Top 10 Travel Tips

I've traveled quite a bit since I've started my career in Marketing, flying about 60,000 miles each year on average. I think I've earned the status of road warrior and tradeshow warrior, (HURRAH!!) and I'm often frustrated by others who don't move as quickly and efficiently through the airport as I do when I'm in a hurry. (Which is almost always.)   While I was on a trip last weekend I was totally frustrated to be stuck in the security line behind several novice travelers. They are usually identified by these common mistakes:
 

• They don't take their shoes off
• They stack several things on top of each other in the basket that goes through the x-ray machine
• They don't take off large metal objects that they are wearing (belt buckle, jewelry, etc)
• They have larger-than-allowed containers of liquid in their carry-on bag
• They  leave their computers or other electronics in their carry-on bag
• They are wearing bulky coats or jackets

Any of these offenses above require the person to stop and try a second time for themselves or their belongings to go through screening. This of course holds up the whole line. Sigh. I usually scan the security lines for people who I think will be stopped (the girl gabbing on her cell phone and putting a 1 liter bottle of water through the machine, the older woman in a wheelchair who is going to be patted down, the man most likely to be racial profiled and pulled aside for additional screening, the frazzled mom with a stroller and kids, etc) Along these lines, I was thoroughly amused by the scene in Up in the Air where George Clooney's character was giving his own advice about going through security lines.

 

 

In addition to this list of people to avoid in a security line, I have a list of top ten tips which will make your trips, whether for business or pleasure, much more enjoyable.

 

Before You Book

There are several things that you can do to ensure you get the best price, times, or locations for your trip. 

 

Tip #1 - Shop Around

 

I usually start looking at flights/hotels/rental cars a week or two before I know I will probably book the trip. The sites I normally check are:

 

www. travelocity.com

www.expedia.com

www.kayak.com

www.bing.com/travel

 

I use these sites first to see which airlines have the best prices and times for the trip I'm looking to book. In addition to checking these discount sites, I also check the actual airline's website as well. The last two times I've flown on Continental I first found the best time/airline/price for my flight on a discount site  to search across airlines (Travelocity and Kayak), but upon searching for the EXACT same flight on continental.com, I got an even better price!

 

For rental cars though I've found this to be the exact opposite. I have always gotten a better price on a discount site than I have directly on the car rental sites. Regardless of what you are booking (flight/hotel/car) shop around, and shop around early to find the best price. 

 

Tip #2 - Enroll in Loyalty Programs

 

There is no downside to enrolling in loyalty programs. They're free, and if you're not collecting the points you're basically leaving money on the table. If possible, collect all of your points in one or two primary brands. My airline of choice (because I used to live in Phoenix) is US Airways. Luckily for me, US Airways, United, and Continental are all part of the Star Alliance now. This means that if I fly on any of these three airlines I can earn points on my US Airways Dividend Rewards account.

 

Tip #3 - Aspire For Elite Status

 

There are several ways you can attain elite status with an airline or hotel brand. You can earn the status outright (miles flown or nights stayed), through an official credit card, or through a partnership between elite programs. The first way is the hardest, the second is the easiest, and the third is just luck. (For example being US Airways Dividend Gold automatically grants me Hyatt Gold status. Too bad I never stay at Hyatts.)

 

Most airline or hotel credit cards will grant you Silver Elite status. Not only does Elite status mean that you will earn points and miles faster (25-33% bonus miles), but you will also gain access to the first level of perks associated with that program or program-specific perks. (Priority check-in, security lines, boarding,  first free checked bag, priority standby statues, etc) I have a US Airways Debit Card through Bank Of America (which would grant me Silver status if I hadn't already earned Gold) which allows me to earn points with my checking account purchases, and I have a US Airways MasterCard which allows me to book rewards flights at a 5000 mile discount!

There is a little known secret to gaining elite status in less than a year whose main intent is to allow you to switch from one loyalty program without waiting a year. For example, I am considering switching to Continental's elite program now that Continental and United are merging. It made sense to be loyal to US Airways when I lived in Phoenix (a US Airways hub), but now that I'm living in San Diego (which isn't a hub to anyone) I might as well switch to an airline with the most flight options and best prices. This is beginning to look like Continental.


The status match program basically lets you earn elite status in a 3 month period (vs a whole year) by showing that the frequency you travel in that 3 month period equates out how much you'd travel in a year to achieve that level. For Continental for example I'd need to fly 17,500 miles in a 3 month period to achieve Gold Elite which normally requires 50,000 miles in a year. More on this topic can be found on their website.

Tip #4 - Book Your Flight on a Tuesday

 

Flight prices fluctuate during the week and are lowest on Tuesdays. Random, right? Well, I've researched flight prices since I've heard this and its basically true. More on this topic can be found here, here and here.

 

  
Preparing to Travel

There are several things you can do to make your trip easier. This includes packing smarter, knowing the baggage rules, deciding where to park, and checking in online.

 

Tip #5 - Pack Smart

 

Unless you have elite standing with an airline or are flying Southwest, you will have to pay for your checked baggage. It is also important to keep in mind that the penalty fee for having an overweight bag is sometimes more  than the cost of checking a second bag. On United for example the first bag costs $25, the second is $35, but a bag weighing over 50lbs costs $100. Would you rather pay $125 for your 60lb bag or pay $55 for checking two bags?  This website has a great overview of checked bag fees. And, in case you like to pack to the limit, a useful tool like this can help you weigh your bag  before you go to the airport.

