Let’s start this out with: so training this week went…differently.

My first few days were on par with the schedule, and then things just got wacky.  The gym was closed Thursday, which screwed up my workout plans, and then Saturday I volunteered all day and underestimated how exhausting that would be, and Sunday when I supposed to go on a 30 mile bike ride, I volunteered, and decided to run a half marathon last minute…So much for staying on schedule.

I feel like this PhD Comic sums up the plans of every PhD student and how they play out…:

Anyway, here’s how it all went down…

Monday 5/14

Swim 1000m
Cycle 20 mi
Strength + Cardio

Felt great.

Tuesday 5/15

Run 6 miles
Swim 1250m

I was TIRED, but had a fairly good tempo run with 6 miles in 48 minutes flat.  I was looking at this view, so it didn’t feel fast!

Wednesday 5/16

Cycle 25mi
Strength + Cardio

My legs were BURNING after this day — cycling and then following that with hill sprints and lunges == sore butt for the rest of the week.

Thursday 5/17

Spontaneous day off because there was an empty grenade on campus that closed down the gym — actually pretty scary, but at the time I didn’t know what the ‘suspicious package’ was, and I was kind of just pissed…

Friday 5/18

Run 4 miles (Track workout!)

Swim 1000m

I was still sore from Wednesday — like seriously sore.

Saturday 5/19

Volunteered all day — was too tired to work out!

Sunday 5/20

Volunteered all day

Ran Capitola Half Marathon! (And missed my PR by 22 seconds…)

All in all though my training wasn’t on par with what I had planned, I still got in a fair amount of work in, and I still feel like I am keeping my endurance up.  Unfortunately my ‘off-schedule’ training has continued this week…as I took Monday and Tuesday as extra recovery days post volunteer-hectic weekend + post-race break.  I also know that I need to start enforcing more of my cross training workouts rather than run workouts because I know I’m a strong runner, and I know I need to work on my cycling and swimming — But sometimes running just sound SO MUCH BETTER than the other two…

Here’s what is supposed to be on tap for this week…

Like I said…Monday and Tuesday already haven’t happened…there’s going to be some SERIOUS rearranging of this week’s workouts starting tomorrow.

What do you do when you get off a training schedule?  How do you get back on track?  Do you just skip workouts and keep going?  Or do you try to make some/all of them up?

On March 17, 2012, at the Go Green 10k in Los Gatos, I met the race director of the brand new to Santa Cruz race, Run Surfer’s Path Marathon & Capitola Half Marathon.  I introduced myself and said I wanted to help launch the race in any way I could.  From that moment forward, I entered into a whirlwind two months of social media promotions as a member of the inaugural race committee with my good friend, who was also the volunteer coordinator for the race, Alisyn.

Together, we kept the Facebook and Twitter pages up to date and helped drum up excitement for this inaugural race.  It was great watching the excitement for the race spread from the middle of march when we had about 400 runners signed up, to race day when there were about 1000 runners registered to run the the first year’s events.

This past weekend it all came to a head, starting with the race expo on Saturday in Capitola Village.  We had a great group of volunteers, including my good friends Maggie, Alisyn’s beau UMM, and Meg who helped with registration, and a great set of vendors, including our two main sponsors: New Leaf Community Market and Fleet Feet Aptos.  Thank you all for helping make this race a real success!

Meg, Me, Maggie & Umm Registering Runners at the Expo

After a loooong day of volunteering, we headed out for dinner and beers to decompress before the main event on Sunday, which for the race committee began at 5am sharp (and for our set up crew…at 4:30am).

We had an amazing set of volunteers, including some of my teammates from Santa Cruz Endurance, Alisyn’s friends from Running Addicts, our friend RussianBear and a number of school/community groups from Santa Cruz who came through in a huge way.

RussianBear with his adorable 2-year old puppy near the Capitola Half finish.

Without all our wonderful volunteers, this race would have never happened with the success it did.

I also had the joy of experiencing this race in the ‘traditional’ way.  At about 6:50am Sunday morning, I decided to run the inaugural Capitola Half Marathon.  I threw on my bib, chip, and grabbed Meg, and headed to the start.

The race was incredible!  From a runner’s standpoint, seeing all the course marshalls along the way, and neighborhood crowds out to support the race was awesome.  The aid stations were full of energetic groups who were just as excited to be there as I was to be running.

The course was a little hillier than I had expected (I live here, I should’ve known better..), but with the gorgeous coastal scenery, I didn’t even notice it.

