LA Triathlon Relay

Several weeks ago my cousin Giselle emailed me asking if I wanted to do the LA Triathlon Relay. My initial thought was no ... my race calendar is so full this year, relays are usually overpriced, and a short distance run leg wasn't really on my horizon of running goals for the year. BUT .. (aside from the fact that I did think it would be fun to race with her) .. my cousin said that as a Kaiser employee (her) we'd get 50% off registration fees. WHAT? Okay, I'm so in! I hate thinking about the amount of money I spend on race fees and passing up a 50% discount was hard. So we signed up!

Race Weekend

Well as luck would have it I was scheduled to run 20 miles on race weekend in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon which I'm running with David on October 30th. When I noticed the big "2-0" on my schedule earlier in the week I groaned and though ughh ... its so far! And I don't get a rest day after! Wahh! 

I'm currently suffering from training burnout and have had a hard time motivating for my long runs and have been falling way short of my training goals. I hadn't run over 13 miles since the SF Marathon and had lost my mojo for longer distances. Luckily I was able to coerce my friend Tara (currently training for the Chicago Marathon) into attempting 20 miles with me, so the plan was 20 miles along the San Diego Harbor on Saturday morning. And guess what? We did it! Whoo hoo!!

After running 20 miles do you know what I want to do? I want to lie down in bed and have a burrito spoon fed to me! While this past Saturday did involve a burrito, it also involved cleaning house, running errands, and then driving the 2hours up to LA to stay at Giselle's for the race. 

Sophia - Ready to Swim

Kaiser Perks

Kaiser has a lot of fitness perks in addition the race registration discount. (Totally made me miss working for a huge company.) When I got to Giselle's she proudly showed me our goodie bags and the Kaiser branded tri gear that was free for Kaiser employees. WOW. Tri gear is soo expensive! She got bike shorts for herself and somehow sweet-talked the guy into giving her a tri top for me too. 

Tiniest Tri Top - And I thought the Sony One was Small! (Behind)

Um.. one problem, the tri top was sized for a child! Tri gear runs extremely small and if you have any body image issues .. um expect them to increase exponentially once you put on some tri gear. I put on the Kaiser top and thought okay, I can't wear this!! :( After several instances of "Are you sure it doesn't fit??" and "It really looks okay ...." I figured okay, I think someone wants me to wear this ... I will. SUCK IT IN! haha

Kaiser Crop Top

In It To Win It

When Giselle first asked me to do the tri relay the first thing I thought wast hmm ... if we do this race could we win?? (You know, because I'm obsessed with achievement!) My cousin's husband is an AMAZING swimmer and  knew he'd be one of the fastest in the swim. My cousin just won a local bike race which meant she was good on the bike. And hey, while I'm not busting out 5 minute miles at any point in time ...  I'm a fairly decent runner. I figured between the three of us we had this race! 

Due to time constraints Giselle never had time to get a road bike ... so she'd be riding her pink cement block - I mean pink mountain bike (from Target!!) in the race. Oh man! I rode my Target mountain bike in the first tri clinic I ever did and let me tell you it is so demoralizing! I was the slowest person out there! What a bummer. And its not like I wasn't working hard! Ugh. Anyways, knowing Giselle had to suffer with her mountain bike I figured we wouldn't win, but still figured we had a good shot.We could still be in it to win it!!

Me & Giselle Ready to Race

Race Morning

This race course was pretty different from other tris I've done. The swim was in Venice, the bike was from Venice to LA, and the run was an out and back in LA. The big challenge was that T1 was nowhere near T2. I was able to drop Giselle off at T1 and I quickly drove to T2 to park where she'd finish and I'd start running. I had no idea how parking and traffic would be so I dropped her off before her husband even started swimming and headed straight downtown. 

Giselle & Her Pink Mountain Bike

Giselle & Marc Pre-Swim (No wetsuit?!?)

