California Dreamin

This past weekend I ran the third and final race in the California Dreamin series! This series consists of the Surf City Marathon, the San Francisco Marathon, and the Long Beach Marathon. Several years ago I ran the Long Beach full marathon, and remembered liking the course because it was mostly flat, it went along the beach for the majority of the course, and the start and finish areas were really accessible from the freeway and nearby hotels.

California Dreamin Series Medals

Racing for Schwag

I have to admit, I do enjoy race schwag. I have a pretty nice collection of finisher's medals and shirts, and really enjoy getting extra special medals that you can only get for completing multiple races in a series. My first extra medal was the 39.3 medal from the Rock N Roll Heavy Medal series. My second extra medal came this weekend, when I completed the California Dreamin series. In addition to the medal I also got a cool race jacket from Green Layer. Score!

 California Dreamin Jacket & Medal

Long Beach Reusable Gear Bag

Meeting a Gladiator

They gave me the race jacket at the marathon expo the day before the race, and after picking up my race number, reusable goodie bag, and technical race shirt, I had about 30 minutes to wander around the expo before I had to meet back up with my dad and head to our hotel to get ready for my cousin's wedding. I zipped up and down the expo aisles resisting the urge to stop and buy anything, and then I turned down the final aisle and saw someone that looked familiar.

 

Side story: About a month ago I received a comment on my blog about being mistaken for an American Gladiator .. from a real life American Gladiator! Nitro (Dan Clark) had come across my blog somehow and had sent me a message about a race he is putting on - the Gladiator Rock N Run. We've emailed a few times and he's graciously agreed to donate two entries to his race to Girls on the Run .. with the condition that I do the race too! I'm sure you all know what a prissy girly girl I am. I find sitting on grass to be adventurous. Running through mud? Um yeah, no thanks. I sent an email out to some friends to see if someone might be interested in joining me, and what do you know, Kathryn our executive director of GOTRSD agreed to do the race. So we signed up! And the second I got the confirmation email I thought "what have I gotten myself into?" Since registering several other friends registered as well and also chose the wave that I will be in - 10am! If I'm going to slosh through mud and climb over obstacles, I should at least get the joy of leaving some friends in my mud tracks right? :o) 

Anyways, I saw Dan/Nitro at the expo with a booth promoting his race. It was cool to meet in person after emailing back and forth for a while. Its an interesting testament to the power of the internet and its ability to connect people. We chatted for a bit and he showed me the Gladiator Rock N Run finishers gift .... an inflatable joust stick! OMG so excited! The joust was my favorite event on the show! Its not too late to sign up for the race and if you're interested in being in my wave and trying to beat me, sign up for the 10am wave here.

 

Carbo Loading Wedding Style

After leaving the expo, my dad and I headed off to my cousin Jennifer's wedding in Huntington Beach. The wedding was at the Hyatt right across from the beach ,and the ceremony and reception were beautiful! I had a chance to catch up with some family that I hadn't seen in years, and my dad got to see some of my mom's family that he hadn't seen in almost 20 years!

Family Photo

 

The wedding meal was an unconventional way for me to carbo load (or at least to attempt to), and I have to say its one of the nicest pre-race meals I've ever had. The main course was surf and turf (steak and lobster), and the dessert was berries and cream. Yummy! Another cousin of mine said that she was going to blog about the wedding meal on her food blog "Overworked. Underfed." Unfortunately she hasn't posted it yet so I can't link to it. Maybe once she posts it I'll go back and update this post.

Raceday Rundown

On raceday morning Christina and I got up at 5:00am, had breakfast, left the hotel at 6:10am, and parked by 6:30am. Smooth! I loved how the race allowed you to pre-pay for parking online to avoid the confusion and stress of trying to find parking on race day. We parked a couple blocks from the start and finish line of the race, and walked over with just enough time to check our bags and hit the portapotties. The lines for the bathroom were long but not ridiculous like they are in some races.

