Yay! I am completely healed from my half marathon on Sunday! I ran yesterday to see how my legs were feeling...and I felt great. Thankfully the shins no longer ache! Off to go attack our yard, the weeds have taken over! I got this quote from Runner's World, and I really liked it! Hope everyone has a great weekend. And good luck to all of you who are racing this weekend!!!

When people ask me why I run, I tell them, there's not really a reason, it's just the adrenalin when you start, and the feeling when you cross that finish line, and know that you are a winner no matter what place you got. Courtney Parsons

P.S. I am an Auntie again! ;)

More great news...to add to my day yesterday, my sister had her baby! I became an Auntie again!

Makai Rae Kua

Born April 25, 2010 @ 4:18pm

5lbs 11.6 ounces

19 1/2 inches long

I can't wait to meet him! It will be a few months (sister lives in Hawaii); but I can't wait!

My 2 beautiful nephews...Makoa & Makai

La Jolla Race Report

Wow, where do I start? First of all, I was SUPER SUPER nervous for this race. Mostly because I knew what to expect. I did this race as my 1st half marathon ever back in 2001 and all I can remember is how sick I was afterwards. Last time, this course put my body into a shock like it had never seen! Taken from the website:


The La Jolla Half Marathon is one of America's most picturesque and challenging runs. Starting adjacent to the Del Mar Fairgrounds main entrance, the course follows a scenic route along the coast before reaching the challenging climb to the summit of Torrey Pines State Park. After leaving the park, the course continues the beautiful residential district of La Jolla Shores, and finishes on the grass in the park at La Jolla Cove.


Basically, this course was almost all uphill, (at least it felt that way!) with the exception of a pretty brutal down hill that KILLED my knees and shins at mile 11! I am so glad that it is over, and that I finished strong...the ONLY reason I did this race again, was to fulfill the requirement for the Triple Crown Award. It was my goal this year to do it...and I have finished 2 of the required 3 races! :)


OK, on the to race report!
I knew come Sunday morning that I was going to have to get up super early (4:30am), and the last race, my daughter was not having it! As you can see in her beautiful photo to the right! ;) SO, she stayed the night at Nana's and my son Mason stayed at YaYa's. To tell you the truth, it was so weird having no kids at home...so quiet! But I was able to get all my stuff ready and packed and to bed at a decent time (asleep by 10:30). I was surprised how soundly I slept, I only woke up once (around 3:30) to go pee and was thankful that I had more time to sleep :) The alarm went off at 4:30 and I brewed my coffee and made my toast with peanut butter. Played on the computer while eating and drinking my coffee, and then took a hot shower. Got dressed, and stretched a little while waiting for the hubby to get ready. We were out of the house by 5:45am. We only live about 30 minutes from the race start, but I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time before the race start at 7:30...and luckily we got there by 6:30! So sad, my hubby got the camera out to take a picture of us, and the battery was dead! BOO! So I have no photos from the start. :(
My tummy was was very uneasy, mostly due to nerves...so I left the hubby and headed to the port o potty lines. Glad I got that out of the way! The lines were crazy by the time I was done! This is when i felt really lonely :( I was running solo, so I pretty much had to sit there and stretch for an hour or so by myself. I mainly just people watched and tryed to calm myself down...I kept thinking to myself, What's the worst that can happen? Well, check this out:
HERE Apparently 2 runners suffered heart attacks towards the end of the race! CRAZY!!!
Anyways, it was 5 minutes until race time and the announcer kept telling people to start lining up. There were about 6500 racing in the half marathon, so there were only 2 waves. Those in wave 1 were 8 min/mile and under, and wave 2 was over 8 min/mile. So I waited to start with the 2nd wave, but then I noticed that people who didn't look like 8 min and under runners were lining up. ( Not to be judgemental, but really, some of these people did not look like they could run under 8 minute miles!) So I jumped into wave 1 in fear of being stuck at the end having to bob and weave a butt load of peeps! 
It took me about a mile and a half to warm up and for the heavy legs to feel not so heavy...I mean I hadn't ran more than 3 miles in 10 whole days due to my bout with the stomach flu! But I finally set into a groove. Hills Hills and more Hills! Despite all the hills, the course was absolutely beautiful! All I kept thinking to myself was, "just make it past mile 5...then you have the mondo crazy hill and then it will almost be over. Just get past Torrey Pines hill!" I got to Torrey Pines Hill and decided to power walk up the steepest part. Which I am SO glad I did! I was even passing people that were trying to run up it, that is how steep it was. Why waste my energy trying to run up it when I still had half the race to finish?! This is when I was SO glad that I had my handheld water bottle. There were no water stations at all here! That was one thing I noticed, there were hardly enough aid stations on this course; and for how tough it is, I would think they would have a lot more. At this point, I ate 1 shot block (I had a whole bag of them, but before the race had a 5 hour energy drink shot, and I didn't feel like I needed any nutrition throughout the rest of the race)...I would HIGHLY recommend that little bottle of greatness! ;) Check it out HERE
Thankfully I made it to the top and had a slight downhill afterwards! What a relief! ;) This is where I saw my friend Meghan. She wasn't running this race (she just ran the L.A. Marathon) she just came to watch. It was so cool, she and her cute dog started running with me for a few minutes, and it really gave me some more motivation! I was still feeling good by this point, then came a brutal steep downhill. When I say brutal, I mean you could hardly slow yourself down, and with every step it felt like your toes were going to come out the front of your shoes! My shins hurt so bad this morning, along with my toe nails being tender! But it was a good break from the hills! Mile 12 was along the boardwalk which was pretty cool...lots of spectators there! I wish I had my camera! AHHH! I was getting pretty tired at this point...really wanting to walk, but didn't because I knew that somewhere in mile 13 I would walk up part of the last uphill. Thinking back, I probably could have run more up that last hill, but I really wanted to sprint to the finish and finish really strong! And I did...once I was at the top of the hill, I started booking it, that last .25 miles was all out (according to Garmin, at a 7:26 pace! Which is great for me, ha! )  Crossed the finish line...and hubby was there to watch me...I almost welled up in tears, I was so happy to have finished! Pushed STOP on my Garmin...2:10:47. My goal for the race was 2:15 to 2:10. I DID IT! I really surprised myself, I was really expecting to not do as well considering the past few weeks I was not feeling 100%...so I was really happy with the overall outcome of the race! Here are my splits:
Miles
1~9:02
2~8:53
3~9:09
4~10:00
5~8:56
6~12:17 (Torrey Pines 420ft elevation gain Hill)
7~10:46
8~9:49
9~9:28
10~10:13
11~9:00
12~9:48
13~11:24 (Last hill, walked up a lot of it)
.25~ 7:26 pace :)


