The San Francisco Marathon 2015

Yesterday, I ran The San Francisco Marathon with Courtney, her sister Marissa, our friend Heather, and my mom. Although it wasn't my first marathon, I was nervous and scared! It was the first race I had trained for with a time goal in mind. I was pretty dedicated to the training plan and had truly worked hard, so my time goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes was doable, but I knew it would be close.

Anyway, we headed to San Francisco early Saturday morning to pick up our bibs and do some shopping at the expo. Because the expo was at Fort Mason and parking was limited, we parked by the race start and took the shuttle to the expo. What a mistake. The shuttle ride took 30 minutes and ate into our 2 hour parking limit. So we decided to look around for a bit then take the shuttle back to the car to park at Fort Mason, which would allow us lots of time at the expo.

First, we stopped to purchase some official merchandise and then Courtney and Heather headed back to pick up the car. Anyway, Courtney and I each wanted to purchase a zip up. After showing them to Marissa and Heather months ago, we all wanted one so now we have matching zip ups! After Courtney and Heather left, my mom, Marissa, and I walked around the expo sampling lots of goodies and making a few purchases. I bought a few Mama Chia squeeze gels (so good!) and sparkly headbands from Sparkly Soul.

Side Note: These headbands are incredibly comfortable. I like them better than my SweatyBands. They don't itch the back of my ears and they stay on incredibly well. Plus, they just look better without the black elastic in the back. They are my new go to headbands! I picked up a few for everyday wear as well.

When Courtney and Heather got back, we picked up our bibs and walked around the expo again. It was a lot smaller than I expected it to be. I expected it to be like CIM's expo. That being said, there were lots of high quality vendors.

After the expo we headed to Gracias Madre, our favorite restaurant in San Francisco. It's an all vegan Mexican menu and it is delicious! We love their Papas Al Horno, roasted potatoes and spicy cashew cheese sauce. This time we ordered the Papas Al Horno (of course), Coliflor Frito, Quesadillas de Calabasa, Chilaquiles, and the Flautas. I loved the Chilaquiles, but they were super spicy.

Then it was back to the hotel to prep for race day and relax. We laid out our clothes, loaded up our packs with fuel, and took flat runner pictures. Our room was pretty nice...comfortable and it had a nice view from the 25th floor!

Courtney's mom and dad arrived later and went out to dinner. Because we had just eaten we didn't go, but they brought back tomato chow mein. Yum! We visited in their room for a bit and then headed up to our room to go to sleep.

We woke up at 4 AM on race morning. I like to shower before a race and Courtney likes to eat hours before she runs. My mom was just along for the ride! Anyway, the shower was such a pain. It was literally hot or cold, no in between. After showering and getting dressed, I ate my pancakes and peanut butter that I had brought along. I like pancakes before I run and they work well, so why fix something that's not broken? I packed up all my non-race stuff so that Courtney's dad could load up our stuff and easily check out of the room later.

We met everyone else in the lobby at 5:30 AM and headed to the race. Surprisingly it wasn't that cold. I would even say it was perfect weather. I think it was .8 miles to the start line, which was a nice warm-up. We dropped off our drop bags in the UPS trucks (clever!) and then hit the porta potties. The lines were so long I was freaking out that we would get locked out of our corral. Thankfully we made it in time after jogging from the bathrooms to the starting area. Although we really didn't need to jog as they hadn't even let our wave into the chute yet. We took a few pictures and then it was time!

I kept telling Courtney how nervous I was and she kept reassuring me. It felt good to finally cross the start line and GO! We went out pretty fast. We knew we would have to run around people as we had estimated our finish time at 5 hours but training dictated we could run a 4:30. We ran the first 3 miles weaving in and out of people and up and down curbs. Probably not the best idea, but I think we both knew we needed a fast start to create a buffer for the hills.

The first hill around mile 4 was scary. We ran the whole thing, but it was hard. Then it was on to the Golden Gate Bridge for miles 5.5 - 9.5-ish. This was my least favorite part of the race. I knew that it would be foggy, damp, and a bit of a hill, but I was unprepared for how crowded it would be. There was one lane out and one lane back, which was far too narrow for the number of runners in the race. Most of the time Courtney and I were dodging around people...again.

By mile 10 my legs were tired and heavy and I was questioning what I was doing. I told Courtney that by mile 20 I would be begging to walk, but also told her not to let me unless it was a walk break or a steep hill. I also knew that Courtney's parents would be in Golden Gate Park at the halfway point so that kept me going. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see them until mile 19. I really struggled from the halfway on. Golden Gate Park was pretty, but there were lots of turns and we had to run by the first half marathon finish line. Talk about disheartening!

