This year has been an amazing year, in terms of my personal fitness and health! I’ve run FOUR half marathons since January of this year. I went from being almost entirely sedentary to running several times a week and ultimately completing 4 races in 8 months! Last Sunday, I completed the America’s Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego. It wasn’t my first time running the race, but it sure did feel like my first time! I was very nervous that the weather was going to be really hot, however, it turned out to be just perfect!

This training was a little more sporadic than the three before. It’s summer and it’s hot. I don’t like running when it’s hot! I did run one evening, about 6 p.m. I did a 10 mile run and I’m pretty sure what I experienced halfway in could be categorized as heat exhaustion. Then, we went on vacation to the Midwest for two weeks, where I did some weight training workouts and Zumba, but very little running. It made for the last month of training to be little than desirable, even though I had an absolute blast in the Midwest—Chicago, Indianappolis, the Indiana State Dunes—all of it was AMAZING!

The weekend before the race, I ran 10 miles with an awesome group of girls. Some I had run with before and some new friends I had never met. We did this beautiful run along the northern coast of San Diego County, along Moonlight Beach and the San Elijo Lagoon. It was gorgeous and it helped me realize that I really could do it!

Back to the Half! At the Expo!

The day before the half, I went to San Diego to pick up my race bib. I spent a few minutes at the expo, cruising around, looking at all the cool race gear I could buy. I bought a hat for the race, which has become somewhat of tradition for me. It’s my little souvenir for the race. I got some pictures taken at the photo booth they have set-up and then, I left.

I was really surprised. I didn’t have any race jitters to speak of. Usually, I freak out a little before the race. This time, I was confident I could do it. Plus, I’ve done the AFC Half a few times before and know the course pretty well. I was feeling good that I could finish. I wasn’t sure how fast this time.

That night, I stayed with my friend Pam. We’ve been training together since the beginning of the year. She ran the Triple Crown this year, too. She was kind enough to invite me to stay with her so I didn’t have to drive from Temecula to San Diego at 4 a.m. that morning. We chatted about running most of the evening, ate hamburgers and fries, then turned in early. I got my race gear ready to go and SURPRISINGLY, slept like a rock that night.

At the Race Start

We made it to the buses to ride up to the top of the Cabrillo National Monument. A few of Pam’s co-workers met her and my dear, dear friend Mollie met us in the line for the buses. It was still dark when we arrived and I still wasn’t nervous. Once we got to the top of Cabrillo, we took selfies, made small talk and waited for the race to start. There was a sea of runners, taking selfies, lining up for the port-a-potties, and stretching. The race was supposed to start at 6:30 a.m., but at 6:25 a.m., the gun went off, and away we went!

 

The Race Down Cabrillo

Mollie and I ran together the first 10 kilometers or so. We kept an easy, but brisk pace. What I love about this race is that the first 6 miles are almost entirely downhill, the next 5 or so are flat, and you really only run up hill for a mile or two. I was messing around with my headphones, my phone, and everything else. We ended up at a 10:57 minute pace on the 10k. Not too bad, at all! Mollie is super fast and I was feeling like I needed some energy. I grabbed a Gu and let her go ahead. I regret not pushing myself harder and keeping up. One of my biggest regrets of the race. I just didn’t think I could keep up with her.

After the 10K

Once I hit the 10K mark, I started to doubt myself. It’s a little self-sabotage I do on almost every single run—no matter the distance! Once I got to the harbor, I was really struggling with my mental game. I had to get myself in the right frame of mind to finish. I began calculating how much more time I’d be running. I was halfway done. I could do the 10K I’d done again!

As we came into the Harbor, across from the airport, I saw the sun coming out and I began to get discouraged. The temperature was climbing and I just wanted to keep myself hydrated. I got my head wet at every water station to keep myself cool. At mile 8, I found a water station with a hose and the volunteers were more than happy to soak my head. I grabbed another drink of water and off I went.

Once we got out of the Harbor, there’s a very boring stretch of road that goes through the rental car return centers, across the street from the airport. It’s the only part of the entire race that isn’t scenic. I dug deep and kept going, although I was starting to get a little tired. Since I was familiar with the course, I began looking for landmarks. I saw the Star of India, then downtown San Diego. I was getting closer!

The Sprinklers and 6th Avenue

There is a water station on Ash Street, just past the Star of India, and every year they have sprinklers. They also have shots of some sort of alcohol, but since I don’t drink, I didn’t look to see what kind. I got under the sprinklers and cooled off. Mile 10. I’m almost there. Only a 5K left!

