Mountains to Beach Half Marathon Recap

Man...I don't know.  I told myself I was kind of done with this blog unless I had something big to say.

BUT I HAD A PRETTY DECENT RACE SO THAT COUNTS RIGHT?!?!?!

Here's the story.

To preface, the last couple weeks have been hard for me.  Which is, at this point, how I seem to start many of my blog entries.  For whatever reason, unexpected normal but tough life occurrences that many people seem to handle with grace and calmness have the tendency to send me into a tailspin.  And then I can't stop ruminating, lose interest in just about everything external, and end up barely hanging on.

The good news is that not being able to do anything works well with a taper.  

So the day before Mountains To Beach, a half marathon that I actually trained pretty hard for (mostly on the treadmill!), I was laying in bed mid-afternoon, wondering if I should just call it off.  I knew getting up to Ojai and being with friends would make me feel better so I told myself that it was cool to jog it if I wanted, and to just go have a fun girls weekend.  So I dragged myself out and that's what I did.

Turns out the whole area is pretty freaking beautiful. Even though Ventura / Ojai is only an hour North of LA I hadn't had the pleasure of seeing it in a long time.

Totally Stolen Pic but this is what it looks like!

I arrived around 8 PM and my high school track buddy (since 1997!) Kristee had picked up my packet for me and was hanging at the hotel.  Sarah arrived shortly afterwards.  I complained to both of them for about an hour (THANKSFORLISTENING) and then we decided to fall asleep.

Race morning arrived at the time when most college kids are going to bed for the night before:  3:45 AM.  It was rough.  Sarah, Kristee and I went to go pick up Robyn from her hotel and we started hunting for parking at the start.  This hunt may or may not have included going the wrong way on a road, and some strategically moved cones.  No pics, so it didn't happen.

It was a serious looking crowd at the start of the half, with a frighteningly small amount of matching outfits and tutus.  I imagined the scenario where I would finish in last.  

Kristee and I agreed to run together for the first couple miles of the race and then see how we felt.  (We're about the same speed in longer distances although she could kick my butt x1000 in anything shorter than a half marathon.) 

The gun went off, and I fell into a pace right by a couple nice dudes who introduced themselves to me and said they were gunning for a 1:33 or 1:34.  I figured that was a little fast but it would be great to have more people to run with.

Mile 1: 7:25

Just warming up.  I wanted this to be between 7:15 and 7:25 and then gauge from there.

Mile 2: 7:13

Kristee starts telling me that she can't breathe well (allergies).  I worry but we keep going.

Mile 3: 7:13

Just steady, easy.

Mile 4: 7:17

Mile 5: 7:07

Mile 6: 7:09 I am feeling amazing at mile 6.  I start contemplating gigantic PRs.  We pass a water station playing Gangnam Style and I start dancing to it.  The crowd goes wild (ok not wild but they laughed!).

Mile 7: 7:07  Kristee tells me again that she is not feeling good.  I think that she is running pretty darn good for someone who can't breathe!

Mile 8: 7:16  I am starting to feel it.

Mile 9: 7:11  DON'T SLOW DOWN NOW DON'T SLOW DOWN NOW.  LIGHT ON YOUR FEET STOP STOMPING.

Mile 10: 7:18 I tell Kristee that it's only 1 mile and then a 5k, but I am really trying to comfort her and myself.

Mile 11: 7:19 I am struggling.  Kristee says "after this turnaround we're mentally there".  I believe her and it helps.

Mile 12: 7:24 I started mentally counting down the distance in track terms.  Just 3 800s at 3:37 pace?  Come on, that's simple.

Mile 13:  7:30 I am obviously slowing down and Kristee looks strong.  She runs ahead while telling me "these people are passable" about the 5 or so people just a few yard ahead.  They must have been dying because I manage to pass them. 

I also start thinking things like "Think about all the things that make you angry.  Yeah!  Screw them!"  It feels good.

Edited in after original post because let's face it, this picture is amazing.

Finish!  I see the 1:34's turn over on the clock as I sprint in and I know I'm not going to make it on the south side of 1:35.  But that's ok, it's still a PR.

Kristee finished in 1:34:55 and I finished in 1:35:05.  
(I believe I was 16th female and 3rd in age group.)

We high five each other and discuss how it would have been so much harder without being able to push each other.

