Carlsbad Half-Marathon Race Recap

This past Sunday I ran my first distance race of the year - the Carlsbad Half Marathon! I had never run this race before for some reason, but most of my local running friends run it each year, and have always said that they liked the course. The course goes out and back along the beach and has moderate rolling hills.

 

Race Expo

As part of my duties as a running ambassador for the San Francisco Marathon, I worked the SFM booth at the Carlsbad Race Expo all day Saturday. Working the SFM booth was a lot of fun and starkly different from my regular booth experiences I've had for my day jobs. More on my blog "Tradeshow Warrior".

Training

To prepare for this race I laid out 9-week plan which involved 5 days of running and 2 rest days. In those 5 days I scheduled 2 easy runs, 1 hill/speed day, 1 tempo run, and 1 long run. I've historically been terrible about staying on a training schedule consistently over the span of several months due to conflicts with work and my work travel schedule, but I'm proud to say that for the first time in years I didn't deviate too much from the schedule I had laid out! Spending the weeks around Christmas and New Years on the East Coast threw things off a bit, but overall I did pretty well.
 

Pre-Race Time

The night before the race David and I went to Poseidon in Del Mar for a nice sunset dinner. I have been wanting to take David here for a long time, and was very excited when a Groupon-like deal came up on Sign-On San Diego's Daily Deal. $35 for $75 worth of food! Awesome! We each had an amazing 3-course prix fixe meal which was part of their San Diego Restaurant Week offering. Yum, yum, yum.

For breakfast the next morning before the race I had half of my usual pre-long run meal. I usually have egg whites on an english muffin with bacon and a bowl of oatmeal and chia cereal. I had run out of eggs and bacon so instead I just doubled up on the serving of oatmeal and chia. (This might have been an issue later.) I drank some Gu Brew on the drive up to Carlsbad, and had half a Power Bar 30 minutes before the race start. Overall I had about 700 calories before the race. I hate eating race fuel along the course and have found that if I have a 600-800 calorie breakfast before a long run, I can usually make it between 10-12 miles without having to refuel. In the event that I did need to refuel, I had two packets of Gu Roctane with me (which I hoped I wouldn't need. I didn't! Yay!)

Race Start

The day before,  I found something in the supply box at the expo that got me really excited. A VIP Parking Pass for race morning since I was part of the "Race Crew". Score! I'm totally a "slide up to the start line with just enough time to run to the portapotties and then go" type of person, so having VIP parking and getting to save time there was such a treat! (I'm also a "if I walk up to the gate right as the plane starts boarding I've won" type of person as well. I hate standing around waiting!)

I knew that several of my friends would be running the race, and I was specifically looking for my Rock Running friends at the start line because I was hoping to run with them. Amazingly, out of the thousands of people milling around, I found them!

Ready to Run

As luck would have it, when I turned on my Garmin race morning it was dead. ARGH! I had charged it the night before but my laptop had gone to sleep at some point, and if the watch is connected to the base and the computer has the power off, the base drains the watch battery. (I discussed this with an engineering friend of mine a while ago and he gave me along explanation of the flaws in the circuitry design which allowed this to happen.) My friend Stacey had forgotten her Garmin completely, so we were going to be running 'naked' for this race. We set a goal of 1:45 for the race and tried to run with  a feel of a 8:00-8:30 pace.

We started off with what I thought was a good pace, but I noticed after a few miles that I was starting to get really winded. Finally at mile 4 Stacey asked someone running near us what time it was. Oh no! We ran the first 4 miles at a sub 8:00 pace! I knew that I personally couldn't sustain this pace for the next 9 miles, started stressing about burning out from running too fast up front .. and maybe this is about where my mind got the best of me. About a mile later my stomach started cramping ... just like in the Rock 'n Roll San Diego race this past June! (When I was also running with my Rock friends. BAD deja vu!)  I let Stacey go ahead at one point and started to run/walk, and just like at the RNR, my stomach felt better when I walked. The pain wasn't anything that had me running for the bathroom (as if you wanted to know that),  the pain just felt like a knotting that would subside when I walked. I ended up walking/running for the next 9 miles, and gave up my hopes for a 1:45 PR.

