Tag: Santa Barbara

Wine Country Half Marathon Santa Barbara Recap

Disclaimer: I received an entry into Wine Country Half Santa Barbara 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!

Race morning dawned clear and sunny. The night before had shown projected temps to be in the low 40’s at the start and only reaching 60 around 10. I planned for a tank with long sleeves. It was a little warmer than predicted in the morning but I stuck to my plan. As I mentioned in my last post, I woke to an unpleasant surprise on race morning, oh the joys of being female, so I knew I was going to be a little more sluggish than I had planned. With 2 weeks of next to no sleep and an extremely achy left leg, I was already planning on taking it easy. I told my mother 2:20-2:25 but I also knew Ashley was pacing the 2:30 so I figured whatever worked.

The start was in Santa Ynez and we were running to Solvang. My mother was able to get me within a block of the start line and damn it was windy and cold!

I found Ashley at the 2:30 sign and we chatted before the start. It’s been so long!!! I met another BibRave Pro too, Carolyn but I didn’t think to take a picture until after. Duh, silly Slacker. After a little more shivering, the race started just a few moments behind schedule.

Miles 1-3 11:04, 11:01, 11:19

The first few miles were pretty crowded, this wasn’t a large race but the neighborhood streets were smaller. That said, it looked pretty cool just seeing a crowd of runners ahead for the beginning miles. The race profile had made the course look like a gradual incline through mile 7 but I quickly realized it more flat. At least by my standards. My calves were feeling kind of tight but they loosened up around mile 3. Those first 3 miles also had some of the cutest furry race spectators ever- a woman was standing on a corner with her pet goose. Seriously, this goose looked so chill while thousands of runners ran right by. Further down, 2 goats came running to a fence and looked like they wanted to run with us. Then there were the miniature horses!!! So cute.

Miles 4-6 11:35, 11:11, 11:33

I was staying steady, sluggish but steady and that was fine. The course so far was more back roads and neighborhoods, I was waiting for vineyards. I was actually surprised that the roads were completely closed- it was awesome but I was surprised- I’m only used to that at races with much bigger crowds. A little past mile 5, we were running into the town of Los Olivos- it’s so small, it’s so cute! Crowd support picked up too because mile 5.8 was the relay transition point. I won’t lie- getting a medal at 5.8 looked pretty awesome. I knew we were almost to the end of the “climbing” section but since the uphill hadn’t been so up, I wasn’t counting on much of a downhill.

Mile 7- 12:29 Corkscrew Hill

Oh holy hill. Found the elevation gain, it’s all in mile 7. Seriously, my Garmin shows an elevation gain of 235 in mile 7 and really maybe all in a half mile. I knew the hill was coming but not like that. I rounded a corner and saw it with runners dotting the way all the way up. Just as I did, my headphones were playing Papa Roach and Jacoby sang/shouted “I don’t want no part of this, None of the above”. Dude you have no idea. 😛 Knowing I was tired and that I still had 5+ miles left, I walked it.

I knew it was the smarter choice. Ashley and the 2:30 group caught up to me and passed me. The hill may have been kicking my ass but now I was hopeful for at least one good downhill somewhere thanks to this monster. I’m used to hills but this was a beast.

Miles 8-10 9:33, 10:08, 11:20

Thank you downhill! I caught up to Ashley and her group again, said hey and continued running on. We were now running through vineyards which I love but it was a little warmer than I would have liked. Correction, I shouldn’t have been in long sleeves even though I was thankful every time the wind had a crazy strong gust. 😛 I took my phone out around mile 9 to take a picture only to see the low battery alert and that it was at 10%. What the hell?!? I sent a quick text to my mom letting her know I was turning it off, shut off my music and turned off my phone. Boo. I also realized 2:25 wasn’t likely anymore.

Miles 10-13 11:32, 12:51, 10:58

Ok, the last 4ish miles without music is way different than the first 4 without. It made things feel so much harder. Well, that and my stomach was starting to cramp. Stupid stomach, stupid hormones. That last real hill was mile 12, it wasn’t even big just steep but for some reason I crawled. We were out of the vineyards and back into neighborhoods, I knew the finish line must be close- I was so ready for it. I admit I was walking more than I wanted to. The crowds were picking up as the finish line neared. A fire truck also ripped through the course but I didn’t pay it much attention- I had a 1/4 mile to go.