My one problem on the course?  Well, it was personal: my GI tract decided not to cooperate (major fail).  I was running a great race for the first 4.5 miles, and the need for the bathroom hit.  I clocked it, and I lost 2 minutes.  Evenso, by the time I hit mile 7, I was only at 57 minutes.  Still on serious pace for a PR!  Then, my GI tract acted up again.  Another 6 minutes lost waiting for the bathroom at mile 8.5.  And with that, my PR slipped just out of reach.  And by just out of reach, I mean I finished in 1:51:39…a mere 22 seconds off a PR.  Thank you, GI, for ruining my perfect weekend.

I love the Santa Cruz tradition of finishing ON the beach!  Its possibly one of the best race traditions we have.  And then, there’s a free icebath like 200 feet away…which can’t be beat.

I was still elated with my run, the course, the volunteers, and how well the race weekend had pulled together.

Meg and I at the finish!  Congrats to Meg who scored a HUGE PR on the half!

One of the best parts of the course, according to some of our runners, were the cyclists, who helped make sure the leaders didn’t get lost on the course and that the last runners on the course made it in safetly, encouraging them to finish even though aid stations and course markers had started to be taken down.

One of our fabulous two cyclists!  They were fabulous!

After my run, I stuck around the finish line, helping get the food out to our finishers, cheering on at the finishline, guiding runners along the course, and helping with tear down and clean up.  It was a long day, and weekend, weekend to say the week, but a very very rewarding weekend.

Alisyn and I near the end of the long, but rewarding weekend.  We were starting to get tired at this point…

I am so excited at how well the event went, and am excited as we’ve started to plan the event for 2013!  I had no idea what exactly to expect from being on the race committee, and I definitely learned a TON about what all goes into a race — from the volunteers, sponsors, man power, organization and promoting a race — to make it a success both for the committee and more importantly for the runners.  Seriously, the positive comments we’ve received from our runners for this race have been incredible!  Couldn’t have asked for a better outcome!

Did you race this weekend?  Have you ever been involved on a race committee or volunteered for one?  What was your experience?

**Most of these photos are courtesy of Alisyn or Brightroom Photography (photo thief I am!)***

My first week of training looked like this:

• 1.5 mile warmup
• 3x1mile at 7:25 pace, 90 seconds rest
• 4×200 in 45 seconds, with 200m walk/jog between
• 1 mile cool down

Great track workout with my new endurance team!

Friday 5/11

20 mile cycle up Hwy 1.

Absolutely serene ride, my legs felt great.

Saturday 5/12

5 mile run, 2.5 mile walk

Hungover. Enough said.

Sunday 5/13

25 mile spin sesh
1 mile shakeout run

Total miles: 81

Feel: Tired, but strong. I know there is so much more I’m building up to, but I’m confident that this training schedule is going to prepare me for the best race I can give. Still probably overly excited about training

This week’s training fuel was brought to you (unofficially and only because I consume these products like its my job) by CalNaturale, O.N.E. Coconut Water and Nuun . I seriously have been downing this stuff, and between the protein, potassium and electrolytes, my Aspaeris Pivot Compression shorts and PRO Compression socks, my legs and body feel awesome. Very fueled, energetic, and my muscles are only minimally sore.

Up this week?

Nothing too drastically different, so I think i’ve got this in the bag. Though I might start moving my swims to be M/W/F until the quarter is over early June due to class conflicts. And just make Friday an ‘easy’ day instead of a rest day. Thoughts? Or should I ensure I have a rest day scheduled in?

What are you training for this summer?! Any big race or fitness goals?!

(*Still trying to figure out Ecto on Mac, don’t know whats going on with the stupid formatting*)

Thank you for 25 1/2 years of love, support and opportunities. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without you.

Thank you for years of driving me to music lessons, girl scouts, soccer games, cross country ski meets, dance classes and recitals, orchestra, youth group, school, and everything else in between. Sometimes I try to figure out how I did all those things (usually in just one week while attending school), and then I think about it harder and wonder how you got me to all those places — generally on time.

Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t; for telling me I could do whatever I wanted as long as I was willing to work for it. (Though I still think money grows on trees…). Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader and my biggest cheer-er-upper. I know I was by no means a ‘saint’ child, but you never stopped loving me.

Thank you for all the wonderful memories over the years. Still one of my favorite trips was the one to Spain — just me and you. Though, after all those years, I sometimes still wonder how you put up with me for a week straight

You are one in a million, momma, and I love you. And am so thankful for everything you’ve done and continue to do for me. You’re an incredible lady. So enjoy your day — wish I could be there — but I’m ever so confident that poppa bear is trying to spoil you rotten! I love you momma, and so glad that you’re mine.

