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Oct 17

Meet me Monday: What motivates me

“What is your motivation to run?” I was recently asked on a questionnaire.

I have A LOT.

But lately it’s the feeling I get when I get to the finish line. NOTHING. I mean NOTHING compares to that. That’s especially true on good run days. It’s also true on days where I’m struggling to make it to the finish line.

I finished the Nike Women’s Half Marathon today in 2:53:30. By far, my worst half marathon time ever. But, by far, the best time I’ve ever had on a run. PERIOD. No questions about it. I’m planning to write a detailed race review in the next day or so. I’m too tired right now.

I’m the good kind of tired. I’m elated. I’m floating. And it had nothing to do with my time.

What motivated me was getting to the finish line wearing my Team Somersaults shirts. What motivated me was getting to the finish line with my two best running buddies. What motivated me was just getting there.

The finish line.

There will be more finish lines in the future. There will be more cheering spectators, last minute sprints and painful runs. There will be more smiles, though, too. All at the finish line.

That’s what I look forward to.

Oct 15

It’s not an expo, it’s an Expotique

I’m going to try to temper my excitement with this post, I swear. But it’s going to be hard for a couple reasons. One is that this is the race I’ve wanted to run all year. Another is that I’m doing so for free as part of Team Somersaults!

I had commitments both Friday and Saturday, so I was glad Nike started the expo – or Expotique as it’s called – on Thursday. A bonus to that was that my brother-in-law was playing a show right down the street in the same area. So I took BART in from the East Bay and left my car where my husband, who was meeting me for the show, could drop me off later.

I literally jumped off the BART and headed immediately to Union Square.

If you know anything about that area of San Francisco, you know it’s a huge tourist spot. The sidewalks, which are all under construction around Union Square – making me wonder how all of this is going to go down on Sunday – were full of people. I tried to wait patiently at the light.

When I finally got across the street, I was greeted by a little confusion and a huge tent.

I went to one side and was told by a guard that the line for checking in was there. I waited there for 10 minutes when I realized it was the wrong check in line. Another guard told me to go to the middle of the tent. Wrong again. I finally saw where check in was, only to have another guard – really rude this time – tell me I had to yet again go around the tent. Signs would have been nice, but I digress.

I found the yellow-marked half marathon line. Check in was quick. I was handed my number – a circular bib with a really low number, apparently numbers are assigned when we get there, which is easy for volunteers – and a bag full of coupons and samples, including Somersaults Snacks new flavor cinnamon.

I then proceeded to the rest of the tent where there were a good deal of vendors. Even on a Thursday, it was a big of a mad house.

There were samples of Gatorade, Pom and Neutrogena. Some women were getting their hair done. Others were getting foot massages. I honestly wasn’t interested in either of those things. I’m not just into really girly stuff.

Safeway had an awesome setup to ride a treadmill and power a smoothie.

The tent was a little stuffy, despite huge fans. It was a relatively warm day in San Francisco. I took off my jacket (I didn’t need it at all, even at 9:30 p.m. when I finally left) and stuffed it in my black pull string backpack. I ventured outside and found that Safeway had more samples of an Asian noodle salad, fruit and cookies. They were also pouring Italian soda.

Awesome! I’d been hungry my way over and didn’t stop to eat before I came to Union Square.

I went back into the tent for a little while and checked out the different offerings. I also noticed that there was a deejay! I’d never been to a expo with a deejay! That was kind of a nice addition.

I followed another crowd outside where there was a booth selling runner must-haves (forgot Glide? They had it). I also noticed a really crazy line forming at another booth. I went over to check it out. It was the Somersaults Snack Co. booth! The demand was huge! I tried to squeeze in, but a group of about 15 women went by me as I was taking this photo.

“Try some of the cinnamon ones!” one of them said to the others. By the time I backed up, they were surrounding the booth. Somersaults Snacks were definitely one of the highlights of the expo. And see the team jersey? Love! The ladies at Somersaults also gave me a sunflower clip to wear in my hair for the race.

And, because I didn’t want to cover my team jersey, I bought arm warmers to wear. This will be my first race with arm warmers.

