Chapter 2 page 479–TR 179 Big Sur–the start and first picturesque mile

First, I have to give a HUGE thanks to “C” for taking these photos.  She is able to run a half marathon AND take pictures – me . . . I’m doing great if I can just cross the finish line standing up.  So without further delay – the most beautiful race in America!

Marriott hotel (left); Sign pointing to the start “Fisherman’s Wharf” (right)

MOA, “C”, I ready to enter the LAST corral of the race – party in the back!

Big Sur had 6,104 finishers (had heard that 8K-9K had registered).

“C” freezing before the race started (brrrr), The right is the Fisherman’s Wharf main sign – charming!

(left) the official starting line (took us 30 minutes to cross it); (right) the pre-race shoe photo

(left) The starting MC – he was fun, but the choice of music for the starting line was VERY different than I was expecting – it wasn’t rock n’ roll, it wasn’t rap or pop, it was more . . . hmmm, not even sure what genre it was – so we’re going to go with “Old folks” music.   (right) some of the corral K folks  . . .some Team in Training folks were wearing purple tutus – very spirited!

(left) A bridge crossing into a city park – STUNNING!  (right) Course entertainment (go ahead,click on the photo to enlarge it) – they’re like 65 years old . . . they were good, but again, very different music than midwest races!

Big Sur had some new mile markers this year – they were VERY proud of them.  You can click HERE to learn MUCH more about them!!!

I promise – you’ll get posts for the rest of the half marathon + touristy photos, and of course, what would a recap be without a bunch of photos of me screwing around (and there are a BUNCH of those photos – hee hee!). 

Chapter 2 page 478–Big Sur . . . been there, done that!

3 hours 13 minutes and 20 seconds of A-MAZ-ING!!!!!

More race details coming soon! 

Chapter 2 page 477– Thanksgiving Thirteen

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Before things get really hectic, I wanted to take a moment to identify 13 things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving (in no particular order):

1.  My awesome husband

2.  My spirited and fun “doghter” (beagle pup named Pacer)

3.  My warm and safe home

4.  All of my fantastic friends

5.  Being 100% injury free – a true rarity!

6.  Having done 6 half marathons this year.

7.  Exceeding all of my 2011 running goals

8.  The joy of blogging (thanks for following my journey)

9.  Races – going to new places and meeting new people

10.  My family

11.  My job – it’s allows me to do so many wonderfully fun and challenging things and touch the lives of others

12.  Our troops and their families – so grateful for their service!

13.  Beautiful weather – today is forecasted to be the warmest Thanksgiving in history!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

What are you most thankful for?

Chapter 2 page 476 - Blogging AWOL

Without pointing out the obvious, my blogging has been rather . . . well, slacking.  I’m sorry.  I haven’t done much worthy of writing about.  I’m feeling pretty disappointed with my lack training runs and working hard to find a mental balance between not giving into excuses but yet accepting my current reality (busy work schedule, some changes at work, daylight savings time – HATE it getting dark earlier, etc).  So . . . in lieu of actually DOING, I’ve been spending a lot of time THINKING. 

I have spent hours reflecting on my running journey to this point and where I’d like to go in the future.  I’ve spent time thinking about what my priorities should be for 2012.  I’m really getting excited about the direction I see myself going for the upcoming year. 

In the meantime, given my lack of blogging, know that I’m still reading and caring about you.  Here’s what you can expect from this blog for the rest of November . . .

Wednesday & Thursday:  nothing, I’m working 14 hour days

Friday:  a quickie post about a half mary class reunion (I hope to get this post done, I really need to pack ESPECIALLY since I’m flying out on Friday afternoon)

Saturday-Tuesday:  nothing, I’m traveling with “C” and MOA to Monterey, CA for the Big Sur half marathon.  Fingers crossed it goes well and doesn’t hurt as much as I really think it might (rolling hills + 13.1 miles + 3 time zones + WAY TOO LITTLE training = a challenging race I fear).  As a spoiler alert – the Big Sur will be my last half marathon for quite some time (at least until Fall 2012 and possibly until 2013 – and before you ask, NO, I’m not pregnant !!!! More posts to come about 2012 in December – stay tuned).

Next week:  some fun race recap and mini vacay posts + Thanksgiving wishes (anyone else finding it HARD to believe that Thanksgiving is NEXT week??????  Wow – black Friday and Christmas shopping – I don’t even have a list assembled :(

After Big Sur, I have one more exciting race left for the year, the H.U.F.F. – an Ultra Marathon (breaking out the winning Relay Team Victorious Secret . . .see my WOOF post in case you’re like HUH?).  Then . . . the unveiling of “Wells L 2012 edition”   I know, get your popcorn ready – it’s going to be a post for the ages (or slightly less exciting than that – ha!)

What are some of your blogging topics that you go to when you feel as if you have nothing to blog about?  Apparently, as of late, it’s “all the reasons why I’m not blogging –0hhhh soooo lame!”

