Marathon #10 - Check!

Wow, so where to start? Yesterday it was sprinkling in San Diego all day. It almost never rains in San Diego! I think it actually rains more in Phoenix in a year's time than it does here due to the monsoon season. While it wasn't actually "raining" and was just sprinkling, being out in even sprinkles while running for hours would have resulted in me being a miserable, soaking mess. Luckily this morning the mist had stopped and it was cool and cloudy and perfect weather for a marathon.

David and I walked (yes, walked!! yay!) to the start line from my apartment. Part of being in the Foot Locker Challenge included VIP access to everything so we got to hang out in a VIP start area before the race. That was pretty awesome. They had their own tables, refreshments, food, porta potties, and bag check. After getting there I met up with the rest of the team and we met our bike escort who would meet us at mile 3 and stay with the group until the halfway mark, and would then follow the leader to the finish.

We were told that we were going to be starting in corral 2 which put us really close to the start. That was pretty neat since the elite runners were within distance! The only problem with that though was that we were then starting off with the second fastest pack of runners.

David (official Team Monika race photographer) got a picture of Ryan Hall and Josh Cox at the start line.

We started off the race at a pretty quick pace (normal, due to excitement) but kept that pace for several miles. As we passed through mile 3 and then 5 I realized that we had been running a sub 8:00 pace the whole time. Yikes! Way too fast! I started getting worried because I like to conserve energy and was afraid I'd burn out in the end of we kept it up. We lost one of our team members by mile 2, and honestly by mile 5 I thought about dropping back as well to save my energy. I wanted to stick with the pack though through the halfway point (13.1 miles) as planned though so I gave it all I could to stay with the group. We slowed down a bit by the time we got to the only real hill in the race which was Highway 163 which goes up through Balboa Park. It was about a 3 mile stretch with a gradual incline, and I made even more of an effort to stay with the group because David was positioned at mile 9 for a photo opp.

Well, sidebar for David's story. I had given him a map of the course and times that I would be in different places. He joined me at the start and was then going to run back to my apartment (about a mile with a cut through pass) and see us go by at mile 2. I never saw him at mile 2 and figured he just couldn't get there in time since we got there in 15 minutes versus the 18 I told him he'd probably have. Well... it turns out he actually went to the 9 mile spot by accident instead. After waiting around for 20 minutes (completely alone on the side of the freeway) he finally realized that he was in the wrong spot and no one would be coming by for a while. Around 45 minutes into the race the elite pack finally came through and he got a great video of that.

Another half hour after that my group came by and he got a nice action shot.

From that point David went back to get Kenny and the two of them headed off to the finish line to wait for me. I stuck with my group for a few more miles until we got to 13.1 and then one of the guys just took off like a rocket with the bike escort in tow. The other girl pulled ahead too, so the remaining guy and I stuck together. The amazing thing is that we crossed the 13.1 mark at 1:48:32. That is the fastest half marathon I have ever run! David and I ran a half marathon in February and our time then was 1:56, with my best time before that being 1:54. In retrospect, now I feel like if I can run a 1:48 half marathon and then run another 13.1 miles.. there is no reason I shouldn't be running a 1:45 half marathon on its own! But back to the race. So about 2 miles after we split off from the front two the other guy started falling back so I was then on my own. And then .. the muscle cramps started kicking in. O... M... G...

I used to get toe cramps all the time in gymnastics and I've gotten ab cramps before during an ab workout, but nothing could have prepared me for the pain of my (abnormally huge) quad muscles starting to cramp. I didn't know what to do and kept pushing on until the pain got unbearable. I then tried to switch up my gait a bit to see if that helped, and them my calves cramped. I started to freak out mentally at this point because I still had 10 miles to go! I went over to the side of the road to try to stretch my quad by bending my leg back at the knee. That totally didn't work since that isn't ever enough to stretch my quad normally. So, I decided to squat down instead. That totally did the trick! As soon as I squatted down both muscles relaxed. I stayed down for about 15 seconds and then got up and started running again.

