Tag Archives: running

Week Six of Ironman Training: Baking a Cake

I recently read somewhere that when training for an Ironman, “Intervals are icing on the cake.” This really hit home as I’ve been missing doing track workouts with Coach Nash and my friends on the B Team. They’re so fit and fast, strong and HILARIOUS.

Coach Nash recently took 2nd Place in the USA Cross-Country Championships in Bend, OR and also coached a women’s masters team (Cindy, Desa and Lynelle) to a 1st Place finish. Jen just won 1st Place overall female in the Super Bowl 4-miler here in Santa Barbara and Ashlee won her age group. Then there’s Vanessa who just completed Ironman Panama 70.3. That’s some serious awesomeness floating around this group! I’m so proud of each of them!

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Before I pulled a hamstring about ten months ago, I used to love (and dread) the crazy sufferfests Coach Nash orchestrated with these speedy chiquitas on Thursday mornings. This crew always made me laugh, and they always made me a better runner. Since then, I’ve only popped in and out of practices with them a handful of times, thinking it would be fine, but leaving feeling down and frustrated after running like a turtle and realizing I still had a long way to go to get back to 100%. Nope, still not ready for intervals. Damn.

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Last summer with the B Team: Jane (left), Coach Nash, Vanessa (back), and Jen (right). Ashlee was off winning some race in Utah.

As I train for Arizona though, it helps to remind myself that before I can put icing on a cake, I first have to have a cake. That’s what I’m working on right now: baking a big, beautiful cake, focusing on all the important ingredients like strength, endurance, flexibility, stamina, balance, core power, technique, overall fitness, and most of all PATIENCE. Then hopefully I’ll be icing that fabulous, multi-layer cake in the summer with some heart-pumping intervals with the B Team.

In the meantime, here’s what Week Six of Ironman training looks like:

Monday: Swim 1000 y, core & stretching pm

Tuesday: Run 60 minutes, Kate’s strength & stretching class, swim 1400y, core & stretching pm

Wednesday: Swim 2200 y, then 1-hour indoor cycling spin class, core & stretching pm

Thursday: Bike 3.5 hours (probably about 50 miles), then a 20 minute run, core & stretching pm

Friday: Swim 2100 y, core & stretching pm

Saturday: Run 90 minutes, core & stretching pm

Sunday: Rest, core & stretching pm

Favorite Gear this Week: My new Garmin 920xt with a heart rate monitor has been a game-changer for me. Not only am I no longer guessing what heart rate and training zone I’m working in, I’m able to break down the data so I can see what I need to work on (clearly speed on the bike!!)…Also, being able to track my splits in the pool and see my cadence and heart rate on my run is helpful and motivating. This watch also has an activity tracker similar to a FitBit. I was feeling dog tired last night as I tucked my daughter into bed. When I saw that I had gone 21,400 steps yesterday, somehow it validated my fatigue. It’s ridiculous, I know, but sometimes it’s the dumbest stuff that keeps you going!

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My other favorite gear this week is my new kicks. I love this pair of Nike Air Zoom Pegasus. They’re super cushy neutral shoes, which are just right for my high arches and narrow feet. Zoom Zoom Zoom! Thank you Santa Barbara Running once again! Happy Soles = Happy Soul. #shoplocal

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FYI: If anybody ever tells you that being a triathlete is not that expensive, don’t believe them. Obviously, they drank the Kool-Aid.

Friends have been asking: “How’s your training going?” First of all, that’s so nice you care! Thank you. My first response is usually, “It’s going well. I’m having fun and enjoying the process.” When pressed for more details, I explain that I’m simply taking one day and workout at time and somehow that approach is making the volume do-able. Suddenly I’m swimming over a mile each session, my short run is now more than 6 miles and my long run will be a little over 9, and I’m already up to riding about 50 miles with a run afterward. Anybody who has run a marathon or half marathon will know exactly what I mean when I say it’s like when you reach double-digits for the first time. You never thought you could run 10 miles, then suddenly you are, and then it becomes normal, and then you never look back. I feel like I’m still just getting started, but it’s already feeling normal and I’m not looking back.

Gratitude: The other day I was swimming at the Y, trying to work on my stroke technique, and out of the blue, Continue reading →

Week Five of Ironman Training: Wind at My Back (and Front) and Peeps by My Side

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Heading out on last Saturday’s beautiful, windy 3-hour ride.

