Thirteen in 2013

Who says 13 is unlucky? This year I finished my 13^th full marathon and 13^th half marathon.  That equals a total of 510.9 race miles, or 524 race miles if you count the half marathon I ran for someone else.  [I know, that is a big no no in the race world, but I didn’t place and we didn’t use my time to help her qualify for anything.] 

This number may seem insignificant to some because it took me a few years to get here. Heck , I always hear about people who have ran more than 100 marathons throughout their lifetime and I just met a guy who ran 26 half marathons in 2013.  I commend him for his dedication and devotion to running, but have no desire to top his record anytime soon.  My only hope is that this is something I will still be able to do when I’m 80.

So you’re probably wondering, how does the girl who isn’t really athletic and who really doesn’t like running start running marathons and half marathons?  Well initially I started training as a marathon walker.  [I have to clarify, I wasn’t a race-walker, I didn’t have that technique down, I just held a fast steady walking pace.]  I had watched a friend train for the Rock-n-Roll Marathon one year and was fascinated by the whole process. I really envied the training piece.  The social part of the Saturday morning routes with friends sounded like a lot of fun.  Of course, I was completely enamored once I watched him run the race. 

A month after I watched my friend cross the finish line after 26.2 miles I learned USA Fit (now referred to as In Motion) had a training program designed specifically for walkers. They taught us everything we needed to know about being a marathoner.  All of the proper training techniques like building up our mileage in preparation for race day, hydrating, picking out the right shoes and socks, nutrition, techniques to make it through the mental blocks if we hit the wall and most importantly they taught me the most effective race strategy of finding my happy steady pace.

 

 I really enjoyed those few months training for my first marathon.  I sweet-talked Jen, Melissa and eventually Angela into joining me.  While I was the only one who ended up walking Carlsbad that year, it started the Saturday morning of walks in PB followed by coffee and breakfast. It also started the annual Disneyland Half Marathon tradition with Jen. 

Oh how I digress, I didn’t finish writing about walking marathons.  Back in the day some marathons were very supportive of the walkers. Carlsbad and Long Beach even had early start times for the walkers.  It was really nice we would start an hour earlier than the runners and were able to watch the elite runners pass us up.  Sadly, after several complaints they stopped allowing walkers to start early. Carlsbad went so far to shorten the total time to finish to discourage walkers.  It was really too bad, a majority of the walkers weren’t an issue.  We followed proper etiquette and tried to stay out of the way of the elite runners. There were a few groups who formed packs and blocked the way of the runners.  They ruined it for all of us.  I continue to run Long Beach, but other than one half marathon I ran with friends, I have boycotted Carlsbad since they changed their policy.  Even though I could finish within their new timeframe, I have not gotten over my disappointment over the race organizers squeezing out the walkers. I will forever be indebted to Carlsbad for providing me with the opportunity to start my race journey.  I will always be grateful to Carlsbad because I met my one of my dearest friends Claudine during the 2008 race, but I will never forgive them for becoming so elitist. 

Interestingly although running is still not one of my favorite activities I have started running during the races.  Technically speaking it’s probably more of a slow jog. I attribute this change and my most recent PRs to my CrossFit workouts.  CrossFit is another story for a different time, but I will say since I have discovered it I have been able to decrease my training time logging miles before a race and increase my pace strength and endurance.  It’s also provided me with more free time which has helped me maintain more balance.  

As I sit here and reflect on the 524 race miles I wish I had documented more throughout the years. There are definitely more memories than I could possibly write down now.  I will say I never would have made it through those miles without the race organizers, volunteers, spectators, friends, family, and fellow runners support along the way. 

Marathons:

Carlsbad 2006

Long Beach 2008

Carlsbad 2008

San Diego Rock –n-Roll 2009

Long Beach 2009

Long Beach 2010

Big Sur 2011

Surf City 2012

OC 2012

Long Beach 2012

Surf City 2013

OC 2013

Long Beach 2013

½ Marathons

America’s Finest City 2006
Disneyland 2007 (technically I ran it for someone else so it doesn’t really count)

City of Angels 2007

Surf City 2008

Disneyland 2008

Disneyland 2009

Disneyland 2010

Rock-n-Roll 2010

Carlsbad 2011

Disneyland 2011

Disneyland 2012

San Diego Women’s ½ 2013

Disneyland 2013

San Diego Holiday ½ 2013