the hot chocolate san diego 15k race recap.

a few months back i heard about the hot chocolate race through the running grapevine and was soooo wishing there was one in vegas. that didn't stop me for long, especially since there was one so close in san diego! there is a 15k or a 5k you can participate in, a really sweet tech race sweatshirt, and when you cross the finish line they give you a bowl of chocolate. sold! i quickly recruited my mom into the 5k. which also didn't take long when i mentioned there was lots of chocolate at the finish line. ps we have major sweet tooths in my family:) thank goodness my mom is so up for anything!

last saturday morning we hopped in the car for the fairly easy 5 hour drive down south. we made it in plenty of time to play around the gaslamp district where the race took out of sunday morning. our hotel was amazingly close to everything and the room service we ordered for dinner that night was super delicious. the 5am alarm sunday morning however was crazy early.

we like to carb up with cupcakes too:)

donned in our outfits we made the half mile walk to the start line to gather in our corrals. after all the crazy things i had heard about traffic in other cities i was sooo glad we decided on a close hotel. we made it plenty of time for my mom to get into her corral since the 5k took off 1st. she was so super excited to be in a higher corral than me:)

after the 5kers were off the 15kers started lining up. we noticed that we were one of the only people dressed up that morning and the people around me in my corral looked awful serious. i was a little nervous to be honest since i hadnt run quite that distance in some time. but i was out there for fun and very much hoping to come in under 1:30:00.

soon we were off and up the 1st hill. apparently i was under very big impression that san diego was flat, ha! for the next 9.3 miles it was up and down, up and down. the problem with the downhill was just as mean as the uphill so i wasn't speeding down those either. the ground was also super uneven so you really had to watch where you were going. i saw a few people fall and it definitely made me keep my eyes on the ground the rest of the way.

usually i tick off the miles excitedly as i pass them and think to myself i only have x number left. for some reason the only way i could think through this race was breaking it down into three 5ks. not sure how that switch happened, but it got me through! sometimes you just cant fight things.

the course was a tough one, but had snaked through tons of neighborhoods so there were lots of spectators along the way. the water stations were stocked full of volunteers and encouragement as well. i took it slow the first 2ish miles to get my footing and figure out the hills a bit. once in a groove i was determined just to keep running up all the hills! the weather was gorgeous, although i really could have used some sunscreen lol.

after the 5k mark i picked up speed a bit and was feeling pretty good. then the really big hills came into play and man were they killers! i noticed that we never saw the 5kers and thought that was kind of odd, it really felt like 2 totally different courses. then we got to the hill just after the 10k mark. oh.my.god. it was literally straight up. luckily there were spectators at the top cheering us on and letting us know there was a downhill soon. we crossed the 7 mile mark in the process and thank goodness there was only 2 miles left afterwards, i was just about spent.

soon we crossed the 8 mile mark and it was one crazy downhill left then all flat through the back roads to the finish line! i picked up speed, ready to get to the chocolate. as we turned the last corner i saw the finish line and heard the amazing voice of my favorite race announcer. i have no idea what his name is, but he does long beach, did surf city, the turkey trot we did in november. i just love him. and he commented on my tinkerbell wings:)

i was scanning the crowd looking for my mom as i furiously drank water. finally i found her with a bit of a sad look on her face. she took off her jacket and showed me the huge scrape on her shoulder plus the crazy swelling on her left hand. turns out a mile 2 she lost her footing and fell right over! luckily the race had these really cool people called race guards that are doctors/nurses that run the race with us offering help to anyone in need. my mom said she was so so nice and was able to get to her so much faster than a volunteer then calling for help! they were able to dig out the rocks in her hand and the race guard finished the race with her just in case. she is ok, just a little sore.

we headed over to the very best part...the chocolate! the race people were so super efficent and we walked right up and grabbed our cups. my mom said she was glad she waited for me since there was a super crazy line after all the 5kers had finished. of course we dug right in and the pretzels were my favorite part. well that and the fun pictures we took:) it also had huge marshmallows, a banana, rice krispie treat, and vanilla waffers.

 

afterward we headed back to the hotel slowly eating our chocolate the whole way, best post-race snack ever! which was well deserved because that course kicked my butt. between the hills and the distance man i was beat up. respect the distance for sure!

we showered up, took a quick nap-thank you for a 12pm check out time-then headed up the coast a bit to carlsbad for super delicious lunch at a beachside cafe. which of course meant this...

