what's the hubbub...?

meanies

2015-07-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

Whew is it hot today. It's not even the hottest it's been this summer (it's maybe 77F whereas it has been over 90 as recently as a couple of weeks ago!), but it's apparently enough to make me a little, I don't know, less tolerant of assholes. Some days, I *believe* that I can brush them off and happily go about my day--now, though, I can't get over just how many exist and how I'm tired of being polite to them.

Sometimes you just gotta say it in order to feel a little better!! Let's hope the virtual venting works!

Surfer's Path Marathon PR - 5/17/2015 and SC Half PR

2015-06-25T23:18:00.002-07:00

I haven't been keeping up with any blogging of late as it has been remarkably busy--needing sleep seems to be a problem! Anyway, I ran a marathon this year because...well, I don't know why. The last time I ran a marathon, I was so beat by mile 20, I vowed I would never run that distance again. But, the prospect of a local race was one I just couldn't pass up...I guess!

I trained for this one, too. I mean, I followed a training plan to run a sub-4 hour marathon. It only included one 20-mile distance run and then there was a whopping 2-week-long tapering period. I'd never tapered for that long before...and for the previous 2 marathons, I ran multiple 20+ mile runs (though none of the runs exceeded 22 miles). I felt a little like I should have been running more during those last couple of weeks leading up to the event, but I decided to Trust in the Plan.

The Plan did include a lot of interval training, something I have since come to really enjoy! Not only did it break up the monotony, I could feel that I was getting stronger and faster. My improvement led to a new PR of 1:46:08 in this year's Santa Cruz Half; I beat my previous PR by about 5 minutes, which is pretty significant.

So, for the marathon, I really paced myself from the start, knowing that there were plenty of little hills I needed to make it over! The first 13 miles felt great and comfortable--and this was just about where I hit the Wharf and the uphill leading to West Cliff. By the time I got to Swift St., I was beginning to flag. Mile 18 was out on the bluff in Wilder Ranch (this course had us loop around the horse barn) and an older fella passed by me with a "we're on our way home"! I was relieved and yet dismayed. It was hard to believe that I was still so far away from finishing! I think the last 6 miles I walk/jogged.

I was walking along W. Cliff when I spied Tom and the kids. I immediately perked up! I definitely was almost done and there they were cheering me on and jumping up and down all excited for me! I managed to hobble along to the finish line. With a finish time of 3:55:23, I made my time target, but I was still disappointed that I had to stop and walk so much! But, overall, I am content. New Marathon PR set (beat the last one by about 6 minutes, I think).

Anyway, final stats for both SC Half and Surfer's Path are as follows:
SC Half:
Div Place: 275/2219 (12.3%)
Gender Place : 70/1284 (5.4%)
Age Place (F 40-49): 13/297 (4.3%)
Elapsed Time: 01:46:08
Pace: 8:06/mi

Surfer's Path:
Div Place: 83/519 (15.9%)
Gender Place: 23/253 (9%)
Age Place (F 40-49): 5/68 (7.3%)
Elapsed Time: 3:55:23
Pace: 8:59

2015 predictions

2015-01-02T02:21:00.001-08:00

Resolutions and predictions are peppering the internet right about now (seeing as it is the first day of 2015!). I read through a few and wondered if I could come up with my own.

I haven't really thought these through, but for what they're worth, here are my seat of the pants notes on resolutions and frail predictions for 2015.

1. Wearable will be better than bearable. Last year, wearable tech started flooding the market--smartwatches, fitness trackers, improvements to Google Glass....But, the aesthetics are poor and the functionality is still limited.

I predict that in 2015, smart watches will shrink to a more fashionable size to the point where I might actually want to wear one. Then, of course, integration with third-party services will expand. Beyond that, more health information will be available within a single device--heart rate, hydration, step count, sleep tracking.

I'm eager for better wearable. Right now, I have a TomTom Cardio Runner that I use to track my heartrate and record my runs, but I don't have access to heart rate monitoring any time I want--it only records heart rate while I'm in run/workout mode. While I can use an app to determine my resting heart rate when I wake up, I'm required to reach over and grab my device from my side table, fire up the app, and then make sure it's detecting my heart rate before I can settle back down to let the app do it's work. I would love a device that would allow me to check heart rate with less fuss--something I wear on my wrist like my TomTom, but smaller and more comfortable.

2. The internet will not die, it will continue to thrive. As a UI engineer, I'm attentive to news about the future of front-end development and, for a while, there seemed to be quite a few dire predictions that device apps would kill web apps. But, with the amount of self-quantification going on these days (and data in general), I don't see a decline in web apps at all, but a resurgence of them as folks' desires to slice and dice mashed-up data grows. There is really only so much one can efficiently and comfortably manage on a small(er) screen and with a virtual keyboard.

3. While smart watches shrink in size, smart phones will get bigger. This increase in screen size still won't be enough to entirely eliminate the need for a laptop or desktop computer.

4. The percentage of women in engineering will remain virtually unchanged (http://www.ngcproject.org/statistics) and so will the wage gap.

Resolutions?

I'm not sure I really have any resolutions. But, I do have a huge to-do wishlist: there are lots of household projects I'd like to get done and many more hobbies to which I'd like to devote more time or improve on (photography! various projects with kids including teaching programming concepts). I'll update here if/when new inspiration on resolutions and/or predictions hit!

2014 mileage goal reached!

2015-01-01T23:15:00.001-08:00

I can't remember when I really started to hustle towards the running mileage goal (850 miles this year), but when I finally came to the realization that I only had x weeks left and I'd have to run over 20 miles each week to make the goal, I was unsure if I'd make it. But, I committed to running 4x a week, with at least one long run every week. Luckily, Jenny was a willing partner for 2 of the 4 weekly runs and her company definitely motivated me to get out there on several mornings where I would have preferred to just stay nice and warm in my bed! We did the majority of our runs in the dark morning hours (often starting as early as 6am) and some in some pretty rainy conditions--soaking wet shoes, kind of rain.

