Monika With a "K"

2012 Goals: Month 1 Review

2012-02-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

Now that we're a few days into February, I thought I'd take a look at the goals I had set for 2012 and see how I did in January. Off the top of my head I think I'd give myself a C+, which is not great. The month whizzed by and certain things I put off until "next week" turned into being put off until next month! I'd like to get back on track for February though and hope for A+ months going forward.

Reviewing my 2012 goals, here is how I ranked by category.

Health

Floss regularly: C - Probably doing so 3x per week
Sleep a minimum of 8 hours per night: D - Probably doing so 1x per week
Eat more vegetables: A - I've made sure to have veggies at lunch & dinner
Eat less processed food: B - I'm eating more fresh foods, but can't quit the Trader Joe's frozen turkey meatballs. Do they contain crack?

Fitness

Register for less races and focus more on quality training: A - I've resisted registering for the Mermaid Run Half Marathon, San Dieguito Half Marathon, La Jolla Half Marathon, and the Super Seal Triathlon. The only one there is a good chance of me doing is Super Seal. Although it might sell out by the time I decide.
Incorporate strength training into my routine at least twice a week: D - Out of my 16 planned core workouts over the past 5 weeks I have done 6.
Bike at least twice a week (once indoors, once outdoors): A - Out of 10 planned bike rides I've completed 9! 5 indoors on my trainer, 4 outside.
Do Bikram Yoga at least twice a month: F - I have yet to make it to yoga this year
Run a 3:55 full marathon: TBD
Run a 1:45 half marathon: TBD
Complete at least one triathlon (preferably Olympic distance): TBD
Complete a century ride (100 miles): TBD

Life

Get to work by 8-8:30am regularly (instead of 9am): F - I've done this once.
Develop a personal branding statement: TBD
Manage my expenses better: B - I filed my taxes already and am going to start using Mint.com this weekend.
Attend church regularly: C - I've gone twice and watched the podcast twice
Play the piano at least once a week: F - Haven't done this yet. Hope to start this weekend.

General

Continue to work to improve on everything I do: B - I think by consciously tracking my goals I'm on the right track!

Without weighting the different goals, my overall grade for January is a C. Ouch! Let's hope for more A's and B's next month!

How are you doing with your 2012 goals and resolutions?

Carlsbad Marathon (26.TUTU)

2012-01-31T06:04:00.000-08:00

This probably seems like my third blog post about the Carlsbad Marathon .. but its not! Okay, well it is. My first post was about the expo though (more here) and the second was about a rogue pacer who ran a 4:22 while holding a 4:30 sign (more here). This one is all about the race! But I'll be brief in case you're sick of reading about Carlsbad. I just can't let go!

Carlsbad Marathon Schwag

After completing the California International Marathon in December and PR'ing and finally breaking 4 hours (3:57 thank you!) (race recap here) I was torn between feelings of never wanting to run another marathon again, and running another one soon after to get in another sub-4 finish. I was settling into the idea of not running another full until the San Francisco Marathon when they asked me if I was running Carlsbad and if I could work the expo again. I actually wasn't running Carlsbad, but then I started thinking about how running Carlsbad would be my 3rd full marathon in <90 days, qualifying me for the Marathon Maniacs club.

Carlsbad Marathon Outfit

I checked the Carlsbad site to look into registering and was sad to see that it was sold out. Next I went over to the Tri Club's Classified section thinking I wouldn't see a race bib for sale there ... but guess what? I did! I emailed the poster (thinking maybe it had already been sold and it was a sign to take a break from racing), and a few days later the bib was transferred into my name. Whoo hoo!

Pre-Race With Tara & Ben

I was fresh off the CIM race though and wasn't ready to race hard, and since Tara and I had been doing our long runs together we decided to run this race together and attempt to get Tara to a PR of 4:20. I felt pretty confident that I could pace her to a 4:20, and our training runs up until the race indicated that we had a good chance of doing so.

Starting the Race in the Dark

The full marathon started at 6am up in Carlsbad which is a 45 minute drive from my house. I met Tara and Ben at her office which is halfway up to Carlsbad at 5am. Meeting them at 5am meant I got up at 3:30am. Awesome. Since the race started at the mall we easily found parking, made a pit stop at one of the zillions of portapotties, and then we were off!

Running Along the Beach in January

We cruised pretty easily through the first few miles and I kept a close eye on my Garmin to make sure we weren't running too fast. Thanks to my nervous bladder we had to take a quick stop around mile 8 (I think?). Luckily there was no line and I was as quick as I could be, but as I walked out of the portapottie I noticed my watch had auto-paused. D'oh! CRAP. Now my watch was going to be off from chip time. I asked Tara what her watch said and it looked like we had lost about 2 minutes.

Cruising Along the Ocean

We passed the halfway mark of the race right around 2:10. Perfect! We were moving along pretty well until mile 16 or 18 where Tara suddenly said something like "I can't do this". I thought we were doing great and knew we had trained properly so I looked at her like she was crazy and brushed her off and told her that she was crazy, we were doing it.

Carlsbad Marathon Elevation Profile

I'm not sure if she suddenly got exhausted or started stressing out about our finish time, but her breathing became heavier and gaspy at times. I (probably annoyingly) kept telling her to hold herself up straighter to get more air into her lungs, and slowed us down to a pace that I thought would be more comfortable. Around mile 20 (when we were still on track for our 4:20ish finish) the 4:30 pacer passed us and things seemed to go a bit further downhill. With walk breaks and maintaining a slower pace though, we managed to run through the last few miles, speed up in the last 0.2, and come across the finish line with big smiles.

Finish Line Smiles

When we were in the last mile I knew we weren't going to make 4:20, but I was confident that we were going to break 4:30 since my watch said 4:28. Garmin fail #2 - I had set my virtual trainer for a marathon distance. Since we didn't run perfect tangents in the course we ran closer to 26.4, meaning my Garmin STOPPED at 26.2. AHH.

Carlsbad Marathon - We Did It!

Race Splits Not Counting My One Break

I still thought we had broken 4:30 and when I finally got my phone and called David and had him look up our times, I was disappointed to hear that we came in at 4:30:18. Darnit! If I had known we were that closed I would have pushed us more! 18 seconds over 26.2 miles? So frustrating! This race was still a PR for Tara by about 6 minutes though so while she was a little disappointed, she was still happy.

Talking to David Post-Race
(I look at this picture and the song She's a Laaaady runs through my head)

I had a lot of fun running together and would totally do it again. I've learned over the past year that running a marathon isn't always about a PR. Sometimes its fun to cheer on a friend, sometimes its fun to run with the person you love, and sometimes you just gotta do those twenty six point two miles with your friend in a matching tutu. Go twenty-six-point-tutus!

Carlsbad Marathon Medal

My Updated Medal & Race Bib Collection

To read Tara's race recap click here.

To check out Glam Runner tutus click here.

The 4:30 Pacer Who Ran a 4:22

2012-01-29T18:58:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my friend Tara and I ran the Carlsbad Marathon together. Our primary goal was to get Tara to a PR finish of 4:20, and our secondary goal was to finish before 4:30. To prepare for the race we did several of our long runs together including our 20 mile run. We were running right around a 10:00 pace each time, and knowing that Tara was a sub 2:00 half marathoner, I thought we'd have no problem finishing around 4:20.

When we started out running we saw both a 4:15 pacer and a 4:30 pacer, and spent the majority of the race between the two. Somewhere around mile 20 though when we were running right around a 10:00 pace, the 4:30 pacer slowly crept by us, and continued off into the distance. In my own running history, the moment I'm passed by the pacer whose time I want to beat, I feel like crying. Instead of picking up the pace and fighting harder, I instantly want to give up. When I saw the pacer go by I looked at Tara's face and she looked devastated. I was really confused though because I didn't think we were on track to finish after 4:30. I looked at my watch and did some math and told Tara he must have been running too fast. She didn't seem convinced so I asked her to look at her watch too. Her watch showed an elapsed time of 3:20, we were running about a 10 minute pace, and we had 6 miles to go. 3:20ish plus 60ish minutes does not equal more than 4:30. Once I had convinced her that the pacer was ahead of pace, she seemed comforted a bit, but I still worried that this was going to slowly erode into her confidence.

(Photo Source)

After the race a friend of Tara's pointed out a post by the pacer on a message board about his plan to finish in 4:22 right from the start, based on the decision that he and his pace group runners made. Wait a minute, he planned to run a 4:22 from the start while still holding the 4:30 sign? According to the Carlsbad Marathon pace page on their website "Pace group leaders run a steady pace throughout the race so members of their group are able to finish the marathon or half marathon in the projected finish time for that group."

I think a page from the Albany marathon explains the importance of a pacer best:

"A pace team is a group of runners led by an experienced leader who run together in the marathon. The pace leader runs a steady pace and keeps track of that pace so that the group can achieve their goal of finishing the marathon at a particular time. There are wonderful benefits of running with a pace group. You’ll be supported by a cheerful leader and will be side by side with other runners sharing the same goal as you. One of the biggest mistakes that marathoners make is starting out too fast and then hitting the wall in the later portions of the race. The pace team will run at an even pace per mile. If the pace feels too slow in the beginning of the race that’s normal. Just stay with the group and ask the pace leader about an appropriate strategy for the second half. If you find the pace too fast in the early miles, then slow down and drop back from the team so you’ll be able to finish the race."

A sobering statistic about those who run with a pacer though from this article on "The Day in the Life of a Marathon Pace Leader":

"Seventy-five percent of the runners who start with a particular pacer won't go on to finish with the group. Some will go ahead, and a few are forced to drop back. It's not usually a problem with the pacer, but with the runner's expectations. Some people who choose to run with a pace group are pushing themselves to the limit, trying to reach a goal that they aren't yet ready to achieve. But when they do make it, the rewards are spectacular."

Here is the strategy that this pacer had per his post on a Runner's World forum:

I ran the full and was the 4:30 pacer.

My role as a pacer was still up in the air five minutes before the race when the guy in charge of meeting the pacers with the pace sticks was a no show. He had arranged a 4:45am meet at the start yet looked like he had just rolled out of bed when he finally arrived five minutes before the race start.

With only five minutes to spare, it didn't allow for much time for a group to assemble but about 10 runners started out with me and I told them my strategy of being about a couple minutes fast going into the big Mile 9 climb and running pretty even splits and everyone seemed on board.

However, going into the Mile 9 climb, when I told the group we'd be slowing, the thuggish group commandeered the ship and most of them voiced in that they liked the pace we were going and wanted to continue at that pace. Not wanting to look like a Nazi, I allowed democracy to prevail and we kept our pace constant and reached the half marathon point around 2:11:30.

There was a funny split point at Mile 16 of the marathon / Mile 7 of the half marathon where a few marathon runners went the wrong way with the half marathoners and at least one of my runner friends ended up with a DQ with a 22 mile finish. It was not the best marked and with 6 half marathoners for each marathoner, I see how some of the marathoners could have missed the sign and a few people in my own group thanked me for guiding them the right way saying they were preparing to turn to the left with the masses but instead followed the 4:30 pace sign.

Of the original 10, however, by the time we hit Mile 20, only about 5 of them remained. By Mile 24, a couple of them had raced ahead, a couple had fallen back and just one lone runner and I remained. By Mile 25, the lone runner confessed that she couldn't believe she was still running at this pace and that she usually runs this pace in single digit training runs but never thought she'd be able to maintain a 4:30 pace the whole race, yet less the 4:22 pace that we were on.

Crossed the finish line in 4:22:03 (chip) and helped a couple runners to times that must have been 4:20 or 4:21 and the sole hanger on to a 4:22:05 finish and even though it was just the two of us by the end, it was greatly gratifying to be able to help her far far far surpass her goal and complete her first marathon.

Felt great after the marathon and looking forward to the next pacing gig at Surf City (4:40). Hopefully, there is a less thuggish group in this race that will follow the script instead of demanding a re-write.

(from a followup post)

Trust me, had I been able to cross out 4:30 mid race and put in 4:22, I would've done it. But, each runner has a certain responsibility to know her/his given pace and it does not require rocket science to do a little quick math.

My bigger responsibility was to my group than to other runners on the course. The few times when I was aware of other runners appearing shocked to being passed up by the 4:30 pacer, I made a point of telling them we were a few minutes fast.

--------

So okay, I do agree that its every runner's responsibility to do their best to judge their pace, their effort, their elapsed time, and their projected finish time. Sure you can do some "quick math" to figure it out, but since my watch had auto-paused once when I stopped to go to the bathroom, I was suddenly afraid it had auto-paused other times, and that it wasn't 2 minutes off chip time but more like 10. I can do math quite well actually, but at mile 20 in a marathon I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box. I didn't even recognize one of our GOTR coaches that we spent 3 1/2 months with when we passed her somewhere around mile 18. I mean I recognized her and smiled and waved, and then said to Tara in surprises oh, was that Debbie? (A different coach.) Tara looked at me like I had four heads and said "Um, no, that was Christine!" WHOOPS!

Anyways, I know Tara and I weren't on track to finish at 4:20, at the time the pacer passed us we were probably on track to finish in 4:22 as well, and in the end we finished at 4:30:18 because we slowed down quite a bit in the end when Tara was hurting. I understand that we ran our own race and we're responsible for our finish time. I don't think that its right that a pacer held a sign with a finish time he had no intention of meeting. Sure 8 minutes doesn't sound like much over 26 miles. Its a 18 second difference per mile. It IS a big difference though. I was fairly insulted by the backlash on the forums from the pacer and his friends about how we shouldn't have cared that the 4:30 pacer passed us and was running a 4:22 race, and I posted the question to my dailymile friends to see what others thought. I was relieved to see that I wasn't the only one that was bothered. Even if we aren't running directly WITH the pacer, we see his sign. Maybe we're trying to stay ahead of him, or behind him, or somewhere near him. We weren't blaming him for us finishing in 4:30. We finished in 4:30 because we took a few walk breaks in the end, and slowed down to 11:00 miles. There is no blame, there is just dissatisfaction. David thinks we're being silly since the guy was a volunteer and how can you be mad at someone who volunteers to do something? Point taken, but still, here are some thoughts from some other running friends.

"The guy has a responsibility to run at the pace he's given. Now, if I were to ever be a pacer, I'd come in maybe 30-60sec ahead, if only because I'm always paranoid about times and like to have a buffer.'

"Ummm...a pacer's job is to keep people at the pace they trained for, not to set some sort of PR. If I run with a pacer with hopes of going for a PR of 3:45 and he tries for 3:35 he will burn me out by mile 16!! I would be pissed."

"I agree, the pacer's job is to keep the pace at the expected time. that's what people are following him/her for. if they want to speed up, its their decision."

"I agree! Stay to your stated pace, not all of us talk to the pacer but it doesn't mean we don't use them."

"4:30 is 4:30! They should stick with that time."

"It's wrong. A pacer should run steady and hit exactly his advertised pace."

"It's definitely wrong. I don't blame you for being confused. As soon as he breaks what 'his' pace should be, he's no longer a pacer in my opinion. It sucks for the poor people who couldn't keep up to 4:22 finish. I'd be pissed if that were me."

"I agree with you but have many times seen pacer finish faster than their stick and they never seem to run a consistent pace they are all over the place"

"If other runners are counting on a pacer to help them achieve a goal, then going faster is just plain wrong. Pacers should always assume that there are others counting on them, even if they don't know who those runners are. Some may be slightly back, not want to talk during their run, etc."

"Pacers PACE, that's what they do. Totally think it's wrong to speed up to finish at an earlier time. If the people in the group want to go faster, then fricking follow a different pacer, or go on their own. I would be pissed if I were following a pacer and they did this."

"A pacer is there for a reason! People train for MONTHS for an event and they have a goal... Nobody should crush that goal or decide they can push more (if maybe they already are"

"Not cool. If you want to run faster than the pacer, PASS THE PACER. People all around them judge their times as such, even if they aren't close enough to listen to them."

"I had a pacer do something like that one time. She told us that during the downhill she was going to speed up and then get back to pace on the flat, but that averaged out to a much quicker pace than I could keep overall. :-("

I'm not trying to attack the pacer, I just feel like its false advertising to run with a pace sign that is different than your plan. Yes, I always run with my Garmin. Yes, I know how fast I need to run to hit my goal. Yes, I understand that in the end I am the one running. This won't ever change the emotions I feel as I either pass, or am passed by a pace group. Going forward I will try to pay less attention to them, but I can't say that they won't affect me mentally in some way or shape. And after all, isn't a lot of a marathon mental?

Have you ever run with a pacer?

Do you think a pacer is responsible to finish at their advertised time?

