LA Marathon: The Race

It's already Wednesday! I love this week: a three day weekend followed by a three day work week followed by another three day weekend. Hooray!
OK OK I know I left you hanging on the edges of your seat yesterday with my LA Marathon Expo teaser. Or maybe not, :) but without further ado, onto the main deal; the race!

Ahh. The race. Let's preface it by saying it's always better in hindsight, isn't it? That's clue #1.
Yesterday I wrote about the HUGE crowd at the starting line. I mean.... look at all the people! The phrase "cluster f%$k, cluster F!@k, CLUSTER F**K" kept repeating in my head. I have never run such a huge race before so this was a shocker. The gun went off to start the race but it was kind of anticlimatic..... I couldn't even see the start, we weren't moving, we didn't know what was going on.... just kind of standing there twirling our thumbs. We didn't cross the finish line until after 5 minutes! Dang. That's crowded.

Even as we stepped over the starting line, there wasn't much running happening. It was utter chaos, I tell you. Right away, people are walking 4 deep, running in huge packs, little kids, strollers, costumes, people zig zagging in and out trying to beat the crowd.... CLUSTER F**K.

One pet peeve: If you are a walker, PLEASE START NEAR THE BACK AND PLEASE DON'T WALK 4 DEEP because that seriously pisses me off.

The first mile was around the Dodger Stadium. I could NOT get a pace faster than 11 min/mile because there were just too many people. But that's OK; no need to start with a 9min pace. However, the crowd never ever thinned out for the entire 26 miles. Clue #2.

But enough with the complaining. I'm in LA, I'm here to have fun :)
I went into the race not knowing the course, not knowing the elevation profiles, not knowing anything, really. No home court advantage for me this time.

The course was interesting. Very urban. Very different from the lemon groves and "nature" feel of the Santa Barbara Marathon. Buildings, buildings everywhere. Concrete, concrete, concrete. What a big city LA is!

Immediately, what made this marathon special and memorable for me is the crowd support. Literally every single inch of the course was PACKED with supportive, enthusiastic, amazing, motivating spectators. It really touched my heart HOW many people were out supporting the runners; handing out sliced oranges, bagels, candy, water, and donuts (!!!) Thank you thank you thank you to all the supporters!

The first few miles were a complete blur; just trying to dodge the crowd and find a pace. Right before mile 8 we took a potty break, which was absolutely necessary, but ended up costing us a good 5-8 minutes. Ouch. After the potty break though.... I was unable to get my pants back up correctly. Little did I know this would be the biggest mistake of my life......

Let's jump ahead a few miles to a quick video I made of the stretch I was most looking forward to:

Rodeo Drive baby!

I'm not much of a shopper, and I most def can't afford to shop on Rodeo, but I was stoked about running down a Rodeo Drive that was shut down esp for us! It epitomizes LA glitz and glamor for me... I was really hoping to see Paris Hilton or someone! haha

Anyways, back to around mile 11. Because Mile 11 was right about the time I started wanting to quit.
Yup. quit.
I was tired! I was hurting! It was crowded! It was hilly! And there was15 miles left! Boy oh boy I was in trouble. I just focused on maintaining my form, and tried to distract myself as much as humanly possible with the sights and sounds.

There was a gnarly steep and long downhill at mile 14 which was good for my pace but awful for my knees. There was a "strip show", a band playing Eric Clapton (!), guys handing out beer and donuts (love!), cheerleaders, the Mann's Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood sign.... all sorts of things to keep me distracted.

But right around mile 15/16 is when my real problem started.
So, up until this point, my tummy was feeling really gassy and painful. Annoying, but I could live with it. And then BAM!
I really had to use the bathroom.
Big time.
Really bad.
Not for a number one or two, either.
This was more like a number ten. If you know what I mean.
OMG. Talk about discomfort. OMG. That was all I could think about.
But there was no way in hell I was gonna stop AGAIN for a porta pottie. So I decided I will hold it in. Um yeah.

Running for ten miles needing to go to the bathroom ain't fun. Running ten miles with a camera in the SpiBelt bounding on my tummy ain't fun either. Bathroom bathroom bathroom. It was all I could think about.

Around mile 19/20 is when I really started hating my life. A lot of the promotional material and a lot of the spectators and volunteers kept telling me "this is the last uphill!" "It's all downhill after mile 19!" Of course, I believed them.

What they meant was, after mile 19, it's the last uphill until the next uphill.

UGH.
Believing all the hype, I gave my last valiant effort climbing up a hill around mile 20. Only to discover 4 more miles of climbs. It was pure torture my friends, pure torture. And let's not forget I was trying to "hold it in" as well.

I took quite a few walking breaks. I passed on my SpiBelt to James. I honestly don't know How on Earth I kept going.

Oh man.

Home stretch!

Only one more block to the finish!

So tired!

