Running the States

Tag: travel

  • 16/50: California – San Francisco Marathon (1st Half)

    16/50: California – San Francisco Marathon (1st Half)

    If you had to choose just one road race to run in California, which one would you choose?

    Tough, right?

    California is a big, beautiful state. Aside from the fact that there are hundreds of races taking place throughout the year, there’s also the decision of which part of the state to run in — Northern California? Southern? Or how about Central?

    Here were my top choices (for a half marathon):

    Big Sur Half Marathon in Monterey Bay (not the same as the popular Big Sur International Marathon)

    San Francisco (Half) Marathon

    Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon

    San Diego Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon

    Solid choices, right?? I think so.  🙂

    I ended up choosing the San Francisco (half) Marathon. When I told people, they were all like, “but the hills!! Have you seen them?!” Yes, I’ve seen them. I was worried about those hills. But I figured, go big, or go home.

    I was pretty nervous about the race, especially after the challenges I faced during Hatfield-McCoy in June. But surprisingly, the hills were not that bad, and the race was amazing — in fact, it’s one of my favorite races yet. I would do it again.

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  • 14/50 and 15/50: Kentucky and West Virginia — Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon

    14/50 and 15/50: Kentucky and West Virginia — Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon

    Have you ever been so miserable during a race that you wanted to stop and just quit right there?

    There were two occasions where I was miserable, but not quite close to quitting or wanting to quit:  The Hottest Half in Dallas, Texas in August 2014 and the Savin Rock Half Marathon in West Haven, Connecticut in March 2015.  The former was just as advertised — it was hot as hell during that race, but at least the course was super flat and the heat was dry. I pushed through and thankfully, survived without any injuries, albeit some minor sunburn. The latter was the complete opposite of the former — it was freezing — in fact, it was snowing. Big fluffy flakes fell steadily from the sky throughout the entire race.  And the snow was falling on top of existing snow that had accumulated from the previous day.  At one point, I was even running along side a snow plow. Fortunately, the course was flat for this race as well, and I managed to make it to the finish line. (I remained cold for a good hour after that race though.)

    I didn’t think it could get any more challenging than those two races…

    But then, I did the Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon last June.

    I experienced a whole new level of challenge with that race. It was hot. It was humid. It was hilly. And it was high elevation.

    I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it.  At every single water stop during the second half, I debated whether or not to quit and catch a ride back into town.

    But surprisingly, I did make it — six (!!!) hours after the start time, I completed a half marathon in the hills of West Virginia and another half marathon in the hills of Kentucky, crossing states numbers 14 and 15 off the list.

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  • 13/50: Arizona – Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon

    13/50: Arizona – Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon

    If you’re attempting to run in all 50 U.S. states and one of your old high school friends invites you to her wedding in Arizona, then naturally you look to see if there are any races taking place the weekend of her wedding.

    Because why not kill two birds with one stone, right?

    And because the prices of plane tickets these days are not cheap.

    So I did a quick search on one of my favorite race websites, Running in the USA, and lucky me — I found a race taking place the day of her wedding — the Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon! Some friends thought I was crazy for running the day of the wedding, but hey, it’s better than running the day after the wedding!

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  • Completed Hatfield-McCoy! I can’t believe it’s June!

    Completed Hatfield-McCoy! I can’t believe it’s June!

    Wow, and just like that we’re more than halfway through June!  The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind — went to Mexico, celebrated my birthday, went to Kentucky/West Virginia for the Hatfield-McCoy race, and in between all of that, there have been many dinners, after-work events, social gatherings with family and friends, and the birth of my cousin’s new baby! I finally have some downtime this weekend and hope to catch up on my race updates and clean up this website a bit.

    First, I have to say:  The Hatfield-McCoy double half marathon has definitely been the most challenging race I’ve done yet.  The heat and elevation kicked my butt (hard) in both states, and there was a point during the second half where I seriously didn’t think I was going to make it. But I did — and thankfully, without any major sickness or injuries. So states numbers 14 (Kentucky) and 15 (West Virginia) are done! Yay!

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 13 + 14 + 15 + 16: Got the 20-miler done, less than 2 weeks until Hatfield-McCoy

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 13 + 14 + 15 + 16: Got the 20-miler done, less than 2 weeks until Hatfield-McCoy

    Run 20 miles?  Check.