Finishing the Race

Back in June when I was cramping during the RNR Marathon I really started to freak out, stress out, and get really down. I walked and ran for the majority of the last 20 of 26, miles  and had to hold back tears (unsuccessfully) for a lot of that time. After spending four months training diligently for something, its devastating to see it all blow up in just one day. Luckily, I didn't feel this same despair in this race, and just accepted that some days aren't your day, enjoyed the fact that I was running along the beach, and just appreciated that I even had the ability to run a race like this. Not everyone can run a half marathon, and I've been blessed with the ability to do it over and over again for years, pretty much injury free!

As I approached the finish line I had no idea what time it was (there were no clocks anywhere on the course!) and was expecting to see a 2:20 finish. I was shocked to see the clock say 2:03 ... and since I started a few minutes behind the gun, this meant that I probably finished right around 2 hours! I looked up my official finish time later and was excited to see a 2:00:54 (9:14 pace). Excited but disappointed of course. I'm so hard on myself. :o(

My half marathon PR is 1:52, I've run the first half of a marathon in 1:48, and I feel that since I could run a 1:48 and then run 13 more miles, I should be able to run a 1:45 half marathon! I also ran a 1:17 15K two weeks prior to Carlsbad, and doing the math I should have totally been able to run a 1:45 even if I significantly slowed down in the last few miles! Sigh.

Triple Crown

This year I've decided to go for another 3-race series (similar to California Dreamin') called the Triple Crown. This series includes the Carlsbad Marathon, the La Jolla Half Marathon, and the America's Finest City Half Marathon. I've never run the first two, but have run the third several times. If you complete all three races in the series you get an extra medal! Who doesn't love the bling? The next race in the series (La Jolla) isn't until April, and between now and then I am running the San Dieguito Half Marathon in February, and I'm doing the Super Seal Sprint Triathlon in March. It's going to be a busy race year!

Tradeshow Warrior

Over the past seven years I have become quite the tradeshow warrior! I have worked a LOT of tradeshows. I mean, A LOT! Since I've entered my career in Marketing I have probably done 50 or so shows? Back in my dental company days there were about 10 major tradeshows a year that we'd attend. Now that I'm in aesthetics there are less shows, and being with a smaller company means we don't even exhibit at all of the main shows. Whew! Last year I worked at four shows, and it looks like this year I'll be doing four as well. This begs the question .. why do I go to tradeshows? For the beer of course! Totally kidding, I hate beer as most of you know.

Enjoying an iBeer at our Booth

What I Do

I think that 99% of my friends and family have no idea what I do for a living. David is the rare minority, only because he has to listen to me drone on and on about my job. I'm a Product Manager! What does that mean? Well according to wikipedia, a product manager "investigates, selects, and develops products for an organisation, performing the activities of product management" huh? That doesn't help you probably.

By clicking deeper into wikipedia and reading the definition for product management, I think this gives a better description of what I do: "Product management is an organizational life cycle function within a company dealing with the planning or forecasting or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product life cycle.... Product management often serves an inter-disciplinary role, bridging gaps within the company between teams of different expertise, most notably between engineering-oriented teams and business-oriented teams. For example product managers often translate business objectives set for a product by Marketing or Sales into engineering requirements. Conversely they may work to explain the capabilities and limitations of the finished product back to Marketing and Sales"

  

AHA! Now everyone can finally understand how I started out in engineering, got a MBA, and somehow ended up in Marketing! Okay, but enough about me, back to the world of tradeshows.

The Tradeshow

So I've worked a lot of medical tradeshows which have all had several common factors.

• People (ummm medical professionals!) always try or do steal stuff from your booth (They pick stuff off the table and take it 'thinking' its a sample. Hello - LOOTERS!)
• There are always people who come by to tell you how much they hate your product and will never use it.
• You stand around in a suit and heels for 2-4 days ... and ignorant to this your male coworkers in *flat* shoes complain to you about how much their feet hurt .. as if you could possibly have any sympathy for them!
• By the last day of the tradeshow you've given your 30 second pitch so many times you just want to hand people a brochure and let them read it themselves.
• You are always paranoid that someone with a badge turned backwards is from the FDA and is leading you into a question that will get you or your company in trouble.

BUT  - its not all bad! There are also fun aspects of tradeshows.

• You get to spend time with the field reps and get to know them better.
• You get to talk to a lot of customers and get REAL feedback about your product and marketing materials. The perks of being in Marketing are AWESOME! Free products galore from friendly booth neighbors.
• Tradeshows are usually in big cities and traveling to a city you might never have been to before is fun.
• Going out to a nice dinner on the company is nice, I won't lie.

