Lake Sonoma 50 - here I come!

It's official! Assuming everything goes as planned, I'll be running my first ultra-marathon on Saturday, April 12th!! I think. Turns out I entered the wrong credit card information while trying to breeze through the sign-up process. But, I did receive a confirmation email, so hopefully I'm OK. 

Approximately 300 people will run this race. It sold out in 37 minutes yesterday. Yowza!

Here's how I'm feeling today.......

What the balls did I get myself into?!!!!!

New Marathon PR! 2:53:28

At approximately 9:53am on Sunday, December 8th, I crossed the finish line at the California International Marathon in Sacramento in an unofficial time of 2:53:28...officially meeting my goal of a sub-3 hour marathon. 



I'm still flying high from achieving my goal and then some. Quite the 180 from how I felt after my marathon in Oregon: defeated, sad, and even a little embarrassed. 

I went into this marathon stating my goal out loud to anyone interested. A sub-3 hour marathon. The last marathon I ran, I had thought sub-3 was a given. This time around I was more cautious. I'd be happy with a 2:59:59. Of course, deep down I wanted a bit more than that. Realistically, I thought it would be sweet if I could run a 2:57 or maybe even a 2:56. It wouldn't be easy, but I thought I was capable of that. I never dreamed that I would see the numbers 2, 5, and 3, in that order, when crossing the line.

And, because I love hitting replay on a successful race, here's my recap of the....



The day before:
Travy and I checked in to a Hilton Garden Inn in Sactown around 3pm after breezing through the expo. It was really nice to be in a hotel room with nothing to do except relax. I took a shower and then got into PJs and watched TV and read for the next 5 hours. We had made dinner at home that morning (pasta/marinara sauce/broccoli + salad), so I whipped it out when I felt hungry and gobbled it down, in bed. Note: eating in bed is huge fantasy of mine that is never realized at home because Travy doesn't believe in it. So, I was in heaaaaven.

The night before:
I have a serious issue with sleeping the night before races. Well, actually, just marathon races. It's fairly common from what I understand, but for every single other marathon I've run, I have not gotten an ounce of sleep the night before. I'm not exaggerating when I say that. It's not like I have trouble falling asleep and then sleep soundly once asleep, or that I even just wake up constantly. It's that I literally lay there for hours on end, eyes wide open, and heart pounding as time passes

When this happened at the Boston Marathon, I told my Dad the next morning that I had not slept a wink and wasn't sure how this would affect my performance. His reaction? "So what? It's the night before the night before the race night that matters most. You'll be fine." His lack of reaction was very calming. Knowing that it doesn't matter how poorly I sleep the night before a race has not helped me sleep any better the night before a race, but I definitely don't freak out about it quite as much.

Still, it's a little depressing going into a night of sleep knowing that you won't sleep. Turns out that this time around, I got the best night of pre-marathon sleep ever. Which is to say, I fell asleep relatively quickly and then woke up tons of times throughout the night....but I slept!

The morning of the race:
4:45am alarm to meet the 5:15am bus to the start. Shovel down 2 packets of maple/brown sugar oatmeal. Take 5 or so sips of lobby coffee and a few swigs of water. Two small pre-race poops in the room. Pile on extra clothing because it's 26 degrees outside. Kiss Travy, and onto the bus. Bus arrives at the start at 6:15am. Stay on bus until 6:30am, then exit bus into frigid conditions. Lots of porto-s. Pee 3 times. One more pre-race mini poop. A little jogging. Drop off bag and head to start. Stare longingly at elite tent with heaters.

The start of the race:
Exactly what I hoped would happen, happened. I bumped into my Marin long-run group and then my teammate Emily at the start line. In my head, my plan was to take the first 3 miles out slower than race pace (6:55-7) and then drop down from there. This is a very standard, tried-and-true marathon strategy, as going out too hard in the early miles can have devastating effects later in the race. But when I told Emily this plan, she somewhat hesitantly told me that she was planning to start at race pace. In my head, I began weighing this option. Emily is an experienced marathoner with a PR of 3:01 / goal to break 3, and we have literally run every workout and race together, stride for stride. If she thinks she can handle this pace, can't I?  Before I knew it, the gun sounded and we were off. And just like that, my entire race plan had changed.

