The Beer Half Marathon

There was a half marathon 6 miles for my house a could weeks ago. You know when you find out there is a race really close to you. You have to go . I wa also able to talk my husband into running the 10k. The race was the beer half marathon. 

Here we are some of my peeps representing the San Diego trail crashers. Humans that run are my favorite kinda people.

The race was actually really challenging . I ran 20 the day before and I just thought this would be easy but it was really hilly and there was trails and lots of street running. I really had fun and had a better second half than first. I was able to catch a couple of my friends and we all ran in with in a mile of each other. Mike got 7th over all for the 10k . I was excited for him and I ran a 1:49 . 

Friends that run together stay together. There was beer and food trucks . I also saw some really good friends I had not seen in years.

I ended up with first in my age group . I think this was a first for me. I had a blast and it was a perfect Sunday. 

The Holiday half race recap

I signed up for the Holiday Half in San Diego last week of December. I had heard from a-lot of people that this is a great race because its mostly down hill and the weather is perfect too. 

I have to say it was awesome to just be there because all around  runners where dressed in red and green and the Christmas spirit was everywhere..  

This is what happened .. I met my friend Robert at the race . He kept telling me that he thought I could run way faster than I usually do. I didn't believe him but he told me to just try. All I had to do was try and keep up with him and how hard could that be. He believed in me when I honestly did not. I ran about 60 miles that week my plan was to go and run my usual 2 hour half marathon. I think that is a great time and its what I always do but Robert convinced me to push myself so I did.

We ended up running a 1:44... I know right !!! Lets just say I never really thought I could run that fast . It never crossed my mind to see what I could do.
Moral of the story.. We can do much more than we think we can. In my case I am so grateful that I surround myself with people who believe in me. A Big Thank you to my friend Robert for pushing me to try and now next time I run a half I will have to try my butt off to see if I can beat 1:44.... It was an awesome day.

Encinitas Half Marathon

I love this medal. The white building is Swamis and I have been running by it for years. I had to share the medal so cool !!

Encinitas Half marathon

Two weeks ago I ran the Encinitas Half marathon. I put in a-lot of miles the week before and I was not planning on running but last minute I joined. I went into it as I do most of my races. I wanted to enjoy I and not push because my head told me I should be tired from the 60 something miles I put in that week. It was a very well executed race. The fast people first and then the rest of us. I felt sore at first but my mile 3 I was feeling really good. If you don't know Encinitas the race was pretty much flat and it's a beach town. The people are awesome and the town has that old fashion beach feeling.
So I am running and here is my thing I know I am not a fast runner at least that's what I think but as I was running I said to myself G lets see if you can run at an 8:40 pace so I did and I felt fine. I just kept that pace up and then I did the whole How do I feel thing ? I do this this thing and I am sure a bunch of us do. The body scan, My feet don't hurt and my legs are fine and I am breathing really well so all is good. Then I thought lets see if I can go faster and you know when you have been running 12 ,13 minutes miles forever 8 feels fast. Then I got down to 8:30 and just stayed there and felt fine. I had one mile to go and I looked at my watch and saw that if I could run a 7 minute mile I could run a 1:50 and that would be my fastest half marathon ever. I was not going for a PR but it was so exciting to see what my body could do when my mind let it. Its fascinating where this journey of running has taken me. I have grown so much as a person because of it. I am thinking maybe next time I run a half I will just start fast and see what happens !!! 

I was so happy and it was a great day !! Oh and the medal.

the craziest things happen when you don't expect it !

Yeah to Half Marathons

This past weekend I went on a little road trip with one of my favorite girlfriends . My  friend and I drove to Los Angeles to run the Rock and Roll half marathon.  She asked me to run with her just a couple days ago and I said yes before she was done asking. We left a little late and traffic was crazy so 3 hours later we got to the Sport Expo to pick up our bibs with about 15 minutes to spare. We barely made it. The expo was shutting down so we didn't get to really look around and that made us sad. I love the Expos. I managed to buy a pair of Altras at a great price with only 15 minutes to spare. I still bought something. That's a gift. I also bought a little shirt for Jack. Then we went to have dinner at this Italian restaurant that was crazy good. My girl friend is the queen of picking out super deliciuos places to eat.  Bottega Louie Restaurant  and Gourmet Bakery.  If you are ever in L.A. this place is a must. They don't take reservations either. We only had to wait for about 20 minutes. They also had valet parking and its as totally affordable. Then we headed of to the hotel and got ready for race day.

Sunday mornings sunrise was just beautiful. The sky looks like a painting . The weather was also perfect. Charlene and I started  corral 12. We only stayed together for the start then we each did our own thing. I was curious to see how I would do running on pavement and not the mountains. This felt way easier. I was never out of breath and I never struggled. ( I struggle on trails) This welt like a nice easy run. The last Rock and Roll marathon I ran was in 2011. It was cool to hear all the bands and see all the people in Halloween costumes.

 I ran it in 2:03 minutes . I was happy with that. I thought it would take me way longer I forgot I could run faster that 13/14 min mile. I was super happy with my results. Then I went to the finish line to cheer for my girlfriend. As I was there cheering everyone on I was reminded once again what a blessing it is to have something like this in my life. It does not matter how long it takes you what matters is that you show up. That's the thing something like this you really are showing up for yourself and it's a great way to practice self love. Yeah to life !

