The Vegas Disaster

Vegas.  What can I say about Vegas that hasn't already been said by a lot of disgruntled runners?

Running on the Strip at night was amazing.  Seeing Cheap Trick and the Jabbawockeez perform before making my way to the start line was equally entertaining.  Receiving a medal that glows in the dark (because it was a night race) was a lovely touch.

The compliments end there.

- With 44,000 runners registered for the sold out race, I was a bit surprised to find inadequate course support - through 13.1 miles, I think I grabbed three cups of water and two cups of Cytomax (during every other race I've ever done, I've picked up at least 10 cups of Cytomax and three cups of water to splash myself).

- With 44,000 runners, the race organizers should have planned post-race transportation better.  We all needed to get back to our hotels and were incredibly sore, so standing in a taxi line for two hours was out of the question.  So was walking back to my hotel, but I did it because it was actually faster and hurt less to hobble to my room than wait for a cab.  (Editor's note: there was one perk to walking back to the hotel and that was stopping at Jean Philippe Patisserie in Aria for a caramelized hazelnut milkshake.  Recovery drink of the year!)

- To the older lady who fell backward on the stairs at Mandalay Bay:  I don't know what caused you to fall, but I don't appreciate you pushing me off of you when I caught you.  i know that wasn't race related, but there were a million people in that hotel, and she happened to get in my way.

- I heard there weren't enough medals.  Shocker.  (Click here to learn about lame bandits).  I wonder if the water and Cytomax deficiency had something to do with the lame banditry.

- According to my time, I finished the tough Nike course almost 20 minutes faster than Vegas, which is strange because Vegas was flat.  So either I run really slow now or there were too many people bottlenecking the course.  I vote for the latter.  Oh...and it didn't help that I ran into a casino to place a bet, but I wasn't in there very long.

I had really high hopes for this race, especially since I had so much fun last year.  But unless a lot of major changes are made, this may have been my last Vegas race.

Bandits. Ugh.

To celebrate my BFF's birthday, I signed up for the RNR Los Angeles Half Marathon so we could run together.  But due to a few unfortunate circumstances, including, but not limited to the following reasons, I was unable to participate in the race:

1. I was in Las Vegas.  My flight home got cancelled because of a  freak snow storm that prevented my plane from leaving New York.
2. I slipped on a lemon wedge at the casino and landed on my effed up left knee.
3. A week before, I tweaked my left knee playing hockey.  If you couldn't tell, my left knee hates me.

Competitor (the company behind the Rock 'N' Roll race series) has a very strict rule about refunds - basically, there aren't any refunds, so I was especially upset when I found out that people who didn't sign up for the race ran through the finish line and took a medal.

Do I think that running 13.1 miles is an accomplishment?  Absolutely.  Do I think people should go to hell for stealing?  Absolutely.

The same week of the race, Wall Street Journal did an incredible piece on race bandits - please read it, people.  Educate yourselves on the selfishness that is banditry and do your part to prevent this from happening.

Helloooo, Firemen!

Yes, it's true:  I only ran the Nike Women's Marathon because I wanted to experience the gloriousness that is San Francisco's fire department.

Obviously, there were other reasons for wanting to run Nike, like the fact that the medal is a Tiffany necklace, that my lovely TNT Long Beach teammates would be running their first races and that San Francisco is home to some of my favorite restaurants.

I mentioned in a previous post that I didn't train very well this season, right?  Well, this race proved it.  The course was THE hardest course I've ever run.  My complete lack of hill training, coupled with a left knee that hates me, made running uphill and downhill a nightmare.

But the views...oh my, the views were amazing.  San Francisco is an absolutely gorgeous place.  Around mile 6 when the hills were killing me, I was rewarded with a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Will I run this race again?  Who knows.  What I do know is I love San Francisco and will be back again.

Hey Mouseketeers!!

As my first 13.1 mile race of 2011, the Disneyland Half Marathon was a fun way to ease into my running season.  Because of my commitments to Team in Training as a captain, I wasn't able to train as well as I would have liked, but I somehow managed to get my miles in when they counted the most.

Since I ran Disney last year, I took time to enjoy the course, take pictures with my favorite characters and just have fun!  Dressed as Pocahontas, I ran through Disneyland, California Adventure and the streets of Anaheim with my TNT girls, most of whom were also dressed as Disney characters.

Some photo highlights from the race for your viewing pleasure:

STORM TROOPER!  I  heart.

Minnie, Cinderella and Pocahontas

The TNT lovelies with the Disney Princesses

Bay To Breakers!

Oompa Loompa Doompadee Doo

I love San Francisco.  I love costumes.  I love medals.

If you take all these things and wrap it into one package, what do you get?  The 100th Annual Bay to Breakers 12K!

One of the world’s largest and oldest footraces, B2B takes runners, walkers and fun costumed people in general from The Embarcadero (aka the "bay" side of the city) to Ocean Beach (aka the "breakers").  The name makes perfect sense now, right?

I had heard about all the crazy things that you see at B2B, so I expected the event to be a leisurely stroll through San Francisco - an opportunity to take pictures of all the people in their outrageous outfits (or lack thereof) while getting mildly hammered.  Plus, I had been on a running break since December, so I had absolutely no intention of running this race.

Fortunately, I wore legit dri-fit gear under my Flashdance sweatshirt and leg warmers, so when my friends started to run, I was able to run along with them.  And of course, I run for the medal and we were rewarded with a nice 100th anniversary piece.