Okay people, where did January go? I can’t believe an entire month has already flown by. It seems like yesterday the ball was dropping in Times Square. But here we go….

HELLO FEBRUARY!

And HELLO Week Five of Ironman training! As we like to say around here, Keep Calm and Bring it On!

I’ll be honest, last week was a toughie for me–mostly logistically–squeezing in workouts between lots of different obligations–from junior high school visits to mid-week ballet performances and chaperoning a group of international dancers, to driving back and forth to LA twice in one week. Throw in the usual, everyday things and the hours disappeared faster than you can say swim-bike-run.

The circles under my eyes may have grown a little darker last week (also thanks to my damn goggles), but I did get it done. Every single workout. BAM. BAM. AND DOUBLE BAM.

And now I’m looking forward to what this week holds in store.

Here’s my schedule:

Monday: Rest (♥♥♥), gentle yoga am, core & stretching pm.
Tuesday: Run 50 minutes, Killer Kate’s strength & stretch class, swim 600 y, core & stretching pm.
Wednesday: Swim 2250 y, bike 2 hours moderate, run 20 minutes off the bike, core & stretching pm.
Thursday: rest, core & stretching pm.
Friday: Run 40 minutes, swim 2400 y, core & stretching pm.
Saturday: Run 70 minutes, core & stretching pm.
Sunday: Bike 3 hours with some hills, core & stretching pm.

Challenges: The weather got a tad insane last weekend. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like 3 feet of snow falling or anything like that, but we had some gnarly wind and a boatload of rain in a short amount of time (thank you El Nino). It was the kind of weather that took down a massive eucalyptus tree at my gym.

Normally I do my long runs on Saturday after coaching our Coyote kiddos, then do my long bike/run combo on Sunday, but I decided to switch it up this weekend to avoid Sunday’s unfavorable forecast for riding. And boy am I glad I did. Sunday’s rainy run was epic! It was the kind of run that was so ridiculously miserable, it was hilarious. Pelting sideways rain, puddles as big and wide as lakes, and the #*!&% wind blasting. It was awesome Iron training, and even though it was brutal much of the way, I was happy to be handed this crazy gift. If weather like this shows up on race day, I will be prepared.

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It was when my phone started beeping a National Weather Emergency Alert that I stopped to see what might be headed my way. It was only a flood warning so I snapped this ridiculous picture for posterity and kept going.

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Not surprisingly, I saw more than a handful of runners out there logging their miles, including my Iron friend, Jenni Miller! Go girl. Lake Placid will be no match for you!

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Credit: Real Time Runners

Gratitude: I know I’ve mentioned my peeps before, but my husband deserves an extra shout out this week. The support he showered me with over the weekend is something I’ll always remember. First, he changed his plans to go to LA for an important photo/art event he attends every year, so that I could go on a long bike ride on Saturday (instead of rainy Sunday). Not only that, he did all the taxi’ing of our daughter to and from her dance rehearsals and helped her organize a big school project. Then on Sunday after my loony run he had a hot bubble bath waiting for me and a hot, spicy lunch. It was such a sweet surprise. Love and support like this makes this journey all the more memorable. My friend Jenni commented, “Sounds like you have a good iron family!!!” She couldn’t be more accurate. Although I’d change that to a GREAT Iron family. Believe me, I don’t take it for granted!

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This is one of my favorite birthday gifts I received this year. Thank you Abraham Family for having my back and keeping me fueled!

Favorite gear this week: While I’ve been training in a lot of headwinds lately, Tailwind Endurance Fuel always has my back. Monica DeVreese, co-owner of Santa Barbara Running turned me on to this over a year ago (thank you Monica) and I’ve used it ever since. I like it because there aren’t a lot of fake colors and sketchy ingredients in it, and there are enough calories and carbs in it to forego additional gels and chomps if necessary. It also happens to be quite yum…as sports drinks go.

Heroes: When I’ve been out running, on more than one occasion I’ve cruised past women who made me feel compelled to holler, “Great job! You are my hero.” Most times I receive bright eyes and an appreciative smile. Other times I receive a quizzical look, like, “Why are you calling me your hero?”

