The Endless Journey
With a new kitten still adjusting to our little family and his big sister, Vixen, my DH and I had all but decided that he would stay home while I made the trek to Vegas solo. When I picked up my Dad (Grandpaw) at the airport, returning home from his Thanksgiving journey to No Cal, my Dad was very disappointed that he might not be need for kitty-sitting duty. So, we all talked it over, and my Dad assured us that he could handle Donner, the ADHD monster, and Vixen, the Grouch for 3 days.
Friday morning, we ran a few errands, then headed off to Vegas, Baby! Then, it happened. A few miles north of Devore, my DH's car died. My cell phone was dead, so we used the call box to get a tow truck to take us to a dealership in Victorville. Thanks AAA for the free 7 miles, but we needed a 22 mile tow to make it to Victorville. After a 2-hour delay, we got a rental car and were once again on our way. Of course, this is when I remembered the $200.00 in MGM Mirage gift certificates I had left at home. OOOOPs! What else could go wrong?
The Expo
We finally made it to THEhotel and off I schlepped to the Expo. I got in and out very quickly with no lines for the bib or the sweet red tech-t! I have finally learned to ask for a Small when the tech-t is "unisex" (aka men's sizing) so it actually fits fairly well. Oh, for those wondering, yes THEhotel is nice, but I wasn't impressed enough to stay there again. The regular rooms at Mandalay Bay and plenty nice, and the suites are nicer than the standard suite at THEhotel.
Friday evening was play time and my DH's choice of cuisine. He had a hankerin' for Mexican food and we learned last year that Diablo's at the Monte Carlo uses jack-a$$ meat instead of chicken, beef, or pork, so we decided to try T&T at the Luxor. Most excellent choice because everything from the chips and salsa to the enchiladas to my DH's mouth watering carnitas was absolutely the bomb! The margaritas were a little pricey, but yummy and worth a little splurge. I almost want to make the 4-hour drive one of these days just to go back and stuff my face again!
Saturday
Woke up early and check on the car. It wasn't going to be ready until Tuesday, which meant my plan of dropping of the rental and getting our car on the way home was out. Oh well, we're in Vegas, Baby! so who the heck cares! Had a quick breakfast at our hotel, then headed out for a shortish walk down the Strip. We normally go all the way to at least the Fashion Show Mall, but with 26.2 miles on tap for Sunday, I though we'd better keep it closer to home base. We checked out the new monstrosity that is City Center. Wow. I can't believe how big that place is! Most of the shops in the mall haven't opened yet. Hmmm, another excuse to come back soon! Then, we crossed the street and headed to my DH's favorite, the Miracle Mile shops. It was about 11:30 and I wanted to meet up with the forumites planning to show up to the Expo at noon, so we headed back to Mandalay Bay. I checked my cell phone while we were entering the Luxor and found that everyone was already at the Expo! Ooops, better kick it into high gear!
Made it to the Expo and found PYTM, DaTortoise, JHong, Wadia, and Pony hangin' out. We were soon joined by Jakerome and his big lens. Fun times!
I ate a super early dinner at the Pizza Hut Express at the Excalibur. Bought a little stuffed reindeer to bring home to my little furry loves and headed back to THEhotel to relax and get some sleep. As I was putting my D-tag on my shoe and laying out my running clothes, I realized I had forgotten my handheld. Ooops!
The Race
Woke up at 5:00 on Sunday morning and had my traditional pre-race orange gatorade. Then I promptly puked up the gatorade. Ooops. At 5:30, I headed downstairs to the start with a queasy stomach and not properly hydrated. Fun stuff. In shorts, Maniac bra top, long-sleeve white t-shirt, Maniacs jacket, and gloves, I still could not believe how cold it was outside! My nose immediately froze as I shivered my way to my corral. I heard the elite women start and turned around to watch on the screen in front of Mandalay Bay. After the official race start, it took a little over 20 minutes for my corral 11 to cross the start line. Yikes. The course headed south along the Strip toward the Las Vegas sign for about 3/4 mile, then turned and headed north down the Strip. As I passed the start line, I could still see runners backed up almost all the way to the Luxor. Yikes. It must have taken close to an hour to get everyone across the start! The fireworks this year weren't as impressive as last year's and I really didn't notice them at all once I started running.
