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

Relaxing 12 Mile Beach Run (it was actually 14 miles)

Workout for 2.11.12: 12 Mile run on the beach

When my trainer Keinan told me that my Saturday run would be 12 miles on the beach I was very excited and couldn't wait for Saturday morning to get here. I had a rough week I lost my job and well....running keeps me sane and is my therapy. I was hoping I could run more during the week now that I have time, but he said it wouldn't be a good idea since that has not been in my training plan and we cant risk injury with the Marathon so close. With that being said I really need that 12 mile run to clear my mind and relax.

I went to Huntington Beach and started off at the pier and just ran..... The time I did my 16 miles I went to Huntington Beach to Seal Beach and back so I figured about where it would be 6 miles to turn back. Well by the time I got back to where I started I checked my ipod and it was a good 14 miles. The run was amazing and so relaxing I felt great!!!! I couldn't believe how good I felt inside and out.... it was perfect minus my butt hurting towards the end, but I was so focused and relaxed I looked past it! The weather was great too when I got up it had just finished raining so the air was nice and crisp it was a little over cast I want to say about mile 6-8 the sun was peaking it felt nice then back again to cloudy with the breeze. The day of the Marathon I might have to reflect on this run since it was so relaxing to me. Just thinking about it and writing about it is bringing a smile to my face.....Pace 10:48 min/mi

Huntington Beach, CA

HB

Side Note: I'm starting to dig having chocolate milk after my runs LOL although when I was running an ice cold beer sounded so gooooooood! I got home and was craving breakfast food so I opened a beer and had one but for some reason it wasn't giving me the satisfaction I envisioned when I was running. LOL

6 Mile Run with the Longest Hill Ever!

Workout for 2.5.12: Run since Saturday got cut short

Since my workout got cut short on Saturday I felt I needed to get a run in on Sunday after all it was Super Bowl Sunday which meant food and alcohol! Norris had to go into work for a few hours so I decided to get up early and go with him. He works in Mission Viejo there is a lot of hills there. Actually I think every street has some type of hill so I figured that would be my best bet. Plus the view is nice... He planned on being there for 2hrs max I didn't want to push it and do the run I did when I was there last time (12miles) so I went for half.

It wasn't an easy 6 that's for sure! I had a good warm up and got started the star was the easiest (it was down hill. I want to say about half way done was with the hill started. I swear that hill has got to be longer than the one in Orange. But I got it done! No complaining towards the end was down hill again and I felt my hamstrings and butt get a little tight. Once I was done I had my recovery drink (chocolate milk) a good stretch and the pain was gone. For some reason eggs and pancake sounded soooooooooooo good! Once Norris was done with work we went for breakfast and I killed a short stack with eggs and bacon (I really only ate half a pancake but that's besides the point). All in all I would say it was a very good run!!! Pace 10:48 min/mi

1000 Steps in Laguna Beach, CA

I have been slacking on blogging again.....

Workout for 2.4.12: 1000 Steps- side step right, side step left, skip a step for 1hr straight then 4 miles on he beach

My workout was to go up and down 1000 Steps in Laguna Beach for an hour then run 4 miles on the beach. It sounded great....I love running by the beach, I find the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves, and the light breeze very very relaxing and comforting. I told Norris what my workout was going to be and he said he wanted to come along (I was very surprised) I planned on going very early, but since he wanted to join me and it was his day off we went a little later in the day....

Bottom of the Steps

Well what started off great was soooooooooo hard! I was scared to fall LOL it was scarier walking down the stairs since it is so steep and narrow steps. Long story short my workout had to get cut short because Norris couldn't do it. He started to feel sick he was able to do it 3 times. It was about a 30min on the stairs total of up and down 5 times maybe a 40min including the warm up.

Part of the Stairs

I wanted to try and get a run in later that day, but we were having people over for dinner that nite and I couldn't fit it in.

