Courage,Motivation,Inspiration

Want to Cry? Watch the CAF Tri!  Hey, that rhymes! ;o)

This past Saturday I went down to La Jolla Cove to watch the Challenge Athletes Foundation (CAF) Triathlon. I've heard that watching this race is amazing, and it didn't disappoint.

Finish Line of the CAF Triathlon

My Reason to Watch

I'm doing my first triathlon this coming Saturday. I won't lie, I'm scared. I'm afraid of the swim (even after some open water practice), I'm scared of riding a road bike (it feels so awkward to be pitched forward), and I'm afraid of doing poorly on the run after getting off the bike - when the run is my best part. A triathlon in all of its parts make up about 80% of my weaknesses. Two sports I'm terrible at, with transitions in between. Um, have any of you seen me get ready for work on the mornings? I'm not quick to move. A race where the clock is ticking while you change gear is totally my enemy.

Bike Transition Area

With that said, after having burned out on full marathons recently, I've decided that a triathlon will be my next new endurance goal! First up I needed to conquer my fear of water, and more specifically the ocean. I'm not a great swimmer, I'm a major germ freak, and I don't like nature, plants, and creatures. The idea of an open water swim was my worst nightmare on so many levels, but on another hand it was something I just HAD to do. I had to face those fears and see if doing a triathlon was something I could even do!

 Start of the Swim

Lifeguards on the Course

The Swim

My first open water swim was terrifying. I had never willingly put my head underwater in my life. I knew I wasn't a strong swimmer, and since I don't like nature the idea of swimming over kelp and past sea lions was a personal "Fear Factor" challenge.On my first swim in the cove I  made it about 1/8 of a mile out, and came flailing back to shore as quickly as possible. My 2nd an 3rd open water swims were different a little bit better. I swam in Mission Bay which has calm, unmoving water. This was an improvement over the Cove but instead of masses of plants and creatures, the water was just gross looking and dirty. Imagine putting your face in a bowl of pea soup - that's what swimming in the bay looks like. At my 2nd and 3rd swim I managed to make it through the clinics but really didn't enjoy the water. Apparently most others in my newbie group didn't either as well. It made me feel a bit better to know that I wasn't alone in my fears.

CAF Triathlon 3rd Swim Wave Start

Courage

Lets go back to the CAF Triathlon. I heard a quote from the race MC of my first marathon right before the gun went of, and it brought tears to my eyes that morning.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

-John Bingham, running speaker and writer

Coming out of the Water - Headed for the Bike

When I heard this the first time, I thought wow - that is so true! Deciding to take on the challenge of  a  marathon and taking the first step to register and acknowledge that you think you can do it is really hard. Once you've made that decision and you commit to the training, putting one foot in front of another on race day doesn't seem as hard in comparison. Don't get me wrong, running a marathon is hard. Making that initial decision to go for it though is REALLY hard.

Two Challenged Athletes Towing a Third

When I got to the CAF triathlon and saw all of the challenged athletes I thought to myself WOW, here are some brave people. I thought it was hard for me (able-bodied) to make the choice to train for a distance race. Can you imagine how much harder it must be for those with physical challenges? I saw people missing one leg, both legs, one arm, someone that was blind, and someone who was a paraplegic. Imagine how much courage THEY had to take the first step. I'm scared of swimming in the ocean - but I can walk in and out. I saw several athletes being carried in and out! Amazing.

Carrying a Swimmer Up

Motivation

I've always wondered what motivates others to take on big challenges. For me, attempting to run a marathon was something I wanted to do to see if I could do something I never thought was possible. Years ago running 10 miles was as crazy an idea to me as lifting a car with my bare hands. Finding out that I could actually run 10 miles, 13 miles, 20 miles, and then a full marathon was life changing. Now I feel like I can do anything! Well, kind of. :o)

Scout Bassett - Amazing Young Athlete

As I watched all of the challenged athletes out there in the water, on the bike, and preparing to run, I wondered what motivated each of them. I heard the MC announce that some of the athletes were born with their physical limitations, while others lost a limb or mobility in an accident or even in war. Regardless of their history, I think its amazing that they all decided to not allow a physical challenge to stop them. They were at this race doing what many able bodied people don't even try to!

