Long Weekend Fun!

This one is a little long….  But, there’s a lot to cover.

Another week of training is in the books!  It was a successful week, although I didn’t hit every work out partly because of Thanksgiving.  But, over the week I remembered to be thankful for all of the blessings in my life, including my ability to actually be a part of the IronTEAM and fundraise for LLS while I train.

Last week I went out to the Westside two more times, after practice out at Dockweiler on the previous Saturday and a bowling fundraiser in Culver City on that Sunday, I was starting to feel like I was spending more time on the Westside than in the Valley.  I would have loved this a couple years ago, but now, not so much.  On Monday I headed out to the airport to pick up a friend who had a layover and we met up with some friends for a bit. 

Then on Tuesday I headed to Culver City for coached swim, normally I swim on Thursdays, but seeing as it was Thanksgiving on Thursday I needed to get to one of the other swims.  I left my house at 6:45 thinking it would take me about 45 minutes to get there.  Wrong.  I didn’t get down there until almost 8, so much traffic.  Thankfully there were two swims, so I went to the later one.  That traffic made me never want to drive back to the Westside.  But, then, I hit EPIC traffic on my way home, it was so much worse than the traffic on the way down.  It was 9:45 pm and the 405 was not even crawling.  Stop and go traffic would be generous.  It took me 20 minutes to go one exit, about a half mile.  Ugh.  Clearly this was the universe telling me to stay in the Valley for a while.  Gotcha.  Loud and clear.  Valley it is.

Wednesday night I headed to the pool near my house to do more swim drills.  I felt good in the pool both nights.  Swimming seems to come a bit easier for me than running, so I don’t mind going. 

I was going to get up early on Thanksgiving and go meet a couple of friends for a hike to the Nike Missile Site, but when the alarm went off I knew all I wanted to do was go back to sleep.  So, I did, as I had a long day of Thanksgiving cooking ahead of me.  We had a nice small Thanksgiving dinner, just my parents, younger sister, my new roommate and I.  I successfully made a bunch of things (I usually do most, if not all the Thanksgiving cooking), including vegan chickpea stew for my mom and sister (I modified the recipe as I went and was a little nervous that I had messed it up, but it turned out well).  We had a lot of other food too, including my extra special, famous around these parts, homemade cranberry sauce.  Seriously, it’s kind of awesome (too bad I forgot to take a picture of it).  I also made an apple and pumpkin pie, including crust from scratch.

Chickpea stew, looks gross, apparently it was tasty.

Friday I was scheduled to swim again, but instead I headed to Disneyland with Allison to celebrate her 30^th birthday, which was Saturday.  Before we left I realized I couldn’t find my debit card anywhere.  This was mildly concerning, but I checked my bank account balance and it was what it should be, so I didn’t worry too much.

We had a really good time, despite what seemed like a million strollers, and some crowds, we still got on everything we wanted to ride and two of our friends met up with us part way through the day.  I will say, there are WAY too many strollers at Disneyland.  I know that it is a kid place, but seriously, strollers 3-5 rows deep at every ride is a lot, I get it, but still.  And, we definitely all got tagged by a stroller at least once. 

Also,  a kid sitting behind me on Indiana Jones pulled my hair 3 times. Seriously?  Not cool.  I almost turned around and said something, but I knew it wouldn’t get me anywhere.  I will say that people need to teach their kids better manners.  It was rude and my hair wasn’t hanging in to their row, it was pulled into a ponytail and definitely not in their way.  Rude.  Regardless of that stuff, it was a fun filled day, with churros, and pretzels and trying on silly hats (which I have pictures of, but I’m pretty sure Allison would kill me if I shared) and there were two viewings of Captain EO, cause sometimes you just need a little (or a lot) of MJ in your life.  (Actually the two viewing happened because Allison and I had already seen it and then the cousin of our friend who met us had never even heard of Captain EO - she is only 20 and from West Virginia, so we - maybe me - decided she needed to experience the wonderful cheesiness of Captain EO.) 

