I DID IT!!

I finished the 1/2 Marathon!!


THE GOOD: I finished! In 3 hours, 20 minutes and 58 seconds. 15:20 pace, so not quite the goal of a 15 minute/mile, but I still got a cool medal! And a huge blister!

The race course was soooo beautiful. I used Lauren's camera to take pictures, so check back later and hopefully I'll get to post some from the course.

We had a great weekend up in Solvang, with absolutely perfect weather for the race--cloudy and cool in the morning, sun in the afternoon. We went past lavender fields, horse farms, wineries, cows, rolling hills, and apparently some bison but I didn't see those.

My friend Lauren finished the race in 2 hours and 54 minutes, which is pretty awesome, at least to me.

For dinner that night, Grant, Duffy, Lauren and I went to Hitching Post II in Buellton, which was in the movie Sideways. Grant and I are the only adults on Earth who have not seen this movie, but the steak was fabulous. Could have been the 13 miles I had just walked, but it tasted amazing to me!

THE BAD: The race organizers having 3 school buses to transport over 800 people to the starting line. DOH Don't advertise transportation to the starting line if you don't want people to actually use it.

Miles 9.25-11, when I totally slowed down and got off pace. I had been doing so well, walking with Barry, Cynthia, and Irma from training, and we were right on a 15 minute/mile pace. Then I got tired, bored, hungry, and starting focusing on how much my feet hurt and how I wish I wasn't walking anymore. But then about mile 11.5, I hit the town of Solvang and the end seemed in sight, so I was able to finish, a few minutes behind the rest of my group.

THE UGLY: According to these race results http://runsantaynez.com/results/individual2008.htm, I got beat by a woman at least twice my age. In the 70-99 age group, Patricia finished in 2:47! Go Patricia!

Will I still be doing half-marathons at age 70? Probably not. It was fun, and I'm glad I did it, and I'll probably still do training with the Train to End Stroke team, but I just don't think I'm ever going to be one of *those* people--runners. Or people who run 20 miles just to help other people, Gretchen. (She's like a superhero or something) http://dailyadventuresgretch.blogspot.com/2008/05/miwok-100k.html
But it was something I never thought I'd be able to do, and I did it!

Thanks to everyone for their support, and for donating. And if you're super impressed, and would like to help the Stroke Association even more in my honor, you can still donate until June 6th.

Now back to my regularly scheduled program of sitting on the couch. Thanks for reading.

MAY 9, 2008: OFF TO THE RACES!!

Heading off to Solvang if Grant ever gets out of work early and heading to the Pasta Party/Team Meeting.

Hopefully will post pictures and update Sunday or Monday. Wish me luck!

May 2, 2008: "Just 5 Miles"

Words I thought would never come out of my mouth: "Oh, training will be easy on Saturday, we're JUST doing 5 miles!" Who said that? ME? It's true! 5 miles now is a *short* distance. Well, let's not get crazy here, it's not short, it's just do-able. I don't think I'll ever do 5 or 6 miles all on my own, just for fun, because it's super boring and my ADD can't handle that little stimulation, but as a group activity, I can do it! I look back on the past blog posts and remember how intimidating each week's mileage seemed, and how I was able to do it, each and every week, even when I thought I couldn't. Hey, I can do more than I think I can. That's almost inspirational or something.

RACE is Saturday. I'm praying for cool weather. So much easier to walk when it's cooler. Last week was apparently another scorcher that I missed out on (YAY). My Dad is allegedly retiring, so they had a big huge party for him. I say allegedly because I'll believe my Dad will retire when I see it. Grant's dad retired for about 3 weeks, and I expect the same from my Dad.

So, by 10 AM next Saturday, I'll be DONE!!!!! Hopefully by 10:15, I'll be drinking some wine! Check back here for the final report and hopefully pictures.

April 19, 2008: I Did 12 Miles! Under 15 Min/Mile Pace!

First, thanks to everyone who donated to my Train To End Stroke fundraising! You're totally awesome and amazing!

Second, sorry for not posting for a while. I know you were waiting with bated breath. Grant and I went to Ireland for 10 days, so I actually missed 2 Saturdays of training. I did a little training in Ireland, in between pints of cider. Ireland is absolutely beautiful, but absolutely freaking cold, even in April. I had briefly tossed around the idea of doing a 10K race in Dublin on the first Sunday we were there, but waited too late and it filled up. When, at the exact start of the race time, I was walking to the Guinness museum, and it STARTED SNOWING, I felt I had made the right decision! I did get up early and do about 4-5 miles through Dublin. The hotel had a helpful 5K and 10K map of routes from the hotel. But since I can't read a map, I promptly got lost and just kept going in a straight line. Seriously, I missed the FIRST TURN on the map. I thought that big, impressive building on the corner was part of Trinity College, but it was the Bank of Ireland instead. All old famous buildings kinda look alike, yeah?