 

my mom and i had a blast with this race! i am so so grateful that she is willing to join me in these crazy things:) at least this time i included chocolate!

the march 2013 running recap.

total run mileage: 65.67 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 29.68 miles
# runs: 11
# rest days: 17

# xtraining workouts: 3

favorite run: the hot chocolate 15k in san diego. the course was pretty rough, i had no idea there were so many hills in san diego! but got to do it with my mom and we had a blast:)

most hardcore run: the 10 miler i did last friday. i skipped the morning run and decided i would do it in the afternoon because i got off work at a decent time. forgot to factor in that it would be 85* at 330p with no clouds, oops. but i got through it and felt very accomplished!

current reads: nothing serious, crud.

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: travel sites! i have some seriously cool things happening the rest of this year and i have been looking things up like a crazy person. tours, places to eat, those cant miss touristy attractions. oh i so have the travel bug!

source

current obsession: getting ready for spring! well, the few very short weeks we get here in vegas haha. my flipflops and super cute dresses are all set to come out of the closet!

current drink: water and more water.

current song: such the hopeless romantic:)

current wish-list:

·         a magical shopping spree that i could update all the accessories in my closet

·         another magical shopping spree so i could reinvigorate my closet with things that fit and with the so cute new things on the spring shelves.

·         hey, its a “wishlist”:)

current need: to get back to regular blogging. i think i was trying to “reinvent” the wheel a little bit in what i want this little blog to be. instead im just going to go with the flow and see where it takes me.

current triumph: a successful return to the indoor soccer field! i know that sounds silly, but i havent played in years, literally. crazy how it all comes back so quickly and naturally. and im having a blast!

current bane of my existence: taxes. they are just mean. enough said.

current goal: to remember this…

source

current indulgence: easter candy…well these specifically…

current excitement: two pretty fun plans finally fell into place in the last week. funny how those things happen on their own, when they are supposed too. and they both involve traveling to fun new places! more details on both soon:) i told ya, my travel bug is getting out of control!

the single life.

i know i have disappeared a bit over the last month or so. oops! while ive been tryin to figure out where to take this little blog of mine, ive also been working on myself. when one gets out of a 3+ year relationship in which they lived with the person for 2 years it takes a little time to get the new swing of things. and oh, ive been gettin my swing back:)

i forgot how much being single can be! not that i want to do forever, trust me, but ive been havin a blast! to get off work and decide to go for a run then do some errands just because you feel like it and not have to tell anyone where youre going, amazing. i dont have to feel bad about going out after work with friends while others go to work at night anymore. if i want to pick up and go to a soccer game with my parents on a friday night, i can, and there is no one to make me feel bad about going when they cant. i can meet a friend for coffee at the drop of a hat and talk about running for hours with her:) if i want to get out of the house for awhile and walk around town square by myself, i totally can. ive even reconnected with old friends i never should have really lost touch with. and sleep. oh beautiful sleep. i can leave the tv on as i fall asleep, or sleep until 1pm on sundays and not have anyone say a word. oh and i have flannel sheets on my bed again. they.are.glorious! i love them. 

heres a few of the things ive been enjoying, to say the least hehehe, the last few months...

you can get tattoos without explaining why.

welcome new little ones!
taya breyon rivers 02.10.2013

start playing indoor soccer again
with some of your old teammates!

go to a preseason mls game with your parents:)

have tequilla shots on a tuesday during the rebel game!

run with people who love it as much as you do

pedicures with your mom on a sunday,
just beacuse you want too

you can run away to flagstaff!

because your best friend needs you,
and you want to play in the snow:)

celebrate st pattys day on fremont street.

and get to party with new friends!



run away to san diego for a race.

and go to the beach even if it was chilly:)

single kb (as a friend coined for me) has definitley been having a good time. its been awesome to find myself again and do the things that truly make me happy! who knows where this will all take me...but i cant wait to see what new adventure i get to go on next:)

the surf city half marathon weekend.

so planning started for this little baby many, many months ago when megan decided she was going to run her 1st full marathon! now megan and i went to nau together a million years ago and hadnt seen each other in equally that long. we lost touch a bit after college, but when she started breaking into running awhile back we reconnected through blogs/twitter/facebook. when she asked me to be there for her 1st full i knew there was nowhere else i would rather be!

source

after lots of waiting and training it was finally time to hop in the car and go. megan was flying in from atlanta, her sorority sister heather was flying in from san francisco and another sister kasey from phoenix. we would all eventually make our way to megans house in chino in time for dinner friday night! i worked a 1/2 day that friday and was sooooo ready to get in my own car and have some time to myself that afternoon. the drive went super quick, even with a stop at the banana republic outelt in barstow. i got to her house super easy and the #surfcityantics began quickly.