Beautiful Tradeshow Day in Vancouver

Ups and Downs

Working a tradeshow for my day job has a lot of ups and downs. Its fun and its fulfilling, but its tiring, your feet hurt, and its wearing to talk to negative and aggressive people periodically.

Playing w/Silly Putty at a Booth .. Where We Sold BONE Putty

Enter ... working the San Francisco Marathon booth! This past weekend I worked the SF Marathon booth at the Carlsbad Marathon expo as part of my SF Marathon Ambassador duties. There is only one word that describes the experience as a tradeshow warrior .... awesome! There are so many reasons that working this booth was the best tradeshow experience for me ever!

Booth Traffic

I hate to admit that I got to the expo about 15 minutes late (other volunteer commitment - had to swing by the Keebler Kids race first to pick up the supplies from the GOTR booth) and was shocked that the place was already packed! The expo was busy the entire day, and I never had one second with no traffic where I could sit down. I actually thought that I was going to lose my voice by the end of the day after talking for seven hours straight! There was a steady stream of people and I was talking to people passing by up until the last 15 minutes of the expo. WOW. I can only dream of traffic being that good on any other show I've worked!

Met a Lot of Great Runners at the Booth!

Target Customer

In my day job, not every person at the tradeshow is a potential customer for one reason or another. At the Carlsbad Marathon expo, just about everyone there is half or full marathon runner, so they are an ideal target for my 'product'.

Product

My product was a full or half marathon. With everyone interested in my type of product, the only other factors affecting their interest were location, timing, cost, and experience. San Francisco is a location that everyone loves, the timing doesn't conflict with any San Diego races (considering most Carlsbad runners are San Diego residents), the cost of the race was comparable to others, and the experience includes something incredible .. running across the Golden Gate Bridge! If you want an event that defines running in San Francisco this is it!

Proposition

I was offering a great product with a great offer. $10 off the registration fee if you signed up at the expo! Classical marketing will teach you that its important to have an offer, a sense of urgency, and a call to action. My offer was the race, the sense of urgency was the discount available only at the expo, and the call to action were my registration forms. This all worked out great at the expo! A lot of people signed up, and most of those who didn't still showed their interest in the race by signing up for the race newsletter ... which entered you into a drawing for a free race entry. GREAT idea!

Being the Expert

When I first started working a booth at tradeshows I was really nervous. What if a doctor (Gasp! Who knows so much more than me!) asks me a question I can't answer? What if I look stupid? I used to get so nervous talking to every doctor that would come up to our booth. I finally learned after a few shows that 95% of people ask the same questions, and if you can answer those you're fine. For those 5% you can't answer, its not mission critical and you can always get back to them later. I was a little nervous about working the SF Marathon booth since it was new to me, and hoped that I could answer any question that would come up. As luck would have it, I could! A quick skim of the FAQ's helped, but being a  SF native, having run both the half and the full course, and having run the Nike Women's marathon before all really helped out.

Last Few 26.2 Tattoos I Gave Away

Overall this expo experience was a lot of fun, I got to meet a lot of people, I got to GUSH about running, San Francisco, and the San Francisco marathon ... and I had fun (in flip flops!) at a tradeshow for the entire time ... for the first time ever. I absolutely LOVE what I do for a living and really like my day job, but its always fun to do something different as well.

Domo Does the Desert

Happy New Year!

Domo has already taken his first trip of the year ... to Phoenix! In case you aren't familiar with Phoenix, please view this brief video from Fedex/Kinkos.
 

Driving to the Desert

Domo used to live in Arizona and has driven there so many times that he can do it in his sleep. When he found out that he'd need to go to Phoenix with Monika for a tradeshow, he decided they should drive instead of fly. Hey, its only 375 miles!

 

Domo has a new car now (which he'll talk about in a future blog post) which shows an instantaneous MPG and an average MPG for the tank. Domo is moderately obsessed with his fuel efficiency now and can't stop checking the MPG reading. Domo noticed that his MPG dropped significantly when he drove over 80mph (Monika's Dad - please note that *Monika* would never drive 80mph .. this is speedy Domo we're talking about!) In an obsessive compulsive game of saving fuel, Domo kept his speed set at a much lower pace than usual, and the 5 hour trip somehow took 6 1/2 hours Oh well.