Wordless Wednesday- Life

Wordless Wednesday- Redefining

10 Reasons Running Doesn’t Suck As Much As You Think

10 Reasons Running Doesn’t Suck As Much As You Think

by Susan Lacke

The word “running” used to conjure up painful and awkward memories of gym class. My middle-school gym teacher, Mrs. Morey, would stand her roly-poly body at the top of the hill behind our school, barking through a megaphone between bites of beef jerky at us red-faced kids as we ran circles around the track. According to her, running  was supposed to build character, or whatever it is they teach gym teachers to say in gym teacher school.
Needless to say, most of the gasping kids on the track were thinking the same thing: Character? <bleep> you. Choke on your jerky, fatty.
Your first experience with running was probably in gym class. And it’s quite possible it left the same rancid taste in your mouth, with little desire to ever run again. But no more! I hit the reset button on my attitude towards running, and for the last two years, have gone from hating running to loving it (most of the time). Running really doesn’t suck as much as you think. Here’s why:

1. Most races and fun runs are full of hot bodies in very little clothing. Let me repeat that: HOT PEOPLE. WEARING PRACTICALLY NOTHING. Wear sunglasses, and ogle with reckless abandon.
2. You can lose weight by drinking nothing but hot water with lemon. Or you can run for an hour, treat yourself to a cookie and still fit into your skinny jeans. One of these options makes you bitchy; the other makes you rad.
3. Take your iPod with you, and your runs suddenly become a safe place to indulge your love of boy-band music. With enough practice, you can even blend in a couple dance moves from ‘Bye Bye Bye’. Don’t lie: You’ve still got that routine memorized.
4. When your boss, your melodramatic friend and your nagging to-do list won’t leave you alone, calmly put on your running shoes and head out the door. They won’t follow you. It’s a safer alternative to storming out with both middle fingers in the air (though you can -and should- still do this in your head, just for spectacular effect).
5. You’ll discover lululemon pants are good for more than just buying tampons and Cheez-its at Target (I know, ladies. My world was rocked with that discovery, too.).
6. Running is the last place you have to “be a lady.” Sweat, snot and sneaking behind a bush to pee is not only liberating it’s fun, in that giggly-childish-naughty kind of way.
7. Getting a run in before happy hour means you get tipsy on half a glass of wine instead of your usual two. That’s not being a lush, that’s just sound economic planning.
8. Studies have shown that runners have better sex. Sex counts as a cross-training workout, which in turn makes you a better runner, which – hello! – leads to even better sex. Really, the whole thing is full of win-wins.
9. Girls are lucky; there’s an entire industry committed to making us look awesome while getting our sweat on. Workout clothes come in all sorts of cool colors and designs. Jockstraps, on the other hand, will always be ugly with questionable stains.
10. Non-runners will sit on the couch and call you crazy. Those folks, sadly, will never learn what their bodies are capable of. You, on the other hand, will die knowing you completely, totally, unabashedly used up the body that was loaned to you. That’s not crazy. That’s freakin’ awesome.

Inspirational Quote

I joined a face book group Women Marathoners and I saw this quote on there and loved it because I feel with this journey I'm on I can totally relate! Not just the Marathon Journey......but the Journey of LIFE!!!

"Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing.” -George Sheehan

Wordless Wednesday-Thunder Thighs

40-400's on OCC Track

This past Saturday was to work on Speed. I had 40 laps on the track and try to run each lap under 2:25. Well, at first I was scared of the speed since I am not a fast runner at all. It almost seemed unrealistic to me but the laps weren't back to back I had recovery time between each lap. When it was time to run the time was the least of my concerns....the winds have been blowing like crazy and my allergies as shitty as can be! So miserable and all I got up and hit the track!

There were some kids from the track team practicing so I decided to take on Lane 9 to my surprise I started off very good. I was able to hit the laps under the time I even had my fastest mile under 8min and then.....the winds started again so that slowed me down, it was hot and windy and my allergies = not mess and not a good run. My ipod ended up dying on me at about mile 6/7 so after that I am not sure what my pace was but the first 6 I was able to run under the 2:25. I took a little more rest time on the last 2 miles and by when I started on my last mile my ITB was hurting. I'm thinking it was the run stop that did it.

