Coyote Hills Trail Run

I am so glad that I have at least two Brazen Racing events on the calendar this year. They put on such great races, the past couple of years have been spent on immersing myself into triathlon and working on speed, so sadly it's been a long time since I have competed in a Brazen Racing event. Most of their runs are located in East Bay Regional Parks and are trail runs. Mary Sue and I did this race in 2011, and while I remember it being fun, I also remember being frustrated because of the single track and lots of folks walking the single track portion when I wanted to run it. You can read my blog post from 2011 here. Hilarious read, for me anyway!

Since this is a 3.5 mile long course (trail runs are difficult to get to an exact 3.1) I didn't have too many expectations for the day. As part of my half marathon training, the schedule calls for you to race one 5k and one 10k distance during your training. I wanted to go out and have a nice solid run and be thankful that I was only running 3.5 versus 6 miles. It was also a great opportunity to wear my new Emergen-C branded shirt and hand out samples post race. Being part of the Emergen-C team means that I will wear their branded logo and hand out samples at events that I participate in.

This year, I followed their advice when they said if you expect to finish in the top 1/3 then line up in the top 1/3. I didn't want to make the mistake I had made in 2011 and get stuck behind walkers. As we hit the paved section of the course we were off to a fast start, a little bit faster than I wanted to be considering there would be hills later. A young boy was running and dropped his iphone and didn't notice it. So I yelled out "you dropped your phone!" To his parents, you are welcome.

As we hit the boardwalk section of the course, the drought in CA really struck home. This is what it looked like in 2011.

This is what it looked like this year.

 After feeling slightly sick to my stomach, I returned to focus on my running. Ironically in the photos below, the woman in green passed me and I tried to so hard to catch her at the finish line! I was so close!

Most of the run I found someone to tuck behind and maintain a pace. I had been behind this gentleman for a good part of the race, the guy in gray shorts. There was a 6 year old boy and his Dad who were playing leap frog with me. They would walk and I would pass them, then they would run again and pass me, I am familiar with his strategy. Eventually it appeared that the gray shorts guy was pacing slowing down, so I passed him and had to find someone else.  As I worked on finding a new buddy, the 6 year old boy and his Dad's run pace had also slowed down as we were running uphill. Sadly, they were running two wide which made it difficult to pass them. Eventually, I found a spot and said "hey buddy, I'm going to pass you now" which meant, please don't dodge back in front of me as I pass. I had to laugh as his Dad said to him "You're just letting her pick you off like that?" I figured they were probably using me as marker in my brightly colored Emergen-C shirt. Eventually I found my own brightly colored to pace off of.

Thank you to the lovely woman in yellow for being a pace buddy. At this point my body seemed to tell me that I was running to slow and to pick up the pace. So I did. Lots of great scenery to enjoy on this course but I wanted to be done.

Once I hit the section of the course that I had warmed up on I knew it was time to sprint to the finish. The lady in the green shirt was in front of me and I tried so hard to catch her, but I ended up finishing one second behind her.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the how day went. A 7:25 course PR, which can be attributed to Brazen eliminating the single track portion of the course, being faster, the ability to run hills versus walking them, and a lot of hard work over the past three years!

7/54 AG
101/453 OA

We'll do it again next month! 

Thank you to Emergen-C for letting me represent your brand and keeping me healthy this winter!

*Course photos courteous of the numerous Brazen volunteers taking awesome photos!

Nor Cal 10 Miler Series 5k

That was so much more fun than I thought it would be. I spent most of yesterday with a headache which did nothing for my mood. To top it off I slept terribly, waking up every one to two hours. Finally at 5am I gave up and just got out of bed. I didn't have any plans for today's race other than to just have a good run and enjoy myself. That was proving hard to do with a headache and lack of sleep.

As I left the house way ahead of schedule, in the dark, I realized that I was actually very tired. This made the drive to Foster City seem to last FOREVER.

Once I arrived I found myself faced with every side of the four way intersection coned off. I was super confused with where to go and since I was so early there was no one out directing traffic or any signs to give me a clue as to where I could or should go. I ended up driving too far, making a u-turn and heading back to the building where I was pretty sure I was supposed to park. I went to turn into the driveway only to find cones blocking the driveway. Um, how am I supposed to get into the parking garage??? I ran over the cones, yes, I really did. Maybe not exactly ran over them, but I squeezed passed them and I have may have knocked one over in the process, but it was dark, I couldn't tell for sure. Once I got into the garage, I circled around several times trying to get my bearings and figure out the best parking spot, I realized that it felt slightly creepy to be all alone in the garage. I decided to go scope out the start area and hopefully find some bathrooms. I arrived 30 minutes prior to packet pick-up, and I got some strange looks for apparently looking creepy while lurking in the dark, trying to scope out port-a-potties. I went back to my car and waited until 7am for packet pick-up to be ready and not be creepy.

