The four of us left mid-Saturday morning leaving our spouses in charge. No kids. No husbands. Just girls wanting to have fun. And fun we did have.
Amber, Tishia, Tiffany and JennyIt was so nice to leave behind the 100 degree/brown scenery for something more refreshing.
Yes, we did eat fresh, but this wasn't the fresh I was really meaning. It was especially hard for me to try and eat good on vacation, but when it comes to running. That is just what you do.
We got to Cabazon about 3:30pm and literally shopped until we dropped. By the end of the day they were kicking us out of the store. I am kicking myself for not capturing the ginormous line we stood in for Amber and Tiffany to get their Coach purses. But, they scored some awesome deals. I walked away with my favorite True Religion jeans. I was a happy girl!
Sometimes a little happy (ha) Those who know me can attest I get a weird sort of burst of energy when I am overly tired. I couldn't help jumping on the beds and if you look close enough Amber couldn't either. (her legs are behind me)
Sunday we headed down the road for sacrament meeting at 9am. Becca was sweet enough to give me all the information for church times/etc. The church building was absolutely gorgeous. We took a ton of photos and I think most of the members thought we were a tad strange over all of our ooooing and awing. I have never seen a chapel so unique.
Aside from the beautiful weather and lovely scenery we some how managed to drive on several toll roads. The GPS (aka Gwen) always gave us the fastest route which ended up being a toll road! And me being the cheap skate I am got a little tired of paying 2.75 to drive on a freeway. My friends found it humerous how upset I got over the whole thing.
After church we headed down to Crystal Cove near Newport Beach to soak up the sun. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Talk about a perfect relaxing day just before a race.
We couldn't resist doing a little Karate Kidd meditating, along with some cheer jumps in the sand.
Minnie flew in late Sunday night, just in time to eat a great pasta dinner from CPK.
Monday was race day. The weather was just right, over cast and most of the course was downhill. I think we all had the race jitters. We had our energy beans, FRS chews, and gu's all prepared to give us the boost we needed. I stayed with Amber until about mile 10.5 and my knee started giving me some agony not to mention I threw up one of the gu's I hadn't tried. At that point my body just couldn't keep up the great pace I was holding for so long. I was so bummed. I told Amber to run ahead and kept her in my sight as long as possible. She ended up leading the pack, but I still was able to improve my time by about 20 minutes. My average pace ended up being 8:28. Yay for me!
My time according to my garminBecca and Laurie ended up meeting me at the finish line. It was so fun to finally put faces with voices. I wish I had more time (and not so stinky) to talk to them. Perhaps next time we can do lunch.
Becca, Laurie and JennyOnce we all ran into the finish line we were ready to head back to the hotel. The bummer part was the shuttles took a tad longer than I would have liked.
The line wrapped around Laguna Hills, HSWe were all pretty beat after such an intense race. I think we all pushed ourselves to our best ability. It was nice to ooze the muscles in the hot tub.
Last but not least, we ended up at In and Out Burger. After trying to eat semi-healthy for the first day, my body was seriously having some major withdrawals. Nothing like a double/double after burning close to 1600 calories! And it was really tasty!
It was such a great weekend. I hope to do it again next year, who knows which race we will do. St. George??? (Minnie, Tiffany, Tishia) At any rate it looks like I am being forced to stay off the road. (which may make me a little crazy) My knee caused me some major grief about 10 miles in to the race. But, with exercise there is bound to be an injury now and again. We all decided after running the Ragnar and putting ourselves through such a challenge we all may be a little crazy. But, soon after the race we began to train again for a half. I have to say even though I sit here with my knee throbbing it was worth every ounce of pain. Because in life, we do hard things, that is what we do!
25 comments:
Way to go! LOOKs like you had one fun weekend.
When i ran my first 1/2 marathon , my knee also gave me problems at mile 10. I had to slow down my pace.
I was invited to run the
St. George marathon with some friends. But i am going to run the marathon that is in my town in September and then run the marathon in Leavenworth in Oct.
I had a Runners knees “ IT Band”. I was in such pain for the last few miles of my run. After I got home from the race, I didn’t run for a few weeks. I wanted to give my knees a little rest.
Here are some reason for a IT band injury.
* Running too fast, on a long run, or race, than you should have on that day ( i.e., trying to stay up with running friends that are going too fast for you). Most runners are running too fast on long runs, even though they feel fine at the beginning.
