I WON Lululemon Athletica VIP passes!

There is nothing like waking up to a dozen "Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!" messages from my friends.  I had no idea I just won Lululemon Athletica VIP passes at the San Francisco Marathon.

 This is the message that they posted several weeks ago in Facebook:

"Who's running The SF Marathon this July 26th? Comment below if you are, or tag your friends who you know are running. I'm giving away 5 spots to the "get quiet. GET LOUD. Lounge" Presented by lululemon athletica. 

This event is by invitation only and will have exclusive giveaways from Lulu, a great view of the Finish Line Festival, Breakfast AND Lunch, Drinks, Yoga and Foam Rolling sessions, Bag Check, Private Bathrooms, and of course... Live Music!  Like, Comment & Share to Win! Winners will be selected on July 15th, 2015 at Noon!"


It looks like I'll be getting the royal treatment at the San Francisco Marathon ... as long as I finish the race between 11:30 am. 

Now, I really wished I signed up for the full marathon but I am fine running the second half and completing the Half It All Challenge. I am just going to miss running across the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge which is not part of this course. Hmmm perhaps I could run here on Saturday after visiting the expo!!

I am leaving you with one of my favorite quotes from legendary George Sheehan. 

Happy Running, everyone! Are you training for a race?

Thanks Lululemon!

2015 Big Sur Marathon

Date: Sunday, April 26th

Distance completed: 26.2 miles. They also offer a relay, a 21-miler, a 10.6-miler and a 5K
Start: Big Sur Station.  Finish: Carmel
Course Map and Elevation:

Saturday,  April 25th - Expo

After a short flight from San Diego, I arrived in San Jose at 8:40 am. I met the rest of the running crew at the airport. We rented a car, grabbed something quick to eat and drove down to Carmel Valley. First stop, Gilroy, "The Garlic Capital of the World". My friends had garlic ice cream while I chose some delicious and fresh strawberries.

The trip from San Jose to Carmel was approximately one hour long.  We arrived at the expo around 2 pm. I was told it was a very small exhibit ( half the size of the San Diego Half Marathon) when in fact it was quite large. I guess they expanded it this year. I purchased a couple of race souvenirs including a tank top with a matching hat, a pair of sunglasses for my husband and a beautiful Big Sur 26.2 necklace that I am yet to receive in the mail since they ran out of them at the expo.

At one of the tables,  they were giving samples of Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Hearts. I love this product so much. When I told them about my delicious Raw Zucchini Pasta with Hemp Seed Oil Pesto made with their brand, they gifted me a whole box. Scored! I think I have enough to last for a year! Maybe 'll turn into "la masa verde" aka the Hulk in Spanish.

We were about to leave the expo when I heard that Dean Karnazes was going to be signing books. Whaaaaat? I couldn't believe it. One of my running idols was there, a few feet away from me. Of course, I stopped by the Runner's World's booth to met the legend!

We ended up talking for ten minutes. I basically told him that every time I run in San Francisco and cross the Golden Gate bridge, I imagine him running naked in front of me. hahaha ok, this might sounds weird out of context. Let me explain! In one of Dean's book ( I think it was 50/50), he tells the story of an awesome run he had with one of his closest friend and how they jumped some sort of fence and ran the Golden Gate bridge with hardly any clothes on in the middle of the night.

I continued telling Dean that in 2013 he passed me on the Golden Gate bridge, clothes included, and I started screaming "Karno!" You can read more about it   here . Dean laughed and told me that I was pretty funny and wished me good luck at the race. He mentioned he would be running too but that he had some injuries so it wasn't going to be pretty for him. I just checked his finishing time. It was 3:49: 20.

After the expo, we had an early dinner at Yafad, a Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern restaurant in downtown. I highly recommend it as it has a lot of vegetarian options. I had some eggplant delight dish with spicy rice and pitta. I don't usually eat grains but I was starving and this was the perfect time to carb-load. We went to bed early, around 9 pm since we had to wake up at 2:45 am.

Sunday,  April 26th - Race Day

We left our hotels around 3:20 am. We walked for 15-20 minutes to a nearby high school where a bus picked us up and drove us to the race's starting line.  The ride took about 40 minutes. Enough time to take a really quick nap!

When we arrived at the Big Sur campgrounds, it was freezing cold. We grabbed some hot tea ( they also had hot chocolate for the runners) and bundled up with blankets for over an hour.

As we walked towards the startling line, Rudy Novotny, the race announcer, recognized me and shouted "And there goes my friend Ciry!".  What can I say?  He is awesome! :-)

The race started at 6:45 am. The first 5 miles were all downhill. We were surrounded by majestic tall trees. Birds were chirping and nature was slowly waking up to the sound of thousands of running shoes softly hitting the pavement. I tried pacing myself to conserve energy for the rest of the race but the adrenaline kicked in and I accelerated instead. When will I learn? We soon reached the start of the 21-miler race ( this is another option for runners that don't want to do a full marathon).

