California International Marathon: Pros and Cons

First off, let me say that I did what I set out to do…I beat Oprah! Hurray! 

source

Now, let’s talk about race pros and cons. The California International Marathon, held in Sacramento, starts at Folsom Lake and ends at the Capitol Mall downtown. It is a net elevation decline; however, this does not mean that it does not have hills! In fact, according to my Garmin, the total ascent was 3600 ft. and the total descent was about 3900 ft., which pretty much matches up to the course profile. 

The course itself is a beautiful course. There is still fall foliage. It runs mostly down Fair Oaks Blvd, which is a tree lined and sometimes winding road. The weather started out in the high 30s/low 40s and got up into the high 50s/low 60s by the end of the race. The race started at 7 am and although you could not drive to the start, there were free bus shuttles from several areas nearby. You could also pay to get the bus from several hotels. If you paid, you got to sit on the bus until the start of the race; if you took the free shuttle, you had to get off and wait in the cold. 

PROS:

Plenty of port-a-potties at the start of the race. In fact, there were probably near to 300 of them. This is a huge pro for me, since I have a bladder the size of a pea, especially on race day, when I am nervous and hyper hydrated.

Plenty of aid stations (17 total). There was an aid station pretty much every one and a half miles serving both water and Ultima Replenisher. There were three places where they were handing out Gu as well (miles 13, 20 and 23). They had the Gu stations right before the water stations, so you could take your Gu and then have a nice swig of water to wash it down, which I have found is critical. I carried my own water (24 oz) because I like to have more control over when I can drink, but I would have been fine without it.

Great race swag. The t-shirt for this race was a long sleeved technical tee. It came in both women’s and men’s sizes, which is great because the men’s shirts just don’t fit me quite as well. It’s light blue (the men’s were dark blue…what the heck), which is not that exciting, but at least it’s not white.

The Expo. The expo was huge. There were tons of vendors there, both selling and giving away things. There was a lot of information about other races in the area. REI was there, giving away money (I still don’t know if I won anything…fingers crossed!) It was well organized and easy to manipulate. I did not buy anything, since I pretty much have everything I need right now, but if I needed anything, this would have been the place to get it!

CONS:

The Relay. This race was not only a marathon, but also a marathon relay. What I did not quite understand is that they don’t split up the four legs evenly; it’s 5.9, 13.1, 20 and the end. Strange. Anyway, I wish that they had this as a separate race. The areas where the relay runners had to swap over was so congested. I think there were something like 1000 teams, so hundreds of people were lined up, ready for the exchange at the transfer points. At each transfer point, there were corrals and the relay people went one way while the marathoners went another. It was just a bit confusing and was a little too much hubbub for me.

Bivvys on the course. As I mentioned before, this is a very personal con for me, since I use the bathroom a lot. I had to go 4 times during this race. Each time I waited as long as I could, because all of the port-a-potties had long lines. At each aid station there were only 4 or 5 potties, therefore making this a con in my book. I think that without the bathroom lines, I may have been able to shave 5 minutes off of my time, maybe more! Or maybe I just need to learn to pee on myself, like the pros.

Walkers. This may be of no fault of the CIM, but what is up with the people walking in front of me when I was corralled in the 4:10 – 4:25 area? Shouldn’t they have started farther back? The race start was not corralled per se. There were only signs telling you what pace should be starting here, but no actual cordoning off of people (like when I ran in NY). I am not fast enough that it really made a difference to my time, but it is still annoying that people slower than me must have started way up at the 3 hour pace mark, when they are obviously not going to finish in three hours. I admit to sometimes corralling myself in a 30 second per mile faster than I normally run, but not HOURS!

SOME STATS:

Before the race started I asked a lady at the port-a-potty line how many people had signed up. She said 25,000. I remember thinking, “Holy &^%$”. Once the race started and I had been running in a pretty thick pack of people for about 2 hours, I assumed she must have been right. The crowd barely thinned; even by the end I was still running alongside a lot of people. Afterwards, we checked online. Here are the official numbers.

Marathoners signed up: 7909

Marathoners finished: 5900 (not official)

Relay Teams signed up: 1056 (x 4 people)

Course Record: 2:10:06, Jerry Lawson, USA, 1993

This Year’s Winner: 2:11:50 Erick Monyenye, USA

All in all it was a great race. I was pretty tired at the end, but I made it. I finished. Stay tuned for the race recap on Friday!  

Have you ever been to Sacramento? What did you do this weekend?

