Tag: 13.1

Posted on

Becoming anti-expo

This morning, my husband and I ventured to San Jose about 60-miles away to pick up my race packet for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. I’m usually pretty accepting of picking up my bib number and race shirt far away, then returning home, but today I was annoyed for several reasons.

The first is that gas is ridiculously priced right now. The second is that I felt completely underwhelmed by the experience. So this isn’t an expo review. Not at all. This is a post about how I’ve increasingly become against expos in recent months.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll expos aren’t the entire reason. Competitor actually does a good job of moving people through the lines and then corraling them into an area where you can purchase more race stuff. And then you walk around and looked at all things running related.

Except I didn’t want to stay.

We only had an hour on the meter anyway. I had already made a corral change. I had my bib and my shirt. I had my “swag” bag that wasn’t full of all that much swag. We walked around for about 20 minutes and I looked at my husband and said I was done.

“I’m over it,” I said.

And with that we walked back to the car and drove five miles to the nearest Lululemon. I’m not even joking.

I was disappointed for several reasons, all of which have been hallmarks of many expos I’ve been to lately.

The first was the location. In San Jose, the expo was at the local convention center, right near/in the middle of the downtown area. Not bad. But the building was torn up last year when I went to this expo. And then torn up again this year. We had to walk much further than we wanted to. Petty complaint? Yes.

But consider we’re in a metropolitan location and working against a meter and you’ll realize our dilemma.

The next was organization and a tad bit of misinformation provided at check in.

Check in was easy enough, but see that line at the end. That was the line for my initial corral. Above each of those signs was another sign that said
“corral changes.” So I asked a guy if we made corral changes at the desks. Seems simple enough, right?

He said: “Do you know how this works?”

Then he proceeded to tell me where I needed to go to pick up my bib. I already knew that. I was asking a separate question. He wasn’t listening, or didn’t want to. I know this happens. But I’ve noticed a lot more lately that volunteers aren’t exactly helpful at expos. Often they have no idea how to answer a question.

It’s because they’re volunteers. It’s because they have very little training before being sent out to do their jobs for the day. In many cases I’ve seen teenagers leading people the wrong way at expos. They’re probably working for community service credit, but still.

Again, working against a clock here.

The T-shirt pick up was a breeze, as was the “goodie” bag grab.

Except all these races that promise “goodie” bags have one sample and then a bunch of pieces of paper. The Rock ‘n’ Roll series is notorious for that. Other races (the Oakland Marathon and San Francisco Marathons included) have online options for this. I’m always appreciative of that, even though it likely requires more work.

Why? Because all but one of those papers from the expo I went to this morning went into the recycling bin when I came home.

I think next time I’ll bring my own bag and skip the reusable backpack.

Another peeve is that there are very few deals to be found at expos anymore. Only a year ago, you’d see signs for compression sleeves marked down to $25 from $40 or $5 off on purchases at another booth. I rarely see that these days. I didn’t see that at all today, outside of Competitor offering discounts on signing up for next year’s event.

The size of the event was also smaller, likely due to the ongoing construction, so there wasn’t as much to see.

I’m jaded, I think. I have all my “racing essentials” already. I don’t need last-minute compression socks, or a sports bra, etc. I have running gloves that are packed in my gym bag every day. I have Glide. And sunscreen. I have, basically, all my goods with me. I’ve never purchased shoes at an expo. And I’m saving my money for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon next week.

So we made quick work of it. For a 120-mile round-trip drive, with gas pushing the $5 range, it just wasn’t worth it.

Even if I got to walk past the finish line, where I’ll be, all things going fine, will cross the finish line and receive a pretty blingy little medal tomorrow morning.

But instead of spending any money at the expo, we went and shopped elsewhere.

Race organizers often promise cities when they book events that the runners will bring money in and stimulate the economy. I don’t have qualms with that. I think most races are money boons to cities. But I hate being forced to traverse miles and miles, only to have to come back the next morning.

We decided to venture to Lululemon and stimulate the economy there instead of at the expo, which kind of fails in the purpose of the expo too. It was there I picked up a pair of capris I’ve been eying and new ear guard for colder weather. And then we made out way back to Tracy, via a stop for lunch in Livermore.

The one good thing today? The race T-shirt.