I was worried I wouldn't find the time to run during holiday weeks, especially since we were traveling to LA. But, on the day that Tom's mom offered to watch the kids so we could head to the gym together, I just decided I would knock out the last 8 miles and be done with it!

So, the last 8 miles were broken up into 2 runs--4 miles while Tom was in the gym lifting and 4 miles with Tom back in his mom's extremely hilly neighborhood! I ended up with 850.6 miles on December 28th! But, for good measure and to try to remain somewhat consistent, I did another 4 miles in the gym on the 30th right before we headed home. And, once home, we did an end-of-the year Basic Loop with the kids! Dylan kept up a good pace the entire way and Cameron, who was prone to sprinting and then walking, fell back. We peeled off and went through the school which I thought would be a shortcut, but she still ran about 1.1 miles!

All told, that puts my final mileage at 855 for the year! Next year, my goals aren't terribly lofty. I have a goal of 875 miles with a stretch goal of 900. Let's see if I can make it....

2014 Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot - PR

2014-12-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

This year's run resulted in a new PR -- my first 10K PR since the 2008 Almaden Classic where I ran 50:23)! For the record, I wasn't really trying for a PR. The Turkey Trot is such a crowded race, I figured I'd be in a clump of runners and, therefore, slowed a bit by the crowd. But, I jack-rabbited out and tried to get ahead of the crowd...and then something funny seems to happen when I'm running with the "faster runners"...First, I lose track of who's mis-seeded themselves (the slower runners) and so I lose track of my own pace (I don't check my watch for my pace until I hit a mile-marker), so I just kind of get carried by the flow.

I was noticing that I was working hard (relatively high heart rate), but it wasn't too uncomfortable. I wasn't really thinking of a PR until I saw the clock at the finish line and I started to sprint!

I'm pretty happy with the results:
Overall: 897 out of 7880 (11%)
Women: 208 out of 3940 (5%)
F 45-49: 19 out of 379 (5%)
Age/Grade: 65.80% Place: 456
Finish: 49:29
Pace: 7:58

An interesting thing, too. The 2008 Almaden Classic recorded Age/Grades as well. Back then, I received an Age/Grade of 61.63% so I have apparently improved there as well.

Also, quite significantly, this was Dylan's first official "Adult" level race! Now that he is 8, there is no longer a kids run for his age group, so if he wants to run, he's gotta do a grown-up run...and he did! He got his own tech-tee and 10th anniversary medal! And, now we can also track his official race results!

From his account, he loved the race and felt like it was "easy." They even passed Yu-chen and Ellie (who were walking) on the course! He has plans to start in a faster corral next year (he started in the very back this year, but had to make his way through thick crowds with Tom and the double-stroller!).

His results:
Men: 3016 out of 5352 (56%)
M 01-09: 167 out of 363 (46%)
Age/Grade: 39.59% Place: 4947
Finish: 43:00
Pace: 13:51

Inaugural Disneyland Avenger's Half Marathon near PR - 11/16/2014

2014-11-20T14:39:00.001-08:00

Ok. Missed my PR by 7 seconds, but I started so close to the start line (took 9 seconds to cross start line) and I placed 4th in my division (F45-49) which is the highest I've ever placed in a large race! So, I'm happy. I think if it weren't so windy, I probably would have gotten a new PR. It was so windy, my hat not only blew off my head, but it was swept several feet in less than a second...I decided to leave it where it fell! Also, I was working hard not to get blown backwards....It was that windy.

Anyway, aside from the wind, it was a great run. I ran at a comfortable pace, the temperature was good and the course was flat...and new, actually--we approached Angels Stadium from the "other side", wherever that was, which made the run more interesting.

Not much to say beyond that. So here are my stats:

Div Place (F 45-49): 4/503 (~1%)
Gender Place: 68/6407 (1%)
Overall Place: 350/10449 (3%)

5K split: 26:42
10K split: 52:16
15K split: 1:20:18

Net Time: 1:51:22

Inaugural Surfer's Path 10K - 11/9/2014 almost a new 10K PR

2014-11-09T15:31:00.002-08:00

I am trying to make my annual mileage goal of 850 miles and I like inaugural races--it's always nice to start a new running tradition--so, at the very last minute (meaning, 13 mins. before Registration closed on the last day of packet pick-up), I registered for the Inaugural Surfer's Path 10K.

I had just run 12.5 miles on the treadmill on Friday night/Saturday morning (finished up at around 1:30am) and I was pretty sore this morning when I went on my run with Jenny. She was super nice and offered to head in our direction so I would be ever-so-slightly closer to the start line. But, of course, our neighborhood means hills! And, we did the hills. After .5 mile warm-up up and down the street, we started our ascent to the golf course, via the path that goes by a nice vista point overlooking the valley between our neighborhood and the Chaminade.

On our return from the golf course, we took the trail at the end of Park and then did a cool-down before heading home. All told, we did 4.17 miles with a total reported climb of 1195 feet!

I knew, starting out at the event, that I wasn't sure how well I'd do in the 10K. I knew my legs would be tired and I knew the hill run would fatigue me even more, but I also knew that I would enjoy the run. I hardly ever run on the east side, but I still think it is stunningly beautiful. I'm also familiar enough with the route that I knew most of it would have a view of the ocean. Plus, the weather was phenomenal (just under 60F at start time--8am!). I went out there because I knew I'd like the course and it was a fun way to get in more mileage towards the annual goal.