Total distance 13.24 miles
Total time 2hr 10 min 47 sec
AVG pace 9:52


Offical chip time ended up being 2:11:00 on the dot!
2911/5839 OVERALL
1199/3150 WOMEN
300/722 AGE GROUP
Thank you everyone for your support and good wishes! I am so thankful to have finished this race and looking forward to a PR in my last race America's Finest City Half Marathon August 15th. I would be so happy to beat my Carlsbad time of 2:05:04. 


Me and the hubby at the finish at La Jolla Cove

Thank you again everyone for your support...now off to ice my shins! OUCH!

Finished La Jolla! :)

Just a quick post to say that I finished the La Jolla Half today! SOOOO glad it is over! It was the toughest course ever! This is how happy I was to be done! I will post a race recap tomorrow! Off to bed I go!
                                          

REALLY?! A stomach virus!!!

Only 4 days until the La Jolla Half Marathon, and the Dr. says I have a stomach virus! This really really stinks! It all started a week ago after my supposed to be 10 miler that turned into an 8.5 mile run due to tummy issues. Then on Friday, I got super achy and tired and nauseas. I ended up taking Saturday off from work and slept all day, but still felt tired. I was okay to work Sunday...but continued to have diarrhea "tummy" issues. Told myself that I felt sick because I didn't give myself enough rest time since the last time i was sick...so I was going to take a few more days off from ALL exercise and just focus on getting better. Well, 7 days later, and I still have some nausea and tummy ickies! 

What ended up making me go to the Dr. was my daughter Kaitlyn. She started having diarrhea too a few days ago and kept saying her tummy hurt...so i took her to the Dr. this morning, and that is that...we BOTH have the stomach virus. What sucks even more, is the Dr. said that it can last 1 to 2 weeks! Say WHAT!!!!! Great, so not only so I have a hard half marathon to run ALONE on Sunday, but now I have to run it worrying if I am going to crap my pants every mile. I guess I could not do it, but my goal for the year was to complete the Triple Crown. This incorporated running 3 half marathons in 2010. I completed the 1st one in January, and I really want to finish the series in August. I guess as long as I finish! Right?! For now, i will just be praying that my tummy settles by Sunday!  Should be an interesting race recap! :)

Last "long run" b4 La Jolla Half

So happy!!!!!!! Finished my last long run of my training cycle for the La Jolla Half Marathon next Sunday. If you aren't familiar with the course for La Jolla...it has a ridiculous hill at mile 5 that is a mile long and an elevation gain of 420...it is pretty nasty. Then a hill at mile 12...uggg!!!