To conclude my Saturday run....hot+winds+allergies=not the best run. But it got done ended up with a little over 10 miles. I hope the weather is better on Saturday and these allergies are gone because I'm ready to run and feel good!

Side Note: The Surf City Marathon is this Sunday I'm kind of glad now that I won't be running it since I have been suffering severe allergies since last Friday I have even missed bootcamp yesterday and today.

Leg Workout

When I started training for my first Marathon I started to get a "knee pain" later my trainer Keinan Briggs and I identified it wasn't my knee that was causing the pain when I ran or after, but my ITB. So that means I needed to stretch and widen my hips, quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. I started doing this Leg Workout at Boot Camp that Keinan Briggs has M-TH @ 5:30am back at the end of November. I no longer get "knee pain" when I run. I do the workout once a week. So I thought I would share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daaFChjK7As&feature=youtu.be

2 Rounds
Knee Drivers (20 each leg x3)
Squats (20)
Lunges (down and back)

4 Rounds
Jump Squats on Ball (10)
Jump Squats (20)
Snap Kicks  (down and back)

3 Rounds
Kicks (20 each leg)

2 Rounds
V-Up's (20 each leg single leg, rotate leg, straight leg)

Great article a must read The Runner's Body: The Hip & Thigh

Wordless Wednesday-LA Marathon Map

Stadium to Sea LA Marathon

Running in the Rain

All week the weather forecast said "weekend showers" so I was dreading my run since my trainer said I had run outside rain or shine because rain is not going to cancel the Marathon. So I was praying and hoping for rain Friday night and heck even Saturday afternoon and night. But no to my surprise the sound of the first alarm I peaked out the window to see rain....so it was snooze a couple more times. I finally decided to get up I had to do it rain or shine! I got dressed put on a jacket, gloves, grabbed a trash bag (in case it was pouring) had my breakfast got a hat and was good to go!

I got to where I was planning on running and no, the rain did not stop! I did a light warm up in a shopping center then it was running up "the hill" At first it was cold but once I ran up a block or too the inside of my body was warming up and the rain felt good! It felt refreshing!!! When I run I sweat a lot, but it seemed as the rain actually kept me cool. I noticed as the hill got steeper my hamstrings started to feel it but I just kept going with it. I did have a little scare when a careless driver swerved and got to close to me, but thank God nothing happened! I got all the way to the top when I was running back down it stopped raining. That's when I think is the best weather to run in. The air was nice, cool, fresh, and crisp! So yes, I did enjoy it! But that I was not done I had to back up and down....one more time! On the way up it started to sprinkle, but some sprinkles didn't scare me anymore now that I had actually run in the rain. The way up was hard I won't lie, but I felt like Thomas the little Engine that could. I didn't worry about my speed just kept moving and getting up. On the way down the second time was a little harder I felt my butt hurting like no other! The hamstring pain went up to the butt!

I had to go up and down the hill twice. That was an estimated run of 12 miles........NOT it was a 15.5 mile run! But to say the least it was fun and I really enjoyed it. Pace 10:52 min/mi

Inspirational Quote

I have become a big fan of http://www.runnersworld.com/ I go there ofter read articles buy the magazines and recently signed up to get email notifications of the "RW Quote of the Day" I have received a few that are ok and some very good one's and inspiring so far this is one of my favorite. I will post the one's that I find inspiring.



"It's about you. It's personal. You're not racing against anyone else. You only get one first time, so just enjoy the experience. " -Kristi Canford

Wordless Wednesday-LA Badge

A "12 Mile" Trail Run

The week has been CRAZY!!!! All I kept thinking I wish it were Saturday so I can run and feel better release all the stress that was build up during the week. Before I knew it Saturday was finally here!