This year, organizers switched to gender-specific shirts. I have last year’s shirt from the same race underneath. It’s a unisex medium. The gender-specific one is a women’s large, big difference.

GETTING TO THE POINT

This post seems rambling. I’m sorry for that, but there’s a lot on my mind as I write it (including what I’ll be making for dinner tonight). But I have a point.

Many races have strict “no race day” pickup policies to avoid confusion and disarray on race mornings. I’m totally fine with that. What annoys me is when I’m forced to drive long distances to spend 20-minutes at an expo and pick up a race packet when there’s very little to offer me otherwise.

So, as much as I try to make a day out of it and add on some extras to make it “worth the drive,” it usually isn’t. The one exception to this is when I head to San Francisco for a race there, because I can often spend the entire day finding things to do.

Moreover, expos don’t offer all that much to entice a more seasoned runner. (Yes, I’m calling myself a more seasoned runner.) For newbies and people still building a base stock on supplies, expos are great.

But most the time, expos offer very little in the way of useful items. This is the case for many of the expos I’ve been to in recent months. I just want to be out and done.

Jaded? Yes, definitely.

But I’m also saving a lot of money by not dropping money on every little thing at an expo.

I’d just like them to be more worth my time and not just a destination to pick up a race bib.

ON ANOTHER NOTE

I have a goal for tomorrow’s race, but I don’t want to write it or say it because I think that makes it too real. This race held my PR for nearly a year. It was one of my last good races before I hit a really bad slump at the beginning of the year.

So I have a goal. But I never know until I’m actually running if I’ll make that goal, or if I’m trained enough. There are lots of variables. I’m definitely leaning on my time for this being faster than my projected time for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon.

I don’t want to have too high of expectations, because I’ll be disappointed if I don’t make my first goal, or even second or third goals. But I’m anxious to try.

Posted on

A mileage milestone

A couple days ago, I did something today without even realizing it. I hadn’t been counting my miles too much, outside of my mileage per month, so I didn’t know how close I was to surpassing my mileage from 2011.

Then, after my five-mile run this morning, I realized that I had accumulated 934 miles for the year.

In 2011, I ran 930.

Today, with my run I surpassed that with 934.

That means I’m only 76 miles away from 1,000, which was my ultimate goal for 2012. By the end of October, I should be well over that now if my marathon planning stays on track.

I was so excited, I posted it to Twitter, which also feeds to my Facebook account.

What does this mean? It means, despite my thinking otherwise, my training is on track. It means I’m running a lot more, despite not being in as many races. And, most importantly, it means I’m enjoying running enough more now that I want to do it all the time. All good things.

I’m looking forward to my upcoming half marathon this weekend in San Jose, that with a combination of midweek runs should get me to a nice number by the end of October.

Posted on

An unexpected PR

I didn’t think it was possible to have a greater runner’s high than the one I did after the San Francisco 1st Half Marathon a week ago. I felt amazing when I finished. I was floating. I continued floating for the coming days, even on my other runs this week.

So when I woke up this morning, I was a little tired and not really expecting much out of my half marathon this morning. I slept a little on the way over and was still exhausted when I got to the starting line.

But the day’s conditions were perfect.

Marina Park in San Leandro was beautiful, as always.

It was cool and a little windy. I decided to keep my long-sleeved shirt on because when I took it off I felt a little too cold to stand around the 30-minutes before the beginning of the race. I used the portable toilets twice (love smaller races). I ate a couple Simply Fruit twists. I said goodbye to Thomas, who was planning on heading to work.

Then I made my way to the start line.

I love Brazen Racing for many reasons. One is that they are very organized. I never have to pick up my bib or shirt beforehand because they are totally fine with having race-day packet pickup. In fact, many people do that because Brazen makes it so easy.

The lines were actually a little longer at this point. I got there at about 7 a.m. and the race began at 8 a.m., so I grabbed my stuff and headed back to the car.

It was a little bare when I got there, but you can see the overcast sky.

In any case, I was starting to get warmed up when the race director began advising everyone on the proper use of D-Tag timing chips. The race directors are incredibly awesome people. The husband, Sam, even came out and showed some people what they were doing wrong with their chips.

The countdown began and after 4…3…2…1 we were off.

