Friday, December 28, 2012

Operation Jack Half Marathon

The Operation Jack Marathon and Half Marathon and Satellite Run benefit Train 4 Autism and the Operation Jack Autism Foundation. Train 4 Autism helps people raise money for autism related charities.

The Cost: If you sign up before 9/3 the cost for the full is $55 and the half $45. After September 4, the price goes up by $15. After November 26, the price rises an additional $10.

The Expo: The race is small so there wasn't a big expo. Race packet pickup was before the race. They were very efficient in handing out bib numbers and cotton t-shirts. There wasn't a long line or a lot of people so it was easy to grab your stuff and go.

The Start: Again, because it was a small race there wasn't a problem with crowding. We were encouraged to stay on one side of the bike path but once the race started and people started to spread out, it wasn't a big deal.

The Course: The course was along a bike path on Dockweiler Beach. It was beautiful and scenic but after a while it was a little dull. The ocean and beach start to look the same after a few miles. The weather was also great.

The Volunteers: There were great volunteers. They were there before hand setting up in the rain. There were water stations every three miles which was too far apart. But the volunteers were very helpful and I wish there would have been more water stations.

The After Party: After the race we got a cool dog tag finishers necklace. There was a small booth set up for water, chocolate milk, cliff bars, bananas and oranges. It was small but efficient. I got plenty of water and didn't have to wait in any lines.

The first three women and men finishers each received a prize made by a child with autism. I thought this was a great touch.

Overall: I think this is a great cause. The money raised helps the Train 4 Autism and Operation Jack Organizations. The course is beautiful and tranquil for the half marathon. I think it would be hard to run this race as a full marathon because of the tranquil course and lack of spectators, fuel stations and support. I would definitely run this half marathon again.

delayed xmas post

Things have been a little crazy around here.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I did. My mom and my brother and sister were here. We didn't do much except talk and eat but it was nice to have them around. They left this morning and it made me really sad.

We had a good time. On Wednesday my mom went with me to run the Operation Jack 1/2 marathon (recap later) and on Thursday I took her on a 6 mile run through a cute little park.

Thursday night, my siblings and I went to the Clipper v. Boston game at Staples center. My brother and I are Boston fans. They lost and it was frustrating to watch.  (Come on defense!!!) But it's okay because I'm loving the run that the Clippers are on and we saw Justin Beiber.

Today I skipped my run in order to drive my mom and brother to the train station (they are headed back to Dinuba) and then drive my sister to her home in Camarillo.

I'm really (like REALLY) sore from the 1/2 marathon. I was thinking of really taking it easy the next few days. stay tuned.

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How was your christmas??

Favorite holiday tradition?

B-ball fans? team?




Wednesday, December 19, 2012

winds, GU and push-ups

The wind is going crazy. All I heard last night was the wind howling and some wind chimes chiming. It did wake me up a few times because it made me a little nervous. I don't mind bad weather, unless I'm running in it. That's annoying.

This morning I ran 12 miles and the last "long" run before my next marathon which is next Wednesday. It was cold but not bad.

I also had a new GU flavor. Pineapple. It was really good. I decided that I prefer the fruity flavors over the chocolate stuff (it reminds me too much of pudding, which i don't like).

AND I did 100 push-ups! yup! I broke it up into 5 sets because more than 20 pushups is unimaginable. My upper body is not strong.

Remember how I was suppose to try to do some kind of cross training everyday. It's hard to incorporate  something besides running into my schedule, mostly because I'm lazy but I have been trying to do push-ups/ weights or crunches regularly.

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Favorite GU flavor?

Do you incorporate cross training into your workout?

Are your winter workouts different from your summer workouts?


Monday, December 17, 2012

iphone fail

 My thighs felt really sore this weekend, so today I took it easy with 7 miles at a real comfortable speed. The weather is still pretty chilly, which I love.

Speaking of this weekend, I didn't do anything. It was awesome.

Anthony and I did walk around a cute neighborhood with tons of  holiday decorations. We had this little conversation as we were walking away from the car.

