Sheesh!

My hubby has been trying to get me to join the local cycle touring club so I can do some organized long rides. He really has no desire to do rides over 30 miles and I need to do rides over 30 miles, so we have a problem since he is currently my ONLY cycling partner.

Today I had a 3 hour and 50 minute ride on my training calendar and I REALLY did not want to go by myself, so I put on my big girl pants (I read that somewhere and it cracked me up. I stole it. Not an original RBR-ism) and picked a ride. The Cycling Club recommended picking an easier ride to start so you can get to know the group. That is what I thought I did. Note: I said 'thought.'

Apparently, I was gravely (dramatic sure, but is my story) mistaken. It was a 40 mile ride around the reservoir, no real climbs. It was classified as Grizzley Bear, which is supposed to be their easier rides. Granted the ride posting did say that this would be "slightly more athletic than you typical grizzly bear ride."

Hmm.

My definition of slightly and their definition of slightly, vastly different. Their definition includes a goal speed of 18-20 miles an hour on the flats (which was really a steady up grade. Note: Exhibit A - Picture of elevation chart)

*I don't know why the scale is screwed up. It was only 42 miles not 62.

Anyhoo, the only people that showed up for this ride were 3 HARDCORE old guys from the Cycle Club and one other guest that was an ex-bike racer.

Awesome.

All I could do was pedal my little heart out and try to suck in oxygen as often as possible. The Hardcore Trio and Racer Dude were very gracious and nice to me, but suffice it to say it was a long afternoon. I need a nap.

AND, I have to run 10 miles tomorrow. My poor little leggies are ti-red!

Other news:

I am off to Africa on Tuesday. Like how I say that all casual like I jet off to foreign countries and exotic locals all the time? Actually, I have never been out of the country and this trip is a HUGE deal. I am very excited, but a little scared. Getting my enormous animal family ready for me to leave for 2 weeks is a nightmare and I am super stressed. Plus I need to pack and there are all these rules about what you can and cannot bring, how much it can weigh, etc.

Anyway, I am excited and getting closer to being ready. That and training are why I haven't posted in a couple of days. My hubby takes awesome pictures (and NO I am not the least bit biased!) so I will link to them or have a slide show here when I get back.

Don't worry I won't make you come to my house and trap you in the living room while I regale you with tales of our African adventure, just a little blogger slide show thing-a-ma-job.

OMG! I did it!

Maybe I got caught up in all the Ironman excitement and flurry of finishes and PRs at IMCdA, but it somehow translated into my registering for this


It's on, baby!

Yikes! I am more than a little terrified right now

Race Report: Billy Bob's Backyard Triathlon

Race Report: Windman Olympic Distance Triathlon*. June 22, 2008. Los Banos, CA
*Race SHOULD have been named: Billy Bob's Backyard Triathlon

Aside before I get to the race report: I am not even sure where to start with this one. Suffice it to say that I will NOT be returning to this triathlon, NOR do I recommend anyone do this triathlon! Aside from the RIDICULOUS misinformation, miscommunication, and general fucked-upedness of this triathlon, it was dangerous and irresponsible.

Case in point: NO canoes or surfboards in the water only one motor boat with one person, that was anchored about 500 yards away between the olympic and sprint swim courses. Only 6 "volunteers". I say volunteers in quotes, because judging from the amount of prison ink these folks were sporting, I am pretty sure they were convicts doing community service hours. No, I am not kidding. NO water on the bike course, no traffic control, only 2 officers stationed at random, and NOT dangerous, intersections and one motorcycle cruising BOTH the run and bike course. No food on the run course, only two water stations, where only one had cold water. No ice. Anywhere. It was 101 degrees and they had NO ICE.

With that said, here is the rest of the story...

Pre-race

My LA run buddy were meeting up in Los Banos the day before the race for packet pick up since there was NO race day pick up. Ummm, there were LITERALLY 35-40 people that did this race (sprint and olympic combined) you couldn't handle packet pick up in the morning? Whatever. We got a hotel room and got to hang out and visit.

We drove the bike course and noticed that there were actually 3 steep-ass climbs versus the ONE steep-ass climb that was discussed on the website and the packet information. Pictures: 1. Goats with babies! 2. LA run buddy not thrilled about stopping in 100 degree heat to take pictures of goats.

