Back by popular demand: Sparkle Skirts Raffle Part Deux!

UPDATE:  11/1/13 – 3pm PST — The result is IN!!  Please check the result here!

UPDATE 11/1/13 – 12:30pm PST —  I’m working as fast as I can to enter all the names and am experiencing technical difficulty with the site.   Rest assured — I will do the drawing AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  Stay tuned!!!   Thank you very much for your patience!!!

I have so many people asked me when I’m going to have another Sparkle Skirts raffle since the first one I had a month or so ago (thank you so VERY much for participating!!) and after scouring resources, I have secured another donor who are going to donate THREE Sparkle Skirts in your choosing!      This is part of of my continuous fundraising for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.   The winners can tell me which one they want, what size and I’ll purchase them and have the product mail directly to you (to the address listed on donation information).  Sparkle Skirts made SUPER awesome running skirts.

For the record, I am not employed by them or being paid/compensated by any means to write about their product.   I’m their die-hard customer, love their products and used it myself for many of my races.  Their running skirt is very functional, not only cute and flattering, but have two large pockets on the side, one zipper pocket in the front (or back) and do not chafe or ride up (used the skirts during three marathons so far).

To purchase the raffle entry — please visit my fundraising site at http://pledge.yannirobel.com.   Raffle entry is $5 for one entry, or $20 for 5 entries.  To identify the raffle entries — please put SPARKLE MORE! at the message so I know this is a raffle purchase and DO NOT mark your donation as ANONYMOUS as I need to know who you are to enter your name to the raffle.

ALL proceeds will go directly to Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (I will not accept cash/check for raffle entries — please purchase directly via the fundraising site).     I will send you an email within one business day to confirm your entry.   Please note that I will not publish or share your information with ANY party (other than Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since you are donating directly to them and they need your information).

You can purchase the raffle tickets until October 31,2013 at 12am PST and the drawing will be held on Friday, Nov 1, 2013 at 12pm PST using Random Picker Generator

Gentlemen — if you have a lady runner in your life, this would be an AWESOME surprise on top of the great cause you’ll be participating!  Don’t let ‘I don’t wear running skirt‘  stop you for participating!

Sparkle On!

2013 Portland Marathon – Recap

A little over two years ago, certain friends of mine talked and dared me into registering to Portland Half Marathon.   I thought that was a crazy talk but I did it anyway.  I joined Team in Training for the first time as a Flex Team participant and trained myself to my first ever sanctioned endurance event.  13.1 miles of crazy.   I finished, and I was hooked.    Fast forward to today, 7 half-marathons and 4 marathons later, my love and passion about running is stronger than ever.   I love the races, I love the medals, I love the ups and downs during the training and I love to continue challenging myself, but what I love the most about it, I love the opportunity that I have to inspire and motivate others to do something that once unthinkable for them.   To find out how far they can push themselves and to witness the strength that they have, buried somewhere within themselves.   No, I’m not a coach by any means.   I’m back-of the pack runner, who happen to be a survivor, a mother who work full time and understand the struggle when you have to balance the time between training for your goals, and your responsibility to your job and your family and I love encouraging others with my journey

Portland marathon always have a special place in my heart.   I always think of the race that started it all so for me to came back and did my fourth marathon there, with the same person who dared me to love this sport to begin with (I love you, Karen!) made it even more special. I learned some lessons from this race and even beat my personal record by 14 minutes!

The night before the race

I attended Team In Training inspiration dinner with the husband, Karen and Rob.   It was your typical pasta dinner hosted by Team In Training OSWIM (Oregon, South Washington, Idaho & Montana) chapter.   There were 125 of TNT runners and collectively, we raised a little bit over $250,000 for the event!   That’s one grant amount for a research!   Pretty impressive!   We had our teammate, Kellie, spoke during the dinner and shared her story.  She is an amazing person!!

After dinner, we went back to our room and lights out about 9pm.    Surprisingly, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought and felt pretty ready.

Race Day!

Alarm went off at 4:45am.   I grumbled, as usual, as it took me about 3o minutes to actually move from the bed and get ready.   The husband made my usual pre-run breakfast (english muffin, banana, peanut butter) and filled out my fuel belt bottle with gatorade and water.   Love that husband of mine!   I slowly got dress, and was out of the door to meet Karen and Rob shortly before 6am.    We hung out at the hotel lobby for another 30 minutes and walked to our corral.   Rob and I were in the same corral, different than Karen.   It was COLD morning.   I was so glad that I had my arm sleeves and gloves!

