Lululemon SeaWheeze 13.1 Vancouver/Whister adventures

So my big and most exciting trip this year was traveling to Vancouver to run in the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon. Registration was an experience all in itself, as it sells out fairly quickly. Me, Brian and our friends Aixa, Allen, Herb, and Cheri were lucky enough to all get into the race! 

Vancouver from our hotel room

Fast forward to August 2015 and we were off to Vancouver! I've never been there before and I had such a fun time exploring the  city and going to Whistler for a day trip. I would highly  recommend visiting these two cities to anyone who has ever  thought about going. There is so much to do and see. I definitely  plan to go back and do more exploring there. Apparently they  were having a heatwave with their temps of 80 degrees. We    laughed at all the locals and said that we would take their  heatwave any day!

Exploring Whistler

Zip lining Whistler!

After about 2 hours of waiting
we finally made it into the
convention center - to wait
some more!

Friday morning came and Cheri, Aixa, and I got to experience the 

madness of the Lululemon expo. Ironman expo lines have nothing on this. I guess with 10,000 runners the lines are going to be longer, and the girls there definitely had a plan to make sure they got the gear they wanted. If I do this race again, I most likely will be skipping this part of the experience. Not that I'm not happy with the gear I did pick up, but there was a lot of standing the day before the race and we had to miss the yoga that was being held because we were hungry and tired and didn't care about yoga at that time.

Ready to run!

Race morning came and, just in time, so did a cool front. We woke up to cloudy skies and breezy weather. We grabbed a taxi for a quick ride down to the race start and after checking in our gear we found our place in the corrals and before you knew it "Oh Canada" was playing and then we were off!

All the happy finishers!

I quickly fell back from Brian and Aixa and settled into my own rhythm. Running through the downtown area was neat and there were tons of spectators lining the roads cheering us on. The crowd support was awesome all along the run course. There never seemed to be an empty spot along the road as far as I can remember. Pretty soon I was running through Stanley Park and along the sea wall and I was blown away by the gorgeous views. It was so pretty and I was so happy to be running there it made it easy to ignore the fact that I was running 13.1 miles. When I hit the 10 mile mark and started to make some calculations in my head I realized that I was on pace to go sub 2 hours. I made sure to keep my pace steady and hunkered down to ignore the pain and go for it. I ended up crossing the finish line in 1:54 and change - a 4 minute PR!!! This was not something I was expecting and it made this trip even more unbelievable for me. 

Afterwards we grabbed some food and went back to the hotel to clean up and relax before heading out to the Sunset Yoga Festival and Concert in Stanley Park. We got there and Aixa and I finally got to do some of the group yoga. That was a lot of fun doing yoga in the park with 1,000's of other people. Then the music started and we just relaxed and hung out listening to the music and enjoying the wonderful weather. The clouds from early had cleared up and the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. 

  

    

This is definitely a great racecation and one that I would love to do again!

  

Marble Falls Tri....only a few months late

After Cap-Tex I got serious with my training and started a coached plan again. I decided to try something new and Brandi Shipman was nice enough to agree to coach me. I just needed to give myself a fresh perspective on training. I think I fell into a rut and I needed to make it fresh and new again. I've dedicated myself to the training and it seems to be paying off.

Pre-race shenanigans!

Come July and it's time for Marble Falls Sprlympic race - not quite a sprint but not a full Olympic race either. Kris did this race too so that made race day super fun to be able to hang before and after and chase on the course.

Right off the bat I noticed a huge difference in how I felt when I started the bike. I've actually been doing my swim workouts and on race day it showed. I felt fresh getting on my bike instead of totally exhausted from the swim. I had a decent swim and felt I had a decent bike. I still need to work on those hills, but it's coming along. As I got off the bike and headed for the run I felt good. My legs were turning over and I had a good pace going. The miles just seemed to tick by and before I knew it I was climbing up the short hill towards the finish line!

                               

Coming back in from the bike!                               

Heading out on the run!

