ITU San Diego

After having to report on ITU races in Sydney and London last year, it was nice to be in person (although not as exciting of a locale) for a race with friends from Phoenix who are racing their first ITU course. It's nice to be with age-groupers doing something different in the triathlon world. Nothing about completing an ITU appeals to me because I'm not that aggressive of a racer, but they are going to kick some tail this weekend I'm sure.

An interview with my favorite triathlete:
http://rev3tri.com/big-matty-reed-ready-for-the-hat-trick/

Goyte

Saw this online and had to post. In another blog post I wrote about my obsession with this song.

#43

I ran my 43rd half marathon that ended in a safari park. I figured out that the reason I am not running well is for the past year, my legs have felt like lead whenever I run. I don't know why. But they are very heavy and so it is everything just to take one step in front of the other. So my times have fallen 2.6 minutes/mile, which is really frustrating and I really have no idea how to get my fitness back.

But the race itself was incredibly fun. We ran through a vineyard and the owners handed out Gatorade in wine cups. We also ran up a hill in the sand, but to keep our mind off the pain, there were jokes along the way, such as "Did you hear about the race between two giraffes?" "It was neck and neck."

Many dressed up as animals with tigers, lions and zebras running by me. One guy dressed up as Tarzan and wore nothing but a loin cloth. He had on a Tarzan wig and ran barefoot. Everyone got a good laugh.

At the finish line, we ended up in the middle of a Safari Park and got to go to the park for free. At mile 12, I ran past lions, elephants and after the race, walked around to see the flamingos, bats and cute pigs.

It was one of my favorite races with gorgeous views and people were having fun. It was a really positive race with stunning vistas and the locale couldn't be beat...but my legs need something...what? I don't know. I am so frustrated. I feel like throwing in the towel with running. My times have dropped by 35 minutes in a half marathon. I don't even tell people my finish time because I'm so embarrassed.

#43 half marathon done

Happy birthday to me!

It is my birthday once again...every year it seems to happen.

I threw out my back last night and now can't move. I hope that isn't an omen of my year. I am with family today and will spend it going to watch a TV show being filmed and eating white cake with white frosting--my favorite.

New Obsession

I am obsessed with this song. I love the instrumentals, especially the xylophone. I love the crescendo and the surprises throughout. Love. The lyrics are so simple, but powerful.

I also addicted to Real Housewives shows, even discovering Real Housewives of Vancouver online. I saw Jeana from Real Housewives of OC at the movie theater of all places.

I am also addicted to something embarrassing to admit, but I love Ice Loves Coco. It's nice to see a reality TV show that's not all about cat fights.

More interviews

Here are a couple of other quotes/podcasts/articles:

http://www.walkjogrun.net/blog/index.cfm/2012/2/10/Run-a-Marathon-On-Every-ContinentTalkJogRun-Episode-16 

http://www.vocus.com/invocus/media-blog/tweeting-amidst-the-masses-part-i/

http://www.spryliving.com/articles/ramp-up-your-fitness/ 

http://rev3tri.com/qa-with-pro-triathlete-kelly-williamson/

Ragnar SoCal Relay

I participated in my first Ragnar Relay. It was a 203 mile relay down southern California. I got up at 3:30am on Friday morning to park my car at the finish line and then a group of us drove up to the start, arriving at 6:30am. We had two vans total that would each run three legs totaling about 15-20 miles each. I ran 15.5 miles. We had to drive to each of the exchanges for the next person to run. It took a total of 33 hours. Here is a summary of what I ran: First leg: almost 5 miles in blazing heat at 11:30am. It felt like running in the Arizona summertime. Second leg: 6.6 miles at 12:30am in freezing cold temperatures. I ran through a golf course in pitch black. It was a new moon so we had no light, but a headlamp. Runners had to wear reflective vests, headlamps and flashing lights. I was the only runner around and ran through a golf course with the sprinklers on and then ended up climbing up a mountain at 1:00am. It took me 20 minutes to go one mile. I thought...this is just plain stupid. I am climbing at 1am and freezing and super tired. Third leg: Up Torrey Pines hill for 4.2 miles. It was 1.8 miles of a straight climb up and I got lost, so I ran a little extra than I should. We all ended up in Coronado at the beach. It was 12 people total and I got maybe 4 hours of sleep in two days. And after all the salt, I am sick to my stomach.