Well folks, it’s the day after my race. And not going to lie, it’s been a tough day. Guess what? I’m sick. Fabulous. I went to bed at 9 pm last night and got 10 hours of sleep-which is an insane amount for me! Not going to lie, I went to sleep dreaming up my next long run…the fact that by some chance my feet didn’t bother me during the race opens up so many opportunities! 

I woke up hungry-the surprise there. I’ve been an eating machine since the race! My roommate baked banana muffins while I was gone and saved me one-yay!

I also had berries-and probably some other things that I don’t remember.

This morning was rough. I felt bad. And sore. Definitely no where near as bad as last time, but enough to make me a little extra grumpy. Plus, the aftermath of last week’s 3 midterms has me questioning my direction in life. But I kept telling myself-it’s ok, I ran 15.5 miles yesterday! I was planning on going to spend some time in the lab after class, but I decided I would feel much better with lunch and a nap. 

A mango chia pod and a luna bar sample.

I decided I’m not a big fan of the chia pods-they’re too bland for me! I topped this with freeze dried mango.

I also had a lot of pumpkin cream cheese/pumpkin butter on crackers. I had time for a half hour nap, and it seriously made all the difference in the world! Despite my 10 hours of sleep last night, I’ve spent the last week wearing down my body in a serious way-no more than 6 hours a night of sleep for a week straight, the stress of midterms, and then a half marathon!

Then, I had to go to a 4 hour lab as part of extra credit for bio-it’s called “Bio Explorations.” The session I went to was about lipid droplets-and it was totally awesome! It’s right up my alley with what I do want to do in my life, and this reaffirmed that and made me feel much better. 

I ate dinner in my room. I haven’t been on top of food much lately, so I had a random mix of things. 

Egg scramble with laughing cow and pesto (I really wish I had spinach), plus carrots and hummus on the side. 

And then this:

We had to run into Trader Joe’s in San Francisco to pick up some last minute race day food for my sister, and I found pumpkin yogurt there! I haven’t been able to find it at all at my Trader Joe’s! I carted this all the way back from the city to enjoy tonight. It was good on its own, but why not make it epic? I topped it with zucchini bread, sunflower seed butter, pumpkin butter, and a date. And epic it was. 

I think I’ve properly refueled after my race-I think I’ll get back to more normal eating habits tomorrow. I’ve eaten a lot of sugar and carbs these past few days-and not a lot of veggies! I think partly my head is foggy from the cold, and I haven’t really thought ahead about food much. Oh well, it happens!

Also-freaking free race food. I’ve had wayyyy too many nuts (as in, any) in the past few days, and my face is going to hate me for it. I’m already starting to break out a little bit-eek! 

Wow, I’m about ready for another nap. Or bed. Sadly, I’m already drowning in work. I hate being sick. But I’m thankful the worst of it is coming POST race!

Tell me something awesome about your day!

Hi friends! Today I completed the Nike Women’s Half Marathon!

 

Clearly such an attractive picture of me.
My official time was 2:09:24- a PR for me AND just under my goal time! (I wanted to run a sub-2:10).

Yay!
Now let’s back up a little bit.
My alarm went off at 4:40. I hurried to shove food down my throat and get ready-pre run breakfast is a egg, banana, and cocoa powder “pancake” plus berries.
Here’s a before leaving the hotel shot:

Then, we headed out to the starting line. We found our pace group (my sister and her boyfriend were running the full marathon!), waited in a short porta potty line, and were ready to go! My sister and her bf stayed back while I weaved my way closer to the front-I knew I wanted to go out on the fast side.
Then-it was go time! The start was run really well-they did it in waves, so it wasn’t super crazy. My garmin was kind of going insane for the first mile or 2-I’m not sure if it was all the city buildings, or all the other people with garmins out there-but it did the same thing in the Giants race. Yes Garmin, I’m pretty sure I’m not running a 5:00 pace. I wish! I wore an old under armour long sleeve-my mom pointed out to me beforehand that it was super old and pretty threadbare-and I’m glad she did because otherwise I wouldn’t have considered tossing it-which I did at mile 2. And for the record, I got the long sleeve off UNDER my t-shirt, all while maintaining pace. Skill my friends.
My feet started hurting around mile 4-right on schedule. My dad met me at mile 5 with backup water (which wasn’t super important here), and I took my first goo. Then, just before mile 6-we climbed the first hill. It was long, but not super steep. It didn’t kill me. And I flew down the backside, making up the time I lost. Want to know the crazy thing? My feet stopped hurting. Which is insane. They didn’t bother me all race-and I’m not really sure why. Maybe something clicked in my stride and how I land? I’m not going to question it though!
I ran into trouble for the first time at the second big hill around mile 8. Suddenly, all the miles and the previous hill hit me, and I really struggled up it. Plus, it was so foggy that you couldn’t see that far ahead of you, so I had no idea what was coming!
Then, there was more sweet, sweet downhill. I decided to take my second goo, even though I didn’t have any water at that point. It gave me a much needed boost! About a quarter mile later, my dad was waiting with water for me-a lifesaver! I told him that if I could just hold on to the pace, I’d have a PR! And then. Mile 11. I hit the wall. Hard. Like, smashed into the wall. My legs felt like bricks and I was questioning how I’d ever make it to the finish line. I kept thinking about where I’d be on my home running trail with that much distance left. I couldn’t keep pace at all, and it was all I could do to keep from walking. And then out of nowhere, a miracle. The last mile was all downhill. Not even a slight downhill-that wasn’t even enough-but a significant downhill. I was able to finish strong and just eek in under my goal time! Right when I finished, I could tell my legs were not going to hurt as much as my first half. My legs were in so much pain last time-all I wanted to do was sit down and cry. I grabbed some chocolate milk, my necklace, and my t-shirt, and I was good to go! A little stiff of course, but nothing crazy.
I’m so much stronger and in so much better shape than my first half. I felt pretty recovered pretty quickly. We returned to the hotel to change into dry clothes and to eat-my mom packed bagels and chive and onion cream cheese-the best thing ever.
My sister brought a panini press to make her breakfast sandwich, so we used it to toast the bagels. I then topped it all with a hard boiled egg. Perfection. And ate the free chocolate.
Spandex and compression socks-the best way to recover post race. We then checked out of the hotel and left to watch the marathoners finish-and I snagged this guy free from the hotel lobby.

Before I go on-if you’re wondering, here’s the necklace!
It was so inspiring to see all the marathoners finish! We still had about 2 hours before we were expecting my sister, so I took some pictures.
(Half marathon course near the finish).

Finish line.

I then began walking up the marathon course to try to meet up with my sister before the finish. As I got farther from the finish, the area was pretty sparse of spectators, so I tried to encourage the runners as much as possible. This may have included me dancing to Gangham Style. Anything to make them at least smile!
Finally, I saw my sister and her boyfriend! I ended up finishing the race with them (I mean, I didn’t cross the finish line-but I went close!). I hope I was able to help them have that little extra push! I talked them through the last couple miles and blasted upbeat music. My legs were a kind of tired, but they were running 26 miles! I had done nothing in comparison to that! They finished strong, without walking the race! They lost a lot of time due to bathroom stops, but oh well!

Finishing strong!
The little extra run brought me to a PDR for the day-15.5 miles! Confession-the last couple miles with my sister felt pretty good, and I briefly considered running more when I got back to campus to bring up my total. And then I came to my senses!
Today was interesting-after dying at mile 11, I vowed to never run long distances in the future. After seeing the marathon runners and running with them, I kind of want to do it. But not now. Not for a while. I need A) an athletic boyfriend who will run with me and carry everything and B) figured out my foot issues. And it just doesn’t fit into my life right now-it would severely limit my other forms of exercise, and I love weight lifting, and I’m about to get my spin teacher certification. But maybe one day. And a totally flat course.
The free food lines were insane after my race, but there were significantly fewer marathoners, so we were able to snag lots of free food after my sister finished.

Vega protein shake-may better than I was expecting.

Cookies! There were 2 varieties of chocolate chips. You could get on or the other-or both! Is that even a question??

Yum!

Random wraps with hummus.
I have eaten an insane amount of food today. I had 2+ bagels with cream cheese, plus pumpkin pie and some chocolate, plus all the free food. I realized I didn’t have any veggies until dinner-no picture of that today since I uploaded my pictures before dinner. But hey-I ran 15.5 miles today. I’m pretty sure I can eat anything and everything.
Here’s a picture from the start:

So, my overall feelings about the race? I’m happy with the outcome-definitely happy. I PRed by 3:30, and this was a much tougher course given all the hills. I’m also thrilled that my feet behaved themselves. However, I didn’t really feel like I was that focused. And my that-I don’t think I was focused enough on enjoying the feeling of running. I was busy trying to pass people at the beginning, and then I was trying to hold onto my pace for dear life. I also wasn’t as amazingly happy at the start like last time. I think since last week was really rough in terms of school, I didn’t get a chance to really think about this race and get excited for it. My legs also didn’t feel as amazingly strong at the beginning like last time. This could be because I probably didn’t sleep more than 6 hours a night all last week (thank you midterms), or because I’m most likely sick. Can I use that as an excuse for slamming into the wall at mile 11? (Those of say “hit the wall” don’t do it justice. It’s more of a body slam.) I’m either sick or have allergies, but I feel like I have that sick smell. And it would be a weird variety of allergies…I kinda thought I was getting sick this past week but didn’t want to admit it to myself. What’s going around is just a cold, so I hope it doesn’t hit me hard tomorrow!
Anyways, it was a good race. I’m kind of glad to be done with super long races for a while, but at the same time, nothing beats the feeling of a long run.
My next half is in April-Rock n Roll SF. It’s going to be hilly. I’m planning on running it as a warm up for summer racing, when I’m going to try to PR on a fast course (the Giant’s Race). That means, I’m going to take it easy on the pace and just enjoy the sights and sounds of the race. I might not even bring my Garmin. Because races need to be fun-they don’t all need to be a push!
So-would I run this race again? Probably. Although I’d probably do it for fun with friends in the future instead of run it hard to PR. Those hills, man. Saved by the downhill! What goes up must come down, right??
That’s all I have for you today! I’ll get some official race photos in a few days.
Confession: I’m signing up for a race next weekend. But it’s just a 5k. And it’s a costume run. And since I’m obsessed with Halloween, it’s perfect.
Did anyone else race this weekend?? How was it??

Ahhhhhhh! I’m sitting in the bed in my hotel room blogging from my phone the night before RACE DAY!!! It’s actually really awesome-we’re staying in a hotel literally right at the finish line! Ahhh!!!
Ok, let’s go through some pre-race food. And stuff.

I cracked open my pomegranate. Along with a new bar-I really liked this! I especially liked the low sugar content!

I also finished my kombucha-this might have to become a pre race day ritual-my stomach feels awesome!
I then proceeded to drive all over town attempting to find my particular type of goo…to no avail. Yes, the day before race day. I’m so prepared. Luckily, my mom found some-thank goodness!
I also stopped by Trader Joes for some pumpkin goodies-you know, since I was right by there…naturally. Then it was pre race lunch!

Hummus salad with goat cheese, pumpkin butter/cream cheese with crackers, and a chia pod with pumpkin butter. The chia pod was interesting-the pumpkin was a nice addition!
Then, I met up with my parents and are some of their pumpkin pie.

Then, it was expo time! My dad and I ended up getting out and walking the last mileish because traffic was INSANE.
Here is kind if a photo dump!

Free food! Yay! Luna bars!

Repping Fitness is Sweet!

Super cool-this is with no flash…

With flash! Neither me nor my dad realized there was this effect-the woman positioned me!

I found my name! These are all on the window of the Nike store!
And lastly, pre race dinner!

Asian chicken salad.

Aaaaand froyo. Carb loading, right?
That’s all for tonight! Not a bad post, given it’s from my phone! Now I’m off to bed! And then…RACE DAY. Can’t. Freaking. Wait.

Yayyy we finally made it to the weekend! I’m currently camped out in my dorm room as parties rage in the rooms around me. I wanted a low key night with plenty of sleep in preparation for RACE DAY. I cannot believe it’s only a day (ish) away! 

I began my morning with one final workout-a 45 minute spin class I made for myself. I made this back in April, and I think it’s the best class I’ve written. When I audition at gyms, I’ll probably use this one, or some variation of it. 

 

I had to cut it short by 1.5 songs though since I wanted to get to class in plenty of time for my midterm. I had planned on going to a coffeeshop for a cappuccino but I was running late, so I just stopped into the dining hall for coffee. BIG MISTAKE. It was awful-super sour. I couldn’t decide if the coffee was terrible or if the milk I put in it was just completely sour. I didn’t feel safe drinking it, so I had to face the day without caffeine (which ended up being fine).
Nothing noteworthy happened in my classes-my Chem lab went longer than expected because we ran out of starting material before my partner and I could get some, so we had to wait for the new material to heat up. I really like my lab partner-he’s nice and competent. A good combo! So far our experiments seem to have worked pretty well!
After lab (ok, and after a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother), I went to my dorm’s BBQ-they have one every Friday, but this is the first one I’ve been too. It was Mexican food, so I went in hopes of guac (spoiler alert-there wasn’t any).

Speaking of dorm events, we got the pictures back from “Homecoming.”

Then, my roommate and I went on a mandatory trip to Whole Foods. Mandatory because I desperately need more goo for my race. Sadly, I didn’t find the flavor I like, but I certainly did not leave empty handed! I’ve never been to this Whole Foods-we were in the area because I picked up the sweatshirt I left at Crossfit nearby-and a new to me Whole Foods means a million new to me products! Confession: I may have picked out almost exclusively snack foods. And I’m a recovering granola bar addict-and there were so many choices! I also think I may have spotted Gina-but I wasn’t 100% sure so I was scared to say hi! Next time though!
Here are a few of the things I broke into immediately:

I really, really enjoyed this bar. It was a little on the sweet side, but it made for the perfect dessert.