Me: oh! I forgot my camera. Should I go get it?

Anthony: Nah,  I have my phone.

Me: ok

We walk around and see a cute display with xmas trees and raindeer

Me: take my picture

Anthony: Ok. Ready?  1…2… oh! my phone just died

Me: :'(  Oh Man! why didn't I go back for my camera

This morning, Anthony sent me an email. The ONE picture he took before his phone died.


To stick with the holiday theme, here's a picture from the Holiday Half Marathon that I ran last weekend. I was wearing antlers but they fell off somewhere during the first mile.

159004028     


 
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Do you decorate your house for the holidays?

Do you carry your camera with you or do you rely on your phone?

How do you feel about the weather we have been having?

Saturday, December 15, 2012

painful and glorious

I ran 20 slow, painful and glorious miles this morning. It's the last long run before Operation Jack Marathon on 12/26/12.

This marathon is completely no-pressure. It's like a training run for the real thing in February (Surf City Marathon). I still want to do well but I'm not going to stress too much about it.

The weather this morning was perfect- I was completely bundled up and it was still a little brisk. My kinda run.

I came home to a hot bubble bath. My legs were sore but I just wasn't feeling the ice bath. Plus, its my birthday weekend so….

Last night, Anthony took me out to dinner. He had a few surprises for me. But, we didn't have birthday cake :( so I'm going to do it today, still counts right?!?!

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best birthday day cake flavor?

what do you consider "great weather"?

what do you describe with the words: "painful and glorious" ?

Friday, December 14, 2012

...yeah yeah, happy birthday to me...

Today is my birthday and I don't like to acknowledge it because I freaked out about getting older.

It's probably my type A personality, but every year I get upset because I feel like I haven't accomplished the milestones I mapped out when I was planning my life at 15 and that scares me.

This morning I went for a 7 mile run, I felt a little slow and my knees felt a little tight. During the run, I made it a point to focus on all the stuff that's great about getting older.

- the Boston Qualifying time goes down

That's all I could come up with.

Anyway, here's to the BQ time

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Do you look forward / enjoy your birthday?

It's friday, any plans?

Thursday, December 13, 2012

races for the new year

Like always, I wasn't feeling like sprints this morning. But since they always land on Thursday and I take Wednesdays off (scheduled this on purpose), I always feel guilty about not showing up and always end up dragged myself out of bed.

Same as always, I did 6X800 with a mile warm-up and cool-down. The 800s were hard but this time they were faster!!

The sprints were at about an average of 3:33. Last time I documented my sprints, they were around 3:35-40. Yay! I don't feel like I'm going any faster during my runs, but the numbers are showing a great deal of improvement and I'm really excited about that.

So excited that I even started looking for 2013 races. I already have a few on the calendar ( Tinker bell 1/2, Surf City marathon) and a few I'm undecided about (NWM 1/2, Chicago? LA?). I wish I could sign up for tons and tons of races, but they are expensive :( so I try to pick ones that stand out in a special way. (a nice course, nice freebies, fun, friends)

Any ideas or recommendations?

I think I'm done with my christmas shopping- for the most part. Yay! I'm not a finish-stuff-last-minute kinda girl so this isn't unusual but I always get jealous of the people that still get to shop.

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Are you done with your christmas shopping?

Have you made any plans for 2013 already?

What is something that you don't like to do but do it anyways?


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

sore legs

I am sore.

Todays scheduled run was 10 miles and 8 at a marathon goal pace. As soon as I took off, I felt tightness in the back and front of my thighs. I changed up the routine and did 10 hilly miles instead.

I came home and the handy man was in our apartment looking at some problems on the roof so I didn't ice/ stretch instead I waited for him to leave then jumped in the shower.

Hopefully, I'll remember to stretch tonight. (ha! that never happens) or at least rub some biofreeze on my achy legs.

I have been thinking about displaying my medals somehow. As of right now, they sit in a box. I kinda like this from Allied Medal Display



IMG_9400.JPG
as far of bibs, mine are in a giant picture frame collage I got from Ikea, but it's full. I don't think I want an additional one. Instead I'm trying to think of another way to display them, maybe in a scrapbook.  



