21 Reasons to Run the Strip at Night

1. THE RUNNER TAKEOVER

There is no better feeling than being a part of a massive weekend. 40,000 people from 50 states and 64 countries, all coming to run–and take over–the famed Las Vegas Strip at Night.

2. THE STRIP

Whether you’re riding in a taxi from the airport, walking the sidewalk from casino to casino, or reveling at it from atop the High Roller Wheel, there is nothing in the world like this 4.2 mile stretch of neon beauty.

3. THE HOTELS

15 of the world’s 25 largest hotels wrap the Strip, housing over 150,000 hotel rooms. And the best part? They know darn well it’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon weekend.

4. THE ENTERTAINMENT

Britney Spears? Check. Cirque du Soleil? Check (7 of them).  Seeing the crazy costumes people run in? Check, and free.

5. THE FOOD

Rated top-ten in the country for great food, and for good reason. Pick any top celebrity chef and they’ve got their name on something in Las Vegas. Into wine? There are more master sommeliers in Las Vegas than Los Angeles and New York City combined.

6. THREE DAY HEALTH & FITNESS EXPO

It’s the biggest (and longest) Expo Rock ‘n’ Roll puts on, and for good reason—it’s your first stop of the weekend! 100+ vendors, epic merchandise, and photo opportunities galore to get the weekend party started.

7. THE T-SHIRTS

Dark colored to embody the night races, but bright designs to reflect the Las Vegas neon lights, these are t-shirtsyou need in your collection.

8. THE SATURDAY 5K

The perfect distance to shake out to on Saturday night, and to get the friends and family involved who are tagging along for the weekend.

9. THE RUNNER PERKS

We’re putting together a bigger and better than ever list of Perks for you in 2016. Look forward to exclusive participant offers on dining, entertainment, nightlife, and shows to help amplify your race weekend–all unlocked by the wristband you receive at the Expo.

10. THE START LINE CONCERT

What other race can you get treated to a massive headliner concert from a 70 ft long stage with 30,000 of your closest friends, BEFORE you run?!

11. THE START LINE EXPERIENCE

The “pre-race jitters” are different here. The community is tremendous and as you cross the line, fire shoots into the sky. YES.

12. RUNNING PAST THE WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS SIGN

Your iconic Las Vegas tour starts before you hit the first mile marker as you run past the famed sign. Snap a selfie on the move, or jump into the photo area to line up the perfect shot.

13. THE COURSE ENTERTAINMENT

Local musicians and DJs lining the course with one goal in mind—to keep you pumped up from start to finish! All genres are covered, and they get into it!

14. THE RUN THRU WEDDING

Keep your eyes peeled on course for hundreds (yes, hundreds) of couples tying the knot or renewing their vows ON THE RUN! Only…in…Vegas…

15. THE RUNNING ELVI

The king of rock is well-represented each year in the form of hundred of white lycra-clad runners taking on the Strip at Night like the superstar himself. ROCK. ON.

16. RUNNING THROUGH DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS

Where Las Vegas all began. Staying true to it’s neon roots despite incredible gentrification, the vibe & energy is amazing!

17. THE MIRAGE VOLCANO

Not only are you finishing in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, but the Mirage volcano is erupting just to your right. If you’re lucky, your finish line photos will literally be on fire.

18. THE FINISH LINE

We bring the nightclub to the finish line, with lasers, lights and tunes to celebrate your epic achievement. See it all come together here in 27 seconds!

19. THE MEDALS

Words don’t do them justice…just take a look at the below, close your eyes, and imagine the feeling of crossing the finish line and being crowned with one of these like a running king or queen.

20. THE REMIX CHALLENGE

Those willing to take on the challenge of running back to back nights (Saturday 5K and Sunday marathon, ½ marathon or 10K) will be rewarded—heavily.

21. WALKING AROUND LAS VEGAS WITH YOUR MEDAL(S)

Wear them loud, wear them proud, wear them wherever the heck you want! You earned it.

Now, share this with your friends! The marathon and 1/2 price increases on August 2, so the clock is ticking! Use code RUNMEGANRUN for $15 off the half or full marathons!

(Originally posted here from Run Rock'n Roll)

How I Ran a 33-Minute Marathon PR

I'm two weeks out from the OC Marathon, home of my new marathon PR of 4:19:20, which demolished my past PR of 4:52:52. A 33:32 PR, a time I'd dreamed of but wondered if it were possible. Was my heart in it? Were my legs capable? What if I can't? I think these are all games we runners play in our head (really, anyone with a goal or dream in mind). 

