Upcoming Races - Two 5Ks

I have two very short races coming up in the next couple of weeks! I just signed up for the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co's "Run Forrest Run" 5K Fun Run and Walk at California's Great America on Sept 14th and also the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure on Sept 21st in San Francisco. They are both 5k races and I plan to walk the Bubba Gump 5k. I'm walking with bunch of friends and we're planning to hang out at Great America since the entrance fee is included with the registration fee. It's been about 10 year since I was last at Great America and looking forward to riding rollercoasters and other rides! As for the Race for the Cure, I'm running the race with an official chip for the 5k. I've joined my friend's team "Boobies-r-US" to raise some funds. For those of you in the Bay Area, if you're interested in running this 5k feel free to join our team! It's a great cause to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and research. I've run the 5k a few years back and really had a great time. They also give away really good swag for participating. If the 5k is too short for you, feel free to donate! :-)

A Belated SF Marathon Recap

It's now been about 3 weeks since the SF Marathon and I realized I never got a chance to write my race report. (I do have a great excuse! I got married and went on a honeymoon!) And to tell you the truth, I can't remember all the details of the 26.2 course or my feelings through the 4 hour race. What I do remember is this:

- It was a painful 4 hours and 9 minutes. My knees hurt like a mofo around mile 23. Due to the knee aches, I did slow down quite a bit in my last 3 miles or so.

- I really don't like running through the Potero and Dog Patch area. And no groups passed out bananas or oranges!

- The race seems lonelier than usual... and not as many spectators cheering the runners during the race. A noticeable lack of crowds especially around the Baker Beach hill area. Although, the Sports Basement cheering squad was larger than usual! I love their costumes. It made me smile right up until we hit that humongous hill to Golden Gate Bridge.

- It wasn't as cold as previous SF Marathons that I've participated. The weather was perfect, actually.

- I didn't hit "the wall"! But nonetheless, it was painful. But I didn't hit the wall!!

- It was the easiest marathon to date... and fastest recovery. It really does make a difference to follow a training schedule!!!

- Was it me or the looping around Golden Gate Park seemed excessively long and hard??

- As I was getting closer to the finish line, I remember thinking, why the hell do I put myself through this?? (A recurring thought through the race, unfortunately.) And as much as I couldn’t wait for the marathon to be over, I kept thinking, what's next? What's my next marathon??

Overall, it was a fantastic race. 4:09 is my PR to date and I am ecstatic that I was able to shave off 4 minutes from my fastest time. I'm really going to try to lose 10 lbs for my next marathon to shave off 10 minutes. I really want to run a sub 4 hour marathon next time and I feel like it's within my reach. Maybe I'll pick a more flat route, though. Nonetheless, the SFM is a great marathon. I do love running through the Embarcadero and the GGB! And the feeling after the finish line. WOW. I love that feeling. I get so emotional at the start of the race and at the end. I'm surprised I didn't cry this time!

Teaser

Catching up on all my fellow runner's blogs have made me very very jealous. I've been stuck in Indiana this weekend due to work and now here until next Friday. I didn't bring my running gear because I thought I was going home this weekend. I was going to bring my running stuff for next week but that just wasn't meant to be. So reading about other people's running stories is making me jealous. Sometimes, I get this feeling when I'm in the car driving around and I see people running out and about! My husband of 16 days came out to keep me company last minute. Also because it was my birthday yesterday! (I forgot to ask him to bring my running stuff! Although, he did bring some extra work clothes for me...)

Here's a little teaser by photographer sent me... thought I'd share with you. Especially since Aron asked for more. ;-) Hopefully, when I get home I'll have some time to upload my honeymoon photos from Costa Rica, too.

I'm Baaaack!

Hi! I've been married for exactly 14 days now. (Past midnight right now in EST time zone.) The ceremony and reception was perfect. The ceremony was a beautiful blur and the reception was really fun. Thank goodness I have tons of pictures from friends and family who went crazy with their digital cameras. Other brides have told me that the wedding day goes by super fast and I told myself to note each and every moment. But I guess I didn't do a very good job... I do remember waiting to walk down the aisle and next minute we were getting ready to leave the wedding site. But, I loved having all the important people in my life celebrating our union together. Not everything went according to plan but I guess that's what made it charming. The best part is that I am now married to the most wonderful man ever. (Please excuse my hyperbole and opinon! ;-)

Our honeymoon in Costa Rica was amazing. We stayed at the El Siencio Lodge in the central volcanic region and then at the Punta Islita Hotel in the Guanacaste region, off the coast of Pacific Ocean. It was the perfect honeymoon, combining the lush rainforest in the mountains to the hot and balmy coastal resort scene. Did I mention that both of these places are listed on Conde Nast's top 10 hotels to stay in Central and in South America?? I would go back to those two places in a heart beat. Not only were these hotels luxurious and totally unique but I loved that the sister hotels were very eco-tourism oriented, conscience of how much carbon foot print they were all elaving behind. Both places encouraged everyone to recycle and reuse... At El Silencio Lodge, they had a complimentary tree planting ceremony for their guests to plant a tree in their name. D and I fully took advantage of this opportunity and planted a regional avocado tree on their private land... hoping to attract more local birds to the area. I felt really great having something good for the environment while we were on our honeymoon!