 

If you're going to carry your bag on you don't have to worry about baggage fees! But make sure your toiletries fall within the 3-1-1 size/volume restrictions that are standard on all airlines.   

 

 

Tip #6 - Plan Your Parking Online

 

If you are traveling for personal reasons and will be gone for an extended period of time, parking fees can really add up! I hate to admit that I'm guilty of parking at the terminal when I'm traveling for business. At the San Diego airport it costs $16/day. Various off-site parking lots in the area range from $10-16 and often have coupons. Thanks to these sites (here and here) I was able to find the cheapest parking lot closest to the airport, and now park at a $11/day lot which always has a $1 coupon online!

Tip #7 - Check-In Online

 

There is NO downside to checking in online - even if you still need to check a bag at the airport. Checking in online gets one step in your travel plans out of the way, it often times gives you a chance to switch to a better seat on the flight, if you're elite and are eligible for a First Class upgrade it gives you a chance to put your name on the upgrade list (sometimes they upgrade you by status alone, sometimes you need to request it) and ... there are some chances where you can get around the pre-flight deadlines if you are already checked in prior to arriving at the airport. (You usually have to have your bag checked 45 minutes before departure and your boarding pass printed 30 minutes before departure. There have been several times where the ticketing agent was surprisingly able to get me on the flight even though I had arrived at the airport late .. only because I had  already checked in online!)

 

 

Travel Day

Now that you've booked your trip at the best price possible, have packed smartly, and have secured the best parking space, it is now time for you to make your travel day go as smoothly as possible.
 

Tip #8 - Be Smart Going Through Security

In addition to the tips I initially mentioned regarding who to avoid getting in line behind at security, the way you unpack your belongings and put them through the x-ray machine matters as well. As you're standing in line you should mentally assess how many bins you'll need. I usually need two. One for my laptop and bag of liquids, and another for my purse and shoes (and sometimes my coat.)This is in addition to the third item I put through the machine, my carry-on bag. 

 

It is also important to put your items through in a specific order. I usually put my shoes through first, so that they're the first thing I get on the other side and can put them on immediately. The second most important thing for me to retrieve out of the machine is either my purse or my laptop due to their value. Least important and least stealable? My carry-on bag which w/o my laptop only has books, magazines, pens, etc. 

 

Tip #9 - Think About Hydration/Meals

 

Even though everything is overpriced at the airport, the one thing that I buy consistently regardless of price is bottled water. Its easy to get dehydrated on the plane and while traveling, and a tiny cup of water or two isn't going to be enough to keep you hydrated. If you're only going to buy one thing in the airport it should be a large bottle of water. If you're crossing timezones, staying hydrated is the #1 way to beat jet lag.
 

 

You should also think about whether or not you should eat in the airport before your flight, if you want to buy food to bring on the plane, or if you want to purchase food on the flight. (Keeping in mind that shorter flights often don't even have an option to purchase food or snacks.) This website has a good overview of the various airlines and their food purchase options.

 

 

On Your Trip

There are several things you can do to make your hotel stay more comfortable by researching and requesting certain options.

 

Tip #10 - Maximize Your Hotel Stay

 

Per Tip #2 you should be enrolled in the hotel's loyalty program. You should also create a profile online with the hotel's website which often allows you to select certain preferences. My Marriott preferences are:  two full beds vs. one king bed (I'm used to sleeping in a smaller bed and use the extra bed for my suitcase), a room closest to the elevator, a room on a high floor (living on the ground floor gives me the creeps!), and USA Today vs. the Wall Street Journal.

 

On the night before I'm checking out, I almost always ask for a late checkout the next morning. Most hotels have a 10am or 11am standard checkout time. If you ask, and based upon availability, you can often get a 12-2pm checkout time.


One of my favorite hotel room tricks (which I learned from my fellow road warrior friend Jenna) is using the drycleaning bag from the closet. Have you ever worried about how to pack your still-sweaty workout clothes in your suitcase? Guess what - most hotels offer a drycleaning service and have a plastic bag clipped to a hanger in the closet which you can use to put your dirty clothes in. I always grab this bag to put my sweaty workout clothes and running shoes in before I pack them back in my suitcase.

 

Other Tips

I'm sure there are many other great tips on how to make your trip easier and more enjoyable, but these are my top ten. I'd love to hear your tips too - please feel free to share them with me! I promise to put them to good use.

 

Marine Corps Marathon Take 2

Back in 2009 David and I ran the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM)  as his first marathon and my 11th. (More on my blog: Marine Corps Marathon 2009) I really enjoyed the race and looking back its made my top three favorite marathons in the company of the San Francisco Marathon and the Chicago Marathon.

I'm pretty high maintenance and I rank races based on these factors:

1. Flatness of course
2. Ease of access to start/finish
3. Course design (course support and route)

The MCM ranks high on all fronts!

