I had an amazing time at Ragnar and seriously want to do it again but much faster. I think about these girls all the time and how awesome it was!

Then I had an amazing weekend in Pittsburgh and ran one of the best races I’ve ever ran, and I’m on an all time running endorphin racing high.

The Runner of Steel Medla after heading to the Gear Check to get my sweatshirt

Now I’m at a crossroads of what next. I’ve been considering a fall full, but then it’s narrowing down what race and asking questions like, do I want to travel, do I want to train for it, how far out should I start training again, do I want to give up my entire life to running a full in the fall. Then I think about doing a few halfs, possibly trying to get a bit faster, working on my speed, but then again, the question of where to run and what races to do comes up.

I know the next race on my calendar for SURE is the La Palma Days 10K on the 4th of July, a yearly tradition, but I am thinking about the month of October, a full or half. How to decide is the next question. How do you pick your next race? Any good races in October I should for sure be putting on my calendar?

xoxo

Walking down to the start of the Pittsburgh Half, the sun was just coming up but the tall building blocked it and it was rather windy and chilly where we were walking!

Walking to the start of the Pittsburgh Marathon, we passed this church, where the priest was out wishing runners good luck!

We started off on our trek to the start. I was wearing a jacket over my long sleeve and still a tad cold so I took it as a sign that wearing a long sleeve was a good idea. My only gripe about the race was that we got stuck in the wrong corral. We had to leave half our group since 2 of us were gear checking stuff and the other 2 were not. We made our way to gear check where they went through my bag for security reasons and then took it and tied it up. Linzay and I were suppose to be in Corral C, but we ended up being the front row of Corral D. In the end, it worked out as we didn’t have to bob and weave really at all, but we were trying to get up to Corral C and they wouldn’t let us through. Oh well! I really had to go to the bathroom (already took Imodium AD, so not that kind of bathroom…) but at this point, they were singing the national anthem, and I knew the start was quickly approaching. I figured I would just hit up the first portapottie stop and not worry about it.

Running of the Bridge, the Runner of Steel sign was pretty awesome to see!

We were ushered to the front of the starting area and that’s when the sun was shining down perfectly on the street in front of us and I saw the crowd. The masses of people out, apparently super excited for the marathon. Now, call me crazy, but this was mind blowing to me. It wasn’t just a few people out on the corner, waiting for THEIR runner to pass, it was 6-7 people deep, lines of people ALL going NUTS. It was like everyone had 10 cups of coffee and it was 10 am in the morning and the Steelers were going down the road after winning the super bowl kind of nuts. I was shocked. They were holding signs with their hands out in the air for high fives, cheering for every single person like they were a long lost friend and they were not only running the race but they were winning the race. I thought to myself as we traveled under the start line, oh well this crowd won’t last long, they always like this at the start of the race. Boy, Pittsburgh, you proved me wrong. As we started running, I felt my eyes well up with emotion. This was the first big race I was running since everything had happened at the Boston Marathon, and though I wasn’t at Boston, I thought of the people affected by that tragedy and how these people all came out to support us, strangers, running through their town. It was an incredible feeling seeing everyone so excited for an event, for me, to run.

As I ran I looked around and just saw more and more people, more signs and more cheers, coming from all directions. They weren’t letting up. The streets were just as packed as we started. We passed mile 1 and I stopped quick to hit up the bathroom, and continued to run and enjoy the crowd, reading the signs and taking in some of the city. We ran through a lot of the city and when the crowd was a little sparse, which was probably for less than a mile of the race, runners chatted amongst themselves. I listened into conversations between runners about training, other races, the city, what we were running by. The air was so full of energy it was electrifying. The volunteers were all out smiling, giving out water, happy to be helping and I tried my hardest to tell as many of them thank you as I could. That’s one of my personal favorite things to do during races, because it almost surprises the volunteers, and they beam when they hear the words. Most volunteers responded back with a hearty, “No, Thank You!” Which was awesome and pumped me up even more.

