san diego

Will Run for Food: Fit Foodie 5k Race Recap!

November 16, 2015 by Asia

Last weekend, I organized a Oiselle Volee meet up and ran an awesome race in San Diego – The Fit Foodie 5k! I went into the event with the goals of having FUN and meeting new people. Goals achieved! I also ran a ~24 minute 5k (which was pretty much on pace with my 2013 marathon time…LOL. How quickly things can change!)

I look slightly off course…it was crowded in the beginning!

Race eve, I went to the event VIP Cocktail Party where I met fellow bloggers and sponsors of the event. Oh yeah, I also had some pasta and red wine. Such a good athlete. 😉

Cocktail partyyyy

Pre-Race: Lexus was a main event sponsor so I selected the onsite vehicle for a meet up location before the race. I picked up my bib and timing chip the morning of and didn’t have to wait in line. So easy! The bathroom line was only a few minutes long which was another perk in the making of a very stress free morning. There was room for improvement with organized parking. We luckily got there early enough to secure a spot at the $15 lot but had to wait in line for at least 20 minutes to pay at the station. Others weren’t as lucky. My recommendation is to carpool and park somewhere downtown and walk/run to the event if you don’t want to pay convention center or hotel parking prices.

Quest mailed ambassadors some pretty awesome shades

There were plenty of booth vendors already serving complimentary food and bevs. My favorite spot was the free hot coffee and complimentary to-go mugs. Being a coffee addict, I thoroughly enjoyed this area post-race! (I resisted adding whipped cream to my coffee but was tempted because it looked fun.)

Lexus coffee station

The birds and I took a ton of selfies, watched the Quest group have a dance party and take the group through a warm-up, and took goofy pics at the photo booth, all within a span of 30 minutes before the race started at 8am.

Dance party

My arm is barely long enough for a 4 person selfie

The Course: Fast, scenic, and flat, the path takes you from the Embarcadero South parking lot south and then north along the harbor and grassy parks before returning south to finish at the same spot. If you really want to race this event, make sure to start in front. My teammate, Victoria, placed 3^rd in our age group and 4^th overall. You go girl! The rest of us started about 20 seconds back and got stuck in a bottleneck the first quarter mile. Strollers, walkers, and dogs are all allowed so plan accordingly. (Maybe next year I should run with a puppy!? Who wants to volunteer their puppy?)

Finish with a view of the Coronado Bridge

The Finisher’s Village: By far the BEST PART. I don’t know how many vendors there were onsite, but they all offered amazing treats! From green juices and granola, to pasta and tacos, this large spread replaced my typical post-race brunch. The girls and I spent a lot of time enjoying the free goodies and relaxing, soaking in the beautiful San Diego weather. We also bought the race tanks that display a rather accurate message of “Will Run For Food.” I’m OK with the fact that you don’t get a free race shirt and medal as part of signing up/finishing because the amount of free samples more than makes up for everything else.

Aveeno recharging station

Side note: I pretty much LOVE free samples so I made sure to wait in all the lines to grab coupons and snacks. I’m pretty sure I get this trait from my father, who got it from his father, and so on it goes.

Fabletics gave away lip balm and sunscreen duos, refreshing sport wipes, & cute totes

Mmmm pasta

I had to travel for work on Sunday; otherwise I would have attended the Sunday Sweat Session and Brunch! I was impressed by the comprehensive amount of activities the Fit Foodie series had in store for everyone, and next year I plan to take advantage of all of them!

Did I mention how great the event sponsors were? Here’s a snapshot of the goodies I got mailed to me before the race as well as some of what I picked up after the race. Snacks. For. Daysssss.

FREE STUFF, including a yoga mat from Wasa!

I will definitely do this race again and was so fortunate to have been selected as an ambassador for the Fit Foodie 5k this year! It felt so good to lace up my running shoes and participate.

P.S. How cute is the Oiselle Tracker Jacket?? I just purchased it and am in love.

Will you join me for the Fit Foodie 5k in San Diego next year?!

Fit Foodie 5k & a Special Discount Code!

November 1, 2015 by Asia

Hello November! It definitely doesn’t feel like it around here with temps still in the 80s…I adore San Diego, but can we please get a little fall weather?

