Race Recap: Davis Turkey Trot

I was really looking forward to running when I woke up at 4:30 am.

Can you feel my excitement??

I ate a banana doused with peanut butter and chased it with some delicious coffee.

I had everything laid out from the night before, so getting ready was super easy. I was debating on bringing my water backpack, that way I could pack my gels, keys, tissues, Chapstick, etc. however it was rainy. I ditched that idea and opted for my rain jacket.

I arrived at the race site pretty darn early. There is a method to my madness. I scored quite possibly the best parking spot, right next to the finish line. Woot go me! Grabbing my bib and shirt was a breeze.

I was actually really excited about the pink women’s cut shirts. It is my first pink racing shirt. And I like pink, so if race organizers want to go with pink for women’s shirts I say, ya buddy!

This race typically has 2 distances, 5/10k. However since this year was the 25th anniversary they threw in the half marathon. Miss Jessica was running the 10k with 2 of her sisters. I got to see her right before her race, and wish her luck. She started before me, and this is the last pic I got before it got super rainy.

I also saw Miss Robyn about 2 minutes before my start time (she was running the 5k which started after the half marathon). At the last minute she threw me her poncho and told me to wear it, since my jacket wasn’t 100% waterproof. Have you ever tried running with a poncho? Not fun. But it did help to keep me dry for about 6 miles. That was when the wind picked up and I was done messing with it.

The first 5 miles of this race flew by for me. I was running pretty easily at about a 10:30-40 pace. I told myself at mile 5 I can turn on my audiobook. I finally splurged and bought the second book.

The next 2 miles whizzed by like I had only ran a half a mile. Then my iPhone stopped playing my music. After fiddling with it for a few minutes and realizing it must be too damp in my jacket, I gave up and just turned it off.

It was about that time a fellow runner commented on how easy the run felt with the “wind at our backs”. I was all “yeah, but I’m not looking forward to the turn up ahead”

The turn up ahead was turning directly into the wind and up an overpass. It didn’t seem as big as it was when I made the comment. I could hear people around me saying things like “gosh” and “are you kidding me??” While they were running up and over the overpass. It was because the wind felt so strong. The news said the wind gusts were 12-15 mph. They felt like they were 80mph. For the next 3 miles we were facing a headwind that just wouldn’t let up. Not to mention the rain. It was like all of a sudden pouring rain. Worst 3 miles of my life!!!

Once I got to mile 10, we turned and it was smooth sailing. I finished right at 2:30. I was hoping for 2:25, but the dang wind!! Oh and the rain!!

I was completely soaked when I finished. I grabbed my medal, and some goodies, and headed to my conveniently located car. I had lunch plans with another friend at a local brewery.

After I changed into some dry comfy clothes. I ordered the IPA and it did not disappoint. Very rich with the perfect amount of IPA bitterness. It was the perfect end to a very hard race.

Overall this race was hard because of the elements. The course itself is 95% flat. I would totally run this half again in a heartbeat. The race has tons of volunteers, well marked route, great swag, and lots of freebies post race.

Have you ever run a race in the rain? Or worse?

Are you doing a turkey trot this year?

Cheers!

Davis Turkey Trot Teaser

Spoiler alert: I finished! And my phone and computer are working again!

I’ll have a full recap up later today.

Cheers!

Race Recap: Tough Mudder NorCal Diablo Grande

I was so excited about the Tough Mudder the night before I could barely sleep. I kept waking up thinking I missed my alarm, glance at the clock realize I still had more time to sleep and try to doze off. Finally around 5 am I decided to just get up and get going.

I went with oatmeal and coffee for breakfast.

I also decided to eat a very large slice of banana bread on the way, and I had a protein bar right before I got there. We were planning on a 10:40-11 start time, and I knew I wasn’t going to eat lunch until after 2 or 3. I wanted to eat a lot for the run. Or what I thought was going to be a run.

Once we got to the canyon it was very traffic-y.

I had read on other blogs that there was a ton of traffic getting into the mudders, so I tried to calculate that into my drive time. I basically gave myself an hour extra. However no one else did that. AND there was no cell phone reception once we got there. HUGE TIP: if you can, CARPOOL!!! These events are massive, and often in remote locations.

I went ahead and checked in, attached my bib, and had to get marked up.

Since I had no cell phone reception and we didn’t have a set game plan for the team meet up, I waited at the table where my team leader would register. Also I checked with the volunteer to make sure she hadn’t registered yet.

I waited.

And waited.

