San Onofre Bluffs 5K and 12K

On Saturday, January 7, 2017, Ted and I headed up to the San Onofre camp grounds to participate in the San Onofre Bluffs Trail Race. With all of the rain, the course had some re-routing, some mud, and lots of sand which I didn't care for. It was a fun day, but a tough race for me. I felt really good on the first half of the race and was able to keep up my pace, but during the second half I suffered from an upset stomach that resulted in a bathroom detour (hey, it happens to all runners). The sand didn't help my knee at all either. I ended up with a time of 1:31 and 9th out of 20 age group 50-59.

This was the first time I participated in races by RockIt Racing, a newer trail running company. I was really impressed by the organization of the race, and I would definitely participate in another race in their series.  Most of their races are held in Orange County. This race is the furthest south.

Hiking Together

I have created a hiking album for Ted and I that has all of the hikes we have done together, and I will continue to add to it after every hike we do. Here is the link to the album: HIKING TOGETHER.

Del Dios Trail Half Marathon

On Sunday, December 11, I did my biggest race of 2016, the Del Dios Trail Half Marathon. After a great 10 mile race last month, I thought my fitness level was growing; however, I struggled through the training for this race and my endurance seemed to be at a low point. I couldn't keep a steady pace at all and I have no idea why, just one of those things I guess as I really stuck to my training plan.  I also wasn't totally focused on this race because at the same time, Tony was flying home from Boise, and I was really worried about him traveling through snow and ice and getting to the airport, getting on his flight, etc.  We had planned on surprising Ted by Tony coming home on Sunday instead of the following Tuesday. Tony and I were actually texting back and forth as I was doing this race!

The first half of the race went very well, but I really started to fade during the second half of the race, and I got tired enough that I tripped at mile 9 and had a nice slide out. My time was a slow 2:27, and 11:16 pace. Really liked this race and I might do it again!

Silver Strand 10 Miler

On November 13, I ran my furthest distance yet since my surgery - 10 miles! Also it was on the road, not on a trail. I was really impressed with my race since I have been struggling with my fitness level, and it has been very difficult to get it back!  Below is a screenshot of the stats for my race. I was able to hold a 9:16 pace for the duration of the ten miles.  I did have to stop halfway and use the bathroom, didn't think I could make it to the finish without stopping, so I did lose a minute or two of my time there. My "A" goal was to run the race in an hour and 30 minutes, but I ended up running the race two minutes slower.  I also came in third place, basically tying with the girl that came in second place.  After I used the restroom, I came upon the other girl, and we helped push each other off and on until the finish.

When I finished the race and saw the results, I was totally shocked to see that the lady in first had done the race in one hour and ten minutes. I thought for sure some lady had given her bib to some guy because it is really unbelievable that someone 55 or older could run the race that fast, s 7 minute pace! But there she is in the photo above,  really a freak of nature!  Then when they called the girl in second and then me, the two of us were laughing because we had run the second half of the race together!

All in all, it was one of my best comeback races! I would like to do this race again next year. I really like the 10 mile option. To run the half marathon, you run past the finish line and then come back, something not appealing to me at all!

Mission Bay Triathlon

On Sunday I participated in the Mission Bay Triathlon. This triathlon has a lot of history in the sport of triathlon, and it also has a lot of personal history for me. The very first triathlon took place in Mission Bay at Fiesta Island on September 25, 1974, and consisted of a 6 mile run followed by a 5 mile bicycle ride, and then a 500 meter swim. The cost to enter that race was $1! Soon after that, the sport of triathlon took off, became very popular, and is still growing!

I participated in my very first triathlon on October 5, 2003, at Mission Bay. I have it written in my race book as the "Jamba Juice Triathlon." I didn't have a wetsuit for the race, so I borrowed one to use. As I was putting the wetsuit on near the start, the zipper broke! I had to run back to the transition area to drop off the wetsuit and run back to the start. I swam in the chilly water without a wetsuit, and I remember laughing about the broken wetsuit while I was swimming!

I've done that particular tri 8 times since then, and hopefully I can participate in 8 more! It's a popular race for beginners, and I heard that Sunday's race had about 400 more racers than last year.

My race went well. I felt like I had gained a little fitness since my last tri in the summer, but I am still far from what I was (or ever will be) since before I had my knee surgery.

Next race up is the Silver Strand 10-miler. The training will be a test to see how my knees hold up since this will be the furthest I have run since.

Carmet Valley 15K

This is only the third year that Seasick Events has put on this Carmel Valley Trail race. You can participate in a 5K, 10K, or for the first time, the 15K. I believe they also had a kids 1 mile fun run, so this event has something for runners of all levels. Also the price is right for this race at only $50 to $60.

I love to run and/or hike trails, but I don't like going alone, so trail races give me the opportunity to be out there with a group. I never knew there was a trail behind Torrey Pines High School, so I really wanted to check it out.

