Tag Archives: half marathon

See Jane Run WINNERS!

Posted on by
Reply

Your comments, shares, likes, tweets and pins are in and I am happy to announce the winners of my Mother’s Day Giveaway for 3 race entries to the See Jane Run half marathon and 5K race for champagne and chocolate on June 8th, here in Alameda.

I just know the suspense is killing you but before I announce the winners, I want to explain how they were chosen… each person that left a comment was given a number on a spreadsheet- let’s say Amy was first, she got #1. Then Jane was second, left a comment and tweeted the link, so she got #2 and #3. Then Anna was third, left a comment, shared the link, liked my page AND pinned the post she got #4, 5, 6, and 7. And so on and so forth until my spreadsheet had over 70 entries total! Woo hoo!

... and a free race entry!

… and a free race entry!

Continue reading →

Race Recap: Nike Women’s Half Marathon, DC

Posted on by
10

If you know me and/or if you read this blog, you know that I was honored to be chosen as a mentor for my 5th season with Team in Training and decided to fund raise for the inaugural Nike Women’s Half Marathon in Washington, DC. I raised the funds, and come April 26th, hopped on a plane from San Francisco and my next Adventure in Running began…

If you know me and/or if you read this blog, you also know I hate flying. Hate it. Last time I was on a plane was for the San Diego Rock n’ Roll marathon and that was just fine as it was short trip but SF to DC takes roughly 7-8 hours, one stopover included. Luckily, I attended a Bon Jovi concert the night before so equipped with one major hangover and 2 measly hours of sleep, I didn’t even have the energy to feel nervous and I think that may just be the key to flying for me!  Ha!

Thanks for a great time and hangover, Bon, baby! (Photo credit: BFF Amy)

Thanks for a great time and hangover, JBJ, baby! (Photo credit: BFF Amy)

Continue reading →

Mother’s Day Giveaway!

Posted on by
40
This is what it's all about!

How I love my precious family- this is what it’s all about!

I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day- I had such a fantastic day relaxing and spending time with my wonderful hubby and gorgeous children. Whether you spent time with your mom or received much pampering as a mom, I hope you got to take advantage of the day and were reminded of just how special moms are, how we work to make sure the lives of our children are The Best, and how limitless our capacity for love can be.

While I love, love, love my family to bits, I also make sure to wish a Happy Day to my peer moms- the girlfriends I spent just about every day of the week with when my kids were just babies, the women who are there to reassure me when I doubt my ability as a mom, those sisters who offer lots of hugs on top of a couple hours of babysitting time with the occasional glass of wine and shoulder to cry on right when you need it most.

In 2009, I started a mommy running group and our first race together was the See Jane Run 5K and Half Marathon.  Today, to celebrate my fellow mommies, women, girlfriends, and sisters, I am giving away 3 entries to the upcoming See Jane Run race for Chocolate and Champagne here in the Bay Area! Read on to find out how to enter… Continue reading →

Race Recap: Santa Cruz Half Marathon

Posted on by
9

Yes, I realize that this race was 4 weeks ago. I also ran the inaugural Nike DC half marathon since then and am really anxious to write that one up as it was so, so, SO much fun but my brain won’t let me do things out-of-order (I’m weird like that) so, without further ado… I FINALLY give you my version of the Santa Cruz half marathon!

Bright and early on Sunday, April 7th, I drove easily to Santa Cruz and parked in the lot across from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk just as easily. Grabbed my bib and waited in line for the porta potty. BFF Andrea warned that there weren’t enough porta potties at race start and I really should have listened to her and gotten there a tad bit earlier because the race began and I was barely able to escape the potty in time- thank goodness for timing chips!  Continue reading →

Full of Half Excuses

Posted on by
13

On Sunday I ran the Santa Cruz half marathon and even though this was my 11th half, YET AGAIN things didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I plan to write a recap for that race, of course, but I just wanted to vent a bit before that as it occured to me that I haven’t had a really great half marathon race experience since NWM in October 2012, and before that, Kaiser in February 2012.