Who are these women, you ask? Continue reading →

Week Two of Ironman Training: The Power of Friends

IMAZLogoIt’s full speed ahead into my second “official” week of Ironman training and it has brought nothing but joy. Who knew acquiring so many tired muscles could be this much fun? I just keep taking it one day, one workout at a time. That’s how I’m going to get to the starting line of Ironman Arizona in November. #ithinkican #ithinkican #ithinkican

Here’s what this week’s schedule looks like:

Monday: Rest (aaaaah), core and stretching pm

Tuesday: Run 35 minutes, (Killer)Kate’s strength & stretch class, more core and stretching pm

Wednesday: Swim 1900 y followed by 2 back-to-back spinning classes, core and stretching pm

Thursday: Run 40 minutes, core and stretching pm

Friday: Swim 1600 y, core and stretching pm

Saturday: Run 60 minutes, upper body strength, core and stretching pm

Sunday: Bike 3 hours, core and stretching pm

Celebrating: Last week I celebrated turning the Big 5-0 by riding 50 miles in spinning class then having more fitness fun with friends the following day, on my actual birthday. “Keep Calm and BRING IT ON!” is what I say, and yes, every girl should run with a tiara on her birthday.

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Photo credit: Randy Weiss Presidio Sports

Gratitude: I already have so many people I’m grateful for on this Ironman Journey. There isn’t a day that goes by that somebody doesn’t do or say something nice. My friend and Moms in Motion tri coach, Whitney Bruice, took time out of her busy morning last week to come help me try to improve my swim stroke. Coach Whitney is a phenomenal swimmer and triathlete (not to mention a mother of two and a busy working professional), so it was exciting to hear she thought my stroke looked fairly solid, with the exception of a slight cross-over on my left side. I have A LOT more time ahead of me in the pool working on technique and building up my speed, strength and endurance, but it was reassuring to know that at least I’m headed in the right direction. Thank you Whitney!

JenniMillerThe other person who has been exceptionally helpful this week is my friend Jenni Miller, who is also a busy mother of two, an attorney, activist/philanthropist (Strides for SMS) and an outstanding athlete. She completed her first Ironman last summer (and CRUSHED IT by the way–top 10% in her age group), and she has been giving me great advice and tons of encouragement. It’s often the smallest details that make the biggest difference–from goggle selections to fueling to fav bike shorts. Her generosity and enthusiasm have added a huge dollop of happy in my happiness jar. Jenni is currently training for Ironman Lake Placid, which will take place in July, and is sure to rip that up too! Go girl!

I’m also grateful for all the people who have contributed to my Smile Train fundraising! With the support of Ana, Hensley, Jessica, Namita, Tim and Jo, the Clyne girls, the Rybniceck Family and the Whelan Family, we have already raised $1,075! That means four kids are already going to get life-changing cleft palate/lip surgery. My goal is 20 kids. Each surgery costs as little as $250 and only takes 45 minutes, but has enormous implications for improving the life of a child and his or her family. If you want to be part of making a big difference in somebody’s life, you can click HERE to donate.

Spinning forward: Yesterday I got aero bars and a bike fit from Bruce Davis at Hazard’s Cyclesport using the Guru Fit System. What I like most about Hazard’s is that you don’t have to be a gearhead to be treated like an awesome athlete (even if you’re a work-in-progress like me). Bruce had me up and running in no time and explained all the details along the way about geometry, balance and power. I’m excited to get out on the road and gobble up some miles. Bruce told me not to smile for this picture, which was hard, so I look like I swallowed a bird. I guess that just means I’m ready to fly, baby!

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Challenges: Sleep. I know how important sleep is for recovery, but damn if it isn’t elusive for this chiquita. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. I’m trying to force myself to take naps, but it’s never easy.

Breakthroughs: Learning to change a flat and patch a tube with confidence. I haven’t had a flat in 20 years (I know, crazy, huh?), so I haven’t had any practice doing it. Last Sunday, right before I was about to join some friends for a long ride, I was putting air in my tire and the top of the stem valve broke off. Batta boom, that’s all she wrote. Fortunately, it happened in my garage so I didn’t have to bumble through it on the side of the road on a cold, rainy day or be the ridiculous damsel in distress who called for a pick-up. YouTube videos are the bomb, I tell you.

