Bye bye 2017

I started 2017 with crazy ambitions. Here are some of them.

I wanted to run 1000 miles; I ended with 1375 miles. Woohoo!

I wanted to publish a 1st author paper, graduate, and get a job; I nailed it. LOL

 I wanted to stretch 3x a week and even cross train; Yeah, that didn’t happen. Oops. LOL

I wanted to beat a personal record in at least one distance; I PRed in 3 distances – the 5k, half, and full. Woot woot!

I wanted to do another 100 happy day project; Super failed. I blame depression.

There were several more, but those were the ones I really wanted to achieve. Even though I didn’t succeed at all of them, I gave most of them my best shot. I probably could have tried to stretch a bit more, but I was just lazy.

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2017 was a rollercoaster of a year for me. There were a lot of ups and downs and honestly, I’m super surprised I survived through it all. Let’s recap the more memorable events – highs and lows, shall we?

In January, I placed 3rd in my age group in The Great Chocolate Race 10 miler in Long Beach.

In February, I joined BibRave and was introduced to some amazing runners and incredible opportunities.

In March, I beat my personal record in the half marathon distance at the San Diego Half marathon.

In April,  I beat another personal record in the 5k distance by a whopping minute and a half at the Carlsbad 5000 and I also conquered the La Jolla Half Marathon again after swearing to never do it again. 🙂

In June, I ran my 15th half marathon at the San Diego Rock N Roll Half Marathon.

In July, I began experiencing the craziest stress I’ve ever endured while writing my dissertation.

In August, I ran the SeaWheeze Half Marathon in Vancouver, my first half marathon in another country, defended my thesis, received my Ph.D in biology, and got my first job offer outside of academia.

In September, I started my new job.

In October, I ran my 2nd full marathon at the Chicago marathon and completed 1000 miles for the year. Highlight of the year. Shortly thereafter, my long distance relationship ended.

In November, I crossed off a bucket list race by running the Las Vegas strip at night at Las Vegas’ Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I also suffered an extreme bout of low motivation and depression.

In December, the depression got very real.

So the year didn’t end on a high note, but writing this recap has helped me remember that I did accomplish a lot this year and that it shouldn’t be overshadowed by the last few months. Here’s to hopefully a better 2018!

Question for you: How was your 2017? Are you ready to start 2018? Have a happy new year everyone!

 

 

Athlinks – A Platform to Track All Your Races

Disclaimer: I am promoting Athlinks as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

I’ve had an Athlinks account for at least a year now. I don’t remember how I came across it, but for someone who’s run a lot of races, I have definitely come to appreciate it. Here’s why.

What is it? It is essentially a website that allows you to keep track of all of your races. So if you’re like me, who LOVES to keep track of all the races I’ve run, this is the site for you.

Do I have to import all of my race results? Nope. That’s probably the best part of this site. After you run a race, you can simply just log into Athlinks and claim your results. The result may not immediately be available to claim after the race, but give it a few days and then you’ll be able to claim them. Claiming them adds them to your race resume. 🙂 Speaking of race results, Athlinks will have more than 5 million results live on race day. Tracking all of the races on one site/app. How awesome is that? 🙂

What are some of its features? Like all resumes, the highlights are up front. 🙂 For a race resume, that includes your personal records/bests. At the top of your profile page, your best times for each distance are listed. Below are the rest of your races. You no longer have to look back on the race website to find out what your time was 3 years ago. All of your times can be found on Athlinks. Hooray!

In addition to being able to claim your previous races, you can also look up the races you’re going to run and “Join the Start List.” By doing so, you are letting others know that you’re running the race and if you feel like it, you can also list your time goal. What is also really cool about this feature is that it’ll take all of your previous races for that distance and predict what your time will be. 🙂 If your race isn’t up there, you can also create an event for it. 🙂

There’s also rivals. 🙂 Who doesn’t love a healthy competition, right? I basically thrive off it. LOL JK. Only not really. I admit that I tend to get carried away and the trash talking ends up biting me in the butt later. I can’t back up my trash talk sometimes. LOL. Oh well. I’ve learned. Sort of. Okay, not really, but I digress.