I had a super fun time and improved my time by I think 12 or 13 minutes from the last time I did this race and got 2nd in my AG!

CapTex Duathlon

Well as the title implies, my first triathlon of the season got turned into a duathlon because of heavy rains we have been having in the area. My thoughts go out to all those affected by the flooding and damaging storms that have been coming through the area.

Not swimming in that water!

Suffice it to say, there was a lot going on news wise this Memorial Day weekend so when Sunday came around and they announced at packet pickup that the swim had been cancelled I was not surprised. Lady Bird Lake was flowing with tons of debris and who knows what else that turned the waters into a muddy looking cesspool (more so than usual). I was bummed for my friends who had signed up to do the relay, as their superstar swim ringer (Linda) was not going to be able to swim. But she still came up and cheered everyone on and was a great sport out there. Thanks Linda!!

Packet pickup superstars. We made the CapTex FB page!

Having it changed to a time-trial bike format with a 10k run made me kinda excited to see how hard I could push on the bike and run. During my training my legs always feel like lead weights when I tried to run off the bike, so I was nervous about going hard on the bike and still trying to have a good run. My age group was one of the very last to go for the Olympic wave so the waiting seemed to take forever. I actually probably got on the bike around the same time I would have if we would have swam but it was a slow process getting out of the gate.

I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly the time trial start on the bike was. They spaced us out 5 seconds apart and the way out of the parking lot was super clear with none of the congestion I had been worried about. Once out on the course it was smooth sailing. I really liked the new route they used this year as it eliminated the short, steep hill around the Capitol. The course is four loops and I got up as fast as 19.8 mph on my first loop and was back down to 19.3 at the turnaround to start my second loop. I told myself that I needed to stay in the 19's for the rest of bike....and I was able to do it! According to the official results I average 19.93 for the 24.8 mile course - one of my fastest bike splits.

Oh the cramps!

I had opted to run with my package of Clif Shot Blocs in my hand the night before and take one bloc every mile instead of drinking the Gatorade at the water stations. This was a decision that turned out to save me during the race. I was extremely happy by how quickly my run legs came to me. I didn't have any of that "dead weight" feeling that I had while I was training. This was a huge motivating factor for me! I took a bloc immediately as I started the run and just grabbed some water to sip and pour on me at the first water station. As I came up to the second water station I took another bloc and grabbed some more water. Things seemed to be going smoothly. I liked the new run course too as it ran us around the front of the Palmer Center and over the bridge and back again as opposed to running around downtown for a block or so. The cloud cover was holding so not having the sun beating down on me was super nice. Then as I was heading out for my second loop I passed the water station but didn't take a bloc. I was feeling good and just wanted to keep up my pace. As I turned to left to start to make my way up the one "hill" that's on the race course both my quads above my knees started cramping. I refused to stop running and tried to adjust my stride to see if I could loosen the cramps up. I got up the hill and they still hadn't subsided. I quickly downed two blocs and almost immediately I felt relief. My electrolytes must be messed up! I had two left with 3 miles to go. I had to use them wisely. Finally my watched beeped and I only had 2 miles to go. I took another one and the cramps stayed away. My quads were hurting from the cramps but it was manageable. My friend Karen had caught up to me and we ran together for a little bit. She gave me some encouraging words and I told her to stay on my heels (which she did!) and as I passed mile 5 I took my last block and hunkered down to see what I had left in the tank to finish. As I ran
out over the bridge for the last time and hit the turn around my cramps came back over my quads and also down along the front of my left shin. I was wobbling around on my legs refusing to slow down. The finish line was just around the corner!! I hung on and finished the run in 55:51, taking 2 minutes off my previous CapTex run time.

After learning that the swim had been cancelled I set a goal of 2:15 for myself to finish the bike and run. I ended up finishing in 2:12:29, exceeding my goal by almost 3 minutes. It was so much fun seeing all my friends out on the course and on the sidelines cheering. Everyone's support is so appreciated and I'm thankful for it. So even though it wasn't officially a triathlon, I'm super happy with my first race of the season and can't wait to tackle the next one.

