Race Report: San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon

Race Report: San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, San Diego, CA. June 1, 2008 (Time: 5:33:12)

First things first

Thank you all for your cheers and tracking me yesterday. It was very cool to feel you all with me during this marathon. It was filled with challenges, but I survived: a little wiser, a little redder, and a little prouder of myself, than when I began. Coming home to all the comments was so sweet. I actually got a little teary that you all took time to be a part of my race. Thank you so much!

You guys rock!

Picture: Race schwag: Number with RBR on it. So cool! (obviously post-race, it will become clear later why is looks like that), medal (VERY COOL. You should do Rock 'n' Roll Events for the medals alone), and the pink hat that my run buddy bought me after the race (LOVE HER!)


Pre-race Day

My run buddy and I flew to San Diego strapped to the back of a epileptic carrier pigeon called an American Eagle commuter flight. It wasn't the smallest plane I have ever been on, but it came in a close second. (The first was when going to a foreign country called Cheyenne,Wyoming. Don't go. Just don't.)

We met up with my LA run buddy at the hotel (She came down too. I am seriously the luckiest person alive. I have the BEST friends. I am unworthy!), and we went to the convention center for packet pick up.

Hmmm, that little sentence make it sound so easy. Unfortunately, the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon is held in San Diego (who knew?) and getting around San Diego when there are more than 20 people visiting is NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE! It took us 1 1/2 hours to go from our hotel to the convention center parking lot (an 8 mile trip). Once inside the expo was extremely well directed and organized and I had my packet, t-shirt, and goodie bag in less than 5 minutes. I bought some race schwag (cute fleece and running shirt)

We had an awesome girl's day out. We went back to the hotel, took a nap and then went out to get pedicures, and off to a less than healthy, but totally delicious, pre-race dinner (can you hear the eerie, foreshadowing music?)

Race Morning

I got up extra early as usual, we left early, got horrifically lost, and then we got stuck in the traffic nightmare that is San Diego on event day.

Awesome.

At 6:15 am (race start was at 6:30 am) I, and about 150 other runners, had to bail out of the car, in traffic, and hike/run up a 1/2 mile, steep as hell hill to the start. Have you ever had the misfortune of walking up a San Francisco trolley hill?

Yeah, like that.

Super awesome.

By the time I got the the corral (corral 21 I was supposed to be in 17, but I didn't make it. You KNOW how much I LOVE being late) my shins were killing me and I was already sweating profusely. I had no time to wait in the port-a-potty line (more eerie, foreshadowing music) and it was time to go. My friends showed up about 20 seconds after me. Turns out IMMEDIATELY after I bailed out they found a way to get up the start. By car. As in, not hike/running up the steep as hell hill.


Awesome squared.

Picture: Me and the RBR girls moseying forward after the gun start. Picture taken by very sweet TNT runner. Damn we are cute!


Marathon lesson # 1: When running a HUGE race in a poorly planned urban community. Do not plan your departure time based on an assumption that the directions you have are accurate, or even fucking close, to the actual layout of the city.


Miles 1-7

The first 7 miles wind around downtown San Diego which was quite pretty and there was a nice cool breeze off the water. It was a beautiful start, still slightly overcast and cool. Gorgeous running weather. Pictures: Running through Downtown San Diego. View of harbor from run course.

Unfortunately, at about mile 3 I realized that my pre-race dinner of spinach/artichoke dip, tortilla chips, an Asian chicken wrap, french fries, and chocolate cake with ice cream, was an extremely poor choice. A fact I would NOT forget for the next 23 miles.




Marathon lesson #2: Greasy, fat-laden, nutrient-poor foods ingested less than 12 hours before an event WILL come back to haunt you. Repeatedly. And often. With much vehemence.


My stomach was a nightmare from that point on. Which sucks all on its own, but sucks doubly hard (Both my mother and my English teacher are SO proud of me right now) because I was running really well. No knee, or leg issues. I felt great everywhere. Everywhere, but my tummy.

Miles 7-10

The freeway. For those of you that have read other race reports on the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll course this is the dreaded section of the race. Picture Elevation profile for the course.


Meh.

Not so bad.

The hill seemed pretty gradual, but the concrete and the slant was pretty rough on your legs. I actually didn't mind it and running on a closed freeway with cars zipping above you on the overpasses was kind of cool.