What I’ve learned: Always check your gear the night before so you don’t have any obstacles the morning of training. It’s hard enough to get out the door sometimes without gear problems, so make sure you’re ready to go. Because of my flat tire, I missed riding with a group of friends, which would have been fun. I also learned to keep experimenting with eating while training as it’s a little bit of an art and a science figuring out how much food your stomach can tolerate. On my last 3 hour bike ride I was running low on energy, but I overdid it a little on Wednesday’s swim/double-spin workout so the banana I ate sat like a rock in my stomach. Fortunately, I have ample opportunities to keep experimenting. I will get there.

Looking forward to: Getting a new triathlon watch. I’m leaning toward getting a Suunto Ambit 3, but I’m also considering a Garmin 920xt. Any thoughts?

 

You can help make a child smile by donating to my Team Empower Smile Train fundraising page HERE.

Do Yourself a Favor: Get Yourself to Palm Springs for a Race

I spend a lot of time in Palm Springs because my in-laws live there. It took me a little while to discover the joys of running and racing in this iconic desert town, but fortunately, every time I go, I discover another gem.

PSRedCarpet5KSMOne race I can’t say enough good things about is the International Film Festival RED CARPET RUN 5K and 10k. If you happen to be in Palm Springs next Saturday, January 9th, I highly recommend participating in this race. It is a blast from start to finish. The details are phenomenal. To begin with, every runner receives a tiara and tutu or a tuxedo shirt to wear during the race, and every finisher receives an Oscar and a boatload of bling and treats. No matter what your pace, you’ll love this event.

You can read my recap from last year’s race by clicking HERE if you want to get a better feel for this event. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun during a race.

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Race Director Molly Thorpe knows how to put on super fun races for runners of all abilities.

Race Director, Molly Thorpe, puts on events like no other. Her enthusiasm, attention to detail, and generous spirit all come together to create memorable races with heart and spunk.

I’m sad I won’t be in Palm Springs this year for the Red Carpet Run, but I feel lucky that I was able to participate in the Wild Turkey Trot 5K over Thanksgiving. What a hoot! Here are a few pictures. And yes, I’m sporting a ridiculous turkey hat like all the other participants who received one in their race bags. Such fun!

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Molly Thorpe has been extremely kind and has offered all my blog followers a discount for any upcoming race put on by the Palm Springs Marathon Runners. Just go to www.runpalmsprings.com to register. Use the code COACHBECKY and receive $5 off. How cool is that? Here’s a short list of their next few races:

Red Carpet Run-January 9 (DON’T MISS THIS ONE!!!)
Shamrock Run-March 5
Super Heroes 5K-March 12
Run for Ike-April 2

PalmSpringsTramIf you like an extra challenge, while you’re in Palm Springs be sure to hoof it up the tram road while you’re there like I did yesterday when I was visiting.

I think I can…I think I can… I think I can…

Happy New Year everybody! Here’s to an exciting year ahead filled with fun adventures and many exciting races!

xo Becky

 

 

What Do You Do When the World Goes Insane? Run, of Course.

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, felt like a wonderfully lucky day for our family. Lots of great things happened, including the closing on the sale of our house. Woot! We were flying high. That is until we heard the news from Paris. Like all of you, we were horrified, sickened, saddened, furious…you name it. There aren’t enough words to express the depths of our emotions.

News of this tragedy hit right when I was about to drive my daughter to ballet, and I was fuming inside that I would have to explain this unthinkable act to her. How do you explain such insanity, anyway? I tried to keep it simple and age appropriate, but she wanted to know more: the who, what, where, when and why. Especially the WHY. Fortunately, the start of her class let me off the hook from a much deeper conversation. I needed time to process it myself before I could possibly explained it to her.

Because we had such a busy day, I didn’t have time to run in the morning. Instead, I planned to go when Miss O was at ballet, but suddenly I had zero motivation. I just wanted to huddle in a cozy chair, sipping a warm chai vanilla latte at a coffee shop while I obsessed over the news flooding my Facebook and Twitter feeds. Fortunately, because I committed to this damn Chase the Bird Challenge, I dragged myself down to Goleta Beach Park and forced myself to run.

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And of course, that’s exactly what I needed.

That’s what runners do. Whether we’re happy, sad, stressed, confused, frustrated, angry, afraid, ____(fill in the blank), running is what we do.

We’re insanely lucky to have the luxury of sorting through our emotions out on the roads and trails. Pace and distance have no place in the conversation. It’s simply about having the gift of health, and time and space to process our lives and the moments that change them.