I had gone into the Phoenix Marathon knowing I was well under-trained and unprepared, but was determined to make the most of the race day that was handed to me. Recap: I felt pretty awesome until mile 20 where I was on track for a 4:30ish finish, my stomach flared, and I spent 1:38 walking the last 10K to finish in 4:55. Not the day I'd had in my head, as I was hoping for at least some kind of PR, but I learned a lot that day, too. 

When I got home from Phoenix, I took a full week off. I walked, did yoga, but didn't allow myself to run for a full week. And I missed it. I yearned for a run, but told myself that I need a week to rest, recuperate and fuel the fire that I knew I had. I treated Phoenix like a good long training run heading into OC. Mind you, I'd run two fulls two years apart and now I here I am running two just nine weeks apart. What was am I thinking?

Looking back at the struggle that my first marathon was in 2013, it's amazing to say I've come this far. I ran Surf City that year with a simple goal of finishing sub-5 and still standing upright. 4:58:42 later, I got to call myself a marathoner! I met both goals but was pretty certain it would be a long time before I got there again. Two years later, I was toeing the line of my second full, LA Marathon 2015, feeling infinitely more confident, prepared and trained, many thanks to the run club I'd joined and spent every Saturday with. The heat knocked me off my feet in the end, but still achieved a PR by 6 minutes. That's still a win, right?

So now here I am, jumping from a 4:58 first marathon to a 4:19, I've figured out how to make it all count. These are six things that - especially in this OC Marathon training cycle - I believe are the key to how I had the success that I did at OC a few weeks ago. I had 3 main points that I wanted to focus on during this cycle, some of which are reflected here. Shall we? 

1. Respect the Distance

I'm some 40-something half marathons into my running career and can confidently say I can run a half in my sleep, comfortably. I'm regularly running sub-2 halfs now, also comfortably. Throughout this training, there were several folks who mentioned that if I could run a sub-2 half so easily now, surely I could bust out a sub-4 or 4:00 marathon. Not gonna lie, while that idea sounded so great in my head, it was important to remember to be real - with myself, and with the race - that running a 2-hour half is a lot different than running a 4-hour full. Respect the distance. 26.2 is not the same as 13.1. 

2. Higher Weekday Mileage 

Throughout my other full training, I struggled with not only making it through more long distance (14+ miles) runs, but also didn't pack on miles during the week, which I thought worked. However, after completing this cycle and seeing how many runs were on plenty-tired legs but I pushed on and had some amazing runs in the process, I see the benefit of tacking in those miles during the week. I remember early on in the cycle when I had a #tenmiletuesday (also achieving a personal mid-week distance record), Catherine commented how much of a difference it made to feel prepared for a marathon by not neglecting the mid-week mileage. 

A #tenmiletuesday with Sandy!

3. Yoga

While only four months into yoga at this point, I admittedly suck at cross-training. Like, I'll be great at it for a week and then give up or get bored (mostly bored, let's be real). Yoga became a great place to not only use my muscles in different ways, but also to get my stretch on, because the other thing I suck at worse than cross-training is stretching. I'm a terrible runner, let's be honest. Though I only practice at my local Fleet Feet once a week and on some good weeks, once at home, is something I really do believe helped me immensely through this cycle: stretching out my chronically tight hamstrings and IT, forcing me to relax and breathe and focus on me just being me. 

4. More Quality Long Runs 

For my three previous fulls (Surf City, LA, Phoenix), my longest runs in training had been 16 miles. While 16 is a lot, there's a long way between 16 and 26. One of my major goals for OC was to ensure that I was packing on the miles and getting in the distance past 16 mles, my wall. I can say I successfully:

• 15 miles (2:15 half marathon pacer + 2 miles)
• 16 miles (9:50 pace)
• 22 miles (Ragnar So Cal)
• 21 miles (9:12 pace)

And many more weekends inbetween with runs ranging from 10 - 12. Feeling these extra miles out was most important for me mentally, as I allowed myself to break past the "13.1 is my happy place" mentality and fight for miles beyond that. 