Pictures 1. running on the freeway. This is mile 10 where we have crested the hill and are heading down. 2. is an absolutely GOR-GEOUS gal I met and ran with, Tina-Louise, from LA. and 3. Me being a goofball, as usual. I can see in my face that I don't feel good and let me tell you, I DID NOT FEEL GOOD. But I was determined to have some fun.

Mile 11

I finally decided that I had to wait in the 10 minute port-a-potty line (This was one of the shorter lines. Hey San Diego, with 22,000 runners, well over half being women, you need more f-ing porta-potties!) I didn't stop before because I feared the porta-potty stop would make things worse. I was right. 13 minutes lost and nothing to show for it so to speak. (Sorry! Totally TMI)

Mile 12

RBR Girls! So excited to see them! I missed them at first, so I had to actually turn around and run back to hug them. I forgot to take a picture! I found out later that getting around San Diego to cheer on the runners was VERY difficult. I so appreciate all the hell they went through for me!

Miles 13-19

Slog, slog, slog.

The sun came out, it got pretty hot, and this long flat section was pretty brutal. Stomach VERY unhappy. RBR very unhappy.

Some very kind neighborhood people were out with their hoses spraying runners. Sent straight from God, these people.

Thank you San Diegans!

Pictures At least it was pretty. I don't know where these were from. Everything was icky at this point.









Mile 18

Another 10 minutes in the port-a-potties. Unhappy, unhappy, unhappy. You know the saying "Nothing tastes as good as 'thin' feels"? How about "Nothing tastes as good as 'not running as a huge, bloated, gas bag' feels"?


Marathon Lesson #3: Spandex drenched in sweat will NEVER return to the same spot on your body as it was when you took it off. Never. Wedgie or saggy ass, choose one and move on.


Miles 19-25

Another freeway stretch that was flat, boring and I wanted to be done. Here is when I first realized that, Hey, maybe all that talk about sunblock was actually directed at pasty white girls like me and I should have worn some! Picture No, I am not wearing a white tank top that is my sunburn. Nice job, RBR!


Marathon lesson #4: When running in June, in San Diego, and you are admittedly as white as a newborn's talcum powdered ass, WEAR SUNBLOCK, DIP SHIT!



Picture Me and T-L at Mile 20

Miles 25-26.2

I don't know if it was psychosomatic, but I felt a little better. I just wanted to be done. I picked up the pace and finished strong. Had I known they were filming the damn finish for the live tracking I would have done something cool instead of just slogging across the line looking at my Garmin. Sorry about that!

5:33:12. It could have been much worse. Considering the excessive time spent port-o-pottying it I think I ran pretty strong. Next time sub-5, baby! Oh, and no Fried Food Fiesta the night before.

Marathon #2 DONE! Go me.

Race Report: Uvas South Bay Triathlon May 18, 2008

Uvas South Bay Triathlon: 3/4 mile swim, 16 mile bike, 5 mile run

What an awesome race! I am so glad I did not chicken out. Picture: Uvas schwag. Note the lack of medal. Irritating, but still an awesome race. The race was held in Morgan Hill at the Uvas Reservoir. It is not open for public swimming except for this one event. I went to high school in Morgan Hill and it wasn't my most stellar time, so it was a little cool to go back as the person I am now and do some demon stomping! RBR 1 Demons 0


Because I am such a baby about doing new things alone my run buddy came with me. I am not sure what I ever did to deserve such an amazing friend, but I am very grateful for her. Picture: Me and Run Buddy, pre-race ham shot.

The transition area was organized by age group, but the race numbers were not, so this created much confusion in the transition area. There were many unhappy triathletes, but I lucked out and we found my rack spot pretty easily (yes, 'we'. I snuck my run buddy into the transition area, shhhh!) I set up, suited up and headed down to the water.

The Swim (35:52, Woo hoo!)