Love,

DAUGHTER

Talk about taking on a huge time commitment.  As a grad student, I know it’s the perfect time for me to train for one.  I will have finished my second year and coursework.  I have an outside job where I work from home and set my own hours for the summer.  And I live in one of the most beautiful places in the country, where summer’s aren’t too hot to train for something like this.

As such, I began this journey early this morning with a 5am wakeup call (well it was actually 5:30, but same difference, right?!).  Why the early wakeup?

I had to get a few hours of work in before I could head to the gym for my first workout of training: 1000m swim + 20 mile bike ride.

The view from the stationary bike (yes, that’s the ocean in the far distance).

Killed it.

And, just for good measure, I followed that up with a strength and cardio class I’m taking on campus.  Yeah, I was at the gym from 8:30-12.  Talk about baller status.

I got through this morning with a delicious breakfast – oats + goat yogurt + orange.  And then mid-workout insane morning I replenished my energy with a Vanilla CalNaturale and Nuun.

I actually had someone ask me this morning on Instagram (<3), so for those of you out there looking for a delicious dairy free and/or gluten free protein drink, CalNaturale is for you.  Here’s the deets from their webage:

Like seriously.  This stuff is like liquid heaven.  It tastes sooo good – it doesn’t even taste/feel like a protein drink.  I actually drank it post swim+bike, and then ran a mile about 15 minutes after drinking ~1/2 of it, and was completely fine.  I then completed an intense strength sesh without any complaints – except that I wanted more.  Hah.

**I am not being compensated in any way for this opinion.  It is truly mine.  If any brainwashing occurred, it was self induced.**

Anyway, with my first workout under my belt, I am feeling confident and strong, albeit a little bit tired (thank you 530am wakeup), and am super excited for the weeks of training to come.  I realize this is a little preemptive and I may start hating training soon, but here’s to positive thinking and positive starts!  As such, this is what my next three weeks should look like for training:

Ambitious?  Yes.

Will it all happen?  I’ll keep you posted – with (hopefully) weekly training updates, and changes to my schedule.  I’m following (mostly) the training schedule from here.  I’ve got a few additional workouts thrown in there (mostly for strength building purposes), plan to add some yoga in there, and as I progress I will probably be adjusting some (for example Thursday nights I do track workouts with my endurance team and Saturdays I might throw some longer runs in just for fun).

I’m also excited for the couple triathlons I have scheduled intermittently this summer as ‘practice’ tris to help get my transition times down.  I have a goal time in mind for finishing it, granted training goes according to plan, and really want to make sure than transitions aren’t what kills me as at my (first and only) tri last fall, I lost a lot of time during transitions.

Here’s to the new challenge, a guaranteed PR and the elatedness I feel now staying with me for the next 18 weeks.

Have you ever trained for a half ironman or ironman?  Have any suggestions for a newbie?!

Anyone know of any really good and very supportive tri tops/suits for women? I’m in the market for one…

So I finished the SC Half with a 1:57:27.  I wasn’t thrilled, but had pretty much set myself up to believe that a PR wasn’t going to happen this time around.  So, the second half marathon weekend rolls around.  And, having pretty much given up on getting that PR, I allowed myself to stay out until around 12:30am on Sunday morning (race day) and had to get up at 2:45am to make the trek from Monterey to San Francisco in time for the race.  Talk about how to not properly prepare the day/night before the race.

So the time for the race came, and I got to the start line with my friends from school.  And as I toed the line, I had a slight change of heart.  I decided:

I can’t get much worse than the last time I was here, so let’s run the shit out of this race.  Seriously, can’t get any worse.

And so with that in mind, I took off.  Literally took off.

Mile 1: 8:30
Mile 2: 8:23
Mile 3: 8:21

I was cruising and feeling good, and then the hills started…

Mile 4: 9:02
Mile 5: 9:17

And then I got back down to business on the bridge.

Mile 6: 8:37
Mile 7: 8:43
Mile 8: 9:09

And then, this is where things go crazy.  My first set of seriously negative splits ever.  Like ever, and its not like they were even just marginally faster — after having already run 8 miles, I was running…
Mile 9: 8:04
Mile 10: 8:07
Mile 11: 8:07

…yeah, that’s right.  8 MINUTE MILES.  IN THE SECOND HALF THE RACE.

Mile 12: 8:34
Mile 13: 8:18
Las 0.1: 1:00

There were  a couple hills, so I think I finished strong.

