2011 San Francisco Marathon - Worth the hurt!

"Worth the Hurt" is the tag line of the San Francisco Marathon.  The Wall Street Journal has been quoted in saying that the San Francisco marathon is "the race even marathoners fear."   So was it worth it?  Hell yes!  The 2 days of muscle soreness in my quads and calves was worth the experience of running over (and back) the Golden Gate bridge in the early hours of the morning, through Golden Gate Park, and along Haight St.  This was probably one of the best course that I have run (I think, even slightly edging over the NYCM), in my not so lengthy marathon career.

The WSJ had one thing right, the SF marathon was certainly one that I had feared the most.  Not because of the hilly route or the early start time, but because I had felt that I was truly unprepared and improperly trained for it.  Between the SD RnR and the SF marathon, I only logged in one 20 mile run, and ran 2 to 3 times a week and those runs usually felt very blah at best.  A few days before the race date, I was seriously thinking of not running it and opting to cheer Joe on on the sidelines.  I was scared shitless.

Up until race morning, I was bouncing between the idea of not running it.  My wave did not start until 6:22am (the first wave starting at 5:30am!  Joe's started at 5:52am).  After a few more minutes of arguing with myself, I decided to get corralled up with my wave.  I was going to run, have fun, and just enjoy the course and the enthusiasm of both runners and spectators alike.

I was expecting the course to be hilly (after all, it IS San Francisco), but not as hilly as it actually was.  SF's idea of "rolling hills" is much different than what I had in mind.  After a while, I didn't mind the hills so much because I told myself that I could stop and walk if I needed to once I reached the top.  Once I got to the top, however, I felt that I could keep going and didn't really stop to walk during the course until about mile 22 or during the water stations.  My favorite parts of the course was running across the Golden Gate bridge and passing the waterfall within the Golden Gate Park.  It was an absolutely phenomenal experience.

Official time is 4:29:32 - barely making my goal time of under 4:30!
2011 SF Marathon Garmin Stats

Glacial Speed Running

I know there's a running group out there called "Snail's Pace."  I wonder if there is one called "Glacier's Pace."  If not, I really should start one as the past 3 runs seemed to have earned me the head of this group.  

The days have been warm the past 3 runs.  Sunday was a long run (20 mi Tour de San Diego Garmin Stats); the longest run we've gone on since the SD RnR at the beginning of June.  We started later that we had anticipated (10am instead of 8am) and spent WAY too out there.  I had anticipated a long day (lots of stopping to rest), but did not think that my legs would feel extremely tired by the end of the run.  The route was not that hilly, but when it was, there were some pretty challenging hills (ie going through Point Loma Nazerine). The last few miles of that course led us up 6th Ave which is pretty wicked after 16+ mi of running.  We made it through, slowly, but surely.

Took a 3 day hiatus from running (not really planned, no excuses really) and went for a medium run yesterday after work.  8 mi run down Pershing Dr. and through Balboa Park proved to be another hot and challenging run for me.  Legs were feeling heavy and uncooperative.  I knew it had to get done though and didn't mind too much that it was slow, I was just happy that I finally got my butt out there after 3 days of not running.  Surprisingly, I still felt I had the energy to go to the gym.

I woke up this morning with surprisingly sore/tired legs.  I had done that 8 mi route before, so I wasn't expecting my legs to be feeling so lethargic.  It didn't bode very well for the 5 mi run today (5 mi run - Balboa park Garmin stats).  Tired legs + warm morning = glacial speeds.  I had to stop a few times along the run today, partly to let my legs rest for a bit and also because Lilo kept plopping down whenever there was cool concrete in the shade.

Lilo after our 5 mi run today

I'm a little disappointed with the less than stellar speeds I have been running, but I also realize that I have been doing a lot of running since November really (I may have run 3 marathons for 2011, but I have run 4 within 8 months).  Next  year, I'm going to cut down the number of marathons to 2 at most because I'd really like to train and get that sub 4 marathon that I had been striving to achieve since forever.  Maybe even throw a triathlon in there. =)

Ahhhhh.......

Looks like my little wah post earlier encouraged me to run a not-so-bad 5 miler this afternoon.  *Almost* a sub 9 min/mi pace, I blew my load (saying borrowed by Alison ;) ) during the first 3 miles and had to slow down the last 2 miles.

I enjoy running with Joe because he pushes me to run faster (even when he's not trying to).  Sometimes, it gets the better of me and my competitive side kicks in and then kicks me in the butt.  Today, he kept pace with me and it turned out to be a pretty good run.  Thanks, Joey. <3

5 mi run - Balboa Park Garmin stats

Trying to Get my Groove Back!

After the SD RnR, I was determined to give myself at least a week's rest from running.  I've been feeling absolutely drained / tired since probably the beginning of the year.  I've had blood tests done, catching up on sleep on weekends, made small tweaks to my diet... and it seems the only thing I have not tried was giving myself enough rest between marathons for recovery.  Granted, I did not give myself a full week (I waited 4 days before I was fiending for a run), but have not stuck to my SF marathon schedule to allow myself a little more time to recover.  The result?  Still tired and now, I feel like I'm losing my motivation to get out there and run.

