My San Francisco Week

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This is the first post of three to recap what was an amazing week spent in my favorite city and place – San Francisco! It began with me joining the hubs on a work trip and ending with running one of the best races in the world (that’s not hyperbole), The San Francisco Marathon (well I ran the half but whatevs, still awesome!). Because so much happened this week I am writing one post for my time with the hubs, one post the SFM expo, and a final post on the race itself. Get ready for some awesomeness!

On June 9, Kevin and I headed up to the city because he was attending WWDC (Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference – yeah he’s cool like that). Since hotel and his food was covered by his work and my classes had already taken their finals, we had decided I would come up for the first half of the conference (I had some commitments in the Cruz on Wednesday and Thursday).  We got into the city easy peasy (love when the traffic gods are working in our favor!) and met up with some of his co-workers for dinner at Tropisueno. I had eaten here years ago with Tawny and was stoked to return. I indulged in a tasty mango chile margarita.

margarita

Adventurous Margarita

On Monday, Kevin had to get SUPER early to be able to attend the Keynote. This is where they announce all the super cool new stuff (this year it included new OSX (Mavericks, love the name!), new iOS, and the Mac Pro). And I slept in. What a role reversal! Monday was a running rest day so I was hung out in the hotel room with our awesome view and watched the Keynote streaming live online. After lunch (a super yummy veggie burger from Super Duper Burgers), I indulged in some serious shopping: Anthropologie, Nordstrom, Lululemon, and lots of window shopping too. I had been saving up a little shopping money just for this and I didn’t do any crazy damage (half of what I purchased was on sale: score!).

View from our hotel room

View from our hotel room

Tuesday it was time to return to running. I had 800s on my schedule but I wasn’t near a track, so I decided to run around AT&T park. Running the loop around the park was almost perfect for one set of 800m followed by the 400m recovery. Unfortunately, the nice distance did not result in a good workout. All my 800s were about 10 seconds slower than I had wanted them to be – boo! Oh well. After my lackluster workout, I had brunch at The Grove (where they serve Santa Cruz Coffee, Verve!). I spent the afternoon at the California Historical Society and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. I ended all the fun with some ice cream in the park, yum!

Brunch at The Grove, yum!

Brunch at The Grove, yum!

Ice cream in the park

Ice cream in the park

Both nights Kevin and I met up for dinner with his co-worker Mike. Monday we had some casual food from Jasper’s Corner Tap and Tuesday we had Indian food from Amber. I love eating in SF! We were lucky too because everything was in walking distance. The night I left Kevin also enjoyed beer at 21st Amendment Brewery, sad I missed out on this one!

Wednesday morning I took a running tour of the bay. I started at the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero. I ran Pier 39 at the Fisherman’s Wharf. I love running it early in the morning. Seeing it empty is my favorite way to see the classic tourist attraction. I stopped to photograph a few sea lions and enjoy the view of Alcatraz. While Tuesday morning had been grey, Wednesday was perfectly clear. What a great day for a tourist run! Then I headed toward Fort Mason, stopping to grab some nice shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. I miscalculated the distance of the Wharf when I added on for my turn around, this meant that I finished my 8 miles before I made it back to the hotel. So I enjoyed a nice cool down walk up Market Street – no complaints here! That afternoon I headed back to Santa Cruz… only to return Friday for the SFM expo!

Some photos from my Wednesday morning run:

Empty Wharf - so peaceful

Empty Wharf – so peaceful

The Rock

The Rock

Sea Lions

Sea Lions

skyline

Clear Day!

Clear Day!

sail boats and GGB

What are you favorite things to do when visiting SF? Do you run on vacation?

Fit Fridays: Rest Days

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Happy Friday! This week has been a doozy  for me. My classes I teach are wrapping up and my work outs that were supposed to be easier have been tough! I had a short tempo run Tuesday followed by my favorite gym class, Body Pump. Lately, I have been following speed days with hill days. And this week was no exception. On Wednesday my billy goat friend, Jenn B., took me up a 1.5 mile hill climb at Wilder Ranch. Needless to say, my legs were tired Wednesday night. And that leads me to my topic for today: Rest Days.