1. The course has two moderate hills up front, but nothing major. If you train on hills and know they are coming, you'll be fine.
2. The start and finish line are right near Metro stations, and so is the race expo.
3. The course is beautiful! You get to run through DC and Arlington, run past the monuments, and there is course support almost the entire way
    

I really enjoyed this race and if you asked me about it, I would have said I'd do it again, but had no immediate plans to run this race in the near future. As far as running bucket lists go, I'd checked this off! A few weeks ago my friend Christina emailed me saying that she wanted to run the race and wanted to know if David and I were interested. I have a really heavy race calendar full of half-marathons, full-marathons, and triathlons this year, and I'd already registered for two full marathons. Running three in a year is a lot of work, and its basically a full year of long runs. Bye bye 10 toenails! When I got her email it crossed my mind to run MCM again and work it into one of my visits to MD, but I thought no, I don't want to run a 3rd marathon this year, maybe some other year.
 

Well ... David on the other hand (Who I've been working on to run the SF Marathon 1st half with me) wrote back saying that he'd consider it and that the SFM half would be a good warm-up for a full several months  later. Huh?? Hmm ... okay. 

Registration Day

Registration day arrived this past Wednesday February 23rd Interestingly enough, this was the 65th anniversary of Iwo Jima, whose statue is located right at the finish line where the finishers photos are taken. A few days prior, I had no idea what Iwo Jima was. :oP Anyways, I had seen on facebook and twitter that registration was open and didn't think much of it. Then, my friend Christina emailed me saying she had tried to register and couldn't .. and btw it was only $90 for the race. Hmmm ...  I have a chip on my shoulder regarding overpriced marathons, and $90 for such a huge, historic race was amazing! I then thought well, maybe I'll try to register. If the site is overloaded, I"ll put the fate of this race in God's hands and see what happens. 

Uh oh ... A few minutes later I was registered. ACK!

I immediately emailed and texted David trying to get him to register as well, not thinking he really would. If I had to place a bet I would have put the chance of David registering at 20%. After we ran two half marathons and one full marathon together, I thought that one of my dreams had come true - dating a distance runner! Um, not so much. David actually didn't run for months after MCM in 2009, and had no interest in a distance race at all after that. Boo. Heartbreak.  BUT ... without having emailed or talked at all that morning .. .a few hours later David forward me and his family his registration confirmation email! He was in!

So here we have it! David, Christina, and I will all be running the Marine Corps Marathon this year! I'm so excited! But nervous .. but excited! A testament to how cool this race is is how quickly it sold out. Back in 2009 David and I registered on day #2, and it sold out by day #4. This year the race hit 33% capacity with the first HOUR! AND - it was completely sold out 28 hours and 4 minutes later. Amazing. Race capacity is 30,000 runners. That means about 10,000 runners registered within an HOUR of the race registration opened! I swear, work productivity must have seriously dropped on Wednesday nationwide as the Marine Corps Marathon made the top 10 google trends for the day.

So the race date is Sunday October 30th 2011. This will be my 15th marathon in 6 years. Pretty crazy, but I love it.

Girls on Track

This month I am returning as Head Coach for Girls on the Run! But - I am actually coaching a new program called Girls on Track. Girls on the Run (GOTR) is geared towards 8-12 year old girls in elementary school, while Girls on Track (GOT) is geared towards middle school girls who are 11-13. The format of the program is the same and at the highest level the program has the same goals (establishing healthy habits), but some of the topics are more serious and are more applicable to the life of a middle school girl and her challenges. 

 

 

GOTR/GOT Vision

• To provide life-changing, high quality programs for girls
• To provide life-changing and high quality experiences to the women developing and delivering the programs
• To promote and provide an environment that allows girls and women to reach their full potential
• To positively transform how girls and women perceive themselves and their place in society

Girls on the Run San Diego (GOTRSD) launched its first GOT site this past Fall 2010 in San Diego, and expanded to a second location in Carmel Valley this Spring 2011. Why yes, Carmel Valley is my site! We had a really full group of GOTR girls and several returning girls were aging out and were more suited for GOT, so I suggested that we start a GOT site in Carmel Valley (our 3rd group in one location) .. and it worked out! I was looking forward to taking on a new challenge with a new program and age group, and luckily for me this group also starts 15 minutes later than GOTR each day. (15 minutes can be critical in the workplace!)
 

 

Its really exciting for me to be a part of an 'expansion group'. When I first started coaching in Fall of 2009 there were only six sites. Now, there are fourteen! Our chapter has had amazing growth! If only my product from my day job could do so well

I'm only a week into coaching GOT but so far I love it. I really did love my girls from GOTR, but at times it was tiring to police a gaggle of elementary school girls. It is completely amazing to see how much more mature and respectful these middle school girls are! Its amazing, I went from 8-10 year olds to 11-12 year olds and that 1-2 year difference is like day and night! The girls sit still, pay attention, absorb what you say, participate eagerly in critical thinking. Wow! I know some of the other coaches were apprehensive of the pre-teen girl years, but so far its not that bad!

I'm excited to progress through my twelve weeks with these girls. Its a new experience for me, for them, and for the coaches. In the end I know all of us will benefit and grow from the program. I love Girls on the Run. :o)

(If you want to follow my coach's blog, you'll find a link to each lesson's recap over on the left column of this blog.)

Double Whopper Weekend

If this past race weekend could be described as a hamburger, it was a double whopper! I ran a half-marathon on both Saturday AND Sunday. Am I crazy? Well okay, a little bit. This marks half-marathons #3 and #4 for the year, with #2, #3, and #4 all occurring within a week period.

 

 My Race Weekend - The Double Whopper!

