Running Through Campus

We're back in my old stomping grounds of San Luis Obispo, CA, where I went to college and the best little city on earth! We're here through the weekend and I thought I would go for a quick run this morning (my first since the marathon) to see how much campus has changed. I was in for a treat! It has been nearly 5 years since we were here last and things have changed considerably. 

In an effort to make the campus more pedestrian friendly, much of the main road around the campus has been closed to traffic.

Cal Poly is my alma mater as well as that of the number one best selling artist, Weird Al Yankovich. He graduated a few years before me, but the building below was where he spent most of his days.

This is the College of Business and where I spent most of my time when I wasn't hanging out at the bars...

And these are the newest dorms on campus. All with air conditioning (I lived in 3 different places when I was in college and not a single one of the had AC) and a pool! Campus life is much improved from when I went here!

Miles logged: 4.25

Month in Review: July

As I do every month, here is the best of the Runner's World page-a-day calendar for July. 

Nutrition is so important when you are running. I eat a ton of Clif Mojo bars. 

I never have to worry about my form on hills in Dallas (there are none!) but being out in California, this is an important tip. 

Another reason to consume caffeine? Sign me up!!

We hardly use salt when cooking at home, so I add salt to my water bottle for running in hot temperatures. 

Another form pointer-the right swing of your arms can give you some extra power in your run. 

Miles logged: 0.0

The San Francisco Marathon Race Report

Today was yet another early morning wake up call. But again, it was for a great reason-it was race day!! We met some other marathoners on their way to the starting line who were not first timers, but were first in a longtime-ers. They were really nervous and I realized I wasn't nervous at all. Number one, I had trained hard, in heat and humidity. Number two, I wasn't gunning for a PR. I just wanted to enjoy myself, take a ton of pictures, and I was OK with walking up the big hills if I had to, oh, and finish!

There was so much energy at the starting line. It wasn't as cold as I had expected and was already regretting the long sleeved shirt I was wearing. It was looking to be a clear morning and I knew it would get warm. Thankfully the marine layer stayed put for a couple of hours. 

Don't all those medals make you run a marathon?

We managed to find a long-time friend of my husband's in our corral who was in town from Houston to run the half marathon. We started on time and stopped to shake hands with Bart Yasso (who was announcing) before we crossed the start line. The race started out crowded and stayed crowded until probably the last mile. We ran past the Embarcadero, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiardelli Square, Chrissy Field, and on the Golden Gate Bridge. And that was all in the first 6 miles! The scenery in the first half of this race truly is spectacular. Somewhere early along the way, we met a gentleman named Chris who was running his second marathon. We ended up running the next 20+ miles with him. He's a meteorologist in the Navy, how cool is that?! I still have 2 careers left in my life and meteorology is one of them!

I should have made a pit stop for some chocolate!

The first amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge, and even better because I'm in it!

Crossing the bridge was extremely crowded. It was nearly impossible to pass anyone and shocking that we were able to maintain a steady pace. Regardless of the crowds, it was still an amazing experience. No matter how many times I run it, I will be on awe every time. 

As we came back across the bridge, we ran into this smiling face! 

Endorphin Dude was there giving out high fives and hugs. The marathon was a taper run for him, as he is running the Burning River 100 miler this week! Good luck Tony, you will crush it!

It was crowded and my feet were bothering me all through Golden Gate Park. We slowed our pace a bit to let me recover. 

And then I basically stopped taking pictures for a couple of reasons. All professional photos taken by the marathon are free this year!! And I realized that a PR was within reach. Who has time for a photo op when a PR at "The race even marathoners fear" was within reach. It wasn't going to be big, or even guaranteed, but I had to try. 

Finally, the crowds thinned out in the last mile or so. We were back to stunning views of the Bay Bridge and had sunny skies. I was pushing as hard as I could, but I was almost on empty. My feet hurt and my tummy was in knots. But as soon as I saw that finish line, I felt a surge of energy, excitement, and I kicked my way to a PR!!! 4:49:54!! I broke 4:50 and made a PR by almost 30 seconds. I was ecstatic! Our dear friend Chris made an almost 30 minute PR! Congrats to him!! Now, my Garmin says I ran a total of 26.5 miles, so I'm even more impressed with myself, but that goes to show you how much weaving we had to do through the other runners. 

The crowds grew again once we crossed the finish line. But we got our medals, grabbed a snack (the post race food choices were underwhelming, but I was able to get a banana), and went in search of our free beers. We stood in line for 10 minutes to get into the beer area, then found there was another long line to get to the beer. So we bailed. We said our goodbyes to Chris, met up with some friends, took some photos and called it a day!

Miles logged: 26.2

San Francisco Expo

Today has been a whirlwind and I'm exhausted. Today is San Francisco Marathon Eve! My day started at 4:30 am to catch the first flight out of Dallas. Instead of sleeping on the plane, I stayed awake to watch 3/4 of "Divergent," until the video system failed. Even though I know how it is supposed to end (I read the series), I will still have add it to my Netflix queue to see where else they strayed from the books.

It was smooth sailing getting to the hotel, except for our hotel is at the top of a very steep hill. I guess that's what you get in San Francisco though. Trekking up the hill with a 40lb suitcase and a very heavy carry-on was quite a workout. This photo doesn't do it justice, but our hotel is at the very top of this hill.

