are banned from the HTC course, and I resorted to counting my steps to 100 and then starting all over again to keep myself occupied during this leg. If was really desperate, I sang the 10 words I know from "Party Rock Anthem."

Van 1 & Van 2 met up for second time, and I was excited to see Tonia & Susan in Portland!

Chatting with an AfterNUUN Delight runner running the same legs as me, the adorable Mrs. Dorothy, in our transition area. It was great that we spent most of the race neck & neck.

Dorothy and me before our night legs.

Before I knew it, Tricia was handing me the baton.

Can you find me running along the creepy highway? Thanks for snagging this picture, Lauren!

Again, this leg was hard mentally because there was no scenery, I was tired, I didn't know how much further I had left, the whole leg felt like a gradual uphill, and I couldn't get that crappy LMFAO song out of my head. My bib number was covered as I headed into the exchange, so unfortunately the announcer couldn't let Caitlin know I was ready. I stood around for a minute or so looking for her before I was able to make the hand-off.

This was definitely not my favorite leg of the race, but it was still an unforgettable experience!

Time: 6.07 miles in 48:10
My splits: 8:00, 7:41, 7:52, 8:06, 8:00, 7:54, 8:06 pace -- average pace of 7:56 min/miles

My third leg:
Hood to Coast estimate: 5.77 miles, difficulty rating of Hard, predicted pace of 8:27 min/miles
Actual leg: 5.73 miles, difficulty rating I'd call Moderate, actual pace of 7:45 min/miles

After getting a few hours of totally restless sleep inside a van, I was feeling more energized and was ready to take on my last leg of the race. Thankfully Mist, OR lives up to its name and I felt at home when I woke up to the site of thick fog. It burned off quickly, but I definitely appreciated the cooler morning temperatures.

Waiting for Tricia to plow through the crowds for our final hand-off.

A-ha! I busted Lisa taking pictures of me. :)

3-2-1 Blast off!

So excited to almost be done.

I took off running way too quickly because it was easy to convince myself I only had this short portion of the relay left! When I approached my final uphill, though, I couldn't hold that pace anymore. I slowed my stride, took a short walk break, and soaked in the expansive green fields around me. Oregon is a truly beautiful place and I'm glad I was able to leave everything I had out there.

Time: 5.73 miles in 44:30
My splits: 7:20, 7:23, 7:24, 7:51, 8:48, 7:44 pace -- average pace of 7:45 min/miles

FINISHED & the sun is still rising!

When all was said and done, I ran a total of 17.15 miles at an average pace of 7:45 minute miles.

Official Nuun Platuun Stats:
Location: Mt. Hood, OR to Seaside, OR (200 miles)
Date: 8/26/11-8/27/11
Official Time: 27:59.17 -- Oh, hell yeah! Who finished in under 28 hours!?! Nuun Platuun did, that's who! #WINNING
Average Pace: 8:24 min/mile
Women's Open Division Place: 7 out of 38
Overall Place: 293 out of 1,268
Air Temp: Upper 60s in the morning, upper 80s in the afternoon

If you want to know more about how the rest of my team did during their legs of the race, check out their recaps. I wish I were as punctual as they all were. :)

Tricia: Leg 1 & Leg 2
Kerrie: Leg 1, Leg 2, & Leg 3
Margot: Race report (How she got this all in one post, I will never know & will forever admire.)
Lisa: Recap of the first legs
Jess: Leg 1, Leg 2, & Leg 3
Susan: Recap of legs
Harmony: Recap of legs
Tonia: Recap of legs
XLMIC: Leg 1, Leg 2, & Part of Leg 3 (This overachiever did a fantastic miniseries that I'm sure will continue for years to come.)

Part 3 of ???: Hood to Coast Relay Recap -- Bloggers Taking Over

2011-09-03T23:15:00.002-05:00

Between Wednesday afternoon when I arrived, and late Thursday afternoon when the last of the bloggers arrived, we had a good ole time in Seattle.

I went a day early to hang out with some friends who live in Seattle. On Thursday morning, I met up with Susan and Lauren in their hotel -- actually, I met up with them after I showed up at the wrong hotel and knocked on a complete stranger's door -- where we not-so-promptly ate a late breakfast and met up with another Seattle blogger, Alma.

Alma was not running Hood to Coast this year, but she was kind enough to take us on a walking tour of downtown Seattle on her lunch break and tell us about her past experiences with the race.

Alma & me at Pike's Place Market.

Alma, Lauren, me, & Susan at the first Starbucks.

After an afternoon walking around in the blazing heat, Lauren, Susan, and I headed toward the hotel to meet our long-lost blogger friends and start decorating our vans.

I have read some of these women's blogs for a long time, it was sooooo cool getting to meet them in person -- some of them looked JUST like their blog pictures, and I felt totally star-struck seeing them in front of me.

Meeting Kerrie for the first time,
while Harmony, Tricia, and Jess await a nasty hug from me. :)

Nuun Platuun Van 2 had our slogan and our code names on the windows.

Harmony adding flare to her van.
I got my own window?!

What all the suckers behind us had to see.

After a pretty restless night's sleep in a nearby hotel (come on, we're a bunch of girls who stay up late talking!), we all tucked into our newly decorated rental vans and headed toward Oregon to run the biggest relay race in the world.

Some of Nuun Platuun Van 1, trying to look tough... others, not so much.
(left to right: Kerrie, Tricia, Caitlin, me, Alex [van driver], Lisa, & Margot)

Getting settled in for endless hours in this van.

Nuun Platuun Van 2 waiting for us at the first van exchange
(left to right: Jess, XLMIC, Kim, Susan, Tonia, & Harmony)

Our van's view of Mount Hood, the start of the biggest relay race in the world.

Nuun Platuun Van 1, with Mount Hood in the background.
Margot helping me apply warpaint during the roadtrip.

Up on Mount Hood & ready to start this race!

Part 2 of ???: Hood to Coast Relay Recap -- Our Support Crew

2011-08-31T20:41:00.008-05:00

The Nuun-Hood to Coast teams would never in million years been possible if it weren't for the tireless crew at Nuun. Before I can even begin to delve into the weekend, I want to use a post to highlight all the people who gave up their personal hours, sweat, tears -- oh, and a whole lot of time alongside their daily job duties -- to make this happen.

Kimberly

Kimberly was my original contact at Nuun. She's in charge of the Ambassador program I am a part of, and she and I have been in touch for a long time. It was so nice to finally get to meet her in person, see her in action, and get to know the personality behind her name. This lady is hardcore and pushes herself to unimaginable limits... perhaps not always in the best of ways. ;)

Mason

Mason is Nuun's new president and was the driver of AfterNUUN Delight Van 1. He hopped out of the van and ran with many of his own runners (running something like, what, 17 miles in a row himself??) just to cheer them on and offer his support. He has a great set of ears and was so eager and willing to hear about our experiences. Having him listen to us meant so, so much.

Kim

Kim may just be the sweetest, most accommodating, gracious lady I have met. She's an accomplished runner and an asset to the running industry, and I think we all count ourselves lucky for having shook her hand (or in some of our cases, stay at her house, drink her beer, AND let her do our dirty laundry!). Kim excludes class and grace off-road, but she knows how to let herself go when it comes to pounding the pavement.

Casey

Casey, Nuun's CFO, never stops smiling. No really. He never stops smiling. Even when he's sleep deprived, hungry, and being driven crazy by a bunch of stinky ladies (sorry, Nuun Platuun Van 2), he's still optimistic and happy -- and he doesn't even take caffeine! He gave up his weekend from his wife and family to hang out with us in a less-than-glamorous capacity. As the driver, he not only provided his runners with what they needed from the vehicle, he even jumped out and joined them when the going got tough.

Alex

Alex was my personal chauffeur and my Nuun Platuun Van 1 driver. I will never be able to speak enough praise about how essential he was to our team. Heck, without Alex, we wouldn't have even had a team. The weather in Oregon was brutally hot, and Alex would ensure that all of us had what we needed. If we were out on the course and needed water, he would jump out and pass off bottles while running alongside us. At one point in a traffic jam, he took off running toward the van exchange to let Van 2 know we were coming. Alex never once had a single complaint about being trapped with crazy women (really, not even once!) and as a volunteer for Seattle's Search & Rescue, we couldn't have been in better hands.