I'm glad I did it. It was so pretty, I ran with a big smile on my face. I wasn't shooting for a PR, but I actually came very close. It's my best 10K in recent years, but apparently, I hit my fastest 10K back at the Almaden Classic in 2007 (8:06 pace with a total time of 50:23). Today's stats are as follows:

Div Place : 66 of 436 (15%)
Gender Place: 22 of 291 (7.5%)
Age Place: 6 of 140 (F 40-49) (4.2%)

Start Time: 08:01:33
Elapsed: 00:50:31
Pace: 8:08

I wasn't sure if I'd see Tom and the kids at the finish, but there they were! As always, I loved seeing them and seeing them gave me an extra burst of energy to finish especially strong (and happy)!

Hoping to do this event again, for sure. It was so nice to do much of the Wharf to Wharf course without the crowds!

As for my mileage goal, today's run with Jenny and the event put me at 81% complete...I still have 156 miles to run to make it. With only 7 weeks left in the year, it's a tough target, but I'm not ready to give up trying.

San Jose Rock 'n' Roll - 10/06/2014

2014-10-14T00:15:00.000-07:00

We were in the middle of a heat-wave during this year's Rock 'n' Roll, so I already bet from the get-go that I would not be getting a PR. And so it went!

I started out in corral 5 and Tom started with me (though he was assigned to Corral 4). Actually, we were so late in getting to the corrals, we couldn't fit, so we ended up starting with Corral 6. I was a little miffed by this as I felt that every minute (getting hotter and hotter) would ultimately matter, if even just psychologically.

I started out too fast and knew it, so I tried to slow myself down, but caffeine was coursing through me, pushing me to go a bit faster than usual (I have been drinking green tea rather coffee for quite some time now)! It was uncomfortable and for the vast majority of the race, I actually felt like throwing up. I'm not sure if this was due to my speed, the heat, having eaten a bagel right before starting, all of the above...or other?!

I obviously managed to carry on, but this race was definitely tough both physically (due to nausea) and psychologically. I was unhappy for most of the race, dwelling all too much on how hot I was and how it was too much like Disneyland. I let myself walk at every aid station and pour water down my back.

At about Mile 10, I realized that, for sure, I would not be getting a PR (and,honestly, by this time, I just couldn't care less), so I walked a significant amount.

In the end, I wish I could have just pushed myself even just a tiny, tiny bit harder. I'm not good at being uncomfortable!

I do wonder, however, if I have hit my peak. Perhaps I'll do better at the inaugural Disney Avengers Half in November. Perhaps I can defy my age one more time....And, for the record, Assaf and Tom did not get PRs this year either; they finished in 1:46:48 and 2:00:53, respectively (and, interestingly, despite Assaf's time, I did better within my age/gender group than he did--guess gals are just generally slower...!).

Here are the overall stats:
Total Time: 1:53:43
Pace: 8:40
Overall Place: 1358/8362 (16%)
Division (age): 30/491 (6%)
Gender: 307/4234 (7%)

Disneyland Half - 8/31/2014

2014-09-08T19:53:00.001-07:00

No PR, but I'm happy with my results. I think this is the first time I've come in within the top 5% in a large race--but, of course, the Disneyland Half demographic is probably skewed more towards beginning or "casual" runners, so I'm sure it's a slower group overall. Still, I walked a lot. It was hot at 5:30am already and, by 6-ish or so, I was already pouring water down my neck!

Heat and walking considered (and taking into consideration the fact that I walked about 30K steps while in Disneyland the previous day), I was able to maintain about an 8:30 pace.

So glad I could take a screenshot of the results rather than having to type 'em all in (if it's still hard to see, you can always click on the image to see the larger size)!

halloween past...and going on present

2014-08-22T00:10:00.002-07:00

Oh, yes. I found this hideous old picture from some Halloween years ago. I'm a bicyclist who has apparently fallen off her bike (note the band-aids??)! It's a pretty cheap and lazy costume, but it beats out the laziest of costumes: going as my twin.

I have to admit, I'm not terribly fond of dressing up on Halloween (in case you couldn't tell already), so I look for the easy outs. This year, the kids are already discussing "Frozen" as this year's theme. Cameron, of course, wants to be Elsa; Cameron and Dylan want Chloe to be Anna, and Dylan can be flexible although Olaf and Sven are winning out.

It would be great if he were Sven, then I can be a carrot. I have also suggested being an icicle. I just want something easy...and cheap. Maybe I'll get away with being my twin again!

Seascape 5-miler

2014-05-07T12:22:00.001-07:00

So, my shin has been continuing to be a minor irritant so I'm opting out of Surfer's Path on 5/18. But, with some encouragement from a friend, I did sign up for the Seascape 5-miler, which I figured I'd be able to do with shin splints or not. And, while my shin felt a little beat up during and afterwards, I was able to maintain a good pace while I was out there (8:03, according to Runkeeper)!

I've stayed off the road for much of my training sessions--I did one sub-3 mile trail run with Jenny and one 60-minute aqua-jogging session, but other than that, I stayed on the treadmill and did cross-train sessions on the bike and the elliptical.

I wasn't sure how fast I'd go, and I never set up my Runkeeper in time to speak to me during events, so the only way I could gauge my speed was by how heavy I was breathing and how quickly the people around me seemed to be going.

Using those two things as my guide, I determined that I couldn't possibly be going "that fast", but even if I were going "that fast," I could surely keep it up for a "mere 5 miles." So, I carried on.

As it turns out, I was the 10th gal to finish (out of 82) and the 21st overall. It was a small race, so this isn't as good as one would think (the joy of statistics!!).

Gender: 10/82 (12.2%)
Overall: 21/114 (18.4%)
Time: 36:20

The course ended on the bluff--beautiful view! But the vast majority of the course was just on the street. Although the neighborhood is nice, I would have preferred a beach view!

