15 New Girls on the Run

This week marks the start of Girls on the Run San Diego's Fall season. I will be returning for my third season as Head Coach for Carmel Valley, a role that I have truly loved! The program has grown from 8 to 14 sites this season and this past weekend I helped out with coaches training. Its crazy to think that just one year ago I was being trained myself. Looking back, this past year has been a whirlwind of change!

GOTR Shirts for the Volunteers 

 

To prepare for the season, a team of volunteers helped put together the materials that support each of the 14 sites. You'd be amazed if you saw everything that was used during the 24-lesson season in one room.  The materials for just one site fill up an entire storage tub and a reusable grocery bag! In addition to the lesson materials, each site receives a supply of dry snacks to give the girls at the end of each lesson. That means a tub of pretzels, a tub of animal crackers, a box of goldfish crackers, and a box of fruit snacks. My trunk looks like I just raided Target!

 Collection of Coach Boxes

 

For those who like numbers, these stats will knock your socks off! Coach box preparation took 9 volunteers who worked for 37 hours during 4 supply prep sessions. The 14 sites can accommodate 210 girls, and have 74 volunteer coaches running the programs. It took 3 trips to Costco to buy supplies for the 24 lessons per season.

In total, the supplies needed for Fall 2010 were:

• 14 tubs of animal crackers
• 28 tubs of pretzels
• 28 boxes of gold fish
• 42 tennis balls
• 56 orange cones
• 280 markers
• 630 Ziploc bags
• 3440 index cards
• 7000 stickers
• 13000 beads

 

Amazing isn't it? During coach training this past weekend and a few weeks ago we passed out the supplies to each of the head coaches, and spent half a day walking them through the Girls on the Run program's mission and core values, had them practice leading a few lessons, showed them examples of energy awards that they'll help teach the girls, and explained how to run a smooth and successful program.

 

My favorite energy award by far is the BANANA cheer! I'm totally going to teach my girls this cheer!

  

Banana Cheer - GO BANANAS!

I'm about nervous about the time I'm about to give up again from my evenings to coach, but know that every moment sacrificed is worth it. (We'll see how I feel about that tomorrow when I leave for work at 6:30am so I can leave early to go coach. :oP ha!)  The time I've spent with the girls is a lot of fun, it's really rewarding, and it has helped me grow as a person as I've learned to do something totally new and different.

 

Practicing a Lesson

 

And ... let's not pass up the chance for me to toot my own horn, but think I'm actually really good at being a head coach. (Part of the reason why I enjoy it so much.) As I've said before, we all like things that we're good at. I attribute most of this skill to my psychotic need for order and organization, and my desire to have fun and make sure others around me are having fun as well. Who knew those two things could go together so well?

  

Circle of Celebration of Positive Attributes

 

The Carmel Valley site has had an amazing retention rate. (Had to throw some work speak in here!) For this coming season there will be two groups, one on Mon/Wed and one on Tues/Thurs. I was amazed to see that 13 of the 30 girls registered at Carmel Valley have been in the program before! Across the other 12 sites there are only 9 other girls who have been in the program before. If only I could get customers of my product to be this loyal! Hmm...

Anyways, I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the start of a new season. Go Girls on the Run! You're so much fun!

Am I a "Runner"?

Last weekend I went to  a GOTR coach/friend's  BBQ and was amused to see that she had the same "medal display" that I have (thank you Container Store!), but she had a unique and great way that she presented her race numbers.

My Race Medal Display

Several years ago I started to put my race numbers in a binder with a background sheet that contained the race date, distance, and my finish time. Somewhere around 2006 (4 years into racing), I lost my motivation to keep doing this, and just started stuffing my race numbers into the binder. After moving to CA, I started to stick them onto a board with a magnet ...  but then the stack got too thick, at which point I just stuffed them in a different folder.

Race Scrapbook

  

Have you ever had something on a to-do list that just keeps moving from one week to another, over and over again?

