Insanity Day 1

As many of you know I set today – Monday, September 2, 2013 – as day numero uno of Insanity. I’ve been talking about it with Mr. Mimi all week: “don’t forget Insanity on Monday,” “we’re doing Insanity on Monday,” “no way you can’t sit this one out, we’re doing Insanity b****!” (I did not really call him b****, but I sure thought it).

Day 1 is what’s called the “Fit Test” which is a series of 8 separate forms of torture moves that test your cardio system to the limit! 

Here’s how Mr. Mimi and I stacked up:

SWITCH KICKS: Me – 78, Mr. Mimi – 0 (he did not keep count!)

POWER JACKS: Me – 43, Mr. Mimi – 53

POWER KNEES: Me – 80, Mr. Mimi – 73

POWER JUMPS: Me – 34, Mr. Mimi – 35

GLOBE JUMPS: Me – 26 (6.5 rotations), Mr. Mimi – 32 (8 rotations)

SUICIDE JUMPS: Me – 16, Mr. Mimi – 16

PUSH-UP JACKS: Me – 20, Mr. Mimi – 30

LOW PLANK OBLIQUE: Me – 45, Mr. Mimi 42

Not too shabby, but we were both surprised how hard the Fit Test was considering that neither one of us is starting from a sedentary lifestyle. I mean, I run 20-25 miles per week on average and he works out at least 4 times per week. BUT THIS WAS HARD! I am scared of what the actual workouts bring if this was just the FIT TEST!

I do plan on posting updates with every fit test that will include measurements and progress photos, but this weekend, being a holiday weekend, has been extremely gluttonous. The gluttony included making a vanilla bean cheesecake, having a crawfish boil (with all the traditional Cajun flair and fixins), drinking more red wine than is reasonable for one person and starting a taper for my next half marathon that is on September 14, 2013.

Little Miss Mimi and some of the crawfish we boiled up this weekend

All of this is to say that I am feeling particularly unattractive and well, chunky, right now. Maybe in two weeks after starting Insanity, getting my second half-marathon out of the way and starting to watch what I eat I will look back on my measurements and “before” pictures and be proud of how far I’ve come. It’s just that I am definitely not looking in the rear view mirror just yet (and thank GOD because my butt is probably HUGE right now!).

On another note, my 8 mile “long run” (remember I said I started my taper?) yesterday was AWESOME. I woke up around 6, laced up and hit the road by 6:40 (give or take a few minutes as my Garmin took a while to pick up a signal darnit!). I eased into the run after about a mile or so and tried to use a method I learned about from a fellow blogger Angela – “Run with the Butt.” Anyhow, I think I am getting much better at keeping a sort of leaned forward posture and my splits are definitely seeing improvements from several weeks ago: 10:29, 9:27, 8:54, 8:41, 8:56, 8:42, 9:22, 10:06 (the last mile saw a pretty big elevation gain). I also PR’d a 10k run (according to the Garmin it was 53:38). Overall a 9:20 pace for the 8 miles. I am pretty sure that is a PR for me, or at least close to it.

I am keeping my fingers, arms, toes, eyes, and whatever else that can be crossed, crossed, that Insanity will also help improve my performance.

Mimi

 

Pineapple Fried Rice and Running – A Terrible Combination

I’ve posted this before, but it is usually spot on and I think is a great motivator on days when you just don’t feel it. Today I learned that it is NOT always true. I sort of regret my workout today. I felt like crap. Really. I did. 

Today was one of those days. I’m sure we all have those days we just don’t “feel it.” I knew I HAD to get in a 5 mile run today, but I did not feel like it. At. All. Those days are rare for me. Usually I look forward to a run. Not today.

For those of you who don’t know, I am an attorney, am self-employed, a wife and a mom to 2 heathens wonderful children. They (the job, the husband and the kids) take up a lot of time. I generally run 4 days per week: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday and Sunday runs are easy peasy to get in because Mr. Mimi rocks and lets me just take off on weekend mornings while he watches the kids. Weekdays are a different story. I generally try to run in the mornings and since I am self-employed I can roll into work pretty much any time I like – but not recently.

It has been particularly busy at work the past few weeks and I have NOT been able to get my weekday runs done in the morning. When I can’t get them in the morning I usually run in the evening, after my youngest is in bed, sometime around 7:00pm. Today I really did not feel like running and I was really looking forward to relaxing so I made the brilliant STUPID decision to run immediately after eating pineapple fried rice for dinner. In the heat. On a hilly route. Did I mention this was a really stupid idea? Well it was.