I was so relieved to find that I was back to normal! For about a mile... before it started all over again. To make a long story short, I had to go through cycles of running through immense quad pain until I couldn't take it anymore, stop and squat for a while, then get back up and start running again. This made the last 10 miles of the marathon the most miserable 10 miles I have ever run in my life!!! It was a total physical and mental struggle that I wasn't at all prepared for. I went from running with the 3:40 group (Boston qualifying time!) until mile 16 to running and stopping and running and stopping while tons of people passed me. At certain points I wasn't even sure I'd even be able to finish! But, I couldn't let that happen and kept pushing on mile after mile.

When I entered the Marine Base that we finished on I was so relieved. When I saw mile 25 I was even more relieved than before. And when I passed mile 26, I realized the end was near. I was becoming so discouraged in the last few miles that I had stopped looking at my watch and was just trying to finish regardless of the time. When I got to mile 26 I finally looked at my watch and realized that although I wasn't going to beat 4 hours, I was totally going to be finishing within the minute after 4:00. As I approached the finish line I kept searching the crowd for David's red hat, and finally saw him standing almost literally under/to the right of the finish line.

Big smile for David and Kenny and then I crossed the finish line in 4:00:32. My best time to date! My best time before this was 4:03 at this same race back in 2007. Okay so I didn't finish today in 3:59 and change, but 4:00 and 32 seconds is just fine in my book! Especially considering what I went through during the last 10 miles.

After crossing the finish line I met up with David and Kenny over at the VIP finish area. That was probably the best part of the VIP package! They had a full buffet of food laid out, all you could drink Miller Light (not that I would ever want one after a race), tables, a first aid station, gear pick-up, and porta potties. All of the elite racers were hanging out there along with a bunch of other VIPs. I totally wonder what other ways people get to be VIPs? Its so cool! I wish I could be part of that for every marathon!

Here are Kenny and David proudly wearing their VIP passes.

So while I was there I saw two of my other teammates. Turns out the other girl Lauren came in first, becoming the first female to win this competition! She crossed at 3:45 and was followed by the guy who rocketed off who ended up finishing at 3:48. She says she finally caught up to him at mile 25 and overtook him from there. I came in 3rd at 4:00 and the other two guys came in at 4:19 and 4:20.

Here is the press release announcing the results. Pretty cool! My second press release that doesn't involve the mention of dental products!

http://www.rnrmarathon.com/press/San_Diego_Woman_Takes_2009_Foot_Locker_County_Challenge_Title.html

Here is Elvis presenting Lauren with her Tiffany's trophy!

We also got a group photo with our bike escort who was a really nice guy.

And of course, here is David - president of my marathon support club.

After hanging out for about an hour and a half and sampling the buffet and socializing, we headed back to the car. On the mile long walk out (just what I needed) we were surprised to see Ryan Hall was signing autographs by a Nissan booth near the exit! We saw him briefly in the VIP area, but before I could go embarrass myself and be a dork asking for a picture with him, he took off. Now we know why! David and I quickly jumped into line for an autograph while Kenny was left wondering "who is that guy??"

David and I both got autographs and got a picture with Ryan Hall, 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials winner and US Half Marathon record holder. Wow! Running geeks! He was very nice and friendly too and asked us about the race and what we'd be running next.

After the race I went back to shower and we went for my favorite post-marathon meal - Mexican! Better yet, we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Chevy's!

I'm fairly sore right now and anticipate that tomorrow will be somewhat miserable considering what I pushed my legs through. The pain will only be temporary though and in the end it was a great race and totally worth it. I feel so lucky to have been able to be a part of the Foot Locker Challenge team, and feel like being on the team helped me get to a 4:00 finish (even if we went to fast in the beginning and I cramped the whole rest of the way)! David and Kenny were also such great race support and I'm so glad they were here to share the day with me!

If I blog tomorrow it will probably only say "wow, ouch". Haha!

