Nike Women's Half!

Woohoo, I was so excited that the weekend of the Nike Women's Half Marathon was finally here! If you remember, I got in by lottery early this summer, so I decided to keep training up until this race, in mid-October.

So I wanted to make sure I took advantage of all that the race weekend had to offer, so I headed into SF on Saturday, the day before the race, to check out the "Expotique." I had already picked up my packet at the Nike Stanford store the previous weekend, so the purpose of the Expotique visit was all pleasure, no business.

The Nike Women's pretty much took over Union Square in San Francisco this weekend, which was pretty cool. I couldn't even figure out where I was supposed to go when I got there, I just wandered around and saw lots of lines, mostly for packet pick up and photo ops. There was also some sort of wall to sign, which appeared along the race route today. However, the length of all the lines deterred me from waiting around for this!

I did check out the gear that was being sold at Macy's, which was pretty awesome. They were doing free manicures, in the Team in Training lounge, in the teal blue color of the race, with little golden gate bridge and 13.1 logos... I waited around for a half hour for these manicures and the line barely moved, so I gave up on that too. Luckily, I had some awesome orange nail polish that matched my orange outfit for the race, so I painted the nails myself on Saturday evening.



On Sunday morning, I got up at an ungodly hour to get ready for the 6:30 start time of the race. I wore a new Nike top and sports bra in honor of the race (of course, I had tested the bra and top on a long run before the race!) and blue capris - I was definitely brightly colored this weekend!

(Yes, that time on my watch is correct!)

Pre-race photos and selfies!



I got to the corrals super early, after A was nice enough to drive me (and then immediately drive back to where we were staying, and go to bed!). The "corrals" were basically 2 city blocks to accommodate all the people, and there were huge balloons marking where each expected finish time group should go. I had put on my registration that I'd run between 10-10:59/mile pace, so I was placed in that corral... now, I estimate I might be able to go slightly faster, but oh well! They gave us these little bracelets so we could enter the correct corral... but they didn't seem to be checking very closely.

My usual pre-race checklist is: Port-o-potty, gear check (after sunscreening), warm-up. I hit the bathroom a few times (just to be sure!) a few times, then did the gear check, which was well-organized into numbered buses. They placed stickers containing exactly where our gear bags were placed on our bibs for easy post-race retrieval - seemed like a great system! I warmed up by running back and forth a bit, but by 6:00-6:15, people were already heading towards the front of the corrals, so I wanted to make sure I got a good spot and headed that way.

Some Nike trainers lead a warm-up (over the loudspeakers) and the crowd around me started getting excited. It was fun to see the group of so many women starting to gather! There were ladies of all ages there, as well as some guys, which was pretty cool! There were ladies in tutus (a lot of tutus!), sparkles, and fun outfits, and several with full faces of makeup. To that end, I wonder if these made up girls consider that they will soon be running 13 miles, but hey, to each her own!

We stood around in the corrals for quite a bit waiting. There were 3 or 4 waves before I went, but they spread out the start times by 5 minutes or so, so we didn't start until around 6:55 or 7. I tried to jump around a bit to keep my legs warm, but by the time I crossed the start, I didn't feel super fast. Also, due to the number of women (and men!) running, it was a bit slow-going to start, so I decided to pace myself to warm up, and not push it too fast right away.




The start weaved through Downtown, and some less nice areas of town, although they were already full of a lot of spectators for the race. There was only one random homeless person crossing the street sighting!

The race went through the city streets, up and down some smaller hills, until we got to Golden Gate Park. The weather was rather foggy and misty all morning, and even as the day got lighter, the fog remained... but I have to say, I much preferred this to the sunny, hot weather of the previous race! Although the trees in GGP dripped on us a little, it was a pretty, scenic race weaving around the nice parts of the park. The hills were gradual and rolling, which was really nice. We completed about miles 4-8 in there. My favorite part of being in the park was seeing a drum group perform along the course. I started clapping along, and others danced along as well! The "Free Hugs" guy (I feel like there's one or more at every big race - some guy wearing a "Free Hugs" shirt) also appeared in the park, although I didn't partake.