This was my second time running down the Strip, and I was determined to enjoy it this time! I spotted PYTM at mile 2 with her Holla sign! Then I just cruised along, not looking at my Garmin, not caring much about my pace. At the Half Marathon split, I was of course tempted to call it a short day, but there I was, sporting the Maniacs yellow and I just couldn't be a wuss! After the turn off the Strip at about mile 10.5, it was no-man's-land for the next 10 miles. The crowd support was sparse and the water stations were understaffed, but those who were out there braving the freezing temps were really awesome!
The out and back part along Hacienda was pretty boring but it gave me the chance to keep my eyes open for other forumites. At mile 16, I pulled off to the side of the road and did a little Vegas-style strip-tease to remove my long sleeve cotton-t, which was soaking wet and making me feel too cold! I had to take off my Maniacs jacket, then the t. Ooh-la-la. As I turned to start running again, I saw Wadia running by with a big smile on his face, a little behind the 4-hour pacer. I knew a PR was a sure-bet and I had my fingers crossed for the big sub-4!
I figured I had missed JHong and I was just watching for Maniac yellow and giving shout-outs and waves to fellow maniacs. That's when I saw JHong, who actually turned around and started walking with me on his "dead legs" just making the course that much longer. I got really excited when James told me that Pony was only a couple of miles ahead of me and he was limping. I ditched James and started running again, hoping that with 9 miles to go, I could somehow catch Pony! Unfortunately for me and fortunately for Pony, my "running" pace was staying at 11+ and I know Pony's limp was at least that "fast." A fellow Maniac that I had met briefly at one of Charlie Alewine's races caught me and we shuffled along together for a while. I was just shy of mile 19 when Pony ran by at his mile 21. He told me, "I'm hurting." I never know whether to laugh or cry, Pony. I still had hopes of catching my bunny/Pony, so I didn't stick around to trade gimp stories. Off I went at my 11+ shuffle, trying to catch a bunny too far ahead to see!
After the turn-around just before mile 20, I could see Mandalay Bay and then the Luxor all the way in! At mile 22, I checked my Garmin and realized there was no way I was going to catch my bunny unless he was lying on the side of the road writhing in pain. I never want to catch Pony that way! I also realized that my gimp-goal of 5:30 was going to be nearly impossible. Oh, well. With no motivation left, I just gimped along until about mile 25.5 where I spotted PYT again and got the official word that Pony was already finished. Thanks for braving the cold temps to come out and support us, PYT!
There is nothing more beautiful than the 26-mile marker of a marathon! If I'd had anything left in the tank, I would have sprinted to the finish, but all I could do was keep gimping along for a final time of 5:34. Hey, 4 minutes off the gimp-goal ain't half bad.
Oh, I forgot to mention all of the Elvi! Lots of great costumes out there. I particularly loved the Elvis-ettes in running skirts. Sooooo cute! I'll have to consider something like that for next year!
Post-Race
The beer tent is always tempting, but it was just too cold to think about a cold beer. I headed straight for my nicely heated room and a warm shower. It was too late and my legs were too sore to brave the walk to the Bellagio, so I hit the champagne brunch at the Bayside Buffet in Mandalay Bay. Not quite as good as Bellagio, but two thumbs up. I saw quite a few other marathoners and half marathoners at the buffet, which was cool. There was one poor dude limping exactly like I was! I felt his pain. There were a few brave souls who headed to the buffet straight from the race, pre-shower. LOL.
Homeward Bound
My race report would not be complete without mention of my drive home on Monday. It was raining most of the way from state line to Baker, where we stopped at Bob's Big Boy to stuff our faces. Lots of rain off and on, and just south of Hesparia at the Cajon Summit, there was some odd precipitation hitting the windshield. I was quite confused because it wasn't rain or hail, so what the heck could it be? SNOW!@?! This So Cal chick has never seen snow fall before! Snow is that white stuff way up on the mountains! Yikes! I was a little askeered at first, but it had just started snowing, so the road was still passable. It was so amazing to watch the snow fall and the ground along the side of the road turn white! Totally put me in the holiday spirit!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Nike Women's Half Marathon
The Expotique
Whose idea was it to drive to San Francisco? Oh yeah. The I-5 must be the most boring, ugliest stretch of highway on the planet. Arrived in SF and checked into the hotel. Had to valet park (I detest paying someone to park my car when I am perfectly capable of doing so myself). Walked the 1/2 block to the expotique and could not figure out where the heck to pick up my race packet. That place was crawling with moronic nonsense like manicures. The day I part with my hard-earned cash and my precious time to have some bimbo paint my nails for me is the day I blow my head off. I had to ask some dude where the packet pick-up was, only to find out that you had to exit the expotique and re-enter on the other side. Of course, why didn't I think of that? Got my stuff and got out.