Racing with Emily in GGP, stride-for-stride

The race:
Our first mile was a 6:30-something. I thought - OK, this is going to be interesting considering all of my marathon pace runs were done in 6:42-6:48 goal pace. I immediately reminded myself about something Topher had recently proclaimed about being able to run a marathon pace ~5-10 seconds faster than you train, thanks to race day adrenaline.

We cruised through the 10k in what is now my 10K PR. (In all fairness, I haven't run a true 10k race in at least 15 years). Still, I was feeling good and it was time for a Shot Blok and a water stop. It was so cold out that all the excess water people were throwing was freezing on the ground and forming black ice. 

Around mile 10, I could feel my hamstrings tightening and the little voice in the back of my head started yapping. Boy did you just royally screw yourself by going out this fast. You're going to feel like an idiot when you DNF or when you're crawling to the finish line at 3:30. At mile 10, I also saw one of my Marin friends cheering from the sideline. One of my Marin friends who had clearly just dropped out of the race. AHHHHH.

The next major milestone was the halfway mark - 13.1. Another PR for me. 1:26:13. Instead of panicing, I thought to myself: why the FFFFF have I never been able to run this fast in any of my previous half marathons???? Like, I seriously struggled to run a low 1:28 on a flat course in Oakland earlier this year. Travy was at the halfway point, so that was also uplifting.

Mile 15 - I'm starting to get reaaaaaal tired. 11 miles to go seems like an f-ing eternity with how I'm feeling. I have to fight the urge to look at my watch constantly and try to block out the miles.

Mile 17 - Just get yourself to mile 20 at this pace and then worry about it from there. 

Running with Emily on the homestretch

Mile 20 finally arrives, and surprisingly, I'm feeling OK. As in, I'm not in the declining state that I imagined I'd be in at this point and that's something positive! In fact, I can almost feel Emily falling a minuscule step off my pace and that makes me a feel tiny bit better because at least I know she's hurting a lot too. Everyone's hurting. It's not just you, Lydia!!!!

Miles 21-25 were miserable, but I tried to take it one mile at a time and focus on maintaining my pace for that mile alone. Four things stand out from these miles: 1) we were starting to pass people (mostly men), 2) I was starting to calculate what would happen if my pace fell off; the results were promising, 3) I could not feel my gloved hands, and 4) there was a really nice crowd along this part of the race and they were definitely cheering for us. On top of random cheers, several of our Impala teammates were there as well! In fact, one of the men we passed commented that we had quite the fan club with us.

The finish:
By the last mile of the race, I was about a half step behind Emily. But at this point, I knew I was fine and I forced myself to stay with her. When my watch said 25.9 miles, I made my move and "sprinted" around the final two turns and headed for the finish. Emily and I crossed the line 3 seconds apart. I don't think either of us really comprehended that we had just run a 2:53. We embraced and then stumbled over to other teammates that had finished a minute or two ahead of us. Our coach was there and he snapped a photograph (see below). Travy was all smiles. I was exhausted, beyond happy, but also freezing cold, thirsty, and a little nauseous.

At the finish with teammates Susan and Jen

Post-Race:
We darted out of the finish area and back to the car approximately 20 minutes after the race and headed for home. I was too cold to stick around. Plus, the Eagles were playing and something exciting was clearly happening as people were texting me "you watching this shit?!?"


At home in the shower, I was alone with my thoughts. I had survived, and not just survived, I had thrived. I overcame a huge mental battle with myself over the last 11 miles. I fought off literally hundreds of voices in my head that told me to slow down, or worse, to stop. In Oregon, I had given in to those voices, but not this time. I am most proud of this race because I did not give in.

What's next, I'm not sure. Maybe the Miwok 100k, but I likely won't get in. A different ultra? Another faster marathon? Some 5k training? Whatevs. For now, I'm hitting the beer and wine and celebrating my 2:53.

Mantras

I'm a big fan of mantras and like to repeat them over and over again in my head for clarity and motivation. Mantras help me stay on track throughout the day and also as it relates to the bigger picture.