Finish- 2:28:46

Slower than I had hoped for but it’s all good. The course was super pretty- yes I would have preferred more rolling hills and less of a beast in the middle- but I say I like hills, right? I wish I could have taken more pictures but I’ve known I need a new phone for while now, wasn’t expecting it to crap out on me like that though. And I got to catch up with a good friend. It was a good race.

*This may sound more positive than I normally am because in all honesty as I was crossing the finish line I realized where that fire truck had been headed. Reading about things happening at races and seeing it real life are 2 entirely different things. It puts things into perspective. I’m also choosing to believe that no news is good news and there was positive outcome.

I met up with my mom post race. We hung out for a bit and I tried to find the other BibRave Pros that were running it but it was too much of a madhouse in too small of a space. The finish was in Solvang Park but it is a small park. It got crowded fast.

Overall, this was a good race. I really liked the course and the aid stations were all run by very enthusiastic kids and teens. This is one I would look forward to doing again…just maybe a little less tired? 😛

Half #25 in the books. 😉

Week 19- Taper?

Upcoming Races:

Destination Races Santa Barbara 13.1- May 13
Rock N Roll San Diego 13.1-June 4

Yeah, that’s it- lets call it taper.

This week was good, short and odd but good. I’m still sleeping poorly and stinkin’ tired, but that happens sometimes, right? One thing that didn’t help was I somehow screwed up my GERD medication. With the ownership change and insurance change at work, I tried to make sure I had all my medications stocked in case there were delays or issues yet somehow I forgot the most important one. Then when I went to refill it, I had no refills and the doctor response was delayed. Holy mother of heartburn people, my chest was on fire for 5 days straight. That sure helped the lack of sleeping, ha! Healthy eating went out the window quickly too, vegetables and fruits just made it worse.

I also got locked out of my blog on phone so I am behind on replying to comments. I’m catching up, promise!

Anyhow, with the race being on a Saturday which is odd for me, I had a plan for the week. Whether or not it worked remained to be seen.

Monday- 3.75 miles Wardrobe hell. In an effort to get over my issues and deal with the heat better, I ordered some new shorts. I love my Fancy Stride (Oiselle) shorts but let’s be real, I’m feeling a little too fluffy to wear them comfortably right now so I figured I would go or something with a little more give. Ha! I ordered the Roga from Oiselle because I have never heard a bad thing about them. Oh my freakin’ A! I spent the next 4 miles picking them out of my crotch with every 3rd step. I finally gave up on running and walked it back in when I realized I was running so damn oddly my knees were starting to hurt. Back to the drawing board.

Tuesday- Rest Instead of running in some crazy wind I decided to do battle with my hair. The brown is really hanging on! My roots are freaky light and the bottom is dark so I’ve been trying to lighten the bottom. I’m not winning. 😛

Wednesday- 1.15 miles The lack of sleep over the past 2 weeks was kicking in and I was super tired. It was about 20 degrees colder after work than I had planned for and my family started texted about all meeting up for dinner. It didn’t take much convincing to have me only run 1 lap of the lake path. That said, the short period of time I was running was pretty good. Then at dinner, my dad expressed his displeasure with choice of hotel locations for this race trip- Lompoc- my mother agreed. So at the last minute, I was changing hotels and cities for Friday night. 😛 Side note- everyone at work was happy I moved hotels too.

Thursday- Rest I wanted 2 rest days before the race. Plus a Saturday race meant that the road trip started on Friday so I had a few last minute things to get ready. Thankfully, my medication was finally ready so I was able to get that after work. Plus I had to finish packing.

Friday- Road trip!! I took the day off work and my mother and I headed down to Santa Barbara to do a little shopping before packet pickup. Per usual, I was able to have my carb loading pizza for lunch. This is becoming a staple. We shopped a bit before heading back North to Solvang for packet pickup. Ever been to Solvang? It’s so cute and Danish but the tourists are crazy! People were literally standing in the middle of the street to take pictures and glaring at cars trying to drive by. One woman kept waving me on at a stop sign and getting mad that I was messing with her picture but she was trying to wave me through 20 pedestrians, ummm no! I had been feeling oddly nauseous at varying points throughout the day so after bib pickup it was off to the hotel to get some rest.