The first few miles were through an area called the Strip District, which isn’t what you think it is, it’s more bars, shops, and a billion spectators out, cheering for you, rocking their Steelers, Penguins, Pirates Gear, holding hilarious signs and looking for high fives. And the bands. Holy cow. How many bands are even in Pittsburgh? They were ALL along the course. I saw the first one around mile .25 it seemed and I thought to myself, wow, a band? Already? Maybe they set up in the wrong spot, but they were EVERYWHERE along the course! A great distraction and they seemed so excited to be out there. Runners would run by raising their hands, singing or dancing and they would cheer for the runners, and get the crowd going. It was band after band after band with spectators lining the streets encouraging everyone along. Then we started going over the bridges, which, being from CA, we don’t really have rivers here or bridges like Pittsburgh does, and this was really one of my favorite parts of the course, scenery wise. It was perfect weather, and the sky was as clear as can be, you could see the entire city from the bridges. Even the bridges were packed with people. I don’t get where they all came from. We started going up and down hills, which weren’t as bad as I was expecting and before I knew it, I was at mile 5!

I tried not to look at the mile markers because I was so paranoid about my ankle and didn’t want to have issues with it, but once we hit mile 5, I was happy that I wasn’t having issues and that I was feeling good! I think it was around mile 5, there was this huge group of kids called Team Impact or something, and they were at the top of a hill. They were literally going insane. Screaming their lungs off, losing their minds crazy for each and every runner that passed by them. I almost laughed at how crazy this situation would look to other people, but these kids were amazing! They were so into cheering and it made that hill a piece of cake. Everyone was wearing sombreros too, for Cinco De Mayo.

At mile 6, I started to play mind games with myself so I wouldn’t get discouraged. When we passed mile 6, I told myself we were at mile 3. Imagine my surprise when we got to mile 8! At this point, I was used to all the crowds and how chatty the runners were, and how if you yelled Go Pens, the crowd would go nuts, which yes, I did a few times and it was awesome. The water stations were all perfectly spaced and well managed, and I grabbed water at a few stations and also nabbed a few gummy bears that were being handed out by spectators around mile 8. I tried to take in all the sites, since I hadn’t seen much of the city yet, and tried to continue to say thank you to all the volunteers. The hills were starting to get to me at this point and I was just tired. I knew I was so close to finishing and would just have to break down the mileage into easy, manageable segments. The people of the city are what got me to the top of those hills and kept me running.

The Birmingham Bridge, and the last bridge we ran over to the final hill of the race. I looked at the bridge later in the day and realized it was completely uphill. No wonder I was so tired!

We got to mile 10 and I saw a huge bridge looming ahead of us, and a large hill across the river that we would be running up once crossing the bridge. This was also where the half and full marathon split. I was quite turned around and didn’t understand how we would end downtown, it seemed like where we started was 10 miles away! Up and over the bridge I went, where you guessed it, spectators were lined up, cheering for everyone. Then it was onto the last hill, where an entire medical team was stationed. They weren’t just standing under their red tent though, off to the side. They were standing and cheering on the side of the road, telling everyone it was the last hill and this was it! We could do it, we were almost done and we were almost to mile 12! Running up this hill, my ankle was starting to feel a bit sore, but other than that I had no issues at all! The medical team standing out there cheering for all the runners was a pretty cool way to really make the most of their time along the course and I appreciated them not only being out there, but cheering for us and making that hill much more fun.

Finally we reached mile 12 and I tried to push as hard as I could along the last mile. A girl ran up behind me and asked me if I was Danica! I was so surprised, and thankful that she came up and said hello to me and it was so nice chatting with her for a bit. I saw the finish line in the distance and heard sirens behind me. They kept getting closer and closer and I thought, why is an ambulance coming? It was the first elite male marathon finisher with police escorts! The crowd was going nuts and I was running right by him. I started pumping my arms above my head like an idiot and I heard some laughs. The last mile was pretty much all downhill, and my legs were hurting and I realized I wasn’t going to be under 2 hours. But that was okay because I finished and had an incredible experience.

Once I crossed the finish line I was handed my “Runner of Steel” Medal, and a bag to collect all the food we were given after the finish line. A Finishers Cup, Bagels (from panera, with flavor selections!!), Bananas, Smiley Face Cookies, Water, Fruit Cups, Gatorade, there was a ton of stuff and it was great that we could just put it on our bags and leave the finish chute. I looked up my finish time yesterday, and I finished in 2:01:48. That darn bathroom break!

