Fast times in the Southland

I kind of love it when a trip that you loosely "planned" months ago sneaks up on you and suddenly you're off!  We (or maybe I) had planned a trip to the Carlsbad/Encinitas area back in October, but after the initial planning, which consisted of registering for a half-marathon and reserving a hotel room, I sort of forgot to think about the details of the trip.  But Saturday morning rolled around and we managed to pack up our bags and the dogs, head out the door and direct ourselves south!

The original purpose of the trip was, for me, to chase a PR at the Carlsbad Half-Marathon, about which I'd heard great things.  The idea of a half-marathon PR became a distant memory once I started to run using heart rate and rarely saw anything below a 10:-- mile, so I readjusted my expectations and decided that it would just be a fun way to spend the weekend.  It also turned out that my parents had made separate plans that included a trip to Southern CA this past weekend, so our plans morphed again to include time with them.   At any rate, my half-marathon hopes/goals quickly diminished as the "main event" of the weekend, which took the pressure off me on Saturday.  While I still hoped to run a solid race that would be a good training run, I did not expect a particularly speedy-for-me 13.1 miles on Sunday.  I did meet up with my triathlon coach on Saturday afternoon - which was a really nice bonus for the weekend - and she urged me to really *race* on Sunday and instructed me to start and stick with the 1:45 pace group.  Considering that my recent race pace intervals (during slow runs) felt impossible to hold on to for more than the interval, I seriously questioned this plan.

By Sunday morning, my expectations had probably sunk even lower - I don't know when I've ever slept so poorly the night before a race.  Maybe I really was nervous?!  Fortunately, the half-marathon start was at the luxurious time of 7:45, so I tried to catch a few more zzzz's.  Michael dropped me off somewhat close to the race expo around 7:15 which gave me time to get to the start, do my business (you know...), warm up, and then line up in my corral.  I have to admit that I am a huge fan of waved/corralled starts, but even with the different waves, there were tons of people to weave around and through during that first mile.  I can't say where my thoughts were during the first few miles - I think that I kept checking in with my pace and with how I felt.  The 1:45 pace group was within sight but going faster than a 1:45 pace, according to the Garmin and also according to the time elapsed.  So, I hung back at what felt like a comfortable but still fast pace, enjoying the course, especially around mile 3 or so, when we hit the coast which was just beautiful!  I also saw my coach around mile 5 and she yelled at me to catch up to the 1:45 pace group - I thought to myself "As if!".  And then, just after the course turn-around, I saw my parents, Michael and our dogs for a quick shout out and wave.  At that point, I was pushing up to the 1:45 group which I finally caught, stayed with for a while, and then I decided that I needed to move on. The second half of the course was a negative split, and it felt hard but comfortable until around mile 10 at which point I tried to push even harder.  While I still enjoyed the run and the pace felt doable, it no longer felt comfortable!  During the second half of the race, I couldn't believe that I would finish up with a nice PR, as long as I didn't bonk.  By the time, I got to the last half mile, I still couldn't quite get over my time but kept pushing, and even passed a few more people at the end, which made me very happy!  

I ended the race with a very surprising 9 minute PR!  I use that adjective because speed work has not been a major part of my training, as I said earlier, and if it hadn't been for my coach instructing me to start with the pace group, I would have held back, no doubt.  I guess she knows what she is talking about!  Also, this race did live up to its reputation of being a really great experience - it was very well organized, the course was nice and varied with plenty of rolling hills but nothing crazy, fantastic crowd support, great fluid and nutrition and plenty of portopotties scattered through the course (which was nice because I did have to make a pit stop and it was a quick in-and-out b/c there were no lines).  Needless to say, I am a fan of this race!  I'm not sure how the marathon would be - maybe too much out and back, but the half felt just right.  

After my race, we were able to get down to other, more serious business - eating, drinking and watching football!  My parents were catching an afternoon flight, so the first item up was for me to clean up, and then we headed to Union Tap House in Encinitas.  That was a lucky choice for brunch - they served really good food and excellent bloody marys!  After that, Michael and I hunted down a bar, and again we felt that we lucked out with the Encinitas Ale House where we scored good seats at the bar.  I tried to switch between water and small beer tasters to stay somewhat hydrated while we watched the game.  To make a good day even better, the Broncos beat New England and are headed to the Super Bowl!  While I was still riding high from my PR, someone else was over the moon for the rest of the day!

