Race Discount Code! (And, Building a Race Season)

I was thinking about it the other day and realized that since I started running marathons in December 2011, there's been extremely little time when I haven't had one on the calendar *somewhere*. After CIM 2011, I waited maybe 6-8 months to sign up for CIM 2012. I signed up for Mountains 2 Beach 2013 before CIM 2012, and then after M2B I had a gap of about three months before I signed up for the 2014 Napa Valley Marathon (which I deferred a year because of a stress fracture). But other than those two gaps, at least as well as I can remember, I have always had a marathon somewhere on my race calendar, even if it was a nearly year and a half out.

It's pretty safe to say that I'm feeling satisfied on that front, for now; after so many marathons where something went wrong, I spent a long time feeling like I had unfinished business with the whole thing and just wanted one good, solid 26.2 where my training went well and I didn't get sick or injured and the weather cooperated. I feel like I finally got that at CIM 2016, but of course after that there was no question but that I was then going to run Boston (and Big Sur!) since I had the opportunity and might never get it again.

The Life-Changing Magic of Bottoming Out

As you might imagine, after we got home from Big Sur on April 30th, I took a week completely off all physical activity (except going to work, which is to say, I went to work *at least* three days of five). Recently, though, I've gotten back to a basic level of activity. Very, very basic.

Some things I've been up to post-Boston/Big Sur:

Karate. I've been treating my class like my red headed step child these last few months & was starting to wonder if our students would even remember who I was. I still can't do any kicks properly but at least I can move around okay.

Discount Codes!!

Just getting these off my plate before they're no good anymore:

(And if you try one & it doesn't work please let me know so I can remove it.)

Enjoy!!

Water To Wine Half Marathon & 10K, August 6, Sonoma County (starting and finishing at Kendall Jackson Winery). Save 10% with LUCKY10 through March 30. I haven't run this race, but I've run the other two in the series (Windsor Green Half & Healdsburg Half) & they've been quite well done.

SACTOWN 10-Mile & 5k, April 2, Sacramento, CA. Save $5 with code LUCKY5 until ???. This race has a great reputation -- I've never run it but it's on my list.

The San Francisco Marathon, July 23, San Francisco, CA. Save $10 on the full or half with code TSFM2017STEPHANIEL or TSFM2017ERIN until ??? or $10 off the 5K with code TSFM2017STEPHANIEL5K or TSFM2017ERIN5K. (You should also check out Erin's blog!)

The Hollywood Half Marathon, April 8, Hollywood, CA. Save $5 with code STAR until ???.

Running Your First Ultra with Krissy Moehl!

I am a terrible person. The amazingly awesome Krissy Moehl had a book release on Thursday at SF Running Company in Mill Valley, and I was supposed to write a blog post about it so my millions and millions of Bay Area readers (lololol) would know about it and go. They even sent me a copy of the book, Running Your First Ultra: Customizable Training Plans for Your First 50K to 100-Mile Race so I could read it and tell you how awesome it is.

But I got the week wrong.

So here I am, two days after the book event, having just cracked the book itself for the first time.

I suck.

BUT. You know who does NOT suck? Crazy-insane-baddass Krissy Moehl. Lest you have doubts, you can check out her very very long list of ultra races in which she has won/placed/set crazy-insane records. The woman has run like over 100 ultras & won 55 of them.

Question: Will I ever be even remotely that baddass?

Answer: No.

But if one wanted to, maybe, try getting just a *tiny bit* closer to Krissy Moehl levels of baddassery, reading her new book is maybe not the worst place one could start.

First, I have to just say that this is a *gorgeous* book. Like, even if you don't run ultras, it's packed with beautiful full-color photographs of Krissy & others running in breath-taking locations.

The beginning of the book is designed to get a would-be first-time ultrarunner thinking about the reasons behind their interest in the sport as well as the practical considerations involved. (What is your current fitness level/running experience? How much free time do you have? What kind of terrain do you have access to? What's your financial situation?) Based on the answers to these questions, Moehl makes some recommendations about where you might start (with a 50K, 100K, etc.).

Next are sections on choosing the right goal event given your answers to the questions in the beginning, "tricks of the trade," and the mental side of ultrarunning. I particularly liked the section titled "On Doubts," where she listed a bunch of pairs of "Your Doubt" and "My Advice". I may not be an ultrarunner but the doubts were certainly familiar ones!