After Ash, the course meanders through the streets of downtown San Diego. It’s flat and fast, for the most part, except for 6th Avenue. 6th Avenue is known as, “The Hill,” and it’s the most infamous part of the AFC course. It quite possibly might be the most hated part of the course. By the time you get to 6th Avenue, the sun is out, you’re tired, and you’re ready to be done—BUT FIRST, you must climb the mile long stretch of 6th Avenue that challenges even the elite runners.

I was struggling by the time I got to 6th Avenue, but I just wanted to be done. I tried to run. I’d run a few steps, then walk. Run a few steps. Walk. I did this until I got about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the hill. Then, I started talking to myself, “YOU GOT THIS! DIG DEEP!” I didn’t care that everyone was looking at me. Then, this guy started running with me. He told me I was inspiring him and he needed my positive energy. Well, I needed that boost! I put my head down, passed mile 12 and began to cross the famous Laurel Street Bridge. I was only a few minutes away!

I hit the finish line and I was exhausted! I finished  2:41:44. It wasn’t my best time. I was hoping to do better. I FINISHED and that’s what matters, right? I had a great time and I think that’s what counts.

I met up with my friends and we got these photos together. Another half marathon is in the books! Yay!

 

 

The day before, we went to the expo at the Disneyland Hotel Conference Center. It was the same day as the 10k and 5k. It was exhilarating to be at the expo with all the buzz going on! I was so excited and nervous! This was my first Disney race and my expectations were really high! I was hoping I would shave off some time from the La Jolla Half—so many emotions!

While at the expo, I got to meet a hero of mine! Jeff Galloway was at the expo doing a meet and greet. I was surprised, but the line to meet him wasn’t long. I was able to get a picture with him and chat with him for a minute. He was so personable and I was so excited to meet him. I was a little starstruck after reading his books through the years!

We stayed about 12 miles away from Disneyland, which was not intentional. We didn’t realize that we had booked a hotel that was so far away. I was really nervous that I wasn’t going to get to the starting line on time. I was panicking, actually! I found our hotel room was nice and clean. It had a jacuzzi and I was thrilled to take advantage of that! I did a little carb loading the night before. I’ve been on limited carbs for quite a while with my diet, nonetheless, I decided that I was going to splurge. At the La Jolla Half, I bonked about mile 8. I’m sure it was because I wasn’t properly fueled.

I was restless the night before. Allie Kat and Mr. Bear went to Knott’s Berry Farm to ride some rides while I stayed behind to rest (Yeah, right! Like that was going to happen!) and get ready for the race. I laid out my gear, my clothes, and organized my things. I filled up my CamelBak, I put my bib on my shirt. I tried to think of everything I would need. Would I need my sunglasses? (It turned out that, NO, I would not and bringing them was a bad idea.) Would I need chapstick? Did I pack too much? (Probably. Always.) I finally got everything together and went to sleep around 11:00 p.m. That was much later than I expected. Did this surprise me? No, sir, it did not! I have such nerves before a race! It was difficult to sleep.

The alarm went off at 3:50 a.m. It was probably 10 minutes AFTER I woke up. I had been lying there in bed before the alarm went off, stressing out about all the things that could go wrong during the race. When the alarm went off, I sprang out of bed and into action. I quickly assembled everything. Mr. Bear pinned my wings on. I had everything and away we went!

Traffic began to get heavy as we approached the Disney grounds. I gave my love to my two favorite people, they wished me good luck, then I followed all the other costumed freaks toward the starting line. The energy level was so intense! There was loud music, everyone was smiling, and the energy was palpable. I followed the herd, which wound around downtown Disney and over to Paradise Pier. I made my way to my corral. I was in corral D. I made some friends. The ladies around me made small talk and wished each other well. At some point, I realized I had lost my Coach sunglasses that Mr. Bear and Allie Kat gave me on Mother’s Day two years before. My heart sank and I would think about those glasses for the next several hours.

After what seemed like forever, it was our turn to go! I couldn’t believe how crowded it was. I was elbow to elbow with other runners and we were barely moving faster than a slow stroll. There was nowhere to move! I tried for a little bit to jog, but it was no use. I accepted the situation and just keep walking. About a mile in, the crowd thinned out enough for me to run at my race pace and off I went! Mile 1 wasn’t very impressive—11:49 pace. Mile 2, we came out and around to the front of Disneyland. I was able to run a bit—10:38 pace and it was comfortable.