So the expo got a little crazy after that as more and more people came.

Safeway was hosting a “ladies night,” so there was a lot going on. I decided to take leave and head over to the Niketown store where I knew the crowds would also be. One entire floor is dedicated to Nike Women’s Marathon goods. I walked in and there were people everywhere!

I went looking for half-marathon specific apparel. I’m a stickler for that. I don’t want to wear a shirt that says “marathon” typically unless I’ve run the distance. That said, there were a lot of people running the half buying the apparel. So I grabbed up two half-specific shirts. And I got a bag. And a poster (even though I registered late so my name isn’t on it). I bought an awesome jacket. It says NWM, so I think I’m going to take it to a local embroidery guy to add “13.1” to it. I’m weird like that. I also grabbed a water bottle.

I found one specific shirt that I absolutely love, though.

I bought enough to get me a free photo frame. It also flagged fraud alert on my American Express. Nice. I had to try to remember my pin number. Awkward when you can’t even remember setting up your credit card. Not sure what the lady at AmEx or the guy behind the counter thought of me. But the purchase went through.

By the way, the Nike store is decorated in all NWM. It’s inspirational. I kept trying to take photos of the huge sign as I went up the escalator. They all came out blurry. So this is my best effort from the line.

After calling my husband to make sure he knew the card was being used lawfully by me, I went back to Union Square where part of the crowd had thinned out in some areas, or so I thought.Everyone was actually inside the tent as they drew names for a Cole Haan bag. I found my way around, checking out more booths.

At one, I was offered frozen strawberries. The guy manning the booth also told me not to be afraid of the first hill in this one. That kind of put me at ease, but not really. I grabbed the strawberries and found a stand-up table to eat at.

Safeway also provided the decor for the tables. Beautiful flowers. Nice setup.

By then, it was getting to be time for me to head out. I tried, again, to stop by the Somersaults booth. They were so busy! Every time one person left, another person came over. Those cinnamon-flavored snacks are kind of addictive.

I passed by a couple more vendors. The Google Wallet people gave me a free Diet Coke. The technology was pretty awesome, but not available on my Droid X. And I received some samples from the Meyer’s Soap folks too. Good stuff too.

That’s my spread at home later. I also “liked” Neutrogena on Facebook at the booth to receive a small bag with face wash and sunscreen. That will come in handy tomorrow. I’m hoping it’s a nice, yet cold, day.

After all was said and done, I headed over to the Westfield Shopping Center to look around and wait for my husband. I walked past even more signs proclaiming it Nike Women’s Marathon weekend. It was awesome.

The one hanging from Macy’s was, by far, my favorite.

Also among my favorite is the shirt I bought that says “I run to be sexy.” It’s a long-sleeve shirt, perfect for the soon-to-be-cooling weather. I bought it after seeing what I consider a huge sign telling me to do so at the Expotique.

So my visit to the Expotique went really well. I chatted with some folks, spent way too much money at Niketown, got my bib and I think I’m almost ready for the Sunday run.

I can’t say it enough: I’m excited to run this race. I’ll be more excited when I get to San Francisco tomorrow at 6:15 a.m. and meet with with Team Somersaults for our photo beforehand. I’ll be excited when I run, even if the hills turn out to be not so wonderful.

To me, it’s not about the Tiffany necklace at the end. It’s not about the swag. It’s about the cause this is for. It’s about what it represents. Thousands upon thousands of women running together for a cause. It’s about empowerment. In the past two years I’ve run to be a lot of things.

I run to be stronger. I run to be powerful. I run to be healthy. I run to be sane. I run to be me.

On Sunday, I run to be empowered.

Oct 14

The signs are everywhere

I haven’t had much time in the last 48 hours to run let alone blog. I worked late on Wednesday and came home and ran 6 miles. Thursday, my rest day, I worked part of the day before venturing via BART to San Francisco from Dublin to pick up my Nike Women’s Half Marathon race packet (really just the number) and check out the offerings.

I’ll be blogging a full race report after I present at a journalism conference in Sacramento on Saturday (the main reason I had to go to San Francisco on a Thursday). But I thought I’d add this because it kind of sums up my excitement for this weekend.