Mile 1: 9:48 — Whoa! Where did that come from? I couldn’t believe I was moving along that fast. Not at all. I didn’t even feel like I was going that fast, but I figured I’d better slow down.

Mile 2: 10:24 — This feels much better. This pace wasn’t bad. I thought I’d surely get tired quickly. I figured I wouldn’t be able to sustain this, but I kept moving along because it felt fine. I didn’t even look like I was trying all that hard yet.

You can see me back there in between those three guys. Moving along, feet off the ground.

Another in the same area.

And another.

Mile 3: 10:39 — Still feeling good. Slowing down a little, but not struggling at all. We hit the second aid station a little after mile three began. I did a Vanilla Bean Gu.

Mile 4: 10:15 — The Gu propelled me! I picked up the speed.

Mile 5: 10:43 — Still trying to find my happy pace. But moving along strong. I usually average 11:30 or so on these runs, so this was an amazing pace for me this far in.

Mile 6: 10:31 — I was nearly under the hour with this one and started a huge chunk of mile five within that first hour. The turnaround was coming soon, and I started to realize I might get a PR if everything went right.

Mile 7: 11:03 — Slowed down at the turnaround to grab a cub of Ultima Replenisher and take off my long sleeved. But I turned it around fast. Did another Gu.

Mile 8: 10:59 — Moving along. Kind of getting tired of trail ground moving below me, but I find solid spots to run on.

Mile 9: 11:51 — This would be my “wall.” I started to get a little tired here. Decided on a 30 second to a minute-long walk break. I thought this would be the point where I gave up. I figured I’d still finish strong, but not as strong as I could. I drank a little of my Gatorade and got a burst of energy to push through the doubt.

Mile 10: 11:03 — I picked it back up. I felt amazing in this mile. I look at my Garmin and was coming in well under the two-hour mark. Wow. This is turning out to be a great race! Did another Gu.

Mile 11: 12:09 — Two not so great things happened here. My toe started killing me because the tape slipped off. And I had to stop and refill my water bottle. I filled up the bottle, slowly, at the aid station and then went on and into mile 11.

Mile 12: 11:13 — I started to get really excited about halfway through this mile. I knew I’d be coming in much sooner than my previous PR, as long as nothing happened within the next mile. I suddenly had a kick in my step. I realized I was running my best race to date.

Mile 13: 10:42 — I really picked it up here, I even passed four or five people. I NEVER have that much energy at the end of the race. But I did. I had a smile on my face from ear to ear I’m sure. I was elated.

Mile .15: 1:25 — I ran it in. I probably ran harder than I’ve ever run before. I was so happy. I stopped my Garmin and breathed deep, smiling.

Official time: 2:22:45

That’s so not what I expected to happen today. Not at all. I figured I’d go out flat, with this being my second half marathon in six days. My aim is to always run an 11:30 average. Today I ran a 10:54 average.

As always, Brazen gives out the most amazing medals. The shirt, pictured first, are pretty awesome too. They are just a well put together company that makes the experience less about competition, though there is some of that, and more about having a good time. They really let runners compete against themselves.

So what made this experience so good?

I started out strong. I knew my footing was secure. I kept moving, even when I started to think about potentially stopping. I figured it must be a good time when I started out with clean shoes and they ended up covered in dust.

A before and after comparison:

That’s dirt all around the “collar” of the shoes. I’m thinking it may be time to wash them.

I also had fun. I think that may be making the greatest difference in my running as of late. I’m having a good time. I’m chatting with people. I’m enjoying the experiences so much more. It’s making me a better runner.

So I have a new PR. I hope that doesn’t mean I have to go nearly a year before I get another. Now I know I can run that fast and that far. Now I know I have it in me.

Also: Today I put my new running bottle to the test.

It’s a little larger than the Amphipod bottles I usually run with, and it’s a Clean Bottle. I picked three up for me and one for myself at the expo for the San Francisco run. I’m really loving it. It’s easy to hold and I can easily clean it because the bottom and top come off.

I’m hoping to write a long review-type post about the bottles in the near future.

Posted on

A half-marathon victory

I’m not going to lie: Sunday was one of the best days I’ve had in a very long time.