After we saw Courtney's parents at mile 19, I got a little boost. I kept mentally switching between 'I can't do this' and 'I CAN do this'. It was hard. I knew I was holding Courtney back, so I told her to continue on without me. I knew by this point that I would finish, but I knew that she deserved a better time. She wouldn't leave though, so I kept plugging along. I haven't looked at the stats yet, but we were moving at a decent pace. We were passing lots of people, so that helped me keep going.

Miles 21 through 25 were hard. Endurance wise I felt fine, but my legs were so tired from the speed and pushing up the hills. Seeing AT&T Stadium and the mile 25 marker was a shock. I knew we were close, but I didn't realize how close. The last .2 of a mile was the longest section of the course. Thankfully there were some friends from our running group cheering us on near the finish line. I was so happy to see the finish line, but it never seemed to get any closer. Obviously it was getting closer and Courtney and I finished in 4:33.29 (unofficial). When we ran across the mats and I paused my watch and saw our time, I wanted to cry. We were so close and I knew that I had held Courtney back. I thought she was going to be pissed. Like a good best friend, she wasn't and reassured me that she knew I had tried my hardest and that finishing together was worth the 3 extra minutes.

Courtney really helped me through the race, she had a great attitude and would talk to me even if I wouldn't respond. I was happy that we ran together the entire time as planned. She knew when to push me and when I was struggling. Plus she would stop at aid stations to grab me Nuun so I didn't have to stop.

Interestingly, I never hit the 'wall'. Yes, I struggled from mile 10 on, but I never truly wanted to drop dead and lay on the ground. I did have some fueling problems and spent a lot of time feeling cold, tingly, and nauseated. It was hard to get Nuun, Gus, or shot blocks down which only added to the problem.

We got our medals and snacks and headed back out to the cheering section along the finish line to meet with the people from our running group. Only when we sat down with them did I realize that we needed to pick up our drop bags which were in the direction we just came from. So Courtney and I went and picked those up and found her parents along the way. They had accidentally missed our finish, so we talked with them for a bit. Then it was back to the cheering section to wait for my mom, Marissa, and Heather. Thankfully there was a race app with live tracking so we could follow their progress. We figured out that my mom had split up with Marissa and Heather and would finish first. Courtney and I got to run a tiny bit with her before she ran through the finish line at 6:12.

 

 

We kept tracking Marissa and Heather, but nothing showed up beyond mile 17. After awhile, Courtney called them and found out they were at mile 25. She headed out to run them in. I had changed into flip flops, so I stood at the finish line watching all of our stuff. It was sad to see the crew breaking down the finish line. Although they diverted the course a bit, they were still registering finish times and handing out medals. My mom and I were cheering on the finishers that came through and even got video of Marissa and Heather coming in. They were so happy to finish and get their medals!

Unfortunately, Courtney wasn't with them and had left her phone with me. Come to find out Heather and Marissa weren't at mile 25. It was a guesstimate because there was no course support at that time so they had to follow the course map on their phone. Courtney ended up calling us from her Dad's phone and we all met up and headed back to Courtney's parents' car for a ride back to the hotel. Cupcakes were bought and we visited every level of the parking structure in search of the car. Hah!

We headed out of SF in search of a Chipotle, which is typically my preferred post-race meal. Almost the whole way home Courtney, my mom, and I chatted about the race and our upcoming marathon in Philadelphia!

// Lauren

Running Recap | June 15

Because I haven't written an update on my running (besides quick notes in my recap posts) since the Resolution Run, I think an update post is in order. I feel like I've made a lot of progress since then, especially in terms of overall fitness and speed.

First of all I've been more consistent in sticking to a running schedule. Part of that is having races on the schedule and time goals. If I know I will be running a race, I don't want to waste money and go out there unprepared and feel unhappy with my performance. So Courtney and I planned to run the San Francisco Marathon when we went home during the summer to visit. Then we added the Philadelphia Marathon, since 'duh!' we are in Philly. Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia was also added because it seems like a cool race with a fun atmosphere and bling...plus we wouldn't have to travel.

Then we decided we wanted time goals. Our last marathon was pretty slow due to the fact that we weren't as dedicated to training as we should have been, it was cold, and we decided to run as a group. I don't really know what happened, but once I started training again I just run faster. Courtney says that she's always known I could run faster, but that I just didn't want to. It makes sense, I would always freak out about going out too fast and not be able to finish so I stuck at a 12:00 - 12:30/mile pace. Now my long runs have been 9:50 ish minute to 10:15 minute/mile pace. My midweeks vary based on how I'm feeling, but overall I am faster now.