Marathon Press Conference

This morning there was a press conference for the marathon that was held right before the start of the expo opening. My Foot Locker teammates and I were told to arrive around 10:15am to receive our goodies and gear. The press conference was on the roof patio of the convention center. The morning was a usual Southern California morning, low 60's, overcast, and a bit misty. I mention this because I was not too pleased to realize that the hour I spent curling and spraying and curling my hair was all going to go to waste. Within five minutes of being out in the mist my hair returned to its happy, natural, flat and limp state. Oh well.

The goodies and gear that we got were incredible! We received a striped Foot Locker singlet (running tank), running shorts, warm-up pants, a windbreaker, a running hat, and a pair of New Balance running shoes! Score!

On top of that we also received a VIP package which included an invite to a VIP dinner tonight (I passed, I had a massage scheduled), access to the VIP lounge during the expo today and tomorrow, access to a VIP area at the start line, VIP gear check, access to a VIP finish area, a VIP parking spot at the finish line (BEST PART), and access to the VIP area at the after party concert. Hmm.. could I have squeezed VIP into that paragraph one more time? Basically exclusive areas and less lines. I'm all about that!

We then went over logistics for race day. The only piece of gear we have to wear is the singlet. Everything else is optional. I have a feeling each of us will probably only wear that. The shorts were really on the skimpy side and it didn't seem like any of us wanted to be a team of cheeky zebras. We meet at the VIP area by 6:15am (race starts at 6:30am) on Sunday and meet our bike escort. (SO COOL! You probably don't appreciate that unless you're a runner too. Usually only special participants get an escort. Leaders in the male, female elite category, leader in the local category, wheelchair participants, etc.) The bike escort will stay with us for the first 13.1 miles where we stick together, and will then follow me - I mean the leader from that point forward.

Soon after discussing all of this, the press and elite athletes started to arrive. Oh yeah, and then randomly - some members of the kitchen staff wheeled a cart of like 50 turkeys by. WTH?

So the press conference started and the director of PR welcomed everyone, went over some general information for the race, and then introduced us, the 2009 Foot Locker Challenge team! Whoo hoo!

Originally there were six of us selected but somehow we seemed to have lost a member. When we were all emailing each other to set up a training run time, one of the guys that lived far north stopped replying and the final guy was traveling, so only four of us ran together. The guy who was out of town was here today, but the other was mysteriously gone! I wonder if he dropped out? It seems unfair if he did since his spot could have gone to someone else who would have really enjoyed being a part of this.

After each of us was introduced they then started introducing the elite athletes. OMG they were all so tiny! The two women had to be around 5'0" 80 lbs? (Far right.) The men weren't much bigger. I'd say 5'5" - 5'10" weighing between 110-140 lbs? Suddenly I felt like an ogre!

Each of the elite runners had some type of impressive win or record behind them. There were a few previous race winners and a few record holders. The most notable being the course (not world.. sorry David for the mistext, I was too excited!) record holder. His record is 2:08:33. Just to do the math for you that is an average of a 4:54 pace. Yes, he ran a sub 5 minute mile for 26.2 miles. WOW. After the press conference we got to take a publicity photo with him. Who knows, maybe we'll make the event brochure next year? :o) Notice how he is shorter than me. I'm wearing heels so he is probably actually my height. I'm 5'5". And from the looks of him I probably have 30 pounds on him. Depressing.

But back to the press conference. The next person up after the elite athletes was Tom Bedford. He is the reason that elite runners Josh HOT, I mean Josh Cox and Ryan Hall will be running the race. They are pacing him, a mere mortal, to a 2:25 finish in order to raise money for a charity.

His quest for this finish time started in a pub bet, as all heroic athletic endeavors should of course. Information about his charity and efforts can be found here http://entoto.org/, quite a neat story. Just to do the math for you once again, a 2:25 finish is a 5:32 mile. For 26.2 miles. Sheesh. In his last race he came close finishing in 2:33. That is really not too shabby. Lance Armstrong (an amazing, amazing athlete) recently finished in 2:46:43. In his first attempt he finished in 2:59. So this guy Tom Bedford has already beat Lance Armstrong in his first marathon, and is on track to beat him by another TWENTY minutes in his second marathon.