Caitlin

Caitlin might just be the cutest person ever. Her energy and smile is SO contagious, and while she claims she's not a runner, she took a spot in my van, Nuun Platuun Van 1, and ran some hardcore legs at an incredible speed without training. She is so spunky, peppy, and optimistic, and having her sleep-deprived hallucinations in our van made for a riotous good time. Everyone needs a Caitlin in their life.

Ken

I don't know much about Ken other than he's Nuun's killer graphic designer and he looks like he's 12. I wasn't sure he was legally able to drive, but he apparently did... and since everyone came out of AfterNUUN Delight Van 2 alive, it looks like he did it well.

Jenn

Jen was a (super speedy!) runner for AfterNUUN Delight, and she was a constant source of smiles and boundless energy.

Not only did Nuun provide us so much during the race, they lent us their space before AND after Hood to Coast!

They hosted a pizza & beer party for us in their company's swanky loft-like headquarters.

This seat is made out of cardboard, I think? Some sort of filter? Either way, it was really cool and surprisingly comfy, and a really nice addition to their office.

They gave us allllll the Nuun we could imagine! I totally stocked up on Banana while I had the chance. (I tear up thinking this flavor will be discontinued...)

Not a bad view outside their office, either.

And as for after the race? Kim was kind enough to let us stay at her house so we could save some big bucks instead of getting a hotel! Thank you, Kim, for feeding us, providing us tasty beverages, letting us crash in your living room, AND doing our stinky laundry! :)

Kim, Susan, Lauren, and me taking over Kim's condo.

Aside from the unbelievable support from the Nuun staff, we had many other sponsors who stepped in to provide us with so many goods for the race. Thank you to all the companies who provided us with a Christmas-like morning; we fully utilized all your donations during Hood to Coast!

Running Skirts

Tommie Copper

Moving Comfort

RoadID

2Toms

FlashBrite

Buildasign.com

GU Energy

Jamba Juice

Jenny Craig

Jack Black Skin Care

Part 1 of ???: Hood to Coast Relay Recap -- An Intro

2011-08-30T16:50:00.007-05:00

I'm back in San Francisco with a 1,000,001 thoughts spinning in my head on what exactly happened in Oregon.

Even if I had the rest of my life to dissect, analyze, and write about everything that happened this weekend physically, mentally, and emotionally, I don't think that would be enough time. So for now, while I gather my thoughts and opinions and try to construct ways to put my experience into a blog post (or posts), I'll leave you with this:

The 200-mile Hood to Coast Relay race had everything from the good, to the bad, to the ugly. While the mass majority of the race was good, there were frustrations and missed opportunities that left me feeling a bit like the race didn't match the potential that maybe I had expected from it.

But moving onto a very brief note that needs to be the emphasis for now: The staff at Nuun went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed, accommodated, fed, fueled, hydrated, and taken care of physically. They were a positive group of fun individuals, and they sacrificed a lot -- both in their work and in their personal lives -- to afford us this amazing opportunity. Not only are they great people, they make up a great company.

Thank you, Nuun, from the bottom of my heart, for giving me and 19 other bloggers the chance to run the relay of a lifetime. I am so grateful for the chance to be a part of Hood to Coast's 30th anniversary, I feel blessed to have met the ladies I did and to have walked away with new friendships, and I'm honored that I was selected to represent Nuun at this race.

Thank you, thank you. And then thank you again.

Me at the start of our teams' relay, halfway up Mount Hood.

A small part of something so epic.

Finishing at the largest beach party in the world, 200 miles later.

Giant Race Winner!

2011-08-23T23:40:00.001-05:00

A big congrats goes to Audrey of Run Audrey Run for winning the Giant Race bib giveaway through Refuel by Chocolate Milk!

Audrey is running the Akron Marathon in just 5 weeks -- this will be a perfect way to fit in 13.1 miles of her long training run this weekend. Best of luck, Audrey! Please enjoy everything this half marathon has to offer!

Also, a massive "good luck & have fun!" to everyone else who is racing this weekend -- it's another big weekend for athletes (10ks, halfs, Ironmans, relays, you name it!). I can't wait to hear/read how everyone does!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be gone/mostly offline for the next few days, because I'll be, oh, you know, running down a mountain and through the forests of Oregon. :)

24-Hour Giveaway: Giant Race by Refuel with Chocolate Milk!

2011-08-22T23:00:00.002-05:00

Once upon a time I was registered to run the Giant Race Half Marathon this coming weekend. I mean, what could be better than getting a Tim Lincecum bobble head for running a race? Oh, running IN AT&T PARK did you say? Yeah, pretty amazing! Then another teeny-tiny little (okay, no, TOTALLY EPIC) race came up that took over the same weekend, and I needed to surrender my race bib. Boo. :(

Well, what do you know? I have another bib to giveaway for the Giant Race Half Marathon!
The got milk? campaign will be in San Francisco this weekend promoting their Refuel with Chocolate Milk event, where they be talking about the importance of post-exercise recovery. They were also kind enough to give me a bib into the Giants Race this Saturday, August 27th!

I personally don't drink milk, but I DO drink chocolate soymilk after long runs and races. A few of my friends, however, drink chocolate milk and they say the sugars and proteins help their muscles tremendously. The Refuel with Chocolate Milk campaign says something similar:

"Lowfat chocolate milk naturally has many of the nutrients most commercial recovery drinks have to add in the lab – including high-quality protein and key electrolytes like calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium."

Refuel with Chocolate Milk is traveling around the country, stopping at marathons, triathlons, soccer camps, and the like, setting up "Fuel Zones" to help athletes with their recoveries. They will be at the Giants Race this weekend handing out samples, manning a photo booth, giving out free massages, and distributing materials on post-exercise recovery. You can learn more about their campaign by visiting their website, Facebook, or Twitter, or just stop by their booth from 6am to 2pm this weekend!

Because the race is just a few days away, this giveaway is only going to be a 24-hour giveaway. Let's hope you're trained & ready to go!

Here's what you have to do:

1. Leave me a comment telling me what you do to recover from hard workouts!

THAT'S IT! Feel free to spread the word via Twitter or your blogs... I may have extra entries for people who share the love. :)

I will be contacting the winner tomorrow night, so don't delay! GOOD LUCK & have a great race!

Sunday Runday

2011-08-21T16:02:00.001-05:00

I just love running with my friends.

This morning, all thanks to Layla & Karin's planning, a few of the Bay Area bloggers headed up to Tiburon to run anywhere from 6 to 16 miles. A change of scenery is always nice, but running with friends is definitely the highlight of these weekend runs.

I decided to keep the pace super casual since I've been feeling some peculiar cardiovascular exhaustion lately (let's hope that's what it is, anyway), and so I ran the first 3 miles with Naomi, RoadBunner, and my Hood to Coast teammate, XLMIC.

Sweet waterfront views

A fake horse out in the field...?

XLMIC and I decided to finish up with about 6 miles for the day, so we ran our remaining 3 miles back with Layla, Courtney, and Karin, who had already run a bunch of miles before we even got there.

They built this lookout point to the Golden Gate Bridge around a rock...?

And not just anyone gets to use that rock-centered lookout point.

Weeee! Proof it happened!
Me, Karin, Courtney, Layla, & XLMIC

This is how hard it is for women to take a group photo. Good lord.

ALL RIGHT! We are finally all present & looking! (And now the quality is miserable.)

Back: Courtney, Karin, Layla, Alisyn, Naomi, & RoadBunner
Front: me, XLMIC, & Katie

Such a fun morning, ladies! I'm really glad we we are all able to catch up & can't wait to do this again soon.

Just for you, XLMIC.

2011-08-18T07:45:00.009-05:00

Once again, time has completely slipped away from me, and there are a few things I should probably brush up on.

Next Wednesday, I'm heading up to the gorgeous Pacific Northwest to run the Boston Marathon of Relays, Hood to Coast. If it's not overly apparently by now, I'm running with a really kick-ass group of women. I feel like our team has been promoted endlessly on Twitter, Facebook, Nuun's blog, the blog world, gossip magazines, the national news (okay, no.), pretty much everywhere, so I assume everyone knows about this. But perhaps you don't.

