Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon

This past Saturday I ran the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon with Lauren. Ever since I started running over two years ago, I've been wanting to participate in a Rock 'n' Roll race. Although slightly pricier, this race series seemed to be very well-designed with fun tech tees and awesome swag. Since I seek out races with cool souvenirs, this series obviously had to be on my bucket list. After moving to Philadelphia and finding out that the city is home to a Rock 'n' Roll event, I had to sign up for this race.

For the past three months, Lauren and I have been training consistently for the Philadelphia Marathon in late November. Our ultimate goal is to run well and PR at this event. However, we still wanted to run the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon a month prior. Because our true goal race is actually the marathon, we agreed that we would push ourselves to PR, but not kill ourselves trying to finish this half marathon in under 2 hours. Leading up to this half marathon, our PR was 2:13:47. Before the race, we decided that we would be content if we just PR'ed, but perfectly happy if we finished in under 2:10.

During races (and most training runs), I like to run without knowing my pace. Since I train and race with intervals (run 10 minutes, walk 1 minute) and my watch shows my distance, I have a good idea about my overall pace, but I do my best to ignore it and not do the math in my head. I've found that I have a much better run (both time-wise and emotionally) if I run without this added stress. I encouraged Lauren to do the same, and instead find a comfortable pace with our legs versus our brains.

At the San Francisco Marathon I went out a little too fast and wasn't able to keep that initial pace up throughout the rest of the race. For this half marathon though, Lauren had to keep reminding me that it would be better for us to not be "crazy legs" the first few miles, but rather keep a consistent pace throughout the entire race. I did my best to not take off at the start, but it's pretty hard when you don't know your pace. I started at running at a fast-comfortable pace and hoped that we could keep it up. When we signed up for the race in February, we listed our expected finish time slower than what we were now actually trying to achieve. Because of this, we ended up needing to weave in and out of other runners in our assigned wave group. Luckily there were so many wave groups that there were only a small amount of people in each group, so bobbing in and out of people wasn't too hard. Combined with trying to find that perfect comfortable pace, we chose to skip our first walk break.

Even running in California you'll often find me wearing long sleeves and pants when most others are dressed for warmer weather. Bring me to the East Coast in the middle of Fall, and I'm even colder. Even though I made sure to wear warm clothing, I was still freezing the first several miles of the race. Not once did I regret wearing pants, a long sleeved tee, and gloves. In fact, I couldn't feel my legs or feet at all the entire race because they were so cold. That actually probably helped though! Since this race was held on Halloween Day, we had to dress up. Neither of us have ever dressed up for a race before, and we didn't want our outfits to get in the way of running, so we found the most minimal Halloween costumes. Earlier in the year my mom sent us M&M t-shirts from her trip to Las Vegas, so we put our shirts to good use and dressed up as orange and green M&M's!

The first three miles of the race took us out into Center City, around City Hall, and back to the Art Museum. We used these miles to find and settle into a comfortable pace. Miles 3-5 were essentially an out and back route. This was personally our first Gatorade stop. Since we both carried handheld water bottles, we didn't stop at any aid stations for water. However, we did pick up a cup of Gatorade at about every other aid station. At mile 5 City Fit Girls, the run club we joined a few months back, had their own little cheer section. They handed out candy to us, and those Swedish Fish for me and Peanut Chews for Lauren, gave us that boost of energy we needed to make it through the next section of the race. Seriously, that was a game changer! Miles 5-9 were run along the eastern side of the Schuylkill River. Lauren and I run all of our long runs on this part of the course, so we were very familiar with it. Lauren commented on how boring this section was while pretty much everyone else was praising its beauty. While I completely agree with Lauren, I think being so familiar with the route actually helps us have a better race. Because we've trained so much in this area, we know exactly where all the twists and turns are, and had a good idea of how much further we needed to run to make it to the next section of the race. This section was slightly curvy, and knowing the layout of the road helped us run the tangents a tiny bit better. 

Reaching mile 9 meant that it was time to cross the bridge! This was a huge sign of relief because I knew that as soon as I crossed the bridge, it was time to run back to the Art Museum on the western side of the river. Mile 9 was also the only aid station with fuel, so I grabbed the first Gu I could reach- strawberry banana. Not my favorite, but definitely not the worst either. Although I wasn't hungry, I knew I needed to eat something (I had two other Gu's of my own with me, just in case). I gulped that Gu down like a champ, trying to distract myself from the banana flavor, and kept moving. Miles 9-12.5 weren't so bad. I heard lots of people encouraging their friends to keep running, and saw several people completely burnt out and walking to the end. Both Lauren and I were still running and following our intervals, so I took this as a good sign. Apparently around mile 12 Lauren told me she needed to go to the bathroom and I didn't say anything which she took as, 'I'd be mad at her if she stopped'. I honestly never heard her though, so she kept powering along, waiting to use the bathroom at the finish. I still had absolutely no idea what our pace was at this point. We passed the 2:15 pace sign around mile 10, and since they started at least one wave group before us, I knew we were on track to run under 2:15. I was still hoping to finish in under 2:10, but I really didn't know what to expect. The final mile of the race dragged us across the MLK Bridge. I was so excited at this point! There were so many people cheering all the runners and walkers on, we saw the City Fit Girls cheerers again, and the finish line was in sight! Lauren suggested we skip our last walk interval and just run to the end. Literally right before the finish line was a little hill, but we powered up that hill and sprinted to the finish line. As soon as we stopped our watches, Lauren turned to me and asked if I looked at our overall time yet. I hadn't, but I quickly did and couldn't believe it!

Our official time was 2:02:23, that's a 9:21 overall pace! As I was looking at the official race results, I looked at my splits, and it turns out that we ran a pretty consistent race. Our first two 5k's, and the 5k between mile 10 to the finish line were all run in 29 minutes each. A race doesn't get much better than this! Although we didn't finish in under 2 hours, we still met both of our spoken race goals. We PR'ed (by 11 minutes!), and finished in under 2:10. This race proved to us that a sub-2 hour finish is definitely possible, and that will be our next half marathon goal!

What Running Looks like Now

After finishing the San Francisco Marathon at the end of July, I planned to take a week off from running entirely. Well as it goes, one week turned into two, and then I made excuses to skip my next long run. From personal experience, I knew that I needed to start running again, if only a few miles at a time, otherwise I'd stop running completely, and with several races coming up that really wouldn't be a good idea.

I flew back to Philadelphia the first week of August, expecting to easily fall back into my normal daily routine. However, that transition was so hard and didn't go as planned. I needed more than a few days to readjust to the time change, and my body was out of whack from the huge coffee and no water the day of travel. But knowing how I am, I had to make myself run in order to get back into the habit of doing it. I didn't want to lose all of the endurance and speed I built, and have to start all over from square one again.

Being gone for almost a month, I quickly forgot how humid and muggy the East Coast is in the summer. I much prefer running outside, but the weather conditions were doing more harm than good to me. Sure I was getting all of my midweek runs in, but my legs felt like they were being shredded. My muscles were constantly sore and tired, so I started going to the gym instead. For the past two weeks I've been doing almost all of my midweek runs on the indoor track where there is good airflow and air conditioning. Once the midweek miles start picking up though, I'm going to have to move over to the treadmill because running dozens of circles around a 1/12 mile track makes me pretty dizzy. Thankfully though, the weather should be better towards the middle of September. I'm really looking forward to not having to wake up at the crack of dawn when I want to run outside.

While I've been struggling to get back into the routine of running five times a week, I'm still really motivated. Having races on my calendar that I've signed up for months ago motivates me to get to the gym. I've run a half marathon before without any proper training, and it sucks! I never want to be in that much pain during and after a race again, so I use that horrible experience as inspiration to adhere to a training schedule.

