Santa Barbara International Marathon!

(Let's just pretend I haven't neglected my blog for the past 2 months)

So, this weekend was the Santa Barbara International Marathon. I registered for this race back in May or June as my "Plan B", kinda like Nike Women's Marathon. The thought was that if I didn't get hired back or find work over the summer, I would have something to focus on so I didn't get too down on myself. A goal to keep my positive. Well, it turned out I didn't need any "distractions" and this marathon proved to be a serious training nightmare.

Although I was pretty excited to get a good deal on some new diggs when I moved back up north and got my job back, I didn't anticipate the huge hit commuting would take on my fitness/running/personal life in general. The commute has been destroying me, and it destroyed my workout routine. Boo.

But I really can't blame it all on the commute. I was sneaking in treadmill time after work, even though I was exhausted. I was just too tired on the weekends to get good long runs in. Every time I tried to get a couple hours in, they always fizzled short. And then, after a couple trips to Vegas, the real bad news happened.

After Vegas trip #1 (September) I got a nasty case of Bronchitis. The verdict was that I had illness induced Asthma (so they thought) and I was put on a breathing regiment. I got some runs in to keep in shape for the bridesmaid dress, but all the long runs went out the window. I was back to training runs of 9 miles and less.

After Vegas trip #2 (October), the asthma took a turn for the worse. Apparently I am allergic to Vegas, as well as where I work/live, and was diagnosed with Reactive Airways Disease (whatever the heck that is...guess they couldn't decided it it was seasonal allergies of cigarette smoke). The weeks leading up to the marathon involved multiple trips to the doctor for emergency breathing treatments, chest x-rays, and physical therapy to fix the 3rd rib that popped out of place during one of the asthma attacks. Awesome.

The good news is that I am getting my breathing under control. And the rib is back where it belongs. When I am away from my triggers (smoke filled casinos and Napa Valley), my asthma disappears. I am still learning how to catch asthma before it flares up and adjusting medications so I can do what I love (run) without killing myself (seriously). This is my excuse for not blogging. So much has been going on, I have been in survival mode and haven't felt like sharing my struggles. Mostly because I was still figuring out how to make the best of them.

As you can imagine, my expectations for SBIM were pretty low the week leading up. On Wednesday, I was not sure if I would be running because my asthma was seriously flaring up. But once I got in the car and made the trip down to Santa Barbara, the mood changed and I knew it was going to be a great race.

SBIM is by far the best race I have ever run, and it has everything to do with the people who were supporting me. I got the most amazing text messages the nights and day leading up the race, it did so much to get me pumped up. Being there with my mom, aunt, and dearest friend gave me the confidence that life had sucked out of me the weeks leading up to the race. I went from not knowing if I would toe the line to setting a very serious sub 5 goal in a matter of hours. Marathons are mental games, and without all the love and good energy sent my way, I don't think I would have had as happy an ending.

The Good:

• My support team was awesome. I had people cheering me at at least 8 different locations on the route, which was an extreme morale booster. Every time I saw them I got so excited, my garmin went crazy telling me to slow down. The energy they fed me made the miles fly by.
• The volunteers were AMAZING. Everything was enthusiastic, kind, and caring. They made you so happy to be there, even though the miles were torture. Best volunteers of any race I have ever run, hands down.
• I met Skinny Runner and Once Upon A Lime at the start line (You can see my 5 seconds of fame here). I was just standing there, and I look over and recognize these two pretty ladies, and realize that they are my favorite bloggers. They were so nice, so positive, it just added to my already fabulous mood.
• The race was small, which made it easy. No corrals to bother with, no pushy crowds. Everyone was relaxed and it had a small town feel. Big races have lots of nervous energy, which can be very stressful. Instead, people were kind and generous, making it a very pleasant place to be.
• No bleeding, chafing, crying, or blisters. Yay!

The Ugly:

• Although I was on pace to finish sub-5 for the first 20 miles, I hit the wall bad on mile 21 and completely lost my pace. I never got it back. Better than Boston (I think I fizzled out at mile 16?), but still kinda bummed I was so much closer and couldn't pull out any more gusto to get me through the last 6 miles. I blame it on the lack of training and think this is totally fixable. I did a really good job of monitoring my pace, and having the pace tat on my arm really helped out.
• Got a NASTY cramp at mile 23 in the left quad, right after I got to the top of the ugly hill from hell (it was TERRIBLE). It was the weirdest feeling ever. I think I had too much to drink on the course and not enough salt. I ate 2 packs of margarita show bloks, but I don't think it was enough. I was disappointed that the medical tents didn't have salt tablets or that skin numbing spray they had in Boston. Are these unreasonable requests? Next time, I am totally packing salt tabs and equiping my support team with the numbing spray. I don't think it would have made a difference for my sub-5 time, but it might have made my time a little better.
• People were texting while running. Seriously. People can't put their iPhones away for 5 hours to run a race. What is our society becoming? I think one lady might have been playing angry birds while running. No joke. This was just bothersome.

