WORKOUT – Xtend barre class 55 mins  

Ran 6.0 miles/52 mins    easy miles

Went to the barre class with Bri.  I love this class – it’s strength and cardio and goes by so fast.  I actually bought 10 sessions, I love it so much.  and then thought about asking it out.

Yesterday in quick recap: went on a walk with this girl.

Ate 3/4 jar of bread and butter pickles.

Went to the golf store.  I hit a ball 120 yards… after striking out and missing it completely three times.  strike three, you’re out!

Walked around the Montage in Laguna.

Went to dinner at Asada in Laguna Beach – a great new-to-us restaurant.  We got ourselves a new favorite Mexican joint.  and it has a great happy hour too.  definitely recommend this joint.

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Today in quick recap: had coffee with this girl.

Got a pedi:

I think feet are gross and disgusting.  probably because my feet are gross and disgusting.  Apologies to the girl who had to touch mine.

Got my hair did:

Back to the perfect sparkling shade of dumb blonde: life is once again good.

Gots to go; family dinner.

Obviously this race is really special to me because I ran faster than I ever ever ever ever ever thought I could, but this isn’t the post to get all cuddly over it; this is the review.

The Carlsbad Marathon will be held on January 27, 2013; there’s a marathon, half marathon, and kids mile.  Registration isn’t open yet but I want to say the marathon is around $100ish and the half is $70ish.  don’t quote me on that.

The race sells out every year and it’s capped at 1500 marathoners and 8500 halfers so register early!

THE EXPO

I didn’t go to the expo this year; I had Dave pick up my bib but from he said, it was nice and efficient, fast and easy to get your stuff.  no hassles at all.

The great thing about the expo and the start/finish is that it’s at a mall with tons and tons of free parking and right off the freeway so super easy to access.

We received a nice long sleeve shirt in the goodie bag.

THE START

The marathon starts at 6am and the half starts at 7:30am.  I LOVE a split start because it eases so much congestion with parking, corrals, the actual start, everything.

Because the marathon starts so early, it’s still dark out so I’d recommend women driving alone to park near other cars, under a mall parking light, etc.

Since the race is smaller, the corrals are really easy to get into, there weren’t any lines at the porta potties, you don’t really even need to be there that early for the 6am start.  For the half though, I’d definitely give yourself a little more time since there’s a lot more runners.

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The race started right on time (it’s a HUGE peeve of mine when races start late) and we were off in the dark.  Marathoners, be careful when you start.  You start downhill and it’s dark out so watch your footing!

The weather this year was perfect: clear and cool, not hot but absolutely gorgeous.

THE COURSE

Ok, this course is no joke: it’s got a lot of rolling hills and a couple big ones.  The half which I ran last year, is also hilly.

But it is so pretty.  Much of the course is run by the ocean, and we watched a beautiful sunrise as we were running.  A great, great course… not easy but I’d recommend it.

not quite enjoying the ocean views at this moment

THE SUPPORT

Spectator-wise, there aren’t a ton but you definitely get the cheering in different parts of the course.  As far as aid stations, there were swarms of them!  If possible, there were almost too many.  I’ve never seen so many gels handed out a race.  And everyone was really friendly; I think it’s sort of a small town feel-race and you could tell people were happy to be out volunteering.

THE FINISH

The race finishes slightly uphill at the mall with a lot of people around cheering.  We were given a bag of food (banana, pretzels, energy bars, prunes, etc) along with water right away.  I love when races give you everything in a bag so you aren’t stuck with your hands full of junk all tired and exhausted.

Sabrina’s pic – thank you!

Although I didn’t stay that long, there was a lot of stuff going on afterwards; I think there was a band, food, different booths selling gear, a fun looking post party.

 Sabrina’s

One thing I did notice is that there was a long line for bag check, but I never do bag check so I’m not really sure if it was that long or not.

Overall, I think this is a great, smaller/big race to run; I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to run a tougher, beautifully scenic race.  Ranking: 9.12 out of 10.