I love participating in races, who doesn't? The race swag and expo are so fun, and I wear the novelty tech tees all the time. But this year, I decided to do less races and instead focus more on the few that I do sign up for. I've been concentrating on training for specific races rather than just running random half marathons because I can. So far this year, I've run a 10 mile trail race and a full  marathon. At the end of October I'll be running the Rock 'n Roll Philadelphia half marathon (on Halloween!), and the Philadelphia full marathon at the end of November. Although I'm missing out on adding more shirts to my growing collection of race tees, I've never been more excited for all the fanfare for one specific race at a time. And just like always, I've set time goals for these next two races that I hope to achieve!

San Francisco Marathon: Part II

Yesterday I talked all about our pre-race fun, including my favorite expo purchases and delicious dinner! Today I'm getting to the really good stuff- the actual race!

Since Lauren and I did all of the training together and we naturally run at very similar paces, we decided to run the entire marathon together. We had a big time goal (under 4 hours and 30 minutes), so we knew that we needed to run strong the entire 26.2 miles. From our past experiences, we decided that we weren't going to look at our pace but rather run entirely on feel alone. Obsessing on pace only makes us stressed and can be very discouraging if we fall behind. We did all of our training using 10:1 run:walk intervals, so we stuck to this for the marathon as well.

Miles 0-4: Embarcadero 
- We took off much faster than originally planned, trying to weave in and out of people.
- I was so in awe that I was actually embarking on this race that I didn't really look at my surroundings. I remember running by a few piers, but I was mostly reminding myself to keep moving and put one foot in front of the other. It sounds silly, but I was in shock that I was doing this.

Miles 4-5.5: Presidio Part I
- We were still weaving in and out of people, so we unfortunately missed a lot of good photo opportunities.
- We encountered the first big hill of the race. Expecting it to be a pretty hilly course, we decided to continue running up the hills, but at an easier pace. I was afraid that if we chose to walk the hills, we would be doing a lot of walking which would put our time goal way out of reach.
- This area was really foggy so it was hard to see stuff in the distance. But what was viewable, was stunning! I was able to spot the Golden Gate Bridge which was really motivating because I knew that was our next big landmark. 

Miles 5.5-9.5: Golden Gate Bridge

-  Prior to the race I was warned that the bridge should be thought of as a hill with the center of the bridge as the apex, even though it looks flat. Knowing this, I didn't push myself in an effort to save my legs.
- The race runs from the SF side to the Sausalito side of the bridge, and then turns back around to spit you out where you started. The turn around point (mile 7.5) marked the first aid station with fuel. I grabbed a pack of black cherry Gu Chomps and ate all of them between miles 7.5-11. Sidenote: I loved how these tasted and will be buying them as soon as I need more running fuel.
- As Lauren and I were heading back into SF, we crossed paths with Marissa, Heather, and Leti who were working their way up to the turn around point. This was the only time we saw them throughout the entire race, but they snapped some good photos of Lauren and me.
- I was surprised at how moist and foggy the air was on the bridge. If I hadn't known better, I would've thought that it recently rained.
- Although it was exciting and a once in a lifetime experience running across the GG Bridge, as a middle of the pack runner, it was tricky navigating my way through the herds of people. There were only two car lanes open to the runners across the bridge, one car lane for each running direction separated by cones. Because the path was so narrow, we ended up running on the opposite side, hugging the cones the majority of the time. 

Miles 9.5-12.5:
- We finished running through the scenic areas of SF's coast. One moment we were running along the water, and the next we were on the street. I definitely preferred the former of the two. 
- Many people wore their race shirts during the run which contains an image of the course on the back. I started realizing that because I'm vaguely familiar with the SF area, I could easily figure out where I was on the map. It was oddly very motivating to be able to see how much I had already run and how much more I had to go. Whenever I started feeling like I wanted to be done, I would look for a race shirt to check my progress. I think all race shirts should have the course on the back!

Miles 12.5-19: Golden Gate Park
-  Probably the most serene, yet boring parts of the entire race. If we had been in GG Park for half that distance, I would've enjoyed it a lot more.
- The first half marathon finished here, and the second half marathon started. It was a little disheartening to see the big finish line knowing that I still had over 13 more miles to run.
- We ran into Dan (SacFit running buddy) and talked/ran with him for a few minutes. I love seeing people I know!
- I saw my parents right before exiting the park. I didn't know exactly where I would be seeing them, so it was a great surprise to see familiar faces.

Miles 19-21: Haight St.
- I was expecting a lot of fanfare and excitement here, but it was just another ordinary street to me.
- Somehow I missed the aid station with fuel, but I had plenty with me so that wasn't a big deal.
- By this time I was getting tired and zoned out for awhile. I turned my brain off and let my legs just carry me.

Miles 21-23.5:

- The hardest part of the race for me, mentally. I never hit the wall (thank goodness!), but I really just wanted to be done at this point.
- We took it easier on the hills, and walked a few extra minutes.
- There were a handful of residents who were cheering outside of their houses which was really encouraging. One man even set out a table with cut up oranges for the runners; I took two slices! 

Miles 23.5-26.2: 

- I was expecting to see AT&T Park a lot sooner than we did. I kept telling myself that as soon as I saw the baseball stadium I would be in the final stretch of the race. I should've studied the course route more so that I would've had a more accurate idea of where we were.
- It just so happened that there was a Giants game the afternoon of the race so there were tons of people lined up all around AT&T Park. The baseball fans were pretty much contained so that didn't pose any problems, but it was a surprise to see so many people walking in the opposite direction of the race to get to the game.
- At mile 26 we saw a few of our good running buddies from SacFit. The day before they mentioned to us that they were going to try to make it out to the finish, but their plans weren't definite. It was so nice to see them cheering us on! Thank you so much Tim and Kathleen for being there! As soon as I spotted them, I had a sudden burst of energy and wanted to sprint to the finish. Seeing people you know cheering you on really is a great feeling, especially after 26 miles!
- Lauren and I sprinted the last .2 miles to the finish line to receive our finishers' medals and post race treats!

We completed the SF Marathon in 4:33:29! Although I didn't reach my biggest time goal, I easily surpassed my initial challenge and even PR'ed by over an hour. Of course I wish I would've been able to run just a little bit faster, but I'm still so proud of Lauren and myself for improving so much. This just means that we'll have to run another marathon to accomplish that goal time!

Right after we finished we ran into another SacFit friend, Jenny who had also just completed the marathon. We chatted with her about our race experiences for a little bit before leaving the finishers' area. Then we made our way back to mile 26 to catch up with Tim, Kathleen, and Brad. We figured that would be a good spot to wait for Marissa, Heather, and Leti. Soon after, we realized that we should've picked up our drop bags right after finishing since they were in the completely opposite direction. My only real complaint for the entire marathon is that the drop bag pick up location should've been much closer to the finish line. After having run over 26 miles, most people don't want to have to walk that far to get their belongings. Once we picked up our stuff, we walked all the way back to mile 26. We had no idea when Marissa, Heather, and Leti were going to finish, or if they decided to drop. My parents were back at the hotel checking out of the rooms for us, so we wouldn't be able to meet up with them for awhile either.