The cherry on top was seeing Oual's smile after she told me she broke 1:40 just a few minutes later and seeing my friends Gisele and Mason PR as well. 

Afterthoughts

I PR'd by 45 seconds and I am happy with any PR at this point.  (All of my PRs are now at least a year old).  I'm happy to see the work I put into training for this pay off.

So many times when I race, I remember why I run.  And it's a different reason every time.  This time, it was for the relief.  Being able to get out and run with an old friend, forget about everything, and just leave it all on the road is priceless.

And it's probably just a little more priceless when you happen to finish near the beach and see your hard work pay off. 

(Thanks for reading).

A Brief Run-In with the Law

A quick update on running:  I'm running a half marathon this weekend.  I'm very unsure of how it will go.  Unfortunately, I have been very inconsistent lately.   I had two pretty decent workouts (a tempo run of 5 miles at 7:05 and 2x3200m at 6:45) followed by an attempt at a workout that I completely failed.  I was supposed to do 8 miles at goal half marathon pace (around 7:20?) and made it through about three miles before quitting and struggling to finish the run at easy pace.

I feel as though I have two different bodies showing up to workouts these days.  We'll see who shows up on Sunday.   Hopefully not the one that sucks.

Adventures with Law Enforcement

I've driven the same car since high school.  It's a 1999 Prism.  With 178k miles.  It's seen a thing or two. I refuse to get rid of my car despite the pleading of Anthony and the ridicule of others for a couple reasons.

1)  Why buy a new car when your old one still runs?
2)  $$
3)  It's been with me since I was a kid back and forth from Virginia to Texas, out to California, etc.  Silver bullet, I can't quit you.
4)  I kind of like the fact that I can put trash in it like old soda cans and not worry about messing anything up.  I keep a lot of random crap in the car.  It's embarrassing but not embarrassing enough to stop doing it.

Anyways,  just painting the background for the story - this is what I'm working with.

The other night, I was driving back from Seal Beach after having dinner with a friend.  I pulled off my exit in West LA with music blasting, happy to be almost home.  I looked in my rear view mirror and saw cops lights flashing. I got really nervous and and pulled over.  Was I speeding?  I didn't think so...it's hard to even speed in my car if you want to anyways.

He asked for my registration  and I handed him an expired copy.  (I am also really bad about keeping updated copies of registration in my car.  It's partly out of protest because law enforcement can easily see if my car if registered in their system and it's partly out of laziness.  Either way, they never seem to care.).

"Your light is out".

Relief flooded over me.  Sweet.  I wasn't doing anything wrong, I can just get that fixed.  Something is always wrong with my car.

"Oh I'm sorry officer, which one?".  

"Your right front."

And then a question I wasn't quite expecting....

"Are you in trouble with the law a lot?"

I kind of snorted and said no.  What a weird question.  I got out of the car to see the light that was out and then saw that my front light wasn't out at all.  It was just a little dim.

I thought it was kind of lame to be pulled over for a headlight that was the same amount of brightness it had been for years, but I wasn't about to start an argument.  Then I noticed another cop out of the car who was shining his light in my front seat.  The flashlight was on all the old water / Nuun bottles I had been too lazy to clear out.  Shit.

I got back in my car and the first cop started talking to me again.

"Are you on any medication?".

"Uh no...".  (I briefly considered telling him about my BC and then thought that there was no reason to make things more awkward than they already were, as fun as that might be.)

"What about any head trauma?"

"No."  (Where is this going?  I can't believe my tax dollars are paying for this.)

"You know you have very enlarged pupils.  That's very common in users of Cocaine and Meth."

Uh what?

While I was tempted to tell him that I've recently started watching Breaking Bad and that I hadn't seen anything about enlarged pupils on the show, I kept quiet.  And then told him to give me any test he wanted to.  "I haven't even been drinking!".   I also tried to make some awkward conversation about the symptoms of drug use so that we could become friendly.  It did not work so then I told him that my eyes have always looked kind of wonky.

The guy decided shine a flashlight in my face for about 30 seconds to see if I was on something.  I busted out laughing about halfway through.  And then went back to looking at the bright light.

"Ok.  I believe you." said the Cop.  "We're just going to give you a fix-it ticket."

This is ridiculous given that my light is not out, but whatever.  

"Drive safe out there."