It may sound like hyperbole, but it’s the truth. From waking up feeling good, to deep relaxation on the 50-minute ride to San Francisco, to being smart enough to stop at a super secret public bathroom so I wouldn’t have to wait forever at the start line, to the pretty lanterns above my corral — the 1st Half Marathon of the San Francisco Marathon was a race of redemption for me.

I am thankful that after months of self doubt and second guessing, I feel as if I’m finally coming out of my running slump.

I ran strong and I felt absolutely unstoppable at the end, even with the major hills that slowed me a little.

My morning started off with a 5:30 a.m. view of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. My husband dropped me off near the start line in downtown and I walked over with a huge group of people, including a man wearing jeans. I keep hoping he wasn’t actually going to run in them, but I know sometimes people do.

Based on a 2:25-2:30 finish, I was in corral six. There were two more corrals behind me, which meant that, no matter what, I’d have time to run the course if I needed the full three hours. I honestly wondered whether I would a couple months ago. I kept telling myself that, with the hills, I’d be closer to my Nike time last year of somewhere around 2:53.

I signed up for the corral during a particularly optimistic moment apparently.

It was dark at the Embarcadero.

I thought it was kind of funny my shoe laces, despite the sun not yet rising, were still bright as ever. I immediately went to my corral, despite having more than 30 minutes to wait. I was told race officials actually close these corrals. The bathroom lines were LONG everywhere. I’m convinced there were not enough bathrooms at all. Every stop had a line of 10-20 people.

The sun was coming up a little in this self photo with the bridge behind me. I was feeling good. I don’t know why, but I was feeling as if I could run on and on. I didn’t know if I could, though.

The time ticked on in corral six as Bart Yasso, the chief running officer at Runner’s World magazine, bantered with the emcee. It honestly wasn’t that long between the 5:32 a.m. initial start and my 6:12 wave start. And the San Francisco Marathon officials were prompt in their starting times. No kidding. We literally went off at 6:12 a.m. That’s probably the first time that’s happened at a race.

We weren’t actually lined up at the actual start line all that long. But here it is. There weren’t a ton of people in my corral either, or at least with all the space it didn’t seem that way.

With a quick countdown, we were off.

Mile 1: 10:13 — It didn’t feel as if I was running in the 10s here. I was just trying to move along the waterfront without tripping over someone. Good thing about this race is that there are so many fewer people that walk than Nike. That’s great because the Embarcadero has changing surfaces, including some cobblestone.

Mile 2: 10:18 — My heart rate was great, feeling good. Started thinking about the second mile in races in general. It tends to be pretty tough for me sometimes.

Mile 3: 11:47 — The first hill. Not huge, but the moment I started moving up, I had a sharp pain in my left glute. I wasn’t sure what it was, but thought, maybe, it could really derail the race for me. I went a little more conservative. I did a Gu at the first water stop.

Mile 4: 10:47 — Downhill through Fort Mason where the sprinklers had been on just before. I kept hoping I wouldn’t slip. I didn’t, but it seemed like an unnecessary hazard.

Mile 5: 11:27 — And we’re climbing again. Up a huge hill. By this point, I was feeling really good. Five miles in under an hour? I was amazed with myself a little. Go me! (Super fast people are probably laughing when they read this, but a lot of my problem is thinking I can’t run fast. I’m trying to get over that.)

Mile 6: 13:34 — OH. MY. GOD. HILL. I remembered it from Nike. I took little baby steps for the most part, then started moving up in more of a walk. This was the ascent to the Golden Gate Bridge too. Once I got near the bridge I started stepping it up, not believing I was almost halfway done. And still feeling good.

Mile 7: 11:45 — I remembered, as I entered this mile, that I needed to do another Gu. I didn’t get to until the Marin County turnaround.

Mile 8: 12:01 — I kind of had to go to the bathroom, but couldn’t because there were SO MANY people in line. Seriously. And there were people using the actual bathrooms too. Fail. I know there are a lot of people running, but maybe invest in more portable toilets?

Mile 9: 11:37 — Back across the bridge after a Gu. I did notice the three-percent elevation climb and downhill on the bridge. No horrible, but not great either. I just kept on running. Scary moment near here, though. A car seemed to move into/close to the “buffer” lane. Suddenly all the runners heard tires screech. Everyone around me turned around thinking someone was hit. That wasn’t the case, but it was troubling.