Challenged Athletes Bike Start

  

Inspiration

I watched the entire swim portion of the race and watched the start of the challenged athletes bike race. Have you wondered by now what distance this event was? It was a Half-Ironman distance, also known as 70.3. This consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.2 mile run. Amazing.  I left after the bikers took off and ended up walking a few blocks with a man who was there taking pictures of the event. As we were chatting he said to me "Man, I haven't worked out in years. Watching these guys with no limbs do what they do, really made me think its a sign for a change." I hope this race really did inspire him and many others to change their life!

1.2 Mile  Swim Course

We walked a couple blocks further and a woman walking towards us stopped to ask what was going on down by the Cove. I told her that the Challenged Athletes Foundation Triathlon was going on. She said "oh, a triathlon." I giggle inside a little when my walking partner corrected her by saying 'No, not just a triathlon. A CHALLENGED ATHLETE triathlon. There's people missing limbs!" She didn't look like she got it and just walked on. Oh well. I loved that he asserted that point.

After leaving the race I kept thinking about the athletes. If they weren't scared to swim a mile into the ocean, shouldn't I be more brave about swimming 250 meters in the bay? Next weekend when I do my first triathlon (a fraction of the distance of a Half-Ironman) I'm going to try to suck it up and be brave and to face my fears of the water. I'm also going to try not to fall over trying to get my wetsuit off (which has happened), and to try to give this little race everything I've got. For me, this race is about facing fears, taking on new challenges, and doing something I never thought I'd do.

I'll be back next week with a race report! For now, think about these athletes and everything they have overcome to get outside and to get moving. Next time you're tired and don't want to workout, appreciate the fact that at least you can walk outside to get going. Not everyone can.

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!

Giving It A "TRI"

Something I never thought would happen has happened ... I'm really thinking about doing a triathlon! Oh wait, I'm not just thinking about it, I've already registered for my first race. What have I gotten myself into?

 Quote from the See Jane Run Tri Series
This quote really inspired me to think about tri!

Water - Foe Not Friend

After doing several half and full marathons, I've had a lot of people ask me if I'd do a triathlon next. I always looked at them as if they had three heads and said "Um no! I hate swimming!" Yes, I have grown up hating swimming - mostly because I don't like the feeling of cold water all around me. That initial plunge into the water before your body has adjusted is pure torture for me! I'm a beach bunny and love being on the beach near the water, but in the water? No thanks.

Germs, Germs  ... Everywhere!

So ..... I'm a germ freak. If you know me, you know that. You should see how much hand soap I go through in my house! Having dogs has really been total immersion/shock therapy to force me to get over that. (Which I haven't completely yet.) Sooo many things gross me out about owning dogs, but I can put aside my neurotic thoughts enough to care for them. And then I rock in a corner for hours .. just kidding. But seriously, owning dogs has probably helped me become more "normal".

Anyways, back to germs. One of my issues with ocean swimming is that the ocean seems "dirty" to me because of the cloudy, murky water. Even in "cleaner" places like Hawaii, the water still grosses me out a bit. I know pool water is clean but my dislike of water has kept me away from pools ... until my last trip to France where I was "forced" to swim in a pool each day as a workout to get in the only workout I had available. I have to say, as the water seeped into my mouth occasionally, I was grossed out. I figured the chlorine killed all of the major germs, but having chemical water come in and out of my mouth, ears, and nose really put me off. I liked the powerful feeling of swimming and using different muscles from running though, and ended up continuing to swim even after I came home. Swimming laps at my local gym opened up  my mind to a new possibility - could I do a tri?

I knew I could run, I found out in the past few months I could swim, and I figured biking wouldn't be that much of a big deal on top of that. A friend of mine sent me a link to a triathlon in San Diego in a few months that was shorter than a sprint tri and I thought hmm ... I can probably do this! The race? The FEARLESS Triathlon.