Friday Night
My DH and I headed to Fisherman's Wharf to get him some seafood and sourdough bread. We had to walk through Chinatown, which was the most congested little area I have ever had to deal with. There had to be at least a million people walking aimlessly around and dang if some of those little stores didn't stink so badly I wanted to puke. Getting out of Chinatown was literally a breath of fresh air. Made it in one piece to Fisherman's Wharf and found a pro-sports retailer where my DH found a KC Chiefs sweatshirt. Don't ask me why he is a Chiefs fan. I guess we both love to root for teams that suck (Go Chargers!). We settled on a seafood restaurant that had a few burgers and sandwiches on the menu (I hate seafood). Note to self: never eat a hamburger at a seafood restaurant - it is cooked on the same grill as the seafood and therefore smells and tastes icky.
Saturday
My DH's Birthday! We celebrated by heading out to Alcatraz. Unfortunately, this involved yet another romp through Chinatown. My DH has only been to SF once and never made it to Alcatraz, so this was a major joyous occasion for him. I took lots of pictures of him in a cell, including a great shot of him sitting on a prison toilet - oops sorry about the TMI! We found a nice pizza joint on the way back to the hotel and loaded up on yummy carbs!
The Race
As I've mentioned ad nauseum, my hip has been a huge problem since last August. I have struggled through many of my races, but I love the bling, so I continue to race. My strategy here was to walk the uphills (uphill seems to aggravate my hip more than anything) and run the flats and downhills. I also just started taking the granny drug Celebrex for the arthritis in my hips, which is just aggravating the hip flexor/piriformis issue.
I got into the start corral at 6:45 and immediately noticed this was not like any of the other races I have run. Not a male to be seen. And I haven't seen so much badly applied pancake-batter make-up since the $1.98 Beauty Show went off the air. Seriously, who the heck wears that much make-up ever, let alone to run a marathon? I didn't think that's what they meant by "run like a girl." I was 1 corral ahead of where I belonged, but I had a pretty good feeling I was going to blow right by most of these bimbos at the start and never see them again.
The start was crowded and it became immediately obvious that most of these bimbos had no clue what to do. Uh, run like forward or something. I think quite a few people were perplexed by the timing mat at the start line. I had to jump over a bunch of bimbos to get through the start and then, at my slow-poke 9 min/mile pace proceeded to pass mobs of painted up bleach-blondes, running in groups of 4 or more, for several miles.
The first hill came around mile 3 and I pulled off to the right and walked it. I was enjoying the scenery along the Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf, but never got a view of the Golden Gate Bridge due to the fog. The big hill came around mile 6, and I walked it like a good little soldier sticking to the game plan. Somewhere after this hill, the 4:10 marathon pace group caught me. I was thinking to myself, "Whoa, you mean I could be looking at a 2:05 with all this walking? Woo-hoo!" Then came another big hill around mile 9 and there went the 4:10 pace group, along with my little delusion of finishing with a decent time. Oh well. I enjoyed the long downhill at mile 10 and thought I was going to keep the momentum going and finish this one feeling good. A bit more incline at mile 11 and I started feeling a little pull in my piriformis and hamstring, so I had to walk a little more. I was approaching the 12 mile marker and decided no more walking, just go BTTW to the finish.
Crossed the finish line and got my Tiffany necklace from some dude in a tuxedo, then got the heck out of that mess ASAP. No idea what my official time is, but my Garmin says 2:18, which sucks big-time, but is the best Half Marathon time I've managed since the hip first went on strike last summer, so I'll call it a victory!
Post-Race
Made my way to the shuttles back to the start at Union Square. Thanks to the walking and the Celebrex, I was not very sore at all after the race. I was able to do a bit more walking and sight-seeing with my DH. I will never run this race again. Too many people, too many newbies, too many bimbos. I got my Tiffany necklace and I am done!
Whose idea was it to drive to San Francisco? Oh yeah. The I-5 must be the most boring, ugliest stretch of highway on the planet. Arrived in SF and checked into the hotel. Had to valet park (I detest paying someone to park my car when I am perfectly capable of doing so myself). Walked the 1/2 block to the expotique and could not figure out where the heck to pick up my race packet. That place was crawling with moronic nonsense like manicures. The day I part with my hard-earned cash and my precious time to have some bimbo paint my nails for me is the day I blow my head off. I had to ask some dude where the packet pick-up was, only to find out that you had to exit the expotique and re-enter on the other side. Of course, why didn't I think of that? Got my stuff and got out.
