New Site!

I've been working on updating my website!

Check out the new page at: http://defyyourlimitations.com/

Pardon the dust as I get settled in! :

2014 Goals

Lately, I have been enjoying some down time on the running front. In December I spent some time just running for fun following my marathon, and I wasn't ready to set any next goals following the race. Since mid-December, I have also been dealing with some nagging quad pain, as I mentioned the other day. I'm hoping it all clears up soon because I'm finally starting to feel more ready to make some 2014 goals!

Here are some of the things I hope to accomplish this year:

Complete my first half iron distance triathlon. I'm targeting the Folsom Triathlon in June. I haven't signed up yet (hopefully soon!), but I'm pretty excited to try a new race distance.

Read more.  I love reading and this got lost in the shuffle of life and my dissertation in 2013, so I'm excited to read some new books for fun. Right now I'm in the middle of Daring Greatly.

PR the half marathon. I don't have a goal race in mind yet, but I'm eying the Zooma Napa Half marathon. I've heard so many awesome things about Zooma races, and would love to run a race in Napa!

Volunteer for some races. I have been fortunate to be able to run many events the past few years, and I am always appreciative of the volunteers. This year, I want to give back a little! I'd like to volunteer for at least 2 events.

Consider a trail race. In December, I ran a couple short trail runs just to mix things up, and I kind of loved running on the dirt instead of the pavement. I think it could be fun to try a trail race at some point this year.

Be present. Lately I have been trying harder to notice the beauty in my surroundings, and be grateful for the little moments in each day that make me smile. For 2014, I want to make sure to be present and appreciate these little things in life.

What are your goals for 2014? I'd love to hear about them!

Have any good books to recommend for me? 

Hitting the Pool & Core Values

Lately I have been having some issues with my left leg. I've taken a few weeks off of running --my last run was on 12/18. I'm not sure if it's a hip, IT band, hamstring or quad problem -- the pain seems to sort of move around, but mostly is sore near my knee (inside) and hip (outside).

Probably the most frustrating part is that I'm not really certain the cause. I'm buckling down this week with a focus on foam rolling some knots out, and hip strengthening. If it's not feeling much better soon, I think it will be time to head to a physical therapist.

So, in the time I've taken off from running, training has been mostly swimming and weights, with a little cycling and yoga thrown into the mix. On the plus side, over the holiday break visiting my parent's house in upstate NY, I swam my longest swim ever -- 3150 meters!

{such a pretty pool! and so big, we swam the width instead of the length!}

Because of this, it's made it feel hard to plan my next goal race since my motivation to train isn't there (well, it is there, but I just can't get out and run!). But, I'm trying to keep positive that I'll be back at it soon!

At the moment, the next race on my list for this year is Ragnar FL Keys on February 7-8. I'm so excited for this adventure, and I'm doing everything I can to make sure I'm back in action by then.

Otherwise, I'm also joining in on the #corevalues 30 day core challenge by Healthy Strides. I figure working on my core can't be a bad thing! 5 minutes a day for the month of January. Maybe by the end of the month it'll stick to being a good habit I continue.

What's your favorite core exercise?

2013 Wrap-Up

For me, 2013 was truly one to remember. I love photographs, so to wrap up 2013, I wanted to share some of my favorite images of the year. Enjoy!

It brought me to the finish line of so many races...

 

 

..and also other fun adventures like vacations...

...exploring California...

...and finally finishing my graduate degree.

There were many miles in the pool,

on the bike,

and on foot.

And most importantly, I spent a lot of time friends both old and new.

   

Hope you had a great year too! I'm looking forward to more exciting times 2014! Thanks for reading along and sharing in my adventures.

What was one of your favorite adventures from 2013?

My Year of Running (and Triathlon)

Miss Zippy has a linkup going on right now asking, "How was your year of running?" I have seen a few responses from other bloggers, and I kind of love this idea, so I decided to join in.