Anyway, felt good to finish at that pace. It was another pleasant surprise. And, the best thing about it, is that the shin doesn't feel so sore that I have to stop running! Also, the weather was just beautiful (~mid 50F throughout!). Now, it's time to see how the shin will fare on longer runs back out on the road.

Santa Cruz Half - near PR

2014-04-13T22:57:00.002-07:00

Today's event stats:

Division Place 460/2331(19.7%)
Gender Place 159/2733 (5.8%)
Age Place 31/322 (9.6%)
Start Time 08:02:23
5.5 Mile 00:46:34
Elapsed 01:51:19
Pace: 8:29

So, I thought I developed either shin splints or a stress fracture about 5 weeks before this race. I took 3 weeks off to recover -- cross-training, including some aqua jogging -- which left only 2 weeks of real running before race day.

She.is.Beautiful was my first run back. And, after experiencing little pain from that event, I slowly eased myself back to running training. Not wanting to re-injure myself, I took it slow. I did more aqua jogging to replace one of my weekly runs, and opted to run on the treadmill instead of the street when I wasn't running with Jenny. I also kept my pace fairly slow and my mileage down.

Then, I realized I miscalculated how many training weekends I had left! So, my longest run turned out to be just under 6 miles (whereas I had planned my last run to be 8-10), just one week before event day. On that day, I actually did 2 runs; I ran about 4.5 miles with Jenny (hills in our 'hood) and then later in the evening, I went out with Chloe in the stroller for another 5+ mile run.

During the rest of the week, I focused on 45-60 min. cross-train sessions on the bike and the elliptical and did a 5-miler with Jenny on Thursday. I hoped that this training would be sufficient to pull me through.

Quite surprisingly, Jenny decided she was going to run with me--not the entire course, but from Woodrow, through Wilder, and back to Woodrow. Our estimate of that loop being 10 miles was dead-on! I was worried she would not be happy about the hills (her longest training run was also just under 6 miles), so I emailed her to warn her about them. Turns out, they were nothing to her. She never ceases to amaze me and I feel so fortunate to have her as a running partner!!

Jenny is an incredibly strong athlete, and I worked hard to keep her pace! She was especially impressive on the hills; where I would have happily slowed down, she pushed me to keep up. We made it up the hill at mile 8-9 panting but, miraculously, I felt relatively strong.

We managed to maintain about an 8:30 for the entire race. I wasn't sure how I'd fare when she peeled off at Woodrow. By then, I was beat, having worked so hard to maintain pace with her, but by then, I also knew that getting a new PR was within reach. There were 2 factors that I felt would affect it--my initial pace from start to Woodrow (I had no idea how fast I was going when I met up with her) and how much I would slow down after she left.

As we parted, she coached me to try to keep up with this gal with a braid and a pink shirt ... and I did just that. I never caught the girl, but I did try to close the gap. It was definitely good advice that helped keep me going! I wasn't even sure I'd have anything left in me to sprint at the end, but being so close to a new PR, I urged my legs to keep on going.

As it turns out, I got my fastest recorded pace, but I missed last year's rock 'n' roll half PR by a mere 4 seconds (my pace for this run was actually 8:29.85 so truly, rounded, it was an 8:30 pace)!

It kills me that missing my old PR by 4 seconds is among the strongest of my lingering thoughts on the event. After all, I nearly got a new PR on what I considered to be "sub-par" training and I had started out thinking I would be happy finishing in 2:10 or just getting anywhere below a sub-2:00. In fact, I started the run with the 2:00 pacer. And, I had the company of a very dear friend. But, the 4 seconds irks me. What if I didn't get that last cup of water? What if I pushed myself harder just a few yards earlier?? What if I had tried passing just 1 more person??

Overall, though, it was such an amazing run for Jenny's company and inspiration. We'll get the PR next time. I'm certainly feeling like I should be able to beat last year's Rock 'n' Roll.

Assaf, by the way, killed it with a 7:11 pace in the 10K. He just pulled on his shoes and went!

She.is.Beautiful 2014

2014-03-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

This year, I was so honored to run with some of the most amazing young ladies in Santa Cruz - Heather's 9 and 7-year olds and a friend's 10-year old. Plus, I got to borrow Jenny's double BOB and had both of my little girls with me!!

It was so amazing to watch these young ladies finish. The first mile, I was really worried. Nobody seemed to want to run much and I felt that didn't bode well for the remainder of the 5K. And, Nikki, who was going to walk with K. if K. bonked early (which she did), ended up stopping to walk within maybe that first 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Her very sweet daughter still had some gas in the tank, so she went with us.

I don't think I felt like I could stop encouraging them along at any point in time! We saw Heather, Dylan and Assaf at Natural Bridges, the turnaround point, but K. felt like she wanted to still keep going. It had already been a struggle to get her to 1.5 miles, but I was too distracted and took it at face-value that she'd be able to run the rest of the race.

The second half was very painful. K. complained about her feet hurting and about being unable to run. I could see in Isa's and K.'s faces that they were struggling. By this point, though, T. was warmed up and asking if we could run after only short, a few yards, of walking. I was struggling with what to do.

I voiced my concerns -- should she wait for Nikki on the sidewalk, (I even asked Fiona if she could walk with K. but she refused) -- or should T. run ahead and wait for us at the finish, but I wasn't comfortable with either, so I kept rallying them so we could all stay together.

With about 1 mile left, I pointed out that we could see the finish line. All we had to do was head towards the big, black inflatable finish line! Hashed out a strategy to jog for a bit so we could reserve some energy to finish strong. Once we were close enough to the finish...where we could really see it, we were going to run as fast as we could across the finish!

And they all finished!! I can remember when I did my first long run (the Jungle Run half) and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I felt so good crossing that finish line. I sure hope the girls will remember how great it felt to know they finished and I hope they will carry this success with them always.