Friday Night
My DH and I headed to Fisherman's Wharf to get him some seafood and sourdough bread. We had to walk through Chinatown, which was the most congested little area I have ever had to deal with. There had to be at least a million people walking aimlessly around and dang if some of those little stores didn't stink so badly I wanted to puke. Getting out of Chinatown was literally a breath of fresh air. Made it in one piece to Fisherman's Wharf and found a pro-sports retailer where my DH found a KC Chiefs sweatshirt. Don't ask me why he is a Chiefs fan. I guess we both love to root for teams that suck (Go Chargers!). We settled on a seafood restaurant that had a few burgers and sandwiches on the menu (I hate seafood). Note to self: never eat a hamburger at a seafood restaurant - it is cooked on the same grill as the seafood and therefore smells and tastes icky.
Saturday
My DH's Birthday! We celebrated by heading out to Alcatraz. Unfortunately, this involved yet another romp through Chinatown. My DH has only been to SF once and never made it to Alcatraz, so this was a major joyous occasion for him. I took lots of pictures of him in a cell, including a great shot of him sitting on a prison toilet - oops sorry about the TMI! We found a nice pizza joint on the way back to the hotel and loaded up on yummy carbs!
The Race
As I've mentioned ad nauseum, my hip has been a huge problem since last August. I have struggled through many of my races, but I love the bling, so I continue to race. My strategy here was to walk the uphills (uphill seems to aggravate my hip more than anything) and run the flats and downhills. I also just started taking the granny drug Celebrex for the arthritis in my hips, which is just aggravating the hip flexor/piriformis issue.
I got into the start corral at 6:45 and immediately noticed this was not like any of the other races I have run. Not a male to be seen. And I haven't seen so much badly applied pancake-batter make-up since the $1.98 Beauty Show went off the air. Seriously, who the heck wears that much make-up ever, let alone to run a marathon? I didn't think that's what they meant by "run like a girl." I was 1 corral ahead of where I belonged, but I had a pretty good feeling I was going to blow right by most of these bimbos at the start and never see them again.
The start was crowded and it became immediately obvious that most of these bimbos had no clue what to do. Uh, run like forward or something. I think quite a few people were perplexed by the timing mat at the start line. I had to jump over a bunch of bimbos to get through the start and then, at my slow-poke 9 min/mile pace proceeded to pass mobs of painted up bleach-blondes, running in groups of 4 or more, for several miles.
The first hill came around mile 3 and I pulled off to the right and walked it. I was enjoying the scenery along the Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf, but never got a view of the Golden Gate Bridge due to the fog. The big hill came around mile 6, and I walked it like a good little soldier sticking to the game plan. Somewhere after this hill, the 4:10 marathon pace group caught me. I was thinking to myself, "Whoa, you mean I could be looking at a 2:05 with all this walking? Woo-hoo!" Then came another big hill around mile 9 and there went the 4:10 pace group, along with my little delusion of finishing with a decent time. Oh well. I enjoyed the long downhill at mile 10 and thought I was going to keep the momentum going and finish this one feeling good. A bit more incline at mile 11 and I started feeling a little pull in my piriformis and hamstring, so I had to walk a little more. I was approaching the 12 mile marker and decided no more walking, just go BTTW to the finish.
Crossed the finish line and got my Tiffany necklace from some dude in a tuxedo, then got the heck out of that mess ASAP. No idea what my official time is, but my Garmin says 2:18, which sucks big-time, but is the best Half Marathon time I've managed since the hip first went on strike last summer, so I'll call it a victory!
Post-Race
Made my way to the shuttles back to the start at Union Square. Thanks to the walking and the Celebrex, I was not very sore at all after the race. I was able to do a bit more walking and sight-seeing with my DH. I will never run this race again. Too many people, too many newbies, too many bimbos. I got my Tiffany necklace and I am done!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Long Beach Half Marathon
The Expo
What expo? It took about 1 1/2 hours to drive the 35 miles to Long Beach. Checked into the hotel and headed out for the short walk to the expo. I picked up my bib, tech-t, and goody bag and got the heck out of Dodge. I hate crowds! Remind me not to sign up for any more of these massive races.
The FE
Met up with PYTM, Charlie and BIL Kevin, JHong, DaTortoise, Roccco and Renee, Kwikkchic, OCMom and OCDad, and the wonderful Pony at Nino's. This was my first time officially meeting JHong, DaTortoise, and OCMom and OCDad. My husband and I split a pizza, which was surprisingly yummy.
