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Posts tagged ‘running’

Jul 18

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!

Jul 15

Milestones

I had some computer issues this week, or at least I thought I did. I thought I had a virus that wouldn’t let me connect to the Internet, but it was actually an issue with our wireless router not connecting to both my computer and Netflix on our television. Lame.

So I’ve kind of taken a week off from the Internet. But I’ve been running. Just not as far or long as I’d like.

I did get in an eight miler on Saturday, but my legs felt heavy most of it. That’s a huge change from the past couple weeks when I’ve felt like I could run miles and miles and not stop.

I think my legs still need to recover from the Brazen endurance run last weekend. So I’m giving them a chance.

On another note, I reached a pretty awesome non-running milestone this week. My 2002 Camaro, which I purchased new, hit 150,000 miles. It’s been a faithful car for me for nearly 10 years, so I was excited to get to that point. I didn’t get “the” moment, because I was driving back from an unscheduled but necessary work assignment, but I got the mileage shortly after.

I remember the milestones in my car much the way I remember my first 5K, 10K, half and marathon. You get to that point and ponder what’s next. You wonder if it’s an end, or just a beginning.

Then you plan another milestone. Or at least I do.

For me it usually also means planning another race. My calendar on this blog only lists races through the Big Sur Half Marathon. Those are just the races I’ve registered for. I’m considering some additions to that schedule in the coming weeks. (By the way, registration for the Big Sur Marathon opened today and the organization has already listed it as more than 70 percent full. That’s exciting and all, but the 21-miler was brutal to me this past year, so I don’t think I’m quite ready to tackle the marathon. Maybe the 21-miler again, but that doesn’t sell out nearly as fast as the marathon.)

Another milestone? I’m taking my first vacation of the year in two weeks. Six whole work days off. I’m also preparing lessons plans for my third year as a community college journalism instructor. I’m excited to be starting again, but I’m also worried because I know it’s a lot of work in addition to my full-time job and I’m exhausted by the end of the semester.

More running in my future too…if only to help keep me sane while doing all of what I just mentioned.

 

Jul 4

Running free

Today is Independence Day. It’s a day when the country celebrates the freedom granted to those living in the United States. It’s also a requisite day off for most people, myself included.

But I’m not running today. I did an eight miler on Tuesday and am preparing for a six-hour endurance run this weekend. I’m thinking less time on my legs would be good. But I want to run. I really do.

Because something changed a couple weeks ago.

I was heading out to Mountain House for a run with Jennie and kind of running behind. I grabbed my water bottle and headed out the door. I was less than a mile from the park when I looked down and realized I forgot my Garmin.

Crap, I thought.

This can’t be good.

I’ve run races upon races, ever since my first half marathon, with my Garmin. Every outdoor run I do, it comes with me.

I nearly called Jennie and cancelled. I didn’t know how we’d run without knowing how far along on our six miler we were. But I decided we’d figure something out. I did text her to warn her.

She was right. I knew the route. In fact, I made I route. We weave through one area where the houses are still being built, then we hit the community’s perimeter. I don’t know the exact locations of the mile markers, but I know approximations.

So we set off and just started running. I was anticipating the same leg aches I’ve been getting recently, specifically tightening of my calves. We got nearly a mile in and a pace that was comfortable, but not fast. No pain.

We kept running, picking up speed here and there. We chatted and ran. It was breezy afternoon.

And I suddenly felt so free.

Six miles later, the sun was setting and instead of paying attention to my Garmin I was paying attention to what a nice day it was. There’s something to be said about running just to run. On that day, it didn’t matter how long we took or what our splits were, we just ran. It felt amazing.

I’ve picked my Garmin back up several times since then, but I’ve maintained the same kind of feeling. I don’t know if it’s the new shoes (though those are amazing too, enough I may buy a new pair to horde this weekend because East Bay has a sale), or something else, but I’m a different runner.

So I’m leaving my Garmin home a little more now. It sits on my desk at 100 percent charged.

And I’m adding up a higher mileage count too. Last week I ran 38.5 miles. That’s the highest number I’ve ever run in a week. It felt amazing. I logged a total of 117 miles for June, including the not-so-great marathon.

So today I’m celebrating a little. By not running. But also by knowing that I’ve had the two best running weeks I’ve had in six or seven months in recent weeks.

Jul 1

Undergoing site maintenance

I haven’t written in a couple days because I’ve been performing some very necessary site maintenance.

