Santa to the Sea Half Marathon Recap

For once, a timely race review.  I’m sure I’ve left something out.

Speaking of leaving something out…

My Race

I did nothing for 2 days before the race despite wanting to do some kind of easy run on Friday or Saturday.  I actually had a pretty lazy week leading up to the half. One final shorter night of track;  a short and easy bike ride; and a really short and easy run with a hill.  After I re-checked the course elevation, looked at my pacing from last year, and determined a rough goal pace for this year, I tried to stop obsessing about race details.

Actually, let’s back things up a week.  I had been running in these lightweight lower drop shoes that I was growing very fond of.  I was wearing them for track, wearing them for some faster runs, and had a great 12 miler in them. Then following my 10 mile run in them the Sunday before the race, I was surprised to see several rips.  

           
This shoe tried to disguise itself due to embarrassment from falling apart at 105 miles.

Commence freak out. I was unable to find this same style online in my size, which was a good thing, because I didn’t really want to buy another pair of defective shoes. But I also didn’t want to wear another pair of shoes that was a totally different type of shoe than I had been training in (heavier, bigger drop, more support).  Note: I notified the brand and they responded quickly and offered to make it right. Just not in time for my race. 

So I  broke one of the cardinal racing rules: DON’T DO ANYTHING NEW FOR RACE DAY and ordered another pair of shoes described as having a similar feel- minimal cushioning, firm ride. (Old pair – 4.9 oz, 3mm drop.  New pair – 4.8 oz, 4mm drop) . New shoes came on Friday, I didn’t get to break them in on a run, but I did wear them around the house and we instantly bonded.

Sunglasses sold separately.
Noodle hugger sold here.

   Do these sleeves make my calves look fat?

Back to Race day.

I slept decently, only waking up once at 4:15 to freak out and confirm that I hadn’t yet overslept. I went back to sleep and got up at 5:05, met friends at 5:45 and we were on our way. We parked by 6:40 and had plenty of time to feel the air and make last minute adjustments to what layers we were wearing. We got on the shuttles around 7:15, unloaded at the start line by 7:30, and still had 30 minutes to kill.

I found the banner for the 1:45-1:49 line up, just ahead of the 1:50 pacers.  The race started pretty close to on time at 8:02am next to a giant Santa. 

 
No, I didn’t bring a camera with me. Thank you Google Street View.

My plan was to start comfortably, which was necessary with the crowd. Beyond that, I intended to see how I felt, and go from there.  It did not end up being a perfectly orchestrated negative splits kind of race.

I felt pretty good after running the first mile in 8:34, and the friend I started with encouraged me to take off, reminding me I wasn’t supposed to stay with her.  So I did. And after another mile, I looked down to see that I had run the second mile in 8:11. Whaa? I thought about slowing down a bit, closer to 8:20, but the pace felt sustainable.  The next mile was 8:15. Awesome.  Coming up on mile 3, I started to hear the 1:50 pacers behind me.  They were kind of annoying so I hoped I could just stay ahead of them (“And up at this stop sign, you’re going to turn right!”).  No thanks.  Unfortunately, they were averaging a good 10-15 seconds faster than goal pace and had banked an extra minute+ by the 6 mile mark, so I couldn’t shake them. 

Miles 4, 5, and 6 were 8:11, 8:08, 8:08. It again crossed my mind that maybe this was too fast.  It felt comfortably hard, but I didn’t at all feel tired yet.  I was just a hair over 51 minutes at the 10k point (incidentally, a new 10k PR for me by a minute). At the half way point I was at 54 minutes (3 minutes faster than last year’s first split).

I took my beloved Salted Caramel Gu from about mile 6.5 to 7.5. I take my time.

My current favorite fake food for running

The 1:50 pace group passed me somewhere around mile 8 after the pace leaders announced they were going to pick up the pace a bit. For the record, I was around a 1:06 at this point which translated to still being  more than a minute below goal time.  So this again annoyed me, but I let them go and hoped they would just get out of earshot. I didn’t need encouragement in the form of, “Look, everyone’s standing and cheering because they think you’re the president!”
 
I did start to lag a bit, with miles 9-11 at 8:28, 8:24, 8:26.Karma. 

