Race photos that don't look like I'm dying

Wow! Finally I get some race photos where I actually look like I'm having FUN! I usually look like I'm dying. Here's me at the Nike Women's, and yes, I WAS having fun!

Nike Women's Half Marathon 2010

This past Sunday I ran the Nike Women's Half in San Francisco! What an incredible weekend! Our plane arrived later than expected, so it was late Friday night when we finally got to our hotel, only to find that the hotel workers were on strike and picketing (LOUDLY) outside. Wow. Even that couldn't dampen spirits, though. Neither could clouds and rain on race day!! The race was everything I had expected and more...there were hills upon hills upon hills, but there were fun things to see at almost every mile, great music, and GREAT friends running with me.

According to my Garmin, I beat my previous PR at this race by about 40 seconds. Unfortunately, the chip time showed up as 2 minutes slower than my Garmin. I'm not sure what happened (I'm still convinced the wet weather might've shorted something in the chip timing system! Haha!) but either way, I'm VERY happy with my time. With all those hills and the rain to boot, to be that close to a PR that was set in Huntington Beach on a FLAT course felt pretty darn good to me. I'll take it. And I'll take the Tiffany's necklace that was handed to me at the finish line. It's going to be a treasured memento of a wonderful weekend I won't soon forget.

I hope to be back there next year!! For now, I'm looking forward to the LA Rock N Roll race THIS Sunday. It's a little overzealous of me, I'm sure, to plan back to back half marathons like this, but I'm having fun and will be running this race with a girlfriend who has never run a half before. It will be fun to pace her and not to worry at all about my own finishing time on this one. My next planned attempt at breaking my PR will be in Vegas on December 5th...until then, I'm just going to try to relax and have fun! I'll let you know how that goes...

For a race recap, check out Shamus' "blog" here.

What has happened to my blog posts??

Where have I been?!?! Well, I've been running! I have been busy, too. With two boys in baseball, I'm usually running to the baseball field! I haven't had a lot of time to post, but I have had a lot of ideas for posts, so I'm going to sort through them all and try to get caught up again. So bear with me through some bumps in the schedule and I will hopefully have some time to write again soon!! Meanwhile, I recently saw this video from Meb Keflezighi, Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and winner of the NY Marathon in 2009. He's a really inspirational guy, and his favorite bible verse is the one I've used as a mantra since I took that first step out the door and made an attempt to start running! Cool.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=166819113330933

Marathon Inspiration Mantras

What are some of the things you say to yourself when things get tough during a run? Sometimes I say, "Stop being a wimp." Other days its, "You've got this" or simply, "Keep going!"

This is SO adorable. I say this to myself a LOT during my races! You can do it!! You're doing it!!

Kristin Armstrong's Circle of Life at Runner's World

I loved this article so much, I had to share it! Enjoy, and I'll be back with another story of my own soon...

Kristin Armstrong's Circle of Life at Runner's World

Brooks Superfan

I have no idea how I missed posting this commercial. I found it about a year ago, and it is hands down my favorite running commerical of all time. The Brooks Superfans commercials are ALL fantastically funny, but this one in particular is the tops. Brooks Running Superfans - Ultramarathon

Since discovering that commercial, I have become an increasingly bigger fan of Brooks Running. This is a company that is exclusively about running and runners. And they "get" it. Every Brooks product I have tried so far has been spot on excellent, from shoes to shirts to tights. Nothing binds, chafes, rides up or otherwise messes up your run. I was lucky enough to be selected recently to be a Brooks "wear tester." I can tell you I was so excited I almost knocked myself out of my chair when I got the email that they'd chosen me. Basically, they've sent me a pair of test shoes for me to run in. I get to critique them to my heart's content to help them tweak the shoe. When I'm done, I have to send them back so they can "study" them, and if they don't have to cut them up as part of their research, they'll send them back and let me keep them. These are shoes that ONLY wear testers have gotten to see and wear so far, and that has me totally geeking out. As if that weren't enough, they sent me a technical t-shirt to boot!
Yes, I am gushing. But how exciting is it that a running shoe company actually cares about what I think about their shoes? That they want MY measly opinion?! That has me hooked on Brooks. And the fact that they know how much runners love new gear that they sent me a tech shirt, too, just proves my point. They know runners. And I have become the next Brooks Superfan.

6 Amazing Reasons

There are so many reasons why you should get out there and run. Here are a few.

1. It will transform your body. You will build muscles you didn't know you had. You will develop incredible cardiovascular fitness. You will lose weight. You will amaze yourself.

2. It will transform your resolve and ability to set goals. When you set a goal, and work hard to achieve it, it feels incredible. Running and training for a race (ANY RACE!) is a great way to learn to set goals, deal with issues that come up, and keep pushing forward. You will be tested. Things will not always go the way your training plan scheduled it, so you will learn to work around problems. You will amaze yourself again.

3. It will transform your confidence. Acheiving a goal is a huge boost to your confidence. You learn that you CAN do things that at some point you thought were too hard or even impossible. This will overflow into your life outside running. You will begin to realize that you can set your sights higher and achieve bigger goals. You will be completely amazed with yourself.

4. It will transform others. Whoever is within your circle of influence, your spouse, your kids, your extended family, your friends, will all see the amazing transformations you've undergone and they will want to know what happened and how they, too, can transform themselves. The number of people you know that suddenly decide to start running after observing you will amaze you.

5. It will transform your atittudes. Regular exercise can help ease stress, emotional strain, and even help cure mild depression. It's amazing the change in perspective that can come with a good run. It can leave you feeling mentally refreshed and renewed. Studies show that endorphins really do make you feel happier, and adults that exercise on a regular basis have been proven to be generally happier overall than those that don't. You will feel amazing.

6. It will transform your energy level. Though it might seem counterintuitive, people that run in the mornings have reported having more energy throughout the day. I can totally attest to this. Even though I might get up an hour or even two hours earlier than I normally would in order to go for an early run, I generally have more energy and enthusiasm to get through the rest of the day in spite of having less sleep. If you're feeling tired, maybe you just need to go for a run. You'll notice an amazing difference.