There were plenty of water stations along the course - I think 6? They had water and Nuun, which I have been using in my training, so that was nice that I could get in my electrolytes as I went!

As we exited the park, we went up a bit of a steeper hill in the Sunset, then down the same hill. As we continued downhill into the Seacliff area, I knew that the giant hill was coming. In fact, they mentioned the big hill at mile 10 a bunch during our warm-up pre-race speeches over the intercom, and people had signs stating that we were almost at the hill, and more. I find I often work myself up over these hills, as mentally, I get psyched out a bit. Although I didn't really plan how I'd attack the hill during my training, I made a decision as I went up. Since it was foggy, when I thought I was close to the end of the hill, I climbed a little more only to realize I had MUCH further to go! It was intense. So, I decided I was going to try and walk a little. I walked for about a minute or a minute and a half up the hill, feeling solidarity with all the other ladies walking and (slowly) jogging up around me! When I started to run again, I felt like I had it in me to power up over the top of the hill, rather than slogging up as I would have been if I had jogged all the way. Since I got this new jolt of energy, I started getting excited and high-fiving some cheerleaders and November Project members who were lining the course at the top of the hill... then at the top, I was relieved to see the giant sign saying "You Made It!"

The last few miles of the course felt great, first a big downhill after the giant uphill, then a couple miles of flat until the final stretch. My legs felt like they still had something left, amazingly, as I ran towards the finish. When I saw my time at Mile 12, I knew I could still make it close to the PR time I had set previously at the Rock n Roll Half... so I booked it! My last mile was pretty fast, and I finished with a PR!

Time: 2:10:56
Pace: 10:00/mile

I love comparing my old times with personal records. When I started to run last April and did a 4 mile race, I did so at a 10:42/mile pace. Now, I'm doing half marathons at a 10:00/mile pace!

At the end of the race, I was under the assumption, I guess, that there would be firefighters handing out Tiffany's necklaces. This was true, except that it was teenage volunteers, not firefighters.

SADFACE.

But, if you wanted to wait in a long ass line (we will be getting to more long ass lines shortly), you could enter the "Firefighter Photo Opportunities" tent... no thanks. A jokingly suggested that he would dress up as a firefighter and give me the necklace at some point. Little does he know that it's actually going to happen! Muahaha.

But - the necklace! Speaking of the necklace! It is so pretty and I love it. I hardly ever wear silver jewelry, but this one I wore twice this week. As much as I love my medal display in my room, I love being able to wear a pretty necklace that signifies finishing this awesome race. Besides handing us the necklaces upon finishing, we were also given reuseable Whole Foods bags with a banana and other free food samples, a water bottle, and chocolate milk. Yum!

Because this race was gigantic and insane, A had trouble finding parking, and didn't make it on time to see me finish. This did give me time, however, to pick up my gear from gear check, and scope out the free stuff. Now, I'm used to sponsors having tents, sometimes with free samples, at the end of races, but the sponsor tents at the Nike Women's were insane.

I waited in the shortest line while still waiting for A, which was the Morningstar Farms tent. When I got to the front of the line, I saw that there was a vegetarian cooking demo inside, and I was given a recipe booklet, towel, and three substantial hot food samples. Whoa!

There were also tents for Whole Foods (more elaborate food samples), Neutrogena (photo booth etc.), and Kaiser/massage tent, but the lines were SO long, and I hadn't planned on staying all day waiting around in lines! We left, I showered, and I got a giant burrito at one of my favorite places in Noe Valley on our way out of the city.




I guess the moral of the story of all this business is... loved the race. Awesome course. Felt great on my legs. I felt the love out there. But would I sign up again? Yes... if I had a group with me! I think the finish line festival/waiting in lines, getting all the free stuff, and taking firefighter pictures would be a lot of fun, if I had some girlfriends (or spirited guy friends?) to go with and planned appropriately to be there for a good chunk of the day!

