Joplin Memorial and Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

I'm definitely behind on my blogs as so many things are going on.  Between work, softball, races, gym and other things in my life it has been a little crazy.  Race number 12 and 13 were Joplin Memorial and Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon.  Doing both of these runs added a new state to my list, hitting state number 7 and 8 but also hitting number 5 and 6 half marathons in 2017.       

Recap: Joplin Memorial Half Marathon
For some of you that don't know, the Joplin Memorial Race is put on to remember the people lost on May 22, 2011.  Here is a little blurb from the Joplin Memorial Marathon website, "On May 22, 2011 an F-5 tornado tore through Joplin destroying many homes, businesses, and taking 161 lives. For the first and last mile of the Joplin Memorial Marathon course we display 161 victim banners that our runners run through. One name is on every banner displayed."  This was definitely a emotional race as like Oklahoma City as both races remember people that were lost on a tragic day.  This half marathon race I ran alone, but my friend Carly ran the 5K.  Leading up to the race I was having issues with my knee and so I didn't know how this race would turn up but I was going to give it my all.

As the blurb stated the first mile and last mile displayed the 161 victims on banners.  I was definitely emotional at the beginning just seeing the names and how many lives were taken.  These types of tragic events are just terrible but what happens afterwards give me hope for mankind.  Now living in a tornado area, tornadoes are more than real.  While living in California I was far removed from tornadoes but now it is really serious.  After passing the banners I had to get my head back in the game and the long trek.  Whenever I felt tired I tried to remember why I am doing this race.  I felt really good with the first six miles.  If I can remember correctly I hit the 10K mark at about 1 hour and 5 minutes which is pretty close to my fastest 10K mark at just under 1 hour and 2 minutes.  After that mark it was a tough second half.  I started to have stomach issues and the next 7 miles were tough.  I would run a little then have to stop and keep doing that method til the end.  The people around were just amazing supporting each other throughout the race.  Support is the one thing that gets me through the race and I am thankful for all those people.  This race was one of the smaller half marathons I have done.  There were 623 finishers and 258 of those runners were male.  Even with my stomach issues I continue to run and even sprinted at the very end.  I finished with an official time of 2:44:28 at a pace of 12:33.  I place 17/20 in my age and was 491 out of 623 finishers.  Even though it wasn't an amazing race in terms of running I felt an accomplishment of finishing another half marathon but also running for a purpose.  I would highly recommend this race for what it does for the community and bringing everyone together to remember the people lost on that day.  Also the bling was pretty dang cool.  

Recap: Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
Chicago Rock 'n' Roll was the latest race.  I was kind of against "corporate races" because I want to be part of a race that a local community put together and was proud of/race for a cause.  I will say the company putting on this race did an amazing job with the whole race experience.  I was very pleased.  Back when I ran the OKC memorial marathon several weeks after my friends had an idea to run the Chicago Rock 'n' Roll.  I love to travel and I would be able to check some stuff off my running list so I was like "let's do it."  I traveled to Chicago with my good friends Kevin and Kari, while Roksana (another friend) was already in Chicago.  We flew out early Saturday morning to get there later that morning, get checked in and pick up our packet.  Kevin's sister Kris (who lives in the Chicagoish area) and her daughter Tess picked us up from the airport, which was super nice of her and we were off to the hotel.  We were able to check in early at the Congress Plaza Hotel.  We decided to go with a suite and in downtown because there would be six of us and it was close to the starting line.  Thus we wouldn't have to wake up super early.  Anyways we met up with our friend Roksana and did some sight seeing while heading to the expo.  We got to the expo about 3 p.m. and got our bibs for the race.  Before we entered the official expo there was a large Brooks booth(ish).  Apparently Brooks is a sponsor and so they were doing a ton of discount items.  I was so tempted to buy several things but knew that I would rather run other races then spend all my money on clothes and shoes.  Luckily I left the expo only spending $17 bucks on a singlet that I wore the next day.  We did all the typical racer things like get free stuff and take pictures in front of the Rock 'n' Roll signs.  After the expo we explored more of Chicago, mainly Chinatown and got some pretty authentic Chinese food.  By the end of that day I had walk 10 miles, which I definitely felt and knew the 13.1 the next day would be fun...not. 