Although I ran AR 50 last year, I took a long break from running and lost quite a bit of my fitness. So the thought of building up to these long distances was a bit scary. I think my confidence around running has increased. I know that I can run faster than I think I can, so the long runs don't seem as scary now.

Each week I would tell Courtney, 'This was my longest run since ______ ' and when we finally ran a half-marathon distance I was so excited. My last half marathon was in June 2014 so it was a big deal.  Then in early May, coincidentally on the same day as the Parkway Half Marathon, we ran another half and PR'd. 

Each time we run a longer distance and stay within our 'goal' pace I get a little boost of confidence. That being said, there have been some hiccups along the way. There are Saturdays where I don't want to get up and run. There are weeks where it's hot, so I spend a lot of time on the treadmill. And there are weeks where I want to take it easy and run a bit slower. I know that's okay, it's about getting the miles in so I let my body dictate the pace.

I think being able to run outside has definitely helped my motivation. Once things warmed up enough to do long runs along the river, I started enjoying running more. I think we did a couple of long runs along the frozen river with snow on the ground, but mostly it's been nice-ish weather.

When it was cold outside, we would wake up whenever on Saturday and go running in the afternoon. That's when it was the warmest. However that wasted a lot of the day. I would spend the morning and early afternoon dreading the run, then actually running, and coming back to the apartment with most of the day gone. Now that it's getting hotter and more humid, we have been trying to get up early and get our run out of the way so that we can enjoy Saturday. Running in the early morning, like with SacFit, is a much better fit. Plus there are less people out (bikers and runners).

Because of the increasing heat and humidity I've learned about chafing...the hard way. My bra clasp chafed my back pretty badly.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to avoid making it worse and preventing it in the future and my only fail-proof solution has been to stick a piece of plasticized gauze between the bra clasp and my back. The plastic-ness and my sweat (gross, I know) keep it in place and prevent further chafing. I haven't really had chafing problems anywhere else, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

May 16 // The worst running fail was falling on a gravel pathway 2 miles from finishing a 17.5 mile run. There was a crew regatta along the river so Courtney and I were weaving in and out of the crowds. We were running on a little gravel path because there were less people walking on it than the main path. I guess I wasn't paying attention because I tripped on a tree root and down I went. I knew I was going down as soon as I tripped, so I'm glad my hands made it out in time to break the fall. I ended up scraping up my hand, elbow, and knee. Since I was wearing my hydration pack with no way to easily rinse off my cuts, Courtney used her water bottle to help my clean up. After cleaning up the best I could, I got back up and finished the run. I was covered in dirt all up one side and had blood dripping down my leg. Thankfully my fall only resulted in superficial cuts.

May 23 // This long run was 18 miles and has definitely been my hardest training run. Because of my knee I took it easy with the rolling. The open cut and tenderness made it hard to roll, so I just avoided it. Unfortunately that made the next Saturday run incredibly hard. For the first half I felt okay, not great, but I knew I could get through it. As the run progressed and we turned around at the halfway point things started to get hard. My calves and hips were tightening up and by the time we got to mile 16, I was doubtful I could finish the last two miles. We ended up slowing down a bit and I did finish the run. When I looked at our stats once we finished, I was surprised. We had managed to finish with an overall pace of 10:16 minute/mile...the same as last week. Runs like that make me confident that I can push through hard patches during the marathon and that I shouldn't just give up if I'm struggling for a bit.

May 27 // Less than two weeks after my last fall, I fell off the treadmill at the gym. It was just an off day and I wasn't paying attention. Let's just say it was embarrassing and painful. If you want all the details, there's more about the whole thing at the end of this post. I felt the effects for the few days...not a good running week. I missed Monday's run because of the painful 18 mile run, I did do my track workout of 4 x 1600, which ended up being 8 miles total with warm up and cool down. On Wednesday I only ran about .5 mile before falling off the treadmill and I skipped Thursday's run to rest my bruised back and hurt knee.

May 30 //  I was supposed to run 16.5 miles, but I skipped it in order to let my injuries heal. Sleeping in was a nice bonus.

June 6 // 18 miles completed. My watch was acting up, so I don't have stats. 

June 13 // The miles are ramping up so long runs are taking longer (obviously). Courtney and I knew 19 miles would take over 3 hours and not wanting to run in the heat and humidity, we woke up at 4 am to be out the door by 6 am. It was still 78 F when we started. The humidity was awful...I was drenched in sweat less than a mile in. We ran nice a slow...no point in dying of heat exhaustion.

