Tag: race

Spooner’s Cove 5 mile- Race Recap

Thursday and Friday were crazy days at work. I don’t know why, but I think they made me stupid. By the end of Thursday, I could barely speak without stuttering. It was ridiculous, but my co-workers thought it was hilarious.

I packed my running gear of Friday, thinking optimistically that I would try to run on my lunch. Then I got a call inviting me out after work. One of my coworkers from my old location was moving and Friday was her last day, and they were going out to dinner to say goodbye. For some reason being slightly run worn at work was ok but being funky for going out- not so much. There was no time to get home and change in between work and dinner. So no run for me. The dinner was fun though, it was sad to see her go. Quite a few people went for drinks after but I had a race in the morning! I headed home like a good girl.

This morning was the Spooner’s Cove Trail Run. They offer a 5 mile, 7 mile, 25K and 50K. The races are small, only about 160 people overall. Which is good, because the majority of the race route is single track.

This was also my mother’s very first race. She could have chosen an easy one like the HOB 5K, but she chose a trail race. She’s crazy like that. 🙂 Sign in and shirt pick up was organized and super easy. No goody bag, but who needs random flyers anyway? All races started at the same time and on time. And we were off!

First 100 yards was uphill (woo hoo), on a paved road, and then it was trail bound. The first 2 miles weaved along the bluff and it was the widest part of the trail. I said that this race would be run at my mom’s pace and that is what we did. We ran when she wanted and walked when she wanted. And, like I said before, she walks fast! As the trail narrowed into single track, it was amusing how frustrated she got when we got stuck behind someone who had slowed down. We eventually got passed her and we were running again.

We were heading into the real climb part of the trail when I felt something stab me in my shin. I was momentarily confused, the trail had widened and there weren’t any bushes with branches on the side. I tried to ignore but it just seemed sharper. So I looked down at my shin and there was a giant wasp/ yellow jacket on my sock. I had been stung by a freakin’ bee! I had to flick it off; luckily it seemed my knee socks took the worst of it. However it stung for the next couple of hours. For the next ½ mile, I was trying not to turn into a hypochondriac. I was just out of breath because of the incline, I was not allergic!

Miles 2-4 were pretty much all uphill. There was no running just walking, hard to feel bad though, most everyone else was walking too. We tried to pick up the pace on every slight downhill when switching hills but it was harder than we thought.

The area has had very little rain. The last time I did Valencia Peak, the mountain path was hard packed. Not so much this time. The sand was very loose; we were either sinking in it or sliding on it. That did not help our time. We finally hit the split, the 7 miles, 25k and 50K runners continue up the mountain another mile, and the 5 milers headed back down. At this point, we had about a mile to go.

We ran down as fast as we felt we could, at one point being overtaken by the speedy 50K’ers. They were hauling. We hit the road and walked for about 30 seconds. Another 50K’er ran passed and told us were so close. They had 23 miles to go and they were cheering us on.

We ran down the hill, and across the finish line. We crossed at 1:06:??. My phone was in my jacket pocket and by that time it was tied in knot around my jacket. I couldn’t get it to stop it, so I am unsure of what the exact time was. My mom is a bad ass and finished her very first race ahead of me. And it was a hard one. She just kept pushing. We got our medals and were stretching by the cove when she asked when the next one was!

It was a good race and I am proud of our time. We followed it up with a good lunch from Woodstock’s, a great salad and a slice of pizza. Now it’s time for bed for me, my legs are kind of sore!

Playing with apps :) — Playing with apps 🙂

Anyone running Las Vegas this weekend?

Good luck to those bloggers (everyone else too!) running half-marathons, marathons and ultra’s this weekend.

Operation Run- Race Recap

First off, thanks to everyone and the well wishes. It was a great way to go into a race!

Today I took part in the first annual Operation Run, an 8 mile run put on by Amazing Surf Adventures and their Operation Surf. I thought I had seen this run advertised last year, but I guess I made that up in my head, oops! First time races normally make me a little leery but there were no fears here. Check in was quick as no bibs were handed out. Turns out the county has restrictions on “races” that may not apply to “fun runs”. Who knew? The start finish line was in a Gymnastics center parking lot. There was also a huge American Flag on display-