Desert Resort

The tradeshow that they were attending was held at the JW Marriott in Phoenix, which oddly enough, was just down the street from Domo's old house. Domo used to drive by the resort everyday on the way to the freeway. Its a small world!
 

Domo Does Camelback

Since Domo got to Phoenix first, set-up the booth, and worked the whole first day as his coworkers came and went, he was allowed to take a late morning on the second day. Domo thought about running along the canals where he used to train for marathons in Phoenix, but instead thought aha! Let's do something different! Domo decided to hike Camelback Mountain for his third time ever.

 

Camelback mountain is prominently located in the center of Phoenix, and has two trails that make their way to the top via a rocky, treacherous path. One path is 1.2 miles and the other is 1.4 miles. The shorter path is steeper, but also has better parking. So guess which one Domo did? Hello! Good parking!

 

Domo did Camelback when he first moved to Arizona in 2002, and again in late 2004. The 2nd time Domo hiked Camelback is actually a special day for him which he will always remember.  On that day in 2004 he decided to train for his first half marathon. (Mostly because his undiagnosed exercise induced asthma had him huffing and puffing and gasping up the mountain, and was the final straw in a string of events that made him realize he needed to make a life change and give up smoking. Yes, Domo used to smoke. Don't judge him. Its what brought him to marathoning!)

 

There are parts of the hike up that are like walking on a path, but there are many more parts that involve climbing up and over rocks. Domo got a good upper and lower body workout this day! At the top of the mountain there is an incredible panoramic view of the greater Phoenix valley. You can see for miles!

 

Its so fun to get up to the top and look around ... but then you realize crap, now I have to climb back DOWN all of those rocks I just crawled up over. Domo has always been more scared on the way down versus up.  Domo was really conservative and reverse-spiderman crawled his way down and did his best not to slip on loose rocks.

 

Visiting Friends

The next night Domo, Monika, and David had plans to meet up with Monika's good friends Jenna and Diane at Diane's house. Interesting fact of the day - all of them are half Swedish! As you can probably tell from their blonde hair. Wait, who invited the brunette to the party?

 

Jenna brought her sweet bay Conner to the party making him the 4th partial Swede in the group!

 

Everyone had a lot of fun and Jenna gave Monika a belated Christmas gift which combined two of her loves into one! Hello Kitty champagne in a sock monkey wine cover? WOW!!! As you might remember from a previous blog post, David's family has a thing with sock monkeys, and for David's last birthday Monika made him a sock monkey from scratch. YES! From scratch! Well, from a kit. More on her blog "The Making of  a Sock Monkey".
 

Everyone had a lot of fun at Diane's house as usual, and before we knew it, it was back to the last day of the tradeshow, and then back to San Diego. Domo never really liked Phoenix when he lived there (okay, he hated it!), but now that he is gone he really misses some of his friends there. Its always nice to go back and spend time with your favorite friends. Domo misses you Jenna and Diane!!
 

2010 Year in Review

2010 was a good year for me! I traveled a lot, completed several races, tried out new things, and had a lot of fun!

Travel

Since I've work in Marketing as a Product Manager, I have spent the last six years traveling all over the country for tradeshows, sales meetings, rep ride-alongs, and trainings. I have to admit, I have a fun job! The cities I went to for work this past year were: Palm Springs, Chicago, Washington DC, Colorado Springs, Las Vegas, and Toronto
 

For personal travel I made it out to: Washington DC, Aruba, Paris, San Francisco, West Virginia, and Orlando (I know I'm mixing, cities, countries, and states. It makes the places the most identifiable this way.) In total this year I flew 63, 471 miles - securing another year as a Dividend Preferred Gold Elite member through February 2012. Yipee!
 

Races

I ran a number of races this year ranging from a 5K to a marathon, completed my first mud run, and dove into the world of triathlon by competing my 1st and 2nd triathlon within a week of each other! More on my blog: 2010 Running Review
 

January

In January I finally moved out of my tiny "modern and modular" one bedroom apartment and went across Balboa Park to a much bigger and cooler place.  More on my blogs: New Year, New Home

 

I also made a big move in the GOTRSD world in January by joining the Board of Directors and Marketing committee. After only serving one season as Head Coach of Carmel Valley, I was asked to join the Board - which I quickly accepted! I love GOTR and was excited about getting more involved with such a great organization.

