Mother Nature kicked my bootie.

Today was the first BIG race of 2009: Mermaid half marathon.

It was my slowest 1/2. Ever.

And I am fine with that.

No, really I am.

Admittedly, I did not train well for this race. My training OCD hasn't kicked in yet. I did an 11 mile run a couple weeks ago---but never really got back on track after that.

I woke up this morning, drank my coffee and ate my oatmeal. I looked out the window and it seemed like the sun was coming out for my race. Yea! So much for chance of showers---take that weatherman! It was still chilly looking so I opted for my long sleeve hoodie and running skort with capris. Usually I wear a skort and tank top for a 1/2, but was afraid of the possibly ominous weather.

So, how was the race?

Mother nature kicked my bootie. The race started in Shoreline park in Mountain View at 8:30. I decided that I would listen to my mp3 to help my untrained soul get through the race. I unfortunately forgot to change the battery. 40 seconds into the race it died. I was equipped with my garmin to help me stay on track. I did my first mile faster than antipated: 9:30. I was keeping the pace pretty well until mile 3.

That is when the wind dropped in.

OK, it sucks running against the wind. Like, really sucks. But, I tried to look on the bright side that I will be running with the wind on the way back. The wind was so brutal that I threw my ego out the door and turned off my garmin. I knew this would not be a PR and I didn't want to deal with keeping track of my pace.

So, around mile 5 the trail turned from gravel to dirt. Except, the rain we have had recently turned it into mud. If you don't know how well I run in mud, check out my trail running entry back in January.
Fortunately, the mud wasn't slippery--but it was thick. I wasn't wearing my trail shoes and it caked in my beloved pink asics. My shoes became very heavy and I was running so slow that it felt like those dreams where you try to run but can't move.

After the turn around I ran with the wind for awhile. But then the wind turned violent and into a crosswind. Then the rain started. The prickly, ice cold rain mixed with crosswinds cemeted the fact that this was not going to be my race.

I finally made it to the finish line. I didn't even care what my time was.

A couple hours ago they posted the results, and it was my slowest race ever. But I did a little research and found another 1/2 on April 12th. I think I can redeem myself.

As long as Mother Nature behaves herself.

Long time no blog...

ech...been a very fair weather blogger these days.
Here is a summary of the past few weeks:

1) Ran my first race in 2009. I ran the Jenny's Light 5k the first weekend of March. It was rainy.For some reasons a 5k is almost as tough as a 1/2 marathon. I am not a short distance kind of gal---it takes me a few miles to find my groove. It was a good race for a great cause.

2) Ran the longest run of 2009 last week. I ran 11 miles on the Los Gatos Creek trail last weekend. Weather was gorgeous! Plus, I discovered a new band I like (The Bird and The Bee) and immediately bought the mp3 album from Amazon and ran to some great tunes. I am, however, a pretty slow runner. Oh well.

3) I signed up for a pre-masters swim class. I went to one class and wasn't feeling it. I think I definitely need to figure out how to get faster in the pool. I like the DeAnza classes I have taken in the past, but jumping in the Pool at 6:30 in the morning is not my cup of tea. I am not hardcore like melissa from mermaids who even swims at 6am on Saturdays. Wish I was.

4) My back is better which means one thing---I can do the core torture workouts with Mermaids. Is this a good thing? She had us do squats and jump rope around the track yesterday. It was a great workout, but I am like a little old lady when I get put of my chair right now.

5) I have a 1/2 marathon on March 22. My goal: finish it. I know that is setting the bar low, but I don't want to deal with aiming for PRs right now. This race will be a good gauge to see where I am at.

6) I need to get on my bike. For reals. Maybe ride this Sunday?

7) I think I may do a full marathon in December--the California International Marathon in Sacramento. I already booked my hotel room. Right now I am mulling over how to bounce back from Barb's 1/2 ironman in August to start training for a full marathonin December. Plus, I have to seriously start thinking about my training for barb's.

That is it for now. Toodles.

Get off the couch...

So, I am officially registered for a 5k on March 1st and 1/2 Marathon on March 22nd. Guess it is time to get off the couch and stop blogging about hair and kitty condos and start running.

Yea?

The Felicity Syndrome

I am totally, completely out of shape and what does it make me what to do?

Chop my hair off.

OK, let me backtrack here...