Well .. I found parking right away  (score!) but that meant I stood around for almost two hours waiting to run. This was an interesting experience because i got to see the first elite triathletes come in and got to watch a ton of participants on the course for the next hour. I *might* have gotten a little misty watching all of the people go by! I'm such a sap!! I love distance racing. :o)

I Love Kids with Signs!

My Turn Yet?

After watching the racers go by for about an hour I thought okay, I need to figure out when I will be running! I texted David who was able to figure out from the race app when Marc finished swimming and when Giselle started running. I predicted a 10am transition from Giselle to me. Around 9:45am I decided to make a quick bathroom stop and then head over to the transition area. As soon as I got out of the bathroom I saw a missed call from Giselle and thought oh no! she's done! I quickly turned on my watch and stood by our transition area.

Hanging Out in T2

Moments later,  instead of seeing Giselle running her bike towards me I saw Giselle sprinting toward me with a smile ... her bike helmet on and no bike in sight. "OMG where is your bike?!?!' I asked her. "Oh, I ditched it over there" she said. WHAT?!?! OMG You can't do that! By then she had the timing chip on my ankle and was like Go! Go! So I shoved my jacket and cell phone in her hands and was off!

Relay Run Time

As I took off I looked down at my Garmin and noticed the satellites hadn't connected. I figured whatever, they'll connect soon. Um, they never did. UGH!! I have a bad habit of running like a maniac in the first mile of a 5K at a 6:00-6:30 pace .. which I totally cant sustain. I know a  ~7:00 pace is a good goal for me and try to keep myself there. Without a watch I had no clue how fast i was running! I was passing people right and left but was afraid of a burnout. 

The course was an out and back and as I looked out on the course I saw a big hill beyond an inflatable CLIFF bar mountain arch. ARGH! Just like at the OC Marthon! Ugh! I hate hills!  I have been training on them and can deal with them ... but why in flat downtown LA would they pick a run course where you had to run up a big hill to turn around and run back down? So annoying. 

Running Down the Streets of LA

I charged up the hill with everything I had ... caught my breath on the flat, and flew down. Man, I love running downhill! A 5K is a surprisingly short course when you're used to a marathon. Before I knew it I was turning the corner to the finish line. I was still passing people all long the way and in between pulling my tiny tri top down every 20 seconds I pushed with what I had to the finish. 

And ... I ended up with a PR! I'm totally amazed considering my last two PRs were on flat courses and this had a big (but short) hill. Official finish time was 22:38 or a 7:18 pace. (Prior PR was 22:55)

LA Triathlon Finisher's Medal

Post Race

Immediately after the race I thought oh crap, I didn't create a meet-up plan with Giselle after the race! Should I stay here? Go to T2? Luckily as I was milling around thinking about this I bumped into her. Many pictures ensued and then we headed to the VIP party a block away from the finish line. (Another Kaiser perk for employees!!) We hung out and had some fruit, Giselle talked to some coworkers, several Kaiser photos were taken, and then it was time to head home. 

Kaiser Group Photo

 

Kaiser LA

Race Results

I had to rush back to SD for some plans I had made prior to the race so I didn't have time to look up our race results. I assumed we had done well but hadn't won, and actually forgot about it until later that night. When I finally looked up the results I was amazed. We did really well!

Smiling Finishers

Swim - Marc

500 meters - 14:17

Division: 3/44

Overall: 6/68

Bike - Giselle

14 Miles - 1:01:20

Division: 29/44

Overall: 50/68

Run - ME!

5K - 22:38

Division: 2/44

Overall:4/68

Finish Time - 1:41:55

Division: 11/44

Overall: 20/68

Seeing these results made me want to do the race again next year. I've planted the seed with Marc and Giselle and hope they are in for next year. 

 Team Gemischte Pot for the win!!!!