Yesterday, I knew I needed to get the rage out of me so I could re-center myself and have a meaningful conversation with my daughter.

And so I set out.

It was a lovely late afternoon/early evening…despite the atrocities in Paris. Take that mother fucking terrorists. You can never take this away from us.

Step after step, the f-bomb continually popped into my head, but I was determined to turn it around and focus on all that was still good in the world and not let the mother f’ing terrorists win.

And then if by some “other worldly” design, Continue reading →

Winning! And Chasing the Bird Day 7, 8 and 9

Three things happened over the weekend:

1) I was selected as the first Chase the Bird Challenge prize winner on Facebook! Apparently I’ll be receiving an egift card to do a little online shopping. How fun (and unexpected) is that?!

2) My family and I found a new house we’ll be moving into in the next month. Woot! That takes a mound of stress off our plate knowing we have a great new place to land after selling our house. Yay!

3) I learned that once again, being flexible with my workouts can add a huge element of joy to them. I had planned to sneak away and go on a long’ish solo run, but in the midst of landing our new house, juggling our daughter’s ballet rehearsal schedule and multiple other responsibilities, my run never panned out. Instead, I had the joy of going for a walk through the woods with my husband on Saturday, which was sweet and relaxing.

Miss O chasing down a drop shot. I love playing tennis with my sweet bug. She's been playing since she was 4 and can now run me all over the court.

Miss O chasing down a drop shot. I love playing tennis with my sweet bug. She’s been playing off and on since she was 4 and can now run me all over the court. The best part is that it was her idea to play.

Then yesterday I played tennis with my daughter and her friend, who had never before played. I always find it fun and exhilarating to share a new sport with someone and see her joy at her first attempt.

Later in the evening, I ventured out for a short run near my house. After a heavy Mexican lunch earlier in the day with the girls, that’s about all this chiquita could manage. But it was SOMETHING. And that’s what this Chase the Bird Challenge is all about. Do something…ANYTHING…for at least 15 minutes every day.

Today, Day 9 of the Oiselle Chase the Bird Challenge, was absolutely awesome. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a run so much. Nothing epic, just completely carefree and gratifying. I ran 4.55 miles along the beach on a crisp, gorgeous morning. I felt rested and relaxed for the first time in ages, and even did some pick-ups and drills along the grass in the midst of my run, then finished at the track doing some stadiums, core and push-ups.

Monday is shaping up to be pretty freakin’ great! And it’s all because I’m putting fitness time back at the top of my priorities list. Now I’m off to conquer the rest of my foot-long To Do List.

Here are a few snaps from my morning run. No fall colors here, but I did feel the need to wear arm warmers with my tank top and shorts. 🙂 Sorry friends who are in the midst of snow.

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I’m listening to Pharrell’s “Happy,” which was so appropriate for this Monday morning. Feeling giddy! Hope you are too!

Until next time….

xo
Becky

Bird is the Word

I’m not usually one to participate in group challenges, online or otherwise, but when Oiselle’s “Chase the Bird Challenge” popped up on my Twitter feed, it hit me at just the right time. We’re in the middle of selling our house and I’ve also taken on a boatload of new responsibilities this fall, so getting my workouts in has been a challenge. Throw in the “sugarfest” that starts at Halloween, I knew I needed to grab onto something so my fitness didn’t come completely off the rails.

Oiselle’s Chase the Bird Challenge is simple enough: it’s a 26-day fitness streak to help prevent us from rolling into Thanksgiving feeling like a stuffed turkey, and to reinforce the habit of making health and fitness a priority even in the midst of all our holiday madness fun. All you have to do is some type of exercise for at least 15 minutes every day until Thanksgiving.

In order to hold us accountable and share our fitness mojo with others, Oiselle is asking us to post our workouts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I thought I’d post the first 5 days here too. It would be fun if you’d join the challenge with me. It’s never too late as far as I’m concerned.

DAY ONE: Squeeeeeezed in a quick little 3-mile run through the neighborhood on a beautiful autumn day. This was between 5 loads of laundry, dishes, homework help, house hunting and grocery shopping. Sometimes we have to take what we can get, right? The best part of my day was a sunset stroll on the beach with my sweet girl. I have to admit, I was highly unmotivated to make this happen after a busy day, but thankfully my daughter was persistent. It was gorgeous and relaxing and a wonderful time to enjoy each other’s company without distractions. Aaaahh.