At 6:55am, all the runners was asked to sing the national anthem together which I thought very neat.   15,000 runners, united together and sang National anthem.   I actually got a goose bumps!   Corral A and the elite start exactly at 7am and our corral slowly moved towards the start line.    That’s when I realized my Garmin watch is dead.   Yes, my Garmin watch, the one that I thought was charged all night was dead.   I went on panic mode for a moment as I relied on my watch throughout the training session to make sure I stay on pace and I have huge goal for this race.   Actually, I have four goals.   My crazy, huge and aggressive goal was to finish with 5:30 time. I picked up a pace band from the expo that have all the time I have to hit every miles and that seems doable from my training.    My second goal was to finish under 6 hours, which also seems doable.  My third goal was to beat my last personal best time and my last goal was to finish, upright and smiling.   Yes, I told you it was a huge goals.

Mile 1-12

I calmed myself and thought — I had my phone with me and my runmeter app will read the pace, distance and time every half miles.    I took a deep breath and proceeded to walk to the start line.   At 7:25am, I crossed the start line.   I was feeling good and enjoy the crowd.   I saw the husband on mile 2’ish and gave him my dead Garmin watch and again at mile 4.5 where I ditched my gloves.   I was feeling great!  I kept looking at my pace band and made sure that I hit the time on every mile and I had to slow down a few times because I was about 2-3 minutes faster than what the time indicated.    My legs felt great though and I kept on going.   I saw coach Joe and ran with him for a little bit.    Around mile 10, I started to feel some tightness on my chest and started coughing a lot.   I wasn’t panting my any means, but I knew exactly what it was.  It was a sign that the muscle around my airways started to swell and narrowing the air that can go through the airways.  Or what we called Asthma.   I took my first walk break there to see if that will help, and it did, so I switched to run/walk.     Fast forward two miles later, I knew for sure I had an Asthma attack.   I wheezed and stopped at the side of the road, took 4 puff from my inhaler, wait for a few minutes and proceed to walk.    I looked at my pace band, and that cost me about 5 minutes.   The crazy part of me said, well, I’ll make that time up so I started to run faster (like an idiot) because I was so focus on my pace band and not thinking straight.

Mile 13 – 17

I passed mile 13, and thought — okay, now I’m 3 minutes behind.  I can make that time and proceed to run even faster (again, not being smart) which last about maybe a quarter mile before I stopped and wheezed on the side of the road again.   My chest felt so tight that I had to bend forward, and hold my chest with my hand (or what doctor called it tripod position).   I walked and finally came to my senses and ripped the pace band from my wrist.   I did 5-1 run walk from mile 14.5 on and survived the St. John’s bridge and felt a little bit better.   The view from the top of the bridge was so breathtaking!   I can see Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helen and Mt. Hood!  I stopped there for a few seconds, just soaking the view and be grateful that I am able to run and appreciate the opportunity to stand there.

I continued to do run/walk for another couple miles and coach Glen found me around mile 20 and started to run with me.   I was very grateful for him, because all those not-s0-smart move I did earlier (like running faster-almost sprinting just to make sure I made the time and followed my pace band) aggravated my already inflamed airways.   I ran slower on the run part, slow than normal, but I kept moving forward.   Coach Glen kept talking to me about many things, distracted my mind, got me gummy bear and very patiently jog/walk with me.    We saw TNT tent on mile 22 and that was a Godsend!!   They have banana, oranges, pretzel, and candy!   I grabbed handful of pretzel, slice of oranges and half banana which gave me a boost.

We continued to jog/walk, and ran into coach Ginny.   So happy to see her smiling face!! My knee started to hurt from the tightness of my IT-Band due to quite a stretch of downhill that we had but I kept moving forward and by golly, coach Glen was a lifesaver.   He knew I was struggling and was so patiently kept my mind off from it.   We talked about some other races he did, about so many things.   He engaged my mind during the hardest miles and I had to tell you, it was all mental strength that carry me through.    All the messages from Facebook and Twitter that many, many of my friends posted on my FB walls or tweet me — were so helpful.   I felt so loved and had so many people cheer me to finish strong.   I was hurting, no question about it.  I had retractions on my belly, just the bottom of the breastbone as a result of increased use of the chest muscles for breathing, which cause massive headache, in addition to tension headache that I battle everyday and my left knee was in pain but not even once that the thought of quitting enter my mind