Watching A Tri

A few weeks ago I went to watch my friend Todd complete his first triathlon. (More about that here.) Watching him was inspiring, as was watching his whole training progress on dailymile.com. He said he didn't enjoy the open water swims either, but he got through them and stuck to his schedule. He swam, he biked, and he ran. As I watched him and the other competitors race, I thought "I want to do that!" Towards the end of his race I wandered through the race expo and came upon the Fearless Triathlon booth. I walked over and talked to the two people at the booth. I told then I was thinking about doing the race, but was terrified of the open water swim. The guy there (who I realized later was the founder of the race) said don't worry, they hold three free clinics to help the beginner triathlete get more acclimated to the water! I had seen mention of the clinics on the website and thought that was a great perk. On top, of that he handed me a $10 coupon code! Score! But guess what? It expired the next day! I only had 24 hours to think about it!

Well, my cheap and determined side set in, and I registered! Wow....

Kona Ironman

Being an overdoer with a need to exceed, when I first thought about triathlons my first thought was to go for a Half Ironman. I mean, it can't be worse than  a full marathon right? :oP Well, my swimming has humbled me to a much lower goal, but I have to say its still a stretch goal in my mind.

Yesterday was the Ironman Championships in Kona. David was watching the live stream online so towards the end  did too. An Ironman is unbelievable! I think marathons are about all a body can take! An Ironman takes a 2.4 mile swim, follows it with a 112 mile bike, and to top it all off, finishes with a FULL marathon. Are you kidding me? It blows my mind that mortals can accomplish this! Yet, years ago, completing a full marathon was beyond my own comprehension. With that frame of reference,  I started thinking maybe *I* could do an Ironman! Well, a half of course. ;o)

Watching the Ironman competition was amazing. The course in Kona is tough! Its hot, its hilly, and you have the best of the best competing against each other. Its like watching the Olympics, but instead of watching athletes great at one sport, you're watching athletes great at three sports. Amazing! Watching this race really solidified in my heart a feeling  of wanting to do a tri, and wanting to do it well!

Open Water Swim

Enter my open water swim. Two friends agreed to meet me at La Jolla Cove to provide moral support for my first open water swim. I was terrified of so many things before getting into the water. The fear of the unknown was overwhelming!

My biggest fears were:

• The water being too cold at my neck, hands, and feet
• The wetsuit not being warm enough in general
• Getting dirty salt water in my mouth, nose, and ears
• Plants and algae touching me when I was swimming
• Other dirty things washing around me in the water
• Sea animals coming up and harassing me

The first of three really weren't issues, but the last few really did me in. There is thick "grass" growing a few feet into the water that we had to swim over. I didn't want to see all of the things brushing up against me so I kept my head above the water until we got past it. After passing the grass, I was floundering around in the water a little and was starting to freak out seeing that we were a decent distance away from shore. We swam a bit further before coming to an underwater wall of kelp. We swam over that and as we passed by it I felt tons of leaves curling around my foot and sliding by my hands and fee. EWEWEWEW.

We took another break past that and at this point I was so put off by the dark water and the plants, that the SEAL who was 10 feet away barely bothered me. I forgot to use my inhaler before we headed out, and between the stress and the effort of the exercise, I started breathing really heavily and my heart was pounding in my chest. Todd must have noticed my panicked, scared look and labored breathing and asked if I wanted to go back. I looked over to the 1/4 mile buoy and it was soo far away, but so was the shore! I said YES!!! Let's go back! So we swam back.

It was a lot better on the way back since I had the shore in site, but as we came out of the water I was a little embarrassed for being such a wimp that lasted only a few minutes in the water. Todd's wife Christine was watching us and taking pictures, and from where she pointed out our turnaround location in the water, it looked like we made it about halfway to the buoy. Hey, not bad! Worst case I thought I'd walk in 10 feet and turn back and run out crying. I actually made it out much further than I thought I would, although way shorter than I'd need to go in a real training swim. I'm glad I took this first initial plunge into the water and I'm sooo grateful for the moral support of my friends Carol, Todd and Christine. Thanks so much!!

Fearless Triathlon Clinic

The open water swim in La Jolla Cove was soon followed by another session in the ocean. The Fearless Triathlon had its first clinic this Sunday at Mission Bay. The two hour session consisted of an hour of open water swim instruction, a clinic on transitioning between the swim and the bike, and then a practice  250 meter swim, a transition, and then a 1 mile bike ride.