The Runner of Steel Medal after heading to the Gear Check to get my sweatshirt

I left the area in a daze and spotted a few of the people I was there with. We exchanged congratulations and talked about our races. The overwhelming common thread? How amazing the crowd was. The ENTIRE time. It never stopped. I was so glad that it wasn’t just me imagining things and the other runners agreed. A marathon or half marathon are a completely different event when the city is embraces the race, and I don’t even know where half the people cheering along the course came from, but they were the ones that made the experience so incredible. Even the guy holding the sign “Hungover, but still supporting” made from a cardboard box, and the lady holding one that said “Hurry up! The Pens play at noon!” It was so neat to experience a race in a city that takes so much pride in the event, and the people running. I wish I wore a go-pro just to capture it all out and replay it whenever I was on the treadmill.

The #RunFor Crew, well some of us, after the race.

Linzay and I after the race… Don’t mind me, the mammoth.

After my friend Lindsay, who ran the relay, and I met up again and she took me up to Mount Washington to see the entire city. We had to take a photo with our medals :)

I know I’m also super picky about races, since I used to work for a race management company, and this race had great execution on all the things that usually bother me. Great mile markers, easy to navigate and consistent water stations, a good corral system, plenty of portopotties, a scenic course, tons of bands along the route, and something that you can never plan for. The most amazing crowds along the route, cheering for everyone. It was a celebration of running for 13.1 miles, and that it something so unique and it makes a complete difference.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods Event is something incredible. Not only is it a well managed race but the city loves the race, and that’s something you can never replicate or replace.

Thank you for such a memorable time and for reinvigorating my love for running.

xoxo

PS to see more photos and all the crowds, here’s a great link to a bunch!

In the car and on my way to the city!

So this weekend I had the opportunity to visit Pittsburgh for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Half Marathon. The complete race recap is coming tomorrow, but I had so much fun in the city itself, it deserves it’s own post. I had no idea what to expect and randomly enough my best friend from college had recently moved there to be the Assistant Volleyball Coach at University of Pittsburgh. I was excited to see where she called home and also run in the half marathon.

A cool bridge that I saw on the way to the city

Downtown Pittsburgh view from the Doubletree hotel

I’ll start off by saying the people of Pitt are one of a kind and the city matches it’s people. Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world, holds the furry convention (google it, I dare you) and natives openly call themselves Yinzers. I’ve never been anywhere where they care so much about sports. Hockey, Baseball, Football, Running… They are overly obsessed with it all and being a sports fan myself, I loved the atmosphere. Though I was told I hit the Pittsburgh weather jackpot, I cannot even say how breathtaking the entire city was!! The rivers, the greenery, the overall atmosphere was just awesome.

The first night we went out in Shadyside, which is not actually shady, and it was so much fun, the crowd was great and everyone was friendly. The little city area was so cute and we had a great time, and yes, this is where I found out about Yinzeritas.

The following day I met up with the #RunFor Team and went for a tour of Dick’s Sporting Goods headquarters, which was incredible. If you want to work for an amazing company, that’s the place to be! We learned a lot about the company and how awesome their story is. There were some cool parts too with R&D that we couldn’t take photos of, but wow! There’s some really cool things coming up in Dick’s Sporting Goods future!

The view from Dick’s Sporting Goods Main Hall

Then it was onto the Expo, where I got KTTaped, and the line was worth it. The Expo was great, tons of vendors, tons of races, tons to see and buy. I opted only to buy a roll of KTTape and next on our tour of the city was to head to Dick’s Sporting Goods! It’s fun for me to go to them in other cities (I recently also went to the one in Charlotte) because they aren’t as close to me in CA!

That evening we had dinner as a ‘team’ downtown, and I had a delicious pasta dish and we were all very excited to have dinner with Steve Bell from the #RunFor videos! He’s the Week 1 Video here. We got to ask him a lot of questions about Cystic Fibrosis, running and how he is working hard to raise awareness of it. Here’s a recap of his race report too!  It was pretty inspiring seeing that the race was the next morning and he was also running.