February

In February I made another big move - I changed jobs! After workingfor six years in the dental industry, I took a similar position at a start-up medical device company in the aesthetics (plastic/cosmetic surgery) industry. More on my blog: New Year, New Job
 

 

On Feb 6th I ran my first race of the year and thrilled to finish with a PR in the Surf City Half Marathon. More on my blog: Surf City USA - Awesome!
 

I also decided to return as Head Coach for GOTR Carmel Valley for the Spring season, and February marked the beginning of the next 12-weeks of sessions. Even though joining the Board usually marked the end of someone acting as a coach, I loved interacting with the girls so much that I decided to do both.
 

March

In March David and I randomly decided to try giving up meat for a month. We made it through that month but not much longer than that. More on my blog: A Month Without Meat

 

I have to admit that David and I cheated a bit on our meat-free regime when we went to Aruba for vacation over spring break. We went so far as to eat at a churrascaria. Hey, if you're going to do something, do it right! More on my blog: Aruba: 4 days &  4 nights

April

In April I worried those close to me about my sanity by writing my first blog through the eyes of Domo. Years ago a friend gave me a pocket-sized travel gnome which I took on all of my trips. Gnomer Simpson and I had years of fun together but I finally retired him last Christmas. On a whim I took Domo with me on a trip to Chicago and "Domo's Travels" began! More on my blog: Domo Does Chicago

 

Soon after Domo returned home from his trip to Chicago he was back on the road again to work a tradeshow in Washington DC. More on my blog: Domo Does DC
 

As quickly as the Spring season of GOTR began, it also ended. :o( The girls ran their season end race at De Anza Cove in Mission Bay in the Give Your Heart to Monarch 5K.  More on my blog: 18 Girls on the Run

June

June is the best month out of the year because it's my birthday month! Unfortunately it didn't end up being the best running month for me. In June I ran my 12th marathon and had a terrible race. More on my blog: Dealing With Disappointment

 

After a month off traveling, Domo picked up his bags again in June and headed off to Colorado Springs to work a tradeshow. More on my blog: Domo Does the Springs

July

While June was a special month, it didn't involve chocolate covered BACON! Which July did of course. I went with some friends to the San Diego county fair for the first time. More on my blog: Food & Fun at the Fair

 

In addition to going to the county fair, I also did a few other new things in San Diego including exploring Balboa Park, going to the Wild Animal Park, seeing Avenue Q, and going bowling. More on my blog: San Diego Fun
 

After exploring San Diego, I decided to then abandon the city and go to three back-to-back trips including Las Vegas, Paris, and San Francisco. More about Vegas on my blog: Viva La Domo   and more about Paris on my blog : 5 Days of Family Fun in France

 

My trip to San Francisco revolved around running the San Francisco Half Marathon. I was running the half marathon and my friend Christina was running the full as her first marathon ever! More on my blog: The Marathon: Cheering on a Friend

 

August

On one hot weekend this summer, David and I headed up to Long Beach to watch the Redbull Flugtag competition. Have you seen Obama's head, Chuck Norris' head, or a rubber duckie pushed off a pier into the ocean? I have! More on my blog: Flugtag = Flying Day
 

Speaking of jumping into the ocean, in August I decided that jumping into the ocean might be something I was willingly going to do - in a triathlon! More on my blog: 2/3 of a Triathlete
 

September

The summer went by too quickly as usual, and before I knew it the Fall season of GOTR was about to being. I returned for my 3rd season as Head Coach and was excited to see that the Carmel Valley location had not only grown from one group of girls to two!  More on my blog: 15 New Girls on the Run
 

Even though I had thought about doing a triathlon, I hadn't yet committed to one. After watching my friend Todd complete his first Olympic distance triathlon, I signed up that night for my first mini-sprint triathlon with a coupon code I got at the race expo. More on my blog: Watching a Tri

 

October

I traveled to a new and exotic place in October ... West Virginia! David's parents moved from a suburb of Charlotte to a small town in West Virginia over the summer. I finally made it out to visit in October and we watched the annual sheepdog trials and did a variety of other random things that weekend. More on my blog: Border Collies, BBQ, Board Games, Babies & Rock Band
 

This month also marked the third and final race in the California Dreamin' series with the Long Beach Half Marathon. More on my blog: California Dreamin'

I watched the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) triathlon in La Jolla in October and spent a good part of two hours holding back tears. These athletes are amazing and inspiring. More on my blog: Courage, Motivation, Inspiration
 

I also completed a triathlon of my own. My first tri race and I came in first overall among women! More on my blog: Fearless Triathlon - I Did It!
 