Then an hour later they arrived around 10 am. That’s when I said my goodbyes to hubs, and went to wait for the rest of the group. We took some obligatory pics (I have no proof, but I am hoping they send them my way real soon). And finally once all 11 of us were registered and checked in came the process of getting into the pit where we could start. Before you even start the darn mudder, you have to climb an 8-10 foot wall. Thank goodness there were several people more than willing to help me up and over.

Now that we are in the pit, there is this announcer guy who gets us all pumped for 20 minutes until we start our wave (which happened to be 11am). This announcer guy told us stories about the type of race challenge the tough mudder is, and also honored the military people who was there in our group. It was very inspiring. He also reminded us that we are all in this together, and that everyone in this pit is a team member. We then did our mudder pledge

The 20 minutes went by pretty fast. And then it was time. The Final Countdown!!! And once it was done, we were off! They also send out this gigantic puff of orange smoke that seemed to cover all of us for a few seconds.

Hubs tried to get a pic of the smoke, you can kind of see it in the last tree on the right.

The very first obstacle was more walls to climb over.

One of the things that freaked me out the most was having people hoist me up and over obstacles. I was worried I would be too heavy for them to lift me.

And I worried for no reason.

If you feel like you’re too fat for this, take it from me, there was a dude who weighed at least 350 pounds being hoisted up and over. The group gets together and just gets it done. I’m not saying that you should run this at 350 pounds, because after the first mile I think 350 lb dude needed a medic. But my point is, if that’s something you’re insecure about, don’t be!

After the walls, there was a mud pit crawl with barbed wire above you. This was actually really nice. It was over 90 degrees when we started, so the wet mud was very much welcome. And there was a water truck adding water to the lot the entire time. That was an awesome obstacle. And took the first layer of skin off my knees and elbows.

A few feet away was Arctic Enema. I was thinking it would be freezing, and it was. Maybe not as cold as other Arctic Enema’s, but my legs were numb at the end. Also I couldn’t catch my breath once I got in. I almost started hyperventilating, then another mudder focused in on me and said “breathe! You can do this!”. He really helped me, and gave me a hand out of it.

Then we hit the mile 1 marker, and it was a straight up very tall, and very steep hill to climb. This is where I realized that we wouldn’t be running much of this. Because the entire mudder was along the tops of the hills that were surrounding us.

Do you see the crest of the top of that hill???? Ya I was there. And we went up and down, and then up, and turn, oh look another hill!!! I was thinking “I run about 100 miles a month, I got this!”. Wrong, I was not prepared for the hills. I really thought I was, I was doing hill training in at least half of my runs, but not like these. I did not see one person running up these hills. They all walked at the pace they could. It was not easy. I saw at least half a dozen people completely crap out just from muscle fatigue. I think the next two miles were all uphill, and very steep!

The next obstacle had a water station, this was the second one. On the first one I drank 2 cups, on this one I had 5. Seriously those hills were no joke. They also had bananas, and I swear I was like the banana monster. BANANAS! MUST HAVE MORE! So good.

The obstacle was called monkey bars. This one had a vertical piece of plywood, and attached was two 2×4 stretched where you would grip with your hands and feet. Below you was a deep pit of water and mud. The 2×4, turned into 1×4, and that’s when I let go. Then you had to climb over a big muddy hill. I saw my group really pulling together and I was helping, then all of a sudden I was the last one and people were bypassing me. Then I decided to just climb over anyone to get to the top. This was so hard. Every time you would get higher, if someone wasn’t supporting you, you would just slide back down. I basically was clawing strangers, and accidentally groped a guy since I wasn’t watching where my hand was going. I apologized, and he just laughed. I finally got to the top, and felt very accomplished!

Then came more hills. I can’t even put them into words. They were just never ending. My thighs are complete toast after that.

Some other highlights was the mud pit, several pits filled with looked like chocolate milk, and then there were several mud mounds you had to climb over to get to the end. There were probably 6 or 7. I actually coated myself in the mud. I was worried about getting sunburnt. It was so hot out there, the mud almost dried instantly.

There was another hydration station and they were passing out gummy sharks. It was some sort of shot blok or gel version of their endurance formula or whatever. I tried to get a second bag, and the girl was like “only one per mudder!” I was thinking “crap, you don’t gotta be a shark nazi, geeesh!”

There was an over under obstacle with logs, and I heard someone say it was half way. And right before the obstacle I asked for the time from a volunteer. It was 1:26. Oops! I told hubs 3-4 hours max. But I seriously wasn’t expecting all the non running hiking.

Next came some tubes in the ground called “boa constrictor”. I tried crawling, but my knees were trashed, and my ass was too big. Ha! So I scooted through there.

