Friday, March 20, 2015

I Am A Marathoner: The LA Marathon Recap

It's been about 5 days post the LA Marathon and I am still celebrating my accomplishment of completing my First Marathon!! Did it go the way I had wanted it to? No. Did I reach my goal time? No. Did I stick with my run:walk cycle? No. Did I enjoy every minute of it? No. Will I do it again? Yes!!!

I was lucky to be able to share this experience with another running friend. This was both of our first marathon. We drove up together from SoCal and had a hotel room for just Saturday night. We first arrived in LA to get to the expo. We made it in around 1:30ish. Getting in and out of the expo was a breeze. It was the merchandise check out line that took some time. But you HAVE to buy a few items at your first marathon race!! And we were in luck too because they had started to mark things down to 50-75% off. I was able to score a $82 LA Marathon jacket for $21 and also 3 shirts for $11 each. I even picked up little man a stuffed teddy bear for $4 with an original price tag of $16. When we were all done checking out we then went over to the Wall of Fame to find our names. Here is mine towards the top of the wall, above the big white A.

When we got done walking through the whole expo we decided to find the hotel and get off our feet for a bit. We drove from LA to Santa Monica, where we would be staying closer to the finish line. We got checked it, relaxed for a bit and chatted about all the great deals we got on our clothing. We walked down towards the beach and settled on PF Changs for dinner, keeping it simple with chicken and brown rice. When we got back to the hotel we had enough time to get our bags and clothes ready for tomorrow before hitting the bed early.

Our wake up call was at 1:50am so that we could catch a taxi at 2:30am to take us to the bus pick up by 3am. The bus pick up was at Santa Monica City Hall, near the finish line. Even though it was just a little over 2 miles from our hotel we just didnt feel comfortable enough to walk from our hotel to there at such an early time. We arrived to the bus pick up and we were definitely one of the first ones there. Once our bus loaded up at 3am we were on our way to Dodger Stadium
Above is a picture of me in Dodger Stadium. My friend and I were some of the first ones there. It was so quiet and peaceful when we arrived. It still had not sunk in that I was getting ready to run 26.2 miles in just a few short hours. While hanging out we were able to walk around the stadium, ate some carbs, made sure to stay hydrated and talked about how exciting everything was. I was also able to meet two other INKnBURN ambassadors for the first time!!! Note that in my picture above it was around 3:30am and the temperature was already at 72 degrees. I am sporting my INKnBURN RunOrDie Singlet, INKnBURN black shorts, MRTT running hat, compression calf sleeves and Hoka One One shoes for this race.

About an hour and a half before the race started, we found our way to the open corral and promptly sat on the ground until things got on their way. The two pictures above is of me in the corral and the sun coming up behind us at around 6:50am. The race was originally scheduled for 7:25am start time but was moved up to 6:55am because of the heat advisory. The race gun went off as close to 6:55am as they could get it. 
My plan for the race was to start off a little slower then what I had been training at and keep at a 2 min run, 1 minute walk pace. I was making sure to use the walking time to take small sips of water and Tailwind to stay hydrated. I left out of Dodger Stadium and headed through Chinatown and Little Tokyo before hitting our first hill of the race at mile 4, Bunker Hill. Even though it was a decent size hill there was a group of Japanese Drummers just drumming away and putting extra motivation in your foot steps. These first 4 miles felt great and I was running around a 12:30 min/mile pace. With the hill I went slower up to conserve energy. After Bunker Hill I went through Westlake where there was another major hill to climb and then through Silverlake. By this time I had hit the 10K mark and had already made a pit stop to the porta potty and was also walking through the water stations. From there we ran through Little Armenia and into Hollywood. It was just before hitting Hollywood, around mile 10, that my stomach had other plans for me. I spent a good bit of time in the porta potty with a very upset tummy. I was just watching the minutes pass by on my Garmin. I was so upset. Once things calmed down and I got back into the race, I felt so drained and weak. But this was my first time in LA and I was excited to finally be able to see some sites. Below is a few pictures I was able to take while running down Hollywood.