At mile 3, we entered the park. There were several areas throughout the park where the crowds bottle-necked, nonetheless, it was magical to be in the park after hours. There were several characters around to get pictures with and tons of people were taking selfies. I kept reminding myself that I had a time goal and not to get caught up in the moment. I stopped a few times to get a selfie or have my photo taken. Mostly, I counted on the numerous photographers that were snapping photos to capture the memories for me. We ran past the Matterhorn and through Fantasyland, out Sleeping Beauty’s castle, and towards Adventureland. We ran past Splash Mountain and turned back towards Pirates of the Caribbean, past the tree house and the Jungle Cruise. Before I knew it, we were back on Main Street and headed out the park. Mile 3 was 11:23, mile 4 with a few selfies was 12:18.

We meandered out of Disneyland and into California Adventure. I really don’t remember feeling tired, out of breath, or anything. I was so excited that I was smiling the whole time. I couldn’t believe I was actually running this race! I felt really good and really strong. I was a little worried!

I remember running past Soarin’ and past the Ferris wheel just grinning ear to ear. I stopped to get my picture in Carsland and then, off I went. I am not exactly sure what mile was what, but I was feeling most excellent. Mile 5, with a bathroom pitstop, was 11:43. Out the park we went and into the heart of Anaheim. Mile 6 was my best mile: 10:37.

The next couple of miles were boring compared to the ones inside Disney, yet I was still having the time of my life. As my RunKeeper app was calling out my total time and my splits, I was feeling really great! Mile 7 was 11:14. I stopped at mile 8 to have a Gu gel. I wasn’t feeling fatigued yet and wanted to keep it that way. I washed it down with some water and kept on! Mile 8 was 12:12. Mile 9 was exciting! We had a lot of cheering going on and I appreciated the crowds that had come out to cheer on the runners. There were a few water stations and some bathrooms. Mile 9: 10:43 pace! I thought I might need to go potty soon, but not right now. I wanted to keep on running—-HUGE MISTAKE! There were no bathrooms for the next couple of miles.

At this point, I am looking at my RunKeeper app and thinking, “WTF? Am I going to finish this race under 2:30?!” My goal was to finish in 2:45. Somewhere between 2:30 and 2:45 was ideal. Just to finish was goal enough, though! Here I was, ready to CRUSH IT! I was afraid to become too cocky, as I know all hell can break loose in those last few miles. I pressed on.

At mile 10, I REALLY had to go to the bathroom. It was an emergency. I started cursing myself for not going sooner. I pressed on: 10:47 pace. Now, I REALLY, REALLY have to go and I’m nearly in tears. Mile 11: 10:45 and all I can think of is, WHERE’S THE DAMN BATHROOM?!

Mile 12. OH LOOKY! A bathroom! Yay! Mile 12: 13:46 and I regret nothing! It was difficult to use the port-a-potty in a tutu and wings, but I managed. I did my dirty business and moved on. ALMOST DONE! I couldn’t believe it, but I was still set to finish way before I thought I would.

Mile 12 was glorious! Once I had used the potty, I was feeling wonderful! I picked up my pace for mile 13. I could start to see the finish line. At this point, all I wanted to do was finish! Mile 13: 11:01.

The couple hundred meters, I was beaming all over! I couldn’t believe I had finished! I was high-fiving everyone I saw. Hey, there’s Mickey Mouse! HIGH FIVE, BUDDY! I just finished a half marathon! I crossed the finish line and I had this sense of elation like no other! I was so proud of my accomplishment! It really was a magical time!

I finished about 17 minutes faster than I finished the La Jolla Half two weeks earlier! This was more than 20 minutes faster than I ran the Carlsbad Half in January! I was so pleased with my time! This wasn’t a PR for me, but it was my fastest time I’ve run in more than 10 years! I felt fantastic! I didn’t feel too bad after I finished either. I was a little sore and my heel (plantar fasciitis) was complaining. Other than that, I felt phenomenal! I haven’t felt so good running in years!

Wow! What a ride! I did the La Jolla Half Marathon on April 24th and it was the hardest race I’ve ever done! Seriously, there were tears. There was wailing. There was much gnashing of teeth. It would be overcast, they said. It would be a great day to run, they said. Alas, it was a really huge challenge for me and given my history with this race, it was even more challenging.