                      
         

4 outta 5

Well, April was supposed to be my 5th half marathon in 5 months But back in the beginning of April my wisdom teeth decided to start "moving" again causing me to be 37 years old and "teething". Ugh - so not fun. Trust me, I now have complete sympathy for babies going through teething. It sucks! After my dentist visit we set up an appointment to have my two right wisdom teeth removed the Thursday before the race. Lots of people I spoke too said not to worry about the removal, I'd be fine, and maybe even be able to run my half. 

Long story short - ended up not being able to run the half but I was able to drop down to the 5k race and had a blast pushing myself on a tough little course!

Started at the front of the pack and quickly fell into a rhythm. With the adrenaline pumping through my veins I didn't even feel my aching jaw so that was a plus for about 30 mins or so. It was an out-and-back course so I was able to start counting the females in front of me once they hit the turnaround. I counted 10 when I got to the turnaround and passed one to move into 9th as she stopped to drink water. Then I caught up to another one and passed her to move into 8th. I heard her stay on my heels after I passed her and just kept pushing the pace hoping she would fall back. Then we hit an uphill section and I picked up my cadence and did quick short strides to pump up the hill and when I hit the downhill stretched out my stride to make the most of the downhill instead of enjoying the recovery. I didn't hear her breathing behind me anymore but didn't let up fearing she was still with me biding her time. Finally got to a section that allowed me to see the runners behind me and I saw that she had fallen a good enough distance off me. This was a relief but also spurred me on to keep pushing it a little bit further so I didn't get passed at the finish line.

Since I hadn't been planning to run when I left the house in the morning I didn't bring my Garmin and didn't think to carry my phone with me to record my run. I knew from the hills and from how my legs and breathing were that I would be under 30 mins but didn't know by how much. I was thinking somewhere between 28 and 29 mins. As I hit the last turn before the finish line I figured it would be 29 minutes. Finally, the last turn to the finish I picked up the pace and hoped the girl from behind me didn't suddenly appear. Sure enough 29:10! Crossed the finish line light-headed and feeling like I had run a half. Since this was a smaller running race the age groups were broken down into 10 year increments. I looked at all the females around me who had already finished and thought I might have a chance to place. I kept my fingers crossed....and came away with a 2nd place AG finish!!

What started out as a day feeling bummed about not being able to run my half turned into a fun, spur of the moment race! I must say that the Texas Wine Series and Carrera Races put on a great race with a great venue. We got nice finisher medals (even the 5k), a wine glass, a t-shirt, and yummy, delicious food from La Madeline, which I wish I was able to enjoy more of but couldn't (boo hoo). IAAP had the race results up in a jiffy and were on the ball about time corrections. Definitely a race series to keep in consideration. Plus a legit race course! 

Plus I have to give a huge shout-out to Brian, who won the Overall Masters Half Marathon race with a time of 1:45 on a super tough, hilly course! Way to go my love! So super proud of you!!

:28 seconds...

The Alamo 13.1 half marathon would be my 4th half marathon in 4 months. When I first signed up for it, I was leery of the timing because it falls on the first weekend of March Madness. If you don't know me, you may not know that I have an almost unhealthy obsession with college basketball in the month of March. This is when college basketball holds its national championships and from Thursday-Sunday of that first weekend there are basketball games on from 11 am in the morning to 11 pm (or later) at night. And I have to watch as many as possible. I schedule days off from work so I can stay home and watch them on opening day. 

But I reasoned with myself that I could run a half marathon in the morning and be home in time for the tip-off of the first game. No socializing at the end of this race - Just get in, get it done, and get out. My partner in crime, Aixa, was a great friend and picked up my packet for me so I wouldn't have to leave the house and miss a game. Again, many thanks to you!!

This was my first time doing this race and it was a decent race. There were some sections of the course that had lots of turns and it takes you down on the Riverwalk so it's pretty scenic for the out of towners doing the race but, at the same time, these turns and tight corners made it hard to get around people and possibly slowed my pace just a bit. The section through Brackenridge park and Incarnate Word was nice. I got to see some sections that I hadn't seen before so that was neat. So, while not my favorite course, I would still recommend it to someone if they wanted to do it. 

