Cardiff Kook Run

Winning Entry - Courtesy of Encinitas Patch

Hey!
I got my Kook on during the Cardiff Kook Run 2013!  Well, maybe I didn't completely get my Kook on - I did not dress up for the annual costume run, but I did complete the 5k portion of the race.  The Firefighter was working, so he did not participate this year.  Maybe next year he will run it with me and we can do the 10k, now that's a goal.

This is a great, scenic racecourse that parallels the Pacific Ocean through Encinitas and Cardiff, California.  You get to see the real surfers surfing and all of the people dressed up as whatever they want to be, fantastic!  I actually walked up the hill with one of the members of the Magic Carpet ride group entry that won, pictured above.  Very cool.  Their group was wearing turbans and Middle Eastern wear and they fashioned cardboard surfboards, posed as the kook and the best part was that they were actually dancing along with the music that they were blasting through speakers.  "What song?" you ask.  Of course it was 'Magic Carpet Ride' performed by Steppenwolf!  It was my theme song and motivation throughout the run.   I was actually near many of the groups when they got their pictures taken.  I got there almost 2 hours early, so I debated walking back home and taking a nap, but it was a beautiful morning, no reason to sleep through the start.  I had a lot of time to soak in the atmosphere and warm up several times.

This event makes Superbowl day a lot of fun.  You get up early, run the race, go home, take a shower and maybe a nap and then get ready for the Superbowl party and you know you can eat whatever you want - and if you happen to get a hangover, the next day is usually a rest day, so it won't matter.  I had a low key party this year - I hung out with my friend D and during the infamous black out (#toobadfornola) we finalized the wedding details.  How is that for efficiency!  By the way, the wedding is in less than 2 weeks, training for this race definitely helped to reduce stress levels.

So, here are the results.  My goal was somewhere in the 25 minute range, I didn't quite make it and I really wanted to walk towards the end, but I didn't.  26:16 - not too bad for the first race of the year and considering all of the families with strollers and walkers that I had to go around.  By my rough count, I got 3rd in my age group - I can not remember the last time that happened.  I heard a lot of grumbling about the course this year, I did practice on the exact race route, not intentionally, so I have no excuse.  There were more hills than last year and the 10k participants unfortunately had to run the back half of the race uphill - motivation to run more hills next year.

Here's my bling from the race!

Now it's time to get serious about triathlon training.  The Encinitas Triathlon is in May, 3 short months away.

2013 Here We Come!!!!

I don't normally do resolutions.  I am not doing resolutions this year either.

I have already started my work outs, gone into the ocean with my boogyboard and wetsuit and done a little bit of work.  2012 was a year of transition for me.  Lots of new things happened for me, both good and bad, but it was definitely a year of growth.  I lost a pet (for the first time at age 41), got engaged (for the first time), quit my job, lost my mom, completed a triathlon with an ocean swim, and ran my first 15k.

2013 will be about maintaining new routines and moving forward.  I am already planning to participate in a 5k in early February with the Firefighter, the Encinitas Triathlon in May and I'll be getting married in between.  I'll need to make sure that I have scheduled time for workouts while I am traveling and I need to make sure that I have time to grow my business so that I can support myself and my family.  The goal is to maintain momentum, stay positive, and learn every day.

I have a new friend that will help me regularly go to the Y and do spinning workouts and we may even try swimming, I normally swim with the Firefighter, but we don't go on a regular basis because of his schedule.  I will have to try the Master's work out again, that was really tough.  I need to contact my other friend and see if she will go road biking with me.  My real goal will be to improve on the bike.  Swimming is my real weakness, but that might be a goal for 2014.  I bought the bike, I need to make it a good investment.  At the beginning, I knew I was better on the bike without doing anything on the first ride, but I want to find a way to substantially improve on my bike technique because I don't have any technique now.  The spinning classes should help with that.

So here's to 2013.  Let's make it the best year yet!!!!!

And, I joined a reading challenge.  I have only read 2 or 3 books out of 100 recommended.  I have a long way to go....

2013 Clutch Reading Challenge
66 members A place to discuss Clutch Magazine's crowd-sourced 2013 list of 100 books by black women writers ...

Books we've read

Krik? Krak!
by Edwidge Danticat

Caucasia
by Danzy Senna

View this group on Goodreads »

I completed the Crystal Cove 15k Trail Run

I completed the Crystal Cove Trail Run.  The race was located in and around a canyon directly across Coast Highway from a beautiful stretch of the Pacific Ocean between Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.
The day started at about 5:00am when I got my wake up call.  I packed my running bag and stopped at the cash machine before hitting the freeway at 5:45 am.  The truck had something flapping around in the bed, so I had to make an unscheduled stop to remove the items from the back.  No traffic problems except for some early morning roadwork in Laguna Beach.  I arrived at the race site at 7:00.  A little late, but at least I found parking in the upper lot.  The goal was to get there at 6:30 and park in the lower lot, like my friend R, but oh well.  She was gracious enough to store my valuables in her car after walking down the hill to get my bib and new t-shirt.