When I started this blog last September, my running buddy Sam was kind enough to let me “borrow” some space from her on one of her servers. I built this site from the ground up there. It’s blossomed there.

But it’s also time for me to be a big girl and move to my own hosting client. So I’ve spent the past three hours moving content and download databases to move to new server space.

I just switched out my name servers for my URL. That means the switchover should happen anywhere from two hours to 48 hours from now. I’m crossing my fingers that I figured all of this out right. We’ll see. I usually deal with content management systems in my daily life. I never, ever worry about the 15+ plus year domain my job’s site runs through.

It also means I’m blogging this one last post on the borrowed space and then copy and pasting it over to the new servers.

This means nothing for my readers (unless I take the site down), but if there are some glitches in the next couple days, that’s the reason.

And for what it’s worth, I built this site off a template. I basically “fancied” it up. When people come here, they often ask who designed my blog or who built it, etc. It was me. It’s not perfect, but it’s more than just a typical WordPress install. It’s all me.

Jun 24

A better fit

A couple weeks ago, I blogged about my second marathon slump in San Diego. There were a lot of reasons it all went bad, but one of them was shoes. Before I could even write my race recap, I went to my local Fleet Feet store. I’ve purchased my last three pairs of shoes from a great sales associate who takes her time with me, answers all my questions and understands my needs when it comes to shoes.

It was because of all this I was hoping the Saucony Hurricane 14s that I purchases earlier this year would be the new shoes for me. Instead, I realized more than 100 miles in that they weren’t. I was still getting blisters. I was in pain. I was trying to make them work.

They. Weren’t. Working.

So I went back to Fleet Feet, shoes in hand, and admitted what I had known, probably, since before the marathon: The Hurricane 14s were hurting my feet.

The sales associate shared my pain. Only weeks before, I had posted that they were totally working for me on the store’s Facebook group.

Then they weren’t.

She could see it in my thrashed feet. The shoes were making both fleet arch slightly, meaning my baby toe was pushed under my other toes and the inner side of each of my feet was being rubbed raw. My feet looked like a disaster.

I tried on three more pairs of shoes. Another pair of Sauconys. And a pair of Brooks.

Finally, another pair of Nikes.

The LunarEclipse +2.

I don’t want to say it was love at first site. It wasn’t. I had spent so much time in shoes that were consider more functional than pleasing that I’d never had a pair of “pretty” running shoes before.

These were definitely pretty.

I was worried. I think I had ever right to be after the Saucony disaster.

Then I went on my first run. No pain. No rubbing. No “breaking in.”

They fit me in a way that was comfortable, yet functional. I felt fully supported, but they weren’t bulky like my Equalon +4’s had been. The pair was also much, much lighter than any of my previous running shoes. But I was still cautious. I kept running, already putting more tan 40 miles on them and I haven’t had one issue.

I did a hot day outdoor run in them and they didn’t slip and slide. I remember at mile 3 looking at my running buddy Jennie and saying: “I’m sorry I ever cheated on Nike.”

And I am.

The LunarEclipse +2’s are stability shoes. But they are also slightly wider than the Sauconys. They also seem a tad bit longer. The biggest difference, though, is in the upper on the area near my baby toe.

The Hurricane 14s had a hard, yet flexible plastic. My Nike Equalon +4’s had a “bunion control” area. That area would expand based on my foot movement. The Sauconys wouldn’t expand. In fact, they would push my toes in. The inner side would push my feet in even more.

The new shoes, though, have a much more flexible upper.

That is the specific area in question. Even though that thin detail band goes across the area where my little toes go, it doesn’t bind them in. It lets them be much more flexible and move with greater ease.

Even better? I’ve had multiple pain free runs with these shoes. I seem to be able to go and go and go.

I’m hoping this means I found my “new” running shoes. These definitely are a better fit.

I’ve passed my Saucony’s with 100-plus miles on them, still in very good shape, to my mom. She has a job that requires her to be on her feet a lot, so they’ll likely be a good fit for her. She has much more narrow feet than I do. (I have flat little feet that don’t bother me all that much but are apparently bad for running.)

I’m considering this a costly mistake. The Sauconys were $140. The Nikes were $135.

But I’d rather trade in the shoes that were making running hard and unbearable for a pair that makes me enjoy it again. It’s made all the difference.

 

Jun 6

3 Comments

National Running Day 2012

Happy National Running Day!

I’m still recovering from the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon, but I wanted to partake in the experience so I ran two miles on the treadmill. Only two because my ankles are still ridiculously swollen. I’m sitting in bed icing the ankles right now because they are all puffy. That’s part of the reason I’m still wearing my compression sleeves three days after the fact.

