shin splints

I am getting ready for Aunt Steph to visit and Aunt Anne and Cousin Evelyn and Cousin Joey. I'm so excited for everyone to get together. I'm finishing up grades today (hopefully I can submit them today and then have tomorrow free). I'm looking forward to a great time with family, making memories, at Disneyland and elsewhere.

I'm looking forward to my race weekend June 1st. But I'm also kind of feeling the pain of training. I guess I can be grateful that I will have a bit of time off after the Corona del Mar Scenic 5k. The next race weekend I have on the calendar is Sept 8th which is the Santa Monica Classic. But Miss Jenna, the franchise owner for Fit4Mom has suggested that maybe we take all of July off for training because of the heat and it seems these mamas don't want to get up early. So maybe we can have the Mission Inn run as our next finish line. I'll have to re-work the training plan for Session 3 of RunClub+ accordingly.

I am trying to stay on budget, but also not skimp either. I got a new hat for Albert and some new shoes for him because that little bean sprout won't stop growing. His last day at the AS Children's Center at CSUN is tomorrow and he's been going there for 2.5 years so it kind of hit me today that we're moving on from that place and I got a wee bit emotional. It's so hard when you're crying at drop off but you don't want your kid (or anyone else) to see it.

I have to say that my Mother's Day wasn't really anything special. It just felt like any other day, except my husband did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. We went to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens with my MIL and SIL and it had the potential to be magical but it was actually really stressful trying to chase after a 4-year old but keep up with the group. It was also pretty expensive. I think I would have enjoyed it more if were were there by ourselves, as a family of three, and we could have taken our time more and let kiddo run wherever he wanted to go instead of trying to stay together as a group of 6 adults (who didn't trouble themselves at all with doing kid-friendly stuff) and 1 wild child.

I also wanted to report that I think I have shin splints. It sucks and I don't know what to do about it. I jumped on my foam roller for 30 minutes today and it seemed to help. I had a crappy run on Tuesday because of where I'm at in my menstrual cycle. And I feel PMS moods for like 10 days before my period now, which my friends have confirmed is a symptom of perimenopause. And now I really should get back to working on grades. Le sigh!

Bike Month and Month of Mama

I’ve been adding and deleting songs from my DANCE DANCE DANCE Amazon music playlist. If the song doesn’t keep me hyped while running, I delete it. If the tempo doesn’t seem right, I move it to earlier or later in the playlist. I keep increasing the playlist's duration as I progress into longer runs. I’m almost up to 6 hours now, but I will need more bangers for the LA Marathon training.

I've been keeping a list of running items that I love so it's easier to re-buy them or to recommend them to friends. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2QFV2N9VEFW0Q?ref_=wl_share

I do plan to bike to work on Thursday, May 16th, but it's not really necessary.

What I plan to do to celebrate Month of Mama is just to keep up with my running program. I got a book called "Master the Marathon," and it was super-readable. The author Ali Nolan talks about how she got a job as the features editor at Runner's World magazine. She has a BA in English literature and an MFA in creative writing. It shows! I loved how reading it felt like talking with a good friend. She was very candid about her first marathon experience and what a disaster it was. Because her goal was to *prove* that she belonged at Runner's World magazine by getting a Boston-Qualifying (very fast) time. She also admitted right away that she won't be the world's foremost expert in marathoning because she has only completed two, but that she was surrounded by much more experienced runners and coaches while writing the book.

I am inspired to speak to the question: Why enter a race?

I think entering a race is a great motivation to train. On the race-day, the race course is supported so you can run without carrying water. There are clear roadways and port-a-potties. More than these logistics, it's fun to run with a big group of people. When everyone is running together, something magical happens. You can vibe with the other runners and that just makes it fun. I never came from a family of runners and I kind of found it by accident. But after my first organized race, I was hooked. I realize that it might not motivate everyone, but maybe they just don't know how magical it is.

Runcation Debrief

We had our second runcation or racecation this past weekend, if you consider our runDisney weekend the first. This trip was so relaxing. We arrived at the OC Marathon expo around the time it opened. We parked and walked through the expo about 3 times. Then our nephew (who was actually running the marathon) arrived and we walked him through bib and t-shirt pick-up. Our son actually loved the expo and had a really fun time at the fairgrounds.

$12 for parking x 2 days (expo admission free)
$97 for pre-race food (grocery store and fast food)

$60 for post-race food (food truck and in-n-out)

$5 for race-day finish-line parking

$299 for hotel 

$37 for overnight parking

$522 total (45% of the cost of the runDisney weekend)

Then we went to a couple of stores while waiting for our hotel's check in time. We picked up a few groceries but could have bought a few more. We had brought a lot of food from home, but we didn't even know if the hotel would have a fridge available. Arriving at the hotel was great, the lobby was welcoming and fancy. Parking was easy. There were luggage carts available to take our stuff to the room. The room itself was great. There was a big sliding glass door to the balcony, which overlooked a lake with a waterfall and a fountain. 

3350 Avenue of the Arts

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

2 Queen Lake View Balcony

It was super peaceful in the room. We started binging a show on Netflix. When we got bored / hungry we went out with the car and got some fast food. Using our room key, we were able to leave and come back with no issues. We watched maybe one more episode of the show while eating and then went to bed. I laid out all my running clothes before falling asleep so I could get dressed quietly in the morning. I woke up around 4am and went out to run on the marathon course while the roads were closed. 

The room had a Keurig coffee maker and we had brought our own pods. The only thing I wished we would have had were:

• half and half
• my "Tron" running vest

Other than that, I felt our packing list was complete. We used everything we brought and we didn't bring anything extra. After my early morning run, I came back to the room at 5:30am and Albert wasn't even awake yet. It was great to go and check out the prices of room service and the restaurant in the hotel and then just eat what we brought because it saved us so much money.

The expo gave us some vitamin lemonade, some sports drinks, and some energy drinks, not to mention stickers and candy. Albert wanted to go back after the race but it wasn't there anymore. I also got some awesome compression sleeves personalized with fit4mom and a running woman.

Thank you @Kia @OCMarathon @FIT4MOMhq #runclub pic.twitter.com/TeV2E42aYL

— Dr. Kayla A. Kaiser (@hamerk02) May 7, 2024

Packing List

Overnight Duffel Bag
⭐Underwear (2), clean socks (2), PJs, Regular everyday bra (2), regular clothes outfit
⭐Running outfit (shorts / top), Running belt, Running shoes, Sports bra, running socks, running undies

⭐Toiletry bags, Night bag w/ earplugs and eye mask
⭐Pull-ups (2) + wipes
⭐Stickers, bedtime books, bag of cars
⭐Three hats, Three sunglasses
⭐Park bag/purse
⭐Snacklebox: Electrolyte tablets, Salt tablets, Gu, Bloks, fruit strips, Sesame crackers

(non-insulated) Snack Bag
⭐milk, juice
⭐banana
⭐goldfish
⭐Keurig pods
⭐Honey, Starbursts candy

Insulated Cooler
⭐watermelon, grapes, blueberries, strawberries
⭐Bagels, Cream cheese
⭐Pasta (with sauce)
⭐plastic fork, knife, reusable straws

BOB stroller

Race-day Timeline

5:30am Marathon begins
6:50am elite runners pass hotel
8:50am Jack arrived @ hotel
10:45am Jack finished marathon

I'm looking forward to the second half of May. I have some big things coming up. A last trip to Disneyland. A visit from my sister and my aunt and my niece. So some major girl power.