Let me just say that fresh water open water swimming is WORLD'S better than ocean swimming! Warmer, not salty, no waves, no sharks. What more could you ask for? The swimming practice and pre-masters classes have definitely helped me feel MUCH more comfortable in the water. I had a great swim. I can not sight for beans, but even with the extra 1/4 mile that I am sure I swam I had my best swim time EVER! I don't have my official chip time since it isn't posted yet, but when I looked at my watch after (yes, AFTER!) I ran to my transition area I swear it said 37 minutes! HO-LY SHIT! We'll see when they post results, since that seems impossible for me. Regardless, best open water swim I have had. Update: Chip time 35:52. that is 2:43/100 yd. pace which is really good for me. Awesome!

T1: 5:09 (as compared to the 10 min transition for Pac Grove 2007 where I was deciding whether to continue or not. I will take it)

The Bike (1:00:52, 15.7 mph ave)

My transition from the swim is much better when I am not seasick, so I was out on the course pretty quickly. Hubby told me to push the bike hard to see what I had gained by the hill training and extra riding I have been doing. I did just that! the course felt pretty flat, but the elevation chart shows that it more challenging than it felt. There was one tough climb and several people had to get off and walk, but I went right up. Pictures: Elevation chart of bike course. Me heading out on the bike. Overall, great ride.











T2: 2:14

The Run (51:23, 10:16/mi. pace)

My legs were pretty heavy, but marathon training has taught me that I can handle discomfort for long periods of time and that it almost always gets better. The run course was an out and back. It was hot, but the run course was pretty flat. Slight uphill on the way out, and slight downhill on the way in. Just the way I like it! I have no idea what my pace was (Update: 10:16/mi. pace). I didn't wear my Garmin. Lame. Should have took two seconds to put it on. But I think it was pretty good. Especially on the return trip. Pictures: Me heading out on the run, feeling pretty good. Me coming in from the run, feeling pretty great!


The Finish

I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, 2:35:38! I had hoped to finish under 3 hours, I was ecstatic!
Update: Chip time 2:35:30!

Ok, this next part is mean, but remember Bag of Hair Boy? He did this triathlon too. It was his first.

I BEAT HIM!

Not by much, and I am certain he struggled on the swim and went out too hard on the bike. He is young and strong and there was NO reason for me to beat him, .... but it still felt good!

Oh. My. God.

Race Report: Skyline Ridge Trail 1/2 Marathon, April 19, 2008

Alternative title: Holy shit! That was hard

I would like to start this race report with the observation that whomever measured the total climb at 1600 feet should seriously consider rehab for their OBVIOUS crack problem.



My Garmin reported the total climb at 3253'. Yep.
Here is the elevation chart.



















You can now imagine how happy I was at various stages of this race. Here is a picture from Mile # 12.5, climb # 2,751 to illustrate the joy. Picture: Very unhappy me

Other aspects of this race that added to my enjoyment today:

1. it was freezing cold and the wind was whipping harder than I have EVER run in. One little tiny thing that was running ahead of me, seriously, almost got blown off the trail. I ran in my long sleeve shirt, windbreaker, gloves and ear warmers for the entire race.

2. the first 3 miles I had stomach issues that made me MISERABLE. I have never been so close to bailing on a race before. At mile 2 I had decided to bail out and do the 10K. At mile 3.1 I would have bailed sooner than 10K if I could have, but I was already at the turnaround, so I had to go back 3.1 miles anyway.

I felt better at mile 6 and decided, fuck it, DFL > DNF ("dead fucking last" is greater than "did not finish".) I am going for it. I had to chant that in my head to keep from turning around or going to the road to hitch a ride to my car, for the next 7 miles.

3. I was an IDIOT and did not fill up my water bottles at the aid station at mile 10 (the aide station was supposed to be at mile 9.5 at the top of a steep as f%$* hill. An extra 0.5 mile at that point was SUPER awesome) therefore I ran out of water at mile 11. Rock on.

4. the woman that came in 1 second ahead of me DID NOT go all the way up to the turnaround! It was an out and back on a single track trail. I passed her and NEVER saw her again until I caught her at the end. Does she think I am an idiot? Then as her friend was telling her that she (the friend) didn't make the whole course then she (the bitch that pretended to do the entire race) says, "I know! She (meaning me) and I were neck and neck the whole time." Really? By "neck and neck" you must mean I slogged out the last brutal mile and half climb to the turnaround and you bailed and walked back, then I caught you again.