Leti came in an hour and a half after us. Since Marissa and Heather started the race with Leti, I figured they weren't far behind if they hadn't dropped. I called Heather, expecting her to not answer, but was pleasantly surprised when she did. I found out that she was still on the course with Marissa, around mile 25. Since the official allotted time was up, all of the aid stations and course support were gone. Wanting to encourage Marissa and Heather, I decided to run back to meet them, and run the last bit with them. Lauren and Leti stayed near the finish and watched all of our stuff, including my phone. I jogged all the way back to mile 25.75, expecting that they should've completed at least .75 miles within the last 15 minutes of talking to Heather. I saw a few runners making their way to the finish, but Marissa and Heather weren't in sight. I waited another 5 minutes for them, before realizing that they probably already finished and I must've somehow missed them. I was thinking that everyone was now waiting for me, and since I didn't have my phone, I went ahead and walked all the way back to the finish line to look for Lauren and Leti who I knew would be there. Still without a phone, I wasn't able to find them. Luckily I randomly ran into my dad who was searching for my mom. I was then able to use my dad's phone to call Lauren. So much time had passed since I left to find Marissa and Heather, that when I was able to contact Lauren, she was already walking in my direction with Heather and Marissa. I was bummed that I missed them crossing the finish line, but luckily Lauren recorded it.

After everyone was found, the seven of us walked back to my dad's car together. Thankfully my dad loaded up all of our luggage and checked out of our hotel room for us, so we didn't have to worry about any of that. My dad dropped Lauren, Leti, and I back off at my car, and we started our short journey back to Sacramento. We stopped in Berkeley to pick up Chipotle for lunch which ended up being the best post-race meal.

As far as fuel and hydration go, I started the race with a single 22oz handheld bottle filled with Nuun and had my bottle refilled with water one time once it was empty. In addition, I drank several ounces of Nuun at many of the aid stations, about every five miles. Throughout the entire race, I ate a package of Gu Chomps and three Gu Gels. This combination of hydration and fuel worked really well for me. I had plenty of energy throughout the entire race without feeling weighed down or sick. I find that eating a larger breakfast before and small amounts during the run is best for my body. 

I had an amazing weekend in San Francisco with my closest friends and family. I felt so proud of myself for finishing that marathon because I trained so hard for it and dedicated so much time towards it. Even though it was a difficult course at times, it was one of the most scenic areas I've run in. Unfortunately the timing doesn't work out, otherwise I would've already signed up to run this marathon again next year. Luckily though, Lauren, Leti, Marissa, Heather, and I are already signed up to run another marathon in November. We signed up months ago so we wouldn't back out after the SF Marathon which was such a smart idea. I'm already looking forward to them coming out to Philadelphia in the next few months. It was hard to start back up, but I've already started training for this next race, and again am hoping for another big PR!

Lauren also wrote a great post on her perspective of the SF Marathon! 

San Francisco Marathon: Part I (Pre-race)

I originally intended to tell my experience of running the San Francisco Marathon in one post, but with so much to share and talk about, that one post grew way too long. So, I decided to break my recap up into two separate posts. I'm sharing all of the pre-race fun today, and will detail the actual run/post-run craziness tomorrow!

Beginning January 1, I started training for the San Francisco Marathon. One of my big New Year's resolutions was to finish a marathon in under 5 hours. I only had one official marathon race under my belt, and I was determined to achieve an enormous PR. Month by month, I filled in my daily workouts and rest days so that I knew exactly what I needed to do in the upcoming days and weeks. I found that this method really worked at holding me accountable and allowed me to be successful in completing my training program. After a few months of getting back into the habit of running regularly again, I realized that I was capable of more than my initial goal. I wanted to PR by over an hour for a time of under 4 hours and 45 minutes. Again, after many more exciting long training runs, I challenged myself to finish the SF Marathon in under 4 hours and 30 minutes. I knew this final goal would be tricky, but based on my pace and how good I felt after my long runs, I was pretty sure I could accomplish this big feat.

Lauren, Marissa, Heather, and Leti also signed up for the marathon. We were all looking for a way to get back into running after having been out of shape for awhile. Since Lauren and I both live in Philadelphia, it was easy for us to train together and follow the same running schedule. The two of us completed all of our long runs and most midweek runs together.

I flew out to California with Lauren in the middle of July, leaving plenty of time for us to adapt to the time and environmental changes in preparation for the July 26 marathon. Being in California completely threw off my normal daily routine I had grown accustomed to in Philadelphia. I tried to be strict about my midweek runs the two weeks leading up to the big race, but when I did manage to go running, my runs were all pretty casual and lax. I'm not sure how this affected the actual race, but such a big change must've had some effect.

The day before the marathon, the five of us drove to San Francisco and eagerly went to the race expo ready to check out all the vendors. Our first stop was the SF Marathon pop up shop. I had been eying the souvenir zip up hoodies online, so I quickly purchased a green one! Heather and I now have matching sweatshirts, and Marissa and Lauren have dark gray ones. While waiting in line to buy our sweatshirts, Marissa and I ran into our second cousin Carey who signed up to run the second half marathon. We hadn't seen her in years, so that was fun!

Lauren and I are known as the "sparkle twins" throughout our SacFit running group because we always wear sparkly headbands when we run. Obviously you can never have enough sparkle, so of course we needed to stop by the Sparkly Soul booth to add a few more headbands to our collections. This was my first time trying this specific brand of headbands, and after trying multiple other ones, I can honestly say that I'm going to be a longtime customer of Sparkly Soul. I picked two glittered headbands: a pastel rainbow and pewter; and a solid shiny brown one to wear when I'm not running. 

After spending a few hours at the expo and dealing with the "parking situation", it was time for dinner! We were planning to go to Source since Lauren, Leti, and I loved the food when we were there last year. After trying to look up directions, we discovered the restaurant closed. Luckily though, we quickly agreed on Gracias Madre for our pre-race meal. Being an all vegan menu, Lauren and I found ourselves not knowing what to order since everything sounded so good. We order lots of appetizers and a few entrees, and decided to share everything amongst the five of us. Everything tasted delicious, just as we remembered, but all of our favorites were the potatoes and cauliflower appetizers. Their cashew cream sauce is to die for.

After dinner, we made our way to the Hilton in the Financial District to check in. Originally, the five of us were going to share one room to save money. I went ahead and booked two rooms, just in case we ended up changing our minds and needed more personal space. I was planning on cancelling one room, but my parents decided they wanted to come and watch us all run! So in the end, Lauren, Leti, and I shared one room, and Marissa and Heather shared a room with my parents. The rooms were on the pricier side, but being in SF that's to be expected. Our rooms were very clean, large, and had amazing views- well worth the price.

Once we checked in, we spent the entire evening resting. I packed my water bottle and drop bag, set out my clothes, and showered so that I wouldn't have to worry about doing anything the morning of the race. Planning works wonders! When I woke up at 4 o'clock race day morning, I wasn't stressed at all. As soon as I woke up, I sat in bed and made myself finish my entire breakfast. I made and froze pancakes two days before to bring with me. I also brought a single serving pouch of Justin's almond butter. Since I had been eating these same exact pancakes with almond butter the morning of every long run, I knew that this breakfast would work well for me. I gave myself plenty of digestion time to prevent any stomach issues during the race. After my fancy breakfast in bed, I finished getting ready in not time at all.

We met my parents, Marissa, and Heather in the hotel lobby around 5 o'clock and walked less than a mile to the start line with them. I was afraid that walking that far before the race would tire us all out, but fortunately this was the perfect little warmup. I threw on extra layers expecting it to be really cold on the walk to the start. Luckily though, we were blessed with the perfect weather! We dropped off of our drop bags and had just enough time for one last port-a-potty stop. None of us realized how much further the actual entrance to the corral was. We were expecting to be able to walk into the start gate right after the port-a-potties, but in actuality we had to jog another quarter of a mile to get there on time. Lauren and I have had bad experiences missing our designated corral, so we wanted to be able to start at our correct time. This caused a lot of stress for our group, but we made it there right on time and had a few minutes to take a group shot before crossing the start line.

Best Friend Friday No. 37: Long Run

Even though Lauren and I complete a long run together every Saturday, this past weekend's run was a pretty big milestone for us. We're training for the San Francisco Marathon, and we needed to run 20 miles on Saturday. We've been slowly building up to the distance, so adding just a single mile onto our previous Saturday's run shouldn't have seemed like such a big deal. But, this run proved to both of us that we really can do this; we're completely capable of this daunting time goal of ours.

By now it's probably no surprise that I live off of pancakes for breakfast every day. Fueling for a long early morning run is no different. We've been trying to wake up a lot earlier on Saturday mornings to get all of our miles in before it gets way too hot, which means that we have to wake up even earlier just to eat breakfast. So yes, I woke up at 5 AM to make and eat pancakes, and I don't regret it one bit.

Our past several long runs have been a tad on the slower side for us; we were both overcoming separate injuries. I had hoped that this 20 mile run might be a little faster than our previous runs, but I honestly wasn't counting on it. I kept reminding myself that this was only a training run and pace doesn't matter, only the distance does.

While I do wear a "fancy" running watch that has the capability to show my current pace and overall pace, I seldom use these features. I'm definitely curious, but I know that if I'm constantly worrying about how fast I'm running, all of the pleasure would be sucked out of running. All that's to say, is that I hadn't the faintest idea what our speed was while we were running, and Lauren's watch lost GPS signal so she wasn't able to check either. Lauren asked me to check our overall pace after mile 11 (our turnaround point), and I was surprised that we were able to keep that pace despite the elevation gains through the Wissahickon trails. At that point, our overall pace was 10:16 minutes per mile, and I doubted that we'd be able to keep that up as I feared we started out running way too fast.

Typically Lauren and I both struggle a little bit the last 3-5 miles of our long runs. We're tired, hot and sweaty, and just want to be done. We normally have to constantly encourage each other to keep moving. This time though, I didn't have the urge to quit and lay down on the side of the road. Don't worry, I've never actually done that. I found eating a packet of Gu Chomps (1 per mile) throughout the last five miles of a long run to be the perfect cure. It gives me something to look forward to, helps pass the time, and most importantly gives me a boost of energy to make it to the end. I'm so glad I found what works for me and will definitely use this strategy on race day.

Even though this was an ordinary weekend for Lauren and me, I never regret running with my best friend. Sometimes we're on the struggle bus and have mini meltdowns. Even then, spending hours stuck together isn't that horrible. We always find a way to work through our issues and motivate one another to finish strong. To me, that's what having a best friend is all about! Thanks for running a fast 20 miles with me (we finished with a 10:08 overall pace!), Lauren! Thank goodness this weekend is a step back run!

Running: West v. East Coasts

When running first became a hobby almost two years ago, I was happily sweating through those miles in California. I never really thought that people living elsewhere have completely different running experiences until I moved across the country to Pennsylvania. Since I made this big move in September, I didn't realize how drastic running would change, but now that I've lived in a different part of the country for bits of each season, I have a better understanding of what to expect in various conditions and locations.

WEST COAST
Running in California, I never really had to think about what to wear. March-October I threw on a pair of shorts and a short sleeve tee; November-February I wore pants, some type of long sleeve shirt, and gloves. In the Winter I even sometimes wore a fleece lined ear warmer, but that was the extent of changing things up. As far as severe weather changes go, one of the first half marathons I ran was extremely hot, and it was only May! I don't remember the exact temperature, but towards the end of the race people were literally lying along the course, unable to get up and being hauled away via ambulance. While California can get extremely hot, this race is an anomaly. As long as you get your run out of the way in the morning and wear appropriate clothing, heat really isn't an issue. On the reverse side of the equation, the coldest I've ever been in California was running the CIM in the beginning of December. I'm pretty certain that the temperature stayed below freezing throughout the entire race. This was the only time on the West Coast that I needed to wear layers upon layers of clothing; I even added a heavy-weight fleece jacket to my race attire and wore it for a quarter of the marathon. Again, I'd consider this a rarity. Since seasons are pretty mild here, I never had to seek out special clothing to feel comfortable. However, I do run perpetually colder than most people.

EAST COAST
After a brief running hiatus, I took up the hobby again in Philadelphia in the beginning of October, basically the heart of fall. I ran mostly in the afternoons or evenings. Like in California, in the beginning of the month I didn't have to think about what to wear, I didn't even check the weather before getting dressed. Shorts and a short sleeve shirt were perfect. It wasn't until the middle of the month where I truly needed to consider my running attire. Capris were a usually a good choice around this time. Eventually towards the end of the month though, pants and long sleeve shirts were my go-to running uniform. It was a gradual shift, but still required a change in my running wardrobe. This is also the month I stopped wearing shorts as part of my non-running daily outfits; I wore pants from here on out. Side note: I wore shorts for the first time since October this past Saturday! November and December were no brainers- pants, long sleeves, and another long sleeve light sweater. I added ear warmers and gloves as well. I even asked for the warmest pair of running pants I could find for Christmas because I could start to feel the temperatures quickly dropping. Come January though, things got interesting. I just always assumed that I'd still run outside in the snow, I'd just wear multiple layers of warmer clothes, no biggie. I was evening planning on buying special gadgets to slip-on over my shoes for added traction. It's a good thing I didn't invest in those though. January-mid March were filled with only treadmill and indoor track runs. Even though I was running inside I still wore pants, but I was able to get by with short sleeve tees. I did see a few people running outside during these months. All the power to you if you're able to withstand these single digit temperatures. My only advice to you is to find the warmest running gear ever invented, buy several of each piece, and simultaneously wear all of them. Mid-March it warmed up enough that I was comfortable running outside. I still wore my warmest pants, two long sleeve layers, and gloves. I dressed this way until the beginning of April or so. I ditched the gloves and second long sleeve layer, and started mixing things up by occasionally wearing capris. Mid-April I started getting toasty and switched to short sleeves, keeping long pants but mostly capris in rotation. Lauren even started wearing primarily shorts. There have been a handful of days this monthly that have been grotesquely humid and I wish I would've worn shorts too. The humidity causes me to profusely sweat even more than I already do (which is a ridiculous amount to begin with), which I think has caused a little bit of bra/back chaffing as well. I suspect that within the next month or so, I'll be wearing shorts and short sleeve tees all the time. I know that the humidity is only going to get worse in the next few months, so I may have to look into different running bras to prevent the rubbing and chaffing. Other than that, I think I'm set and very ready for the summer.

Hopefully those two long cluttered paragraphs weren't too confusing. But if they were, I'll summarize. On the West Coast (specifically California), you don't really need to think about what to wear. Even if you wear shorts in the middle of winter (I know a few people who do without issue), you'd still be fine. However, on the East Coast besides remembering what the current season is, it's also equally important to consider the fluctuating temperatures and the humidity percentages. I'd also recommend a gym membership for those below-freezing winter months, but that's just me! There are pros and cons to living on both sides of the country. The West Coast provides the perfect climate to make feeling comfortable all year long easily achievable. On the other hand, the East Coast offers real, changing seasons. Different strokes for different folks!   

So now my greatest climate concern is what type of running clothing to wear during the San Francisco Marathon in July. Being a West Coast city, you'd think it would be a pretty warm run as it's set in the dead heat of summer. However, also being a Bay Area city set along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, I'd expect it to be pretty breezy and slightly chilly, especially in the morning. I think I have built up my tolerance for cold temperatures over the past few months, but I don't know that this is going to be enough to keep me warm in shorts. I'll probably get too warm in pants, especially over the course of over 26 miles. I could always go with the ever-pleasing capris, but on the other hand, I'm most comfortable running  in either shorts or pants. I haven't found the perfect pair of capris yet, all of mine slip down. Decisions, decisions. Yes, this is definitely a first world problem.

I hope I shed some light on the differences of running on opposite coasts. Perhaps it seems way too obvious and this post was just silly. But, I have my best, most enjoyable runs when I'm most comfortable. For me, this means wearing comfortable weather appropriate clothing and having well-rest muscles of course, but that's an entirely separate story!

Marathon Training Update

I was looking at my most viewed posts the other day and I noticed that "What Did I Get Myself Into?" was pretty high up on that list. But in all honesty, I had no idea which post that title was referring to. I clicked on the link to check out what exactly was going through my mind over a year ago, and I realized that it was in reference to joining SacFit. Boy, was I nervous at the time. I hated running then and was really hoping to learn to somehow like it enough to get some regular exercise in. A month later, "I did it..." and registered to run my first marathon. I remember back then, doubting that I'd be able to finish the entire 26.2 miles. Knowing myself though, I had to take that huge leap and sign up in order to hold myself accountable. Well, it worked. Training and practice really do pay off. Even though I was in an immense amount of pain right after the CIM, shortly after I signed up for SacFit Ultras and registered to run my first ultra marathon with just as much uncertainty about finishing the race. During those three long months of following the rigorous training schedule, I finished the 50 mile race, reveling in all its glory. I even ran a half marathon race not too long after that, and PR'ed! But then the running pretty much stopped.

My body was exhausted; I was was exhausted. I didn't want to look at another schedule of planned daily runs. I was done at that point and really just needed a break. I definitely took my much needed break from running, although it ended up being a wee bit too long. From May till September I only ran whenever I felt like it. I still participated in SacFit's Tuesday and Saturday group runs during the Summer, and even joined in on a few long trail runs every now and then. While I didn't completely lose all the progress I made during the grueling ultra season, I definitely didn't push myself to become a better runner either. This past fall as I was starting to get back into the habit of running again, I realized how easy 15 miles used to feel while at the time, I was currently struggling to hit the 10k mark. Mind you I was running quite a bit faster than I had in the past, but I just couldn't get over how easy running to be.

Lauren and I talked about this and immediately realized that we needed to have races in mind for the next year in order to make running easier and more enjoyable again. We used to spend almost all weekend just running and we actually liked that. Now, the terrain here in Philadelphia is much different than California's. On the West Coast, drive an hour in any direction and you'll find yourself some pretty good sized mountains and hills to run. I know of one "trail" in Philadelphia, and without a car, just getting to that location is a long run in and of itself. Even though we desperately wanted to finish another ultra distance, we knew that wasn't a smart decision right now. We eventually decided to train for another marathon and focus on speed more than distance. We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get back into shape and really train hard. The San Francisco Marathon happens to fall in July, right around the time we were looking at completing our first race "post-retirement". It also gave us a good excuse to come home to Sacramento for a few weeks.

We decided to use our old SacFit marathon training schedule because we were successful with it the first time. We're a lot faster than we were when we originally started the program, so we chose to use a faster pace group's schedule which meant adding on an extra few miles every week. We signed up for the SF Marathon in early January and I immediately bought a year long calendar from the dollar spot at Target to use as my running schedule. I find that I'm much more successful when I'm able to actually see what I need to do on paper versus my phone/computer. Every month I go through our old SacFit schedule and write down the respective workouts for each day. Every day that I complete a workout, I highlight that day's task. At the end of each week, I add all my miles for the week and circle the total. Then, at the end of the month, I calculate my monthly mileage and write that number really big on the top of the page to remind myself of how far I've come. This has been working so well for me.

In January I missed just one run. Lauren was sick the whole first week of the month and really couldn't run. I got myself to the gym even when Lauren wasn't able to. I did skip one run that week and like a good best friend, stayed home and made her chickenless noodle soup instead. That's basically one huge excuse for missing that run. I could've easily run and cooked, but I was just lazy and refused to put my running shoes on. Then in February I got pretty sick and even needed to go to the ER. It wasn't that serious, but it was bad enough that I needed to miss two days of running. Even though I so badly didn't want to skip another run, I truly needed to. There was no point in stressing my body out at that time; I really just needed to rest. In March my family visited for an entire week. Even though there was a gym with dreadmills (I mean treadmills), we only used them once. Lauren talked me out of running almost the entire week, saying that it was more important to spend time with family than go running. While I was hesitant to skip a week's worth of training, she was completely right. We started training for our July marathon in plenty of time, so it wasn't that big of a deal pushing our schedule back one week.

The real reason I don't like to skip runs (besides feeling guilty all day long), is because it's so much harder to get out the door and run the next day. From personal experience, I know that when I miss one day of running, the following day I'll tell myself, "oh you skipped yesterday, what's another day?". Then the horrible no-running cycle continues until it's just too late and you show up the morning of the race, completely unprepared. True story.

Luckily though, that hasn't happened so far. This time, I'm a lot more motivated. I've run this distance before, heck, I've run much further than a marathon. I know I can do this. I actually want to do this for myself. I don't have to prove to anyone what I'm capable of. Even though it takes a few miles to get in the groove sometimes, I actually do enjoy running most days. I think that, so far, Lauren and I have been successfully crossing off our daily workouts because this is our big goal and we want to devote a lot of our time into it. We know how much work and energy goes into training for something so daunting, and yet we still want to give it our all. Even though many days it's so hard to push the start button on my watch, once I get going, I'm so happy and proud of what I've done.

We both also signed up to run the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia half marathon on Halloween and the Philadelphia marathon (along with Marissa, Heather, and Leti- they also ran CIM with us in the picture above) towards the end of November. I'm hoping that will multiple races planned throughout the year, I won't fall victim to the way-too-long running break that typically follows the "big race".   

Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis

You know how some people say they're allergic to exercise? The majority of the time they probably are just joking and looking for an excuse to not workout, but there's actually some truth to that statement for others, like me. While I'm not truly allergic to exercising in and of itself, I have had an allergic reaction while running several times.

Several years ago while I was in Oregon on a trip, my throat and mouth became super itchy after eating a chocolate peanut butter dessert. Although it was very uncomfortable, I didn't think anything of it since my breathing wasn't affected. A few days later though, a bunch of sores developed in my mouth making it too painful to eat. Long story short, I immediately got a blood test to determine exactly what I was allergic to. I read over the ingredients from that chocolate peanut butter dessert multiple times, but was confused because I had eaten all of those foods before without any problems. When my blood test results came back, I was surprised to see how many different foods I was actually allergic to, especially the ones I was currently eating without any adverse reactions. Supposedly, I'm allergic to all nuts (except pistachios, Brazil nuts, and cashews), soy, corn, and wheat. I found it interesting that I was allergic to almost all of the vegan items that I was tested for, yet any potential allergies to animal-derived foods (dairy, eggs, shellfish) came back negative. Perhaps it's just a huge coincidence and my allergist didn't seem as amused by my "finding" as me, so I suppose it's unrelated. My allergist agreed that since I haven't noticed any symptoms from eating corn, wheat, soy, or most nuts, that I can continue to eat these foods. But, I should cut out peanuts from my diet since the peanut butter was most likely the culprit in my initial allergic reaction. Even though my breathing wasn't impaired, I still carry around an Epi-pen since each subsequent allergic reaction can be completely different than the previous one, and there is still the potential I can go into anaphylactic shock even though it's never happened before.

Anyway, back to exercising. I experienced my first exercise induced allergic reaction about two years ago, but I didn't attribute it to exercising at the time. I just figured I ate something that didn't agree with my body and I was having an allergic reaction solely because of that. However, the same thing happened several months later, and it was then that I started to do some research. Over a year later I had another allergic reaction while running, but it was more severe. I was running outside by myself and I still had half a mile left to run when I noticed my hands starting to swell, turn bright red, and become really itchy, my throat was also itchy. I ran the remaining distance as quickly as I could and as soon as I walked through the front door I was already barking orders at Lauren to grab some Benadryl and my Epi-pen (just in case). Luckily the Benadryl worked and I didn't need to use my Epi-pen. By just looking at my face now, Lauren can easily tell when I'm having an allergic reaction. She recognizes my "dog face" that according to her, resembles a dog's snout, but bright red and covered in hives.

That last experience happened in August, but I've been carrying Benadryl with me to the gym, just in case. Luckily I do because two weeks ago it happened again. I was doing a track (speed) workout and towards the end of the run, I could feel my hands start to balloon up and become itchy. Of course I felt like I needed to finish my entire run, then I rushed to my locker and took a Benadryl. The antihistamine kicked in within 15 minutes, and besides feeling lethargic, I felt much better. But two days ago, it happened again while I was doing another speed workout. This time was a little worse than before. Like all previous reactions, I had that same horrible feeling in my hands, but this time my lips and mouth started to become numb. Again I took Benadryl, but it took longer for these symptoms to subside.

These last two "attacks" have happened so close to one another, and within just two weeks the symptoms were even worse. I did additional research about EIA and learned that it's pretty hard to identify the cause for certain. EIA can be due to hormonal changes, food, temperature/humidity/seasonal changes, or medications. After analyzing my habits and environment, I believe that for me, EIA occurs as a result of a specific food I eat prior to exercising. This food can normally be eaten without any problems; it's only an issue if my body is stressed (running) after consuming that particular food. Because of this, it's difficult to pinpoint the co-factor. I have absolutely no idea what food is causing this, but I also know that the last two times this has happened, it has been during a speed workout where I'm running significantly faster than I typically would. So, the intensity of exercise could also be a factor for me.

This all being said, for now I'm going to stop doing speed workouts in hopes that I don't have another allergic reaction. From previous situations, I already know that I personally have to stop eating three hours prior to running. Thankfully I haven't had to resort to using my Epi-pen before, but again, each allergic reaction is different and I always need to be prepared.

While this post was partially meant to create a greater awareness to a rather uncommon condition, I chose to share this story because I want to tell the whole story, the entire journey. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy running (usually), and so I want to be transparent and not only share the highs (races, PRs), but also the lows and the struggles.      

Resolution Run 10 Miler

 Towards the beginning of December, Lauren, Leti, and I registered for a ten mile trail race on New Year's Day. Leti was about to start running Ultras again, and she figured this would be a good way to get back into trail running. So, Lauren and I decided to join her. I need to get back into running too and start marathon training(!), so what better way to do that than by getting a few miles in to start the year off right?

I hadn't run this far since September, and throughout November and December I wasn't running consistently. I knew this race wouldn't be my fastest, but I figured I would get a lot of "training" runs in during the three weeks prior since I'd be back in sunny California. I wasn't worried at all about the fact that I haven't even run trails since August.

Although I'm not even close to being some elite athlete nor do I even come close to placing in my age division, fueling and hydrating are super important components to longer distance running for everyone, especially if you're going to be out on the course longer than the race leaders. Since I hadn't been seriously running for about half of a year, my intuition regarding race prep was completely lost. I didn't even bother to carb-load two nights before the race (easily one of my favorite things to do), and the night before the race (New Year's Eve) I stuffed myself with nachos. Because I moved to Philadelphia, obviously all of my stuff is on the East Coast too. I didn't pack any gels or blocks to eat while running, and while getting my gear ready for race day, I honestly didn't feel that it was important.

I arrived to the Auburn Overlook, clad in cold weather running gear (because I'll always be cold on either coast in the winter), and my handheld water bottle in tow. I waved eagerly to my sister and dad (thanks for braving the cold and being awesome cheerleaders!) as I ran past them at the start line and onward to the trails. My plan was to stick with Lauren and Leti the entire race so that we would all get through the torturous ten miles together. I was hoping to finish in under two hours, but since none of us had really been running at all, I knew that time goal was a big stretch.

The first two miles of the race were completely downhill and it felt great. My favorite part of trail running are the downhills; I feel like I'm flying down them, which I know really helps my overall pace. For these first two miles, the three of us stuck with the majority of the other SacFit runners. Then around mile 2.5 we encountered our first hill.

When we joined Ultras a year ago, we were taught to run the flats and downhill, but walk up the hills. That trick got me through 50 miles, so of course I was going to use the same strategy for this race. Not to get all Miley-ish, but that first hill came in like a wrecking ball. My legs are definitely not used to climbing like they used to be. Thankfully it wasn't a super steep hill, so I pushed through it.

By mile 4 our few SacFit buddies were pretty much separated from one another throughout the course. Leti, Lauren, and I were still running together and I still felt pretty good. Because I'm used to flying down the hills uninhibited, it was really hard on my shins to "brake" while running in order to pace myself.

Mile 6 was the beginning of an out and back loop, concluding with mile 8.5. These were probably the hardest miles for me, mentally. Physically though, this part of the course was mainly flat and slightly downhill, so it shouldn't have been too hard. However, this section was also very shady from the vast amount of trees and so I was pretty cold. That, coupled with the fact that I had been running for over an hour without refueling, made me not want to be there. If I would've fueled properly during the race, this portion would've been a lot easier for me.

Right around the time we reached mile 9 we came to face to face with a pretty large hill. I can't speak for the others, but I was just done at this point. I wanted to be back home, in the hot shower consuming hot, delicious food. I just wanted to finish this last mile and cross that finish line. I hiked up that hill as strongly as I could. When I'm having a tough time climbing a hill I find it mentally much easier to look down at my feet the whole time. This way I can't see how far I have left and I won't be able to look at the true elevation gains. This worked out perfectly. I reached the top of the hill with just half of a mile left.

With just half of a mile remaining, Leti was having a tougher time than Lauren and me. I think she was getting irritated that we kept pushing her and telling her to run, so she urged us to run on ahead and finish. One of our running buddies caught up with Leti, so I didn't feel so bad leaving her.

By the time we finished the announcer had already left. I wasn't really bothered or upset by this, but it is pretty funny. Marissa and my dad were there to watch us cross the finish line. Leti finished about five minutes after us. I walked as fast as I could to the food table and stocked up on oranges, blueberry bagel pieces, and a warm bowl of veggie minestrone soup. Everything tasted so good and it was just what I needed.

My official finish time was 2:22:51.2 which I feel okay with. I feel like I could've gone faster, and it's not that close to my goal (which I realize was kind of out of reach). But for not having run trails for half a year, I'm just glad I made myself go out and do it. I know I should've prepared for the race a lot better than I did, and I need to fuel a lot better during longer runs.

This is probably my only "fun" race for 2015. I decided that this year, I want to run less races but more important ones. Since I don't have the pleasure and ease of participating in the weekly SacFit runs this year, I know it's up to just me to hold myself accountable. I've come a long way in 2014; whoever thought that I could be an ultra runner? While I definitely don't currently have the endurance or strength to do that again right now, I also don't want to lose the fitness that I have gained this past year. Lauren and I came up with our small race calendar for 2015. I don't see any ultra races in my immediate future, but I do hope to PR in a few distances!

#streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS

When I first moved to Philadelphia, I left the idea of running back in California. I was so busy with moving and spending time with family when I first moved, that I didn't make any time for running. I was okay with that because those things are more important than running, to me. However, even when family left and I settled down into my new normal, running wasn't part of that new routine. I knew that if I continued to make excuses and push running to the side, I would have a hard time getting back into it. So, towards the end of September I decided that October would be the month where I dedicated myself to running again. I had been following @pinkcupcakegirl on Instagram for quite sometime, and she announced that she would be hosting a virtual running streak throughout October. Basically, everyday during the month you walk or run at least a mile. Anyone could participate, and you could share your adventures using #streakwiththeCOOLKIDS. I knew that this challenge of running at least a mile everyday was exactly what I needed to get back into running mode.