This Saturday is a 20 mile run followed by 12 miles and 21 miles. I know if I can get through the 20 and 21 mile runs at a decent pace, I can get through the marathon. Since I have a time goal in mind, I do want to get stronger on the hills. My next goal is to work on core strength and some leg exercises so the hills in San Francisco aren't as hard.

Although it may seem like I love running and am motivated to get my runs in, Courtney is a huge part of it. She is the motivated one and by default it makes me want to get out there and get my midweeks in. I think she uses reverse psychology on me and says I don't have to run and it's totally up to me. It works!

Also, I know I need to get better about staying hydrated during the week and properly stretching and rolling. I can tell the difference in runs where I've been lazy about rolling and when I've been diligent. Rolling and Trigger Point hurts, but it helps the tightness in my calves and hips. If my calves are tight my knees and feet start to hurt as well, so that's extra incentive to keep on rolling. 

// Lauren

Resolution Run | January 1, 2015

Even before we came home, Courtney, my mom, and I decided to sign up for a ten mile trail run on January 1st. Courtney seems to think that we convinced her to run against her better judgment, but she was actually on board. ;)

We got there a bit early to pick up our packets, since we didn't want to drive to Auburn on New Year's Eve. So many SacFit-ers ran the race...it was nice to see the group. 

Marissa was kind enough to bring her camera to capture us starting the year off right! I was trying to imitate Courtney's signature pose here, but it ended up being the best picture!

The race itself wasn't that hard, I was just severely under trained. I hadn't run ten miles since September, so I knew it wouldn't be easy. The first three miles were downhill so I didn't struggle as much as I normally do during the first three miles of a run/race. The first hill was hard, but I enjoyed miles six through eight. My mom was struggling a bit more and I was trying to positively encourage her to keep running. By the time we got to mile nine, she was cranky and kept telling us to go on. Since there was another SacFit-er with her, we did end up leaving her. Mile nine was the hardest part for me. It was pretty hilly and I just wanted to be done. When we finally saw the parking lot and then the finish line I was so relieved!

I was so happy that we could eat all the post race goodies. There was vegetarian minestrone soup, bagels, and fruit (bananas and oranges). Obviously I was all over that.

Personally, I thought this race would be especially fun to run since it started at ended at the finish line of AR50 AND a lot of our running friends would be participating. But after running the race, I'm not sure it's something I'd want to do again. It's a decent course and fun atmosphere, but the day after staying up late and indulging in too much food does not make for a super enjoyable run...even with training. We'll see!

American River 50 Mile Endurance Run :: A First Timer's Recap

A couple of weeks ago, I ran the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run. Just typing that is crazy.

Before I get into the race details, I should explain how and why this became my goal. I started training with my running group in June 2013 because I wanted to run a marathon, specifically the California International Marathon in December. I knew I needed to get in shape after doing nothing (exercise wise) for a year after graduating from college. Courtney and my mom joined as well.

Long story short, at the end of that training season, someone mentioned training for an ultra marathon with the ultra group. All three of us thought it would be fun, but wanted to run a marathon first. After the marathon, I was in so much pain, I swore I'd never run that far again. A few weeks later I had signed up for the ultra group and the American River 50 Mile race. Never believe what a runner says right after a race.

The ultra group ran trails all around the area on Sundays to prepare for the race. It was hard and tiring but so amazing to run farther and farther. 

I was incredibly nervous about the cut off times leading up to the race. I really wanted the Patagonia finisher's jacket. Let's be real, I'm not going to run 50 miles without getting something. Anyway, when we completed our last training run a week before the race, all the anxiety was gone and I went into planning mode. I prepared my clothes for the race, my pack with all the essentials, crew stuff, and food.

The morning of the race Courtney and I woke up at 2:30 AM, to leave by 3:15 AM to get to my Mom's house by 4:00 AM, to get to the starting line by 5 AM. Thankfully our timing worked out and we were early. I tried to stay in the warm car for as long as possible, but eventually I needed to use the bathroom and had to brave the cold. I was a little nervous about the cold since I was wearing shorts, a short sleeved shirt, and light pullover, but my logical side knew it would warm up and I should fight the urge to put on more layers.

Eventually we forced ourselves out of the car to watch the first wave take off. We found our running group and I hit the bathroom one more time. Lining up at the start was weird. The 14 weeks of training were over and it was time to run the race. This illusive goal was finally here and it was pretty scary.

