My Dad, Belle and I
Kristin and I, loved my new Lululemon outfit 
Awards, wearing my new Lululemon hoodie Yesterday was my 2nd half marathon and 5th running race of the year. I raced one in February that had some rolling terrain and I felt awesome up ’til mile 10. This time around I was much more prepared BUT this course was SUPER HILLY! We climbed and climbed, then descended and pounded the pavement, then climbed and CLIMBED so more. It was the hilliest course I have run for a half so far. As usual I was super stoked to start the race and had so many friends around and it was in my hometown which made it that much SWEETER!
One of my best friends, Kristin, drove up from Santa Cruz to race with me. This was such a great treat, as I love hanging out with her. We have so much fun always! We started the race at the front with a couple of friends who I knew would pace pretty smart. I am all about building into the race, I’m not a fan of going out too hard anymore ) The first mile of the course is a slight downhill which makes it easy to go out too fast. I looked at my garmin to make sure I was holding back enough, I saw 6.15s and 6.22s, so I decided to slow it back just a bit. At one point one of my athletes flew by me and I had to yell at him “Jon, remember be smart.” He thought about it for a few seconds, then slowed down. As soon as we hit mile 1, we made a sharp right turn up a super steep hill. This hill went on for a good 1/2 mile, I was feeling great, nice and light on my feet. Again another down hill and some major pounding, I again held back a bit. I know from experience that the pounding of the downhills, if I let myself go, will come back to haunt me later in the race. Onto the next section of the course, a nice 2-3% grade for a couple of miles. This was a tough part of the race and it was so great to have one of my long run training partners (Ralph) next to me and to see another training partner up ahead. We kept each other in check and made sure we were on pace, 6.40-6.50s, since it was slightly uphill.
) The first mile of the course is a slight downhill which makes it easy to go out too fast. I looked at my garmin to make sure I was holding back enough, I saw 6.15s and 6.22s, so I decided to slow it back just a bit. At one point one of my athletes flew by me and I had to yell at him “Jon, remember be smart.” He thought about it for a few seconds, then slowed down. As soon as we hit mile 1, we made a sharp right turn up a super steep hill. This hill went on for a good 1/2 mile, I was feeling great, nice and light on my feet. Again another down hill and some major pounding, I again held back a bit. I know from experience that the pounding of the downhills, if I let myself go, will come back to haunt me later in the race. Onto the next section of the course, a nice 2-3% grade for a couple of miles. This was a tough part of the race and it was so great to have one of my long run training partners (Ralph) next to me and to see another training partner up ahead. We kept each other in check and made sure we were on pace, 6.40-6.50s, since it was slightly uphill. The hardest part of the course was still to come and this was up Crow Canyon rode, a 3 mile climb with some long steep sections and some good downhills too. At mile 5, Ralph fell back and I moved up to stay with a pack of guys. I tried to hold onto them on the first steep section but noticed that I was laboring a bit too much and my legs were starting to burn a bit much for this mile in the race. I made myself calm down, dropped my shoulders, relaxed my arms and face, and started to feel better. By mile 7-8, was a different story, I started to hurt and freak out a bit that my race was done, the hills were getting to me. This time I thought about all of my friends and competitors out there experiencing the exact same feelings, if not worse. Then I started to think of what my friend Desiree always says when she is hurting, “if it’s hurting me, it’s killing them.” I really needed this thought at that moment, and off I went and started negative splitting. I was feeling great again and moving up and down the hills feeling light again. Cool! I was still in the lead for women and was hoping to hang on.
Miles 10-12 was an out and back section and windy. We ran down a slight grade and onto a flat section and then had to come back up that grade and to make things even more interesting, we passed by my neighborhood. Thoughts of Belle sleeping on our bed all warm and snuggly crossed my mind, but I knew I had to finish first then I would get to relax This section is where you could see your competition. I finally saw some friends in both directions and was so stoked to see them doing so great! I also saw Kristin and she looked great, I couldn’t tell how far back she was, but I knew she could catch me if I slowed a bit. I picked up the pace these last 3 miles and realized I had some left in the tank which is a GREAT sign! YES!! And nothing was SWEETER than crossing the finish line with family and friends cheering me on in my hometown of San Ramon on a beautiful sunny day!! It was an awesome feeling to come in 1st and to PR on a course that had ~1500 ft of climbing. Most people said they were 3-4 minutes slower than their usual half marathon times. I averaged 6.48s/mile on this tough course. I am more than happy and stoked for great things to come… Thanks to all of my training partners and Reid of course for always motivating me to push harder to reach new heights!