Soon after that that first slower mile, my friend caught up with me.  My initial thought was, “ahh, sh*t,” because as she said, I was supposed to be ahead of her (turns out she was having a much better race than she expected!).  Really, though, I was glad for the company and the mid-race motivation.
Around mile 11 I mustered up the energy to pick up the pace a bit.  I managed an 8:17 then an 8:10 and the last little nubbin at a 7:13 pace despite a U-turn a quarter mile from the finish.  



Chip time: 1:48:48.  New PR by 6 minutes!
17/136 in my age group  -  125/1054 women  - 358/1750 overall



So I guess my splits were about 54:00/54:48 53:40/55:07.  I may make more of an effort to run negative splits for my next half, but I don’t regret running miles 2-6 the way I did. Initially I thought those paces were too fast, and maybe they were, but I ended the race without a ton of energy leftover.  If I didn’t feel whooped at the end, I would have kicked myself for not pushing more.

Race Logistics

I carpooled to the race with friends.  We parked at The Collection, a new shopping area in Oxnard, about a 5 minute drive from the start, where we caught school buses to the start line.  There were plenty of school buses so there wasn’t a need for assigned shuttle times. Port-a-potties were available near the parking lot shuttle stop and at the race start.

From where we were dropped off, we had maybe a quarter to half mile walk to the actual starting area.  Estimated finish times were listed on banners to help with the line-up, and there were pace groups as well.  Along the side of the race line up was the bag drop and the donated toy collection area. This was a little cramped and chaotic.  Gift drop could have been closer to the bus drop off, but I understand they probably want a photo with all the gifts below the giant Santa, which is at the start line.

UPS managed bag drop which was necessary since it was just above freezing at the start, and because it was a point-to-point course with our cars waiting close to the start line. It was in the mid 40s but sunny at the finish.  Post-race bag drop pick-up took way longer than it should have. I was easily standing in line for 15-20 minutes and it took them several minutes to locate my bag once I gave them my bib number.  They sort of had bags sorted by number, but organization was lacking or there weren’t enough volunteers in the truck looking for bags once a bib number was called out to them.

Cheering sections along the way were fantastic, as were the volunteers and police officers helping with traffic control along the course.  The course was flat/downhill.  The only inclines were two overpasses, one at about .5 mile and the other around mile 6.  The course goes through fields, an industrial center, neighborhoods, the historic district (nice Christmas decorations by the way), more fields, then along the ocean.  Visibility was amazing and you could see the Channel Islands so clearly toward the end.

This is where your strawberries come from.

Finish line food was great, there was Powerade, Water, and Pineapple juice.  There were Powerbars, fruit cups and bowls made up with different combinations of orange slices, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, pretzels, and cookies.

As for the pacers? I will be curious to see the official time for the 1:50 pacers.  One of the 1:50 pacers dropped back and was WALKING against race traffic when I had about 3/4 of a mile to go. This annoys me because I took my pacing job seriously and these dudes were clearly several minutes ahead.  I’ll let it go now.

We stuck around for awards at 11 because there were some age group awards for people in my running group.  There were several buses waiting to take people back to their cars when we were finally ready at 11:30 and there was no waiting. It was probably a good 15 minute drive back toward the cars.

Post Race

Back where we parked, we grabbed lunch and beer at the conveniently located Yard House before driving home.  Well, riding home, for me. Which is good because this is a strong beer.

My PR-celebratory Old Rasputin.

Review: Aspaeris Pivot Shorts

Back in early December, Kari from Aspaeris gave me a pair of Pivot shorts to try.

According to the Aspaeris website, the Pivot short is actually two pairs of shorts bonded together: an outer compression short and an inner short with compression bands designed to "guide your muscles into the proper position, thereby improving your pivot performance which helps prevent ACL and hip injuries."

source

Kari sent me the size chart and I agonized over what size to order for far too long.  Seriously, for a couple days.

My hips fall in the Small range.  I was unclear on where to measure my waist. Many size charts mean your natural waist, however these shorts clearly hit below your natural waist.  My waist at the belly button level is right between a Small and a Medium. 

In the other Pivot short reviews I found out there in internet land, I wasn't able to find much on sizing other than that they look really really small (fact).

The shorts are intended to fit snugly but not restrict motion. I decided to go with the smaller size, based on my hip measurement, instead of rounding up.  I think I chose right on the size?

everyone loves a crotch shot

They are snug at the waist, but not muffin-top snug, and they hit just below my belly button (I am short - 5'2").  They are also snug throughout the bum/hip/thigh region, but not uncomfortably so.  In fact, they are snug in a strangely comfortable way.  I can feel where one of the "compression bands" cuts across the back of my legs, a couple inches from the bottom, but I would not say my range of motion is impacted.