At mile 6, we were greeted by a couple of cows and a cute mile marker:
Cow 1 - Elsie ... I don't think I can make it
Cow 2 - You can do it midge ... Just put one hoof in front of the other

We could see beautiful greenery to our right and the deepest blue ocean to our left. It was truly heaven on earth!

I can't recall much between mile 6 -9 except for the breathtaking oceanic views and the hills. It was hill after hill after hill. We then came across this funny mile marker.

Around mile 10, we started ascending to the notorious Hurricane Point, a 550 feet climb over 2 miles.

Miles 11 and 12 were painful but I was able to conquer the hills. As we descended from Hurricane Point, we could see the majestic Bixby Bridge at mile 13.

We could also hear Michael Martinez playing the piano from the 13.1 mile point. This is one of the most spectacular views of the race. It's a picture perfect moment, the one all runners look forward to. Unfortunately, my iPhone ran out of juice. Nooooo! Til next time, Michael Martinez!

At mile 14, I had a nice laugh as I passed this mile marker of two Kenyan runners saying "In my country, we call that walking".  "They are right!". I thought.  "Who am I kidding?"

At mile 16, my legs started cramping from over exertion.  I walked for a quarter mile and found myself in a dark place, crying and thinking about quitting the race. Now, at Big Sur there is no place to hide - if you don't run, you either jump to the ocean and swim to the finish line ( hoping you'd be fast like Michael Phelps or Nemo)  or you walk at a maximum of 13 min/mile pace. Otherwise, you are not eligible for a finisher's medal. Keeping this in mind, I started calculating how much time I have left and whether I could make it on time.  I had kept a pace of 10 - 10:30 min/mile on the first half but now I was literally walking. On top of that, my iPhone was dead so I couldn't check the time. "It is the end of the world!", I thought.  Hitting a wall this early on a hilly race is something I never anticipated.

I had many negative feelings going through my mind at this point when I heard   *beep beep* and then 15 seconds later *beep beep*. It was Jeff Galloway, the Olympian runner approaching me. I mentioned to him something along the lines "I am done for today! I don't think I have what it takes to finish this race". He then asked me if I could run for just 15 seconds. "15 seconds? Of course!" He promised me that if I stick to his plan, he will take me to the finish line in time.

I ran with Jeff for 10 miles, side by side, accelerating every 15 - 30 seconds and stopping for 15 seconds. At first I thought, "This is crazy! I am not going to be able to keep up! I am going to die today!". It took me perhaps  10 iterations to get used to this acceleration / deceleration. But soon, to my surprise, I noticed that I was feeling better. My legs were no longer hurting and my mood was lifted. I was still worried about making it to the finish line on time but Jeff Galloway kept distracting me, purposely, with personal stories and giving tips to take it easy and really enjoy the experience.

I don't remember much about the rest of the course except for the short steep hills at around mile 22-25 and some delicious strawberry stations at mile 23.5. At mile 25, I decided to take off and sprinted the last mile. I finished the race feeling very strong and happy (who would have told me at mile 16?). Of course, I waited for Jeff and his wife Barbara at the finish line to give them a BIG hug!

I was still in disbelief. Today, I ran side by side with American Olympian JEFF GALLOWAY for 2 full hours in the most beautiful place in the world AND I got my medal. What else could I ask for? Ok, a good finishing time in the near future.

With Jeff Galloway at the finish line ( not my best pic but it's ok)

l am super proud of myself, considering that I have not ran consistently in the last 2 months. My longest run was the SD Half ( March 8). Big Sur was breathtaking and I learned a few things about myself during the race. First, life can be beautiful IF you let it be. Don't be hard on yourself. Second, don't think too much. Get out of your head. And finally, you get what you put in. There is no substitute for training, unless you are injured, you must train ( especially if you sign up for Big Sur or any race with extreme hills)

A BIG thanks to Jeff and Barbara Galloway. I couldn't have done it without you!  A BIG thanks to my family for their support! Congratulations to all my friends that participated in this race!

Peace. Love. Run Big Sur.

2015 Inagural Star Wars Weekend - Rebel Challenge

This year, runDisney presented the Inaugural Star Wars races with a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and a Rebel Challenge ( 10K + 13.1 miles = 3 medals).  As many of you know, I am a BIG Star Wars fan. If I had twins,  I probably would have called them Luke and Leia!