Crossed at 49:10. That's a ~15:50 pace. I'll bet we can beat that next year!

As for my own running training. I started out the year strong, but just as I was ramping up training for the upcoming SC Half, I injured myself and stopped running for nearly 3 weeks. I did a short run with Jenny on Thursday (about 2.5 miles) and this 5K is the longest I've been on my feet running since the injury! Happy to report that I seem to be on the up and up although tonight I ran the treadmill for only 35 minutes and I'm feeling some twinge (perhaps paranoia...we'll see).

ZombieRunner Quarry Lakes Run - December 14, 2013

2013-12-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

Ok. Second marathon ever. I was all set for a "flat" course and was dismayed to find that it wasn't FLAT. Also, it was mostly in gravel. The course description read as follows:

60' elevation gain
64% crushed rock
36% asphalt

So 60 feet elevation sounds flat, right?? Oh, well. I have no idea how they arrived at that measurement. But, setting that aside, on to the run details (and I'm writing this very much after the fact, so I'm relying on my memory). I got tired right away. Also, I spent a lot of time resenting the reported elevation gain. And, I happen to be one of those runners where the "mental" game is about as important as the physical training. Not being in a good mind-set was no bueno.

The worst thing about this event was that it shared a course with the half-marathon. The marathon was basically 2 loops and at the half-way point, I didn't see any markers forking the marathoners away from the finish line, so I accidentally crossed. Then, I had to spend a few minutes straightening it out with one of the volunteers (she had to get my race number to back out my results) and then I had to figure out where I was suppose to resume the loop. I was pretty irritated by this, especially since I'd had a rough first half to begin with! I could have happily stopped running right then and there and having my momentum stopped was just terrible. I already did the loop, too, and knew everything I was not looking forward to...

I had to stop and do some walk/jogging pretty late in the race (not sure when), but I was thinking that all of my optimism about doing a sub-4 mile marathon evaporated. I wanted to just walk that final mile and didn't even care if I just walked across the finish line, but near the end, there were my babies cheering me on with Tom! I knew I had to shuffle across the finish line--I couldn't have them see me "give up" so close to finishing, so I rallied and dragged my feet across.

Boy was I surprised when they gave me a medal for finishing 2nd in my age group! As it turns out, this was another one of those small races--only 9 gals in my age group to "compete" with, but hey, after all of that spleen and suffering, I'll take the extra medal!

Stats:
Overall: 27/74 (36.4%)
Age: 2/9 (22%)
Time: 4:05:41
Pace: 9:23

Morgan Hill Half Marathon - October 20, 2013

2013-10-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

The most memorable thing about this run was that it was freakin' cold at the start line! But, luckily, I have an awesome little sister who a) let us sleep at her house the night before; b) drove me to the start line so I could stay in her car until the last possible minute! Of course, my favorite part was seeing my cheer squad at the finish line (a nice surprise as I wasn't sure Tom would be able to get all of the kids up and at 'em in time for the finish!).

Stats:
Age: 9/65 (13.8%)
Overall: 153/735 (20.8%)
Gender: 34/365 (9.3%)
Total time: 1:53:16
Pace: 8:38

Splits:
4-mile: 35:21

My favorite thing about this run was the purple tech tee I got! I also earned an extra medal for completing 3 runs in the Bay Area Running series (Santa Cruz Half, Jungle Run, and Morgan Hill Half).

Also, I passed a dad (who looked like he had just started a 1-mile run) with his 13-year old son. Chatted with them for a minute and eventually, that kid passed me (as did his dad who continued to look like he was on the shortest run ever)! Amazing and inspiring. I hope I will be able to run these distances with my kids some day.

The course was uphill for the entire first half. Here are my notes from Runkeeper which reported a Total Climb of 4889:
Total climb stats are off by quite a margin, but yes, this was a hilly run. Analyzed the GPX file across a few other tools and these show a total climb (total ascent + total descent) as ~3020ft; Total climb: 1515ft; Total descent: 1505-1508ft. Unfortunately, elevation data is only as good as the device and, apparently, GPS on mobile is notoriously inaccurate.

San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half PR

2013-10-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well, we all got running PRs this year at the SJ Rock 'n' Roll, and 8 seconds was the lucky number! Tom and Assaf were 8 seconds apart coming in at 1:45:12 and 1:45:04, respectively, and I beat my previous PR (from this year's Jungle Run) by a mere 8 seconds (1:51:15)!

I really had to work to beat it, too. I started out feeling great and feeling strong. My Runkeeper stats show that in that first mile, I averaged an 8 minute pace and the second mile, 8:03.

I knew I was going too fast, though, so I reined it in but battled the voice inside that was encouraging me to go as fast as I could while I could, reminding me I could always slow down later.

For the most part, I tried to strike a balance. I knew it was going to be close to 70F by finish time, so it was in my best interest to try to cover as much ground as possible during the cooler part of the run.

And, it did get warm...quickly! I found myself feeling alternately crummy and revitalized--crummy shortly after taking in water and improved a few minutes later, so my pace fluctuated, but was, by mid-run, already at about 8:30.

I knew getting a PR was in reach but also knew I didn't really have much leeway. The last 3 miles were hot and miserable and I could not push myself much while sprinting through the final .1 to the finish line. I was watching the clock during the entire sprint and trying to make it before the clock ticked to 1:57 (by my calculation, I crossed the start about 6-8 minutes after gun time), but I didn't! So, when I crossed the finish, I was not entirely certain I'd gotten a PR, though I was leaning on "yes."

In the end, well, I beat it by only 8 seconds. If I hadn't sprinted with everything I had, I probably wouldn't have made it! And, see that, another 8 seconds: my clock time was 1:57:08!!