Saturday- Race day! And what a great surprise to wake and discover that the lovely time of the month had come calling… again. Wait, didn’t I race like this 2 weeks ago?!?! Grrrr, so this was going to be fun. Recap to come. 😛

Sunday- Rest It felt weird having raced a half marathon on Saturday. I felt like there was something I was forgetting to do. Part of me wanted to run but I didn’t budget time wisely. I slept in later in an effort to try and catch up on all my missed sleep. Then there were all the usual weekend errands I didn’t do Saturday to get done before an early Mother’s Day dinner with the family. Since my quads were feeling the hills from Saturday, I decided the rest wouldn’t hurt.

18.1 miles for the week. Not too bad considering the measly 1ish mile run on Wednesday. Especially when you compare it to last week. 😛

How was your week?

Ever change hotels last minute?

How was your Mother’s Day?

Wine Country- On My Way

It’s race weekend!

In one way I feel like it snuck up on me too quickly and in another way I feel like it’s been a long time coming.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about this race so I am excited to finally be running it. The course starts in Santa Ynez and ends in Solvang, so Santa Barbara is a bit of a misnomer unless they’re going for the county. 😉 My grandparents used to live in Santa Ynez so it’s kind of like a return to childhood for me. Except I wasn’t into running then. 😛

The scenery looks to be back roads and vineyards which are my favorite kinds of roads. And the elevation profile looks fun-

SB Elevation

Now, part of it’s called Corkscrew Hill and while that sounds ominous, I don’t see it up there? Except maybe that last bit to mile 7?

Now the last couple of weeks haven’t gone according to plan so I will likely be taking it easier than I planned. I would to shoot for 2:20 but the lack of sleep and a medication mix up this week have left me a little lagging. Ashley of Rather Be Runnin’ is pacing the 2:30 group so maybe I’ll just hang with them and catch up since it’s been so long. Plus Saturday races seem to confuse my body. Or maybe it’s all in my head.😛

Anyone else racing this weekend?

Thoughts on Saturday vs Sunday races?

The SF Marathon Training Week 15

I have no witty opening for this one. That’s also assuming anything I’ve ever opened with before was witty. Hmmm, maybe that was a reach.

Like I said in my Friday post last week, I am tired. Just tired. Running wise, the week was actually pretty good. Work wise, I think my brain went into vacation mode way too early. Oops. That wasn’t great considering my boss was on vacation Thursday and Friday. I needed to be firing on all cylinders. I believe I completed most of my piles but I can’t shake the feeling that I forgot something.

Monday- 6.7 miles. 4th of July!! I met with Ashley and Heather for a very patriotic themed run down at Avila Beach. The plan was to do 8 miles but it was my third day of running in a row and my shins and knee were pissed. I ended up falling behind taking walk breaks but I eventually just sat on a bench 2 miles from the beach and waited for them to come back my way. Truthfully, I wanted to swing on the swings while I waited but they were occupied by children. Once they were back, I was able to run the whole back with them. I was fine with fewer miles. Then we went for a super yummy breakfast – churro french toast for the win! It was a great way to spend the morning.

Tuesday- Rest. Yeah, there was no way I was running a 4th day in a row. Rest was awesome. Plus work is always insane the day after a 3 day weekend so it was nice being able to just go home and crash. I think I did something else but I can’t remember.

Wednesday-2.3 miles. My legs still felt wonky. Seriously one 20 miler less than 2 weeks ago and I’m broken for days. I did 2 laps of the lake and called it. They were a slow, crawling 2 laps but that’s better than no miles right?

Thursday- 3.75 miles. Uh oh, 2 days in a row again? However, this was the day that finally felt more normal. I kept it short and sweet though as I didn’t want to push it. Not only is the marathon super close but I had a half marathon on Saturday. But I really wanted to try out my new shorts.