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How do you display bib/medals?

Anybody still scrapbook? or do something more modern, like shutter fly?

Do you take a rest day when you are sore? I think I am tomorrow

Monday, December 10, 2012

Holiday Half Marathon Race REVIEW

The Holiday Half Marathon, 5K, Kids race at the Pomona Fairplex is held on the second weekend of December. The 5k and kids race is held on Saturday and the half on Sunday.



pomona fair


The Expo: The expo held at the Fairplex and it is sponsored by Kool n Fit (It's a muscle relieving spray). It was set up on Saturday from 7-12 during the 5k and kids race and on sunday from 6-12 during the marathon. It's small, with a couple of vendors and local organizations. Bid / t-shirt pick up was really effective. You have to look up your bid number (they send you an email or you can look it up on a list they post outside the pick up tent) and the numbers are very effectively organized so the volunteer didn't have a problem getting my stuff.

The t-shirt is really cute, although white is not my favorite color for something I'm going to sweat and get dirty in.

The Start: The race starts/ends at the Fairplex. The downside was the $10 parking. But other than that it was an ideal choice, there were plenty of clean bathrooms around the place. I used the potty twice and never stood in a line. #winning. There were also many big rooms (I think I was a gym or something) where we could hide from the cold until the start. 20 minutes before we walked to the starting line and tried to get a spot near the front.

Student run LA were also in attendance. I'm pretty sure there were 3,485 students and 324 staff members. The students started 10 minutes after the half. Around mile 5 or 6, I started to see a few of them pass me. They are super speedy.

The Race: The race started 15 minutes late but it wasn't a boring wait. The announcer did a little costume contest with the racers in costumes and kept everyone excited as we waited for the gun to go off.

The course starts at the Fairplex and at some point we run through a hilly park before continuing through the parking lot and out of the Fairplex (mile 1-3). There was a flat, fast stretch on the streets towards a park (3-5). The park had a few rolling hills throughout and one giant uphill climb (5-10). It was one of the longest hills on the whole course. After you run out of the park, it is a flat path on the street as we make our way back into the Fairplex parking lot (10-11) and down towards the finish line for another mile or so.

The course was very scenic. The park had all the fall colors, it overlooked a lake, and the hills reminded me of a tame trail run. There were not many spectators. The only time I remember people is at the end towards the finish line. The volunteers were great. There was water set up every mile or every other mile. I don't remember. The race was not congested and I was able to get water at every station. There were no port-a-potties but there were tons of bathrooms in the park and the Fairplex.

The After Party: After finishing, I got myself a mylar blanket and a really cute medal. I'm glad they had the blankets because I was soaking wet and as soon as I stopped running, I felt really cold. They handed out water, bananas, pretzels and Cliff Kids Z bar. There was also a beer garden and a booth providing massages. There weren't many freebies and the booths from the previous day were set up again.

Overall: I thought it was a challenging course. I enjoyed the run through the park and although there weren't many spectators, it was not boring since there was beautiful scenery. I would definitely run this race again. I loved it (I could just be biased because of the whole PR thing)

7 minutes faster

Sunday morning I ran the Holiday Half Marathon in Pomona.  And set a personal record !

Half Marathon
Runner DetailsRace Results
Bib:4627
Name:Denesse Segura
Gender:F


Hometown:Lomita, CA
Overall:357 out of 4851
Women:59 out of 2357
F 25-29:10 out of 179
Age/Grade:62.35% Place: 355
Finish:1:45:36 Pace: 8:04
Tag Time:1:45:36


Split Times
5 Km:25:15 Pace: 8:08
7.9 Mi:1:03:23 Pace: 8:02


Ernie and I had talked about running a half together before he went off on vacation at the end of December. The week before he suggested an 8min/mile pace and that really scared me. That was too fast. On race day I told him that I would stick to a 8:20 min/mile pace. 