Uh ok.   I drove off.  That was certainly an unexpected experience but at least they didn't arrest me or something.

I know what I'll do the next time I get pulled over and randomly questioned about drug use though.   I've been watching enough Breaking Bad to have it down.

"License and registration?"

"You don't need that.  You know exactly who I am.  Now. Say my name." 

........

"You're Heisen-Marg?"

You're goddamn right.  

San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon Recap!

A week or so ago, I thought I wasn't going to be running the San Francisco 2nd half marathon due to another commitment.  Well...turns out, I ended up being free to run the half!

The day before, the entourage (Anthony, his brother, his brother's girlfriend and me) headed out from Sacramento to SF.  We checked into the hotel (which we got the reservation two days before from Alyssa by a small miracle) and headed to the expo.  We also walked around San Francisco after dinner.  I'm always stunned by how cool of a city San Francisco is.   So beautiful. 

(On a side note, I found out that day that a high school teammate of mine, Ben Horne, passed away on a climbing trip in Peru.  I told myself that I would run this race joyfully and think of him if things got tough.  Too often I forget to be thankful for the opportunity to be running.)

The next morning, my alarm went off at a fairly reasonable hour of 6:00 AM and I walked over to catch the bus that took us out to the start of the race.  The 2nd half of the marathon starts in the middle of the full marathon. 

Once we got dropped off, I randomly wandered around until I found an open coffee shop (with a bathroom too!) and had some coffee while I waited for the race to start. 

I hung out at the start and I noticed a familiar looking girl decked out in Asics gear.  Holy cow it's Molly Pritz!!!  Like the creeper I am, I followed her around for about a minute wanting to be like "OH HEY MOLLY I LOVE YOU RUN FAST!!".  Then I realized she looked super focused and probably didn't want to be harassed by me.  So I left her alone.  As a note though, she is way prettier in person and she went on to run a 1:10 half PR! 

One cool thing about the start was that I could tell who was about my speed by bib number.  Basically my corral meant people had applied based on times between a 1:30 and 1:40 half marathon.  I'm not used to being in front, so that felt cool.  It also allowed me to befriend anyone with a similar bib number to be my running buddy for the race!  I didn't feel like I was in PR shape but I figured I'd try for a 1:36 or 1:37.

The race started unceremoniously without a gun or a national anthem and we filtered in with the marathoners.  I ran the first three miles or so with a girl named Michelle.  I wanted to take it easy and run by feel.  This was the only time during the race I felt grumpy or like I didn't want to be there.

7:19, 7:32, 7:28

Around mile 4, I started feeling a little better and started running with some other girls I'd talked to at the start.  I ran past Sesa at some point who yelled "Faster Bunny" at me.  That was fun and cool!   

7:17, 7:01, 7:22

I was still trying to keep my splits in check and not book it too hard because 6 miles into a half marathon isn't even halfway.  

Miles 7-9 were mostly downhill, especially right around mile 8 where there were some crazy downhills.  I told myself to not brake in my stride.  This hurts, but I think it helps speed a lot on the downhills. 

7:16, 7:06, 7:25

At some point, I started wishing that there were more water stops.  There were stops about every 2 miles or so, but given that we were running (dodging?) the full marathoners, it was tough to get water.  I also didn't want to be a jerk by running into any full marathoners walking at the water stops because you know...they had run a hell of a lot more than I had! 

7:19, 7:13, 7:11, 7:17

The last few miles, I started running faster.  I felt pretty good and felt comfortable enough about myself to push harder.   I thought of Ben and remembered to enjoy the moment of the race.   I ran the last few miles of the race with one girl who kept yelling encouragingly at the marathoners.  I'm still blown away by how nice the girls were that I ran with. 

The last .1 hurt like it should.  It felt great to finish.  I know this is totally against everything I stand for, but I know I ran extra in this race.  I'm not sure if it's my crappy tangent running/dodging people or if the course is actually long and I guess it doesn't matter.  But it makes me feel better about my ability to run fast on a course with less maneuvering required. 

Time:  1:36:34.  About as good as I could have hoped for!  I want to get faster and knock off some PRs, but this still made me happy enough!

The best part?  They had freaking Jamba Juice at the finish.  It was the coldest most refreshing thing I'd ever had in that moment. 