For this reason, I signed up all of us for the 5K, including my husband and kids.  I also registered my husband for the Star Wars Half Marathon on Sunday. I, on the other hand, signed up for the Rebel Challenge.  This was five days after the Dopey Challenge in Orlando. And why not? This is 71 miles in 10 days!


Thursday, January 17th - Expo

After being stuck in traffic for almost two hours, we arrived at the Expo with only a few minutes to spare. We picked up our race packages and left soon after.

These are the official shirts for the Star Wars 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and Rebel Challenge. Beautiful, huh?  I loooove every single one of them! For once, they were way nicer than the official merchandise available for purchase.

Friday, January 16th - Star Wars 5k - Day 1/3

I woke up my kids at 3:30 am to get ready for the race.  My daughter slooowly opened one eye, then slooowly openned the other and said "I find this lack of sleep disturbing!" in her Darth Vader'ish voice. hahaha. This woke up my son. They were both in a surprisingly good mood, considering the early hours.

My C-3P0 outfit

My Dark Vaders

I know my son would have been a perfect Star Wars kids in this Volkswagen commercial!


We walked about one mile from the hotel to our corrals. The race was scheduled to start at 5:30 am. As we crossed the starting line, my friend and race announcer, Rudy Novotny, shouted "And there goes Ciry and Nati". My daughter was all smiles "He just said my name, mommy! This is AWESOME!".

Thanks Rudy!

My daughter then proceeded to tell me that she wanted to PR at this race. "No problem, I'll try to keep up with you!", I replied.  Her plans, however, changed once we stepped into the parks and she saw the Castle, the Storm Troopers, Chewbacca. "Ohhhh this is cool! Let's take some pictures, mommy!".
Like mother like daughter! Forget about PRs at runDisney events. This is just for fun!

After many stops for pictures and a quick bathroom break, we were about to cross the finish line when Rudy spotted us from the podium "Here comes Ciry and Nati. Hey where is your brother Nati?", he asked. My daughter laughed.

My husband and son arrived soon after.

What an amazing race! We will cherish these memories forever!

Star Wars 5k Finisher's Medal

Saturday, January 17th - Star Wars 10k - Day 2/3

I woke up at 3:40 am. Zzzz! beep! Zzzz! beep!

My R2D2 Mickey costume

My goal for today was to stop for only a couple of pictures and run back to the hotel and sleep ( saving my legs for the half marathon the next day)

I stopped four times for snaps and finished in 1 hr 06 min. It's a new Disney PR!.  My finishing time at the Walt Disney World 10K, the weekend before, was 1 hr 52 minutes. hahahaha only at Disney.

Star Wars 10k Finisher's Medal

Sunday, January 18th - Star Wars Half Marathon - Day 3/3

This was the third and last race of the Rebel Challenge. Ready or not, here we go!

With my friends at the staging area before the race

To be honest, I can't recall much about this race except that my legs were really tired and needed a break. However, I didn't let this feeling defeat me that morning. I ran strong until mile 8, slowed down for a couple of miles and picked it up at the end. As soon as I saw Disney's Paradise Hotel in the horizon, I got excited.  "This is IT! 7 races and 4 challenges in 10 days, for a total of 71 miles or 114 km".  With all those stats in my head, I proudly finished the race and received my last three medals ( one for the Star Wars Half, one for the Rebel Challenge and one for the Coast 2 Coast Challenge - for completing half marathons in FL and CA).

My prrreciouss!

Big congratulations to my husband too! He ran the Star Wars Half Marathon with practically no training. He usually runs 3-milers several times a week. His focus, at the moment, is on speed and not necessarily distance. This, however, was a slow race for him due to some injuries. Still, I am super proud of him! 

  

2015 Dopey Challenge Race Recap

Hello friends! It's been almost two months since I completed my first official 2014 Dopey Challenge but hey better late than never, right? Anyway, what is this Dopey Challenge? You run the Walt Disney World 5k on Thursday, the Walt Disney World 10k on Friday, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday and finish with Walt Disney World Full Marathon on Sunday.

This is 48.6 miles ( 77 km) or 4 races, 5 parks and 6 beautiful medals.  The real challenge is not necessarily the overall distance covered at the event but all the walking after each race with few hours of sleep in between.  Picture this: You wake up at 3:00 am, race at 5:30 am, head back to the hotel, shower, have breakfast with your family and walk the parks until 10 pm. Then you do it all over again, the next day (well technically 5 hours later), and again and again. 4 days in a row. I bet you just got tired reading this, huh?  It's Dopey!

