Emerald City Fun

 It was during Rock ‘n Roll San Diego that Linz and I discovered we were actually on the same flight up to Seattle. Convenient, yes? Yes. Since I was picking up my dad the night before at SNA, and we were flying out of Long Beach, I stayed in Chino, and got picked up at o’dark thirty for our 9 am flight up to Seattle! (Big thanks to Jet Blue for my airline ticket! Through my ambassadorship with Run Racing for the Holiday Half, I was able to earn a free flight on Jet Blue! Hello racecation!)

We were up in Seattle by 11:30 and quickly met up with Briana, Libby and Libby’s friend Lindsey – this weekend can begin! We knew Friday would be a whirlwind and with all of 30ish hours in the Emerald City, we needed to hit the ground running (pun intended) - we were all staying in different places, so Linz and Paul took off and we knew we'd catch up with them at the We Run Social later in the day anyhow. Briana hopped off the Link and Libby, Lindsey and I made our way to our score of a hotel (Paramount Hotel near the Space Needle. We super lucked out). 

After checking in and getting situated and our phones charged a bit, we headed back down to Pioneer Square to meet up with Briana and Andrew for lunch. Briana called dibs on Tat's Deli and holy wow - delicious. A must-eat if you're back up in Seattle any time soon! Half the crew had Tat's noteworthy pastrami, and I devoured a massive meatball sub, because you can never go wrong with meatballs!

  

Finish line going up near Century Link! See you tomorrow, finish line! 

After lunch, we hopped back on the Link to make our way down to CenturyLink field to get our bibs and packet pick up done before the meet up. Easy peasy - the expo had started Thursday, so Friday afternoon was just quiet enough to get in through bibs, shirts, and the front store pretty quickly.

 Briana's #poseoftheday: group tree pose!

And then meet up fun! Linz, Carlee and I got to host the WRS meet up in conjunction with the super fab folks at ProCompression. New friends, reconnecting with old friends, putting faces to Instagram handles - SO. MUCH. FUN. Thank you to everyone that joined us and we hope you a) had a blast b) won some socks or hats or visors and c) will come back again soon! I had a blast meeting you all!

Thank you everyone! <3

PC love. 

Rock 'n Bloggers. 

Me, Linz & Carlee. Love these two!

  After the meet up, we took some time to wander through the entire expo itself, including playing on Brooks riding shoes, trying to win some free shoes, filling in for Sparkly Soul just a little bit, and then getting on with the rest of the fun! And by then... we were beat. It was nearly 5:30 already! And we had a city to go see! Both Libby and Shelby hadn't been to Seattle before, and while I had, it'd been a solid 15 years since I had, so I still wanted to poke around a little bit too!

In keeping up with my run streak though, I still had a mile to get in. Libby and I deeply contemplated taking the monorail to the Space Needle (and then we could run a mile back), or do we just do the treadmill in the hotel? We eventually settled on the 'mill and busted out a quick mile so we could get on with dinner and on with our short touristing time! We were literally a mile from the Needle, so we took the monorail up and spent our evening playing around the famed landmark. 

Despite some slight rain earlier, the sky had broken up a bit and our trip to the top of the Space Needle totally lucked out: pretty clear, gorgeous evening, sunset in progress. It couldn't have gotten any better.

We also purchased a combo ticket to get into the Chihuly Gardens & Glass exhibit which I'd been dying to go through. Gorgeous, breathtaking and to think... it's all glass. I was totally and completly blown away! 

Could. Not. Get enough! 

Clearly.

Me, Libby, & Lindsey!

After nearly three hours up in the park, we decided it was a much needed end to our day - grabbed dinner, ate back in our room, got race day ready and hit the hay about 11 for our early wake up. Thankfully, since we were so close to the start, we didn't have to head out super duper early - especially with that rain forecast, we were a little uncertain about what the morning would actually have in store for us!

Hoping #FlatMegan would be enough - please don't rain!