Me & My Twin

Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon

This past weekend (which was a 3-day weekend thanks to the blackout!) I ran the Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon in Camp Pendleton. Tara lured me to this race several months ago by telling me the registration fee was only $45. Wow, are you kidding me? Most half marathons these days cost about $90 ... which is a lot of money if you're someone who likes to race constantly throughout the year. (Like me!)

2nd Race for Team Sony

As usual I didn't look at the course very carefully but saw that it was going to be hilly, but felt confident that my weekly hill repeat runs would leave me well prepared. 

Heartbreak Ridge Course Elevation

Pre-Race

This race didn't have an expo and our bibs were mailed to us. Score! Its often a minor inconvenience to have to go somewhere to pick up your bib. At this point in my running career I am so loaded up with running gear that there isn't much I am ever interested in or need at the expos either. Camp Pendelton is about 4 5 minutes north of where I live too so I'm SO glad I didn't have to drive up there to pick up a bib.

Checking in on Foursquare - "Traffic Jam From Hell" haha

Race Morning

The race started at 8:00 am which means I would normally leave my house at 7:00 am to slide up to the start at 7:45 am .. but due to the security checkpoint at the entrance of the base they suggested allowing an extra 30 minutes to clear security. Hmm, so I should leave at 6:30am? I consulted with a few friends and found that they were planning on arriving at the base between 5:30 and 6:30 am. What?!? Ugh.. okay, so I guess I should leave the house at 6:00 am. If you know me, you know my pet peeve is getting to a race super early and milling around. 

When I got to the checkpoint there wasn't much of a delay and I cruised right through security. I had no idea Camp Pendelton was so huge! I drove east for about 10 minutes before hitting a long line of cars waiting to park. I sat in this line for about 30 minutes. So glad I came early! I ended up parking and walking over to meet Tara and Ben right at 7:45am. Sheesh.

 Security Line at the Entrance

Race Start

There were race volunteers marking the calves of ever runner much like in a triathlon. Your left calf was either Military (M) or Civilian (C), and your right calf was your age (um 23 for me *cough*) or Clydesdale (C). I didn't enjoy having my age marked on my calf, but found it interesting to be able to look around and see everyone else's age and whether or not they were in the military. From looking around it seemed like 75% of the runners there were in the military .. and were men! It was like the opposite of a Nike Women's race.

It was moving to be on the Marine Corps base on 9/11 surrounded by so many members of the military. When the national anthem started you could see the whole crowd shift as suddenly every  military member stood to attention with their arms straight down and fists clenched. Looking around brought on a wave of emotions. After the national anthem the first wave started (military), then the second (men), and finally it was time for us (women - woot woot!).

A fellow GOTR coach Lisa came to meet us right before the start and we all started together around 8:15. The course was an out and back on a dirt path. There were some rolling hills from the start, a decent sized hill around mile 3, and then we started to descend a pretty long (loose dirt) hill around mile 4. Uh oh, if we are running down down down to the turnaround point, that means we have to run all the way up this! Ack!

Girls on the Run Coaches

I had bought new shoes about a month ago and have been trying to keep them clean. Um, no shot in this race. When you have 1500 people running through loose dirt, you are basically running through a dirt cloud. Not only did my shoes get dirty (ewe!), but I was covered in a fine layer of dust from head to toe. I even had dust in my eyelashes! :(

Dirt Lashes - Yuck!

Along the course I had fun looking at the ages of people in front of me (on their calves) and alternating between "yay, I just passed a guy in his 20s!" to "wow, did I just get passed by a 74 year old man?!" It was pretty entertaining. 

Eyes on  my Target - Passed!

Another fun part of the course (being an out and back) is that I got to pass people I know! I first saw my dailymile friend Ted (really close to the front of the pack, turns out he got 3rd place in his AG!), then I saw Ben, and then I saw Tara & Lisa in their tutus. (Screaming and high-fiving ensued of course.)

Tara & Lisa Catching Air

I had run a really hilly half marathon earlier in the year (San Dieguito - race recap here) and had finished that race right around 2 hours. This became my goal for this race, but I missed it by a few minutes and ended up coming in at 2:03.

