Getting MARATHON #16 & #17 done... in 7 days!

Yeah, I've done 3 in 13 days...so I thought 2 marathons in 7 days piece of cake...When I did Boston to Big Sur in 6 days...NO BIG..I ran a great race in Boston, NO PR, BUT I battled...In Big Sur I went with the motto HAVE some FUN...did just that! NO PR in Big Sur...wasn't my intention. SO When I did PR on the 3rd marathon in 13 days in Eugene...

MY expectations of myself got a little HIGHER!

Santa Rosa! PR!

The BIG PR in Santa Rosa sets my BAR a little high...HAPPY as heck to be a sub 3:30 marathoner...I KNOW I can get better and faster...I know I made mistakes...STILL need to learn few lessons. 3:28 in SR was a cool accomplishment for me! FOR most maybe....

MAUI...KILLED my MOJO...Psychological crap to deal with...NEXT race COWTOWN...NOT too BAD no PR a top 5 finish and a top 10 overall finish...MISSED a PR by 1 MIN...SO that I can call a wash..DID I mention that was 1 week before Long Beach????? 10/4....Swag!

Here's where it gets tricky...GET to Long Beach...check the course...FLAT and fast with a downhill finish..hmmmm....thinking I can PR...NO problem...ALSO not remembering what I have been advised...DO NOT RACE Long Beach...it's a LONG training run...DO my pre-race thing...Ya know chicken nachos and beer w/@runner03....

Roberto and I!

Meet up with the the twitter clan for some more pre-race "get your mojo on" kind of fun...HEAD back to my room and get my gear ready....You know...the norm. GO to sleep thinking 1 thing...PR this COURSE!

Alarm goes off at 5:15AM on 10/11....I get up (WAS the hardest time I've ever had getting up for a race)...hit the coffee..get my stuff together...race gear on & packed my belt... @runner03 called from the lobby and 6AM we hit the road to the start! GET there with 15 mins to spare...stand in the bathroom line...YEH, that wasn't moving...DECIDED to head to the start....

COULDN'T get in with wave 1....WHERE I was supposed to be...

SO we ended up in wave 2...RIGHT behind the 3:40 group...

THIS is where the mind games begin for me....

I check my watch...Start time for me is like 3+ minutes after the clock time...SO of course I am NOW pissed I'm not with wave and I break out...WAY ahead of the 3:40 group now...pacing a 3:25 most of the first half...til 16 miles maybe...

CUZ I know I am better then a 3:40 pace.

DUMB attitude...

Lets just say...I started to REALLY listen to my body at mile 18...ITB's a little rough...and I couldn't seem to get enough nutrients into my body. YEH...I was drinking a ton of fluid...

BUT the GU was hard to choke down...BY mile 16 I had only taken a GU and a half and 2 salt tabs...JUST wasn't feeling it! Decided I would NOT aid station til 20, (MISTAKE #28) and would then do a little GallowayING. If I could just finish under 3:45 I would be happy....AND truly ALL I was shooting for on this SUPPOSED to be LONG Run was a 3:45 max! MILE 21 came and went and GUESS what? SO did the 3:40 pace dude..Stuck with them til 23....HERE's where the nutrition ISSUE kicked in...calves started to hurt a little...dehydration perhaps...took 2 more salt tabs...GOT sprayed with some cool down spray on my legs...

ITBands were killing me..NOT just one BUT 2...NO Ibuprofen pre-race either...MISTAKE #29...SO I sucked it up GallowayING to mile 24...YES..I walked between 23-24..LOSER!

MY RACE JUST started...MANY people were fading at the 22-24 mark...I got a second wind around 24 and picked it up. ALL the powerade kicked in perhaps...MAYBE the line up of fans...WHO Knows...LOOKED at my watch and realized based on my start time I would still sub 3:45 and of course BQ ANYWAY! Mile 25 to the finish was a complete downhill...FAST last mile..MY pace was around a 7 min mile...WAS picking off lots of chicks and dudes...that felt pretty good...

ME! AT Mile 24!

Moral of the story...GO into the race with a strategy (amateur mistake)...NO flip flopping...AND I did that all the way from the expo to mile 16'ish...THE other mistakes...fueling my body is necessary in endurance racing even if my MIND is saying something else....CHOKE IT DOWN!

THE other lesson I learned...

A Blackberry cannot absorb 26.2 miles of sweat

and keep working...

My "PW" in Maui....

I've had a week to ponder this...and have recovered quite nicely thanks...BUT going from your PR to your PW in 2 weeks is a tad bit hard to stomach!