After the boa constrictor I was just not feeling this mudder thing. I kept questioning myself. “Why am I doing this again?” oh right, for the orange headband. Then that became my mantra for the next 3 hills which all seemed to be uphill. Orange headband. Honor. Orange headband. You can do this. Orange headband. By this time the team had pretty much dissipated. Some were behind me, and some were ahead of me. I just was so sick of the hills and the waiting, I chose not to wait at the top of the hill we were just on. I told my teammates I was going to just keep going, for fear I wouldn’t start again. Then there was an enormous downhill part, and honestly the downhills were harder on my legs. I just took them very slow. I didn’t want to be a person who needed a medic for twisting an ankle.

There was another obstacle waiting for me at the bottom. Another crawling one. I got on my knees ready to attack, and my knees were screaming. I listened, and decided to go around. There weren’t very many people there, and I didn’t see any teammates. So I just kept hiking. There were more hills, but they were more rolling hills, than steep never going to end hills. I wanted to run them, but everything was toast.

There were a few more obstacles like up and over, with hay bales. And also this wooden box one where you just were able to leap over. Then came walk the plank. The line was astronomical. And people were barely jumping in. I decided to skip it. You had to be hoisted up, and my arm strength kind of disappeared. Also I think I did something to my shoulder on the first walls I climbed up. I just didn’t want to make it worse. I am pretty sure my team was there, but I walked around it.

I didn’t really feel that bad about it. I was exhausted and seriously done.

Then there was this swimming obstacle, where you had to go over and under these buoys in the water.

After the swimming was Everest. The crowd was massive. It’s a huge skate ramp that you have to jump up and pray someone catches you. Then you have to catch someone before you head out. I didn’t want to wait in the line. So I went around again. Next up was electroshock therapy. I was getting all pumped, and then they said that it wasn’t working. And after 10 minutes I just went through with nothing happening. And 100 yards later I was being adorned with the coveted orange headband. I am awesome. I just did that. And I was so glad it was OVER!

I got in line for water, banana, free goodies, my Tough Mudder shirt and my delicious free beer!

Here’s the free goodies I scored!

I grabbed about 8 Builder’s protein bars, and some protein powder. If I’d had a bag I would have grabbed more bars! They were just there for the taking! Rule of thumb for free stuff, grab by handfuls unless they are a shark nazi and say “one one per person!” which almost never happens post race. These people want to unload this product, so just grab as much as you can hold. I filled up my hand with bars, got my women’s large shirt (which fits perfectly) and then grabbed my free beer with my other hand. A few minutes later I saw hubs and he got a quick shot of me donating my shoes.

I started the mudder at 11, and was in the car by 4:33. Give or take 5 hours all together.

Tips:

*Carpool!
*Have a plan set up if you don’t carpool, because there was no cell phone reception.
*Wear a camel back, I was downing 4-6 cups of water at every station, and it wasn’t enough!
*elbow and knee pads would have enabled me to do the last few obstacles.
*sunscreen!!
*Hill training! Find the steepest tallest hill, and run up and down until you hit 10 miles. Do this once a week.
*upper body strength is a must! I should have been doing pull ups! If you can’t do a pull up, seriously work on it. It will help so much if you can.
*train long, like 3-5 hours. My long runs were not longer than 2 1/2 hours. I just didn’t have enough steam in the tank.
*Find a team, so much fun with a team!

Overall it was a very rewarding experience. It pushed my limits in ways I didn’t think were possible. It was one of the hardest events I have ever participated in. I definitely felt like I was part of something. It was super hard core and definitely so fun with the team. And is this something I would do again? Not in the foreseeable future. I wouldn’t say no, but not anytime soon. I didn’t like the hills, and the not running. I thought it was going to be an event where we would be running most of the time. And the people on my team were not runners, and they were doing better than me with obstacles. It was more about strength and teamwork.

The Tough Mudder taught me to really appreciate running. I love it so much. And I love running races way more than killing myself to get over a mud wall. This was definitely a bucket list item. Check! Probably won’t be doing it again, but so glad I did it once, just to say I did it.

Cheers!

Proof I was on a team!

Race Recap: Santa Rosa Half Marathon

The Santa Rosa Marathon. According to the big bold letters on the website there was NO RACE DAY PICKUP. So on Saturday I asked to move my schedule to work 1-9:45, that way I could drive the 1 1/2 hours it took to get my bib and shirt. Then drive the 1 1/2 hours back to make it to work on time. I was definitely UNDERWHELMED by the “expo”.

It was held at the Flamingo hotel, thank goodness I actually knew where that was.