I was really apprehensive to get into the water again, but as the whole group plunged into the water, I did too. There was no time to be a sissy and I didn't want to be the only one left standing on the beach. We spent a lot of time in the water going over different technique drills to work on our stroke, head position, breathing, and sighting. In the practice swims I got kicked and pawed a few times, and I'm guilty of being a kicker and pawer myself. The first few times I was kicked I was startled and would kind of gasp in air - which means I'd really just suck in a mouthful of water. Green, murky water. Fun times.

I became a lot more comfortable in the water throughout the clinic but was still a bit panicked feeling when we finally did our practice 250 meter swim in a rectangular shape around three buoys. My transition after the swim was NOT smooth. I struggled getting my socks on over my wet, sandy feet, and then after finally getting them on I realized I still had my wetsuit half off. Duh! I then had to take my socks off, pry my wetsuit fully off, put my socks and running shoes back on, lace them up, put on clothes to bike .. and then I was off! I was one of the last people to leave the bike area, and riding a 16 year old mountain bike with slipping gears kept me at the back of the pack. :o(

Three Weeks To Go

The second Fearless clinic is this weekend, but I will miss it since I will be running the Long Beach Half Marathon on Sunday. I'll be able to make the third clinic the following week though, and then the next weekend its race time! After the first practice swim in the clinic I now have the confidence that I can just complete the race, but now I'm starting to hope that I can finish AND do well. This might require some adjustments to my gear. Hopefully I can  make a few changes that will pay off on race day. My first purchase? Yankz laces! I probably wasted 30 seconds tying my shoes during the transition. With these laces, there's no tying involved, you just yank them! I'm also hoping to borrow a better bike for the race. If you're reading this and you live in San Diego and you're about my height, I'd love to borrow your bike! I promise I wont put Hello Kitty stickers on it either. :o)

Border Collies, BBQ, Board Games, Babies, & Rock Band

A few weeks ago, I went to the East Coast for a long weekend and visited Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. As the title of this blog implies, my weekend was spent participating in activities involving Border Collies, a BBQ dinner, playing a board game, meeting two new babies, and rocking out to Rock Band.

Border Collies

Let’s start with the Border Collies. David’s Aunt Lynn and Uncle David are border collie enthusiasts. They own a border collie of their own named Duncan, and are highly interested in the sport/competition of the sheepdog trials. They were planning to attend the national sheep herding finals in Middletown, VA the same weekend that I would be visiting, so David’s family and I all went to watch the competition one day.

The Serta Sheep Were There!

 

"That’ll Do Pig"

 

Remember the movie Babe with the talking pig? Of course you do! Well in Babe there is a scene where he enters a sheep herding competition and gets a perfect score beating out the dogs! When he finished competing, the farmer praised him with “That’ll do pig”. I’m not sure if this is a standard sheepherding saying, but I’m pretty sure I heard one of the trainers say this to her dog after he finished the competition. (Well, minus the “pig” part of course.)

The competition was amazing – the dogs would drive the sheep down the field, through a set of gates, through another set of gates, over to an area where they would separate out one sheep, and then finally herd the sheep into a pen. Wow, I was amazed. Especially as the owner of two cute and lovable, and strikingly less talented dogs. I consider coming home to no pee on my floor a training “win” in my house! Sad…

Sheepherding in Action

We watched about a handful of dogs run through the challenge before checking out some of the vendors at the competition. They sold things such as coats, leashes, snacks, knick-knacks that any dog enthusiast would love. I managed to get a bag full of high-end dog treats such as bully sticks at half the price that they usually retail at in pet stores. They had one “long lasting” chew treat that I had never heard of before – elk antler! Apparently, they’re great for the aggressive chewer. I was thinking about getting small ones for my dogs but in the end my cheapness won out. At a price of $5 each I’d be paying $10 for two which was almost as much as I was paying for the six other treats I’d selected in total. Isn’t it funny to see how much cheaper we get as soon as we start to get a deal? In other stores, bully sticks run about $7 each. When I found out that I could get a bully stick for $2, I was suddenly unwilling to pay more than that per treat for anything else, even though $5 for an elk antler is apparently a great deal. Oh well, there’s always next year to load up on antlers!