  

Well, for the past few years I've put down on my to-do list that I needed to file the last few years of my race numbers into the binder. I kept putting it off and wishing I had a better way to keep my numbers in order. And I'd think well, I can always do this next week. And then I saw Crystal's creation! Crystal had strung the DEKA "curtain wire rod hanging system" on a wall in her house with her race numbers hanging from the wire by safety pins. Genius! Instead of having to restring each new race number, you could just keep one of your four safety pins on, and attach that new number onto the wire. As soon as I saw her race bib set-up, I had to have it! The next day I went to IKEA, spent $6.50 on the system (wow, I left IKEA spending under $100???), and came home to organize my race numbers.

Most of the race bibs had information about the race on it, but for many I had to rely on Athlinks to look up the race date, distance, and my finish time. Athlinks is an awesome site! They automatically pull all race data and associate it to your identity. If you've never visited the site, you should go there and look yourself up. You'll be amazed to see your own history of race information.  The site allows you to create an account and create your own profile which I have done. You should check it out and create an account too. We can be friends! Aww..

  

As I went through my race bibs I thought WOW, I've run a lot of races. Its hard to believe that its been eight years since I started racing. I ran my first race on a whim when I was living in San Jose. I had never run further than 4 miles and figured I could make the 6.2 miles for a 10K. The race ended up having unfortunate timing - it was on St. Patty's Day! All of my friends up in San Francisco were taking part in a pub crawl, and as luck would have it it was pouring in San Jose that day.  As my friends were cruising around downtown San Francisco drinking green beer, I sucked it up and ran that race, finishing in 1:04. Not so great but not that horrible.

New Race Number Display

After that first 10K I ran another, and then when I moved to Arizona I really picked up speed. I didn't know a lot of people when I moved there and I invited an acquaintance from my class (who I knew ran a marathon before) to run a 5K with me. We ran that race together and hung out afterwards, and then ended up running a few more races in the following year, and eventually became friends. She is one of many friends I have made through running!

  

Over the past several years, running has been a constant in my life. I'm used to waking up, having breakfast, lacing up my shoes and going out the door to kick back a few miles. Some days I lag a bit, but I almost always go out for a run when I can. Running has helped me focus my energy on something with a purpose, and for everything that I have given to running, it has given me back so much more in return. Its very soothing to me to get out there and pound out a few miles, enjoying the time alone with my thoughts and my music. Sometimes I run with a group, which is different but very enjoyable in its own way. Running gives you a sense of community, even with strangers who you have absolutely nothing in common with besides the fact that you both love to run.

When I looked at my collection of race bibs, and looked at my list of races online on athlinks (almost complete, but missing 7 races), I thought wow, I'm really a "runner" now. I've often hesitated to call myself a runner. I feel that I don't truly deserve that title for some reason, but I'm not sure why.  Maybe its because I don't look like a runner. I'm not thin and don't have the look of an athlete. I have a lot of muscle, but I have some padding I could do without as well. Years ago I thought running a marathon would define me as a runner, but after running my first marathon I thought no, qualifying for Boston will make me  REAL runner. Well, after 12 failed attempts at even breaking 4 hours (closest call was 4:02:32 ARGH!), I now think that Boston isn't a realistic dream. I'm bummed that I probably won't ever make it, but I'm proud for trying so hard over the years.

"The Wall of Achievement" :o)

  

Looking over my race history I've run a lot, I've shown improvement, and that makes me feel good. I like to know that you can put hard work in and see positive results come out. Running gives me that.

  

Looking at my racing in numbers, I've run:

• 12 Full Marathons
• 9 Half Marathons
• One 30K
• One 25K
• Five 15Ks
• Two 10 milers
• Twelve 10Ks
• Two 8Ks
• Five 4 milers
• Seven 5Ks

That's a lot of races ... and those races and years have flown by. For now, I'm so glad that running has become a part of my everyday life. Thank you running. :o) For everything I've give you, you've given so much more back. And I'm grateful. And to anyone who asks, YES, I am a runner!

