Race Recap – 13.1 Allstate Miami Beach – March 9, 2013

Sorry this post is a month late, I’ve been slacking off big time lately on this blog, but no fear, I am back!

Finally the day had arrived for my first half marathon, I had been training pretty seriously for the past 3 months, not even having any alcoholic beverages during training. I figured it was a much needed detox from all the holiday parties I had attended the month before. I tapered the week before and ran a 10k six days before, I was pretty confident I would finish, my goal was to finish in 2:30 or better.

On the morning of the race, I woke up at 4am to get ready & eat something, I left my house around 4:30am and got to Miami Beach around 5am, where the clubs were still hopping and people were stumbling into the street. I found a metered parking lot and when I went to pay, it said the meters didn’t start till 9am. Free parking! I walked over to the start line, used the porta potty before it got really crowded, another good reason to get to a race an hour early.

early morning starting line

The race was supposed to begin at 6:15am but started closer to 6:20am as the directors had to get police clearance for us to start, then all the elites started 2 minutes before. I lined up close to the 2:20 pacer, hoping that would keep me paced correctly and get me to achieve my goal of 2:30 or better. But as soon as the gun went off, I sped out of there quicker than I wanted to, but I was pumped after not running for 2 days before. At about mile 3.5 I encountered the first and most deadliest of bridges, The Julia Tuttle Causeway, it was hell since I’ve had no hill training, since I live in flat Miami and we hardly have any bumps in the ground. I survived it but it slowed me down a lot, to the point that I was even walking along the bike path at some points. After that bridge was conquered, everything seemed a bit easier for awhile. Ran through some streets in Wynwood/Downtown and saw some places I would like to go to, like Bunnie Cakes, an organic & vegan bakery. Around mile 8.5 I ate 2 Honey Stinger chews for energy but was starting to fade. I know around those next few miles I slowed down a lot. I knew I was not going to negative split and I couldn’t calculate my finish time, my mind was starting to go mushy. Around mile 9.5 the 2:00 pacer group from iRun caught up with me & kept urging me to keep running. I was at the point that I just wanted to walk for a few minutes to get my mind back into it. The pacer grabbed my arm and pulled me to run again, so I started running again, and got a bit ahead of them, maybe 100 feet or so. After a couple minutes I started walking again and they caught up with me again, and grabbed me and urged me to keep running with them. I stayed with them for a few minutes and eventually slowed down and watched them ahead of me. I think it helped that the pacer was a cute guy, that definitely was a motivating factor. The last 2 miles were the roughest I think, up until that race, I had only ever run 12 miles in training. There wasn’t too many people out at 8am on a Saturday, which was surprising. I did see a surfer heading to the beach just before I made it to the finish line, not sure how well the waves were though since it wasn’t very windy.

in the zone – almost to the finish line!

Finally when I started seeing more people ahead, I knew the finish line was close by, I tried to push it for the last little bit, not sure how fast I was going though. I was probably starting to get dehydrated because I don’t like to drink water during a run, and for sure my glycogen was burned. I crossed the line while Rancid’s “Ruby Soho” was playing & almost could not believe the numbers on the clock. I finished my first half marathon at 2:03:34!! At that point I think the runner’s high hit me, because as I was walking to the food I noticed the 2:00 pacer and I went up to him and thanked him for helping keep me motivated out there. I grabbed a banana, water and headed out of the crowded food area. I went right to the Naked Juice truck and got a juice sample, collected some free Neutrogena sunscreen. Then I made a big mistake, I found an empty Boucher Bros cabana and sat down on the lounge chair, my legs were just so tired by that point, running 13.1 miles and then walking around for around 10 minutes. I figured I would be okay since I had slowed down slowly and walked a bit after I finished the race.

showing off my new medal

the resting my legs right after: mistake!

After watching the elites awards ceremony, being shocked at their finishing times I got up to walk back to the car. Suddenly the soreness came over over me as I walked back to the car, my ankle started aching and I started walking like an old lady. Haha. Also walking back to the car I was almost hit by a big truck and a car, nice, I survive 13 miles but then get killed by a car, I can see that headline now. So I left Miami Beach before I got a parking ticket, I wanted to go to Coldstone’s but apparently they don’t open till noon. Sad. Went home, ate something and took a nice long nap and prepared for a night out with the girls. Little did I know we would stay out till 6am on Sunday, ha!

Overall I was very happy with the organization of the race, and I may try to start learning to drink water on my training runs. I’ve already signed up for the 2014 13.1 Miami Beach, and might sign up for the 13.1 Ft. Lauderdale that’s happening in November, I want to collect some of the Florida Storm Series medals. I can’t wait!

close up

my favorite picture from the race – on the 2nd bridge

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Race Recap – iRun 5k/10k – March 3, 2013

When I noticed there was another 10k race in Miami, I knew I had to sign up since the Carnaval 10k was shortened and not a true 10k, I wanted to race a real 10k before my first half marathon. Although most people probably would not have done a race 6 days before their first half, what can I say, I’m a risk taker. Anyways another reason I wanted to do this race was because Adidas was one of the sponsors and I love Love LOVE all my Adidas gear. I signed up for this race about a month before, wondering how the course would be since the course map showed a neighborhood, not used to that at all. I picked up my race packet a few days before the race, it included an iRun temporary tattoo & a bag of coffee beans.