I found it pretty easily, and was greeted by lots of snoopy characters.

Evidently Charles Schultz lived and wrote the Snoopy comics in Santa Rosa. There’s a museum and everything. I’m from Napa, close enough not to be a tourist or a native, which (in my mind) gives me rights to be oblivious.

Moving on, I guess Snoopy ran the race already, since he already had his medal.

Lucky dog.

This was pretty much it as far as the Expo goes.

The awards were ginormous! A full 2 feet and then some. These gigantic metal squares made by a local artist. Too bad there wasn’t an award for people who PR’d, because then I would have gotten one.

There was also a few random vendors like Macy’s, a shoe store, and a couple of race booth’s. I really wanted to sign up for the Napa Valley one, but I have to wait before I do. If registration is still open when I can, then it’s meant to be.

The race bags were nice.

It had a clif bar, another couple of goodies, coupons for local businesses, and Macy’s gave us the string back packs. The shirts were pretty nice. They felt like higher than normal quality race shirts. They even have a zipper pocket!

I had registered for a women’s XL, and I had to trade it (race day morning) for a L which was kind of awesome.

The night before the race I packed a bag with a change of clothes and snacks.

The shirt in the top right corner is what they were selling at the Expo. I liked it since it was blue and the print was in blue. It makes it hard for anyone I REALLY know what it says. It just looks like a cool graphic. It is made of high quality material and they were selling them for $12. A steal! (They were also selling sweat shirts, pants, jackets, long sleeved shirts etc.)

I also laid out my clothes for the morning of the race.

Shoes, capris, shirt, socks, bra, undies, race bib, safety pins, gu’s, hat, sunglasses, hair tie, headphones, and my arm band. I felt very prepared. I put my bib, headphones, arm band, sunglasses, and gu’s in a very large ziplock bag. That way I could put it on top of my change of clothes and could access it easily right before the race. I put all that stuff on once I arrived to the race.

It was a long drive by myself. Hubs was supposed to be my pit crew, however he got called into work for that day. I was definitely stressing about locking my keys in my car, or some other catastrophic disaster of some sort. However I’m glad that I know that I can run a race and be completely self reliant, and do what I love, for myself.

Once I arrived I found parking very easily. There were several garages offering free parking, and they were only about a block from the park. The first table I saw was this.

RACE DAY PICK UP!!!!! I asked one of the volunteers, and they confirmed it. I told them I drove over 3 hours on Saturday to get my bib. She said not enough people picked up their bibs, and they HAD to have race day pick ups. I was so angry about this situation. I kind of feel like I was punished for doing the right thing. Whatever, I’m writing the race directors a letter, the end.

Other than that, I really wanted to swap my shirt. I had planned on swapping, then sweat checking my sweatshirt and my race shirt. However they were only doing “bag checks”. The difference being you have to provide your own bag. In other races, the race would provide a white bag, and they would write your name or bib number on it. I didn’t have a bag, so I walked back to my car to put away my sweatshirt and race shirt away. I looked all over the website and their Facebook page for any type of details about the “bag check”. It’s just one of those things that should be included on a “FAQ” page on their website.

I made it to the starting line with about 15 minutes to spare. Whew!

And I lined up near this time.

Once I found a good “spot” to stand, I saw all the runners coupled up (running buddies) chatting away. I looked around for solo runners or anyone I knew. Nope, nobody. NBD, but it would have been nice to have that. I decided to just focus on the race and enjoy myself. But it did make me think I need to start going to that Saturday running group and make some friends. Who knows? Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.

The race started on time! Another redeeming factor! Three cheers to the race directors for being prompt. I started out pretty steady. My first mile was around 10:10. I felt good, I wasn’t pushing too hard, and felt like I could keep this pace for a very long time. The beginning of the race was rolling hills under bridges. I think there were about 6 give or take. When I was reading other people’s race recaps I was expecting really difficult hills. These were not. I have done a ton of hill work, and these seemed so EASY PEASY. They only lasted about 1 mile, maybe less. After that you have a mile or two of flat pavement, then the rest is a flat hard packed trail. The entire race was pretty wide. 3-4 runners wide is very wide for a race on a trial. As long as you stayed on the hard packed parts, it was very even. There were some uneven spots, but not many.

I noticed I was keeping pace with the 4:30 pacer.