We warmed up, went to the restroom a couple of times ate some gel, drank some water, and removed several layers of clothes before heading to the starting line. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day, but there was a chill in the air before 8:00.  We wore our hat/visor, sunglasses, shorts, and only one shirt/tank.  It was enough.  All of the other layers of track pants, jackets, hoodies, t-shirts, extra waters and snacks stayed in the car.

Wave 1 started promptly at 8:00.  It seemed like some people started in wave 1 that were about our speed, but we held up and asked the starter to do a wave 2 for those who were smart, like to pass others and wanted to smell the roses and check out the amazing views.  Wave 2 started about 5 minutes after wave 1 - we ran for the entire first mile and we were close to the frontrunners of our wave, well - we could see them anyway.  There was a section of single track running at mile 3, so you had to continue to run through that section, otherwise the people behind you couldn't run.  Peer pressure was good at this point, I was just hoping that the water station was coming up soon.  Some of the hills were ridiculous and the first water station was right after mile 4.  After water station there was a steep section of downhill running, which I was good at.  Apparently, I am not afraid of falling when I run downhill.  A lot of the others were running gingerly.  I just let gravity pull me.  Of course, almost everyone passed me when we had to go back up the 'elevator'.  This was an extremely steep section of the course, people were cursing the organizers, walking and even taking pictures, the rock face was crazy and it was probably 1/4 to 1/2 a mile straight uphill.  I was walking, and I found out that I am not a fast walker - uh oh.

I figured at this point the course would turn back downhill, since we were halfway done, but it didn't.  At the mile 5 water station, I couldn't see R anymore.  I think some people passed me while I enjoyed the Gatorade and water they were handing out.  I headed back out walking up the next hill and when I could, I ran.  After mile 6 I told myself to run, so I mostly ran, but walked for a little while, I told myself that I could finish a 5k at this point, since most of it should have been down hill, I could still see some sections where it was definitely uphill.  At mile 7, I told myself, only 2.3 miles left and that I should start running. Then came the water and aid station and a conversation with the volunteers - oh there was a reason for the conversation.  A woman fell on the gravel right in front of me about 500 yard before the water station.  I had to inform them, while getting my fill of Gatorade and water.  Anyway, I think I ran the rest of the way.  I started passing some people that I didn't recognize - I eventually figured out that they were either part of the 6k race or they started in wave 1.  I couldn't believe that I was so zoned out and/or delirious at the waterstations that all of these 'new' people had passed me.

The next section was mostly downhill, you could see the awesome houses in Laguna Beach and the water at the Crystal Cove State park.  I passed several people that I had been running with on the last section and I sprinted the last 1/4 mile.  It felt really good.  A little too good.  I wished I had used some of that energy in the sections where I was walking and talking and drinking water.
Overall, I felt like I had a good event.  I hadn't trained for 9 miles, I probably should have, but I did try to work in a lot of hills the last few weeks. I met my goal.  I completed the course in less than 2 hours!  I got 10th in my age group and I got to see a good friend that I don't see often enough.  Overall, it was a success.  Check out the results here.

My next race will be the Cardiff Kook Run in Encinitas on Superbowl Sunday!  I have a choice of running the 5k or the 10k. I am hoping that the Firefighter will join me, if he decides to participate we'll do the 5k.  It's a costume race, what are some of the best costumes and the easiest to run in?  I have never dressed up for a race. Last year there were lots of kooks and a group of awesome Flamingos.

What do you think about sharrows?

What the heck is a sharrow anyway?  It is that weird arrow that you see in the road with a bike next to it.  The intention is to have bikes ride in traffic with cars.  The bikes are supposed to follow the rules of the road and the cars are supposed to not run over the bikers.  When I first learned about sharrows I assumed that it was a very dangerous idea.  I saw images of Portlandites riding their bikes all in the road with cars and I was completely terrified.  Here is a link to a blog post about sharrows.

Now that I am getting more comfortable riding my bike on the road with cars, I totally see the need for an organized way to share the road.  I will admit that I sometimes bend the rules so that I don't fall over or have to stop completely and take the shoes out of the clips, but if there was a reasonable expectation that I would be making full stops and that I wouldn't get run over when people are double parked on Pacific Coast Highway on beach days, I would fully comply, and I think it's a fair deal.  I have a feeling that the reason bikers are considered disrespectful and rule breakers is that your average driver doesn't know how to anticipate what a road biker is going to do.  It's almost the same as with motorcycles, except we can't go as fast.

Encinitas has proposed the sharrows and a few other items to keep bikers safe and to encourage bike riding around town.  There is a lot of controversy as to what should be done.  I don't know the answer, but maybe some intelligent and informed dialog would work.  Have you seen a sharrow in your area, have you ridden a bike in a sharrow zone, and do you like them?

On a personal note, I have been away since summer due to the passing of my mother, the passing of my dog, quitting my day job, and getting engaged.  Now I am in the wedding planning phase, working from home, exercising regularly (thank goodness), brushing the dogs as needed, and preparing for a 15k trail run.  Whoopee!!!