But the run went well enough.

And I got nice a sweaty.

I’m still planning on writing my race report from the marathon-turned disaster. I’m just trying to let it all sink in and be a  little more OK with the whole “gone wrong” part of it.

May 21

(Not really) racing from Bay to Breakers

Last year, I ran Bay to Breakers. I really ran. I didn’t wear fun clothes or spend my time along the course just having a good time. Nope. I ran and finished in 1:25:46.

This year, I decided to not go all out. But I asked my brother to join me. And he wanted to go all out. In costume, of course. But also in running. He trained.

I ran an 18-miler the weekend before. My legs were still a little tired.

And my 28th birthday happened to be on race day this week. So this would be the second year my brother ran a race with me on or near my birthday weekend.

The day didn’t start out too well for my stomach. Instead of feeling as if I was ready to run, I rushed to the portable toilets immediately after getting to the Embarcadero. I ended up going to the bathroom twice before the start. And I still felt bad. My stomach hurt. I was getting cramps, likely from an empty stomach. But I couldn’t eat either.

I should have known it would be a bad run. But I kind of didn’t care.

In fact, I kind of figured I’d take it easy.

It was a warm morning. The tortillas were already flying.

We were already seeing naked people too. My brother made some sort of sausage-fest reference saying he’d seen enough naked nasty dudes for a lifetime, and probably more. They started counting down quicker than last year it seemed. In fact the whole thing seemed to go by more quickly in general.

At a little after 7 a.m. race officials released Corral C and we were off. I immediately felt horrible. My stomach was really turning.

Then, just like that, we he a stall. People had begun to gather along the road making it nearly impossible for racers to get through. This happened at .26 mile into the race.

It wasn’t all bad, but it was bad.

Mile 1: 11:17  — Started out strong, considering I had to stop and wait for the flow to get going again. I was likely running an 10:40 pace.

Mile 2: 12:29  —Legs are tried, uphills.

Mile 3: 14:16  — Hayes Street Hill and bathroom break. I kept thinking I was going to throw up.

Mile 4: 12:05  — Did a Gu, picked it up once over the hill and on the downhill.

Mile 5: 11:04  — Back in my normal groove, but it would be short lived. Toward the end of this mile, my legs felt better thanks to the Gu, but I was also starting to feel bad again.

Mile 6: 11:40  — Tried to hang in there, slowed a little.

Mile 7: 13:11  — Even though I had less than a mile, my stomach was cramping bad now. I kept considering stopping and slowing completely. I figured I’d walk it in. Finally picked it back up.

Mile .60: 9: 34  — Decided I needed to just be done. I just pushed it. I wanted the misery to end.

My husband got that great shot of me running it in. He complained that I wasn’t smiling. I tried to tell him the kind of misery I was in. My stomach hurt. I hadn’t fueled properly before the race. When I went for it, it was all I had at that moment.

Then it was over. It seemed quicker than last year. All around.

I crossed the finish and was handed my medal.

At the finish line, the announcer called it the “first ever” finishers’ medal. We received commemorative medals. The medals are nice and heavy, definitely a plus.

Then we had to go wait in a ridiculous line for our shirts.

The shirts were way to big. And we couldn’t trade. If we ever do this again, I won’t opt for the shirt. The disorganization at the end was amazing. Last year we had to walk past Polo Fields to get the shirts in an organized fashion. This year there was a tiny tent with a long, long line of people. I would have walked away had I not been charged so much for the shirt.

I ended up giving my tech T-shirt, a size medium, to my brother.

By the way, my brother the racer finished in an amazing fast 59:05. He did great. He was really excited about it. (Notice, he dressed as Paulie Bleeker from Juno.)

My final time was 1:31:34. Not horrible. I probably could have done better had I had felt better or ate breakfast and done the Gu beforehand.

But I don’t feel bad about it. I got to run with my little brother. And it was a fun run, even if it wasn’t a good one.

We did see lot of crazy stuff. And we made it to the breakers OK.

Then we headed away for an adventure to watch the eclipse. But that’s for another blog post.

 

May 10

Glaming up for the run

A couple months ago, on fear that the race would fill up like last year’s centennial did, I registered for the 101st Bay to Breakers run in San Francisco. I had a good time last year at it. I can’t say it was a mind blowing experience or anything, but it was a good time.

This year, it’s on my birthday.

So…I figured, party on the run? Wooo! I know how to live it up.