I love this iRun tattoo 🙂

The morning of the race it was chilly, I was prepared to wear 3 layers again but took off the compression core layer in the car before getting out. It was around 55 or so when the race began at 7am, so the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. I have to say it was a very good race to run before my half, super well organized and everyone was very sweet, and no need to dodge and weave walkers at the beginning! 3 water stops as it was a double loop for the 10k runners, one loop for the 5k. We ran by some restaurants I had ate at before, including Andiamo’s, best pizza in Miami & through neighborhoods. I liked that some people were outside of their houses, staring bewildered at us all running & later on the second loop, they had brought out chairs to watch everyone. I liked the way the volunteers would urge you to go faster just before the finish line and all the people cheering when you crossed it. Very very awesome. After the race I kept moving and got a Smoothie King sample & banana and walked back to the finish line to watch everyone. Another great thing is that the porta potties had toilet paper AFTER the race too! And all finishers got medals! Fun time and great race, I will definitely be doing another iRun event, I wish I lived closer & could do their weekly runs too.

a new medal!

later in Starbucks, mirror pic.

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What’s in your #FitnessCloset?

I read a post recently by Heather of Through Heather’s Looking Glass about what was in her fitness closet, and it gave me the idea for this post. Originally this blog topic was started by Brian of Pavement Runner. So I started looking through my room, most of my exercise gear is in drawers so I took it all out and organized it better for the pictures at least. I’d say most of my fitness gear was bought in the last 1.5 years as before that I didn’t work out too consistently other than yoga & pilates before that. I really didn’t need real exercise gear since I would mostly exercise inside my house. I’ve realized that Adidas pretty much owns me, I just can’t help but buy more of their stuff, it lasts and fits great. Also I have lot of C9 for Target stuff, I adore Target so it was only a matter of time before I would discover their fitness clothing section. Now onward to the pictures:

As you can tell when I find a shoe I like I buy more than one pair, 3 pairs of Adidas Oscillation running shoes & 2 pairs of Adidas Kanadia trail running shoes.

Lots of tank tops, I live in south Florida, it’s almost always summer here. All Adidas on the left side. C9 by Champion for Target on the right side with one New Balance tank on the bottom.

Tee shirts for running. Left side “I Run This Body” shirt from Saucony. Top right side C9 by Champion and bottom Adidas Go Run shirts.

This year’s race shirts & some yoga pants. My favorites are the two gray ones 🙂

Running tights – 3/4 length – I love to run in these & Adidas makes the best ones, my favorites are the tech fit ones. Basically almost all Adidas (3 rows) and some Nike, C9 ones on the far right.

Running skirts & shorts. Don’t wear these too often, sometimes for races. Can’t wait to wear my RunningSkirts polka dot skirt!

Cold weather gear – I don’t get too much use out of this, as we hardly get any cold days in Miami, I’ve maybe used this stuff about 10-12x in the last year. Adidas jacket, C9 Jackets & half zip ups, RunningSkirts reflective heart on sleeve shirt and Adidas climacool long sleeve. Long tights: Adidas & c9 for weather 40-50.

Compression socks by RunningSkirts, Zensah calf compression sleeves (I adore these), 2 of my 4 yoga mats: Eko Manduka & Diane Von Furstenberg NM + Target, my Gaiam foam roller (my new love), 5lb dumbbells & 3 lb dumbbells.

And that’s my fitness closet so far, make sure to check out Pavement Runner’s blog post for links into other’s fitness closets.

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Race Recap – Carnaval Miami 5k/10k – February 17, 2013

This was a very last minute idea, I think I probably signed up 2 weeks before this race. According to my half marathon training plan it says I should run at least one 10k. Crazily I’ve signed up for another 10k just before my half, but that’s a whole other story.

Race gear ready, minus one compression long sleeve that I later added.

I knew this would be a nice race because it ended on Virginia Key beach, and that’s always a sweet ending to a race. What I did not know was how the weather would get, I expected a 60-70 degrees as usual for an early morning. It was 40-50 degrees and in Miami that is considered practically snowing weather. I got to the race early so I could pick up my race shirt since I had only collected my race bib when I went to Footworks a few weeks earlier. Luckily I found parking closeby and once I got the shirt I threw it in my car and walked around a bit more. Everyone was trying to stay warm and the wind gusts did not help at all. It was so cold!

Gorgeous Sunrise

even the dj was freezing!

I met up with MariaJose, I had been friends with her on Twitter for a couple of weeks but we hadn’t met yet, so we lined up at the start together while chatting. And we were off, of course I started out way too quickly but slowed down and got into a good 8:30 rhythm. Before I knew it I was at the finish line, although because of some construction on one of the Key Biscayne bridges the distance wasn’t a full 10k, so it became a 6 mile race instead. I walked around after and gathered a banana and some snacks & waited for the results to be posted. I came in 4th place in my age group!! I was so happy, and went quickly to the finish line to wait for MariaJose. She arrived just as the kid’s race was about to begin, so she got to dodge all the kids lining up. It was a nice race, and with some interesting sights on the path. As soon as I left there I went to Jamba Juice, it had been awhile and I was thirsty for some fruits. The cashier was like “oh you are a runner!” all excitedly when she noticed my race bib still pinned on my shirt, that was probably the moment where I felt very very proud to be a runner.