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I also loved watching my carefree little dancer take flight.

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Love this girl!

DAY TWO: 40 Minute trail run, push-ups and core. Nothing complicated about this workout. Just a nice cruise and time to chill out in my own little world, forgetting everything on my To Do List. It was also fun to bump into a flock of friends on the trail today!

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DAY THREE: 60 minute Continue reading →

Conquering the BS Beast at She.Is.Beautiful 5K

In late September I had the joy of running the She.Is.Beautiful 5K here in Santa Barbara. Woohoo! Why it took me six weeks to finally get this blog post written is another story. Ack. This race is one of the best-organized, most fun, and supportive running events around. The pink “Girl Power” vibe alone is enough to lift you five feet off the ground.

Even though this is one of my all-time favorite races, I almost didn’t sign up this year. My running mojo has been in the dumper BIG TIME as I’ve dealt with a hamstring injury that’s lingered for months and months (feels like years now). I knew “racing” this 5K was not in the cards, so I thought, Why bother?

What finally got me to the starting line was multiple friends cajoling me to participate–to take part and “just have fun” like they were.

What a concept!

Somehow over the last couple years my competitive spirit has gotten the best of me so I’ve forgotten that it’s okay to just cruise and have fun during a race without feeling ashamed of how slow I might finish. Anybody else know that feeling? I’ve forgotten that it doesn’t always have to be about chasing after a PR. And furthermore, I’ve forgotten that nobody, I repeat, NOBODY, gives a rip about my finishing time (nor yours), so being embarrassed about our level of fitness is a big fat waste of time and energy, especially when there’s a whole lot of fun to be had just by participating.

Thank you She.Is.Beautiful (and my persistent friends) for reminding me to lose the Bullshit Beast (aka ego). When we do, it always opens up a bounty of beautiful and blissful running moments.

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My 3rd year in a row of running this fabulous race. Not my fastest time, not my slowest time, but my favorite time.

It was fun to celebrate all my super speedy friends too, like these ladies who pretty much swept the race. Desa (third from the right) took 1st Place Overall!

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And my friend Ashlee, rocked her race too, coming in 2nd Overall and running her first sub-20:00! The banner says it all…

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The sun was definitely shining down on all of us and helping light us up. Wearing a feather boa on such a warm morning? Mmmm…not something I’d probably recommend, but it was all part of the silliness. The funny thing is that somehow I managed to land 2nd Place in my age group (even though that wasn’t really the point of this day). It must have been my ridiculous get-up. One of the super speedy ladies in the picture above, DeAnna, took 1st in our age group, and 3rd Overall. Way to go D! You are an animal!

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Over 2,000 runners took part in this year’s event.

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Loved seeing so many young girls running their first 5K! Here, the Queen of Positive, Jenny Schatlze, helps celebrate this awesome athlete’s accomplishment.

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Best local pre and post-race expo EVER.

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Here’s to many more carefree running miles ahead!

xo

The LOWdown on the End of My Rocky Mountain High

We’ve been back from our vacation for a few days now and ever since our return I’ve felt like I’ve been trudging through molasses while carrying a fifty pound bag of cement on my shoulders. It could be the gloomy marine layer that’s been blanketing Santa Barbara from dawn until early evening every day. Or it could be that I’m exhausted from our epic adventure after having been in perpetual motion for days on end. But more likely it’s because we’re no longer in motion, seeing old friends, exploring beautiful places, and doing fun and exciting things (unless you count laundry, dishes and grocery shopping as exciting). Ack.

This girl’s Rocky Mountain High has taken a serious nose dive into the land of funk. And it isn’t pretty.

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The day after we got home I blew off a 15K race I had planned to run, and the next day I slept through two alarms and missed my Moms in Motion triathlon practice. The following day I simply couldn’t drag my sorry ass out the door, even though I’d put on my workout clothes first thing in the morning. Yep, that was me still wearing my running clothes at the dinner table, without an ounce of sweat on them. And then there’s the coffee and vino thing…you know what I’m talking about. I warned you it wasn’t pretty. At least I haven’t gone down the chocolate road yet.