It's hard to say if the next larger size would have fit as well.  I would expect it to be a little looser around the leg openings and throughout, but I don't know if it would provide as much compression.  Then again, I'm not sure I would know what level of compression is appropriate.

looks great with a wool sweater!

These shorts felt so good on my legs!

Just for fun, I put on my calf compression sleeves too.  Before, the calf sleeves were the only compression I knew.  After wearing the Pivot shorts though, I feel like the shorts compress more/better than the leg sleeves.

It's not that my legs are uncomfortable normally, but somehow when wearing these I feel lighter in the hip region and like it's very effortless for me to move my legs from the hip joint.

This was one of about 20 attempts

Since getting them the first weekend in December, I've worn them several times.  A couple times I have slept in them at night following a long run (9-13 miles).  I've also worn them in the afternoon/evening following a long run.

I have yet to run in them, but that's because all my running shorts have an attached inner "brief" and I don't know how that would jive with these shorts underneath OR I run in capris/tights and can't imagine layering with those either.  That leaves running in these on their own -- and for some reason I feel more self-conscious in these than full running tights.

The shorts are made in the USA (and I'm happy to support athletic gear made in the US!)  They're available in black, white, red, and navy and in sizes XS - XL. The Pivot short retails for $60, but if you check the coupon part of the Aspaeris website, you may find a special offer.  At the time of this review, the offer is $10 off!

You can find some other reviews of the Pivot short here:

• by Kristy 
• by Emily
• by Marcia
• by Racing with Babes

Note: I was provided these shorts free of charge but not compensated in any other way for writing this review.

Review: Wrist ID Slim

I recently contacted Road ID about trying one of their products for review.  I was most interested in their newer Wrist ID Slim model. They were very kind to offer me one free of charge for review on my blog.

The Wrist ID Slim is the thinnest that Road ID offers, at just under .5" wide (or .47" to be exact, according to their website).  I wanted the smallest possible since I also wear my big honkin' Garmin FR 405.

My wrist measures about 5.25" around, so I went with the Small that is meant for wrists 6" and under.  If your wrist is 6-7" you should get a medium and a large fits 7-8" wrists. If you don't own a measuring tape and aren't sure what size to order, they have an easy way to tell using a dollar bill on their website.

I have had the opportunity to wear my Wrist ID Slim for several runs and bike rides over the past month.

It is easy to put on and take off, it fits well and is comfortable to wear.  It's also a better option than my previous solutions for long runs and bike rides - throwing my license in a pocket or in my bike seat bag and/or writing my name and my husband's name and phone number on a piece of paper and sticking it in my pocket or water bottle pocket.  The Wrist ID Slim is clearly more visible than my makeshift methods.  It is also waterproof, unlike my strip of paper.

As a safety precaution, in addition to bringing my license/strip of paper/now Road ID with me - especially on solo long runs, I make sure to tell my husband the general area where I plan to run or ride my bike and when I think I'll be home.  I also frequently plot out my approximate route ahead of time on www.gmap-pedometer.com and leave it up on my computer when I'm gone.

You can enter up to five lines of text on the ID plate, I only used four.  Line 1: name, year of birth.  Line 2: Dan, his phone number, and relation to me.  Line 3: No Known Allergies (NKA), Blood Type, and Organ Donor.  Line 4 is just for fun. 

And who knows... if I am unresponsive, maybe some peanut butter would help me snap out of it.  Dan does say that I perk up at the sight or mention of peanut butter.

You have the option of (1) putting your information on the ID plate itself or (2) going with the interactive version that allows you to maintain an online personal profile that you can update if there are changes to your emergency contact information, insurance information, allergies, medications, etc.  While I like the idea of the interactive, as some day we may actually update our phone numbers to have the same area code as where we live (still have NY area codes after 6+ years in NJ), it seemed like it would be easier for emergency responders to have information readily available.

I like to wear mine on the same wrist as my Garmin, but on the left side so I still have access to the buttons.

You could also choose to wear the two with your regular watch.

Much like Bananas Gorilla...

Anyone remember this guy from the Richard Scarry/Busytown books?