 

The History:

Way back in 2009, I ran attempted to run the La Jolla Half Marathon. The problem was that my training was spotty at best. I was completely unprepared. When it came time to run the race, I got only 3-4 miles in before my calf started complaining and I had to walk off the course. The worst part was that my confidence was shaken and I never really recovered from it. In fall 2009, I did successfully complete the AFC (America’s Finest City) Half Marathon and again in 2010, I came close to PR’ing the course. Nevertheless, the failure, the Did Not Finish loomed over every run I did for the next several years.

Since January 2015, I’ve been plotting my comeback, however, starting with the Couch to 5k program. In the early part of 2015, I could scarcely run a quarter mile without stopping. My weight was at an all-time high and my confidence was at an all-time low. Rather than giving up, however, I kept on with the training—-run, walk, run, walk, run—until I could finally complete my first 5k in many years without stopping.

The Training 2016:

In January 2016, I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon after training hard. I met my goal, which was to finish under 3 hours. I barely eeked by, with a finish time of 2:58:46, but eek by, I did! After the Carlsbad Half was over, I took an entire week off and began to train harder and further than before. In 12 weeks, I saw my mile splits slowly, yet steadily decrease with every training run. I ran with faster friends in the dark. I ran with the dog. I ran whenever I could with a group, with a friend, or by myself. I trained on lots of hills and I got stronger with every run. I ran the infamous Torrey Pines hill that is a villainous presence on the course. While beautiful, the big hill in Torrey Pines park overlooks the Pacific Ocean, but to get to its crest, you have to climb 440 steep feet. It got easier with every try.

The Race: 

Although I had a history with this race, I had a bit of confidence. I had completed Carlsbad successfully and I had trained on that hill several times. I knew I could finish. I didn’t know how long it would take me. I had a goal time of 2:30-2:45, but I knew I’d be happy if I only finished. We stayed in La Jolla the night before the race. Mr. Bear and I had a nice dinner, we soaked in the hot tub, and genuinely enjoyed each other’s company. I tried to go to bed early, nonetheless, my nerves didn’t let me sleep until just after midnight.

My friend Pam, whom I’d trained the Torrey Pines hill with a few times was kind enough to pick me up from the hotel and we headed to the start. We were there early enough that we got to chit chat with friends new and old for nearly an hour, talking about things runners talk about—like exchanging bad bathroom experiences on other races and other running adventures. My friend Mollie decided the day before to run the race. I found her and we got corralled with all the other runners.

Mollie and I ran together the first few miles. She’s a natural born runner and is lightning fast, so she usually leaves me in the dust a few miles in. I tried to chase my rabbit friend for a while until she peeled off with the other rabbits. I found my groove and started to settle in. It was such a relief when I passed the point I had to walk off the course years before, with my Do Not Finish in this race. I kept on going!

I hit the Torrey Pines hill and had no plans of running up the steep hill. It started getting hot as I was climbing up the hill and I was beginning to get angry at the weather. It was supposed to be overcast and cloudy! Why was the sun out? I managed to get up the Torrey Pines hill and then I started to fall apart. I was out of gas at mile 8 and I was angry at the seemingly endless hills. I don’t think I gave myself enough fuel on this race. I probably should have taken a sports gel at this point. Instead, I let the course get in my head and my attitude completely sucked.

By the time I got to the downhill part of the race, my legs were fatigued and I couldn’t get past my anger at the sunshine. I hadn’t trained for an April race with sunshine. This race was supposed to be shaded with cloud cover! I pushed past the pain and in mile 11, I started to compose myself. I knew I could run two more miles! Two more miles was nothing.

Of course, much of the last two miles of this course was——DRUM ROLL!!!—-More stupid hills. This time, I ran because all I wanted to do was to be finished with the course and say that I did it! I saw the finish line. I saw my friends that had already finished and I sprinted as fast as I could, the last 50 meters or so.

My finish time?

2:51:48

I finished just shy of 7 minutes faster than I had completed the Carlsbad Half three months before. This was quite an accomplishment, considering the difficulty of this race. It’s one of the challenging races, with the most hills around San Diego. It certainly was more challenging than Carlsbad, in terms of elevation.

 

I DID IT! I conquered La Jolla Half Marathon! 

I would have loved to achieve my goal time of 2:30-2:45. Overall, however, I have no regrets. I know I did my best and I know that some days, running is harder than others. No regrets!

Keep on the lookout for my next race report! I’ll be sharing about my Tinkerbell Half Marathon I finished on Mother’s Day!