* Not slowing down the pace, from the beginning of a long run or race: when you increase the distance of the long run when it's hot and humid, or the course is hilly when your muscles are already tired when you feel the first signs of irritation of what could be an injury
* Not taking walk breaks, as you need them, from the beginning of all long runs Not increasing the frequency of the walk break as the long run distance increases Not increasing the frequency of walk breaks when you're more tired, or feel the symptoms of injury Not increasing the frequency of walk breaks when the temperature and humidity are high
* Doing too many of the following within a 2-3 week period: long runs, races, fast runs.
Wearing the wrong pair of shoes or ones that are too worn out
particularly in the midsole (a shoe expert can help you determine).
* Doing side-to-side sports: tennis, basketball, rollerblade
* Not doing the maintenance training during the week, i.e., just running once between long runs, or not at all.
* Skipping a long run and trying to keep up with your group on the next long run
* Not taking enough days off from running
especially after the first signs of injury
* Running on a surface that is too soft or is slanted, i.e. a beach, soft grass, or a paved surface with a slant.
I am NOW in training again and I have been running a lot more miles during the week. My knees are feeling pretty good. :)
awesome! way to go.. I am impressed.. sounds like a great time with friends too.. love the picture of you jumping on the bed!
Oh how I love Laguna!!! Looks like you gals had tons of fun. I haven't stopped out the outlets in the longest time. We used to always stop there to buy purses fromt Esprit-haha
That is so fun you got to meet Becca and Laurie. THey are such great girls.
Sorry about the injury but it looks like you had a great time.
I am glad it was worth it, even with the pain! It was so fun to meet you, and I hope you decide to come do the Laguna one again! :)
Good job! I am running my first half in a couple of weeks. My goal was to finish in 1:50 which is what you did. But, with working two jobs right now, I'm worried about my energy level and now you've got me a little scared about my knees.
Congrats to you on a job well done. Your girls trips looks like so much fun. I could use a trip like that.
Great job Jenny!! What a fun girls trip!!
That's fun that you met some bloggers and made a trip out of the event!
How fun to have a girls trip like that. Maybe i should get more serious about running so I can do a girls trip like that too. Hmmm?
Congrats on beating your time by 20 minutes - thats freaking awesome! It sounds like you girls had a great weekend! good job on the coach purses and true religion jeans :)
Great job!! I am always amazed with your running skills:)
Sounds like a fun girls weekend! Those are always the best:)
What a fabulous trip!!!! You did awesome! I dream one day of doing another 1/2 - with the accident and then the baby I've been out of commission for a couple summers! Come do the London Marathon or the Paris 1/2 next year! I'd meet you in Paris!
So fun to meet Becca & Laurie! It's so fun to meet your cyber friends!
That is awesome. I am so glad you found this group to run with. looks like a ton of fun. What a accomplishment
Jenny, I'm glad you posted, so I can steal that picture now and put it on my blog! Your trip looks so fun. I am so impressed with you ladies and your running. I GOTTA get back into shape - I've NEVER had a gut like what is manifest in this picture!
It was great to meet you! Next time I hope we can enjoy a relaxing time at the beach!
Congratulations Jenny! I think I would have liked the hot tub and hamburger best :)
What fun (and work)!! I hope your knee gets better really soon!
We do hard things!!!! and that was hard. Thanks for pushing me though. Now, I am happy I did it. love ya!
Jenny! Way to go! You rocked that race! A sub 2 hour half is fantastic, and I am so PROUD of you!!!! Rest that knee and that you will back at it again in no time. I'm so glad you had fun with your friends (running with friends is the BEST) and that you enjoyed your weekend. Again, WAY TO GO! Woo hooo! Yee haw!
Jenny, you truly are SuperWoman! Looks like you gals had such a fun trip. Love the jumping for joy pics on the beds and beach! :D Congrats on your race! You look the same as you did in high school---amazing!
Woo-hoo! Nice work. I can't believe how quickly you have turned into a serious runner. I'm glad you had good friends to do it and such a pretty place to run so that the experience was so positive. Sorry you are hurting now. Take a few days off. Eat another hamburger!:)
OK am I reading this right? Did you do the LA Marathon? Which run was this?
Great Post! I had so much fun and made alot of great memories. I look forward to the next conquest.
Looks like such a great fun getaway for someone that likes to run as much as you guys do! So fun to meet Becca and Laurie!
WHat a fun time Jenny! Your pace of 8:28 is awesome - such an inspiration! Good on you to hit In n out - do they have them in Arizona? Anyway - congrats on your race and I hope that knee heals quickly! Michelle :)
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