Race day recap coming soon - but  I can't wait to share how much fun I had! 

What are other must-sees or dos in Seattle for next time I'm there?

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!

Race Day Disasters

I pray to all the running gods in the universe that I am not foreshadowing any disasters come Sunday morning, but I thought this was too good not to share.

A few weeks back at our Long Beach Marathon ambassador lunch meet-up - as it was right after Phoenix - I was telling the story about race morning in Phoenix. One of the ambassadors laughed and was like, "Remind me to never to start my race day with you!" Here's the thing though... my stories always work out in the end! So I thought it'd be kinda fun to reminisce on some race day disasters because you know... they're laughable now! And then some others I've collected from around the interwebz.

- Transportation Disasters: Case and point? Phoenix. I haven't done many races that are point-to-point and require a shuttle in some direction, so Phoenix was a whole new experience for me. I was nervous enough about running the race, let alone my bus dying somewhere not near the start line!

- Garmin Issues: Before I finally upgraded my watch and got my new Garmin, my old 110 was dying at start lines on the regular. I can't even tell you how many races I ran without a watch. But honestly? Running naked is so good sometimes!

- Forgetting the Essentials: Like, you know... your shoes? #notmyshoes became quite the saga, and now it's just laughable because who packs TWO LEFT SHOES for a race? This girl. This girl right here.

Rock 'n Roll San Diego became quite the adventure last year and while I never wish to re-live it, the quick thinking of both my boyfriend and the hotel front desk staff certainly saved this race day from becoming a real disaster.

- Traffic: Kim at Barking Mad About Running said that one time at a race she got caught in traffic, so she got to the start line 15 minutes late and ran the first whole mile of the race before catching up with any of the walkers. "But at least I got a good time!" See... there's always something laughable about it. Doug and I definitely showed up after a race started once and had fun catching up and getting ahead!


My favorite (insane) story of all is from Shelby. I can't even put this into my own words, so I'm going to share just as is with you:

"Let’s rewind about 3 years to the 2013 Rock ’n’ Roll Portland Half Marathon. Running this less than a week after my first full marathon I had no time goal but to finish with a smile. I donned my Sparkle Athletic skirt, cranked up the music and took off. If you’ve run in Portland you know it’s full of trains, bridges, and hills. I had never run in Portland, or a Rock ’n’ Roll race before so really I had no idea what to expect. Around Mile 5 we were going over the umpteenth bridge of the race when my left foot got stuck in a railroad track. Yes you read that right. The carpeting from the race didn’t cover it properly and I was stuck. After a little wiggling I got my foot out and kept running. By the time I hit the finish line I was in some pain but honestly thought it was because I ran my first marathon followed by a half in 7 days and I was still pretty new to it all. 


This is where it gets interesting….I went to run after 4 days off & could barely run a mile without stabbing pain. Being an out-of-state student at Oregon,I found a random foot doctor and made myself an appointment. The first thing the doctor did when he looked at me was say, “Have you ever worn a walking boot?” Random doctor say what now?!?! After telling the doctor what happened, he showed me the X-rays. I cracked the first metatarsal in my left foot, which I’ll be honest I was expecting something to that degree. I could feel a bump on the top of my foot that wasn't there before. The right foot was inconclusive because of a shadow so I was being scheduled for an MRI. In the mean time I got fit with a snazzy walking boot. Oh joy. Did I mention I WALKED to the doctor's office and had to walk back to campus? 1.2 miles away...in a boot for the first time ever.