Perhaps I set the bar a little bit too high aiming for 5 marathons in a year and the desire to want to finish all of them within a few minutes of my PR  I figured I liked running enough, that signing up for those marathons wouldn't be too big of a deal, since I would be consistently running/training than doing an event, then taking a month or so off before I'd start training again for the next one.

I'm attempting to switch back to early morning runs and hoping that will reignite my desire to run.  At the end of the day, I'm exhausted and probably hungry and cranky and the idea of running instead of laying on the couch and vegging is way more desirable.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Thoughts?  Comments?

The most difficult 5 mi... EVER.

Tonight's run felt like it was the toughest 5 miles I ever had to run in my life.  My chest felt tight and I couldn't get my breathing down.  It might have something to do with the humidity.  There was a huge crowd of people when we got to the space theatre.  Looked like a high school was having their graduation the same time Joe and I decided to go for a run.  How inconsiderate of them.

When it got where I thought I couldn't handle it, I just closed my eyes and tried to enjoy the wind on my face.  It kept me going.  Turned out I was keeping a decent pace.  Glad I got out there.

5 mi Balboa Park Garmin Stats

2011 SD RnR: 3 down, 2 to go...

My initial goal was to get a sub 4 marathon.  With all the races signed up this year, I decided that it wouldn't be too much of a disappointment if I didn't attain a sub 4, but anything within the range of 4 to 4:15 would make me happy...

Alison, me and Joe: We're pottying like Rockstars!  In line for the porta-johns pre-race.

I remember feeling pretty good, both mentally and physically, running the first 10 miles. The run through Balboa Park and downtown San Diego was pleasant because the morning air was still crisp and cool.  Even running up the southbound lane on the 163 felt all right.  It didn't feel like a hill, but my legs did start to feel sluggish and heavy.  After that gradual uphill and then hauling ass downhill, I started to get a bit of muscle soreness, so I decided to stop at a medical aid tent and take some Tylenol for preventative measures around mile 11.  I could feel my legs fatiguing, especially my quads.  I felt like I was going to pass out between miles 14 and 15 despite fueling up every 6 miles with shot blocks and drinking both Cytomax and water at each of the stations.  I picked up a salt packet from one of the volunteers and got about 1/4 of it all over my face and successfully the rest of it in my mouth.  It helped out quite a bit and was able to get back into my stride.  The out and backs at Morena Blvd. and Mission Bay Dr. started to psych me out a bit, but I fought the thoughts from driving me crazy.

One foot in front of the other... repeat... - Mile 18ish

My running inspriation - Mile 18ish

I only had a short 3 miles left before entering my evil nemesis, Fiesta Island.  I just don't know what it is about that island, it feels like it sucks all my energy.  I'm pretty sure that most of it is mental, though, I'm not sure where it originated from as I have run that island many many times for my SDRnR training last year and some this year. Whatever it is, I'm sure it is completely mental now.  Joey gave an excellent suggestion that I wish I could have implanted in my head.  When we do our training runs at Fiesta Island, we usually start at the parking lot by the visitor's center and go clockwise around Mission Bay, getting the island out of the way first.  Joe told me that once he passed the parking lot, he told himself that it was the start of a training run, so it made him feel fresh and rejuvenated.  I think if I had those thoughts in my head instead, it would have gotten me through those last 3 hellish miles a lot easier.

Definitely the best spectator / cheerleader... ever.

After exiting Fiesta Island, I had about half a mile to the finish line.  I felt myself getting chocked up like I always do when I'm about to cross the finish line.  I gathered the last bit of energy I had in myself to "sprint" for the finish line.  I crossed the finish line holding up "7" to signify the end of my 7th marathon.  Afterwards, I got too emotional and started to cry, almost hyperventilating.  The best part of finishing a race used to be the medal being placed around my neck... but now I think it is seeing Joe at the end and receiving a great big congratulatory hug from him. =)

The couple that runs together....

The dream team.

I love this race.  The San Diego RnR is the first marathon I ran back in 2005 and still continues to be my favorite (This is the 4th time I've run the SDRnR).  This year, though, was special because I got to run it with Joe.  We had been trying to run this one together for years.  I enjoyed the first 2 miles that I got to run with him before he bolted off to clench his NEW PR of just under 3:44.  As I told him, he will continue to beat his PR with each marathon that he runs this year.  He is awesome and such an inspiration.  I love you, Joey!!

As always, the volunteers, spectators, and bands were fantastic.  The weather was perfect to me, even though the sun was pretty much out and in full blast at 7:30am.  It wasn't too hot since there was a breeze and most of the route was shaded by buildings.  All in all,  a fantastic race despite not attaining my goal.  There are many more races ahead of me. ;)

Congrats to Alison Whitney, Karen Miller, RJ Bates, Derek Mendy, Marvin Reyes and Perla DeGunther!!