Finally we started and it felt good to get moving. We started in the very very very back so there were only a couple of people behind us. I felt we were going too slow, especially following someone I knew I was faster than, but the Mothership, our 'leader', encouraged me to take it slow and allow the natural separation of paces to occur. After that I calmed down and went with the flow as much as someone with my personality can.

I saw that Courtney recapped the race according to aid stations, which I thought was a great idea since that's how I got through the race....breaking it up and just thinking about getting to the next aid station.

Folsom Point | Mile 4.97 :: The first 3 miles went by so fast that I was surprised by how quickly (relatively speaking) we made it to the first aid station, about 5 miles in. There were a couple of SacFit members who cheered us on and made sure we had everything we needed (or wanted to drop off). It was so motivating to see people you knew and who knew you cheering you on. It really makes a difference.

Willow Creek | Mile 12.77 :: This was the first aid station that your crew could meet you, so we knew Dan was going to be there.

Leading up to this aid station I was having some serious digestive issues, but there was no where to take care of business on the trail so I was forced to run through the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I was also dealing with tight and ache-y hips. I began to think about how hard the day was going to be if the pain continued.

Once we got to the aid station, I bolted for the bathrooms which were in the far corner of the parking lot about as far away as you could get. After, I was so relieved. I picked up a few small snacks at the aid station table and we kept moving.

Main Bar | Mile 16.98 :: Finally made it up the Hazel Bluffs/Big Lots!

A runner from our group who wasn't was able to run the race was at Main Bar and dressed in superhero garb. She was pinning stars on SacFit runners.

I was finally getting hot in my light pullover, so I decided to take it off. Courtney thought it was really funny that an aid station worker asked me if I wanted to leave my pullover there because there was a box of stuff to give to Ken (our running group leader) and I responded with wide eyes and 'you know Ken?!?!?'.

Negro Bar | Mile 20.18 :: This is the first place we saw Courtney's family (Dad, Sister, and Uncle) and Heather. We had Marissa (Courtney's sister) and Heather taking photos and helping Dan.

I was okay on water but refilled my baggie of Endurolytes. 

Beal's Point | Mile 24.31 :: As we rounded the corner coming into the aid station and saw the party, I was so excited to be almost half way done. Plus we had allotted 10 minutes at this aid station. Even better was that we were very close to getting on the trails. Marissa and Heather were waiting for us and ran us over to the other side of the park where Dan had set up.

I used the bathroom AGAIN and I felt so much better. I changed my socks, refilled my water, ate some Pringles and I was ready to go!

Granite Bay | Mile 29.45 :: I think we came into this aid station right on pace for a 12 hour finish. So it was a quick in and out. Sarah (crewing for Scott) asked if I wanted ice; it was getting hot so I topped off my pack.

We almost missed Heather and Marissa, but they showed up right as we were leaving. 

Buzzard's Cove | Mile 34.67 :: By the time we got to Buzzard's Cove, an Express Station in the middle of nowhere, we were about 3 minutes off of a 12 hour finish time.

My mom was starting to feel kind of sick, so we convinced to her to have some soda even though she liked to brag that she hasn't had soda since August 1st. As odd and counterintuitive as it sounds, the quick calories, sugar, and caffeine give you a burst of energy without having to consume actual food. It's liquid gold during an ultra. 

Just a note about Buzzard's Cove...they had to boat everything in and carry it up a huuuuge hill. So glad there are people willing to volunteer and do that! 

Horseshoe Bar | Mile 38.14 :: The miles leading up to this aid station were some of the most boring miles of the race. By the time we got there we were significantly off the pace for a 12 hour finish, but I was okay with it.

I had some soda, so did C as the Nuun she had been drinking was giving her problems. My mom had to go to the bathroom, but there was one porta potty and a line, so she decided to wait until Rattlesnake.

As we were leaving the aid station, someone behind us starting throwing up. If you know Courtney, you know that she CANNOT deal with that. She literally pushed me out of the way to pass and ran with her hands over her ears. The guy kept throwing up for quite some time and kept running. It was a little scary hearing the sounds a body in distress makes.

Rattlesnake Bar | Mile 40.94 :: This was the aid station I had been looking forward to the entire race. I knew that if I could make it to Rattlesnake, I would be single digit miles from the end. That being said, the last mile leading up to it was pure torture. As it dragged on, I thought every corner that we turned was the last one before the aid station, but I was obviously wrong. My mom was struggling and Courtney and I like to make fun of her for making some interesting noises at this point in the race.

The course was a bit weird in that you had to run down a pretty steep hill to get the aid station and run back up the same hill to get out. It was difficult to navigate when there were runners going both directions.