So, I started the month of February with wide-eyed optimism. I decided to join Mermaids again and get back on track with working out. We met the first Tuesday night in February for a track work out. She had us run a couple easy laps and gradually work up to a fast pace. It was tough, but I felt so good after the run. I was ready to attack my training season.

We also meet on Thursday mornings. At 6am. Yeah, seriously. But, I went to the first morning workout super proud of myself for making this commitment. After a couple of laps around the track we settled in to do our core torture (i.e. situps, pushups, and other excruciating trunk strengthening moves). We did one move holding hand weights and twisting our bodies so our hands touched our toes. Well, I guess my posture and form wasn't that great and the 3rd time I went down---SNAP! I threw my back out.

I am starting to feel my (almost) 32 years.

I spent the next two days icing my back on the couch and freaking out that I would be injured for life and never be able to do a triathlon agaon and will spend my days in a mumu watching The Price Is Right.

I can be a tad dramatic.

So, for the past two weeks I have been back to the lazy Jill I was in the off-season, trying to take it easy on my back. The problem with not working out is that it negatively affects my mood. Without those endorphins I am used to, I just feel blah...and like a blob.

It was last week when I was watching the Flight of the Conchords tand here was a music video with a girl who had hair similar to mine in a super cute cut. It planted a seed. I wanted that haircut.

I obsessed about it for the next couple of days. See, since September I have decided to grow my hair out. I go through this every couple of years, thinking I want long curly locks...all the while forgetting how long it takes to grow out. It is not that my hair grows slowly, it just grows TIGHT. If you pull a 1 inch curl straight, it almost doubles in length.

The problem with growing it out is there is inevitably an awkward period where my hair is all over the place. Right now it is in the "Weird Al" stage. Not a good look.

But the more I thought about when I chopped my hair off in the past, I made a realization. I was going through the Felicity Syndrome.

During the second season of Felicity (the beloved show on the now non-existent WB), the title character chopped off her curly locks after a major breakup with her soul mate Ben. I realized that I do the same thing--not because of a breakup, but more when something is off-kilter in my life. Changing my hair provides instant results. I was sluggish and not able to work out and craved something to get me out of my funk. Cutting my hair in a cute NEW style would be a change, So, more or less, not being able to workout and getting those mood boosting endorphins indirectly affects the length of my hair.

Luckily, my back is feeling better and I have ran twice this week. I have decided the hair will stay at this length. For now.

Now the question is---am I ready for a half marathon in less than a month?

In these tough economic times, can a girl still tri?

Let's get one thing clear---it kind of sucks right now. Every evening I drive home from work listening to KGO and it stressed me out. One huge company is making layoffs, a big percentage of people are underwater on their mortgages, the state budget is wack, consumer spending is down...where is the good news?

I am feeling the pennies being pinched as well---less than a year of home ownership under my belt in this crazy economy and now I have to look around to see what corners can be cut. Which means, limiting trips to Banana Republic and Ann Taylor Loft and trying to ween myself off of Pureology's hair crack, I mean conditioner. I even asked hubby if he would consider coloring my hair from now on.

"I mean," I said, "It costs me like 90 bucks to highlight it every 6 weeks (though admittedly I push it to the max 9-10 weeks until I feel totally root-y tutti and the natural brown is at odds with the blond streaks). Plus, I am sure you can find out how to do it on-line and you are such a perfectionist it would come out amazing. I mean, look at the kitty condo."

Operation Kitty Condo is a shining example of how my husband doesn't do anything half-a**ed. We wanted to get a kitty, but he is allergic to cats and with a one bedroom one bath town home, there isn't really room for a cat to escape or have a litter box area. Thus, Operation Kitty Condo (OKC) was born. For much of December and January hubby (with help from his father) built an enclosed platform in the garage that a kitty could access from a kitty door in the kitchen. The platform is large enough to hold a litter box, kitty bed, food water and other accoutrements. Plus, the lattice enclosure lets the kitty have air, but not free reign of the garage (read: get footprints all over hubby's boxster or take naps in clean laundry I was too lazy to take upstairs). OKC also included installing a new (fire safe) garage door, and installing doors at the bottom of the stairs so kitty will not have access to the upstairs which will be a kitty-free zone for allergy-prone hubby to seek refuge. OKC was a major operation that took over our living room and had so many trip to Home Depot that it is now worth more than the blue book value of my busted up 94 Nissan Sentra.

