Tag Archive | Monterey

In Love with Big Sur

May2

BeachBody Day72 – Sunday – Big Sur International Marathon!!

Those that follow me on Twitter and Facebook know that Big Sur went well :-) I had a blast!! The weather was perfect and it was just an absolutely beautiful run. I was so happy to share the experience with my Aunt and Sister. We all did better than we had expected :-)

Our morning started early. My aunt’s 21miler had her up at 3a :-/ We did not envy her. She said that she didn’t sleep for more than a couple hours because she was nervous. And despite that she still beat her training time and came in under 4 hours! Way to go Aunt San!! My sister’s 5K and my 9miler started at the same time. We were up at 5a.  We got dressed and packed up because my aunt had already checked us out when she left for her race. At first I thought her race would start before mine. We were happy to be able to start together. My sister ran her whole 5K – which she hadn’t planned on doing because of her hip – and beat her expected time too. I am so proud of both of them.

I was separated from my sister early on. I tend to get very focused and just run.  Our courses split after a run on a trail by the water. It was just so beautiful. I wish I could have stopped to take pictures and just take it all in, but I had to keep running. It was 50 degrees and overcast when we started. I really couldn’t have asked for better weather. It’s what I’m use to running in. What I wasn’t use to were the hills :-/ I knew that there would be some hills, but I wasn’t expecting it to be hill after hill. lol. Not that they were all big hills, but it there wasn’t all that much flat areas. It would level off and then I was going either up or down again. I could definitely feel my booty getting worked! I didn’t run with music because I wanted to enjoy the course.  There was plenty of entertainment.  There was a Samba band, a flute player, a guy playing the bag pips, a band singing, and people cheering you on all through out the course. It also helped that there was just beautiful scenery throughout the course. The beginning took us through a really nice neighborhood in Carmel. I would love to live in one of those houses. There were several ocean views and the run through the park was wonderful. It felt like I was running through my grandfather’s property.

I had my phone in my belt so I didn’t see what my time or pace was. I had no concept of how time at all. There were only a couple mile markers that I could see.  The 1 mile point and the 25mile marker which marked the last mile for all the courses. I felt like I was running slower because of the hills and that I was getting passed up. When I could feel it in my legs I was hoping that I was getting close to the end.  During training, it was the last couple miles that my legs would start to feel tired and my knees got achy. This time, I could feel my booty and my calves too.  I loved that there were people all throughout the last half mile cheering you on. It was so cute to see the little kids cheering.  They also had cardboard cut outs that were funny.

I could hear the announcer as I got closer to the finish line. I used everything I had left to go faster at the end. I almost couldn’t believe that I was done when I crossed the finish line. It didn’t feel like I had been running for over an hour.  A girl came up to me and handed me a finisher medal and I wound up posing for photo. I was directed towards the tents and told to grab a brown paper bag and go. I took half a blueberry muffin that was offered to me and called my sister to find out where she was. She wasn’t expecting me for a while so she was a little shocked when I called her. We stretched out and went to starbucks for coffee and tea. We had a couple hours before my Aunt was expected to finish her race so we walked around the Finisher’s Village. There were tents for the special groups and sponsors. You couldn’t miss the Michelobe Ultra tent if you tried. lol.

We decided to go to finish line and watch the racers come in. I was very inspired by the marathoners crossing the finish line. Many had big smiles on their faces as they crossed that finish line. I loved how many of the spectators cheered all of the runners on at the end. There was just so much positive energy and excitement. I was impressed by those that did the Boston to Big Sur. I really can’t imagine running one marathon and then running a second one only 13 days later :-/ We were trying to catch our Aunt coming across the finish line. We watched for two hours and then we started to think we must have missed her. My sister got a call from a local number it was my Aunt calling from someone’s phone. She had finished an hour earlier. lol. We met her at the Info booth. Obviously we didn’t have a post race meet up plan set up. We asked a volunteer to take a picture of us then headed out to lunch. I was starving! I decided to have 1 slice of pesto pizza as a treat. Then it was time to drive home. I had to fight falling asleep O_o I was sooo tired all the way home.

Turbo Fire Day 70 – I did not get a chance to rest once I did get home. Ben went to run some errands which meant I had the boys to take care of and it was almost dinner time. I forced myself to do my Turbo Fire workout for the day. I kept it low impact on the fire drills for Fire30 but I gave the workout everything I had left. Stretch10 was great. My sore muscles enjoyed the extended stretch.

I have to Thank my boys for being extremely good that night.  They saw that I was extremely tired and didn’t make things hard for me. They ate their dinner and went to bed without any trouble.  They also gave me Big Hugs to make me feel better :-)

I know that I didn’t have to do a plank for the night, but I told myself that I could do anything for 1min so I did a one minute plank on my elbows :-)

Meals –

M1: Whole Wheat Bagel Thin w/ Almond Butter and a banana. Zico to drink.

Carried a 20 oz. bottle with Zico for my run. Stopped at the last 2 aid stations for water.