Athlinks will recommend rivals for you. Rivals are people you follow who run the same races as you. They’ll keep a tally as to how many wins you have against that person and how many losses. Right now, I have two wins and two losses. Boo. I need more friends to compete against. 🙂

With that said, what are you waiting for? Follow me here and I’ll follow you back. It’s completely free. Seriously though. Please? 🙂 I want more friends and maybe some more rivals. 🙂 Also, if you sign up now and claim a result between now and Jan 8th, you’ll be entered to win a free race entry to one of their race partners. You can find out more here. 🙂 

Weav Wednesday – A mobile app review

Disclaimer: The Weav Run app is currently free but I will be receiving a lifetime subscription in January 2018 as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro(ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

If you are looking for another way to mix up your runs, you should take a look into the Weav Run app.

What is it? The Weav Run app is a mobile (currently only for iOS) app that adjusts the music you’re listening to in order to match your cadence/running speed. 

What does that mean? Well, in short, when you run faster, the music will also get faster and when you slow down, the music also slows down.

How does that benefit me? If you’re looking to improve your mile time, beat a personal record, or just listen to more upbeat music when you run, this is probably the app for you. I don’t know about you, but when I run to music, I will dance along to it. If it’s a super motivating song, you will definitely see me run faster. Music is such a motivator for me so if the music is upbeat, you know I will be too.

I’ve been using this app since Thanksgiving and I really enjoy it. It’s super useful during my interval training runs. 🙂

What if the music sounds weird at the pace I’m running at? The Weav Run founders have mixed the music so that even though the pace is a bit faster, the singers will not sound like chipmunks. Hooray! The transition is fairly smooth. If you are a bit concerned about the pacing, you can also set your cadence and have the music set at a specific beats per minute. That’s what I do. At each interval, I will increase the cadence a bit more and it’s really helped with my training.

What type of music does the app have? That’s a great question. They currently have 25 songs including “Believer” by Imagine Dragons, “Basically Over You” by Alex Newell, “Ms Jackson” by OutKast, and “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC. They’re working on expanding their playlist so don’t worry about it being limited. 🙂 As a BibRave Pro, I was able to beta test some of their new features and even listen to their expanded playlist and trust me, they’re awesome.

If you questions regarding the app, please feel free to ask me or read any of the reviews written by other BibRave Pros.

Meridith – Lindsey – Brenda – Chris – Vanessa – Fallon – Emily – Laura – Stephanie

Question for you: How do you mix your runs up? Do you run intervals? With music? 

Marathon Mondays – 3 weeks and counting

Yep, that’s right. Today, there are 20 days left until I embark on my 3rd marathon and this will be no ordinary accomplishment. This accomplishment will be absolutely DOPEY. And that’s because I will have run a 5k, a 10k, and a half marathon the three days before the full marathon. Am I crazy? Yep. Am I nervous? Hell yeah. No sane person would not be scared. 🙂

This last week’s “training” was more or less okay. I haven’t been following a plan, which was probably not the best idea, but with motivation being up and down lately, it was too much pressure to adhere to a plan. So I’ve been winging it.

Monday was a wash. I had a meeting after work and didn’t get to my usual run group in time so I settled for a 1 miler to keep the run streak alive.

I made Tuesday’s interval run though. Unfortunately, I started out too fast and couldn’t hold my pace towards the last interval so I called it at 4.73 miles. At least I got the miles in.

On Wednesday, I made it out to Fleet Feet San Diego again and managed to finish a 6 mile run. It was crazy cold for San Diego and my face felt super raw after the run, but the run was good.

Thursday and Fridays were pretty much wasted. I haven’t been able to motivate myself to run when I’m not with a group so I did a short 2 and 1 miler, respectively and called it.

Saturday was my last long run of this short marathon training season. I met up with Movin’ Shoes and ran a 14.5 mile with another girl who was training for a full the weekend after Dopey. She and I chatted almost the entire time so the pace was good, but as we wrapped up, my knees ached. Ack.

Sunday was interesting. November Project partnered up with Team Hoyt for their Inclusion Community Challenge event. At the event, we participated in events designed to show us what it’s like to compete as a challenged athlete. I had to crawl on my knees and elbows to move a little football around a course. I pushed a Team-Hoyt-Running chair down and up a hill. I was blindfolded and told to find a ball that I had thrown. All the challenges were difficult and the experience gave me a new found admiration for challenged athletes. They’re amazing. Since I didn’t think the event counted as a 1 mile run, I made to run another 1.5 miles later on the day and called it a week.

I finished last week with about 31 miles and this week kick starts tapering. Wheee.

So how are your holidays coming along? Are you getting some runs in? 

The Winter Woes and Overcoming Them

Disclaimer: I received a pair of Aftershokz Trekz Titanium to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own. 