we were taking megans parents to dinner and chose carbo-licious pf changs to be the perfect place. saturday was her moms birthday and we wanted to thank them big time for letting us crash! somehow we completely forgot to take pictures, total fail, as we chowed down while everyone got to each other. the conversation flowed no problem and we easily laughed the night away:) saturday morning the other girls were up early for a 4 mile walk/hike with megans mom, i elected to stay snuggled in bed for a little bit more sleep hehehe.

after returning from their walk/hike we tried to slow down the getting ready and heading to the expo process as much as possible. see megans bff tina (who also went to nau), was going to meet us at the expo as a huge surprise to megan. the rest of us knew she would be driving in from phoenix with her husband jon that morning but wouldnt be to the expo till about 1p. that meant dragging our heels as much as possible. so we decided to head to breakfast on the way since we were all starving. thanks to yelp we found an absolutely delicious place called the avocado house that was darn right amazing. super small and there was a line to place an order the entire time we ate breakfast. finally full we headed over to dicks to grab a few race day essentials.

while all of this was going on i was still trying to figure out my race day outfit! sooo not like me. i ordered my latest sparkle skirt a day or 2 late which meant it didnt get to my house till after i had left for california. unfortunately they were not going to be at the expo for me to pick up a replacement. fortunately though they were local to southern california and thanks to facebook i was able to place a last minute order and pick up saturday morning! this is important to the story because it added more time on to our journey to the expo. plus i just really wanted to sparkle:)

literally on our way out the door of dicks, as i was starting to get really antsy in getting to the expo (just ask megan), i got an email with directions to pick up my skirt! somehow it was actually on the way to where we needed to go so it was super easy to get. as we are literally pulling up to the house, meagn asks, are we sure this isnt a bomb? i looked at her and said god i hope not. heather in the meantime pops up from the backseat to let us know that all is ok, they have a ragnar sticker on the back of their car. apparently that means they are serial killers that are disguising bombs with sparkly things!! luckily for all of us it was not a bomb but the perfect colored skirt to match my super cute blue tank top the next day:)

mission accomplished!

we arrived to a very overcast beach in huntington abuzz with runners everywhere. it was quite late, almost 3p when we got there. tina was definitely there, we just needed to find her. so we headed to the big expo tent stopping to take a few pictures at the entrance when this happened.......

it was awesome! finally all together we headed to pick up our packets. megan and kasey were both doing the full while heather, tina, and i were signed up for the 1/2. for 3p it was still pretty packed as we wandered around ooogling all the running goodies. all weekend megan kept talking about wanting to get a jumping picture of all of us on the beach after the expo to make her facebook cover photo. i love that, that was the sole reason for the photo:) luckily jon is awesome photographer and has a great camera to help us out. he was so sweet taking as many as we all wanted until it was perfect.

at this point we really needed to head back up to chino so megan and her dad could strategize race day plans. we also needed to make a stop at dicks on the way to grab a new handle for heathers waterbottle. since her parents had dinner plans we dropped megan off while the other girls and i headed to pick up the waterbottle. once home we made a huge pasta dinner with great plans to watch spirit of the marathon for inspiration. well once the pasta tooke for-EVER to boil and the garlic bread burned we were all way too full to try and stay awake for it all. especially with a 4am wake up call the next morning, it was time for bed.

race morning came all too early sunday! it was an absolutely beautiful morning to run, couldnt have asked for a better day. but my full report you are going to have to wait till tomorrow:) it deserves a post all on its own!

i will however tell you about getting to watch these 2 amazing girls cross the finish line for their 1st full marathons. while they started out together we knew they would break apart quickly and had estimated finish times for them both, thank you megan. after each of our 1/2 finishes we were to meet up with megans family so we could see them cross in all their glory and that plan worked perfectly. i found megans boyfriend doug, who took me to where her parents were, in a great spot right near the finish line. almost right on time to the minute we say megan and her friend from grad school michael come down the finish chute!!!! she looked fantastic and i started crying for her as soon as i saw her:) all of the runners actually looked strong with huge smiles on their faces toward the finish line.

we made our way down to the finish line to collect megan before kasey came across. she was in the medical tent getting stretched out and somehow tina and heather had crossed the 1/2 almost at the same time! so glad she had friends in there:) they said she was doing great and had both set a pr with their finish times! finally megan came hobbling out with a huge smile plastered across her face. after a quick bathroom break she laid on the ground for some more stretching when we found out her official finish time, 4:58:42!! her goal was under 5 and standing, both accomplished! (check out her full recap here!)