After Hollywood I ran through West Hollywood for miles 13, 14 and 15. This is where the heat started to pick up. The clouds were clearing, the wind was dying down and the sun was coming out. My body was getting tired already but thank goodness there was so much to see to help keep my mind off of things. I hit Beverly Hills around mile 16 and got to do some window shopping as I ran by all the expensive stores. From Beverly Hills I went through Westwood, West LA and into Brentwood. For me, one of the hardest places to run was near the VA Hospital, around mile 20 I believe. It was around 92 degrees by then and I was traveling up another hill. At this point in my race I could feel myself getting hot and beyond tired. I wanted to finish my race and I wanted to do it without injury or heat stroke. It was at this time that I decided I needed to abandon my run:walk cycles and just walk for a bit. I used this time to make sure I was taking in liquids and using my cooling towel to lower my body temp. People along side the road had buckets of ice that they were handing out and I found myself stuffing it down into my bra. At the water stations I was dumping water onto my head and keeping my cooling towel fresh with cold water. Luckily my INKnBURN clothing was also helping to keep me cool and was wicking away my sweat pretty quickly. Half way through Brentwood, around mile 22, I came across a fellow MRTT (Moms Run This Town) mama who was waiting for me. She had a fresh cold towel, filled my bottle with ice chips and attached a bag around my stomach. She told me that I probably didnt want what was in the bag right now but it would be there for me later. Next thing I knew I was off and going again. The ice chips helped to get me through the next few miles and into Santa Monica. Just as I was starting to feel better and about to hit my run:walk cycles again, I felt my stomach pull at me. I decided here that there was no way I was going to make my goal time and was just going to enjoy the last few miles of this journey. I could tell that I was getting closer to the end because the wind was picking back up again with a cool breeze coming off of the ocean. Before I knew it, there was the last mile marker sign!!
It wasnt long after I passed mile 25 that I could start to see the ocean. I then remembered about the bag my friend had put around my stomach. I opened it up to find jelly beans and pretzels inside. At that moment jelly beans sounded so amazing and they tasted even better then what I remembered. I finished up the jelly beans right as I took my final turn and spotted the finish line just up ahead.
So many people out there cheering for you, telling you that you are almost there and to keep going. Emotions were becoming so overwhelming at this point. My husband was sending me texts asking why I had stopped. I guess he was experiencing a glitch in the system as he and my little guy were following me on line. I sent him this picture and told him I was just about there. Knowing that the finish line was so close and that they were watching me, I found what little energy I had left and ran the last little bit across the finish line. I was fully expecting tears of joy at that moment but all I had was a big smile across my face. I did it. I just ran 26.2 miles. It only took me 6:32:06 but I did it.

Not every race is perfect and things dont always go as planned but thats why there are other races in my future. I set a PR today and plan to break it at my next Marathon this November. I learned a lot and will use it to better prepare myself for the next one. Even though this was my first Marathon, I loved it. Everything ran so smoothly, the runners were supportive, the volunteers were amazing, the community support was overwhelming and the bling was awesome. I would have not wanted my first Marathon to go any other way. I hope to come back to LA next year for a rematch.


Right after the race my friend and I ate lunch, walked back to the hotel, changed and headed for home. I was pumped to wear my 26.2 mile shirt from INKnBURN. I had bought it back in January and was waiting for this day to finally put it on. We also celebrated with iced coffee drinks from Dunkin Donuts. Once I got home and was able to clean up more, little man was ready to take me out to dinner to celebrate. Of course he picked one of his favorite spots, Pieology. While the hubby ordered our dinner, little man and I waited at the table. He asked me to take a picture of us in my new race shirt. Love this kid to the moon and back!









Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Renegade Race Series: The Coaster Run and Camp Snoopy Kids Run at Knott's Berry Farm


About a month ago I got the awesome news that I would be joining Team Renegade and become a Renegade Race Rep for them. This past weekend I got to run my first race as a Rep at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA.  Tomorrow is my one year anniversary of living here in SoCal and I had yet to visit this theme park. I was ecstatic to be able to do some running through the park and get a sneak peak at it.