 Dave’s pic

TIPS

*Register early.  The race sells out; last year I wanted to run the full and it was sold out already.

*Do some hill training; it will make your experience more enjoyable!

*Check the weather.  Last year was a little warm and this year was perfect running weather.

*Park near the exit of the mall.  THIS IS IMPORTANT!  Parking backs up as everyone is leaving so park closes to the mall exit and freeway.

*Or stay for all the fun stuff afterwards.

WORKOUT – Ran on TM 10.0 miles/1:18    1. incline

I was going to run outside this morning but it was 49* out.  heck no.

Do you ever change your shoes out just because you’re bored?

You know I’m MFL FTD – Mizuno For Life, Fresh To Death but I wore my Saucony Triumph 9 sneaks.  I don’t even know why, I just felt like it.

Do you ever tuck your ponytail into your headband just to see what having a rat’s tail feels like?

^{It pretty much feels like you’re a turd.}

Do you ever tuck your sweatshirt into your sweatpants just because?

Yeah, don’t.  especially if you’re dating, would like to one day get married or just be attractive in general.

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Remember that cute bag I received in the mail the other day?  It’s come in handy taking SR shirts to the post office:

Speaking of those, I was able to donate $65 to the Fish Family from you guys buying shirts yesterday so thank you!

Speaking of you turduckins….

SR SHIRTS

Cross Country Squared – the running mama to twins who has the most insane post-baby body.

Readers Crappy Race Pics

Holly from Pink Runner:

This picture was taken just as I finished a half marathon this past October with a full-out sinus infection.  I had a horrible time and got sick just after this picture was taken. Super flattering, right?

Other Stuff Going On…

**Go win some BIC Bands HERE!

**PlanetGear, who gives 1% back for conservation, has big sales going on right.  I’ve always wanted one of those North Face type shell jackets (my SIL has a supercute one) but don’t wanna drop $150+ on one.

This Hi-Tec Apparel Mountain Softshell jacket is on sale for $37 from $90 and comes in black too.  Pretty dang good deal.

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We’ve got family coming into town today so I’ve got to go pretend to be normal.  But I’ve also got a pretty sweet weekend lined up… getting my fro done tomorrow, a blogger lunch on Saturday, running a marathon on Sunday with a new skirt and then a Superbowl party down in San Diego!

What are you doing this weekend?

Sometimes I get a little crazy about signing up for new races.  And sometimes I just get plain crazy. period.

On February 11 I’m going to run a supersmall, chill 50k in Long Beach.  like for real this time, I’m not gonna pansy out.  Only because it’s a road race and I love road races.

I’m going to run the Majestic Marathon 50k for the Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold.  I’m excited to run a new distance with “courage, strength and grace” and dedicate the race to Sherry and her family.

Then in March I’m going to do a fun race: the Hot Chocolate 15k in San Diego on March 25th.  (their website is supercute, btw)

I’m hoping some of my friends do this race.  Two words: chocolate fountain.  Monica and I were just talking about chocolate fountains the other day in the car, how we don’t spend near enough time around them so this is pretty much a race given to us ladies from the heavens.

Plus, you get a jacket!  Race shirts are so February 2012; race jackets are where it’s at.

And then I signed up this morning for the big daddy:

This race has been on “I have to do it before I die… or because I’m impatient, before next year!” list.  you know, that list.

From what I hear, Chicago’s a flat, fast course and I’ve never been to Chi-town so I’m pretty stoked on it.  And I think my life will significantly change for the better after I taste real Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

^{Not Chicago pizza, NYC pizza}

I have this fantasy of not commercial fishing this summer and then going for a big PR in Chicago, but PR’s, even 3:10s, don’t pay the bills…. so I think I’m gonna get into check and insurance fraud.  it could work.

Anyone running Chicago or the Hot Chocolate 15k in San Diego?  Ran either of these races before?  Any recommendations?

