5:16:29

26.2 miles mile by mile report



Warmer than I liked it, lots of rolling hills, thank goodness I wore Ultrathon, the 12 hour bug repellent. I wiped at least 3 mosquitoes off my face, once they landed on my face, they killed over. The Deet worked, but I'm sure it's causing permanent damage to my blood stream, skin, or something. Oh well, at least I wasn't being eaten alive by mosquitoes in the short run.

mile 1 11:43
mile 2 11:21
mile 3 11:39
mile 4 11:07
mile 5 13:00 bathroom break between mile 4-5
mile 6 11:52
mile 7 12:53 trail running starts, trail running from 7-15, kind of sucked
mile 8 11:02
mile 9 11:57
mile 10&11 24:15 didn't see mile marker for 10, i think i finished it in 11:20
mile 12 12:09
mile 13 14:05 bathroom break, still pathetic
mile 14 12:53
mile 15 13:05 not sure what happened here, might be running on rocks/gravel here
mile 16 11:24
mile 17 11:52
mile 18 12:05
mile 19 11:10
mile 20 13:23 bathroom break between 19-20
mile 21 12:10
mile 22 12:05
mile 23 11:06
mile 24 10:51 negative split too soon?
mile 25 11:23
mile 26 13:25 insult hill at 25.5
mile .2 02:10

didn't PR, added 4min to my time:(, but I finished strong, so will try not to obsess over 4min 8sec.

meals before my race

in descending chronological order
my oatmeal at 5AM

spaghetti with meatballs from Orso

salad from New Sagaya's City Market

entire box of ak-mak crackers for snack

breakfast bagel with lox from Snow City Cafe

back from Alaska

Alaska is beautiful! The Alaskan mountain ranges were amazing! We step out of Safeway in Seward, AK, the mountains are staring you in the face! I got back a few days ago. It's weird walking underneath the high rises in San Francisco. Only a few a days ago, we were driving by glaciers, moose along the roads, and bald eages perched on the dock. I love the green. The favorite part of the trip was seeing and hearing the glaciers. We took Kenai Fjord boat cruise.. I got quite sea sick. I couldn't even finish my last piece of chicken strip. I thought the lunch was good, but Luke thought the lunch was nasty. I'm not a picky eater. Will blog about the Anchorage Marathon later.

disappointed again

My family members are so lame. I'm leaving for Alaska for my second marathon. Neither of my sibilings said "good luck on your race" or at least "have fun in Alaska". I don't expect them to understand why I run and I've long given up on the fact that they will watch me run. At least out of common courtesy to wish me an enjoyable trip or a safe trip. Nothing. Am I asking for too much? I think from now on, I won't share about my running trips and races. When I do, I feel robbed of my excitement and all the hard work I put into it. I don't run to get support for my family, but it would be nice at least to hear once that "I'm proud of you." Instead I get a big goose egg, incredulous look, and even a look of disgust. Yeah, that's my family. I know it can be worse. At least they don't beat me physically only verbal attacks every once in awhile.

For the rest of this week, I'll remember to be grateful to the well wishes that I have received. Think of the positive:)! Another note to self, to stay away from family at least 2 weeks before my big races or maybe even a month. I know it's ridiculous, but I get such negative vibes from them. It's not healthy for me. I need to be in state of good mental health before I race.

Yes, I am stressing about my race in 5 days! Breath and breath some more.

spelling

Luke recorded the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Spellbound brought spelling to the limelight!! Spelling/academics is worthy to be on primetime. The final round was broadcasted on ABC from 8-10pm. This would not have happened without Spellbound first and then the recent movie Akeelah the Bee. The media choosing to show something else than another reality tv show. Yipee! I hope they show it every year.

10 days 'til Alaska

Yes, I've been lame about posting. Maybe I should try to post something quick and brief. But I feel like I need to write something long and well-thought out, then I don't write. Well, much has happened since I've last posted. Instead of trying to post what has happened in the past 3 months(like I do in my paper journal), I'll just post what's currently happening. My Anchorage Marathon is coming up in 11 days! Yes, it's that time again. I don't think I've trained very well this season (due to the mold problem, non-stop pouring down rain in the Bay Area, work, etc.) I know I'll be able to finish my marathon, but I'm not counting on a PR. I'll still set my dream goal to be 5, but my realistic goal is not to go over 5:12(my portland time). My biggest worry of course it my sensitive stomach. It's quite a pain. I've learned I need to avoid:

• sunflower seeds
  
• multi-grain breads(due to possibility of sunflower seeds)
  
• fried foods (i.e. french fries, donuts, tempura, basically anything that's been deep fried)
  
• broccoli
  
• dairy products (especially butter, that's pure death to my stomach)
  
• greasy/oily foods
  
• of course items that I'm allergic to(mangoes, crab, dried fruits with sulfide or is that sulfate, something with sulf...)
  

I'll try to post some pictures of Alaska, but hopefully will post before then.