I finished off the evening foam rolling my IT Bands, which were tight from walking all over the city and I massaged my Achilles a bit as well, since I was pretty fearful of it acting up during the race! I laid out my clothes and was all set to go the following morning. I was a bit nervous about going with a long sleeve, but I’m so glad I did, or I would have been freezing!

The following day was race day, and after that my friend and I toured quite a bit of the town and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire city! It was so beautiful and there were so many things to see. She took me up to the top of Mount Washington and I didn’t even know what I was in for! But the sites were great, it was really a highlight of the trip and the weather was amazing, you could see the entire city!

View from Mount Washington

View from Mount Washington

Panorama View of the City – Told you it was gorgeous!

Next up, we were going to get dinner, and she told me about Church Brew Works. It was an old cathedral that was actually turned into a brewery and restaurant. I got one of their seasonal beers and it was great. It was a little weird to see the brewery actually in the pulpit, but at the same time, unique and it was cool that they saved the building.

Yes, an old Church turned into a brewery? Kind of weird, but awesome all at the same time!

Apparently, Pittsburgh salads come with fries on top of them!

The inside view of Church Brew works

Amen!

The following day we had allotted plenty of time for me to tour the University of Pittsburgh! I wanted to see as much of her life as I could, and the campus was very different than Universities back in California that I’ve been around. It is directly in the center of city and it was really beautiful. We first visited the Cathedral of Learning, and yes, classes go on in this building! It’s so beautiful inside.

The Univeristy of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning. Yes, classes take place in here!

Oh you know, just a study hall… Talk about inspiration!

Just one of the many classrooms in the cathedral. They have many classrooms that can be used as actual classrooms. They are decorated like many different time periods and countries.

We went into all the ‘rooms’ throughout the 3rd floor that were open to the public. There was the Israel room, Swiss room, Austrian room, Japanese room, and so many more! I couldn’t believe how cool it would be to have class in there!

The view from the Cathedral of Learning

This was on the 36th floor ( I think ) I’m bummed the window was so dirty! It was a great view.

The Cathedral of Learning dedication.

We wanted outside and saw the Heinz Chapel and also the Athletics Walk of Fame, which was cool since my friend coaches Volleyball there.

Got an awesome tour of the Athletics Department!

We had lunch out on a big park area called the Porch and then I got a pretty extensive tour of the Athletics Department, which was incredible! My little NAIA school, which I love, was blown out of the water! It was cool to see how a big east coast school worked.

I’m officially a University of Pittsburgh Panther Fan!

We finished off the tour at the Bookstore where I loaded up on Pitt Gear, since I’m a legit fan now :) This city is pretty awesome, and I’m so glad I was able to head out there for a longer weekend to experience it all! I kept telling my friend that she couldn’t have found a better place to move to, and the people are just amazing as well. I am finishing up my race recap and it should be posted tomorrow, but if you couldn’t tell I love the city, and I LOVED the race!

Go Panthers!

xoxo

My ankle is pretty sore still though, which worries me. This weekend I’m heading to the big P (Pittsburgh to be exact) to tackle the Dick’s Sporting Good Pittsburgh Half Marathon, which will be interesting with a bit of an ankle issue going on. I got this last week and it made everything REAL that I’ll be running again and soon!

It made me so excited for race weekend, even with a bum ankle! Another super exciting piece of my trip is that I get to see my friend Lindsay in Pittsburgh! She recently took a job for the University of Pittsburgh as their assistant volleyball coach and is running the relay with her fellow coaches!! I can’t wait to see her and her new city as well as run the half on Sunday :)

As for the ankle… I have been icing and stretching a lot but still have slight pain in my tendon. I tried to get into my local sports therapy place for some ART but no luck and will have to wait until after my race. I am nervous of the injury but know I don’t have too much time to start rehabbing it now before the race and I have ample time after the race to take care of it and see the doctor. So this weekend will be interesting, and I’ll least I’ll be in a new place with new fun scenery to get me through the miles I’ll be running!