WORKOUT – Ran on TM  11.0 miles/1:22  7:27 pace  1. incline

I don’t know if it was taking a rest day yesterday or what, but I felt like I killed today’s treadmill run.  like I was just “there” and ready to bust it out.  Don’t you love those runs?

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Reader Ramona sent me a sorta funny but seriously asking a question email,

I’m training for a couple of races this spring. One thing that bothered me about my last race is the time it took for me to stop at the Port-A-Potty. I definitely go before the race, but sometimes need to stop during the race.

As I look to upcoming races, do you have suggestions for how to handle it? Do you know of any tricks people use to avoid wasting time at the Port-A-Potty?

I kinda feel like I should bring in the big dogs meaning SUAR on this one…  But if you run long enough, you know that feeling where your business isn’t done and needs to be. 

The fastest way to cut that porta potty time is to NOT have to stop at one.  So to do that, I get up an hour before my leave the house time to drink coffee and do my thing.  DRINK COFFEE!  even if it means having to get up early.

From what I’ve read online, most people say cut back on fiber a couple days before the race and stick to simple, plain foods.  That might cut down on your double poopage on race day.

Another tip that a lot of runners swear by is taking a couple Imodium tablets before the race which helps with cramping, diarrhea and upset stomach.  But I think you want to take it AFTER you go in the morning.  Ginger capsules are another natural option; I’ve never used either so I can’t really say, but many runners are religious about their Imodium.

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Once you get to the race and you still haven’t gone, do a little warm up jog to hopefully loosen things up; plus, it’s good to warm up anyways.  Arrive at the start early enough so that you have time to make a couple trips to the porta potties if necessary.

From the NYC Marathon this past year with HRG

Some porta potty tips:

*Pick the line with the most guys; they go faster.

*Bring your own supplies.  If it’s a big race with a lot of runners, they might be out of TP by the time you arrive at the throne.

*Lock the door.  LOCK THE DOOR.  Just this past Sunday at Tinkerbell I opened the door on someone doing their private business.  Lock the door.

*Master the “hover”.  Hold onto the door handle and do a squat so you aren’t touching the seat and you don’t have to worry about the toilet liner papers.

*Don’t forget anything in there because you won’t want to go back and might forget which john you were in.

You start the race and you STILL haven’t gone.

If you feel like you have to pee in the first couple miles, don’t.  It’s probably nerves and will go away.  If you still have to pee after a few miles, ok, go.

But now the urge to drop weight hits.

*Research the route before the race starts.  Just like looking at the elevation, look on the map where the porta potties will be.  There’s significantly less stress when you know there’s a bathroom in a half mile rather than doing a frantic search for a tree or parked car.

*Start undressing.  Take off your runner’s belt and hold it in your hand; take off your gloves if you have them.  Get your toilet paper out and ready.

*Choose clothes that are easy to pull down quickly with minimal effort: looser Nike Tempo shorts are going to be easier than tight fitting capris.

Pull a Reese Witherspoon and not a Nicole Richie

*Finally, do your thing in peace.  It’s just a couple minutes, not the end of the world.  You’re not a professional athlete whose choice is to either to poop themselves or lose big race money. It’s ok to stop.

*Don’t beat yourself up over it; mentally frame the poo pit break in a positive way… “I just got a rest break!  I feel lighter now, my body is ready to really run now, no more stomach pain from here on out.”

The first race I ever stopped to go #2 was the first race that I broke 1:40 in the half marathon.  And when I ran RnR Savannah, I had to stop at mile 10 and I still ran the race faster than I expected.  and much more comfortable after that.

Do you have any other porta potty advice or tips?  Any horror stories that you want to share??

I’ve been on the computer all day long.  I’ve got a lot of stuff done but also wasted a lot of time on People and DON.   What can I say, I’m only human.

But I’ve caught up on emails which means this post is all about you guys.