B2B:  I'll be back next year.  Keep an eye out for the Girl Scout troop with the cookies ;)

Disney and Nike are SOLD OUT!

Many runners (mostly females) will tell you that the Disneyland Half Marathon and Nike Women's Marathon are THE best events of the year, and because they are THE best events of the year, they are both sold out.

However, if you are still looking for your way in, I know a little secret...

If you haven't registered for Disney or didn't get selected in the Nike lottery, Team in Training is the only way to get into these popular events.  The Fall season starts in mid-May, so it's not too late to secure your spot in these fantastic events.

Highlights include:

Disneyland Half
- Running through Disneyland and California Adventure
- Taking pictures with your favorite characters
- Running on the field at Angels Stadium and seeing yourself on the Jumbotron

Nike Women's Marathon
- Firemen in tuxedos who present you with a Tiffany & Co. necklace medal
- An Expotique with great shopping, photo booths and fun activities
- Breathtaking views of San Francisco
- Out of 20,000 participants, only 2,000 are men.  You read that correctly, boys...if you are single and ready to mingle, THIS IS YOUR EVENT.  Trust me.  Your odds are cuh-razy good!

So what are you waiting for?  Hit me up today for details!!

I'm Back!

Yes, it's true.  Running retirement is officially over and I'm back...new season and new role as Team Captain for Team in Training's Long Beach Fall team.  Woohoo!

Why did I come back, you ask?  Easy...aside from wanting to raise awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I wanted to do two of the best events of the year: the Disneyland Half Marathon and the Nike Women's Marathon.  Remember when I said I wanted to do these two races?  Well, guess what?  It's happening!

We're kicking off the pre-season with a very fun Nike preview event on April 26.  Join us at Mai Tai in Long Beach for some food, drinks and live band karaoke <-- you read right...LIVE BAND KARAOKE.  And, if you party with us AND sign up for the season, I will embarrass myself and serenade you.

Hit me up if you need details.  And, if you're a boy, Nike is definitely your event.  We did the math and basically, there are 300 women per man, so unless you have no game whatsoever, your odds of picking up a new girl are ridiculously high.  Just saying...

Dear Las Vegas,

You know I heart you.  Your all-you-can-eat buffets tempt me at all hours of the day.  Your slot machines' "ding ding" sound echoing through McCarran is like music to my ears.  Even the smoke that fills the casino (while also burning my nose) brings back fond memories of successful runs at your lovely craps and roulette tables. 

As if I needed another reason to visit you, the good people at Competitor decided to up the ante and turn the Rock 'N' Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half into a NIGHT race, which means the funnest race ever is about to become the most epic.  Running the strip at night...nicely done.

See you in December!  Holla!

xo,
Joyce

Race Day as a Non-Racer

For those of you who have ever participated in a race, you know how important it is to have course support - not just from the water stations and medical tents, but also from the bands, cheerleaders and spectators that line the route.

Although I didn't sign up for Surf City in Huntington Beach, I wanted to do my part and cheer for the runners, many of whom are friends from Team in Training.

Our cheer signs were kind of amazing and definitely made an impact...we even met a runner hours after the race who thanked us for brightening his day.

Cheering continues on March 20 at the LA Marathon.  Be there or be square.

Team in Training Cheerleaders

Team HOLLA and our friend, Panda

Still Retired...Sort Of...

It has only been a month since my last race and although I haven't done any running since the RNR Las Vegas Half, I have thought about 2011 and this year's must-do events.  So here it is...Joyce's 2011 Race Calendar!

- Bay to Breakers: (May) The only event I've actually signed up for, and probably the funnest race I'll be doing this year!  Costume ideas, anyone?
- Nike Women's Half Marathon:  (October) Two words:  Tiffany medal.  Another two words:  hot firemen.  Done deal.

The end.  One thing I learned from 2010 is that I need more time between races, so ideally, I will only do one event per quarter.

If I find that I need to do more events, I would also consider:

- Surf City: (February) The surfboard medal is fantastic and all participants (even the one-mile charity runners) will receive one!
- Run Chicago Half Marathon:  (April) If this race goes down, it'll be a busy day...Red Wings-Blackhawks game is that afternoon.
- Disneyland Half Marathon:  (September) I did this race last year and loved it!!  But getting the castle medal is still on my list of things to do, so I might have to sign up for this one.
- Big Sur Half Marathon:  (November) Competitor Magazine listed this race as the most scenic, and based on pictures I've seen, I'm sure it is absolutely breathtaking.

What races do you have lined up this year?  Share please!

Hood To Coast: The Review

When I was at the Rock 'N' Roll San Jose Expo last year, I briefly stopped at a booth that was promoting a documentary about runners.  Well, that movie premiered yesterday - one night, one screening - at theaters across the country.  Named after the race in which the film's subjects participated, Hood to Coast captures the spirit of runners as they prepare for the world's largest relay race.  I had to watch it!

We all have different stories to tell and Hood to Coast does exactly that.  The film follows four teams, each with a unique perspective and personality.  From novice runners who prefer to drink beer than train (sounds familiar...) to experienced runners who face life's challenges to participate in a grueling 197-mile relay race, Hood to Coast takes viewers through the emotional highs and lows of endurance events.

If you didn't get a chance to watch the movie, here's a quick peek:

If and when Hood to Coast is released on DVD, I absolutely recommend it for runners and non-runners alike.  You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll definitely be inspired.