SF Marathon Ambassador 2012

2012-01-27T06:43:00.000-08:00

Somewhere amid the hustle and bustle of 2011 ending, I forgot to mention that I'm an ambassador again for the SF Marathon for 2012! I served as an SFM ambassador last year and had a ton of fun, and when applications for 2012 were called I thought about it for a bit thinking maybe fresh blood would be more applicable for the position and I shouldn't apply ... but in the end I turned in an application and was really excited a few months later when I found out I had made the cut again.

The Ambassador team for 2012 was much larger than 2011, and 5 of the 33 of us were returning ambassadors. The day we found out we were accepted I was out to lunch with my peer networking group from Athena and was trying so hard not to look at my Blackberry as it dinged over and over again as members of the group emailed and tweeted with their excitement. I finally got to join in on the chatter when I got back to work, and sadly all productivity flew out the window that afternoon. Shh, don't tell anyone.

This past weekend I worked my first event on behalf of the SF Marathon. They had a booth at the Carlsbad Marathon expo, and hot on the heels of hustling for two days at a tradeshow in Vegas for work, I was hustling at the expo for the race. (More on my Vegas trip on my blog Vegas Baby.)

As I've mentioned before I love my day job, and I do enjoy going to tradeshows, but they are very tiring and are not even half as much fun as working a race expo. At the medical tradeshows I attend not everyone is interested in our product, we get some negative feedback here and there, we get into price discussions and profitability debates, and the hours are long and standing dressed up in heels for days on end is a physical strain. In complete opposite to this is working the SFM booth. I got to wear comfortable clothes and flat shoes, people come by raving about how much they love the race, past participants drag their friends over to point to the map and show off the race course, and almost everyone I talk to seems somewhat interested in what I had to say. If that's not an ego boost I don't know what is! (A more in-depth look at my thoughts on medical vs running tradeshows on my blog Tradeshow Warrior.)

Throughout the course of the day I was excited to have signed up 17 people for the race, 85 people for the newsletter, and sold 30 shirts. Well, I mean, not that anyone's counting or anything, but I think I had a stellar day. It was also a blast to talk to runner's all day, and I felt like I had street cred or something from having lived in San Francisco and San Diego, having run both the SF Marathon and the Carlsbad Marathon, and races all around the area. When people started asking about various races or locations, I knew what I was talking about. Now if only I could remember all of the science behind the cross-linking of collagen for my day job .... but I digress.

The day of the expo was pretty long and I didn't have time to bring something for lunch so I ended up snacking on bananas, power bars, and yogurt at the expo. Not the best day-before-the-marathon fueling strategy, but oh well. After the expo I met up with Tara and Ben at Leucadia Pizza to carbo load. Tara and I were planning on running the marathon together the following day, and I wanted to have dinner with her to see where her confidence was and to try to psych her up for the race. We had done several long runs together and I knew she was physically capable of hitting her goal time (4:20), I just worried about her confidence in herself and her marathon ability. SO much of a marathon is mental, and I wanted to do whatever I could to boost her self-esteem.

We parted ways around 7pm and made plans to meet at 5am to carpool up to Carlsbad the next morning. Ouch, way too early. Starting a marathon at 6am is so cruel!

Next up, my race recap.

Vegas Baby

2012-01-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to Vegas for my first tradeshow of the year. I hadn't been to Vegas since June when I went for two tradeshows two weeks apart. (More on my blog Domo Does Vegas x 2.) I love Vegas, but in small doses. Two times in two weeks is too much. I've also noticed that the more I come to Vegas for work versus leisure, the less fun it becomes. Long days, a lot of walking, late dinners ... and then up again to stand all day in heels at 8am! Its exhausting.

Welcome to Las Vegas

View From My Room

I got into Vegas Wednesday evening and went straight to my hotel to check-in (the Cosmopolitan) and drop off my stuff, and then walked over to Caesars where the show would be to set-up the booth. When I walked up to our booth area and the booth canisters and other things I had sent weren't there, I momentarily panicked. Where was my shipment? An hour later (and no thanks to the show manager) I found out that the items were at the business center .. which was now closed. GREAT. That meant I had to set-up the next morning. Sigh.

Passed the Bellagio Between the Cosmo and Caesars

Tragically Sad Vegas Dinner

I headed back to my hotel and picked up Panda Express on the way home. Gross. I don't think I've had Panda in years! I didn't really have many other choices. Vegas is a strange place to be alone. I eat by myself all the time when I travel. Eating alone at a Vegas restaurant seemed too weird though, and my take-out options were limited. I brought back my food, watched some crappy TV, and was in bed by 10pm.

Domo Digged the Hotel Room

Love Getting Two Beds - One to Sleep In, One to Lay Clothes On

Cool Desk and Interactive TV

Modern Bathroom

Ummm ... Viewing Panel From the Shower?

The next morning my plan was to run over to Caesars, set-up the booth, run back, shower, get ready, and then head back over. Putting the booth up is moderately difficult manual labor and I didn't want to do it in my work clothes. When I got to the business center the next morning they were so backlogged with deliveries that they told me they couldn't give me my items for another hour ... which was when the show started. AHH! I ran back to my hotel (got in a nice 2 mile run roundtrip!), showered, changed, and accepted the fact that I'd be setting up in a dress. Sigh.

Got To Do Fake Surgery with my Booth Neighbor
(The funnel pops the implant in through an incision hole)

Smart Girls Walk in Flats, Carry Their Heels

Luckily when my booth was delivered and I started to put the framework together, the men on either side of my booth helped me out. And they say chivalry is dead! Alone the booth can take 45 minutes to an hour to assemble, but with help you can get it together in 20 minutes. Right as I put the finishing touches on our display (slipped the DVD into the player), my counterpart from Sales showed up. Go figure! The first day of the show was pretty long (8am - 7pm!!), but at least they served drinks and appetizers in the final hour.

Waiters With Appetizers - Score!

The "Shot Show" Was in Town

After the show we had a group dinner over at Prime at the Bellagio. We've eaten there the last few times we've been in Vegas and its one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. The food is incredible and so is the service. If you're looking for a nice steak restaurant next time you're in Vegas, check this place out!

Celebrity Arrival? Check Out That Luggage!

Cupcake Tower - Amazing!

Prime Steakhouse Seafood Platter - Incredible!

The second day of the show was shorter (8am - 5pm), and luckily it was also time for me to go home right after! I needed to get back to San Diego Friday night since I would be working the Carlsbad Marathon expo all day Saturday on behalf of the San Francisco Marathon. Two days pimping my product in Vegas followed by one day pimping my hometown marathon in Carlsbad? Tradeshow warrior!!

The Casinos Were All Decked Out for Chinese New Year

Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan

Morning Run on the Strip

When I got to the Vegas airport I was dismayed to see that there was a "weather delay" in Phoenix and the flight was delayed. Huh? Weather delay?? Turns out one runway was closed in Phoenix for repairs so all of the flights were backed up. Um, doesn't that seem like something they would have scheduled around? Anyways, I suffered through major anxiety worrying about missing my connection in Phoenix and getting into San Diego late on Saturday, but luckily all flights in and out of Phoenix were delayed so I made my connection and got home by 10pm Friday night. Whew!

Possible Weather Delay??

Snacks Waiting When You Board - Gotta Love First Class!

The trip to Vegas was quick, tiring, and a bit fun. I will need to make sure that my next trip back there is for fun instead of work!

Resolution Run 15K

2012-01-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I ran the Resolution Run 15K as my first race ofthe year. I love the 15K distance (9.3 miles) because its further than a normal trainingrun but its not so far that I need to train for it or stress outabout it. Its also short enough that I feel like I can push myself and myspeed, while also being long enough to somewhat challenge my endurance. Therearen’t many 15K races, and this race in January and the Coronado 15K in Julyare two of my favorites.

Freezing Before the Race

This race was also put on by Sandy Feet Events, whose owneris the race director for the GOTR Sparkle & Shine 5K. Gotta support thosewho support us! I was planning on registering for this race several months ago,and when an Active Shwaggle came up for 50% off registration fees I was superexcited! I love cheap races!

Foggy Morning in Mission Bay

This race draws about 1000 runners each year and has adecent sized ‘expo’ the morning of the race. Both GOTR and Glam Runner werelucky enough to get a table at this event which Tara and I would be workingwith fellow board member Lana, her husband, and another GOTR volunteer.

GOTR Coaches & Board Members

It was chilly and foggy on race morning, and we arrived atthe event when it was still dark out, meaning it was freezing! Luckily the suncame up before the race started around 7am, and suddenly it was time to run.They started the runners in waves but I was talking to someone over by ourtables when the 7-9 minute pace wave was called. Whoops! Oh well, I juststarted with the 9-12 minute group and spent almost the entire race passingpeople.

Resolution Run Start

While its fun to pass people when there is enough room, Iwish I had started when I should have so I could have locked into a fasterpace. I ran this race last year and finished in 1:17:29 (8:18 pace), so my goal for this yearwas to at least match my finish time from last year, or hopefully shave off a little time. I figured shooting for a 8:00 pace was my best bet and had a 1:15:00 finish time in my head.

I looked at my Garmin several times during the race andnoticed that I was running around a 8:00 minute mile, and varying a bit between7:30 – 8:30. Its funny how such a range in pace is hard for me to really feel.I knew I couldn’t sustain a 7:30 pace for 9 miles, so whenever I dipped below8:00 I’d slow down a bit, and if I tipped too close to 8:30 I’d pick up thepace.

My Chins and I Racing to Win

This race course goes around Fiesta Island, which is one ofmy least favorite places to run in San Diego. The island is only 4 milesaround, but I swear it feels like 20. I’ve done several running races andtriathlons around Fiesta Island, and every single time I wonder if there issome black hole you go into where time bends. I didn’t look at my watch much in the last few miles of the race anddecided to just go off how I felt. I was getting tired from pushing for so manymiles and didn’t want to psych myself out by seeing that I wasn’t going to PR.About a quarter mile from the finish I finally looked at my watch and was amazedto see that I was going to PR by several minutes! Wow! I crossed the finishline at 1:14:22 which came out to a 7:58 pace overall. A 3+ minute improvement? Awesome!

Running Makes Me Smile

After the race I went back over to the GOTR/Glam Runnertables and hung out with my GOTR comrades for another hour or so until theevent ended. It crossed my mind that maybe I had placed in the race, but itturns out I had just missed 3rd in my AG by 40 seconds. Oh well, I’m still really happy with myperformance!

Overall time: 1:14:22

Overall Pace: 7:58

Overall ranking: 113/509

Age Group ranking: 5/70

I am not registered for another race until the Oakland Half Marathon in March, but I’ve been planning on either running the Mermaid Half Marathon on Feb 11th or the San Dieguito Half Marathon on Feb 12. Last year I endedup doing both (more on my blog Double Whopper Weekend), and while I’m tempted to do that again this year, sticking withmy New Year resolution to race less and train more, I might actually skip both!(More about my resolutions on my blog 2012 Goals.)

Lana's Husband is in Tutu Too!

My big race coming up in May is a 66 milebike race as part of the San Diego Century Event, and I need to spend as much time as I can on the weekends trainingfor that. On Sunday following the Resolution Run I rode 30 miles, my longestride ever! It was tiring but fun, and at this point its hard to imagine bikingmore than twice that distance. Goodthing I have four months to prepare!

Fun at Work - Iron Chef Time!

2012-01-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned recently that I love my job? Not only is working in Marketing totally fun, but I also work in a fun industry and have fun coworkers. Now for the best part - a couple times a year we get together for our sales meeting and the team-building events we do are REALLY fun! Back in July our team-building event was a photo scavenger hunt. (More on my blog Fun at Work.) We split up into teams and ran all around Seaport Village down by the San Diego Harbor while taking pictures of things related to a list of clues. This time we did something different, we had an Iron Chef-like cooking challenge!

The Four Cooking Stations

Dining Area in the Back

The cooking challenge was held at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center. My boss and I had heard some complaints from the women on our sales force that our activities were usually too physical. In some of our past sales meetings we've bowled, golfed, and had the scavenger hunt. The ladies wanted to do something laid back like go wine tasting. We thought about doing just going wine tasting but wanted to do something that was more team oriented, and preferably had a challenge involved. This Iron Chef competition was perfect!

Fresh Ingredients for the Team

We were split up into four teams, given a recipe, had access to a huge table of ingredients, and had a master chef watching over us and answer questions and providing assistance. There were two dishes that we would be making - Sauteed Shrimp with Sweet Peas, and Chicken, Seafood and Chorizo Paella.

The Recipes

As soon as it was go-time, our team split up to get the ingredients for the two dishes. We were going to make the shrimp dish first (since it was labeled First Course) but the chef advised us to make the paella first (Second Course) since it took longer to cook. One of my favorite dishes as Cafe Sevilla (my favorite restaurant in San Diego) is their black paella. Yummy!

The Competition - Teams 1, 2, 3

We started out the paella by sauteing a long list of ingredients in the saucepan. After everything was nicely browned we added some wine and vegetable stock and let that simmer for a while. Once some of the liquid cooked off a bit we added a few more ingredients on the recipe list until it looked like the pan couldn't possibly hold one more thing! The paella then went into the oven for its final cooking.

Our Paella Cooking

The Bread Crusting in the Pan

Once the paella was in the oven we got to work on the shrimp. We were allowed to take some creative license with the recipe so we added extra sausage, garlic, and wine. My teammates were extremely liberal with the wine! It cooks off though right? As a final touch we browned some bread with garlic to have on the side.

My Team Hard at Work

My Team Cooking the BEST Paella

After each team finished their two dishes they had to plate a small serving for the chef to taste. I think we did a pretty good job with the food itself, but I think our plating was the best on the table! The chef tasted each of the dishes and then announced the awards. I can't remember which award we won, but there were four different awards given out ... and gee each team won one. That was kind of disappointing! I wanted to know if ours really was the best!

My Team's Shrimp Dish

My Team's Paella

The Aftermath of our Cooking

Once the judging was over it was time for us to all enjoy our hard work. Everyone was encouraged to go around and try all of the other team's dishes, but I was too full and too lazy to go around and sample anything else. Ours was the best anyways, why face disappointment?

Paella Plated for Judging

Shrimp Dish Plated for Judging

After dinner a group of us went to a bar down the street to play pool. To my boss' delight they also had karaoke! I personally hate karaoke. I can't sing to save my life and the idea of revealing my warbling, off-key voice to the public is the last thing in the world I'd ever want to do. I was forced to sing karaoke at a sales meeting two jobs ago and in the process of being forced up onto the stage I honestly thought about quitting. That is how much I don't want to sing in public.

Playing Pool in the Gaslamp

Well, thanks to peer pressure yet again, I got dragged up to the stage with my group to sing "We Are the Champions" by Queen. To my delight, with our large group and the blaring speakers by the stage, you couldn't even hear yourself! That made it a lot easier. We made it through the song and it ended up not being the worst thing in the world I'd ever done, and somehow as the night progressed we went up for a number of other songs. To the patrons of the bar that night: I apologize to you and your ears.

Karaoke Stars Singing "Islands in the Stream"

The night was long but a lot of fun. If you are interested in trying out the two recipes, here they are.

Sauteed Shrimp with Sweet Peas

Ingredients

20 ea. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbs garlic, minced
1/2 ea onion, diced
10 oz olive oil
1 cup tomato, diced
1 cup sweet peas
1/4 cup mint, fresh and chopped
1 cup pea shoots
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup butter, unsalted
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a hot skillet, pour the olive oil in the pan and sear the sausage to render the fat, stirring it frequently until the sausage is slightly browned. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onions are just turning transparent. Add the shrimp to the skillet and stir frequently until lightly colored on both sides. Add the tomatoes and peas, toss quickly. Deglaze with the wine, then add vegetable stock, simmer for about 1 minute. Reduce heat and add butter to incorporate. Finish with fresh mint and pea shoots and season to taste.

Option
Serve with warm or grilled crusty bread.

Chicken, Seafood and Chorizo Paella

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 ounces chorizo, cut into 1/2 inch slices on the diagonal
1 pound manila clams, clean
1 pound black mussels, clean
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 cups Arborio rice
1 pinch saffron threads
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
1 pound roast chicken (meat from 3-pound chicken skinned, deboned, and torn into chunks)
1/2 cup peas
1 tomato, chopped
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oven to 400F. Heat oil in a large casserole or paella pan over high heat. Add chorizo and cook until browned and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes.

Add rice, paprika, saffron, and bay leaves. Stir to combine and coat the rice, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add roast chicken, seafood, peas, and tomato; stir to combine.

