Disclaimer: I received an entry to Surf City Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
Wait, it’s February? How did that happen?
That means 2 things- Super Bowl and Surf City. Now I could care less about the Super Bowl but Surf City is always the same day so I just pretend the excitement is for the race not the game.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am no where near race ready. When I toe the line on Sunday I will be fully prepared to take it easy and take my time. I have run/walk intervals set on my watch and ready to go. But I am looking forward to revisiting the race that started me down the path of (longer) distance running. The crowds are awesome, the beach view is great, I get to (hopefully) see a bunch of other BibRave Pros.
I posted this 3 years ago at my second Surf City
Now if the weather will cooperate. Granted, it is absolutely nothing compared to what is happening in most of the country but a rain filled Saturday and Sunday wasn’t exactly what I was looking forward to. I can roll with it though and have just changed most of everything I was going to pack and wear.
So, fingers crossed for a fun filled weekend that’s only slightly wet.
Disclaimer: Do I even need this? I won entry into this race via a Facebook contest. I would have registered for it anyways but winning is better. 😛
I love this race but it also stresses me out. Why? This race is still my half marathon PR…from 2013. Sometimes I feel like I am getting farther and farther away from that race. I knew going in this year that I was no where near PR shape and that was fine, I was just hoping for a solid race. Coach Jenny with Ekiden Coaching and I had discussed using the race as a training run for the Harvest Marathon half and we were both on the same page of aiming for a 2:10. It sounded a little ambitious as most of my 13.1’s this year have been plagued by a variety of issues but I was hopeful. While my marathon training had little speed work I was hopeful the distance training would help.
Then HOB Fun Run happened and I hurt like hell after. Missed 2 runs due to leg pain, stopped sleeping because well, life and received bad family news. I chucked all time thoughts out the window and just hoped to finish. When my mom dropped me off at the race start I told her to not even look for me before the 2:30 point. City to the Sea is a point to point so logistics can be a little tricky. This year my mom decided she would just drop me off, kill time, pick me up and then we would go to lunch. Thanks mom!
Pet peeve- the race had a 7AM start time. I got like 2 hours of sleep the night before and was feeling a little nauseous. The dang thing started 10 minutes late!
The beginning-
Miles 1-5- 10:04, 10:40, 10:23, 10:00, 10:19
And we were off! I had placed myself near the 2:30 pace group but I lost them fairly quickly. Oops. I tried to just keep it steady but it was only mile 1! Miles 1-5 are fairly flat to downhill so I tried to not be crazy. I felt something flapping about .75 in and looked down to see my left shoelace was undone. Again?! I pulled off to the side to tie and once again it was like I forgot how to tie my shoes. Once fixed I ran on. Damn, my calves were getting super tight. Just keep running…wait, now my other shoe was untied. What?!! Again, I pulled to the side to tie my shoes. Then I ran on. Until I pulled to the side to stretch out my calves. Less than 2.5 miles in and I had stopped 3 times. Probably not a good sign. 😞 I kept going but my lower legs were getting super tight. I hate flat routes. I took my first walk break at 3.5 miles trying to shake the tightness out. Between the slight downhill and the slant of the road, my legs were screaming. I knew there was a hill coming soon and I needed it.
Oh, hill I love you.
The middle-
Miles 6-10- 10:05, 11:01, 9:58, 10:26, 11:53
We were off the main strip in SLO, under the freeway and onto a side road. Hills!! I never thought I would be so excited to hit the hilly portion. But the first hill did exactly what I wanted it to do- the calf tightness loosened almost completely and I didn’t really notice it the rest of the race. Woo hoo! My stomach cramped in a very bad way partway through mile 7- walk break! Bummer was the slant- the road was super slanted and something about it aggravated a muscle high up in my right butt. I have no other way to describe it. That in turn tweaked my right knee. While things didn’t hurt, they sure didn’t feel comfortable.
The calm before the big hill…oh and cars.