The last two miles were a complete blur. Bathroom. Pain. Discomfort. I just wanted to be done already! I honestly did not care about a PR or pace or anything by this time. I just wanted to sit on the toilet. A clean one.

That's a candid shot of me right after crossing the finish line. There is anger in my eyes, can you see? haha. In hindsight, I love this pic, but in the moment, I was hating my life.
Sooooooooooooo glad to be done!

Official Time: 4:28:08

After crossing the finish, we were given mylar blankets and more food than I could handle. I made sure though, to get as much food as humanly possible. James and I took official finisher's photos, got our medals, and made our way through the crowd to the post-race party on the Santa Monica Pier.

Getting our bags back from the bag drop-off was a complete DISASTER, but after about 40 minutes, we finally got our stuff. I was slightly angry (still trying to "hold it in" at this time), slightly hungry, and more than slightly tired. BUT, the post-race party was fun; I scored a lot more freebies again :) And I found a relatively clean Porta Pottie.

Official race tee and medal

And made our way back home where I discovered I had the WORST chafing I have ever seen "down there". No details needed except HOLY SH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!T the shower hurt like hell. And then I proceeded to use the bathroom like, a bajillion times. My stomach really took a beating on this run!

Nap/movie time ensued, followed by dinner!

get in my belly!

I actually did not have as much knee pain as I was expecting. Or maybe it did hurt, but I was too distracted by my tummy issues. Who knows. All I know is this happened by Monday Night:
HUGE bruise on my left quad. WTF!???? Where did you come from? It came more than 24 hours after the race finished, on the leg without the knee pain! WTF WTF WTF. It's monstrous! It doesn't hurt too much... I guess I'll just let it be and see what happens.

PHEW. Long post. And I didn't even manage to say every thing I wanted to! I will save it for a "reflections" post.

I am recovering quite well; and already thinking of what races I want to do next! I have a few in mind :)

Marathons. I think I am developing quite a love hate relationship here :)
But hear this marathon: I'm not done with you yet!

LA Marathon: Expo and Pre Race shenanigans

Good Morning!
I am in SUCH a great mood today: I only have a three day work week this week, and I am still riding that Marathon high.

Yup! LA Marathon is done and done! Phew! More than anything, I am relieved, and for the first time in 9 months, I am going to take a break. I do have a couple of races I'm planning in the upcoming months, but capping it at HM distance. I can have my weekends back again. Yay!

I can't wait to share my LA Marathon experience with you all :)
No, I didn't get a PR (bummer...!) but that's OK! James and I had a great weekend nonetheless.

Today's post is all about the Expo and the Pre-Race shenanigans. The race post will be for tomorrow. Otherwise, it was going to be the longest post in the world :)

Alright.

Saturday: The Expo

James and I hit the road bright and early Sat morning to make the 2 hour drive to Dodger Stadium to attend the Expo.

And can I just say; the expo may have been the thing I was looking forward to the most! I've never been to Dodger Stadium before, and I've also never been to a big Expo either, so I had high hopes for this one.

We arrived around 11 am to a HUGE line of cars waiting to get to the expo. I started getting butterflies in my tummy; I was so darned excited! I couldn't WAIT to see what they had!

At Dodger Stadium, walking over to the Expo.

Despite the sheer number of attendees, I thought the Parking system at the Expo worked marvelously. We had NO issues finding a parking spot, and no difficulties finding the expo. Thanks to all the volunteers who made it possible!

I could just feel the energy in the air. There was a lot of excitement, jitters, adrenaline, hopes, and worries in the air. Gosh. It makes you so stoked to be a part of this crazy sport called the Marathon, doesn't it?

The Expo was huge!!!!! MUCH bigger than I had expected! And crowded! Holy Moly! It was like... a huge festival or something. People people everywhere. Vendors and samples galore!
I made it a personal mission to see every single vendor, and receive as many free samples as possible. Yup. I'm not embarrassed to admit it. I love me some freebies.
And this Expo did not disappoint. James and I walked away winners. We scored big :) I don't have a picture, because it's a little bit embarrassing.

Another goal for the expo was to walk away with a pair of compression socks. I have lately been having serious ankle/calf swelling issues. I blame it on my desk job. But it's actually a problem that is a huge pain in the butt for me. My ankles were pretty swollen at the Expo as well so I really wanted to try on different compression socks. I tried on a couple different brands, and decided on Recovery Sock. They felt the best on my calves, and you really couldn't beat the price: $35 for a pair of compression socks and a free pair of regular running socks! The guy helping me find my perfect pair was awesome too: he had run 6 marathons..... this month! WoW! Total inspiration.