Transfer skillet to oven. Cook uncovered until rice is tender and no liquid remains, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

If you try out either of these recipes let me know how it goes!

2012 Goals

2012-01-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

Everyone has been posting their New Year's Resolutions this week and instead I would like to post my 2012 goals. It often seems like people (including myself) make resolutions which are things they'd like to do, maybe try a bit to do, but often don't achieve. The worst part is most people are okay with giving up on their resolutions mid-year. Goals on the other hand are something people strive to achieve and make plans for. S.M.A.R.T. goals are even better.

Resolution (def) - a resolve or determination

Goal (def) - the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

Being a planner, I have specific ways I plan on achieving my 2012 goals. These goals are grouped together into the categories below.

Health

Floss regularly
Sleep a minimum of 8 hours per night
Eat more vegetables
Eat less processed food (I love you Trader Joe's frozen turkey meatballs!)
Enjoy less vino

Fitness

Register for less races and focus more on quality training
Incorporate strength training into my routine at least twice a week
Bike at least twice a week (once indoors, once outdoors)
Do Bikram Yoga at least twice a month
Run a 3:55 full marathon
Run a 1:45 half marathon
Complete at least one triathlon (preferably Olympic distance)
Complete a century ride (100 miles)

Life

Get to work by 8-8:30am regularly (instead of 9am)
Develop a personal branding statement
Manage my expenses better
Attend church regularly
Play the piano at least once a week

And ... continue to work to improve on everything I do. Change is good, improvement is better.

2011: A Year in Lists

2012-01-07T17:07:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe that its already 2012. Last year went by in a flash! So as not to bore you with a lengthy summary of my past year, I thought I would present to you my year in review with lists - my favorite!

Celebrating NYE 2012

Notable Purchases

In January I traded in my beloved Volvo S40 for a brand new Volvo XC60 through the Costco Auto Program and got a smoking deal (More on my blog New Year, New Car)
I also purchased a new road bike (Specialized Dolce Triple) with the financial assistance of David and my dad, fell and hurt myself the first time I tried to clip in, and then spent three months trying to work up the courage to get back on it again (More on my blog Facing Fears)
Later in the year I bought the Timex Ironman Global Trainer GPS watch as a triathlon compatible upgrade from my Garmin Forerunner 205

My New Set of Two Wheels

Travel

I flew 49,396 miles (missing Dividend Miles Gold Preferred by 624 miles .. WAHHH)
I earned 101,630 frequent flyer miles which I'm hoarding for a trip to Maui
I cashed in 32,500 miles for one round-trip flight for David
I was on 42 planes and had momentary flying anxiety 84 times (takeoff and landing)
I traveled to Phoenix, Boston, Philadelphia, Vegas, Vegas, Dallas, Washington DC, and Seattle for work
I traveled to College Park (MD), Paris, Shepherdstown (WV), San Francisco, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, and Shepherdstown (WV) for personal trips or races

My Dogs Spent a Lot of Time w/My Pet Sitter

Tradeshows

I worked the Carlsbad Marathon expo on behalf of the San Francisco Marathon and was amazed by how different it was from my day job (More on my blog Tradeshow Warrior)
I worked 5 other tradeshows for work with the names AACS, AAFPRS, ASAPS, Vegas Cosmetic Surgery Show, and THE Aesthetic Show

Pretending to be Fabulous in Vegas

Races

I completed 21 races total
4 Marathons
7 Half-Marathons
3 Triathlons (Sprint, International, Sprint)
2 10Ks
3 5Ks (one was part of a relay)
1 15K
1 4 mile race

Racing in Tutus Equals FUN

Full Race List

Jan - Resolution Run (15K), Carlsbad Half (recap)
Feb - Surf City Half (recap), Mermaid Half , San Dieguito Half (recaps)
Mar - Super Seal Sprint Triathlon (recap)
Apr - ACT Today (5K), Painted Rocks Half (recap)
May - OC Marathon (recap), Liver Life (5K), Coronado Bridge Run (4 miles) (recaps)
Jul - San Diego International Triathlon (recap), San Francisco Marathon (recap)
Aug - America's Finest City (5K) (recap)
Sep - Heartbreak Ridge Half (recap), LA Triathlon Relay (recap)
Oct - SheRox Sprint Triathlon (recap), Marine Corps Marathon (recap)
Nov - Santa Barbara Half (recap), Nitro Turkey (10K), Quarry Turkey (10K) (recaps)
Dec - California International Marathon (recap)

Chillin' With Bart Yasso at my Post-SFM BBQ

Racing Firsts

I did my first International distance triathlon (longest to date)
I participated in my first triathlon relay
I ran back-to-back Half Marathons on a Saturday/Sunday
I PR'd in the 5K in August and then again in September
I PR'd in the Half Marathon twice in February
I PR'd in the Marathon (FINALLY) in December
I ran a LOT of races in a tutu

Glam Runner Tutus Supporting GOTR San Diego!

Training

To prepare for these races I completed 1544 training miles:

I ran 1283 miles
I biked 241 miles
I swam 20 miles

Fun Times w/GOTR Coaches

Other Events of Note

I spent the first 7 months of the year as a San Francisco Marathon Ambassador
I spent the last 6 months of the year as a Team Sony Walkman Ambassador (More on my blog Team Sony Walkman)
I was Head Coach for two seasons of Girls on Track again
My friend Tara and I started the tutu business Glam Runner (More on my blog That's a Whole Lotta Tutus)
I celebrated my one-year swimmiversary
I went on the Zappos Insights tour in Vegas which was really neat
I went to the NKOTBSB concert with my high school friends (More on my blog Living a Teenage Dream)
I was accepted into Yelp Elite and went to two of their parties (More on my blogs Yelp Elite - Oh Yeah and Yelp Elite - Seeing Green)
I attended TEDx San Diego which was totally amazing (More on my blog TEDx San Diego)
I read a LOT of books (More on my blog 2011: A Year in Books)
And ... I spent the my 4th Christmas with my favorite person in the world and his family.

My Fave "The David"

Happy New Year!

2011: A Year in Books

2011-12-30T21:35:00.000-08:00

As a follow up to last year's post "2010: A Year in Books", I've decided to do another quick rundown of all of the books I've read this year. Over the past several years the number of books I've read has decreased as the number of magazines I'm loaded down with (those I subscribe to at home and those I get at work) has massively increased. I started tracking my books on the website Shelfari.com last year and was pleased when I finished the year with a total of 10 books read. Amazingly, this year I read 22 books!

Kindle

I attribute much of my increase in reading to my wonderful Kindle. David's parents got me a Kindle for my birthday and I happily joined the world of e-reading. At first I struggled with the reader a bit - flipping back and forth wasn't as easy as I was used to and the first ebook I read had a complex list of characters, names, and cities. My second challenge was that I often fold down pages in business books to be able to quickly reference an idea I liked. On the Kindle you can do an electronic bookmark which took me a while to get used to at first, but in the end it serves the same function. A few months into owning my Kindle, I loved it!

Book Club

I also joined a book club late in the year in an attempt to find a new social outlet that wasn't related to running. Don't get me wrong, I love running, my running friends, and Girls on the Run. But ... there is more to life than running. I have only made it to one book club meeting so far because of my schedule but have read three of the books they've chosen. The books they choose are those that I would never read on my own, which I think is a good thing. I kind of enjoyed the first two and struggled through the third, but like that I'm getting a chance to expand my literary horizons beyond chick lit, endurance athletics, and business books.

And now for my reviews! (Click on the title of any of the books to hyperlink to the Amazon page.)

Book #1: Twenties Girl

Subject: Cute chick-lit fiction from my favorite author Sophia Kinsella (who wrote the Shopaholic series).

Review: I have loved every Sophia Kinsella book I've read, and this one was no exception. It's a cute and funny story with a little hint of mystery.

Book #2: The Paleo Diet for Athletes

Subject: How to follow the Paleo Diet if you're an endurance athlete

Review: Modified version of the Paleo Diet which is a diet based on foods our Stone Age ancestors would have eaten. The original Paleo Diet is stricter, and this version is adjusted to accommodate hard training and racing days. The diet is essentially high in vegetables and lean meats and doesn't allow process foods, dairy, grains, legumes, and refined sugar. I tried this diet out for after hearing a lot of hype about it in the tri community. I couldn't stick to it though and gave up after a month. Faileo!

Book #3: Harvard Business Review on Brand Management

Subject: Concise strategy guide for Brand Managers

Review: This book read a bit like a textbook (not like I should have been surprised) but had a lot of useful points and ideas. This book actually inspired me to make a change to one of our printed marketing pieces that we use with our sales reps and customers and they LOVED it. That made dragging myself through this whole book worth it.

Book #4: Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

Subject: The story behind Zappos and why they are so successful today.

Review: Best book I read all year! I totally loved this book and wrote a blog specifically dedicated to it. (More here.) The Zappos story is an interesting and unique one, and the tale this book tells is inspiring on a personal and professional level.

Book #5: Cocktails For Three

Subject: Chick-lit fiction book by Sophia Kinsella under her other pen name Madeleine Wickham about three friends who meet each month for drinks and the intertwined drama in their lives.

Review: Cute and funny book, but oddly not as funny as Sophia Kinsella's other books. Did she get funnier when she changed her name? While the idea of a group of young women all with their own personal and professional drama may not seem unique, this book was still interesting and I enjoyed it.

Book #6: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Subject: Fictional mystery story about a murder, family drama, and personal relationships.

Review: A bit dark for my taste but still a really good book. I was unprepared for the graphic violence in this first of three books and was happy to see that it was toned down in the next two books. I struggled at first to keep all of the Swedish character and town names straight, but aside from that this book kept me intrigued and at the edge of my seat right through to the end. I have put the original Swedish version of the film in my Blockbuster queue and I'm hoping to see the American version of the film soon.The story was so riveting that soon after finishing this first book I soon read the second and third in the series.

Book #7: Oatmeal vs. Bacon

Subject: Why is oatmeal boring and bacon so exciting? Why is that true for some many brands? This brief marketing book takes a look at why some brands excel while others fail.

Review: I loved this book since I work in Marketing as a Product Manager and let's be honest, my product is bacon! Ha ha. This book is entertaining and insightful. I recommended it to my boss who read it and enjoyed it as well. If you are in Marketing or Sales I highly recommend this book so you can learn how to make your brand or product the next bacon.

Book #8: Strengths Finder 2.0

Subject: A guide to determining your strengths and focusing on them.

Review: I am really into personal development books and loved this book. Instead of focusing on our weaknesses and trying to change them, why not focus on our strengths and do whatever we can to grow them? I buy into that! This book is more of a guide than a book. The beginning talks about why you should focus on strengths versus weaknesses, you are then sent to a website to identify your 5 key strengths, and then the rest of the book has a chapter on each of the 34 possible strengths. There are also online resources where you can create custom action plans that line up with your strengths.

Book #9: The Girl Who Played With Fire

Subject: Second book in 'Dragon Tattoo' series that follows the same main characters in a new murder mystery.

Review: Enjoyed the second book as much as the first if not more since there was less graphic violence.

Book #10: Bossypants

Subject: The story of Tina Fey's life from Childhood through Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and beyond.

Review: I thought this book was funny, but not as funny as the dozen people who recommended it to me. It reads like a long stand-up comedy bit that is mostly chronological, with some tangents. It's an easy read saturated with Tina Fey's humor (which I like), but string of one story butting into another became a bit tiring at times.

Book #11: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Subject: Third book in the 'Dragon Tattoo' series.

Review: Good book as with the first two. The focus is more on Lisbeth than Blomquist in this book, and there is a lot of history of the government and corruption which I found a tad boring .. as I do with most history. (I think my Dad just rolled his eyes and sighed.)

Book #12: The Divorce Party

Subject: Fictional story of a drama filled family planning for a party to 'celebrate' the divorce of a well-to do couple with grown children.

Review: This is one of the first books I bought on my Kindle purely because of the "you might also enjoy this" suggestion and high star rating referral. Both I may never trust again. While the book was mildly interesting and had some funny moments, I really had to drag myself through it just because I didn't want to waste the money I spent on it. Let me save you time and $10. Don't read this.

Book #13: The Kitchen House

Subject: Fictional, dramatic story of an Irish immigrant who grows up with slaves on a tobacco plantation.

Review: This was the first book I read with my new book club and is a book I would never, ever have chosen on my own. I had a hard time getting into the book and found it a bit depressing, but in the end I thought it was well written and I enjoyed it. The story is quite tragic and sad, but it's interesting to get a peek into the lives of slaves during that time, even if it's a well-researched fictional peek.

Book #14: My Life on the Run

Subject: Life story in relation to running of Bart Yasso, arguably one of the most famous running icons.

Review: This book is a must read for any runner. Bart has had an incredible life and tells and interesting and funny tale of his life from childhood through adulthood. The various races, characters, trips, and crazy stories make this book extremely entertaining. The only thing I didn't like about this book is the conversational tone it is written in, but I'm just a picky reader.

Book #15: Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen

Subject: Fictional story of a small town girl with big city aspirations, who struggles with personal tragedy and family challenges which bring her back to the town which she learns to see in a different way.

Review: This was the second book I read with my book club and again, it's a book I would never have chosen on my own. Wow, look at how a monthly club is expanding my horizons! The main character's story was interesting to follow, but nothing about this book really stood out for me.

Book #16: Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand

Subject: Marketing/personal development book focused on personal branding

Review: Although this is a topic that I'm highly interested in, I found myself really struggling to get through this book. I found some of the suggestions to be mundane or outdated, but others gave me something to think about in respect to my own career and life. The book comes with a workbook that helps you put together your own personal branding statement and plan. This is exactly what I've been looking to do in the past few months but I haven't quite gotten around to doing this post-book 'homework' yet. It's on my list for next year. As far as personal branding books go there are a lot out there, and I'm sure many others will show up on 2012 list of books.

Book #17: I'm Here to Win

Subject: The story of Chris McCormack's (aka Macca's) path to winning the 2010 Ironman World Championship in Kona.

Review: Second best book I read all year! If you are an athlete, you have to read this book! Go buy it now! What are you waiting for? This book is incredibly well written, honest, and funny. Macca shares his strategies for success and "winsights" that can help you push yourself to be a better athlete. I thought about this book a lot while preparing for and running my last full marathon. I've taken a lot of what he has said to heart, and I really enjoyed the honest and logical way he has laid out ways that his successes can be broken down systematically and used by anyone.

Book #18: The Mistress's Revenge

Subject: Fictional diary of a scorned mistress after she was dumped by her lover.

Review: I was given this book for free from my book club and I am SO glad I didn't spend any money on it. If it weren't for the fact that I have OCD tendencies and hate leaving things unfinished, I totally would not have finished reading this book. How does this book have 4 stars on Amazon? I thought it was terrible! The book club leader warned us that she thought it was awful but I thought I'd give it a chance to see if I found it entertaining. I didn't. I wasn't even intrigued to see how the story would end up for the main character. I just wanted to get through the endless rambling 'inner thoughts' of a crazy women. I hope there aren't woman as crazy as the narrator out there in the real world.

Book #19: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Subject: A nine year old boy is on a mission to unlock a secret that he thinks his late father (lost in the 9-11 World Trade Center disaster) left behind.

Review: The story and main character are quirky and interesting, and you might recognize the title of this book since the movie is being released soon. I found the book difficult to read from the bizarre narration of quirky kid, but did enjoy seeing the story progress and the mystery unravel. I saw the movie trailer after I finished the book and the movie trailer looked really interesting. Given the chance to go back in time, I would've skipped reading the book to watch the movie instead.

Book #20: The Hunger Games

Subject: Fictional story of a 16-year old girl named Katniss chosen to fight for her life in the annual "Hunger Games" put on by the government. The story has suspense, strategy, drama, and even love.

Review: I haven't been so engrossed in a book series since Twilight. The story is well written and really draws you into the characters, society, and suspense involved with the games. I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it and finished it within a day, eagerly moving on to the next book in the series to see where the story goes next. The Hunger Games movie comes out in March, so you have plenty of time to read all three books before then. Do it!

Book #21: Catching Fire

Subject: The second book in the Hunger Games series that follows Katniss into life after the "Hunger Games" and the challenges winning the games brings.

Review:This book picks up where the first book leaves off. I enjoyed this book as much as the first in the series and after finishing this book in a day as well, I quickly moved on to the third book.

Book #22: Mockingjay

Subject: Third book in the Hunger Games series.

