LA Marathon 2012

It has been a month and I am now finally getting to add this entry. Life has been busy and although I feel I express myself well in writing I was having trouble putting this entry together..... I went in circles on what I would say or how I would say it. Who I wanted to thank, but then if I actually said names what if I forgot 1 or 2. So this entry will probably make no sense but here goes nothing LOL

Thanks to Keinan. I really could not have done this Marathon without my great friend and trainer! He made a plan that worked perfect! He believed in me and knew what I was capable of pushing me when I thought I no longer could! I can't thank him enough! Norris is the BESTEST ever in the whole entire universe! He saw me sweat, hurt, and cry I couldn't of done it without him either not to mention the eating portion. All my bootcamp friends knowing they would be there at 5:30am everyday made it easier to get out of bed. ALL my AMAZING FRIENDS AND FAM, they all thought I was crazy for wanting to do it but never once did they doubt I was capable of doing it! All the messages I got before, during and after made me realize even more how lucky I am to have all of you in my life!

Keinan

Norris

My Crew

My "Power Song" finally came on (H.A.M.) I want to see about mile 25 and it was time to really go HAM! Typing this is giving me chills and bringing tears to my eyes....seeing the finish line, the smell of the ocean, the taste of the ocean, and the taste of victory! It was hard to not cry going towards the finish but I held them back I did not want to eat shit cause I was crying. As soon as I stepped over the line with my arms up I took a big gasp of air and tears of joy and accomplishment just rolled down my eyes. I still can't believe it.....I DID IT!!!!!

Almost at the Finish

Long story short MY FIRST marathon was better than I could have ever expected or dreamed of! I finished with an official time of 4:29:43 I placed 249 out of 1090 in my age group. I felt no pain through out the race I didn't cramp at all what so ever I didn't feel tired during or after, recovery was amazing. I could of run faster but chose to go with what I felt comfortable at I could of actually kept running....(I did to loosen up the legs).

Thanks to a video Keinan put together it basically summed my experience! So please feel free to view it LA Marathon

PS....I did buy all he pix and a frame for my bib and medal!

 
The Marathon Journey is not ending the LA Marathon Journey ended but now My Marathon Journeys will continue......See you in July SF Marathon! I do want to add that I would like to do a 50k next year. I want LA to be my annual!

Last LR (Long Run)

My last LR was on Friday, March 3rd. Keinan said go for 16 my choice....I decided to go back to where it all began.

Ready for the Last LR

I had my firs LR back in Nov of 2011 so I only thought it would be right to go back to where it began HB and compare what 4 months have done.

Huntington Beach, CA

Invited my friend Corrine to come with me. She is not a runner but I said she could be active and ride her bike. She said yes and I was very happy I was able to motivate someone to go out be active and enjoy the day. We started off around 7am she rode her bike and was off on her own and I was enjoying my comfort zone the beach.....

I felt the weather to be perfect it was nice and crisp! I had my gloves on that ended up coming off a little into the run because I had to tie my shoes and got hot. My run went from HB to Seal Beach! It was nice to see LB from Seal Beach. I didn't exactly know he mileage at that point, but that's when I decided to turn back and head back to HB it started to get hotter and didn't have much water left. Corrine went to Belmont Shores and back.

Seal Beach, CA

On the way back the weather wasn't the nicest. It stared to get windy and my allergies started to act up. To top it off my butt started to get tight. So the last half of the run wasn't so pleasant, bu I made the most of it and enjoyed my favorite scenery. By the time I got back to the pier it was a nice 17 miles! My pace was 9:53min/mi and other than my butt being tight I felt good. Now if I can keep the pace the day of it would be perfect!!!!

I am feeling very very confident that I can do this without getting injured and at a great pace!

Wordless Wednesday- Then & Now

15 Runs/15 Jogs at OCC

I know I know I'm slipping on my blogging. But it really has been crazy!!! On a good note I got 2 job offers and decided to take the one I got offered yesterday. I had accepted a position and should of started today, but I got a call yesterday and had to go with that one. Anyways lets get to summarizing my last 2 wknds runs.

15 Runs/15 Jogs:
February 25th I was glad not having to do a long run I had a party bus to SD so heels and a club and partying after a very long run would not have been the business!!! Keinan had me go to OCC and run on the track. My run would consist of Run 1 Lap then Jog 1 Lap x 15. I started off fast then was able to control it by about maybe the 1st mile. It felt great the weather was good and I was feeling good during the run. I got good nite sleep the nite before and had my usual breakfast before I got on the track. I finished 8 miles with a 10min/mi pace. That is a great solid pace! I'm feeling great physically and mentally. I feel very ready for it!