Best race experience?
Hands down, for me this year it was running Hood to Coast. Running my first relay and making new friends from all across the country was an incredible experience. Nuun Hydration really brought together some amazing individuals, and I couldn't be more thankful.

Best run?
I truely had an amazing year with big PRs at every race distance -- taking 8 minutes off my half marathon PR, and 17 off my full marathon PR. I also took 8 minutes off my sprint triathlon time and raced my first olympic distance triathlon, so it makes this very hard to choose. However, I think my best run this year is tied between the Oakland half marathon and my august sprint distance triathlon. The Oakland half was just a great race environment with a huge amount of crowd support, and fun at the finish with friends. The sprint triathlon was great because I think I worked hard to push myself. I didn't slow down and felt fierce! (Which I think is always great on a race day.)

Best new piece of gear?
So, my husband actually purchased this for himself, but I may be "borrowing" it for him often -- best piece of gear this year would have to go to the SPIbelt. I feel behind the times on this purchase. I don't usually run with a water bottle or other belt because I always thought I would hate the bouncing of it. But seriously, the SPIbelt holds my phone and whatever else I may need and I totally forget it's even there! I'd highly recommend it.

Best piece of running advice you received?
I feel like I have had a lot of advice around believing in myself, and confidence this year. I am working on the mental aspects of training and seeing the fun in it. Sometimes this is an area that is easy to forget about, but it is incredibly important!

Most inspirational runner/triathlete?
So many fellow bloggers have been inspirational to me this year that this is hard to choose. This year I have been much more immersed into the blogging world and have "met" many amazing people! I hope 2014 will continue to connect me with more wonderful people. You can check out some of a list of blogs I follow here, to find some of these inspirational runners and triathletes.

If you could sum up your year in a couple words, what would they be?
Strong. Confident. Happy.

How was your year? What was your best run or race of 2013?

Passed!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I did officially pass my PhD defense this week! Very exciting!  Things went mostly smoothly during my presentation (with only a brief computer automatic restart shaking things up in the first few minutes). And I handed in all my final paperwork on Friday morning. It is so strange to be finished with my degree. But, I'm also excited to see wherever life will take me next.

This weekend we had some friends in town visiting, so it has been nice to relax and enjoy some quality time with friends. Plus, soon we'll be traveling home for the holidays too!

Of course, I couldn't miss my weekend run, so I made sure to get up on Saturday morning for a long run (seriously, I think long run Saturday is one of my favorite things ever). My knee has been bothering me a bit this week, so I was taking things easy. So while Ryan went out for a 19-miler, I aimed for something shorter, and then walked for a few miles. I ended up doing some running on trails rather than just the pavement, which was awesome! Total, I ran 9.5 miles, then walked almost 3.25. It made for a solid morning -- plus, how can you not enjoy a beautiful sunrise like this?!

So, how was your weekend? 

By the way, to celebrate the holidays, if you need to stock up on Nuun (a great stocking stuffer!!), you can get the friends and family discount for 20% off one order using the code HOLIDAY13 now through Dec 31!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a day that I have been working toward for many years. Tomorrow I will be defending my doctoral dissertation work. The last few months have been extra focused and I have been working extra hard to finish all the final details.

 {there's always beauty in nature}

In a way, this is kind of like the many months of dedicated training, then finally arriving at race day. You know you've put in the time and effort. You've been spent the hours on the track or on the bike. Race day is the day to show how far you've come.

 {getting out for a chilly AM run on Sunday -- workouts are saving my sanity}

Tomorrow will be my race day. Today I'm relaxing -- the hay is in the barn, so to speak. I'll be staying busy by going to the gym, baking some cookies, and hopefully getting to bed early. Tomorrow, I cross the finish line. I will be showing the world all that I know in my area, showing all the hard work I completed. Here goes nothin'.

Exercise Lately and Next Goals

I love having goals! And not just for exercise, for everyday life too. They help keep me on track and have a plan for each day, week, month, and year. Goals prevent me from being stagnant.

