Big Race Weekend

Finally time for the big race weekend we set off up the coast to Eureka. Turns out it didn't matter that it was 1pm on a Friday, traffic was awful everywhere. Fun.

Hello, Bridge, it's been awhile

It was a truly beautiful drive. I wish I had taken more pictures but they would've been marred by nasty bug spatter all over a film of pollen dust that coated every window of the Taco. It reminded us of the drive to Tahoe, the drive to the cabin and Ed even mentioned Montana at one point. I loved it; hilly, gold and green. Of course that didn't stop me from completely passing out for a good hour or so of the trip. :)

One little town we passed through with a great welcome sign.

We made it through Eureka and were a bit... disappointed. It wasn't exactly the cutesy, interesting town we were hoping for. The hotel Ed selected, The Eureka Inn, was really beautiful and definitely had that haunted vibe I like so much.

How it looked in 1922

How it looks today

It's actually quite massive but much of it is still in disrepair according to Wikipedia. I truly hope they keep working on it, I love when we can enjoy these old buildings, even as I lose sleep wondering when the blood from the murdered newlyweds will seep through the ceiling from the honeymoon suite (thank Ed for that image).

Saturday we decided to walk around Eureka and explore all the beautiful buildings and just get out for some sunshine. Ed found a fantastic place for lunch, The Nooner Cafe.

Ed tried a local porter

"Chooch chicken" with creole seasoning, goat cheese and feta 

THIS SANDWICH. Possibly one of the best I've ever had. Mediterranean chicken kebab on flat bread  I can't explain what made it so good, but it was juicy and the olive salad, provolone, and 'garlic bubba spread' just made it irresistible.

They sealed the deal for my love when they gave us ginger chews with the check. 

After brunch we just explored the area, poking around in used book stores, walking along the boardwalk. It wasn't much and Ed wasn't impressed at all, but I could see potential. Just needed love and a couple million dollars of development!

I couldn't remember where all the 'sites' were so we just walked and I spotted one of the sites on my list in the distance. I told Ed I felt drawn to it like maybe I was related to someone who lived there or built it, like Eleanor in The Haunting. Joking. But maybe not completely...

The Carson Mansion

The Pink Lady

After all that adventuring I remembered that I didn't have any susnscreen on and the medicine I was taking said 'keep out of direct sunlight' which is ridiculous if you ask me. Is it even possible for me to be more susceptible to sunburning? Ah well, we went back to the room for me to rest and Ed continued exploring looking for grocery stores and maybe happening upon a bar on his way.

Dinner was pretty simple, we ate really early because I was starting to get really nervous about the race. We had a great pizza at this place called Two Doors Down. I was overcome by something and felt compelled to order a chocolate mascarpone cheesecake. I have no idea what happened. I don't usually crave chocolate but it just sounded irresistible. Alas, I ate it before I could take a picture.

Sunset over the bay, as ready as ever for the race!

Driving there took about 45 mins so we ate in the car. I couldn't have my usual breakfast of a carnation breakfast shake so we did bagels instead which went surprisingly well despite the morning sickness I almost always have thanks to my nervous nature. (Not pregnant, just nervous, from high school through to today)

Traffic was just fine, parking was easy. We actually parked down on the riverbed which was pretty cool to walk on afterwards. Those smooth stones felt like a wonderful massage on my achy feet! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Sorry for all the blurry pictures, I'm covered head to toe in sunscreen and I even harassed Ed into lathering up so of course my iPhone camera lens suffers the consequences.

We were there reeeeeeally early. Our race started at 845 and we were there at... 7? I didn't mind that because it gives me time to breathe through my nerves. Ed however...

Noooo, he wasn't pre-gaming. He still has the cap on the bottle here. Boy did he want to, but I think that beer tasted much better at the end. You'll have to ask him.

The Taco is somewhere down there...

There were so many people, so many different types. I tried to find the people that looked like me, assuming by bodyweight/height/running gear that they might be my speed.

Can you see the crush of people in the picture above? It was a real obstacle course in the beginning because people would stop to take pictures right in the middle of the road (I just kept running and prayed this picture wasn't blurry). It was so surreal, it doesn't look like in this picture but running into this forest was like running into nighttime. No sunlight was making it through these trees and I removed my visor for almost all of the course.

There were some really beautiful moments, but Ed commented on how out and backs can be a little boring. I agree, and would add that out and backs are particularly unhelpful in that they can't distract you from a rough run with new stimuli.

How was my performance? Not great. In the end we ended up running with: a couple that was remarkably similar to us, a struggling wife who was on the curvy side, and an able bodied husband playing cheerleader/coach, but mostly with these three middle-aged women, one of whom was doing this scuffling run/walk the whole time (totally cool - except that she kept blocking people from passing which coupled with the fact I couldn't get it together enough to pull away from her, enraged me). It was also very humbling watching the marathoners do their thing... some of them, it was unreal how easy they made it look. Others made it look as extremely challenging as we all know it must be. I did my best to cheer for them when I wasn't struggling myself.