About 1 mile in I was done. I started walking. I hardly ever take walk breaks on runs of 10k or less and usually don’t walk on runs longer than that unless it is a really challenging route. I threw all that out the window after that first mile and my goal was simply to finish my “run” without collapsing and throwing up pineapple, raisins and cashews all over the Oakland Hills. I am serious. That was my singular goal.

It’s definitely a lot prettier on the plate than when you upchuck it.

The 2nd mile got a little better, but not much. It was in the sun and I was pouring sweat. I started to climb a hill and walked again. I was going so slow that old people with walkers were passing me walking up the hill.

Mile 3 and 4 were BAD! I really felt like yacking. I haven’t had that stomach churning feeling on a run in a LOOOOOOONNNNGGGG time. It was no bueno. When the Garmin beeped to signal the end of mile 4 all I could think was “just get home, just get home, just get home.” I pictured Dory from Finding Nemo swimming in the ocean saying the same thing over and over. Then I started having to pee. Yes, thinking of water sometimes does that to me. When that feeling hit I picked up the pace. At the end of my 5 miles I was DONE. It took 52:10 to get those 5 miles done today. I usually get my 5 mile runs done somewhere around 42-48 minutes, so this was pretty slow for me.

I vow here and now to NOT run on a full stomach again. STUPID. STUPID. STUPID. What was I thinking? It was a trifecta of running mistakes: 1) running on a full stomach, 2) running in the heat on a full stomach and 3) running up hills in the heat on a full stomach.  So much for a good Thursday! Guess I will have to kill my 5 mile run on Saturday to make up for today! Just not right after eating of course.

-Mimi

Insanity????

Mr. Mimi bought Insanity a while back. It’s been sitting with all the other exercise DVDs (mostly Jillian Michaels) taunting me for weeks months. I haven’t gotten the courage to start it yet. I keep bugging Mr. Mimi asking him when he wants to start. See, I had planned on doing it with him. We are each other’s biggest motivators when it comes to exercise (we don’t want the other one looking better than us!). BUT, he keeps dodging the question. So, I’ve decided, here and now, that I am starting Insanity with or without him on Monday next week. There, I’ve said it. Once this is published, there is no takesies-backsies.

I plan to have Insanity be added torture a compliment to my running regimen. The thing I want out of this most is to become stronger, more lean and toned. As some of you may have gathered (from pictures) I am not as svelte as I’d like to be. Don’t get me wrong, I am not unhappy with my body. but I always feel like if I was just a little smaller, more compact that my running would be so improved. I regularly run sub 10:00/mile with most runs (except the super hilly ones) and have even run a few sub 9:00/mile 4 or 5 milers, but I’d love the 9:00/mile to be my norm. It is pretty much a given that weighing less will mean you’ll be faster. If you are carrying 5, 10, 20 or more pounds less, you’re bound to speed up. Even Runner’s World (my internet mecca) agrees and posted a chart showing the average seconds you’ll save by losing a few pounds here or there! While the time savings may not be HUGE, in the grand scheme of things, when running races and looking for PRs, even a 10 second improvement per mile is pretty significant.

So, all that being said, I am doing Inanity starting next week. I am going to report back every so often as I know that with a program as tough as that I am going to need some accountability. What better way to stay on track than to have to answer to hundreds dozens of readers?

I also know that I need to do something about the way I’ve been eating lately. I have this thing – Monday through Thursday I am supposed to eat “healthy” – no sweets, no fried foods, no high carb foods, no snacking to excess, then Friday through Sunday I am allowed to indulge. The thing is that I have taken the idea of indulging to the extreme as of late and using it as an excuse to eat pretty much whatever I want. While that may not be the worst thing, I have forgone healthy foods for crap most weekends. For example, on Sunday, I ate pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast, granola bars for lunch, yogurt for a snack (not bad, but considering it was my vice, Noosa, and 300 calories for the 8 ounce serving, it was not great), homemade fish and chips for dinner with beer then lemony brownies for dessert (and I am not talking one or two, more like four!). What’s missing??? WHOLE FOODS, FRUIT, VEGETABLES!!!! This is getting out of hand!

So, one other thing I plan to report back every so often is how I am doing on the nutrition side of things. I know that I love sweets far to much to say I will banish them to the back of the cabinet, but I do need to learn moderation.

I ate chia seed pudding for breakfast. It was fan-freaking-tastic. I loved it. A post on Facebook inspired me to try it. The post stated the following:

“ADD CHIA SEEDS TO YOUR DIET

Once soaked, chia seeds open up and absorb 10-12 times their own volume in water. It forms a gel-like substance that is 90% soluble. When expanded, it forms a wall around ingested carbohydrates, causing them to be released more gradually.

