July: 98.89 miles

Yes, the 1.11 miles that I'm shy of an even 100 miles kills me.  It makes me absolutely, positively, certifiably nuts... 

Foot Traffic Flat 2011

finisher's medal -- unique, fun, and totally Portland

Five years ago I ran this same Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon with friends and had a great time.  It was my second time running this race (2003 was the first) and I loved it - totally flat, super fast and a lot of fun.  I wanted to run it again but then I got pregnant and moved out of the state so I haven't been able to until this year.  I took almost a full 10 minutes off my previous best time on this course this year and set a new personal record for myself, by over 4 minutes!  What an awesome way to start the July 4th holiday!
 

Why can't race photos ever be good?

post race with my husband who ran a blistering 1:33 today (new PR for him, too)

Race Results
Overall: 261 out of 1641
Women: 77 out of 1070
F 35-39: 10 out of 148
Finish: 1:44:57
Pace: 8:00

June: 119.37 miles

Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon

This morning I ran the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon. Three days ago I had no desire to run this race. I'm not a fan of this race series -- that's a whole other post, but basically the "circus" environment I imagined is very, very real -- and never gave it a second thought. However, my friend called me Thursday evening to say, "I think I can get us bibs for this weekend's race. Are you in?" The more I thought it over, the more I liked the idea. Friday I thought it might be iffy and I actually felt disappointed -- I really did want to run this race! Saturday morning, she texted me around 11am to let me know that she had two bibs in her hands and that we were all set to run. So this morning I woke at 3am (couldn't sleep) and we headed downtown for the 6:15am race start.

Our bibs were for the full marathon but we agreed that doing the full today wouldn't be prudent. I'd only run one 11 miler since the OC Marathon and she hadn't run much at all since Boston due to tight hamstrings. So we decided to run the half marathon. The first four miles we weaved around slower runners and walkers. Around this point we became separated and didn't see each other again the whole race. I continued to weave around people pretty much the whole race but it did ease up a bit after mile 6. Around mile 8 the guy in front of me came to a dead stop and I totally nailed him. Again around mile 12 a female on the side also wanted to weave around the same 4 slower runners that I was weaving around and we collided. Had I not held her arm up, she totally would have bit it. She apologized (it was her fault) but it still felt pretty good to take off at that point and leave her and her white tutu behind. The crowd support was amazing and I was able to pick it up to a 7:40 pace as I headed into the finish. It was a new PR for the half marathon distance (took off almost 3 minutes to finish in 1:49 -- woot!) but it isn't official since it wasn't my bib. I'm not the 32 year old female I pretended to be today. Nor is my friend the 26 year old female she pretended to be today.

Usually the races we enter are planned so far in advance. It was a different experience to "jump in at the last minute" and really a fun way to do it. We were planning to run 12 miles this weekend anyway and with the gorgeous weekend weather and bibs for 1/3 of their original prices, well... how could we possibly pass that up!? 

May: 113.50 miles

OC Marathon

Race Results
Overall: 507 out of 1657
Women: 145 out of 675
F 35-39: 28 out of 103
Finish: 4:13:01
Pace: 9:40

Split Times
5k: 27:15 (8:47)
10m 1:28:06 (8:49)
Half: 1:54:12 (8:43)
15.5: 2:14:13 (8:40)
18.6: 2:44:49 (8:52)

Yesterday I ran the OC Marathon. The race is interesting in that it actually goes through 4 Orange County cities - Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine and Santa Ana. It was my 3rd marathon in less than 7 months and my 5th marathon total. Not my best finish time yesterday, but my best effort in a marathon to date.

Waking at 3am and driving up made for an early morning but the OC Fairground parking was easy and the shuttle was pretty uneventful. I overheard one man complain about the shuttles but after St. George, all other shuttles seem extremely well-organized and run very smoothly. The shuttle ride is relatively short in distance, but the bus seemed to be moving in slow motion. It took about 35 minutes to make the 6.5 mile drive -- crazy! The race itself started out great. I like their corral system because I ended up being right at the start line when the race began for Corral B.

For the first several miles I took my friend Clare's advice (she ran it last year) and kept it slow and controlled because of the hills. Not only are there hills (both up and down), but there are also a lot of twists and turns in the first half of the race. Around mile 7.5 there is a bigger hill so I basically kept my pace around 9:00 until after that hill.