The expo this year was at the Fort Mason Center, and definitely not within walking distance. It was a beautiful clear and warm (for SFO) day. We caught a bus from the host hotel (not where we are staying) to the expo around lunch time. Even with my short legs, I don't fit in a school bus these days. 

The crowds were heavy at the expo, with lots of vendors and traffic. I snagged some delicious free snacks, with my new fave being Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips. I definitely missed the former expo facility, which had a better layout and a Trader Joe's across the street.

I'm pretty sure I get my photo taken in front of this poster every year!

P

And because I'm twelve, I found this poster hilarious!

I was going to do my signature jumping photo here, but the girl right in front of me did it and I didn't want to look like a copycat. 

The Runner's Lounge was pathetic this year. Previously, it has had a lounge area, yoga mats, a place to make posters and the like. This year, there were a couple of folding chairs and that was it! Also, my two fave exhibitors were not there, RooPouch and the Malibu Marathon. I was disappointed not to see either of them. 

We had an early dinner and plan to make it an early night. I've laid out all of my stuff for the morning, iced my feet, and am relaxing with a glass of wine. Tomorrow will be another early morning and hopefully fabulous day! 

Miles logged: 0.0

Tapering Sucks

I'm supposed to be tapering. While I'm very pleased to only run 10 miles in the heat of the summer, limiting the effort and volume of my workouts is difficult. Most of you will never understand the torture that is the taper. Slacking off sounds fantastic, right? But, after months of hard training, the last thing on your mind is laying on the couch doing nothing.

Battling a cold this week left me at least one workout behind my normal schedule. And it's been bothering me since I missed it. In reality, one missed run a week before my race will have no effect on the big day itself, but mentally, it was weighing on me.

So, after my massage this morning, I hit up the gym to get that pesky run in. Boy did I feel good! I climbed the stairs for 10 minutes, then ran for 3 miles. Not an ache or a pain or a tweak was felt. Best treadmill workout I've had in quite some time. I'm ready for you, San Francisco Marathon!

Miles logged: 3.0

Music Monday: Geronimo

Artist: Sheppard
Title: Geronimo
Fave Line: "And you rushed to me, And it sets us free."

Miles Logged: 3.0

I'm Sick

I haven't been blogging lately because I'm sick. No, not of running, I have a marathon in a week, but I have been trying to recover from a nasty summer cold. My husband came down with something as soon as we came home from California. And a few days later, I was sick. We had completely different symptoms, but I still blame him for my illness. I managed to get my long runs in over the last 2 weeks, but that's about it. I've come home from work every night this week to go straight to bed to try to get some sleep. I finally started feeling better yesterday, but that doesn't mean I'm back to normal.

Today was my final long run before the marathon. It was only a 10 miler, and thanks to the July edition of the Polar Vortex, it was almost cool this morning! I started extra early, hoping to get home before the heat built back in, and I focused solely on running hills. I ran our lone long hill 8 times. It was boring seeing the same scenery over and over, but hopefully will have prepared me enough for the hills of San Francisco.

The highlight of my run was not the 7 bunnies, but the armadillo I saw hanging out in someone's yard! Initially I thought it was an opossum, so I stopped to let it pass in front of me, but as I got closer, I realized it was an armadillo. It was so close, I could have reached down and pet it. Instead, I talked to him (I have no idea why I do this to wild animals, but I do), named him Ross-the Holiday Armadillo (Friends fans will understand) and watched him walk in front of me and across the street. Days like this make me love living in Texas!

Miles logged: 10.0

Music Monday: No One Knows

Atrist: Queens of the Stoneage
Title: No One Knows
Fave Line: "We get some rules to follow. That and this, these and those. No one knows."

Miles logged: 0.0

Running at the Beach

We traversed the country in hopes of cooler weather for the long weekend. We came out to the LA area to visit my husband's family and to run our longest training run for the San Francisco marathon on the beach. We celebrated our nation's birthday by eating and drinking a little too much, but enjoyed wonderful company. I did not follow my standard routine of carbs and hydration. I drank too much wine and ate no pasta. When I went to bed last night, with a belly full of San Luis sourdough, I was worried about being sufficiently prepared for my longest marathon training run today. 

Thank goodness for the magical powers of sourdough! We awoke with the sun and headed down to Huntington Beach to run with the surfers and fishermen. The morning started hazy (hey, we are in LA) but with clear skies. There was a cool  breeze coming off the ocean. The sun was strong. 

The view from the Huntington Beach pier was beautiful. I can't wait to get home and sync up my Garmin to see if it shows me walking on water!

This was mile 20 and I was still smiling. You really can't beat this kind of scenery!

Once we finished running, we tossed our shoes in the car and went down to the ocean to soak our feet and cool off. The waves were crashing pretty strongly and we may have gotten the key fob wet...it still worked when we got back to the car though. 

I was so happy to be finished with the toughest run of my training and I still had enough energy in me to jump for joy!

Miles logged: 22.0

Month in Review: June

Here's the best of the Runner's World calendar for the month of May.

Always check the weather if you are stuck running long runs on the weekend

This is a genius idea! I need to try it!

I always get enough carbs, never enough protein.

Toast and peanut butter work well for me. Quinoa, not so much.

Draft when possible.

I get called a "big mouth" regularly!

This is a total lie. My dog wakes up at the crack of 10:30; he minds getting up early for anything.

Miles logged: 4.0