The Race
I was hoping to run this as hard as I could. I knew my elusive sub-2 was not going to happen, but I figured sub 2:10 was doable. I started in Wave 1 because I was there and I felt like it. I knew I'd never find Wadia in the huge crowd anyway. I hit my 9 min/mile pace and was cruising along comfortably. I saw Charlie flying the other way on the first switchback. Then came Mile 2. There was a major clustersmurf at the first water station, but I was already off to the right as far as possible. The 3:40 pace group nearly trampled me (did I mention I hate these huge races?) and there was a short, not too steep hill that managed to take out my hip. I was thus reduced to 10+ min/miles for the rest of the "race."
I saw the traveling cheer section featuring PYTM and Renee at about mile 4.5. I was still able to "run" at this point, and was hoping to get a second wind. Then came the concrete. To make a long story short, I spent miles 5-9 looking for a way to cut over to the other side of the course. It really sucked being able to see all the fast folks heading back along Ocean Blvd. while my 80-year-old granny hip was suffering along on that dang concrete! I briefly considered running in the sand, but I am a total neat-freak and couldn't bear the thought of all that sand in my shoes. I resisted the urge to cheat and finally made it back onto the wonderful asphalt. At the Marathon/Half split at Mile 10.8, I pulled off onto a little grass area and stretched the heck out of my stupid hip. I was trying hard to resist the urge to walk the rest of the way, when along came two crazy women on a bike honking a horn and screaming. I laughed so hard I nearly ate the asphalt. It was just what I needed to keep me going.
I made it to the 12 mile marker and knew I would run this one in. As I approached the final turn to the finish line, my own little motorcade came along to give me an escort. OK, I know it wasn't for me, but a girl can dream! It was the marathon winner! He flew past me on the final 100 meters. I got my medal and a mylar blanket, then jumped over to the marathon side and got the heck out of there. I found my husband in front of the Convention Center and headed back to the hotel for a hot shower.
Post Race
This was not my day. My hip was not into it, but at least my mental game seems to have come back, thanks to the Ojai Half last week. And now, I have no idea what will happen next weekend at Nike Women's, but as long as I've got my mental mojo back, I know I will HTFU and make mincemeat of all those hills, if only in my mind.....
What expo? It took about 1 1/2 hours to drive the 35 miles to Long Beach. Checked into the hotel and headed out for the short walk to the expo. I picked up my bib, tech-t, and goody bag and got the heck out of Dodge. I hate crowds! Remind me not to sign up for any more of these massive races.
The FE
Met up with PYTM, Charlie and BIL Kevin, JHong, DaTortoise, Roccco and Renee, Kwikkchic, OCMom and OCDad, and the wonderful Pony at Nino's. This was my first time officially meeting JHong, DaTortoise, and OCMom and OCDad. My husband and I split a pizza, which was surprisingly yummy.
The Race
I was hoping to run this as hard as I could. I knew my elusive sub-2 was not going to happen, but I figured sub 2:10 was doable. I started in Wave 1 because I was there and I felt like it. I knew I'd never find Wadia in the huge crowd anyway. I hit my 9 min/mile pace and was cruising along comfortably. I saw Charlie flying the other way on the first switchback. Then came Mile 2. There was a major clustersmurf at the first water station, but I was already off to the right as far as possible. The 3:40 pace group nearly trampled me (did I mention I hate these huge races?) and there was a short, not too steep hill that managed to take out my hip. I was thus reduced to 10+ min/miles for the rest of the "race."
I saw the traveling cheer section featuring PYTM and Renee at about mile 4.5. I was still able to "run" at this point, and was hoping to get a second wind. Then came the concrete. To make a long story short, I spent miles 5-9 looking for a way to cut over to the other side of the course. It really sucked being able to see all the fast folks heading back along Ocean Blvd. while my 80-year-old granny hip was suffering along on that dang concrete! I briefly considered running in the sand, but I am a total neat-freak and couldn't bear the thought of all that sand in my shoes. I resisted the urge to cheat and finally made it back onto the wonderful asphalt. At the Marathon/Half split at Mile 10.8, I pulled off onto a little grass area and stretched the heck out of my stupid hip. I was trying hard to resist the urge to walk the rest of the way, when along came two crazy women on a bike honking a horn and screaming. I laughed so hard I nearly ate the asphalt. It was just what I needed to keep me going.