Ashes, Ashes, We all Fall Down

Lisa started a tradition of looking back each season at what things were like when we were kids. She calls it When I Was A Child. You can see my Summer list HERE.

I love this idea, and even though I am just barely squeaking in for Fall, I am still within the limits! When I was a kid, there are specific things that we did every fall. On top of that, there are many things that when I see them, hear them or smell them, completely take me back to being a kid.

Raking Leaves: To be more specific, raking, piling them up and then jumping in them. Or sometimes just what seemed like hours of raking. 

Leaves...and a dog in my sweater.

Firewood: The bane of my existence as a kid was the wood stove. There were endless hours of chopping wood, hauling wood, splitting kindling and stoking the fire. It seemed hard for me at the time, but now I look back and realize what little I actually did. I never had to get up at 5 in the morning to start the fire at least! Thank goodness I was a kid then!

Oranges and Cinnamon: My Mom used to put orange peels and cinnamon in a pot of water on the (wood) stove (and sometimes cloves etc) and it would give off such a homey smell. I loved coming home from school to the smell of that.

Apples: I mentioned before, and you have probably noticed from the Apple a Day series, that we had trees in our backyard (and still do!) Funny enough, I remember apple pies and always was a fan of eating apples, but what I mostly remember is chucking the hard apples at my cousins in the backyard. We used to have apple fights and those things sure would leave a welt!

School: Fall meant being back in school with your friends, watching football games, drinking hot cocoa in the stands and just general good times with friends.

Soccer: Even though soccer began in the summer, the actual games were played mostly in the Fall. We were a motley crew. The first year I played was the first year our school had a girls’ team, so we had our work cut out for us. This did not stop us from having fun though!  We didn’t have funding for a bus, so we had to carpool and we sure had fun on those car rides!

The soccer girls

Footie Pajamas: I might have to buy myself an adult version of those footie PJs, because those were my favorite thing ever. Although now I can’t stand having anything on my feet, so maybe it wouldn’t go over as well. They are great for wearing around the house though!

Daylight Savings: Since I didn’t care if it was dark or not, I always LOVED to Fall Back. This somehow meant an extra hour to stay up (feels like 10 but its ONLY 9!) AND an extra hour to sleep in!! It was a double bonus in my book.

Boots: As you can see, I used to be quite stylish. However, I have taken a significant turn for the worse, style-wise, since then. 

Me with my puss and boots

Hiking: Since my parents owned their own business which was busiest in the summer, we did most of our weekend trips and vacations in the Fall and Winter. We often went hiking in the Fall, since it was still warm enough to do so.

Mt. Whitney -- 1995

Mt. Lassen -- Circa 1987

Halloween: This holiday was a big deal. I remember getting homemade cookies and popcorn balls as the candy. Also, my Dad would buy our candy from us and then we could have it back, but only one candy per day. To me, this was the ultimate set-up because, a) I don’t really like candy anyway and b) I do like money. Money over candy was my motto. Cha-ching! 

See the wood stove behind me!? Hours of firewood splitting!

What were the autumns of your childhood spent doing? Are there some things you did then that you still do now? 

A-List Monday: I

You may remember An Apple a Day Monday? Well, that is so passe now. That was November. Now it's December and we are going to do A-List Monday! This Monday's list is: Xmas List! I decided to try and make it easy and do it on Pinterest, but people must think I am strange, as I am pinning some weird things (like undies) on my wishlist board. But this way my Mom, or any of you, will know what I want and can link right to it and buy it online, easy as pie! Here are a few ideas, plus for more you can see the entire list HERE.

1. Mesh Organizer Bags: These come in several sizes. I would like to ideally have one of each size. I love anything that helps me organize my home suitcase, and these bags would be great!

Source: rei.com via Kyria on Pinterest

2. Three Oz containers and organizing bag. Again, since I travel so much, things like this are always a good thing to have. Also, I love that it also comes with it's own clear bag.

Source: eaglecreek.com via Kyria on Pinterest

3. Slippers: I was never a slipper wearer, until this year when I used them at my parent's house. I like the kind with a good sole, because I tend to go outside in them. Also, they need to be small so I can put them in my suitcase! These ones look nice and cozy.

Source: target.com via Kyria on Pinterest

4. Camera Stuff: *macro extension tubes, which make it so you can take macro photos without buying an expensive macro lens *a case so I can throw my camera in my purse without hurting it

Source: bhphotovideo.com via Kyria on Pinterest

Source: amazon.com via Kyria on Pinterest

5. Undies. I wasn't kidding about the underwear. I love these Victoria Secret undies and they are 5/$25. My favorite styles? The boyshort, the hiphugger and the bikini.