Also – If you haven’t seen the #RunFor Videos, the latest one is another great one! Check them all out here, I’ve been enjoying all the videos so much as the race gets closer and closer! They are all so different and inspiring for many reasons.

xoxo

I love Small Businesses. There’s something special about taking the time to support a business that is working hard to be unique and compete with many bigger stores. I wanted to post a list of my favorite small running businesses, locally and online, and then a few of my favorite small business that have nothing to do with anything besides the fact that I like them :)

Legacy Running Store – Located in Long Beach and Lakewood, CA, offer amazing service, exceptional selection and online shopping! I love stopping by, talking about upcoming races and picking up the latest nuun flavor.

Nuun – To me they aren’t considering small business, but they probably technically are. They offer great sugar free hydration tablets that you add to water. These are great on my stomach when running! I swear by them.

Sparkle Athletics – I seriously love what this company stands for, and their products. Who doesn’t want to be a part of Team Sparkle! It empowers women to sparkle while they are working out or running, making workout out more fun, running more fun, and spectating much more easy at races. Their skirts also have the best fit and are the most flattering too.

Zensah – They have great products and I love their compression socks. They sports bras are one of the only ones I haven’t had issues with when running long distances too!

I also love Violet Love Headbands, Picky Bars, Flying Dog Collars, Activyst and many more that I probably have forgotten about right now! I also was recently informed that OpenSky, Dotbox, Dwolla, Edison Nation, Goodsie, ShopKeep and several other companies are joining forces for the month and awarding a Small Business a breakthrough prize! If you aren’t familiar with OpenSky, it’s kind of like pinterest for shopping, here’s a shot of how the screen looks.

You can follow things you like, and it will show up with small businesses that sell those products. It’s a pretty cool concept and I just recently signed up for free to check it out, but I’m still learning more about it!

Small Business Breakthrough, invites people everywhere to join the movement by taking to social media and telling their friends, family and readers about a favorite local business using the hashtag #sbbreakthru. Just shopping small business for the Month of May is awesome too!

I’m going to be shopping a lot of small businesses this weekend in Pittsburgh, can’t wait!

xoxo

Just a disclaimer, no one paid me for this post, I was just alerted that it was small business month and wanted to share!

I donned my headlamp (first time actually running with one, crazy I know) and my night time vest and off I went… at 1:07 at night! I thankfully only had a short leg to start it off and it was pretty flat. I ran with my friend Sandy, and she really pushed me to run fast. I think this may have been where my ankle started to hurt (not because of running fast but because of overuse and the hills). :/

I ran from 1:07 AM – 1:25 AM.

After being done with this leg, I knew I was more than half way done. A few things I didn’t know about Ragnar is that it’s basically an open course. You have to wait for stop lights, cars, everything. Luckily, there wasn’t much traffic out on my midnight run and my early morning run, which was nice! Made the stop lights much easier. The morning run was when the wheels fell off basically.

We slept as much as we could in the van, but needless to say that wasn’t much when you’re moving back and forth, sending off runners and having lights going on and off. I was really nervous for this run and got all geared up, I knew it would be relatively cold, but my stomach was starting to give me some issues. I started off and immediately knew I had to find a bathroom. Ruh-roh. I finally found a mobile station and took care of business  which helped, but my stomach was a bit angry for a few miles so I took it slow and this is also when my ankle was really hurting. It was a tough leg for me. I knew I had to push through it and just find the exchange and each step was closer to the final leg I had to run. The sunrise was amazing and I tried my hardest, but obviously my pace was slowing down :( I ran from 5:52 AM – 7:17 AM.

This was the LAST leg! I knew I would have to push through it and then I would be able to ice my ankle, eat normal food and cheer on Team Sparkle to the finish line. This was another tough run for me, but I knew it was almost done and I needed to try as hard as I could for my team. It was warm out again, and I ran from 10:55 AM – 11:49 AM.

I tried out KT Tape for the first time on my ankle and it did help a bit! I do now how to wear it for my next race to help when my ankle tries to heal.

It’s not everyday where a unicorn takes you into the finish line! I also pretty much LIVED in my Skins Compression pants after my third leg. I took them off between runs to air them out, but I am SO glad I wore them. I have never worn full on compression pants but wow, what a difference they make, and I’m not just saying that. I have great compression socks and sleeves but this helps with the quads and it band area.

