Today marks day 450 of my running streak! It dates back to December 27, 2011 when I began running a minimum of one mile a day. In this time frame I have run 2,225 miles. Sounds pretty crazy doesn't it?!!! To me too. I never ever would have thought I would make it this far but every time I wanted to stop the voice inside my head would tell me, "It's just one mile, 10 minutes out of your life, get out there and do it!" And so I ran every day. The shortest run has been a mile and the longest 26.2. I have run solo, chasing my kids on their bikes, and with my friends. Some days were hot as hell, others rained so much that it broke my phone. Some runs really sucked while other gave me life. I lost weight and gained weight. Through it all I have learned about who I am and the strength that is within me. I have surpassed all my goals and have become strong in many ways. I am a runner.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Hapalua Half Marathon
5th Half Marathon is in the books!!! Hapalua Half Marathon is an amazing event and I encourage everyone to get involved whether it is running the Half Marathon or the 7-man relay race!!!
This race is unique as they have something called "The Chase." A handful of local athletes get the chance to run against elite runners. This year the elites were Patrick Makau (current Marathon record holder), Jimmy Muindi (he won the Honolulu Marathon a gazillion times) and Nicholas Manza. The local athletes start at a staggered time and the elites start at the regular start time and chase them down. It's pretty amazing to see it all!!!
For more information on the Hapalua Half Marathon click here:
thehapalua.com
This was my 2nd year being involved in the Hapalua. Last year Team Let's Get Fit took 2nd in the mixed relay team event. This year I decided to run the Half Marathon as part of my training for the North Shore Marathon next month.
Leading up to this race I've been sick and busy to my training wasn't the best. While I have been able to log mileage much of my running has been very un-focused. But, when you're a full-time working mom you have to take what you can. We did some fun carb loading at Bravos with friends on Friday and spent Saturday taking it easy and trying to get rest for the race.
On Sunday morning we woke up at 3am and headed to meet friends for the race. We were all so happy that it was dry as we walked to the Duke Kahanumoku statue for the start since it had been pouring all day on Saturday. As we sang the anthem and Hawaii Pono'i I started mentally preparing myself for the run. And that's when the heavens opened and dumped a ton of water on us (the news said that 4 inches of rain fell on Oahu today). As I shivered waiting for the race to start I tried not to psych myself out. You see, I don't run in rain. I hate rain. I am always cold and I just don't like it. Yet here I was in the middle of nowhere, 6am, totally dark, wearing a tiny little tank and skirt, freezing cold and about to start a 13.1 mile race. NOT GOOD!
As the race started we took off and the rain only fell harder and harder. As we got into Waikiki the roads were absolutely flooded and the rivers of rain and water falls were pouring into the street making puddles unavoidable. My shoes were soaked and every step made a squishing noise as my foot forced water out of my shoe only to be filled by more water falling from the sky and seeping in from the sky. I could not get warm and was running with my arms wrapped around my body to try and stop from shivering. I tried not to think and instead just focussed ahead, willing myself to keep running. At about mile 3 when we got to the Kaakako area the rain let up and my body began to warm up. I continued to focus on not stepping in puddles and willing myself to go forward. At about this time we began seeing members of the Chase coming around the bend. It was pretty awesome to see the elite runners plugging ahead and I cheered for them. After another mile we saw the elite chasers and as always it was awesome to see how gracefully they ran. There motion was so fluid and effortless as they sped past me at a 5 minute mile pace.
After we made the turn and headed back toward Ala Moana I glanced at my watch and saw that I was running at about a 9:45 minute pace on average and a 9:20 at the current mile. I told myself to hold it at this pace and I'd be okay. It was here that I started feeling the effects of the cold. My legs felt extremely stiff and tight, however, not necessarily fatigued. I wasn't sure how the rest of the race would play out, especially with Diamond Head looming at miles 9-13.
With the rain as a distraction the time seemed to go much faster than normal long runs. Before I knew it I was heading to "home court" and Monserrat Avenue. I knew that running it last week and all the hill work I had been doing would be a good advantage for me and I told myself to run strong. Monserrat is a gradual incline that kills and I told myself to just keep my legs moving. Glancing at my watch I saw that I had my overall pace down to 9:40 and I told myself that I had a chance to PR if I kept strong.
Up Monserrat I tried to pass as many people as possible. In my head I imagined I was famous bicyclist "Perico" who is known for being strong on hills. I willed myself to be him and ran strong and hard up the back side of Diamond Head. When I finally reached the top and the down slope I reminded myself that this is where I could pick up some pace and I tried to run strong.