It was HOT, HOT, HOT in Los Banos. I think it, honestly, may be where the Devil, himself vacations when he wants to get away to somewhere a little warmer.

Race Morning

We got to the race start and it was already warm. Almost uncomfortably warm at 6:30 in the morning. Not a good sign. The race start was delayed for 30 minutes while we waited for the ambulances to arrive (it was required for them to be there before the race could start) He announced that we would have to prove we could swim freestyle before we could start, so after we swam for about 5 seconds he pronounced that we were all fit to swim (???) and the race started. Picture: LA run buddy setting up her transition.

The swim (1500 meters, time: 34:13)

Now, you may be stunned by that time. I sure was. I was DFL in the swim. I presume, judging from all the other half-assedness of this race, that the swim was short. Whatever. Still a very fast swim for me and I will take it. I felt good on the swim and I did not stop other than to clear my leaky goggles. Picture: Pre-race ham shot with our swim gear! So flattering!

T1: 3:20

The bike (24.0 miles. Billy Bob clearly can't measure or does not know the Olympic distances, time: 1:34:16)

The bike started with a steep 1/4 mile hill out of transition and then screamed down a very steep, very scary hill, then went up a long steep climb that got increasingly steeper and had the sun beating on your back. It was already 95 degrees at this point. Once out in the valley the course was FLAT, but there was quite a bit of wind (it IS called the Windman, so I can't really bitch about that) I rode hard. It was pretty hot and the three people I passed were never seen again. They must have turned around and quit. Several people did. It was brutally hot. There was no relief from it because there were NO TREES. It was as if Los Banos banned trees and exiled them from the community. Not one bit of shade anywhere. I tried to keep drinking, but at the same time conserve water since I now knew there would be no aid on the bike course. Coming back in was tough the climbs were brutal. I honestly thought I would have to stop on the last hill because it was so steep, but I just kept pushing and eventually made it back to transition. Picture: Elevation for the bike.


T2: around 4:00 (not sure on time)

When 1 came in to T2 it was about 101 degrees There were about 1/4 (about 10) the bikes left. I asked a girl if they were all done. She said "Hell no, they all left. Fuck this!" as she picked up her stuff and rolled her bike to her car. A couple of minutes later my LA run buddy came in. She was babbling incoherently, " I had a bad bike. I can't do this. I can't do this." She looked bad. Apparently she had thrown up twice on ride. She is a MUCH better cyclist than me so the fact tha I came in before her tells me that she had a VERY bad ride. I gave her cold water from our cooler and told her to sit down. I went to the bathroom and when I came back she had thrown up again. She had goosebumps all over her arms. I told her, "You are NOT going out on the run. You are hyperthermic. Go get in the water." I adore my LA run buddy. I love her more than I can adequately express here, but she is STUBBORN. She starts walking up the hill out of transition with me. I refuse to go up the hill. I tell her I am quitting she needs to get in the water. She continues to walk. She looks back, "I promise I won't run if you go ahead. You are fine. Go ahead." She was right. I was fine. I was hot, but I have been training in the heat and she hasn't. I knew my only chance of getting her to turn around is if she couldn't see me anymore. So I ran up the hill and out to the run course.

The run (6.2 miles, time: 1:29:02)

To call it a 'Run' is strong. It was more of a walk, walk, run, 'fuck this', walk, walk, run, 'fuck this', repeated for 6.2 miles. Once you ran up the hill out of transition you entered a trail that ran up a hill and around a loop and back out. You had to do the trail loop twice then run back into transition. Picture: Elevation for the run.


Once out on the trail is was even hotter. There was NOTHING to look at to distract you. I give you exhibits A and B: Pictures from run A: View from the right, B: View from the left. Nice huh?