Well, I'm running Hood to Coast with a bunch of blogging celebs, all under the name of Nuun. And here are the profiles of the three legs I'll be running next week.

Leg 2: 5.67 miles with a difficulty rating of Hard.

The HTC time predictor tells me I'll be running my first left at a 7:04 min/mile pace, which is HILARIOUS, because even though it's downhill, I'll never run that fast and expect to make it through the remaining legs. Not even downhill. And certainly not for 5.67 miles.

Leg 14: 6.08 miles with a difficulty rating of Moderate.

My second leg will be conveniently run at night. Conveniently? Yes. So when I piss my pants because I think I'm being chased by a wild animal, the people in my van won't see it, but instead they'll smell it & I can claim it was a sleeping team member. The HTC time predictor has guestimated I'll be running this leg at an 8:20 min/mile pace which is definitely doable, especially if I'm being chased by bears. Maybe this leg will help me make up for all the time I know I won't hit on my first leg.

Leg 26: 5.77 miles with a difficulty rating of Hard.

My third leg will be run the following morning -- so, yes, three runs in about 20 hours for this marathon burn-out -- and they have me predicted to run a 8:27 min/mile pace. Again, completely possible, but I think they forgot to factor in the whole "OH YEAH, I PROBABLY WILL BE EXHAUSTED BECAUSE I DIDN'T SLEEP" thing.

FUN!

Up until recently, running up hills in preparation for the San Francisco Marathon was the focus of my training and my time. Now that it's over and I'm still not recovered and feel completely fatigued (and I realized I haven't practiced any massive downhills), I've had a hard time getting pumped about Hood to Coast. Well, wait. That came out wrong.

I know this is an amazing opportunity and I canNOT wait to do it, but my legs and my lungs have not been in my workouts lately. I've been a bit worried about being "the one" that brings the team down.

AND THEN.

Earlier this week, Capt. Underpants (aka Margot) of my van let me know she was going to be in San Francisco for a work conference. I immediately demanded we get together for some non-running adventures, and we invited the one and only Commando (aka XLMIC) to dine (and drive us around), too.

Of course I brought them to Genki. Come on, would I take anyone anywhere else?

Let's just say I'm 100% certifiably excited for Hood to Coast after putting personalities to the names of some teammates! These two ladies were so infectiously hilarious, totally charming and inspiring, and I just know we are going to have grand adventures ahead. XLMIC really drove some awesome points home for me: This isn't about speed, this isn't about pace, this isn't about us winning a division medal. (Damn it.)

This is about having fun.

This is about promoting Nuun.

This is about being on the team that everyone wants to be a part of (or do they...?).

I'm just going to have to kill XLMIC when she takes videos of me being a super cranky pants because I arrive back at the van half-eaten by a moose.

(Just remember, XLMIC, you're running the very last leg & I will have breadcrumbs.)

The Rest of SFM

2011-08-08T08:21:00.000-05:00

So what else happened the weekend of the San Francisco Marathon? Allow me to share.

My best running friend, Rad, came into town.

We high-fived at the SFM expo.

We met up with Katie to run some pre-marathon miles at the Lululemon shake-out run.

I had a random bathroom encounter with Sesa, who happened to win my GU giveaway a few months ago. Random, but totally cool! Thanks for introducing yourself, Sesa! SO NICE to meet you in person! :)

I met my fellow Nuun/Hood to Coast teammate, Tonia! Can't wait to see you again in a few weeks, Tonia. I hope our van driver at HTC is as crazy as Katie. ;)

We all glowed with amazingness at the Lululemon shake-out run.
Back: Kristin, Courtney, Erica, Tonia, Jessica, & Page
Front: Kerry, me, Katie, & Aron

Rad gave me the coolest item to grace the planet. I wish these came in a tech material so I could wear them while running, but my mind might explode if that happened.

Rad & I ate too much pizza, watched silly British comedies, and then became pumpkins at 9pm.

I ran my 4th marathon.

(I had a random encounter with Kim in the port-o-potty line the start of SFM, but it was too early of me to think about taking a picture. Damn it. Thanks, Kim, for saying something to me -- I hope you had a great time in SF!
Note to self: It's really cool meeting people in bathrooms. Spend more time there.)

Rad & I snarfed post-race vegan donuts from Pebbles.

I drank beer with 20+ other fellow running bloggers after the race. I felt totally loved and realized I really do have the coolest friends on the planet.

Proof? Layla & I accidentally dressed like twins.

Rad & I also dressed like twins, but that was a little more intentional.

We got pedicures & it was heaven.

My roommate & her girlfriend left me the best gift ever once I finally made it back to my house. This picture is missing the three other donuts that were on the plate. (I ate 5 vegan donuts in about 48 hours.)

The end.

Race Recap: The San Francisco Marathon

2011-08-03T09:03:00.011-05:00

Hmmm... Where to start with this one.

When the idea of attempting 3:47 at the San Francisco Marathon got in my head, I trained to try and meet that goal. But magical things happen on race day, and I figured there would be a chance I could potentially do better... Or worse.

Luckily, I ended up beating my goal by a few minutes. The amazing thing? I didn't feel good about this race.

When my best running friend Rad and I signed up for SFM, we both registered to be in Wave 5 together -- the wave that hosts the 4:00-4:15 predicted-finish marathoners. We both had killer training cycles, and at the expo we decided to switch waves: She into Wave 4, and me into Wave 2.

It's about time we broke in our twin tops and temporary tattoos!
Okay, so not all of the tattoos are temporary.

The Race

After being dropped off an at ungodly ugly hour, I pushed my way into Wave 2 where I bumped into my training buddy Katie and her friend Jessica. The gun went off at 5:32 a.m. and I started running with a group of really fast people. I kind of regretted this as I found myself caught in a pack of runners pushing a pace I knew I didn't want to hold.

Jessica, Katie, & me

Mile 1 (7:55), Mile 2 (8:04), Mile 3 (8:24), Mile 4 (8:21), Mile 5 (8:19), Mile 6 (8:46)

The race starts out flat and fast along the Piers on the Embarcadero, into Fort Mason, the Marina, Crissy Field, and then up onto the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun started peeking its way out once I got to the bridge, but parts of the course were hard to see simply because there was no light. I tried to not step on anyone's feet and wanted to stay out of everyone's way, but I knew I was going too fast heading into the hills.

Look at all those really fast people shunning me for being in their corral.

Mile 7 (8:10), Mile 8 (7:55), Mile 9 (7:57), Mile 10 (8:00), Mile 11 (7:57)

Running the Golden Gate Bridge was serious fun for once. I'm scared of being on the bridge and I always inadvertently run a bit faster for this reason, but I had a good distraction this time. Because two lanes of the roadbed were closed -- the far north lane for the coming runners, and the lane parallel for the returning runners -- I was able to spot SO many people! It was great getting to see Katie, Ron, Ginny, Tonia, Karin, Aron, Kristin, AND Tony on the bridge before I got into the neighborhoods I knew all too well. I was too happy and excited looking for my friends that I just cruised along and didn't even care about my pace.

Flash photography is really attractive at this hour.

Mile 12 (8:32), Mile 13 (8:31), Mile 14 (8:17), Mile 15 (8:33)

As we ran through the Avenues into Golden Gate Park, I was now feeling the effect of going out too fast. I saw XLMIC cheering at mile 10, Cate and Mike cheering at mile 12, and Naomi cheering at mile 13 -- all of which was a surprise, and all of which was sweet relief from thinking about my legs inevitably crashing. I crossed the half marathon in 1:48 (at an 8:11 average pace, this wasn't too far off my current PR), and knew I had had a stellar first half of the race. But I still had half of the race to go.

WHAT IS UP WITH THAT PIGEON-TOED HEEL STRIKE?? That's a new look for me.

Mile 16 (8:35), Mile 17 (8:55), Mile 18 (8:26), Mile 19 (8:31)

RoadBunner, Audrey, and Layla had given us a heads up that they were going to be cheering and taking photos at mile 16 in Golden Gate Park. This gave me something else to look forward to. I tried to hold it together to look presentable for my friends, otherwise I'm sure I would have given up on the long and gradual 2-mile uphill that led us to them. Dead serious. I was doing everything in my power to go as far as I could before stopping to walk.