Official Finish Time: 04:17:42
2011 SD RnR - Garmin Stats

5 days and counting!

5 days and counting until our 3rd marathon of the year: the San Diego Rock and Roll marathon!  This will be the 3rd year in a row that I will be running this particular race.  It's hard to beat the weather and the venue.

It has been a recent goal of mine to run the SD RnR under 4 hours and while I'm certainly not going to write off that goal, I will certainly be happy with a time under 4:20 (even more excited with a time between 4 - 4:15, but I won't get greedy ;-) ).  I want so bad to achieve these goals!!

Last week (as well as this one) has been the tapering period and I usually get antsy around this time because of the decreased weekly mileage.  Surprisingly, I have been quite happy running less than 25 miles per week.  Who knew that running 5 marathons in one year would be so freaking tiring? ;-)  I have been pretty inconsistent about going to the gym, though, and am feeling like I'm losing muscle tone and strength in other places.  Need to start getting my butt in there regularly.

5 short days... I never feel ready and I'm sure it's going to hit me even harder the night before.  All I can do is just concentrate on why I run in the first place... because I can.

2011 Bike to Work Day!

I had been going back and forth this week on deciding whether to bike to work today and am glad that I decided to do it!  With a few mishaps this morning (chain got derailed and I missed a couple of turns), I made it into work and still had the energy to run 5 miles.  What was even more surprising is my pace for the run was quicker than I had anticipated.  My legs felt pretty worked after the bike ride and I was expecting a slow run.  Feeling a little tired right now, but the ride home should be fun.  Thank you, San Diego, for the gorgeous weather today. =)

2011 Bike to Work Day - Garmin Stats
5 mi run - Celgene / UCSD campus loop

Success is how high you bounce after you've hit bottom.

I've struggled to sit here and rehash today's failed 20 mi run. But I realized and have experienced that not all of my runs are going to be great, I'm not always going to feel like a super woman, I'm not always going to accomplish the mileage I had intended, I'm not always going to run every run the fastest or the strongest.  There will be off days and today was certainly one of those days.

The first 3 miles of the run I spent trying to warm up as my calves felt like they tightly wound up rubber bands ready to snap at any given moment.  I stopped a couple of times along the way and stretched them out.  By the 4th mile, they felt warmed up and I thought I was ready to conquer this run.  As we made our way through the posh residential area of Mission Hills and down Presidio, I started to feel like I was waist deep in mud.  My legs felt incredibly heavy and it was difficult to propel my leg in front of the other.  I saw that my pace was starting to slow while we were running along the San Diego River and to keep from psyching myself out, I switched fields on my Garmin, so that I won't be tempted to look at my pace.  Joe had already started to put quite a bit of distance between us.  And as much as I tell myself to try and not let it get to me, it does.  At least in my irrational and delusional state, it does.  Especially when I'm yelling obscenities at myself to run faster, pick up your legs, catch up, keep up!  Oh, if only the body can always do what the mind wants.

When I got to the OB dog beach, Joe was waiting for me, offering shot blocks and water.  I hoped that a couple of shot blocks and water will give me the boost I need to continue on.  It did not.  It took me a while to get started again, telling my legs to propel my body forward. We made our way through the ABCs of Ocean Beach (Abbott, Bacon, and Cable) and then on to the campus of Point Loma Nazerine (that campus hill is epic and was definitely not what I needed to boost my confidence).  As I was trudging along Canon, I tried my best to keep my mind off the sloth-like pace and just thought about how satisfying it would feel to finish.  I saw that Joe had stopped at the corner of Canon and Rosecrans and I decided to take a bathroom break. Afterwards, I fought with myself, encouraging myself to go on, it doesn't matter how long it takes to finish.  Joe was wording the same thoughts that were going through my mind.  We walked through the Farmer's market, through Scott, and finally onto N. Harbor Dr.  12.6 miles.  7.4 mi to go.  

I have been in this situation several times before, where my body rebels and refuses to listen, no matter the amount of positive thoughts.  Soon, my positive thoughts turn to a path of defeat. I meekly tell Joe that we should just get a cab home.  Tears of frustration and failing seem to run down my cheeks faster than I had that day.

Success is how high you bounce after you've hit bottom. 
It has been about 7 hours since and yes, I'm still wallowing in feelings of defeat.  I don't feel like I've hit bottom, but pretty damned close to it.  I was reminded by the above quote my friend, Bi-ying, posted on her FaceBook page.  It refueled my determination to attempt this same route next Sunday and finish it, no matter how long it takes.  If, in the off chance, I don't finish because of the heavy legs feeling or mental defeat, I know that I at least tried that route again.

12.6 mi run - Tour de San Diego

Butterflies before tomorrow's long run

Tomorrow will be the last "long run" before the SD RnR and then I will start tapering down for the next 3 weeks.  Right now, my body is feeling like it needs the rest, for sure, but I know that once the mileage decreases from 45mi + / week to 25 to 30 mi a week, I will start fiending for more mileage.  Usually, gym attendance increases during the tapering down, I'm like an addict looking for something to fill the void.  I know, I know... rest is part of the training.