Now that I'm basically fully recovered from the marathon, I have been trying to get back into a regular workout routine. I don't have a goal race set up yet for the spring, so my goals right now are going to be more about getting in a rhythm and preparing for next year.

1. Work on upper body strength -- I missed working on pushups and pullups over the last few months during marathon training, so I want some of that strength back! Last week I did my first upper body workout in a few months. I knew I'd be sore from it so I tried to keep the weights lighter. Even with keeping it easier, I was sore after for days!!

2. Get some variety -- I like mixing things up. So for now, I hope to do a lot of different activities every week. So far this is going well -- I have done some running, spinning, walks, and strength. I want to also do some yoga and swimming.

3. Start planning spring races -- I only have one thing officially scheduled so far for 2014 (Ragnar FL Keys!), so I want to start figuring out what else I'll be doing!

Do you enjoy goal setting? What are your goals for this week? Mine are to have fun on my 10k turkey trot on Thursday morning, finish writing my dissertation (yikes!), and decorate for Christmas on Friday! OK, and eat lots of pie too. :)

Rest and Recovery

Thank you all for your congratulations on my big marathon PR! It was exciting to cross another marathon finish line, and I know I will do it again someday in the future.

The past week has been filled with rest and recovery. We spent the week in the Outer Banks after the race. I wanted to share a little and show you some photos of the beauty of the ocean and the shore.

Monday, we checked out some of the sights like the largest sand dune at Jockey Ridge State Park while hobbling around on sore legs. We also played some mini golf, and made bets to run into the ocean. In the end we almost all went in -- even those who won the bets!

The middle of the week was quiet lounging around the house due to some cold and windy weather. But the end of the week and over the weekend, we went on some long walks, went fishing, lounged on the beach, played some card games, and ate a lot.

It was so nice to have vacation time after race day!

Outer Banks Marathon: Race Recap

On Sunday, I officially finished my second marathon at the Outer Banks Marathon in North Carolina!

Race morning was great. We got dropped off at the start about 50 minutes early. With less than 1200 marathon finishers, the start area was small, and easy. We got in the bathroom line right away, and only waited a few minutes afterward before getting into the corrals. It just seemed like a nice hometown race.

I was nervous I was going to be cold for the first few miles, but I actually warmed up pretty quickly. The first few miles of the race were on a heavily tree lined street. Many of the local families were out cheering us on. I loved it. You know how sometimes people talk about getting emotional at the end of the race? Yeah -- I got emotional at mile 3 when there was perfect temperatures, sun streaming through the trees, and a guy had some great music playing on the side of the road. It was amazing.

I felt awesome for the first 9 miles. Running felt easy. I was flying. I decided not stress about looking at my watch, and just go by feel. I made a quick pit stop around mile 6. We went through a split timer at the 10k mark. Based on my watch, my pace for the first 10k was about an 8:50/mi average. Looking back, this is a little faster than I probably should have started....but like I said, I was feeling so good! I loved this first part of the race. there were so many people out cheering...especially around the Wright Brothers Memorial.

{running around the memorial}

Around mile 10, we headed onto the trails (like I mentioned in my re-race post). The first 2 miles of this were on hard packed dirt with rocks. I was nervous about rolling my ankle. The terrain was also rolling hills. My pace slowed, but I kind of expected that to happen during this portion. I tried to keep up my pace as much as possible though.

At about mile 12, we transitioned to single track trail. The ground was softer in this area, with some of it being a bit sandy. I had never really run much trail before. I loved how quiet it made everyone's footsteps. Even though it was difficult, I still kind of loved it. I think I might have to try doing more trail running! (Side note, I read a few recaps before the race that said there was a non-official aid station here that handed out amazing banana bread. I had to get some. It was true. So delicious!)

