Carlsbad Half Marathon 1/24/2110

YIPEEEE!!!!!! I am so happy to report that I finished the Carlsbad Half Marathon in my goal time! Here are the stats:


Runner Details Race Results
Bib: 8977
Name: Kelly Nakamura
Gender: F
Age: 28
Overall: 2735 out of 7105
Women: 1218 out of 4394
F 25-29: 242 out of 846
Age/Grade: 52.65% Place: 2828

Finish: 2:05:04 Pace: 9:33
Tag Time: 2:05:04
Gun Time: 2:10:44
Split Times
6.6 Mi: 1:01:48 Pace: 9:22

It was a great race and I was so happy to have my husband, my kids, my parents and my friends there to support me.

Race Report
This is offically my first race report, so here goes:

    The race was having their expo starting Friday from 2-6...I figured we would go Friday, since it would be a lot busier on Saturday. After the hubby got home, we packed up the kiddos and drove down to the expo. The expo was in these huge outdoor white covered tents right next to the start/finish line in the mall parking lot. We arrived around 4:00 and there wasn't that many people there yet (I didn't even stand in line to get my bib number)! We walked around for a bit, looking at all the running gear...I even met the running skirt sisters! Around 4:30, I met up with an old high school friend of mine that I played soccer with, and ran my first half marathon with back in 2001. Here we are:

Meghan & I

We ended up not staying too much longer, the kids were getting really bored! ;) But it was so great to see her after 7 years...I wished her the best of luck in her upcoming L.A. Marathon, and we agreed that we need to get together ASAP again to catch up some more!

    So, pretty much, Saturday was spent doing much of nothing. Went to Target, made a yummy dinner of rice and chicken, and then tried to go to sleep early, but managed to stay up until 11! Here is all my gear layed out:

    I checked the weather for Sunday morning, and it was supposed to be 39 degrees at start time, and heat up to about 60 degrees by finish time. So I stuck with my black capris, gray t shirt, and black long sleeve top.  All in all, I was perfect until maybe mile 11, then the sun started beating down on the black.

   I woke up Sunday morning about 4:50am, made my 1 cup of coffee, ate my wheat toast with peanut butter, and tried to eat a banana, but my nervous tummy wouldn't allow it! Drank a bottle of water and got the kids up and ready at 6am! My daughter Kaitlyn was NOT a happy camper that I got her up "when it was still dark outside", as she put it! Mason, on the otherhand, was HAPPY as always!

    We got to the start line at 6:45, enough time to stand in the HUGE lines to go pee once more and then line up for the 7:30 start. The girl that I was running with was assigned to wave 7 (she put her last half marathon time as her expected finish time...well, she is MUCH faster now!) and I was assigned to wave 5. We lined up in wave 5 and noticed the pacer for that wave was 2:30...well out goal time was 2:05...so we snuck up to wave 4! The pace in that group was 2:20...so again, we snuck up to wave 3! DON'T TELL!!!! ;) Much better, the pacer was 2:10, so we sayed there and 5 minutes after the gun went off, we were let loose!  Here we were waiting to start...

    Sarai & I

   

    Mile 1 and 2 were SOOOO crowded. You couldn't even bob and weave by people, but luckily we moved up a few waves, so everyone was at the same pace. I couldn't wait to get to mile 2.5! It is right in front of my work, and all my co-workers were out front with a sign cheering me on, it was so cool to see them all! Then, at mile 3, my hubby, my kids, and my parents were there to cheer me on and the hubby got a few good photos! It was smooth sailing until mile 6...this was the first huge hill since the mile 1 hill, i put on a pumped up song, and trucked it up the hill. Still feeling good! Somewhere between mile 10 and 11, I really started slowing down. My legs were feeling tighter and heavier and I soooo wanted to walk. But, I knew my family was waiting for me at mile 11, and I didn't want to stop...so I kept on truckin'!

Me giving my Dad a high five at mile 11!

    Mile 12 was the longest mile of my life!!! I just kept thinking to myself, I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL I'M DONE! We finally were heading downhill to mile 13 and I was so happy that the end was near. We sprinted that last 100 yards and crossed the finish line together @ 2:05:04! YEAH BABY!!!!

And we FINISHED!

All in all, it was an awesome race. The crowds were awesome, the volunteers were fantastic, and I am stoked to have met my goal time. The only thing I wish could have been better was my last 2.5 miles. I was really hurtin'. And honestly, I think if I would have stopped and stretched for a minute or two that those miles would have gone a lot better...note to self for the La Jolla Half in April ;)

    I want to say thank you to all my family and friends who supported me thorughout my training...especially my hubby! For watching the kids on the nights I had to leave and do my long runs...love you babe! Thank you to my parents for being there race day and supporting me (I really needed it at mile 11!), and thank you to my mother-in-law for letting me borrow her treadmill for my training runs...you have no idea how much it helped! And lastly, thank you Sarai for being my running buddy on all those long runs! It was so nice getting to run with you!