Review: Sadly, this was the last book in the Hunger Games series. The focus of the book is more on the government known as the Capitol and shows the main character in a different light. In addition to the action and suspense there is also a continuing thread of a love story that I was eager to see through. I finished this book in a day as well and am happy with the way the series wrapped up. When I finished Twilight I was sad that the series had ended, but when I finished this Hunger Games series I was content and pleased with the adventure that I was just lead through.

So there you have it! My year in books! What were some of your favorite books for the year?

Domo Does Seattle

2011-12-30T21:14:00.000-08:00

Domo here with his last trip report for the year! Domo hasn't blogged since his trip to Dallas a few months ago (more on Domo Does Dallas).

Domo Loves to Travel!

Last week Domo went to Seattle with Monika for a quick 3-day trip for work. Since Domo would be getting into Seattle around 11pm on Tuesday and would be getting back to San Diego around midnight on Thursday Domo did the unthinkable .. he carried on his luggage! Domo never carries on his luggage because he is an overpacker and why carry on a bag when you can check it for free? Waiting for baggage claim usually wastes about 1/2 hour though so with these late arrival times Domo crammed as much as he could into his carry-on suitcase. Domo deserves a cookie.

Domo is a Packing Wizard! All This Fit in a Carry-on!

Domo check into the Downtown Courtyard Marriott at Pioneer Square and was really excited to see that this was one of the Courtyards that had been remodeled. It was all fancy and modern! Domo liked it. Domo quickly unpacked and then went to bed.

Remodeled Courtyard Marriott - Fancy!

Domo Relaxing in His Mini-Suite

The next morning Domo planned on running a few miles at the gym and then doing his Brazil Butt Lift DVD's back in his hotel room. (From the makers of P-90X.) Huh? Brazil Butt Lift you ask? Yes, Domo is currently 3 weeks into a 3 month program that is supposed to shape and lift his rear. Are you thinking Domo's rear doesn't need lifting? You're so kind. Domo likes you.

Domo Likes Staying Fit
(The yellow thing is a resistance band.)

Unfortunately Domo forgot to take his work DVD drive and grabbed one from home .. and it wasn't compatible with his laptop. D'oh! Instead of doing the DVD Domo did the enclosed workout cards in his room and hoped that it was better than nothing.

Domo Doing Moves on the Mat

After 20 minutes of lunges, squats, and leg lifts, Domo was picked up for his day out around town. In between visiting doctors offices Domo was taken by the Freemont Troll. Apparently this is an art project with a sculpture holding onto a real VW Bug. Weird!

Freemont Troll

Space Needle in the Distance

Domo's day out in Seattle was long, and by the time he returned to his hotel he was exhausted. Domo didn't even bother going up to his room to change and went straight to the hotel lobby bar/restaurant for dinner. Yes, Domo at solo. Its funny, but Domo doesn't mind doing this anymore. Domo must be growing up.

Domo Should Have Eaten at Pho Mama

The next morning Domo went to the gym to run on the treadmill again, but instead of trying to find space to do the workout cards in his hotel room he brought them to the gym and hoped that he didn't have company. No suck luck. There was one other person on a treadmill and a few people in the pool. Oh well, they got a front row seat to the Domo-Does-Lunges show.

Domo Gets His Run On

The second day out in Seattle was much shorter and ended with a fancy lunch at a restaurant in Bellevue called Seastar. Domo can't think of when he's had such a fancy lunch and made to quickly snap a picture of his elegant ahi tuna appetizer to use in his Yelp review. Yes, Domo yelps.

Ahi Tuna Appetizer

Foggy Afternoon at the Airport

After lunch Domo headed back to the airport, and two flights later he was home. Domo was dead tired but luckily had the next day off .. and the next nine off after that too! Ten days off! Domo was so excited. Domo's next trip was to Maryland on Saturday for Christmas. More about that trip later!

GOTR Fall 2011

2011-12-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe that another season of Girls on the Run has ended. I just wrapped up coaching my fifth season this past Thursday, and the prior Sunday before the girls all ran in the Sparkle & Shine 5K. I absolutely LOVE Girls on the Run, and while I'm a little sad each season to see the girls go, I have so many new memories from the 12 great weeks I got to spend with the girls.

Showing Off One of their Lessons

In my first three seasons coaching I was with the elementary school girls in the Girls on the Run program, and in the past two seasons I've been with the middle school girls in the Girls on Track program. Both programs are pretty similar - they cover topics "All About Me", "All About My Team", and "All About Community". The lessons are a bit more mature in nature for the older girls, and have a few totally different topics such as Internet security, pressure from boys when dating, etc.

Carmel Valley Coaches - We're Strong!

Community Project Day - Hot Chocolate Stand
(Proceeds benefiting Helen Woodward Animal Shelter)

I'm always impressed by the energy and enthusiasm each set of girls bring. In the beginning of the season there are always a few girls who "hate to run", and by the end of the season they are almost always running and laughing with their friends as they go around the track. This season in particular I had a group of girls who really became friends and bonded together (our season end party goodbyes included "Facebook me!"), and on our last lesson this past Thursday when they shared what they had taken away from the program, I was really moved.

Showing Their Silly Moose & Llama Faces

Season End Party

(Notice their SF Marathon Wristbands!)

Some of the things I heard from the girls were:

"I learned something new with each lesson."
"I realized that I actually do like running. I hated it for a while when I was in track because everything was about time, and splits, and it was so much pressure. This made me realize that running is fun and that I enjoy it."
"Girls on Track has helped me become more confident with my body. I was depressed before because I felt overweight. Now I feel good, I feel healthier."
"Girls on Track has showed me that you can have fun even if you're not hanging out with your friends all the time." (Shared by one girl whose BFF was in the program, but she always ran her laps without her."
"I used to be really self-conscious of my size. Girls on Track has helped me feel better about myself and accept that we're all different." (Spoken by a very petite 8th grader, the oldest and smallest in our group.)

I loved seeing the girls grow and become friends over the season. They became more confident, more outgoing, and those who doubted themselves and their running ability truly did gain confidence as they surprised themselves and slowly ran further and further. Our season end 5K is one of my favorite days of the year. I usually just play course cheerleader for the girls, but this season I cheered for a bit and then went to the finish line to hand out medals.

Carmel Valley Girls on Track at the 5K

As girls from the different teams (my team was one of 20) approached the finish line with their hands over their head in victory, I became really emotional. I'm emotional in general but I was fresh off my sub-4 hour marathon victory and felt as happy for this girls crossed the finish line of their first 5K as I was for myself after finally beating my evil nemesis of a goal. (More on my blog CIM - Finally Sub 4!)

Here Come My Girls! Coach Heather is PUMPED!

When my first few girls came across the finish line I actually cried. (In public! In a tutu! So embarrassing.) They looked at me a bit oddly and I tried to wipe away the tears. I loved putting medals around the necks of each of the girls. They all did so great! Some people will never run a 5K in their life. These girls just ran a 5K at the age of 8-12. Amazing.

My Former Colleague & His Daughter - Both in Tutu!

On a side note - another part of the 5K that was especially exciting for my friend Tara and I was that our tutu business Glam Runner was an official sponsor of the race! We started by making pink tutus for a Ragnar Relay team back in April, and we've grown to a substantial tutu ~~slave shop~~ factory that has raised thousands of dollars for Girls on the Run San Diego. That's a whole lot of tutus!

Glam Runner is Open for Business!

If you are interested in finding out more about Girls on the Run, check out the International website to see if there is a location near you. There are 160+ chapters all over the US and Canada, and the program is constantly growing! When I first started coaching we had 6 sites and we piggy-backed onto a community 5K. Now we have 20 sites, and 24 planned next season, and for the third time we held our own 5K. I love Girls on the Run and can't wait for our next season!

We Love Girls on the Run!

GOTR Coaches Can Fly!

Coach Monika

Girls on Track Carmel Valley Head Coach

Director, Marketing Chair, Girls on the Run San Diego Board

CIM - FINALLY Sub 4

2011-12-08T21:26:00.001-08:00

A week ago today I ran my 21st race this year, my 4th full marathon this year, my 16th marathon ever, and I finally FINALLY finished in under 4 hours! YAHHHOOOOOOO!!

Marathon PRs Cause Spontaneous Ridiculous Faces

Quitting Marathons

I've been trying to break 4 hours for several years, and after a particularly bad marathon #12 in June 2010 (more here) I gave up wanting to run marathons ever again. The hope I had going into each race and the disappointment I had coming out of it was more than I could stand after a certain point. I was almost embarrassed at times when I stated my sub-4 goal and missed it time and time again. I would train harder and train differently, but almost every time I would lose it mentally towards the end and go from one walk break to several, until my sub-4 goal slipped out of my grasp in the last few miles.

A Lot of Marathons - Many Disappointments

After bombing my 12th race and deciding to quit marathons all together (more here), I turned to triathlons as a new goal. I did my first tri (a baby sprint) in October 2010 (race recap here) and completed 5 more tris in the next 12 months. I was still running half marathons and did miss marathon training a bit, but it wasn't until I was accepted as a San Francisco Marathon Ambassador last year that I decided to give a full marathon one more try. (more here) For some reason I felt that I should run the full marathon since I was an ambassador. Not sure why, but it felt like a sign to return to the full. I didn't want my first race back to be on such a hard course though, so I signed up for the OC Marathon to serve as my warm-up race. I ran the OC Marathon in May and finished in 4:09.(race recap here). I succumbed to walking in the end yet again, but I didn't care. At least I was out there with no time pressure, enjoying the course, and appreciating that I was "back" to marathon running.

From NO Marathons to Three

Skipping forward a bit my friend Christina wanted to run the Marine Corps Marathon later in the year, and somehow got David excited about running it again too. (We ran together in 2009.) He suggested that he do the first half of the SF Marathon with me as his training race, and that we'd do the Marine Corps Marathon together several months later. Sold! So wait a minute, I've now gone from NO marathons to THREE marathons in 2011? Yep. Oh well.

For the SF Marathon I didn't put any time pressure on myself either. I just wanted to go out there and have fun. I ran the first half with David at a slightly slower pace than I would have on my own, but it was great to have him by my side and I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time. I figured we'd take it easy in this race, but crank up our training and go after the sub-4 goal for Marine Corps. Well, as the weeks ticked by and Marine Corps approached, David flat out told me that we weren't going to be running a sub-4 marathon unless I wanted to run alone. I was in denial about this for a bit and actually considered not running with him, but in the end realized that it was more important for us to do the race together than for me to shoot for my own personal goal. Against all of his protests, I stuck by his side and we finished Marine Corps holding hands. Aww... (Race recap here.)

David & I Before the Marine Corps Marathon

From Three Marathons to Four

David ended up telling me that his training wasn't on track for a sub-4 finish about 3 weeks before the race. The first thing I thought of was "What other marathon can I run after Marine Corps to go for my goal?!" I immediately scoured the Internet and realized that the California International Marathon (CIM) was 5 weeks after Marine Corps, was a net-downhill race, was supposedly one of the fastest marathons out there, and registration was still open! BUT .. only for 4 more days! After that you had to qualify as a seeded runner. I wasn't ready to make the commitment for marathon #4 without having run #3 yet in the year, but after consulting with David to see how upset he'd be if I went to Sacramento to run the marathon vs spending his birthday weekend with him (total only child move) and also finding out that my friend Jenny (with a fresh BQ finish) would be running CIM as well and would be willing to pace me ... AND my cousin Donna would be moving from LA up to Sacramento a few weeks before the race and I could stay with her for the night ... I signed up.

California International Marathon Course Map

Click on the map to enlarge

Its a Small World After All

Speaking of my friend Jenny - its crazy how we met. We were dailymile friends for a while and both happened to be running the OC Marathon. I stopped at one point to walk and was walking alone looking down at the ground in moderate defeat when I heard someone say "Monika??" Weird! Jenny recognized me from dailymile! Well, more so because I was wearing a big pink tutu. We ended up walking/running the last few miles together and I found out that we had a real-life connection as well. She worked with my cousin Donna and knew of my other cousin Giselle. Small world!

Finishing OC With Jenny

Race Weekend

As I mentioned in my last post, I ended up going to TEDx San Diego the day before CIM (more here). This was not ideal because I was too distracted to hydrate and eat the way I normally would pre-marathon. I also ended up on a late flight up to Sacramento and my carbo-loading dinner options were limited to airport food. I had a Quiznos sandwich, banana, and Gatorade. It would just have to do!

Mika is Doubtful of My Race Weekend Plan

Airport Dinner Attempt to Carbo Load

Race Morning

On race morning I got up at 4:45am, had coffee and oatmeal, and my cousin's husband dropped me off at the race start 3 miles from their house around 5:45am. (Thanks Jeremy!) I ate a bagel with hummus on the drive over and then a banana right before the start of the race to top off my breakfast total at 800 calories. Jenny was taking the shuttle up from her hotel near the finish line, and we were planning on meeting at bag check. We reluctantly peeled off some layers and checked our bags, donned our Glam Runner tutus (coordinating pink/white and purple/white) and headed to the start line. I have to give it to CIM for having the most porta-potties at the start line that I have ever seen! The line stretched as far as you could see!

Pre-Race Smiles - Oh Wait, You Can't See Us

This marathon was the first one I've ever run that didn't have corrals and wave starts. We positioned ourselves in the first quarter of the 15,000 person crowd, and at 7am we were off! The race is a point to point that is net downhill with some small rolling hills. I decided to wear the 3:50 pace tattoo that Jenny had picked up for me (instead of the 3:45 or 4:00) and was pleasantly surprised that we were well ahead of those splits for TWENTY miles!

CIM Pace Tattoos

3:50 For the Win!

Smiling Heading Up One Hill

I knew we were going faster than we needed to for me to hit the 4-hour goal, and I knew that the last time I started out way too fast in a race back in 2009 I ended up succumbing to severe cramping, but I felt so good running the pace that we were at that I just kept to it. (I did take sports drink at just about every aid station though because of my cramping paranoia. Luckily it paid off.)

Jenny - My Personal Cheerleader

As the miles flew by I started thinking hey, I wonder if we're going to finish in 3:45? That would be amazing! At some point on the course Jenny had to stop for a quick bio break and she sent me off running without her .. but she caught up with me several minutes later. I figured I must have slowed down a lot but she said she just jammed to catch back up to me. Amazing! Several miles later I needed to take a break as well, and by then my legs were starting to get fairly fatigued.

Trying To Keep it Together - Praying For Confidence

I think we were only at mile 16 or 17 when my legs really started to burn. Darn that lactic acid! I forgot to mention that I basically took a 5 week taper after Marine Corps, and my only long run had been the Santa Barbara Half Marathon (race recap here). As soon as I felt the burn I thought oh no - this is because I didn't train properly. My legs can't handle this! Why didn't I run further each weekend? WHY? I'm in the middle of reading Macca's book "I'm Here to Win", and tried to use one of his "Winsights" to beat down my negative talk. I was getting down about not training hard enough, feeling bad for never ever training as hard as I originally planned to, fretting that the extra few pounds I've put on this year were working against me, and starting to feel that familiar defeat where I "knew" sub-4 was out of reach. I tried to channel my inner-Macca though and tried to think of some positive things to combat those negatives thoughts such as the fact that I've done 3 prior marathons this year, I've PRd in several shorter distance races, my half-marathon finishes are right where I want them, and that I knew that my body was physically capable of a sub-4 finish, I just needed to keep my mind together and continue to push.

Jenny's Personal Cheer Section - More Cowbell!

Video Compliments of Jenny's Husband Jay

My favorite part at the end - Mommy why are you wearing that??

As we approached mile 20 and I looked down at my Garmin and pace tattoo, I was amazed that even with the short walk breaks I kept taking we were still on track for a 3:50 finish, and that we actually just ran the fastest 20 miles I had ever run in my life! I felt so great! But man did my legs burn! At some point around mile 20 a woman came up to me and asked if I was Monika. I said yes and she told me that her husband read my blog, and that I could beat 4 hours! I was amazed that a stranger was rooting for me, and touched that she took a minute to come over and wish me good luck. Thank you!

Over the next few miles my walk breaks became more frequent, and Jenny did her best to keep me going by making deals with me about where we would start and stop our walk breaks. In the final few miles I cranked up my Walkman and tried to source what energy I could from the songs. At the same time Jenny was going from pep-talking to trash-talking me with encouragement .. but I actually missed most of what she said. Sorry Jenny!!

Video Compliments of Jenny's Husband Jay

Jay - Hurry up! You've got 6 minutes!

Although our pace was slowing down and we slipped from a projected 3:50 finish to a projected 3:55 finish, it looked like we still had a shot to beat 4 hours. Although the walk breaks became more frequent in the home stretch they didn't last too long, and by mile 26 we actually picked up the pace, and for that last 26.2 we ran like we did in the first few miles.