Friday- Rest. My boss is on vacation so it was an open to close kind of day. I did manage to sneak away for 10 minutes and grab my packet for Saturday’s race. And a Diet Coke because by that time I needed one. 😛

Saturday- 13.1 miles. Rock’n Around the Pier Half. My hope was to run the race in the morning and do another 7 in the evening to complete a disjointed 20. Yeah, that didn’t happen. The race was rough and I had some problems, but more on that next post. I did however get in a few miles of walking around SLO with some post race shopping.

Sunday- Rest. Unless miles of walking around Santa Barbara shopping count as exercise. 😛 My mom, S and I headed to Santa Barbara for a day of birthday shopping, S has hers on Monday and mine is Tuesday. It was fun but it made me realize how much I prefer SLO. However I am jealous they have a PizzaRev, that place was awesome. It was a long and tiring day and my legs/feet were fried by the end. By the time I was home I was too tired to even finish this post in time for it go up on Monday. On the upshot- I may have found my marathon outfit. Priorities right?

Overall, it was a good running week, I was just exhausted. I know that time frame wise I am at the point in training that I should be exhausted but I don’t feel like I’ve really trained enough for that. Life has been a little crazy for a few months as well but it doesn’t usually affect me like this. Maybe my upcoming birthday is just making me moody? That’s a thing right?

Going forward, this week would start a traditional taper period for the marathon. However I feel like the past few months have been a taper. So we will see. I know I still need to figure out water. My handheld is not enough and my pack is crap. Hey I rhymed! Non running life- I have 2 vacation days!! Happy dance, happy dance. 😃😃 I have nothing planned- it sounds awesome.

How as your weekend?

When was you last vacation? What did you do?

Suddenly Shoreline

You know you’re a runner when you find out that a local race you’ve run the last 2 years on your birthday weekend is a week later this year and you’re bummed out. 2 years ago I ran the Rock to the Pier 10K the day before my birthday. Last year, I stepped up to the half marathon that was now on my birthday. The 10K rocked, the half marathon kicked my ass. Both were still awesome. There’s something about running a race on/near your birthday that is kind of awesome. Well except for seeing the new age on your bib, that usually stings a bit. 🙂

I was still planning on running Rock’n Around the Pier this year but I just wasn’t feeling very into it. The race has 12+ miles on the beach. Add the sand and the inevitable humidity and I was preparing for a rough time. Throw in a lazier than planned June and I was starting to dread it. Plus, last year I ran it with NikeC, that’s not in the cards this year. So I decided to do the smart thing, I figured I would run the 10K instead. It would mean the loss of bling, but it’s not all about the medals. Right?

2 weeks ago, I got an email. California has a half marathon series every year, and you can earn an extra medal at the end of the year at one of the Series end races for a variety of challenge. Pretty cool but the odds of me running any of the end races are kind of small. The emails let you know of upcoming halfs in the series though. The race at the top of this email was Shoreline Half. In Ventura. On my actual birthday. Could I, should I? Nah, no, that would be crazy.

Call me crazy. I registered. I found a sweet discount online and committed. I also adjusted my training. I had been aiming to hit 4 days a week and up my mileage but I stuck with 3 days and upped my long runs. So my last 3 weeks looked like this-

14 miles overall- 5+ long
16 miles overall- 8 long
18 miles overall- 10 long

Dang, that looks sad. But after 2 Slacker months, I wasn’t trying to break myself by being in a hurry. Plus this race is strictly for fun. For more reasons than just not hurting myself. I am not getting a hotel, I am driving down on race morning with my mom and S (one of her tennis players- she tends to adopt them). So hello to my first ever 3AM wake up call for a race. And hello to packet pickup on race morning. Cuz that won’t be stressful at all. 🙂 The race is flat, which most people would love but I find flat to be my nemesis. Oh and it’s on the boardwalk…along the beach. Hello humidity. #sorrylungs

You know you're a runner when... you are looking forward to a girls weekend that includes a half-marathon!

So am I crazy? Well, that remains to be seen. 🙂 I am hoping for a fun, pretty race. Some shiny new bling and then a day spent shopping and eating around Santa Barbara. Hello Lululemon and Lorna Jane- please take my money. 🙂

So, seriously, am I crazy?

Ever registered for a race at the last minute? I have but not this late for a half.

Do you run on your birthday?