Looking forward to a week off and then training resumes for the La Jolla Half Marathon April 25th. As far as training goes this time around, I think I am going to extend my longest run to 15 miles instead of 12; and then continue my 2 shorter run during the week. If anyone has advice, I am TOTALLY up to hearing it, as I have obviously never trained for a 2nd half marathon! :) I am also looking forward to seeing my daughter compete in her first running event on April 10th, the Carlsbad 5000. :) She is so excited to race "just like mommy"! LOVE IT!!!!

Getting Excited!!!

    Getting sooooo excited for this weekends race :) The expo is later today and also on Saturday. I am going to go later today as soon as the hubby gets home :) I'm sure we will beat most of the crowd that way! I also get to meet up with an old high school friend that I played soccer with. She is also running the Half (i'm assuming it is a training run for her, as she is running the L.A. Marathon)...but it will be so good to see her...I haven't seen her since my wedding 7 years ago! :D

    I can't wait to get my bib and shirt...I'm number 8977 :) I am also excited to check out the running skirt twins products...I have read many great things about the skirts! Oh and...I got my Sweaty Band in the mail yesterday. It is sooo cute...ran on the treadmill with it for a mile to test it out...and it stayed!!!!!

This is the one I got :D

I am planning on wearing it during the race this weekend, so I will let you all know how it stayed during 13.1 miles!

    Well, time to go and get some stuff done while Mason is napping...then in 3 hours it is off to the expo...post later!

Kelly

Rogue Underground Kickboxing

All moms can relate when it comes to losing the baby weight. With Kaitlyn, I gained 52 pounds....YES, 52 whole freaking pounds! How??? Honestly, I didn't think I even ate that much...but, apperently, I did! :) Even by the time I got pregnant with Mason I still had 11 pounds to lose before being at my pre pregnancy weight. Then with Mason I gained 39 or 40 pounds. Great! Not as much as before! And so the weight loss journey began again.
With Kaitlyn, I luckily belonged to a gym, where day care was included in my $20 monthly dues...YES, only $20! It was awesome! I would go for an hour or an hour and a half 5 days a week! This was how I lost about 40 pounds. But after Mason was born we ended up cancelling our gym membership becasue we could no longer afford it :( So, I had to find other workouts to do.  Which really made me sad, because I LOVED going to the gym, going to spin classes, etc.  For the first year after Mason was born, I found a great workout called Turbo Jam...a really fun DVD based workout that is sort of dance/kickboxing. I really really liked it, and have about 10 of the Turbo Jam DVD's. Here is a clip:

I lost about 35 pounds or so. Then, about 3 months ago, I came across another type of kickboxing on youtube called Rogue Underground Kcikboxing. It is soooo much more intense than Turbo Jam, and I loved the music too! The only down side is that the creator is in Georgia, and I am in Caliornia. She also doesn't sell workout DVD's yet, only instructor DVD's...which I could buy, i guess. But instead, I just burned some segments from youtube and do those as workouts...I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Check it out.


Here is another one of my favorites:






These are just a few of the many routines they have...I made 2 DVD workouts and each are about 45 minutes long. Just click on my blog title to go to her website or check out this link on youtube:
You tube videos
All the cheoreography does take about a month to get...but even the practice burns calories :) On average, by doing one 45 minute DVD, I burn about 400-450 calories (according to my body bug)...pretty good right!? If anyone wants me to send them a copy, I'd be more than happy! I swear, right now, I am only doing the DVD 1 time per week, and the next day my arms are sooooo sore! A great arm, back, and ab workout for sure!

By adding this new workout, my Body Bugg (which I got in July for my 28th birthday), and now half marathon training, has made me FINALLY get down to pre preggo weight! YIPEE!!!!

Week before the race!