So, TRAINING. The week before, while Grant and I were shivering in Ireland, it apparently was blazing hot in Los Angeles, and people were dropping like flies during training. So this Saturday, I wore a tshirt, put on lots of sunscreen, and didn't wear my jacket. And therefore, it was cloudy and cool for training. Oh well, better than being 85 degrees at 9 AM like last week. I realized during the week that I was just going to have to wear the fanny pack because wearing the jacket tied around my waist after it gets hot is annoying. I put the fanny pack around my waist and cinched it really tight so it wouldn't bounce up and down while I walked. I looked much like this




But fashion must go out the window. The route this week was simple: 12 miles--up the hill the long, slow painful way, then back up the hill the short, steep, painful way. Fun! Also, that would be: Los Feliz to Burbank to Los Feliz to Burbank to Los Feliz. Que Loco! Irma, my walking buddy, was absent today. Hopefully her toe is getting better. So I walked with Cynthia and Barry, who are always just a little bit ahead of me, meaning I would have to pick up the pace a little bit. Even though Gretchen thinks 15 minute pace is lame, I was super excited. Of course, I'm not an ultra-marathoner, (nor will I ever be), and not even running, so 15 minute mile is sweet for me! And my legs and feet didn't start hurting until about mile 11.5, so I think I can totally make the half-marathon.

Squeamish people, quit reading. Alright, you know how I had the blisters on blisters? Well, in Ireland, they finally peeled off. There were actually 5 blisters underneath there! 5 BLISTERS! On Saturday after the 12 miles, I hobbled back to the car and put on flip flops and looked down where my blisters used to be. Holy crap, I had the biggest blood blister I'd ever seen in my entire life! You must see it!



Hurts like a bitch, too. And can't wear shoes. I'm almost a real athlete, here, people. Almost. Hopefully, it will go down/drain by Thursday for my walk with Lauren.

Only 3 more weeks until the race!!!

March 22, 2008: I've Got Blisters on My Blisters!

I did not know it was actually possible to get blisters on your blisters, but it is. Cuz I got some. Luckily, they don't really hurt, so I'm not too concerned.

The goal this Saturday was just to get through training. I wasn't going to run, I wasn't going to train for a specific time; it would be accomplishment enough to make all 9 miles. 9 MILES!! I wasn't feeling super motivated or fit this week since I had basically done everything wrong: Didn't run at all during the week since I was battling a little cold, drank a TON of beer last night watching NCAA March Madness, ate like total crap along with the tons of beer, and didn't get a lot of sleep cuz some drunk kept snoring in my ear (that would be Grant). Although I had eaten better and not drank very much during the week, due to cold.

The course today was the Los Feliz Loop (no more bitching about that) for 3 miles, then 6 miles up this big-ass hill, then back to the picnic tables. Los Feliz Loop wasn't nearly as hard this time. Last time we did this 2 or 3 weeks ago, I thought I was going to have to sit and wait for the bus to come by and pick me up, I was so miserable. This time, no problemo. I was walking with Irma, who generally has the same pace as me and is also doing the SB Half. We walked together last week, too. We did the 3 miles at a 15:10 pace, only walking, pretty good for not trying too hard. Unfortunately, Irma had hurt her toe somehow, and started slowing down for the next mile, so our pace went down to about a 17 mile for the next mile. She went back to base, and then I was on my own after the Water Station. I was doing pretty good at getting my pace back on track, listening to Michael Jackson's Off the Wall! Then I hit THE HILL. It's a big-ass hill. Full of blind curves, so I couldn't ever tell when the DOWN part would start. I was huffing and puffing and had to stop a few times. It wasn't as steep as the Hill Of Pure Evil last week, but it just kept going and going. All I kept saying was "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" It wasn't as amusing without my Dad to annoy by asking that 10,000 times. Also, Steve, if you're reading this "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you"

Anyway, I FINALLY made it to the top of this damn hill and made it to the downhill and the next Water Station. Never has Gatorade tasted so good. I finished all 9 miles in 2 hours and 22 minutes. It is insane that I actually WALKED for 2 hours and 22 minutes. It is insane that I walked from Los Feliz to Burbank AND BACK. AND BACK!! So, without trying too hard, I shaved some time off my training. I probably would have been faster if I hadn't slowed down for that one mile or had been trying to maintain pace, but I feel pretty good that I got my time down w/o running and I think the next time I tackle the hill, it will be easier.