                       

I didn't really have any time goals for this race, except maybe see if I could maybe go under 2 hrs. As the time and miles ticked off my calculations had me coming in around 2:02 or 2:03. For how tired I was for staying up so late the night before I decided to just settle for that and I backed off my pace just a bit. Why I decided to do this, I'm not sure. Just goes to show that my head and heart weren't really in this race. After I finished and looked at my Garmin I wanted to scream. My time showed 2:00:28. No way!! Only :28 seconds away from going under 2 hrs when I totally had it in me to push a little harder than I had!!! 

The rain we had the day before the race caused one section to be a mud bath!

My big lesson here was to never give up in a race!! I'm dying knowing that I left those :28 seconds out there and that the next time I run I will not pull myself back. I will go for it with everything I have so I don't have to see those :28 seconds mocking me!!

Alamo RunFest 13.1 recap

So, as we were driving up to the 3M packet pickup Aixa and I started looking for another race to do in February. We were having fun running halves and decided to try to do one a month! We found the RunFest website and it fell on a weekend that worked, so we signed up!

A few of the lures of this race was that it was local (yay!), we got to run through Ft. Sam Houston (super cool), the finish was in the Alamodome, and HEB was a sponsor of the race and planned to hand out Mootipia chocolate milk at the finish line! I loved the size of this race. It's not too crowded so parking was a breeze race morning and you could get in and out of the port o' potties with no problem. 

Before the race we ran into our friend, Q, who had signed up for the race on the spur of the moment and it was fun to hang with her beforehand and chitchat and hear about all her running adventures. 

I can say that I honestly loved this run course. It was mostly flat with a some small inclines here and there. Running into Ft. Sam was super cool. There was a band playing and the soldiers were out cheering for the runners. Seeing them cheering us on was so motivational. I felt like telling them that they didn't need to cheer for me. They are the ones fighting for our country, I should be cheering for them. Thank you for your service!

We ran a little over 5 miles on the base and it was neat to see the inside of it. Around mile 6 or 7 I started to feel myself slow down a bit and struggled to keep up with the girl I had been pacing behind in my sights. Around mile 8 the 2 hr pace group passed me. I was determined to not let them get too far ahead of me. According to my watch I was close to being on target for a sub 2 hr race and I thought that they might be a little ahead of schedule so I tried not to panic too much. 

As we left the base we had about 3 miles left to the finish and I saw that I was closing the gap with the 2 hr pace group. I kept up a steady pace and caught them with 2 miles left. The dome was in sight! I debated staying with them briefly before I realized that I was feeling good and decided to push myself. I have a little motto that I say to myself on each run when I hit the 2 miles left mark:  "2 miles left. You can do anything for two miles. Well, except walk on your hands, but you're not doing that." I don't know where that came from, but it stuck, and now I say it everytime. 

I got confused for a bit when I noticed some runners ahead of me taking a turnaround. I had actually studied the map of this run course and didn't remember there being another turnaround after Ft. Sam. As I approached it, I realized it was the 5k or 10k runners and I was so happy to realize I didn't have to take that turnaround. The only problem now was having to weave my way through the crowed streets. It was easy for me to fall in behind a slower runner and let my pace drop. I think I did a good job of not doing that and passing them as quickly as I could. I knew those 2 hr peeps were right behind me. Finally, the last turn to the dome came into view and I knew it was a little incline on the access road and just dropped my head and ran. I looked at my watch and saw 1:57 and knew that I would make the last few feet in under 2 hrs!! 

I ran into the dome and crossed the finish line in 1:58:17 - only 6 seconds slower than my half the previous month. I consider this race my official "PR" race because it's on a course that is not known to be a downhill race and to me felt like a legit course. It was so nice to finally break that 2:01 mark! I definitely recommend this race and plan on doing it again next year!