Mile 10: 11:47 — Continuing up that huge hill after the bridge. I looked down and was still coming in under two hours. AWESOME! I remembered my time on the easier second half course last year was 2:35:30. I wondered, could I get that?

Mile 11: 11:09 — A nice downhill here after reaching the top of the hill.

Mile 12: 12:04 — The ending uphills begin. In retrospect, I was supposed to do a Gu at mile ten, but forgot. I think I was on a runner’s high and thought “I can do this!” and didn’t bother. It started slowing me down here.

Mile 13: 11:59 — More uphill, as my body was getting tired (only a little), definitely need to remember that to finish strong I need to do the Gu.

Mile .26: 2:18 — I’m obviously over, which is because I wasn’t running those tangents well on the hills, but I look down and I’m still coming in under my time last year on the EASIER half.

Official time: 2:32:45

I couldn’t believe it. I’d run better on tough course than I’d been able to run in nearly every race before. I came in only seconds after my Oakland Half Marathon time and that course is nowhere near as hilly.

What’s changed? My diet is different. But I’m also doing more incline training when I run on the treadmill. I’m also running smarter and adding speed workouts to my training. It appears to be working.

I grabbed two bottles of water. I was thirsty, even though I carried my handheld. There were only water stops every two miles. A lot happens in two miles, even on a cool San Francisco day.

I was particularly glad to be handed a space blanket. The fog on the bridge left my hair soaked and my clothes damp. I put back on my long sleeve and wrapped myself up after I went and grabbed this special medal:

It’s my “prize” for running the 2nd Half Marathon last year and the 1st Half Marathon this year. I know the pictures aren’t great, mainly because I was trying to take them at night, under a lamp. It’s a huge spinner medal, with images from both runs on either side of the spinner. I wore it proudly around the finish line area.

Speaking of which, the 2nd Half Marathon was happening right around us, along with full marathoners running nearby.

I wasn’t even in pain. I’m thinking my Nikes LunarEclipse +2’s are much more awesome than I thought. My husband and I had planned to hike in the Marin Headlands, back across the Golden Gate Bridge, but instead decided on a trip to the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. We walked around checking out the place for nearly two hours.

Then, hungry, we headed back to the East Bay where we stopped at one of my favorite pizza places in Oakland, Lanesplitter on Telegraph Avenue. During graduate school I lived right down the street from Lanesplitter. I spent many nights eating pizza while working on my master’s project for UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

I think it’s fair to say Lanesplitter got me through graduate school.

You can see why. Amazing salads. Huge slices. After a half marathon? A major win.

I’m still excited, days later, about my run in San Francisco. I’m hoping to take that excitement into the Brazen Racing Summer Breeze Half Marathon this weekend. But I think it might be asking too much for another performance like that.

Right now I’m just happy to know I still have it in me. I can still do it. And that makes for a good day indeed.

Posted on

Save(d) me, San Francisco

See that face? That’s a happy face.

I had a good run. No, maybe a great run. Was it a PR time? No, but I did better on the tougher 1st Half of the San Francisco Marathon than I did on the more gently rolling 2nd Half last year.

And I ran the Golden Gate Bridge and got soaked by the fog. My hair was heavy and wet as I ventured to Golden Gate Park and the finish. The hills were killer, but I got through them.

My official time: 2:32:45

I felt strong afterward. I even walked for more than an hour, maybe even two, around the San Francisco Botanical Garden with my husband. No pain, no cramping.

I’m stoked. I’m even more stoked to run another one this weekend (but trying to temper my enthusiasm in case I don’t do as well as I did this weekend). Full race recap coming soon.

Posted on

Prepping for the streets of San Francisco

About a year ago this time, I was toying with the idea of starting a blog. I kept thinking to myself that I should write about all the races I do and the expos I attend. I didn’t want to because I wanted to brag. I did so because I kept wondering, when I was going to all these things, what I should expect. I wanted to know how long waits at expos were. I wanted to know if certain races were worth he money. I wanted to know how difficult courses were from honest people, as opposed to race organizations.

I found all those things on blogs. I started reading more and more running blogs over the past year. I remember walking through the San Francisco Marathon expo, picking up my bib and shirt for the second half marathon, thinking it was time. By September, I had started a blog. That half marathon would the last I’d run without “documenting” it.