5. Food Logging

Okay, so add one more thing that I suck at: food. I eat terribly, and regularly joke that I run so I can eat. If I ate the way I should  for the way I run, I'd weigh probably 15 pounds less. By no means am I overweight and know that I have muscle to show for 15 years of soccer and now long distance running) and that 5'6" and 145 is perfectly healthy. However, I am a little conscious about my weight and wanted to be more mindful of what I was fueling my body with and how it added up to race day. Logging my food on MyFitnessPal  from the end of February (just before Phoenix) all the way through OC did not necessarily lead up to weight loss (I don't know a scale), but it did make me more conscious about what I was putting in my mouth and fueling myself just a little bit better.

6. Believe 

It's so cliched and so true. But for the first time, I see where it got me and how much it meant on race day. After my 21-mile run and the energizer bunny that was my pacer Eric, and recognizing that we are our own worst enemies and that you, we, I  are more capable than we think. On race day, when I was at mile 17 on my own and still had energy to go, I had that 21-mile day in my head. If you can do it then, you can do it now... ... hey! Look! Mile 21 and you're still kickin'. Now finish those last 5. Al. Most. There. For once I had that belief, I had something to hang on to and knew that I had it in me from the start. 

Believe in yourself. You are more capable than you realize. 

For more tips and ideas for your training, also check out Run Far Girl's post of a similar nature. I love her tips and ideas and shares how she earned a 23-minute PR too. 

What are your best tips for marathon training?

Race Recap: OC Marathon

OC Marathon | May 1, 2016

Newport Beach to Costa Mesa, CA

Have you ever had one of those races where two three four (this is how long it's taken me to write this) days later, you're still not sure what happened? And you keep going back to the race results page to make sure it's a real thing and that you in fact achieved it? That's what this race is. Like, I seriously have no idea where to start because I'm still in disbelief - but then I get up and walk again and am reminded that yeah, that happened.

I don't know where to start.

But we'll start here. Mandatory race day essentials:

Garmin | Road ID | You Got This! | PureConnects | Pro Compression | Hydraquiver | Sparkly Soul

I think it's important to note that the Monday prior to race day, the high for Sunday was forecasted at 91 degrees. When I woke up Saturday morning to head to the expo in the rain, I knew we were better off. The high had dropped to 68, and then by Sunday morning had jumped a little to 70 or so. I went back and forth for a while on using my Hydraquiver or not, but ultimately determined that I had trained with it, so I was better off taking it and having it as a resource should I need.

Doug and I were up about 3:30 to be out the door about 4. He was going to drop me at the start line and then head over to the Orange County Fairgrounds, home of the expo, finish line, and 5K, which he was running. The full started at 5:30, half at 6:30 and 5K at 7:30, so he unfortunately had a boatload of time to kill. Thanks, babe! We were at the start right about 5, and by the time I walked from my drop off to the corrals, convinced a nice guy to let me cut in the porto line, and found my way to the corrals, I had less than 10 minutes to kill until the gun. Timing at its best. 

Noteworthy: reader Jennifer and I have been emailing back and forth for the last month about our long runs and how things were going. We knew what each other was wearing on race morning, but I was so scrambled at the start, I hardly saw anyone! Two minutes before gun time, I got a tap on my shoulder: "Are you Megan?" Found! So fun! She started with me in the group below... 

Yeah, you see that pace time? IERC friends!

After my 21-miler a few weeks ago where I managed a 9:12 pace (yeah, what?!), I decided that I could at least start with Jen and the 4:00 group. What did I have to lose (I mean, besides all my energy, but that's whatever)? I'd give it a shot. Mind you, my goals for this race may or may not have been in line with this, but remember that my marathon PR is a 4:52 heading into this morning! Jen's a regular pacer with Beast and I know her from around IERC and Fleet Feet, so I knew she'd hold me tight and help me get to a finish - a pacer I trust, fo sho. 

9:10 - All the weaving! I thought I'd sputter out there. No lie.

8:38

8:53

8:50

It was already about mile 4 that Jen and I both noticed that our watches were about a tenth of a mile further than the mile-markers. Throughout the entire race, this varied anywhere from .10 miles to .30 miles further on my watch (i.e. when I crossed the halfway mat, my watch read 13.4). 

Photo cred: Michael, because for once I wasn't taking photos mid-run.

8:49

8:54

8:50

9:08 - Not a hill but a long gradual incline up to the trail. I remembered this part from the half last year and hated it, but remembered the views at the top. 