Looking this good was totally a fluke. ;)

I don't know how the Bay Area running community ever thrived without Layla. This girl is a rockstar both in terms of running and in supporting runners.

The best cheerleaders ever at SFM! Cate, Layla, RoadBunner, & Audrey!!

I rounded the corner before my favorite part of GGP -- Stow Lake -- but I knew my legs were slowing. Stow Lake is a series of nonstop rolling hills, and while I did a lot of my speed training there, I just didn't have it in me. I took it easier on the hills and thought about how soon I'd be getting out of the park and onto the "flat" part of the race: The Haight, Mission, and Potrero neighborhoods.

Mile 20 (8:39), Mile 21 (8:20), Mile 22 (8:30)

A great thing about this race is that it runs through so many different neighborhoods and pockets of the city, so the miles fly by. A few more friends told me they'd be cheering at mile 21, so, once again, I knew of something to look forward to. Having all the support along the course was truly a lifesaver, as I don't know how I would have held it together if I didn't know anyone out there. A smile or cheer from a stranger is nice, but when you can recognize a face on the course that is there just for you, the cheering is that much more meaningful. I was sooo tired when I saw my friends at mile 21, but I was able to pick it up a little after that adrenaline boost.

I ran with these girls for most of the second half. While I never got their names, we spent a lot of time together, silently pushing one another. I like the synchronicity of our strides in these shots. Thanks, RoadBunner's Boyfriend. :)

Mile 23 (9:17), Mile 24 (9:00), Mile 25 (9:06), Mile 26 (9:03)

At mile 23 I allowed myself to walk through the water stop, and from there on out I told myself to just keep moving without looking at my pace. The last few miles of the race were fairly desolate in terms of spectators and scenery, and the portion of the course behind AT&T Park was a death march. While I didn't see people dropping left and right like I had been warned, there was nothing interesting to look at and I got stuck in my head; the "just give up" and "why bother" thoughts started taking over. Everyone around me all looked, and probably felt, like zombies. I was trying hard to convince myself I was almost done, but I wasn't running the tangents well. I felt like the finish line kept moving farther and farther away.

Feeling pretty down & out.

Mile .46 (4:02, 8:36 pace)

I knew I had another huge PR under my belt unless I keeled over, but I couldn't help but think of what "could have happened" had I run the first miles of SFM smarter and not been so gassed for so long at the end.

Coming down the finisher's chute with an 11+ minute PR.

Chick'd

But on the bright side...

I completely conquered my A goal. I also felt I had given everything I had in me when I crossed that finish line. I saw so many of my bestestest running friends and supporters along the way.

And I can't ask for much more than that.

Marathon #4

This medal doubles as a coaster and is HUGE! Love it.

Takeaways

Overall, I am pleased with my time and what I've accomplished on this beast of a race -- never did I think I'd hit multiple sub-8 minute miles in a marathon OR break the 3:45 mark on such a challenging course! But I am a bit disappointed in knowing I didn't pace myself when the course was so conducive to negative splitting.

While I can't redo anything about this race, I did learn that the terrain doesn't affect my pace much. It's my pacing strategy and my mentality that need improvement, and that's what I'll work on next.

Long-run buddies: me, Aron, Katie, & Kristin :)

Rad & I showing off the goods and our brand new "Worth the Hurt" sweatshirts

Garmin Time: 26.46 miles, 3:44:16 -- 8:28 pace (7.1 mph)

Official Time: 26.2 miles, 3:44:14 -- an 11:02 PR!

Average Pace: 8:34 min/mile
Overall Place: 963 out of 5,920
Gender Place: 152 out of 1,976

Age/Gender Place: 47 out of 445

Air Temp: 57F

Splits:
1: 7:55
2: 8:04
3: 8:24
4: 8:21
5: 8:19
6: 8:46
7: 8:10
8: 7:55
9: 7:56
10: 8:00
11: 7:57
12: 8:32
13: 8:31 (half marathon in 1:48)
14: 8:17
15: 8:33
16: 8:35
17: 8:55
18: 8:26
19: 8:31
20: 8:39
21: 8:20
22: 8:30
23: 9:17
24: 9:00
25: 9:06
26: 9:03
.46: 4:02 (8:36 pace)

More stories/photos of this weekend coming soon... :)

Meet the NUUN PLATUUN!

2011-07-20T12:00:00.004-05:00

As you may or may not know, I'm running the Hood to Coast relay as a part of Nuun's Blogger team at the end of August. I'd like you to meet the team!

image source

The information on this very select group of highly-trained individuals has been held classified ... until now. Running in the Hood to Coast Relay will be two hand-picked Nuun teams of female bloggers. One many people already know about... they are After-NUUN Delight.

Introducing their badass flipside...

N*U*U*N PLATUUN

free your mind and your feet will follow...

Major Miles... aka Tricia...firmly believes "Endurance Isn't Only Physical". She applies that doctrine by doing the majority of her training mentally. Sure, she plans on putting in some "major miles" as part of training, but just as importantly she is preparing for Hood to Coast by dreaming about running down that mountain, talking about the upcoming relay to anyone that will listen, and focusing her energy on tracking down the perfect camo print in wicking material.

"Draft beer, not people"

Captain Cupcake ...Average A who keeps the Diary of an Average Runner, has this to say: My life has become amazing once I started believing in myself and putting my mind and spirit into my dreams. This runs the gamut in every aspect of life: from overcoming addictions; moving across the country on my own; and becoming better, stronger, and faster in my own body every single day.

I am really excited to not only have the chance to run this historic race, but I am excited to team up with so many wonderful, talented, and inspiring female bloggers -- some of whom I've admired for years!

Our third runner is the quiet brains behind 'Operation Hydration', Corporal Kim ...our Nuun Staffer

Captain Obvious of Seattle has a superpower-esque way of making
completely useless observations to her running buddies: “Look, there’s a
slug. Don’t want to step on that.” She has been distance running,
racing and blogging about it for two years, and recently completed her
first full marathon. Captain Obvious, who blogs at Mom vs. Marathon, would like to point out that she is a mother, as well.

Running the "Bataan" leg... Captain Underpants ... aka the faster bunny whose notable accomplishments include but are not limited to having run three marathons, BQ-ed and NYC qualified. She is incredibly good at never getting injured! Hasn't been injured since age 16. Additionally, she's got a couple tech-y sounding degrees that she is proud of (Engineering and MBA). (The lack of any English classes probably explains the awful grammar in her blog). She can make some mean pancakes for breakfast and a great key lime pie. She is learning to bike so that one day she can do a triathlon.

A lover of all things crazy and that push you to the limit, she is excited to be a member of this squad because Hood to Coast is just that. She feels that to be on a team with a ton of extremely nice and inspiring women is priceless.

General Confusion.Lisa is a married mother of two wonderful children who blogs at Discovering the Meaning of Stonehenge. She took up running 3 1/2 years ago, at age forty. While training for her first marathon, she discovered her love of running and fitness. Since 2008, she has run five marathons, 16+ half marathons, six mud runs and oodles of other races. She is a RRCA certified running coach as well as trained in pre- and post-natal fitness, teaching Stroller Strides and Body Back bootcamp classes. Running is her escape, her fun and her “me” time. She builds friendships around running, but also finds her “happy place” during solo runs.

She loves spending time with her family, especially outdoors. Hiking and biking are key activities that everyone in the family loves. Her son is following in her footsteps and recently ran his first 5K.

In a previous life, Lisa was a casino executive (for 18 years!). She worked long hours in a tough, people-focused industry which really gave her a thick skin. There isn’t much Lisa hasn’t seen or heard, and a bunch of women in a van during Hood to Coast will be tame compared to some of the high rollers in the casinos.

Hood to Coast has been a dream of Lisa’s for many years. Her father ran it a few times in the 80’s and even before Lisa was a runner, she thought that HTC would be very cool. The course goes through her old stomping grounds of Mt. Hood, Sandy, Gresham, downtown Portland and the Oregon Coast. She is thrilled and honored to have been chosen by NUUN to run on their team.