On the first loop I saw about three runners that were hardcore and were finishing. Then I saw four other runners. Only two of those stayed to do the second loop. It was brutally hot. I met a guy that was babbling, "no water. not enough water here" and said his friend told him that there was no water at the second aid station. He was not looking good. I gave him water (reluctantly I'll admit, but I decided if there really wasn't water at the second aid station I was going to call it a day anyway)

After that we were in it together. We ran the downhills and flats and walked any sort of incline. We reached the second aid station and the guy not only had water, he had cold water. He was the only one with forethought to freeze his water bottles. I thanked him profusely and we set off to finish the first loop. Mario, my new run buddy, was not doing well. When we reached the road we had to run around a sign and re-enter the trail. It was noticeably cooler on the road and was very difficult to go back out on the trail. The aid station was at the road. We filled up our water bottles and I told Mario to pour water on his arms and legs and over his head. He when he did and the breeze caught him he looked at me like I was the Messiah. "You are the smartest woman I have ever met." These were the first words he had spoken since the "no water" babble. I said, "Come on buddy (I didn't know his name yet) let's finish this bitch!" and we set out on the second loop.

Picture: Me and Mario after finishing the second loop. We are at the aid station on the road. It had closed down but they left us a bottle of water.

Now we just had a little over a 1/4 mile down hill to the finish. I told him we had to run it in. We had worked too hard to not come in running. He agreed and we shuffled in.

We were dead fucking last and I was pretty proud. Time: 3:51: 58 Interestingly enough, a new Olympic PR. I finally broke 4 hours.

After the race, we noticed that the t-shirt said Windman III, this was Windman VIII. Nice. Recycled t-shirts. Asshole.

I had a great weekend with my LA run buddy. I miss her like hell. Picture: Post race. I think we got a little too much sun today.

The trail to Hell

Why I chose the only day this week with a high heat advisory to run a trail run is beyond me, but that is what I did today.

The Dastardly Duo (that is what I am calling my hideously ugly trail shoes) and I hit the trail in a new open space preserve (Fremont Older) that I have been wanting to check out.


Here is a quick run down:

1. I lost a water bottle somewhere early on and didn't realize it until mile 1. This means I only had 8 oz. of water on me. I decided to cut the run to 5 miles. Picture: My lost water bottle that had been run over by a car. I apparently lost it right after the port-a-potty top. Slick!

2. There was almost no shade cover until mile 2.5, which was my turn around point (remember, I have to do out and back with no turns or I get lost. It was soooo hard to leave that shade and head back to the full sun) Picture: No shortage of pretty views.


3. The run was a total of 5 miles, but I probably only ran 4 miles of it. Picture: Elevation chart for run.










4. The only real shade was in the first 1/4 mile. Picture: Aww, beautiful, sweet shade! Almost
back to my car.

Picture: Post run! Icing my knees in the back of my car.

Longest ride ever

On Wednesday I set out early to do my longest ride yet.

By myself.

Again.

*sigh*

I had planned to ride 45-50 miles, but got lost (shocked? Me neither), so I ended up doing 56 miles. It was long. Here was some of the more G rated internal dialogue:

A red light. Ok, a little break.

Another red light. Well, it happens.

Hey, a red light. This is getting irritating.

I can't possibly hit EVERY red light for the next 50 miles, can I?

I guess so.

If I hit another pot hole, I am throwing this fucking bike in a ditch and walking home. (ok, not G rated, but it came up a lot so I thought it deserved mentioning)

56 miles is a long way.

I have to run a half marathon after this?

Christ. I am in trouble.

That evening we had the last track practice for my tri clinic. I was spent and did not want to go, but I went anyway. We did 8 - 1/4 mile intervals at 95% effort.

May I say again, Christ.

I am a REAL runner now

The marathons did not prove it to me, doing intervals in the heat did not prove it to me, even enduring the Skyline Ridge 1/2 marathon from hell did not prove it to me. It took these...

From the website. New Balance should be ashamed of themselves. The focus group that told New Balance, "sure, teal and neon coral are great colors for running shoes!", should be ashamed of themselves.

these, hideous, hideous shoes proved it to me.

I purchased these trail running shoes because they were the best type for my feet and running style. I completely disregarded that they are, in fact, the UGLIEST shoes ever made. THAT, my friends, is the hallmark of a REAL runner.

I ran in them for the nine mile trail run this weekend and they were perfect. I had SOOO wanted to hate them so I could take them back, but no, once again the run store guy was right.