Official Results

Finish time: 2:03:42

Age Group: 23/71

Overall: 677/1443

Whew! We Did It!

Caution: Wearing a Tutu Causes Jumping

There were several things I liked about the race (low registration fee, race bib mailed to you, ample parking, no lines at the porta-potties, plenty of water stops, decent finish expo, D-tag timing), but there were some other aspects that would most likely prevent me from running the race again (the race was far and you had to get there so early, the course was super hilly, and the loose dirt was miserable to run on). 

Latest Bib for My Collection

We also didn't receive finisher's medals for the race which was pretty unusual for a half marathon. Sure, I have a ton of medals and don't need another, but this race was by far the hardest half marathon I've ever done, and I would have loved something to commemorate that.  I'm glad I ran the race though and it was fun running it with friends. And hey, how can you not have fun in a Glam Runner tutu? :)

San Diego Goes Dark

For those of you who don't live in the San Diego area, did you hear that we had a massive blackout last night? The entire county (100% of San Diego Gas & Electric's customers) lost power! More news here.

Poof

Yesterday afternoon when I was at work and nose-deep into analyzing August sales data suddenly POOF! The power went out. Oh no!! When did I last hit Save? ARGH! We all stood around chatting for about 10 minutes before we were told to go home. We have generators but the power was all going to our cleanrooms and freezers to keep all of the goods frozen. It was about 3:45pm and I thought whoo hoo! I get to go home early! Oh wait, I had a 5pm bike date with Tara. Cool, we can bike early!

 Lights Out at Work

I tried calling and texting Tara but the calls wouldn't go through. WTH? I called David and we were able to talk, must have been because she didn't have Verizon like we did. I got a message from her right as I was about to head home that she was headed to our bike spot to meet. I turned North to bike instead of South to go home, and got stuck trying to make the turn.

Massive Gridlock

Um, I didn't just get stuck trying to make that turn, I got stuck trying to move at all! We managed to email while stuck in traffic (funny that data worked but not phone service) and decided to head home. I tried to turn back the the other way and spent the next hour going ONE BLOCK towards the freeway. Well, another hour passed before I even got near the freeway which was only 2 miles away. Holy moly. 

Traffic Was Miserable

I work in an area with the highest density of office buildings in San Diego, and everyone was trying to leave work, and none of the street lights were working! :o( It crossed my mind several times that I could probably bike home in less time (only 13 miles!) but I had no idea which roads were bike safe and then I'd end up having to bike back to get my car. It also crossed my mind that I could have RUN home in the  amount of time I was stuck in my car. Sigh. 

Blackout Priority - Liquor?

When I finally got onto the freeway and started my crawl south I felt bad for all of the cars I saw stranded on the side of the road. Poor people must have run out of gas! Hmm... maybe I should make a point to never let my tank go below 1/4?

Lucy I'm Home

Three hours later I finally made it home. O M G. I was a bit worried about getting home to my dogs and thought about how scary it must be if you're a parent and you can't get to your child at daycare. Yikes. My dogs and I went on a quick walk and then I made dinner. Luckily David talked me into buying a propane grill this summer and he was able to get me over my fear of lighting the grill. I grilled some chicken and ate that and chips and salsa on my back patio. I don't have AC and not having power meant that my fans didn't work. My apartment was boiling inside! Even with the windows open. :( My poor dogs were panting for most of the night.

Grilling in the Dark

Kindle to the Rescue

After finishing dinner I thought okay, now what? What can I do in the dark? Aha! My Kindle! It has a booklight!! I spent the remainder of the night reading Tina Fey's Bossypants until it was time to go to bed. At some point in the night I was startled awake by a loud sound and lights coming on outside ... but then everything went dark again ... then came on  ... and then ... Zzz... I fell back to sleep. 