all now hobbling we headed back to just before the finish line to see kasey. heather had gotten a text saying she was getting very close and we were sure every runner that got close to us was here haha. there was a small group of other spectators there waiting for their runner as well so everyone cheered for everyone. it was soo cool to see the sense of accomplishments on their faces as they got to that finish. then, right on time we saw her face with her sister running right next to her come down the finisher chute!!! it was amazing and i think we all cried watching her cross that line:) 

we bombared her and very stinky, very excited hugs all the way around. after a few pictures we all decided it was time to get the heck out of there to eat. i was straving and was having serious ragnar flashbacks, it had been about 4 hours since i finished and i was in definite need of real food asap. luckily we decided to eat near the beach and doug was able to drive so none of had too lol. he even went across the parking lot to get the car as we waited where the shuttle dropped us off and the dropped us at the door of bjs while he parked only a few spots away, sooo sweet.

finishers!!!

there was a lot of eating, and again not a lot of pictures taken, serious blogger fail. we headed back to megans house with full bellies to shower and throw our things in the car to head to a superbowl party! i was drivin back to vegas after and heather had a plane to catch that night back up to oakland. the party was a blast with megan and dougs friends, they invited us in and fed us no problem! everyone we met all weeekend was so incredibly nice:) i headed back up the hill after the game was over and made it safely about midnight. thankfully i was off monday so i fully took advantage of a recovery day on the couch!

as i hung out during the day at home i couldnt help think what an awesome weekend it was. being surrounded by nau friends always makes everything better:) plus to see megan and doug so cute together, it takes serious dedication to spectate a marathon and he never complained once. and i got to meet tina and jon, he even biked around the entire course to get action running shots of her, so sweetness. and i got to meet heather and kasey who adopted me into their jokes and inside fun without any questions. it was one of those weekends you really feel like you belong somewhere:) thank you all so much for making 1/2 marathon #12 soo awesome!! with a musical treat to forever remember the weekend...

2013 my way.

its taken a little bit of time for me to decide what i really want out of this year and put that into words. i didnt want to make a new years resolution or an empty promise like giving up chocolate, like that would EVER happen haha.

and so i decided in 2013 i am going to focus on..ME!

the good part about this is it can include a lot of things and be applied into a lot of different areas. i spent the last half of 2012 getting rid of things in my life that were not healthy, like my weight and incesant knee pain. and moving on from things that werent going in the right direction, like my relationship and a few friendships. and really starting to find out what the important things are to me, finishing school and figuring out where i want my career to go eventually. and finding out what an amazing support system i have that reaches farther then i could have ever imagined.

now i can move forward in this brand new year and focus on me. i have some big plans i cant quite reveal quite yet, mostly because they arent formed yet lol. but here are some im thinking about:

*i would love to get into volunteering

im not sure in what yet exactly. the military in some form or working with kids are the areas im thinking about.

with my old store!
a very long time ago at the boys and girls club.

*finish school

this is techinically over but it was a big thing right at the beginning of the year.

*possibly rec sports

some of my ragnar teammates play volleyball and softball so im really thinking about joining now that im done with school!

*enjoy running

while this is something i already do, last year i did a lot of learning and didnt even realize it till i looked back. i had a blast last year and didnt even really stop to enjoy it all. must slow down to soak it all in. and hopefully add another state or two to my map of ones i have run in. 

boom. a warrior.

 *work on my mindset

i made some really big decisions and changes last year. its time to appreciate that the heartache happened and move to a new mental state that this is my time to figure out what i want out of my future.

*clean out my closet

this i am actually going to do tonight. i have soo many things that dont fit anymore because they are just way too big and i cant even try to doctor it up into fitting. time to get rid of all the things holding me back!

*not be so hard on myself

some days this is easier said than done. i am only 27, which seems old at times, but so young at others. i make mistakes, i make good decisions, all of which has led me into the person i have become and will continue to grow into.