80's 3D + Michael Jackson = Captain EO Awesomeness

Saturday started with an early wakeup call (and still missing debit card) and I headed to IronTEAM practice at Griffith Park.  This was our second bike ride and I was a little nervous, I mean I didn’t even make it out of the parking lot the previous bike ride.  But, after practicing how to clip in and out again (somehow this time it made more sense, maybe cause I had practiced the previous weekend), and riding around the parking lot a couple of times, I made it out on to the street!  And, I didn’t fall once!  I almost fell at a stop sign, but there was a fence and I caught myself and I almost fell when I returned to the parking lot, but again caught myself and prevented a fall. Yay!  I only rode 12 miles, but it felt like a HUGE success, there were plenty of stop signs, turns and stop lights that I learned how to deal with successfully, so all in all a good ride.  I do have to say riding a bike clipped in is a weird thing.  I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but it feels so weird to be attached to the bike.  No new bruises or scrapes, always a good thing.

Saturday evening we had Sushi Thanksgiving at our house.  We had more people at this Thanksgiving than at actual Thanksgiving.  It was a fun evening, filled with family, friends and lots of sushi – which we made at home, and I made another, better pumpkin pie and a vegan apple crisp, which both turned out delicious.

Sunday, my debit card was still MIA, but bank account balance was normal, so I was still not worried.   I had two work outs to get through, first a 75 minute run which I did on my own.  It was a little slow, 6.5 miles, but I got it done.  Then I had another round of swimming drills to get done.  After swimming I went out to meet up with Allison and a couple other friends for her birthday.  It was a long, fun filled weekend.  And, then, I woke up on Monday morning with a cold, and still no debit card.  Boo on both fronts.  RnR Vegas half is this weekend and I do NOT want to be sick.  I’ve been sick in Vegas before and it is MISERABLE.  I’m not saying the double workout did it, but…. Maybe…. Or it could have been all the germy kids at Disneyland.  Blech.

The tale of the lost debit card ended on Monday night.  I was cleaning up my room and a pile of scarves (yes, I live in LA and own lots of scarves, completely unnecessary and I don’t care), and the card reappeared.  I think it just wanted to take a vacation for a few days, too bad I know the number by memory and made a couple of online purchases anyway, take that card!  Thankfully I didn’t have to cancel it and get a new one, which I was going to do today.  And, I NEED to remember to put it back in its slot in my wallet, I have a VERY bad habit of NOT doing that.

I’m supposed to run tonight, but my body is saying no.  I was feeling okay this morning but I’m now feeling a little worse (headache, scratchy throat, super stuffy and a little fever) and think rest might be in order.  Tomorrow I’m hoping to feel back to my normal self again.

While I am sick, and slightly irritated about it, I am incredibly thankful for all of the blessings in my life.  Thanksgiving just reminds me that my life is good.  While I am sometimes stressed, or have only a little money, or am frustrated with things, my life, overall, is pretty darn good.  I have a roof over my head and food to eat.  I have a wonderful family and amazing friends, who I would do anything for and I think would do the same for me.  I have a sweet little dog that I love to pieces and who loves me unconditionally.  I have good health and good times to make the hours tick by.  I have a job I enjoy and passions that keep me going.  For all of these things I am so incredibly grateful.  And for all of these reasons I will continue to fight for a cure.  There are a lot of people out there who are struggling in one way or another and I know that my fundraising with LLS will help lead to better treatments for, and eventually a cure for blood cancer.  This is how I show my thankfulness and appreciation for life, by doing what I can to help others.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and took the time to appreciate all the good things in your life.

If you would like to support my efforts in training for, and eventually completing Vineman (an ironman distance triathlon) please click this link:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/vinefirn13/ewallersco 

Click on DONATE NOW and help me reach my goal.  Even just a couple of dollars helps.  Thank you for your support every step of the way, without you I would not be able to train, I wouldn’t have even been able to begin training.  Each of you make this crazy adventure possible for me.  Your support means more to me than words can say.  So, thank you.