Finally we peeled ourselves off the barstools and headed out to enjoy the late afternoon.  We don't often to get to that area of Southern CA, usually staying along the LA/Orange County coast or going north, but this trip made me love the Encinitas area.  There is a hippie feel to it, and it also seemed that 'normal' people lived and worked there.  I realize that I have the outsider/visitor's perspective, so who knows what it is REALLY like.  One thing that you can't argue with - the long beaches that just stretch on and on.  We took a great beach walk with our dogs both yesterday and today, and I felt that I could have stayed there forever, watching the waves and the surfers.

The perfect day cannot end without a great margarita, which we found at El Callejón in Encinitas.  We each had one and split another - they were excellent!   At that point, we were totally done for the day, but already plotting a return trip at some point soon!

(Sorry for the complete lack of photos - I know, I'm talking about how awesome it was but showing you nothing!)

Surf City 10K - now that was fun!

After two years of a static 10K PR, I finally have a new number on record, and while I hate to focus on numbers, numbers, numbers, it feels pretty good to shave over a minute off my old time.  Woo-hoo!  There is also this worry in brain that, at age 41, I will soon lose the ability to set new PRs.  I'm sure the day will come, but it's really nice to know that it is not today!

After my failed attempt at a final triathlon in October, I decided that I should at least end the year's "racing" season with a good 10K.  I first ran the Surf City (aka Huntington Beach) run 3 years ago, as I was coming back to running and when it was a 5 mile run.  Then, two years a go, I managed to hit a new 10K PR.  Not a shocker there since it is a flat and fast course, but I still remember that my overall time totally surprised me.  So, I'd been fairly content to let it sit as my PR until this year when I had a few decent 10K runs but never felt that I really went "all out".  So, that was kind of my goal for this race.

With that in mind, I was actually more nervous than I would be on a typical race day, so when we drove south this early morning and hit fog, I started to freak out just a little.  Fortunately, we arrived with a decent cushion for me - 30 minutes to pick up the packet and take care of other business.  It was a perfect morning to run, temps in the 60's and cloudy but not rainy.  When I picked up my packet, I was much relieved that I had selected a unisex t-shirt because the women's specific was HOT PINK.   I do not wear hot pink.  I realize that the pink ribbon shows support for cancer victims and understand that, but pink is not my thing, and hot pink is definitely not my thing.  I would have given it away immediately.  Instead, I have a really obnoxious yellow shirt - think gatorade yellow on steroids.

Anyway, the race?  Well, I hoped to make one more pit stop before the race, but as 7:30 approached, I nixed that idea and lined up, placing myself quite near the front.  While it's a super fast course, it's not huge and doesn't seem to appeal to tons of super crazy competitive types, so the start is pretty calm and people seem to stand back from the timing mat.  Right around 7:30, they announced "On your mark, get set, go!" and we took off.  I thought that I had started my Garmin but then about half a mile into the race I saw that it was still on 00:00.  Nice.  So, I ended up starting the Garmin at mile 1 so that I would at least know my splits for the next 5 miles.  The race was fairly uneventful - flat, flat, flat and it felt fast.  I held really consistent splits, pretty much at 7:30 the entire way, although according to the Garmin I had a few faster splits.  But it also said that I ran longer than 6.2 (or 5.2, since that was my marker) - so who knows.  I am, however, always amazed at how people must not do hill training - there was one teeny hill and then an incline during the second half of the race, and people definitely slowed down quite a bit.  Why go out fast and not hold your pace?  I will never understand that, but then again, I'm the queen of starting slow and finishing faster.  Whatever works for you, I guess?  I did have enough in the tank to push it at the end - at mile 4.5, I passed one woman, but told myself to not be too greedy and go too hard too soon, although I knew that she wouldn't catch me (based on her breathing, which was way too heavy, she wasn't speeding up).  I thought that I crossed the finish line right around at 47:00 but was looking at the 10 mile start.  So, the official time gave me sub 47 which was my goal going into the race - nice!  Not sure if I gave it absolutely everything I could, but it was great to feel that I'd accomplished something before 9:00 am on a Sunday morning!

