TEDx San Diego

*Warning - a post that is NOT about running! Prepare yourself.

A few years ago I had a coworker start talking to me about TED Talks. I had never heard of them (to her shock and horror) and after telling me about a few talks in particular, she told me to check out the website "knowing" that I'd love them. I have to be honest, I watched a few and found them totally boring. Maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind or maybe there just happened to be several topics I wasn't interested in posted most recently, but they just didn't capture my interest. I figured they just weren't my thing and forgot about them for a while until I happened across their video podcast a few months later. (Found here.) I subscribed to the feed and gave TED Talks a second chance. As I started listening to the podcasts in my car during my wonderful commute to and from work, I realized that some of the topics of the TED talks really were interesting to me. Some were fascinating, others were moving, several were inspiring, and okay ... some were still boring to me. The more I listened to the series though the more I found even the 'uninteresting' topics interesting, because I was intrigued by the person's perspective and performance.

TEDx San Diego Stage at Qualcomm

Last year I watched two TED Talks which were of particular interest to me. The first was from Molly Barker, founder of Girls on the Run, and the second was from Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run.

TEDx Charlotte - Molly Barker Part 1

TEDx Charlotte - Molly Barker Part2

TEDx PennQuarter - Christopher McDougall

TEDx San Diego

My boss is also a fan of TED talks and we've discussed several episodes in the past. Back in August she sent me a news article on TEDx San Diego (who even knew they had such a thing!?) with a link to apply for tickets. Wow you had to apply just to go? I smell exclusivity! Of course I want to go! I wish I had saved a copy of my application since I can now barely remember what the application asked for much less what I wrote, but the general gist from what I remember was them asking for a  five word statement about your "journey", a 140 character tweet-lengthed statement about yourself, and an open ended question about why you wanted to attend TEDx. 

Guess what I ended up writing about? Did you guess running? Wrong! Well, okay, only partially wrong. I wrote blathered on about the importance of living life with passion and encouraging others to do the same, and how I believe I am doing that through my job, my running, and my volunteer work with Girls on the Run. I also said that I felt that people who talked at TED with their "idea worth sharing" were people who were passionate about a topic or cause, and that I often found it inspiring and was interested in becoming further inspired by attending TEDx. I applied early in October and was accepted towards the end of the month. My boss and friend Devika also applied and I was super excited when I found out that we all got in and were able to attend together.

My Acceptance - I'm in!

Me, Devika, Kate

Where's Waldo?

One problem though ... by the time I was accepted to TEDx (occurring on Saturday December 3rd) late in the month of October, I had already signed up to run the California International Marathon on Sunday December 4th. Ack! What to do? What to do? I was obviously already committed to the marathon and I had planned on driving up to Sacramento with my dogs and staying with my cousin. I felt that attending TEDx was a once in a lifetime type of event (okay so its every year, but who knew if I'd be able to go again?) and that I couldn't miss that either. So ... I looked at flights and found a cheap flight that would get me up to Sac late Saturday night after TEDx, and in the area in time for the marathon. (Totally not idea race prep strategy, to be discussed in a future post.)

Checking Out Car2Go - Urban Electric Smart Car Sharing - Genius!

Session 1 - Self

The event was scheduled to run from 8:30am to 4:30pm with 13 speakers in the morning and 16 speakers in the afternoon. Quite a packed day! (Overview of speakers can be found here.) The day kicked off with a captivating spoken word poet, followed by a life coach, a Lucid Dreaming teacher, a horse whisperer, a social psychologist, and the VP of Product Development for Groupon. Of this first set of speakers, I found Suneel Gupta's talk to be the most interesting. (He's the one from Groupon, brother of Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN.) He talked about the Kahani Movement - "a social network  that aims to capture untold stories  from first-generation South Asians in the US and provide these stories with a platform to be heard." You can see a trailer for the movie that has come out of this project here.

Social Psychology and Mind Perception Talk

Session 2 - Community

After the break, the first speaker in the section about community showed an amazing concept for a flexible boat used to clean up oil spills from an organization named Protei. Next up was the founder of the Keep a Breast Foundation (or as you know them - the makers of the "I Love Boobies" bracelets. After the boobies we saw a presentation from an engineer from UCSD who started a program called myLab which hopes to inspire passion in engineering with kids through hands-on projects. So cool! It made me miss engineering for a brief moment.