Race day.  All of my races (except OKC 2017) was chasing a PR.  This race I wasn't chasing a PR, rather I wanted to stick with my friends and help support each other.  One of my friends Roksana was having surgery later that week so she wanted to beat her PR.  I decided to stick with her to help Roksana get to that PR.  Everyone wanted to do the same so we started together and held on as long as we could.  Sometimes it is hard to run in a group.  The one nice thing about this race was that it showcased downtown Chicago and all that it had to offer.  Having this route also helped get your mind off of the race and see Chicago (if you have never been before).  At around mile 6, I believe, our group started to split, I didn't know what was happening but kept with Roksana to get her to a good pace and time. Come to find out a few minutes after the split Kevin told us that Kari had some sort of injury.  We debated going back but Kevin and I knew that Kari would want us to continue along to get Roksana to a PR.  We continued and about mile 10 I was hurting a little but didn't want to disappoint my friend in getting her PR.  At mile 12/13 ish I took a small break, I couldn't keep going at our pace (even though it wasn't a fast pace).  I took a minute or so to walk then caught back up with Roksana.  We were close and I wanted to finish together.  The last stretch was the toughest because it was a straight shot to the finish.  I could kind of see the finish line but there was some distance to get through.  Roksana and I finished at a time of 2 hours 48 minutes and 36 second.  Unfortunately we didn't break Roksana's PR but it was one of the best runs she had til this day.  That made me happy to help a friend.  

Before this race I never paced the whole race.  My mentality going into a race is to run as far and fast that I can and then take a break.  Usually it's about 8-10 miles before I take a break but trying to be steady the whole race is another head game.  I always warn my friends that I run alone but this experience changed my perception and that I could run with others (at a steady pace).  This experience also gave me some insight on how my pacing is and that one day I could pace a group, which would be amazing.  To give you some numbers I finished 8186 out of 9834 people and in my age group 563/603.  The numbers don't really mean anything to me, rather the time does.  Even though this was one of my slowest time this year, just being able to run with friends means a lot more.  

As I take a break from half marathons until October, my next race is less than two weeks.  I will be headed to Hutchinson Kansas to run a 10K with a good buddy of mine.  This will be a special race for multiple reasons, the first reason is this is my friend's first race.  He has never ran in a race like this before and to tackle a 6.2 mile race out the gate is amazing.  He has been sticking to a good running schedule and I know he will do well when it comes to race day.  In addition this is the first time this race is being put together thus I may have a chance to place.  Generally new races don't attract a lot of people thus the competition is smaller.  I'm not the quickest runner but can finish a 10K around 1:05 to 1:10, depending on the day.  I'm excited to see what can happen, if I don't place it's not the end of the world as this race will help round out the second part of the year with 4 half marathons left in the year.  The goal for the rest of the year is to finish and take care of my body.  This is the most races and running I have done in a year so it is taking a toll.  Whatever you do for your extracurricular activity make sure you take care of your body.  You only have one of them and you better take care of it.  Thanks for reading my gibberish.  

Forgot to add I'm endorsed by Brooks now, I'm fancy that way. 

Half Marathon Number 11 Done! And what's next?

OKC Memorial Marathon is near and dear to me.  There are many reason why I cherish this race, first off Oklahoma City has been my new home for about 2.5 years, this was the third time running this race and the only race that I have ran more than once, and lastly because this race is to remember and celebrate the lives lost in the bombing on April 19, 1995.  With any race you want to do well but with this being my (new) home town I wanted to make my city proud.  This year I decided to dedicate this race to the 168 lives that was lost.  I wanted to run for those that can't because they aren't with us anymore.