Source: victoriassecret.com via Kyria on Pinterest

6. A wrist wallet. Great for traveling or running. Fits a credit card, cash, a key.

Source: rei.com via Kyria on Pinterest

7. Amazon Gift Card. Last but not least, this = BOOKS. Some people don't like giving gift cards, but I love them, especially now that I have a Kindle! This would not go to waste!

Source: amazon.com via Kyria on Pinterest

Speaking of gifts, Jess made a Holiday Shopping Guide for the Lady Runner, where you get discounts on fun running stuff! If you are a runner or know a runner, you may want to check this out! Or for food lovers there is Andrew's 20 Gift Ideas for Healthy Foodies. I am digging the Kitchenaid Mixer and the Le Creuset French Oven, but alas, I have no place to put either one!

Do you have any of these things? What do you think about them? What is on your Christmas wish list?

California Love

Today, as you are reading this, I am probably doing this:

Source: runcim.org via Kyria on Pinterest

Actually, if I am lucky, I am doing this instead:

Source: google.com via Kyria on Pinterest

But most likely, I am doing THIS:

Source: google.com via Kyria on Pinterest

Until the race is over and I get my butt in gear to write a recap, I will leave you with a few photos of What I Did Last Week (inspired by Kim) and a few words from Dr. Dre and TuPac: California...knows how to party! 

I went to San Francisco and....

Ate chicken feet (along with a butt-load of other dim sum!)

Walked along the Marina.

Went running here. 

Danced with this guy. Yow.

Dreamed about buying one of these.

Enjoyed this view.

Went to Ocean Beach.

And the Palace of Fine Arts.

All in all, it was a great week! I ate a lot, walked a lot, visited a lot of friends and got to be in my favorite city!

How was your week? Have you ever been to San Francisco? If so, what is your favorite thing to do in the city?

Hope Endures 5k

Yesterday I ran a 5k for Ashlyn, Courtney's daughter.

My time was 26:09 or an 8:44/mi pace. It was not a PR, but it was for a good cause. You can still sign up; the race runs from December 2nd to the 6th. All you have to do is go to Courtney's site and let her know you are going to join. Then run the race and time yourself and voila, there you have it. It's not about winning. It is about change and love and hope. Which are all great reasons to run in my book!

I chose the same bib number as I will have on Sunday. Hopefully it will bring me good luck!  I ran around Lake Merritt in Oakland, which was very beautiful. The weather was warm, about 67 degrees!

It was my last run before the Marathon. It is strange to run so little in one week, but that is what taper is all about and I am not trying to reinvent the wheel. However, I feel like I should be running more. 

*******

Today I am in downtown Sacramento, picking up my packet and meeting up with family and friends for a pasta feed before the big day. I will do a more detailed post about this later in the week.

*******

All my bags are packed and I am ready to go. Oprah, watch out. I am hoping to beat you.

Have you ever run a virtual race? Have you ever been to Sacramento? Do you think I can beat Oprah tomorrow?

26 Miles, 26 People, 260 Minutes

In two days, I run my first marathon. I have been training for a long time for this, both mentally and physically. Most of my time spent training has been by myself. But that doesn’t mean that I have not had a lot of help and support along the way. As I run my marathon on Sunday, I plan to have a person every mile to inspire me. Some of them have inspired me physically, some have inspired me mentally and some are just inspiring in general.

Mile 1: Mira, who was my first running buddy. She was the one who helped me get through my first long run. We used to run along the levee in New Orleans, from work back to our room, which was a 10 mile run. She was great company and a fabulous running partner. I ran my first Half Marathon with her by my side the entire time. 

Mira and I at the Newburyport Green Stride Half in October

Mile 2: Dad. My father was my first fan, and is still my greatest fan. He has sacrificed many a Sunday morning to not only cheer me on but to take photos, run the 5k races and even sometimes jump in to finish the last quarter mile with me. He even brought water and Gatorade for Mira and I when we ran our first long run. 

Dad came in 3rd in his age group in the City of Roses 5k!

Mile 3: Granddad. There have only been two people in my family who have run a marathon. One of them was my Granddad. He died when I was a teenager, but I always remember thinking he was crazy, because he would tell me how he got up at 5 am to get his runs in. Now I know what he was talking about (it is still crazy though!) 