I literally was off BART for 3 minutes when I saw this sticker on the window at the mall in San Francisco.

The signs for the NWM event were everywhere.

Counting down now…two days.

Oct 12

Not so fishy

I had my third swimming lesson on Tuesday. Turns out I have to get worse before I get better. At least that what it seemed like last night. I kept messing up the stroke. I kept feeling as if I was going to drown.

I’ll get it eventually,the instructor said. I hope so. Between that and feeling ridiculously uncomfortable on the bicycle so far, I keep want to running back to running solely.

Deep breath. It will get better.

I’m just not so fishy. Not even floatly.

I sink pretty well, though.

On a brighter note, I made English-muffin pizzas for dinner. My husband actually ate them and didn’t complain. He even called the idea “creative.” It’s not my idea, but I’ll take it. It works. Either way, the mini pizzas turned out pretty good, even if my swimming didn’t.

 

Obviously this is before I baked them. They were so delicious we ate them up quick!

Oct 11

My Monday night date

The last two weeks I’ve woken up to a very stiff right ankle/heel.

After my Achilles pull earlier this year, I’m trying not to put too much pressure on that leg. I’m giving it the rest it needs whenever I can. I’m taking rest days. But the pain is still there from time to time. When it is, I have to roll it out.

I spent a good deal of time rolling it out for the first four weeks after my injury in mid-August. I’m realizing I need some more stretching, though, as of late.

I took Monday night off my run. My Sunday/Monday running days are my only back to back ones. So if I do an extra long run on Sunday, such as my 15-miler, I am giving myself the option of taking Monday off. So I did.

It’s good I did. I noticed some gnarly bruising on my legs tonight. It’s from all the rolling I’m doing on my legs lately. It also proves to me that I need to setup a massage some time soon to help work those muscles out a little more.

So I pulled out my rollers again tonight, specifically the Trigger Point Foot and Lower Leg kit. (Mine only came with one ball, though.)

Here’s a better closeup:

I’m spending a lot of time trying to make my legs less tight. I up my mileage and my body has moments of rebellion where it basically says “really, we’re doing this again?” Yes, yes we are.

Oct 10

Meet me Monday: Fitness plans

I’m training for a marathon.

That’s my biggest priority right now. I’m upping my mileage. I’m adding in resistance training. I’m pushing to make sure I have rest days.

I’m trying to be aggressive in my training for this 26.2 and hoping I can make it the whole way.

Part of that is my new foray into swimming, which began this week.

Part of it it also the purchase of some new wheels, and not the car kind.

On Saturday, I ventured to Performance Bike in Dublin (about 25 minutes from my home in Tracy), just to “take a look.” The problem with me is that once I see something I like, I tend to buy. This is especially true since I took my part-time teaching job. I paid off my car last year, put more money in our savings account and, every now and then, have some extra money to spend.

Two months ago I bought an iPad. I use it for all my long treadmill runs, like my 15-miler on Sunday.

I bought my bicycle, a rather hefty expense, this weekend. Outside of the fact that I literally haven’t rode a bike in 10-plus years, it seems to be a good fit for me. I have to say, I’m a little scared of it, though. It’s a nice bike. Nice as in there’s no kick stand.

Maybe too nice for me. I couldn’t remember how to shift. I still need to buy some shoes for it. It will be a learning process, definitely.

But I have a goal in mind here. My running buddy Sam ran her first half marathon last weekend. Now she is eager to tackle a triathlon.

I’m apparently doing it with her. (That’s fine, I think she partially volunteered me and I partially volunteered myself.)

We’re aiming for one in Napa at some point in April. So my goal after the marathon is to train for this triathlon. I only have the Oakland Running Festival booked for March so far, though I may look into some Rock ‘n’ Roll running events as well (again, prompted by Sam). But after the marathon, I’m going to take on triathlon training aggressively.

I picked the bike based on it’s fit for me, which is good. I also picked it because it’s lightweight. It’s very agile. And it’s a road bike, which is what everyone suggested I get. It’s a far cry from the Magna bicycle I had throughout high school (the last time I road was sometime when we were vacationing at the beach in 2002, my husband confirms that he road it at some point and it was uncomfortable). And it’s beautifully light.

