marathon

Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Recap

I’m so excited to finally write the recap of my first full marathon. Throughout the entire 5 months of training, a small part of me doubted whether or not I’d make it to the starting line. It had nothing to do with my actual training or how hard I was working, it was just hard to believe that I was going to do this thing that I never thought possible. Now that it’s done, I’m still processing it, but my first thoughts are that it was fun, exhilarating, emotional, and incredibly tough all at different parts of the race.

Pre-Race

Jeremy and I took Friday off work and headed up to Ojai after stopping at the Kogi food truck downtown LA to have the best chilaquiles of my life (Jeremy’s kimchi quesadilla was delicious also):

I made sure to to not eat the whole thing since I was sticking to foods lower in fiber the few days leading up to the race and who knows what this could have done to my stomach.

We stopped at the race expo in Ventura on the way to Ojai, and I picked up my bib and shirt, and ended up buying a pullover and a pint glass with the M2B logo on them. Once I actually got my number and bib, it FINALLY felt real. The expo was small and the people working there were super nice.

We got to Ojai around 3pm or so, and checked in at the Ojai Rancho Inn.

Our room wasn’t ready so they treated us to a free drink at their cute little bar. I cut out alcohol the week and a half or so before the race, but I just couldn’t pass up a free glass of nice wine.

We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and I got a flatbread pizza with speck, tomato sauce, and a little arugula on it. I was craving vegetables so much after carb loading for a couple days, but I didn’t want to overdo it.

I didn’t get much sleep that night (I usually don’t sleep well when we travel), so I felt pretty exhausted all day on Saturday. Jeremy and I took bikes from the hotel to ride to get coffee downtown Ojai, and I hadn’t ridden a bike in a long time, and a nerve in my left butt cheek started hurting and I was convinced I pulled something and wouldn’t be able to run the next morning. I was so paranoid for the few weeks leading up to the marathon, that this was a common occurrence. After we got back from breakfast, I went out on the bike path behind the hotel and ran about a mile very slowly. This helped a lot; I felt energized and got a boost of confidence from it and felt ready to take on the 26.2 miles the next day.

We headed to Santa Barbara for the rest of the day, so I could eat my two go-to meals the day before a race: an avocado sandwich for lunch and an Asian noodle soup for dinner. We got back to Ojai around 8pm, and I made sure everything was ready for the next morning and tried to get some sleep (pretty unsuccessfully).

The Race

I woke up at 4am, made some instant coffee (there wasn’t a coffee maker in the room, unfortunately) and a packet of oatmeal, tried to eat half a banana and half a Honey Stinger Waffle. Jeremy and I left the room at 5:25 or so, and walked the 10 minutes to the starting line.

Man, it was so nice being that close to the start of the race. Many people had to take 4am shuttles from Ventura; if I do this race again I’m definitely staying in Ojai again. I made sure to use the bathroom as many times as possible before we left because I didn’t want to have to use a porta-potty at the starting line – it’s a good thing, too, the lines were super long.

There weren’t clear corrals, but everyone’s bibs were one of three colors and apparently that was the wave you were supposed to enter… but I think everyone was confused. After the National Anthem was sung, the announcer started the race for the 3:20 marathoners and under. Well, people started running and the wave was supposed to stop when it reached the people that were aiming for 4 hours and under, and then another wave for 4 hours and above. Nobody stopped though, even though the announcer kept yelling “You’re supposed to stop now!” and everyone just kept going. I wasn’t prepared though! I didn’t even have my watch turned on. But alas I had to go because people behind me were telling me to, so that’s how I started my first marathon.

The week before the race, coach Lauren gave me a race plan that included a 3:55-4:00 finish and this is what I aimed for. I tried to get some under-9 minute miles (the ones that were downhill) and otherwise not have any miles over 9:20, eventually aiming for 9:00 or so average. This worked up until mile 23 I’d say; I think I did a really good job with pace and time went by fast and I listened to music and just kept running. Mile 10 came around and I got tired and a little freaked out, but that’s when I started repeating “embrace the hurt” and “get comfortable being uncomfortable” in my head, and that helped. I got over that hump and then I felt fine again.

I tried to take 1-2 Honey Stinger chews every mile starting at mile 5 I think, and drank a few sips of water frequently. I also picked up water at the water stops, but somehow missed the Fluid electrolyte drink at every stop.