5. they ran out of small shirts (even though I ordered one), but when you finish that late you have to take what you can get. Since I thought they were going to have packed up and left by time I got in and I wouldn't get a shirt at all, I guess it was ok.

Alright, stop bitching now tell us some good stuff.

1. It WAS as beautiful as billed. Pictures: They are not great, but considering how miserable I was, it was hard to get the concept of 'pretty'.















2. I passed these two youngsters at mile 12.7, much to their chagrin. They were actively trying to stay ahead of the crazy old lady in the pink jacket. Picture the last time they were ahead of me.


2. I finished. I finished in 3:08:04 (MUCH better than I thought considering). I wasn't DFL, but I was pretty damn close.

3. I earned 22 WW activity points (that is more than the 21 I get for the entire day.)

Race Report: Sacramento Zoo Zoom Sacramento, CA

One word: AWESOME!

Today I not only got to do a 10K run on a beautiful day in a picturesque park, I got to meet two of my online buddies AND participate in a new runner's first ever 6.2 mile run! Simply awesome day!

(I am sure there is a collection somewhere to buy me a thesaurus. I use the word 'awesome' entirely too much)

Shelley and I had decided to do a 10K together a couple of months ago and then we talked our other friend Andrea N into flying in from Boston (they don't call her Travel Girl for nothing!) to do it with us. Andrea is new to running and recently completed her first ever race, which was a
5 miler on April 6th. This was her first 10K and the first time she has ever run more than 5 miles! Shelley has been running for years and me, well, you know how I feel about running! Pictures: RBR bag and run schwag. Banner at the front of Sacramento Zoo. This run was a benefit for the zoo.

We met for the first time at the Zoo and screamed like little girls! It was a little surreal to just meet, but to feel like we already knew each other. We decided to run together, since, really, that is why we had all come to Sacramento. I wanted to get to spend some time chatting (chatty runner, remember?) and getting to know each other better. I am pleased to report that Shelley and Andrea are every bit as wonderful and gorgeous as you would imagine. Andrea flew in on Friday and Shelley played tour guide and hostess with the most-est until our race on Sunday. Commitments with Blackie the Wonder Dog kept me from joining them, but it sounds like they had a fantastic time. I was fortunate enough to be able to join them for the race and it was a real pleasure to spend the day with them. Picture: Obligatory pre-race ham shot.

The day was bright, sunny, and gorgeous. The course was two 5K loops of a tree-lined street through the park. The trees offered shade, so you got a nice cool running environment. The road looped around a man made duck pond that made a pretty backdrop for our run. Pictures: Shelley on the run! Andrea and Stacey hamming it up!


Before we knew it we were done! To be honest I was a little sad to see it was over. I was having a great time! But, it was worth that sadness to see this: Picture: Andrea finishes her first 10K!She was a total rock star running all 6.2 miles. She walked a tiny bit during water breaks, but that was it. It was her farthest continuous run EVER!

We took a quick post-race picture then Shelley was kind enough to treat us to a SCREAMIN' breakfast a Marie Callendar's! My breakfast was definitely NOT Jenny Craig approved, but such is my pattern lately. Picture: Post race ham shot. A little hot, a little tired but very happy with ourselves!

Thank you ladies for a great run and a fun Sunday. Until next time..

New PR Baby!!

Isn't it amazing that when you are running a race and you don't feel so red hot, and you start saying things like "I just need to finish. I don't care about time", then you realize that you are within shootin' range of a new PR and all of a sudden you have new found energy and it is an awesome race? Yeah, that happened to me today.

Race Report: Santa Cruz 1/2 Marathon Santa Cruz, CA

I got there 45 minutes before they even started packet pick up to make sure I could get good parking and knew where I was supposed to go. I am ALWAYS super early to these things. I hate feeling rushed. I sit in my car and drink my pre-race coffee, listen to music and take random pictures out of my car window. Picture: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It is an amusement park where you can find every degenerate that lives in Santa Cruz, or possibly even the entire state, hanging out at any given time.

When I went to get my race number, I ran into my friend Tak who used to teach at my school. He is REALLY fast at these things, but has always been SUPER supportive of me and my run buddy (he is actually very close friends with my run buddy) about the whole running, triathlon thing. Very cool to see him. Picture: Random shot in the car. I was putting the camera way and it took a picture. I thought it looked kind of cool.