At the 2nd Diamond Head hill I geared up and got ready to run up hard. By this time my legs felt warm and I knew I could get a good time if I picked up the pace. I took my last Chomp, downed a GU gel and put it into high gear. I passed many people up the hill and ran it the strongest I have ever run it. At the top I looked at my Garmin and knew it was going to be close. I decided to leave it all the road and ran strong strong strong.
Coming down the stretch I still had my legs and my lungs and so I kicked it at the end and ran in to see that I had a new PR. My official time was 2:04:50, a mere 20 seconds from my last Half Marathon in November. Not a great PR, but in the advserse conditions I was happy to finish the race strong.
After the race I had some malasadas and shaved ice and had fun with friends. Before heading home we had pho to warm up.
All in all it was great race with our friends and I learned that I can indeed run in the rain. :)
This race is unique as they have something called "The Chase." A handful of local athletes get the chance to run against elite runners. This year the elites were Patrick Makau (current Marathon record holder), Jimmy Muindi (he won the Honolulu Marathon a gazillion times) and Nicholas Manza. The local athletes start at a staggered time and the elites start at the regular start time and chase them down. It's pretty amazing to see it all!!!
For more information on the Hapalua Half Marathon click here:
thehapalua.com
This was my 2nd year being involved in the Hapalua. Last year Team Let's Get Fit took 2nd in the mixed relay team event. This year I decided to run the Half Marathon as part of my training for the North Shore Marathon next month.
Leading up to this race I've been sick and busy to my training wasn't the best. While I have been able to log mileage much of my running has been very un-focused. But, when you're a full-time working mom you have to take what you can. We did some fun carb loading at Bravos with friends on Friday and spent Saturday taking it easy and trying to get rest for the race.
On Sunday morning we woke up at 3am and headed to meet friends for the race. We were all so happy that it was dry as we walked to the Duke Kahanumoku statue for the start since it had been pouring all day on Saturday. As we sang the anthem and Hawaii Pono'i I started mentally preparing myself for the run. And that's when the heavens opened and dumped a ton of water on us (the news said that 4 inches of rain fell on Oahu today). As I shivered waiting for the race to start I tried not to psych myself out. You see, I don't run in rain. I hate rain. I am always cold and I just don't like it. Yet here I was in the middle of nowhere, 6am, totally dark, wearing a tiny little tank and skirt, freezing cold and about to start a 13.1 mile race. NOT GOOD!
As the race started we took off and the rain only fell harder and harder. As we got into Waikiki the roads were absolutely flooded and the rivers of rain and water falls were pouring into the street making puddles unavoidable. My shoes were soaked and every step made a squishing noise as my foot forced water out of my shoe only to be filled by more water falling from the sky and seeping in from the sky. I could not get warm and was running with my arms wrapped around my body to try and stop from shivering. I tried not to think and instead just focussed ahead, willing myself to keep running. At about mile 3 when we got to the Kaakako area the rain let up and my body began to warm up. I continued to focus on not stepping in puddles and willing myself to go forward. At about this time we began seeing members of the Chase coming around the bend. It was pretty awesome to see the elite runners plugging ahead and I cheered for them. After another mile we saw the elite chasers and as always it was awesome to see how gracefully they ran. There motion was so fluid and effortless as they sped past me at a 5 minute mile pace.
After we made the turn and headed back toward Ala Moana I glanced at my watch and saw that I was running at about a 9:45 minute pace on average and a 9:20 at the current mile. I told myself to hold it at this pace and I'd be okay. It was here that I started feeling the effects of the cold. My legs felt extremely stiff and tight, however, not necessarily fatigued. I wasn't sure how the rest of the race would play out, especially with Diamond Head looming at miles 9-13.
With the rain as a distraction the time seemed to go much faster than normal long runs. Before I knew it I was heading to "home court" and Monserrat Avenue. I knew that running it last week and all the hill work I had been doing would be a good advantage for me and I told myself to run strong. Monserrat is a gradual incline that kills and I told myself to just keep my legs moving. Glancing at my watch I saw that I had my overall pace down to 9:40 and I told myself that I had a chance to PR if I kept strong.
Up Monserrat I tried to pass as many people as possible. In my head I imagined I was famous bicyclist "Perico" who is known for being strong on hills. I willed myself to be him and ran strong and hard up the back side of Diamond Head. When I finally reached the top and the down slope I reminded myself that this is where I could pick up some pace and I tried to run strong.
