24 Days Until the Mammoth Half Marathon

I couldn't be more excited for a race than I am for the upcoming Mammoth Half Marathon. I may even be more excited for this half than I was for my first full marathon..

Mammoth has always been my favorite place. It's where we vacationed when I was a child and the tradition of going there almost yearly has continued into adulthood. We always go during the summer so we can hike, fish, take pictures and really enjoy the outdoors. 

This year we will be horse back riding, fishing, picture taking and doing a lot of running. It is going to be amazing.

This race will also be the second half of The Challenge, a two race challenge including Mammoth and the San Diego Half Marathon we completed in March. It also brings a close to the first half of my racing goal for this year, which has me started thinking about my running goals for next year..

It may have been suggested to me to not set such high expectations/goals for myself. Instead of doing a 30 day challenge I should cut it in half, the goal being to not put as much pressure on myself or to be as disappointed if I don't complete the goal.

That same night I told Patrick that I wanted to complete 100 half marathons in my running lifetime. He asked me one question- how many have you done so far? 14. He made one suggestion- cut your goal in half.

So I did and decided that I would like to complete a total of 50 half and full marathons in my running lifetime. This only includes organized races that I receive a medal for, it will not include the "dopey challenge" or the 26 Angel Run. I don't know why I decided to exclude these, but I did, so there's that.. 

I have started thinking about my goals for next year, but more importantly I've started thinking about which races I would like to participate in. There are a lot of good ones to do and a lot of new ones I would like to try. I can't afford or commit to a certain number, but I can dream of new and repeat races (like the San Diego Safari Park and the LA Marathon to name a couple). 

I'm so glad that I follow the Mammoth Half Marathon on facebook so that I could enjoy the following pictures. They were too pretty to not share and give an idea as to why I am so excited to be running in this race in June: 

I cannot wait to take my own pictures on the course! Rachel and I have already talked about it and due to the elevation we plan on taking this course very slow. Well, the elevation and the fact that I'm probably going to be stopping so that I can take a million and a half pictures along the way..

Mountains 2 Beach Half Marathon- Race #6 of 14

Race morning started early, as most race morning start. My alarm went off just after 3am and I woke up startled with the fear that the alarm had been going off for awhile.

Thankfully, I had enough time to get up and get my things together. I had already set most of my things out the night before, but I just needed to put a few things together before heading outside to be picked up at 4am.

Unfortunately I wasn't going to be picked up because I had read the text message wrong and I was supposed to be picking Rachel up. We got it all figured out though and didn't waste any time to get to the shuttles.

Our shuttle time was 5:15am, however we were able to get on an earlier bus since we were already there. The start line was a short ways away from where we were dropped off so we made the walk to the start line.

The one good thing about the start line was the number of port-o-potties. There were more than enough and it was nice to not have to wait in line or worry that you wouldn't make it to the start.

Rachel and I started talking about the plan for the next 13.1 miles. We decided that since training hadn't gone quite as planned this past month we would extend our walking intervals and do 30:130. It actually worked out really well and we were able to maintain our pace and use this half as a training run for the Mammoth Half Marathon next month. There was no pressure to finish in a certain amount of time.

The run wasn't awful, however there wasn't much to look at on the course. Apparently the first half of the marathon course is where the views are, but since we start at the halfway point of that course we got the industrial views for almost all of our course. Thankfully it was mostly flat and relatively easy to complete.

I strive to be better about race recaps. To give detail and be witty about the things that happen along the course. The things I think or feel or see. That doesn't seem interesting though, at least not when I type it out. So instead, as always, I leave you with pictures from the race and of the course.

 

 

Our finishing time was 3:00:12, which was right on track for what we planned to do. A long distance training run for us means a pace of a 13:30-14:30 minute mile and we were consistently around a 14 minute mile.

 

The only concern I had before, during and after the race was the pain I was feeling in my hip. I've been experiencing some discomfort for about a week now, but it wasn't as bad as it was race day morning. By the end of the race, and after the drive home, it was a little difficult to walk. Ice, rest and a massage made it better by this morning. There's still a dull ache, but I am not as concerned about it as I was yesterday.