(It also amused me that there was a section called "Preventing Issues." TELL ME, KRISSY! I would buy a whole book just on that.)

Only after laying all of this groundwork do we get to training plans for 50K, 50M, 100K, & 100M. I don't run ultras, but I have heard several friends mention while preparing for their first that reputable, high-quality training plans (beyond, "Just run a lot, duh") were kind of difficult to find, so perhaps this is a much-needed resource. For each, there is a month-by-month overview, as well as detailed, color-coded instructions for each week. The last sections are on topics like finding & prepping your race crew, selecting gear, how to prep the week/day/night before your ultra, how to keep a training log, etc.

I have to say, this book seems hard to beat as a starter pack for an aspiring ultrarunner, regardless of their background or experience. If this book was about running shorter distances & I had a friend who was like, "Hey I am thinking of running my first 10K, what should I know?" I would totally just hand them this book, because it's all in there--the groundwork, safety stuff, logistics, the mental stuff, support, training plans, etc. And I mentioned it's gorgeous, right?

The ultra bug is not one by which I have been bitten, so literally everything I know about ultrarunning, I've learned from reading blogs and chatting with friends who've done it. So for me, flipping through this book was interesting and quite educational. (I did say also gorgeous, right?) Nice to know that if I ever do get the hankering for ALLLLLLLL the miles, I'll already have this resource on my shelf. (Also if anyone is ever like, "Tell me everything you know about running ultras." BOOM. Done.)

Three Things Whatever Day It Is

THING #1: According to random.org, the winner of The Fro Yo Run entry is ROSE RUNNER!! Check your email, lady; there's a code coming your way.

ALSO, Jen at RunningTangents also has an entry to give away, and I think hers is open until Wednesday night, so if anyone wants another shot, get over to her blog today or tomorrow!

If you're so inclined, you can still get a four-pack for $150, and there's a $5 coupon available here.

THING #2: Injury Update:

Since I stopped running three weeks ago, I've been trying to keep up my fitness by doing workouts on the elliptical. The down side is that I can only do that on week days since my gym is by my office 30 miles away, so my "runs" have pretty much been capped at about an hour. (Also, elliptical is never super comfortable for me so I doubt I'd do much more than that anyway.) Since I can't really do tons of volume right now, I've been trying to balance things out with mostly interval "speed work" instead, which has the added benefit of making the time go by faster.

My leg has felt pretty good in the last week, so this past Monday I decided to take a shot at the first step in my sensible-return-to-running plan (more or less the same program my PT had me follow with my stress fracture last year): 1:00 jog followed by 2:00 walking. The goal is to do 30 minutes (so 10 intervals), but I was definitely not above stopping if it started to hurt at all. Thankfully, though, there was no pain and I completed the entire thing. Winning! (Or, y'know, breaking even, which I will totally take.)

The idea is to do a 30:00 walk-run session every other day (as long as there is no pain), gradually increasing the time spent running & decreasing the walking. So tomorrow it's another 10 intervals, this time 90 seconds on/90 seconds off.

Even though there is no pain, I can still tell that my body is super hesitant about bearing weight on my left arch through each stride & tries all sorts of tricks to avoid it. And it's kind of funny & amazing, how every time that starts to happen, I can feel some old injury start to complain. The more I think about it and pay attention to my body, the more I honestly feel like I can trace nearly every running injury I've ever had back to this one issue, which is both awesome (there might actually be *one* root cause!) and terrifying (if I can't fix it, I'm basically screwed).

THING 3: YOU GUYS I AM TRAVELING FOR FUN!!

I haven't traveled anywhere for fun since January, so next week we're taking off for Portland/Willamette Valley. Current plans include tooling around the city drinking beer & eating ridiculous food for a couple of days, then drinking All The Wine in the northern valley/eating more ridiculous food, then hiking the Columbia Gorge for a few days/drinking more beer. I mean yes, I'm supposed to be celebrating a marathon PR, but far be it from me to complain. The way I see it, this just means I get another cool trip come January.

Portland

Willamette Valley

Columbia Gorge

And yes, if my pictures don't look *exactly* like this, I am going to be disappointed.

THE FRO YO RUN, Y'ALL.

I almost never write solicited posts because 99% of the time the thing being shilled is boring and lame (and potentially not even relevant to this blog). BUT, I recently received an email from the folks at The Fro Yo Run about a 5K/10K going down in San Francisco on Sunday, September 6, 2015. And the answer is YES, "fro yo" as in "frozen yogurt," as in they will give you frozen yogurt at the end.