At the 2nd Diamond Head hill I geared up and got ready to run up hard. By this time my legs felt warm and I knew I could get a good time if I picked up the pace. I took my last Chomp, downed a GU gel and put it into high gear. I passed many people up the hill and ran it the strongest I have ever run it. At the top I looked at my Garmin and knew it was going to be close. I decided to leave it all the road and ran strong strong strong.
Coming down the stretch I still had my legs and my lungs and so I kicked it at the end and ran in to see that I had a new PR. My official time was 2:04:50, a mere 20 seconds from my last Half Marathon in November. Not a great PR, but in the advserse conditions I was happy to finish the race strong.
After the race I had some malasadas and shaved ice and had fun with friends. Before heading home we had pho to warm up.
All in all it was great race with our friends and I learned that I can indeed run in the rain. :)
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Why run?
Tonight I had an epiphany. It happened at our carb loading dinner at Bravos with our friends/running friends and their kids. I began thinking back to last year's Hapalua experience and all I could think of was watching my first "race" in person. Prior to that date the only races I had ever watched in person were my brother's high school track meets. While I watched a few track meets on television and the races on the Olympics nothing prepared me for being 25 feet away from Bree Wee as she crossed the finish line. I can vividly recall her smile, elation, the triumphant fist pumps. She was a bad ass fast beautiful strong woman who was jumping up and down wildly after running 13.1 miles. The woman was glowing and over-flowing with an amazing energy and I was captivated. At that moment she had become my hero and over the course of the year I followed her triumphs and ingrained her image into my kids' heads as mommy's hero.
Reliving that moment led to reflections about my past year running races and trying to understand just what it was about running that had me so hooked and mesmerized.
And then it came to me. It's not the physical changes in my body that has resulted in a drop in over 4 jeans sizes, but the mental satisfaction that I get every day as a result of running. Every day that I set out on a run I have the opportunity to prove myself wrong.
"I am so tired. I didn't get enough sleep. I didn't eat well today. I feel fat. It's so hot. The vog is horrible. I can't breathe. I feel sick. This cough is killing me. I don't have time. I gotta get the kids to practice. I got a million things to do. I can't run today."
And after going through all the reasons that I can't run or telling myself I'll just run 1 mile today I put on my shoes, head out onto the street and prove to myself that I am so much stronger than I give myself credit for. Every day I run I re-invent my definition of strong. Every day I run I prove to myself that I am capable of anything I set out to do. Every day I run I confirm that my body is fierce. Every day I push myself past what I thought I couldn't do. It is empowering. There is nothing more powerful than realizing that while my body is indeed strong, my mind is far, far stronger.
The past two years running has literally saved my life. The strength that running gave my body saved me from a terrible health emergency. The peace that running gives my soul saves from losing myself in my mommy identity crises that I have nearly every day. The friends that I have made through running has helped surround me with the positive influences that I need to make the right choices every day.
So, why run? I run because it is my passion. It is my release. It makes me mentally strong so that I am able to conquer my gears. I run and I run and I run.
Reliving that moment led to reflections about my past year running races and trying to understand just what it was about running that had me so hooked and mesmerized.
And then it came to me. It's not the physical changes in my body that has resulted in a drop in over 4 jeans sizes, but the mental satisfaction that I get every day as a result of running. Every day that I set out on a run I have the opportunity to prove myself wrong.
"I am so tired. I didn't get enough sleep. I didn't eat well today. I feel fat. It's so hot. The vog is horrible. I can't breathe. I feel sick. This cough is killing me. I don't have time. I gotta get the kids to practice. I got a million things to do. I can't run today."
And after going through all the reasons that I can't run or telling myself I'll just run 1 mile today I put on my shoes, head out onto the street and prove to myself that I am so much stronger than I give myself credit for. Every day I run I re-invent my definition of strong. Every day I run I prove to myself that I am capable of anything I set out to do. Every day I run I confirm that my body is fierce. Every day I push myself past what I thought I couldn't do. It is empowering. There is nothing more powerful than realizing that while my body is indeed strong, my mind is far, far stronger.
The past two years running has literally saved my life. The strength that running gave my body saved me from a terrible health emergency. The peace that running gives my soul saves from losing myself in my mommy identity crises that I have nearly every day. The friends that I have made through running has helped surround me with the positive influences that I need to make the right choices every day.
So, why run? I run because it is my passion. It is my release. It makes me mentally strong so that I am able to conquer my gears. I run and I run and I run.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Hawaii Pacific Alliance Women's 10K
Had an awesome race this morning. I wasn't sure what to expect since I have been sick and inundated with Mommy Duty the last two weeks. I went in with my usual, "Just run for fun and finish the race" attitude and the support of my fabulous running girl friends.
