01.11.15 Hot Chocolate 15k

The i'd been eyeing this race for so long.  and this year, i finally did it.  i, initially, signed up for the 5k, thinking, "i don't know if i want to train for a long run for so early in the year."  but i thought about it and thought, "you know what, i'm just gonna bang it out!"  and bang it out, i did.

i got in a run at lake merced on the first of the year and did pretty well.  i pr'd.  not bad for the first run of the year.  i'll write more about the pr's later.

so with this new pr, i was feeling pretty good about the race coming up.  i've never run the course, so i didn't really know what to expect.  it started out in golden gate park, ran out to and along ocean beach and then we back tracked and ended back into the park.

not knowing exactly what the course was, but knowing we would simply backtrack i paid a little attention to the course going out towards the beach.  i noticed as we were running out that mile 7 coming back was on a hill.  so coming back into golden gate park, i prepared myself for the hill at mile 7.  well, i guess i wasn't paying that much attention b/c the whole rest of the race from there was uphill.  lol  basically the last 3 miles were uphill.  and if you've ever heard a runner talk, the last 3 miles, are the worst.  it was definitely taking a toll on me.  i just wanted the hills to end, and where the hell was the finish line!

but i did it and i did great.  i was proud of my time and how i did.  this race proved it, my average miles are now in the mid 9s.  good by 11s!  i finished in 1:32:33 at an average of 9:44/mile.  considering I used to finish 12k races in about 1:30 I was pretty darn proud!

here are some pictures of me and our concrete runners crew.

11.04.14 49ers Rush Challenge

I'm it's already the new year and i'm so behind on my posts.  i'll try not to be so late this year, especially with my race entries.

so this will be my lame attempt and recalling my races since the nwm2014.

my very last race for 2014 was the 49ers challenge on 11.04.14.  well i actually did two races that day.  i signed up for the challenge but ended up doing the 4.9k first.  we (who ever concrete runners were with us) decided to accompany arlynn/arthur's mom in her journey.  we thought we would be a doing a good stroll or fast paced walk just to accompany her, but she really was speed walking, so our fast paced walks turned into light jogs at times just to keep up with her.  it was fun.

then later that day we did the 49ers challenge.  i thought the courses were going to be a bit tougher.  but i think the hardest thing was going up and down all the damn stairs.  lol.  we went all the way up to the nose bleeds and all the way back down i don't even know how many times.  and it was a warm day, so it was a little irritating.  but, i definitely do the race again...but i do have some qualms about the pricing.

it was $100 more than the 4.9k race and the medal was the same.  so i have 2 of the same medal.  the shirt was the same.  the only thing that was different is that we got a drawstring backpack instead of a plastic bag, and we got a rally towel and a mini football at the end of the race.  i don't think those even add up to $100.  other than that... i didn't really have any complaints.  the race was pretty organized, thank lord!  there's nothing more disappointing/irritating than an unorganized race.

but here is the course and some pictures from the event. i don't know where all the pictures went, so I had to snapshot from my ig.