Mile 20 came and I was still feeling strong. I had grabbed a smallish bottle of Gatorade from a spectator handing them out, and ended up carrying this for the next few miles. I was so happy to have this! Whenever I tried to think “only 5 miles left, that’s nothing to you!” or whatever, my mind would come right back and say, “yeah but I’ve run 21 miles already, five miles is a LOT!” so I tried not to think like that. Every time it would cross my mind of how much longer I had it made me feel worse, so I avoided it and just focused on keeping my pace up instead. I’m so glad I had a specific pace to aim for, it helped distract me so much.

Around mile 22 or so, the course goes right by the finish line, but then veers away from it and you still have 4 miles to go. I knew this was coming and tried to mentally prepare for it, but I just couldn’t overcome it. I’m not sure if it was how I was fueling (since I had nothing to compare it to) or the elevation (these last miles were flat after the first 20 were slightly downhill) or seeing the finish line and thinking I was done, or what, but the next few miles, I just completely lost it. So much so, in fact, that I missed a sub-four hour finish by 33 seconds. I slowed way down, my quads and calves were so incredibly painful and tired, and I wanted to walk. I almost did a couple times, but somehow I kept going. I teared up a few times, cursed out loud, just kept thinking about how much it sucked and I wanted to be done, and just generally felt horrible. It was humbling for sure, since I was feeling pretty cocky up until that point about how good I was feeling and about how I hadn’t hit the wall after seeing people who had. I’m glad it happened though, it was a good reminder of what a true beast the marathon is and how you must respect the distance (and not get cocky).

Since I didn’t start my watch on time, I didn’t really know how much faster I had to go to get a sub-four, but as soon as I only had one mile left and I could see the finish line again, I was able to push the pace a bit. I kept looking at spectators and telling them thank you to try to get boosts of energy and that helped, and one lady even exclaimed that she couldn’t believe I was still smiling.

When I got closer to the finish line, I took my earphones out, saw my parents and got really excited, then saw Jeremy and started sprinting. I’m not sure how I was able to sprint to the end, but I did and then I was more happy that it was over than about anything I’d ever felt.

Huffing and puffing to the finish line.

Post-Race

I wanted to collapse and cry, but Jeremy found me and I was able to remain standing and after a few minutes, as long as I stood still, I felt pretty good. It hurt to walk, but I eventually made my way over to the tents with the food and got some watermelon and Famous Amos cookies, maybe the two most delicious things I could have eaten at that time.

So happy to be done.

I waited for them to post the results since the tracking app I had downloaded for the race didn’t work and my watch was off, so I didn’t know what my time was. When I finally got it, I was very proud of my 4:00:33 finish. Jeremy and I hung around a little bit and watched people hit a gong to announce they’d qualified for Boston, then headed back to Santa Barbara to eat at In-N-Out, something we had been looking forward to for months.

Later that day, we drove up to Santa Ynez to hang out with my family for my nephew’s birthday, and instead of putting compression socks on right away and some comfortable shoes, I stupidly wore these slip ons that made my blisters/toes hurt so I was walking weirdly on my right foot, which led to the bones in my foot hurting, and they still hurt to this day. I’m sure I’ll be fine after the loads of rest I’m enjoying, but it’s a good lesson to remember for next time. Oh yes, there will be a next time. Even when I was in agony those last few miles, I knew I would run another marathon, and hopefully maybe one day BQ if I work really hard. I’m not sure when my next marathon will be, but I can’t wait to start training for it whenever that day comes.

Overall, I would recommend Mountains 2 Beach Marathon, the course was beautiful, fast, everyone was super nice, there were lots of water stops, and the finish line is fun and beautiful, right on the ocean. I wish the course didn’t go by the finish line at the end with 4 miles to go, but it just makes it that much more of a challenge. The weather was great too, nice and cool the whole time, and last year there was a heat wave so I’m obviously very happy that didn’t happen. Somehow, I didn’t chafe at all except a small part on my arm. I was so surprised; I’m guessing it had to do with the weather being cool, but even on long runs when it hasn’t been too hot and I put Glide on everywhere I still have chafed bad in the past.

