dipping a toe back into the running pool

it's been forever since i did a race.  remember a few years ago when i was doing some sort of run damn near every weekend?  the burnout hit hard, i guess.  i haven't done a race since january's star wars half!  sheesh.  i've only gone out for a run - and nothing more than 3 miles at that - maybe two or three times since then.  and we're in april!  yikes.

now usually, around this time i'd be gearing up for the hollywood half.  i've managed to hang in there with that race for the last five years straight.  alas, that all changes this year.  i'm losing my legacy status because i just didn't have it in me to do any training and i already know what it's like when i try to run a half without the proper training beforehand.  i'm actually really sad about this, because hollywood was my second half marathon ever and i've met a lot of really wonderful friends as a result.  not to mention, it was kind of fun to be able to say i was a legacy runner for it.

the silver lining of skipping hollywood means that i finally get to do a local 5K at the santa anita race track that i've been wanting to run forever.  it always falls on the same day, and when i finally faced the fact that i just wasn't going to be able to swing hollywood this year i decided to go for it and register for this one.  i'm pretty excited, because it'll be nice not to have to either cough up $$$$ and stay at the W hotel or get up before the asscrack of dawn and either drive or ride the train to the start line.  5Ks are also fantastic because they usually have a pretty easy start time...like this one doesn't even start till like 8:30.  excellent.  i'm heading to santa anita mall to pick up my bib this afternoon and hey, whadda ya know, there's a brand new hello kitty mini cafe opening up just steps from bib pick-up.  it'll be insanely crowded, but at least i can catch a glimpse of it.

and this also means that maybe next year, i can find a team to join to run the so cal ragnar relay race.  it's also an event that always coincides with hollywood, and since i ran the vegas ragnar i've been dying to try my hand at this one.  i'm trying to sweet-talk the hub into signing up to be a van driver, because i think it would be super fun to have him along for the ride.  we'll have to see about that.

in the meantime, sparkle athletic hit me up again this year to see if i was available to fill one of their volunteer spots for the race.  each team is required to provide two volunteers to help get things set up, hand out bib packets to the teams, and all sorts of other tasks necessary for making sure a race goes smoothly.  this year i snagged a spot helping to set up the merchandise tent at one of the major exchanges.  i headed down to santiago canyon community college in santa ana yesterday to do my duty, and pulled up just before my 11:00 shift start time.

it was pretty easy - just helping to put up racks, sort all of the merchandise, unbox and hang the apparel, basic stuff like that.  i was originally scheduled to work 11:00-4:00, but about halfway through the shift we found that everything was pretty much in place and ready to go.

maybe they've had it all along, but i never noticed that they had gear for kids too.  so cute.

and these recovery flip-flops - they're super ugly, but so soft and squishy.  i bet they're comfy enough to withstand a full day at disneyland.

the beach towel was nice too.

and this year's finisher tees:

they had a lot of new merchandise that i would've loved to snap up, but i'm not one to purchase stuff for a race i didn't actually run.  this just means that i'll have to sign up next year so i can snag some new ragnar gear.

i was pretty excited to be released way earlier than originally planned, which meant that i wouldn't have to sit in traffic all the way home and i'd be able to pick up the bean from school after all.  the hub was on deck to do it, but was also a little frazzled with setting up an event for the lounge at a local bar.  yay for getting out early!

i even managed to get back with a solid half hour to spare, so i busted out something i've been holding on to since i got it for christmas...

mmmmmm.  doritos tacos and a beefy fritos burrito.  i was one happy camper.

good luck to all my ragnarian friends this weekend!  i'll be one of you next year!

if you can't run it, volunteer at it

with all sorts of things happening in my schedule for april, i wasn't able to join a team for the so cal ragnar race.  bummer too, because in previous years it's conflicted with the hollywood half, which always takes priority because i want to keep my legacy status.  and this one is practically in my back yard...sort of.  starting in huntington beach, the course takes teams of either 6 or 12 runners around 200 miles all the way down to san diego.  and from the looks of the pictures i saw, there were some really fantastic views along the way.

but since i couldn't run it, when sparkle athletic put out the call to volunteer on their behalf at one of the exchanges, i signed up.  i mean, the lure of earning sparkle bucks for free merchandise helped too, but i also figured this was the closest i'd get this year.  and i thought maybe i'd get to see some of my running friends too, which is always fun.

i threw on my favorite sparkle skirt - the rainbow one - along with my team supehero shirt and my ragnar vegas necklace.  gotta represent all my organizations, right?

unlike the last time i volunteered with ragnar, my shift didn't start till 7:30.  it was nice and sunny by then, and the exchange was pretty much all set up.

i checked in with one of the lead volunteers at this tent:

and then a bunch of us stood around for awhile until they figured out what to do with us.

i decided to volunteer to help out in the t-shirt tent.  easy job, lots of activity, plenty of work to do, and the time would go by fast.  the shirts were mostly the same as the one i received in vegas - super soft and adorned with the ragnar logo on front and back.

oh, and i got one of these fun hats to wear:

as predicted, it was busy, fun and easy.  there were, of course, a handful of people who wanted to treat us like dicks when things weren't running perfectly smoothly.  or when we didn't have answers to their questions.  and of course, the ones who wanted to sit there and try on shirts and exchange for different sizes with a long line behind them, even though we asked them to step aside to the other end of the tent where we were actually doing exchanges.  but there were also a good number of people who were there to have fun, smiled and joked with us, and thanked us for volunteering.  we had a good system going in there, and it was bustling with activity as soon as the first team arrived to pick up their shirts.

i saw friends from team superhero, xtend barre, my vegas ragnar team, even my crazy ragnar-addicted cousin who took this for me:

and before i knew it, it was noon and my shift was over.  i'd sweated my ass off, handed out hundreds of t-shirts, and had a great time.  gave me the itch to do a ragnar again...maybe vegas in november again?  we'll see!

no saint here...just a sinner

so, the final leg.  i have to say, that nighttime run really got me - and the rest of my team.  as soon as we got back to the room and got settled after showers and all that, we went down hard.  the other van had some pretty tough-looking legs ahead of them, and we estimated having a good amount of time to get rested up for a strong finish.

except that we didn't.  turns out, our teammates must've been extra motivated - because a solid hour before we anticipated having to get up, their last runner was already on his way towards the next exchange.  yikes.  the mad scramble that ensued when we got that call was indescribable - a rough wake-up call, to put it mildly.  we were outta there in the least amount of time possible, and got our first runner out about ten minutes past when we were supposed to meet up with runner #6.  oops.  but hey - better late than never, right?

my cousin's run went fairly quickly, and then she passed the bracelet on to our next runner.  that meant i was up next, and i was ready.  my last leg was only 3.5 miles long, with an "easy" rating.  sweet.  i got all my gear all in place, and i was happy that the weather was nice enough that i could rock the "team superhero" shirt at least once during this race.

these pics come courtesy of my friend interview, who had his go pro in hand for pretty much the entire duration of the race.

and then...it was go time.

i headed out of the park and found myself on a trail that gave me just a glimpse of the famous las vegas strip, waaaaaay off in the distance.

the trail was actually a really nice one.  and while i didn't get any kills, i didn't serve as one for anyone else, either.  although i could tell that i was tired - i was having trouble keeping pace even though it was fairly flat the whole way through.  and then again, i got shorted - when i came across the "one mile to go" sign, my nike+ app was only showing me about halfway through.  eh, whatevs.

i was really startled to turn a corner and find myself running right into the exchange chute, where my teammate was waiting.  my suspicious proved correct, as the rest of the team expressed surprise that i was already done and my phone told me that i'd only run just under 2.75 miles.  normally i'd be all "dang it, i got shorted again?!?" but i was done, man.  i wasn't complaining about having officially completed my first ragnar race.

interview's last leg was here:

and i had a good amount of time to goof around and take pictures at all of the super random photo ops there.

a pink cop car.  well, sure, why not?

not long after that, interview made his way to the chute:

and the teammate that i pass the bracelet onto, who was also getting ready for a half marathon the following weekend, decided to pace our last runner on his final 8-mile leg.  you know, right after he'd finished his own 7-miler.  crazy.

and then that was it.  we headed back to the hotel, where we gathered up as much stuff out of the van as we could carry and dropped it all off upstairs in the room.  from there we headed downstairs to the pool area, where the finisher's village was set up.

i finally got my official merchandise!

and my cousin, who'd run other qualifying ragnar races earlier in the year, scooped up her bonus medals.  this one was for running the race in utah:

and when she turned it upside down, it commemorated the vegas race:

and this one was simply for having run vegas + any other ragnar in 2015.

we waited for our guys to arrive, and then we joined them just before the official finish line and ran through it together.  that's when we finally got our official ragnar bling:

and then we finally got a team photo with everybody all gathered together, all 12 of us:

i managed to grab my cousin for a quick selfie.  i've got so many old, silly memories with this girl from childhood, not to mention that she was my maid of honor when i got married the first time around.  it was awesome to make some new memories with her as grown-ups.

one more bling shot with the fabulous pool in the background:

we decided to head up and get cleaned up one more time before meeting up with everyone for a team dinner.  with all of the other dining spots in the area fairly booked by hundreds of other runners, we settled for some basic grub at bj's.  i'm not usually all about eating at chains when traveling, but in this case i didn't care - i just needed food.  and somehow, we managed to score no less than SIX pizookies on the house.

yeah, i know there are only four up there.  i was too busy shoveling that oreo cookie and ice cream in my mouth to care about getting them all.

back upstairs, we watched some of the last few teams arrive as the vendors packed up their tents.

my cousin and interview decided to take advantage of the free ice and giant bathtub for a post-race ice bath.  wait - not together.  haha!  in any case, i declined in favor of one more trip downstairs to the casino.

except that exhaustion and sleep deprivation were working against me.  i proceeded to lose my ass at both the slots and the blackjack table, and once i reached the limit i'd set for myself, i headed over to the noodle bar that i'd been eyeing since i arrived on thursday.

a nice, hot steaming bowl of tonkatsu ramen really hit the spot.

when i got back upstairs, everybody was passed out cold.  i tiptoed around, getting my packing done and setting out essentials for the morning, and then i hit the pillows one last time.  i had an early flight in the morning, with a 6:00 wake-up call.  sounds crazy early, i know, but after more days than i'm used to spending in vegas in a row and missing my girls, i was more than ready to go home.