I can pick it up, as proved by this photo my husband took after we got home and he took it for it’s maiden voyage. He has a tendency to want to test all my new fancy toys. I remember him taking the keys to my then brand new 2002 Camaro so many years ago to “break it in.” He didn’t realize I’d already done that.

So my fitness plans for the coming seasons are just that: run the marathon and then do a sprint triathlon.

I have the running down for the triathlon (it’s only three miles). I doing the swimming lessons. Now I have the bike.

Let’s go.

Oct 9

Finally 15

I was supposed to wake up this morning and head to Mountain House for a 15-mile run with Jennie. That didn’t happen. Instead, I woke up at 2 a.m. with a bloody nose. I didn’t think much of it outside of it being annoying. When I woke up again at 5:45 a.m. I sneezed and my nose started bleeding even more. Then it didn’t stop.

Well, crap.

Sorry for the graphic nature, but the blood was running down my throat. I held my head back. I tried to make the nose bleed stop in the bathroom so that I’d still be able to run. Nope. I texted Jennie. We were a no go on the run.

I got the nose bleed to stop, temporarily, and went back to bed. I didn’t wake up again until after 10 a.m. and the nose bleed came back, a little. Great. It was turning out to be a not-so-great morning.

I put away my hopes for a 15-mile run. I decided to just relax.

By 2 p.m. I was feeling A LOT better. But it was past the point I like to run outside. If I venture out at 3 or 4 p.m. I usually end up being held up by traffic lights and not-so-nice motorists who refuse to wait for me to cross.

So I opted for a treadmill run.

Yikes. I’ve done 10-mile treadmill runs. Never 15.

So I prepared.

First, I found the non Band-Aid brand band-aids. I know there’s another term for them, but it escapes me. I still have a bad blister injury from last week’s half marathon. So I wrapped my toe.

I prepared for a slowish run because I wanted to make sure I could last the whole 15 miles. I aimed at 12-minute pacing. I started quick, though, under a 10-minute pace.

I loaded up my 20-ounce Amphipod water bottles with a mix of 50/50 water and Gatorade.

I have two because one typically has a sleeve to keep the water colder. I use the sleeve more during the winter so that my hand doesn’t get as cold. I took it off today so it was easier to hold on to mid-way through my run.

I kept one bottle in the refrigerator. During my long treadmill runs I usually get off the treadmill a couple times. I do that for necessity rather than a real want to get off and start over.

My treadmill maxes out at 99 minutes or 999 calories. After 99 minutes the treadmill shuts down. Everything stops.

That’s part of the reason I invested in a Garmin foot pod for my Garmin 405CX.

This way I can use my Garmin to accurately reflect how far I’ve gone. It’s funny, though, even though I have the Garmin calibrated with the foot pod, my 12-minute miles were coming up short in the beginning and long at the end. It’s likely because I slow down as I run longer distances.

So I use the Garmin and have to get off the treadmill about 7.5 miles in just to reset the treadmill. I usually take this time to also grab the second water bottle, go to the bathroom, give my dog a hug, etc.

It’s always the time I want to stop as well.

I finally didn’t today. I just kept pacing through, usually doing miles under 12 minutes. I just kept moving along.

By mile 14, I was starting to get tired. This is why training runs are so important. I’m not convinced it’s about the mileage I am racking up, but rather about the time I am running. I need to be able to run 4-plus hours in order to run the marathon in less than two months. Whether it was a good idea in between two half marathons is another question.

Either way, I finally hit the 15-mile mark in slightly under three hours.

I know treadmill training isn’t the best for marathon training, but I know it can be done. I’ve read a lot about busy people who only train on treadmills, so I never feel bad running on mine. In fact, it helps my joints and is really better for me in general. So I’m slightly more back on track for this marathon.

It was really starting to worry me, not  getting in the 15-mile run. Now that I have it’s a huge weight off my chest.

On to the Nike Women’s Half Marathon next week. I’ve decided, particularly with the running of three half marathons this month, that I’m going to approach this race as a good opportunity to pace myself and really enjoy the whole 13.1 experience. I’ll be with two friends and my Team Somersaults teammates and I just really want to finish strong and have an awesome time.