    I finally got the long run in a few weeks ago at the C&O Canal towpath. Not going to lie… it was tough.  The first 14 miles went ok, but the last six miles were an absolute struggle.  Six miles had never been so painful or felt so long.

    But it got done.

    LESS THAN 2 WEEKS UNTIL HATFIELD-MCCOY!

    Am I ready?

    Ehhh… not totally.

    But it’s all good.  Come race day, I think I’ll be fine and ready to go. Hopefully.

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 10 + 11 + 12: Updates on life and upcoming races, monks and bodybuilding

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 10 + 11 + 12: Updates on life and upcoming races, monks and bodybuilding

    I can’t believe it’s MAY already.   This year is flying by so fast.

    The Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon is less than 50 days away (!!) (Check out the awesome-looking medals above!), and I honestly don’t feel as prepared as I should (but then again, when have I ever really felt prepared to run 26 miles?).

    I’m slacking on my runs — the weekday runs and weekend long runs are not long enough.  And I haven’t done the super long run yet – the dreaded 20-miler.  I’m hoping to squeeze that in this weekend or next.  Mentally, I am all over the place, and just not as focused on this training as I should be.

    I still have another month to pull myself together though.  Let’s see if I can do it.

    Upside: I managed to score running buddies for both the Hatfield-McCoy and the San Francisco (Half) Marathon in July.  Yay for running/travel buddies!
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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 6 + 7 + 8 + 9: Working the core, Phoenix Pride Run, Catch-up with DC Happy Feet

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Weeks 6 + 7 + 8 + 9: Working the core, Phoenix Pride Run, Catch-up with DC Happy Feet

    I spent part of this week recovering and catching up after a long weekend in Phoenix last week. Last Saturday, I ran the Pride Run (half marathon) and crossed state number 13 off my list (Wooo Arizona! — Hope to have a race recap up shortly.). And then afterward, I attended an old high school friend’s wedding (I love celebrating love). It was a good day — it was a good several days, actually. The weather in Phoenix was gorgeous, the race went well, the wedding was perfect, and I gained 5 pounds (i.e., I ate too much, drank too much, and was way merry).

    I’m back home now — back to focusing on training for the Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon (and trying to lose those 5 lbs. I gained).

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  • Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Week 1: And so it begins… again

    Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon Training – Week 1: And so it begins… again

    I’m heading for the hills of Kentucky and West Virginia this June for the Hatfield-McCoy Double Half Marathon. The races take runners through the historic sites following the Hatfield-McCoy feud in Goody, Kentucky and Matewan, West Virginia.

    Because the halves are back-to-back, I’ve decided to do a full marathon training program. It’s an 18-week program, which means week 1 started last week. It totally snuck up on me. Wintry weather here in the DC area + car issues made it difficult to get most of my runs in this week.

    So yeah. Basically, I am off to a great start so far…

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  • Going to Phoenix! Congrats to the marathon qualifiers! Woooo USA!

    Going to Phoenix! Congrats to the marathon qualifiers! Woooo USA!

    An old high school friend called me the other day to invite me to her wedding. The festivities will be in Phoenix, where she and her fiancé live.

    I’m excited! It’s been years since we’ve seen each other, and I’m looking forward to catching up with her and a few other old high school friends that don’t live in the DC area anymore. It’ll also be my first time in Phoenix!

    And since I haven’t done a race in Arizona yet, I figured maybe I’ll run if there are any races taking place in the area that weekend. Well, turns out there is one — the Phoenix Pride Run Half Marathon. It’s at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the wedding (April 2).

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  • 2016 (Half Marathon) Race Schedule

    2016 (Half Marathon) Race Schedule

    Here it is. My 2016 race schedule. Well, tentative race schedule.

    I think if you’re trying to run in all 50 states, or is someone that just enjoys participating in races, you’re constantly thinking about which race/where to go/what to run next. I’ve been thinking about my 2016 race schedule since January 2015 (and I already have 2017 and 2018 in the works). I’m a planner. I also love to travel, and in order to make that work with my limited vacation time, I have to plan in advance.

    My parents are going to Cambodia in November, and I’m hoping to join them for a week. Afterward, I’ll probably split and head solo to Thailand for a bit. This trip will eat up at least a couple of weeks, and so I won’t have as much free time for domestic travel this year, which means I won’t be able to cross off as many states as I did in 2015. No worries though, I’ll just make it up in 2017. 😉

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