On my second trip over I was able to quickly get my bib and sit around and wait for the building to open up that had the bathrooms. By this time, I really had to go. Thankfully I got up to walk around and realized the doors to the other side of the building were open and found bathrooms! Yay! With that I went back to my car to stay out of the cold.

I sat in my car, with the seat warmers on and waited until Mary Sue arrived. With 30 minutes until the race start we headed over to get ready. I did a very quick and short warm-up run and some stretches. It was enough to loosen up my ankles and honestly I wasn't really concerned because I was grumpy and wasn't planning on going out hard. As we lined up it became clear to us that at least 2/3 of the folks were running the 10 miler and only a small group of us were running the 5k. The 5k folks lined up behind the 10 miler runners, which I was totally okay with. Even when I had to pass a lot of those runners at the start. Hey, they were running 10 miles, they needed to pace themselves.

The path along the street was nice and wide and totally flat. I found a pace and settled in. I tried not to look at my pace on my watch, I did occasionally check the distance to gauge where I was and how the course was panning out. When I saw the first male 5k runner heading back, I started to pay attention. I like to keep myself occupied and I like to watch the leaders. When I saw the first place woman go by I started counting spots. Up ahead I could see the 5k turn-around and thought to myself "that's early". I had the thought that the course might end up being short depending on what our return route looked like. The next thought that occurred to me was that I was in 10th place in the women's division. Wow, I wonder if I can hold that. My question was answered at 1.77 miles when a 12 year old passed me. She didn't look 12 to me though,
I was sure she was older. I had seen her running with her Dad after I passed the turn-around and said to myself "she'll pass me". I didn't realize she was 12 until I saw the results. Shortly after that I was passed by another woman. I kept my eyes on the ladies in front of me hoping that I could stick with at least one of them long enough to make a pass at the end.

As I saw the finish line approaching, I started thinking about my game plan. I should have enough in the tank to sprint at the end and I had been keeping this woman in a white jacket who had passed me earlier in my sights, I was gaining on her. I was still thinking the course was going to be short until I realized we weren't running straight back up to the finish line, we would run past it and make a u-turn and come back in. Good thing I hadn't started sprinting yet. At this point I just stayed on the heels of the woman in front of me. I didn't want to pass her too early only to have her feel competitive and take me at the finish line. So I just stayed literally right behind her. Then without any warning she slowed to walk. Oh crap! I quickly dodged left but still managed to hit her in the shoulder. I apologized as I ran past and at least felt good about being in 11th. At this point I looked at my watch and realized I could earn a PR if I wanted it. It hadn't been the plan, but why not. I picked up my pace as I did, I could see a shadow approaching me and realized it was the woman I had passed, so I pushed harder and watched her shadow fall away. I sprinted across the finish line for a 29:41 finish and a 13 second PR.

Well that felt good. Maybe I should plan all of my races like that and I wouldn't be such a basket case pre-race. I headed over to gear check to get my bag and collect my race shirt. The race director asked my how the course was and I said it was great, except for the fake out at the end. i was told this was done so that we wouldn't have to cross a really large and busy intersection further out. Made total sense, and I really had no complaints about it.

As I came back over I saw the woman I had passed and gave her a thank you. I told her I was pacing right behind her and appreciated having someone to keep me going. Turns out she also earned a PR, so it was a good day for both of us.

After a quick look at the results I realized I had placed 3rd in my age group! The two people in front of me were ages 30 and 33, practically babies in comparison to my 38! Being that this was a small inaugural event there were no AG awards, but the race director was kind enough to give me a print out of the results showing I placed to make it all official! Thanks Gene!

Overall a great event and a great course. I would do this race again next year knowing that it is a super flat and fast, a great course to earn a PR on.

29:41
3/10 AG
11/56 Div
28/86 OA

We'll do it again in two weeks! 

A copy of the official results showing I'm 3rd in my AG

Happy New Year

The end of 2013 is a blur! We enjoyed a great winter break with The Nutcracker, a trip to San Francisco and lots and lots of food! Christmas morning was great and fun, even if it did start at 5am. We did all feel a little hole in our hearts while Tacoma opened her stocking and presents by herself for the first time ever.