Chia seeds are excellent source of protein, calcium, boron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, iron, zinc, omega 3 and 6, essential oils, and fiber.

HEALTH BENEFITS:
– The expanded seeds make it beneficial fiber for cleaning out the gastrointestinal tract
– Regulate blood sugar level in diabetics
– Maintain bowel health and promote regularity
– Help to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol
– Give a “full” feeling that reduce cravings – ideal for weight management
– Improve neurological function and mental alertness
– High anti-oxidant content and have anti-inflammatory properties
– Keep the body hydrated with electrolytes, and feeling full for longer, providing sustained energy level for the day
– Reduce joint aches and pains

MAKE CHIA SEEDS PUDDING:
– 1 cup oatmilk (or any nutmilkof choice)
– 2 tbsp chia seeds
– 1 tbsp maple syrup or raw honey
– Sprinkle of cinnamon powder
– Fruit slices of choice

Drink plenty of water when eating chia seeds to help them move along in the digestive tract.”

Hoping that it really does fill me up and keeps me from snacking too much today!

I am running 4 miles today after the kiddies are in bed. Looking forward to that. A nice, quick 4 miles on my “usual” route (flat and fast) and then home to relax.

Xoxo,

Mimi

Friday Funnies

It’s been a few days since I blogged. I felt like I needed to blog about something, but I have got nothing interesting or even mildly amusing to blog about. This week has been rather dull.

EXCEPT – I ran my fastest mile EVER (maybe not ever, maybe I ran a faster mile in school, but I have no idea) on Tuesday. Mile 1 of a 4 mile run clocked in at 7:14. I felt like a beast! It was SWEET!

So…Fridays funnies. I love running memes like this one-too true:

Or this one-again, on point:

This one is dead on too, though I wish it weren’t (you’ve seen my race pics so you know what I’m talking about):

LOL:

Can’t forget this either (NOOOO!!!!!!):

I’ve realized I do this myself:

Again, you’ve seen my race pictures:

Happy Friday all! I have a 12 mile run on Sunday and I am super excited to get out there for my longest run since my half marathon.

Xoxo,

Mimi

Brazen Bear Creek 2013 – Race Report

I ran my first trail race yesterday. It was awesome. HARD as hell, but awesome.

The Organization:

Before getting into the specifics about the race let me just take a moment to publish a PSA about Brazen Racing. It (they?) is (are?) fantastic. From registration (Active.com), to e-mails (I have e-mailed Sam at Brazen about half a dozen times about this and other races and he has been SUPER helpful), to venues, organization on race day (and maybe early packet pick-up which I did not use) and the most wonderful spread of post-race food imaginable, Brazen kicked some major a**!

Brazen offered 3 distances for the race – 5k, 10k and half marathon. Being a noob to trail races I did not want to press my luck and decided to stick with the 10k (little did I know that was nearly as bad as “pressing my luck,” but more on that later). Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30am, left the house around 7:00am and was at the venue (Briones Regional Park) in Contra Costa County. I actually got a little lost on the way there since the park is apparently located in Martinez, but a part of Martinez that I am totally unfamiliar with. When I finally got to the park I realized that if I had just followed the driving directions provided by Brazen it would have been impossible to get lost. Duh!

The half marathon started at 8:00am, 10k at 8:15am and 5k at 8:30am. Since I was there a tad early I had time to go get my bib, shirt and goody bag then drop them off at the car. Once bad thing I would say about the location is that there were definitely not enough port-a-potties for everyone. I had to wait in line for about 10-15 minutes. There were actually a few halfers who were waiting when they announced that the half would begin momentarily and they just said screw it and left the line. I wonder if they just “communed with nature” somewhere on the course!

Shortly before 8:15am all of us 10kers lined up under the Brazen arch at the starting area. The gun went off and so did we. There were 211 of us 10k runners. There was a nice mix of people running the course. I saw an 8 year old boy and his mom running hand-in-hand, an old Chinese couple and countless grandpa looking guys along with the usual 20-50 year old crowd. A lot of people were wearing shirts from previous Brazen races so it seems to me they probably have a pretty loyal fan base.

The Course:

For the most part the race was entirely on fire trails and was out in the open (i.e. no cover, no shade, nada). Parts of the course ran through cattle grazing pastures so there was the inevitable “cow pie” on the trail. Thankfully since they are so ginormous one could easily see them coming up and dodge them.