I ran behind her for about 7 miles. She was great at reminding everyone to drink at water stations. I didn’t bring a water bottle, and I drank at every station. They had them spaced out every 1-2 miles. She also kept cheering us on, when there was no crowd support. I love that. At one point I was running next to her, and she told me “you’re doing great!” and offered me a margarita shot blok. I declined, since I didn’t want to upset my stomach. This was around mile 6, and I also told her that I was JUST doing the half. She started. Cheering and said, “you’re half way there then, great job!” she was awesome! Thanks Kim Cooke for your motivation on this race! You rock!

Most of the race looked like this.

Once Kim cheered me on, I felt really pumped to go a little bit faster. At this point my miles were pretty consistent around 9:50’s. I took a Gu around mile 7, and felt awesome. I went a little faster I crept over into the 9:40’s for a mile or 2 for mile 9 and 10. Then I took another Gu at 10, which was a bad idea. I started cramping. The last 3 miles were hard. I just kept pumping those arms and was clocking even 10:00’s. And maybe even a 10:10. I just kept thinking “ok pass one more person, now pass one more person”. So I bunny hopped all the way to the end.

It was a down and back loop, so those same rolling bridge hills reared their ugly heads. I saw them and was passing people on them as I gained speed. I felt so pumped to finish under 2:15. I was repeating that number in my head when I lost focus. 2:15, 2:15, 2:15. You got this. Come on Tiff! 2:15!!

I passed the finish line and it said 2:14:20. I was ELATED! I caught my breath, and immediately started wondering what was the “official” time, since I started a min or 2 behind the start line.

OFFICIALLY 2:12:44.

I am still completely amazed with myself. That’s a full 8 minutes off my last PR. It makes me believe I can crush even the 2:12 time, if I work hard enough! And I really believe the last 3 weeks of Insanity really helped get me to that time. It really focuses on those same muscle groups you use for running. Amazing.

Post race there was a pancake breakfast, but the line was ridiculous. And I waited in it for about 10 minutes and didn’t move. I had snacks in mu car and ate some fresh fruit while I walked around. Then I went looking for the free beer. None to be found. I saw them setting up what looked like a beer garden. But it was far from being set up. Often times they can’t start pouring until after 10 or 11am. Which I think is so stupid. You finish the race, and you want a beer. Who cares what time it is. Stupid city ordinances.

The cool thing they did have after the race, was Whole Foods was sponsoring a veggie market. So you picked up a bag when you finished and they had buckets of fresh fruits and veggies. I grabbed big handfuls of everything. I might have been slightly unconscious, but I knew that stuff was free, and I wanted my share.

The bags were cool, they had this on the front.

I also picked up a few bags of pop chips, a 5 hour energy, and tasted some amazing kombacha (sp). I wish I would have taken a pic to remember what that kombacha looked like. The tangerine was to die for! I’m going to stop by Whole Foods tomorrow and try to pick some up.

And I saw Snoopy on the way out.

Overall Pro’s

The race was well organized.

There were plenty of port-o-potties (at the beginning and on the course) and volunteers.

The weather was absolutely perfect. It didn’t get above 65 degrees. I think that definitely attributed to my great time.

The race shirts were nice.

Great vendors at the end of the race.

The race itself was flat and fast. Perfect course for a PR.

The course was absolutely breathtaking.

The pacers were all amazing. I read lots of other shout outs about other pacers.

The crow support was great. It was on a trail, and they had schools come out and dress up and cheer us on. Very cool.

Cons

If the website says NO RACE DAY PICKUPS. Make that a thing. Don’t make exceptions. I’m still really pissed about this.

Have more info on their website about things like “bag checks”. I would have brought a bag, had I known.

Make the Expo more worth my time with better vendors.

My experience was an amazing one. And everything happens for a reason. I’m so excited about my new PR, and I can’t wait until my next half marathon. I think it will be at the end of October.

Cheers!

Oops I completely forgot to post a pic of the medal. Which was awesome! Super heavy and it spins! Love it!

Santa Rosa Half Marathon Teaser

A new PR is cause for celebration!

Tune in tomorrow for the full race recap!

Cheers!

Race Recap: Davis Moo-nlight Run

This was a unique race in an evening setting. It really called for alternative fueling methods. My plan was to eat a late breakfast around 10, and a small lunch around 2. I was hoping my stomach wouldn’t get upset during the race.

Start time was at 7pm, and I met Jessica at 5pm. Normally I would have been at the race at this time, because I’m a control freak who doesn’t know any better however hubs got sick and couldn’t take me. I’m really glad I got to go with Jessica and her sister. And guess what? We found parking very easily and pretty close to the start/finish line. Crisis averted.

The packet pick up ran smooth, even though it looks crazy.

There were so many people there trying to get in on the fun!