2/3 of a Triathlete

I have been a “runner” for nine years. I consider my first 10K my entry into this category. I have been a “marathon runner” for five years, with my first race being the Rock N Roll San Diego in June 2005. For the past five years I’ve been working to improve my time in the hopes of one day being able to qualify for Boston. As of my last race (Rock N Roll San Diego – June 2010), I’ve unofficially given up… I think.

Moving Past Running

I’ve burned out on running, or should I say on running and training and not achieving my goal. I’ve often found a liking for things that I’m good at, and I’m not sure that running is one of those things. I think I’m a decent runner and have shown progress in between marathons 1 and 12, but I don’t know that I have it in me (or the time or commitment) to take it to the next level to get me to even a sub-4 hour finishing time, much less a Boston qualifying time.

 

After moping for a few weeks after my last marathon and then deciding to move on a few weeks after that, I’ve spent the last month or so just running for fun or for a reason to exercise, unsure of what my next challenge will be. Granted, I’m registered to run the Long Beach Half Marathon in October, but I don’t consider that something that I’m really training for. Yes, again said with my full marathon nose tipped up in the air. :o) If I were smarter I would train for these shorter races to improve my time, but improving my long distance time is all I’ve ever really cared about.

 

Forced to Swim

Last year when I visited my mom in Paris I arrived with a suitcase that contained my running clothes and shoes, optimistic that I would be able to continue my daily runs in the streets of Paris. Oh, how I was so wrong! The streets were so crowded and there was so much traffic that I would never have been able to get a decent distance in. This past year when I packed for Paris I was a bit wiser and left my running clothes at home, but packed my MBT shoes instead. Well, it was so hot in Paris that I never would have gone out for the day in my MBT shoes and socks so those, much like my running shoes the year before, lay hidden in my suitcase for the duration of my trip.

Enter swimming into my pool-hating life.

My mom absolutely LOVES to swim and frequently goes to the public pool three blocks from her condo in Paris. After the second day there I decided that the only way I would be able to workout would be to swim with her. The first day at the pool (in my mom’s grandma cut bathing suit) I managed to swim 1000 meters and took a break after almost every single lap. The next day I swam 1000 meters and only took a break every 5 laps. By my third swim I swam 1500 meters non-stop! Yay me! I know, 1500 meters isn’t that far, but it’s the furthest I’ve probably ever swam in my life.

Hating the Water

Growing up I think I used to like to swim. Don’t all kids? I can’t remember ever liking to swim, but pictures of me in the water in Hawaii tell a different story. Somewhere along the line in high school though I really lost my taste for it. I don’t like the feeling of being too hot or too cold, and the initial plunge into a cold pool was torture for me. I’ve always loved the beach and loved being near the water, I just can’t remember a time when I loved being IN the water. For as long as I can remember my mom has wanted me to become a swimmer. I’ve disappointed her for almost 30 years .. until now! I hate to admit that after my forced week of swimming in Paris, I kind of enjoyed it! Why? Because I could see the progress I was making in performance! I like things I’m good at. Don’t we all?

Learning to Love the Water

About two months ago I bought a treadmill at a garage sale across the street. It wasn’t a fancy treadmill, and it sold new for about $350 at WalMart. I got it for $100 which I thought was a steal! I have a membership for 24 Hour Fitness which I almost never use. I have it in the rare times that it rains here in San Diego, and with that membership I have a place to run rain or shine. I bought the treadmill with the intention of cancelling my gym membership, but after taking to swimming in Paris, I thought that I’d try out swimming at my gym here.

The first day I went I wasn’t sure what to expect. How would the pool be? Would it be warm? Were the showers at the gym going to be gross? What other types of people would be swimming with me? Well, its basically the senior citizen power hour at the gym pool in the morning, but that’s okay. I swam my 1000 meters the first day, and 1500 the next day I went that week.

I felt strong swimming, and I liked that. I’ve never liked lifting weights for some reason but do enjoy that pushing off and ‘charging’ feeling of running, and somewhere in those laps I was swimming I realized that I liked the feeling of power and resistance from swimming through the water.

