COUNTDOWN TO RACEDAY 25 Days 2 Hrs 46 Mins 23

In 25 days I'm doing a Triathlon. 

In 25 days I'm doing a TRIATHLON.

IN 25 DAYS I'M DOING A TRIATHLON!

Holy crap. 

I'm doing the LA Triathlon sprint distance which is a .4 mile swim in Venice Beach (still terrified of seaweed but I'm getting better with it), a 14 mile bike ride from Venice Beach to Downtown LA, then a 3.1 mile run. 
I've been training all summer and have even done a mock triathlon. In some ways I feel like I'm ready for this, but in some ways I feel like I need more time! At this point in my training I feel like the only thing that I can improve on is just my endurance and swimming, my biking and running are set. 

When I started this blog I was just starting out running, and sometimes I feel like I still am. But in hopefully 25 days + 6 hours I'll be a triathlete. 

I'm excited to try something new, even if the thought of the whole thing makes me want to cry. 
I wouldn't be anywhere close to competing in Triathlon if it wasn't for the amazing people I train with. Everyone I've met with Train 4 Autism has been so supportive - they are an amazing group of athletes and I cant wait to share another memory with them. 


All this training has taught me that I need to cherish the journey no matter where it's taking me. 

The one where I became an Island Boost Ambassador!

Have you heard of Island Boost? I'll be honest, I hadn't until last year when I ran the SoCal Wine Country Women’s Half Marathon and they were the on course support. After that I looked up the company a little more, bought a little more and used it a little more during my races during the year and the best part was it was something that didn't make me feel sick after taking it. I am very food texture sensitive. I don't like apple sauce, cottage cheese, soup, textures freak me out. I've tried the different brands of gels and they always make me gag, and honestly that's the last thing that I needed to worry about when I was running, I have enough running issues as is!

Here is a brief F.A.Q. about Island Boost:


Will Island Boost upset my stomach like other products: 

No, it shouldn't but everyone's body is different. Chances are it will NOT and you will feel great after taking it.

Is Island Boost super thick like other gels?

NO - That is one thing that I personally LOVE about it! It's a liquid! No more gagging over gels!

Are there any allergens in Island Boost?

Island Boost uses coconut water and the Aspire flavor has strawberry juice in it. Island Boost does NOT use any wheat, corn or soy products.

I'm a vegan, can I use Island Boost?

Island Boost IS vegan so vegans can enjoy it as well!

I want to try Island Boost, where can I get it?

You can purchase it online at REI or Road Runner Sports and have it delivered to you. 

Do I get paid for telling you about Island Boost?

Nope. Not a dime. I applied to be an Island Boost ambassador when Laura announced it because it's a product that I use and believe in. Being "new" to running and all the products that are out there I was overwhelmed to find out what would work for ME. By chance I came across this product and believe that it can work for many people. I know there are other people out there who loves the gels and the tastes of them, and there's nothing wrong with that. But that's not me. I also know that there are other people who have the same issues I do and want something that is gentle on their stomach, won't make them gag or have to take with water (and is EASY to open!) and this may be that product for them.

What I will do for Laura as an Island Boost Ambassador is spread the word about Island Boost, bring brand awareness, volunteer with my fellow Ambassadors at expos and races to help other athletes enjoy the same benefits that we do. 

If you were wondering what Island Boost packaging looks like below is my order from REI that I picked up last weekend.

Should I tri?

I haven't talked about it much, but I ran the LA Marathon Charity Relay with Train 4 Autism. My husbands coworker/boss/mountain biking friend runs with them and he got us involved as well. I had never ran ANY part of the LA Marathon and it was an experience in itself. The relay was weird. I got up to run, and then sat stood around for 5+ hours waiting for the start, we want to do it again next year but switch legs, I do the first part and he does the second. Then in 2015 I might run it all myself, but that's getting way ahead of myself. With Train 4 Autism it was a different experience, in a good way - I met some GREAT people.

Here's the group that was doing the relay, we were all waiting at the 13 mile point for our partners, but had time to kill - so we got coffee. 

(The Husband and I post relay....I did not feel good in this picture, he on the other hand had finished 3 hours earlier and had a beer or two while waiting.)

While waiting for the shuttle I started talking to Jeanine. She's kinda awesome, we wish we lived closer so that we could run/workout together. While on the bus we got on the subject of something I never thought of even attempting.

Jeanine and I on the bus (and Ben the Train 4 Autism Founder behind us)

A Triathlon.

She planted a seed. Then she told a couple of other people she planted the seed. She's kind of an evil woman, but still awesome.