Back in December I had Thankfifi on the blog for Cat lady Blogs {hers} and she just sent me, from across the ocean, this beauty of a bag:

The Butterfly Shopper

It’s laminated which I love because it’s easy to clean and keep clean.  and I’m a dirtball.  Plus, I love FiFi’s note: she said that I can carry Marni in it, my sweaty gym clothes (yes!) or Jaybo could even use it for all this shopping!

Thank you Thank you Thank you, Thankfifi!

And then today I received yet another package in the mail…

Godiva chocolates and a bottle of way way too nice for me champagne from Aspaeris compression shorts.  Thank you!  Two of the more important reasons I run – chocolate and bubbly. 

I kid you not, I just wore my shorts yesterday to run 10 miles in:

The code cooleronline still works for 50% off so get yourself a pair!

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Reader Trisha asked me to share about a family in need in Utah.

The family’s little daughter has an autoimmune disease, is in need of a bone marrow transplant, and the family has some major medical bills stacked up because of it.

You can read about the story here and donate if you’d like.  Today and tomorrow if you buy any SR shirt (even the ones on sale!), I’ll donate $5 from each shirt to the family.

Readers’ Crappy Race Pics

Meghan in the purple:

“Someone was telling us what direction to go for a picture or to keep racing and I couldn’t hear her.  But if you didn’t know that, it just looks like I’m having a nice stroll through the race. This was at the Disney Marathon Relay.”

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SR SHIRTS

Check out the cute little Erica in a SR shirt; Erica is running the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Half coming up next month.

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Remember how I found a smoking deal on a Garmin 405 online?  Well, reader Karen scored big time on the same deal!

Wahoo for cheap Garmins!

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Ashley, my stalker homie, sent me this pic right before the race on Sunday:

Me and Ashley Tinkerbell

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The winner of the Sparty Party according to random.org is #59 Jennifer.  Email me, yo!

Yesterday me and Monica were really hungry for lunch so we drove 75 minutes north for some Subway.

Randomly we ran into Bobbi from NHerShoes.

And then we saw Rose and her sweatiness there too.  Everyone just wants a 5. 5 dollar. 5 dollar footloooooooong.

Just kidding.  We went up there for a blogger event.  but seriously, me and Monica were hungry.

Leah from Mamavation and her husband, Bobbie and Monica

And the guest of the hour: Jared the Subway guy.

Let me just say this: Jared is the nicest, most down-to-earth, Midwest boy around.  Seriously, so easy to talk to and open and humble.  Amazing spokesperson.

His story in a nutshell:

He weighed 420 pounds at 20 years old and finally one day had enough; he wanted to change his life and so in 1998 he started eating 2 Subway sandwiches a day, a bag of baked potato chips, and water – about 1600-1700 calories.

In 3 months he lost 94 pounds.

In less than a year, he lost 245 pounds.

Jared’s college newspaper wrote an article about him and it took off.  Before he knew it, Jared was in his first Subway commercial, on Oprah at 22 years old, The Today Show, etc.  For the past 13 years, he’s worked with Subway and travels over 200 days a year!

I loved that he was so real – he said he absolutely loves food (“I’d still eat 10,000 calories a day if I could!”) and he still struggles with maintaining his weight.  He has his ups and downs like anyone else, he said.

While we ate our subs, he gave some tips that have worked for him over the years.

*Don’t splurge everyday; splurge every now and then.  And don’t let your “now and then” become everyday.

*Once you reach your goal weight, you have to continually re-evaluate where you are.  Jared said that he’s noticed as he gets older, it takes more work and more exercise to maintain his weight.

*When he’s at home, he exercises every day.  He has a personal trainer and says it’s completely worth the investment because his trainer pushes him harder than he would on his own.

*Jared’s New Year’s Resolution is to work out more regularly while on the road and traveling; it’s more of a struggle to work out while traveling instead of being in a routine at home.

*When eating out, “be smarter than the menu” meaning avoid the deep fried foods, ask for all sauces on the sides, ask for things that might not be on the menu.

