Fit Friday: Jawbone Up

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Meg G.

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.

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

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

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Meg G.

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!)

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.

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!

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

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.

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!

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

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

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!

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

Sometimes You Fall Down

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Meg G.

Ok, sometimes I fall down. (And not just on my blogging responsibilities!)

What a week of tumbles for my running/cycling friends! This past Saturday my friend Leslie called me to tell me she’d be missing our group run because her husband had been in a bike accident. While he had to got the ER, he is ok. Then the next day, my good friend Elise took a little spill on her bike coming down a steep hill. Yikes!

And then this morning. On our hills repeats, I joked that I was due for a fall since it been two years since my last one (they seem to come every couple of years, that’s not just me right?). So the girls told me not to jinx myself and we continued our climb. After we had finished the hills, I needed a couple more miles so I headed out solo. It was light out and a nice morning, what’s a few miles anyway? And down I went! Just a few scratches, no big deal but man did I bring it upon myself! There were a couple of women out for their walk who saw me fall and all I could do was laugh when they asked if I was ok. What a dummy am I? Thankfully I was near a bathroom so I could rinse off my bloody knuckles (other than that just a little scratch on my knee). And headed back home.

Thankfully this wasn’t what my hills looked like this morning!

So, have you even taken a spill on a run? Have strangers helped you out?

PS… who’s ready for the SF Marathon? I know I am!

Fun at the Big Sur 5k

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Meg G.

I know, this has been a sorry excuse for a blogging week. But such is life. However, hopefully my race recap will make up for that. As many of you know, I decided to downgrade from the Big Sur Marathon on April 28 to the 5k. And it was a good decision, even though I do want to run the full again one year.

The weekend began after I finished teaching my Women in American History course on Friday and headed down to the expo in Monterey. When I got to the Monterey Conference Center, I quickly picked up the bibs and t-shirts for Leslie and myself. Then I headed over to the San Francisco Marathon booth where I would work the rest of the afternoon with fellow SFM Ambassadors Elise and Chris. As I expected I had a great time hanging out with these two, even though Elise had to take off pretty soon after I arrived. Following the expo, I returned to Santa Cruz where Kevin and I had dinner with Elise and another SFM ambassador, Daniela. Such an SFM weekend!

Sunday morning rolled around and I headed to Leslie’s house. Since Leslie was bringing her German Pointer, Rosie, she had volunteered to drive. Before we knew it, Elise, Leslie, Rosie, and I were in Carmel. We found parking pretty quickly and headed toward the race area. I had a slightly odd plan for the day as my coach wanted me to use this race as an assessment of where I am and also get my long mileage in for the week. This meant a warm up of 2-3 miles, the race (3.1 miles) and a cool down of 3-4 miles. I planned to run two miles, pick up Leslie for her one mile warm up and then start the race. However, Leslie was worried the start would be packed and headed to the start line before I was done with my two miles (she was the smart one). I ran another half mile and then headed to the start. It wasn’t packed but the race ended up starting about 5 minutes early. I barely had stopped from the warm up when I was beginning the race and weaving through all the runners/walkers trying to get closer to the front.

I did not plan this race out well. The coach suggested I aim for my 10k PR pace (7:18-7:20) for the first two miles and then “race” the last 1.1 mile. Well, I started off good. Ok I was a little quick, but I was trying to get away from the pack. But within a few hundred feet (or so) we were climbing. I didn’t even both to check the course elevation – what was I thinking! The first mile was practically all up hill with a 7:26 pace. Hmm… not what I wanted but ok considering that climb. After that we dropped down to sea level on a short downhill and ran on a dirt path. It’s too bad it was foggy because it would have been a stunning view! But I couldn’t appreciate it because I knew we’d have to climb back out of sea level and sure enough, heading into mile 3 that’s just what we did! I finished mile 2 at 7:33 and mile 3 at 7:34. Neither mile was a pace I wanted to run. I probably could have pushed more, especially in that last mile but I didn’t have it mentally. I crossed the finish line at 23:40.

Coming up to the finish

Leslie and I handed off our medals to Elise, who happily traded them for Rosie, and we took off for our cool down. We ran part of it on the course and since we had such a pretty dog with us, everyone wanted to say hello. I ended up running a little over three miles for my cool down and it was time for coffee. Leslie had awesomely come in as the 2nd woman so after picking up our Starbucks we headed over to the awards. I thought I’d check to see how I did and found out I placed 2nd in my age group. We had missed our names being called but were able to pick up our additional medals. (Leslie also placed 1st in her age group!) We hung around for a bit and enjoyed a nice Shock Top from the Beer Tent.

My 2 medals, one for finishing and one for AG placing

Shock Top!

Overall, it was a fun morning and let’s face it, anytime I get to hang out with Elise and Leslie is good times in general. Big Sur always puts on a good event and while the course was harder than I expected, it was still a fun race!

Next up will be the relay at the Capitola Half Marathon (another assessment run and not real race).

Fit Friday: Big Sur Weekend!

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Meg G.

This weekend is Big Sur! This is one of my favorite race organizations & the marathon has a special place in my heart as it was my first marathon! This year I have decided to run the 5k instead but I’m still really excited. I’m also going to be at the expo this afternoon at the SF Marathon booth. Come by and say hi to me and fellow bloggers from PhDStrides and Marathon Living!

And don’t forget, you can save $10 on your SF Marathon registration by using my discount code DSC10AMBMG2013 at checkout!

What are you doing to keep fit this weekend?

laugh.research.write.run

running my way through grad school

Author Archives: Meg G.

Fit Friday: Jawbone Up

Relay Recap

Sometimes You Fall Down

Fun at the Big Sur 5k

Fit Friday: Big Sur Weekend!

Follow “laugh.research.write.run”

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Follow “laugh.research.write.run”