The next week I swam 1000 meters, 1500 meters, and then 2000 meters! Wow, I felt pretty accomplished! The next week I swam 1500 meters, 2500 meters, and then 3000 meters. I swam three thousand meters! At first I wasn’t sure how to put the distance into perspective to running, but decided that if I could swim the distances that were paired up with running in various triathlon races, then I was doing about the equivalent enduring workout.

For the shortest triathlon (sprint tri) the swim is 750 meters, for an Olympic distance it is 1500 meters, for a half Ironman it is 1900 meters, and for a full Ironman it is a 3860 meter swim. So wow, I swam almost as far as a full Ironman! I know, it was in a pool and not in the ocean, but still, I felt good about myself.

Dreams of Trying a Tri

So as you might already be able to tell … I’m now temped to try a Tri. I feel like it’s the next logical step in testing my athletic performance. There are a few obstacles in my path towards a triathlon of course.

• I don’t own a bike

• I’m afraid of getting hit by a car on the road during a practice ride

• I don’t own a wetsuit

• I’m afraid of swimming in the ocean

• I’m a MAJOR germ freak and the idea of getting sea water in my mouth turns my stomach

• I really don’t think I’ll look good in a full lycra outfit… :o)

So I have some obstacles, but I think I might be able to overcome them by next year. My friend Christina emailed me a link to a women’s sub-sprint tri in the Bay Area next month called See Jane Run. We tossed the idea back and forth about registering, but in the end decided not to. So for now, I think I will aim at trying my first tri next year in 2011. That gives me time to work on my swimming form, try out open water swimming, buy a bike, and get over the many mental issues I have with the swimming and running.

My Inspiration

I have to give credit of course to someone who has helped motivate me towards the goal of running a triathlon – my friend Todd! Todd is currently training for his first triathlon, an Olympic distance race here in San Diego next month. We are facebook friends and dailymile.com friends, so I see the feed of his training log each day. Watching his progress has made me want to make that same transition from running to tri-ing myself. He’s told me that he’s not a fan of ocean water swimming, but he’s still powering through. He also seems to be right on track with all of his training, which I truly admire. (You should see my planned vs actual marathon training plans – its sad.)

Another inspiration in this new quest for me is my friend Robin who is an accomplished swimmer, biker, and runner. We met last week to talk about swimming, tris, and bikes. Her advice has built up my confidence somewhat, but I still need another push to take the plunge. For now I’m going to keep running in the park, swimming at the gym, and watching bikes on sale online.

I’ve noticed that being a triathlete is a much more expensive endeavor than being a runner. All you need to run is a pair of shoes! Well, okay, you need clothes too but everyone probably has something they can run in. To participate in a triathlon though you need a wetsuit and a bike, two things I don’t own and I’m not sure I want to fork out the money for right now. Since I’m giving myself until next year to try a tri though, I have time to get geared up for a race.

Next Steps

For now I’ve decided to try to move myself towards a triathlon with minimal financial investment. First up is to take a swimming class in an Olympic pool. My first coached swim will be this Wednesday!

Next, I will try to buy a bike to get acquainted with biking again. Its too bad they don’t make a Hello Kitty road bike. The Hello Kitty beach cruiser is pretty cute though. :o)

Flugtag = "Flying Day"

If you have never heard of the RedBull Flugtag event, you might want to brush up on the event's history here.

Me & David at the Flugtag Long Beach

 

A brief description:

Red Bull Flugtag challenges teams of everyday people to build homemade, human-powered flying machines and pilot them off a 30-foot high deck in hopes of achieving flight! Flugtag may mean "flying day" in German, but all these crafts ultimately splash into the waters below. They are judged not only on their flight's distance, but creativity and showmanship as well.

