Rockin the City of Angels!

Exactly one week after Nike Women's half marathon, I ran the event that I've actually been training and fundraising for.

Jason & I trained for the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon as fundraising participants for Team In Training. As I've said before, this raises money for the LLS. They host an appreciation dinner for you the night before the event where you are cheered for as you enter, fed pastas and get to hear from some amazing people to encourage and advise and thank you for what you're doing. We got to sit at a table with and talk to Tracy Sundlan, former olympic marathon coach and the man behind the Rock 'n' Roll marathon series! So cool.
Start village: Griffith Park. 7:30 am. 54 degrees.

Our team is actually staying downtown at a hotel but we meet at 5:00 am and took a shuttle to the start line. That's right. We had to wake up at 4:00 am.

So here we are hanging out at the start, getting kinesio tape for the spots that hurt, filling our water belts, and goofing around. Coach Dave is a great coach and he was out there on the course to help and support us!

I liked having the porta-potties & bag check lined up in one direction and the start corrals in the other on a single road. Other event starts have a start village that is a little more confusing to navigate.

Course: Not the prettiest as we were in a construction area at one point? We did get to pass some good spots though and have some views of neat things like bison? Who knew there were bison living and eating in Los Angeles? The hills weren't that bad. With a little more hill training I could lick those suckers. I just finished the Nike Women's half in San Fran the weekend before this event so...hills 1, Tiffany 0...for now.

Finish Village: One of the best. L.A. Live is a great place to finish. LOVED having gear check immediately available upon getting your medal and exiting the finisher's shoot. Other events make you walk through the entire village to get to your comfy sandals, phone, and wallet, which is cruel and unusual and not good for the vendors.

I hear they might have to change the course next year as this one was adopted from the previous event owners. That'd be fine with me but I hope it still finishes at L.A. Live.

And here is the medal and pin that I love. Team in Training gives you a pin when you finish your event miles. I have a 26.2 pin also.

I do like the LA medal! Another to add to my collection.

Thank you Competitor!

This was my sixth? Rock 'n' Roll event. I am a big fan of this marathon series and am very happy to have a hometown event that I can include on my 2011 Rock Legend tour!

NWM: The Half Marathon Itself

Start: Union Square. 7:00 AM. 54 Degrees.

Several intersections surrounding Union Square are completely blocked off for the start village. There is so much going on and about 20,000 people standing in the streets that it's nearly impossible to get anywhere or figure out where you need to get to for bag check or your corral. I was supposed to meet some friends to run with and it was a miracle we found each other.

So we start. Running along the water and passing the piers was pretty cool. I remember passing the things I had seen the night before and I was already making plans on where I wanted to eat later. In the first 3 miles there were no serious elevation changes. A hill a little after 3 and then we were okay again until just after mile 6.

I had been running with my friend Melanie whom I had met during a short stint working for the LLS on the side. She was from the TNT triathlon team and is in much better shape than I am. She was in it for the full that morning so even though we ran only a few miles together, I feel like I helped her keep a slower pace for the start of her long run. She had an amazing finish time, btw!

Then there were hills. Monster hills. Shoot me in the knee hills. Just about the time the hills became an issue, it began to sprinkle. Did I mention it was kind of windy and cold? I had to walk down hills like the one above due to IT band pains screaming on the outside of my right knee. I knew then that my time would not be good, but I had to take it easy so that I would still be able to run the L.A. Rock 'n' Roll half marathon the next weekend.

In terms of course support, signage, and cheering spectators this event was pretty good. It was cool to see the "I run to be" signs and so many folks willing to stand in the cold and wet to cheer for their favorite marathoner. The Ghirardelli chocolate mile was only about 6 or 8 girls handing out chocolate squares. At least I got caramel! Yummmm.

And then there were the firemen all dressed to the nines with a tray of pretty little bowed boxes! A note for the finish line: When you cross, don't immediately stop to see which fireman is the cutest before deciding what mob to get into for your Tiffany's necklace. (If you want to see the necklace, see my last post). And if you're determined to take a picture of you and your fireman before moving along, then at least have your camera ready and be quick about it!