November

After winning my first triathlon I was hungry for another race! I competed in the Tri Club's last club race of the year ... and didn't quite rank so well. More on my blog: Triathlon #2 - The Sprint

 

I also found out this month that I had been bestowed with an amazing honor - I was named as one of 12 running ambassadors for the San Francisco Marathon! More on my blog: SFM Ambassador - Heck Yeah!

November was a busy month, and an exciting one for my best friend of 24 years. I went home to San Francisco to throw my friend Garley a baby shower for her 2nd baby. More on my blog: There's No Place Like Home

Two weeks later I returned home again for Thanksgiving. I spent time with my dad, hung out with friends, and ran a 10K turkey trot. More on my blog: Domo Does Turkey

December

I ended my year with a race that I'd never thought I'd do .... a mud race! Can you imagine me crawling through mud and climbing over obstacles? Well I did it! More on my blog: Gladiators on the Run

This month also marked the end of my third season coaching Girls on the Run. It was another great season and I'm looking forward to the next. More on my blog: 14 More Girls on the Run

2010 was a good year for me and I'm ready to see what 2011 has in store!
 

2010 Running Review

As I was putting together my race calendar for 2011, I also looked back on the races I ran in 2010. From my athlinks.com profile I saw that I ran 7 races in 2010, compared to 8 in 2009, and *gasp* only 3 in 2008! (It was a transition year for me with a big move, new job, and a lot of travel both personal and professional.) My peak race years were 2005 and 2006 where I ran 11 and 13 races. (This was back when I didn't mind paying $30 to run 3 or 6 miles.) Now I do, and rarely race distances less than a 15K without a compelling reason.  In addition to my 7 running races in 2010 I'm proud to say that I completed my first two triathlons!

My Race Number Collection

2010 Race History (Click for race recaps)

February - Surf City USA Half Marathon

June - Rock 'n Roll Marathon San Diego

July - Coronado Independence Day 15K, San Francisco Half Marathon

October - Long Beach Half Marathon, Fearless Mini-Sprint Triathlon

November - Tri Club San Diego Sprint Triathlon, Nitro Turkey Trot 10k

December - Gladiator Rock 'n Run 5K Mud Run

2010 Race Highlights

The Surf City, San Francisco, and Long Beach Half Marathons were part of the California Dreamin' series so on top of individual medals for the races above, I also got an extra special blinged out California medal for finishing those three races in a year.

California Dreamin' Series Bling

On bigger and better news, when I competed in my very first triathlon ever in October ... I came in 1st overall among women! I couldn't believe it! I was terrified of the swim even though I had gone for a handful of open water swims in preparation, and I had never ridden a *road* bike before and had to borrow one for the race. The running I had down of course, but the other two I didn't feel too confident about.

Fearless Triathlon Finisher!

Luckily with the moral support of David, Todd, Christine, and  the help of my swim buddy, I managed to make it through the race and finish with an incredible time. Part of me thinks God gave me that win to make me hungry for more triathlons. Well, it worked!

First Place Female Overall!

The Mud Run

In the past I had said that I would never, ever do a triathlon. Well as you can see I ate those words! This past year I went back on a second vow when I completed my first (and probably last) mud race. Along with two other brave soles from Girls on the Run San Diego, I ran through mud and climbed over obstacles in the Gladiator Rock 'n Run. For more on that race, check out my blog "Gladiators on the Run".

Mud Run - Check!

Training in Numbers

To prepare for these races I ran a LOT of miles. I also swam and biked a bit to prepare for the triathlons, but the majority of my training involved running. From my dailymile.com training log it looks like I ran a total of 867 miles in 2011. You can see my peak was in May while preparing for the Rock 'n Roll San Diego.

I started swimming (as my only workout option) when I was in Paris for a week in July (more on my blog post "5 Days of Family Fun in France"), and once those workouts clicked I continued to swim at home in San Diego and signed up for a local mini-sprint triathlon. I didn't follow a set swim workout and just swam when I could in between running and managed to log 27 miles with swim workouts varying from 500 to 3000 meters.