Now, this was my second time completing a crazy WDW challenge. In 2013, I ran the 5k + Goofy Challenge ( half marathon + full marathon). This was unofficially called a Dopey by runDisney fanatics like me. Since registering for these three races became so popular, in 2014 Disney decided to make it official. Do you want to be called Dopey? Fine! One caveat, you need to complete a 4th race, a 10K ( because a 5k followed by a half marathon followed by a full marathon in 3 consecutive days is not going to cut it). Hence, the official Dopey Challenge was born!  A little bit of history here! ;-)



Thursday, January 8th - Walt Disney World 5k - Day 1

My daughter and I left the hotel at 4:00 am. We were "frozen" literally! It was 34 degrees with crazy winds ( 20 mph). It felt like 20 degrees. We didn't bring warm clothes, just shirts with short sleeves and leg warmers.  I questioned my insanity that morning as I saw my daughter struggling with the temperature. At one point I remember thinking "I am OUT! No Dopey Challenge for me! I can't put her through this!". Lucky us, a couple of total strangers dropped their unused space blankets ( I really want to think that they were unused) in front of us, right before the race started. The first mile was tough since we needed to cross the deserted parking lot (no wind protection) and a forest, but it got better after that. We didn't stop for a lot of pictures this year!

After the race, we went to the hotel, took a warm bath, had a hefty breakfast and headed to the magical parks until 10 pm.


Friday, January 9th - Walt Disney World 10k - Day 2

The second day it was 10 degrees colder but there were no winds so it actually felt warmer. I met with many of my soCal and LV friends at the start of the race. We all ran together until the end of the race. We stopped at each mile markers for pictures and took it really easy ( saving our legs for the full marathon).

After the race, I went to the hotel, took a shower, slept for one hour. Everyone was still asleep! We had breakfast at Boma Flavors of Africa and headed to the park until 10 pm.  Notice the pattern?


Saturday, January 10th - Walt Disney World Half Marathon - Day 3

After waking up so early 2 days in a row, you start getting used to it. My body however was feeling heavy. I was not worried, though. I was more concerned about the weather. It was reeeeally cold outside. Lucky us, there was a tent located at the start of the race with official merchandise.  We ended up buying the last mens size thick-cotton sweaters available.

They were cosy but a tad heavy. I can't believe I ran with this sweater until mile 10!

This was at mile 6 in front of the castle

I love this view. This is at mile 10

After the race, I went to the hotel, took a shower, had breakfast and headed to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studio. We returned to the hotel around 11 pm. What a fun crazy day! I had almot forgotten that I had a full marathon the next day!

Sunday, January 11th - Walt Disney World Full Marathon - Day 4

As the alarm went off at 2:45 am,  I looked outside the window.  We were staying at the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge and the views were spectacular. I could see a giraffe in the horizon on a very bright night with clear skies. Breathtaking!

"The last 26.2 miles. Go strong or go home! Yes, we'll survive to tell the story" - I texted my friends!

"Ohhh what did we get into?"

"My goal for today is to finish the challenge! Only 26.2 miles to go!"

 First stop, Magic Kingdom. Of course, I had to take another picture in front of the castle.

Second stop, Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest.

Up until a few months ago, I didn't know that my favorite roller coaster was going to be open to the runners during the race. The only problem was that I didn't time it correctly and ended arriving 15 minutes before the attraction was opened. What did I do? I waited in line for my turn! Whaaat? Yes, I waited in line! Of course, I would never do this at a different race but I was at WDW and I wanted to experience the thrill.  After all, I didn't know if I would ever come back for another Dopey Challenge.

Riding Expedition Everest was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I don't think I've ever screamed and laughed so much in my life!

After Expedition Everest, I met my friends Nadia and Venus and decided to follow them until the end of the race. At mile 15,  we stopped at the cementery :-)

Almost dead!

At mile 18,  it started to rain as we entered the ESPN Wide World of Sports ( my least favorite part of the race). The next few miles were kind of boring, on the highway. At mile 22 or so, we entered Disney's Hollywood studios. I was so tired. I could barely run. At mile 25, we arrived at Epcot. It was still pouring but seeing the Spaceship Earth in the distance put a big smile on my face.

"This is it! One more mile to go! We've been here before", I told myself. " Italy, Germany, China, Norway, Mexico... yeah we are almost there".  I think I cried as I crossed the finish line.

With my running buddy, 2015 Dopey Finisher and actor Sean Astin!

This is an amazing challenge and something all runners addicted to runDisney should experience at least once in their lifetime! Would I ever do it again? I think one Dopey Challenge is enough. I'll be back for the 25th Anniversary of the Walt Disney World Marathon in 2018 or a WDW Princess race before then, who knows?!

5 Days after the Dopey Challenge I completed a Star Wars 5k +  Rebel Challenge ( Star Wars 10k + Star Wars half)  but I'll cover this on my next blog post!

Hope you enjoyed my recap!  If you want to learn more about these races, feel free to leave a message in the comments section! I'll be glad to help!