Oct 8

What lies beneath

I love the cold. The seasons of fall and winter are my favorite times of the year. The leaves start to change. People start to decorate for the holidays. And my runs get better, if only because it’s no longer scorching hot. I love wearing longer-sleeved shirts and venturing out in the crisp morning.

With a cold snap also typically comes rain.

We got a little in the area this week. It came during a recovery week and I was spending more time on the treadmill anyway. But I know soon I’ll have to run outside in damp, wet and cold conditions. And that always worries me a little.

I don’t mind running the rain. I’ve done it before. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to wear my contacts out instead of my glasses (fog, water drops and basic annoyance are the reasons) and make sure I bring a towel if for the car ride home if I’m in Mountain House or racing.

I mind the hidden mud. I’ll explain.

The picture at the top of this post is from the college campus I work on. It’s a puddle. It just looks like a puddle. But it’s also a mud puddle. It doesn’t look like a mud puddle. Not at all.

During the first rains of the year this sort of thing happens a lot. I’ll be out running and suddenly come across a puddle that just looks like a puddle. Every now and then, there’s actually mud underneath.

The mud can take an ankle out. It can cause a runner (or anyone for that matter) to slip and maybe even break an arm. This happened to me during a 10-mile run earlier this year.

I was running through a puddle and slid pretty good on the street. I didn’t hurt myself too bad. I had some scratches. One of my fingers was a little beat up as well. But, for the most part, I was OK. It caused me to think twice about running outside for some time. I switched up my training to the treadmill during the wet season.

That’s not really an option as I prepare for the marathon I’m hoping to run on Dec. 4. I need to run outside.

So the headlamp will come out at nights and I’ll likely slow down, despite feeling good on my cool morning runs, just to prevent slipping and sliding across nasty mud puddles.

Oct 6

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Running with Team Somersaults

When I started running nearly two years ago, I never thought I’d run a half marathon.

I started with 5Ks and didn’t make my way to a 10K until November 2010. That was 11 months after I started running. I couldn’t imagine going any further. After I ran that 10K, I ran another. Then another. I then found myself signing up for a half marathon. My first, the Oakland Running Festival, was in March of this year.

That’s when I set my eyes on what I thought was the pinnacle of all half marathons: the Nike Women’s Half Marathon on Oct. 16 in San Francisco.

I entered the lottery with two friends as part of our running club. We waited. And waited. Then the day came when names were chosen we kept seeing the Nike 26.2 Facebook page saying that more notifications were being sent out. We never got ours. The next day, all three of us got the “winged goddess has spoke” email. We were not chosen.

I want to say I was devastated.  I’m fiercely brand loyal to Nike. I love my Nike running shoes (which I don’t think people hear a lot because there as SO MANY other shoe brands out there). But I’m a Nike girl, right down to my Dri-Fit running shirts, capris and my inexpensive sandals for after my run. So Sam and I booked the Oct. 2 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose half marathon.

One of my favorite bloggers, though, listed a contest for a Sausalito-based healthy snack company called Somersault Snacks. I’ve been given Somersault Snacks at runs before. I remembered liking the sea-salt flavored ones. I logged on to the Facebook page and checked it out.

Tell us why you run, they said. So I did.

I answered with this statement: “I run to be…healthy” – I started running to get off my diabetes medication.  I’m now medication free and training for my first marathon!”

About a week later, I got an email from the lovely crew at Somersault Snacks telling me I’d won a spot on their team for the Nike Women’s Half. I had a moment. I squealed. I cried a little. I couldn’t believe it, for a couple reasons.

It seemed like serendipity that a company that made snacks out of my favorite flower would choose me to represent them. I am humbled and honored by this opportunity. So much so that when I was forwarded a copy of the team’s training schedule and saw there were only two more team runs, I told myself I’d make one. I couldn’t do the 12-mile run in San Francisco last weekend, so instead I went to the one in Sausalito today. I even took a day off of work for it.