Flying off the Pier

 

I first heard of the Flugtag when I was living in San Francisco. They played commercials advertising the event which took place down by Piers each year. After moving to Arizona I continued to see commercials since there was also a local event atTempe Town Lake. When I heard from my friend Devika that they were having a Flugtag in Long Beach this past weekend and her husband Cliff was competing in it, I asked David if he wanted to go. His answer? "Are you kidding me? I've always wanted to go!" And so we did!

 

Winning Team - Peeping it Real

 
The event ran from 1-3:30pm and had 36 teams competing. Devika's husband Cliff was competing on team 28 of 36 which allowed us to waste time stopping for lunch, sitting in traffic, struggling to find parking, and walking to the event. Wow the area was a ZOO! We walked up to the area around 2:45pm just in time to see Cliff's team pushing their 'firetruck' down the ramp and into the water! I wished we had gotten there a few minutes earlier but I'm glad we didn't get there a few minutes later.

The Hosers Getting Ready for the Plunge

 

 

We watched the next eight teams complete and saw a variety of crafts pushed off the pier - a flying piano, Obama's head, a giant pinata, Chuck Norris' head, a Coast Guard helicopter, and a few less notable others.

 

 

Team: Air Force One

Chuck Norris!

As an engineer (can I still claim that?) I enjoyed making a quick mental prediction based upon the craft's design of how its launch and trajectory off the pad would look. I was wrong in most cases. I was surprised to see most of them drop off the edge of the pier like a sack of rocks with few getting much horizontal flight outside. Several of the crafts had hangliders on top which would propel the "pilot" a bit further before crashing into the water.

 

Team: Cost Guard

 

If you haven't been to a Flugtag event you should go! It was a lot of fun and a neat new experience and I'm glad we had a chance to go.

 

WitKids Adventure Race

Last weekend Girls on the Run San Diego (GOTRSD) sponsored a "WitStop" at the WitKids Adventure Race in Balboa Park.

  

Working the GOTR WitStop

Our Tent Was Carrried Over by a Mime Band

WitKids is a local non-profit in San Diego that helps kids complete volunteer projects that show that kids will do Whatever It Takes to help change the world!  The adventure race was an Amazing Race type event which required teams to navigate through the park with the help of a map to visit various WitStops where they would complete various tasks. In addition to the WitStops there was a scavenger hunt included with secret spots identified through clues on the initial challenge page each team was given.

GOTR WitStop

For the GOTR sponsored WitStop each team had to complete four challenges (either physical or written) in a row on a 16-square 'bingo' card.  Some of the physical challenges included jumping rope, doing push-ups, and doing jumping jacks, while the written questions had teams complete exercises that were pulled from the GOTR curriculum.  

GOTR WitStop Challenge Card

Some of the questions the teams had to answer were:

• Name your favorite physical activity
• Name 3 qualities in a friend that are important
• Name 2 junk foods you should eat in moderation
• Name 1 reason that teamwork is important

WitStop Team Doing a Physical Challenge

There were about 25 teams consisting of 2-5 family members competing in the race. It was a lot of fun to see each team come by, decide which four challenges to do, and then go for it! Some of the teams struggled with jumping rope - as would I!

  

WitStop Team Deciding on Challenge Questions

  

After the last team came through we closed down our WitStop and headed to the end of the race. At the finish line celebration there was  a board where each of the kids would pin up a note card containing  a personal goal for themselves. The goals varied from becoming a professional cupcake maker to completing a Harry Potter book. It was fun to see what all the kids came up with and the event itself was a great family-themed event!

  

WitKids Goals

Participating in the WitStop was a lot of fun, and its one more reason that I love Girls on the Run!

Becoming Highly Effective

About a month ago I read the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I know, I'm a little behind the times with reading it and ever more behind with posting a blog about it. I'm not sure where I even got this copy of the book, but I've had it for years, the pages are yellow, and it was printed in 1989!  I'm pretty sure I didn't buy this book when I was in middle school so who knows where I got this copy??