Thanks!

Iron Firsts

I meant to post this a couple days ago... Whoops!

In the last two weeks I have had a number of firsts with the IronTEAM.  I went to my first IronTEAM practice, a run (easy peasy, I love running!).  I went to my first coached swim (not bad, it was nice to swim again, and I remembered a lot from when I was a kid and had a swim coach).  And, I went to my first bike ride with the IronTEAM (not quite so easy).

The first couple of weeks have been good and I’m so excited I joined the team.  The running is definitely the part of the training I am the least concerned with.  I love running and with multiple marathons and more than a dozen half marathons under my belt, I feel like this is the strongest of the three sports right out of the gate.  I may not be fast, and it isn't always easy, but I can run long (and enjoy it). 

I was nervous attending my first swim practice.  I was a swimmer as a kid.  I loved being in the pool.  In fact, as a kid, for a while, I had a swim coach.  From her I learned swimming drills and proper swim technique.  While it has been a long while since I have done any of that stuff on a regular basis, once I got back in the pool I felt comfortable.  I started in the beginners lane and the coaches quickly moved me to the intermediate lane (I underestimated my abilities, a recurring theme in my athletic endeavors).  Even though swimming drills are awkward there is a purpose to them and I felt comfortable in the water.  In fact, I felt as comfortable in the pool as I do when I run.  Actually, swimming comes a bit easier to me than running.  I was actually disappointed when I wound up at work late on Friday night and didn’t get my swim workout in that day.  So, that’s a good sign.  I almost never feel disappointed about missing a run.  While I love running, it does not always come easy for me.  Swimming feels more natural off the bat.

Now, on to the cycling.  I was the most nervous about my first bike ride with the team.  I know how to ride a bike, so that isn’t the problem.  But, a road bike is a little different than a regular bike.  The seat is up higher, and I don’t have platform pedals on it.  I have pedals you have to clip in to.  I have been practicing clipping in with the bike stationary, so I understand how the clipping works.  But, when you are on the bike and moving around, well that’s a little tougher.  Combining my first time on a road bike with the first time I was clipping in made me nervous.

just a few of the MANY bikes waiting to be ridden...

But, I still went to practice and I went to conquer my fear.  I had a good feeling I was going to fall.  A lot of people have told me that they fell their first time clipping in.  But, they also told me that it doesn’t really hurt, cause you aren’t really moving very fast, and might not really be moving at all.  So, at practice on Saturday, after pretty much everyone was out on the bike ride, I learned how to clip in.  (I wasn’t the only one, there was one other girl from the IronTEAM there learning as well, so I didn’t feel completely alone and behind everyone else.) 

Coach Erin told me how to get started on the bike, and get moving.  I got myself going and got clipped in fairly easily.  She was with me and explaining to me how to stop.  I wasn’t really fully understanding what she was telling me to do.  And…. I was almost stopped and I tipped over.  Yep, I fell on my first try clipping out.  It was like it was happening in slow motion.  It didn’t really hurt, it was just awkward cause one foot was still clipped in.  I managed to scrape my knee in the process.  Awesome.  (See photos below of gross skinned knee, matching scrape on opposite calf and really ugly bruise above my right knee a couple days later... that's hot, right?) 

But, I got back up and started to try again.  I immediately tipped over the other way.  I wasn’t even moving at this point.  My clumsy self just managed to fall over, again with the bike on me.  Perfect start.  After fall number two Coach Erin decided I should practice the clipping out with the bike on a stationary bike trainer.  After a couple of tries on the trainer I finally understood what I was supposed to do.  So, off the trainer I went and back around the parking lot to practice starting and stopping.