But the thing that got me where those 8 minute miles towards the end there — maybe I am faster than I think?!

If you added it up, you already know.  But I cruised through hilly SF to a golden, beautiful PR of 1:51:17.  Yeah, a PR.  In SF.  I owned those hills.

And man, did that feel good.  Redemption success!  I beat my SC Half time from the week before by 6+ minutes.   Maybe this is a sign I shouldn’t taper?  Hah.

Overall, I am very happy I did both races, and might do the same again next year.  Both the SC Half and the US Other Half are smaller, more community-type races.  They’re also more reasonably priced than some of the big-to-do half marathons, like Rock-N-Roll, so its more budget friendly for me as a graduate student.  And while they lack in entertainment, they make up for it with gorgeous views

Anyway, if you can’t tell as a result of this post, I am still proud of this.  And its carrying over into my next training as tomorrow starts my next big challenge.  Beginning with an 8 am date with the pool…

The small minor detail that had slipped my mind as I pressed the ‘register’ button on Active?  Oh yeah, that I had already registered for my second annual Santa Cruz Half on April 1 (the one I PRed at in 2011).

Commence my personal B2B Half Mary Challenge.

My training (if you can call it that) was lackluster as the winter quarter was really stressful for me at school (you could tell by my serious lack of posting) and then I left for a week on the slopes with my family, right before the Santa Cruz Half.  Talk about how not to take it easy during ‘taper week.’  I instead decided to kill my quads and calves in every way possible.

Evenso, I approached April 1 with two goals in mind: sub-2 hours (at the very least) and (preferably) a PR (meaning <1:53).  I also had another side goal: help pace my friend Maggie to a sub 2-hour half for her first race.

Race day came, and we were ready.

Maggie, her bro and I at the start (not in that order…)

I love the start of this race: could you start somewhere more picturesque?  I think not…

Maggie and I started off a little faster than I would’ve liked (~8:00/mile pace), but I got her to scale back to an 8:15-8:30 pace for the first 8 miles.  She’s a speed demon and probably could’ve rocked it, but I wanted to make sure she stayed conservative and didn’t burn out at the end.

(I spy a girl with a black shirt, orange shirt and black compression socks…)

After the 8 mile point, I realized that my running shoes were absolutely shot, as my ankles and knees started killing.  Like killing to the point where running was painful.  It was in those moments that I told Maggie to run her race, that she had the sub-2 hour in the bag as long as she stayed ahead of me (no matter what her pace), and I took it into my own hands to attempt the sub-2 myself.

I was in pain.  A lot of pain, but I didn’t want to see the 2:xx mark again.  So, I started run/walking (I was running in the above photo just for my parents…hey, gotta make em proud no matter what ), and am happy to say that I made it in in 1:57:27.  No record breaking here — but still, sub-2.

Oh, and btw, Maggie killed it: 1:51:27 and her brother made it in sub-2 as well!  Way to go — awesome first half marathons!!!!

Though my race wasn’t the best, it also wasn’t my worst.  And I have to say, I mentally battled the entire race: partly because I was afraid I had undertrained, and party because I was frustrated at how crowded the paths were.

Short race review:

IMHO the Santa Cruz Half Mary has gotten a liiiiitle too big.  The bike path into Wilder and the paths along the coastal bluffs just aren’t made for that many people.  It was extremely frustrating trying to run around people.  I love the race, I love that its local, but I hated the crowds.  They need to downsize…or have corrals/pacing markers for people to line up by.

Regardless, still love the scenery — its a gorgeous course.  Hard to beat, that’s for sure!

So I can’t complain too much.  But, if the race gets any bigger next year?  I’m gonna have to pass…

Anyway, with the 1:57:27 in my back pocket, I was happy, but I wasn’t done with my PR pursuit.  I knew that it would be rough to do it just a week later at the US Other Half in SF.  Mostly because of the SF part, if we’re being completely honest: hills == death.

Stay tuned for more of the B2B Half Mary Challenge…

And while you’re waiting, some fabulous raceday photos for your viewing…

And the most un-photogenic race photos award goes to?!

This past Sunday, I got to run the Color Run 5k in Irvine, CA.

I “ran” the 5k with my good friend Sarah and a bunch of her friends from Cal Coast Fitness.

This race was coming less than 24 hours after I finished 19.8 miles of the SoCal Ragnar Relay (recap to come soon, I promise!) with Team Run Like an Egyptian, and my legs/body were exhausted.  Luckily, this race is all about fun, friends and (of course), COLOR!