Private Chafe ... aka Jess Allen aka "THE" Blonde Ponytail ;) Jess ran her first race ever, the Portland Marathon, last October 2010 and began her blog, Blonde Ponytail
shortly thereafter. Jess is a recognized ninja. When she isn't silently assassinating wrong-doers, she advises students at Washington State University where her husband coaches baseball. Jess is a NSCA-CSCS and former Stanford University softball player. She is mom to one
fur-child, Cooper, a 3.5 yr old golden retriever.

Cap'n Crunch introduces herself: Hi everyone! I’m Caitlin and unlike most of the lovely ladies on my team, I am not (currently J ) a blogger! I am a part of the Nuun Event Marketing team and I volunteered myself for a spot on the team! I graduated from Washington State University in 2010 where I played soccer for the Cougs, in addition to earning my degree in Comm. I grew up in a running family and have run two half marathons in the past year. My Hood to Coast legs will be the most I’ve ever run in 24 hours and I’m quite looking forward to the challenge.

image source

Code name: Nightingale. This super secret agent is rumored to blog at Nurse on the Run. Her identity is closely guarded and all info is classified. When
sighted, she is usually in the vicinity of someone needing medical assistance... or running really fast!

Major Pain ...aka H Love... whose motto and blog are Keep On Keeping On. She tells us: I spent my time growing up between Florida and Washington State,
enjoying the beauty of both places! I am a small town girl who loves to
compete (with myself) and try new things. I have always loved sports,
but running was never one of them. I played basketball at the community college level and then finished my schooling at Washington State University! Go Cougs! In 2009 another mom asked me to be on a 100K relay team to run the last leg....4.3 miles! What? It was a huge challenge. After running those 4.3 miles I was HOOKED! Those 4.3 miles , led to 13.1 and recently 26.2! Being part of NUUN Platuun is a huge gift and I still can't believe I am going to be part of HOOD to COAST! I am a mom of three amazng kids (10, 8 & 5) who inspire me daily! I am blessed with a hard working hubby that makes me laugh and supports me in all I do.

I "stay at home" (ha, ha, that's a joke) with the kiddos and work part time as a Early Childhood Education consultant and trainer. I love to bust a move (no alcohol necessary) and enjoy hanging with my fam and friends. Love, love, love, white sand beaches,the gulf of mexico and warm sunshine! I try to enjoy the moments I am given and always looks for ways to inspire and connect with others! Can't wait to "bring it" with this amazing group of women! Go NUUN Platuun! Hoo-Rah!!

Sergeant Style ...aka Tonia. Here's the short version: Mom. Runner. Wife. Triathlete. Friend. Pescatarian. Coach. Not necessarily in that order.

And the not so short version: As a former Division I Track and Field athlete, I have always had an athletic side, but it wasn't until my second child was born that running became my passion. I began running in 2007 after I vowed to run a 10K by the end of the year. I finished that 10K and have never looked back. Since then, I've run 4 marathons, 10 half marathons and a slew of shorter races. Right now, I am training for the NYC Marathon with Team Grassroot Soccer.

Although, I am primarily a stay-at-home mom, I have been active in the fitness industry for five years and is am a certified running coach with the Road Runners Club of America. In 2010, I established, TMB Endurance Training, a coaching endeavor focused primarily on distance runners. I am also certified as a fitness instructor with the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, where much of my focus has been spent in the areas of Prenatal and Postnatal Fitness.

On a personal level, I am mother to three beautiful daughters, Dizzle, Doodle, and Dilly, wife of 7 years to J and author of the blog, Racing With Babes.

Notable accomplishments: 3 kids. 4 marathons. An Ivy League degree. An a appearance in the August 2011 Runner's World magazine.

Why I am so excited to be on Team Nuun for Hood to Coast: Well, isn't it obvious? Hood to Coast is "the Mother of All Relays" and running it with Team Nuun is a once in a lifetime experience. Who wouldn't be excited? Seriously, though, I am so honored to be included in this group of amazing blogging women from all over the country. I am looking forward to being challenged and forming new friendships and bonds. I know this is bound to be an experience I will never forget.

Commando ...aka XLMIC, blogger at Taking It On ... lurks in the shadows until the perfect moment to jump out and bust someone's cojones. She is relentless in everything she does. If she cannot out-and-out beat you running on the road, she will annoy you into the ground or make you laugh until you are immobilized... or you wet your pants. She appears unphased by almost any situation. She began running as a way of cross-training for her favorite sport, rowing. She rowed for Cornell University, at Vesper Boat Club, and was on the 1991 US PanAm team. After running two sub-4 hour marathons, she had four kids and took an injury-forced, 8-year hiatus from athletics. (She also has 6 grown stepkids). She resumed running less than a year ago and prefers to run at night... stealth-style... after everyone is asleep. Don't look for her because you won't find her that way. Just listen... she has a hard time keeping quiet for very long.

These formidable and fun athletes will present a force to be reckoned with at the 2011 Hood to Coast!

My Goals for the San Francisco Marathon

2011-07-18T20:41:00.009-05:00

Earlier this year, my goal was to run the Big Sur 21-miler as a training run for the San Francisco Marathon.

I then wanted to run SFM as a practice run/time trail for an undetermined fall race.

I wanted to get a sub-4 at that fall race.

Well, I ended up switching from the Big Sur 21-miler to the full marathon just days before the event. And then I sort of accidentally got a sub-4 there. So my goals for the rest of the year had a very pleasant wrench thrown into them, my confidence levels in my running had a tremendous boost, I completely redesigned and had an awesome training cycle post-Big Sur, and I needed to reassess my goals.

I've reassessed. And reassessed. I signed up for my fall race while training for SFM. I wondered if Big Sur was a total fluke. And then I thought about goals some more.

With that...
My goals for the San Francisco Marathon!

"A" goal: Thanks to a vagabond friend who knows nothing about marathoning other than what I've told him, he set my goal time as 3:47. Yes, technically this is someone else's goal for me and not my own, but I really believe I can hit it as long as I hold myself together on the hills. His suggestion has given me something awesome to shoot for this training cycle, and it's been at the back of my mind this whole time. I'm not lying when I say that. I've thought "3:47" at some point during EVERY training run as I glance at my overall pace on my Garmin. I've trained for that pace on all of the hills. I feel ready for it.
"B" goal: sub-3:55:16, my current marathon PR
"C" goal: sub-4
"D" goal: Run until I crash and burn, but know I left it all out there
"E" goal: Finish and take pride in a sweet new medal
"F" goal: Die (okay, not really a goal)

Conservative? Some may argue. Realistic? I think so. A push? Definitely. We're still talking a 7-minute PR (from May) on an extremely technical course.

Okay, and then what?!

After SFM, I'm going to focus on the Hood to Coast relay as a part of the Nuun blogger team, and then just three weeks after Hood to Coast I'm running my fall marathon, the NorCal Marathon in San Jose. I'm going to take my SFM results, experience, fueling, everything into consideration when figuring out my NorCal marathon goals. I have some lofty goals in mind for right now (from running so hard to the point of bonking just to see what happens, to shooting for a specific time), but I really do want to use SFM as a gauge for NorCal. So in August I'll start reassessing alllll over again.

Just 12 more days of lighter and easier miles, and then it's go time for SFM! I am SO excited to see what will happen -- for me, and for all my friends who are also running! :)

"Race" Recap: 6-Hour Distance Classic

2011-07-10T22:17:00.006-05:00

My longest training run in this cycle happened to fall the same weekend as the 6-Hour Distance Classic, a run put on by my local running club, the DSE Runners. This "race" involves the Crissy Field Lagoon, a one-mile loop, and a bunch of runners circling for 6 hours.

Fun!??

Originally I wanted to see how many laps I could do in 6 hours, but the more rational side of me (okay, so it was actually RoadBunner who threatened some sense into me) told me to just do my mileage for the day, then drop out to avoid burn-out before the marathon.

A fully supported run where all the nutrition, water, and Biffys I need for a long run less than a mile away sounded pretty good. The only thing that didn't sound appealing was running on a flat, gravel loop for hour after hour after hour after hour.

It did get better, though, when Ron and Karin agreed to run it as their final long run for SFM, too! And then Megan and her husband Eric expressed interest in joining us.