The latest mantra in my head is short and sweet and quite unoriginal, but very easy to remember.

Don't. Be. Lazy.

I've been repeating this to myself over and over again this past week. It's silly, really. But it stuck in my head after spending at least an hour pouring through Mr. Money Mustache's blog the other day. (Shoutout to CB-F for introducing this to me!)

Mr. Money Mustache ("MMM") notes how addicted we have become to modern convenience. Real-life examples for me: hopping in my car to drive less than 0.5 miles to pick up coffee in the morning, or driving to Whole Foods (1-mile away) every single night to purchase pre-made dinner foods. MMM urges us to focus on happiness itself over convenience and luxury. To learn to mock convenience. To stop being lazy.

Over the last week, I've started making tweaks to my daily life per MMM's suggestions, all while repeating my new mantra. Don't be lazy, girlfraand! (Yes, that's actually how I talk to myself in my head sometimes).

Last night I incorporated a stop at Safeway into my evening run to pick up rice and avocados. Last week I biked to the grocery store and purchased $75 worth of groceries, less $13 thanks to my coupons. Granted, I had to walk my bike home because the backpack was too heavy for me. I have not driven our car in over a week and we have eaten homemade meals the last 8 nights in a row. All of the above is a huge accomplishment considering the fact that we ate out every single night the week before last.

Learning to ride my bike again

Naturally, I've also been trying to apply "don't be lazy" to my running. On Saturday, I ran to and from the SFRC group run. This added 4 miles to my run and helped me reach my goal of running 70 miles last week. Normally, I drive. I also convinced myself to run 5 miles at marathon pace, solo, last Friday after work. Pretty tough to get myself to run on Friday afternoons, let alone do a workout! But in the spirit of not being lazy and staying committed to my sub-3 hour marathon goal, I got it done.

They key is to stay consistent with all of the above and not let myself fall prey to laziness. I consider myself to be inherently more lazy than I let on, so this is a true challenge. Of course I won't be perfect in the coming days, weeks, and months, and I'll certainly find good reasons to be "lazy" in the name of fun! But I think that's A-OK. So long as I run a sub-3 hour marathon :)

1.5 months 'til GO-TIME!

A lot has happened since my last post. Mainly, as of September 21st, 2013, my tax filing status changed to "married."

Shout-out to my handsome Groom

While I've been absorbed in all things related to the aforementioned tax status change, I've managed to stay consistent in my running. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Atop Mt. Tam on our wedding morning (in the pouring rain)

And while I haven't exactly stuck to a strict marathon training schedule, per se, I've kept my mileage relatively high, and somehow managed to take myself to a new level in XC. 

I write this at the conclusion of a 70 mile week. A combination of hills and trails are my secret ingredient. So far this season I've run 3 XC races and demolished my old PRs. And, I'm consistently running at a pace much faster than my usual jog. 

The only thing that's changed about my training is my newfound love for trail running, which of course equates to running lots of hills. And I'm fairly certain this is what's helped me take my running to a new level.

I've spent the last few years lollygagging along the flat pavement - Chrissy Field to the GG bridge, the Berkeley marina loop, and the Mill Valley bike path. I avoided the unknown.

My transition to the trails was slow at first and started with a few Mt. Tam summits, which Travis essentially made me do with him. I was further spurred on to seek out trails by some promising results on Strava, a few new "hardcore" trailrunning friends, and Travis' 50-mile training schedule.

Mile 8 of 50; on his way to 5th place overall!

A few months back, I would have never considered doing back-to-back trail runs with over 1,000 ft of elevation change per run. Now, I seek out the elevation and recognize how strong the hills have made me. Furthermore, I believe my body has been able to handle the "stress" of the hills because of the soft-footing on the trails. Strava has made trailrunning extra, extra fun with the promise of shiny crowns at the end of every run.

So, 1.5 months out from CIM, I have not done a ton of marathon-focused workouts, but I'm feeling stronger and more confident than ever and I'm simply having fun with my running. I continue to keep my eyes on the prize (a sub-3 hour marathon) and I will continue pounding the hills and trails because it's working for me.