Proof that I was there. For more than the start line photo.

8:49

8:58

8:50 - It's THE hill. I hate this hill. Oh look, there goes team 4:00. Okay, well, I can still see Jen clearly. Keep them in your eyesight, Megan, they're not far ahead.

9:45

9:28 / Half Marathon in 1:57 (Garmin), 2:00 (chip)

9:49

11:17 - The last real climb of the course, an overpass. My stomach flared here so I managed, walked the overpass, and moved up, ready to see some club supporters at South Coast Plaza.

8:54

9:58 - Energy. Just tons of energy, and it's mile 17? 

I was banking on seeing some club people at mile 17, just to learn that they had been turned away from actually parking in South Coast Plaza, so were just outside with no banner so I missed them all completely! Oh well. 

10:06 - Shoot, there's 4:10 guy.

4:10 guy was a minute fast, and his Garmin and mine read the exact same time, so I knew I was in okay shape to still carry on.

9:42

10:34 - 20! This is where you started to feel like crap at Phoenix and look at you! You're still golden! The 4:10 pacer is still behind you, you feel good, you look good, keep rockin'. Just a 10K to go! And only three miles until Jacky. 

Tina texted me the image of my splits and at 20, I was on track for a 4:08. What the what?!

11:28

10:53

11:01 - Jacky! There's that bounding, smiling ball of energy. Just what I need.

I had told Jacky that from about 20 on, I'd been walking the first minute of each mile, and then running the rest of each mile. My miles were getting notably slower, but I felt good. I told her I was happy, and I just wanted to stay happy until the finish.

10:48 - Mental math: you're at 24, and you could walk these next two miles and still come under a 4:30. That's HUGE. But maybe you should run.

I was at that point where shuffling just sounded best. I found Eric, my 21-mile buddy, told Jacky I just needed to keep moving and maybe we'd give Eric a boost if he saw us come up from behind (sorry, Eric!). 

12:13

10:57

Running the last 3/4 mile through the fairgrounds is beyond awesome. The last quarter-mile is even more awesome because you run through a tunnel of people, dozens handing out high fives and yelling for you - I teared up. I couldn't cry, because there was nothing left, but definitely teared up.

8:55 (.52 mi)

Do you see that?

4:19:20

That, my friends, is a 33:32 PR. Huge. Admittedly, this isn't what my A goal was. It's actually a little shy of it. But when you beast your B goal with a 33 minute PR, who the hell cares?! Not this girl. 

The moment of realization.

GUYS! I did it! Massive PR in the books, awesome race in the books. 250+ miles in eight weeks pays off. hard work pays off and a little belief pays off. HELL YEAH.

Did you run the OC this year?

PS. If you read all this... thank you!

Dear Self: You Got This!

Dear Megan:

You've worked hard for this one. Probably harder than you have for the last three fulls (remember how your longest runs usually topped out at 16?).

246 miles in the last 8 weeks is pretty damn incredible and you worked hard for every. single. one. 

Even when you skipped runs or opted for an additional rest day, it was in good faith that the next run out the door would make up for it. And they usually did.

Those #tenmiletuesday weeks? Where you set new personal highs for mid-week mileage? Those are going to pay off. Because running on tired legs just shows you how far you've come when you can push through the tired wall.

Those goals are do-able.

You have goals in sight for the year. This is opportunity #2 before a long and hot summer derails things just a little bit, both for weather and for work. Use this opportunity to your advantage!

Remember that 21 mile day? It was hot, and windy, and you ran right through it. You killed it. Even more than you thought possible. What's five more?

Bib #777. If anything, that's lucky.  

This race day is mine. These last eight weeks of training, all the extra mileage unlike anything you've done before, finally pushing out of the comfortable 13-15 mile range and knocking out some amazing long runs, the 5 am wake up calls, the extra need for stretching and foam rolling and all the so-very-needed yoga sessions... this is it.

See you on the other side of 26.2!

OC Marathon Goals

Goals. Sometimes they're really hard to put out there. Sometimes you need to, just to hold yourself accountable.