The seed she planted was for this tricarson .

It's the shortest distance, it's reverse, swimming use to be one of my strengths. I haven't swam laps in years though. Swimming in an ocean would scare me because of my irrational fear of seaweed. But this swim is in a pool.

A few weeks ago, Katie over at Moms Little Running Buddy (it's a cute site and she gives good advice) re-posted an older post of hers about Triathlons. It's like she was reading my mind. You can read her post about it here. The thing that stood out to me the most from her post was this:

Finally, what if I get halfway in and want to give up or wonder what I have gotten myself into. 

Guess what, you wouldn't be the first to think that.  I distinctly remember that moment where I wondered why I was doing this but I did it anyway and am soo glad I did.  It's an addicting feeling that you'll never regret.  Pain only last for a short time, that feeling of accomplishment lasts forever.  Suck it up!  You'll get through it.  If it makes you feel any better, one time, I actually had to walk my bike on a course.  It was extremely hilly and my legs just wouldn't do it.  No matter what you'll finish and you might even meet some amazing people along the way.  

That stuck with me. I've talked on here before about my fear, I'm afraid of pushing myself. I know it stems for issues from my childhood that will take lots of therapy and time to deal with and neither of which I have the time or desire to do at this point in my life.

Train 4 Autism starts their Triathlon training in May.  So the biggest question I'm facing now is this something I want to do? Will it help me get over my fear of pushing myself? Sometimes I just wish I could get over these fears and be the awesome person that I know I can be.

Excuses, Expectations & Fear

I'm full of all three.

I want to run in the mornings - but I'm too tired and it's too cold. I start a new job next week so my hours will change. I'll be able to run after work again (which I LOVED!). But that excuse of starting a new job next week is stopping me from running today. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

I want to run next months LA Marathon Relay (I'm running with Train 4 Autism - awesome people & group if you want to donate to my team Cassie & Scot Train 4 Autism page ) in under 2:50. Can I do it? Yes, I can. If I put in the work. Will I do it? That is the question.

I want to see results, but I don't want to put in too much work. If I don't put in the work my time won't improve. I know this. I know what I need to do, but I keep coming up with excuses not to.

Which brings me to fear.

Fear is unfortunately running rampant in my life right now.

I have fear with running - I want to push myself but am scared of getting hurt. But how will I know what I can do if I don't push? What am I waiting for? Why can't I push myself now? Why do I keep holding back? I KNOW I can go faster then I do, yet I'm afraid to be uncomfortable.

I'm also living with fear. A few weeks ago my house was broken in to while my husband and I were both at work. I came home and found the back door broken. I called 911 and they searched the house to make sure there was no one in it. Stuff was dumped out everywhere - dressers, desks, closets, wine cabinet. All that was stolen was electronics and feeling safe in my house. We've taken measures to protect our house, but I'm still trying to get over my fear of leaving the house. We are going to adopt a dog soon, which I know will help.

Maybe what I'm trying to say is - I need to let go of the excuses and the fear if I want my expectations to become reality. There's no reason I can't be a faster runner. There's no reason I can't wake up earlier to work out. There's no reason I shouldn't feel safe in my own house. Once I let go on my excuses and fear I will be in a better place.

A Year in Review....but not really

Towards the beginning of the month I saw so many blog posts of people I follow on twitter recapping the 2012 year and all their running. I thought about doing that, but I realized this year that running led me to something deeper.

Running opened up a whole new world for me - a world that I didn't know would exist within my world. I stepped outside my comfort zone many times this year. From cheering on random people at the Disneyland Half (and making a sign for random strangers and hoping to SEE random "strangers" (@runlikeacoyote & Teal and Beth from @Lifeisarun), dressing up in costume at a half marathon, making a Got Chocolate Milk video and asking people to vote on it, to actually talking to Dorothy from @MilesPosts in Vegas (while there was a print out of the magazine cover she was on to our right). It wasn't just people that I met (or hope to meet - Lisa (@runlikeacoyote) and I will both be running the same half in January and one of my goals is to meet her in person!). It was the things I've learned, both about myself and running.

I learned a lot about myself this year. I learned that I don't like getting up in the morning to run before work because it's cold, but I love the feeling after. I discovered the greatness that are Pro Compression socks (and FINALLY no blisters!). I've learned that even though its one of the hardest things to do that I LOVE trail running. I've learned that other peoples running adventures have shaped mine, even if they don't know it - I've read their blogs, tweets, etc and those people have proved to me that it can be done if you believe in yourself. I've learned that I really like running, and proving people wrong. I've learned that I need to stop doubting myself. I've learned that there are limits with everything, except running. I've also learned that the only limits I have when it comes to running are the ones that I put on myself. In 2013 I plan on pushing myself even further outside my comfort zone and past those limits.