Post trail run. I think the dirt helps a little

These loud, obnoxious shoes are perfect for me. Are running shoes like dogs and look like their owners? I sure hope not.

Race Report: Dick Houston Woodminster 9 mile Trail Run

Race Report: Dick Houston Woodminster 9 mile Trail Run. Oakland, CA. June 15, 2008

This was supposed to be a Father's Day run with my dad, but he hurt his calf last week hiking Red Rock in Utah, so he had to bow out. Bummer. I had chosen this run because my dad wanted to do something more challenging than a 10K. My dad is a little hardcore. Always has been. Even in his 60's he isn't really an "easier, softer way" kind of guy. Picture: Me and my dad at dinner this Friday.

Case in point, on our first skiing trip, after two trips down the bunny slope, he says "let's try something a little tougher." He took me up to a black diamond run and I spent the better part of the day attempting to get off the %^&#*@ mountain, while he shooshed on down like he had been doing it all his life. Anyhoo, this race was billed as a "very tough 9 miler."

Yesterday, I did the Mermaid Sprint Triathlon and then I went (after a nap) to get some bike miles in. I am concerned about my bike mileage, or lack thereof, for Barb's Race Half IM in August, so I went out for a 2 hour, 26 mile ride. I was, understandably, concerned about this "very tough 9 miler" today. Picture: Race Shwag

It was cool and overcast in Oakland this morning, but this burned off quickly to a beautiful, sunny day with temps only reaching about 70. Perfect running weather since the trail had lots of shade cover. Pictures: 1. View from the top of the first climb. 2. Pretty trail shot (I actually passed the woman w/ yellow, to make myself NOT dead fucking last in my age group. Go me)


The trail was breathtakingly beautiful. It had two really, really nasty climbs. One was only about 1/4 mile, but was like walking up stairs, rocky, broken stairs, for a 1/4 mile. Then the second climb was a little less steep, but went on for almost a mile. Picture: Elevation chart for the run.

The rest of the trail was very nice. There were a few technical sections with rocks and roots, but that is NOT where I had my first trail run fall. Picture: Technical descent in last 1/2 mile of race, makes for unhappy knees.

Yep, I bit it.
Hard.
I even skidded a bit.
Very cool.

I fell on a downhill section, but not a particularly, or even 'kind of', tough one. By some stroke of luck it was late in the run and everyone had already passed me, so no one witnessed my trail surfing event. I was, however, covered in dirt at the finish, so that may have been a clue that things had gone awry on the trail.

I am not sure how I finished. I know I was not DFL, but I was pretty far back. Even Teeka the Jack Russell Terrier beat me. Yes, she ran the whole thing with her owner! My kind of race! Picture: Teeka!


Final time: 1:57:34, 13:30 min/mile pace. Not bad for a tough race.

It was a great run and I am glad I did it, but I will enjoy my rest day tomorrow!

Race Report: Mermaid Fremont Sprint Triathlon

Race Report: Mermaid Sprint Triathlon, Fremont , CA. June 14, 2008 (Finish 1:21:15) Swim: 400 meters, Bike: 11 miles, Run: 2.5 miles
Not too shabby.

I signed up for this months ago when I first started the triathlon clinic with the mean girls. It is a women's triathlon and I thought it looked fun. I was right. It was a blast! Soooooo doing this one next year. Picture cool race schwag! Cotton bag, t-shirt (ugly color on me, but cute shirt nonetheless), finishers charm necklace/medal (shape of a mermaid tail and it says "Mermaid athlete" on it. Very cool!)


My run buddy decided last minute to do it as well, so the RBR girls geared up and headed out to Fremont! Picture Pre-race ham shot!

The Swim (400 m, 13:56)

Well, I wasn't fast by anyone's standards, but I am significantly more comfortable during the swim. My sighting is still ridiculously bad and there was one hyper vigilant canoe lifeguard that kept screaming "You are going off course!" every time I took so much as 2 strokes away from the most direct route to the next buoy. At one point I just put my head down and swam and I ended up almost hitting his canoe. He must have been having a stroke that I couldn't hear him. When I finally popped my head up and saw where I was I said, "Hey, am I off course?" He probably thought I was a smart ass, but he laughed.