Mile 24 – Finish

We were heading back to downtown Portland and I knew that I was in a home stretch.   With 2.2 miles to go, I had 28 minutes to spare to meet my sub-6 goal.   I tried to run faster but after I hit mile 25, I knew that it’s not worth it for me to push it so I went back to my jog/walk strategy.     We ran into coach Joe and coach Lisa and I had three of Team in Training coaches ran me in to mile 25.5, where they had to stop.   I told coach Lisa that it wasn’t my day as I miss my goals, but she straighten me out.   She said “It IS my day.  You are out here, about to finish yet another marathon.  Embrace it”  and boy, I did.   I ran the last half miles with so much endorphin.   I almost ran past the husband who shouted my name from the sideline, a moment before the finish line.   I stopped, kissed him, continued to run, put both of my hand up, looked up to the sky, big smile on my face and cross the finish line.

Post Finish

Shortly after I crossed the finish line, a woman who I never met suddenly hugged me and kissed me on the cheek.     She told me that she almost quit the race but she spotted me and was focusing on the word ‘Rock Star’ and ‘Survivor’ on the back of my jersey and that pushed her through the last 2 miles.   She thanked me for being her inspiration, because she said, if a cancer survivor can do a marathon, a healthy person like her can do that as well. I hugged her back and teared up a bit.   That made my heart melt.   THAT’s what running the races all about for me.   It’s not the time, it’s not the PR, it’s not breaking personal record (even though I was ecstatic that I PR’ed by 14 minutes!).   It’s the opportunity for me to inspire others.

I received my medals, wandered around on the food area and tried to stuff my face with SO MANY FOOD.   Portland marathon had the BEST post-race food and made Run Disney event post-race food look like a joke.   There’s string cheese, oranges, cold and crispy grapes, banana, bagel and cream cheese, all kinds of chips (doritos, lay), slice of apple, chocolate milk and I think I missed a few.   I heard someone called my name, and Rob was walking towards me.   He finished about 20 minutes before me and wandered around and wait for me and Karen.   We continued to stuff our face with food, and waited for Karen.   She crossed the finish line shortly after and we hugged.   We did it!  My fourth marathon, Karen’s second marathon and Rob’s first marathon!!   We were all PR’ed!!

Lesson Learned

I have learned a lesson (or two) during this race.   They are listed below, in no particular order:

1. Always, always check all of your gear the night before.  Including to make sure your watch is being charged properly.   Sometimes it looks like it, but double check to make sure it really is being charged
2. Do NOT fixated on the goal.   Things happen during the race and sometimes, your body decided to go south, when you want go North.    Do a body check every mile (thanks coach Glen!) and re-evaluate.   Your goal sometimes need to be adjusted during the race day and it is OKAY not to meet the goal
3. Be smart.  Run smart.   My stubbornness sometimes get in a way and prevent me from thinking clearly (hello, sprained ankle 10 days prior WDW marathon and still run it?  Or mile 18 during Goofy challenge after the medical team said they heard ‘crackled’ and that could be a sign of pneumonia and decided to leave the medical tent and walked to the finish line?).  I have got to stop being stubborn and be a smart runner.
4. Carry a bag of pretzel on a small bag, and put it on your pocket.    The race provided gummy bears and pretzel, but they have no pretzel left on the water/food stop when I was there.   After 4 pack of Gu, I did not want anything sweet anymore
5. Do more of speed work and hills.   Do not avoid hills during training.   They could be your best friends during race days.

Fundraising Notes

Even though Portland Marathon is part of TNT Fall team event, I have re-direct my fundraising effort towards TNT Spring team event.    To date, I raised $8,430 and I will not stop here.   Thank you for those who are so generously donated to my fundraising event.    If you like to support the cause that very dear to my heart, please visit my fundraising page at:  http://pledge.yannirobel.com   Every dollar help.  No donation is too small, or too big.    I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Taper Tantrum

I’ve been slacking off.   No, not on the running part.  Well, maybe a little but after 4 months of marathon training right after finishing a marathon, girl can get a little tired and skip a weekday run (or two — sorry Coach!).   I’m talking about updating my training progress.   This blog have not been updated with my training progress.  I am supposed to do weekly update.   Recap of what I did on that week, what work and what didn’t work as well as document how I felt.

Yeah.  That didn’t happen.   There.  I ‘fess up.   We can move on now, yes?