It was hard to approach the finish line and maintain speed because you could see the crowd of women literally 3 feet beyond just standing there crowding around these tuxedos. I was cold and in pain so I couldn't really enjoy my moment. I just ducked around some dazed looking ladies and nabbed a box as I passed to get beyond the mass of finishers.

The Finish Village would have been better if:

1) Gear check wasn't all the way on the other end of all the vendors.

2) Gear check was more organized (even at the Start village) in terms of finding where your bag would be. It wasn't alphabetical. You just had to remember which bus # & window your bag was "in" and some kid would look through the bus window at you, disappear for a second, and then come back with your bag.

3) It wasn't so cold and windy.

There was good smelling stuff and I wanted to buy an event t-shirt, but the lines were laughable again, and I could not fathom sticking around even after I'd put my warm clothes on.

The Nightmare Walk Home:

As I didn't run the event as a TNT participant and pay for a bus or shuttle ticket to take me back to my hotel, my husband and I had no transportation from the finish at Golden Gate Park back to our hotel in Fisherman's Wharf. City busses leaving the area were packed. Taxi's were impossible to get. We walked for 2 hrs in the cold wetness before stopping at a bench to wait for a taxi that never came and then getting on a bus that got us within a few blocks of our hotel.

It was a sad 2:40+ run and I finished at 10 am. I didn't get back to my hotel until 1. It was painful for so many reasons.

Am I glad I did it? Yes. I love my necklace and now I know what NWM is all about.

Would I do it again? Hell no. Not this event. Not those hills. Not that weather. No.

NWM: The Overall Event

Location: San Francisco, CA

Great city. Really nice for a large event. Lots to see and do. That being said, I couldn't believe the small scale feel of the expo. It was in Union Square and there just wasn't much to see or do there. It was laughably over crowded. They do know that this is a huge event, right?

Yes, they do know it's a huge event and that's why the expo is so small. Right next door to Union Square is the Niketown store (an entire building) where they really want you to go. It's all dec'd out for Nike Women's Marathon 2010! Not that much great merchandise. So far, not impressed.

When I got my swag bag at registration, it was full of the usual informational and marketing materials.

I was really surprised to find Nike had so many things misspelled on their materials (i.e. "tage" instead of "tag").

I also wasn't thrilled with their course map (or the event website for that matter). It had a very hip design like the banners at Niketown but the information wasn't that clear or helpful. I kept having to compare their artistic course map to a google map to figure it out.

The name wall was cool. It's a great idea. All the registered runners have their names up here. Or, at least all those who registered through Team In Training which fundraises for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Unfortunately for some, the names at the top of the wall are incredibly hard to read or even take a picture of. So if you're A-L, you probably can't take those fun smiling pictures pointing to your name. But it's still fun to see it there. I'd been registered under my maiden name, and even then it was misspelled....

So, I'm used to an event T-shirt given to you at the expo. Not here. Nike has a finisher's shirt, so it's given to you after you finish. I hadn't packed a shirt to run in because I assumed I'd be getting an event shirt, not a finisher's shirt. Good thing Niketown was there to save the day and sell me one of their expensive running tops....

This year the Finisher's shirts were pink. That's fine with me. I think the design is pretty nifty. It's a technical T so I can wear it on training runs. I think it's even slightly fitted for a female shape.

There are differing opinions on whether the finisher's shirt should be a technical T or a regular cotton T. I love the technicals. Something I can work out in and a conversation piece.

And the real reason for the torture: the finisher's necklace which replaces a finisher's medal in this event. I could've gotten it engraved but I like it how it comes. I wear it all the time now.

OVERALL?

Honestly, I'm so used to Competitor events, which are well organized and always the same so I know what to expect, that I was disappointed with NWM. It also may be partially because so many people have raved about it that I expected something more than I should have.