Allen Men Enjoying the Competition

 

David Makes a Friend

 

BBQ

After we’d all had about as much time out in the blazing sun as we could take while watching the competition, we headed back to David’s parents’ new house in West Virginia. David’s dad and brother set to work grilling steaks for dinner in the backyard and we enjoyed a nice dinner of BBQ’d steak, salad, and fresh fruit.

Houston & Duncan Greeting Each Other

Grilling Steaks for Dinner

Board Game Time

Growing up, I always loved playing board games! Unfortunately as an only child, there weren’t many likely opponents besides my parents to play games with me. I still recall the slight hint of dread that I’d see cross my dad’s face when I'd asked him to play a board game with me. He always would of course, but many timeswhen it came to Monopoly, there was a point where he just couldn’t stand to play the game anymore. What, paying money for my hotels on Park Avenue for four hours isn’t fun Dad? Just kidding Dad, I’m sure you enjoyed the time we spent playing games just as much as I did!

David’s cousin and uncle turned out to be big strategy board game lovers, and brought one game called “Carcassonne” with them. The board game is described on Amazon's site as "A clever tile-laying game. The southern French city of Carcassonne is famous for its unique roman and medieval fortifications. The players develop the area around Carcassonne and deploy their followers on the roads, in the cities, in the cloisters, and in the fields. The skill of the players to develop the area will determine who is victorious. The game is for ages 8 and up and 2 to 5 players."

My Characters are Black

 

There were different strategic roles your players could take during the game. Some reaped rewards almost immediately, while others took longer and involved chance, and the final role of “the farmer” which I placed most of my bets on paid off in the very end. Or should I say they didn’t. Sigh… I had a good strategy but was outwitted by a high schooler! Oh well, it was only my first time playing. Maybe if we all played again I’ll do better.

Babies

Whenever I come out to the MD/VA area I feel like I have to strategically plan my weekend to try to see as many people as possible. I have both family and friends in the area, and David has his family of course. We are usually able to see a few of our handful of options each time, and it somehow seems to require careful planning up front. In addition to seeing friends and family, I was also trying to squeeze in a work lunch on one of the days that I was there, but that didn’t end up happening.

On Sunday, we had plans to go meet my cousin Sandy’s second child Charlotte. I hadn’t seen Sandy and her husband in a while and I was looking forward to meeting baby Charlotte. David and I came over to their house they cooked us dinner. We had Cincinatti Chili which is chili served over spaghetti and topped with cheese and onion. It was delicious! (I skipped the cheese of course.)  For dessert, we had homemade cupcakes with homemade icing. Wow, what a treat! In turn, we brought my ‘famous’ spinach dip in a bread bowl. I joke that its famous, it’s really just my favorite thing to bring to events. Hey, its fat free and people love it. And, it’s easy to make. Score!

Charlotte and Mommy

 

The next day I went to go visit my friend Colleen who had recently had her first son – Baby Liam. I had seen her at about three months and five months into her pregnancy but hadn’t seen her since. Her baby was two months now and I was so excited that we were able to set up a time to hang out. It seems that in the past when I’ve tried to meet up with friends and family members a few months into them being a new parents, things just never worked out. They were either too tired or too busy or too overwhelmed to entertain. Not like I need high level entertaining, but still I guess any change to their routine was too much. Luckily Colleen and Liam were doing great in their first few months, and were happy to have visitors.

Liam and Mommy

Rock Band

My visit with Colleen was brief and soon I was headed back to College Park to meet David to prepare to cook dinner for his brother who was coming over. David was going to recreate a meal that he had made for himself earlier in the week: flank steak and Greek salad. I wanted to contribute in some way as well, so I baked chocolate chip cookies and made fresh ice cream cookie sandwiches. (I took inspiration for the cookie sandwiches from the restaurant Starlite in San Diego. I didn’t like the food the first time I had dinner there but I loved their fresh homemade cookie sandwiches for dessert!)