There was a decent downhill in mile 8 as we ran into Avila and I was feeling good so I picked up a tiny bit of pace. Then we rounded onto the Bob Jones trail and I just told myself to enjoy running through the trees. I also ran in the dirt alongside the path to take some of the pounding off my legs. I had felt a slight twinge from the troublesome left shin area and the butt issue was still around. 😛 Once out the trail we headed for Avila Bay drive which thanks to last year I knew to expect a good size hill. I told myself I could take a walk break if I ran halfway up. Success! So much better than last year. Rounded to the corner to another hill and we were into Pismo! And the temp jumped about 20 degrees. Ouch.
The Sea!!!! Really there was a mile+ to go.
The End-
Miles 11-13- 11:11, 10:58, 11:33
I wanted to be singing the I’m almost done song but instead I was having some GI issues. My stomach had decided to be pissed off- seriously?! From then on it was run until I cramped then walk until it eased. Grrr. During one of my walk breaks I noticed someone familiar pass me. I wasn’t sure but I hollered Bix anyways- it was! Bix was my very first race buddy- we ran a few races together years ago. Until I convinced her to run Firehouse 5K with me without knowing how brutal it was- she never ran with me again. 😛 This was her fist half marathon! We chatted a bit, discussed how the slanted roads were killing us and I warned her another hill was coming around mile 12. We separated then but it was cool seeing her. I did my run/ walk thing until the very end. I swear this race has the longest last .25 mile. Every single time I run it, it drags on forever! But finally, the finish line was in sight!
Finish- 2:20:35
Well, that’s not too bad! Actually it is my fastest half marathon finish this year! There are a couple of points where I know I lost time but who’s to say I wouldn’t have lost it somewhere else. The shoelaces thing drives me crazy though. I never have that problem but now I have at the last two races! Grrr.
Once I crossed the finish I was given my medal and then a tumbler and then a sticker. Hey, that’s new! Kind of helps make up for the tiny shirt. 😛 I got out of the chute but hung around as I wanted to see Bix finish. Woo hoo!
I was still feeling a little green so I met up with my mom and we just got ourselves out of everyone’s way. I got myself under control and we headed out to find a yummy lunch.
All in all, I would say this was a solid race. I was way more consistent than I thought I would be. I won’t complain about being faster than I figured- neither would my mom- she’d waited long enough. That said, I believe I ran the best I could for where I was at the time- both mentally and physically. I wanted to run a good race, one to clear away the lingering issues with my other halves this year. I wanted to run a race that would help me dust the cobwebs in my head.
So, I think I have been a little too hard on myself. Maybe. It’s been 50 days since I ran a marathon and I’ve been over sitting over here pissed that my long runs haven’t hit 16 yet. This coming from the person who took 3 months off after her first half marathon years ago. I think I momentarily lost my mind. So, I am trying to get it back. My legs are achy and I am more tired now than I was during marathon training. I also have 6 races in the next 8 weeks. Oops. I have the opportunity to work with Ekiden Coaching though, so I am hoping that having someone to report to will reign in my craziness. Fingers crossed!
Training for:
City to the Sea 13.1
Harvest Marathon 13.1
Golden Gate Half
So let’s get to last week!
Monday- 2.34 milesAnother short Monday. Not entirely my fault though. You can read all about the creep fest here.
Tuesday- 8 miles bike, plank, pushups, bridges. I had an appointment with my gastro and it was more of the same old, same old. Decent cross training after though.
Wednesday- Rest. I had planned on running but I fell off/ on my stool at work and it felt like I broke my foot. The top swelled and turned purple. Destructo girl, that’s me. My planks had to be broken into 30 second sections- it hurt to bend my foot.
Thursday- 4.25 miles Not the best but could have been worse. I determine my last pair of PureFlow 4’s were dead dead though. Calf pain, shin pain, foot pain, you name it this run had it. I changed into my Nike’s for the last 1/2 mile or so. I just really wanted to hit 4 miles!