I have to thank my coach, Lauren, for creating my plan, getting me to the starting line uninjured and pushing me and believing in me more than even I did sometimes. The fact that I ran a marathon with a 9:10 average pace blows my mind. Not too long ago, if I ran a 3- or 5-miler on my own with that kind of pace I would be super impressed. But, you never know what you’re capable of until you try it (cheesy but true). I hope to get faster and work hard to have a big PR at my next marathon down the line.

In the meantime, I’ll wear all my M2B gear with pride and drink beer out of my pint glass often!

Sisterhood of the Bloggers

So, I finally got an email back from Runner’s World Challenge after I emailed inquiring where my training plan was, since I was supposed to start on Monday. When I first registered in November, it asked me what plan I wanted and what the date of the race was, so that the emails could automatically start coming in four months before the race. I didn’t see anything in my inbox on Monday, so I emailed them. I finally got a response asking which marathon training plan I wanted to sign up for. Which is frustrating because I already chose one when I paid for the plan and told them in a separate email after that! I responded, and was sent the training plan I requested. I guess this is my mistake, but I could have sworn I read that it was one of those plans where they email you every day with details about training for that day. That’s honestly the only reason I paid so much for it. But this is one of those printed-out plans, which is okay. I’m resting up this week for my race this weekend, so I’ll start next week. Anyways, I hope it was worth it to buy the plan, fingers crossed.

Last night we were at work late and Chinese food was ordered. I just had a taste since I had already eaten soup for dinner, but I did eat two fortune cookies, and the fortunes inside were very appropriate:

On a side note, I don’t know if anyone has had either of these from Trader Joe’s, but they are SO GOOD. Especially together.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers

Cori over at She’s Going the Distance was so sweet and nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award! I have seen this one floating around, and am excited I get to fill it out now. You’ll find out that I’m super indecisive and can’t choose just one thing, hooray!

Questions:

1. What is your favorite color?

I don’t think I have a favorite color really, but when it comes to real people’s clothes, I pretty much wear charcoal/black/other dark colors. But when it comes to running clothes, I LOVE bright colors, and don’t have enough.

2. Favorite animal?

As a pet, a dog. Other than that, anything miniature, like a hummingbird for example. And these micro pigs:

(source)

Or anything on this list: 24 of the Smallest and Cutest Animals in the World.

3. Favorite non-alcoholic drink?

I’d have to say it’s a tie between coffee and the Greens and Ginger juice from Juice Ranch.

4. Facebook or Twitter?

Facebook is great for keeping up with old friends and posting pictures. I’m just now getting more involved with Twitter again, so maybe that’ll change.

5. Favorite pattern?

I love stripes and plaid, but like I said before, I pretty much only wear greys/charcoal/black.

Stripes and plaid all in one outfit! (Portland, 2013)

Fifty shades of grey.

6. What is your passion?

I have a terrible fear of looking back at my life when I’m old and realizing that I didn’t do everything I wanted to do (I think about it all the time, it’s really healthy). My passion is to not let that happen! Traveling is a huge part of that passion, and I’m so glad that Jeremy and I have made the time in our lives to make this dream come true. I can’t wait to experience new cultures, talk to people from other countries, get to know customs, etc. I think that it’s so important to experience things like that, and I can’t imagine how enriched we’ll feel throughout the process.

It’s a big ol world out there (Switzerland, 2009)

My nominees (my apologies if you’ve already done this!):

For Each Wind That Blows

A Breakthrough and Some Motivation

Well, I am quite proud of myself today. I got up this morning determined to have a good run after the past couple bad ones, and a good one was had for sure. Today was the first time in the history of my running that I had an average pace under 9 minutes!! I know that my fast pace is a million people’s real slow pace, but for me this is a huge victory. I guess taking it easy the last few days has helped. I had zero knee pain, and I was sort of uncomfortable at times since I was pushing more than I’m accustomed to, but for the most part it felt really good. At one point I had been running almost a mile at an 8:45 pace, and I thought to myself, this isn’t so bad. I will take this victory, and use it as confidence in myself during this weekend’s half, even though I’m going into it with no expectations, but just to enjoy it.

!!!!!

My reward this morning.

It was such a nice way to start the day.