We are all ready for 2014 to be an amazing year. Tacoma is really adoring being the only dog in our household. She used to be the slightly annoying younger dog in our home. The best example I have is when she should start licking your nearest body part if you were paying attention to Ike and not her. So gross! Now that she is lavished with attention all day long, she no longer finds the need to lick random body parts, with the exception of when I come home from a run. She has also been most accommodating in not being angry with me when I come home smelling like other dogs.

I come home smelling like other dogs because I've started a dog walking business. It started out as a favor to friend whose two year old Bluetick Hound needed some bursts of energy during the day. We've been running together for a couple of months and I love it. I've never had a dog I could run with, so it's nice to have some company and the days that we walk with his brother are most enjoyable. Since it's going so well, I decided to make it official in 2014. You can check out my website here.

The other bonus of this venture is it fills the part of my heart that desperately misses Ike. I really wanted to get another dog, however Tacoma continues to prove that she really does not want another playmate (sorry Gilbert for always being so snarky on our walks together). I'm coming to terms with her feelings and I get my extra doggie love from my clients.

I'm working on my race schedule for the remainder of the year. I'm currently immersed in half marathon training, once I finish that up I'll transition into triathlon training. I immensely enjoying the time to  focus on running. It's my first love and I could sense the frustration throughout 2013 about not being able to focus on my true love. Winter also happens to be my favorite time of the year to run and our weather in California has been ridiculously nice (minus all the spare the air days).

Up next is the Foster City 10 miler series. I'll be running the 5k thanks to my friends at Corrigan Sports. They really are awesome and put on great events, I'm thrilled to be participating in this inaugural race. There is still time to register and you can still use my code for a discount if you need something to do this weekend!

Ike 4/2000 - 12/2013

My favorite photo, he had a lot of growing to do to fit into that head of his.

It's been ten days since we lost Ike. I finally feel like I can talk about him without busting out into tears. You see, Ike was our first baby, the first pet that Scott and I got together. At the time were living in an apartment in Walnut Creek with Scott's two cats. Scott was in the application process for the CHP but was working for his Dad at his machine shop in Oakland near the Coliseum. Scott called me one day at work and told me that this cute pit bull puppy had wandered over tot he shop and was following him around. He said it appeared that someone had tied him up with car stereo wire that he had chewed through to escape. Scott spoke to a few neighbors but nobody recognized the pup. I told Scott he had to bring home, he would never survive living the streets in that neighborhood and would moist likely end up as a bait dog.

So Scott brought him home to his Mom's house. Barb was on vacation at the time and were taking care of the animals at her house. We figured we would find this cute little puppy a home since we couldn't have dogs at our apartment. This little guy quickly wormed his way in our hearts and it was pretty obvious we would do whatever it took to keep him. Lucky for us Scott's Mom was really generous with the "Surprise! We have a puppy at your house!" Shortly after that Scott found out he had been accepted into the CHP Academy, which meant we needed to move anyway because we couldn't swing the rent on his decreased salary while at the academy for six months. Once again being very generous, we moved in with Scott's Mom for the six month period with our puppy, and two cats. I spent that time looking for a suitable house to rent that would allow for our growing family.

Ike was a good boy and a goofy juvenile as he grew into his big head. He typically didn't know his own strength and pulled on the leash like no bodies business. But at the same time he was a super empathetic dog, he didn't like when we argued and he be super sad if he got in trouble. He just wanted to please us. He had a habit of chewing up toys and swallowing them which resulted in one surgery and very close call for a second one. We really wanted to get him a playmate and I fell in love with a puppy at the EBSPCA where I was a volunteer. We brought Ike into meet him, and lets just say he didn't show his best side. He was resourcing guarding food and toys. I remember the Shelter Manager looking at me and explaining that it just wouldn't work. I was devastated, but we wanted to do what was best for Ike. Maybe what was best for him was to be an only dog.

I continued volunteering at the SPCA and one day at work before the 4th of July holiday I got a call from the Volunteer Manager, asking if I could emergency foster a 3 legged puppy who was recovering from her surgery after having her leg amputated. I had fostered little puppies once before and it was a nightmare. I kept them in the bathtub to keep the mess contained (they were Chihuahua mixes, so they were small) but they were stinky and high maintenance. We said we were never fostering after that. But it was right before a holiday weekend and I figured "how much trouble could a 3 legged dog be).