Hill Training

One big change that I made to my running training this past year was the incorporation of hills. I've always despised hills and even grumble when I have to run over a freeway overpass. Well, after having my a** handed to me on the hills of various half and full marathons in the past (Nike Women's Full, San Francisco Full, Austin Half, Run to the Rock/Plymouth Half) I decided that it was time to conquer the hills! 

Running Across the Golden Gate Bridge

 

As luck would have it, I moved to a new place at the beginning of the year that put me at the top of a hill that led down to the trails I loved in Balboa Park. (More on my blog "Ode to Balboa Park".) I started out with runs that started and ended with the hill, but eventually I worked up the nerve to do hill repeats. Its funny to think that the first time I ran up the 0.40 mile hill to my neighborhood I had to stop to walk ... TWICE! Now I can easily do 3-5 laps of the hill and not feel completely wiped out.

I had hoped that this hill work would help me in the Rock N Roll Marathon in SD this past June on the long, slow incline up the 163. It ended up not mattering much for that race because I was having so many other issues. During that race the hills were the least of my problems. (More on my blog "Dealing with Disappointment".) I was happy to find though that my hill training DID make the hills of the SF Marathon much more bearable. Not fun, but bearable. Next year I hope to change bearable to enjoyable. We'll see, fingers crossed.

Rock 'n Roll Marathon San Diego

Training Groups

In 2010 I also joined two different training groups. In the beginning of the year I joined the Rock Runners running ministry through the Rock Church, and trained with them every Saturday in preparation for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon in SD. After completing that race I eased off on running a bit, and trained alone for my first triathlon. After completing my first tri and getting the "tri bug", I then joined the Tri Club of San Diego. I've been to a few of their meetings and workshops and one of their swim workouts so far. In the coming year I hope to join more of their swim/bike/run sessions.

Rock Runners (I'm 2nd from right)

2011 Racing Goals

I'm in the process of fine tuning my race schedule for 2011 right now. I posted my preliminary schedule a few weeks ago here "2011 Race Schedule - Check!",  but since then I've made a couple changes that I need to finalize.  Its tricky to find a way to cram a few triathlons onto a full plate of half and full marathons!

My overall racing goals for 2011 are:

- improve my half marathon time

- improve my full marathon time

- complete several sprint triathlons

- complete at least one Olympic distance triathlon

My 2012 goals will contain completing a Half Ironman/70.3 distance race, so I've decided to give myself this full year to work on my swimming and biking skills to ensure that I enjoy racing that longer distance. Silly me, but I figure in the grand scheme of things a Half Ironman can't be worse than a full marathon right? Famous last words...

Domo Does Disney

Domo here! Domo hasn't blogged since his trip home to San Francisco in "Domo Does Turkey". Domo is back from a week off of work and a trip to Orlando and Disney World! Domo had never been to Disney World before and has always wanted to go. Growing up in California meant that Domo got to go to Disneyland many times in his life, but he never quite made it out to the magical world of Disney in Orlando. Domo was very lucky and was invited on a trip to Orlando with the Allen family to celebrate Kelli's 40th birthday!

David & Domo at the Airport

 

Travel Day

Domo spent the Christmas weekend in West Virginia which was a long trip to the DC airport. Domo and family got up really early and left the house by 7am ... to get to the airport at 10am for a 12pm flight. Domo was tired. The flight to Orlando only lasted a few hours and before he knew it Domo and family were in Orlando, had their rental car, and were settling into their vacation house in Davenport, FL. The next day the plan was to go to the Magic Kingdom in Disney World (the Disneyland type park), the following day Kelli would be going to Discovery Cove to swim with dolphins, and the day after that everyone would be going to Epcot Center.

Domo Ready to Fly!

The Magic Kingdom

Domo had high hopes for the Magic Kingdom. In his mind, it would be like Disneyland ... but bigger and better! Sadly, Domo was a little disappointed with the Magic Kingdom. It definitely was bigger, but it was soooo crowded! It also seemed to have more shops and restaurants than rides, and ever ride that Domo walked by had a 1-2 hour wait. Even for the simple rides like Peter Pan and Dumbo!

Main Street was Packed!