The morning started off chilly and at the start I questioned my outfit. I was freezing and worried I wouldn't warm up. 

I started off too fast and I felt it. The first two miles involved hills, not big ones but hills none the less.  At mile 3, I started to get comfortable and warmed up but I still felt like I should slow down or else risk hitting a wall later. 

At mile 4, Ernie told me to go ahead because his knee was hurting and he was going to slow down. I kept going and hit a flat stretch where I felt like I was flying. 

I told myself to do 7 miles at this pace (under 8). I felt good, like maybe I could run this fast. I started to think of the possibility of actually doing this in 1:45. This was a faster pace than I had planned and that I had ever raced before so I knew that even if I slowed down for the last 5 miles, I would still do good. 

I got to mile 7 and I felt ok, I was tired and my shin and thigh were achy but I told myself to get to 10 miles. I wanted to stay close to an 8 min/mile pace for the next 3 miles. 

After mile 10, I was done. I felt tired. My legs were heavy and my stomach felt nauseous. I still wanted to do the last three at the same goal pace and it was harder to keep myself going. At that point I took it a mile at a time. "just one more at this pace, then you can slow down. promise" 

Mile 11 had a crazy hill. I felt like I had slowed down a lot. But I kept passing people and that kept me motivated. I'm competitive so I was not going to let anyone I just passed pass me. Although a bunch of speedy kids from Students Run LA totally schooled me. 

When I saw the mile 12 marker, I speed up. I was hurting but what's another 8 minutes. I told myself "the faster you finish, the faster you can rest"

I finished at 1:45:40 9 (according to my garmin). That's the fastest I have ever ran a race!! I'm super excited. 

The whole time I was keeping track of my pace but I never looked at the time. At mile 11, I actually made a conscience decision not to look at it because I didn't want to know if I wasn't going to make it. When I was running towards the finish line I saw the display clock and I realized that I had done it!

1. 8:06       6. 7:58       11. 8:10
2. 8:07       7. 8:04       12. 8:14
3. 8:13       8. 8:04       13. 7:44
4. 7:46       9. 7:44       .01. 7:01
5. 7:51     10. 8:06

I was extremely proud of myself. I didn't think I could do it and I did. I maintained an 8:06 pace. Wooo!! I know that I have to work on keeping a more consistent pace. I totally felt that mile 3, 11 and 12 were slow and the time reflects it. I still have a lot of more work to do, but I'm excited about the improvements that I have made 

Last month (Malibu Half, 11/10/12) I ran a 1:52 half marathon. I improved by 7 minutes :)








Sunday, December 9, 2012

weekend photo recap


This weekend was fantastic! I got "Congratulations you're done, now stop all the stress-induced eating/ nail biting/ hair pulling scariness" flowers from Anthony. 


Then, we celebrated my MS in Biology at The Melting Pot. Dinner and fondue :)


(In this picture, I look so much like my mom- it's a little eerie but awesome because she's amazing)


 yummmm…


On Saturday, I picked up some new running flats at the Pomona Holiday Half Marathon Expo.  I raced and PR'd in them on Sunday! More to come but I shaved 5+ minutes from my previous PR on a hilly and tough course. 



ACB Holiday Party before a race = winning. Not scientifically proven but I think it contributed, plus we had a great time with friends,


and with the 2011 and 2012 MLS Championship Cups!



(awesome picture except for my crooked bangs haha)


Thursday, December 6, 2012

the many faces of my day

I'm done. I am officially done with grad school and have a master's degree.

I feel a little light headed, is that normal?

All morning I was super nervous about my presentation that was scheduled for 2pm. I got up at 5 AM (!!) to make sure I had enough time to run, shower, practice, practice, practice.

I was so scared all the way up until the presentation, then I got really freaked out. Luckily it all turned out well and nobody said anything mean or hurtful. I felt relieved when I got to the awknowledgement page.