With the changing light of daylight savings looming in the not-to-far distance, I'll have to make some adjustments in my hill training, but I've got my headlamp and a few new running friends by my side.

Thursday AM Ninja Run

XC Musings

Fall is my most favorite time of the year...always has been, always will be. Back-to school. Football. Pumpkin-spiced lattes. Crisp air. Sweaters. Colorful leaves. Apples. 

Everything about this picture makes me happy

Ok, so a portion of the above no longer really applies to me (e.g., school, crisp air), but I still get all giddy every year when fall approaches. It's also the reason I decided, without question, that I wanted to get married in the fall. (Less than 1 month to go!)

Nerdy engagement "running" shot

Fall is also XC season. I have a love/hate relationship with XC. I'll get the hate part over with first - XC is painful. There is no way around it. Running 3-4 miles at basically 6 min mile pace or under does not feel good on any part of my body; but my mind is really my worst enemy. During races I know that everyone else is suffering too, but I'm still usually able to convince myself that the girl next to me is definitely not about to drop dead from exhaustion, like I am.

Despite all of the hurt, I still look forward to XC season. XC is a team sport and it's the time of year when I feel the most camaraderie with my teammates. The races might hurt, but we all have fun together before, and especially after. In fact, my favorite part of XC is probably the 5-15 minutes after the race when everyone is standing around the finish chutes cheering on friends and teammates. And then once the race is officially over, we dive into the race treats - baked goods, bagels, apple cider, coffee...YUM! And there is lots of happy conversation because we're all high on running. 

This past weekend was the first XC race of the season for me - the Phil Widener Empire Open in Spring Lake Regional Park, located in Santa Rosa. 3.43 miles, on rocky trails. I was nerrrrrrrvous and my mind was filled with its usual doubts. "How am I supposed to know what pace to run today? What if I'm hurting really badly and can't keep up with people I should be running with, like Angela and Nancy? What if I just totally suck and bomb this race?"

Nervous energy at the start line

I thought back to an article I just read on Dartmouth all-star runner Abbey D'Agostino. Abbey prepares for the pain: "It's a competition with myself for staying positive. The ultimate fear is allowing any negative thoughts to subvert my confidence. When the hurt starts, there's no change in strategy. You press on." It was nice to think about this article, but it didn't really make me less nervous. 

Abbey D...running XC

I always tell myself how silly it is that I get so nervous. I'm doing this for myself only. No one else gives a rats a$$ if I don't run well in these races. But, on the otherhand, I expect a lot out of myself and I like to succeed. I don't like coming home from a race and having to tell people that I'm not happy with how I did. I want to race hard and fast and keep getting PRs. All of this is good stuff (better than simply not caring, right?), and nervous energy, when controlled properly, can be a performance enhancer.

Anyway, mental aspect aside, the race actually went pretty well for me. It was over in a flash. 21 minutes and 45 seconds to be exact. I finished in 9th place and was greeted with a t-shirt for top-10 finishers only. I scored for the team as the second open category runner through the finish (the top 5 finishers per team score points). This good XC finish line fortune does not usually happen to me, so I'm enjoying it. It was a feel-good start to the season.

Post-race Impala love

And the best part, as always, was hanging out with my teammates after the race - chatting about how the race went and eating Nancy-bars. Doesn't get much better than that! (Oh, and we won the team title for all age groups!!!!)

Feeling oh-so-un-inspired

When I finished my marathon in June having just missed sub-3 hours, I was sad/pissed at myself and beyond motivated for a re-do. The week immediately after that marathon, I was chomping at the bit to keep running despite needing rest. I emailed my coach and asked if I should find another marathon to run within the month. I was in good shape and didn't want to waste it. Plus I wanted to undo all the negativity in my head and just f-ing run sub-3. But, my coach emailed back and said it was not recommended and that I should give myself at least a few months to recover. Ugh.

So that is how I ended up registering for the California International Marathon ("CIM") on December 8, 2013. The race takes place in Sacramento and is renowned as a super speedy course. I signed up right away without giving myself an out. Because, good lord, if I can't run a sub-3 on this course, I'm really in trouble!!!!!