I had originally only planned on doing the Carlsbad Half-Marathon in January, and then the San Dieguito Half-Marathon in February. But, when I was given an injured friend's race bib last weekend I ran Surf City as well. (More on my blogs Carlsbad Half Marathon Race Recap &  Surf City Bandit - Kinda) After PR-ing in Surf City in her name, I was hungry for a PR to record for my own! Unfortunately San Dieguito is known to be a really tough, hilly course. So hmm.... what to do? What to do? A few days after running Surf City I decided that I would sign up for the Mermaid Run as well, which was a flat course by Mission Bay. Surely I'd PR there!

Half Racing History

Over the past several years I stopped running half-marathons in lieu of full marathons. Once I started running a lot of fulls, either the halfs didn't fit into my schedule or I just didn't want to pay for them. Once you're partially through your full marathon training plan, you're running at least the distance of a half marathon every week. Suddenly the idea of paying for a training run didn't make sense to me. Granted the experience and challenge of a race is much greater than that of a training run, but still, I passed on halfs for a while. 

Race History Chart - Yes, I'm a Nerd!

California Dreamin

Last year I ran more half-marathons than I had in a while, and completed three races in the California Dreamin series. I have to admit, the race series (and associated schwag) is what got me from running one to three in the year. As I improved on my half time over the last few years and my full time remained stagnant, I realized that maybe the best strategy for me to improve my overall full marathon time was to improve my half time first. I had slowly shaved my full marathon time down from 4:30 to 4:00, but seemed pretty stuck around the 4:00 mark.

Mermaid Run

I first heard of the Mermaid Race series through Girls on the Run when we joined as a sponsor last year. I hadn't heard much about this year's race in San Diego until about two months ago. I knew there was an adult and children's race and that GOTR would have a booth there, but didn't realize they had a half-marathon until recently. After PR-ing at Surf City and wanting to claim the finish time for my own, I realized that the  Mermaid Half-Marathon would be on a flat course, and I could easily run in the following Saturday after Surf City. The only complication? I was registered for San Dieguito (a notoriously hilly course) the day after. I thought about it for a day or so and thought what the heck! I could race my heart out at the Mermaid Run and then go easy at San Dieguito. And so I registered.

Mermaid Race Day

As a high maintenance runner who hates arriving early and parking far away, let me tel you that the golden ticket to avoiding all of this is being a vendor at the race expo! Since GOTR had a booth at the race expo I got to park in the VIP parking lot. SCORE! Just like I could at Carlsbad thanks to the SF Marathon. :o) I parked yards from the start and headed over to the GOTR booth to talk to my GOTR comrades and hang out for a bit befor the race started.

GOTR Booth at the Mermaid Run Expo

Once the race started I got to leave my stuff at the booth and mosey over to the start line. I was surprised by the small group of us that would be running this length of the race, but then was excited at the idea that maybe I'd rank in my age group! I usually place in the top 10-20% in my age group, so if there were only 30 people in my division, there's a decent chance I could come in around 3rd.

Mermaid Run Start/Finish Line

I had looked briefly at the race course online and wasn't thrilled to see that the course had an out-and-back, loop around Fiesta Island, sub-loop around Fiesta Island, and then an out-and-back to the finish. Ugh not a fan of the out-and-back and totally don't like Fiesta Island. I started towards the front of the small race pack and settled into a pace with a few girls that I stuck with for many miles. We stayed together for most of the  race until about mile 10 when I gave up a bit and walked through a Team in Training water station along the bay and asked for water. (Thank you kind TNT running friends!) 

One of my GOTR Girls & Her Sister!

The course wasn't great. Out and backs suck, a semi-repeat loop isn't fun, and having most of the water stations at the early loops and having nothing after mile 9 is just cruel! I tried to push when I could and just took it easy when I felt i needed it. I was hoping for a PR in this race but knew that stressing about it would do me in. I ran at a pace that felt good for most of the race and really only pushed at the very end, and was THRILLED to find out that I finished this race with a new (and my own!) PR!! *yay* I finished the Mermaid half at 1:49:53 which beat my impostor Surf City PR of 1:50:59, and my prior official PR of 1:54:00.

Mermaid Run Schwag

Was I happy? YES! What made me happier? The cool race schwag! Finisher's necklace and cute technical hoodie? Yes please! Thank you Mermaid Race!! I felt great after the race but noticed that the balls of my feet hurt in the last mile or so, and was suddenly apprehensive of my race the next day. I dismissed these worries with the thought of "Whatever. I just PR'd. I can just walk most of the race tomorrow and claim my finisher's medal and still feel accomplished!"

San Dieguito

I didn't feel too bad the next morning, wasn't sore, felt pretty normal, and aside from being tired was okay to be up early to run. This race was about 20 miles north and you had to shuttle to the start, so sadly I had to leave home at 6am, eat breakfast in my car (oatmeal and egg whites on an english muffin), and got to the shuttle lot around 6:30am to catch  bus to the start. The race started at 8am but the website said the last shuttle would run at 7am. I got on the 6:45am shuttle and got to the start around 7am . and then.. okay what do you do until race start? Tick tick tick.