This race is a fun one because it's women's only and everyone is upbeat, having fun, wearing cute clothes, and running with friends. What's not to love about cute clothes and girlfriend time? I chose a sassy bright pink skirt with tons of ruffles and painted my nails bright glittery pink to match.
When the gun went off I took off at a pretty good pace and began weaving through the crowds. My cough has been bothering me but when I am running it seems to be okay. I sucked on throat lozenges just in case. At the first hill I pushed hard and passed as many people as I could. I was at about a 9 minute mile and was feeling strong so I decided to try and push it.
Last year this was the fastest race I ran (55:54) and in the back of my mind I was wondering if I would be able to beat the time. The wind was blowing hard and strong into my face which made me cold and slowed me down but I stayed as mentally focused as I could. I continued to check my watch periodically and saw that I was doing pretty well. At the 5K mark I was on pace to finish at about the same time as I did last year so I decided to push a little harder. I reminded myself that all I had left was a measly 3 miles and to leave it all out on the road. I pushed hard and at Kahala Avenue ran into a friend, "H." I began to push hard up the incline and when I got to Triangle Park took a fast sip of water so that I could gun the last 2 miles without having to worry about a dry throat. I then got ready to begin the last climb of Diamond Head and reminded myself how many times I ran this route. "Own it!" I said and ran hard. At the top of the mountain I ran into another friend, "J." She was finishing strong and she pushed me to do it too. As I got to the bottom of the mountain I told myself to run hard and finish strong. Kick at the Tennis Court. That last .2 miles was tough but I finished hard and had a great time.
I ended up with a 53:37 good enough for 69th over all and 6th in my age group. That was a great improvement over last year's 55:54 and I am sooo happy. After the race I got a nice free massage, lots of goodies and met up with the girls.
After we relaxed a bit the running crew did a cool down run to check out the course for next week's Hapalua Half Marathon. While we run Diamond Head all the time. We have never run the opposite route that goes up Monserrat Avenue. I am really glad I took a practice run today to be mentally ready for next week since these killer hills cover mile 9-13 of the route.
All in all it was a fabulous Girl's Day. Got 10 miles of training done and had fun day running with a PR. :)
This race is a fun one because it's women's only and everyone is upbeat, having fun, wearing cute clothes, and running with friends. What's not to love about cute clothes and girlfriend time? I chose a sassy bright pink skirt with tons of ruffles and painted my nails bright glittery pink to match.
When the gun went off I took off at a pretty good pace and began weaving through the crowds. My cough has been bothering me but when I am running it seems to be okay. I sucked on throat lozenges just in case. At the first hill I pushed hard and passed as many people as I could. I was at about a 9 minute mile and was feeling strong so I decided to try and push it.
Last year this was the fastest race I ran (55:54) and in the back of my mind I was wondering if I would be able to beat the time. The wind was blowing hard and strong into my face which made me cold and slowed me down but I stayed as mentally focused as I could. I continued to check my watch periodically and saw that I was doing pretty well. At the 5K mark I was on pace to finish at about the same time as I did last year so I decided to push a little harder. I reminded myself that all I had left was a measly 3 miles and to leave it all out on the road. I pushed hard and at Kahala Avenue ran into a friend, "H." I began to push hard up the incline and when I got to Triangle Park took a fast sip of water so that I could gun the last 2 miles without having to worry about a dry throat. I then got ready to begin the last climb of Diamond Head and reminded myself how many times I ran this route. "Own it!" I said and ran hard. At the top of the mountain I ran into another friend, "J." She was finishing strong and she pushed me to do it too. As I got to the bottom of the mountain I told myself to run hard and finish strong. Kick at the Tennis Court. That last .2 miles was tough but I finished hard and had a great time.
I ended up with a 53:37 good enough for 69th over all and 6th in my age group. That was a great improvement over last year's 55:54 and I am sooo happy. After the race I got a nice free massage, lots of goodies and met up with the girls.
After we relaxed a bit the running crew did a cool down run to check out the course for next week's Hapalua Half Marathon. While we run Diamond Head all the time. We have never run the opposite route that goes up Monserrat Avenue. I am really glad I took a practice run today to be mentally ready for next week since these killer hills cover mile 9-13 of the route.
All in all it was a fabulous Girl's Day. Got 10 miles of training done and had fun day running with a PR. :)
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