And so did RoadBunner.

Through Twitter, I learned that Cate, Cate's husband Mike, and Courtney could also make it. Audrey and Naomi could stop by to run laps as well.

Aron's lululemon event got canceled that same morning, so she could come run. Layla could run laps too. Jana could meet us a few hours later.

And the world exploded into love all around me!

A cloudy morning and boring-sounding long run suddenly became ANOTHER weekend reunion with this awesome running community, when originally I was planning on being out there all by my lonesome. I even had the pleasure of running a few miles with my friends beforehand, and then 17 loops around Crissy Field by myself -- but with my friends no further than a mile away.

Best long run imaginable. I loved it.

The first 7 miles were up and over the Golden Gate Bridge for some hillwork with Megan, Eric, Ron, RoadBunner, Karin, and Layla.

1: 9:18
2: 9:30
3: 8:44
4: 8:44
5: 8:30
6: 8:20
7: 8:37

Megan and me on the quiet bridge this morning!

The last 17 miles of my long run were one-mile loops around Crissy Field during the 6-hour. I was going to be happy with anything over 20 miles, but I was really shooting for 22 to 24. The great thing was that if I had any moment of wanting to quit, it was really easy to say "just one more lap." Amazingly, my legs kicked into a higher gear at mile 16, and the last 8 miles I did actually felt the best.

Not a bad background, even after 17 laps.Look closely and find Layla, Aron, RoadBunner, & Karin running on the gravel portion -- downtown San Francisco peaking over the trees.

8: 8:30
9: 8:31
10: 8:41
11: 8:27
12: 8:29
13: 8:29
14: 8:27
15: 8:31
16: 8:19
17: 8:19
18: 8:18
19: 8:12
20: 8:13
21: 8:10
22: 8:08
23: 8:16
24: 8:00

I think I'm going to do just one more lap!

Almost done.

Total distance run: 24.08 miles
Total time: 3:24:31 (8:29 pace)

Jana, RoadBunner, Karin, Layla, me, Aron, & Cate

(Yeah, some of us may have ended up at Genki for more ramen.)

After today, I KNOW I am ready for the San Francisco Marathon! I am so excited to take these next three weeks easier and focus mentally on this race. I'm STILL figuring out how to precisely word my goals for SFM (okay, so maybe I'm still thinking about my goals just a little...), and I'll post those soon. :)

Runs With Friends

2011-07-03T15:38:00.008-05:00

Once again, time for blogging has slipped away from me, but these last few weekends have been perfect in terms of getting in my final long runs before the San Francisco Marathon in a four weeks. (Wow, just four weeks!!?)

I've been doing all of my long runs with speed-demon Katie lately, which is great because she really knows how to push me when I need a little push. She also knows how to humor me when I really need a little break. :) While I never thought I'd be a social runner -- I've always enjoyed getting out there on my own -- all of my recent runs seem to prove otherwise...

Saturday, June 25th

Last Saturday, I met up with Katie and Aron for my first 20-miler of this training cycle. We met at the Sports Basement in Potrero Hill and ran 20 miles of the San Francisco Marathon course. We had an AWESOME long run, and even though I had a teeny tiny bonk at mile 17, this training run was a huge confidence booster for SFM.

20 miles/2:52:24/8:37 pace

Katie, Aron, & me

Sunday, June 26th

On Sunday, I left the City to run for the very first time! Aron organized a Bay Area blogger meet-up, and I got to see some old friends as well as meet some new ones. We headed over to Danville where I did an easy recovery run, and I enjoyed chatting, drinking coffee, and getting to know these girls afterward. I loved running on the Iron Horse Trail and hope to go back for more long runs in the future.

6 miles/56:34/9:27 pace

Back row: Alisyn, Naomi, Page, Kristen, Caitlin, Kerry, Layla, Beth, Courtney
Front row: me, Tara, Audrey, Jana, Katie, Megan, Aron
Not pictured: Cate

Katie, me, & LaylaLoved all the shade from the trees -- it is HOT over in the East Bay!Mmmmm coffeeAlisyn, Courtney, me, Aron, Cate, & Layla

Thursday, June 30th

On Thursday, I went to the lululemon Run Club rewards program kick-off. I have gone to their ROGA (running + yoga) sessions before, but this is a brand-new program where we get lululemon rewards for running mileage with the team. A lot of people showed up, and we had a great time running with so many lululemon enthusiasts.

It's a bit like finding Waldo, but I'm in there.

Laura, Katie, & me

Aron & me

Saturday, July 2nd

Yesterday, I met up with a few ladies for a simple (by "simple" I mean "not as hilly as the SFM course") 16-miler along the west side of the city. I really wanted a break from the hills I have been training on, and a casual tweet conversation about running with Katie turned into an epic adventure with other runners. I finally got to meet Megan, another vegan runner who came into the city to join us. Aron brought Kristin along, and we had a great time as these 16 miles seriously flew by.

16 miles/2:19:00/8:38 pace

Katie, me, & Golden Gate Park

Megan, Katie, me, Kristin, & Aron

Sunday, July 3rd

Ramen has become one of my favorite foods, and for a while I've been wanting to plan a "Ramen Run." Today that happened! Although this weekend was a busy one for traveling and it was also ungodly hot in the city, a great group of people came out to Golden Gate Park for a casual run -- and we indulged in ramen afterward! I had a great recovery run and a fun morning with Layla, Kerry, Audrey, RoadBunner, Kristen, Jana, Naomi, and Karin.

8 miles/1:12:54/9:06 pace

Naomi, Layla, Karin, RoadBunner, Audrey, Kerry, me, Jana, Kristen

All of us at Genki Ramen for the most perfect post-run meal (even when it's stupid hot out)

YASAI = BEST RAMEN EVER

Sunday, July 10th

Next weekend I will be taking part in a 6-hour distance challenge, where athletes run as many 1-mile loops as they can/want in 6 hours. I am planning on using this as my final long run before SFM, and I'll be dropping out once I hit my intended mileage (still up in the air, but I'm thinking 22 to 24 miles based on how I'm feeling.) I've managed to talk some friends into also running the 6-hour challenge for their long runs as well, so next weekend is going to be another fun weekend of running long with friends.

As I close in on my one-year anniversary of being in the Bay Area (has it been 11 months already!!??), all of these group runs have allowed me to enjoy a lot of the beauty and excitement the Bay Area has to offer -- both in terms of running and in friendships. I feel so lucky to be here and to have been welcomed into such an awesome community.

I'm In!

2011-06-22T17:15:00.002-05:00

Things have been crazy in my life lately which is why I've been pretty quiet on the online front, but things are starting to look up and brighter every day. Today was no exception, both on the insanity front AND on the bright and happy front!

At nuun/noon East Coast time today, my friends over at Nuun announced their Hood to Coast relay team. A fun little twist: they actually ended up creating TWO teams because the creative applications were just that awesome...

... and I was fortunate enough to get a spot!

At the end of August, I will be heading to Seattle to be a part of the 30th running of the Mother of All Relays with a bunch of fellow Nuun lovers! I am beyond excited. :)

While this means I have to drop out of a fall race I was looking forward to here in the City, I'm equally as stoked to meet and run with my fellow-female-running-blogger-buddies, enjoy a few days in Seattle and Portland and everywhere in between, and run a few legs of this 197-mile historic race!

(Of course I'm also looking forward to staying up for 48 hours straight, eating a ton of junk food, and sitting in a crowded van with a bunch of smelly runners, but we can go into all those savory details later.)

Thanks so much to Nuun for this awesome opportunity and to all of you guys for your support! Without you reading/promoting/supporting my blog and Twitter, I'm not sure this chance would have been possible. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Nuun's Hood to Coast Relay Team

2011-06-14T22:08:00.003-05:00

The Twitter world exploded today with news of the relay team Nuun is putting together for the Hood to Coast relay race later this year. This race is an awesome event -- made even bigger by the recent documentary that was released about it -- and the chance to run under Nuun's name is appealing for so many reasons.

Nuun has given their female blogging Ambassadors and the general public plenty of time to piece together a "creative application" for a shot on the team, but it seems that everyone has waited until today to announce they turned something in.