Got My Bib - Ready to Run

I caught up on emails, twitter and facebook on my blackberry ... and then I stared tat the grass, sun, my shoes etc. BORING. Omg I was so bored. At one point I saw on facebook that my friend Crystal was also running, so I walked around for a while looking for her but could find her. Finally at 730am I figured Id go to the start. I went to look for bag check and asked a registration person where bag check was. He said "oh, its by the start". I asked where the start was. He said "its a 10-15 minute walk that way".   WHAT?! Driving 20 miles and shutting for 10 minutes wasn't enough? UGH. I started walking towards the direction he had pointed and actually bumped into Crystal along the way! We walked the rest of the way together (about 3/4 mile into a park) and lined up at the start line. 

Hills, Hills, and Hills

I had seen on the course elevation map that this course had a long hill from mile 0.5 to mile 3.5 and mentally prepared myself for it. As I cruised along mile after mile, I was amazed that I actually felt okay, was able to push my way through hill after rolling hill, and didn't even feel like I had raced the day before! I kept a steady 8:15 pace on the flat parts, 9:00-10:00 on the hills, and ran almost the entire course. I took two mini walk breaks (0.05 miles) around mile 6 and 10, but otherwise ran the whole way. WOW! Has this past year of hill repeats really paid off? I think it has! Yay!

 

Garmin Output from the Race

The San Dieguito course is really pretty and lead you through different neighborhoods with huge, beautiful homes. Apparently we were running through Rancho Santa Fe which I had heard of, but had never been to. There were a lot of twists and turns in the road which made the hills seem never ending at times. You'd focus on making your way up one hill, only to turn the corner to see that it kept going and going.

I made a point not to look at the overall time on my watch and just listened to my body and told myself not to worry about my overall finish time. I had set a goal of coming in under two hours, but didn't feel much pressure too. I had PR'd the day before and this was my third race in a short period of time. What did I have to prove? As I approached the end of the course I heard some people on the sideline yelling "Beat two hours!". What? Was I about to? I glanced down at my watch and saw that indeed I was! Whoo hoo! I kicked it up a notch and raced through the finish line.

I was amazed by how good I felt on the course and felt even more accomplished knowing that for once the hills on a course didn't do me in. I am starting to feel more and more confident about tackling the hills of San Francisco in July for the San Francisco Marathon. I can do this!

San Dieguito - Done!

Next Up

I'm not racing for a little over a month now, and my focus will turn more towards my tri schedule. I have the  Super Seal Sprint Triathlon coming up March 26th, the La Jolla Half Marathon April  17th, and then the OC Marathon on May 1st. Its time for me to start getting more swims and bike rides in!

2011 So Cal Tri Review

Last year I timidly entered the world of triathlon after spending years swearing that a triathlon was something I'd never do. At this rate, I might be eating cheese any one of these days! Haha - EWE!  I did my first mini-sprint triathlon in October (more on my blog: Fearless Triathlon - I Did It!) and WON first overall female! Next I did a sprint triathlon in November (more on my blog: Triathlon #2 - The Sprint) with the San Diego Tri Club and got smoked by the pros.  Sadly, I managed to enter the sport right as the season was ending, so I focused my energy back on running for the winter months.

For 2011, my triathlon goal was to work my way up to an Olympic distance triathlon, and hopefully the following year I could do a 70.3. I have my eyes on Barb's Race in Napa Valley! I initially considered going for Barb's Race this year, but unfortunately it is the same weekend as the San Francisco Marathon where I'll be running the full course as one of their ambassadors.
 

2011 Goals

I have a pretty loaded running calendar for this year to prepare myself for the SF Marathon in July and my 'warm-up' marathon the OC Marathon in May. Its been difficult to figure out where to insert the triathlons. Marathon training requires 4-5 days of running per week, where am I going to squeeze in my swims and bike rides? Ugh! I want to do the San Diego Triathlon Classic in September (my friend Todd did this tri this past year, more on my blog Watching a Tri), and figured that a couple shorter distances beforehand would be good for me. After reviewing a ton of triathlons mostly in Southern California, but all over the sate and even across the country, I decided that my triathlons for this year would be:

1 - Super Seal - March 27

2 - San Diego International Tri - June 26th

3 - San Diego Classic Triathlon - Sept 17th

The distances for these races are:

1 - 500m swim, 20K bike, 6K run

2 - 1000m swim, 30K bike, 10K run

3 - 1500m swim, 40K bike, 10K run

I feel that this is a reasonable progression, and will prime me for the next jump from Olympic Distance to 70.3 next year.

So Cal Triathlons

In case you are also considering a triathlon in this coming year, here's a list of races that I considered that you might want to look into:

Feb 20 - Tritonman

Registration Fee: $55

Distance: 500m swim/12k bike/5k run

Mar 27 - Super Seal (Registered!)