Another highlight of the Expo was the free Kinesio Taping.
KT Tape was offering to tape people up who were dealing with pain. OMG. I was beyond stoked. Since my ankle/shins were hurting (due to pinched nerve a year ago that was causing ITB pain that was causing ankle/shin pain) I got that taped up like this:
Let me tell ya: as soon as the girl taped me up, I said "WOW! OMG I feel SO much better!"
It was fantastic. It really truly honestly felt awesome. I kept it on all day, and even slept with it. (I took if off for the actual race) I honestly think the KT Tape was a HUGE factor in reducing my pain. Thank you thank you thank you thank you KT Tape!
And this is Dean Karnazes speaking at the expo. I really like listening to him speak. One thing he said stood out to me. So much so that I made it my motto for the race:

"Celebrate the Pain."

On answering an audience question about how to deal with pain, Dean said that pain was a normal, natural, expected aspect of the race. There is no avoiding it. So expect it. Welcome it. Celebrate it. I had been freaking out about my knee all week, so his quote spoke to me. I kept telling myself "celebrate the pain" over and over again all day and throughout the race. Thanks Dean, for the inspiration and motivation!

James' highlight was visiting the Newton Running Shoes booth. I knew nothing of these shoes, so it was interesting for me too. Newton shoes are designed for optimal running form, and help you land on your mid foot. This is supposed to lessen fatigue and chances for injury, and also assists with cadence. We both tried on the shoes, and boy! what an interesting shoe! It has a really bouncy midsole. Like, really bouncy. It was a feeling I have never experienced in a shoe before. We got to try running in them a little bit; and I could tell that the shoes helped me hand on my mid foot. I can't afford a new pair of sneakers right now, but these shoes are something I would definitely want to try out.

The one and only complaint I have about the expo was the lack of vendors selling Race nutrition. There was one vendor selling GU products and one vendor selling Powerbar products. That's it. No Clif Products, no Honey Stingers, no Carb Boom! no Hammer products, no Sports Beans. Every other expo I have been to have had a myriad of race nutrition choices. Since I needed to buy some gels, I was very disappointed in the lack of choices. Oh well.

Sunday: Pre-Race

OK. Enough about the expo. I bet I am starting to bore you already :) Onto pre-race things.
3 AM wake up call. Waffles and cereal for breakfast. Coffee. The usual.

James enjoying his coffee. We stayed at my friend's house in Santa Monica.

Got dressed, got lubed up (or so I thought.... stay tuned), got ready, and left at 4:15 ish to take the shuttle from Santa Monica to the starting point at Dodger Stadium. The shuttle was only a couple of blocks away from my friend's house, and it was organized AMAZINGLY. Thanks again to all the volunteers!
We arrived at Dodger Stadium with plenty of time to spare. We walked around, ate some food, stretched, took a cat nap, you know, the usual.

At around 7:10 AM, we tried to make our way over to the starting line. "Tried to" being the key word here.
There were SO MANY PEOPLE that we could not get anywhere within sight of the starting line. So we just randomly picked a crowd of people and got "in line".
People people people people everywhere. Close to 25,000 people. Holy moly. We heard the gun go off, but we didn't cross the starting line until 5 minutes after. It was VERY crowded.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the race recap!

I am recovering pretty well; back in the office for a quick three day week, and already plotting some future races :) Thanks for your words of encouragement, and thanks for reading!
See you back here tomorrow :)

What what! It's Marathon Week!

LA MARATHON THIS SUNDAY!

as in.... 144 more hours! holy smokes! Am I ready for it....???

I haven't written about it on the blog in hopes that if I ignored it/didn't mention it, it would be a non-issue.... but my right knee has been bothering me. A lot. So much so that I had to ditch out on the 5 mile run yesterday. Not that that run was going to make or break the marathon, but.... It was the first run I ever had to completely ditch. Uh oh..... I hope 144 hours, LOTS of Aleve, Foam Rolling, yoga, and adrenaline will carry me through!

Also, are there bloggers out there running in LA who would like to meet up? I would really really be stoked to meet anyone and everyone who are gonna be out there! Drop me a line here or email me at chocolateshoestrings@gmail.com! I am very excited to hear from you!

I just looked at the Marathon Course Entertainment page, and it looks like there's gonna be some good stuff out there for us. I am particularly excited about the Taiko drummers at mile 3, seeing that I'm from Japan and all :) (Taiko image source)

There are also 4 "Block Parties" along the way; I am having a hard time envisioning what those are gonna be like, but anything with the word "party" in it has got to be good! :) And with 25 bands playing along the way.... it's a 26 mile carnival/festival/entertainment bonanza! I am giddy with excitement. As long as my knee holds up long enough.....