When things fell apart at mile 21, I thought a lot about Boston and how it was really hard for me to be happy with my results. I made the conscious decision to make this race a good memory, shooting to PR without tearing down my body and spirit. I decided to walk/run the final 5 miles, and it made a huge difference. I was still able to shave 10 minutes off my previous PR in Boston, and crossed the finish line feeling FANTASTIC. I was strong, happy, and proud. It felt good and reminded me of why I started running: to feel the overwhelming wave of accomplishment and personal satisfaction of becoming a better person than who I started out as.

The biggest thing I bring away from this race is the power each of us has to be in control of ourselves and our experiences. I pulled a lot of strength from a Zen quote by Shunryu Suzuki, "You yourself make the waves in your mind." We alone shape the reality of our experiences. We decide how to process the sensations of the body and soul; the body and soul do not shape them for us. It is a very powerful when you realize that pain is only as agonizing as you allow it to be. Instead of beating myself up for not being able to make sub 5 a reality, I immediately set a new goal. I did not allow disappointment to make waves. I chose happiness and made it happen. I managed and minimized my pain (and there was PLENTY of it) instead of using it to punish myself for falling short of my goals. I think we have a tendency to do this often, and I am beginning to believe that it may be the root of much of our suffering.

Next steps? I have found a new place to live so I only commute 10 minutes instead of an hour and 10 minutes. This should give me more time to train for the Napa Valley Marathon (March 4th), where I have SERIOUS goals of running a sub-5 marathon. I am going to work more on pacing and getting some longer runs in before the race. Most of all, I am going to keep working on breathing and making sure that asthma doesn't define who I am or keep me from doing the things I love to do!

She's something-seven

I just LOVE birthdays. They help you set mental milestones where you can let go of the old and welcome in the new. Birthdays are also a good time for reflection and setting a tone for the next 365 days. If you can look back on the past year and say with confidence that you are a better person than you were a year ago, then you know you are living your life right. They should not be about feeling old or freaking out about what you have or haven't done. They should be a celebration of the good, a focus on what you have going for you and what is yet to be.

A month ago, I was worried that this was going to be the first birthday that I wasn't going to look back and feel like I had grown as a person and become a better version of myself. How could I overlook the amazing things 26 had to offer????? 26 was very good to me. Here is my year in review.

• Not only did I run my first marathon, but I ran 2 marathons and one of them was BOSTON. That in itself just blows my mind now when I look back on it. I think these marathons are my proudest accomplishments. They are the hardest thing I have ever done, have had the most positive effect on my personality, and have changed me the most. This is HUGE.
• I took my first BIG vacation and went to Tahiti. I never thought that this dream would become a reality, and now the travel bug has bit me hard. It gave me the confidence to hop on planes and travel the globe. I did tons of traveling this year, including 2 trips to Boston, Washington DC, Las Vegas, San Diego, and of course French Polynesia. I can't wait to continue my travels, with Boston again next month, Santa Barbara, and maybe even Vegas again at the end of the month (for a conference). I hope I can convince someone to go with me to Thailand and maybe even knock some other outdoor adventures off my bucket list.
• I became the first person in my family to get an advanced degree when I got my MA this spring. I always knew I would do this, but having it done feels so good and I am so proud that I can share it with my family; I never would have been able to do it without them.
• I got my first full time teaching job and was asked back for a second year. I am very confident my calling in life is education, and it feels good to do something that helps others elevate their status in life, even if they do not realize it. Teaching is rough and some days I find myself questioning my choice of HS (darn teenagers!), but ultimately I know there is no other job I could feel more fulfilled in.

27, 27, 27. I feel good about the person I am become and where the next year will take me. 27 is going to be about me and my family. Not about trying to live some idea of perfection gathered from other people's experiences. People I love having babies? That's cool, but that doesn't mean I need one soon. Houses, nice cars, husbands? This year I am not going to let myself feel pressured because I decided to take a different route and focus on work and school. In the past fews years I have met some amazing people, and I think what is going to make 27 great is just focusing on making those relationships flourish.