Our 20 mi run tomorrow will hit several points of SD.  We'll start off at Balboa Park, head west towards Mission Hills, Ocean Beach, then back east along N. Harbor Dr., up 6th Ave back to Balboa Park.  It's a pretty epic run, so I'm a bit anxious about it.  Hoping for good running weather and being able to get up early in the morning.

7 days later...

... since the OC marathon and I've managed to log in almost 36 mi!  Not bad considering this week is supposed to be a recovery week.  I've noticed that a lot of the solo runs (sort of solo anyway, I was running with Lilo) were at a slower pace than when I ran with Alison and Joe on Saturday.  I guess no matter how much I want to run my own pace, when running with someone, I do tend to get a bit of a competitive edge.

I've been eating a bit too much and foods that have been weighing heavily in my stomach.  It's definitely had an effect on my performance as well. Today's run was tough as I was burping up lunch from 6 hours prior. Running certainly does tell you what you're doing wrong and my diet this weekend wasn't exactly runner friendly.

This weeks marks a new week and it's also the last week of long runs before the taper down.  My body is needing it.

05/02/2011 - 2.5 mi run Garmin Stats
05/04/2011 - 8 mi run Garmin Stats
05/06/2011 - 5 mi run Garmin Stats
05/07/2011 - 12 mi run Garmin stats
05/08/2011 - 8 mi run Garmin Stats

2011 OC Marathon - Lesson(s) learned / Ego revitalized

Lesson 1: I've learned a very important lesson from running this particular marathon.  I'm not allowed to eat Mexican food the night before a marathon.  No matter how tasty and how much of a craving for it's deliciousness! I felt the heaviness of the food (from too much meat and the greasiness - I try to limit my oily foods to only once in a while) right after dinner and it sat until I woke up at 3:15am this morning.  I used the restroom once before we left the house, twice before the race started, and THREE more times DURING the race!  The heaviness FINALLY alleviated after the last time I used the porta-John. And it was then, I could finally concentrate on the race.

I was particularly cranky this morning because of the my stomach issues and was already anticipating a slow race.  Even so, I tried to put the thoughts behind me and encourage myself to just have fun - after all, it was kind of a last minute marathon we decided to do. Other than the stomach problems, everything else felt good.  My legs, my breathing, not incredibly hot even though the sun was blazing at 7am.  The OC marathon is a point to point course, so there was hardly any zig-zagging unlike the Surf City USA marathon. There were some really gorgeous areas that we passed, particularly between 6 and 8 mi.

It became very windy during some parts of the race, particularly the over pass over the 405.  The spectators and volunteers were awesome as usual and I was pleasantly surprised by the officers cheering the runners on.  A couple even gave me a high five, which brought a big cheesy grin to my face.  

Lesson 2:  My threshold of "hitting the wall" has increased and now instead of being at mile 18ish, it's more at mile 22.  I am able to talk myself through difficult times and I even started to pick out certain people ahead of me and try to catch up to either pace them or pass them (Thanks for that tip, Joey!).  

Lesson 3: Don't always trust the mile markers.  I realize that my Garmin isn't always in synced with the mile markers.  It usually goes off about 0.1 to 0.15 mi before I hit the markers.  But I noticed that between miles 17 and 20, my Garmin was completely off the markers!  My Garmin read 19.88mi when I *just* passed the 19 mi sign.  I was worried that I had screwed something up and yelled, "Does ANYONE know what mile we're on?!?"  No one else seemed too concerned and I heard someone say, "Um.. I think 19?"  Not that that really helped out any, so I tried to convince myself to not let it mess with me too much.

Me and mile 8 - Delirious with excitement!

No significant soreness post race: quads are a bit sore and the inside of my right ankle is a bit swollen from getting a tiny bit sloppy in my form.  It makes me excited to know that I did so well including the bathroom breaks... but a tiny bit bummed to know what could time I could have gotten if I didn't have to take them.  At least, with the newly learned lessons, I can strive for that sub 4 marathon  at the SD RnR... but I would be completely elated with a 4 hr to 4:12 time - a time to beat my PR from last year's marathon.  Ego has been revitalized and this marathon has completely fueled my desire to finish up the last 3 marathons scheduled this year!

I am extremely grateful to Tiffany for her hospitality, getting up at 3am to drop us off at the start line, and ride the bike around the route to cheer us on.  She does this, without any complaints, and because she loves to show her love and support for both Joey and I.  She is an amazing woman and I know that a couple of sushi dinners on us can't even begin to repay what she has done for us.  So, thank you, Tiffany.  Love you!

The siblings

Thank you to Lan Bui for coming out!  You don't know how happy I was (or maybe you do, just by the photo you took of me)  see you before making my way up that hill on mile 14!

I want to hug you, Lan!!!

 Thank you to Joey for being my inspiration and patient with me as I continue to improve my running.  You are amazing and I love you with all my heart.