The End (of the race) is Near - HAHA

Finally!

In the last half mile stretch of the race I realized we were going to do it! We were going to break 4 hours! I had dreamed about this moment for years, and it had finally come! Although I'm a sap who cries at everything, I've never cried crossing a finish line before. Well this time I did. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. We did it!

Official Race Stats

Finish Time: 3:57:23

Age Group: 130/393

Females: 693/2484

Overall: 2307/5755

Crossing the Finish Line - Pure Joy

26.2 Miles - Check!

I Ran Under THIS MANY

Jenny and I gave each other a big tearful hug and we collected our medals, took our finishers photos, and went off in search of her family. I know for a fact that I would have missed 4 hours yet AGAIN if it weren't for Jenny. Thank you so much Jenny!!

Posing by the Capital Building

Post Race

After the race I took a quick shower and got ready to head over for the SF Marathon Ambassador lunch. We had lunch at the Tower Cafe where talked about the day's race, talked about the San Francisco Marathon, talked about other races, work, life, and various things. It was great to finally have a chance to spend some time with Laura and to also get to meet Charlie. (Who by the way ran a 2:45 marathon. O M G)

San Francisco Marathon Ambassador Lunch

Lunch finished around 4pm and I headed back up to my cousin's house in Folsom .. where soon after I arrived she wanted to go out for dinner and drinks. Two meals 2 hours apart? Hey, why not? I just ran a marathon! Oink.

Cousin Donna & Ruby

Goodbye Hug from Dean

After dinner it was time for me to head back to the airport, and to fly back to San Diego. My 24 hours in Sacramento were up! Flying home hours after a marathon is exhausting. Working a full day the next day (I couldn't take the day off because I had so many meetings) and then going to the Girls on the Run board meeting for a few hours after that is even more exhausting. By Tuesday I was pooped ... but had to coach GOTR after work and then Thursday I coached again. Friday I attended the Tri Club meeting on behalf of GOTR, Saturday I had to myself, and then today (Sunday) was the GOTR 5K. It has been an exhausting week, and now it seems like CIM was a month ago, not just a week ago!

CIM Race Medal & Finisher's Shirt

I always thought I would be happier when I finally broke 4 hours. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy - but I'm not as excited as I thought I would be. I'm relieved. I'm extremely relieved. I feel like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders, and I also feel like a nightmare has ended. The years of disappointment can finally be washed away. I am so grateful, but tired from hoping and trying for so many years.

Next Up

I am officially done racing for 2011, and my race lineup for 2012 so far is:

January 8th - Resolution Run 15K (registered)
February 11th - Mermaid Run Half Marathon
March 25th - Oakland Half Marathon (registered)
April 1st - Carlsbad 5000 (registered)
April 7th - Hollywood Half Marathon (registered)
April 15th - HITS Triathlon (???)
May - Vancouver Half Marathon (I'll be there for work! whoo hoo!)
July - San Francisco Marathon

I swore I wouldn't race as much next year - but with all of these great registration discounts flying around I keep finding myself singing up for more races! I am trying to limit the first half of the year to the list shown above because my next big endurance goal is to complete a 70.3 half-Ironman distance race. The HITS Triathlon in April in Napa would be that next big race for me, and I want to make sure I give myself time on the weekends to train properly. I've sent Santa my wish list of triathlon goodies this year ... we'll see what I end up getting. Maybe that will help determine if I do this April race or not. I would need to start training in January. We'll see!

2011 Full Marathon Medals

TEDx San Diego

2011-12-06T21:06:00.001-08:00

*Warning - a post that is NOT about running! Prepare yourself.

A few years ago I had a coworker start talking to me about TED Talks. I had never heard of them (to her shock and horror) and after telling me about a few talks in particular, she told me to check out the website "knowing" that I'd love them. I have to be honest, I watched a few and found them totally boring. Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind or maybe there just happened to be several topics I wasn't interested in posted most recently, but they just didn't capture my interest. I figured they just weren't my thing and forgot about them for a while until I happened across their video podcast a few months later. (Found here.) I subscribed to the feed and gave TED Talks a second chance. As I started listening to the podcasts in my car during my wonderful commute to and from work, I realized that some of the topics of the TED talks really were interesting to me. Some were fascinating, others were moving, several were inspiring, and okay ... some were still boring to me. The more I listened to the series though the more I found even the 'uninteresting' topics interesting, because I was intrigued by the person's perspective and performance.

TEDx San Diego Stage at Qualcomm

Last year I watched two TED Talks which were of particular interest to me. The first was from Molly Barker, founder of Girls on the Run, and the second was from Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run.

TEDx Charlotte - Molly Barker Part 1

TEDx Charlotte - Molly Barker Part2

TEDx PennQuarter - Christopher McDougall

TEDx San Diego

My boss is also a fan of TED talks and we've discussed several episodes in the past. Back in August she sent me a news article on TEDx San Diego (who even knew they had such a thing!?) with a link to apply for tickets. Wow you had to apply just to go? I smell exclusivity! Of course I want to go! I wish I had saved a copy of my application since I can now barely remember what the application asked for much less what I wrote, but the general gist from what I remember was them asking for a five word statement about your "journey", a 140 character tweet-lengthed statement about yourself, and an open ended question about why you wanted to attend TEDx.

Guess what I ended up writing about? Did you guess running? Wrong! Well, okay, only partially wrong. I ~~wrote~~ blathered on about the importance of living life with passion and encouraging others to do the same, and how I believe I am doing that through my job, my running, and my volunteer work with Girls on the Run. I also said that I felt that people who talked at TED with their "idea worth sharing" were people who were passionate about a topic or cause, and that I often found it inspiring and was interested in becoming further inspired by attending TEDx. I applied early in October and was accepted towards the end of the month. My boss and friend Devika also applied and I was super excited when I found out that we all got in and were able to attend together.

My Acceptance - I'm in!

Me, Devika, Kate

Where's Waldo?

One problem though ... by the time I was accepted to TEDx (occurring on Saturday December 3rd) late in the month of October, I had already signed up to run the California International Marathon on Sunday December 4th. Ack! What to do? What to do? I was obviously already committed to the marathon and I had planned on driving up to Sacramento with my dogs and staying with my cousin. I felt that attending TEDx was a once in a lifetime type of event (okay so its every year, but who knew if I'd be able to go again?) and that I couldn't miss that either. So ... I looked at flights and found a cheap flight that would get me up to Sac late Saturday night after TEDx, and in the area in time for the marathon. (Totally not idea race prep strategy, to be discussed in a future post.)

Checking Out Car2Go - Urban Electric Smart Car Sharing - Genius!

Session 1 - Self

The event was scheduled to run from 8:30am to 4:30pm with 13 speakers in the morning and 16 speakers in the afternoon. Quite a packed day! (Overview of speakers can be found here.) The day kicked off with a captivating spoken word poet, followed by a life coach, a Lucid Dreaming teacher, a horse whisperer, a social psychologist, and the VP of Product Development for Groupon. Of this first set of speakers, I found Suneel Gupta's talk to be the most interesting. (He's the one from Groupon, brother of Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN.) He talked about the Kahani Movement - "a social network that aims to capture untold stories from first-generation South Asians in the US and provide these stories with a platform to be heard." You can see a trailer for the movie that has come out of this project here.

Social Psychology and Mind Perception Talk

Session 2 - Community

After the break, the first speaker in the section about community showed an amazing concept for a flexible boat used to clean up oil spills from an organization named Protei. Next up was the founder of the Keep a Breast Foundation (or as you know them - the makers of the "I Love Boobies" bracelets. After the boobies we saw a presentation from an engineer from UCSD who started a program called myLab which hopes to inspire passion in engineering with kids through hands-on projects. So cool! It made me miss engineering for a brief moment.

3D Chalk Art

We also saw a talk (and outside saw an example) from a 3D street chalk artist who made amazing dimensional scenes that I've seen online before. I was so excited to see one in person!

Fish eye Lens to Give Perspective

Kate on England

Me Ruling California

Session 3 - Global

The third session focused on a global theme and the speakers were mostly scientists and engineers. From this group the one that I found to be the most interesting was the zookeeper from the San Diego Zoo who came to talk about biomimicry, a field I knew nothing about. Biomimicry, or bioinspiration is "a field of integrative study in which biological systems, processes, and elements are studied to draw analogies to be applied to human design challenges in a sustainable manner." Apparently San Diego is the center of such research!

Biomimicry of Alligator Skin for Durable Materials

Session 4 - Seeds of Change

After the global session the talks then turned to "seeds of change", and we heard ideas from people who were taking steps to change themselves, their community, and the world. To kick off this session Richard Dreyfuss gave a speech about the Dreyfuss Initiative and the need to teach civics in American Schools. Surely to my parents' dismay, I found this topic truly, utterly boring. Maybe this makes his point. I am a product of the American public school system, and I have little to no interest in the topic. How can I keep up on civics AND the Kardashians? jk

Richard Dreyfuss & The Dreyfuss Initiative

After Richard snorefest (kidding!) was Ellen Gustafson from FEED Projects talking about how hunger and obesity are essentially the same issue - lack of proper nutrition. Have you seen the FEED bags at Whole Foods before? I bought one for David a couple Christmas' ago and was really intrigued by this woman's organization and initiative.

Hunger & Obesity - The Same Problem

At some point during her talk she mentioned her age and I marveled that someone only a couple of years younger than me had done something so amazing. This was actually a common theme through out the day. Older or younger, all of these people had done amazing things.I felt like a bit of a slump several times in the day listening to the speakers and wondered if someday I would be able to create such impactful change.

Smiling Required!

Cool Graphic Recordings of Each Speaker

Later in the Seeds of Change session came my favorite speaker of the whole day. Amy Krous Rosenthal came to talk about the "crevices of like", aka the small bits of time that you have here and there where you're in between finishing one thing, and getting ready to do another. She talked about how people often marvel at her ability to find the time to sit down and write a book. She pointed out that she never has a big stretch of time to do this, most people don't. Instead she has time here or there, and little by little the book comes together.

The Crevices of Life - Make the Most of Them!

This made me think about how people often ask me how I find the time to do so many things. Well part of it is because I don't like to sleep and I have a hard time relaxing, but the other part of it is that I'm extremely organized with my time (can we say checklists all day?) and I also make the most of each day. In the morning I catch up on emails while having breakfast, on the way to work I listen to some podcasts, during lunch I work on Girls on the Run or Glam Runner stuff, on the drive home I catch up with David, while watching TV at night I make Glam Runner tutus, before going to bed I read for 15-30 minutes, and when I'm waiting at the doctors office, nail salon, or any place where I need to sit and wait, I'm doing something that I'd like to get done. This is partially thanks to my ability to multi-task, but its more about my (psychotic) desire to plan and organize things, and to maximize the time I have in a day. I don't just like to be busy, I like to be productive.

Speaking of Productivity - Check out Qualcomm's Patent Wall!

One of the short films that Amy created during the crevices of life is this hilarious video titled "Life is a Marathon". She staged a meetup where people came with signs to a subway station at the end of a workday, and they cheered on everyone getting off the train and completing their day. This video really made me smile.

Life is a Marathon

The afternoon wrapped up with some quick 5-minute updates from past speakers, and soon the day was over. The magical day was over! It was an amazing event (even with the topics I was less interested) and it left me wondering what it was that I could do to come up with an idea worth sharing, and taking that idea, my passion, and some hard work to make a change in the world. These speakers were amazing, as was the work they were doing in their different organizations, non-profits, and jobs. If you have an opportunity to see a TED event in your town, take it!

Beautiful Photo Project Showcasing the San Diego Homeless

Once the day ended my boss and I rushed out of there to beat the traffic and I headed home for a quick stop to take my dogs out, grab my suitcases, and rush off to the airport. I thought a lot about these TED talks on my flight, during my race the next day, and over the past few days. I'm not sure if I'll ever have an idea big enough for TED, but even if I don't I hope I can continue to take the passion that I have for life to help change the world. In a small way of course. You have to start somewhere!

Double Turkey Trot

2011-11-27T19:27:00.001-08:00

This past weekend I went home for Thanksgiving and ran not one, but two turkey trots! I was originally planning on just running the Nitro Turkey Trot like last year on Thursday in Pinole, but a month or so ago I got an email about the "Double Turkey Challenge" aka run the Nitro Turkey Trot Thursday and the Quarry Turkey Race Saturday and found out that ..... drumroll ... you'd get a THIRD medal to join your two if you did both races. Being the bling-aholic I am, I registered for both! 10K on Thursday, Half Marathon on Saturday. Hey, I was scheduled to run those distances anyways, why not race them?

Kona Acting as Navigator

Driving North

I took Wednesday off and drove up to San Francisco from San Diego with my two dogs. I had learned my lesson from two years ago when I left at noon, and knew I had to leave early. I left by 6:45am (goal was 5-6am) and 10 hours and 5 stops later I made it! The 5 stops were a combination of my dogs needing to pee, me needing to pee, me needing to eat, and my car needing gas. Sheesh. I timed my stops so I'd have at least one in Santa Barbara, and made sure to stop at my college favorite Silver Greens along the way.

Silver Greens in Isla Vista

FREEBIRDS!

Thanksgiving Day

I had heard a few days before that there was rain and cold weather predicted for Thanksgiving day. BOO! I HATE bad weather! Cold and wet weather makes me want to cry. Seriously. I am a serious weather pansy and hate being wet or cold. (Insert princess judgment - whatever, so I'm delicate!) Luckily on Thursday morning when I woke up it was wet, but not actively raining. I crossed my fingers and hoped that this would continue for the rest of the day.

Point Pinole Park

I had breakfast and the picked up Christina, and then we headed off to Pinole for the Turkey Trot. I had put the address of the race (from the confirmation email) in my calendar, but when I tried to put it in my Garmin it couldn't be found. Ahh! I then tried to Google the park on my Blackberry while Christina did the same on her iPhone. Um, neither device could find Point Pinole. W T H. I had GPS in my car and we both had smartphones yet we couldn't find where we were going. Absolute technology fail. Luckily we headed in the general direction of Pinole, and once we were closer my GPs was able to find the park.

Food Tents Everywhere!

SO San Francisco - It's It Ice Cream!

We got to the race only about 10 minutes before the start and all of the lots were full so we had to park in a neighborhood down the street and run about half a mile to the park. When we got there they had run out of safety pins (???) so I bummed one off a lady and Christina rubber banded hers to her waistband. Ghetto. I had realized on the drive up that I forgot my Walkman and was really upset that I'd have to run in silence. I have an iPod for my car and could've run with that, but I didn't have earphones. Luckily Christina had an extra pair which I used for the race. Whew!

Heading Out on the Trail

The race was on a trail with rolling hills and a beautiful view of the bay. I was trying to beat last year's time of 53:26 and possibly break my 10K PR from 2006. I know that a mucky trail with rolling hills isn't the best place to PR, but hey, why not go for it? I ended up finishing in 52:27 (8:27 pace) and was 8/33 in my Age Group, and 73/339 overall. Not too shabby.

Post-Race Pie

After the race I checked out the post-race feast and took a little piece of pumpkin pie. This race has the most incrdible food I've ever seen! Various pies, Its-It, hot chocolate, cookies, bagels, etc. PIE! Mmmm.

Here Comes Christina!

Posing With the Nitro Turkey

After shoving a piece of pie in my face I went back to cheer Christina on to the finish and snap a few pictures of her. When I got home my dad and I had lunch at Hanoi Bistro down the street and then went to see the new Muppets movie. For dinner we had reservations at McCormick & Kuleto's at Ghiradelli Square just like last year. I ordered the Thanksgiving dinner for a change and was happy to have some turkey knowing that I wouldn't be burdened with turkey leftovers for weeks to come.

Dinner with My Daddy

Black Friday

I challenged myself with the goal of avoiding Black Friday shopping at all costs that next day. I was not going to get up early to join the crazy people! I wasn't! I wasn't! I started off my day with a run around Lake Merced, went with my dad to a construction site to help him take land measurements (in the muck - ewe!), we had lunch in Chinatown, and then made plans to meet up with my best friend to work on a quilt square for my cousin's wedding quilt. Garley was out shopping when I was headed to her house so to kill an hour I went to the mall. Weak!I was surprised that the mall wasn't too crowded and picked up a few gifts. I'm proud to say I also managed to avoid buying anything for myself. Willpower!

Golden Gate Bridge Off in the Fog Back There

Banana Slug by My Right Foot - EWE

Guy Mowing Down Lays Chips While Ordering??