I became a Zombie, then a Survivor, set a Half Marathon PR & was a Dirty Girl.

Last post I mentioned that I had runs coming up 3 weekends in a row, well that's all done now. Like the subject of this blog, I was a Zombie (kind of) then a Survivor, set a Half Marathon PR & was a Dirty Girl.

To start at the beginning, my husband signed us up for Run for your lives. It was awesome. We drove the 2 hours to Temecula, grabbed a quick bite to eat then made our way to Vail Lake. We walked around and I bought a few zombie themed items (not a shock - I know!) then we got ready for our wave. While we were waiting in our corral as dessert (meaning we would be the last group from our wave let out) I started to get nervous. Really nervous. I had never done an obstacle course because and add in the zombie factor I was a little scared. Our corral went, and we went UP a hill. half a mile. Fun Times. I did good for awhile, everyone did a lot of walking. Eventually I lost all my flags, but a nice Zombie gave me another one (which was good because I actually wanted to KEEP the flag because it was cool) and then so did another Zombie, see zombies can be nice....a few of the obstacle were hard, I got stuck in the mud a few times and hurt my knee crawling in mud under the barbed wire and the electric house was scary, I only got shocked at the end while going under the fence because my hair kept touching the fence. Oh well. We made it to the end both as Survivors which was nice, and then we got our beer, got cleaned up and went home. I definitely had fun and I can't wait for next year.

Up next was the Rock and Roll LA Half Marathon. I had a goal. Under 3 hours. 2:59:59, I didn't care. I wanted under 3 so bad. Unfortunately  that didn't happen. I felt weird all weekend, not sure why. Around mile 8 I knew that I wouldn't hit under 3. I became ok with it. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't going to hurt myself to still try and get it. What gets me is I KNOW I can be faster, I've done it before. But I am scared, not sure of what. Being outside my comfort zone? I'm not sure. I DID set a new PR by 15 minutes though. So I was trying to be happy about that. I like the LA Half Marathon because it's so close to home (10-15 minute drive with traffic to the start). I don't like the hill going up the 6th street bride at mile 10. Torture. But the view from up there is amazing. After we all finished we went out to brunch, which was fun & well earned since some of set new PR's. I should celebrate that even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I went home and showered and put on my Pro Compression socks and my legs were very, very happy. I love these socks, I tried them out on a recommendation and love them, they need to have constant sales so that I can buy one in every color!

This past Saturday I did the Go Dirty Girl mud run in Ventura  Santa Paula. One of my friends from high school wanted to do it since it was the day before her 30th birthday, so there was a team of 6 of us that headed out to wait in line. I mean, run in the mud. Let me explain, 2 days before the race we got an email saying that we would park in one location and be shuttled to another. We figured we need to allow extra time for that. So we did. We got to the parking location almost 2 hours before our wave time. We waited. And waited. And waited. For 2 hours. In the sun. Watching our wave time pass us by. There were what seemed to be 4 shuttles on rotation, not nearly enough. They told us we could run in whatever wave we get there by, gee, that's great, but some of us had other plans because we didn't expect to be waiting for a shuttle for 2 hours. Eventually we get to the location, only to see TONS of people had parked near/at the KOA and walked up to the event. We could have done the same. To say we were annoyed was the understatement of the century. We got checked in, checked our gear and got in the next wave. The race was fun. It's a women's race so nothing was too hard. We climbed  we went through mud, went up and down hills, and I got stuck at the top of the cargo net. I have an intense fear of heights. The girls in my group told me it would be fine once I got going. I got to the top and was holding on to both sides terrified to come down. But my team and the spectators cheered me on and got me down. Our group finally crossed the finish line mud pit, we took a group picture and then tried to get changed. The changing area wasn't great, the floor was muddy and that's where we had to rinse off as well so it was crowded, but we made the best of what we had and women got changed. While waiting for the rest of our team to come out I saw my friend, Tracey,  who has been my friend for YEARS (we met through Job's Daughters and both got escorted for the 1st time together and she made me laugh when I wanted to cry during my majority degree). I didn't know she was running so it was a much welcomed surprise  After we got our free beer we had to wait in ANOTHER line for the shuttle to go back to the cars. Another hour. At this point we were all tired and wanted to go home. The staff was great with having water out for us though and trying to get us all in the shade as much as possible. Waiting around for a shuttle sucked, big time. They really needed more to be running and on a constant rotation. Aside from all the shuttle waiting it was a very fun event and one that I recommend for women if they want to try an obstacle course / mud run. My advice would be grab a group of girl friends and find your nearest Dirty Girl run. I realize I complained about the shuttle a lot, but it was a big hindrance in our day because people did have other plans, but that's life. We had to wait around, besides waiting around for the shuttle and the annoyances that caused it was a GREAT event. One that I will hopefully run again with another group of friends.