This post was almost sponsored because they did offer me a free entry, and I might have accepted it except that I will be gallivanting around the Willamette Valley that weekend. (Sorry, wine trumps fro yo.) BUT, what means is that you yes YOU could win that free entry for yourself.

I will now enumerate the many virtues of The FroYo 5K/10K.

• Professionally chip timed
• Flat, paved out-and-back course along the Embarcadero/around AT&T Park
  
• No one shooting colored crap at you
• Occurs during daylight hours
• Did I mention the frozen yogurt at the end?
  
• It's San Francisco at 8:30am so it won't actually be hot.
• No one throwing fro yo at you during the race, in case you were worried
• Sweet goody bag [disclaimer: I have not personally evaluated said goody bag, I just assume no moral, upstanding person would ever lie about such a thing. Also I hear stylish sunglasses, a premium mesh running hat, & a snazzy gear bag *may* be involved.]
• Fro Yo-themed medal (SERIOUSLY HOW CAN YOU PASS THIS UP????)
  
• Something called "The Fro Zone" ["75 ft revitalizing misting tunnel in the finish chute. Complete with music and cheering fans, it’s guaranteed to kick-start your motivation & fuel your finishing sprint."*
  
  This *may* or *may not* be The FroZone????
  LOOK HOW HAPPY THEY ARE
  *Note Fro Yo Zone optional]
• There is a $5 coupon.
• 4 pack discount available ($35 per person vs. $55. It was $42 until 8/19 but I didn't get this email until 8/18, soooo....). You don't even have to know who the 4 people are! MAKE A FRIEND!
• Entrees are transferable (works like an event ticket)
• 15% goes to the American Lung Association
• DID I MENTION THE FRO YO???

UPDATE I double checked and this is TOTALLY THE FRO ZONE

If you yes YOU believe you may be equal to the epic challenge that is the The Fro Yo Run and would like a free entry, leave a comment by next Sunday (8/23). You could tell me your favorite kind of fro yo or, I dunno, just be like, "HEY I WANT A FREE ENTRY". I'll randomly choose a winner & announce it on Monday or Tuesday.

MAY THE ODDS (and fro yo) BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR.

SRM WEEK 6 OF 20: I Survive Bay 2 Breakers + Alllll the Race Discounts

What's that you say? You're looking for a reasonably priced half marathon in California sometime between June and December?

LUCKY YOU:

• JUNE 20 Zooma Napa Valley Half Marathon/10K - 10% off with CAL
• JUNE 21 Marina Bay Riveter Half Marathon/5K (Richmond, CA) - 15% off with CAL
• JULY 12 Shoreline Half/10K/5K (Ventura, CA) - 20% off with CALHALF1520
• AUG 9 Arroy Creek Half/10K/5K - (Simi Valley, CA) - 20% off with CALHALF1520
• ***AUG 23 Santa Rosa Marathon/Half/5K - $30 off with CALHALF30 {You guys, this is a massive discount. Also, you know *I'll* be there!!}*** (Update 8/3 -- I've been told this one's expired & no longer working. Don't know about the ones for later races.)
• SEPT 13 Clo-Cow Half/5K (Petaluma, CA) - 10% off with CAL2015
• SEPT 20 Harvest Half/10K/5K (Camarillo, CA) - 10% off with CALHALF1520
• OCT 4 Tiburon Half/5K - 15% off with CAL
• OCT 11 City to the Sea Half/5K (San Luis Obispo, CA) - $5 off with CAL5OFF
• OCT 25 Harvest Marathon/Half/5K (Paso Robles, CA) - 5% off with @CALHALFSERIES
• NOV 15 Surfers Point Marathon/Half/10K/5K (Ventura, CA) - 20% off with CALHALF1520
• DEC 13 Pomona Holiday Half/5K - $10 off with CALRUNSERIES15
• DEC 20 Holly Jolly Half/10K/5K (Camarillo, CA) - 20% off with CALHALF1520

These discount codes are because all of these races are part of the Cal Half Series. Cal Half Series is also good if you are really into medals, because they give extra ones at the end of the year if you've run I think three or more of the races. I don't know if the discount codes work for the fulls, 10Ks, or 5Ks, but you can give it a shot!

In other news, I ran my first Bay to Breakers on Sunday with Alyssa & Courtney, & did not collapse & die on the Hayes Street Hill.