So if you're in for next year, walking or running, coming from close or far (you can make a weekend trip to SF! Woohoo!) let me know!

More Rock n' Roll and On One Year

So almost exactly a year ago, I did my first half marathon, on October 6th, 2013 - the Rock n' Roll Half in San Jose. It was an incredible race with over 10,000 people in the streets of Downtown San Jose doing the half and mini marathons. I was so proud to finish that race!

This year, a lot of people asked me if I was going to do Rock n' Roll again, and I said no. I signed up for the Nike Women's, on October 19th, and this was two weeks before that. Also, I ended up moving on October 4th, and the race was the 5th. It would have been very hectic to run Rock n' Roll the same weekend as moving.

But then I felt a little regret. I was already training and ready, right? And I hadn't done a flat course since last spring, I was totally going to PR, too! I couldn't resist. So I did a bad thing and bought someone's bib (it was cheaper than signing up last minute for ~$130!) and ran! So I was Christi rather than Sarah, technically... but hey, I'm happy I could take part!

So, moving happened. Moving was, of course, overwhelming, but I'm loving my new apartment and roommate. More pictures of the new place, once it is fully set up, soon to come!



I woke up on the morning of the race, a bit sleepy but ready to go! I had my bib and clothes laid out and ready to go, and managed to pull myself together. I actually wore the same shirt as last year - a purple tank top, perfect for a hot day. A was nice enough to drive me to the race, although a bit cranky when we hit traffic near an exit. I was able to hop out of the car soon enough, and walk/jog over to the gear check as a warm-up. Gear check was well-organized and efficient again this year, so I did that, hit the port-o-potty line, then warmed up a little more before heading over to the corrals to start.

Because of the huge number of people doing the 10k and Half, there were 21 corrals - that is, 21 waves to start the race! It was crazy!

My wave, 14, (I was supposed to be in a later wave but pushed up a little, oh well!) didn't start until around 8:30, after the first wave started at 8. It was a bit slow out of the gate, as most people in corral 14 were at a little slower pace than I was trying for, but eventually, I was able to weave a little and speed up to where I wanted to be. I started out with a pace around 9:45/mile, which is pretty comfortable for me.

The first few miles weren't too bad. I saw my friend Mary, who was watching between miles 3-4, which definitely gave me a boost! It was definitely warmer than I'd prefer when we started, but didn't get too uncomfortable right away. I made sure to stay prepared this time, after the last super hot half marathon fiasco, with carrying my own water (with NUUN for electrolytes) and wearing a hat to keep the sun off my face.

There were also a ton of cheerleading squads, bands, and children along the route. It really does keep me going when the crowds are cheering a lot! I definitely high-fived a lot of cheerleaders, small children, and random people. There was even a guy handing out donut holes to runners - I did not partake, but they looked delicious, of course!

San Jose Sharkie also showed up :)

I was excited when I got between miles 7-8, remembering where my parents were cheering me along last year! It was fun to remember last year, as it was my very first half. Seems like such a long time ago!

So the course weaves through the Rose Garden neighborhood in San Jose, a very pretty neighborhood, around miles 8-11. I remember those miles being looooong last year, and it didn't feel quite as bad this year, although it started to get HOT. Up into the 80's! But this race was definitely better equipped for the heat than the one I did in Sacramento. First of all, there were 7 water stops rather than 5, including 3 in the last 5 miles or so. That made a huge difference! And there were many more people out with hoses at the water stops, spraying us as we ran by, as well as some unofficial "water stops," offering water to runners from their front lawns. That was much appreciated! In any case, I definitely slowed down between miles 8 and 12.