Not an awesome race for photos, but that's okay - I like that I appear to be flying in the first one!  Although my shoulders/arms - what am I doing there?  Michael took that photo as he was wrangling the dogs from eating vomit that was on the sidewalk.  Amazing that he got a photo at all.

Oh, and the other weird thing about the race - I swear I smelled pot (the MJ) when I was around mile 4.  If it were Venice Beach, I would expect that, but I was somewhat surprised.  Maybe it was just wishful thinking/smelling?  As for the medal - it's a wooden surf board which is kind of fun and sort of fits in with the pot smell!

The icing on the cake, sort of, is that I ended up 2nd in my age group - which makes me laugh because it was the same as last time, even though I've moved up an age group.  I briefly wanted to stay for the awards ceremony, since I've never received anything at a race, but my impatience got the best of me and we left before they started giving away medals and other prizes.  I figured that I already had my medal and my PR, so what more did I really need?

Finally - A race in 2013!

After a slow start to the year running-wise and then waffling about this race or that race, it seems that I have settled on a schedule, at least until July.  After that, I've bounced around a few ideas in my head, but I'm taking  the "wait and see" approach for now.  I signed up for most of the key races for the year a few months ago, but was waiting to decide about Mt. Wilson.  When registration opened and closed within two hours, and I didn't have second thoughts about not registering or feel the slightest pang of regret, I knew that I had made the right decision.  Instead of Mt. Wilson on Memorial Day Weekend, I'll be running the Ojai-Ventura half-marathon which is a longer race but should be much easier to train for.  It is nice to have a schedule set and be able to focus on it!

Speaking of schedules, I was pretty happy with my training in February, but then March rolled around, and things, as they say, fell apart these past two weeks.  This usually happens in March, but particularly this year.  I've tried to take it in stride and enjoy the training that I've managed.  I was, however, looking forward to my first race of 2013 - the Great Race of Agoura Hills 10K.  This is a huge race, mainly because there are actually 4 different races going on: a trail half-marathon, a road half, a 10K and a 5K. Not to mention the kids' race.  I'd read good things about the race, and it worked out with my schedule - first day of spring break, first race of the season - why not?

My original plan for the race was to try for a PR.  I hadn't run a stand-alone 10K since November of 2011, and it happens to be one of my favorite distances.  Luckily I still had my 2011 race time which allowed me to "qualify" for Wave 1.  I think that they must have limited the number of people who were allowed to qualify, because I'm certainly no major speedster.  Still, I was glad that I ended up in that wave - it was so much smaller and easier to start and to maneuver.  But, back to my race plan.  At some point this week I decided that no way was I going to shoot for a PR.  I looked at the race profile, and it looked fairly hilly. Also, I didn't want to kill my legs and need one or two rest days (yes, I'm old; yes, I need rest days after a hard race).  In addition, Michael and I went out on Friday night and I had what must be the worst pre-race meal/s ever.  We started out with mussels and french fries and white wine, and then we ended the evening with pizza.  So, with all of that in mind, I woke up this morning taking the attitude that this would be a good way to push myself at a strong pace, but I didn't need to try to kill it.  Or myself.

Going with that attitude, I was pretty calm at the start - excited to actually be at a starting line after a 4 month hiatus!  I did wish for slightly warmer temperatures at the start and didn't shed layers until a few minutes before the race.

I love the yellow pants behind me - such a classy look!

At 7:28 (or thereabouts), we were off!  The beginning of the race is a on a descent, and people took off.  I looked down at my watch and noticed a faster pace than expected/desired, so I pulled back just a bit. I was at the back of the first wave, but I reminded myself that I wanted to pace the race, not have a great first mile and then fall apart at the end when the hills hit:

The first mile or two were pretty boring - typical suburban neighborhoods, but at some point in mile 2, we began to enjoy rolling hills and nice countryside - lots of wonderful oak trees and even some horsies!  Also, I felt great the first few miles and knew that there was a hill at mile 4, but once we were on the hill, I was able to easily keep my pace and pick off other people.  It made me quite grateful for the hills that I confront every time I head out on a run from our front door!  Finally, at mile 5, I decided to pick it up - there were still some hills remaining, but I was confident that I could keep a faster pace.  I almost regretted it when we hit yet another hill - the last one - but I managed to push it and ended just under 49:00. 