Little Bookworm

Growing up I absolutely LOVED to read. I didn't get to watch much TV so books were my main form of entertainment. Well, that and talking to my imaginary friends.... kidding! I used to read almost every free moment, and even remember reading by flashlight under the covers as a kid. I was a real bookworm! I even earned the title of "Class Bookworm" when I was in 8th grade! I suppose that is actually an uncool and nerdy award, but I loved it!

 Losing the Love to Read

I read less when I got to high school since I was busy with so many other things, and then when I got to college I barely had any free time. I also had tons of required to reading to do for school that I could never seem to stay on top of and at some point in college reading became a chore to me. It also seemed to have become a sleep aid and I often found myself getting drowsy the more that I read.

 Reading on the Road

Over the past few years the majority of my reading has occurred while I've been traveling and I've made it through books (over the course of a few trips per books) thanks to all the down time in airports and while in the air. I hate to admit though that I have a wandering eye when it comes to books. I'll arrive at the airport and have a few magazines and a book with me, and then I'll walk by the newsstand or a bookstore and see a new book that came out and I'll want that one too! This has resulted in a bookshelf of partially read books.

Finishing Books

One of my new years resolutions this year was to finish reading books that I have bought and borrowed over the years. (Sorry Jenna! I have a handful of your books still!) The first book on my list was "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I started reading this book a few months ago and instantly loved it! But then it was shelved until my next trip when I read a bit more, and then finally over my last trip to Colorado and some reading time I allocated for myself this past weekend, I finished reading it! Yay me!

In short - I think this book is so great that I want to buy it for everyone I know! It has great lessons to learn about life, relationships, communication, expectations, your career, your family, etc. Its a lesson on life! The subheading on the cover is "Powerful Lessons in Personal Change". That describes it perfectly!

Folding Down Pages

As I read this book I kept finding sections/sayings/paragraphs that I thought "Oh wow! I have to share this with someone!" After coming upon the third section where I thought that, I finally folded down the corner of the book page, and then went back to find the previous two that had struck a chord with me as well.

Here are a summary of the sections and sayings that I thought were great:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

 

Reactive Language vs. Proactive Language

"There's nothing I can do" vs "Let's look at our alternatives"

"That's just the way I am" vs "I can choose a different approach"

"He makes me so mad" vs "I control my own feelings"

"It is not what others do or even our own mistakes that hurt us the most; it is our response to those things. Chasing after the poisonous snake that bites us will only drive the poison through our entire system. It is far better to take measures immediately to get the poison out."

 

"Management is a bottom line focus: How can I best accomplish certain things?
Leadership deals with the top line: What are the things I want to accomplish?"

 

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things"

 

"Organize and execute around priorities"

 

"Maturity is the balance between courage and consideration. Emotional maturity is the ability to express one's own feelings and convictions balanced with consideration for the thoughts and feelings of others."

 

"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. They're either speaking or preparing to speak. They're filtering everything through their own paradigms, reading their autobiography into other people's lives."

 

"The person who doesn't read is no better off than the person who can't read." (Ouch! This one motivated me to finish the book in non-travel time!

 

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier - not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do so has increased. By centering our lives on correct principles and creating a balanced focus between doing and increasing our ability to do, we become empowered in the task of creating effective, useful, and peaceful lives ... for ourselves, and for our posterity." - Emerson

 

Thank you Stephen R. Covey for the insightful and well written book! I look froward to giving this book to those close to me for Christmas this year. Guess you'll see if you make the cut this December! ;o)

The Marathon: Cheering on a Friend

Last weekend I ran my 9th half marathon in San Francisco – my hometown and my favorite city! I had given up half marathons as a waste if time, training, and entrance fees a few years back (with my full marathon nose tipped up into the air… haha) but ran a couple with David over the past two years and also ran one on my own earlier in the year. After running the Surf City Half Marathon back in February, my friend Christina pointed out that this race was part of the California Dreamin’ Series, and if I also ran the San Francisco Half (or full – NO way) and the Long Beach Half .. I’d get a special medal and race jacket from the series. I was leery of signing up for another race in San Francisco given my hatred of hills, but really liked the Long Beach course and figured running the race in San Francisco would be a nice excuse to go home, so I said what the heck, let’s do it!