It IS a huge event that raises a lot of money for my favorite non-profit. It is also just a lot of Nike selling it's own brand, which is supposedly cool enough to be a hit without needing to do too much else.

I RUN TO BE was the slogan of the event. It's vague and tries to be philosophical, I guess? I don't know. I do like it though. They wanted each runner to fill in the blank by engraving the necklace or by customizing a Nike running shirt. They're sample fill-in's were "Sexy, Fierce, Strong". Maybe just "strong". I'd still wear that it 10 years.

I didn't customize a shirt but I would finish the slogan with: healthy, strong, challenged, an example, a difference, part of the answer, the best version of me.

10 miles on no breakfast

One thing about marathon training is that it forces you to put more focus on the little things in life. Like grocery shopping. Or laundry. Or the will-power to get out of bed in time to toast a bagel.

Unfortunately for us, we haven't put the necessary effort into those little things in life recently and so we found ourselves sipping coffee on our way to practice without the customary bagel & banana.

This made for a tedious run at the Rosebowl. The first few miles lacked energy for me. Somewhere in mile 4 I took a power gel for calories and thereby officially "broke my fast". Blech. The theme of the last 4 miles were cramps and side stitches.

I ended up taking longer walk breaks but running with a longer stride and finishing ahead of my pace group. I even sprinted a bit at the end.

As next weekend is the San Francisco Nike Women's half, I can't say that I'm thrilled about my performance. I'll finish on pace at least but I don't know that I'll be anywhere near my PR. I'm so excited to get to run Nike Women's and to be able to take a little trip to 'frisco. I just hope I don't wreck myself for the LA Half the following weekend.

Meet My Inspiration

I got a chance to talk with my hero and my inspiration for those long, hot, cranky miles that I talked about a couple posts ago.

On Sept. 11th, our team held an Honored Teammate picnic and Tyler Cordova and his mom Holly came. I got a chance to get a picture with Tyler, wearing a medal from the Disney marathon and holding an official race badge, given to him by one of our teammates.

Tyler is 8 years old. He was diagnosed in 2007 with non-hodkins Lymphoma. He is an honored teammate for our marathon training team. Jason & I have known Tyler since we joined the team in 2008 and have followed his story. He is pictured here a few years ago with another honored teammate and fellow marathoner, Virginia Garner.

He has had a lot of ups and downs even since we've known him with cancer hitting his central nervous system, then his bone marrow, a stem cell transplant last year, blood clots & infections, and even this last July, thought it might be the end.

But Tyler keeps fighting. His spirit stays high and his outlook stays positive and his dreams of the future are alive and vivid.

Both Tyler & Virginia are living examples of how what I do makes a difference. Their smiles are precious.

Tyler knows that our entire team is raising money to help him and others like him. When we were on the team in Winter 2008, he donated all of his piggy bank money to the team, because he knows that we have fundraising minimums. He encourages and inspires us in so many ways.

Running isn't always fun and training for marathons isn't easy. Thinking of Tyler makes it more fun and less difficult. I think that I need him just as much as he needs me.

8 mile

In the beginning, my pace group was put at 3:1 intervals (3 min. running and 1 min. walking). Our target was 12 min. 30 sec. miles. We are Team Jamen.

Side note: Jamen Amato was the brother of one of our teammates that we have ran with since 2008. Jamen fought lymphoma for two years and passed on Oct. 14th, 2009. I'm honored that my pace group is named for Jamen, but I don't yet know how many of the people in my group are aware of that fact or who he was.

This last Saturday was our second mile run in a row. We bumped up to 4:1 intervals this week and I loved it! I'm used to running 4:1 intervals. I opened my stride a little and came in at an average of just under 12 min. miles.

I love my pace group, but I feel like I'm shuffling my feet and fighting against my momentum sometimes in order to stay with our pacer, who is like a running metronome and keeps an incredibly consistent pace. His Garmin may help.