We ran five-miles around the waterfront area and two members of the Somersault team took myself and Jamie, another contest winner, up a fairly steep hill. Good training for next week’s run.

The elevation gained looked exactly like this:

Notice the hill wasn’t over a mile-long run. It was pretty hefty. Whew. I trained for a flat and fast San Jose. These ladies worked me out a little today.

We ran with a beautiful view of the San Francisco skyline on one side of us and through neighborhoods. We even ran by a slightly-interesting site in the first part of the run. It was so bizarre, I went back and took a photo.

Do you see the gigantic baby in the background? That was kind of awesome!

I’m bummed I didn’t take my phone with me to get some nice shots of the skyline and the hill we climbed. I need to remember that now that I have a blog I SHOULD be carrying my camera around.

I had a nice chat with Jamie along the way. It was a great run. It was awesome to run somewhere different, with different people. It was awesome to finally meet the people involved with and see the company that’s provided me such a great opportunity.

The Somersault Snacks crew was a hospitable group. And the swag they gave to us was awesome. We got the cool Nike jersey above with the cute logo on the back. I got a little sunflower clip for my hair (race day necessity!) and samples. I even took some of the samples to Sam tonight during our cross-training swimming lesson.

I’m planning on taking more to share at work tomorrow and maybe with my students during/after newspaper distribution.

The crew didn’t ask me to blog about this experience, but I’ve been so excited leading up to it that I had to. I’m thrilled to be part of a team of women running a half marathon aimed at women. I’m thrilled to have been picked from so many others for a completely sold out race. And I’m thrilled I was able to make the journey to Sausalito to at least say thank you in person.

I’m excited for Oct. 16 when I get to wear my Team Somersaults jersey and meet the rest of the team.

 

Oct 4

Swimmer, kind of

I started swim lessons today. Not the kind where you learn to swim. I did that a long time ago.

I remember learning more by osmosis than actual lesson. I grew up in Stockton, Calif., which is where I commute to everyday for both my jobs. I lived in a neighborhood with a not-so-great park (serious, a teenage boy was shot and killed there only a couple years ago). My parents would always opt to send us down the other way on our street to a park that was further away, but in a safer neighborhood.

Victory Park in Stockton is home to the Haggin Museum, one of the greatest establishments in the city, and Victory Pool. It was also right down the street from my elementary school.

I learned to swim at Victory Pool. I didn’t want to hang out with the “babies” in the shallow end anymore. To get to the 4-6 foot end, we had to swim across the pool back and forth to prove to the lifeguard that we could do it. My sister took swimming lessons at the local YMCA. I never did. I think my mom picked up that I was slightly afraid of water (I still am, actually).

So I learned good enough to swim across the pool back and forth and make it to the other side. And then I picked up more, because my sister and I would spend the summer down at the pool with nothing else to do. It only cost $1 to get in at the time. My mom would drop us off and come back four to five hours later. That was the time when you could do that sort of thing.

I haven’t swimmed much since. My friend Sam apparently decided after me torturing her with long runs she would return the favor.

We’re now doing swim lessons twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Tracy.

So I packed up and headed about five-minutes from my house with a new swimsuit and goggles stuffed into a Nike running bag.

I grabbed a towel and my Amphipod running water bottle. The lesson was 30-minutes.

We did “bubbles” and glided across the pool. No kicking. We’re not supposed to kick. I have a feeling we’ll be getting yelled at a lot. And I ended up having to use a little blowfish toy to keep my chin down. My chin was supposed to be touching my chest. I wasn’t do it right. The instructor was patient with the both of us. The lesson went by quick.

I walked away realizing how much work we have to do for the triathlon it now looks like we are doing in April. We have another lesson on Thursday. I’ll be coming back from a run in Sausalito with my Nike Women’s Half Marathon team at 3:30 p.m. I’ll be blogging about the run after my lesson hopefully. About a month ago I won a spot on Team Somersaults to run the Nike half. Words can’t express how excited I am to run with the group of women I’ve been reading about.

So I’m stoked for my Thursday afternoon run (I took a day off work to be involved in it) but a little worried about getting back by 7:30 p.m. for swimming lessons. I’m crossing my fingers.

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