If you are just tuning in to my blog, well…I have to apologize that you haven’t come at an opportune time. Things are still pretty rough for me. My mind wanders and for some reason, it has a tendency to gravitate towards negative thoughts. And with the holidays in full swing, it’s gotten a lot harder for me to be optimistic.

I try though. For the past month or so, I’ve been listening to podcasts almost every chance I get – when I run or when I’m driving. It keeps my mind occupied so negative thoughts don’t creep in. Listening to music has been harder with all the love songs out there. It’s rare that I can find a song that won’t make me cry. Boo.

So for now, podcasts it is. In a way, it’s a blessing. I’ve always been a creature of comfort. Even as I’m typing this, I’m in bed underneath my weighted blanket. I like the routine…almost a little too much. By forcing myself to listen to podcasts, I’m realizing that there are things worth learning. Here’s my list of the podcasts I’ve been listening to and if you have time, try listening to one. You might like it 🙂

The BibRave Podcast – a show about all things running (I recommend the Leadville 100 episode if you ever need a reason to motivate yourself to run)

NPR’s Hidden Brain – focuses on different topics in human psychology (for those thought provoking moments)

NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me –  a game show format on the week’s current events (for laughter)

NPR’s How I Built This – Interviews with entrepreneurs and their journey (I recommend the Spanx or Reddit episode)

Stuff You Should Know – super random topics, but there are a wide range of ones to choose from

Hooray for distractions!

Anyway, a huge thanks to the Aftershokz crew for making these distractions possible. Running while listening to podcasts and also being able to listen for nearby cars or bicyclists have made my runs a lot safer. Also, a thank you for making a pair of reliable and comfortable wireless headphones that don’t stick in my ear and make my ears sore. I’ve been wearing these so often that I sometimes believe they’re an extension of me. LOL. Really though. I’ve had them on and forgotten that they’re on my ears.

For a more thorough review of the headphones, I’ve reviewed a pair of the Trekz Titanium Minis here. This time, I received a pair of the regular Trekz Titaniums and they’re in green and I just love them. I thought they’d move around a bit more when I run since they’re a bit bigger, but turns out, both sizes work on my head. Whoo.

To read more about what other BibRave Pros had to say: Ryan – Sara – Jenna – Meridith

Soooo what podcasts have you listened to? Any one that I should be aware of? I’m always on the lookout for new interesting ones. No sad ones please. The world is kind of too chaotic for that right now. Recommendations extremely welcome. Please and thank you!

Marathon Mondays – Dopey Challenge edition

Since I’m less than 4 weeks away from the Dopey Challenge, I figured I should update everyone on my training or lack thereof. Heh. I’m screwed. Maybe.

During the last two weeks, I’ve bumped up my training a bit. It is nowhere as high in mileage or intensity, but it’s been better. Let’s recap the past two weeks, shall we?

November 26th – December 2nd

Since starting the Runner’s World Run Streak, I’ve been a bit more consistent with running. Also, the fear of not finishing the Dopey Challenge was getting bigger and bigger and I ultimately got my butt out of the house to run. I did a 5 miler on Monday, 3 milers Tuesday through Friday, a 15 miler on Saturday, and a 1 miler on Sunday giving me a grand total of 33 miles. The 15 miler was the longest run I’ve done since Chicago, which is a bit worrisome. I probably could have shot for 16 miles, but I fell at mile 14 and my left leg cramped up so badly that I had to stop to stretch for a few minutes before beginning to hobble my way back to my car. I was sore as hell on Sunday and only managed a 1 miler to keep the streak alive.

December 3rd – December 10th

I decided this past week that I was going to try and run longer miles and to motivate myself to do that, I ran with more running groups. I did my usual Monday night run with Movin’ Shoes, but only managed 5 miles because I got there late. On Tuesday, I decided to try an interval run with Movin’ Shoes, which ended up being a great 5 mile work out.

10 min warm up followed by a 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, min interval with 2 min rest in between. Intervals suck, but after finishing them, I felt great that I pushed myself to get after it.

On Wednesday, I found a new running shoe store to run with – Fleet Feet San Diego. They had a nice 3.5 to 6 mile route for runners so I chose the 3.5 mile route. My friend’s knees weren’t feeling that great so we opted for the 3.5 miler. Thursday and Friday were a wash – 1 milers to keep the streak alive and nothing more. Saturday consisted of a 10 miler and on Sunday, the pain came.