The heat factor

I have a big issue with running in the heat. I'm not talking about 90 degree weather either. An unshaded 70 degrees can be very problematic for me. And it's really just an attitude issue as I've been well instructed and am well practiced in the art of hydration and whatnot.

To illustrate what I mean, here are my feelings on two separate 6 mile runs that were one week apart:

Hot run: Bonelli Park, San Dimas, CA. 8/21/10.

Approx. start time: 8 am. Approx temp at start: 70 degrees.

Approx finish time: 9:20 am. Approx temp at finish: 77 degrees.

(These are other important factors I realize I should mention:)

Shade: Varied with long stretches of treelessness. Terrain: Some hills.

My feelings during the run: I am so over this! Running is stupid. People are annoying. I don't want to go any further. It's so hot I'm taking my shirt off and rocking the sports bra and I don't care what anyone says.

Cool Run: Dockweiler Beach, Playa Del Rey, CA. 8/28/10.

Approx. start time: 9 am. Approx temp at start: 63 degrees.

Approx finish time: 10:20 am. Approx temp at finish: 63 degrees.

Shade: Overcast so it wasn't an issue. Terrain: Completely flat. It's the beach.

My feelings during the run: I was born to run! I kick butt. I'm going to run 7 marathons next year, piece of cake! I should do this every day. I could keep going for miles. I could do a marathon right now!

You can compare and contrast for yourself the temperature & terrain differences between the two. The point is, the heat factor is a big one for me and my race attitude. I am considering altering my chosen races based on what the weather is likely to be that day.

Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about Phoenix & San Diego (the only two full marathons on the schedule). They're the cheapest for us to do and the most conveniently spaced but unforgivingly hot. My two worst runs look to be my two longest. God help me. God help us all.

Back to San Fran

If you had the opportunity to go to an event that thousands of people try to get into by entering a lottery system and many never make, and you were being given the chance to sign up without all that hassle, would you take it?

I did. Therefore, I'm running the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco this year. Did I mention that this is the weekend before my fundraising event, the L.A. half mary? Yes. Back-to-back weekends of half marathons in October. What better way to train for Rock Legend?

So now we're making plans for our weekend trip to San Francisco. I'm not sure where we'll stay yet. Hotels are so expensive and even more so for this weekend but it'll be worth it.

I've heard so many awesome things about Nike Women's and so I'm excited to be able to experience it for myself. An added bonus is that many of my running friends will be there with me. So that will feel awesome!!!

Did I mention I'll get a necklace designed by Tiffany & Co. for finishing?

Strength Training: Venting

As we move through the strength portion of our training season, I remember what it feels like to be sore from lifting weights and doing squats and lunges and those hateful crunches. I hate ab workouts so much. Nothing makes me want to puke more than sit ups. And I don't like walking away from a workout session feeling nauseous. Sweaty? I don't mind. A little bit light in the head? Not a problem. Finding it difficult to grip a water bottle? Sure, okay. Nauseous? Not acceptable. Not ever. No thank you.

Fortunately our coaches only have us do those little crunches and leg lifts that work the area, which I can tolerate a little here and there.

I find that punching exercises are the most fun. Take a wide stance with a little bit of a squat, holding in your core (tummy) twisting your trunk as you punch across your body from side to side. This reminds me of karate in high school. I must suppress a kiai with each fist jab. I don't want my team to think I'm crazy.

I have done a miserable job of trying to practice these strength training moves at home. Tuesday nights, once a week, that's all I do. I find my work and volunteer schedule allow little time for me to sit and play on the computer to amuse myself, let alone get to the business of planks and bridges.

This Saturday - 6 or 7 miles at Dockweiler Beach for the All Team Event! This should be awesome.

Let the training begin...

It's only July, but the training for the big 7 event year in 2011 is already beginning.

The Kick Off for the winter season of Team In Training was today. All these endurance sports teams from all over the Greater Los Angeles area met in Pasadena for a big pep rally, basically.