 

It will be something I pay attention to though. I am definitely one to tell others to listen to their bodies. Especially those who are thinking about starting a running streak. Listen to your body. Don't push it too far. And then here I am with a potential injury and what did I do tonight? Well I went out to continue my streak..

 

Mammoth is the next half on schedule. It will be the halfway point to this years running goal. I cannot begin to express my excitement for this next race. It will be in my favorite place that I have been and the sights during the course are going to be breathtaking. I am slightly concerned about the elevation as we will not have an opportunity to train in high elevation beforehand. We are going up a few days before the race and will be able to run a few miles in order to help us get used to it, but I know it may not be enough. But, if we walk the whole thing then we walk the whole thing. I'm just so happy that I get this opportunity.

Ojai Half Marathon- Race #5 of 14

I am well on my way to the halfway point on this years goal of 14 half marathons. My halfway half will be in Mammoth in June and I am really excited that that race is going to be #7. Mammoth is a special place for me and I really cannot wait to run that race.

But, here we are at the end of April and my love for running and my excitement for my goal is growing. That's obviously a good thing because I still have 9 more races to go in the next 8 months.

I wasn't too sure about this race today. I knew that the course had a generous 4 hour time limit, however I got there this morning and found out there were only about 350 runners running the half marathon. My mom was with me and I looked at her and simply said, "I may finish last today.. But, finishing last is better than not finishing which is better than not starting."

Thankfully, there were pace groups and I stood in the corral with the 3 hour pacer. I wanted to try to finish before 3 hours (which is what I attempt at every half marathon) but I wasn't going out to PR. I just recently PR'd in February and I did that by increasing my intervals. I haven't been working on speed and I've been really comfortable in doing 30:1 intervals. Plus, this is a new course that states "no whiners or crybabies need apply" on their website due to the rolling hills.

I wish I could recap a race better than I do. I wish I could remember the things that I see, think about or do while out there. Unfortunately I think a lot while I'm out there, but never remember anything when I get in front of the computer. At least nothing interesting..

Here's what I remember:
1. My legs felt tight up until mile 2.5ish
2. I had a cramp on my right side up until mile 2ish
3. The scenery was amazing
4. The bike lanes were really small and I thought on more than one occasion that I was going to be clipped by a truck
5. A lot of runners use both headphones
6. I like it when runners sing out loud.. most of the time

7. I like taking pictures while running

8. Running in a new place with nice scenery makes a run go by fast
9. Running past the finish line down 1.5 mile and back 1.5 miles before finishing is torture

10. You can have a great run without hitting a wall and still get bored towards the end
11. Some days you feel like you're going to have a bad, hard run and it ends up being the opposite
12. Getting a cramp 2 miles before the finish line sucks
13. My mom is amazing and I'm so glad to have her. It helps running towards someone to celebrate with after you finish running for 13 miles

And with that, here are some pictures from the race.

 

 

 

 

Weigh In #20

Starting Weight: 189.2

Last Weeks Weight: 180.6

This Weeks Weight: 181.4

+/-: +0.8
Total +/-: -7.8

 

Clearly I'm not as committed to this whole thing as I should be. In 20 weeks I've lost 7.8 pounds and have gone up and down quite a bit. This is clearly not intentional but I know that I'm not putting my all into it. On one hand I don't want to be disappointed because I am still down from my starting weight and I do not want to say "only" in front of a decent loss, but over that time period it seems very little.

 

I'm only going to get out of this what I put into it, so it's about damn time for me to get serious about what I want my results to be over the long run. I need to stop giving into temptation all the time and I need to start being nicer to myself and to my body. I find myself slipping back into old habits of negative self talk and it's emotionally exhausting to think those things.

 

I have to focus on the things that I am doing right and the main thing is that I'm not giving up. I'm not quitting. I've had good weeks and I've had bad weeks but through it all I'm still fighting. I will see success and it's going to start right now.

 

Last weeks goals:

1. Track. No excuses, just plain couldn't get back into it after going overboard on Easter. New week and I'm really glad to have that reset.

 

2. Water. No excuses, just plain didn't drink enough water and probably could have made much better choices. Again, new week = reset.

 

3. Do not go overboard on Easter. Did not do as well as I would have liked. Using it as a learning experience and moving on.