That night at Garley's we spent probably four hours working on my quilt square. This included a quick run to the fabric store as well to get additional fabric to work with. I am proud to say I relearned how to use a sewing machine, and thanks to YouTube I also now know how to thread and change the bobbin! The square turned out much better than I had thought, but it ended up with a few technical problems. Hopefully my aunt can fix them. (It doesn't lay flat and I accidentally chopped a piece of a corner off when I was trimming the thread.)

Start of the Quilt Square

Quilt Square Complete!

Saturday

Saturday soon rolled around and it was time for my next race! I picked Christina up and we headed to Fremont. I was running a little late (no way!) and we ended up getting to the park at 8:05 am and the race started at 8:00. Unfortunately I was a bit um 'overhydrated' and needed to make a bathroom stop before getting to the startline. By the time I made it through the line it was 8:10, and when I got my bib and chip it was 8:13. The 10K (starting at 8:15) was already lined up! I asked the race officials what I should do and they said I could just start but I'd be marked against gun time. Whatever, so I went!

Starting the 10K Alone

About 10 feet in I realized I forgot my iPod from my car (AHHH!) and then 30 seconds later I heard the 10K start and a pack approaching behind me. I got to the first turn on the trail and turned left. The pack went right. Shoot. Right then and there I decided to just run the 10K. I didn't want to suffer through 13 miles in silence, I didn't want to get lost, and honestly I didn't mind a shorter run. I turned around and joined the 10K lead pack. I ended up running with a group that was going really fast, and found myself running like a maniac for the first two miles. I also had a guy pacing right behind me up until mile 2 (it sounded like he was 6 inches behind me!) who I was happy to lose at the first water stop when I stopped to walk as I took a drink. I picked back up and settled into a more comfortable pace, but still felt like I was hauling.

This Guy Was My Shadow For 2 Miles

The course was gravel and had some small rolling hills, and I was surprised to see that I was keeping up a pretty good pace as each mile ticked by. Granted I was slowing down mile by mile, but as I passed mile 5 I thought wow - I have a chance of breaking my 2006 PR! (49:02) I pushed as hard as I could for the last mile and ended up crossing the finish at 49:54. I came in 5/31 in my Age Group (missed 3rd by 24 seconds! shoot!) and 36/284 Overall.

Double Turkey Challenge Complete!

After the race I talked to the race officials to get reassigned to the 10K group, and then headed over to get my extra medal. I have a million race medals and I don't need another one to validate myself, but hey, it is fun to collect more bling.

More Posing with the Turkey

Nitro Turkey & Quarry Turkey Race Medals

We got another picture with the Brazen turkey before heading back to San Francisco where we had a lunch date with some of our UCSB friends at Papalote. After lunch I was going to hit the road and head back to San Diego. I hate driving at night because I get sleepy on the road, but I figured that getting back Saturday night would give me Sunday to catch back up on life and get ready for the week ahead. It only took me 8 1/2 hours on the drive down and I only hit moderate traffic on the 5. Yay!

Lunch w/Lady Gauchos

This marked my 19th and 20th race for the year, with final race #21 coming up this weekend. I'll be running the California International Marathon in Sacramento. Its supposed to be fast race, and I'm going to make my millionth attempt to break 4 hours. I ran OC in May just to build my confidence back (recap here), after "quitting" marathons last year, and then ran San Francisco (recap) and Marine Corps (recap) with David at an easy pace. (More about my quitting in Dealing With Disappointment and I'm Over the Marathon.)

In this race I want to RACE and hopefully PR. I haven't trained as hard as I wanted to (same old story) but hope that the confidence I built back up this year helps me. A marathon is such a mental challenge and I think my mind is where I usually lose it in the last few miles. I'm hoping I can stay strong and positive this weekend. I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!

Santa Barbara Half Marathon

2011-11-20T20:05:00.001-08:00

Last weekend I ran the Santa Barbara Half Marathon for the first time. I had heard about the race the year before from some of my Rock Runner friends, and although I was interested I wasn't ready to commit. Earlier this year though I received a coupon for $15 off registration, and after running the race past a few of my racing friends, I signed up!

The original idea was that Erin & Jojo would be driving down from San Francisco with Cooper the dog, and I would be driving up from San Diego with my two dogs, with all of us meeting in Santa Barbara in a swanky vacation rental. Well, finding an affordable place that accepts three dogs is no small task. In the end we all booked rooms at the Oasis Inn & Suites in Santa Barbara, a pet-friendly "resort". I left San Diego around 7:30pm on Friday night, picked David up at the Burbank Airport around 9:30pm, and then we headed up to Santa Barbara arriving at 11:30pm. Not the ideal arrival and bed time for the night before a race, but oh well, that's how it worked out.

My Favorite Furry Travel Partners

We had all been watching the weather reports in the week leading up to the race and were getting nervous about the predicted rain. I HATE running in the rain! It was POURING Friday night on our drive up and I was losing hope for a dry Saturday morning. Miraculously though, it ended up being dry and beautiful! A bit chilly, but but who cares. DRY is all that matters.

Big Bird Running in a Tutu?

David played race shuttle driver Saturday morning and we dropped Jojo & Erin off at the marathon start, and then he dropped me and their friend Anthony off at the half start. We were about an hour early for the race (unheard of for me) and we stood around for what seemed like hours waiting for the race to begin. While we were waiting I met up with Tara and Ben, briefly chatted with Stacy from my Rock Running group, and managed to find Erica who would be my running partner with a common goal of a 8:30 pace.

I was so excited when the race finally began. I felt like I hadn't really raced for time and pushed myself in a while, and I wanted to see how my body responded. The race started out in Goleta and followed the bike path for several miles. Although I hadn't been in Santa Barbara for years, and I won't even mention how many years its been since I went to school there, I was amazed by how well I remembered the path which I had biked and rollerbladed on many times during my years at UCSB.

Santa Barbara Half & Full Marathon Course Map
(click on the image for a larger view)

The course had a few rolling hills which I mentally prepared for, and they really didn't bother me until I hit the hill at mile 10. I was keeping on pace up until this point around a 8:30 mile, but mid-way up the hill at mile 10 I felt like the hill would never end, and sadly I succumbed to walking. As the hill turned the corner though I realized I gave up too soon! The hill was about to end. I picked the pace back up and ran the rest of the course.

Soon after beating that last hill and knowing that it was all downhill from that point to the finish, the course turned onto a street bordering the ocean. Around this same time the *marathon* leaders were escorted through by the police. Wow, the marathon started only 45 minutes before the half. So these guys were about to finish a full marathon in only 45 minutes more than it took me to run half the course. I love seeing the elite runners go by and the combination of the ocean view, the elite runners, and an American flag flapping in the wind choked me up for a brief moment. I'm such a sap! I love running and racing and at that moment I couldn't imagine anything else I would've rather been doing.

Approaching the Finish Line

Soon miles 12 and 13 approached, and finally I was entering City College, running across the field, and running across the finish line. I had set a goal of a 1:50-1:55 finish, and was extremely pleased to see that I finished at 1:52!

Official Finish Time: 1:52:13

Mile Splits for my Running Nerd Friends

Post Race with Tara - Go Glam Runners!

After finishing the race I met up with David, found Anthony, we went back to the hotel and showered and grabbed the dogs, and then it was time to play marathon cheerleaders for Jojo and Erin! Jojo has an amazing ability to text while running, and was keeping us up to date on their progress in the final few miles.

Cooper Anxiously Awaiting His Mother

Jojo & Erin Looking Strong!

(Powered by Glam Runner Tutus)

We waited on the side of the road for about 20 minutes before we finally saw them. Jojo grabbed Cooper as she passed by, and the two of them plus an extremely excited dog headed towards the finish line.

Off to the Finish!

We hung out for a bit on the field while the newly accomplished Marathon Maniacs rested, before whisking them off to Baja Fresh for some lunch. Yep, I dragged them to Mexican food without letting them shower. I can be cruel when I'm hungry ...

David, Dog Whisperer

After lunch David and I headed back down to San Diego and I bid farewell to my favorite little college town. This race was my 7th half marathon this year with one more to go. I'm doing a 10K turkey trot on Thanksgiving Day, followed by a half marathon turkey trot the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The following weekend I'm running my 4th and final marathon for the year, and then I'm done racing for 2011! Race number 19 of 21, here I come!

Santa Barbara Marathon Race Shirt & Finisher's Medal

That's a Whole Lotta Tutus

2011-11-10T06:17:00.001-08:00

I've run three marathons so far this year and have run the last two as a Solemates fundraiser for Girls on the Run San Diego. As you know, my non-working hours revolve around running and Girls on the Run (GOTR). I've been involved with GOTR for 2 1/2 years first as a coach, and then as a Board member and Marketing Chair. I'm currently coaching my fifth season of GOTR and I love it!

OC Marathon - May 2011

San Francisco Marathon - July 2011

Marine Corps Marathon - October 2011

The program is meant for the girls, but it has really changed my life as well. Over the 12 weeks we go through a curriculum that teaches the girls about themselves, their friends and other people, and finally their community. I've seen dozens of girls become more self-confident, outgoing, aware of themselves, and athletic.

Girls on the Run Sparkle & Shine 5K

My friend Tara and I have been fundraising all year to help support and grow the organization in San Diego. The program costs $200 per season per girl, and about 40% of the girls in our program are on scholarships. With our combined fundraising we've raised $3000 over the past six months! That's a whole lotta tutus! $3000 is enough to fund an entire team of 15 girls!

Glam Runners Tara & Monika

Showing off a Big Tutu Order

Since we have both fundraised multiple times over the years we've exhausted the financial love of our families and wanted to make something to give back to our supporters to make their donations more worth it. We came up with the idea of selling tutus back in April as a fundraiser, and our "business" Glam Runner has caught on fire! We've made tutus for runners, for couples, for men, for kids, for teams, and for people who just want to have a little fun out there on their run.

Glam Runner Family

Glam Runner Couple

Glam Dog Cooper

See more Glam Runners Spotted in Races here: Glam Runners in Races.

I am so thankful to the support of our friends and family with our little adventure. My friend Christina specifically is our best customer and has a shameful amount of tutus. Thanks Christina!!

Glam Runner at the Burning Man Black Rock City 5K

Christina's Tutu Collection

Even though we've met our original fundraising goals, we are still in business! We are currently making tutus in preparation for the GOTRSD Sparkle & Shine 5K on December 11th, and are taking ongoing orders to continue to support GOTR. If you are interested in adding a little more fun to your runs, check out our website! www.glam-runner.com /End shameless plug for our tutus. :)

The Technicolor Tutu - One of Our Faves

Marine Corps Marathon 2011

2011-11-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

I can't believe its been a week since the Marine Corps Marathon! It feels like race day was so long ago. This was my second time running this race, my third full marathon this year, and my sixteenth full marathon ever. Its been a busy few years!

Heading Out to DC

Since I've been burning through my PTO like crazy this year and I'm trying to preserve some days off for the holidays, I decided to work a full day last Friday and then take a redeye out to DC Friday night, arriving at 9am the next morning. Worst. Idea. Ever. I don't think I slept for more than 20 minutes at a time on the flight and I was so exhausted all of Saturday.

Left Beautiful San Diego Friday

Landed in Rainy DC Saturday

Race Expo

David picked me up from the airport, and after having lunch we headed over to the race expo. It was raining at the start of our drive to the expo and by the time we got there the rain had turned to hail. Awesome. AHHH! I have to admit there were several negative thoughts circulating in my mind at this time. "Why did I sign up for this stupid race? Why does the East Coast weather suck all the time? Why do I leave California for races?? Why are non-California races always cold?! Am I really going to run in this?" Sigh.

Freezing Outside the Expo

I forgot about the crappy weather outside though once we entered the expo. I love race expos! Well actually, I just love shopping. Shopping just for running stuff? Why not! I actually have curbed my expo-shopaholic tendencies for the most part and usually only allow myself to pick up a few necessities. I ended up letting myself buy a neon yellow Marine Corps Marathon shirt (safety first!), an iFitness belt (I forgot my Spibelt at home), and a neck buff from Bondi Bands.

Resisted Buying This Shirt

Gave Into Buying This Shirt

David's sister was meeting us at the expo but hadn't arrived yet even by the time we were done walking down every single aisle. We went over to an empty area to sit and wait for her and just enjoyed the fact that we weren't outside. Once Kelli arrived we walked around the expo a bit more and helped her pick out her own neck buff. ( Maybe I'm trendsetting?)

At the Expo With Kelli & David

Wrote a Good Luck Note to David

Race Eve Prep

After leaving the expo our next stop was REI where we loaded up on some race fuel and some hand warmers. I was so freaked out by the cold that I went a little crazy with the hand warmers. I bought the family max pack with several pairs hand, feet, and body warmers. I wanted to make sure I did all I could to stay warm the next day!

Race Day Fuel (We only needed half of that)

We decided on Noodles & Co for our carbo loading dinner which has a great variety of varying 'ethnic' noodles. I got udon of course (so Asian!) and David got mac and cheese (so American!). After dinner we laid out our race outfits and made Metro drop-off plans with David's brother Ken who was kind enough to host us for the night at his place in Arlington. We agreed that Ken would drop us off at the Metro two stops away from the race start on his way to a different Metro stop where he was meeting his girlfriend who he'd be running the 10K with.

Race Outfit Ready to Go!

Race Morning

We only had about 6 hours to sleep Saturday night which normally is fine for me, but I was still tired from barely sleeping the night before. Oh well, what can you do? I made some coffee, prepared our breakfast, and got dressed and ready to go. The drop off and Metro ride went by in a flash, and suddenly we were headed towards the start line in the freezing cold. We had about an hour to kill and I was not happy at all to be outside in the cold for that long.

Trying to Stay Warm in the Metro Station

We waited in line for the portapotties which passed a decent chunk of time, but we still had 1/2 hour to go before race start. We ended up making another loop through the bathroom line (I have a nervous bladder before a race!) and after that we were only about 15 minutes from the race start and I finally accepted that we'd have to peel off some layers to bag check and strip down to the clothing we were going to race in. It was about 35F at the start which felt like 10 below zero to this California girl. I managed to make it through the last 15 minutes before we started with minimal complaining on my part. I was dying to get going so we could warm up!

Long Lines in the Cold

Excited to Just Get Running!

Race Time!

Finally the race started! Yay! We could run! We started to run with the crowd and I waited for my body to warm up after a mile or two. Standing still I'm usually cold ,but the second I get moving my body turns into a furnace. I blame my defunct endocrine system. I almost always end up peeling off layers during cold races until I'm just wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Well, not this time. I had my neck buff, fleece headband, and gloves on for the whole first half of the race. Even with the hand warmers in my gloves my fingers were still numb! I tried taking my arm warmers off a couple times when my arms started to feel warm, but soon after doing that an icy gust of wind would blow by and I'd have to roll the arm warmers back up. I don't think I finally got rid of most of the extra items (gloves, headband, arm warmers, neck buff) until mile 16 or 18! By then the sun was up but it was so windy and I was so sweaty that I constantly felt cold if the wind hit just right. Ugh!

Covered Up Trying to Stay Warm

David's parents came out to watch the race and we first saw them around mile 16. We saw them two more times on the course and each time they had new signs. Best course support ever! There is nothing better than seeing the smiling faces of loved ones when you're cold, tired, and weary. David's brother and sister had joined his parents after finishing up with the 10K and in the final few miles when we passed his family for the last time Kelli actually ran with us for a mile or so towards the finish.

Running Past the Capital

Running Past the Washington Monument

I was amazed that David and I had stuck to together for the whole race and as each mile ticked by I became happier that my goal of us finishing this race side by side was coming closer and closer to becoming true. (More on my blog Running For Love.) Along the course we saw several runners in costumes (my favorites were a couple dressed as Where's Waldo), on the sidelines we saw dozens of spectators in costume (my favorites were the two sock monkeys of course!), and throughout the course we saw a lot of funny spectator signs. My three favorite signs were 1 - "Worst Parade Ever", 2 - "Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon", and 3 - "Honey Badger Can't Run a Marathon". (If you haven't heard of Honey Badger, you have to watch this video!)

David's Parents' Sign #1

David's Parents' Sign #2

David's Parents' Sign #3

The greatest thing about doing a race that you've done before is knowing what to expect along the way. I knew the race was almost dead flat from mile 7 on, but that there was a hill at the very end towards the finish line. Cruel if you ask me. We were doing pretty good as we ran through the final miles, and we kept strong right up the hill to the finish. I've joked with David before that I've wanted to be one of those couples who crosses the finish line hand in hand. In previous races he's turned me down maybe thinking I was joking. For this race I stuck my hand out when we were about 20 yards away from the finish .... and David took it and we crossed the finish line hand in hand. :) Aww!

