The life of an endurance athlete

This is what I have realized every time I train for an endurance event...
1) I am always hungry:  I used to exercise so I could eat anything I wanted.  Now, I eat everything 3x over.  My life is filled with constant snacking...My favorites

- quinoa w/ pesto, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and olives

- Costco nut clusters

- any kind of fruit (bananas, berries, peaches)- rice cakes w/ almond butter and jelly

- baby carrots

2) All the bookmarks on my computer are athletic related...

- possible events I'd be interested in doing

- various training calendars

- activewear: a person can never own too much workout apparel

- the latest studies on stretching, lifting, rolling and speed

- Blogs and forums on my friends lives as athletes

3) My calendar is marked w/ what events each paycheck goes toward: different events go up in price by certain dates, I only get paid once a month so I must budget and plan ahead

4) My phone calls and rendezvous w/ friends either involve eating or exercise: I don't mean to, but I've noticed a pattern, I love having company for my workouts and a girl has got to eat!

5) My music playlists have a specific form and function:

--> The running playlist

--> The cycling playlist

--> The easy run mix

--> The race mix

--> Kicking my butt up hills mix

6) The words "binge drinking" have changed in meaning: My talk of binge drinking always referred to alcohol, but now I have to binge on 8 or more glasses of H20 of I feel like crap, almost as bad as a hangover 

7) My body has no concept of sleeping in: after 5 or 7 a.m. workouts or just from work I have lost the ability to sleep past 7.  I can't even lay in bed, I get antsy like I should be doing something.

8) I have a 2 drink maximum: Not only do I perform worse after drinking so I avoid alcohol, but I am just a light weight.  More than 2 drinks = awful hangover or spending time praying to the porcelain gods.

9) I own a pair of shoes for everything and I don't mean heels: I have 2 pairs of running shoes, fins for swimming, cycling shoes, more flexible lifting tennis shoes, trail shoes, and the list goes on...

10) My vocabulary is filled with words the average person would never use and numbers don't have much to do with math: Cadence, Tempo, Fartlek, Triggerpoint, Chamois, etc.  not to mention 3x800 swim w/ 10 sec rest, 4x1000 @10k, 1 minute intervals on hill 60-70 rpm.

Planning the Perfect Race...Surf City Race Report

To most people the initials PR stand for Personal Record, but I think a better term would be Perfect Race and this weekend was one of my perfect races. Okay, so I lied, there is no way to plan perfectly.  You can read every book, listen to every piece of advice, and pray to every God, but still blow-up half way through a race.    I have a few routines I follow, but overall there is no real secret to feeling the way you hope to feel during, or for me, after a race.  So here is my routine anyway.  Keep in mind Surf City is not my "A" or goal race/event so I didn't cut back as much as others would.
Thursday
Woke-up early for a spin workout and after I'd kicked my butt I went to work and came home for an easy 4 mile run.  On this day I started upping my carbohydrates.  I am a firm believer that beans and rice are the key to success so for lunch I had lentils and for dinner, I had rice with my thai food.
Friday
I took a break, made sure all was packed, and flew out to SoCal.  I made sure to wear my compression sleeves and had some mexican food (rice and beans of course) before I headed on my way.

Saturday
I took a 2 mile run starting slow and then working up to my previous half marathon pace (8:08 miles).  After the run I rolled, streched, showered and made my way to the expo!
Most expos are inside hotels or convention centers, but Surf City had theirs in a tent right on the beach.  This was a glorious day to head down to Huntington Beach and enjoy the waves and warm weather, almost like a mild summer day!  Now expos can be dangerous.  They offer a variety of foods that look good or scream "I'm free, so try me."  You may regret trying anything you haven't tried before.  After bypassing the food stands I picked up my bib, t-shirt, and California Dreamin' Series Jacket.  The reason I signed up for Surf City is because I was completing the last event in a special series.  This series is over now, but you usually can find many others in areas near you.  For instance, there is the San Diego Triple Crown, the Wine Country Half Marathon Series, and there is a new Northern California Series.  After collecting my belongings I was off to rest, relax, and consume a few more calories and carbs before bed.

Sunday-Race Day
So I'm a race day non-eater.  I know this sounds against every rule most people have ever heard, but I just can't eat.  I end up with awful GI tract issues and it not only will hurt me in the race but will hurt me long after the race is done.  I opted for filling a fuel belt water bottle with perpetum and another with water and taking a Clif gel with me just in case I feel like bonking.  It was a perfect foggy Sunday morning along the beach.  My mom dropped me off close to the start and I trotted off for a 1.5 mile jog to warm-up (yes, most people run more than 13.1 miles on any race day.  Then I stretched, found my coral, and started jumping up and down to keep warm like the rest of the cattle.  Then the chaos begins!  I start running, trying to stay slow and steady at first and then speed up if I feel I can.  My goal for a race is always to get negative splits and for the first time in my life I did.  My splits read:
Mile 1: 7:59
Mile 2: 7:53
Mile 3: 7:47
Mile 4: 7:54
Mile 5: 7:40
Mile 6: 7:40
Mile 7: 7:48
Mile 8: 7:51
Mile 9: 7:51
Mile 10: 7:44
Mile 11: 7:43
Mile 12: 7:33
Mile 13: 7:35
.10: 6:40 pace: 55 seconds
Finishing Time: 1:41:57
The course was gorgeous, and although some people do not like out and backs, I loved every minute of running along the beach.  If you have a chance to do this race I would recommend it.  I also got to go home with one of the biggest medals I've ever seen!!!
Pictures soon to come!