Once we were on the bike path, I picked it up to an 8:45 and figured I would keep it there until the half marathoners split. After the split, I picked it up again and kept it between 8:30 and 8:45 until mile 22. I felt awesome, steady and totally in control.

The second half is not scenic unless you like business parks and running around the Costa Mesa Mall (?). There weren't many runners and very few crowd support. But it was comfortable and I was running with a few different people. The pace felt great and at one point I saw that if I continued, I could finish in 3:50 which would be a fantastic new PR for me. But it was a warm day and very windy in the second half. Blown up arches for the event that spanned the road were being blown over -- that's pretty windy! And regardless of direction that we turned, it was always a strong headwind. How is that possible??

I had taken a salt tablet before the race and was drinking fluids up until the start. I continued drinking Gatorade during the race, taking GU, and swallowing a salt tablet every hour. It didn't add up to be enough though and in the last 4.2 miles I felt it. I didn't realize I was dehydrated until an hour after the race when I went into the restroom to clean myself up and change for the drive home. I was covered in salt -- on my skin, my face, my clothes. It's no wonder I cramped up badly. The last 4 miles were torture. It took me an hour to cover that distance (15 min. miles!?!?!?!). I would try to shuffle along but every time I would cramp up in my calves, my butt, thighs, everywhere. The last 1.5 miles my right ankle gave me grief and was painful to apply much pressure to. So, a bummer ending to what was shaping up to be a fantastic for me. I'm not disappointed because the first 22 were so awesome and I'm really happy with that. I can see how much I've improved over the last year.

The short story: Great first 22 miles, sucky last 4.2 miles to end the race in 4:13. Dehydration was the culprit. It was hot and windy. A guy passed me at mile 1 dripping in sweat. I was pretty warm by mile 1 also. Overall, I'm very pleased with my effort and proud of how I ran the race.

April: 131.43 miles

March: 169.48 miles

Just when I think I couldn't possibly run more miles in a single month, I do! Highest month yet and I feel great. Whoo hoo!

February: 147.99 miles

My highest one week mileage has capped off my highest monthly mileage -- ever!

January: 112.75 miles

Not the 125 mile goal for the month, but better than expected given the marathon this month and all the tapering and resting afterwards... An excellent month of running!

Carlsbad Marathon

the running gang post Carlsbad Marathon & Half Marathon races

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I ran the Carlsbad Marathon this morning and finished in 4:05. It was my fourth marathon over the course of 9 years (!!) and today's time was 22 minutes faster than my previous best which I got in St. George just three months ago.

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I was really nervous going into this race, probably more so than any race I've ever done. STG was a disaster. I had trained really well for months, but that day none of it mattered. It was certainly not what I was expecting and incredibly disappointing. I knew I had to redeem myself soon and quietly almost all of us exchanged our Carlsbad Half Marathon bibs for the (full) Marathon.

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The training started out great because we had already been in training. The weekend after STG I ran 10 miles and that kicked off the new training session for Carlsbad. But winter marathons are tough, esp. when they are right after the holidays. I was sick for several weeks and had a cough that took 5 or 6 weeks to shake. There was also a week of travel in November and frigid conditions in Portland. My training got off track and I was very concerned. I started really wishing I hadn't exchanged my bib because I was not feeling ready at all.

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Tapering was a nightmare. I began to have difficulty sleeping, I couldn't think of anything else but the marathon, I lacked patience... all the typical behavior but it hit me harder this time than in previous races. But suddenly just 4 days before the marathon I felt a sense of calm. All the self-doubt went away. Despite some spotty training, I began to think that maybe I could finish this one okay.

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Running the hometown marathon is a much different experience. I had been waking at 4:50am to run with the group for 7 months. I knew what to eat, when to wake, what things I needed to lay out ahead of time. I also knew the course like I know the back of my hand. I know when to ease up, when to give a little more, which hills I needed to mentally prepare for, etc. I carbo-loaded with friends the evening before and woke marathon morning feel fresh and ready.

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The 6am start meant the first hour of the marathon was dark. It also meant the miles flew past. I was totally suprised every time I approached a mile marker. I couldn't believe how fast the first 11 miles went by! Miles 14 to 16 are run with the half marathon racers. They were all fresh since it was miles 5-7 for them while some of us were beginning to look a bit more ragged. The hill at 15 is along the coast and I knew it would be a tough one. It's really not a tough one, but 15 miles into the race it feels really big. I shuffled up that one and was so happy once I got to the top.

