I ran my final race of the year at the Santa Monica-Venice Christmas race. This is my 4th time running it and I was excited as it has always been a good time. This year they changed the course and also added self-seeding corrals. The bad news is they started the 10k and 5k together so the corrals would be needed and the course would probably be a bit crowded. 

We got up at 6:00, out the door at 6:40 and got down to Santa Monica around 7:00. We parked easy, got ready, had a potty break and went to the start to check out corrals. Devin and I did a quick warmup of 10 min and then hopped in corrals. My corral (9-9:59) was packed and I had to wait on the outside to enter the corral.

The race started on time and I think my corral was wave 4. My goal was to hover around 10 min mile and then negative split. I started well and it was nice to do the Venice Boardwalk first instead of last. Then we did 1 out and back and split from the 5k before the 10k did one large out and back, joined back with the 5k briefly and when they turned to the finish we did one final out and back that was about a mile. The race was basically a reverse of every past year. At the split, I found Devin who was having a rough race. I ran with him for a bit before he sent me on.

The only thing I didn't like was the lack of water stops, I had to run across the course each time as they weren't on any map and were also pretty small. For one of the final water stops I went to get water and some went from a run to the slowest walk ever. Luckily I was far enough back to be able to stop but seriously people! 

When we met up with the 5k, things were definitely congested. They had divided the 5k and 10k and some of the 5k walkers had migrated over which definitely caused a traffic jam as many of them had strollers. I navigated well and was able to get to an open area. As the 5k turned off to finish, the 10k had about a mile left. I kicked it into gear and could tell I probably needed to fuel more. I only took one Clif shot around mile 3 when I usually fuel every 2 miles (I should have known better!) but was trying to match up my fueling with the water stops. As I kept on, it was actually pretty warm since it has been so cold lately (turns out it was the start of another Santa Ana so when we finished it was a big humid and in the 70s when the turkey trot I had done the week before was in the 40s) but I kept on. As we rounded the corner I knew I was pretty close to my PR, if I could just hold on. .5 from the end, I started getting a side stitch and on my walk break I tried to work out. I tried to run again and it came back STRONG. so strong I slowed to a walk. What the heck? Ugh! I knew my PR was gone and after about a minute I felt better to run but not at full force. I finished as strong as I could. The finish line was closer than I envisioned so I probably could have kicked it a bit harder. I crossed in :58:46- 41 seconds after my PR. Boo :( 

To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I wish I could have seen the finish line photos (free race photos but I only had 3 and they were not good haha) because I bet I looked PISSED! I started crying-ugh. I know it's just a race but it's still frustrating to be so close to my goal and have something like a side cramp get in the way. I don't know if I would have been able to PR but it would have been nice to try. And now the 10k is the only distance I didn't PR in 2015 and it's the distance I ran the most. Boo. 

However being more positive, I almost completely did negative splits, I felt pretty comfortable until the end. Every mile was sub-10 and I definitely think I could run a half averaging 9:45 which would put me about 2:07. I definitely need a PR attempt soon. 

They had a ton of food at the finish-so much I went in search of boxes to pack it away. We got water, some nasty protein milk, nestle milk, skinny pop, kettle chips, Sriracha, a banana and more. Yay for snacks post race. We walked around the little expo area while we waited for everyone to finish.  

With the new course, the finish is in another area so we had almost a one mile to the car which was nice because we didn't have traffic getting out and it gave us time to cool down as well. We got back, showered and relaxed for the day drinking mulled wine, eating yummy food and watched Christmas specials. 

The corrals worked well but they definitely need to be expanded. One corral was 7:00-8:59 which is a wide range. My corral 9-9:59 was packed and could have used more of an area. Also, they probably need to split the 10k and 5k. My 5k pace is different than my 10k pace, so people in the area were all over the place time wise. 

The new course is nice but there were multiple times we were running directly into the sun (which is fine just make sure to have your sunglasses and a hat!). In the past, the portions with the sun in our eyes was run the other direction so it wasn't an issue until this year.  There was a lack of water stops. We didn't have a water stop the last 2 miles so next time I would just run with a water bottle to make sure I can fuel correctly. I think the side stitch/cramp was caused from fueling without water and then a lack of water at the end. 

Overall I did enjoy the race and do plan on running it again. Next year I will bring my own water bottle, fuel like I normally do and maybe even wear a hat. Maybe I'll bust out the Christmas solider outfit again?!? 


Has anyone else run a Christmas/holiday themed race lately?  

This Saturday I will be running the Santa Monica-Venice Christmas Run. This will be my 4th time running this race (2011,2013,2014) and I have set PRs 2 out of the 3 times before. Of course we will be in costume with a Frozen theme (putting that Anna costume to good use for the 5th time!) 

Not going to sugarcoat it, I am shooting for a 10k PR. The weather should be in the high 50s/low 60s, the course is flat (although it covers the same ground it is a new course), and this year they have corrals so course crowding shouldn't be an issue. 
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Goals:
A- sub 57- this would be a huge PR but I feel I've gotten faster and can throw down a huge Pr. 
B- sub 58:08-I want a PR! The 10k is the only distance I haven't PRed in 2015 so it would make me happy
C sub 1:00- I love that as short as 15 months ago, a consistent sub 1:00 10k would have been a dream but I'm here now! 
D- finish my 29th race of the year with a smile on my face 

Anyone else racing this weekend? Anyone running a Holiday run this month? 