Like every good runner I had my bag ready and my clothes set out the night before a race. However, sometimes I just can't get going in the morning and what I thought would take me 20 minutes to get out the door turns into 45 minutes. Oh and the clocks got pushed forward an hour so that was not helping me either. Luckily the drive there for me was pretty much all highway and I hit no traffic at 6am. I got to the Sears parking lot, across the street from Knott's Berry Farm, at 6:22am and had no trouble finding a spot to park. The only down side was that the parking lot lights were not on and it was still pretty dark then. It made getting the jogger, my kid and the snack bag all that more interesting. The walk to the starting line took maybe 5 minutes.

Since I was running behind I took us straight to our wave and made sure to get little man settled in before we took off. There was 7 waves and they were roped off with a person at each entrance checking your bib. One of the things I like about Renegade is that I can run with my jogger for most of their races. I'm not that crazy lady that you see running people over with their joggers. As a runner I have lots of respect for my fellow runners. I made sure to take my spot at the very back of my wave. I also give the other runners the right away and I do call out if I'm going to pass someone so that they don't all of a sudden turn into my jogger. The DJ on the stage had music pumping and was very energetic. He got the first wave started just after 7am. There was about a 2-3 minute wait in between each wave.

The course started off in the parking lot but it wasn't long before I was entering into the park. This was a big bonus because it kept little man looking around and talking about all the rides he saw. I was probably running in the park for about a mile, maybe a mile and a half before I was back out into the parking lot. I was only in the parking lot for just a few minutes and then found myself running through Knott's Soaked City. Little man got really exited about all the slides and was already asking when we would be coming back. As I was exiting out of the water park the 5K runners turned left towards the finish line while I turned right with the 10K runners. At that point it was an out and back course on the road for about 3 miles before you were fed back in with the 5K race so that everyone crossed the same finish line.

The course was pretty flat. The only time I found some "hills" was a few up and down ramps when you were entering and exiting Knott's Berry Farm. There was plenty of water stops with some awesome volunteers. There was tons of smiling volunteers along the course cheering, singing, giving you high fives and thanking you for coming out to run the race. For me one of the many things I look for at a race to determine if I do it again is the support system for the runners. I literally saw those red volunteer shirts everywhere!! And that alone would bring me back next year to race again.

Once I crossed the Finish Line they had volunteers ready to remove the timing chip from my shoe so that I didn't have to bend over to do it myself. Aww, the little things in life. Once that was done I received my SWEET looking medal and got in line for a FREE slice of Boysenberry pie. Mmmmmm, sooooo good. There was also water and light snacks. It was a little tough getting from the finish line shoot back to the open space where the expo was held but totally worth it to get that piece of pie. I do wish I had more pictures to show of the race but when I'm pushing little man in the jogger there is no stopping or he gets mad.


I was able to drop the jogger off at the Renegade Race Series Tent and headed back over to the Knott's Berry Farm entrance with little man so that he could do the Camp Snoopy Kids Run. This was his very first race and he was beyond excited for it, especially after I just completed my race and got my medal.

For the kids run, everyone just lined up in no particular order and was let out into the park in groups that were spaced about 2 minutes apart. The entire kids run was in the park. It was pretty flat and people were spaced out well enough so that people were not bumping into others. Parents and/or an adult was able to accompany the kids during their run. Little man made sure to point out every ride that he wanted to do while he ran. My son will be 4 in about 3 months and he jogged the whole time with bursts of sprinting here and there. Again there was lots of volunteers out supporting the kids and giving them high fives. Once little man crossed the finish line he received his medal and they also had water and MORE pie available. 

Overall it was an easy course, amazing support by the volunteers, getting in/out of the parking lot was a breeze and it was so much fun. It's definitely a great time for the whole family and also for the single runner as well. I highly recommend this race to anyone and will be doing this race again next year. Just make sure to sign up for it right away because this race did sell out!! Make sure to check out their race page at www.renegaderaceseries.com
In the pictures you can see that I was sporting the new Black Lace Tech Shirt from INKnBURN. You can find it on their site at www.inknburn.com

Friday, February 13, 2015

Minnie Mouse Running Costume

It's getting closer and closer for my Disney World trip next week.. YAY!!!! Next Friday I will be running my first ever Disney race and it will the Princess 5K. This year the theme for the Princess races is Frozen, go figure. The race start time is at 6:15am. We will be running through Epcot. There will also be Disney Entertainment and Characters along the course so that's exciting. My BRF and I are not out to try to get PRs or even come close to one. We are just doing these races for fun and to build memories together, especially now that we both live on opposite coasts. My BRF and I will also be twins for this race and sporting a Minnie Mouse "costume". Only 5 more days until I fly out for Disney World.