Registration Fee: $80

Sprint Distance: 500m/20k/6k

International Distance: 1500m swim/ 40K bike/10K run

May 1st Spring Sprint Triathlon

Registration Fee: $75 by Feb 15th 

Distance: 400m/9mile/3mile

May 15th Encinitas Sprint Triathlon

Registration Fee: $85/$75 until Apr 18

Sprint Distance: 750m/20k/5k 

Super Sprint Distance: 375m/10k/2.5k

Jun 26 - San Diego International Triathlon (Registered)

Registration Fee: $125 until Feb 16

International Distance: 1000m/30k/10k

Sprint Distance: 500m/20k/6k $100 until Feb 16

Jul 10 - Carlsbad Triathlon

Registration Fee:  $100 by Jul 1

Distance: 1000m/25k/5k
 

Jul 14 - Solana Beach Triathlon

Registration Fee: $80 by May 1st

Distance: 400m/9mile/3mile

Aug 21 - Surf Town Triathlon

Registration Fee: $75 by Jul 1

Distance: 500m/15K/5k

Sept 17 SD Triathlon Classic (Will Register)

Registration Fee:  $155

Distance: 1500m/40K/10K

Oct 2 Mission Bay Triathlon

Registration Fee: $80 until Jun 1

Distance: 600m/15K/5K

In addition to these official races, I will probably also do a few of the San Diego Tri Club's free club races.  I'm amazed that they offer chip-timed races for free to all members! What a great deal. Membership was only $60 for the year!


I'm looking forward to all of the races I have lined up for this year, and can't wait to become more of a triathlete!

Surf City Bandit - Kinda!

Last year I ran the Surf City Half Marathon for the first time and had an incredible race ... and a PR!  (More on my blog: Surf City USA: Awesome!) I didn't sign up for the race this year (I have a really full race calendar) but was planning on coming up to watch the race since my friend Christina would be running and finishing off her California Dreamin' series. I really hadn't planed on running this race and  although  I considered it a few times, by the time I seriously thought about it the race was sold out. I took this as a sign that I was meant to be a bystander .. a role I fully enjoy! (See my post "The Marathon: Cheering On a Friend")

Race Anxiety
For those of you that know me,  you know that I'm a major stress case. I stress out about life, about work, and about running. My stress has led to a few bad races, and I'm convinced that performance anxiety has a real, physical effect on me. I'm so focused on PR-ing at almost every race, which makes every races a stressful situation. Ack! I  need to calm down! I started running because I enjoyed the challenge! Somewhere along the way though, the competition with myself got the best of me. A few weeks ago I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon and had a terrible race (More on my blog: Carlsbad Half Marathon Race Recap), even though I had trained really hard. I chalked this race performance up to nerves, and wished I had another chance to try to race and take it easy. Well ... be careful what you wish for!

 

Last week a fellow GOTR coach posted on facebook that she wasn't going to be able to run in the Surf City race because she was injured, and she was looking to sell her race bib for a discount. Huh?? Hmm... tempting. I wanted to run Surf City, I'd be in town anyways watching Christina, and I'd love to run at a discounted rate. I thought about it for a few days but couldn't commit. I wanted to run the race, but didn't like running unplanned, felt guilty running under another person's bib per their no-transfer policy, and didn't want to run without getting credit for the race under my name. As the race date approaches I thought about it more, and then finally posed the moral portion of this decision to dailymile and facebook. I was shocked to see that the feedback was unanimous - DO IT! And so I did!

 

Running the Race

I told my friend Mary that I'd run in her name and mentally committed to the race. One complication though - I was going to be bringing my dogs with me to Orange County. This wold be their first trip to a hotel. Eek! Luckily the Fairmont Hotel allowed dogs, but I hadn't planned on leaving the dogs alone for so long. If I ran the race the dogs would be alone for about 4 hours.. could they make it without disturbing the other guests?? Oh well, I risked it!
 

Race Day

On race morning Christina and I got up at 5:30am, made coffee and breakfast, and then drove to the start line. I rank courses based on my preferences of: a flat course, easy access to the start and finish, an enjoyable course, and crowd support along the way. This course scores top ratings on all fronts! The hotel had a free shuttle to the race that left at 6am. Um, no thanks! We were only 8 miles away and the race didn't start until 7:45am! Last year I drove to one of the satellite parking lots and parked on the street there. This was the plan for this year, but as we got closer to the lot we realized we could actually park right near the start line on the street. Right around 7am we parked within a mile of the start line and we were ready to go. SCORE!

 

We walked to the start line and check our gear, hit the bathrooms (in the host hotel right by the start - SCORE!), and headed to the start line. As far as ease of access to the start line this race wins top stars! We wish each other luck and parted ways and headed to our corrals.

 

The Race

I felt a bit weird inside at the start of this race. I hadn't planned on racing, felt weird racing under someone else's bib, was excited to be doing this race again, was nervous about trying to have a good race after a bad race, and was just happy to be out and running by the beach. I think I totally psyched myself out at the Carlsbad Half, so while I wanted a PR at this race, I also wanted to just enjoy a race for a change. I decided to just go with the flow enjoy the race, not worry about a bad finish time, and heck - if i did finish poorly, who cares? It wasn't going to be recorded with my name.
 

I felt great starting off the race! I glanced at my watch a couple times and was alarmed to see a 8:00 pace. This is what got me into trouble in Carlsbad! I slowed down a bit and was happy to notice a 8:15-8:30 pace. Over the next few miles I'd check my watch periodically to see my current pace, but made a point not to look at my overall time. Mile after mile passed by, and I was happy to see that I felt good the whole way.
 

As we approached miles 6, 8, and even 10, I was thrilled to realize I felt good! No stomach pains, no chest pains, nothing! I was just enjoying this run.
 