By the time I got to mile 12, I got really excited - almost done, heading into the home stretch with a huge crowd! It was amazing having everyone there cheering us along. It also reminded me of last year, when a woman from my running group was in the crowd, and found me and ran with me for a bit along that last stretch. I was even MORE excited to find the finish! The volunteers handed us water (amazing), cold towels (even more amazing), and our medals! This one was pretty sweet, a bear with a beer opener. Hooray!

My overall results were the following:
Time: 2:11:11 (PR)
Pace: 10:00/mile
Place: 3082/8265 (Gender: 992/4206)


I met some of my running friends after the race to take pictures. Everyone did pretty well, and agreed that it was definitely hot for an October race! (Pictures to come... my friend has not uploaded yet!)


I then got brunch with some other friends, one of whom had completed her first half marathon! Goblet-sized mimosa (x2) made me a happy person.

So, another one is in the books... and I've improved my time nearly 15 minutes between last year and this year! Feels good!



See you again soon for an update on the Nike Women's Half!

Otherwise...

Let's catch up.

In early August, I was lucky enough to be in my friend's beautiful wedding in the Boston area!

There was actually some awesome running, and my first geocaching experience during one of our runs on Cape Cod (during the bachelorette weekend) as well!

And then in between returning from that trip and starting work, I was...

1. Running another double 10k+5k race!

(Halftime selfie)

I got a PR of 1:28:15 for the full race, doing the 10k portion in 58:40, and the 5k portion in 29:35!



2. Hanging out in Carmel with A...

Before heading to Laguna Seca to see some old cars n' stuff...

And kind of accidentally crashing a fancy car event and getting free stuff. Sweet.

I've also been:

- Watching Dexter on Netflix and then having dreams about serial killers
- Fantasy Footballing (it is NOT so hot for my team thus far)
- Regular footballing! Go niners!
- Finding a bunch of bangin' new crockpot recipes on Pinterest (and cooking said recipes)
- Trying some sugar-free desserts, like frozen banana and peanut butter "fro yo," and these
- Prepping for my next half marathon in October, and considering some 5k and 10k races for later on this fall!
- Moving! Forgot to mention the moving. I'm moving into a bigger apartment to share with a friend, and saving a little $$ in the process.
- Singin' in my choir
- Hanging out with the kiddos at work


Yeah, so lots of good things. Many things that I'm thankful for :)

Detox

I think I've been clear this whole time that I, in no way, have all the answers. Sure, I was able to lose weight and have kept it off for nearly a year (!) now. That is definitely a success in and of itself. However, that time has also, as I've mentioned, not been without its ups and downs. There have been breakdowns, tears, crazy out of control sugar binges... and moments of peace, days of clarity, and so, so many good things, good thoughts, good foods, and good people (see my next entry!).

So after a whole summer of ups and downs, goods and bads, I hit another road block, so to speak. I found myself completely out of control with sugar, snacking, and food issues in general the weekend before I went back to work to start the school year. In seeing my therapist and talking about everything, she told me something I didn't think that she'd say: why don't you try no more sugar.

Somehow, she said that, and I realized that it was exactly the conclusion I had wanted to draw for myself, I just wasn't able to come to it on my own.

The only time I've really been at peace - completely - with food, and felt really good about what I was eating, was the week or so that I completely cut out sugar, and the subsequent period of time before it came into my life again in a big way. It was easy for me to maintain my weight and sense when I was hungry and full.



This is because I am addicted to sugar.



This is something that might seem extremely personal, kind of embarrassing, and even shameful, but I doubt that I am the only one who deals with these issues, so I feel the need to put it out there and explain.

I am not eating sugar now because I am addicted to it.

I can not eat a little bit of candy. When I eat candy, all I want is more candy. My brain is so conditioned to keep wanting more and more, and what I have to go through to make myself stop eating it makes it not worth it.

When I'm in this "binge" mode, it's like I'm in a daze. I will often buy one or two sugary, sweet foods at the store, like a bag of jelly beans, m&ms, sour candies, or cookies. I'll also buy bags of chex mix, cheetos, or chips to balance it out. I will often spend 15 minutes in a snack aisle, contemplating what combination to buy, justifying the purchases in my head - maybe I'll just have half the jelly beans! Or, Chex Mix is much healthier than chips!

