Browse Author: beakatude

what a mess

After a day of rest I went back to work today. My knees were sore, my ankles were sore, everything was sore. However, I managed to put in a full day of work and the walking and moving really helped. By the end of the day I was feeling much better and I wasn’t waddling around as awkwardly as I was yesterday. Speaking of…yesterday I chatted with a couple of people who ran the race and they were all just as sore. We all had our own little ailments from a sore butt to sore ankles. What a mess. Luckily I’m feeling much better today and I can start back up again. I’m not sure if I’ll do another marathon soon but I’d like to get one more 10K in before the end of the year.

run like a girl

Yay! We finished the Nike Women’s Marathon! The morning started really early. We got up at 5 am after tossing and turning all night due to jitters and the neighbors playing poker all night next door. We got to the starting area by 6 am and the gun went off at 7.

The hills were pretty mean and the fog was cold and wet. We started at NikeTown, ran down Embarcadero, past Fisherman’s Wharf and The GG Bridge, and then through GG Park. The first half was fun with Susie by my side until we had to say “goodbye” at Mile 12 when the half marathoners split off and I was on my own for another 14 miles. The last half went deeper into GG Park, past the finish line (bastards!), down The Great Highway, around Lake Merced, and back up The Great Highway…pretty dull and painful. I felt ok until Mile 20 when the bump on my knee started to bother me. I think the hills had really taken a toll on my legs as well. All I know is that I made sure to eat and drink plenty of fluids along the way and boy did they pamper us. We had numerous aid stations, lots of Luna Bars, bananas, and chocolate. They even had a Pedi-Care station where they gave out free Nike socks and chairs for you to change into fresh socks. At Mile 25, I was struggling but then Ryan showed up and ran with me for the last mile. That was cool.

Overall, the race was scenic but painful and I finished in 5 hours and 45 minutes…much slower than expected but I’m still happy that I finished. The half marathon girls did really well. Vyl even finished under 2 hours and I think they all had a great time. At the finish line, we were greeted by men in tuxedos handing out the little blue box. The finisher’s DryFit T-shirt was also nice. Props to our supporters: Jimmy and Eleen with the noisemakers, Jesse the photographer, Victor and the signs, Ryan the last mile cheerleader, and Dayantha the guy with a loud voice.

Afterwards, we had Vietnamese food and then Vyl took me and Michelle to get pedicures. Aahh… Our flight home was delayed and the plane ride was very uncomfortable. Check out photos from the race here.

That’s a cute shirt.

Today I spent the day in Union Square with Vyl. We went to the Expotique to pick up some shwag. I scored a personalized pace band, a grip of Luna Bars, and some Ghiradelli chocolate. I also tried on some Nike shoes and got a free pair of socks. Cool! The whole city was covered in blue and orange Nike Marathon billboards and posters. This is quite a production and whoever is in charge of Nike’s marketing is a genius. The NikeTown was packed with women scrambling around trying to buy everything off the racks. Some popular items were already sold out by this morning and I am even tempted to purchase a $70 jacket that can be personalized for free. *sigh* I’m such a sucker for cute running stuff. This is one running event that goes above and beyond anything I’ve ever seen. I guess they just know they’ll make it all up through NikeTown sales. It’s just ridiculous.

This evening before dinner, we drove the actual race route. There are some gnarly hills on the course and the last half of my marathon is a litte dull. I was feeling really anxious afterwards and all through dinner but now that I’ve had my pasta dinner and the timing chip is on my shoe, I’m feeling a little more optimistic. I just have be like the tortoise…”slow and steady”. OK…it’s off to bed I go.

Shoes, check!

OK. I’ve got my clothes packed, shoes packed, everything else packed. My Garmin is charged. The iPod is loaded. What else?? I can’t believe this weekend has arrived after all the time and mileage I’ve put in. Not much else I can do from here! I looked at the latest course map and they’re featuring a chocolate mile, cell phone station where you can call loved ones, and an oxygen bar?! What’s that about? This is probably the most girlie race I’ll ever run and the most commercial race I’ve heard of because not only is there a chocolate mile, but it’s a Ghiradelli chocolate mile. There will also be Jamba Juice stations giving out bananas along the course…*sigh*…how much did I pay for my registration again? I’m surprised it didn’t cost me an arm and a leg. OK…I hope I don’t drink too much tonight at Levende and I hope I don’t bonk on Sunday. Here I go! Wish me luck!

New Plane, Better Trip

In planning for our Thailand trip, I did some research on our flight, our seat assignments, etc. First of all, they changed our 20-hour flight with one stop in Japan to a 16-hour non-stop flight!! Excellent. Secondly, Thai Airways upgraded their fleet of planes to the Airbus A340-500. I didn’t really know what that meant for us but after doing a little more research I found out that it’s awesome! Of course their “Royal Silk Class” will be sleeping on flat-reclining seats and Premium Economy will have slightly more legroom. But in ECONOMY, we’ll have in-seat personal entertainment featuring on-demand movies, video games, and music. It’s like JetBlue! I also read that each seat will have a PC Power connection to keep your laptop charged the whole way! Woohoo!! We are ghetto-ing-it-up in style!! Brother, Daddy, Jes…if you’re reading this, I think you need to get up out of your seat right now and do a happy dance. Ready? 1-2-3…go!
Ok, time for the daily recap. I essentially had a half-day of work today since our usual afternoon Staff Meeting was cancelled. Yippee! So, I made a date with Marie and Cole. We went out for lunch. We went shopping at IKEA. We even went to Mitsuwa Marketplace! Fun times for us all…even for Taku-chan. He was in a good mood all afternoon and didn’t cry or fuss until the very end as we drove back to my house. Phew!

Let’s just get this over with!

The Nike Women’s Marathon is 4 days away and I’m getting a little anxious. I’ve trained. I’ve done this before. I’m even eating bananas! And I’m still anxious! All I know is that I need to mentally prepare for a 5-hour jog. I’m just happy to know that I’ll have friends to run with for the first 13 miles and that I’ll have friends and family cheering for me along the route. I guess the nice little Tiffany & Co. finisher’s necklace isn’t bad either. 😉
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Let’s change subjects. I started a new photoblog today. I’ve been thinking about learning PHP so I can build my very own but then I found this site. It’s a neat concept…I just don’t know if any of my photos are worth showcasing in this format. It seems that just posting them on the blog I already have is enough. I suppose the coolest thing about a photoblog is that it will allow me to categorize my photos for easier searching and viewing. That’s all I can think of at the moment.