Joey at Mi 8 - Lookin' fresh and smilin'

Official Finish time: 4:15:31
2011 OC Marathon Garmin Stats 

A Tribute to my Body

Dear Body,

I know that I have been extremely criticizing of you the past few months.. ok, in reality, I'd been criticizing you your whole life. I was unhappy with the way you looked even at my fittest just a year ago. What I haven't come to realize and fully appreciate is the way your strong legs have carried me through numerous miles in training for marathons and even just walking around in daily life. I complained about the jiggling of your abs or the arms and lamented about neither being tight or toned enough. In reality, the abs as well as back make up a strong core and have allowed me to run quickly down hills. Your arms allow me to push through tough uphills. I've punished you by denying you proper nutrition, falsely thinking that I would see a smaller number on the scale (even though logically I knew that you can't run a finely tune machine without proper fuel). I've looked in the mirror and scolded you for one reason or another: not being smaller here, being too jiggly there, not being tighter here, here, and especially there!

So, Body, I hope that you will accept my sincerest and deepest apology for how unappreciative and how cruel I have been to you the past few years that we have been together. You have been there for me during ankle sprains, miles upon miles of running, a motorcycle accident, good times, and bad times. I am eternally grateful to you and all that you have and will provide to me for years to come.

Your biggest fan,

Lin

5 mi run - each at a different location this week!

It's really nice to switch up the venue of my runs.  Tuesday was at Miramar Lake, yesterday was around campus, and today was around Balboa Park.

This morning I left the house about 6:45am and it already started to feel pretty warm. The sun is pretty intense today (even though it was still fairly cool).  I'm glad that I got it out of the way early because I probably would have been grouchy if I had to run at lunch today.  Legs are feeling a tiny bit heavy, but I think the off day tomorrow and the short 3 mi run on Saturday should get me all set up and ready to run the OC marathon on Sunday.  I have been having a bit of pain on the side of my left foot which I've diagnosed (maybe incorrectly) as a bone spur.  Thinking of getting referred to a sports med doc after this race to see what s/he thinks.

5 mi run - UCSD loop / Celgene - Garmin stats

5 mi run - Balboa Park - Garmin Stats

5 mi run - Miramar Lake

Legs were heavy from yesterday's gym visit.  I somehow managed to run a sub 9 min/mi pace though. I was pushin' it, of course, Joe was taking it easy breaking in his new shoes. ;-)

5 mi run - Miramar Lake

ALMOST halfway there!

$145 raised for Committed2Community!  I'm hoping to raise at least $300 for this great cause!  Please donate what you can. Thank you!

http://www.crowdrise.com/teamcommitted2community/fundraiser/eambing

18 mi run - Mission Bay

This was definitely the best 18 mi training run I've done.  We started off early in the morning (7:30am), I had good company (Joe and Alison), the weather was perfect, and my legs felt great after yesterday's rest.  I surprised myself with the last couple of miles as I was about to keep a sub 9 pace after 16 mi!  Today's run definitely gave me the confidence that it is possible to run a sub 4 marathon.

What was most impressive today was how Alison decided on yesterday afternoon, "Oh, ok, I'll run 18 mi with you!"  Her longest distance before today was 13.1 mi!  She kept a very good pace and completed the 18 mi run where I would have probably keeled over and died only having down a half marathon prior.  Congrats to you, Awee.  I'm stoked for you!

18 mi run - Mission Bay Garmin Stats

Signed up for the 2011 America's Finest City Half Marathon

I'm officially registered for the half marathon on August 21, 2011.  For the next 5 months (starting with April), I'll be doing a race every month.  And I wonder where all my monies go... ;)

8 mi pace- Pershing Dr. / Balboa Park

The first few miles of this run felt pretty good.  Legs felt rested and stretched out from rolling them out with the foam roller at the gym yesterday.  Running down Pershing Dr. is a little sketchy during the weekday evenings though.  Cars tend to drive a little too fast and there really isn't a sidewalk for pedestrians.  I had stomach issues, halfway through the run and it hit me pretty hard during the last mile of the run.  All in all, the evening was cool and running through Balboa Park in the early evening is so nice.

Pershing Dr. / Balboa Park Garmin Stats

I want to run faster!!! (2011 Surf City Marathon / 2011 La Jolla Half Marathon)

It has been a while since I've logged on and updated my blog.  Since then, I ran the Surf City USA marathon in Huntington Beach and the La Jolla Half Marathon.

Surf City USA Marathon - February 7th (Finish: 04:44:29)
Surf City USA Marathon, the first of the five marathons that I'll be running in 2011, has probably got to be my least favorite of all the marathons I've run so far.  The latter half of the course had me going back and forth for 16 freaking miles!!!  Yes, the view of the gentle crashing waves of the ocean was right there, but when I'm zig-zagging for that far of a distance, I couldn't care less if there were hundreds of speedo-wearing men waiting to fan and feed me grapes!  One of my worst pet-peeves are out and backs and this had runners zig-zagging 6 times! I guess the one positive thing I found about this was that I got to see Joe at least once during the race. Overall, the weather was over cast and the organization of the race was mediocre.  My goal initially was to beat my NYC marathon time of 04:30, but from the beginning of the race, I could feel my legs were heavy and never properly warmed up.  I changed my goal to finishing under 4:45 and was happy that I barely achieved that.