I mean, it's a cocktail of salty, sweet, processed junk.

I feel like a binge is just like a drug binge. I'll alternate the candy and the sweet food, and when I'm done, I crave more. I will attempt to make myself some sort of bingey food out of whatever is in my cabinets, even though I don't keep most of those dangerous things at my house. I'll manage to make macaroni and cheese out of whole wheat pasta, or will scavenge together ingredients for cookies. I'll go out and get more in the most frantic times.

I always seek more and more food when this happens because I'm addicted. My brain apparently gets that release of dopamine from the initial sugar that I consume, and then needs greater and greater amounts of these foods to continue getting that "rush."

Apparently, cocaine does the same thing.




So, there are the sordid details. This has been happening for awhile, although for periods of my life, I ate this junk all the time - ice cream, chips, cookies. I couldn't even address the weight, I just wanted the food. But since losing weight and trying to find peace with food, every time I break down and binge, it's that much more upsetting.

That is why I'm not eating sugar anymore.

It's not just sugar - it's the artificial sugar that was driving my cravings along for such a long time, and it's those processed snack foods that often will also trigger a binge. I'll have a little, then - fuck it, might as well!




And yes, I know sugar is in everything, and that white flour pretty much turns to sugar once you consume it. So my plan is to avoid sugar that is added to food as much as I can - but not to the point of deprivation.

Will I be upset if there's a trace amount of sugar in the tomato sauce or marinade I eat? Nah. I'm not going to binge on tomato sauce.

And I know fruit has (naturally occurring) sugar, but am I going to binge on mango or grapes? Nope nope nope.

Even white bread - bagels, pizza, delicious sourdough. Those aren't things that I eat often, but I don't want to deprive myself of those things if I want them. None of those things makes me feel out of control, and none of those things triggers me. I don't see why I should deprive myself if I can have those as occasional treats and enjoy them in moderation.




Candy I don't do in moderation. Or chex mix, cheetos, lemon bars, brownies, baked chips, or ice cream. At least for now. My plan is to avoid it for the time being, for probably 3-4 months, and then work with my therapist to re-assess. I've found myself at peace with the fact that I may never eat these things again. Maybe not never again, definitely for a good while.



So that is me - I am a sugar addict. Sugar makes me feel out of control. I don't need it. It makes me sick and unhappy. And for the longest time, it's been just this love/hate relationship... but I think I'm falling out of love.



(Post-Script: I have been reading The Hunger Fix by Pam Peeke, and it's very good so far. She talks a lot about overcoming food addiction. If you think this is a problem for you, or I guess if it's not, either, I do recommend it!)

The First Half of the SF Marathon

It's here, it's here! The long-awaited San Francisco Marathon - which actually consists of five events: the full marathon, the first and second half marathons, the 5k, and if you're a little (a lot) masochistic or something, the 52.4, which yes, is the marathon course twice over, starting at midnight the night before.

This year for me, it's the first half! As I've done in a couple other races, I knew the first half would give me the opportunity to run across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge once again, and consist of some pretty scenery along the water. Hopefully next year, I'll be running the second half through Golden Gate Park and the Haight, and will get that "Half It All" Challenge medal!

The weekend started out with my usual 20-minute shake out run around my neighborhood, after which I headed in to the city to hit up the race expo. Two of my high school besties came with me after we had brunch, which was awesome! The Expo was at Fort Mason, and as expected, incredibly crowded. The way it was set up, you had to make your way through the vendors in order to get to the bib pickup. I was not a huge fan of this (it was crowded!) but at least I got some good snack samples, and bib pickup was super easy.

Outside the expo at Fort Mason! I was too overwhelmed inside to take pictures!