Another silly finish line photo for me.

Jamba Juice post race goodness!

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Start me up – my workout plan

So before last May my working out consisted of walking through malls to shop with occasional nights of yoga with my best friend and 10-30 mile bike rides through the dangerous streets of Miami. I didn’t get too serious about working out till the middle of 2011 when I realized I needed to work on my tone. Before that I really wasn’t worried about how my body looked because I wasn’t really showing it to anyone. Call me vain if you will, but if you know you will be getting undressed infront of someone you would think twice about how your body looks too.

So in May 2011 I finally got serious and thanks to a recommendation from my friend, Alyssa I bought a Tracy Anderson Method mat workout dvd. Its an hour of semi intense muscle restructuring that leaves u tired and sweaty afterwards. Sometimes when I would start getting a little bit bored of the same routine I would do some power yoga from a yoga/pilates dvd set I had. Mostly I did the Tracy Anderson Method and started to see changes and definition after about a month of 4-6 days a week of working out. She’s was trained in ballet and then became a personal trainer to stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna so even though it was a bit trendy to buy, it actually works. The last 6 months of the year was spent doing that dvd so often I thought it would begin to get scratched.

not a bad body to have, imo.

Then 2012 started and I found out about a hike in the Everglades Shark Valley and suggested on the Facebook invite that we should rent bikes while we were there. I met new people (Tatiana, Andrew, Jonathan) and some acquaintances (Allie & David) and Joe. The bike ride to the tower wasnt too terrible, but the ride back through the strong winds was torturous, I’m still not sure how we made it those 15 long miles. Here’s the blog entry with pics that Tatiana wrote.

That day Allie mentioned she would be starting up her weekly bootcamp again and I should check it out (I had actually been to one bootcamp session with her back in August) . For days afterwards I feel the soreness of my muscles and am unable to do my usual Tracy Anderson workouts so I’ve started doing more pilates from the dvd set mentioned above. Every Sunday now I attend bootcamp in the park which is 10x more intense than any of my dvd workouts. Plus you get to meet nice people who are working their way to their fitness goals as well, it’s a lot more motivating than working out alone at home. Usually the workouts are so intense that someone throws up but not always. Check out her website for fitness tips and exercise how to’s and if you are in the Miami area, like her Fit Geek facebook page and attend this bootcamp.

Last minute tip: Something that helps me stay on track and motivated is writing down what kind of workouts I do and the amount of time I’ve spent doing them on a calendar. Seeing that everyday keeps me going forward and not losing focus. I usually strive for at least 5 hours a week of exercise.

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Heart – February is American Heart Month

Hope everyone has been wearing lots of red this month to bring awareness to others about it being American Heart month. Wear Red Day was on February 3rd, I made sure to wear a red shirt and my red TOMS. I should’ve wrote this post earlier in the month actually. I have had quite a few grandparents that have had heart disease and one that I was very close to pass away from heart failure in the past few years.

By just making a few simple changes in your lifestyle you can reduce your risk for heart disease by 80% . Exercising, eating healthy and keeping your BMI at 25 or under. This month I have actually been trying to exercise nearly everyday in some way or another and have changed my diet to that of a healthier vegetarian. Even after February I will continue on this healthy path as I have been wanting to make the change for a bit. Hope this post motivates at least one person to start eating healthier and get active.

For more info: www.heart.org

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Susan G. Komen – Race for the Cure

I’m proud to be a part of this great cause for the 2nd year in a row. I’ve know quite a few survivors of breast cancer and have unfortunately known a couple of losses. If you have the chance to participate in one of these races, I urge you to do so. It’s a chance to get some exercise, learn about breast cancer research, and join with others who feel strongly about this cause. I think we can all manage to walk at least 3 miles/5k to help out in the search for a cure.

Everyone wants to save the tatas, so what can you do? You can do regular self breast exams. As well as clinical breast exams every 3 years starting at age 20, and mammograms every year after the age of 40. Most gynos will do a breast exam during the annual pap smear visit. It’s very important to detect it early, as survival rate is higher. Another great way to help with early detection and finding the cure, is to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation as well as shop for products donating to the foundation. There are many cosmetic lines now that donate a portion of their proceeds to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Every year I try to get a group together to do this walk, this year everyone is lazy and chooses to not participate. But I will be there and walking for breast cancer research. It will be my 2nd charitable walk this year. The first was for The Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, another great foundation for helping those who suffer from epilepsy. So put on those walking shoes and get out there!

Link to my personal fundraising page:
Susan G. Komen Race for The Cure

Info on Breast Self Exams:
Self Exam

To Learn more about The Epilepsy Foundation of Florida:
Epilepsy Foundation of Florida

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