I invited my youngest brother to run it with me. I may have created a monster. He keeps sending me text messages telling me about how he’s running miles under six minutes. Great. He’s going to leave me in the dust. He doesn’t really “run” with me at all.

Since it’s a fun race and most people dress up, I thought this year I would to. Last year I wore regularly running clothes. This year, I’m going full out Holly Golightly.

Yep. I’m bring Audrey to race day.

The last parts of my costume came in the mail today. Everything else I had.

I’ll be wearing my Nike running skirt and a cheap Target fitness tank top as my main outfit.

Then I’ll glam it up a little.

First, I bought some inexpensive gloves at Amazon.com. They are pretty nice too. And, if it’s a little cold in San Francisco, they’ll be nice arm warmers. Win win.

I’ll also be wearing some faux pearls. They look much more white than they are pictured. It’s an H&M necklace that only cost me about $4 at the time. I tend to wear it a lot with plain shirts. I figured if something happened to it, I can easily replaced it.

And I had to buy a princess tiara. This was probably the most experience item added to my costume. It cost $15 from Amazon.com with shipping. It fits fairly snug too. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about it falling off, which I kept thinking would be a problem with this costume.

Of course, Holly Golightly needs a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers. Everyone kept saying all I needed were over-sized glasses. No. Audrey would not settle for that. I actually have owned these for more than a year too. I bought them with my first paycheck from my teaching job at a local community college. I had one of those “OMG, I can afford Ray Bans” moments and just went for it. My dad has worn Wayfarers forever.

I initially bought the glasses thinking I’d never buy another pair of glasses again. So far, I haven’t. I love them. My only worry is losing them along the race path.

I was prompted to put this all together because my brother and I just got our race packets in the mail. Last year I ran it with my friends. So I think it will be kind of nice to have some support this year too.

I’ve also found out that people can still register for Bay to Breakers, meaning it didn’t sell out like I expected it to. Last year, entry was capped at 50,000. I’m assuming that’s the case this year. But a hefty raise in fees, and charging for an adidas tech shirt, may have turned people away. I mean there are other much more organized races in San Francisco (I’m looking at you San Francisco Marathon), but this one is fun.

I don’t really have a “goal” per se. My brother wants to womp me. He will, easily. This one is meant to be fun.

I’ve literally only ran two miles this week and it was tonight. On the treadmill.

I’m running an 18-miler this weekend in Fremont, which is about an hour away in the Bay Area. There’s a huge likelihood that I could come in last if only because I’m treating it as a training run and it’s a small event. The organizers also have a half marathon course, 10K and 5K options. But I signed up specifically because after a 21-miler in Big Sur, the addition of 18 seemed like a nice pre-marathon shake out.

I’m looking forward to it, despite the weather predicting it will be hot. The run begins at 7:30 a.m. I’m hoping I’m done by 11:30 a.m. at the latest. It’s flat trail run with an out and back at the nine mile mark.

May 1

A tough training 21: Part I

Let it be known that I’m crazy sometimes. I often expect a surprising positive results when I know the situation will not dictate it. This is usually the case at work. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Therefore, sometimes, I’m insane.

Signing up for a 21-mile run along the California coast where two miles of it, near the beginning nonetheless, are straight uphill when my training consists of running small rolling hills is definitely a sign that something is very wrong with me.

“It could be fun,” I thought when signing up for the run last December. It was my “I just ran a marathon” gift to myself. Yeah, I used to buy shoes, now I sign up for other runs. I’m crafty like that.

So as the weeks rolled down and I was unable to get in my 15-mile training run preceding the event this weekend, I only started to worry slightly. It was a training run, after all. I was using it as a training run.

Except my husband came along. And we stayed overnight. Thank God too, since my wake-up was at 3 a.m. And we ate a nice dinner. It was very much like my marathon more than six months ago (wow, it’s been that long!).

So we packed up some overnight goods and headed to the Monterey Peninsula for the Big Sur 21-miler.

It was, for the most part, a nice drive. We headed through the Bay Area, on Highway 101. It was about a two hour plus drive. No stops. That’s surprising for me, since I usually have to go to the bathroom on long drives.

We headed up Highway 17 near Santa Cruz, then to Highway 1. The same Highway 1 that leads from Carmel to Big Sur, but we didn’t get that far. We stopped in Monterey where the sun was shining and it was warm.

Oh hey ocean! I’ve missed the open water so much since I left Oakland in 2007. I used to be able to see the San Francisco Bay everyday from the campus at University of California, Berkeley where I earned my masters degree in journalism.