Getting Ready to Race

I was scheduled to start in Wave 2 but ended up starting with Wave 5. I passed people for almost the entire race which was good and bad. It felt good to pass people and feel the illusion of being "faster" than many others, but it also meant that I was away from the pack that was running at my ideal race pace. I had to constantly check my pace on my watch to make sure I was running close to a 8:30 mile. My goal for the race was 1:52. I was on track to finish at 1:52 for the first few miles, but slipped down to 1:58 by the race end. I was getting tired towards the end and took a couple short walk breaks after mile 10. Boo.

Long Beach Half Marathon - Check!

I was a bit bummed out about my non-PR finish time until I looked up my race stats on the official results website. Compared to others in the race, I did pretty well! I usually finish in the top 10-15% of women and  my division, and in this race I finished in the top 9% of women and 10% of my division. Not too shabby! Putting my performance into perspective by comparing it to others helped me shake away the blues a bit.

 Race Performance

I've read articles before pointing out that the marathon is one of the only sports where you can run alongside, and in the footsteps of Olympic and world record athletes. Although I knew this was true, it didn't really hit me until this race how amazing this is. Somewhere between mile 12 and 13 I suddenly heard the chirps of police cars. Two CHP motorcycles passed me on the left and I realized that the marathon winner must be coming by! Following the cops was a Prius promotional car, and then after that came a truck with a camera crew. And then .... the marathon winner flew past me just a few feet away.... finishing up the full marathon faster than I was going to finish the half marathon! WOW! (Granted, I started about 20 minutes after the gun went off so he was finishing about 20 minutes on top of my half finish time.) Still, it was totally amazing.

Sporting My "Cape"

After the race I headed over to the bag check to get my bag and check on Christina. I was excited to see that by the time I got my bag and cell phone, she had just crossed the finish line! She had a new PR of 2:13, a great improvement over her time of 2:25 in San Diego. Go Christina!!

Bag Check Pick-Up - Yikes!

What's Next

Playing upon my addition for 'special medals', I recently signed up for the Carlsbad Half Marathon, which is the first in a three race series called the Triple Crown. This series includes the Carlsbad Half Marathon, the La Jolla Half Marathon, and the America's Finest City Half Marathon. The race isn't until January of next year so I have a little time away from long runs. In the mean time, I will be focusing my energy over these next two weeks on preparing for my first triathlon!

I'll be competing in the Fearless Triathlon on October 30th here in San Diego. So far I have a couple months of pool swimming under my belt, two open water swims, one short bike ride, and plenty of running. Hopefully this race will be the start of my new triathloning career. Wish me luck!

Surf City USA - Awesome!

This past weekend I ran my 8^th half marathon. This was my third half marathon in the past year! Before these three though, I hadn’t run a half marathon in almost three years! Once I turned my sights onto full marathons several years ago, half marathons either didn’t fit with my schedule or didn’t seem worth the entry fee.

Setting My Sites on Surf City

Right after I finished my last full marathon (Marine Corps Marathon in October 2009) I was really antsy to get going and train for another full. I come off each race with so much energy and adrenaline and I just want to focus it on the next target! I wasted a few weeks after my last full marathon trying to figure out what to do next ... but then the holidays hit, life sped up, and before I knew it, too much time had passed to run another full marathon in January or February. SO ... I then decided I would run a half instead!

I’ve run a lot of full marathons by now and although my time has improved slightly from one race to the next, it hasn’t improved significantly enough to meet my end goal – Boston qualification! In shorter distances I’ve picked up the pace pretty well, but haven’t been able to push myself enough for 10+ mile distances. I decided that improving my half marathon time would be key to improving my full time. So .. I signed up for the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach!