My next race is the Rock and Roll Las Vegas half marathon. My first time running Las Vegas. 3 hours. Under 3. That's all I want. I know I will have to step outside my comfort zone to do that. I hope I'm prepared.

Running faster, gaining confidence and getting lost (and a name change)!

First of all, I decided to change the name of my blog. I'm a slow runner. I embrace being slow, I'm ok with it.

But - I'm getting faster.

I ran a mile in 10 minutes and 30 seconds. Normally I run in the 12 minute range. I was thrilled. Let me start at the beginning.

My husband @scotbritton was going to run the San Jose Rock and Roll half marathon. I was not, I'm doing the LA half at the end of the month and I thought it was too close together for me. During my training for the half, I was scheduled to do an approximate 6 mile run that weekend. At first I thought I would just run around the area of the hotel or use the hotel gym. During the time I had these thoughts Rock and Roll started to promote their horribly named "mini marathon" it was approximately 5 miles and was at the same time as the half. I debated running it - I hate the name of it. There is nothing wrong calling it a 5 mile "fun run" or something similar. But, at the last minute I decided to run it, figured it would give me something to do during the time my husband was running. I started in corral 3 (our placement was based on our 5K time) and my husband was in corral 11, we decided to see how long it would take him to "catch" me. My first mile was 10:30, I imagine it was because I was with the faster runners, but it felt GREAT. I wasn't getting tired, I felt like I could go further at that pace, but decided that I needed to slow down. I didn't want to hurt myself. At about 2.5 miles when I was walking, my husband "caught" me and passed me and he was off. When I got to the 5K point my time was in the 37 minute range. I had a new PR for a 5K!!! I finished the mini. It was less then 5 miles....but just barely, but even with that my 5 mile time would have been my best time. I was happy. I felt confident and knew I can do it.

I've started to feel more confident with my running, I feel like I am finally seeing progress and feeling great about it.

This past weekend called for my longest distance so far. 10 miles. I normally wake up early, go to the beach and run on the bike path before it gets too crowded. I knew that there was construction one way on the bike path so decided to go the other way towards Marina Del Rey and towards Venice Beach Boardwalk - a route that I hadn't ran before. I had a GREAT pace going in the Marina and towards the board walk. I felt confident. I knew I could do it. I thought of turning around at 4 miles out, but decided I wanted to make it to the Boardwalk. I got to the Boardwalk, and then remembered WHY I DON'T GO TO THE BOARDWALK! There are a lot of homeless people wondering on it in the morning, there were cops, but I just didn't feel safe. After taking a quick picture I turned around and headed back. Did you see the part where I said I hadn't ran that route before? I missed the street I need to turn down. Ended up lost in the streets of the Marina, trying to get to the bike path. I asked 2 people for directions - neither were helpful. Tried to figure out the maps on my phones - I'm bad with directions. After about 30-45 minutes of wandering around seeing if the streets were going to get me out of my little adventure, I found people who were headed to the bike path and followed them. By the time I got to the bike path I was at 10 miles and running out of water. But I wasn't done, my directional mishap added almost 1.5 miles to my route. While back on the bike path, I encountered a triathlon  Thankfully only the running portion, but I did all I could to stay out of their way. I got back to my car almost 3 hours after I started my adventurous morning, in a way it was good I went the different route because the triathlon running course was right along the path I normally run.

My run yesterday gave me confidence, even though I got lost, I am confident enough in my ability to run my upcoming half. I am hoping to finish in under 3 hours. I don't care if it's 2:59:59, I want to finish in under 3. The next 3 weekends are filling with running events - next weekend my husband and I are doing the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5K I'm a little scared, but know that I will have fun. I'm excited to see the people dressed as zombies. Then the following weekend is the Rock and Roll LA Half Marathon where I am dressing up as Batman. Then the first weekend in November, a few girls I went to high school with and I (and hopefully my sister in law) are doing the Dirty Girl Mud Run. It's a lot coming up, but I'm excited.


Normally I take a picture post training run -  this was all I could do: