Competitions:

Events I've Completed:

Run for Rescue - 4/30/11 - 5k - 29:05 (finished 2nd in my age)
Ojai to Ocean - 6/5/11 - Half Marathon - 1:56:37 (Ran with Lisa!)
Megan Savage Memorial - 9/24/11 - 5k - 31:16 (Ran with Bill!)
Beach Derby 10k - 11/6/11 - 56:40 (Ran with Nikki!)
RnRLV - 12/4/11 - Half Marathon 2:18 (Ran with Nikki!) Got sick by race end. Sick three days.
Surf City - 2/5/12 - Half Marathon - 1:55:02 (PR) Ran with Lisa and Sarah
Battle of the Boxes-2/23/13-5:04 Mini Helen-8th place overall team finish
Crossfit Open 13.1-131
Crossfit Open 13.2-232
Crossfit Open 13.3-183
Crossfit Open 13.4-54
Crossfit Open 13.5-49
Battle of the Boxes: Unknown Edition- 3rd place finish!

Upcoming:

Crossfit Open 2014!





This is my before photo. I weighed 15 pounds more, was exhausted all of the time and wasn't getting better at crossfit, running or life. It was time for a change.

My before photo

My before photo

Monday, September 26, 2011

Your favorite running apparel?

As a fairly new runner, I am beginning to learn how something small can make a big difference in your run.  I have learned (for me anyway) the importance of a good playlist.  (thanks @katierRUNSthis)  I also learned that I'm motivated by hearing my split times as I run.  What I'm just now really learning though is the importance of good clothes!   I started running in January 2011.   At the time I was wearing knee length cotton shorts and a short sleeved cotton shirt for just about every run.  In fact, I even ran my first half marathon and a 5k wearing the same ensemble.  Now I'm beginning to realize that while I liked the fact that the shorts didn't ride up, the all cotton isn't the best choice for running.  I've now purchased a few pairs of cheap running shorts from @Target and a few pairs of great running shorts from @lululemon.  I also have several tech fabric tops now.  I can definitely feel the difference in my comfort while running!  I still haven't embraced running in tank tops.  I keep meaning to buy some @bodyglide but haven't done that yet.  That may be the answer, but at this point I get too much chafing under my arms when I'm in a tank top.  So what I'm looking for here are suggestions.  What is your favorite brand of clothing?  What are your favorite stores to purchase from?  Is there anything I'm missing or haven't even thought of in terms of clothing?


Frustrated over a 5k?

I have a few races coming up.  I've found that any race gives me motivation to keep running.  So I registered my 10 year old daughter, my husband and myself for a 5k in October.  I have a half marathon in December with my 14 year old daughter.  I was also planning to run a 5k this past Sunday with my son, but found out my daughter had a showcase soccer tournament that day that I didn't want to miss.  So when a friend called and said they needed one more person for their team for a 5k on Saturday, I told him I'd do it if my hubby could join us.  He's only done one other 5k, but he ran with our younger daughter and didn't feel like he got to run his fastest.  So I was looking forward to running this event with him.  I told him I'd stay with him the entire race and that it didn't matter if I didn't PR.

Well I was wrong!  It did matter!


Let's jump back to Friday evening.  We'd gone to our children's high school football game.  And we tailgated as usual.  Only this time, we never made it into the game.  There were at least 100 parents that stayed in the parking lot and ate and drank A LOT!  I only had one martini.  My hubby on the other hand enjoyed the evening immensely.  I still thought he'd be fine.  You know the old adage, sweat it out.

So the next morning we head out.  The race was less than a mile from our house but we drove over there. That should've been my first clue that something was up.   The race started and everything seemed fine.  The first mile was uphill, so I expected to go slow.  I was just really surprised at how slow.  I kept losing hubby and having to run back to find him.  Only to go a few more steps and lose him again.  When we crested the hill, I told him it was all easy from that point on.  But for some reason he just couldn't get into it.  By the final stretch I tried to get him to go a little faster and he said he was on the verge of puking.  At that point, I was getting angry.  I felt like he had let me down by drinking the night before and while I'd told him I didn't care about my time, it turns out I did!   Our official time was 31:16, but to me it felt like a total embarrassment.  I know it's completely lame, but we know most of the people that ran this race and I knew they'd log on the site and see my time.

Now here comes the bad part.  Wait for it...


Hubby said he felt sick the rest of the day.  Turns out the cold he'd had the previous week came back with vengeance.  He's been sick in bed both yesterday and today.  Now I feel really guilty.  Is it better to not run with spouse's, children or friend's?  Or is it better to enjoy the race and let go of the need to PR every time?  I'd love to hear about your experiences...

Sunday, September 11, 2011

My 9/11 Run

I'd planned to do a 10 mile run this morning, and was looking forward to some cooler weather.  Before heading out, I grabbed my phone to clear my emails and check my texts.  Of course I got sidetracked and felt the need to see what was happening on The Twitter :)  That's when I came across @luau 's post about his run today.  He ran 9.11 miles at a 9'11 pace.  I thought that was an amazing tribute to this special day and decided to make that my goal.  Now my usual pace with this hill I was planning to run is about 9'40, so it was going to be a push.  Also when I run this hill, I usually only go 5-6 miles.  But then I thought about the sacrifices so many people made on this day, 10 years ago and decided if this little push was too much for me to do one day out of my life than I shouldn't call myself a runner.  So off I went.  My first mile and a half was downhill, so I knew I could keep pace.  From there it was relatively flat, with one small hill towards the end of the 4.5 mile turnaround.  The last 1.5 miles uphill were going to be where I would find out if I could pull it off.  Guess what?  I did it!  In fact because I couldn't adjust my pace just right, I ended up with an average pace of 9'10 after 9.11 miles.   It wasn't perfect, but it was better than I thought I could do and that's all I can ask of my body.  What run did you do today?  And did it feel any different than your regular runs?


Thursday, September 8, 2011

How many races?

In my last post I said I need races to keep me motivated.  I guess it's karma...I now am registered for:

9/24/11-Megan Savage Memorial 5k
9/25/11-Susan Komen 5k
10/23/11-Race For The Rescues 5k
12/4/11-Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Plus I have two more halfs scheduled in 2012.  I'm not sure about doing two 5k's in one weekend? I think it'll be fine, but wanted some feedback.  How many races have you run in a month and is doing back to back short races a good idea?

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Upcoming Races

I did my first and only half marathon on June 5, 2011.  It was the Ojai to Ocean (O2O) and I couldn't have asked for a better first half.  The only other race I'd participated in was a 5k with my husband and two daughters.  The next race I had scheduled wasn't until December.  It is the Rock N Roll Vegas Half Marathon.  So I had several months of running without any scheduled races.  And guess what?  I completely lost my mojo!  I've had no desire to run any long distances.  I blamed it on the heat, but I think it really came down to the fact that I wasn't training for anything specific.  So I had to find some races!

I found a 5k in Pasadena benefitting animal rescues.  My 10 year old daughter wants to be a vet and would do anything for animals.  She ran the first 5k with us and swore she'd never run one again.  She really struggled to get through it and hated it.  But when I told her this was a flat course, benefitting animals, she agreed to do it.  So now we've got a 5k scheduled for October!  Woo hoo!

Then the next day my 14 year old brought home a flyer from school for a 5k in Newport Beach for Susan B. Komen.  A huge group from her and my son's school run it together.  So I told her we were all in and just like that, I have another 5k on my calendar for September!

Why is it just knowing I have some races coming up motivates me to get running?  Is it because I'm still a newbie to running?  I've only been running since January of this year.  Or do veteran runners feel this way too?

Monday, September 5, 2011

Finally got in a long run

It's been a tough week.  My grandpa died after not eating anything for over 3 weeks.  The heat and humidity suck.  So when a friend asked me to go down to the beach for a long run on Saturday, I decided a long run was just what I needed.

If only life worked the way we plan it.  Friday night my 14 year old daughter and 16 year old son had planned to invite a few friends over.  Of course that kept me vigilant until just after midnight.  So by 12:30 or so I finally got to sleep.  Then the dog was bugging all night to go in, out, in....So needless to say when my alarm went off at 5:45 I questioned my plan to go run 10 miles.  Our friends arrived promptly at 6:15 and off we went.

The guys brought their bikes and Lisa and I ran.  We parked down in Bolsa Chica and ran to the Huntington Pier and back.  It felt so good to get a run in where I didn't have to stop for lights or watch for cars.  And it was fun to run with a friend.  So glad I went!  We definitely have to make that drive a bit more often.