Heather's Santa to the Sea race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Guess Who's Back?

Who knew running would be my greatest teacher?  (NOBODY!!!!)
Who knew I would be too stubborn to learn? (EVERYBODY!!!! )
Look, if you know me at all (and most of you do… but if you don’t read my other blogs then you will), then you will know that patience is not a virtue I possess when it comes to myself.

Find a parking space, don’t worry I’ll drive around.
Wait in line, I can do it patiently.
Get over an injury – HELL TO THE NO!

Read the rest on Heather's stRUNg out blog here.

Heather's Nike Women's Marathon race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

It's Not You, It's Me.

Dear Running,

We need to take a break.  Believe me this is not what I want, but I have to look at a couple of very important lessons that you taught me.

1. Be a little bit selfish
2. Take care of yourself

So, that’s what I’m going to do.

I want to thank you for our last Hurrah! The Nike Women’s Marathon was AWESOME!

Read the rest of Heather's report here!

Heather's Disneyland Half Marathon race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Suck it up, Buttercup!

I’m a little worried I’m going to upset some folks with this blog, but just a little. Although I had a wonderful weekend with my friends, I didn’t L-O-V-E my Disney Half Marathon experience and it’s all my fault. I went in to this weekend unprepared physically, emotionally and attitudinally.

It’s simple. I don’t love Disney races.   I know, you’re all gasping in horror! WHAT?! How can you not love the Disney race? Running through the park! Awesome T-shirts! Multitudes of BLING!

This is all I can say; it’s not really my thing. I will attempt to explain MY feelings about this knowing that how I feel is not indicative of the race or experience I could have and should have had.

What I should have done is sucked it up, instead I simply sucked.

Read the rest at Heather's blog: stRUNgoutrunner.com.

Heather's SF Marathon Race Report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Running for the Hills!

When I was training for the marathon, I didn’t want to sign up for a race. I was worried that I would be too exhausted. Then I won an entry to the Hollywood Half and then someone talked me into San Francisco.

San Francisco was a race I really wanted to do for a variety of reasons.

1. I was born there.
2. You can run the full marathon, the first half of the marathon or the second half of the marathon.
3. If you run the first half you get to run over the Golden Gate Bridge.

So I signed up for the first half of the marathon. I signed up and made a plan to go visit my Nonnie and run with some lovely folks from my gym…

Read the rest at Heather's stRUNg Out blog!

Heather's Hollywood Half Marathon race report

Captains Cheyanne Witte, Lupe Steele,
Heather Stewart and Leah Gutierrez before race.

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Last Minute Races: A stRUNg out Confession

Okay, I’ll admit it. After the LA Marathon I was jubilant. I was proud. I was, let’s face it, a bit of a braggart. I ran an EFFING MARATHON people!

But, like every addict, there comes a point where you come down from the high. I needed to know where my next fix was coming from. I gave in and signed up for a half marathon this June, but that didn’t seem soon enough.

Then through the magic of Social Media, the answer came to me in the form of a post…

Read the rest of the story here!

Heather's LA Marathon Race Report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Finding My Joy Part 2

I’m having a really rough time writing this.  I just have SO many emotions regarding finishing my first full marathon that I’m not sure where to start. So, I apologize for the length of this post, but I feel like I have to listen to the King from Alice in Wonderland and “Begin at the beginning… and go on until I come to the end: then stop.”   Funnily enough, that’s just what we do when we run… we go until we come to the end…

Decisions
I’m not sure when I decided I was truly going to do a marathon. Apparently, I’m the catalyst for my friends signing up. (I remember this as a group decision, but I’m sure that’s not the case.) I wrote a blog somewhere in the first year of my journey to lose weight and one of the goals was: “I want to run a marathon (in theory).” When that turned in to a reality, I’m not entirely sure.

But it did.

Ditto and I decided we would sign up for the LA Marathon. It’s one of the premier marathons in the US and it showcases Los Angeles and the cities beautifully with its “Stadium to the Sea” course. The race begins at Dodger Stadium, runs through famous cities and landmarks like Hollywood Blvd., the Sunset Strip and Rodeo Drive, and ends at the Beach. So, when registration opened in October of last year, we signed up and committed to a training plan. Very soon the third member of Team Ditto, Sue, joined us.

Read the rest of the story here…

Heather's Pasadena Rock n Roll race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together.

The Pasadena Rock 'n' Roll Half was a culmination of many plans coming together:

1. This is my final training “race” before the LA Marathon (LAM). I will run more and longer distances, but this is the last race.

2. Organizing when to pick up my bib, when to get to Pasadena and where to park was a plan in itself!

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY…

3. There was finally a solid plan to meet up with some #run3rd Captains. Andrea and I had made “plans,” if that’s what you can call them, at two different races, and Disney races are crazy places to try to do meet ups, plus this would be my first opportunity to hobnob with our fearless leader!

Surf City Half Marathon race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Sometimes I have to remind myself why I do this. Running is by far the most frustrating thing I’ve ever done. I am asking my body to do something it doesn’t always want to do. I am pushing myself past the point of exhaustion until I can’t go any further and then I keep going.  I’ve changed the way I eat, the way I sleep, the way I spend my time.

And sometimes I wonder, for what? I can’t seem to get faster. I can’t seem to lose any more weight. Running often reminds me of what I can’t do.

Heather's Tinker Bell Half Marathon Report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

If there is anything the Tinker Bell Half Marathon showed me this year it’s that I am truly blessed. Running has given me so much, but I think the coolest thing about running and Disney races especially is how people are brought together. My worlds collided at this year’s race, so instead of a mile by mile account, I’m going to give you a friend by friend account.

Blessing #1: First of all, the usual suspects were there. Ditto and her husband Cody and Ryan (the girl) all went down and spent the weekend together.  We shared a hotel room, made jokes, did our morning ballet, got sufficiently frustrated by shuttle busses and anxiously rushed to get to the start line together. Although this is not our normal way (stupidly early…standing around freezing, but not rushing), it’s the same people and I can count on them to carb load with me and meet me at the finish line. Being the slowest of my friends, I ALWAYS have someone waiting for me!

Allstate Half Marathon race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Me, Ditto and Sue  aka “Team Ditto” for the 2013 LA Marathon

As human beings we are constantly growing and changing. In babies and children we see these changes every day: the baby is a little heavier  or your 8 year old is losing baby fat.  But in adults it’s a less noticeable thing. When I started training for my first 5k in November of 2010, if you told me that in a couple of years I would be training for a marathon, I would have laughed in your face for about 30 minutes.

Now, it’s not so funny.

Half Marathons have now become training runs for the 2013 LA Marathon on March 17th. For training I do a “long, easy run” each weekend. A half marathon is the shortest of those long runs. HOLY <insert expletive here>!

Sandy Hook Virtual 5K race reports

On Saturday, December 29, 2012, most of the Team #Run3rd Captains took part in the Sandy Hook Virtual 5K, one of several running events being held to support the Newtown CT community after the terrible shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Sean Astin, Andrea Barber, Christina Boulard, Tony Conticello, Heidi Corrado, Sarah Diamond, Michael Hornsby, Linda Iroff, Laura Lawson, Heather Slawinski, Lupe Steele, Heather Stewart and Cheyanne Witte all participated. Some of us did it a day early (Linda, to avoid impending snow), some a day late (Sarah, after recovering from a bout of vertigo), and when Christina and Cheyanne were unable to run due to sick child and unexpected surgery, respectively, in true Team #run3rd spirit, Heather Stewart added their miles to hers!

Here are reports from some of the captains.

Santa to the Sea Half Marathon race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

I may be a slow runner, but MAN this year went by fast…
Here’s a little rundown:

• 1 5K Mud Run
• 1 Sprint Triathlon
• 1 10 Miler
• 2 10Ks
• 5 5Ks
• 10 Half Marathons

Plus I chaired a 5K/10K that raised over $20,000 for young adults fighting cancer.

Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Ten Half Marathons in one year!

On Sunday, December 2, I celebrated a milestone or what I like to call a Runniversary.  I ran (with my friend Ditto) my 10th half marathon, the Vegas Rock N Rock Half Marathon. The 2011 Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Vegas was my very first and it was a strange experience to say the least. (See my 3 part race report here.) I think the funniest part of the blog is where I say my goal for 2012 is 3 half marathons…hahahahaha!

Anyway, we went to Vegas.  Ditto and I left on what I like to call the “Stripper Flight”… Southwest, 8pm, Friday night, Burbank to Vegas ;) and we got there and so did my luggage! I’ve learned my lesson and I carry on my running gear now so all was right with the world! We had a late dinner and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning! It was great fun! (If you get a chance, The Hangover slot machines are really fun!)

The next day we went to the Expo to pick up our shirts and bibs and see what kind of damage we could do!  It was so big and fun! At one point I saw a sign and it said “Scott Jurek will be here from 12-1pm and there he was!  For those of you who don’t know, Scott Jurek is an award-winning ultra runner who was featured in the book Born to Run.  I totally “Fan-Geeked” out! I had him sign my bib for inspiration! It was so cool to meet someone who was so calm and accomplished. I mean, this guy has run a 50 mile race in 5:50. I’ll be lucky to finish a marathon in that time!

LA Rock N Roll Half Marathon race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

The  week before the LA Rock N Roll Half Marathon on October 28 was a rough week.  By the sheer amount of race reports I’ve put up, you can see I’ve been busy. Needless to say I was less than excited about this race. Don’t get me wrong… I love to run and the thought of meeting up with other #Run3rd Team Captains Leah Gutierrez and Andrea Barber made me giddy.