These ladies. I ran my first marathon with them back in 2011,
so it was super fun to get to do my first Bay to Breakers with them as well.

Post-race. The medal was an unexpected bonus!

Our original goal was to run the race around 8:00 pace for a sub-1 hour finish, but there were various questionable joints among us so instead we decided to just take it easy & run it at a comfortable pace (which....turned into sub-8:00's anyway by the time we reached the gentle downhill grade of the Park.) That was more than fine with me, since I basically didn't sleep Saturday night & was already feeling pretty sluggish during my 3-mile jog to the start.

Since it was a long run day & I wasn't planning on actually racing, I was able to solve two problems at once (getting in 17 miles & getting home from Ocean Beach after the race). At 6:30am, I jogged from my house to the start (~3.2 miles), ran the race (~7.55 miles by my watch), & then ran back home (~6.25 miles).

Really, the trip home was farther than that, but since I *definitely* didn't want to run more than 17 miles total and had also just run 7.5 MUCH faster than normal (including one wicked-ass hill), I decided to take brief walk breaks at each mile as I head back east through the park. That whole stretch is about 3 miles of steady, gradual uphill, and after the race I was anticipating kind of a slog.

Weirdly, though, that part actually felt kind of easy. Or not easy, exactly, but requiring a lot less effort than I expected it would. I just kind of jogged along, ticking off mile after mile and never feeling like I was working all that hard.

When I got back to the Panhandle where I could see the course again, I couldn't resist stopping to take a few pictures:

Lizards

Crayons

Coit Tower [historic SF landmark]

Downhill is really the worst on my bad leg, so once I was back in my own neighborhood I walked down some particularly steep-ish ones I didn't want to run, and hit 17 miles with less than a block left to go to my house, feeling, actually surprisingly good!

Er...except for that whole not sleeping thing. That, I don't recommend. I was basically a zombie for the rest of the day.

I don't have a whole ton else to say about the race, but I'll write up some kind of race report later this week. :)

~*~*~SRM WEEK 6 OF 20~*~*~

Anticipating I'd be running a good bit faster than usual on Sunday this week (plus the hill), I didn't do any hard workouts and also traded my morning strength sessions for extra sleep.

Grand Total: 38 miles

* 30.45 easy
* 7.55 race

Monday: afternoon 6 easy / p.m. karate. I was feeling sluggish after three days off and my leg was feeling a little better, so I decided to try a few easy miles & see how it felt. It was a bit achey, but never actually started hurting. Winning!

Tuesday: 6.5 easy, but with a GIANT mothereffing hill in the middle. I figured if I was going to try to run Bay to Breakers in under an hour, I'd better get out there & remind myself what it feels like to run up the Hayes Street Hill (.69 miles with 201 ft of climbing). Oof. I'd been hoping to use my watch to see what kind of pace I could do it at without dying, but forgot to plug it back in the day before.

Wednesday: Karate.

Thursday: 6.2 easy. Same route as Tuesday, more or less, but this time with my watch. It also just happened to work out this time that I got all green lights going up Hayes Street Hill, which in one sense sucked, but at least let me finish the thing feeling like I had a reasonably accurate assessment of what pace I could do the thing at with no breaks. (Um, also, the rest of this run was at my same usual super easy effort level, but was BY FAR faster than any easy run I've done since starting this whole low heart rate/base training business.)

Friday: Rest.

Saturday: 2.3 easy. Just a couple of easy shakeout miles.

Sunday: 3.2 easy / 7.55 race / 6.25 easy = 17 long.

One More Race Code....

Maybe this will be the last one for a while?? I keep thinking that, and then another one pops up in my inbox.

Anyway, if you're looking for a chill, reasonably priced yet solid 5K or 10K in the Bay Area, you can get $5 off the Spring Forward 5K or 10K on Saturday, April 18 with promo code ACTIVE5.

I ran the 5K last year and bt ran the 10K. Both races start & finish on the Microsoft Mountain View Campus & run along the nearby Bay Trail; though both courses ran a bit long, we both thought they were reasonably flat and fast & had a good time. Plus, it's for charity!

If you want to know more, you can read my race report here.

**Offer expires April 12**

One More Discount Code

And, they just keep coming.

Get $10 off the Santa Rosa Marathon on Sunday, Aug. 23 with promo code SANTAROSA10. I ran the half in 2012 & am headed back this year to take care of some unfinished business with the full, so I can tell you that this is a great race with a great course and (apparently?) the 5th fastest marathon in the US & one of the top 10 Boston Qualifiers.