And of course I’ve scolded myself more than a few times: OMG girlfriend, suck it up and SHAKE.IT.OFF! You are being ridiculous! You live in Santa Barbara, for gawdsakes, not some war zone or horrible inner-city. Get back out there and do your thang!

Those “pep talks” only made me feel worse though, so I finally decided to stop beating myself up, and instead, try cutting myself a little slack. Rather than repeatedly telling myself “I should” be doing this or that, I started being more patient and understanding with myself, like I would a friend. What a concept! Have you ever noticed how you’re usually way more patient with your best friend than yourself?

And it worked. On Tuesday, after three days of schlepping through the blahs, I finally got myself out the door to run 4 miles down near the beach. Hip, hip hooray, I finally did it, even on another gloomy, overcast morning! Very little of it involved runner’s high, but it was something.

Then yesterday, I went to my favorite yoga class taught by Erin DiAnglelis. She’s an amazing young instructor who has the voice of an angel and the wisdom of an elder sage. I always feel like she creates each of her classes just for me as they’re always exactly what I need, when I need them. I left feeling light and open, and my body thanked me for stretching and breathing deeply after being origami’ed in a car for two thousand miles on our trip. Aaaah.

Today was my real turnaround day, though. I still woke up feeling like I could have slept until noon, but after a humungo cup of coffee, I slipped into my running clothes and filled up my water bottle, knowing I was going to hit the trails after I dropped my daughter off at camp. My plan was to simply cruise along the hills at Elings Park and go only as far as I felt, enjoying it with no expectations whatsoever.

But then I remembered it was Thursday and my speedy friends, Jen, Jane, and Vanessa (aka the B Team) would be doing hill repeats with Coach Nash down by the beach. It was then the old, “Don’t think, just go. Don’t think, just go. Don’t think, just go” kicked in. Instead of turning left to go to Elings, I went straight to meet the the B Team at Leadbetter Beach.

And it was the best thing I could have done.

The workout was hard with ten hill repeats, and it definitely kicked my butt, but it also brought me back to where I needed to be. The other girls had been on vacation too–in Montana, Belize and back East–so we were all regrouping and settling back into our regular routines. Sometimes that’s all it takes, a little heart-pumping sufferfest with friends to bring you back around.

Here’s to finding a little “runshine” with these awesome peeps! Thank you B Team!

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Have any of you experienced an end-of-vacation low like this? What was your remedy for rebounding?

PS: If you missed any of my other Runcation posts, you can read them here:

Day One: Palm Springs North Lykken Trail
Day Two: Palm Springs South Lykken Trail
Day Three and Four: Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail
Day Five: Arches National Park-Delicate Arch Trail
Day Six and Seven: Aspen’s Rio Grande Trail
Day Eight: Aspen’s Smuggler Mountain
Day Nine: Aspen Mountain
Day Ten: Aspen Backcountry Marathon
Day Eleven and Twelve: Aspen Cycling, Pure Barre, Kayaking Oh My!
Day Thirteen: Happy Hour in Aspen’s North Star Nature Preserve
Day Fourteen: Chasing One Last Run on Owl Creek Road in Aspen

Runcation Day 14: Chasing One Last Run on Owl Creek Road in Aspen

As I dozed off to sleep last night, I thought my dream for our last day in Aspen would be to go on a long’ish 10-12 mile run, or to try to run to the top of Buttermilk Mountain via the summer road. When I awoke however, it seemed far more important to spend time with my family, soaking up the beauty of Aspen, making memories together.

I had already enjoyed more than my fair share of amazing runs on this vacation, thanks to the support of my fabulous peeps, so on our last morning I suggested we drive up Independence Pass to the Grottos and go on one of our favorite hikes. We had heard the water was raging from all the rain and snow melt, and was exceptionally beautiful, so we wanted to see it for ourselves.

The hike up was mellow and fun. My daughter even got inspired to do a little trial running! Go Girl!

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We were not disappointed when we reached the top. The water was stunning, and the roar was mesmerizing.

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Unfortunately, a photograph could never capture the magic of this moment. I wanted to post a short video I shot, but the WordPress gremlins have been putting up too much of a fight and I don’t have any more time to try to figure it out. Sigh. Just try to imagine the deafening roar.

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Goofing around, doing my Sysiphus pose with one of the giant boulders. Olivia loves taking pictures!

After the Grottos, Continue reading →