The first mile or so was a gradual uphill and I thought to myself “I can do this all day.” I was having no problems whatsoever – except for the damn sun that was starting to creep over the tree line. Gradually the nice little incline gave way to – I kid you not – 2 miles of continuous rolling hills with more of the hills being up than down. Somewhere around the end of the 3rd mile we were handsomely rewarded for our efforts with a view that would turn atheists into believers. 

The next 2 miles were more of the same, but the majority of the hills were down rather than up. There were several downhills that were mostly through very loose dirt that was fairly powdery and hard to run in. Thank goodness I was wearing trail running shoes (Brooks Cascadia) though the majority of other runners were wearing regular old road shoes. Go figure!

The final 1.3 miles (yes – the course was 6.3 miles) were basically single track under a canopy of trees – some oaks, but mostly bay trees. The smell under the trees was to die for. I love the smell of bay leaves! The single track was lined by a lot of poison oak and was the last 1.3 miles for all 3 race distances. So, unfortunately, I did lose time the last half mile or so as there were quite a few people walking the single track and it was not like they could just step off to the side into poison oak!

The last little push to the finish line – perhaps 1/10th of a mile) was up a STEEP hill (so steep that it was partially stairs). Whoever decided it would be a good idea to end the race with that hill must have been smoking some serious stuff from Harborside (don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!). It was a killer and I have never been so exhausted at the end of a race (okay, so this was only my 4th, but it was still the hardest race I’ve ever run in).

I came across the finish line with a time of 1:10:33. I am actually shocked I finished in under 90 minutes because I seriously walked about 20-25% of the entire course. Actually the majority of people I was running near walked up the biggest of hills and some of the steep downhills too. I was relieved to not be the only one. Knowing that walking those monster hills was acceptable was probably just about the only thing that saved me from having a massive coronary around mile 2.

After the race was over I headed over to the food. Seriously, Good, Food. So much food. I had a chocolate It’s-It (have not had one of those in probably 10 years, but just as good as I remembered it!), carrot cake, red velvet cake (I love sweets!), bagels and cream cheese, oranges and coconut water. There was also PBJs, cookies, melons, other fruits, chicken, yogurts and more. And you could basically have as much as you wanted. This is HUGE to me because after you run your butt off you deserve to eat darnit! 

After I ate more than my fill of grub I headed home. I am still exhausted and my quads are pissed off for sure. I managed to eek out 10 miles this morning, but I am really looking forward to my rest day tomorrow!

Race Shirts/Bling/Goodies:

Brazen races are notoriously cheap. Seriously. I think my registration fee was like $40. The registration fee includes a cotton shirt, but you have the option of upgrading to tech fabric for like $5 more, and I did. I love the shirt!

Love this shirt!

We even got personalized bibs, which I did not know about until race morning. It was a nice surprise.

A nice surprise!

And the medal is HEAVY and awesome!

Finisher’s Medal

We also took home a goody bag full of samples. I was a happy girl.

Brazen also has volunteers take pictures of racers rather than having the expensive professional photogs out on the course. Unfortunately for me I did not see any pics of me on Brazen’s website, but no big deal. I look like crap when I run anyhow.

What did my 1:10:33 get me? I was 83/211 overall in the 10k and 8/23 for my division (F 30-34). For my first trail race I will take that and RUN!

The Final Verdict:

I will definitely do this race next year. I am looking forward to seeing if my time improves. I did not train hard enough for this race, but now that I know what the course is really like I won’t make that mistake again. As for Brazen – I have nothing but great things to say and I am looking forward to my next race with them on Thanksgiving morning.

Xoxo,

Mimi

p.s. If you’ve ever competed in a trail race I am sure you already know that the dirt will be everywhere. I mean everywhere including your mouth, hair, butt crack and in your shoes!

Be thankful you did not have to see a picture of my butt crack!

Giant Race photos – I guess race photos are supposed to be ugly!

As you may know I got suckered into buying all my pics from my first race ever and paid handsomely for them ($50 for digital download!). While they were definitely not the most flattering pictures ever taken of me, they were not terrible. Really, the only reason I bought them was because they were pictures of my first race! Come on! I had to buy them.

I assumed I would feel the same way about the pictures from my first half marathon, but no. Not even close. Absolutely not. I look like crap. Don’t believe me? They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating – so here you go. But be forewarned. I’ve been told staring directly at these pictures can turn a man into stone!