My Visit To The INKnBURN Warehouse

The little one didn't have school today so my normal schedule of running and working out in the morning was not going to happen. The hubby decided that we should all go to ChickFilA for breakfast this morning so that's what we did. First off, I LOVE ChickFilA. I've always had great customer experience there and yummy food. Plus, being from the South, this is one of the very FEW places to get sweet tea here on the West Coast. After breakfast we hit up a park before it got too warm and then headed over to INKnBURN.

I've only been to their place once and that was for the wonderful sale they had last month. I got some really great deals then on retired, sample and "damaged" items. The sale was outside so I never saw the in side of the warehouse. In side there is an area where they have samples of all their Spring and Run or Die Collection for you try on. Their stuff is so soft and colorful that it makes it hard to not buy everything!! The staff was amazing, especially with my son. My son fell in love with Indi Avila. She talked to him and even got him to sit still for 10 minutes while he drew pictures with her. He promised her that he would work on drawing her a monkey and send it to her. I ended up getting (from left to right): Wish Camisole, Atalanta Singlet, Atalanta Tech Shirt, Atalanta Yoga Shorts and Black Denim Tights.


After trying everything on and picking out my new items, Indi gave us a tour of where the magic happens. Like I mentioned in another post, INKnBURN is made in the USA at their warehouse in Southern California. They start with all white performance fabric and then cut each panel to make up the clothing item. They use a special kind of paper with a unique kind of ink to print onto the clothing. They then use pressure and extremely high temperatures to turn the ink into gas which allows it to bond to the fabric. This technique allows the fabric to still breath, not blocking the holes in the performance fabric like other screen printed items from other companies. This technique also allows for the clothing to have long-term durability. Once this is completed the next step is to hand sew the panels together. There are no scratchy tags on any of their clothing. Some of the softest threads are used on their clothing to deliver maximum comfort. You can place your order on line and have it delivered to your place or if you live close to the warehouse, you can opt to come pick it up. Or you can do what I did and make an appointment time to come by and see everything in person, try on the samples and then try not to max out the credit card because you want one of everything. Once you don that first item of clothing you will immediately feel the top quality that is INKnBURN and become addicted. You will want to leave the warehouse wearing your first purchase so that you can head back home and instantly begin your workout or hit the running path. They are that impressive.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Renegade Race Series Rep

This has been an amazing week for me in regards to my running world. Not only am I now an INKnBURN Ambassador but I just excepted to be a rep for Renegade Race Series here in SoCal. Super excited!!! I realized that last year a majority of my races I ran was through Renegade Race Series. I reached out to them a few weeks ago asking when they would be excepting applications for new reps. I was told that there were no spaces right now but they would log my info for future reviewing when something opened up. I was at a trampoline play date with my son today when my email alert went off. I was ecstatic and couldn't believe it. I can't wait to get started and get my calendar filled with more awesome races!! And to share them with you all. Not to mention I will be able to share some discount codes too ;) Below is my favorite medal that I got from one of their races last year. It was the Terrifying 10 Miler for Halloween. I normally run with my toddler in the jogger for 5ks and 10ks. Since this was just a little farther in distance then what he was used to, I decided to let him sleep in at home with dad that morning. Sure glad I did because those hills were no joke. There was a great view of the ocean at the start and finish of the race. They also had a cute kids race that I hope my son will want to do this year.


Today was a rest day for me. I spent the day hanging out with my toddler. After we did the trampoline play date for a few hours we came home for lunch and then headed straight to the pool. The weather here today was gorgeous. It was clear skies, sunny and a cool breeze with a high of 90 degrees. I put on my INKnBURN camisole for the pool today. That's just another reason why I love their stuff. I can run, workout and go swimming in it. I've worn the camisoles to the beach and the pool numerous times. They are holding up beautifully with no fading or stretching. I am actually heading over to their store tomorrow morning to check out their Spring Collection first hand and to bring some of it home.