The girls from the team all told me to wear them the night after the race, so I got home, washed them and put them back on to sleep and I felt about 90% back to normal the following day. It was a Team Sparkle Miracle! Smart ladies, I tell ya. I didn’t have any soreness in my quads or calves which I had throughout the race, especially with all the hills we were running. I’m now a firm believer and love how they fit. Thank you Team Sparkle for the Skins Hook up. I’m sure B won’t like my new checkbook draining habit.

I just ran 30 miles and didn’t sleep for 48 hours! The entire team was pretty exhausted at this point, but we knew we were only a few miles away from the finish. We cheered on the rest of the girls and before we knew it, we were nearing the finish line! We had planned a special tribute to the Boston Marathon and those affected by the bombings with Blue and Yellow Skirts and unicorn Team Sparkle visors.

I can’t tell you how amazing it was being with this group of women during this challenging event. There was not a time where I wasn’t inspired by their mile splits, encouraged by their attitude and energized by their spirit. They are all nothing short of incredible and I’m so thankful they were all by my side as we ran throughout the many miles, day and night. I couldn’t have asked for a better team and I truly appreciate all that they did for me. Big thanks to Kelly, Carrie, Elise, Brenna, and Linda for making this weekend so special to me!

Julie ran Ragnar too! It was great seeing her out on the course quite a few times and her husband was actually our driver, he was awesome!

I could barely jump, let’s be honest, my legs were barely working. I don’t know where these girls get their energy! In all honesty, I would definitely train much differently if I am to run a Ragnar ultra again. I was no where near trained for the hills or the heat, which I could change with a few simple adjustments. I felt confident only on two legs of my race. I know that now that I have one under my belt my next time I won’t be so nervous and will know what to expect. This experience reminded me a lot of my first marathon, where I was so nervous I psyched myself out and had a bad experience. I guess I am just a nervous runner and once I know what is going to happen I am much more comfortable with it. I know my ankle is having some issues because of the overuse on hills, which I was not prepared for at all, next time I would for sure train almost exclusively on hills. I would also increase the time on my feet with a few longer runs and more speed work.  I hope to one day be a part of Team Sparkle again soon, so I can redeem myself and my pace for the entire weekend!

Such a fun experience, and a challenge to say the least! I am so thankful I did it along side such a great team. Sparkle was abundant all weekend long, and I’m going to keep spreading the Sparkle, because it just makes things so much happier!

xoxo

The entire Team Sparkle ULTRA girls! I was so blessed to be on such an amazing team this weekend. These girls encouraged and inspired me with every mile they ran! We all ran thinking of Boston this weekend as well. The morning started early, I had to be out in Orange (about 20 minutes away) at 6 am! I woke up at 5, got everything all ready and left at 5:30. This weekend was really going to happen!

Allll of our legs to run ~ 36 in all and 195 miles… we were doing this together! It was insane looking at this each time I ran and knowing I checked another one off the list, and we just kept getting closer to the finish. That was what really drove me to keep going, the girls who had my back and knowing we were checking off the miles closer to the finish line each step of the way.

The Calm Before the storm… Little did I know what was in store for me! I was so nervous at the beginning, I didn’t want to let my team down and wanted to have fun doing the race. Another thing I was terrified of? Getting lost! Which thankfully didn’t happen! I was the red skirt the entire weekend, and let me tell you, running in sparkle makes running that much more fun. Everyone notices you, and remembers you from other parts of the course.

At the start line! Though I wasn’t leg one, we sent off our first runner of the race. There was a lot of excitement and it was really fun being there. It was then when I started thinking like ‘THIS IS REAL LIFE RIGHT HERE!’

Below are the stats from what was my first leg of the race! I couldn’t believe that this was actually happening, our team was starting the epic trek from Huntington Beach to San Diego and now I was officially on board with my first leg ran.  I ran from 10:07 AM – 10:49 AM.

This run for me was a bit difficult but once I found my groove I was okay. I ran with a guy most of the time, from Team Mayhem. He was nice and took my mind off the wind and heat. Running along the trail it was so windy! It was fun running by Angel Stadium and also the Honda Center.

This is what we spent the time doing between legs. Cheering on other runners and getting our girls to the exchange zone. It was a lot of fun and truly what makes ragnar so special. It’s like a giant painful party celebrating running!