I found my stride about 300 meters in, unfortunately that doesn't not help me much when I only have 100 meters left in the swim leg. Whatever. I was not last out of the water, so we will count it as a win.

T1 (no time? I don't know why. No one has a T1 time)

When you got out of the swim you have to run up a really steep, grass hill. Most people walked up, but I ran it. I AM a runner after all. Plus, I am out of the swim, so I am happy. Yipee!

The Bike (11 miles completely flat, 39:46, 16.6 mph ave.)

You did three loops on city streets that were not closed, but did have traffic control so you did not have to stop with one short section on a narrow bike trail. There were a lot of mountain bikes and new triathletes on a narrow course. It made it tough to navigate and get any real speed up. I was hoping for a little faster, but I pushed hard and I am happy with it.

T2 (1:48)

Meh. Okay.

The Run (2.5 miles, 25:44, 10:18 min/mile)

My legs felt like lead for the entire run. I thought, for sure, I was running 11:30-12 minute miles. The last 500 yards was on the beach in loose sand. Running in loose sand su-uucks! It is not sexy and pretty like on Baywatch. It just sucks.

Total time: 1:21:15 I am happy with that I wanted to do it in under 1:30 and I did.

My run buddy had a great time as well. She finished in 1:43:03. We will definitely be back next year! Pictures run buddy coming in to the finish (unhappy about sand) Run buddy with post race schwag (It is a CRIME to be this cute right after doing a triathlon!)

Thursday

I am posting this late because it has been hectic this week. Today is graduation. The last day of cherubs for the entire summer! After I gave my last final I cut out for a quick work out before graduation. It was the hottest day of the week, 95 degrees.

I was scheduled to do a bike/run brick for a 60 minute ride followed by a 20 minute run. I rode 15 miles in one hour (go me!) and then ran 1.1 miles. No it did not take me 20 minutes to run 1.1 miles, it took 11 minutes. That is all I could take in the heat. My neighborhood has next to NO shade cover (In California, big trees are for wealthy people) I fought the good fight, but I was not going to make it 20 minutes in the heat and direct sun.

Graduation went well, but I think I was coming down with whatever virus has been plaguing my hubby and I was just "off." I hate that graduation is at the end of the year (I know, when else could it be?) but it happens when I am totally burned out on the kids. I want to be excited for



them and be 'on' for them, but I find myself just wanting to get the hell out of there and start my summer. I got some wonderful thank you cards and gifts from students that were graduating and some that I will get to see next year. They are good kids. They really are. I will miss them, but am really grateful to get a break. I will get together with several students before they go off to college in August and I am sure I will cry and get excited, but right now, I am avoiding anyone under the age of 30. At least for a little while.


I bitch about my job on here a lot and I do want to say that I really do love my job. I just hate some parts of my job sometimes.

Congratulations graduates of 2008. I am so proud of you!

Another quickie

Minds out of the gutter people. I am talking about a quick post. Today is the last day of the cherubs, then Friday is a boring ass meeting day and I am DONE! D.O.N.E. Woo hoo!

Today I ran 5 miles, in 92 degree heat, at 12 noon, on 3 hours sleep. The girl that would use excuses like "I forgot my favorite socks. I guess I can't run today" went out and GOT IT THE FUCK DONE. Go me!

Sorry, I have to celebrate little shit like this. It has been a tough week.

Sidenote: Parents that think their child should pass my class just because their kid shows up everyday, even though said child sits in their chair drooling like they have had some sort of brain injury and does not do ONE BIT of work, EVER, should be prevented from further breeding.

I especially LOVE that I hear from these parents, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, during the last week of school. Then I am accused of not caring about their child, ignoring their child's special needs (must be the need to do absolutely NO work whatsoever), and being unprofessional (I used the word "damn". As in, "I am not passing your son/daughter for sitting in their chair not doing a damn thing") with unethical grading policies (because I do not count participation as part of their grade. This is high school, not kindergarten! Besides, creating a REM sleep drool pattern on the desktop is NOT participating!)

Now she has a meeting with my principal to discuss my behavior.

Kiss my ass, lady.

Kiss. My. Ass.

Anyone need a biology teacher? I don't care about children, am unprofessional and unethical, but I work real cheap.