 

Relentless Hills on the Course

  

Christina had been training with a group in the city for a while and was originally set to run the SF Half Marathon. She then ran the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in June here in San Diego and had started to run the 13+ distances with the group, and was flirting with the idea of running the full marathon. She then ran 18 miles and felt okay, and I thought WOW, she can do it! I didn’t want her to rush herself but was so excited to hear that she was on a steady track to a full marathon. A few weeks before the race she was able to switch from the half to the full race, and she was set to go! 

 

At the Expo - "The Race Even Marathoners Fear"

  

I hadn’t run the course since 2006 when I ran the full marathon as my second marathon in SF (1st one was the Nike Women’s Marathon) and suffered on the endless hills and swore to never, EVER run a race in SF again. I guess I ate my words! :o)

My trip and race in SF ended up falling at an unfortunate time in my traveling calendar. I had a tradeshow in Vegas for work, followed by a week in Paris visiting my mom, immediately followed with a flight up to SF where I’d be running the race the next day. I got back to Phoenix (where my dear friend Diane was watching my dogs) around 6pm on Friday night, and then 10am Saturday morning flew up to SF, and got up at 4am the following day to run the race, and after the race and a nice meal it was back on a plane back to Phoenix, and then 4am the next day (Monday) I drove back to San Diego with the dogs, dropped them off, and went to work. WOW what a trip.

Christina was kind enough to pick me up from the airport in her environmentally friendly Prius, and we went straight to the marathon expo to pick up our numbers and check out all of the goods. For those of you runners, a few exciting things we saw were that Race Ready (whose shorts I wear in every distance race) now makes a running skirt, eGel was there and seems to be growing their presence (they’re my favorite gel, more about it here), and the race was totally green! Our race/gear check bags were reusable drawstring backpacks! How awesome is that??

 

Marathon Expo Photobook

(Leg Air Guitar, Last Picture)

  

At the expo Christina bought a Race Ready running skirt, I bought a car sticker that says “26.2 Been There. Run That.” Along with several cute coasters with the sayings:

I know, I know – I said I’d NEVER do this again.

Some girls chase boys. I pass them.

Toenails are for sissies.

That night we met up with our friend Jenny and went to dinner at Unicorn (an Asian Fusion restaurant – my fave!) and carbo loaded on yummy, rice heavy dishes. The next morning it was an early wake up call – 4 am! Yuck! The race started at 6:30am and we had planned to leave around 5:15am. Its funny how quickly the time can fly by between 4am and 5am. Before we knew it the cab had arrived and it was time to go.

 

 Cool Ceiling at Unicorn - Copy of Bellagio?

We got to the race about 15 minutes later (after some drama with our crazy and crabby cab driver) after picking up two of Christina’s running friends along the way, and suddenly we were at the start line! There aren’t many things that I like more about distance running than the community that builds around a race start line. During all of those months training and getting up early to run weekend after weekend, at some point I’d start to wonder if I was crazy, and if I was alone in my craziness. As soon as I arrive at a start line and see the tens of thousands of people all waiting there to do the same thing I’m there to do, but all with different goals, standing around in the dark at the crack of dawn, I feel at home. We’re a crazy family of distance runners, and I love it!

I was in an earlier corral than Christina and was off and running about 30 minutes before she was. I had thought prior to the race about giving her some last words of encouragement, or possibly writing them on a little card for her. Well, none of that happened. I blame my travel schedule. :oP I wanted to give her some last words of encouragement and advice but wasn’t sure if I could without crying, and with the flurry of activity going on around us it just didn’t seem suiting. So off I went, and a bit later so did she!

Start Line - Bay Bridge in the Background 

As I started running the race I thought about how much I love running, racing, and racing in a beautiful city. Running all around the city that I grew up in and seeing the sights by foot is pretty fun. In this race and in the previous races I’d run in SF, I noticed that I  felt a rush of memories from my time growing up in the city as I went from one neighborhood to another. I could have lived without having to experience San Francisco's trademark hills by foot, but otherwise I enjoyed the course and the run down memory lane.