3D Chalk Art

We also saw a talk (and outside saw an example) from a 3D street chalk artist who made amazing dimensional scenes that I've seen online before. I was so excited to see one in person!

Fish eye Lens to Give Perspective

Kate on England

Me Ruling California

Session 3 - Global

The third session focused on a global theme and the speakers were mostly scientists and engineers. From this group the one that I found to be the most interesting was the zookeeper from the San Diego Zoo who came to talk about biomimicry, a field I knew nothing about. Biomimicry, or bioinspiration is "a field of integrative study in which biological systems, processes, and elements are studied to draw analogies to be applied to human design challenges in a sustainable manner." Apparently San Diego is the center of such research!

Biomimicry of Alligator Skin for Durable Materials

Session 4 - Seeds of Change

After the global session the talks then turned to "seeds of change", and we heard ideas from people who were taking steps to change themselves, their community, and the world. To kick off this session Richard Dreyfuss gave a speech about the Dreyfuss Initiative and the need to teach civics in American Schools. Surely to my parents' dismay, I found this topic truly, utterly boring. Maybe this makes his point. I am a product of the American public school system, and I have little to no interest in the topic. How can I keep up on civics AND the Kardashians? jk

Richard Dreyfuss & The Dreyfuss Initiative

After Richard snorefest (kidding!) was Ellen Gustafson from FEED Projects talking about how hunger and obesity are essentially the same issue - lack of proper nutrition. Have you seen the FEED bags at Whole Foods before? I bought one for David a couple Christmas' ago and was really intrigued by this woman's organization and initiative. 

Hunger & Obesity - The Same Problem

At some point during her talk she mentioned her age and I marveled that someone only a couple of years younger than me had done something so amazing. This was actually a common theme through out the day. Older or younger, all of these people had done amazing things.I felt like a bit of a slump several times in the day listening to the speakers and wondered if someday I would be able to create such impactful change.

Smiling Required!

Cool Graphic Recordings of Each Speaker

Later in the Seeds of Change session came my favorite speaker of the whole day. Amy Krous Rosenthal came to talk about the "crevices of like", aka the small bits of time that you have here and there where you're in between finishing one thing, and getting ready to do another. She talked about how people often marvel at her ability to find the time to sit down and write a book. She pointed out that she never has a big stretch of time to do this, most people don't. Instead she has time here or there, and little by little the book comes together. 

The Crevices of Life - Make the Most of Them!

This made me think about how people often ask me how I find the time to do so many things. Well part of it is because I don't like to sleep and I have a hard time relaxing, but the other part of it is that I'm extremely organized with my time (can we say checklists all day?) and I also make the most of each day. In the morning I catch up on emails while having breakfast, on the way to work I listen to some podcasts, during lunch I work on Girls on the Run or Glam Runner stuff, on the drive home I catch up with David, while watching TV at night I make Glam Runner tutus, before going to bed I read for 15-30 minutes,  and when I'm waiting at the doctors office, nail salon, or any place where I need to sit and wait, I'm doing something that I'd like to get done. This is partially thanks to my ability to multi-task, but its more about my (psychotic) desire to plan and organize things, and to maximize the time I have in a day. I don't just like to be busy, I like to be productive.

Speaking of Productivity - Check out Qualcomm's Patent Wall!

One of the short films that Amy created during the crevices of life is this hilarious video titled "Life is a Marathon". She staged a meetup where people came with signs to a subway station at the end of a workday, and they cheered on everyone getting off the train and completing their day. This video really made me smile.

Life is a Marathon

The afternoon wrapped up with some quick 5-minute updates from past speakers, and soon the day was over. The magical day was over! It was an amazing event (even with the topics I was less interested) and it left me wondering what it was that I could do to come up with an idea worth sharing, and taking that idea, my passion, and some hard work to make a change in the world. These speakers were amazing, as was the work they were doing in their different organizations, non-profits, and jobs. If you have an opportunity to see a TED event in your town, take it!

Beautiful Photo Project Showcasing the San Diego Homeless

Once the day ended my boss and I rushed out of there to beat the traffic and I headed home for a quick stop to take my dogs out, grab my suitcases, and rush off to the airport. I thought a lot about these TED talks on my flight, during my race the next day, and over the past few days. I'm not sure if I'll ever have an idea big enough for TED, but even if I don't I hope I can continue to take the passion that I have for life to help change the world. In a small way of course. You have to start somewhere!