Training run along the harbor near the race course

Training run at the Embarcadero. So hot!

In other news, I am running a 5k on Saturday! A 5k centered around FOOD! This year has been filled with shorter races and fun runs, and I can’t wait to add the Fit Foodie 5k to my list! The San Diego race features a scenic course downtown along the harbor very close to my home. (That gives it extra points in my book.)

In case you’re not familiar with it, Cooking Light & Health’s The Fit Foodie 5K Race Weekend is jam-packed with delicious bites and sips, cooking and fitness demonstrations, a Sunday morning sweat session aaaand a delicious brunch. Additionally, a percentage of ticket and merchandise sales benefit The American Diabetes Association, whose mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Does that sound amazing, or what? I’m also coordinating a meet-up with my Oiselle teammates, and I can’t wait to meet more of these birds in person!

Also, I am excited to be a part of the event as a Fit Foodie Ambassador & have gotten some pretty sweet stuff along the way. Thank you, sponsors! I love learning about new brands that promote an active lifestyle.

@roveliving keeps you hydrated on the go in these fancy bottles

Cookbook from American Diabetes Association. Delish!

Cookbook from American Diabetes Association has some delish recipes! #stopdiabetes

Pretty obsessed with nut butters of all kind & these looks like an easy way to get my peanut butter on! @betterbodyfoods

I pretty much ate the Quest protein chips immediately after taking this photo. @QuestNutrition

It’s not too late to sign up to run or run/walk your way to the finish line on 11/7 for delicious treats. Strollers are welcome. Pets are too. This is a very friendly race! Use promo code SDFITNESSDIVA for 50% off and register online by Wednesday to secure your spot and run, eat, and drink your way through the most delicious 5k ever. I hope you will join me!

If you can’t make it, I will be covering the event on my blog and social media platforms so be sure to check it out and think about signing up next year!

Have you run the Fit Foodie 5k yet?

I’m a Marathon Finisher!!

June 8, 2011 by Asia

Rock n Roll San Diego Start Line (Competitor Group photo)

I DID IT! I’m a marathon finisher! It’s hard to find the exact words to describe how happy I felt when crossing that finish line, but let me try to capture the moment and take you on a journey of my first 26.2…Read on for my story and results!

3:30am – My alarm went off. After a night of tossing and turning, I couldn’t believe the time had finally come. I was feeling sleepy and very anxious at the same time.

4:40am – Jeremy and I got in my car and headed to the marathon. Luckily he drove because we immediately hit traffic, and I started freaking out! After about 20 minutes of grid lock traffic on the 5 South (never go that way from Pacific Beach), we turned around and took a nice shortcut through some local roads. Much quicker!

Pre 5am Marathon Traffic

5:20am – Parked in VIP parking right next to the start. (Thank you, Mike, for the VIP hook up!) Made a quick porta-potty stop (VIP lines are much shorter) and headed to meet up with our running group (Vavi) for a group pic. Notice how sunny it already is in the picture below, and it’s barely 5:45. We didn’t get spared on race day. The sun was out the entire time which added an additional challenge to the marathon. (Like we needed another challenge!)

Vavi Running Group Before the Marathon

6:00am – Gear check and final porta-potty pit stop. National anthem. I didn’t take off my hat, but I had my hand over my heart, and was trying to take deep breaths to stay calm. All I kept think was that this was REALLY HAPPENING. Final group shot before we split up into two separate corrals.

My Running Buddies!

6:15am – Official race start! Corral 1 (the elites) was off and running. I kissed Jeremy goodbye and saw him off to his corral (5). Then, my 4 running buddies and I waited to jump into our corral (10 – but we somehow ended up in 9). There were at least 42 corrals with about 26,571 total participants!

Back of Corral 9 - Walking to the Official Start Line

6:21am – I’m off and running! I quickly poured a salt pack on my tongue and jumped into the back of corral 9 with my 4 running girls. Next thing I know, I’m crossing the start line! I was off to a somewhat shaky start. Honestly, I felt very overwhelmed, and I didn’t even notice our guests at the starting line – Ali and Roberto from the Bachelorette! After a couple of minutes, I thought I was having trouble breathing and I felt all the blood rush to my head. I momentarily felt light-headed but told myself to calm down. I knew it was just nerves! I started chatting with Jen and told her I was kind of freaking out. I was on the verge of a panic attack. Talking to her about the course kept my mind busy and my anxiety went away. I was feeling really steady after the 5k split.