Please, a moment of silence for this amazing man!

Anyways, after the press conference we all went down and got our race numbers and race shirt and the rest minus me went into the expo to check out all of the booths. Sadly, I had to rush back to work for a meeting and couldn't look around. Not to worry though, I'll be back tomorrow to check things out with David.

So it is now the night before, the night before the marathon. I'm excited about the race after today's event, I'm nice and loose thanks to tonight's deep tissue massage, and I'm ready for a somewhat big day tomorrow (Allen brothers arriving and going the marathon expo) and then the real big day on Sunday!

You Know You're a Nerd When....

... you are walking your dogs in the park and you whip out your Blackberry and check Twitter via Twitterberry and see a tweet from Elite Racing that gets you so excited that you then call your special someone to share the following news which is blurted out something like:

"OMG, I was just checking Twitter on my Blackberry and Elite Racing retweeted that Josh Cox tweeted that he and Ryan Hall who also tweets will be pacing some dude for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon!"

What I saw to spawn such excitement looked like this:

To translate this to those of you who are not obsessed with running, Josh Cox is an elite marathon runner, 50K American record holder, Power Bar athlete, and former contestant/stud from "The Bachelor".

Ryan Hall is another elite runner who won the marathon in the 2008 Olympic Trials, came in 10th at the Beijing Olympics, holds the American record for the half marathon, and came in 3rd at the Boston Marathon last month.

These are big shot runners, and they're pacing a guy named Tom Bedford at the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon to support him in finishing the race in 2:25 (geez that's fast) to support the Entoto Foundation. More information: http://entoto.org/.

The reason that I am so excited about this, is that I'm hoping that they will be at the press conference on Friday and that I'll get a chance to meet them! (And take a cheesy smiley Japanese girl picture with them!) I know, who cares about the charity and why this guy is doing it and why these elite runners are helping him, its all about me getting a chance to meet some famous runners! Hey, at least I'm honest.

The press conference starts at 11am this Friday. Stay tuned!

I'm Mentioned in a Press Release!

And it doesn't involve information about dental products! Score! This past Friday Elite Racing released a press release about the lucky six of us who were selected to take part in the Foot Locker Challenge. I feel a bit more special now!

http://www.rnrmarathon.com/press/San_Diego_Runners_for_Foot_Locker_Challenge_Announced.html

Practice Run w/the Footlocker Team

Yesterday I went on a 6 mile run with 3 of my 5 Foot Locker Challenge teammates. The event organizers suggested we meet for a run before the actual marathon to practice running in a group at the same pace. One of the guys was out of town and another lives way up north near my office, so just the four of us who live fairly close met in Balboa Park for our practice run.

I have to admit, I was looking forward to checking out the competition to determine what my chances were in taking the title. Of the three that I met, I think the only other girl on the team will be my stiffest competition. She's about my age, played college volleyball, and has a marathon PR (personal record) of 3:54. She's shooting to finish in 3:45 for this race. Yikes! The next guy is in his 40's, has run several marathons, and has a PR of 4:30. He seems to be driven like an animal though and was the one who was leading us charging up and down dirt and gravel trails for an hour. I'm hoping that his gusto is short-lived and that endurance is his problem. :o) I'm so nice. The third guy was also in his 40's and has run one other marathon and has completed a few half Ironmans. Wow. He was struggling keeping up the pace that we were running at though and we had to wait for him a couple times. (Can't say I totally minded. We were charging up a long, steep hill at the same pace we kept on flat ground. Sheesh I was tired!) I wonder what will happen in the actual marathon if we start to lose someone. They say we're supposed to run the first half as a group, but I can't imagine that we're all supposed to slow down if one lags significantly behind?