Training – Or Lack Thereof

I put together an 8 week training plan which included speed workouts, hill workouts, and distance workouts. But alas, for one reason after another, I strayed from my schedule. The worst being when I went to the East coast for the holidays and didn’t run for a week and a half, then came back home to San Diego and moved, and didn’t run for another week!! I barely ran for almost three weeks! And, for the first time in who knows how many years, I hadn’t even worked out for periods of over a week! Okay, maybe not a big deal to normal people, but I'm somewhat of a workout/running junkie. I NEED my runs to feel right.

Somewhere during that time that I wasn't training, I think my running spirit broke. :o( After settling into my new apartment I tried to get back on track, and struggled, struggled, struggled. I was now living at the top of a hill leading down to my old running trail. Suddenly running the trail was harder than ever before, and running up the trail back home was the end of me. I pushed through several weeks of poor runs which consisted of me needing to stop to take a short walk break after 3, sometimes 2, and sometimes even 1 ½ miles! What was going on?!? I’m a marathon runner! Completely demoralized, I plugged on as best as I could, but I was WAY off of my training plan and hadn’t run further than 4 miles in months when January rolled around. Three weeks before the race I realized that I needed to push myself back on track. Two weeks out I ran 8 miles as a long run, then 10 miles the next weekend, thinking it was all I could do to even *finish* the race! In both long runs I struggled and walked every couple miles. Again, I was totally demoralized.

Race Day

Finally, race day rolled around. I have to admit, I was nervous. After running so many full marathons I asked myself again and again how a half could have me so nervous. In the end I conceded that every race is its own beast, a new challenge as far as where you are in your fitness that day, and its up to you to give it what you have, and to try to enjoy it. I knew I could get through the 13 miles, didn’t think I’d PR. I thought oh well, at least I get a really cool finishers medal. With that in mind, I geared up and headed to the start line!

Rating the race

After running so many distance races, I’ve decided that those that I’ve liked the best have rated high on a few qualities that are specific to my racing preferences. I like races that are FLAT (I’m sorry but a distance race is hard enough in and of itself. Hills? No thank you!), that are accessible (easy access to the Start and Finish line), that are in “nice” locations (moderate weather, nice course scenery), and that are BIG. (I just love running in the mass of a crowd!)

How did this race rate?

A++ !!

Course Topography

FLAT. Right by the water with no hills. Perfect!

Course Location/Route

Huntington Beach, CA – Most of the course was along the PCH (Which for non-Californians is the Pacific Coast Highway which runs right along the ocean), within steps of the beach, with views of the ocean almost the whole time, and topped off with perfect Southern California weather. Sunny and moderate!

Accessibility

The morning of the race I drove to one of the designated parking locations, parked on the street, caught a shuttle to the start within 20 minutes, caught a shuttle back to my car within 15 minutes of finishing, and because of this, I totally rate this one of the top most accessible races I’ve ever run! (Rock N Roll in Phoenix being the ultimate HELL. Takes about an hour to get off the freeway to the start or an hour on a shuttle from the Finish to the Start, and then an hour plus to get away from the Finish to get back home.)

Support

The race started right in front of the Hilton which meant I could use their bathroom and skip the portapotties, there was water and Vitalife almost every mile, and entry to the course and exit from the course was smooth and easy. Overall, A+ for ease of racing on this course.

Schwag

The medal for this race is .. AWESOME!! It’s a wooden longboard surfboard with the metal medal attached to it. LOVE IT!

In addition this we also received a long sleeve technical shirt, and a race bag that was a cute, reusable grocery tote! This must have been a “green” race because the only thing that we got in the goodie bag was the bag, and the shirt. No flyers, no samples, no nothing else! At first I was surprised, then relieved.

The Race

I started out the race with apprehension and excitement. I was nervous because I hadn’t run more than 3 miles without walking in months! I was excited because aside from everything else, I LOVE racing!

As I ran through miles 1, 2, and 3 I checked my watch a few times and saw that I was between a 8:30-9:00 pace and noted that I felt good, and decided to follow how I felt and not look at my watch. I didn’t look at it again until I crossed the finish line. That was an amazing accomplishment for me!