The last time I wrote out race goals, I was feeling way under-prepared, nervous, and kind of just a wreck. That was before Phoenix, all of eight weeks ago. I ran Phoenix, attained my C goal of a strong race (pretty much my strongest race ever), and knew that if I stuck to a plan, I could totally rock at OC. Phoenix became a great mental test of where I stood, and of course physically, given that my longest run had been just 16 miles like seven weeks prior to Phoenix. All being said, Phoenix worked out okay. And then I had a full week of recovery - just walking, yoga - and by the end of the week, I was itching to get out and run. I think that's a good sign.

OC training was all of eight weeks. Eight weeks isn't a lot, but I wasn't starting at point zero either, considering I really count Phoenix as a long run to test my endurance and mental capabilities in handling another 26.2 so soon. Mind you, my first two fulls were TWO YEARS apart, and now here I am running two in eight weeks.

My major goals for training were:
- More longer distance runs (over 13)
- Strength/yoga
- Weight loss

Compared to my other two fulls, I nailed the longer distance runs perfectly. A 15-miler, 16-miler (where I could have kept going), 22 at Ragnar in 30 hours, and capped off two weekends ago with the biggest confidence-boosting 21-miler ever. I built more mileage in during the weeks, often having an 8- or 10-miler on Tuesdays, bookended by 5 each on Monday and Wednesday. Mid-week mileage certainly makes a difference.

21-miler day.

I didn't incorporate strength training (weights, really) in any form, like ever, but practiced yoga weekly at Fleet Feet and a few times, did at-home practice too. I'm proud that I've continued with it and really see what a difference it's making just in terms of my overall strength.

Weight loss was up and down. I don't keep a scale at home (mostly on purpose), but about halfway through training had dropped about 3 pounds. That was about 5 weeks ago, and I have no idea where I stand heading into race day, but I'm feeling better than I've felt in a while. We shall see what kind of difference that makes on Sunday!

With that... here we go! My goals for Sunday's race, marathon #4 lifetime and #2 of 2016.

Goal A: The Elusive Time Goal
Much like Phoenix, I'm leaving this goal to myself. It's a goal for the year, but I honestly feel like with the work I've put in the last eight weeks, it's just maybe attainable this weekend!

Goal B: A PR
That PR still stands from LA (4:52) and I know it's bound to be broken, because I am far better off than I was last year (not to mention those 100-degree heat indexes). I know a PR is in the bag, whether it's 20 minutes or 5 minutes. It's mine.

Goal C: Run a Smart Race
The highs are not super forgiving on Sunday (75 as of Wednesday night), but tolerable, especially given that we're on the coast for the race. I've definitely run in hotter weather, but am hoping I know how to take advantage and still run smart, all things considered.

There we go. Vague on purpose, but I'm hoping that I can at least come back with a pretty killer full marathon PR. Here we go, #4!

Have you run the OC full? Favorite parts? Worst parts?

OC Marathon Training

It’s OC Marathon training time! This week begins week 1 and while I realized that’s a shortened time frame (8 weeks from this past Sunday), I am not starting from Point A and am really thinking of Phoenix as having been a good training run. 

Please consult a health professional before you begin a marathon training plan or new health regiment. I am not a doctor, wrote this plan for myself with some other professional plans mixed in, but I know this is what works for me. 

Photo opens link to downloadable plan.

This training cycle, I am focused on getting more longer distance runs in - that is, anything over a half marathon. At this point in my running career, I can run a half very comfortably and know that my pressure point is above 16. I want to ensure that coming OC race day, I am more than ready for an entire 26.2.

I am also more focused on my weekly yoga and adding strength. While one day a week is not a whole lot of strength/weight training, it is one more day a week than I usually do. Realistic steps to start with, right? *nods* Habits can start, even if it is only one day a week.

While I have one day a week of yoga scheduled at my local Fleet Feet, I am also hoping that at least one more time a week I can do some at-home practice, if not just to stretch out but also continue building a core. Yoga has done wonders for me already, just eight weeks in, so I look forward to continuing that journey as well.

The big part for me is also a little weight loss. While I know this body can easily take me 26.2 miles, I also know that I can do myself a world a favor and drop a few extra pounds. Ten pounds is the goal between now and May 1, so we will see what my body is up for. I don't eat well, but I am going in with the goal of just paying a little more attention to what I am putting in my mouth at each meal. Time will only tell. 

My first two marathons were two years apart - Surf City in 2013 and LA in 2015, and here I am now with four fulls on the calendar in just this year. I think I am a little bit crazy but I am also way freaking excited about the challenge, the progress, and the desire to just keep getting better. 