The announcer was amusing with the right touch of snark. Love it! He was with Operation Surf and he handed the mike over to another man, wearing a Boston jacket from 2012! ( nerd moment). He described the course, basically an 8 mile rectangle, watch out for traffic as no roads were closed. He also mentioned that end of the race would involve zig-zagging though the parking lot? Why, because he knew that if us runners showed up for an 8 mile race, we would be very upset if it came in under 8. So true! There were 2 aid stations along the course and Grizzlies monitoring every intersection. Shirts and medals were handed out after crossing the finish line. Official race times are supposed be online soon. All in all, it was a very smoothly run race, especially considering it was the first year! And the race shirt was great, even if it ran a little small-

It was 34 degrees when I left my house this morning so I dressed in capris and a long sleeve shirt. I also had my gloves and an ear warmer. I had a bottle with Gatorade and a few candy corns for fuel. This would be my first 8 mile race, so I was trying to be prepared. It never hurts to be a little extra prepared. I got Mr. Nike going and then paused it for the National Anthem and the short walk to the start line. And then we were off! The guy in front of me and I almost plowed right into a photographer who thought it would be a good idea to take pictures from inside the crowd. No!!!

Miles 1-2.5 were a long slow incline. I was hot about .5 miles in, oops. Coming up on mile 1, I was sucker punched by Mr. Nike. His voice comes and says “mile 1” ok good so far, then “20:32 minutes”. Umm what?! Guess when I thought I had paused it, I didn’t. WTF. Well that is not the way that you want to start off a race. I had no idea what my first mile was and my average pace was just a guess from then on, based on the overall time. Plus the distance was slightly off due to that little walk to the start line. Ugh, every time Nike would give a status update, I just became irritated. But I ran on.

Mile 1-3 seemed pretty good, warm but good. I was tired but thought I had a decent pace. Had to lose the over shirt by mile 3 and didn’t want to walk so I managed to get it off while running, very awkward. 🙂 After mile 2 we were off the main road and running the back roads in between wineries. It was very pretty today, I should be used to it, seeing as I live in wine country, but today seemed prettier. The first aid station was run by ROTC members, nice!

I rounded the corner for mile 3 and I was tired. I felt like my crappy week had caught up to me. Mile 4.5 was uphill and I caved. I had to take a walk break. I was frustrated because I had run 10 miles of my half before needing a break. I walked to the top and told myself I was running the rest, and I was going to do it faster. I think the slight downhill had affected my judgment. But I kept running.

At mile 6, I was bummed that this wasn’t a 10K. I had 2 miles to go. I was tired and cranky but just kept pushing. Ran passed the Grizzlies with their great signs and kept going. Mile 7-8 was the longest mile ever, I hit the parking lot and really wanted to say screw it to the zig zag, I’m ok with 7.7. But somehow, I had enough in me for an actually speedy finish. I managed to pass up one of the people I had been pacing for that last 5 miles. Woo hoo!!! Even though Nike was all jacked up, I feel fairly confident in saying that I ran a negative split!!! How unlike me.

After filling out the finishing card, I finished 52 out of ?, and picking up my shirt and medal, I tracked down the woman I had passed. I didn’t want to wait for the times to go up, I wanted some idea of my time and I figured she finished nearest to me. She came in at 1:17:11. Seriously? Hell yeah! Now I just want to see the posted times to confirm it. Also the medal and race bag were awesome.

It was a tiring race, not course wise, mostly just me, but I felt like I pushed through it. Plus it was a well-organized race for a good cause, our veterans. There were some amputee runners out there today and I was inspired by their perseverance and bravery.

I completed the day with a good lunch and a little shopping. I then headed home for a last bit of Slacker-ness before work tomorrow. Shout out to mom and her race photography skills- Thanks!

The race photographer and I- I suck at selfies :) — The race photographer and I-
I suck at selfies 🙂

Anyone else enjoy a three day weekend?

How are we halfway through November already?

Less than 12 hours to go!

Race day is just a few hours from now and I am stoked. I worked the registration booth for a few hours today and it’s always fun. People are so eager and excited to pick up their gear and see what this year’s shirt looks like. Grey and oh so soft, mine might become a sleep shirt.

There are also the first timers. Picking up their packets and asking lots of questions. Where’s the start, how does my chip work, do I wear my shirt? Awww, I remember that feeling. I kind of wish I could go back. I still get super excited (and nervous) but that first race was just so new and so different.

So what the HOB Fun Run offers are a 10K, a 5K, a kids ½ mile, a 75 yard dash and a not so dirty diaper dash. On that note, how cute is this onesie! Even the smallest competitors receive race swag!

This year the adults don’t receive a medal but the kids all earn a cool dog tag for completing their race. Plus, like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the winners receive cash! Woo hoo! Not that I will ever be that fast. Last year, the same guy won the 10K and the 5K. I think his times were 30 min and then 15:something. Or something around that, either way, freakishly fast.