In other news, I’m pretty sure I was supposed to start my Runner’s World Challenge marathon training yesterday (it’s a four-month plan), and I still haven’t received anything. They are supposed to send me an email with my daily training plan every morning. I wrote them an email and haven’t heard back yet, and they never responded to one I sent a couple months ago, so that’s a little frustrating. I paid good money for this plan! Hopefully I’ll hear something soon.

And now, some motivation for your Tuesday, from The Luthas Corporation blog:

19 Hard Things You Need To Do To Be Successful

You have to make the call you’re afraid to make.
You have to get up earlier than you want to get up.
You have to give more than you get in return right away.
You have to care more about others than they care about you.
You have to fight when you are already injured, bloody, and sore.
You have to feel unsure and insecure when playing it safe seems smarter.
You have to lead when no one else is following you yet.
You have to invest in yourself even though no one else is.
You have to look like a fool while you’re looking for answers you don’t have.
You have to grind out the details when it’s easier to shrug them off.
You have to deliver results when making excuses is an option.
You have to search for your own explanations even when you’re told to accept the “facts.”
You have to make mistakes and look like an idiot.
You have to try and fail and try again.
You have to run faster even though you’re out of breath.
You have to be kind to people who have been cruel to you.
You have to meet deadlines that are unreasonable and deliver results that are unparalleled.
You have to be accountable for your actions even when things go wrong.
You have to keep moving towards where you want to be no matter what’s in front of you.

Moving On

This morning’s bootcamp was probably the hardest I’ve ever done. I’m not sure if it’s because I lost some fitness after not doing it for a month during Christmas or what, but I have never sweated that much. It’s pretty high impact and we do more jumping than I’d like, but normally it’s okay. However, all day I’ve had some tenderness behind my left knee, and it just feels kind of strained or overextended. I iced it and foam rolled, and will probably take tomorrow off just to give it a rest. This is not the first time this has happened, so hopefully it’ll feel fine tomorrow like it normally does.

After bootcamp, Jeremy and I got a nice surprise as we were walking out the door to go to work. His name was Monk:

We had to wait a bit for his owner to come get him, but he was such a sweet dog, I didn’t mind at all.

I notoriously make huge salads, and today was no exception:

Complete with Trader Joe’s egg white salad with chives, two thumbs up.

We gave our notice to our landlord today, which was really bittersweet. This is the first apartment Jeremy and I have lived in together, and we’ll always remember it as the first place we lived after we got married. There were plenty of problems with it, but right now it’s hard to remember those things, all I can feel is a bit sad that we are giving it up. But I have to remind myself why we’re doing it, and all the things I want in our next home that this place doesn’t have. I just love the location, and our neighbors are the sweetest people I’ve ever met. Luckily we have become friends with them and are going to meet up in Europe this summer after they spend a few months in Africa (!!). Since we have now given official notice, we really need to start tackling all the stuff that needs to be done – selling furniture, obtaining a storage unit, canceling cable and gas service, etc. All that fun stuff.

It’s such a conflict of emotion because my excitement for our adventure is mixing with my sadness with leaving my family and our apartment (it takes me awhile to process big changes), but I know that it will be worth it, and it doesn’t have to be forever if we don’t want it to be. California will always just be a plane ride away.

Liebster Award

Lis at 26.2 x 2 nominated me for a Liebster Award! I feel so honored, and it is such a sweet gesture. It’s a really great way to get to know other bloggers and to discover new ones.

Rules:
Mention the person who nominated you with a link in their blog.
Answer the 11 questions provided by the person who nominated you.
Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers.
Create a new set of 11 questions for your nominees to answer.

1. How long have you been running for?

I started running after taking a jogging class in college and kept it up for a couple years then dropped it. I started up again when I moved back to California in September, 2011.

2. What’s the furthest distance you’ve ever run?

About 13.1 miles.

3. What’s your p.r.?

5k: 27:54, 10k: 56:07, 10-miler: 1:36:44, half marathon: 2:04:22

4. Where’s your favorite place to race?

I’ve only ever raced in Santa Barbara and San Diego, and I loved them both, so it’s a tie.

5. Where’s your least favorite place to race?

I’ve loved all the courses I’ve raced, so I feel like I can’t answer this!