I scrambled back to the hotel where everyone was waiting (they all ran the 5k!) and quickly showered.  We checked out, and spent the rest of the day on the beach at Point Reyes. 

Final thoughts on this race:  I loved running through SF.  I've heard that the 2nd half isn't as pretty as the 1st half but I thought it was plenty enjoyable.  I wish there had been more water stops and dodging the marathoners was a little tough.  But it was also fun.  I would definitely run this race again - hopefully next time with a little more serious training under my belt.

Overall a pretty fantastic weekend!  Thanks, SF!

How Long Is Your Marathon?

A couple items to take care of:

1) Team Gab.  Heather is having a virtual race where you contribute to pediatric cancer research, participate in a virtual race, and possibly win cool prizes.  I'm no genius, but this feels like a no-lose situation.  Enter it.

2) Jenny, Tasha, ~K~, Cait, and Alex ALL got the top three at the Olympic Trials right!  Not bad...not bad...
Sadly, there can only be one winner.  Yes, I am mean.  So in order of their entry, Alex, #5 is the winner!  (Alex, I have no idea who you are, so email me within one week to claim the prize)



Main Post:  What's up with the  marathon

I remember during my high school track days how I'd look enviously at the 400 meter runners sprinting around the track.  I wished I was one of them.  I wished I had their foot speed and athletic talent.  But I was someone who ran arguably the most boring athletic event in high school sports:  The Girls 3200 Meter Run.  (I think anyone else who ran the 3200m can relate to the uncoolness of this event)

Ever since then, I've felt like it took more talent to master a shorter race than to slog through a long one.  For me, it's easier to endure than to excel.  A shorter race in the adult world of road racing is a 5k.  And oddly, the 5k has become the "beginners race".

Races all over with multiple events advertise with "Not ready for the half marathon?  Try our 5k!"  

The world is obsessed with marathons.  People want to talk about marathons even if you're not running one.
If anyone ever finds out I'm a runner, inevitably one of the first questions out of their mouth is "Do you like to run marathons?"  "How many marathons have you run?".
Or the best question of all: "How long is that marathon you're running?  Is it a 5k-marathon?"  (oh dear)

And this marathon explosion isn't just hyperbole.  Take a look at these stats.  Half a million marathon finishers!
source

Sure, other distances of road racing are growing too, but the whole and the half have become the hallmark of road racing.  It's like you're not a serious runner if you aren't running a ridiculously long distance.  

I wonder why this is.
Is it more fun to run 20 miles on a weekend than run speed workouts?  Is it more impressive to finish a slow marathon than to run a short race where you gave it all you had?   Is it the rush of having burned an absurd amount of calories?  Do people love getting overuse injuries?  Is it that a lot of people bucket-list the marathon these days?  (honestly I find no one more annoying than the bucket-listers.).
Or is there a joy to the full marathon that I have still yet to experience?  (I'm planning to run two this year, but I am still not the hugest fan of this distance.)

Maybe I'm missing something, but I have the same respect for anyone who gets out there and gives a race all they have, whether it's a mile or 26.  All the distances are awesome.  And the milers will be able to walk the next day....maybe they are on to something....

(what is your favorite distance?  Do you have a lot of love for the 5k like me?)

Rock and Roll LA 13.1 freakin' recap

I ran the Rock and Roll half marathon LA on Sunday!  Here, my friends, is the long (not) awaited recap.

I woke up at 5:00 AM and wanted to pretend that I'd slept through my alarm.  But I was the bigger person and got my butt outa bed.  Unlike just about every race I've ever done, I actually had stuff laid out that I'd need.  Including mah bee costume!  I ate a random sample of a Lara Bar (I'd never had one before...breaking race rule #1 right there!) and some grapes.  I got some black coffee and water, and started the hike up to LA.

This morning - probably due to the fact that I had a pretty much non-existent training last few weeks - I didn't feel as nervous as I usually do.   Usually I want to throw myself off a balcony on race morning from nerves.  This time, I just wanted to listen to NPR and chill.

Twin bees!  Kristee ran like a 5:12 mile in high school..  Ridic. 

I  parked in a sketch part of town (BUT FREE!) and walked to the start.  I felt a wave of relief, when I saw my twin bee (and high school XC buddy!), Kristee.  THERE IS ANOTHER ONE LIKE ME OUT THERE!!!