Double Turkey Trot

This past weekend I went home for Thanksgiving and ran not one, but two turkey trots! I was originally planning on just running the Nitro Turkey Trot like last year on Thursday in Pinole, but a month or so ago I got an email about the "Double Turkey Challenge" aka run the Nitro Turkey Trot Thursday and the Quarry Turkey Race Saturday and found out that  ..... drumroll ... you'd get a THIRD medal to join your two if you did both races. Being the bling-aholic I am, I registered for both! 10K on Thursday, Half Marathon on Saturday. Hey, I was scheduled to run those distances anyways, why not race them?

Kona Acting as Navigator

Driving North

I took Wednesday off and drove up to San Francisco from San Diego with my two dogs. I had learned my lesson from two years ago when I left at noon, and knew I had to leave early. I left by 6:45am (goal was 5-6am) and 10 hours and 5 stops later I made it! The 5 stops were a combination of my dogs needing to pee, me needing to pee, me needing to eat, and my car needing gas. Sheesh. I timed my stops so I'd have at least one in Santa Barbara, and made sure to stop at my college favorite Silver Greens along the way.

Silver Greens in Isla Vista

FREEBIRDS!

Thanksgiving Day

I had heard a few days before that there was rain and cold weather predicted for Thanksgiving day. BOO! I HATE bad weather! Cold and wet weather makes me want to cry. Seriously. I am a serious weather pansy and hate being wet or cold. (Insert princess judgment - whatever, so I'm delicate!)  Luckily on Thursday morning when I woke up it was wet, but not actively raining. I crossed my fingers and hoped that this would continue for the rest of the day.

Point Pinole Park

I had breakfast and the picked up Christina, and then we headed off to Pinole for the Turkey Trot. I had put the address of the race (from the confirmation email) in my calendar, but when I tried to put it in my Garmin it couldn't be found. Ahh! I then tried to Google the park on my Blackberry while Christina did the same on her iPhone. Um, neither device could find Point Pinole. W T H. I had GPS in my car and we both had smartphones yet we couldn't find where we were going. Absolute technology fail. Luckily we headed in the general direction of Pinole, and once we were closer my GPs was able to find the park.

Food Tents Everywhere!

SO San Francisco - It's It Ice Cream!

We got to the race only about 10 minutes before the start and all of the lots were full so we had to park in a neighborhood down the street and run about half a mile to the park. When we got there they had run out of safety pins (???) so I bummed one off a lady and Christina rubber banded hers to her waistband. Ghetto. I had realized on the drive up that I forgot my Walkman and was really upset that I'd have to run in silence. I have an iPod for my car and could've run with that, but I didn't have earphones. Luckily Christina had an extra pair which I used for the race. Whew!

Heading Out on the Trail

The race was on a trail with rolling hills and a beautiful view of the bay. I was trying to beat last year's time of 53:26 and possibly break my 10K PR from 2006. I know that a mucky trail with rolling hills isn't the best place to PR, but hey, why not go for it? I ended up finishing in 52:27 (8:27 pace) and was 8/33 in my Age Group, and 73/339 overall. Not too shabby.

Post-Race Pie

After the race I checked out the post-race feast and took a little piece of pumpkin pie. This race has the most incrdible food I've ever seen! Various pies, Its-It, hot chocolate, cookies, bagels, etc. PIE! Mmmm.

Here Comes Christina!

Posing With the Nitro Turkey

After shoving a piece of pie in my face I went back to cheer Christina on to the finish and snap a few pictures of her. When I got home my dad and I had lunch at Hanoi Bistro down the street and then went to see the new Muppets movie. For dinner we had reservations at McCormick & Kuleto's at Ghiradelli Square just like last year. I ordered the Thanksgiving dinner for a change and was happy to have some turkey knowing that I wouldn't be burdened with turkey leftovers for weeks to come.

Dinner with My Daddy

Black Friday

I challenged myself with the goal of avoiding Black Friday shopping at all costs that next day. I was not going to get up early to join the crazy people! I wasn't! I wasn't! I started off my day with a run around Lake Merced, went with my dad to a construction site to help him take land measurements (in the muck - ewe!),  we had lunch in Chinatown, and then made plans to meet up with my best friend to work on a quilt square for my cousin's wedding quilt. Garley was out shopping when I was headed to her house so to kill an hour I went to the mall. Weak!I was surprised that the mall wasn't too crowded and picked up a few gifts. I'm proud to say I also managed to avoid buying anything for myself. Willpower!