The run overall was pretty fun. I do the majority of my runs alone and its always a struggle for me to keep pushing myself by myself. I've recently started using the Virtual Training Partner feature on my Garmin Forerunner GPS watch which is pretty fun. You can set a goal of either Distance/Pace or Distance/Time and then you race this little stick figure. Along the way you can see if you're ahead or behind and by how far. Its cute too because when you stop running your little stick figure bends over and puts his hands on his knees like he's catching his breath. Yes, I did just say I have fun racing a stick figure on my watch.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to meeting the other two members. I think the next time we will be together will be on Friday when we have the press events. I can't believe the marathon is now a week from today. I've been training for 11 weeks now and I'm ready to get to race day and put to test all of my hard work! I remember before the start of my first marathon the announcer at the start line said something along the lines that the hard work was all behind us. The race was going to be easy in comparison. In a way that is true. Training almost everyday for months is hard and its tiring. Life gets in the way sometimes and its challenging to make adjustments and stay on schedule. The marathon in comparison is just one day. One more run. Okay, the longest run and the most important, but its one last day to give it your all after days, weeks, and months of running running running. I'm ready and I'm excited!

Marathon #10, Here I Come

On Sunday May 31st, 2009 I will be running my 10th marathon (omg!) here in beautiful San Diego. This race has special meaning to me because:

1. This race was my first marathon back in 2005
2. This race was my fastest marathon to date back in 2007
3. This race will be my 10th full marathon, something I never would have believed back when it was number one.

There are also two things that make it even more special this year!

First, I'm now a San Diego resident and live across the park from the start line. I can walk to the start from my apartment! Usually getting to the start line of a huge (20K runners) marathon like this is a nightmare. Sitting in traffic for an hour just to get to the start or to a shuttle to a start makes a long morning even longer. Its the difference between getting up at 3:30am versus 4:30am.

Second, I was recently chosen to take part of the Foot Locker County Challenge! Cool right? Wait, what is that? Well its a promotional "race within the race" that Foot Locker Sponsors at the Rock 'n' Roll marathons. Six runners are selected to compete against each other. The group runs together for the first 13.1 miles, and then race each other for the second 13.1 miles. About a month ago I applied to be on the team through their website. A couple weeks ago I received a call and was interviewed by Foot Locker PR, and then last week I was interviewed by Elite Racing (marathon organizers) PR. Earlier in this week I heard the great news, I was chosen!

For being on the team we are giving a lot of nice running freebies including a running outfit, and a pair New Balance shoes. We also will be involved in the PR activities held during the week before the race. We'll get to go on the local NBC morning news and will be part of the press conference held at the opening of the marathon expo. Cool! I'm ready for my close-up!

The winner of the contest will receive a 2-night stay at a local resort, a Tiffany's trophy, and major bragging rights! I cyber-stalked my opponents on athlinks.com and it looks like there is some stiff competition. A couple of the other runners have completed marathons much faster than I have, and a couple have finished marathons pretty close to my finish times. Our team has 2 ladies and 4 gentlemen ranging from 30 to 52 years old. We are all scheduled to do a run together this Saturday. I lucked out and we're running in Balboa Park right across the street from my apartment since its a central location for the group. We're planning on doing 6 miles with hills. I'm nervous and excited to meet the team!

Hopefully we're pretty much on pace with each other. I'm looking forward to sticking together as a group for the first half of the race. I'm trying (once again.. sigh) to break four hours in this race. I'm hoping that the combination of having a group to pace with and the extra motivation to try to beat them for the title will keep me on pace and strong for the whole race. If not, hey, at least I got some free gear.

But... how cool would it be to break my own finish line tape while proudly wearing my vertical black & white striped Foot Locker jersey? Pretty cool thinks this marathoner.

First Blog Entry

I've decided to start a blog to do what I love to do best - talk about myself! No, I'm kidding. Well, for the most part. :o) I thought this could be a way to share with family and friends recent happenings in my life. Since one of my favorite things to do these days is to run, I will probably be blogging mostly about running. I'm sure that topic isn't totally thrilling to most people I know, so I'll try to mix things up once in a while with other exciting and non-running related events.