Finally, right at the half way mark, we were out of the trail. As soon as I was back on the road, I realized how much trying to keep up my pace in the woods had tired me out. I crossed the half way point at 1:58. I was able to pick my pace back up to right around a 9 min/mile for a few more miles, but then things started to break down.

Around mile 16, my stomach was starting to feel off. I was feeling hungry, but the bloks I was eating were not sitting well, making me feel nauseated. At mile 18, I felt a little dizzy, and knew I needed some more calories. I forced myself to eat some more, and that helped. I think the other thing that started to affect me during this time was the heat. The day was actually a great temperature, but the second half the course provided no shade at all. On a day with full sun and 18 miles into the race, I was getting pretty hot!

I started taking some walk breaks at mile 18, but I was able to keep my pace up to 10 min/mile for a couple miles. I tried to keep the walking to a minimum. I started taking extra water at the aid stations to dump over my head.

At mile 21, the course turned into a 20 mph headwind. At this point most of my remaining energy really started to get sapped. I again stopped looking at my watch, knowing my initial goals were out of reach. My new goals were 1) enjoy the rest of the race as much as I could, and 2) to finish ahead of my time from my previous marathon. There was a bridge to go up for about half a mile from 22.5-23. I just kept plugging along with a mostly run, some walk ratio. I honestly don't remember too much about this part of the race...I just tried to keep putting up as much effort as I could and keep my heart in it.

{love the run...even when its difficult. Great idea, Coeur!}

Just before mile 25 I took my last walk break. When I started walking, another runner came up behind me and convinced me to start running with her. We only chatted for a few minutes before she needed to take another break, but she helped get me motivated to keep going to the finish line. I was able to keep running until finally crossing the line with an official time of 4:14:46.

As you can see, this race didn't quite go as planned for me, particularly in the second half -- not sure if it was that I didn't eat enough, that I started too fast, or just that it wasn't my day. However, I'm still so proud of my accomplishment of finishing those 26.2 miles. Plus, I had a huge improvement over my first marathon with a 17 minute PR! Just like I said when I finished my first marathon, I am so proud and excited to have finished a marathon -- something I definitely never thought I would be capable of doing. Any day that I can finish a marathon is amazing.

 

The Final Countdown

Now that I have that song stuck in your head....enjoy the rest of my post!

I know my posting has been light the last few weeks. I am nearing the end of my PhD, and most of my time and energy has been focused on working. In the meant time, I have been tapering for the Outer Banks Marathon, which is now only 3 days away!!

If you read the November issue of Runner's World, you have probably seen a little taste of this marathon in this article. It made me so excited to see this race featured!

The course is a mostly flat point to point race. Just before the halfway point, there are a few miles on a packed dirt trail, but otherwise the remainder is on the roads. On my training runs, I tried to run a few miles on the packed dirt off to the side of the path I run on as some practice. The only major incline is a large bridge at mile 22-23. It is 82 feet tall, and a 4% incline over 650 feet-- yikes! But at least it shouldn't last too long, and the final few miles will be downhill and flat into the finish.

{photo from obx marathon website}

Right now I'm feeling both nervous and excited. I always get a little nervous before a race, especially after putting so much time and energy into training. Like I mentioned in my last post, even though my training didn't quite go exactly as I planned, I'm just going to go out there and give it my all (by the way, thanks for all your positive energy!). I am so much stronger than I was before last year's marathon, and I think that should translate to a better race. Horray for progress!

I have never been to the OBX, so I am pretty excited to hang out at the beach -- I think we will be trying to catch some blue crabs one day. So excited!

I don't think I'll get another chance to post before race day, so see you on the flip side!!

You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more updates!

Ups and downs of the past two weeks

I started to write this post about how my training has been very up and down the last two weeks. And, while it kind of has, starting to write it out made me realize that right now I think things are going alright, and I'm feeling excited about my marathon in less than two weeks. 

After my confidence boosting 20-miler a couple weeks ago, I ran a strong progression run and short marathon pace run before running the Nike Women's half. 