 

4. Make workout schedule on Sunday. I actually did this and pending I complete my strength training workouts today and tomorrow as well as quick 1 mile runs both today and tomorrow I will have gone the entire week with completing every workout!

 

5. Take measurements at next weigh in. I actually took my measurements on the 19th and am using those as my starting measurements for tracking during Body Revolution since it's closer to when I started the program. The measurements were actually very similar to the last time I took them so that was good to see. Now to keep improving!

 

This weeks goals:

1. Track. Everything. All week.

2. Water. Everyday. 6 glasses or more.

3. Write down one positive about myself every day.

4. Have fun at the half marathon on Sunday. Do not stress about time.

5. Blog more.

Motivation

Or lack thereof...

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I tend to feel this way when I take a day "off" from tracking. I also tend to feel this way when I stop blogging. I sometimes get these feelings that what I write about is not meaningful so there's really no point in typing it all out because more likely than not other people have already realized the same things. Sometimes I just don't know what to write about, other days I feel as though I sound like a broken record. Sometimes I have nothing exciting going on, other days I do but can't write about it, most of the time what's exciting to me is usually not to others.

Then I start thinking about it. I mean, really thinking about it. What I realize is that this blog is for me and if what it takes to keep my motivation is to brag about it then that's what I'm going to do. If I need to post about each run, workout, meal, or whatever it is that is going on then I'm going to in order to keep myself going. I figure that I'm not forcing anyone to read along and find that when I do write about it, no matter how short or long, no matter how meaningful/full of knowledge or how insignificant/full of rambling thoughts it may be, if I find it helpful then I'm going to do it.

So I left off with my last post on Friday with a loss on the scale. A small loss, but a loss none the less and at this point I'm going to take whatever I can get.

It probably comes as no surprise that I have fallen off the wagon. Hard.

I had this great idea for Easter. I was going to do exactly what I did for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was going to track my meal as an even 1000 calories, pick and choose the foods that I really wanted to eat, take a portion of those items and enjoy myself.

It's pretty obvious that that didn't happen. Multiple trips for appetizers, an unbelievable amount of candy and then dinner and dessert (including an amazing "heaven in a dish") I left my parents house with a stomach ache and a disappointment in my head and my heart. The scale and my stomach are feeling it today as well with a 6 pound gain overnight (most likely a lot of that is false.. hopefully) and with the way my stomach looks I'm surprised no one has asked me when I'm due (I'm not, just in case you were wondering).

So, I had choices today.

Track or not track?
Workout or take another rest day?
Dwell or move on?

I chose to start the day tracking but then stopped at lunch time when we went out for a coworkers birthday. It was not a good enough excuse to quit, but it is what it is and tomorrow is another day to try again.

I will admit that I was extremely tempted to take another rest day from strength training. This is why I need a training plan that has me doing something every single day. It's just how I work. If I take a rest day then I'm going to want to keep resting and it takes a long time to get back into it. I woke up around 4:20 this morning with my alarm with enough energy to get up and go do my workout, but I also had enough desire to go back to sleep. Then I thought I would just do the workout on my lunch, forgetting in my sleepy haze that I had lunch plans. It took a bit of coercing to get myself into my workout clothes when I got home when the couch looked so comfy, but I did the workout and am so glad that I did. And then I went for a quick 1.21 mile interval run when Patrick got home from work.

I am moving on. There is no point in thinking about what I could have done yesterday. I can't go back and change it. I can change what happens for the rest of tonight and for tomorrow, maybe even for the rest of the week. Beyond that, who knows what's going to happen.

So here is what I did last week workout wise and what I plan to do for this week:

Sunday 4/13: cross training/gym- stationary bike 30-45 minutes completed, minimum 1 mile interval run completed

Monday 4/14: strength training/DVD- Body Revolution workout 1 completed, minimum 1 mile interval run completed

Tuesday 4/15: strength training/DVD- Body Revolution workout 2 completed, minimum 1 mile interval run completed

Wednesday 4/16: strength training/DVD- Body Revolution cardio 1 completed, 2-3 mile interval run completed

Thursday 4/17: strength training/DVD- Body Revolution workout 1 completed, minimum 1 mile interval run completed

Friday 4/18: strength training/DVD- Body Revolution workout 2 completed, minimum 1 mile interval run completed

Saturday 4/19: strength training/DVD- Body Revolution cardio 1 completed, 8 mile interval run did not complete

The only workout that I planned on that I didn't complete was the 8 mile run on Sunday. I realized pretty early on in the week that I didn't give myself enough rest time before my half marathon next weekend. I decided that I would rather split the mileage between Saturday and Sunday then to do it all on one day. So that's what I did.. To be honest, I'm thrilled with how this week went and would call it a major success. I can't remember the last time I completed so many scheduled workouts..