This race was ridiculously well organized!  I didn't have to push anyone over to use the bathrooms (there was no line!) and we slipped into corral 1.  At some point, some dude came up to us and asked us if we were going to be running sub 1:30.  We said no, and he looked confused.  I'm pretty sure he was trying to politely tell our ridiculous bee butts outa corral 1.  Can't say I blame him.

The race started on time (more ridiculously good organization) and off we went!

I was really nervous about even being able to finish this race.  The past couple times I've tried to run close to my limits, I've ended up doubled over in pain from some weirdly damaged side muscle.   I was determined to go out conservatively in the interest of seeing the 13th mile marker.

Miles 1-5 were relaxed and normal.  All around 7:30 pace.  Kristee is a smart racer, so I knew that with her pacing, and the Garmin going, I might avoid going out at a 6:00 pace or something stupid.   The race clock was completely off for the first couple miles, and because I still have no idea how to use my Garmin in an intelligent way, I had no freaking clue what our real time was.
At some point, I realized I was pushing the pace beyond what Kristee wanted and started feeling a little douchey for making her go out too fast.  So at mile 5 we agreed to split off. I yelled back "I HOPE THIS IS NOT A STUPID MOOOVVEEE".

Miles 5-8.  I just hoped I would continue feeling normal.  And I did.  I knew I wasn't going to break any records, but I felt light on my feet and steady.  At some point, I saw another girl in a bee costume who I think was running the mini marathon.  I ran over to her and shouted hi, but she had her dang headphones on.  This is why you should never race with headphones.  You might miss another bug just like you.

I took a Jet Blackberry Gu (that I got from Mallory a while back!) at mile 8.  mmmmmmm.

Miles 9-11:  A sort of hilly portion of the mostly flat course.  I don't really mind hills that much.  They spice it up a little.  It was a beautiful day out!   I tried to keep the pace steady and two things went through my head:
"Omg you are spending like 10 seconds on the ground with each step.  LIGHT ON YOUR FEET!  Spend your time moving forward not stomping like a freaking fat giant".

"OMG WHAT IF MY SIDE CRAMPS UP?!?!?!  It won't!  Remember that thing you heard on NPR about your brain being able to control your muscle impulses?  Just think reelllaaxxxeeeeddd....relaaaxxeedddd...ahhhhhhh"

No one really cheered for me in my costume the whole way.  I figure they either thought 1) I was an ugly troll who does not deserve cheers or 2) Sort of a dbag target for wearing wings and a half tutu and being somewhat far up in the field.

By the last couple miles, I figured I was home free!  I tried to pick it up a little bit, but I wasn't about push my luck and sprint and end up walking the last bit!  My beautiful running form and grace impressed all of the people around me:

As did my relaxed face

And then I finished!  (So so thankful to have finished!).  I had no freaking clue what my time was because I figured the clocks were still off by a minute or two.  Turns out the finish clock was on the money.

Final time:  1:38:02.  6th in Age Group, 40th Woman Overall.  


Here are the Garmin Stats.  Clearly I am the worst at running tangents ever as I recorded a 13.39 miles.




Generally pretty happy with the race!  But what I am really happy with is Brightroom for taking this gem post race:

In the words of Sarah:

It's true.  What can I say.  

Final Thoughts:

1) Costumes are so fun and so is running with friends !

2)  I am pretty much all healed after running that race!  Advice for all injured people - go race 13 miles!

3)  I feel encouraged about running and racing.  I've been pretty down on all of this lately, and this was a great time!  Being unable to run much has made me remember how much I love it.  

The buzz about the RNR Half marathon (har.har)

I'm planning to run the Rock and Roll LA half marathon this Sunday.

My goals?
Aw jeez...can I not have any?  I wanted to run a 1:35.  Ambitious goal even at my best.
And now...I've probably logged about 50 miles in October total.  
I'm still kind of injured.  But...I'd be lying to say that I just "want to have fun" on Sunday.

I want to run well.  And it probably won't happen.   But uhhh...hope springs eternal ;).
I am going to try my damnedest to have a good time and here is how!

bzzzzzzzzz..........bbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It's bumble bee costume time!  My friend Kristee and I will have twin wings, antennae, and possibly tutus.  I'm not sure.  It's was a 15 dollar child's costume!    That's why the wings are so small.  Due to my requested time I put down months ago(1:37), I am also in corral 1 out of 20.  Pretty sure everyone else will be like "who is this jackass in the bee costume?".  And then proceed to kick my butt.

