I wasn’t quite healthy going into the first race of 2015 as I had pulled a muscle (or overstretched my Achilles tendon?) in my lower right leg after one of my training runs. I literally had a few weeks worth of no running until my sis Annelle’s\u00a0birfday race: Surf City half marathon in Huntington Beach, CA.\u00a0I remember \u00a0feeling great the first few miles and was surprised at how my leg held up. But then fail at mile 10, after which\u00a0I painfully hobbled to the finish line. At least, my sis got in under her goal time of 3 hours! LOL. It wasn’t a PR but it was her first half in a long time and she was glad she didn’t take longer than 3 hours.<\/p>\n
After that, I rested some more until my next race which was a back-to-back trail run in Boulder City. My sis Minel suggested that I should just skip the race, but the thought of wasting that money (I missed the window for a good refund) and the fact that I’d miss out on a Pilsner glass (lol I know… priorities!) meant that I ended up\u00a0running it anyway. The trail half marathon wasn’t too bad… until the sun and heat set in and I was miserable. I rested for a few hours until it was time for the evening race. This was the first night time trail run I’d ever done and was also the first time I wore my headlamp and used my handheld flashlight. Thankfully, I did not trip or fall but did take my time running in pitch darkness.<\/p>\n
The LA Marathon experience was OK — the first 21 miles were slightly better than the year before, but after the heat set in, I began to fade. No matter how much motivation my friend Cristina (who ran with me from mile 18 onwards) could give me, I could not get my body to move faster.\u00a0In hindsight, I had not been good about taking my nutrition (got tired of the gels) and again, didn’t do much heat training so the temps greatly affected my performance. Lesson learned\u00a0I suppose!<\/p>\n
Q2: RAGE Olympic Triathlon (April 18th)<\/strong><\/p>\n I had been training well leading up to my first Olympic triathlon. I joined Swim Las Vegas and was in the “BEST” program — it was a kind of masters swim class (but only freestyle) and an open water swim clinic. I performed OK seeing as I did not do much bike or run training (I really focused on the swim for this one). My result in this race is still my PR (despite doing 2 more Oly tri events in 2015).<\/p>\n Q3: Anaheim Hills Firecracker Run – 5k (July 4th), Las Vegas Olympic Triathlon (September 19th)<\/strong><\/p>\n July was a slow month (only 4 training hours!) but for the Fourth of July 5km that my family and I ran. The start line was so convenient — just 3 miles away from my sister’s home and yet we still drove. lol.\u00a0No PR for my 5km but I\u00a0was surprised I ran it under 9 min\/mile average.\u00a0Leading up to Las Vegas Olympic Tri, I knew I had been slacking with training for my bike and run. I was fine with the swim portion\u00a0until I saw my results on race day (It was rather pathetic considering I had been improving at the pool, but somehow failing in the open water). Still, it was a learning experience and a realization that I don’t sight in the open water that well, yet. Oh, this was my first race on my newly built bike: Bumblebee!<\/p>\n Q4: Pumpkinman Triathlon (October 24th), Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half (November 15th), Trails of Glory – 30km (November 21st), Las Vegas Backcountry – 50km (December 5th)<\/strong><\/p>\n I did OK at Pumpkinman Tri — I knew I would not PR due to the tough course, but I did come in under my projected finish time. With all triathlon events out of the way, I was able to go back and focus on my running. Las Vegas half was a great\u00a0late-season benchmark of how I felt and my results surprised me again: I was within two minutes of my half PR and I didn’t even try to race it. RnR was used as a (fun) training run leading up to my first ultra.<\/p>\n That being said, I used the same strategy for Trails of Glory. Although I faded way too early in that 30km trail race, it reminded me that I was still not taking my nutrition at regular intervals. Of course, this poor performance didn’t help with my confidence level and anxiety was ramping up with a mere fortnight away from my first ultra marathon.<\/p>\n Which leads me to my final race of the year; the Las Vegas Backcountry Trail Race, and the first time I felt confident all 31 miles of the run! You can read the full race report here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n What’s not included in that report, however, was how I ended up getting a sore throat (i.e., no voice!) and then a cold two weeks after the race!\u00a0I knew it would happen though as my recovery week was NOT ideal: I was catching up on work (i.e., back to sleeping late and not enough sleep) and I wasn’t eating right: I overindulged on fast food. I mean, when else can I enjoy a KFC $5 fill-up or a Carl’s Jr. Burger?! Still, I’ll try to balance the fast food with some homecooked meals and veggies next time. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n I leave you now with all the bling of 2015. Yes, I included the card I got from reaching the Kraft Mountain summit, and my (very first) soccer medals lol.<\/p>\n Here’s to another adventure-filled year! 2016 is when I tackle my longest triathlon distance yet: 1.2mi swim, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles; goal time: 8 hours (e.g., the time limit! lol.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As 2015 draws to a close, I thought I’d write a quick recap of the races I’ve done throughout the year, especially two firsts: my first Olympic-distance triathlon and first 50km trail race.![\"Race](\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2015\/12\/2015_RaceBling.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nQ1: Surf City Half (February 1st); Blood, Sweat & Beers – Half + 5km (February 28th); Los Angeles Marathon (March 15th)
\nI wasn’t quite read more