With each mile, my confidence built. Side note, but I really feel that my running spirit died over the last couple of months. With each mile I ticked off during this race, I felt it coming back. I loved being part of the crowd, I loved putting my training (or lack of) to the test, I loved running along the beach in the beautiful Southern California sun (knowing others were shoveling their driveways as we ran), and I loved knowing that I knew myself and my body, and that if I just followed how I felt ... I’d be okay.

As with all races I went through many stages of emotions as I ran. I’m an emotional, self-reflecting runner. I like the time alone during a run where I can think about life, myself, and my plans. Throughout those thoughts though, I’m somehow often brought to near tears at a few moments in each race. Why? Who knows. My first near-tears moment was on the brief few miles when we were away from the PCH and then turned back onto it to run the remaining 8 miles. Right as I caught sight of the beach and the waves and the clear sky over the water, Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place On Earth” came onto my iPod. I teared up and though Heaven isn’t just a place on Earth … its California! And I really love living here!

Another choked up moment came when Miley Cyrus’ song “The Climb” came onto my iPod. I know, diss her as you wish, but I love her and her catchy tunes, and think that this song is different from the rest of her bubble gum repertoire. This song talks about ups and downs and struggles and determination, and as her song played on, I thought about my journey training for my first half marathon, my first full marathon, and everything after that.

My Mantra

At some point in my run I must have hit my runner’s high. I’ve read about running mantras and have tried to use them in the past. Unsuccessfully. They have always seemed fake and forced, and really haven’t helped me that much. For some reason in this race, something came into my head, and I repeated it over and over again and it meant many things, and really did help me go forward. What was that mantra?

This is my life.

As I was running and looking around me and enjoying the race, I thought about how much I truly love distance running and racing in general. It’s a real thrill and accomplishment for me, and I think its been the best part of my life. Getting up early morning after morning, week after week, month after month all comes together on one day, and you’re not alone. You’re with hundreds or thousands, or even tens of thousands of other people who share your same goal, for a reason unique to their own life. As I looked around and soaked into that community, I thought wow, THIS is my life. I love it.

As I repeated it over and over again, I then thought about how happy I was that this was something I had made a part of my life by choice. Then, the mantra became This is MY Life. Life is what you make it, and I’ve made the choice to do something positive and healthy. Running is my choice, and its something I’ve done for myself. Its MY choice.

After that, I then thought about how the mantra meant one more thing.. This is my LIFE. My life, my health, my future, one of my goals, my joy, my passion, and something I want to share with everyone.

Cheesy? Maybe to you. To me? Its something that defines who I am.

Next Up

After this race I feel that I finally have my running spirit back. YAY! Its been gone for a few months, and I’m so happy that its returned. I've missed you running mojo!! My mojo has returned just in time too for me to start training for my next race ... the Rock N Roll Marathon here in San Diego! This will be my 4^th time running in this race, its my favorite course to date, and I’m so excited to get on a plan and get going!!

I have a new plan for my next training round. I’ll update my blog soon with the details! For now, I’ll give your eyeballs a break. And in case you’re interested, here is my half-marathon progress below.

Previous Halfs

1. PF Chang's Rock N Roll - Phoenix, AZ - 2:02:55, 9:22 pace - Jan 2005
2. Valley of the Sun - Mesa, AZ - 1:56:05, 8:51 pace - Mar 2005
3. America's Finest City - San Diego, CA - 1:59:10 9:05 pace - Aug 2005
4. America's Finest City - San Diego, CA - 1:56:44, 8:54 pace - Aug 2006
5. YMCA Half Marathon - Phoenix, AZ - 1:57:44, 8:58 pace - Nov 2006
6. Austin Half Marathon - Austin, TX - 1:58:28, 9:02 pace - Feb 2009
7. Run to the Rock - Plymouth, MA - 1:58:03, 9:00 pace - Sept 2009
8. Surf City USA - Huntington Beach, CA - 1:54:00, 8:42 pace Feb 2010