So today I found myself coming full circle as I waited in line at the expo for the 1st Half Marathon that I’ll be running. I immediately started taking photos of everything, as I’ve done for the past year or so.

I was near the beginning of the line as the expo opened at noon. My husband went in to work in Richmond, across the bay, today so I took a ride on BART over and did a little shopping before doing the 1.1 mile walk to the expo. It’s kind of off the beaten path, accessible by public transportation, but just as easy to get to by walking.

In the line, I was in front of a guy complaining about the line being long and a “six-hour wait.” The expo wasn’t even open yet. Dramatic much dude? Yes, yes he was. More annoying was that he was talking about topics that just seemed like he was bragging to everyone around him.

After only about twenty minutes waiting, including about 10 when the expo wasn’t open, I was within the first three batches of people to go inside.

This expo is held in probably the biggest location of all expos I’ve been too. The SF Design Center is a long hall, which makes it easy to navigate through if people don’t stop right in front of you. (That happens. A lot.)

The first thing was bib pickup. Because the expo had just opened, I forgave the girl who told me I was in the wrong line when I wasn’t. She fumbled through the bibs and took awhile to finally get mine. No big deal. Then I headed over to the shirts.

I hate to say this, but shirts are always a point of contention. They can often be the reason people don’t sign up for a race the next year. I’m not even kidding. I’ve seen people post comments on Facebook pages saying they wouldn’t be back the following year because the race shirt had “cheapened” the experience. Do those people follow through? I don’t know. But they sure make a fuss.

I’ll be honest: I’m not in love with this year’s shirt.

That’s what I saw when I first walked up to the shirt table. The shirt is a nice blue color, but has huge writing on the front. It also has the lead sponsor’s logo, big, on the sleeve.

You can really see the deep blue color of the shirt in the above photo. The “13.1 miles” is printed on the back, right-hand side. I don’t have a qualm with that, not at all. I also like the wraparound graphic with the Golden Gate Bridge, which I’ll be running this year for the first time ever.

But it’s kind of busy. I’m a fan of simple lines, something well-designed and not an overt advertisement for a specific race. That said, I was a HUGE fan of the 2011 design.

I still wear it all the time. I’m actually planning on wearing it as an upper layer for the race since we’ll be starting before dawn. I liked it because the print was simple. Plus, the race organization’s imprint was small on the back while also being specific to the 13.1.

My phone is obviously showing the colors a little off. The orange shirt is more like the color of the first than the close-up shot. In any case, I love that shirt. I love the color. I love the print. I’m probably in the minority here, though. A lot of people commented immediately after the race last year that they hated the shirt.

When voting opened this year, people actually said they wanted blue or something closer to the previous colors. They also complained about the long-sleeved aspect.

The biggest difference this year is branding. Last year’s marathon and half marathons didn’t have a sponsor until nearly the end. That’s likely the reason for the increased sponsor-name everywhere. In any case, I likely won’t be ordering a second shirt this year. Does that mean I won’t sign up next year? Of course not. Race shirts are hit and miss. You can’t please everyone. And I’ll wear it. It just won’t be my go-to shirt during the winter.

I walked around the expo after picking up my reusable race bag. This year, organizers made a good change by moving the official race merchandise to the end of the level with bibs and race shirts. Last year, it was incredibly close to the rest of the goods. It made for a cramped, uncomfortable experience.

The problem with all the “official” merchandise is that there’s not a lot of half specific stuff. I don’t like wearing a race shirt if I didn’t actually “run” what it says on it. Even my Brazen shirts that say 5K/10K/half marathon are a little weird to wear. I often feel the need to tell people which I actually ran. (I do this ALL the time with my Nike Women’s Half zip up, which I still want to get embroidered to say “13.1.”)

I did pick up a pricey, but nice water bottle.

I then walked the concourse a little bit, but didn’t really go crazy. I tried some Clif Bar samples. I chatted up some race officials from various races. I was tempted to sign up for Oakland Half Marathon on the spot, but there’s also a code to do it in the virtual race bag. I’ll likely sign up using that over the next couple weeks.

I stopped by the Sweaty Bands booth and picked up two new ones: a sparkly black one and a light green one.

I really like the ones I bought last year, even though I don’t wear them often.