 A week later I went for my MRI and the next day got called in to discuss the results. Play by play: “The good news is you won’t be in a walking boot much longer”. “Really? I thought you said I’d spend the summer in this?” “Yes, instead of ‘a’ walking boot you’re going to be in two”. Ummm WHAT. Turns out I fractured the navicular bone in my right foot, which is more serious than the left foot fracture I was sporting. Instead of ONE walking boot I got to waddle away with TWO. Yeah, that was a lovely conversation to have with my parents. 
I spent 9 weeks wearing plastic bags over my boots so I could navigate through rain, avoiding downhills because I legit picked up speed with every step (try learning that for the first time while out to sushi with all of your friends….we STILL laugh at that revelation) and walking up stairs to classes turned to the side one by one. Even flying home to visit my parents was a freaking sitcom because I had to get a wheelchair, bypassed the metal detector at TSA so they could wave a wand over the boots, and got to board early. (If you've ever flown Allegiant airlines you know that's a freaking miracle and totally worth it). While at the time I was miserable (couldn’t even celebrate my 21st birthday for fear of me falling over and injuring myself further) looking back it’s completely hysterical. In the end the doctor gave me the green light to run the #DumboDoubleDare with my dad and I got introduced to the magic of Brooks shoes." 

Um... yowch?!

So let's here it. Traffic issues? Porto potty lines? Dead Garmin on a dream race? What's been your worst race day disaster and how did you fare?

Race Report: Angels 5K

Angels 5K and Fun Run

Anaheim, CA | April 9, 2016

Doug and I did this race last year with a whole crew, but this year, it was just the two of us. It was a gray and drizzly weekend all weekend anyway, so it left me curious for how many people would actually show up this year. Spoiler: 3,676 people still showed up! 

We left home about 6:45 to get down to the stadium in a decent amount of time to park, get our bibs and shirts, walk stuff back to the car and chill for a bit before the 8 am start time. We remembered last year that despite there being two "waves," tons of folks with strollers and dogs still shove their way to the first wave, so you're definitely wasting your first mile just dodging around people and trying to find some kinda groove. By mile 2, you've mostly passed the walkers and strollers and can find some kind of rhythm, just to catch yourself in your tracks as you enter the stadium.

It's not a super exciting course by any means, but they lighten it up with having some of the team player cutouts to take photos with and with the Angels' Stike Force Squad. They definitely lighten up the course as much as they can, given that the highlight (running the warning track) isn't until 2.7 or so. 

Like I said, it was gray and cool out but we didn't get hit by any light rain until almost about the 1.5 mile mark, and it was only a drizzle at that, so it was kind of nice. We caught it again about 2.5, just before we made our way into the stadium, but it didn't last long. The nice part about the weather was that it certainly cleared people out quicker and the post-race expo was pretty dang empty by the time we were done walking through it! 

Last year, I was coming off some post-LA tendonitis and Doug hasn't really run since Surf City due to some lingering knee issues, so we figured that the combination of his injury and a massive crowd, we'd cruise through this run and just have fun. A 34-minute finish isn't something I've seen a while, but seriously, we had such a great time, who cares? Sometimes it's all about the fun run and having a blast with your guy while you're doing it, right? Right.

My only real beef with this race is how congested it is - there needs to be staff controlling that anyone with strollers, dogs, etc. needs to start in the second wave at least, so that folks who plan to just run the 5K aren't caught up in a huge crowd and/or risking injury trying to get around them by running straight into potholes or jumping on curbs to get up to the sidewalks to get around them. It's annoying as all get out, but I think speaks to safety, too, when you have a 5K of over 3,000 people. 

Otherwise, the race itself is great, medal is awesome (this year it's a spinning jersey!) and it's just a fun day to have supporting one of our favorite teams! 

Have you ever done a run through a sports team's stadium? What's your bucket list stadium run?

Race Recap: Hot Chocolate 15K San Diego

Hot Chocolate 15K San Diego

San Diego, CA | March 20

Another adventure with Beast Pacing!

This race has been on my calendar for MONTHS and I was soo stoked it was finally here! After getting in some miles at the club on Saturday (after like, ten weeks of being away), I headed home to get showered, finished packing, saying goodbye to Doug and the pup, and then headed back down to Jacky's house. Advantages to knowing tons of people doing this race? Carpool and hotel buddies! I was crashing with Jacky and her mom, so that was a definite advantage, compared to having to drive down the morning of the race like last weekend. After a mad dash to the expo (traffic sucked so we made it at 4:30 for a 5 pm closing time) and dinner with a dozen IERC runners, we made it to our hotel, got set for the morning and promptly passed out (me, at least). 

