Posts Tagged ‘race’

Danskin Triathlon 2011

Sunday, August 21, 2011

3.1 miles run, not a big deal; 12 miles bike, I can deal with that; 1/2 mile swim? I didn’t even know how to freestyle when I was considering my first triathlon.

I was not a swimmer. 3 months prior to the race, I took my first swimming lesson with Kainoa of Pauole Sport. During our first session, I couldn’t swim even 50 yards. Kainoa assured me with plenty of practices, I will be able to complete 800 yard at the race.

Early July, we started open water training. The open space, murky water, low visibility, underwater vegetations… Everything about open water swim terrified me. I even had nightmares before my 2nd open water practice. It was that scary. Overtime I did get used to it. Once I reached that point, I knew I was ready.

I had tons of fun training for the race. Unlike my previous races, this time I was able to switch up to different activities. Even though the training demanded more time and had much less rest days, it was a good excuse to be out everyday, enjoy the summer to the fullest.

For a triathlon newbie like myself, the pre-race preparation could be confusing. The knowledgable Danskin volunteers and staffs at the expo and at the race were truly helpful. Overall, the race was well organized. At race day, I was able to focus just on completing the race.

In August 14th, over 2 thousands women participated. We were getting ready at the transition area, everybody’s face lighted up with excitement, the energy was unbelievable.

110814 swim checked!

110814 biking

110814 sprinting

110814 Danskin Triathlon 2011 medal

Simply put, this is the most fun race I’ve ever participated. I had new personal records on swimming and biking; and one of my best times for running. The race result: My division place: 37/207; Overall place 233/2036.

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Warrior Dash 2011 – North Bend, WA

Friday, July 22, 2011

I signed up for Warrior Dash when I learned there would be barricades and fire pits. As a bonus, the event website promised mud, lots of it. The promotional video did a good job getting me into the warrior spirit. I was ready!

I showed up at the dash with my plain workout outfit – lame! Many participants were in costumes. I should have at least colored my face.

0930 Wave

Real man wears dress

Super heroes

Warrior Dash - salary men

There were 11 obstacles in over 3.5 miles of rugged terrains. Personally, the obstacles were the real challenges. I didn’t train for the obstacles, nor did I remember trying out most of them, ever! I was a little intimated whenever I saw an obstacle ahead. To my surprise, I was able to pulled my own weight up and over tall wooden barricade; teeter through narrow track about 5 feet above ground; survived smelly dark trenches; crawled under barbed wire and tangled cargo nets; stampeded over junk yard of car wreckage and tires without falling on my face; running through mud puddles in the woods…

The last part of the race were series of nets climbing, fire pits leaping, and finally crawling beneath barbed wire in mud pool to reach the finish line. Something I learned that day about mud, was that people got stocked in it, kind of like flies on flypaper.

110717 Deadman's Drop

110717 Cargo Climb

110717 Warrior roast

110717 Muddy Mayhem

110717 Finish line

After hosed down by high pressure water hose, I was a little less muddy but still nowhere near clean. It was time for a little celebration, warrior style! ktula feasted on a turkey leg the size of his face. I went for tasty tasty beers.

110717 Turkey Leg Eating Contest

The result: I was top 30% of the overall Sunday participants (2066 of 7695) and top 11% (53 of 514) in my age group. Not that it matters. If I ever enter the dash again, I am going for the best costume awards and focus on my warrior poses!

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Portland Marathon 2010

Sunday, October 10, 2010

After completed 2 half-marathons, I started contemplating the idea of pushing myself further. Portland Marathon was my first full marathon attempt. I gave myself 5 months to get ready. Five months was a long time, toward the end, I was nervous, antsy, and above all, ready to get it over with.

We arrived Portland the day before the event. Mango came along this time. While checking in at Heathman Hotel, lots of marathon participants and their family were also checking in at this time. We waited for a long while ’til our room was ready. Later we took Mango to the event expo and walked around downtown Portland. Portland city was generally more dog friendly than Seattle.

101009 waiting in the lobby

We had a minor crisis during dinner time. A pasta place we thought would be good for dinner, only to find out during dinner time, a line of people (most likely marathon participants) stretched half block long were waiting to get in. We contacted several nearby restaurants that served pasta and all of them were busy. Eventually we found my much needed carb at Hilton.

Race day morning was pouring hard. Mango, ktula and I headed out while it was still dark. Understanding I have a long and difficult challenge ahead, I started slow, just following the flow and didn’t attempt to bypass anyone. At first, it was pretty crowded. After the course took us further away from downtown, runners were more spread out. I started picking up some speed.

101010 starting line

Portland crowds were great. They cheer with so much heart and soul as if they knew me for years. And little kids lining up, offering high-fives until your heart content. Over and over, spectators shouted out my name:

“Go Janet C!”

“Janet looking good!”

“Janet you are doing it!”

It was my first time to have received such tremendous amount of support from complete strangers. It was a very emotional experience, and the highlight of the race.

101010 St Johns Bridge (17.4M)

Between 19-21 miles was the hardest for me. I was soaking wet, tired, and hungry. I was making progress toward the finishing line, but still miles away.

101010 University of Portland (19.5M)

In the last mile or so, the most wonderful thing I heard was someone shouting “You are so close, the finish line is 4 traffic lights away!”