Brothers Enjoying a Steak Dinner

 

After dinner, we retreated to the “recording studio” – aka the basement downstairs where the Rock Band competition usually took place. David was on the drums, Kenny and I played guitar, and David’s roommate rocked out the vocals. We played the Beatles for a while before moving on to classic songs. The game was a lot of fun and reminded me of how much I used to love playing Guitar Hero. (I still love Guitar Hero, but its just not as much fun to play by yourself. If only my dogs had opposable thumbs. Sigh.)

Rock Band ended up being the end of my long weekend fun. The next morning I got up at 3:30 am EST to get to the airport for a 5:30am flight. I got into San Diego around 10:30am PST and zipped right up to work .. only to finish with a long day of coaching GOTR after work. Man I was beat that day!

The long weekend was a lot of fun and I was happy to see friends and family old and new.

That’ll do.

 

Watching A Tri

Yesterday I watched my friend Todd complete his first triathlon. He raced in an Olympic distance tri called the San Diego Triathlon Classic. This race was held in Liberty Station right near my church where my running group meets. I planned on doing my long run with my running group while Todd was out biking and running. The timing worked out perfectly! I wanted to get to the race at the start so I could watch the swim portion. I've been thinking about doing a tri for a few weeks now and the open water swim is the biggest deterrent for me.  I was hoping that watching a race and seeing everyone calmly enter the water would help me get over my own fears of the open water.

Unfortunately, I turned off my alarm at some point in the morning and overslept. By the time I had my breakfast and got down to the race, Todd had already taken off on his bike. If I wasn't doing a long run of my own I would have headed straight down there, but I needed to make sure I had a decent breakfast to fuel me for my own my run that morning. When I got down to the race I hung out with Todd's wife Christine and their friends for a bit (set-up as serious tailgaters for the event) before heading off to crank out eight miles.

Todd Heads on a Stick Display

Chasing Down Todd

I had timed my run to finish about 15 minutes before Todd was supposed to start his run. He was ahead of his anticipated time though and was finishing his first 3.1 mile lap as I came up to the course. I saw him running through the chute going into his second lap and chased him down the sidewalk to cheer him on and give him encouragement. Of course, I'm sure I just looked like a crazy person in running gear running after a racer shouting out his name. :oP Todd saw me and waved back, and after watching him disappear around the bend I ran back to the finish area to find his cheering crew. 

Domo says "GO TODD GO!"

Christine had my double-sided sign with her and her friends had made an awesome assortment of Todd heads on a stick. You might recognize the "head on a stick" idea from when I cheered on my friend Christina during her first full marathon.

Christine and the Many Face of Todd

A Surprising Tear Jerker

The night before, I saw on facebook that one of my Rock Running friends Carol would be keeping her friend company during the running leg of the triathlon. I had my eye out for her at the race but didn't really think I'd see her in the huge crowd. But guess what - I did! I saw her and her friend running towards the finish line and right as they passed me Carol gave her friend some last words of encouragement. I can't remember exactly what she said to her, but as soon as I saw this my eyes were instantly filled with tears. Why am I so emotional when it comes to racing?! Seeing the two friends running side by side and knowing how much it must have meant to each of them to be able to do this run together really touched my heart. Luckily, I managed to quickly regain my composure and went back to focusing on the search for Todd in the stream of approaching runners. I'm such a sap!!

Strong to the Finish

After waiting near the finish line for about 15 minutes, we finally saw Todd approaching in his "orange blur" outfit. I held my big sign up over my head and rang my cowbell madly. Christine and friends were armed with Todd heads on a stick which they also pumped into the air madly while cheering him on. He sped up at the very end, entered the finish chutes in a blur, and then he was done! He ended up finishing in 3:05, 10 minutes better than he had predicted!

The Proud, Happy, and Accomplished Couple!

 

A Professional Spectator

I really enjoyed watching this triathlon and coming armed with signs made it a lot more fun. (Or, it made me look a lot dorkier. Oh well.)  You might recognize my work from some of my earlier posts about events. My race sign artwork debut was seen in Washington DC at the Marine Corps Marathon. (For more on that race, check out my blog,) Since I was running this race with David I had to give my signs to his family to use on the course. The signs were a great hit and I'd like to think they helped David finish the race stronger and with a smile.