After all, I have decided that my Wonderful, Wonderful (thanks Xaarlin, I love this term) will be someone who is revealed when I least expect it, someone who is more than a lover or boyfriend but a best friend I can't live without. The best relationships are ones that are not forced, so here's to a year of just taking it easy and letting the world show me all the wonderful things it has it store. 27 is going to be the best version of me BABY!

4 good things

4 little things that have brought me small pleasures so far this week:

1) Starbuck's cool lime refresher. Tastes like a mojito, minus the rum. 100 calories for the trenta size (but I got smaller). A nice treat in this nasty hot weather. It's my new craveable (move over popsicles!)

2) TIGI Bed Head Moisture Maniac shampoo. Smells like white gummy bears. Makes we want to take more showers. Everyone wins with this one.

3) My mom. When we are together, we laugh so much. She is my number one fan and makes me feel so good about myself. I'm so incredibly grateful we are so very close. I'd put a picture up of use being silly, but she would kill me if she ever read this!

4) My new classroom. Now I am officially in the Math building, I feel like I am in the cool teacher's club. Being in the same building as the refrigerator is going to be dangerous! Maybe pictures will come when I finally get my keys!

Why I keep slacking on the good things posts, I don't know. Even when things are bad, there are always good things to smile about, and I need not forget that!

What's putting a smile on your face this week?

Barrel Tasting Recap

The good: 
Unlimited wine, catered food, and GREAT company made this an excellent night. And, I didn't spend any money because I decided to hold out until my purchases from last summer become available. Which I couldn't get a solid timeframe on, hence my apprehension. Will it be really really good or is it so bad they are afraid to release it? This years Cab Franc will only spend 6 more months in the barrel before it is bottled. WTF?

The bad:
I accidently threw a glass of wine on my mom. Doused her in the most expensive wine they were serving. I wish I could blame it on the alcohol, but pretty sure it was a result of being silly and would have happened even if I was sober. Made sure to stain treat it as soon as I got home to be a better daughter. I also will be her slave for the next week to make it up to her. Whoops. Not looking forward to tomorrow morning.

The ugly:
Drinking a cup of coffee when we got home, staying up late putting cheddar mohawks on Pringles with a can of easy cheese. I tried to convince someone to stay up with me and get biscuits & gravy at 2 am, but no one was having it. This is why no matter how much I run I will never loose weight.

Wine futures are expensive. And they are risky. Until I know ho my first gamble turned out, I am not ready to make future investments. I do know I need to further develop my palate and take advantage of all the tasting opportunities Napa has to offer. After reading this, don' you miss you could hang out with me so I could douse you in wine and make cheddar mohawks together at 1 am?

Getting a little bit faster...

5 miles/ 59:08

Folks, thats about a whole minute faster than my last 5 miler. And this one had a doozy of a hill in the middle, HOLLAR!!!!!!! Needless to say I am pretty stoked about todays 11:49 average pace. Short runs are getting easier, which os good because they are supposed to be easy runs. I procrastinated/got busy/didn't feel great so I have to cram all my runs into the end of the week. Good week it is an easy week, only 2 more 5 milers. I might just try to see if I can beat 11:49! To put things into perspective, my pace for a sub 5 marathon needs to be 11:26/mi. Although 5 miles is nothing compared to 26.2, I am getting closer to my goal pace, and that is a great start!!!!!!

Today is a big day, my SPAM lovin' Dad's birthday, so I made an AMAZING ice cream pie. If death by chocolate exists, that sinful tin of dark chocolate terror is sitting in our freezer. I'll make sure to post pictures & recipe once we cut into the little devil.

To celebrate his birthday, mom and I went and got our toes done. OK, we are actually taking him to a pub in town, but we wanted to look good for him, yes? While they were grinding off the calluses and blisters from miles of running, I got to thinking about if lady runners get their toes done or if I am just wasting money. I get french tips, and they usually they look pretty haggard after a week, but I know how to touch them up at home. Does getting rid of the dead skin get rid of precious cushioning? I always have them cut them short so they don't put holes in my socks as fast. Then I got to thinking about black toenails. I have been blessed; 2 marathons and I've never had toenail issues. I have decided that if that day did come, I would just polish it dark red so no one would know. But I think I would do it at home instead of submitting some poor vietnamese man to that level of nasty.

Foot hygiene: as a runner, do you just keep them blister free or do you try to keep them pretty too?

Hardest Easy Run EVER.

The lucky winners of the training books are K who will be getting the Marathon/Half Marathon Training Guide and Steph (aka Anonymous) who is getting the Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women. Steph, I am bringing your book to Vegas and K I will be contacting this you for an address this week.

