One month from now...

I'll have completed my first full marathon (26.2) and can proudly be one of those people that rock the sticker on my car or flight bag, my wife will have her first half marathon in the bag (13.1) and I should be gearing up for yet another sprint triathlon on September 11. (San Diego TriRock) Just in case I haven't mentioned it yet, I'm turning the "big" 3-0 in July and thought that I should run a marathon before then and that's the real reason behind this who fiasco. So far, training has been a hit or miss and up until just recently, I was free from shin splints and "hot feet."  Last night, after running for an hour on the hotel treadmill, I encountered both.  It's a scary thought that I signed up for the full marathon, but with all the positive thinking, I'm going to school it.  Unlike my others out there with a goal of 3:59:59, I'm just adding an hour to that and aiming for nice and "easy" 4:59:59.  I have yet to reach my 60 min 10K and with San Francisco's Centennial Bay to Breakers coming up on May 15th, I'm hoping that it will post as a good "warmup" with all the hills included.

The historic Zazzle Bay to Breakers is a USA Track and Field Certified 12k (7.46 miles).

From sea level at the Embarcadero the course rises steeply along the Hayes Street Hill. Around the 2.5-mile mark runners climb an 11.15% grade between Fillmore Street and Steiner Street. The remainder of the course gradually flows downhill alongside the Panhandle through Golden Park to the Finish Line at the Great Highway.

Here's to my wife and graduating Gonzaga 2011 w/ a Family Nurse Practitioner's degree! I Love ya sweetie!

Miramar Lake #2 + Bay to Breakers!

Another good run at a good pace but I definitely know that I can do better. Maybe I'll do two laps next time at this pace and then see what's up. After today's run, I'm starting to feel confident which is a good thing. So... I said in a previous post that I was considering running Bay to Breakers 100th Anniversary and today, I registered my wife and I. Low and behold, it's selling out as I was only able to register for the "F" Corral; the last group in the race. I'm looking forward to a Saturday night in San Francisco as well as the race on Sunday the 15th of May. Should be fun!

Here's my run data from below using my Garmin Edge 500.

It's March!!!

Feels like March came rather quickly this year and with that, it's always a good excuse to update and tell you what's been going on.  This year, I've been motivated more than ever to to finally get into shape.  It has, maybe a little to do with me turning the big three-oh, but I've noticed the fact that my metabolism, eating habits and general lifestyle is slowing down, getting worse and rapidly evolving when it comes to priorities. I have officially signed up for the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon on June 5th and the Tour de Cure San Diego Century Ride which takes place just one month earlier  on May 7, 2011.  I can't say that I've officially setup my fundraising website for the Tour de Cure but I will have it up and running in the next few days.  I promise.

Competitor San Diego just updated, revised and released the official race route for this year's marathon (PDF) and included an elevation map too!  As you can see, there's a good climb / gradient starting at mile seven which, if you think about it, after you've finished the uphill battle, could reinvigorate you signaling that you're awesome done!  I can assure you that's the way I'll be thinking about it.

Thinking about other races, I'm seriously considering the Carlsbad 5K where I'm aiming for the All Day 25K (Five 5K) Challenge. I'm in it really just for the medal but I guess by Sunday April 3rd, I'll already be within 60 days of the full marathon so running a half should be alright right?  I even get breaks here and there between each 5K!  I'll know how I feel about it after today when I run Miramar Lake for the first time.  If I can do it without bonking out, I should be alright.

I'm also thinking about Bay to Breakers 2011 being the 100th anniversary on May 15th.  It's calmed down considerably with the removal and strict policy of no alcohol, but hey, it's a family deal right?  Should be safer and cleaner and... they also have a medal!  A 12K race isn't that bad right?  Who wants in on this one?!  With that, I better get back to my other job at adellelijah.com.

I still haven't done any official swim lesions so until I feel comfortable swimming 1500 meters, I will be holding off on the decision to race San Diego TriRock Olympic distance.