I hit the porta potty here and then grabbed some soda and snacks. In our race planning we decided to only have pacers for the last 9ish miles. So Rick (Tammy's pacer), Marissa, and Heather were ready to run us in.

Dowdin's Post | Mile 43.92 :: This was another aid station that I was really looking forward to. It was organized and staffed by our running group, which is a huge boost of motivation towards the end of the race. It was nice to see smiling faces of people that knew you and hear 'Go Sparkle Twins!'.

Courtney was having major foot pain by this time, so Rick pulled her aside and tried to get her to stretch it out. She was pretty ornery so he gave up pretty quickly.  

I was so ready to be done by this point and my mind had shut down, so I asked Ken (who couldn't finish due to cramping) the distance to the base of Last Gasp. He told me and said it would take us about an hour to get there. He was right, we were at the base of 'The Beast' in 59 minutes. 

Last Gasp | Mile 47.56 :: At this point in the race I had to keep telling myself to just get to the base of 'The Beast' and I'd be at the finish...just a 3 mile hike. Let me tell you, it was so difficult to get there. Everyone was struggling especially my mom who was at the rear of the group. [Rick was leading, then Tammy, Chelsie, Courtney, Me, Marissa, Heather, and my mom]. We sent Marissa to run behind her and 'encourage' her. She was a drill sergeant, but kept my mom going.

I had a Gu about a mile before 'The Beast', which I was so happy to see. Tammy and her group quickly passed us by, but towards the end (by running the flats) we were able to catch up. Marissa was still pushing my mom and Heather was walking next to Courtney, silently pushing her. I was just so happy to be on 'The Beast'.

We all came up the last little hill together, but at that point I had gotten some energy and took off towards the finish line. Courtney ran with me and we yelled at my mom to pick it up. I hit the turn, got on the grass, and ran through the finisher's shoot. I came into the finish line crying. I was so overwhelmed with what we'd just done. I'd just accomplished everything that I had worked for and it went even better than I could have imagined.

Finishing :: I was still crying as I was handed my jacket. The guy asked me if it was my first 50 and I blubbered a yes and he gave me a hug. We got our medals and were swarmed by our running group. It was pretty amazing. My Dad was there as was Courtney's Dad, Aunt, and Grandma. Her aunt and grandma even brought flowers for us!

I got a massage and headed over to the finish line area to watch others from our running group come in. 


I'd thought mile 30 to 40 would be the hardest part of the race because it was that gray area between the farthest I'd run (32.5 miles) and Rattlesnake Bar (single digit miles to the end). I was SO wrong. Miles 10 till Beal's Point (24 ish) were the hardest as I dealt with digestive issues, hip pain, and a bad attitude. Thankfully things got better, but I was surprised at where I struggled during the race. 

I think I did well with my hydration, fueling, and electrolytes. Once I got the poo out of my system (towards the beginning), I was good to go. I didn't have any of the dizziness of nausea that my mom and Courtney did and I really think it was because of the Endurolytes. 

As amazing as it was, in the 'afterglow' of the race I've become quite lazy. Maybe it's 'runner's depression', but because I have nothing to work towards I haven't been running. Before the race I was operating on fear; completing my midweeks because failing to finish this race was not option. Now, with that fear replaced with freedom I haven't been dedicated or even interested in running. It's a chore now. I need to figure out how to get motivated again.

Running Update + Shamrock'n Half Marathon

My last running update was in October 2013, right before the Urban Cow Half Marathon. I've made a lot of progress since then, so here's what I've been up to. Warning...it's a long post!

While I'm not a fast runner, my goal is always to do the best I can and hopefully PR (personal record). Going into a race I usually decide on a general time goal based on how training has been going, the race distance, weather, etc.

Urban Cow was no different, but I just wanted to PR. That was my only goal...it didn't matter if it was 5 seconds or 5 minutes. Since the race was a training run for the California International Marathon, Courtney and I decided to go with our training and run intervals.

My Mom and me before the race. See the cute cow shirt?

My mom was also running with us, but she had to go to the bathroom part way through the race and told us to continue on. We kept running and didn't see her until half a mile from the end. We turned around during a walk break, saw her, and took off! We couldn't let her beat us! Courtney and my Mom are very competitive when it comes to times and who is faster...it's pretty funny.

We ended up besting our last and fastest half marathon time by a little over 7 minutes. 7:22 to be exact. We finished in 2:37:07 which is about a 12:00/mile pace. I was very happy with the run and our time.

After the race with our cowbell medals!

