Miss Congeniality? Maybe. Miss Photogenic? Never!

Ever notice how some people always look good in pictures? I mean regular people...not photoshopped, over-made-up supermodels or movie stars. Some people even look good in their race photos! I am not one of these people. While I've never looked as bad as some people do when they're racing, this weekend finally yielded race photos where I don't look scared sh!tless or like I'm about to puke...

The only thing I'm really not loving about these pictures (other than the fact that black is not appearing to be very slimming) is the bizarre underarm fat undulation thing going on... see it? I know you didn't necessarily see it until just now when I pointed it out, but now you do, right? I am posting three nearly identical pictures so that you can see it. I think it's a carry-over from the armpit vagina thing I had going on before. I thought it was the scar from my lung surgery, but that's on the other side. 

Fat undulation... 's'what it is.

I could bring the elbows in a little tighter, but I've got a good 'ZoneFace' going on there. And my BICBands headband did an amazing job of keeping the Einstein hair at bay ;-)  I do wish they'd gotten a good shot of how my foot hits the pavement so I could verify my new footstrike (or not), but they didn't. My feet look to be doing a little splay action as they push off and then draw through, but things look pretty good for coming into the finish.

And here are the frightening images of races gone by for the sake of comparison...

Looking miserable last fall in Long Beach...

How can we only be 6 miles into this thing? 

see?... scared shitless.

And then there was Vegas...

early on in the race...

ooooo...cleavage :)

...and will ya look at the bottom of that shoe? 

Example: lost art of slamming all of one's body weight into the heel-most edge of one's running shoe.

I really want you to see the bottom of my shoe!

And though I look like I'm about to puke, I totally chicked the guy in the red shirt.

I think it's a guy.

And see that chick in the orange behind me on the left? here's a story I forgot from that race...

She was super pissed at me. I was running behind her starting right after the Incident at Denny's. I paced off of her while I got my post-evacuatory bearings. At one water stop (or rather, nastyass bacterial refueling stop) we were side by side and I said something really obnoxious but not intending to be...something like "I'm planning on sucking the life out of you by letting you drag my depleted, sorry ass all the rest of the way in this stupid, god-forsaken race." I didn't use those exact words, but it must've been something similar because she glared real live daggers at me. And then about three miles later I had myself pulled together...right about here where this picture was taken...and I smoked her ass. Well, I passed her anyway. I guess a 9-minute mile pace isn't really capable of 'smoking' someone's ass.

This is my "You finished up at Denny's. There's nothing left in there. It is all in your imagination. There is no possible way there is anything left in your system. You do not need to stop for any reason. Keep running. Do not pick up those quarters you are looking at in the street or whatever it is down there that is so freaking interesting...and how can you not see that HAI-YA karate kick thing you're doing, you heel-striking hip-injurer, you?" face. In case you couldn't tell.

Do you take good race photos? Are you photogenic in non-athletic situations?

– I am quite possibly one of the least photogenic people ever...when sporty or regular. But I think that the photos look like I do in real life...so yeah...kind of a bummer. Especially when you have an awesome photographer for a husband. 

Do you wear make-up when you race and/or work out?

– Hahahahahahhahahaha! Unless you count cherry Chapstick as make-up, I never wear make-up. Ever. I don't even know what to do with it :P

Lessons I learned at the Long Beach Half-Marathon...

I still haven't pulled together a race recap, but Giraffy has some good pictures and a recap of her experience over on her blog, 365 Days of Awesome, including a picture of the largest horseshoe-shaped collection of Port-a-potties known to man as well as one of that morning's glorious sunrise.

I have, however, assembled some of the valuable (and also some inconsequential) things I learned from the Long Beach Half-Marathon...

• Technology has really changed in the past 14 years! There are some really cool stats on the race's official website! In addition to my official gun and chip times, it also gives nifty info like my overall place (2307th...top 22%), my gender place (755th... top 12%), and my age group place (70th...top 10%). It also tells me that I finished ahead of 65% of male participants, and that in the second half of the race, I passed 539 runners and was passed by 85. There are lots of neat graphics that accompany these and other stats...this is new for me! 
• Tangents can be important. A couple of commenters mentioned this when I shared my 'cutting-it-close' race plan, and they were so right. According to Mr. Garmin, I ran 13.3 miles... 