M2: Half of a blueberry muffin and Starbucks Iced Green Tea/ Luna bar and Chocolate Zico.

M3: 1 Slice of Pest Pizza from Pizza My Heart and a Chicken Walnut Salad.

Chicken Walnut Salad w/ Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

My slice of pesto pizza :-)

M4: Almond Coconut Kind bar – on the ride home.

M5: Quinoa w/ turkey spinach red sauce.

Love quinoa and red sauce.

60 oz. water and 3 Zicos.

A Hectic Day

May2

BeachBody Day71 – Saturday

I’m surprised I can remember Saturday. It was such a Hectic Day! I had two tball games to film, pack, and get to Monterey no later than 6p so I could pick up my packet for the race on Sunday. It was both good and bad that the first game wasn’t until 11a. Good because I could get my workouts done for the day before leaving. Bad because that meant I couldn’t leave until later. Started with a 30 min walk at a brisk pace.

Such a clear day in the bay.

Turbo Fire Day 69 – After breakfast it was HIIT20/Tone30. I kept it low impact on the HIIT workout. It probably sounds crazy that I would do this the day before my race, but it was the only workout I did for the day so I had plenty of time to rest – kind of. lol.

In between the games, I packed and had lunch. I made sure to pack my Tone It Up lunch box with snacks for the drive and breakfast for the next day. I wanted to be able to have my Whole Wheat Bagel thin, almond butter, and banana :-) I double checked to make sure I had my belt, shoes, running clothes, socks, sunblock, and hat packed. I loaded up my car and headed to Gio’s game. As soon as it was over, I said good bye and headed for Monterey – where the Health and Fitness Expo was being held.

My handsome little tball player :-)

I actually made pretty good time. There wasn’t any traffic on the way there. The problem was when I got to Monterey. I wind up in the wrong lane and kept going the opposite of my directions :-/ I’m not all that great with my sense of direction and I easily get lost. I probably spent at least an extra half hour driving around Monterey. Lol The one lucky thing was that I was able to find a decent place to park. At the Expo, I found my way to the packet pick up. I handed them my ID and the lady handed my my bib/d-tag and wished my luck on my race. That was it. I went downstairs and walked around the Expo…. Realized I forgot my water bottle so I bought one at a vendor booth for $10 – not too bad. Also got 2 for $15 hats – I just couldn’t pass it up. lol.  I figured I was all set so I headed out to meet my Aunt and Sister at the hotel.  They had already arrived a few hours earlier and were sight seeing. I was already a half hour later than what I had planned.

Snack and Breakfast Packed

Lunch Box right next to me :-)

Drove through this tunnel twice.

Made it to the Expo!

This way to pick up my bib and d-tag.

Spent only 10 min at the Expo

2 for $15 Hats :-)

Walking back to my car – a block away.

Cool Artwork.

Corner where I parked.

Then I got lost again :-/ I passed the hotel and thought I had turned around to get back to it. Turns out, I was on my back to the freeway. I was tired and really frustrated at this point. I’ve been driving for close to 3 hours and I was done! I try not to panic when I get lost. I just keep trying to find my back. Somehow I make it to the hotel. I was so relieved and happy  – but that was short lived. My aunt and sis ask to see my shirt… what shirt? My race shirt… OMG! I didn’t get my shirt!! The lady never gave me one. Apparently I was suppose to pick it up at the Expo – but not in the same room as the Expo but a separate room. WTH? I was kind of upset about this. I like to wear my race shirt for the races. There wasn’t anything or anyone that told me about the shirt while I was there. So why didn’t I go back to the Expo? Well it just so happened to be 5 till when I find this out. The Expo would have ended before I could even park. On top of that I didn’t get my sweats bag or pins for my bib – which were also in this special room at the Expo. My Aunt was optimistic in me getting one before the race while my sister was a bit pessimistic about it. There wasn’t much I could do but wait until morning.

Aunt San driving us to dinner :-)

Passing by the docks.

We went out to dinner at a really good Italian restaurant. Really fresh pasta. I ordered the Cannelloni with Spinach and Ricotta – the same as my Aunt. My sister order some Gnocchi with a glass of wine. We laughed and had a great time. My sister and I shared a unique Tiramisu dessert. I’ve never had Tiramisu the way they served it, but it was amazing! You could definitely taste the rum :-)

A really great and fresh Italian Restaurant.

Sis enjoying some wine :-) I stuck with water.

My sister’s gnocchi.

We headed back to the hotel and got ready for bed since we all had to be up early the next morning. Despite a some what stressful day, I slept well. I think I was just so tired that I didn’t have much time to worry about the race like I usually do :-)

Meals:

M1: Larabar and lots of water.

M2: Apple

M3: Salmon, quinoa and brussel sprouts

M4: Pop Chips

M5: Cannelloni w/ spinach and ricotta. Split a some tiramisu with my sister :-)

Everything was freshly made.

The most interesting tiramisu I’ve ever had.

80 oz. of water.