San Diego Mom - Carmel Valley

This is a brilliant program from what I can tell, and something I was hoping would be available for my daughter when she graduates from the Keebler 1 mile run. 

These girls train together in teams around the City for their first 3.1 mile run focusing along the way on key things such as self-esteem, teamwork and support. 

Seems like a great way to keep running in your kids lives but in a fun, age appropriate way.  Very cool. 

http://www.gotrsd.org 

You can tell I’ve got running on my mind.  A few posts this week on running.  I’ve got the AFC Half Marathon tomorrow and I was really looking forward to it until I stepped on a bee yesterday and got stung!  Ouch!  Ice and toothpaste for me tonight as I nurse my sore foot after hanging out at the expo this morning.

A friend sent me this cool site.  If you like to run, and you’re like me, you track your times on a note in Outlook.  But, this site makes it easy to pull your race times together (they actually pull them from the race sites for you and you just confirm them.)  I liked it, it was easy, and they have some fun features such as rivals (see a list of folks who have run the same races you have and their times) and other good reading for runners. Check it out at:  

http://www.athlinks.com/ 

 

Yes, a post about running skirts.  I confess I think running shorts are boring.  The skirts seemed a little goofy at first, but now I’m realizing how much time I spend in my running clothes and I’m eager for a change. 

So, I bought my first skirt this week.  I’ll let you know what I think.  There are lots of companies offering them now.  But, I really enjoyed these two sites and the variety they offer:

Running Skirts -  http://www.runningskirts.com 

Skirt sports - https://www.skirtsports.com/shop/   (I opted for the Marathon Girl Coolair)

DirtyRed - http://www.dirtyredgear.com  

 

Since my Marathon Girl didn’t arrive on time for the AFC this week,  I also splurged on a Pearl Izumi skirt.  I give it VERY high marks.  I was comfortable, no chaffing at all and I loved wearing it.  With the heat, I was literally drenched from perspiration, but the clothing did its job.  Was a fun race even with the heat.  

Enjoy! 

 

This organization, Moms In Motion, facilitates the creation of teams nation-wide of Moms for a variety of sports.  The idea is to focus on an event and support a charity and work together towards your goals.  Here in San Diego, the first teams are running teams in Mission Bay area - check them out:

http://momsinmotion.com/locations_team.asp?a=vt&t=223&l=64&c=3 

I have no personal experience with this group, but I know my own running club helped a lot when I ran my first marathon and I believe having support and the fun of a group can be a huge asset to achieving your goals.   

Here’s a list of runs that I have enjoyed in San Diego.  There are many more choices of course in San Diego any given week and please look at the other posts in this category for more.  But these are my favorite and I’ve written up my comments about each of them here: http://sandiegomom.blogsome.com/running

AFC Half - http://www.afchalf.com/ 

Carlsbad Half and Full Marathon - http://www.sdmarathon.com/site5.aspx 

Rock N Roll Marathon - http://www.rnrmarathon.com/home.html 

Silver Strand Half - http://66.77.216.76/exec/koz/half.cfm?publicationID=177 

For the runners in the crowd, there’s a new addition to the Ralphs Shopping Center off Del Mar Heights, bottom level near the Barnes & Noble.  A Pearl Izumi store just opened and while they have primarily biking gear, they are hoping to offer more running gear soon.  Stop in and put your name on the mailing list to be apprised of sales, changes in inventory, etc.

The San Diego Track Club has a great page of runs complete with description of path, text version to print, maps, number of miles and if they are out and back or otherwise.  http://members.cox.net/sd_run_maps/

These runs are all over the City including one 12 mile out and back in Carmel Valley and they have links there too from all over the City including maps of paths within areas like Balboa Park, Torrey Pines Reserve, etc.

They’ve also compiled a list of public runs that everyone in the community is welcome to attend (free of charge).  The table is on the "Visitor Info" page available via the red link at the top of the http://members.cox.net/sd_run_maps/ web page.  On the Visitor Info page there is also info about other running/tri groups that welcome participants to their runs/swims, about the location of public running tracks, and about mapping web sites that help runners find routes in their own neighborhood.
 

If you want to train for a marathon or half-marathon, this is one of several groups to choose from in San Diego to run with. They set up weekly runs over the week-end and for the longer training runs have water set up along the course.  Coaches are available for each of the various pace groups and there is usually a walking group too.  http://usafit.com/

I trained with this group for my first marathon - the Carlsbad race in January each year.  I ran with the North County group that typically meets up in Carlsbad.  I had a mixed experience with USAFit.  My coach wasn’t a good match for me.  I was at the slow end of my pace group and frankly found myself running alone a lot.  I have a lot of friends in the group though in different pace groups who have had amazing coaches and really enjoy the ability to run with others especially on long runs. 

I encourage you to give a group like this a shot, and if one isn’t working, try another.  There are a bunch of local clubs - another one i’m familiar with is West Coast Road Runners http://www.wcroadrunners.com