• I have the speed to do a sub 2-hour 13.1-mile run (reference above picture).
• Pee breaks can wreck your time... I peed for a total of almost two minutes in two breaks during the race. I stopped my Garmin for these stops. The first one was necessary; the second was not. Next time, I'm not stopping to pee. Or I'm running faster.
• The Long Beach course is insanely curvy. Insanely. So those tangents had a big effect.
• The Long Beach course is not all that scenic. The beginning is like running on the freeway, then you go through some industrial stuff, then you get a glimpse of the Queen Mary, then more industrial stuff (all the while the route spirals around and around, and you're dodging and weaving through the thousands of other runners... adding more distance to that 13.1 :P) and then you hit the beach for several miles. It's a narrow, paved trail on the sand that's packed with runners. Packed. So what you see is sand. And runners that you are again dodging and weaving through. After several sunny miles of that, you come to the turnaround and wind up heading back on a big street through a bunch of apartment buildings. Anyway, that's what I saw, but I was quite focused so it's entirely possible I missed the scenic stuff.
• I need to start out in an optimistic wave. I went back and forth on which wave to start with. Wave 2 was for under 2:05 and Wave 3 was for 2:06 and over. I started on the front edge of Wave 3 to help keep myself in check for the first mile or two. I didn't need to do that. Next time I will try starting with a faster group...less dodging and weaving.
• Proper fueling and hydration make a world of difference... especially when it's sunny and kind of hot. I did a great job of this. GUs at Mile 5 and Mile 10 and at least a few sips of water at every water stop beginning at Mile 2 worked perfectly for me in this race. Some people say that food and water don't really hit your system for 30 minutes, but I usually feel it within 10 minutes, and it is huge.
• My pre-race meal of a burger, fries and a Coke totally worked for me this time! I had no tummy issues and no energy fails... woo hooo!
• My hip is okay. I don't just mean post-race. Things are sore, but I did just run 13+ miles. It isn't injured anymore. You probably have no real idea how huge this is for me, but it's huge.
• Tweaking about your race beforehand can cost you friends... and this makes me sad :(
• Footwear at this race was all over the map from traditional running shoes and racing flats to barefoot-ish trends... I saw the following:

 Merrell Pace Glove image source

...saw the lady wearing these at the end of the race.

Tarahumara Sandals image source

...the guy wearing these slap-slap-slapped past me very fast at about the 3-mile mark.

Blue Crocs image source

Not kidding. Totally not kidding.
And she was running right next to me from the 4- to 5-mile marks...then she slowed down.

• Race attire runs the gamut... from tutus for women and men (sadly, no pictures) to ninja-esque all-black long-sleeves and long pants and jackets on a day that was expected to reach the high 70's (!) and everything in between.

I am beyond excited to use my new knowledges in my next half-marathon... December 4 in Las Vegas. Running the Strip at night... all the lights... sounded too cool to pass up. Be there or be square :)

Again, massive thanks to everyone for being so supportive and positive! Y'all are the BEST!

Pre-Race Ramblings... Long Beach Half-Marathon

As someone who posts every single day (not because I think people want me to but because I need to or my brain might explode), it may seem curious that I have not posted anything since Thursday... which was our first bloggiversary. Worse than a Paper Anniversary like a first wedding anniversary, this proved to be the Zippo Bloggiversary as I did nothing at all of a celebratory nature.

I plan to fix that next week. And boy, o, boy have I got a prize for you :) But it's a surprise still.

Why have I not posted for the past two whole days? And did my brain, in fact, explode? 

Answer to the first question:  I have been majorly tweaking about this race tomorrow. Majorly. All week. Some people picked up on it, and they were worried. It was suggested that I get myself pulled together. I've been working on that.

Which brings us to the second question:  While my brain did not, in fact, explode, I did get a whopper of a migraine. I woke up with it Friday, and it finally started to subside this afternoon. It was so bad that I pretty much didn't sleep last night... which was good in a way because I had an early flight this morning. The pain is nearly gone now (7 p.m.)... whew. Running 13.1 miles in the heat and the sun with a migraine does not sound like an enjoyable Sunday morning activity at all.

saying my good-byes at the airport...

I am OUTTA HERE!

 Whoops... did the kids see that?