Is it me or is it the half marathon??? I’m thinking a lot from column A, and a little bit from Column B. The half itself, I cannot control- 13.1 is what it is, the course and weather I am, unfortunatley, completely powerless over. Strength of mind, on the other hand, is what has earned me at least those 2 successful halfs and with yet another half in 3 weeks, I must find a way to keep running happy despite what Mother Nature and/or the race organizers throw my way.

Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Races

Posted on by
7

My first race ever was in April 2009 and to date, I have run close to 50 different races- wow, that seems like a lot to me! I don’t like to repeat race courses and I really want to try them all (at least all the ones here in northern California) yet there are a couple that I will keep coming back to because they are so well organized and just plain fun- well, as much “fun” as one can have endurance running. Here are my 5 favorite races of all time… so far… Continue reading →

Race Recap: Oakland Half Marathon

Posted on by
10

I know, I know, I am THE WORST blogger ever as it’s been over a month since I’ve posted. In my defense, life has been crazy/stressful/frustrating as of late and it is very difficult for me be creative/funny/insightful when I’m pissed at the whole world. More on that topic soon…

Well, all that negativity took me down and 3 days before the Oakland Running Festival’s half marathon, I got sick. Super sick. Head and chest cold, general malaise, constant fatigue and absolutely zero energy.  All my training leading up to this half- my tenth- had been successful. I had been doing everything right, I’ve been eating well, added in 2 hours of strength training each week, rotated hill work with speed work, hit all of my long runs 30-60 seconds slower than race pace and had my mind completely and totally set on a PR.

Until I got sick, that is.

I’ve learned over and over from my TNT coaches not to let ego overrule good judgement, I therefore knew that running with a chest cold wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do but, of course, I was going to do it anyway and anticipated that it would slow me down. And, of course, it did. Continue reading →

Today’s Reason: The Long Run

Posted on by
2

I was out with a friend for dinner last night and she asked me, “How did you figure out you loved running?” And I really had to pause to think about that… I told her it all began for me 6 years ago because of Oakland Adventure Boot Camp, or really, in the absence of it.  After I started going to the gym and stopped going to boot camp, I kept challenging myself to do what my boot camp trainers had challenged us to: run the entirety- all 3 miles- of Lake Merritt.  That seemed SO HARD to me back then!  “Justholdonasecondhere- you want me to run, without stopping, all the way around the whole entire lake? It’s so big! Who does that?! 3 miles?!?!?! No way!!!!”

Despite how daunting those 3 miles seemed to me at the time, I kept trying and trying and trying to propel my body around that lake 3 or 4 times a week, every week. I’ll never forget the moment I finally accomplished my goal of running the whole entire lake- I was elated and so proud of myself that I went ahead and signed up for my first 5K race in April 2009 and for about a year, that 3 miles was my long run.

Continue reading →

Race Recap: Big Sur Half Marathon

Posted on by
9

I’ll just be honest right up front: in my current state, I really had no business running the Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay this past Sunday, but having spent $125 to register for the sucker plus running it with Team in Training, I was committed no matter what shape I was in. I’m stupid like that.

Last week, I saw my doctor to figure out why my neck was in constant pain, 24-7 (feels like someone stabbed my right shoulder with a knife and left the blade behind, super duper ouchy, especially anytime I’m driving or upright) while the entire length of my right arm would get painfully tingly and go numb several times throughout the day, every day.  She ordered x-rays and discovered 3 pinched nerves in my neck.

That’s my neck and there are baaaaaaad things going on in there.

Continue reading →

Today’s Reason: Travis Dow

Posted on by
4

In memory of Travis Dow: November 3, 1971 – November 4, 2012

While I was well aware that my dear college friend, Travis Dow, had been diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma earlier this year, I am still shocked and heart broken to learn that he finally lost his battle.  Travis was a truly amazing person through and through, a generous soul, a stellar talent, his smile contagious- plainly put, a Good Man.

I joined Team in Training last May to raise money and awareness for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and upon learning of Travis’s diagnosis, added him to my personal list of honorees, sending him a very loud “shout out” and moment of silence before each and every run.  While he was never aware of that, he was certainly always on my mind whenever our coaches would talk to us about the pain and ridiculousness that is cancer- I would think of Travis, and hope and pray for a cure.
Continue reading →