08 June 2011

San Diego RNR 1/2 Marathon report

My finish line flowers & lei! Totally deserved after navigating 30,000 other competitors, 13.1 miles and 2 blisters!

First of all, thank you to every single person who donated money to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I raised $2,484 - yeah! Overall, TNT raised over 9 million dollars to benefit LLS. Utterly amazing!

OK, on to the race report.

1. Getting up at 3:45 am was so NOT fun. I was meeting a group for the shuttle at 4:15. We didn't end up leaving until 5:15. Granted I hardly slept the night before but an extra hour of trying wouldn't have hurt!

2. The porta-potty lines were amazing! 30,000 people all needing to pee at the same time was a sight to behold. Sadly, I didn't have my camera along for the race so no photo documentation. I think we were in line for at least 30 minutes and were definitely there when the race actually started.

3. The race began at 6:15. We crossed the start line at 7:18. Note to self - sleep in even more next time! I like the corral start but man my legs & knees were starting to hurt from an hour plus of just standing around.

4. Finally, corral #42 (the last!) was off like a herd of turtles! I started in with my 5/2 run/walk intervals. I tried not to waste energy by dodging around people but sometimes it couldn't be helped. Thankfully, my years of dodging the little old Russian and Asian ladies on Clement and Geary proved helpful in this regard.

5. I settled into my rhythm and it was going well. My 5K split time was 40:48 - not shabby but not great however I was feeling pretty good. All of the bands and cheerleaders along the route really made me smile! I made sure I hit every water station along the route and drank the cytomax when it was offered. I know how important it was to stay hydrated but I found it really hard to start running again after the hydration stations. I was also using my FRS energy chews at regular intervals.

6. My 10K split time was 1:25:03 and I was super stoked because I felt good and seemed to be on target for my estimated 3 hour finish time. But around mile 7 things really started to hurt, hurt, hurt. I could tell I was getting blisters on the inside of both heels and my legs were so tight. I think I ended up walking the entire time from miles 7 -10. But I did get to see a moving truck (rental from Budget) hit a tree and have the back half of the roof opened up like a sardine can. That was entertaining! I sure hope that guy bought the optional insurance or that's going to be one really expensive move!

7. My 10 mile split was 2:23:59 and I knew I was slowing down. I was so grateful for the woman with the hose at mile 10.5. That was the most refreshing shower ever! The morning was really sunny and great weather but man I was hot! I kept stopping to stretch but things weren't loosening up much. At that point I figured that everything was going to hurt no matter what, so I may as well run because I would at least be done faster! So I started back on my 5/2 intervals. Yes it hurt but I could tell I was picking up the pace.

8. When I passed mile 12 I knew I was in the home stretch. I think there was a point where I really debated if I could finish. I was mentally kicking myself for being lax in my training. I had to give myself a mental shaking and remember that "no" and "quit" were not an option! I kept going and saw that I was closing in on the final chute. Then, low & behold, I saw my cheering squad off to the right. Matty jumped on the course and gave me a little pep talk. I don't remember much other than telling him "I think I hate myself right now"! :)

9. Into the chute I kicked it up a notch, only to find out that the cute was longer than I thought. Argh! But I turned the corner and saw the glorious sign for Mile 13! Hallelujah! One of the TNT coaches was there, cheering people on and I really needed it. (As a side note, I loved how nicely the coaches lied when they kept yelling "looking good"!). I finally had the finish line in my sights and really did kick it in gear. It felt so damn good to cross that finish line! And even better to wear that heavy medal around my neck! Final finish time was 3:13:02. A little longer than I thought but glad I was close to being on target.

10. I wandered aimlessly for a bit until some nice volunteer pointed me in the direction of water and the exit. Stopped to pose for my picture and then hit the "grocery store". Man was there a ton of food for us! I loaded up on fruit, chips, bars, cytomax and who knows what else. My arms were full of good stuff, my brain was a fog and the lower half of my body was in pain. All in all, a pretty good day!

Things I learned and will think about:
- Best idea ever was to put my flip flops in my gear bag. It felt awesome to pull off those tennis shoes!
- Training is not over-rated. I should have done more before this race and will know better next time. Gasp! Did I just say next time?!?
- Doing it with a friend was the best thing ever!
- I need to figure out how to avoid such horrid heartburn. I know it was important to refuel and rehydrate but I think it really gave me heartburn. I felt like there was a rock in my chest from about mile 7 on which made it hard to take deep breaths and keep in a good breathing pattern. Not sure if it's just drinking while run/walking or if it was the energy chews or the cytomax but something will need to change. It was so bad that I couldn't even think about a post race beer or margarita! :(

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure!