I'm sorry this is a pretty lame entry for not posting for a week.  But yeah...I'm enjoying slowed blogging!  It's allowed me to drink more wine and be a better girlfriend.   I've also started watching Battlestar Galatica.  It's not as bad as it sounds, promise.

Happy Saturday, y'all!

Garmin-topia! I ordered the 405!!!

I've had this dream for over a year now....

I've wanted to be one of the fancy pant runners at the races with the Garmins.  The ones that beeped at each mile marker.  The racers that said things like "we're right on pace" or "I'm pretty sure the course was long".  (haha.)

I've been kind of jealous, but tried to play it off. 

I told myself that it didn't matter.   That I could still get faster without a Garmin.
That all the 80s and 90s superstars never had pace monitors and they trained just fine.  I was ...keeping it simple.  But secretly I'd look at the fancy uploaded workout reports of exact paces on other blogs and feel just a touch of envy.

And now...I'M JOINING THE GARMIN CLUB!!!!!!!!  AND JOINING THE 21ST CENTURY!!!

I'll tell ya what finally broke me.  

A danged 6x1600m with 800m jog workout.  34 laps!!  It was too much.  Too boring.   I've been casually researching Garmin's for months, but that day, I really started looking.

The 305?  Too big for my weak and twice broken wrist.  (seriously...I tried wearing it and my wrist nearly died)

The 610?  Way too fancy and expensive for this girl!

The 405?  

PERFECT!!!! I think....

Honestly, I'm a little scared of all the functions this thing has. Basically I just want something to tell me how fast I'm going and how far I've gone.   And hopefully it'll subtract about 20 seconds from my mile pace. :).

I'm also scared of being able to push myself on roads rather than just on the track / treadmill!  Is it hard?  Will the people walking down the trail look at me like I'm a crazy person for killing myself in a workout on a lazy Sunday morning?

These are the things that keep me up at night.  But...I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO COME!!!!  

I'm still pretty sure I won't wear it on easy runs.  I love not knowing how slow I'm going...it's glorious and takes the stress out of easy days.  But doing a workout down a beautiful trail rather than around a track just sounds amazing.

This mornin', I did a treadmill workout...  
And...I PRd (44:25 10k)!
Well...kind of...as the resident world's biggest stickler on racing times, I am sure someone will call me out for claiming a workout treadmill PR (as well you should :) ).  However, I may have sped up the treadmill just a tad around 6 miles to make sure I ran under my last 10k time....

Here was the workout:  
Warmup
2 miles at 10k pace (6:58, 1% incline)...into ...
...5 miles at goal half marathon pace (somewhere around 7:15ish, 1% incline)...
...800m at 5k pace (6:34, 1.5% incline).  
No rest, just a steady run of varying paces.
Cool Down

I listened to a crapload of Tinie Tempah during it.  I think he might make the best music for running ever.

The workout wasn't too bad, and this made me feel a little more confident that all these long and hard workouts are making a difference and that I am improving!

And it made me even more excited for the arrival of my little bundle of Garmin joy!

Foiled again by Target. Soooo much cooler online!

Have ya heard?  Our Ragnar team has a name!!!

Introducing....

and at least in my case...it is SO TRUE :).

I found out our winning name when I went down to Carlsbad to meet up with my teammates!  I got to meet PrettyFittie and HauteRunningMama, and got to see SR, OUAL, ChaCha, and Heather.

And...now I'm pumped about this dang thing.

I considered not coming to the meetup bc I was exhausted from a ridiculously busy Saturday morning.  I ran 14 miles (4 at race pace...which by the way, was MUCH harder than I hoped it would be...no bueno...no bueno...), and spent 3 hours on a boat for a Newport Harbor birthday party (where we saw these seals...OMG is this the life or what?) and had a bit of a hike of a drive down to Carlsbad.

I was literally slapping myself in my car as I was driving as I feared I was going to fall asleep at the wheel (remember that part about me randomly falling asleep at places.  it's no bueno...no bueno...).

Anyways, a couple Aleve and blogger friend company later, I felt all better.  I don't know if it's finally knowing people who will talk about races / running with as much passion as I want to, or just having cool girlfriends to hang with, but I LOVE hanging out with bloggers!  I can't believe I'm meeting friends on the internet, but hey man, it's the 21st century and it's awesome.