The original plan was to run this race at a 9:30 pace. Every training run we did was around 10:30, but considering the hills, we were confident about that. Well up until last week! On race day it was another story.

We put on our best Pre-Race smiles!

And Jessica forced me to take a random picture of the “hello kitty boys”.

And before we knew it, we were off! I had set my phone in my arm band. I picked it up the day before the race at Marshall’s for $9.99. Makes me never want to shop at Sports Chalet again.

And I also picked up those headphones for 5 bucks! What? Yes! My other ones had pretty much died from overuse. I was really excited to be able to hear my music during this race.

Since my arms were free I decided to bring a water bottle. I had just one full day where I didn’t feel absolutely miserable before the race. I figured i needed to play it safe.

Miles 1-5 blew by pretty quick. We were running steady at 10:30 pace. Slower than we had anticipated, but we were trying to be aware of how we were feeling. Jessica wasn’t feeling 100% because she ate lunch around 3, and ate a spaghetti lunch from Olive Garden. Oy, did that come back to bite her.

Also the race path was park paths and the green belt, which made for a very scenic route. But, only 2-3 person wide. If we had started a bit faster I think it would have made for a faster overall race. We didn’t have the energy to pass up people at times. Which slowed us down.

We took a gel around mile 4.5, it was way muggy-er than we both had anticipated. We were hoping it would even us out. Nope, kinda made it worse. Awesome.

We stayed with the 2:20 pacer until around mile 8 or 9. We were feeling good about that. However I had to refill my water bottle, and it took longer than expected. And I think at one point Jessica stopped to use the bathroom. I think at that point we didn’t give up, but we just decided to stop worrying. Well I did anyways. I think Jessica stopped caring about race time before the race had started.

The one cool thing that we did do was put little lights on our shoes. Once it got dark we turned them on.

At one point a volunteer called us “Team Blinky Feet”. Uuuuhhh YAH WE ARE! The race had plenty of volunteers to help navigate every turn. Davis is such a nice place to run anyways. Super nice spectators all cheering for everyone, love it!

Another cool thing about this race was the glow wand necklace, bracelet, etc pieces they were heading out around mile 7-8. I grabbed 4 and put them around my neck. It was cool to see so many people with them on, and at some parts of the race it was all you saw of them. Definitely wish I would have worn the headlamp I had brought.

Then around mile 9 it happened. My toes started cramping. Like really really bad. So bad, I didn’t think I would finish. Well not running into the finish. I had felt it coming on, but ignored it. Then finally told Jessica, and said that I had to slow down. She was such a trooper. She actually felt better, but stayed with me until the end. Thanks Jessica! I’m not sure I would have ran it in like I did, had you not been there!

I have no final race pics, since my phone had died and my cheering section (hubs) was not there. It truly makes a huge difference for me to have his support right there at the end. He usually takes a picture of me, has my bag and a water bottle ready for me. Since I didn’t have him I had to suffer in my dirty, sweaty, half marathon clothes.

Final time 2:37

Definitely one my worst times, but if nothing else I learned I can still finish no matter what! and that I’m awesome, but I already knew that

Here’s the shirt I got

I had signed up for women’s xxl, since they run small, but it was too big. I switched it up for an XL. Kind of in love with that.

And the finisher’s medals were amazing. They glow in the dark too!

And since I completed the entire series of the Tour De Fit, I got some pretty cool garb.

Kind of makes me want to sign up for the second tour of the year. I’ll keep you posted.

I really had an amazing day! First the Color Run, then this race. It was the first time I had done 2 races in one day, and it was worth it. Next time I want to run in both!

Pros
Very well organized event
Plenty of volunteers
Plenty of bathrooms
Lots of free stuff
Great spectators
Scenic route
Nice race shirts
Awesome medals
Extra bling for doing more than 2 events
Flat easy course

Cons
Narrow course, but also a pro…heads or tails?
Almost too many racers. I guess I need to get faster, so I can pass up the bulk of the people.

I can’t think of too many cons to this race. a change of pace is a great racing company. They put on several events throughout the year, and do an amazing job. I really love doing their races, since it is so well organized and I always have a great time.

Cheers!

Race Recap: The Color Run

I was super duper excited to run walk this race with one of my long lost bff’s. She is my second cousin, which means we have spent pretty much every holiday together. We also barely graduated from high school together. I consider her just an all around best friend. I can talk to her about anything, and when we are together we bring out the best or worst in each other. However life is life, and we don’t spend nearly enough time together as of recently (like the last 5 years). We both got married and old!!

Here she is….Amanda!

