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