The weekend of the race I decided to run a 10K in Tulsa as a warm up.  Unfortunately due to weather it was cancelled but it was probably a good thing because of the amazing run I will have the next day.  The night before the race I met some amazing runners from IG at a local restaurant called Zio's.   It was a great night of conversations and getting to know each other.  After that night it made me want to run a marathon even more.  But I know that if I take that next step into the marathon territory I will need to up my training.  

The today of the race came and a lot of emotion was going through me.  I was excited to be able to run this race again since last year I was living in Kansas and couldn't make it back for the run.  I was also nervous because the last half marathon that I completed in March was the worst performance in my running "career."  I went into this run not expecting to do well.  I wanted to run and enjoy the race, since most the time I am chasing my PR.  

The race started a little slow for me and probably almost every runner that morning.  There were 16,753 runners on the course so it was a little hard to get a good pace going during the first couple of miles.  After mile two I was able to break away a little and get a good pace going.  I use Runkeeper and it gives me updates every 5 minutes and I started to realize I was running an 11 minute pace, which is pretty fast for me theses days.  I didn't want to waste my good pace so I kept with it.  The first five miles went by really fast without much problem.  Just after mile five I started to get hungry and when I get hungry I hate running.  I started to eat my chia bar.  Through the next two miles it was a little tough because it was hard to eat for some reason.  I wasn't able to get the food down into my stomach fast enough so it would stop talking.  I got through those two miles and was heading to Classen, which is a long street that is from about mile 7.5 to about mile 10.  This was a little hard because when you make the turn to Classen the wind was hitting us from the South.  It is tough to run when something is coming the other direction.  I kept going because I wanted to make it to mile 10 before walking.  I kept reminding myself that this is for the 168 people that lost their lives.  It definitely helped a lot and just seeing all the wonderful people on the course and the volunteers that were in the cold with us make me keep going.  I finally made it to mile 10.3 before walking and I hit that mark at 1 hour and 55 minutes.  This was better than my fastest 10 miles this year.  I was really happy about that.  I took a minute or so and walked to catch my breath.  I started to make the calculations and figured out that I am on pace to finish under 2 hours and 30 minutes.  This has been my goal since I took two years off of running races.  Mile 11 I saw the 2:30 pacer but wasn't able to keep up.  The last mile was really tough for me because of the last hill.  I did my best but like every OKC Memorial Race that I have participated the last part of the run from 13th street to about 8 street is a long stretch.  I did my best and even though I didn't make it under 2:30 I did make it under 2:32 and cut almost 7 minutes from my faster half marathon this year.  I was thrilled about.  I still have about 13 minutes to cut in order to hit my PR but I am making progress.  Below you can see my progression through the race.  

I am just thankful to be able to participate in this race and I can't thank the volunteers enough for spending their early Sunday morning with us and cheering us on until the end.  Remember that no matter what you are going through you are lucky to be able to wake up each and every day.  Tomorrow is never guaranteed.

What's Next?

Well as of right now I have six more half marathon this year and several smaller races.  The half marathons I will be participating are the Joplin Memorial Run, Wounded Warrior Half, Chicago Rock n Roll, The Mother Run, Kansas City Half, and the Route 66 Tulsa Run.  I'm excited to be participating in all these races.  I also did a crazy thing this week and submitted my ballot for the London Marathon.  I will know in mid October if I am accepted.  If I am this will be my first marathon and what a great marathon to participate.  If not I will continue running half marathons and take more time to train for a full.  Good luck to everyone who has submitted their ballot.  Until next time.  Thanks for reading. 

Lucky Number 10, heading to 11.