Michael snapped this awesome shot of me sporting my medal (can you tell that Dole sponsored this race?):

The medal and the t-shirt, by the way, are both pretty heinous.  Despite that, I would consider running this race next year because it really is a fun course.

After the race, Michael and I grabbed a 'real' breakfast at Brent's Deli, an old favorite which is in the area, and I inhaled eggs, toast, and hashbrowns.  We weren't the only racers/spectators who had this idea - I could tell because a few people were still wearing their awful medals.  (Not to offend anyone, but I find it so annoying when people wear race medals after the race if EVERYONE gets a medal.  If you won, fine, wear your medal, but if you just want attention, then it's lame! Okay, rant over, and maybe I'm alone in my opinion, but I'm okay with that too.  Same with people who don't try to wash off their numbers after a triathlon or cut off their wrist race wrist band for days.) 

My run wasn't a PR, but this is definitely a harder course than the flat-as-pancake race from which my current PR hails.  However, the course was not as hard as I expected, and a part of me wishes that I had tried for a PR.  Especially since I ended at 5th in my age group and maybe I would have ended at 4th or 3rd if I'd pushed myself a bit more.  Still, it was a good race, a good finish and a good overall place for me.

Ah well, ifs, maybes and buts.  At any rate, it feels good to finally line up at the starting line!

Malibu Tri: The race that was!

Well, after all of my grunching, groaning, moaning, hesitation and regret over *having* to swim, bike and run yesterday morning, it ended up being a pretty awesome day, and I couldn't be happier that I ended my 2012 'season' there.  It's funny that I felt pretty calm and low-stress about the race on Friday night, sleeping amazingly well at the lovely Motel 6 and feeling energetic when the alarm rang at 4:00 am.  Maybe my devil-may-care attitude had something to do with that?

It was a pretty early morning for us, but not as early as if we'd spent the night at home, and I did appreciate the extra hour or so of sleep.  All of the race information warned us about parking, so I wanted to arrive early enough to not stress about that.  We weren't the last people there by any means, but not the first either!  Arriving in the dark and pumping tires and double checking gear under the light of a flashlight was not ideal, but it worked. By 5:30 am, I was headed to packet pick-up (where I learned that I was in the LAST wave) and then on to the transition zone.  As I set up my stuff, it did occur to me how complicated my gear and the transition zone used to seem - this time around, I kept thinking "Is this it?  What did I forget?!" because it all seemed fairly uncomplicated.  Maybe I've developed some comfort with all this tri stuff?  But I also had the feeling that something must be amiss!

By the time that we had to be out of the transition zone, I felt pretty relaxed (except for that nagging "what did I forget thought", and Michael and I could take in some of the Malibu scenery:

"Scenery" being the lifeguard station and the waves breaking!

And then it was time to get started!  For the swim, we had to walk down the beach to the start and would swim to the finish.  The walk south was great - it was such a beautiful morning and exciting to be in the mix of the crowd!

Michael and I had fun watching the elite wave start out, but as we watched the waves of people go out and battle with the ocean, my confidence eroded a little bit each time.  Getting past the first buoy, depending on how the ocean waves were breaking, seemed tricky.  Other women in my group were getting in the water, to practice their stroke or to get a feel for the water (Oh, yeah, that's what you're supposed to do...), but I stayed firmly planted on the sand because I was afraid that if I got in the water, I'd panic and not do the swim.  Talk about feeling like a rookie!  I kept thinking "If I can survive the swim, I can finish this race.  I know it!".  Great little pep talk.  The other thought that popped into my mind as I waited to start was my whole "respect the race" blab from a few months ago.  I was seriously feeling like an ass because while I was familiar with the olympic distance, I hadn't done an ocean swim since the beginning of June.  What the hell was I thinking?!  