Miles 3-8 – Nice and easy run through downtown San Diego. My friend snapped a pick of me at the aid station around mile 7. I didn’t even see him. Sorry, Alex! Guess I was really paying attention to my hydration!

Grabbing water after mile 7

Miles 8-11.5 – Running got slightly tougher on the 163 Freeway. There was about 2 miles of steady uphill (very low incline) but the road is not even. It’s quite slanted, and this surfaced my foot pain. The top of my right foot started hurting which worried me a little bit, but it definitely didn’t slow me down. Pain is temporary. Pride is forever. My inner mantra begins.

About to get on Highway 163

Miles 11.5-15 – I am feeling pumped! I charged up the freeway off-ramp hill and past hundreds of cheering fans onto Friars Road. I felt great, and hitting the halfway mark – a HALF marathon – almost felt, dare I say it, “easy.” Every time we passed large crowds of cheering fans, I’d get emotional and feel a great sense of pride an accomplishment. I think the endorphins were getting to me! Those feelings definitely kept me running. The pic below shows me sometime after the halfway mark. The runners on the far right side of the pic on the other side of the cone are the half marathoners. Part of the course only kept the full and half marathoners apart by cones. At times it was a little confusing, especially when you’ve been running for so long and are far into the zone.

Mile 13-14

Miles 16-19 – It’s getting much harder. We passed 1 of our group of 5 girls and unfortunately left her behind. She wasn’t feeling too great, but we knew she’d finish not too far behind us. We never did catch up to Jen. I grabbed a watermelon slice from a young boy standing on the street with his family handing out fresh fruit. I couldn’t eat the entire slice, but it kept me distracted for about 1 minute.

Miles 20 – 21 – I spotted a group of friends at mile 20 and their cheering gave me a significant boost! It felt great to have support on the course, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Our pace picked up to a sub 9 minute/mile …

Mile 22-23.5 – …until the aid station around mile 22. The 3 of us walked through it slower than we had gone through any other aid station. We started running again, but apparently our pace slowed to 9+ minute miles again. I was just happy to keep moving at that point, and since we were still passing a lot of people, it didn’t feel like we had slowed down that much. This was the hardest part of the marathon for me. I think I hit a “mini wall.” I was able to joke through it and try to make light of it by saying things like “What would you be tweeting right now? I’d say I’m breaking through the wall!” and “It could be worse. We could be running this marathon at the end of an Ironman!”

Allison was our cheerleader. She was feeling stronger than me, but she stayed with Nicole and me, encouraging us every step of the way. Every stride hurt my hips, but there was glory in pushing through that pain. I kept repeating my mantra “Pain is temporary. Pride is forever.” I had to say it a lot to keep me going.

Around mile 22 or 23, Running Skirts was handing out Otter Pops. The cold felt good on my fingers, lips, and throat since it was definitely heating up outside (and inside my body!), but I wasn’t able to finish it. I was nauseous at this point, but again, I definitely appreciated the thought of the Otter Pops, and it helped keep me going. The group was excited to see me in my Running Skirt and snapped a couple of pics of my outfit.

Otter Pops!

Miles 23.5 – 25.5 – The dreaded Fiesta Island. I was counting down each mile at this point. Less than 3 miles to go. I can DO this. As we approached the entry point of the 2 mile desert-like loop, a man was shouting words of advice and encouragement over a mega phone. “Don’t forget to relax your shoulders!” Good point. I made sure to shake my arms out as we entered Fiesta Island, the San Diego Rock n Roll course nightmare. All you want to do is run off the course and jump into the water. It is hot, there are hardly any spectators, and there is no shade in sight.