I definitely was looking forward to my rest day, Thursday, this week. Rest days used to play an important role in my early running years. But over the past year they lost their priority. I took days off running but cycled or did another work out on those days. For the first two and half months of 2013, I didn’t even take a running rest day. And how did that work out for me? Not well! So now I value those rest days.

rest-day-big-deal-1

I usually take one full rest day a week. No running. No weights. No bike. No gym. I usually have a second day where I don’t run but might do another type of workout. I can feel the difference. I also try not to run more than 3 days in a row (if possible). I feel more rested and stronger when I come back to running. And while I can dread a rest day because I feel lazy and hyper aware of poor eating habits on those days, I have also come to look forward to them. I know my body needs to ay to recover, to heal its tired muscles so I can come back stronger and become a better runner.

It has been hard though! I see challenges like Running World’s Summer Streak. I really want to participate, but I know that if I want to meet my goals, I need to keep a rest day in my rotation. So, what are your feelings about rest days? Do you take them? Look forward to them? Dread them?

Fit Friday: Jawbone Up

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Well it’s been a little while since I first told you all about my Jawbone Up. You might recall that the hubs got me the Up right before the L.A. Marathon. I wrote about it briefly in a past Fit Friday post.

Screen Shot 2013-03-22 at 7.30.49 AM

Well I’ve had the bracelet for over 2 months now. And I still totally love it! It’s great to reach the 10,000 steps goal after a run, but even better on your rest days to keep you motivated to be moving around. It has also brought to my attention that I’m a poor sleeper. It tracks not just how long you sleep but also deep sleep versus light sleep. While my sleep is still averaging in the 5 hour range, it seems that lately I have been getting more deep sleep.

You can also track your food. I figured that this would be where I would slack off. But mostly, I have been pretty faithful at logging my food. This is partially because the app (available for iPhone and Android) makes it so easy. If the food has a barcode, you can scan it. And while not all foods are in their database, I’m pretty surprised at what they do have. You can also search and add foods/drinks manually. And those manually added foods are saved in your library so you can easily add them when you eat them again… great idea!

Screen Shot of Up iPhone App

Screen Shot of Up iPhone App

I do have a few small gripes. My band is dirty and I can’t seem to find a good way to make it look like new again… any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Also, I have noticed in the last week, the single button the bracelet has seems to not react to my touch as easily as before. I read on the Up website that a reboot my fix this… I haven’t tried it yet but might need to. But other than that, the bracelet has yet to fail me. It’s comfortable and I remember to plug it into my phone regularly – and with rewards of seeing my progress, I actually really like to do so!

Do you track your activities using a system like the Jawbone Up or Fitbit? What are your thoughts?

*Disclaimer: Jawbone Up did not provide me with their bracelet and had no influence on my review.*

Relay Recap

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This weekend I ran my first ever relay race at the Capitola Half Marathon, part of the Surfer’s Path Marathon. I ran the inaugural Capitola Half Marathon last year so I was excited to run the relay this year. While I didn’t really “race” this relay, it was still a great race for me and I met the goals I set for myself. And this ended up being even more fun because seven other members of Santa Cruz Endurance (SCE) also ran in the relay (spoiler: they all did AWESOME!)

capitola half relay sign 2

The day before the race several SCE runners also volunteered at the Girls on the Run 5k in Los Gatos. Leslie and I carpooled and after a Starbucks pit stop and a little walk to our designated volunteer location, we were ready. Ok, not really. There was some serious confusion about the course and we didn’t get it cleared up until a few minutes before the first runners came through. Leslie and I gave out  A LOT of high fives and it was so awesome to see all these girls (and their families) running their first 5ks. They were little troopers for sure! Following that, Leslie and I did some shopping, had some lunch, and headed back to Santa Cruz. I was pretty beat but luckily, my relay partner Hillary worked the expo and was able to pick up our bibs so I didn’t have to… score!

SCE Volunteers with GOTR Coach (& SCE speed demon) Jenn B.

SCE Volunteers with GOTR Coach (& SCE speed demon) Jenn B.