Granted, maybe they were busy trying to figure out what "creative application" meant, or maybe they needed time to craft something ever-so-perfect and utilized every available second. (Don't be dissuaded; if you are a female and you have a blog, you can still turn something in until tomorrow!)

I am now going to join the masses and say I turned in an application today. With the help of some very crafty and creative people in my life, I turned in an electronic picture book.

This is not just any picture book -- it's a simple story of how running changed my life and how Nuun changed my running. It's a story of how partnering with Nuun and training in San Francisco has allowed me to be prepared for the biggest relay race in the world.

I'll spare you the full monty, but here are a few of the images.

So, if you're in on that Twitter thing, go ahead and leave @ministryofnuun some love ... and then tell them that I (@DiaryAvgRunner) am ready to join their team! No, I'm not too proud to beg.

Good luck to everyone who applied -- I know of quite a few awesome bloggers who turned something in, and it'll be a kick-ass and uber-fun team no matter who is selected!

GU Giveaway Winner!

2011-05-26T17:39:00.004-05:00

Last night, as I was struggling to get everything done before I finally rolled into bed at midnight, I thought about ways of picking today's GU Giveaway* winner. I almost talked myself into being okay with the random.org selection method due to sheer lack of time, but knew I could come up with something better on a few hours of sleep.

First thing: I made a list of all the people who earned an entry. There were 54 entries between my blog, Twitter, and bonus entries.

Then it dawned on me. There are 52 cards in a standard deck of cards, plus two jokers. So, I'd just assign you all a suit and pick a card, right?

Sure, but it's not very fun if I do it.

List of entries + corresponding card

Deck of cards (a.k.a., you guys)

Shuffled cards

Unsuspecting coworker thinks she's just picking a card -- little does she know she's actually changing someone's life. :)

Coworker shuffles the cards and splits the deck in half, and then has me pick a pile.
Coworker again splits the cards into two more miles and has me pick a pile.
Coworker splits into three piles (two cards each) and has me pick a pile.
Coworker then plays eeny-meeny-miney-moe. (She came up with all this nonsense, not me. I just wanted her to pick a card.)
WINNER!

Congrats to my fellow Bay Area runner, Sesa!! :) Please shoot your mailing address to diaryofanaveragerunner [at] gmail [dot] com, and I will get this in the mail for you right away. Enjoy!

*I was given these GU samples free of charge and was allowed to do whatever I wanted with them.

Punk Rock Racing Donut Run (Part Deux!)

2011-05-23T14:20:00.008-05:00

Not too long after our first Punk Rock Racing Donut Run, we immediately started salivating over a plan for a follow-up run, where hopefully even more people could make it.

Surprisingly, judgment day didn't happen and no one got taken away... so the Punk Rock Racing Donut Run Part Deux was on!

On Sunday morning we met at the Ferry Building and ran along the Embarcadero to Crissy Field, toward the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Everyone was able to pick their own pace and their own distance, with the ultimate goal of meeting back at the Ferry Building for early-morning desserts and great company.

(Many thanks to my friends who let me steal their pictures, because, again, not only am I too lazy to carry a camera, I'm now officially too lazy to pull out my camera phone.)

Crissy Field

Fort Mason and the Golden Gate Bridge

I kept up with the triathlon boys!!! (For a little while, anyway.) Aron's husband Chris, Ron, & lil old me.What a beaut.

I ended up running 14 miles with the intention of trying to hold a 8:45 min/mile pace. I sort of forgot about the fact that last half of the run is mainly downhill, which led to a killer negative split! I finished the first 7 miles in 1:02, and once I saw that I could make it back to the Ferry Building in under 2 hours, I picked up the last mile, finishing the last 7 in 57 minutes. I'm happy with how my run went, and we could not have had a more beautiful morning.

14 miles (1:59:20, 8:31 average pace): 8:42, 8:20, 8:35, 8:33, 8:52, 9:07, 8:30, 8:34, 8:09, 8:11, 8:26, 8:39, 8:25, 8:01

Me, Aron, Karin, Naomi, Ron, Layla, Sandra, Steve, Alisyn, and Amy back at the Ferry Building.

My original California running buddy, Ron, set an unofficial half marathon PR at the Donut Run! As if this guy hasn't accomplished enough in his lifetime -- let alone this year already -- expect to see even more great things coming from him! :)

Me, Ron, & Layla in what could be the best picture ever.

Alisyn & me reunited.
FINALLY got to meet the amazing Naomi in person!!

Naomi brought the cutest chocolate & red velvet cupcakes ever. (From Sibby's Cupcakery)
The stars that began it all: Pebbles Donuts! Vegan, organic, local, and totally delicious. :D

I can't wait for more and more Punk Rock Racing Donut Runs! Thanks again, Ron, for organizing the mass choas once again. :)

While we are on the topic of sugary treats, don't forget to enter my GU Giveaway! Contest ends this Thursday!

Sunset Running & GU Giveaway!

2011-05-19T20:43:00.003-05:00

Remember my running buddy from Bay to Breakers, Katie?
She invited me to participate in a 5-mile sunset run benefiting Japan's tsunami/earthquake relief this evening. And, in true Katie fashion, she can't "just" do 5 miles. She invited me to run 5 miles before the gathering, then met up with Fleet Feet Sports for their 5-mile sunset run. It was very cool knowing our donation to run was going straight to Japan's efforts. We even got a sweet tech shirt and some snacks afterward. Holla!

Cutest shirt ever!

Running along Crissy Field to Hopper's Hands was glorious this evening but it was SO WINDY heading out! At least we knew we'd have some killer negative splits heading back. :) Katie always pushes my running limits quite a bit more than I can on my own, which is nice. Running with her is great for a million billion reasons, but this is one of the best!

10-mile splits (1:22:20, an 8:14 pace): 8:30, 8:12, 8:05, 7:59, 8:03, 8:41, 8:21, 8:11, 8:09, 8:04

Little paper boats out on the water.

Hopper's Hands (and dog prints)
Good-deeders running at sunset.

One thing is for sure, though: I'm not used to mid-week longer-ish runs! Not to fear; I have plenty keeping me energized these days.

GIVEAWAY!!

On Monday, my rockin' new sponsor GU came out with a brand new Roctane flavor, Chocolate Raspberry. It's like eating Valentine's Day candy-flavored energy on the run -- but without the mess, sticky fingers, or Hallmark-holiday lameness. Or hurt feelings when you don't even get any of that. Reviews claim that this is the best Roctane flavor yet.

My friends over at GU were kind enough to send me a metric ton of GU samples with which I may do whatever I want (Really? Who actually does that?!). I figured I'll stop being greedy and throw some of this goodness your way!

I smell a giveaway!

I've put together a nice little package of GU Brew tablets, Peach Tea Chomps, Jet Blackberry 2x caffiene GU, and a handful of the brand spankin' new Chocolate Raspberry Roctane. The only thing missing on the package? YOUR NAME!

Want a chance at winning it?

Okay then!

A few ways to enter... please leave a separate comment for each.
1. Follow my blog, and let me know that you do. (1 entry)

2. Link/Announce this giveaway on your blog, and let me know that you did. (1 entry)

3. Follow me on Twitter (@diaryavgrunner), and let me know that you do. (1 entry)

4. Tweet about this giveaway -- feel free to be creative; just include my blog and my Twitter handle. Something along the lines of "Check out http://diaryofanaveragerunner.blogspot.com for @diaryavgrunner's @GUEnergyLabs giveaway!" will work fine. (1 entry)
5. For fun, let me know how you fuel your activities! (1 entry)

I'll pick a winner next Thursday, May 26th. Good luck!!

Race Recap: My First -- and Last -- Bay to Breakers 12k

2011-05-15T14:45:00.004-05:00

Today was the 100th running of Bay to Breakers. To call it a freak show would be an understatement.

I have nothing more to say about this race than that.

(Who am I fooling, I always have lots to write about.)

The expo was pretty lame, EXCEPT WHEN I GOT TO MEET THIS GUY.

The Ultramarathon Man himself, fresh from running across the United States
in 75 straight days, Mr. Dean Karnazes

I went to the expo on Friday to pick up my bib and shirt, and even made a special trip back on Saturday JUST to get this guy's John Hancock. Nothing else. Done. Boom. Out of there.