Then I came across a booth for a product I’d seen reviewed on some blogs lately. The Clean Bottle is a cool concept. Both the top and bottom screw off. I scored four today for $20. (Compare that to the $24 I paid for the official race water bottle that I can’t even run with and will likely be bottle for work.)

One of the bottles is the “in hand” model that I can put my iPhone in and hold while I run. Like my Amphipod bottles, the bottles can be used interchangeably with the others. I’m looking forward to trying it out on a run next week. I won’t be using it for the half marathon, if only because I don’t want to try something new on race day.

I know one thing: It’s likely this will be my treadmill running bottle.

I didn’t spend a lot of time at the expo this year. I looked at some Nike clothes. I was tempted to try on some shoes, but after what my feet went through with the Sauconys earlier this year, I didn’t want to go there.

Overall it was a quick trip in and out of San Francisco. The lines weren’t long, only because I went early. I wasn’t easily tempted to buy anything. The things I bought I needed. I head back the the Market Street area and the BART station to meet my husband back in the East Bay.

But not without stopping for some pre-race fueling with cupcakes.

I think it’s a little dangerous to have a cupcake stand right next to the entrance to the BART station. I was doing so well and then I saw that. And they had S’more cupcakes. And ones with sprinkles.

At least I’ll burn it off (kind of) at the race, right?

I’m a little scared of the hills, but have been doing resistance training this time around. I’m more scared of running across the bridge because of my fear of heights (yep, even on a bridge), but I’m ready to get up and get going for this one. I’m even more ready to be done running before it’s even 9:30 a.m.

Here’s hoping for a good race.

Posted on

Another chance at Nike with Team Somersaults

Last year, I was devastated when I didn’t earn a spot in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco. It was close to home. It was for a fabulous cause. It was in one of my favorite places to run.

After the April drawing, I basically gave up any hope for running Nike.

Until a blog referred me to a contest on the Somersault Snack Company’s Facebook page.

The Sausalit0-based snack company was sponsoring a contest to win free entry into the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. I’d tried the company’s snacks before at other events. The sunflower-based treats were delicious. (I’m really in love with the newest flavor, cinnamon.)

Entry was simple: I basically wrote a little manifesto following the prompt of the race.

“I run to be healthy…” was my statement and I talked about beating diabetes one mile at a time.

I was excited when, a couple weeks later, I was sent an email telling me I’d earned a spot on Team Somersaults.

The whole experience was amazing. I was invited on a run in Sausalito, which has amazing views of San Francisco. It included a pretty significant hill, but was an overall great experience. I was given an awesome jersey, which I still have. And I love wearing it because it has cute little sunflowers on it. Plus, the snacks are great, so I really don’t mind representing on my runs in Tracy. I also have cute little clips and rocking sweat bands (which my brother even borrowed for this year’s Bay to Breakers race).

I also loved running into other members during the race and cheering them on. It was a very positive experience.

Why is all this important? Somersault Snacks is yet again offering those who didn’t make it in the race the first time around to win an entry into the sold-out, highly coveted race.

That’s right, you can head over to the Somersault Snack Company’s Facebook page and enter to win a chance to run 13.1 or 26.2. All you have to do is “like” the entry, fill out the entry form and create a running mantra with the writing prompt provided. That’s it. Somersaults makes it pretty easy to win.

Then you could possibly get the opportunity to be one of the 25,000 women (and men) running in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon or even in the full marathon. Plus, you’ll have the chance to meet and interact with a really excellent group of women. (I should add in that the company didn’t ask me to write this blog post, I feel compelled to because of my great experience last year.)

I’m not entering, but not because I don’t want to run with this amazing team again. I was fortunate enough to get an entry in the random draw earlier this year.

But I encourage anyone who wants to run Nike to head over to the Somersault Snacks page and enter to win. If you win a spot, you won’t regret the chance to hang with new friends and likely get some amazing snacks in the process (seriously, yum). Good luck!

Posted on

Finding my stride and consistency

I’ve written a lot about my lack of consistency lately. I start a run and then trail off. I get weaker as I go through. I can’t maintain a solid pace. My mile numbers are all over the place.

I’m struggling as a runner. I know it. I have a lot of reasons for it. Two jobs don’t help. Lack of a good night’s sleep isn’t either. I’m stressed. It’s impacting my running on every level.