Or what I like to call her, Amandeeuh! (it was funny to find out that the nick names we have each other in high school, we still use today for screen names/emails/etc. She gave me the name Tiffersknees)

I’m sure you have all seen the video of the color run. It’s quite spectacular. Makes you think it’s this magical race! (The Color Run go check it out if you haven’t already). The main concept is you dress up in a white shirt, and they have these “color stations” where they sprinkle you with color. Sounds like tons of fun right??

My alarm went off at 4:30, I rolled over and hit the snooze. I was up at 4:40. Coffee maker is still broken…so I just grabbed my banana and headed out the door.

When I got to Amanda’s house, she too had brought a banana. I’m telling you, we are totally telepathic.

Banana buddies for life

It was about an hour drive from Amanda’s house. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that the parking was at this team’s stadium.

The logistics were perfect! There was TONS of parking (parking is usually a NIGHTMARE in SF), and the parking was FREE, the race started and finished IN the parking lot. 3 cheers for good planning on that part!

After we parked we headed over to packet pick up.

I dunno why I thought the packet didn’t come with a shirt, but it did! Here’s my garb!

I bought the sticker and the bandana, but the packet also came with the shirt, head band, final paint color, a wrist band for the race, and a tattoo!

I used what I could find to paste that tattoo to my face.

Getting a tattoo is such hard work! But totally worth the effort!

And Amandeeuh looked just as cute!

After the complicated tattoo process we headed over to take more pics, and see where this race started.

Since we weren’t going back to the car we brought our color packs with us.

And we found the start!

We just had to find the gigantic sea of people heading in the same direction. Then this guy got the crowd going!

He was awesome! He had us all jumping around, singing, and doing the wave!!

The race started about 8-10 minutes late, but we were having fun with the announcer guy, it didn’t make much difference.

At one point we saw this lady in a motorized wheelchair with a color run bib attached to her stomach. Then Amanda threw out a challenge, finish before the wheelchair lady: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

We had planned on walking the whole thing, and we started the first “k” around 13 min/mile. We were booking! And we got really excited to see the first “color station”.

Doesn’t it look like you would be completely coated in color? Ya, not the case. You basically had to wait in line to get sprayed with the chalk color. Which is whatever, the chalk really had to get on your clothes.

That was the only color I got in the first station. On my arm. I felt totally gypped! So the next station I was on a mission for color!!

We got a little more that time. And on the way to the third station I saw this shirt.

I told the girl, that I loved what her shirt said, and that it was inspiring. She said “thanks”. And then a few seconds later she started running. Love that! You go lady in the inspiring shirt!

The next few stations I basically just went to the color baskets and was pouring the color on myself. There were just too many people and not enough volunteers.

And the end we sprayed each other with green.

And guess what? We totally beat the lady in the wheelchair. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

We ate here after the race

I’ll have a review up later about that place. Because ohemgee it was good!

Race overall was fun!

Pros:
Announcer guy
Getting covered in paint
Inspiring Tshirt lady
Garb
Logistics in SF
Beating the lady in the w/c to the finish

Cons:
Didn’t get painted on much, unless you really tried.
Course was the parking lot of the stadium. Very lame, but understandable.

See, not many cons! I liked this race, I would do it again. It would even be more fun with a huge group of people.

Have you done a color run??

Cheers!

Davis Moonlight Half Marathon Teaser

We were all smiles before it started…

Tune in Tuesday for the full race recap!

Did you race this weekend?

Cheers!

Guess what I did this morning??

I’ll have a full race recap up next week…

And yes I also have to run a half marathon this evening in Davis. Good times!

Cheers!

Race Recap: Hit The Road Jack 10k

I decided to do this race on a whim. Mostly because I already ask for enough days off for other reasons. I didn’t know if I was going to do the race until the night before. The plan was to have fun and enjoy the sights. Plus the words “wine and cheese” were in the title.

Umm…yes please!

The registration started at 6:30, and since I am a control freak and wanted to avoid the rush I woke up at 4:45. I wanted to try something different and eat some carbs before the race, and I wanted to make sure I had enough time for it to digest. I went for a bagel thin, toasted peanut butter on one side and nutella on the other, topped with bananas.

It was delicious.

We got to the race site in Sonoma a few minutes before 6:30. Luckily they were all set up, which made it super easy to get registered. They only gave me a bib, and no shirt. I thought that it was weird they handed the shirts out at the end.

I made a pit stop here.

When I was taking the picture some woman said “really? The port-o-potties are that interesting?”. I simply said “you must not read many running blogs.”

There’s only 2 rules with bathrooms,

1- make sure there are enough.