The slim model comes in 7 different colors, and as of the date of this review, it retails for $15.99.   

If you can't pick just one color, you can buy a second colored band for $1.00 and move the plate between bands.

(an aside: Did you know they also have the Scout ID for dogs??)

Overall, I'm very pleased with the Wrist ID slim!  It's comfortable, fits well, is visible to others, and is waterproof (salt and fresh water).  While the text is small since the band is only 1/2 inch wide, the text came out well and is very legible.  My husband shared that he thinks it costs a bit much for what it is, but he has said this about other things.  I can't think of a cheaper substitute that would work as effectively and I think it's not that much to spend to know that in the event of an emergency, you can be identified and your loved ones can be notified.

Do you own a Road ID or similar product?
What safety precautions do you take when running/biking/etc.?

Review: FuelBelt Sprint 10 oz Handheld Bottle

Earlier this summer I wanted something smaller than my 20 oz handheld Camelbak to take with me on shorter runs in the heat of summer (For example, a 5 or 6 mile tempo run or speed work).  So I purchased the 10 oz "Sprint" handheld bottle by FuelBelt online.  You can find it for about $8-10.

The bulge is due to a gu in the pocket already.  (It didn't come that way).

I liked that this came in a ridiculous amount of colors (maybe 6 or 7 to chose from?) and this happened to match a recent tank top purchase.  Clearly coordinating tanks and water bottles are a must.

The zip pocket was nice, and big enough to fit a gu packet.

On the other side, there's a small velcro pocket big enough to fit a house key.

Unfortunately, the opening of this bottle was not quite large enough to fit an ice cube.

Unfortunately, the strap was just too big for my dwarf hands, and it was unable to be tightened any more.  I prefer a snugger fit around my hand.  Otherwise, I might as well just wrap my hand around the bottle.

 

That's as tight as it goes.

For reference, my hand measures 3" across at the knuckles (not including thumb)

Just an observation: No strap across the bottom of the bottle.  Only the two straps that go around the bottle at the top and bottom of the pouch. So there's nothing to stop the straps from slipping off the bottle.

The mouthpiece for the bottle is just a basic pull open/push to close - with your hand or maybe your teeth, and squeeze the water bottle to get water with any pressure. (I've become so used to my bite valve mouthpieces)

The bottle does feature numbers along the side so you know how full it is (in ounces).

Pros:

• Smaller than the bigger 20 oz bottles that can be cumbersome to carry
• Comes in lots of fun colors!
• Easily holds house key and a gu
• BPA-Free bottle
• Not too expensive
• Comfortable hand strap, but...

Cons:

• ...Strap not adjustable enough for smaller hands
• Bottle is not insulated so your hand will get wet from condensation in hot weather
• Zip pocket is not big enough for ID/card unless you want to really test the limits of the fabric/zipper
• Bottle opening not big enough for ice cubes

In the end I did return this bottle primarily based on the hand strap being too loose.  I decided to suck it up and bring my bigger bottle on shorter runs if I had to on some of those hotter summer days.  My bigger bottle is insulated and cinches tightly on my hand.

Why You Should Clean Your Camelbak

If you are like me, you may have seen this Camelbak Cleaning kit before and thought "why would I waste money on a a set of brushes to clean this thing."

Except one day when using your Camelbak, you might notice some funk in the middle of the tube.

It turns out funk is hard to photograph. 

But I digress. 

The funk made me think twice about that Cleaning Kit (the fact that I still had a credit at backcountry.com, and that they were offering free 2-day shipping for 4th of July weekend didn't hurt either).

The mouthpiece detached from the tube easily.  Once I got past the hard part (pulling the tube off of the "bladder"... needed the man of the house to do that for me.  Or, I just loosened it up for him.  Either way)  --the cleaning part was quite easy. 

 But also quite disgusting.

The above funk was obtained from the "delivery tube."  I ran hot water through both ends of the tube first, before swabbing it with the brush.  I stuck the brush in from both ends several times, washing the brush off in between, until the brush was finally clean when I pulled it out of the tube.

Ta Da! A clean delivery tube. 

(That's just water inside).

And that, my friends, is why you should clean your Camelbak.

(I used the larger brush to scrub out the bladder/reservoir but I think I have done a good job of opening it and allowing it to air dry in between uses and therefore did not produce any gross-ness from that cleaning).