Finish Line/Wall of People

BUT ... we crossed the finish line and ran almost smack into a wall of runners. I mean we literally had to push forward a bit to make sure our chip registered over the finish line. Eek what a mess! We then shuffled slow motion ahead towards the place where we'd get our solar blanket, get our medal, and take our finisher's pictures.

2011 Finisher's Photo

Flashback - 2009 Finisher's Photo

Post Race

After making our way through the mob scene, we finally got to the bag check and then the family reunion area where we were meeting the rest of David's family. By then it was about 1pm and we were all starving. We ended up going straight from the race to my favorite post-marathon eatery - Chevy's!

Race Shirt - Cotton Mock Turtleneck??

2011 Marine Corps Marathon Finisher's Medal

Its a Spinner!

Day After the Marathon

The next day I had the extreme luck of getting to "work from home" since I was staying in the area for a couple more days and taking a class with my boss on Tuesday and Wednesday in DC. I spent Monday in my compression socks and comfy clothes answering emails and catching up on some work. The day went by really quickly and soon we were heading over to David's other brother's house to go trick-or-treating with his three little nieces.

Doras & Blueberry Muffin

After a couple hours with two Dora the Explorers and one Blueberry Muffin (and way too much candy grazing on my part), we were headed back to DC where I was checking into my hotel to switch back into serious work mode.

Allen Kids 2011

Flashback - Allen Kids 2009

They Grow So Fast! Little Marathon "Finisher" 2009 vs 2011

Working in DC

The course started Tuesday morning and I was silly enough to try to get up early and hit the gym before class. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical before hopping onto the treadmill to see if I could run one mile. I could! And the next day I ran three! Yipee! I was a bit sore but nothing compared to how I've felt in the past.

Working on my Fitness

Loving the Residence Inn Free Breakfast

My course wrapped up Wednesday afternoon and soon I was back at the airport getting ready to head home. I got home close to midnight Wednesday night and sadly had to be up early for a marathon work and post-work day the next day. I went from work, to coaching Girls on the Run, to going to a 5K planning and Marketing meeting for Girls on the Run, to coming home and laying out our next month's newsletter. O M G I was exhausted by the time I went to bed Thursday night. At midnight again! Ack! Luckily I was able to catch up on some sleep this weekend. What great timing for Daylight Saving.

Drinks With my Boss at the Lincoln Room
This is the "Gettysburg" - red from beet extract

Next Up

My next race is this coming weekend! I'll be running the Santa Barbara Half Marathon. After that I have two races over Thanksgiving weekend (The Nitro Turkey 10K Thanksgiving morning and the Quarry Turkey Half Marathon that Saturday), and then finally my last big race of the year - the California International Marathon! In addition to my two trips for races I have two or three more trips for work in the next month or so. The end of this year is going to go by in a blur!

Running For Love

2011-11-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

Better title than running "from" love right? Haha. This past weekend David and I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC. This was David's second full marathon and my second time running this race with him. Running a marathon is hard. Running another marathon with another person the whole time is hard as well! Unless you both run the exact same pace, one person or the other is constantly trying to adjust their stride or pace. It makes sticking together somewhat challenging, but having someone by your side for a whole marathon is really comforting.

My Favorite Person & Running Partner

Back in 2008 I was living in Hillcrest (San Diego's Castro) and heard that they were having a 5K down the street that coincided with Pride Week. How could I pass up a race that I could walk to?? I quickly signed up and talked David into signing up as well. This was going to be his first road race but he was confident. He had played sports his whole life, was in good shape, and was sure to smoke me in the race. Uh huh. Amazingly I came in first in my age group for the first time ever and beat David to the finish line!

After the Run & Stride With Pride 5K

Our next race was a 15K trail race. We ran the Xterra Mission Gorge 15K. The course was pretty hilly which back then was the kiss of death for me. I stuck with David for most of the race but towards the end as the trail snaked up a never ending hill, I succumbed to walking and David plowed on.

Xterra Mission Gorge 15K - Ugh Hills!

Soon David became interested in running a half marathon, so we ran the Austin Half Marathon in 2009. If you haven't run this race I highly recommend it! The course is scenic and mostly flat. It has a few moderate rolling hills which slowed me down a bit, but David kept by my side and we finished side by side. Technically my race results showed that he came in first, but if you look at our finish photo my foot hit the mat first! Just not the foot with the timing chip. Darnit. haha.

Austin Half Marathon

After the Austin race we decided to run the Marine Corps Marathon in DC in 2009. As we laid out our training schedule I noticed that our first 20 mile run occurred on a weekend that I'd be in Boston for a tradeshow. I emailed my friends Martin and Meredith (locals) to see what course they recommended we run to get our miles in. Probably not thinking we'd take his suggestion seriously, Martin mentioned that he'd be running a half marathon in Plymouth that weekend and we could always do the race, and then tack on 7 more miles after we finish. Who does that? That's crazy! Oh wait, that's what we ended up doing. And um, it was pouring that day. So we raced 13 miles in the rain, and then plodded on for 7 more. Misery! (Race recap here.)

Plymouth Run to the Rock Half Marathon

A few more months passed and it was finally time for the Marine Corps Marathon! Our plan was to stick together for the whole race, and even with some lagging on my part around mile 19 and cramping on David's part around mile 22, we finished side by side! My dream of finishing a marathon with someone had finally come true. I loved it. (Race recap here.)

Marine Corps Marathon 2009

After the Marine Corps Marathon I thought I had dreams of David and I finishing every race going forward side by side! Err ... that totally didn't happen. David was fairly turned off after the race and while he felt accomplished, he was more on the camp over "never again" versus "what's next?" Shoot. I gave up on getting him to race with me for the next year and a half until it came time to register for the Marine Corps in 2011. My friend Christina was urging us to run and totally out of the blue (to me) David said okay, let's do it. And we can run the San Francisco Half Marathon as a warm-up. Huh?! YES!!!

I ended up registering for the San Francisco Full Marathon (since I was an Ambassador and thought it would round out the experience) and David and I planned to run the first half of the race together before I split off to complete the second half alone. We cruised through the streets of San Francisco side by side and up and down the hills (which by now were something that didn't slow me down). After racing alone for so many years, I loved having him next to me mile after mile. (Race recap here.)

San Francisco Marathon 2011

The months flew by between the San Francisco Marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon, and I couldn't believe that it was finally race time this past weekend! David's training hadn't gone quite as planned and he had been running a slower pace than me in his training runs, and anticipated a slower pace for the race. When we discussed running the whole race together again David said there's no way we could, he'd be going much slower than me. For a while I thought shoot, I was hoping that this would be the race where we'd focus on breaking 4 hours! A goal I've been chasing down for several years, but hadn't really focused on this year since I was just coming back to embracing full marathons again. It crossed my mind to run the race on my own, for me .. but then I shook some sense into myself and thought what is wrong with me?! I've spent years dreaming of someone racing side by side with me. I finally found him! And now because he is going to run slower than I want to I'm going to race on my own? Who am I? A selfish only child? Err wait, I am. But - in the end I decided we'd stick together, no matter what the pace. Guess what - it was worth it! Having your favorite person by your side for 26.2 miles is fun, comforting, and heartwarming.

Marine Corps Marathon 2011

Since we ran this for the experience and not for time, my appetite for a sub 4 hour race hasn't been satiated. Because of this I made a silly rush decision a few weeks ago to sign up for a fourth full marathon this year. On December 4th I'll be running the California International Marathon in Sacramento. This will be the closest I've ever done two full marathons, but hopefully my body cooperates and I am able to throw myself back into training. I've never run this race before and have heard good things about it. I'm giving myself the rest of this week to recover and run just for fun, but next week my game face is back on! Four weeks to a sub four hour marathon. I think I can do it. "I think I can, I think I can." - The Little Engine That Could

Why I Run Marathons

2011-10-28T00:29:00.000-07:00

As my next marathon approaches, I've been thinking a lot about why I run, and more specifically why I run marathons. I ran my first half marathon (Rock N Roll Phoenix) in January of 2005 as a way to quit smoking. I ran my first full marathon after that (Rock N Roll San Diego) in June of 2005 to see if I could actually do it.
After that I ran another marathon to see if I could finish with a better time, and all of my subsequent marathons have involved chasing down that time goal.

Hot Mess After My 1st Marathon

There are a lot of things about marathon training that I really like. You set a goal, you create a plan, you commit to that plan, you work hard, you adjust your plan when you stumble, you put yourself to the test on one big day, and you celebrate your victories. The goal setting and planning is part of what I like so much about marathons, but more of what keeps bringing me back is a need for achievement. I've been an achiever my whole life, and marathon training and running fits into that perfectly.

Finishing RNRSD - Current PR 4:00:32

I remember one night in particular years ago that really made me think about marathons and achievement. I was out on New Years Eve having a conversation about various things, and the topic finally settled on my marathon running. The person I was with looked me square in the eyes and said to me "Monika, I think you keep running marathons just to prove to everyone that you're better than them." My heart stopped and my eyes almost popped out of my head. I searched that person's face to see if they were A - joking, or B - trying to me mean. Neither was the case. They sat there looking at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to agree with them. As I realized that this wasn't a joke, I suddenly had a horrible feeling. This person didn't get me at all. They didn't understand the core of what I'm about. Sadly, this person was my husband at the time. After being together for six years, he had no idea who I really was.

I brushed off the topic and we continued on with our night, but that moment has haunted me for years. I don't run marathons to prove that I'm better than people. In fact, its almost the exact opposite. I run marathons to prove to myself that I'm good enough. I want to know that I can try to do something difficult and achieve it.

Growing up I was pushed a LOT. Thanks to Amy Chua's book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, the idea of a tiger mom is fairly well known now. I grew up under a tiger mom who pushed me constantly to exceed. She had my best interests in mind, but I think it might have been in a short-sited way. My mom was obsessed with pushing me to do things younger and younger. I started school with first grade when I was 5 (because according to my mom Kindergarten was a silly American way of calling finger-painting "school)", I skipped fifth grade and started middle school when I was 9, I ended up starting high school at the ripe age of 12, and I was off to college hundreds of miles from home a few months after turning 16. Along the way I was pressured and pushed to always do my best, and to then do better than that.

Dressed Up Like a Go Getter

(In the center, flanked by my cousins)

I'm reading Bart Yasso's book right now and in it he tells the story of how he qualified for the Boston Marathon and finished the race in 2:40. He called his father to share his accomplishment, and his father asked why he hadn't won, and told him he needed to train harder. Hmm, I think I know how he must have felt.

After being pushed so much growing up, once I was released to go off to college, I continued to push myself in the same manner. I pursued my dream of majoring in Engineering, and put every ounce of energy I had into studying and completing my Mechanical Engineering degree. Undergrad was horrendously hard for me. Maybe just because the major was hard, or maybe because I started when I was only 16, but I struggled throughout my 4 1/2 years at UCSB. When I finally graduated (at 20!) I thought my mom would be impressed. Taking note from Bart's fathers mentality, she told me how she was disappointed because she had always dreamed of having a "real child prodigy" who could finish college by 16. Sigh.

Proudest Moment of My Life

Once I entered the real world my mom stepped back from my life, and it was now up to me to push myself. I was so used to trying so hard to be the best at everything or to constantly cross a certain line or achievement that I worked like crazy at my job the first few years. After a few years when I got comfortable with things though, I didn't feel like I was being challenged enough. So I decided that I should go back to school. While I was in grad school I was working at a start-up and balancing working 80 hours a week with going to school at night. I was run ragged and exhausted all of the time, but being pushed to the limit is what felt natural to me. Upon graduation I felt a bit lost. My company filed Chapter 11 about a month later and suddenly I was both out of a job AND out of school. Luckily I found a job soon after, but with normal 40 hour work weeks I didn't feel like I was doing enough to maximize my time and test my limits. Two months after starting this job is when I started training for my first half marathon. And the obsession to test my body and improve my race times hasn't let up since.

The Next Era of My Career - Marketing

(I'm in the center holding a bag)

I've gotten to the point in the past few years where I've just about plateaued in my marathon training. Although I want to run faster I don't have it in me to commit to train that much harder. I'm like a person who wants to lose weight but doesn't want to change their eating habits. I only run about 30 miles a week. My friends who have qualified for Boston are running close to 60 miles a week. Two workouts in a day? No thank you. Last year after a terrible burnout marathon I decided to try to test myself in a different way. I signed up for my first triathlon! I had terrible fears to overcome before the race. I hated swimming, I am a major germ freak and didn't like the open water, I was terrified of falling off my bike, and I was worried about doing something new and doing something poorly. My first race turned out great though and I signed up for a few more triathlons after that. I've had a number of mediocre triathlons since that first one (exactly a year ago this weekend!) and now I've decided that my next year's goals will be to improve my speed on the shorter distances, and then work my way up to a longer distance triathlon (namely a 70.3 Half Ironman).

My First Triathlon

After that, who knows what will be next? I doubt I will ever want to do a Full Ironman (the hours you need to train are ridiculous!), so I wonder what I will need to do to feel accomplished once I meet these other two triathlon goals. Maybe I'll move onto some other life focus after that either personally or professionally. I wonder what that will be, and I can't wait to try to be the best at it. ;o)

Music on the Run

2011-10-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

As long as I've been running, I've always run with music. I listen to music almost all day - at home, in the car, at work - seems totally naturally that I'd listen to music on my runs as well! I think its odd that running with music can sometimes turn to a heated discussion. I understand that in some races its not safe to have zombies running around zoning out to music, but that doesn't mean that you can't listen to music and still be alert and safe. Although I run with music 99.9% of the time, I don't bike with music for safety reasons. This has made triathlon training extremely boring for me, but over the past year I've gotten used to the silence of swimming and biking.

Back in college when I started running I ran with my trusty Walkman tape deck. I of course had a great mix tape for running! I ran with my Walkman for years and years until technology brought us the MP3 player. When iPods first came out they were way too expensive, so my first MP3 player was some cheap knock-off form China that I bought on eBay. I ran with that for about a year until I forgot it at the gym one day. This loss came the week before my first half marathon. Ack! In a move of total desperation I ran my first half marathon (Rock N Roll Phoenix) carrying my Walkman. We bonded.

I had heard runners complain about running with their iPods in the early days so my first running MP3 player was a pink Creative Labs Zen Micro. I ran with this for a year or so until the prices of iPods finally came down and were usable on runs. My first iPod was the 1st generation Nano. That Nano was with me for a couple years of races until I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2007. You know, the year of the massive heat wave where three people died, hundreds went to the hospital, and they cancelled the race mid-race! It was extremely hot that day and on several street corners they had the fire hydrants open and water spraying the street. I ran under the water several times to cool off. I felt great. My iPod did not.

After getting soaked my Nano called it quits on me. By then the next generation Nano came out so I bought that instead. It had video! Very cool. This next Nano was with me for a couple years until it too died a wet death during a race. David and I ran the "Run to the Rock" half marathon in Plymouth, MA. It was POURING rain that day and my Nano died around mile 7. Awesome. You know what's even more awesome? We were training for the Marine Core Marathon and had a 20 mile run scheduled for that day so after the race we ran 7 more miles in the rain. In silence. Misery! (More on my blog 20 Miles in the Rain)

I bought a replacement Nano right after that one died and after having it for a year or so I finally decided that I wanted the Shuffle. I was sick of wearing the arm band and didn't need the full functionality of the Nano on the run. I ran with one playlist on shuffle - perfect for the Shuffle! My Nano was retired to my car and I started to run with the Shuffle.

I really love the Shuffle for running and thought it was the perfect music companion. Its tiny and holds enough songs to get you through your longest runs. The only thing I didn't like about the shuffle was the earphones and chord, but that's been a constant problem with all of my MP3 players. I feel like I've tried every earphone and earbud known to man. The Nike ones were my favorite but died after a few months. I got some SnuggBuds from the SF Marathon and was impressed that they actually did stay in my ears on the run, but I didn't like how snugg they fit (ironic) at times because they felt like earplugs

Several months ago I applied to be an Active Ambassador for Team Sony Walkman and was thrilled when I was not only picked, but given their new MP3 player the Sony Walkman W Series! The Walkman was all one piece, held as many songs as my Shuffle, and was barely noticeable on my runs. The only downfall was that the earphones were kind of big and funny looking, and David was constantly telling me I looked like I was running with two bluetooth earpieces in. Hey, its how I roll! jk.