I would be a fool to think I could hide the fact I took last week off from training due to the physical/emotional stress of moving, so I won't pretend I did anything related to training over the past 7 days. oops. Looks like I am taking these PR's really seriously...

I am officially temporarily relocated indefinitely (read: no job, living with parents). It is true that you love your parents (and that your parents love you) so much more easily as you get older. So far I still can not see why I was so afraid of moving back home for so long. The running is (potentially) great, I have someone to rip on The Bachelorette with, we take turns making dinner, and I get to relax with a glass of wine and good conversation every night. Why get married when I can just live it up with my mom?????

Speaking of potentially great running....

Today I tried to get back into the training plan with a 4 mile easy run, which ended out being the hardest 4 mile run I have run in a really long time. This training tragedy is brought to you by sloth and procrastination!

What made it so difficult? Instead of getting out the door by 7 am when the marine layer is still cool and thick, I got out around 10:30 am when the fires of Satan are sweeping across the land. No problem, I thought, I'll just plan a route around parks with water fountains, bring a bottle, and drink plenty of water. Can you suffer from hyponatremia on a 4 mile run? The answer to that question feels like "YES!!!" at this moment.

So after slothing around the house, not eating breakfast or doing anything to help this run be a good one, I took off. About mile 2 I learned the dotted line on map my run meant "dry river bed trail" and proceeded to run in the sand with full sun exposure. Not the nice sand by the water at the beach, but the ankle twisting shoe filling sand by the beach parking lot. I got lost and had to backtrack at least 3 times to find the trail that didn't dead end in a rattle snake death pit. I could see the rich people sitting in their air conditioned mansions looking down on the stupid girl running in death canyon and laughing as I kept getting lost, but I was still trying to be positive and kept running in the sand even though it was ridiculously hard. At mile 3 I had to stop regularly in the shade to cool off, I was already through about 24 ounces of water. By the end of a very hilly mile 4 I stopped because my chest was hurting and I felt dizzy, so I used the last half mile as a cool off and walked home.

I didn't bring the Garmin because I want my easy runs to be easy running: no paying attention to pace and just enjoying the miles. I have no idea what miserable pace I kept, and I am just happy to be alive. Upon my return I battled the potential hyponatremia with the saltiest thing I could find in the pantry: beef jerky, mini saltines, and easy cheese (cheese in a can). And a glass of chocolate milk. Within about 10 minutes the weird headache/pain behind my eyes has pretty much gone away and I don't feel like vomiting and passing out.

Next time I am going in the AM and bringing a camera so you can see the new sights!

Hard Corps!

So, I talked to mi madre a day after I told her about the 13.1 heartbreak ridge race. She thinks I am crazy.
Race website course description (no map or elevation profile available):  13.1-mile course, 90% gravel off-road through the breathtaking rolling hills of Camp Pendleton in the 43 area. Course is on packed fire-roads.  This course offers a little bit of everything - it’s an out and back course, including rolling hills and some flat and fast stretches intermixed throughout. 
Not so scary sounding, right?  Maybe a little challenging, but no western states endurance challege.

Mom's description (has a vague idea of where it takes place, more than I do at least): I talked to a guy I work with who does triathlons and ironmans. He was talking about that race. There is a reason they call it heartbreak. Marines train there. It is not going to be easy (imagine it a tone of intimidation).

My response:  It's only a half marathon so it can't be as difficult as a full marathon. Boston had a hill called "heartbreak" hill, so if I could do that, I should be ok.

Mom's response: But that was a hill. This is heartbreak ridge.
(awkward pause)


My response: ...so you are saying I probably won't PR?
(awkward pause)


Mom's response: Well, I'll be there to cheer you on anyway. Maybe after we can go down to the beach and I can lay you out on a stretcher next to me while I lay out. First we can put you in the water and see what you attract. Go shark fishing.


My response: You need to have a fishing license for that.

I am so lucky to have family that supports me in my running endeavors, even though they don't really fully understand why anyone would want to be a distance runner. And knowing my mom, she was probably using some reverse psychology on me to make me train harder so I do PR at the race. She knows how competitive I am, and knows that anytime someone doubts my ability to do something it pretty much guarantees that I will get the job done. After all, if people hadn't expressed doubt about my ability to run a marathon, I probably never would have stepped up to the plate and got it done. Call it the Type A in me, but I am a goal/challenge oriented person who has a controlling desire to prove that I can do anything.

...and then I found this race picture. Maybe mom is on to something...

So, gotta train harder to make sure I PR on this breathtaking hilly/flat course that I now have a reason to be very afraid of. Good thing my new training ground is crazy hilly!