"In every race there is a crucial moment when the body wants to quit. Then it needs imagination and mental tenacity to survive the crisis. Otherwise the penalty is defeat." --Derek Ibbotson

Well, friends...it was a valiant effort.  We went in to the Surf City Half with all we had.  I got a good night's sleep and was up and at 'em super early at 4:30am, took my ginger juice shot, caffed up and grabbed Adri--my favorite training partner--and we were off!

I was feeling strong and pacing 7:05 at the 3 mile and 7:25 at the 8.2 mile mark, but I'll be honest: at about mile 7, I started to hurt.  Like ouch.  And even though she was super careful with it the week before Adri's injured foot started to give after mile 5.  It was a perfect reminder to me that no matter how many times I compete, how many races I run, how many classes I teach or people I train, if my base training isn't up and I'm not increasing distance aggressively in those training runs, my body gets mad at me.  Lesson learned.  So I'm tweaking my base training for the Bayshore 70.4 and the Oceanside Ford Ironman for  sure.

I crossed the finish at 1:45:07...3 minutes below my PR and 6 minutes below my Surf City goal.  Our worthy adversaries Team BJ ran a fast, clean race beating us to the finish and a bet's a bet: Adri and I will be slinging beers and tater tots at them at Riley's.  Date TBD.  Boo!

Next up this month is Race on the Base in Los Alamitos, then Bayshore 70.4.  Onward and upward!

         

I started my 2012 with 6 races already on the calendar for the year.  I’m a goal setter and I love to always be in training for something specific, so having these to look forward to keeps me personally motivated and inspired to train and inspire.  Yahoo!

My first race of the year is tomorrow, Sunday, February 5th: Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach.  It’s a beautiful course right along the Pacific Ocean and we have such a fun group of newbies and marathon vets from TRIBE and Team Hardbody pumped and ready to go.  We started training last October 1st and kicked it in to high gear after the holidays refining our diets and combining CrossFit with sprints and distance runs.  I’m stoked to start the season and I’m always gearing up for competition.  There’s always something to beat:  my personal best overall time; my 7:40/mile pace; my partner in training crime, Adri.  But the gauntlet got thrown for Surf City!  This Half, there’s even more on the line...

It’s a race within the race!  Adri and me vs. Team BJ!  We’re in a race for our lives (ok, fine…just our pride!) against BroMan and Jam, two athletes and worthy adversaries.  The team with the lowest combined time wins.  If Team BJ beats us, Adri and I have to sling beers and bus tables in t-shirts of shame at Riley’s, our favorite post-race place to hydrate.  Or when we beat BroMan and Jam, they have to do my spin class at The Belmont.  Sitting front and center.  In nothing but PINK SPEEDOS (ok, fine…we’ll let them wear spin shoes, too.  Safety first!) and a cloud of defeat.  Poor Team BJ.  I hope they don’t have any embarrassing tan lines.

So, tonight we’ll carb up and hydrate at a Surf City Carb Party with chicken, veggies, fruit and Pedialyte.  We're going to get lots of sleep.  And tomorrow we run, we dominate, and toast our victory at the finish with mimosas and Jell-o shots!  Wish us luck.