Following Nike, my lower leg (which I have been dealing with since rolling my ankle nearly two months ago) was really bothering me for a couple days. I was feeling defeated since I had felt great during the half and the week before. Looking back, I think it was mostly some delayed soreness from running the hills. I haven't done any major hill training lately, so I'm sure my legs weren't used to it. 

After taking a few days off running to cross train, I felt good for an easy 6 last Thursday, and a strong marathon pace 15 miler on Saturday morning. 

What makes me more excited is that the past two days I have been feeling great. My soreness isn't excessive, and I am solidly into my taper now. 

So while the last couple weeks didn't quite go as planned (or the last couple months for that matter), I have been hanging on and getting in some solid long runs. After thinking about it, I realized that even though I missed a few run days and some quality speed sessions, I didn't have to just sit and do nothing. I've enjoyed doing cross training with spin and yoga. I'm coming out of this fairly healthy and ready to run the marathon I've been training for so long! I guess sometimes when you're in the midst of it, the frustration can bring you down mentally. Smart training and listening to my body have helped me get through it.

Now that you know how things have been going I'm going to just forget about those frustrating days and focus on the strong long runs I have had. My right leg is still not 100%, but in the next 11 days, I will be stretching, and rolling as much as I can. I am ready.

Nike Women's Half Marathon: Race Recap

On Sunday I ran the Nike Women's half marathon in San Francisco. This was my second year running it. You can see my recap from last year's race here.

This year, I decided not to really race it....it was going to be more about having fun and enjoying a big race with lots of women! Plus, Leslie and Kara were also going to be running, so I thought it would be fun to catch up with them.

I didn't attend the expo, since I picked up my packet in Sacramento the previous week.

From last year, I knew that the streets before the race were going to be packed with people!! 30,000 runners is a lot! If you are in the faster pace corrals, they seem to be a little less crowded...at least comparing the back of the 8-8:59 pace to the 9-9:59 pace...but maybe the others are too if you are toward the back. I met up with Kara and Leslie about 45 minutes before race start. Bag check and bathrooms were easy to get through and pretty well organized. I didn't check anything, but the other girls did.

{Thanks Leslie for the pre-race pic!}

We started right on time at 6:30am! Check out this photos from Nike of the start of the race. I love seeing images like this!

{Image from Nike Facebook Page}

Leslie and I planned to run together as long as we could. Kara's goal was to run a sub-2 hour half, but she started out by running easy with me and Leslie. It was nice to chat and catch up -- I don't usually get to talk to people while I'm out on a run. It really made the miles fly by! Kara sped up and went on her way somewhere around 1.5 miles. Leslie and I chatted about all sorts of things along our way.

We stayed together through the first few hills, but lost one another around mile 8.5. We had already discussed that if we got separated at some point and couldn't meet back up, we would just run on our own the rest of the way and meet up afterward.

Quick side note: I kind of love running the hills early in the morning in SF during this race. Everyone who was previously talking gets quiet. There aren't really any spectators in this area in the Presido, so it is really quiet. Both last year and this year it was very foggy. It makes for a really cool experience....running with many other people trying to make the same goal of getting up a steep incline....listening to only the breathing of yourself and the other runners around you.

{image from Nike Facebook Page}

Once Leslie and I got separated, I decided to pick up the pace and make the last 4.5 miles a little faster than marathon pace. We averaged the first 8.5 miles at 10:05/mile. For the last few miles, I think I averaged close to an 8:30/mile pace. Another nice thing is this part of the race is also mostly down hill. I had so much fun this entire race! I mean, check out the smiles in my race photos!! LOVE!

After the finish, I met back up with Leslie and Kara, and we picked up our necklaces and shirts. They are pretty!

{Nuun in the background!}

This was a fun way to get in some hilly training and enjoy the race environment with some friends, even if I didn't actually race it. So much fun!