Casually running down the middle of the Embarcadero

Running out the gate (?) – at least I think that was the starting line area

Running for the finish line

Sprinting my ass off

Mid-way point under the Golden Gate Bridge

Aside from the fact that these photos are a tad bit on the blurry side (because they’re thumbnails), I look horrible! So – needless to say I am not buying these. I definitely liked the pictures my husband took of me after the race way better. Guess I’ll save my $50 for another race entry fee!

Happy Monday all!

Xoxo,

Mimi

Going “bonk”-ers

This morning I ran in my first “virtual” or “remote” race. It was the Booby Trap 5k-10k-half marathon put on by a wonderful woman named Jennifer to raise money for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk and in honor of her mom, a cancer survivor. Jennifer did an awesome job putting together a Facebook group for participants to share photos and results, plus she sent out race packets which included pink and white bibs and an awesome rose-toned medal with the pink breast cancer ribbon in the middle. From what I gather she will be organizing another virtual race next year and I would encourage everyone to check it out.

Pictures do not do this medal justice!

The distance I chose to run was a 10k. My normal training routine called for 5 miles today, but stretching it an extra 1.2 miles so I could get my race on seemed like a good idea. Generally on runs of 5 miles or less I don’t worry about pre-run nutrition and such, but anything over that I have sort of a routine before I run. I like to wake up about 30-45 minutes before my run, eat a banana, drink a cup of coffee and relax a bit.

I also have a Saturday morning family routine. I make pancakes or waffles every Saturday for the family and try to pick a new or different flavor each time. Today it was blueberry maple pancakes. I made the batter the night before (as I do each Friday) so that when I get home from my training run on Saturday morning I can get straight to work cooking breakfast.

I planned to get my 10k done in about an hour and I wanted to have breakfast on the table by 8:30am. I set my alarm for 6:15am Saturday morning, but then, to my detriment, snoozed it until 6:30am. I brushed my teeth, got dressed and pulled my hair back into a pony tail. The minute I walked into my kitchen to fire up the Keurig I heard my 14 month old son crying. Instead of having time to eat my banana and drink my coffee I tended to his needs. By the time I was able to hand him off to my husband it was already 7:00am and I needed to get out the door for my run or breakfast would be delayed (I did not want my daughter and her bestie who was sleeping over to become cranky if breakfast was late).

The boy who deprived me of my routine. Who can say no to this face?

Miles 1, 2 and 3 felt great. I was well ahead of my target pace and I knew I was going to have no trouble whatsoever finishing within an hour. My splits for the first 3 miles were 9:09, 8:51 and 8:57. Mile 4 took me around Lake Temescal (a man-made lake in the heart of north Oakland) and I slowed slightly as part of the trail was lakeside, over a dirt road with lots of rocks and tree roots. Pace for mile 4 was 9:10. By mile 5 I started to feel sort of wonky. Like I was exhausted. Coming off my loop from the lake I walked about 100 meters up a hill that I normally blast through with no problems whatsoever. That’s when I knew I was going to be victim of my first severe bonk. Mile 5 pace was 9:57.

The last 1.2 miles were horrendous. My legs literally felt like lead. It was all I could do to finish. I probably walked about 1/3 of the last mile, literally forcing myself to run at all. I haven’t felt that helpless on a run since week 1 of C25K. I contemplated calling my husband to come pick me up in the car. I contemplated calling a cab to come pick me up and drive me the last mile. Hell, I even contemplated just sitting on the curb to wait for a passing car to flag down. I felt like crap. Coming up the final hill to my house I was ready to call it a day. I practically kissed the steps leading up to my front door I was never so happy to finish a run in my life. I am not exaggerating. Mile 6 pace was 10:45 and the last 0.2 miles pace was 11:04.

In retrospect it was clearly not taking this run seriously enough and that was my problem. “eh, it’s ONLY 6.2 miles.” Yeah, right. Had I engaged in my pre-run morning ritual I am sure I would have felt much better on my run and enjoyed it as I usually do. Instead I felt like hell warmed over. Live and learn.

Flexing for the photo, but trust me I did not feel strong!

Lesson of the day: You can’t plan for everything. I think it’s really hard for most of us to plan our training with just every day crap like work, school, mealtimes, whatever…but parents have a whole other set of worries to throw into the mix. My son normally sleeps well past 7:00am and I am out the door running before he wakes up. Had I gotten up when my alarm went off at 6:15am I would have had plenty of time for my routine and time to take care of him. Instead I slept for an extra 15 minutes (did I even sleep?) and suffered as a result. Parent runners do not have the luxury of sleep!