Portland Marathon is 5 days away.   I started to get little antsy.   My weekly miles are significantly less as my runs are now shorter (nothing above 8 miles).  I drank more water and ate more carbs than normal.   This alone result of me feeling like a busted can of biscuit.   You know what I’m talking about?  Have you seen Pillsbury dough in a can?  When you twisted the can and all the dough burst out of the seam?   Get the idea?

I am also nervous.   This is going to be my fourth marathon.   I should be calm as I know what to expect, right?  You know, been there, done that, got the t-shirt?   Yeah, not so much.   The butterfly in my stomach when I think about the distance are still there.  26.2 miles is a long way and as much as I feel ready, race day is a different story.    The hardest part of the marathon is not the race day, but the journey to get to the start line.   I logged 351.4 miles since the beginning of the training.   In four months.    That’s a lot of miles, time commitment and sweat and don’t even talk to me about how many GU that I ate throughout the training.   Or how many bottle of Gatorade that I consumed.

I know I am ready.

However, I feel like having a tantrum.  A taper tantrum.  I want to go out and run more.   You know, just to make myself more ready.   And a sudden urge to buy more running gear because I really do need another fuel belt and socks.  Oh and more Sparkle Skirts and an extra compression socks just in case.    I also feel sluggish.    I run less, and eat more.   This is bad.  I probably am not ready.   Panic.   Anxiety.   Weight gain.   Worry about injury.   More panic.   I can’t get sick.   I think I’m coming down with a cold.    I should pack now.   I don’t think I’m ready.   Is it going to be pouring rain?  More panic

Get the picture?

There are so many article out there about what to do when you are on taper phase so I’m not going to write it here.   Just google/bing that yourself and you’ll have plenty of advice/tips and tricks (believe me, I’m reading them all now) and I know this is normal but I just need to put it out there and apologize in advance for those around me and those who have to interact with me in person for the next few days (my dear husband, bless his heart, my friends and co-workers)

I might be acting a tiny bit crazy in the next few days.     You have been warned.

Sparkle Skirts Giveaway – RESULT!

Wow.  What an overwhelming response from this event!!  I have learned SO much for doing this process and have already noted things that need to be improved on.   I’ll blog that on separate posts!

First of all, I want to thank you for everyone participation and support to the cause that so dear to my heart!  It warms my heart to know there are SO MANY compassionate people all around!   I also want to apologize for the delay in drawing.   I was about 2.5 hours behind due to some unforeseen issues.   This will go to things that need to be improved on list!

Without further ado, here are the winners:

1. Sharon Brunell 
2. Gina Hoods 
3. Jacqueline Dzerounian
4. Valerie Postle

I have sent an email to these lovely ladies with an instruction on how to collect the prize.   If you did not get my email for any reasons, please contact me immediately.

For those who did not win, or miss out on this opportunity, don’t ‘fret as I am going to have another one in November.  Stay tuned for more info!

CONGRATULATIONS!

This drawing was conducted using Random Picker site and it was randomly sorted.   If you would like to check if your name is being entered to the raffle and the integrity of the drawing, you can check the protocol and result here

Anonymous Donor

I have total six anonymous donor / raffle purchaser on the Sparkle Skirts Giveaway that I’m currently having. I respected their intent to be anonymous, but I worry there’s a misunderstanding with marking the donation as anonymous as these are all raffle purchaser based on their Sparkle On! message (which is a required note to identify yourself as a raffle purchaser). In order for me to enter their name to the raffle, I need their information, especially their name AND email. When you marked your information to be anonymous, it will show as, well, anonymous even on my end (only notified me the amount)

In hindsight, I should be very clear about this on my post about the raffle (this is my first raffle, so I am learning my way around this) and I really, really want to make sure that these awesome raffle purchaser can be entered to the raffle. The information that I have is limited to the amount and the date/time when was the donation was given. There’s no other way for me to find out who they are (hence the anonymous part). In the spirit for a fair game, if you, my awesome anonymous-raffle-purchaser, happen to read this post, please do the following:

1. Forward the confirmation email from LLS to me, that so I can match that with my records and enter your name for the raffle. I will need this by Saturday, Sept 14 2013 11am PST (drawing will be at 12pm PST — and I need a a little bit of time to work on it)
2. If you miss the deadline, forward it to me anyway — and I’ll enter that raffle entries for the next Sparkle Skirts giveaway. (Yes, there will be another one. Stay tuned for the information!). Of course, you are welcome to buy more raffle entries and donate more towards this great cause!

I appreciated all the generosity and overwhelming response to this Giveaway and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support to the cause that very dear on my heart!