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I had run races with my husband and friends before and during those shorter events we had even run together. But for the marathon, it's always been just me by myself. At Chicago, Mike and I split up pretty early on. And at STG, my friends trudged up the killer hill at mile 7 while I had to slow to a walk due to breathing difficulty. I was very relieved and happy to see my husband waiting for me at mile 16.5, ready to run the last 10 miles with me.

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Miles 18-21 were the toughest. All along I had kept an incredibly steady 9:00 pace. I wanted to maintain this pace the entire race to finish in just under 4 hours. However, just before the turn around at mile 18 I started feeling sick. Like really, really sick. I thought I might vomit. My stomach was in knots. I had to take my first walk break for a minute to calm my stomach. It didn't help so I shuffled along until it eventually passed -- three miles later! That was a little disappointing but I'm so thankful it passed.

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From that point on, the last 5 miles were really slow. They were steady and strong, but very slow. I couldn't get myself to move faster than a 9:45 pace. At this point we were once again running alongside the half marathoners all the way to the finish and this helped tremendously. For them, they were looking at a 2.5 hour+ finish so their pace was like 11 or 12 minute miles. Many of them were walking and stopping to stretch. Despite my slow pace, I was passing people and that felt incredible! It was a huge motivator and kept me moving because nothing is better than picking out a person, passing them, and then picking the next person to pass.

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I gave it my all in the end. I had hoped a strong, steady pace would bring me home in under 4 hours but today that strong, steady pace in the final miles were just way too slow. Regardless, I'm absolutely thrilled with my 4:05 finish. I finally have a finish time that reflects my running ability (or non-ability, depending on who you are!). I couldn't be happier with the finish time or the fact that I felt great after the race. No injuries. No lost toenails. No blisters or chafing. And really, can you ask for much more than that?

2010: 1241.17 miles

Love that my running has been taken to a new level. Enjoying the great running weather all year long down here and love the group I started running with in June. I've had running groups on and off throughout the years and I've always enjoyed the social part of it. Some of my best conversations with friends have been during runs. Life's problems get figured out, ideas are bounced off each other, solutions for something totally minor are found... The folks you run with are there 3x a week, rain or shine, cold or hot. There's nothing better than battling out some tough miles with others who love it as much as you do -- and then to top it off with some hot coffee, breakfast, a cool dip in the ocean, or even just 15 minutes of stretching and talking about what we just accomplished. I absolutely love it.
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My goal for 2010 was to run 1200 miles. An average of 100 miles per month seemed realistic given unexpected things in life, vacations, etc. I'm thrilled with this year's total miles run!
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Goal for 2011: 1500 miles. Bring it.

December: 139.28 miles

November: 122.38 miles

Turkey Trot at the Oregon Zoo

Note: This is not a photo of me.
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This morning Mike and I ran a very cold Turkey Trot at the Oregon Zoo. The course is a 4 mile out and back that ends with the last .5 to .75 miles zipping down inside the zoo. There were snowflakes falling when we arrived an hour before the start. The temperature never got above freezing which made for some slick conditions on the forested, leaf-covered roads. Despite the cold and slippery conditions, it was a great way to start the holiday! My time was just under 33 minutes. Mike ran a quick one, finishing about 1.5 minutes ahead of me!

October: 115.57 miles

St. George Marathon

St. George (Utah) Marathon

4:27:11

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Not even close to the finish time I had envisioned but nothing about this race was what I expected. I didn't think altitude would be as big of an issue as it was, but it definitely played a big part in my race day. Running up hills was very tough and when I hit the first big one around mile 7, I realized then and there that it wouldn't be the race I had hoped it would be. I stopped at nearly every water station because of the warm weather, was rubbed down with Icy Hot when my calves started to cramp, had to re-apply Vaseline, lost my running peeps on the hill at mile 7 and was plagued with an obnoxious side stitch the last 8 miles of the race. I tried everything I know to do but was unable to get the stitch to go away. The whole race was just not a good one for me. My next one will definitely be local and at sea-level. I'm pretty sure the four others I train and ran STG with feel exactly the same way. It was a tough day all around -- only one of us made our goal and two were left feeling very disappointed. Three other friends who ran that day also missed their goals. Boo. Onward and upward, right?

my SoCal running peeps

September: 136.18 miles

August: 147.88

Highest month ever. Woo-hoo!!

July: 133.70 miles

Training with this new running group is definitely pushing me! This is the most miles I've ever run in a single month. And probably the fastest miles, too! The marathon is just 61 days away!!