Trail races are small events, because park permits usually only allow a certain number of people on the trails at a time.  So this event was small with only a little over 300 runners. I really enjoyed this race. It wasn't flat. (Rarely are trail races flat.)  The trail consisted of rolling hills with a BIG descent at the beginning to get you down into the valley where the trail was.  The trail was mostly single track rolling hills.  It was very peaceful out there and not very crowded, so you had a lot of quiet time and some alone time. Then, of course, to get out of the valley and back to the finish line you had a BIG climb at the end.

I had a pretty good race, better than my training has been going. Since I have lost most of my fitness, it has been a real struggle trying to get some of it back, and I run out of gas after about an hour. The big descent at the beginning and the single track trail actually worked to my advantage.  Instead of taking off too fast in the beginning of the race and then running out of gas, (usually how I operate) on this race, I had to walk down the big hill, and then I was stuck in a traffic jam of runners until it thinned out.  So I ended up building speed throughout the race, which is a good strategy to use.  At the end of the race, though, I was still exhausted, and walking up that big hill wasn't a lot of fun!

I ended up second in my age group, 50-59. (In trail races, the age groups go in 10 year increments.) There were only 6 women in my age group, and I was the oldest one!  I was actually the second oldest woman out there. There were only 66 runners who did the 15K, and I came in 36th overall.

Seasick events is a relatively new company. Their next race is at Lake Hodges in December.  They have a 10K and a Half Marathon. I'm planning on being out there for one of those!

Stairway to Heaven 15K

On Saturday, August 13th, I participated in the Stairway to Heaven 15K race put on by Dirt Devil Racing. It was quite the challenge as you can imagine from the photo. This is the second time I have done this race.  The first time I did this race was before I had my knee surgeries, and even though I thought it was very difficult, I think I had a pretty good time. This time, though, was extremely difficult since I have lost most of the fitness I once had. The extreme hills on this course also had me worried about the strain on my meniscus or lack thereof.

This race takes place at Mission Trails Regional Park located in Santee. There are two main climbs in this race, and the climb that names this race the Stairway to Heaven is Mt. Fortuna with steep stairs made of railroad ties and rocks. Another factor that always makes this race difficult is the August heat.  Overall, I think this race was a little too extreme for me after my knee surgeries, but I definitely think I could just take my time and hike these great trails.

Mission Trails Regional Park has many, many trails for every level of hiker and runner.  I recommend this park for a day outdoors. Here is the LINK for more information about this park.

For the Love of the Game

On April 16, 2016, I participated in my first race in about two years after my knee surgery. This small 5K was a trail run on the Lake Hodges trails. I was really excited to be out there, although in the weeks prior since I began training again, I developed IT band pain in the same knee I had the surgery on.  At first, I didn't know what the sharp, stabbing pain was in my knee, and I was so afraid that I was about to tear something else in my knee or that something else was wrong, but luckily the chiropractor/PT I see at San Diego Running Institute knew right away what it was. Since I have been out of commission from running for so long, I guess I have to go through all the same aches and pains that new runners go through.  So on top of my regular PT, I added acupuncture to my treatment regimen, and that helped immensely.  On the morning of the race, I was only having a small amount of pain, and it subsided quickly after the blood was flowing on the run. It felt so good to be out there on race day, and everything went well. It was hard to keep myself from crying because I was so happy to be running, and to top it off, I came in first place in my age group (the old ladies' age group).

FOXY TRAIL 5K

Then on May 1, 2016,  I did my first triathlon since August of 2014, the Spring Sprint Triathlon, which is one of my favorites.  I sprinted my heart out and was in the top 3 during the swim and the bike, but on the second loop of the run, my fitness began to run out and I dropped to fifth.  Still, it was so great to be out there!

SPRING SPRINT TRIATHLON

After the sprint tri, I was given the go-ahead to increase my running outside, as I had only been running outside once or twice a week, and nothing more than five miles.  But as soon as I increased my fitness level, I got soreness and pain in my knee, and now I have to back off once again while my bruised MCL heals up. Then last weekend, I was doing some heavy-duty spring cleaning, and I pulled the intercostal muscles in my right rib cage, and it hurts pretty darn bad.

I'm sad I have been sidelined, but I'm not giving up. My next trail race is a 10K on June 18th, and the next weekend, I'll be participating in another sprint triathlon. And even though I haven't even run outside that far since my surgery, I'll still be out there participating in what I love the most. For the love of the game...

Dirt Devil Racing

dirtdevilracing.com

On April 16, 2016, I will be participating in the Foxy Trail 5K at Lake Hodges, and this will be my first race since my two knee surgeries. On April 20, 2015, I had my first arthroscopic surgery on my left knee, and then I had my second arthroscopic surgery on the same knee on July 20, 2015.  This has been a trying ordeal for me because I had to put my favorite hobby aside and rehab and heal. My last race was in the fall of 2015, and I am really looking forward to running again even though it is only a trail 5K.  I highly recommend participating in any of the Dirt Devil Races.  They are small races with incredible trails, and athletes of all abilities can participate, finish, and feel proud and accomplished. I can't wait to get out there!