Lucky Number 10

As I gear up for my 11th half marathon I have to reflect at the last ten races.  It's kind of crazy how far I have come and the love and support that I have been give over the years.  Back in high school I could barely run a mile at the weight of 270lbs (ish).  I started to get into shape after living in Germany for a semester.  It was one of the top event in my life and changed where I am and what I am today.  Even though running sucks at time, it can be very rewarding.  Distance running is a gradual process and it all starts with one step.  Then 20,000k later on.  Haha.  Now I can run half marathons and by run I mean jog.  Here are the 10 half marathons that I have completed with my times.  And yes my PR is my first half marathon and no I haven't been able to reach that time.  One day I will. 

 San Diego Holiday Half Marathon 2013

 OKC Memorial Marathon 2014

 Colfax Half Marathon (Denver, CO) 2014

Disney Half Marathon (Anaheim, CA) 2015 

 Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon (Orlando, FL) 2015

Disney Avengers Half Marathon (Anaheim, CA) 2015 

OKC Memorial Marathon 2016 

Cowtown Half Marathon (Fort Worth, TX) 2017 

Little Rock Half Marathon 2017 

A2A Half Marathon (Arbuckle to Ardmore, Oklahoma) 2017

I am very thankful that I have been able to complete all of these races.  There was a lot of hard work put into getting prepared for these races and completing them.  Each race holds a special place in my heart and no two races are the same.  My next half marathon is OKC Memorial Marathon which is to remember the 168 people (including 19 kids) that were killed in the OKC bombing in 1995.  I wasn't here when this bombing happen but I am thankful to be running and celebrate life.  I am having knee problems but I will get through this one no matter what.  Whatever you are going through, there is someone going through the same thing with you.  You may not know them but you aren't alone.  I challenge you to step out of your box and try something new or pick up a hobby that you haven't done in a while and do it.  I gave up on running races for about 2 years and I am so thankful to be back.  Happy Monday.

Chris

My Racing Rant - "Left out to dry" and moving forward

Race season has slowed up for me.  I think my wallet and body are very happy about this.  The last race I registered was for the Disco 15K down in Dallas Texas. I found out this organization from an expo and wished I did not find them.  I signed up for a race and it got rained out.  I understand the risk involved and how much the weather can affect a race.  Anyways I am more upset about how they handled the communication when they cancelled the race and their back up plan for being rained out.  

Here is my rant
The organizers only posted on Facebook about the cancellation, so for people who don't have Facebook they were out of luck and had to find out when they got to the site.  The comment they posted stated "Attention Disco Run participants: the event is now cancelled due to weather. #apartyandaworkout #discorun."  There was no additional information.  What they should have also stated is that additional information would be sent out shortly about options due to the cancellation of this race.  Instead they stated nothing so many people starting commenting asking questions.  Once people started to comment then they would give out more information, which they should have stated earlier to avoid all the questions.  The organizers handed some of the medals out to participants but not all.  I'm not sure why they gave some medals to select participants and not to everyone.  That was unfair, if you are going to give some out you better give all of them out.  The organizers sent out an email about discounts for their other races but nothing about medals, rescheduling or making it a virtual race. This is upsetting because the race wasn't cheap.  If I didn't have a discount I would have paid over $60 bucks for a 15K, which is more expensive than a half marathon.  I ended up emailing them and they stated you should have received an email (referring to the discount email), but it still didn't answer everyones questions. That ticked me off even more, we are paying customers and we deserve answers.  In the email that had the discount code they stated that they never had to cancel a race in 16 years but then they had no back up plans.  What the heck is that.  That is not how you run a organization.  I am very upset with this organization because of the lack of communication and how they handled the situation.  If you are in this business you have to know that something may happen where you have to cancel the race.  Create a back up plan.  We also knew that we were going to have rain a week prior and it felt like they just hoped they wouldn't have to cancel versus finding a back up plan.  I will never run with this organization again and waste my money.  By the way there are no refund, which I sort of knew that but Disney had a similar situation like this, what they ended up doing is basically giving everyone a refund and their races aren't cheap.  Anyways lesson learned.