Overall, I did better than I felt (and, actually, quite surprised by the percentiles which I probably wouldn't have paid much mind to had Heather not mentioned it twice!):

Overall : 1526/10263 = 15%
Division (my age group): 43/914 = 5%
Women : 305/5331 = 6%
Pace: 8:30

And, now with Runkeeper genius, I have my splits, too:
1 mi 8:00 -2
2 mi 8:03 -21
3 mi 8:09 4
4 mi 8:21 6
5 mi 8:19 33
6 mi 8:25 -7
7 mi 8:30 1
8 mi 8:24 -14
9 mi 8:47 32
10 mi 8:21 -15
11 mi 8:28 -13
12 mi 8:37 -1
13 mi 8:38 26
14 mi 9:14 -11 (this is a little deceptive because I couldn't stop RK right away).

It is doubtful I'll get another PR at the Morgan Hill half in 2 weeks--it's a hilly course--but that won't stop me from trying my best.

2013 Jungle Run Half PR

2013-07-16T23:57:00.001-07:00

I've been running consistently every weekend with Jenny for about a year now and I think the regularity is paying off. I surprised myself by getting a new PR -- my first ever on this course, 1:51:23, which means I shaved 2 minutes from my previous PR (from the Santa Cruz Half)!

The conditions leading up to this run were not terribly favorable, leaving me to wonder if I can get yet another PR this year, possibly in Morgan Hill.

First, we traveled to San Diego for Tom's meeting. I managed to squeeze in a short, pre-trip run on Monday before we left for SD on Tuesday. While there, I forced myself to use the hotel fitness room on Thursday night, after the kids went to sleep. I didn't get any other running in during the trip so I only ran twice in the week before the event. Also, I never did do the 12-mile training run I was scheduled to do with Jenny...and we didn't follow the training plan I had set forth--we mostly did 6-mile runs with the longest of our runs being 9 miles.

Then, we got home from our trip at 4am on Saturday and, later that evening, we went to Christina and Dre's engagement cocktail party. I drank more "spa water" than I did mojitos and cosmos, but still, I did have some cocktails and I didn't really get the good carbo-loading meal I like to have before events! I had some sushi rolls (good stuff, to be sure), but I didn't really feel full....

I only ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep because, of course, Cameron had a potty accident and I was awakened by the hubbub of Tom changing her into new clothes and her protests against the late-night rinse-off!

I roused myself from sleep at about 5:15am, intending to leave for the race by 5:45am. Of course, I was slow. I was sooo tired! And then I forgot my Shot Blox, though luckily, I did have a banana in the car that I could eat.

But, on to the upsides....it was cold--53F according to my phone! And I am so familiar with the course. I knew how much energy I needed to conserve...and when. And then, I was motivated to get as far as I could before it got too hot. But, luckily, the weather didn't get any hotter than maybe 64F or 65F! I got to the reservoir at 8:28am (start time was 7am) and it was considerably cooler than I'd remembered that stretch being in previous years!

By this point, my main goal was to simply stay steady and to not slow down. I refused to look at my splits at the 11-mile and 12-mile marker. I tried not to look too far ahead to gauge how much distance was between me and the turnaround. I did everything I could to keep myself from getting discouraged or anxious.

After the turnaround, it felt like a downhill, so I went for it. I knew I only had to have enough energy to make it for another mile. Once off the dirt, I knew I'd just have to do the lap around the track...and then I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the finish before I expected to!!

Final Results:
Chip Time: 1:51:23
Div place: 181/828 (21.8%)
Age place: 12/113 finishers (10.6%)
Gender place: 43/446 (9.6%)
Pace: 8:30 (a 9-second improvement over the Santa Cruz Half)

2013 Santa Cruz Half Marathon PR

2013-04-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

Ok. I didn't expect to pull off a new PR at this event, but miraculously, I did! I went to bed only after midnight and then Chloe was up much of the early morning and, consequently, I was, too.

When I finally got out of bed sometime between 6:15 and 6:30am, I was so grumpy I even "threatened" to bail out on the race!

My FitBit sleep stats had me going to bed at 12:57am and awakened 20 times (what?!?). In total, I was in bed for 5 hours and 7 minutes and got 4 hours and 32 minutes of sleep. Yikes. Plus I still had the sniffles.

This year, Tom ran the 10K (and got his PR as well!). He kept me warm and stayed with me until start-time. I knew things would start off slowly and was grateful for that. After huffing up the hill, I was distracted by GPS and Pandora issues (not quite getting the signal strength I'm used to!). I finally gave up on music and just looped the few songs I downloaded from Rhapsody (Lean on Me, Drown in the Now, Santa Monica, Hung up On You). Terrible.

I wasn't feeling particularly strong or able that morning, but once we were on the trail to Wilder, I caught sight of the 1:55 pacers. This trail is very prone to bottlenecking since it is just a 2-lane bike trail, so I sought opportunities to jack-rabbit in front of runners who were at about my same pace. Eventually, I managed to get by the pacers and leave them far behind.

I was pretty pleased I was able to pass the pacers while still feeling pretty good, but I did wonder how long it would last. I managed to keep ahead of them all along the Coast Trail (soaked in sooo many beautiful view of the ocean as well), but once back on the paved biking trail, I got behind some slower runners and they managed to eke ahead. At this point, I was also getting a bit more fatigued on the hills and I really had to mentally focus all of my energy on continuing to just move, no matter the pace. I was disappointed when the pacers got ahead of me, but I was unable to catch them on the hills.

Once back at West Cliff, I saw a welcome sight! Jenny and Kaden (in double-BOB stroller) were watching the race just across the entrance from Natural Bridges!! She came and ran with me at a critical time. I was pretty beat at that point and was seriously contemplating walking for a spell. She kept me going ... and even got me past the 1:55 pacers (even though I told her I was content to remain behind them)! She peeled off at Delaware, leaving me to find some reserves to make it up the hill without walking but with the inspiration to keep on moving at a pace that would keep me ahead of the pacers.