Friday- Rest First early shift Friday in over a month- it was awesome. Except the computers were down for the first 6 hours. Oof.
Saturday- Rest Well, does shopping and trying on shoes count as exercise? I did clear 10, 000 steps without running though. Woo hoo! The PureFlow 5’s went back to the store. I hate returning shoes! I went in with an open mind and asked for help. I tired on 10 pairs of shoes!!! 10! I was torn between a pair of Nike’s, New Balance and Hoka’s. I left with the Hoka’s. Fingers crossed!
Sunday- 10 miles In my original schedule for myself, I really wanted to run 16 miles today. But since I didn’t pull off 14 last week or 12 the week before, I decided to be smart. After last week’s tunnel of dark and pain 8 miles, I headed out early and with a full Camelbak. It wasn’t early enough. The predicted high for the day was 102. Ouch. I optimistically hoped for 12 but knew 10 was more likely. Especially since I was running this in my Nike’s. I didn’t want to test the Hoka’s on a long run. My Nike’s may be the least painful pair of shoes I own but they are not a distance shoe. 10 miles is their limit. Truthfully, today I wanted them off my feet by mile 9. The run was hot and long and I was tired. I found a lone shady spot at the end and sat down. Cool concrete post run feels kind of amazing. 😛
Rookie moment- My mom had planned on meeting me halfway so she could walk some miles but had texted that she wasn’t feeling well. Which I got because I was thisclose to saying screw it when my alarm went off. Anyways, while I was waiting for her to pick me up so we could do lunch I drank more water from my Camelbak then part of water bottle when she picked me up. Too much water, too quickly. I got so nauseated I thought I was going to lose my cookies. Guess it’s a good thing I don’t eat breakfast before running right? I know better!
16.6 miles for the week. It is what it is. There was a time when I would have called this a very solid week. That was also the time when I lied to myself and said I ran long runs but rarely did. I was also faster than so hmmm…..
A week of shoe issues, calf issues, wardrobe malfunctions and a long run attempt that knocked me flat. Yay?
should have napped with the cat Monday- 2.0 miles. Yeah, another run testing the new Brooks. I also wore the wrong shorts. This was a hot mess from the start and I could tell it just wasn’t going to get better.
Tuesday- Rest I was sore from the baby run. 😩
Wednesday-Rest Pizza night!! 🍕🍕
Fall!!
Thursday- 3.8 miles I was optimistically hoping for 5-6 miles. Fail. Everything hurt. Ankles, shins, calves. Which led to whiny thoughts then deep thoughts. Which prompted my last post and my concerns that my weight gain was affecting my shoes.
Friday- Rest I’ve closed the last 4 Fridays and I admit it’s making me tired. Crossing the street on my way back to my car, I felt twinges in my left shin. I was also feeling a little off so I decided right then that my planned 14 miler was going to be broken into 2 runs over the weekend. I was trying to be smart for once. I failed.
Saturday-8 miles The first run of the weekend. I overslept and was feeling a little weird but if I didn’t run every time I felt a little off, I would never run. I headed out around 9:30 but as the high of the day was only supposed to be 91 so I figured I would be fine. If only I had known how wrong I was.
The run started off ok. I was sticking to my 5/2 run walk intervals, wearing my Nike’s and compression socks and my shins/ ankles were feeling pretty good. Since I was only running 8 miles I decided to throw in some hill repeats. What was I thinking? I was huffing and puffing but I kept running. I did 2 hill repeats before running to the turn around point then back for another 2 hill repeats. I felt fine though mile 6 then things went bad.
My 24oz water bottle was almost empty and I was slowing down significantly. My town doesn’t believe in water fountains. They are either turned off or locked up. A little over a mile from house I passed an elementary school. The gates weren’t locked!!! Hallelujah! I felt like a creeper opening the gates but I really needed water. I was loosing steam though. I barely made it up the last hill- I had to stop halfway up, I couldn’t catch my breath. I normally love running the downhill and the flat on the way back to my driveway. I couldn’t do it. I hit 8 miles about 1/4 mile from my driveway and just quit. I crawled back. Once confronted with my driveway, I almost just gave up. I was seriously thisclose to just sitting down partway up and hoping someone drove by.