It was an uneventful flight... which is almost always a good thing. The woman next to me had two trashmags that I got to read over her shoulder. As my headache was still quite active, I didn't get to do as much of that as I would have liked, but it was still enough for her to sense it, I think :P

We arrived in Long Beach at its cute little airport. Seriously, it's like from a different era. I love it. I caught the shuttle and was given the guided tour to the hotel. The driver was quite possibly the most eager person to ever drive an airport shuttle. That means he talked non-stop :)

After checking into the hotel and getting directions to the Expo, I set off. The front desk chick did not know what she was talking about. She sent me the wrong long way... all the way around the entire perimeter of the Long Beach Convention Center... which is huge! Following these wacky directions, I ended up going through the loading dock area and service entrance. I kept thinking to myself, "This is a really weird Convention Center... aren't they usually 'inviting' and sort of grandiose?"

The Expo itself was a zoo. I guess the 'good' ones usually are, right? So I got my number and my bag and my shirt and braved the masses. I had fun chatting with the Spi Guy. And yeah, I bought one of his Spibelts. He was sort of irresistible.

When I left the building I found the inviting way...

and the grandiose way...

image source

...which was directly across the street from my danged hotel! And now I know how to get to the starting line in less than 45 minutes...lol. 

I went back to the hotel and spent the early afternoon lying around, being bummed that I had a headache and no free in-room wifi in my awesomely comfortable digs. I may have fallen asleep. Then I ran out to meet sweet Giraffy and her equally nice husband at the Expo. We wandered together through the madness and then walked over to scope out the starting area. We were all struck by the huge horseshoe-shaped Port-a-potty corral. It was huge. She took a picture of it that may or may not appear on her blog. Did I mention that it was huge?

Before they left to go home, they pointed me in the direction of the Promenade where there are a bunch of restaurants. I meandered over that way and passed some cool fountains...

and then found what I felt like eating... 

image source

I have never been to a Johnny Rockets before, but when I saw 'burger' I started getting hungry for the first time since this headache started.

I started my meal with this...

...which I haven't had in forEVER.

And this was what I ate...

there is a burger wrapped in that paper.

I contemplated but passed on this...

Deluxe Shakes Menu

click on the photo to biggify and see all the amazing combos that I resisted.

What elevated this meal beyond all expectations was the truly awesome service. The three people behind the counter were engaged and engaging... both with the customers and each other. They seemed to enjoy working together and doing what they were doing. While I was eating, a number of 'regulars' came in... the old-timey, friendly, "hey-how-you-doing-tonight?" was a total pleasure to be around. They were pleasantly chatting and working at the same time. Prepping, serving, cleaning, cooking... all with smiles and attention and care. I watched as Adan literally crafted a grilled cheese sandwich. It didn't take him forever to do it... it was quick but with attention and pride. It is so rare to find this anywhere nowadays, but I found it at Johnny Rockets in Long Beach, California :)

Many, many thanks to 

Shawn, Becky, and Adan!

If you're ever in Long Beach, California and looking for an awesome diner with amazing-looking shakes and tasty burgers... Johnny Rockets is your place :)

We'll have to wait and see tomorrow how it does as a pre-race meal ... 

Now it's time for bed. Let's hope that my earplugs help silence the 'ambient' noises of crying babies and live bands that I can hear right now yet DO NOT prevent me from hearing my wake-up call or my alarm! 

Here's to fast dreams and fast running :)

How AM I going to make a sub-2?

How in the heck should I know?

I am still not entirely convinced it's in the cards for me... I'm not really sure I deserve it. Guess we'll see come October 9 :P

For my non-running readers, I am referring to running a half-marathon (13.1 miles) in under 2 hours. This works out to just about 9 minutes 9 seconds per mile for the whole thing.

Being unprepared makes me nervous. I haven't followed a training program. I had a good one that was a composite of Run Less, Run Faster and Galloway's... with some tweaks from both awesome Jill and Patrick from The Road thrown in. It was going great until all those blasted monkey-wrenches.

Then my summer became a quest to just make it to the Hood to Coast Relay (ha! there! I said it!) with Team Nuun, healthy and in a good mental place. While I accomplished that, I was not ready for the post-relay feelings of depression and listlessness that were strangely accompanied by intense euphoria and a 'can-do' motivated desire to dive back into serious training. Weird...but not entirely out of character.

As a result, my running has been haphazard since Hood to Coast. What am I saying? It was pretty haphazard in the weeks immediately prior to Hood to Coast! Anyway... moving on....

When I am in the Long Beach Half Marathon on October 9, I want to look and feel like this...

Instead of like this...

After my post the other day stating my 'stretch' goal as being a sub-2, I received this super cool, encouraging tweet from one of my new running buddies...