Here we go, OC!

What is the greatest number of full marathons you have run in a year?

Race Recap: Phoenix Marathon

Phoenix Marathon | Mesa, Arizona

February 27, 2016

Isn't it amazing how fast race day comes? After some less than stellar sleep, our alarms started going off about 3:15. Our plan was to be out the door by 3:45 to get me to the right drop off area with enough time for Tina to get over to the half drop off area in time too. 

We left about 3:50 but were early enough to my area that we hung out in the car a few more minutes and got my nerves in check and supplies together for the day. I finished my bagel and peanut butter in the car, got my stuff together, hugged Tina and made my way to the buses. There were a ton of buses and I was able to walk right on. Guess there's no turning back now... 

I sat in the second row behind the driver, tried making friends with the guy next to me, but he was already asleep as we pulled away from Mesa Riverview. I quietly texted Tina, played on Instagram and Twitter, and tried to calm the swirling thoughts in my head. We left Riverview probably before even 4:30 and I was already dreading spending an hour+ at the top of the mountain. We were on a freeway a while, made a turn somewhere... and then some man comes parading to the front of the bus and gets in the driver's face about how he's going the wrong way. The poor driver insists we're going the right way and kindly asks the man to get back to his seat. Onward. 

At 4:57, the driver pulls to the shoulder of this two lane mountain road - the stop engine light had come on and then the engine just died. 4:58, driver calls in, they're sending a bus up. Good thing I got on a fairly early bus! I was calm - I mean, at least I was in a warm(ish) bus, not freezing on the top of the mountain! The guy next to me was awake, looking at his map and also agreeing that we'd been going the wrong way. He ran the race last year and was hoping for a BQ this year. 5:10ish: man comes back up to the driver, map on phone pulled up, and insisted we were going the wrong way yet again. Driver asks him (a little more sternly) to go back to his seat, that we were going the right way. People are getting on and off the bus to use the desert as their porto-potty (because why not?). 5:15: grumpy people in the back very rudely ask for an update, "It's been 20 minutes!" Driver says that yes, he called 20 minutes ago and that it was going to be 20-30 minutes from when he called in. "Well where is the bus coming from, the start line? The finish line? Your base?" and "How far to the start from here?" and frankly, being unbearbly rude in a less than ideal situation. Finally, three or four of us from the front turned and asked them to calm down and remind them that our driver was volunteering his time to take us to the top and that we'd be fine. It is only 5:15 after all. 5:23: Rescued!

We were, in fact, going the right way and about two miles from the start area where the bus died. Less than 5 minutes and we were right where we needed to be. Still an hour early. I hopped off the bus, straight to the bathroom line and found a few campfires and heat lamps to hover around. There were more than enough and people were chatting it up. I couldn't find anyone I knew (womp), so I just buzzed from heatlamp to heatlamp, hoping to calm my nerves by striking up a conversation with someone. No dice. And then... I saw my Garmin had died. Well if that's not a sign I need a new one... maybe that was the sign I needed that I needed to hang with the pacer (a debate I'd been having all week). 

Sure, there's an uphill. One. Not steep, just long. Not worth running 9:30s for, dude.

Before I knew it, it was time to head to the start line. After national anthem and fireworks (!), we were allowed to inch our way closer. I saw a few pacers come forward (3:25 and 3:55) but no others. Behind me, 4:55 and 5:10 eventually rolled in. It's 6:20... where on earth are these middle pacers? Kid you not, about 6:27, a few more pacers rolled in. 4:25 finally showed up, headphones in both ears already. Great, so it's gonna be that kinda race. I let him get to his spot, tapped him on the shoulder and asked what his race strategy was. "Um... 10 minute miles." "Yeah, I know that, but what's your actual strategy? Are you negative-splitting? Or consistent throughout?" He kind of stumbled and said he'd run "about 9:30 on the downhills to save it for the uphill." At that point, I knew I was in trouble. But I decided I'd give the benefit of the doubt and the pacer and give it a shot. 

Mile 1: 9:09. No, sir, that's not how this works. I know this mile because I very quickly befriended some women about a half-mile in who had planned to run with this guy too but knew very quickly it wasn't going to work. We formed our own pace group - me, Stef, Mikie and Rosie. A mile in, 4:25 guy was running right next to 4:10 lady. Um... no. 