Speed Racer

A quick post to brag about my ride yesterday. It is the last week of school and my time is very limited, so I had to squeeze in my 1 hour ride. I decided to ride BALLS OUT (sooo classy! Charm schools are clamoring for me to join their faculty)

I rode 15.3 miles in one hour on the city streets and bike trail. This may not sound fast to you, but since you have to stop for stop lights, walkers, joggers, and geese (Picture: Geese at the park along the bike trail. Picture taken on during a run a while ago. I am not skilled enough to take pictures on the bike. I LOVE the fuzzy babies!)

This is my fastest mph average for this ride. It was about 93 degrees and I just kept pushing. Dear God, I am actually getting faster. Fast-ER mind you, not fast. But I will take it!

We ride again!

I wanted to post this yesterday, but I was too damn busy being SUPERWOMAN! (I d id all of my laundry, cleaned all animals cages. did all animal laundry and did four sets of animal nail trims, stripped two rabbit coats [pre-summer shedding season], and gave one cat bath. Then I cleaned the house AND wrote one final lab protocol! Rockstar Status!)

Yesterday my run buddy and I did our first ride together in about 5 months! The weather was beautiful and we had a great ride. We did 22 miles at a pretty leisurely pace just to get her back in the swing of things. I LOVE working out with my buddy!

All in all a pretty great training weekend!

Mr. RBR 1 - Pacific Ocean 0

My training schedule got a little mixed up this weekend because it was my wedding anniversary (Picture: beautiful flowers from my hubby. There are nine. We have been married nine years, but together for 17. Yep, he had to buy a nice rock to compensate for that lag time, I digress..) I wanted to stay up late and watch scary movies with my hubby instead of prepare to get up early and go to an open water swim the the freezing, fucking ocean. Who could have predicted that hanging with the cute guy and bailing on the scary swim would win out?

Then this morning, I chose to run instead of swim at the pool, 'cuz when I bail on something I go all out. Picture: Me heading out to NOT swim! Yippee!

I wanted to go to the new bike trail that I had run at a while back, but when I got there they were having the San Jose Mountain Bike Sprint Triathlon. Rats. So I drove around for awhile trying to find a trail head I had seen on one of my bike rides. I was getting pissed because I couldn't find it (shock of all shocks, I know). I kept telling myself "It is a run. Just park the car and go run, dammit!"

But, I am glad I held out because I found a trail head (Never did find the one I was looking for. Whatever!) As a matter of fact, I found the perfect RBR trail head. There is only one trail. No turns, no other trails lead to it. Just one, stand alone, 10 mile trail. Point to point. It is truly impossible for me to get lost.



Unfortunately it does have a bit of climb in it. Here is the elevation for my out and back 6 miles run this morning:


It was a truly glorious run. Pictures: View from the trail. Pretty shots of the trail. And in case you thought I was just tra-la-la-ing along taking pictures, here I am obviously working hard!
























My other scheduled workout was a 2 1/2 hour bike ride. Hubby and I went out for 32 miles on an absolutely BEAUTIFUL California day.

Rockstar work out day!

I am an idiot

Tonight I was supposed to meet my triathlon clinic group for a bike/run brick workout (that is a workout with more than one sport. There are no actual 'bricks' involved. Just so there is no confusion for Willie! ) long story short, I got stuck in traffic and missed them. Everyone was already out on the ride when I got there. If you have ever read one of my trail run blogs, you know that I get lost in a shoe box.

So, naturally, I decided to head out on my own, in an area that I am not very familiar with.

Yeah. I know, brilliant.

I decided to do 40 minutes. 20 minutes out, 20 minutes back. No turns. Just keep going straight so I don't get lost. That doesn't give much room for choice of terrain. So, 4 days after my marathon here is the elevation chart of my 40 minute ride.



Umm, a little more climb than I was going for. Well, at least I didn't get lost. It took me 40 minutes to go 9.2 miles.

I got back and decided, what the hell, let's go for a run. The run was supposed to be about 20 minutes, so I decided to do 2 miles (21:58). I was surprised at how great I felt. The first run after the Napa marathon suu-uucked. This was quite nice. Go me.

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.