Sunday 4/20: 4 mile interval run

Monday 4/21: Body Revolution Workout 1, minimum 1 mile interval run

Tuesday 4/22: Body Revolution Workout 2, 2-3 mile interval run

Wednesday 4/23: Body Revolution Cardio 1, minimum 1 mile interval run

Thursday 4/24: Body Revolution Workout 1, 2-3 mile interval run

Friday 4/25: Body Revolution Workout 2, minimum 1 mile interval run

Saturday 4/26: Body Revolution Cardio 1, minimum 1 mile interval run

I have really been enjoying the Body Revolution workout so far. Granted the first two weeks are the same workouts and are the easiest of the challenge. They're considered to be easier in order to build your foundation, strength and balance. It's still Jillian, so it is by no means easy, but I really like the system so far and I am really looking forward to continuing and completing the full 90 days. I even talked Patrick into joining me one day last week. He may even join me again this week.

I don't feel too sore either, which is great because I was concerned it would affect my running, but in reality I have been finding that I already feel my legs are stronger and running has been a little bit easier. Hoping that the results are as awesome as they've been on other Jillian programs.

Here's to more writing and a better tomorrow!

Hollywood Half Marathon- Race #4 of 14

This morning started bright and early.. Okay, not so bright, but very early. The alarm went off at 3:45 am so that I could press snooze once or twice before getting up and dressed for the race this morning.

My very awesome husband offered to stay up in order to take my running laundry out if the washer and put it in the dryer. He even took it from the dryer and set the laundry basket of clean clothes in the bathroom since he didn't know what I was planning on wearing. Lack of planning on my part won him some extra and major brownie points.

I picked my sister up at 4:45am and we made our way to Hollywood. We thought we had planned ahead and had given ourselves plenty of time to find parking and make our way to the start line. Unfortunately, the parking structure they had advised would be open for our use that morning was blocked off. There were so many people looking for parking and no one really directing anyone where to go. We eventually found a parking lot and decided it was our best option, even though we'd have to walk a bit to the start, walk a lot farther after finishing, and we weren't quite sure we'd come back to a car with a ticket.

Major frustration. 

I really do try to keep my frustration levels low at races, knowing that things happen, people make mistakes and that it is a learning process. In the grand scheme of things, a race not starting on time or running out of water is low on my list of things to worry about. However, this is the third year of this race and my sister and I both have a legacy status in this race. I'm not too sure we'll be coming back next year. Three years and three unorganized events later...

The race started about 15 minutes late an since we were in the second to last corral it meant we started 15 minutes after that. We started strong and kept a pretty good pace for the first half of the race. But the halfway point got us both. Rachel couldn't feel her right foot and on top of that felt like her feet were burning (later to be discovered the cause were two blisters). Her shins were also feeling tight and causing pain. My right knee was not happy and I was in quite a bit of pain no matter if I walked or ran. We decided to finish the race walking, although I strongly contemplated stopping at the first aid tent and not finishing. 

At that point I think it was more mental than physical though, so we walked 6.5 miles to the finish with occasional bursts of running when there was more of a downhill. 

It wasn't our best finishing time, but it wasn't our worst. It really was about finishing, and we did. 

On top of the 13.1 miles we had just finished for a medal, we then had to walk an extra 1.42 miles (partly uphill) to the car. No ticket though!! 

Another half is done. 4 out of 14 finished and the next one is in 3 weeks. I really like always being in training mode. It gives me something to work towards and keeps me more focused than if I was just running for pleasure. 

Good thing I enjoy it!