Immediately after I felt calm and collected. I answered questions without difficulty and the toasted with a cup of apple cider :) Cookied were also available, I had one of each; chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. I like the oatmeal

The cider was really good. while drinking it, I realized I was thirsty and had to stop by self from drinking straight out of the bottle.

20 minutes after the presentation, I feel terrible; dizzy and light headed. Maybe because I didn't really sleep or eat for the past few days due to the panic mode I was in. 

I'm excited about tonight, Anthony said when I finished with my thesis he would take me out for fondue!! Yippie!

PS. because this is a running blog, I'll update you about my run. This morning was a sprint session. I did 5X 800's with the Garmin so I don't know how fast I was going, but it felt like I was putting in a good amount of effort.
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What do you do to celebrate a victory?

What kind of cookie do you perfer?

Ever been to fondue? cheese or chocolate? We're getting like 4 pots of chocolate

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

almost

One more day. A little more than 24 hours and this will all be over. 

My thesis presentation is tomorrow at 2. Yesterday I met with the library and paid my fee for the binding of the manuscript, my units are complete, research is done and the last thing I need to do is present. 

Oddly enough, I'm not that stressed out. I'll probably freak out tomorrow but right now I feel pretty good about "almost" being done. 

No run for me today, I decided to dedicate those 2 hours to my powerpoint. It's okay because yesterday I had an amazingly hard and beautiful 9 mile run. I threw in 4 mile repeats and felt like I was going to suffocate at a 7:45 pace. I need to get back to speed work and get fast. 

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Are you an anxious or confident public speaker?

Is there anything awesome you do after a big event like a race, a test or school/work deadline? share!

What was your workout for today?

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

LA GALAXY: championship rally

Ok, I lied. But THIS is the last LA GALAXY post. (most likely)

Last night, the LA Galaxy held a championship rally to celebrate the MLS championship. Here a a few highlights. 

Cosmo: LA Galaxy mascot

The fans!


Blurry picture of the team

David Beckham talks/ thanks the crowd for the past few years in LA. 



Monday, December 3, 2012

"table for 17 champions please"

This Saturday's crazy festivites lead to sleeping all day Sunday. To be fair, I did leave my bed to havea champions champaine breakfast with these champs.  I had a ton of food, but the waffles stand out. I wish I would have skipped everything else and just filled up on that.

Photo: Breakfast of champions!
(I got this pic from Vanessa's FB page)

Then it was back to bed. I even woke up late this morning. eh, too bad. I did a quick 7 miles. It felt good to shake out my legs after this weekend.

Then, I had to rush over to campus to get the final approval of my thesis. It's almost official. I have to drop the final produce off at the library, pay my fee and cross that task of my list.

The other task that I have been avoiding; the presentation. Ehh! I'm not looking forward to a presentation. I get crazy anxiety about talking in front of big groups/ being the center of attention/ stumbling for words/ fear of bursting into anxiety derived tears. I'll let you know how that goes.

last time....

Photo: @juninho19la beautiful! love you!!

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Are you good or bad at public speaking? Tips on how to make it less scary-

Champaine brunch? yay or nay? 

Have you started Holiday Shopping? are you an early shopper or last minute?

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Muddy hill run & off to the game

I have been meaning to post for the past four days. It just keeps slipping my mind and by the time I remember I'm already in bed.

Quick recap: Wednesday- was an easy 7 miles. I did my usual loop and it was a nice, peaceful run. Thursday- I didn't do anything because I was planning a longer run on friday and wanted to save my energy. Frida- I wanted to do 15 but it was raining the whole time and I stepped in a million puddles. My feet were so cold and soaking wet, I called it a day at mile 13. I think that's ok since I was planning on still doing the Saturday trail run.

This morning (saturday) I meet Ernie for our usual trail date. It has been raining for the past few days so the trails were too muddy. Instead we did a 10 mile run on some crazy hills. The path was on semi- cement but I still came home covered in mud. The hills were tough. I came home and iced because the back of my legs were hurting. We are planning on running a half marathon next week. I'll tell you more about that later.

For now, I have to go…. LA GALAXY game today….. So excited….

Defend the cup!!