Well, it is offically less than a week before my first half marathon since 2001! 5 days to be exact :) I am really excited and can not wait until Sunday!!! This week is going to be an easy week...thank God, I feel so low on energy this week...probably the weather. My training schedule on plans for 2 days of running and 1 day of cross training, and the rest of the days are for REST!!!!! Cainaan had the day off yesterday for MLK, so it was a lazy rest day of all day movie watching :)

This weeks schedule:

MONDAY:     REST
TUESDAY:     4 miles on treadmill
WED:              Kickboxing
THURS:          2 miles on treadmill
FRIDAY:        REST
SAT:               REST
SUNDAY:     RACE DAY!!!!!!!!!
The Expo is Friday and Saturday, but I think I will go on Friday to beat the Saturday crowds...there are 9500 racers total! CRAZY!!!!!! Hopefully it works out and I get to meet up with my old high school friend Megan. It has been probably almost 7 years since I have seen her :( so sad, I know!
***Sarai and my goal for the race is a sub 2:05...but secretly, I would be super super stoked if we could get under 2 hours :)

Another Goal for 2010

Another thing this year that I would really love to see more of, is spending more quality time as a family. Ever since Mason was born and I went back to work, it has been really hard for us to do the "normal" family outings. Yes, we do go camping occasionally, and we did take the kids to Disneyland last year...but I feel that because I work all weekends, and Cainaan works all week, that we have no time to fit those "normal" activities into our schedule. So YES, that is another goal of mine this year...to somehow, make more time available to do things like: go to SeaWorld, the Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, etc...  Sounds easy enough! :)  I would also LOVE LOVE LOVE to do a family vacation this year. Just Cainaan, the kids, and I. Even if it is just for the weekend...ohhh....maybe for Kaitlyn's birthday, we can do a Disneyland weekend?! Hmm... I don't know if that will fly with Daddy :)

Last Long Run Before Race

    Today was Sarai and my last long run before our race next Sunday...we usually run in the afternoon, but did a trial morning run instead today. The race starts at 7:30 am, so we tried an 8:30 am run...weather was very overcast and slightly misty at times...it was PERFECT! I hope the weather is like today's for race day! Tried to mimic what I plan on doing race day morning, to see if it would work for me. Got up @ 6am, had a cup of coffee, ate wheat toast with peanut butter on it, and drank a bottle of water. I took a shower and then got the kids up and made them breaskfast. Got dressed and dropped them of at Nana's to pick up Sarai. On the drive over to Carlsbad, I wasn't feeling too energetic :( Oh yeah, I also had half a bottle of "5Hour Energy"...I had never tried it before, but the ad says that you don't crash, so I thought I would try it!
    We parked at Christiansen St, stretched for a few minutes, and we were off! We ran to Pointsettia and back, which is 9 miles...we stopped for a quick stretch and water break at tower 31 which is at about mile 7.5.  I also ate about 4 sports beans. I was feeling great, felt like we carried a great pace. At that point, Sarai's runkeeper App on her ipod said we were keeping a 9:17 pace! We were pretty happy about that! :) I finished the run strong, and felt that I could keep that pace on race day...which was a great feeling. We are both soooo excited for next Sunday! Can't wait!!!!!

My first Blog!

Hey everyone!

    I have a feeling 2010 is going to be a great year with lots of memmories! Not only am I going to be an Auntie 2 more times! :) But, my daughter, Kaitlyn, will be starting Kindergarden! AHHHH!!!! I can not believe it! Where has the time gone? Look how big she is getting!

I am so excited for her...she is going to LOVE LOVE LOVE school! It will be an adjustment for Mason! I know he will miss Kailtyn so much during the day (they play together all day long!) He loves his sister soooo much! I am looking forward to the one on one time with Mason :)

    As for me, I have many goals that I am looking forward to accomplishing this year! 2010 is a new year for me...I can feel it! One of my main goals for the year is to become healthier and more active. I feel so much better being an active person! In high school, I was very active in sports; I played club soccer, high school soccer, and high school field hockey. Some days, I would go straight from school to field hockey practice, then to soccer practice! Geez, I don't know how I had the energy to do it! But I just remember loving every minute of it! I want to be THAT active girl again, loving every minute that is handed to me, whether I have the energy or not. There was one particular blog that I came across, that really inspired me. Danica is her name. Her story is really inspiring, and knowing that she could do what she did after such a horrible devestation, really inspired me. If she could do it...so could I :)!!! As Danica said, "In high school, I was much faster than I am today, but throughout my life experiences, related to running or not, I have come to realize it’s not about the time or your place in the race, but the journey it takes you to get to that finish line." AMEN!!!
On that note, I have decided to commit myself to training for the Half Marathon Triple Crown Series! The Triple Crown is 39.3 miles of running paradise with three of the country's best and most scenic half marathons. The series kicks off each year in January with the Carlsbad Marathon and Half Marathon and continues with the La Jolla Half in April an finishes with the America's Finest City Half in August. I ran in the La Jolla Half Marathon back in 2001 and it was an awesome experience. (But since 2001, running has taken a back seat). I am dedicated this year to training hard and accomplishing something I NEVER thought that I would or could do! Hopefully, these accomplishments with drive me towards my goal of completing a full marathon...YES, I said FULL Marathon! :) That would be so awesome!

All about the Half Marathon Triple Crown