I don't know what happened... I did well in training. I had aches and pains I was prepared for, and then, it all changed up on race day. I had pretty awful problems with my hips and with that medical thing, that required me to walk and take breaks more than I ever did in training. I was extremely disappointed at the time. The hills were really brutal on my hips. The one moment that really felt like it broke my spirit was this moderately steep incline to a bridge that was at the 11 mile mark or so. I kept telling myself I could do it, I've been running 2 miles everyday this week and I could run these last 2 miles in my sleep! But 3/4 of the way up the hill I had to stop from the pain and then I cried like a baby for a moment or two. But I had to cut that out right quick because of COURSE the first photographer on the entire race was right there at the top of that damned bridge. Ridiculous. So I hobbled/jogged through the next mile and then promised myself I would run the last mile. And I did. And while I was proud I could at least make myself do that I was really awash in disappointment crossing the finish line.

It's unfortunate that I didn't enjoy my completion more. I longed for that joy that I felt at the end of the Presidio 10k where I felt proud and accomplished. I felt a bit more broken and punished after this. Still, I don't feel like it's out of my grasp, to have an enjoyable half marathon, I know I can do it. I told Ed I might just try running a half marathon on our training run path just to show myself that I can do it and that just because it went badly on the Avenue of the Giants doesn't mean I'm not able. Does that make sense?

I wanted more closure to this chapter of my training, but maybe that's a lesson in itself. I can't have closure because it's ever evolving and it will be something to keep working on. And I'll learn to enjoy the process and not put so much weight on the one day of performance.

Half-marathon finisher!

We stripped down and changed into dry clothes and packed our sore selves into the truck for the 5 hr drive home. Not pleasant. Ed was a machine and drove the whole way. The breaks we took to get gas or use the bathroom were an exercise in pain tolerance. I told Ed I needed a machine to come lift my legs because of the agony in my hip flexors.

This is that bridge where I had my little breakdown and the photographer happened to be. You can still see marathoners up there making their way through the course.

What makes a rough run and a long ride home all better? A chocolate shake. I wanted a chocolate shake with a passion you wouldn't believe. I have no idea why. During the run I even brought it up, saying it was like, a slightly modified version of how some athletes drink chocolate milk after a workout... right? :)

All in all, it was a really amazing learning experience. I'm proud of myself for doing it. I feel ready and able to do more. I can't say enough how thankful I am for all the support, from Ed to family and friends who have been so generous with their love and words of encouragement. Anyone have suggestions for our next race???  :)

Edit: Someone convince Ed he needs to take me Disneyworld so we can do a run there. And maybe ride a bajillion rides while we're there....

Pre-Race Day Jitters

It's almost time! I can't believe I've trained for and will be completing a half-marathon. If you had asked me what my running future looked like after that Presidio 10k.... it would be bleak. I was super excited to finish but the recovery from that race was agony. Coming to this point has been a huge accomplishment regardless of the outcome of this weekend's race. I owe a huge thanks to Ed for being my biggest cheerleader and coach through this process. He helped me through injury and bad mood and hunger-rage to get to a point where I actually love getting out and running (well, at least when I'm staring down a 2-5 miler). Thank you to my family for sending me love and support this whole time. But my biggest thanks? You guys who like my Nike+ Run links on Facebook and send me cheers through your mere click or comment. It has made such a huge difference in my training (special thanks to Jeanne for introducing me to it!). Unfortunately, I won't be able to use my headphones during the race so I won't be able to post and get your cheers on race day.

Sappy stuff aside... I am nervous! I know there's nothing I can do now except self-soothe and make sure the dialogue in my head is as positive as possible. My knee has been enjoying these short runs so I'm thinking it'll stay happy for Sunday. Unfortunately, I did have a bit of a health problem yesterday that warranted a visit to the doctor. There's a small chance it could cause some insurmountable problems in regards to finishing the race (or running at all - worst case scenario). I'm hoping a positive attitude and this medicine and all of your happy thoughts will keep me functioning in peak condition. Another thing that is nagging at me is the no-headphones thing. I totally understand why it has to be that way, I'm just worried about psyching myself out without music to distract me. Guess I should give Ed some talking points in the event I start freaking out a little!

Today we're going to blast off and take our time driving around the coast and Eureka and the redwoods, just exploring. Tomorrow will be more of the same. Sunday, I believe our race start time is 730? 745? I should check on that... :) It should be 'cold' (57-60 degrees) which for me is perfection.

This race feels a bit like a transformative stage for me. After this I will retire these sneakers (the same ones I wore in those 10k pictures) and even those same pants. They are pretty saggy now that I've lost weight and worse, I've worn holes in them from all the use. It's kind of silly but I'll be sad to part with them. They represent such a huge shift in my life - moving across country, accomplishing things I've always wanted to do, losing weight - just generally being more proactive about life. I'm not exactly a go-getter but I've really pushed myself. What's that saying? Don't let perfection be the enemy of good? Something like that. I've learned that doing my best, even if it's not perfect, is more than enough to get me where I want to go.

I'll update again on Monday to let you know I'm still alive and to post pictures of the weekend and the race. I'll take deep breaths, wiggle my toes and we can all think happy thoughts together!