*He still eats Subway multiple times a week when traveling because he knows it’s healthy and knows exactly what’s going on it and he can customize it to what he wants.

My turkey on wheat, no cheese, all veggies, extra pickles and mustard

Jared’s favorite sandwich is the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki with no cheese.

Rose and Bobbi: NHerShoes, more like NHisPants

And yes, he brought along his old 58” pants.  They’re the only pair of clothing he kept but he even got up to a 60” size!  Jared speaks at a lot of elementary schools and said these were a great visual aid for kids.  and dumb blonde bloggers…

If you follow on twitter, you’ve seen this picture already. 

When asked his motivation for losing all the weight, Jared said that for the first time in his life he began eating to live instead of living to eat and that he wanted a second chance at life, at real living.  How inspiring is that?  Jared is the original Biggest Loser!

Monica’s picture.  totally stole but I don’t feel bad because I let her ride in the smartcar yesterday.  yes, let.

What do you order at Subway?

I normally get turkey on wheat hold the cheese with extra pickles but sometimes I get the veggie.  And yeah, I can put down 12” NBD.

WORKOUT – Ran outside 10.25 miles/1:22   hills, no music, more hills

So a lot of people asked how I made my Minnie Mouse costume for the Tinkerbell half marathon yesterday at Disneyland.

When I first decided to run the race, I knew I wanted to dress up so I first looked online for cheap Halloween-type princess costumes on sale, but everything was too expensive so I decided to make my own.

I didn’t know what to be so I Googled “homemade Disney character costumes”.  I knew there’d be a ton of Tinkerbells so I thought about dressing up like Ursula or even a guy (it was like 99% women racing) just to be different, but in the end I decided on Minnie Mouse simply because it looked the easiest and I can’t sew.  and I’d probably make a really ugly dude.

So I went to JoAnn Fabric and bought 2 yards of the red polka dot cotton fabric.  It ended up being way too much and I probably could have just used one yard.

I folded it in half so it’d be thicker and then used Aleene’s No-Sew fabric glue to glue the edges under and together.  This is when you should know how long you want the skirt to be.  I prefer a little on the shorter side.

I bought the glue at JoAnn’s just because it was the cheapest brand, $2.99 but it worked great for everything.

I bought these trim sequin strips from JoAnns in white and red and just glued the strip to the bottom of the skirt. 

The one thing is all the little extras add up: these sequins were a couple bucks for each foot and I bought a lot to trim everything out.  Again, I could have bought less but didn’t know that at the time.

I basically wrapped the “skirt” around my waist and secured it with iron-on fabric tape which was like Velcro really.  It was $4 for a package and it worked great.  I also put a few safety pins in the skirt at the race just in case anything happened.

I bought the Target sports bra because I didn’t have a black one and I wanted one with a little more thickness and coverage to it.  Then I glued on the sequin strip to it.  I thought it might chafe me but didn’t at all.

The string under the Mickey ears was a lifesaver because it kept them on my head and didn’t move.  I bought it at Party City for $5.99.  They had ones with a cute white and red bow but were $10 so I just glued on a bow with red ribbon myself.

You can see the chin strap in this pic – super dorky

The gloves were a $2.99 Party City find and I glued on my leftover sequins.

I had a lot of leftover fabric which is why I made the armbands.  I just tucked the fabric ends in and glued them.

Underneath the skirt I wore regular black pantyhose because Minnie’s legs are black and then I bought a pair of Target C9 booty shorts just for safety… didn’t want to be flashing Peter Pan.

I also had black Nike arm warmers that I wore.  It ended up being perfect: I wasn’t hot or cold the whole race.

For some random reason I had an old pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 13s that didn’t have enough miles on them yet to get rid of so I bought a can of spray paint and went to town.  I ended up using the whole can and these things were like concrete – stiff!

I thought they’d be really uncomfortable but they were fine, didn’t bother me at all and a lot of people asked me during the race where I bought my shoes.

And that’s it. 