This section is where you could see your competition. I finally saw some friends in both directions and was so stoked to see them doing so great! I also saw Kristin and she looked great, I couldn’t tell how far back she was, but I knew she could catch me if I slowed a bit. I picked up the pace these last 3 miles and realized I had some left in the tank which is a GREAT sign! YES!! And nothing was SWEETER than crossing the finish line with family and friends cheering me on in my hometown of San Ramon on a beautiful sunny day!! It was an awesome feeling to come in 1st and to PR on a course that had ~1500 ft of climbing. Most people said they were 3-4 minutes slower than their usual half marathon times. I averaged 6.48s/mile on this tough course. I am more than happy and stoked for great things to come… Thanks to all of my training partners and Reid of course for always motivating me to push harder to reach new heights!
Track kids I coach were there cheering me on…..
28 Comment(s)
KP said:
you are amazing, cool photos too.
jessithompson said:
When I grow up, I wanna fast like you… way to rock it, lady!
Laura said:
Awesome race Eileen! Love the new outfits!
Tera said:
AMAZING time! I love how you never complain about going into your races on tired legs, if only people knew. You are such an inspiration!
Molly said:
Great job, rock star. It must feel wonderful to see your training paying off so well this year. Congratulations!!!
Leslie said:
Congrats on the race!!! I love lululemon too, I wish they would bring their tri clothes back!
Christine said:
Holy Moly! That is awesome!! I bet you feel so accomplished!
Shan said:
Isn’t that blue lulu hoodie AMAZING?! I have the same one
.
Congrats on a stellar race! I just KNOW you are going to teach me how to run 6:40-6:50s on hills, right?!? hehehe
Hope you have a fabulous week!! Are you coming down to SD this weekend to race Oceanside?
Jen said:
You. freakin’. rock. Nuff. said.
Katy P said:
I agree with everyone, you are amazing and you rock big time! Love how you never have excuses about what you did the day before, week before, or ever!! Kudos to you.
Beth said:
Congrats on your win and PR Eileen!! Sounds like a really tough course too! Yipppeeee!!
GoBigGreen said:
Awesome run Eileen! I am so jealous, I had a sports bra on too this weekend, but i had about 4 layers over it! I love those Snackimal cookies, I eat all of them but the wheat free are my favorites.
And we are adopting a rescue dog! “Ruby” will join the St paul clan on Good Friday! I cannot wait. I am so excited. She is 3 yo and my parents are going to Iowa to get her…what fun i will have putting her on the blog!
ShirleyPerly said:
CONGRATS!!! What a beautiful day to race and how nice to have family, friends and the kids you coach there too. Way to come back strong!
Damie said:
what? E???? awesome!!!!!!!! so, so funny how you thought of belle during the race. I think of my puppies too all of the time in races. It must be a defense mechanism for us. congrats again on the race
Lisa G said:
WOW! That is amazing! You are one fast chica! Congrats on an awesome race and getting the win makes it even more sweet!
Missy said:
SHEEEIT, you’re flying gurl! Nice to have all that hard work pay off. You have to be thrilled!
Thanks for your comment…yeah, I certainly focus on the lighter side of training:) If it wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t do it!
Teresa said:
Awesome race and congrats on your lulu ambassadorship…it’s a fun role and you wear it so well! Along with inspiring others…keep up the
great work!
tn
ps…No Wildflower for me this year…headed to St Croix, hopeing to stay on the bike on the BEAST:)
ADC said:
Well done, you were really rocking that race. Way to go!!!
bart said:
great going! It’s March still and you’re on your 5th race already – way to go!
Kim said:
Great Race! Way to go! Sounds like fun and love the new outfit.
Benson said:
Yay!
Nice race.
Wings on your feet.
Runner Leana said:
Congratulations on the win!! And on a tough course to boot!
Marni said:
Awesome job! I love the pics in the last few posts!! Doggy pics are great
-marn
Trigirlpink said:
Great Job and you look so fit!
rosadimaggio63 said:
Beautiful shot !
I not speak american, pardon !
Blog bello, c’è molta serenità nelle foto !
Buon fine settimana.-
Sei molto fortunata a vivere in California
Mel said:
AWESOME E….I know I already told you on FB..but again..I am so happy for you…little miss cutie
)
MJ said:
Great job on getting the win! I just caught myself up on your last bunch of posts (it’s nice to have a computer and the internet again!)
Congrats on joining the lululemon family as well! I am sure they’re pleased with your first race result
Cheers!
Courtenay said:
i’m home and finally catching up on blogs – nice race eileen! you would have rocked oceanside this year.
i hope all continues to go well and i’ll see you at wildflower, yay!