 The Race Across the Bridge

The SF Marathon gives you the choice to run the first half or the second half of the full marathon course. I chose the first half for two reasons – I’d get to run over the Golden Gate Bridge, and I’d finish in Golden Gate Park near Christina’s house where I could run back to shower and change and meet my cheering crew. The first half course was tough (notably tougher than the second half), but I powered through it and finished in 2:05. Not a great time, but decent considering.

 Running on the Bridge

After finishing the race I walked (2 miserable windy miles) back to Christina’s place where I showered and finished up some “Team Luini” signs that I had prepared for her. As luck would have it, mile 20 went by two block’s from her house! I had assembled my crew of high school and college friends (Jenny, Deirdre, and Tom) for Christina, armed them with signs, and we marched out to mile 20 to wait for her to come by. Luckily Christina had signed me up for text alerts for her runner tracking so I had a good idea of when she started, and knew that she was keeping a steady pace up to the half marathon mark. Like clockwork, she appeared right when we thought she would for mile 20! She ran down the hill and laughed at our signs, fueled up from her pre-prepared support bag that she set out for me to bring (extra socks, Muscle Milk, energy bar, gel, etc), took a few pictures with us, and then she was off for the last six miles!

Christina Approaching our Cheer Station

In Memory of Anne Moor - Christina's Grandmother

I had never cheered someone on for a full marathon before and was so excited to do so. I’ve always wondered if my friends and family who have watched me race have found waiting for me here and there to be annoying. Well, I didn’t find out because I totally loved being there to support one of my friends!

 

TEAM  LUINI!

We drove downtown and managed to park pretty close to the finish line! (This race is one of the most accessible races I’ve ever run! It is a breeze to get to the start and finish line!) We took our Team Luini signs and headed to the finish where I had predicted that Christina would be coming by in the next 5-10 minutes. We watched anxiously for several minutes .. and then there she came! 

 Team Luini - At the Finish!

She was in such a zone and was staring straight ahead and almost missed our mad screaming and sign waving, but finally she saw us before she flew by to the finish. I’ve never watched a friend finish their first (or any) full marathon, and it was emotional for me to watch just thinking of how I felt on my first time, and every time after that.

 With Christina at the Finish Line!

After Christina finished we rushed over to find her and as soon as she saw us she started choking up. (Actually, it turns out she said she cried right before the finish line too!) As soon as I saw Christina I started to cry too! Omg.. I’m about to cry right now! What an accomplishment! Getting to the point where you decide to do a race, going through months of training, and pushing through hours of running are a big deal! Crossing the finish line is an amazing feeling, and I was so happy and proud to see my friend cross!

 Marathon Finisher w/Her Chupa Chup Reward

We hung out in the finisher’s area for a short while after the race and then headed straight to dinner. My kind of racer! We had lunch at Tropisueno downtown, and had my favorite post-race meal … Mexican! Yummy, carb and protein loaded, and full of salt? Yes please!

Unfortunately soon after the race I had to head back to the airport. Christina was kind enough to drive me back (to San Jose no less!) and I was on a plane back to Phoenix, and then the next day back to San Diego for the first time in two weeks.

  

Overall the race was great! Not my favorite course to run, but it was still enjoyable to run in my home town, and the chance to cheer on a close friend as she ran her first full marathon was worth the trip on its own.

Full vs Half Marathon Medals

Congratulations Christina! I’m so proud of you and hope you are now reaping the emotional awards that a marathon brings. For anyone who hasn’t run a marathon before, I really recommend you try if you can. To quote the movie “The Spirit of the Marathon”, “the marathon will change your life forever”. It really will! I’m a happier, more self-confident, and more determined person today thanks to the character building that marathon training and running has brought me. A lot of you think I’m crazy for running like this, but once you do it you’ll understand. Its amazing.