The problem is that I've lost a lot of that initial motivation. The pain of coming close, but missing my goal is more distant and my competitive desire to run sub-3 is waning. I mean, who really cares if I run sub-3? My parents certainly don't. My friends don't. Travis does for my sake. But do I still care?

I knew this would happen and it's the whole reason I signed up for the race right away. Had I been more passive and waited around, the race surely would have filled up and closed, and oops, I wouldn't be signed up. But I was proactive.

So, what now? I'm about 3.5 months out from this race, need to start getting my butt into gear, and it's kind of the last thing I want to think about right now. On top of that, I've fallen off my #sexycore routine. My desire to reach my marathon goal by focusing on the little things is fading fast.

Quite simply, in the spirit of "I-paid-130-dollars-to-run-this-race," I will get my butt into gear. And luckily, my other half just signed up as well, so we're in it together. That helps. I know I will get it done.

From a pure running motivation perspective, I've been focused on changing up my routine. On not running the dreaded, flat bike path route that I normally do. On finding new paths and trails. My running goal for last week was to not run the same route twice. And surprisingly (or not?) it was really freaking fun to find new trails, all by myself. I got a few CRs (always good for the ego) and some encouraging kudos from Travy (also good for my ego).

This week, I will attend practice (after missing the last 2 weeks). I will continue to explore the trails in our backyard and go for more CRs. I will create a new #sexycore routine to mix things up. And I will freaking just have fun!!!!! 

Trail running in Park City, UT

7,742 Feet

The number in the title of my post represents my total elevation gain from 3 consecutive "runs" in the last week. A new record for me by a landslide.

Run #1 was a Tam summit with Travis (~2,493ft of elevation gain). In advance of our redeye flight to New Hampshire, we decided to get up early (5:30am) and go for it. A few months back, we established a "couple goal" of achieving 10 Tam summits together before our wedding. This was #5, so we're halfway there! 

I have a love-hate relationship with Tam Summits. We go up the most direct route - from downtown Mill Valley, up one of the many charming hidden staircases, onto Tamalpais Ave, then onto Summit Ave, and finally, straight up the Temelpa Trail. Everything through Summit Ave is run-able, but Temelpa Trail (for me) is only run-able in the very beginning and once you get to the switchbacks near the top. The rest is too steep and rocky.

Running up Mt. Tam is a lesson in patience as I get frustrated by having to walk and falling behind Travis. It's a lesson in pushing through intense leg pain and crazy hard breathing. I have to remind myself that it's OK to hurt. I'm a "comfort-zone runner" and am really trying to work on that in order to improve my race times. And finally, it's incredibly awesome and worth the horrible wake-up to be standing on Top of Mt. Tam with Travis, watching the sunrise and enjoying some peace before a busy day.

Sunrise over Temelpa Trail on Mt. Tam

Run #2 was a short little run in Jackson, NH (~961ft of elevation gain). There for a wedding, we were straight off a redeye and a 4 hour drive, but instead of hopping straight into bed at the cute BnB, (which we realllllllly wanted to do), we decided to first stretch our legs.

I used the Strava app to explore some local routes and thought I had this great loop figured out, but turns out, I missed the very first turn and got us "lost." Instead we did a 5.2 mile out and back run along a forested country road. I didn't think much of the initial ascent, but the road just kept going up for about half a mile. Travis waited for me at the top of the road and we proceeded together down, down, down..a little over a mile of steep downhill. WTF! I thought I was in for an easy/flat/chill run, but when I realized we were lost, we had to turn back around and go right back up that mile-long hill. 

It was hot and humid and we were drenched in sweat the entire time. Once I got over the mental block I have about unexpected hilly runs, I was able to appreciate the fact that we were getting an awesome workout over 5 miles. (Aforementioned mental block = the second I see an unexpected hill, I immediately slow my pace waaaaay down to a pathetic jog in anticipation of having to work harder to get my butt up the hill instead of maintaining or charging). Anyway, mental hill blocks aside, who doesn't love New England in the summer???

Covered bridge in Jackson, NH (taken from car, not run)

Run #3 was an experience. Up and down Mt. Washington (~4,288ft of elevation gain), which is part of the Presidential mountain range. I hesitate to call this a "run," but I'm leaving it as is because we busted our butts up this thing. We parked at the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center and took the Tuckerman Ravine trail.