Two things are great about Team In Training:

1) This is for an unbelievably great cause. TNT raises funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society which has helped fund research grants that are directly responsible for a lot of cancer patients still being alive today. They do this by offering endurance sports training for the volunteers who are individually raising money. And their training is amazing, which leads me to...

2) The training is amazing. It doesn't matter what level of runner/cycler/hiker/swimmer you are, their coaches have solid experience and know-how to help you step up your game while being healthy and helping you prevent injuries. I may be able to train myself for a half marathon, but when it comes to a full I doubt that I have yet to attain the level of motivation and discipline I would need to do it without my coaches and my team.

So we will be training with TNT for the inaugural Los Angeles half marathon in October. Yes, it's another Rock 'n' Roll event! And that also means that we'll be raising money for the LLS!

• My campaign site: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/rnrla10/thenness

• Jason's campaign site: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/rnrla10/jhenness

The winter season will carry on through to January as some members of our team will be training for the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Phoenix Marathon! The very same marathon that I plan on making my #1 event of 2011!

Fortunately, we're able to continue training with the team through the end of the season and will be able to have our coaches helping us toward our full marathon goal.

UNfortunately, we slept in and missed kick off.

RnR Seattle Half Review Part 2

Okay, so the expo....

I know that I'm going back in time but two really cool things:

1) I got to see the prize for which I am running: The Rock Legend heavy medal.

Don't judge me. Some people collect stamps. Psh.

AND!!!!!

2) I got to get a picture with Cindy & Christy, creators of the original RunningSkirts brand fitness apparel.

I l.o.v.e. their running skirts. I have three so far. I will admit that I did originally raise a brow to some of the ladies on my running team when they showed up for our long runs in RunningSkirts. However, I eventually had to admit that they are amazing and embrace the girlie running attire.

I hope to see these two again at the L.A. half expo and I fully expect to get a less blurry picture (iPhone 3g) and wear my running skirt!

RUNNING WITH FRIENDS:

Again, I can't say enough for running with friends.

I know everyone has their own styles, but for me I'm a pack runner. None of the lone wolf stuff. We ran this because our friend Nicole had signed up with Team in Training (she couldn't resist after seeing how much fun we had with TNT). This was her first event and we wanted to be there to share the painful joy of it all!

All in all, this was a very fun event and Seattle is a great city. The sun came out for us afterward and we got to do some site seeing. I can't complain. I'd love to go back and do it again. Unfortunately, it isn't in my 2011 itinerary but that could change.

Here is a view from the Space Needle and some local brews had down by Pike Place market.

RnR Seattle Half Review Part 1

June 26th - Seattle RnR Half Marathon

First of all, I just have to say that the weather was PERFECT! Nice and cool and overcast and I felt like I could run for days. As I may have mentioned previously, I wilt in the hot weather, but give me a cool and even drizzling day, and I am a rock star!

Okay, so back to the race.

Logistics: I was pleased to find there is a FREE light rail that runs from the expo / finish village back to most of the major downtown areas (like hotels), especially since parking will cost you your first born child and there was no real parking for the start or finish areas.

Race support: Not bad. I'm a little picky about my water and I was a little concerned about the source of the water on the course. It tasted 'off'. I had a bad experience at Rock 'n' Roll Phoenix Full marathon in 2009 and ever since then I've started to believe in carrying my own water. However the stations were well stocked - even as far as back I was (I crossed the start line about an hour after the start and averaged 12.7 min/mile).

More fun info to come!

What happened to May?

I seem to be completely missing posts from May. Here's why:

I was able to take an extra part time job with Team In Training to promote events all over the Greater Los Angeles Area. It was fantastic. I got to meet some great people and get others excited about the team.

However, working 52 hrs a week left me little time for sleeping, eating, and running, let alone blogging. In fact, several other projects were put on hold while I tried to bring in some extra cash, like our home gym.