Xoxo,

Mimi

Here we go again

This post and the pictures are not for the faint of heart. Fair warning. My feet are horrible. I may regret posting these pictures later, but I promised myself I would take a no holds barred approach to this topic.

And an apology in advance. Another post about blisters. I know, I won’t do it again.

So, as you all know I ran my first half marathon on Sunday (yay me) and felt awesome until somewhere around mile 9. I had a feeling that my “hot spots” might develop into blisters somewhere on my run so I carefully padded them with mole skin that morning. Of course the hot spots did not materialize into any blisters, but other places on my feet did.

The blisters were ginormous. One big wart-looking thing on my pinky toe and a quarter sized monster on the underside of my big toe on the other foot. I’ve already come to realize that, as long as I’m a runnin’, my feet are gonna be ugly as sin. I accept that. I’ve dealt with my fair share of black toenails, toenails that have fallen off, callouses and blisters, but the blister on the underside of my big toe has been, shall I say, a b****!?!

before and after

I parked about half a mile or so from the venue on Sunday and the entire walk to the car I felt like the blister was going to explode. First thing I did when I got home was take of my shoes and practically rip off my socks to assess the damage. Because I was in so much pain I drained my blisters. I know they say to leave them alone, let them heal, blah, blah, blah, but come on! How many of us actually listen to that nonsense?

So, after I drained them I did what any normal and sane person would do and cut the loose skin away so they could not re-fill. BIG. HUGE. FAT. MISTAKE. I have spent the better part of the last 4 days dealing with the ungodly repercussions of my terrible decision. My blisters (or the equally large craters where the blisters used to be) have been itchy, hot and painful to walk on. Because I knew I couldn’t continue to live like this until the painfully pink baby skin where the blister used to be matured, I turned to the internet for advice.

before and after

“Keep it covered.”

“Don’t put too much pressure on it.”

“Put antibacterial ointment on it.”

“Hell! Don’t baby it! Put dirt on it. Walk around barefoot on it.”

Say what???? Yes, someone actually advised putting dirt on it. So, why not? It seemed that covering it, putting creams and potions on it would only keep it in the baby pink raw stage longer. On Tuesday I took off the bandaids and walked around barefoot (in my house of course). I even went for a run on Tuesday. I have been doing whatever I can to beat up those blister spots as much as possible over the past 48 hours and guess what? It worked! While the blisters still look like crap, they feel WAY better – so good that I am not the least bit worried I’ll be uncomfortable on my 5 miler tonight.

So, a word to the wise – don’t pop, pick or peel a blister unless you absolutely have too. And if you just cannot help yourself, beat them up a bit if you do. Next time I’m using BodyGlide on my feet. Lots of runners swear by it.

Xoxo,

Mimi

My First Half Marathon and the Giant Race Recap

I did it! I conquered my first half marathon…and you know what? It was relatively painless. Dare I say a piece of cake? Sure I probably did not all out the entire time I was running, but I ran the entire thing and finished in 2:08:37. While I told the world my goal was simply to finish, I actually had my own private goal of finishing in under 2:10:00. So, needless to say, when I finished with nearly 90 seconds to spare – I was elated! I cannot wait to run my next race.

Pre-race photo op in front of the park

The 2013 Giant Race was held on Sunday, August 4 this year. The 10k and half marathon were slated to start at 7am. Though I could not sleep until close to 11pm the night before (pre-race nerves) I set my alarm for 4:30am. I got all my gear out (bra, running skort, shirt, headband, sunglasses, yurbuds, tuneband…you get the picture) for the next morning.

When that alarm went off damn was I tired. I peeled the covers off myself and as soon as my bare feet hit the cold hardwood floor I was jolted awake. I planned on getting out the door by 5:45am. I was able to get ready, piddle around, drink coffee, go to the bathroom and be out the door by 5:50am. Not too bad.

When I left my house in the Oakland hills it was still dark outside. The great thing about racing that early is there was zero traffic and I was at AT&T Ballpark (home of your San Francisco Giants) by 6:15am. I parked in one of the lots down on Embarcadero about 1/2 a mile walk from the stadium. I didn’t want to deal with the traffic that I knew would unfurl as you got closer to the starting line.

It was still fairly dark as I got out of my car and it was COLD! 55 degress and overcast. I knew that kind of weather would make me a happy racer, but the walk to the start line and subsequent half hour (more like 45 minute) wait were miserable. I was freezing! I later found myself standing a little too close to strangers (and I am big on needing my personal space) just so I could benefit from their body heat.

Finish Line was on the field!