Sunday morning I woke up a little before 6am, battled some small stomach aches, forced myself to eat a little peanut butter, and headed to the second leg of the relay start. I wanted to still have a long run this week and ran that by the coach, so I decided to run/jog to the start line about two and a half miles away. I arrived at the start just before 7am. The race started at 7am, so this gave me plenty of time. I ran into the other SCE 2nd leggers as well as the awesome Michelle (part of the M & M duo) who was racing for Fleet Feet Racing Santa Cruz. I did a little loop with Leslie and Michelle, took some photos with team (thanks Laura!), and before we knew it the first leggers were coming into the transition. The SCE men’s team, mixed team, and other women’s team all powered through. Before I knew it, Hillary’s number was called and I prepped to start my 6.64 mile leg. The race organizers had given us slap bracelets instead of batons and I think Hillary and I had way too much fun with this! Hillary came speeding into the transition, slap bracelet ready, and I had my arm extended, yelling “slap me!” Ha!

Ready to run!

Ready to run!

capitola half relay signs 1

Slap Bracelet!

Slap Bracelet!

The race went well. I really just wanted to see where I was in my training and if I could maintain a 7:30 pace for 6+ miles. I started out a little quick, but the course immediately takes up a decent climb so that sobered my pace. I was surrounded by guys and held my place. I could see a local Santa Cruz runner, Jose, a little ahead of me and decided to keep my eyes on him because I knew his marathon pace would be a good overall pace for me. Around mile 3, I caught up to him and we ran the rest of the race together. It was fun to have him to run next to and help me hold my pace. The course is full of good rollers so having someone to focus on rather than the ups & downs was very nice indeed. My miles were as follows:
Mile 1 – 7:27
Mile 2 – 7:27
Mile 3 – 7:38
Mile 4 – 7:39
Mile 5 – 7:34
Mile 6 – 7:22
Last 0.64 – 4:40

Coming up to the finish with my running buddy, Jose

Coming up to the finish with my running buddy, Jose

Love this photo Elise caught of me coming up to the finish!


I love this course because it’s where I always run. I know it really well and have a good idea of where to be conservative and where to push. The race finishes on the sand but thankfully it’s just a few steps. As soon as my foot hit the sand I could hear and see all my team members at the finish. But the best part was that Kevin surprised me by being at the finish! Love that! The medals were really cool and we got some nice snacks and a frisbee. I saw SCE & SFM ambassador Elise, who did major work volunteering for this event. Seriously, I don’t know if the race could have happened without her. And I also got to see fellow SFM ambassadors Alisyn and Paulette who also did some amazing volunteering (Alisyn also does a ton of work for this event). While waiting for the awards, the SCE women all got some nice chiropractic work and enjoyed the beach.

capitola half relay finish line 1

capitola half relay finish line 2

I checked the results and my team (SCE Chicks) finished with a time of 1:35:58. (I wish I ran that as a real half, ha!) Some Garmin watches read the race at 12.8 miles rather than 13.1 but it’s hard to know. The course is not USATF certified so it is possible it’s a smidge short. Anyway, the official results had the SCE men’s team in first place (mens & overall), the SCE mixed team in first place (mixed team, 3rd overall), the other SCE women’s team (Team Nice) in 2nd (women’s, 5th overall) and Hillary and I finished third (women’s, 8th overall). I am very happy with the results and, more importantly, I had so much fun!! (Results were updated May 21 and I’ve updated this paragraph accordingly.)

Team SCE Chicks!

Team SCE Chicks!

Fleet Feet & SCE Finishers

Fleet Feet & SCE Finishers – Don’t those new SCE singlets look snazzy?

Hillary & I with our fave photographer & volunteer! (Laura & Elise)

Hillary & I with our fave photographer & volunteer! (Laura & Elise)

Post race festivities

Post race festivities

After the race, Leslie and I jogged back to my house for a cool down. Then Kevin, Hillary, Leslie, and I all me up at Greek Festival downtown for some delicious food and cold beers. A perfect way to reward ourselves after a good race!

medal & bib photo

*disclosure: I did volunteering for this race and received a free race entry, but this my honest appraisal of the event.*