What's at the end of your rainbow?

It's time to get serious about my next race.  I have started putting on the shoes, the swimming suit and the bike helmet regularly.  The firefighter and I went on a 25 mile bike ride the other day.  It was really nice.  We rode to the Oceanside Harbor.  He commented that I had really 'improved', meaning that I could smoke him on the bike now.  He may remove the 3 baskets that he has on his bike so that he can keep up with me now!  I knew that I wasn't that bad at biking, but now that I have a real bike, I can concentrate on getting better instead of just keeping up.

So what is this about rainbows?  I love rainbows.  They are very rare in Southern California.  Not so rare in Hawaii.  If you have never been, you should go.  The thing that you don't know is that it rains practically every day, but because the sun is also out, it creates rainbows.  My favorite rainbow experience happened when the firefighter and I were in Uruguay.  We stayed at La Sirena.  Awesome place, awesome family that runs it. We actually found the end of a rainbow.  It was fascinating!  I have never actually stood at the end of a rainbow before, so cool.  I didn't find a pot of gold, but I felt at peace and it seemed like such a unique experience.

So what is at the end of your rainbow?  Is it an Olympic gold?  Or is it yummy Jamaican food at the halfway point on a longish bike ride?  Right now, I want to find that Jamaican food on a Sunday afternoon and I want work towards my goal of not finishing last in my next race.

How to Motivate Yourself

Why a picture of a shoe?  I always say, "Just put the shoes on".  That's the easiest motivational tool that I have, it's a good pair of running shoes.  I wear Brooks Ariel shoes, they help with my flat feet.   Once the shoes are on, I can head out the door and have a good workout. If I look at the shoes, or think about the shoes in the closet and don't put them on or touch them, I won't work out.

It sounds so simple, but we all know when it comes to working out that it never is that simple.  There is always something else to do, whether it is actually important or not.  I need to eat dinner, I want to play with the evil dogs, I need to make 5 phone calls or I need to check my email and oops, now it's dark outside.  I know all the excuses, it's amazing that I have ever completed a race.  When I was in high school, I was not good at cross country and my old stand by excuse was that my shoelaces were untied, it was a great opportunity to stop and rest.  Terrible.

Encinitas Sunset, much like the one I saw tonight

What is motivational?  I am so fortunate, because I can walk out of my house and go for a run on the beach at low tide, or I can run along the road and still hear the waves crashing and usually see a beautiful sunset, like I did tonight.  That's motivational, especially when you see people taking pictures of the sunset.  I don't do that, I want to keep it exciting to see and I need to see it live, that is what gets me out of the house most evenings.  When I didn't live near the ocean, I would find nice places to run that were in parks.  I would look for wildlife, like deer or rabbits, that kept it exciting.  I would also notice the changes in the plant life from run to run.  It's nice to pay attention to the change of seasons on the runs.  Spring to summer to fall, one of my favorite runs that I could extend as far as I wanted to was from the Pennsylvania border into Delaware, in White Clay Creek Park.  Finding several good running routes to keep the workouts different is so important.  A good tool to use is mapmyrun.com, you can find popular running routes in your area and even add your own. 

What do you do to stay motivated?

Are you ready for the Olympics?

I have been watching the U.S. Olympic trials for the past two weeks.  It doesn't even matter which sport.  I am partial to Track and Field, but I have been watching diving, swimming and anything else that I come across. I loved seeing the clips from Ashton Eaton setting the Decathlon world record and so far I like watching all of the events, even the distance races.

The Olympics are always so inspirational.  The athlete stories, the agony of defeat, the drive to win and be the best in the world at something all add to the charm of the Games. That brings me to my point, the most disappointing bit of the trials had to be the drama around the Women's 100m dash 'dead heat'.  This situation got so many Americans excited about Track and Field and the run-off would have been one of the most watched 11 seconds ever.

Photo Finish

1. The USATF didn't have any provisions in place for a 3rd place 'tie'.
2. Jeneba Tarmoh declined to race against Allyson Felix for her spot in the individual race.

The options boiled down to both athletes selecting either a run-off or a coin toss.  If they don't agree, it's a coin toss. Or someone could concede their spot to the other, much like Michael Phelps in the 200m freestyle swimming race. He granted the opportunity of a lifetime to one lucky and talented swimmer, Ricky Berens.  I don't consider this the same issue because Michael Phelps has a gazillion medals and it's insane to compete in 8 events at the Olympics.

I understand leaving things to God, but this is the Olympics.  Fight for your spot, even if it is against one of the fastest women in the world today.  You trained for this and you never know what will happen, that's why we race.  Jeneba will be representing the United States as part of the 4x100m relay pool - but how does this leave the rest of the team?  I would want someone who wants to run hard all of the time.  Athletes are, by nature, competitive and who wouldn't want to race, even against a friend?

What would you have done?

Nonetheless, I am excited for the Olympics and I can't wait to watch.  Go USA!!!!!