Embarking on this adventure was a bold move for all parties involved: me, Travis, Adam, and Jake. We were hungover from the rehearsal dinner and afterparty. And we had a very finite amount of time that we could devote to this activity before we had to be ready for the wedding. And that amount of time was significantly less than the shorter end of the range of time they say you should give yourself to climb up (4-5 hours) and down (3-4 hours).

There is not a ton of elevation gain over the first 1.5-2 miles of the trail, so we were able to jog this part. My first impression of the trail was how crowded it was...a total zoo of families, teenage camp groups, etc. Every few steps we were yelling "excuse me," or "on your left." Once beyond the hut/water stop around mile 2, the crowds thinned out a bit and the real climb began, i.e., the part where you can no longer run. 

Lil' pond along Tuckerman

On the second half of the climb, my GPS watch said I was going 40 minutes/mile. That's how steep and rocky the climb was. There were still a lot of people on the single track trail and we kept getting stuck behind them. But that just gave me more time to take pictures and check out the insane views; I seriously forgot how beautiful the New Hampshire wilderness is. At this point, I was by myself. Travis and Adam were going for the Strava 'King of the Mountain' record and Jake was a ways in front of me too. 

The last part of the climb is basically a free-for-all up this crazy rock field. But finally, I arrived at the (crowded) summit (which you can drive to as well) and searched for my group. Travis/Adam made it to the top in something ridiculous like LESS than 1:30. It took me about 1:45. Because we made it up so fast, we took our time admiring the views and even waited in line for the obligatory picture with the summit sign.

Obligatory group photo at the summit / Adam making weird faces

Capturing the scenery

We made it back down to our car in less than 1:30. Total time up and down was a little over 3 hours for me, and less than 3 hours for the guys. We were all pretty psyched and proud of ourselves. After a quick stop for celebratory sandwiches, chips, and ginormous beers, it was time to get ready for the wedding.

We clean up nicely :)

And that ended our spree of crazy elevation gains. As I write this, my legs are STILL sore from all of the climbing. But each run was incredible and so worth the mental/physical struggle. The best part for me was sharing all of these experiences with my future husband! (And achieving the women's course record up Mt. Washington on Strava...nevermind the fact that I am the sole woman on that segment).

Best weekend EVA!

This past week/weekend was 4th of July and because I work for such a lovely company, we were granted off on Friday, July 5th at last minute.  My weekend is dubbed the "best weekend eva" because I did exactly what I enjoy in near-perfect ratios.

We had a crazy fun day at Stinson Beach on the 4th. The picture below pretty much sums that up. Lots of beers and laughs.

Travy on top of a mound of girlzzzzz

Then, I'm going to pretend that the next day didn't happen because that was a "recovery" day.

So, now we've fast-forwarded to Saturday. Travy and I woke up around 8, watched the ladies Wimbledon final over Ezekial sprouted toast with almond butter, coffee, and a smoothie. Then, we set out for TV valley where we ran 12-13 beautiful (foggy) miles. We started out together, but I can't hang with him on the hills, and it doesn't bother me in the least bit anymore when he goes ahead. In fact, I kind of like rolling along at my own pace - running how I feel. Saturday night was spent in Alameda because I had a wedding dress fitting and convinced my handsome man to come along for the ride (i.e., drive me). But that was ok with him because we got to enjoy an amazing dinner at Burma Superstar. Drooling just thinking about that rainbow salad.

OK, so now it's Sunday funday (you f*cking f*$ks)!! And I'm trying not to think about the fact that my 4 day weekend is winding down. Travy and I have another perfect morning, almost identically mirroring Saturday except we watched the men's Wimbledon final instead (yay Murray!) Then it was time to pull out the (new) map and plan our adventure.

Map of Mt Tam and our written instructions for the day

13 miles perfectly mapped out around Mt. Tam. It didn't go anywhere near as we planned, but we still managed to circumnavigate Tam and run 13 miles despite unintentionally ending up near Lake Lagunitas with very little water left in our bottles. PERFECT!