Golden Gate Bridge Off in the Fog Back There

Banana Slug by My Right Foot - EWE

Guy Mowing Down Lays Chips While Ordering??

That night at Garley's we spent probably four hours working on my quilt square. This included a quick run to the fabric store as well to get additional fabric to work with. I am proud to say I relearned how to use a sewing machine, and thanks to YouTube I also now know how to thread and change the bobbin! The square turned out much better than I had thought, but it ended up with a few technical problems. Hopefully my aunt can fix them. (It doesn't lay flat and I accidentally chopped a piece of a corner off when I was trimming the thread.)

Start of the Quilt Square

Quilt Square Complete!

Saturday

Saturday soon rolled around and it was time for my next race! I picked Christina up and we headed to Fremont. I was running a little late (no way!) and we ended up getting to the park at 8:05 am and the race started at 8:00. Unfortunately I was a bit um 'overhydrated' and needed to make a bathroom stop before getting to the startline. By the time I made it through the line it was 8:10, and when I got my bib and chip it was 8:13. The 10K (starting at 8:15) was already lined up! I asked the race officials what I should do and they said I could just start but I'd be marked against gun time. Whatever, so I went!

Starting the 10K Alone

About 10 feet in I realized I forgot my iPod from my car (AHHH!) and then 30 seconds later I heard the 10K start and a pack approaching behind me. I got to the first turn on the trail and turned left. The pack went right. Shoot. Right then and there I decided to just run the 10K. I didn't want to suffer through 13 miles in silence, I didn't want to get lost, and honestly I didn't mind a shorter run. I turned around and joined the 10K lead pack. I ended up running with a group that was going really fast, and found myself running like a maniac for the first two miles. I also had a guy pacing right behind me up until mile 2 (it sounded like he was 6 inches behind me!) who I was happy to lose at the first water stop when I stopped to walk as I took a drink. I picked back up and settled into a more comfortable pace, but still felt like I was hauling. 

This Guy Was My Shadow For 2 Miles

The course was gravel and had some small rolling hills, and I was surprised to see that I was keeping up a pretty good pace as each mile ticked by. Granted I was slowing down mile by mile, but as I passed mile 5 I thought wow - I have a chance of breaking my 2006 PR! (49:02) I pushed as hard as I could for the last mile and ended up crossing the finish at 49:54. I came in 5/31 in my Age Group (missed 3rd by 24 seconds! shoot!) and 36/284 Overall.

Double Turkey Challenge Complete!

After the race I talked to the race officials to get reassigned to the 10K group, and then headed over to get my extra medal. I have a million race medals and I don't need another one to validate myself, but hey, it is fun to collect more bling.

More Posing with the Turkey

Nitro Turkey & Quarry Turkey Race Medals

We got another picture with the Brazen turkey before heading back to San Francisco where we had a lunch date with some of our UCSB friends at Papalote. After lunch I was going to hit the road and head back to San Diego. I hate driving at night because I get sleepy on the road, but I figured that getting back Saturday night would give me Sunday to catch back up on life and get ready for the week ahead. It only took me 8 1/2 hours on the drive down and I only hit moderate traffic on the 5. Yay!

Lunch w/Lady Gauchos

This marked my 19th and 20th race for the year, with final race #21 coming up this weekend. I'll be running the California International Marathon in Sacramento. Its supposed to be fast race, and I'm going to make my millionth attempt to break 4 hours. I ran OC in May just to build my confidence back (recap here),  after "quitting" marathons last year, and then ran San Francisco (recap) and Marine Corps (recap) with David at an easy pace. (More about my quitting in Dealing With Disappointment and I'm Over the Marathon.)

In this race I want to RACE and hopefully PR. I haven't trained as hard as I wanted to (same old story) but hope that the confidence  I built back up this year helps me. A marathon is such a mental challenge and I think my mind is where I usually lose it in the last few miles. I'm hoping I can stay strong and positive this weekend. I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!

Santa Barbara Half Marathon

Last weekend I ran the Santa Barbara Half Marathon for the first time. I had heard about the race the year before from some of my Rock Runner friends, and although I was interested I wasn't ready to commit. Earlier this year though I received a coupon for $15 off registration, and after running the race past a few of my racing friends, I signed up! 