I made it to the 12 mile marker and knew I would run this one in. As I approached the final turn to the finish line, my own little motorcade came along to give me an escort. OK, I know it wasn't for me, but a girl can dream! It was the marathon winner! He flew past me on the final 100 meters. I got my medal and a mylar blanket, then jumped over to the marathon side and got the heck out of there. I found my husband in front of the Convention Center and headed back to the hotel for a hot shower.
Post Race
This was not my day. My hip was not into it, but at least my mental game seems to have come back, thanks to the Ojai Half last week. And now, I have no idea what will happen next weekend at Nike Women's, but as long as I've got my mental mojo back, I know I will HTFU and make mincemeat of all those hills, if only in my mind.....
Monday, October 5, 2009
Ojai Valley Half Marathon
A little background
I had this race on my radar for a while, but had pretty much decided to skip it because I have been racing way too much lately. Also, the event website had very little information, so I was afraid this race would turn out to be a big disaster. Then, last weekend's long run was a mental disaster and I felt like I needed to sign up for a race to get a decent long run done, so I went ahead and registered.
Pre-Race
I set my alarm for 3:30 am (?@*!) and was out the door for the long drive to Ojai just after 4:00. When I made the turn onto the Ojai Highway, there were no other cars on the road! It was still very dark and totally creepy. I arrived at Soule Park (the finish area and where the race director had recommended parking) a little after 5:30 and there was absolutely no one there! We were supposed to pay a $4.00 parking fee, but it took me quite a while to figure out that you had to get an envelope off of this weird little metal structure and place the money in the envelope and then drop it into a little slot. Weird set-up and the pathetic event website never mentioned any of these little details. Oh well.
A few other people finally showed up - some runners and a couple of ladies there to set up the finish line. The shuttle to the sart (a van!) arrived at 6:00 and off we were to the start! I picked up my bib, chip, and my seriously ugly tech-T. Just before the race was to start at 7:00, I asked a voluteer if there was a gear check. There really wasn't, but they did agree to take my ugly new tech-T and my warm-up sweatshirt to the finish for me.
The Race
My humble goal here was just to run the entire race with no walk breaks. I realized that I haven't actually run a Half Marathon since Santa Barabara Wine Country back in May! That is totally pathetic!
The race started late and I never really figured out where the actual Start was. I did get to meet Roccco from RWOL before the start, which was a cool little bonus! The course started on the highway and ran through the center of town before turning up into a hilly residential area. The scenery overall reminded me a lot of Santa Barbara Wine Country, with a suburban feel in the first few miles, followed by a more rural feel through the majority of the race. While there was only one major hill involved, there were plenty of lesser inclines that went on forever. I didn't care much about my pace, I just wanted to keep myself going. There were two other women I tried to keep in my sights. We passed each other several times along the way.
The aid stations were a little sparse - I think the last one was just before mile 10 - but the volunteers were all very friendly and went out of their way to be as helpful as possible. Many of the volunteers were from the local high school, which could have been a scary disaster (ala the aforementioned Santa Barabara Wine Country Half), but this group of kids was really into the race. A huge thumbs up to those kids for taking the job seriously.
I managed to run all the way and finished in 2:20:46, my 4th slowest Half Marathon ever, but I will take it. Mission accomplished!
Post-Race
After I finished, I spotted Roccco and went over to see how he had done. I also got a chance to meet one of the women I had been running with. The medal is really cheap and totally lame, but I'm not as into the bling as I was back when I only ran a few Half Marathons a year (this was my 10th Half this year). I asked a volunteer where the gear pick-up was and she had no idea. I sort of stumbled upon my stuff by accident, just when I was about to give up and leave it there. I liked this race because it was so small (only 188 finishers). If there had been many more runners, I think the little glitches would have stood out a lot more. Anyway, I was home by 11:30 and ready to settle in for a nice relaxing weekend with my husband and our little Vixen!
Next up, the Long Beach Half Marathon on October 11!
I had this race on my radar for a while, but had pretty much decided to skip it because I have been racing way too much lately. Also, the event website had very little information, so I was afraid this race would turn out to be a big disaster. Then, last weekend's long run was a mental disaster and I felt like I needed to sign up for a race to get a decent long run done, so I went ahead and registered.