Today, also marks my 2 weeks of none running. Yikes. I took my running shoes with me to Costa Rica and both places had places to exercise but I didn't even consider it. Bad Julianne, bad! I do need to get back into running. Not only to shed the extra pounds that I put on during my vacation but also because I have a half marathon coming up in about 7 weeks! I'm in Indiana for a few days for work. Flew into South Bend yesterday due to a work emergency and not happy about leaving D. I literally had to fly out a day after we got back from our honeymoon. How cruel is that? Oh and I also didn't bring any running shoes with me... Planning on flying back home tomorrow afternoon.

Ps. The wedding cake turned out WONDERFUL. It was good as it looked and it was a hit. Even D admitted it was a great choice. Here's a photo of our beautiful and delicious wedding cake. :-)

Tying the Knot

Yes! I'm tying the knot today!! I can't believe this day is finally here. 08.08.08. It's been a crazy week of preparations and last minute stuff since the marathon on Sunday. Even last night I was up until 2am getting place cards finalized. And I had a hard time falling asleep due to excitement and nervousness.

So I have yet to write about my race on Sunday... and not sure if I'll get a chance to. Maybe when I get back from my honeymoon?? :-) I *was* sore until about Wednesday, though. Monday and Tuesday was painful. I had difficulty getting in and out of seats... Bending over to pick up anything was out of the question! But I did go for a short run on Monday and even managed to run about 3 miles on Tuesday. Since then... nada, zip, zero, donut, nil... I've been too preoccupied and had no time for any kind of exercise. :-( I am bummed that I didn't make under 4 hours but maybe I was aiming too high. Still happy with my 4:09 time. I'll just have to run faster next time!

Thank you all for stopping by and wishing me the best. We're off to Costa Rica for our honeymoon for 8 days. I'll write when I get back!

Today's SF Marathon Results

4:09:29

Place Overall: 1557 / 4354
Women: 286 / 1481
FINISH: 4:09:29
Pace: 9:31
7.5 Mi Split: 1:11:34
Half Split: 2:02:18

Woohoo! Personal best for my 4th marathon!!!!
am thrilled that I beat my fastest time by 4 minutes. And that was from 2 years ago. But I am so happy that I went out there and gave it my all. I'll have to write more on it tomorrow. I am wiped out from the run today. After the run, D and I had to go do bunch of wedding errands. I got home about an hour ago since we left the house at 5am this morning.

I think I ate back everything I burned off today, though.

Congrats to Aron and Laura (marathon), T and Leslie (half marathon) and Audrey (5k) for completing their races at the SFM today!

And thank you to all of you who have been reading my blog and for your encouraging words!

1.5 More Days to SFM

This has been one BUSY week. Week long supplier meetings (off site) has made life just really tough for me. Meetings and work dinners meant I had No time to go work out or do my taper runs. Thursday night, I had to beg off dinner with the suppliers so I could squeeze in a short run. If I had gone, I'm sure alcohol and bad food would have been involved. And definitely, NO run. I went for a 4 mile run instead yesterday evening. My only run this week! It was tough getting started but it felt good most of the way. I know I'm supposed to taper but running a total of 4 miles this week is a bit extreme. Well, 1 run is better than none at all, I suppose.

Today was my "work from home" day and I was able to squeeze in a lot of wedding errands. I even went to my final bootcamp day (for this session) and did some light cross training. It felt really good. Tomorrow is my final rest day before the race. I seriously questioned my sanity in running a marathon 5 days before my wedding. Something is seriously wrong with me. Or maybe not...

D picked up my bib packet today for me in San Francisco and there's a new timing chip. Apparently, it's called the "D-Tag", a disposable timing chip band. It looks a lot more tricky than the instruction PDF shows. I just hope it tracks my time correctly. Anyhoo, having the bib and my race shirt got me very excited. And nervous. Very nervous. The adrenaline is kicking in and I am already envisioning the start of the race with thousands of others. D decided to take part in the race after all and signed up for the first half today. I'm bummed that he won't be crossing the finish line with me but there's always the next race!

Wow, 1.5 more days til the run. 7 more days til the wedding!!

Best of luck to Laura and Aron, who are also running the full SF Marathon!! And, I can't forget T who is doing the Half. Hope to see you ladies on the course!! (It's been really great and encouraging to follow their training/running stories for the past few weeks. It's nice to know I'm not alone going through this crazy marathon training!)