We hit up the expo first thing once getting into town.

My husband is not like me at all when it comes to making things simple. He had to find a place to park that was free. When I was with my mom for the Big Sur Half Marathon last fall, I parked in the first garage I found. Bam. It was $6. Simple and easy. No worry about getting a ticket.

Thomas dropped me off. He went and found a free spot blocks and blocks away.

I’ve blogged about my tired little legs as of late. I didn’t want to walk those blocks. Especially if I knew I’d be running 21 miles the next day. But that’s how he is. (Also note that he is likely one of the most patient men in the world, I do appreciate that too.)

The expo was much more packed than the half was last November.

This was my one clear photo from the shirt pickup.

I went upstairs and found the single line for the 21-miler. It appears only 675 people finished it, so I understand the need for only one line. I just happened to be behind three air-head type women. I’m sorry, I usually don’t call out other people, but these chicks not only didn’t bring their bib numbers to the counter. Then they let another woman get in line with them. Then they asked why they couldn’t pick up their bus tickets right there (it was a three foot walk, seriously). Then they had to stop and take a photo right in front of me. COME ON. Get your stuff and be done.

So I got my bib after all that.

And, more importantly, my bus ticket.

I’ve never felt so much like Charlie from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

I was lucky enough to score a late boarding ticket. “Brown ticket” for “Monterey Marriott Loading.” That meant I was on one of nearly the last buses heading up the coast. Score. I could sleep in.

Little did I know I wouldn’t get to. (THANKS INSOMNIA!)

I went downstairs for my awesome Big Sur 21-miler shirt. It’s light blue, with purple writing. I love it as much as I love my Half Marathon shirt from last November.

Confession: I used to think the Big Sur shirts were so cheesy. I don’t anymore. Big Sur International Marathon has a classic sense to its designs. Nothing frilly. Nothing too fancy. Basic, yet beautiful. Always with some part of the Bixby Bridge on the marathon-style gear.

Thomas caught up to me down at the expo. I was checking out booths. I was hoping to score some new compression sleeves. No go. I didn’t even find anything else other than my race shirt saying “21-miler.” This was like the Nike Women’s Half where everything says Nike Women’s Marathon. Yeah, it’s the event name. I get it.

We did a little expo wine tasting. I even bought a bottle of $20 chardonnay with the marathon logo on it. It was a commemoration bottle. Nice.

But I found chocolate.

A very fancy, expensive chocolate store.

And I partook. Yes, yes I did.

They were expensive. I needed a disclaimer. I still have some left. I’m good at restraint. Not really, though. I ate too much today. Way too much. I promise to be better tomorrow and go back to the diet.

Then we headed to the motel. It was nice. Not too fancy. Not the Hyatt my mom and I stayed at either. Thomas, again, doesn’t like spending a lot on things. He booked one of the cheapest, albeit nicest hotels he could find. It was OK. I always bring a comfort blanket, a tip I got before the marathon, to help me sleep.

On suggestion from one of the Big Sur volunteers, we took some free appetizer coupons and headed to Fisherman’s Wharf where a bunch of marathoners, 21-milers and other event savvy types were headed.

We selected Isabella’s. Our free appetizer was fried artichokes. So good. We opted to eat outside. It wasn’t cold at all. And they were going to seat us in a corner in the actual restaurant. I didn’t really want to sit in a corner when the advertisement said: “All seats are ocean view.” Yeah, not so much.

We were greeted by a seagull who wanted to get all up in our business. He was kind of funny, so he didn’t bother us too much. Thomas even wanted to pose with the seagull. I called him “Buff.” He seemed like a combination between our dog Beau and our duck Duff, so Buff seemed appropriate.

I ordered a margarita. Between tired legs and nerves, I thought it was necessary. And I didn’t drink so much it would be detrimental to the run.

And I ordered beef. A steak. I usually order chicken. Or something lean.

But something caught my eye on the menu.

Rib Eye with a baked potato. And butternut squash risotto. Yes please.

It was delicious.

Then we walked the beach for a little bit and headed back to the hotel.

It was such a beautiful day. The wharf was close to our motel. The dinner was good. Overall, a nice night. We went back to the motel and ate the chocolate and I drank a lot of water. No Diet Coke even. Too bad that didn’t help me fall asleep.

Then I did what I typically do the night before a run.

I put everything out to make getting ready in the morning, at this point 3 a.m., easy for the next morning.