The race started promptly at 7 am and we ran along the coastline for about four miles before turning inland. It was pretty, but already warm at 7 am. Not a good sign. Picture: Sun rising over the pier.

The race was much hillier (is that a word? hill laden, hill endowed? Whatever, there were a lot of fucking hills) than I had expected. Garmin says I did 1120 ft. of climb and that makes me feel a lot better about how shitty my legs felt. My quads were tight the entire time and my hamstrings about 90% of the time. I didn't stretch well after my Thursday run (since I was late to get back to school) and they never felt quite right all day yesterday.

Lesson learned. Do not do hill workout and then immediately jump into your car and go stand on concrete giving a lecture for an hour and a half. I know, I am full of "insider tricks" to running. Picture: Pretty farm on inland trail portion.

The 7 mile return trip was with full sun in your face the entire time and it was HOT. I was sweating more than I thought and I think I had some electrolyte issues. I ate my Gu's on schedule and had the Cliff Shot blocks (not until mile 10.5, stupid!), but I should have planned better for electrolyte replacement.

When I hit mile 12 it finally dawned on me that I could actually get a PR on this run (not really my goal since this was a training run and I am running a 10K tomorrow, but hell, I will take 'em when I can get 'em.) With this in mind I bumped up the speed a little and went for it. I finished in 2:19:42 (10:40 min/mile pace. Whoa), 3 minutes faster than Buzz 1/2 Marathon, my previous PR. Woo hoo!

After the race I stood in line for 20 minutes at what I thought was the t-shirt line, turns out it was for food. Damn, so I got out of that line and went to find my shirt. This is when I ran into Tak again. He placed 9th overall and won his age group (see, I told you he was really fast) Picture: Me and Tak after the race. Tak on the winner's podium with his prize. It was a very pretty sand globe thing-a-ma-job.

Race Report: Napa Valley Marathon

You know this bad boy is going to be long!

Day Before Race

My run buddy and I went to Napa the day before to pick up my race number and go to the expo. In the expo I started to look at all the 0% body-fat, traditional runner type people that filled the expo and I started to panic. I didn't want to walk around the expo. I just wanted to get out of there. My run buddy could tell I was freaking out so we left and went to check into the hotel. We stayed at the Meritage Resort at Napa, (nice place and they don't 'nickel and dime' you for every little thing like the fucking Hilton or Marriott hotels. Sorry, I digress...)

As the bell boy (bell man, bell person? whatever) was giving us the low down on the place, he asked us why we were in Napa. My run buddy says, "we are here for the marathon."

Bellboy: "Oh,...[pause, glance at us]... but you aren't running it, right?

Me thinks: Nice. What is that whizzing sound? It must be the sound of your plummeting tip, asshole!

Me says: "Um, yeah. I am running it." followed by a lame, girlie, nervous/embarrassed laugh.

Bellboy: "Oh, ... well,... Good luck."

Me thinks: Nice save, dickwad.

Me says: "Thanks." followed by more lame, girlie, nervous/embarrassed laughter.

I am so cool.

Then we were sitting in the room trying to figure out where to carbo load (the absolute BEST part of doing these damn things) and there is a knock on the door....

In walks my other run buddy!!

She drove all the way from L.A. to surprise me and support me for the marathon. They bought us all hot pink sweatshirts and puffy painted RBR and our names on them to wear on race day. So very cool! Picture: Most awesome support crew ever, hanging in the hotel.

Race Morning

I got up at 3:30 am to drink my coffee, eat, let my tummy settle, and freak the hell out, before leaving at 5:00 to head to Calistoga for the race start. I will admit I was freaking out. I don't think I said more than 20 words in the 30 minute drive from hotel to the start (that is no small thing. You know how much I write, you can only imagine being in my actual presence!)

Pictures: RBR girlswaiting for the start in our ULTRA COOL sweatshirts!

It was cold and WINDY. Really windy. I had only packed a short sleeve shirt because it was supposed to be warm, but I had bought a super lightweight, rain resistant, windbreaker just in case. Thank God I did and Thank God my run buddy convinced me to wear it. Did I mention I was freaking out and not thinking super clearly? Picture: Freaked out RBR, walking to the back of the pack.