The Surf City USA marathon was Joe's first marathon, which he did extremely well (not that that would surprise me in the least bit, of course!).  It was also supposed to be the first of 3 marathons that would make up the California Dreamin' Series in which upon completion, you would receive a jacket and a medal.  I found out not too long ago that this series actually ended this year with the Surf City USA marathon, AFTER I had already registered for the SF and LB marathon.  The race series had been replaced by the Beach Cities Challenge, a similar series except the SF marathon had been replaced by the OC marathon.  You get a nice medal for completing the series, but not a jacket as you would have in the Cal Dreamin' Series.  In addition, you have to complete these 3 events CONSECUTIVELY, whereas the Cal Dreamin' series allowed you 2 years.  It was extremely frustrating to learn that they ended the series and it was not even mentioned on their site of a end date.

Surf City Marathon Route - Curse you, zig-zags!

2011 Surf City USA Marathon Garmin Stats



La Jolla Half Marathon - April 17th  (Finish: 1:59:40)
After my disappointment with the Surf City USA marathon, I decided to up my running from 4 times to 5 times a week and including a day of speed/interval/tempo training to try and regain my speed to last year.  I had noticed that since November, my pace had been gradually getting slower and I attribute it to slacking on my running and weight gain (diet and stress).  So, since February, I had been watching my diet and trying to increase my running and visits to the gym to 5x and 3x respectively.

The week of the La Jolla half, I ran a total of 38 miles (17mi on Mon, 5 on Tues, 8 on Wed, 5 on Thurs, 3 on Sat).  So needless to say, my legs were very tired.  I was determined to keep up with my running schedule.  It was strange, though, because in that week of running, even though my legs were tired, I was able to keep up a pretty decent pace for each run ( they ranged from 9min/mi to 9:20 min /mi).  However, the 3 mi on Saturday proved to be an exhausting run.  I'm glad that I shortened it to 3 and did not run the 5 I had planned.  It was enough to push out the lactic acid and warm my legs up for the LJ half.

Compared to last year, my over all pace was slower by about 30 seconds (8:33min/mi 2010, 9:02min/mi 2011).  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  It was overcast and a very gentle breeze.  Of course, it was way too cold for me in the morning, but I knew that it would warm up quickly once I started running.  Once I began running, I was very excited to feel that my legs didn't feel like it did on Saturday.  It felt good and ready to run 13.1 miles!  What I love about the LJ half is it doesn't feel like 13.1 miles.  I'm familiar with the route as I ran it a few times last year before the 2010 race.  Once over the N. Torrey Pines Hill, you are more than half way through the race!  I throughly enjoyed the race as I did last year, even if I did not run it as fast as 2010.  I was proud that I was able to keep a great pace for over 13 miles!  This has further encouraged me to keep up with my speed training and stick with my gym routine to get back to where I was last year.  In 2 weeks, the OC marathon!

2011 La Jolla Half Marathon Garmin stats

I survived the streets of NYC!

Almost 2 months have passed since I ran the NYC marathon and the thought of this amazing run still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

26.2 miles through the five boroughs of  NYC

My morning started off at 3:30am... only because the time did not adjust properly on my boyfriend's, Joey, cell phone.  I had a rather restless night sleep regardless.  The anticipation of the 5 hour wait in the cold was really making me anxious, even more so than the marathon itself.  I laid in the pull out couch that my high school friend, Alvaro, had so kindly let us use for the past 4 nights, attempting to relax myself and clear my mind.  I semi-dozed off for what seemed to be only a fraction of a second when the alarm went off at 4:30am.  I got up and felt the goose bumps raise on my skin, partially from the cold and the excitement of the day finally arriving.

"*Yaaaaawn*  Remind me why I do this again?"

I laid my clothing out the night before because I knew in the early hours with just a few hours of sleep, I was bound to forget something.  I got dressed slowly, yawning between each article of clothing.  My legs felt tired from the hours we had spent walking around days previously sight seeing.  Regardless, I was ready to run.  For some runners, tapering off allows their legs to recover from their weekly high mileage and is welcomed with open arms, for others they go batty and curl up in the corner like a drug addict jonesing for another fix. I fall with the latter group.

Afterwards, Joey and I walked to the South side of Central Park, the meeting spot of the MMRF chartity shuttles.  It was cold... 35ºF cold.  Despite being under layers of clothing, I was still shivering.  How am I going to survive this long and agonizing wait before my wave's start time?  Shuttles left at 5:30am and 6:00am.  I decided to get orange juice and a bagel with Joe before getting on the 6am shuttle to the starting point in Staten Island.  His encouraging words helped calm me down.

Bye Central Park!  Off to Staten Island!