I had no business running the Pasadena Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon last month. None. At. All.

Since the Pasadena fiasco, I’ve tried to gain a little more perspective on my running. I’ve limited my caloric intake too. I’ve made some changes. It’s not a complete answer, but so far I think I’m making progress.

So my goal for the Oakland Half Marathon today was to strive for consistency.

I needed that.

And I wanted to do better than last year. (Even though it’s a new course.)

I’m proud to say I accomplished both.

The Oakland Half Marathon starts at 9:15 a.m. which is a little late in the running world. But it meant we could wake up at a decent hour and head to the new start location, Snow Park, which had a fairly good turnout of people.

I scoped out the finish line.

Not much to see there. The 5K, which until this year was held on Saturday night, happened before the start of the half marathon.

The portable toilet stock was pretty good too for a race with 4,000 people. I’m not kidding, there was a whole stock of portable toilets. I’m kind of sad I didn’t get a photo of it. There were also some location on a side street which was just as nice, especially when we found people were using the other ones more. A morning positive! No bathroom lines!

We also wandered around a little bit. The merchandise tent looked better at the expo. People were buying stuff. I did all that the day before at the expo.

We stopped at the bathrooms. And then we heard the announcement telling the half marathon runners to line up. I made my way into the 11 minute corral. I set my Garmin for an 11:30 average pace. It beeps when I’m not meeting that. And, I’m happy to say, for the first time ever, I met that pace overall for the race.

We crossed the starting mats after three minutes.

And…then we began.

I struggled for the first four miles. I think it was combination of fatigue (this has been a rough week at work) and hunger. I had eaten so long before that I was a little hungry at the start.

Mile 3 was a real struggle. That’s when I decided enough was enough. I needed a Gu. So I downed a Vanilla Bean one. That’s what propelled me through mile 4. You can see my struggle at the end. I let what I had going slip a little bit, otherwise I probably would have finished at 2:30.

My husband, though, was standing waiting for me at around mile 13.

“Two and a half?” he yelled.

I nodded back. He knows my average time on these things. And he knew, then, that this was a better run for me.

I knew too.

Why was it a better run? I listened to my body. When my heart started pounding, I slowed down. When I needed to walk, I walked. Then I picked up the pace and ran my heart out. I ran my heart out the entire race.

When I wanted to stop. I kept going. I just kept at it.

I finished with an official time of 2:32:27. My third best half marathon to date. Better than the 2:35:36 of last year too.

And I looked better than after my finish last year as well.

I did sit down. Because I was tired and, as you can see, red in the face. I have a slight sunburn. The move from Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland to Snow Park was a good one. There was more space. It was closer to a nice view of Lake Merritt. People got to lounge around.

Yes, I take pictures of random people lounging around because I refuse to pull out my camera and take photos while I’m running. I’m not that kind of blogger.

It was Sam’s first time running the Oakland Half. I think this may become her race too. It’s already mine. It’s the only one I knew last year I was 100 percent sure I’d come back to. I hella love Oakland. And this half marathon. And maybe someday, I’ll run the full, giant hill and all.

That said, the last .1 mile of this half was all uphill. That burned. I was so tired at the end.

But I did it. I found my stride. I kept hitting it. I stayed consistent. I slowed when I needed to. And I kept going.

Last year, I had beer tickets at the end I didn’t use. This year, the Barefoot Wine booth was mixing up mimosas. It was close to noon, but yes, I wanted a mimosa in a small cup.

I got Thomas one too. I had two tickets after all.

Then we ventured back to Livermore, after a really urgent bathroom stop at a shady bathroom off the freeway in Oakland. We ate and drank at First Street Alehouse. Finally it was back home. Into the bath tub and then into bed. I was tired. My alarm went off at 5:20 a.m. I decided not to try to go back to sleep.

That was my day. All 13.1 miles of it.

Check out my second expo shirt. I decided on a whim to buy it. I love it because it looks a little more hardcore than my other two shirts. It also was one of the only dark gray shirts at the expo.

Plus, this is on the backside.

That’s exactly what I did today. Am I happy? Yes. Today was a good day. My run was a solid one. I’m proud of what I accomplished out there.

Can I do better? Always.

I’m going to keep working on it. As always.

Posted on

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.