Kindle w/Booklight

Vandalism in my Neighborhood

3-Day Weekend

Because of the power outage and the concern over keeping the freezers cold and conserving energy my office is closed today! Whoo hoo! Two 3-day weekends in a row? Yippee! I had a long list of errands that I was going to take care of tomorrow, but now I can do them today! So excited. My friend Jenna from AZ is also coming out this weekend and is getting into town this afternoon. Can't wait to see her too. Guess the blackout wasn't all bad!

Yelp Elite - Oh Yeah!

What is Yelp?

For those of you who don't know, Yelp is a website with reviews of businesses, places and events. Their official description according to their website is:

Yelp is an online urban city guide that helps people find cool places to eat, shop, drink, relax and play, based on the informed opinions of a vibrant and active community of locals in the know. Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great — and not so great — in your world.

I had heard of Yelp over the years and often when I googled businesses a Yelp review would come up. I'd initially ignore them because seriously, who wants to read hundreds of people blabber on with their opinion of a place? Who has time for that? After a while though I noticed that the overall star rating for a place pretty closely matched what I ended up thinking of the place myself. Hmm ... could there be something to this crowdsourcing of reviews?

"My Name Is Cooler Than Yours" - Love It

To Yelp or Not to Yelp

After giving Yelp the credibility that it deserved, Yelp became my go-to place for reviews of restaurants and businesses. I was a reader though, not a reviewer. I was talking to my friend and former petsitter Jodie one day (boo hoo .. who left us to move to Minnesota) about Yelp and she said that the majority of her business came from people who had read her yelp reviews. Because I loved (well still love) Jodie and wanted to help her business, I decided to create a Yelp account and give her a great review as well. 

So I Yelped! And then you know what happened? My review was hidden and factored out of her overall star rating. WTH? I was so mad. Apparently if you only have a couple of reviews and an incomplete profile, Yelp thinks that the business owner just got a friend to fluff up the ratings with a fake review. What?? Nobody puts baby in the corner! And nobody is going to hide MY yelp review! I was so mad that I started reviewing places like crazy to build up my profile, AND wrote a follow-up review for Jodie ranting about my initial review being hidden. Guess what? It was unhidden! Hooray!

 I Made the Ice Cream Newsletter!

(View the newsletter here)

Yelp Elite Squad

One day I noticed that some other Yelpers had an "Elite" badge next to their name. Jodie had one of these as well and told me what the Elite Squad was all about. Basically you're VIP and privy to super cool Elite only parties. As soon as I heard about the Elite squad I wanted in. If you know me and the way I travel, you know I'm obsessed with Elite status. I've been US Airways Gold Elite for about 7 years now, and I can't imagine flying any other way. By staying loyal to one chain of airlines I get free First Class upgrades, priority check-in, priority security lines, priority boarding, priority standby, standby fees waived, 2 or 3 free checked bags .. and oh yeah, on top of that I earn 1.5x the miles flown each time I fly. Its amazing. Seriously. How can you not want that once you've had it? Anyways, back to Yelp.

What is the "Yelp Elite Squad"?
The Yelp Elite Squad is our way of recognizing and rewarding Yelpers who are active evangelists and role models, both on and off the site. Elite-worthiness is based on a number of things, including well-written reviews, a fleshed-out personal profile, an active voting and complimenting record, and playing nice with others. Members of the Elite Squad are designated by a shiny Elite badge on their account profile.

Now that I'd heard of the Yelp Elite Squad, the big question was how do I get in?? I found a link on their website with information about applying, sent my pleading email in, and waited. I waited a day, two days, a week, several weeks .... and then I thought wow, I've been rejected! Without even a reply? Boo. But this girl doesn't give up easily! I continued to diligently review places on Yelp, in hopes that one day I'd qualify. Guess what? Months and months later, I was finally in! Whoo hoo!!