My Nike+ app data [a little bit off from the official data]

After Urban Cow we decided to focus on training for the CIM rather than running more races. I wasn't as dedicated to the midweeks as I should've been but I generally felt fine during the Saturday/long workouts.

As the CIM approached I was SCARED. Our training peaked at 20 miles, which I thought should have been more for my own comfort level, but hey, what do I know? To add to my anxiety, the weather forecast was below freezing. If you know me, you know I hate being cold.

One of the best parts of race prep was the expo and packet pick-up. We went on Friday, two days before the race. There were tons of samples to try. I ended up getting some Nuun and an extra CIM pullover. If I'm going to run a marathon, I'm gonna wear that baby all the time!

After the expo, my mom, Courtney, and I went to a local pasta place to carb load with our running group. It was a good chance to talk to the repeaters about strategy.

Me, my mom, and Courtney at the race expo. 

On Saturday, we went out to dinner at Buca di Beppo with our families. My mom surprised me by flying my brother home from school to come watch us run.

One of the great things about our running group is that they organized four extra aid stations along the course for the group. We were able to pack drop bags for each aid station. It was nice to have familiar and loved goodies during the race. I packed Chocolate Outrage Gu's, Nuun tablets, Pringles, pretzels, and mini Clif bars. I wasn't planning on eating everything, but I didn't know what I'd feel like during the race and what I'd want.

As expected race day was cold. We were up at 4 AM to catch the bus to the start line. We tried to stay warm on the bus, but there was no escaping the cold. If I remember correctly I think it was 25F when the race started. I'm from California, we aren't used to that!

I wore my favorite Old Navy crops, a comfy race shirt, a light pull over, an ear warmer, and two pairs of gloves. I wore a fleece on the bus and decided not to leave it in a drop bag (to be transported to the start line) and wear it during the race. I'm so glad I did! I wore it until mile 8 when we saw Dan. He had a sign for us and was able to take the extra clothing we didn't need anymore.

My mom carried M's throw away west from the thrift store because she thought it was to nice to leave behind, haha.

My mom, Me, Courtney, M, and H at the start line.

The first half felt great although it was cold. We stuck to our intervals, although we had to walk through all the aid stations because the spilled water from runners throwing their cups froze and made the ground extremely slick. I started to feel it after the half way mark. We saw Courtney's dad at about mile 14 and he ran with us for about a quarter mile. Then H's parents met us at mile 16ish and again at 19ish. It's REALLY nice to have people come out and cheer you on.

From 16 to 18, I was struggling with some digestive issues with no bathroom in sight. Running with poo cramps is no run. I finally found a bathroom, used it, and felt instantly relieved. Mile 20 is where it started getting hard. That's where they had set up 'The Wall' and a huge party. My dad and brother were waiting a little after mile 20, but Dan missed us because he went to the car to bring my mom a burrito. My brother ran with us for about a quarter of a mile till we saw Courtney's mom. Once we got past mile 20, the farthest we had ever run, I knew we were close. Things were decent until mile 22, where it got REALLY hard. We stopped at the last aid station and pushed on. We slowed down a lot at the end. I'm not sure what it was. I know I could have fueled and trained better.

All five of us decided to stick together and cross the finish line at the same time. We finished in 5:45:50 (13:11/mile pace), which was slower than we wanted, but finishing your first marathon is an achievement no matter the time. We set out for a 5:30, but I'm just glad we finished before the cutoff time of 6 hours. My Dad and brother, Dan, and Courtney's Dad were there to see us cross.

As soon as we finished I was cold. Those foil like blankets they give you are not warm at all. I was tired and mentally exhausted. I went to get some post-race food, but Whole Foods had run out of vegan soup and the bread wasn't vegan. The only thing I was able to eat was a banana. I was pissed.

We ended up heading to our favorite Chinese restaurant and eating some lunch. It was hard to eat, but food is good after running. We went to my mom's house to shower and take my brother to the airport.

I was definitely in pain...just normal muscle aches and soreness. I was dead set against joining the ultra team to run a 50 mile race. I had just suffered through 26.2 miles of cold and pain.

Guess what though? The pain went away and I wanted to run again. So I joined the ultra team. I took a break, longer than I expected, and ran maybe once during December. I was a little worried about that with our first ultra trail run on January 4th, the day after I got back from Disneyland. It ended up being easier than I thought and a lot of fun.

Since then I've gotten up extra early on Sundays to drive to crazy far-away places to trail run. It's been hard and I've struggled a lot, but it's been a very good experience. I've gotten stronger thanks to stair workouts and gained more muscle. I'm still extremely tired when I finish and need to take a nap, but I'm working hard! I still wouldn't say I enjoy running, but I feel so accomplished when I finish.