We parked by Mt Home Inn on Panoramic Highway and naturally, we were STARVING after that run. So we decided to give the Mt. Home Inn restaurant a try. And it was a homerun. Coffee, beer, po-boy (for Travis), and bratwurst (for me)...and we were happy as clams on the wooden deck looking out over Mill Valley.

Cheers from Mt. Home Inn!

Food in our bellies, we decided to check out the nearby German Tourist Club, which is only open to the public 10 times a year.  As I reminded Travis, that's less than once a month!!!! We hiked about a mile and a half to reach it and it was a total scene but so worth the little trek. We split a $20 pitcher of Trumer Pilsner and sat on the steps basking in the sun and taking in the scene below.

Scene

That pretty much concluded the most wonderful day. We drove home (I had to drive after losing a Wimbledon-based bet) and watched the Real World Portland and Naked and Afraid, our two fav shows right now, obvi.

Sad to see the weekend go, but thankful for so many awesome trail adventures. 

Enroute to the top of Tam (#latergram)

23.5 hours of craziness at the WS100

For the second year in a row, Travis and I helped pace/crew Topher Gaylord at the Western States 100, a 100-mile footrace from the base of Squaw Valley in Tahoe to Auburn, CA. Last year I paced Topher for 16 miles from Foresthill to Green Gate; this year Travis paced Topher for 30 miles from Foresthill to Highway 49. Last year Topher dropped out at Green Gate after spending hours puking and dry heaving. This year, despite record high temps reaching over 100 degrees, Topher battled nausea and gutted his way to the finish, earning his 7th Western States silver belt buckle.

Topher's belt buckle collection pre-WS 2013

Kim and I spent all day chasing Topher from aid station to aid station. It's mostly a waiting game - arriving at each aid station and sitting for what can amount to several hours before your runner appears from out of nowhere on the trail. When your runner arrives, you wave them down and then spend the next 5-10 minutes (or ideally less time) frantically helping them ingest calories, drink fluids, change clothes/shoes, and cool off! Then, after you've seen your runner out of the aid station, as Jay-z would say: "it's onto the next, onto the next one..."

As a crew member, you experience the same elements as your runner and often the same emotions (frustration, confusion, disorientation, hunger, sleepiness, etc.). Crewing for someone running the #ws100 is exhausting, yet so ridiculously rewarding. I got chills as Topher stepped up onto the track at Placer High with his crew in tow and was welcomed to the finish line by the stadium announcer and the cheering crowd (of 20 people or so - it was 4:30am!) 

You might be wondering what your feet look like after running 100 miles. See below.

Totally gross.

As for me, I used to think running 100 miles was crazy and that the people who chose to do something like that were literally off their rocker. And, well, I still think it's kinda crazy, but I also admire every single person that crosses the start line at 5am at the base of Squaw and attempts to cover the 100 mile course. They are "normal" people, like you and me. They love to run, adventure, and explore the great outdoors. But they also possess an incredible spirit and drive that enables them to push down barriers and achieve incredible feats.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this race is not watching the runners, but watching all of the volunteers, crew teams, pacers, spectators, etc. It is an amazing group of people that enables these runners to tow the line and reach the finish each year. The spirit of selflessness and generosity is everywhere along the course.

My parting words for this blog post:  Travis, you're next! #ws100 #2014

Travis crossing the Rucky Chucky River at 9:25pm

#sexycore is HARD!

Did I mention that I really love Oiselle? Their NorCal sales reps came to the SFRC run last night and debuted the upcoming line. It looks fab. Last night was ladies night at SFRC which meant 20% of sports bras. I'm a real sucker for a deal, so check out my latest purchase below! 

Oiselle shorts and matching sports bra

So, I now totally remember why I usually quit #sexycore programs after 2-3 days. They are hard and I am very, very sore. Not that pleasant-sore feeling where you feel good because you're happy that you've worked your muscles. Nope. This type of sore is painful and uncomfortable. The thought of doing more sit-ups right now makes me feel physically sick. And I'm only on day 3. 

Travis thinks I should do 3 days on and 1 day off of #sexycore. So that's what I'm going with. And I have much to be proud of for completing day 3 this morning before work because I knew I wouldn't want to do it tonight after getting home late from an event in the city.