After breakfast, we made our way to the MMRF shuttles.  Joe gave me the biggest, warmest embrace and kissed me.  I flashed him a quick smile and told him, "See you at the 5 mile marker!"
  At the beginning of the shuttle ride, Betsy gave us some last minute instructions, regarding bag checks, wave starts, the MMRF chartity tent... too much information for too early in the morning.  I felt my adrenaline dying down and dozed off on the shuttle ride to Staten Island.  The next thing I knew, we had arrived and were being hurried off the bus towards our tent.  As I was following Betsy and the other MMRF team members, there were lines of men off the side of the road, urinating.  I was a bit disturbed by this, I mean, really, you couldn't wait until getting to the porta-johns?  Sheesh.

The entrance to the "Start Village" staging area.  The home for over 43,000 runners for the next 3.5 hours.

I was so thankful for the MMRF charity tent.  Were it not for all the people huddled in there, I would have been so much colder and more miserable.  I chatted with a few people there, helping to ease our nerves of the race.  We talked about our reasons for running, our inspirations, what a wonderful charity group the MMRF is.  I became caught up with last minute preparations and didn't realize it was already time to check in my bag and head off to my corral!  The wait actually went a lot quicker than I had anticipated... I didn't have time to be anxious.

Huddled in the corner, feeding off the warmth of fellow MMRF team  members.

The sheer number of people within Blue Wave #3 was insane.  The air was filled with a hodgepodge of emotions: excitement, nervousness, anxiousness...  I was feeding off each and everyone's emotions.  My heart was racing.  The announcer's voice boomed through the frigid air, exclaiming "good luck" and "have fun on your run!"  Helicopters flew over head to capture the organized chaos down below them.  

Over 15,000 people ready to go!

Lovin' every moment of it.

Sinatra's "New York, New York" started to play and I developed a lump in my throat that I spent many times

trying to swallow.  Crowds on top of buses were cheering with cowbells and boomsticks, trying to get the runners amped up...

I was pretty emotional at this point.  I wanted to enjoy each moment of it, but I felt my mind wandering in other directions:

"Will I be warm enough?" 

"Am I going to make my sub 4 goal?"

"Am I going to see Jared?"

"Should I just stop thinking and enjoy the moment?"
And before I can finish asking myself 21 questions, I was crossing the start line.  "Shit, I guess I should start running!"

Crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn.

I fumbled with my phone to take a picture of the momentous first mile crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Knowing my clumsiness, I decided it was best to not attempt to take pictures any more during the run and just enjoy the marathon. Being so short, I didn't have much view of what was over the bridge, all I could really see were the backs of the runners ahead of me. I knew the first mile would be a slow one because of the elevation, warming up the muscles, and the getting through the masses. The second mile was about the pace I was expecting to run (in the low 9min/mi) and the crowd of people started to spread out a little bit more. I started to feel like I was in my element, it did not feel like I was laboring with the pace that I was running. In fact, I felt like I could have picked up a bit, but I decided to keep the same pace and try to speed up for the second half.  Once I finished crossing the bridge, I, along with many others, were welcomed into Brooklyn by a man who wore an expressionless face and held a sign up in the air that read, "Get out of Broklyn, runners."  I heard a man shout back, "Learn how to spell Brooklyn, first!"

5 mi water station: Babo, Carlo, Boni, and Joey met me here (loudly ringing a cowbell and posters!)

The Cheerleaders (minus Carlo) riding the subways to get to the next meeting spot: L to R Boni, Joey, Babo

At the 5th mile water station, I was extremely elated to see some familiar cheering faces among thousands and thousands of unfamilars.  I was greeted by my personal, very loud and enthusiastic cheering section - Carlo, Babo, Boni, and Joey.


They were each carrying a poster: one had the word "GO" and the other 3 each had a letter of my nickname "Lin." Joey rang that cowbell loudly and they were all shouting words of encouragement.

It quickly made me forget about the first 5 miles that I had just run and I was ready to tackle the next set of 5...Another 3 miles or so brought me to downtown Brooklyn.  I started to notice that my legs were starting to feel heavy possibly because after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the last 8 miles were relatively flat. The next few miles had a few elevation changes that I would normally not even give another thought.  But after 6 miles of flat running, I definitely felt the changes.  I was starting to feel tired already, which bummed me out a bit because I still had a long ways ahead of me.  I was hoping that seeing cheering squad at mile 10 would refuel me with the energy that I needed to finish the rest of the race.

I passed the 10 mile marker and was casually looking around for my cheering squad for another pick-me-up.  When I didn't see them after the water station, I started to look frantically around for them.  Did I miss them?  I figured that getting from one mile marker to another would be a difficult task, given the immense number of spectators trying to do the same thing for their runners.  I was dis-heartened, but I tried very much to not let it bother me.  After all, I still had 16.2 miles more to go.