Mile 4: Craig. My uncle was the second person to run a marathon in our family. Even better is the fact that he ran the same marathon I am running. When he ran it, he was also about my age. This is very special to me that we have this in common.

Mile 5: Lea, my friend who always tells me that I inspire her. What she doesn’t know is that she inspires ME every day, by believing in me and being there for me no matter what.

Mile 6: Jack is another CIM alumni and my friend who will be keeping tabs on me and promised “not to make fun of me” if I run really slow. He ran this marathon last year, but got hurt around mile 20. He walked the rest of the way but still ended up finishing. Not finishing fast, but finishing all the same! I can finish this too!

Mile 7: Hal Higdon. He doesn’t even know me, but I used his training schedule for both my half marathon and this marathon and I have felt great the entire time. I may be a little premature in thanking him, but even so, I do.

Mile 8: Bloggers who run are great people. Everyone is always so encouraging, whether you are running a mile or a marathon, whether you run a 20 minute mile or a 5 minute mile. People have given me advice on everything from what to wear, what to eat or where to run. When I express nervousness about a race or have questions about a run, the running bloggers are there for me. For a taste of some of the bloggers who inspire me, go to Jill's Fitness Friday page! 

Mile 9: Bloggers who don’t run are also great! They still are encouraging, even if they don’t know exactly what I am always talking about or going through. They are still there for me when I feel scared, excited or nervous and when I am having either a good day or a bad one. You can see some of my favorites over on my right sidebar under "Some Blogs I Follow".

Mile 10: Lisa, my friend from Minneapolis, who has been a wealth of running advice and support. She introduced me to the Yasso; she has suggested nutrition and hydration methods and products. I met up with her earlier this year to run a 10 mile race in MN, so mile 10 is for her.

Mile 11: Chris and Alan, my second set of parents, who have not only put up with my stupid, crazy, idiotic antics for years, but are letting me stay at their house AND driving me to the start line early (the race starts at 7!) in the morning on Sunday. They will be cheering me on from somewhere near mile 11, so this one is for them.

Mile 12: Bart Yasso. He doesn’t know it, but he helped me realize that I could be faster. His program for intervals helped me become faster, but more importantly, gave me confidence in myself. I was running at a certain pace, which was “good enough for me” but then I pushed myself a little and realized that I can be faster if I just work a little harder.

Mile 13: Grandma S, who always keeps up with what I am doing and is very supportive. Here is what she said recently via email: “Think of you a lot as you practice and then run those horrendous marathons! I admire your stamina!”  So, as I am reaching the halfway point of this “horrendous marathon” I will be thinking of HER a lot!  Also, hopefully I still HAVE stamina at this point!

Mile 14: My East Coast Family, who I got to spend Thanksgiving with this year. We had a great time, as always, and it was great to catch up with them, to eat, drink and be merry and to remember how great times with family really are. My Cousin and Aunt have also both lost weight recently and are getting out more, walking around and eating healthier and I am so proud of them!

Mile 15: All my friends in New Orleans. NOLA was the first place I really ran seriously. It was where I ran my first half marathon and where I did the majority of my “firsts” (first 8 mile run, first 10 mile run…) There were a lot of people there who I was hanging out with in those days (you know who you are). They were my family away from home. They were there when I was taking my baby steps. 

My first Half Marathon: Mardi Gras Marathon

Mile 16: The Race Volunteers. These people are tireless and friendly and sometimes not even runners! They do it out of the goodness of their hearts. Without the volunteers, there would be no races, or the fees would be much higher! They give us water, Gu and directions! Without them we would literally be lost.

Mile 17: My West Coast Family. Many of them will be cheering me on from the sidelines on Sunday. They are great to be around and I always have a good time with them. I can’t wait to see them and am glad that an event like this is bringing us together, even though it’s not a holiday! I just hope I don’t fall asleep at the table during lunch.

Mile 18: My San Francisco friends. I actually got to see many of them last weekend when I visited the city. I miss them and it was great to see them, although I did not get a chance to see everybody. I had a great visit with some of them though and will be thinking of all of them (and dreaming about buying a house in the city someday) as I run mile 18.

Dinner in North Beach. Bad photo, but good people!

Mile 19: Karen and Nadine, my other “mother” and her daughter, who is my oldest friend. You know those people who you don’t see for years and when you meet up, it’s like no time has passed? They are like that. They are family. And they make a darn good coffeecake! As I am eating a Gu at mile 19, I will pretend it’s Nadine’s coffeecake.