 

Weigh In #17

Starting Weight: 189.2

Last Weeks Weight: 182.0

This Weeks Weight: 182.4

+/-: +0.4
Total +/-: -6.8

Clearly I'm doing something wrong here, and I'm pretty much over the fact that I'm not committed 100% to this effort of losing weight, keeping it off, and living a healthy lifestyle. 

So I am committing to myself this week to give it my all. I'm not shooting for perfection here, just progress. 

I could make excuse after excuse about why I haven't been strength training even though it works. I could justify the fact that I'm tracking every thing I eat even if that means I'm going over calories. I can explain that I've been really stressed at work and that carries over into my personal life and when I'm stressed I eat. 

That's not going to solve anything though. What is going to make a difference is what I do about it, not what I say about it. And I've been a lot of talk with little action. 

I need to start blogging more to hold myself accountable. I need to turn here when I've had a difficult day, to vent it out and work through why I want to turn to food. I need to turn here when I have no motivation to workout, to figure out what's holding me back and to hopefully find a small amount of motivation to do the workout. 

I can't keep doing what I'm doing though. Because I can tell a difference when I look in the mirror. I can see myself going back to a body that I didn't appreciate, a body that made me feel self conscious. I've made too much progress mentally in that area to turn around and throw it all away physically. 

Last weeks goals:

1. Track. I did it! I've made it another week with tracking everything. I did go over on calories six out of the seven days, however only one of those days did I net over 2000 calories. Baby steps. 

2. Water. Doing better with this one. I made it all but one day with at least 6 glasses of water. We started a new challenge at work to get in more water, so I am paying more attention to how much I am actually drinking so that I can accurately log my glasses of water each day. 

3. Clean out closet and dresser. If by cleaning out I actually meant adding more then I succeeded. I have a weakness for online shopping when there is an amazing sale going on and I may or may not have indulged in some new clothes shopping a couple days last week. So far, everything that I have received I have loved, so at least there's that. It all fits, I feel great and I am hoping to actually need this new business attire I've got going on soon. It's too casual too often here. It's nice to spruce it up. Unfortunately, there is a pile of hang ups sitting in front of my closet. A reminder to actually go through, get rid of (and not feel guilty for getting rid of) my older clothes that I no longer fit into, wear or like. 

4. Make April training schedule. I have it printed out and ready to go. I am going to be filling it in week by week so that I can work with Patrick's schedule and actually schedule workouts on days that I know they will get done. Things come up and happen (like being clumsy and tripping and pulling your side) but I'm trying to be flexible when it comes to rescheduling for realistic events and not just random excuses.

5. Stick to workout schedule for coming week. Not quite. I did change things around when I made my workout schedule for this first week of April, so there's that. Plus the slight "injury". It is what it is.

Workout schedule:

March 28th - April 3rd

Friday 3/28: arm workout completed, minimum 1 mile interval run completed

Saturday 3/29: 5 mile training run did not complete (did run 1 mile), cross training did not complete

Sunday 3/30: minimum 1 mile interval run completed, cross training did not complete

Monday 3/31: arm workout completed, 2-3 mile interval run completed

Tuesday 4/1: strength training DVD completed, minimum 1 mile interval run completed

Wednesday 4/2: arm workout did not complete, 2-3 mile interval run did not complete (did run 1 mile)

Thursday 4/3:  strength training DVD did not complete, minimum 1 mile interval run completed

This weeks goals:

1. Track. Stay in the black more than half the week.

2. Water.

3. Clean out closet and dresser.

4. Stick to workout schedule.

Workout schedule:

April 4th - April 10th

Friday April 4th: arm workout, minimum 1 mile interval run

Saturday April 5th: Hollywood Half Marathon

Sunday April 6th: gym, minimum 1 mile interval run

Monday April 7th: arm workout, 2-3 mile interval run

Tuesday April 8th: strength DVD, minimum 1 mile interval run

Wednesday April 9th: arm workout, 2-3 mile interval run

Thursday April 10th: strength DVD, minimum 1 mile interval run

So there it is. My breaking point of where I needed to get in order to start to make some positive progress. I think this week is going to be a good one. I'm ready mentally and I plan to go grocery shopping today in order to fill the refrigerator with healthy foods again. I've got this.. I hope!

Marley weighing in.