The start/ finish line goes up today, so that section of road closed early. By the time my shift was done, the big parts were up. By tomorrow morning there will be banners and lots of red carpet. This is the only way I will ever be on the red carpet!

There’s also a pasta feed tonight, pancakes in the park tomorrow, face painting and bounce houses. I am so pumped up! I had my own spaghetti carb load meal for dinner.

I still can’t decide what to wear tomorrow; I have 3 outfits lying in various spots around the room. I really need to try and get to bed early, got a big day ahead tomorrow. 2 races, with a great crowd and some friends running too! I still haven’t quite worked out the logistics of 2 bib numbers and 2 timing chips, but I will.

I hope everyone had a great Saturday and a better Sunday to follow! Sweet dreams!

Short is better than none right?

So, not feeling well on Tuesday led into a second rest day on Wednesday. Plus between work and school and then back to work, I felt all over the place and so, so tired. Thursday was a normal day of work followed by school later in the evening. If I was a smart person, I would have run 4 miles in the time between. I had my clothes and shoes in my car. I, however, was not smart and chose to meet the tennis team for dinner at Chipotle. Oops. Didn’t get out of school until 10 or even home until well after. Running at 5 AM this morning on 4 hours of sleep? Yeah not so much. The bed was so warm and comfy 🙂

So, that brings me to 3 days off with no running. You would think that 3 days rest would make me feel invigorated and ready to go, right? Ummm, no. I am still so tired. What gives? I have a race in less than 48 hours and I need to get a run in before then. I generally don’t like going for a run the day before a race (tomorrow), plus that would then be 4 days off. Yuck. It’s not like I’m sick, I just feel super tired and worn out. Not a good combination to start the weekend. 😦

I hate running on Fridays because it usually feels like a longer day and work is generally busier. My last long run was on a Friday but was only because I was on vacation. However, I had my running clothes with me and was going to try and make myself go the gym after work. Yeah, putting on running capris after 3 days of Slacker-dom? Oh what fresh hell is that?!

I didn’t make it to the gym but I did make it to the lake. I was fighting a setting sun as well as Friday fatigue. But anything is better than nothing right? I set out to do 2 laps. That would be around 2.35 miles. Since it was short, I decided to push a little harder. I started out feeling really sluggish but halfway through my legs actually felt pretty good. I wanted more sun. Plus I got to test out my new capris, so far so good, but it was only 2 miles. The weather for this Sunday’s race may be a little warmer that I would like. I can’t decide if I want to wear capris or shorts. Decisions, Decisions.

I am hoping that working the registration/ packet pick up table tomorrow will help get me in gear. I really like watching everything be set up. Plus, it is fun handing out the packets and watching people pick up their bib numbers and chips. The shirts can turn into a bit of hassle with people wanting to changes sizes but it’s still fun.

I love this race; I really do, but it also adds stress. The course is flat and fast and if there was a time to aim for a PR, this would be it. In fact many people try. The course has not changed over the years and it is the only race I have ever run that offers money for the top 3 placers in the 10K and top male/ female in the 5K. Plus 100% of the race entry fees go to charity and you get to choose which charity your entry fee benefits. There are usually 3 charities to choose between.

This is also the only race I have ever run that actually closes the roads. Ever run a half-marathon with a semi coming up behind you? Yeah, it’s a little nerve wracking. The 5K is one loop through downtown and the 10K is two loops. I am nervous about running through the starting/ finish line after the first loop. I know that my Nike app tells me the pace at every mile, but it’s different than seeing the numbers on that big red clock. Hopefully running passed the crowd will be enough of a distraction. Either that or work as a motivation boost!

Anyone have any big plans for the weekend?

Any races or long runs?

Dune sand sucks….literally

Thursday and Friday were planned rest days, even if Thursday was far from restful. Work was crazy and I had my first class that night. I got good news at work but I was too tired to muster up much enthusiasm. Thankfully, Friday was better. I finished the day with some lovely carb heavy French toast and getting my things together for today’s race. I was excited!

I woke this morning with my usual nervous stomach. Since my goal today was to just have fun, what did I have to be nervous about? Nothing but try telling that to my tummy. I have trouble eating food before any race, even my half marathons; I tried a Belvita cracker today. Not a lot but it was still better than usual, I ate 2! Since my race photographer (aka mom) has been complaining that I run every race in all black, she claims it makes it hard to find me in a crowd, I picked out some of the brightest clothes I own.