That wasn’t the end. Once I made it inside, I started overheating. I was still sweating so I wasn’t freaking out about heat stroke but something was not right. I tried taking a cold shower, chugging water and I had my brother bring me food. Then I tried napping. Every time I tried to stand up, everything kind of went black and tunnel like. I kept going back to bed. I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon sleeping. I knew I had the Avocado Margarita Festival to volunteer at in the evening. I finally managed to get up without the world spinning and I headed towards work town. I treated myself to In n Out hoping it would make me feel better. Not really. Boo. I left work town around 8 and was glad to see my bed when I got home.
Festival time!
I don’t know if it was too hot- only in the 80’s, not hot at all- or if it was the fact that I did hill repeats for the first time in months. Or if I actually had a touch of something. I later found out a coworker had similar issues on Saturday as well and they didn’t run. They ended up doing nothing but sleeping after their festival shift.
Sunday- 10 miles bike This time I listened to the off feeling I still had. I had woken up at 7 with a pounding headache so I rolled over and went back to sleep. I woke up at 10:30! feeling a little more human. After running some errands I decided my 6 mile run was not a good idea and decided to just ride the bike.
13.9 run miles for the week. Ouch. Let’s just chalk it up to a rough week and move on. I wish I knew what set off Saturday’s issues because I never want to feel like that again.
Have you had a recent wardrobe malfunction?
Would you eat an avocado Popsicle? Yes, it does exist.
I know it’s Thursday but it’s the halfway point of a short week that’s midweek right?
The fans are gone! The silence is glorious, it really is. Now we don’t have hot water as they start the repairs but small victories right? 😛
I drove home on auto pilot. Which I am sure happens to all of us at some point but I drove the scenic route home. A portion of which is essentially a speed limit free roller coaster of a road you drive for 14 miles. Not the road to go on autopilot on. Instead of watching the hairpins, I was contemplating life. I’m feel like I am sliding into a funk and I can’t seem to swerve away. I have a couple posts I am sitting on but not sure about sharing yet.
The Chimney Fire is 100% contained!! Woo hoo! Thank you firefighters!!! Though I will miss seeing you all around town. 😉
I was so small! Also thoughts for another post
I thought about driving to Ventura this weekend to run a 5K. Just because I really like the medal. But I decided that wasn’t exactly fiscally responsible. Boo. Then Timehop showed me pics from the Ventura half in 2014. Just rub it in Dino.
2 years ago
Instead of racing, it’s that time again- Avocado Margarita Festival!! The format has changed a bit so I am only volunteering for a few hours one day. What will I do with the rest of my time??? Well, run of course. 🙂
Someone found my blog last week by searching “gastroparesis pants”. I get that. I may not have talked about my asshat stomach in awhile but it’s still an asshat. I actually have my quarterly appointment with my gastro next week. I think I’ve run out of diets to try. Grr.
While I am looking forward to fall weather, the sun is setting so much quicker already. I will have to make the transition to the treadmill sooner than I would like if I want my runs to be longer than 4 miles. Or I need to get hella’ fast. Hmmm.
I tried to use a gif, I failed
Oh- I won 25 bucks on a scratcher ticket! I’ve never done that before! I was stoked.
I am reading a book where the main character’s name is Fallon. Mind trip! It’s kind of odd.
Remember when I said I randomly gave myself bangs? Apparently I should have done it sooner- customers keep complimenting me. Which makes me wonder- did I look that bad before??!? I am also very blonde right now (summer sun!) and one customer told an employee that I look so much better au naturel and should stop dying my hair dark. Say what? You keep those thoughts to yourself! Haha, she doesn’t know I was looking at hair dye the other day. A purple shade was really speaking to me. 😛 Too bad work wouldn’t approve.