Yelp Elite Baby

Yelp Elite Events

Soon after I was accepted into the squad, Yelp had their first event ...  but ... I was going to be out of town. Their next two events came up and I was available, but not interested. Finally a month ago I saw an event that I was interested in, a prohibition themed party downtown! My Glam Runner partner Tara obliged to being my date and last week we headed to the party in our best attempt at 20s gear. This included black dresses, feather boas, and strands of pearls. Not our best effort, but we tried.

Prohibition Party at Bootlegger

Prohibition Party

I wasn't sure what to expect of the party, but figured it had to be fun. The party was sponsored by Skyy Vodka and Miller and both types of drinks were free all night. We passed. There was also a photo booth, and some chotchkis they were giving away, but the most notable thing about the party by far was that the place was full of the friendliest people I've ever met in my life! I mean seriously, I've never been around so many friendly and outgoing people. Almost everyone we encountered struck up a conversation with us with a big smile. I guess that's the type of person that becomes Yelp Elite?

 

Gotta Love People with Personality

Creating a  Monster

The party was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next event. On other news, my boss is the next person  in line with Yelp Elite Obsession. As soon as I told her about it she's wanted in. She is now furiously writing reviews in hopes of catching the local ambassador's attention. She lives downtown and goes out to eat a lot, so I'm sure she'll make it pretty soon!

Did you run SFM?

By the way, did you know that you can also Yelp about events? If you ran the San Francisco Marathon and have a Yelp account, take a minute to give the race a review. I gave it 5 stars of course, and not just because I was running elite for the race ;o), I really do love the event. Yelp it HERE.

See you on Yelp!

AFC 5K - A New PR

This past weekend I ran my 2nd 5K this year, and only my 3rd 5K in several years! After "moving up" from shorter races like 5Ks and 10Ks to half and full marathons, it became hard to justify paying for and fitting in short races. I run 5K (3.1 mile) distances only daily, don't try to run fast very often, and usually have longer runs scheduled on the weekends which conflict with these shorter races.

I started the year out wanting to complete the San Diego Triple Crown race series which consisted of the Carlsbad Half/Full Marathon, the La Jolla Half Marathon, and the AFC Half Marathon. After having a bad race in Carlsbad and procrastinating and missing the registration cutoff for La Jolla, I had little motivation to register for the AFC half marathon in time. I had run the race in 2005 and 2006 and really didn't like the event (early wake-up, bus to the start, big hill in the last 1/4 mile), but would totally do the race again. After missing the cutoff for registration (it was full) I was going to write off the race, but at the last minute signed up for the 5K. I've done very few 5Ks in the past few years, but figured what the heck, its in my backyard!

AFC Expo

The AFC race happens to be the biggest local event which occurs soon before the start of the Fall Girls on the Run season, which makes it a prime event for attracting new coaches (most of whom are runners themselves). GOTR was planning on having a booth at the race expo on Friday and Saturday, and I committed my Saturday to hustling at the booth. Hey, I do it for a living, why not for my favorite non-profit? :)

I had recruited a number of volunteers to help with the both on Friday and Saturday, and was planning on being at the booth for most of Saturday after completing my long run with David.Working the booth was a lot of fun. I work tradeshow booths for my day job and while I love my job, that in comparison is totally different experience. Working a race expo is a lot of fun for me because everyone attending has something in common with you and most people have some interest in what you are exhibiting. (Stark contrast to the medical tradeshows I exhibit at.)

I met a lot of fun runners who were interested in GOTR for their kids, for volunteer coach opportunities, or who were interested in buying a Glam Runner tutu to race in. I also met two other bloggers, one of whom I was twitter friends with. Its funny how small this digital world is! (Their blogs here and here.)

Race Day

On race day I woke up around 5am and as I lay in bed I scrolled through my facebook and twitter feed on my blackberry. I was horrified to see tweets and updates from HOURS prior from my friends running the half marathon. I was so SO glad that I was only running the 5K! I got up and made breakfast and around 6:15am David and I headed over to the start line. We found parking right away near the start (One of the things I rate races on) and walked over to the starting area. I was excited to see a few other Glam Runners in their tutus and wished I had worn a tutu as well. 