Now my rant is over.  Let's talk about something else. PR is commonly talked about in the running community.  For those who do not know it stands for Personal Record.  Personally I haven't been able to attain a PR since my first half marathon in San Diego 2013.  For that next year I tried to obtain that PR but I couldn't get myself to that point.  I read an article the other day how this guy was going to participate in a marathon on the west coast and he stated he isn't going to PR and he is happy about that.  The reason being is that he can finally enjoy the race for all that it has to offer.  Sometimes we get into our own heads and strive for that goal and don't end up enjoying that event.  I have seen it first hand, I participated in several Disney races after my first half marathon and looking back I didn't really enjoy it because I was chasing a PR.  I did take a picture with Captain America at one Disney race but it was hard for me to wait in line and mess up my run. Looking toward my next half marathon I am going to enjoy it as much as I can.  This race is called Race to Remember and is located in Oklahoma City.  This race is in memory for the OKC bombing of a federal building on April 19, 1995 and helps fund the OKC National Memorial and Museum.  Even though I wasn't living here during that time, as a resident of this state it my privilege to be able to participate in this event and remember those that died that day.  I pray that this event goes off without any problems and that the runners can enjoy this race.  For anyone who is having a hard time right now, just remember that you have to live your life to the fullest and have no regrets.  Thanks for listening to me.

Recap of the OKC Memorial Marathon to come. 

Just being thankful and some helpful tips

This last week was something I dreaded, which was getting sick before a race.  Race day alone is very stressful let alone have other factors that may hinder your performance and overall time.  Life isn't perfect, there will be times that obstacles are thrown at you and you will have to respond.  This is a great saying that I ran into before.  Not sure how accurate it is but it is true.

There were definitely days leading up to the event where I was just down and not sure if I could do it....even hours before the race.  Sometimes you just have to man up and take what this life throws at you and respond to the best of you ability.  A good friend reminded me that we aren't guaranteed to run again or do anything so we should just do it because we might regret it one day.  And boy was she right, after completing my third half of the year I was very thankful I completed it.  It was my worst time out of the 10 half marathons I have completed in my life but I learned a lot and finished under 3 hours.  I know if I look back on this day that I will not regret running that half marathon.  I may regret during the race but never after.  For those of you that are reading this, which I'm not sure why you are because I'm a terrible writer, live in the now and don't worry about what if because if you continue to ask what if then you may end up not doing much with your life and not be able to experience life.  With that said I will end this part of my post.  The next part below will take about helpful tips in saving if you want to participate in races.

Finish Line - Arbuckle to Ardmore Half Marathon

Photo credit - Carly Nguyen

As you know running can be expensive, well maybe not running but all the things to prepare you for running and running events.  First off lets talk about travel.  Under this umbrella term of travel you can include gas, hotel, food, drinks, etc.  Travel can get very expensive quickly so it is important to be very strategic in your planning.  If I am traveling out of state or maybe a longer distance I will try and pair up different events so that I can get my monies out of it.  Such as scheduling to go see a concert and running a race event (which I did this weekend), site seeing and race event, visiting family and a race event.  This way you aren't spending a ton of money just on race.  If you can find a pal to run with then you can split the cost.  I can go on about how to save but one thing I want to hit is registration fees.  Registration fees can pile up quickly, for example I have been documenting all of my races for this year and the price I am paying.  At this moment of time I have spent about $500 on race registration alone.  Yes it is expensive, but this does include 8 half marathons, 2 15K, 1 10K, and several 5Ks.  People ask me why I'm spending so much to run.  My answer is because I like the bling and it is an accomplishment for me to complete these races.  Back in high school I was very overweight and could barely run a mile without stopping.  Now I can run several miles and even complete half marathons.  Anyways back to talking about registration, there are various ways you can save, such as signing up earlier, attending race expos to get coupon codes for races (they are almost always free, I haven't ran into one that is not free), google searching for coupons, groupon, and signing up for a running membership with a club.  The cheapest way I found to paying the least for a race is signing up when at the very beginning.  For example, back in November I did a 5K in Tulsa and it was a very big race.  Well the next night I got an email that stated good job if you want to sign up for 2017 races you can and here are the prices.  In total it was $75 for a half marathon and a 5K (before all the fees), which was a steal so I registered for the race.  The registration is just opening for the first time since that deal and the price nearly doubled.  Generally registration is not double the cost but you never know.  Another example is I attended a race in Fort Worth TX and spun this wheel to see if I can win something free.  I didn't end up getting a free shirt or free gear but I did win 10% of a race in Dallas.  The code was cowtown10 and so me thinking of trying to save more I changed the code to cowtown30 because I remember it was on the wheel when I was spinning it.  Guess what it worked?  I was able to get 30% off of a race, which saved me almost 20 bucks.  I will admit you probably shouldn't do this but you have to save money any way you can.  I did try cowtown50 for the code but that didn't work.  Little things like this can help you save a lot during race time.  There are moments in life if you should not pay retail value.  At that point you are just wasting your money.  I hope this helps you in anyway possible.