Besides getting pumped for the marathon, and not running (meh...) I had a fabulous, albeit extremely short (it felt like) weekend. I did my third session of Bikram Yoga (love love love love love it!) and on Sunday I did a 1600 meter swim followed by a 11mile bike ride.
The swim was glorious. I took only one super short break during the 1600 meters, and I really got in a groove. I felt like I could go on forever, which was exciting, because I've never felt that way before! It just felt natural for the first time. Hooray! Progress! I then proceeded to take advantage of the extra hour of sunlight, and took my bike out for a spin. Does a Swim-bike constitute a "Brick Workout", I wonder? Does it qualify for a "Taper"? Hmm.... both excellent questions to ponder while you read the rest of this babbling random post :)

Despite my knee being not-too-good, I'm really not anxious about this marathon. Since I've already accomplished my goal of "running every step of a marathon" last time, I don't care if I take walking breaks this time, or stop and admire the bands. If I get a PR, hey, awesome! But I'm not counting on it. I just want to experience a new course, a "big race" environment, run with James, and have a fun day. No goal paces, no goal finish times, no expectations, no pressures.

I truly am excited for this weekend. Plus, I get to eat lots of good quality carbs brownies this week :) I just have to keep reminding myself to TAPER. That's gonna be the hardest, esp since my adrenaline is pumping and the weather is gorgeous.

LA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! And let me know if you're gonna be there!

Hope you all enjoy the extra hour of sunshine! :)
(sorry about all the !!!!!s in this post. I am just sooooo excited today)
Peace

Announcing my second Marathon!

Happy glorious Friday!

Even though it is raining cats and dogs and I'm anxious about how to get my run in this weekend,
I am stoked that it's Friday! Don't you find that Fridays always feel special regardless of the weather? :)

I am postponing my regular Feature Fridays today, because I have a much more exciting piece of news to share:

James and I finally signed up for our second marathon!

And the race we're running is.....

Here's a clue: It's already listed on my side bar. It's in CA. It's my first "really big race". It's in March. It's going to be awesome.

It's the.....

LA Marathon!

We are both super excited about this race! Some of the points I'm most looking forward to:

1. Trying to beat my time from the first marathon
2. Running in Dodger Stadium! (image source)
   
3. Running on Rodeo Dr (window shop and run a marathon at the same time? Count me in!) (image source)
   
4. Out running Paris Hilton (the chances of her running are slim to none, but you never know)
5. Running a course I've never run on before
6. Running my first "big race" (More than 2,000 runners)
7. Finishing at Santa Monica and the beach party
8. Exploring a new city my favorite way.... by running!
9. Hopefully bumping into some fellow bloggers!
10. Running with my favorite partner James again :)

This year the LA Marathon is debuting their brand spanking new course, and since I've never spent a lot of time in LA (though I live only like, 2 hours away) I'm looking forward to exploring it in a much more intimate way.

My Round 2 of Marathon Training is going OK: not the best, but I'm satisfied. I already have a 16 miler and 18 miler under my belt, and will tackle a 20 and 22 miler in the weeks to come. As with the previous round of training, I think my highest mileage week will top off at around 30 miles. (pathetic I know... but it works for me) But my body feels much stronger this time around, and I have not been having debilitating knee pains or ITB pain (thanks to strength training and yoga). A little bit of pain from my pinched nerve, but thankfully nothing major.

And crikey! It's only 43 days away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I really am looking forward to meeting fellow bloggers! If I contact you to meet up; please don't think I'm a creepy stalker :)

And I'm off to do a ritualistic dance to make the rain stop :)

Have a runnerific weekend!

Oh and before you leave, check out some awesome giveaways in blogland:
Harbinger Fitness Gloves at I Run Because...I Can
Recovery Socks at Tall Mom on the Run

Nathan Handheld Bottle at Running Off at the Mouth

Feature Friday: My Dad the Triathlete

Happy Happy Friday everyone! There is no sound sweeter than 'Friday' in my opinion!

I have an exciting post today: the first installment of my 'Feature Fridays'!

The first athlete I'm featuring is none other than my own dad.

He is quite the triathlete in his own right, and finally got over his fear of swimming free style! He currently lives in Tokyo, so I don't get to see him often, but he is always sending me photos from his bike rides, races, and little running tid bits. He is even training for his first Ironman Triathlon this summer! Woah. (I actually didn't know about this until the interview! haha) It was interesting for me to find out more about his racing life, and I hope you find it interesting too!

Ten minutes with my dad Peter: ( a little background info: he's Danish, grew up mostly in upstate NY, and has been living in Japan for about 30 years now.)

Q: How long have you been racing for?

I started with my first adventure race - a one-day MTB, mountain-running, stream-walking team event up in the mountains of Nagano in 2001 and switched to more conventional triathlons in 2005.

Q: Roughly how many races have you completed?

Major sanctioned events? Let's see, about ten, the longest of which have been four half-Ironman distance triathlons.

Q: What prompted you to get into endurance events?

I got a call from a mutual friend one day in late 2000 asking if I'd be interested in joining two other guys, a young Frenchman named Fabien and an Aussie named Brodie, on their adventure racing team. Not knowing then how serious it would be, I said sure, why not. That one call changed my life. One of my best friends now is Yutaka Kojima. He recently returned from the IM championship in Kona as the 2009 world champion in his age group. Kojima-san is 74 and has the body - his doctors tell him - of a 49 year old. He is an enduring inspiration.