This reminds me. We've been using our HoMedics body composition scanner to see how things are going in our weight, muscle, fat, water, and bone percentages. I won't disclose any numbers but I'm happy to say that things are pretty good for not doing being very strict on exercise.

I don't know how accurate it is but I do think that monitoring changes in your body can be a great help to improving your race, not to mention your lifestyle. I'm not the type of person to obsess over how much I weigh or what my body fat % is. But, I find that if I check on it every Saturday morning to see if there has been any ups or downs, I find myself thinking more about what I'm eating during the week compared to how much physical activity I've engaged in a little more.

Runningplanet.com says that every extra pound of non-productive body weight (body fat) decreases your running performance by around 1%.

I will be setting a goal for an optimum weight/fat % for running. Some experimenting may need to take place....

It's JUST a half.

It is now a little over two weeks before the Seattle Half Marathon for which Jason and I registered several months ago but only started training for 5 days ago.

We have ran 13.1 miles several times before and it seems that our cavalier attitude has caused us to procrastinate like never before. Three weeks before the event we ran our first 6 miler, cold. Can't even remember the last time we went for even a light jog before that.

Our plan is to run 8 miles 2 weeks before the event and then 10 miles 1 week before the event and hopefully our 2 years of marathon experience will kick in and somehow awaken the spirit of endurance buried within our bodies to help us finish the half marathon without injury or excessive walking.

So last night, we went out for a 30 min. run to continue to encourage our muscles and lungs to kick it in to gear. This morning I woke up with a sore lower back.

Don't forget to stretch after you run.

Review: Fun Run Club & Lululemon

In my many adventures as a marketing temp for Team In Training (an extra job I picked up about 3 weeks ago), I have been able to experience some new and interesting things, one of which was joining Lululemon's Fun Run Club on one of their weekly Wednesday evening jogs.

LULU WHO?

Apparently, this "yoga-inspired athletic apparel" company has exploded in the market of women's cute & comfy's that can transition with you from couch to grocery store to brunch with your gals and then, of course, your yoga class, without ever feeling like you look frumpy. They also have complimentary classes on Sunday mornings (things like yoga and pilates) and a Fun Run Club that meets at 6:00 PM every Wednesday.

To be honest, I had never heard of Lululemon until my girlfriend from Chicago started complaining about the ladies who, apparently, wear Lululemon gear from head-to-toe and obviously have no intentions of stepping inside a yoga or fitness class.

Not living in Chicago, I haven't been exposed to Lululemon in this way. I see more velvet Juicy sweats and that sort of thing. I didn't even know we had a store in Pasadena, until my Team In Training boss tells me I should take some info on our events to their Fun Run Club.

THE STORE:

Very bright and colorful clothes for being yoga-inspired. Love that. They even have clothes made for runners, which is nice, but expensive. For example:

A pair of running crops at Lululemon (shown left in blue) compared to Under Armour crops (shown right in pink).

-

Lululemon's is about twice as much $.

THE PEOPLE:

Definitely happy employees. It makes a difference when the people who work at the store actually like being there. Very helpful. Very friendly.

THE FUN RUN CLUB:

So, as I said, it was drizzling and a little chill. I got there about 30 min. early and looked around. The gal at the store wasn't sure if anyone else would show up for the run. Sure enough, two ladies did and so the four of us set out for an easy 3 mile jog. We did do one set of stairs and a hill but, it was a very manageable and conversational pace. I love chatting and jogging. It's a great way to get to know new people. Great run.

OVERALL: Thumbs up.

It's good to know there's a neutral and friendly environment where average folk can come and try a new exercise (like Kangoo Jumps), run with some other people or try out a yoga class, without having to pay registration fees and monthly dues and get up the nerve. This also allows you an opportunity to meet new people who value fitness like you do. The more people you know who exercise, the more likely you are to get out there and do it with them!

As far as the apparel, it is cute, looks comfy and I can see the draw, but just can't afford to re-outfit myself right now. Which is just as well, as I was told by my friend in Chicago, she may have to re-evaluate our friendship if I did.