BUT… I was having a bad week…my car, laptop and Garmin were all having issues. I felt like every time I touched something electronic I broke it…not good. I was busy…it felt busier than normal. AND tired..exhausted even. PLUS, this race was kind of stealing TWO days without the benefit of being out of town. We decided to pick up our bibs on Saturday by taking the subway. This meant driving to North Hollywood, parking, taking the train and walking to the expo. It was super convenient, however, it took about 5 hours of my day and I had a Halloween party that night!

Santa Clarita Marathon 5K race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

I live in a sleepy suburb of Los Angeles. Close enough to get to the cool stuff in under an hour (sans traffic) and far away enough to not feel like I live in LA. In fact, I’m often told I don’t have the LA mentality and I know it’s meant as a compliment. The truth is LA is like a melting pot. You have this strong mixture of natives and transplants so I don’t exactly know what an LA mentality is. BUT I do know this: I live in an awesome place. So awesome, in fact, it was nicknamed Awesometown (barf!)!

Sara, Robert, Ryan, Cody, Ditto, Cassie, Neil, Me!

Agoura Hills 10 Miler race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

There are some races you plan for.  You wait for registration to open.  You spend money you really shouldn’t on. The Agoura RAD (Reyes Adobe Days) 10 Miler on October 6 was not one of them. Two different people sent me coupons, so we signed up. This was perfect timing since it would be one week before my highly-anticipated Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco. 10 Miles is a great last training run! So, I signed up.  Last June.

Sue, Sara, Me, Staci

But time flies by quickly and here it was race weekend. And what a busy weekend it was… You see, I got some Jason Mraz concert tickets for the night before. And my friend that I hadn’t seen in 7 years was coming out to visit. Luckily she’s a runner.

The morning of the race came too quickly.  Having gone to bed about 1am, I knew I would be overtired. I had to pick Sara, my out-of-town guest, up at her hotel at 4:45am.  This means my alarms started going off at 3:45am (YES, I’m one of those dreaded snoozers!) I picked up some coffee, picked up Sara and then went to grab Sue and Staci. The four of us would be running together this morning.

Nike Women's Half Marathon Race Report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

Nike Women’s Half Marathon 10/14/2012

There were a few reasons why I was super excited to do this race…

1. It’s HARD to get in to. They draw people by a lottery. I didn’t get in through the lottery, but found a loophole since I am a student. 
2. It is in San Francisco…the city of my birth…kind of my hometown. Although I grew up in Southern California I spent my early years and EVERY significant holiday in the Bay Area. I found the idea of “going back to my roots” intriguing.
3. THE BLING!!! This race is geared towards women and they know how to get our attention….a Tiffany finishers necklace…complete with little blue box and satin ribbon…oh and let’s have a fireman in a tuxedo hand it to me…  Really?  You don’t say NO to that! [Indeed not!]

Read the rest of the report on Heather's stRUNg out runner blog. It's worth it! :-D

Apple Valley Fall Festival Reverse Sprint Triathlon race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

I TRIed and SUCCEEDED! (And I did it in reverse!)

When I started getting healthier, I started realizing I could do more than I thought. After discussing it with some friends I decided to attempt a triathlon. BUT, I had some rules:

• It had to be a sprint. This means it’s a 5K, 14ish mile bike ride and short swim
• It had to be a pool swim. I wasn’t ready or willing to train in open water yet
• It had to be reverse. For my first time I wanted to swim last since I wasn’t accustomed to running and biking soaking wet.

Lo and behold what should come across my email but a Schwaggle coupon for a Reverse Sprint Triathlon, about an hour away from my home, for $27.

Sold! I signed up with some friends and training commenced… kind of.

Read the rest of the report at Heather's blog, stRUNg out.

Awesome 80s race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

On Saturday I ran the Awesome 80’s 5K/10K. I wasn’t going to sign up for any more races this year...but I signed up for this one for a couple of reasons:
• There was a coupon!
• Who doesn’t love the 80’s?
• My friend Neil wanted to do this as his first race on his 30th birthday.

Oxnard Salsa Dash 10K race report

Submitted by Heather Stewart @captainstewie

I’m going to start this way: I’m a runner. Since I started running in late 2010 not a week has gone by that I haven’t gone for at least ONE run.

That is, until I went to Ireland.

I ran the Clontarf Half Marathon on July 7th and proceeded to not run AT ALL until the Salsa Dash 10K two weeks later.

My body is paying for it.

Oxnard, California throws a “Salsa Festival” each year. It’s the 4th weekend of July. To kick it off, they have the Salsa Dash which benefits the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society through Team in Training on the 3rd Saturday of July. (I wish they did it all the same weekend!)