When I saw chocolate kale, I HAD to try it! It’s really good-it reminds me of a green chocolate smoothie! My one complaint-that bag does NOT hold very much kale!

A good snack!

This. This is why I love my roommate. She got chocolate flax snacks and fancy Nutella-with actual real ingredients-it was sooo good. And, she shared. Even better! And yes, I may have spent a good 5 minutes walking around my room trying to get the best lighting to show off this deliciousness. And my stupid phone kept focusing on the wrong stuff. Like all the junk on my floor.

CHAI kombucha. Again, another must try. Plus, I’m all about the probiotics right now. To be honest, this made me think more of pumpkin spice than chai, but given the season, that’s perfectly fine by me!
Overall, quite the successful trip! I’ll share the other items with you as they are consumed. I love Whole Foods.
I spent the rest of the night cleaning my room and packing for the race. I’m SO excited. And I finally get to wear this shirt!

Although I’m not sure how that will work with my number…I don’t think I thought that through while making the shirt. Oh well!
Ahhhh can’t wait!
What’s your impulse buy? Mine is most definitely granola bars.

Hey guys! 2/3 midterms done, 2/2 problem sets done-all that’s left is half a lab report and one more midterm until…RACE DAY! Yayyyy! Guys you don’t know how much I cannot wait and I NEED this race, after the week I’ve had. I’ve been trying to stay relaxed and focus on the little things. I wrote a guest post on this very topic, that you shall see soon-stay tuned!

Anyways, despite the fact that there is a distinct possibility that I got a 0 on the Physics midterm I just took, I’m looking on the bright side. 1. I knew this quarter would be a hit to my GPA-I’m taking all hard science classes. 2. Physics is not my major. 3. I’m not pre-med so who cares about grades? Kidding. 

Other bright sides-I still have one more midterm that I can rock-and I finally am starting to get Chem. Which is kind of amazing. Some other positives of the day?

Technically these were from last night-CSA fruit! Mini pears and mini asian pears. YUM.

A new yogurt flavor.

The verdict? I didn’t think it was super special-it would have been awesome with added banana. But guess what I didn’t have? Yeah.

This morning my workout felt surprisingly awesome. 45 minutes of spin followed by a 3 mile easy run on the treadmill. I definitely felt the after burn for some reason this morning! 

I was hungry for dining hall food this morning…which never happens. I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to resist the pancakes and muffins, but my stomach has been hating grains lately, and given my race is in 3 DAYS that was enough motivation to move on to the good stuff!

 

Yes, that is BRIE on my eggs! YUM. My dining hall has these fancy cheese and cracker platters. The Brie was a little overpowering on eggs, but I also tried some goat cheese (one of my loves) and the flavors worked much better. Served on a bed of spinach, with fruit.
I didn’t get a ton of food pictures for the day, but here are a few snacks.

Too little too late on the banana-I could have used that last night for my yogurt!

Pear from the CSA box and some leftover granola bars.
I took a nap and woke up with the biggest sunflower seed butter craving…and nothing to put it on. I busted out some Siggi’s coconut yogurt, which is kind of disappointing because that was going to be in my lunch tomorrow…and dates of course! And carrots…I’m not sure whether to buy more food or less food-is eating in my room bad because it encourages snacking, or healthier because I know what’s going in everything unlike the dining hall? And I’m eating dried fruit like no other-I need to go shopping for dates again! However, my dried fruit consumption is definitely curbing my sweet tooth-it’s been a while since I’ve had a “real” sweet. Plus, dates are so perfect for pre-workout fuel!
As I was saying earlier, I’m focusing on the little things this week. Today, I saved a life. You remember our friendly campus killer kitty?

I was walking back to my dorm after a library trip when I saw a few people gathered outside my dorm looking at something intently. Naturally, I walked over to see what was happening. A few guys were petting the kitty and watching a tree. Apparently, the had caught our feline friend with a little mouse in his mouth. They helped the mouse run up a tree while distracting the cat, but the mouse was stuck there. First of all, who knew we had mice around here? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a wild mouse! (Now RATS are a different story.)
Anyways, the mouse fell out of the tree, and the cat ran over to grab it. Luckily, I swooped in to save the day when no one else could pick the cat up-I grabbed him and carried him to the opposite side of the building (through my dorm…oops), and all was well with the mouse. For now.
And on that note, I shall leave you all. Have a great Friday! I’m SO glad this weekend is almost here! One more final push until RACE DAY.