Pre-Race
I set my alarm for 3:30 am (?@*!) and was out the door for the long drive to Ojai just after 4:00. When I made the turn onto the Ojai Highway, there were no other cars on the road! It was still very dark and totally creepy. I arrived at Soule Park (the finish area and where the race director had recommended parking) a little after 5:30 and there was absolutely no one there! We were supposed to pay a $4.00 parking fee, but it took me quite a while to figure out that you had to get an envelope off of this weird little metal structure and place the money in the envelope and then drop it into a little slot. Weird set-up and the pathetic event website never mentioned any of these little details. Oh well.
A few other people finally showed up - some runners and a couple of ladies there to set up the finish line. The shuttle to the sart (a van!) arrived at 6:00 and off we were to the start! I picked up my bib, chip, and my seriously ugly tech-T. Just before the race was to start at 7:00, I asked a voluteer if there was a gear check. There really wasn't, but they did agree to take my ugly new tech-T and my warm-up sweatshirt to the finish for me.
The Race
My humble goal here was just to run the entire race with no walk breaks. I realized that I haven't actually run a Half Marathon since Santa Barabara Wine Country back in May! That is totally pathetic!
The race started late and I never really figured out where the actual Start was. I did get to meet Roccco from RWOL before the start, which was a cool little bonus! The course started on the highway and ran through the center of town before turning up into a hilly residential area. The scenery overall reminded me a lot of Santa Barbara Wine Country, with a suburban feel in the first few miles, followed by a more rural feel through the majority of the race. While there was only one major hill involved, there were plenty of lesser inclines that went on forever. I didn't care much about my pace, I just wanted to keep myself going. There were two other women I tried to keep in my sights. We passed each other several times along the way.
The aid stations were a little sparse - I think the last one was just before mile 10 - but the volunteers were all very friendly and went out of their way to be as helpful as possible. Many of the volunteers were from the local high school, which could have been a scary disaster (ala the aforementioned Santa Barabara Wine Country Half), but this group of kids was really into the race. A huge thumbs up to those kids for taking the job seriously.
I managed to run all the way and finished in 2:20:46, my 4th slowest Half Marathon ever, but I will take it. Mission accomplished!
Post-Race
After I finished, I spotted Roccco and went over to see how he had done. I also got a chance to meet one of the women I had been running with. The medal is really cheap and totally lame, but I'm not as into the bling as I was back when I only ran a few Half Marathons a year (this was my 10th Half this year). I asked a volunteer where the gear pick-up was and she had no idea. I sort of stumbled upon my stuff by accident, just when I was about to give up and leave it there. I liked this race because it was so small (only 188 finishers). If there had been many more runners, I think the little glitches would have stood out a lot more. Anyway, I was home by 11:30 and ready to settle in for a nice relaxing weekend with my husband and our little Vixen!
Next up, the Long Beach Half Marathon on October 11!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Big Bear Lake Half Marathon
Uggg. I was mauled by The Bear. This was the hardest Half I've ever suffered through.
Packet Pick-up
Not much to tell here. I drove up to Big Bear with my darling husband on Friday afternoon. We arrived just after 3:00 - perfect timing to check in to our room at the Sherwood Forrest Resort. Thanks to my brilliant planning, we were right across the street from the expo and start/finish. We settled in, walked around the village, then at 5:00 headed to Pine Knot Landing to get my bib, chip, and the sweet red tech-T! My only complaint - I didn't know it would be a tech-T. Since I never wear cotton T-shirts, I had requested an XL so my husband could wear it. Oops.
Race
I had absolutely no clue what to expect out of myself time-wise. My last 2 half marathons (Disneyland, and America's Finest City) completely sucked. I set a new PW at AFC, running on a painful piriformis issue, then set another new PW at Disney just because I sucked. Or maybe the 2 week running hiatus due to the arson-induced wildfire in my backyard had something to do with it.
The Half Marathon start was about 2.1 miles west of the Full Marathon Start and the finish line. With the late race start of 8:30, the sun was already beating down and it was warming up quickly. I was not digging the hills at all and the piriformis issue started acting up. I had passed mile 2 of the Half and mile 4 of the Full, when a cyclist came through moving everyone over to the right because the leader of the Full was coming through! Dang! That dude had a goreous stride and he was really flying! By the time I got to the 3 mile marker, the altitude really hit me and I knew I needed a walk break. I decided to take walk breaks every 3 miles to catch my breath. LOL. If only. I ended up taking walk breaks through every aid station (every 1.5 miles).