This little girl was so sweet and so thankful for being out of the shelter. Much to our amazement, Ike was incredible with her. His empathy really came into play. He knew she was recovering and that she was special because she only had three legs. He was so gently with her, it really amazed me. We were schedule to foster her for three weeks, but after two weeks they called me and said they felt she was ready to come back to the shelter and be adopted. Scott was out of town when I told him the news. We were really worried about who she would be adopted to. It was obvious to us that her surgery hadn't gone as well as it could and that she would likely need one more surgery in her lifetime. We were really worried that someone would not do this for her because of the expense. When I spoke to Scott about bringing her back to the shelter he asked if we could keep her a few more days so that he get home and say goodbye to her. That was it, if he needed to say goodbye, we needed to keep her. It was a done deal and we turned into failed foster parents and officially adopted Tacoma.

These two became the best of friends. Tacoma didn't like toys so that suited Ike just fine. Even though she would occasionally steal a new toy from just because she was that bratty sister, he never growled at her. Eventually she grew tired of the toy and he would get it back. We always fed them separately so there would be no squabbles over food. Like toys, Tacoma has never been food driven like Ike, so that worked out well for their relationship.

Mostly Tacoma would herd Ike and nip at his back legs. He used to get little sores on his legs from where she would nip him, but he never let it bother him. Play was always on her terms, she would frequently put her one front paw up on his back to engage him play, but she trusted him so much not to hurt her or play too rough. Tacoma was your typical bratty sister, if Ike was where she wanted to be, she would just lay on top of him until he moved.

People always thought they were actual litter mates because they had the same brindle coloring, but Ike was a pit/boxer mix and Tacoma is a whippet mixed with some sort of herding breed.

In February Ike developed some eye issue where there appeared to be pressure on his eyeball. We brought him, tried some various meds but couldn't really figure out what was wrong. In my heart, I knew that 2013 would be his last year with us. While the eye seemed to improve, I noticed that it seemed like he was losing some hearing, or just specifically ignoring me, either was really a possibility. In August when we came back from a vacation, we noticed a lump on his throat, it felt like half of a tennis ball. We brought him back in a biopsied the outer tissue. the results came back inconclusive but suspicious. I had a sinking suspicion that was related to his eye issue earlier in the year and perhaps even his hearing. We had three options, none of which seemed like great options. One was to send him to a specialist, two was to put him under and do another biopsy at our vets office, three was to try meds that would hopefully reduce the tumor in size. Surgically removing it was not an option because of it's size and location, even biopsy was a risk because of it's location on the jugular and even just the anesthesia was risky. We ruled out a specialist because I knew I would not do chemo or radiation for him. Hus quality of life was the most important thing to me, and I felt putting him though that would quickly lesson his quality of life and probably not save him. The biopsy seemed to risky, I didn't want to loose him on the operating table. We opted for the meds, after a couple of weeks it was evident that the meds weren't making a difference. The tumor had basically doubled in size. Our vet agreed that the best thing to do was make him as comfortable and as happy as we could until it was time to say goodbye.

We spent a lot of time talking to he kids about what it all meant and trying to prepare them for hi s loss. He was treated to steak and banana pancakes every weekend until we had to switch him to a canned diet to keep his food down. Tacoma slept by his side everyday. As he slowly lost his vision, he finally got his payback to his little sister by laying on top of her because he couldn't see her.

Saying goodbye was the hardest thing we have ever done. I was with him to the end, he wagged his tail and gave me kisses as I said goodbye.

Life has not been the same without him but we are all making adjustments and giving lots of extra love to Tacoma. Pets bring us so much happiness and love, the hardest part is having to let them go. I wish we had more time together but I'm so thankful for the life we lived together.

His first trip to Lake Tahoe

Tacoma chewing on Ike's scarf trying to get him to play

More discounts!

The folks at Corrigan Sports are upping their game! If you register for the Foster City 10 Miler or 5k by December 24th they will send you a $20 discount code for the Oakland Running Festival Marathon, 1/2 Marathon or four person relay for the Marathon.

Plus you get to use my code "YOX" which gives you 10% off your entry in the Foster City race. I don't think it gets any better than that!

This is my favorite time of the year to run. My running buddy and I braved the icy roads this morning as we start to increase our mileage for 1/2 marathon training next week!

Foster City 10 Miler Discount Code

Just a reminder that there is a price increase tomorrow for the Foster City 10 Miler or 5k race. So if you resister tonight it's $60 for the 10 miler and $35 for the 5k plus use my promo code YOX to get an additional 10% off the race entry fee!

Register tonight to get the best price!

San Francisco Mermaid Series 5k Race Report

Pretty much the last smile on course before it got painful

Between the Oregon/Stanford game and impending attempt at a sub 30 minute 5k, I spent the entire first full week of November sick to my stomach. I was a bundle of nerves and Oregon losing to Stanford only made me sick to my stomach and sad.