The race was about 45 minutes away, so I set out with enough time to meet up with my friends about 30 minutes to the starting whistle. Yea for race buddies!!!! My friend, C and her husband are the ones that have run the most races with in the past but it’s been since a Turkey Trot debacle last November that we have made our schedules work. Hopefully we are back on track now!

This race claimed to be in its 25^th year but it need some better organization. The starting line was a chalk line and there was no electronic timing. Yea for the Nike+ app! When picking up your race bib, you were told to fill out the bottom portion. Not being told why, I figured it was for a raffle and didn’t bother since I never win anyways. There were no race shirts or finishing medals. About 15 minutes to go time, my friends and I were catching up when a very perky announcer and friends held an impromptu jazzercise class as a race warm-up! Definitely a race first for me.

The horn sounded and we were off! I wore the wrong belt so the Nike app had 13 seconds on it before the race officially started, oops. Told myself to remember to subtract that off later. We started out on the street headed for the beach and the boardwalk. About 2/3 a mile in, we cut across a parking lot to get to the boardwalk. I saw some painted arrows on the outside of the lot so I followed those while everyone else cut across. I was thinking that everyone was trying to cut a little mileage off along the way, but nope, think I followed the 10k line. Both races merged at the boardwalk so I was back on track. Just in time for Nike to say my mile 1 stats. Mile 1- 8:38, hell yeah, a new mile record for me!

Running the boardwalk my music crapped out. I think I am done with particular music app. I debated if I wanted to fix it or just run without but eventually slowed down to start another playlist and snap a picture or two. Like I said, today’s goal was to have fun. Still I felt I was maintaining a decent pace. That all ended when we hit the dunes.

Running on hard pack sand at the ocean line is kind of nice. Running on soft loose dune sand? That sucks, literally and figuratively. I felt like every time I tried to lift my foot, the sand pulled it back. Plus the trail narrowed to single file and it was almost impossible to pass anyone. It turned into a bottleneck, not fun. Once out of the dunes, we had to cross more soft sand to get to the hard pack. Once there the 5k runners went right and the 10k went left to the pier. I went right across the beach to the next left which brought us to more soft sand. Once we crossed that, we went up the ramp and were then back on the street. I felt like I had 2 pounds of sand in my shoes.

Running past the last water station, I felt tired. That sand had taken a lot out of me and the weather was muggy. Because of the race the traffic was backed up on the street, but instead of the drivers yelling angrily, they were giving shout outs and encouragements to the runners! It was great, you would start to drag a little and then someone would yell out “keep going, you look awesome”! Can I hire people to do that at every race?

Can you tell when I was taking pictures?

I rounded the corner to the end and crossed the finish line at 30:03. Turns out bottom portion of my bib was needed to staple to the card that said I finished 15^th. Oops, nobody told me that! After a little lecture by the lady at the finish line, they just wrote my name and age on the card and placed it in a little bin. Met up with my mom and waited for my friends to come across. They came in a few minutes behind me. 🙂 Awesome! As we were chatting, we figured I went a little too far in the beginning. Nike had me at 3.2, so I didn’t get really lost. We did a head count and C and I figured out we were some of the first women to cross the finish line. So did that mean we made age division leaders? The awards ceremony wasn’t supposed to start until 10:15, did we want to wait that long?

We also figured out that the race clock was a little off. My mom said that it had stopped working at some point while we were running, and their solution was to bang on it. Umm, ok then. So Nike had me at 30:11 for 3.2 miles. Take off the first 13 seconds and that is 29:58. Hmmm, I like that number better. Hehe, either works but oh well it was still fun.

My friends had to leave before the awards ceremony since 10:15 turned into 10:45. It was so cold waiting around. Again, the race could have been better organized. They finally started announcing the age groups. I was waiting for the 30-39. Starting with 3^rd place and it was C! Luckily they let me pick up her medal. I placed 2^nd for our age group. Woo hoo!!! This is an upside to smaller, local races.

2nd Place!!!! Shiny silver :) — 2nd Place!!!! Shiny silver 🙂

My mom and I finished the day with a yummy lunch and a little shopping. I picked up 2 more pairs of bright shorts. I am really liking these Nike Dash shorts. Also, I really should not be allowed anywhere near a Dick’s, so many pretty things.

All in all would have been a great day if it wasn’t for how sick I got when I got home. I am calling it food poisoning because I do not have the time to be sick. So now that I have taken all your time with this post, I am going to curl into a ball and get some rest. I will run again Monday.

I hope everyone has a truly amazing weekend!!!!