The course was stunningly gorgeous and this really wasn't a bad race to really suck in. It was quite nice walking and just taking in the scenery. Around mile 7 or 8, the course turned onto a bike path through a camping area. I tried to run through this area, but I just had nothing left to give. I found myslef run/walking with a few other runners who were also struggling. Back onto the roads, I checked my trusty Garmin. I had hit the 2 hour mark where I'm usually at mile 12, even in a training run. I was not even at mile 10 yet! A little before the Full Marathon turnaround, Pony Express from RWOL caught up to me. It made my day to see a familiar face out there. I must have looked like something the cat dragged in...and then dragged back out. I think I did more walking than running in the last few miles, but I finished! (Only about 3 minutes after the marathon winner finished - LMAO). My 3rd PW in a row means I'm going to have to re-think my training.
The bear-shaped medal is awesome!
Post-Race
My husband got a couple of pics of me nearing the finish line. Thank goodness this was such a small race. I had no problem meeting up with him in front of our hotel. Due to my slowness and the late race start, he had to check out before I finished the race. I stripped down to the sports bra at the car and put on my sweet new tech-T. We knew we had to take the back way home - the 38 to Redlands. It took almost 3 hours! 3 hours in a car with no shower. Yuck. We didn't stop for sodas and munchies until we got to an AM/PM in Azusa! Nastiest place I've ever peed! But we had to get home to our little Vixen ASAP! I celebrated with my traditional peanut butter melting on an english muffin combo and later splurged on a nice fattening pizza. Yum.
I will never run the Full at this race! I would like to come back, maybe next year, and get a little revenge on the Half!
Packet Pick-up
Not much to tell here. I drove up to Big Bear with my darling husband on Friday afternoon. We arrived just after 3:00 - perfect timing to check in to our room at the Sherwood Forrest Resort. Thanks to my brilliant planning, we were right across the street from the expo and start/finish. We settled in, walked around the village, then at 5:00 headed to Pine Knot Landing to get my bib, chip, and the sweet red tech-T! My only complaint - I didn't know it would be a tech-T. Since I never wear cotton T-shirts, I had requested an XL so my husband could wear it. Oops.
Race
I had absolutely no clue what to expect out of myself time-wise. My last 2 half marathons (Disneyland, and America's Finest City) completely sucked. I set a new PW at AFC, running on a painful piriformis issue, then set another new PW at Disney just because I sucked. Or maybe the 2 week running hiatus due to the arson-induced wildfire in my backyard had something to do with it.
The Half Marathon start was about 2.1 miles west of the Full Marathon Start and the finish line. With the late race start of 8:30, the sun was already beating down and it was warming up quickly. I was not digging the hills at all and the piriformis issue started acting up. I had passed mile 2 of the Half and mile 4 of the Full, when a cyclist came through moving everyone over to the right because the leader of the Full was coming through! Dang! That dude had a goreous stride and he was really flying! By the time I got to the 3 mile marker, the altitude really hit me and I knew I needed a walk break. I decided to take walk breaks every 3 miles to catch my breath. LOL. If only. I ended up taking walk breaks through every aid station (every 1.5 miles).
The course was stunningly gorgeous and this really wasn't a bad race to really suck in. It was quite nice walking and just taking in the scenery. Around mile 7 or 8, the course turned onto a bike path through a camping area. I tried to run through this area, but I just had nothing left to give. I found myslef run/walking with a few other runners who were also struggling. Back onto the roads, I checked my trusty Garmin. I had hit the 2 hour mark where I'm usually at mile 12, even in a training run. I was not even at mile 10 yet! A little before the Full Marathon turnaround, Pony Express from RWOL caught up to me. It made my day to see a familiar face out there. I must have looked like something the cat dragged in...and then dragged back out. I think I did more walking than running in the last few miles, but I finished! (Only about 3 minutes after the marathon winner finished - LMAO). My 3rd PW in a row means I'm going to have to re-think my training.
The bear-shaped medal is awesome!
Post-Race
My husband got a couple of pics of me nearing the finish line. Thank goodness this was such a small race. I had no problem meeting up with him in front of our hotel. Due to my slowness and the late race start, he had to check out before I finished the race. I stripped down to the sports bra at the car and put on my sweet new tech-T. We knew we had to take the back way home - the 38 to Redlands. It took almost 3 hours! 3 hours in a car with no shower. Yuck. We didn't stop for sodas and munchies until we got to an AM/PM in Azusa! Nastiest place I've ever peed! But we had to get home to our little Vixen ASAP! I celebrated with my traditional peanut butter melting on an english muffin combo and later splurged on a nice fattening pizza. Yum.
I will never run the Full at this race! I would like to come back, maybe next year, and get a little revenge on the Half!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