Ariel View of Fiesta Island

Miles 25.6 – 26.2 – The final stretch! We were finally off Fiesta Island and I pushed with every ounce of energy I had left to have a strong finish. I’m not sure how fast we were running, but I felt like I couldn’t keep the pace up much longer. I relied on the power of the massive cheering crowd to carry me to the finish line. Just before we crossed, Allison, Nicole, and I grabbed hands. We raised them as we crossed the finish line together. Teary-eyed, we all hugged after the we were on the other side. It felt amazing. WE DID IT!! I can’t wait to do it again!

Celebrating our Finish with Meb - A true champion!

My Results
Pace: 9:14 5km: 29:06 10k: 57:24 Half: 2:00:40 20 miles: 3:04:21 26.2 miles: 4:01:59
My Division: 146 out of 1,029!
Females: 541 out of 4,012!
Overall: 1,767 out of 8,267!

Map of the course: SD_11_Course-Map_05-12-11_vweb
Official Race Pics and Video of My Finish: http://www.asiorders.com/go.asp?101669184

Marathon: 2 Days Away and Counting!

June 3, 2011 by Asia

After work I’m headed to the San Diego Rock n Roll marathon expo and then to my running group’s pasta dinner! So excited! Tip – Try to go to the marathon expo TODAY to avoid even larger crowds tomorrow. There will be a Padres game tonight and tomorrow afternoon, so either way, plan your travel time accordingly. You will probably be sitting in traffic and have a hard time parking, so try to get there at least 2 hours before game time.

What do you think of my race day outfit? I wanted something feminine and colorful, and I think this does the trick. Just wanted to share a quick post to get some of my pre-race jitters out. Back to carbo-loading!

Marathon Outfit

My 18 Week Fitness Journey

February 2, 2011 by Asia

Hello fellow fitness enthusiasts! My name is Asia, and I’m a 27-year-old female living in San Diego, California. I’m excited to share my fitness journey with you! My current 18 week plan is two-fold: full marathon training and P90X! Can you say Type A? Here’s how I got there…I’ve always loved running but have recently gotten more into endurance training as a new challenge. I’ve completed two half marathons, but this will be my first full…Yikes! I completed the P90X program in November 2010 and had such amazing results that I’m going to do the full 90 day cycle AGAIN. I will modify it slightly to incorporate the full marathon training. Needless to say, these are going to be an intense 18 weeks! Afterward, I’m sure I will come up with additional fitness goals for myself. I never want to stop training! There’s nothing wrong with wanting to stay hot and healthy, right?

Ringing in the new year!

Marathon Training
The San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon is June 5, 2011, and I’ll be following an 18 week training program (that also includes a half marathon) to get there. My boyfriend, Jeremy, and two of our close friends are also doing the marathon. We all signed up for the VAVi running club to help keep us on track and prepared for the ridiculous long runs of up to 20 miles at a time. Our biggest training week is 40 miles total! At the very least, I’m sure we’ll be grateful for the aid stations our group provides – I’m trying to avoid purchasing one of those ugly water belts if I can help it! One of my friends just used VAVi for the Carlsbad Half and got her PR (personal record), and I’m ready for mine too!

America's Finest City Half Marathon, Aug 2010

P90X
P90X is an intense exercise program based on muscle confusion. It has recently gotten a lot of publicity but has been around for several years. Just catch a late night infomercial! Tony Horton is the creator and celebrity behind the program. There are three phases of workouts that map to three phases of nutrition planning – Fat Shredder, Energy Booster, and Endurance Maximizer. My boyfriend and I followed the entire workout regimen and nutrition plan last year and saw great results. I became much stronger now and almost achieved a cute 6-pack! We are doing the nutrition plan again, but will incorporate more calories on the days we have double workouts (running and P90X), and won’t stay on the Fat Shredder phase as long since we don’t want to lose weight. It’s important to have the proper amount of calories to stay fueled for these workouts. You definitely don’t want to be calorie deficient because your performance will suffer! I’ll dedicate more time to nutrition later, but you can learn more about the P90X program here:

www.Beachbody.com/P90X.

Before P90X

: After P90X

I’m not an expert by any means, but I do plan to learn a lot about endurance running, P90X, proper nutrition, and how all three of these elements fit together. I’m curious to see how my body responds to all of this! Hopefully you will learn something new too and share additional insights.

As Tony Horton, founder of P90X would say, BRING IT!