The Beast team met up at 6:20 for a race start of 7:45. There are tons of us that paced this race, as Hot Chocolate sets it up as such: preferred corrals (7:00' pace to 11:30' pace) and open corrals (9:00' to 15:00' paces). There's all kinds of qualifications for preferred times and all here. I was pacing the 9:30 group in the preferred corrals. (I was supposed to be the 10:00 pacer but moved up about a week and a half ago, so as long as I had a good day and met my pace, I guaranteed myself a PR!)

One thing I'd heard about regularly from folks who've done this race before were the hills throughout the race, to which I always thought, Well, duh, it's San Diego! San Diego is HILLY! 

The course runs through Balboa Park (re: uphill) the first 5K, then flattens out into some slight rolling hills. After winding down through Balboa Park again, there's a nasty little corkscrew up hill run at mile 7 but once you're at the top, it's a flat run and then will make its way mostly downhill for the remainder. With the start and finish near Petco Park, there's tons of room for the post-race party and fun that Hot Chocolate races involve... because duh, chocolate. 

5K: 29:24, 9:28 pace

10K: 58:46, 9:28 pace 

Finish: 1:28:27, 9:30 pace

Can you ask for anything more perfect? I've never nailed my paces that much and had such a great day doing it! Some of those hills made me work but overall the course gave me a great workout. I had a blast cheering on runners and got sooo many thank you's, which just totally made my day. Love getting to help people PR and make their goals, but there's nothing like other people thanking you for what you're doing. I just love to run - helping people out is just an added bonus! 

Mission accomplished! AND - this is just icing the cake - I paced myself to a 6-minute 15K PR! I recognize that 15Ks are rare (this is my fourth ever), but I'm pretty stoked! 

Did you tackle the hills yesterday? If not chocolate, what do you run for?

Race Recap: St. Patrick's Day Half Marathon

St. Patrick's Day Half Marathon

El Cajon, California | March 12

El Cajon is east county San Diego, and funny enough, not far from where I used to live while I was in grad school down there! This race is put on by the same folks who do the San Diego Holiday Half, which I love, so I was excited to check this race out too. Being that this was just under two hours from home, but I didn't want to spend the cash on staying the night down there, I was clever enough to reach out to the rest of the pace team to see if anyone wanted to carpool - knowing that there were a few of us in the area that might work. Thankfully, Meri and Champagne both jumped at the chance, despite needing to meet up at the ungodly hour of 4:15 am, it was nice having company on the way down!

The race offers both a 5K and half marathon, both with separate start and finish lines, which was nice in keeping them separated. The half started at 7:15, so the pace team met up about 6:30. We rolled into the parking lot about 6:10, so had plenty of time to veg, get our packets and get situated before meeting up with the rest of the team. In fact, parking was so easy, we parked two rows away and across the street from packet pick up and the 5K start/finish line. Talk about convenient.

After we got connected with the rest of the team and our necessary photo fun, we got to chill a bit more before heading to the start area about 7. The race was small - like, real small. Confirmation? 356 half marathon finishers - whoa! I don't know the last time I was in a race that small, but honestly, it's a nice change up from the 10,000+ that do some of the larger races around here.

I had a group of folks kinda hanging out with me early on, but only one woman really wanted to stick to me, Miriam. Too bad she took off at mile 4 and I never saw her again! She must've killed it.

The course is pretty simple - start in the super cute downtown area of El Cajon, out to Jamacha Rd, all the way down to Cuyamaca College, and back again.