A few months after we received our first Walkman, we got the newest version in the W Series. Now I think this one is PERFECT! Its a lot smaller and has the same memory size and functionality. AND .. its waterproof! (Its also the same price as a shuffle ~$50) This will be the last MP3 player that dies on a rainy run with me. Well, not like it ever rains in San Diego .. but if one of those other cities dumps rain on me during a run, I'm prepared! Obviously as a Sony ambassador we are encouraged to promote the Walkman, and I am happy to do so because I honestly think it is the perfect MP3 player for a runner.PC Magazine recently gave it an Editor's Choice award. For more on their review click here.

In addition to the right device, you also need the right jams. A friend of mine from college recently launched the website and service Rock My Run. Their site offers fresh running mixes put together by DJs. The music is great and its interspersed with motivational messages. They have music for a wide variety of tastes. Check them out and download one of their mixes! (Rock My Run Website)

Well its now time for me to head off on my morning run! Time to grab my Walkman and go!

Another Season of GOTR

2011-10-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

This week marks the half-way point of the Fall Season of Girls on the Run. I can't believe it's gone by so fast! It feels like just last week we were going through coach training. This is my fifth time as a Head Coach in Carmel Valley and my second time coaching the middle school girls in the Girls on Track. program (In my first three seasons I coached the elementary school girls in Girls on the Run.)

Go Girls on Track!

This season we have a team of 10 girls for Girls on Track, and we're one of three teams in Carmel Valley. Its amazing to me to see how the program has exploded in the past two years! In my first season coaching I was with one of 6 teams, and this season we've grown to 20 teams! Its so amazing. I joined the board about a year and a half ago and head up the Marketing team, and I love getting to be involved both as a coach and also as a board member.

Coach Training

Practicing the Games at Coach Training

The Girls on Track curriculum is fairly similar to the Girls on the Run curriculum - we cover the basics of understanding our emotions, expressing ourselves, working as a team, learning how to stand up to bullies, understanding that gossiping is bad, etc. We also touch on some more 'grown-up' topics though which are really critical to pre-teen girls in this day and age. We have a lesson on cyberbullying, another on drugs, and another on crushes and the pressures to be sexually active. Eek! As I look at the faces of these sweet little girls its mind-blowing to think that these are situations that are appropriate for kids their age .... but sadly they really are!

Girls on Track Showing Why They're Girls on the Run

I love coaching Girls on the Run not just for the girls, but for the friendships I've made with a lot of the coaches as well. Almost all of the coaches are runners so we instantly have something in common. Sharing stories of races we've run, toenails we've lost, routes we've run - its all a part of being a coach, and I love it! (Well, I hate sharing lost toenail stories ... but its all a part of marathon training.)

Carmel Valley Coaches - We're Strong!

Paddleboarding With Coaches Past & Present

Our season will wrap up mid-December and our season end 5K is slotted for Sunday December 11th downtown at the Embarcadero. This will be the third time that Girls on the Run San Diego is putting on its own 5K, and it has been bigger and better each time! Our Sparkle & Shine 5K (cool name huh? we must have some hip marketing people! haha) drew about 500 runners last time, and I think we should be up to 800 in this next race. Exciting!

Spring Girls on Track Team - They ROCK

Want to come run with us? Registration is open online through Active. (Click here for registration info.) Or if you want to volunteer for one day to run with one of our girls, you can be a Running Buddy!

Video About Running Buddies

If you haven't heard me blather on enough about the organization and want to learn more about it, you can find more info here.

Girls on the Run San Diego Leadership Team

And lastly, if you are interested in joining the 10-person Glam Runner team for the 5K ($50 gets you entry to the race and a custom tutu of your choice! Tutu options found here.) shoot us an email at glamrunner at gmail.

Girls on the Run Knows How to Have Fun

Sparkle fingers!

SheROX Triathlon

2011-10-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I completed the SheRox Triathlon! Its crazy to think that almost exactly a year ago I did my first triathlon, and now a year later I'm up to six! (More about my first race on my blog Fearless Triathlon - I Did It!) This of course coming from the girl who swore she would never, EVER do a triathlon. What's up next? Me eating cheese? Doubtful! My friend Tara signed up for the race months ago and kept trying to get me to sign up. I thought about it since I liked the idea of a women's only triathlon, but my race schedule has been so heavy this year that I just needed to draw the line somewhere so I said no.

SheRox Triathlon Race Shirt

Mentor Program

A couple months ago though I saw in a race newsletter that SheRox was looking for mentors for first time triathletes. I was instantly intrigued, read about the program online, and then sent an email off to the organizer of the team. A year ago I knew nothing about triathlons and had sooo many questions. Several friends, the Tri Club, and the Fearless Races clinics all helped me get to the start line prepared; and I really wanted to give back to a new triathlete who was were I was a year ago. (Not like I'm a master of all this by any means now, but I have a good idea of what you need to get through the race.)

I was soon matched up with a mentee and I was so excited to share everything I had learned this year! Unfortunately my partner was a new mom with little time to train (or even reply to my emails half the time....) so we barely connected and actually never got a chance to meet. Totally not what I was expecting from the relationship. But .. silver lining .. by signing up to be a mentor I was given free registration to the race. I felt guilty getting the free entry in exchange for essentially doing nothing ... but hey, I tried!

SheRox Triathlon Course Map

Training For the Race

This race fell in the middle of my training plan for the Marine Corps Marathon which I'll be running with David next weekend. I scheduled one swim day and one or two bike days per week. Um yeah, I barley got those workouts in. I've started to burn out on running towards the end of the year and each time I had a mediocre run I'd try to make up for it the next day (and forgo a swim or bike workout) to get one more run in. As the months ticked by and race day approached I had only swam twice and biked four times in the past three months. Oops.

LOVE My Volvo! Bike w/Tire On Fits Perfectly

Race Expo

On the Saturday before race day I came by the expo to pick up my race number and goodie bag. When I got my number I noticed I was in Wave 1 but didn't think anything of it. I figured maybe they put all the mentors up front. When I went to pick up my swim cap though, the guy said "Oh! One of the special silver swim caps!" I mumbled "Um yeah, I think that's a mistake". He said "Oh .. well are you a really strong swimmer?" HA "No, but I'm a strong runner." He shrugged and handed me the cap and just told me to start in the back. Well okay, it can't be that bad right? At least I don't have to start in a huge pack!

Wave 1 Huh?

I was sad to find out that before leaving the expo they were marking everyone up with their race numbers. It was 2pm and I had a bunch of errands to run. And .. I ran them with huge "75's" on my arm and a "1" on my right calf.

The Gun Show - Marked for the Race

When I got home I started to fret a bit about being assigned to Wave 1. What if it was unethical? Would the other elite athletes laugh at me? Should I go back and try to switch? I turned to my online friends for some advice, and the general consensus seemed to be to stay in the wave. So I decided to just go with it.

Silver Cap Matches My Sony Gear!

Gear Laid Out, Ready to Pack

Race Morning

The next morning I got up around 4:30 am and made it down to the race area by 6:15 am for a 7:00 am start. Look at me not showing up late! :o) I racked my bike and searched for Tara.

Transition Area - So Much Room to Rack in Wave 1!

Glam Runners - Minus Their Glam

Soon it was 7:00 am and it was time for my (elite!!) wave to start. Oh boy, it was me and one other chick. She didn't seem to notice that I totally don't look like an elite athlete (by about 20 pounds) and said she was so relieved she wasn't racing alone! Um, well little did she know she would be as soon as we started.

Silver Cap Looks Nervous!

The Elite Athlete, Me, & My Double Chin

Swim - 750m

The swim was a water start which I prefer to running in from the beach. When the horn sounded and we started to swim I took a few strokes and then looked up to sight and saw a flurry of arms off into the distance. O M G she was fast! I thought oh well, just keep swimming.

Tragic - Me Swimming Alone

At Least I Avoided This

After two corrections from the lifeguards to head back in the right direction on the course (once by the BOAT! So embarrassing!), being passed up by faster swimmers in the two waves behind me, and wondering if 750 meters really meant 750 miles .. I finally emerged from the water. Thank goodness! I swear the swim felt like it would never end. Ugh. I ran up to the transition area, grabbed my bike, and then headed off for the second leg of the race.

THE Best Part of Any Swim - Getting Out!

Representing Team Sony

Bike - 20K

Since I'm new to biking I'm a pretty slow biker. In my past races I averaged between 16-18mph which is not very fast in a race. On this course I started out and noticed that I was around my usual pace in the first few miles, but suddenly around mile 5 I must have warmed up because I actually found my groove! I started to bike faster and felt like I was getting stronger.

Looking Serious on the Bike

The bike course was 12.4 miles long and somewhere around mile 8 I think I got a biking high. I suddenly wanted to be good on the bike. I wanted to train. I wanted to get stronger! I made a promise to myself that I would dedicate more time to the bike. Hopefully I can stick to that. Throughout the two loops I averaged between 15-20 mph. 20 mph!! I actually rode a few 'fast' miles! Go me!

My Elite "Competition" Finishing Strong

Run - 5K

After the bike comes my favorite part of a triathlon ... the run! Oh the glorious run! I am SO happy to run after swimming and biking since it is the only part I feel that I'm good at. The race was two 1 1/2 mile loops

which were flat, but boring. I always run with music so running in silence (while soaking wet) is totally boring. Half a mile felt like ten miles .. and the looping course was such a tease. Right as you finish the first loop you are almost at the finish line .. but oh sorry, you've only run 1 1/2 miles. Head out and do that again. Sigh.

Finally Crossing the Finish Line

I was happy to see that I was sticking to a 7:30 pace for most of the run and 22 sweet minutes later the race was over. I did it! A triathlete once more!

Yay! I'm Done!

Finish

After the race I had my eye out for Tara, Allison (another GOTR coach), and Veronika (one of my fellow Team Sony Walkman teammates). I got to see all three finish the race and got pictures with all of them. For those of you interested in race stats, here's where I ended up.

Very Cool - Immediate Race Results at the Finish

Swim 19:33 (Division Place: 52/81) <--- booo

T1 1:39 (Division Place: 8/81) <--- hustlin'

Bike 40:53 (Division Place: 31/81)

T2 1:14 (Division Place: 22/81)

Run 22:26 (Division Place: 14/81) <--- yeah!

Final: 1:25:44 (Division Place: 27/81)

Overall Place: 143/582

Team Sony! Monika & Veronika (K's for Kool!)

GOTR Coaches & Friends

So I didn't do so well in the swim, did mediocre on the bike, and I PR'd on the run! My 5K PR from the LA Tri Relay last month was 22:38. This was a 12 second improvement .. although supposedly the course was a little short. So fine, even if its not a 5K PR, its within 30 seconds of my PR .. and I swam and biked first! I'm really, really happy with that. (More on my last race on my blog LA Triathlon Relay.)

Meeting our DailyMile Friend Leah

All Smiles Heading Home

Post Race

After the race Tara and Ben and I headed over to the Linkery for brunch. Aka sausages and beer. I'm not a huge beer fan but Tara & Ben are seriously beer aficionados so while I'm in their company I try to give the brews a chance.

Beer & Brauts at the Linkery

After the race I headed home to get started on a long todo list of personal things I needed to catch up with. This race weekend came right on the heels of my trip to Texas (more on my blog Domo Does Dallas) and I had my usual post-trip feeling of behind-ness.

Adding to My Collection

SheRox Triathlon Race Medal and Singlet

Next Up

My next race is the Marine Corps Marathon next weekend! Eek! This will be my second time running (his race (with David!!), my 3rd marathon this year, and my 16th marathon in my running career. I'm nervous but excited! I've made the (smart? dumb?) decision to roll the race into a work trip so I'll actually be heading to DC for five days next week. I hope my dogs don't party too hard while I'm gone. DC or Bust!

Domo Does Dallas

2011-10-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Domo here! Domo hasn't blogged in a few months since his trip to Vegas (two times - ugh) in June. Domo has actually traveled since then (SF twice in July, Maryland/Virginia in September), but hasn't had time to update his blog over the past few months. But sit down and buckle up people - Domo is back!

Domo was heading to Texas for three days for work. (Yes, Domo works. He isn't always a Domo of leisure.) Domo wished he had time to find a cowboy hat for the trip, but unfortunately the only outfit in his closet is a pink tutu. Darn those tutus...

Heading to Houston

A few days before Domo's trip to Texas Domo got an email from US Airways saying that Domo was upgraded to first class .. on both legs of the trip! Domo was VERY excited. Domo gets upgraded enough that he hopes for it and expects it, but not so much that it isn't a great treat. Domo loves First Class. Domo packed his carry-on bags for the trip because he had several tight connections. As a huge overpacker, Domo was very proud of this feat.

Morning Full Moon at the Airport

On Tuesday night Domo set his alarm for 4am Wednesday morning, and then caught up on some zzzs. When Domo woke up he lay in bed for a bit wondering what time it was. When Domo finally looked at the window Domo's little furry heart was in his mouth! Was that daylight Domo saw? Ohhhh nooooooo!!! Domo looked at the time. 6:15am!?!?! Domo's flight was at 6:30am. Domo immediately jumped out of bed, changed, took the dogs out, grabbed his bags, and jumped into the car. Where was the shower? Oh um yeah, missed. TMI? Domo apologizes.

Domo Waiting at the Airport

Domo's Twin Looking at Domo at the Airport on Facebook
(Domo has a twin owned by friend Megan in Arizona!)

Luckily Domo lives a few miles from the airport and by the time he drove there, parked his car, and got to the ticket counter it was 7am. Domo checked online quickly and saw that there wasn't a US Airways flight until 9:50am, but hoped there was a partner airline that could get him to Houston on time. WRONG. When Domo got to the ticket counter they said sorry, next flight is 9:50am getting in at 5pm.. Domo must have looked like he was going to cry because the ticket agent said "Why, did you really need to get there earlier?" Domo tried not to look too pathetic when saying "Yes, I needed to be there by 4pm".

And then ...

The ticket agent said "Well, you're Gold. Let me see if Continental can take you".

Domo's little heart almost burst with excitement!

BUT ... the 8am (direct!! argh!!) flight to Houston on Continental was overbooked by 10 seats. Domo sadly took his 9:50 am ticket, called the Houston rep, rented a car, and then parked by McDonald's and had breakfast and got online and did some work. Sigh.

Domo Finally Gets on the Plane

Domo finally got to Houston at 5pm, made it to the event by 6pm, worked for a few hours, had dinner with the local rep, and then hit the sheets. So tired.

Amazing Shrimp Tower at the Doctor's Open House Event

Day in Houston

The next morning Domo dragged himself out of bed early and hit the gym! Domo loves working on his fitness. After visiting a few customers Domo found himself back at the airport getting ready to head to Dallas.

Domo Digs the Courtyard Marriott Amenities

Day in Dallas

Domo's flight to Dallas was quick! Domo put on the outfit he was going to wear that evening. Unfortunately the fabric had metallic thread woven into it. When Domo went through the full body scanner Domo's body lit up like a Christmas tree, as if Domo had 30 bombs strapped to his body. Domo was quickly pulled aside, touched in so many places he expected a lobster dinner afterwards, and told to NEVER wear that outfit again. Sheesh!

Sparkly Zig-Zags - BAD!

Domo headed straight to a reception at the Old Hickory Wine Store, followed by dinner at the Old Hickory Steakhouse, ending with some time at the sports bar.

Room View at the Gaylord Texan

Random - Barstool in the Bathroom?

Domo usually goes to bed around 10pm and can count on two furry fingers how many times he's been up past midnight this year. Domo ended up at the sports bar until about 12:30am ... meaning the 5:30am wake-up the next morning was not well received. Domo was determined to keep on track with his fitness though so Domo dragged his furry butt to the gym and ran a few miles. Man Domo was tired.

52 Foot Tv in the Hotel Sports Bar

After running Domo barley made it to the group breakfast on time, had a packed day of meetings, and then hey, Domo was back at the airport.

Gift Shop with a Huge Sock Monkey!!

Monika & Monkey - True Love

Heading Home

Domo normally maintains a professional appearance at work but though screw it on this trip home. Domo put on his ballet flats and leggings before sharing a car with his coworkers (in suits) back to the airport. Domo thinks he got a few raised eyebrows from his travel companions but was too tired to fret over it.

Random - Band Performing at Baggage Claim at the Airport

Domo wasn't upgraded on either flight on the way home and was resigned to his coach seat ... when on his second flight he was pulled from his seat and brought to first class. Awesome!! Domo was so happy. Up on arriving in San Diego around 10pm Domo quickly got his car, headed home, and went to bed. The three day trip was quick, but exhausting. Domo thinks he's showing his age. Next trip? DC in two weeks!