Course Map & Elevation

So, with the course in mind, I incorporated a few hill repeats in my longish run. I ran out 4 miles and then back about 2+ miles to a "steepish" (I say that, because NOTHING will compare to Torrey Pines Hill) ahhh! I stopped and stretched after running down the hill and then trucked it up the .14 mile hill. I ran back down, planning on running back up at least 2 more times. Up again, for the 2nd time and my quads were BURNING! Remembering that there was still a pretty large hill on the route back to my car, I only did the hill twice. Good thing I made this decision, because about a mile and a half from my car, I got some tummy troubles :( and had to stop at a porta potty! Tried running again, but the tummy was NOT having it! I had to walk back the rest of the way to my car, for fear of...you know...yup. So I ended up doing only 8.51 miles of my planned 9 to 10. Here are my splits:
Mile 1~ 8:54
Mile 2~ 8:49
Mile 3~ 9:01
Mile 4~ 8:48
Mile 5~ 9:17
.69 miles~  9:03
First Hill repeat (.14 miles)~ 1min 29sec
Down hill~ 1min 16sec
2nd Hill repeat~ 1 min 23 sec
Next mile~ 9:23
Next mile~ 10:12 (walked a bit due to tummy)
Last .38 miles~ 8:46/min mile avg

So....my toal time was 1:18:16 for 8.51 miles
AVG 9:11 min/mile

A success

I got to try out my new kicks! And I really like them! :) I did a 6 mile tempo interval run on the treadmill while little guy was sleeping. Well, I thought he was sleeping...turns out he was just quietly destructing his room! Oh well, at least he got some quiet "rest" time in his room! HaHa!
1 mile warmup (10:11)
4 miles @tempo intervals
1 @ (9:50)
1 @ (9:23)
1 @ (9:31)
1 @ (9:14)
Cool down ~ 1mile


average pace 9:39

New Kicks!

I finally broke down and bought some new running kicks! I decided to stick loyal to my Asics...they have never done me wrong ;) So off me and both kids went to Sports Authority! I tried on all (except the $140) shoes and had them narrowed down to 3.

These are the Kanbarra 5 for $59.99

Or these are the Pulse for $84.99

Lastly, the Cumulus for $99.99

I really couldn't decide, but was leaning towards the Cumulus. They were VERY comfy, and were not the cheapest and not the most expensive.

I just so happen to where my running shoes to the store, so the shoe man took a look at them and said that I was a "very" neutral runner and wouldn't really benefit from the IGS (impact guidance system) that the more expensive shoes come with. He said that mainly benefits runners who  pronate...which according to my old shoes, I don't. So he said that I  should either go with the Kanbarra or Pulse. I opted for the Pulse since they were on sale from $84.99 to $59.99! SCORE!!!!! (He said they hardly ever go on sale, I think they did because on the Asics website they only have the Pulse 2...so the Pulse are probably going out of stock) but SCORE for me! ;)

So I got me some new kicks peeps! :)

I decided to splurge on some good insole though. ($20). So the guy fitted me with some sweet SOFSOLE Women's Athlete Performance Insoles. They have maximum cushioning for high impact activities. It has a neutral foot position perfect for most foot types and adds additional gel cushioning in the heel and forefoot. It also provides the extra shock absorption without adding extra bulk.
    Anyways, I can't wait to test them out on the treadmill and see if my feets feel awesome again! As I am typing I hear little man talking to himself in his room...he won't go down for his nap! BOOO! I think he is getting to that stage where somedays they will not nap. Great job to all those who raced this weekend! Off for my treadmill run! ;)

I can't believe it!

Well.............I did it! I ran more than a half marathon last night, and in a training run of all things :) I am thrilled!!! However, I have mixed feelings. Let me explain:


PRO's of my run

• Finished :)
• Overall pace (9:55) was pretty good, a little slower than I would have liked to run, but in the range of what the McMillian Calculator says my long run should be ran at.
• Felt like I could have run a tiny bit more.
• Gave me the confidence for the La Jolla Half on the 25th. Hey if I could do 14 miles when it was pretty dang hot out, I can do 13.1 in the morning "chill"!

CON's of my run

• For the FIRST time since I started training, I walked during a training run. I know that this is completely ok, and for the most part good for me, but I have some wierd issue with walking, like it means I am giving up. But my body needed it during this run! It was warmer than I was used to, and I was just plain tired! I walked about 5 times through out the whole 14 miles for about 30 seconds to a minute each. I also stopped twice to stretch for a good 3 minutes ( I stopped the Garmin at these times).
• My right foot and knee were giving me issues, which never happens, so this kind of scares me! Plus, it is sore this morning.
• I have been excited to eventually in the next year do a full marathon. This run really really makes me second guess myself. At the end of the run I was telling myself there is NO way that I could ever continue for another 12 miles! ( maybe 1) INSANE!