Arrived in Maui pretty certain I would race the Maui Marathon at a respectful pace...YOU know a 3:45 or so..not fast...not too slow. Got the rental car....drove the course up through kaanapali to where were staying in Kahana...easy course..a little Big Sur like...BUT not nearly as tough! Still confident that I could sub 3:45 the course.

Woke up Saturday still on mainland time..good thing...with a 5:30AM start time I was hoping I didn't adjust to the time until Monday post race. Did a 3mile run...and the realization of the humidity sunk in..hmmmm...a sub 3:45 now became a question. The mind games started in...I hit the expo...met @patricemalloy (PR expert) and poof I was ready to roll! Number 513..lucky number...sure if I was superstitious...headed to the beach to do what you do on Maui...hang....

The night before the race was hot..humid...had to be on the road at 2:45AM to catch the bus by 3AM...Didn't sleep much which isn't uncommon. SO when the alarm went off I might have had 2 hours of crappy sleep...

Bussed out the start...feeling pretty good...normal race stuff..peanut butter and jelly, coffee...packed bags with tons of GU and saltsticks....It was almost 80 when we finally arrived at the start...1300 people waiting for almost 2 hours to get 26.2 miles done....

Race started at 5:30...it was dark and we ran under lights on the course. Was feeling pretty good...even though I forgot to charge my ipod...I was listening to Pandora on my phone. The road from Kahului to hwy 30 was great...pacing dead on...hit hwy 30 into the rolling hills to Kaanapali and was pacing a perfect 3:45 finish until mile 16...yep....the sun was up...the heat was too and the humidity was CRAZY!

SO my race started at mile 16...phone died..no music..if ever I wanted to quit it was at mile 17...THANK God I met Tiffany, an Ironman who was having my kind of race too....and some dude from LA running his first marathon...WE rallied and hung...

The next 9 miles were by far the toughest miles I have ever run in my life..I am not being overly dramatic either...Tiffany and I hung and pretty much complained about the humidity and took some pics! We hit every aid station...consumed sooooo much water and heed I'm surprised I never had to stop and pee...not once...ate every piece of fruit I could and I took in some serious salt...AND we walked a lot...I mean A LOT! Tiffany bailed on me at 25 and I walked because my stomach hurt so bad I felt like I was going to puke when I ran...was soooo ok with walking...people passing me, didn't care...all I could do was laugh...started running around mile 26 again...rounded the turn and finished nice and slow...steady...4:10...that's right... I am human after all! (I kid)

SO you see...Maui did a number on mind...made me question a few things about me...my cockiness...my limitations...my inability to put mind over and that I have more to learn about being better, a true athlete....made me wonder why I do this endurance crap to myself...

My answer...BECAUSE I CAN! I was 8th in my AG...and when I looked at the results I realized..The Maui Marathon did to me what it did to everyone else racing it! The best place in the world for a personal worst marathon is on Maui...PARADISE!

http://www.mauimarathon.com/

Next race is Sunday October 4th...Going for a PR! See ya there!

http://www.sacramentocowtownmarathon.com/

Is it Selfish? Just Venting....

Yes...I train A LOT...NO I don't have a job...YES, I need one. NOW that we have cleared that up I can move on...

I am part of the unemployment statistic in California...I am searching for a job, which is a full time job...I am also a stay at home mom right now and that too is a full time job. I am an athlete and my training happens to fill in the blank spaces on my calendar. Believe me...I juggle to make it happen.

I have been called selfish for spending the amount of time I do on training and racing. I'm not sure what is selfish about wanting to be in good shape, trying my hardest and maybe WINNING a race here and there. I put my family first...I get my kids to school, to their sports, to the doctor..I make sure everyone has food, homework is done...I do the parent meetings, the back to school nights and I'm even a room parent. I am no different from the other moms or wives...with the exception of being an athlete.

Why am I explaining my life? Why do some people judge what I do? I'm setting an example perhaps? Trying to keep up with my kids...trying to not go postal...I need to do what I do or the lives of others will be altered...Or maybe I do alter lives in a good way...just maybe I can inspire a mom, a sister, a wife, a friend to register for a race or to just get their ass moving! Maybe this is supposed to be my job....

Join me in one these races to close up 2009:

October 4th...Cowtown Marathon

October 11th..Long Beach Marathon

October 18th..Nike Half Marathon

November 15th...Malibu Marathon

December 6th...Las Vegas RnR Marathon

My 2010 calendar is in motion.. Wildflower, Vineman (maybe!), Ironman CDA and Boston Marathon, Big Sur Marathon and Eugene Marathon in 13 days...STAY tuned more to come!