Mile 20: When I hit the wall (and feel like crying) at mile 20, I will think of my Mom. She is always encouraging me no matter what I am doing and I will remember her kind words in my head, and she will help me through my struggle. I usually don’t run races near home, so she watched me for the first time only last month and will be here on Sunday to support me once again. Thanks Ma! 

Mom and I at Almond Bowl Half in November

Mile 21: Kara, my friend who has an energy that I can never match. She recently got married, had a baby, bought a house, moved and got a new job. In between that she does about 4 million other things. Hopefully during the race I will have her energy to get me through the wall and to the end.

Mile 22: My honorary nieces and nephews. They are little bundles of energy. They are full of life. As the miles start to drag, I will keep them in mind, knowing that they believe in their Aunty and that I can do it for them. This mile is for the children!

Mile 23: My Uncle Jay, who died of Cancer last year. He fought it and fought it and was very positive about things until the very end. He didn’t let anything get him down. I will fight these last few miles like (and FOR) Uncle Jay! 

Uncle Jay, Christmas '09

Mile 24: My Brother, who is a huge pain in the butt, so, when I am getting my butt kicked by mile 24, I will think of my brother and I will kick the butt of mile 24. I will not let it beat me. I will beat it, just like I still  used to beat up my brother ;)

Mile 25: Mr. Lovely, who has put up with my running, racing, sweating, smelling bad, telling him repeatedly how many calories are in things, talking about running blogs, nagging him, making him drive me places, making him wait for me, making him be the event photographer, boring him to death with talks about running, running shoes, running pants, Gu, the newest fad and the fact that I am hungry (again) and I need my bunions feet massaged. To top it off, all my races are on Sundays (football days). Since I was a difficult pain in the butt to him for the last several months, I will think of him on this most difficult mile. 

Yes, it's a Lovely Mustache. It may look ridiculous, but it won 100 bucks in a contest!

Mile 26: Myself. This one is all for me. I will finish this race for myself. I am going to cross the finish line. I may not be fast, but I will finish. For all the work I have put into this. For setting goals and attaining them. For proving to myself that I am strong enough. The last mile (point two!!) is all mine. I am going to own it.

My goal is 260 minutes, or 4 hours and 20 minutes, which is a 10 minute mile. I don’t know if I will make it, but that is what I am shooting for. If I don't attain that, I will still be happy. I just want to finish. 

“To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom” Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Who is your greatest supporter? Your most inspirational friend? What do you do to get through tough times, physical ones or mental ones? 

Fairhaven Turkey Trot Recap

This year was my first ever turkey trot! I have always wanted to do one but have never been near a place that had one for Thanksgiving day. This was a lot of fun for a few reasons. First of all, I have not ran a 5k in a while and I forgot how much fun they are. Secondly, it was pretty small, and I like smaller races. It feels more like a community event rather than a production. It was pretty cold, about 30 degrees, but once you get running, it warms up pretty fast. 

This was the second year that the city has put this race on and I think that they did a good job. Here are the pros and cons of the race. 

Pros: Friendly people. Many of the volunteers were kids, so it felt like a family affair. I liked that. The registration was only 20 bucks and I did get a free t-shirt, even if it was cotton. The race money goes to feed the hungry, which seems not only like a good cause in general, but really feels good on Thanksgiving. The food at the end was great! There were coffees, bagels, water, granola bars, craisins and bananas. It was one of the better hauls I have seen! 

Cons: The race was not timed. This is okay, since I have a Garmin, but it feels weird to not have the clock or at least a slip of paper you write your time on so they can put it online (they did this in New Orleans when there were no chip timers). The course started on a track and several of us who were in the beginning of the pack at the start, myself included, went through the wrong gate. This may or may not have been the reason that my Garmin said that my run was actually only 3.02 miles, not 3.1. The race started about 15 minutes late, which is usually not too big of a deal, except that we had many other things to do (and to cook) that day, so it was a little annoying. 

My final Garmin reading was 23:40. Since this was only for 3.02 miles, I would assume it would have taken me about 40 more seconds to do a proper 5k. This would put me at 24:20, which is a 7:48/mi. A new PR!   

This was a good race. I had fun. The only thing I may do differently is run a longer race next time, since that 5k only burned about 300 calories and I ate about 3000 calories the same day! 

What is your favorite race distance? What did you do Thanksgiving day? Did you exercise or did you embrace the food coma?