I was surprised that I was still able to run around the same pace as I could before (perhaps even a little faster), despite not having run consistently in over a month. That was good news, and I think that realization encouraged me to keep at it. I didn't have any set goals with this challenge, besides running a mile everyday. Even though I walk basically everywhere (thanks to big city living) and I easily walk over a mile daily, I felt it was important and necessary at least in my situation, to actually run everyday as well. I wanted this goal to be attainable for me. I knew that if I "failed" this challenge, it would make me even less motivated to run than I was at the beginning of the month. As long as I completed 31 miles by the end of October, I would be ecstatic. I think by having realistic goals (especially when starting back up), it made the process much more enjoyable and a lot less stressful.

Throughout the first week or so, I really looked forward to getting out and running everyday. The weather was still fairly nice outside and I felt so proud and accomplished posting my finished runs on Instagram. After a while though, I felt like sharing my watch pictures on Instagram was a little too redundant. Being the obsessive person that I am, I had already gotten through half the month of holding myself accountable in this manner, that I couldn't stop posting my runs this way. I'm sure it would have been a lot more interesting and less chore-like had I had prettier pictures like cool scenery shots or whatever to share. However carrying around my phone while I run is not something I like to do, and I rarely do it. So that idea didn't really work.

Also towards the end of the month, I started dreading having to run. More than a few times I would make up lame excuses as to why I couldn't go running throughout the day, which left me having to lace up my running shoes around 9 PM. While I hated this and I cursed myself every time for procrastinating, I still ran. Despite the time of the day and my mindset, #streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS forced me to get my runs in, and for that I am thankful. 

Basically, what I take away from #streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS is this: for me personally, the challenge of running a mile a day is great as a method of getting back into running. It holds me accountable and prevents me from some saying, "oh I'm too busy to run today, I'll just make it up tomorrow". Because I accepted this challenge, I had to complete it. Had it not been for the streaking challenge, I honestly don't think I would have run nearly as much as I did throughout the month. #streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS came at the perfect time for me and really helped motivate me to make running more habitual again. I also ran my fastest 10k which I wasn't expecting at all!

That being said though, I also took up an interest in zumba in October. Towards the end of the month, there were a handful of days where my legs felt so heavy and tired if I ran more than two miles and then went to zumba class. While I think it's definitely possible to run and do zumba (or other workouts) all in one day, I need to be smarter about how I exercise. I want to get better at running (faster and longer distances) but still be able to incorporate zumba and a little bit of yoga into my life. I believe the best way for me to accomplish this is by running smarter. I need to run less often, but make my fewer runs stronger. Having rest days throughout the week is an essential aspect of this concept, and is the main reason I'm sadly not participating in #streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS in November. As fun and encouraging as this challenge was for me in October, it no longer resonates perfectly (like it did before) for me. I know a lot of people would be able to run everyday in addition to other forms of exercise, but I'm not at that point.

In 2015 I hope to run another marathon. My first marathon (CIM in 2013) was all about finishing in the designated time limit of under 6 hours. I accomplished that and finished in 5 hours and 45 minutes. My goal for my second marathon is to finish in under 5 hours. For me, this is a pretty attainable goal as long as I train properly. To me this means that the rest of 2014 will be spent getting back into shape and resurrecting my "love" of running by making running more prominent in my life. Official marathon training will start January 1. November and December will be spent building a solid platform to start marathon training in order to make my time goal more achievable.

Thank you, #streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS for motivating me and making me interested in running again. Thank you for inspiring me and showing me that there are many more races to be run, and even more goals to be chased!

Getting Back into Running

Since moving to Philadelphia I've been pretty bad a keeping a consistent running schedule. The whole moving across the country ordeal and the ensuing packing, unpacking, organizing, reorganizing shenanigans were so time consuming and exhausting. Also, my dad was here for a week along with Lauren's family...so, family time trumps running.

My "running hiatus" became even longer when I thought it was more important to add lots of different exercises to my normal routine. I tried lifting weights and taking a core conditioning class. Lifting weights, mainly squats, hurt a ton and I was sore for almost two weeks! That has now been put on hold for an undetermined amount of time. I didn't mind the core conditioning class, but all of those crunches truly made my tail bone hurt like no other. I definitely need to continue working in a lot of core exercises, but I'm going to have to start doing this on my own, on a more cushioned surface. I also have plans to incorporate swimming, yoga and/or zumba into my normal routine.

But, I couldn't push running to the side entirely. It's only fair that I give this exercise that I have actually come to enjoy, a spot on my schedule. Now that I've been living on the East Coast for three weeks (woah!), I figured it was time to break out my beloved running shoes yet again.

One of the biggest things that motivates me to run is admiring the running hashtag on Instagram. I started following "pinkcupcakegirl" on Instagram awhile ago, but towards the end of September she announced that she's going to lead #streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS. Basically, the goal is to run at least one mile everyday in October. So I thought to myself, "Courtney, what better way to jump back on the running bandwagon?" Challenge accepted.

The day before the challenge began, I went running to make sure I'd actually be able to accomplish the feat. I hadn't run in so long that I didn't know if my legs would still be able to carry me that far. I also wanted to make sure that I wasn't so out of shape that my lungs wouldn't jump out of my body. Fortunately I was able to run a 5k with no real issues. I was actually impressed that I was able to do so without taking any walk breaks. I normally run with intervals (run 6 minutes, walk 1 minute), so not needing these intervals was a pretty nice surprise. I decided to make one of my official October goals: run at least one mile a day.

October 1 I laced up my light blue running shoes and headed outside. I ran 4 miles, no sweat (actually there was a lot of literal sweat, sorry). The next few days went off without a hitch as well. Yesterday Lauren actually wanted to come running with me!

Many things motivate me to keep running. Instagram of course, but also the desire to run more races and earn those medals and new race shirts spur my legs to keep on moving. I still haven't signed up for any future races, but I'm keeping my mind and eyes open. For now though, #streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS is the perfect challenge for me.   

Buffalo Stampede

In the beginning of September I ran the Buffalo Stampede 10 miler with Lauren and Leti. I had set out hoping to finish under 2 hours. I told Lauren ahead of time that we could run whatever pace and intervals she wanted, so long as we finished in that time frame.

This was my first year running this race so I didn't really know what to expect. The course was awesome because I grew up in that neighborhood; all of the houses were familiar and I knew exactly which street we were approaching. I knew the route like no other which really helped.

I ran with Lauren, Leti, and a few other SacFit members until mile 3 when we all slowly started falling into our own paces. Lauren had a bad headache in the beginning, so she and Leti hung back a little bit, but I was so set on making my time goal that I kept trudging along running right on pace to break the 2 hours. The whole time though, I kept Lauren and Leti in my line of sight because I was hoping that if they were able to see me, they'd stay motivated.

Around mile 6 or so, I decided I wanted to finish the race with Lauren, regardless of how long it took us. I kept thinking back to the WFF Half Marathon and how I promised Lauren I would run the next race with her; not that I felt like I had to, but rather I wanted to run together. At that point I was pretty certain that we weren't going to meet the 2 hour time goal, and I was slowly beginning to accept that.

After running a mile or so with Lauren and Leti, I took the lead and slowly began to speed up without telling them. Eventually, we weren't too far off pace to finish in under 2 hours! We had about 3 miles left of the race to make up time, and boy was I determined to do so! When I'm running my midweeks by myself, I typically run a comfortable 11 minute/mile pace. I ran the last 3 miles of this race though with a 9:30 minute/mile pace, and it felt great!

Long story short, all three of us finished in under 2 hours! My official time was 1:57:59.12. The only other 10 mile run I participated in was last year's Capital City Classic, from which I improved my time by over ten minutes, wahoo!