Wordless Wednesday- Runner

2 Better Halfs

I know I said I would blog more now that I have time. But.....in all honesty I'm kind of tired of sitting in front of a computer all day. Plus most of the time I have spent now has been job searching. Well, since I have not been working and after talking to Keinan he said it would be ok for me to have a light jog daily after bootcamp, we agreed on 2 miles. Last week those 2 daily miles were great, obviously the distance was short so naturally my pace was faster than when I go long. On Friday I did 2 mile run with yoga after. I want to continue to do yoga at least once if not twice a week, I feel it is great for stretching plus I noticed my posture has improved.

I wanted to get up early on Saturday to get my 1st half done and have plenty of time to eat after rest maybe nap and have a snack before I got started on the 2nd. Since my 1st half would be a trail I'm not too familiar with I decided to wait until the sun was out to get out there. During the week I had made some wheat pancakes from Skinny Taste I had one before I headed out with some honey it was good and filling hoping it would do the job like normal sandwich thin with almond butter, banana, and honey.

1st Half
It felt nice to get out the weather was perfect, not cold not hot, a little chilly but good. I was wearing a new shirt I got (I'm still trying to figure out what I'm wearing the day of) and my running gloves. So my arms were a little cold but my hands were warm. Of course once I actually started running I didn't feel the temperature. I was surprised to see how many people were out enjoying the weather and being active. It was nice distraction to keep me from thinking on how much longer I had to go. The 13 miles is nothing but doing another 13.....might be! I was on the San Diego Mountain to Sea trail it took me from Irvine to the back bay in New Port saw the fancy yachts and that was about mile 7, turned back still feeling good without pain or concern. I was running and a carefree state of mind and I loved every minute of it. Once I hit the 13.1 miles I stopped. I still had .9 miles to get home and used that as my cool down and walked. It felt good and relaxing. Not to mention nothing hurt me oh and my time was the best time I have had on my long runs 9:56 min/mi

Break
Got home around 10am from the 1st half. Soon as I got home....more water and my recovery drink Nestle Chocolate Milk!!! So once I had that I was good, took a shower then was ready to eat. Lately I have been on breakfast food after long runs so I made Norris and I a fancy breakfast sandwich with canadian bacon, egg, and pepper jack it was mmmm mmmmmm delicious!! Stretched a little after and let me food settle then I got cozy in the bed and took a small nap I want to say maybe a 20min. Got up and got dressed I started to get hungry again so I made myself a smoothie with oj, banana, and mixed berries. I enjoyed my smoothie stretched again and rolled out a little bit. Packed my lunch bag with water and my chocolate milk and was ready to go. I want to say it was about a 4hr break. I didn't want to run in the dark since I was running by the canyon and to my luck I'd prob see coyotes!

2nd Half
I started to feel my quads and hamstrings extra tight. Keinan gave me a text pep talk during my break. Get a good stretch, it's gonna be tough, do the hill non-stop, have a nice cool down. Oh GOD all I can do was think of him saying it's gonna be tough and that hill. Got a warm up in and started running. I am gonna say one thing those first 6 miles of the 2nd half were the hardest!!!! I don't know if it's because I had in mind what he said, the fact that I had a long sleeve and it was hot, me not getting enough rest, not having enough water. It was probably a combination of all. Once I got past the hill it got flat and cooler I went to 7 miles before I turned back so I can get the cool down walk. I turned back and was feeling good. I didn't feel my legs tight, I must admit after mile 7 was feeling myself....my music was great I kept getting songs I liked and I was on one! I completed he 13.1 miles with a smile on my face! I honestly felt good, more like I felt great and even greater when I checked my time 10:32min/mi ooooooooooooooooh yea once I was done I sent Keinan a text to let him know I had this shit done and felt great! I once again enjoyed the .9 mile walk back.

Done
Got to the car and enjoyed my chocolate milk! I really could not stop smiling I felt great my mind and my body and during the run for the most part I felt good! Now I can say it and mean it I AM READY for the  LA Marathon!!!! Well, I get home park the car and once I step out my legs start to hurt LOL it was like I cramped up and got stiff on the drive home. I wasn't hungry just thirsty so I took a hot bath with Epsom salt I had some smooth R&B on the pandora and just relaxed and sipped on a nice cold bottle of water! I started to get hot and was still thirsty I kept calling Norris to bring me water but he had headphones on playing video games so he didn't hear me. I wanted to rinse in the shower but once I stood up I felt light headed. I didn't want another episode like the one I had a few weeks back so I just stepped out, had some more water Chipins turned the fan on then about 30min later took the shower. Before I got in the shower I started to feel nausea like I did the other time I ran 2. I felt like that off and on through out the night but my body did not feel like it ran 26.2 miles. It continued into Sunday, but on Sunday I actually did puke so I skipped bootcamp Monday since I still felt nausea. I did my 2 mile jog and yoga and now feel good.

All and all my body felt great from the runs other than the nausea by Sunday I wasn't sore at all whatsoever like I usually am after long runs. I AM READY LA!!!!

Wordless Wednesday- Just Run