As I've said in my race reports, SRM is a bargain if you sign up early and even at this point it's only $135 (so $125 with the discount), and it's even more reasonable when you learn that that includes a zip-up jacket & a bottle of wine in addition to one of the biggest finisher medals I've ever seen.

It's not too late to start training! :)

The One With The Race Discounts

BAH. First, blog friends with WordPress, it pretty much hates me right now (again). All my comments disappear into the ether with no explanation. Trying again results in the extremely unhelpful "Oops! Looks like you've already said that!" error message. So, it's not that you've become dull to me -- technology and I are just not getting along well currently. (Not even joking. The IT people at my company of thousands all know me by sight and voice. It's such a problem.)

Second, some discount/promo codes for you Bay Area folks!

$5 off the Merco Credit Union Half Marathon at UC Merced ($70 for another month) with coupon code MCUHM55. (Coupon expires Mon 04/06). The race is June 7, 2015 at 6:30 a.m., & perks include medals, breakfast, tech t-shirts, and a flat, all-pavement loop course. Net proceeds pledged to college scholarships for Merced County high school graduates. There's also a 5K.

Also, if you're into a more laid-back, fully-supported but not timed 5K/10K experience, you can get $5 off any number of Bay Area City Beer Runs with promo code SWEAT, which gets you the 5K at $25 or the 10K at $35. There is free beer at the end, free coasters or koozies usually, plus a free raffle entry for bar tabs, growlers, t-shirts, race entries, socks, personal training sessions, coffee, pint glasses, etc. Run several of them & I hear they even start giving you medals.

Upcoming City Beer Runs where this code is good include:

• 4/26 - Marin Brewco (Larkspur)
• 5/9 - Speakeasy (San Francisco)
• 5/23 - Lake Chalet (Oakland)
• 6/13 - Thirsty Bear (San Francisco)
• 6/27 - Pyramid Alehouse (Walnut Creek)
• 8/15 - Rogue Public House (San Francisco)
• 8/22 - Strike Brewhouse (San Jose)

It might work for the other races as well, who knows??

Remember that 10-Miler I ran in January? The next race in the Northern California 10-Miler Series is coming up in Sunnyvale on Sunday, June 28. (I'll either be running this race or PrideRun the day before - not sure yet.) There's also a 5K. Use the code FC to save $5 off either race!

Finally, if you want to run Bay to Breakers, I've been told that you can use my email address in the promo code field for $5. (It's not an email address I usually give out on the internet so shoot me an email using the little icon on the side bar if you're interested and I'll give it to you.) The promo is good through April 30. (Full disclosure: There is some kind of VIP package raffle that people using your email gets you entered into, but honestly I have no interest in it & probably wouldn't even use it if I did win. I just thought some people might like a little discount.)

Enjoy!

RaceRaves & a Great Contest!

Friends, I am not a big-name blogger and it's not like I find myself constantly inundated with piles of emails for promotions and giveaways. But I do get my fair share, and most of them are for products or services that I don't feel like the folks who read this blog would be that interested in or that I just cannot get behind philosophically. But recently, I've joined a site called RaceRaves (created by Jen's friends Mike & Katie!), and Mike asked if I wouldn't mind spreading the word if I was finding the site useful/enjoyable. (You can read Mike's own post about it here.)

Basically, it's a little like Yelp for races (but much less douchey). You look up a race you've run (it's a pretty good database so far & growing, and you can always request to add a race if it's not currently in there), rate it on a few different aspects (difficulty, production, scenery, etc.), and write a little review for it. (You can also add links to more detailed race reports or images if you want.) There are also options to include your time or rate your performance for a race if you want. All the races you've rated show up in your private "Staging Area" (dashboard/home page).

If you search for a race, you'll see all the reviews people have written along with its average rating, a map of its location, and historical weather data for recent years (<--BRILLIANT).

Now, this next part, I really should not tell you. But I am a good person, so I will. Until January 22nd, they are running a sweet contest with prizes that include an early bird entry to a Brazen Racing event, shoes, a RoadRunner Sports gift certificate, etc. All you have to do is join & review your races (at least one of which I think has to be a Brazen event). (Contest details here.) I still have a huge head start on most of you, so better get typing!

Also, ICYMI, I am running a race (!) tomorrow, so wish me luck. :)