Initially, Travis laughed at the whole #sexycore idea and said he couldn't wait to see how long this lasted. Can't hate him for laughing...I've started one too many of these little programs. #motivation 

And lastly, I'm trying to eat as healthy as possible. I made this dank salad for lunch the other day and ate it on our patio in the sunshine. Could life be any better right now?

Dank salad

#Sexycore

#sexycore is my new mantra.  It has to be hashtagged because I literally think in hashtags! My motivation for a #sexycore is driven by two different things: my upcoming wedding and my upcoming marathon.  I'm hoping that having two equally powerful motivators will keep me on track. You better believe I have started #sexycore programs before. And they have been abandoned after 2-3 days. But not this time. 

Lydia's #sexycore program

In all honesty, this program is not that hard. In fact, for someone that does sit ups on a regular basis, this program probably looks pretty damn easy. But I happen to have the weakest abs ever for someone so "fit." 

Starting tonight, I did everything on this list, except #9, pike on swiss ball. I'll need to work up to this one as I slammed into the closet door, falling out of position on my first attempt. I probably spent a total of 10 minutes or less doing #1-8. (Oh, yes, I skipped #10 tonight too because I already did 20 pushups this morning.  For real, I did!)

I stole this #sexycore program from the lovely crew over at Oiselle. I follow them on insta and they rock! Saw their #sexycore program and decided it was time to create my own. (See below for my latest Oiselle purchase, which is super comfy!)

Oiselle Feather Trials Hoodie (size S is perfect!)

So, now I have two questions:
1) How often should I do my #sexycore program? Every day? Every other day? 2-3 days a week?
2) Is it better to do the #sexycore program all in one sitting? Or will I reap the same benefits if I break it up throughout the day, i.e., half in the morning, half in the evening?

Tour de Central Park

Arrived in NYC this afternoon. I'm here for an Investor Relations conference and it is awesome to be back! I lived in Brooklyn my first year out of college (um 7 years ago now?) and quickly learned that big city life was not for me. That being said, NYC is one of the most fun places to visit and I always look forward to a solid Big Apple work trip.

My morning started extra early (I woke up at 5:15am) to catch a 6:05 Marin Airporter. Anytime I fly these days, I like to wear my compression socks. Sitting in a confined area for long periods of time is REALLY bad for you. Wearing the compression socks is supposed to help with your blood circulation and prevent blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, etc. As someone with naturally weak leg veins, I don't fly without these socks. But it is hard to form cute outfits with them on. Luckily I have a pair of loose skinny jeans and the socks fit perfectly underneath them. I wore my running shoes, which is kind of dorky, but...one less thing to pack.

My flight was super easy (though I had a window seat and I really only like aisle seats now so that I can pee whenever I want). But at least at the window, I was treated to views like this:

Pretty sure that's Lake Tahoe

I arrived at my hotel in NYC (Andaz) at 6:00pm sharp. It's actually a pretty nice hotel! I say "actually" because I have never heard of this place, but it's the conference hotel. Anyway, I unpacked a few dresses and then immediately put on my running clothes and headed out for a run. Destination = Central Park.

Running outfit = present from Travy's mama for my b-day (Title Nine)

The run to Central Park sucked...stop and go, dodging people, crazy smells. But once in the park, it was so wonderful and green and happening. I forgot how big the park is. And beautiful. Once I got myself on the main road through the park, I totally remembered the route. And it just so happened that the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge was taking place, so I watched the lead runners come through.

Not the lead runners, but huge kudos to ALL participants

I did the whole Central Park road loop, but by the end, I really needed a bathroom. I walked the last 1/2 mile or so, which was OK because it's hard to run on 5th Ave. Safely back in the hotel, I then had a hankering for a little treat that I passed while entering and exiting.

I couldn't resist the ice cream truck!

And now I sign off in an attempt to go to bed "early." I'm planning to wake up at 6am for a 3-4 mile jog before my conference. I've gotta do it at 6 so that I have time to shower and blow dry my hair. IR professionals always look their best, so I've gotta bring it tomorrow :)