Q: Did you have any biking/running/swimming experience prior to your first race?

I rowed in college. That said, we were all under-prepared for our first adventure race which had several strong sponsored semi-pro teams and members of the Japanese MTB Olympic squad. We vowed to come back a year later and place in the top 20 which we did, at 19th. In that event only 1 team was able to finish during regulation time, and though we did not manage to finish, we were in 19th place out of about 75 teams when darkness fell.

Q: What has changed between your first race and now?

Ability to think about the whole race and the management of time and energy over the distance. Considerably improved ability to climb hills.

Q: You’ve competed in triathlons, mountain bike races, marathons…what is your favorite event and why?

Hard to pick one - it really depends on the location and the quality of the event organizers. Having roads blocked off, aid stations handy and not running out of supplies before the end - these things make for memorable events, that and the camaraderie of it all. Though you race against your own best time and fatigue, it is nice to have friends in the event as well.


Q: Have you ever gotten disqualified? Ever not been able to finish? How do you deal with defeat mentally?

No, but I had a tough time at the Nojiri short distance triathlon a few years ago after having injured a tendon; I wanted to quit but the local people cheering us on helped me make it to the end.

Q: Tell us about the time you breast-stroked the entire swim portion of the triathlon. What happened?

Well here's the scoop on that. I have breast-stroked all the swim courses ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 meters (let's see, a total of 6 times) because as a kid growing up in Scandinavia, that is what we learned; we were told soldiers could only swim breaststroke if they were carrying a pack and a rifle, something like that, I guess in the late fifties that was still a reasonable argument. I have only recently conquered my fear of drowning by being unable to breathe doing the free-style (known as the "crawl" in those days). Breast-stroke let's me see where I am going, and I am usually about halfway in the pack getting out, but it does tire the legs far too much compared to freestyle.

Q: You currently live in Tokyo . What is the best part about training in such a chaotic city? What do you find the most challenging about training in Tokyo?

Good question. But Tokyo is not that bad really due to the civil behavior of most drivers, and the landscape of the city, by which I mean the half dozen rivers that flow through it and have bicycle paths alongside them. I have a public pool that charges a dollar per swim, and several parks suitable for running. We do some challenging rides out to the west of the city in the direction of Mt. Fuji - and we have one 100km ride that takes us up to the top of the Yanagizawa Pass beyond which you enter the neighboring Yamanashi Prefecture. We can go through the scenic vineyard area and catch a train back or head back the way we came to Oku-Tama which has some hot-spring onsen and a more direct trainline back home.

Q: What has been your favorite racing location and why?

The best racing has been on the island of Sado (which along with Maso) is an ideal name for a challenging triathlon event out in the Sea of Japan, and on the island of Niijima in the chain of volcanic islands in the Pacific south of Tokyo. I missed going to the Zurich IM in 2008 due to an injury. My favorite riding location has been Hokkaido (in September 2009) and the bridges of Shikoku (in November 2008).

Q: What is one city you haven’t raced in that you dream of going to?

I guess Zurich is one I would like to do properly. There is the Silkeborg Triathlon in Denmark, and people say Lanzarote in the Canary Islands is supposed to be incredible.

Q: Do you have any pre-race rituals?

I try to warm up my muscles by doing a bit of a dance that might strike others as me having a bad case of the shakes. I also use the heart-rate monitor to relax as deeply as possible.

Q: Are you currently training for any upcoming events?

I have the Tokyo Marathon 2010 coming up late Feb. and the Canada IM in late August.

Q: What is the best piece of training advice you have received?

Simple: Don't go fast at the start when the mob is pulling too hard, stay to the side, pace yourself. With anywhere from 3 to 13 hours to go, you have nothing to gain. Get loose and limber and do reverse splits (ie. faster splits later on). The risk of burning out early is always real for me.

Q: What is the one piece of advice you’d like to share?

Keep it simple and never bring an untested piece of equipment to a race. We use "old-fashioned" tubular tires and rims as they are faster to remove and replace than clinchers, but that is just a personal preference. Don't splurge on carbon parts or fancy nutrition supplements. Just eat fruits, fibers, nuts, spices, and lots of vegetables, tofu, natto and as much fish as you can find.

Thanks for the interview Dad, and good luck with your training!

I hope you all have a super fantabulous amazing weekend!

Reflecting back on nine months of training

It's been 72 hours since the marathon and I am itching to get back to the gym already. The problem with this whole "running thing" is that it's highly addictive! I'm daydreaming of new marathons I want to run (cough... cough... LA...cough....cough), new training plans I could follow, new running gear I want from Santa.....

It's safe to say that the Santa Barbara Marathon will not be my last! The sore muscles will heal, and with my little vacation coming up (hello naps! hello feasting! hello lots of rest!) my knee will get better, and my insatiable appetite for hitting the road will be fulfilled.