*surround myself with good people

today i got a text from a friend celebrating a major milestone that not everyone would love. it was so inspiring and heartwarming that she a. included me and b. had healed from a sucky situation to now be excited about forward is amazing. i am so lucky to have her and so many others like her in my life that i need to grab on to it and learn as much as i can. it also just lifts your spirit more when you have those good ones there:)

i dont have it all figured out yet, not even close. theres a bigger plan for me in all this i know it. sure would be nice to know a little bit about what that is:) but i do know for sure that 2013 is going to get me on the right path to find out whats in store for me down the road!

the ragnar las vegas race report part 2.

ok im back! so we left off just after our 2nd leg and about 11p, it was time for food and sleep. we decided on buffalo wild wings because it was close and people could get whatever they wanted. we ordered in the bar and it seemed to take forver! we were out of there as fast as possible to scarf it all down at micheles. im pretty sure i was asleep on the floor as soon as my head hit the pillow at about 1a. i was so glad we werent sleeping outside or in the van!

do you think theyll kick me out for falling asleep at the bar??
no really, do you?

2 legs down, 1 to go!

wayyyy too soon at about 315a the alarm was going off again and we were up to head back to the exchange. thank goodness this was our last round cause man was i ready to be done! we were at the exchange by 415a to pick back up. i ran into my friend derrick at the exchange while we were waiting! he used to run with us on monday nights but moved to iowa over the summer. i knew he was coming back to run but i wasnt sure i was actually going to see him.

this last round was my shortest at 5.6 miles and right on time layna came through sending me off down st rose parkway at 430a. the wind had finally subsided and it was actually pretty nice outside. st rose was super flat and i was diggin it until i had to turn up the street into anthem, then we were back to straight uphill, really! the sun started to rise and i was actually feelin good. there were quite a few people walking this leg, you could tell the whole thing was starting to take a toll on everyone.

finally i passed the 1 more mile to go sign and was ready to officially cross of my 3rd leg. the girls were right there ready and i gladly gave fanny the bracelet wishing her off! afterward i felt like a rockstar to be honest! i never thought i would be able to do something like that. in just under 24 hours i ran 19 miles. wow! i finished the 3rd leg in 54:02. we stopped off at a starbucks to get everyone some much needed coffee and i was super excited to have my 1st peppermint mocha of the season:)

the conveted ragnar tattoo.
ended up lasting almost a week and started a few very
good conversations after the race was over...

our van continued on dropping off and picking up for the next few hours. we all had that same super satisfied, exhausted, rockstar look on our faces as we crossed off our final legs. the weather was becoming nicer as we got later in the morning and soon it was time to send michele off on her last leg! we headed out to meet van 2 and gladly let them take over and agreed to meet them at the finish line so we could all cross together. they looked rested and ready to go, more power to you haha.

hey van 2 teammates:)

afterward we headed to the clear other side of town to drop off 1 of our girls then decided we needed to eat stat. again, that being the 1st runner sucks for the food end of things haha. we headed to ihop still all a little in disbelief we were done and STARVING. i think about 4 or 5 bites of food literally fell on the floor while i was eating because i couldnt get them into my mouth fast enough haha. since we were on that side of town we decided to get mine and sandys car then meet everyone at the finish line together. i was going to head home to shower but then made a detour to sandys so we could carpool out to lake las vegas since we heard traffic was going to be terrible.

VAN #1 OFFICIALLY DONE!

when i was sitting on her couch the exhaustion really started to set in. after some confusion about finish time we headed out to the finish line a little early and wandered around only to find them sold out of my sweatshirt. see, i knew i should have bought it earlier friday morning! we found the rest of our van soon and before we knew it layna was running toward us and the finish line. she was like 15 minutes early and the rest of her van hadnt even made it yet. we wanted to wait for everyone so we could cross together! van 2 wasnt far behind and we all hobbled across the line just over 30 hours after crossing the start line the day before.

we grabbed our bling and took lots of team pictures before grabbing some of our free pizza. the original plan was to hang out for awhile in the beer garden really getting to talk. but once we were actually there we were just about all ready to go home. sandy and i hung out for a little bit but headed out soon after. walking back across the bridge to our car i ran into all my runner group friends!! and derrick was right behind us too. it was like a reuninon!!

that night i went to dinner with my parents at bjs and stuffed my belly happy full:) i went home to take a bath in epsom salt and a proceeded to take a shower after before falling into bed at 930p on a saturday night. i slept a total of 14 hours that night and probably could have slept more if i hadnt woken up hungry the next day haha. man i dont know how people do this race all the time! im already signed up for another one next year with friends in cape cod. i think i could do about 1 or 2 of these a year, but thats it haha. i also totally understand now what people mean when they talk about ragnar withdrawl! we were still all talking for the next couple days and it was weird to not all be together. i do have to say that i had an unintentional unplug from just about the world that weekend and it was quite nice. ragnar for sure came at the perfect time:)

team t&a completes in 30:30:54!!