The San Diego Half Marathon

I really had a hard time getting out of the house this morning. It took everything I had to be in the car at 6am. I was excited but  when I don't sleep more than 4 hours I get anxious so my tummy felt bad and I was anxious just from being so tired. I honestly don't think I would have gone if my dad was not waiting for me and if I did not keep in mind that the 100 miler would be harder than having to get up and run so I chalked it up to training. I knew I would be slow but I also knew I would see a bunch of people I love so of I went. This is my 4th San Diego half and I ran a 2:18. My best time is 1:50 in 2012. I was so tired this Sunday I really didn't care how slow I ran but what I wanted was to know I tried and gave whatever I had left to give and I did. 

The race is amazing. I love running in Down town and along the water in San Diego. It is truly an amazing place to live. The weather is always so good. 

So here I am with my dad at mile 2. He beat me this year by 1 minute. Way to go dad..I saw so many friends and by mile 6 I was warmed up and having a great time. I even forgot I was tired. 

Here I am with my big Ass medal. My head looks huge in the picture. I love my smile because thats how I felt. Happy running juices where flowing… That concluded my running weekend madness ..I hope you had a fun weekend and just remember all you have to do is show up and give 100%. Then smile and just know your amazing.

My AFC Half Marathon Review

My alarm went of at 4 am. their was the second day in row that I was up at 4 am and yes initially I was thinking 5 more minutes right ? but them I sat up and made my way out of my bedroom because I didn't want to wake anyone up and proceeded to get ready in my kids bathroom. I knew I had to be in the car no later than 5am . I did my usual routine. Toast with peanut butter a large cup of coffee and water. I probably should of done it faster but oh well. I left my house at 5:10 and I knew I had a 45 minute drive to the buses. I don't speed when I drive because I just don't. So I just drove down and I do have good parking mojo and luckily I had it with me Sunday too because I found parking easily and I ran about half a mile to the buses and got on the second to last bus. Once on the bus everything was fine. I let all that driving stress go and started to think about the race. My biggest fear was what if my legs are to tired to run today. I told myself I would run at whatever pace felt good and i would push myself to much. You have to push a little ..

This was my 6th AFC half so it was nice to be back with familiar surroundings of a race I knew. The views in Point Loma are amazing and it was getting warm but nothing like the Tijuana marathon so it was ok by me. There was 8000 people running and even though I knew a lot of people running I didn't see familiar faces.. I met some new people and thats always fun. I do love all the cool running outfits that runners put together for the big day. The starting line of a race is great people watching for sure. 

I could not find my arm band for  my phone in the morning so I had to use my super cheap one. So I could take pictures while I was running :(  The race started at 7:30 Its really hard at this race to make your way through the crowd. There was a lot of runners in a small space. I just did what I could and my legs surprisingly felt fine.  I kept waiting for them to feel tired but they were fine. It was really and humid. Whats up with the humidity in san diego lately.. I was hair was completely soaked . My clothes was drenched it was a wet run. I feel like I was not hating life because of the heat it was just another thing to adjust too. The race went by quickly. I saw a sweet friend along the way and she took my picture. I was excited because I felt like I am growing as a runner and I am slowly but surely getting stronger ..here I was 38 miles in two days and I was fine. When I crossed the finish line my dad was there…I love my dad. He is always there..

The AFC always has huge heavy medals. There very nice.

Then later looked who showed up. Its my little man and my not so little but still little to me daughter. I don't care what the distance its always nice to have loved ones show up for you. There is nothing better than seeing theses faces...

The gang. Life is better when you get to share what your passionate about with the ones you love. 

My finishing time was 2:07 and I am happy with that. Here is Jack eating my medal. See medal can be used as other things too. Here is what I learned from last week. I have to take my nutrition more seriously . I need to go bed early . ( its 11:30 and I am typing this ) I need to stretch more. This week there will be less running because someone is turning 1 and we have family coming in town . Just between you and me my body needs to rest. Its telling me it needs to run less this week..
Hope you have some happy miles ahead of you this week.

Stairway to Heaven half marathon

Sunday morning I woke up at 5 am made my way down stairs and  had my coffee. I got all my stuff and did my best to be out the door by 5:40. I only had to drive about 30 minutes to this sundays half marathon. I was really nervous and feeling really insecure because it was a trail run. Once I was there I felt much better. I said hi to some friends and made a couple new running peeps. It was hot and it was 6:30 in the morning. We all made our way to the starting line .

The race director gave a little speech and then at 7:04 it started. I stayed near the back but in retrospect I need to make my way to the middle and not be such a wimp and insecure about running by people. The course was really pretty . 

It is also very hilly and very technical. I liked the up hills they are challenging and I am not afraid to fall but coming down hill was a little different. I was a little scared after seeing a couple guys fall flat on there backs so I was careful. 

I have no idea who this guy is but I wanted to show you why this was named Stair way to heaven. We run up to the of this mountain . There are stairs that kick your ass but at the top is a girl smiling dressed as an Angel. 

I am hot in this picture and I chose a long sleeve shirt. Do you also love the mascara below my eyes from the sweat. I know !! I feel like yelling G…
Short sleeves honey and take all the mascara of before you run. 

I felt strong most of the race I just need to not hold back. I think on the trails I am afraid I will run out of energy so I make sure I have this reserve and at the end I had all this run in me I did not use. 

This is me running in. My dad showed up and took this picture. Its always nice seeing someone you love waiting for you at the finish line. I can always count on my dad. I recommend this race its put on by The Dirt Devils and they have four races a year. I did get a little lost but I found my way back. 

I am happy about my run and I think I am learning a-lot about running. One thing in trail running your shoes need to be at least 1 size bigger mine are a size and a half bigger .. I hate loosing my toe nails and bigger shoes help me keep them. Happy Trails and I am really looking forward to next Sundays half...