@xlmic I believe that w/ a good taper, hydration, and careful pacing that you'll go sub 1:59 for the half.....

I love it when people believe in me! So I looked at this carefully.

• "good taper" – I kind of am living in a tapering place; I think this will work in my favor :)
• "hydration" – I am so well-stocked with Nuun for before the race and there are TEN water stations on the course... one nearly every mile... and I am not opposed to carrying my Amphipod handheld (though I'd rather not... suggestions or advice?)
• "careful pacing" – ut-oh. This is where I am concerned. I have trust issues... even trusting-myself-issues. While my new racing mentor Kim, Nuun staff runner from our Nuun Platuun team, told me she had her best times when she did it all by feel... no watch, ignoring mile markers, etc...I am not sure I have that faith in my body or racing brain... yet. Sure, I have my Garmin (which looks like a VW Beetle parked on my super-skinny wrist), but picking the numbers I want it to be showing... that's another story.

So I made a race plan.

When I made a plan and followed it for Bay to Breakers back in May, it worked for me perfectly. It was set up to be realistic but a push. I ended up a little ahead of schedule... which can't help but feel good, right? 

Presenting my Long Beach Sub-2 Plan... I hope think am fairly certain it's realistic :P

Mile                Pace                                               Elapsed Time

1                      9:15   (adrenaline boost)                     9.25 minutes
2 & 3                9:40   (settling in and warming up)    28.59 minutes
4, 5, 6 & 7       9:24   (solid base)                              66.19 minutes
8, 9 & 10         9:10   (pick it up to prep for push)       93.69 minutes
11 & 12            8:40   (the push starts...)                  111.09 minutes
13 - 13.1          8:06   (the digging down deep part)  119.89 minutes
                   
                                                                               = 1:59:55 ... which is sub-2!

On Sunday, I participated in a Run 11 on 9/11/11 memorial run. I lengthened it out to 12... because I felt so good. It was somewhat hilly, and my average pace was 10:05. The last two miles were both sub-9 minutes. And I felt GREAT when it was over. Maybe it had something to do with running for a greater purpose? And I was not sore the next day.

I think I'm ready to take this sucker on.

Any other advice or words of encouragement? Throw them my way... please!!!!!

**************************

And on the to-do list for today...

vote for Catey... awesome mom of 8 little kids who will be running in the St. George Marathon... her blog is entered in the Top 25 Big Family blog contest! Go to her personal voting page by clicking HERE.

Shooting the Moon and my running goals

Urban dictionary defines shooting the moon as A task or feat that is difficult to the point of near impossibility.

In the game of Hearts, it involves taking all 14 of the penalty cards worth a total of 26 points. Wikipedia has this to say about shooting the moon... Attempting to shoot the moon is often a risky strategy.

My dad loved to play cards. We spent hours and hours playing Gin and Hearts. Whenever we played Hearts, he would shoot the moon. Pretty much every single time. He'd occasionally miss. Sometimes he'd have an escape route and other times it would all just blow up in his hand! He never seemed frustrated or disappointed when he 'failed'... he knew it was just a game. The outcome didn't really matter as long as you went for it and as long as you had fun.

"Always aim for the moon. Even if you don't make it, you'll land among the stars."

You could also use the expression "Go big or go home."

Or "Go all in or don't go at all."

All of these work for me but...

I love shooting the moon. 

It always reminds me of my dad... and that makes me smile :)

After spending a chunk of the summer semi-injured (which was nothing compared to spending 8 years hurting) and then participating in that awesome, life-altering experience as a part of Team Nuun (which I have been told to get over because people are sick of hearing about it), I am not solid in my half-marathoning place. And that's what's next.

October 9 I am running in the Long Beach Half-Marathon in... you guessed it... Long Beach. Based on where I was when I entered the thing, I had set a time goal for myself. It was unrealistic but not impossible at the time, but hey, Go big or go home. I was shooting for 1:50. Unless I get me a pair of rocket boots, that ain't happenin' now fo' sho'. 

Re-evalute. Reassess. Reset.

Stretch goal:  sub 2-hours.

Solid goal:  2:07 (yesterday I ran 12 in 2:01 and felt great)

Can-do goal:  survive and don't get hurt.

Sub-2 hours will be my shooting the moon goal for this race. And this race will be the jumping off point for my next two goals, one of which I never thought I would ever consider again. Have you guessed what it is?

Yep... a marathon.


Shooting the moon :)