After training, we had a big Easter party. It was huge! There was a tent, and waffles, PopTarts, fresh coffee, candy, egg dyeing, hula hooping, prizes--it was fun. Oh, and we had these:
http://www.frootloops.com/cerealstraws/



Or, The End of Western Civilization. Froot Loop Straws. I LOVED Froot Loops, yet am appalled by these.

Goals for this week:
LONG (6+ mile) training to build up endurance. I hit that wall at 5 miles every time, and I need to build up endurance

Less Beer/More Calcium :(

No more Easter Candy

Raise that last $900

Happy Easter!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m3eJxZEai0



And JUST for Kacey:

March 15--Recommittment Day

Did you know that it is pitch dark at 5:30 AM? Did you know you can get from Hollywood to Santa Monica in 20 minutes at 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday? I DO! I managed to get to Santa Monica on time and without getting lost, 2 major accomplishments.

All of the Train to End Stroke teams met at Clover Park in Santa Monica for a big celebration for recommitting to the training program and reaching the individual fundraising goal of $525, (25% of the total fundraising goal).

Training this week had not been good simply because I was super busy with work and didn't have time to do a lot of long walks. I did about a mile on the treadmill at the gym, then did about 2 miles of walking/jogging on Thursday. So I was a little worried about Saturday. I even did the unthinkable and didn't have any beers on Friday night ::gasp:: Didn't help much with training, however :). But I did make it through all 7 miles at a 16.2 minute pace (why am I stuck on 16.2 minute pacing?????) and didn't die, so that's a plus. We were promised ocean views, and we got about a mile along the ocean. If I was training for a full marathon, I would have run from Santa Monica to Venice and back. But that's just crazy talk. But as we hit the ocean, I thought it looked strangely familiar. Even though I didn't take my camera, I can show you EXACTLY what it looked like:


I did not wear my short shorts, however. Having maintained a firm "Avoid the Westside like the plague" stance in my 10 years in LA, I had no idea that Santa Monica was hilly. But it is, apparently, including the last hill from the ocean back to the park that was straight up evil. EVIL! Oh, and I will quit complaining about Griffith Park and the Los Feliz Loop, because it is MUCH nicer to train in a park than to run through neighborhoods, avoiding cars and bicyclists and curbs and trees, etc. We are totally spoiled training in Griffith Park, where runners have the right of way, there's a big run/bike path, and no stop signs or lights every block.

Accomplishments this week:

Met 25% fundraising goal (THANKS EVERYONE!) Now at 50% of my goal.
Did 2 days of training during the week
Got a new, smaller MP3 player
Actually figured out how to work said MP3 player
Did all 7 miles of training
Discovered where they filmed the opening of Three's Company
Recovered quickly on Sunday--minimal soreness

GOALS for this week:

Faster, Faster, Schnell, Schnell! (Get under 15 minute mile)
Work on endurance/do longer training. I seriously hit a wall at 5 miles and want to kill myself, so I need to focus on longer training
Less beer/More calcium (since I feel a cold coming on, maybe this won't be hard. OTOH, St. Patrick's Day)
Train 3-4x

Recommittment Saturday

Part of the Train to End Stroke Program is a commitment to raise $2100 for the American Stroke Association. By March 14th, I need to have raised 25% or $525. The full $2100 has to be raised by April 18!

Luckily for me, I have such awesome friends and family that I have already raised over $900, well over the 25% required! Thanks, awesome friends and family!!



Now that I'm committed, I'm fully committed. If I'm short of the $2100 by April 18, I have to pay the rest. So Grant would really really really appreciate it if I was able to raise the $2100. I know it's a tough time of year, with the evil tax bill looming, but George Bush promised us all huge checks to help stimulate the economy, and I know he would never mislead us about anything. If you can't support financially, your encouragement and support are EVEN MORE appreciated.

This Saturday we are having our Recommitment Party after training. In Santa Monica. We have been promised that we get to see the ocean during our training, so hopefully that will offset the pain of having to wake up half an hour earlier (5:30 AM Good Lord).