In the end, for sure, I couldn't have PR'd without her pulling me from mile 10-ish to 11-ish!

Division Place: (half marathon): 541/2348 (23%)
Gender Place: 180/1391 (12.9%)
Age Place: 35/340 (10.3%)
Pace: 8:39
Time: 1:53:22

This beats my previous PR from at the SJ Rock 'n' Roll by 56 seconds. I'll take it!

She.Is.Beautiful

2013-03-18T11:27:00.001-07:00

As I was heading over here to post on my first time running She.is.Beautiful, I saw the previous post on last year's Turkey Trot! My final time is exactly the same!!!

So, if I thought I ran my best 10K ever at last year's Silicon Valley Turkey Trot, I guess I did a repeat performance this past Sunday! Overall race stats are below (with She.is.Beautiful being slightly more favorable as there were only 3474 finishers):

Overall: 106/3474 (3%)
Age: 30/390 reported finishers (7.7%)
Division (10K): 107 (odd! guess there was one Male reported finisher!).
Finish: 52:03 Pace: 8:23

Training for this event was affected by the kids getting sick (Dylan with the flu for 1 week, Cameron getting sick for a day during that week) followed by a week of Tom getting the flu. After fighting it off for 2 weeks, I finally succumbed! Basically, I took almost 3 weeks off from running...on the heels of such a promising start to the new year!

Anyway, after recovering from the flu, I realized I had 6 weeks of training left before the SC Half which meant I really had to ramp up my miles...quickly. I hadn't run more than 5 miles straight before getting sick and I'd done two 30-40 minute runs with Jenny (still sniffling and snotty), post-flu. She.is.Beautiful, luckily, fell into a reasonable, though steep, ramp-up period. I did 2 distance runs (of 7 and 9 miles) prior to She.is.Beautiful...and was good, at least, about getting my mid-week runs in as well. In total, I did 12 runs in preparation.

Given the training break due to sickness, I'm happy with my results. I didn't feel good at the end--I mean, I was ready to be done when I was done! But, I'm glad I could sustain the pace, and there were definitely stretches where I felt really good (thank goodness for a relatively flat course!).

We'll see how SC Half goes in a couple of weeks. The next 2 distance runs (or Sunday runs) are 11 and 6 miles. Then I'll be doing 13 cold.

SV Turkey Trot 2012

2012-11-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

I think I ran my best 10K ever at this year's Silicon Valley Turkey Trot.

Overall: 1374 out of 7912 (17.3%)
Women: 290 out of 4058 (7.7%)
Age Group: 19/389
Finish: 52:03 Pace: 8:23
Tag Time: 52:03
Gun Time: 53:29
4-mile split: 32:02 Pace: 8:01

So I slowed down after Mile 4 which was right around the time I encountered a little boy -- maybe 9 years old -- to whom I gave kudos. I was seriously impressed that he was running this distance! He wasn't the only kid around his age that I saw on the course (and I gave the others some kudos as well), but he was notable because, well, I added "I'm going to have to try to keep up with you" to my kudos to him and, upon hearing this, he nodded and picked up his pace!!

After that, I thought to myself that I really would need to try to keep up with him. But, not wanting to make him feel bad, I did fall back a little to let him run ahead for a few minutes. Eventually, I overtook him, feeling slightly guilty. But, at the water station, I stopped for a sip, and I saw him go right by me (perhaps he made it a point to pass me where I could see him!!).

I was tickled by the thought that this old lady (me) might be motivating this kid to go ever faster on this course!! Maybe he was racing against me, maybe not. But, it was a fun distraction to think about, whatever the case!

In the end, I passed him again -- still marveling that he was even able to run this distance at his age! I was definitely ready to finish. Once I saw the clock, I tried to sprint for a strong finish, but I'm afraid I didn't eke out much more juice!

Still, I'm pretty happy with the results. I think I ran a total of 5 times in preparation for this run and none of the runs exceeded 4 miles.

Maybe I'll be better prepped for the Jingle Bell Run in December.

SJ Rock 'n' Roll 2012

2012-10-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure how this run would turn out (actually, every run is a mystery, really. You never know what to expect and what will transpire out there on the course!), especially since I was running with a friend instead of solo, as I usually do.

We were shooting for a sub-2 -- a reasonable goal given our training paces -- and I had a stretch goal of setting a new PR by averaging an 8:43min/mile.

I didn't quite hit a new PR by event measurements, but according to Runkeeper, I did! And this makes me happy with today's results. Also, I ran with a friend, which was just as rewarding as hitting a PR...and I was able to keep chatting while feeling pretty comfortable with the pace.

At about Mile 8, we decided to take our pace down a notch: Miles 9, 10, and 11 were the only miles where we ran over 9min/mile (9:00, 9:07, and 9:01 min/mile, respectively).

At Mile 12, I knew I was within reach of a PR (Runkeeper had us at 8:42 pace) and we accelerated to an 8:57min/mile. After we'd hit the home stretch, we were back at an 8:40 and, with about a quarter mile left, I thought I would try to make up for the slowdown with a sprint to the finish. My sprint was clocked at ~7:46min/mile, but it was not enough to bring my official race time down below my old PR.

I regret having sprinted this final stretch--I only really did it because I was focusing on the reported pace in Runkeeper, and I completely ignored the stopwatch time. If I'd looked at the time, I would have noticed I was already too late to try! So leaving Jenny to that final quarter-ish mile was really needless in the end.

Anyway, as I mentioned I'm still happy about the run. I felt strong; I felt like I could have made a new PR skipping over some of the water stations and/or accelerating for a mile or 2 after mile 8 (at about the point where I felt like I really hit my stride).