Approaching the finishing line, my knees were protesting with waves of pains. My brain wanted me to sprint, but the body was not on the same page. With all the commotion and noises from speakers and the crowd, I heard ktula calling out my name. I gave the very last of everything and reached the finish line. I finished in 4:40:06. I can’t be more happy that I completed the race.

101010 finish line

101010 finish line

Yes I did it! I can now cross out “finish a marathon” off my list. I was 80% ready for the race, the 20% came from the support of spectators and loved ones. None of the race was easy, but this one I had most fun.

101010 finisher medal

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My 2nd Half-Marathon – BMO Vancouver Marathon

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Just like the last time, toward the end of my 3-month training, I was antsy and ready to get over with the race. Saturday, we left Seattle before noon. We made good time and checked in Hotel St. Regis in downtown Vancouver early afternoon. After an early dinner, we were in bed at 7pm watching TV, I was asleep probably in an hour or so.

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Sunday morning I got up before the alarm went off. Little after 5:30am, ktula also struggled himself off the bed. I was so happy ktula accompanied me to the race. It was very sweet of him.

You’d think 2nd time around, the race would be easier. In some ways it is – I know now refill during race is really important (first time I trained myself to not take fluid nor use gel/electrolytes, I ended up having to grab a sip of water and that’s what I needed to finish the race). Also, finding someone with similar pace to run with will help you do better.

100502 BMO Vancouver Marathon

But this one was no picnic either. A 200ft climb to Prospect Point in little over 0.5 mile distance was tough but I anticipated it so it was all part of the game. Not able to find runners of similar pace turned out to be somewhat of a problem. After the halfway point, runners started passing me left and right. So much so I started doubting myself. “Am I doing so bad this time? What happened?” Those weren’t the most encouraging thought to keep you going.

100502 BMO Vancouver Marathon

The toughest part was the last 3 miles. Unfamiliar with the course, the last distance seemed to go on forever. Finally, I spotted the finish line ahead. To my surprise, the timer at the Finishing Line showed it was still under 2 hours. A new found energy came out of nowhere, I sprinted the last part and completed the race in net time 1:56:08.

Alright I did it. The best part was ktula was there to congratulate me with a big long hug. We left shortly after the race. Now on to ktula’s eating marathon!

Half-marathon completed under 2 hours, yay!

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My 1st half marathon

Sunday, November 29, 2009

091129 approaching the finishing line

4 months ago, the thought of running a half marathon didn’t even exist in my head. Marathon was something I didn’t believe I can do, nor did I want to. I was content with my weekly run around Green Lake. At age 35, 5.8 miles in 50 minutes was in my opinion, as good as it gets. Days before running my first 5K race, I half jokingly and half seriously said to my friend Jaime I think I have peaked my running career, “It’s downhill from here.”

091129 Jaime and I

Jaime disagreed immediately. He told me female runners tend to excel at older ages. The next day, he sent me a New York Times article to back up his statement. I was very encouraged by this.

My first 5K race went well. I enjoyed it so much I started tempering with the idea to take running more seriously. The next big race event was Amica Insurance Seattle Marathon, which was just over 3 months away. Would I be ready for it? My colleague Lisa is an experienced runner who has done 4 half marathons. I went to her for advice.

“You can do it!” Lisa said it with so much certainty I wasn’t sure she was talking about me. She saw the disbelief look on my face, so repeated again with even more confidence in her tone “You are going to do great!”

There, she talked me into believing myself. Throughout my training, I went to her whenever I had questions or doubts on my techniques. She was always there, eagerly providing her runner’s wisdom.

The 12-week online training program was surprisingly easy to stick with. All I needed to do was commit to the schedule. I was making progress slowly but surely.

Race day weather condition was ideal in the low 50s with occasional drizzle. One thing I learned from my 5K race was to maintain a steady pace. The first half of the race went well, but the run became tougher as I approached the “big hill” near the end of Lake Washington Blvd. The Galer St. climb to Madison St. was steep but manageable. However, once I reached Madison St., it was just the beginning of another hill. Finally a short break as I turned right and got off Madison, but then another hill, and another….

Most hills seemed to be concentrated during the 2nd portion of the course. For the most part my mind was drawing a blank and my feet were moving forward mechanically. Somehow I kept up with a group of runners I was running with throughout good chunk of the race.

The hardest part was the last few miles. As I struggled with the Lakeview Blvd. slope going uphill, I started to experience side stitch. I gathered my thought and returned my focus on rhythmic breathing. Eventually the pain went away. But exhaustion remained, I was getting thirsty too. I skipped all the water stations but now I needed some fluid real bad. I grabbed a sip of water at the next water station. It was much needed for that one last hill and to the finish line.

091129 finishing line

What a feeling to have finished the run and be able to run with thousands of runners, knowing all of us have worked hard for the same goal of finishing the race. It was truly a humbling experience. I like what John Stanton wrote for the Vancouver Marathon website: “…Training is not a test but rather a magical journey that will empower you mentally, physically and provide a, I can do it, attitude.” It was exactly the case for me. And along the way, I had help and supports from friends. I’m truly blessed.

091129 my first half marathon medal

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