And now indulge me, if you will, in some post-marathon reflections. It's been a long time coming. (alert, long post....)

Why did I start running and training?
I never thought I'd be a "runner." I ran a whole bunch, but never with purpose or a goal.

But back in late January/early Feb, there was a family disaster that completely threw me for a loop. It was something that shook me from the core: I felt like everything I wanted to believe about the world had been betrayed. I was feeling blue and mopey for weeks on end, feeling sad and angry at the world.

I remember the day I got the news from my mom: I went to the treadmill and it was like I could not run fast enough. I cranked that sucker up high. I wanted it to hurt. I wanted my lungs to beg for mercy. I wanted each bone rattling step to crush the anger I felt inside. Heck, I even imagined that I was stepping on the faces of all the people I was mad at with each step I took. Obviously, it wasn't a happy place to be.

On a whim, I visited a new running store in town, just to look at the merchandise, maybe get some retail therapy. (Hey, a new pair of Sauconys>Jimmy Choos for this girl)

What I walked out of that store with though, was something no new, sparkly, lightweight shoe could ever give me.

When I walked out of that store, I felt so invigorated, so challenged, so giddy; something I hadn't felt in a long time. I had found a new goal, a new purpose, a new outlet for all my feelings.

That little postcard I saw, innocently resting in a neat little stack, a measly piece of paper surely overlooked by many, brought me so much effing excitement I was like a little kid who had just been told she never had to do homework again.

The inaugural Santa Barbara Marathon?

In December?

Me?

OMG

OMFGTIC (haha, take a guess)

The idea tossed around in my head for a couple of weeks, but let me tell you. It made me so effing happy to think about it. I don't really know why. But the idea of pushing my body, testing my limits, taking out all my aggression, getting in racing shape... who knows why that was the most appealing thing to me at the time. I could easily have decided that I wanted to be a stripper or a cyclist or a sky diver or a coke head.

I started Googling races in Santa Barbara, and one of the first search results yielded the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon. 13 miles? With Wine? With lots of wine? In Solvang? You bet your ass I was as giddy as a kid who found out his uncle is Ben. From Ben and Jerry's. :)

I signed up, and as they say, the rest is history. I've been training and running non-stop since late February/early March. Three HMs, three 10Ks, one 15K, and one marathon later. Phew! And you know what? Running has saved my sanity so many times. It continues to provide me with new challneges, new goals, and new opportunities for retail therapy. It even gave me a chance to bond with James in a new way: training for a marathon together, spending countless hours on the road together, fueling, recovering and daydreaming together.... it's been a priceless experience. So glad I didn't choose to be a stripper. ha!

How did my training start?
I definitely didn't go into the whole running thing from square one. I had been running shorter distances (less than 5 miles) on a consistant basis, and I was a gym rat, so I had a pretty good base to start off with. But I had close to zilch knowledge about training.

I mean.... the first pair of shoes I started with.... I just got the cheapest one at Foot Locker! (I know, gasp!) ((It was Saucony Pro Grid Guide, which actually turned out to be pretty darned close to what I needed... haha beginner's luck!)) I was running in all cotton clothing...ick! and knew nothing about hydration/nutrition.

My first running goal was to run the HM, and I had two months to prepare. My plan was to slowly increase the time I ran (not distance) every week. Week one I headed out to see if I could run for 60 straight minutes. It hurt, but I succeeded! The second week I ran for 60 minutes and 30 seconds. Third week I ran for 61 minutes. I slowly built it up to 95 minutes before the big race day. I have no idea how I finished my first HM in exactly 2 hours: I probably drank one cup of water the entire race and ate nothing during the run!

From the moment I finished that crossing line, I knew I could tackle the big M and I started a more serious training regimen.

I spent wayyyyyy too much time at work on Runner's World while pretending to work, started the blog, bought a marathong training book, bought new shoes, and discovered Cliff Shot Blocks and water bottles. At this time, James also decided he wanted in on this whole racing thing. Yay! Score!

What did I learn about Marathon Training?

1. Have properly fitted shoes. Do some research on your own first. Maybe even get a couple of different shoe stores' opinions. Shoes can make such a HUGE difference. Don't just get the cheapest one like I did, or believe you are an overpronator cause someone told you so. Try on multiple shoes; even multiple shoes of the exact same model. Each one fits just a tad bit different.
   
   
2. Sweat whicking clothes. Nuff said.
   
   
3. Running socks. Not the stuff that's $3.99 for 6. Get the good stuff. Lessons were learned the hard way. Ouch.
   
   
4. Build up slowly. The best advice I ever read was the 10% rule. Building up my mileage was a SLLOOOOOWWWW process, as I already mentioned. But I wholeheartedly believe all my knee woes would have been greatly exasperated had I been more aggressive in my training.
   