2- make sure they are clean and stocked.

It was 7am, and there was quite a line. Well with only about 8 bathrooms it seemed like there wasn’t enough bathrooms.

By now the crowds started coming in.

I made sure I took the start line obligatory picture.

It was a little sad that it didn’t say start.

Soon enough it was about 15 minutes before the race started. I made my way to the “start, not labeled start line”. I got stuck behind some strollers…

The clock ticked down to 0, and nothing happened. Then 3 minutes later we were asked to move forward to make way for everyone. This was good, since I wasn’t behind “the stroller crew” anymore.

They said to give them another 10 minutes after this. This was super annoying news to hear. Every race I have ever raced in has been a few minutes late. However at this point they were talking like 15 minutes.

Eventually 18 minutes pass, and they let the wheel chairs go. And said it would be another 3 minutes.

26 minutes after the original start time the Runner’s part of the race started.

After all the annoying delays, we were finally running. And I was feeling awesome! So awesome that my first mile clocked in at 9:06.

CRAP!

I’m just racing for fun. There’s no way I can hold this pace. I tried to slow down. Mile 2 clocked in at 9:07. Then I was trying to do the math (favorite past time of runner’s, while running). I was kind of freaking out. I was not trained for a sub 55 10k. I didn’t want to injure myself.

Also in mile 2 I passed a hidden “aid station” with one volunteer. ONE! I must be really, really spoiled. I am used to at least a half a dozen or more volunteers at each aid station. The runner’s we decided to stop had to pour their own water. At that moment I felt great.

The scenery looked like this,

It was really a beautiful course. I was trying to soak it all in. I didn’t think I needed water at that moment. And I remembered that there were 3 aid stations. I just figured I would stop at the next one.

Then I hit an uphill slope. I could really feel myself slowing down. I thought for sure I was running over 10 min/mile. I was cursing the adrenaline in the beginning. And wondering where the hell it went after mile 2.

Mile 3- 9:57

Ew. Ya I started way too fast, now I’m going uphill. Then the cramps started. Why am i cramping? Oh yeah, I decided to switch it up and eat carbs before my race. So, I was pissed about that. And I was pissed that the race directors were lame and only assigned one volunteer to an aid station. I was also pissed that they didn’t put more info on their website. They should have had an elevation chart. Or at least some sort of acknowledgement of some slight uphill parts.

SOMETHING.

Eventually I came to another aid station. Another single volunteer. Whatever. I poured my own water. I walked and drank. I had never been so happy to see an aid station. With a new pep on my step, I turned the corner and saw this view.

Amazing!

It really made me appreciate where I live and the races I have access to.

Mile 4 was over 10 min mile. Blasphemy. I just kept trudging. And after the slow uphill madness, came the downhill. I got my second wind. I kept a steady 9:31 pace for the rest of the 10k.

I was so excited to see the end!

According to the timing thing, I finished at 58:14. I don’t know if that is entirely accurate, since the delay and the wheel chair thing. Nike+ said I finished 58:57. Either way I PR’d by more than 5 minutes. I can’t say that it wasn’t a good race. I put in as much effort as I could. However when you break the cardinal rule of starting too fast, expect to tucker out.

Next up, I want my shirt!

Hasn’t anyone ever told the race coordinators that white is the absolute WORST color for a shirt. It’s a tech tee, it’s meant to be worn while you sweat. Plus you have to wear a white bra. (well as a courtesy to others around you).

Ok I got my shirt, I changed my clothes. Gimme my wine and cheese! There was none. Nobody could pour until after 10:30. I was done at 9:30. I guess that’s out.

Now gimme my cheese! There was no cheese. Where was the cheese? It’s in the title of the race!?!?! Why wouldn’t you offer some cheese to the competitors right after the race?

We left, cheeseless and wineless.

We hit up this place in Napa.

We each ordered one of these.

And shared some of these

We quickly ate, and headed home. We both desperately needed a nap. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing.

Overall: I would give this race a so-so rating

Positives:
Location

spectacular views

great weather

a lot of shade on the course.

Negatives:
you get your shirt at the end (I’m a control freak who needs her shirt right away)

Over 20 minutes delayed start

Not enough port-o-potties

Not enough volunteers at the aid stations

No wine and cheese at the end, even when it’s in the title.

White tech tee

No race results on the website after 5pm. (I checked the race website about race results, It only had 2010 results. Not a good sign.)

Would I do this race again?? No. Would I recommend the course to a friend, who is visiting from out of town and wants a scenic race? Probably.

Have you encountered any of these negatives when racing?

Cheers!