 

Cinderella's Castle

Domo's first order of business at the Magic Kingdom was to buy a new pair of Minnie Mouse ears. Domo has two other pairs at home but wanted to get a new, special pair from the Magic Kingdom. After trying on several pairs of ears, Domo decided on a sequined pair. Domo looked snazzy in his ears!

Domo as Minnie Mouse

 

Domo loves taking pictures with Disney characters and at the top of list for any trip to Disney is taking a picture with Mickey or Minnie. Domo waited in line for 30 minutes before entering Minnie's house, and was CRUSHED to find out that Minnie wasn't home! What gives?! In Disneyland Minnie always hangs out in her house for photo oops!

Mickey's Garden

 

Oh well. Domo sadly moved on to Mickey's house next door and proceeded to get in line to meet Mickey. An hour later, Domo was finally brought into a room with Mickey ... AND Minnie! Score! Domo's picture didn't turn out that well with Mickey and Minnie so he will share a picture he took of the Mouses with Monika & David.

 

David & Monika Meet the Mouses

 

In between the walking around, waiting in line, eating, and shopping, Domo managed to go to one show and go on one ride. The show was called PhilharMagic  and was a really cool 4D show that involved sight, sound, smell, and feel.  After the show Domo went over to get in line for his favorite ride from Disneyland - Space Mountain! Space Mountain is the first roller coaster that Domo ever remembers going on as a young girl .. er Domo-kid. Domo was scared senseless as a kid when his cousins tricked him into going on the ride, and was proud to say that Space Mountain felt like nothing as an adult! It wasn't a fraction as scary as Goudurix at Parc Asterix in France!

Allen Family Trying to Stay Warm

 

Domo's evening in the Magic Kingdom ended with watching the Main Street electrical parade and the fireworks show. You might not believe this if you're not from Florida, but Florida gets COLD! When Domo go to the park it was about 50F. By the end of the night it was 38F! Domo's fabric teeth where chattering!!

Cinderella's Castle at Night

The next day Domo was exhausted from 11 hours at the Magic Kingdom and took it easy at the house while Kelli was at Discovery Cove. Domo needed to rest up for the following day when he'd be going to Epcot Center!

 

Epcot Center

Domo and family felt like they spent a lot of time walking aimlessly around the Magic Kingdom without a plan. When they arrived at Epcot Center, they made a plan! After scouring the park map each person listed one thing they'd like to do that day. The attractions were prioritized and the day was set! The first item on the list was Captain EO.  Domo remembers going to see Captain EO at Disneyland with his cousins a long time ago. When the movie came on and they showed some of the history of the movie, Domo was shocked to see that Captain EO came out in 1986. Domo is so old!

Monika Making Paper at Technovation

 

After Captain EO Domo went on his first ride and rode on his first of four unique modes of transportation for the day. First Domo rode in a clamobile with Nemo, next he flew a space ship in Mission: Space, after that he flew like a bird over California on Soarin', and finally he drove a race car around Test Track. Domo is one of many driving talents! All of the rides were cool but Test Track was Domo's favorite. Mission: Space was Domo's least favorite since a spaceship flight simulator brought Domo to the brink of his control on his motion sickness. That ride made Domo turn from brown to green!

Domo Spotted a Hidden Mickey

 

World Showcase

In between going on some of the rides Domo also visited the World Showcase which contained small towns from the following countries: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, Canada.

Domo Does Canada

 

Domo Does France

 

Domo Does Germany

 

Domo Does England

 

Domo Does China

 

Of all of the countries guess what was Domo's favorite? Japan of course! His hometown! In Japan, Domo found a huge gift shop with all kinds of gifts, housewares, and clothing from Japan. This store even had a whole section devoted to Hello Kitty AND a section devoted to Domo!
 

Domo Does Japan

Monika Trying to be Domo

Monika was lucky enough to get a shirt that looked like Domo. Domo was flattered! Although he wasn't quite sure why Monika bought a pink shirt when everyone knows Domo is brown!

Funny Shirt with Yoda & Ice Cream Mickey

Domo Gets an Ice Cream Mickey

By the end of the day at Epcot Center Domo was exhausted! There was a lot of walking involved. Domo was tempted to wear his Garmin Forerunner watch during both days at the theme parks to see how far he walked, but figured that would be too geeky. Or is it? Maybe next time.

Monika Meets Marie from Aristocats