As we walked over I took out my inhaler to get a few quick puffs in and instantly freaked out when nothing came out. OMG it was empty! I hate the design of inhalers.. there is so little warning when they are about to run out! :( I have exercise induced asthma and always use my inhaler before I run. If I don't use it I dont' have a full on asthma attack (I haven't had one of those in six years), but I can feel my breathing becoming restricted which makes me panic which makes it even harder to breath. Sometimes if I jog around and warm-up my lungs I seem to be okay. I tried this out before the race and crossed my fingers that i would be okay.

Race Start

Before the race started I looked around to see if I could spot any of the other Team Sony women I knew would be racing. I didn't see them and thought maybe I'd see them along the course since there were a couple out and backs. Suddenly it was time for the race to start ... and we were off! I had positioned myself towards the front of the pack a few rows deep. I was pleased to see that as we started running that I had picked a good location for myself since no one was passing me and I wasn't passing anyone either. 

My goal was to stick close to a 7:00pace throughout the whole race. My goal finish time was 22 minutes, which comes out to a 7:05 pace. I kept and eye on my Garmin to make sure I didn't get going too quickly, and whenever I saw 6:30 I would ease up a bit. The first mile whizzed by and soon I approached the first out and back. 

I was pretty close to the front of the pack of runners and started counting women that I saw coming towards me to see how many were in front of me. I counted 12 before I made the first turn and thought OMG, I'm the 13th woman! I head that place for another mile but towards the end one woman slipped by me. Darn! Oh well, that meant that I was probably still at least 10th in my age group. Of the 13 women in front of me some had to be older or younger. 

The race went by so quickly and before I knew it I was approaching the finish line. I looked down at my watch as I came down the final stretch and saw that my watch had stopped. ACK!! Crap, I had set my virtual trainer to 3.1 miles and 22 minutes. I had run a bit further than 3.1 miles by then and my watch had stopped short of the finish line. I started my watch again and glanced at the clock right as I crossed. My watch said 22:37 and the clock said 22:55 so I figured I was somewhere in between the two. 

Team Sony Walkman

After the race David and I walked around in the finish area to look at the different booths and I bumped into two of my fellow teammates from Team Sony. They were both really friendly and we chatted for a while about this race, other races, being on Team Sony, etc. One of the ladies is doing the She Rox Triathlon which I'm doing in October and the other is doing the Santa Barbara Marathon (I'm doing the half) in November.

After the race David and I headed off for breakfast (number two for me - oink), ran some errands, and then at lunch time we met up with Tara and Ben (who had run the half marathon) at the Blind Lady Ale House.  

I was looking forward to that afternoon when the official race results would be posted and when they finally came online I was excited beyond belief when I saw how well I had placed. This was my best ranking road race ever!! EVER!

Official Finish Time:   22:55

Age Group Ranking:   4/130

Gender Ranking:   15/746

Overall Ranking:   80/1209

Maybe I should run shorter races more often! I usually finish in the top 10-20% in half and full marathons, to finish in the top 2-6% was a huge ego boost! Wow!

Next Up

My main focus over the next two months now is to train for the Marine Corps Marathon October 30th, but in between I have a few shorter races.

Sept 10th - Heartbreak Ride Half Marathon

Sept 25th - Los Angeles Triathlon (Doing the relay with my cousin & her husband)

Oct 16th - She Rox Triathlon

Oct 30th - Marine Corps Marathon

Nov 12th - Santa Barbara Half Marathon

Its been a busy race year! Fifteen races down, five more to go!

Team Sony Walkman

When one door closes another opens ... 

I recently wrapped up an incredibly fun nine months as a San Francisco Marathon Ambassador. About a month before the San Francisco Marathon though I had received exciting news ... I had been selected to become a Team Sony Walkman Active Ambassador! Yay! 