I got about half way across the parking lot and started to clip out.  And…. SUCCESS!  I did it.  I stopped without falling and having the bike on top of me.  YAY!  So freaking exciting.  Then, I continued to ride around the parking lot in circles practicing starting and stopping.  I managed to not fall another time.  Woo hoo for little victories!  I was beyond excited.  I never did make it out of the parking lot on Saturday, but now I am a bit more confident for my next ride with the team.  I’m sure there will be more falls throughout the season (I am incredibly clumsy, so it’s bound to happen).  But, now that I know that it doesn’t really hurt I’m good with it (although I suppose if I fell while moving fast that might hurt.... Hmmm.... Let's not think about that).

It’s funny I wasn’t even embarrassed when I fell over.  It was kind of funny.  The second time was actually funnier, since I wasn’t even really on the bike.  Plus, there was almost no one around when it happened, as they were all already out on the ride.  Now I have a skinned knee and a couple of nasty bruises, but its all for a good cause.  This week hopefully I get out of the parking lot on the ride.  (While falling didn’t hurt at the time, these bruises do NOT feel good a few days later.  But, they will heal, and I am thankful that I can swim, bike and run.  I am thankful for my health and that of my family and friends.)

You might wonder why I am putting myself through all of this.  Well, the answer is simple.  I am doing this to help find a cure.  And, to get there I need your support.  This week is Thanksgiving and I am so thankful to my friends and family who have supported me through all my crazy endurance adventures.  Without each of you I would be so much further behind where I am right now.  And, with your support I will cross that finish line in 8.5 months with a smile on my face (and hopefully not too much worse for the wear!).  Your donations will get me through the long training months to come and will help encourage me to get back up every time I fall.  Please consider making a 100% tax deductible donation to LLS and support me as I push myself through these coming months of training.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/vinefirn13/ewallersco

Thank you for your support through this crazy adventure!  What are you thankful for?

And, since I gave you those ugly pictures, here's a couple of cute ones of the dog...

Watch Me

I have been considering entering the world of triathlons for about a year and a half.  I started seriously considering it right around the time that I ran my first marathon, LA in 2010.  I have thought about all of the expenses involved, the time commitment, how much I really want it.  I have thought about lots of different events, from sprint distance up to full iron.  I have thought about training and racing and what it will take to complete such a thing.  

The biggest issue for me in entering the triathlon world has been expense.  Triathlons aren’t cheap, from swim gear (up to and including a wetsuit), to a bike (and all the necessary pieces), to run gear (although, I’ve already got PLENTY of that).  It isn’t a cheap venture.  I haven’t had the financial means to even consider a triathlon. 

But, now, things have changed, a little bit.  I saved a little bit of money and purchased a used road bike a couple of months ago.  A used bike feels like the right place for me to start, with concerns over the cost, I didn’t want to sink myself financially into a sport I am not sure I am going to love.  But, I still wanted to give it a go.  It felt like the right time.  So with a used bike purchased I was ready to think about it more seriously.

I debated which event I wanted to dive in with.  I knew that I would stick with Team in Training and pick an event they were training for.  The choices were the Super Seal Triathlon (Olympic distance in San Diego), Lavaman (Olympic Distance in Hawaii), Hawaii 70.3 (half ironman, also in Hawaii), Vineman (Full Iron Distance, 140.6 in Sonoma County, CA), and Ironman Canada (140.6 in Penticton, Canada). 

I thought about the Olympic Distance events and the training and preparation they would entail.  I am not one to start small though; I never even ran a 5k before I signed up for the LA Marathon with Team in Training 2 years ago.  I quickly crossed those off my list.  Go big or go home is where my mind was (and still is).

I knew I wasn’t going to do Ironman Canada, with a hefty registration fee and the location (I know my family would probably not make the trip up there and if I’m going to do a 140.6 I want them to be there cheering me on), I crossed that off my list. That left me with Hawaii 70.3 and Vineman 140.6. I seriously considered Hawaii 70.3.  A friend who has done 2 full ironman events and a few 70.3’s recommended that one of all the choices.  He has done that course and thought it was a good starting point.  Plus, another friend of mine who has done a full ironman suggested starting with the half, as the time commitment for the full can be overwhelming.