The first big 'test' was running a marathon on the trail. There was no race day goodies and hype, just a training run. I felt really good during and was happy with my time of 7ish hours. The next hurdle was a 50K race. Way Too Cool was a training run for our group, but unfortunately we didn't sign up in time, so we had to run the course with a few others that didn't get in or chose not to sign up. I felt pretty good during the run, but my mom and Courtney were struggling with injuries so we took it slow. We took a couple of wrong turns on the trail and ended up running 32.5 miles. I think it took us about 9 hours, but my watch died so I'm not completely sure. We are capable of a faster time, but we dilly dallied at the aid stations that a few runners from our group had set up...they were serious life savers.

To be honest, after the Way Too Cool run I was scared of the 50 miles and the 14 hour time limit. I'm still anxious, but Courtney has promised to make sure I finish in the time limit and get a jacket. We are tapering now, so I better be ready!

I've been so focused on trail running that I haven't signed up for many road races. I did sign up for the Shamrock'n Half Marathon before joining ultra, but was unsure if I should miss a 20 mile trail run to run a 13.1 mile road race. Courtney really wanted to run Shamrock'n to 'avenge' the fact that she fainted 10 feet from the finish line last year. I have to admit that she came up with a good solution. We'd run the 20 miles on Saturday, instead of the 4 on the schedule, and the half marathon on Sunday instead of the 20 miles.

I now understand why we start so early...it gets hot out there. I carry a 70oz pack and I was super low on water at mile 8 so we had to turn around early. We found a clean water fountain at the horse stables and I got to fill up with cold water. We made up the missed mileage at the end by turning around and heading back out, which is really tough mentally. Our pace ended up being around 16:30/mile, which is slower than what we should be doing, but when we turned around it was 17:18/mile. Plus with the heat I didn't want to push too hard.

I told Courtney that if I ran 20 miles, we would stop at Dutch Bros. for a soy chai. That kept me going. I got my Dutch Brothers and sucked that thing down in less than five minutes. I have to admit though that the highlight of the trip was petting a friendly horse, 'Tux', on the trail and then seeing him again and recognizing him and his rider! When I got home my legs were a little tired but not sore. I was pretty impressed. 

The next day (today), was Shamrock'n. Because we're crazy we still wanted to PR and run a 2:30 half marathon. With intervals we needed to run an 11:00/mile for an 11:30/mile average with walk breaks. We still wanted to run intervals and decided on 8 minutes running, 1 minute walking. The morning of my glutes and hip flexors were sore, so I wasn't sure how our time goals would pan out.

We were supposed to start in wave 3, but we got stuck with wave 4 and had to start 15 minutes later. When we finally crossed the start line we were off! Normally we start a little fast to get around people and find some space. The only difference this time was that we kept going. At mile 2.75 I noticed that we were running about a 9:35/mile pace. Once I did the math and figured out that with that pace we could beat my mom's first and best half marathon time of 2:18, I told Courtney that if we didn't skip walk breaks I could keep up the pace. It was on!

I took a bathroom break a little after mile 7 and struggled the most from mile 10 to 11, but once I saw the mile 12 marker it got easier. About .6 from the finish line I switched my watch to the elapsed time function and pushed it. We made it onto the field and started sprinting. We finished at about 3:00 on the official clock, but since we started 45ish minutes after the official start, we finished in 2:14.49! I'll save you the math...that's a 23 minute PR from Urban Cow and we beat my mom!

Post-finish best friend picture!

Of course I had to post on the ultra page...
Ultra training has paid off. After running 20 miles yesterday and on our 6th try Courtney Chinn and I finally beat my mom's half marathon time of 2:18 and PR'd by 23 minutes with a 2:14:50 (unofficial).

[My official time is 2:14.49 and Courtney's is 2:14.50, so I have the fastest half marathon time now. He he he!]

Here's what my mom had to say... Hello people...I'm twice her age and I had only been running 8 weeks! Chinner, pick on someone your own age. It's on!!!!

And my own page...
Today was a huuuuge running milestone for me, so sorry in advance for tooting my own horn. First, I finally beat my mom's best half marathon time. It took 6 tries. Haha. Second I PR'd by over 23 minutes with a time of 2:14.49. This was all after 20 trail miles yesterday. Thanks for pushing me Courtney Chinn!

 

I feel like all the ultra training is paying off, especially in my confidence. I didn't feel like there was any pressure today so I was able to push and not play it safe. Look what happened! I'm so proud of our time and our run today.

Here's to finishing the 50 mile race!