The hills on the chart don't look as bad as they actually looked in person. I suppose I've got my hill training on lock, because they weren't terrible! A lot of folks definitely slowed their pace on these hills, particularly at miles 9-10 on the way back in. The benefit of an out-and-back? You know what's coming on the other side! Running the downhill on the way back in was awesome. About mile 10, a guy caught up to me and told me he was running his first half and was trying to beat his girlfriend who had done a couple, just to prove that he could run a half! Well that's a way prove the point, right?

I rolled in to a 2:14:11 finish (Garmin 2:14:13. I don't think I've ever been so close to chip time on my watch). I met up with Meri to pass off signs, but because I had 15 miles on the day to do, she let me go run around and get some more in. I ran around the block and then down to the 12.5 mark or so and cheered folks in. A woman asked if I'd pace her the last half mile to get to the finish, so I happily jumped in with her. 

Meri and I got a text from Champagne saying her sickness had gotten a hold of her and she wasn't doing well, so we ran back and found her right about 12.5 again and ran/walked her in to the end. 15 miles on my day, done! 

Probably one of the coolest medals, for such a small production. The center banner spins and I love the shamrock charm. Well done to this race crew!

All in all, a great race. I recommend this one if you're in the area and need some good hilly runs! 

Have you ever done a St. Patrick's themed run? 

Friday Favorites #13: Spring Races + Discount Love!

Southern California is pretty awesome in that we don't really have a downtime in our racing season. Sorry friends back east, but we can pretty much race 12 months a year and have pretty fabulous weather for like 85% of it. #SorryNotSorry Spring is by far my favorite though, as it is usually warm but not blazing hot yet, glorious sunrises and sunsets, and some fantastic cities and areas bring out the best in their races on weekends.

I've got a pretty fun and full spring calendar and am stoked about all that's coming up ahead. Check it out and let me know where I'll be seeing you this spring!

St. Patrick's Day Half Marathon 

March 12 | El Cajon, CA

I'll be pacing Team 2:15 for this one with Beast Pacing. Excited for a new race, and a themed one at that! And ready to rock my new SOMs from Pro Compression because... duh. 

.

Hot Chocolate San Diego 15K 

March 20 | San Diego, CA

I haven't run a Hot Chocolate race since in the inaugural Atlanta race in 2013 (before their medals were a thing), so needless to say I am way stoked about this! I'll be pacing for Beast and pacing the 9:30-minute mile group, which also guarantees myself a 15K PR. Score! Chocolate and a chocolate bar medal - count me in!

Ragnar So Cal 

April 1 - 2 | Huntington Beach to San Diego, CA

After doing Ragnar So Cal in 2014, I said I wanted to do other locations before repeating. However, naturally that all changes when some of your favorite running club people form a team and you say yes before you even realize what you're doing. So I'm back for So Cal round 2, with team #SWAGNARstrikesback. Ready for it and using it as an awesome lots-of-mileage (22) weekend for OC training. Double win.

And then I am race-less until May 1...

OC Marathon

May 1 | Costa Mesa, CA

Yep, in for full marathon #2 for the year and am PUMPED. I've only done this half once (last year as a pacer) and am excited to jump to the full this year. Ready to do work and get to it. If you want to run with me, make sure you register and list me (Megan Johnston) as your ambassdor referral! <3

Rock 'n Roll San Diego 

June 5 | San Diego, CA

Everyone knows the #notmyshoes saga, so I am looking forward to tackling this race again in my own shoes! They've also just announced a new course for the half (and surely the full coming soon), so I am eager to check it out and finish in a new area (though I liked the Petco Park area finish, so that's a bummer). 

Hopefully...

Rock 'n Roll Seattle 

June 18 | Seattle, WA

I would love to add another new state to my 50 States list, and am desperately eye-balling Seattle for a super quick getaway weekend with Team #RockNBlog. 

If you want to join me for any of the Rock 'n Roll races, jump on it and save some cash in the process! For more discounts and fun, you can also head over here and see what else I've got for you! 

Busy spring. Awesome spring. Let me know where I'll being seeing you!