I’m going to keep everything in case I ever use it again.  It was really fun to run in something different and unique and something that I actually made. 

I’ve never intentionally run in only a sports bra but once I got over fighting with my love handles and made peace with them, it didn’t bother me.

I know some of you guys watch Spartacus: Vengeance so you know that the first episode just aired the other day on Starz.

Well, Spartacus wants you to have a “Sparty Party” and win a prize pack that includes 4 Spartacus t-shirts, 2 Spartacus water bottles, fake blood and a $20 Dominos gift card. 

You have to supply your own gladiators, Roman legions, and 12 pack abs.

IF you win, tweet @spartacus_starz using the hashtag #spartacus or share pictures (of your Sparty Party) on their Facebook and they might “link to your online content on the Spartacus Facebook gallery for 2 million fans to enjoy!”

Now that’d be some serious publicity for you/your blog.

So enter by commenting and/or answering the question,

Would you give up pizza for the rest of your life for $5000?

The giveaway will end tomorrow evening.  legit.

And because this is sorta sometimes occasionally a running blog, I’m going to throw in a $15 gift certificate for a RoadID.  I have one and it’s an easy way to have identification on you while you run.

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In honor of Spartacus and my supreme laziness as a cook, we ordered Dominos last night.  A $20 gift card woulda came in mighty handy, but I pretended to be the delivery boy which was nearly as sweet as free pizza.

2 Medium 2 topping pizzas for $5.99 is a pretty good deal; Marni was def into it.

Greasy pizza eaten in bed.  good stuff.  I don’t know if I’d want to give this up for life….

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Thanks Sarah, thanks so much.  That’s really precious.

{You can get the full recap HERE; this is just like the cheaper, uglier step-sister}

After last weekend’s serious race, I wasn’t in the mood to race run the Tinkerbell half this morning.  This was good because I didn’t even know if my costume would hold up for 13 miles.  And yes, I’ll do a post on how I made it.

So Ariel and I decided to carpool up to Disneyland together after a 2:45am wake up carpool.    Getting up that early is never a good decision but running this race with friends is. It made it so much more fun.  If you’re thinking about doing a Disney event, I’d say do it for fun, do it with a friend, and dress up!

At the start I decided to crash Monica’s party and run the race with her.

After seeing Daffy and Minnie in their workout track suits, it was almost time to get it on and do it, but first I met reader Liz and her mom Pam, I believe, looking all cute:

And then we were off.  Monica and I were in corral A so we didn’t have any corral issues or anything.  In fact, there weren’t any issues with this inaugural race at all. 

I’m not the biggest Disney fan in the world, I mean, I like it as much as anyone else but I don’t poo pixie dust, but this was a really fun, really easy logistical race.  We didn’t have any problems with parking, corrals, anything – I was impressed.

This was running down Main Street.  Since the race started at 5:45am, the first couple miles in the park were still dark so I took some fantastic quality pictures.

Running through the Castle:

I loved running through the park and seeing the characters; I wish they could fit all 13 miles in the park. 

We also ran out in Anaheim, saw the sunrise and cruised along.

Ariel and I talked the whole time, keeping a nice pace and doing plenty of people-costume watching.  It was just a lot of fun and the perfect post-Carlsbad race.

I mean, how could you not have fun when you get to see sweaty men in tights, tight tights?!

We also met reader Heather (name correct?) who’s getting married soon; I tried to convince her to sign up for a full marathon!

After a few miles out in Anaheim we headed back for the park and ran through California Adventure.

The Hollywood Tower of Terror

Going through California Adventure

Ariel – Swim, Eat, Repeat

And just like that, the race was over.  Monica and I both finished right around 1:50.

Ariel and Minnie Mouse for the win!

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Get your SR shirts now!  And then send me a picture, blog link, race deets, etc and I’ll post it.

The Stop Shirt – ALL technical shirts are $25 with $2 from each shirt going to the Julius Achon Uganda Fund. 

SarahOual, Pam and I