3M Half Marathon 2015

MAJOR DISCLAIMER!!!! IF YOU DON'T LIKE GROSS PICTURES OF FEET, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN TO THE END OF THIS POST. THE LAST PICTURE IS TERRIFYING!!!!


I was super excited to do this race again, as it boasts a mostly "downhill" elevation for the majority of the course. This has been my best race so far when in 2014 I ran it in 1:51. I call it my "assisted" PR race.

We started out with a big group of us going to do this race but with an assortment of reasons, it ended up just being me and Brian and the A-team racing on Sunday. Always fun to race with the A-Team!

We went up Saturday for a short run around the lake and then hit up packet pickup. I had planned to run but woke up Friday and Saturday morning with some congestion I wasn't sure was allergies or the beginning of a cold so I decided to just save it for the race.

Pre-race meal at Torchy's - Damn good tacos indeed!

"Super Star!" fun at packet pickup

Race morning came and we met at 5 am and carpooled up to Austin Sunday morning. This was Aixa's birthday, so she had a birthday brunch planned back in San Antonio giving me extra incentive to Run Fast!!

I enjoyed this race even though I didn't have the run I wanted. I was still able to stay under 2 hrs with a 1:58:11. I held on with all had to hang on to it, so I'm proud of myself for doing that. A couple major missteps happened in the morning when I was getting ready to leave. I realized I didn't have any nutrition to take with me and ended up only with one GU that I took before the race started. I figured there would be nutrition on the course. There was, but not until mile 6 and by then I could myself fading. I was drinking the Gatorade on the course but it wasn't enough.

I was so happy to finish under 2 hrs at this race. Even though the course helps you out, you still gotta put in the training to get you where you want to be. Lesson learned 3M, lesson learned.

A & L Team!!

Obligatory finisher pic with the Capitol in the background

POST RACE B-DAY BRUNCHY GROUP PHOTO

This was my first race in my new shoes. I had done training runs in them before and hadn't had any problems with them. Not sure if it was a combination of the compression socks and shoes or if it was entirely the shoes, but here are my feet after the race! That was painful!

My first ever blood blisters:  Thing 1 and Thing 2

Rock n Roll 1/2 2014

This year the race was finally pushed back the December and it was so worth it. The weather was perfect and I was excited to see if I could hit my goal of going under 2 hrs. My training had been hit and miss with some really great runs and then some collosal fails and blow ups. I had been having some lingering foot pain all year that was really starting to get annoying. It was after this race that I decided to switch shoes....you'll see the result from that decision In the next blog (warning: not for the squeamish). 

Anyway, Brian and I arrived at the race and went to the planned meet up with the A-team but they were no where to be found. We figured they were out there somewhere and we'd meet up after the race. We walked up to corral 3 and we wished each luck and took off once it was our time to go. 

 

I got into a comfortable rhythm and tried to not take off too quickly. I was holding steady and around mile 4 I felt it - the slap on the butt as Aixa caught up to me. I laughed and cheered her on as she ran past and explained to the man next to me that she was my friend and it was okay for her to slap my butt. It's her thing! 

Overall I was pretty happy with this race. I had some trouble after the hills around Trinity Univeristy regaining some speed and that's where I felt I lost a lot of ground. As I got to the last 3 or 4 miles I knew that I was going to have to pick up the pace to go under 2 hrs. I tried my hardest but I sort of fell apart at miles 12 and lost some speed. I finished in 2:01 and change. It ended up a PR by seconds for a 1/2 in San Antonio so I took that as a victory. 

Brian CRUSHED his race and ran a 1:38!! He was stoked and I was stoked for him. He trained so hard for this race and I was sooo happy and proud of him! We caught up with the A-team and Anthony and Karen and Shelly and they all had great races too. Overall it turned out to be a great day and, Kris, the only one of us that stuck with the original plan and ran the full, broke the 4-hour mark and ran her first sub-4 marathon. So super stoked for her for sure!!! 

My mission after this race was to keep plugging away and get that sub-2 half marathon!