Unlikely Course Support

Off topic, but my mom doesn't support my running. She is actually in direct opposition to it, which makes me sad. She has a crazy misconception that my running is a negative aspect of my life, it is ruining my joints,  will lead me to an early knee replacement, its an unhealthy obsession (huh??)., etc She is unable to understand the positive things that running gives me, and has been nothing but negative towards my marathon career over these past few years. She lives in Huntington Beach a few miles from the course, but also owns a  rental property on the PCH which the race course would pass. 

As I ran through mile 2 and approached her condo, I wondered if there was a small chance that she would be there. Well, as I got closer I was shocked to see a figure on the balcony that looked like her. As I got closer I realized. OMG! There's my mom on the balcony talking to someone! I started screaming MOM!! MOM!! and waving as I ran by. The person she was talking to looked at me and eagerly pointed me out to my mom. I could tell she couldn't see me as she scanned the crowd, and my mad screaming and waving was futile. :o(

As luck would have it though, this was an out and back course, and I would be running by the same spot around mile 11. As I approached her condo on my way back, I looked to the balcony to see if she was still there. Sadly it was empty. I plugged on as I passed the condo and a little bit later the runner next to me  said "Hey! someone is trying to get your attention!"  (I was totally oblivious with my blasting music.) I looked over on the street and there was my mom!! She was waving her arms and yelling my name with a big smile on her face! I know this doesn't mean that she accepts my running career, but seeing her smiling at me during  a race was a great feeling. I smiled and waved back, and then charged on to the finish.

Approaching the Finish

As I approached the finish line I had no idea what my finish time would be. I had been diligent about not looking at my overall time on my Garmin, but figured from the paces I had glanced at that I would place okay. There also weren't any clocks along the course so I really had no idea what time it was. As I closed in on the last mile I gave it one last push, soaked in the cheers of the crowd and raced across the finish line. As I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch I was amazed to see that I had set a new PR .. without even really pushing! It blows my mind that I can run with no pressure and do better than I can when I'm pushing myself. Argh!

I had a rush of emotions! I was so exited to have a new PR! I was mad because I had run '"easy" and hadn't gotten an even better PR.  And, I was mad that this new PR wouldn't be recorded under my name. But,... I was happy that running had shown me yet another life lesson. You never know when you're going to surprise yourself with a good performance, even when you're not trying.
 

After the Race

After the race I had a mix of emotions. I was happy but tormented. So typical  me! I went to  the bag check area and got my stuff, and then headed over the meeting location that Christina and I had designated. This turned out to be a bad choice of spots, but luckily we still found each other anyways. After the race I also bumped into a few people I knew. A fellow GOTR coach and one of my fellow SF Marathon Ambassadors Page (Who BTW won SECOND in her age group - omg kick ass!) who was with Chic Runner.

 

Christina and I headed back to the hotel to change and shower, and then headed out for my favorite post-race fuel - Mexican food! A Rubio's lunch later, ( my dogs were amazingly good on the patio) and it was time for me to head home to San Diego.

Super Todd

I was in a bit of a hurry to get home because I wanted to get to my friend Todd's birthday/Super bowl party before half time. I arrived at Todd & Christine's house right as they were putting candles in the cake, with the half-time show starting in the background. Perfect timing! I'm the furthest thing from a sports fan and was nervous to be attending a Super Blow party.  Luckily about 1/2 of the attendees seemed to have zero interest in the game. Whew!
 

There was a ton of great food at the party, and to do my part I made my  "world famous'"spinach dip and also decorated a brownie cake to look like a sock monkey. There was catered Indian food a the party along with lumpia from the Newmans neighbors, chips and dip and other snacks, and this *incredible* broccoli slaw salad that Christine made. (I may have made two trips to the slaw bowl)
 

The party was a lot of fun and I'm happy for my Wisconsin family that the Packers won.
 

Next Up

My next race will be this coming weekend! I'm going to be running the Mermaid Run half marathon this Saturday, and the San Deiguito half this Sunday. Two races in two days? I know, crazy. Long story .. more for another blog post.

New Year, New Car

In 2010 I started off the year with a new apartment and a new job. Not to be outdone, I started this year off with a new bike and a new car! Its the year of new wheels!

I've been driving a Volvo S40 for the past five years and have had a wide variety of mechanical problems with it. Luckily everything has been covered under my warranty and then extended warranty, but the boatload of issues I've had has made me weary of driving the car without a warranty. European cars are not cheap to fix! I knew that when the warranty was up on my car I'd want to get a new one ... and unfortunately that time arrived at the end of 2010. 

 

 

Being an engineer, I've loved the safety aspect of Volvos. If I get in a car accident, I want to be in one of the safest cars they make! Hey, I'm super risk-averse! (Side note, but my cousin's husband who was a personal injury lawyer told me once that engineers are typically over-insured when it came to car insurance. Ding-ding-ding! That's me! I have really high coverage limits on everything!) Aside from liking the safety features of Volvos, I also like the way they look (yep, I'm a square), and I love the fact that almost all maintenance for the first 30K miles is included. Yes, everything! Oil changes, scheduled services, windshield wiper blades, bulbs, etc. Its amazing! You basically don't spend a dime on the car for the first 30K miles! After that, other things that wear down are almost always covered under the 50K warranty. On my S40 I didn't pay anything until 30K miles, and then once I took it on for scheduled maintenance after that, everything that they found that was wrong with the car was covered under the warranty. I *LOVED* this aspect of owning the car! I hate financial surprises! With this car there aren't many!
 