Because this was mine and Lauren's last race in Sacramento for awhile, we celebrated and said our final goodbyes in the parking lot afterwards. Several of our closest running buddies gifted us with going away presents. I wasn't expecting this at all, but I appreciate the sentiments and special tokens so much. When I joined SacFit last summer, I knew this was a great group, but this just further shows what an excellent group of runners this group is made up of.

It's only been two weeks since this race and I already miss SacFit and my fun running buddies, not to mention, I think I've only run once since then! 

Running Playlist

So, I have a confession. I don't actually run with music, but if I did these songs would totally be on my playlist. The majority (if not all) of these songs are pretty old, like my high school years old, but whatever. If you don't like music or don't care which songs I like, then you could totally just skip over the next part and read yet another of my running stories.

 - Action: Blink 182
- Afterlife: Avenged Sevenfold
- Anywhere But Here: Rise Against
- Be My Escape: Relient K
- Best of Me: The Starting Line
- Break Out! Break Out!: All Time Low
- Coffee Shop Soundtrack: All Time Low
- The Curse of Curves: Cute is what We Aim For
- Damn Regret: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
- Dancing for Rain: Rise Against
- Hands Down: Dashboard Confessional
- Dear Maria Count Me In: All Time Low
- Do You Feel: The Rocket Summer
- Everything is Alright: Motion City Soundtrack
- Face Down: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
- First Time: Lifehouse
- The Great Escape: Boys Like Girls
- I Don't Care: Apocalyptica
- I'm Ready: Jacks Mannequin
- I'm Real: The Starting Line
- Justify: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
- LG Faud: Motion City Soundtrack
- A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me": Fall Out Boy
- Lullabies: All Time Low
- Meant to Live: Switchfoot
- The Mixed Tape: Jacks Mannequin
- Mr. Brightside: The Killers
- Ocean Avenue: Yellowcard
- One Year Six Months: Yellowcard
- Paper Wings: Rise Against
- Pulp Fiction: Motion City Soundtrack
- Running from Lions: All Time Low
- Save Tonight: Eagle Eye Cherry
- Seventy Times Seven: Brand New
- Since You've Been Gone: Kelly Clarkson
- Slow Dance with a Stranger: Danger Radio
- Swing Life Away: Rise Against
- Teasing to Please: Cute is What We Aim For
- There's a Class for This: Cute is What We Aim For
- This is for Real: Motion City Soundtrack
- Time After Time: Quietdrive
- We Used to be Friends: The Dandy Warhols
- Where is your Boy Tonight?: Fall Out Boy
- Who I am Hates Who I've Been: Relient K

I hate getting asked what my favorite type of music is, or what's my favorite band. I don't know what type of music I like, and I have absolutely no clue what my favorite band is. Those are seriously the worst icebreaker questions. Just so you know.

I know you must be thinking, "Courtney, if you don't run with music, then why the heck do you have a running playlist?". Well, that's simply because when I'm driving I connect my iPod to my car's stereo and everyone once in awhile the perfect upbeat song comes on and I immediately have the urge to go running.

I'll admit though, I used to need music to run. But it was much easier then because I was already running with my phone to track my pace/distance, so bringing a set of ear buds with me wasn't that difficult. Now that I track my runs with a watch rather than my phone, I no longer have a music device attached to me. Yes, I could still put my phone or iPod in an armband in addition to wearing a watch, but I truly don't have the desire to do that. Wearing an armband has always bugged me; it slips and slides, and I was constantly readjusting the Velcro every mile or so. Armbands aren't for me.

I've learned to enjoy running with no noise. I do enjoy talking to people on my runs (it's also a good indicator when I can carry a conversation without being out of breath!), but I also appreciate silence and fully taking in my surroundings. When I first starting running last summer I was dumbfounded to see how few people actually listen to music. I thought they were crazy. How could someone make themselves run for an hour and be bored!?! Well, slowly I stopped listening to music and being music-less has never been an issue for me since.

Basically, when I started running I needed to run. I ran because I needed to exercise; I needed to be physically active even though I despised cranking out miles on my feet. I needed something to distract me from how much time was still remaining. Slowly though, I've come to actually like running. I love lacing up my running shoes (because they're so comfortable and squishy!) and getting my miles in. Even though running still feels like a chore sometimes and I skip more midweek workouts than I should, I actually (usually) enjoy each experience.

Back to music though. While I have sworn off music while running for awhile now, I'm considering buying an iPod Shuffle for those times when I just need that extra push to get out there. Plus, they're so tiny and cute! An added bonus, they're so lightweight!

Running Realization

This past Sunday I joined a group of SacFit Ultra runners for a training run up in Sly Park. About a dozen of them decided to camp there for the weekend, but I just visited for the day. The majority of them are training for Run on the Sly 20 miler or 50K in two weeks, and I've been on the fence about signing up for the 50K for the past two months. I really want to run another ultra race and I truly enjoy trail running, but I haven't been putting in the necessary mileage. I figured I would see how I felt during this practice run and make my final decision based off that. The plan was to run 26 miles of the Run on the Sly course, and I was really hoping I would feel great doing it.

The first 10 miles of the run were great. There was one pretty big hill to climb, but even that wasn't too bad, I could handle it. We even stopped to eat blackberries alongside the trail.

These 10 miles completed the first leg of the run and brought us back to our starting point, the campsite. I stopped here with a few others to go to the bathroom, gather more fuel, and refill my Camelbak. No biggie.

The next 4 miles were the toughest for me. The terrain was about as flat as trails get, the view was beautiful; we were running alongside Jenkinson Lake. I was really struggling though. I figured out I was having a rough time because I was hungry. I ate 8 Clif shot blocks within 5 minutes...that's more than I consume during a normal long run.

We approached the Bumpy Meadows parking lot, where we just so happened to have our car parked, and I decided that I would end my run short with Lauren and Leti. I was pretty bummed that I didn't make myself run all 26 miles, but 14 miles isn't too shabby either. That's the farthest I've run since AR 50 so I was okay with it.

We drove back to the campsite and chatted with those were also finished running and those that didn't run due to injuries. I didn't change into clean clothes or take my trail shoes off though. In the back of my mind I knew that I wanted to get back out there and try to add some more miles in. After about a 30 minute break, I headed back out on the trails by myself. The plan was to start at the finish and run in the course in reverse, hoping to see other SacFit members running towards the finish. In which case I would turn around and join them back to the finish at the campsite. 3.3 miles in I hadn't seen anyone. I forgot to refill my Camelbak and grab more food before heading back out, I was bored from being alone, I was walking a lot instead of running, and I just wasn't feeling it. I turned around at that point and started heading back to the campsite. At that point though, I didn't care how many miles I going to put in that day, I just wanted to be done. I wanted to be back at the campsite and socializing. So I did something I never thought I would do. I texted Leti and asked her to pick me up and give me a ride back to the campsite. Best decision of the day right there.

I got back to the campsite, loaded up on tons of vegan chocolate chip cookies and grapes, and I had fun. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely times out on the trail I was enjoying myself too, but those last few miles I ran by myself just weren't cutting it.

I'm so glad I turned around when I did. I wanted to keep running to feel more accomplished, to finish what I had gone out there to do that day. But I'm okay with running only 17.75 miles. Again, that's farther than I've run in 4 months.

Even though I wanted so badly to do the Run on the Sly 50K I decided it's in my best interest not to. I'm still going to be so jealous of everyone who is running the race, but they've been training since the beginning of June for it, and I haven't. That's my own fault. I know there will be other races, and after this I'm going to make myself stick to a training schedule.

Despite my decision to not participate in Run on the Sly, I did enjoy the rest of my day trip in Sly Park. I ate so much good vegan food: sausage, more chocolate chip cookies, and s'mores!

There are so many fun and interesting races out there to choose from, but this year Run on the Sly isn't my race, and that's okay.