The race started without any audible signal whatsoever. I just saw people moving forward. I started my watch when I noticed and started moving toward the line. I was pretty far back, but it is a small race, so it didn't take me that long to get to the start line. That is why there is a 22 second difference between my Garmin time and official time. I go by Garmin. So there.

I kept it slow. My knees and shins felt fine. Tummy was a little bit of an issue, but nothing too awful, but I was still freaked out. The road is seriously cambered (slanted to allow for water run off) this can be HELL on your knees. I knew this from reading about every race report ever written about Napa, so I ran the center line (flattest section of road) or the bike lane, whichever was least slanted, but it was hard to avoid. My knees complained, but I focused on my foot placement and they never got bad.

The scenery was pretty, the race was quiet, not a lot of talking. I saw quite a few iPods (very limited, but still enough to piss me off. If you are going to say you are going to enforce the "no headphones" rule, then fucking enforce it. I would have liked to have had my iPod too, but I followed the rule). My entourage first met me at mile 3.5. They went wild and were very recognizable in their hot pink sweatshirts (my buddies are very loud and obnoxious. I know, your shocked. Especially with me being so quiet and demure and all.) I was still scared. It was weird I felt great, but I remember reading somewhere, "of course you feel great at [insert some low # mile here] you are running a marathon. It is miles 20-26 you have to get ready for." Picture: Pretty vineyards.

Mile 9: At mile 9, I was supposed to see them again, plus hubby. I saw the RBR girls, but no hubby. He made a serious math error and thought I would be at mile nine at 10:30. Even I am not that slow. I felt like a rockstar, everyone would laugh and clap because my friends went so crazy when I got there. They apparently were a HUGE hit on the tour. There were limited places to catch the runners and the paces held pretty steady, so the same spectators would see each other along the route. My buddies cheered for everyone. They are so awesome. The scenery is pretty, more vineyards. Picture: Dorky, but still feeling fine at mile 9. I wish I looked more athletic when I run. I always look like I am walking.

Mile 16: HUBBY! Yay! very cool to see him. I still feel great, probably the best I felt all race. I knew at that point I was going to make the 17 mile cut off. NO RBR girls strange. Picture: Happy at 16 miles in!

Mile 17: RBR GIRLS! They walked from the mile 16 spectator spot to the 17 mile marker. So cool! huge celebration. I screamed "I get to stay!" A few runners around me laughed (the most verbal interaction I had with anyone all day, very quiet marathon. Odd.) Scenery, pastoral vineyards. Not to many livestock, but still pretty. Picture: RBR Girls at mile 17 marker!

Mile 20: No fucking marker, are you kidding me? It apparently blew away. It was VERY windy. Thank God for Garmin. They say the marathon begins at 20. Well, that oversued cliche (I guess, overused cliche is redundant, I digress...) Anyway, they are not kidding. Not even a little.

Mile 23: Christ, when is this damn thing over. Spectators screaming, "You are almost there!"
No, I am, fucking, not! I have 3.2 miles to go. That is NOT almost there. Scenery Oh, look more fucking vineyards. I am shocked and amazed. If I never see another fucking grapevine in my life it will be too soon. Picture: Another fucking vineyard.

Mile 25: I am certain that I have covered AT LEAST 8 miles since the last marker how is it possible that I still have 1.2 miles left to run? The number of times I have been told that I am "looking strong!" and and "almost there" is directly proportional to the number of people I have fantasized about killing. If you shoot a nose rocket or hock a loogie on the center line of a race you are an asshole. 'Nuff said.


Mile 26: Sweet Jesus above. Unless I am hallucinating the marker that 12,00 people have told me is "right around the corner" for the last 6 miles is actually in front of me. I can see the finish. Tim, one of my coaches from Team in Training for Nike, sees me and recognizes me, he holds my hand and runs with me for a few yards telling me how great I did. Dear God, I am actually going to finish. I get to stop running. I see Eddy (hubby) Picture: I see Eddy! I think I am going to cry I am so happy. I see the RBR girls going crazy.


Mile 26.2: I cross the finish line and enter the chute. I hear the beep of my Garmin and I see my time 5:20:19.

Holy shit. I just ran a marathon.

Picture: Dazed RBR, with the RBR girls. Very happy and a little loopy.