   
5. Strength train! The first couple of runs were brutal..... on my shoulders and arms. I have a weak upper body, so my shoulders would get totally trashed. So I started a vigorous upper body strenth training routine, and this has GREATLY increased my comfort level on long runs. If you need any ideas, I've got em!
   
   
6. You will get kinky....as in kinks and knots in your muscles you never knew existed. Foam roll that shit. It's amazing. It changed my life.
   
   
7. Invest in Body Glide. I'll spare you my vag chafing stories.
   
   
8. Run on a flat surface. And no, this doesn't mean avoid hills. This means run on a road that's not slanted.
   I am a nerd, so naturally, I read all 7 pages of user reviews of the Santa Barbara Marathon. A good % of runner's commented that the slant of the road was brutal on their knees and hips. Come to think of it, on my 18 miler and my 20 miler, I complained to James about how the slant was hurting me. Come to think of it, my ITB pain only started after my 20 miler..... Coincidence? I think not! And on an article about ITB pain, it said running on slanted surfaces can cause your knee to turn inwards, causing pain. So yeah. I'm pretty sure I know the culprit of my pain. Whenever I run on a slant, I notice the pain IMMEDIATELY. So run on flat surfaces, but don't avoid hills. I like hills.
   
   
9. Run hills.
   It will make you stronger, and when you pass people on the uphill in races, you will feel so BAD ASS.
   
   
10. Carry hydration. My favorite is Coconut Water. I like the Guava Coconut Water, but plain Coconut water mixed with some Strawberry Kiwi Gatorade is also really good. Coconut water is like Nature's Sports Drink. Good stuff.
    
    
11. Clif Shot Blocks.
    LOVE. It's as good as candy.
    
    
12. Eat. :)
    
    
13. Don't forget to cross train.
    
    
14. Sleep. A lot.
    
    
15. Garmins are soooooooooooooooooo useful and fun to have. I think it was worth every penny.
    

All in all, in the 9 months I've been training, I've gotten so much stronger, both physically and mentally. Racing has taken me to Solvang, Maui and Healdsburg, three places I would never have gone had it not been for a race.

I don't plan to stop racing or running anytime soon.

My body is tired from 9 full months of non stop training, so I am going to take the month of December to fully relax and recover. This is perfect timing, because I am headed off to Japan next week! I am so excited; I have not seen my family in over a year. I know a LOT of good food is going to be involved, along with a lot of naps, a lot of strolls through the city, and a lot of good old resting. Obvisously you can't keep me away from exercise for too long, so there will definitely be a couple of gym sessions and a couple of short runs thrown in there, but I'm looking forward to giving my body some much needed R&R.

That way, I'll be good and ready to RACE into the new year!

Phew! So a long post.

I don't know if any of it is even remotely interesting, but it sure was fun to write it!

Thanks again for reading, and giving me so much encouragement and advice along the way. I know my marathon experience was so positive because of all the love I received from the blog-o-land!
Cheers!

I am a MARATHONER!

My prayers were answered!
Angels must exist or something!

Why?

I finished the Santa Barbara International Marathon, all 26.2 miles of it, and PAIN FREE!

Can I get a What, what???!!!!

I am a marathoner!

You know it's coming.....

Boo-yah! :)

Oh man. I am beyond amazed at how positive the race experience was. Short of replacing my legs with Kara Goucher's on a different, flatter course, I could not have done better. Or had more fun. Ahhhhh. so much to say. Where do I even begin? I guess you better be ready for a monster of a post!

Pre-Race: Saturday evening
I was HARD-CORE freaking out about the marathon because of my knee. (read about it here) It hurt. To combat the pain, I spent the evening with my knees elevated, with a heat pack, Aleve, and half a tube of Bengay. The house seriously smelled like hospital. It was so strong it could make your eyes water. I spent the entire day munching (diet starts Monday, right?) and watching TV.

I don't watch TV often, but boy, am I glad I did! They were playing an episode of the Biggest Loser where the contestants attempt to run a marathon after only TWO months of prep. Holy crap! This was exactly the kind of motivation I needed. I was seriously tearing up watching these people bust through the miles one step at a time. I thought, if they can do it, I can do it too! I was determined to finish this thing, no matter the pain. Pain is temporary. Quitting is forever, right?

Ate a bunch of rice and went to bed at 8.

Race-Day morning:
Up at 3:45 AM for breakfast of one banana, two waffles with syrup and greek pumpkin pie yogurt, and some coffee. I was desperately hoping the coffee would help with the pre-game dump, but no such luck. Oh well.

I also had to prepare for a possible inconvenience.
(I was scheduled to get my monthly "gift" that day)

I listened to some pump up music while James listend to "Steady as she goes". Hmm.... not quite pump up music, but has the wise message of "go steady". Hey, whatever works.

At 5:45 we walked to the starting line for the 6:30 start.