Final race of the year!

PRE RACE AND BIB PICKUP

We couldn't do bib pickup the day before so we decided to get our stuff morning of. I went bed early (I was exhausted from editing papers for 3 hours and finally turning them in!) around 930 and had my alarm set for 5. I got up and got ready and had breakfast (adding leftover cranberry sauce to my hot cereal=christmas in a bowl!) and stretched. I've decided a full 45 min to get ready for a race is perfect. It's enough time to not rush and also allows for ample stretching time. 

Headed out at 550, got Devin and we got to Santa Monica around 630. There was crazy traffic which was to be expected as parking sucks down there anyway. We ended up parking in a short term lot with the idea of paying an hour now, going to get our stuff and come back and re up it for 2 hours. We did that-walked over, got our bibs, shirts and Santa hats, and went back to the car where things were crazy. Pretty much one of the parking meters was not working for a lot of about 400 spots. We ended up waiting to repay and missed the beginning of the race. There were lots of us dealing with parking issues but  blah. 

We ended up starting about 7 min after 730 which was good because the course was wide open. 

RACE
I could see my pace and decided to still go on feel as much as I could. With the course wide open, there was nothing in my way. I decided on intervals of 2:45 running and 30 sec walking. 

My first mile clocked in at 9:15! Ummm-WHAT? I was feeling great and thought I would try and maintain the pace as long as I could. And that didn't last long-my shins KILLED which has always been my bodies way of telling me to slow down. I had to insert more walk breaks and by this point, I had caught up to the back of the pack. 

This is also where course crowding and other obstacles took over. There were many cars on the street that were ticketed but not towed so there were random points where the course narrowed from 2 lanes to one. Trying to maintain a 845-930 running pace with people walking too far across or with parked cars in the way was hard but I tried my best. 

I could feel myself slowing and it was so frustrating. I always negative split and pride myself on this fact and I knew that wouldn't happen this time. I definitely learned my lesson about holding back in the beginning. I think even 10 sec slower would have made a difference. This feeling of slowing was definitely effecting my mental state. I was so down and defeating which is so unlike me. I don't know where my head was! 

There was a free water bottle before the water stops. I couldn't remember if there were water stops in the past so I grabbed one just incase. There were actually 2 water stops on the course which is great for a 10k. 

A thing about the course-it is a flat out and back course. You can always see the faster people ahead of you and the people behind you. On the turns, it always slows down significantly as people try to take a tight turn. Also with the crowding, I had to weave in and around cones to try and get around. The course also allows dogs and strollers so there is weaving around those too. Not to mention, the sun was extra bright and it was pretty warm in the sun. 

I hit the half way point under 30 min and knew a PR could still be in the works. I split a mocha clif shot between miles 2.5-3 and I felt it kick in around 3.5 (the bottle of water came in handy!) and knew it was time to kick it into gear. 

As we headed towards the boardwalk, I felt more in the zone. It was the same area I had finished my 20 miler the week before so I knew exactly where I was. I was trying to do math and I knew I would be close for a PR. At that point, I came to terms that I would be happy with under an hour and great with a PR even if it was a few seconds. This race was about completing 14 races in 2014 and celebrating how far I had come in a year! A year ago, if you had said I would be battling a sub 1:00 10k I would have said you were crazy. 

I kicked it into overdrive and went as fast as I could maintain for my interval of 2:45 and still have a bit left in the tank. As i continued on, I knew I could PR was not sure how much. I decided to keep pushing. Towards the end there is this hill. It's only at max 30 feet but for some reason it always slows everyone down. I walked the hill and turned the corner and knew we had .3 left but I was worried I would crash and burn so I walked for 10 sec at mile 6. 

I pushed forward as hard as I could and finished in 58:05! New PR by one min and 16 sec. 

My splits were all over the place and it bothers me (according to Nike plus since my Garmin somehow was off were 10/8:56/9:21/9:17/9:12/9:24) . I definitely could have broken 58 and that is bothering me still days later. I can think the race and pick out precious seconds that would have gotten me under 58:00.  I hate that I finished and was disappointed. There are things I could have done differently and I definitely learned about starting too fast. Starting the race on time may have helped but I think course crowding would have taken over more then. However, I am looking on the bright side. Last year I ran the race in 1:18 (it was raining and I was dealing with a leftover injury) so to run :58:05 is something to be proud of. I mean-I'm in the middle of Dopey training, that alone is a beast. I have to let go of the coulda, woulda, shoulda and move on :) 

Afterwards, we got our medal, apple(a new variety called Opal which was fantastic!) and banana and got a few snacks. We then headed to dunkin donuts (FINALLY!! You on the East coast will think this is crazy but it is the first Dunkin in LA and i have been trying to get there since it opened in September) and had a nice celebratory lunch with mulled wine, sparkletinis, and Christmas specials. I then relaxed all evening and crashed around 9. I had to get sleep as I had to get up to do dining reservations for our June WDW trip. 

Overall, this is a great race and one I look forward too. The costumes are so much fun and it's a flat course with a 730 start time. The addition of a medal and a Santa hat were also great! 


I will do a wrap up post about doing the 14 races in 2014 and also a plan for 2015 races next week! It has definitely been a big year for running. 

Anyone else run a Christmas themed race lately?