If you have any questions or would like more information on something please let me know and I can comment on it or write something small in this blog.  Future topics will include rewards credit cards and other ways to save money in the racing world and just in general.

Thanks

Chris

Things we take for granted and moving forward

Earlier this week I got a sinus infection, which really sucks because this week I am supposed to be running my third half marathon of the year.  This week I took a lot of time off of work so that I didn't get my coworkers sick but also get better.  Luckily I was able to get a steroid shot to help get better.  A lot of us take for granted the little things in life, such as going to work, exercising, being to eat regular food, so on and so forth.  It is important to take the day by the horns.  There are so many people in the world that can't do the simple things in life.  There are various times in life that I take for granted, this last week put things back into perspective to cherish every moment we can.  Yes I am sick now but I will get better and be able to run on Sunday.  I am sometimes hard on myself for not being able to do my best but this Sunday it is okay to not run as fast but I should still put my best effort forth.  I will do my best and as long as I finish it would be worth the time and money.  Even if I don't finish, I tried and can move on to the next half marathon.  The nice thing about this race is I have 6 hours so even if I walked the whole thing I will be done before 6 hours haha.  For anyone going through a hard time remember that God has a plan but we just don't know what it is. If you are not religious, know that someone is watching over you.  

I have a love/hate relationship with running

When I was a kid I was definitely obese.  I was that fat kid who was made fun of and couldn't run to save my life.  Flash forward to 2013 I signed up for my first 10K and little did I know that it would be the start of my non competitive running career lol.  I wanted to say non competitive because I'm not a quick runner but I can run...well maybe jog but still.  As of today I have completed 9 half marathon, this even includes almost a two year break of not running in races.  I started running because I wanted to beat my brother, yes the rivalry still exist even though I am an adult.  I started running in Disney Race, which were amazing and an experience you had to go through but looking back at them they were way too expensive.  After a year of doing Disney Races I had to stop because of the cost.  The registration cost alone was expensive, let alone the flights, hotel, food, rental, and other expenses.  I enjoyed those races but now since I have bills and debts to pay it is time to buckle down...for the most part.  In 2016 I moved back to OKC and I am so thankful I did.  I have great friends and was able to get back into running.  I got very ambitious and started to sign up for races left and right...which sounds wonderful but after taking a long break it was tough.  I remember doing my first race after my hiatus, which was a 5K and I could hardly breathe when running.  At that point I knew I was out of shape and had to get my stuff together to get back into shape.  I got back in the gym and started the grind.  Being overweight isn't easy, I have struggled for years trying to get down to my goal weight but there are always obstacles and short comings that come my way.  Registering for races helps me be accountable for my weight.