My Signs for David

David's parents surprised me with their own signs as well at that race, and they were able to give me a huge smile and lift at several points on the course.

David's Parents' Signs for Me

My second exhibition of race signage was seen at the Give Your Heart to Monarch 5K which was the season end race for Girls on the Run. I was a bit rushed that morning and the sign didn't turn out as well as I wanted, but it was still fun to have something extra on hand to cheer the girls on during their race.

 Carmel Valley GOTR ROCKS

My next race sign exhibition really raised the bar. For my friend Christina's first full marathon I assembled a team of friends to cheer her on, and armed everyone in the group with a sign or a "head on a stick".

 Team Luini!

Is reading all of this making you want to sign up for a race and invite me to watch? If you do a race and I'm able to come, I'll make you a sign for sure! As everyone knows I love running and racing and the community and spirit that it brings to people. Race signs for others have made me smile along many other courses, and I hope that my signs have done the same.

My Artwork - Great, I know! ;o)

Miss Course Marshall

I have taken to the sidelines twice this month during a race. The first time was when I volunteered as a course marshall at a 5K, and the second was when I cheered on a friend during his first triathlon.

 

Call Me Course Marshall

Over Labor Day weekend my running group the Rock Runners were coordinating volunteers for the Philip Rivers 5K which would take place in Liberty Station in San Diego. I had never volunteered for a race before since I've always wanted to run the race, not watch it - but in the past few years I've stopped running 5K's due to the cost and time involved in getting to and from the race. Paying $30 to run 3 miles (which I can do any day) and to spend twice as much time getting to and leaving the race just doesn't seem worth it to me anymore. I'd much rather race 10K+ distances.

Rock Runners - Racers & Volunteers

(I'm second from the right.)

My running group has been such great support for me over the past few months and I really wanted to take some time to give back to the group, or an organization that they were supporting. I was assigned to the Course Marshall team under my friend Stacey's management, which to me sounded like a really fun job! That's MIZZ Course Marshall to you! :o)

Official Orange Plastic Vest

 

An Unfortunate Choice

The course for the race looped around a large grassy area twice. Course marshalls were placed at all of the turns around the course to help guide runners and walkers in the right direction. I decided to choose the last turn before the finish line. What a great place to watch the race right? WRONG! Being at the last turn meant that I was on the course until the very last person ran by. I have no idea how it could take so long, but the last walker went by around 1:45. How could people walk that slowly?! Did  they stop for breakfast somewhere along the way? I thought I'd be out there for one hour max. :oP

Over the years that I've raced I've seen  marshalls on the course shouting directions, but never thought about what it would be like to stand in the same location and shout the same direction over and over again. I felt kind of stupid for some reason standing by myself and shouting "Stay to the left!" and "First lap to the right, finish to the left!" and "Finishers to the left!" over and over again for almost two hours. I had another person come by at some point and stand across from me yelling "Watch the curb!"  in between my "Stay to the left!"  My plastic orange vest did make me feel quite official, but the repetitive yelling really got old.

 

Who's that running by?

I enjoyed watching the race and wondering if I'd see someone I knew run by. About 20 minutes into the race guess who I saw? One of my Girls on the Run going by with her mom! I yelled out her name and she looked at me in confusion, but her mom recognized me and yelled out a hello before running by. On the second lap I was looking for her and shouted out her name in encouragement. This drew a look of confusion yet again. Oh well, I tried.

 

Rock Runners for the Win

I stuck around after the end of the race to watch the awards ceremony. It was exciting to see that there were several runners from the Rock group up there on the podium! A Rock Runner won first male overall and first female overall, and a couple others placed in their age group as well. Aren't we a fast team!

Rock Runners at the Awards Ceremony

(I'm second from the right again.)

 

Aside from being stuck at the end for so long I enjoyed volunteering at the race, and I'd definitely do it again. Next time I'm going to pick my location more strategically though!