For those of you who don’t know what The Color Run is, its a 5k, with colored powder thrown at you at every kilometer.  We first got doused in yellow, green, purple and lastly pink (hence the over abundance you’ll see soon of pink).  

Then, at the end, there is a huge gathering of finishers, and everybody throws powder up in the air.  Its epic.

We had a blast, ran slow and enjoyed ourselves (~10 min miles have never felt soooo good) and got doused in color.  My shoes will never be the same.

While I enjoyed the experience overall, there’s a few things that I wish I would’ve known beforehand, and that I’m glad I now know in case I do another one:

(1) Wear sunglasses even if its not sunny.  The powder is EVERYWHERE when they throw it at you.  Its so hard to see, and it gets in your eyes — even with sunglasses.  I would’ve died (especially since I wear contacts) without my sunglasses

(2) Its hard to breathe in the powder.  A hankerchief to cover my nose/mouth would’ve been helpful to get through the color.

(3) Bring 2 towels for yourself afterwards.  One to wipe off the powder, and one to put down under you (even if you change your clothes) to avoid getting powder all over your car — its EVERYWHERE.

(4) Wear old shoes — they’ll never be the same.  And you’ll probably want to throw them all out.

Have you run a Color Run or would you ever?  What’s the craziest ‘themed’ race you’ve ever done?

***Photos are courtesy of Kristina Lee Photography***

***DRUMROLL PLEASE***

Using www.random.org, I randomly generated a number between 1-28 (the number of totaly entries between twitter, facebook, and comments).  The lucky number is:

Lucky number 8!  And who was number 8?  Carrie!

Congratulations, girl!  So glad its going to work perfectly for you, and help you train for that full!  Please email me at phdstries (at) gmail (dot) com with your full name, email and I’ll pass it on to the race director so you can get your free half marathon entry!!!  Can’t wait to see you out there!

If you didn’t win, there’s still time to enter!  Hurry over before time runs out!  Or, if you’re in town and you still want to participate, email me at phdstrides (at) gmail (dot) com if you’d like to be a part of the race as a volunteer!  The race committee is looking for course monitors, aid station volunteers and such.  Let me know if you’d like to get involved and help make this inaugural race even better!

It’s the reason why I jump at the opportunity to run every single race I can afford in town (that and the fact I can sleep in my bed and wake up only 30 minutes pre-race time and still make it to the start line).

Case in point?  In the past year I’ve run 4 races in Santa Cruz, and I have at least four more on the docket before the end of 2012.

As you can imagine, when I heard about a new race coming to town, what did I do?!  Oh, that’s right I signed up for it, immediately.  26.2 with these views?  Sign.me.up.

(Who wouldn’t want to run by this?!)

That being said, I’d love to see at least one of you out there on race day who will join me (on at least half this adventure), which is why I’m offering (courtesy of the Surfer’s Path Race) a FREE ENTRY to this inaugural event!

So, if you’re ready to run 13.1 miles on the beautiful coast of Capitola that runs right by steamer’s lane (home to many world class surfers) or run 26.2 miles that includes running by a surfing sweet spot at Cowell’s Cove and up through Wilder Ranch onto the coastal bluffs, then pay attention below.

***GIVEAWAY***

If you want win an entry to the inaugural race of the Surfer’s Path Marathon and Capitola Half Marathon on Sunday, May 20, 2012, here’s the deets on how to enter:

There is one required way to enter, and up to two additional entries available.  The winner can choose which race they want to run: Surfer’s Path Marathon or the Capitola Half Marathon.  Here are the rules:

Required Entries:

(1) Follow @RunSurfersPath and Tweet something creative about the race and giveaway, including @RunSurfersPath and a link to this post in your tweet or just tweet “Just entered to with a free entry to @RunSufersPath from @PhDStrides at http://phdstrides.com” and comment back here that you did.

For up to 2 Additional Entries:

(2) Like Surfer’s Path Marathon and Capitola Half Marathon on Facebook, and comment back here that you did.

(3) Leave a comment telling me which race you want to run – and why!

So, that’s up to three chances to win a free race entry!  Entry closes Thursday, April 12, 2012 at midnight PST and the winner will be announced (utilizing a random number generated by random.org) Friday the 13th!

***Giveaway includes one free race entry into the Surfer’s Path Marathon or Capitola Half Marathon on May 20th, 2012 only. Offer cannot be redeemed for cash or credit nor can it be rolled over to next year’s event. But don’t let that stop you from entering! ***