Over the summer a few things happened that made me realize now is the time to do this, no point in waiting any longer.  Life is short and precious and there is no point in being scared to do something.  I need to go for it.  Now.  I had made my choice, Hawaii 70.3 would be my first triathlon.

After staying up all night with a friend talking (I NEVER stay up all night), I went to an info session for the Ironteam.  While I was there I talked to a couple of participants who had just finished up Vineman 140.6, as well as a couple of people who had completed the 70.3 at Vineman.  I also talked to the coaches, asking if it was crazy to sign up for a 70.3 when I had never completed a triathlon.  Everyone had me convinced that this was something I could do.  They actually had me convinced I could do the 140.6.  But, I knew I was exhausted and I couldn’t make a final decision in that state of mind, some thinking would have to be done, besides, I couldn't sign up for the team for a few weeks anyway.  This gave me the time to make a good decision.

One of the Ironteam members forwarded me to links to two race reports from Vineman.  I poured over them.  I was fascinated.  I was convinced.  This was the event I wanted to do.  I made myself stop and think about it for a bit.  I didn’t want to sign up too hastily.  I talked to my family about it.  My mom agreed that Vineman was the way to go.  This was also the only event that I would be able to get my whole family out there to cheer for me.  I still wavered in signing up for a bit, thinking Hawaii was maybe the way to go.  Was this really something I was ready to commit to?  A full ironman is a serious thing.  After some serious reflection and consideration about the time and expense I knew what I wanted to do.  Vineman.

With the decision made I signed up for the Ironteam.  So, what does this mean?  It means my life will become engrossed by triathlon training.  It means most of the conversations I have will start to be about training for this event, I won’t be able to help it, it will be on my mind all the time.  I will train for the next nine months, swimming, biking and running to prepare for July 28, 2012, when I will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and then run 26.2 miles.

I am doing this.  To everyone who has been and continues to be supportive of me and my running and beyond, thank you.  Your support is what gets me through every step, good and bad.  Without you this would be next to impossible.  You are all my inspiration.

For those of you who don’t believe I will finish, or think I will stop training part way through, or think I’m crazy for doing this, for anyone who says “You can’t do this,” I have this to say to you, “Watch me.”  I can and will do this.

Over the next nine months I will share my journey here, from my first practice to race day.  This is a journey of finding my courage, taking a leap of faith and working hard.  It is sure to be an interesting time in my life and interesting story, I hope you'll join me for this crazy ride.  Tips and support are welcome every step of the way.  I will need friends and family who will support me from now until I cross the finish line, and I am counting on you.  If you would like to support my fundraising efforts please make a donation via this link, every dollar helps (your support will get me through the coming months AND race day):

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineFIrn13/ewallersco


Thank you!

Rock n Roll LA Half Marathon

After Long Beach half a couple of weeks ago (you can read about that disaster here) I wasn’t super excited about RnR LA.  I am irritated with how I’ve been doing at the half marathon distance and I really wasn’t feeling it.  I knew I would run it no matter what, because I had paid for it.  But, I wasn’t excited about it.  I chose to set no race goals other than to finish.

Race week I did almost nothing right.   I didn’t pay attention to what I was eating, I didn’t run once, actually I didn’t even work out once (been adjusting to a new job and trying to find time), I didn’t hydrate.  I just figured since I didn’t really care what happened on race day I wasn’t going to worry about it all week.  The only thing I did do right was get a lot of sleep.  So, yay for sleep and being well rested. (By the way, just getting enough sleep is not the best way to prepare for a race.)

I spent a large part of Saturday out refrigerator shopping.  A frustrating experience to say the least.  By early afternoon I was over the fridge excursion and headed to the expo.  My parents were with me, helping me try to find a fridge, and headed downtown with me.  They had never been to a race expo before (seeing as they don’t run it’s not surprising), I thought they might find it interesting.