I hit the half marathon marker (13.1 mi) and feeling a bit defeated.  I was crossing the 2nd bridge of the race, the Pulaski Bridge, and felt the quarter mile elevation increase.  On the other side of the Pulaski Bridge, Queens lay ahead of me.  The change of borough felt good mentally.  I felt like I was stuck in Brooklyn forever and now I was finally in a different area.  I felt like I was making progress now.  The jaunt through Brooklyn lasted only about 2 miles before I realized I was going to cross the Queensborough bridge.  It was here that I felt I hit a wall.  The elevation on this bridge may have been slight, but I felt like I was climbing a hill.  I began to walk and tried to regroup myself.  A sharp cold breeze blew through the bridge and that combined with the sweat on my head caused my head to ache pretty badly.  I wanted to stop and it to be over so badly at that point.  I looked down and I saw my bib that read, "My run is in tribute to: John Zell."  I was not only running for myself, I was running in memory of my friend's Aaron, whose father passed away from Multiple Myeloma.  I was running for the MMRF, whose main purpose was to spread awareness of the disease and to raise money for research.  I was running for Joey, Boni, Alvaro, and Carlo, who had gotten up early that day to support me and cheer me on.  This sparked my motivation and I slowly picked up my pace.  I was here in this majestic city and have had an amazing time sight seeing the days before.  This is what the months of training prior have led to!  Not finishing was NOT an option!

Mile 16 on was a bit of a blur.  I tried to focus on other things beside the how many more miles was left.  The spectators and the volunteers kept me going.  I heard volunteers from the water stations yelling, "Water... get your water over here" in their New York accent.  I heard spectators cheering and music playing.  I was happy again and enjoying the race.  After I had crossed the Queensborough bridge, I was in Manhattan, where I had spent the majority of my time in New York and where I'd spend the majority of the last portion of the race.  After running what seemed like a LONG 3.5mi stretch, I'd cross the Willis Ave. Bridge into the Bronx.  We'd only spend about a mile in this borough.  I believe it was here that they had a billboard set up and when crossers would cross the mile marker, a message would pop up specially dedicated to that runner.  I was looking at all the dedications from family and friends as each runner crossed the mile marker.  When I crossed it, a photo of Bi-ying and me covered the screen.  I, unfortunately, could not read the message, but just seeing her beautiful smiling face was enough to bring tears to my eyes.  I had to compose myself because I tend to hyperventilate when I start crying.  I crossed the final bridge of this race, the Madison Ave. Bridge, which brought me back to the final 5 miles!

The iconic Central Park run.  I was so tired and so cold that even though I had only 5 miles to go, it definitely felt like I was running another marathon.  In fact when I hit mile 22, I had for some reason worked out in my head that I only had 2 more miles to go... When the delirium somewhat subsided, I realized that there was still a 5K's worth of run.  When I got to mile 24, I saw my cheering squad and I was elated!  Alvaro and Boni were screaming at the top of their lungs, holding up the signs, and ringing the cow bell as loudly as they could.  Joey popped out from the crowd, shirtless, with "Go Lin!" written on his chest in green marker.  I couldn't help but laugh, albeit, weakly, but it was enough to keep going.  He ran alongside me for those last 2 miles, encouraging me and giving me the motivation to get to the end.  About mile 25, I ran alongside a man who had an ice pack taped around his right knee.  I thought to myself, "Man, that guy is really hurtin'."  I looked in front of me and had noticed a vehicle with a man sitting on the back with a camera.  I waved at it, thinking it was a crew filming runner's last mile of the race.  I later realized that the man I passed was Edison Peña, one of the Chilean miners.

Joey cut out at Mile 26 and I had to finish the last 400 yards on my own.  I gathered the last bit of energy that I had to "sprint" across the finish line.  Tears welled up in my eyes, a knot formed in my throat, and I threw my hands up in the air.  I did it!  I completed the NYC marathon!

Official Finish time: 04:32:19

Tired, sweaty, but somehow managed to smile.

The aftermath

After taking a photo, we were given a goodie bag, the iconic aluminium capes and were corralled.  There were  trucks lined up where we could pick up our belongings.  All I wanted to do was be in Joey's warm embrace and sit down, but instead, we were all forced to walk, very slowly, to two outlets onto Central Park West.  After what seemed like an hour, I finally met up with Joey and received that hug that I was longing for since mile 16.  Of course, that wasn't the end of the walking, we still had to make it back to Alvaro's apartment on 51st and 8th. 

Zombie runners

I have learned a few things in the days leading and the day of the marathon:

1. New Yorkers are amazing people… don’t believe the stereotype.

2. The bagels and pizza really ARE good there…

3. The mind is stronger than the body.

4. When you start to doubt yourself, your friends, families, and the enthusiasm of strangers will keep you going.

5. It’s not quite worth accepting a bet to down a tablespoon of wasabi 2 days before race day in order for your loved one to go shirtless with “Go Eileen” painted on his bare chest in 40-45F weather (but highly entertaining).

My final contribution to the charity totaled $3300!! Thanks again for all your support and donations to the MMRF.

2011 ING NYC Garmin Stats

… Now on to training for the Huntington Beach Marathon in Feb. ;)