I had a couple of goals this year in terms of athletic accomplishments. One of them was to continue in the sport of triathlon and hopefully earn some PR's. I've realized that's pretty hard to evaluate in terms of triathlon since every course is different. Some sprint races are 400 meter swims, some are 400 yard some swims, some are open water and some are pool swims. While that goal was a little more difficult to judge, the one steadfast goal I had for 2013 was to earn a sub 30 minute 5k. I found my self frustrated most of the year, since tri training didn't allow me much time to work on run speed. After my last tri in October I vowed to work on running and getting faster.

The Mermaid Run was my target race to accomplish this goal. The course is flat, I have run it several times and if I wasn't able to achieve it there, I would still have couple of more opportunities before the end of the year. 11 seconds, that's what I needed to shave off of my best 5k time in order to go sub 30. 11 seconds doesn't sound like a lot, but it feel like an insurmountable amount of time when you look at the average pace difference per mile. I knew the pace I would need to maintain over the 3.1 miles to shave off those seconds and I also knew it would hurt.

Come race morning I showed up early to get my bib, say hi to friends and get a warm-up in prior to the 5k start. I spotted Heidi of Mermaid Series and went over to say hello before she got too busy announcing. This is the first year in about 3 years that I have run this race without a group of girls from Mini-Mermaid Running Club, so it was weird to be here with my own personal goals. I told Heidi my goal and when she asked how I felt about it my response was full of self doubt. To which Heidi gave me this look and asked me the question again. This time I responded "Yes, I'm going to do it".

I got in line for the race early. I know that there were thousands of mermaids racing today as well as a bunch of mini mermaids, I wanted to run my own race and not get frustrated dodging other runners. I wasn't that jerk who lined up right at the front but I was the jerk who lined up a couple of rows behind the start line. While I'm trying to stay warm Heidi announces over the loud speaker that my goal for the day is to go sub 30. I look at her and start shaking my head "Nooooo, don't tell everyone!" She laughs, she knows  she is holding me accountable for my goals by telling everyone what they are. Shortly after that, she sent us off to earn our goals.

The first mile felt great. I was very conscious of my pace and running my own race. I needed to be focused on me and not worry about others around me. I had lined myself up well and was able to pretty much run my own line without interference. The first mile went great. After the one mile marker I started to think about trying to run the most direct line I could so that I would not over the run the course and miss my goal because of that. I did my best, but they had us on the street, on the path, back into the parking lot, I was trying to be really careful.

I blasted past the aid station, I didn't need water and slowing down to take some could also cost me my goal. I know it sounds crazy, but we are talking seconds and I didn't want to be short of my goal by 2 seconds. I was ecstatic to see the turn around. Halfway there! My pace was good but I could tell that I was running the course slightly long. There was a lot of motivational self talk going on. I knew I couldn't slow down, I had to maintain my pace, I kept telling myself that. I didn't need to run faster but I did need to maintain. Around mile two was when the pain really started to kick in. "You knew it was going to hurt" I told myself. "Heidi told everyone your goal, you can't not achieve it!" What I really kept repeating over and over was "Do it for Sydney and Kylie." Sydney would later ask me why I said this to myself and I tried to explain to the best of my ability that I never ask them to do anything that I myself would not do. So when I tell them to work hard at practice if they want to pop their times, I have to do the same thing.

 With about half a mile to go my form was terrible, I sounded liked I was dying (yes I could hear myself over my music and it was that bad) but my pace stayed on track. As we approached the finish line chute (which wraps all around the expo and seems unbearably long) I started to sprint. This was it, it was all or nothing, I knew that if I didn't sprint here I would not make my goal. I must have passed 7 or 8 people in the chute who misjudged my determination. As I crossed the finish line and tried not to puke on the nice volunteers I glanced at my watch and saw 29:54. I wanted to cry but I was desperate to find out my official time. It was my official time that counted and I refused to celebrate until I was certain I had reached my goal. Thankfully my prayers were answered when I received a text message with my official race time of 29:54!

I wanted to cry, I wanted to jump from the rooftops and sing, I wanted to curl up in the grass and catch my breath. It's hard to put into words how badly I wanted this and how scared I was to try and go after it. I know I have said it before but I feel like most of us don't set hard goals for fear of failure. I don't think I was ever more afraid of failure as I was in the days coming up to this race. Part of me is still in awe that I got out of my head long enough to just do it and not listen to the doubts.

I guess that means I'll have to come up with new goals for next year, gasp!

Official stats

3.14 miles in 29:54 (I did run it long)
15/111 AG