Austin 70.3...Or My First DNF...yuck

Well, I think the title explains a lot about this race, lol. I went into it like I always do, excited to be there, wearing my good luck check-in clothes, and mentally preparing myself for the day ahead. What I guess I should have done is actually check the website so I could see that the bike course had been changed this year. I had such a great race here last year that I guess I let my arrogance get the best of me. 

Race morning came and as I was hanging out with Kris and Brian waiting for my wave to start when a friend came up to talk to us and she brought up the course change. I was like, "Say what?" Oops. Okay fine. So it would be a new bike course, big deal. I've ridden plenty of courses where I didn't know where I was going. Deal with it. 

Started the swim off and knew I wasn't swimming super fast but knew I would be in my usual time frame. Grabbed my bike and took off. Okay so far so good. The first couple of roads where the same but instead of making a left to head up the hill that most people dread we turned right and headed off into no man's land. Not really, but that's what it felt like to me. I could tell that some of the roads were the same but I couldn't figure out how I had ended up on a road that I recognized without knowing how I had gotten there. I guess it shouldn't have mattered to me while I racing, but it did. 

Oh, I also decided to switch up my bike nutrition for this race. Mistake #2! I was making decent time to the halfway point on the bike and feeling okay. Not great but not horrible either. Then somewhere along the way I just deflated. I got nauseous and a little lightheaded. My speed was just decreasing and decreasing and all I wanted was to be done. I didn't even feel like running. I swore to myself that if I even made it into T2 I would rest and see how I felt before pulling off my chip. 

I limped into T2 like a beaten dog and racked my bike and laid on the ground. My head was spinning and my stomach was rumbling. I looked out at all the runners out on the course and then up to the sky where then sun was beating down and my decision was made. I was not going to gain anything from going out there and running for 2 1/2+ hours. I took off my chip walked up to an official and turned it in. I felt humiliated doing it but I had nothing to prove. Why dig myself into a hole. I wasn't in contention to win anything. Why make my Monday hurt more than it already was going to. 

So that's my first DNF. Don't worry, I promise this isn't going to become a thing for me!!

Kerrville 70.3

This turned out to be a fun weekend of spectating and racing. Fellow IW'er, Kris, was racing on Saturday so we headed out early to cheer her on. It turned out to be so much fun with me, Brian, Herb, and Aixa rooting for Kris and Trent. Kris totally rocked her AG and took home 2nd! Watching all the sprinters just got me even more pumped up for my race the next day.

Go Sprinters!

Go Kris!!

Yo

           
I recently had gotten a Retul fitting for my bike and I was nervous/excited to see how the new fit would feel. I had only been able to ride my bike maybe once before the race and I wasn't sure how adjusted to the new fit I was. I also changed out the gearing and cranks on my bike so I was really putting a lot to chance for the bike portion of this race. I think this really showed on my race splits. I averaged over 19 mph on the first loop of the bike but when I was out on the second loop it felt like all the life had been sucked out of my legs and I barely managed to roll back into town on some pretty tired legs.

Admittedly, I also was not being very good and skipping a lot of workouts. I think I was feeling a little burned out from all the IM training and I think I was more zealous about racing then actually training for the race itself.

Anyhoo, race morning came and it started off fine, but somewhere along the way, I got very angry. Not sure what happened (but I'm pretty sure it was on the bike), my normally good mood was very sour. Racing angry is not fun. It did not make me more aggressive or faster, but rather seemed to suck out any energy I did have. This was quite the learning experience as this has never happened to me before. My legs had no life. I tried to pick up my turnover and nothing was happening. This made me angrier as I could see my goal slipping away from me.

Regardless of this, I did manage to eek out a race PR if not an overall PR so I was happy with that one bright spot. I have to thank my friends who were out there cheering me even with my grumpy puss face. I did manage to finally break a smile or two after the second loop of the run. This race tends to have this effect on me. I either have a totally awesome day or I struggle a bit (a lot). Don't worry Kerrville, I'm not done with you yet!