It was already crowded, and there were already HUNDREDS of people in line for the porta potties. There was no way in hell we were gonna be able to "go" before the race started. But we had the genius idea/shameless idea of walking across the street to the woods to use Nature's Porta Pottie. Problem solved :)

The race start was actually delayed 30 min due to a traffic accident on the freeway. No prob. I used the time to stretch and calm down.

At 6:45 AM, we all lined up by the starting line. The announcer was really great about telling people to line up where we belonged. IE: Fasties in the front and slowies in the back. I like what he said "be honest with yourself. If you know you're not a sub-7 minute runner, PLEASE go toward the middle/back. The people racing don't want to have to waste time dodging you."
Well said.

Can't you just smell the pre-race jitters in the air?

We lined up behind the 4:30:00 pacer. Hey, I was being honest. I didn't line up behind the baller ass 3:00:00 pacer. :) I prayed one last time for my knee to hold up.

The Race:
7:00 AM and we're off! wooo!
I've done this course so many times and I know it like the back of my hand. I know all the curves, all the little ups and downs, and all the upcoming hills. Having this "insider knowledge" was helpful. I felt calm, ready, and confident.

Yes. Confident. That was what I felt. Confident that no matter what, I would finish.

We didn't stay in the pace group for long and we pulled ahead. The weather was perfect for a run; clear and 50-something degrees. I could feel all my toes and fingers unlike in Healdsburg, and I was just kind of excited to embark on this adventure.

Even though the course was familiar, it felt very different running with hundreds of other people and running with an onslaught of adrenaline.

Surprisingly, my knee was holding up. I felt no pain. Uck yes.

Mile 3.5 I took my first Shot block, and I ate one every mile until mile 8 or so.

I don't even remember what mile this was, but this guy totally made my day:

Takes guts to be in a speedo in front of hundreds of people in 50 degree weather. Thanks dude

To be honest, most of the run was kind of a blur. I kicked up the pace miles 7-10, and took time to stretch right after the mile 10 mark.

Mile 13 we took a stretching, kissing break :) Motivation.

Mile 16 or so we passed In-N-Out. I wanted animal style fries so bad it hurt.
At mile 19 we ate some peanut butter covered pretzels. It was weird how un-hungry I was, considering I am always famished by this point. But the pretzels tasted soooooooooooo good. I had told myself that the pretzels were off limits till mile 18, and it was SUCH a motivation. I kept thinking, mmmm, 3 more miles till pretzels, 2.5 more miles till pretzels, etc etc etc. :)

James and I made it a point to HAVE FUN on the course. We stopped to high five the spectators, say thank you to the volunteers, scream and shout "MORE COWBELLS PLEASE!" and sing out loud. I had "I have a feeling tonights gonna be a good good night" stuck in my head and occasionally sang out loud.

We met a guy who lived in HI, I met a guy who lived in Tokyo once, a guy who had run 14 marathons already... it's fun making friends on the course. :) Shouting at the spectators was a way to get myself all pumped up, but it helped to pump up the spectators too. They responded to our enthusiasm, and subsequently cheered louder for the other runners. Reciprocity. That's what it's all about :)

The miles just kept passing by. I kept passing more and more people. I booked it up the hills and made everyone jealous. :) I just kept trucking along. One step closer to the end. Just keep going. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.


I knew there was a half mile BRUTAL climb somewhere between mile 23-24. I blocked it out from my thoughts as much as possible until I was actually standing at the bottom. I looked up to see most people walking it. I channeled my inner Missy Elliot, told James "We run this shit" and and ran my little heart out. Although the word run would be an overstatement. I still refused to walk!

Though the hill hurt like eff, was the most brutal torture ever, and I probably would have taken a bullet to the head to end the misery, I effing frickin ran every last step of it.

Done. All downhill from there.

I seriously focused all my energy and booked it to the finish line. I was grunting. I was grimacing. I was moaning, I was groaning. It took every last ounce of energy to NOT slow down. I wanted this thing to be over with SO BAD. I just wanted to be done, godamit!

come on come on come on! and James grabbed my hand and we ran over the finish line.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Just like that, we were marathoners.

6 months of training.

No knee pain.

No period.

Thank you angels!

We both finished in 4:17:58.
9:50 pace.
I couldn't be more proud!

As soon as I stopped running though, the pain came gushing in.
Oh the pain!
THE PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy mother of fill in the blank!

Yowza.

But I couldn't care less, honestly. I am now a bona fide marathoner! I can put that bumper sticker on my car now!

And EAT!

Our afternoon went a little something like this:

Nice.

Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much to everyone who supported me throughout my training! Thank you James for being the best training partner!

Thank you to all my readers who gave me so many pieces of advice/wisdom, and encouraged me when I was feeling defeated. You have no idea how much your spirited words helped me when I was feeling doom. I honestly, seriously, am SO GRATEFUL.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!

mwah!