The original idea was that Erin & Jojo would be driving down from San Francisco with Cooper the dog, and I would be driving up from San Diego with my two dogs, with all of us meeting in Santa Barbara in a swanky vacation rental. Well, finding an affordable place that accepts three dogs is no small task. In the end we all booked rooms at the Oasis Inn & Suites in Santa Barbara, a pet-friendly "resort". I left San Diego around 7:30pm on Friday night, picked David up at the Burbank Airport around 9:30pm, and then we headed up to Santa Barbara arriving at 11:30pm. Not the ideal arrival and bed time for the night before a race, but oh well, that's how it worked out. 

My Favorite Furry Travel Partners 

We had all been watching  the weather reports in the week leading up to the race and were getting nervous about the predicted rain. I HATE running in the rain! It was POURING Friday night on our drive up and I was losing hope for a dry Saturday morning. Miraculously though, it ended up being dry and beautiful! A bit chilly, but but who cares. DRY is all that matters. 

Big Bird Running in a Tutu? 

David played race shuttle driver Saturday morning and we dropped Jojo & Erin off at the marathon start, and then he dropped me and their friend Anthony off at the half start. We were about an hour early for the race (unheard of for me) and we stood around for what seemed like hours waiting for the race to begin. While we were waiting I met up with Tara and Ben, briefly chatted with Stacy from my Rock Running group, and managed to find Erica who would be my running partner with a common goal of a 8:30 pace. 

I was so excited when the race finally began. I felt like I hadn't really raced for time and pushed myself in a while, and I wanted to see how my body responded. The race started out in Goleta and followed the bike path for several miles. Although I hadn't been in Santa Barbara for years, and I won't even mention how many years its been since I went to school there, I was amazed by how well I remembered the path which I had biked and rollerbladed on many times during my years at UCSB. 

Santa Barbara Half & Full Marathon Course Map 
(click on the image for a larger view)

The course had a few rolling hills which I mentally prepared for, and they really didn't bother me until I hit the hill at mile 10. I was keeping on pace up until this point around a 8:30 mile, but mid-way up the hill at mile 10 I felt like the hill would never end, and sadly I succumbed to walking. As the hill turned the corner though I realized I gave up too soon! The hill was about to end. I picked the pace back up and ran the rest of the course.  

Soon after beating that last hill and knowing that it was all downhill from that point to the finish, the course turned onto a street bordering the ocean. Around this same time the *marathon* leaders were escorted through by the police. Wow, the marathon started only 45 minutes before the half. So these guys were about to finish a full marathon in only 45 minutes more than it took me to run half the course. I love seeing the elite runners go by and the combination of the ocean view, the elite runners, and an American flag flapping in the wind choked me up for a brief moment. I'm such a sap! I love running and racing and at that moment I couldn't imagine anything else I would've rather been doing.

Approaching the Finish Line 

Soon miles 12 and 13 approached, and finally I was entering City College, running across the field, and running across the finish line. I had set a goal of a 1:50-1:55 finish, and was extremely pleased to see that I finished at 1:52!

Official Finish Time: 1:52:13

Mile Splits for my Running Nerd Friends

Post Race with Tara - Go Glam Runners! 

After finishing the race I met up with David, found Anthony, we went back to the hotel and showered and grabbed the dogs, and then it was time to play marathon cheerleaders for Jojo and Erin! Jojo has an amazing ability to text while running, and was keeping us up to date on their progress in the final few miles.

Cooper Anxiously Awaiting His Mother 

Jojo & Erin Looking Strong! 

 (Powered by Glam Runner Tutus)

We waited on the side of the road for about 20 minutes before we finally saw them. Jojo grabbed Cooper as she passed by, and the two of them plus an extremely excited dog headed towards the finish line.

Off to the Finish! 

We hung out for a bit on the field while the newly accomplished Marathon Maniacs rested, before whisking them off to Baja Fresh for some lunch. Yep, I dragged them to Mexican food without letting them shower. I can be cruel when I'm hungry ...

David, Dog Whisperer

After lunch David and I headed back down to San Diego and I bid farewell to my favorite little college town. This race was my 7th half marathon this year with one more to go. I'm doing a 10K turkey trot on Thanksgiving Day, followed by a  half marathon turkey trot the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The following weekend I'm running my 4th and final marathon for the year, and then I'm done racing for 2011! Race number 19 of 21, here I come!

Santa  Barbara Marathon Race Shirt & Finisher's Medal