Fortunately, the time to think rationally was over as it was time to line up and get ready to go:

Once the cannon went off, we headed into the water and the fun started!  Getting around the first buoy wasn't as terrible as I thought that it might be - although I did get a little off course.  And then we just headed north, keeping the buoys to our right.  I felt like I was swimming in one of those "Endless pools" because I had no sense of my pace or where I was in relation to the beach.  I took in a few mouthfuls of water, but I could see pretty clearly and there wasn't tons of contact - it was a relatively calm swim in terms of touching and grabbing.  I finally reached what was the last buoy - people were turning right, so I turned right, much to my relief and surprise - almost done!  With the swim, at least.  I exited the water, happy to be out of there and on to transition.  I wasn't wearing a watch for the swim, so I had no idea what my time was.  I had estimated that it would probably take me longer than usual, so I was hoping for 34-36 minutes, but, since the course had no clock visible (to me, at least) around the transition zone, I didn't even worry about my swim time.  I did note that I was not the very last person in my rack to be out of the water since there were plenty of bikes still racked - that is always a positive sign for me.

At that point, it was on to the bike!  I knew that it could possibly be a good bike leg for me, in part because of my comfort with the course.  Heading north on PCH from Zuma was a "known known", thanks to our many rides over the summer.  I had a dream-like moment on the bike when I thought to myself "Shit, am I wearing my helmet?!?!".  Obviously I did, but what a weird thought - it was indicative of the "Am I doing this" feeling that I had at different parts of the day.  Other than that mild moment of panic, it ended up being a great ride, although not super fast, in part because I did not push it at the beginning and in part because of two no-pass zones.  The no-pass zones totally sucked because they were stretches that would lend themselves to a fast pace except that a group of us got stuck behind a slower person.  Ultimately, not the fastest bike leg for me, but it was gorgeous and really pretty fun!  

I was so happy to be off the bike - not that I was exhausted or even that tired, but I knew that I had survived the swim and the bike, and that my legs seemed to feel good, so the FLAT run would be a nice way to end the race.  Also, I was right in the thick of a group of 40-something-women, and I hoped that I would be able to pass a few on the run.  Starting out on the run, I felt great and had a smile for Michael:

For the first mile, I ran at a pace that seemed too good to be true - easily maintaining 8:30, numbers that I hadn't seen in months!  I worried about starting out too fast, but the pace felt easy, my breathing was relaxed, and I was enjoying passing people.  So, I decided to keep it up if I could. Which I did - and by mile 3, I had picked off the women in my age group that were clumped together on the bike.  Success!  The last few miles were fun and fast (for me), and even though I was getting tired, I kept pushing myself and even cranked it a bit when I hit mile 6 and knew that the finish line was right around a corner or two and that I would finish the run under 50 minutes!  (Did I mention that the course was FLAT?!)

Michael positioned himself for a smile and a wave, right before I crossed the finish line at, what was total shock to me, under 3 hours for a nice, shiny PR!  I was so happy that I finally broke that damn 3 hour threshold, and I couldn't believe that I managed to do so at this race, of all of them.

After getting my medal, some water and food, I checked the results to make sure that I really did finish under three hours because it just seemed fairly unreal.  What pushed me over the edge? Had I finally mastered the art of the transition?  Was my bike leg faster than I thought?  Well, it turns out that my transition times still suck.  However, my swim time was crazy fast for me - under 30 minutes!  Obviously there was a serious current pulling us north on the swim, but when I saw the time, I just started laughing at how ridiculous my estimated time was.  Maybe it was a good thing that I had no idea how close I was to pulling off  a PR?  I'm not sure - I'm just delighted that it was such a fun and, for me, a fast race! 

Thinking about yesterday morning, I can't believe that I almost didn't show up to race - literally and also in a more figurative sense.  I recognize that I was a bit "off" my mental game going into it and didn't feel that I had much of an edge when I started the swim, but I didn't panic in the water, tried to ride strong on the bike, and I really pushed myself on the run.  This was such a pleasant surprise of a race, and, just as important as the overall time, I couldn't stop grinning throughout the race because I was enjoying myself so much.  I'll admit that I feel almost guilty about the PR because it felt so 'easy'.  I think about how focused I was for Wildflower, how much I wanted to be happy and proud of my performance there, and how that just did not happen, despite training hard and strong and despite improving my time there.  This race felt relaxed and serendipitous, and maybe I need(ed) to race just for pleasure in order to feel good about it?  I have yet to figure out what the perfect recipe is for me, but this is definitely a nice note on which to end the 2012 tri season!