It is actually a pretty amazing thing that hubby built, and his attention to detail secretly makes me hope he never gets into triathloning. For me, Triathlon is an obvious sport of choice because I can do lots of things at once and not burn myself out on the boredom of one sport. For hubby, I thnk he would go overboard with learning about each sport (cadence, swim drills, tempo runs, fartleks, tapering, hydrating) and it would be too much to handle. This is also why he doesn't get into wine, otherwise he would probably start building a wine cellar on our patio.

So, where was I? Oh yeah, homemade highlights. So, hubby mulled over the "highlighting his wife at home" idea.

"I bet it isn't that hard and I can probably buy on-line the chemicals they use in the salon."

"Yeah, and then you can learn how to, like, wax my eyebrows."

I pretty much lost him after that suggestion. I guess the idea of violently ripping hair off my face does not appeal to him. Oh well.

So, I will keep the buying cute tops to a bare minimum and continue my salon visits. Man, I couldn't imagine it if I was a high-maintainance girl who required regular pore extractions and manicures. The only reasons I pedicure is to have someone else cut my toenails and slough off my running-induced callouses.

But, the real question is: in these tough economic times, can a girl still tri?

Triathlons are a ridiculously expensive sport. With running you just need shoes. Swimming you need a cap, goggles and suit. Cycling you need bike, helmet, gloves, hideous padded shorts, and cycling shoes. Throw the three sports together and toss in energy bars and race entry fees that range from 60-300 bucks, and you've got yourself a sport that seems blatantly at odds with the financial crisis of 2009.

But, my salon visits and triathlons are things I will not compromise in these times. I won't race as many races as I did last year, but I think that the benefits of the tri far outweigh the negatives. In times like this when everything is upsidedown and uncertain, it is refreshing to have a goal that is constant. You sign up for a race and spend your free time training for it. The race happens and you go on to your next race. It is riculously logical, but challenging enough to not be boring.

I found triathlons when I was in a fragile state: I was a manager in a mortgage company experiencing the most gruesome part of the subprime meltdown of 2007. Rates were constantly going up as loan amounts went down and brokers were pledging their undying hatred of me. As a manager of account managers, I was the one brokers asked to talk to so they could blame someone for their customer's rate soaring to 13% after one unfortunate rate hike. Mind you, I wasn't the one who made the rates go up, but I was the last person in the office a broker had to go through to complain about how much our company sucked. Our office closed about a month after that time.

I found and loved triathlons because it was such a refreshing contrast to the greedy, slick and hasty mortgage industry. It was something totally selfish to do: concentrate my time and efforts to finish a race I had no dreams or delusions of winning.

Every single race I have done has taught me something. My first triathlon taught me what the sport is all about. When I did the LA Triathlon I was amazed that I could swim almost a mile in the ocean without having a Jaws-induced panick attack. Barb's triathlon taught me that failing at something you work hard at is always a possibility. Finishing the Big Kahuna two months later made me realize that failing once doesn't mean you give up forever.

In these uncertain times, everyone needs something like a triathlon to keep them grounded, hopepful, and less jaded in this world that seems to be in a constant state of suck. What can I say? Endorphins are my therapy.

The Food Post

Today was a very "Monday" Monday, so when hubby asked about dinner I felt lazy and said , "Fresh Choice?" Plus, I had a coupon. So, when he got home, we piled in my Sentra and headed to the Land of Salad Bars. We had just left our townhouse complex when I said, "Aw man." Hubby asked why and I told him I left the coupon at home. We both said in unison, "It's too late. We've gone too far."

After I had eaten my salad, I headed to carb corner (also known as pasta, potato, and bread section). As I spooned some mac and cheese in a bowl something seemed different. There were the usual signs above the foods, but what was that writing below "Yankee Doodle Mac and Cheese." Wait? Is it telling me the fat and calories? I ran over to the pizza section--140 calories for a square? One little square? I could eat 4 of those. I think in the past I have eaten 4 of those.

Ok, so yeah, we knew this day was coming: restaurants displaying the nutritional values. Fresh Choice is just ahead of the curve (or regulations---whatever comes first). Ordinarily, I would think this is a good thing--a step in the right direction of a healthy America and lowering obesity rates. But tonight I didn't want to know how many calories were in that hunk of bread pudding.

So this brings me to the long overdue Food Post.

In my just slightly over a year blogging, I have avoided this topic. Why? Because being consistent with eating well is perhaps even tougher than triathlon training.