Final stats:

Overall:
2117 out of 9657
Division:
92 out of 853
Gender:
525 out of 5215.

Splits:
5K: 27:16
10K: 54:22
10mile:1:29:03

Disneyland Half 2012

2012-09-26T21:55:00.003-07:00

Well, my first run back from having Chloe was this year's Disneyland Half. Tom doesn't much enjoy it because it's too hot for him...and, admittedly, the weather is always a risk!

Luckily, this year, it was only 66F when I headed out for the corrals. Unluckily, I didn't realize they had made a mistake on my bib with regards to my corral assignment!! And, no kind soul mentioned to me that the little white slip I picked up at the Expo along with my race bib was a correction to my corral assignment. So, I shlepped my way to Corral G early that morning, when really I should have been in Corral C.

I knew something was amiss when I noticed a pace-runner in Corral E (right beside G) who was holding up a 3-hour finisher pace sign!!! After I realized I was in the wrong corral, I was really irritated, so irritated, in fact, I leapt out of the gates at a faster-than-wise speed! But, I let my adrenaline carry me as I huffed past the slower and more casual runners.

Anyway, I thought I might try for a sub-2 hour half, so I was disappointed when I got a cramp around mile 10 or 11 which had me walking for a few minutes. I was already demoralized so I would have continued walking had it not been for a nice lady from Morgan Hill who cheered me on with a "C'mon Santa Cruz!!" (I was wearing my SC Half Marathon shirt!). I wanted to run with her and chat as a gesture of thanks ... and to boost her own efforts if I could ... but it turns out, my natural pace was much faster than her's, even with the cramp, so I had to run on ahead. I tried to accelerate at the end of the run, too, but it just wasn't enough and, in the end, I came in at 2:01:07.

Stats:
1892/14836 overall
639/9337 women
97/1239 in my age division

I still shake my head when I think about this race: if only I ran through that cramp....But, no whining is really allowed and there are really no excuses! All things considered, with the zigging and zagging past slower runners--which Runkeeper says my half added up to 13.6 miles instead of 13.1--the warmer weather, and my cramp, I know I did the best that I could do...and, in any run, your best effort is all you can really hope for.

saturday at the park

2011-11-27T02:45:00.000-08:00

What's not to love about a Saturday at the park? At 69F and sunny, the weather was gorgeous (even if unseasonable!) and we got fresh air and Vitamin D AND Dylan got to see his old buddy Nate ("...make new friends, but keep the old...")!!!

Also, today, we started setting up the holiday village that will surround our holiday tree (Friday's Big Event was setting up the toy train). I love how Dylan gets completely engrossed in the imagination of it all and how he is so into the whole holiday spirit!!

Sheer joy.

i am grateful for my family

2011-11-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

This is a timely post for Thanksgiving, huh?! Anyway, here it is: I had the usual, normal, dull tooth throb all week (thanks to a maligned tooth that has me bearing down on a practically exposed nerve), but after a couple of days...or a day and a half, really, it ballooned into a dental emergency. By last night, the left side of my mouth was so tender, I was waking up every 3 hours because of the pain; I couldn't last a full 4 hours between ibuprofen doses and I had to take 3 to just take the edge off.

Tom was on the phone leaving messages for 24/7 emergency dentists (who sadly didn't get back to us until this morning) and, luckily, he was able to get in touch with our local dentist's office and the on-call dentist submitted a prescription for antiobiotics to be picked up first thing in the morning.

By morning, it looked like I was stashing a small plum inside the left side of my cheek. Pain was radiating downwards along my neck as well as upwards to my eyeball. I thought the left side of my head was just going to explode and I wasn't sure if I could keep from crying.

I woke up for good at 4:39am where I took my final dose of 3 ibuprofen, eagerly anticipating taking that first antiobiotic dose around 9:30am. Tom stayed home in the morning to help with the kids, make phone calls for me and to pick up my prescription. Now through the lifting fog of a shrinking wad of pus, I can say I'm so lucky and so grateful to have such a caring and loving husband. Sure, he drives me crazy plenty of times, but he really took care of me and I know this kind of compassion and heart just can't be found in any ol' person.

Then, there's Dylan who lovingly stroked my puffed up cheek as soon as he saw me in the morning. And, while we were washing hands in the bathroom this morning, he told me, "I'm sorry this happened to you, mom." He is such a loving and caring little fella!

And Cameron, too. She apologized, "sorry mom"-- when she bumped my cheek and I cried out.

What a great family I have. I'm so lucky...and grateful to have them all in my life.

a new PR

2010-10-03T23:07:00.001-07:00

Just when I thought I would probably never be able to get back up to speed with my running, I ended up getting a new PR today at the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll. Chip Time: 1:54:18. This beats my 2010 Disneyland Half time by ~4 minutes (1:58:02) where I felt I did much better than expected, and beats my old PR of 1:54:20 at the 2007 Santa Cruz Half Marathon.

Tom and I have not been training with much regularity at all -- most weeks, I am only able to run twice at most -- so even though I felt I could have done better with a little more pushing during the race and I'm somewhat frustrated knowing I could probably be faster with more regular training (even just one more run per week), I'm fairly satisfied. For this particular event, I ran only once between last weekend's 10K and today's race. I suppose I really couldn't ask for better than what I got.

In three short weeks, we'll see if I can mark "marathon" off my bucket list. I'll run in the Silicon Valley Marathon, probably slowly (10min/mile average), and I probably won't feel as good afterwards as I do after a 10K or a half.

In the meantime, today's stats:

Overall: 1926 out of 10378 · Division: 81 out of 894 · Gender: 446 out of 5831

Pace	5 Km	10 Km	10 Mi	ChipTime	ClockTime
8:44	26:55	53:28	1:27:02	01:54:18	01:56:08