Movin’ Shoes was having their 40th anniversary and celebrated by holding a Mt. Soledad 10k challenge. If you aren’t familiar with this challenge, it’s a 5k run up a hill (800 ft in elevation) to Mt. Soledad and a 5k run back down it. I’m not sure whether it was the 10 miler from the day before or the crazy amount of unhealthy chips I had eaten the days before, but my body was just not having it. My calves cramped up and I ended up having to walk a portion of the trek up. The run back down the hill was fine, but my ego was hurt from struggling so hard up the hill. Despite my struggle yesterday, I still managed to log in about 32 miles for the week. 🙂

I will be attempting another 31+ mile week and possibly another 15 or 16 mile long run, but we’ll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

So do you think I’m screwed? Undertrained? Eek! Any tips on surviving back to back races? 

October and November Endings

November has gone and now it’s December. Wow. And since I didn’t write an October re-cap, this post will combine both of them.

Highlights in October 

Running my second marathon in the Windy City

Followed by my 18th half marathon at Rock N Roll Los Angeles two weeks later

My first author paper on chromatin assembly was published into the Journal of Biological Chemistry

Lowlights in October

My three year long distance relationship ended

October started off as a really strong month for me. My paper was published. I ran my second marathon, PRed by 25 minutes, and decided that I would really try and get into this whole marathoning business. Then, still suffering from the post-marathon blues, my SO broke up with me and my world kind of just stopped. Things were still happening around me and I tried to take part, but it was hard. Ever pretend that things are okay, but it actually isn’t? Yep. That was me.

Highlights in November

I bought a weighted blanket

Discovered NPR podcasts: Hidden Brain, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and How I Built This

Ran my 19th half marathon and crossed it off my bucket list

Discovered AirBnB experiences

Begun to kick the post-marathon blues

Lowlights in November

Seasonal sadness

November was slightly better. I didn’t have as many highs in November, but I also didn’t suffer from incredible lows either. I bought myself a weighted blanket. (They are awesome and I highly recommend them). Ran my 19th half marathon. Listened to podcasts and learned really interesting things. Met a cool Harris hawk through AirBnB experiences, and resumed running (just in time for the Dopey Challenge).

It’s still a challenge, but I’m still trying and I think that’s all I can ask of myself right now. 🙂

Burst Cherry Tomato Linguine with Shrimp from Run Fast. Eat Slow.

How was your November? Tell me something happy that happened to you. 🙂 

Running out in the Sun – BOCO 360 visor edition

Disclaimer: I received a free BOCO 360° Visor® to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

If you run during the day, you need three things – a hat/visor, sunglasses, and SUNSCREEN! When I first started out as a runner, I was terrible about those things. I would just go out sans sunscreen (I know I know I’m basically asking for skin cancer) and just run for an hour. Now, I know better. Also, I’m getting a little older and turning the big 3-O next year and have to actually start taking better care of my skin. Boo.

Prior to the BOCO visor, I had been wearing an old visor from my Triple Crown Challenge days (2015) and it had been kind of falling apart. It was fraying at the top and every wash to get rid of the sweat and smell would just make it more worn down. The visor was study, but maybe a bit too sturdy. It’d look deformed after some time. Maybe it wasn’t machine washable? Oops.

Enter the BOCO 360° Visor. This visor is awesome. It’s super soft so it won’t rub against your forehead. It has a lightweight wicking material at the sweatband that prevents sweat from come pouring down my face. This is such a plus for me. Mid-race, my eyes usually burn from all the sweat. IT’S NOT PRETTY. And honestly, everything about this visor is really soft. I love the material and even though it’s soft, after several washes, it still retains it’s shape. Seriously. It’s amazing. I’ve worn it on a LOT of my outside day runs and it saves my eyes from squinting since it shades my face from the sun. It’s also made of really breathable material so it shouldn’t cause anyone to break out in the forehead region. 🙂 Unfortunately, there’s not much more that I can say about a visor except that it’s really useful and super soft. LOL. I know. I said that already, but it really is. 😛 They also make custom trucker hats and visors too! Ah, now I want another one -_-.

So I guess I’ll just leave you with photos of me wearing it. 🙂

 

This visor kept the sun out of my face for 26.2 miles

Stay safe from sun damage!

If you have any questions about how awesome this visor is, let me know! 🙂 If you don’t trust me, trust the other BibRavePros. We all had 3 months to wear this visor and the reviews are positive.

Amy – Meridith – Jeannine – Lindsey – Angie – Vanessa – Jessica – Frank – Fallon – Gina – Dane – Shannon

So what do you wear to keep the sun out of your eyes? A hat? Visor? Sunglasses?