This was only my third race (second if I toss out Run or Dye, which, for all intents and purposes, was more like a rock concert than a race) and the biggest field of racers I have encountered by far. I have no idea the actual number of people starting at 7am, but I’d have to guess at least 10,000 (If someone has actual stats please let me know). When I registered for this race in March I had never run more than 3 or 4 miles at a time and had no freaking idea how long it would take me to run 13.1 miles. So when asked my expected finish time I guessed about 3 hours. That put me in the corral with the 11+ minutes per mile run/walkers – i.e. back of the pack.

When the gun went off it literally took me 11 minutes to cross the starting line. Those were some of the longest  minutes of my life (trumped only by the 15 painful minutes it took for me to give birth to my son – but that’s a story for a different blog). Finally, I crossed the start line and I was off! Well, sorta. I mean, I was stuck behind 10,000 other people. It was CROWDED!

For the first 3 miles of the course the 10kers and HMers shared the road = CONGESTION! I spent the better part of those first 3 miles not only weaving in an out of “traffic” to get in front of the HMers that started before me (darn I should have estimated my finishing time way better), but also the 10kers who were walking or wogging. I have the same complaint this time around that I did at the Live Ultimate Quarter Marathon – popular races seem to bring out those who are not familiar with the etiquette of running  (i.e. don’t run in rows with your besties, don’t run in the middle of the road and come to a complete stop without warning, faster traffic to the left, slower traffic to the right, etc..), but I sort of expected it and reigned myself in those first few miles…last thing I needed was road rage (is it road rage if you are running, not driving???).

About a mile in I saw the first casualty of the race. For the first time in my running life (as short as it has been) I actually saw someone bite it. Part of me wanted to stop and help, but it looked like she was running with friends as 3 others stopped and helped her. I hope she was okay.

For the first few miles the course was along the Embarcadero, past the Bay Bridge (under it really), Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. Around mile 3 we turned up Hyde Street (and a modest hill), turned again at Beach Street, then at North Point, Van Ness and finally ended up on Bay Street which we followed along until we hit Chrissy Field. From there we ran up to the turn around right by the Golden Gate Bridge.

After the mid-way point we encountered some gravel/sand for probably about 1-1.5 miles. I always find running on the finely crushed gravel sort of strange. I almost feel like my feet are going to slip out from under me and I really watch my footing. I am sure I lost some time, but I’d rather finish a minute later than bite it in front of 5,000 other HMers.

Romo Bobblehead

Then we got to the ugly hill. I call it an ugly hill, but in all honesty it was no big deal compared to the hills I regularly run close to home on my training runs. The ugly hill was the climb from Marina Boulevard up and through Fort Mason. The climb is short, but fairly steep initially, then levels off. I saw so many people start off gunning it up the hill then falter and walk towards the crest of the hill. I kept my strides short and leaned forward slightly. I conquered the hill and blasted it down the other side towards Aquatic Park. I have learned that I just let gravity pull me down those big hills. I am sure I made up whatever time I lost running in the gravel a few miles back.

It was right about the time I made it to the bottom of that hill (somewhere around mile 9) that I noticed the unmistakable burn of  blisters on my feet. BOTH FEET. I could tell they were going to be particularly nasty ones, but I ignored them and kept going (I even made the conscious decision to ignore any moisture if they indeed ruptured).

Finisher’s medals – the HM is on the right.

The final 3.5 miles took us back down the Embarcadero, past Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 and under the Bay Bridge. As I approached mile 12 I called my husband to make sure he and our kids were at the finish line waiting for me  as he had to schlep it from Oakland with my daughter (age 5 who participated in the kids’ race at 12:30 that day – see below) and my son (13 months) via BART to Embarcadero Station (the a roughly 1 mile walk from there) all without a stroller (which would have been a pain in the a** to bring though the park). I have so much love for that man! He knew he had to be there to see me finish my first half marathon and he made it happen. Thanks Honey!!!!

With less than half a mile left AT&T Park was clearly in sight. We veered off to the left from our original starting point (which was in front of the park) and ran around the back side of the park abutting the Bay. When we made the final big right turn into the outfield I saw the finish line maybe 50 feet ahead and I put it all out there, broke into a full on sprint and finished with my arms above my head. I had honestly never been so proud of myself in my entire life (this includes passing the Bar Exam on the first try and giving birth to two children). It was pretty incredible.

I looked around for my hubs and kids for a few minutes until we were able to connect by left field. I grabbed both kids and pulled them onto the field with me for some post-race pictures. My daughter kept asking me when she was going to be able to race and whined about how she wanted a sparkly medal like mine. Who can blame her? It is some serious bling. AND HEAVY!