Flash forward about four months I will start my first half marathon in almost two years.  I signed up for the Cowtown Challenge in Fort Worth Texas, which included two races in a weekend.  Being sort of stuck up I signed up for the 10K and half marathon challenge.  I have done a challenge like this before but it has been about three year.  I was definitely nervous about running.  I had a lot of challenges in my way but I wasn't going to give up.  Just want to remind you I'm not a small guy, I am 5'5 and weigh about 215 lbs so I'm definitely not an elite runner by any means.  I had some issues starting both the 10K and Half Marathon but with some determination and will I was able to finish both races with a good time...in my eyes.  I finished my 10K at 1:10:50, which isn't bad.  That is only about 10 minutes shy of my fastest 10K which is at 1:01:13.  I was able to complete my half marathon under 2:45 at 2:43:55, I was hoping under 2:30 but knew it was not going to happen.  I was happy under 2:45. Little did I realize that I signed up for three more races the next two weekends after Cowtown.

I get nervous about a lot of stuff and running is one of them.  Little Rock Half Marathon was my next race and I only had a week to recover.  I didn't exercise much the week before because of the soreness and wanted to make sure that I did not hurt myself before the race.  Since I had some time off I went down to Little Rock the day before so that I could volunteer.  That morning I really did not want to get up but you know I am glad I did.  I met two lovely ladies by the name of Mary, who was from LR and Pat, who was from Maine. They were both very nice and we had some great talks about running and life.  I enjoyed checking in runners and wishing them a good race because I know I needed it.  That night I looked at the forecast and there was a 50% chance it was going to rain.  I started to prepare myself mentally because running is one thing but running in rain is another.  It was hard to sleep knowing that I just did a half marathon last weekend and having to do another one very soon.  I got up on Sunday the 5th and looked at the weather.  Well it was going to be a wet race.  I grabbed my gear and headed off.  Luckily I have done a race in the rain, but my main concern was not slipping and not getting my phone wet.  What I did was bought some ziplock bags and stuck my phone in it.  This was the cheapest way I could keep my expensive phone from not getting wet.  Some may say why do you have to have your phone on you?  Well it's because I track all of my races and keep a log and then it's hard for me to run without music.  During the race I was definitely checking my phone to make sure it wasn't wet.  There was some moisture because of the heat that I was putting out but my phone was good.  The race started slow because of the large crowd, I was able to break loose and chose my own pace.  The race was not easy but there were parts that were really fun, especially when the course went in a semi loop and I was able to cheer on/high five other racers.  That made that short distance a lot easier. Needless to say I was able to shed about 4 minutes off of my Cowtown run and get under 2:40.  I was definitely proud stepping over that line and receiving my medal.  Granted I'm not number 1 or get any special prize but you know it is an accomplishment to finish a race.  In addition to being able to push yourself to the max.  In this race I was able to run/job for 10 miles without stopping, for me that is amazing.  Never in a million years did I think I could finish a half marathon let alone run 10 miles without stopping.  Push yourself as far as you can (without hurting yourself), you will be surprised and what you can accomplish.

Since I talked a lot about myself here are some information that may help you.
1) Aren't race registration expensive?  Yes they can be but if you do it right you can save some money.  For example, I try and register as soon as I can to save the most money.  Some times the difference in only several bucks or so and others it can be 40-50, it just depends on the race.  You can also defer your race or trade it to someone if something happens.  Sometimes there is a fee sometimes you are SOL.  Check the rules because every race is different. Also if you attend expos you can get some discounts or if you are on social media you can win entries into races.
2) Aren't hotels expensive?  They can be, but if you get a group together it can be cheap.  There are several things you can do, such as book on priceline or hotwire express deals.
3) Doesn't priceline/hotwire express deals hide the hotels?  Yes, but by using filters and using the percent off you can calculate which hotel you most-likely will get.
4) Don't you have to eat out all the time? You can or if you hotel has a fridge you can make your own breakfast, lunch and dinners.  Some races will give you food afterward, which can save you money.
5) Do races have time limits?  Yes most of them do, and some of them are very strict.  Review the rules and make sure you can finish or you may have just wasted your money.  I completed a Disney race and there were about 1500 people that didn't finish and that is definitely a waste of money.