Riding on the tails of meeting Dean, Katie came over early, early, early on Sunday morning where we ran from my house to our starting corral downtown (5 miles with the California Street hill as a warm-up!). Transportation to the race was a logistical NIGHTMARE, and we figured this was the safest and best way to get to our corral on time.

And in one piece.

(Plus, who can't stand to use the extra mileage when you've got another marathon coming up in 11 weeks?)

Then we stood around in the morning chill, where Katie got hit in the jugular with a tortilla. There were lots of naked people, the port-o-potties made me want to vomit, and we were ready to get this over with before it even began.

Katie reenacting the accident (incidentally by the Alcatraz swim team)
A really disgusting naked man walked by as Katie tried to take this picture

Looking ahead at Corral A & the sub-seeded runners

Looking behind to the rest of the corrals
Katie and me before the madness
Crossing the starting line
Smurf cheer squad
Just a handful of the many, many nakeds. The arm warmers confuse me.
This was supposed to be looking up at the Hayes Street hill. Of course, pictures of hills never turn out.

50,000 people were officially registered for this race, but it was estimated that more than 100,000+ showed up. I had one goal in mind: Make it to the finish in time to get that once-in-a-lifetime piece of centennial bling.

That we did.

Bling bling!

5-mile warm-up (43:27): 8:12, 8:24, 8:33, 9:08 (California Street Hill), 9:07 -- 8:41 average pace
Bay to Breakers 12k (1:02:04): 8:19, 8:22, 8:35 (Hayes Street Hill), 8:20, 8:15, 8:12, 8:07, 3:55 -- 8:14 average pace
1.03-mile cool-down back home/to Starbucks: 9:32 (would not recommend running with a biodegradable swag bag)

Total mileage: 13.56 miles
Total time: 1:55:03
Average pace: 8:29 min/mile

Bay to Breakers stats:
Official Time: 1:02:04

Average Pace: 8:20 min/mile (7.3 mph)

Overall Place: 2,199 out of 43,403

Gender Place: 380 out of 23,855

Age/Gender Place: 107 out of 4,713

Air Temp: 51F

Guest Post: Christine Speaks!

2011-05-11T21:43:00.000-05:00

A couple months ago I gave away an entry to the Nashville Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon. Christine from c*tine speaks was the lucky winner! My only stipulation for her was that she give me a full recap of her race; surely someone who's learning that they are running a marathon with just a month to prepare will have a good story, right?

Luckily, Christine was prepared for the marathon. Earlier today she shared with me her story, and she also gave me permission to post her moving marathon for you to read, too. Without further ado, here is Christine's Nashville Rock 'n' Roll Country Music Marathon experience.

there are some experiences in life that can never be fully explained - no words can describe, no picture can capture. they can only be cherished - kept, carefully weighed, compared and added to what we already know to be true about ourselves and others.

my country music marathon was one of these experiences. that being said, i will simply do my best to convey the events as they unfolded.

it was to be my second marathon. my first, huntsville in december of 2009, didn’t go quite as well as i had hoped. i went into with an ambitious goal of 3:30. a boston qualifying time of 3:40 was my plan b. i should have been thrilled with my actual finish of 3:49. and i would have been if i hadn’t felt awful from almost the very beginning. i didn’t hit a wall ... the whole race was my wall. and then i threw up at the end. i came away from the experience with a very bad taste in my mouth, and it took me over a year to even entertain the thought of doing another.

when i finally did, i knew that i would have to run my own race (not try to stay with anyone else as i had before), with lots of support, and on a familiar course. enter the country music marathon.

after battling illness and injury at the beginning of my training, things went very well. (besides, it was those things that kept me from registering sooner, allowing me to win a free entry, so i consider them a blessing in disguise.) i was in a much better place physically and emotionally, and felt stronger than i had in a long time. i established a good routine with my long runs, and felt great during and after them. everything seemed to be lining up, and i was cautiously optimistic about a positive outcome.

my parents came in town for the race and they, along with some of my closest friends, made up my amazing cheer squad. we had mapped out several spots for them to watch along the way, and my best friend (and running partner) planned to jump in with me at mile 20 and do several miles, then finish together. i was ridiculously nervous in the days leading up to the race, but by that morning had settled in my heart to just make the most of the experience.

things started out great. i caught a glimpse of my cheer squad at mile 2 and their exuberant faces carried me for the next 8 miles. the twin boys that i used to nanny and their parents were stationed at mile 10. i paused long enough to kiss their little knees in the stroller then was on my way again. my cheer squad was next stationed at mile 11 where i stopped to refill my bottle with gatorade. at that point, i was on target for a 3:40 finish. but after leaving them, i made the decision to drop my pace.

i was beginning to struggle, and when i couldn’t stomach my energy bar just before mile 10, i knew that things were not going to turn out well. i had tried for as long as possible not to entertain that thought, but it was only a matter of time before the mental could no longer overcome the physical. i was okay with not hitting my goal if i could stay strong for the rest of the race. if only ...

the next 6 miles were some of the course’s hardest ... a long & lonely, hot & hilly out and back through metro center. i passed my oldest nashville running friend - and marathon veteran - around the farmer’s market and wonder now what would have happened if i had tried to stay with her. instead, i have almost no recollection of making my way back into the city and meeting up with my cheer squad at mile 17. they could see that i was not doing well. my eyes were the strangest color, they would later tell me. it was like i was there, but i wasn’t, or like i was underwater, which is weird because my ears were actually clogged. in that moment my best friend decided to go with me then. initially, she was just going to go a little ways before circling back to meet me at our next checkpoint. but it didn’t take long for her to determine that staying with me for the long haul was what i needed.

we slowly jogged away from the group, across the woodland street bridge and into east nashville. i’m not sure at what point i had to start walking, but would say i was only able to run fewer than 3 of the final 9 miles. my cheer squad popped up again around mile 20, and i was able to give them a smile and sign “i love you.” but it wasn’t long after that when i told my friend that i may or may not throw up. i also realized that i was no longer sweating and knew that was not a good sign. my responses to her came in short bursts - “wait ... walk ... no ... stay with me.” she carried my bottle for me, poured water down my back, and held my hand as i struggled up a hill in shelby park.

if not for her, i’m honestly not sure i would have been able to make it through those last long miles. then, as we crested the hill right before mile 26, i knew i was either going to pass out or throw up. fortunately it was the latter. and inexplicably, it seemed that every ounce of fluid and gel i had taken in over the last 4 1/2 hours came back up. no wonder my body was shutting down. the best part was, after i finished, we turned around to see a girl carrying a sign that said, “puke and rally.” and that i did.

i eased into it, but found i had the strength to run again. we picked up speed as we made our way down the hill toward the finish line. i laughed when the song that would be the last of the race came on my ipod - one of my best friend’s group ‘undue favor’, called “life amazing.” i could not have picked a better note on which to end. my dad - jeans, polo shirt, recent back surgery, and all - jumped in with us.

unfortunately, he was also what clued a race official into the fact that they were not registered runners and stopped them from finishing with me, which has never been an issue in the past. i was so disappointed, but knew that i could not let it hold me back. the rest of my squad had managed to attain perfect positioning at the finish, and a huge smile spread across my face as i crossed the line to their resounding cheers.

4:38 was my final time. it was disappointing that i had missed my goal by so much, but in that moment, just like they say about labor, all the bad parts disappeared and only the incomparable joy remained. i wish i had thrown up sooner so maybe i could have finished stronger. but i know beyond the shadow of a doubt that i absolutely gave my all that day. and i wouldn’t trade what i shared with my best friend for anything. my first goal for the day was a 3:40 finish. my second was not to throw up at the end like i had after my first race. but my ultimate goal was for it to be an enjoyable experience. and that it was. two out of three ain’t bad.

in jest, a friend asked if i had won. “i overcame,” was my response. pushing through the pain was ultimately a greater accomplishment than meeting my goal time. and it is an experience i will keep in my heart and think about often.

Congratulations, Christine! I cannot imagine a better winner for this race than you -- it definitely did not sound easy, but you took away many lasting memories. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that this is one of the greatest joys in running.