After all the pizza and fun girl running talk, I headed back to the OC and went to sleep ridiculously early.

Should I be worried that these "fast finish" workouts are feeling decently hard?  If 10 moderate + 4 @ 7:15 is a challenge, how do I expect to do 13.1 at 7:15....any words of encouragement (or straight talk like "yes you have a problem"?).  

Today was a much less busy day.  It consisted of cleaning, going on a run /bike on dead legs, and buying these cuties for $20 at Target.  Yeah...totally need them....right?  =).

I am unable to walk into Target without buying twice what I intended to.   It's cheap enough for me to impulse buy, and expensive enough for me to get to the checkout and realize they got me again!!!

Any stores like that for you?

Hope ya had a good weekend, and if you're one of the billions of bloggers that PR'd or raced this weekend (ahem, Lisa, Susan, Kerrie) congrats!

Race Report Throwback Edition: Malibu Half Marathon 11/10

Happy Friidaaayyy!  I was running today (I've been taking a break from workouts last couple weeks...just running like 40 minutes a day...too much life and body stress lately) and I was thinking it might be fun to post a couple old race recaps from before I started blogging.  

This one is from Malibu Half Marathon in November 2010.  Not my finest moment, but I hope it makes ya laugh!  Sorry if you know me in real life and read this a long time ago.  

Without further ado.....take yourself back to 2010....before we had flying cars and robots.....

::swwwwiiissshhhh!::  (time travel noise)

Malibu Half Recap

I am being way overly dramatic, but I thought that an unexpectedly bad race would make for a funny write up !  Please take this all with a grain of salt, as I have been lucky to not be injured and have decent races that went smoothly for the last couple years.  This was a definite reality check!  

I decided to run the Malibu half bc they offered a Groupon for it  - and being the deal searcher that I am, I signed up.  

The day of reckoning occurred this morning and I woke up to a welcome alarm at 5:15 AM.  Walked out the door and thought “wa oh...” it’s already like 65 degrees out.  This did not bode well for my preferred method of racing (40 degrees...polar bear style...).  Made the 70 mi trip up to Malibu and realized that the giant traffic jam on the PCH had to be where the race started.  It was 7:00 AM and the buses left to take us to the start at 7:30.  No problem, right?  Wrong.  Unfortunately the dude taking the parking tickets was dead set on making sure as few runners as possible made it to the race.  Usually parking attendants have things like dollar bills for change, and parking tickets for your dashboard.  This guy apparently could only handle about 5 at once so he would go and get more every 5th car or so.

The bus took us 13 miles North and are dropped off at “point random, Malibu” at about 8:00 AM and immediately my heart sinks.  I’d been holding it for the last two hours in hopes of one glorious bathroom stop once we arrived.  Unfortunately there were about 15 porta potties for about 6000 people. 

 I began the wait...

Around 8:30 I finally was at the front of the line!  I go really fast - unfortunately we all were using toilet seat covers since they have run out of toilet paper.  Nooooooo.....!   

I hear cheering from the inside of the Potty and think “huh...they started the race”.  In a panic, I run out, throw my bag in the truck for bag check, and start my race.  About 1:30 into it, I realize that I didn’t recall seeing a chip timing station that marked the start.  I ask the lady next to me, who barely speaks english, if we passed the chip station.  She says “yessss” and I think “come on can't I catch a break here!!”.  

I turn around and run the .2 mi back, with people calling to me “you’re going the wrong wayyyyy!”.

Take 2

 I get back to the start and restart my watch, and start my race...for real this time!  The first time was just a tryout!  I start making my way through the entire crowd.  I have never genuinely been at the actual back of a race, and there were actually people walking with canes!  I say this not to make fun of them, but to give props to ANYONE who has the patience to walk 13 miles with a cane.  

The next three miles go somewhat uneventfully although I started to have the sneaking suspicion that I was not feeling so good. Also, the weather was starting to get really hot  - I think it ended up around 80 F.  There was literally no shade during the whole race as well.  For some reason, Malibu seemed to think it was unnecessary  to have water stops more than every 2 mi and visible mile markers, so mile three was the first one I actually saw.  They were also giving out Coconut water?  What on earth?   It is not delicious!  I checked my watch at mile 3 and I was at a 7:20 pace.  I think - “no wonder you feel bad - you are going out too fast.”