And as a side note, I will be at Disney World this time next week. Hopefully I will be sleeping but I always have a hard time sleeping the night before a race. Plus I have heard that you have to be waiting in line for the buses to take you to the race at like 3:30am :O I've been looking forward to the Princess Half Marathon weekend for 2 years. After I completed my first half marathon in Raleigh, NC with my running group I told my BRFs that we needed to do this race and make it a girls weekend. Can't wait!!!!!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Up Coming Race List for 2015

This last year was BIG for me!! I completed 3 5Ks, 1 8K, 4 10Ks, 1 10 Mile and 4 Half Marathon Races. And that was only from May-November of 2014 here in SoCal. The running community out here is much better supported then where I came from. Its given me increased motivation and I have enjoyed running much more out here.

This is what I have up on my list of races so far this year:
- Surf City Half Marathon which I completed on February 1st and got my Beach City Challenge Medal
- Princess Half Marathon at Disney World February 20-22nd which I will be doing the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon with my BRF from Raleigh, NC
-LA Marathon on March 15th, this will be my FIRST full marathon
-Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation Half Marathon on March 29th
- SoCal Ragnar on April 10-11th, this will be my FIRST Ragnar experience
- OC Half Marathon on May 3rd
- Tinker Bell 10K and Half Marathon on May 9-10th with my BRF from Raleigh, NC again
- Im also a part of a team called the 3 Momigos. We are trying to complete 2,015 miles in 2015 together with each one of us running 672 miles. 

I will be looking for some more Summer and Fall races to fill my calendar with. One of them will be Revel Canyon again for sure!! Below is a pic of me from my last race at Surf City in Huntington Beach, CA. As I mentioned earlier, I completed my Beach City Challenge at the Surf City Race so I got an extra medal for that. Basically there are 3 races in the Beach City Challenge (OC, Long Beach and Surf City) and once you complete all 3 races consecutively you get the challenge medal. I was rocking one of my recent shirt purchase from the INKnBURN sale last month.


Favorite INKnBURN Outfit

If I had to pick a favorite outfit made by INKnBURN I would have to pick the Flutter tank top and shorts. I LOVE all the different colors in this piece. It makes me happy just looking at it. The colors and symbol of the butterfly makes me feel free and full of energy. I almost feel like I'm fluttering as I'm running. The fabric is super light and keeps me cool which is great because I sweat a lot :P I find that the shorts are a perfect fit for me, not too short or long. Here is a picture of me in the outfit this past November 2014. I just finished running the Revel Canyon Half Marathon in Azusa, CA. That was my favorite race last year!! I can't wait to get my hands on INKnBURN's new Spring line. Dont forget to check them out at www.inknburn.com

I'm a INKnBURN Ambassador

What better way to start off my new blog then finding out I got picked to be an INKnBURN ambassador today. If you haven't heard of them then you need to head on over to their site right now and check them out. Their athletic apparel is made here in the USA and is nothing like you have seen. The clothing is striking in color and each design has a meaning behind it. You can mix and match the tops and bottoms, there are no rules. They use some of the best performance fabrics and are made to last. The art work wont fade, crack, peel and you cant feel it. All of their items are tested on ultra runners at extreme distances. But you don't have to be a runner to wear their awesome clothing line, it's great for cross fit, workouts, running errands, yoga, tennis, other sports and you can even swim in it!! They just put out their new Spring Collection www.inknburn.com

Today I took my son to Disneyland. It was a beautiful day with sunny, clear skies and 75 degrees out. I'm heading to Disney World next week for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend so I figured I needed to get him to Disneyland before things got busy and I left. We were standing in line at Big Thunder Mountain when I happen to check my email on my phone. That's when I saw the email from INKnBURN congratulating me on being selected as an Ambassador. I started jumping up and down in line and looked at my son yelling "I did it. I got picked". My son started jumping too but only because I was jumping up and down. The people around me asked what was going on and I explained to them how excited I was to be joining an amazing team of runners and an incredible company. I actually was wearing my red denim INKnBURN shorts at Disneyland so they got to see a piece of their clothing up close. Dreams do come true at the happiest place on Earth ;)