Gender specific race shirts, woo hoo!

The expo was super empty, which made it nice for my parents first expo experience.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that RnR is finally doing gender specific t-shirts and it looks like it will fit well, thank you RnR!  So, yay for a good race shirt!  I stopped by the iFitness booth and finally got to meet Lauren, one of my twitter pals.  I’m a bad blogger and we didn’t take a picture.  Of note, my parents didn’t think it was odd that I needed to stop to meet someone I had only ever conversed with online.  They are very tech savvy (they both tweet and have facebooks – they both have more twitter followers and facebook friends than me).

I then headed home and had a late lunch/early dinner.  I actually got in bed close to when I had hoped to, but that alarm still felt painfully early.   I was out of my house by 5:35 am (only five minutes later than I planned).  I ate my oatmeal in the car (my new pre-run breakfast = plain instant oatmeal, a packet of almond butter and a packet of chocolate hazelnut butter mixed in with sliced strawberries on top – yum!).

empty corrals, just about 15-20 mins before race start

more people, but still not super full for a Rock n Roll race

Even though the start wasn’t until 7:30 I was worried the traffic could be terrible, which is why I left so early.  But, I got downtown and was parked by 6:00am.  I realized when I got down there that I had forgotten my Sony Walkman headset.  Damn! No music.  I'm used to running without music most of the time, but in some races I like having it.  I set the alarm on my phone (in case I dozed off) and sat in my car listening to the radio.  I was very careful not to lock my stuff and keys in the car this time.  At about 6:45 I wandered over to the start area, ran in to a number of my friends.  I was in corral 6 – for 2:15 to 2:30 (this might seem ambitious all things considered, but I registered when I thought that was where I would need to be), the corral was so empty.  The whole start area felt very empty in fact.  I looked around at all the people in costume, and there were plenty – a guy dressed as Slash, a large number of Elvis costumes, a couple in lederhosen, tutus, funny hair, an alien and spaceship, and SO many more (again, I’m a bad blogger and didn’t take pictures of them).

Shortly after the start time we took off.  I had decided that maybe part of my issue with PR’ing might be that I’m too focused on my time. So, even though the last thing I expected out of this race was a PR, I set my interval on my Garmin and switched the screen to be only on the interval timer (I forgot that this sometimes creates issues for me as well – more on that later).  Even though the start felt very empty the course felt very crowded through many places.

As we were running toward the coliseum I saw the pace car approaching on the other side of the street and the elite athletes right behind.  Because of the nature of this course (two out and backs) you could see people running in front of and behind you.  As the elites started approaching everyone who was running and watching them approach started clapping and cheering for them.  Watching them pass was pretty cool.  They are so fast and it looks so effortless.  It actually encouraged me to push a little harder in that moment.  I saw a number of my friends in the first out and back, which was cool.

I was very consciously trying not to look at the time clocks on the mile markers, so as not to get myself in a weird place if I thought I was behind where I should be.  Around mile 4.5 my friend Joy came up behind me and asked how I was feeling/doing.  I told her I was trying not to look at my time, and just go with how I feel.  She said I was doing pretty well, I told her I didn’t want to know my time, she thankfully didn’t tell me.

As I made my way back past the finish line on the second out and back I saw what looked like the first non-elites finishing (meaning the winners had already crossed the finish line and I wasn’t even half way yet – yes, I’m slow).  It was a steady uphill away from the finish line.  I saw my friends Beth and Brandon, who live along the race course and stopped for a moment to say hi.  They said I looked strong (not sure I actually did, but in the moment it was nice to hear).