When my S40 came off warranty and I was toying with the idea of a new car, I of course considered another Volvo. This came as an absolute failure in logic to David who asked me why in the world I would buy another car from a brand who made a car that I constantly had in the shop. My defense? Well, everything it was in the shop for was covered under the warranty at least! Honestly I think part of the problems with my car were from it being a 2004 but in the 2005 style. It was one of the first of its design to come out! Gotta get those kinks out!

 

New Car Todd

My friend Todd bought a new car several months ago, and when he did he posted about the process he went through to identify his new car, and the best deal he could get for it. I went back to reread his post before looking at cars, started looking at used and new Volvos on my local dealer's website ... and then got distracted about work and forgot about the new car for a few weeks.

 

Costco Auto Program

Enter Costco! I had mentioned in passing to a coworker that I was looking for a new car and that I loved Volvos. He called me into his office one day and gave me a flyer he got in the mail from Costco. This flyer advertised the Costco Auto Program and a deal they were doing from November to December on the Volvo XC60 and XC90. The deal was $500 off "employee pricing" and a $500 Costco giftcard. WOW! I confessed to him that I was a little nervous about bargaining for a car on my own though, and that while I did want to buy a new car, i was nervous about the prospect of actually doing it. (My friend's husband made the deal on my last car.)
 

To prepare me for the wheeling and dealing, my coworker showed me a number of websites that could arm me with the information I needed to make a smart decision. The first site she showed me was TrueCar, which was a site that Todd mentioned in his car buying blog. This site is REALLY cool. You could look up actual sale prices of the model of car you are interested in around your geographical area. This shows you the minimum, average, and max that people are paying for the car you want. Obviously you then want the best price that anyone is paying! I filled out a form on the Costco website which would connect me with participating dealers in the area. Once that was done, we also looked at a website that would help me asses the deal I would get on trading in my car. 
 

Volvo Dealers

After submitting the online interest form for the car I wanted, I was contacted by two Volvo Dealers in the next 24 hours. One was in San Diego and was the most recent dealer where I'd been getting my S40 serviced, and the other was up in Culver City which is a suburb of LA. My coworker and I went into the local Volvo dealer at lunch one day to see what they had to offer. They honored the Costco deal but "didn't have" the base model XC60 that I wanted. They of course had several loaded versions, and went on and on about how hard it was to keep that version on the lot and to maintain inventory. Yeah okay, pushing scarcity, I get it. Well you know what? Aside from wanting a backup camera, the other options were meh to me. Guess what? Suddenly they could order any type of that model I wanted and it would be delivered within two days from the port in LA. okay .. SLEAZY. I was instantly turned off.

I was in email contact with the other dealer and was going to be up in LA for the day to see my mom, so I made an appointment to stop by the other dealer. Instead of $500 off "employee pricing" which turned out to be invoice, this dealer was $1500 ... and they were upfront about the fact that they could get any model I wnated from the port right away. I came by and met with sales, test drove the car ... but just wasn't ready to make the deal and take on a new loan. I really wanted the car but wasn't ready to make the commitment.

 

Queue the holidays and year end at work, and I kind of forgot about things. Then, during the last week of the year I thought about our own business and the fact that our sales people were doing everything they could to close year end business. I thought, what the hell, I 'll make a pitch to this dealer to drop his last quoted Costco price and see what he says. I asked him to drop an additional $1000 and he responded back saying he'd do $500. Hmm ... DEAL. This put me $200 lower than the lowest listed sale price on  Truecar in the past 90 days.  I was going to buy a new car anyways in the next year (don't like the out of warranty car), and figured I might as well do it now when I had the most leverage.
 

David and I flew back to California from Florida mid-day on December 31st, drove up to LA, signed papers with the dealer, and I was a new car owner! But didn't get a car right away because they had to order it from the port. So anti-climactic! About four days later my car arrived (delivered to my house) and finally I had my new car! Let me just say I *LOVE* my new car! I have trouble parking the darn thing, but aside from that its awesome.

 

Fancy Features

My  new car has a ton of fancy features that my older car didn't.

• Bluetooth enabled - this car is bluetooth enabled meaning I can talk on my cell phone in surround sound. Awesome! As someone who just got a ticket for driving while talking on their cell phone (I forgot my earpiece at home that day), I love this!
• iPod hookup - previously I used a FM transmitter to listen to my iPod on the car. With my new car there is a direct hookup that is crystal clear. Score!
• Sirius Satellite Radio - my new car comes with a free 6-month subscription to Sirius satellite. This reminds me of getting a DVR for the first time. You get one and you don't know if you'll like it and then you can't imagine not having it! I never even tune into normal radio anymore. I love Sirius! I think I'll have to subscribe.
• Queen Seating - sitting high-up in a SUV compared to a regular car is ... great! You can see so much more when you're higher than normal cars. Yay!
• Trunk/Storage Galore - One of the main reasons I liked the XC60 was because of the large cargo area and the ability for me to more easily transport my bike. Cargo area versus trunk wins hands-down for hauling a bike!

 

I love my new car! And I got a great deal! If you are looking for a new car I highly recommend that you look into the Costo auto program. If you find a no-nonsense dealer like I did, you'll find the car you want for a no-nonsense price. And, this price is something you can verify on Truecar.com. I love the internet. It has totally put the power in the hands of the buyer!