I slowed it up a bit, but for whatever reason it was all over at this point.  By around mile 6-7, I was about to quit.  I didn’t because I knew it would be just out of pride of not wanting to post a bad time, not because of some genuine physical aliment. Still, it’s amazing what goes through your head at these times.  I was beating myself up over going out too fast, and crazy thoughts like tellings myself I was stupid to not wear sunscreen - how would anyone ever want me if I looked like the shriveled up lady from “there’s something about mary” and didnt even have fast race times to impress!!! 

I also got very angry about volunteers and how slow they were handing out water!  Not logical, I know...I finally sucked it up and told myself to just be happy to be running.  

Around mile 10, I met up with my friend Josh who made the race ok again.  We were able to pace each other and grumble about the bad races we were both having as well.  

The last three miles were actually ok.  I finished and I think it was somewhere around 1:46:00.  Hard to say though, since they also didn’t seem to think it was important to have a clock at the end of the race!  Definitely not a time I am super happy about, but something to remind me to train a little harder and make sure to figure out race logistics next time!  

The race expo at the end had more Coconut water.  And Icelandic yogurt.  Very strange stuff, very strange.  

So that brings me to “lessons learned”:  

- Keep expectations low

- Always go out slow

- Train with more consistency

- Make sure you actually CROSS the start line :)

That's all :). 

Running Efficiency Tips (How not to run like a T-Rex)

I finally decided on my next race!  And even though I solicited advice on what to sign up for, I wasn't aware of secret option F until a day ago. So my apologies for picking something COMPLETELY off the list :(.  

Once Upon A Lime is doing two half marathons in 6 days, and the second one she signed up for, Fontana Days is just $35 AND is supposedly incredibly fast!  I saw it on her blog and wanted in on Fontana Dayz....(Daze?)

Fontana Days Half marathon will have a ridiculously early wake up time for me (have to be there by 5 AM!), and it's in like 4 weeks but why the heck not, right?  

So now onto the subject I want to talk about....running efficiency....

This morning, I was curious what my Wildflower Relay pics looked like, (you know, the good old Personal Worst Race) and came across this lovely photo:

Contrary to what it looks like, I am not trying the latest dance move called the "Dumb T Rex" where I put my non-strength trained arms as high up as possible and flail backwards with one while slightly twisting my torso.


No no...in fact, I am trying to move forward in this picture, and being super inefficient!   

Before I write up the research, I want to qualify this by saying that I hear that Paula Radcliffe has a really inefficient looking stride and she's um....slightly fast.  However for mere mortals such as myself, I figure it's worth a try to see if I can get more efficient!
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I decided to read up on some running form / efficiency tips and thought you might like to read about them too!

From a Running Times Article:

Coach and two-time olympic marathoner Pete Pfitzinger says that runners can improve their energy economy by 2-4 percent by working on running economy.
Some things that he says to watch out for:

Overstriding:
"My observation of runners in road races is that hardly any of the elite runners overstride, but up to 20 percent of the runners slower than 40:00 for 10K overstride."  


Holding Arms Up/ Leaning Is No Bueno Either!

Leaning forward at the waist, which causes the quads to work harder to keep you from falling forward.
Holding the shoulders up or holding the arms tensely or holding the arms out to the side.  

But Wait...Help is on the Way!
Ways to practice improving are to do "strides" where you practice "fast feet and low shoulders" for about 60-100 meters in the middle of a run. Focus on relaxing each part of your body and a quick efficient stride.  


Try Not To Heel Strike 
This article on Active.com suggests landing on the middle of your foot and trying to spend less time actually with your feet on the ground for better efficiency:
Active.com running efficiency

Strength and Pytometrics Train
And Runners World says that strength exercises (especially core exercises) can help you stay efficient even when your body is getting tired in a race...you can check out some of the exercises with this link...Runners World Efficiency Article

It sounds to me that stuff like Yoga / Pilates would be great for core training!

I think more than anything, I need to do some general strength training since I mainly start twisting and raising my arms at the end of a race, when my arms are more tired than my legs!  

Whatcha think?

Have you tried to improve your running form?  


Do you think trying to improve efficiency is a good way to spend time, or are we better off just putting in the miles and speed workouts?