Because I wasn’t looking at my overall time I also had no idea what my pace was.  I was just running by feel.  And, mostly I felt good.  I was taking water at every aid station and drinking my water with nuun on my walk breaks.  Since I hadn’t hydrated during the week I wore a water belt and brought extra nuun tablets with me (the electrolyte beverage on course was Cytomax, which I do not like).  It was starting to get warm, but I was still feeling okay.  I was sticking with my intervals, not looking at my watch and doing pretty good at not looking at the times on the mile markers.

the view from mile 10 back toward downtown - where the
finish line was

I approached the aqueduct at about mile 9 and it looked enormous (I tried taking pictures and you just can't tell what is going on in them, but I promise, it was big).  I made the decision I would walk up and then pick back up with my intervals.  It was at about mile 9 and I knew there was another uphill after this one heading back to the finish line.  Plus, I was getting really warm.  I got to the top and picked back up again.    


Then as I was coming back toward downtown I glanced at the clock and saw the time at the 10 mile marker.  It was at around 2:08.  I had crossed the start line a few minutes after the clock started, so I suddenly knew that if I pushed hard I would finish in the 2:30-2:40 range.  I should not have looked at that clock, I then proceeded to pysch myself out.

What the hell is wrong with me?  I totally had the energy to push hard and finally break through that 2:4x wall.  My PR is 2:33, and while this probably wouldn’t have been a PR, I could have easily done 2:35ish.  I started over analyzing everything.  I started taking longer walk breaks.  I was bargaining with myself (if I can run to that stoplight up there I can walk for a minute, etc).  I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me.  The last bit is completely downhill and I walked part of it!  WHAT?!?!  Downhill = run!  Seriously, what is wrong with me?  I wasn’t crazy tired I just somehow felt the need to walk – a lot.  Fail.

pretty good medal

I finally crossed the finish line and hit the stop button on my watch knowing I was in the 2:40’s again.  Cause at that point I looked at the times on every mile marker and knew I had slowed significantly.  Final official finishing time: 2:43:08.  So, not a 2:45, which is where I’ve been,  but even with my lack of preparation I should have finished in 2:3X, I had it in me, I wasn’t sore at all after, or the day after, or the day after that.

crazy Chanel trying to eat my medal

Official breakdown of times:

3 miles: 32:51

10k: 1:12:01

10 miles: 2:02:23

Finish: 2:43:08  <-- that means it took me 41 minutes to cover 3 miles, with two big downhills in there.  FAIL.

So, what does this all boil down to?  I need to get out of my own way.  The bargaining I did with myself between 10 and 13 was ridiculous.   I know I am faster than this.  I have it in me.  I just need to let it out.

I have one final chance this year to PR at the half distance – Vegas.  (I wanted to run Operation Jack on 12/26, but I have to work that day and can’t.) Truthfully, I’m torn about what to do at this point.  Do I push hard for a PR at Vegas?  Or, do I just train the way I have been and see what happens, and not be disappointed?  I think I need to push myself, cause I’m gonna be super pissed if I get 2:4X again.  I can’t handle it.  I don’t even care if I PR at this point, I need to get out of the 2:40s and back in the 2:30s. 

I am VERY frustrated with myself right now.   I know that I should be happy with finishing, and after the week leading up to RnR LA, I AM happy that I finished, that was my goal, but I know I can do better, as obvious by the mile times listed above.  So, I feel like being frustrated is acceptable.  I’m not super annoyed, I did start a new job the day after Long Beach and have been adjusting to that, so my training has been suffering.  I really did not expect to PR or do well at all in LA, so the fact that I ran it faster than Long Beach (even by just a couple of minutes) is pleasantly surprising.

My biggest problem at this point is myself.  Hmmm….. Time to get out of my own way.

Now, I have something big to tell you (I actually have two big things, but this is the first and biggest, since the journey started this weekend with kickoff)…. It’s what I’m doing next year….  Click the link to find out more (I know it’s a fundraising link, but read the page and you’ll see what my insanity has led me to now, and if you feel so compelled, please make a donation and help me out.  
http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineFIrn13/ewallersco

Thanks!