I wish that I could be someone who looks at food as just fuel for the body and eat nuts and spinach and high in omega 3 or good fat fishes. I mean, I do try to eat my veggies and fruit but eating well is something I have struggled with my whole life. I love food. I love chocolate, cheese, bread, meats! I crave that pint of Fat Tire after a triathlon. All of it. I have tried a couple eating plans--best success with weight watchers, but the group meetings became a bit much--too much talk about feelings and leaders with no personalities. I did the special k diet the summer I got married (though that is kind of cheating because motivation increases with impending nuptials). I keep trying to do Special K, but all that cereal is kinda tiresome. I have never tried Atkins or South Beach. I know what my problem is--I just need to eat. Less. And Move. More.

I think what my problem is that I think that everything needs to change all at what: diet and exercise. So then I go all in and try to keep up with a crazy new work out plan and eating less carbs and more proteins and veggies. I last about two days because it seems overwhelming and hopeless. And then I say, "Screw it." And buy a slice of chocolate cake from Safeway for dessert to share with Hubby and skip my workout.

So, right now I am going to focus more on the moving. Last week I exercies 5 out of 7 days (last time I did that was probably August!). As I continue to workout like this, I will be mindful of what I eat, and then probably late next week I will step back and examine my eating and how I can fuel my body the right way.

Darn you Fresh Choice.

Out of My Comfort Zone

Yesterday I had to decide between running a 10 mile race in San Juan Bautista or joining some friends for a casual run in Aptos. Here was my thought process in choosing:
1) I was pretty antsy to run my first race of 2009
2) It would be nice to see Coach Heidi at the trail run
3) Can you really say "no" to a 10 am race start time
4) Going over highway 17 in this weather was not appealing
5) Neither was forking over 25 bucks for a race entry fee

In end I chose the trail run because of the money and it would be easier than 10 miles.

I thought wrong.

Right before I left for my run I went to the garage to put my shoes on. I didn't see my trail running shoes and had a slight feeling that I probably should wear them (the facebook event invite was titled "muddy trails await" but the shoes were all the way upstairs which seemed to far. Only now do I see the irony of being too lazy to get my shoes upstairs before I go on a run.

So, I put on my lovely new pink asics and headed off. I didn't have breakfast, so I stopped by McDonald's for a small coffee and egg mcmuffin sans Canadian bacon (I know! I know! I think it is time for a nutrition blog entry) and headed for Aptos.

We met at a place where you can access a trail at Nicsene Marks. I hugged Coach Heidi as I was excited to see her and we were off. Once we hit the trail i thought to myself, "Holy crap Jill. What did you get yourself into?"

It was straight downhill and super muddy. It was my--a super klutz with balance issues--worst nightmare. I took a deep breath and concentrated on every step of my run. We were running for about 3 minutes when we hit a creek that we had to run across. I followed my friend Gina's lead and bounced across rocks in the creek, trying to make it seem like I knew what I was doing. I pretended I was an REI model and my trek was all part of a photo shoot to sell trail running skirts. Except I don't think America's Next Trail Runner Model would step right into the deep part of the creek soaking her new shoes.

So, running through muddy trails is probably one of the most challenging things I have done. Usually running is a time for me to shut my brain off and listen to some awesomely crappy songs in the privacy of my mp3. But with trail running, you have to concentrate on everything. The trail, your stride, other runners, critters--everything! I haven't concentrated this hard since beating Ganon in the Legend of Zelda Wind Waker. I was definitely out of my comfort zone.

I was wheezing and sliding and after 50 minutes we turned around. Then the inevitable happened: I bit it. I wasn't careful in a step and then woosh---I was sliding down a ravine. Luckily the mud was pretty thick and my sliding was slow so I was able to stretch my arm far enough to reach coach Heidi's husband hand. But as I tried to step up it got super slippy. It all happened in slow motion and part of me felt like I should just keep sliding. But then I looked down thought two things: "hmmm, that is kinda far down. Not quite sure how I would get back up." And: "Dude, didn't this happen to Kate on Lost when they were running in the jungle away from an Arctic bear or smoke monster thingy?"

Luckily the guys pulled me up and I thanked them profusely. We continued my run and I realized that I was super muddy--and it was kind of a cool feeling. I still can't believe people do crazy 50 mile trail runs.

After the run, I went to my car and drove home. On the drive I though about how important it is for me to get out of my comfort zone in my training. It is challenging and it increases my skills as well as boosts my confidence in myself as an athlete---something I have been lacking in the last couple of months.

I think training season has officially begun.