First Run w/my Walkman in my Sony Gear

You may be asking yourself, wait, they still make Walkmans? Why, yes, they do! But instead of a tape player, the Walkman brand is now used on a line of MP3 players. I remember reading an article last year about Sony retiring the Walkman cassette player. It made me think back fondly to the Walkmans I'd owned over the years. The last Walkman I remember having was purchased at some point in college, but I didn't used  it much after I upgraded to my Sony Discman, and I never even thought about it after I got my first MP3 player. 

As I trained for my first half marathon (Rock N Roll Phoenix) back in 2005 I was going on my runs with my (non-iPod) MP3 player, and planned on running the race with it as well. As luck would have it though, I forgot my MP3 player in my apartment gym one day and someone stole it!  Darnit! There was no way I was going to run 13.1 miles without music, so in total desperation I ran the race with my Walkman in my hand. If you look close enough, you can see it in my finish line picture!

RNR Phoenix January 2005

I've had several friends ask me how I've come about these different Ambassadorships. Um duh, my booking agent! No, just kidding. Several months ago I saw a conversation between two friends on dailymile reference being on Team Jamba. I wondered what that was ... so I took to the Google Machine! I found out that Team Jamba was one of many Active Ambassador teams. I went on their website where you could create an Active Ambassador profile and apply for a team. I was a bit disappointed at first when I saw that there weren't any upcoming Ambassador teams that they were recruiting for, but hoped that something that appealed to me might come up. 

A few weeks after I signed up I saw them recruiting for Team MGD (which didn't interest me since I don't like beer), and then not too long after that I saw a message about them recruiting for Team Sony Walkman. How perfect! I LOVE working out to music, almost always listen to music when I'm running, and the Sony Walkman has a special place in my running heart for accompanying me during the beginning of my running career in college, and for keeping me motivated during my first half marathon.

"Team Sony Walkman is a closely-knit band of athletes who value both music and fitness and the power in combining them both. These 120 unique runners and triathletes possess a strong passion for their sport and are dedicated to not only representing the Sony W Series Walkman MP3 Player in their races, but as brand ambassadors of the product in their local communities and as they lead their daily lives."

The Sony Gear Matches My Dogs!

As I filled out my application for the team I wasn't too confident that they'd pick me since they seemed really focused on performances in races in the past year. I'm an above average runner but don't consider myself to be a "fast" runner (since I've never qualified for Boston), but luckily I had placed 1st overall female in a triathlon last October and had just come in 2nd in my age group in a 5K a few weeks prior. Fingers crossed this was enough to make me look like "real" runner. Holding breathe in 3, 2, 1 ...

Team Sony Walkman Welcome Package

About a month after I submitted my application I received the good news .. I had made the team! They had selected runners and triathletes in ten major markets across the United States: Atlanta, Baltimore/DC, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft.Worth, Denver/Boulder, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle. Whoo hoo! I was in!  As part of the team we'd receive Sony branded running/tri gear, a Sony Walkman MP3 player, and in return we needed to submit race recaps for five races between July 2011 and January 2012 that we'd complete in our Sony gear. We also were expected to engage our friends in our social networks with information about the Sony Walkman brand, and connect with other athletes in an online Sony group where we could talk about training, racing, etc. 

Team Sony Racing Gear

The five races that I will be competing in as part of Team Sony Walkman are:

• AFC 5K
• Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon
• SheRox Triathlon
• Marine Corps Marathon
• Santa Barbara International Half Marathon

I was also just talked into joining my cousin's relay team for the LA Triathlon next month, so I might swap out that race for one of the above to complete my five race requirement. My first race is up this weekend! - The America's Finest City 5K! I originally intended to do the Half Marathon but didn't register in time, so I'll be running the 5K for the first time. Now the big question for this weekend is to tutu or not to tutu? Ha ha.