My medal

















The horrid ice bath. This is by far the worst thing I've ever done in my life. My toes were burning and I thought they were going to fall off! They say this makes you feel better. I don't have anything to compare it to so I sure hope it was worth it!


















Schwag from the race! Tech t-shirt, free t-shirt I won at the expo, TNT 13.1 pin, cute silver 13.1 mile charm, magnet/beer opener, my lei, bib that looks like it went through hell and of course, the awesome medal!

20 March 2011

Pinning Ceremony

On Friday I participated in the time honored tradition of the nursing school pinning ceremony. It was wonderful to see our class together one last time before we fly off in our individual directions. Even though I was sick it was still a wonderful day! I had the honor of being voted as our class speaker and even though public speaking is not my strong suit, I have to say I did a fantastic job and feel like I was able to speak honestly and with conviction.

Below are a couple of photos & a link to the full album. Also, if you want you can watch the speech I delivered as my momma captured it on her camera. You may need to crank up the sound to hear it but I promise it's well worth it! :)


My fellow students & most awesome support crew!
I could not have done it without these ladies:
Lisa, Stacey & Laura

The man who made it all possible and without whom there are many things in my life that would not have been possible, ever. I love you baby!

Another one of the crew - just because we're so cute!

Getting antsy to get the show on the road!

You can view my speech here:



And you can see Matt pinning me here


And click here to find all the photos from the pinning ceremony.


At our school, the faculty have not always been that supportive of the pinning ceremony. Since it is linked back to diploma programs they feel that graduation is a more important event since we are a bachelor's program. I agree that the bachelor's degree is of the utmost importance however having graduation 3 months after you've finished the program is anticlimatic, to say the least. Every year though we seem to gather a little bit more support and I'm grateful for that! I am thankful to the faculty who came and participated in our ceremony and hope that the tradition grows and continues for those who come after us!

15 March 2011

In sickness for health

So my wonderful hubby gave me his wonderful cold. I can get myself revved up for about 2 hours and then I crash. Today I'm a sad lump sitting on the sofa, trying to get myself motivated to clean the house as my mom is arriving in two days!

As far as my training goes, I made it as far as driving to the gym to do my cross training yesterday. I figured I could sit on a bike for a while at least. But alas, the parking was full and I was not motivated enough to look (and pay) for street parking. So that was a bust. And today, while I'm not feeling much better I know I need to get out there. So I will, even though the weather is wet & cold & rainy. It's only 35 minutes. I can do 35 minutes.

11 March 2011

Training & Fundraising update!

Thanks to all of you so far for your generous donations. To date I'm 30% of the way toward my personal goal. Yeehaw!

I've set a new deadline for myself - I want to be at 75% of my fund raising goal by Thursday, March 24th. And with your help, I know it can be done! Here is how the math breaks down:
  • 75% of $3000 = $2250
  • $2250 - $895 = $1355
  • $1355/$25 = 54.2
If I can get 55 people to click HERE and donate $25 to my fund right now, I'll be sitting pretty!

So to entice you to donate I've got a special deal - hand knitted goods! I'll be giving away three knitted dishcloths between now and St. Patty's day. You can win in one of three categories:
  • First person to donate after I post this update
  • Person to donate the highest dollar amount between now and March 17th
  • Person who makes the wittiest and/or most supportive comment when making their online donation
Just think, one of those winners could be you! I hope it will be!

Training has been going well. There have been some "challenges" (runner lingo for HILLS) and I've been learning a lot about shin splints (unfortunately the hard way) but I am so honored to be a part of this group. I had the privilege of meeting some of our team honorees last weekend at a brunch and they are amazing an inspirational. Some are in remission from Leukemia or Lymphoma and some are currently undergoing treatment. I think that the magnitude of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society really hit home for me when I learned that two of the honorees are taking a medication developed by the money raised by the LLS. Talk about a direct effect of effort and fund raising for the cause - it blows my mind!

So please take a moment to donate now so that we can continue to help the LLS develop new treatments and save lives!

And for your viewing pleasure, a couple of pictures from last weekend's run!

Love - Myla

Here you can see me on the left trudging up yet another hill!

And this is the glorious rest/refuel station. I was so glad to see it!









I couldn't ask for a better setting to wheeze and trudge my way through. This kind of view makes up for most/all the pain!