6. What’s your favorite time of year to go running?

I’m spoiled because the weather is nice year-round here so I don’t have to worry about that. But when I was in Georgia, I loved to run in spring.
7. What’s your favorite “naughty” food to eat that you don’t mind sneaking in on long run days (we all have one!)?

Chips and guacamole or cheese and a baguette. And alcohol.

8. If you could enter a race ANYWHERE, which race would it be?

I think I’d love to race in Vancouver, Seattle, or New York City.

9. What’s your favorite running song?

This changes often because I get sick of songs easily, but right now it’s M.I.A.’s “Y.A.L.A.”

10. Do you have any pets? If so what kind and how many?

I had a dog, who was my absolute best friend, almost my whole life but lost her two years ago. I still think about her every day. My parents still have a chihuahua mix, Pez, who my brother found in a box as a puppy when I was 16, and I feel like she is partly my dog:

Pez

11. Name one hobby you enjoy other than running.

I love photography, and just recently got a new camera that I’m REALLY excited to use on our trip.

I’m going to hold off on nominating people until I follow more people… most of the blogs I follow have a ton of followers or have already been nominated! Time to do some research. I hope this doesn’t disqualify me…

Also, I’m on bloglovin‘, if anyone else is into that!

Spirit of the Marathon

I haven’t mentioned this on here yet, but a couple months ago I registered for my first full marathon, the Cork City Marathon, taking place on June 2 of this year. Occasionally I get excited about things and jump into them without thinking enough about them, but I’m hoping this was a good decision and that I can follow through. The main reason I signed up for it is because my parents decided they’re going to spend six weeks in Europe this summer, and I really wanted them to be at the finish line of my first marathon, whenever and wherever that may be. I scoured the internet for a race that fit into their travel plans well, and at first I wanted to do the Paris Marathon, but it was sold out, along with the London Marathon. I inquired about being on a fundraising team, but you have to raise $5,000 in order to do it, which is not really doable while traveling, I thought. These races turned out to be too early anyway, so it’s okay. Not to mention they are huge, and I feel like I would do better in a medium-sized race for my first one. But I could be wrong.

There is so much to consider when choosing your first marathon! There is a D-Day Marathon in Caen, France on June 15, which my dad really wanted me to do, but after some research it seemed like it was a little too small and fast, and races in France are a little more involved; you have to get a doctor’s note saying you are okay to race (I’m pretty sure). Then there was the Stockholm Marathon on May 31 that I considered, but my parents didn’t want to travel that far away from France (the main place they are staying for the six weeks). I was about to register for the Edinburgh Marathon on June 29, but after reading reviews and seeing that they didn’t allow racers to listen to music while running, it didn’t seem like the perfect fit. I came across the Cork City Marathon, and everything seemed to fall into place. My great-grandfather was Irish, and my family has always wanted to visit Ireland together (I’ve been to Dublin once for a few days, but I wasn’t with my family), so it seemed like the perfect time.

(source)

All in all, I did a ton of research (in case you can’t tell, I obsessed over this for a couple weeks, researching every race on the continent), and although I can’t really find out how many runners there will be, it looks like a really nice course, and there will be lots of people cheering (which I think will be important).

I’m pretty nervous, I mean, training for a marathon is a huge commitment on its own (I keep hearing “respect the distance” in my head), but doing it while traveling will be even harder. But it’s not impossible. And Jeremy has been so supportive, he’s going to really help me make it a priority and just make sure that we factor my training runs into our travels. I feel pretty lucky to have such a supportive partner that is up for anything and is as excited about this adventure as I am. I just keep picturing the finish line at the marathon and seeing him and my parents there waiting for me, and it really motivates me to do my best.

Motivational Movies

To get pumped up even more, Jeremy and I watched Spirit of the Marathon, and I definitely teared up at the end when the father-daughter duo held hands and crossed the finish line. It made me really excited to get to that point, but it also made me a little nervous, seeing how mentally and physically tough it is. But I know I can do it. I just have to keep a positive attitude and not put too much pressure on myself (I should probably stop the “your parents traveled all the way to Ireland to see you run a marathon, don’t eff this up” thoughts). I’m just going to take it nice and slow, as slow as I want to, and try to enjoy it as much as I can.

Are there any other good running movies you guys know of that I can watch to get pumped up?

Lily Runs the World

training while traveling