Here are my splits:
Mile 1~ 9:27
2~ 9:26
3~ 9:35
4~ 9:50
5~ 9:50
6~ 9:57
7~ 10:15
8~ 9:35
9~ 9:45
10~ 10:39
11~ 10:01
12~ 10:17
13~ 10:42
14~ 10:29

Anywho, those were my feelings on my run last night. I was thrilled and proud that I accomplished it, yet at the same time, I felt doubtful. Does that even make sense? I was excited to use my new handheld water bottle that I got.

I ended up getting the Amphipod handheld!

I really really liked it! It holds 12 ounces of water, and the pouch held my car key and packet of Gu Chomps. I could have totally put some other stuff in it too! I can't believe that I ran before with no water! I would have died on this run without it! Definetly a keeper! :)

Also, another new part of my run was the Gu Chomps that I tried. For the last 2 long runs, I have been experimenting with Gu. I tried the Chocolate and the Orange...both were nasty! I hated the texture of them and it took me about 3 miles to consume 1. Here are the chomps:  

I had the Strawberry, which were so yummy! They also have blueberry pomegranate, orange, and cranberry apple. The strawberry and cranberry apple are the only ones with caffeine in them...which is what I need! I would HIGHLY recommend these!

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend! And good luck to all those who have their long runs this weekend! This weekend is the Carlsbad 5000 and I will be working all weekend in the village. It is a great race, I did the 5k last year! It is really popular and there are tons of people in town for it. My work happens to be on the course, so we get to watch all the runners...very cool!

Carlsbad 5000

i hate being sick :(

Being sick, has truely put a damper on both my overall energy AND my training for this stupid  half marathon in 3 weeks! I was supposed to put in 22 miles last week, and only got in 7.  This week I am supposed to put in 23, but my energy level is so low from being sick that I don't see it happening. I did 4.5 today, and am planning on doing a 14 mile run on Thursday...hopefully that run won't knock me out!

I REALLY REALLY need new shoes, but being so close to race day, I might wait until after. Anyone wear Asics and been happy switching brands? Just a thought! I am planning on going to the Running Center Store tomorrow to pick up a handheld h2o bottle and some recovery socks :)

Not sure which water bottle to get...any suggestions?

The one on the left is the FuelBelt Sprint. It holds 10 ounces, but has no pouch to hold any gu or beans or anything. Cost $12.99.This one is the Amphipod Handheld Lite. It holds 12 oz. and has a little zipper pouch to hold my gu and keys. It costs $18.00.

Anywho, we all had a great Easter...had a potluck at the In-Laws and the kids had an Easter egg hunt. I think I am going to explode from eating so many jelly beans...goodness gracious! I will update with photos as soon as I am motivated to put them on the computer! HEHE!

~Kelly

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to tell everyone HAPPY EASTER! I pray that everyone has a wonderful Easter celebrating with their family and loved ones!

Let's see.....Wednesday we took the kiddos to Legoland (we had free passes from my sister in law that expired on that day!) It was a lot of fun!

At the aquarium...it was pretty cool, you could put your head up in the bubble inside the water...pretty cool!

Me and my kiddos (Mason, 2 & Kaitlyn, 4)

Ah...hahah! This was a moment to remember! We didn't want to wait 90 minutes in line for this one ride, so the hubby was like "let's go on that pirate ship ride! the wait is only 5 minutes!"  Well, now we know why...you get soaked and it was a windy cold day! Kaitlyn did not like it at all...she hated being so wet. Hubby and I laughed for a while after! ;) We will remember that one!

As for training this week~

I did good Monday(4 miles) and Tuesday (60 min. kickboxing)...Wednesday was a REST day, since we went to Legoland. I was planning on doing my long run on Thursday, and a recovery run Friday. Well, Wednesday after we got home from Legoland, I started to not feel so good! Body aches, cough, headache. BOOO :(  Turns out I got the flu! I was in bed most of Wed night and all of Thursday! Couldn't even muster up the energy to "want" to go to Girls Poker Night @ the neighbors ;( So sad that I missed that! Woke up this morning feeling much much better, so I have to at least try to get in a run today...even if it is only 4 miles! I can also try to run tomorrow after work, so at least I know I can hit 12 miles for the week...ya I know it isn't the 22 that it was supposed to be, but what can I say?! Next week will be my last "hard" week. Praying that I can complete it!

• 4 miles or 7-9 hill repeats
• 60 minutes of cross training
• 5 mile tempo run
• 14 mile long run

Hope everyone's training is going better than mine this week ;) AND Happy Easter weekend!

~Kelly