For my Saturday run I had scheduled to run 12 miles on Sand Canyon Wash Trail. Well I looked it up and it was only 3 miles so that would make 6 there and back I looked up others that would "connect" to the trail and what I came up with was Peter's Canyon Trail that starts off Jamboree and University. There was no sign only the Back Bay Trail which according to the Map was the Brown Trail. Either way that's where I started and ended up getting "lost" I should of made a right once I saw the trail split but kept going. I didn't realize I was lost until I saw a street name so I turned back to where the trail split and kept going up that way. Once I saw the street name "University" I knew I was going the right way. So I ran up the trail to Sand Canyon and back. I didn't feel any knee pain (ITB) at all through out my run. I did however feel my hamstrings get tight and when I was running back to where I started I felt my butt get tight as well.

I didn't check my ipod until I got back to the starting point. When I checked I was shocked to see the distance of 15.04mi and pace 10:50 min/mi. It did not feel like 15 miles going back to the time that I ran 16 my knee was killing me. I can honestly say the "leg workouts" I have been doing have helped my ITB. I did my stretching at the park where my car and chugged some water. I got dehydrated since I only had 1 bottle of water because I was not prepared to do 15.

After I was done went grocery shopping picked up a few things then went home. Got in a hot bath with epsom salt to relax my muscles since that is what has been helping me with being sore. I sat in there for maybe 15min. Then got up to shower. I experienced something that I hadn't before as I was washing my face in the shower I started to get very hot and dizzy at one point I couldn't really see. So I got out of the shower it was very scary to me. I relaxed for a bit had some water and coconut water then went back in the shower to get the shampoo out. After I came out I was very shaky and still felt very hot and had a head ache. Once I ate and had a can of coconut water I felt a little better. I'm thinking it might of been a combination of being dehydrated and not having much food in my system. All I had to eat was a bagel thin with peanut butter and banana before I went off to run.I hope I don't experience this again, but I will make sure to drink plenty of water before I decided to take another "hot bath"

Wordless Wednesday-Syntha 6

BSN Syntha-6 Strawberry Milkshake

New Year-New Resolutions

I have been slacking on writing on here but the New Year's weekend I didn't have much to blog about since I was sick and didn't work out I did a quick jog around the block because I couldn't start my day without having a run and Christmas weekend I took "off" because I was going out of town. With that being said it is a New month and New Year. I'm not big on making resolutions because I feel you shouldn't wait for the beginning of the year to make changes or do something you "want" to do. But I do have a New Year's resolution this year.

My New Year's Resolution is to do what I said I was going to do blog about my training. I haven't been keeping up with it like I wanted to or I should. But my Marathon is just around the corner I have about 8-9 weeks left of training before the "BIG DAY" so I will blog more from now until then! I want to be able to go back and read about the my journey....

12 Miles Up and Down Hills

12 Miles of Hills = 12 miles up and down hills

On Saturday the 7th I had my best run! I was finally able to zone out and just run and not think of the time or speed. I was having trouble doing that but now that I have I should have no problem getting ready mentally for the marathon.

I started off with the usual warm up and then just went with it. I did feel my hamstrings get tight on me in the begging of the run, but I didn't have any ITB pains bother me. I will admit it did get a little hot while I was running but I just ran I felt like Forrest Gump! The red lights down where I was at are longer that the usual ones in my area so I just ran in place when I got the red lights. I did notice when the hill was steep my lower back hurt a bit, but I kept it moving. The scenery was beautiful and I felt great! I was not tired the only complaint I have was my hamstrings getting tight. I completed my run and then checked my time and my pace wasn't bad at all 10:40 mi/min considering the red lights and hills.

Once I was finished I cooled down and stretched and I felt great! I can't remember the last time I ran and felt that good inside and out (minus the tight hamstrings). Now that I "found my zone" I'm excited for my Saturday runs and very very excited about the Marathon!

SIDE NOTE: My BMFFFF Sandy gave me some running socks for Christmas and I tried them out on Saturday and NO blisters!!!! Another side note: Peppermint GU is pretty tasty!