My mom was nice enough to come up to the city to cheer me on - she and I got dinner, then scoped out a meeting point in Golden Gate Park, near the finish line for the First Half. She also helped me pick out an outfit - orange top and grey/black pants, Giants colors!

Getting up the following morning was not so much fun. Blerg. Since my wave started precisely at 6:02, and with traffic, it could take 20 minutes to get me within walking distance of the starting line, we were out of bed and in the car by 5. At least it was pretty when I got to the Ferry Building!

Unlike some other races I've done, the bag check and port-o-potty lines were pretty quick, and I got to the starting line 5-10 minutes before they called my wave up. It took a few minutes to walk to the start from where we were lined up, so I actually ended up crossing more around 6:05.

First runners leaving around 5:30

Pre-race selfie!



The way the course was designed, the first four miles were flat (with a little uphill around Fort Mason), then up and down the rest of the way. Since it is a half of the full marathon, where the hilly section is toward the middle, and the course flattens out in the end, OUR end of the course was a bit hilly.



I felt good going along the first few miles. I started out fast, checked my pace on my watch, then slowed down a bit to pace myself. My split at 2 miles was a comfortable 10:04/mile pace. It was nice and cool and foggy around the Marina and Crissy Field with awesome views of the GGB, and it even rained on us a little! Lowlight: a bird pooping directly between me and this other woman. Like white stuff plopping from the sky right between us. At least we had a good laugh! Highlight: running by Boudin in Fisherman's Wharf and smelling the sourdough baking. YUM.

Miles 5-10 were more or less getting to (then over and back) the Golden Gate Bridge. The first hill through the Presidio up to the GGB was pretty awful, but at the base of the bridge, some spectators were there giving high fives, which distracted me from my pain for awhile! The bridge is kind of a gradual slope (uphill then downhill), and we got to turn around at the Vista Point on the other end of the bridge. Sadly, it was a foggy morning, not the best for views of the city, but I was grateful it wasn't too sunny and warm. Lowlight: More people taking race selfies while crossing the GGB, and seeing a woman totally trip and eat it going back across the Golden Gate the opposite direction of me. Highlight: I found some "friends" (people going the same pace as me) that I ran behind the whole way across and back on the Golden Gate Bridge - following them distracted me from my pain! And it was nice to be almost at Mile 10 already when getting off the bridge!

Miles 10-13 were definitely the hardest. After getting off the bridge, there was a pretty steep climb with a water stop almost at the top, which was enough to break my momentum, so it was tough to get back going after that. Next was a steep downhill, and then a mix of gradual and not so gradual climbs up to Golden Gate Park. The constant uphills definitely took a lot out of me, and by the time I got to Golden Gate Park (uphill going into the park), my thighs were screaming and it took a lot out of me to push myself a little faster. I heard some people commenting around me that they were cramping up - and understandably so! The last quarter mile or so was - thankfully - downhill to the finish. My mom saw me and jumped on to the road to cheer me on, and I finally made it!

The finish line!

Beautiful Stow Lake at Golden Gate Park! The full marathon and second half runners go all the way around the lake.



Overall, I was able to set a half marathon PR, which is awesome! I realized I've been able to improve my time by over 10 minutes in a year!

Time: 2:13:26
Pace: 10:10/mile
Place: 2559/7250 (1009/4052 women, 383/1233 in my age group)

Done!!


I guess my Garmin watch thinks I went a little faster than I actually did today, but I got a bunch of PRs on Strava too, which is cool! Best 15k, 10 mile, 20k, and half marathon times!

Basically, I loved the course, and it was my favorite of the SF races that I've done so far. I know that I want to do the second half of the course next year, and I'm definitely still considering doing the full marathon in 2016. I would definitely need to train hard, do a lot of hill training, and try to pace myself, but I think it's possible!

Onwards and upwards - next comes the Nike Women's Half Marathon in October, and after that, no half marathons for a while. I want to avoid burnout and start fresh when the next one comes :)