Stef, Mikie, Rosie and I decided we'd hang out together and hold each other close to run a great race. Two of the four of us had watches on and I had printed out a 4:25 pace band, so at least we knew we'd be on target. After mile 1, we literally didn't see 4:25 again until mile 8. At mile 8, we were at a 4:22 finish and he was a solid 100 yards ahead of us. Not okay. 

Mile 17 and feeling good... so, so good.

As a reminder, I had three target goals for the race:

A) A Time

B) Just a PR. 

C) Run a strong race.

Besties! Love race weekends with her so much!

Since I don't have a Garmin record I even race this sucker (womp), here's what I can tell you:

• 4:25 is in my reach. Up until Mile 20, I was close. I was rockin' and happy. 
• Look at the last 10K. I can honestly say it wasn't a wall. I was hot and tired. Mentally, I was psyched.
• Ultimately, I met goal C and I am elated with my performance on Sunday. I've only run three fulls, but this was by far the smartest race of my life. I Gu'd every 4 miles, alternated between water and Gatorade, and when it got hot, started taking two waters to drink and dump on my head.
• Taking my Orange Mud Hydraquiver was a genius idea.
• Mountain Dew at Mile 17 is life-changing.

Doug and Tina were waiting at the finish line for me and Tina asked Doug if I'd be disappointed I didn't hit my supreme goal time and he just said, "I don't know." Truth be told, given the training I had (or lack there of, really), I am damn proud of the race I had. Four days out, I am mentally in a better place than I was going into the race, and am pumped to jump into training for the OC full on May 1. 

I know I've got what it takes. 

Oh? And those pacers? I told Doug at about mile 17 that I was way behind the 4:25 pacer (as he was one of the two that knew that plan). 3:25 came in about 5 minutes early; 3:55 came in at 3:52 and 4:25 dude came in 5 minutes early also. 

Post-Phoenix here are my thoughts. An amazing race, overall, and I'm signed up for the half for next year. 

Pros

- Aid stations. They do an awesome cheer station contest and they go all out! Otherwise, a fairly quiet course.

- Race swag. Singlet, socks, arm sleeves and a book all came in my race bag. Sweet! 

- Great course. The one uphill isn't hard, just a long grade, but nothing anyone can't handle. 

- Phenomenal post-race party. Famous Dave's and French toast are a little much for me right after, but there were tons of food options. I had ice cream. It was amazing. 

- Who doesn't love a PR bell to ring?

Cons

- Pace Team. I mean this overall. I recognize that this is a large BQ race, but if they're going to be running for BQ times (i.e. 3:55 coming in at 3:52 to make the window), the race needs to advertise as such. Ventura does and is effective. 

- Quiet course. If you need loud, energetic course sidelines, this isn't always your kinda place.

Overall, I'm happy. Happy, happy, happy. As I said, I'll be back next year to run the half and hopefully all the way through 2020 to earn this: 

Have you ever been happy when you didn't meet your A/B goal?

Phoenix-Bound & Marathon Weekend

Arizona or bust!

It's Phoenix Marathon weekend. Holy crap.

Today, we're Phoenix-bound. Checking into our hotel for the night, dinner, waiting for Tina to get there so we can hit up the expo and promptly pass out because we have an alarm clock for o'dark thirty hours to catch a bus to the top of a mountain. 

Or something like that.

We were in Phoenix just four weeks ago, but I am WAY excited to see my favorite twins again!

But because it's a Friday, and my Friday Favorites are always a thing, here's some extra super special favorites:

1. Fuller House

 Fuller House hit Netflix today! That is all. 

2. #TheGibblers

In such an honor, the interwebz are rocking their Gibblers today for Kimmie or the amazing Andrea Barber. If you don't have them yet, you can order them here. And if you are, make sure you share the love with #thegibblers on IG. I rocked mine on a little shakeout run this morning. 

3. Yoga

In the last six weeks or so since I started doing yoga just once a week, I've really come to enjoy my hour-long session on Wednesday evenings. A chance to recoup, rejuvenate and let go of whatever is going on in real life or in my head. I still feel like this sometimes:

but I can already feel what a difference it's made. Now if I can just get myself to practice more than once a week (my dad's a total yogi and goes three times a week!), I know how much more it will do for me. I am far from flexible, but I see a little progress and that's exciting. :)

Have you watched the entire 13 episodes of Fuller House yet?!