Here’s a look at the exchange zone, every runner passes off a slap bracelet.  Let me tell you, that thing was gross by the end of the race!

Our Team Sparkle Van was pretty awesome… our driver rocked and I never even got carsick, which I was also nervous about with all the twists and turns we would be making to follow our runner and get to the next exchange zone.

The second leg of the race for me was tough! It was SO hot out, and I wasn’t prepared to run in the heat like that since I normally run early morning or late night and it’s been cool lately. I ran from 2:09 PM – 3:14 PM. I would say this was probably one of my harder legs of the run. I just felt slow and like every step the sun was zapping my energy. There was also a lot of dirt running which I wasn’t used to since I never run on dirt. If Team Sparkle lets me be on their team again I will prepare for that and many, many more hills!

Then it was quickly time for my 3rd leg. This leg was a good one for me I ran from 8:39 PM – 9:43 PM and though my pace seems overall like it was slow, I actually ran 2 lower 8 minute miles in this leg and I felt like I got my stride in this run. This was the first run I’ve EVER done with a headlamp… Shocking! Even though I was nervous of getting lost, I left out my headphones and felt good! I never was scared of not being with others and stuck with a larger pack for the remainder of the run. There was one steep dirt hill that I chugged up but there was also some downhill as well toward the end. I wish all my legs on the route I felt like this!

Afterwords I got to eat half a Carls Jr. Chicken Club Sandwich, and it was delish! My stomach was still doing great, another shocker, and I was feeling awesome about being halfway done with my legs ran thus far. The girls in the van were super encouraging to me too, always telling me how awesome I was doing, not to worry and making me laugh. Such an amazing group!!

Tomorrow I’ll recap the rest of the race including the finish!

xoxo

If you’re unfamiliar with Ragnar, it’s a relay that starts in one city and ends in another. My Teammates and I, Team Sparkle, are running from Huntington Beach to San Diego. Most teams have a team of 12, and because we are doing the ‘Ultra’ Relay, we are a team of six. You ride around in a van without really stopping or sleeping? Yea, sounds pretty crazy to me right now too.

Here are my leg assignments (and I’m the RED skirt, in case you’re also running!!):
Leg 4 – 4.7 miles – moderate rating
Leg 10 – 5.7 miles – hard rating
Leg 16 – 6.7 miles – very hard rating
Leg 22 – 2.2 miles – easy rating
Leg 28 – 6.6 miles – easy rating
Leg 34 – 4.1 miles – moderate rating

I printed out the schedule that was made for our Team, but I still have a pit in my stomach about what is actually taking place. I don’t get how this all ‘happens’. I’m also scared about letting my team down, my IT Band holding up, and getting lost. Over the past few weeks I’ve been really consistent with my training, which I hope allows me to run well this weekend, though this past week I’ve had little small things pop up in the back of my head. Is my shin hurting? What is going on with my knee? Is that a new pain in my foot? It might just be taper brain, but after last year I don’t want to do anything to hurt myself!

I’ve have had a great time training for the race, it’s really given me my running zest back. I’ll probably look back at this post and think about how silly these feelings are, but for now I’m incredibly nervous. I know once we start I’ll be doing better, and I am reminding myself that it’s doable and that people have done this all over the country, but I can’t knock my nerves. Every run this week I’ve thought about the relay and played over all the bad circumstances in my head. This morning I went for my final last run before the race starts tomorrow morning at 8:00 am. I felt good, I ran nice and slow and tried to get rid of some of my nerves.

Don’t fail me now legs!! Tonight I’m packing up my backpack (yes, that’s all you take) with a bunch of socks, a few sports bras and a sweatshirt. Minimalist is key here I feel like.

I just hope everyone is safe, no one gets lost and that my IT Band holds up. I know it will be a lot of fun being  a part of Team Sparkle, but 99% of the time, running is an individual sport, and this is the slim time when it’s actually a team sport. Knowing that these other amazing ladies are depending on ME is pretty intimidating.