If you have any other questions for me please let me know.  Until next time.

Getting started

I am not an expert in running but I have some helpful tips for you...well at least they were helpful for me.  I used to be the guy that never trained and just ran but after taking some time off and having issues with my body I started to take care of myself more.

1) Choose an app on your phone that will help you track your runs.  This will help with being able to analyze your times and being able to reach your Personal Record (PR).  My first mistake was switching apps at the beginning of my running "career" not really career but I like the sound of saying career.  I currently use Runkeeper and have so for about 4 years and love it.  I did use Nike + Run Club for a little and liked it but someone told me about Runkeeper just kept using it.

2) The next thing is a playlist, you can always run without music but for me the music distracts me from running and helps me go longer distances.  I have a race playlist that has all most of my favorite music...mainly country music.  You don't have to create a playlist as there are some playlist already created on Pandora and Spotify but I like running to music I know and my songs.

3) Purchase good shoes. I was against paying a lot of money for shoes because my cheap $40 ASICS were amazing.  Well the shoes started to get old and hurting my feet so I ended up buying other ASICS.  About four pairs in I still couldn't find a good shoe, I even tried to buy the same model but couldn't find it.  I ended up purchasing Brooks Ghost 9 and they weren't good until I got inserts.

4) Purchase inserts.  I tried purchasing inserts from Walmart and Amazon and putting them in my shoes but after four or five different inserts I gave up and went to a running shop.  The only reason why I went to a specialty shop is because I have been there before and know their staff is knowledgeable. I purchase these inserts about 2 weeks ago and have completed three races (2 half and 1 10K) and they are just amazing.  I purchased Superfeet Cooper due to the way my feet are shaped.  They aren't soft but when running they feel great.

5) Purchase gear.  These gears can be anything really.  I am very cheap and so when I first started running I just use my gym gear.  After some time I have transition and bought some running gear, such as compression socks, compression pants, compression arm things, running shorts, running shirts, running jackets...and the list goes one.  There are many reasons why I started to buy running gear and it's because they are made for running.  I'm not saying to go out and buy running gear at full price.  Ease into it and find stuff on clearance.  Most of the things I have were on discounts.  For guys please avoid cotton, because it will hurt when you run a lot.  Trust me.

It looks like you are ready to run.  You don't have to run 10 miles the first time.  Take some time and ease into it.  I remember in high school I could barely run a mile but now I can run miles and miles without stopping.  It will not happen over night.  There are many different strategies in running, some like a run walk system and others like me like to run as much and then do a run walk system.  When I train I try to run four miles without stopping.  If I am having an off week I will do a run walk because I don't want to injure myself.  I like running as much in a race because once I stop it is hard to start again and sometimes it hurts more when you walk instead of run.  You will figure that out shortly. There is no right way to run, do whatever works for you because you know your body better than anyone else.  Also you don't want to hurt yourself running.  I have experienced some issues and it really sucks so take care of yourself.  You are probably tired me of me talking so I will leave you to this.

Me

Thanks for checking my blog out.  I figured I would start one to give helpful tips.  Most of my blogs will probably be about traveling, education, running and some random stuff.  I will also share strategies on saving money.  I love traveling and saving money any way I can will help support later trips.  I will start off by saying I suck at writing so don't judge me.  Anyways for those that don't know me, my name is Chris Lee and I grew up in Southern California.  Spent majority of my life there before moving to Oklahoma City where I currently reside.  I get a lot of questions about why am I living here and the reasons I give people are the cost of living and my friends.  I moved here in 2013 knowing that I was going to move back after graduation but God had a different plan and I love living in this city.  I don't want to ramble about my life so lets get going.  My next post will be about running.