I put my head down at 9 p.m. I thought I’d fall asleep fast based on the fact that I was tired from the drive and seemed to be drowsy. I took a couple Ibuprofens because of a slight headache and laid down. Thomas watched television for a while then went and hung out in the bathroom to let me sleep. He watched Netflix in the bathroom. See, a patient man.

At 10 p.m. I looked at the clock. I still wasn’t sleeping. I tossed and turned. I took another Ibuprofen. I couldn’t sleep. Thomas crawled in bed sometime after 11 p.m. and I kept falling asleep a little, then waking up.

I must have collectively slept for two hours when I looked at my phone and noticed it said 2:52 a.m.

I’m up, I thought. Let’s do this.

And with two hours of sleep and the headache that didn’t seem to be disappearing, I started getting ready for my longest and most difficult training run ever.

 

Apr 28

Lottery luck

Sometimes I get lucky. Just plain lucky. I owe some great career moves to luck really. I have two great internships out of state because of, what I think, is luck. I have a good job because of luck. I’m lucky in a lot of ways.

Running has never been one of those fields I’m lucky in. Despite giving it everything I have,  haven’t been able to gain speed or do better than a 2:27-ish half marathon. I bust my butt and still, it’s a constant struggle.

Last year, I signed up for a group ID and registered for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco. I waited, lost sleep and kept checking my credit card statement.

I watched the Facebook page all day long. And finally, a day after they started announcing that they were selecting entries, I as notified I hadn’t won a coveted spot.

I was crushed. I couldn’t believe that the one half marathon I’d wanted to do since I started running was now off limits. I was so upset I didn’t really let reality sink in. That’s probably why, months later, I was still looking for entry. And, as I started this blog right before I ran that race, I think it’s now known that I found a way in as part of a sponsored team.

Four weeks ago, I applied to run this year’s half marathon. Yesterday, I got in. I was greeted at 6 a.m. when I woke up with an email in my inbox that said the following:

Whether it’s your first or fiftieth race, there really is no other feeling quite like standing at the starting line.

We’re so glad that in 2012, you’ll be sharing that moment with us.

That’s right, you read that correctly. You’ve officially been selected to run in the 2012 Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. Congratulations!

I’ll admit it: I did a happy dance.

Why? I love, love, love this race. I love to run in San Francisco. I love my Nikes too. I’m thrilled to be running it again. So thrilled.

But with luck also comes disappointment. On a whim, I also applied to run the New York City Marathon. Because I’m crazy? Because I really needed to off and fly 3,000-plus miles away for a marathon?

Actually it’s because after my visit to New York City last summer on vacation, I kind of fell in love with Central Park and Staten Island. (Two very different places, yes.)

I actually imagined going for a run in Central Park. But we stayed on Staten Island in a not so view friendly part of town (I did see the tip of the Bayonne Bride from my window, though). I thought it would be thrilling to run New York.

But it wasn’t to be.

Instead, after all the Wednesday fanfare and realizing that my credit card hadn’t been charged (these days a tell-tale sign of “getting in”), I knew it wasn’t happening for me.

Only today (seriously two days later) did I receive the email notifying me that I didn’t make the cut.

Well snap.

After last year’s Nike rejection, I kind of felt as if I’d been in that place before. I didn’t hurt as deep. I didn’t feel betrayed. And I shouldn’t have really.

A race is a race.

Many big races nowadays use lotteries because they are so in demand. (I wonder how many people opted NOT to sign up for the Nike event in San Francisco, though, because the company is now going a half next spring in Washington, D.C.)

To be fair, though, I’m still a little shocked I got into Nike via the lottery this year. I had planned to take quite a bit of time off from long-distance running this summer/fall and into the winter. My goal was to reclaim my diet and cut back on mileage.

Now I’ll be training into the fall.

So I’m considering doing the Big Sur Half Marathon again. I’m also considering running the California International Marathon for a second year. Wow. I never thought I’d write that sentence.

But then I’d be in a perpetual state of marathon training for more than a year. Big deal? Maybe. I’m not quite ready to take the plunge and sign up yet.

I may after I get through this weekend, though. We head to the Big Sur/Monterey area tomorrow morning for the Big Sur 21-miler on Highway 1. I’m excited, but very, very nervous. I have a nice time limit, but the hills, I hear, are kind of killer.

And I haven’t had enough outdoor running lately. Nervous. Tense. Scared. All of those things. I’ll get through this weekend before I make any huge plans for the rest of the year.

 

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