And very important . . . a 2 parter:  A.) What’s your favorite training distance to run – I mean, if you were going out for a run – what distance is your favorite to “knock out”?  B.)  What’s your favorite racing distance?  I think I like to run a training run of 4 or 5 miles.  I’m not sure what my favorite racing distance is – I think 5K’s are a LOT of fun, but I like the “full experience” that half marathons enable me to have (you know, make friends, travel, costumes, and fun).

Chapter 2 page 475–TR 178 11 miles for 11/11/11

First, let me take a moment to thank all of our past and present servicemen and women for their service to our nation!  God bless you and your families and the work you do!

Second, you may have notice  that for a month now, it’s been pretty quiet over here at this blog.  LAZINESS has set in.  I’m nearing burn out and thinking about 2012’s goals and just haven’t “been in the game” for the past month – hugely regrettable BECAUSE next weekend is my final half for the year, Big Sur.  It’s one of the most beautiful races in America and yet, it’s going to be one of the most painful races since I’ve only run 3 times in the past month (ooohhhhhh how I regret missing ALL of those training runs!!!!). 

Finally, since 1/1/11 (when I was also NOT running because I took January off as a break in the running action), I have planned to run 11 miles on 11/11/11 and so today – NOTHING was going to get in my way!  Today, I was going to run 11 miles!  And today, I did just that – ran 11 miles.  I mapped out a plan so that “L” could join me along the way.  I started off with my jamz on a solo 5K then hooked up with “L” and we ran 4.1 miles (or so) on the same trail as last week’s WOOF race.  We then detoured a little from the trail for a quick potty break and then opted to finish the remaining distance on the paved paths.  We used a 1:1 interval and walked the trail and the last .75 miles back to the car.  It was a beautiful day and I had a blast with “L” (really missed “C” but she’s a scapbooking mamma jamma at a weekend scrappin’ retreat – have fun “C”!).   So, 11.2 miles into the training log – not pretty, and Big Sur will surely feel HARD (I deserve it for taking it soooo EASY this past month – boo!). 

Chapter 2 page 474–TR 177 Can I get a W.O.O.F. W.O.O.F?

With ideal running conditions on a perfect fall day, I was part of an epic experience on Saturday! 

I took part in my first relay trail race called the W.O.O.F.  (Wells Outrageous Ouabache Fifteen). . . and guess what?  Thanks to my 2 teammates (“C” and Kimberly who writes the blog Healthystrides) we got 1st place – our team name was “Victorious Secret” (we had signs on our back with our team name – cute huh . . . and notice our pink outfits . . . oh yeah, planned it!It was a bittersweet finish because Kimberly (our 3rd leg runner) turned on her blazing finishing speed to beat the other all female relay team consisting of 3 awesome ladies from the half marathon class I took this past summer.  They were amazing competitors and I’m thrilled we were able to reunite as friends and runners. 

Team Triple Threat:  Sue (left), Stacey (center), Patty (rightIt was a CLOSE finish and after over 3 hours of racing it came down to less than 10 yards!  Everyone did a great job and I am super excited to have been a part of the event.  Here’s the picture of the “home stretch” seconds after our team took over the lead. 

Sue (running the first leg for her team named ‘Triple Threat”) and I ran the first leg of the race TOGETHER laughing and talking the whole time.  How fun!  I REALLY enjoy Sue, she’s so fun and nice.  After we did our loop (approximately 5.3 miles), we jumped in the car and went to different parts of park where the course route crossed over roads – WHAT FUN!   We hurried to one part, waited, saw the 2nd leggers, cheered for them, then jumped into the car and drove to the next section where we could cheer for them . . . and repeated this process about 6 times along the route.  We cheered and took some photos.  Here are some of the best ones:

2nd leggers (approximately 5.45 miles):  Stacey in blue (Team Triple Threat) and “C” in pink (Team Victorious Secret) – there is a hay obstacle at about mile 4.3 (you can go over several bales or run further to go over one bale or run even further out of the way to avoid it all together):

3rd leggers (approximately 5.45 miles) and by far the fastest most awesome running women I know:  Patty in blue (Team Triple Threat) and Kimberly in pink (Team Victorious Secret)

Here are some other photos from the day that you might enjoy -

Above:  Me screwing around pre-race (shocker) showing off my pink and purple sparkly nails AND the awesome Active Band I recently won from Gourmet Runner (Do you read her blog?  YOU SHOULD –It’s one of my FAVS!)

Bottom:  Post race team photos . . . awesome fun girls!

Above:  A group photo - you’ll notice on the far left is Jenn who writes Running 4 My Life and was also in our half marathon class.  Jenn was A-MAZ-ING in this race.  She ran the single loop race and placed 3rd overall and first in her age group.  Cognrats Jenn.   Not pictured, but also in this race was Diane, another half mary classmate.

Below:  Check out Kimberly’s smallest cheerleader’s shirt – SO CUTE!  And on the right is the huge stuffed buffalo which is the race’s mascot.

Above:  A nice fire burning to keep everyone warm during the post race awards and food (veggie soup and a bison burger).  Mac, the race director and my running mentor is on the right – taking a well deserved post-race rest.

Below:  My other running partner “L” and her granddaughter stopped by after the race to say hello.  Thanks “L” and “A” for coming by – it was a beautiful day!