Me and the kids on the outside and me and my shiny new finisher’s medal in the middle

After enjoying some time with the family I had to get out of there and go find the place to get my race shirt and bobblehead doll. I had my bib mailed to me, so unfortunately I had to pick up these items on race day. I walked through the post-race snack aisle and was pretty disappointed with not only the selection of snacks (yogurt, bananas and potato chips????), but with how sheisty they were with the goodies. Shame on you Safeway.

My son, Paxton, waiting for his momma to finish her race

Getting my shirt and bobblehead was no better. I will say that the experience was frustrating, protracted and so unorganized that I will NEVER, EVER, EVER skip out on the pre-race expo for the Giant Race again. Lesson learned (in brief I got about half a dozen different answers from race workers when I asked where I had to pick up my swag, waited in line for no less than 30 minutes once I found the line, and to top it off – lost one of the covers to my yurbuds).

By the time I got my shirt and bobblehead it was about 10:30am. I went back inside and the fam and I wandered around the stadium, grabbed some grub (two words – GARLIC FRIES) and waited for the kids’ race to start at 12:30pm. My daughter had to run one “Giant lap” around the field (older kids ran 2 or 3) and she was rewarded with a medal for her efforts (I really wish they had made the medal out of metal – it was a rubbery plastic and my daughter was none too impressed with it, but I was able to sell her on how cool it was after a little bit). She loved racing and we are already planning more events where we can both race. She is going to be a bling junkie like her mom.

My daughter, Peyton, enjoying the day which culminated with her race!

We finally ended up leaving AT&T close to 2:00pm. It was a fantastic day and, besides the cluster f*** at the shirt pick-up (which I can definitely avoid next year) it was flawless. I had a great time and will most definitely race again next year.

So…my results?

I finished at 2:08:37. My pace was 9:49 per mile. I placed 2636/5569 overall (which was based on GUN time and I did not cross the start line until 10:54), 1201 out of 2839 women (which looks to also be based on gun time rather than chip time) and 229/706 for my division. I ran the first half of the race in 1:05:27 and second half in 1:03:10. I also made the decision to run without my GPS. I will probably do it again on my next race where I don’t care about PRing. It was pretty awesome just running for the sake of running and not worrying about pace.

AND in case anyone was curious, I have heard some negative things about the aid stations (phantom aid stations, aid stations running out of water, etc…), but I had absolutely no issues. I stopped for water 3 times and besides the throng of runners deciding to come to a DEAD stop the aid stations were organized well, fully stocked and staffed and appropriately spaced on the route. While I did not use the port-a-potties along the route (only at the start line) it seemed like they were plentiful and the lines moved pretty quick.

I did end up having two fairly big blisters – one on the toe next to my pinkie toe on the left foot and one HUGE quarter sized blister on the underside of the big toe on my right foot. Though I am in a minor amount of pain? discomfort? today I ran 3 miles and PRd it so I’d say I’m doing a-okay.

Xoxo,

Mimi

In the Home Stretch

My first half marathon is on Sunday….just 4 days from now I will be putting up my first 13.1. The thought is exciting, nerve wracking and scary all at the same time. I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. I don’t really understand why especially since I have done 2 rather long training runs (a 13 miler and 12.5 miler a few weeks back) so I know I will be able to do the 13.1. Without breaking a sweat? Not likely. Without some pain? Not likely. BUT without having to be dragged across the finish line? Yes! Definitely.

As the day closes in I am also dealing with feeling a little….I don’t know….sad. Sad that the training is over (for now). Sad that my runs the past two weeks have been so short (tapering). Sad that I will never ever ever run my first half again. It’s a little surreal (that word is SO overused, but appropriate in this case) to think that the past 4.5 months will culminate with my first half in less than a week. I know that no other race (except maybe a full) will feel as monumental as this one. This is a HUGE milestone for me. And like all good things…the training leading up to my first half will surely come to an end.

I haven’t been really motivated to write much the past few weeks. I am sure a lot of that has to do with knowing I am almost there. All things considered I feel pretty good physically, but mentally I am just a bag of emotions. Emotions + work commitments + family commitments = blah. Hopefully once this race is over and done with I will be able to sort through everything and get myself right.

This post is intentionally short and simple. I just wanted anyone out there reading to know that you are not alone in feeling ambivalent about a milestone. Whether it’s 5k, 10k, 13.1, 26.2 or beyond.

Xoxo,

Mimi