You can follow the entire team along the route by following us on twitter! @brenbot, @thisiscarrie, @chicrunner, @cupcakeactivist & @according2kelly or by searching the hashtag #TeamSparkle. I’m sure there will be tons of pictures, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it once we start! It’s getting to the start line that freaks me out!

xoxo

Here’s my race outfit the night before the race! Here’s the link for the Reebok Shirt, and the Nike shorts. They both worked out great and I know they will be getting a ton of wear this summer. I might even wear this same outfit for the Pittsburgh half.

These were just a few photos I took along the race route. It was so green out, I loved the course, and I love the architecture of homes in Charlotte :) The best part? It wasn’t too hot out during the race! It took me a while to warm up when we started but after mile 1 I was feeling good. The first part of the race was a little congested and we weaved in and out a bit but once we found our pace we were off! It usually takes me a bit to get started but then I pick up the pace once I start getting in the groove! The race started at the South Park mall and just ran through the surrounding neighborhoods and areas. It was all on pavement and was the perfect mix of scenery for me, especially being from another part of the country. There were 3 water stations but I wasn’t feeling parched at all. Oh but the worst part? The HILLS! Man, they were relentless! There were quite a few but there was also some downhill which was nice. The worst one was in the last mile, but we knew we were close so we tried to push up it as fast as we could. Here’s a pic of Nina and I after the race, us running towards the finish line, Nina’s Husband and I, and a screen shot of the course and running recap.

B watched their dog Wrigley throughout the race and stayed with Nina, which I thought was very nice :) Here’s a photos of us after the race, and us running towards the finish line again and a photo of all of us. Since we registered late, we only got cotton race shirts but it was fine with me! I had seen signs around the neighborhood on my run earlier in the week and thought it would be fun to add North Carolina to the states I’ve run in… but I told B, when we move there it won’t be as cool but until then it will be fun to say ;)

And here’s what we ran with the splits, which I am pretty stoked on, especially quickly approaching Ragnar this weekend! I know we started off slow, but I was really happy with these splits and the fact that we got faster with each mile!

Mile 1 was a lot of weaving in and out of people, Miles 2-4 were pretty consistent, and just a few hills thrown in here and there, including the downhills. By Mile 5, I was feeling great! I was really trying to push the pace, and there was a huge hill this mile as well. Once we hit Mile 6, I knew we had to push to finish and that’s exactly what we did. Overall, it was so much fun and I’m so glad I decided to run even if it was last minute. I also was introduced by Nina’s Husband to the Run Keeper App and I might be sold on it over my old tracking app. It keeps better track of your splits and I like the emails they’ve sent so far, they are informative and funny.

I hope to run another race in Charlotte sometime soon!

xoxo

I can tell you, every time I cross a finish line, there is a sense of pride. Whether it’s a new personal best, a race I never though I’d run, something I ran with a friend, from a 5K to a Marathon, it doesn’t matter the distance, there’s always a sense of accomplishment. It’s always exciting and undoubtedly the best part of any running event.

I thought a lot about my past job. The most special thing to me about that job was the finish line. It’s this cumulative effort for the race directors and the runners. I would always find time, no matter what race we were at to watch the finish line, and usually it would fire me up to sign up for my next race.

When a participant crosses the finish line, you can see their raw emotion and feeling pouring out as they cross the finish line. You see the signs of the spectators, cheering their loved one on, you see your hard work coming to fruition. Participants see their hard work paying off. Volunteers placing medals on necks, the clock continuing to run as more and more people cross the line. Hands over their heads, big grins, and such a sense of pride. It was my favorite part event, just standing there watching strangers cross the finish line. You plan for runners cramping, fainting, injuries like pulled hamstrings, or scraped knees, but nothing like this. Nothing where someone would blatantly attack something so innocent.

I cannot put into words my sadness of this event, and how they tried to take away the euphoric feeling from so many people, and took the lives of innocent people.

I’ve seen so many runners come together, and I know the running community is amazing. I see it through the comments on my blog, the races I’ve run, and the volunteers and community who stand beside each other, and I feel like event is no different. I know it will bring runners together even more, in sadness and in celebrating a sport we will always love.

My heart breaks for those who had to experience this. So this morning when I ran, I ran for Boston. I will continue to run with them on my mind and my heart.

xoxo